Sweet, Soft Rainy Saturday

I awoke this morning to sound of soft, sweet rain. I love the sound of rain in the morning. My puppies snuggeled up and allowed me to sleep in this morning - a rarity. Lovely, lovely morning.

I have decided to make a Yo-Yo quilt for baby Laurelye Claire (due to arrive in late May). I have managed to make a blanket of some type for each of the grand children. I am the sappy, sentimental one of the family. Perhaps one of the grandchildren will inherit my sappiness and appreciate the effort.

Speaking of Yo-Yo quilts, there is an Etsy seller that specializes in yo-yo's (the quilting kind - not the toy). I continue to be amazed at the imagination of the etsy-community. I would never have thought to make fabric yo-yo's and sell them. What a great idea!

Hubby Darling just called and he will be home tomorrow - yeah! He did a good job of promoting Reel Recovery Retreat to the Sow Bug Round-Up attendees. He was able to share good information with an Oral Cancer Caregiver. Speaking of Reel Recovery Retreats brings me back full circle to the Sweet, Soft Rain ... I hope the Buffalo River is getting a good soaking. To complete his fund-raising float trip, Hubby Darling needs the Buffalo River to get some good water. Keep your fingers crossed!

Well, Max and Daisy are snoring on the coach and I've got a ton of marketing to get done for Creat Joy Studios before I snuggle up!

Until next time ... Blessings ~ Carol

First Day of Spring!

Spring is here! Today is the first day of spring, which is a lovely time of year here in Northwest Arkansas. The flowering trees are in full bloom and the daffodils are all over the place. Tulips will be popping up soon and then followed by the Iris and Lillies.

My 'day job' work schedule has changed and I will now be enjoying 3 day weekends. I am going to look at this as a positive and apply this newly 'found' time to my jewelry designs. I am itching to get into the studio and try out some new techniques and designs. I am finding inspiration from so many talented artists. I am a new fan of "Lisa's Lovelies". Lisa is a gifted metalsmith and her designs are simply gorgeous! Check her out at http://lisaslovlies.etsy.com/

Hubby Darling has traveled to Cotter (a.k.a. "The Far Side of The Earth") to attend the annual "Sow Bug Roundup" -- a big deal to the fly fisher/fly tiers out there. He has managed to spend at least one day on the river (yeah) and I am praying he is bombarded with clients wanting to go fishing during the next few days. The River has always been Hubby Darling's source of peace. He has been working so hard to raise funds for the Reel Recovery Retreat. He deserves to see his guide business prosper.

Well -- more later. Until next time - Blessings ~ Carol

Paying it Forward: Reel Recovery

I am thrilled to have made contact with a travel writer that covers the area around the National Buffalo River. Jennifer has been such a great source of information for tweaking my PR pieces supporting the Reel Recovery Retreat.

Getting the media behind the fund-raising events for this retreat has been a challenge. I would think the news organizations would be thrilled to cover something that is positive for a change. It seems that they have been sucked into the vortex of negative news cycle.

Ken is getting ready for the big float down the ENTIRE Buffalo River. That's 132 nautical miles! He is so pumped. I have not seen him this excited since before he was diagnosed with cancer. My heart is so full!

Until next time: Blessings to you all ~
Carol

Create Joy Studios

I am working on switching my brand from "Shamrock 3.17" to "Create Joy Studios". I am building my brand around my life mantra of : "Do Justice, Love Kindness, Walk Humbly, Create Joy". These 4 statements pretty much describe me - or at least how I strive to live.

I am in the midst of designing the logo for C.J.S. I need to get it in gear! I have a show in May that I want to have time to print new biz cards and brochures. Between new logo's, writing and designing new collateral pieces, helping to promote Reel Recovery and needing to beef up my jewelry inventory, I have been very, very busy! I love it!

The Valentine Weekend Sale ends at 11:00 central time tonight. I hope you've had a chance to take a look at the items I had marked down for this weekend only.

Until next time ~ Blessings to you all!

Cancer Survivor Retreat

The push to bring a Reel Recovery Retreat to Arkansas has been steady for nearly a year now. The owners of Cedarwoods Lodge on the White River have stepped up to provide an amazing location for our first retreat! Yea!

Now we have to raise the money. To keep the retreat free for the participants we need to raise about $850 per person -- that's about $8,500 for 10 to 12 men surviving life-threatening cancer. Daunting in today's wicked economy. But then again, I believe in miracles!


More info to come ... Blessings to you all ~ Create Joy!