Embrace

I love the word Embrace and what it musters up in my mind when I hear it. Only good things come to mind. To embrace, to hold in your arms, willingly, close to your heart. Whether it be people, ideas, a way of life....to embrace life and all that is in it is a good way to live. To embrace is so much better than pushing people, ideas, life and experiences away. When I wake up and decide to embrace the day and all that lies ahead I ALWAYS have a good day. When I wake up grumpily and let the day take over....it is always a bad day.


So, I say embrace your life. Life IS good and to echo the words of my mother......LIFE IS WHAT YOU MAKE IT.

As 2011 quickly winds down and 2012 is upon us.....go, embrace, and see what a difference life can be! xo


What do you embrace?


Happy NEW Year!


~Amy






EMBRACE........official definition. :)

1.

to take or clasp in the arms; press to the bosom; hug.

2.

to take or receive gladly or eagerly; accept willingly: toembrace an idea.

3.

to avail oneself of: to embrace an opportunity.

4.

to adopt (a profession, a religion, etc.): to embrace Buddhism.

5.

to take in with the eye or the mind.

Hand and Foot Impressions.....

.........ready in time for Christmas! Pheeeewwwww...... I just completed my holiday orders for the season today. Every last ornament, plate and family plaque is wrapped and my customers have been called. For the past decade or so my Holiday Season is full of a different kind of hustle and bustle. I am creating many many gifts that will be given to the loved ones of my customers for Christmas. After so many years of this process I am not sure what Christmas would be like if I didn't fire up my kiln several times and wrap up orders. :) I love it and I love being a part of such wonderful gift giving. Here is a sampling of holiday ornaments that will find their way to a beautiful Christmas tree this year and then loved and cherished for years to come! 

bodyheart Photo Shoot

The past few months of my life have been a whirl wind and influx of so many new people and experiences. I am having a hard time keeping up with it all. All good tho! That is the amazing part of the whirl wind, it just keeps getting better.


When I decided to "look up" from my normal....just keep my head down and do my own thing.....mentality, I have met some AMAZING people.  One of the people I have had the privilege of  meeting is Amber Krzys. She is the owner/found of www.bodyheart.com and she is "devoted to helping you celebrate your body and live the life of your dreams" ~ quote from Amber's website. I was drawn to her positive, lovely, and genuine nature. When I met Amber in person at the bodyheart photo shoot earlier this month I felt like I knew Amber. She was so so so authentic. I love when I can meet a person for the first time and just FEEL the goodness. That is what I felt with Amber.


So check out her site and feel the love for yourself. If you ever get the chance to meet Amber for yourself, I am sure you will know exactly what I am talking about. :)


http://www.bodyheart.com/


At the photo shoot we were asked to pic our favorite body part and that would be the focus of the picture. Well........I choose my lips. From the excitement of my first kiss, to the love of kissing my sweet babies when they were placed in my arms, to kissing the handsome man in my life, to kissing my grandma on the check......all different types of kisses.........I get to show my love for those in my life who I love dearly with the kiss of my lips. 


So here are the pictures bodyheart chose from the photo shoot........

Life is a bit more fun when you step out of your comfort zone. What is your favorite body part? I'd love to hear you tell me! xxxxx's to you ;)

Embrace Today!

Today's thought is really simple. Today. It is here. You don't get it again. What are you going to do?

Thankfully one day last April I got to go and explore parts of Italy. This photo I took in the old old old small walled medieval hill town, in San Gimignano, Italy. I think it works well with my thoughts of today.

Enjoy your day and every little, quiet, loud, simple, extravagant, plain, happy, or melancholy moment.

Love to you!

WHAT IF ??????

WHAT IF? WHAT IF? WHAT IF? Those words have been running in circles in my mind over the past couple of weeks. I can't really get them out of my head. As I evolve and change and grow and become, I am at times so excited, I can hardly contain my squeaky, girly, emotions. (which I FULLY embrace!) 

The other day as I dropped my children off at one of their “things” I started talking to myself, out loud. Yes, out loud. And yes, the thought crossed my mind that maybe I was a bit crazy, but.........I just went with it. :)  Usually I have the music cranked so loud, so I can drown out my sad singing. As long as the music is loud enough I will not give up on my dream to become a rock star right?! Anyway, I digress. I started to say out loud many of the things I want to have happen, in my life ~ immediate life, OUT LOUD.

WHAT IF I ...........

• took better care of me
• wrote a book about my journey up to now
• gathered those in my tribe of handprint making and created a WONDERFUL community of like minded people
• dropped 30lbs
• ran a 10k
• traveled to Maui
• explored the practice of yoga
• started the art pieces I have been putting off for far too long
• grew my business and let those I work for know how much I love it.
• love my boys in unmistakable ways 

WHAT IF?!

Well, guess what, I am going to find out!


I would love to hear what is on your "what if" list. Please feel free to leave a comment below. :)

Tiny Touches Hand/Foot Impressions Photo Shoot in the Utah Salt Flats.

So......the Salt Flats are a lot farther away from were I live than I remembered! For some reason I remembered the Flats being just beyond the SLC airport. Well, I was wrong. They are pretty much along the Utah/Nevada border, which is about 110 miles west of SLC and SLC is about 60 miles away from me. But we, James Rhodiimer and I, were on a mission to take some fun photos and video of my Tiny Touches impression plates. So onward we traveled. I am so glad we did. It was an amazingly beautiful place to be on a Sunday afternoon.

A little about me....sometimes it is best that I do not know all of the details of a particular project. The lazy Amy would not have wanted to drive two hours one way to get to this amazing location but the adventurous Amy is so glad to be adventurous [even if it means I grumble a little bit along the way]. I am always happy to have done something new and exciting. I think that is what makes an adventure an adventure!  :P

I thought I would share a little glimpse into this beautiful day! ENJOY

Turning Corners

Do you ever find it hard to describe what is in your heart? Struggle to find the right words? Feel like if you do you may sound like a crazy person? For a very long time now I have felt like I am on the verge of something great. I don't know in what capacity though. I don't know if it is spiritually, healthy, relationshipy (not sure if that is a word lol), financially, or just just another lesson I need to learn......maybe an experience that I need to, well, experience. Something bigger than me is working its way trying to get out and open up to something bigger and better. I don't really know what that all means. I don't know how to properly explain it or put my finger on it exactly. Wheels are turning and I am going with it. I am open and hopefully ready. Sometimes I feel like it is right around the corner and I can't run fast enough to find it. I feel a bit frantic like I might miss it.

Tonight as I sit in a very quiet house I am very reflective of the course my life has taken over the past several years. I feel like I lived a life in which I knew all the answers.........to now, living a life in which I realize I do not have all the answers. There are days I am not totally sure which way is better. But what I do know is that I am enjoying the journey into finally taking the time to discover who I really am. To find out what I believe, just for me. To find out what makes me tick. What makes me giddy with excitement. What makes be burst with joy and love.

So as I continue on this journey, I feel part of it is to be a bit more transparent. I spent so many years so worried about what others think of me. Years trying to do what I thought everyone else wanted me to do. Well, I am done living like that.  I think maybe with me being a little bit more transparent I will not feel the burden of trying to live perfectly. Maybe living a bit more transparent I will find what I need to find. So here's to turning as many corners as I need to............

Osmonds making impressions.....with me!

 Does that smile look familiar? Well it should, it is an Osmond smile. I have had the pleasure of creating some of my Tiny Touches little ceramic hand and foot impressions for David Osmond and his beautiful wife, Valerie and their two baby girls. I first met the Osmonds two years ago when they brought in their first little girl to have her imprints made and I was thrilled when they called me up again to create some more keepsakes for their second darling baby girl.

I have been a fan of David Osmond ever since I saw him perform as Joseph in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat at the Tuacahn amphitheater in St. George, Utah. He did such an amazing job! He is currently working on a show called ShowBiz helping singer/songwriters break into the Biz. He will be hosting and co-producing the show. Look for it and check out more about David Osmond at  http://www.DavidOsmond.com/

Thank you Osmonds! Your impressions are almost ready. :)

WOW!!!!

It is the end of a very very long day. I am in NYC. I made it all in one piece. The story of my journey today is long and frustrating and that is not what I want to focus on. GETTING HERE IS WHAT MATTERED and I am so glad I followed my gut feeling about being participating in RHHLive. I have only experience a few hours this evening of my conference and if that is all that I was able to be a part of it was well worth the journey. I am having a hard time thinking of how to explain all of the feelings, emotions and knowledge I have gain through 2 1/2 hours of my evening.

I think I will just do this....

Tonight I felt thankfulness, nervousness, excitement, love, happiness, thrill, inspiration, exhilaration, compassion, encouragement, love, unity, peace and contentment. I danced like I was 16 again and found that I need to keep dancing. Not just in the way we often tell people to dance with life but really really dance. I found a part of myself that has been lost. I felt the Amy who needs to come out. I found myself. I found what I have been looking for. These words may sound silly but they are true. I wish I could bottle the feelings of this night and take them with me to share with you and to remind myself when I need reminding.

I am blessed and so are you.

love,
me

New York City and RHHLive here I come!

It is the eve of my big huge adventure at RHHLive in New York City! I am just completely beside myself with excitement. I really can't believe I am going. It is funny how this came to be. I was surfing along the interwebs ;)......you know how one thing leads to another there.......when I came upon this website www.rhhlive.com. I was immediately taken in and knew I needed to be there. I can't really explain it but I knew that I needed to do what it would take for me to get there. So the planning began and now I sit here feeling like I am 7 years old and waiting for Santa to come visit me. It has been a while since I have invested in my business skills on such a level and I am ready to learn from some pretty amazing people. I am taking my ceramic hand and foot impressions training program to a national level and I will admit that the figurings out of how to properly navigate the big huge world of marketing, twitter, facebook and the like, is a bit intimidating. So I hope to surround myself with people who have knowlegde, experience, and knowhow and hopefully it will rub off on me. I can't wait to share my business with others and create a network of people like me who love what they do! NYC, here I come!!!!!www.rhhlive.com

Commercial day!

Nervous and excited! Today I am making a commercial to help promote my Ceramic Hand and Footprint Training Program. It is fun and exciting but I am as nervous as can be! I never thought in a million years when I started my little company that so many great and wonderful life experiences would come with it. If I have learned nothing else in life I have at least learned to just jump in and see what happens......usually it turns out okay and if it doesn't you at least have a good story to tell. LOL. So today I will do my best to be in front of the camera and see what happens. AWWWWW.......... life is good. This is me jumping in!!!!! ;}

Saturday

Saturday is a special day it's the day we get ready for..........oh wait......lol. 

Saturday is a day that I always start out with so many good intentions AND THEN I end up not getting a whole bunch of stuff done. The voices in my head say "it's Saturday, don't work too hard". Kind of funny. My ceramic hand and foot impression business does not only keep me working Monday thru Friday, as a matter of fact, I actually work everyday, just at weird hours and random times. Just depends on the day and where my work load is.....customers, glazing, book keeping, advertising, networking, etc. But Saturday roles around and I still feel like I need the day to be like most everyone else that works a 9 to 5er. It is just something in my psyche from way back during school days and my teaching days. Saturday is just supposed to be a day off. Period. It needs to be treated as such.......don't you agree? So as I finish this blog I will continue to veg out on youtube and watch cat videos and music videos and wherever else my surfing takes me. You just never know, do ya? Oh and what was life like before internet? Were we more productive? Not sure I can remember. LOL


And for those of you who know....."it's the day we get ready for Sunday" (now that song will be in your head for the rest of the evening......you are welcome.)  ;)

To Create or Not Create.......that is the question. Create is the answer....

I am starting a new project and it is all I can think about. I hope I am not biting off more than I can chew but I have been really inspired lately to create and so creating I will do. I have a vision and I hope I can transfer that to a beautiful work of art. I am just going to jump in and see what transpires. For me that is kind of the way it goes, I just have to jump in not really knowing where this will take me.  I may feel a little crazy in the process but I am certain (kinda) that I will be thankful for the journey.  Here is to all of you artists that follow that part of you that needs to create. I am putting my hat into the ring.

Ceramic Hand and Footprint Ornaments

Ornaments Ornaments Ornaments.....Ceramic hand and footprint ornaments! It is that time of year when people start thinking about making cute impressions as gift for the Holidays. I make a ton of Christmas ornaments for baby's first Christmas, gifts for grandparents and for friends and family. I love these little prints. Just one hand or one foot! So darling. Obviously I make them of babies and toddlers but I also make them for older kids too. Remember they are NEVER to big. :)  If any of you are planning on adding a few Tiny Touches to your list of things to do for the holidays just remember to get in as soon as you can. The process takes 4-6 weeks so you do need to be planning ahead. My deadline for guarantee completion by Christmas is November 30th. I can usually squeak a few out after that date but for peace of mind.....just get in early! Pass that info along too if you know anyone who wants a unique fun priceless gift to give this year. Think about it, grandparents have everything, but they don't have cute little hands and feet of their little grandbabies and of course you need to have a "Baby's First Christmas" keepsake. ;)

Ithaka

I love this poem and wanted to share with you fellow travelers along life's journey. (A little background) Ithaka was the beloved island home of the Greek hero, Odysseus. After the Trojan War Odysseus left home and traveled the world for 10 years having many life lessons that forever changed him.......adventures, challenges, encounters. Longing to find Ithaka......

As you set out in search of Ithaka
Pray that your journey be long,
full of adventures, full of awakenings.
Do not fear the monsters of old....
You will not meet them in your travels
if your thoughts are exalted and remain high,
if  authentic passions stir your mind, body and spirit.
You will not encounter fearful monsters
if you do not carry them within your soul,
if your soul does not set them up in front of you.
~Constantine Peter Cavary

When I started my business, Tiny Touches, I was so scared of all the things that could go wrong. What if I wasn't any good and no one wanted my services. What if I couldn't figure out how to actually run a business? What if when I approached people about advertising they all said no? What if I mess up on an order? What if what if what if??? The list was long. I started to get really scared and doubt myself. But for some reason I kept marching on. I knew when I started this business it was the right time in my life. I knew it was something I needed to be doing. I knew that even though I had never run a business before that I would just figure it out. I decided to jump in and see what would happen. Now that does not mean that over the past 11 years I have never had doubt creep into my thoughts about how I am doing as a business owner, but I try to quickly push those thoughts out of my head. I just keep thinking, I love what I do and I hope that comes across to my customers. I choose to not see any monsters on this journey. I would have missed out on some amazing experiences if I choose to be too afraid.

I hope whatever monsters linger in your mind, ready to scare you out of something that you want to do, be it, weight loss, friendship, education, business, travel, etc., I hope you push those monsters away. Even if it is something you have to do everyday. I continually have to let the good thoughts overcome the bad thoughts. I choose to let the monsters go scare someone else. :)

All or nothing?

Are any of you like me when it comes to the health bandwagon? I seem to be an all or nothing kind of girl. I am either totally doing EVERYTHING right when it comes to being healthy or I figure, what the hell, and stop exercising, eating poorly, stop drinking my water....yadda yadda yadda. Well, things are going to change. I am going to try something different. I am just going to do better each day than I did the day before. Somedays that may mean I don't do it all right. Somedays that may mean I only drink all my water or only get a mile in and it may just be walking........WHATEVER. But it is time to look at my health differently. That is my new most recent realization. Taking back the reigns. I like that. Wanna join me?

St. Louis here we come!!!

I believe one must find a way to balance work and play and so I am taking a break from work this weekend and heading to St. Louis with my boys for a Cardinals baseball game. It is kind of a random vacation at the start of the school year but it is going to be awesome!!! I have never been to St. Louis and I am not sure I would really plan a trip to go there but, Ryan, (my oldest son) loves the Cardinals and I figured LET'S JUST DO IT! I don't want to be the kind of person who says one day we will get there. One day is NOW. It is important to me that my boys get a good glimpse of life outside of Utah. There are so many wonderful and beautiful places in this world. I want them to see and feel the culture in as many places as I can make happen for them. This time around it is St. Louis and my boys are really excited. We leave soon and plan on getting in as much as we can. I will be back to work next week refreshed and renewed. Carpe Diem! :)

Crazy!

It is so crazy to me that my little blog is being read by people all around the globe. A big shout out to all my readers in Canada, Indonesia, Colombia, Argentina, Malaysia, Germany, Hungary and all over the United States. Please feel free to pass the word along about my little Ceramic Hand and Footprint Business. I want to help others have a successful business like mine ALL OVER THE WORLD!!!! You can follow me on Facebook too and please don't forget to "like". 


http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tiny-Touches-Ceramic-Hand-and-Foot-Impressions/116218151764055

Flowers

I am so excited about these cute little flowers! I just took these impressions of my friend Stephanie's baby and I just had to share with ya'll.  I am in love with this new boarder and can't wait to make more. I took this picture just after I made all the inscribing. I will post the finished product just as soon as it is complete. Thanks Steph!!! :)

Something Old Will Be Something New

I came across one of the first promotional pieces I used for Tiny Touches. awwww....yes, a few tears fell as I found this. This is my Nathan when he was 15 months old. The photo was taken at a family photo shoot we had taken in a very long time ago in Laguna Beach. Nathan was crawling in the sand and our photographer captured his sweet little face. This has always been one of my favorite pictures of Nathan. It really captures him perfectly. I was so happy to use it at many of the trade shows and boutiques I was a part of when I started my little hand and foot impressions business.

For some reason when I uploaded the picture I took of this old ad, it looks like it was made in the 70's, it is not that old! It is about 10 years old though. My phone did not want to cooperate with me today. LOL

I have recently moved and with any move it creates (forces!!!) time for cleaning out clutter. Through the cleaning out process it has been fun to go through a lot of my old Tiny Touches "stuff". It is amazing to see the growth process of my business. It has been fun to see all of my old marketing and promotional material. It is fun to look back at the journey and progression of my business, fun to compare the old with the new fresh material. BUT....... I think I will have to dust off this precious foam core board of Nathan's sweet face and continue to use it. :)

Artist's Hand

A fun new focus of mine in the ceramic handprint world is to capture the "Artist's Hand". This photo is a capture of my friend James Rhodimer ,who is an artist. An amazing artist. It was fun to do his hand and then have him sign his autograph in the clay. I thought it would be a great idea to have him sign his name in clay like he signs his paintings. I, obviously, love hands. I am fascinated by them. Everyone's hand is so unique. But I have to say it is fun to capture the hand of an artist, one who uses his hands to create works of beauty. I just thought I would share this with you and if you know any artists who may find this interesting, pass it along. I would be happy to create for a fellow creator. :)

Sentimental Journey

Do you ever have one of those days where you wonder where the time has gone? I guess as my children get older and another school year has begun I find myself having those thoughts. Today those thoughts are very heavy on my mind. My little boys are not so little anymore. My oldest son is taller than me now, something I never in a million years thought would ever happen. Before I was a mom, I thought of having babies. Little children. I never could really invision beyond having little kids. Then one day I wake up and they are not so little anymore. I remember people telling me that the time of life of having little ones will really fly by. I couldn't even imaging that when I was up to my eyeballs in diapers and sleepless nights. As my boys get older I feel the tug of their independence getting stronger and stronger. I see them making decisions for themselves, forming their own opinions and ideas about "things" and that makes me happy. Transitioning into a different type of parenting is hard. It is not like it used to be when they were wee little things and I could tuck them into bed at night and know all was well. I often wonder what goes through their heads as they now have social lives beyond all that I am aware of. They have friends and relationships with people who I don't get to pick for them. I guess that is all a part of growing up. Making decisions for yourself, good or bad, come what may. I am thankful for my beautiful boys this day. Feeling a mix of emotions and just needing to share. Here is a peak at my little ones from yesteryear and a peak at them today. They are truly beautiful boys and I love them so. Ryan and Nathan.

Just in case...

Sometimes I have been called upon to play doctor. :) In the rare event that one of your plates breaks I have been known to fix them. Take these plates, in the picture above, for example. They were both on a shelf that fell to the ground. The mom called me, just about in tears, to tell me that they were broken and asked if I would be able to fix them. I was able to piece them back together and then remold them to make another set of non broken plates. They are not always a perfect as the original plate being that there is a different process involved BUT they look pretty darn close to the original. So don't hesitate to call me if something like this happens. I am happy to come to the rescue!!!

FUN!

Just to follow up from my previous post. Our Battery Row premiere was a success! So much fun. So many people came out for a fun evening. I am still in a haze as the evening went by so fast. I want to relive it!!! To watch our movie with others in an audience was a new experience for me. I kind of set on pins and needles watching and waiting for the different reactions from the audience. I had seen the movie many many times through out the process as I watched it be edited, scored, edited, sound added, edited, ADRed, edited, and mixed. I knew the whole script backwards and forwards and so the lines would be going through my head as the scene was being played on screen. While making this movie the actors have become my friends and so I was nervous for them as their parts came up wondering if they were nervous to see themselves on the big screen. SOOOO MUCH FUN! I think I just caught a bug ol' bug!!!! Let's all play again!

Carly Jones, Jaime Alvarez, Me, James Rhodimer, Tom Druilhet, Jay Preston and Brendan Bradely shown above. :)

A New Adventure

I am very excited to share a new venture in my life! That is of producer. I have produced a Film Noir Short called Battery Row. It is premiering tonight in Sherman Oaks California. It has been in the works since December and it has been a crazy wonderful experience. I have never produced before and I jumped at the chance when James Rhodimer asked me to be a part of his project. He wrote, directed, shot, edited and is the mastermind behind the whole film.  I am filled with all sorts of nerves and excitement as we get ready for our big night tonight! It is going to be a big ol' party and a fun evening shared with friends new and old. Wish me luck! :) I even have a VERY small cameo at the end. You can check out the trailer at .......... http://brashstudios.com/blog/index.html    ENJOY1

Why a picture of a hamburger you ask? Welll, besides the fact that I love a good hamburger.....regular, no cheese, extra onions please. Five guys is my favorite, yes, even better than In-n-Out (please don't shoot me), although this next story did not come from me passing a Five Guys. I would have totally stopped. LOL

Driving down a street in LA the other day I passed by a burger joint, the banner they had hanging along side their building said, “just about everyday we hear this is the best burger I have ever tasted”. It made me think of my little hand and footprint business. Everyday that I am working with my customers I hear, “ I wish I would have done this when my baby was younger”. I hear this  ALL the time. Even if the baby we are making impressions of is only 4 months old. I always smile and say well, your baby is only going to get bigger and in the grand scheme of things your baby is still really little. But, I do know what they are talking about. There is something about a tiny newborns impressions that are just different from an older infant. Those little tiny newborn prints are just so precious. But so is the impression of a chubby one year old or a long fingered two year old or even a 15 year old who was made to have some impressions by mom. :) No matter when you have your children’s impressions made he or she will only get bigger with time. It is never too late. 

If you have not tasted the heavenliness that is Five Guys, you are missing out. Come on all you In-N-Out lovers, I dare you!

You is kind. You is Smart. You is Important.

When I was in 4th grade I had a very traumatic (for me) experience. I was a very shy, quiet, good child. I tried to always do what was expected of me. I hated to make a scene and I NEVER wanted to get into trouble. Truth of the matter is, I still hate causing a scene, I'm still quiet and shy, and alway trying to do what is expected of me. I guess I will always be working on some of those things.

Anyway, I digress.....In forth grade I had a teacher named Ms. Sweeney. One day she called me to the back of the classroom. I followed her scared to death, having no idea what this was going to be about. I quickly tried to think if I had done anything wrong. Had I cheated on something? NO. Had I made someone mad at me? NO. Had I talked when I was supposed to be listening? NO. In Ms. Sweeney’s hands was a stack of my school work. I still had no idea what this was about. I was shaking in my shoes. Ms. Sweeney proceeded to show me my work and tell me that my handwriting was terrible and if it did not improve she was going to send me to the priciple’s office. I was mortified. It was all I could do to hold back the tears until she couldn’t see me anymore and then the levy broke. Tears and lots of them fell. Being sent to the principles office was one of the worst things that could happen to me. I was a good kid and only “bad” kids got sent to the office to see the principle. I couldn’t believe that I was being lumped into the same category as those “other” kids.  Those are the thoughts of a very innocent 9 year old.

After that horrific moment I remember spending countless hours (or so it seemed) practicing my writing each evening in my Dad’s big brown chair. I tried so hard to get my writing to improve. It must have because Ms. Sweeney  never sent me to the principle’s office BUT she also never told me that I had improved. The strange thing about this particular story is that it affected how I felt about my handwriting forever, even to this day I worry that my handwriting is not as good as it should be. When I was in Junior High and High School I would cover my handwriting as I wrote because I didn’t want anyone to see what my handwriting looked like. I would write and rewrite my papers over and over in hopes that I would have pleasing handwriting. Thank heaven for liquid paper and erasable ink pens! Remember erasermates? Do they still sell those?

I tell this story for many reasons. One being that whatever we tell our children they will remember. I am thankful that this is the worst thing that I remember being told that was bad about me. What if I had been told I was dumb or ugly or a pain or not good enough? I get teary eyed just thinking about it.  Thankfully I had parents who told me wonderful things about me. 

One of my favorite parts of the book The Help is when Abilene is telling little Mae Mobley.....”you is kind, you is smart, you is important”. It gets me every time. We all need to tell our children these things. Everyday.  Let those thoughts be what fills their little heads as they grow. Let them know how wonderful and important they ARE.

The funny ending to this story about me and my terrible horrible no good rotten handwriting is now written on the impression plates that hang on many walls through the world. :)   Yay!!!!!! Maybe Ms. Sweeney scared me into having really good handwriting OR maybe my handwriting was never really bad to begin with!!! I’m going with that one. :P

Product Shot

Creating a Ceramic Hand and Foot Impressions Training Course has been a very fun project and also a TON of work. I am finding it is kind of an ongoing process, a process I am loving. I have loved collecting the parts of the whole that have come together so nicely. This has been an 11 year work in progress up to this point and I am so very happy with the point it is at now. With the help of James Rhodimer, and all of his artistic insight, we have really created, what I feel is a wonderful valuable program. Here is shot from the photo shoot we did today. I am proud to say that I actually took this shot and I love it. Now to get in the hands of others who want to start their own business. :)

Me, Jane and Marilyn

Grauman's Chinese Theater and the hand and footprints that line the entryway are a world famous tourist destination. How could I, a hand and footprint specialist,  ;)  not take a few photos with a few of my favorite people?!? I am lucky enough to be near Hollywood each month and have taken a few trips to visit the wonderful crazy amusement of all things at Graumans. It is amazing to think of all the millions of people who have placed their hands in the hands of some of our favorite movie stars. I have to admit it was really fun to do as all the tourists are doing and place my hands in a few of the hands of those that have gone on before me.  Each month while in CA I spend time in a house that Jane Russell lived in back in the 1960's soooo I had to take a photo with my hands in hers. So here I with Jane and Marilyn......only 58 years separate these two pictures. The photo of Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe was taken in 1953 while they were promoting their movie Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. The photo of me was taken in 2011 promoting.....hand and foot impressions. :)

Don't forget to make ceramic impressions your animal friends! All of them. :)

I love making impressions of our little fury friends! I mostly get to make impressions of dogs but every once in a while someone will ask me to do, how shall I put this, an unusual animal. :)  One family in particular had 5 animals they wanted impressions of........two dogs, one hampster, one lizard, and one guinea pig. This was the result and I love it. I hope they do too!

The Lovely Elizabeth

I came across this video on youtube today and just thought I would share. It is so fun to see how we have loved capturing our handprints for so long. I love this short clip of Elizabeth Taylor. Enjoy!

Life is Good

I had no idea the excitement and new opportunities that would come from the creation of my new Ceramic Hand and Footprint Training program. It has been a fun journey from the beginning and it continues.  I am still making little tweeks and adjustments for my training program, always a work in progress, but it is fun to experience the energy that is coming from this project. My desire to help others has lead me to meeting some amazing people. I want to create a little network of people like me and it is my hope that by creating a positive experience for others to grow.....  good things will transpire. Each person who starts this business starts for different reasons. I know I had my reasons and it is fun talking with other women and finding out their reasons. I realize I have so much still left to learn in this life and I know that right now I am on a good path of learning. Little signs along the way help me know life is moving in a good direction. Life is good. xo

Three Years Later....

Here is a funny story for you. (All two of you who read my blog).  LOL   I had a customer call me the other day to pick up an order. Strange or funny, not typically, happens all the time.  The strange thing about this particular customer was that she was calling about an order she place 3 years ago! It was a funny conversation as you can imagine. I think she was a bit embarrassed to be calling about an order placed so long ago but calling non the less. Shortly after we made the impressions of her baby boy she moved to Arizona. I had called many times to remind her of her order and even offered to ship it out to her. She said she is back and forth between Utah and Arizona and that she would rather not have the impressions shipped. After about a year I just stopped worrying about it and tucked her order away in my little graveyard of impressions that have not been picked up yet. Hard to believe, but sadly I have a little box full of impressions that just never get picked up. I have never had the heart to just get rid of these cute little forgotten about prints, so there they sit and wait. Thankfully for this mother and cute baby boy his impressions were waiting to be reunited and must have seemed even cuter and smaller as THREE YEARS had passed and the baby was no longer a baby anymore. That is the best things about these cute ceramic keepsakes...........they get cuter and smaller with time as your baby keeps getting bigger. But my advice, don't wait three years to pick them up. Enjoy them now!

*picture ~ not the baby who's prints I was talking about. Just FYI.

A pet peeve....

I make a lot of phone calls during the day. Mostly for my business. I am returning calls to schedule appointments, answering questions, calling customers to tell them their order is ready, etc. (BTW - that is not my pet peeve.)  My pet peeve has to do with the answering machine silicon sally recording thingy. After all these years of dealing with answering machines and cell phone devices WHY on earth do we still need to be told so specifically what to do after the beep! Not only after the beep but how to leave a number or press the pound sign when done etc. etc. etc. It drives me crazy! LOL There are days when I will make about 30 calls in a row and I leave many messages and each time the phone goes to let me know the person is not available I can pretty much repeat verbatim what is being said by the little person inside the phone!!! Ahhhhh......it is silly crazy to me. There, done venting. I will still call all of you my wonderful customers. But wouldn't it be great if when a person does not answer the phone it just went.....BEEP. I think I know what to do now. :)

A good lesson and kinda funny too.

It is a funny thing owning your own business or maybe it is true with whatever you do for a living, but along the lines of learning a thing or two over the years, this one, makes me laugh.......now.  DON'T TAKE YOURSELF TOO SERIOUSLY!!!  I have loved my little hand and foot impressions business. I have put my heart and soul into running a good company, being kind to my customers, taking pride in my work and trying very hard to keep all that I do organized and put together. AND at times....I guess I have taken myself too seriously. I am glad that I can now laugh at this story. :)

 One day, after I had been in business for about a year or so, I was at a boutique displaying my "darlingwonderfulperfectbeautiful" "everyonewantsone" impressions. Or so I thought. I had created a cute table with all my sample impressions arranged just so. I was so proud of my set up. As it goes, customers (or should I say potential customers) come up to my table and look at what I have to offer, ask questions and if all goes right I make impressions of their little ones. Well, this one day, a lady approached my table and picks up one of the little foot ornaments I have displayed. She holds it out for me to look at and she asks "what is this for?" I smile and say it is a cute little ceramic foot impression, a keepsake. It can be used as a Christmas tree ornament, a gift for a grandparent or a cute memento for you to hand on a peg and remember your little one forever. I was just trying to help her see the many many many ways to use and appreciate this little foot. :)  She looks at me and says with a stone cold face "why on earth would anyone want something like this?" I was totally speechless. I just looked at her and thought she was going to start laughing and say "just kidding". She didn't. She just kept starting at me. Me...speechless, not sure what to say.  It NEVER dawned on me that there would be someone that would not think this is the cutest thing ever. Once I gathered my thoughts together and tried not to look completely deflated, I told her that many people like to have one made to capture a little moment in time of their little one. I shared how fleeting time is and babies only stay little for a little bit of time. Whatever I said wasn't working. She just placed the little sample down on the table, hmmmffft, and walked away. There I sat. Not really believing what had just happened.

From then on I realized that even though I take great pride in creating my impressions and I know many people love and cherish the little impressions they receive, it is not for everyone. Ahhhh, it is good to learn lessons. I learn more and more everyday and I am thankful for weird, quirky, and funny stories that keep me grounded in my impressions.

A quiet day...

Sunday, always a nice quiet day and a bit different from the rest of the week. I actually went on a beautiful hike in the California hills today. It ended at a waterfall. I love that. What is it about water that is so soothing and peaceful? Now I am feeling relaxed and peaceful myself and now thinking about the upcoming week and what lies ahead. I will be doing a lot of on line marketing of my handprint training, trying to get the word out.  I can't wait to help other moms (or anyone, for that matter) experience what it is like to run their own business.  As this chapter in my life opens and begins to unfold I find that there are more experiences and people who are coming into my life at the right time.  Each corner I turn I find there is so much to learn. It is fun and exciting.

A FIRST!

I had an appointment the other day and after 11 years of business I had an interesting "first" happen. I have done many impressions and had so many fun and wonderful experiences over the years. I could share, and probably with, many many stories. But the other day I made an impression for a new mom's baby...not too surprising, the surprising part is I had made an impression of the mother when see was a young girl (not a baby). Yes, she is a young mother but it was so fun to have had that happen. Crazy. I never really thought I would be in business long enough to have something like this happen. So much fun!

A Good Happening

I love when an unexpected wonderful happening happens. This evening I had two hand and foot appointments scheduled. My first appointment was a bit late and my second appointment was a bit early. This used to really STRESS me out when I first started my business. I was so worried about keeping everyone entertained and making sure everyone was taken care of. But, I have learned a thing or two over the years of working my little business and that is to just let things work themselves out. Tonight was a good example of that. While working with my first appointment I welcomed in my second appointment....great grandma, granddaughter and new baby and had them sit down in my family room which is part of my studio room, just off to the side. I kept working with my first customer, a repeat customer....a mom bringing her 4th baby to me. :) Anyway, what was so fun about his evening is we ended up sitting a visiting for awhile. We were just talking about babies and kids and life. Sometimes it is just the right mix of people and the conversation just flows. It felt so good to know they seemed comfortable in my home and relaxed enough to sit down, feed and change their babies and visit for awhile. I love that part about my business. I get to have talks about amazing things. I hear very personal stories sometimes. I love the connection I have with most of my customers. I am very thankful to do what I do and I look forward to the moments when unexpected wonderful happenings happen.

Handprint Training

I am still in the process of moving some of my old posts from my other blog back over to my good ol' blogger site.  So here is another little preview of my Hand and Footprint training program. Things are looking good for the future of helping other moms create a business of their own, like mine. If you know anyone who may be interested please don't hesitate to send them my way. I have loved my business for 11 years now and I want to help others enjoy the benefits of working at home, creating a wonderful product, and also learn a bit about business. Cheers! xo

Capturing

Besides my love of creating little hand and foot impressions in clay....I have been enjoying learning a new form of capturing. Photography. I, like everyone has taken pictures throughout my life, but it hasn't been until recently that I am actually learning a thing or two about photography. I had the opportunity to travel to France and Italy this spring. I was able to use my camera every day. Because I was using it everyday I was able to really figure that darn camera out. Now, by no means am I an expert or even super good, but I have learned to really love capturing a moment in time visually, even if that moment is just for me. I used to make fun of people who took pictures with nobody in them. Why on earth would someone want to do that?!? Silly me. Once I started to really look at life around me, with all its beauty, I really discovered the joy of capturing just about everything. I have found I am really drawn to textures. While in Europe, with all the beautiful architecture, old doors, windows, walls, moss, streets, lampposts, locks, landscapes, statues, and even old hooks sticking out of buildings, I found endless opportunity to practice my very novice photography skills. I am yearning to go back and get lost over there for a really really really long time. Until then I will continue on capturing the beauty around me wherever I am. Watch out, I may just need to capture the beauty of you. :)

Mid Summer Sale!!!

Summer here in Utah is in full bloom but will be winding down soon. School starts in a little over 3 weeks! Why not get some impressions made to remember Summer 2011. I am offering a first time ever buy one get one 1/2 off sale. Two day sale only. July 29th and 30th. Give me a call and let roll out lots of clay!!! 801-489-8248 If you are thinking about making some impressions as gifts for Christmas this year, this is the time to do it. Give me a call and let roll out lots of clay!!! http://www.tinytouches.com/http___www.tinytouches.com/Welcome.html

Transitioning my blog....

Well, I am back to blogger. I kinda like it better. Blogger seems a bit easier to work with and gives me a better framework to work in.......SO.......I just copied and pasted a bunch of my blogs back over here and that is why there are a bunch of posts today.  I think I am going to get in something comfy, kick up my feet and stay awhile. :)

Four cute boys

One of the best parts of my job is adding to a family’s collections of hand and foot impressions. Last week, while I was in California, I had the opportunity to make cute little imprints of a darling baby boy….making this number 5 for one of my moms. When I first started this business I didn’t really think of this aspect of my connection with people. I get to see many of my customers year after year as their families grow. I love it. I love that they love and cherish these little forever memories of their little ones. This picture really captures what happens when the older siblings watch the new family member being initiated into the family tradition of impressions. These DARLING little boys were captivated at the process and how their little brother was taking it. The baby wasn’t super excited at the process, as you can see, but it was so cute to hear the brothers tell him that he would be okay. It just seems so wonderful to be able to capture not only the moment of the baby in the actual clay but also the moment of the brothers and their fascination of what was happening. I love my job!!!! :)

So, how is your collection? Is it growing? You do your part and I will do mine. ;}

Hands

I recently had the opportunity to travel to Paris. It was so much more than I could have ever imagined. The energy, the beauty, the people, the art, the food, the wine, and well….. the everything, is calling me back. I feel a bit like my eyes were opened to all the world has to offer and I want to experience it all, again and again. While in Montmartre, a very artistic corner of Paris, I had the opportunity to purchase some art. There were so many artists and beautiful pieces to choose from it was almost impossible to decide which piece to take home. I did finally make a decision and had to pick two pieces, as just one would not be enough. Even though the artwork I was able to get my hands on is so amazing, I found art in the way the artist wrapped his work. This picture was taken as the artist carefully wrapped his piece of art. I loved seeing his hands. There is something special about an artists hands and I think this picture says it all. Hands and the stories they tell…….