Red Shoes blog

Mojo rising.........

  I've got that Doors tune rolling around in my head this morning,  shaking the cobwebs off and starting to get some creativity churning!
 I won't lie and tell you everything has been peachy-keen on the creativity front because you know how I like to "keep it real" here. 
  I have been at this crazy creative/mental block stalemate for a few weeks now.
  can't seem to think of any new or exciting ideas!
UGH!
  in fact my daughter sat down with me yesterday and asked me to draw with her.
  this is hers.....

and this  is mine

even the poor girl knew I was struggling,   thought she would help out and  at least put my name on top of the paper as a good start.  trust me,  it didn't get much better after that!
  truth is I haven't been able to even Doodle  without thinking  that I am drawing  the same  stuff I have been doing for YEARS.......nothing new,  nothing exciting! 
grrrrrr.......
  Not to mention the fact that I am still wrestling with the fact that people are still continuing to take my work and turn it out as their own,  saying they "come to me for inspiration"  which in reality is  not really "inspiration" at all but a  template for them  to basically just steal my ideas  and use them for their own because of a lack of creativity on their own part.
  I  know I am not the only one feeling this way,  I have read lately on a number of other well known blogs that they have this happen to them too,  and it stinks!
 I guess you have to develop some  tough skin to be able to deal with it all.
  in reality I am not that tough at all,  in fact  i know you won't believe  this but I am actually a very SHY person.
  I have  had a lot of people come into the shop to meet me in person after reading this blog,  and it totally makes me uncomfortable.  now  don't get me wrong,  I LOVE to meet people, and am happy they come to see me,  not to mention very flattered that they took the time to visit.
 I am a very social individual,  but I have a very hard time with attention,  part of me wants it,  part of me shies away from it all.   oh well,  just  rambling on and on,  processing all of this in my own,  very PUBLIC way I guess!  :)  hopefully you get what I am saying!
  So this morning I woke up with a very different disposition!
  Grabbed my favorite cup of Joe......

and a delicious quick morning bite....

(thankyou zingerman's bakehouse,  i love U)
along with a few art supplies....

and my faithful companion.....

So in between throwing a few balls,  I will be taking a few stitches,  and thinking of new ideas.....
 I have a few churning around in my noggin today.....
I feel the Mojo stirring slightly in my bones.....
 SO I will be ignoring the mounting  piles in my household this morning

 and quietly crafting to hopefully show you something soon,
  thanks for letting  me vent. 
I hope to return soon with a sunny mood and good things to share!  Hope all of you are well too!
 Oh,  and on a side note,
 they are filming a HOLLYWOOD movie down the street from my shop!  they built this entire set on the corner of liberty and first streets.
 
it is the cutest little faux shop that they are evidently going to crash a car into in the next few days!
in fact,  this is how stupid and flaky I can be,  but I was watching them build this little shop these past few days thinking to myself how cute it was,  but what shoddy construction they were doing because the place had no foundation,  and was just being built on top of a parking lot,  (not realizing it was a movie set, and the entire back side of the building was open & propped up by 2X4's!)
yes, I am a little slow at times.
 well,  I guess the movie stars that kids from Super bad, and Juno,
mike Cera

some of my friends saw him eating dinner at Knights restaurant last night and got his picture.
 the movie also stars Steve Buscemi and Ray Liotta they too have been spotted downtown as well.
  Along with Drew BARRYMORE!  can you believe it?!
  Ann Arbor's going hollywood!  so funny!
 So if your local,  come downtown to see if you spot some celebrities!  u never know what might pop up!  ;)
i'll keep u posted!
  xoxoxoxoxooxox
C.

Dog Days of Summer

 

Hi!  So sorry I haven't been around lately.  For those of you that emailed me and asked if I am all right,  you are very kind,  and I appreciate that!  I have just been crazy busy lately and haven't had a chance to get to my computer.
In fact for 3 days my computer was left at the shop for my accountant to use.  can you imagine my twitching and withdrawals?  oh my!
  Truthfully I haven't been spending much time with my laptop at all.  most days have been spent at the pool, we wrapped up our swim season this week with swim championships.
 

Had to be on the road at 7:20 A.M. for the big meet,  where all of the local swim clubs get together to compete.  it was wild!  the place was packed with kids,
hot,  humid, and L.O.N.G.  we were there for 5 hours.  when I left the building my hair had tripled in size,  I looked like some cave woman who might run out into the fields to spear some dinner for her family.  scary!
  The great thing about the day was that my son won 2 of his heats!
came in first place for the 50yd freestyle and 50yd backstroke.  it was very exciting,  and super ego-boosting for him.
  SO tonight we have our last swim related event,  the team banquet.
which I am the chairperson for,  that totally cracks me up because it's just a fancy title for "person who sets up and breaks down the banquet tables"  seriously that's it.
Of course I want to go that extra mile and add colorful table cloths and flowers to the table,

  but we'll see how far I get.  I've been pretty lazy these past few days,  sleeping in until 9:45, ..... not 10, ....9:45.
 i like to do things on the quarter hour. 
In fact I have been just de-compressing from last weeks crazy Art Fair week.



  Art Fair usually wears me out,  all of the foot traffic,  setting up and breaking down,  the heat,  the socializing,  late hours!  oh my!
  we had a good week,  sales were good despite the economy,  but all in all the fair was down this year.  which was sad.  I felt sorry for the artists.  usually the streets would be packed,  difficult to manuever because of the crowds,  but this year you could just breeze right through.  :(  hopefully next year it will be a better one.  you gotta always have hope now!
  This past week I have spent around the home front,  cleaning up the kids rooms and painting.



rearranging furniture and buying them some new bedding.  it's amazing what just a few tweaks here and there can do to a space.

 my kids are so thrilled at their clean rooms they have been actually making their beds  and tidying up every day.  it's a flippin' miracle, but hey!  I am thrilled.
(jackson's still asleep in this photo, otherwise this would be a nicely made bed)
   I would have killed to have had a nice bedroom like they have when I was a kid.  my mom didn't really have the decorating "gene".
 I love just laying on Fiona's bed reading her books and basking in the glow that emanates from the color of her walls.

  I wonder if that enviroment is contributing to the creative explosion she's been having lately?  the girl has been producing some very wild drawings lately,

 they're very inspiring actually!
  I am now really reduced to just thinking about what I will be creating in the future,  my mind absorbing all that's around me and storing it in that wild filing cabinet in my mind for future use.  unable to craft anything lately because of this summer schedule.  I won't lie and say I haven't been freaking out about it,  because I have,  but I keep trying to tell myself it will all be o.k. and it will all get done soon.
  right now we are just enjoying the dog days of summer.....
pearl lounging in her pool,

isn't she hilarious?  that dog knows how to live!

moving along with my "dog day theme"........

eating a corn dog at the fair!  shhhh,  don't tell anyone I ate one of those,  i was even embarrassed ordering it,  but DANG!  it was good!
  and since I ate one of those naughty dogs I had to exercise,  I have taken to riding my bike in the neighborhood at night with pearl.

  she now enjoys running along side my bike as we cruise the hood.
in fact the mere mention of "bike ride" makes her head cock and her body wiggle,  she loves it!

  So all in all,  summer is just moving right along, not much is being accomplished,  but fun is being had.
  the shop is plugging along,  we have some sale things out and marked down cheap!  some of my art work has come back from the Inspireco. website and is out on the floor for sale at the shop,  along with our colorful display of dotty pottery that just makes me think
of clown school,  it's so colorful!


  plus we have a new shipment of soaps in to fill those dishes with fun designs and colors.

  so that's about it for now!  my kids are up and awake now looking for a meal, so I better go........
  hope all is well in your worlds and your summers are going well.
as always thanks for checking in!  talk soon!
xoxoxo
C.
oh,  and P.s.,  for all of you "vid" fans.....the little lizard is still alive and well,  he sends you is regards.  :)
xoxoxoxoxo!

 

who am I? where was we?

man,  when I thought about this past week I kept thinking I hadn't accomplished squat.
 but looking through the pile of photos I re-sized tonight made me feel a little bit better thinking we did indeed
do a ton of stuff......maybe not so much art work or crafting mind you,  but definitely living that's for sure.
  So todays post will be basically my life in pictures to share.......
trying to keep the verbiage to a minimum since It 2 a.m, and I can hear a child stirring in the next room.....
  We have been spending a ton of time at the pool (as most of you know) with swim
practice and meets.  My son has found a sport that he truly is passionate about, and I couldn't be happier!  I am totally in love with the sport too,  it's such a fun sport to watch! 



 Now we are not some of those parents that push sports on their kids,  or force them to do things they don;t feel comfortable about doing,   We could tell Jackson wasn't really crazy about any of the other sports he's been involved in these past years,  we signed him up anyways because HE said he wanted to do them  but the passion wasn't really there,  you could tell he was just going through the motions...not quite giving that 100%.
So when Jackson came in  first place in his heat for the 50 yard freestyle this past weekend, I was SO flipping ecstatic i wanted to jump up and scream out loud,  but held my composure and tried to play it cool. in fact I am trying to really keep quiet period,  except for the the usual "you did a great Job!" part,  because I don't want to kill the sport for him because I like it so much!
  Truthfully It's really great to see your child finally find something they're truly passionate about.
  So we shall see!  I am a very proud mama indeed
 
 So much for keeping the words short!  oh my!
o.k......so I also made an Ikea run this week to get some supplies like frames, and other miscellaneous art supplies etc.  I also found this adorable pillow that really wanted to come home with me,        no really,  I heard it say something.
 
something like "you need me"
 it fits in quite nicely don't you think?  (ignore the lump on the back of the couch, because it sure is bothering me)  OKAY!  SO....
I also found these easels for little kids that make excellent signage  for $24!

because i had to have a sign to promote that delicious coffee we sell every year at the fair!  ohmigosh,  it seriously is the best coffee.
so much so that I had to share it, and made up a batch that they are now selling poolside!
 So come on down during the fair and try some!

now in between making and consuming coffee I bought some new fabric and started working on some pillows.
 I managed to make one house pillow that I didn't have time to photograph because I was  too busy getting MY photo taken for  Detroit  Home magazine!
  GOSH!  I am on some kind of crazy  publicity roll here!   I seriously cannot believe all of the attention  lately.  I truly am humbled.
  Now i honestly HATE getting my picture taken,  so I thought I would turn the tables on this guy,  but he was so nice,  he didn't seem to care.

 
in fact if you click on this picture you can see that  little house pillow in the background  ;)
 So in between photo-shoots  etc.  I have been doing a little yard work,  because when  a big deadline is approaching and I have WAY more important things to do, I like to totally blow those things off and work in the yard planting flowers!  that's right!
  Now if you are like  me you wait until the season is half over to start your garden.
the one good thing about that is when you do finally make it to the greenhouse most of the plants are half dead and pathetic looking,  but dirt cheap.
 I brought home a ton  of them because it broke my heart to see them struggling in their root-bound pots. 

this tomato plant was so  pitiful,  it was basically  a stick with a few leaves on top and a couple of tiny tomatoes struggling to live.

BUT!  if you stick it in between flowers  in rich moist soil and give it some lovin,
maybe some miracle may happen!  (not to mention it allows the plant to hide until it gets it's act together! )
  Now speaking of getting our act together,  there is nothing that drives me crazier than kids screaming and fighting with eachother!
  these two clowns of mine have really kicked it up a notch these past few days,  and been totally driving me insane....but let me tell you,  today I gave them both a little shovel and their own plants and they were happy!  and busy,  and at PEACE!
  they even worked together,  one digging the hole, the other being the plant plopper,
dirt packer.  it was seriously wonderful.  they both loved it.
  
because in reality,  they do really like eachother!  ;)
 
sometimes they just have to be reminded! ;)
 Now since we  were all out in the garden digging,  I thought it would be nice to add some more  things  to little  Vid's tank.
  yes,  two  weeks later he is STILL alive and happy!
I am totally enjoying working on his little miniature greenspace.

 I added rocks and more  plants to the mix.  he is totally digging it!
 
terrariums by the way are an excellent way to use up those 100 pounds of rocks your kids collect on the beaches and  you have absolutely NO idea what to do with at the end of the summer! 
  So besides making terrariums and breaking up a few fights,  I have also been enjoying my new printer,  I bought the HP officejet .......
  it's my second office jet, (because I was in love with the first one which lasted me about 8 years.)  it's an inkjet printer....not a laser.  but the color and print quality are phenomenal.
  in fact I am very happy with how my little prints turned out.
 
I stuck them in inexpensive wooden Ikea frames that I painted and distressed.....
and I am pretty darn pleased!   (i secretly hope you are too)

So on that note, unfortunately I didn't make as much stuff for art fair as I would have hoped for,   I will have a few new things in,  but we still have a couple of days before so you never know what may pop up!  :)
  SO if you are local,  stop by,  have some coffee,  scoop up some Art Fair deals on our sale tables,  or just plain chit-chat...... you know we love to see you!
 and to the rest of you folks in blogland  I hope you have an excellent week and I look forward to catching up with you soon!
xoxoxo
catherine
 
 
 

5 A.M.

 

Oh yeah,  that was the time I bolted awake this morning with my arm dead asleep and unable to fend off a swift kick to the head by my daughter who had crawled un-detected into my bed in the middle of the night.
 My appendage was completely dead to the world,  laying limp at my side.... but I somehow managed to flip myself over into the fetal position on the other side of my body where I laid there for 20 minutes flipping out over the various things I have to do or haven't done lately.
 I told you there would come a day when It would all catch up to me and i would wig out.
well,  we have arrived people,  I am officially freaking out over the amount of stuff I have to do since I have been living this life of luxury poolside.
 Art fair is coming up in a matter of days,  and I have many things to do to get prepared for that.....
trying to do some last-minute craft projects to fill in spaces here and there,   not to mention finishing up that WICKER furniture that is sitting in my living room gathering dust!
 I have been getting alot of emails lately asking for help,   questions about how to do this or that, like opening up your own business,  how to make links,  what kind of paint is on my living room wall etc.
  while I appreciate you taking the time to WRITE me,  or being even slightly interested in what I do.
 Just that fact that you think I know what I am doing amazes me because...truth is I REALLY DON'T know what I am doing!
  I have literally floated through this life in a kind of auto-pilot hyper overdrive mode where I do things
by basic instinct and lots of luck.
  I try,
  I jump in
  I experiment, (through trial and error mind you),  and do the best that I can.
I can't even begin to offer advice on how to do many of the things you ask,  so I will just say.
thanks for thinking so highly of me,  but I have to pass on answering you,  because I really don't have any clear cut answers nor time right now.  All I know is this....If I can do it,  SO CAN YOU!  just TRY!  :)
  So moving on.....
just a quick update....little "VID" is still with us,  hanging on now,  about a week or more......
eating,  pooping, lounging......turning colors like little chameleons do.
  I bought him a little patch of wheatgrass to hang out in like a mini jungle....  he's enjoying camping out at night sleeping with his arms and legs wrapped around hugging the tippy-top of a blade of grass.
 yes,  I cannot emphasize enough just how small he is.  (and the fact that I have been able to keep him alive this long  too!)
 So along with some wheatgrass and crickets,  I also purchased a new printer for making color copies of my original art work that I hope to have matted for sale at the shop soon.
 many have asked for my cards to be made into larger sized works,  so since you asked so nicely,  I obliged!
   they should be there by the end of next week!
I am really AMAZED at how well this printer is at making it look so close to the original,  the quality and detail on it are superb!  sorry I don;t have a picture at this time,  nor any with this post for that matter either.
crazy huh?  it all takes time,  and I haven't had much of it lately.
in fact I didn't even take a SINGLE photo during the holiday weekend How bad is THAT?
  I mean I fantasized about how I would document the Fourth of July weekend,
a picture of the flag,
a few candid shots of kids.
a close up of a hot dog,
some fireworks and the glow of the night sky.
but what I did was Zip,  zero,  NADA!
  I was too busy being face down in a bowl of dip and a mug of cold beer....enjoying the summer
life acting like I didn't have a care in the world.
    so there you go,  I have now *snapped* back into reality and am back to work (partially) from home....
my mom is here to help with kids,  so I can return in the next week or so with NEW goods, a new
RELAXED attitude, and plenty to share because you know  how I love to do that!
  So thanks again for all of your notes,
it really means alot to me!
xoxoxo
c.

 
 

 

Day 3!

 Well we are now on day 3 and little fella is still alive!

happily stalking fruit flies, and lounging on his log.
Since we found him at the shop, and he was such a little guy my friend Ann thought it was only fitting that we name him the same name as the guy who lives up stairs on top of Red SHoes  (he's kind of small in stature too)  but shhh don't tell him I said that, or even the fact that he's bald too,  hee hee.
 So drum roll please...... our little Lizard friends Name is VID.
 isn't that so cute!  thanks to all who cared enough to ask,  and for putting up with my CLEARLY hyper blog post!
what the heck was up with THAT?  I swear I wasn't highly caffeinated.
shoooey,  it even made ME tired to re-read that.
  Today however I am buzzed on cleaning solutions.......
wednesday mornings start out early for us over here.....out the door at 7:30
a.m. to get my son to golf lessons,  then I usually head back home and fix miss fiona some breakfast and get down to catching up with house cleaning,
or work related things.
  Today I decided to tackle the kitchen because it was in bad shape.
I don't know about you,  but it drives me CRAZY when my refrigerator
becomes cluttered  with stuff.
 I like a clean surface.
this is what mine looked like this morning
 
trust me, this is pretty tame because usually it's even MORE
packed with junk than this.
my husband has no filter when it comes to what he will
post to the front of the fridge.
 in fact,  he has no  filter when it comes to what's acceptable
magnet-wise either.  he will  stick ANYTHING on there.
saving every  single magnet that comes in the mail.
like this one.... totally NOT acceptable!
 
 or this


or even this....


those go against all of my decor aesthetics,  because Yes,  I even
believe you shouldn't skimp on magnets when it comes to
decorating.   i'm picky like that.
  here's what's acceptable in my world

or this

but truthfully,  i like my fridge to look like this
with nothing on it

even though i hate NOT to put things on there like this...

my son at 2 years old with my first Jack Russell Ike. 
with his little buzz-cut and my dogs overbite that just kills me!
  So moving on in my cleaning repertoire as I was cleaning out the kitchen today and reached up to get a glass out of the cupboard....this is what I found to my horror

the fact that someone put this glass away like that (probably me)
grossed me out.  clearly I need to be fired from house cleaning,  and hire a professional.......do you think my husband will go for that?

  So as I am looking at these vintage glasses of mine,  I realize
how many objects in my house look very circus like

I am totally drawn to ANYTHING circus style,  probably because my life is LIKE a 3 ring circus.......
which  of course attracted me to This bottle of wine that was
the best tasting wine I have ever had in my life,  but will never be able to buy again,  because it was on sale  for $19 a bottle ouch.

o.k.,  i'll admit I bought it because of the label,  and how cool it was,
but seriously,  it was the BEST wine i have ever had.

photo courtesy of flickr.com/snapify
 And because I am so smitten with  anything circus it also brought me
to this artists work

I left her a little message,  and I am hoping that she would like to have her things in my shop.   because I am totally head over heels over her goods.
plus she has a hilarious blog too.
www.jamiexnoel.blogspot.com
  o.k.......SO on that note....
I am off to  juggle MY own 3-ring circus,  the kids are ready to head out to the pool,  my leisure time is O.V.E.R.
well,  sort of  ;)
XOXOXO
C.

another mouth to feed and other cute things

 I swear I have an abandoned animal magnet housed deep in my body that attracts every last critter that is in need of care or rescuing!
  I can't even tell you how many birds,  dogs, cats, rabbits, mice, whatever, have found their way to my doorstep.
 in fact just last saturday Fiona and I did a little turtle rescue mission because I spotted something shiny
on the side of the VERY busy Jackson road.  we did one of those loop-de-loop thingeys and I brought my car right back around and scooped up a lost or disoriented painted turtle and relocated him safely to a nice pond right around the corner and out of harms way!
 i honestly cannot sit back and let these creatures die!
  but Today I have to admit was the weirdest mission yet!
I just happened to stop by the shop this morning to catch up on a few internet orders,  and popped into the bathroom for a second to wash my hands when I noticed something on the ground.....i thought to myself
'what the heck is that?  is it a spider? 
 then it moved, 
 then I screamed,
 then I reacted and
quickly grabbed a mason jar and scooped up the worlds tiniest lizard ever!
  It was only about a half an inch long........with teeny tiny eyes about the size of the tip of a fine point pen.
it was  SO small even the pet store people gasped when I brought him in there to see what on earth I could feed him!
 I am thinking it must have just hatched,  and there may be more in my shop somewhere!
these creatures are NOT native to our area,  so it must have come into the shop on this large fern I brought into the store!
 So of course I take him home,  and create a little habitat with dirt and mulch,  a log, some moss
and some fresh plants...because he can't be set free outside,  he'll die for pete's sake!
  we gave him some water and a few baby crickets.....and he settled in to our home quite nicely!
 in fact I didn't have much hope for him due to the sheer tininess of his stature,  but He actually ate one of those crickets that was nearly the same size as him so there's hope people!   this is a good sign!
 Not to mention I am thoroughly enjoying watching him in his little habitat stalking bugs,  cocking his tiny head side to side like he's thinking.....probably something like "what are YOU looking at woman! don't you have some dishes to do?  or a load of laundry?"
  he even stretched out on his little log and closed his eyes when it was time for bed!  oh my!
  can you tell i am easily entertained?
because you know,  I have nothing but time to sit around and watch these things! 
 yes, it's official, I am nuts.
 but LOOK!

look how freakin' cute he is!

 there's that cricket hanging out of his mouth, that he just partially gulped down!
now remember,  he is so tiny he could curl up on the head of a nickle!

can you play eye spy and see if you see him here?  careful,  you might get addicted to watching him too!
hee hee!
 here's a little help!

along with the petunia he rode in on!
that's just for scale, because I am helpful like that.
 So moving on...I'm sure you're probably tired of my nature show by now!
As if that wasn't enough cuteness for the day,  not only did I get myself a new pet,  but I also recieved the worlds CUTEST shipment of polkadotty goods in today!
 My Custom-made order of hand made ceramics showed up today in 8 large boxes.....

 seriously, I custom order these things with color-combinations that I choose, they take about a month to get here.....
I will say that it is SO hard to order these things thinking in my mind what a particular item might look like,  or how certain colors will come together.........so it's always a surprise when the order finally DOES comes in and you see how they turned out!  (not to mention how amazing it is that my brain survived such a feat!)
 So Let me just say that I am like a kid at christmastime,  ripping through the boxes like a wild woman when they show up!
Ann had her nice and neat and tidy system down,  opening up a few boxes at a time, carefully unwrapping the bubble wrap,  then recycling the paper.
lining them up in perfect stacks ready for pricing.....
then I show up and start shredding into them opening up boxes and spilling mounds and mounds of paper onto the ground like a sea of debris because I can't control myself the stuff is so flippen cute I could scream out loud!
  I ordered a few different styles this time,  little dip bowls that could double as a soap dish or trinket cup...

small tumblers that could be cute next to a bathroom sink to hold your toothbrush, or corral your pencils in your art studio,  or maybe simply hold a bouquet of flowers!

 I also have some larger coffee mugs for when you REALLY need that big honkin' cup of joe to start your day,  and some small bowls to hold a variety of goods like fruit,  or nuts,  or whatever you choose!

there's a ton more that I didn't show ,  like more little soap dishes in different colors, along with milk pitchers  that I didn't have time to photograph because I was obsessively watching my new lizard friend,

hi little fella!

and going to my kids baseball game




 and eating ice-cream cones,  you know all of those fun summer things....
 so on that note,  I am off to bed  I hear a little mosquito buzzing around my ear...another one of the joys of
summertime.  hopefully I will find and destroy it,  otherwise knowing me, I will wake up with one eye swollen or something fun like that,  because life is ALWAYS exciting in these here parts!
as always thanks for checking in!
you are the BEST!
xoxoxo
c.