Saturday, December 20, 2008

happy holidays!


i do not even care...i love the winter holidays. we are still decompressing from portland, and even moreso now they are having "stormpocolypse 2008" (to steal from adrienne!) with feet of snow!!! we are amazed how mild and warm it is here in sacramento, and honestly, it feels like we never left. if you were here i would be driving you crazy too, with the christmas songs loud on the radio and me just sing-sing-singing along. we got our very first full sized tree since now we have the room to spare. i am just a big old sap for the holidays in general. much to everyone around me's chagrin. :)

still i have been photographing and listing weekly. there is another indiesacramento on january 3rd to get ready for. love that it is going monthly!!! next up: scout out local shops to try and sell.

hopefully the handful of shops that have opened up in the past 4 years are good fits for little old neverfeltbetterbyjen.com

be well and have yourself a merry little winter holiday, whatever that may be for you.


Tuesday, December 02, 2008

we've landed!


we have landed in sacramento, and i have successfully feathered my nest! including my new office workspace which is totally a tickle...i have never had a dedicated space before that was MY OWN. now i have a whole room and i am pretty excited about that. no more unplugging this for that kind of thing :) i have an idea board, with a ton of ideas for NFB but am in a place where i can't go there quite yet. this weekend is my first sacto craft show INDIESACRAMENTO.COM, so i am getting ready for that today with high hopes. it will become a monthly event so if i am lucky i can hitch on for that to quickly find other venues as well. i am pretty excited about it. i missed all my usual craft shows up in portland this season :( hopefully this makes up a little!

for the show i am keeping it gifty: more fabric magnets and pendants, along with my best selling vintage post earrings for saturday along with a selection of scarves and scarflettes. it should be a really good time, too. i am pleased with everything so far...i think it will be a good day!

if you are in the greater sacramento area, come downtown to buy local handmade goods this holiday. and of course, come give me a high five!


Sunday, November 09, 2008

seasons






pictured: new items up now in neverfeltbetterbyjen.com. i am contemplating doing a holiday show down in sacramento, just a couple weeks after we get down there. it is called indiesacramento and i hear it is hoping to go monthly. i think i can pull off the short notice, and i could use the extra holiday money for sure. what is also sure is that i am batshit crazy for even entertaining the idea, but still i have to give myself props for thinking i have the brass to take it on right now. my mind is over burdened with not only *regular* run of the mill life stuff, but this looming out of state move: you would think that would be enough on my plate. i take comfort in that you never get handed too much so you can't carry--and that brings me to my ailing mom. she is getting sicker and sicker as each day passes. she is not a candidate for a much anticipated and needed kidney removal, and her scans came back with more cancer, more cancer. that is pretty much that is all i have to say about that--to go into the feelings and pain we are all experiencing would take a novel.

reading, reflecting is helping me. i fully recommend a classic--death and dying by elisabeth kubler-ross. right now i am finishing death is of vital importance. that was a gift from my mother in law when my best friend passed away suddenly 5 years ago. and such a gift it really was and still proves to be :)

Monday, November 03, 2008

time for time




wow--i have been neglecting this blog! so much has been going on, but i have felt utterly uninspired to but words to screen. well, that and i have just been basically overwhelmed to the maximum but what else is new? :) i am feeling some relief from my thyroid issues--we tweaked my meds and i feel a whole hell of a lot better on this dose than i have in months--many many months. i feel the brain fog lifting, i am dusting off my planners and my watch...just little indicators that i am getting back to normal. my november calender is staring at me to my right...two weeks from friday and we will all be crammed in our van and a uhaul making our way back to california! i saw the weather this morning and there is already snow in the mountains and i am kinda freaking out about that but i will reserve the total freak out closer to the real date. it looks like snow chains on both vehicles is in our immediate future to get us over that pass. {{shiver}} i am NOT looking forward to that!!!

our new house is going to be awesome, though. a beacon in the fog of this whole move. it is HUGE. cute kitchen...great backyard. i am utterly grateful to my awesome friends for making that happen. and the outpouring of offers to help in any way shape or form is awesome too. i have some ass kicking friends in sacramento i am stoked to see in the flesh again, and i am saying 'aloha' to some ass kicking friends here i know i will see again. it is bittersweet all the way around.

in NEVERFELTBETTERBYJEN.COM news, i am gratefully holding off on any type of advertising blitz for the holidays. no, i need to get personal stuff taken care of and focus toward the spring. i have enough stock for regular sales but really don't have the time or energy to put forth for A LOT of custom work or wholesale. next year it will be a different story but for now i am not beating myself up a whole bunch.

i am still making and listing new items, my fingerless mittens have sold some and pendants are still a good seller for me. i have introduced a different style of pendant, the glass tile version of my soldered vintage fabric jobs. i am doing some more magnet sets-those have done well for me in the past and i had a request not too long ago. so, all in all things are pretty good in the NFB department. i get a straggle of sales on etsy, but my website is where my real business will always be done. i have noticed that sales are twice the "$15" average sale on etsy, as well. when i get everything together i am going to do another ad and try to get out there as much as possible. sacramento is a whole new market for me, and since there isn't much going on there--i am thinking the bay area will be it in all reality. i am pretty stoked on seeing my city by the bay again! :)

our target day for the move is november 21, and it will take a few days to get down there. wish me tons of luck, and i do the same for you. we will get through this holiday stuff together! i just know it.

Friday, October 03, 2008

OCTOBER, already?







i seem to be in a weird rift where time is simutaneously going slow and fast! i am striving to keep these little hands busy and not worry so much about family and the impending move...it is a strange time at neverfeltbetterbyjen.com headquarters lately!

i have been listing new fall items here and there, and i do have a large batch of new pendants and linocut journals over in the herbivore store here in portland (if you are local go say hi to michelle and josh!).

if you haven't been to the site in a while, take a look--i am slowly retaking pictures too. a HUGE undertaking, i may add with little time during the day to get it all done. so i am going little by little when i can here and there. no pressure, lol :)

oh, and check out my new business cards! can't wait to hand these puppies out to new shops in sacramento and sf...

Thursday, September 04, 2008

life can be exhausting, sometimes.


life is busy. i mean really BUSY for me lately. news on the daily about my mom, changes in treatments-living arrangements-surgeries can really do a number on my stress level. on top of hearing all this long distance, i am trying to coordinate a major move so i don't have to hear of it long distance anymore. it is wiping me out, man! i can't seem to get enough sleep, and i feel as though my thyroid issues are becoming unmanageable. again. time for more blood work, huh?

does this get me down? nah. i am a 'live through this' now, fall to pieces later kinda gal. i still have work, the girls, appointments and NFB to juggle. if i could fast forward to the middle to the end of december i would--this would all be a fading memory and we will be settling in for a mild california winter. not bad, not bad at all :) i feel really bad for people who jam-pack their and their kids schedules with lessons for this, practice for that, school this and that...even now when things seem hectic i still get to take time to stop and smell the roses with the family. family is more important than anything right now, friends included.

on the good tip, i made what has got to be the cutest little toddler item EVER so far, listed today: a little baby version of my head scarf. i don't care if it ever sells--it is leeetle...and cute...and leeetle. i love little baby things....i can look at this every freaking day and it makes me so very happy :)

Monday, September 01, 2008

control




mmmm i love it when the weather changes...even this little bitty taste of autumn has me drooling for more. i have listed warm cottony baby hats to officially kick off my season lol. got out and listed an old day of the dead skull, and i finished an older one i had started over the summer. i am keeping one eye on the NOW and one on the upcoming seasons of fall and winter. even though we will be relocating back down to calfornia before xmas, i am going to try and make it a stream-lined and smooth move for my sanity's sake and those around me LOL. i want to continue listing and making my best sellers and hit up my wholesale contacts a couple more times where needed.

i started a new wordpress blog (for a yet undisclosed subject back in sac!) and realized that will be such a fun and informative subject, i *almost* wish we were back already. with several of my long-time best friends there waiting and happy to have us back i am excited to go ahead and get going NOW. although for the great friends i have made here, it is bittersweet-but i know never to say goodbye, just aloha :) i will see them again and will talk with them every day via the 'nets just like usual.

things are looking up and we are soaking in portland as much as possible before we go. places and people we see are taking on a much more special meaning all of a sudden. time is short, people are precious and memories are important: even more so now.



Thursday, August 21, 2008

crazy(er)



A LOT has been going on for me on a personal level these past two weeks. i don't even know where to start and don't really feel like getting into it again. my mom is sick, really sick. it is a mind-fuck. everything else seems so petty, but after getting back from going back home to see her i realize i have to keep everything normal for the girls. we will probably be going back down sooner than later, and thank god i have siblings who are kicking ass with the care for her. it is the down-side to being far away from "home", not being "there" to pitch in like i would like to. shawn has been so wonderful during this whole thing--i have never been so happy to see him than i was the night i got back. it means the world to me to have a partner who is so compassionate and caring as he is. i feel like breaking out in with the song "nobody does it better"....

but around neverfeltbetter headquarters, it is business as usual. some good sales and a custom order have kept me busy. i went to the yarn shop, and cleaned up my workspace for some sewing. my sleep mask got all stretched out by lucy so i made myself one, that serves as the prototype for some i plan to sell for holiday. these are made from vintage pillow cases and have some quilting, too. very cute, eh? and boy--with traveling and sleep dep...if you don't have one you need to get one asap. hopefully from me, lol!

things are crazy, but that is life, huh? and again, i thank the universe for shawn. i could not do this without the honest support i recieve from him. i am a lucky girl....

Tuesday, August 05, 2008

summertime....



when the livin's easy...

well enough with the crazy moody weather! today it is creeping up to the triple digits, then cooling off for the weekend in the 70's. it is a wonder with the rain last week, now the sweat-looking forward to cooling down we all aren't stricken with summer colds. i think my immune system is working overtime with my thyroid-the cold/hot/cold-and germy people gallor.

well, neverfeltbetter has the cure...a free shipping coupon code! "summertime" upon checkout will get you free shipping through the month. now, don't you feel better already? :)

Saturday, August 02, 2008

Wii, tea & me.

we stumbled upon a wii yesterday in the gamestore and went ahead and gave it a new home here with us :) i am working on my virtual backhand in tennis gearing up for real life--got a racket and am ready to go at the tennis court down the way! i figure i can serve it up to shawn and lyric while lucy chases the balls. ha! anyway the wii is a big hit, and i am glad we picked one up--even by happy accident. i won't be seeing too much of shawn as he has his new metroid girlfriend to occupy his time LOL.

today is my friday, and it could not come a single moment earlier. it was a weird week, to say it delicately. it was one of those weeks where the weathers mood swung from sunny to rainy, throwing me for a huge mental loop. i also had some family health scares to contend with, but all considering i am doing just fine. alittle out of it and spacey, but fine. my mind is a million miles away, you know how it can be when you worry about those you love.

to combat this, i am crocheting more baby hats. working on a dusty pink one as we type. finished up a green and cream striped job last night, and my goal is to have three more by next weekend. crafty wonderland is on the 10th, so i have time for a few more items but then it is just working with what i have. hopefully i can do double duty on monday when i go to scapegoat for the rest of my coloring on my tattoo, i can sneak into herbivore and see michelle to sell some stuff. :)

well, back to this lucious cup of tea. it is vanilla spice, extra energy, it says. it does have a kick and the flavor is divine. then my little virtual wii mee is going to kick ass in tennis :)

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

the dumpster gods smiled upon us yesterday





we scored bigtime with some free furniture! a wooden toy chest that doubles as a bench and most fantastically a perfect computer desk that blows our old clunker out of the water. it is black and silver and in perfect shape. can we get a what-what for free finds? yes, yes we can. ;p

i finished up a headscarf last night and got almost through another minus one tie, so that will be finished up tonight. i made some cute little seagull appliques for them, and a couple more for some soon to be finished baby pixie hats. dusted off the ol' sewing machine for these LOL. found the inspiration and fabric for some sleep masks, i just need to go to the fabric shop for some cotton batting. i don't have any to recycle laying around. i use my sleep mask nightly, and would love to share that joy it gives me! seriously.

whilst digging around in trash, ha ha, i picked out some crazy photograph negatives that depict what looks like a 70's vacation with old people. totally random, and PERFECT for some new soldered pendants! as well as some weird plastic net...those are on the soldering block, will probably be finished later in the week. i need to pick up more connectors for the ball chain for necklaces somewhere, too. i have run out and i have many many feet of ball chain on a spool! necklaces for days :)


Monday, July 28, 2008

happy mondays


doing a lot of spring-like cleaning around the house today did my head a lot of good. i was physically cleaning, but my mind was a million miles away sorting through thoughts of how to get more organized with neverfeltbetter, getting ready for the upcoming craftywonderland and how to wrap up little unfinished projects here and there i have laying around. it was a good day to play catch up with far away friends...i miss them so much but hearing their voices and listening to their words did me just fine :)

now i turn my attention to my craft table, which over the course of the week has become a catch all for a bunch of crap i didn't put there. or maybe i did and don't remember (it has been that kinda week lol)...either way, i have some new plastic bins i need to utilized for fabric organization and such. i have so much i can't find anything! i don't know what i have anymore.

i am looking forward to some new fabric brooches and fabric covered pins, as well as some new pendants for the show and listing on neverfeltbetterbyjen.com and etsy, and i think i will pull out some older necklaces to see if i can't take better photos now i have a new camera (yay, i am loving my little nikon!). perhaps just some TLC around the house, and shops will get my mojo moving again. that and some good vibes and a nice glass of merlot...LOL

Friday, July 25, 2008

all craziness aside...






we had a wonderful day today, with sushi lunch downtown at our favorite dive sushi place...walking around downtown in the sunshine and finishing up with some junky and delicious vegan baked goods from whole foods. we took the bus, and train and made a day of it. i am fat and happy, the girls are exhausted and it is time to wind down for DR. WHO. it's the part one of a two parter-seaon finale. woot!



august craftywonderland!



my appearances at craft shows here as of late has been dismally few and far between! but my happy ass will be down at craftywonderland early august. just in time for some baby hats to debut :)

so i have just enough time to finish up some new pendants and rework my table for a fresh new look. i need a new table cloth in the worst way and some new risers. time to start hunting for fun artifacts at the thrift stores! i could sew a table cloth but i don't think i have that much of one fabric. i am more of a scraparella, if you know what i mean.

my tattoo is scaberella, lol but still radiating beauty and love. *LOVE* i tell you! it is as if it was always there, scabs and all! ha. you know those old-timely mustaches that are all curly and full of villainy? i am plastering one on the ancient tattoo of my ex and me kissing, during happier times. his huge shnoz is perfect for a "you must pay the rent" curly villain 'stache! hilarious? yes. i crack myself up i tell ya. a fitting tribute remedy since a cover up is out of the question :)

between friend phone call catch up (i have at least four to do, with no less than two hours each LOL. we are a chatty bunch especially long distance!), craftshow readiness and keeping this house from bursting into flames--all while working full time....it will be a busy week or two a head. i love that old recycled AA saying: one day at a time. but i like to keep a winking eye on the future, too.

ps. that cabbage patch model is my personal CP from the 80's. barry is his name, complete with pacifier and jogging suit and plastic tennis shoes. the diaper is a newer one, though. his yarn fro' is boofing out my baby hat to the max! i am still on the hot hunt for a newborn model but i thought this would be funny for now.


Wednesday, July 23, 2008

lawdamercy!


endorphins are so cool--a welcome change from the pure exhaustion as of late! my ode to neverfeltbetter tattoo is almost done, one more gruelling session and i am done! :))) and it is making me happy....so very happy.

other than this joy, i am trying to crochet and start/finish some pendants, work on our bikes..do stuff around the house, enjoy the weather. i LOVE our weather right now: cloudy and coastal hoodie weather until about 2pm then it burns off to gorgeous and warm sunshine. if it stayed like this forever it would be perfect. so, for this week, just basically keeping busy and enjoying it along the way.

i did finish one more baby hat, this one is a nice sage green with little brown dots...i am not getting good pictures though so no listing yet!

insider: i don't get it. why have a blog if if is private when you have NO friends or readers? if that is the case i suggest you whip out the ol'fashioned paper diary, hon. (are you there god? ha ha) since it is all cow-crap anyway why so secretive? you know we are all just *dying* to hear about all the peace, love and secrets to mothering you can impart on us all...LOL...! :)

Sunday, July 20, 2008

bike rims are at a premium nowadays




no luck at any of the FOUR bike shops we went to today! but there is one more, and that will be a phone call first so not to waste time and effort. though we did pick up a bike for miss lucy and ever since about an hour ago she is a pro! with training wheels, of course :) still looking for one for lyric and of course, my rim and chain. who knew a 1971 schwinn (correct spelling today!) would be so problematic!

i forgot my morning pill today and have been a uber-space-case-to-the-max. good help me get through the rest of the day! lucky i am just relaxing and about to crochet while shawn makes lettuce wraps and cold tabouli. yumm! pictured are three finished baby pixie hats. working on a sage green one currently and i have some pieces cut for the sewn appliques. busy, busy...i am going to try and list one or two soon and i am also working on some pendants that i need to get to herbivore--i would have liked to have had them by tomorrow night since the tattoo place is right next door, but i don't know. i am uh...behind schedule LOL!

tomorrow at 5 is my tattoo! holy shit.

Saturday, July 19, 2008

*whew*


finally, it is the end of my week! tomorrow we are hitting up the bike shop to get my chain and rim for my aqua shwinn (did i spell that right lol) to make it a fixed gear. i am pretty excited! little lucy is getting the trailer treatment and lyric is proficient on a bike and has outgrown her old one. shawn's needs some TLC and we are OFF! i am eyeballing a bike rack for the honda for exploring. and if i am extra good i would love a little basket like my old bike that got stolen. so hopefully we can take care of that all in one day. me and my brood will be out and about in this, the most bicycle friendly-city in the US. with at least four more months of good weather i am ready to get riding! in sacramento i rode my bike everywhere with my friend elizabeth. we clocked our milage one day and we road 5 miles! in midtown that is a lot, i think. we pretty much hit up everywhere at least twice that day :) good times, good times.

monday:: monday is my tattoo! let's not forget what a treat this is for this mom of two, wife of one. ha. i cannot wait to post pictures...i am beside myself with joy! seriously. you have NO idea.

on a eyeglass related note, if you haven't heard of THIS website for innexpensive glasses, well...you should check it out if you are in need. i am getting the red ones with big flowers on the sides, i think. SO CUTE!




Friday, July 18, 2008

happy friday!


gentle reminder: be sure and pamper yourself sometime this weekend--take a nap, take a walk, get a haircut, get a tattoo...or hell, do all of those things! don't think about it, DO it.

as for me--it isn't quite my friday yet. so i have big expectations for my weekend. along with the aforementioned activities, i will be doing some crocheting and sewing for sure. these things relax me, allowing me to regroup. allow me to rustle up the energy and attack the week/or life in general. there is an energy crisis going on, and i don't mean fossil fuel or greedy politicians fucking me in the ass over it. no, my friends...this is my own personal energy crisis that right now is purely *mind over matter* at this point. because if i allowed myself to feel like i want to feel i would be letting my little family down. they need me so, LOL. i would be tucked ever so nicely in my comfy bed with my sleep mask and fan going. ALL DAY LONG!

so, as i forcefully make myself do what i need to do for the rest of the night to come to a mellow close, i say to you: happy friday! i hope you had a great week, and that you will continue on in that fashion. me, well i am doing just alllllright. no surprises, no drama, no fantasy about how life is.

Thursday, July 17, 2008

it's pizza night, kids!


i am extraordinarily tired tonight, so therefore it is pizza nite. i started feeling like i was about to pass out about 6 this evening, so i cut out an hour early. i really need to get my labs done--i will have to work on that this week. i don't think i can wait another two weeks. my thyroid hates me, you know. :) it probably hates you too, but it isn't in charge of you so you are gold. as for me--i am kinda fucked until the meds are right! oi vey!

however, in the good news department i am getting a new tattoo on monday! what you ask? well, poppies and sky...naturally! i can't wait. i so deserve this.

i am also on the lookout for a fresh baby model for my new little baby pixie hats...i love them and it is making me ovulate. weeeeeee! just what i need, huh?

my brain fog says that is all for now...there is more but i just can't seem to get it out right now.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

i really can't believe....




that it has been THIS long since i have written...feels like blogger has eaten some of my posts. i have felt like such a space-case this last few weeks. could be my thyroid, huh? could be busy full time hours. could be i am just a slacker! who knows, throw a dart it could be any of those and more! :) i have been slammed with reality and working full time (just for the summer, then i go back to pt thank god), weekend stuff with the family and trying to somehow not collapse in exhaustion while figuring out how to squeeze in any room for creativity.

hmmph! it isn't working every well, this much i know. my initial thyroid meds aren't really working and i need to deal with that asap-but that is only half of it. i have in the last few weeks tried like the dickens to get off the floor and make some new items for NFB, which i have started to do. plus i stopped into herbivore yesterday and had a nice talk with michelle about life, being busy, being overwhelmed and the balance. i really have neglected all my stores but i made plans with her for some more pendants and also a FAT winter/holiday order which if i was smart i would literally begin working on now since a lot of scarves are involved! the whole thing gave me some creative juice to flow upon.

anyway i am going to try and write more starting now, it is good for me! :) i am working on some crocheted headbands, and i have listed a few things lately. plus now i have to get some pendants for herbivore and also union rose. i am trying to get everything sorted out and that is half the battle.

happy wednesday!


Monday, June 09, 2008

TGIM


usually i don't love to rush the ending of the weekend to the beginning of the week, but i am glad the weekend is behind me! it was really hectic with craftywonderland and finagling (did i spell that right?) family stuff too but it was fun, a bit slow, but fun. today my interview came out and i have received some kind words about it. check it out, and feel free to make fun of me rambling and making little sense LOL.
http://www.diyalert.com/node/4937

today i am kinda feeling tired and crapped out with a lot of work to do around the house but i am hopeful to get it all knocked out so i can sit down and list some of the seagull brooches that didn't sell yesterday. :)

ps my hair isn't purple it was the stage lights. but wouldn't it be cute if it was? ;p

Thursday, June 05, 2008

please come visit me here!



i am starting to get a tad nervous about the whole thing, just like old times! craftywonderland in portland oregon....you know you want to come see! :)

in other good news today, i did an interview with sister diane of DIY alert, and it will come out on monday in the pdx profile section plus another blurb in the regular newsletter. uh...this is rad! i will link when it comes out, of course and i will be very proud. that is if i don't sound too dorky in print LOL!


Tuesday, June 03, 2008

don't put it off any longer!





this was my battle cry for last night, as i realized i am a smart-assed punk who thinks it is ok to cruise through and pull it out at the last minute. i am referring to getting ready for this sundays craftywonderland.com of course. i admitted this late yesterday afternoon and kinda laughed about it, but then had a AHA moment of no wonder things are like they are half the time--i SLACK! so, after locking up around the apartments at eight last night i summoned some energy and pulled out the whole of my stock--tagged and bagged what i was bringing (also making me have an AHA moment about slimming down and only concentrating on what really works for me in the shop--i have a lot of crap that is just sitting around!) and all that i have left to do is hand print out prices. also i need to make sure my display/table stuff is in one place. doing this made me realize I AM OUT OF BUSINESS CARDS and don't have time to reorder online. but at least i know now and not friday night trying to scramble to print out some myself or some shit.

well i guess the moral of this story is i can't blame mental fogginess and complete exhaustion on my procrastination problem--i have been like this forever. but it is time for a change!

pictured above are some finished seagull brooches. they are about 4 inches long and made from vintage fabric scraps :)