Some Flowers for Thursday

Today i just wanted to share a bouquet of flowers from our backyard with you! Love to you all, Kimi

Wednesday..Relax....

Another Great message from my Positive thought for the day letter....

WEDNESDAY'S WORDS - AND TODAY THERE IS ONLY ONE WORD - RELAX

What does it mean to relax? Despite hearing the term thousands of times during the course of our lives very few people have really considered what it is all about. Most people would say that relaxing is something that you plan to do later---you do it on vacation, in a hammock, when you're retire, or when you get everything done.This implies. of course, that most other times (the other 95 per cent of your life) should be spent nervous, agitated, rushed, and frenzied. Very few would come out and say so, but this is the obvious implication. Could this explain why so many of us operate as if life were one great big emergency? Most of us postpone our relaxation until our "in basket" is empty. Of course it never is.

Its useful to think of relaxation as a quality of heart that you can access on a regular basis rather than something reserved for a later time. You can relax now. It's helpful to remember that relaxed people can still be super achievers and, in fact, relaxation and creativity go hand in hand. Being more relaxed involves training yourself to respond differently to the dramas of life---turning your melodrama into a mellow-drama. It comes in part, from reminding yourself over and over again that you have a choice in how you respond to life. You can learn to relate to your thinking as well as your circumstances in new ways. With practice, making these choices will translate into a more relaxed self.

Richard Carlson, Author of "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff"...and it's all small stuff

RELAX...AND HAVE A GREAT DAY!
I am having trouble with this so i have to keep telling my self!!! I hope this little message can give you some help in this area as well..

On a shop note, we are working up a new batch of hair forks after a long run on Mermaids Tails, and we have some new,rare,beautiful, Spalted Holly Wood coming right out!  Our sales have been slow this week so we are catching up on creating and on our custom orders, ....I know the God allows slow times for these things to get done!!!
Love to you all!

I Hope you will enjoy visiting Kind over Matter as much as I do!

"The secret of life isn't what happens to you, but what you do with what happens to you.

In a world where so many people are constantly being "put down,' where negativism prevails, sin abounds, and discouragement surrounds some members of the family, your note or word of encouragement could make a world of difference.

Becoming more mindful allows you to be more touched by life, more grateful to be alive."
 
This is another message ,above , from my PTFTD newsletter...once again, very poignant and timely!
I would also like to direct you to a blog that i am getting a great deal of encouragement from, if you don't already know of it...Kind over matter.
THis little video a guest blogger did for them is wonderfully encouraging and i would recommend watching it!

http://kindovermatter.blogspot.com/2010/05/kind-kindred-jamie.html
 
In fact, i think i will go watch it again!
 
WE are hoping to have our computer back today so we can list some of these new beauties we have waiting here for your hair to love and embrace!

Some advice from "positive thought for the day"

Don't tense up no matter what, for you only close off creative power when you do.

Duty makes us do things well, but love makes us do them beautifully.

While you might not have as much control over which thoughts come to mind as perhaps you'd like, you do have a great deal of control over which thoughts you give significance to---and which ones you invite into "your house."

WEll this was my quote for todays post and i woke up and checked the computer stuff and it CRASHED on me!!!GAH!! now i cannot list anything new until i get it back!!! so, if you are shopping and looking for new hair stuff convo us, becuase we have aline up that was due to be listed today and now computer has to be at the doctor, probably for a week and more than a pretty penny...SO, i must take my own advice,  and don't tense up NO MATTER WHAT , and continue on in love and joy! good luck with this, Kimi! I post these things for ME as well as to share them with you, becuase i don't handle stress well alot of the time, i have to ACTIVELY be calm and carry on, and i try to do it with joy but it doesn't always work!
So i hope to hear from you if you are looking for something and i will keep you all posted about the computer! Love to you all, Kimi

Renaissance Affair...

I got my first snood yesterday!! We went to a renaissance faire, not a very good one, but the only option even close to us (4 hours). I actually got this one, a marroon and a brown. I never wore one before and was quite happy with how comfy it is! the thing that is wierd about it is how to get my hair to lay right inside it..i think maybe it needs to be bunned instead of loose? Does anyone have experience with wearing a snood? i think they look very pretty, and since i like to cover my head in public i thought it could be a fun option for summer, lighter and cool...but someways that my hair lays in it , it looks like i have a sausage in there!  

ALl in all i am happy with it though and am glad that i waited to get them there, they were 3 for $10! the Renaissance faires in Fl are  SO incredibly elaborate and amazing, this was fun, but i suppose we are jaded...

Love to hear any advice on snood and the wearing of them or your experiences!

Love to you all

Kimi

computers...

I have to first say thank you to the kind posters of my last babble...i really needed that encouragement and i thank you from the bottom of my heart!
NOw, i wake up this morning and i can't get onot etsy at all, from anywhere. Obviously everyone else can get there, twitter is aflutter with treasuries and links...i hate computers! i don't know what happened, i went on before bed last night, woke up and it says to clear cookies, i do it, it still won't go....GAH! other than following direction, i really don't know my way around a computer at all and i am VERY frustrated! i need my morning Etsy fix! i have messages to get to, products to lst..what to do! i restarted the computer 2 times...great start to my day...
Well, we are planning on making a bunch of stuff today..customers with messages to me, hang on, i am trying to figure out how to get there!!

Internet overload

Ok, so i have been reading blogs in the handmade scene and they are asking questions like how has the use of the internet affected or influenced your creaivity? how often do you go our of your comfort zone and visit blogs or places that are not insync with what you are doing/making? man, i have been thinking about these things and wondering who has time to think about this stuff, or do this stuff?! i barely get my hair art made, photographed and lsited and i am exhausted each day! i do the blog and facebook thing when i can becuase i must, but i really don't have the time to philosphize about all this stuff and it makes me feel like i am lacking some magical time turner or vision...We love making hair art and all this business stuff just has to be done, its not the fun part! perhpas we are in the minority of those who have gotten to do thier art full time and realized they love it even more now!  But we LOVE making, and i am going to continue reading these blogs and wondering about them, but really, i wish i could just hire someone to blog for me becuase i do not enjoy sitting still, trying to think of something profound to captivate everyone(all 3 or 4 of you) who reads what i write....in fact most days i feel iam writing on a sheet of paper and pushing the publish button is like crumbling the paper and tossing it in the wind....i have hair forks to design, sand, finish, decorate and then the photography and listing..whew....
If theres anyone out there reading this, give me a high five and let me know. If i ever say or give you anything to think about, please let me know, if you can feel the love of our art through our hair art, please let me know...we need some comments here to know we are not writing in the wind ...how do those other bloggers do this stuff all day?!?!?! i guess the wonder woman under-roos have long since lost thier powers!
Love to you all, and happy THrusday:D

Another burst of creativity strikes ...

I love glow in the dark stuff! i used to have my ceiling covered in the stars that glow in the dark..its just fun! well, i found a way to make our fork finish have glow in the dark qualitites!!! now my floating lady can glow in the dark as in the pictures above..or an entire fork can glow in the dark and it looks the same in the daylight as our regular clear finish! I think this will be especially fun on the little girl forks, or, if there is anyone else out there who is as crazy as me an wants, perhaps a secret message on thier fork, or a fun design,....we have several colors that glow, and i am so excited about it!
What do you think? leave me a comment and tell me if you think it is cool and fun also, or if you agree with Stacy that it is silly ...Love to hear from you!

Mothers day is almost here..and its my birthday month.

Well, this is one of my favorite times of year and not. I have always loved my birthday, becuase when we were little it was one of the only times in the year that you got gifts and a special dinner. As kids, our favorite birthday dinner was ...ready.....manwhiches on BUNS not bread, and tater tots..MMMmmMMMMMM

WE were not of the affluent kind of family , in fact Mc Donalds was a "restaurant" to me until i went to college. So anyhow, my parents were divorced when i was 10, and i had a wonderful Aunt and Grandmother who helped raise me...and now i have a lovley step mother as well as a friend of the family who was always like a mom to me as well as a Mom i love dearly..so i send out about 10 mothers day cards! Hallmark loves me. 

But the not side..i knew that i was unable to have children by the time i was 21. It was hard then, but now i know that the Lord had a great and different plan for my life! I could never have married my best friend and done art the way we can if we had children..

But everyone wants to wish me happy mothers day and i have to stay out of public around that day. 

And as a grown up, i get to buy my own birthday presents too and have whatever food i want for a meal :D Stacy and i ususally do something to celebrate my birthday so we have a memeory instead of more stuff in the house, and i am hoping to find a renaissance faire somewhere in driving distance this month. 

SO, i just had to share a bit of the dichotomy of the love/dislike  i have of the month of May .

We do hope that someone gets one of our hand mirrorrs for thier mom or self....we are making some smaller ones soon, purse size hand mirrors, some with a handle or maybe not... 

And i want to thank you for sharing life with me and our studio by reading our blog and shopping at our studio. We truly love what we do and hope that you can feel it each time you get a package from us or wear a piece of our hair art.

Inspiration from all dimensions..even nail polish

Sometimes accidents can cause a huge spark of inspiration...a piece breaks off of what we are carving..but the broken shape is fantastic..or we cut a pice of wood for a bowl and see this amazing grain inside....this bowl is made form a wood called Silk Oak. We collected it after a hurricane when we lived in Florida..if we had any idea how beautiful it was we would have collected a tree full! but inspiration also comes from words, colors, sounds,mirror images, movies, music, dreams.....i recently started to wear  dark green nail polish, that i had bought just to do leaves on little flowers on my nails..and i can' t believe how much i love wearing it on my whole nail! Ever since i was about 2 years old, my Aunt started painting my finger and toe nails and they have barely ever been naked since then! But usually on my fingers i stick to lighter, traditional colors...not now. This green is rocking my world!!! it  is making me feel bold and creative, kinda like how i feel in high heels..even thought they kill my feet and i rarely wear them, they make me feel powerful and bold. So anyway, this green nail polish has been making my hands just feel like they can do anything! well, my hands don't really feel like they can do it but my brain makes them think they can:0)

Did the Movie Avatar change your feelings about your hair?

We finally got to see the movie Avatar. I really enjoyed it! it was fun to watch, had some guys stuff some girl stuff, happy stuff, sad stuff.....but i am always drawn to the hair stuff! the people having that braid that connected them to all other living things really intrigued me...not only was it beautiful to me, i liked the idea of that and have been thinking about hair  even MORE than normal, which is alot. i was hoping that someone else might have some input on thier feelings about this while i go and research a bit about hair..i will be back with that!
on another note, the bidding for the toothpick chain is beginning at $38 and we have no bids yet so please, spread the word and bid on a very cool, unique sculpture by Grah-Toe Studio

New Auction for Charity!!!

OUr auction for this month is going to be our Chain in a toothpick, mounted in the beautiful glass housing on a sculpted wood base! We are going to start the bidding at $38 and the rules are this: leave a comment here that you are a bidder, then send us an email with your bid grahtoestudio@hotmail.com this time we will be doing it without announcing where the bidding has reached until the end! WE will do this for 2 weeks again, starting today and going until May 6th.The money will once again go to World Vision There are only 3 of these in existence so far and there may never be another by Grah-Toe Studio! The base is made of a beautiful dark walnut piece. This is a real coffee table conversation piece !!!
Let the games begin!

Our creative flow is feeling like a pyroclastic cloud!

All artists know about "writers block" and we have been sharing some tips for unblocking that from Handmade Spark in the last couple posts..and there are just a few more in the list to share today....but what do you do when the ideas are coming so fast that you can't keep up?!!? i have started to write everything down to keep for those times when we DO have the block! Perhaps it is the newness of spring, getting out of the house...we are having a great time making hair art and can barely keep up with ourselves and our custom order list is growing! combinig materials, carving new shapes, its amazing the limitless-ness of creativity..

Well, here is the final list of suggestions to help with unblocking the creative flow, i hope if you are in one that these tips have helped in at least a small way!
 31. Window shopping-always fun on etsy! but don't copy others work!!

32. Physical labor
33. Look at bills
34. Visit galleries/museums
35. Visit graveyards
36. Teach someone else your medium
37. Get lost on a road trip
38. Take a trip into town
39. Make a list of random objects and pick one to use in your next design
40. Fill some baggies with random things that you can use for a next project
41. Go outside your comfort zone

One auction ends, another in the wings...

The auction ended and the new owner of this beautiful silk  oak hair fork is Nightblooming!  Thank you so much, Nightblooming, and the disaster relief fund of World vision also thanks you!!

TUesday is full of love...

Hello Grah-Toe Fans!

We are working as fast as we can to get the mermaids tails out to you! The main carver, Stacy, is busy little bee out in the shop! We do have a few things to tell you all though, about creating. Sometimes, the wood or the antler or the whaterver-we-have does not fit to the specifications that are requested! As we do our best to find them, we hunt, and search, we screen and examine each piece of wood, antler, stone...somtimes the materials tell us what THEY want to be, and thats just the way it has to be!! As for the shapes of the tails, Stacy carves each one by hand, and it has alot to do with the antler it is mounted on, the shape of the wood piece, the way the grain is flowing....,SO please be patient with us and try to enjoy the beauty of creativity at its free-est! WE want to make every one of you happy and love your piece of hair art from our studio!! that is very important to us...we also must be true to ourselves and our material . We are responsible for what each thing becomes and we take great pride in  each piece. Thought and planning , care and love go into each one!!!! We want you all to know that. We appreciate you more than we can ever express in words and hope that it comes to you in your package of joy when you order from our studio.

Much love to you all, and please, stop in and ask about your order if you are anxious and excited, we always have time to say hi, give an update, or just pass love along to you!

More wonderful tips from Handmade Spark

A quick update on the hair fork for charity..bidding is still going until Wednesday the 21st, so if you want a chance at this beauty please leave a note on this post or the post about the fork and email us your bid! Remember this money is going to help relief for recentr victims of earthquakes, and all the other horrible natural disasters going on , through World Vision.

OK, on to busy business. If you have not signed up for the newsletter on Handmade Spark and you are a craft business seller, you should. Daily tips that are easy to integrate and absorb, and lots of other resources for more in depth workings if you like as well. Today, this one struck me and i wanted to share .
It is about being inspired without thieving somone elses ideas..

Handmade Spark -DO's and Don'ts For Crafters
1. Learn the Craft, NOT the Style


I’m sure it’s happened to ALL of us! We come up with something that we can’t find anywhere else… lo’ and behold a week later someone has been “inspired” by our design!

Or we have found a GREAT way to word our listings, and someone uses the copy and paste feature and uses it word for word.

Now I know the saying “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery”. It is supposed to be flattering but in reality it’s downright frustrating… and rude. No-one likes it.

So that is rule number one.. don’t copy someones style. If you are inspired to make something similar to someone else, take care to make it your own. I know there are some mediums where everyone seems to have the same thing… crochet (my medium of choice!) is one of them. There are TONS of sellers out there with similar hats, scarves, washcloths, booties, cuffs, you get the idea. Jewelry is another medium like that. It is hard in a saturated market to stand out with your individuality.

So what can you do??
It’s your personal style and spin on things that makes you unique.

Make sure that all your items are a reflection of YOU.

You want people to see your items and KNOW where it came from!! Make sure that all your items are a reflection of YOU.

When someone copies you.. remember what comes around goes around.


Got  that???
So check out  Handmade Spark if you get a chance today, something might jump out at you!

Some new options...

WE have been finishing our hair forks in a way that gave them a soft sheen, a natural feel. Most of the time this is a great finish and after a poll, most of our customers prefer this finish to a heavy waterproof coating. But we wanted to have the option to make a finish that would be water-resistant. WE have been through many formulas and types of finish to find one that we felt worked well, did not give the wood too much of a plastic look , but was still effective and attractive. We finally have found the right combination! so, now we can offer you a water-resistant finish at an extra charge and on request. we are going to finish our forks as usual unless this is requested. It does alter the colors on the wood slightly, but for someone who prefers to wear thier fork in wet hair this will be a good option.  THe purple heart fork pictured here has that finish, one padouk fork in the shop has that finish, and most of the new mermaids tails on antler have this finish. THis will give more options to all of our customers to suit more tastes! This finish has a shine to it as well.

Water resistant means that you can wear it in wet hair, rain will not affect it, but you cannot swim in it or soak it in water!. It will also help keep the color , especially on the padouk wood from bleeding through onto clothing or other hair accessories.

We hope that this will allow more people to be happy with thier forks from Grah-Toe Studio!

We still have a few more days to bid on the hair fork for charity!

A chain whittled in a toothpick..

We were sitting on the couch one day when some friends arrived. THey said they had been to a wedding where they were able to get some finely milled lumber for a project for us....HUH? well, they whip out this plasitc container with fancy toothpicks in it and say,"lets see you carve a chain in this lumber!" well, needless to say, Stacy did it! it took a couple trys, and once it was completed we took it up to show them. Well, what is the first thing they do, but pull on the ends....of COURSE it is fragile, what did you think?! carving it our made it stronger?!?! so, after that, they were always exhibited in glass housing! Mom got one as a gift, we sold one, and this one is in our collection. Stacy has carved alot of chains out of wood. But this one certainly shows off his attention to detail. We also made the platform and glued the chain into the glass housing. Anyone looking for a really unique conversationstarter coffee table gift for someone who has everything? bet they don't have one of these!

The Silk Oak Adventure...

Ok, everyone, the bid is now at $138.88USD....11 days to go!

We were able to meet with our glass eye artist today and get a few new eyes...on request he came up with a beautiful tanzanite purple color for us! We will be putting that in a fork very soon, for all of you purple fans out there!

ALSO!!! don't forget to go over to http://www.picnicbasketcrafts.blogspot.com/ and register for her giveaway!!

There will be a basket with products from her etsy shop, our shop and Nightbloomings shop!

Hair fork for charity!

Sometimes when we get wood, there is nothing that can prepare us for what we find inside. On one side it can be rotted,have bugs, or be horribly unattractive. On the other hand, sometimes, we find a diamond.
This piece of wood falls into that second catagory...we found a brilliant diamond inside this post-hurricane clean up wood.
This is from a tree called Silk Oak. We gathered it after a hurricane in Florida years ago. We had no idea of the amazing beautiful grain until we cut it open...*WHOW* Pictures just cannot show all the chatoyance in this fabulous pattern...it almost glows.  After we made this fork, we thought about keeping it. Ok, i REALLY thought about keeping it, although our business is SELLING hair forks, i have the rare, special gift of knowing the maker:0) and having my choice of the forks that are made.  But, then i started to think, how sad it is not to share this magnificent piece of wood...but how to price it?! it is completely irreplaceable and the most beautiful wood i have ever seen....then, it came to me. Have an auction for it and the proceeds go to charity! We support an organization called World Vision. Feel free to research them, we have found them to be honest and productive over the years. Right now they are helping all the vicitims of recent earthquakes and are in need of help. (there have been alot of those lately...)
SO...here's the scoop. we would like to start the bid at $100. We would like you to post here, if you would like to bid. Then please send an email to us with your bid amount. We will take bids for 2 weeks. Then the highest bidder will get the beautiful fork, and know that they also helped quite a few people that are in great need.
Sound good?!
oh, The Fork...it is a mezzo threnody, FP length of 4 3/4 inches or 12cm. and our email address is  grahtoestudio@hotmail.com
Thanks so much and happy forking:0)

The hand behind the hairforks...

Stacy loves to make stuff. When a customer sent him a picture of a sword that was wanted for a hair stick..he took the picture literally! We watched a video of how "real" sword makers wrapped thier handles. We looked at the parts on the sword, and he began with the blade..then the hilt gaurd,..then the metal behind the hilt gaurd that he peened from thick wire....then cut, and shaped and filed and polished and fitted some more...this mini-sword is a real piece of art! he wanted to do something "over-the-top" for the customer and inlaid some special letters on the hilt, then also inlaid our makers mark on the pommel. I am always amazed at what the large strong hands of my husband can do...he makes some really tiny stuff...this sword, i think is right up there at the top of his creations! Except for that chain he carved into a toothpick..maybe thats a story for another time!

A give-away!!!

WHo doesn't love FREE stuff?!?! well, in collaboration with 2 fellow etsians we have come up with a giveaway for you to participate in! We will Love to see you in all of our shops, shopping and commenting to win the free gift from picnic basket crafts. What you need to do is take a peek at our store, at Nightbloomings shop, and then go to picnicbasketcrafts blog post and comment on your favorite things from each shop!

 I have several product from Picncibasketcrafts and they are all wonderful! My favorites are the Nightime Eye Serum, which comes in a roller-ball jar for easy application...and the Thrifty-Hippie makeup remover and facial moisturizer...for an acne prone adult this stuff has been a real dream. Have you seen the prices on some of the "anti-aging" lotions out there?!?! and the label of ingredients that i can't even pronounce..The products at Picnic Basket Crafts are eco-freindly, recognizeable ingredients that are tried and true.

Now to Nighbloomings shop..my favorite item, besides her amazing hair toys that you must catch when they are listed or they are snatched up immediately, is the Panacea's Hair Salve. I use this on my hands and hair and love the effects. The ends of my hair are soft and lovely, my hand skin is soft AND..the smell!!  It smells like heaven to me! I usually try to put some on my hair and hands at bedtime because it is so relaxing!
The lady behind Nighblooming is great to work with, talented in so many ways!!

One more thing before I end , the give away includes some of the wood finishing product that I have tried on our wood hair forks and it works beautifully, smells clean, and leaves a glowing finish! We recommend this for wood hair-toy maintenance ...it is natural, inexpensive and fabulous to use!

SO, thank you all for participating and we all look forward to sharing freebies,discount coupons and fun stuff with you!

April first...

April first has always been a day i just don't like..most people play jokes that are down right mean and that is no fun. But today was a great April first!  A dear friend had to have brain surgery and a biopsy and they don't think its cancer and everything went very well!!! YEA!

we also got our very first hand mirror completed and listed today!  It is made of quilted maple wood which is brilliantly chatoyant and just pretty to look at! We have more styles on the way, different handles and woods and an oval mirror as well as the octagon. The mirror has been designed to sit down inside the face so that the wood frame is what touches if you set it down on the mirror side,therefore reducing scratches. It certainly makes them alot more work but we felt it was a characteristic that we would want in a hand mirror, so well worth the efforts!
We have some sets planned that would include a detangler, hair fork and mirror..but we are always open for custom requests as well!
hope to see you as a fan on our facebook page and follow us on twitter too!

New helps for undoing the creative roadblock we all get sometimes...

Ok, If it hasn't happened to you maybe you have not been creating very long..it happens to me at THE worst times, when i REALLY need to be creative! funny how that is,eh? well, once again here is a bit of a list from Tim Adam of Handmade Spark and it is very true, doing something that you usually don't do can give you a big boost! It's like a brain-vacation..not like total recall of course, but a little break form the struggle of everyday and of the pressure to create. As artisans running full time shops we have alot of pressures to not only "go to work" but you never leave work when you are working from home!! It is very hard for us to make ourselves stop at the end of the day when there are orders waiting (YIPEEEEE) and boxes to be packed and stock items to make and new items to design and....WHEWW...working for yourself was never as easy as it sounds,eh?:0)

21. Throw some color in the mix

22. Keep a digital “inspiration” folder and look at it periodically
23. Remember that there is no quick fix
24. Work on yard/garden
25. Eat a yummy dessert
26. Talk to another artist
27. Bake some cookies
28. Switch to a different media
29. Take a youtube night
30. Make gifts for people
 
Just #21 can make a difference....i know i personally struggle to make things with a color or colors that do not appeal to me..but they appeal to someone! and it can give your brain a break, change your seasonal barometer, give a fresh insight to ..who-knows-what! just add some sunshine yellow to something and see what happens!

A long weekend..on Wednesday..

If you have never been to the Grand Canyon in Arizona, USA....you should add it to your bucketlist...there is nothing like it, no words or pictures can capture or convey its vastness.

We met a couple from Austria. We looked a mile into the earth. We watched birds soar and battle in the air of the Grand Canyon. You never know what you might see, hear, smell or learn in a place as wonderful as this.

More Tips To Get Creativity Flowing!

Last week we posted a few tips from Timothy Adam at Handmade Spark  and we thought it would be a good day to share a few more, in anticipation of Monday....energetic and inspiring starting the new week with a goal and some direction!

11. Look at old sketches

12. Create in a different location
13. Keep at it
14. Take a nice long bath
15. Make a list – future goals, projects, techniques
16. Go on a vacation (even a mini one)
17. Set a deadline
18. Get working
19. Take a quick nap
20. Shop handmade
 
Pick one of these things to do each day this week and keep yourself motivated. After the long winter hibernation, it is time to get the juices flowing! Change your craft room around, or move it to a completely different room!  Take a day and go for a drive.  SHOP HANDMADE!!!! helping other artisans have sales feels really good and you know you are getting a lovley product instead of a mass produced item..and to take it a step further look for someone in your state or area to shop handmade and local at the same time!

A sunshine Blog Award is Passed To 12 More!

Here are the rules of this award...

1. Place the logo within your blog or post.

2. Pass the award on to 12 bloggers.

3. Link the nominees within the post.

4. Let the nominees know they have received the award by commenting on their blogs.

5. Share the love and link to the person from whom you received the award !
 

This Blog award was given to me by Dj's Store room and I am passing it on to you!   

Here is the list of 12 blogs that I Give this to:

Creativity and Joy For Women

Fantasy Dream Knits

Feathered Friends Mementos

Gypsy Eye Studio

Hair and Share

Hippy Chick

KnitzandFeltz

Pretty Cool Jewels

Rambling Designs

Scribbles from a multitasking Bag Lady

Theresa Rose Designs

Thunder Moon 

Share some blogging love and know that I enjoy each of these blogs and appreciate you all for writing and sharing in them!

Some Inspiration....

If you are in the handmade scene and somehow do not know about Timothy Adam or his incredible handmade marketing advice, where have you been?!?!   Check this out! The first 10 in the list of things on how to get your creative"sap" flowing again after the winter blahs have captured it and turned it grey...

1. Take a walk
2. Organize creative space
3. Clean the house
4. Buy some art supplies
5. Exercise
6. Try a new technique
7. Set a specific time to create
8. Turn on favorite tunes
9. Take a break
10. Visit the library
 
I am off to mail some packages and stop at the library for a new book! Next post will have some more great tips from Tim and Handmade Spark...it really is a great read, i always find a tip that is quick and easy to integrate into my handmade business and one step better is always a good thing! Happy Creating!

My First ever blog award..SUNSHINE !

At last, the legends of the Moons of Grahtoe lost parchments have been found and  released for the public!
The author, Nightblooming, has done a fabulous job bringing to life the story we could only dream in our hearts...We would love to have you stop by and tell us what you think of the legend  and be sure to visit Nightbloomings shop as well for an array of fabulous hair inspired potions,oils and decorations of unequalled beauty and quality!

Spring is peeking through, at Last!!!!

AH, the Joy of March! breif glimpses into spring bring hope and new life to everything! Including my psyche:0)

We have introduced a new fun hair fork, the Cyclops, with real glass eyes made by Etsy artist and friend, Mike Hurst of http://www.fionaskissfan.etsy.com/ The quality of the eyes is amazing. He also does lots of other creative pendants and his talents seem endless! We would love for you to go over and visit his shop and say hello and how you found him! A new Etsian always appreciates visitors!!!!!
We think they are alot of fun! I have a thing for glass eyes and figured there must be other people that love them too. How fun for a Mommy to have the real visual of "I have eyes in the back of my head so you better behave!" or for the teacher who is writing on the chalk board as she watches her students... We  find them fun and great conversation starters! I also have a necklace,bracelet and earrings with glass eyes that my dear niece and nephew gifted to me and now I can have a matching hair fork WHOOOHOOOOO

On another note, we have been gifted an award and will be also gifting it to 12 blogs that we love!
Thank you to Dj's Store Room! 

Thursday already? Where does the time go...

DO you ever wonder about time? There is a movie called "Deja Vu" that we watch occasionally and it just flips me out to think about time travel! If you go to the past because you saw somthing in the now that made you believe you did something in the past that you did not do, wouldn't you remember that you already did it?!!?! Well, the paradigm is too much for my brain, and I hope we never get to go to the past..although I have often wanted to live in Little House on the Prairie days...beautiful long skirts and simple things..Yes, I know, no A/C, no cars, hard work..but don't you just Feel good at night when you have had a good work day?
What time would you go to if we could go into the past?

Just a tiny Studio clip, we are doing some really neat inlays in our hair forks and we love to do custom designs! The picture here is one of the ones Stacy just completed and it turned out beautifully! Pop on over and convo us any time!

New newsletter sign up!

We would very much like to keep you posted to our studio happenings through our newsletter! We will be sending out new design announcements, new woods, studio happenings and specials. There is a link on the right to use for signing up! Looking forward to seeing you there!

Weekend happenings

I have been SO attracted to green lately, aching for spring!  This beautiful letter opener made of Lignum Vitae wood is a  creation by Stacy. These can also be used as hair sticks for a truly unique look! I have also found some really amazing treasures in my hunt for green while being sequestered indoors! This mug Has a beautiful design and the glaze is breathatking! AHH hot coffee or chocolate in that mug, opening the mail with this letter opener..my green fix for today!!

Hello and Goodbye February..hurry up Spring!

We have been busy at Grah-Toe Studio with all the new designs we are creating!
An update for our fans....
We have started a new line of hair forks called the A-Line. We know a lot of you like our original size and shapes and we appreciate you so much! It warms our hearts to know our designs work and are loved by you!
The cry of others has been that they are too big for their hair needs and we have heard your voices!! The New A-Line forks will have a very thinnnn profile from top to tip in one smooth arch. This will be especially helpful on the exotic woods that are denser and can have heavy tops. We can make this A-Line on any fork if you would like to request it. We are also making some to have on hand and they will be listed as A-line so you know!

Another new thing is the 5 tine design...well, the PCT top is not a hit so far! We have also created a five tine wave fork and our first few are also A-Line, we have a holly listed in the shop and a few ebony on the way.

You can request any design in any wood, and we also do custom requests and custom designs.
In fact, we really love custom requests and hope that you will feel free to ask for what you would like, we want you to be totally happy with your hair forks from our studio so please convo us!

On the new products, we are making small de-tanglers that can be carried in your purse with you for travel or work, and they are a real hit! a few of the unique designs can even be used as side combs to hold your hair back!
We want you all to know how very much we appreciate you! we are getting a news letter going and if you would like to be on the mailing list please send an email to grahtoestudio@hotmail.com and we will get you on there. It will have new products, updates on new designs and woods, and a few other tidbits!
We are also going to do better at posting here and hope you will all be regular visitors!
Love to you all ,
Kimi

Our First 5 Prong Hair Fork is Born

After much debate, and cutting, sawing, sanding and finishing the new baby has arrived! Our Studio's very first 5 tine Hair Fork! This first model is made of walnut wood and we placed a decorative and functional piece of Holly in the top. THe Holly serves as a reinforcement and of course, it's beautiful wood! This shape is the PCT (princess crown tulip) and will be available in our studio starting next week! My hair is not nearly long enough yet for this fork, but i know alot of you ladies have a bun that has a 5 inch diameter and this will be just the fork for you! it is comfortable as it is curved to fit the head. The tines have a slight curve to them to give a firm hold. And, of course, they are finished smooth and have a beautiful sheen.

We are also debuting our new line of shawl pins, or Hair Rings, and here is a picture of the perfect one to come out at the beginning of February

These are made from laminations tha Stacy sliced and glued, then cut and routed and made matching pins. We sand these just as extensively as our hair forks and they are finished the same way as well. THese are so much fun! we have a leaf, hummingbird,wing,ONE,and a double love birds!

Our sale to celebrate the debut of these new designs goes until the 29th so be sure to coem over and grab your favorite hair fork or ring that you have been drooling over before they are all gone!

Sweetheart of a sale starts at midnight!

Well, we have been slaving away on our new shawl pin line and ...WHEWWW..they are here and we are so in love with them! They really turned out great..we have leaves,rings, flames, wings, antlers, One, and coming..hearts!

Our Big unveiling sale starts tonight at midnight and runs through the 29th..25% off of everything in the shop! This is to celebrate the new shawl pins, and to clear out last years stock for more new and exciting things to come!!!

We have had so much snow this week...but the good thing about snow is the temperature comes up!

Grah-Toe Studio's New stuff!

We have some new and exciting things going on at Grah-Toe Studio! Today, we introduced our newest shape in hair forks, the Princess. She is a beauty, perched atop a cinnabun or any fancy twist you can imagine! Inspired from several directions, the Princess is flower,fleur-de-lis,crown and imagination! We also have the Princess fork coming in our very first 5 tine fork! There will be a line of shawl pins introduced at the end of this month with various designs, including antler, inlay stone work,beads and wood.
We would love to hear from you about your favorite item in our shop! and by leaving a comment about that item you are in a drawing for a whittled wood chain!
Love to you all!

A tiny spoon of what's to come.

Did you ever get a tiny spoon at the ice cream shop of any flavor you wanted? well, here's a tiny spoon of Grah-Toe Studio...
We are currently in the process of designing a new hair fork...with 5 Prongs! Now, we have had many requests for this and we have been pondering and working on it so we want to temp you with a little spoon so that you will keep watching for it!
ANd we are starting a line of shawl pins as well, as i have become fascinated with shawls lately and notice that a lot of women wear then regularly. It fits in well with the production of hair forks and we are having a blast making all this new stuff! We would love to have any suggestions, ideas, or just stop in and say hello to us! And of course, we encourage custom orders anytime and give them our best attention. Hope to hear from you soon!
Love to you,Kimi

I found a wonderful friend,..and scarf..

Over the month of December, we traveled to do an arts/craft show in Ohio. Well, the show is another story for another time, BUT we met and became friends with a wonderfully ingenious and lovley lady,Jen Schwietz. She has designed a new scarf, called ScarfeDiem and i want to share this with you all because I LOVE IT.
The scarf itsself is cozy fleece, and it is long enough to warp around several different ways, but, the really cool part is that she has designed a way to have removeable,interchangeable and mixable beads on the end of your scarf! You can have several colors or types of beads, and because they are changeable the eternal and necessary accessory of scarf can become exciting again!
It comes in 4 colors, cream,brown,black and grey, comes with a set of starter beads and then you can mix and match all sorts of combinations from there! You can match your purse and shoes for date night, then have a simple everyday design, and a weekend fun change! And this scarf is not only classy and beautiful, but it is WARM! Well, if you can't tell, I am in love with mine and i hope to hear stories from some more of you about what you think..she has a facebook fan page too and i am sure she would appreciate that!

Monthly Give Away Begins!

Happy New year Everyone!
Well, Instead of trying to start all new this year , we are starting Out of the box to begin with! Starting the year off with a hand carved and signed whittled wood chain . Just go to our art fire shop here and tell us what your favorite item in our shop is! Just leave your fave item and email address in the comments here and we will contact the winner on Feb 4. The winner will be randomly drawn.
Thank you so much!

New Snowflakes Appear

Snow is falling !! Our handmade wooden snowflakes are flying out of our shops and landing all over the world! Have you seen them? They look amazingly beautiful on a tree,with the lights behind them they twinkle like stars! and Mom hangs them from the ceiling on various length strings to look like falling snow...we even had a friend tile them into a backsplash in thier kitchen!
We leave ours hanging year-round,they make us smile. It is a laborious process to make them, but a labor of love ,indeed. Hope to see you on our map of where the snow is falling!

Busy Little elves at Grah-Toe Studio

The elves at Grah-Toe Studio are in high gear today! We are making lots of new hair forks, including new sizes(Mezzo) and new woods..Lignum Vitae and Ebony along with Holly, Birdseye Maple and many more. We also have alot of new antler hair sticks in pairs, with new wood caps and small sizes too. What fun it is to play and create in anticipation of seeing and hearing the joy of new hair toys!

Gearing up for the holidays

WE are getting ready for the holidays! the air has changed to cool or cold and I absolutely love it!
We have 2 local craft shows coming along with holiday sales in our shops on artfire and etsy..hope we can make lots of people happy with great gifts. We have unique handmade items that you will not find anywhere else!

And we will do free gift wrapping and mail directly to the recipient for the holidays!

Our hair art is world renowned now and our snowflakes have traveled the globe too!This is so much fun!
I hope you have clicked on the ornament swap badge to the right and joined in for the fun!

**WE would love to have you check out our artfire shop, we have lots of items, more payment options and you do not need an account to check out!**
Love to all out there in the cyber world, if this even gets read! I want to spread love, there is so much bad in the world,and have a great rest of the week!

I LOVE fall!!

Well, the air has changed..the mornings and evenings are cooler, the light is a bit less intense and the leaves are changing color in the mountains! We went on a 2 hour drive to see the spawning salmon that change to a brilliant coral color and it was just

beautiful! The heaviest activity was not yet present but we saw about 20 of the brilliant orange fish along with beautiful mountain scenery.

In anticipation of the holidays, i have joined an ornament swap and i invite you to join too! just click on the box to the right and join the fun!!

Hope to see you there!

Love to you!!

And the winners are...

The winners of our name the fork contest are......drum roll please.....


Mermaids tail, by physicsjen for the 2 prong design and...
Threnody , by redhairedzealot for the 4 prong design

Thank you all for your creative submissions!!
This labor day weekend be sure to celebrate your ability to go out and work, as some cannot leave thier homes due to illness or any number of things. And be sure to thank someone who works for you or with you as well.
Love to you all, more to come on our shops and new hair forks!

A word on friends and love

There are 3 days left to enter the name hair fork contest!

We have it narrowed down to a couple in anticipation but would love to have our socks rocked off by tons more in the next 3 days!!!

Here are a few great quotes on frienship and hence love. Really loving is being a true friend.

To have a good friend is one of highest delights of life; to be a good friend is one of the noblest and most difficult undertakings. Unknown

The real friend is he or she who can share all our sorrow and double our joys. B. C. Forbes

A cheerful friend is like a summer day which sheds its brightness all around. John Lubbock

One who knows how to show and to accept kindness will be a friend better than any possession. Sophocles

In prosperity our friends know us; in adversity we know our friends. John Churto Collins

Give and take makes good friends. Scottish Saying

Have a blessed day everyone and hope to hear from you! Love to all, Kimi