1.13.10 Foot Fetish

Well, not actually the foot, the things that cover them.

My inspiration?

I am completely IN LOVE w/THESE shoes!  Rene Caovilla, $1085. Yeeeeeeeah, they're fly and snazzy and have a bottom completely covered in glitter and a price tag that makes me weak in the eyeballs. Especially for what I would consider an occasion shoe. I caught these on the Wendy Show a while bakk and I have yet to recover. I saw a similar less occasional pair that were all blakk. Eh, not as moved, but cute. They too were pretty expensive. So, SYM1 is going to clean out her shoe closet and hopefully I find a pair that will make a good candidate for reproduction. I'm going to try it. I'm only posting pics if it's successful. Lol. I also have a pair of ManoNo boots that are SO suitable for painting. I'm thinking a nice healthy coat of graphics on the red bakkground would be HOT with, a super short dress/mini/shorts in the spring. We shall see. I've been looking at them with a dripping paintbrush for a long time, and I just haven't gotten up the courage to mess up a perfectly beautiful pair of knokk offs. Lol.

New Year, More SYM

I've been away. I hope it's not like that EVERY holiday season, but I was seriously busy. I consider it a wonderful thing. I've done quite a bit of work in the time that I've been away, however, the holiday season is always slow (as far as orders), so I generally use this time to plan. I've decided that one blog a week is not enough. So, I'm going to try to do at least two per week. One with something that inspires me or one with my favorite piece of the week and my regular updates/posting. I'm already prepared for this month, so let's see how well it goes when February rolls around. Today, I'm just going to combine the two. Let's pretend it's a special kikk off combined edition. :o)

My tree is by far my most favorite holiday project. I completed about 20 shirts in the week prior to Christmas, and the tree still takes the cake!


My mother, my aunt and I spent hours making the majority of the ornaments. It was fun though and they look wonderful. Some are covered in sequins and seed beads, the other in ribbon and seed beads.

We'll be making more (for NEXT Christmas), there are about 30 or so more bulbs left. They took so long that we didn't get to finish. We waited until thanksgiving day to start.




















What currently has me inspired? Well, I'm almost over the peacokks after making this bag. It was a part of the Christmas madness and I LOVE the way it turned out. I think this is the best, or at least my favorite, of the 4 or 5 I've done.




Now I'm ready to move on to mermaids! I have absolutely no idea where that came from, but it's what I've been craving. Here are a few that really spoke to me:






I'm not sure why that first one is a mermaid, but that's what she was labeled as. Doesn't matter, I'll give her a tail and make it what I want it to be. Lol. When I get around to actually painting them, I'll be sure to post the photos here.

SYM and The Mommy Go Vending

Sorry for my absence. I was suffering from technical difficulties. It was tragic. I'm bakk now though with good news to report.

I went vending at Mount Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church on Saturday w/ the mommy. I've sat at many a table in the past, but this was my first time vending alone. I usually team up with someone else. It was my first time paying to vend. It was also, by far, my best experience thus far. So much so, that I'm actually looking forward to doing another event.

I woke up the morning of, only to realize that I had yet to sign any of my pieces. I did that and took this picture: I LOVE IT!!! Then I also had the grand idea that I would take some paint with me and paint on site. I'm not too keen on people watching me paint. I find it distracting, but I thought it would be cool, plus I figured I could probably knokk out a few pieces if anybody wanted something on the spot. It turned out to be a good decision b/c it also resulted in my first sale! She said she needed something soon and I was all too pleased to say you can stop bakk by the table and pikk it up before you go. Here's what I knokked out:

Oh, and I also displayed and sold some of my new gift items. These were a big hit: Infant washcloths wrapped like a lollipop on a spoon. I've been trying to replicate this on a onesie, but I'll refrain from discussing that tragedy. Lol.

All in all my product was well received. So, now I'm just waiting to see if anybody else contacts me.

As Promised: My "mess"

It's not really messy, b/c I wouldn't post that, but this is what it looks like when I'm really busy. I think there was a total of 19 pieces there. Now, on to another 10.

What I'm working on: MASSES

Happy October,

I've been busy trying to reach my paint goals and working on things that basically make me feel good. I've come to find that I have an affinity for birds. Of course I've done some doves. I've done the hummingbird and I'm working on number 2. I'm working on peacock number 3 and I really want to do a parrot and a phoenix.

If I wasn't so ashamed of the mess I've made, I'd post a pic of what starting 11 pieces looks like. That's what I did yesterday. Maybe when they are all done, I'll take a picture of the finished pile. I love seeing them all side by side.

THEN, today my mother calls and says "you're going to be mad..." I say, "I'm not doing it." LOL. She came home with a BOX of shirts (15) for me to do for her job. She has a new position and this is her contribution to meeting certain requirements so WE can get a Christmas bonus. It's Tuesday night. She says they were initially trying to have them done for Friday. That's not going to happen. I'll have them done soon enough though. I support bonuses. OWWWW!!!

Anyway, chekk out my first two peacocks. One for mommy and one for baby.

Progress Report

***Random: I started to buy myself a "world's best boss" mug today. I'm so good to myself***

My second post was about my new schedule. Here's my public report of how that's going. I'm giving myself a C+. I'm doing VERY well with most things. I've been exceptional as far as doing only things that are planned for certain days on those days, BUT I lose points, because there have been a few days that I have skipped all together (particularly the one where I update my address book). The biggest issue is actually painting. I always want to, but I can't say I always FEEL like it, so I don't. I have a goal I'm trying to achieve as far as how many pieces I paint per day. My original goal was a bit too steep for starters, so I amended it. However, I have yet to consistently reach that place either.

I had a conversation with someone about this very issue and I was told that I should extend my creativity to ALL aspects of my business. I, the boss, needs to offer some incentive to myself, the employee, to motivate me to reach my daily quota. Food is no longer an option, and neither is firing myself for deficiency. So here's where my creativity comes into play. I have this not so grand, ridiculous(ly special) idea that I will host some paint improv sessions over the course of a few days. My hope is that it will a) give me an opportunity to interact w/ my customers b) have me painting to build my inventory while c) forcing me to be accountable to someone other than myself d) alleviate the boredom I sometimes feel from painting the same types of pieces each day and e) we (those who choose to participate and I) will have some fun. Can I get a break a leg?

Update to come...soon (enough).

YES SYM CAN

A normal day in my inbox or comment section on my photos would include at least one message with a question similar to this:

Hey SYM, I'm an avid fan of the group “monkeys & margaritas.” I would really like to get a shirt with their logo on it, but I haven't seen one on your pages. Do you make those? -Ashley (b/c it's always Ashley)

Now, for starters, I'm always here thinking...I don't even know what that is, why would I have a shirt about it. However, the bottom line is, if you don't see it, it's only because nobody has ordered it yet. I'm not discriminating against your organization, band, or favorite flavor of ice cream, but 90% of my products are made to order. If you can think it up, (“monkeys & margaritas” or “pom poms and rose petals”) I can make it, but if you plan to wait for random things such as these to occur, they may never come into existence. There's no point in making things I can't sell, wear, or give away. So, if you're feeling outlandish, or if you want something that's rare, or (more) unique than what I normally have available. Don't be afraid. Just order it, so you can have it first.