Tangible Tidbits 2011 #12: "The Way We Were" and Taking Action

Hey, everyone! I just finished watching The Way We Were. I saw it once a long time ago, and all I could really remember was that I didn't like the ending. It's a good movie, but I still don't like the ending. Call me a sap, but I think if two people really love each other that much, they should be able to find a way to work things out. Sadly, that's not the case in real life, so I'll give the film points for being realistic. On the other hand, we watch movies to escape reality, so a "happily ever after" ending would have been nice. I know...I know...it would have been an entirely different film if the ending were different. Still, who wants to experience someone else's heartbreak? Someone who hasn't experienced the real thing, I guess. :p

I've been working on my final wrap-up video from San Diego. It's about 75 percent finished. I'm lacking footage that will fill in some of the gaps, so I have to check around and see if I can scrounge some up in order to finish it. :)

Also, I added links to the appropriate sections of the website store in the photo albums on Something Tangible LLC's Facebook page this week, as well as ten new product photos. I still have a dozen or so to fix, and I will update the photo gallery and store pages on the website once I have them all completed. ;)

BSNJ's St. Patrick's Day Party was fun. I got a nice pair of earrings in the Swarovski® Earring Exchange, as well as the materials for a pair of green beaded earrings as the party favor. I made mine right at the table while I was waiting for the food line to get shorter. ;) I also won some recycled paper beads in the silent auction and our table's centerpiece -- a candle decorated with leprechauns. All in all, I'd say I did pretty well! LOL

One of the blog's regular readers sent me a really nice email this week. She said one of my posts helped her decide to get a medical test she would have otherwise put off. While the results weren't serious, there was an issue to be addressed. She was grateful for my message. It's gratifying to know my words touched someone and resulted in her taking action. :D

I've been hearing a lot about "taking action" lately...it's being encouraged by many life coaches and business mentors these days. Taking action isn't always easy. Sometimes, it's pretty d@mned hard. And it doesn't always turn out the way you'd anticipated in my experience. I will admit that I've been doubting the wisdom of some of my actions over the past year. People forget that every single thing we do affects someone else in one way or another -- directly, indirectly, purposely, or incidentally. Too often, we don't realize the effect our actions have on others, good or bad, until some time has passed...if we ever learn about it at all. In the end, we just have to trust our own judgement, go with our instincts, and hope for the best. I do that more often than not, but I have been burned a few times in the process...sometimes, painfully so. Still, I suppose taking a risk that failed is better than not taking a risk that would have succeeded. The only way to learn the outcome is to make the effort. :\

Off to finish my Sunday night. Have a great week, folks! :)

Tangible Tidbits 2011 #11: All Work And No Play...

Hello, everybody! I got a late start today, but I was on kind of a creative roll, so I decided to keep going with it rather than stop to write my blog post earlier. Unfortunately, my "creativity muse" isn't always around, so I try to pay attention when she is. ;) I finished my Swarovski earrings for the Bead Society's exchange coming up at the St. Patrick's Day party this week, three other pairs of earrings, two bracelet repairs, one earring replacement, and three new elastic rings this weekend. :)

I was playing around with the Virtual Mall Facebook Page earlier this week. I added some photos with links to the various sections on the Virtual Mall web page. I'd thought about adding the photos a while ago, since the blank spots at the top of the page were not aesthetically pleasing. ;) I got the idea to add the links from a webinar I attended a few days ago offering tips to enhance your FB pages. I also added "Welcome" and "Handcrafted Gifts" pages...the Welcome page is supposed to appear if someone doesn't already "Like" the page, but I tested it earlier and it doesn't work for me...possibly because I created the page. I'm not entirely happy with the Welcome page anyway...it needs a little more work. The Handcrafted Gifts page turned out pretty well. I may add that to the Something Tangible Facebook page, but I haven't given that much thought yet. The reason I started with the VM page is because I had already come up with visuals for that one when I created it, but the dimensions were wrong -- too wide for the space -- and I couldn't use them. I basically used those as a starting point, which is why the Welcome page needs work. It has too much text and not enough "white space" to be effective, I think. Plus, the image itself is not as clear as it should be. :\

Once I'm happy with the VM page, I will start revamping the Something Tangible Page. I did change the profile picture there from the logo -- I've heard that's a big no-no, but I'm keeping it on the VM page because I don't know what else to use there -- to the pendant from the header on the website. I had the picture in my files from creating the YouTube channel. Anyway, I like the way it looks, and it depicts the idea of what Something Tangible is more than the logo does. :)

As for the class project due this past week, I ended up making a wire-wrapped representation of a jeweler's saw using wire instead of an actual blade to avoid cutting clothing. I put it on a silver-plated chain with a copper toggle clasp, since the saw was silver-plated wire with a copper accent on the handle. I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out, and my teacher seemed to like it well enough. :) We have Spring Break this week (YAY!), but our final project will take up the last four weeks of class. The theme (this teacher seem to like those) is "Out to Lunch"...we have to create something that carries food -- hinges, a handle, and a latch must be incorporated into it -- along with the appropriate corresponding utensils. We will apparently be having a picnic for our final critique using these items! :o I'm thinking about making a metal Chinese food container and chopsticks. The top of the container will have to have hinges to fold over and close, and the latch will be the closure. I haven't decided how to close it yet, but I don't think the tabs on a traditional Chinese food box will work because cardboard has more flexibility than metal. I will line the container with aluminum foil to protect the food. I think the chopsticks will be made of wood, although I have seen them in plastic also. I have a lot of research to do, as I don't know if this project is too ambitious for me or not. I really enjoy these classes...they make me stretch my imagination and also broaden my skills. Unfortunately, it looks like I will have to skip taking a class next semester, as it will not fit in my budget. :( Hopefully, I will be able to go back after a semester or two.

It's late, so I will close now. I still haven't worked on the final San Diego video, but I will try to get to that this week. :) Take care, one and all! :D