Pisces Moon Studio

For everyone who has been following along with the Month Zero goal-setting, here is a gift for you:

Click on the image to download a PDF version. Print it out and post it on your wall.

Then head into 2010 knowing that you are a month ahead of the rest of the world… and that you don’t have to be perfect!

Happy New Year!

Other entries:

• 31: Why WordPress?
• #3: 10 Free Basic PlugIns You Should Add

After reading last week’s WW, you’ve decided that having your own WordPress on your own domain is exactly what your marketing efforts need. So how do you get started setting it up?

I’m going to walk you, step-by-step, through the process of doing it yourself. It’s not difficult to do, but it is a little complicated. Note: If you are not a techno-nerd and just want it Done! Now! then the easy way is listed at the end of this post.

If you’d rather do it yourself, read on and I will teach you how.

Read the rest of this entry »

Last week I spent much of one day with my accountant doing my year-end tune-up and planning for 2010, and I impressed the heck out of him with how much I’ve done this year and what I have planned out for next year. This isn’t easy to do, so I feel really good about that. Month Zero is on its way to helping me create a great 2010!

So how to start Month Zero?

Well, first of all… do you have goals set for next year? They don’t have to be big goals like “restore world peace” or “stamp out hunger.” They do need to be measurable, though. You can’t say something vague like “I’ll make more quilts next year.”

Nope. Make it concrete. “I made XX quilts this year. Next year I will make YY.”

Or “I will enter one exhibition/quilt show this year.”

Or “I will take a class from (teacher I’ve always secretly admired).”

Read the rest of this entry »

There are 31 days left in 2009. What will you do with them?

I’m getting a head start on next year. Instead of winding down the old one and fretting over holidays interfering with the end-of-year stuff, I’ve decided to look at this as Month Zero of 2010. A whole month for planning! When everyone wakes up hung over on January 1 and starts blearily thinking about New Year’s Resolutions, I’ll have spent 31 days thinking, planning, getting priorities in place for a successful and happy 2010.

Who will join me in Month Zero of 2010?

It went okay. The crowd was not hugely enthusiastic, but I’d forgotten just how traditional this particular guild tends to be. Only half a dozen members walked out, and those were all near the beginning, so I assume they were merely bored and not offended.

And I learned how to make my own slides from digital images, so I acquired a new skill from the experience.

Continuing with yesterday’s theme…

I got an email this morning from Zappo’s .

——–
Dear C L Newbill,

One year ago, you ordered the following product from Zappos.com:

Saucony Grid Instep 3 – White/White – 10/W

We wanted to let you know that right now, your size is still available
from Zappos.com. You can order the same product again by visiting:

(link and some other let-us-know-how-we-can-help stuff omitted)

———

This reminded me, in the friendliest possible way, that I am still wearing year-old walking shoes despite knowing that I’m supposed to change them out every six months. Did it encourage me to go to the Zappos web site and buy another pair? You bet it did! And it didn’t put my hackles up, which is a minor miracle all by itself.

So how can we turn this idea to our advantage in marketing our own work?

This is good. :)

I have a request from Artisans International for more work, and this morning I found out about a local opportunity for women artists. The Central Alabama Women’s Business Center is hosting a seminar called “The Business of Art: Creating Success” on August 11, with a networking opportunity to show and sell work afterward. You bet I signed up!

So… time to make some small pieces and mount on mat board, like those Sonji did last month for her art fair. Mine, of course, will not resemble those of the superfantastic Sonji, other than that they will be small, but that’s okay. I resemble the superfantastic Sonji in very few other respects.

Oh — Fibonacci Fandango is done, binding and sleeve and pretty little purple crystals in the center of the flower. Final picture soon. But for now, back to the studio with me.

New, improved, much cleaner: Pisces Moon

The new Pisces Moon is almost ready to go. Tonight I was working on the links page, and wondered if any of you Artful Quilters who have websites would like to exchange links. If so, drop me a note with your URL.

Thanks!

Weekend mannequin report: She is still a bride. Maybe it’s time to put out an APB for a Runaway Groom?

Department of Good News: The invitation to the reception for Quilts of Today arrived in my mailbox this morning.

And there’s Orange Guy! Basking in his fifteen minutes of fame.

I showed the card to Sabrina at the post office, and the first thing she noticed was that my name had top billing. Funny — first thing *I* noticed was that it was misspelled…

You know the really cool thing about this show, though? There are seven artists represented, and four of us are members of Art2Mail. Couldn’t happen to a nicer bunch. :)