Reading The Fine Print

 

Sometimes I wish I could make everything I own.  Most of the time I wish the world was a better place.  I remember a time when it was.  Although I supposed scam artists have been around as long as there have been people.

R and I received a set of sheets for Christmas.  Last week I decided to use them.  The label as you can see says 1500 Thread Count 100% Egyptian Cotton in big bold letters.  

Now mohair has a cotton backing, and I have a LOT of cotton clothing because I have so many allergies.  So I am familiar with what cotton feels like.  As soon as I took the sheets out of the package and touched them I knew something was wrong. They also had an odd chemical smell.

  Thread count is how many threads are woven into a square inch.  Cotton is a natural fiber.  In order to have 1500 cotton threads woven into a square inch the sheets would be quite heavy.  These were the thinnest sheets I had ever seen.  In order to get a thread that thin, it would have to be some sort of a synthetic.  Cotton spun that fine would break when you tried to weave it.

But I put them on anyway, R was tired and ready to go to bed.  A little later I laid down for a nap.  I erupted in INSTANT hives all over my body.  I got back up and pulled the packaging out of the trash.  I read the entire thing.  

The small letters read "Compare the comfort and soft touch as a" 1500 Thread Count 100% Egyptian Cotton Sheet set.  Then more small letters read "Sheets are made of high strength yarns that will stay soft and wrinkle free for years go come"

Now here is the scary part...no where on the packaging or the label sewn into the sheets does it say just what those yarns are made of!  So I did some research online.  One possible answer was petrochemicals!!!  If you aren't familiar with that, it's exactly what it sounds like...a derivative of petroleum.  Not something you want to sleep on.

After R got up I yanked them off the bed and right out to the trash they went. 

In my research I also discovered that the cost of these sheets is quite low.  Far lower than actual 1500 thread count Egyptian cotton would be.  

So I urge you...if something seems too good to be true, it is.  Read the fine print!

Learning To Love Something & A Sale

I am happy to tell you that I am finally healing.  If you didn't know what was going on, December 1st I fractured a rib.  Then I had company...then I got the flu for three weeks...followed by a sinus infection.  That's why there were no bears for Christmas.  It was heartbreaking.  I have ALWAYS done bears for Christmas.  Actually I didn't get to do much of anything.  R even ended up finishing decorating the tree.  It was sad because I love all the things that go with Christmas.  Things happen, what can you do?

Ok so on to the post:

Do you ever wonder if those weird little things you do are just unique to you or does everyone do them?  They are usually those things you don't ever think to discuss with anyone.  You have no way to know.  I am going to tell you about one of my weird little things.  I am curious if I am alone in this.

So it went like this...I was at the mall, in one of the high end anchor stores.  I saw a small handbag by Patricia Nash.  I love clutch bags.  This was leather...yes, I am sorry I love leather.  Especially Italian leather.  It was a great size, the style was perfect, and it was distressed.  I wasn't sure about the color though, it was pretty vivid.  And I knew it wouldn't go with anything I owned.  Especially my shoes.   I like my shoes to either match or at least compliment my bag.   The tag claimed it was pink.  But not really...more like if pink, orange and red intersected.  Nor was I keen on the price.  I put it back on the shelf.  I kept browsing and found some nice things I liked, but I kept going back to the little clutch.  Finally I bit the bullet after being drawn back to it 4 times and bought it.

I got home, looked at it and thought...what did I do???  This has to go back.  I tucked it carefully back in the bag with the receipt.  But somehow it never did.  It has turned out to be one of my very favorite bags of all time.  

I have done this with several other items in the past.  So my question is...have you ever done this?  Bought something you weren't sure about it and discovered you love it, and use it a lot?  

If so, how does this happen?  Do we learn to love something because we make up our mind to, or does our conscious mind try to override our subconscious?  Clearly some part of me knew this was a good thing that I would use since I kept going back to it.  Why didn't I know right away?  Is it just me who does this?  I would love to hear your thoughts on this.

Ok now for the fun part...since there were no Christmas bears, everything on my website at www.blondheart.com is going to be on sale for 40% off until the 15th of January.  If you would like a piece please just e-mail me with your paypal e-mail address, and I will send an adjusted invoice.  The sale is first come first serve. No lay-away, sorry.   Also this will be the only sale all year.  I am going to be going in a little different direction.  Take advantage of it while you can, there are lots of nice pieces available that would love new homes.

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas, and a prosperous new year! 

Hugs, K. <3 br="br">

~*~ Green Ghost Pumpkin ~*~

One of my lovely regular customers asked me to make some bigger pumpkins for her this year.  While I was at it I also decided to make a "Green Ghost" pumpkin.  I had seen one years ago in Martha Stewart's magazine and really liked it.

It's available on my website at www.blondheart.com

Hugs, K. <3 br="br">

Halloween Studio Tour

 

I have three brand new pieces available at the Halloween Studio Tour you will have to click the link to see what they are....*winks*

Happy weekend! 

Hugs, K <3 br="br">

Letting Go

 

Last week I went out to check my mail and discovered a very large toadstool in my front yard.  It was about the size of a baseball.  The next afternoon when I went to get the mail, it had nearly doubled in size.  It's amazing how fast they grow.  I meant to take another picture of it, but I didn't get around to it.  

I wondered how big it would get.  Of course my fanciful imagination began to run away with me, and I started thinking about those giant mushrooms in Journey To The Center Of The Earth. 

On the third day I rushed out filled with anticipation to see if my toadstool had grown again.  Instead I found that it had let go of it's hold on the earth and was laying in the street.  As I carried it to the trash so that it wouldn't be picked up by a dog or small child, I felt a momentary pang of sadness for what might have been.  I had grown attached to this funny little toadstool. 

The next day I went out, and much to my surprise two more toadstools had grown in it's place.

Last January I decided not to make the usual New Year's resolutions.  The kind that inevitably fail shortly after they are made.  Instead, this year I made only one.  I resolved to get outside my comfort zone and take risks by trying new things.

When I made that resolution I was mainly thinking about work.  Little did I know at the time that it would be on a much grander scale.

As you know I tried this weight loss program that my doctor recommended.  While I have recently plateaued, I have lost a fair amount of weight so far.  I also have come to understand why I couldn't lose the weight.  That turned out to be a priceless gift, not only on an eating scale...but also I let go of some psychological baggage I didn't even realize I was carrying around.

I also tried new things work-wise.  I was pleased with the results.  I know I haven't made anything new in a while, but there are new things coming soon.  This summer was more about focusing on my personal needs.

Lately I have been sorting and cleaning things out.  I have taken many bags and boxes to Goodwill.

Letting go of things can be difficult.  Whether it's things we have collected over the years, clothes that no longer fit or bad habits.  Even ideas can be hard to let go of sometimes.  We allow ourselves to get stuck.

Even when it is hard to let go of things, we have to do it sometimes.  When we do, it's amazing what we allow to grow in it's place.

1/3 Off Sale

 

I am offering 1/3 off of anything on my website at www.blondheart.com through Wednesday at midnight for my blog and facebook readers.  If you would like something, please send me an e-mail (using the link at the right) with your paypal e-mail address and I will send you an adjusted invoice.

Enjoy!  K.

Love Big

 

Yesterday morning about 3 am, I had decided to go to bed early.  That's early for me anyway.  I finished what I was doing, I brushed and flossed my teeth, washed my face and slipped into my night gown.  I decided to check my e-mail real fast.  

I saw a breaking news announcement on the home page about something horrible that happened in Aurora.  I didn't really read it, but instead I turned on CNN.  I sat watching in disbelief as the horror unfolded.  Aurora is just a shade over an hour away from me.  In fact I had been in Denver just the day before.

Even though sometimes my posts are from a removed, casual, spectator point of view...I have a deep and abiding love for humanity on the whole.  All people, everywhere.   I am not sure that always comes through, but it's true.

What I saw broke my heart and reduced me to tears.  The fear, the lack of understanding, the unspeakable horror of it all...it was so overwhelming in those hours last night.  I prayed fervently for the victims and their families.  I prayed that Colorado could be spared any more tragedy.  We have had more than our fair share lately.  I prayed that we could find some sense of it all.

Today I was on a forum I frequent.  A teenager made the comment that they didn't understand what the point of living was if the planet was such a horrible place where these kinds of things could happen, and you couldn't even feel safe going to a movie.  I immediately responded.  Teenagers have a tough time in this world.  I told them not to think that way.  There are still so many good people in this world who do good things and care, and the best thing they could do is be one of them.  But never think that way.

This child's words haunted me all day.  I wondered if she was ok, if she had someone to talk with about her feelings and fears...someone to help her through it.   I wondered just how many people are uncaring?  And how many people feel this fatalistic sense about the world?

A while back someone who has a lovely public persona made it abundantly clear to me in private that they didn't care one bit about other people...people they knew and people they didn't.  They live their life solely for themselves first.  I was shocked at their attitude. At first I was a bit angry.  I thought how can you be so unfeeling towards others.  But then almost immediately I felt pity.  The greatest disservice they do is to themselves.

When people commit acts without thinking of others...whether on a small intimate scale, or a very large frightening one like last night...the damage they do reaches farther than they can ever imagine.  But then I suppose they don't care.

It can leave us wondering what the point of living on this planet is.  You don't have to be a teenager to feel this way.  You can be any age, with any life experience behind you and still feel bereft, frightened and confused when these things occur and people have these attitudes.

But we have the power to combat it. 

A while back I saw the picture of the locket shown above on Pinterest.  I did a web search to find that locket.  I had to have it.  I did find it...it was made by the lovely Liz Lamoreux.  I immediately bought it.  I am a firm believer in loving big...it's the only way I know how to do it.

One of the best things we can do is look beyond ourselves, and LOVE BIG.  Love your family, your friends, your community, and humanity on the whole.  Love strangers.  Love enemies.  That one is a tall order.  It won't bring back those that have been lost to tragedy, but you never know...if you LOVE BIG, it too might have a farther reaching effect than you can imagine.  I have said many times on this very blog, and in real life that we live on a small isolated planet, if we don't take care of each other...who will?   I don't expect anyone to be perfect or never have an off day...or even to never be less than kind to someone who doesn't deserve it...trust me I have those days, and I have done it too.  But try to show by example that this world is still worth living in.  The best way to do that is to overcome and love a little more, show compassion, and even when you aren't inspired to, LOVE BIG!

I hope you all have a safe and wonderful weekend.  And just so you know it...I love you all for taking time to read what I write!

K. <3