I'm Back!

Yes, it has been quite some time since I've last posted here.

I've been somewhat exploring myself; figuring out what appeals to me most and how I can use that to create a 'brand'.

I came up with the name before I really had any idea what I was about. I even thought about completely starting over.

Paypal made me upgrade to a business account and so now the packages I receive are marked for Peachy Keen Creations. Mom asked who that was when one was delivered to her house and I coyly told her that it was me.

Turns out she likes the name! I think that was what I needed. I guess because if she thought it was cute and it made her smile, then I did my job. After all that's what I want to deliver to customers!

Since then, I've discovered that I like organic, natural things most. I love the feel of leather and how perfect raw stones seem to go with everything. And every day I'm getting favorited more and more. It makes me happy to know that I'm slowly getting there.

I've also discovered that just because you've 'completed' something for a grade, doesn't mean you can't go back and work on it (So that's what they've been trying to tell me!). And so I think that while I'll be pretty prolific this spring semester, I'm going to make time to rework things that I'm not 100% satisfied with. Even if someone else feels like your piece is finished, YOU are the judge of that.

things worth mentioning:
-I am a finalist in the Etsy/NASA Space Craft contest
-I'm going to help paint a mural that will be part of my city, something everyone will see, something (hopefully) I can show my future kids.
-I had a great New Year's.

Lately More Than Ever

Peachy Keen has become more apart of my life than I thought that phrase could ever mean.

I'm not a believer in church. I always hated going, disliked the people there and their cliques.

But I do believe in God.

And I believe he doesn't give me any more than I can handle (although sometimes it really feels like everything is falling apart).

Between my relationship and family, things have been rocky the past few days. This may be too personal for a business type blog, but it's me, and this is what's going on in my life.

On the bright side, the 'brooding' part of my being artist has been more inspired than ever before. I've been making jewelry, sewing, and painting this whole past week and it feels incredible to just FORGET everything for a little while and escape into me. To be focused on something amidst all the chaos that they always said they were preparing you for.

Got news for you!

Nothing prepares you for 'the real world'.

It's always been real. You've just been sheltered from it.

But we can choose to be David and fight back against Goliath, or we can give up.

And I wasn't raised a quitter.

So, as I've said, being Peachy Keen is becoming a way of life; remembering to take joy in the small things. To laugh in the sunshine and embrace the rain. Life is what you make it.

Epcot!!!

So, every year, my family travels to Florida during the summer for vacation. We are staying at Holiday Shores, which we thought was going to be a complete dump, but it's actually very nice!

My dad, sister, and I, have gone somewhere special the last few trips and this time we decided to go to EPCOT.

It was a lot of walking. We got there about 9 AM and didn't leave the park until 10 PM. Everything hurts, haha. For the first time, we toured every country and rode every ride. The highlight of my trip besides spending time with my sister and dad, was...well now that I think about it. Everything. The rides were amazing, the food was amazing... I even got lots of fun little gifts.

We started out hitting the rides in the front of the park and stopped for some free sodas courtesy of Coca-Cola's cooling zone, where you can sample different Coca-Cola products from around the world. My favorite was Vegitabeta! I think my dad's favorite was some ginger-cola from Mozambique.

After hitting that, we made our way over to The Land where we got some fantastic sandwiches. Although delicious, they were pricey as hell, but then again everything in Disney is. We then made our way to Canada to see if we could get reservations to Le Cellier, but it was booked so we had to settle on our reservations for Teppanaki in Japan. To be honest, there's not much to do in the World Pavillion besides shop. France was beautiful and has tasty strawberry tarts. The UK was OK. What we really came to see was Japan. It has the most wonderful shop ever, I think, especially if you're a kid at heart. Before entering, we listened to this woman tell us a story about a magical sea turtle for about 5 minutes. I shopped around for awhile and after playing with a kitty necklace that meows, I found Pickles the Frog (featured to the left). I know I'm 20, and this makes me way too old to love stuffed animals, but he is just so cute I had to have him. I bought my sister a hairpin. After shopping for an hour or so we looked for dad and walked around a bit more to Italy and Germany before going to our reserved hibachi-style dinner. Italy had this gorgeous mask I fell absolutely in love with. It was white and gold and the top extended to show off a painting. However, it was $499 so I felt the walls of my home could do without it. Dinner was okay. My dad makes much better hibachi dinners.

Besides Pickles, there was a beautiful koi pond that probably had over $50,000 worth of fish in it.


Other than the nachos in Mexico, nothing else really interested us. America world did have a nice presentation, but the singing put me to sleep. We headed over to the Coca-Cola cooling station because right next to it is delicious icecream at a GREAT price.

How delicious?Sooo goood!!! And finally, to end our trip, you cannot leave Epcot without seeing Illuminations by Sylvannia. It is the absolute most amazing fireworks show I have ever seen. EVER. And is it corny to say that it made me get choked up? Cause I did. The whole, "For centuries people all over the world have gathered around the fire as one. Today we gather from different parts of the world to celebrate," or something like that. Ahhh... so beautiful.

afterwards we picked up some souvenirs. I got some Disney pins and a mug for Noah. OH! and an Ariel ornament. Because she's my favorite princess of all time. Of all time.

It took everything we had to climb into the truck to make our way back to the hotel.

Brand New

I'm not official--yet. But I'm taking the steps to get there. Peachy Keen Creations is hopefully going to end up being its very own business by the end of this summer. That may seem like an impossible endeavor, but that's what dreams are made of; making the impossible a reality. They are just challenges.

And as my boyfriend knows, I'm a fighter.

I've been wanting to go into business for awhile. It might not be as long as many of you out there, after all, I'm only 20. But I've known for a long time that I am not the kind of person who can sit in a cubicle all day. I'm a naturally bossy person. My mother always told me to be a lawyer when I grow up because as a child (and still today, though not as bad) I always had to have the last word. Noah wholeheartedly agrees.

I found Etsy while I was in high school and fell in love. It was so amazing to discover a place where people sold their handmade products successfully. I couldn't wait to have an account of my own. But the one I had up until today wasn't being treated as a business. More of like an online yardsale. Embarassing!

But it helped me come across some other shops whose owners deeply inspired me not only to try my hand at their craft but to devote more time and effort into venturing into business for myself. Taking some of their advice, I purchased a book on making metal jewelry to read on my way to the annual family vacation to Daytona Beach, Florida. While I was shopping, I came across the book The Handmade Marketplace by Kari Chapin and after reading it I found out while all those shops I admire are so appealing.

They have a brand. And now I do, too!