Scribble Nation

H is for Hortence

Maloey, that is.

G is for Growing Pains

For a small project turned small business, the road to success is a long one. Often, it is littered with trials and tribulations along the way. As you learn more about the path you've chosen you may discover things that aren't so pleasant. Maybe you've got the wrong sort of shoe on for successful journeying. Maybe you haven't packed enough snacks to last the entire trip?

Or maybe you didn't search to see if your company name was trademarked before you poured years of work into planning it's design and product line. Well, that's OK. After all, growing pains usually denote GROWTH which is a good thing. It's a good thing that I am ready to get a trademark, get registered and get moving. It's a good thing that I had Green Dreams to learn from. It was a great start. Now I am ready to move on. I'll need a lawyer, and a bit of $$, but I'm on my way! First things first, pick a new name! I need something that is chic enough to impress emo kids and soccer moms alike. It needs to be short, unique, easy to remember and somehow related to my products. I am going to keep them mostly natural, but I am going to focus more on the designy type lines, like Derby Girl. Oh! And it can't be trademarked already!

After much brainstorming I have come up with the following ideas:

Scribble Nation Soapworks
Pros: If you google search Scribble Nation you will come up with a list of results that are 99% ME. That is a very unique opportunity for a fledgling business. Sometimes even the most successful soapers cannot be found by their customers without a link or an exact address. If someone looked for Scribble Nation they would inevitably be lead to something I own that will inevitably be linked to the soap shop. Plus, Scribble Nation.com is not yet taken and it work as the nation's capitol, linking to the blog, the etsy boutique and the soap company.

Cons: It is long. In fact, it's a mouthful. Who wants to say the whole thing or even bother reading it on a label? PLUS it will take up precious label space with it's long long long annoyingly long-ness. Also, it's cute, but not memorably cute. Also, it is not related to soap without some explanation.

Sudzi
Pros: SO CUTE!!! I love this name. Short, sweet and related! The best thing is you can change the feel of the word by the design you put it in. Imagine chic calligraphy surrounded by letterpress flowers. That would be very posh. Then imagine it in a scribbly handwritten type font surrounded by bubbles or stars or other cutesy type things. It is so versatile. And I think it would be easy to remember.

Cons: Sudzi.com is taken by Sudsies, the car wash company. Poopers. I could get around this by putting the website on SudziSoap.com, but part of what I liked about Sudzi was that it didn't tie the name down to just soap. I want to sell cosmetics as well, and don't think the two should be entwined... I wonder if I could just run two websites and link them? SudziSoaps.com and SudziCosmetics.com ??

Shi Shi Sudzi
Pros: Website is free. I love the word Shi Shi. It's SO shi shi. I came up with a really cute way to design the logo.

Cons: Long. It takes away from the cuteness of just using Sudzi. Plus, in Japanese Shi Shi sometimes means pee pee. Which is why I almost immediately stopped consdering the name "Shi Shi" on it's own. LOL.

So that's the dish! If anyone has any input or their own bright ideas for names drop me a line!

BTW: In an effort to get this show on the road I will be closing down Green Dreams in the near future. To help move this along, I am giving free shipping to US addresses for everything that is left in the shop. So tell your friends!!

Playing With Fire

My blowtorch is fun
But lampwork is not easy
I have lots to learn

F is for Feminism

And one of the saddest things to ever befall it.

There are many words nowadays that cause the vast majority to immediately recoil in fear or disgust. Often these words bring to mind various buzz words, urban legends,  exaggerated stereotypes and stories involving said stereotype and a friend of a friend's bad experience with them. Words like communist, socialist, activist and witch have been on the wire for some time. The latest additions to list list of hot button words include liberal, tree hugger, religious and to approach the topic at hand, feminist. Naturally, when anyone attempts to slap a single label on a hugely diverse group someone is going to get it wrong. The word will become associated with hundreds and thousands of hideous things and, mis truths, accidents, and self-contradictions. Obviously, anyone working against the group that is being labeled will make every attempt to hype up all the bad publicity in the world, never forgetting to shout out your label every time they mention one of these scandals. Labels are never fair representations of real people. They are just words to generalize political movements, desensitize the public and most importantly - make somebody somewhere look bad. I am the last person who would advocate for people running around tagged as one thing or another. "Hi, I'm Mary and I'm an eco-vegan femiliberal" . I don't think so.

It does, however get under my skin that soooo many women and girls recoil when the word "feminist" is uttered. Like I said, I'm not about to give myself some screwball title and have it tattooed on my forehead BUT if someone was to ask me whether or not I was a feminist I wouldn't even blink before I said, "well of COURSE I am." What woman in their right mind wouldn't believe in at least the fundamentals of feminism? Do these women, often YOUNG women and GIRLS really believe the following:

-Women deserve to be paid less than men
-Women deserve to have less rights than men
-It's OK for women to be considered someone's PROPERTY?

Hello!! What are you little tarts THINKING when you say, "Oh I'm not a FEMINIST or anything." Wha wha wha!?!?! Bitch, are you serious?! I don't want to sit around and play the blame game about whose fault it is that women's rights are no longer a "hip" thing to fight for, but ladies this is getting ridiculous. Ten years ago nobody but nobody could get away with cleaning ads that jabbered on about how women should "get excited" about this new mop or some other bullshit cleaning product. WTF? Since when did we decide to go back to a world where women did all the dirty work while men paraded around like the cocks of the walk? (Pun intended.)

For the record, I think it's all well and good if cleaning gets you hot and bothered. I'll admit the IDEA of cleaning does that very thing to me. (Not the actual CLEANING so much) I believe in freedom. Period. I believe that womankind should be a flock of free birds who can pursue glamorous careers, birth babies and stay home or jet set around the world just for the hell of it. If you want to play Saint Suzy Homemaker than my hat goes off to you. If you'd rather seduce men and toss them out like old socks the next morning  then I'd like to shake your hand! Maybe you just don't care for men and you'd rather swim in a sea of lady love? That's cool!

The point is that if we would like to continue enjoying the freedom to live all of these wide and varied lifestyles than we have to keep our self respect! We have to stick it to the man when he tries to stick it to us. Most importantly, we've got to stick together. Anyone who has lived through middle school knows that there is no sense in being caddy bitches who stick their noses in the air concerning which clic is which. So admit it. You are a feminist, and its very likely that your husband, or brother or male buddy is one too!

E is for Evacuation

Yesterday we said goodbye to an old friend. The 1990 Mitsubishi Galant that Michelle and I rode around in as hoodlum teenagers went off to the National Public Radio's Car Donation Program. It was blue, old and busted, but it will always have a special place in my heart. I actually really liked that car. Even when it was old and crusty.

Next on the chopping block is my old buddy the Jetta. If anyone is looking for a junker to fix up, or needs a VW Jetta for parts let me know. I'm selling this girl on Craiglist for a cool $600. As is. Details can be found here.

It will sure feel nice not having a driveway filled with junk cars! Oh the classiness!

Glamour Crosses!!

Surely to be the next big hit or at least the next big hurrah! Either way there's no denying the dazzling glamour of Scribble Nation's newest and most ethereal additions yet. Note the attention to detail! How carefully each cross has been adorned.

I cannot tell you why, but I REALLY enjoy making these. Each Glamour Cross is it's own unique adventure. Fitting every little piece of epherma, every rhinestone or cocktail monkey in the perfect place is simply... a religious experience? In any event, you can find the complete line (so far) of Glamour Crosses on the Scribble Nation Etsy Shop.

D is for Delicious

After many many years of cold feet I have finally decided to go vegan. While I have always felt strongly about factory farming and animal welfare this choice has more to do with health than anything else. Over the past six months I've changed my diet a lot. I have learned to avoid complex carbs, starches and sugars whenever I can. I've started eating whole grains, veggies and all the good stuff much more often. As a result, I've felt a million times better! My hormones are leveling out, my headaches are few and far between and my skin looks better than ever. I've been doing a lot of lurking on Raw food blogs and sites. The results of the raw food diets are so amazing! It seems that your body naturally reverts to it's healthiest state - ideal weight, glowing skin, etc. when you are feeding it whole food and abstaining from junk. I am definitely NOT ready to go 100% raw, so I figured finally going vegan would be a good start. So long Taco Bell! Hello home cooked everything. LOL

And my first vegan recipe is:

Contradiction Salad!

Spicy garlic and red onions  and crispy crunchy cucumbers argue with one another in a creamy cool avocado sauce. The conclusion is delicious.

1/2 a red onion (finely diced)
3-4 small cucumbers or 1 large cucumber (diced with peel on)
1/4 cup extra firm tofu (cubed)
1/8 cup shredded carrots
1 Avocado (diced)
2 tbsp. Nayonaise
Garlic Powder (to taste)
1 garlic clove (minced)
Basil and parsley (to taste)

Throw it all in a bowl and stir like crazy! This is delicious alone, on crackers or my way - on a pita with fresh tomatos.

Suzy Submarine

Pin up the second!

Rocket Babe

Burning out her fuse up here alone...

The first of a new series: pin up girls. :) Added to the Scribble-Pholio.

C is for Cat Toys

I whipped these little cuties up Friday night. I brought home Gracie a new toy and the cats were SO jealous! One followed me around saying, "Meow! Mew. Mew. Roooowwww!". The other followed Gracie around all wide eyed and covetous. I knew what had to be done. I looked in my random craft drawers and found a pack of bells, two easter eggs, some feathers and scrap fabric. Viola!

The cats are really digging these guys. I made some awful directions. I'll post them in the continuation so it won't ugly up the main page. LOL.