Truly living up to my name

When I was thinking of company names back in 2004 there was one that seemed to be a no-brainer, which is the one that I stuck with. JOATMON is the acronym for Jack of All Trades, Master of None. I love to create things but I can't seem to focus on just one area.  I start to make something that I absolutely love and then all of a sudden, I veer off down another path.  Many times it's a simple trip to the craft store that causes it. I'll walk in to get supplies for the current project and I'll see something shiny hanging on the wall, which is just calling my name.  I daydream about what I can make with that item...and a whole new product line is born.

But lately in addition to the above scenario, most of my diversions have some sort of link to the project that preceded it.  For example I've been going crazy with the key fobs.  They are so practical and fun to make.  Everyone needs something for their keys, right?  Well that led me to buying so many different prints of ribbon to use.  Then one of my vendors introduced me to something wonderful.  Diamond mesh!  It is actually plastic facets that have the look of diamonds and it is so pretty.  And very lightweight!  It's perfect for key fobs because it gives them an eye catching appeal without adding a lot of heft to them.  Wouldn't you want to show off your keys if they were hanging from something like this:

But of course I couldn't stop there.  I needed to do something else with the mesh, so I decided to make bracelets with it.  And now my jewelry line has begun!

Aren't these so pretty?  I am addicted to them.  I wear them all the time to dress up an outfit.  I don't want to walk away from all of the other projects, but all I want to do it make stuff with this mesh.  Yesterday at lunch I even made myself a silver blinged-out lanyard for my work badge!  And inevitably that is going to start me down the road of another project line, I'm sure..... so stay tuned!!

New items

Joatmoncreations now has reversible ribbon headbands for $6.00 plus shipping!  They are not adjustable, but they are 20" in diameter (14.5 ribbon and 5.5" elastic) and very comfortable.
Check out my Facebook page (www.Facebook.com/joatmoncreations) for a wide selection of ribbons available.

I made this little birdie one this morning for myself.

Happy Teacher Appreciation Day!

For all of you that are shaping the minds of the future, thank you! I know it is not an easy job!  My son is only in preschool but I have seen a great change in him ever since he met his awesome teachers. Those women have great patience, super kindness and an awesome sense of humor....which is why I made them this sign.

I hope all of the other teachers out there know just how much they are appreciated.

I am addicted

...to ribbon.  I don't know what came first for me, the love of printed ribbon, or the enjoyment of customizing key fobs (key rings).  But they feed into each other and I can't stop buying ribbon...much to my husband's dismay!  There are so many patterns out there and it's so easy to make something that suits someone's personality.  I have a lot of customers that are Boston Red Sox fans, so the Sox ribbon is a big seller.  I make key fobs, belts, hair bows, dog collars.  There are customers that love flip flops, so I have them covered as well.  My flip flop hair bows can even be used as an accessory to dress up their...you guessed it...flip flop sandals!

I'm trying to find more ways to use all of these ribbons I have.  Kids belts are a hit because I'm using a center release buckle that is easy for little fingers to maneuver.  Hair bows are so cute and versatile.  They can put directly in the hair, on a headband, or as above - on your shoes.  I put my Red Sox bows on my sneakers for opening day!  I am even making some ribbon bookmarks!  A customer saw this great, vibrant cooking ribbon I had and she thought it would make a fun bookmark.  So, here it is!  A magnetic bookmark that is perfect for use in your favorite cookbook!!

The other night I made these adorable ballerina bows (on sale in my store: http://www.zibbet.com/JoatmonCreations/artwork?artworkId=831449) which would be great party favors.  Imagine a little girl getting one of these in her goody bag!

I'm still trying to come up with more ideas of how to use this ribbon (and justify my purchase of even more).  If there are any other neat ideas you can come up with, please share them!  Customer suggestions almost always make it into the store!

New store

At this time I have a web presence with my own website, www.joatmoncreations.com but there is not much traffic to it.  I also have a store on Etsy (www.etsy.com/shop/JoatmonCreations) but I find it really saturated and my items get lost in the crowd.  So last night I took a leap and joined a new online sales site called Zibbet.  My new shop (in addition to the other two I already mentioned) is http://www.zibbet.com/JoatmonCreations.  I'm hoping having a presence on here will bring me a little more exposure.  After all, I think my wedding bibs are a pretty unique item.  I want to make sure people can find them!!

What a great day!

Today it was beautiful in Boston.  The weather was just perfect, in my opinion, around 75 degrees with a nice breeze.  My husband currently works four 10 hour days which includes Saturday and soon he'll be switching to five 8 hour days (losing his Wednesday day off).  Since I work Monday through Friday, Sundays are pretty much our only family day.  And of course there are usually plenty of obligations on that day, especially since I have a large extended family.  But not today!  Today was all ours. 

We had high hopes of a family hike.  A walk on the beach.  An ice cream treat.

Instead, we cleaned and cleaned and cleaned. Our three year old made many messes, so then we cleaned more!  But it was perfect.  I had the windows open to air out the house.  I did a lot of organizing and rearranging.  We put up the canopy on our gazebo (not an easy or quick task).  Cleaned the patio furniture.  The list goes on and on.  It was exhausting but I am so happy we did it. 

As odd as it sounds, it was just a nice time together.  Our son had a ball being outside after months of being cooped up.  My husband did the yardwork that he actually looks forward to.  And I can look at my house with a little less disdain. 

Now I need to go clean the bathtub (for the second time today) because the little one actually was so dirty, he left a ring around it.  I guess that is the best indication of a great time had by all!

Dog collars available!

It's no secret that I'm from Boston and that typically means a very loyal sports fan.  One look at my Etsy shop (www.etsy.com/shop/joatmoncreations) or my website (http://www.joatmoncreations.com/) you will see that I love to make items in honor of our Red Sox and Patriots.  I'd be paying homage to the Bruins (my personal favorite) and Celtics as well if I could find the fabric, but that has been quite a struggle.

Recently I posted a picture of a toddler belt using Red Sox ribbon.  One response was "could you make a dog collar like that?"  Well, always one to take on a challenge....I got the hardware and whipped one (well, three) up last night.  Must say I'm very happy with them.  Currently I have two medium size and one large size in my store, but I can do smaller as well.

Now that I have the hardware, and I like how these came out, I'm realizing that not everyone is a Boston sports fan (gasp!) so I am looking into some other cute patterns as well.  Not having any dogs myself, I don't know what would appeal to people.  If you have any suggestions please let me know.  I always love an excuse to buy ribbon!! 

http://www.etsy.com/listing/97527347/adjustable-boston-red-sox-themed-dog