Football Is For Girls

It's amazing some of the things I've learned since diving into this whole Doodle Divas thing.  Perhaps the most surprising and eye-opening is sports.

It's not just for boys.

Imagine my surprise when an uber hottie, feminine gal pal of mine lit up like Christmas at the idea of me creating football inspired divas.  She had just finished giving me an enthusiastic lesson about the world of brides and bridesmaids and all things wedding.

My friend and diva, Lauren, patiently took me through the whole process of how the game was played, popular teams,  team rankings, history, etc.

Lauren showed me that yet again, I had underestimated just how dynamic divas really are.  They're not all bored out of their minds while the 'guys' take in a football game.  A lot of them are yelling at the t.v. screen as well.

My first football inspired diva is dedicated to Lauren.  She taught me that divas can love sports just like the guys . . . and that "uprights" on a football field are not the people standing versus the people sitting down!  ;-)

Baby You Were Born This Way!

Face it.  Some folks weren't walking around like ordinary citizens and then suddenly became divas.  Well . . . not most folks.

Typically, the title is earned through blood, sweat, and tears.  Or . . . it's genetic.  You're born with the title by default by diva royalty.

Although even that's not always a given.

Madonna's daughter Lourdes = Diva.  Cher's daughter Chastity now Chaz Bono = not so much.

You know who I'm talking about.  They're not quite the little girls in those pageants you see wearing makeup heavier than tiaras.

They're more like the girls that run around in tutus with magic wands and tiaras when it's not Halloween.

They brush their hair back alot like a shampoo commercial.

They're fussy about their clothes matching.  They have enough baby dolls and Barbies to have stock in Mattel.

And despite all this, they can beat up boys if provoked.

Yes.  THOSE little girls.

They're genetic predisposition is "diva."  They're wired that way from embryos.  But "diva" is such an adult label.  And we all want these precious little darlings to stay little and adorable as long as possible.

So to that end, we bestow upon them another title until they've graduated to "Diva".  It's age appropriate.  Yet it gets the same message across.

It's 'Princess' - the perfect title before graduating to diva royalty.

Soap.com . . . the Sequel!

So a while ago I wrote about Soap.com and how awesomely awesome they are.  And I was ordering some stuff and they didn't carry my favorite-Consumer-Reports-highly-recommended laundry detergent.

No biggie.

I did some research and got another good one they carried.  But they had this part at the end of the order where you can put your questions/concerns/etc.

So I asked them about carrying my fave brand AND I told them I had just blogged about their awesomeness and to keep up the good work.

 . . . something like that.

Today I got this in the mail:

Guess where I'm gonna be buying even more products from.

Soap.com rules!

Santa Baby

Woo to the hoo!   It's that time of year and I am so excited I could explode into a mass of red and green confetti at any time.

I'm talking Christmas people.  I'm talking holidays.  I'm talking let it snow, let it snow, LET IT SNOW!

Like it's any shock that the Christmas holidays is Doodle Divas' favorite holiday.   I mean, the ideas I have for the holidays are so numerous, even I can't keep up.  I had to wrestle down my numerous ideas to a few that a human can actually maintain.

I needed help with consolidating.  The images started off as such:

Cute but weak.

Great concept.  But she looks more like a clown.  Not cute.

Super cute. . . for a greeting card.  Too busy for a shirt.

So I went through even more passes with the owner of Salice Boutique.  She knows a hit when she sees one.  She wanted to see a snowflake incorporated.

So I got to work . . . again:

Nope.

I tried again.

Nope.

But I had an epiphany!  I incorporated a concept that had worked a month prior:

JACKPOT!!!  The official Christmas holiday Doodle Diva of 2011 is born!

. . . and perhaps, along with it, a new concept and trademark as well.  ;-)

Mommy! Mamma! Mummy! Mommy! Mommy! Mamma . . .

It's no surprise that Doodle Divas features strong, beautiful women.  And who inspires these women?  What female demographic consistently inspires others to be the best they can be?

It always comes back to Mom.

And it's not just other women that are inspired.  Oh no no no!  Bionic rage can be instilled in men who feel their mom is being threatened.

Threatened?  Start dissing a guy's mom.  When you wake up in the hospital later after being pummeled, don't say I didn't warn ya.

Moms have this uncanny ability to do it all.  They work, wipe our asses, cook, clean and look like rock stars in the process.

And we all know that my mom and your mom is the most beautiful woman in the solar system.

So it's no surprise that some of my most popular Doodle Divas print themes are about Moms:

Mom's with lots kids:

Moms with "mini-me" kids:

New moms:

Moms with little babies:

Moms with big babies:  

And Moms with their hands full:

But by definition, just being a "Mom" means having your hands full.  And I think we can all agree that Mom can be spelled D-I-V-A!

;-)

Clutter!!!

I hate clutter so much.  I hate it so much I could spew chunks.  I hate it so damn much.

It's utterly exhausting. . . and frustrating.

Ugh!

My thing isn't that I don't put stuff away.  It's that there's no 'away' to put stuff to.

Aaargh!

It starts with a Halloween costume a year ago that required this weird setting powder.  I will probably use it never ever again in my existence on this planet.  But it was $8 and I used a morsel.

The bottle is practically full.  I can't bring myself to throw it away.  So I toss it in a drawer . . . where it sat for over a year.

It's getting tossed.

The cd has some pics I burned on it to take to the drug store to get printed.  I don't know where a blank sleeve is to say what's on the cd.  But they're my nephew, or are they a wedding? or . . . well I don't know.

So I'll hang on to it.

The Michael's coupon is something I may do for Christmas cards . . . eventually.  I ain't doing it today.  But I will.  Well I want to.  Well I want to research it and see.

I'll hang on to it.

I need a pen for God's sake.

I'll hang on to it.

Then that becomes this:

 The junk drawer.

And this:

I tried the filing thing but invariably I outgrow it within weeks and it's an overstuffed mess.

So I end up frustrated and just walk away.  It's like a never ending battle.  And the hardest part is figuring out what stays and what goes.  And if it goes, does it get tossed or taken elsewhere?

AAARRGGHH!!!

So I end up saying 'screw it!!!' until I run out of a clean surface and am forced to deal with it.  The last time I had to deal with it . . .  well, suffice to say I was not a well man that day.

I've been told to invest in an organizer - a flesh and blood organizer.  An expert in the field needs to come and assess and help me develop a system.  My life is about to get way busier so I need to get on the stick.

Meanwhile, the time fell back this past weekend and I can't find the damn instructions on resetting my alarm clock.

Surprise.  Surprise.

AAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHH!!!!!!!

Calvin Klein Can Sew

Eventually I'd be tickled to see folks wearing wearing Doodle Divas.  Like not just t-shirts.  I mean like an entire ensemble.

Handbags and shoes are imperative.  Despite Doodle Divas' love of shoes, I actually inch a little more in favor of bags.   I have like a kazillion ideas for bags.  

I have hundreds of  ideas for tops; thousands of ideas for bottoms; millions of ideas for gowns and a myriad of ideas of how to put them all together with shoes, bags, accessories and yes . . . even makeup.  

(I firmly believe that by age 18, any female that wears makeup should not only know how, but also always have on hand the necessary tools to give herself smoky eyes for an evening out.   Can I get an amen??!)

I digress.

Apparently, simply drawing fashion ideas isn't enough.  There's fabric to be studied.  Density, color, durability, lack thereof . . . And most importantly . . . SEWING!!??

I thought you could just come up with an idea and have someone make it.  Turns out that only works if you're an uber star like Jennifer Lopez.

Otherwise, brotha gotta learn to sew.  

Sigh.

Thankfully, a very dear friend has armed me with the tools necessary to begin this journey.  

It's a sewing machine!

This aint nothing like the thing my Mom used to have.

It looks pretty sophisticated.

And it has all these stitch patterns it can do which is apparently a very big deal.

Apparently this is a foot pedal that can make things go faster.

I have no idea what this is supposed to be??!  ;-)

Any ole hoo, she's allowing me to borrow her super cool sewing machine.  She upgraded to some mega-monster machine that stitch a wardrobe for an entire village.

I'm to have a  skirt done by the New Year.  

Wish me luck!

:-)

One Degree of Real Simple Magazine

I stopped subscribing to Real Simple magazine.  I love the magazine.  But I couldn't use every tip every month.  I couldn't justify the investment.

I do, however, still subscribe to the free Real Simple magazine emails.  Weekly I seem to get tips emailed to me.  If I take time to look through, I occasionally find something I use.

This tip is from their magazine.  I forget what issue.  But I've had this thing for about a year now and absolutely love it.

It's a sweater drying rack.  But instead of something taking up space in the bathroom or precious floor space, it attaches to my windows!

See how it uses these suction thingies!

Clever huh?

The sweaters hang off the floor and out of the way.

Ideally I can dry three sweaters at a time so as not to crowd it. But if they've piled up through the week, I've had as many as six or seven sweaters hanging from this clever gizmo with ZERO issues.

I have a ceiling fan in the same room the sweaters are hanging from.  Double score!  I pop my ceiling fan on and before the day is through, my sweaters are bone dry and no worse for the wear!

HOLLA!  :-)

Wish I could remember the name of the place I ordered it from.  It was super inexpensive.  No more than $30.00.

And because it was featured in Real Simple, they had a deluge of folks like me trying to order at once.  So they got on a short back log.   But it shipped pretty darn quick regardless.

Definitely one of those 'one of the best investments I ever made' list makers.  One thing is to make sure to clean your surface and the suction thingies.  Otherwise it doesn't truly grip and ends up sliding or falling off.

That's why God made Windex!  :-)

Soap.com

In case you haven't noticed, the world isnt slowing down anytime too soon.  And services that help you and I stay on our "a" game will thrive.  Case in point, soap.com.
Let me just tell you.  I did the math and I come out at the same price as shopping at the local grocer with coupons when you figure in the gas and aggravation.

And I know of folks that will pay a premium to have their essentials delivered.  Moi being one of them!

Soap.com carries your basics in an endless variety.  I'm talking laundry detergent, dish detergent, tp, mouthwash, beauty care, OTC meds, and now, even some groceries!

To make it even sweeter, they offer free two day shipping for a minimum.  And I'm not talking something cray-cray like $200.  It's like $50.  

I spend that easy every other week restocking my domestic essentials.  Way easy.

And it comes in this colorful cute box all nice and packaged.  So when I get home from work, it's there waiting.

I love Love LOVE this service!  It gives me time to do my other priorities. And even though I pass my grocery store twice weekdays, you can't put a price tag on not having to deal with finding a parking spot, getting a clean buggy without raggedy wheels, dodging crowds, finding an employee to actually help you find something, long lines, and of course... getting behind the notorious person with a buggy filled to the brim in a '10 item or less' line!

So soap.com's value is actually...PRICELESS!  :-)

Am I in?

So my uber important meeting was rescheduled to show my wares.  I'm vying for a super duper primo spot in downtown Asheville, the Grove Arcade's Portico Market.   My hottie friend, Kasey, runs Element Tree Essentials there and has been on me since the Summer to try to get a spot.

The manager had to review everything I wanted to offer.  I thought I'd show him  a good representation of everything Doodle Divas had to offer:

But even I didn't realize how EVERYTHING has evolved into much more.  In addition to prints and white white t-shirts, there are  folders . . .

screen prints . . . 

mugs . . . 

paper clips . . . 

and soap!

Luckily, I had already organized my 'sample bin' and just needed to make an impromptu presentation.  He said he liked it.  But . . . , (there's always a BUT . . . ), he had to run some things by even more important people.

Later that same day he met with me again and informed me . . . 

DOODLE DIVAS IS IN!!!  :-)

But on a positive note . . .

 . . . I have one hell of a sample kit!

I was supposed to meet with someone important after work to review my wares.  They're like Congress.  They're yay or nay can make or break me for a specific venture.

So they wanted to see everything.  And everything meant getting things together.  Planning.

So of course, I was way tired and went to bed early last night with the idea of getting up super early to create, design, package and coordinate this beautiful presentation that would include everything from Doodle Divas paper clips to Doodle Divas soaps, tees, folders and prints.

I hit the snooze button maybe once, twice  . . . OK. . . FOUR times too many.  So I'm scrambling.

Clearly, making and packaging soap just wasn't gonna happen.  Gratefully, a light bulb went off and reminded me I had already made and packaged soaps for a show last month.

So I found absolutely everything, go it pretty, rounded it up, and hauled it in this uber huge plastic bin to the office.

Unfortunately, my appointment never showed.  :-(  (Truly hope they're OK.)

But on a positive note . . .   . . . I now have one hell of a sample kit!  :-)