Be your own boss

I love it when people can stop working for others and become their own boss. When they can slip off the heavy chain called ‘corporate job’ or for that matter any job, and slip into the role of an entrepreneur, running a business doing what they are passionate about. It could be a craft business, a writing venture, a food biz….anything that makes that person tick.

I ‘met’ Meytal Ron at the Etsy hub and was happy to see another person doing what she loves. A designer and artist, she worked in the high-tech 3D design arena before giving up her day job to start Jolinne and Honeyboo, two quirky Etsy stores where she retails lovely prints. Having always loved painting and art, it was not a surprise that this hobby was turned into a viable business and art that all of you are sure to love.

I love books

The sound of music

Puppy love

See more of her work at Jolinne.

Read her interview at the Etsy Blog.

Image credit: Meytal Ron

A Feast of Colors

Every now and then, while researching for information or when I get tired of working, I hop onto my magic carpet and cruise over to interesting blogs. One fab blog leads me to another, one artist/entrepreneur introduces me to another. And in this way, I get to see a wide range of quirky, creative, whimsical, pretty, breathtaking blogs and ‘meet’ a bunch of interesting people.

In fact, these blogs led me to start my own web diary, a place where I decided to interview these bloggers. But as the days go by, I realise that interviewing all of them will take time and while I continue to send out interview requests, I need to post good stuff out here for you to dig into. So from now on, you’ll see a lot more snazzy snippets in this online scrapbook. Snippets about cute blogs, artists, entrepreneurs and interesting people. You’ll see more art and craft. More eye candy. And of course, the interviews too.

Talking about creativity and eye candy, you just have to-have to go over to A Creative Mint. Started by LA-based Leslie Shewring, an architect and interior designer by degree, a product designer by profession and stay-at-home mother by passion. This blog is her treasure trove of projects and photographs that she has put together with lots of TLC. I personally love the luminescent colours, the simple yet beautiful photos and the exuberant mood boards.

Pretty pink

Cool blues and greens

Pages from Leslie's journal

Sherbet

More roses

See more of her lovely images at A Creative Mint.

Image credit: A Creative Mint/Leslie

Time to...

Gosh! It’s been two long months…or rather, if you look at it from my perspective, two short months. The months just whizzed by. Projects jostled for my attention, lined up on my To-do List cheek-by-jowl. Yes, the past month or more was busy, and now I have some breathing space to hang around the Net, flip through blogs and maybe sometimes, just switch off the computer and read a book by my bamboo grove.

Having enough work as a freelance journalist and entrepreneur is great. But at the same time, chunks of free time are equally amazing. I know….I know…these days it’s almost a sin to admit that one has time, that there are days when one is not Busy. Clocking 10-12 hour days is the norm. Working weekends is a done thing. Being perpetually stressed is expected. A sack-full of extra weight, a hurriedly grabbed lunch, zero time for exercise…well, that’s kind of mandatory, isn’t it?But let’s talk about the Busy buzzword on another day.

So, while you think about the “I’m Busy” banner that most of us like to flaunt most of the time, take a short break to enjoy these lovely drawings by Penelope Neal. She does absolutely amazing pencil drawings and watercolours. Here are some of her sketches that will remind you of time, of what’s it like to have time.

Time to chat with the fish...

Time to enjoy...

Time to sleep, snooze, relax, rejuvenate...

Time to love, to catch up with pals...

Image credit: Penelope Neal

To see more of Penelope's work, cruise over to her website and blog.