A Funny Thing Happened On The Way Here

So a lot has happened in the 6 months since I last posted. I appeared in Progressive Greetings (PG) AGAIN (no smugness intended) as the Artist in Focus in their March 2010 issue. See lovely picture right. Way back then I was still little Miss Needs, and since then I have married my fiancee of 10 YEARS! We were happily Wed in July and had an absolutely wonderful day as did our family and friends. Thanks to you all for making it and making it a day to remember. I just wish I could think of an excuse to wear my wedding dress again, Christmas Fairy when we have kids perhaps, or will that mentally scar them? Anyhoo, here's another lovely piccy of me and Hubby standing by Knight Rider. Yes folks my husband arrived in Knight Rider to the wedding. Well if your gonna do it why not on your wedding?


After we got hitched, things settled down for a while, and then we started house hunting. Two months later, which brings us up to about now, and we have found a house. If all goes well we should be in by the beginning of November. Its all happening.

Well thats about it on the domestic front. Work wise, LadyBoo Designs is on the move forwards as well. I now have cards selling in 8 shops around Hereford, Herefordshire, and hopefully should have more soon. After appearing in PG in March I had a couple of small orders from Yorkshire. I also sold a print to a guy in Australia! I am re-designing the look and functions of the website so watch this space! Its nearly done and there will be loads of new stuff on there too (hopefully). As well as new designs I am trying to make the site a bit more functional so that you can access the blog from there as well as bringing online some new product ranges for the future. Exciting stuff.

Whats I find strange is that the goals I set myself at the beginning of the year seemed impossible and achieving them seemed a long way off. Now we are nearly at the end of 2010 it seems that everything is starting to come together and I have surprised myself at what I have been able to achieve in a relatively short space of time. It just goes to show what you can do when you want it enough. Its been hard work even getting to this point, but I've loved every minute of it, and I feel more confident and am growing everyday. Right now I love life, and long may it continue. As I finish writing this Blog entry the powerful and immortal words of Hannabal Smith, silver fox haired leader of The A-Team are echoing round my head, 'I love it when a plan comes together!' The man knows what he's talking about people.

Absolute Resolutions are Snow Joke

Well, it's been a while since my last post, and since then we've had christmas and new year, so Happy New Year to you all and I hope you had a good christmas as I did. So what's been ocurrin'? To be honest not an awful lot. In fact it has been quite a relief to have a bit of a wind down at christmas so as to re-charge the batteries.

Since starting back at work the year has got off to an excellent start. LadyBoo Designs has been published in the top trade magazine for greetings cards in the UK, Progressive Greetings Worldwide. One of our designs is featured in their innovations section of the magazine (see image on the right). We are the 'Top of the Tots' Tiger chasing a Butterfly design on the left. I am absolutely chuffed to bits as its the first piece of work we have submitted and its got in, so rambunctious slaps on the back for us, Hoorah!! The design can be purchased from the LadyBoo Designs website http:// www.ladyboo.co.uk
along with many other gorgeous cards if we do say so ourselves.

Also it has snowed, in case any one hadn't noticed, so a little bit of an extended christmas holiday for some us, yipeeee! My cat Missy has been enjoying the snowy weather also, see the image on the left, if you look closely you can see she is actually sticking out her tongue. I don't think she likes having her photo taken. Maybe some treats later will mellow her mood.

So, what else to look forward to in 2010? More publicity for LadyBoo, more sales, and more designs, better and brighter than ever before. More cat pictures(groan...I here you sigh, but I love cats, so tough bananas!).

It's a strange thing that at the start of every new year I always set my goals for the year ahead. Last year I actually managed to achieve most of them, though there wern't that many, but they were quite big ones. Launch LadyBoo Designs, have more confidence and faith in myself (thanks Susan Jeffers and SheRa, Princess of Power, you gave me strength when I needed it most), quit my McJob and work with my fiancee and to write the first draft of my first children's book. All of these I have done, but there is still more to do. This year I would like to continue to build on the foundations of confidence I now have and take my life in every direction from strength to strength, to build LadyBoo Designs into a thriving and profit making business with legendary designs and excellent customer service, to illustrate that first draft of my book and get it published, learn to drive, cook more, meet more people who have a positive influence in my life, hug more, love more and play outside whenever it snows or the sunshines.

I hope that if any of you have set yourselves resolutions or goals to fulfill, that you achieve them, and if you don't, as I'm pretty sure I won't manage to get through all mine, just keep on chipping away at things and do the things that make you happy in the end it'll all come good, and so I wish you all a prosperous and magical 2010.

xxLadyBooxx

BT Tradespace is a waste of space

Warning: Excessive sarcasm and cynicism is contained throughout this blog. We advise that you take whatever precautions you feel appropriate. E.G. Close your eyes and read

Well after last weeks full on excitement with stinking resin and potato's this week has been a bit of an anti climax. In fact it has been quite frustrating and consisted, as well as the normal everyday stuff, to doing battle with one of our countries biggest telecommunications companies. BT. (British Telecom for those who may be reading this outside of Blighty)

I don't know how many of you are aware that they offer a free service where businesses can upload their profile, products and blogs etc. to promote your business. Just like facebook but for business. Brilliant idea. If only it actually worked! I have been having problems with it from the start and am beginning to wonder why I even started the process. Oh yes, I run a business and any opportunity to increase sales and with the trusted and established name of BT behind it, I should be on to a winner.

Question: How many times do I use the word business or businesses in that last paragraph? Prize is a Free BT Tradespace Account (Please apply cynicism and sarcasm and close your eyes when reading that last statement. Thank you.)

I first uploaded my information about a month and a half ago. To start with once I had put all my relevant data in, uploaded products and written several blog posts although small, I was still not getting listed in the most basic searches even though I had selected relevant keywords. Then to top it all off the site was 'up-graded and re-designed' and now all the information is gone, vanished, it is no longer there. To quote the immortal Monty Python 'This Parrot is dead, it is no more.' I am really annoyed and angry that this happened and wrote some pretty disgruntled posts on the BT Tradespace support pages. It seemed that many others were also experiencing the same problems.

I have actually made a really interesting and helpful contact through all of this and we are now following one another on twitter. So despite the gnashing of teeth and swearing I have actually made a new friend. Hi Paul at 22i Design if your reading this! There's nothing like a bit of conflict against a common enemy to bring people closer together. It's good to talk. I think BT used that one once in an advert. (Once again we ask that you please apply cynicism and sarcasm and close your eyes when reading that last statement. Thank you.)

I have been phoned by the BT web team but missed their call so returned it only to be told there was no one available to help me. So I arranged for someone to call back. They have not, as yet. Perhaps the phones they use are linked to the tradespace website in some way and are not working either. Or they are being trained to make the call as we speak. (Apply as above) I'll keep you posted as to how this all turns out.

On a lighter un-related topic of interest my new fire grate should be arriving soon and so I will be able to relax in front of an open fire and forget about all this. I think I'll use some old BT bills for kindling.....they should burn up a treat!

The Business Of Heart Shaped Potatos, Marigolds and Toilets

I have recently set up my own business selling greetings cards which I design and print myself. In an effort to get better site traffic and hopefully some sales I have been signing up to any and all directories, business networking and social networking sites.
After a week of this, I finally get round to sorting out my blog. It's been a marathon of data entry in various data fields and if I didn't know where I lived before I certainly do now!

So as I understand it this is where I can tell you all about me and what I've been up to, things that have annoyed and frustrated me and things that make me laugh and cry. If any ones interested that is. I thought I would start by telling you about myself but that just seems boring and like the first assignment you get in primary school after the summer holidays, so I'll tell you about something completely different and we'll go from there.

Today I set a heart shaped potato in resin flecked with gold glitter. What an unusual thing to be doing on a Friday, although it sounds like a gentile pass time for a lady of Herefordshire I can tell you I wouldn't recommend it. The stuff I had to use had so many HAZCHEM signs on it if I had one I would have dusted off my old radiation suit, instead I opted for every housewife's trusted chemical hazard protective clothing and donned a pair of marigolds (rubber gloves, not the garden flower, that would be stupid). Needless to say, though my hands were protected the stuff absolutely stank and had to be relocated to the garden shed from its original outside toilet position. Yes we still have an outside toilet! Our house is an old Victorian terrace which boasts an outside toilet, though if you are ever lucky enough to visit I wouldn't recommend as it has become Des res for the local wildlife of the eight legged variety, if you do happen to pop by and are desperate, bring your own marigolds, radiation suit optional.