Category Archives: Inspiration

New Developments in E-Commerce

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“There is parity in the marketplace and as a result the consumer is beginning to make decisions, not on what things cost but the convenience of it.” ~ Howard Schultz

Cover_PA Oct-Nov 2015_220w_iPadAre you currently selling your artwork on-line or anticipate doing so in the future? If so, check out the article in the October/November 2015 issue of Professional Artist Magazine titled Finding Your Place in the New e-Commerce.

More than ever  before, new options have opened up for selling artwork on the world-wide-web.

You thought Pinterest was just a place to pin-up pretty pictures on an on-line bulletin board?  It’s capabilities have been expanded to include a “buy it button” integrated with an artist’s store on Shopify. According to the article in Professional Artists Magazine, “It’s made closing a sale even easier through a Pinterest app for Android users.” This is just one advance in technology for on-line art stores.

Things are advancing at a rapid pace and the article in Professional Artists Magazine addresses the issue of commission, shipping and handling, direct sales integrated with social media and the on-line version of the red dot.

“I already have a website,” you say? Does it have an e-commerce plug-in? Increase your visibility and exposure by adding a way to sell your art beyond brick and mortar galleries and stores. The tools for on-line selling of art work has come a long way and art collectors are looking for convenience.

This blog is brought to you by Cornerstone Fulfillment Service, LLC. A company specializing in e-commerce and e-marketing for independent publishers.

See you back here tomorrow on All Things Fulfilling. We will be featuring a few stories about professional development opportunities I had last week as a writer.

 

 

Telling Narratives

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Memoir isn’t the summary of a life, it is a window into a life, very much like a photograph in its selective composition… its a deliberate construction. – William Zinsser

So, you’ve decided to turn your geneaology research into a publication but there are missing pieces of the puzzle. That concerns you. Don’t let it stop you. You could search till doomsday and never find what you are looking for. Move ahead…

Sometimes you have to narrate a story with only the facts as you know them. The creative part of memoir writing is what is fun! It allows you to fill in the blanks as best you can. But make sure you create missing content that falls in line with your fact gathering.

And don’t forget to add a disclaimer in your book something to the effect that  you have created a narrative based on the facts as you have them. That’s the best an author can do when resources have been exhausted.

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Next week on  Things Fulfilling we will give you some good resources to help you identify where and how to begin writing a family story.

This blog is brought to you by 2014 EVVY award-winning author Sue Batton Leonard.

Stitching People and Yarns Together

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“Art and life are not separate domains.” ~ Piet Mondrian

“What a good way to end a work week,” I thought, as I sat among a group of about 14 other knitters at Sew Steamboat. The group meets each week after work hours on Fridays. I had made a promise to myself that I was going to sit and stitch with this group once summer was over. Last Friday I joined in. Since I’ve taken a knitting hiatus over the past 27 years, I was looking for support and fellowship among fellow fiber enthusiasts in the community where I live. Others have the same objective when they join in on similar crafting groups.

It was refreshing to see a male  in the group. He is a visitor to the community from California. By the yarns he told this gentleman is a very accomplished craftsman who sheers sheep, spins the wool and then turns it into creative projects. “Kudos to this ambitious fellow,” I thought, as I listened to his stories. His daytime job is a family physician, so I guess it could be said “he stitches people and yarns together.”

Here are a few pictures that I took at Sew Steamboat. The room was so light-filled, the photos did not turn out very well, but you’ll get the picture!IMG_20150918_162912_617

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Since today is Film Friday, I’d like to share information about a book to film adaptation which may be of interest to  other knitting enthusiasts.  Friday Night Knitting Club written Kate Jacobs is in stages of development. Keep your eye on this site for more information.

That’s all from All Things Fulfilling today. Have a good weekend. Enjoy the fall season. We’ve already had some snow on the upper peaks here in northwestern Colorado. Morning temps are already sometimes below freezing! Good time to knit myself a woolen scarf and socks!

This blog is brought to you by Sue Batton Leonard, author of the EVVY award-winning memoir Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected. The publication is available in audio book (the real treasure is in the voice), paperback and e-book.

Cultivating Interests

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“The only real fire to cultivate is the fire inside of you. Nothing external will cultivate it.”

Sitting and reading a book of history has never been my cup of tea. But visiting the space where history took place is a different story. It brings an historical era alive.

This summer I revisited a place that I never tire of -Ladew Gardens in “hunt country” of Monkton, Maryland. Home to the first American to create garden rooms, Henry S. Ladew,( 1887 – 1976) his creative garden spirit is still alive. To read more about the life of Henry S Ladew and his stunning gardens, see this publication.

Beautiful topiaries, strategically-placed antique garden hardscape,beautiful ponds and fountains make the place a real sanctuary for gardeners and non-gardeners alike who have a fine appreciation of beautiful spaces in nature. New to the property since my last visit is a butterfly pavilion which is manned by volunteers who explain the process from caterpillar to  chrysalis to hatching of butterflies and their purpose in nature. To read more about this natural phenomenon, visit this article.

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The Garden Cafe, Ladew’s residence, art studio and library are open to the public. The spaces are where educational, scientific and cultural pursuits flourish for the public benefit. On Sept 27th at 10pm CNN will feature a story about these historic gardens on Mike Rowe’s show called “Dirty Jobs.”IMG_20150908_114020_578

As a garden enthusiast, my visit to Ladew was as fulfilling as the first time I walked the 22 acres of grounds.

IMG_20150908_113427_260This blog is brought to you by the EVVY award-winning author of Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected.

Families in Shipping and Commerce

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“Great people have great values and great ethics.” ~ Jeffrey Gitomer

I recently revisited a National Historic site that I remember from my childhood.  It’s just a couple of miles from where I grew up in Towson, Maryland.

Hampton Mansion, tagged as a “Palace in the Wilderness,” at one time equaled half the area of present day Baltimore. The site tells a story of early settlers, the Ridgely family, prominent Marylander’s who were colonial merchants in iron production, shipping and commerce. Ridgely’s iron was said to be “the most profitable exports in the mid-Atlantic colonies.” Read more about this tale of an industrious family who helped fuel a new nation.

The artifacts, beautiful gardens, parterres and vistas, the Georgian mansion, stables and workers quarters for the indentured servants are all evidence of a powerful businessman, who was said to be “genteel” kept “the best table in America” and was “very kind to his servants”. Written entries in journals evidence the care that was taken make Christmas gift lists for all the domestic help of the estate.

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Revival of Past Times

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“A hobby a day keeps the doldrums away.” – Phyllis McKinley

“We are really seeing a resurgence in the fiber arts,” said Windy Karpavage as I sat in her lovely studio on remote Taylors Island of the Chesapeake several weekends ago. “I just held a week long knitting and felting class at the Dorchester Art Center in Cambridge (Maryland) and it was very well attended. The girls had so much fun and so did I as their teacher.”

There is truth behind the words of the owner of Kaire je Studio. According to an article in Contentment Health Magazine  there has been a revival of knitting and other crafts in the fiber arts industry. There is not a lack of articles to substantiate the facts.

I had gone to her studio to seek help with my knitting project. I used to be beyond a beginner in my skills but since I had taken a 27 year hiatus from one of my past hobbies, reading and following knitting instructions sometimes is a little challenging.

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Story of Strife and Spirit

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A father is like a lighthouse standing tall above the sea’s. When the storms of life come crashing in, the light from your father you’ll see.~ Dana Roberts Clark

Ok, so I was miffed at my brother. So mad I was ready to smack him!
At sunset he took off across the Chesapeake Bay in his boat and the engine cut out and couldn’t be restarted. Not his fault. It happens.

My upset came when he called ship to shore, and asked my nearly 90 year old parents to come tow him back to the dock. “Why,” I thought, “didn’t he call his hale and hardy younger friends and get them to help instead?” I was concerned about my folks at their ages navigating across the waters at night time. And did they really have the strength that might be needed to assist?

As usual my loyal and dependable parents jumped in their boat and took off into the dusk but not before I got their neighbors phone numbers. If they didn’t return in a reasonable amount of time, I’d turn to them for help.

The sky deepened with nightfall, and grew pitch.  Just as I began to pray that all was ok and that they were on their way back, I saw a dim light in the distance drawing nearer. Sure enough, it was my parents boat towing my brother’s powerboat behind. Perhaps I was silly to feel annoyed.

The reason I am telling this story, is it came to my mind after Sunday’s church sermon on courage and all that the youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai went through when she stood up for educational freedom. Her story “I Am Malala” is compelling and inspirational.

As Reverend Tim pointed out, it’s good to read and hear stories of others strife.We learn what courage is all about.

I hope as I age I live with strong spirit like my parents do. They rarely let age be their excuse for anything and are guided by their faith that “all will be well.” And they are always dependable and loyal to their family.

If I put together the titles of all the songs we sang in the sanctuary on Sunday I believe they’d aptly sum up today’s story telling. They went like this:

“A Mighty Fortress is Our God”
“Spirit of the Living God”
“I Would Hit Him With My Shoe”
“Oh God, Our Help in Ages Past”
“Everytime I Feel the Spirit”
“This is My Song”

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Thanks for being with us today. Do return to All Things Fulfilling tomorrow. This blog is brought to you by award-winning author Sue Batton Leonard.

Home Grown Pleasures

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“It’s difficult to think anything but pleasant thoughts while eating a homegrown tomato.” – Lewis Grizzard

“Come, you’ve got to see this,” said my father before I’d even set my baggage down for my annual visit.”

What is it that’s so urgent? I thought. I ‘d expect an impatience in my mother but not my father. He is the more serene in personality of the two.

“You’ve got to see my heirloom tomatoes. Your brother Scott gave me jillions of seeds of all kinds.” My dad gave me a tour of his garden, with plants in all stages of development.

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Sundown for Labor Day

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What a glorious summer it has been.  It is the time of the year when I feel as if I have returned to days of my youth. An outpouring of memories come with that.

Over Labor Day weekend and for a few days next week I’d like to encourage our readers to check out some of the posts in the archives. You can look them up by category or scroll through the site. Something will catch your interest. There are over 1700 writings on All Things Fulfilling that have drawn 100,000+ viewers to this website.

Each of the postings is about something that has inspired me as a writer or as a human being to follow my own kind of bliss.

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See you back here a little later in the week. I promise. Refreshed, rejuvenated and with a wealth of ideas that will come together between now and the New Year.

This blog is brought to you by award winning author Sue Batton Leonard. Her books include EVVY award -winner Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected and short stories Lessons of Heart & Soul.

Summer is Not Over Till It’s Over

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I am so happy you returned to All Things Fulfilling today. Perhaps you are like me, not quite ready yet to step into the third season.

Today’s multi-media look back at summer is brought to you through a video from Carl’s Old Record Club. Their You Tube channel has a number of other videos that you will enjoy viewing. They are nicely produced – syncing music with images.

Aren’t we fortunate to be living in the digital age whereby we can easily share all types of media, such as independently published films, music and e-books with others?

Enjoy the creative entertainment of others frequently because it will enhance your own personal fulfillment!

This blog is brought to you by Sue Batton Leonard. Check out her EVVY award-winning audio book! It is also available in paperback and e-book as well.