Hello there :)
So I hope you guys have been having a good year so far, I have been busy busy busy! Back in November, I went to stay with Scott's parents to help his mom look after his sister's kids while she went on vacation. That was a lot of fun, Janie and I make a really good team and the kids are so sweet and well behaved. After that, I went right from there to my mom's place to look after her while she recovered from surgery - it was nice to have a good long visit with her and my younger brother. While I was there I introduced her to 'Netflixing' and she binge-watched the entire Gilmore Girl series which of course when it was over she had a good long cry because "IT'S OVER!!! :'( " - I found it really funny because I guess I am mean like that.
A few of you may have noticed that I started another blog called Media Reviews by Oriona which is me reviewing books, movies, music, and anything else that I find interesting. Someone on youtube asked me to review his glass ornaments that he makes that are actually really beautiful and the process seems really cool so I am going to look into doing that for him.
the first week of January, my longest and best friend Abi came up from the states to visit which was awesome! She was a little dismayed with the weather, but she had a bit of a "DUH!" minute because, hello? Canada in January... But it was still lots of fun, we went shopping and exploring and saw an IMAX dome movie at the Ontario Science Centre which is like, the coolest place ever and awesomely not that far from where I live :)
Then there was job hunting, and job finding. I am really excited to start work next week! But I am also extremely excited to be re-starting my little craft business of Starchild Creations! (Previously known as Sacred Star Creations) I am starting with a Facebook page and hope to expand to etsy.com and craft shows and things like that. So far I am making Painted Gratitude Stones and Splash Paintings, but very soon I am going to be making those microwavable heating pads and probably some other stuff. I also started writing a new book which in the last week I have written the first two chapters. It is called 'The Darkness' (working title) and it is going to be a supernatural thriller based on a terrifying thing that happened to me when I was little. *scary music*
In May, mom, Stone and I are being flown down (courtesy of my AMAZING big brother) to the beautiful (and hot) state of Arizona to see him graduate and visit him and my sisters!! There is just so much going on right now and I am so incredibly happy and grateful for this wonderful life I live.
Wishing you happiness and love
~Oriona
Showing posts with label small business. Show all posts
Showing posts with label small business. Show all posts
Friday, January 23, 2015
Thursday, December 4, 2014
My Calling
I don't remember exactly when I realized it, but for a really long time now I have realized that my calling in this life is writing. I really hit the nail on the head this morning when talking to my mom. I really love all forms of art, but the one that I feel I really have a grasp of is writing and story telling. I see pictures like this:
- and I want to be able to paint that in someone's mind. I want to be able to write in such detail as to create this in someone's head. I know the joy of reading a really good book and getting so immersed in the story I don't even see the book anymore, it becomes like a movie playing in my head. Writing is my art form and I have so many ideas and stories that I know this is what I am meant to do.
As I think I have said before, my long term plan is to write (hopefully) successful books and also own my own business which would be a store/cafe. Although I love writing and have every faith that I will become an accomplished author, I also recognize the need for a steady income.
On that note, I also need a steady income right now, and as I am currently staying with my mother while she recovers from surgery, that has become next to impossible. Lately I have been looking for online jobs which is a challenge because I have never had an online job so I am unfamiliar with how it works. It's hard trying to find something that I even qualify for and then I have to try and make my application stand out from the others and I am not sure how you do that online. In person, I can smile and have a friendly chat with my prospective employers but online I'm just a resume. Anyway, I am sure I will figure it out. Anyone who knows me, knows that I am never short of entrepreneurial ideas.
Getting back to my books, that is going very well so far. I just finished a story called Grandfather Eagle about a little girl who finds and raises a baby eagle. One day he is taken away and released into a nature preserve. He is happy there but misses the girl so he finds his way back to her. - The only thing I need now is an illustrator to do the drawings for my book. Until I find my artist though, I will get back to writing my other on the go books. There's The Ripple Effect which I think is going to be my big one. I also have the first of a series I am working on called the Adventure Girl series, based on stories my mom use to tell me when I was little. I have a lot of ideas with my books, like trying to make them all connected somehow.
Okay I am kind of excited so I want to talk about some of my other story ideas, here's two:
1. Working title: Journey, about a young woman who either has amnesia and doesn't remember who she is OR she is a runaway from a foster home. But either way she is on the road following clues to who she really is and where she is from. She works odd jobs to get from place to place and also solves mysteries and helps the people that she meets. I want this to be a series, and I might work in some kind of supernatural element to the story but I'm not sure yet.
2. No working title yet, but I am thinking a future almost post-apocalyptic but not quite. The earth is dying and people are either living in anarchy or they are following crazed, warped, and extreme religions. Somehow, I haven't worked it out yet, but some select people end up being blasted into space as a last attempt to find habitable planets for mankind to move to. The main character is one of these people but I'm not sure which direction I am going to take it from there. Will she find a planet? Will some freak accident happen leaving her with powers? Will it be more of a spiritual book? Will she enter a different dimension?
Best way to figure it out is to write it out so that's what I am going to do!
Until later,
Oriona
Picture Credit: http://pichost.me/1560923/
As I think I have said before, my long term plan is to write (hopefully) successful books and also own my own business which would be a store/cafe. Although I love writing and have every faith that I will become an accomplished author, I also recognize the need for a steady income.
On that note, I also need a steady income right now, and as I am currently staying with my mother while she recovers from surgery, that has become next to impossible. Lately I have been looking for online jobs which is a challenge because I have never had an online job so I am unfamiliar with how it works. It's hard trying to find something that I even qualify for and then I have to try and make my application stand out from the others and I am not sure how you do that online. In person, I can smile and have a friendly chat with my prospective employers but online I'm just a resume. Anyway, I am sure I will figure it out. Anyone who knows me, knows that I am never short of entrepreneurial ideas.
Getting back to my books, that is going very well so far. I just finished a story called Grandfather Eagle about a little girl who finds and raises a baby eagle. One day he is taken away and released into a nature preserve. He is happy there but misses the girl so he finds his way back to her. - The only thing I need now is an illustrator to do the drawings for my book. Until I find my artist though, I will get back to writing my other on the go books. There's The Ripple Effect which I think is going to be my big one. I also have the first of a series I am working on called the Adventure Girl series, based on stories my mom use to tell me when I was little. I have a lot of ideas with my books, like trying to make them all connected somehow.
Okay I am kind of excited so I want to talk about some of my other story ideas, here's two:
1. Working title: Journey, about a young woman who either has amnesia and doesn't remember who she is OR she is a runaway from a foster home. But either way she is on the road following clues to who she really is and where she is from. She works odd jobs to get from place to place and also solves mysteries and helps the people that she meets. I want this to be a series, and I might work in some kind of supernatural element to the story but I'm not sure yet.
2. No working title yet, but I am thinking a future almost post-apocalyptic but not quite. The earth is dying and people are either living in anarchy or they are following crazed, warped, and extreme religions. Somehow, I haven't worked it out yet, but some select people end up being blasted into space as a last attempt to find habitable planets for mankind to move to. The main character is one of these people but I'm not sure which direction I am going to take it from there. Will she find a planet? Will some freak accident happen leaving her with powers? Will it be more of a spiritual book? Will she enter a different dimension?
Best way to figure it out is to write it out so that's what I am going to do!
Until later,
Oriona
Picture Credit: http://pichost.me/1560923/
Thursday, October 16, 2014
Words I Live By
"The future belongs to those who believe in their dreams" - Eleanor Roosevelt
That is one of my all time favourite quotes; one that has given me hope through some of my darkest times. Lately, I have been going through another one of those dark times. I think it started with not being able to go to school this year(financial reasons) and then looking around thinking 'what now?' Truly, I felt like I had been running a race - the kind that you run in your dreams but the thing is you can barely move and aren't even moving forward - and then I felt like I had lost. I felt like I had failed, or fallen off the horse one too many times and didn't know where I could find the strength to get back up one more time.
Many of you who read this blog know me fairly well, at least enough to know that I am a very positive person and usually I come up with something to get me going again. Well I did, and that idea is soap. My friend Shawna and I have started a handcrafted soap business, we have the tools, supplies, and passion to get it going. And we have been, I have every faith that with hard work we could be the next body shop. Eventually I want to get into bath bombs and lotions and other things as well.
But then there is also my writing, I want to be an author, and I have a book going in just about every genre you can think of. I am looking for a literary agent and hoping against hope that one day my books can make some kind of a difference in this world. Also in the mean time of all that, I am also looking for a regular job to help support Scott and I while we try to navigate through our lives together. In some respects, I feel very successful, and in others I just feel like an utter failure.
I recently posted an ad on Kijiji called 'Ambitious Idealist Looking for Sponsor' - it was kind of a whim that I posted it. Basically, I was looking for someone crazy enough to 'donate' some funds towards my ideas because they, like me, think they are worth something. - Turns out that it's not that crazy of an idea. Do you know people actually get paid to play video games at home? It's called streaming and basically they sit there on web cam, and you can also see their game screen and people pay them to sit and play because they want to watch. and I'm thinking; well, why can't I get paid to write my books or something? Anyway, can you believe I actually got some replies? I don't know what is going to happen with all that, but don't worry I will be careful.
There's also this contest being put on by Alesse, and a person could win $5000 towards their idea. the thing is, I have so many I don't know which one to enter! Can anyone help with this?
That's it for now - have a good one,
Oriona
PS
The other words I live by are:
You are never stuck, no matter what, there is always a way.
Never settle for anything less than what is going to make you happy.
That is one of my all time favourite quotes; one that has given me hope through some of my darkest times. Lately, I have been going through another one of those dark times. I think it started with not being able to go to school this year(financial reasons) and then looking around thinking 'what now?' Truly, I felt like I had been running a race - the kind that you run in your dreams but the thing is you can barely move and aren't even moving forward - and then I felt like I had lost. I felt like I had failed, or fallen off the horse one too many times and didn't know where I could find the strength to get back up one more time.
Many of you who read this blog know me fairly well, at least enough to know that I am a very positive person and usually I come up with something to get me going again. Well I did, and that idea is soap. My friend Shawna and I have started a handcrafted soap business, we have the tools, supplies, and passion to get it going. And we have been, I have every faith that with hard work we could be the next body shop. Eventually I want to get into bath bombs and lotions and other things as well.
But then there is also my writing, I want to be an author, and I have a book going in just about every genre you can think of. I am looking for a literary agent and hoping against hope that one day my books can make some kind of a difference in this world. Also in the mean time of all that, I am also looking for a regular job to help support Scott and I while we try to navigate through our lives together. In some respects, I feel very successful, and in others I just feel like an utter failure.
I recently posted an ad on Kijiji called 'Ambitious Idealist Looking for Sponsor' - it was kind of a whim that I posted it. Basically, I was looking for someone crazy enough to 'donate' some funds towards my ideas because they, like me, think they are worth something. - Turns out that it's not that crazy of an idea. Do you know people actually get paid to play video games at home? It's called streaming and basically they sit there on web cam, and you can also see their game screen and people pay them to sit and play because they want to watch. and I'm thinking; well, why can't I get paid to write my books or something? Anyway, can you believe I actually got some replies? I don't know what is going to happen with all that, but don't worry I will be careful.
There's also this contest being put on by Alesse, and a person could win $5000 towards their idea. the thing is, I have so many I don't know which one to enter! Can anyone help with this?
That's it for now - have a good one,
Oriona
PS
The other words I live by are:
You are never stuck, no matter what, there is always a way.
Never settle for anything less than what is going to make you happy.
Friday, April 4, 2014
My Various Endeavours - The Starchild Diaries
So today I want to tell you all about my various...campaigns that I have attempted over the years. These are ideas I have had that were business or non-profit ideas that I started but then lost my stamina for the project. Now I have not entirely given up on all these ideas, they are just...sitting on my back burners for the time being. I guess I inherited more than my love for writing from my parents as they were also very resourceful, creative, and good sales people too.
My very first business that I can remember was at the Quartzsite, AZ Gem and Mineral show. Right before we had left, a friend of mine had given me this Crayola set for my birthday and I had brought it with me on the trip. While my parents were busy with our booth, my little brother and I would be running around playing and obviously, since we were in the desert, there were a lot of rocks and stones everywhere. One time I picked one up that was oddly shaped but to me, I saw the image of a mother holding her baby - so I just coloured in the rock to bring out what I was seeing. I still have that stone as you can see in the picture, it was the only one of the stones that I kept but it sparked an idea for me that actually turned out to be pretty lucrative for an 11 year old.
Stone and I would gather different rocks and wash them off and then I would colour them to look like different things. Mostly I would make little bugs or flowers I think, but some of them were pretty different, depending on what I saw. One of them turned out to be the Loch Ness Monster! - I was pretty proud of that one. We put them in a tray and made a little sign and then we walked around selling them to people. My mom always laughs because she couldn't believe that we had picked these rocks off the ground and were selling them to the people who were also selling rocks.
Another little business venture I had went over a few years. When we lived in Erie, my neighborhood always hosted a one day block sale where everyone would have a yard sale at the same time. We would get a couple thousand people pretty much every year. So me being the little entrepreneur that I am, I thought of setting up a lemonade stand because I had a 'secret ingredient' - which was lime juice FYI - that I thought just made my lemonade the very best. So I had a couple pitchers my first year and I set up in my front yard. It was going pretty good, and then an elderly gentleman asked me if I had any sugar free lemonade or something because he was diabetic. We did have some Splenda in the house so I made him a glass but this
got my wheels turning a bit more. I'll spare you all the details, but over the next few years my little lemonade stand grew to carry ice cold, regular and sugar free lemonade in two 10 gallon drink dispensers. The next year we started carrying hot dogs, then chips, and I developed the 'meal deal' where people could buy a glass of lemonade for 50 cents, chips for 75 cents, and a hot dog for $1.50 OR they could buy the meal deal and get all for $2.00. That year I made more at my lemonade stand then my parents did at the yard sale!
My next business ideas came after we moved back up to Canada, the first being dyed silk scarves that I sold at $10-$20 a piece. I learned the very delicate art of dying silk scarves at a workshop we took at this Christmas retreat we went to for a weekend. I also tried jewelry making because I had a couple bead boxes from our house in Erie and my sisters had been quite skilled at beading so I tried my hand at it. I even started a Facebook page called 'Sacred Star Creations' to try and sell my things online.
When I went to New Orleans to visit my friend, Abi, she taught me a new form of art called Splash Painting! To this day I still love it and try to do paintings fairly often because they are fun and turn out really nice, I think. My most recent splash paintings were a set of three that I made because I am redecorating our bathroom from a rain forest theme to the ocean and...I wanted some ocean-like art to put in there so I made these:
Yes that is real sand and those are real seashells hot-glued to the bottom, I spared no expense ;) What I would like to do is make a bunch of paintings, I have a lot of ideas for some, and sell them online or at an art house. It's possible...that could totally happen...(hahaha) I guess it's better than my idea for 'splash-line' where I splash painted clothes, hats, and other accessories.
I have also attempted a few other things that haven't exactly panned out, like my handmade paper, stationary, and journal business. I have not quit on this one, I just don't have everything I need yet. Also, becoming a chocolatier; again, I just need to you know, go to school for that. If nothing else, I will own my chocolate cafe one day and even if I don't make it myself, I will be serving a lot of chocolate products. Because chocolate is delicious and makes people happy. It has endorphins and antioxidants...oh my gosh so many antioxidants and those are good for you - so chocolate is also healthy! (everything in moderation is good) Not to mention the amazingly rich and ancient history that chocolate has - like how it use to be considered the drink of the gods! Cray cray! (omg I can't believe I just said that...and apparently it's staying) I did a lot of reading up on chocolate when I was preparing a business plan for the government and I really learned a lot about chocolate that I find fascinating.
Anyway, the point of today's post was to share with you all of the random little ventures I have thought of and tried over the years. I think I have pretty much...touched on it lol. I really have my mom to thank for it because she use to tell me these stories that she made up called 'The Brave Little Adventure Girl' all about this little girl(me) who was always going on crazy adventures trying to provide for her family. So I guess I was inspired.
I am writing a kid's series based on these stories now just called the Adventure Girl series. The one I am working on right now is called Adventure Girl and the Missing Water Mystery. I want it to be in the same genre as books like Judy Moody, Junie B. Jones, Nancy Drew, and other series like that. Anyway, I hope you guys are continuing to enjoy my blog series, I never know what I am going to write about so I hope you don't mind the randomness. I sure as heck wasn't expecting to actually keep up with writing this even once a week, but here I am so far writing almost every day and it's turning out to be really fun! I think what I like the most is just getting all my thoughts out and having them heard. It's been really motivational hearing all the positive feedback on Facebook so I want to thank everyone for your support so far, I love you guys! :)
Anyway, have a wonderful rest of your day and I'll blog to you later :p
Ciao,
Oriona
My very first business that I can remember was at the Quartzsite, AZ Gem and Mineral show. Right before we had left, a friend of mine had given me this Crayola set for my birthday and I had brought it with me on the trip. While my parents were busy with our booth, my little brother and I would be running around playing and obviously, since we were in the desert, there were a lot of rocks and stones everywhere. One time I picked one up that was oddly shaped but to me, I saw the image of a mother holding her baby - so I just coloured in the rock to bring out what I was seeing. I still have that stone as you can see in the picture, it was the only one of the stones that I kept but it sparked an idea for me that actually turned out to be pretty lucrative for an 11 year old.
Stone and I would gather different rocks and wash them off and then I would colour them to look like different things. Mostly I would make little bugs or flowers I think, but some of them were pretty different, depending on what I saw. One of them turned out to be the Loch Ness Monster! - I was pretty proud of that one. We put them in a tray and made a little sign and then we walked around selling them to people. My mom always laughs because she couldn't believe that we had picked these rocks off the ground and were selling them to the people who were also selling rocks.
Another little business venture I had went over a few years. When we lived in Erie, my neighborhood always hosted a one day block sale where everyone would have a yard sale at the same time. We would get a couple thousand people pretty much every year. So me being the little entrepreneur that I am, I thought of setting up a lemonade stand because I had a 'secret ingredient' - which was lime juice FYI - that I thought just made my lemonade the very best. So I had a couple pitchers my first year and I set up in my front yard. It was going pretty good, and then an elderly gentleman asked me if I had any sugar free lemonade or something because he was diabetic. We did have some Splenda in the house so I made him a glass but this
got my wheels turning a bit more. I'll spare you all the details, but over the next few years my little lemonade stand grew to carry ice cold, regular and sugar free lemonade in two 10 gallon drink dispensers. The next year we started carrying hot dogs, then chips, and I developed the 'meal deal' where people could buy a glass of lemonade for 50 cents, chips for 75 cents, and a hot dog for $1.50 OR they could buy the meal deal and get all for $2.00. That year I made more at my lemonade stand then my parents did at the yard sale!
My next business ideas came after we moved back up to Canada, the first being dyed silk scarves that I sold at $10-$20 a piece. I learned the very delicate art of dying silk scarves at a workshop we took at this Christmas retreat we went to for a weekend. I also tried jewelry making because I had a couple bead boxes from our house in Erie and my sisters had been quite skilled at beading so I tried my hand at it. I even started a Facebook page called 'Sacred Star Creations' to try and sell my things online.
When I went to New Orleans to visit my friend, Abi, she taught me a new form of art called Splash Painting! To this day I still love it and try to do paintings fairly often because they are fun and turn out really nice, I think. My most recent splash paintings were a set of three that I made because I am redecorating our bathroom from a rain forest theme to the ocean and...I wanted some ocean-like art to put in there so I made these:
Yes that is real sand and those are real seashells hot-glued to the bottom, I spared no expense ;) What I would like to do is make a bunch of paintings, I have a lot of ideas for some, and sell them online or at an art house. It's possible...that could totally happen...(hahaha) I guess it's better than my idea for 'splash-line' where I splash painted clothes, hats, and other accessories.
I have also attempted a few other things that haven't exactly panned out, like my handmade paper, stationary, and journal business. I have not quit on this one, I just don't have everything I need yet. Also, becoming a chocolatier; again, I just need to you know, go to school for that. If nothing else, I will own my chocolate cafe one day and even if I don't make it myself, I will be serving a lot of chocolate products. Because chocolate is delicious and makes people happy. It has endorphins and antioxidants...oh my gosh so many antioxidants and those are good for you - so chocolate is also healthy! (everything in moderation is good) Not to mention the amazingly rich and ancient history that chocolate has - like how it use to be considered the drink of the gods! Cray cray! (omg I can't believe I just said that...and apparently it's staying) I did a lot of reading up on chocolate when I was preparing a business plan for the government and I really learned a lot about chocolate that I find fascinating.
Anyway, the point of today's post was to share with you all of the random little ventures I have thought of and tried over the years. I think I have pretty much...touched on it lol. I really have my mom to thank for it because she use to tell me these stories that she made up called 'The Brave Little Adventure Girl' all about this little girl(me) who was always going on crazy adventures trying to provide for her family. So I guess I was inspired.
I am writing a kid's series based on these stories now just called the Adventure Girl series. The one I am working on right now is called Adventure Girl and the Missing Water Mystery. I want it to be in the same genre as books like Judy Moody, Junie B. Jones, Nancy Drew, and other series like that. Anyway, I hope you guys are continuing to enjoy my blog series, I never know what I am going to write about so I hope you don't mind the randomness. I sure as heck wasn't expecting to actually keep up with writing this even once a week, but here I am so far writing almost every day and it's turning out to be really fun! I think what I like the most is just getting all my thoughts out and having them heard. It's been really motivational hearing all the positive feedback on Facebook so I want to thank everyone for your support so far, I love you guys! :)
Anyway, have a wonderful rest of your day and I'll blog to you later :p
Ciao,
Oriona
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)