all things girls can tell

ask me whatever you'd like

i'll probably just make something up, but it sounds like a fun idea, right? (i'm kidding. mostly.)

anyway, lately, i've noticed several bloggers and other fun people using formspring to field questions that just about anyone can submit. then allison mentioned it's really easy to set up a profile to make it all happen, and it seemed like a fun idea. so i decided to take the plunge.

which actually isn't much of a plunge at all unless questions start getting asked, so fire away!

have a question about what it is i actually do all day? or how i get ideas for new diagrams? or what type of cookies i'd prefer you send me? why i hate pants? or what kind of dog is janie actually? i'm willing to share this information and more. pinky swear.

behind the scenes

 

unless you have a typepad account, you probably don't realize all the fabulous things that go on behind the scenes of a typepad blog.

not only are typepad features top notch (especially for crafty bloggers), it's super easy to use and just really nice. but also! when you log into your typepad account, you can find an infinite number of really amazing, intriguing and gorgeous posts (and ultimately, more and more places on the web, if you're so inclined to click and click to your heart's delight). you can see the posts that other typepad bloggers are commenting on, favoriting and reblogging all from your typepad dashboard when you log in to post a blog entry. lately, i've been finding more great artists, bloggers and posts just by logging into typepad than i have in my jam-packed google reader.

what's fabulous about this whole secret community of awesome is that not only does the typepad dashboard make it easier for me to find amazingness, but it's made it easier for others to find my little blog here. people can see who's commenting on my posts and easily join in the conversation. it's kind of completely awesome.

lately, i've been totally loving the hewn and hammered blog and i just discovered the blackbird sings, who has a really lovely etsy shop as well. 

if you've been thinking about starting a new blog for your crafty or artsy endeavors, do check out more information here. you can give a typepad plus or unlimited account a try (with nothing to lose!) for two weeks (then you'll fall in love and want to blog with typepad forever), and when you're signing up, use the referral code "girlscantell" (that's me!) to get 20% off of your typepad account for a year!

super inspiration

 

every once in a while, someone sends me a little tidbit that i absolutely adore. like, head over heels can't stop flipping back to look at it / want to just become absorbed into whatever little world i've just discovered.

lately, that inspiration came from a link sent by my good friend, kellbot. from adam voorhes photography, it's kind of the photographic version of the type of visual representation i'm completely enamored of. go take a look!

felt for everyone!

it's hardly a secret how much i love industrial felt and one of my favorite perks of running girlscantell is opening the giant roll, as big as me, the day the felt comes.

in honor of this time honored celebration in diagrammy housewares, i'm offering a free coordinating set of coasters with every purchase of a set of tea towels, from now through friday morning. so now you can enjoy this awesome industrial felt along with me. felt for everyone!

simply buy a set of tea towels from shop.girlscantell.com (or girlscantell.etsy.com, if you so choose) before friday, february 28 at noon (eastern time), and i'll include the free set (most likely in the same diagram design) along with your order when i ship your towels out. if you buy two sets of towels, i'll include two sets of coasters, and so on. simple as that. enjoy! and spread the word!

moving day is near!

 

hello, bloggity friends! thanks so much for your patience - i know i've been posting somewhat sporatically lately, and for that, i apologize. hopefully things will be back to normal some time next week. to keep you all in the loop, as you may know, i've been remodeling the tiny bathroom in my house (almost done! so close!) and now that the project is finally nearing an end, tomorrow i'll be moving back into my little house. yay!

long time readers (well, hello, there!) might recognize my little house from photos (of which there are lots!). my orange living room (in an older photo, above, and i swear i didn't intentionally paint it etsy orange) will probably once again make an appearance here, time and again. what i'm so very excited about is blogging my re-adventures in decorating the great little spaces of my home! i'll be sure to show you all the new and exciting decorating i do (and, of course, all the great little nooks i've always loved).

i figure it's only appropriate for a lady as obsessive about housewares as i am to give you a little sneak peek into my own little place from time to time. so wish me some (much needed! we still have lots of snow!) luck on my move tomorrow!

hero blog: j casa handmade

 

jcasa has been one of my favorite "etsy friends" for almost four years now. over these past few years, our work and shops have grown considerably and we've each blogged about all the day to day things that we've done around our respective houses and with our loved ones. it's fun having such a talented, lovely far away friend and watching her adorable family grow and seeing all the beautiful pieces of her life each day. her sweet posts and gorgeous photos have long been an inspiration for my own little bloggity here.

if you have some spare time, and you're in the mood to feel all warm, wonderful and inspired, do pay her blog (right here on typepad), jchandmade, a visit.

the view from here

 

this morning, i got up early (well, early for a monday when you're self employed and therefore dictate your own schedule), got dressed, played with janie dog for a little while, put on my clunky boots, then quickly made my way out the door.

i finally got my new studio workspace (mostly) set up for business on friday afternoon - i was so excited to get in and get to work. so excited that the slushy snow from the 28.5 inches (!) that fell over the weekend and that the great cafe i was hoping to grab a cup of coffee from on my way was closed barely bothered me.

so here i am at my desk and it's really lovely. everything has that great 'fresh start' feeling, where productivity comes super naturally. so i thought i'd share my new view, and mention that i've been hard at work on some great new springtime designs (to counter balance all that snow!). i'll share them here soon, as well.

 

drexel school farewell party

 

at the end of the block, south of my house, has stood this stately, decrepit, old school building. you can see its gorgeous arched brick openings with its dignified keystones from my backyard (here's a photo i took the summer before i moved in looking down the alley from my yard toward the school). as years have gone by, i knew that the likelihood of the school being salvaged and made into something amazing (the type of potential you're trained to see in such lovely bones of buildings in architecture school) was decreasing by the day.

as beautiful a relic as it is, it began to cross the line from lovely and abandoned to ominous and threatening over the past months. trees rooted themselves at the roofline, their roots weaving their way down the brick facade, causing a hazard to pedestrians and cars on the street. the fenced off areas of sidewalks attracted the grossest types of litter. it became an unfortunate eyesore at street level.

finally, the city put up demolition notices. our neighborhood association scrambled to arrange a meeting with L&I and our city council representative to learn what the impact would be on us and our houses during the project. so, we're now a week into what we're told will be a 5-6 demolition. i'm posting photos of the demolition (as i happen to walk by) in this flickr set.

best tip: what a difference a year makes

 

in wrapping up some of my figures and things for january (how is it february already?), out of curiosity, i took a glance back at my numbers from the same month a year ago. last january was officially the first month that girlscantell was my full time occupation (after three years of being my favorite side project).

much to my surprise, and despite having so many other giant projects begging my time all month, my online sales were more than double what they were last year. but that was the least of it - in january 2010, i also added several new stockists (check out the newly updated list here to find great local shops that carry girlscantell!), and i managed to restock almost half of the shops on the list that were in need of more wares after the holidays.

i'm not tooting my own horn, i promise, as much as i'm saying, whoa, what a difference a year makes. most people who know me learn pretty quickly that i'm not a patient person, but i've learned a huge lesson in these past months -that those wise old words "slow and steady wins the race" totally hold true. great businesses aren't built quickly, they develop through week after weeks of putting in the time. so many small business owners get frustrated when they don't see crazy successful results overnight. that's not only totally unrealistic, it's really not even what you want (unless being a flash in the pan is your end goal, i suppose). 

hero blog: urban cartography

 

if you're a fan of info-graphics or edward tufte, there's no way you won't enjoy urbancartography . i pop over to wander through and get a little lost (intentionally, of course) on the internet whenever i need a little visual stimulation or just want to be wowed with gorgeous information. there's just so much there to poke through, it's completely overwhelming (in a very , very good way). it's a site i love - just a great, thought provoking collection of images, really, and hope you enjoy it, as well.