November 2013 ~ MAD DREAM DESIGN

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Happy Thanksgiving and a not so black Black Friday!

Hi Friends!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to you and and I hope you enjoyed your friends, family and a ton of amazing food! It is one of my favorite holidays, because the spirit of this holiday is one of the best. I hate that is shadowed by Christmas (don't get me wrong...I love Christmas), but the message of Thanksgiving and the food are just simply the best. Being thankful for this life. It is something I try to live every day, even though I am not successful at it every day.

Not so black Black Friday!

I am not a huge fan of Black Friday...as I love to enjoy Thanksgiving in full...with no shopping involved. Not to say I have not done it...but I have tried it, and it is just not for me. So rather than having a sale today, I am just here to keep you posted on what is happening here at Mad Dream Design during the holidays!

Today!
No sale happening (unless you have subscribed to my newsletter...wink, wink). If you would like to get special discounts and be the first to know all the happs, then click subscribe! It is easy and I promise, it is only fun stuff, that comes a few times out of the year.
I will make it worth your while.

SUBSCRIBE!

Small Business Saturday!

Oh how I love this day as it celebrate amazing people and the businesses they have created doing what they love! To celebrate I have some exciting news....

You can now purchase Mad Dream Design jewelry at A Little Known Shop in Anaheim, CA. We are so excited to partner with A Little Know Shop as they promote amazing crafters and makers. They are also apart of the The Community, which if you are an Orange County local, it is a must check out for shopping handmade and local for the holidays!

Here is a little info about A Little Known Shop, stop by and say hello and check out the Mad Dream Design inventory they have in stock!

A Little Known Shop
423 S. Brookhurst St. #M,
Anaheim, California
Tues - Sat: 10am - 7pm
Sun: 11am - 6pm

"A Little Known Shop is a one-of-a-kind retail shop that helps support local artists and crafters. Our shelves are stocked with unique, fun items including soaps, jewelry, scarves, original art prints -- to name just a few. The best thing about the shop is that all of the merchandise is from local makers!"

Wanterlust Wednesday // Pinning Wanderlust Dreams

Happy Wanderlust Wednesday!

What inspires your wanderlust?

Photo Credit

Pinning my wanderlust dreams on Pinterest daily.

Where I want to go next....
http://www.pinterest.com/maddreamdesign/places-id-like-to-go/

All my favorites so far...
http://www.pinterest.com/maddreamdesign/favorite-places-spaces/

Happy Pinning!
xo,

Wanderlust Wednesday // Hawaii: North Shore

Destination: Haleiwa, Hawaii
www.haleiwatown.com

The Drive
If you want to take the scenic route from Kailua to the North Shore, I suggest taking the 83 all the way. The coastline is gorgeous, rural, and you can make a few stops along the way before heading into Haleiwa for some shopping.

Pit Stops
Laie
A cute little town on the east side of the island.

Turtle Bay Resort
A gorgeous resort sitting on the north-east tip of the island.

Ted's Bakery
www.tedsbakery.com
Just off of Sunset Beach and best known for their Haupia Pie, it is a must stop for breakfast or lunch. Plus, a little pie for dessert. Yes, it is completely acceptable to have pie for breakfast.

Haupia Pie

Dad out in front of the Ted's Bakery mural

Wanderlust Wednesday // Hawaii: Dole Plantation

What is not to love about a farm, pineapples and a Dole Whip?

The Dole Plantation is a must stop on your way out to the North Shore of Oahu to get your quick pineapple fix and learn some history on pineapples in Hawaii.

The Dole Whip - You can get these at Disneyland, specialty ice cream parlors or at the plantation. It is a favorited treat - basically a delicious pineapple soft serve.

Yum!

The Plantation -Take a walk around while enjoying your Dole Whip, or hop on The Pineapple Express for a scenic tour of the plantation. We did not do this, but I have heard it is a must do, something for our next trip!

View of the plantation.

Who wants a Dole whip now? ...cause I do!

xo,

Wanderlust Wednesday // Hawaii: Kailua

In August, I was off to Hawaii for a whole 10 days! We stayed on Oahu and explored the whole island, which is something we rarely have much time to do. Here is the thing, we usually go to Hawaii to paddle and it is usually a short trip. I have been to Oahu only one other time where I had a decent amount of time to really get to see it all and I had been missing it, it was so great to be back! This time around we stayed on the windward side of the island in Kailua.

Kailua
A great little town with tons to do, the most beautiful beaches and it is away from the city. Kailua is the perfect spot to walk along the beach for miles...

Beach
Kailua Beach
Great park for families that are looking to spend the day at the beach. Rentals and food are right around the corner, with beautiful grassy picnic areas and that clear, blue water. With miles of white sand and warm, clear water, it is perfect for a beach run or an afternoon swim.

Sunrise

View of the Moks

View of Kaneohe Peninsula at sunset

Create Every Day // #Yesvember

Happy Monday!

I know, not my favorite day of the week, but hey it is a new week, which means beginnings! It is hard sometimes to keep sight of the big picture, especially when overwhelm kicks in. These times are often when we have so many great things happening (which is awesome!) that it is just becomes too much for us (not awesome), but really all you need to get through it is to focus, and just get started. Here is some inspiration to kick off your week the right way and to help you stay creative.

#YESvember

Thrive Hive Live founders Jules Taggart and Sandy Sidhu have come up with an amazing way to get that one big project done before the end of the year. Better yet before the end of the month. Let's end 2013 with a bang together, come join their #YESvember community. Here you will receive support from other great women tackling a big project, step by step goal making to complete your big picture goal and great tips along the way!

My fellow creatives, come join me! My goal for the month of November is to get my jewelry out there! I am starting by dialing in my shop. I have some great photos of my work coming soon, so I want super sweet descriptions to match them. Also on the queue, my booth display for Patchwork Show Santa Ana, a catalog, bringing Mad Dream Design to a few stores in Orange County, and participating in a few gift guides.

That To Do List

Jules Taggart of Amp & Pivot has a great post on how to make a great to do list! In this post, Shelia Butler of Successful Women Talk, talks about how to make smarter to do lists that are not overwhelming and actually help you get stuff done.

"A list is nothing more than ideas on paper…ideas that mean nothing unless you act on them."
- Shelia Butler

The list above is one of my favorites for staying creative. This is not a to do list, but it is a great reminder when your creativity gets stuck or clouded.

Photo: Thank the Now via nosha

Being Thankful

November is all about being thankful, right? But really, we should keep the spirit of November and live it - day after day. Becca Ribbing of Thank the Now has a great site dedicated to being thankful for right NOW. This is the good stuff - taking a minute for yourself (creatives often save this one for last, I am guilty of it myself).

But how can this help with the overwhelm?

We get so much blasted at us each day, on what we should be doing, what we should be wearing and how we should be (talk about overwhelming...) that sometimes we loose site of the fact that we don't have to be doing what everyone else is doing. You are you, and you matter! Being thankful for that is always a great way to refocus.

Tackle that list by being thankful for you, realizing that you are only human, and focus on one thing at a time. You may notice this helps you get things done more effectively and you feel more accomplished at the end of the day for it. I feel that creativity feeds off of days like these!

Here is to a successful November!

xo,

What's New Around Here?!

Hello November and Happy Friday!

Are you ready for some fun news? I was MIA on the blog for about a month, but I promise I have been busy! Lots of fun things getting done, and I am excited to finally share it all with you.

Photo via Spark Collaborative

You were born to Sparkle!

In September, I started SparkleBee University with the Spark Collaborative community. It is a 6 week course on your own business! Each week is a new topic to focus on with all the info you need to make your business (and you) awesome. Going through this course has been really eye opening, and you will for sure be seeing some changes going on around here in the new year. More to come on that later, but if you are starting a business or want to tidy up your business practices this is a great course, that I highly suggest.

Mad Dream Design Fall/Winter 2013 Line: Folk Dreams.

I have also been working really hard to bring some fun new designs to the shop for the holidays! I am happy to announce I will be rolling out these designs over the month of November for my Fall/Winter line! This line includes a lot of my Spring and Summer designs, along with some great bracelets and hoops for Fall/Winter! I will have a lot of sets, which will be great for gifts this holiday season. The fun thing is that I have started to incorporate beads and stones into my designs with copper and silver wire. I have been having a blast learning how to wire wrap over the past month, so Fall/Winter will is going to be a bit more diverse. I can't wait to share with you!

Inspiration

Photo via We Are Wilderness

Inspired by the hunter-gatherer, the collector, the wanderer and adventurer - this line is all about getting outside, going somewhere and not having your jewelry slow you down. Using stones and beads I have collected to create fun pieces that are durable, yet fun. You can dress them up and dress them down, plus you are still able to keep up with your active lifestyle.

Sneak Peek

Love Hoops

Gatherer Bracelet

Fall Patchwork Show

Photo via Patchwork Show

Save the Date! Mad Dream Design is so excited to be accepted into the Santa Ana Fall Patchwork Show on December 1st. If you are local to Orange County, this is a fun day to attend. Get a chunk of your Christmas shopping done in one day by shopping handmade and shopping local.

Patchwork Show - Modern Handmade Festival

What: Santa Ana Fall Patchwork Show
When: December 1st, 2013 11am-5pm
Where: 125 N Broadway, Santa Ana 92701
(2nd & Sycamore intersection and section of 3rd St.)
Who: Mad Dream Design and a bunch of other great artists, makers and vendors all in one place
Why: Support and shop local handmade and a great way to spend you Sunday!

I will fill you in on booth information soon! This is a great chance to come see my work in person. I love my online shop because I get to reach out to people across the world, but nothing beats seeing handmade items in person.

For quick updates, new arrivals, holiday shop details and show info - sign up for my newsletter here! Or follow along on our Facebook page!

Wanderlust Wednesday
I have been having some fun travels lately, and since Folk Dreams is inspired by the adventurer and the wanderer, I will be sharing my travels every Wednesday! Stay tuned...the first one is coming up this Wednesday!

Enjoy!

xo,