MAD DREAM DESIGN

Pages

The Latest...

....from Mad Dream Design.

I have been working on these for some time for Jimi's sister and was finally able to finish and give them to her this weekend! This weekend got me really excited about a certain direction I am going to be taking with my shop to get her started. I am looking forward to sharing that with you soon! These are a Sneak Peak:

The Arrow Drop Earrings by Maddie Dierkes of Mad Dream Design

All I have to say is... Simple. Elegant. Classic.

Another little Sneak Peak:

I have found some great inspiration and ideas for my blog from the No Brainer Blog, by Hayley Morgan, at the thetingtwig.com! If you are a blogger, or are looking to start a blog, this is a great book (so far!), and I highly recommend taking a look at it. It offers great insight on how to give your blog a cohesive brand or direction through your own voice. You will start to see a few changes around here, starting in the new year, just because of this book!

Enjoy!

Being Thankful

Not all those who wander are lost. - J.R.R. Tolkien

My mind loves to wander, but it is not lost. It is exactly where it wants to be. It is in a familiar place, for it is usually somewhere in my heart with my memories and in my dreams. These are all things I know very well, but also wish I knew more.

If my heart holds all that is dear...it is the center of my thankfulness. In order to be thankful I must go to what is in my heart, respect what is in my heart, live what is in my heart and above all else guard my heart.

I am not talking about playing it safe, or acknowledging the things I am thankful for in a single moment. I am talking about going deeper, taking a leap of faith, and living the thankful life. We were all put her for a reason, a reason that only He knows, a reason that only we can find through Him. We are not in it alone, He has that plan, we have his support. This is something to be thankful for. This gift is one that we will spend our life thinking on, acting on and hoping on. This is the thankful lifestyle.

Living the thankful life is not only a promise to yourself, or a connection, but it is self care and in this you can guard whatever makes your heart warm. Let your mind wander there often, let your mind find what your heart dreams of and let those dreams become truth.

All images can be found on my Pinterest!

Come and play.

Happy Halloween!

I hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween.

This is my favorite time of year - starting with Fall and going all the way through till New Year's Day. It is exciting, crazy busy, fun and so much family/friend time!

This year I decided to go as Rosie the Riveter. She is one of my favorite historical icons and with the election only a few days away...I thought it was pretty fitting for this year. Here are some of my "We Can Do It!" poses.

My company goes all out with a costume contest, lunch and the Twilight Zone. Being apart of R&D I get to see the best costumes around! We had a great turn out this year making the competition stiff. Here is some of the competition...

Jack from Nightmare Before Christmas

Lance Armstrong

Shark Attack

As for Halloween night, our friend's birthday lands on Halloween, so that is where we always see to find ourselves - celebrating. We get a little dressed up, do a little food, a little candy and just get to hang out with each other since what feels like forever! Always makes for a fun night.

Zombie in the closet!!

Happy November!

Shop. Goals. Craftcation.

I had fun in my shop two weekends ago....organizing. I love to organize and I love knowing everything has a home...that makes sense. My shop was in major need of organization and it is so nice to go in there now.

Now that I have all the tools, materials, design ideas, website, etsy shop, marketing materials and the shop pretty much done, I can actually start concentrating on the not so fun stuff. My goal for the next month is to get my business license (that entails a lot of things I have come to find out)! Once that is done I can then start concentrating my limited time to actually building up inventory and getting it up on the shop. My goal is to have it all up and running by Craftcation 2013! Here's to 2013 goals already starting to come to life!

This goal maybe a bit ambitious, but I am really looking forward to it (maybe not the paperwork part), and this is what I am really passionate about it, so why not make it ambitious?

Having everything setup by the time I get to Craftcation will make it all the more fun! I will actually get to show the work I do and get my name out there, and be able to represent myself properly.

Here is a little video about Craftcation! Really will be in need of this conference come March!

CAF San Diego Triathlon Challenge

One of my favorite events of the year is the ocean swim I do at the CAF SDTC at the end of October. The SDTC takes over La Jolla for a whole Sunday. They have swimmers swimming 1.2 miles in La Jolla Cove, bikers tackling the notorious Torrey Pines incline during their 44 mile trek and runners looping around La Jolla in their 10 mile run.

If you are on a relay team, like I am every year, you only have to endure one of these amazing feats, but if you are a triathlete then you are taking on the biggest challenge of doing all three of these! I find that amazing in it self, but what is even more amazing about CAF and this triathlon is that a lot of these competitors are challenged athletes, missing one or more limbs. Now that is inspiring and something to appreciate.

My favorite things about SDTC are the pictures, the moments, the accomplishments and the supportive atmosphere. New records are made, new personal best times are had (I was able to shave off a good 5 minutes of of my time from last year!!), and new stories are told. It is great to be apart of this event and I am so lucky to work for the title sponsor of this event, Aspen Medical Products.

Aspen Medical Products and CAF have been working together for a very long time building awareness and funds for challenged athletes through the San Diego Triathlon Challenge. This a cause that is very close to a lot of us and has become a company wide en devour. We fund raise, we hold luncheons, we get to know CAF staff, we get to know challenged athletes, we participate in relay teams, we volunteer, we walk in the 5K walk, we take tons of photos, we provide, we ride, we swim, we run, and we support. Aspen makes this a weekend event and gets everyone together for one cause that couldn't be more empowering to me as an athlete.

I was so excited to have my boyfriend, Jimi, my Uncle Jeff, and my younger cousin, Jenna, join me for my morning swim and be my support group. Mom and Dad followed along with a play-by-play from my uncle, and I received encouraging texts from my sister, Lily, and friends! Seriously so blessed to have such a great group of people in my life! Thank you all for your support, whether you came out to cheer me and the other athletes one, had words of encouragement, or donated funds through me in order to support CAF. It all makes a difference and it made for a great event and a great swim!

P.S. I was super lucky the water was warm enough to go in with out a wetsuit...free as a bird with a suit and rash guard! Here are some great photos from my Uncle Jeff!