Hawaii, my Home.

I recently took a trip back home to Hawaii and spent a full day travelling the island, swimming in the ocean, breathing in the salt air, and wondering could I live here for good? Pack up my bags, convince my husband to move, and take the risks that go along with that thought? Was it Hawaii calling or was it the thought of starting anew? I am drawn to the ocean. You can't step off the plane in Hawaii without breathing in the tropics. No matter where I have travelled, and I have travelled extensively, there just isn't a place on earth like Hawaii for me.

I recognize that some of the enticement comes from that place in your mind when you are on vacation. Every day you have nothing to do, every day is your day to spend the way you want it. Reality creeps in on about the second week, when you have to go back to work, have to make a paycheck. But for those two weeks its heaven. Couldn't every day be like that you ask? Can it?

I was recently in a chat room and asked the question: What does it take to "Make a Living?" I just took a 35% pay cut in my job, my hours are being reduced to 20 hours a week. I would have thought I would be angry, hurt, and in a hurry to rush and get that next full time job. But I am an not. I want to know what it means to be "Making a Living" through my own actions, my own creativity.

Which brings me to my dilemma. I have an idea for a children's book. Should I do it? Should I not? How would you approach it? I am fearful of what it would require as it seems that I have little knowledge about layout, design, photoshop, etc. I know that for it to be successful I will have to do it myself because otherwise the item becomes to price heavy.

What would you do?

Fun with Photos and Nephews! You too can be an author!

I have five nephews and every time I spend time with them I just want to capture every moment, every cute word they say. This year I decided to try and write some personal stories for each of them and publish a book. My first book was written for my three Moseley nephews. I wrote a cute simple little story about them becoming super heros and listening to their parents, keeping their rooms clean, etc. I then went on ETSY and listed a request for a an illustrator to draw the pictures for a book. That was a lesson in and of it self, and while the outcome was awesome, contact me if you want to go this route as I learned alot and can offer you some tips on making it a success. My challenge was the time frame, payment terms, artist ego, etc. I also learned that I had my own image of the illustrations in mind, and if you hire an artist, they also have their own image. If you want to see the end result, you can view it here at http://www.lulu.com/. Just search for a book called the "Amazing Wonder Kids". You can view a number of the pages. I think you will find its a personal story, its rustic, but it was so much fun to do, and the end result was a book that will be treasured forever by three nephews who have their names and stories captured in the book. I printed three books and that plus the illustrator cost me about $200. Not bad for a Christmas present.

My second book was for my nephew Dylan who is fascinated by wild animals. One day he was talking to me about wild animals and wanted me to tell him stories about each one. We sat and I made up stories about each animal and Dylan. Silly stories, nothing mind shattering or difficult to write, just simple short stories. I then put another request on the ETSY alchemy site www.etsy.com/alchemy looking for someone to help me layer photos of Dylan with photos of wild animals. You can see from the pictures how much fun they are! Just imagine the stories you can create! The result was so much fun. I wrote one page short stories, and made a photo book that I printed in Snapfish. The cost for all of this? I think all in all I spent $72 for the photos, I wrote the story, and to print the book I ordered a hardcover copy for $24.99. Can it be done cheaper? Well, I suspect layering photos is a skill that can be learned, but I hired someone who already knew how to do it. The book, if you have book binding skills could probably also be made for less. That just wasn't the route I chose to take. But I have to tell you, with technology the way it is today, I think there is no better book than one that is written about you, for you! To get in touch with my photography layering guru, check out http://www.lilybeandesigns.etsy.com/ Tell her I sent you. Dana was fun to work with, she listened to my ideas, oh, and by the way, she created my banner ad for this blog!