70 Things to do When Your Giddy-Up is Giddy-Gone

It seems lately that a huge number of people are undergoing the same experience: seemingly impossible hurdles getting in their way. What do you do when 120% just isn’t coming, you’re about to throw in the towel, and your inspiration (not to mention your mood) is completely shot? Let’s not even mention financial difficulties, family matters and illnesses, as well as the huge amount of challenges the economy is throwing at everyone?

What do you do when your giddy-up is giddy gone?

Here are some suggestions*

- Take a hot bath.
- Put on your fiercest red lipstick…
- …and your killer stilettos.
- Take a “time out”.
- Start a “Gratitude Journal”, write down what you are grateful for so you can pull it out in times like these. - Make a “kudos” file to remind yourself that you ARE good at who you are.
- Take an exercise break.
- Cuddle your pets.
- Cuddle your kids.
- Cuddle your husband/wife.
- Have sex.
- Drink a glass of wine and reflect.
- Watch a daytime talk show. Realize it can get worse.
- Remember what’s really important.
- Have a family evening.
- Accept that you have to ask for help.
- Go ahead and cry, break down, holler at the world.
- Go for a long walk in nature. Or around the block if that’s what you have.
- Pray.
- Lose yourself in busy work. Don’t think.
- Volunteer. Give back.
- Do something nice for someone else.
- Make something with your hands.
- Yoga, meditate.
- Go to your “happy place”.
- Talk to a friend.
- Give hugs.
- Use work as a distraction.
- Prescriptions/see your therapist.
- Schedule your moping/woe is me time. “Can’t think about it until 8p!”
- Break shit. I love this one, I take it out on CD’s and turn my angst into beautiful things.
- Remember that for some reason unknown to you, the Universe has decided this is where you need to be. Or not.
- Pull the covers up over your head and sleep.
- Take a hot shower.
- Be kind to yourself.
- Acknowledge the suckage and call it out. “Hey bullshit! I don’t need or want you. LEAVE!”
- Remind yourself that others have it much much worse.
- Allow yourself time to grieve.
- Let IT go!
- Take deep breaths and just get through it.
- Laugh.
- Suck it up.
- Play that funky music - at loud volumes!
- Dance, dance, dance!
- Can’t go wrong with chocolate.
- Get a mani-pedi.
- Buy a little something to cheer you up.
- Remember that it’s only temporary.
- Think back to things in the past that you’ve had to do and hated.
- Change your outlook.
- Realize shit happens.
- Adjust your critical eye, look at the problem from the outside in.
- Every morning when you get up, think of 3 good things in your life. (Not always easy!)
- Learn something new.
- Read a book.
- Play a musical instrument.
- Garden.
- Cook.
- Get into nature.
- Eat something you love.
- Watch something stupid on TV.
- Choose a mantra. Mine is “the only way out is through”.
- Realize that sometimes, you aren’t in control and life is going to do what it wants with you.
- Get out of the house. Don’t hermit or cut yourself off from people.
- Set a goal. Make it achievable with a deadline.
- Get a change of scenery. Work on the laptop outside, for example.
- Sing at the top of your lungs!
- Yell, scream, pound your fists into a pillow, take up boxing.
- Play a game.
- Try to find your light at the end of the tunnel.

I hope this list of suggestions helps. Have anything that works for you? Share it in the comments section!

-luv J


*This list was inspired by a posting on an Etsy forum started by FancyPantsAndMore.

Other stuff I do...

Hi all!

OK, so by now you know I hand make upcycled jewelry. Yeah, whatever. But did you know...?

- Yes, I can fix that...

- Yes, I can custom make that...




- Yes, my cocktails are delicious...and you can hire me for private parties?



Now you do!

Enjoy your summer!

Hugs -J

Now at Majestical Roof!

Say "Hello!" to Majestical Roof, an amazing independent and handmade store in Old Town Pasadena.

They are now carrying the Pop Culture Princess line!

And be sure to check out some of the other awesome artists that are there like Helena Rose and Dreams by Machine.

Cheers!

-luv J

Make Music Pasadena is this Saturday!

Come on by the Majestical Roof stage (and say HI to Pop Culture Princess!) at the Make Music Pasadena festival this Saturday! The line-up is:

Majestical Roof Stage
11am-11pm
Map It

11:00am The Six Shooters
12:00pm Blind Pony
1:00pm Ketchup Soup
2:00pm The Downtown Train
3:15pm Garland Band
4:15pm Brutus Gets the Girl
5:15pm The Bixby Knolls
6:15pm The Lonely Wild
7:15pm Tommy Santee Klaws
8:30pm Seasons
9:45pm The New Limb
11:00pm Robotanists

And there are other vendors there as well, such as:

Beth Gray (Batik Tops and Tanks)
Helena Rose (Paintings, Handbags, and Jewelry)
Lynn Rothacher ‘La-DiDa’ (Party Hats and cards)
Troy Cantu ‘ITH’ (New Age Natural Adornments)
Laura Brody ‘Dreams by Machine’ (Wearable Art)
Helen Mathis (Homemade Bath and Body Products)

I'm so excited, I could launch a new pet-related line called "My Best Friend Has Four Legs" that 100% of the net proceeds benefit the Pasadena Humane Society!

See you there :) -luv J

Summer approacheth!

Hi all - I've been a little teeny bit busy lately. Not necessarily making any money, but gaining fans, selling more, doing more custom and repair work, and grateful that people seem to like what I do.

So, this is both a wrap up of the last couple of months, and a look forward to the next couple! Hit it:

- April and May saw the highest amount of sales yet for PCP! THANK YOU to Joselle, Claudia, Arts Alive Mission Viejo and my new fans and buyers!

- June is my one year anniversary of creating upcycled jewelry. I still have no idea where the heck this talent came from but am starting to focus more, get my backlog out of the way and spread the word - yay!

- The summer event season is ON so I've been getting more bartending and serving work as well. Upcoming events include weddings, bar/bat mitzvah's, the MTV Movie Awards, and PGA Golf stuff. My feet are not thanking me, but c'est la vie.

- I have joined the 21st century and you can now find me on Twitter! Follow me http://twitter.com/Jo_Rus

Now, on to upcoming!

- The bracelet you see above is being donated to benefit 2VIE – Silent Art Auction Benefit Event being held July 9 organized to help cover my friend Vee Vitanza’s post surgery medical bills for the acoustic neuroma brain tumor operation and other daily expenses. For more information, please see http://vartmuse.wordpress.com/

- I am a Team BiteMe! Squad member for the Pasadena Humane Society's Wiggle Waggle Walk for the third year in a row! In the next couple of weeks, you will start seeing some new pet-related jewelry from me and the proceeds will be donated to help support the animals. If you want to donate directly to myself or my team, the website is http://www.pasadenahumane.org/goto/JoanRussell. Don't worry if you miss it this time, I'll be hitting you up I'm sure. And I'm the one taking the picture -- in the photo are Nikki, Jeremy, and Coco from the 2009 Walk.

- I am in custom order and repair heaven right now! So just remember, if you have an idea I can help you make it a reality. And if you have a store, I offer wholesale pricing.

Cheers dears, and enjoy the beginnings of summer!

Saving landfills one upcycled piece at a time,

J

Upcoming events!

Hi all - here is a brief listing of some upcoming Pop Culture Princess events!


April 16 - Breast Cancer BBQ (private event)

...to honor Joselle's 5 years Cancer free! I will have a table there with net proceeds of all sales going to her Revlon Run/Walk fundraising effort, and my gorgeous Fancy Collar Necklace will be silent auctioned. If you would like to make a bid but will not be attending, just let me know by Saturday! Go Joselle!

The site to donate is: http://do.eifoundation.org/site/TR/RevlonRunWalk/General?px=1197714&pg=personal&fr_id=1041





April 30 - May 1 - Arts Alive Festival, Mission Viejo

The Arts Alive Festival is a free event on the Village Green in Mission Viejo. It is also my first juried art event that I will be selling at! Along with the artists, there will be a green expo, street painting, food and musicians as well as workshops.

For more information: http://cityofmissionviejo.org/artsalivefestival/


In the meantime, don't forget to check the Pop Culture Princess website for new items!

-luv J

Adventures in Inspiration

Life has been quite an adventure for me lately!

A post or two ago had a photo of a lovely coral and pearl cuff I recycled from an old moth-eaten Andrew Gn cashmere sweater. Little did my friend Joselle know that it and a matching necklace were going to be given to her for her birthday! Here is a photo of her ROCKING her new Pop Culture Princess custom-made jewelry. Thank you Joselle for your support (and your card, it means the world to me and is on my inspiration wall!)

I have been working a lot lately in another area - bartending and serving at special events. Something has to pay some of the bills, right? It's been quite an adventure - I have had the privilege of working some incredible events such as the Grammy's, NBA All Stars, Directors Guild Awards, Critics Choice Awards, and the Academy Awards! Strange how life takes you places you always wanted to go, but in very unexpected ways.

I also worked the TED conference this week, and was able to eavesdrop on some amazing "TED talks" - each presentation is allowed to go 18 minutes and is on ideas that are worth discussing. Some of the highlights were seeing Bill Gates and his presentation on education, seeing Roger Ebert and hearing his new "voice" publicly for the first time, Morgan Spurlock holding court, and watching Reed Hastings (Netflix CEO) mentor. It was an incredible array of amazing minds working together to learn more about how to make this world a better place.

The absolute highlight for me was Eythor Bender's presentation. He is the the CEO of Berkeley Bionics, and presented an exoskeleton they are working on for both military and civilian applications. After showing an example of how it could be used for the military, he brought out Amanda Boxtel, a paraplegic who was injured 19 years ago in a skiing accident. She is wheelchair bound and was told she would never walk again. In the photo posted, she is walking again for the first time.



Her joy was boundless! There wasn't a dry eye in the house (including mine). Standing ovation - it was like watching a miracle occur before you.

Needless to say, it inspired me to no end seeing what the human brain, technology, design, and willpower can do. I am constantly amazed at our world, and the way the universe works.

Off to work later at the Reagan Library on Air Force One. Wonder what will inspire me today? -luv J


PS: keep good thoughts for me as I am a finalist for a position with an incredible company. And healing and loving thoughts to mi famiglia as they have suffered some recent losses that have been very hard on them.

Do good work, then get out of the way!

On one of the Etsy forums, an artist posted about a conversation she had with a successful sculptor who was a bit of a recluse. His advice to her was to make sure you do the best you can, do what you love, and stay the hell out of the way!

How many times do we see something we love, only to realize that perhaps there are unwanted "labels" attached to it? Silly examples would include a great dress, but the advertising for it features an overexposed Kardashian. Or maybe you need a loan, but those annoying pop ups on your computer make you shy away - or a car but the salesperson! Ugh.

OK so these are extreme examples. His point was that there is something innately beautiful to someone, somewhere, when you put your talents to work and enjoy what you do. With patience and persistence, your audience will find it if you just put it out there.

Of course in this age of internet, go go go lifestyle, Facebook et al., it's hard to know what is too much and what is too little. To Tweet or not to Tweet, that is the question.

How do you promote your business and work without it being offputting to a buyer? Where exactly is that "sweet spot"?

Something to ponder. -luv J

Greetings to 2011!

Hello everyone. I must admit to having been rather happy to see 2010 leave, and am hoping that 2011 isn't as challenging the rest of the year as the beginning has been for me!

I am very grateful for lessons learned, and lessons yet to be learned. Speaking of lessons yet to be learned, this is a photo of my new sewing machine I got for Xmas! I am taking lessons since my skills are rusty at best, and am really looking forward to incorporating more recycled textiles in my upcoming work. Yay - saving more stuff from landfills!

Of course with all the holidays and such it was hard to get a lot of creativity and work in, but I do have quite a few new pieces that will be making it up on my Etsy site soon. I also have just put together a Facebook page, so please like it! I will be doing extra discounts for my Facebook fans. There's a little "like" button on my blog here for it.

Thanks to everyone for your support and interest. I can't wait to get more active with craft fairs and seeing you all in person!

Cheers -luv J