crochet wedding dress

i just can't get over how gorgeous this dress is.

my favorite color (that vivid green is perfect for an outdoor wedding!) combined with my favorite craft. the bride made it herself, crocheting doilies frantically for 3 weeks, then had to be sewn into it!

from 100 Layer Cakephotos by Gia Canali

(found via CRAFT )

5 for friday: seth's modern business plan

this week's 5 for friday:

The Modern Business Plan

as proposed by Seth Godin

i've been really busy lately with all kinds of different activities and work, but writing a thorough business plan is on my list of things that needs to happen soon. so this post from seth seems rather timely, and i think he offers an interesting spin on the organization of the plan. after all, a business plan should be as unique as the business itself.

seth proposes that if you want to really teach people about your business and where it may be headed, as well as develop a tool that you and your team can use to work through challenges, you may be better off with these five sections in your plan:

• 
  
  Truthdescribe things as they are now: your market, its current needs, etc. "The more ground knowledge the better."
  
• 
  
  Assertionstell us how you will change things and what impact your business will have on the world. "This is the heart of the modern business plan."
  
• 
  
  Alternativessome of your assertions will be incorrect: do you have a backup plan for your proposed situations? "How much flexibility does your product or team have?"
• 
  
  Peoplewho is on your team? "'Who' doesn't mean their resume, who means their attitudes and abilities."
• 
  
  Money"How much do you need, how will you spend it, what does cash flow look like, P&Ls, balance sheets, margins and exit strategies."

read the whole article here.

and if you aren't reading seth's blog already, why not??

5 for friday: in the garden

this week's 5 for friday:

photos from the garden

things are growing! i happened to be able to catch a dry spell during the noon hour to snap these photos in the back yard.

(peas)

(blueberries)

(hens and chickens)

(sage blossoms)
(strawberries)

5 for friday: norm brodsky's controversial business advice

this week's 5 for friday:

Norm Brodsky's 5 Most Controversial Business Ideas

from inc.com

Veteran Entrepreneur Norm Brodsky, through many successes and failures, has come to believe in these 5 concepts about running a business that may be rather unpopular opinions.


(oops! there are 6. oh well, "6 for friday" just doesn't have the same ring to it so i'm cheating a bit this week.)

• 
  
  Competition is great
  Why? "Competition makes comparison-shopping possible, which simplifies your sales pitch. All you have to do is explain to a sales lead why you’re better than the next guy."

• 
  
  Employee Referrals Cause TroubleWhy? "After a series of troubles tied to employees who had recommended their friends and family for jobs, Brodsky banned the practice of hiring relatives and associates...'I couldn't accept the number of good employees we were losing by hiring friends and relatives who didn't work out.'"

• 
  
  Sales Commissions Don’t Work
  Why? Commissions give salespeople "the means to maximize their pay even if it comes at the expense of other departments such as operations and billing. Instead of base plus commission, Brodsky recommends you pay a salary plus a three-part bonus tied to the success of the individual, the team, and the company."

• 
  
  Drug Testing is a Good IdeaWhy? "After instituting random screening, the accident rate declined, as did the incidence of petty theft. Morale improved among the other workers."

• 
  
  Marketing is a Waste of Money
  Why? "Brodsky would rather have homemade marketing materials that reinforce that his business is like a family, and will treat you well. Your marketing collateral should 'reflect who we are, not some marketer's idea of who we should be,' he says."*

• 
  
  The Less You’re Around, the Better for the Business
  Why? "Brodsky decided years ago that he wanted to take as much as 16 weeks of vacation a year. That meant that he had to train his employees to be autonomous and to not rely on him to get things done... Best of all, the entrepreneur says he was able to ponder the business’s problems with greater perspective."

view the slideshow
and get links to articles digging deeper on each topic

your turn...

hey, these are his ideas, not mine!

which of these ideas do you agree with? why or why not?

*in my opinion, this point is an important one, particularly those who are in the business of handmade. here's the full article, 'Marketing for Dummies', that accompanies this idea.

little scarf of horrors

best yarn-bomb ever!

5 for friday: make the most of your day

this week's 5 for friday:

Manage your time to make the most of each day

from Romanus Wolter and Entrepreneur magazine

In entrepreneurial endeavors, Romanus advises us to "manage your time according to your personality and natural instincts. Consider each day a basic building block to your successful business."

• 
  
  Kick-start your creative can-do attitude every morning.
  ...always embrace change with a can-do outlook. Every challenge is a new opportunity for discovery, accomplishment and adventure.

• 
  
  Success develops from taking continuous action....assess the effect your actions have had on your business and adjust your strategy by integrating what you’ve learned.

• 
  
  Energize your commitment to creativity by involving others throughout the day.
  ...purposely pursue outside contact during the day, according to your own individual style.

• 
  
  Incorporate investigating new opportunities into your normal routine.
  ...this creative brainstorming time, no matter how short, allows innovative ideas to flow and important relationships to form.

• 
  
  Perform a midday check on yourself, every day....your midday check-in is a personal, solitary meeting to determine how your goals are progressing... At the end of the day, reinforce your positive mental attitude by accepting that the actions you’ve completed are the things you should have accomplished. Set the stage for your next successful day by acknowledging that you’re prepared to conquer change as it occurs.

read the whole article.

my first crochet-along

i've just recently discovered PlanetJune's crochet website, blog, and pattern designs. if you like amigurumi, you're probably already familiar with june and her work. here's me, late to the game as usual, but it seems i came in at a good time!

PlanetJune is hosting a crochet-along on Ravelry and she's sharing two adorable free patterns for anyone who'd like to join: a whale and a daffodil. i typically don't do crochet-alongs (this will be my first). and indeed, i haven't even picked up a hook since we got our puppy - it's been over a month! that's gotta be some sort of record for me. so i couldn't pass up a pattern so quick, simple, and cute as this little whale.

a small project that i can complete in an hour (with no sewing required!) that i can stuff with home-grown catnip to make my kitties happy? and i have a month to make it out of scraps i already have? that's my kind of crochet-along*!
are you crocheting the daffodil(s) and/or whale(s) with us this month? let me know so i can check yours out!




*as a side note, on the web you may often (or only) see a crochet-along referred to as a CAL (or a knit-along as a KAL). i really dislike this "abbreviation" because it doesn't make sense to me, so i tend to avoid it.