{ hello there }

well, this is my second go round of the day on my first blog post. i had a fantastically written inaugural post, if i do say so myself. and now it's disappeared. hmmm...maybe i shouldn't have messed around with the settings after i wrote the post and before i published it. i even added pictures AND a link. ack.

determination. that's how i got here in the first place. trying something completely new, taking a risk (or 12), and jumping feet first in to the uncomfortable. so, rather than scream and cry about losing my first post, i'll just try to recreate it as best as i can.

this has been a week of firsts. my first total crash, meltdown, disaster with my dinosaur of a desktop. my first very large business expense, replacing said dinosaur with a faux wood grain (ick) laptop. moving files. finding files. almost missing my sales tax deadline. you get the idea. lots of unknown territory. yet, here i am. and i'm not really much worse for the wear.

{anne franklin designs} is the business i started just about a year ago. i'll save the details for another time. i found myself with quite a bit of time on my hands, and i let my inner crafter come out after quite a long hibernation. i repurpose things to make unique, affordable gifts. scrabble tile pendant necklaces is where it all started. here's a picture to give you an idea of what i make ::

my first blog picture!

but i promise you, this blog is not about sales. posts will probably be a little of this and a little of that. i really, really want you to be part of a bigger, fun community that we create together! and for that to happen, you must interact. ask questions, make a statement, teach me something. give us ideas about repurposing. just give us ideas. let's encourage, get to know each other. try to make the world and our communities a better place. phew. that's nothing i wrote in my first post. [stepping off soap box now]

well, i think that's enough for the first post. i will include a link, just so i can say that i did it :: {anne franklin designs} . visit me on facebook, if you want :: and i'm on twitter too. i think i am successfully exhausted from learning new things today.

so, here's where you come in. please interact with me! post a comment. ask a question. give me an idea. anything. just tell me that you're out there, and that i provided your comic relief for the day because of my very basic post. i'm just thrilled to be able to check a blog off my list.

here's an idea of what you can say (yes, i was a teacher in a former life) :: or, just say hello!

• tell me about something you've done that was completely uncomfortable for you. what did you do? how did it turn out? what did you learn? remind me on a slow day to tell you about my hut trip!

here's an example of something i did out of my comfort zone!

thanks for reading. i'll hope you'll be back. {xo}