Spiritual Counseling, Perfume, Art and Healing by Sheryl Karas

Twilight Moon

2009-11-25T13:02:00.000-08:00

Paul called me over to his computer all excited last night. "I've had a breakthrough!" he said. Paul is a great photographer who does hyper-realistic landscapes and other stuff. Last night he started to explore less realistic painterly effects in Photoshop and came up with the image at the left. He excitedly put it up on Imagekind and in our shop at Zazzle right away.

Today we got the following email communication from Zazzle along with the announcement that they had removed this image from their site:

"Design contains an image or text that infringes on Summit Entertainment's intellectual property rights. We have been contacted by Summit Entertainment with regards to your design, and at their request your product has been removed from Zazzle's Marketplace. For any further questions please feel free to email us below or contact Summit Entertainment at: www.summit-ent.com."

What?!!!

We asked for clarification and got the following response:

"As noted in the previous email, we were contacted directly by Summit Entertainment with regards to your design infringing on their intellectual property rights. Perhaps your product contained search tags or descriptions that references elements from The Twilight Saga, for example titles, character names, etc. If this is the case, please feel free to re-submit your design to the Zazzle Marketplace and ensure that your product does not reference any elements from The Twilight Saga including the design itself, title, descriptions and search tags."

Well, as it turns out the latest installment in the Twilight Series is called "New Moon". Paul's photo depicts the moon. (He called it "Lavender Moon".) And guess what? It was shot at twilight so he used the term commonly used to describe the time of day between daytime and the full darkness of night to describe it!

We consider this activity by Summit Entertainment as both 1) a violation of our First Amendment rights and 2) a deliberate act of harassment which interferes with the conduction of our business.

I've swung this morning from righteous indignation -- this isn't the first time I've had to fend off an attack like this! -- to full-on pity party (we've had the worst year financially I've ever experienced in my life and now I have to deal with this?) -- to amusement. At least I have something to write a blog about now.

Want to help us out? Tell people. Write to Summit Entertainment (if you can find any contact info -- we haven't been able to yet) and register a protest. Tell people about the infringement of people's rights by a large corporate interest -- can anyone say "VAMPIRE"?! And help us come up with a way to stop them and Mara Fox and anyone else who thinks they have the right to engage in this kind of behavior forever more. (Of course, we could just call this all a mistake on their part and call it done... but... we KNOW this kind of thing happens in the name of protecting trademarks a little too often. Twice to us alone! Saying nothing just isn't good enough.)

Paul put a second "Twilight Moon" image online this morning. He calls it "Invert Moon". You can see that image by clicking the previous link. You can see his entire Imagekind gallery by clicking here. You can visit mine if you're interested as well. And maybe...someday...we'll post a photo of a completely empty blue-black page and call it "New Moon at Twilight"... just to piss Summit Entertainment off.

Helping a Fellow Artist

2009-11-24T11:09:00.000-08:00

Nicole, the person who introduced me to Etsy, is extremely ill, fighting for her life, and needs the community's help. That's her picture to the left. She has a neuro-immune disorder called XAND that is caused by a retro-virus that makes her so overly sensitive to items in her environment that she had to be hospitalized this past summer.

Luckily, brand new research is offering hope for medical treatment but the very long rough road she and her partner Jason have been on has worn him out and decimated their financial stability.

They have no real community connections in Vermont where they moved to be near the most useful treatment facility they knew about at the time. So they're hoping their online community, fellow artists, and others moved by their plight can pitch in.

Please visit their website at http://secreteye.org/nicole/fundraise.html where you'll learn more about this disease and the very affordable ways a large enough community of friends, friends of friends, and concerned others could help them out. They're not asking for much! If a large enough group of people could give even a tiny amount it would make a world of difference.

Has the Public's Focus Been Shifting?

2009-11-12T21:53:00.000-08:00

I've been thinking quite frequently this year that sales of my flower essence aromatherapy perfume appear to be following the public's changing mood. Each of my perfumes are named for a particular healing quality or purpose. So earlier this year, during the very height of hysteria over the crashed economy, my best-selling perfumes were "Releasing Worry and Fear", "Mama Love for Troubled Times", "Abundant Prosperity" and "Trusting Inner Guidance." "I want help and I need it now!" -- that's the message I seemed to receive.

Then things went dead for awhile but now that Christmas shopping season has arrived my wholesale accounts (retail stores) all have come back to life. What do they want now? "Manifesting Life Purpose."

I find this interesting because traditionally this is not the time of year that perfume sells the most. January -- New Year's Resolution time -- is when that one usually flies off the shelves. But this year, all my stores have been selling out and want more now.

It makes me think that people are starting to think more clearly. What do they really want and what does it take to get it?

Woodcut Greeting Cards

2009-11-07T13:02:00.000-08:00

Rejoice! by paulnsheryl
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Dancing Couple by paulnsheryl
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Behold! by paulnsheryl
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Straight on the Outside, Hippie Underneath

2009-11-07T12:35:00.000-08:00

Straight on the Outside, Hippie Underneath by paulnsheryl
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Woodcut Flower Design in my Zazzle Shop

2009-11-07T12:31:00.000-08:00

Woodcut Flowers by paulnsheryl
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Woodcut Flowers by paulnsheryl
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Woodcut Flowers by paulnsheryl
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Celebrating Today!

2009-11-07T00:51:00.000-08:00

What a great 24 hours. Three wholesale purchases-- one brand new to Olympia, Washington (see previous post), one repeat to a person who is reselling Mama Love in Japan, and one back to Santa Cruz. Then we had a session with a brand new client we liked very much. And Paul has TWO people who want to buy large framed prints of his for spec houses! Then I saw this video and it was just so sweet and fun I just have to put it up.

Flower Essence Aromatherapy in Olympia, Washington

2009-11-05T19:06:00.000-08:00

Mama Love flower essence aromatherapy perfume is currently winging its way to Olympia, Washington to Radiance Herbs and Massage. They were extremely conscientious in their questions to me before deciding to make an order with me. I was impressed by the level of their knowledge and expertise. In fact, I don't think I've ever had another retail store who knew and wanted to know so much! If you're in the Olympia, Washington area check them out and click the link above to see their beautiful website. I checked out their latest newsletter and was amazed by the number and variety of classes they offer. I'm really pleased that Mama Love will soon be on their shelves.

40 Inspirational Speeches in Two Minutes

2009-11-05T18:04:00.001-08:00

Our November Newsletter is Online

2009-11-01T22:42:00.000-08:00

Our latest Healing Communication / Mama Love newsletter is now available online.

Experimentation with the Graphics Tablet

2009-11-01T01:25:00.000-07:00

We have a new graphics tablet that we finally have gotten brave enough to try and a new painting program, Corel Painter Essentials, to try it out with. Very challenging to learn new things but it became very fun once I sat through all the video tutorials on Corel Painter tonight and gave it a go.

I started with a photo I took of a Yucca plant, barely manipulated at all -- just a little more color saturation. I always liked how the strange looking silky filaments in the center of the plant contrasted with the rigid straight leaves.

Then I brought it into Photoshop and added several filters. It wasn't good enough so that's when I loaded the Corel Painter program and tried it's oil painting effects. I really loved how that turned out but then I brought it back into Photoshop to do a few finishing touches. Paul reached over to show me how to do something I didn't know and hit the wrong key by mistake. Suddenly the colors inverted and then we both knew we had something unique and, I think, pretty wonderful.

The last image I'm sharing here is a small detail of the last image showing the very realistic brush strokes the Corel Painter program is capable of doing. I put both of the paintings in one of my Image kind galleries tonight if you're interested in seeing what they look like matted and framed.

Mama Love News

2009-10-29T23:49:00.000-07:00

I've been really busy lately trying to get ready for Christmas sales. I bought a bunch of shipping boxes wholesale and just changed my pricing structure so I can offer FREE SHIPPING to the U.S. and Canada on everything in both my Etsy and Mama Love shops.

My latest listing on Etsy is this: 3 of my organic and Reiki-infused flower essence aromatherapy body, bath or massage oils for $45. That's $6 off my 2 oz. economy sized formulas. Choose any of my Mama Love formulas you want. http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=33521500

You can also, of course, find this offer in my Mama Love shop along with a number of other quantity discounts and wholesale pricing for those of you who can buy in wholesale quantities. (Christmas shopping anyone?)

A Healthy Hopping Rodent Friend

2009-10-29T00:09:00.000-07:00

Have you ever seen anything more adorable? I got this photo from Wikipedia. It's a Kangaroo Rat and we have one right now living in the house. It's fairly large and is actually even cuter than this one. A better photo is here at the Desert Museum. And the weird thing is that it does not run like other mice. It hops on its hind legs like a kangaroo.

It's very happy, especially at night, and spends most of its time going from the office where Paul is right now to the bedroom where I am. It will hop right up to us. It hops right up to Chloe, our cat. Sometimes it even bows slightly in our direction before going on its way. But it seems pretty much impossible to catch. Too fast, must be why it's not afraid of us.

We would like to trap it in a live trap and encourage it to live outside again because it's freaking Paul's mom out and gets really noisy rummaging around in Paul's stuff in the bedroom at night. Fortunately for the creature it snowed last night! 3-4 inches and it got really cold so it didn't melt. That means I, for one, can't quite bring myself to force it to live outside right now. I may be outnumbered when it comes to that decision but for now Kanga (yes, we named it) is living the good life inside and has even been given a nice bowl of seeds to eat by Paul's mom who thought that might be a good way to catch it. Uhh... probably not when there are bowls of catfood easily accessible as well.

Mama Love is in a New Gallery in Lakeside, AZ

2009-10-23T18:01:00.000-07:00

Deb Moseman does wonderful whimsical flowers and other things out of metal that she cuts and welds by hand. Really fun stuff and now she has a gallery featuring her work and the work of 29 other artists. It's called Galleria Eclectica and it's at 1034 Woodland Lake Road in Lakeside, AZ. Paul and I found it by accident when we went up to Woodland Lake for my birthday. We never actually made it to the lake because we found Deb's gallery instead. The gallery itself is really fun and now there's also a small cafe (Cafe Grotto) and a great cozy outdoors sitting area with a fire pit for community gatherings and celebrations. Deb invited both Paul and I to join the gallery and we plan to take advantage. Mama Love is there now and some of Paul's photography and some prints of my own are planned to follow.

The Revolution IS Being Televised -- (Click here)

2009-10-21T11:08:00.000-07:00

I just watched a speech Barack Obama gave to organizers for healthcare reform in NY. It wasn't just about healthcare. It was about everything his administration has accomplished in 9 months. It's only been 9 months! This speech should be on network TV but apparently the revolution might be televised... but only on the internet. http://www.barackobama.com/

The Happy Ending Cannot Come in the Middle of the Story

2009-10-19T23:37:00.000-07:00

I was just doing some energy healing work on myself and felt like a significant turning point had come. I asked myself "why haven't I been able to get myself in alignment about this before?" and felt myself drawn to look at a quote Paul's mother has thumbtacked to the wall. We've lived here since December and I have never been curious enough to read it.

The quote said: "the true secret of being a hero lies in knowing the order of things... Things must happen when it is time for them to happen. Quests may not simply be abandoned; prophesies may not be left to rot like unpicked fruit; unicorns may go unrescued for a long time, but not forever. The happy ending cannot come in the middle of the story." from The Last Unicorn by Peter Beagle

Everyone, Every Creature, Has Value Just Breathing

2009-10-19T11:40:00.000-07:00

An old counselor friend of mine from India, who I lost touch with years ago when she moved back, had an enormous impact on the people she worked with when she lived in the United States. Her insight into the U.S. national psyche is that most people she met didn't feel good about themselves. Even worse, this was amplified if they were sick, disabled, unemployed or struggling. She took to asking her clients to lie down while she sat beside them and held their hands. She would tell them to just breathe and when they would protest that they weren't getting "enough work done" in their session with her she'd tell them to think of themselves as a young infant -- a newborn, unable to move or talk, or even lift their own head. And she would say

"Did your mama love you any less for that? No! She was so excited to have you, to welcome you into her life, to just hold you and look at you and smell you! She saw you as a perfect miracle when you were just born and unable to do anything but lie there, breathing. And she was thankful for that."

"Just breathe. You are of value to the world just being here. You are a miracle. You are loveable. You are welcome on this planet. You belong."

"Think of yourself as that little newborn. You are still that same child. And nothing changes that except what you have been taught to believe."

In this video is a graphic example of how valuable a being can be just lying there breathing. It's a tribute to Baxter, a dog who brought joy and comfort to people at the end of their lives even though he couldn't do anything anymore himself but lie in their beds, be held by them and lick their faces.

He died on Friday, October 16, on my birthday. I didn't know him personally but I know he is deeply missed.

The President's Message for Diwali

2009-10-19T10:59:00.000-07:00

This past weekend marked the celebration of Diwali, an important festival in Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism, and an official holiday in India and Nepal. It's known as the "Festival of Lights" and celebrates the triumph of good over evil and in particular the awareness of one's inner light. Here is the president's Diwali message. Why did Obama deserve to win recognition from the granters of the Nobel Peace Prize? Choosing to do a respectful and educational address that shifts the discussion from conservative one-religion dominated rhetoric to a message of reaching past presumed differences to create pathways of understanding and commonality across the globe is a big piece of it.

Dare Change

2009-10-18T12:18:00.000-07:00

I hope this link works. It's a really great and inspirational video! Not on Youtube so I couldn't figure out how to embed it here but it is REALLY worth clicking on the link to check it out!

Beware of this Request for Free Samples Scam

2009-10-18T11:52:00.000-07:00

Requests for free samples are pretty common with legitimate companies wanting to buy things at wholesale - especially for something like perfume which they might want a chance to smell first. But here's something to watch out for. My dad was a manufacturer's representative so when I saw this email I knew something was wrong.

The email said

"Hi:

I represent 12 health/nutrition centers, as well as 6 grocers, and am currently looking for healthy foods, snack items, and beverages for these concerns. Your business was recommended to us by another distributor, who had good things to say about your product lines.

I have written to inquire about what I need to do to acquire product samples for my clients to evaluate. It is much easier to get a firm decision from my clients, when they have something in front of them.

Please, get back to us, soon."

He included the name of a business (Creative Foods) which I could not find on the internet, an address which turned out to be a 200 sq foot structure (a garage?) in Seattle, and a Seattle phone number connected with several scammy businesses. One was supposedly a business selling "close-outs" to China and other places.

Close-outs, for those who don't know, are usually items bought at a steep discount from companies going out of business, seconds, or discontinued items. They can also be FREE SAMPLES that are then resold. Selling off legitimately gotten free samples which weren't able to be sold is acceptable. Soliciting free samples to sell yourself is fraud!

How did I know this was a scam?

Representatives don't represent stores! They represent you. Reps sell to stores. Store managers and buyers don't need reps. So many people are trying to sell things to retail stores there's no reason to hire outside help (at what would be a ridiculous expense) to do what a store owner might typically ENJOY doing themselves.

Also, get this! After a couple of email exchanges back and forth I finally suggested that if this person was really a distributor that he send me a list of who else he represents and what stores, what his terms are, etc. (all the things a real distributor would provide). Then I said that if he was pulling a scam that he'd better get better at it before proceeding any further!

He sent an email back saying he was not actually a distributor and to disregard the previous email! This is in print with an email address, a street address and a phone number!

I sent it all to the Seattle Police Department. I hope they have enough information to follow through.

Aquarius

2009-10-14T00:06:00.000-07:00

People in this part of the country never got over this period in our nation's history. I always just took it for granted that it was a necessary step. Even joyous.

The Cows are Gone

2009-10-12T18:05:00.000-07:00

We saw cowboys on horseback rounding up the cows that run wild out here. We didn't see it but we understand that they load them onto cattle cars and they all cry. Glad we didn't see or hear that. Now there are no cows to see on our walks and... we miss them. We did, however, get to see a herd of antelope today and a large healthy looking coyote with a big bushy tail. We also get to see lots of horses grazing.

Aspen Impressions Digital Mixed Media Painting

2009-10-11T21:29:00.000-07:00

I just uploaded this piece to my Imagekind Gallery. It's a digitally done painting using one of my original photographs as a base. Some people think of this kind of work as "photo manipulation." But I've added so much hand work that I think of it as a hybrid thing that uses Photoshop like a type of paint box rather than as the sole technique.

My Customers Must Be Psychic!

2009-10-09T20:49:00.000-07:00

Here's a weird thing. I'm in the middle of lowering my prices for quantity discounts. I sell my individual flower essence aromatherapy perfumes for $12.99. I now sell 5 of those for $50 (a savings of $14.95 - more than 1 perfume for free!) ...Well, I wasn't finished doing that and someone already bought one! I still don't have my Mama Love website updated yet but you can see what the deal is on Etsy by clicking here.

Diamond Quilt in Blue and Purple

2009-10-08T10:36:00.000-07:00

Diamond Quilt in Blue and Purple by paulnsheryl
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This design can be found on a wide variety of products -- t-shirts, tote bags, cards, and other gifts by clicking here.

Diamond Quilt in Blue and Purple by paulnsheryl
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Diamond Quilt in Blue and Purple by paulnsheryl
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