Tag: handmade business

  • Choosing More: Trails, Bonfires, Waterfalls, Love, and Creativity

    Choosing More: Trails, Bonfires, Waterfalls, Love, and Creativity

    What could you do more of?

    My thoughts:

    Lately, I’ve been thinking about what I need more of. And not in the material sense, but in the marrow of my days. The kind of ā€œmoreā€ that fills, steadies, and fuels. The kind of ā€œmoreā€ that shapes a life worth remembering. It’s not about excess, it’s about abundance in the things that matter most: trails, laughter, waterfalls, family, community, creation. These are the moments that root me, the pieces of life that remind me why I keep pushing forward.

    I want more Ohio winding trails, through forests, hills, and hidden ridges that still call my name.

    The backwoods bonfires, with sparks lifting like prayers into the dark.

    Then of course more s’mores, sticky fingers and laughter mixed with smoke.

    Relaxing trips to the lake, the sun reflecting on ripples like glass.

    That leads to more camping trips, with the quiet hum of crickets and the steady breath of earth beneath me.

    I’m a sucker for a waterfall, tumbling like time itself.

    And I could use more kayaking, with my arms burning but spirit alive.

    I’d love time with Kelso, their presence steady as a compass.

    And time with my sisters, weaving memories out of ordinary afternoons.

    I’ll always want time with my mom. May she rest in paradise. Though, I am carrying her in every quiet moment, every place where the wind sounds like her voice.

    I want more of these moments because they are the anchors: where the noise quiets and the core of living rises up clear. Trails, rivers, bonfires, and late-night laughter don’t just fill time; they carve it into memory. They remind me I’m not just moving through life, I’m part of it… woven into the forests, the water, the people who walk beside me.

    I want more because ā€œmoreā€ isn’t greed, it’s gratitude. It’s choosing to multiply the things that heal instead of the things that drain. More connection, more earth beneath my boots, more stories written in smoke and stone. These are the things that make the days stretch wide and give me the energy to keep pushing, keep creating, keep fighting for the world I believe in.

    The list Continues:

    All this make me want More sunrises on trailheads.

    And then sunsets bleeding across horizons too wide for words.

    I wish for journals filled, ink poured like rivers of thought.

    I’d love a good rockhounding trip, uncovering pieces of the earth’s hidden heart. UP MICHIGAN is always on my list!

    I want advocacy, protests, standing up when silence would be easier.

    And More poetry read aloud, words stitched into air.

    With this I need more community built, where every voice finds its place.

    I love more time with my dog. The walks, snuggles, the simple grounding presence only she can give.

    And time with my cats, their quiet purrs stitching calm into my days.

    Who wouldn’t love more time gaming? We know play matters too, and escape can be just as healing as creation.

    I would die for more time making physical products for my shop: witchy items, jewelry, keychains, and more. The tangible art that keeps my hands moving and my spirit rooted.

    And more time on writing retreats, they don’t need to be fancy! I just need the only noise to be pen to paper and the only task is to let words flow free.

    Spending time connecting with other poets and creators, trading sparks and building bonfires out of shared voices.

    More more more ! Give me more! experiments, more mistakes, more chances to grow without apology.

    Why?

    Because if I’m honest, FOMO: the fear of missing out, lurks in the background. Not about the shiny, curated things the world flaunts online, but about missing the marrow of my own life. Missing the trails I haven’t hiked yet, the poems I haven’t written, the moments with the people and creatures I love most. Fear of missing the work that matters, the fire that only comes alive when I’m fully in it.

    So this is my reminder to myself: don’t let fear decide. Let more decide. More moments, more presence, more joy stacked up like stones marking a trail forward.

    Because life isn’t about less. It’s about leaning into more, the kind of more that fills you up without emptying the world.

    Wanting more doesn’t make me restless, it makes me aware. Aware that life is short, that moments slip by, that time with people I love and places that restore me cannot be taken for granted. So I’m choosing more. More presence, more connection, more experiences that outlast the scroll of a screen.

    Your turn:

    What would you want more of? Where do you feel time calling you? Share it with me, and let’s hold each other accountable to seek more of what matters, and to build lives overflowing with meaning, not scarcity.

    Poeaxtry’s links

    Amazon Author

  • 🚨The Spill: Letters from Poeaxtry, Volume Five: Small Business Warning: My Experience With a Misleading Promoter🚨

    🚨The Spill: Letters from Poeaxtry, Volume Five: Small Business Warning: My Experience With a Misleading Promoter🚨

    Vol. 5- newsletter : May 31st, 2025.

    Lesson Learned vet Promoters and have them make reels & post ebooks before I send any physical items.

    🚨 Small Business Warning🚨

    Let me be clear: do not reach out to Daisy Marie Moncrief.

    This post isn’t about harassment or revenge. Karma is my homie, and my craft speaks louder than any confrontation ever could. I have 5 litter boxes and I know it’s fitting

    I’m sharing this so other artists and makers don’t end up in the same situation.

    Daisy was the only promoter who ever asked to join my team she reached out to me after I made a post. The others who followed through were all ones I pitched too. She told me she loved my handmade creations and wanted to post them. I agreed and mailed her $81 worth of custom product, free of charge. She confirmed delivery and said she was excited to share.

    But then she went silent.

    After some time, she explained she had just moved and needed space to settle in. I completely understood . O hate moving too. I gave her months, I waited silently. I didn’t pressure her. I didn’t nag. I trusted she was just not ready.

    After waiting patiently, I sent two polite nudges on TikTok. She ignored them both. Until

    she finally responded, she told me she had ā€œa new boyfriend and didn’t have time for this (you know her end of the bargain) .ā€ She also claimed she doesn’t post at all anymore. I looked she had posted five times just the day before. I followed up kindly and created an invoice, giving her another full month to pay or see me in small claims court.

    That’s when she said she lives in a tent, has no job, and can’t pay me back. She then said my work was shit. Even though she had praised it before I had put boundaries in place.

    I want to be clear:

    🟣 I never asked for money in the beginning.

    🟣 I didn’t want anything but a few honest, creative posts.

    🟣 I don’t want the items back. She got sent. Spray she claimed was empty and I know it was not.

    🟣 I definitely don’t want promotion from someone who talks down on my work because she was asked to hold up her end. And then offers to make one measly post. I said no it’s within my legal rights.

    I just wanted mutual respect and a fair collaboration Instead, I got ghosted, disrespected, and dismissed. And a total lack of accountability.

    I’m not here to ruin anyone’s life. I’m not profiting off her. I’m not even mad anymore, I am just wiser. I do not need her to pay money she doesn’t have or make a video I’m no longer willing to use. I want not one tie to someone who is clearly looking to scam. I will not be scammed or disrespected in silence.

    If you’re a creator, especially a marginalized one:

    Please protect your energy. Vet your collaborations. Don’t give away your labor and craft without care. It needs to be fair. So you are aware fair isn’t free shit and no follow through.

    Moving forward, I will still offer free items (with free shipping) for collabs. The promoter should have a min 1 k followers. They will receive 1 digital copy of one of my books for free. When they make their posts and reels for the first e-book, we can discuss sending the next, until all digital material is promoted. We will move onto physical items and reading and I will send one at a time until a relationship is established.

    I’ll be busy tonight with the craft. Trust, I’m alright. Karma never misses. šŸŒ™

    – Axton N. O. Mitchell

    @poeaxtry_