Showing off Favorite Pumpkins

I belong to Etsy Bloggers Street Team and it is a great group. The goal is to spread the word about Etsy and the artists and crafters found there. This post today is themed for Halloween and gave me another reason to spend quite a bit of time cyber window shopping to pick out the items I wanted to show off today.

When I started thinking about this project the first symbol to come to mind for the fall season and this holiday was the pumpkin. In true creative Etsy fashion there are hundreds of pumpkin items all different, unique, and as I like to say about myself, created by people who don't know how to stop.

The earrings are by candysart.etsy.com. Aren't they beautiful? Not your typical Halloween earrings are they? These could be worn any time of year.

artTherapy.etsy.com made the Psychedelic Pumpkin. If you purchase one of these you know you are getting a one of a kind item. Can you tell I tend to like nontraditional things? What about you?

As for nontraditional what about Pumpkin Panda by GlassDragonBearsEtc.etsy.com? I don't think the part of the world he comes from celebrates Halloween but that certainly doesn't take away from how cute he is. The things in the picture with him (tree, jack o lantern basket and polymer clay candy corn) are included with him to make a complete display.

You can learn more about the Etsy bloggers by clicking here. You can see this carnival and others by clicking on the bloggers carnival info in the sidebar to the left. You can learn more and explore a wonderful handmade world by clicking here.

As always, if you have any, comments are welcomed.
Kathy

So Honored

I discovered tonight that my headband "Points of Blue" was included in this beautiful treasury on etsy.com.

Many thanks to twolefthands for including my work.

Newest Headbands

My newest headbands to be listed have a soft rather delicate look to them. The first is named Calico and Lace. The earthy peachy, coral flowers are cooled down with touches of blue and green. I see this as wearable with a swirly skirt and peasant style blouse for a great look. The other headband I named Points of Blue. Of course with blue you would think of wearing it with anything denim from jeans to skirts and jumpers. I am sure you could come up with some great looks.

If these soft colors aren't your style keep an eye on the shop. I will soon be listing some tropical colors, some red and some bold black and white. I am lining them up so I can try to list something each day in my etsy shop. Any extras that I make will be listed on blujay or ecrater. The links to all these are to the left.

Thanks for taking the time to look. Comments are always appreciated and looked forward to.

With a Little Help

What a beautiful morning it was! The temperature was cool and it wasn't so breezy that my things were blowing all over the yard. With the help of my usual friend and supervisor I photographed and listed 2 new items in my etsy shop and on blujay.

I really like etsy the best as a place for handcrafted sales but have decided to branch out a bit for more exposure. I have heard many times that it is best to have your things out in more than one place. I have opened shops on blujay and ecrater. (8/8/2013 not on blujay or ecrater any longer but I still have an Etsy shop) I chose the last two mostly because the listings are free and introvert that I am they don't have such a great emphasis on the social network aspects. I know those kind of sites have their advantages but I don't do well with who likes who and how many friends connected to you today kind of places.

I want to create and sell things I am proud of to people who will enjoy them. I have decided that when I create multiples of an item the first listing is on etsy and the other places get the rest. If an item sells on etsy I can relist it from products on the other sites if there are any.

With all that said below you see what I listed today. It is the same fabric for both headbands. I couldn't decide which color I preferred for the edge so I did both. That way the customer can decide. If you are ready to go shopping there are links to the right that will take you to my shop.

Thanks from myself and Patches for taking the time to look.
If you have any, comments are always welcome.

Just A Silly Memory

I was just thinking a minute ago about something Jim said long, long ago. It was in the early years of our marriage (it's been 31 years so far) and I believe he thought it was a compliment. He was commenting on my housekeeping skills and said, "At least you never let us run out of toilet paper." Maybe that could go on my tombstone. What do you think?

OMG!

This has been such an exciting day!

I woke up to an email that said I had sold the scarf I listed yesterday. I was so excited because it is my first sale on Etsy. I have sold at craft shows for years but I am a beginner to selling online. I had some errands to run and since the wonderful buyer paid at the time of purchase I mailed it right out. Then it was on to the bank and then the car wash. The car wash puts your license plate in a database of some kind and keeps track of you. It said that it was my 10th wash so it was free! The day gets even better because when I come home and check in to let my buyer know the package has been shipped another sale comes through! This time it was for the bandana. I don't know if it seems silly to you but I turned right back around and went to the Post Office again. I knew tomorrow would be busy with other things and I didn't want to wait until Monday. I know it won't be like this everyday. I don't have enough stuff listed yet to do that anyway. But for today I am grateful. Thank you buyers. Thank you etsy.

One other note for today. It is my sister Karen's birthday. Happy Birthday to You, Sis!

Jason's Birthday

Happy Birthday Jason!

(my son-in-law, married to oldest daughter Tammy and father of Kaycee and Tristan)

Jason is shaking hands with Kasey Kahne. He also got him to autograph a car. This picture was taken at PIR, the Phoenix International Raceway in November of 2005. Jason came down to Phoenix from Utah to go to the race with my husband Jim. This driver is one of his favorites. He and his family are racing fans. I, however, am not and had to look up the driver's name so I would know for writing this up.

Me and Exercise

Way back in my archives you will see posts about my struggle to quit smoking. I think I have become a nonsmoker now. I feel good about that. However I gained about 20 pounds since then and it is really bugging me. I really don't think I changed my eating habits. I have heard that your metabolic rate changes when you don't have nicotine boosting it all the time. I have no idea if this is true. I just know what happened to me.

I am trying to get serious about getting back down to a weight I was before. I was using some exercise dvds from Prevention the past few months about 3 times a week and they felt pretty good. Doing the same routines in front of the tv every morning can get kind of stale though. I picked up a walking dvd by Leslie Sansone the other day. I am really glad I did. I feel more energized with the walking routines than I did with the Prevention exercise dvds. My goal is to do the 4 fast mile walking routine every weekday morning. I figure if I can increase the calories I burn each day and watch what I eat something has got to happen. I will let you know.

Soon To Be In My Shop

These two scarves will be in the shop soon. I need to measure them and get descriptions written. I wanted to share their pictures with you today.

I am feeling better about my pictures lately. A lot of that good feeling comes from using tips found in the etsy.com forums. I have a nice Nikon D70 camera and am learning new things about how to use it every time I take pictures.

When my husband bought the camera he got an extra light to go on the top of it. When I first started taking pictures for etsy I used that light source inside because he said it would be all I needed. Somehow those pictures were never ones I was really proud of.

Over and over I kept reading that the best shots were taken outside in natural light. I tried this on the last several things I have photographed and have seen a huge difference. To tell the absolute truth, I am not really happy about needing to go outside though. You see, I live in the Phoenix area and it is so hot all summer that it is not much fun going outside. Even early in the morning it can be closing in on 100 degrees by 9 or 10 am. When it gets cooler in the fall and winter I am sure I will be more enthusiastic about it.

I thought you brought it....

Jim and I seem to do this all the time especially with cameras. We have three nice ones and never seem to have them with us at the right times. We have a very nice Nikon but it is big and heavy. It is wonderful for taking my online product pictures and posed shots of visiting family and friends here at home. We have two small slim cameras that do a good job of touristy snapshots away from home. It is these cameras that we never seem to have at the right time.

We took a trip to Lake Havasu City and were there from Thursday to Saturday and of course had no camera with us. One of the slim easy to use ones was at Jim's office. The other was at home and we talked about taking it. It ended up that each of us thought the other would pack it and of course neither of us did. This trip to Lake Havasu City could mean changes for us soon. We will know more by the end of the week.

On Sunday my brother came through Phoenix on his way to Long Beach from Houston. He and his girlfriend Leslie will be back at the same address again and they stopped to see us on the way back with her car and the last of her things from her Houston condo. It was nice to see them. We had a good visit and meal at Saute. Of course I told them all about Etsy. Leslie is a jewelry maker and may be looking for online selling opportunities some day. It would be nice to have an Etsy buddy in the family.

I showed her some of the thing I make and she really liked a ladder yarn shawl I made. They are some of the most dramatic things I make. She wanted one in the colorway you see below to be made as a gift. I have the knitting done and now need to get the fringe on it which is my least favorite part of creating one. That is today's project and the goal is to have it done by noon which should happen unless I spend too much time messing around online. (As if I would ever do that!)

I sold a lot of these in Utah in many different colors. I haven't made them to sell on Etsy yet but I suppose I should. They are a great way to dress up that basic black outfit. I sold many of them to people who go on cruises. They will pack very well without taking up much room and are a good accessory for formal night.

Off now to do a few chores, exercise, get dressed and get the shawl fringed. Have a fantastic day.