Thursday, December 24, 2009

My Wish

It is my wish for all of you that stop by my little place here to have......

Thanks for taking time to read and sometimes comment. It means a lot.

To you all

To all my friends, followers, fans and most of all family near and far.....



Tuesday, December 22, 2009

It has been strangely gray all day around here. About 2 hours ago the thunder started. Shortly after that we had hail followed by rain. All of this came with a lot of rain.
Since we rarely see anything white on the ground here in the valley of the sun I decided to record the event with a picture and this post. I am certainly glad it is nothing that needs to be shoveled although I still think snow covered ground is beautiful.


Monday, December 21, 2009

For Your Tree



I kind of wonder if a lot of folks on Etsy are thinking about swimmie tonight. Old timers will remember that.



Big Orange E News

Although I closed my shop on Etsy I still follow the news and lots of blogs related to it. You tend to see a lot of the same names on many handcrafted sites and many of them are amazing people I like to follow. Not stalking, I just find them interesting.

So in my following today I ran across some big news. Maria is moving on and Rob (one of the founders) is coming back to be CEO. There is a thread on the Etsy forums about all this with some spit your coffee on the keyboard quotes. My favorites so far are from Andy Mathis who said, "maybe Maria decided it was time to quit her day job and sell on Etsy. . .It could happen, you know." Someone else mentioned that since Etsy is now profitable maybe they could put money back into advertising and marketing. I doubt it since what I remember about Rob was grass roots, we are all in this together, get out there and blog you sellers, type of attitude.

What I think? The profits did not and never have come from sales. They come from listing fees and selling ad spots on the site. That is why they have never actively marketed to buyers. What will or won't change? Don't know.

Thoughts you care to leave here anyone?

Friday, December 18, 2009

Arizona Style

This, while not a tree, fits with my life right now. This is my third year down here in the desert and I must admit I am still struggling with enjoying life here. Phoenix has a lot of great things but I miss mountains and real trees and even snow.

This comes from the shop Embroidery Designs and More on Etsy.



Happy to You


Here she is. This is my oldest child. Her birthday is today. I know that because 33 years ago today I was at a hospital giving birth and missed my sister's wedding. She was born just about the time they would have been saying I do.

Happy birthday Tammy!



Wednesday, December 16, 2009

My Favorite

As I create things I try to keep in mind how they would be used. I imagine my scarves being worn and wrapped in different ways. I put together in my head how I would wear it and hope someone else likes the item too.

I have always thought this scarf would look great with a pair jeans. You know when you find the perfect fit you should buy several if you can. I see it put together with a white long sleeved t shirt or thin sweater. Throw in a great pair of boots and you are ready to go. That is why it is one of my favorite creations.

Would this scarf fit in your life?


Relief


It is always a relief when I know that what I shipped has made it safely to its new home.

That happened with my Warm Cream Shawl this week. I was holding my breath waiting for the buyer to let me know everything is okay. There is no need for an AED now. It is there and I got some lovely feedback to let me know it was exactly what she wanted.

I hope it serves its purpose of supplying coziness for many years to come. Now I can breath and move on to whatever comes next.

Monday, December 14, 2009

A Powerful Song

I was hearing this song on the Holly music station we get from Direct TV. The song is simply and I think beautifully done but the message is not so simple but very powerful.

What do I get from it? The feelings it brings to me touch my life on so many levels. The message I get is to identify your first and last and let that relationship make you strong.

Listen and let me know how you feel?

Friday, December 11, 2009

Ahem

 
Ahem, cough, cough. Santa you know if I have been good or bad.

I've been good for goodness sake. This teapot would certainly make my life cozy.

It is from this shop on Etsy.

Trees and trees and trees

From Etsy today and the shop Poppy Go Round. The set of 3 trees and the gourd snowman are sold separately.

I really like the shaping of the trees. I could see them used all year in a cabin or lodge decorating scheme. Couldn't you?

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Gorgeous!


Just can't think of another word to describe this bracelet. Gorgeous is exactly what it is. I love the colors of the crystals, the way the whole piece is put together and the gold settings.

I don't wear much jewelry but I do love rings and pretty bracelets. If you like this and would like to see more check out Beaded Jewelry for You on ArtFire.

Charming Tree

Really charming. At least I think so, how about you?
A tree on an ornament the is also a photo frame. A stand is included so you can keep your Christmas memories in sight all year.
You can find this and much more for Christmas and all year in the shop of RF Colorful Creations on ArtFire.

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Useful Trees

I am having a lot of fun looking for my tree themed items for this month. I may keep this up in the coming year. What do you think about monthly themes as a reader and/or a blogger?

Today the trees are in the form of salt and pepper shakers and come from the shop  Blue Sky Pottery on Zibbet. As of this post the shop has a version of these in blue as well as a tree decorated platter. What are you waiting for? Go check it out. I don't mind if you leave me.

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Turkey and Tunes

Two things start the holiday season in our family. The first is the Thanksgiving meal. This year it included a smoked turkey done by my husband. It tasted wonderful and Jim was so proud of how it looked he took a picture as you can see here.

The second thing is that we play Christmas music as a background to the meal. Jim put up some speakers on the patio and we played the music with his itouch. That's right here in Arizona we were able to have Thanksgiving dinner outside on the patio. It is such a great way to feed a crowd and there are no worries about kids making a mess!

I found a shop on ArtFire that has a Christmas CD for sale. You might want to take a look if you are considering a new tradition like ours. Just click on the picture to find out more!

Very Happy Birthday Wishes!

K


aycee is having a birthday today!



Even though we can't be with her today we enjoyed her visit last week! This is our last picture of her from the Thanksgiving visit. She and her family were setting out on their long drive home.

Happy birthday Kaycee!

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Curious

There was a whole lot on the news about Cyber Monday. Etailers were hoping for lots of customers and lots of sales.

Without giving away any of Santa's secrets did you shop online on cyber Monday? What websites did you purchase from? Did you shop for any or all of your gifts at a site that has a handmade focus like Etsy, ArtFire, Silkfair or Zibbet? For ease of shopping which do you like best?

Sorry about all the questions but I really am curious and would love to hear from more of my readers.