My Sony Reader

My husband spoils me - I'll freely admit it. He helps around the house, plans special trips and activities that he knows I'll like, and is MUCH better at picking out gifts than I am.

One of the things he bought me last Christmas was my Sony Reader. It was something that I had drooled over but just couldn't justify buying for myself. As a preface, I have an overflowing bookcase that somehow also flows into all areas of the house and the books never seem to make it back to their bookcase home. A couple of times a year I'll cull them out and donate the ones I've read or pass them around at work on the condition that I don't get them back. This paring doesn't seem to help - the bargain book bins and discount book stores just call my name!

Anyway, I love the reader. It's a great size for traveling, the battery life is really good, and (for those who perpetually turn down a page corner to mark their page) it automatically bookmarks the book you are reading. Downloading books is cheaper than buying a paperback (and many libraries have started having ebooks that you can "check" out and expire on your due date) and there are many classics that you can get absolutely free! I have already downloaded Emma and Jane Eyre - two of my alltime favorites - for future reading. He even got the one with a touch screen - so easy to use and I don't have to worry about losing my place!

I love my Sony Reader and would recommend it for any book lover out there!

Back in the Swing

Well, it's time to get back into the swing of things. Today I reflected back on the last few months and found myself wondering where the time goes. I deliberately took some time off from blogging (so sorry if you've been checking but I just couldn't seem to write!) to get settled into a new job, try to figure out which direction to take the jewelry, all while I still am really, really missing my girl (see post below).

The job (well, technically I have been there seven months now so I can't consider it a "new" job) has me really hopping - in a good way. I've learned a new database (its the same system used a some really large amusement parks and ticketing services) and have become very involved with training - something I love to do. The days fly by and I count myself blessed to have a job I actually enjoy. On the Etsy site, I often see posts about wanting to do their craft as a full-time job - I'm not sure I want that. I'd love to be successful at what I do but have also discovered that I don't handle being home most of the time very well.

I hope everyone out there is also doing well and would love to hear about your jobs, Etsy shops and life in general. Best wishes for the upcoming New Year!

Discovered! Savage Artworks

Whenever I browse around the Etsy site, I am overwhelmed by the amount of talent and creativity that I find there. This brought to mind an idea that I thought would be fun - what about sharring these sweet little "discoveries" with other folks? Well, I decided to go ahead and do just that. Note that permission has been given by the "discovered" artist to use their photos so you can see just how beautiful their work really is!

This week: Savage Artworks

Beautiful artwork! I love animals and Terry's work is unbelievably detailed - the shop has been a favorite of mine for awhile. Like what you see? Feel free to visit Savage Artworks!

A Sad Day

Oh my - as I logged into my account I realized just how long it has been since I have touched my little blog. I do apologize but the last few weeks have been a bit trying. I started a new job (good news) and all seems to be going along smoothly.

On a much sadder note, I lost my beloved girl - my collie, Amber - about a week ago. For those who know me a bit, you'll know that she was my little love, my shadow and I am having a tough time adjusting to life without her. My husband and I brought her home when she was 10 weeks old and she was a bit over 11 when we had to say goodbye. You can see her beautiful face in my avatar - one that won't be changing in memory of her. For those who have pets and understand how much they contribute to your life, you understand.

You'll always hold a special place in my heart, little one - I miss you.

New Orleans

Just returned from a trip to New Orleans! My husband planned a long weekend away for us to NOLA and we had so much fun! I haven't had a chance to download the pictures yet, but I'll be sharing them with everyone this weekend. I'm really excited - one of them actually includes a baby alligator (stay tuned)!

I'll write down more details this weekend but Rich went all out on this one. We had a different style of tour each day so that we could see different parts of the city. He must have researched for hours - my poor little feet were so sore but well worth the pain. We saw the (in)famous Bourbon Street area, did a haunted house tour, saw one of the oldest cemeteries in New Orleans, took a city tour, soaked in some history at two different plantations, and rode around the swamp. To round it all out, on our last night he signed up for a carriage ride through the city (for animal lovers such as myself, New Orleans has strict regulations regarding the mules - they can only work for 6 hours at a time, they have a required amount of time off during the month, and the licensing).

I would love to have you check back later if you're interested!

Letter stamps

Just before Christmas, I bought some new alphabet stamps. I made a few items for the holiday craft shows, but really didn't want to get caught up in the whole personalization thing that everyone else seems to be doing. Don't get me wrong - I love some of the personalized pieces. But it is also something that is being done by so many others and I wanted to find a different way to express my creativity.

One of my first pieces that didn't get thrown into the silver recycle pile is my new Faith Necklace. Not because it came out perfectly - quite the opposite. The letters are not lined up perfectly and in a neat little row. I kept it (and listed it in my shop) primarily because of the meaning behind the necklace. Life itself can be a bit up and down - and NEVER (at least for me) seems to go as planned. But you need to keep the faith and you'll get through it.

It was really hard for me not to remake this piece as I tend to be a perfectionist. More silver has been put into the recycle pile just because of some minor flaw that I knew was there. This was a change of pace and I kind of like it. I know it's not absolutely perfect - but who is? What do you think?

EtsyHacks

For those of you who have Etsy shops - did you know about etsyhacks? This has been a topic lately on the forums and I finally decided to check it out. Most have been programmed to run in a Firefox web browser (instead of Internet Explorer), but there are a few you can use with IE.

To find out more information, check out the etsyhacks blog - it notes all of the hacks available, as well as lots of other topics. To find out which hacks can be accessed using IE and Firefox, you can check out the scripts page. There is also a link for installing greasemonkey, which allows the little programs to run.

And finally, if you are just curious to see what is available, you can find that on the latest releases page of the site.

Please note - I have NOT installed these yet myself. I also do not necessarily advocate downloading information from unknown sources. The information noted has been used and tried by many users on the Etsy site and I thought it might be helpful to some of my Etsy shop readers.

Other helpful Etsy sites:

Let'sEts - Googlebase formatter.
The Heart-o-matic from CraftCult - see who hearts your shop and products - just enter in your shop name. No downloads necessary.
Etsyfeeder - allows you to tag and organize your favorite items and shops.
Featsy - send you a notification if your product is featured.

Enjoy!