I had such fun today!!! I made fused glass stuff. Some friends of mine gave me a gift certificate to a place in Highland Park called Making Glass Studio & Gallery; and I finally got around to using it. Rather than take one of the classes they offer, I wound up with a four-hour private lesson in fusing glass. I made all kinds of things!!! The good news is that I didn't bleed at all during my glass-cutting adventure. It's all in the kiln now, so I'll have to go back next week to fetch it. I can hardly wait to see how the pieces look in their fused state.

So today's Friday, and once again I'm posting a bit of thanks to the Etsy sellers who purchased from my shop during the past week.

Janice (aka summer62) has a shop that's so tempting to me... It's filled with buttons. And I love buttons. They're such fun, and there are so many different styles and so many different things to be done with them. They're not just for sewing on your clothes, you know! Anyway, I found these Southwest style vintage buttons in her shop. Aren't they pretty? Wonder what I could make with these...

I've been convoing a lot with Jennie (aka FrivolousFerret) about her order, and she doesn't even have it yet (it's custom and super special), but I can offer her a thank you anyway. I went prowling around in her shop and found this Cobblestone Sterling Silver Ring. I love silver rings, and this one's pretty neat. I like the organic appearance.

Jaci (aka CraveJewelryDesign) has some pretty funky jewelry in her shop. I love those big octopus necklaces, but when I came across this Wiener Dog necklace I just cracked up! Know anyone that's a wiener dog fan? This would be the perfect gift, and Jaci's donating 50% of the proceeds from the sale of this to the ASPCA. Give a gift, support a worthy cause.

Beth (aka jezabelle1313) is an artist who creates some of the strangest looking women I've seen. They have such haunted expressions on their faces, and there's something about the tones and colors that's really striking. My favorite one, although it was tough to choose, is The Edible Woman.

Bre (aka Coochooloo) came to visit me again. It's always nice to see repeat customers, and it's especially nice when they seek me out to create something special just because they were so happy with their last purchase! I went to check out Bre's shop again and found this little cozy cuff neckwarmer. What a great idea! This seems much better than a long scarf to keep your baby's neck nice and warm.

Last, but certainly not least, is Amber (aka thebeadlounge). I've looked at lots of lampworked beads, but I've never seen anything like these Peacock Blue Luster Beads. I cannot believe how shiny these are, and even though they're reserved you could probably talk Amber into making a set just for you. If you look closely, you can see the reflection of Amber and her camera. Holy cow!



Go check out those shops! You're sure to find something fun, useful, and pretty in each and every one. And they're nice people, too!

I have lots and lots and lots of books. As much as I'd love to keep all of them, I know I won't read some of them again. I've traded them, I've donated them, and I still have piles of them sitting around.

At the suggestion of Kara, a really friendly Etsy customer of mine, I just signed up on a site called BookMooch. I listed some of my books on there, and already three of them have been "mooched"! I get points for listing books, and I get points for sending books to moochers. I can use the points to mooch books for myself, and so I've just requested No Second Chance, by Harlan Coben.

Okay, so I'm not really reducing the number of books I have in my house. I'm just giving some other books a chance to live in my crowded house.

If you have a lot of books, or even if you only have a few books, and you're looking for books to trade... check out BookMooch. You can find me on there. Maybe we'll trade books.
:-)

I'm not very adventurous when it comes to creams and lotions because I have allergies to perfumes and colognes and other substances, and even some of the creams that are advertised as hypo-allergenic bother me.

I recently made an Etsy Friday post and selected this Bee-Whip Daily Moisturizer from Shelly's Etsy shop (JoyfulGirlNatural).

I've been using this for the past week, and it lives up to Shelly's description. It feels really light and creamy, it doesn't have perfumes or anything in it to bother my skin, and while I can't claim that it's gotten rid of any wrinkles it does make my skin feel softer. Wrinkles are just a sign of wisdom anyway, right?

Thank you SO much to Shelly for sending me the moisturizer!!! It's now in my Etsy Favorites list so I can order some when this tube runs out.

Friday again. Where does the time go?!?!

I didn't get back to the blog to post my favorites from the Etsy sellers who purchased from me last week, so this post will have to do double duty. It was a busy week here. The Etsy BeadWeavers RED challenge was underway, and I was trying to keep up with all the voting. The challenge is over, and the winner has been announced in the EBW blog. Everyone's already working on the next challege now, and we're awaiting publication of a blurb about the team in the Etsy Storque.

On with my thanks to the Etsy sellers who purchased from me last week and this week! I hope you'll check out their shops because there are some wonderfully talented people in this bunch.

Lisa (aka LivingTreeStudios) lives in North Carolina, where we hope to be moving sometime this spring! She makes jewelry and has lots of earrings in her shop (and she's having a sale on them, too!); but I really like her newly-listed pottery. Isn't this aqua blue butterdish pretty?

Beth (aka patchworkpossum) visited my shop and purchased... guess what? The Opining Opossum mini notecards! Beth's another North Carolinian, and according to her profile ALL of the proceeds from ALL sales in her Etsy shop go to Central Carolina Wildlife Rescue. Check out this Possum ACEO. It's needlefelted and wonderful!

Harmony's (harmonymetals) a repeat customer, and a very nice one at that! I goofed a bit on her order, but she was very nice about it; and I believe I've taken care of it now. Anyway, if you're looking for beautiful metalwork, you should check out Harmony's shop. I love her watercast rings, but I posted one of those before. This time I chose Harmony's cocktail ring to feature here. It's such an unusual piece, sure to draw attention to your finger!


Elizabeth (aka Beadingandtime) is also a repeat customer and one who has the same fascination for tiny beads that I do, except she turns them into beautiful little flowers and fruits. I know just how long it takes to make some of these things, and this blue daisy brooch is a bargain at only $10!!!

Susan (aka OneElf) takes teeny tiny bits of polymer clay and turns them into the cutest little beads and charms! She has little food charms that look delicious, although I doubt that they taste all that great. She also has this adorable little hedgehog. How cute is he?!?! I think you need a whole herd of these guys.

Trilby (the creative name for Trilbycole63) is pretty new to Etsy. She hasn't been on there a month yet, but her shop's filling up with pretty little bracelets, necklaces, and ART! Check out this watercolor painting, Winter Glow. As much as I want winter to end, this picture's really pretty.

Kate (aka girlsavage) is an animal lover. Well, at least I think she is. Her shop, which she calls the Etsy Petting Zoo, is filled with fanciful critters... some you can cuddle and others preserved using a method that she calls feltidermy. Haven't you always wanted a Jackalope?

Leslie (aka Pinkpiggy) is obviously another animal lover, but she uses little critters to adorn hair clips. Now, my hair's way too short to need a clip, but that doesn't mean I can't appreciate this cute little armadillo.

Aija's (aka zero) is undoubtedly one of my favorite customers. She uses my little envelopes in her packages, so I'm always on the lookout for interesting books I can use to make them. Aija makes wonderful knitting stitch markers from freshwater pearls and natural stones, but since I can knit only in a straight line I'd be more inclined to turn them into jewelry. I did find this handspun merino silk yarn that looks gorgeous with the freshwater pearls woven into it.

Tamara (gypsycaster) creates warm and fluffy looking knit scarves, but I was drawn (no pun intended) to her Goddess Series of ACEOs. They feature eyes, which have always been a favorite subject of mine. My favorite amongst the series is Grace O'Malley, so named after the famous female pirate.

Christina has a new Etsy shop called CreationsbyChristina, and I know I'm going to visit her pretty soon and order some of these homemade caramels. They look absolutely melt-in-your-mouth yummy, and she told me she can make them in a bunch of different flavors. The ones pictured here are coffee flavored, and that's pretty tempting, but I'm thinking of those buttery ones for myself...

Tara (aka HunterMoonDesigns) doesn't have any of her flower arrangements in her Etsy shop right now, but if you're looking for something unique and unusual you might want to talk her into creating it for you. I found this unconventional skull bowl arrangement in her sold items.Although I'm sick of winter at this point, these icicle earrings by Rachel (aka raycholg) would be worth keeping the cold weather around for awhile longer. These are such a simple design and so pretty!

Hanna's shop, aworldinvented, is filled with whimsy and with one-of-a-kind creations of all sorts. She's another returning customer, and last time I posted one of her treasure boxes as my favorite item from her shop. This time, though, I came across these altered vintage necklace and earrings. They're really interesting looking, and they're only $22!

I hope you'll check out these shops! I've chosen my favorite from each of them, but all of them have lots more to offer.

Ack! It's Friday!!! I was so absorbed in the movie we were watching that I forgot all about my Etsy Friday post...

Never fear. I'll post later with a big thank you to my customers this week who have Etsy shops of their own. I have to check out all these shops to find my favorite item posted.

LivingTreeStudios

patchworkpossum

ksjoblom

harmonymetals

Beadingandtime

OneElf

Trilbycole63

girlsavage

In the meantime, just so you're not completely bored with reading this, I thought I'd post pictures of the freeform bracelet I sent to my friend Emily for Christmas. Now that she's opened her package and has seen her bracelet, I can share the photos with the rest of the world.

The Etsy BeadWeavers Challenge is underway, and this month's theme is RED. There are 42 entries, and mine was the last one posted! I sneaked in under the wire, and I had to post a photo of my newly-designed Red Between the Lines cuff before it was even finished. I only had about ten minutes to spare when I listed it in my Etsy shop, but I completed the beading and added the button closure this morning. Whew!

Pat (my husband) said I should only have done two hearts, but I liked it with three. I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. I think this might be the fastest I've ever created both a pattern and a completed piece of jewelry. The pattern came to mind when I heard someone on TV say something about "reading between the lines," and it occurred to me that I wanted to have the hearts looking like they were peeking between blinds or something.

I didn't think I had that much Valentine's Day related stuff in my Etsy shop, but I just created a new section called Will.U.B.My.Valentine and loaded it up with everything I have listed that involves love and hearts. Well, not actually everything, as there are a few other romance-related items scattered around in other sections.

I was so happy with my little Santa-Hatted Raven at Christmastime that I decided to dress him up again for Valentine's Day. And so was born Quoth the Raven... Be My Valentine and The Raven Speaks His Heart. I've grown quite fond of these ravens.


Don't forget to check out the Etsy BeadWeavers Blog tomorrow and vote for your favorite amongst the 42 entries! You're going to have a tough time choosing.

The first Friday of the new year... Can you believe it's 2008? I think I like the year 2008 if for no other reason than because it has the number 2 and the number 8. I like those numbers. They're part of my online identity, time2cre8. And my birthday is on the 28th. Those are good reasons to like this year, right?

I'm starting off this year just like I left last year, with an extra thank you to the customers who purchased from me during the past week who also have Etsy shops of their own.

First up is Michele (aka gabriel). Now Michele has an Etsy shop, but I found out during the course of our transaction that it was actually her 11-year-old son who wanted my Captioned Critters cards to use as thank you notes! How cool is that?!?! I'm so glad he liked the cards, and it's really nice to find an 11-year-old who's conscienscious enough to send thank you notes in the first place. That must be the result of some good parenting. Anyway... on to choose my favorite from Michele's shop. I have to say it was tough, because she has some beautiful pendants and beads made from her own artwork incorporated with polymer clay. After going through everything in her shop TWICE, I finally decided that this Twig-Art Pendant is my favorite.


Okay, I admit that I sometimes watch Oprah. Not all the time, but sometimes the shows are interesting. Today was one of the days I watched, and the show was all about being 'green' and saving our planet. Why mention that?

Well, because Angela (aka LoveYourEarth) could have been a guest on the show today with her Love Your Earth Tote bags. Stop using all that paper and plastic, and use a tote! And isn't this one pretty? She also has listings for more bags, because you know you can't get all your groceries home in just one.

Now we go from 'Save Your Earth' to 'Save Your Face and Body' when we visit Shelly (aka JoyfulGirlNatural). Shelly has a shop filled with natural face and body products, but for some reason I was attracted to this Anti Aging Moisturizer Bee Whip. Not that I have wrinkles or anything, but I've read that bee pollen is great for all sorts of things. Maybe she's onto something!

Just today I had a custom order from Bre (aka coochooloo). I managed to finish her order and get it into the mail, and then I went to check out her shop. If you do nothing else, go to Bre's shop to look at her banner! I love love love those hats!!! You can even read her shop announcement to see what that intriguing name means (yes, it actually means something). And while you're there, you might want to pick out one of these little hats for one of the babies in your family. Adorable!

Last but not least is Melissa (aka hobocampcrafts). Melissa's shop has all kinds of things in it, and almost everything is recycled from something vintage. I love that she's giving new life to old things! My favorite thing? This Pootie Stink Cloud Stuffie. What a hoot! (Or should I say 'What a poot!). :-)

Let's start the new year off with something completely useless, shall we?

Sometimes I go poking around the internet on a quest for silliness, games, puzzles, etc. In a recent search I came across this Idiot Test. It serves no useful purpose. It's just plain silliness and kind of challenging at the same time.

Try it out. Let me know how you did.

No cheating.

:-)
Happy New Year!!!