Blog Features and Some Other Stuff

This, I fear, is going to be a somewhat rambling post. Maybe it's the lack of caffeine in my bloodstream (having only finished half a cup of latte so far this morning). Bear with me. :-)

First off, I'd like to send a cyber thanks to two people who were nice enough to give me mentions in their blogs:

Angela included one of my Understated Greetings in her blog post about the meaning of life. I hadn't visited her Glitzed blog before, but now I'm following it to keep an eye on Angela's commentary.

She's definitely got a sense of humor, as evidenced by one of her newest listings for a roller derby wife engagement ring. Don't know what that is? Read the description - it's a hoot!













One of my newest beadwoven creations, Galadriel, was included in a blog post by Ruthie (a fellow member of Etsy BeadWeavers). Ruthie has a blog called Rose Works Jewelry's Treasury Blog, where she creates treasuries of her own. This one was dedicated to members of EBW and featured lots and lots of RED!

Ruthie didn't include any of her own beadweaving in the post, but these earrings would have fit nicely, don't you think?





I've posted before about etsyhacks, but it's worthy of another post. I just can't tell you how handy these scripts are! I'm so spoiled now that I can search for something I want to edit and click the 'edit listing' link right there on the item's page while I'm viewing it, rather than having to scroll through pages and pages of listings to do it. Convos right from the receipt page? Yay! I love that!!

And now there are a couple of new scripts that simplify shipping AND let me search for sales info more easily (even though I have a spreadsheet that does some of this, it's nice to have it right there on my Etsy pages). The two new scripts are called sold orders plus and show "ship to". They both require a little bit of extra work beyond just installing them, but it'll only take a couple of minutes and will surely save you lots of time! I think my favorite one of those is the show "ship to" one, which displays the name and address of the customer right on the Sold Items page, underneath each order. Yes, I know that information's on the receipt (duh), but it's nice to see all the addresses displayed there so I can double check against the packages before I put them into the mail.

Next in this rambling post, I have to show you the latest beadwoven items I've added to my Etsy shop. It may seem like I'm working up a storm, but in reality all I'm doing is photographing and listing up a storm. :-) I'm notorious for finishing, or almost finishing, pieces and then letting them sit for weeks before I get around to taking photos and writing up the listings. It's just so much more FUN to make these things than it is to photograph them and write about them!

This piece, called Pumpkin Spice, was inspired by the beautiful raku bead I received from Lisa Peters. It just kept talking to me and telling me that it wanted to be part of a nice, simple necklace. Now I want more of those beads!!! :-)


Having finished that really simple necklace, I decided to finish off a bead crochet lariat I made a couple of months ago. I made the lariat while on a vacation (bead crochet is such a great beady thing to take on vacations!), but I hadn't gotten around to finishing off the ends. The lampwork beads I received last year from Moon Stumpp (mixedmediajewelry) were PERFECT for this piece, which is called Deliciously Denim. (Check out the listing to get a better view of the lampwork beads.)


And finally, one of my newest peyote designs, which is called Retro Pods. I've been working on some new designs for bracelets and cuffs. I love the organic look of this design, and it really did have an organic inspiration -- the tumors I saw growing on trees when I visited Sweden a few years ago! :-)


Last, but certainly not least, is a reminder for you to visit the Bead Art Originals blog to check out the Items of the Week for April 27 through May 3. There are 12 members participating in this week's specials. Aren't these pieces beautiful!?!


Okay, it's time for that second cup of latte (the one I was working on when I started this post is all gone).