A Closed Door

When one door in life closes, another opens...

After much thought, I have concluded it is time to leave the Etsy Bloggers team. I have enjoyed the relationships built over the course of the last year and I will still be visiting your blogs. My decision to leave has nothing to do with my team mates; my experience with the leadership was the driving factor in my decision that a change needed to be made.

I wish you all the best and hope to continue seeing you in blogland!

Grand ReOpening of UberArt!

The Etsy Bloggers first blog carnival topic for this month is Spring, new things and growth...tell us about a new item and what inspired you to create it. I have the perfect item and story to go along with it--

Those of you who have followed my saga may remember that I opened a new shop in December and moved all my guest books there, leaving my poor UberArt shop sadly neglected.

Blank 16 Page Art Journal in Crossed Snowshoe Stitching

I didn't want to close UberArt because I had some ideas for that shop floating around in my head but none of them felt "right". I have finally captured one of those ideas and it's a natural fit!

BLANK ART JOURNALS! 

Sorry, I don't mean to yell, I just got excited.

Lilac and Periwinkle Blank Art Journal

It's so nice how it has coincided with the change of direction in my art. I've been making blank art journals for myself but then I thought, well, duhh, maybe other people might need blank art journals too!

This one is an accordion-star-flag book, or some such combination of all those techniques! It was fun to make and is even more fun to work in! Since it will stand open, you can paint a bunch of pages at once and let them all dry without worrying about them sticking to each other.

I was trying to wait until I had more inventory in my shop to do a grand opening announcement, but Emerson Bindery has kept me so busy with orders that I haven't had the time I'd hoped for to work on the art journals. My first art journal sold tonight, which forced me to start on a new one since it left only one lonesome book in my shop!

I've got a cool brown paper bag art journal I'm perfecting at the moment so watch for that, coming soon!

Wordless Wednesday

Imagining Spring Is Here

Heavy With Dew by OliviaGirdPhoto

Along with most of the rest of the US, I am so tired of this cold weather! It has been a very rough winter, especially for those of us who aren't used to such cold temperatures. As I write this, I've got a cherry pit heating pad on my back (because I ate ice cream for dessert and now have the shivers).

So, I'm going to pretend spring is here since that is the latest topic for the Etsy Bloggers' Blog Carnival. Melissa of MadeByMelissa is hosting this round and asks what items are in my shop to celebrate spring. I have all sorts of spring guest book designs, since spring is the start of the wedding season.

I thought I'd go with a yellow theme, to coordinate with the daffodil picture. Here is my Mums In Canary Guest Book.

I have one more yellow book in my shop but it's more of a summer theme...but here is one still in the works from my Petite Series--to be listed soon!

Ahhh...I feel warmer already! I hope these bright, cheery yellows warmed you up also!

The Featured Etsy Blogger for March is...

DizzyDragonflies! DD makes hand dyed yarn and knitted items. Such luscious colors in that lovely yarn basket! Visit her shop to see all her goodies! She also has a blog too.

Dreaming of Warmer Weather...

I'm so tired of this cold weather. Temperatures have been about 20 degrees lower around here than normal for months now. I hyperventilate each month upon opening the utilities bill. When will we get a break?!

Instead of sitting here with cold hands and feet wallowing in my misery, I will relive my days on vacation in the Bahamas...ahh, tropical paradise. Warm sand between my toes. Warm water for snorkeling. Pretty fish and sea shells. Sitting in the shade beneath a palm tree, sipping a drink. I need to get out my "Island Paradise" nature sounds CD and it will *almost* be real...and maybe a heating pad to lie on.

This is for the EtsyBloggers Team Carnival, this round hosted by HandmadeBySandi. Thanks Sandi, for this wonderful theme!

Be My Valentine!

Personalized Cupcake Toppers by thepaperkingdom

It seems Valentine's Day was more special for me when I was a child than it is now. I remember the excitement of making our own mailboxes and taping them to the sides of our desks for the BIG DAY.

Valentine's Day Personalized Cards with Keepsake Mailbox by InkspotWorkshop

When the day came, we'd walk around the room playing mail carrier, delivering Valentines to everyone's mailbox. I think there was a rule that if you participated you had to give everyone a Valentine, not just a special few people. That way no one felt left out.

In Bloom Spring Colors 3 by simplysplendidstamp

I kept my Valentines for many years until at some point when I was a teenager I decided they weren't cool anymore, so I threw them out. I wish I still had them. :/

February's Featured Etsy Blogger

Congrats to this month's Etsy Blogger, TiLT Creations!! She has a shop full of really neat things like backpacks, totes, purses, clutches and this really cool messenger bag--

Zombie Worker Denim Messenger Bag, hand embroidered by TiLT Creations

I love what she wrote in this description: "Do you feel like a zombie heading out to work? Then this bag is for you." I was just telling my hubby the other night sometimes I feel like the guy in that old Dunkin Donuts commercial, staggering out of bed and mindlessly heading to the kitchen..."Time to make the donuts"...only in my case I'm stumbling to the studio to work on custom books.

Snowflakes!

We rarely get snow where I live, so this is the best I can do for snow pictures! Which is fine by me...snow is pretty to look at when it's freshly fallen, but I can do without the cold thank you very much!

1 Snow Queen Bracelet by drakonaria
2 Magical Blue and Silver Snowflake Ornament by tianarutledge
3 Snowflakes photo cards by filigreephotos
4 watercolor stationery by cynthiacallan

January's Etsy Blogger

This month's featured blogger is Erika of NicoDesigns! Erika does some fabulous things with fabric in her shop including diaper bags, pin cushions, and home decor, but my favorite is her art doll line.
This cute little art doll is Savannah the Horse Lover. Savannah has her own bio written up in the listing. Go check it out!

Blue and Brown

The EtsyBloggers Team is featuring a blog carnival with the theme "favorite color combination: what do you make using those colors?"

One of my favorite color combinations is blue and brown. Ironically those are not my personal favorite colors, but I do like the way they look together. (Obviously, given the number of designs I have created using blue and brown!)

Etsy Blogger of the Month

Is CalKat! I just love this piece of jewelry from Kathy and Carrie's shop, it's so unusual!

Braces? At my age!

**Please note: my article was "borrowed" by get-a-celebrity-smile.com and appears without my permission on their website, advertising some teeth whitening pens. I DO NOT endorse them, especialy since they used my article without my permission and I cannot find any way to contact them to have it removed!!

I just got Invisalign braces this week for a rouge front tooth that decided after 20 years to revert back to it's former position. (I wore metal braces twice before as a child--blah!).

I am miserable. Of course it would be worse if I had those horrible metal brackets tearing up my cheeks, but my whole face hurts. The tray, as they call it--it snaps over your teeth, has rough spots on it along the gum line that are driving me up the wall. I've already attacked it with a nail file a couple of times.

Brace Face by GottaLotta

And on top of that I've got a sore throat and nausea. At first I thought I was coming down with something, but thought perhaps I would check the intenet for reported side effects of Invisalign. Lo and behold, I found many other people reporting the same thing! I've concluded it's either an allergic reaction to the plastic or caused by a severely dry mouth (another side effect of having Invisalign).

I reported these symptoms to my orthodontist, who is one of those good ole southern boys, and he said he'd never heard of such a thing. Maybe it was anxiety. (WTF??!!!)

So I have taken it upon myself to educate him by emailing him all the links from my afternoon of research on the internet. I'm kind of locked into treatment with him since I've already paid for over half of it, so changing orthos would be a bit of a hassle. Besides, the histrionic female accusation, he's a nice guy otherwise.

I'm definitely going to lose weight too, due to the hassle of taking the durn tray in and out every time I eat. Then I have to brush before putting it back in, otherwise the food will be trapped in the tray and I'll get cavities. Unfortunately, aside from a couple of inches around my belly to get back into my "skinny" jeans, I really don't need to lose weight. So I'll end up looking like a skeleton before this self-imposed ordeal is over.

I've been sipping on water the last few hours and the nausea has gotten better, so maybe it is related to dry mouth. The good news is my treatment will only be 12 weeks long. I put up with morning sickness during my pregnacy with my son longer than that, so I guess I can hang in there!

Wordless Wednesday

Photograph taken by me yesterday at the library.

Upcoming Holidays - Blog Carnival

The theme for the Etsy Bloggers Blog Carnival this week is: "The holiday season will soon be here - what's your favorite holiday movie or special?"

I love all the old claymation specials from the 1970's, but my very favorite is The Year Without A Santa Claus. Specifically, the Heat Miser vs. Snow Miser song. I love that song and sing it year round when I'm so inclined.

Here it is for your enjoyment!

Etsy Blogger for November

This month's featured Etsy Blogger is Becky of beckykazana and her other shop, thefabmissb. Becky has been an Etsy seller and an Bloggers team member for several years now. She has a lot of diverse things in her two shops, so stop by and take a look!

Etsy Blogger Of the Month

Is MadeByMelissa!

Melissa says, "I make jewelry and crocheted items. All of my items are one of a kind! Although things I make may look similar - no two items are identical. Therefore - you will become the proud owner of a 100% unique item!"

Check out her store for a variety of items. There are some great things in there for the little ones in your life. My favorite is this one -- a little crocheted turtle! So cute!

Blog Carnival: Halloween

This month's blog carnival theme for the Etsy Bloggers theme is to share your favorite Halloween memory from your childhood.

I loved going trick or treating with my neighborhood friends. We'd all go together in a group, with the moms in tow chatting and having as good a time as we were having.


Here I am at 5 years old with my little sister, ready for the big night! My costume was handmade by mom and she had me wear it every year for Halloween until I was 12. By then it was almost a mini skirt it came so far up my legs! I suppose she figured she spent all that time making the costume that I may as well get as much use out of it as I could. Besides, she didn't want to make another the next year!

To be honest, I was so sick of that costume after a couple of years and it took all the fun out of choosing what I wanted to be for Halloween.

My friends: "What are you going to be for Halloween this year?"
Me: "A princess." **big sigh**
My friends: "Again?! Haven't you been a princess for the last 10 years in a row?"

Back to School

I am so far behind this month! It's amazing how a vacation can set you back so far. The Etsy Bloggers Blog Carnival theme this time is "Back to School" and I am just squeaking in under the wire getting this post done in time!!

Back to school was always a bittersweet time for me. The good things: going shopping for new clothes, getting back into a routine, and seeing my old friends again. The bad things: end of the summer and freedom from homework, and having to get up early again!

I loved getting new clothes the best. I am a self-admitted clothes horse and was so even in elementary school. It was fun to get new shoes and clothes, but once I wore them a few times I was ready for summer again.

My favorite back to school shoes were a pair of "Bug Off" brown leather boots (that was the brand name, represented by a little ladybug). The picture is the closest thing I could find to what they looked like. I absolutely LOVED them and wore them every day in second grade. They were so comfy and I wore them every day. I even tried to wear them in the spring as the weather warmed up, but my calves got so sweaty I had to abandon my favorite boots in favor of sandals. Image from Zappos.

My second favorite look was knee socks with a cute pair of blue leather buckled loafers with short skirts. It was way more comfortable than wearing tights. I wish I could still get away with that look, but I'm way to old to be walking around in knee socks with skirts! Image from LandsEnd

Featured Etsy Blogger

Memories for Life Scrapbooks!

She says:
"My name is Edi and I have been paper crafting for over 12 years. I started out making hand made cards with stamps. I then moved into scrapbooking. I love anything to do with paper and can make just about anything with it. I work as a machine operator at a semi transmission factory for a living while I get my MBA, but I paper craft for life. It truly is my passion!"

Memories for Life says she loves to do custom work, so contact her if you have something special in mind.

Also, to see her works in progress and where she finds inspiration visit her Blog.