Silvia - Look Mama Made It

Silvia is from Lisbon, Portugal and you HAVE to check her shop out. She makes the cutest little felted miniatures - they are so cute! She says their for children, however, I know more than a few adults that would be captivated by her creations. I'm thinking my 4 year old niece would just fall in love with her little miniatures

Here's more information about Silvia:

Tell me about your shop. What will I find there?

My shop is where I try to make an old dream come true - I always wanted to make toys and beautiful things, and I am particularly fond of miniatures and small-scale objects. In my shop I sell my handmade creations, mainly (but not only) thought for children, and designed to encourage pretend play. I work with a lovely wool blend felt, and offer several kinds of felt food, and even complete meals. My favorite items are probably the colorful, soft and detailed pieces of fruit and vegetables, but I also like my "classic" birthday cake a lot - it is very versatile, can be made in almost any color, and easily transformed, for instance, with the addition of some strawberries. I also make other softies, such as dolls and bears, each with a personality of its own, and several accessories.

How long have you been in business?

Well, I started to sell my toys in the beginning of March 2008, so I've been in business for only four and a half months. I fact, I sold my first softie on my birthday, March 3rd!

Where do you sell your creations?

My favorite place to sell is my Etsy shop, called “Look, Mama Made It” (after my daughter's favorite sentence). You can see it at www.lookmamamadeit.etsy.com. I also sell to people who contact me through my blog, www.ameninabrinca.blogspot.com, but I prefer to direct those sales to Etsy, unless they are local customers. The rest of my sales are due to word-to-mouth advertising. My toys are entirely handmade, and I am a bit of a perfectionist, so they take me quite some time to craft and I simply cannot make enough items to sell anywhere else.

Do you have a blog or web-site?

As stated before, I have a blog, at www.ameninabrinca.blogspot.com. It is written in Portuguese and English, so don't be afraid to visit me!

Who is your favorite crafts person/artisan or favorite web resource?

It is SO hard to pick one. Well, I cannot really choose just one, but today I will have to say Allsorts (www.allsorts.typepad.com). It is one of those blogs I always read, and a feast to the eyes. Jenny is generous enough to share her wonderful ideas, and even patterns, with her readers. And both me and my daughter love her illustrations and online dress-up games. Plus, I just found out she was featuring one of my cakes among her Etsy shopping favorites. How nice is that?

Are there any upcoming craft fairs/art shows that you'll be participating in this year?

I won't be able to do any craft fairs this year, since I am still trying to establish the customer base of my small business. Also, I have to divide myself between crafting, a full time job, and a 5-year-old daughter! At the moment, I am not able to assure a reasonable stock in order to participate in a fair. But one day!

Rebecca Cason – Edward and Lilly

You won’t find a more darling shop if you tried – everything in her shop is an original design. Ashley’s little stuffed animals are so cute I might just have to buy one for myself. Rebecca is from Brisbane, Australia – making this post an international affair.

Here’s a little more about Rebecca:

Tell me about your shop. What will I find there?

Edward and Lilly products begin as a gift for a loved one and the design evolves from there. In esigning my softies I am inspired by my 3 beautiful nieces and their love of animals. At the moment shop stock includes cute little bears and cats lovingly made in Brisbane, Australia. There will be more softies in my shop in the next couple of weeks so keep an eye out for them.

How long have you been in business?

I began sewing 12 months ago and have been in business since March.

Where do you sell your creations?

Edward and Lilly creations are sold at the following online shops:

http://www.edwardandlilly.etsy.com/

http://en.dawanda.com/shop/edwardandlilly

http://www.madeit.com.au/

and from next week http://www.tenstickyfingers.com.au/

or you can contact me directly through my blog at http://www.edwardandlilly.blogspot.com/

Do you have a blog or web-site?

The Edward and Lilly blog is updated regularly at http://www.edwardandlilly.blogspot.com/

Who is your favorite crafts person/artisan or favorite web resource ?

This is a tough question as there are so many amazing and talented crafters out there but at the moment I would have to say I am smitten by Anna Maria Horner for her amazing ability to combine colour. http://www.annamariahorner.com/

Are there any upcoming craft fairs/art shows that you’ll be participating in this year?

Not at this stage but stay tuned!

Ashley Johnson - RockNRoll Mc Mama Designs

You’ll find great things at RockNRoll McMama. This shop has a little of everything – not to mention the cutest dresses for little girls. You can see my personal favorite there on the left. In addition to having two shops on Etsy, Ashley is the founder of the South Carolina Etsy Street Team. From personal experience, being a member of an Etsy Street Team is one of the greatest ways to build connections with local area Etsy Artisans.

Here’s a little more about Ashley:

Tell me about your shop. What will I find there?

I have two shops, actually. Rock N Roll McMama Designs is a boutique for women and children that features handmade tote bags, jewelry, baby clothes, and custom monogrammed items. Yum Yum Creations is a store that focuses on detailed polymer clay jewelry, most of which looks like food.

How long have you been in business?

I started my Etsy business in February of 2008.

Where do you sell your creations?
http://rocknrollmcmama.etsy.com
http://yumyumcreations.etsy.com

Do you have a blog or web-site?

Yes, I have a brand spanking new blog located at http://rocknrollmcmama.blogspot.com and you can find me on myspace at http://www.myspace.com/rocknrollmcmama.

Who is your favorite crafts person/artisan or favorite web resource?

It's hard for me to choose one person, but the South Carolina Etsy Street team is full of talented artisans. I manage the team and the blog and we feature a new artist frequently. Check it out at http://scstreetteam.blogspot.com

Are there any upcoming craft fairs/art shows that you’ll be participating in this year?

Right now, I don't have anything upcoming. There are talks about possibly doing a team craft show for South Carolina in the future, but details to that will come later. Right now you can find all of my items online and if you don't see something that is just right, I love doing custom orders.

You could have knocked me over with a feather...

There I was, reading the new posts on my Etsy Street Team message boards - something about members of our street being featured on the Front Page of Etsy (I made a cursory glance at the names - mostly the usual suspects) then I went on to about our team was mentioned in a Storque article...and then it hit me...I had to go back and re-read the names of the artists featured on the Front PAge and that's when I got the shock of my life! Dancing Monkey Jewelry was one of the artists. That's me!!!! Then my world came crashing down because I missed the front page...I missed it. I was devestated - I missed my own BIG MOMENT!!!! However, I did get a consolation prize. Margo, the team organizer, capture a screen shot of the front page - and there I was in all my glory (second row - on the right) - along with a few of my team members. I sat there basking in the glow of my computer monitor, takin it all in. Then I started sending out emails to all my friends - letting them know. And now I'm telling you - my loyal and devoted readers. What the heck is good about good news if you don't share it?

Oh, what a wonderful day. Thank you, Margo for being so vigiliant. If it weren't for you I would have never known.

But wait there's more - I'll be back to write Part II of this post. I want to introduce you to the other members of the Team EtsyRain Street Team that were there with me on the Front Page - they're a talented bunch and I would like to sing their praise.

Until then, take care and I'll be back later.

Best Regards,

martha

The first day of my "Dream Life" is today...

Next week I'll be taking a break from my day job (the one that is currently paying the bills) to get ready for my next show on May 10th (see the right side bar for more info). I'll also be working on the show that I am coordinating with friends that will happen this summer the last weekend in July (more information regarding this show is forth-coming). While I'll have lots of work to do next week, I intend to have FUN, FUN, FUN!!! I mean, I'll be living my dream life, which is that of a successful, busy, in demand jewelry artisan. :) I'm one of those people who likes and thrives in "solitude" and know that I would do well if I worked at home. As I write this I'm thinking about the routine I would establish, it would be the perfect combination of work and personal time. I'm one of those people who likes to work in spurts and then take time to recharge my batteries. So, I would set a routine that would be like this:

My schedule for next week (Monday - Friday):

• Rise at 6:00am - 6:30am. Make coffee and drink 2 cups while standing in the kitchen watching the early morning news (Yeah, I got a TV in my kitchen - I like to watch the "Food Network" while cooking or cleaning
• 6:30am -7:00am. Take Bruce for a walk. He's not a very demanding pooch but when he wants to go for a walk he's quietly persuasive and it's best to get such demands out of the way as soon as I can.
• 7:00am (or 7:30am) - 2:00pm. Sit down at jewelry bench. I'll either be working on designs or creating my findings.
  
• 2:00pm - 4:00pm. Take a break or run personal/work related errands
  
• 4:00pm - 5:00pm. Clean up jewelry bench and wrap it up for the day.
• 5:00pm - 9:00pm - Domestic chores and spend time with family.
  

Will I be able to maintain this non-harried schedule? Probably not - only because I'm sure there will be nights when I've got a creative streak where I'll tell my husband that he's on his own for dinner and will work at my bench until all hours of the night. Which will throw off my schedule for the next day. And I'm sure I'll get sucked into watching some daytime TV - so I'm going to avoid the siren song of the BIG TV and the comfortable couch in the living room. My TV daytime TV will be confined to either my kitchen or at my jewelry bench.

So that's my plan.

What else have I been up to? Well, I've been terribly remiss in tending to my shop on Etsy. It hasn't been very busy and truth be told I was avoiding it. Yeah, not the best plan. So, add it to my list for next week: Pay attention to your shop on Etsy!!! This morning, I added more earrings to my shop. Next Sunday, I'll be adding more stock to my shop.

Now I've got to go and get ready. My husband is getting his documentation together to renew his passport. We need to go to the notary today. We're planning a trip to visit his family in England this summer.

I'll be back later.

Until then, Best Regards.

martha

Yeah! I did it and survived to tell the tale!!!!

What did I do? I paid my 1st quarter taxes last night (nothing like waiting for the last moment). Thank god, for electronic filing and e-checks. I have a sneaking suspicion that I might have over paid my taxes - only because my records weren't as "organized" as they should be - but I'd rather over pay then under pay - it's just more pleasant to find out that you erred in your favor. My biggest worry is that I didn't complete the forms correctly - but the silver lining to this dark cloud is that I'm sure I'll find out sooner rather than later if I made any mistakes (That is if the Department of Revenue notices).

Because I haven't had any sales in the first month of the second quarter, I'm going to use this time to organize my financial paper work - just in case I get audited. According to the fine folks from the Department of Revenue - it's not if you get audited, it's when - so I want to be prepared. Sounds pretty ominous - doesn't it?

And finally, next week I'll get a taste of what it's like to be a full time artisan/business owner. I'll be at home all next week getting ready for my next jewelry show sponsored by my Etsy Street Team: EtsyRain in Edmonds. I'm excited about this show for two reasons: 1. It's an opportunity to make more money (my checking account is looking a little anemic) and 2. I'll get to meet more members of the team - some of them I know through the groups I belong to on Flickr and Etsy, and some that I've actually met at other shows like "I Heart Rummage" and classes. I'm hoping it's fun, I'm hoping it's profitable, I'm hoping to meet lots of cool people - I'm hoping that next week is productive and I walk away with a feeling of being satisfied with what I was able to accomplish.

So, my goals for next week are:

1. Take more photos of my jewelry.

2. Post more inventory on Etsy.

3. Have more productive sessions at my jewelry bench.

4. Organize my financial paperwork.

5. Get ready for my next show.

6. Meet with my co-organizers of my Bella Faire art show in Tacoma.

7. Design and get the web-site for the Bella Faire up and running.

8. Take Bruce for a walk every day next week.

9. Set up a routine for me to follow through out the week.

10. Start a feature on my blog dedicated to the artist's who's own web-sites drive lots of traffic to my web-site (Whew! That was a mouth full!). I'm also thinking of hosting a give-away once a month - maybe.

It's good to have goals. Better if you meet them.

I'm featured in a blog!!!!

Aquamarine 2
Originally uploaded by Dancing Monkey Jewelry

Take a look at the earring to your right - they were featured in a blog today. :) This is very exciting for me. If your curious and want to check it out click on this link: Capitolagirl - it's worth the mouse click to visit. Go on...you know you want to take a look.

How to generate sales in your shop....

So, sales of have been less than robust in my shop. I do alright at the craft shows but it's my goal to do the bulk of my sales on line. To that end, I'm running a special in my Etsy Shop - for the month of April I'm offering 20% off on all items in my shop. Also, as an added bonus, I'm offering 20% off for life to my first three customers.

Would that offer entice you to purchase from me? Does it pique your curiosity enough to see what I'm offering? If not, what would do it for you? Now is your turn to change the direction of an up and coming shop. :)

For those of you who are allowing your curiosity to get the best of you, here's a link to my store on Etsy:

http://www.dancingmonkeyjewelry.etsy.com


Best Regards,

Martha

Triple Treat Earrings

Triple Treat
Originally uploaded by Dancing Monkey Jewelry

More jewelry that I am planning on posting in my Etsy shop.

Three white freshwater pearls are stack neatly one upon another. They are dangling from hand formed French ear wires and have been oxidized - which contrasts nicely with the whiteness of the pearls.

"a thing of beauty..."is a blog you might want to visit

One of the great things about being a part of such things like Etsy, Flickr and a host of many other on-line groups is that you have access to some very creative minds and you can benefit from their collective knowledge. Such a thing has happened to me (this morning in fact). While perusing my one of my groups in Flickr (Etsy.com love), I stumbled across a posting from a user who calls herself "love streams". She had written a post to say she had compiled a list of what she said was 100 great artists on Etsy. Hmmm...that's quite the claim.

Having piqued my curiosity, I had to check it out. So, I did. The result... well, let just say I wasn't disappointed by her choices (blown away would better describe the effect) or her blog (more about that later). If you get a chance, please check out her blog - it's absolutely wonderful: http://www.thing-of-beauty.com/100-great-artists-etsy-you-might-want-to-visit/. The list of artists she featured is fantastic - it must have taken her quite a bit of time to find them. And let's not forget her blog - it's well written and very enjoyable to peruse.

My final plug for those of you who don't know about Flickr. Here it goes: If you haven't had a chance to check out Flickr - http://www.flickr.com/ - you should do that too! It's a photo sharing web site and a whole lot more! It will take you places you didn't know existed.

I've been featured in an other artist's blog...

This so exciting for me - my first feature!!! The blog is CJ's Woodland Shed. In her blog, she has chosen several outstanding indie artists to feature and she also has a lovely store on Etsy also known as: CJ's Woodland Shed.

Please check out CJ's blog and Etsy store - both are very lovely. The blog has lots of pictures and well written posts.

What I've been up to this evening...

As part of my plan to promote my blog I've spent a good part of tonight reading the Etsy forums and checking out blogs that belong to other bloggers. Actually reading the blogs that interest me and if I could leave a thoughtful comment regarding one of their posts. This is one of the recommended ways of driving more traffic to your blog.

Another thing I was invited to join a Flickr group that I think will be most beneficial to me and my business: "Indie Artist Promotion and Advertising". This group is for anyone who is an independent artist/designer/crafter. The mission for this group is to be a place to share about promoting. "How do you promote your work? Where do you advertise? What do you do to generate sales? Where to you sell your work? Let's share with each other the most effective places to sell, promote, and advertise (free or paid). Share tips and techniques, and experiences both positive and negative. Offer polite critiques and advice to one another, share ideas, and help our fellow crafters make a living off of their talents! Let's share with each other the most effective places to sell, promote, and advertise (free or paid). Share tips and techniques, and experiences both positive and negative. Offer polite critiques and advice to one another, share ideas, and help our fellow crafters make a living off of their talents!"

So, I'm really looking forward to participating in this group. The group administrator is a fellow Etsy shop owner: {sweeter than me} designs - Kristin Friesen. She is a very talented jewelry artist and I love her jewelry.

If you get a chance, you should check out her shop on Etsy:

www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5365727

If I could figure out how to post pictures of her work, I would, but I can't, so I won't. If there is anybody out there who could tell me how to post pictures from the web or let me know where I could find this information that would be great.

I'm back...

Gerbera Daisies
Originally uploaded by Dancing Monkey Jewelry

I'm making up for last weeks lack of posting in this blog with my second post today. One of the many things I've learned since opening my "shop" on Etsy is that I love taking photographs. When I first started selling I had no idea just how hard it was for me to take a decent photograph of jewelry. Part of the reason was I wasn't used to my new camera and the other part was I was just plain crappy at it - I still struggle with that "depth of field" concept. :) However, I do believe that my skills have rapidly improved and with the help of photo editing I can turn out a decent photograph. My photographs are more of my interpretation of the subject - not necessarily a true representation. Where's the fun in that?

I've been considering the prospect of offering some of my photographs for sale in my Etsy shop. Again, I might be heading off in this direction under a false sense of talent. You see I've had a couple of friends buy some prints from me. I was coerced by a co-worker (Tanya) to enter the Staff Fine Art Show at work and another friend has commissioned me to take some photographs for her daughters-in-law. But these are people who know me and like me and are my friends.

So, I'm testing this prospect out. I've already posted on photograph on my Etsy shop. No one has rated it as a favorite yet but it's received a fair amount of viewings from others. I figure I will see whether or not my photography will sell to those who do not know me.

No matter what, I like my photographs and I will continue to go out on my "photo safaris" whether or not I can sell them.

Wow! How time flies...

I've been laying low this week. With all the work I've been putting in for my Etsy business, promoting myself in other forums and visiting the interesting blogs I've come across I haven't had the inclination to do much of anything else. Which is not good because there is still so much that I need to do:

Open a business bank account. Update my books - I have all the information - I just need to consolidate for tax purposes. I haven't done much business - the silver lining behind the dark cloud - so it won't take long.

• Take more photos of my jewelry to add to both of my on-line shops (Etsy and iCraft.ca).

• List more jewelry on both of my on-line shops.

• Clean my house (it's a mess and I hate it when it's a mess)
  

• Do laundry.

• Pay attention to my husband.

• Pay attention to my dog - letting him lay on the couch beside just isn't doing it for him any more.
  

However, last week wasn't a total loss - I found some great blogs that I would like to share with you:

Butterfly Chic Boutique:

http://www.butterflychicboutique.net

This blog is a great resource for on-line business owners. The writer of this blog has great articles on using PayPal, your personal behavior in the Etsy forums (the Face of Your Business), tips for selling on line. Plus, she features sellers on Etsy. It's a very well written blog and her advice has become invaluable to me.

Urban Fashion Network

http://www.urbanfashionnetwork.com/jewelry.html
http://urbanfashionnetwork.blogspot.com/

After my last show at "I Heart Rummage" - I got an email from the Urban Fashion Network. They are a site devoted to up and coming designers, boutiques and events in Seattle (and the West Coast). I was told that they would love to add me to their site as a designer. Of course, I took them up on their offer. I'd be a fool not to, right?

And finally, I will be taking a silver working class tomorrow with a group of artist who are members of my Etsy street team (Seattle's EtsyRain). Tomorrow we'll be learning to make cool wire links and clasps. It should be fun - I'll be learning and/or perfecting a skill and I'll be meeting more members of my street team. I'm looking forward to tomorrow.

Two really nice things happened to me this week that were totally unexpected.

Thing number one: I was supposed to attend my last "HTML" class on Wednesday - when I got to the class I found it had been rescheduled. Not having received prior notice I wasn't very happy. When I called my boss to let her know that my class was rescheduled, and that I would be coming into work and that I was wearing jeans (in violation of the "Professional Image Policy") she suggested that I take the rest of the day off because by the time I got to work my day would be half over. Well, you don't have to tell me twice to take a day off from work. It was a glorious day (a warm, sunny winter day with strong hints of spring in the air) and I spent a good part of the day in downtown Seattle, sightseeing, visiting favorite haunts, eating and taking pictures. It was the perfect day. Thank you, Brenda.

Thing number two: Last night I had a surprise visitor arrive on my doorstep - My dad. He lives int he Tri-Cities (Eastern Washington) and he came over for the annual amateur radio "Ham Fest" in Puyallup today. He says he's not in the market for new radio and/or their parts - but we all know those are "famous last words".

Now, I'm going to see about doing something about those items on my "To Do" list. Enough loafing around!

My Etsy Store...

I don't know how it got passed me - seeing how I watch my Etsy shop like a hawk - today I received my 100th "Heart". For those of you who aren't familiar with Etsy - receiving a heart just means that there is another Etsian out there who likes your shop. It give you some exposure to other Etsian out there - who may take a look at your shop - it's like getting a "High Five" from your peers. It's a great feeling to know that others like your work.

Of course, I still haven't made a sale from my Esty store. I've been told that it can take some time, given that jewelry is a somewhat over saturated market. However, I'm going on two months here with out a sale and I will admit that it's been a bit on disconcerting. Hell, I even tried to tempt buyers with the promise of a free gift (a pair of pearl earrings) in hopes it would cause a few sales but it didn't. For the month of March, I'm offering free shipping to anywhere on the planet. We'll see if that affects my sales. If not, I'll think of something for April - I'd love to turn those "Hearts" into "sales". Anybody have any suggestions? I'm all ears.

Starting this Monday (March 3rd) I'll be adding a new weekly feature to my blog. The new feature will be "The Recipe of the Week". I love to cook and I have a reputation for being a good cook. My husband even tells people that he married me for my cooking abilities. Also, I come from a family of people that like eat and who like to cook. Which means I have access to some fabulous recipes which I will beg, borrow and/or steal (if I have to) to post on my blog.

There's more to life than jewelry and work, right?

Finally! Some Jewlery Photos to Show You!!!

I've been busy with my jewelry - believe it or not. Matter of fact, I'll be taking Thursday and Friday off from work to get ready for my next show at Chop Suey in Seattle. Tonight, I took another class from my bead shop - The Bead Factory. I'm thinking I'll take a couple of photos of the project that I worked on and will post them at a later date.

So, here are some photos of the jewelry that I'll be listing on Etsy soon. I'm not sure if I'll post before my next show or after my next show. I'll guess I'll do what time allows.

And now for the latest creations to come out of the Dancing Monkey Jewelry Studios (drum roll, please!)...


These are my new favorites - round aquamarine beads, hand-made fine silver fused rectangles and handmade fine silver ear wires.




Aqua Terra Jasper (aka: Impression Jasper) beads, sterling silver daisy spacers, and hand made ear wires.










Prehnite briolettes dangle from oxidized fine silver circles, hand made fine silver ear wires.







Pink freshwater pearls dangle from rustic fused fine silver triangles, hand made ear wires.





These are my edited photos. Now all I have to do is download these photos to Etsy and come up with a lyrical description of the earrings. Then I have about 100 more photos of jewelry that I have to edit (mostly cropping and resizing) before I can list them on Etsy and my icraft.ca shop. I can't believe how much work it is to sell jewelry on-line! However, if your curiosity gets the best of you, you can mosey over to my flickr site and see more of my jewelry photography -

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dancingmonkeyjewelry

Also, I still have to edit my photos from my last craft show - they're huge and take a long time to download. What will happen, most likely, is that the photos from my last show will be displayed from my next show (this Sunday).

I've got a lot of work to do between now and this weekend. Good lord, I had no idea how much work this would be. I'm off to bed.

Jewelry and photography...

Just don't mix as far as I'm concerned. So, I've spent most of the weekend taking photos, and deleting photos and taking the photos again. Now I'm going through and editing the photos that survived my first round of edits. This is the part that I dislike the most - the editing. Then once I've got that part done I get to download the photos to my Etsy shop. Then the part that I really hate is describing my jewelry. It takes all my skills, talents, creativity that I can muster to come up with somewhat adequate descriptions of my jewelry. Shopping for jewelry is a tactile experience for most people. Great photos and good descriptions of your jewelry (or product) is very important - it's the only way to build a connection with your customer. These are skills I need to improve on. It's becoming clear to me that jewelry design is becoming a small part of my business.

On an entirely different topic, it's 11:25pm (PST), I've got to go to bed as I need to get up and go to work tomorrow. I'm sitting on my couch, using my husband's computer and I just looked out the dining room windows and there's the moon in all it's glory. I can see it shining through the branches of the cherry tree. It's not quite full but shining bright, as I write this it's has risen so that I have to crane my neck to get a glimpse of it. It's so lovely. What is it about the moon that draws us to it?

With that, I'm heading off to bed - 4:30am is going to come too soon. Sorry - no pictures to show you - maybe tomorrow.

I can't believe that I forgot to mention this....

I'm sure most of you know that bloggers like to track the visitors to their blog and I've been checking. I've been getting a few visitors everyday. Most of my visitors are from the USA and I appear to be quite popular in Canada. I've even had visitors from the United Kingdom, Australia, Bulgaria, Lithuania and Islamabad, Pakistan. All this is very exciting for me - my blog is international!

What you might not know is that I'm an "information freak" and I'm nosey. :) I need to find out how people find my blog - just because. Most referrals come from Etsy, Flickr, or from people I know that I've sent emails to and said "Hey! Check out my blog!" One of the most exciting referrals I have seen is one from someone who uses AOL for their internet searches. They did a web search for "Sundance Jewelry" and look what came up in their search - ME!!!!!!

So, for all of you out there who's knowledge regarding site locations on the web is broader than mine. I just want to say something "Don't tell me this is a fluke!" I don't need this cold dose of reality - not at this point in time at least (Yes, I'm living in Denial). At my daytime job, I've been working as part of a team to update our web and I've been told that this is something very big...and even if it's a fluke or something that would only happen on AOL I just want to let you know that I'm operating under the guise of "Ignorance is Bliss" and let me tell you I've never felt so good about being so ignorant. Let me enjoy this moment. My self-esteem is at an all time high. I'm having one of those Sally Field moments (You like me. You really like me!). It's a good feeling and sometimes that's all that counts. By the way, denial is almost as good as ignorance.

I've been featured in a Treasury on Etsy!!!

I joined this on-line Etsy street team - EtsyRain. So far my involvement has strictly been on line. I hope I'll get a chance to meet this creative group in person soon.

What's really exciting is that one of the members of the street team included me in her treasury. What is a Treasury? Here is a description that is taken directly off the Etsy web-site ( so don't accuse me of plagarism - I've already given Etsy credit):

"The Treasury is a member-curated gallery of short-lived lists of 12 hand-picked items each (plus four alternates). It functions as a high-demand (and pretty!) promotional tool that many devoted Etsians fight to get. Members can feature their favorite items, items selected on a theme, or just however they like. The Treasury is not intended for self-promotion, but instead to acknowledge and share the many cool things for sale on Etsy. Admin often choose an exceptional Treasury list to promote on the home page and occasionally make them to tie into Storque articles or special events and occasions."

So the name of the Treasury I'm featured on is: Adorn Your Ears...EtsyRain Style.

Here is the link:

www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=24354

And here is the link of the EtsyRain team member who chose me:

www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5202322

By the way, the store's name on Etsy is: Woven Chains Jewelry

Please take a look at both links to see all the beautiful jewelry that is being created by artist who make up EtsyRain.

Some of My Favorite Web Sites...

I've spent a fair amount of time logged onto my Flickr account - posting pictures, reading the forums in the various groups I joined and making contacts with various people who are doing the same I'm trying to do - promote our shops, web-sites and/or blogs.

These are very talented people and my only regret is that I can't buy from all of them. What I can do is let you know about them and point you in their direction. I have linked a few of the web-sites for the contacts I've made through my Flickr account.

I hope you enjoy visiting these web-sites as much as I did and please remember to support your independent crafts person/artisan. In a world of the impersonal nation-wide big box stores, you'll be glad you did.

Best regards,

Martha