A few things have been happening...

I have been extremely neglectful of all things Etsy and online selling - I have just been so busy outside of the internet that I haven't really felt like doing anything about it.

But it seems that the world Esty keeps on turning regardless of whether I am making a contribution. Firstly, I made a sale, my first in ages and it's time's like this that I really wish that I knew where the sale came from. The buyer was a relatively new member (a few months) had no feedback, and I wasn't in their favourites. To add to this, I had't listed anything in weeks, so I don't think that they would have found me by simply browsing. I checked the treasuries and treasury west, nothing - so how did it come to be that this lovely buyer found me and made a purchase?

By the way, it was my Simply Elegant Blue Earrings that sold.


In further Etsy related news, I was also featured in a treasury (this was a couple of days after my sale) as a result of being a part of the great Etsybloggers team. Having used the tag "Etsybloggers" on my Hearts of Many Colours Bracelet, it was featured in a treasury made up of fellow Etsybloggers.

I have also noticed that I have still been getting blog hits, and I also wonder how these people find me, my feedjit gives me a little bit of an idea, but apart from that I am in the dark.

It amazes me that all this activity could be happening around my shop when I have been sitting on my lazy behind doing nothing to promote it - yet when it feels like I'm spending a fortune and I spend all my free time on the net promoting promoting promoting, nothing happens?!

Neglected....

That is how my poor blog feels!

I haven't posted in weeks - I feel all my hard work coming undone.

I have a couple of things coming up that I think will stimulate some blogging.

Blog carnivals and feature bloggers are in the pipeline - I am also looking forward to posting about Christmas - this will be my very first Christmas as a blogger - I look forward to heaps of photographing of the festivities.

For now, I will have to leave you happy in the knowledge that I am buying some pretty new wheels for my beautiful new car - I am taking it as my Christmas present to myself!

Facebook

I have ventured into the realm of Facebook advertising.
I tried an ad, I seemed to get a few clicks, but not much shop action. I think it just ended up costing me money mostly, but I still thought it was good to experience.

I have however finally got around to starting a page for TracyLacy Trinkets - I have 4 fans already so that's a bonus.

I'm still not sure how I'm supposed to go about promoting it, I am still uncomfortable pushing these sorts of things onto my friends - I feel like they will feel obliged to take part!

Contrast....

I managed to snag another treasury, this one features a number of talented Etsy sellers.

Including: tutusbliss, passionflower, mystudio, monaco, stiksel, emandsprout, TwiggyBoodles, gonetopottexas, Nordlys, interrobang, dennisanderson, and LabyrinthLeather.


I love getting these treasuries so much - it's such a great way to show all other Etsians my favourite stuff!

I was also super excited that Tu Tu's Bliss put the link to this treasury on her blog - make sure you take a peek - there is heaps of beautiful stuff to check out there.

Ooooh a New Car!

I'm am so very excited, I have just organised to buy a new car (well it's a used car, but it's new for me!). I will hopefully be taking ownership of it on the weekend - itching to get it now though!

I love it - it's perfect, I was dreaming about it last night!

Nice....

I have been lucky enough to be featured in another treasury - All Color....No Color, curated by Seduorla

I am wondering how "Drops of Silver" was found - because I nearly let it expire due to the fact that I didn't think it was doing very well in my shop. But it seems that Sedruola was able to find it and liked it enough to put it in this treasury.


So I decided to renew it and see how it goes - I am starting to like it again so maybe someone else will decide that they do!

Storybeader

The Etsybloggers feature blogger for the month of November is Storybeader. I don't know a whole lot about my fellow Etsyblogger, but I have a feeling that each one of her creations has a story behind it - and I'm supposing that this is obviously where her name comes from.

I just took a visit to her blog where I found the most captivating video. After watching the whole thing, enthralled by the music and amazed by the snippets of text which accompanied the pictures of her beautiful creations I found out that the snippets of text were actually haikus - amazing. And having checked out her Etsy profile, it seems that I am somewhat right about my assumptions - each one of her jewellery creations are accompanied by a haiku written by her about that particular piece to help take you on a journey.

As she puts it, " I suppose my haiki poems can float around in your brain as you sashay down the lane, wearing one of my necklaces."

The five drummers beat
Together as the dancers
Went roud in circles

-storybeader

Colorful disks, side

By side, form a long strand that
Matches all your shirts.
- storybeader

So, check out her Etsy shop, where you can grab yourself one of these amazingly thought out creations. And make sure you also head over to her blog so you can check out all the other stuff that she gets up to.

Remebrance Day

November 11th is rememberance day (for all my US readers this is what we aussies call Veterans Day - and unfortunately we don't get a day off for it - I will however be attempting to excercise my 2 minutes of silence at 11am whilst at the office)

Whilst I have various views regarding our leaders decisions to send us to war, I still hold high regard for those that have chosen to stand for their country and serve us.


Of course my favourite veteran has to be my boyfriend, Chris. He served in the Australian Army for 9 years - fortunately I met him right near the end and didn't have to endure too much worrying about him. He participated in 2 tours of East Timor and also went to Iraq. He enjoyed his time serving his country, but felt that he had enough of being posted wherever and wanted to come home (lucky for me!)




In honour of all servicemen, who have helped us to have the life that we have.

Poppy image sourced from http://www.freefoto.com

Oops....I've been a bit naughty!

Yep, I sat in the sun for too long and got myself sunburnt! I decided that I had better come inside and find something else to do other than basking in the lovely but dangerous sunshine!

I swear that it was the last 1/2 hour that did the damage. I was sitting out there this morning and all was fine. I went for a wicked bike ride - along the main road and down to the beach. I dipped my toes in the ocean - it was surprisingly pleasant, a couple more weeks and it will definately be swimmable! I came back along the main road and down to the river mouth, took a detour across the wetlands and climbed up the hill back to home - great! Then I sat in the sun again and had a sandwich, a little bevvy and read the paper. I got up to put some sunscreen on (something that I probably should have done first thing this morning instead of choosing moisturiser!) but I was too late - I now have some lovely pink bits and white bits - I look like a red and white zebra!

So now I'm sitting in disgrace inside - still having a bevvy though so that's a bonus!

Treasury!!!!!

Yay, I snagged another treasury! I got it at the last minute when the nuber was sitting on 222 - there was only 9 minutes to go. So I used those 9 minutes to work out what I was going to put it it! Then no.222 expired and I thought I had missed it, I thought that I would have to save my poster sketch for next time - but nope, I think my computer was just being a bit slow!

So here it is, I have called it Simple....
I found it really difficult to find things that weren't jewellery - I think this shows how much of Etsy is taken up by the jewellery catagory - but so much of it is so nice that I could have made 10 treasuries and called them all "Simple....."

Hope you like it - if you happen to see this before the treasury expired, it would be nice if you could leave a click and a comment :)

Tracy's Latest Trinkets!

I have a few more tinkets which I have not yet added to my shop. I find it fun to use blogger to showcase my new creations before I put them on Etsy. This is so much easier as I don't have to worry about thinking up descriptions and measuring everything! Yes, a bit lazy I know, but at least maybe it might get people hanging out for me to put them in my shop - wishful thinking?

So anyway, here is a bracelet made with some lovely beads purchased on Etsy (I don't think I will ever shop anywhere else for supplies - I'm hooked!) I liked the beads so much that I wanted to do something simple with them to show them off.
This next bracelet was also made with some new beads - yummy glass pearls in in pink and gold.


I am hoping to get them listed fairly shortly, maybe even this evening if I'm feeling particularly motivated!

Mama's Magic

The Etsybloggers feature for the month of October is Mama's Magic.


Mama's Magic has 2 Etsy shops: bfbeads where she sells her awesome range of baby friendly beads. Such as this necklace

Which she says will keep baby happy whilst at the breast. It is made from one continuous length of cord and has no clasp. Unlike normal jewellery, it will not break as easily because it has no 'weak links' such as clasps and findings. Baby can happily pull and play with it whilst in your arms. It is also made with an adjustable bead, so that it can be lengthened and shortened as you feel like it.

In her bfbeads shop she also sells these cute reminder bracelets. Which help to remind mum which boob she last used to feed little bub. They come in a range of colours and are made with memory wire - which means they are nearly impossible to break and really easy to change arms, meaning that they meet the principles of their design exactly!

Aside from bfbeads, Mama's Magic also had a second Etsy shop, Mama's Magic Studio, where she focuses on a range of fraternal earrings as well as a couple of other trinkets.

I love these Dragonfly danglers, which I can imagine hanging in a window on a sunny day.

I also think that these fraternal earrings are so cute and different. Who wants matching earrrings anyway?! I really really love these "Hey Diddle Diddle" earrings.



Mama's Magic also had an awesome blog, which focuses a lot on her beautiful family. I particularly liked her recent post, where a picture says a thousand words! Mama's Magic, is most definately a proud SAHM like she says she is. Make sure you check out her blog where there's heapps of other items worth reading. Trust me, I spent quite a while there finding out all about her.

New Stuff!!!!!

Just a quick post to show off the new stuff I've just added to my Etsy shop.

First, some pretty earrings, made with filigree leaves and pale blue czech glass beads. I named them Raindrops Within the Leaves.I have also added my Brass Dragonfly earrings, which I particularly like. I really love the beads, which I bought from another Etsy seller, ZoeandBruno. I was really happy when I found them, because they are an Australian shop, and I love it when I find quality supplies close to home.

Hope you enjoy :) If you do, check out TracyLacy Trinkets where you can see my other creations that I have to offer.

Six Things......

Whilst I have never heard of this concept - probably due to the fact that I am totally unfamiliar with the world of blogging - apparently there is such thing as tagging other bloggers. This was brought to my attention by Indidi, a fellow blogger, Etsian, Tasmanian, and DUST Team member.

So, this is what we have to do according to the rules........

- Link to the person who tagged you
- Mention the rules
- Tell six quirky yet boring, unspectacular details about yourself
- Tag six other bloggers by linking to them
- Go to each person's blog and leave a comment that lets them know they've been tagged

And on to my six things,

1. I am the eldest born of 7 kids - 5 of which are my half brothers and sisters, the youngest being 21 years younger than me.
2. I went to a total of 9 schools whilst growing up - I moved schools 10 times but went to the same school twice
3. I won our local bonnie baby competition 2 years in a row when I was a baby (I'm sure my cuteness would have won it again for me the next year, but babies in the competition had to be 2 and under)
4. I have worked in a butcher shop for the last 6 1/2 years - and yes I am beginning to get a bit sick of people asking me if I enjoy handling meat (that's a bit rude isn't it?!)
5. I have two middle names and I often have trouble fitting my full name on forms I have to fill in - it also annoys me when forms only have one space for a middle intitial.
6. I can eat a whole packet of TimTams if I use them as a straw with my coffee/tea - make me eat them without a hot drink and I will probably only have one - just don't like them that much.

I have passed on the tagging challenge to some fellow Etsybloggers - just in case some of them need an excuse to post on their blog:
mycouturecreations
Witchetty
Myaphrodite
TOTE-N-TOTS
jennerosity
knittingdragonflies

Happy Homemaking

Yesterday I had the greatest day at home. We had our first really hot day that I didn't have to work so I spent it outside. I went great guns in the garden - the front of our house is looking very pretty with pink and purple azaleas. I have also planted some nice petunas which will flower soon, I have gotten rid of all the weeds so the front garden is looking very pretty.

Out the back I have planted a lemon tree, some strawberries (which I'm very excited about because I can tell they are going to give me an excellent harvest) and some parsley.

So I have been a busy girl - only problem is that I seem to be coming more distracted away from Etsy everyday.

On a good Etsy note, I got a treasury today, I was lucky enough to bring up the Treasury West page about 2 minutes before it opened - very lucky, so here is a screen shot of my chocolaty goodness:I think I am having a particularly chocolatey theme going on here - Chocolate Caramel Slice yesterday and a chocolate treasury today.

It's Blog Carnival Time Again.....

And I've decided to share a yummy recipie with you all. Mmmmmm, it's making my mouth water as I think about telling you what's in it!

Chocolate, Caramel & Peanut Slice

Melted butter, to grease
190g (1 1/4 cups) self-raising flour
70g (1/3, firmly packed) brown sugar
120g butter, melted

Caramel Filling

1 x 395g can sweetened condensed milk
70g (1/3 cup, firmly packed) brown sugar
60g butter

Chocolate & peanut topping

150g (1 cup) unsalted raosting peanuts
300g good-quality dark cooking chocolate, coarsely chopped
80ml (1/3 cup) thickened cream

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Brush a 13 x 30cm loaf pan with melted butterto lightly grease. Line the base and 2 opposite sides with non-stick baking paper, allowing the sides to overhang.
2. To make the biscuit base, combine the flour and sugar in a medium bowl. Add the melted butter and stir till just combined. Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan and press firmly over the base. Bake for 20min or until just golden.
3. Meanwhile, to make the caramel filling, combine the condensed milk, sugar and butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spooon, for 8 minutes or until the caramel thickens (do not let the mixture boil).
4. Pour the hot caramel over the biscuit base. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes or until the caramel begins to bubble. Set aside for 1 hour to cool slightly.
5. To make the chocolate and peanut topping, sprinkle the caramel evenly with peanuts. Place the chocolate and thickened cream in a medium saucepan over a low heat and stir with a metal spoon until the chocolate melts and the mixture is smooth. Pour the chocolate mixture evenly over the peanuts and use a round blade knife to smooth the surface.
6. Place in the fridge for 1-2 hours to set. Cut into 16 pieces to serve.

You can omit the peanuts if you don't like them or are allergic - I have made this without them and it was just as yummy.

I also usually double the mix and make a bigger batch because we are greedy and love this so much - 16 small pieces is just not enough! (Plus the fact that I don't have the right sized tin to make the smaller batch)

This is the best ever caramel slice I have ever tasted and I have made it atleast a dozen times - it works out great every time - In fact, I think I have just decided what I am going to do tomorrow morning - mmmmmmmm

October Already

I can't believe that it's October already. I'm loving it because it means summer is coming, the days are getting longer and daylight savings started on Sunday.

Some exciting newsis that I have been featured on the DUST team blog - http://dustteam.com/blog/ - it's great being part of such a groovy team, I only wish I had a bit more time to get more involved.

I have also been lucky getting some treasuries over the last week or so. My latest is in Treasury West, which seems much easier to get into - I suppose it has a lot to do with the fact that it is not as well known.

I have also made a few more things, which are patiently waiting for me to get around to listing them. Here is a sneak preview,





I am hoping to get these listed fairly soon, I have others to go up as well. Whilst I seem to have had no time to make anything, I have been getting heaps of ideas and have got plenty of tings that I want to make. I am currently waiting on a package in the mail which has got some wire and other stuff in it that I am really looking forward to getting into.

In home news, things with the dogs are coming along nicely, they are pretty much best friends now and have been spending the day together and sleeping outside at night time together too.

On a final note, the job scene might be looking up for me. I had an interview the other week and I'm waiting to hear back about it. It is an excellent job and exactly what I would like to do, so, fingers crossed!

Till next time....

In Summery

Well, it's blog carnival time - I have chosen to blog about summer. Since I'm in Australia we are just about to start summer as opposed those in the northern hemisphere who have just seen the last of it - and boy can't I wait!! We still have to get through spring though, but that's ok, because spring is almost summer, and I don't mind the anticipation.

So, I am going to take some liberty with the requirements of this blog carnival and change it around a bit. I am going to tell you all about what I envisage my highlights, activities and vacations will be, and what I think I'm going to achieve.

I am looking forward to getting in some camping - in particular some romantic couple's camping - or just some romantic couple's getaways of any sort.

We will also be spending time with the puppies - lots of time and training - I am determined to get into some sort of walking routine with them and I'm sure spring/summer will be the time to do it - plenty of evening sun and longer days.

I do worry that my blogging will suffer a little, I am a sucker for spending time basking in the sunshine in summer - but there's nothing stopping me from plonking the laptop on my lap outside.

I have a really good feeling that the change in the seasons will be bringing a change in the way my life is going - I think my career prospects may be looking up, I'm looking forward to doing some of the things that I have been meaning to for ages , and I think everything might be looking up.

So bring on summer....

Go Wild for Joey & Aleethea!

How much do we love Joey & Aleethea? Thiiiiiiiiiiisssss Muuuuuchhhhhh!!!!! The lovely person behind this Etsy persona created the EtsyBloggers Street Team. Of course that is not all, she is a mummy to 2 gorgeous children - which you can read lots about on her blog - http://joeyandaleethea.typepad.com/blog/


She is also the owner of a fab Etsy shop, joeyandaleethea - http://joeyandatheelea.etsy.com - where you can find heaps of great stuff for your kiddies!

Such as this cool Monsterlicious hoodie which is custom made in whatever colour you feel like having it - personally I love the pink!

All the monsters have names and personalities - making all the clothes that feature them all the more lovable.

I love this cute Monsterlicious Baby Cuff - bringing the coolness to the babies! You can also get in in bigger sizes, just in case your older kids are feeling a bit outshone by their little brother or sister!

These are just a couple of things on offer in joeyandaleethea's Etsy shop - make sure you check it out, you will be there for ages marvelling at the creativity and cuteness of it all.


After you have had a looksie at joeyandaleethea's shop, you must check out her blog. She is clearly a passionate blogger. You can also find some great personal goings on in her life, which helps to understand how much a great person lies behind the name of joeyandaleethea. I just popped over there for a peep before and just had to share this with you:

Random Happiness

As soon as the Dada walks in the door from work, our 2 year old son Joey says to him:

"Dada, you see her? That's the Mama. And see that Dada? That's the little little little baby. She's so little, she's so cute. Kiss the baby, Dada. (mwah) Ohhh! Good job Dada!!"

How beautiful is that?! This is the kind of stuff you can find everyday on her blog - I love it, I particularly liked reading about the arrival of little Lily.

So, make sure you check out all that this wonderful woman has to offer - both on her blog and in her Etsy shop.

One final thought - THANKS JOEAYANDALEETHEA!!! - for creating the great team that is Etsybloggers!

Sorry...I've Been Distracted!

Ok so again I haven't posted a blog entry for ages! I have sort of an excuse this time though. I have been totally preoccupied with the new addition to our family. I think adding this new puppy has put me off having children for life!

Well we got Orion home and got him settled in (sort of). He still wouldn't sleep by himself and was being a bit of a pain in that respect, but Ghost seemed to be accepting him and Orion seemed to be getting used to his new family members also. Then on the Tuesday after we brought him home, Ghost was really mean and bit Orion - quite badly - broke his jaw and we had to spend a fortune at the vet to get him fixed (I also had to out up with several people asking me if spending that much money was really worth it - I said yes, sorry it is, just because he's a dog doesn't mean that he doesn't deserves to be put down just because it might cost a little too much to do anything else)

So now he is pretty much all better and for the last couple of weeks we have been stressing our little heads off about what is going to happen and that they were going to hate each other and fight for the rest of their lives!

But things are going really well - they are almost inseparable - Orion just wants to play with Ghost all the time, it is really exhausting making sure that everything is alright all the time!

I have been neglecting everything - I have been going to write an article for the DUST blog (which I have finally just done), I have been wanting to make some more things - I haven't sat down with my beads since before Orion arrived! I have also left it really late to write my blog posts for the blog carnival and the EtsyBloggers feature article - I will be doing those straight after I do this!

I think it is all going to calm down soon, Orion and Ghost are getting on very well and I can actually leave them together for longer than 5 minutes without pulling my hair out with worry - hopefully tomorrow I will get into some of that beady goodness that I have been missing - I need to get some new things up on Etsy too - if there is anyone out there who pays any attention to my shop will be starting to get sick of the fact that I never add anything new - renew, renew, renew has been the call lately!

So off to it I go.......

Ghost and Orion

Where oh where have I been?

It feels like forever since I have posted. I have been getting on the net but have been a bit lazy with my blogging. I think I just ran out of steam a bit. I have been furoiusly applying for new jobs, I am sooooo over my current one and somehow I don't think I'm going to make it big in the world of online selling in the extremely near future. I was dreaming about it the other day though. Chris and I were driving along the road to Nubeena and I said, 'we need to set a lucrative internet business so that we can come and live in the middle of nowhere!' Ah to be able to work from home like that would be heaven.

Something else had been keeping me occupied over the last couple of days also. We have new addition to our family. On Saturday we welcomed Orion the husky pup to our household. Whilst Ghost the big husky pup is rather excited about it he is still a bit overwhelmed.

But here they are looking ever so friendly and cute togther. This was just after thier big walk this afternoon.

What surprised me the most about the whole excercise of bringing home a new pup was that it only took Ghost a short time to decide that rather than kill him it might be better to figure out what he was first. Orion caused more of a problem. The fact that Ghost scared the poop out of Orion when he first arrived meant that Orion wouldn't let Ghost anywhere near him and kept yapping at him and snapping at poor Ghosts nose. Finally, about 4 hours later Orion decided that it might me ok if Ghost had a bit of a sniff and they sat nicely together for the first time. We have had a few times since then where they have been less than friendly but we have figured that it is all part of the process of establishing the pecking order and that as long as we keep an eye on them they will be alright.

With that, I think I will leave with a couple more cute photos.

Tool of the Year!

Ah, my round nosed pliers, oh what I'd do if I didn't have them! I think I could almost make anyof my pieces of jewelry with just my round nosed pliers if I had to. Not that I'd really want to, because that would definately make life much harder, but I could do it. No other tool would be a substitute. Imagine attempting to turn all those loops without round nosed pliers - I can't even begin to imagine the ugliness that would ensue if I had to use chainnose pliers instead!

Being a relatively newcomer to jewelry making, my loops are probably the thing that I am most proud of. My designs are simple and nothing too extravagant, I like to dabble in what I can do and build up slowly. But as far as I'm concerned I have my loops down pat. Take away my round nosed pliers and I would have taken away my most prized part of my jewelry making!

I'm sure one day when I start to venture into more advance techniques like soldering and metal work (which I really want to try) I will find the multitude of tools that I think I can't live without. But for now, leave me with my round nosed pliers and I'll be happy (well happy enough)

Tulips Treasure Box - EtsyBloggers Feature

Tulipstreasurebox is the EtsyBloggers feature for the month of August. She is participating in the EtsyBoggers Street Team sale and has some beautiful items to offer.



These items are available for sale in Tulipstreasurebox's Etsy shop located at
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5508373&section_id=5417430

If you hurry there you will get a real bargain, Tulipstreasurebox has really embraced the EtsyBlogger's team sale and has reduce the prices on a huge range of items.

Tulipstreasurebox also has a blog located at: http://TuLipsTalking.blogspot.com

Here you will find some info on her beautiful items - plenty more eyecandy for you to drool over!

Keep On Keeping On

So, I have had my membership approved for EtsyBloggers, very exciting! I am getting ready to dive into writing my feature for this month. I am in the process of checking out previous ones to get an idea of how it all works. I love that the process for EtsyBloggers is so involved - I do hope that I am able to keep up with the requirements.

I have managed to make some more jewelry, so I met one of my goals that I made for myself. These are my latest creations:

I bought some new beads/findings the other day and they came in the mail full of inspiration. So I was pretty happy with that.

In other news, we have a new addition to our family. Well, he's not actually here yet, but he will be soon. We picked out a new puppy on Sunday. Will be posting with updates after he settles into his new home which should be about 2 weeks away.

I will be back to post later on today or tomorrow because I feel I must get this feature article written - I am looking forward to it anyway, it will be an excellent start to the idea that I had to do that myself anyway.