I Promise....

I will be good and do what I say I will do. Firstly, I am going to be setting a blogging schedule, I am determined to blog at least once a week - that's not so hard is it? I intend on trying to do much more often than that, but I figure I will be better able to meet my target of once a week and anything else more will be a bonus.

Second, I am going to unneglect all those things I have neglecated over the Christmas period. I am going to put some of my lovely presents to work - my new mini anvil/bench block, my new chasing hammer - to name a couple, and make some more things. I am also starting a new years resolution of trying to use sterling silver and gold fill for my final pieces. I have already replaced some earring wires on my Simply Elegant Blue earrings that I sold, because I didn't think that the horrible ones that they had did them justice, I did this free of charge and I hope that the recipient appreciates it.

I am also going to plead forgiveness from the EtsyBloggers and DUST teams for not paying them any attention over the last few weeks. I have blog carnivals to write, feature seller articles to do and some sucking up on the forums to to also! All this will keep me very busy and hopefully it will also help contribute to my new promise of blogging more regularly.

So, off I go to start those new goals.....

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?!

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

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.

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

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!

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.

A Little Bit of This, A Little Bit of That....

Over the last few days I have made some progress. I have signed up on Etsy for two teams. DUST (Down Under Street Team) and EtsyBloggers. I am currently waiting for approval from EtsyBloggers.

I have also been trying to promote my blog more, I shamelessly mention it whenever I have he chance! Although I have been seeking out other people's blogs and adding their links to mine. I think this is a really good way of networking. I feel it's likely that they will mention my blog to others if I tell them that I have added their link. Well I would hope so anyway, and if it doesn't then it is a good way for me to bulk up my potential feature article pool.

I have been extremely lazy with my creating of jewelry, I am hoping to get into this today, I have heaps of ideas rollig around in my head and really want to get them out. It has been really cold and this has put me off I think, cold fingers don't like fiddling with wire! Also I like to spread out when I'm building and I don't like to spread out when I'm cold!


Another exciting thing that has happened is that a 'stranger' commented on this bracelet of mine that I have pictured on Facebook.





I have pointed her in the direction of http://flickr.com/photos/tracylacytrinkets due to the fact that it has more and much better photos of my things on there.

This has prompted me to update my Facebook photos now though, as I get alot of exposure to my existing friends through Facebook. I feel like I can get around the issue of feeling like I'm soliciting to my friends.

I am really looking forward to getting involved with EtsyBloggers. Although I already had plans to do feature articles. I was intending on doing this primarily with jewelry makers and suppliers. Now I will hopefully have the chance to look at other creations and creators.

I have decided to up my prices on my items in order to see whether it makes any difference. After reading some article on Etsy I feel like I was previously seriously 'undervaluing my craft' as it is called. I don't seem to have seen a difference as yet, but I haven't added any new items for a while so I haven't expected that I would have any extra exposure recently.

I am currently in the process of searching for a feature artists. Hopefully I will have that finished later today - if I can fit in around everything that I have planned for today.

So, here are my plans:

- search for a feature artist
-dix my Facebook photos
-promote my blog in http://www.beadingforum.com.au/forums/index.php
-MAKE SOME JEWELRY!
-I also plan to look for inspiration outside my normal sources.