It's a give away!

Please take a look at the last post I made...it was my 100th, and I am giving something away. Take the time to check it out. You just might be my winner! Thanks!

100th Post!!

Wow! Here it is. All the way to 100 already! Time to celebrate! I'm going to give something away!

Here is what I would like you to do. Go to my shop, take a look around. Then come back here and comment on which card is your favorite in my shop at the moment. That will tell me if you like the stamped type of cards, birthday cards, or something else, and then I will then make an entirely new card for you to have!

I will keep this open for 2 days, then will randomly choose one of the commenters to receive the card. Please let me know where I can reach you!

Then, of course, I will introduce you to my newest card. This one is fun...and it was fun to make! I will be adding this one to the shop at some point today.

Thanks for reading!! ;)

It's a new week!

Ug. Almost every member of my family was down and out with the flu yesterday. Talk about a long Sunday!

Things are looking up today though! The sun is shining too!

So here is my newest card. I am particularly happy with how this one turned out! When I usually make cards, I make the face of it, then paste it on to an actual card that I buy. This time, I made the whole thing. The inside is even decorated! Check it out and see for yourself how it looks! I will be adding it to my shop in the next day.

Also, I made another shipment to Moco Market today! That's the place that I am doing a little consigning with. I got my first payment from them, and things look to be doing great!

Life...

Sorry about the absence! A couple of my kids have had the up-chucks here in the last couple of days, then it started out the other end...! So in between washing load after load, I have been busy taking care of the little kiddos.

Then we had snow. No need to say any more!

In the last couple of days I have been doing a little "research" on the views in my shop. You have all heard about Majaba right? LOVE that site! They record your hearts...when you have been hearted, and then a link to their shop if they have one. There is also the feature that shos you what items in your shop that have been hearted. The views are kept track of and if you leave the window open you can come back later to compare.

Ok, so that's all probably old news to you all...and in a couple of days I will make a little "report" on how the views are doing in my shop.

For now, here is my latest card! I think it turned out really elegant, so if you know anyone who is having a birthday and would like this sort of card, you know where to find it!

My new treasury

This one is full of greens! I love green more and more. I just bought a green dress, and when I got home my hubby says, "Green??" He doesn't like green. His newest fear is that suddenly a green wall will pop up in the house. ;) He should be very afraid!

Here is the treasury! Check it out! Also check out my friend Katelynjane's treasury- it's too funny, we both used the same Christydekoning print!
http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=40978

Nothing Like Etsy Friends!

Without them, I don't think I would be still selling on Etsy. Plain and simple.

I've been missing some of them lately. Juju has not been doing her normal threads. This prompted lil922 to make this treasury. Isn't it pretty?!

Then this morning I dropped by this thread that was started by raisinlike, and many of them were there! What a great feeling to be able to talk to them again!

And for my newest card...it features some of the same funky patterns that I've used before, and I still love them! I thinks it's fun to get a card that is bright, brings a smile!

Time...and more time

I just realized that I have been very chatty! This morning I checked on how many forums that I have posted in, and the number is over a thousand! Pretty scary actually when I think about it. How much time I have sat here at my computer. I cannot say that all of it is wasted time though! I have made a few sales while chatting in the forums...I hope that I have helped more than a few people there...and I have made some excellent friends!

Then I think about sitting here and typing this out everyday, taking photos of my cards, uploading those photos and getting them to look great, actually listing the card, checking out other peoples blogs, Flickr, We Love Etsy...and those are just things that have to do with Etsy!

Ok, so I'm done thinking about that! ;)

Here is my latest card. I think it's very cheery! Love the oranges!

Mysterious Thumping...

Every time I was on my computer I would hear it! The first time I heard it I thought it was the wind. It has been terribly windy here, so it made sense! But, the sound just didn't go away! Of course my husband thought I was hearing things, but finally I got him to investigate. It sounded as though it was in our fireplace. (Side note about our fireplace: we have not used it for years, it really needs to be checked out to see if it would be safe to burn in it.) So up on the roof he went to take a look into the chimney. There was the source of the noise! There was a duck in there! A very angry duck who was hissing at my husband!

All turned out well in the end. My hubby got out the hoe and carefully pulled the duck out, and she flew away unharmed. And the noise is gone! Time to put on a mesh grate on the top of the chimney!

Here is my latest little cards. I call them "mini thanks." They are perfect for writing a little note on then slipping them into your Etsy packages for your customers. Check them out!

Funky Birthday Card

This one is fun! Check it out!

Don't you just love the warmer weather?! It's finally here today, the sun is shining, and the wind, for the moment, is reletively calm! I'm anxious to get all my work done so I can spend some time outside today!

Check out my shop...grab a few cards! Give my shop a chance- you just might like it!

The latest in my shop

So here is my latest card! I really like brown and blue together, and with the results of one of my polls, there are a few of my readers that do too. This one is elegant. The words read, "Someone like you should be celebrated every day."

I really have too much work to do so I can't write on and on today! I'm also working on some thank you cards that can fit into Etsy orders...look for those soon in my shop! (As soon as the sun peeks out again I can take more photos!)

A little fun...

It's my daughters birthday soon, and so I made some cupcakes for her class. I saw this idea for watermelon cupcakes, so I went with it! I think they turned out super cute.

Remember this past Valentines Day when there were whole bags of just green M&M's? Yeah, I didn't have that. I would recommend that you try and buy those before making these cupcakes! I picked through 2 bags (one pound each) of M&M's to get all the green ones...did you know that green M&M's seem to be much fewer in number than any other color in the bag? When I was almost finished, I noticed that I was going to run short, so back I go rummaging through my pantry- I found 3 more snack size bags! I now I have an abundance of blue, red, orange, and brown M&M's in my house. Looks like it's time to make Monster Cookies, M&M Bars! ;)

Your help needed!

I have this wonderful shop on Etsy that I love, and I am happy with every single item that is in there. It seems as though things have really slowed down lately, and that right away makes me think about my style of cards.

What I need to figure out is: Is there something about my cards that people don't like? I know I have a variety of different cards in there. I also know that there are shops on Etsy that I look at and they just aren't my style. Not that they aren't making quality items, just that all people are different! So I am aware that there are many of you out there that look at my cards and think...not my style!

So I'm asking these questions:
*Is there something that you would rather see more of?
*Is the fact that my cards are mostly blank on the insides that you are turned off? Would a message help?
*Are my pictures not clear enough so that you cannot tell what the card looks like for sure?
*Is there any tips you can give me that you think I should improve on?
*Or are my cards just not the style that you prefer?

Maybe I should have made a poll instead!! Any comments will be welcomed!!

While you are out and about reading up on blogs, check out this cool post by backwoodsophisticate! http://backwoodsophisticate.blogspot.com/2008/04/buy-handmade-etsy-cards.html

Give thanks

With this card you can! It's got a great blend of pretty colors...beautiful paper. I listed this one today!

The weather seems to be warming up, isn't that wonderful?! I love Spring, the flowers that come up, the grass that starts getting green, and the leaves that start coming out. I'm looking forward to the apple blossoms too- my favorite scent!

Cool Paper for Boys

I am so excited about the new cards that I made for boys! The paper is black with the words 'spirited,' 'enthusiastic,' 'rugged,' 'playful...' and more. The paper that I got with it has stars all over it. Check it out here, and if you really like it...you know where it's going to be for sale! ;)

Black is always hard to photograph for me! I think this is the best it will get!

I worked and I worked...

...and my scrap "area" is now clean. Quick, get the camera! It won't stay that way for 5 minutes after I start working again! I like to see other people's work area, so I guess I will post some photos here. I will have to admit, the pictures are not that great! I work in my basement, and, although it's finished off, the natural lighting is not that great. So I was forced to use my flash. From the photos you can probably tell that I am in love with color!

For more explaination of the photos, see my Flickr account! (Link is on the sidebar!)

Check it out!

I am in 3 treasuries at the moment! Wow! That is really amazing to me. I try and check out the lists every day so I can see if I am featured, but I gotta tell you, it gets a little discouraging when the little yellow stars are very rare! I have 2 thumbs to show, but right now the treasury west is on the blink, so I will have to take it later.

The first one here is all yellows and that is my card peeking out in the third row in the middle! This one is made by thecraftpantry.

This one, made by backwoodsophisticate, is called "berries and cream" and my card is on the bottom row, middle.

The third treasury is made by muffintopdesigns, and as soon as t-west gets back up again, I hope I can get a thumb.

Then please check out the Treasury that I made! It's all gray jewelry, and before you think, "gray? really?" I have to tell you that it really is beautiful! I guess that's just my opinion! ;)

Sweet Little Girly Birthday Card

Do you know a little girl who is having a birthday soon? This card is really girly, complete with a rhinestone! It was fun doing this one, lots of pinks, touch of yellow and green, some stripes, and of course, flowers! I'm listing it today in my shop...come check it out!

Mustard Yellow and Brown

I love that color combo! I saw a treasury with these colors...pretty sure it was made by junkyardgypsy, who has quite an eye for making treasuries...and I loved it! (Of course, I love all of her treasuries! ;) Then I bought these new stamps. It's a set of 4 with trees on them. I took out my cardstock and started brainstorming. These 2 colors really stuck out at me, so I gave it a whirl.

For right now this card is not for any special occasion. However, if you really like the card but want something on it, such as "happy birthday," I am happy to do that!

Woohoo!! Fun and Exciting Stats!

Yay! Thank you so much peachtreebend for being my 300th heart!! (This seller is a newbie with no sales so check her out and maybe you will like one of her many beautiful purses that she has in her shop!)

And I finally reached my goal of having 50 items in my shop! Something I have been working on for the last couple of weeks.

Then I'll just go on with a few other fun numbers-

Number of people that have hearted individual items: 49
Views: 1084
Items sold: 49 So close to that fun 5-0!

I started selling on Etsy on October 23, 07, so I have almost been here for 6 months! Hopefully by that day I will have sold 50 items. Thanks for bearing with me as I take a peek through the stats of what has become quite a fixture in my life...twiddlestix! Who knew I was going to have so much fun, make friends, and sell my cards?!

My goal is now to reach 75 items in my shop...and then, why not go for another 100 hearts?!

Wedding Month

It's coming...sooner than you think! Isn't June the month that there are lots of weddings?! That's when I got married anyway. When I was thinking of that I decided that maybe I should make a few wedding cards for my shop. I started with this one, and I think it turned out pretty elegant. It's the paper that really does it.

I am having so much fun usuing up my supplies! It used to be, back in the not to distant past, that I would hoard my scrapbooking supplies. I didn't want to use certain papers because I wanted to use it for something "special." Or I didn't want to use certain brads, or ribbon, or flowers, or...and the list goes on, just in case I might want to use it sometime and then it would be gone! A while back, I threw that concept out the window. Use it!! Use it up! That's my new motto when it comes to scrapbook supplies. I've gotten burned with a few (I say "few" because I really don't want to admit to myself just how many) papers that I bought, wanted to save, then later really didn't like them enough to use any more.

This card is an example of hoarding. The rub on words that I used I bought to do my wedding album that I have in my "someday" file. I got married 14 years ago. Now, don't laugh too hard...I wasn't into scrapbooking that long ago, but I dare bet that I bought these rub on words over 2 years ago and they have been sitting in my drawer waiting for that perfect project. I really cannot tell you how happy I am that I used some of them up!

I've received fantastic feedback!

Isn't it awesome when someone buys something from you and just loves it? One of my good Etsy friends, Ancientgamecupboard, bought some cards from me and then let me know what she really thought of them. It was the best feeling! Check out her super cool shop...maybe you'll discover something new, and decide that you cannot live with out it!

Now for my newest card! I love this one, and it's definatly retro! I took out a whole bunch of paper out of my cupboard and just started working. Sometimes there are papers in there that get lost and after awhile I have no idea what's even in there. It was almost as fun as going to the scrapbook store! Well, nothing new in that cupboard, but I saw things in a new light. ;) Here is one of the creations that I came up with. I will be puting this one in my shop today...but first ;) I have to get some shopping done in some real live stores! Time for some new Spring shoes.

Classy

I'm feeling pretty excited about this new card! I decided to do a little stamping lately, and it will be reflected on the next couple of cards that are listed in my shop. I'm not sure how this will do to generate sales for my shop though! I have a couple of the stamped cards in there already, and I have to check back, but I'm pretty sure that I have only sold one! Maybe this is the dilema...make what you like verses make what sells?

Stamping is actually not normal for me, I usually like the paper look instead! But, give this card a chance! I really like it as I said in the first line. It's classy, and the colors are awesome together! I used textured cardstock which really looks great. You might have noticed, if you have seen my cards before, that I am quite fond of this stamp. I do really like it! Just yesterday though, I got another stamp in the mail, and I have been anxious to use that. So look for a couple more stamped cards!

Let me know...what do you think? Does it look odd in my shop? Should I stick just to the paper creations I normally do?

I feel like a new woman!

I just got my hair cut! Yay! I've had it long for a year and a half, then I got it cut about a month ago. Well, I didn't like that look so well, so I went back in, and chopped it off!! Hopefully I will be able to figure out how to do it now, that always takes me awhile. ;)

Anyway, my newest card is a baby card. I fell in love with this paper while in the scrapbook store! I actually bought the baby boy line of it about a month ago, but didn't see the girl paper. When I went back in and saw it, I just had to have it! The little animals in pinks, purple, yellow, and brown are so cute! I love pink and brown together, so the coordinating paper had to be bought too! The soft pink ribbon really tied the whole thing together.

Also, please take a look at my treasury that I made yesterday. Here is the link- click on it to see the great sellers that I have included. While you are there please give it a little love will you?! Even just a comment would be great!http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=37493

Sometimes I am in a Stamping Mood

And this was one of those days! I had a fun time putting this card together. It was a lot of stamping of letters this time. I think I'll call it a "hip birthday card." What do you think? Have a better name for this one? Is there someone in your life that you would buy this for?

I do like the colors of this one- it's bright!

Life Still Goes On!

I've had a steady stream of sales in the last few days, and I have to tell you, it feels great! I had so much fun getting the cards ready to send, and then getting to the Post Office. I was on a high! Not that I expect that this is how it's going to be from now on, but it sure is fun to dream!

Now I have to get going to reach my goal of getting 50 items in my shop. The problem is, life doesn't stop for me to get that done! ;) Etsy isn't my full time job...being a mom is. And that means I have a lot of laundry to get done, and the baked goods are gone, the house still needs to be cleaned...all the time! No complaints here though, I love what I do, and the card thing is still a hobby that I love to do.

I admit though, I "have" to spend time in the forums, check my shop, then there is blogging, and of course, Flickr! It all takes time, but I guess I better go and do the dishes! More exciting things tomorrow...at least we all hope, right?!!

Graduation....I think it's coming!

First of all, I wanted you all to check out this hilarious article in the Storque! It gave me a good laugh anyway!

http://www.etsy.com/storque/section/etc/article/do-you-speak-etsy-funny-lingo-for-etsians/1523/

Then I am going to show you my newest card! I was playing around the other day (yay! I can still say that I "play!") and I came up with this Graduation card. It's coming up faster than you think you know! It seems hard to believe at the moment, especially since we got an additional 4 inches of snow here yesterday, but soon it will be the end of another school year. I will be listing other Graduation cards in the next several weeks.

In the mean time, don't forget about Mom!

I also wanted to mention that I got the cutest little puppy picture in the mail today! I can only see part of his face, but I fell in love right away! It's that Christydekoning again! I love her paintings! They are so beautiful!