Vacation?!

Like I'm always told, 'it's not a vacation when you go to visit family'...so whatever you might call it, that's where I am for the next while!

Please take a look at my last post to give your input on my newest item- I would appreciate it!

Have a good week!!

Here it is.....!!!!!

Just thought I'd share with you the latest thing my 2 year old had to say. He was sent to bed this afternoon, and after being told to go back to bed one time, he came out again. So I asked him, "Did you sleep?"

He got this funny look on his face and says, "I did last year."

It's hard to get a "mad" face on and tell him to get back to bed.

And when his dad told him that he should be in bed, he replied, "No. Mom laughed at me."

Apparently, if I laugh, that's a green light for him to stay awake! :)

I am going on a trip to see my family tomorrow! Hubby really doesn't want to go, so he says, "Someone has to stay home and make money to pay for the gas!" I gotta say, it's so much easier to pack in the summer! Yay for flip flops instead of boots, shorts instead of jeans, and t-shirts instead of sweaters, and sweatshirts instead of winter coats!!

I am going to be keeping my shop open, because I will be able to check up on it every day.

And now for my big reveal!! I finally got my newest project finished, and am ready to show it off to the blog world. So all you readers are going to be the first to see, and then I will be listing this item when I return home again. Take a look! Let me know what you think of it...I would love some feedback on this one! (The pictures are really not all that great. Hopefully the sun will shine soon!)



This altered lunch box tin includes 12 birthday cards...3 for boys, 3 for girls, 3 for women, 3 for men. There are tabbed papers inside to keep them separate, and the envelopes are included. NONE of these cards have ever been sold in my shop- these are all new originals!

I will see you soon!

Old "new" cards

Wow, this is much harder than I thought it would be- blogging in the summer with the kids around! I'm stealing my computer back for a few!

Did everyone have a great holiday? The weather was beautiful here, and we had a great time visiting with friends, grilling, and biking!

As for my shop...I looked through my pile of "done" cards to see if I had any photographed, but not listed. I was surprised at what I found! Quite a few just sitting around waiting to be listed! I am pretty sure that I have posted this one here before, but it's been awhile, so I am going to show it off again. This one is slightly distressed, which I think really adds to the look. Take a look at my shop today for some new listings! If you still have graduations to go to, I still have some cards for that too.

Computer time

I can tell this is going to be more challenging...my time on the computer has just been cut in half! And whenever I am on here, I have some one by my side saying, "Can I play after you?" ;)

I always tell them that I am not playing...I'm working! (Go ahead- laugh!)

Anyway, since the weather has not been cooporating, (the clouds are abundant,) I have no photos of cards to upload. I do have some photos of interest though, and I will load those up for you to ooh and ahh over.

Jared in Kansas says, don't kill the dandelions...he hasn't seen this part of my yard!

Last Day of School

Mixed feelings about that whole deal! I'm happy because:

* well, who doesn't love summer?!

* no more lunch pails for the next 3 months!

* no schedule

* no more homework!

* no worries about hot lunch, making food for this or that event at school

However...then there is the "I'm bored" syndrome, and "what's there to do" and "can you take us to the pool?"

LOL! I'll just be happy that the kids are all home and enjoy the time with them!

Here is a photo of my son's shoes that he decorated for the last day of school...he has worn them all year and decided that they needed some fancy-ing up!

Other than that...no new card today. The good news is that it's coudy and rainy here today so maybe some more work with get done for the Etsy shop! The card below is one that I added yesterday to my shop, so it's not too old! Are you thinking about your Dad?! (It's so hard to do when the weather is so beautiful! How to divide time...kids, housework, making food, cards, garden, flowers, mowing...I just can't go on otherwise I just might get overwhelmed!)

I am still working on getting the new item done for the shop! Yes, I know I said last week I would be done, but I gotta tell ya, living in Northwest Iowa the supplies are far away. Hoping to catch up on that whole project tomorrow.

Have a great day!

Just a few things...

I stepped out my door this morning at 6:15 and I was hit with air permeated with the smell of lilacs and my blooming apple trees. So today I took the time to "smell the roses" even though it was the lilacs! The apple blossoms are my all time favorite scent.

Now I am going to put in a little plug...check out this link at Buried Treasury, and rank my Etsy mini! There are tons of shops there that you might not have seen before. It's a neat blog, fun to look at, and comment on. Check it out!

My card for the day is another birthday card. This one has the color combo that a lot of people like: orange and blue. I was having lots of fun making this one, and I love how it turned out! I'll show you just a hint of it! ;)

A small Twist on an old card

I have a card in my shop that really got a lot of views, but it's still there! So I made another one that is almost like it, but with a small change. Even though it is quite similar, I am still going to list it. The colors are awesome together- mustard yellow and brown, and of course, the lovely tree!

Also I have some cards for sale now at Big Cartel. Here is my link if you would like to check those out too. As the Etsy sellers know, there may not be the same item being sold elsewhere online as in an Etsy shop, so these cards are all different than the ones in my shop.

I am recovered from my class trip yesterday! The day reconfirmed that I am not cut out to be a teacher...and I will add bus driver to that list! The actual class trip went really well, and I had a lot of fun with the kids. Just when I got home in the quiet of my house did I realize that I had acquired a raging headache, which is solved with a few Advil and a good nights sleep.

One other fun fact: I only have 3 more lunches to make for the school year! Yay!

Class trip

Oh.

My ears are ringing. I just spent the day with 50 kids. Class trip with 3 grades. On a bus.

I think that explains it all.

More cards and other fun tomorrow! I need a nap now. ;)

Choo-choo card

This cute little baby card is so fun! I love the train and the animals on this one. I has this one listed for a few minutes about 10 days ago then thought the pictures needed fine tuning, so it went into edit mode. Now it's back in my shop, and in desperate need of some views! If you need a baby card, come check this one out...or the other selection that I have!

FIt for a Queen

It's another beautiful day here, but the house needs some work! Time to clean up and get organized! (Besides the point, we have company coming tonight...cleaning up is mandatory!)

The reason I am waiting to get started is because I am trying to snag a Treasury. Only an hour left! And I'm pretty excited about my theme! I'll post a link if I get one.

The card for today is for a drama queen. ;) Or it could be for any girl! The main paper on this one is black with a touch of white. The crown is put on the palest pink textured paper, then I painted the edges of it. The rhinetones were added for some extra glitter! It was pretty hard to photograph this one, I can't seem to get the colors right no matter how many times I've tried! This is the best I can do.

May...the almost perfect month

Yesterday was one of those days that you just didn't want to come inside, didn't want the day to end. Just gorgeous out there. I was out for most of the day, and every so often I would sit in amazement over how beautiful it was! Here are some photos of our farm.

And then my next card! I was on a girl birthday card kick the other day, and whipped out 3 of them in so time flat! It was so fun...I love it when I have that burst of creativeness!

This one is pink with more pink on top! I am happy with the results.

Polka dots

Track meet today...fun times! I'm looking forward to it, I love track meets, and the weather is awesome! Yay for sun and 70 degrees! And the kicker is, just a breeze out there today. Am I still in Iowa?!

Here is the latest card for today. Loving the polka dots!

And that inspired me to make a treasury with the same look. Seeing spots...over at t-west! Check it out and give a few clicks for me! Thanks!

New...read all about it!

I started yet another thing.

Every time I start something new I think, now that's it. No more! Ha! Just for that I'm not saying that this time!

I have my own "store" now. I heard about it through the Etsy forums yesterday. There were some sellers who made some really valid points, this one is the one that hit me: every time I promote my Etsy shop, my competitors are just a click away.

So why not promote your own online store? It's a lot harder to get the views I am sure. It's work that you have to put in yourself. And I guess I am starting that here, right now. My new store is http://twiddlestixdesigns.bigcartel.com/ For the moment I only have the free account, and for the moment, that's where I am staying. My items are not big ticket, so it's hard for me to take big risks. And I only have 2 cards there right now. That is something I have to get to work on: MAKE CARDS! ;)

Here is my latest card that I will be putting in my Etsy shop. (I am still going to keep Etsy alive, the community is great, and it's relatively cheap to list there, and so far I'm doing ok there! Also, in order to get noticed, you have to list often, and my goal was to get 75 items in my shop. I am not backing away from that goal! This will be 67!)

This card says, "someone like you should be celebrated every day." I love the colors of this one. It was fun to make!

I'm also going to show you our little puggle pup! We have a couple of Beagle's that we breed to a Pug. All this is an interesting process that involves me and my hubby taking some time out to help with it, but it works! (Hubby says it's good quality time for the 2 of us, but I tend to disagree that helping the dogs breed is actually quality!) The puppies are just adorable, but this one had a hard time posing for the camera. Include the 40 mph winds that we had yesterday, the photo shoot didn't go all that well! But I thought this one turned out pretty cute!

New Tree Stamped Card

How was every one's Mother's Day? I was showered with handmade gifts from my daughters, and lots of love. I had my hubby take the annual photo with me and the kids...the rule was that my older 2 had to have their shoes off! Then the rule was thrown back at me- mom, no shoes for you either! Well, the picture proves it, my son is about 3 inches taller than me!

Here is my latest card with my new tree stamps. (Can you tell I have a thing for trees?!) This one is just a note card at the moment, but, as with most of my items in my shop, it can be customizable. Check it out!

Father's Day

Yes, I know it's not even Mother's Day yet! But just in case you are on the ball and would like to get a card for your special Dad, I have one (so far) in my shop. This one is simple. The stripes and the colors are manly though! Check it out at my Etsy shop!

It has been raining all day here. Kindof a dreary day. Because of the weather I did get some work done for my shop. I am working on something new, and exciting! Hopefully I will be ready to unvail it by the end of next week in my shop. Sneak peak will be here first though! I would really appreciate feedback on this one, so I can get a feel what the general ppublic might think. More details later!

The future

I'm not sure what is happening here... I am getting almost no views here, the views have dropped considerably at my Etsy shop, and I've only got one sale so far this month. Have I said something to offend?

Not sure what the future holds for twiddlestix.

And it's not because I don't promote myself! I spend too much time on that.

Hopefully it is just a slump that I am going through, and things will pick up.

I will leave you with this new Treasury that I just made. It's full of sand! Find the link here.

Hmmm....

Hello there! I'm drawing a little bit of a blank today, so I have been puting the whole blogging thing on the back burner. Somewhere between soccer games, track meets, band programs, and other school activites, I am supposed to keep my house clean, do the laundry, and, higher up there on the list, take care of my Etsy shop! ;)

Here is the latest card that I made the other day. I made one for my Mom's birthday, and since the supplies were all out, I made another to sell. The paper is great, and I actually had the exact color ink I needed to stamp on the words. I love that when that happens!

New Stamp set!

It's so much fun to get new things. Yes, I love to shop! Shoes, clothes, fun stuff for my house, then, of course, the things that I can scrap with!

This set has these cute little birds on them. Look for more of these types of cards in my shop in the next few weeks.

My newest...and warm weather

How do you all like the new change in search? I haven't played around with it much so far, but the little I did, I thought it was a change for the better!

My newest card is for girls. It's full of flowers and swirls so it is really feminine. When I bought the red paper with flowers I just loved it, however I had a little bit of a time trying to match it with anything. When I pulled out the purple, which doesn't happen too often as you might have noticed, that's when it clicked! I love the red and purple together! (Hmmm, a treasury perhaps?!) Then I added the pink little flowers and I thought the whole thing just turned out great!

It's been beautiful weather out there for the last 2 days. I've been hard at it trying to get the lawn and flowers back into tip top shape! As of right now, it smells like rain. I love rain, but not when my hubby is trying to get the planting done...but today the corn crop is all in, and now we wait a few days for the beans to get planted.

It's hard to get down into the scrap room when the weather is so nice! At least my butt isn't glued to this computer chair so much any more! ;)

I thought I'd leave you with a photo of this antique!

Change

The new changes are expected today in Etsyland. Changes to search is the main thing. I have changed a few things in my shop too. I was talking to someone who wouldn't buy cards from me because she didn't like the fact that there was nothing written inside of the cards. Well, I have struggled with that because I can see this happening- a person sees my card, really likes it, wants to buy it, then sees that it has a saying inside that isn't what that person really likes at all. Bye-bye sale!

So I am now offering sayings to be put in the cards if the buyer would like. I have them written in my profile now for birthday cards. Soon I will be adding some other ones that have to do with other celebrations.

I am also seeing that I need to have some change in my shop. There have been so few views lately. And the sales...well, let's just not talk about that! Any suggestions on what I should do, or what you would like to see?

Here are a few photos of the Spring like weather we have been having. The planting has to get done too!

Too much excitement?

I saw a tornado last night. We were told about the bad weather, and were all in the van ready to go take shelter and there it was. A huge column. We could see it was some miles away, but we don't take chances in that kind of weather, so we got out and took immediate shelter. We did find out there was some damage from that same tornado, lots of power lines down, buildings damaged and demolished, but so far it looks like no one was hurt. Something like that makes me feel so small in this world. The awesome power of God. (The photo is not mine, it was taken by a friend of mine.)My newest card is this guys birthday card. I will be listing this one in the shop today. I thought the paper was fun! I stamped on the numbers on the bottom for an added touch, then printed the happy birthday, and the staples were put on for fun!

Okey dokey...

here goes! I have all 5 of your names in a "hat" (which looks more like a bowl) and now I am mixing them all up. I'm reaching in...drumroll please! And the winner is...(unfolding paper)...Katelynjane!

Katelyn, I will be contacting you probably in the next day so I know where to send the card out!

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Now I am going to talk about views. For the last week, except Sunday, I checked views on Majaba in the morning, kept it open all day, then checked randomly through out the day. It was fun seeing the numbers change!

*Day 1- started out with 1515 views.

*I had 4 listings sell in that week, so one day my views actually went down (because the cards that sold that day had quite a few views on them so they are subtracted from total.)

*One day I had a card sell that took away 24 views, but by the end of the day I had a total of 55 more views. I found out that day that one of my cards was in a treasury, so that helped!

*In a normal day, the views in my shop go up an average of 55. (I excluded the day that I got negative views because of sales)

*After 7 days, my views are now at 1798! If things go the way they have been, I should be hitting 2,000 this week.

It seems to be encouraging! I needed to see that people actually still look at my shop!

Here is my latest card that I made for graduation.