Cleaning House

It is that time of year. Time to reassess. Time to clean out the closets. And you know me - I don't mean my REAL closets!

Between now and February 1, I am cleaning out the last pages of my shop. I want to get rid of all the things I am reluctant to renew. The stuff that's been there awhile. The stuff that does not quite fit the "look" of my shop.

Everything marked (HC) in the title is discounted 40%. Write "House Cleaning" in the notes to seller, and wait for a revised invoice. I will be adding new items to this list every day between now and January 30.

And a special offer for my blog readers: Buy any three House Cleaning items and get a fourth one free.

There are some terrific bargains to be had! Have fun shopping!

The Artist's Way

My mother and I do not always agree about what makes a good book. She couldn't finish The Time Traveler's Wife; I couldn't finish Goldie Hawn's autobiography.

It was on her recommendation that I read Julia Cameron's memoir. It was slightly better than Goldie's. I did take the time to finish reading it, though I still get the two confused: who had a relationship with Scorsese? who witnessed one of her closest friends being hit by a car? The most interesting part of Cameron's book was when she wrote about the development of her program for writers, The Artist's Way. I was fascinated by the rigor of it, and the idea that if you just keep writing, a little bit every day, you will find you have something to say.

Lately, I have not felt that I had much to say, but I did not realize I missed writing until this weekend. Thing One was working on a school assignment. She had pulled a plot idea, a character and a setting out of a bag and had to make a story with them. Watching her writing in her little composition book, her hair tucked behind her ears and her pencil tapping her forehead, I thought "Hey, remember when you enjoyed writing? Remember when you would rewrite a sentence endlessly in your mind before sitting down to put your ideas on paper?"

Coincidentally (or not) this was also the weekend I received an e-mail from Karen Beth asking if I would be interested in taking part in a support/discussion group focused on The Artist's Way. We will read the book and then work through the workbook together, sharing our experiences on a blog. So, why not? I am going to give it a go and I will share my thoughts here.


And, proud mama that I am, I have to share the first couple of sentences of Thing One's story.

Hello, Reader, I'm finally talking again! I know you're surprised, but let me tell you the story.

Aren't you on the edge of your seat?!

Happy New Year!

Hey, friends in blogland!

Hope you all have had a wonderful holiday season and meaningful celebrations of whatever your holiday may be - Christmas, Hanukkah, Winter Solstice, Boxing Day, the cult of consumerism, - whatever - I hope it involved quality time with loved ones and some comforting food.

I have missed you all and I look forward to catching up with everyone in the New Year.

Thing Two

The highlight of my day today:

Sharing a companionable bowl of soup and some conversation with Thing Two.

It is so bittersweet, this little baby-faced boy on the brink of becoming bigger. On the brink of understanding the world well enough to stop crying when things don't go his way. On the brink of fewer cute misunderstanding of the language. On the brink of figuring out who Santa really is. The brink is so palpable to me right now. Everytime he lets me kiss that sweet spot at the corner of his jaw, where he still smells like a baby, I feel like if I just squeeze him a little tighter I might be able to keep him from toppling over that edge.....

I know, I know - it is his job to leap over that edge and it is my job to push him over if I must, ....but dang!

It just astounds me that in 8 years he will be hiding in his room all day, playing music I don't understand and emerging only long enough to grab some pizza and pretend to ignore me.

Procrastination Is Not My Friend

My house is a disaster, I am hosting house guests in a week, I need to make inventory for a 2 day show this weekend, I have wholesale orders due, and all I want to do is climb in bed, pull the covers over my head and read a book.

It's Mine! All Mine!

This summer, I borrowed a tecre and made magnets and pins to sell at my market stand. They sold very, very well, and I started wondering what I would do when my supply of magnets ran out.

A month ago, I bought a tecre of my very own!

My best selling magnet sets are made from recycled crossword puzzles, sheet music and atlases. I am not interested in cluttering my jewelry shop with magnet sets, but it occured to me that I could sell them from my blog.

So, available for your purchase:

Magnet sets packaged in recycled mint tins, tucked into pretty little organza bags!

Sets of 4: $5.00
Sets of 6: $7.00
Shipping of one set is $2.00 - anywhere in the world! Each additional set purchased adds .50 to your total shipping cost.

Choose from:
musical notes
crossword puzzles
sudoku (not pictured)
atlas pages (you pick the cities)
origami paper (pink, red or blue)

If you are interested in purchasing magnets, email me at gibson2750@comcast.net, and I will send you a PayPal invoice.

I Am One Forum Post Away

from getting irretrievably sucked in to the Etsy Gift Guide Forum Drama.

Somebody tell me to back away from the computer.

The Mini-Blog is Up and Running!

Etsy sellers - go add your mini's now!


Following is the press release from The Mini Blog:

"All things handmade.
It's a simple concept, a beautiful one too. Take the world of arts, crafts and handiwork and put it all in one place for shoppers to see.

Etsy.com (the place to buy and sell all things handmade) has done that by building a website where an artisan creates an online store to reach buyers and sell their work.

Those of us who use and love Etsy have taken the idea further by building a showcase where many shops within a category can be viewed simultaneously.

These unique galleries of handiwork are not only stunning and easy to navigate, they are also live and constantly changing.

The MiniBlog organizes and compiles thousands of items currently offered for sale from the hundreds of shops on Etsy---each run by the artisans themselves.

A “mini” is a comprised of 4 photographs the artisan has chosen to represent their work.
A mini allows a shop to offer a glimpse of their wares, enticing shoppers to step into their virtual stores to see more.
The minis change with the shops' inventory, making this catalogue a real time shopping experience that constantly presents new and fresh items for sale.

In addition to being an exciting way to shop, the MiniBlog also allows the viewer to explore trends in the art world. This project is something that has never been done before: it is live, ever changing, worldwide and open for free to every handmade artisan on Etsy.com.

Please use the MiniBlog to find new artists to buy from, write about, admire and be inspired by.

For those of you in the strong world of blogging and Internet, please link us and spread the word. The MiniBlog is 100% handmade and should be revered for its innovation, beauty and uniqueness. There is nothing else like it."

I am so excited to be a part of this project!

Little Headaches

For the past week I have been plagued by little, pesky headaches. Not bad enough to make me take to my bed and close the curtains. Just bad enough to make me cranky and a little bit mean.

Why don't I take some Tylenol and get over myself?

I don't know, I don't know, I don't know.

As If I Am Not Busy Enough

In August I volunteered to help Ryan (she's a girl!) of LittlePutBooks with The Mini Blog, a new Etsy related blog that showcases Etsy sellers' minis by category. Listing on this blog is free for sellers. Buyers can click on any category and see an array of minis showcasing sellers whose work fits into the category.

There are a slew of volunteers helping Ryan upload the minis for each category, but as you can imagine, this is a huge job and we still need more helpers. Ryan has set up spots in the blog where the volunteers' minis are highlighted and she will be featuring a different set of volunteers on the front page of the blog each day.

Check out The Mini Blog for more information about how you can help.