Wet spots and other irritations

I hate sleeping in the wet spot. And no, it's not what you think.

I woke up this morning to the bed shaking in time to rhythmic sluurrp sluuurp sluuuuuuurping of one of the demon dogs licking a paw so vigorously that I'm surprised there is any fur left on that foot. I could feel cold clammy dampness on my calf. Ugh! I flew out of bed, or tried to, because I was trapped by dog bodies pinning the covers over my legs. Much flailing ensued, followed by two cranky and muttering dogs being unceremoniously ushered outside. Back in the bedroom, a large wet slobber spot greeted me from my newly laundered comforter. Damn dogs! Covers were dragged off the bed and stuffed into the washer. AGAIN. Argh.

I didn't get to go to my appointment for college admissions yesterday. About an hour before I was going to head out, I sent Mrs. Smith an email to confirm our appointment and, get this, got her OUT OF OFFICE reply stating that she will be gone from Nov 17th (yesterday, the day of our appointment) until Dec 1st. Um, WHAT? I called and got her voicemail, which said the same thing. I don't really know what made me contact her to confirm, usually when I have an appointment I just head out the door and expect everything to go as SCHEDULED. (gettit? ha.) Some sixth-gas-and-time-saving-sense did me a positive there.

But seriously, WTF, Mrs. Fancy-Pants Counselor? Was it some sort of emergency, or just crappy planning? I am frustrated. At some point today I'll call the school's main line and see what happens next. But at the moment, I am a little turned off. Also, I am not feeling like getting out of my pajamas. But that's normal.

A break from the whining

Check out the new Iddy Biddy Blog, written by Mir of Woulda Coulda Shoulda fame. In her words:

"It’s a blog about going green for those of us “regular” folks who either cannot or will not immediately give up everything less-than-ideal."

Mir is awesome, I have been reading her blog for years, and I love her take on going green - very realistic and inspiring.

Whining recommenced

Of course, washing my king-sized comforter twice in less than 24 hours isn't very green of me. But I doubt Mir would sleep in dog drool either, and that's one of the many reasons I love her so.

Well, hello there stranger!

So, I've been absent, for.... a while. A loooooooong while. I've been in sort of a creative slump - deny the existence of the interwebs - wow time flies - mode. Dunno why, but it happens to me periodically. Sorry 'bout that. It's just the way I roll, apparently.

So, let's see... I've moved into the new house. And um... I've read a lot of books. And... become proficient at ignoring the house work. Not very interesting. I feel like the last few months have just slipped past without my notice. Weird, yes? This cannot be normal.

But now I am gearing up to go back to school and I am TERRIFIED. Also, excited, nervous, scared, and worried about money. The mister has been very encouraging and for the most part very patient with my whining about how sceered I am.

My current "plan" is to get at least an associates degree in graphic design. My last soiree into college was 10 - almost 11! - years ago and I went with a full honors scholarship and ZERO motivation. I went straight from high school to college and was SICK TO DEATH of school. Now I am looking forward to it (mostly). I hope I can remember how to write papers and do algebra and so on. Yikes.

Of course, I need to pick a school first, and that has been presenting it's own challenges. And then applying for scholarships and the dreaded student loans. SCEERY! I do have an appointment with a counselor* on Monday, so hopefully that will help me get started.

*(Side story: This counselor always refers to herself as "Mrs. Smith". Not her full name, not ever. Clearly she expects me to call her "Mrs." Which, okay, I guess I forgot about that particular schoolish thing**, but it kinda bugs me a little. Since, you know, I am now an ADULT with a house payment and a (teensy) retirement account and all. I guess it would be less weird if she didn't keep calling me by my first name. Look, I'm 28 and married, which you know from my info I submitted, so either return the courtesy and call me "Mrs." or skip the formality all together. I think when my hubby and I go to the appointment, I'll introduce us as "Mr. and Mrs." and see how that flies.)

**(I have no problem with calling people by their titles, such as "Professor" or "Doctor" or just being respectful to my elders, etc. But for some reason, this lady just bugs me. I mean, this school is going to cost me THOUSANDS of dollars, doesn't that earn me the right to call the admissions counselor by her first name? Or at least for her to return the courtesy and call me "Mrs."? After all, I am a CUSTOMER and deserve to be treated as one, yes?***)

***(Despite above rant, I know this isn't really THAT big of a deal. It's just weird and kinda... annoying.)

My Mantra: I can do this, I can do this, also: quit being a weenie.

So that's my news, such as it is. Riveting, huh?

It's getting deep in here...

So, I've been thinking... and man, are my synapses tired.

This is a blog I created to talk about my handmade jewelry, great etsy finds, and maybe a little bit about me thrown in.

And that's all well and good... but really damn boring.

REALLY

DAMN

BORING

So my question to you, how much more do you wanna know about me, the real me? The me that swears too much, that laughs at farts, that has "issues", that needs to clean the house more often?

Truth is, I am running a business, and this blog reflects my business. I don't want to muddy up the water with too many naughty words and stories about how I can't seem to get out of my pajamas. But, that is just a part of who I am, and the jewelry I make (and sell) is a part of me too. It may not be the same part that laughs at fart jokes... or is it?

Are you interested?

My money is on the Ninja Zombies

So I'm sitting outside in the lovely (read: STIFLING) 90 degree-at-10pm-heat, drinking a large cosmopolitan (note: ice melted almost immediately) watching my dogs eat bugs attracted to the outside light (annoyance: small insects buzzing around my face) while waiting for them to barf all the creepy-crawlies back up before I let them inside again. WHY AM I DOING THIS, you ask?

Answer: the back yard is clean. Obviously this is where I need to be to preserve my sanity.

My house is a disaster. As in, Call FEMA and For The Love Of All That Is Holy Don't Let My Mother Come Over, disaster.

We are moving into a new, slightly larger house in 10 days. For two people and a small menagerie of animals, we have stuffed this house FAR beyond it's max capacity. Where did we get all this SHIT? What's with all the knick-knacks and hand-me-down furniture and odd collections of mismatched pillowcases and towels? I have serving dishes that I don't even recognize hanging out and smoking dope in my cabinets and putrid-smelling hand lotions from 1998 in my bathroom. There are clothes hanging up in my closet mocking me with their size-six-smugness while the clothes I ACTUALLY wear lie in heaps because there is no room to put them away properly. Shoes from my sophomore year are lurking morosely in corners waiting for the grunge movement to come back in style. The dust bunnies are forming malicious gangs and tagging my walls with spray paint I didn't know I owned.

My theories? Goodwill has been dumping their leftover items at my house. Or grumpy neighbors are getting revenge for our yard that isn't watered enough by sneaking their junk in while I sleep. Or! There is a black-hole-time-warp-thingy in my hall closet that keeps regurgitating crap I SWEAR I got rid of years ago back into my house.

Maybe zombies? Ninja zombies?

One thing I know FOR CERTAIN: It cannot POSSIBLY be my husband's theory that I am a pack rat that attaches sentimental value to anything ever given to me by a loved one/ bought for a rilly rilly good deal/ could maybe kinda be used again in the future. I don't know where he comes up with these wild and crazy ideas.

Poor delusional man. Maybe I should get him some counseling.

But only after he helps me shut down that black hole thingy. The man does have a physics degree, after all. Time to put that fancy college edumacation to use.

In the meantime, I am busy hiding outside in the heat with my laptop. It's just too scary to go inside. Crafting has taken a backseat to waiting for the house to pack itself in preparation for our move. There's a LOT of work to do in there, and if it doesn't have a few boxes packed up by the time I finish my watery drink, I am totally gonna cut it's allowance.

Excitement and Excuses

I am very VERY excited as I am working non-stop on getting boat loads of jewelry made for a consignment order! Eeeee! Many thanks for the opportunity from BecharmedStudio, who totally hooked me up with a bead shop in her area! Woot!

My hands are sore from working with beads and wire and pliers and more beads, but I am loving it! I'm so inspired to make new creations to send and I am making extras to list in my shop! Listings coming soon!

I totally just pulled out my camera to take a picture of the massive amounts of beads and stray findings on my desk, but the battery is dead. I will post some pics when the battery has charged up, if I manage to conjure up some willpower to find my charger.

Instead, may I appease you with some pictures of my sweet doggies?

Sammy:

Poppy:

(I have no clue what that white stuff is on Poppy's nose. I'm sure she rubbed it off on the carpet later.)

Alternate pics

Edited to add an explanation for posting random photos for no apparent reason:

I couldn't decide which was my best pic, so I lazily posted them here and took a survey in an Etsy forum thread. Thanks to all who let me borrow their brains while mine was on vacation drinking martini's and flirting with the bartender. Stupid brain never takes me anywhere. You can see this bracelet in my shop here.

Edited yet again:

The bracelet sold! But never fear, if you want one, I can make it for ya! Just contact me through my etsy shop: LookingGlassJewels!

Alt 1:

Alt 2:

Alt 3:

Alt 4:

Understanding Your Crafty Spouse

10 Things Etsian Spouses* Should Know:

1. Meals are no longer a priority, if you wanna eat, you'll have to make it yourself. Sorry, honey. Oh, and bring me a sandwich?
2. Spending 14 hours a day on Etsy is totally acceptable, anything else shows lack of commitment.
3. Wondering why there are no sales? So are we. Let's post in the forums.
4. Reacting to the lack of sales by spending more money on supplies is normal and quit making those faces about it.
5. Holding your head in your hands when your significant other wants to open a second shop will not prevent the second shop from being opened.
6. A good hand massage after hours spent crafting/typing is always appreciated. (Butt massages can't hurt either.)
7. Sometimes we will forget to bathe. A gentle reminder to wash may lead to us wailing, "But I need to upload more pictures!"
8. Saturday nights will be spent promoting sales in the forums. Plan on watching TV. We are with you in spirit. (Please TiVo anything interesting. Not that we'll ever make time to watch it.)
9. The only room in the house we will keep clean is our studio/office/craft area. The vacuum is in the closet.
10. We love you and love your support. Please continue to love us as we slowly go off or rocker and start babbling about views and hearts in our sleep. Eventually we will shower.

And now, pics of my latest project that left my poor sweet husband deserted until the wee hours of the morning:

Other earth-shattering news:
A few days ago BendingPeak and I met to go shopping, and although all the stores were closed, (wtf?) we consoled ourselves with margaritas and had a wonderfully tipsy time. And she gave me one of her fabulous pockets! You should be so jealous! Mwahahaha!

And if you haven't seen it yet, please go check out my spectacular new banner, created by the multi-talented and super-sexay BecharmedStudio!

I feel so lurved. :)

*Dedicated to my ever-patient, always-supportive, sometimes-frustrated, super-understanding, sexy-hot-hunk-of-man, truly darling husband. Thank you for feeding me and making me shower. We should totally get busy.

I luvs me some good deals

My day has been pretty hectic, so instead of a carefully thought out post, you are going to get something completely random. Even I don't know what all I am going to say - but hey, that means I'll be just as surprised as you are! Surprise, self!

A few days ago I read this awesome thread in the forums about business cards, and lo and behold, I was sucked into the Vistaprint Vortex of DOOOOOOOOM. Well, doom insofar as it ATE MY DAY. I am not kidding you, people, I was on that website for 7 straight hours. I even turned down fried chicken because I was too preoccupied to stop and eat. I NEVER turn down fried chicken. Unless it's soggy fried chicken, but I digress.

Why would I do such a crazy thing, you ask? Only because I got the most AMAZING free stuff! Yup, FREE! (Are you learning that I am fond of the caps key? I am. The caps key is my FRIEND. I am also prone to run-on sentences. You've been warned.) Anyway, back to the free part - here's the loot I scored:

• 250 LookingGlassJewels business cards
• 250 VarmitsAttic business cards (my other shop)
• 100 postcards
• 10 magnet calenders
• 10 note cards
• 1 rubber stamp
• 1 sticky note pad
• 1 customized pen

ALL TOTALLY FREE!! The only items I paid for were return address labels for my two shops and shipping!
Grand Total: $25.24 (!!!)
Price before discount -$103.91 + $16.26 freight
That's $94.93 that I saved!
Do you know how much I can buy with $94.93? I sure do!

I am so freakin' proud of myself. Read the forum thread here, and then dig around on the Vistaprint website. Check out the "Free Products" section on the left hand side. There's a bunch of great offers there. I found more hidden deals just messing around looking at other stuff. (Hopefully it won't take you 7 hours, I spent a lot of time designing my layouts and kept changing my mind and had to start all over. It's an issue I have.)

I've never ordered from Vistaprint before, so I can't vouch for their product, but this is a killer deal and I just had to share it with ya. And I had to brag. I am a bragger.

(And now for more randomness.) (And parenthesis.) (Parenthesii?)

While I originally planned to share photos of my studio, someone came in and completely trashed it today, and I am too embarrassed to share it with you. (It was NOT me, shut up.) (OK, it was me.) (Shut up anyway.) Instead, I will show you my latest project! So new that it's not even in my shop yet! Because I am here writing instead of listing and THAT IS JUST HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU PEOPLE. Behold:

Fun and Funky necklace and earrings made out of beautiful iridescent pressed glass beads and antiqued brass!
UPDATE: They are now available in my shop! Weeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Free Gift from Featured Seller: beatblack

I love to get gifts, I love to give gifts, and I love helping to promote some of my favorite Esty shops!

I have been very fortunate to receive some awesome samples from beatblack's shop, which I can't wait to share with my customers!

The next ten customers who order from my shop will receive one of beatblack's completely adorable Truffle Charms as a free gift with purchase!

The detail on these tiny truffles is truly amazing - I can't stop looking at them! They look so real, you can almost smell the chocolate.

(So real, in fact, they kinda made me mess up my diet yesterday, because I started craving chocolate and finally I could no longer resist the bag of M&M's I had stashed in the pantry.)

I'm gonna have a hard time not keeping all these charms for myself, so I have to blog about it to keep myself honest!

(Not really.)

(Ok, really.)

I love beatblack's shop, it's hard to imagine how much time it must take to make such perfectly detailed pieces. One of my fav's is her Striped Tie Necklace:


How cool is that?!
Even my husband said,
"Oooooooo - that's really neat! I like it! It's cute!"
(Don't tell him I told you.)

I am excited to give a Truffle Charm to my next ten awesome customers!
I love my customers, and I know they will adore these charms as much as I do! (Hide your M&M's so you will have a backup stash prepared in advance.)

Just buy anything from my shop and a Truffle Charm will be included with your shipment as a free gift! :)

Or go straight to beatblack's shop*, since I guarantee you will fall in love with her work!

(Just don't forget about little ol' me. Hint, hint.) ;)

*See my sidebar for more items from beatblack!

I won? WOOHOO!!

I got the best surprise this morning when I checked my Etsy convos and found a message from Angela at PaperMenagerie saying I had won her drawing for her Redesign Giveaway! Yippee!

Angela has such a nifty and sweet shop - I love everything in it! Her button magnets and Gocco prints are incredible!

I love this Camp Notes Kraft Moleksine Notebook:

And her Repurposed Stickers are so sweet!

Angela is moving and doesn't want to move her shop inventory, so she is having an awesome sale!

Please check out PaperMenagerie and grab some of her amazing items before they are all gone!

Treasury: Men Love Smart Women

VickiDianeDesigns has created a fantastic Treasury, which I am so excited to be a part of!


Isn't it awesome?! I love how earthy and sensual her selections are!

I am so honored that she included my Serenity Leaf Earrings!

This great Treasury expires soon, I hope you have a chance to check it out!
Please visit VickiDianeDesigns's awesome shop - she is an amazing artist! Her Magical Mystery Bag is simply stunning, as are all the items she has created! Her pieces are not just unique, they are FUNIQUE! ;)
Thank you Vicki! XO!

Featured Seller: Susan's Greetings

A few days ago I received the most amazing little gift cards from one of my all-time favorite shops: Susan's Greetings!

They are so sweet, I had to share them with you!

These mini cards and tags are adorable!

The ribbons are so cute, and I love the polka-dot cardstock! They are perfectly made - you can tell that Susan is a professional. She has similar mini thank-you cards and tags available here in her shop, and I know from experience that she creates wonderful custom designs as well! Everything I have ordered from her has been simply perfect!

I highly recommend that you visit Susan's awesome shop!

Treasury: the infinite sphere

Oh wow! nifties has honored me by including me in her gorgeous Treasury!
Her Treasury is awesome, you have to check it out!

My Serenity Leaf Earrings were featured!

nifties is one of my favorite people, and she is an amazing artist, her handmade earrings and barrettes are so unique, funky, and pretty! Please be sure to check out her fantastic shop!

My first Treasury!

My Spring Rainbow bracelet was featured in a wonderful Treasury created by the lovely CCSynopticvisions! Yay!

Thank you CCSynopticvisions! :)

Please check out her Treasury and see all the other great items!

Free Earrings Giveaway

The lovely Susan of Susan's Greetings has written about the free earrings she won from my shop on her blog! I hope you enjoy them Susan, and thank you!

Susan makes beautiful note cards and tags, and I adore the custom thank you cards, earring and necklace display cards, and custom gift tags she made for me recently! Susan is wonderful to work with and is also a fantastic customer!
I highly recommend that you visit her lovely shop!

If you'd like to win free earrings like Susan did, you still can!*
Here's how to play:

• For every 5 purchases made, I hold a drawing for a free pair of earrings!
• Every item purchased = 1 entry in the drawing!
• Examples:
• Buy 2 items, and your name is entered twice!
• Buy 5 items, win FREE earrings automatically!
• Dem's good odds!
• All winners will be featured on my blog!

Pretty simple, huh? :)
You may choose any earrings in my shop valued at $15 or less, or you may request custom earrings!
Take a gander at my shop, and have fun playing! Good luck!

* contest is now closed

First post!

This post is a test!




My first post! Weeeeee!

Love,

Looking Glass Jewels