Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Reflections

Found this on a blog by fellow EBW'r, Njema. It was so much fun to read through her answers and find out a little bit more about the person behind the art. So thought I'd do the list here on my own blog for those who might want to know a bit more about me. Besides, I'm always a sucker for all those self-analysis, what's your personality, what animal are you, kind of lists, anyway. So the things I have done are the ones that are in bold and blue.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band (I guess 5th grade band counts!)
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disney World
8. Climbed a mountain (just mountains of laundry)
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb (My sis and husband raise sheep)
26. Gone skinny dipping (Nope, but I've played strip poker :o)
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset (watched both, don't know which is better)
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business (guess my fledgling craft business counts)
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching (what a spirtual experience!!)
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar (no, but I've eaten escargot)
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car (a 1973 Monte Carlo. Am I telling my age?)
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby (Had three)
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

Only 38 out of 100, which makes me, what? An ordinary person? Not much of a traveler? Yep. It was fun, though, reflecting back on things I've done and haven't done. Some of those things are from my childhood and thinking about them brought back fond memories. Give it a try. It's an interesting list and reflection is good for the soul.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Ain't It a Kick!

Google Analytics is the big buzz right now in the Etsy world. Like many, I'm still finding my way around the site but it appears to have many capabilities and many possibilities for use. I'm a bit technologically challenged so it may take me a while to sort it all out and figure out what all that data means for me and my shop. But right now, it's fun to see how many hits both my Etsy and my Artfire shops are getting, how people get to them, what they look at, and where they are from. The "where they are from" part has been the biggest kick for me so far. Even though I know that I'm on the World Wide Web, it remains mind-boggling to me that someone in the Ukraine, for example, would take the time to look or even care what I have listed in my shops. It's been a refresher geography course too, matching names to points on the map and vice versa. And it makes me think about the people those points represent. I wonder why they looked at that particular item. Are they looking for a birthday gift or just something for themselves? Are they having a good day? Are they like me and struggling with the finances or are they wealthy and can buy whatever they want? You know, just ordinary stuff about ordinary people. Or, maybe not so ordinary people. Ain't it a kick?!

Sunday, January 18, 2009

A Gift for a Friend




Seems like I haven't blogged forever and now here's my second entry in two days!
Just had to show off this creation, though, that I finished this weekend. My friend and co-worker got engaged at Christmas and her fiance is due to deploy in July. He'll be gone for a year and she just assumed they'd wait until his return to have the wedding. But he surprised her by telling her he wanted to get married before he left. She's so excited and I decided I wanted to give her a special piece of jewelry for her special day. So I asked her if she had any idea what her colors were going to be and she told me, "yes, camo." Now, camoflauge may seem a bit unusual for wedding colors, but it didn't surprise me with Jenn. She and her fiance both love to hunt and last summer when I decided my shoulder simply wasn't going to allow me to ever pull back my compound bow again, I sold her my Parker Challenger and all the archery "stuff" that goes with. She already rifle hunts and was eager to learn bowhunting as well. So anyway, camo colors fit her to a tee. She caught on as to why I was asking and asked if I could make something like my Flash necklaces. I told her I'd try and this is what I came up with. It should look very nice with either the Real Tree camo wedding dress or the winter camo, Snowfall, she's thinking about getting. She found this amazing website that has all kinds of camoflauge wedding apparel, http://www.laceandpromises.com/. She doesn't have a date set yet, but her camo necklace is ready. I just have to wrap it.

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Wish I was there!







January is either a cold, dreary month in Kansas or a cold, snowy month but whichever is the case, thoughts of warm, tropical places help take the chill off. So the EBW challenge theme for February, Tropical Holiday, was especially fun for me to create. Tropics, to me, is warm sun and sandy beaches. I've been to both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans as well as the Gulf of Mexico on vacations and they are some of my fondest memories. I loved walking on the beaches, collecting bits and treasures that the seas washed ashore. I loved the touristy shops, the smells and the colors of the oceans. These were the things I drew on when I started creating my challenge entry. I had an old coral necklace that was begging to be repurposed and it served as the foundation. Using the colors in the coral beads, I made a mix of seed beads and started weaving branch fringe and then I randomly added pewter charms with a beachy feel, pieces of dyed shell and pearls all surrounding another repurposed item, a bone colored fish pendant. It's all finished off with a silver dolphin and wave toggle clasp. This was such a fun piece to make, even if it did take me way longer than I thought it would. I'm hoping it will remind someone else of warm memories and it will find it's way to a new home.