a journey

My friend, Amy, has sent me a convo and a screen
cap, that my treasury was on Etsy frontpage,
while I was at work yesterday (congrats, all artists
included! :)). I'm happy to hear that, esp. because
I've decided to curb my treasury addiction. So that
was my last treasury. At least for a while ;)


iragrant, VintageEmbellishment, TheBeadedPath,
prettylittlethieves, lapomme, drawingroom,
Intres, carepaper, angiemuldowney,
thelogbasket, LeelaBijou, autumntomay

Since I've joined Etsy in June 2 years ago (with
my first account, which I registered, only because
I wanted to make my 1st treasury *lol*), I've been
making over 120 treasuries!!! Not counting those
which I've made for the EuropeanStreetTeam.
Treasury making was kind of relaxing for me.
Looking for beautiful items with beautiful photos,
looking for rather unknown shops (it's kind of a
sport to find them before Pounce was released),
collecting the items along a theme or a color
scheme and there was time, when I made a game
out of it :) Oh yes, treasury is fun and addictive!

While I've made so many treasuries, have you
noticed, how many items for my shop I've made??
Well,.. almost none!! I'm in a crisis. Not in the
creativity itself. I'm still very creative in many
ways. But in business life.. I am stuck!! I lost my
path. I'm lost in the jungle. Jungle of possibilities,
jungle of decisions, jungle of uncertainties, jungle
of fear,...

Remember I told you I've been browsing for
60s/70s items last Sunday? I think, that was
the time, when my brain began to say "Hey, girl!
It's at the 11th hour to find yourself back." My
soul began the journey right away, as I dreamt
of the houses that night. To look, what was and
still is important to me. The first step. I'm trying
to continue my journey.

I think, Pecannoot - the fresh blog of Jess Gonacha
- will be a good accompany along my journey.

do your job

I used to use iGoogle a lot the last half of the
year. I loved it, because I had my mail, the RSS
reader, calendar, the tweets through Twitter-
Gadget, YouTube, unit converter and many,
many more at one place. I only needed to click
at one window to see what's important. The last
weeks though I didn't use it. Just like that I felt
back to click from window to window (maybe
that has something to do with 'not wanting to
be trapped in small boxes' feeling? ;)).

Anyway, just now I opened up iGoogle again. I
wanted to use the unit converter. Above it is
the YouTube gadget. They (YouTube?) changed
it a while back. As I used it for the first time, it has
saved my search, so that I could replay my fave
videos. Now I can still search, but in the box I
can only see the featured video. BUT I sometimes
thankful for that, like today! The (cropped shown)
title has caught my eyes - Elizabeth Gilbert:
A new way to think about creativity (I saw only
'... crea', but I know only that one word starting
with it, so.. ^_^). All I can say: watch this video!
Elizabeth Gilbert is amazing! I found it a joy to
listen to her.



I didn't know her before. So I went to her website
and read a bit. I love the way she write and also
what she has written about writing and her FAQ
(could be I feel connected with her, as she wrote
about Bali ^_^). I will look for her books (hope
one of the libraries in town has them).

A bit about the video. It was uploaded by TED,
a site worth to dig! This video, Milton Graser's
talking, has also caught my attention. So guess
what.. my RSS reader got two more feeds -
TEDTalks and TEDblog.

Oh, something totally different - it's an update
to the Victorian bushfire I've talked about in my
last post. Etsy sellers are donating items to the
OzBushfireAppeal shop, which donate the
money to the Australian Red Cross (thanks,
Gry, for letting us know!). Etsy seller or not,
WE can do something to help the victims!
As I've been non creative lately, I will donate
the bead I had in my other shop a while ago for
now.

Update: you can find the bead here. Thanks
for looking :)

i won!

Yes, again! I'm such a lucky duck, that I'm already
afraid to take part on new contests ;)

Ingermaaike had started a contest on her blog in
October. We had to tell her, when we think the
snow will completely cover her goat. I guessed
Feb 13th, as according to my experience of living
in the Black Forest, the snow falls more in February
rather than in December. On Jan 25th her goat was
fully covered, so my guess was the closest.

Yesterday a package from Norway has arrived with
a cute snowman and a wonderful scarf inside! Thank
you, Inger!! Love them both :)

christmas

This Christmas is surely an unusual one.

My boy was normally staying with me till 23rd,
but this time he's already gone to his dad on 21st
and will stay a day longer there than usual too.
A haberdashery in town is closing, which breaks
my heart. So sad to see older, nice shops are closing
one by one and this town is filled with junk shops
day by day.

Around me I've heard some sad news before
Christmas - about friends and relatives passing
away. Most of all I was somehow shocked, that
one of the EuropeanStreetTeam's members has
also passed away: MundoGominola, a very
talented illustrator from Spain. It's a sad start
to Christmas.



I realized, how short life can be. I felt depressive
and melancholic for two days, didn't feel like
talking to anybody. I just had no words. Today
I feel a bit better. So, here I am again. Life goes on.

Last night I started to open up the packages
I've received. My boy has made me herbs
mixed salt in a textile bag, handmade by himself.
Mmmhhh... it smells so good!! My boss has given
me a pair of earrings and a necklace - so pretty!
As I wanted to open up the packages from my EST
friends, I remember I should make photos, so
I postponed it till this morning (ok, it was later
this morning, as I woke up late ;)) to have better
light.

Gretchen has sent me a lovely lavender pillow with
an embroidered word "Love" on it. I simply love it!!
So sweet and mhhh.. smells good (I love lavender :)) .
And I love the card with her illustration on it. Thank
you so much, Gretchen!!



And last not least.. I opened up the package,
which has made some of you curious also ;)



Jetty has sent me her beautiful "In the cold light
of day" print, matted and framed. I'm so happy,
as it is one of my favorite among all her work!
It's - like she called it herself - food for thought.
Thank you so much, Jetty! I hope, I'll finished
organizing my home soon, so that I can find a
nice place for your lovely work.
And thank you, Mitsy, for choosing Jetty as my
Secret Santa!!



This is surely an unusual Christmas. I'm grateful
for all the presents, that I've got, but I'm also
very grateful for the friendship and love that I feel
in every little gesture, smile, word and thought that
many people have sent me each day. That makes
my life so much worth in this world. Thank you
so much, my friends!!!

Merry Christmas to you!!

curious

Now my curiosity is getting even bigger. Yesterday
I've got one more package from another friend from
the European Street Team. I can hardly wait for
Christmas Eve!! Thank you!!!!

BIG surprise

I was preparing myself to go to the city this
noon, as suddenly the door bell rang. My son
pick up the phone and said, it was the postman.

I was surprised - I opened up the door and
waited for him to come up. My brain started to
browse all corners in my memory, but couldn't
tell me, which supply I've ordered and has not
yet arrived. As he was upstairs, I was even
more surprised to see how big it was!!! The big
question mark on my face has even confused
the postman for a minute *lol*
After looking at the sender address, my brain
slowly began to understand (still very amazed,
that the Secret Santa is becoming real :)) and
a BIG smile replaced the question mark on my
face.



Thank you, Mitsy, for organizing this so perfectly
and thank you, my Secret Santa, for this big
surprise!! I will wait. Yes, I'm VERY curious, but
I will wait. Maybe till Christmas, but maybe only
till Sinterklaas day (I remember visiting him as
I was still small :)). Let's see, how curious I am ;)
I know, some of the EuropeanStreetTeam members
are even more curious than me :D Ha! But you all
have to wait too!! It's more exciting, if you still
don't know, who my Secret Santa is at the moment
*cheeky grin*

contrast

My imagination is running wild lately. I've made
creations, which are not usually my style.
Weather is one of them (finally I could use my
long treasured supplies :D).



Cute? Last time I've made something cute was
surely 20 years ago!! I first doubt about listing
it in my shop, but I love it somehow. So I just
list it :) But then it's such a contrast to the
Time Machine, which is for the last week
challenge of the EuropeanStreetTeam SciFi,
hosted by Alecia.



I was thinking to make Weather as my entry
for this week challenge Think Men, which will
be hosted by Swedishjewels's girlfriend
Jealousydesign (This is what he told us about
the theme: It doesn’t need to be a thing for a
man. But it should be something that a man/
boy appreciates). But I'm not sure, either it's
the right one. Would a girl be happy to receive
this from her boyfriend or would she be hurt,
cause it's kind of saying "you are so moody like
the weather" and give him a slap in the face??
I must be a cynic to put this as an entry :P

And... pssst.. let me tell you this crazy creation
won't be the last! My crazy minds took over
the control of my hands at the moment ;)

universe

My street team on Etsy, the EuropeanStreetTeam,
has called for a weekly challenge, which is hosted
by a different member each time. I haven't really
participated in any of them up till now. I did send
an entry to Inger's theme Frost, didn't want to
list the necklace though.

I really love the theme of two weeks ago, which
was hosted by JKphotography: Minimalism.
I started to sketch my ideas. And they are gathered
to a new collection. It's all about Universe. I play
with different materials. At the moment I'm
following the impulse to work with silk, wool and
leather. But creations with glass will follow as well.
I'm still working on some ideas.

Today I've listed the first necklace of the collection:
4 Elements. It's kind of bold and delicate at the
same time. I wanted to make something bold for a
long time, but since I'm small, anything big looks so
ridiculous on me. And I somehow cannot create
something, that I wouldn't wear myself. So, I'm
really glad, how this one turned out.



Oh, and I've sent out my newsletter to announce
this new collection. Since it was my first, I wasn't
sure, how I should do it. Actually I wanted to post
a simple email to the subscribers, but then I
couldn't resist to arrange the text among some
images :)

continuity

I've neglected my blog for such a long time!!
First I was busy working on the B&M store
more than usual, my choir and then my son &
I got chicken pox - first me and then my son.
While he was already back in form after 3 days
(still had to stay at home for a week), I need
over 2 weeks to recover. No fun at all!

So my rhythm is out of control - far beyond
continuity. I have a weird feeling about continuity
anyway. Actually I love continuity, but I get
easily bored on the other hand and tend to do
crazy things spontaneously. But if these
interrupts come from outside, I need such
a long time to find my way back to my rhythm.
Anyway, I'm back to normal now and ready for
the next life-rhythm. My son has school vacation,
so not yet the 'normal' daily rhythm, but my
work rhythm is back and I hope, that it'll last :)

Here are some of my work lately. They are sold
already, but you can find more in my shop or if
you want similar ones, just ask me using Alchemy :)

I'm so in love with those colors :)


I've finally started selling some earrings :)

Kreativlink, a friend on EuropeanStreetTeam,
is being Etsy's featured seller right now. Check
the lovely interview and her gorgeous stuff
(she's busy stocking up - so a good opportunity
to grab a fresh item :)).

maritime colors

The past days I've just hearted some new items
made by my fellow European sellers. It seems,
that Maritime colors are on the move :)
Just click on the items you're interested in.

edit 23.03.2008: I can't resist to add new fave,
so I have to inactive the Etsy Mini of my faves
here. But look at the items in their shops or
in my fave list! :)
2nd edit 23.03.2008: ok, it's boring without
picture. so I made a screen shot :)

left to right, top to bottom:
Gilbea, Vadjutka, Kreativlink,
lapomme, Ingermaaike, staroftheeast,
ZsBcreations, dindi, Artmind,
PamelaAngus, HeliS, XbyLeinaNeima

you make my day

I've got the "you make my day"
award from Ale aka Ixela a few
days ago (maybe even weeks -
slow me!!) and from Suse aka
Revoluzzza before. Thank you!!

It's hard to choose 5 blogs to pass this award on.
Actually I'd love to pass this back on to Ale and
Suse. Ale makes the most beautiful collages of
photos of items, as she features other Etsy sellers
in her blog, and she is a lovely friend, who has
helped me in building the EST-Googlemap. Her
jewelry are beautiful and sometimes cute :) Look
at her shop or more in her gallery on Flickr.
And if you don't know Suse yet, I've written a bit
about her here. Yes, you do make my day, Ale & Suse!

But ok, not to make it into a ping pong game, I've
chosen 5 more blogs to pass the award on (even
though I'd like to pass this to more people on -
far more people make my day than just 5):

1. To my dear friends on Etsy, who make my
day in one and another way again and again.
Thank you, girls!!
Ira aka Iragrant, Renate aka Kreativlink,
Mitsy aka Artmind and Alisa aka Treasurefield.

2. To moonstitches, who always makes
my day with her photos and blog posts, whenever
I see/read it. I've found her gallery on Flickr
and went to read her blog. Her blog was the very
first blog, that I've read! Thanks, Alex!

Have a lovely new week, you all! *hugs*

knots in my head

Days went so fast and I realized, I haven't
done many things lately. I know, I'm a
procrastinator - a BIG one! I have to make
new things for my shop, but something is
preventing me from doing so. I have a long
queue of mails, which need to be replied, but
I'm simply not able to do it at the moment
because of the knots in my head. And my blog..
I have also neglected it - arghh..!! Instead
I've done things, that was not first priority
(or maybe they were?? I don't understand
the psychology of mind anyway..).

I've always enjoyed curating treasuries.
Not enough, that I can make two (the real one
and on the test Treasury West), I thought,
I'll make one to promote the European Street
Team. Glad, that QueenBLingerie let me
use the favorite list of EST-shop to prepare
the treasuries. I've started "Shopping Trip in
Europe" as theme to be able to present each
member. First I've made a map of EST on
GoogleMap, since I'm bad in geography. That
way, I have an overview of the countries.
I was happy, Ixela was agree to help me with
the map.

That was still not enough though. I thought,
it would be nice to have a tool to be able
to browse EST sellers by category e.g., since
I try to mix the items in my treasuries lately
(so it might be a help for the next themes or
if we promote our team somewhere else).
So, I've started another project: shop catalog
(still under heavy construction).

I like the idea of the EtsyMiniBlog, which is
administrated by dottyral, littleputbooks,
liskidder and schOOLOcker. So, I have asked
for littleput's permission to use their idea of
using the comment area as kind of a request
form and the idea of using the EtsyMinis
for the catalog - not to feel guilty using them :)
I've also asked an Etsy admin, if I can modify
the look of the EtsyMini, since it needs a lot of
space otherwise. Finally I've asked Kreativling
if I could modify the EST banner. Now, having
all the permissions and positive feedbacks from
EST members, I can go on. In March I'll start
turning the criterias into pages. Once the frame
is finish, it's ready to accept requests to fill
the pages.

Doing all that (regardless of 1st priority or not)
has helped to loose some knots in my head.
I've started to make some collage ACEOs on a
pizza board two days ago. Yes! A pizza board!!
It's adhesive and clean, that's why I thought
I have to use it instead of throwing it into
the recycle bin :D I've used some papers
I've got few weeks ago to decorate it.
Although I didn't have special intends while
making them, I think, they reflect my mood
on the past days :)







And my fish.. I've sent him a few days
later than planned to Etsy, but I hope he has
swum across the ocean safely and is now
happy among his friends. This is his back.

me and bags

I have a weird relationship to bags.
It has started with love at an early age.
On the age of seven I've made a small suit case
using cardboard and glue. I still remember,
how proud I was of the closure.
As I had my first Singapore trip without
my parents at age 14, one of the thing
I've bought there was of course a bag
(a soft, white one, which I had to clean
every second days - but it was chic *lol*).

I'm not sure, where this love came from.
Bags was of course important to me at school
and I had many different bags during that time.
Bags in the definition "used to carry items",
as I remember to wrap a belt around the books.
I really loved that one - looked so cool!!
But I also remember, accompanying my mom
shopping for bags - bags with lots of
divisions inside! She might be the bag lover,
who has got me into it :-)

Now I rarely use bags. I often go out
only with a wallet in my jeans' pocket.
If I have to take something with me,
I prefer a backpack, as it's more practical.
But if I look around, I have more bags
than pair of shoes!! I enjoy looking at bags
more than shopping for shoes or clothes.


This bag is my newest. Isn't it great?! I love it!
Do you want one? Check out Ira Grant's shop!
She has this style in 2 yummy colors right now
(and of course other beautiful bags) -
go get them before someone else do it :)

Can you imagine me carrying these two?
The colors would fit my outfit too ;)