Things That I Like

First Date Scrapbook Page: Sketchy Thursdays 9-1-2011

2011-09-01T21:20:00.000-07:00

Sketchy Thursdays, why are your sketches always so awesome?

I used paper and stickers from Echo Park's Be Mine collection, flowers, and sparklies. I also hand-wrote the journaling, which is tough for me! I have the worst handwriting ever, so writing on my projects is very risky. Looking at it now, I should have made the photo black and white. Oh well, next time!

The photo is from my fiance and I's first date. Well, I call it our first date because before that I had just wanted to be friends! We had known each other for a few years but that day when he took me flying I finally decided I wanted to date him. No girl can resist a pilot!

Copies, Clones and Replicants - New Powerman 5000 Album!

2011-08-31T20:40:00.000-07:00

My all-time favorite band ever, Powerman 5000, released a new CD yesterday! Every track is a cover, which they do an amazing job of forming to their unique style. Even my music-snob coworkers thought the covers were excellent!

The originals are the following random array of older songs:
20th Century Boy (T.Rex)
Electric Avenue (Eddy Grant)
Whip It (Devo)
Jump (Van Halen)
Space Oddity (David Bowie)
One Thing Leads To Another (The Fixx)
Candy-O (The Cars)
Devil Inside (INXS)
Pop Muzik (M)
Should I Stay Or Should I Go (The Clash)
We're Not Gonna Take It (Twisted Sister)
Under The Milky Way (The Church)

I think my favorites are Should I Stay or Should I Go and Devil Inside. The only one I'm not really excited about is Space Oddity. That one is just strange and to me it sounds like the one Powerman 5000 altered least.

Anyway, it's a fantastic album. Especially if you like ironic yet awesome covers. And who doesn't like those?

Be an Organ Donor!

2011-08-30T22:05:00.000-07:00

I don't know if I had previously registered as an organ donor previously because my drivers license doesn't indicate that, but I just registered at my state's online registry to be certain. This site helps you find your state's registry. I can't speak to the process for other states, but Arizona's took about a minute. Yay!

It's not something that is fun to think about, but you never know when you will be in an accident or something. I take comfort in knowing that my accidental death could potentially save three peoples' lives with my organs!

The Scrappiest Sketch 134 - August Scrapbook layout

2011-08-28T21:20:00.000-07:00

This is my attempt at The Scrappiest sketch 134. Holy balls, this took me forever. It turned out to be a much more ambitious layout than I usually do, with the stitching and ribbon flowers and distressing. That stuff is labor intensive!

The photos are from my recent trip to see my brother, mom and nieces when we went hiking. My nieces are ridiculously cute! In addition to supplies purchased at the normal craft store, I used wood buttons and text tape from Etsy. Yay for handmade scrapbooking supplies!

The flowers were challenging, I've never attempted ribbon flowers before. I have seen better! I am really happy with how the collage hearts turned out though, particularly with the stitching. Even if it took forever.

It's weird, I haven't felt like scrapbooking or crafts generally much lately. I think it's mostly a bit of depression, my fiance's deployment is making me a little lonelyer than normal. I guess my art is not inspired by sadness!

As always, comments and suggestions on my amateur scrapbooking are hugely appreciated!!

Cards for Olivia

2011-08-21T11:50:00.000-07:00

Rodriguez Designs is putting a call out to card makers. The blogger's cousin's little daughter is hospitalized for a brain tumor and would appreciate receiving tons of cards. Go to this post for details on making and sending cards.

I am not really a gifted cardmaker, but I made the following card to send to her.

Blythe with Camera

2011-08-17T19:51:00.000-07:00

ZOMG BLYTHE HAS A ~~broken lomo~~ GIANT CAMERA!

Skirt: miniartschooldropout
Shirt: BlytheKingdom

Common theme is my mood

2011-08-07T10:21:00.000-07:00

Dear blog,
Sorry for neglecting you. I've been super busy with school and my real-life job and ignoring my internets. I'll try harder to be a good blogger and have better updates. For now, have some cute Etsy stuff related to my mood. I had to work a surprise 14 hour day yesterday (Saturday!!) and cancel plans with my awesome friends, which brings out my inner puff fish. Look at my full treasury here or see some of my favorites from it below. Links to shops are below the image.

1. Little plants: Peacock Taco
2. Print: Anne Solfud
3. Pincushion: Emmanoaccessories
4. Necklace: CellsDividing

Blythnesday No. 9

2011-07-27T07:32:00.001-07:00

Hat from StephPeachey
Dress from BlytheKingdom

Blythnesday No. 8

2011-07-20T07:13:00.000-07:00

I haven't been posting much lately because work has been nuts. Lots of long days. But here is a Blythe photo! The dress is from TreasureTreeTrinkets.

Wedding favors!!

2011-07-16T10:21:00.000-07:00

I should be doing homework but am instead making a wedding favor treasury on Etsy. I really like the idea of the birdseed things. Hearts or our initials would be really cool and super appropriate if we went with the owl theme. Candy is also an idea I am thinking about since it's delicious, expendable and gender neutral!

Anyone have any cool ideas for wedding favors? Does anyone sell them personally? I really want to do something clever, unusual and affordable for my wedding favors. DIY would be ideal I guess.

Check out my full treasury here or look at the links to these Etsians' shops below the pictures.

1. Birdseed hearts: naturefavors
2. Candy buttons: andiespecialtysweets
3. Cake pops: cocoaconfections
4. Tiny plants: sosucculent

And now I really am going to do my homework!

Delicious Candles

2011-07-14T21:13:00.000-07:00

Too pretty to burn! I approve of any and all calorie-free depictions of cupcakes. Links to the Etsy shops follow the images.

1. homespuncandleshop
2. boardwalkcandles
3. wlaverso

Beautiful Bricolage

2011-07-08T19:07:00.001-07:00

I stumbled across SushiPot's Etsy shop and saw these really neat pieces of art. These would look so neat in a home office or study! Click the image to go to the shop.

Almost Caturday :)

2011-07-07T21:10:00.000-07:00

Not to spam, but I'm really excited about posting a collage of my kitty Brie!

I want a dollhouse!

2011-07-07T20:34:00.000-07:00

So many cute dollhouse miniatures on Etsy!! I never had a real dollhouse growing up, I still want one now though. Also, I am trying new Pinterest-friendly formatting for images. What do you think? Links to the artists' Etsy shops are at the bottom of this post.

Veggie Basket: CJMiniatures
Books: TreeFeathers
Cacti: BlueKittyMiniatures
Cupcakes: miniaturepatisserie
Toy: Twelfth Dimension
Chair: IngesMinis

Blythnesday No. 7

2011-06-29T07:26:00.000-07:00

I've been using Pinterest, and am trying to decide the best way(s) to utilize it with this blog. For now, I have a Blythe pin board with lots of fun Blythe photos on it. Check that out if your on Pinterest. Does anyone have Blythe or other cute pin boards I can check out? I'm not following nearly enough boards yet!

Shirt by Blythe Kingdom

Etsy has some issues

2011-06-26T09:32:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I got an Etsy conversation from a seller who I had recently purchased some Angry Birds inspired hats from. She gave me permission to share it with my blog, which I asked for because I think it really highlights two of the major problems Etsy has.

JezeBearDesigns will no longer be advertising on Etsy.com. Today they removed another of my hats siting (sic) copyright infringement. My items are handmade and my own designs. Yes, the inspiration might have come originally from cartoons etc. but that is as far as the similarity goes. For goodness sake they are knitted and crocheted!. Others have similar items but have not been touched. I think I must have gotten up someone's nose how else do you explain the discrimination and victimisation. Etsy does not allow anyone to make comment on these decisions on their blog page so they don't allow any public recourse.

Enough is enough.

It's so frustrating to see good sellers leave Etsy (for good reason!) when it is so full of problem sellers - trying to sell junk or resell inappropriately or blatantly stealing art and designs. I think this seller's reasons for leaving, Etsy's inconsistent policies and censorship, are extremely valid and frustrating. And since one isn't allowed to complain about Etsy's policies on Etsy I feel the need to voice concerns here.

Etsy tolerates loads of art theft and copyright infringement. They don't seem to be bothered by people selling other people's art on pendants or little mirrors or whatever as long as they get to profit from it. Until recently, for example, they were fine with Angry Birds inspired things being sold on Etsy, even apparently use of its art. Etsy continues to be full of products blatantly using art from Disney, anime, etc. I imagine the Angry Birds people, who are expanding their own merchandising, recently sent Etsy a cease and desist letter threatening litigation if Etsy continued to allow Angry Birds items to be sold. Hence the crackdown, by which a few sellers told me they were targeted. It appears that some sellers are continuing to sell Angry Birds inspired products on Etsy so this crackdown appears to be inconsistent as well.

If Etsy can't be consistent in its policies it seems egregiously unfair to single out some sellers and punish them for what loads of others are doing! Lots of really successful shops appear to use art that's not their own in products they continue to sell without repercussions. What's the distinction Etsy?

Of course, we can't really ask Etsy to clarify since it seems to be their strategy to immediately shut down critical forum threads. In the arena of forum thread closing, Etsy responds quickly and comprehensively. Go figure. No shortage of resources there.

Has anyone else had issues with Etsy's confusing policies on copyrights? Or censorship?

Tegan & Sara - Sentimental Tune

2011-06-25T18:25:00.000-07:00

I bought Tegand & Sara's new CD recently and have been listening to it constantly. As always, their lyrics are really awesome. I am particularly captivating by the song "Sentimental Tune" and I decided to use it's lyrics in a little typography experiment, below. What do you think?

I used a ticket image from Belle Jar stock and tried to make the lyrics look all cool and stuff. Check out the song I'm talking about below.

Black like my soul

2011-06-23T20:16:00.000-07:00

It's been forever since I did a treasury! Check out Black like my soul or look at some of my favorites, below. I'm trying something new with the blog images. What do you think? What should my next treasury feature?

Blythnesday No. 6

2011-06-22T07:47:00.000-07:00

Yay textures and yay Blythe! I love close ups!

I haven't bought any new Blythe clothes for myself lately, but I did join a swap on Swap-Bot for a $5 Blythe surprise. I got my partner something really cute, I hope I get back something nice!

I also saw a contest that I am really excited about entering. The contest is to design a hat using upcycled/ reclaimed materials. Check it out here. I am not sure what I'm going to do yet, but it might be decoupage.

Giveaway at The Art and Tree Chatter of Aquariann

2011-06-15T21:19:00.000-07:00

I've sponsored a giveaway over at The Art and Tree Chatter of Aquariann! Enter to win this bracelet:

Giveaway ends on June 30, 2011.

Blythnesday No. 5

2011-06-15T06:45:00.000-07:00

Totally photoshopped Blythe photo! The shirt and the skirt are from MiniArtSchoolDropout.

I'm going to be out of town for a few days so don't hold your breath for a new post before Monday!!

Asian Beauty Blend

2011-06-14T19:43:00.001-07:00

This blend is for Blend Planet. I used provided photos and lots of my own textures, largely available at my stock deviant art account.

I always feel like I really loose my edge when I take a little break from blend art. I'm not super happy about this piece, but it's always fun to practice!

Ostrich Layout!

2011-06-13T21:36:00.000-07:00

I used my favorite three pictures from my trip to the Litchfield Park World Wildlife Zoo in this page. I'm pretty sure the ostrich was trying to bite us. I feel a little bad for teasing it, but these pictures crack me up!

I used paper from a GCD Studios Chic Bebe stack and some miscellaneous pink paper. The letters were also from the GCD Studios stack and they turned out to be really shitty. They mostly fell apart as I was trying to remove them from their backing. That was really disappointing and I am going to make it a point to not buy more GCD Studios supplies.

I based this off of Sketchy Thursdays' June 9 sketch, below. I probably stuck to the sketch a little too much. It turned out to be one of those times where I realized I wasn't feeling creative partway through. Oh well, you win some and lose some. It came out ok I guess. I'm not sure what I would do differently in the future aside from a more applicable and less inane title. Insert creativity everywhere!

I am having so much trouble photographing my layouts. I have two photo lamps that I shine upon it, and I get above it as much as possible by standing on a chair. It always comes out crooked and wonky though. Suggestions? How do you get straight on photos of your layouts?

Caturday ACEOs

2011-06-11T09:01:00.000-07:00

Meow...

I is for...

2011-06-08T18:47:00.000-07:00

Random I related searches on Etsy!

I is for Icecream...

I is for Iguana...

I is for Iris...

The Scrappiest Sketch 123/ Comicon Zombie layout

2011-06-08T16:55:00.000-07:00

OK I am super pleased with this layout!! I used a really cool sketch from The Scrappiest and photos from the Phoenix Zomicon standing next to a display for a Vietnam zombie comic book. Everything just sort of came together and I am super proud of this layout!!

I used papers from a few different kits and stacks, decorative tape, stickers, foam letters, and splatter stamps. Even with lots of black stamp ink it wasn't dark enough on the splatters so I colored over the stamps with pen.

This sketch was really inspiring, I new upon seeing it that I needed to use it. It took me a lot of thinking to come up with what to use (splatters!) instead of flowers. Pretty sure smoke was coming out of my ears while I was pondering.

I am really happy with how this came out. I think the only thing I *know* I would have done differently in retrospect is to not round the edges. Any suggestions?

Blythnesday No. 4

2011-06-08T08:18:00.001-07:00

Quick Blythe post today! The background in this photo is a cat toy that my cats won't play with... spoiled things!

The dress is from Treasure Tree Trinkets and I made the necklace myself. Do you think people would buy Blythe necklaces like that? I can't decide whether or not it's worth trying to sell them.

Caturday: Flower Kitty Scrapbook Layout

2011-06-04T13:31:00.000-07:00

I made this layout using photos of Brie, the cutest cat ever. I knew I had to use the red and blue polka dot paper to go with the photos, and just went from there. It got super busy!

I think it might be too busy. What do you think? I think I added to much crap. I've never used glued string for scrapbooking before. I was always hesitant because it seemed difficult, but it turns out it was really easy with Beacon's 3 in 1 advanced craft glue (my new favorite glue EVAR). Either way, I fail to see how people do beautiful AND busy layouts! Mine either look naked or shitty. Sometimes both!

I based this layout very, very loosely on Sketchy Thursday's July Challenge, below. As you can see the layout is roughly similar and I tried to use reds from the inspiration photos.

Bracelet Winner!

2011-06-02T08:47:00.001-07:00

I have randomly selected the first and second place winners of my Giveaway: congratulations Liz and Cean!! I've emailed the winners and hope to hear from them soon regarding mailing addresses. I intend to have a new giveaway (sponsored, wooo!!) up shortly for you all.

I was disappointed by the number (20+) of people who couldn't be bothered to follow the rules. I didn't think they were that complicated or egregious, but apparently there was an issue. Hopefully next time people won't be disqualifying themselves right and left!

Blythnesday No. 3

2011-06-01T07:20:00.001-07:00

I am super pleased with this week's Blythe photo! I used this fun plastic martini glass and a scrapbook paper background. Lots of photoshop work too!

The dress was purchased from Blythe Kingdom. Below are some other cute Blythe things from that shop:

In looking for fun Blythe clothes to buy on Etsy I keep running into shops that don't *seem* handmade. I worry they are reselling factory-made Blythe clothes and passing them off as handmade! Generally it's obvious that stuff is handmade, but occasionally I can't figure it out. How do you tell? Does anyone know of good, handmade shops for Blythe clothing?

May Scrapbook Layout

2011-05-30T17:39:00.001-07:00

This is my page-a-month layout for May 2011. It is of my fiance and I's adventures at the Phoenix Comicon. It was the first day my fiance was back on leave from his deployment too.

My favorite part of the comicon was seeing the author Max Brooks. I got a photo with him (above) and had him sign my book. He signed it "Mark Twain can suck it" after I told him he was my favorite author! Hence the quote. We also got lots of photos of us with various people in epic Star Wars costumes and stuff like that. Sadly few pictures of us together though. My fiance hates letting strangers hold his camera to take photos of us, so it was pretty much just one of us in all of them.

I tried this layout based on a really cool layout I was inspired by and made it a little simpler and more comic-y. Still pretty ambitious for me and scrapbooking! LOL! I feel like the squares should be more involved, but I wasn't sure what else to do with them. Also, extreme glitter paper sucks to photograph!

Ideas/ comments/ suggestions would be appreciated x1,000,000!!

Angry Birds are Adorable!

2011-05-30T10:12:00.000-07:00

I ordered some Angry Birds beanies on Etsy for my fiance and I. We saw some at the Phoenix Comicon, but all the best ones were sold out by the time we went to buy them. Since we live in Arizona we don't get many chances to wear beanies, but look forward to rocking them when we visit parents in Idaho and Pennsylvania this winter.

I love that there is so much knock-off Angry Birds stuff and the creators of it don't seem to care. I hope they don't crack down, because there are some really clever Etsians doing awesome Angry Birds things on Etsy. Like these:

H is for...

2011-05-27T18:42:00.000-07:00

I think I ought to reinstate my alphabet features! I only got to G, back when I did these regularly. SO. I will choose three fun H words and do searches on Etsy with them, posting my favorite results.

H is for Hello...

H is for Hibiscus...

H is for Humanoid...

Artwork by Melissa Moss

2011-05-27T18:07:00.001-07:00

Check out this Etsy shop filled with pretty swirly paintings!

You Can't Tell Me What To Do!!

2011-05-25T20:04:00.000-07:00

I've noticed an irritating trend among builders of treasuries recently that I feel the need to publicly object to. Because I like complaining. When curators feature your item in their treasury and send you a little conversation saying they've done so it's nice. But it annoys me when they then ask/tell you to promote their treasury for them on social media or whatever.

I often post pretty treasuries I'm in to facebook, twitter, etc. It is fun content to promote, I think. But I don't promote treasuries I'm featured in if I am told/asked to! It is just rude, I think. I don't object as much if it's phrased like "feel free to tweet this treasury" or something. I guess I still list them in the side-bar of this blog, but that's mostly for my purposes as far as I can tell anyway.

What do you think? Do you find it rude when people tell you to promote their treasuries? Am I being ungrateful and bitchy about nothing?

Blythnesday No. 2

2011-05-25T07:13:00.000-07:00

Some of the Blythe clothes I ordered finally came! Woo! I took some pictures with this fun flower background I made.

I pretty much think that rocket shirt is the coolest thing ever. I bought it and some skirts from Mini Art School Drop Out and am super impressed. (Fast delivery, high quality, good materials) Her stuff is well made, adorable, and fairly inexpensive. It's made in America rather than possibly resold from Asia! Yay! Here are some cute things from her shop:

What are your favorite places to buy Blythe clothes from?

Adorable Brie with Flowers

2011-05-22T11:43:00.000-07:00

I made a really cool background for Blythe photography (Blythography?) this morning and took some Blythe photos which may appear subsequently on this blog. But I also threw my cat in the light box with the background and she was being super cooperative and adorable so I got some really fun photos of her with it! I love this kitty so much!! Brie is pretty much the sweetest cat ever. Every time I sing she comes running from wherever she is and starts snuggling me.

To not spam excessively I am only posting my favorite of the photos here. If you want to see the rest, they are at my photobucket.

What do you think? Should I do Caturday posts here? More cute cat stuff? Is she not the cutest cat you've ever seen?

8 things not to do at the gym

2011-05-22T10:11:00.000-07:00

I have been working out a lot lately, and it has brought to my attention all kinds of rude behaviors people engage in at the gym. I think a rant is in order! To mitigate the harshness of the rant, it will be illustrated with pretty Etsy things. Yay. So. 8 things not to do at the gym.

1. Talk in an excessively loud voice. People around you don't want to hear about your stupid dinner or your date tonight or ANYTHING. It's super obnoxious. Bonus points if it's also crude or derogatory or offensive.

2. Puppy guard more equipment than strictly necessary. At any gym I've ever been to there is a limited amount of equipment and space. It's incredibly selfish to hoard a bunch of weights, mats, balls, whatever just so you can do your stupid power sets without having to wait or walk at all. Share!

3. Grunting. Just like No. 1 except it's also really gross. :(

4. Leering at the sexy exercisers. I always see creepy men just standing (or worse, sitting on equipment without using it) and watching girls do yoga or whatever. It's so perverse and sleazy!

5. Talking on your cell phone. It's like No. 1, but louder! Take it outside or wait until you are done. No one wants to hear about it.

6. Hanging out naked in the locker room. Maybe it's a fat older lady thing, but there is always someone just chilling naked in the locker room making me uncomfortable. It's one thing to change; that's what they're for; it's another to just sit there reading, doing makeup, talking butt ass naked! NOT COOL!

7. Sitting on exercise machines you aren't actually using. Everyone pauses between sets. That's no problem. It's when someone is camping out on a popular machine for a long time with no sets occurring that I get annoyed. Inevitably, this gym sin is combined with No. 1, 4 or 5.

8. Personal space invasion. This applies mostly to the locker room and group fitness situations. Invariably I give myself plenty of room in yoga class and at the last minute someone comes and sets up right next to me! The space invaders normal also engage in grunting. Yuck.

End of rant. For now. What have I left out? Do you notice other things that annoy you? Are you guilty of any of my gym sins? Am I being too hard on people? LOL!

Dads are Difficult

2011-05-20T07:26:00.000-07:00

Again this year I have no idea what to give my dad for his birthday, coming up. Or father's day for that matter! It's a struggle every year for Christmas, father's day AND his birthday! Men are so much harder to shop for since shiny jewelry is out. He has like a billion ties, doesn't wear cuff links and collects NOTHING. It's so hard!! Here are some things (or similar items in shops I've used) I've bought for him in the past:

Relatedly, check out my facebook page for a small bonus giveaway!

Blythnesday No. 1

2011-05-18T07:35:00.000-07:00

Wednesdays are now officially for Blythe at Things That I Like! I ordered some new Blythe clothes in the last several days, but none has arrived yet. Which sucks, because I am really bored of the default clothes. I have so many awesome ideas for photos to take once her new clothes get here!!

Also, my fiance bought a 3D printer recently. Once he gets it configured and we learn how to use it I hope to make neat plastic Blythe stuff with it to maybe even sell on Etsy. Wouldn't that be cool? In the meantime, cute things via Etsy:

Any Blythe enthusiasts have good ideas on where to buy new Blythe clothes? Or good communities to look at pretty Blythe pictures and share ideas? I am new at this, and am struggling to find good Blythe internet places.

Summer Red & Blue

2011-05-16T19:57:00.000-07:00

See the full treasury list here!

The Scrappiest Sketch 119

2011-05-15T18:41:00.000-07:00

I made this layout with pictures of my niece, Hazel. She's so cute!! All of the paper is from a super cheap walmart kit. lol. I also used letters from "The Girls' Paperie" which were sort of obnoxious because they weren't self-adhesive. Boo!

I used the following sketch from The Scrappiest #119. I don't have one of those super cool cutter things, so circle layouts are always challenging. I happened to have circles from the above-mentioned kit!

Regarding my giveaway

2011-05-15T08:56:00.000-07:00

There are over 100 comments and less than 50 valid entrants for my giveaway. A lot of people aren't bothering to read the rules! Just sayin'.

Blythe

2011-05-14T12:33:00.000-07:00

My Blythe doll has arrived! I still only have the default outfit despite my pathetic attempts at sewing this morning.

I plan on posting about one Blythe related post a week, but I'll try not to go to crazy!

I am seriously annoyed at my inability to sew. It sucks. I also wish I could find better online sources for Blythe clothes. There is great stuff on Etsy (ordered some already) but it's fairly expensive and fancy. I can't find a cheap, reliable place to buy like basic stuff!!

Clever gift/ scrapbooking tags

2011-05-11T20:28:00.000-07:00

Aren't these clever? I just wanted to do a quick post to feature this item because it's super cool.

There is a correct time for cleaning...

2011-05-11T07:35:00.001-07:00

I realized this morning that I get irrationally annoyed when businesses are being cleaned and maintained while open. It can't be that hard to clean when the business is closed. Obviously 24 hour places are exempt from my rage, as are places that need to be continuously cleaned. It's annoying when it's not necessary or when they want the customers to get out of the way of the cleaners.

It's so obnoxious to be at a gym or a restaurant or something when they are running a fucking vacuum right near me. And it's almost insulting when they clean up right behind you! Like when I get waxed I understand that they disinfect the table between each client (it's a good thing...) but it makes me feel gross when they disinfect it WHILE I'M STILL IN THE ROOM!

Cleaning supplies, particularly the kind businesses use, always smell incredibly gross and toxic. I feel like I am going to get sick just by breathing some of those fumes!

End of rant. I just wish businesses would make an effort to clean when clients weren't around.

Happy Monday!

2011-05-09T07:34:00.001-07:00

Contest Update!

2011-05-08T13:52:00.001-07:00

I've added a second bracelet to the prize pool for my giveaway! Go to this post and comment ONCE to enter!!

Alternative Bouqets by Jillianns

2011-05-08T10:37:00.000-07:00

I really like these button/ fake flower/ alternative wedding bouquets by Jillianns. I for sure want to have a neat bouquet made with fake flowers and buttons and stuff for my wedding!

What is wrong with my Etsy??

2011-05-02T20:58:00.000-07:00

I have not sold a thing from my Etsy shop in over a month! This is so weird. I don't have remarkably high sales in general, but it's usually fairly steady. I haven't had such a heinous gap in quite a while.

The weird thing is I have been unusually active on Etsy in the last month or so! I've listed lots and lots of bracelets, upgraded my photos, made a facebook, done teams, made treasuries, blogged... None of which generated a single freaking sale!

What is going on?? Does my shop just blow, or is the economy really that troubled? Any advice, sympathy, ideas, etc. would be greatly appreciated. I am truly perplexed and pretty frustrated.

Claimed my Facebook Page Username!

2011-05-02T08:37:00.000-07:00

As of today I finally had enough fans on my facebook page to claim my username!! Unfortunately Hell0Z0mbie was already taken (boo!) so I did Hell0Z0mbieJewelry instead. Oh well!

New Giveaway! Win a Bracelet!

2011-04-30T08:48:00.000-07:00

Win this bracelet! I am giving away AT LEAST this bracelet from my Etsy shop. For every 50 people that enter this giveaway, I will add another bracelet into the pot.

To win, leave ONE comment here. You get one entry just by commenting. Don't forget to include an email address I can contact you with. You can get additional entries by:

following this blog

following my book review blog

liking me (personal accounts only, no fan pages) on facebook

following my twitter

blogging about this giveaway

tweeting this giveaway

Leave only ONE comment, including all of the applicable extra entries you qualify for with applicable user names or links so I can verify this. I will randomly choose a winner on June 1st, 2011. Good luck!!

Edit: Lots of people aren't reading my rules above. They aren't *that* onerous, I suggest you follow them if you want valid entries!

Edit 2: 50+ people have entered so I am adding another bracelet (below) to the prize pool! I will add one more if I get to 100+ entrants before the deadline. I will draw three winners, the first will choose their bracelet, then second and so on. YAY!

Edit: Closed! Randomly selecting a winner now!!

Hand Drawn Owl ATC

2011-04-30T08:15:00.000-07:00

I made another ATC for a Swap-Bot swap! I need to mail it today I think, but I wanted to show it off here since I am really happy with it!!

In addition to hand-drawing the owl, branch and moon, I collaged a tiny bit and used some decorative tape and sparklies. Fun stuff! I hope my partner likes it!

Locks of Love Scrapbook Layout

2011-04-28T07:40:00.000-07:00

I used Sketch 117 from the Scrappiest as the basis for this layout.

The pictures are a before and after of my epic haircut. I got like 10+ inches cut off for locks of love!

Purple wedding

2011-04-24T09:19:00.000-07:00

Pending groom approval, I think I want deep purple as the main color for my wedding! It's probably my favorite color in general and it's awesome for weddings! Check out my purple wedding treasury!

I made an art!

2011-04-23T08:31:00.001-07:00

lol it's been awhile since I've done blending. See my previous post on how I've been using STATA instead of photoshop in my free time!

I made this blend for Blend Planet and cleverly missed the deadline to submit it. Oh well!

Neat shop: NausicaaDistribution

2011-04-23T08:17:00.000-07:00

What you may not know about me from my blog is that in addition to being crazy about scrapbooking, Etsy and crafts, I love economics and statistics! I have a BS in economics and work at an economic consulting company. I am taking online courses towards a masters in economics too, so my life has been all about regression analysis and STATA homework lately. I am sort of a huge nerd about this stuff! That's why this shop made me giggle in nerdy glee.

Check out NausicaaDistribution. It has ridiculously clever posters and plushies and other adorable statistics nerd stuff. I love it!

Retreiving Deleted Comments?

2011-04-22T17:32:00.000-07:00

...is there a way? I went to publish a really nice comment from Amy on this post but I clicked the delete button accidentally. Now I think blogger has permanently eaten it which is very upsetting. Is there a way to get deleted comments back?

Book/Library ATC for Swapbot

2011-04-14T08:12:00.001-07:00

Yay swap-bot! I am so happy to be renewing my obsession with that site. How much I want to swap waxes and wanes, but I have been enjoying paper crafts a lot lately.

Here is an ATC I made for a Book/Library ATC swap...

I am really happy with how the collage elements came out. I am not sure how I feel about the hand-drawn book at the bottom. I think if I were to do it again I would collage a photo of a book there instead. We'll see. I LOVE the deco tape here that I have been using in like all my projects lately lol!

Sketchy Thursday's 4-7 Layout!

2011-04-09T20:05:00.000-07:00

I used photos from summer 2009 for this week's Sketchy Thursdays layout.

I used paper paper from Echo Park's For the Record collection, decorative tape, sparkly gems and border stickers. Fun stuff! I can't figure out how to take a photo that doesn't distort the image!! As much as I rotate the image, it's still screwy.

Back on the Swap Bot Wagon!

2011-04-09T15:13:00.000-07:00

After a little hiatus, I have joined a few swaps on Swap-Bot again! Today I pulled together stuff for a scrapbooking pick 10 swap, and made some flower ATCs to send out.

I've joined a few additional ATC swaps. Yay! Anyone else on swapbot?

Scraptastic!

2011-04-09T11:48:00.001-07:00

I was looking at some of the amazing scrapbooking supplies/ephemera/embellishments available on Etsy... so inspiring!! Check out the treasury list I pulled together here or look at some I've selected below:

The Scrapiest Sketch 114 Layout

2011-04-04T20:42:00.001-07:00

I made this layout for The Scrappiest's sketch challenge. I used photos from a few years ago when my friends and I floated the Boise River. So cold!

The paper, chipboard, stickers, etc is pretty much all from a kit. I will post more on this kit depending on how a customer service issue gets resolved! Below is the original sketch:

As always, comments and suggestions on my scrapbooking are appreciated!

Mint Green Spring

2011-04-03T17:26:00.000-07:00

Spring Treasury

Show Me Blogs!

2011-04-03T10:26:00.000-07:00

I am looking for new blogs to follow! If you have a blog, or a favorite blog run by someone else, please suggest it for me! Specifically, I like blogs about:

Etsy stuff

Scrapbooking

Book reviews

Cute things

Crafting

Sketchy Thursdays Challenge Layout

2011-04-02T20:40:00.000-07:00

I am going to improve my scrapbooking skills by finding and entering cool scrapbook challenges! I was inspired to make a layout for Sketchy Thursdays tonight. I am super happy with how it turned out, although I don't usually use quite so much ephemera...

I used paper, tags, and stickers from Echo Park's "For the Record" collection (so fun!!), distressing ink, flowers, sparkly gems, buttons and decorative tape. It took forever, and I tried a number of variations on things before committing to it!

The photo is from my 2004 trip to New York City. It was a high-school graduation present from my parents... my mom, my favorite cousin, my aunt and I all went to NYC for a few days. It was super awesome. Here, my cousin and I are posing with the so-called Naked Cowboy in Times Square.

I am trying to find more scrapbook challenge blogs! Any ideas? As always, tips and critiques on my scrapbook projects is greatly appreciated.

Pro Tip for Bloggers

2011-04-02T08:03:00.001-07:00

...and all designers of web content.

IF YOUR SITE HAS AUTO-PLAYING MUSIC I WILL LEAVE INSTANTLY AND NEVER RETURN.

Optional music that starts OFF when a page loads is fine, but I do not want to be blasted by surprise music upon opening a page. Ever. No one wants to hear your blog. Just stop.

Purple Sweaters

2011-03-31T08:30:00.000-07:00

Is anything better? If there is a rule saying I shouldn't wear them all year, I'm ignoring it.

March's Epic Scrapbook Layout

2011-03-27T08:45:00.001-07:00

In March the thing I did that made it into the scrapbook was going to the Renaissance Festival! I have been going pretty much every year, it is so much fun! Last year, I bought a renaissance dress, and I wore it again this year. It was really warm out so I was pretty much dying. It is a big incentive to diet so I can wear a more revealing (and cool temperature-wise) costume next year! I have again blurred-out faces other than mine for the internet because I don't want to piss anyone off.

This layout was pretty unambitious of me... It definitely could have stood to be a little more elaborate. I also just wanted to finish it when I got to embellishing, if I had had more patience I should have gone out and bought flowers that matched instead of just using what I had at home. It definitely would have looked better if the flowers matched. Maybe next time!

Cupcake Treasury!

2011-03-26T17:31:00.000-07:00

Check out my new cupcake treasury! Looking & drooling is calorie-free! Om nom nom Cupcakes

Excellent Etsian: SublimeDragonlfy

2011-03-26T16:24:00.000-07:00

I ordered some whipped soap from SublimeDragonfly the other day and had to blog about it because it was so awesome!

The soap is sooo nice! It smells like strawberries in a delicious and subtle way. The texture is nice too. The packaging it arrived in was flawless, the package was prompt, and she included lavender sachets! YAY! The sachets are really, really nice.

This is seriously one of the best Etsy sellers I have bought from. And I shop way too much. I highly recommend checking out her yummy and adorable soaps and sachets! Here are some of the fun things at SublimeDragonfly:

February's Scrapbook Layout, etc.

2011-03-20T09:21:00.000-07:00

Last night and this morning I worked on February's scrapbook layout. I try to do a page a month, with memorable things happening in my life (I am enough of a dork to have included jury duty for last January's layout...). When I don't do anything worth commemorating or don't have good enough photos I typically just make a layout with pictures of my fur-babies.

In this layout I used a paper from a cats themed 8x8 stack from TPC Studio. So cute! The big problem here was that I didn't have on-hand any 12x12 paper that totally matched the cat papers. I like the way the grungy, stripey bit looks but I probably should have done something different on the orange on the outside. The different tone makes it look a little off. But I am fairly happy with it, I guess. Aren't my cats adorable? I never get tired of looking at their adorableness!

Also, I went to my favorite bead store in Tempe yesterday, and hit it like the hammer of an angry god. I did a lot of damage even though most of the store was 40% off AND I had a $20 for $10 groupon. Check out my haul:

These will start appearing at my Etsy shop in jewelry soon. I also got some beads for a Pandora knock-off bracelet for myself. Even the knock-off Pandora style beads are expensive, wtf?

Avocado Green Treasury

2011-03-19T11:54:00.001-07:00

Check out my newest treasury: Green for Spring.

January Scrapbook Layout

2011-03-19T10:38:00.000-07:00

This is January's layout for my epic, page a month scrapbook! It is pictures from one day of my brother's family's visit to Phoenix. We went to Encanto Park and did paddle boats and amusement park rides. Fun stuff. I blurred out faces that aren't mine because my brother would pretty much have kittens if he saw photos of himself on the internet, much less photos of my nieces. LOLZ.

Most of the paper and embellishments are from a kit, whose brand is escaping me. I feel like I got it from Walmart though. Now that I look at it again, there are definitely things I would have done differently. I would probably not have used the lace border punch outs on the borders of the lower photos, or distressed the edges there. That could be improved. Also, there is no contrast on the letters in family, they blend right in. Maybe I should have put them over a more distinct color of solid paper or something. I don't even know. Still learning, still in trial and error mode lol!

As always, comments and suggestions are greatly appreciated! <3

Christian Bale Blend

2011-03-18T22:16:00.000-07:00

...because blending is still awesome! And Christian Bale is hot, even though I think he is a pretty marginal actor! I used all my own textures and photos of Christian Bale per Hall of Blends.

Amazing Artist: Amborela

2011-03-18T21:10:00.000-07:00

I bought this super cool painting from Amborela last week, and hung it up on my wall. The shop has several similar paintings. I really, really like the creative way she combines fun painting with embellishments! It seems like it would be cheesy, but it really works and *I* think it's great art.

Here are some of the other cool things from Amborela's shop. It should be noted that service was awesome, shipping prompt and packaging above and beyond!

December Scrapbook Layout

2011-03-17T19:37:00.000-07:00

I think I ought to start posting my scrabbook projects here! I have my Epic Scrapbook, to which I generally add a page month. It really focuses my creativity and shows the highlights of my life! This is December's page:

It's showing my fiance and I's trip to Pittsburgh for Christmas. It was so much fun! We spent a lot of time with his family, who are all awesome, and went to the National Aviary and the Carnegie museums. The photos got way dorkier after the one of my fiance making a face in front of the penguins. I am pretty sure I molested a statue lol! I learned that fashion in Pittsburgh is much simpler than in Arizona. Wear a Steelers sweatshirt and you are totally good to go!

I am super proud of the way this layout came out! It is straight in real life, I swear. I just cleverly photographed it on a bendy surface. I didn't use any particular kit or brand, just what I had laying around. I printed the pennants off my computer and glued them on. This was the first time I tried distressing the edges with ink! I used a cheap painting sponge and brushed a little ink on the edges of the white colored paper. I think it looks so cool!

I am a scrabooking newb, any comments or suggestions are hugely appreciated!

Blue Treasury

2011-03-17T19:10:00.001-07:00

Blue Treasury: here. Also, I am participating in my first BNR... never done one before! It is here.

Neon Green Things

2011-03-11T18:22:00.000-08:00

New Treasury! Neon Green and Unusual.

The Mardi Gras Experiment

2011-03-10T20:51:00.000-08:00

I attempted something new this year for Mardi Gras. I did a "blitz" on Etsy, focusing my jewelry making on Mardi Gras items leading up to the holiday. I even tried fancy new pictures for my Mardi Gras items. All in all, I listed 37 (holy shit) jewelry items specifically related to Mardi Gras, and sold 5 of them. Almost all were memory wire bracelets. I listed the first of the series on January 13, and the last on February 21.

For the first time, I bought advertising. I bought one week of time on Craft Cult. That didn't seem to be too helpful. I spent $15 on the advertising, and during the week my ad ran I had one sale, and didn't see my traffic increase much, if at all. I would consider that part of my Mardi Gras Experiment a failure.

I feel like I tagged, photographed and described my items well because my Mardi Gras items were featured in no fewer than 18 treasuries! That was sort of amazing! I was super excited about all the neat treasuries I was included in.

The highlight of my Mardi Gras experiment was getting one of my bracelets featured in the daily Etsy newsletter on Mardi Gras! That was so exciting! I normally get 10-20 hits a day at my shop (sad, right?) but on that day I got over 400!! The next day it was an all-time second high of 93. LOL.

So all in all, I wouldn't do a holiday blitz like this again. I will instead focus on making few really excellent holiday items, doing a few different styles of photos to appeal to more treasury curators, and not buy advertising. I think experimenting with photography styles and doing holiday theme items is definitely something to keep up, but it might have been overkill before! I doubt I will sell many of my Mardi Gras bracelets before next Mardi Gras season. Oh well!

Stoplight colors treasury

2011-03-04T13:59:00.001-08:00

I made a new treasury! stoplight colors!

Wedding colors...

2011-02-27T08:20:00.000-08:00

How do you choose? Check out my full treasury here or look at my favorites, below:

Etsy Treasury Contest!

2011-02-21T07:35:00.000-08:00

I want to give a prize out, because prizes are awesome, but I'm going to make you work for it!! The prize will be the bracelet, by me, below. If at least 25 people enter, I will add another prize. If I am totally blown away by the entries, I may choose to allow the winner to select an item from my Etsy shop instead.

To enter, create a treasury on Etsy featuring an item from my Etsy shop. You must create a treasury with an item from my shop to enter, but you can get a bonus entry by blogging about this contest. Also, you can make up to 5 treasuries with my items, receiving one entry per treasury. Be sure to follow Etsy's treasury guidelines, such as tagging appropriately, using no more than one item from any shop (including mine!) and not including your own items.

I will be choosing what I consider to be the best treasury as the winner! I tend to like treasuries with clever selections, subtle themes and high quality photographs. If I am having trouble deciding on a winner, I may look at how many views and clicks the treasuries have received.

Comment ONCE here to enter, and include the following:

How to contact you (email address)
Link to the treasury (or treasuries) featuring my item
Link to your blog post, if applicable

Good luck!! If you have any questions about the rules, please ask me!! The deadline for this contest is March 31, 2011.

My Owl Themed Wedding

2011-02-19T12:08:00.000-08:00

Because my fiance has tentatively agreed to let our wedding have a (non-over-the-top) owl theme! It's totally fitting because owls are adorable AND my fiance loves owls, as evidenced by his awesome tattoo! Although owls will be so 2010 by the time we get around to getting married... Check out my full treasury here.

Also, I am totally lame for neglecting this blog. I am considering a cool contest (not a giveaway, I want to make you work!!) on this blog soon!!

Valentines Day Treasury

2011-02-05T07:38:00.001-08:00

I tried hard on my latest treasury. I wanted to make it a nice combination of beautiful photographs of cool products. Success?

Red & Cyan

2011-01-31T18:52:00.000-08:00

my newest treasury

Cute Kitties@ CrankyCats!

2011-01-29T08:27:00.001-08:00

I stumbled across CrankyCats.Etsy.com and was blown away by the adorableness. Dawwww. Here are some of my favorite cranky cats!

New ACEOs in my shop!

2011-01-21T06:52:00.001-08:00

Wow! New ACEOs! I haven't made any ACEOs for sale in ages. And, if I do say so myself, my technique is vastly improved. Check them out! I made a cupcake and a matryoshka doll.

Mardi Gras Treasury

2011-01-19T19:14:00.000-08:00

I made a new line of Mardi Gras jewelry! I planned ahead, got beads, made stuff, and even tried some new photographic techniques with it. It's really paying off so far, and Mardi Gras is still a month and a half away! I sold one bracelet, gave away a few others (business sense fail) and have beads to make some more if I have time.

So far my Mardi Gras jewelry has been in 3 treasuries!! That's so awesome! They are:

Throw Somethin' to me by AboutaBoyandGirl
Mardi Gras Magic in the Big Easy by HerbnDevelopment and;
Mardi Gras by LillyandLilly

Yay Mardi Gras!

Madonna Blend

2011-01-11T19:31:00.001-08:00

This blend is for Hall of Blends. It features pictures of Madonna, and my own textures. Not totally sure what I was going for here.

I Love Rainbows

2011-01-04T12:08:00.000-08:00

Apparently I really enjoy making rainbow bracelets and necklaces! I have a TON in my shop. The ones below are not even all of them, but are among my favorites. Check it out:

Uber Rainbow Memory Wire Bra... Hell0Z0mbie $16.00	Rainbow and Clouds Memory Wi... Hell0Z0mbie $14.00
Bright Random Rainbow Memory... Hell0Z0mbie $14.00	Random Repeating Rainbow Mem... Hell0Z0mbie $16.00
Pearly Neon Rainbow Memory W... Hell0Z0mbie $15.00	Small Rainbow Meta Memory Wi... Hell0Z0mbie $16.00
Meta Rainbow Memory Wire Bra... Hell0Z0mbie $16.00	Soft Rainbow Memory Wire Coi... Hell0Z0mbie $12.00
Simply Rainbow Memory Wire B... Hell0Z0mbie $10.00	Bold Meta Rainbow Memory Wir... Hell0Z0mbie $16.00
Silver and Rainbow Memory Wi... Hell0Z0mbie $14.00	Neon Rainbow Memory Wire Bra... Hell0Z0mbie $13.00
Bright and Bold Rainbow Memo... Hell0Z0mbie $14.00	Triple Rainbow Memory Wire C... Hell0Z0mbie $16.00
Rainbow Memory Wire Necklace Hell0Z0mbie $15.00	Double Rainbow Memory Wire C... Hell0Z0mbie $12.00

Generated using Treasury HTML code generator by Whale Shark Websites.

Jared Leto Blend

2010-12-31T16:17:00.001-08:00

Woo! I love it when blend challenge sites choose to use pictures of sexy men! This blend is of Jared Leto, and is for Blend Planet.

I used plenty of my own stock and none from anyone else. Tried a new style, not sure how I feel about it!

Tattoo Update (Phoenix Tattoo Artist Eric Skramstad)

2010-12-30T16:03:00.000-08:00

I realized that I hadn't posted newer pictures of my fiance's tattoo since my last post about it! Since then, it has been completely colored in and finished. It's so amazing! Click to see the whole thing:

I am definitely going to have Eric Skramstad do my next tattoo. He currently works at two tattoo studios: Love and Hate and his own shop, Fat Zombie. Seriously, this guy is amazing. Below is some of his amazing artwork for sale at his website:

Cool Etsy Shop: TonyaUtkina

2010-12-30T15:52:00.000-08:00

I absolutely love the items sold in TonyaUtkina's jewelry, which is creative and cute, but the shop really stands out because of the photography! TonyaUtkina has some of the best product photos on Etsy that I have seen... Really great use of props that add to rather than distract from the items being sold. Here are some of my favorites:

Calico Critters

2010-12-29T20:50:00.000-08:00

When I was little, my best friend Brooke had all kinds of Calico Critter toys. I envied them, but for whatever reason never got any of my own. OK, the reasons are probably that they are sort of expensive and I had way too many toys anyway. (Littlest Pet Shop FTW!) I was shopping for my nieces and realized that ~15 years later, Calico Critters still exist! They are so cute!! For Christmas I bought my younger niece the Cozy Cottage and the Squirrel Family, plus twin baby squirrels. For her birthday next week, I am sending the freaking adorable Hedgehog Family, the Guinea Pig Family Stroller Set, and the Country Living Room set. So freaking cute. Just to get a sense of the excessive cuteness, here is a lovely Calico Critter photograph I found on Etsy:

Go and google Calico Critters if you like adorable toys, or check out your local toy store!

See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil Blend

2010-12-29T13:42:00.001-08:00

Epic. I have had this idea in my head for while and I finally found the right photos in a blend challenge to use for it at Hall of Blends! The photos are of Jennifer Aniston (lol) and hopefully my idea comes across, in that the panels represent see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil. Deep. lol.

In the middle panel, the ear bandage is stock from autumnsgoddess-stox. The stitches in the right panel are from RedHead Stock. I used tons of grunge brushes from Keren-R and a bloodsplatter texture from Khaosdog and a few of my own textures. Way more stock than normal for me!!

December Featured EtsyBlogger Team Member

2010-12-22T18:07:00.000-08:00

I am a member of the EtsyBlogger team. Apparently, they feature one member each month and members are required to feature them. This month, it's Linda of Pruitthandcrafts.

Linda appears to have three Etsy shops. My favorite is her supply shop. Here are some supplies from it:

Natalia Vodianova Blend

2010-12-19T09:25:00.000-08:00

Another blend for Blend Planet, this one featuring Natalia Vodianova. I loved the photo where she is wearing armor. LOLZ.

I used tons of my own textures, and brushes from Coby17. The text is from a song by Groove Coverage.

Munnies and Lightboxes!!

2010-12-17T16:26:00.000-08:00

I have the best fiance ever. He bought me all kinds of awesome photography for Christmas, including light-boxes in different sizes and awesome lighting for them! I opened them today and immediately had to start playing with them. I think they will make Etsy jewelry photography easier for me. Below are two Munnies that I decorated.

This one I colored with Sharpie (bad idea, FYI) and decorated with pen "stitches," flowers, buttons and a little necklace.

This one I decoupaged with pages from a book! Also, painted the arms. Obviously. It came with glasses which I tried to paint black and totally messed up. So no glasses.

Karen Elson Blend

2010-12-15T19:07:00.000-08:00

So if this is the result of expanding my so-called style, maybe I should continue to lurk within my comfort zone! This blend is for Garden of Blends. The photos are Steven Meisel's photography of Karen Elson.

I used only my own stock and lyrics from Paparazzi by Lady Gaga.