1,000,000

Well, my computer is behaving again thanks to the husband, unfortunately I have little to share againthis morning. I've been extremely focused on the year end nonsense for the kids schooling and the shop has done little to grab my attention away from that.

I do have one bit of blogging news to share. I just noticed this morning that I just reached 1,000,000 page views! That's just crazy, right? Of course that did take like 8 years.  I feel like I should do something to mark the occasion, but haven't a clue what. Okay, how about a quick giveaway. Just leave a comment on this blog post and I'll pick a winner or two on Friday to receive a $10 credit in my etsy shop. I know it's not much, but I'm making this up as I type.

So, thanks for popping by my blog for the last 8 years. Hopefully I'll get it together soon and have something new and interesting to show you.

On Tumblr

After a bit of comment consulting I dove headlong into the tumblr world. I decided if I was going to do this, I was going to figure out how to make it look like I wanted it to. After much searching and trial and error I sussed out several details and got it to work like I wanted. As I shared my struggles on twitter, I got my first followers and after I followed a few people back I began to understand. I think it shall be a meeting of my worlds. I shall post tatting, listings, twitter things and wunderkammer posts. I'll use it for other things I run across that before had no proper place to be shared. So basically it's not nearly as time consuming as twitter, but closer to that than this. If you're interested my tumblr is here. I also added a link button in the sidebar too.

Let's see what else? Well, after I was satisfied with the tumblr project, I decided to buckle down and get some stuff remade that I've been ignoring for some time. I got one pair of barefoot sandals remade and began work on one of my gauntlet type bracelets. That one has only begun and shall be today's project as well. I also played with camera apps too...can you tell?  I've been very fickle with my time lately, taking breaks at odd times to do odd things, but it's left me less stressed than usual so I'm not going to break the bad habit quite yet. I'm going to revel in the oddness.

I don't have anything else on the agenda for today, but remaking. I need to feel a little more inspired or motivated before I get back to the sculpture project or the mask on the stick project. The slowness of sales lately has begun to rob me of my sense of urgency with projects. Usually I rush not only because I need to, but also because that sense invigorates me to. Now, I feel a bit like the tortoise, I'll get there, when I get there. Don't worry...I'm still moving.

Another Day

Another day, the same as before and little has changed. You might wonder why I bother writing every weekday when it is obvious that I have little or nothing of value to share. It's habit, my friends. When I began blogging I knew I had to make it part of my daily schedule or I would fail right out. I am a creature of habit and my day has a loose but clearly defined schedule that keeps me going from one task to another. Blogging is second in my day after feeding the cats. Seriously, you don't want to make them wait...I am severely outnumbered there. So every morning, Monday through Friday I sit down and my computer, check my email, look through a few other blogs and then start to write. I rarely plan what I'm going to ramble on about, I just know that I must do it.

Since it is my way, a quick recap of the day before is in order. Speaking of orders, I did have one, but that was it. Remaking the sold item was most of the day, but when it was finished I found myself staring at the computer waiting for something to happen. When it didn't I took to reading again. I finished the first book I downloaded and got a second based on a friend's recommendation. This one is a tad heavier with the first chapter written, um...it's hard to explain, but suffice it to say, it was a tough read with an outcome that seriously stays with you. I am not even finished with the second chapter yet and I'm certain it's not going to end well either. Point it, I'm reading...on my phone and I'm enjoying it. Today should likely be very much the same again. I have one piece to remake and then there is a family dentist appointment. Again, I hope for something interesting to happen to enliven my posts if nothing else. Once more into the breach.

In Which I Am Annoyed By Blogger

Well, that's it...I'm done. I have officially tatted everything that needed tatting. Sure, I still have those custom pieces I keep going on about, but honestly there's no real rush on those. I had some grand plan about tatting up a whole rainbow of moths to get listed, but I only ended up with just this one. On a slightly related note, how annoying is this new blogger editor? Seriously, I can get used to a lot, but I hate not being able to re-size a photo with a simple drag it smaller motion. I have to go and edit the size in html. Yes, I am aware of how easy that is. You know what's not easy, adding a link to a picture. I can't figure that one out for the life of me. I guess I need to go look at a previous one in html and copy and paste it to make it work because you know what else, I don't speak html...at all.

I'd like to say that was the whole of my complaining about the new blogger interface, but I simply haven't tried to do much else yet and I'm still a bit boggled over the not being able to link pictures. What I do like is the full view preview. This is particularly helpful since I have the three column thing going on and it is narrower than the previous preview so this one is actually accurate. So I guess I'm spending the morning searching for linking help and perhaps I'll just take the day off from tatting entirely. Okay, that's about as likely as me learning to rock climb, water ski and sky dive over the weekend. In case you don't know me well enough, it's not likely at all. All it takes is a few idle moments and I'll be tatting, it's just what I do.

Oh, I almost forgot, one nice little bit from early yesterday. I received a message on etsy informing me that my ankle corsets were featured on a site called Skirt as their Daily Muse. This was apparently also sent out to their users as a daily email. It didn't bring in huge numbers of views to the shop, but some and it is always wonderful to be discovered and shared. I think that about covers everything, new blogger is annoying, I've nothing to tat and I was on Skirt.com...yep, that's all of it. Have a nice weekend all.

note: I figured out the link photo thing by the way...apparently I'm late to the new editor, but I still don't like it.

Photo Unrelated

Well happy Monday my friends and a hearty Huzzah, I have slept. After my husband took over the weekend sleepover duties in the kids room, last night I returned only to stay for a mere half hour. They appear to have slept though the night, as have I. Of course there's all that sleep deficit that I'll be working through for the next week or so added to be a weekend full of weed eradication that gave me claw hand, but the task is complete and we have just those backsliding days to look forward to now.

I'm afraid I have no shiny tatting pictures to show though it is not for lack of working. There was much tatting over the weekend as I made up many moths and boutonnieres for an upcoming wedding. The only sad news I have to report, is while the hand dyed yard arrived and it is stunningly gorgeous, my monitor lied to me and it is far lighter than the pictures I saw. My husband kept chirping wysiwyg at me, but in the past the color difference from the images has been so slight as to be irrelevant. It's not a problem though, I had ordered some commercial thread in advance as a fall back position and it's shade is just fine if not as exotic, so that is what I used.

I also had another customer return to ask for a custom colored set. The pieces she wanted, while similar didn't really match so I offered to design her set a little more cohesively. She accepted so after today's home school sessions, I'll be designing a nice simple new necklace based on the Tenebrous sets. They themselves are based on a vintage diamond or square shaped motif so all I really need to work out is the best way to chop them in half and string them together. I've already got that worked out in theory, so it's really just about doing today.

In other news, I'm getting sick of my other blog, the Wunderkammer. Well not really sick of it, but rather enslaved to in. I've made both of my blogs Monday through Friday endeavors and with the Wunderkammer that means writing the day before. So the only day I have off completely is Saturday. I know, I don't 'have' to do it those days...it's not like I'm getting paid or even have more than the one project wonderful paid ad. Point is I'm starting to think of that one as a job...that I don't get paid for. It started because I was always making treasuries at etsy and this way they might actually get seen by an outside audience. I wanted to not only help out sellers that I thought were talented, but help other people wade through all the crap at etsy to find the interesting gems in this niche, but I guess I'm starting to feel like I need to get 'something' out of it. The simple satisfaction is not cutting it so much anymore. Is it wrong to want a little, I don't know...something? There really wasn't a point to this ramble, I just needed to vent. Now it's off to the tatting and I promise there will be pictures of tatting in the morning and hopefully a lot of it. In the meantime please enjoy this picture I took of a pair of dragonflies...in love.

Happy Blog-versary To Me

Two whole years of tatting projects, strongly held opinions and best of all so many new people met. I of course assumed when I began ranting, I would be talking to myself, hence the street corner description up there on the left. I was lucky to receive so many eager readers and future friends. To thank you for that, here is a one day anniversary giveaway. Just leave a comment and a way to reach you should you win on this post for a chance to win this limited edition necklace!And by limited edition, I mean I only have one more of these odd ribbon necklace pieces, so I will only be making one more like this...ever. You can share anything in your comment, but don't beg, it's up to the random number generator who wins this piece. I'll draw a winner before I post tomorrow morning and announce the winner then.

"But Pam, that's not really thanking all of us for reading is it?" No, I suppose it isn't, so how about a one day sale as well. Let's go with 20% off the entire shop today only. Mention the blog-versary in the notes to seller and I will refund the sale amount to you. I hope that you have enjoyed my ramblings and will continue to follow me in the future. I've come ridiculously far in these past couple of years, so I'm hoping that the future brings more of the same. Thanks again and good luck with the giveaway!

Ah, Memories

When I first started blogging it was for one reason alone, because the etsy forums told me to. That's right...in the beginning I spent most of my spare time in the forums, taking advice, giving advice, wasting precious time and amassing a head full of unexpressed opinions. When I started the blog, I let them out, the opinions, in a long stream of crazy. Well, the opinions weren't necessarily crazy, the stream of them however was. I bring this up because I got a comment on an older post yesterday and that prompted me to read that post. It's from July '08 and I of course remembered it only as I read it. I was defending the art of keeping some information to yourself regarding selling crafts. The extra funny is that reading it now I see all sorts of fortune telling in it. I spoke of wanting to get more tatters, but being glad there weren't so many that I worried of being copied. Seriously, if you follow my rantings, go read Proprietary and laugh a bit at it all. It was a time before this was my business and livelihood, a time before I had been copied and most laughable a time before I had done some of the very things that I warned against doing. Apparently the lesson was forgotten after I wrote it all down. Of course now that I have read it again, I am reminded, so maybe I needed that rant to come back. Who knows...it's still funny given what has happened since.

Again, I fear I have come to you with no tatting to bear. I finished a mask and began on some more of the secret project pieces. I have the two custom necklaces to get the hardware on today and after they have arrived at their new owners home, I can reveal both of them. I did however have a tatting dream. Okay, maybe not a whole dream, but in the twilight before waking I imagined a new mask pattern. What? It happens. This one will be a split ring design which is a bit ironic given how annoyed I get at split rings...always re threading the needle and whatnot. Anyway, it will be made in a split ring design in the vein of this necklace and I think I worked most of the particulars out whilst lying in bed. Of course it could all fall apart with the thread and wire in my hand, but them's the breaks.

I'll probably give it a go later today. I should also really order supplies soon. I am horrible at keeping crystals and whatnot stocked. Heck, I just ordered business cards once I was down to like a dozen. Lucky for me they came in time. Now, I'm back to thinking about myself before this was all a business venture. Oh, how the mind set has changed. I mean, I still tat and even design because I love too, but now I need the sales and I stress the competition. What a difference that license makes. I should have gotten it right from the start, legally of course, but I guess I am glad I worked up to this. I couldn't imagine jumping in feet first and trying to be at this level...would have drowned I'm sure...would have drowned. Well, back to the tatting then.

What A Week

Boy, the Internet is a strange place to live sometimes. Like so many others, I spent a big chunk of time glued to twitter yesterday whilst dramas real and imagined played out at the speed of sound. I did manage to get a few more pendant listings up, which means today I'll list just four more from the fair batch and then I'm all done. I've also spent a lot more time knitting than tatting the last few days. I guess I just can't seem to get back into my normal routine with all the extraneous events. Speaking of which, my husbands birthday is tomorrow, so if you know him, wish him a good one.

I know I'm rambling a bit today, I've got no cohesive thoughts to share, just an amalgamation of stuff, like this next story. Yesterday I asked the twitterverse why they were following me as I have had a bout of followers that I don't understand, they aren't friends of a friend or etsy sellers and I didn't get why or how they found me. This morning I saw a response from one of them, then they unfollowed me. I went to their twitter stream and I saw that they called someone so damn cocky at about the same time. Now, I have no ides if that was directed at me, but I got all defensive over it. I obsessed about it really for a good half hour. I wasn't even on the twitter when the response came in, so I couldn't react to it...yeah I know I shouldn't worry about it, but I live in the internet and I do like it when people like me.

What else...yes, I have found the perfect collaborator for the wunderkammers redesign and thanks so much to all of you who offered your kind help. I'm gonna keep it all on the down low until it's closer to fruition, but suffice it to say, it should look amazing. The project wonderful ad spot is also up and running and has made me a whole 3 cents so far. No, I didn't think it was going to make me rich, but it is amazing how well it just seems to run itself. I might even throw one up here one day. I do kind of like the idea of giving people really affordable advertising for their etsy or other micro businesses.

I do have another question to ask you all. I know some of you have used places like cafe press to sell merchandise. Do you have an opinion of any of the other similar companies, good or bad? I do still want to set something like that up for the wunderkammer and thought I'd cull your vast knowledge for information before I make a false step. Again, I'm not in any rush to get started on it, just doing a little groundwork first. I almost said legwork, but that seems ridiculous as I am clearly sitting down and don't plan on moving any time soon. So that's it for this week. Here's hoping no more icons die, Iran finds a little peace and the Transformers movie I'm seeing tomorrow doesn't suck.

Wunderkammer Ramblings

I've been thinking a lot about my other blog, the Wunderkammer, lately. It's mostly a labor of love for me, I don't get much traffic to my store or here from it and yet I have an irresistible desire to have it succeed. I get plenty of heartfelt 'thank you's' from those I feature, but what I really want, is for it to become a coveted honor or daily destination for those it was intended to speak to. So, to that end I've been thinking of ways to improve its traffic, its appearance and, well...it.

Yesterday, I took a small first step and added another element to my picking and posting process. Each item I pick will now be stumbled, stylehived and wist...ed. I can do these things fairly quickly and hopefully they expand the exposure of the items featured. I am also stumbling the wunderkammer entry itself. If you are into that sort of thing, I'd appreciate the adds. So that move increases the exposure for the featured artisan, but now I need something for the Wunderkammer itself. I don't want to join a dozen blogger network sites, because...well, they're mostly annoying. I did apply for project wonderful the other day, though I've not heard back quite yet. If approved, I'll had some ad spots with them to the blog and use any profit to advertise the Wunderkammer elsewhere, though I've no idea if that will help either.

The next thing I want to do is redesign the Wunderkammer itself and for that I need help. I know I have artistic and graphically minded friends out there and if anyone wants to help, I'd be grateful. The idea is to create a more appealing background than the plain yellow, but it shouldn't be distracting. It's also like to create a better logo and banner design using the current font and faded paper look as a base. I want something nice enough to perhaps open a cafepress or similar storefront to sell Wunderkammer merch. I'll be hitting up a few people for help, but feel free to volunteer. Though in the spirit of full disclosure, I'm horribly picky, so don't be offended if I choose someone else for the task. I figured that a small line of stuff might compensate said artist and myself a bit for the time spent, though I've really no delusions of making blogging profitable.

Any help, opinions or random useful advice is gladly accepted, if not openly acknowledged. Now I really must get back to the tatting.

Aargh

Well, I'm afraid that I'm not doing any better. The wind has been ridiculous and that has brought my seasonal allergies to an extreme level. I can't breath, I have a headache, a cough, an earache and my throat hurts. I know, whiny right? Sorry, but it's killing my creativity dead. I spent the day finishing a mask and getting started on remaking a pair of barefoot sandals. It is a damn good thing that I already scheduled all the post on the new blog or I'd be dropping the ball on it already.

I did do a little Internet searching yesterday trying to remember all the things I did to get the word out when I started this blog. I even ventured into the etsy forums...the promo section even, to try and drum up a little support and more potential finds. What happened there? Well, a whole lot of nothing. I got just a few responses and only a couple of them had any potential to be featured. My favorite was someone who claimed that their 'bookmarks' were different. Talk about grasping at straws. It's okay though, I remember how hard it was there to get any attention especially when you're just starting out. It's been nearly three years for me, so I guess I'm just over it.

I'll keep doing the legwork myself and I figure that if the blog takes off and continues to get attention, then people will find me. I have no illusions that it will become the next big thing, it's far too simple for that, but it would be nice to get enough attention to at least warrant it's continued existence. Of course I'm getting way ahead of myself as per usual. I think I'm just going to go and rest a bit now. Hopefully Spring is short this year and I can breath soon.

I Need A Nap

The weekend saw yet another flurry of activity. On Friday, I spent what seemed like hours picking a choosing etsy items for my new blog. Once chosen, I snagged photos and links and put together 2 weeks worth of Monday through Friday posts. I hope by doing them in huge batches this endeavor won't take up too much time and make my husband give me the stink eye over yet another project. I can't even claim this one will earn us any money, so I'm walking a fine line here. I was pleasantly surprised by the number of people who are already following the blog. Of course some of them are loyal friends, but there are a few I've not heard of at all, which leads me to believe that this blog may potentially fill a real void rather than just be another "finds" blog. Of course only time will tell.

On Saturday, I finally got the last skein of bamboo yarn I needed to finish the tatted scarf I've been working on. It actually took very little time to tat up, but waiting for yarn has stretched out the project to an annoying length. I finished it up and got it all pressed and it look wonderful. It's always amazing to see the warped and messy tatting turn into an intricate complex design with just a bit of heat and steam. It will be sent off to its owner today and I really hope she loves it. I do have most of the last skein of yarn left, but I think I might just crochet a little something with it rather than subject myself to tatting with it again so soon...though there might be enough for a simple collar. I don't know.

The mailman also brought me my winnings from ladyshuttlemaker, a drop dead gorgeous skein of purple silk thread. I'm a little torn though, do I make something to sell or something to keep? It is a moot point right now though, since I have a mask order to complete and since I've sold both pairs of my ankle corsets and my barefoot sandals, I've got a lot of making to do. On top of that, I think I came up with a new hairpiece design that I want to put together and I need to get back to making some simple pieces for the Maker Faire at the end of May as well. Add my crazy allergies, and my kids allergies to the list and I really am surprised that I am still upright. Oh well, it could always be worse, I could be bored.

TotusMel's Wunderkammer

I got completely sidetracked yesterday and started myself a brand new blog. I had thought about doing this for a while, but it was just idle speculation really. I decided to say something 'out loud' on twitter just to see what the reaction would be and it was good. This sent me on nearly a day long quest to design and create the thing. I didn't think that I would actually get it up and running by the afternoon, but I did and now you can visit my Wunderkammer.

The name was a gift from Libby Bulloff of exoskeletoncabaret , well mostly, so thanks Libby! It means a cabinet of curiosities and since I plan on finding the dark, romantic and steamy amongst the items at etsy it seemed a perfect name. The first post is up with some quick steamy finds and the second features some more Gothic beauties. My husband is afraid that this venture is going to take too much more of my time, but I'm hoping to keep it quick and clean. If it seems like I need a little help, I might seek some guest posters of like taste to keep the stress down.

The reason I wanted to do this finds was because though there are plenty of blogs featuring etsy items, mostly they stick to the cute or kitchy and rarely are they dark and sumptuous. While I am certainly no amazing archeologist, I shall dig and find what I like and probably what I cannot afford. I hope that I can provide a unique place to find some of the more unique things that etsy has to offer and perhaps elsewhere if I get adventurous. It's still pretty bare and I haven't filled up the sidebars with anything yet. I still haven't decided whether this would be a good spot to try out ads for the first either. I guess what I'm saying is it's a work in progress. If you have any suggestions for finds, just let me know through the email in my profile, I'm certain to need a little help now and again.

Alright, I Got Nothing

Seriously, I woke up this morning and searched my brain for anything to write about and I came up blank. No big events, pending projects or annoyances to rant about. There's still four days left on the Valentine giveaway and I shipped out the custom order that was vexing me so yesterday. So, yeah, I got nothing. I couldn't even seem to come up with a personal reveal to fill the space.

It's my own fault really. Nobody ever said that I had to write a blog post everyday, Monday through Friday. It was my own need for routine that landed me in this quandary. I know that it's about quality not quantity and some of my favorite bloggers post on a fairly erratic schedule, but no I must post.

Let's see if I've got anything to share...I finished up my custom order that included the red Victorious choker that I shared the other day. Much of the stress of the order was self inflicted as always. I really should have just sat back and clarified every detail before beginning, but I didn't. One of the results of that order was an additional piece without a home. An larger version of the Victorious choker in black. The biggest challenge of listing this plus sized piece was making sure that I worded the listing well and since I could not take a picture of myself wearing it I was left using pictures of the smaller version. It's a good thing I have all my twitter friends you were quick to offer advice on the subject keeping my embarrassment to a minimum.

I'm spending the day tatting up a mask or two, then perhaps I can get back to work on my tatted spat idea. Then of course there's the mini knitting combined with tatting idea to mull around and I've got to come up with a compelling personal reveal for the week. I think one thing is clear this morning. I have a hard time being brief even when I have nothing to say.

Happy Accidents

I spent most of yesterday in a sickness induced malaise. I literally sat staring at the computer screen for no reason other than I had no energy to do anything else. I really wanted to get something new tatted, but I didn't start feeling better until early evening. At that point I did pick up my needle and started working on some antique patterns just to get moving again.

I started with an edging that was too tight to lay straight, then I did a small rose from the center of a medallion. I wasn't happy with either piece until I threw them on the table next to me and I saw what they wanted to become. I added a small section of matching clusters on either side of the piece and I had this great romantic Victorian bracelet pattern.

It's a nice change of pace from the dark Gothic look of my last project. I also determined that the design will translate well to a choker as well. I think I may make the final piece up in the ecru or perhaps a light pick or lavender instead of my signature black, though I'm certain it will look great in black as well.

While staring at the computer screen yesterday, I also received not one, but two blog awards. I feel like I need to find something new to say when these arrive besides the usual, since I've said the same thing so many times already. I remember the first time I saw one of these awards on someones blog. I thought that there was actually some authority awarding these to merit worthy blogs. Of course since then I've discovered that there are as many of these things as there are people with rudimentary graphics skills and a desire to acknowledge others. Since they are awarded in a chain letter fashion, they are not so much an award that recognizes your skill as they are a thank you from a single person. Since I only read a few blogs with any regularity, and I have no desire in inundate those same people with awards every time I get one, I shall let these ones die with me as well.

I do want to thank those you gave them to me however. Lenox Knits was awarded the "Uber Amazing Blog" award and passed it on to me as wel as a few others. Congrats Lenox and thanks for thinking of me. You can also visit her etsy store here. Perpetualplum received the "Marie Antoinette" award and she passed it on to me and six others. Congrats and thanks to her as well and you can find her etsy store here. Thanks so much guys, I'm so glad that you enjoy my nonsense.

A Brave New World

I have made it a point to not mention religion or politics here as it has absolutely nothing to do with tatting or creating in general, though I suppose it could fall under the heading of nonsense. I am however finding it hard this morning to not at least acknowledge what happened last night. I feel like I am standing at a moment in history that will not only stand as a great historic event but a defining moment for a generation. I know that I will be talking about this time with my children as they grow up and I am hopeful that this will help to shape a better world for them to live in. I've no illusion of instant change and perfect solutions, but often the first step is the hardest part of the journey and we are walking now.

Alright, I think I've gotten that out of my system. I hope that didn't annoy anyone, but this is my one outlet for expression. Other than all the election drama yesterday was quite mellow. I started work on a new custom order that is proving to be quite enjoyable. I have been charged with recreating the design of a lost favorite necklace. The original was not of course tatted, but I really enjoy the challenge of trying to replicate other mediums with rings and chains. It is a gift, I believe, so I won't share anymore until after the gift has been given just in case.

I have also tried out a couple of the antique patterns I talked about yesterday though nothing has gelled quite yet. Sometimes I just need to be patient and look beyond the pattern. It is also quite a bit more difficult to read theses old patterns. It appears that there was no uniform method for pattern writing and many of them must be read all the way through repeatedly even before you begin to understand them In fact without the pictures, I think it might be impossible to tat some of these designs. I think I will have to rewrite them if I ever plan on remaking any of them more than once.

Oh, once more thing for the day. I have been gifted with another blogging award. I have also recently been 'tagged'. While I have no intention of playing along because I really dislike the chain letter nature of these things, I feel it is only right to thank and acknowledge those who like my blog and/or work enough to give them to me. I really am humbled by any acknowledgment of my rambling and my tatting. So thanks Jewelstreet for the award, that was lovely of you. Please visit her blog and store, she does make wonderful jewelry. Thanks also to CatherinetteRings from the steam team for tagging me, the rings at this shop are just so wonderfully unique and interesting. I do feel a bit bad about not playing by the rules, but since there's nothing anyone can do about it, I respectfully decline.

Que

Yesterday started out much calmer than Monday, but soon spiraled into a bit of an eventful day. But first I wanted to catch you up on something I didn't share yesterday. I met a lot of amazing artists when I did my tatting challenge and one of those artists was Waterrose. She creates beautiful embroidered felt cuffs and rings and she also keeps a very nice blog. She had approached me for an interview for her blog and I of course complied. Now, I've done quite a few of these blog interviews at this point and they are all pretty much the same stuff. I'm grateful for each one of them, but they get fairly redundant and boring. This piece is different. The questions she poses are unique, well thought out and frankly made me feel uncultured. So please check out the piece and share some love! http://waterrosez.blogspot.com/2008/10/artist-series-totusmel.html

Now back to the eventful day, I had been approached a little while ago by someone on etsy to have one of my masks featured in an article they were writing for an Italian website. I was a bit hesitant as I assumed it was some elaborate scam, but I provided the details requested and promptly forgot about it. Well yesterday whilst looking through convos, I checked the link she had provided prior to her article and low and behold it was now updated and there was my face plastered on the front page of the design section of this website Style.It. Of course then I had to scramble around to all my ports of call attempting to get someone to translate for me. Thanks to twitter and the forums, I was provided with progressively better translations. The most readable one, I think, from SteamTeam:

Halloween is at the doors. In the anglo-saxon countries they begin the preparations of customs, disguises, you decorate. Here it is relished the world of the gothic Victorian one, with an imaginary one of mysterious appointment, ruthless lady, men from the sharp canines... An atmosphere of inextinguishable affectation (to care of Francesca Fornasari)
Mystery in glam
A refined mask embroidered that frames the I turn, to impersonate the part of the mysterious dark lady... A secondary bijoux realized to hand from Quevedo. It is gained on http://totusmel.etsy.com and coast 58 dollars (43 euro about).

Other than that, it was just remaking a couple of sold pieces and crossing my fingers hoping my box arrived at its destination safely. I did get word this morning that it has safely arrived and now all my worrying can focus on whether or not it will sell in person as this is the first time it has been attempted.

Blogging Fool

I've been at this blogging thing for a relatively short amount of time, I don't even consider myself a blogger. I feel that term is reserved for people with a more journalistic approach to writing. So I was a little bemused at the inclusion of my advice in an Etsy Storque article about blogging. The advice was simply put and perhaps that's why it was appealing enough to include. Along side my short comment was plenty of very good advice on keeping a blog as a compliment to your etsy shop.

When I started, I had a literal ton of unexpressed opinions and advice to give out, but now that it's all out of my system, I find this space to be more useful as an outlet for more mundane musings on my projects and creative discoveries. When I had good advice, I got hundreds of hits a day, now it's considerably less, but that's okay with me. I've tried my hardest to not let this space become one long advertisment, to speak to other tatters and people who don't know what tatting even is. I like to think that I'm occasionally amusing or inspiring, but I'm mostly talking just to hear myself speak. I'm sure I'll keep at this regardless of the amount of comments or views I get as I've thouroughly enjoyed the people it has helped me meet.

I do have a little news on the store front to share. In just about a week, I will be removing many pieces from the store to send to the SteamPowered convention in Sunnyvale Oct 31-Nov 2. I'm hoping that they don't come back, so if there is something you've been coveting, especially if it's on the last couple of pages of the store, you might want to snatch it up or send me a message to hold onto it for you. Commercial over.

Verbal Vomit

I often think about what I will write here as I go about my early morning routine and if I am at all distracted by anything I will lose my train of thought and sit down in front of the computer with nary a thought. I will race through several topics in my head trying to pin down one that would make a cohesive post. This process has resulted in some of my most passionate posts, unfortunately it has also resulted in pieces of meandering verbal vomit. I really try my hardest, I usually skim through the various forum subjects looking for something that I have an opinion about, but after my treasury stint, I have broken my cycle of forum addiction. I merely visit, lurk for anything important and move on with my day. That is hardly enough time to get worked up about anything.

I've tried posting reviews, but I'm hardly a respected authority on anything so I feel like they are of little use to anyone. I enjoy posting about projects I'm working on, but rarely do I actually get the camera out while I am creating to document the process. I've though of posting tatting patterns for the people who arrive here whilst searching for free tatting patterns and there are quite a few of them, but I'm afraid they would be lost on the vast majority of those who actually read my blog, either they don't tat or if they do, they are plenty talented enough to not need my modest designs.

I'm actually starting to wonder if I shouldn't inject some sort of structure into the blog. You know, like review Friday or vent Wednesday, so at least I know what subject I should write about. I say this, but I'm fairly certain it won't happen. I can't even keep laundry day consistent from week to week. Oooh, while I was writing I just got my google alert and I've been mentioned on the Fashion Me Fabulous blog. Wow, I am rarely surprised by a mention, this one has my Victorian Lace Cuffs posted. Go check it out and leave them comments so I look popular! See, got all distracted and I've completely lost my train of thought. I'll just stop now as I am truly hopeless.

One Hundred

I didn't even realize that I was up to this momentous post until I actually logged on to write this morning. One hundred posts, wow, I haven't been this faithful about writing since I was an angst ridden teenager writing in my diary. I really don't know what to do to celebrate this milestone, but I guess I could share some numbers. I've had over 6000 different people read my words, even if it was just a half a second before they clicked on, they were here. Of those 3400 of them returned again and 1000 of those have returned an insane amount of times. I know that compared to some these numbers are really sad, but to me they are a lovely reminder that I occasionally have something interesting to say and I do a pretty good job of saying it. A sincere thank you to all of you who visit and read my ramblings, I hope that I continue to engage you with quality content.

Of course I was distracted by my milestone and now I can't remember what it was that I was going to write about this morning. You see, I usually come up with a few good ideas over the weekend and I write a rough draft of my posts in my head. I know that is not the most reliable place to store the information, but it usually works. If anything interesting happens before I reach the laptop in the morning, I can kiss all that creative thought goodbye and I end up babbling nonsensically about whatever I can come up with while I'm typing. The only reason I'm sharing this is because I felt you were entitled to an explanation for my short and sometimes off posts. So there you go, hopefully I'll return tomorrow with the good stuff. I'm sure I'll remember it all eventually.

I'm Back

Good Monday morning people! I wish that I could report that I had a wonderfully relaxing vacation, but I've come to realize that I will not be relaxing until the children are much older. Oh, don't get me wrong, we had a great time. The weather was amazing and the break from the usual schedule was much needed, but chasing a 1 year and a 4 year old around an aquarium for three days is a whole lot of work. I'm so exhausted that I think I need another vacation to recover from this vacation.

Well, back to business then. Over the weekend, a lovely etsian, Jess of LieblingDesigns began a new feature on her blog, Monthly Artisan Spotlight, and I was lucky to have caught her attention and am honored to be her first feature. You can check out the interview here. I was pleasantly surprised by her choice of questions that make for a much more interesting read than the stock artisan interview. I only managed to check it out on Sunday and I was also quite flattered by the comment left there. I'm consistently shocked to see people that I do not recognize, claim that they have seen me around and love my work.

Lets see, what else, well I was a little sad to come back from my trip and have no new sales to pack up. I guess I was a little relieved that I didn't have a stack of work waiting for me, but I had gotten so used to the nearly daily sales that 3 or 4 days with nothing has me all worried that my streak has been broken and I'll never get that back again. Of course a year ago I was happy with one a week or even every couple of weeks. I guess I've just been spoiled recently and I should chalk the consistent sales up to a fluke of timing. I haven't tatted in days either and even though my fingers are getting antsy, inspiration hasn't hit yet. I usually keep busy between new creations remaking things that I just sold, but since I haven't sold anything, I just need to imagine something new. Sadly, fish are not as artistically inspiring to tatting as you might think. Perhaps a net of some sort, oh I don't know...I'm so tired.