My Everything Corner

This is officially the third shop I am running on Etsy. I know at least a few people will consider me to have completely 'lost it'. To those people I say, 'Oh well, I do what I do to keep me sane in an otherwise insane world." Of course there is the first shop and the most serious of the three, 'Blue Jeans Jewelry' , and then there is my daughter's shop, 'The Crafty Gecko' , and since she refused to share her little space on Etsy, (and I can understand why), I opened up 'The Crafty Bug'. This new little shop will be for all the little extra things I like to do. I tried paper quilling sometime ago, and decided to start with these cards. Etsy is far more than a place to try and sell your wares, it is a creative community, that shares ideas, opinions, and life in general. It is fun and inspiring to see what everyone is busy creating, and to share the things that I am doing as well. Of course, getting the sale is rewarding too. After all, the ul...

Canada is getting ready for Fall. Whether we like it or not, (and I love it), we are at the end of our short summer. I will take a short summer any day, as long as you give me a nice, long Autumn. What is so great about this time of year? Well, the list is long, so have a seat, (if you haven't already). I doubt anyone can argue me that Nature's colours are at her grandest during this season. Not only do we still have flowers blooming, but the leaves against the much more crisp blue of the sky is breathtaking. Our lake has taken on a beautiful, hazy green hue. If you have a vegetable garden, there is nothing quite like filling a bowl with fresh carrots, red potatoes, green beans and my favourite, red-off-the-vine tomatoes. OK, so what, the colours are amazing, well, how about those clothes? Beautiful, chunky knit scarves, hats, and sweaters are everywhere. I don't care what size you are, we all look better in a sweater. And I've never seen a gal that didn't...

Some time ago, I was browsing Ebay and came across the Vintage Jewelry Section. In it was a remarkable necklace, that I just had to have. A new obsession was born. I started to look for other pieces as unique and beautiful. Some were part of a collection being sold, and so I ended up purchasing several of these collections just for one or two specific items. Most of the items were in good condition, but some had seen their last days as is, and needed to be upcycled into something new. So started the idea to start designing my own pieces. While researching techniques, I came across the world of wire jewelry, and the possibilites were endless. Both of my young children will be in school this fall, and finding a job that allows me to come and go as I please seemed very unlikely, and so 'Blue Jeans Jewelry' was born. A small business to focus my energy on while my kids are busy cutting the apron strings. Things started off slow, but are now gaining momentum, and just in tim...

As I was working on the computer this morning, updating my jewelry shop on Etsy, my daughter, now 7, announced that she definitely needed her own shop. She said she new exactly what she wanted to make, and then begged me to create a shop for her. I was quite uncertain, at first, that this was a good idea. After doing a bit of light reading in the Etsy 'Do's and Don'ts' section, I was convinced that my daughter had a great plan. Running a shop under a parent's supervision could become a great learning experience. Little did I know that while I was teaching her about the cost of shipping and materials, she would be teaching me just how much she understands about people and their lives. The first card she came out with said, 'Who put stickers on the wall?' . She then explained that this card would be for the person who knew a child that was forever getting into trouble, and this could be their way of showing them that they loved that child...no matter wh...