Just a bludger or two...

Ever feel like you've been wacked a few too many times with a bludger or two? Or maybe a bludger bat? Yeah, I've been there. I definitely felt like that last night after working a 12 hour shift (talk about major yuck!), but I'm coming back from it today.

We played our last Quidditch match over in HSKS group on Ravelry today. We lost, but it was SO close and we got through it so gracefully that I feel like we did a really great job. I was captaining, so you know that's a trainwreck waiting to happen, and half of our team were volunteers from other houses, and we definitely couldn't have done it without them.

Related to that, I've got Skype now, and learned to use it to do group calls today, fun times. SO, if anyone out there has Skype and wants to be my Skype friend, lemme know. :D

Other than all the swap madness, and working, I haven't really been doing a whole lot else lately. I'm starting to get my mojo back for my Etsy shop, now all I need to do is put that mojo to work! Too bad it can't work without me... :D

What I Really Should Be Doing Instead of Writing This Blog Post...

I should be making things. The House Cup is on break until May, so I've got all sorts of jolly free time, and what am I doing? Not that much. :)

I am working on a line of knitted amigurumi for my Etsy shop and I'm pretty excited about them. I'm working on the second, and I want to have several of them finished before I list any of them for sale. I'm hoping to have one to preview on my Facebook page in a few days.

Other than that, I'm hoping to start my first sewing project soon! I've got some fabric that I had bought a while back to make a laptop sleeve out of. I've since changed my mind about the laptop sleeve, so I've decided to attempt to make a knitting needle roll. I have a pattern, so it shouldn't be too hard. Except for the part where it's sewing. !

I also should be working on my HSKS kit...which reminds me, I need to blog for that. And then make something for it. I have a bunch of ideas, which I can't really go into, since someone might find this and be spoiled. Lets just say it's going to be TOTALLY AWESOME.

And now I'll go watch A Very Potter Musical instead of craft. :)

Knitting Geekery!

X-posted on the Etsy Owls blog, someone on Ravelry showed me one of WineMakersSister's awesome mugs and I just had to blog it! And I added a few other fun things too :)

Fall Scarf Fun!

The weather lately has been wonderfully cool, finally! It snowed in Colorado a few weeks ago!!! (right after I got back from there, of course *frown*)

Cool weather makes me start dreaming of pulling out the long sleeves, coats, sweaters, and scarves. I've been rearranging my Etsy shop lately to showcase some of my favorite fall designs. Here are a few of my favorite fall friendly scarves. There's a ton more where these come from, so check me out! :)

White Chocolate, $18

Mardi Gras, $30

Cirque, $25

Team ESST's August Weekend Shopping Extravaganza!

My supply shop, PiratesDreamofPearls (that I share with PresentsforPirates and KnitandPearl ) is a member of teamESST, or the Etsy Supply Street Team. They have these awesome Weekend Shopping Extravaganzas, and they have one this month! Come check it out for some great specials! Click 'this month' for the official Promo Thread on Etsy.

Here's some info from the TeamESST blog:

ALL ETSY SHOPS - HANDMADE, SUPPLIES AND VINTAGE - are invited to participate by placing an announcement in your shop and joining in with promoting on the "Official" Promotional thread in the Etsy Forums. This will be a “Shopping Event” similar to a Public Marketplace. There will not be a "Overall theme" since Etsy is a Global Marketplace hence, the seasons, cultures, holidays, etc. can vary quite a bit. Although not required, we do strongly encourage shops to have a feature, theme or sale as this can pique interest and help you to draw people to your shop. You do not have to participate for the whole weekend simply join in when you can on the Promo thread in the Etsy Forums.

My sale is 50% off Storewide! And US buyers who spend $25 after discounts get free US shipping. Yep, yep! Come check it out! I'll be adding new items all weekend!

Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade suenosdejmi.etsy.com

I have a Facebook Fan page!

I'm not sure why, but sure enough, I have one!

Now I know this is exciting news, and I really hope that I can use it as yet another promotional tool ( Twitter, anyone? ). I've managed to get some photos uploaded, and the next step is getting people to fan me, right?

So what are you waiting for???

Also, while you're clicking some fan love, be sure to check out my friend Squarejane (of whom I have fan page envy) and also our Etsy Owls Team fan page.

Yart Sale Sneak Peek...

So, I'm working on planning what I want to do for the Yart Sale in my various shops, and here's what I'm hovering around thus far. Let me know what you think!

Dreambirdphotos:

$2 5x7 prints!

Yep. Every 5x7 in shop: $2. How crazy is that?? This is a $5 savings per photo.

Also available: $1 4x6 prints!

suenosdejmi

$5 fingerless gloves

$5, $10, and $15 scarves!

Average savings per item: 50% off!

Here are some of my scarves, check back later for exact sections to see the savings!

Go Wild with Etsy's Yart Sale!

Have you heard about the Yart sale?



It was started last year by one of the teams I'm in, the Etsy Supply Street Team. It started as a little bitty idea but expanded so much, and last year's Yart Sale was huge! It's basically a gang of people offering fantastic sales, think yard sale, but with gorgeous art instead of that junk in your garage :)


Of course, this year's will blow last years away, because this year's sale gets one of the coolest teams on Etsy- us! :)

We've decided to participate this year as a team, it won't be our entire team, but I'm hoping it'll be a good amount of us. You'll be able to see our items by searching etsyowlsteam + Yart and before the sale we'll post all of our sales on the blog for a look see, too!

If you're an Etsy seller, you should participate! For some awesome information on how to do that, check out the Etsy Supply Street team blog for all the latest information and also this very helpful article on the Storque!

See you at the Yart Sale!

Summer Sale of the Week!!

Since the summer heat isn't very good for my line of business, I've decided to have a Summer Sale. Each week, I'll feature a different type of item on sale for the entire week. To start it off, I'm starting with my fingerless gloves!



Get any pair of fingerless gloves for only $5! That's 50% off on average, and $10 off of this pair!


Prices have NOT been adjusted so please wait for a Paypal invoice before completing payment or convo me for a special listing


Buyers from the US and Canada: If you purchase more than 1 pair, or any other item with the fingerless gloves, you'll get free shipping on your order!


This sale starts right now and will run until Sunday, May 31st at 10:00 PM Eastern. A new sale will begin at that time, and the Summer Sales will continue until August!

I'm Going Crazy!

I'm getting involved in so many things, I might be spreading myself too thin! But it's all fun stuff!

One thing I've joined is A Granny A Day. The object's simple: Make a Granny Square every day and share it. :) I've yet to share a square, but I'm working on my second one (I just joined a few days ago). I'm thinking I'll make a lapghan and sell it in my shop. Check out the awesomeness that's in this group, the color combinations are so inspiring!

Amigurumi Madness :)

Since the warmer months are upon us, I've been looking for ways to still crochet but not make as many scarves. Lets face it, people just don't buy scarves in the summertime!

So, I've been working on various ideas including fingerless gloves (which are in many ways a year-round item) and amigurumi.

On my days off when I'm sitting at home doing lots of Owls and other Etsy stuff, I keep the television news on all day. All day long today I've been watching the outcry over the unveiling of Bo Obama, the new First Puppy, seen below. This is an adorable little doggie, and I think I could make the cutest little amigurumi version out of him, so I think I'm going to try it. :)

Also, a few weeks ago, I made Toledito (shown below) and when I did him someone mentioned making a Highland Cow version of him. I decided this might be the cutest thing EVER, so I added it to the to-do list. I mean, look at Toledito and then the below picture of a highland cow. Wouldn't it be the cutest thing ever?? We'll see!!

For the Love of Frida...

There are some of the coolest Frida Kahlo-themed items on Etsy. I want them all, so much! Have I ever mentioned I love Frida Kahlo? I love Frida, seriously. Always have. This entry highlights some of my absolute favorites. Click on the pictures to see the listings on Etsy.

This one is from http://six06.etsy.com/ and is a print of an absolutely gorgeous painting! She's incredibly talented. I also have fallen in love with Loteria, it's not a Frida print but it's gorgeous, go look!

The below print is from http://teetee344art.etsy.com/ It is a print of an original painting as well, and I love the way you can see the texture of the canvas in the print. She uses some beautiful colors too!

http://minimalista.etsy.com/ is one of my Spanglish teammates, and I've loved her shop for quite a while! Her Viva la Frida tops and bags are just precious! Here's an example, but there's so many more than this one!

This is an art card from http://catboxartstudio.etsy.com/ She has an absolutely gorgeous shop full of prints, cards, jewelry, and other Dia De los Muertos and Frida Kahlo inspired pieces.

There are so many gorgeous Frida Kahlo themed items on Etsy, these don't even really begin to cover it. Click here to see a Frida Kahlo Etsy-search! Viva la Frida!

TeamESST's First Weekend Shopping Extravaganza

The destash supply shop I have with presentsforpirates and knitandpearl-- PiratesDreamofPearls is a member of a supply Street Team on Etsy teamESST

Every month they have a First Weekend Shopping Extravaganza, where they host various sales over the weekend and invite other Etsians to participate. Participating at least one day is a requirement for the team, but the best fun is participating all weekend! Check out this Etsy thread for great specials all weekend long! And be sure to visit me too, I'm on the very bottom of page 24 or you can just see my specials right here!!

In my crochet shop, I'm offering 25% off your purchase and Free US shipping on orders over $20 (after discount) (Code FWSE in Notes to Seller) Sale ends Sunday night at 10:00 Eastern time! I also have a new 'on sale' section where the items are priced at 50% off original prices. This weekend you can get an additional 25% off those already reduced prices! Here's the section:

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5002728&section_id=6042712

In PiratesDreamofPearls, I'm offering Free US shipping on all the times that are mine in the shop. Here's a link to them:

http://www.etsy.com/search_results_shop.php?search_type=user_shop_ttt_id_6155163&search_query=SDJ

Happy Shopping!

World Autism Awareness Day (x-posted from the Etsy Owls Blog)

April Is Autism Awareness Month, and today is World Autism Awareness Day, and in honor of that, we're trying to do a little something extra to help out.

One of our members, lalala08 is participating in Autism Speaks' Walk Now For Autism in her hometown of Lehigh Valley, PA and we thought that would be a great cause to contribute to! So, some of our members are donating items to the team shop at OfftheWall and we're giving 100% of the profits from those items directly to the Lehigh Valley Walk!

There's a wide variety of items, including crochet, felt, drawings, photography, jewelry, and more!

Most items are autism themed by either having a puzzle piece, using primary colors, or both, as shown in this posting! Click on any picture to be taken to the listing on Etsy!

Also, Etsy members who have a loved one impacted by autism might be interested in joining Etsy for Autism

Follow this link to learn more about Autism and what you can do to help

April Fools Day SALE!

Mega-SALE TODAY and TODAY ONLY! The only April Fool is ME!

For April Fools Day only, I've marked almost all of my shop down at least 50%, with over a page of items marked at 75%!!! Get scarves for as low as $4.00, and fingerless gloves starting at $5!!! PLUS: Free US Shipping on orders over $25 WOW!

75% off!

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5002728§ion_id=6031189

50% off!

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5002728&section_id=6031191

Etsy Buy Handmade suenosdejmi

Sneak Peak into Coming Etsy Listings

I finished this little guy last night and couldn't resist taking his picture! Everyone I showed it to kept trying to get me to list him right away, at 2 am! I've decided to save him for my upcoming listing spree, probably starting around the 1st, but I thought I'd go ahead and unveil him to his adoring public. Look for him in my Etsy shop starting next week.

Gearing up for something awesome...

So, I've been pretty busy trying to create a bunch of different items so I can have a bit of a listing spree, a binge if you will. :) The last listing spree I really had was in February, and I posted about it on the Etsy OWLs blog and also on here. In the end, I ended up making it 9 days, listing 8 new items and one item renew. It was pretty exciting!

Well, this time, I'm gearing up for it several weeks in advance. I hope to have 7 or 8 new items ready to go by the first of the month, and then start listing, one, maybe two a day. It's going pretty well so far, I've completed two items, and almost have a third one finished. I also have a small pile of items, maybe 4, that need finishing touches, a scarf that needs felting, one that needs buttons sewn on, etc. I'm hoping to do all of that really quickly over the next few days, so I can be ready to go!

I'm really trying to hammer into a regular blogging routine, but I haven't gotten there quite yet. April's really going to help with that, as it's Autism Awareness Month, and since autism is something close and personal to my life, I'm going to be blogging about it a lot during April. The Owls are making items up to put in our team shop with all the profits going to Autism Speaks, and I'm really excited to be taking part in that coming up starting in about a week or so. I also belong to Etsy for Autism and I have a lot of plans to blog about various shops in this team during April too. So, hopefully this will help me get more into blogging! Stay tuned!

Kokeshi Madness!

So, I've recently fallen in love with Kokeshi dolls! I just blogged about them on the the Owls Blog and made this gorgeous little kokeshi themed collage with Picasa

I got here because of Beladonna who makes the most precious little kokeshi dolls. Takara (pictured above top left) is made by her and is my absolute favorite. She's having this awesome giveaway where you can win one of her kokeshi dolls for free on her blog and it's so easy to enter, you have to go do it! I'm so inspired by the absolute cuteness of these dolls that I'm attempting to crochet them. :) It's going to be exciting, for real!

Here's links to all the shops featured:

http://beladonna.etsy.com http://retroattack.etsy.com/ http://myverybutton.etsy.com/
http://stephaniefizer.etsy.com/ http://isabellsumbrella.etsy.com/ http://purpledaisies.etsy.com/
http://bamboobaby.etsy.com/ http://temple7e.etsy.com/

on the second try...

So after last night's entry and posting my first squash, I tried again.
And I still got squash! I guess I just have squash on the brain. :) I've decided to name these guys Buttercup and Hubbard (Buttercup's the short, plump one...) and put them on sale on Etsy. They are $10 for the pair, as after taking this picture I couldn't bring myself to seperate them...and can be seen by clicking the title of this entry or by clicking here.

If you want one of your own, and only one, I can make one special squash just for you. Just convo me and we'll get squashing!

I like Veggies...

I'm trying to get better about blogging about some of the stuff I'm working on, as I work on it, versus after it's finished and already on Etsy. In a harvest frame of mind, I've been thinking about pumpkins and squash. This was my first pumpkin, but he decided he was a squash instead. :)

I just finished this little guy and wanted to share. Look over the picture, it's late and the best I can do. :)