Carnival: Etsy and Me

A year and a half ago if someone asked me about Etsy – my response would be – “what the heck is Etsy”? Well I have learned a lot during that short time. One of my closest friend, Marion, http://mademarion.etsy.com, had started selling on Etsy and suggested that I look into it for my jewelry. Up until that point, although I had been doing various crafts for years, embroidery, quilting, crocheting, knitting, I had only just started designing jewelry – all of which I would make and give away. Even after checking out about Etsy, I really couldn’t imagine myself opening a shop and actually selling my work; but there I was signing away. Then they asked the ultimate question: What is the name of your shop? Something I hadn’t given much thought to. As you all know by now, I chose "MagdaleneJewels" – very befitting since I have always thought of Mary Magdalene as one of the strongest woman since the beginning of Christianity.
Totally uncertain of what to expect once my shop was opened, something I hadn't thought about, now I had to actually describe each piece of jewelry. I found this the most difficult because when I design a piece of my jewelry it is something that comes from within, a feeling, an idea in my head, and a little piece of me. Coincidentally, I have been working on a project with a few other Etsians with Marion Barnett, http://artmixter.etsy.com, who is doing research for a book she is writing. Marion took the time to look at my shop, making a few suggestions and comments; but what surprised me most was how she viewed my pieces as being very Romantic and Feminine, which completely describes me. So in that respect, I guess I have been successful in bringing forth myself in my work. My biggest success I think was doing a video showcasing the pieces in my shop – from that I have continued to get quite a lot of custom orders.
I can truly say what I enjoy most about Etsy is the friends I have made through the different teams I have joined; Bbest, Etsy Bloggers, and Plugger’s United. Although our crafts range in so many different directions, we have closeness, almost like a second family.

February Blogger of the Month:Donna Pool

This month’s featured Blogger, Donna Pool, is, according to “Etsy Bloggers” one of their very first members. So she rightfully deserves the honor of being featured. Her shop is http://DonnaPool.etsy.com. Although I often chat on the Blogger thread, I really have never seen anything from Donna’s shop, so it was a quite interesting proposition to learn about another one of our teammates.

As Donna’s profile says. “I make stuff. All kinds of stuff, but always something fun”. I definitely found this true as I browsed through her shop. There is a little something nostalgic for everyone as you step back in time. What first caught my eye was the vintage Argus Camera, who of us growing up didn’t own one of these.

I also enjoyed her vintage buttons, which according to Donna, were taken from her parents and grandparents collection of old Life and Look magazines. As she says:.”I make my vintage buttons out of recycled images from those because they're like preserving tiny bits of history...a fascinating little peek into the past.”

Donna’s shop also has some soft toys for children which she hand sews; along with some adorable photos of her cats, Sebastian and Snowflake. As always, one likes the save the best for last! This picture is my absolute favorite:

Love from joeyandaleethea

Happy Valentine's Day to all! A little blogger's Love from JoeyandAleethea

Carnival: Learning to do a YouTube Video

Tutorial: YouTube Video:

It doesn’t seem that long ago that we were just learning the mechanisms of a mouse and keyboard while still trying to figure out what do I do next! Then along came the internet, which opened up a whole new world to those of us who had just mastered the art of turning on our computers. Now we have absolutely everything imaginable at our fingertips. A whole new world of learning, research, chatting, shopping and marketing has opened up.
Then came "YouTube", where one can put any sort of video online for their friends to see. When I first saw some of the crazy videos people posted, I admit I was in awe of the whole idea, never thinking that one day I would be the one posting video’s on YouTube. The latest undertaking for some of us here at Etsy is YouTube! Is a great marketing tool for all of us here on Etsy; whether we are doing a video of our Treasury’s or showcasing our shops. I am posting the link to my YouTube Video to give you an idea of the prospects that this may lead to you. I choose which pieces I wanted to feature the added some music (U2), and you have a video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uM69mwGjq8
Ok, I will admit it cannot be summed up in two sentences. There is a little more involvement to the whole process. If you are interested, make sure you have Windows XP or Vista. Go to your Programs and click on Accessories. You will have either Movie Maker or PhotoStory3 already listed. Some may prefer another program called Photo Gallery, which can be found in your Programs/Windows Live/Photo Gallery. Personally, I find PhotoStory3 the easiest for myself. If you don’t have any of these, just Google which program you would like and then upload it to your computer. Once you have mastered that you are on your way. The rest is simple – just follow the instructions – upload photos- each Program will let you edit your picture once it is uploaded. Next, you can add titles onto each photo (if you wish); thirdly, you can add any song you may have already uploaded onto your Computer. A good program for this is Limelight. If any of you have teenagers, you can bet there are plenty of songs already on your computer. Oh yes, I almost forgot the most important thing, signing up with YouTube (doesn’t cost anything!) – www.YouTube.com. Now you are almost ready to start showcasing your work. When your photos are ready to be uploaded to YouTube, made sure you save them in a movie format. When you are finished it will ask how you wish to save it. My program says (save to computer for video), then add .wmv at the end.
Ex: PhotoStory2.Angel of Harlem.wmv
I should mention that if you plan to do a video of one of your Treasury’s, when copying the item you wish to show in your Treasury, also save it in one of your picture folders (I have one just for Etsy). Then when you are ready to start working on your video, you will have all the pictures from your Treasury ready to upload. I will be more than happy to help any of you. If you wish, I can “walk” you through the whole process.
Now that I have given you a sample a new marketing technique, along with a little tutorial, the rest is up to you. See you on “YouTube”!

Carnival - Valentine's Day - A Memory!

Valentine’s Disappointments

Looking at the suggestions of special memories, funny stories, disappointments, I thought how do you choose because I am sure we have all experienced all of these. Some of my special memories will always remain within my heart; but a thought flashed through my head, and I was taken back to my elementary school, 4th grade (actually it could have been any class, or any school).
I am sure you all remember the excitement leading up to Valentine’s Day. We would spend days before cutting hearts out of construction paper and pasting them on the walls. Decorating the whole classroom: balloons, posters, etc; while there in the corner was “the box”. A box that would come to life on February 14th, as it would begin to swell with all the valentines that would be stuffed in there that morning. I remember rushing home after spending what seemed like hours, picking out the perfect cards for my friends. Then I would rush home to start writing my cards. Of course, it was not an easy task, as I had to choose which friends would get the cards I liked the most, saving those of least importance for the “non-so-important” kids in my class.
The anticipation would mount as we would have to wait for the teacher to decide when the proper moment would be to pass out the much awaited cards; and wondering if we would get “that very special card” from the boy across the room. As the cards would be passed out, the smiles were intoxicating. Yet, when I looked up from the pile on my desk, my heart would start to break, as I would see a few of the “unpopular” or those not in the “in group”, attempting to smile, while holding back tears. And there on their desk would be maybe one or two Valentine Cards. Do you remember when the Scarecrow in the “Wizard of Oz” would say, “I know I have a heart, because I feel it breaking.” That is how I felt within my heart watching the disappointment on my classmates’ faces.
If only we knew back then the heartaches and disappointments that those little things in life can bring. How simple it would have been for me to write just one more card. I can’t begin to tell you the heartache I feel even now when I think back on how much we had to learn just to make a difference.

Wordless Wednesday - The Life!

January Blogger of the Month: Roseworksjewelry

As her banner says “Beautiful Jewelry for Beautiful Women”, Roseworksjewelry@etsy.com, has some beautiful creations. Ruthie, known mostly to us as Rose, has not only some beautiful pieces in her shop, but her creativity and designs make her work unique. One can find some intricate woven beaded and hemp bracelets, as well as some beautiful beaded earrings and necklaces. My favorite is her purple and black woven beaded necklace.

What started as a hobby in High School, just creating jewelry for family and friends, has turned into a full scale jewelry business for Ruthie. How many people do you know that can say they designed their own jewelry for their wedding – well, that is exactly what Ruthie did!

Besides making her jewelry, working on her blog, and of course chatting in the Forums, she has also managed to open a second shop with her mother, “KindredSpiritTreasures”; www.kstreasures@etsy.com, which has a few beautiful hand crocheted pieces, I especially love the choker I have chosen to show here.

Carnival Blog: My Goals for 2009

I am definitely not one for making New Year’s Resolutions, nor is setting goals for myself a priority. Oh don’t think I don’t try; or haven’t thought about it each year, but they are always just ideas which float within my head – never to surface. So as I think about this week’s Carnival topic, my idea and goals will have to come from within as I reveal my most inner thoughts. What comes to mind as I think about what I am going to write is the song by the Beatles: “Within you or Without you".

"Try to realize it’s all within your self, no one else can make you change”

For those who of you who read my Blogs and know me well, I have to say that I am always one who just can’t sit back and be quiet when I find things are just not right. So you will continue to see me writing about the many causes and injustices which have affected many of us this past year. Not just on the outside world, but within. Within, I refer to all of us here at Etsy. Last year we were met with the Government’s decision to attempt to pass the “Orphan Act”. For all of those artists whose work is listed on the Internet; writers, photographers, artists, designers, to name a few, whose work would become the public domain of anyone searching the Internet, unless we bought the copyrights to our own work. And yes, the money goes right into the pockets of those running the Government to cover their erroneous deficits caused by greed alone. Unfortunately, with all our petitions, the “Orphan Act” was signed into Legislation as a law in September 27, 2008. Now, comes 2009, and again, we, the many artists and small business are being “raped” by the attempt to pass another law CPSIA, Consumer Product Safety Improvement Product Safety Act”. This law will take effect on February 12, 2009.

Once again, we are met with the many restrictions the Government is placing on all articles, such as toys, clothing, pacifiers, jewelry, etc., which would be sold to children under the age of 12.

So as the Government once again attempts to take possession of our lives, work, craft, and art, I will continue to write articles on my Blog, which will bring these atrocities to all of your attention.

Yes, we can all sit back and say how horrible for those small businesses that will probably have to close, but as for me, I will look within myself, and examine my conscience as to what is right and wrong. As the song says “no one else can make you change”, well, they are right no one can make us change except ourselves. So as I begin 2009, my blog will once again reflect my ideals of what is “within my self” and help “to make a change”.

Wordless Wednesday: A Real Angel!

"a picture is worth a thousand words"

Carnival: The Atrocities of CPSIA

Those of you, who are well acquainted with many of the articles on my blog, know that I am definitely one not to let “Big Brother” take possession of our lives, work, craft, art, etc. I spent a good part of 2008 writing about the “Orphan Act”, which was finally passed on September 27, 2008. This law, which as of August 2008, was shelved after 2x being rejected in Congress; only to find that in Sept., The Senate and the House of Representatives quietly, amidst all the protests, signed a Bill which allowed the “Orphan Act” to become a law. For those of you who are not familiar with this Act, it basically, states that any work of art, publication, photograph, that you may put on the internet, will become public domain, unless each artist buy the copyright for their own work. It calls for the rights of anyone to steal the ideas, thoughts, emotional feelings that an artist brings to his work. If such an impropriety can be allowed to desecrate the ideals of today's artists, what can we expect for our tomorrows, and where does that leave the many craftsmen whose own work is an extension of themselves. Many here at Etsy, signed petitions attempting to block this from passing, since it would affect many of the artists we have here. Although it was shelved in August, the reasoning for it’s finally being passed, which the Government doesn’t make known, was to take advantage of the current crisis in Congress, and save big businesses, by trying to raise $700 Billion. Congress used this opportunity to bail out “business too big to fail” by very quietly passing “The Orphan Works Act” Legislation. Their reasoning is that it would force “us” (artists, photographers, crafters, illustrators, musician, songwriters, etc.) who use the internet as a marketing tool, to buy into Congress’s copyright. One of my many articles regarding the “Orphan Act”: http://sarastexturecrafts.blogspot.com/2008/04/new-copyright-issues-for-all-us.html
Well here we go again, just last month President Bush signed into law, the “Consumer Product Safety Improvement Product Safety Act”, also referred to as “CPSIA”. This law will take effect on February 10, 2009. Once again, we are met with the many restrictions the Government is placing on all articles, such as toys, clothing, pacifiers, jewelry, etc., which would be sold to children under the age of 12. The law will also regulate the manufacture of baby bouncers, walkers, and jumpers by March 13, 2009, and for all other children’s products by June 14, 2009.Unanimously passed in both the Senate and the House, it will allow Federal and State Governments to monitor and enforce all such products to meet the restrictions it will be placing on all consumer goods, whether made in this country or imported from overseas. Yes, it may sound like a practical and safety way for the Government to protect our young children from the poisonous content of lead which is found in many products, (the largest of which are imported from China); but once you break down all it’s provisions, it will be the small business will be mainly effected. Etsy, for one, which only sells handmade items, has many shops which make clothing, toys, teething rings, jewelry, knitted caps and gloves, just to name a few of the shops geared for small children. Since each individual item and the contents needed to produce that one item, i.e. dyes for handmade clothing or wools; paints for toys, etc, will need to be tested at a considerable cost to each of these small shops. I have been reading the many different threads on Etsy from concerned shop owners whose whole business will be affected and may possibly have to close due to the high costs being passed on these “handcrafted” items.
According to the “CPSIA’s” guidelines, the cost of testing each item could run anywhere from $300 and up. While failing to do so, the Government could enact penalties up to $100,000 per violation, with an overall cap on penalties will increase to $15 million. Lead content must be reduced to 0.06 by February 2009, and lowered even to 0.009 by August 2009. Also affected will be any product which contains Phthalates, a chemical compound used as a plastic softener used in certain products. It is reported to be a possible cause of reproductive or developmental problems because it mimics a natural hormone. Congress needs to allow an exemption for the testing of each and every individual product as long as they hold certification that the materials they use have already met their legal standards. Without this, the burden of testing products will destroy tens of thousands of small businesses, many of which are right here on Etsy. With the economy as it is now, causing so many to lose their jobs, “CPSIA” will totally bankrupt us a society, and put many of those whose shops are a showcase of “handmade” articles, an already dying breed of American culture. Don’t let “Big Brother” turn our country into a “communist culture” where everything and everyone is mandated by the rules of an overzealous Government.
What can you do? Click on the link below and sign the petition: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/economicimpactsofCPSIA/index.html
Write your senators, congress people, everyone...share this...get the word out.

December Blogger of the Month: SpottedCow

Miss Moo: Our December Blogger




December brings us to the close of the year, and so to finish off 2008, Spotted Cow has been chosen as our Blogger of the Month. So while we are all busy shopping and then come home exhausted with our feet killing us, SpottedCow’s shop is the place to visit. She has assembled some of her homemade natural soaps into great gift baskets; different Christmas scented soaps; a sugar face scrub (Candy Cane for Christmas) for our tired faces; and for our worn out shopping feet, we can be treated to her special assortment of foot care – one that looks especially enticing is her “Rosemary Foot Scrub” set.

Ms. Moo (as she is lovingly referred to among the Blogger’s), lives in Vermont. Among the beautiful mountain ranges, are the many dairy farms which make up Vermont’s main industry. So as a true native of Vermont, living among all those cows, Miss Moo, makes use of all that milk by handcrafting her own purely natural soaps. As you browse through her shop, you really don’t know whether or not to bathe with her products or eat them. And just in time of New Years, Ms. Moo has created “Sparkling Champagne Bubble Bath” (please do not drink it at midnight!).

Carnival - Christmas Traditions: The Tree!

PART I – The Tree!
I think the one time of year that traditions really hold as sacred is Christmas; or whichever Holiday you may be celebrating at this time. For those of you who have been following my blogs, you know that my sister and I were fortunate enough to be raised by our grandparents, which made for a lot of very old-fashioned traditions during the holidays.
My favorite memory is always the decoration of the tree. Being raised in an English (my grandfather), and Irish (my grandmother) household; they held to the tradition (when we were very young) that Santa would bring the tree as well as the presents. Of course, Santa would never arrive unless you were in bed by 8 pm – I guess they needed the time to set everything up. Always the inquisitive one, by the time I was 5, I figured out the secret. Hiding under the dining room table, hidden by my great-grandmother’s hand-crocheted tablecloth, I could sit and watch (unnoticed) as they rushed about getting all the decorations up and the gifts under the tree. When this was done, I would creep back into bed, only to wake everyone up at 5am for the opening of the gifts (yes, my kids got me back for that one! 5am every Christmas there they were). As we got older, the decorating of the tree still always took place on Christmas Eve. We would walk down the street to where they sold the trees, and my sister and I would pick out the biggest and fattest tree we could find; and my poor grandfather would have to carry it back up the hill to our house. Naturally the base of the tree was always too big for our stand, but nothing deterred my grandfather. He could come outside with the largest carving knife, and having my sister and I hold one end, he would be shaving the base of the tree with the knife in both hand. I would just pray that “dear God” he would still have fingers left when we finished! Next came the decorating; what a scene that was! My grandmother would be sitting in her chair by the fireplace, as my grandfather would be up on the ladder attempting to hang the lights. This was met with my grandmother’s comments, “there’s too many lights on this side; the reds are all together; no, move the green lights, etc”. Thank God my grandfather was the most patient man on earth. Once that was done, my sister and I would put the decorations on. A few of which were from my grandmother’s tree when she was growing up, and then the special decorations that were my sister’s and mine. Of course, we each had our own side of the tree, so it was a rush to make sure that the best ornaments made it to my side! Today, I still have a few of my grandmother’s childhood ornaments, which always go on last in a special spot on the tree. The kids, actually now adults, (but at Christmas they become kids again), still have their special ornaments, which they have accumulated since they were born. We all know though that no ornament goes on until Keith finds his very first ornament, a little bear surround by a train which moves. Once that is found and placed on the tree, we can then continue with the rest of the decorations. Lastly, our crèche is put up. My daughter’s favorite was a “precious moments” one, which went with her when she got married. Her husband refers to them as those “peanuts characters”. Although we always had a small crèche which went under the tree; a few years ago, a dear friend gave me the most beautiful crèche, which I keep up all year round and can be seen whenever one enters our house. Once that was completed I would string popcorn and cranberry garland which would then be wrapped around the tree, a tradition which has been replaced with the standard silver garland. Now all we needed was Santa to magically appear to bring the gifts which would be quickly opened on Christmas morning. Did anyone ever notice that your parents and Santa always used the same wrapping paper?

"Wordless Wednesday"

"we are all waiting for Christmas"

Carnival - The Christmas Flower

Narcissus Flower (Paper Whites)

When I saw the topics for our current Carnival blog, which gave us 2 choices to write about, winter flowers or brownies, I admit this was a tough choice. Since I have a craving for both; no, I do not eat the flower’s, but I do make the best homemade brownies. Which I will have to write about next, but for now my choice will be to write about the "Winter Flower".
To me it just doesn’t seem like Christmas until my Narcissus’ bulbs (also known as Paper Whites), have bloomed. I really don’t know how my love of this flower came to be, but for as long as I can remember I have been enamored with the flower referred to as the “December Flower.” Since it takes about 4 weeks for the bulbs to bloom, I usually start growing them around mid-November, assuring that they will be in bloom for Christmas. It is not exactly easy to plant bulbs in a house or should I basically say my apartment. I use a few wine glasses (the hock size works best), and fill them with small garden rocks, and then rest a bulb on top of each one, then add just enough water to touch the bottom of each bulb. Next comes the waiting part.
The flowers’ start to rear their little heads, sprouting through the top of the bulb in about a week. Somehow, call it divine intervention if you wish, but it always happens that my Narcissus’ flowers are completely bloomed for Christmas. The pure white beauty of the cluster of petals brings the most fragrant smell which fills my living room for the Christmas season.

A Smile for Saturday

Even our Kitty *Juelez* voted!

Carnival: Thanksgiving Memories

Thanksgiving - My Best Memories




Thanksgiving - age 5







I think the only way that I will be able to describe Thanksgiving is to relate through different segments throughout my life. Not one much for traditions, but a holiday of many memories.
I guess one could say I have always had a certain connection with Thanksgiving going back to the day I was born! I arrived at 7:30 pm on November 16th, a little unexpectively to say the least, as I have had to hear this story so often for as long as I can remember. So, as I was saying, I arrived quite unexpectively in the midst of my mother attempting to make an apple pie. Well the pie never got finished, and my mother had to dine on hospital food for her Thanksgiving (and my first). If that wasn’t enough, every year for my birthday parties, my family would put up Thanksgiving decorations, and my cake and party plates always had to have that dam Turkey staring at me! All I ever wanted was a normal cake with little flowers on it and Happy Birthday decorations. Believe it or not, I still have a set of plates from one of those parties’s. Well, not to be out done by my mother, my first child, Kelly, was a little Thanksgiving turkey! In fact, her birthday falls on Thanksgiving this year (the 27th). Trust me, she never had one little turkey decoration for her birthday parties. Her cakes always had to have little pink roses her favorite, which she carried through right down to her wedding day with pink roses on her wedding cake.







My 10th Birthday - notice the Turkey decoration in the background -I am the one standing with my back to the camera in the green dress!




Our family being rather small and since we lived with our grandparents; there was never any “Over the River to Grandmother’s House” for us. As I look back though, our Thanksgiving’s always started with getting that turkey in the oven first thing in the morning, since it always seems like an eternity cooking one of them. So as my grandmother and mother were busy preparing everything in the kitchen, my sister and I would be glued to the television, watching the Thanksgiving Day Parade. Which, as everyone knows, at the very end Santa would appear (and still does) and at that very second you knew it was officially the Christmas season. The most vivid recollection is that of the dining table before we ate. The table settings could have been a Thanksgiving dinner right out of “Victoria” magazine. It is always the delight of setting the table with my grandmother’s “Blue Jasper Wedgewood” dishes (of which she had ever piece imaginable), then the Sterling Silver place settings, which was originally given to my Great-grandmother on her wedding day; and of course the Waterford Crystal goblets. To make the picture complete, was the center of the table, which was always bedecked with a beautiful floral arrangement that my grandmother would order from our florist. Thankfully, a lot of these traditions and memories are still a part of our Thanksgiving now; as when my grandmother passed, her Wedgewood China, her mother’s silver, and the Waterford, were all passed on to my sister and I. Things I will always cherish!
I think though, (and my cousins will all agree) that the best Thanksgiving’s we celebrated were when we would all go out to dinner together. Not too far from our house was a restaurant called, The White Turkey! And most appropriately they mainly served turkey. My 3 cousins, my sister and I, (4 girls and 1 boy, all ranging in ages from 5-10, which meant there was only a year between each of us), dressing in our finest of velvet dresses, oh yes, and our grandparents would enjoy our Thanksgiving dinners there for a few years. I think what we enjoyed most, a memory we still talk about when we get together with our cousins, was the fact that we felt like adults, eating in this very exclusive restaurant. Unfortunately, as with most families, we have all grown up, and are living in different states with our own families; so it is up to my children (who are now all adults) to reminisce on our own traditions. Sorry to say, you will all have to wait until next Thanksgiving to hear the classic story’s of the Baker’s holiday traditions; or you will be reading my stories until Thanksgiving Day!

Wordless Wednesday

"Wednesday's Child is Full of Woe"

my daughter's first modeling picture

November Blogger of the Month - Storybeader!

This month our special Blogger is Storybeader. I think the nomination of blogger surely fits her. If Deb is not chatting in our Blogger Forum, she is busy blogging away on her website.
Storybeader’s craft is jewelry designing; primarily working with natural stones, and gemstones, which are highlighted by one of the many beautiful pendants her beads showcase. What makes Deb’s necklaces and other pieces unique in design is also her Haiku poems (which she writes herself) which although does not describe the piece it is written for, but gives the reader a sense of the inner artist at work. Haiku is an ancient Japanese art in which the poet/artist tries to inspire mood and emotion through thoughts and imagery; leaving the reader to explore their own experiences and perceptions. Deb describes herself as a “frustrated writer who likes to put words and colors together to make wearable art.”
I have chosen three of my favorite pieces of Storybeader’s jewelry, which truly show her artistic abilities.

She walked through the door

With the bright star reflecting In

her deep blue eyes – Storybeader’s Haiku for her Lapis Treasure Necklace.

Wordless Wednesday - Nov 5

The last rose of Summer from my Terrace Garden

Black Cherry Rose

I've Been Tagged Again!!

From my favorite little Blogging "Witch", http://agoodwitchtoo.etsy.com/. I have been passed this blogger's award. Which in turn I must now pass this "Butterly Award" on to 7 of my favorite Etsy bloggers. For those of you who don't know witchy's shop, she makes the most delicious soaps. When I first saw them, I didn't know if I wanted to sit in a bath with one, or eat it, or perhaps both!! Her blog is http://thecoppercauldron.blogspot.com/ - where you will find some of her very interesting blogs:
So here goes my dear 7 Blogging friends, 7 little bits of me that will now be blogged around the world:

1. My cellphone ringtone is "Freebird" one of my alltime favorite songs

2. My closest friends come from India, Italy, Iraq, and Phillipines (I do like American's also!)

3. Love Shopping - might as well be broke but loving it!

4. 4'10" size 4 feet (i'm part hobbit) and 36C

5. My kids and I love tatoos - I currently have 5

6. A tattoo on my butt!

7. Love my Etsy friends, as my boy's always say "It's Etsytime!"

1. http://roseworksjewelry.blogspot.com

2. http://www.uniquecommodities.blogspot.com/

3. http://www.sassalynne-at-etsy.blogspot.com/

4. http://www.joeyandaleetha.com/blog

5. http://www.vanfleetstreetdesigns.blogspot.com/

6. http://www.zudagay.blogspot.com/

7. http://bethpeardonprods.blogspot.com/

Now as you are mumbling under your breath, oh dear God, why did she pick me, because I wanted to share the little butterfly award, and get to know that little extra something about each of you. Oh, and don't forget to add the little blogging butterfly award to your blog, and mention mine blog in yours.