Things I've bought and LOVED on Etsy

I've found that Etsy is a wonderful marketplace for more than just jewelry (like mine - LOL). I've been very happy with my purchases - a handmade jersey shirt, crocheted washcloths and some fabulous "green" dog toys. Here are my reviews for those of you who may be afraid to take the handmade plunge...




Little Bits long sleeve shirt from http://www.ellainaboutique.etsy.com/- I LOVE this shirt and have worn it twice already. Hubby likes it, it fits well and it arrived very quickly. I usually wear a size M and it fits true to size. I think that the quality of these pieces is very good and worth the price.







Tug 'o War toys from http://www.woofpurrcreations.etsy.com/. My chocolate lab "puppy" -- she's a year old and still loves to chew, of course -- loves these toys. They are made with reclaimed tennis balls (check out the story on woofpurrcreations' site) and braided fleece in your selection of colors. Ginger is happy and she is eating fewer of my kids' toys, so we are all happy! Plus, this is a green solution. Everybody can feel great about this one. Customer service was terrific.




Handmade washcloths custom ordered through the Alchemy feature on Etsy from http://www.busymommyof5.etsy.com/. The picture is not of the washcloths (sorry, don't have one), but these little hats are adorable and show how great busymommy is at her craft. I received several washcloths in colors that coordinate with my kitchen perfectly. They have held up and do a great job. This is a very "green" alternative to paper towels! Busymommy's communication was great and her work was fantastic!

These are just a few of the great sellers on Etsy whose work impresses and inspires me!

Free earrings!

To celebrate my first month with a shop on Etsy, I'm running a giveaway for everyone who posts a comment about one of my jewelry items on either this blog (respond to this post) or on one of my spotlights on http://www.byhand.me/. I'd love to hear thoughts, critiques, whatever. One lucky person will get to choose a free pair of earrings from my store. The giveaway ends on 3/10/09.

You can find all of my pieces on http://www.magicmesajewelry.etsy.com/ or just follow the link on this page. Happy looking and thanks for a great first month on Etsy!

Signs of spring...

Every spring I get an itch to put away the dark colors of winter and pull out the brights and pastels. I just love color and love to wear it. This must have impacted my jewelry designing recently because everything I made was light, bright and cheery.

One of my new favorites is this loooong copper chain (37") with floating flourite and crystal beads, which I suspended with some fine copper wrapped wire. It was very time-consuming, but the result was just so neat. I love how the open links make the necklace airy and the stones add just the perfect amount of extra color and sparkle. I'm so glad that I had some time to play with wire! I've been obsessed with this type of necklace since seeing one of my favorite actresses wearing them constantly lately.

Baby Turns One!

I took a break from jewelry, work and blogging this weekend to properly celebrate my little girl's first birthday! She was just adorable and loved her "flower cake" decorated with bright, beautiful flowers.

I was able to take pictures with my new camera because our lab *ouch* chewed the other part of the power cord, goodness knows how she found it!

So, the dog ate my camera.....

Well, not exactly. She did chew the USB cord the other night, which is seriously slowing me down in terms of listing new items. I have several new things to list, including some chunky glass bead bracelets, earrings and a beautiful new obsidian and peridot necklace with an intricately wire-wrapped pendant.

Lucky for me, I found the cable I need on eBay and it is on its way to me as I write. Thank goodness for eBay!

Time to search for a new au pair

Well, as a working mom with two kids and a full-time law practice, I need solid childcare and we've been using au pairs for the last three years. It is very afforable and has been a good experience overall. Our son, who is four, has learned so much more about foreign cultures than I ever imagined and both kids become quite attached to the girls.

We are now about six months out from the end of our current au pair's year and are starting to think about reapplying and interviewing someone new. For legal reasons, we use an agency, Cultural Care Au Pair, www.culturalcare.com, and that way we have no worries about visas, taxes or health insurance. The cost averages out to be about $320 per week for 45 hours of live-in care and light housekeeping.

We also register on Great Au Pair, www.greataupair.com, so that we can informally look through more applications and sometimes you can find your own au pair and then get a discount when they sign on with the agency as a "pre-match."

This is a sad but exciting time, because we hate to even think about losing our au pair but it gives us time to think about what our kids will be doing in the next year and what new and different qualities the new person could add to the kids' experience. Garrett will be getting close to starting school in the next year and Carly will be going through potty training. Wow. Anyway, I'll be sure to give updates on our progress from time to time.

If you are interested in the au pair program, let me know and I'll happily give you more info.

Wow - my earrings are the featured item on byhand.me!

I was surfing around my various sites today when I noticed that my earrings are the featured artisan item of the day on http://www.byhand.me/! My jaw dropped and I was overwhelmed with happiness. With all of the hard work I've been putting into my new Etsy.com store and various marketing activities, not to mention designing and making my pieces, this was so validating.

For anyone who is working on internet marketing or an online business like mine, I highly recommend byhand.me. My page views have increased since I joined and even though it is a brand new site, it has a ton of potential. I've been so impressed by how dedicated the creators are to making it user friendly and helpful to the handmade artisan community.