SATURDAY DEC 27 2008

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. We had lots of fun, but other than 'Mo' it was pretty quiet at our house. Mo did really well at opening his presents, but after a month of practising I should hope so...LOl.

A couple of days before Christmas one of my daughters friends brought over and adorable puppy and Mo and he (TANK) played for about 5 hours straight. There were a few nips and a few angry snarls but in general they did quite well together.


On a Christmas note, I got a BOSE speaker IPOD dock so now I have awesome tunes in my house again. Of course I wait until my hubby is out to crank it but then out comes the old school music and lots of bass and head bangin' (well not really but I do like my music loud...thanks to my mum!!!)

Anyway enjoy the pictures and have a HAPPY NEW YEAR...see you in 2009!!!!!!!!!!

December 13, 2008

Wow, how time is flying...only 11 more sleeps til Christmas Eve. I used to love Christmas so much, I was always going to parties and having people over, but so many friends don't live near me anymore and others are home with their families so it has been tough to get into the Christmas spirit, but once I started shopping it helped...one day I must sign up for a twelve step program for shopping addicts but I love it!!!

But even with the economy as bad as it is around here, I am amazed at how many people have gone all out with their decorations. Our neighborhood has some fantastic displays and our house looks pretty awesome too thanks to my DH!

Mo has been practising opening presents in preparation for the big day. He is doing great but does tend to crush the cookies or whatever I have packed up. LOL. He is just too much fun. Forces me to go out for walks as well...but NOT today. It is getting so cold and we are in for some temps that we have not seen around here for 20 years. So definitely hang out in the house, sit by the fire and watch some DVDS kind of weekend.

I have closed my etsy store down until Jan 5th!!! It is kind of nice knowing I don't HAVE to go out to work...kind of like taking a real holiday!!

anyway thats it for now...HI JHEIRA!!!!LOL...thanks for looking at my blog on a regular basis and sorry for so long it took to update it, I will try and get to it a little more often!!! HAPPY HOLIDAYS.

November 2nd, 2008

Hi there, hope you all had a great Halloween. After 3 days to decorate the outside of my house we had a blast. Not as many kids as normal but so many in our subdivision are growing up. I had my daughter and her friend dress up and hang out with us for a couple of hours as live actors in my scary scenes...they did so well!!! We had a fog machine going and they would appear out of the fog, or follow people very closely!!! Wonderful, just love scaring people ( I got that from my mum)!!!


Then there was me, as usual I had to go for as ugly as possible!!! The teeth were too fun.....poor little kids they just never know what to expect.


As for 'Mo' (my dog) it was his first halloween and after the initial barking at me, until I spoke he was good as gold with the trick or treaters, had to be in the thick of it...but here is a pic of him waiting for that next doorbell!!!



Wow only 2 more days until the election, it certainly is going to be interesting!!! It is my birthday this month, I am feeling SOOOOO old....but at least I still look a little better than I did on Halloween.

I have some new listings up on ebay, you can find me through my seller name which is the same as on etsy, it is rufusandroxy.

Hope you all have a wonderful week and I will chat again soon!!!

October 14th, 2008

Man, I just don't know how the days keep flying by so fast. I think for me, after I turned 30 the days went by way too fast!!!

Already mid- October...time to start getting my halloween decorations up. Since I have so many animated ones, I wonder how 'MO' will do with them...bet he won't like the life size talking butler...LOL.

Speaking of Mo...this was a few cute shots I got of him with a chew toy the other day.

Been working on Christmas beads lately, here are some pictures of some of the ones that have sold on etsy. Many more to come!!! Debating whether or not to start listing some beads on eBay again, it has been a really long time since I did, but I kind of miss the auction/bidding rush!!







Have a great day.
Amanda

MO, Palin, and life in general

Well first some positive thoughts. Having a blast with my dog still...he is getting HUGE!!! 6 months and he hit over 50 LBS. Lots of energy which is good, since it means I am losing weight with all the playing and the walks. Enjoy the new pics.


As for our politics...well I must admit I think Palin looks like a really nice, fun and animated person, but I really don't think she could handle being president if something happened to McCain. I don't think I have ever watched a vice presidential debate before, but I, as so many others was glued to the TV. She is brilliant at avoiding answering questions, and obviously did some work on getting to remember some foreign policies and names...but come on....vice president I dont think she is!!!

Going to be a pretty interesting 30 days to see what this all comes down too.

I am in full swing in my etsy store. This is my busiest time of year. Had lots of custom orders to work on...but also managed to keep the store stocked up. Some fun Halloween beads are available, and I should have some more Christmas beads this week.

Have a great day all.

Amanda

Mo (the DOG) and IKE Sept 13, 2008

Well first off...my thoughts are with all of those people in Texas and Louisiana that got hit with IKE. Wow it sure makes me grateful to be living where we are in the Pacific Northwest.

My sister and her husband are just outside of Houston so we were all pretty concerned about them, my parents heard from them this morning and there are trees down and no power but everyone is okay.

I have been glued to CNN for the past 2 days.....must be a disaster junkie.

As for our new dog..it seems everytime 'MO' goes to bed he wakes up bigger. He is now about 42 LBS and is going not even 6 months yet. It is amazing how many people just love him and he definitely is not going to be much of a guard dog for me unless he licks them to death. He loves to ride in the car, visit everyone who is willing and his favorite stop is the coffee shop where the girls treat him to Whipped Cream.

Anyway enjoy the new pics and good luck to all of those who have suffered massive flooding and damage.

How our LITTLE dog has grown.

OMG....he is only 19 weeks and he now weighs close to 40 LBS. He is still lots of fun...quite needy..LOL...but that is my fault. I am so happy his ears have dropped. Anyway not too much else going on. Happy Labor Day to all and enjoy because after this weekend all the regular !#%!#%! begins again.

Amanda

Wow how he has grown, August 13th, 2008

So, our new dog has had all his shots now and on his last visit to the vet he had gained 5 LBS in 1 WEEK!!!! Yikes...so he is not a whopping 25.9 LBS at 17 weeks. He is in doggy daycare for his first 4 hour interview today, gives me and the cats a break and lets him hang with his doggie friends.

Here are a couple of the latest pics.





I have lots of new bead listings up on etsy. Some great deals in my SALE section too. I am accepting custom orders again, so if there is something you want, just let me know.

I can't believe school starts again in about 3 weeks...this summer went SOOO fast.

Anyway, thanks for stopping by and have a great day.

Amanda and (MO)

New Dog, Vacation Etc....

Wow, long time since I updated my blog. I guess first big news is about a month ago my daughter and I aquired a puppy...he is a mix of 1/2 german shepard, 1/4 boxer and 1/4 pitt. He has been so much fun but what a handful....24/7 seems to be the name of the game for keeping an eye on him. Here are a couple of pics from 3 weeks ago.


We went on a road trip this past week down the Oregon Coast...me, my daughter, her friend and MO (new puppy), he was incredibly good, loved the car and slept most of the time down on the floor...no problem in any of the pet friendly hotels and so many people stopped to talk to him along with many dogs...we did not have any problems except perhaps his need to chew anything with his very sharp puppy teeth.

He has grown about 10 Lbs in 2 weeks since his first vet appointment...even my hubby when we got home after 6 days could not believe how much he had grown
...






And the other adorable pictures are from a visit we had from a wonderful 2 year old pure bred Great Dane called Maggie....Mo thought she was so much fun to play with until she plopped down those GIANT paws on either side of him. She had these great hanging jowls that Mo was having a ball trying to bite...LOL...pretty cute. Anyway enjoy and I hope to be updating more often with some beads as Mo begins to be able to be watched a little less....heres hoping!!!!

We Have a Winner

Congratulations to TJMETZ for being the winner of the draw for the 25.00 gift certificate to my store. Thanks to all of you who entered.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend. I had my first out of town student come in for the weekend to learn lampwork bead making. She was a wonderful student and turned out to be a natural...one of her beads looked like something an accomplished bead artist would have made.

Starting the wind down for summer now....still don't have the summer weather, but at least it is not too cold...average seems to be around 68 degrees here.

I am looking forward to the GAS conference coming up in Portland, Oregon in a couple of weeks...get to go and hang with a bunch of glass fanatics for a few days.

Have a great week and I will talk to you soon.

CHANCE TO WIN A 25.00 GIFT CERTIFICATE...JUST READ THE INTERVIEW AND LEAVE A COMMENT!!

If you have a minute to check out my interview with Donna...add a comment you could win a 25.00 gift certificate to my store at The Craftier Side. GOOD LUCK...Draw will be on May 26th!!! ENJOY.

Donna's Etsy store is located at Mill Creek Designs!!!




I have some of the best customers in the world...but Donna has been buying beads off me for years and I don't know what I would do without her. She is not only an extremely talented jewelry designer but she is a very kind and caring person, who I have been so lucky to get to know. Thanks for all you do Donna and I hope we will be doing business for many years to come.


Q: How would you describe yourself?

A: A little bit crazy, fun-loving, caring person who tries to be happy as much as possible. Life is too short to not be happy.


Q: How did you get involved with making jewelry, are you self taught or have you done classes?

A:It all started when I needed some lanyards. After pricing some online, I decided that I could buy the supplies & make them myself. It was in 2004 & I taught myself. From there I started out making earrings, then started making bracelets. I have looked for classes in my area for jewelry making or learning to make lampwork beads, but there are not any in my area.

Q: How long have you been designing jewelry?

A:Since 2004

Q: Do you have another job outside the home, if so what is it?

A: Well, my job is being a wife & mom to 3 boys. Before I had my kids, I was an accountant at a CPA firm & before that I ran the office of a local jewelry store. I have to say though that my current job is the best & toughest job I ever had!



Q:What other hobbies do you have?

A: LOL!!! This may surprise you, but I enjoy hunting. I just love to get out in the fresh air & enjoy nature. I also like NASCAR racing & since 2 of my sons play baseball, I like to watch them play.

Q: What are your favorite materials to work with?

A: I don't really have favorites, but I do like the nicer things...lol!

Q: What is your favorite thing about etsy?

A: I like the fact that you can just buy something you want instead of having to bid on it & all of the people are really nice. It is also great that everyone on etsy is into art/crafts.

Q: If you could change something about etsy, what would it be?

A:I wish you didn't have to sign in every time you pull up the site. Other than that it is great!

Q: Do you take custom orders?

A: I do take custom orders, but I have never advertised it. I guess I really ought to put that in my listings.

Q: If someone is interested in purchasing your bracelets, where can they buy them currently.

A: Right now I have bracelets listed on etsy & ebay. I have thought of doing a web site, but just haven't been brave enough yet!

Thanks!!!!

Thanks to you too Donna...it was fun to learn some new things about you. Good Luck with your etsy store and you know I will be back to buy some more of your gorgeous bracelets to add to my collection.

Congratulations to AIMEE for winning the contest

WE HAVE A WINNER.... :)

AIMEE DARS was the entry that my daughter picked out of a hat...thanks to all who entered.

She is the winner of a 25.00 gift certificate to my etsy store.


Have a great day....off to contact AIMEE. Here is a link to her blog and to her wonderful etsy store.

Amanda

INTERVIEW WITH ETSY SELLER FLASHWITHCLASS

When I first started on etsy I needed a banner and an avatar...I happened upon this store with really great ones. This store was FLASHWITHCLASS...Not only is Erzsebet an extremely talented graphic designer and jewelry designer, she is also a very kind and generous person. She has done ads for me, many extra avatars, and she and her husband were the people I hired to design and host my website and I could not be happier...so thanks Erzsebet for being such a lovely person to work with.

These are a few of the designs she has made for me!!!


So lets get started shall we.

Q: How would you describe yourself?

A: I am very visual, and study deeply whatever interests me. At high school I had A+ grade from History, Literature and Art. I won several awards in the field of ethnography. However, I hardly could pass my final math exam. That’s me!


Q: How long have you been selling on Etsy...do you have more than one store?

A: Since January of 2007, and I have one shop.


Q: Are you a fulltime crafter or do you have another job that pays the bills?

A: Yes, I have another job; I am in the web business: designing, developing etc.



Q: What other hobbies do you enjoy?

A: Apart from having a five-year old??? Jazz, going to bead shows, walking with my daughter and listening to her, having friends around, taking the newest Adobe classes –they always have something new!-, and traveling.


Q: What are your favorite types of jewelry/crafts to make?

A:Necklaces and I always check out your shop to buy those wonderful focal beads that you make to jazz up my creations.


Q: How much time do you spend making your crafts/jewelry a week/day/month (whatever applies)?.

A: Not as much as I would like: hard to say, because my “real life job” is very unpredictable.

Q: Do you remember the first thing you made?
A:I made a LONG necklace from apple seeds, and I eat apples days & nights to collect the seeds. No wonder that my family was relieved when I switched to melon seeds!

Q: Do you take custom orders and how would someone go about making a request?
A: I do take custom orders, they can reach me through the etsy conversation system store

Q: If you could improve or change anything about Etsy what would it be?

A: I would hire an outstanding company to run usability testing before any kind of major new features went live on their web site. This way many problems would be eliminated before the users run into the issues.

Q: How do you promote your Etsy store?

A: I haven’t done much promotion apart from the Forums, but I have excellent loyal customers, and they promote my shop.


Thanks so much Erzsbet for taking the time to talk to me today...you do wonderful work and I could not be happier with everything you have done for me in the past year!!!

Thank you,
Amanda!