I FINALLY launched my new shop on Etsy. Sweet Escargot…
It’s been in the works since late last year. The name came from a nickname given to me by one of the Etsy Project Embrace members, a sweet lady from Israel named Orly.
The stand alone web shop is still in the works. Seems my coding skills are insufficient so it’s taking a while to figure out all the gory details. I’m hoping to have it done by early fall. (If anyone knows php well and wants to volunteer or barter some assistance, please let me know!)
I’ve decided to give away 5 nests instead of 3. Here are the winners chosen using a random number generator:
Comment #/Name
30-Lu
19-Damla
12-Abie
2- Kelly of The Lost Earring
24-Anna
Winners will be contacted by email shortly. Thanks to everyone who entered! Stay tuned for future giveaways. I’ll be doing them every couple of months.
I am so enamored of The Nightjar’s (Tarra Lyons) encaustic and oil paintings. They are truly wonderful. Even better, her reproduction prints are very affordable.
Are they not gorgeous? The Nightjar also has a new blog featuring some pretty amazing finds of her own.
I’ve been working on getting everything listed in my ArtFire Studio over the last couple of weeks. Almost everything is available there now as well as on Etsy. Artfire also has some really terrific options. 
For example, you can now purchase directly on my SHOP page securely without creating an ArtFire account. I’ve also installed the ArtFire Kiosk application on my Facebook fan page so purchases can be made there as well. Pretty sweet. (Edit – removed these features. Will be opening my own web shop ASAP)
Etsy Hacks are turning out to be pretty useful, too. What are they? Scripts for Firefox (via Greasemonkey) that add links and functions to your existing Etsy pages. My favorite is “copy listing”. It’s a real time saver when creating a listing similar to one you already have set up. Also pretty sweet. However, if you don’t like Firefox, they don’t have much to offer you.
That said, I think ArtFire will become my primary venue. Of course there will always be Etsy. It just makes sense to keep a presence there and there are some terrific people I would like to keep in contact with. Off to play with my widgets… ; )
It’s Monday (again) and there’s not much to talk about as everyone is busy preparing for and/or celebrating the holidays. Why are they ALL at the same time of year? Anyway, my new toy arrived over the weekend and all of you needle felters out there need to know how great it is. 
Last week I ordered one of these pretty little wood needle holders from GOTWOOL ($13.50). Sure, you could get the plastic single needle tool from Clover but wouldn’t you rather have a pretty, handmade walnut one? Honestly, not only is it more attractive, this one is much more comfortable to use, too. I didn’t even realize how badly I needed one until I used it. It felt more natural than struggling to keep a grip on a bare needle. Also, it’s a little less expensive than the plastic ones. What more could you want? If you needle felt regularly, you need one of these.
Oh, wouldn’t it make a lovely gift for the felter in your life? Yes. Yes it would!
(I do recommend the Clover Needle Felting Mat instead of foam for several reasons but bigger and cheaper would be better. If anyone has a suitable alternative, please let us know.)
