Strike a deal with her

So this weekend has been a good one for my Etsy shop. I added two new necklaces and worked on some of my older pictures to get them a little better and brighter.
I really feel like my photography is improving, but it's not perfect yet. Thanks to Lisa, and some folks on the Etsy forums, I've picked up a lot of tips that seem to help.

To share just a few: I now have two halogen lights specifically for pictures, and they are those tiny adjustable desk lamps so I can position them just where I need them. I stopped using incandescent bulbs because they gave me a yellowish glow over everything. And Lord knows we can't wait around for a sunny day here in Seattle to photograph items!

The other thing that's really helped is adjusting my camera settings correctly. I now use the Macro setting, which allows me to get sharp close-ups, and I've adjusted the white balance slightly so that it looks like more of a natural light (even when I am photographing under just the lamps and it's dark out). I'm using a Canon PowerShot SD20 from 2005, so it's not exactly cutting-edge, but I'm very pleased with the pictures. (Any need for improvement is due to the user, not the equipment!)

This morning I also reviewed the older items in my shop to figure out what I'm going to do with them. There are two pairs of earrings and a necklace that I've had for sale since I started, and they just haven't sold. I think the time is up for these guys, so when those listings expire, if they haven't sold, I'm going to take them apart and create something new.

So I created a last chance SALE section in my shop. Check it out, and save those guys from dissassembly!

Send me on my way

So I've had a Facebook account for a couple of years now. I signed up for it when it was only supposed to be for college students, by using my Caltech alumni email address, and telling them I had graduated in 2000, which was the earliest year you could select (!). I didn't do much with it - used it to leave a note for my brother, who was in college at the time, and maybe my cousin, too, but at that time I didn't have a lot of friends still in college or with Facebook accounts.

Of course, now that they've opened up their platform to the world, I got sucked into that whole business and have gussied up my profile and added everyone I could possibly think of, just like with my LinkedIn account.

These sites are becoming my television. And by that, I mean that this is how I waste my free time. I barely watch TV anymore - just a few hours a week, but time in front of the LCD monitor? Probably more than I want to think about.

But somehow they really appeal to me, because they allow me to easily find and keep (loosely) in touch with old friends, classmates and work colleagues. I've got a ton of contact information in a few places in case I need to find someone in my circle who's been to law school, or might know a guy who knows the hiring manager of a job I'm interested in, or can remember the restaurant we ate at in Philadelphia when we were there for work training 5 years ago.

My Outlook (now Entourage) address book might not be that extensive, but with an easy search and a click, I can add someone to Facebook or LinkedIn. And of course, there are the random surprise 'adds' I get from other people. Like the girl I went to high school with, who shared an unnatural love of Def Leppard. Turns out she still lives in Pittsburgh but is now married to a member of a fairly popular rock band, *who I've actually seen live*. (And no, it's not Def Leppard. Quite a different style of music.) That's just so interesting to me - both hearing from her after 17 years, and the fact that her husband is actually a rock star. Craziness.

Since I didn't grow up in the generation (Y?) that had the Internet all through their childhood, or at least as teenagers, and regularly use IM and text messages without thinking about it, some of this stuff is still slightly unnatural to me. But wow, when you figure out what it can do for your relationships, it really is kind of cool. Staying in touch no longer means digging up an outdated address or old phone number. It's as easy as clicking a link and sending a quick message, nearly whenever you feel like it. Pretty awesome, huh?

So feel free to add me as a contact or a friend, or both. I'd love to hear from you and maybe in 3 years you can remind me about that fabulous sushi place we tried once in Bellevue. And maybe I can get you an interview for that job you've been drooling over.

The doubting one by heart

I was so excited about my bracelet sale yesterday, I forgot to mention the TRULY EXCITING thing that happened to me this week.

I finally learned how to use a sewing machine!! My sewing class at the local community college started this week, and true to its Sewing I title, we started at the VERY beginning. As in, here are all the parts of the machine.

We learned how to thread it, and that you have to keep the presser foot down to sew anything, and that you have to "complete the stitch" by turning the wheel towards you, before changing the stitch or removing the piece from the machine. SO COOL.

The woman who teaches the class is all about us finishing projects, so we made a cute little sewing kit bag out of Ziploc baggies and a potholder. We also did a little "bonus project", and made a ring pincushion out of a soda bottlecap, a scrap of fabric and some stuffing.

Next week is a pillowcase, so I've got to buy some nice fabric. I'd post pics of my projects, but the first two aren't that pretty. Just suffice it to say, I am THRILLED that I can work a sewing machine now. Woot!

You and I should get along so awfully

I got a nice surprise in my email inbox today - I sold my "People Are People" bracelet, one of my all-time favorite pieces in my Etsy shop! And I'm thrilled about it, but sometimes I have mixed feelings about selling my pieces. Each piece I make is special, and I get a lot of the color combinations or concepts just coming to me intuitively while I walk or drive to work, or when I'm in the shower, or in that magical place between awake and asleep. So a tiny part of my brain was hoping this wouldn't sell before the listing period had expired on Etsy and I'd get to keep it. (And really, it's ridiculous because I could have just made the decision to keep it and never listed it on Etsy, and clearly I chose not to do that.)

It's one of the first pieces I listed in my shop, so I'm thrilled that someone bought it, and business has been really slow lately, so getting a sale at all is still really exciting for me. So yay to my bracelet and its new owner. I hope she loves it as much as I do!

For ten long years he'll count the days

Today is Peanut's 6th birthday, and last week was Spike's 8th birthday. Well, we actually know Spike's real birthday since his previous family got him from a breeder. Peanut's is just a guess, but given his personality, April 1 is a good choice.

I love our puppies more than I ever thought possible. I never imagined dogs could become part of my family, could communicate with me without using *any* words, and make me so happy just with their presence.

I also *cannot* believe how much patience and tolerance for grossness they have also taught me. Beagle puked on the carpet? Ok, I can clean that up, no prob. Peanut swatting at the couch for the 100th time asking if he can get up there? Whatever, I'll just tell him 'no' again. And again. And again.

So here's to my sweet puppies and many more years with them. I leave you with my favorite picture of the two of them, taken just a few weeks after we got Spike.