Cozy Cottage Creations

Wow, check out these amazing needle felted foxglove and apples from Cozy Cottage Creations. I'm really impressed!

Plants and Animals

Check out these cute dolls from Plants and Animals! There's Yeti Good Yeti Nice and Roger Sasquatch!

Bloomsbury Group

I think these unique dolls from Bloomsbury Group are really neat!

I like Battlestar Galactica

I've been catching up on Battlestar Galactica, Season 3. I once scoffed at those crazy BG fans, but I can scoff no more. I'm definitely one of them now!

I'm just so caught up in the storyline and I've grown attached to the characters. James Olmos is definitely one of my favourite as Captain Adama. His expressions are so perfect for his role. I'm also fond of James Callis who plays crazy/genius Dr. Gaius Baltar.

Well, I'm off to enjoy some more episodes. Have a wonderful weekend and take care!

My Alaskan Cruise Vacation

I'm back from a 7 day cruise to beautiful Alaska. It was truly a wonderous vacation with all-you-can-eat buffet breakfasts and lunches, fine dining and shows every night, sunny weather, amazing glaciers, nature and art lectures, fabulous paintings, and just wonderful, wonderful people. I feel so blessed to have been able to go on this trip and I will never forget it.

The Cruise Ship

The Royal Caribbean ship was called Serenade of the Seas (which is a really beautiful name). The architecture inside, as you'll see from the photos below, is eye candy with huge paintings everywhere. The bedrooms and bathrooms are TINY, but you'll never want to stay in your room as there is so much to do each day! They give you a "compass" each night that outlines a non-stop itinerary of fun things to do the next day, and we would circle all our choices the night before and just go to them one after the other.

Where we went

We stopped at 3 locations - Icy Straight Point, Skagway, and Juneau. We also sailed up to the Hubbard Glacier.

Icy Straight Point used to be the location of a major fishing plant for all the fishing that would go on in that area. The cannery is now a museum with some touristy shops. The waters there are very clear with many varieties of colourful seaweed. It is very peaceful as the area is not very populated at all. You won't see houses on mountains - just trees.

Skagway was part of the Gold Rush route. All of the shops are in the style of the Gold Rush era and thus look very quaint. You can also visit the Gold Rush cemetery where you can learn a lot about the historical inhabitants and their fascinating (or tragic) lives.

Juneau was the most populated of the cities we visited. However, it's tallest building is still only about 10 stories high and its population is only in the thousands. The cost of land there is very high. It costs $500 per month to rent space for a trailer, and $300 per month to rent a spot to put up a tent. This is not including water, electricity, or showers (which you have to pay for). In Juneau, you can drive up to Mendenhall glacier, and hike up to see waterfalls and the glacier up-close. It's quite breath-taking.

Here are some photos from my trip!

Off to Alaska!

My bags are packed, and I'm ready to go to Alaska!

I'll see you all when I get back!

Bye bye! Have a great long weekend!

A Package in the Mail

A wonderful treat was wating for me when I got home today...
































Thank you to E&E Stein of Flummeries. This was a lovely surprise for me and I am well pleased. I spotted him a while back and thought it would be a perfect gift for my sister. I hope she likes it!

Ave Maria - Christina England Hale

I watched the movie Hitman over the weekend and fell in love with this rendition of Ave Maria. It is quite heavenly sounding. I hope you like it too.

Store Launch Delay - it's Vacation Time!

In a happy turn of events, I'm going on vacation! I'll be leaving this weekend and gone all of next week.

My sweetheart thought I could use a break and planned an Alaskan Cruise for us! I'm soooo excited!!! I have never been to Alaska before, but I've been wanting to go for a while now.

A few years back, I went on a Rocky Mountain Bus Tour and we stopped to see the Columbia Icefields. I was disturbed to discover that the glacier had reduced in size significantly since the time I saw it when I was 12. Back then, the lodge was at the edge of the glacier. But now, the glacier is far away from the lodge. You have to get on a bus and go quite a distance to get there. I decided then that I should try and see the glaciers in Alaska before they're all gone.

So, I'll be MIA all next week, and the store launch will have to be delayed. The good thing is that I'll have lots of stories and pictures to share when I get back.

I'll still be around this week, but I thought I'd give you all a heads up!

Happy Mother's Day

I hope all the mums out there have a very happy Mother's Day!

I took mine out yesterday for a shopping extravaganza.

We started with some dim sum. There was some very fragrant tea with our meal, a type of oolong and rose tea that didn't go bitter even when steeped for a long time. It was nice to sit and chat with mum, and the food was tasty. She bumped into a friend of hers and was so delighted to tell them that I was taking her out for a shopping date today. It made me feel warm and fuzzy to know that mum was happy to be spending some quality time with me.

Then we went from shop to shop, trying to find some nice, new things for her. She ended up with a new dressy top and a pair of jeans. We also found a very versatile cotton-textured jacket. The jacket was a lovely bright salmon rose colour with quarter-length sleeves, something she could casually wear with a pair with jeans or dress up with dress pants. It was rather pricey, but it looked so good on her that I couldn't resist.

Shopping with mum is fun. It's a little harder to know what shapes, cutting, fit, and styles will work on her since there is also the issue of age-appropriate clothing, but I was delighted to discover some clothing lines that seem to be made perfectly for her.

I look forward to the next time when I'll hit the malls with mum. But it'll probably be next year. I don't think my bank account can support shopping like this on a regular basis! :P

Etsy Store Countdown #3

Designing a store banner

So I started on my store banner.

I sat down, drew what I wanted in pencil, inked it with my handy pigma micron pen, scanned it into the computer, started colouring it...

And then I stopped.

Wait, what size is the banner supposed to be? I checked the Etsy site - 760x100 pixels. Ack! I knew what was coming. I reduced the image size down to 760x100 and, sure enough, it was a blurry mess. Nooooooooo! I felt like Darth Vader in that monumental (and inadvertently funny) scene after he discovers that Padme is dead.

Not to be stopped, I opened up Flash and began to redo all of my work. This time in vector format. Sneaky, oh-so-sneaky! Now I can scale it to any size. Yesssss... my plan to take over the world, er, start an Etsy store is slipping into place perfectly :P

Well, I know what I'll be doing this weekend. I hope you have a great one!

Etsy Store Countdown #2

Signing up

I signed up! I have an Etsy account and an Etsy storefront now! This is super exciting for me. The link address is http://www.bluepandemonium.etsy.com/

I've set up most things (including adding some of you as my favourites!), and I wrote myself a profile message. I also added some sections, wrote a store announcement... but I still need a banner and a profile image.

I better get crackin' on those... my sketchbook is filled with ideas for them!

Vivid Dreams

Do you dream?

Do you dream vivid dreams that seem so real that you're still caught up in them when you wake up?

Last night I dreamed that we had a little flowerpot hanging on the outside of our balcony rail. Two baby birds were in it, and wait though I might, no mother bird appeared to take care of them. The two baby birds cried piteously for their mother and for food, but no one came. Finally, as one baby moved around looking for mum, he toppled out of the flower pot to his dismal end.

Worried that the remaining baby would find a similar fate, I took him inside the house. My mother fed him, he looked good and content, and I decided to do some tidying up in the container that I had put him in. As all dreams go, things don't necessarily make sense, but somehow in moving things around, I lost track of where he was and accidently squished him with a heavy binder. The remainder of the dream involved me weeping over my tragic mistake. Oh, and watching fantastic beasts (like Griffins!) fighting outside in my garden. I went to grab my camera to take some photos, but my brother had removed the batteries to power some other device of his. The fantastic beasts took their fight elsewhere, and I woke with a terrible sense of loss and regret.

Tired, but happy

I'm so tired today. There was plenty to get done at work, I had more research to do for setting up my Etsy shop, and I removed all the dandelions from my lawn. There's a dandelion graveyard all around the perimeter of my shared lawn area. It's quite hideous, to be truthful, but the dandelion-free areas look very nice. :P

I was also cheered by something else on my way home - pigeon eggs (how did you know?). The destroyed nest is now inhabited by a new tenant. This time, it's a doting mother with not one but TWO eggs! The odd thing is that she doesn't sit on the eggs together. She walks back and forth between them, taking turns sitting on first one, and then the other. It's very cute.

I'm not sure how long these eggs will last for considering the fate of the previous tenants, but I'm still cheered by the fact that there are new eggs to look at (and that the pigeons aren't giving up).

Etsy Store Countdown #1

Okay, now that I've decided on starting an Etsy store, there is so much to do! I figured I'd write about it in case anyone else decides on starting one in the near future.

Reading the forums

The first thing I did yesterday was to read the Etsy forums to see if there was any advice on pricing. I discovered that most sellers recommend increasing prices when items are popular but don't sell. This doesn't seem to make sense, but I guess increasing the price makes buyers perceive your product as more valuable (and thus a better buy). It also appears that most sellers don't charge enough for their products, or forget to take all their costs into consideration.

I also did some reading on what people find the most annoying about Etsy stores. It appears that bad spelling, blurry or tiny photos, and long store announcements are the biggest pet peeves. Not selling to international countries comes close, followed by not listing all the materials used. Some other pet peeves include no banner, minimal descriptions, no profile, not showing all angles of the product, and not listing location.

I also came across a Storque article called A Beginner's Guide to Starting a Shop on Etsy.

Deciding on pricing

I needed to decide on how to price my items. There were lots of formulas listed on the forums, but I decided to keep it simple for now. I made a list of all of my products. I made a column of the lowest amount that I'd be willing to let them go for, and then I made a column of the highest amount that I think someone would be willing to pay for the item. It's fun to see how you value your product compared to what you think you can charge for it. Of course, I can't be completely sure that the highest number amount is correct, but it's still fun to guess.

After that, I added all of the amounts up to see what my total would be if sold them for my price and for the highest price. This let me see whether I would be covering all of my costs and keeping afloat assuming I sold everything. At this point, I stopped and decided to take a break. I did some gardening, looked at my dolls, thought about what would happen if I sold them all... it was just part of the process.

Next on my list is to make an Excel sheet to start listing and calculating all of my costs exactly. I want to know exactly how much I can expect to lose in sales based on Etsy fees, Paypal fees, overhead charges, supplies, packaging, etc.

More to come...

Iron Man Movie was Awesome

You must watch this movie. It is sooooo good! I've been waiting eagerly for this movie and it did not disappoint me. Everything is good from the special effects to the story. There are also some great lines. This is definitely my new favourite super heroes movie.

Next on my list of movies to see this summer are:

*Hell Boy 2 (directed by the same guy that did Pan's Labryrinth)

*Hulk (a remake with Liv Tyler and Edward Norton, should be better than the last one)

*Wall-E (about a 3d robot, looks so cute)

*Wanted (another comic-based movie with James McAvoy, Angelina Jolie, and Morgan Freeman)

Introducing Betty, and a decision

Betty

I am pleased to introduce you to Betty, my latest finished doll.

Betty is hairdresser with a flair for the dramatic - big, blue hair, bright yellow dress, yellow pearled flowers in her hair, and icy pink lipstick. However, Betty is extremely gifted as a hair stylist and is well-known for her talents. Sylvie, for instance, will have none other as her hairdresser.

Betty is also a caring soul. As she cuts your hair, she listens to you talk. She'll be excited with you over children and weddings; she'll comfort you over lost loves and lost opportunities; and she'll help you decide on the best colour and style for your hair so you'll look great and feel proud when you walk out. Betty is the hairdresser you've always wanted. She wears an antique key around her neck because, while she's always in-tune with the latest styles, she also understands the romantic attraction to the old fashioned.

Betty is about 18.5 inches tall. She is completely hand-sewn from felt and stuffed with polyfill. Her facial features are embroidered, and tiny beads are at the center of each of the flowers in her hair. Her shoes and the key necklace around her neck are removable.

A Decision

I am also pleased to tell you about a decision I have made over the weekend. I will be starting an Etsy store, hopefully, in 1-2 weeks time. At that time, I will be listing my recent brooches, felt dolls, and crocheted Unloved Monsters.

As you know, I have been thinking about this a lot, but you have all been so supportive and encouraging that I have finally decided to make it official. I love my creations very much and I hope that someone out there will love them too and give them good homes.

I'll keep you posted on how it all goes and any updates on when it will happen. Thank you so much for all of you who read my blog and keep me motivated each day with your thoughtful emails and comments.

Have a wonderful week!

Pagerank of 4!!!

Great news! Mytutorlist.com (my tutoring classifieds site) now has a page rank of 4! We were just recently at page rank 3. Not bad, not bad. We also had 6710 unique visitors in April last month. That works out to almost 224 unique visitors per day! In March, Mytutorlist.com had 5963 unique visitors, so that means an extra 747 visitors in April. Pretty darn good, huh?

So traffic to the site seems to be good and page rank is good too. The only catch now, is how to make the site support itself. I recently removed all the Google ads (which made the site look cleaner, actually) but that does mean that I've removed it's main source of income. I'm not too worried since Mytutorlist.com is something that I've been working on for years and I don't mind investing time and money into it. However, that's not the most practical approach.

I think that all my years of volunteering have made me just a little too open to the idea of working for free. People often say that I'm very generous because I bring cookies, candies, plants, treats, etc to work to share with them. For instance, today I brought a whole bunch of strawberry plants to work and gave them away. Some of them asked me curiously why I was giving them away, as though there was a catch, but my own plants had divided many times over and I don't need so many.

I think "real life" and "growing up" has been a hard task for me. Sharing and giving things away freely was such an integral part of what I was used to doing when I was little, but it is not possible to continue that way if I want to be smart and successful. Real life is so much more selfish, cut-throat, and dangerous.

Oh well, baby steps. Maybe I can find some kind of happy medium between paying bills, being a smart business person, and being a good person in general.

Seed Swap!

A long time ago, I used to seed swap. It was really fun because I got to plant lots of strange and nice plants from all over the world. I thought it would be really fun to do some seed swapping again. Anyone up for it?

This is what I have:

Marigold (lots! These are from my flowers from last year. Mixed varieties.)

Pansy (limited, from seed packet)

Lobelia (limited, from seed packet)

Pumpkin (lots! I saved them from my jack-o-lantern, but I'm not sure if they'll grow yet.)

If anyone has some seeds to trade, please post what you have available, what varieties you're looking for, plus your email. Whoever posts can feel free to trade amongst yourselves and to trade with me (until I run out of seeds). I figure these seeds are only good for one year or so, so I might as well share what I have before they lose their "growing power".

Happy Seed Swapping!