Blogging for Blood Cancer and a PRIZE!

The first annual “Blogging for Blood Cancer” event will take place from August 11-18, 2008. This first time event will bring bloggers from across the United States together to raise awareness for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and its mission to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease, and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families.

The event is being hosted by Goodies for Mom in conjunction with the Friends of Heroes (FOH) National Light The Night Team. They are asking bloggers to post on your blogs throughout the event about the importance of the LLS mission, share your personal stories of those you have come to know who have been affected by blood cancer, or share some of the stories you read here and on the FOH site during the week that have touched your hearts.

All bloggers participating will have the opportunity to be entered to win prizes donated by event sponsors by leaving a Mr. Linky link on the Goodies for Mom post for the event. The event post will go up there on August 11, 2008 at 8:00 am. Even if you do not have a blog, visitors to the Goodies for Mom and Friends of Heroes blogs during the week will have opportunities to win as you learn more about the importance of LLS’s research and patient services in the fight against blood cancer.

I'm donating a fused glass pendant for this event. I've got a couple of kiln loads of glass ready to fire, and should have a photo of the prize posted in the next few days.

36-inch Chains are Really Long!

I added a 36" sterling silver diamond-cut rope chain to my inventory today. This is the first chain I've sold that's a full yard long--and it's so cool I had to keep one for myself! You can wear it full length, or double it, or double it but sort of stagger the lengths so that it looks like you're wearing two chains of different lengths. This is such a versatile chain I plan to add longer chains in more styles soon. Click on over to my Etsy shop to get yours!

Two New Temari

I decided to follow the same pattern to make two temari balls in a row. It was faster for me because I didn't have to review the instructions so many times for the second one. It was also fun to pick out the colors for both balls together (although I could have fun picking out colors no matter what!). Want to know more? You can read my last post about making temari, and see all the temari I currently have for sale. Fall and winter are the prime temari shopping seasons, so you can expect to see new balls available soon!

Wanna Get Lucky?

I've had several people ask about the title of this blog as well as the name of my Etsy and eBay shops. Why Lucky Girl? It's because I am lucky, and I thought it might be interesting to share what makes me lucky.

One of the biggest parts of being lucky is believing that you are lucky. There's a good post about basic optimism and luck at Get Lucky. The Get Lucky blog is a nice resource for helping you bring out the lucky side in yourself, so browse around a bit while you're there.

I know that a lot of you are artists and crafters who sell your creations, so I want to address how luck comes into play for you. You know the old "is the glass half empty or is it half full" question? Let's take it a step further. You've created some lovely items, you have beautiful photos and written complete descriptions, and the items are listed for sale and available for immediate purchase. All the mechanics are in place, so consider that as having your glass half full.

Now it's time to fill your glass to the brim. Say to yourself, "I make beautiful things. People love to purchase my things. Customers want to give me money for the beautiful things I create." (If you don't sell things that you create, just change the words to fit your situation.) Now say it out loud. Write it down. (I just did both!) Do it again tomorrow, and the day after, and the day after, and the day after. Do you feel a bit silly saying it out loud? That's okay, and will pass after a day or so. Work at feeling and believing what you're saying, and your sales will pick up before you know it.

I'm off to ship today's packages. I'd love it if you'd come back here and let us know how long it takes before you see an increase in sales!

I Finished Another Project!

It feels so good to get a few things finished! I've got a gazillion or two projects underway, and it's so easy to jump around from project to project, that sometimes I have to make myself finish something. Today's accomplishment is a new Kumihimo braided necklace. The last one I finished I wondered whether I was pricing these too low, and based on the comments I've tried to increase the price a bit on this one. It was made with black satin cord and multicolor novelty yarn, so it's strong and sturdy yet soft and fuzzy.

I'm Featured!

I've been suffering from near-narcolepsy today, just can't stay awake despite a full night's sleep and several naps. I'm making this ultra-short for fear I'll start to babble in my sleepy haze, so go check out the NC Triangle Etsy Team blog. This post is all about me!

Satin Pendant Cords

The newest thing in my Etsy shop are satin rattail necklace cords in custom lengths. So far I have 2mm diameter cords in black and in Williamsburg blue. I've got a few other colors of 2mm cord in stock, and I've got some 1mm cords but need to order some smaller cord ends for it. This all goes to say if you'd like a satin cord or twelve but want a different color, just let me know. If I don't have it I can order a roll. It comes in so many colors that I actually enjoy shopping for it!

Zombies Only Like You For Your Brain

I do have a definite fondness for zombie themes. This t-shirt is one of my favorites, and it makes a perfect gift because nobody owns too many zombie shirts. Seriously. It's not possible to own too many zombie shirts. This one was printed by KiWi Cuties, where you'll find an assortment of ninja shirts too!

And the Sign Said

I'm always watching for unusual gifts. The naked baby magnets I picked up from Hello Crafty and gave last Christmas were a big hit--and of course I have a reputation to uphold now.

I love these signs from Cinda. She makes some of them on aluminum for indoor or outdoor use, and others on lightweight PVC. I'm having a difficult time figuring out who needs the Zombie Shelter sign and who needs the Freak Show sign. I may have to let people draw numbers for their gifts this year!

New Sterling Snail Chains

This week I've added new sterling silver snail chains to my inventory. They have an interesting shape, and are attractive enough to wear alone or layered with other chains. They also work great with medium and larger sized pendants.

I've got them in 20-inch and 24-inch lengths, and have other lengths on backorder. They're in both my Etsy shop and my eBay store.

I Finally Made Something--a Temari!

Actually, I have a bunch of partially finished projects hanging around, and I picked this one up and finished it. Not quite as good a feeling as starting something new and completing it, but still a good feeling. So what do you do with a Temari? You can hang them on a holiday tree, display them on your desk, mantle, or table, or hang them from a hook. One of my daughters even has one hanging from the rear view mirror in her car, and my parents have a few displayed on top of their television. There are more photos and description in my Etsy shop.

I Really Need to Make Stuff

I feel like I haven't made much of anything new to list in my Etsy shop for far too long, and the need to create is making me anxious and cranky. Too much time spent painting a bedroom turned a slight case of tendonitis into burning pain, and it's really difficult to cut glass or hold a needle when my hand and arm are throbbing. I'm feeling somewhat better, so maybe tomorrow. In the meantime I've been cleaning out a bunch of old supplies, mostly sterling silver charms left from my husband's college days--he spent weekends selling jewelry at local flea markets. I keep discovering more and more little boxes full of this sort of thing, so if you're looking for a particular theme or shape and don't see it listed, just ask and I'll dig through the rest and see what I can come up with.

Oh, WOW! An Award!

Erica from Tales from the Tracks bestowed this award on my blog. Thank you Erica! I have fun writing these posts, and it's nice to know that people think it's fun to read them!

With this award comes the huge responsibility of passing it along to 3 other Fun-to-Read blogs. This is tough, I could probably give this to a dozen or more blogs, but here are my 3 picks:

sHandke ART jouRnal
The Roller Blog
Meltwater. Torrents. Meanderings. Delta.

Wordless Post--Vacation Sunrise

We Have a Winner!

Comment #18 is from Mama Kelly of 2 Witches Blog. Congratulations! Go on over to Fehu Stoneware and pick out your button, then use the "contact" link on Etsy to send Pearl a message.

I had a lot of fun doing this giveaway, and the best news is that a couple of other crafter/artists have volunteered to let me give away some of their stuff too! As soon as I get the details sorted out I'll post a new giveaway with another fabulous prize, so don't forget to check back here soon.

Studio Update

The work to turn out garage into a working studio is crawling along so slowly that to say it's moving at a snail's pace would make it sound as though it's going faster than it really is. In May I was excited because we had electricity and plumbing.



We've managed to weatherstrip one side of the large garage door. It was necessary to keep out some of the summer heat (and insects!). It's been too hot to spend any time working out there, so we've added an air conditioner. I've never seen one like this, and it works surprisingly well considering it's movable. You can see that we haven't yet put up insulation or drywall, but now that it's a bit more comfortable to work out there we may be able to catch up with that snail.

It's Giveaway Time!

Like most things I can't do, pottery of any sort fascinates me, and the unique items that Pearl of Fehu Stoneware creates are no exception. A Colorado-based artist, Pearl has been working with ceramics for most of her life. She made the move to pottery about 20 years ago, and her experience definitely shows in her work.

Pearl makes some functional pieces but really enjoys creating art pottery. The new pieces she's been designing with the crystals are her personal favorites: combining clay and stone feels very special to her. I think that comes through loud and clear--her pieces are beautiful!

Pearl is generously donating one of her buttons as a prize to a lucky reader. I've picked a few of my favorites here to show you. Now it's your turn: go visit Fehu Stoneware, pick out your favorite item, and post a comment here with the URL the item. Comments will be accepted until midnight (Eastern U.S. time), Thursday, July 10, 2008. On Friday I'll use that handy randomizer.org thingie to generate a winning number, and the comment that corresponds to the number will win their choice of one of Pearl's awesome buttons. Make sure to leave a link to your blog or an email address in your comment so that we can contact you if you win. Sorry, but comments without contact info will be disqualified.

An Anniversary Cheesecake

A few days ago I posted a plea for gift suggestions--I had forgotten about our anniversary and had only a couple of days to come up with a suitable gift. Thanks to everyone who tried to bail me out! After totally stressing, I realized that often the simple pleasures are the best.


He loves peanut butter and jelly cheesecake, and this one hit the mark. I've posted the recipe on The Peanut Butter Blog in case you need a last-minute gift of your own (or just need some cheesecake!).

New Singapore Twist Chains

Thanks to everyone who posted suggestions for an anniversary gift for Mr. LuckyGirl. Today's the big day, so I'll let you know how it turned out tomorrow.

This week I've added new sterling silver Singapore twist chains to my inventory. They are light and airy, and the twists in them accentuate their sparkle while being extremely tasteful. They're attractive enough to wear alone or layered with other chains, and also work great with small and medium sized pendants.

I've got them in 16-inch, 18-inch, 20-inch, 24-inch, and 30-inch lengths, and they're all in my Etsy shop. I haven't managed to get them in my eBay store yet, so if you're a die-hard eBay shopper and want one just let me know (but they're less expensive on Etsy!).

Recycled Plastic Bags Made This?

I know that Mr. LuckyGirl wouldn't be thrilled with this large tote bag for an anniversary gift--but I would! It was crocheted by hand from old plastic bags and yarn. Recycling just doesn't get much better than this. Fully lined, and a roomy 24" at the bottom, I might even be able to get most of my stuff in here. Maybe. You can find similar bags, and even a yoga mat bag made in a similar fashion, at Saju.

Help! I Forgot My Anniversary!

I have been so scattered lately that I forgot my wedding anniversary is in a few days--so I have nothing for Mr. LuckyGirl. He's extremely difficult to buy gifts for, so I usually start looking several months ahead of time. In fact, I should be trying to figure out his Christmas gift now, that way I'll have found the perfect present in time. So what do you buy for an awesome husband who doesn't wear cologne or aftershave, jewelry, or even neckties?



Here's the Valentine gift I got for him. It's felted pottery from Valerie's Gallery, and he loved it! It now holds his keys, wallet, cell phone, and other tiny treasures. But how many felted bowls does a guy need?

I need suggestions--please help me find Mr. LuckyGirl the perfect anniversary gift!