Food in the Rocket City

Every month, the Rocket City Bloggers hosts a carnival. For the writers, it's a chance to get the creative juices flowing or share a favorite post. For you, it's a chance to meet some new bloggers, all of whom are in the Huntsville area.

This month, I am hosting. I volunteered to host, but had to scoot before we settled on a topic. I laughed when I found out that the selected topic was "food". I mean we all know how I feel about food. I blog about recipes, take photos of our CSA share, and write restaurant reviews. Naturally, I loved hearing everyone else's thoughts on food.

Food is intimately tied to our experiences, so it is no surprise that it is often central to our memories as well. David shares photos of food he has captured as part of his 365 day project. Mrs. Mood recalls the best meal of her life, which she enjoyed in Italy on her honeymoon. Jane Random also recalls a memory from Italy, this time a case of mistaken identity. Bo stays a little closer to home in his tale of an odd mayonnaise encounter and Bill reaches back in time for a cold drink.

For those looking to the future instead of the past, Suzanne helps us plan our next road trip by uncovering the best ice cream ever. Rebecca suggests a culinary adventure in our own kitchens with crazy feta. Looking to get the kids in on that kitchen action? Nina shares some tips and recipes for getting kids involved. Calluna discusses giving foods a second chance.

Sometimes, it makes sense to stand back and look at the big picture. Hot Wheel Hacienda shares discussing the origins of our food with her son while Katie offers some perspective on baking for school functions. Joe offers some help for those trying to eat healthier while on the run and Heather shares the power of food.

Marching to a Different Drummer

This post was written for the Rocket City Bloggers monthly blog carnival. This month's theme is "Pop Culture Dissonance".

Given a laundry list of ways to spend an afternoon, watching TV will come in dead last every time. Reading, sewing, baking, blogging, home improvement projects, calls to friends, walks in the neighboorhood...I have no end of things that I find more enjoyable, more rewarding, and more entertaining.

And yet. Television watching is culturally assumed. The question is not "do you watch TV?" so much as "what do you watch on TV?". Do you like fluff or intellectual substance? Grit and gore or sappy romance? "Reality" or scripted? Which is why when you answer "Oh, I don't watch TV." it can get mistaken for a moral judgement. "I am so sanctimonious and pure that I do not stoop to the level of common television."

In my case though, it has very little to do with the merit of the programming as it does with the delivery method. I don't like sitting still. I don't like having to watch something because it means I can't do something else. And I don't like the lack of a tangible result.

This does, however, lead to some interesting conversations. Because television watching is so assumed, well known characters, snippets of dialogue, and catchy ad jangles become part of the common language. The most popular will eventually make their way to me (I will catch a reference to the Seinfeld soup nazi although I never saw a single episode of the show) but for the most part I'm left with the "smile and nod" response.

Thankfully though, we now have Twitter, which keeps me up to date on disastrous award show gossip (Kanye West dissing Taylor Swift) and buzzes with the juiciest television bits (Kurt and Blaine kissed on Glee!) which means I can feign just enough knowledge for water cooler conversation. Saved by the interwebs.

Ode to a Mixer

This post is part of this month's Rocket City Blogger's Carnival.

My mother set us up.
I thought that you were all wrong,
but she insisted.

Your ability to hold yourself upright
allows me to clean as I go
and prevent a kitchen full of culinary shrapnel.

Your friend whisk,
wiry but tough,
whips cream, blends eggs, and even,
once,
made butter.

And then dough hook
who kneads uncomplainingly,
unlike myself.

The embrace of your bowl
is large enough to hold
double batches of love and hope
with a dash of goodwill.

Isn't it awful when parents are right?

Rocket City Bloggers: Passion

This month, the Rocket City Bloggers wrote about their passions. The topic was hosted by Bo Williams and the posts touched on fashion, writing, all things Disney, and a couple of awesome husbands (mine included!). Go check them out!

Love in the Kitchen

It's funny when people talk about how they met their significant others. They talk about bars and parties and websites. Churches, workplaces, and classes. But really, that's not the important part. My husband and I met in a class room. Technically, just outside of one, while picking up our quizzes from the week before. But where we fell in love? That was the kitchen.

Rocket City Bloggers Carnival

Each month the Rocket City Bloggers hosts a carnival...a collection of posts from our various members on a selected topic. This month's theme was "Beginnings" and, as usual, everyone interpreted that differently. Hop on over to Resplendent Beauty where Becky has collected our efforts. The topics range from old friendships to a letter to the new year, vacation plans to what the year may bring. Do stop in and see where this new year will take us.

Huntsville Favorites

Heather over at Heather's Hints is hosting this month's Rocket City Blogger's Blog Carnival on Huntsville Favorites. I found myself nodding in agreement as I read odes to our friendly people, great restaurants, thriving art community, amazing library system, and even an awesome grocery store.

Whether you want a bit more of a glimpse into my adopted hometown or if you already live here and want to see what other locals think, check out the posts by the group. (Which is quickly becoming one of my new favorite things about Huntsville.)

Why Handmade?

As I mentioned in my post on Saturday, this week's Etsy Blogger's Blog Carnival topic is "Why Buy Handmade?" and I'm hosting!

Check out even more reasons to shop for handmade goodies (on Etsy!) from Sonia at Queen Mum's WIP, Karen of faded willow, and Alicia Mae, posted at her Xanga.

Why Buy Handmade?

This post is a part of the Etsy Bloggers Street Team Blog Carnival. This week's topic is "Why Buy Handmade." and is being hosted by me!

Back in the dark ages (you know about a year and a half ago, before I had ever heard of Etsy) I was a good shopper. My mother had taught me well. I would look long and hard to get quality at the best price possible. And, as horrifying as it is to realize now, at craft shows I was one of *those* buyers. You know, the ones that other sellers kvetch about? The uneducated shopper who whispers "I could make that" or blanches when they see the price. I simply did not understand nor appreciate how a simple bracelet could be $30 or why a stuffed animal was $50. I was comparing prices with what I knew-- items sold in stores.

A year and a half later, I am a believer. I am 100% behind handmade and here are a few of my reasons why:

1. Custom, custom, custom. If I see something that is *almost* right, 9 times out of 10, the seller will custom make me something that is *exactly* right. It's hard for me to let go of control and allow others their creative process, and I am a picky customer, but I have been nothing but delighted with my custom orders.

2. Connection. I get to "meet" the people who make my stuff and how cool is that? I love knowing that my things were made with love. Even better is knowing something about that person. What is their family like? Where do they live? What do they struggle with?

3. Supporting Artists. Not only do I *feel* good knowing that my money is going directly to a person who has bills to pay instead of a CEO's pension plan, but by supporting artists we keep crafts alive. Do you know that we cannot make stained glass like they did in the middle ages? The art was lost and even our best efforts today cannot duplicate what skilled craftsmen of the time were making.

4. Quality. When items are made in small batches by someone who is passionate about what they do, their standards are high and the results are incredible. Now, granted, just because something is handmade does not automatically mean that it is of the highest quality. But there is amazing quality on the handmade market and you don't have to look particularly hard to find it.

5. Originality and Uniqueness. Previously if I wanted something "unique" I went to Hot Topic and bought the same "unique" thing as hundreds of thousands of others. Wow, I feel so special. With handmade goods you can buy one of a kind things, but even if you are buying a hugely popular design from a hugely popular indie designer, you probably are still more "unique" than buying the stuff at the mall.

The handmade market is also faster to get with the trends since the long lead times of manufacturing are not a concern. If you want buttons or shirts that play off pop culture, you can often find them a matter of days later on sites like Etsy.

These twin characteristics also mean that handmade is an excellent gift choice. You can almost guarantee that Aunt Sally does not have that tea kettle in her collection.

6. Logo Free. The handmade market is a wonderful oasis from the marketing that permeates society. Here I can find t-shirts that have beautiful designs consisting of much more than just a dolled up version of a company's name. I can find stuffed animals and toys that do not tie in a TV show, video game series, and line of breakfast cereals. In short, can buy things I need and want without being a walking billboard.

I am an Etsy Addict. If I need something, I check Etsy first. My husband and I found shelves on there today. I've found fire pits, furniture, deodorant, tooth soap, swimwear, and just about everything else on Etsy.

Photo Tips and Tricks

This post was supposed to be a part of the Etsy Bloggers Street Team Blog Carnival. However, I was out of town and didn't finish it in time. So I have (finally) finished it up and am posting it here for you all to enjoy. The topic was "Picture Perfect - tips for taking better pictures" and was being hosted by Humble Beads over at her blog.



One thing I never really appreciated before I began my Etsy shop was just how much I would learn and about how many things. Marketing, pricing, photography--all things that are very, very essential to an online business and all things about which I was relatively ignorant. Through a lot of forum reading and trial and error my pictures have come a LONG way, but they are still far from perfect. So, based on what I have learned in the past year or so, here are my tips for better photos:

1. Lighting Great lighting makes all the difference in the world. Natural light is wonderful but often hard to come by (especially if you are a night owl!). Instead I created this nifty lightbox based on this article.

Tips for lightboxes:
*Always use a bigger box than you think you need, you never know when your product line might expand or the perfect prop makes it a tight fit. If nothing else, leave enough room for you to comfortably shoot your pictures (meaning room for your hands to get it and enough height that you can see the preview screen on the back of your camera. I built my first one out of what I thought was a good sized box. After we moved, I pressed one of the bigger boxes into service as my new lightbox.

*Play around with different light bulbs/lamps and positionings. I have found that the photos I take with just my lightbox are darkish, BUT if I take the photos in my lightbox with the window open, they are gorgeous. Apparently, the overhead light in my craft room does not provide enough ambient light.

2. Backgrounds There are several methods to selecting backgrounds, but what works best for you depends (not surprisingly) on your product. My cards feature a single bright colored flower against ivory card stock. This means that colored backgrounds are not my friend unless I constantly change them to best match the flower color. (Otherwise, the flowers can look sickly or the ivory cardstock starts to pick up the background color). And frankly, that is just too much work for me to keep up with.

Instead, I try to find fairly neutral (I've found dark brown works really well for my cards) backgrounds that photograph well (many posterboards change colors or have a glare when photographed, so I switched to fabric, see left.). In a way, it becomes part of my store's "signature" that all photos are taken against the same background.

I've noticed that many metalsmiths (whose work is a neutral color) often use very bold, bright backgrounds to catch people's eye. That works incredibly well for their subject. However, many new jewelery artists try to mimic this same style for thier own pics--but if their work is, say, heavily beaded bracelets, the background color becomes a distraction and competes with their works.

Always think about your product and always take a few test photos of possible backgrounds as they often look very different on "film".

3. Composition Despite that fact that we consider composition when creating our work, many people forget to pay attention to this when taking pictures. Even just taking a picture at an angle can turn a boring, everyday pictures, into a breathtaking, and eye-catching one.

4. Cropping Cropping your photos has a couple main advantages. First, it allows your photos to appear more uniform. I crop all my pictures so that my cards have approximately the same amount of background all the way around them. These leads to a more regular feel to my shop. Secondly, cropping your photos allows you to take your pictures from a distance but still get a nice, tight shot for your shop.

Cropping can also allow you to create a more interesting thumbnail. White space with a fleck of color is not enticing, but a large, interesting shot will make me click--even if I can't tell what it is. Jewelry makers especially can benefit from close up shots of beads or color to make their jewelry *pop* off the page. I used to think it was some sort of cardinal sin to cut off part of my main image. Then I realized how much more *interesting* the picture could be. The images below show two thumbnails for the same style of card. Which one would you be more likely to click on?



You don't need any sort of fancy software to do this. I do mine in MS Paint, which has got to be the cheesiest "graphics" program ever. If you run Windows, you have Paint, check under All Programs-->Accessories from your Start Menu.

5. Glare If you have ever tried to photograph buttons, magnets, glossy paintings, or just about anything but flat paper, you have struggled with this. My trick? Find various things to prop the item up against--even if they are just barely off the table. This gives the item a slight angle, which you can match with your camera, and causes the light to hit it differently.

6. Close Ups The key to good close-up pictures is the Macro setting on your camera. Most digital cameras have one--just look for the picture of the flower. When using the macro setting, get very close to your subject and wait for the image to steady in the frame (the camera has to decide which part is close and which part is far) before clicking. Remember to turn the Macro setting off when you move back to regular shots.

7. Exposure One of the most frustrating things I dealt with was building my brand new shiny lightbox and still having "gray" pictures. What was I doing wrong? I wasn't reading my camera's manual for one. : ) Exposure is somewhere in your camera's settings and ranges from .3 to 2.0, with .3 being the dullest and 2.0 the brightest. Essentially, this setting controls how hard the camera looks for light. If you are in a very bright environment, you want to ratchet it down. If you are in a dimly lit one, you want to go up.

This image shows a range of images taken one after the other, with different exposure settings. See the difference?



This should be adjusted whenever you notice that your images are looking a little grayed out.

8. White balance Another common issue is having great pics--withyellowy or bluey whites. (The pic to the right shows a wonderful picture taken down several notches by a yellowy tinge to the card.) To correct this you can have your digitalcamera calibrate itself. On my camera, (A Nikon Cool Pix), I go to white balance and there is a place to have it measure. I hold the camera so that a small square is centered on something I know to be white (I keep printer paper handy for this). The camera snaps a picture and then scales until that box is pure white. It will then use this adjustment when taking pictures.

The important thing to remember about this is that is really needs to be set everytime you take pics. Lighting conditions change from day to day, so the calibration that worked yesterday isn't necessarily going to be the same one needed today. And nothing is more disappointing than spending several hours taking pics only to discover that they are ALL yellow. Ugh.

My Music, My Muse

This post is a part of the Etsy Bloggers Street Team Blog Carnival. This week's topic is "Your crafting “helpers” — pets, kids, muses, etc." and is being hosted by Nora Bella over at her blog.

Since my crafting room has been designated a kitty-free zone (can you believe that they eat paper?), these two cutie pies are shut out in the cold, cruel world (napping in dad's chair) while I craft.

And so, I end up in my own little world of paper, glue, floss, and prismacolors while I create. All alone--just me, the sunshine, and my trusty stereo. My stereo (that's it, up on that shelf there) was a gift from my parents when I moved into my first apartment. It can hold up to 5 cds, play tapes, and pick up most radio broadcasts with a little finagling of it's wire antenna.

I like to listen to soothing music while I work--things that melt and flow into the background so I can use the melody to move me along, but not feel rushed. The soothing effect of the music also puts me into a sort of meditative state, where I can work steadily instead of being distractable and impatient. If I am not feeling particularly crafty, often just turning on my music puts me in the mood.

So what exactly do I listen to? Rarely the radio, as the commercials and the chatter break my flow. Instead I have my CD changer queued up with:

Depeche Mode Violator
Lightly dark but utterly hypnotic, the deep voice of the lead singer and the thrumming beats keep me happily working. I was introduced to Depeche Mode in high school by the friend I would later room with in college. Love this album.

Savage Garden's Self Titled Album
I fell in love with Savage Garden about the same time everyone else did--somewhere between "I Want You" and "Truly, Madly, Deeply"--only my love never left. Their smooth melodies, subtle harmonies, and bittersweet lyrics resonated with me then and now. I listened to this CD on loop for months when I first got it. I listened to it endlessly on loop while working on paintings for my Art Studio classes. And I still listen to it almost anytime I sit down to work.

Dido No Angel
My husband bought me this album for Christmas one year and I was initially unsure whether I should just return it or not. "Thank You" had been beaten to death by radio stations unable to venture out of their 40-60 "top" songs. Although I had originally liked the song, I had given up on it as whiny and overplayed. But we had a 6 hour drive back home, so we popped it in the player anyway, and I fell in love. This is one of the rare CDs that I listen to on loop where I know very few of the lyrics, but I LOVE the melodies. This is one of those mellow, soul connecting CDs and it soon became a quick favorite to create to.

Cindy Thompson My World
I bought this CD on a whim (looking for new music to put in my CD player on those long car rides home) on the basis of a single song, "Always Liked That Best". The album did not disappoint--sweetly lyric with tales of everyday love cherished and lost, it captured my heart easily. This is an album I love to sing along to (although I rarely do while creating because my attention is elsewhere) because of it's "everywoman" nature and unpretentious style.

How to Prepare for the Fair

This post is a part of the Etsy Bloggers Street Team Blog Carnival. This week's topic is "preparing for a craft sale" and is being hosted by Alicia over at her Xanga.

I'm hardly an expert on craft shows, seeing as the one last week was only my second, but I have had *plenty* of experience with "boothing" (which is what we called outdoor cookie sales when I was in Girl Scouts). For five years (from age 13-18), I spent a few months every spring selling Girl Scout cookies. Door knocking, taking orders at school, and of course, sitting outside grocery stores (and one memorable weekend, in a mall).

Some things I learned from those experiences

1. Round Numbers-- When I started selling cookies, they were $2.50 for a box. This was a magical number because people who initially only wanted one box, would have a five and so buy two. It was easy on them and easy on us. When the price jumped to $3/box all of those impulse buys went away!

Even if you price your items at $3/each considering offering some sort of combined discount-- two for $5 or four for $10. Often people will buy more to reach that "magic" discount. (Think of how supermarkets always label things as 2 for $5 or 5 for $10 and not $2/ea. Most people, myself included, will buy the number that the pricing suggests.)

Also, considering adding tax into your prices and rounding to the nearest even increment. If you sell items with higher prices, always set even increments-- $55 instead of $52.87. It makes it much easier to make change and seems more professional. For those who sell items at lower price points, you can still round to the nearest $0.25 or $0.50 increment.

2. Samples-- When boothing cookies we found that people always wanted to stick with their tried and true. But if we opened a box of one of the new flavors and broke the cookies into pieces and offered "free samples" people would almost always add a box or two of the new flavor onto their standard order. Our troop would eat the whopping $3 for the samples in return for the extra sales.

There are two main factors at work there:

a) Reciprocity-- there is an unspoken social rule which says if I give you something, you should do something for me in return. Since in a sales environment, we are strangers and they will likely never see you again, they have to do that something now...so they buy or buy extra.

b) Fear of the unknown-- people don't want to plunk down their hard earned money for something they aren't sure they will LOVE. This is an area that is especially true for food vendors and bath and beauty sellers since the experiences are so visceral and taste varies from person to person.

3. Gauging Interest-- At the end of the day, the simple fact is that not everyone wants what you are selling. Some had no intention of buying anything, others do not need your product, or don't like your style. And that's okay! Just let those people move on by, you would be wasting your time (and most likely irritating them) anyway. (Think of how you feel when assaulted by people hawking one thing or another.)

The trick is separating out the various interest levels of might be customers. In my experience, they can be sorted as follows:

a) Just looking-- These buyers may or may not like what you have. But they do not like direct sales pitches and will leave if you start talking to them before they talk to you. Let THEM initiate conversation. Often they just need time to see what you have and if curious, they will start talking. Or even just hand you some merchandise to ring up.

b) Inquisitive-- These buyers may or may not want to buy from you, but they want to get to know you. They will ask you questions and make eye contact with you from the first. (In contrast to the "just looking"s who will most studiously NOT make eye contact). These are the people to chat up with which pieces are your favorites or a general description of your process. They often shop indie because of the handmade connection.

c) Go Getter-- These buyers know what they want. They may have stopped by your booth earlier with a promise to be back or they may simply have been looking for something like what you have. Conversation with them can range from terse, quick transactions to long, drawn out chats. With these buyers it is best to let them set the pace for the conversation but keep an ear out to know when they are done selecting merchandise or if they have any questions. Often they will pick out multiple things. Offering to hold things while they continue looking can keep them shopping and better allow other people to see your stuff!

As a general rule of thumb, I smile at everyone, say "hi" to the people who make eye contact, answer questions as they are asked, and offer commentary when I see people lingering.

4. Think 3-D-- Table setups are at their best when they are three dimensional. Stick boxes under your table cloth for an easy way to "lift" merchandise in the back. Put prices UP where they are easily seen, even by people who are not looking at that particular item *righthissecond*. Lifting things up makes your table more dynamic and encourages people to come over and look. Along the same lines, use your understanding of color and composition to their fullest. (An easy cheat--think complimentary colors with different values, one dark and one light, or with high contrast.) You want your table to *pop* from a distance so people will come over and take a look.

5. Rehearse-- Do a dry run of your table set up the night before. I like to get everything set up, then pop the baskets/boxes of cards straight into the car. That way set up the next day is done in a jiffy. It also eliminates getting to the show and then discovering you don't have something crucial. You will be less harried AND one of the first ones set up. This translates to a confident, prepared seller calmly greeting the early-birds.

6. Be prepared-- Once you get set up (especially for a half day show) do not plan on leaving your table. Bring everything you will need with you! My must have list includes:

• Petty change--I find about $80 total to be enough. Get lots of singles and fives, a few tens, and coinage. If you have a coin jar at home, just bring that and only hit the bank up for the bills. At a show in late November, I only tracked bills, tossing all coinage into a bag of change and making change out of the same bag. At the end of the day I was only $0.25 off. Even if your prices are even, bring change because people will often pay with coins that create an overage. (Ex: their total is $3.50, they give you $3.60).


• A pen and paper-- At this last show a customer told me about another local show. She gave me her email and the show's name. You never know what you may need to write down.


• Business cards-- Heaps of 'em. Make sure they are on your table in easy to grab spots as well as handing them out to those that ask.


• TAPE-- Scotch and packing. If you don't need it, someone else will.


• A sheet for tracking what sold. Not only does it allow you to figure out your intake at the end of the day, but you can see what was popular and what to bring more of next time.


• Sign-up sheet-- if you have an email list, then by all means, let people sign up for it!


• Water and snacks-- 'nuff said. Hungry crafters are not happy sellers.


• Sunblock (if you will be outside) and a jacket (regardless). My fair in November was indoors, but we were right by the door. I don't think I ever took my jacket off!


• Whatever you need for your table display


• Your usual stuff--keys, wallet, purse, lip balm, gum, etc.

Most importantly though, have a great time and stay positive; you never know when someone may come by who LOVES what you have to offer!

A Carnival of Collections

Regular readers will have noticed the addition of posts each Saturday for the Etsy Bloggers Street Team Blog Carnival. Essentially this is a weekly topic that members of the street team blog about. The posts are then rounded up by the carnival "host" and all linked to from a single entry. New carnivals are posted each Monday, to follow along in upcoming weeks simply click on the blog carnival widget in my sidebar. This week I am hosting; I hope you enjoy reading about "collections" from the perspectives of some of our members. : )

Some of you will have already seen my post I Horde posted just two days ago. Alicia Mae proves that great minds think alike as she also admits "I horde!!!" in AliciaMae's Xanga.

Yazmin introduces us to her newest collection "Brassy" with her post at A Pretty Rock Jewelry. Meanwhile, over at MissMalaprop.com, Mallory showcases her entry for the Etsy Treasury Poster Contest.

Lis Kidder discuss the using Collections to their best effect in your Etsy shop on her blog Etsy Shops.

Jessica reveals how her family history influences her Collections over at AllSweet. Over at Bead Jewelry by Shopgirl, Regina demonstrates her Passion for Purple.

Confections shares some of her favorite things in a Collectibles Collage posted at Stelladanza.

Finally, Terri introduces readers to to her beads in Collections! posted at Impybat~Groovy Vinyl: An Eclectic Mix Of Jewelry And Art

Next week's carnival (on the topic of "Preparing for a Craft Fair") will be hosted by AliciaMae. Since summer is the season for craft shows, I'm looking forward to a lot of great information (unless of course, everyone is at the fairs! ; )

I Horde

This post is a part of the Etsy Bloggers Street Team Blog Carnival. This week's topic is "collections".

I'm a pack rat--or perhaps more appropriately a dragon. I horde just about everything. Interesting wrappers, old movie ticket stubs, bits of fabric, paper, and string. Or maybe the term I am looking for is "artist". : ) I often buy supplies because they call to me, knowing full well that it may be a decade before their project comes to me.

So you can imagine how I get with things I actually, intentionally, collect. Magnets, picture frames, works of art. Luckily for me I have a penchant for tiny things and a love of controlled clutter so I tend to be able to display my collections as decor.

But my favorite collection, the one other people know about, the one I have been adding to for years and years...is my dragon collection. Large ones, small ones, cute ones, and ones so ugly they are cute.

I had this grand plan to lay out all my dragons together and take a group shot for this post, but many of my collectibles are still packed away. So, instead, I took a few shots of just a few of my friends.



The dragon I am holding was purchased at a large art festival on my undergraduate campus. It was a massive event with thousands of people coming from wide distances to sell and buy. This little guy usually hangs from my wall mounted work lamp and twirls above my latest projects. The purple dragon seen in the upper right was a gift from my mother. Made of latex with a few wispy feathers for hair he is oddly cuddly in spite of himself. Just below him is one of FOUR identical figurines that were all gifted to me at different times. I have three in green and one in blue. And finally, the last image is a button I drew as a senior in high school and shows the beginnings of my dragonlings, although I didn't realize it at the time.

And of course, one of the best parts of collections is adding to them! Which is why my favorites on etsy hold all sorts of dragons in every shape, size, and price range. Some of my faves are shown below.



1. Baby Trollfing SPIKE by Trollflings
2. Blue Dragon ACEO by artbysas
3. Dragon Poot by Mikeatron
4. Fuschia Dragon by dragonwhimsy

Creative Spaces

This post is a part of the Etsy Bloggers Street Team Blog Carnival. This week's topic is the space you create in.

When we moved to Huntsville 3 months ago we took a very big step--we rented a house! And not just *a* house, *our* house. A 3 bedroom, 2 bath, cute little thing. One bedroom for a bedroom, one bedroom for an office, and one bedroom for....ME! ^_^ After trying to craft, study, eat, and relax at my same little 2'x3' foot of desk real estate at our last abode, I'm in hog heaven.

Since moving in, the majority of the house has gotten unpacked. Unfortunately, that majority does not include my craft room. I have basically been unpacking as I need things (and sometimes even finding what I was looking for!). As of right now the room has no organizational system and my decor has barely started. So consider these "before" pictures. The "after" pictures may never be quite what I want. We aren't planning to staying here more than a year or two and crafting tends to take precedence over unpacking. : )

However, onward and upward!



This first collage shows two views of my 'L' shaped desk (on the left), a view of my photographing, listing, and storage center (top right), and a close up of some of the things waiting to be photographed (or rephotographed) and listed.

You can see my magazine collage wall quite nicely. The other wall above my desk (shown in the upper left photo) will soon be home to several shelfs (they've arrived, but I haven't yet decided where to hang them) and my Etsy Art Collection (again, I have several, but they aren't hung yet). The shelves will hold inspirational items that don't hang on the wall (like plushies and dolls), as well as small collectibles. (More detail, including photographs, on this next week for the "collectible" theme). I am also going to get a magnet board to the left of the desk (maybe as far left as that blank spot above my shipping area, on which to put my growing magnet collection. (Again, more on that next week).

The picture of my shipping, photographing, and storage area shows my stero (music is a must for quiet mornings spent creating), my beautiful pillow by Joom, and my brand new tripod! ^_^ The thing holding all the boxes of cards and shipping supplied to the left in that pic is a microwave cart that my hubby and I bought to add space to our last (tiny) kitchen. I have adopted it as my very own craft cart! : ) That is my homemade lightbox sitting on the table, as well.



This second picture shows the second half of my craft room, and the very neglected area of my crafting life--my quilting space. The fabric spread out is being auditioned for a quilt I dreamed up a month or two ago. Someday, I might even make up my mind about what I want and perhaps even cut it! I am a snail's pace quilter. (Which explains why you will never find quilts in my etsy shop). The bench in the picture belonged to my grandmother. I used it for years as a kid and recovered it when I went to college. (I also made matching pillows, including a floor pillow that I LOVE).

The top right image shows supplies and projects in progress spread out on my desk. The middle image shows my snazzy new tripod the night I first got it (although it is out in the living room in that picture). The final picture shows the state of the floor. Oy vey. Stacked up against the sewing side of the wall are boxes that need to be unpacked, boxes that my hubby thinks I need to deal with, and empty boxes to be broken down and stored. I wouldn't be that bad, but between the boxes and the tripod legs, well it's a good thing I'm the only one who goes in there! : )

You may notice that I have no chair. This seems to be a theme in our house as we also have no kitchen chairs. Someday, I will actually get a chair. For now, I just wheel my office chair in there when I want to work. I stand to take my pictures anyway, so I only really move a chair in there when I will be creating for a bit of time. : )

For more details and observations, click the above photos to see them on flickr with the embedded notes. Trust me, its better there than me writing them all out here. ; )