Day 156 FACEBOOK !!

Day 156

When I logged onto Facebook....guess whose picture showed up in Etsy's ad on Facebook?
Sam was over the moon that she was featured in her bunny ears.  Yay!!!

Each day is a gift, open now.
xo,
Suz

No photos from this blog may be reproduced in any way without the written permission of the blogger and polkadot magpie.

Day 17 Sam 365 Project

Day 17

Sam had a very special lunch at Etsy last Thursday.  We were so happy to be invited to lunch at "Eatsy." at Etsy's headquarters.  We got a great tour with Nicole, and Adriane.  I sat next to Julie at lunch.  So fun to be there.  Adriane and I had talked on the phone for over an hour last summer.  She is a doll!  Nicole is from my home town.  It was really great to have the personal touch that Adriane provided.  Thanks Ladies!


Thanks for coming by.
Each day is a gift, open now.

xo,
Suz



No photos may be reproduced without the written consent of this blogger.

Flash From The Past

http://www.etsy.com/listing/68431049/sale-1964-caro-nan-signed-basket-purse

Last Saturday I was doing a search on Etsy and came across the purses my Mother sold in her store in the 60's and 70's.  My search was for "vintage picnic basket."  Right before my eyes was a decoupage wood personalized picnic basket purse she carried for years.  It wasn't the exact one she used to carry, but darn close. One could order them with names and towns and items that reflected the carrier's life. My Mom had her shop name on the front: "The Surrey House" and the town, Glenview Illinois put on hers. I can still hear the wooden lid clicking when she closed it. It's funny how our memories can darken, and then be instantly illuminated by sight, sound, smell, or touch. 

Then later in the day my niece put up photos of my very young Brother in Viet Nam on FaceBook.  I immediately burst into tears. He looked so innocent.  I was only 8 when these were taken. At 8 I worried every day that he would be killed. I was obsessed, one could say.  I checked our mailbox the moment I came home from school with hopes a letter from him would be there.  My Mother bought her store the year my Brother left for the Marines.  So in a way, I lost him and her at the same time. After leading a life that seemed unscathed by a long tour in Viet Nam - my brother is dealing with PTSD at 66.  When he came home I was 11.  I knew instantly this was not the same Brother I had before.  But I was too young to articulate what I saw.   Now I can tell you that the sweet face below WAS gone forever, even though he returned.

What was also hit home seeing the pictures...was how strong our DNA is. My son looks like the guy in the bottom photo.  And when my Grandson is being silly, and I have taken his picture...he looks just like his Great Uncle in the top right photo.  It's comforting to know that although part of these people are gone, they live on in the next generations.  

Thanks for reading.

Each day is a gift. Open now!

xo,

Suz

Class Picture Day

Yesterday I continued my reshooting of all the items as well as new items in my shops. I now have a Nikon 80 "big girl" camera and some big hot lights.  I had an idea to line the personalized shapes I had up like a class photo we used to take when I was in grade school.   You know how sometimes you think of something, but the execution is another story.

The bunnies and kitties were the tallest, so they went in the back row. Then came the bigger birds, and smaller birds in front.  I stood them up in a scarf box lid with waxy sticky stuff to hold them in place. It was a comedy of errors.  I always turn the lights off between set ups, as they get so hot I am fearful of starting the little photo tent on fire. When I shot the meteorite for ThePolkadotMagpie I couldn't pick up the hearts when I was finished because they were soooo hot.

Once they were lined up, I started shooting. Getting them all at the same angle so the light lit them was the first buggaboo. Then, they kept falling down because the stickum was melting. It truly was like photographing kindergarteners. A bunny would fall, I'd set it up. Then a bird would go beak down.  This is the best shot I got with them all standing. Not perfect, but you get the idea.  I think I am going to make some holders out of clear lucite like they use to hold rings in jewelry catalogs.  "Necessity is the Mother of Invention."  Oh yeah.

Below is my raven who is perched high in my studio. I like to dress him up.   Who is the kindergartener? :-)

Thanks for reading.

Each day is a gift, open now.

xo,

Suz

What I Bought on Etsy

"Kelley's Cow"  Old School Suz in my new shop: ThePolkadotMagpie

This starts a new feature on my blog.  I was first a shopper, before I had two of my own shops.  I am still a shopper on Etsy.  It is a land of amazing finds. Vintage is a category I could live in all day.  There seems to be some mathematical formula between what item I want to buy and the shipping being as much if not more than the cost of this wanted piece. Be it on the other side of the world, or 500 pounds...usually those are the things I REALLY want.  The art and illustration shops are also amazing.

I worked my ass off this year.  True, I did it in my pajamas half the time.  There is something to be said for working the entire morning in one's sleepwear.  I love it.  As a reward I wanted to buy myself something.  I love the surreal work that is photography based.  So I decided to set myself a budget of $100.00 and went shopping at some of my favorite shops.  The following two pieces are part of my gift to self.  I have them up on an easel in my studio.  I plan to rotate pieces there like the front page of Etsy. However not every hour. :-)  I bought 5 pieces.

Top is "The Wing Collector" by ThisYearsGirl  on Etsy.com

Below it is "Theodore W. Elwood"  by Emporium51 on Etsy.com

One makes me laugh and one makes me cry.  Ahhhh life.

Everyday is a gift, open now.

xo,

Suz

Each Day is a Gift!

Colette of Rawartletterpress made my request. 

What a week!  The garden is slowing down from it's last summer blush.  I am planting fall seeds.  Green chilis are in the freezer.  I am FedExing my annual ritual to those in other states who are green chili addicted.  We've had Bob's 2 sons and girlfriend at our house.  I am preparing to take 5 days in Denver with my daughter and grandson.  A TIA last Wednesday has left me with a slight gimpy left leg. However, life is not slowing down...I won't allow it.

I had Colette of RawArtLetterPress:  make this poster for me as a daily reminder to live in the present.
(http://www.etsy.com/shop/rawartletterpress?ga_search_query=raw&ga_search_type=seller_usernames).  I am grateful to wake up every day with a new chance to run like I always do.  This hangs in my studio.  I also had one made for a friend in Chicago who had sudden kidney failure at 40.   I'm off!

That's all...have a great week.
Thanks for reading.
xo
Suz

Etsy Crashed...

This morning as my stream of orders from Parenting Magazine came in...I kept getting messages from people trying to order items for Mothers Day and they complained about Etsy being "down."
I have not been able to log onto my account in an hour.  I can't imagine how many people are frustrated as H---that they can't get on.  Grrrrrrr.
I hope they are able to fix their problems.  Soon!!  So sorry to all those customers.