I hate to say it but...

You know those emails that you get from Etsy that showcases a bunch of stuff for sale and it's all themed?  I hate them.  I hate about 98% of the stuff in those emails.  With this push to 'buy handmade', why am I supposed to want to buy an old pair of Justin lace-ups from 1992?  Really?  Cause, I'm not sure if they realize this but JUSTIN made those.  I understand that 'vintage' is allowed to be sold and supplies.  Believe me, I love supplies like crazy but there are some things I just feel don't belong on Etsy.  I can go to any old lady's yard sale in my neighborhood and buy some nerd-chic heels and pair them with a dress that I'm also wearing jeans with.  That's not what Etsy is about to me.  I'm just kind of sad and disappointed that that's who they're choosing to promote. 

By the way, what is going on with attractive young women wearing ENORMO glasses from the 80's?  Honey, I wore that look...IN the 80's.  I got made fun of THEN!!!  Who are these people and why are we taking their advice as to what to buy??? 

Pardon this rant of mine but it's just starting to get on my nerves a little.  I would love to see something featured that real people would buy.  Blah.  Anyway...

I am working on the most beautiful capelet for my 8 year old!  I'm using Knit Picks Swick DK in Nutmeg that will go with just about everything she has.  I'm using this pattern from Fiddle Knits and it's wonderful!  Not only that, but when I had a hiccup trying to figure out the pattern (it's not a hard pattern at all!  I'm just an idiot and let one of my stitch markers drop off), Erica, the designer, was so awesome about it!  I wrote and asked her why I was an idiot and she replied as kindly as possible.  lol  Really, she tried hard to help me and she did!  I'm not even almost nearly halfway at all, but this is definitely one of my favorite patterns so far!!! 

I also got done a pretty quick headband/neck warmer!  I made mine with some soft gray acrylic and gave it to my mom!  It looks awesome on her!!!  I don't have a picture (MOM, TAKE A PIC!!!) but I'll work on it.  ;) 

From Etsy, I have coming some mineral foundation and some mineral eye shadow and I CAN NOT WAIT!!!  I'm dying to see if it's in the mail today but it hasn't run yet!  EEEEEEEEEEEE!!!  Come on, mailman!!!  I'll update when I get it!  :D

Sometimes...

Sometimes I get really discouraged doing Etsy. I like making things and it's always so VERY nice when you get a message on there with someone saying how much they love your items. It's awesome to get custom orders! It's amazing to just feel like you're making something that someone LIKES. It's also time-consuming, demanding, sometimes frustrating... It's not ALWAYS rewarding. Every once in a while, I get the urge to purge my shops. Sell everything off for next to nothing (um, sorta like I did to my Magoo shop last week) and just call it quits. Then the craft bug bites me again. I made a cute hat out of some really nice yarn! I sold it this morning and shipped it out. I was SO HAPPY! Etsy pulls me back in and makes me want to make more and see who buys it. I'm not sure what the big draw is though. Is it just seeing people buy my things or is it making money? I don't know! Both are nice but I think maybe the real kicker is getting to know other buyers and sellers this way. I've gotten to know some really amazing, not to mention wildly successful, sellers on Etsy. I love hearing from them. So, I'll craft on. I DO need to take time to make a dress for my oldest! I've been promising! ;)