Huge Etsy Give Away Promotion!

  * Recently we've all playing the Esty Promo Love game on Facebook! It is a game that involves promoting Etsy items on the famous social network in a fun and helpful way. It started with a group of Etsian sellers and EVERYONE is welcome to join the group!!!

* The philoshopy of this game is mutual promotion! Using the "share" option that is almost everywhere on FB we can spread an item we like to our friends in real time with just one click! If one of our friends likes it and clicks the "share" button too, the item we picked for sharing will immediately appear on the wall of our friend, where it will be seen by all of their friends who may also like to play the game, and so on... Imagine how quickly an item will be seen by hundreds or thousands of people who may not even know the person who made it - and all this for FREE! 

* Etsy Promo Love game is celebrating the opening of the group with a big GIVEAWAY!!!!

*Here are the beautiful items that can be won, thanks to the generous EPL group members:

1.  Vivi Varvarande - Lucky Rabbit Pendant

2.  Katherine Pyl - Vintage Filigree Necklace

3.  Kostas Tsipos - U2 Collage

4.  Stefania Morgante - Black Pen Print

5.  Karolin Wagner - Glass Figurine Animal

6.  Nausika Kokkini - Rose Silver Ring

7.  Anta Papadopoulou - Flower Earrings

8.  Silvia Manzoni - Black Earrings

9.  Marlene Pennacchietti - Blue Roset Ring

10.Lori Peery Davis - Vanilla-Lavender Bath Salts

11.Angel Pearls- Crochet iPhone/iPod Cover

12.Katerina Perouli - Felted Hairband

13.Kallia Zampou - Fornasetti Evil Eye Brooch

14.Fatma Solmazgul - Swarovski Crystal Pendant

15.Candan Imrak - Turqoise Earrings

16.Maria Schina - Dots Silver Pendant

17.Rita Juse-Cirkse - Ceramic Pendant

18.Dinamar Demir - Flower Lariat Necklace

19.HeartshapedCreations - Polymer Clay Figure

20.RosemaryManufacture - Glass pearl Earrings

21.Toofashion - Bookmark

22.MyHeartBeads - Bali Copper French Earrings

23.Roroism - Felt Flower Pin

24. Elr104 - Fine Art Photograph

25.Zafran - Pink Patch Iron

26.Huiyitan - Pencil Ear Studs

27.OmniaCrafts  - Wire Sculpture/Ear

28.Beautyland -Red & Black airy Necklace


* If you want to participate in this giveway and have a chance to win one of the fabulous gifts shown above, you have to do three things from 16 to 29 June:  

1. Post the giveaway on your blog (*copy the text from here , *paste it to a new post of your blog in Edit HTML sheet, *then publish your post and let everyone know about the big Etsy Promo Love Giveaway!!!) 

2. Share the giveaway on a place out of Facebook (forum, blog, other social networks like Twitter)  

3. Share the link of your announcement here so your participation will be valid!!!

** You can participate as many times as you want! In this way you increase the possibility to win one of these amazing gifts!!! BUT you HAVE TO DO the whole procedure AS MANY TIMES AS YOU WANT TO PARTICIPATE!!!!


** The winners will be drawn using a random generator from http://www.random.org/ and announced on the wall of Etsy Promo Love on 30 June.

* Stay tuned!!!! More surprises from Esty Promo Love game will follow!!! 

**************************

http://www.etsy.com/shop/Artistico GREECE

http://www.etsy.com/shop/KalliasWonderland GREECE

http://www.etsy.com/shop/HeartshapedCreations CYPRUS

http://www.etsy.com/shop/evihan TURKEY

http://www.etsy.com/shop/QaraQul GERMANY

http://www.etsy.com/shop/gufobardo ITALY

http://www.etsy.com/shop/swiedebie NL

http://www.etsy.com/shop/RosemaryManufacture POLAND

http://www.etsy.com/shop/angelasermoneta ISRAEL

http://www.etsy.com/shop/omniacrafts UK

Wow! I have a piece featured in the Etsy Top 10!

This bracelet made it to the Etsy Top 10 list!  I just happened upon it and what a thrill!  Unfortunately my Etsy shop is on vacation but you can still find the "Autumn Fire" bracelet in my ArtFire Studio!
Autumn Fire Crystal Bracelet  You'll find all kinds of pretty autumn inspired jewelry there! 

Kraken's Treasure

Check out this new listing in my ChrissyMarie shop on Etsy! If your a fan of the movie series "Pirates of the Caribbean" you'll love this Kraken necklace. This is just one in a series that will be coming soon. If you have special shells, charms or treasures I can make a custom pendant just for you!

Hammering out my frustrations....

I've been frustrated lately. The dumb little ups and downs of my life have been getting a bit tedious and sometimes I just need to get physical without of course hurting anyone or anything.

I realized that this sometimes requires a bit of imagination and creativity on my part so I picked up a hammer and a couple of copper rings I had in my stash and bashed the heck out of them!

It felt really good and it looked really good :) This is the result of all that beating and banging...

I hope you like them. I sure do! I just listed them on http://www.chrissymarie.etsy.com .

Maybe I should try this technique more often. It's really quite therapeutic!

Whimsy

I just added a new necklace to my Etsy store! This is one of my favorite pieces. I hope you like it. Let me know what you think! I'd really like to get your opinions!!

Yearning for spring?

I'm SO looking forward to spring and getting the chance to dig in my flower beds! If you are too, click on the title of this entry to see the featured Etsy store on "We Love Etsy Feedback" blog. It's the cutest little shop and she sells seeds and plant cuttings and really cool stuff that grows!
Good luck!

Click here for Valentine's Day Features and Fun!

It's been quite a day at my house. Not because it is Valentine's Day but because my shops are being featured on a cool blog that features ONLY Etsy shops that have a 100% positive Feedback rating.


With the feature are give aways from each of my shops (your choice) and a sale with a special Password available only through the website. Go check it out, it's easy and all you have to do is comment on your favorite item in each of my shops (don't forget to leave contact info in case you win!), then wait for a computer generated drawing to see if you are the winner. That's easy and a great way to get something fun for free too!


Not only that but I'm offering a great sale on this blog special as well. I've been busy trying to add new items to my shops but they either sell locally or pretty quickly after they are listed. So if you don't see something you know I have or make just let me know and I'll see if I can come up with a special listing just for you. I love my Etsy customers and friends! And some of you are extra special to me. (You know who you are!!!)


Thanks and good luck.....I hope you win!!!

Living with Reactive Attachment Disorder

I started a part time job last week! Wow - I'd forgotten how organized I had to be and how much energy and planning it takes. I do tend to get more accomplished because I'm forced to plan ahead and that's a good thing. But OH MY GOSH! I'm so tired! Now I remember why it's called "work" LOL!

This work is near and dear to my heart. I'm working as a Foster Parent Aide in a household with children who have Reactive Attachment Disorder. Having come up through the Missouri Division of Family Services as a foster child and then an adopted child I can certainly relate to what these children are experiencing.

The other side of that coin is experiencing life with a RAD child when you, as a parent, also have to learn to live and cope with being Attachment Disordered yourself. It's akin to placing magnets with like poles next to one another - they push away from each other even though they are both magnetic.

For anyone not familiar with Reactive Attachment Disorder, it is the inability to form emotional attachments to another person especially a primary care giver - usually the mother figure.

When I was growing up this wasn't a malady with a name. There was no diagnosis or treatment and very little understanding of the effects of abandonment and/or neglect on a child. Until my daughter was diagnosed with RAD I had heard very little about it. I certainly never dreamed I would be diagnosed with the same problem. I must say it's difficult to teach a child to trust you while you are pushing them away at the same time. I did say it was REALLY HARD WORK!

The wonderful thing is this...with enough work, persistence, and love you can learn to cope with, if not rid yourself, of RAD. My daughter and I now share an incredibly close bond and I'm so thankful to have her in my life. It's truly hard to believe that ten years ago I was seriously thinking of disrupting her adoption and returning her to the foster care system.

RAD is incredibly damaging to the entire family. The afflicted child plays the adults against each other and can inflict serious harm to a marriage. In the end everyone involved is bruised and bloody and an emotional disaster.

We were fortunate to finally discover an awesome Social Worker who specializes in RAD. She turned our lives upside down and completely around.

Years ago I wrote a poem about the feelings I experienced growing up. Basically a RAD person spends their entire life waiting for "the other shoe to drop." Not just waiting but fully expecting to be rejected or abandoned, and building a protective shell to ward off love from the people you most want to love you. I first named the poem "Emotion" and later revised and renamed it "The Bruised Heart". I designed a pendant in honor of the RAD child. I think there are a lot of us out there!

This is a photo of the "Bruised Heart" pendant I designed and the description I wrote for my Flickr page and my Etsy store...... "This heart has special meaning for me and if you've ever known someone with Attachment Disorder, who's been adopted, or abused and has trouble forming relationships...this heart is in honor of them.
The heart is a Dog tooth Amethyst named for the jagged edges that form between the Milky Quartz and the Purple Amethyst. Attachments begin forming while the mother feeds her child and eye contact is made. Trust begins. The Milky Quartz symbolizes feeding. In some of the hearts you'll see streaks of Citrine - which is the same as Amethyst until it is heated inside the earth's crust. Then the magic happens and Amethyst becomes Citrine. This process cannot be duplicated in Laboratories! Amazing huh?! Change happens when warmth and love are given. The bruised heart changes.
At the bottom of each heart is a Swarovski Crystal Teardrop, a reference to the tears of a child in the poem that will accompany the necklace.
I've used Black Satin Cord to symbolize the connection between a mother and her child. It is finished with Sterling Silver end wraps and handcrafted Sterling Silver hook and loop. Each pendant comes with a bookmark featuring the poem.

(I only have about 10 of these left. Each heart is different but all are beautiful. If you want one it's time to order. I have to order these hearts to be hand cut in India and I never know how long it's going to take to get them back in.)

For those of you whom suffer from RAD....please do not lose hope! You can do this! For those of you expecting your first child...please take the time to bond with your child while they are still infants. Make eye contact and appreciate the wonder of the love you have for your baby.

If you'd like to know more please click on this link: http://www.radkid.org/

Changes....good, better, and best! Part II

Things happen for a reason. I'm just sure of it! I may not understand and frankly, I don't need to understand everything that goes on in my world. Just knowing that a purpose was served is enough for me. Change is a stressful thing but not all change is a bad thing.

In my first post about change I told you about the hard lesson I learned about being in a group without leadership and I mentioned how much I love being a part of my church. It was because of a sermon my pastor presented a few weeks ago that I decided to make a change in the groups I had become involved with. I realized that it's hard to expect Christian and Faith based behavior from people who don't live it everyday.

I joined CAST, the Christian Artists Street Team on Etsy.com. The welcome was quiet but sweet. The change in attitude amazing and the craftsmanship? Well, let's just say there are some pieces of art that are of Divine Inspiration! I'm meeting new people who are led by the the very best - God. Who better to lead?

I know that sounds a little naive. The point is, with God in the hearts of the membership we have a better chance of succeeding as a group and surviving as friends. Sharing the same values make a huge difference!

I'm finding that I don't always make the best choices for myself the first time around. (I don't know why that always surprises me!) Sometimes we just have to listen to the messages coming in around us and concentrate on God's voice, push out the harsh tones of those who bully and hurt us, lean on those who support and lift us up...and make a change for the better!

Check out the art of the Etsy CAST team by clicking on the title of this post. There is real talent here....

Changes....good, better, and best!

Wow, it's amazing what can happen to a person in a few weeks time!

I'll start with the worst of the changes - which as it turns out, is a really good thing....

Several weeks ago I posted here that I don't do well with groups. I admit it! I don't do well in groups because I'm not the kind of girl who likes cliques. It's just so "junior high school". I like so many people and I enjoy meeting new people so boxing myself in to a group just goes against my personality type. Now, having said that, I also love being a part of something really special!

For instance, I love my church! TVBC is such a special place and filled with such a wonderful array of people....well let's just say I love them all.

Dream Catcher's Equine Assisted Therapy Group is an AWESOME group of people who serve a very special group of children and adults with disabilities through hippo therapy - therapy on horseback. My daughter has participated in this group for several years now as a client. The result has been amazing! She has grown and developed so because of the horses and people in this group. Not only has she benefited from this group but my husband and I have benefited from being a part of the volunteer group who make up the Dream Catchers. (I'll blog more about this subject later and in the meantime be sure to check my Favorite Link List for a web link to this group's site.)

However, there are groups we get involved with that do more damage than good. When the leadership doesn't know how to lead, develop fair and balanced rules and guidelines, or how to avoid conflict of interest issues then it's time to ask questions. Unfortunately I asked questions and chose to do so in a private manner. I was not willing to embarrass the self-appointed leaders of the KC Etsy Street Team or cause a huge upset by posting my questions in the public forums so I emailed them privately and in the process learned a very hard lesson. Privacy not only protects but it also allows for an atmosphere of secrecy. Bullies lurk in the most unexpected places and never having been a victim of bullying, I didn't see the attack coming. In short I am no longer a part of the KC Etsy Street Team - this is my choice. I have been banned from the KC Etsy Flickr group because they are terrified I will post the truth of what took place. I opted not to do that before the ban was ever placed. It was a moot point.

I'm choosing the "high road". I have been threatened, lied to, bullied, and banned. Pretty vicious stuff for a small time group or "team" as they like to call themselves. What the leaders of that group didn't realize was that I had archived all of the emails shared between us and I am perfectly willing to share those records with any member of the KC Etsy Street Team who would like to know why I've been banned. I will not waste more of my time on this subject.

The bright spot in all of this was meeting the rest of the membership on the KC Etsy Street Team. There are wonderful and talented artists in Kansas City and many of them are a part of this group. Please check them out and by all means....BUY!

I'll be covering the "Better" part of this post in Changes...good, better and best! Part II.

My Experiment with Linking Photos to my Store

Ok. I told you I'm not very good at this and for me it's all just a big experiment! I have a hard time just editing the colors on my blog pages much less figuring out how "links" work. Theses are some things I'd like to learn how to do:



Let my friends attach links to their own sites.

Have Links to my favorites lists - books, authors, movies, music, etc.

Direct link my photos to my etsy store instead of to my flickr site.



So, I've got my work cut out and lots of brain exercise to do. Wish me luck and here goes......

This is a link to a pretty Tourmaline and Gold Wire Bangle Bracelet in my Etsy store.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=8321119 So how do I connect this link to a photo and where do I upload that photo from? Hmmmm.... Must think on this! I think I'll go call my super-duper smart son and see if he has any advice for his not so super-duper smart Mom!

Ah Ha! Maybe this is where Etsy mini's come in to play! Let me give that a try......

Hotdog! It worked!! (Dancing around and giggling!)
However, it still isn't showing the Tourmaline Bangle I wanted in the photos. I haven't figured out how to choose which pieces I want to show up in the mini album.
Sounds like a job for another day!