Treasury!

One of my newest creations, Squirrel Charm Beaded Pendant Necklace, is included in noahsarkcollection's latest Treasury titled "Let's Show It Off". I always appreciate one of our items being chosen for a treasury and am so thankful to noahsarkcollection! As I've noted in earlier posts, I just started making charm pendants so it's an honor to have one chosen for this treasury!

Be sure to check out the treasury and click, click, click on all the wonderful items! Also, check out noahsarkcollection's shop for great animal charms and beads!

Weekend Getaway in Oregon

Summers in Oregon are beautiful and I'd thought I would share some pictures I took last weekend of some Oregon coast destinations.


The beach in Manzanita was the perfect place for kite surfers, horseback riders and many others simply enjoying the cool, crisp air off the Pacific ocean.


Oregon is home to many lighthouses and last Sunday we visited Yaquina Head lighthouse in Newport, OR. Yaquina Head is the tallest lighthouse in Oregon and is the 2nd oldest in the state and is still in operation today. Visitors are allowed to go inside the lighthouse and the view from inside is breathtaking. While there we saw two bald eagles circling around but unfortunately I didn't get a picture of them.

Yaquina Head Lighthouse is well worth a visit if you ever find yourself on Highway 101 in Newport, OR!

A Visit to Wolf Haven International

Last week we visited Wolf Haven International in Tenino, WA which is just south of Olympia, WA. From information received on the tour as well as from their website, Wolf Haven is a sanctuary for captive-bred wolves as well as coyotes and they also are one of three pre-release facilities involved in the effort to restore the Mexican gray wolves in the Southwest. The captive-bred wolves come from zoos, private owners, animal collectors, research and other facilities. Wolf Haven also fosters red wolves bred for the red wolf recovery in North Carolina.

Blackhawk & Ladyhawk (father & daughter)

The facility consists of large chained in areas (I believe they were 1/3 to 1/2 acre in size) that give the wolves plenty of room to explore and be in the most natural habitat possible. There are just two compatible wolves per each pen. Meals consist of roadkill and other types of meat a couple of times a week. They aren't fed every day since wolves in the wild eat only on successful hunts which is 1 out of 10 times so for them to live as naturally as possibly, the wolves eat about 10 lbs of meat twice a week.



We went on the first tour of the day at 10am and were fortunate enough to get a concert from the wolves and even the coyotes when the animal care workers began checking on the wolves behind the scenes. The first pair we visited went to the back of their large pen and began the howling which of course got every other wolves there going too. It was absolutely incredible to hear them all. Some of them sounded remarkably like our dog Sadie which proves the point that wolves are like dogs in many ways but in no way should a wolf be considered a pet and seeing the beautiful wolves at Wolf Haven that people had attempted to domesticate really illustrated this point.

Diablo

As can be seen from the above picture of Diablo, many of the wolves were in the process of shedding their fur and rubbed up against the chain link fence to help in the process of getting rid of all the fur. Diablo is a Mexican gray wolf and the notch out of his ear is actually from dominance disputes with his siblings when he was a youngster.

If you are ever in the area, I would recommend visiting Wolf Haven and hopefully getting to hear the howling concert! Check out their website for more information and you can even "adopt" one (or more) of their wolves in order to help provide for their support and care.

Another New Listing!

I recently started making charm necklaces because I love them so much. I found some rose quartz cat beads in a bead store on the coast and came home and made up a necklace that I think is so fun and has a lot of purrsonality! I listed a Sitting Pretty Kitty charm necklace in our shop tonight and I hope others like it as much as I do!

As always, a portion of the proceeds will go to animal awareness causes!

Four for the price of One!

We recently visited Ocean Shores, WA and just had to take a picture of the street sign we came across. They pretty much have all bases covered on one sign. We'd never seen a sign like it so had to share!

Drive carefully and always watch for the animals!

Fun posts ahead!

We just got back last night from a mini-vacation around the beautiful Pacific Northwest. I will be posting some interesting information in the days ahead. When we got home last night I checked to see if we were in any treasuries by chance and we are!! It's always so exciting finding that yellow star indicating we were chosen to be in a Treasury!

noahsarkcollection included our Fancy Jasper and Cat Face bracelet in her treasury titled Eye of Beauty! I am so grateful to noahsarkcollection for including us in so many of her lovely treasuries. Please visit her shop and be sure to check out the treasury and click, click, click! I found it late so not much time remains as it will expire at 5:36pm EST tomorrow evening. What a wonderful surprise to come home to!

Thank you very much noah!

More Sights around Oregon

I'm still doing the tourist things with family this week so thought I'd share a few more sights that we've seen. Enjoy this mini-trip!

A beach and marine fog off the North Jetty in Florence, OR

Mo's restaurant on the Suislaw River behind Old Town Florence, OR

Gorgeous purple (yes purple!) cauliflower at the Wednesday Farmer's Market in Corvallis, OR

Mini-heirloom tomatoes

And I love the yellows of the season below

Take time to smell the flowers!

A Glimpse of Oregon

Yesterday was a very windy day on the Oregon Coast but we went and tidepooled a little at Nye Beach in Newport and also checked out the sights at Seal Rock, OR. The weather was a nippy 60 degrees but it was 95 in the Willamette Valley so the coolness was wonderful! Below are some pictures from the trip:

Nye Beach, Newport, OR

Many tidepools in these rocks on Nye Beach

A guard gull in Seal Rock!

Family Visit

Later today my dad and stepmom will arrive for a visit from Kansas. (Yep, I'm a Kansan - born and raised in and around Topeka but being a huge chicken of tornadoes and thunderstorms, I moved away after college.) We've spent several days tidying up the house and now can only hope that our pets are on their best behavior this week.

I'll still be listing and keeping an eye on things in our shop but mostly this week I'll be doing the tourist stuff and will post pictures from our explorations around this beautiful state of Oregon. While we're on the coast, I'll pop into several beading stores that I frequent looking for more beads and findings (one can never have too many supplies!) so look for new items in our shop in the near future!

We Made Front Page - for a Split Second!

The Treasury West that I blogged about yesterday made it to the front page of Etsy which is a very coveted place to be! Unfortunately technical issues caused it to disappear rather quickly. As a result, noahsarkcollection prepared another treasury and once again put our Rhodonite rocks with paw toggle bracelet in it and I am extremely grateful to her for doing this. Actually, being in four, now five, treasuries and making the front page for even a second is like winning the lottery!

Here's the new treasury titled "Treasury Died We Will Try Again!!" so please be sure to check it out and help click our way to the front page once again! Also check out noahsarkcollection's shop for wonderful animal beads and other goodies!

Thank you very much noahsarkcollection!

Something New!

This afternoon I made a "Cat's Meow" charm necklace which is a departure from what we've offered in our shop so far. I made a African Sodalite beaded pendant and put it on a snake chain along with a cat charm. It provides the cluster charm look that I like so well but with the animal touch of course. I listed it tonight and hopefully someone likes it as well as I do. (Click on the pictures to be taken to the listing info.)

As always, a portion of the proceeds will go to animal awareness causes!

What a Week! We're in our 4th Treasury!!

After selling on Etsy for nearly 7 months, this week has been the most exciting and rewarding ever! Well, except for our first sale but this week certainly ranks as one of the best! I logged on this morning and nearly fell over when I saw that the very first treasury on page one of the Treasury West had a little yellow star indicating one of our products was again featured! I can't even begin to express my gratitude to noahsarkcollection for putting us in another one of her treasuries! She included our Rhodonite rocks with paw toggle bracelet in her treasury titled "What Ya Want in July????"

Thanks again to noahsarkcollection for choosing us for her beautiful treasuries! Be sure to check out the treasury and also noah's shop for many great animal charms and beads and other goodies!

WOW! Three Treasuries in One Day!

After I finished working for the day, I decided to check out the Treasury since I checked out Treasury West this morning. Lo and behold I found that little yellow star indicating that one of our products was in a Treasury!

Thanks so much to noahsarkcollections for not only including us in her Treasury West collection, as noted in the next post, but she also put our Orange-Red Tabby Cat pendant necklace in her Treasury collection titled Sweetie, Cutie and Loveable! I am thrilled and humbled beyond words!

As I've said before it's an incredible honor to be picked by our peers and put in their Treasury. Much gratitude to noahsarkcollection and also to tasteslikepurple! Be sure to check out their great Etsy shops by clicking on their name!

We're in Two Treasuries at Once!

Earlier I posted about being included in tastelikepurple's A Plethora of Purple! treasury (please see next post). I discovered that we are actually in another Treasury West - this is such an exciting day!!

Thank you so much noahsarkcollection for including our Summer Lovin' beaded earrings in your Goodies, and more Goodies treasury! Again, please check out this treasury and click away! Also, be sure to check out noahsarkcollection's shop for lovely animal charms and beads!

We're in a Treasury West!

We are so honored that tasteslikepurple has put our Purple Passion Cat's Eye earrings in her Treasury West titled A Plethora of Purple! Please check out the treasury as well as tasteslikepurple's shop for beautiful photography!

This treasury will be up until 10:52pm EST tomorrow (Thursday) night so be sure to click, click, click on all the wonderful purple items!

Thanks again to tasteslikepurple! We certainly appreciate it!

Anticipation of an Etsy purchase!

Yesterday I purchased a handbag and matching coin purse from MidnightCreations and I can't wait to get it! I had come across her shop and saw a bag with fabric that I just loved but it was in a reserved listing for someone else. I convo'd Sandy and asked her if she would be making any more bags with that fabric and adding them to her store. She replied that she didn't have any of that fabric left over but she went to the fabric store the next day to see if she could find some more and luckily for me, she could! I was able to modify the bag and picked out the lining I wanted and she made it for me over the weekend along with the matching coin purse.


Sandy was so nice to work with and I appreciated the fact that she made a trip to the fabric store for me and then she worked during the weekend to complete my bag. She is a prime example of why I love Etsy so much! I also love handbags and have quite a few but none made just for me so I can't wait for the package arrives and I get to use my "custom made" bag!

An Evening Stroll

Our temperatures are coming down making for cooler evenings which are perfect for a walk around the neighborhood. I took my camera along on our last evening out and decided to share some of what we seen beginning with these beautiful wild daisies.

Our dog, Sadie, always leads the way down the trails. She loves all the things to explore in nature. Her tail never stops wagging!

Smoke from the wildfires in California has made its way north to the Willamette Valley in Oregon. The haze is in the air every day and is affecting the Olympic track trials going on in Eugene this week. Of course dealing with the smoke is much better than what they are dealing with in California and I hope they get the fires controlled very soon.

We always see at least one deer along the way. This time we saw two. We live in a fairly populated area, however, it borders a forest so it's common to see deer in yards and even exploring our cul-de-sac from time to time. This time of year they stay up near the trees more where it's cooler.

Nature is so beautiful. Be sure to take the time to enjoy it!

Lazy Sundays...

I look forward to Sundays because it's usually the day when errands are done and it's time to relax before the work week begins again. I try to create more jewelry and get it all photographed on Sundays so I can add to our Etsy shop during the week when time is limited. Baking is another good Sunday activity, although with the temperatures heating up outside, a hot oven inside isn't as appealing as the goodies that result. Other than lounging by the pool on these hot summer days, a perfect day would be spent napping or lounging in bed reading. Below is my mom's dog Samy, who is demonstrating how he enjoys lingering in bed on hot days, or any day for that matter.

My mom, who is also my partner in our Etsy shop, BeadedTail, lives in Las Vegas and Samy is a Miniature American Eskimo and, as can be seen in the photo, they have him groomed so his hair is short to help keep him cool since the desert is pretty toasty, plus it helps with shedding. They adopted him from a couple who lived in a small apartment and realized they didn't have the space nor the time to take care of him. Samy now lives the life of a King and I'm sure he knows it! He has diabetes so must receive insulin shots twice a day to keep his blood sugar level on track. He is doing very well and is very happy and living the high life on Sunday, and every day of the week!

Ladybug!

I just listed this Ladybug charm bracelet in our shop. I made this bracelet a week ago and really considered keeping it myself because I like it so much. There's just something about the black and silver bracelet and the dash of red of the ladybug charm that I am drawn too. I hope others like it just as well and buy it!! As always, a portion of the proceeds will go to animal awareness causes!

All's Well That Ends Well

The food chain had a battle in our backyard the other day. I walked into my home office and saw our cats, Angel and Isabella, staring intently out the window. No matter what I said or what I did I couldn't get their attention.

I looked to see what had them so fascinated outside and saw a battle going on between a big black crow and a really angry lizard.

The lizard, on the right hand side of this picture, kept it's mouth open and I would imagine he was making a "hissing" sound while the crow walked circles around it.

The lizard, in the bottom left hand corner of this picture, put up quite a fight. The crow did get most of the lizard's tail and it was getting to the point where I was going to intervene with nature because I did not want to see that lizard carried off.

After about 20 minutes, the crow flew up into a tree and the lizard took the opportunity and ran like crazy to a spot where the crow could never fit. The lizard lost his tail, the crow lost his breakfast but the cat's enjoyed the show and I'm glad it ended the way it did.

More photo updating...

Photos are extremely important when selling items online and mine are a continous work in progress. This afternoon I updated some of the photos in our Etsy shop in hopes of attracting more attention to the jewelry. I would much rather create jewelry than photograph it but it's a necessary evil. Whatcha' think of how they turned out? Any critique is appreciated. You can click on the photos below to be taken to the listing in our shop.

Pets on Board - Traveling via Car with your Pet

If you are like our family, we rarely travel without our dog but without proper preparedness, traveling can be stressful for us and for Sadie. Traveling with a pet involves more than just loading up the car and hitting the road - especially if you will be going a long distance or for a long period of time. The ASPCA offers the following tips to help prepare for a safe and smooth car trip:

1. Keep your pets safe and secure in a well-ventilated crate or carrier. There are a variety of wire mesh, hard plastic and soft-sided carriers available. Whatever you choose, make sure it’s large enough for your pet to stand, sit, lie down and turn around in. And P.S., it’s smart to get your pet used to the carrier in the comfort of your home before your trip.

2. Get your pet geared up for a long trip by taking him on a series of short drives first, gradually lengthening time spent in the car. And please be sure to always secure the crate so it won’t slide or shift in the event of a quick stop.

3. Your pet’s travel-feeding schedule should start with a light meal three to four hours prior to departure. Don’t feed your furry friend in a moving vehicle—even if it is a long drive.

4. Never leave your animal alone in a parked vehicle. On a hot day, even with the windows open, a parked automobile can become a furnace in no time, and heatstroke can develop. In cold weather, a car can act as a refrigerator, holding in the cold and causing the animal to freeze to death.

5. What in your pet’s traveling kit? In addition to travel papers, food, bowl, leash, a waste scoop, plastic bags, grooming supplies, medication and a pet first-aid kit, pack a favorite toy or pillow to give your pet a sense of familiarity.

6. Make sure your pet has a microchip for identification and wears a collar with a tag imprinted with your home address, as well as a temporary travel tag with your cell phone, destination phone number and any other relevant contact information. Canines should wear flat (never choke!) collars, please.

7. Don't allow your pet to ride with his head outside the window. This can subject him to inner ear damage and lung infections, and he could be injured by flying objects. And please keep him in the back seat in his crate or with a harness attached to a seat buckle.

8. Traveling across state lines? Bring along your pet’s rabies vaccination record, as some states requires this proof at certain interstate crossings. While this generally isn’t a problem, it’s always smart to be on the safe side.

9. When it comes to H2O, we say BYO. Opt for bottled water or tap water stored in plastic jugs. Drinking water from an area he’s not used to could result in tummy upset for your pet.

10. If you travel frequently with your pet, you may want to invest in rubberized floor liners and waterproof seat covers, available at auto product retailers.

Stay safe and enjoy experiencing the country with your pet!

More Reasons Why I Love Etsy!

I finally did it - I finally tried out some of the handmade soaps and lotions offered on Etsy. I was warned in advance that I'd be hooked and, well, I'm hooked!! Here's what I bought on my little soap spree:

This Fresh Cut Grass soap by aBreathofFrenchAir was the first to arrive. I had read her blog where she discussed making this soap and when she listed it in her shop I had to try it and boy, am I glad I did! It smells so fresh and the shea butter is wonderful! I've recently purchased other soap from her and can't wait to try it out!







I also wanted to try handmade lotions so I bought a sampler pack of five of shea butter lotions from BL Soaps. I thought it'd make it easier to pick a favorite by having choices but they all smell so wonderful and are light and non-greasy too. I guess if I had to pick it'd be Lilac or Jasmine, no maybe Pink Silk, can't forget about Vixen and Temptress! I guess I have five favorites!


I bought other soaps from Etsy sellers but haven't had a chance to try those out yet. I'll report on those in a future post about the reasons I love Etsy.

Oh, by the way, we are in another treasury! Sam McLean Designs put our Orange-Red Cat's Eye Animal Awareness Bracelet in a treasury of some of her Flickr friends! It's a great honor and was a thrill to find this morning in Treasury West!

Thank you Sam! Be sure to check it out and click, click, click! Feel free to shop a little too!