Summer Activities

Summer may be speeding by but take a few tips from the animals:

Lounge in the sunlight

Relax in your favorite position

Play on the beach

Discover that everything is a toy

Read a good book (or just take a nap)

Whatever you choose to do, be sure to enjoy the remaining days of summer just as your pets would!

EtsyBloggers 1st Anniversary Sale!

★ SALE!! EtsyBloggers 1st Anniversary SALE!! *5 DAYS ONLY* 8/13 thru 8/17 ★

We are the official street team for those who love to blog abut their craft, the creative process, and other Etsians! In the EtsyBloggers team you will find a global group of talented artists who offer a wide range of items which are handmade, vintage, and supplies.

Please click here to check out the Etsy Bloggers Street Team blog for a list of the 40+ shops participating (including our shop, BeadedTail!). Visit these EtsyBloggers shops from Wednesday 8/13 thru Sunday 8/17 and celebrate our team’s 1st Anniversary with us

Our BeadedTail sale is 10% off all items (excluding shipping) with code "Bloggers sale!". As always, a portion of ALL sales will go to animal awareness causes!

Equal opportunity!

Sadie asked why the cats have been included in the latest blog posts since she has the cutest smile. She makes me smile so I hope she makes you smile too!

Blog award!

I'm beside myself with joy today since I found out this morning that Heidi from Health Nut Wannabee Mom has chosen my blog for one of her Brilliante awards! Click here for her post. Before this morning, I had never realized there was such an award and I certainly would never have imagined that my blog would be honored with it!

What makes this award even more special is that when I first discovered Heidi's blog, I was blown away by how great her blog is. She writes so well and is informative and so down to earth that I have to go back every day to see what new posts she may have added. Of course the fact that she is a Kansan and a huge animal lover just adds to her appeal!

Thank you so much Heidi for this honor! I will be passing along the award in the next few weeks as I mull over who to bestow them on from the blogs I read.

Be sure to check out Heidi's Health Nut Wannabee Mom blog and I'm sure you'll be a regular reader too!

Doing what I love...

I have been searching for ways to bring attention to our Etsy shop so have been working on keeping this blog up to date while also trying to keep uploading new pictures into flickr and recently have signed up for Linkreferral and entrecard. I also need to work at my day job and find time to keep creating new jewelry. My mom is my shop partner but has recently undergone hip replacement surgery so I just want her to get well and not worry about anything shop related so I was feeling like I was spreading myself too thin when I finally realized something that I should have a long time ago: Do what you love and things will fall into place.

I have found that I don't look at my blog as a promotion tool but as a fun way to connect with other people who share the same interests as I do. With Linkreferral I have found many blogs, websites and even other Etsy shops that I would never have come across before. With entrecard I have found the most interesting blogs I've ever read, mostly written by or about pets (yes, pets can write blogs!). I love reading all the blogs, especially the ones about cats since they all have such unique purrsonalities.

I guess what I'm saying is that although I love creating jewelry and want to sell it in order to raise money for animal charities, the main thing about this whole new internet world I've entered is that I'm enjoying it and having fun and getting to "meet" people, and pets, from all over the world.

Once I realized that I'm doing everything because I enjoy it and not because I "have" too, things are starting to fall into place. We sold two items in our shop last Saturday and I also got this wonderful review on Linkreferral which makes everything I do worthwhile:

"We heard so much claims about exclusive designs particularly in the field of jewelry; but it is hard to find them in real life, particularly jewelry for animal lovers are either too loud, or miss the essential element of sophisticate design. This etsy store never claims to offer unique or exclusive design, but in reality it does so in style. Animal figurines are so finely blended that while animal lovers will take pride in wearing those, the fashion cautions trendy generation will also find them brilliant fashion statement. Above all, when we get to see that a part of revenues will go to charity, it inspires us more to hit the 'Add to cart' button. Keep it up. I'm really moved by your extraordinary collection. I liked your "Sitting Pretty Kitty" design. Excellent artwork. "

I look forward to working on my blog and I love reading the comments I get. I also really enjoy reading other blogs and finding new and interesting sites. I will keep creating new jewelry and listing it in our shop and eventually the sales will come but in the meantime, I thoroughly love exploring the internet world!

August 8, 2008

Today, 8-8-08, is our 20th wedding anniversary so hubby and I are going to the Oregon coast for the day and taking Sadie with us so she can romp on the beach. Isabella and Angel will be taking care of business while we are out enjoying the weather - if they can stay awake!

Thanks J for bringing me so much happiness the past 20 years and I'm looking forward to all the years and happiness to come!

Countertop Catnip?

Angel thinks that our new countertops are made with catnip, well, at least she acts like they are. Every day she has to jump up into the corner and roll around while rubbing her face on the pencil rail of the stone backsplash just like she does her catnip toys.

She stretches out as long as she possibly can so her whole body is spread along the counter and backsplash.

It's the oddest thing and she's not supposed to be on the counters but she's just so darn cute!

She loves to have her belly rubbed during this process. Looks like next time she does it, she needs her belly combed too!

AWBAR - Abandoned Wild Babies Animal Rescue

In addition to being a member of Etsy for Animals, I am also a member of Team AWBAR. AWBAR is located in Lockport, Illinois and is owned and operated by Amanda Smith. She rehabilitates ducks, raccoons, squirrels, opossums, rabbits, small birds and other small animals.

Relying solely on private donations, AWBAR is NOT a non for profit organization nor is AWBAR attached to any other organization. This is out of the pure love for animals.AWBAR is currently raising money to help offset the expenses of raising and releasing wildlife in 2008. Expenses include: food, shelter, and vet bills. In addition, AWBAR is raising money to help establish not-for-profit status.

You can read more about AWBAR by visiting the AWBAR website and the AWBAR blog.

Amanda has recently cared for baby raccoons that went through a parvo outbreak while in her care. She lost 13 due to the virus and saved many others. She works tirelessly to help the baby animals and her work is very appreciated.

The Etsy Angels team has chosen AWBAR as their August charity. Each member is either donating an item to the AWBAR Etsy shop or donating a percentage of their August sales. Be sure to check out the AWBAR blog for links to the shops of these wonderful, caring Etisans!

Thank you Lissa Lush!

LissaLush, aka Melissa, has put a feature on her MySpace about our BeadedTail shop! Be sure to check it out by clicking here. She is a fellow member of EFA - Etsy for Animals and has two shops on Etsy.

Her shop, Lissa Lush, has many wonderful items including these ACEOs in which 100% of the profits goes to EFA. Click on the picture to be taken to the item in her shop.

Her second shop, Lissa Lush Helping Cats, sends 100% of the profits to The Tenth Life, a no-kill cats only shelter. Again, she has many great items in this shop too including these unique record bowls. Click on the picture to be taken to the item in her shop.

Again, thank you very much Lissa! We appreciate the feature!

Speaking up for the Animals

This ASPCA commercial absolutely breaks my heart every time it comes on. I can't stand to watch it and I cry every time but yet I know the message needs to be heard. We have to speak for the animals who can't speak for themselves and we MUST help to stop animal cruelty. Supporting animal awareness causes is the reason we opened up our BeadedTail shop so although it's hard to watch, I felt I had to help spread the word of the plight to animals in need. Thank you for caring for the animals.

My Cat's Favorite Etsy Purchase!

I've posted about several of my favorite Etsy purchases but today, Isabella wants to share her favorite Etsy purchase. She absolutely loves her new Spider Cat Toy from CasbahKitten!

Every night she has a routine where she has to play before bed. The play sessions now last twice as long because she doesn't want to stop playing with the spider! She also got Luv Hearts Cat Toys and she carries them all over the house so we find them in different places every day. Angel likes the hearts too and will throw them into the air during play times.

As can be seen by these photos, Isabella certainly isn't dainty with her spider. She bites it, tugs it and pulls on the legs. CasbahKitten makes very durable and cute cat toys that any kitty would love to have. Isabella and Angel highly recommend them!

Be sure to check out CasbahKitten's shop and see a whole array of cute cat toys. Jelly Bean and Pickles are always at work at CasbahKitten and have come up with cat toys that they love and your kitty will love. Isabella and Angel certainly do!

Another reason why I love Etsy!

As I've stated in several previous posts, I have many reasons why I love Etsy - not only as a seller but also as a buyer. I wanted to share an experience with a wonderful Etsian that I came across last week - Cisco from mncmoon. Cisco makes hand stamped word art sterling silver jewelry and she is very talented at what she does. Last week I had sent her a convo (same as email but through Etsy) asking her questions about one of her pendants. She responded quickly and said that for the font I wanted, the pendant would have to be different than pictured since the font was too big to fit on the pendant I was asking about. Since I'm not good at picturing what things would look like without the materials right in front of me (I'm a CPA with way too much left brain), I told her I would just go with the one already in her shop.

Cisco then surprised me with a convo saying that she wanted to make a pendant like she was describing to me anyway and she'd go ahead and do it for a sample of future listings in her shop. I was under no obligation if I didn't like it. She said she had already started stamping it! I'm so glad she made it because when she sent me the pictures of the final product, I was blown away! I absolutely loved it! It's perfect and it couldn't be more "me"! I can't wait to get it and I know I'll love it even more in person!

As you can tell by the date, this pendant is a gift to myself to celebrate our upcoming 20th anniversary. I wanted something special and thanks to Cisco, I got that and more!

Cisco is having a "Christmas in July" sale through July 31st so if you are in need of a gift for yourself or for someone special, be sure to check out her shop. She has lots of beautiful pieces to choose from and she does custom orders too!

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!