Etsy Monday -- Rose Purses Galore

You'll have to head over here to check out the full selection.

Etsy Monday--Big Ben Screen Prints

Yes, I know it's Tuesday again, but this time cloudy weather prevented me from taking the photos I needed to post on Monday. But enough about that...

Whenever I take pictures of my prints in frames, I like to surround them with vases, figurines, what have you in order to create a vignette of sorts. I have lots of modern vases and such, but they are all in storage somewhere in Oakland. Fortunately, my mom, at whose house I am presently vacationing and printmaking, has an ample supply of home decor items for me to use.


For example, these are three white pitchers I gathered up as possible participants in the Big Ben photo, but decided against using.

And this is just a sampling of other such pitchers and vases that I found while conducting an impromptu three-minute photo tour of her house:



As you might have guessed, she wasn't home at the time.

It's a Mystery

So, if I haven't mentioned it before, I continue to be amazed by those of you who not only took the time to read my book, Gravity vs. the Girl, but to spread awareness about it via word of mouth, your blog, etc. (for instance, this latest blurb from an actual, real, certifiable, published author here.) I try to express direct thanks for those mentions that make their way to me through my Google alert--but if I missed one, please know how grateful I am.


The Kindle version of the book has also had a little surge in popularity as of late. I can tell from the "customers who bought this item also bought" feature on Amazon that the source of the new sales are Kindle owners who read really cheap self-published romance novels. If that is my new demographic, then I embrace them wholeheartedly. Thanks to them, the book occasionally makes its way onto a couple of Amazon's "Popular in this Category" lists. See, for example, this screenshot from yesterday:




As you can see, GvsG was number 6 in the "Books > Entertainment > Humor" category and number 40 in the "Kindle Books > Mysteries & Thrillers > Thrillers > Legal."


Great news, right? Well, not if you bought the book hoping for a riveting legal thriller, because you were probably royally disappointed. The pink cover devoid of any images of gavels or the scales of justice should have tipped you off. Still, I have a feeling I may have confused Amazon's autobot category determiner by using the words attorney and ghost so often in the book. My sincerest apologies, autobot.

Etsy Monday--Big Rose Bags

Except, as you may have noticed, it's not Monday, it's Tuesday. Still, I listed them on Etsy on Monday, so that counts, right? Kinda like when people say "It's Christmas in July!" Only, why do they say that?

Zoolander

I went to the Phoenix Zoo today to photograph some animals for an upcoming art project. This was my zoo growing up, site of many an elementary school field trip. I was pretty excited to eat in the actual food court for a change today, instead of being forced to consume a cafeteria-prepared bag lunch while the smell of french fries wafted from the food court. So yeah, it was a big day.

Like most zoos, the Phoenix Zoo has lots of informative plaques and recordings to help you learn about the animals on display. But after seeing the Endangered Species Carousel, which is at the center of the Zoo, I'm not sure if I can believe any of it.


Here is a picture of the sign to prove that it is, indeed, an Endangered Species Carousel. You get the idea... all of the animals on the Carousel are different endangered species (my precious Giant Panda was shoved way in the back).

But then there is also this:


What?!! First, this isn't endangered--you can find a resin teal dragon in just about every Chinese restaurant in Los Angeles. Second, this cannot be a real species. I had to go to the Zoo's website, which provides helpful information about each animal represented on the ride. According to that, this is a "Sea Dragon." Then I Googled "endangered sea dragon" and came up with lots of info about an endangered leafy sea dragon, which looks nothing like this (think kelp with eyes). Then I Googled just "sea dragon" and came up with lots of pictures that look just like this, all of them illustrations on medieval gamer websites. Enough said.

You might want to know that the Endangered Species Carousel also features Triceratops:



No seriously, at first I wasn't sure if it was Triceratops due to the showgirl horns and all, but then I confirmed it on the same zoo website. This, of course, begs the question: How old is this ride? Cause I think "endangered" is a bit of an understatement.

Etsy Monday: Valentine Overload

As part of my New Year's resolution to list at least one new item on Etsy every week, I will also be posting here every Monday about said new item. If you are adverse to such self-promotion on blogs, I have this to say: (a) I don't get it [it's a blog, after all]; (b) I totally get it [it irks me, too]; and (c) just stay away on Mondays if that makes you feel better.

With that, today's new items are.... hand-pulled, screen-printed Valentines, in about five million different ordering combinations. My fingers are hurting from all the relisting and I forgot to put the ugly wrist brace on because I am upstairs and it is downstairs, which may as well be China, and I thought the listing would only take five minutes and it took an hour and a half.

And yes, I did do black Valentines. I'm sort of banking on the world being ready for that one.

Resolve 2010!

In 2010, I aim to...

1. Always have painted fingernails
2. Be healthier
3. Convert to optimism
4. Refuse to be defeated by details
5. Finish first book with Mrs. Dub
6. Spend more money on big things
7. Spend less money on little things
8. Travel somewhere I've never been before
9. Wear this ugly wrist brace whenever I'm typing, cutting, sewing or screen-printing
10. Post something new in my Etsy shop every Monday
11. Stop writing rules for myself
12. Draft doable to-do lists
13. Embrace public transportation
14. Wear more flats
15. Appreciate the present