Spring Is Eating My Brain....and I'm Sorry...

Just a REALLY quick post to explain my blogging absence....
There are 2 things that have me sort of "Out To Lunch" as far as posting recently.

1) I have become increasingly disillusioned with Etsy and am thinking of simply getting my own site with shopping cart and all. This is taking up a ton of my online time with research and the like. A domain can be expensive, and I need to tighten up, but Etsy is just not doing it. Too many people, too much politics.

2) It's spring here, ish, and for those of you that know me, you know it's garden time. As my garden actually consists of pots on the porch, it can be both more and less work than a yard garden. (Fewer critters and weeds, more watering and trimming.) As a side note, the blueberries, raspberries and daylilies all came back, and I got (deep breath) peas, chili peppers, tomatoes, sage, garlic, basil, rosemary, lemon thyme, strawberries, peppermint and 4 (or 5) varieties of lettuce all potted and ready to feed us!!! Next up are corn, carrots, bell peppers, possibly pumpkins, pickles and brussles sprouts (if the cabbage worms don't come for the lettuce this year). I have no high hopes for our grapes tho....they may be goners.

SO...the crux of this little note is thus....I WILL still be posting my favourite things once in a while, and when I have the time to 'interview' people I'll still be doing the favourite people posts. But neither of these will be on a monthly schedule. Not for a few months anyway. We'll see what deep summer brings this year. But I plan on a lot of otside time this summer, so bear with me.

Only YOU, can help HIM rule the world!!

Not back from hiatus just yet...but I think this is.........special.

My Meez!

I'm gypsycaster

This is the 3D me.
Make your own,
and we both get Coinz!

Emergency Post For My Aussie Friends !!!!!!!!!

This is a very important post!!!!

Our Australian friends need our help! There have been DEVASTATING brushfires all over the Victoria region of Australia! These brushfires (most folks believe they are being set) have taken many lives (I believe the expected total so far is 208) and SO many others have lost their homes and all they hold dear.

This has become a monstrous disaster and the Australian people are suffering greatly.

My friend on Redbubble, MT has written a journal post on his RB site and I've copied it here to help reach more people. (I also journaled it on MY RB site as well.)

I hope all the links work, bare with me.

Bushfire Appeal:

Hello one and all.Victoria (one of australia’s states) has had a terrible fire rage through in the last few days, and has had terrible consequences with so far 108 confirmed dead.Anne Van Alkemade has set up a paypal bushfire appeal which you can learn more about HERE this is truly a devastating fire, probably the worst in Australian history – certainly worse than the Ash Wednesday fire in 1983.Australians are known for their genoristy and charity- we as a nation had given so much to the tsunami appeal, the nonsense in burma, even with hurrican katrina – in this time of trouble, it would be nice to see some of that charitable feeling return back this way.RED CROSS DONATION APPEAL HERE

Steven Sandler, another of my RedBubble friends took some terrifying shots of the fires approaching his home. You can see them HERE at his site. Click the 'browse art' link to see the other pictures. AND there is a website set up for donations and aid HERE .

Please...I know this isn't a HUGE blog with tons of followers, but we have a few, and you all have blogs, and friends, and THEY all have blogs and friends. Lets get this information swarming!!!

Thanks you guys.

Love and Light,

Gypsy

UPDATE!!!: Turns out that north and north west Queensland Areas in Austrailia are being devastated by horrible flooding!! What an awful summer for poor Australia!

If you would like info on THAT area or would like to donate to that cause, my good RB friend Dimsim gave me THIS link.

Again, all my happy thoughts, wishes for healing and positive eergy go to the people of Australia during this rough time.

Another AWESOME contest I DON"T want people to enter!!!

OK...so I didn't win the coffee/tea/chai/hot cocoa maker...that's ok...I can live with that...*sigh*
BUT it is time once again for another cool and amazing contest from my lovely and awsome SITS sisters! (seriously, go visit them! TOO cool!)
Here is the link to check it out. http://www.thesitsgirls.com/2009/02/february-giveaway-bedroom-bliss.html?commentPage=2
500 thread count sheets my friend! + new pillows, + linen spray and candles + a Target card.....so much swag any Pirate would be proud! (AND sleep better!)
S opop on by and check out the contest AND the SITS site. Swing by some of the other SITS sister sites, and PLEASE!!!! leave a comment whereever you see the cool SITS logo button! It's what SITS is all about!

My Favourite Things Part 2

Pottery. Much like the ACEOs I blogged about last month, pottery and stoneware are a 'special addiction I have. I discovered many years ago that even myself and my very tall hubby have trouble breaking good stoneware, and thus began my quest.
Some families feel the need to have a matched set or pattern to their dishware...not me. I figure, if I get only a couple of pieces from each magnificant potter I find, I not only have a really beautiful array of different glazes and textures, but if hubby or I DO manage to break a piece there's no running around like a mad person trying to replace it.

Discontinued patterns be damned! I will never worry about broken dishes again! I can even use the beautiful shards of a broken piece for another craft project!

Don't get me wrong tho! I am picky about my pottery! I prefer earthy glazes. The pieces MUST be utilitarian! And I'm not really into pictures. Painted on or otherwise. Any pattern to the pieces I tend to choose are done in the glazing process. Swirls of colour, dots, geometric patterns...all totally acceptable. I have even been known to indulge in the occasional carved or etched piece. But it has to be really exceptional.

My husband has become accustomed to my rampant pottery addiction, and tries to be both supportive and restraining...I guess we really don't NEED a fifth mixing bowl....really. At the same time, he's a doll about replacements now! If he breaks a piece, he actually gets excited about finding a new one! (I've even gotten him to enjoy seeking out potters at craft fairs!) I can't truly express how it feels to have a big cup of hot coffee or tea in a beautiful piece of hand crafted pottery! Each of the pictures you see in this post are linked to the Etsy shops of the truly talented potters that created the item pictured. In a few notable cases, I already own a piece or two from that crafts person, (Risingsky, I LIVE to have hot cocoa out of the GIANT mug I bought from you!) but I have mostly

chosen to highlight the works of those I hope to buy from in the near

future. Antb and Fehustoneware, you both know I'm comin for ya! LOL!

And though a couple of these crafters are very new to me, I plan on raiding their sites as well!

Many thanks to : khphillips, charityelise, karinlorenc, fehustoneware, antb, tlwpottery and risingsky . All fantastic potters with shops on Etsy.com. Just check 'em out!

(NOTE: I believe the piece I chose from Antb was thrown by hubby Danny.)

OMG! This Blog is AWESOME!!!

Ok...I just HAD to share this blog with you...Follow them, they are cool! LOL!
The main blog is SITS, and their mission is one we can all get behind. If you like a blog you've read...COMMENT!!!!
They call themselves a 'blog support system' but I think they are more of a self esteem support system!!!
And right now they are running an AMAZING contest....you can win the COOLEST brewing system out there! Coffee, tea, chai, even hot cocoa!!!! It does everything, and it's awesome, and you can win one!!!!
You MUST check this out!!!
SERIOUSLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Here's the loooong link to the contest, but check out the blog home too! COOL folks!!
http://thesecretisinthesauce.blogspot.com/2008/12/win-keurig-platinum-brewing-system-and.html

My Favourite People: Part One

So, for my very first Favourite People segment, I'm zooming in on the madly talented, ultra fabulous Liz Staley!! (applause here.)

Liz truly is one of my favourite people. In fact, the link to her blog is listed over there on the right under "Light Me" as she is the not so dark and gothy one!

Liz was kind enough to subject herself to my 10 questions, and gave me the go ahead to post some of her fantastic Etsy wares here for all my friends and fans to oggle! (oogle?)

So here we go:

1) What inspires you most? Anime, my own nerdy ways, role-playing, and sometimes conversations with friends.

2) Is there a craft or art form you don't already do that you would love to learn? Tons! I'd love to learn bookbinding, leather working, wood working, more about knitting, glassworking, pottery... I could go on for days. XD

3) When did you discover you were creative? When I was a baby my mom painted ceramics. Apparently I wanted to help, so she gave me a rubber duck, a cup of water, and a brush. It worked until I figured out that it wasn't changing colors! My mom always encouraged us to be creative too.

4) Of all the things you do (craft wise) what do you most enjoy? Making plushies. (Like the Flying Spaghetti Monster over there!)

5) What is your favourite thing to do to relax? Role-playing games. (the tabletop ones, not video games)

6) Name your top 5 places to shop on the web. Etsy, Amazon, buybuttonparts.com, Hancock Fabrics, and Sassy Bears and Fabrics (get most of the fabric for my plushies there!)

7) Do you listen to music when you work on your art / crafts? (if so, what kind?) I listen to music all the time, and in just about every genre! My playlist has pop, rock, metal, alternative, classical, techno, gothic techno, and even a little bit of rap and country. I also have Japanese, Romanian, Swedish, Korean, and Chinese music.

8) What is your favourite quote / mantra / creed at this moment? I can do anything I wish if I put my mind to it.

9) Who pushed you / had hard faith in your creative side most growing up? My mom.

10) Has Etsy been a boon or bane for you? Sometimes it's both! LOL! I've made a lot of friends on Etsy that are great, and I've learned a lot too. It's great to have the confidence to make things and sell them! Plus I've sent a lot of my creations to all sorts of countries all over the world- this week I sent buttons to Switzerland- how cool is that?! Overall I love Etsy and it's been great for me. :)

Awesome! Thanks for sharing Liz!! Check out all Liz's awesome geekery at http://www.lizstaley.etsy.com/ !!

"Out Cold" ACEO original

My Favourite Things : Part One

ACEOs....ah how I love them! The most amazing little things!

(Steve In the Snow by bluedogrose.etsy.com )

I collect them, I make them....I love to look at them.

At a mere 2 1/2" x 3 1/2" in size, the ACEO is one of the most interesting forms of SFA or small format artwork. (ACEO = Art Cards Editions and Originals by the way.)

An artist can put as much or as little detail as they like into this tiny space, in any medium imaginable.

This one is made almost entirely from polymer clay and is called "Honey Bee Baby" by MandarinMoon.etsy.com . --->

I have in my personal collection, collage pieces, wooden pieces, stained glass pieces, oil paintings, acrylic paintings...even a shrink plastic piece! (That one is by the wonderful Liz Staley, who will be the focus of my first "Cool People" post next week sometime!)

<----Mad Girl's Love Song by Eluneth.etsy.com and Primal Scream by HealingExpressions.etsy.com

An affordable way to collect original artwork or limited edition prints, ACEOs take up very little space. I have 2 wall frames that hold 8 ACEOs each and I rotate out pieces as I like. I also have two on easels on my tv console and a lovely photo album with the bulk of my collection in trading card sleeves.

<------That's one of mine! A Firey Temperment by gypsycaster.etsy.com

So, if you love art of all kinds, but are on a tight budget or in tight quarters....or maybe you just like little things, ACEOs are for you! Please check out not only the artists mentioned here, but all the other amazingly talented people out there branching out into this fascinating medium. You'll be surprised at the amount of detail, and talent, you can squeeze into 2 1/2" x 3 1/2"!!!!