lovely sunday morning.

this morning was almost luxurious - the mini was engrossed in her favorite breakfast (pancakes and maple syrup, yum) and i had some time to browse blogs.  i don't get to do it as often as i'd like, but i love the little glimpses into people - especially other crafters/artists.  i wandered along, bookmarking articles i loved and adding to my wish list. 

i'm drooling over moop's fantastic bag, pictured here:

and am so into this bandolier by cleverhands (i just can't find one to fit my tiny moleskine planner yet):

i also stumbled upon the fabulous blog of joanna goddard "cup of jo" and subsequently this lovely photostory about the legalization of gay marriage in NY.  (about time, people.)  seriously, i am a firm believer that you cannot help who you fall in love with (seriously, there were a few times where i was so in love but puzzled as to how it even came about) and really, a human being is a human being.  and doesn't the government know how much revenue, jobs and taxes can be generated just by legalizing something that shouldn't have even been unaccepted in the first place?  well, as i always say, you can't help stupid.

(that also being said, brad pitt famously said that he and angelina wouldn't get married until everyone in the world could. not that i'm a team jolie person, but live up to your word.)

i also found a similar version of my knotted up ring online (the vendor will remain unnamed) for $80.  seriously?  $80?  while lovely, so is mine.  and at $18 with free shipping, can you top that?  sometimes i wonder if i'm going about my pricing/markup/marketing all wrong.  but then again, i feel true to my handmade roots and wouldn't want it any other way. 

(think i'm going to go and make one for myself and revel in the fact that i didn't pay $80.)

 happy sunday. all!

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paying to play... my first foray into blog advertising!

in my perpetual quest to be able to make enough money through my metalsmithing to be a permanent stay-at-home-crafty-mom, i purchased my first block of PAID blog advertising. i looked into other blogs as well as Project Wonderful, but finally decided to buy ad space on my friend tia's blog.

i just love tia's blog and the way she writes about things. it also helps that her blog totally rocks, her rates are really reasonable, and she gets tons of traffic. so, if you look to your right, you can see the beautiful little graphic that she made up with my knotted ring stacking set.

thank you tia! and yay for handmade craftiness!

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Trying Out A New Look... What Do You Think?

i have a new banner. (look up) i'm trying out new looks for my blog - since i've been on maternity leave i have a lot of time to read other people's blogs and i've been quite impressed at how beautiful some of them are! so, i'm trying to "prettify" my space now too.

i just wish i knew how they get those wonderful layouts! my HTML knowledge is quite limited so i've resigned myself to just fooling around with what blogger offers.

the mini's new crib set
i also went shopping today with the mini muffin and my cousin and her kids in search of the perfect crib set... and i was pleasantly surprised when she found a gorgeously beautiful one hidden in the clearance section of our local Winners store! here are some pics of the mini's nursery - it's made a HUGE difference! i can't wait to add accessories etc. - we've both been browsing etsy like mad for decals. i'll post before and after pictures once we're done. who knew i'd be so excited about decorating an NURSERY??!!? it must be the estrogen. :)

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