New Year, New Items

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From late 2014 to late 2015, I was taking time off my Etsy shop to focus on my new partner and life (items were still shipped, though!). I started sewing and crocheting quite a bit again this previous winter, and life is slowly creeping back into the shop as spring does in the year.

If you want to see what I've been up to -- mainly attending operas, ballets, and plays with my significant other -- feel free to visit my new blog, Canadian Catbox.

Otherwise, hello and Happy New Year!

Up soon: a crochet purple & silver flower headband

Happy Holidays + Lolita Contest

I hope everyone with an Etsy shop is experiencing some of the holiday rush! I had under 50 items total, and have already sold three this month, so I'm a happy camper. ;)

Santa kind of forgot about me this year, but with a bit of help, I might win something from my wishlist:

My spring lolita fashion wishlist (sort of*)

Please "like" the picture by clicking on it to reach the Lolitadesu Facebook page! You don't have to "like" anything or anyone else for this.

The person with the most "like"s or "share"s wins one item from her wishlist!

*Mine would be all white except white items apparently don't work very well with Polyvore collages

the wind dances with the trees: Though we've been knocked down,the sun will rise ...

the wind dances with the trees: Though we've been knocked down,
the sun will rise ...: Though we've been knocked down, the sun will rise again, friends. We will rise again.

A friend's Hurricane Sandy haiku. (I hope I'm posting this the right way.)

A Haiku

Even though I started this blog for Etsy, I just wanted to mention this here, too...

I won a poetry contest!

http://www.vcbf.ca/haiku/2012-winning-haiku

It's sort of silly, but it does accept worldwide entries, which are judged over several months by at least one real established poet. So at least it's a legitimate contest of a decent scale. Plus I suppose entries support our local Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival by "raising awareness" (definitely a silly phrase, but I digress).

This could almost bring me out of the slump I've been in since I received my last rejection letter (because I stopped submitting fiction afterwards >:P) in late 2011. But I was surprised to find that what made me happier than winning was seeing the "like"s from my former wordsmith coworkers. Of course the little thumbs on Facebook don't mean much -- I spam them all the time -- but these are people who work with words themselves, and who usually don't "like" my inconsequential Facebook posts.

My heart is warm, even if my 1-bedroom is not. ("Utilities included" my arse.)

Anyway, my 2011 entries for the haiku invitational didn't even get an honourable mention, so this year I'll be content with 2nd place.

Next year, though... ;)

Photo Updates

Just added a new item to my Etsy shop:

I've finally gotten settled in at my new place, where the house is facing the "right" direction so that I don't have to leave the blinds down every day to keep out the blinding sun. Of course, as you can see, my photos are now suffering from the change. :P

It's a lot quieter here, so I've actually been very productive... I've already made a pair of floor cushions for my new living room, and finished a bunch of old projects -- including a coaster/place mat I've been putting off for about two years now (look under the plate below).

A huge chunk of my day is more or less wasted on cleaning (because the previous tenant stank and the place still sometimes stinks) and cooking (I made an ugly stack of ugly pancakes! XD), but over all I think I've been making better use of my free time.

 

I've tried several new tea houses already, including the above, which opened just last month.

And here are two of the new projects I've started:

A bit of cross stitching, even though I haven't completed my first piece (a traditional bookmark) yet, and a small teddy bear.

The needlework probably won't be appearing in my shop, because I used a pattern (gasp) and haven't significantly altered it -- at least, not yet. I did in fact alter the face to make the bear cuter, but I've also let the candle's flame get into the poor fellow's eye...

Here are a few less embarrassing photos:

Matcha cupcakes, made with about $12 worth of matcha (plus Mexican vanilla), and later served with English Devon cream. :]

Aaand a little gift I made for the buyer who brought the little Jack-o'-Lantern home! The apple is only about 2/8th of an inch tall.

Which reminds me... Hallowe'en is almost here again! It's my favourite day of the year, but having made my own costumes several years in a row, I've also been getting a lot more stressed out over it. Especially because, after Hallowe'en 2011, I had made up my mind to go as Snow White this year, but now two REALLY, REALLY TERRIBLE Snow White movies have come out...