Weesf on Marth Stewart!

So...I'm a die-hard believer in cross-promotion. In July 2008, when I was preparing to launch my Nurse Purse line, I reached out to several Etsy shops that sold unique products for moms and children in an effort to give them some exposure and my customers some awesome offers. I was in the forums one day out of boredom, and I saw Nicky from weesf in a thread. I fell in love with her shop the moment I saw it and sent her a convo offering her a spot in my promotion. Nicky's artwork is original handcrafted paper art. Each piece is cut by hand, and so no lasers or special dies are used.

I'm a fanatic about artwork for children. I decorate imaginary children's rooms in my head every time I see a talented artist. And yes, I tend to prefer The Peanuts and The Muppets over real people, but anyhoo....

My favorite pieces in Nicky's shop are On the Farm and the utterly adorable Monkeys on the Moon because come on, they're monkeys in spacesuits!

(Look at their little flag! It's so ap-peel-ing. *ducks tomatoes*)

Nicky also does an adorable line of alphabet artwork. Here's a little sample brought to you by the letters F and H.

When the first round of Nurse Purses sold out, I let everyone know they could stay in if they wanted to. Nicky immediately sent me a huge stack of coupons, and she's been on board ever since.

Nicky sent me a convo yesterday and told me that she's going to be on the Martha Stewart show on Monday, November 17, 2008! So please be sure to look for Nicky and her amazing artwork! I'm so excited for her! She deserves it!

ETA: Here's Martha's website. Click on Monday and watch the clip. You can see Nicky's hands at the very end!

Bring your flag little monkeys!

(Yeah, I said it. And I don't regret it.)

Have a great weekend!

-Lori

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A great feeling!

Admittedly, it's probably sort of the first step into a wormhole to blog about someone blogging about you, but I can't resist it today. I sold one of my Nurse Purses to a mom the other day, and today she convo'd me on Etsy and let me know that (1) she loved the Nurse Purse and, (2) that it worked! Her little one is no longer pinching her while he's feeding. I hear that from moms now and again, but what made THIS feedback so awesome was that she also blogged about it, and in doing so, included a picture of her sweet little baby holding onto my necklace!

Awwwww, now I'm all smooshy emo for the rest of the day. My cats are hiding because they're afraid I just might put bonnets on them, stick them in a double stroller and take them to the park--which is just silly because they know I haven't finished making their bonnets yet.

bwahahaha ha.

-Lori

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Top 5 Talking Points the Obama Campaign is Ignoring

5. Where is the emphasis on the real skinny (and I mean skinny) behind McCain's health care plan? Why don't I hear Obama or Biden or an ad running every 5 seconds reminding me that McCain's 'tax credit' for an INDIVIDUAL is $2500? A $2500 tax credit for health insurance in an unregulated industry is supposed to buy me what? A coffin?

4. Who cares about George W. Bush anymore? The man's life is an Oliver Stone movie while he's still in office. Everyone who understands that link, understands it. Why aren't you zooming in on McCain? McCain has nothing positive going for him except martyrdom and name recognition. That's it. He's not a scholar or a gentleman. People who have respect for our military THINK before they send them into harm's way. McCain is standing in front of bused in crowds chanting, "Fight, fight, fight!" We need to, "Think, think, think!" If you want to compare him to Bush, that's your analogy right there. We've had 8 years of arrogance; we don't need 4 years of impulsive rage on top of it.

3. Remember Fantasy Island? Remember Mr. Rourke and his little sidekick 'Tattoo?' Remember his constant alarm, "De plane! De plane!" Okay, here's the new alarm, "De-meanor, demeanor!" Run this ad: (insert male announcer and not that Amityville Horror creepy chick that does McCain's ad. Every time she talks, blood starts running down my walls.)

"John McCain is worried about Barack Obama sitting down with evil dictator's without preconditions? John McCain can't even sit down with Barack Obama without...." (insert debate montage of every childish and disrespectful smirk, eye roll, and face pull McCain made.) "If John McCain can't control himself in a debate in the United States, how can we trust him to lead this nation?"

Because honestly, McCain, with all due respect, you've been in public life and on TV long enough to learn how to control yourself. You're going to look at Putin's 'ugly head' the wrong way one day and it's curtains for us. You looked into Putin's eyes and saw 'KGB;' we look into yours and see 'PTSD.' (Respectfully, you really need help.)

2. The pie analogy. Let's bake a real pie here because everybody loves pie. Let's look at the pie the McCain/Palin are baking for you. Do you want a bite of it? You're not sure? Why not? Is it because you don't know which piece is yours? Are you white or black, rich or poor, Christian or Satan, gay or straight, pro-America or anti-America? Are you pro-gun or anti-gun, sweet or bitter, short or tall, a domestic terrorist or Joe the Plumber? Gee, your piece of the pie is probably too cold to eat now, isn't it? Next time, come to my house. The pie will be warm and you can have WHATEVER PIECE YOU WANT.

1. Taxes? Taxes, really? You're going to let this be about taxes? Why aren't you running testimontial ads right now that say:

"I'm voting for Barack Obama because I'm not an idiot. I refuse to accept the fact that my tax dollars are good enough to fund a represhensible war and yet are somehow not good enough to provide health care, education, and decent roads and bridges for me and my family."

OR

"I'm voting for Barack Obama because he understands that a we can fight and win all the wars we want to 'keep us safe,' but if there's no 'us' when we're done, then what's the point?"

OR

"I'm voting for Barack Obama because the Alaskans that CAN see Russian from their house have never actually SEEN Sarah Palin or a dentist or running water."

OR, and finally...

"I'm voting for Barack Obama because it's time to move forward and leave division to the math teachers."

I feel better now.

Peace out, Lori

You can still sign up for my blog giveaway through midnight on Oct, 31st. Go here!

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Red, red, red!

I got an accidental Treasury today! I was just popping in to look at the lists and a new one was just about to pop up, so I grabbed it! You can see it here. Here's a screen shot because it will expire after a while.

There's still time to enter my giveaway as well! Just go HERE and leave a comment to enter!

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Blog Kickoff Contest!

Well, I finally dusted this place off and am looking forward to using it to feature some of my favorite Etsy sellers as well as a lot of my own creations and ramblings. Follow along because there will be sale codes and contests and all sorts of nifty things along the way! And to kick it off, the first giveaway is from my shop, Risky Beads. It's a murano foil glass pendant perfect for autumn.


It's called Heartlight.

whenever you lost your way
you could feel her pulling you back

The pendant is 35mm wide and is strung on 18" of black leather cord and gold organza ribbon, cords finish with antique copper fold over and lobster clasps. It's a $19.00 value in my shop. The pendant will come packaged in on signature Risky Beads cardstock bearing its message.
The contest will run from now until the end of October. If you'd like to enter, all you need to do is go to my Etsy shop, Risky Beads, and comment below with a name of a piece that you like. That's it! I'll select the winner from a random draw on November 1st! Have fun and thanks for stopping by!

:-) Lori

ETA: 11/1/08 Commenting is closed. Winner will be announced this weekend! Thanks to everyone who entered.

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Begin the Begin

I finally decided to use this little piece of cyber space that I reserved for myself about a year ago. More to come very soon...giveaways, contests, lots of rambling opinions, blah, blah, blah!

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How to Buy One Carat Diamond Engagement Rings

There is much to consider when purchasing a diamond – especially one carat diamond engagement rings! The tradition of presenting a woman with a diamond engagement ring when proposing began in 1477 when Archduke Maximilian presented a diamond ring to Mary of Burgundy – and in most cases, the woman you plan to propose to will expect a ring to accompany that proposal!

First, determine how much ring you can afford. Most people use the ‘two months salary’ rule. This means that the ring should cost the equivalent of two months of your current salary. Because you have other bills to pay, saving up this amount of money may take quite a bit of time. You should consider financing. Simply go to the jeweler of your choice and tell them that you plan to buy an one carat engagement ring, and that financing will be necessary. Go ahead and get the credit check out of the way, find out what your payments will be, and how much of a down payment is required.

Now, have your mother, sister, or your girlfriends best friend take your girlfriend shopping, and make sure that they gaze at the one carat diamond engagement rings to get an idea of what she might like. Make sure that the jewelry store you buy the ring from will allow you to return the ring, if that is required, or allow your girlfriend to exchange it for another if she isn’t happy with it!

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