Being greener

As my grain of sand towards a greener world, we have changed 80% of our household light bulbs for CFL light bulbs, or compact fluorescent. Yeah, up front they can be a big expense, but saving money in bulb replacement and power bills makes it worthy.

I just received an email stating how bad CFL light bulbs are for your health, as Rep. Ted Poe stated in Congress. Sure, these light bulbs contain a drop of mercury in them, making them a hazard when broken. Also, they have to be taken to recycling centers for disposal (I really don't understand what is so wrong with this point, as this is better for the planet). Unfortunately, his speech only shows one side of the coin. My opinion is that as with any light bulb, CFL's should be handled with care, in order not to break them. Also, they should be disposed of conciously in order to not pollute any more. Even if you're not recycling, you should put a bulb in a sturdy container so that the people that handle garbage at recycling centers or dumps don't get accidentally cut - this goes for anything that is breakable. And, Mr. Poe, make sure you read snopes.com if you ever have a question on reliability of information.

On a better note, I found this funny, informative video on the consequences of incandescent (regular) light bulbs and how CFL's can counteract a lot when it comes to Global warming. If you have the funds and the chance, make the change and make your house greener!

Contrasting additions

Today both items added to Drop of Sunshine's Etsy shop are contrasting in shapes and colors!

I finally posted one of the purple items I've been working on, the Glam Rock bracelet (I love the name!). The crackle beads give off so much shiny awesomeness!

Also, another pair of earrings was added to the collection. These are inspired by vampires and droplets of blood... don't you agree?

I promised myself I would add at least two pages of items by the end of the month and I'm falling behind. There is just so much to do around here! But keep visiting my Etsy shop for more updates!

Thursday Treasures - Chocolate!

Thursday Treasures is at it again. This week, according to this page is the observance of Chocolate week! If you remember my post last month, I quit chocolate for Lent (actually, it upgraded to quitting all desserts, but that's another story). There are many websites that have theories on the origin and uses of chocolate, but I found this page that covers most of the history of Chocolate.

Try not to eat most of this week's features... only one is edible!

These Earl Grey sandwich cookies ($9 for 12) look sooo yummy I couldn't pass by them and not drool. Hand cut and sold by WhimsyAndSpice.

Chocolate and mint might be my favorite combination EVER. Chapstick, chocolate, milkshakes, you name it. This sweet organic bodybar ($6) is sold by Oliba.

In my case, I can't eat chocolate now, but it doesn't mean I can't wear it! Delicious chocolatey hoops ($16) that are very light on your ears, handcrafted by Michvanetta.

Decorate your living room with a drop of chocolate to spice it up. These beautiful mismatching cushions ($50) are made from 100% eco-friendly felt and come in a set of two. Makes you want to hug them! Sold by Modernality.

And to end it off with a classic, this chocolate clutch ($85) is so nice it will make a pair of jeans look elegant! Handmade in silk and sold by Davie&Chiyo.

I almost broke down, but I'm still chocolate-free (desserts too) since February 26th. It's a hard promise to keep! Keep coming back for more Etsy treasures every Thursday!

Great deal for the readers of this blog!

One of the Etsy shops that was featured last week on Thursday Treasures has sent me a great deal to share with my blog readers! Shari, from GalerieUrbana has offered the readers of this blog a great treat. Below find the message she sent me:

"Thank you very much for the post! I would like to offer you
and your readers 10% off their first purchase from GalerieUrbana.
If they send us an email that they saw our jewelry on your blog
we will send them a one time promotional code.

Thanks again and great blog!!

Best regards,
Shari"

To take advantage of this great deal, you need to convo her (through Etsy) before placing your order. They have a wide range of prices so I'm sure you will find something you will love. And the best of all is it's completely handmade! If you are not a member of the Etsy community, this is the perfect opportunity to join!

In case you forgot what GalerieUrbana's gorgeous stuff looks like, get tempted with the pics below!

A day at a recording studio

Today I'm experiencing how it feels being locked up for 12 hours in a recording studio with John and his band, Delpaxton. And they're only recording drums for 5 songs. I can't even begin to imagine people that actually do this for a living, being stuck in rooms with one window and playing over and over until it's perfect. They had the great opportunity to be recorded at a top notch studio, shortly the new songs will be up on the website! Just wanted to share some images of the place with you all:

First of, the band... minus the singer, he's sick

The studio equipment....

Awesome guitars....

Some intricate instruments and closeups of some - I had never seen a sitar before in my life....

Our friends came to visit, but believe me, it's so cozy here you would rather nap....

Oh, and I saw, also for the first time, a real live Grammy. I wanted to touch it but it was too high for me....

That's it for now! Make sure you head on over to www.delpaxton.com and hear a few of the old songs so you can get a feel of their music style. Oh, and don't miss out their video below, it will be on FuseTV in April!

Not Too Distant

An Angel in Queens

Picture source: http://www.anangelinqueens.org

I don't know if you read CNN.com today, I do every morning, trying to keep myself updated with the world. Today, a particular story captured my attention.

A Colombian man (go figure, look at last week's Thursday Treasures), by the name of Jorge Muñoz, a school bus driver, has dedicated almost all his salary and his free time to feeding homeless people. You read it right, a school bus driver. He goes to the same little spot in Queens every night at 9:30pm to feed fellow immigrants from latin american countries, europeans and, why not, american citizens. In this day and age everyone can use a little help. Jorge and his mom, Doris, make around 140 home cooked meals a DAY. The payback is homeless people smiling of gratitude, the best form of payment you can get.

Picture source: http://www.anangelinqueens.org

If you want to know more about Jorge, his non-profit organization(someone helped him set it up, he has no time for entertainment, or computers) and how you can help, please click here: An Angel in Queens.org - he needs funds, of course, but he also needs clothing, soap and accessories, like hats and scarves, to help homeless people stay warm during harsh New York winters.

Personally, I'm amazed at his unselfish attitude, sharing the little he can with people that need a hand from anyone. I wish I was more like him.

Thursday Treasures - St Patricks Day!

Welcome to another edition of Thursday Treasures!

This weeks search is St. Patricks Day! It's a day to honor the irish, the green and good luck. Follow the link for more info on this special celebration. And the five picks for today were:

This gorgeous necklace ($159) brings all the spring items with St. Pat's colors. Sold by Bionicunicorn.

Maybe you feel Irish all over the place? These wall decals ($72) are repositionable and will take you to a faraway land. These are ShaNickers sold by Shanon1972.

This petal ring ($66) will make you stand out from the rest of the green crowd for sure. There are many more colors and they're gorgeous! Handmade and sold by Poppigirl.

I have a wristlet addiction and this one ($75) in avocado green caught my eye immediately! CrystalynKae has this one at her Etsy shop.

And if you're getting married in March and are going for that very special spring theme, why not get these hand beaded knife and server ($56) to compliment your wedding colors? Beadz2Pleaz sells them and will also do them in custom colors.

Today there's a little extra. It was a PIF (Pay it forward, like the movie) on Fivecats Etsy shop. My way to pay it forward is to share it with you all. Isn't he adorable???

HAPPY ST PATRICK'S DAY EVERYONE! Keep coming back every Thursday to see my weekly picks from Etsy.

Busy week and more jewelry

This week has been hectic, mainly trying to get all the Spring cleaning done at home(too much to do!!!) and spending some quality time with the hubby. I've been away from the computer but here are some things I posted this week on my Etsy shop.

A little monochromatic this time, compared to all the red elements I put up last time!

And last but not least, a match to last week's earrings:

You didn't really think I could make all things black and white, did you?

Thanks for the patience and don't forget to keep your eyes peeled for the second piece on the Thursday Treasures series coming out tomorrow!

Thursday Treasures - Colombia!

Well, I decided that I need to share the fabulous things I find on Etsy, as I go around searching for random stuff (I always need/want something haha). Why Thursday you might ask. Mainly I chose it because most people have time to shop online on the weekends, Friday is too on top of the weekend, so Thursdays leaves a moment for the items to "sink in", that way you can make a choice that is not on impulse (although I have to say I have no problem with impulse buyers!) So, for that matter, I'll make it a series. I'll choose some random thing to search for and pick 5 items from the wonderful Esty universe - you really can't begin to imagine how much creativity is spilled online by the minute. If you think there is something I might like, or a store that may catch my attention (new or old - doesn't matter), please leave a comment below and I will consider it for my upcoming Thursdays. It might even spark the next theme I choose!

Here goes my first try at my Thursday Treasures!

My search term for this edition of Thursday Treasures was Colombia. It's a beautiful place, I wish it didn't have such bad reputation, so far everyone that I know that has gone loves it. Follow the link for some extra information on this wonderful country.

This necklace ($65) by TiaLynnArt touched my heart as all proceeds from the sale of this beautiful piece will benefit Pequenos Intelectuales in Bogota, Colombia, a city where I spent my college years.

Many artists are inspired by the cities of Colombia, as they are very picturesque. For example, this painting print ($18) by Duarte, is inspired in the architecture of the capital city, Bogota.

If you want to walk around town and be noticed, these "caña flecha" purses ($35.99) will surely turn heads around. The way these are made tell stories from the Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta, and no two purses will ever be alike. These are sold by Agschic.

And if you look at this, you will be amazed by the intricate work that Colombians have achieved in silver. This bracelet ($721.50) is made entirely of pure silver thread formed into miniature filigree flowers. And, as the purses above, no two items are alike as they are entirely handcrafted. These, and more filigree beauties, are sold by GalerieUrbana.

And if you want to know what Colombia is all about, why not start of your day with a freshly ground roast of Colombian coffee (it's not claimed to be the best blend in the world for nothing). This dark roast Colombia Supremo ($12/lb) is the pride of Colombia, a smooth medium bodied coffee with good flavor, and is sold by TheRoaster.

Watch out for next weeks edition of Thursday Treasures!

Feeling reddish

These are my last four listings on my Etsy shop this week. Notice something unusual?

For some reason I was feeling inspired by my red bead drawer. Out of all five of them (I have one for reds and pinks, one for oranges, yellows and whites, one for greens and browns, one for blues and one for purples and blacks), the red bead drawer was calling my name, and I answered! :)

I promised myself the next items will have a more diverse color palette. But don't they look nice all together?

Features on my blog

I don't know if you've noticed, but I recently registered my blog with FeedBurner, as advised by one of my fellow Plurk pals. This is a great feature if you don't have time to go on your blog Dashboard daily to read other people's blogs daily, as one of the best features is the ability to register to this blog via the subscription on the left. This registers you with my blog's RSS feed directly (as I understand) and you get a digest of my blog in your email inbox! It also eliminates the need to have an account on Blogger to follow a blog, now it works with Google Friend Connect as well.

Also, I became part of Technorati and Blog Catalog. These are both great places to get your blog out to the world, as I read a couple of days ago on some threads on the Etsy forums. If you have Technorati, you can add my blog to one of your faves now! And with Blog Catalog, your readers can rate your blog (you can find my rating link below my Etsy shop).

Thanks for reading everyone, I really appreciate you take your time to read my blurbs online. :)

New items in the shop

I haven't posted anything about jewelry I've been listing lately so here goes nothing! The last two pairs of earrings sold within the day so it didn't give me a chance to even post on the blog (which is pretty awesome). This time I decided to do a set of earrings and necklace. Also, I decided to do a promo which is that if you buy them together, you get FREE shipping to US (or $1.99 off shipping to other countries, to make it fair to all). If you're interested, all you need to do is send me a conversation through Etsy prior to purchasing to adjust the shipping prices. This offer is ONLY valid when purchasing both items at the same time! The neat thing is you can add some more items and take advantage of the free shipping. Cool, huh?

The Goldilocks necklace is made of clean cut window beads rimmed in gold (hence the name). It's a pretty simple way to put some charm in your outfit!

The matching set of earrings, also by the name of Goldilocks, accentuate the necklace but are bold enough to be worn by themselves, doesn't matter if you like wearing your hair up or down, these are guaranteed to make a statement!

I have more things boiling in the design drawer, but I still need some supplies to finish them off (just another excuse to buy supplies!). Hopefully by tomorrow they will be posted. For now, back to creating!

Following blogs

Yesterday I logged in and to my amazement I had lost a number of followers. I was pretty sad, trying to think what I'd done wrong, but Google responded that question for me today.

Thing is, they changed as a new merger was made between two companies. Below is the statement sent through email to me:

"As a result of a recent integration between Blogger Following and Google Friend Connect, your Blogger privacy settings have been changed. It is important you read this message to understand how the change impacts the sites you follow, your visibility online when using Friend Connect, and what your options are moving forward. You are receiving this e-mail because you've used both Blogger's Following feature and Google Friend Connect. So that sites you've joined via Friend Connect do not automatically show up on your Blogger profile without your explicit approval, we have changed your following status to "private" on all Blogger blogs. If you would like to have these sites shared publicly on your Blogger profile, here are some instructions for becoming a public follower again."

Well, I tried to follow the instructions and that certainly did not work. So I decided to make a little picture tutorial on regaining your public following. I like public followers, I go to each of their sites every time I get a new one, resulting in following some blogs back.


First of all, go to your Dashboard which is a link located on the upper right hand corner of your blog editing or new post page.





Right under your main block of information, you will find the blogs you follow. It's called the Reading List. In the lower left hand corner you will find two buttons that say "Add" and "Manage". Click on the "Manage" button.


There you will see a complete list of the blogs you're following. Under the column that says "Anonymous?" it will either state if your profile is public or anonymous in said blog. If you wish to remain anonymous, leave it like it is and thank Blogger for making all of your presence anonymous, but in my case, I want to remain public, so I clicked on the Settings link right next to where it says "Anonymous".


A pop-up window will appear with all the settings for that particular blog. There you will find a line that reads "You are following anonymously", where the last word is a clickable link.


After clicking this link, another pop-up window will appear, asking you if you wish to change your following status. Click on the Follow Publicly button. I also checked the "Include this site on your profile" as I believe it's an easier way to keep track of things. Click on the save button and then DONE and you're good to go! The only down side to all this is that you will have to do this to each blog you had followed publicly before. For some reason the ones I had joined at the end of February remained public, so hopefully you won't have to go through a huge list. Good luck!