Harvest season is here

And with it, Halloween!

I'm a sucker for anything that is kind of festive, so I saw these ribbons and had to get them:

It makes my packaging look sooo adorable!

When you purchase from my Etsy shop (or Artfire), your packaging will look like this or something similar, always ready for gift giving to others or to yourself! I'm working on new packaging so some people will get them sporadically. I like testing them out with my customers directly!

Earth and Blood

That post title sounds like the name of a horror movie :)

Here's my latest Etsy shop update!

These are Blood, Sweat: in Tears, the hoop earrings. They come as a pair and ship for free if bought with something else. And they're only $7! Can be packaged individually as two gifts or two stocking stuffers (start your Christmas shopping now! And from home!)

And this is Mar y Tierra, the necklace. This name was given because of the wonderful mix of colors that the Chrysocolla stone has. It looks like a flat version of our Mother Earth. This one is $27.

The stocking stuffer idea was given to me by one of the blogs I follow. I thought it was great and very doable when it comes to small earrings. Any girl will love getting "grown up" earrings inside her stocking! (And why not, your neighbor or coworker will love them too). Click here for the complete checklist made by Linda at IndieCEO.

New Facebook user name

Two days and I'm already suitable for a Facebook user name! Thanks for the support! Now I can redirect all traffic to:

www.facebook.com/DropOfSunshine

No more pages and slashes in between. Plain and simple. I love it!

Drop of Sunshine | Promote Your Page Too

Getting back to business

After a few months of settling in my new part time job I am back to Etsy business. Not that I wanted to leave it behind but I just needed to organize my time better in order to not go insane. Here's the result of last night:

....................Tears in Heaven necklace $28.........................Black Swivel earrings $11

Drop of Sunshine on Facebook!

Finally finished (or at least I think I did) the Facebook fan page. Become a fan today! I will be posting secret sales and special discount codes for fans only... don't miss out!

Drop of Sunshine | Promote Your Page Too


P.S. I need more fans for the official www.facebook.com/dropofsunshine web address so for now just click here.

Google Checkout

It's done! I have Google Checkout at the Etsy Store. And on ArtFire too! I just thought it would be good to have a backup to PayPal and what is better than a product supported by Google? Not many, if I may say so myself.

If you would rather pay with Google Checkout on my Etsy Store, please select "Other" as your method of payment and I will send an invoice from my Drop of Sunshine gmail address (dropofsunshinedesign@gmail.com).

If you need it for a purchase on ArtFire, you can choose Google Checkout as your method of payment immediately, apparently there is no need to wait for an emailed invoice.

Google Checkout works as PayPal does with any major credit card, so if you prefer, you can also use this for payment with credit cards. With both - Google Checkout and PayPal - you are not required to sign up.

Just thought I'd keep you all in the loop! You never know when PayPal won't work and I'd rather be safe than sorry. Have a great weekend!!!

Thursday Treasures - Newbies!

Today I have chosen Etsy Newbies to be featured on the blog. I was there once almost a year ago and there was nothing that made me happier than someone acknowledging my work and creativity. These people were found via Pounce.

This giclée print ($18) says exactly what I think on a day to day basis. It's signed and ready for framing, and available in different sizes from LoveSugar.

Don't you feel like squishing these adorable mice ($24)? These babies are child-safe and machine washable. Hand-knitted by Tearoom.

Simple and classic, you could wear this ring ($75) to the office and to a party! White and red enamel are always in style. Created by JennaGarner.

Good to keep one of these cardholders ($15) to hold your gym card in. It certainly won't get lost in the darkness of any bag! Sewn to life by FeltedLove.

La Tour Eiffel was the most magnificent construction I've seen so far. Hallucinating. This book ($27) would make a great souvenir! Handmade by manualgallery.

As you see, more and more creative minds are working on getting their work out to the rest of the world. Etsy is a great place to start (or Artfire, or Zibbet, whatever you feel comfortable with)! Best of luck to these new members!

Quick question...

Can anyone give me advice on a sewing machine that is affordable? I went to JoAnn fabrics today but since Viking has authority on the sewing machines there, they only offer Viking and Singer. No Brother, no Kenmore, no other options... Do you own a sewing machine? Can you recommend it? I am someone that has never taken lessons or never used one before, but I have TONS of ideas that involve stitching and I don't want to do it by hand. Yeah, I'm lazy, but I also want my efforts to last longer than a couple of uses :)

If you do know something, please leave a comment. It will be greatly appreciated!!!

Happy Talk Like a Pirate day!

Did you guys even know this day even existed? It's awesome! Ahoy mateys! Here's some of the awesome stuff you can get on Etsy when you search for pirate gear:

There's no pirate gear at my shop but I might think of something for next year!

On another subject, I did something new today: played kickball while holding a beer can in my hand. It's like exercising but not because of all the inning-stretches (on every inning) and laughter, but especially because of the beer. My husband almost fainted twice and I think I had heat exhaustion at some point. Oh, the summer! Why can't it last forever?

Personal Training update

I should have started this with a post on 8/26/09 about personal training.... but I never thought I would be successful at it!

Anyway, long story short, on August 26th I started a program with a personal trainer. Little did I know at my new part-time job, the gym and their trainers are available... for FREE (who doesn't love that four letter word?). Well, since then, I've been attending at least twice a week, and trying to go on the other days to my other gym - one I had paid for.

My commitment was to follow her instructions as well as to modify my eating habits. Mainly, stop eating junk food and chocolates. The junk food part was taken care of by watching the movie Super Size Me. Believe me, you watch that and you will stay far, far away from McDonalds at least. I have been doing my best to eat salad at least once a day, having breakfast every day and consuming more fish than ever.

Today was roughly 3 weeks since I started and I was surprised when I weighed myself at the gym and noticed I had GAINED one pound! Freaked out for a second, then my personal trainer (how cool does that sound) measured my muscle and fat percentage with this nifty machine they have at the gym. To my surprise, I had converted 10 pounds of fat into muscle, making my body fat percentage lower a whooping 6%! I feel so proud of my efforts. This goes to show you that it really does help to work out and eat a bit healthier... I still sneak my chocolates here and there :)

Need to shop?

I was searching through ArtFire to see what new things they had to offer and I found out that the Rapid Cart is available for Basic members! Yay! So now I have added it to the right side of the blog, you do not need to sign up for ArtFire to shop and it will take you 28 seconds (according to them, I have yet to test) to purchase an item through their rapid cart. Now I have another reason to maintain this store stocked. Some more items coming soon!

DropOfSunshine

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9/11

Going back 8 years in time I realize how long ago this unfortunate event was but how much it branded itself on my memory.

It was my first year in college, I smoked *yikes*, and hated math. and then there was 7 am Calculus with that guy that tucked his shirt halfway, with a protruding beer belly and cigarette butt stench, that spoke oh so softly (mind me, it's Math but I needed to listen to be able to understand!). By 7:05 am I would always step out for a morning smoke with my brewed coffee. I went to the coffee shop, bought my coffee and all of a sudden, a bunch of people started screaming, crowding by the TV area. Plane #1 had struck. Everyone was crying of how unfortunate this was, poor people on the plane, what a terrible tragedy, what a terrible accident. And, just then, Plane #2 struck. In our face, on live TV. No longer an accident, this could not be an act of nature. Classes stopped, people flowed out of the classrooms in my tiny college and crowded the TV's. More TV's were connected by staff members wanting everyone to be informed of this terrible series of events. Later it was confirmed: a terrorist attack. My day was shot. I knew a person that worked in the WTC and we couldn't get in touch with him. Fortunately, a week later we found out he was fine and that on 9/11 he decided to cancel breakfast at his law firm to go have a bagel and coffee at a shop around the corner. Some people, like him, were really lucky, it was definitely not their day. Other people, not so much, and they will be eternally missed. As for the firefighters who lost their lives that day, those rescued will be eternally grateful for that opportunity to be alive today.

I was able to experience the Twin Towers in all their glory when I went to New York City in 1994. And I will never forget that skyline.

P.S: I went to college in South America so everything happened an hour earlier

Happy Beatles day!

Today is the big 09/09/09! When I get home I need to prep up the room to get ready to play some of The Beatles finest tunes on our RockBand equipment!!!

So, Happy Beatles day to all! Don't forget to stock up on your CD collection and get the Remastered Stereo boxed set (or mono, whatever you prefer)... my hubby can't wait to get his hands on these CD's!

Update: I have been playing since 7 pm non-stop, the Beatles RockBand game is AMAZING! Totally recommended!

There's a SALE going on!

And it's right here at my Etsy shop, Drop of Sunshine!

Here's a sneak peek of what is for sale... I'm not trying to tempt you at all :)

Flower buds earrings, now $12!


Melcocha earrings, now $10!


Emerald Dance earrings, now $11!

Hope to see you all around!

Thursday Treasures - Kites!

And we’re back with a new look at my very own Etsy’s Thursday Treasures! After a 3-month hiatus from the Etsy searches – and from anything related to Etsy - I have decided to bring back these treasures to my blog. Today’s theme is kites. Back home, when I was a kid (ok, I’ll admit it, when I was older as well), we used to fly kites at the end of August.The traditional shape was my favorite, a diamond shape, but it was the hardest to fly of them all. Thank God my dad never got tired of running... trying to make it soar in the air :)

First of the series is this "quilt" ($150), made by EmmeliWorks. It's not exactly a quilt to use, as it is made to hang! This is a new outlook on artpieces, it is wonderful.

This limited edition 11 x 17 print ($25) was made by the author to compliment an original children's book she's working on as well. It shows exactly what I remember as a kid! It was created by Juliannabright.

Kites for a kitty! These catnip toys ($2 each) are perfect for kitties that love to drag their toys around the house (like my cat!). These are sewn by kgrantdesigns and can be made in the color you like the most.

On those non-windy months, you can also take a kite with you with this cute pocket mirror ($4 - on sale). The graphic is an original SickOnSin design. There are many more to choose from!

Last but not least, this beautiful photograph of a Monarch kite in flight ($12 - print only). It was taken on the Pacific Northwest Coast by BunkFossStudio. Gorgeous!

I need ideas of what you would like to see on Thursday Treasures... let me know!