Lucky's Luxury Arts and Crafts Blog

Long Time

2011-07-23T13:34:00.000-05:00

It has been such a long time since I have posted on here. I hope people will still enjoy reading my entries. Things are going well in my life right now. I am currently working as an Assistant Director at a local childcare center that's growing quickly. That's not all that's growing quickly, my boys seem to be growing right before my eyes. My oldest is now 6 years old and will be in 1st grade this coming Fall. My little one will be turning 2 already this coming October! My baby is no longer a baby and that makes me sad but he is growing up into a wonderful little boy. I have recently returned to swapping on swap-bot and have some new pen pals as well which is really nice. I have also started taking Kung-fu lessons with my son and my best-friend, we all really enjoy it.

Fun at the Park

2010-05-02T21:31:00.002-05:00

Today one of my friends and I took my boys to a local park. We were there for over 2 hours and it has a big grassy field right behind it. I was starting to get antsy so I decided I was going to go for a walk around the grassy field. My older son decided he wanted to go with too so off we went on our mini-walk. Less than a minute into our adventure my son goes, "LOOK MOMMY!" Right in front of us was a snake! We watched him slither around, he was actually very pretty and quite big for a snake that would be found in the area we live in. Anyways it was a neat experience so I wanted to share :-)

I'M BACK!!!

2010-04-29T20:28:00.001-05:00

Dear Pre-baby Body - How I miss thee.

Love, Mama of 2

MNArtists.org

2009-07-12T11:23:00.003-05:00

I have recently discovered a site for Minnesota artists called MNArtist.org. It is pretty neat. If you are from Minnesota you can sign up and have a free artist homepage and show your art in a collection. It's really nice too because people can go to the site and search for a specific artist, or they can search for a specific kind of art. I also have the option of listing my Etsy store on my page (which I did). They also have articles, they have a blog, they have a calendar for events, and they also have news and opportunities for locals. The way I found out about the site is actually kind of interesting. My landlord was one of the people who started this site and in the garage my fiance found t-shirts, buttons, bookmarks, and stickers promoting the website. Instead of just letting the items sit in her garage and collect dust I decided I would sign up for the site and continue supporting it and promoting it. I have worn some of the t-shirts, and I have started to send out the bookmarks in my swap packages (I swap on Swap-bot) and on every envelope I send out I now place one of the stickers on the outside so more people will be able to learn about this useful, and unique website that helps support local Minnesota artists.

Como Zoo

2009-07-11T20:20:00.006-05:00

Today my fiance and I took our son to our local zoo. We all had a lot of fun, and my son really enjoyed seeing all of the animals. This zoo is really unique because it runs on donations, you don't have to pay in order to get in and see the animals and the exhibits. We donated some money even though we didn't have to, but we always do because it keeps the zoo open and running. My son really enjoyed seeing the lions, giraffes, gorillas, and zebras. I liked seeing the sloth and the seals. We ended up buying popcorn and enjoyed being out in the sun (we had such beautiful weather here today). Sadly we didn't have enough time to go through the conservatory, but we will have to save that for another day and another trip!

4th of July

2009-07-05T19:52:00.005-05:00

Yesterday was the 4th of July and sadly I woke up feeling pretty sick. I ended up sleeping for most of the day. Luckily my son was so excited about seeing some fireworks that I forced myself to get out of bed and venture out to find some fireworks to see. We were planning on just watching them from our car, but once they started we decided that we needed to find a parking spot so we could get out and enjoy them with the crowd. Thankfully my fiance found an awesome parking spot where we jumped out of the car and had one of the best spots in the park! We all had a really good time and the finale was so beautiful and my son and I started clapping along with the crowd. It would have been nice if I didn't feel so sick that day, but thankfully it ended with a bang!

Longville Art Fair

2009-06-28T09:42:00.003-05:00

Yesterday me and my fiance's family went to the Longville Art Fair. It was a pretty decent size considering the location (Longville is a tiny little town). We bought some kettle corn as soon as we got there and it was delicious! We also bought a little glass coin that has a shamrock on it and a rock that has the word peace on it (the peace rock was for my fiance's father). My little boy got a small Diego pillow for his stuffed animal raccoon, and a cow bookmark. My fiance also bought a big cheeseburger for lunch while we were there and it was great. We all had a great time while we were there :-)

Busy Busy Busy

2009-06-26T11:39:00.002-05:00

Wow! I have not posted on my blog for so long! So sorry to all of my followers. Lots has happened since I last posted though. I am having a little baby boy in October, and the following fall (2010) I'll be getting married! Right now I have the time to post because I'm on vacation. I have come to Longville, MN for a 60th wedding anniversary celebration of my son's great grandparent's. It is really beautiful here (of course I forgot the camera!). We have already seen deer, a bald eagle, a loon, pelicans, and herons. We went on a boat ride yesterday which was a lot of fun. Today we walked around town (very small), and tonight we are going to a bbq! It should all be a lot of fun. I'll have to try to continue to post more often, sometimes things just seem to get too hectic and I forget I even have a blog!

Featured Etsy Seller: Kreativlink

2009-02-16T20:12:00.003-06:00

My name is Renate Ikinger. I'm female. Born (1966) and raised in Austria, Europe. Well, I'm still here but often I'm dreaming about migrating, living in a little house by the sea ...

I completed business college but at 20 my son was born and I was mostly mother until I was 30. Then I started as a self employed webdesigner/programmer. I loved it, but when the big 40 came, I was more or less finished with it. Yes, the decades seem to play a role in my life ...

Since then, I became more and more a self employed full time crafter. I love making my journals. Books always played a big part in my life, and when I realised I could make them by myself, it was like a miracle! Yes, call me stupid, but that's how it was.
At first I made them in the traditional way, but soon I realised that what really fascinates me are journals that look like they are old. Like things from ancient times, when there where still many secrets to discover and a lot of mysterious things going on ...

Yep, that's me. Oh, and about the decades - I plan to spend the time between 50 and 60 with shopping for supplies all around the world after I win the lottery (One can always hope). And after 60 I will be a crazy girl with purple hair and a lot of fun! :)

Knight in Shining Armor v.s. Handsome Prince

2009-02-16T20:03:00.002-06:00

In most fairy tales there is either a handsome price or a knight in shining armor who comes to save the day. Who would you prefer? I'd like to open this question up to my readers before I make a post with my own opinion on this subject, so come on ladies who would you pick? :-)

Pet Peeve #4

2009-02-01T20:53:00.002-06:00

I really hate it when I walk into a restaurant and it's fairly empty and the host/ess sits you at a table that's right next to another occupied table. There is a whole room full of empty tables and they have to sit you right next to the only other people that are there. I know that having tables together makes it easier for the staff but come on who really wants to sit right next to strangers while you eat when you could be somewhere a lot more private. I understand if the restaurant is full that you will end up sitting right next to someone else's table, but when there are plenty of empty tables you should be sat in a more private location. It is just common courtesy in my mind, but apparently not in the minds of those who sit you right next to someone else.

Wall-E

2009-01-26T08:53:00.002-06:00

A couple of weekends ago my boyfriend and I rented the movie Wall-E. We thought it was a really good family movie that our son would enjoy. I have to say that it was a pretty cute movie but at the same time it was pretty slow moving. For one there isn't much dialogue. My son seemed to enjoy it and he actually asked to watch it a couple of times after we had already returned it back to the movie store. My boyfriend however ended up falling asleep and missing the whole end of the movie. Atleast my son liked it though because that's who we really rented it for. All in all I guess I would recommend it for those younger movie goers out there but for those of us who enjoy dialogue in a movie I guess I would have to say move along when you see Wall-E in the rental store.

New Moon

2009-01-22T20:56:00.007-06:00

I have finished the second book in the "Twilight" saga called "New Moon." While it wasn't as good as "Twilight" I still enjoyed reading it and I will still continue on with the series. I think that the lack of Edward in this book was what slowed the story down for me. He brings in a lot of the drama and romance which is what makes the book more exciting for me. Hopefully he will once again be the main male character in the next book which is entitled "Eclipse." Apparently "Eclipse" has not come out in paperback yet, so sadly I will have to wait to purchase it. I have already purchased "Twilight" and "New Moon" in paperback and I always prefer to have my series all the same. It's going to be hard to wait!

Thank You

2009-01-18T21:29:00.003-06:00

I have had over 1,000 people view my blog and I just wanted to say thanks to all of you for making my blog so successful. I've enjoyed writing this blog and it makes me very happy to know that people are enjoying reading it as well. Knowing that people are looking at my blog makes me want to continue making entries and hopefully catching the eye of many more people. Once again thanks to all of you!

Featured Etsy Seller: AdirondackMetals

2009-01-09T15:54:00.007-06:00

Adirondack Metal Designs is a family owned business. We operate out of our shop near the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains in beautiful upstate New York. My name is Brenda. My husband Ed and I began this business as a way for him to leave the construction industry and work for himself. I am in charge of the website, programming and business end of things while he makes the products. I also work full time as a Speech Pathologist with my own private practice. I wish I could work on the metal business all of the time and retire from my real job. We specialize in silhouette metal art. Our products are made with a combination of plasma cutting and welding. We currently have table top sculptures, wall art, yard stakes, key racks, welcome signs, bookends, napkin holders, and wall hooks. Our themes include wildlife, farm animals, western, marine life, sports, and more. If you don't see your favorite theme in our shop, contact us. We can also customize many of our items for you. The pieces come standard with a black hammered finish. Any special paint requests are also welcome. We can work together to meet your specific needs.We can use any of our silhouettes for a custom welcome sign, address sign or name signs.

Twilight

2009-01-06T15:57:00.004-06:00

I have recently started and recently finished the book called "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer. It was so good I had such a hard time putting it down to even spend some time with my family! Before I had even finished "Twilight" I knew I was going to end up reading the whole series, so my boyfriend and I went out to one of our local Borders bookstores and bought the next book in the series called "New Moon". I have just started reading that one and I hope it's as good as "Twilight" was! I have not seen the movie yet, but a few of my co-workers have gone to see it multiple times. I tend to be a bigger fan of the books than the movies when they make movies based on books, but perhaps I'll go check out the movie sometime.

Artfire

2009-01-04T21:44:00.005-06:00

I have opened a new studio on Artfire. I actually heard about Artfire in the Etsy forums. It's a pretty new site, but they are now offering a free studio; you can list up to 10 items in your studio without any charge. From what I've read you never pay a fee to list items, you just pay a $7 monthly fee. I haven't had much views there yet though. I figured I might as well try opening a studio over there since it's free. We will just see how it goes for now! Please stop by and check it out! Wish me luck!

Here's the link to my store: http://Lucky12324.artfire.com

Bad Morning

2008-12-30T20:33:00.002-06:00

I had a bad morning. The badness started when I was walking to my car and slipped on the ice and fell. There was a thin layer of snow on the ground making it impossible to tell where there was ice and where there wasn't. Sadly I walked on the icey part and thus ended up on my bottom. My pants of course were soaked and very cold after that, but I didn't have enough time to go back up to the apartment to change them so I ended up wearing wet/cold pants to work. It was still snowing as I drove to work making it a little hard to see and pretty slippery. Unfortunately for me it was really hard to see when I started choking on my own saliva to the point that I had tears running down my face. Thankfully I was able to catch my breath before I ran the car off the road or crashed into something. Needless to say I was VERY careful walking through the parking lot into work this morning. My arms have been a little sore all day today because when I fell I put my hands backwards to prevent my head from smashing into the ground. While I feel that was a wise choice, you know preventing my head from smashing into the ground, my arms still hurt.

Wii

2008-12-29T12:49:00.005-06:00

My mother got a Wii for Christmas and neither of us had ever played one before. So last night we broke it out and tried it for the first time. We played bowling, tennis, and baseball. They were all a lot of fun; tennis was the hardest to play for both of us. We both enjoyed bowling the best though, we played that game twice and my mom won the first game and I won the second. It was a little hard to get used to at first, but it was still a lot of fun. We also got some other games with the extra remote, we got ping pong, billiards, duck hunt, and a few others. We haven't even opened the other game yet though, perhaps we will open that one up tonight.

Treasury

2008-12-28T21:05:00.004-06:00

I got the chance to make a treasury on Etsy today! It's called Asian Inspired Artists, and it features all items from my Etsy team called Asian Inspired Artists (surprised?). I hope you enjoy looking at it as much as I enjoyed making it!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=29424

BMI

2008-12-26T12:47:00.004-06:00

BMI means Body Mass Index and apparently it can tell you weither you are underweight, normal weight, overweight, or obese. All you have to do is type in your height and your weight and it will give you a number which is your body mass index. Then there's a chart that looks like this:

Underweight = <18.5
Normal weight = 18.5-24.9
Overweight = 25-29.9
Obesity = BMI of 30 or greater

The number that you get after you type in your height and weight will fall into one of those categories and it will thus tell you weither you are underweight, normal, overweight, or obese. Sadly my BMI is 27.3 and I am overweight. I've never thought of myself as being overweight, but apparently I am. Please someone tell me that this isn't necessarily accurate information...lol

Here's the website where you can find out your BMI: http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/

Happy Holidays!

2008-12-25T20:34:00.002-06:00

Well I had a very Merry Christmas. I had to work from 6 am until a little after 3 pm on Christmas Eve, but after that my boyfriend, my son, and my mother went over to my grandparent's house for a Christmas Eve dinner. After dinner we exchanged gifts which was a lot of fun; I got a nice journal from my grandparents. Then Christmas morning my grandparents came over to watch my son open up his presents from Santa. I ended up getting a lot of nice things: I got a nice shirt with matching tank top, a pair of boots, some long underwear, some pj pants, and stocking stuffers from my mom, and I got a super cute set of silky pj's, a Harry Potter book, and a Moomin book from my boyfriend too! I'm sure I'm forgetting a couple of things but I got so many nice things that it's hard to remember it all! Later during Christmas day my mom's boyfriend came over and we all went back over to my grandparent's house to celebrate with the rest of my family (i.e. my aunts, uncles, and cousins). All in all I had a good Christmas celebration. Lets hear from my readers, what was your holiday season like? What did you receive as gifts?

Drawing

2008-12-23T16:28:00.003-06:00

Well my boyfriend and I have decided to try our hands at drawing. I always thought it would be a lot of fun to start drawing and that it would be a good creative outlet and I happened to voice my opinion on the subject as we were listening to my new Celtic Christmas cd in the car coming home from dinner this past weekend. I said that the music created pictures in my head that made me want to draw and my boyfriend said that he had always wanted to draw as well. So the very next day we set out for Michael's: The Arts and Crafts Store and went ahead and bought 2 drawing pads! We didn't have enough time to start using them last weekend so we have decided to set aside some time to draw this coming weekend. I'm pretty excited about it, actually we are both pretty excited about it. We were wondering if there are any artists out there that have experience with drawing that might have some tips, tricks, or advice? Or perhaps any sort of recommendations? Stay tuned for some pictures of our creations!

Japanese Water Fountain

2008-12-14T21:20:00.004-06:00

My boyfriend always finds the coolest things on the internet and he showed me this video of a water fountain in a Japanese mall and I just thought it was so awesome that I new I had to share it with all of my blog readers! I hope you enjoy watching it as much as I did! :-)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tP5Ays_eUk

Featured Etsy Seller: LazyTcrochet

2008-12-10T17:58:00.003-06:00

Tricia, of LazyTcrochet, has been knitting and crocheting in her spare time as a stay-at-home Mom for many years. Running her shop on Etsy for almost two years has given her the opportunity to create unique and one-of-a-kind designs as well as classic styles and custom orders. She most enjoys making shawls and hats of all kinds. Stop by and visit LazyTcrochet.Etsy.com or contact her for a style to call your own.

Who Will Comfort Toffle?

2008-12-08T20:35:00.007-06:00

My amazingly sweet boyfriend made me the happiest woman in the world by being such a sweetheart and buying me the book "Who Will Comfort Toffle?" It's a Moomin book by Tove Jansson. We were just strolling through a sort of indoor flea market type mall called Global Market here in Minneapolis and we were looking at the Scandinavian store because I'm Scandinavian and I wanted to see what they had there and right on the shelf was a Moomin book! I about died right there! So my boyfriend told me that he would buy it for me because he knew it would totally make my day and bring me happiness This book is just amazing! The story it tells and the illistrations are just magnificent. I happen to have some postcards that are from the book, which I think is totally cool, and I am so glad that I can share not only this book with you but also some of the illistrations from it so everyone can enjoy it! :-)

Decorations

2008-12-01T21:03:00.002-06:00

Well today my mother and I have taken down our Thanksgiving decorations and have started to unload all of our Christmas decorations. The Christmas tree is now up although it's not decorated yet. Sadly we have to have a fake Christmas tree; our apartment complex doesn't allow us to have a real tree. When I was growing up we always had a real tree and I just loved coming home and being able to smell it throughout the house. I'm looking into getting a candle that will smell like a real Christmas tree, but I highly doubt it will be the same. Tomorrow we plan on finishing the tree and perhaps getting out more of the knick knack type of decorations. I need to clear off our dining room table because my mother has the Dicken's Village houses and she wants to set them up on there. I think it's important to decorate because it helps bring the Christmas spirit into our home and that's important to me because of my son. This is an important season/holiday for children and I want my son to have good memories of the holidays. There's lots more work ahead of us but hopefully it will all look very nice when we're through.

Moomin Postcard #4

2008-11-29T11:13:00.001-06:00

I love this Moomin postcard because it has a recipe on it. Granted the recipe is in Finnish so I cannot read it but still I think it's a pretty neat idea to put a recipe on a postcard. Perhaps one of my readers will be able to translate the recipe so we can all try it! :-)

Black Friday Adventures

2008-11-29T08:03:00.003-06:00

Yesterday was Black Friday, the day that my mother and I go out for some super shopping. We left on Thanksgiving day at about 8 pm to go stand in line for Best Buy. We were in line for my new computer (yes I'm writing this blog entry on my own new computer...yay!) until they started handing out tickets for items at 3:30 am. As a reminder I live in Minnesota so it was quite the experience to go wait outside for so long! After we got our ticket for my computer we left to go to Kohl's (Best Buy didn't open until 5 am while Kohl's opened at 4 am). After we were done at Kohl's we went back up to Best Buy to use our ticket to get my computer. When we were done at Kohl's we headed up to Target and then went on to Fleet Farm. After that we had to head home to bring my son up to daycare and my boyfriend up to work. Once we were done with that we headed up to Rosedale mall so we could go to Herberger's sale. After that we went to K-Mart and then LeAnn Chin's for a late lunch. It was a super long day and we were both very tired but we ended up getting a lot of good deals so we were happy.

Cool Cams

2008-11-22T23:46:00.007-06:00

My boyfriend found these really cool cams and I want to share them with all of my readers. The first one is of a eagle's nest; neither of us have ever gotten to see the eagles yet but hopefully we will soon. The second link is to the panda exhibit at a zoo; we both have seen the pandas and they are so cute! I could seriously watch them for hours. I hope you check them out and enjoy them as much as we have :-)

http://www.briloon.org./watching-wildlife/eagle-cam-live.php

http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/GiantPandas/default.cfm

Plymouth, MN

2008-11-22T20:20:00.004-06:00

As promised here I am to write another entry to my wonderful blog. As most of you probably don't know Plymouth, MN was voted by Money Magazine as the best place to live in the USA. This makes me very happy because I happen to live in Plymouth, MN. I never would have thought that a place like Plymouth would even be considered; of course one never thinks that the place that they live would be voted as the best place to live in the USA. I moved to Plymouth back in 2002 and have lived there ever since (with the exception of going to college during the school year). I have enjoyed living here and I'm proud to say that I'm from the best place to live in the USA!
For further information please visit: http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2008/snapshots/PL2751730.html

Hello!

2008-11-16T12:21:00.002-06:00

While I still don't have a computer and I'm still not at 100% health wise, I am feeling a lot better. After 3 trips to Urgent Care I finally am starting to feel better. I will be starting to write about every weekend (my loving boyfriend lets me use his computer on the weekends since mine is out of commission) until I am able to find the energy and time to get out and buy my own computer. For now that's the update, so stay tuned for a normal entry as of next weekend. Yay!

Sorry

2008-10-18T14:56:00.002-05:00

I just wanted to appologize to all of my readers. I have been sick and my good old computer has finally bit the dust. I am still not feeling very well and I am in the process of getting a new computer. I will post as often as I can until I am back at 100% (health and computer wise) which is when I will start posting more regularly. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Pet Peeve #3

2008-09-27T09:26:00.002-05:00

One thing that drives me nuts is when people are talking on their cell phones while they are alone with someone else. For example when you are out to eat with a friend and they receive a phone call on their cell and they sit and talk to whoever it is for over 5 minutes. Do they notice that while they are chatting away on their phone that you are left sitting there with nothing to do but look at them? Another example would be when you are in the car with your significant other and they receive a phone call on their cell and thus leave you sitting there with nobody to talk to while they chat the car ride away with whoever called them. People need to realize that the person who is right there in front of them is more important than whoever is on the phone; people need to be respectful of the person who is actually spending their time with them instead of whoever is on the phone. I totally understand if you take a phone call from someone like your parent's or a business call and such, but when you are just talking to someone who is insignificant rather than paying attention to the person who you are actually with, you are simply in the wrong and are being extremely rude.

My McDonald's Adventure

2008-09-20T21:04:00.003-05:00

Well my son and I went and got McDonalds for dinner tonight. While we were in line to order a hornet landed on my windshield and I was like oh crap! I didn't want to roll down my window when there was a hornet out there on my windshield, so I decided I would just turn on the windshield wipers and it would scooch him off and he would fly away. Well it scooched him off and I didn't see him anymore so I rolled down my window and started to order, and while I was in the middle of ordering he started crawling into my car right by my side review mirror. So I quickly rolled up the window, but he got stuck! His feet were stuck in my window so I didn't want to unroll my window because if I did he would be free, and he was MAD. I could see him stinging my window over and over and over again. So when I got up to the window to pay the lady for our McDonald's I put my car in park, unbuckled, and opened the door to pay her. Then I had to explain to her that a hornet was stuck in my window so she wouldn't think I was crazy or anything. Then I had to get back into my car and drive to the next window to get my food where I had to put the car back in park and get out again to get my food from the guy and once again I told him the story about how the hornet was stuck in my window so I wouldn't look stupid. Well he handed me an extra straw and told me to poke the hornet with it to free him, I was like no way because then he will be free and he will sting me! I told the guy that I was too scared, so he told me to hurry and back up my car and then pull forward closer to the window (I was pretty far away from the window because I knew I was going to have to get out and get the food), so I did what he told me to do and he took a napkin and killed the hornet and got him unstuck from my window. I am so grateful to that McDonald's worker because I'm not sure what I would have done. I probably would have waited until the hornet died before I would open the window! I'm such a chicken sometimes!

September 16th, 1983

2008-09-16T22:33:00.003-05:00

Yes it's my birthday today. I'm now officially 25 years old. I'm a quarter of a century old. I'm half way to being over the hill. Not sure how I feel about turning 25 yet. So far it doesn't seem much different than being 24. Worked a lot today, brought cupcakes for my kids and they all really liked them. Got some nice presents from my son, my mom, my mom's boyfriend, and my grandparents. Got bath/shower gel from my son (and a card), got a set of cute pj's and a loofa from my mom (and a card), got a gift certificate to Border Books from my mom's boyfriend, and I got a nice card with some money from my grandparents. I also got a nice card with some money in it from my son's great grandparents on his father's side. Today my mom took me out to my favorite restaurant called Chili's for dinner, I had chicken fajitas and they were super good. All in all turning 25 wasn't so bad, in fact it was kinda fun.

Mid-Autumn Festival

2008-09-15T21:43:00.003-05:00

I just wanted to wish everyone the best Mid-Autumn Festival ever! This is a traditional Chinese holiday that's celebrated in the middle of Autumn (duh) which is on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar. It is also known as the Moon Festival and people tend to enjoy mooncake during this holiday. This is the second biggest holiday in China (the first is the Chinese Lunar New Year). There are many stories that go along with this Chinese holiday as well. If you would like more information please check out this site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mid-Autumn_Festival

Moomin Postcard #3

2008-09-14T22:06:00.001-05:00

I really love this Moomin postcard. The colors are so bright and vibrant yet the image is so peaceful. This is a postcard of Moominmama who is Moomin's mother. You can tell that it's her because of the purse sitting next to her. She isn't always depicted with a rose tucked behind her ear, but that's one of the reasons I love this postcard so much, it makes her look really cute! The hat that she's using is Moominpapa's hat (her husband's and also Moomin's father).

Minnesota Renaissance Festival

2008-09-13T08:39:00.022-05:00

The Minnesota Renaissance Festival only comes once a year and it runs on weekends from August 16th to September 28th this year. It also runs on Labor Day and on Festival Friday which is September 26th. It's one of my favorite things to do in Autumn, I haven't gotten the chance to go for the last couple of years. I'm hoping to go again this year though (time is running out). I love the atmosphere there, the food is so good, the entertainment is fantastic, and the shops are filled with unique and diverse items. A must have for me is the beer cheese soup in a bread bowl, it is my all time favorite! I love to go shopping, they have so many different stops featuring so many different kinds of items. I love to get jewelery there, and I also always get some incense. The last time I went there I bought the cutest little hand puppets for my son, one is a knight, one is a horse, and one is a wizard. He just loves them and he plays with them all the time; if I get the chance to go this year I'm hoping to buy him some more. I also think it's really neat how they have themes, they have a different theme for each weekend. The themes this year are: A Silk Road: Discover the Riches (August 16th & 17th), Highland Fling (August 23rd & 24th), Royal Ale Fest (August 30th, 31st & September 1st), Irish Heritage (September 6th & 7th), Wine Gala (September 13th & 14th), Italian Carnival (September 20th & 21st), "Sweet Endings": Chocolate & Romance (September 26th, 27th & 28th). I'm hoping to go during the last weekend, since most of the fair has already passed. I also love how people dress up to go to the fair, someday I hope I will be able to get a beautiful renaissance gown to wear there. It's just so much fun there, hopefully soon you will be reading about how great of a time I had at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival! For more information about the Minnesota Renaissance Festival please visit their site here: http://www.renaissancefest.com/MRF/

Contest

2008-09-11T22:08:00.004-05:00

I have entered this photo into The Etsy Challenge. It has been selected to be in the challenge for the week of 9/15. Please come and vote for my photo here: http://etsychallenge.blogspot.com/

Thanks so much to all of you who vote for my cute panda! :-)

I'm Back!

2008-09-09T21:28:00.019-05:00

This last weekend I had gone up to the family cabin in Bemidji with my son, grandparent's, my mom and her boyfriend. We all had a really good time. We left on Friday and when we got up there my grandpa took my son on a 4-wheeler ride and the rest of us took a walk down one of our trails. I took my camera in hopes of getting some great photos that I could possibly sell in my Etsy store. On Saturday we went fishing in the morning. It was my son's first time ever being on a boat and he had such a good time. I caught a couple of sunfish from the lake and it was fun watching my son touching the fish and making funny faces because they are so slippery. When we got back to the cabin from fishing we decided to take a trip into town to do some shopping. I really wanted to go to a Native American store that they have up there. I always enjoyed going there as a child. I ended up buying myself and my son some moccasins. We both love them so they were good purchases. After we were done shopping we went back to the cabin, and my mom, my son, and I went on another hike on a different trail before dinner. Sunday morning we decided to go back out onto the lake for some more fishing. I ended up having to use Salami lunchmeat as bait and boy did the fish go crazy for that! I ended up catching about 5 or 6 fish (I lost track!). It was a lot of fun and we would have stayed longer but it was pretty windy out on the lake. I took my son out on another hike when we got back from fishing; it was nice being out in the wilderness alone with him. He's so curious about everything at this age and he's so much fun; I love watching him learn and grow. When we got back to the cabin we started packing up our things before lunch. It's a long trip there and back, it takes about 4 hours each way. Thankfully my son slept for most of the car ride back home (I did too...hehehe). We all had a really good time up there and I'm hoping we will be going back soon.

Stationery

2008-09-04T21:23:00.004-05:00

I have decided to share some more of my stationery with matching envelopes collection with you. I hope you like some of the selections that I've made. I have so many to choose from that's it's hard! As my collections grows I will continue to post more pictures! :-)

Sold

2008-09-03T22:16:00.003-05:00

I made my very first sale from my Etsy store! I sold a copy of my "Brilliant Buddha" photograph. I'm so excited and so happy! Now that I have a sale I'm hoping that I will get some more. I have heard from talking to other Etsy sellers in the Etsy forums that shops that already have a sale are more likely to get more than shops that have no sales. I'll have to keep you all posted! :-)

Glue Books

2008-09-02T20:57:00.010-05:00

I recently did a swap on Swap-bot for a glue book. Glue books are blank journals that you glue pictures in. I used stickers, pictures out of magazines and newspapers, and some pictures off of the internet to make mine. I also printed off some black and white pictures and altered them by coloring them in myself. I also used a background on each page of mine so you wouldn't be able to see any of the original page. So for some of the backgrounds I used things like wrapping paper, fabric, felt, and decorated tissue papers. I have posted some pictures of the one that I made for the swap. My partner loved it which made me super happy, but it was sad letting it go since I put so much work into it. Anyway I hope you enjoy taking a look at the pics and let me know what you think! I'm thinking about hosting my own glue book swap on Swap-bot in a couple of months when things aren't as hectic as they are now, perhaps some of my readers will join! :-)

Featured Etsy Seller: vsilcoxdesigns

2008-09-01T12:55:00.008-05:00

This is my second feature of one of my favorite Etsy sellers. All of the artists that I personally select have wonderful shops filled with awesome handmade pieces that I'm very excited to share with you all.

vsilcoxdesigns

Here's my take on it......
Glass painting explores a unique and profound paradox in art. By painting glass, I want the viewer to look at the shadow of the art as well as the art itself. Glass art is unique in that the shadow contains and expresses the composition and color of the art, a reflection, if you will, as well as a shadow. Trying to find where the shadow begins and where the reflection ends leads to the wonderfully infinite paradox that is glass art.

About Me....
Back in 2001, and right after September 11th, I made a life changing decision. On that day, I was sitting in a high rise building in downtown Los Angeles when the news came. Of course we evacuated, and on the long drive home I had plenty of time to think, specifically about how valuable my family was to me, how sad I was for those who were lost, and what choices I had made for my life.

I gave up my 20 plus year career in construction, to persue my passion for art. All my life I had toyed with pen and ink...and I suppose charcoal as well, but I had always envisioned painting glass, wine glasses specifically, so I figured....why not go with the fantasy. And here I am.

I usually average about 35 to 40 art and high craft shows per year, so I'm on the road constantly...from here in Southern California...to the San Francisco Bay Area...to Arizona.

What inspires me?
Light refraction....sounds weird...but it's the absolute truth.

Pet Peeve #2

2008-08-31T09:59:00.002-05:00

I have now decided to divulge my second pet peeve. It drives me nuts when people mismatch their accessories. For example why do people wear black socks with brown shoes? Or how about when people wear brown pants with a black belt? I've been known to wear a black coat while carrying a brown purse, but changing purses is a little harder than changing your socks, and yes I did feel a little self pity for having to go out with mismatching accessories due to lack of time. Come on though people, it's not hard to think about things before you put them on. If you are wearing black wear black accessories, if you are going to be wearing brown break out your brown accessories!

Even More ATC's

2008-08-30T13:13:00.004-05:00

Ask and you shall receive, so here's some more ATC's that I have made! :-) Hope you enjoy them!

My Little Artist

2008-08-28T21:21:00.013-05:00

I have a 3 year old little boy who is the coolest kid in the world. Awhile ago I signed him up for a class called "Art Around the World" where they would learn about a part of the world and then make a form of art that somehow relates to it. I thought I would share some of my son's art work from that class so everyone else will now know how awesome he is!

I hope you enjoyed looking at some of his art, I know I do! :-)

Bento

2008-08-27T20:34:00.002-05:00

I have decided to start yet another collection. I have started collecting bento boxes. Bento Boxes are Japanese lunch boxes. I think that they are really cool. So far I only have 2; one has My Melody on it (a Sanrio kawaii character) and the other has Mamegoma (a San-x kawaii character). I have not used either of mine as a lunch box yet though. I'm using the My Melody one to hold some of my ephemera for making ATC's. I just received the Mamegoma one in the mail today from a Swap-bot swap and I love it! It's so cute and it's got two tiers. I'm not sure what I'll be using it for yet, maybe just as decoration. So here's a question for my readers, do you know of any good bento recipes?

Fairwell 2008 Beijing Olympics

2008-08-24T21:29:00.004-05:00

It was wonderful and it brings me sadness to see it all ending. This is by far the best Olympics that I've ever seen. The amazing part is that the closing ceremony was just as great as the opening ceremony. It took over 1 million volunteers to run the Beijing Olympics and it was just magnificent. The USA took home the most medals but China took home the most gold medals, both of which makes me very happy. Michael Phelps is now a 14 times Olympic Medalist, and it was a lot of fun watching him swim in all of those competitions.
I also really enjoyed watching the Jamaican runner by the name of Bolt. He is such an entertainer and it's fun to watch him have such a good time winning all of those gold medals. All in all it was a wonderful experience watching the 2008 Beijing Olympics, even though I was only watching it on t.v.

Spain

2008-08-24T09:55:00.006-05:00

In the summer of 2001 I went to Spain through the Spanish program at my high school. I was there for 12 days and we went all over Spain. Some of the cities we visited were: Madrid, Bilbao, San Sebastian, Salamanca, Toledo, Burgos, and Caceres. Madrid was a lot of fun because they have so many tourist places and because it's a big city, but my all time favorite city I visited while in Spain was Toledo. It's such a beautiful place with narrow cobblestone streets and flowers hanging everywhere. I also enjoyed Salamanca and the university there. Bilbao is a great place to go because they have the Guggenheim Museum there. One of my favorite exhibits in the museum was called the "White Room" because it was just a room that was totally white. You would have to wear booties in there so you would not get the white floor dirty. When you go in there you have no depth perception because there are no points of reference because everything is white. It was very neat and so much fun. I also enjoyed seeing the Flamenco dancers. You can tell that they are very passionate people and they bring that passion to the stage when they dance. When we went to San Sebastian we got to see the Spanish night life when we all went out to a nightclub there. It was a lot of fun getting to dance along with all of the natives. I also enjoyed getting the chance to see all of the many Cathedrals there, they are so old, so intricate, and just magnificent. One place that I did not get to visit is Barcelona, and I would like to visit there during the Running of the Bulls some day. I also didn't get the chance to see a Bull Fight, and I would like to see one of those some day as well. All in all it was a wonderful trip and I would recommend visiting Spain to anybody who wants to go on a fun vacation/trip.

The Great Minnesota Get Together

2008-08-23T14:55:00.007-05:00

The Minnesota State Fair is officially in full swing. I go pretty much every year and I always have a good time. I don't think I'll be going this year though which makes me kind of sad. I have been working an average of 10 hours a day Monday through Friday so I wouldn't be able to go during the week. I'm so tired when the weekend comes and that's really the only time I have to be able to work on my Etsy shop, Etsy Team, and Swap-bot Swaps. The weekends are really the only time I get to hang out with my son too. I have been missing him a lot lately since I have started working so much.

Last year I had a bunch of fun at the fair though. They have so many great things to do and so much yummy food! I bought the Blue Ribbon book (it's available at Cub Foods) that has a bunch of coupons in it and it was such a good deal. One of my favorite things was taking the Sky Glider after it got dark outside, all of the lights looked so beautiful from way up there. Another one of my favorite things was the Butterfly House, I even had some butterflies land on me! I always enjoy the International Bazzar though, that's where they sell wares from all around the world.

Hopefully I'll be able to go next year though, and then Devin will be old enough to be able to stay there for awhile and walk on his own for the most part. Whenever I go it's always a day long adventure because I like to see everything, which can be hard on a 3 year old. So for now I'll be jealous of all the lucky people who get to go, but I can still dream about next year's fair! :-)

Pet Peeve #1

2008-08-20T22:08:00.003-05:00

I have some pet peeves and I have decided to share them with as many people as possible in hopes that people will stop getting on my nerves...lol. So my very first pet peeve that I will be discussing in this series is men who check out woman while they are with their significant other. I'm well aware of the fact that woman also do this to men, but I tend to see more men doing this to woman (this could be because I notice it the most when I'm the woman being checked out). Today while I was driving home from work I was stopped at a light and this guy was totally checking me out while his wife (or girlfriend) was sitting right next to him in the car. To me this is just wrong. First off it's wrong because I believe that a man shouldn't be looking at other women when he is in a relationship with someone else. Second if he is the kind of person who believe's "it's ok to look but not to touch" then atleast have enough respect for your significant other to not look at other people right in front of them. To my male readers out there who are thinking, "me looking at another woman isn't hurting anybody," it does. Atleast I would be hurt if I saw my husband (or boyfriend) looking at another woman right in front of me. I guess it all boils down to how much you respect the person you are committted too, and frankly I find the people who do such things as checking people out right in front of their significant others to be atroscious.

Another Moomin Postcard

2008-08-19T21:13:00.003-05:00

This is a postcard of Snuftkin. She is Moomin's girlfriend. The only way you can tell her apart from Moomin is her blonde hair and she wears a little anklet. She is my favorite character from Moomin's, and I think Moomin and Snuftkin make a great couple!

Kawaii

2008-08-18T07:50:00.009-05:00

Since joining Postcrossing and Swap-bot I have been introduced to the wonderful world of Kawaii. For those of you that are going "Kawaii?" and have no idea what I'm talking about I'm going to explain what it is and what characters I like. Kawaii means cute in Japanese. It's a huge fad over there and it's been spreading to places all over the world. Two of the most famous brands of kawaii are Sanrio, and San-x. Some people are very picky about brands; some people only like Japanese brands and only count those as being kawaii. I on the other hand am not very picky at all when it comes to the brands. I have posted pictures of some of my favorite characters throughout this post so you will have an idea of what I'm talking about. If you want to learn more please visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kawaii

Collections

2008-08-17T22:41:00.006-05:00

I am a pack rat, I'll admit it. My room is full of things that I call my treasures (other's call it clutter but I digress). I have a bunch of collections. Some you already know about from previous posts, like my postcard collection and my ATC (Artist Trading Cards) collection. I also collect tea, pencils, stickers, anything to do with Ireland, the Irish, shamrocks, or clovers, pandas, purple unicorns, and stationery with matching envelopes. I have decided to share some of my stationery sets with you today. Here are some of my favorites:

I have many more sets as well, but I wouldn't want to overwhelm you with my "clutter" and scare you off! :-)

More ATC's (Artist Trading Cards)

2008-08-14T21:26:00.012-05:00

Thanks to all of those who took the time to vote in my poll of what you would like to see on my blog. I'm glad to see that people enjoyed looking at my ATC's and I hope you enjoy these ones as well! :-)

Klean Kanteen

2008-08-12T20:32:00.008-05:00

Today I bought a Klean Kanteen. My mom and I bought a Pur Water Filtration System so we don't use bottled water anymore. Bottled water used to be a lot more convenient to just grab and go though, so I decided that I needed a nice water bottle that I could bring to work everyday. I talked to one of my co-workers about it and I told her that I was planning on buying a Nalgene bottle. She told me that I should not get one of those because they leach chemicals into the water and that I should get a stainless steal one. I asked her where they had those and she told me that they had some nice ones at Creative Kids Stuff. So I stopped by there today and picked one up. It's really nice and here's some of the features that I like about it:
- made from high quality food-grade stainless steal
- non-leaching and toxin free
- no inner lining, clean tasting
- reusable, 100% recyclable
- reduce landfill waste
- super durable, yet lightweight
- wide mouth fits ice cubes
- dishwasher friendly
They also come in 4 different sizes and different colors as well. I purchased a nice green one. It was only $20 too! Check out their website at: kleankanteen.com

Today I took the Break the Bottled Water Habit Pledge: "I pledge to Break the Bottled Water Habit by Thinking Outside the Bottle and using a reusable water bottle instead of buying bottled water. I also pledge to support the efforts of local officials to stop spending public funds on bottled water and prioritize strong public water systems over bottled water profits." You can take the pledge by going to http://water.newdream.org/

I also took the Think Outside the Bottle Pledge: "I pledge to Think Outside the Bottle, which means:
- Opting for public tap water over bottled water; and
- Supporting the efforts of local officials who prioritize strong public water systems over bottled water profits.
*Because water is a human right and not a commodity to be bought and sold for profit;
*Because bottled water corporations are changing the very way people think about water and undermining people's confidence in public water systems;
*Because up to 40% of bottled water in the U.S. and Canada is sourced from municipal tap water;
*Because some bottlers have run over communities' concerns and the environment when they extract water and build bottling plants to get local spring and ground water;
*Because bottled water travels many miles from the source, results in the burning of massive amounts of fossil fuels, and contributes to the billions of plastic bottles ending up in our landfills;
*Because worldwide there is a need for investments in public water systems to ensure equal access to water, a key ingredient for prosperity and health for all people; and
*Because solutions to ensuring water as a fundamental human right require people acting together and standing up for public water systems."
You can take the Think Outside the Bottle pledge by going to: http://www.thinkoutsidethebottle.org/

Internet Relationships

2008-08-10T22:21:00.004-05:00

It seems that in today's fast paced society the internet has become the best way to meet new people. There are many websites where people can forge different kinds of relationships with others. I have seen people ask these questions more than once however, "Are internet relationships "real" relationships?"; "Can you be as close with someone over the internet as you are with someone you know in person?"

I'd like to open these questions up to my readers. Tell me your opinion, tell me what you think! :-)

2008 Beijing Olympics

2008-08-08T19:50:00.005-05:00

Today is the first day of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In China 8 is a lucky number so having the opening ceremony on 8/8/08 is very lucky. I am currently watching the opening ceremony and I have to say that it's amazing and I'm becoming very jealous of all of the lucky people who are there. I always enjoy watching the Olympics but this is a very special one for me because I have been to Beijing and I have always enjoyed everything about China since I was a little girl. I have always said that I may be American but I have a Chinese heart. Their history is so long and their culture is so rich and I love how they are bringing both aspects to the Olympics, they are truly making this Olympics synonymous with country pride. I hope that the USA wins some medals but I also hope that China wins some as well. I think it would bring a big damper to the Olympics if the host country ended up not winning any medals. I'm sure that China will host the most memorable Olympics yet and I cannot wait to see it all!

Featured Etsy Seller: NativeJewelry

2008-08-06T21:06:00.011-05:00

I have decided to start featuring one of my favorite Etsy sellers each month with you. These are truly talented people who I think make great products; products that I feel people would be interested in buying; products that I think are so wonderful that I just cannot keep my knowledge of them to myself.

NativeJewelry

BIO: My name is Elaine and I am from the Pima tribe. I was brough up fully immersed in my culture. I started beading and making jewelry for myslef as a child. The first item I made as a child (a beaded necklace and bracelet) I sold to someone who was watching me dance and "had to have it". I guess that was the start of my entrepreneur as a jewelry maker!!I also do Native American performances (singing/dancing) from Ca to NY and often sell my crafts at these events. I also host a Native American television show called American Indian Cable network and have had my own Native American radio show. I have also done various television/film roles and can be seen in dancing in the movie Flicka, in acting in programs on the history channel such as Wild West Tech, Conquest of America, Andrew Jackson and Jedadiah Smith and in the IFC comedy series the Minor Accomplishments of Jackie Woodman.I am proud to offer you my handmade one of a kind items made from top quality natural materials like turquoise, leather, bone and porcupine quills!

Costa Rica

2008-08-05T22:34:00.003-05:00

My trip to China was not my first time ever leaving the country. I had the opportunity to go to Costa Rica through my high school's science program. I went in the summer of 2000 (I had just finished 10th grade). The purpose of our trip was to study the rainforrest; we had to take soil and water samples. We also got the chance to go up into the canopy which was a lot of fun. We stayed in the middle of the rainforrest at a place called Salva Bananito Lodge. It was so beautiful! Since we were in the middle of the rainforrest we had no electricity. Everything we used had to be biodegradable because there also wasn't a sewer system. There were 4 people to a lodge, the lodges sat on four long poles so you had to take a ramp in order to get up there, each lodge also had one bathroom, and our lodge had a huge wrap around deck with 2 hammocks hanging from the rafters. We were very lucky to get the lodge that we did because we ended up having a hummingbird nest in our rafters; one of my favorite memories from the trip is hanging out in the hammocks on our deck and just watching the hummingbirds come and go from their little nest. One of my other favorite memories from Costa Rica is getting to hold a sloth, her name was Buttercup and she was so cute! That was a truly wonderful trip and I'm very fortunate to have gotten the chance to go and to have my first time out of the country be such a memorable one.

Moomin Postcards

2008-08-04T21:09:00.006-05:00

One of my many hobbies is collecting postcards. I have tons of them and I have many different collections of postcards. I have all 50 US states and I'm also working on getting a postcard from every country in the world now. I also collect movie postcards such as: Pirates of the Caribbean, Harry Potter, and Lord of the Rings. One of my favorite collection of postcards is my Moomin cards though.

Moomins started out as books and a comic strip but has become so popular that it's now a tv series that's not just popular in Finland but also Japan. The original books and comic strip was done by Tove Jansson. Moomins are so popular that they even have their own amusement park in Finland called Moomin World. I hope to visit there someday (yes I'm still a kid at heart).

Goals

2008-08-03T17:27:00.004-05:00

I like making goals for myself. I like making them because not only can I see the progress that I make with things I would like to achieve, but it's easier to motivate myself when I can actually see the results. I start with a list of 10 goals that I would like to achieve. I try to make some long term goals and some short term goals (if I were to make them all long term goals I would end up feeling as though I'm never getting anything done and making no progress). Here's the 10 goals I have been working on since Feb. 7th, 2008:

1) find a job (DONE!!!)
2) make my first ATC (DONE!!!)
3) make it to 100 swaps that I have participated in on Swap-bot (DONE!!!)
4) finish my son's baby scrapbook
5) restart and finish my son's afghan
6) make myself a queen size quilt
7) collect a 9 x 9 inch piece of frabric from all 50 USA states to make my 50 States Quilt
8) get married before I'm 30
9) open up a savings account for my son
10) get my own apartment (atleast move out of my mom's house!)

I'll continue to update this post as I achieve more goals!

Treasury West

2008-08-02T10:03:00.002-05:00

I got the chance to make my own treasury on Treasury West today on Etsy. Treasury West is a group of listings where people can make a post featuring all of their favorite items from Etsy. It's a promotional tool that seems to work very well. I have never made one before so it was a pretty big deal to be able to make one; there has to be less than 222 posts in order for you to be able to make a new one, so I had to wait until some expired in order for me to post a new one. Once you make your treasury it will last for 3 days before it expires. So here's a link to my new treasury, please take a look before it expires in only 3 days! http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list_west.php?room_id=20662

ATC's (Artist Trading Cards)

2008-08-01T21:12:00.006-05:00

I was introduced to ATC's on Swap-bot and I have come to find that they are seriously addicting. At this moment I find myself in a total of 16 ATC swaps, 7 of which I am hosting. I am so addicted that I needed to find myself a way to show off all of my wonderful little works of art; thus I went on a hunt for an ATC album. I ended up finding a nice trapper keeper at my local Office Depot as well as some sports card holder sheets. I love the way I can just open it up and see all of the ATC's that I have received from swapping. I find that making the ATC's are just as much fun as receiving them. Here's some of the ATC's that I've made:

Asian Inspired Artists Etsy Team

2008-07-31T21:58:00.003-05:00

I've started a new Etsy team called Asian Inspired Artists. I'm beginning to learn that starting an Etsy team is hard work. I've already gotten some members and I've already started a Google group so we are able to have our own forum for chatting, planning, and supporting eachother. It's the getting the members to participate that's hard. I wish there was a way for there to be a group of people who are responsible for the team instead of just one person, because I'm starting to feel the pressure. If this team doesn't make it or isn't very successful I will feel solely responsible and I'll feel as though I've let the everyone down. I hope I have not gotten myself in over my head.

New Job

2008-07-30T22:22:00.004-05:00

I got a job today! I'm a teacher at a daycare center. I'm going to be a teacher in one of the toddler rooms (not sure which one yet). I got hired today and I'm already starting tomorrow with corporate orientation. Then on Friday I have orientation at the center, and next Monday I will be starting in the classroom. This is all happening so fast that I'm a little overwhelmed, but also super excited. This is a great opportunity for me, so please wish me luck!

Swap-bot

2008-07-29T21:19:00.004-05:00

Swap-bot is one of my all time favorite websites. It is a site where people get together to swap things. Most of the time it is handcrafted items but some people prefer to swap store bought items as well. It's a lot of fun because you can swap with people from all over the world. I joined Swap-bot on May 1st, 2007, and I have participated in 96 swaps. If you decide to try out the site I would recommend checking out the Forums there. You can meet many people and you can also find out who to avoid. Sadly there are "flakers" there too; a flaker is someone who is supposed to send out their items but never does thus causing someone else to have sent out items but get nothing in return. Thankfully flakers cannot stick around for too long though because Swap-bot has a rating system in place, when you receive a swap you are supposed to rate your partner and that way when someone flakes on you they get low ratings and then they can no longer join swaps. They also have groups on Swap-bot now (it's a pretty new feature to the site). They have groups for all kinds of people and they are based on anything from interests, to age, to region, to religion. I also really like the owners of the site because they are always making improvements, they really care about the site and it shows. You can find a link to Swap-bot under my favorite websites category. Also here's the link to my Swap-bot profile: http://www.swap-bot.com/user:Lucky12324

China Tour 2004

2008-07-28T20:55:00.005-05:00

My photos were taken when I was on China Tour 2004 through the East Asian Studies program at my university. I have a major in East Asian Studies and focused on China. I have taken 3 years of college level Mandarin, Chinese Culture, Modern China, and East Asian History. On the tour we visited many different cities including: Beijing, Xian, Shanghai, Guilin, Juizaigou, Huangshan, and Chengdu. I also got to see many historical sites such as: The Great Wall of China, the Terracotta Soldiers, Tianamen Square, the Forbidden City, the Leshan Giant Buddha, and many pagodas. I also got the opportunity to visit a regular family in China to see how they lived, visit Peking University, see the Beijing Opera, and take a ride in a rickshaw as well. It was the best trip I have ever taken in my life and I'm hoping to visit there again sometime in the future.

Lucky's Luxury Art's and Craft's

2008-07-26T16:25:00.014-05:00

I'm currently selling some of my photos on Etsy.com. The photos can be printed as: 4x6 for $5, 5x7 for $8, or 8x10 for $11. They can also be printed in glossy or matte. I will also sign the photos if requested. Please let me know your preferences when you purchase the item/s.

This is a magnificent picture of the Great Wall of China. While I was visiting there in 2004 I saw a bunch of people dressed in yellow and red. I asked a local who they were and was told that those people were filming a movie so I took the opportunity to take a shot of them all on the wall.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=vl_other_1&listing_id=13059285

This is a photo of an adorable Giant Panda that I saw at the Panda Breeding and Research Center in Chengdu, China. That is one very photogenic panda and he seemed to be smiling just for my photo!

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=vl_other_2&listing_id=13060085

This is a beautiful picture of Pearl Shoal in Juizaigou, China. Truly a magnificent waterfall.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=vl_other_2&listing_id=13152726

This is an exquisite picture of a stone carved Chinese dragon. This picture would look great on any wall.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=13243591

The majestic mountains of Juizaigou, China make a wonderful picture. Taken by myself in 2004.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=13022837

This is a brilliant Buddha statue that I saw while visiting China. I just had to take a picture of it because it literally took my breath away.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=13243689