Is Trading Back In Style?

If you thought that trading was something forgotten long time ago, well I have some news. There are still many people on Etsy trading some items/services for others. I was surprised when I got a message from another seller on Etsy telling me if I was interested in trading. She explained me the process, we agreed on the items to exchange and then settled everything on Etsy and sent out the items. Everything went perfect!

So a few weeks ago I did another similar deal with Kristina from BuySomeLove. She has an amazing shop, so make sure to check it out! So, even though we both make jewelry, our shops are very different. We have different styles so both of us picked something, we agreed on how to do the transaction and a few days later we both received our new necklaces. I was very excited and I just love it! Look for yourself how gorgeous it is...




If you like what you see, here is the link to her Shop.

But before you go looking for someone to trade, here are a few recommendations:
- Not everyone likes to trade (I normally don't do it, just have done it twice).
- If you send a message and they don't respond don't get mad.
- Be prepared that the other person could decline the offer to trade, so don't get upset if that happens.
- Make sure you do the transaction through Etsy/PayPal, so if anything happens you still are covered.
- Trading is like buying/selling, so treat it just the same.

There are a lot of posts in the Etsy forums where people will announce if they're looking for trades and or what they want to trade for. So check them out and good luck!

Come and see me at the SF Etsy Team Trunk Show

I'm very excited to announce that on June 12, 2010 I will be participating at the SF Etsy Sampler. Only 20 Etsy artists from the SF Bay Area were chosen for this trunk show and I'm happy to be among those selected ones. I want to invite all of you to come and see some amazing handmade work from artisans in this area. You will be able to see, touch, try and buy the different items. You will find a variety of accessories, home decor, jewelry and much more while also enjoying some free refreshments.


Details of the event:
When: June 12, 2010 from 1 to 6pm
Where: Artist Exchange Gallery
Address: 3169 16th. Street, San Francisco
Admission: Free! No RSVP required but if you like, you can RSVP here.

Please keep in mind that it is a small show and with no ATM on site, so it is recommended that you take some cash in case you want to buy some of the awesome art.
Take a look at some of the participating artists :)

Monkey & Seal


Etta + Billie


Estylo Jewelry


EvelynX


For the complete list please visit the SF Etsy Blog.

I hope to see you there!!!

Quick Update :)

Ok, I was busy and very excited about the Giveaway last week, so I hadn't posted anything about the little pigeon babies on my window/balcony. They are growing very fast! The parents normally don't stay with them, they both come a few times a day to feed them and then leave the nest. So I've been able to get closer to the babies and take some pictures.


As you can see they're much bigger now. Also, since they chose such a small place to build the nest now there is not much space for them both and one is normally just stepping on the other. The yellow color they used to have has almost disappeared and they start looking like pigeons now.


I would think that they are almost ready to leave the nest. Probably one more week? Who knows, but the fact is that is a nice experience to see them grow :)

And the Winner is....

The day has come to see who is the lucky winner of one of my Wire Wrapped Necklaces. Thank you everyone to participate. I had a lot of new Facebook fans, Blog and Twitter followers. The total number of participants was 496 and the lucky number is 407 which is...... Alma Lopez!!!!
Again, Thanks for participating, and don't get discouraged, I will have more Giveaways where you will able to participate. Have a nice week everyone!

My First Giveaway!!

I've surpassed the amount of Facebook Fans I had in mind, so I decided to show some appreciation and host a Giveaway :)

Enter my Giveaway and you could win any of my items in the Wire Wrapped Collection. Here are a few pictures but you can see all in my shop




Here are the rules:
- All my Facebook Fans are automatically in the drawing
- If you're not a Fan yet, you can fan me here or at the Facebook Fan Badge on the left of the sidebar.
- You can add your chances by Suggesting your friends to become a Fan or
- Commenting on this Blog or
- Tweeting about the Giveaway or
- Announcing the Giveaway on your blog or website

You have until Sunday May 23, 2010 to enter. I will announce the winner on Monday 24th. on my Blog and on Facebook. The winner will be drawn with www.random.org and the Giveaway is open worldwide, but please keep in mind that I can't be responsible for non-delivery of the Postal Service. I will ship with First Class USPS service.

Good luck and remember to checkout my Shop to see which item you could be winning!!

Baby Pigeons Week One - Plus a Surprise!

During the past week I've been trying to take some pictures from the baby pigeons, but they were too small and I didn't want to scare the parents away, so the pictures were very blurry. But yesterday I had more luck. When I opened the curtains I saw that the parents were not around, so I ran to my phone and took the first good picture of the two baby pigeons. Aren't they cute??? Well, according to Alberto, my husband, they aren't but I think they are :)


But that's not all. Today again when I opened the curtains, the parents were away and my surprise was to find the two baby pigeons and a new egg!!!!

It looks like the pigeons really liked the nest and now they're having more babies??? Well, anyways, let's see how it goes and I'll keep you posted :)

I became a grandmother???

At the beginning of April we traveled for about 10 days and when we came back we noticed a little pigeon's nest in our balcony. The next day my husband found one egg.


The day after he noticed a second egg....


So we decided to read a little about them and learned that it takes between two to three weeks for the little babies to come out of the shell. We were worried that they would not come out of the eggs, since Pancho, our dog, would scare the parents all the time. Here's a picture of Pancho for those who don't know him yet:


But today, my husband told me that we're grandparents!!! It seems like the little pigeons were born today. There's no way to see them yet since the parents are still sitting on the nest. But the shells are on the side of the nest so that means that they were born today. I'll post some pictures as soon as the parents let us take them. So, remember to check back soon!!!

Mother's Day

May has arrived and with it one of the most celebrated days - Mother's day. It has been a very important date since hundreds of years ago, going as far back as to the ancient Greeks, where they worshiped Cybele. In the US it was mentioned since 1870 but was trademarked in 1912. In Bolivia, my home country, it was officially announced in 1927, commemorating the Battle of Coronilla in 1812 where women were fighting for the the independence of the country.

Overall in many countries we value women and our mothers and we use this celebration to show them how much we love them. In Santa Cruz, Bolivia there is a monument that I like very much. It represents the beauty and strength of the indigenous mothers in Bolivia:



The monument of "La Madre India" (the indigenous mother) was created in 1978 by David Paz Ramos. He was inspired by seeing a little child in the plaza running frightened into his mother's arms. The indigenous woman held him tight and saving him from any threats.

If you see the mother's expression, she seems ready to defend her child from anything. I'm not sure if they are from the Ayorean or Guaraní culture, but anyways I wanted to share this beautiful monument with you.

A few dates for mother's day celebration:
Bolivia - May 27th
USA, Germany, Hong Kong - Second Sunday in May, this year May 9th
Mexico - May 10th

Don't forget to call your mom and let her know how much you love her! Also don't forget your wife, grandmother and your mother in law!