Etsy Bloggers October 26th Edition

Welcome to the October 26, 2009 edition of etsybloggers.

Lois presents Celebrate Breast Cancer Awareness: Fight Like a Girl! posted at Foxy G's Den of i-KNIT-quity.

MissBMcKay presents HARVEST PARTY! Online Pumpkin Carving Share Giveaway! posted at DIY Addicted!

Myfanwy presents Halloween/Protection/Awareness posted at Sassa's Blog Carnival.

Two Zany Zebras presents A Goulishly good time at Disneyland posted at Two Zany Zebras.

Sykin presents Etsybloggers Carnival Post posted at Sykin's One Stop Etsy Shopping Guide.

A Keeper's Jackpot presents Halloween is Almost Here! posted at A Keeper's Jackpot.

agoodwitchtoo presents A Halloween Wishlist... Part Two posted at The Copper Cauldron.

Melissa Sinisgalli presents Breast Cancer Awareness Month posted at Made By Melissa.

Karen aka MysticWynd presents Wear a Pair of Jeans Today! posted at Mystic Wynd.

Kim Beatty presents Things I Love - October posted at The Peach Martini.

HomeMadeOriginals presents Halloween at the Market posted at Home Made Originals.

Christine Chaillet presents Halloween Adventures posted at Christine's Digital Scrapbooking Corner.

Alicia Mae presents Pumpkins, ghosts, and boredom posted at Crafts and Cooking.

MagdaleneJewels presents Carnival Blog: Breast Cancer Awareness Month posted at MagdaleneJewels's Blogs.

CREATEaTHOUGHT presents Oh October posted at CREATEaTHOUGHT.

storybeader presents Etsybloggers Carnival - Oct. 23, 2009 posted at Stroll Through Storyland.

Beth presents October - Breast Cancer Awareness Month posted at Sunshine Daydreamz.

Swettbriers presents GET INVOLVED posted at Sweetbriers.

Heather presents How I celebrate Halloween- Etsy Style posted at Heather's Custom Sewing.

Linda B presents Breast Cancer Awareness Month posted at Linda B's Blog.

Sandy Simpson presents Help Bring Awareness posted at Punky Jane.

PurrPrints presents Monday's Miscellany: Energy Awareness Month posted at PurrPrints: Art, Cats, and Randomness

Brittany Wende presents Successful Sale {Blog Carnival!} posted at - B.W. SILVER -.

Alison DeCamp presents Thinking Halloween posted at Glass Ali.

Kristin presents Halloween 2009 posted at Dip Your Toes Into Something New.

Sumiko Shop presents Halloween is almost here ... posted at Sumiko Shop.

Patti presents H.........appy Haunting! posted at peacoxcreations.

Edi presents Cyber Security Awareness Month posted at Memories for Life Scrapbooks.

BeadedTail presents Spookiness! posted at beadedtail.

Lauren presents Halloween is Fast Approaching! posted at Lost Mitten.

Sarah Wagner-Ranes presents Pumpkin Soap posted at Sweet Sally's Soaps News.

Sandi Myers presents October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month « The T-Shirt Lady posted at The T-Shirt Lady

A Keeper's Jackpot presents October: Domestic Violence Month posted at A Keeper's Jackpot.

Jannifer Long presents BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH posted at ChipmunkHollow

thatDESIGNshop presents Blog Carnival- Etsy Bloggers posted at That Design Gal.

Anitra Cameron presents CELEBRATING HALLOWEEN posted at Coffee Pot People

PatchFirstShop presents Month of Awareness ? Breast Cancer.. posted at PatchFirstShop.

Margaret Freije presents Halloween posted at Splendid Little Stars

Carapace presents Party Panic! posted at Cara Makes.

Tammy presents tamdoll's workspace: Almost Midnight posted at tamdoll's workspace.

Now let's go visit our teammates blogs and read this edition of the EtsyBloggers Blog Carnival!

Technorati tags: etsybloggers, blog carnival.

October: Domestic Violence Awareness Month

When shopping for items for a custom order that I'm making, I came across this leather cord on Etsy. The seller, LilysOffering donates 10% of her sales to Domestic Abuse Awareness, where the money goes towards counseling services, transitional services, and housing to women and children affected by domestic violence.


Thank you LilysOffering for this nice leather cord and for supporting the cause. She has a lot of nice eclectic jewelry supplies in her shop, including sterling silver findings, many of which she had designed.

Several Etsy sellers support the cause. Here is as beautiful necklace, "Now I can Bloom," by TheAbbey. All proceeds from this necklace go to domestic violence prevention programs.


This cool owl necklace, listed at TheJewelryProject, was made and designed by a talented client at the House of Ruth's emergency shelter based art program. The entire purchase goes back into the art program which promotes domestic violence awareness.


This pretty Domestic Violence Awareness Necklace, by StarzJewely, features a sterling silver purple awareness ribbon. Ten percent of the purchase of this necklace gets donated to SAFE HAVEN of Pike County, Pennsylvania.


FABFUNKYDIVADESIGNS offers this hand painted latte mug, "FABFUNKY LOVE DOESN'T HURT DIVA MUG." Ten dollars from this purchase is donated to the Liberty House Women's Shelter


Here are some sad national statistics regarding intimate partner violence and child abuse:

• Women account for 85% of the victims of domestic violence.

• One in four women are abused in their lifetime.

• Women ages 20-24 are at the greatest risk of nonfatal violence.

• Nearly 2.2 million people called a domestic violence hotline for assistance for themselve or others in 2004.

• Nearly 3 out of 4 people know someone who is or was a victim of domestic violence, 30% know a woman who was a victim in the last year.

• According to a national survey, 50% of men that frequently abused their wives also abused their children.

• Studies suggest that 3.3 to 10 million children witness a form of domestic violence annually.

• Almost 5 children die every day as a result of child abuse.

• A report of child abuse is made every ten seconds.

• About 30% of abused and negletect children will continue on to abuse their own children.

Information from Domestic Violence Resource Center and ChildHelp

Newest Listings

I'm still playing catch up with my shop. I had that Colors of Fall craft show at the end of September, so I was waiting until that was over to take all the pictures and list all the items that I banged out for that. No sense in taking pictures and listing them in case some of it sold. At the craft fair I sold several new pieces, but was left with many to list, oh what a process!

Here's some of my most recent listings... mostly glass tile pendants, but I have some of that wire crochet that people love and a sterling silver wire wrapped howlite necklace, and another bottle cap pendant. I listed a beaded zodiac necklace, called What's Your Sign, that sold within a couple hours of listing too! You can click on each picture for details, and remember, all glass tile pendants come with a complimentary ball chain necklace.

Forest Refuge Glass Tile Pendant

Atomic

Mount St. Helen: Sterling Silver Wrapped Holite

Purple and Gray White Crochet Wire Necklace

Brown and Cream Crochet Glass Pearl Necklace

Lady Bug Love Glass Tile Pendant

Sunrise Sunset Glass Tile Pendant

Clearance Sale Flowers and Honey Bottle Cap Pendant

Up Up and Away Hot Air Balloon Glass Tile Pendant

Indian Summer Glass Tile Pendant

What's Your Sign? Sold!!!

Halloween is Almost Here!

As always, I'm a little behind on promoting my holiday items, but FINALLY, I have all my Halloween stuff listed in my shop. New items this year include glass tile pendants and bottle cap pendants. I'll present you with a few of my oldies-but-goodies too.

The EtsyBlogger Team Leader, JoeyAndAleethea bought one of my Halloween glass tile pendants, but I still have a couple left including a Mummy and a Monster. They would make a cute gift for youself, a mother of young ones, a teacher, or anybody into celebrating Halloween! A complimentary silver ball chain necklace comes with the purchase of either of these pendants.

Thanks Joey!


Click on Either Pendant for Details

I also have a not-so-scary scarecrow pendant made using scrapbook paper and a square wooden tile. Similar to a scrabble tile pendant, but a little larger at 1.25 inches on each side. With the purchase of this pendant comes a free silver ball chain necklace.

Scarecrow Pendant

I have a few bottle cap pendants can be for Halloween, or autumn in general. Both were made using foliage tree scrapbook paper and beer bottle caps. Click on the pictures below to see what beer *had* to be consumed to create the pendants.

Foliage Beer Bottle Cap Pendants
Click on either picture for details

And some returning favorites from last year include pumpkin earrings, a decoupage spiderweb necklace, and a really cool choker. One of my year round favorites is the Black Widow's Web necklace made with agate. A close look at the pendant resembles a spider web.

Click on any image for details

Hunter Mountain: Completion of the Fire Tower Challenge!

Columbus Day, 2009

Our final fire tower for the badge, but certainly not our last fire tower!

It was a last minute decision to go up the Spruceton trail on Hunter Mountain instead of the more difficult Becker Hollow Trail. The Becker Hollow trail was less hiking millage, though more steep, and it would have saved us about 45 minutes in driving time which is why it was our first choice. No longer bound to the clock, and Sister plagued with a head cold, we decided to make the drive to the more southern, and less steep, Spruceton trail. It follows an old jeep road and horse path to the summit. The foliage along the trail seemed slightly past peak, but colorful leaves sprinkled on the ground allowing for some really pretty pictures and memories.


The trial follows Hunter Brook for a while, and crosses the brook on a wooden bridge. With switchbacks along the way we passed the old site, which we didn't notice, of a lean-to that burned down a few years ago. We came to the junction of the Colonel's Chair path where one can take the gondolas.


A spring is located on the right of the trail, but don't drink the water! A sign at the trail head warns of parasitic contamination, I'd say most likely from the horses that make the trip to the top.


Just passed the one mile to go mark, Sister's eye caught the tower in the far distance. Not the best picture opportunity as the bright sky consumed most of the tower. Sister's eagle eye also noticed a collection of needle ice in the moss on the edges of the trail. Needle ice is formed when the unfrozen ground water seeps up through capilary action and freezes as it hits the air at freezing temperature. It curls as it freezes making a design that resembles ribbon candy.

Fire tower in the distance

If you bring your horse, they do have landings to mount and dismount at the top and bottom of the trail.

The popular summit was crowded with other groups of hikers. We were disappointed that the cab was closed, but the view from the top landing was spectacular. Ski slopes were visible, and the surrrounding Catskill Mountains decorated with the remaining orange and red leaves. The observer's cabin stands at the summit, making a nice place to enjoy your lunch.



According to "Views from on High" by John P. Freeman, the first tower on Hunter was a wooden one standing 40 feet tall. It was the first of three built in the Catskills that year. In 1917 it was replaced by a steel tower, and was relocated from it's original position to the current one in 1953. It stands at 4040 feet elevation, giving it the honor of being on the highest point of all the fire towers in New York! It was abandoned as an active fire tower in 1990 and eventually condemned for public use. In October of 2000, the tower was reopened for public use with restored steps, landings, floor, roof, paint, and windows!

To see all the pictures from Hunter Mountain, check out my Flickr page.

Cathedral Rock Fire Tower

We chose Cathedral Rock as our final Adirondack Fire Tower in the challenge. The drive took us through some peak foliage areas all the way up north to Cranberry Lake. The trail we chose, the Latham trail, starts at the Ranger School. We started off intending to take the jeep road as per the guide book but we were easily confused by all the options we had with the different roads and decided that the Latham trail seemed to be the most direct, marked traill. Besides, it is so much more fun to stroll through the woods!




On the way we passed a leaf collecting ranger student, perhaps one of the few people genuinely excited that we were near completion of the challenge. The Latham trail was very easy, well maintained with no steep areas. It brings you by a cliff overlook and up some stairs. It seems to be a popular trail and tower, there were several hikers at the summit despite the light rain.





We were pleased that the tower cab was open, and even though it was a dreary day there were still a couple miles of visibility. A plaque on a large rock near the tower is dedicated to the rangers that have watched over the forest land over the years. A table map of the area is still in the tower where we tried to find Mt. Arab, one of the towers we climbed early on in the challenge, unfortunately a strange talkative intruder asked too us to many questions, creeped us out, and we left before we could find it!




Round trip distance is 2.4 miles, but I think that is using the jeep road. Elevation change is only 185 feet to the summit elevation of 1725 feet, so it is a great hike if you have little kids.

The tower once stood on Tooley Pond Mountain, and the materials were salvaged in 1971 with permission of the DEC by the students of the Ranger School. Reconstruction began in the 1980s and was completed with windows and all in 2000. I didn't notice at the time, and I can't see it in my pictures, but at one time (and maybe still) there was a rotating "stan-helio" signal at the top which reflects the sun's rays in all directions. Also known as a tin sun, it was a replica of the signal used by Verplanck Colvin to locate particular summits from a great distance.


It was a lovely hike, despite the rain and long drive.

Information on the tower and trail is from our favorite fire tower book "Views from on High" by John P. Freeman.

More pictures from the day can be seen on my Flickr page.

Designs by Vanessa

Meet Esty Artist Designs by Vanessa!

Vanessa is an artist on Etsy that I admire. Not only does she make beautiful jewelry and paper crafts but the way she presents her work is exceptional as well. You can tell by a quick browse through her shop, blog, and the photos of her items that she takes great pride in her work.



Many of her items are nature inspired, particularly birds. I love her shop announcement where she asks, "Who said a girly girl couldn't have a love for nature?!"

Check out her beautiful blog here.

Mt. Tremper via Willow Trail

After three days of partying (an out of town rehearsal dinner and wedding, and a high school reunion) I was ready for a wholesome activity. Sister and I chose Mt. Tremper because it was the closest fire tower hike left to climb, and it was a shorter hike; no need to throw my I'm-getting-too-old-to-party-like-this-body into shock. So down to the Catskills we went. We chose the Willow Trail approach because our guide book said it would save 600 feet in elevation change but only add 0.2 miles round trip. Perfect hike for my condition!



The trail begins at the dead stop end of Jessup Rd. Our guide book says its 6.4 miles round trip. We were too busy talking about my eventful week and missed the turn sign through the meadow to the trail. We came to a gorgous building with solar panels and a field of wild turkeys. The road turned around and we encountered some loggers who informed us that we did miss a turn a while back. That excursion probably added only a half mile onto our hike.


When we got back on track we climbed a little and walked along the ridge where we could hear the helpful loggers down below and a snake (not a rattlesnake) sailed over the toe of my boot. We saw Doll's Eyes in person for the first time ever! We moved forward for quite some time before getting to a junction where a sign said that there was over two miles to the summit. That, according to our calculations based on the guidebook, would mean that we had only walked about a mile from the trail head?! We took ino consideration our missed turn in Albuquerque, but it still didn't seem to check out. We hiked all the way to the summit, and towards the end of the trail we were both amazed at how it seemed like the longest 3.2 miles of our lives. I blamed it on my exhaustion and the wine from the night before.

Doll's Eyes

At the summit, much to our dissapointment, the fire tower appeared to be closed and a little unsafe to climb. Several beams were on the ground, and we speculated as to whether it was under repair and reconstruction or if the tower was going to be taken down. The pulleys and large C-clamps made us think that a restoration was in store, but the spokesperson for the family at the summit insisted it was being taken down.



No views are available from the bottom of the tower, but a large rock provided a nice sitting spot for lunch. After lunch and picture takin we continued a little down the Phoenicia trail to check out the lean-to.

Even the way down seemed equally long. I was starting to feel ashamed - we have conquored several mountains more difficult that this trail, what was my problem?! This was a fairly easy trail! We had estimated that the 6.4 mile hike would take us 3.5 hours at most, but it took us five hours including summit, picture taking, the little accidental excursion and the walk to the lean-to. How shameful! What a pleasant surprise it was when Sister found out that the Willow Trail of Mt. Tremper, according to the Catskill Center website, is actually 4.2 miles to the summit, making it about two miles longer round trip that we had thought!



An email to a Catskill Fire Tower Volunteer clarified the fire tower situation. No worries, it is under repair and it isn't going anywhere! We should have known that they wouldn't let it come down!

My Home and Studio

The Etsybloggers are talking about their studios for the next Blog Carnival. Most will share pictures, but my mess is quite embarrassing. About every three months I get sick of looking at the clutter and I invest in organizers. It stays neat for a couple days before returning to the original state of chaos. Needless to say, I won't be sharing any pictures of the mess - just a cute one of my cat Rocky trying to help me work. My studio started in the "only child room" of the house, which was the room I chose to keep my desk, computer, recliner, craft table, and so on. I'm not completely selfish, my husband gets the basement, or man cave if you will.

It seems as though my studio migrates further into the rest of the house on almost a daily basis. There is no room on my craft table to work since it started to accumulate mail, junk, and uncrafty things. Besides, the DVR is in the living room and I like to keep busy when watching TV. When I get to work, I bring half of my supplies out into the living room and take over the couch, coffee table, and floor. When I'm done, I do a decent job at keeping the living room clean. The only evidence of my work is the sound of tiny beads rolling across the floor when I sweep.



The finished products end up in Pepper's room with my box of displays and busts. It is this room that gets the most light, so typically most of the pictures of my work are taken in there as well. Then back to the only child room to upload the pictures onto my laptop for editing, uploading, and adding them to the website.

I guess instead of saying I'm unorganized, you could just say I get my inspiration from all over the house!

Padlock Hill Fire Tower at the New York State Fair

My husband and I made a trip to Syracuse on Labor Day Weekend. The itinerary included the New York State Fair and the Turning Stone Casino, both firsts for me! Naturally, the first thing that I noticed after walking through the gates was a structure across the grounds resembling a fire tower. My suspicions were confirmed by the fair grounds map - the DEC had an exhibit set up featuring a fire tower.


The tower was originally located on the summit Padlock Hill, near Ithica, New York. It was a 67.5 foot International Derrick tower and was constructed in 1940. According to a website created by Captain Paul T. Hartmann, the tower was first staffed in 1941 and had reported 52 fires and 705 visitors before closing in 1976. In 1977, the tower was sold in an auction to the landowner of the property it once stood on. In 1985 it was donated to the State. The tower was dismantled then reerected by Capt. Ed Pierce and the Region 7 Forrest Rangers with the help of a local steel workers union and crane owner and operator.



The sign on the fence around the tower specifically gives credit to Union Volunteers AFL-CIO, Ironworkers Local #60, Sheet Metal Workers Local #58 and Operating Engineers Local #545.

Aside from the fire tower, the DEC exhibit features a little "nature walk," camping and hiking information, and a section on insects, particularly the emerald ash borer beetle, often referred to as EAB. Native to Asia and Eastern Russia, these beetles have invaded thirteen states in the US. If you have driven through Upstate New York recently, you may have noticed the purple traps hanging from the trees. These traps are being used to locate the leading edge of infestations, as well as new populations.

The New York Invasive Species Clearing House by Cornell University maintains a website with a lot of information about EAB, from which I found more information. In their adult form feed on the edges of the leaves, and the larvae feed on the bark and inner bark of the trees. The trees are killed as the larvae destroy the phloem (inner bark), which transports nutrients made during photosynthesis. The zylem (sapwood) is also harmed by the larvae, which is tragic because this is the part of the tree that delivers water and dissolved nutrients. The tree essentially starves to death when infected by this invasive species. This is a big problem in New York because it was the ash tree that was planted to replace the native elms destroyed by the Dutch elm disease. If large numbers of mature ash trees are destroyed, the effects could be devistating, causing temperature changes, increased air pollution, not to mention the safety and economical impacts of fallen trees.

The Raptor Project was present, showing off several raptors including a bald eagle, falcons, and owls.








We passed on a four dollar Ferris Wheel ride and seeing the Worlds Smallest Woman. Shamefully, I hade a bite of my husband's fried oreo. Not what I expected - much better, actually! If you are unfamiliar, they wrap the oreo in fried dough. It tastes cakey, better than a regular oreo, but unnecessary nonetheless.






It was a fun day at the fair, and if you were wondering, I left Turning Stone with $6.75 more than what I went in with! On the way home my husband pulled over so I could take some cool pictures of the fog reflecting the orange glow of the sunset.