~ Glitter Star Christmas Ornaments ~*~

I love those glittery silver star ornaments, so I made a whole bunch!

They are on etsy if you would like to visit them:

Click here

~*~ Little Garbanzo ~*~

I just added a new bear to Etsy. He will also be on my website a little later. If you would like to visit him, click the link below:

Click here

The Price Of Publicity

This afternoon when I logged in, I had a ton of E-mails like usual. Several of them were to announce new followers on Twitter. The name of one of them was rather shocking, so I went to look at them and see what exactly they were about. It was someone actively hunting down people and slamming the items people make. (I am not going to say their name because I don't believe they deserve views.) I blocked them immediately.

Someone posted a thread about this in the forums. While many people were disgusted, many many others stated that even negative publicity is good publicity and said there was nothing that could be done about it so why not enjoy it. I have to admit I was kind of shocked by their reaction. More shocked in fact than by the person who made the account with the sole purpose of making others look bad. Why would you want your business to be associated with this type of thing? The person who started the thread on the forum was outraged in the first post and by page 18 thought it was a good thing. I am glad I stand by my convictions a little more strongly.

Why are we so permissive of bad behavior? Even more disturbing, why do we encourage it? How can anyone really believe that bad publicity is good? There is so much hate in the world already, do we really need to perpetuate and applaud it? Sure I understand that it means people will look at their items. But do we really want people looking at them in the same way they would a side show exhibit?

Some people even submitted their items to the twitterer. Over the years I have made a couple bears that simply did not turn out, but they didn't see the light of day either. I am not in the business of selling bad products. When you're an artist you aren't going to turn out something perfectly wonderful every single time. As consumers we aren't going to love everything everyone makes. But to go out of your way to make people feel bad when it takes courage just to put yourself out there is mind boggling to me. To make yourself look bad is even more mind boggling. Why would I buy from you if you tell me you think your stuff is ugly? Maybe people do it as reverse psychology or maybe they just want the shock value. I just know that if you don't believe in your own work, I certainly won't.

Negative publicity can be extremely hurtful. People tend to believe what they read. I remember a while back Jennifer Love Hewitt was called fat by the tabloids. She is a size 4 at the most. How can that be fat? So many people parroted what they heard or read about her that she made a long post defending herself over it. It made me really sad that she felt a need to do that. She is a beautiful girl, a thin girl. I should be so lucky to look that good! But that type of publicity clearly had a detrimental effect on her personal outlook. Now I suppose it could be argued that she is insecure and should have tougher skin because of the business she is in, etc. But how would we feel to read something negative about ourselves or our work? Very few people can say that it wouldn't bother them on some level and wonder why they were targeted. While I wouldn't lose any sleep over it, I would still feel a little hurt because I am human. We all are. We live on a very small isolated planet, if we don't take care of each other...who will? So if you're out to make someone look bad, negate their business in some way, or supporting someone who does...all I have to say is think about what you are really doing! You never know when you will be the next victim!

Someone once told me that all things people do stem from one of two things, love or fear. I have come to understand over the years that is true. Are people so afraid of competition and their own inadequacies that they need to be hurtful and support those who are?

Gratitude

Yesterday I made a post in the Lollishops Guild blog about gratitude, but I realize a lot of you don't have access to that, so I thought I would make a similar post here on the same subject. I think that many women who had successful businesses before they moved to the internet feel the same way I did judging by the amount of mail I received over that post.

When I moved the business to the net a year ago I went through an interesting series of emotions. Bear shows has begun to die off due to difficulties and expenses of travel, and the ease of getting what people want at the click of a button. First I thought wow this is going to be great, I can make a website...my customers can find me and it will be so much easier than going to shows. I made my website and nothing happened. I added all the search engines I could and still nothing. I decided to try ebay and bears sold, but for ridiculously low prices. I was tired of giving my work away and I became disgusted with ebay so I quit using them.

I went through some issues with people mentioned in the last post and it really took it's toll on my usual positive attitude. I began to think the internet was my enemy. I looked upon it as something to be conquered and it was a struggle each day. I went through a dark period for a couple months where I couldn't even create much of anything because of all that had happened.

One morning I woke up and I realized the Internet is something to be grateful for. It's filled with lovely creative people, ideas, pictures, words and infinite possibilities. How could those kinds of things be my enemy? I made a shop on etsy, and I applied for Lollishops, I've made Mohair Divas and look what my positive thinking has brought me to.

In the US we have Thanksgiving coming up. It's a time when we should express our gratitude for what we have. But I think we shouldn't wait for one day a year to do that, or have to live in a specific country. I think we should be grateful and positive for the things we are given every day. I know that's hard sometimes and I am not Miss Merry Sunshine every single day, so don't think that. *winks* But I do try to push those feelings aside when something negative arises.

I am grateful this year for so many things, I don't want to wait for November 27th to express that gratitude. I have always been grateful for what I have in this world. I am married to a wonderful man that I wouldn't trade for anything, I have family and friends and pets. A nice house, my health and I don't want for anything. In fact I am rather spoiled. But I am also grateful that the internet has become my friend. I have been pushed outside my comfort zone a few times and taken on challenges I might not have in the past. It has also allowed me to meet so many wonderful people lately, and to share what I have with them the way they have shared with me.

A Thousand Words

Several events today led me to making this post. I was going to post about something else actually, but I decided I wanted to post about this instead.

Every nano second on the internet a thousand words are posted, some are good and some aren't. Words are energy we expell into the universe and as we have learned in basic physics energy gathers more energy as it travels along it's path. Energy cannot be destroyed so once you put it out there, it's out there forever.

Karma is an idea that what you do in this life will come back on you in the next. But recently the concept of karma has metamorphed more into a "you reap what you sow" concept and that it will come back on you in this life. I don't profess to know when it comes back but I am quite certain that what you do does return to you at some point.

When I got into my car there was a song playing on a CD that I have called "A Thousand Words." It's about a bad relationship, but I think many of the phrases in the song could easily be applied to the internet. My husband is always fond of telling me that my hard work in all my internet venues will pay off sales wise, like it used to at shows. He also said some day people will see me for the person I really am in those same venues. My husband was right. In the same vein, a friend of mine today said; "Everything said in darkness comes to light....it will be your turn to see favor."

But I think my turn has already come. For a long time I was considered a trouble maker in certain areas by a handful of people. I always left feeling bad for expressing a different point of view or standing by my convictions. But after a friend of mine came to me today to tell me about something that occurred that upset her in this same area, I realized that maybe I wasn't the cause of the problems. From what I learned today, my absence hasn't stopped it either. I run my social network; Mohair Divas, I belong to the Lollishops Guild with nearly a thousand members where I am an active paticipant, I moderate on two sites one of which has 30,000 members, and I belong to an Etsy team. There hasn't been one ounce of drama on any of those sites from anyone, including me. Hmmm, interesting.

Recently we had a contest on Lollishops to win a spot in beta testing by bringing in new members. I immediately went and posted the link in the Etsy Team blog so anyone who hadn't heard about it could apply. Someone pointed out that was really nice of me to bring my own competitors to the site. I don't look at it that way, I look at it like the more the merrier. As it turned out I won a spot. I really hadn't even imagined that I would win because there are so many people who were trying to win and they had more contacts than I. But I just wanted to share the link so people could have a chance to sell on this great new site. Imagine my surprise when I woke up to a PM this morning saying I won! I could't have done it with without the bear artists who applied. They didn't have to say I was the one who referred them, but they took the time to do it.

What is all this random posting leading to you ask? Well I had a sort of an epiphany...the internet is a pretty good place when you go to the right areas, the people on the internet are pretty nice, and I am pretty nice too. The only people who seem to cause problems are the ones who are too busy using a thousand words to tell others how to behave instead of tending their own garden so to speak.

I feel very blessed and happy to know the people I do now. So in a round about way this was my way of thanking everyone in my sphere on the internet. You make me happy and restore my faith that the virtual world is a good place. Hugs to you all!

Twitter

I signed up for Twitter a few weeks ago. I try to make posts every now and then but I have no idea what I am doing. They call it micro-blogging but I prefer regular blogging where I can formulate an entire thought. (Or at least try!) It always makes me feel as if I have tourettes of the fingers to just blurt random things out. I post occasional links to new items, but mostly I just make comments about whatever I am doin at any given time I think to post. I don't really think anyone wants to read it, but I keep getting E-mails informing me that people are following me. I have no idea how they find me, or why they want to follow me but I guess it's flattering. Sometimes I like to read it because I find it sort of fascinating to know that a complete stranger I really have no concept of is making cupcakes or drying the mud off of their dog.

I always follow everyone in return who follows me because I think it's only fair, but I don't like the people who tend to do nothing but post links. I always end up removing them. I think it's fun to see what they have made every once in a while but if they don't post anything personal, off they go. I wonder if that makes me a bad person? Sometimes I think the internet has made the world we live in a strange place. Other times I think it brings us all closer together.

I guess if you're interested in following me you can do so here:
My Twitter Address

A New Day

So this morning dawns with the election over and I for one am thrilled. Not because Obama won or McCain lost, but simply because it's over. I think elections are wearying for this country. It gets very old to sit and watch two grown men pay to hurl insults at one another day in and day out for so long. It makes me believe that anyone who would do that is not qualified to run this country.

I would like to believe that at some point in history there were men who just stood up and said I love this country and I want to do what's best for it and it's people. Then proceeded to carry out their campaign with the dignity holding the office of president deserves. I have to wonder what men who insult each other in public say behind closed doors about the rest of us? Basically elections are a long drawn out interview for the job. Would the rest of us get a job if we insulted people during the interview the process? I am sure we wouldn't and yet these men do get this job.


I would like to see the man who holds the office uphold the promises he makes just once. Obama has promised change. I am not sure he ever said it was change for the better. But I hope that is his intent and that we as a nation have chosen wisely. I guess time will tell. But for now I am happy it's a new day and I don't have to listen to any more mud slinging.