Timothy Adams has written a very informative blog about Etsy, and how to get more exposure. 3 Fixes for the low views on Etsy. Having low views is a huge complaint of sellers from what I’ve seen. Etsy has gotten really big, and listings get buried down in the pages within minutes. People can’t buy your art if they don’t know about it. His ideas are well worth reading, and he provides lots of great links to help make your listings stand out.

I told Amy from Magical Musings that she could tag me for this, if she wanted..and she did. I thought it sounded fun.

6 random things you may or may not know about me..

1. I am legally blind (very distorted shadows only) in my left eye, and I’ve been having trouble with my right eye for a few years now. Astigmatism in both. I have no depth perception. I’m near and far sighted. It makes me a very nervous driver. I tend to run into and over curbs a lot, especially on the left-hand side of the car. I can not judge distance at all. Am I going to hit that? Nah, I’m not going to.. Crunch. Yeah. I drive slowly and stay off interstates, if at all possible.

Having horrible eyesight makes being an artist a little difficult. I’m never quite sure if my paintings look too flat or not. I really have no idea. I know how it looks to me, but I have no idea how it looks to someone with 20/20 vision. It is challenging, but I don’t think of it as a handicap.

And, believe it or not, they can make a contact lens for my blind eye, which helps make colors a little brighter, but they can’t do anything for my right eye. I’ve tried several contacts, and it only made it worse. They suggested glasses, but if they can’t get a contact right..should I really spend over $600 for glasses? hm..

2. Miz Katie dot com is my third website. None of my old websites exist anymore. Some people know me best from my photography, not art. I’ve been told numerous times that I have “a good eye”, which always makes me laugh at the irony.

3. I met my bf online seven years ago. Or was it eight? hm..not sure. It was six. Six years ago. Greg set me straight last night. It sure feels like more.. We were casual email friends in the beginning, so I don’t remember the exact date. He bought a lot of art from me, and I thought of him as my “best customer”. It took a little while for our friendship to take off. Truthfully, I thought he was a bit weird (he laughs hysterically whenever I say that), but I didn’t want to be rude. I kept thinking I’d answer his emails until he stopped writing. Well, he never stopped. And, I kept answering. Somewhere along the line, we began to email, call and IM each other obsessively. But, still, we didn’t meet for a long time. It became a long distance love affair of the heart.. until we couldn’t take it any longer and had to be together. We met for the first time 3 years ago, TODAY, and have been together ever since! It’s our anniversary. aw! I’m going to bake him a chocolate cake (for a purely selfish reason, of course. I want some caaaake!!! isn’t he lucky to have such a thoughtful gf?). laa!

4. I’m a vegetarian, but don’t worry. I don’t care if you eat meat. I’ll even cook it for you if you come to my house to visit. I swear, I’m not going to go all PETA on you. I don’t eat it because I don’t like it. I like cake better. mmm..cake!

5. I tend to over-think everything, and I can really annoy other people with my long, drawn out thought process. Sometimes all I end up doing is thinking, not doing. I paralyze myself. I am over-thinking this entry right now, and it’s annoying me. heh!

6. I love animals! I have 3 cats - 2 sweet, loving Persians - Izabella and Scrappy, and a cranky black cat named Emma Bossy. She bites me all the time, but I try to look past her faults. Scrappy, the meditating cat, has Lupus. He’s pretty sick, and probably won’t be with us much longer. We’re just trying to make him as comfortable as possible, and love him up, until he’s ready to go.

I also have a lab named (big red) Fred.

All my pets were rescued, in one way or another. Fred was on death row when I met him. He was only a year and a half, and he was going to be put to sleep. Emma was a tiny kitten and lived in a fallen down, abandoned barn. She was barely fed. Scrappy and Izzie came from FreeCycle.org (at different times, in different states), and were unwanted pets. They were both very sick when I/we took them in. Scrappy never recovered, and we later found out why.

Okay, so that’s it! I hope you enjoyed reading. So.. now I’m suppose to tag people. hm..okay. If you don’t want to do this, it’s cool. Don’t feel pressured.

Here’s my list:

1. Trish
2. Paula
3. Sweet Mango
4. DebMarie, who claims she’s not my friend anymore because I won’t shut up about marshmallows and chocolate. ahem! ;)
5. Jeannine
6. Zom

here are the rules:

1. Link to the person or persons who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them.
5. Let each person know they’ve been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

her echo, originally uploaded by m.a. wakeley.

Another great Flickr find! I am in love with Mary’s work, and had to add her to my contacts immediately. If you click on the link below the photo, you can see more of her paintings.

Egghead detail, originally uploaded by bigheadedrobot.

I found Big Headed Robot on Flickr yesterday. I’m infatuated with this artwork. You can buy really affordable prints on Etsy, too.

this is an original, hand painted collaged cover - not a print.The cover has been sealed with beeswax, so it has a soft textured feel. I have buffed it, so it’s shiny. It lies flat, so it’s easy to use.

available in my etsy shop

2 ring journal notebook with assorted paper inside.

I had a huge stack of paper sitting in my studio, so there is a mixture in these books. You will probably get scrapbook paper and colored paper. You may also get watercolor paper and cardstock.

These are bound using two 1″ book rings. It is embellished with Fancy Fur yarn. The cover has glitter sprinkled on it, and it’s sealed with beeswax. It has a soft textured feel. I have polished it, so it is shiny. If the wax dulls, which it will, just bluff with a cloth. It will look good as new.

available in my etsy.

if you saw these in my shop earlier this week, i apologize for the increase in price. i am spending a lot of time on these books. much more time than i anticipated, and because of that, I have had to raise the price a tiny bit. they are still very affordable, and will make a wonderful gift or treat for yourself. go ahead. you know you want to. ;)

You can also visit her blog here

Miss Shirl’s etsy shop

You can also visit her blog here

If anyone would like to try Netflix free for a month, email me or leave a comment with your email information. I will forward you the email from Netflix, so you can sign up.

Sorry, offer expired Oct 31st.