Memorial Day Treasury ~ Land of the free, because of the brave

In honor of America's true heroes, here's my Memorial Day Treasury.

















For those who have served, for those who now serve, for those who will serve ... lay a wreath, write a letter, fly your flag! And never, never forget!

To view these items and visit each of these wonderful Etsy shops, click here. When you see the treasury, click on each individual image.

And speaking of daisies ...

 ... I decided to illustrate my previous post with a few of the daisies offered by the members of Team Etsy Project Embrace.

Well. So many EPErs are into daisies this spring that I've had to practice amazing self discipline and limit my choices to those items which are actually tagged TeamEPE. (The tag means that when that item sells the seller will make a donation to the American Cancer Society. Click here to find all the currently tagged items.)

Here, starting with happyment's daisy (above) and in no particular order, are a few ... er, pickings. And a lovely bouquet it is!



From Anhoki












 From littlebrownbird

From itsallaboutvintage












From jennjohn












 From akaCINDERS

From BanglesButtonsBeads

From KneeDeepOriginals

From simplysuzula

From shecological









From noahandlilah

From Lori411

From littlebugjewelry

From LamaWorks

And from me

Now, please visit our Team Blog and drop in on our TeamEPE Etsy forum thread and chat with us!

A Daisy Tale

While working in the garden this morning, the idea for this post kept dancing around in my head. So now that I'm indoors, cool, refreshed and well fed, I'll tell a little tale about some little daisies.

Daisies Don't Tell

It was springtime, and Joe and I were moving some friends from one garden to another. Pushing a wheelbarrow full of day lilies up our sloping lawn toward their new home, I happened to look down in time to stop before flattening two scraggly little wild daisies who had valiantly struggled up through the grass. They looked so forlorn I took pity on them and started to navigate around them. Just at that moment, the man who mows our lawn pulled into the driveway with his trusty John Deere. On impulse I whipped the trowel out of my pocket, dug up the little daisies and tossed them on top of my load.  Also on impulse I dug a couple of little holes in the newly prepared soil in the border, stuck in the daisies, gave them a quick drink of water, and turned my attention to the lilies.

That summer the lilies bloomed in brilliant profusion, while the little daisies produced one or two not very enthusiastic blossoms. Although I kept watering them and clearing the weeds away, I didn't hold out much hope for their future.  And when winter brought its usual snow and ice storms, daisies were the last thing on my mind. Curling up with cocoa, book and cat kept me busy.

Spring rolled around, and Joe and I planted marigolds and petunias in the borders. When their little green shoots appeared, we noticed a few little strangers coming up among them and for some reason didn't pull them out with the dandelions and other weeds. And when they bloomed, we realized what they were. Daisies.

Another year passed, and April found us on a pilgrimage to my old haunts in Texas -- missing planting season here in Maine. During our trip we lamented that there would be only lilies blooming in our garden that summer. No marigolds, no petunias.... We dreaded the moment when we'd drive in the driveway again and see nothing but clover and the dreaded dandelions.

Well, we were right. There weren't any marigolds or petunias. And we were wrong. There was no clover, nor were there dandelions. Those unwelcome intruders had been valiantly chased away. And in their place, swaying in the breeze as if waving a homecoming welcome ... hundreds and hundreds of white and yellow flowers.  Daisies.

Many springtimes have come and gone since that day, and the lilies continue to flourish. We always have geraniums in pots on the deck, petunias and marigolds, alyssum and lobelia in the window boxes.

And in the border, wild daisies.

This morning, in what has become an annual ritual, I gently moved a couple of dozen newly sprouted wild daisies to their new homes in the sunny border. Tomorrow I'll move a couple of dozen more. And in the days to come I'll move as many as I can find into strategic spots where they'll wave their welcoming blossoms all summer long ... and for as many summers as Joe and I are blessed to live.

"Daisies don't tell." They may not tell, but show them a small kindness, and they sing ... and continue singing for years to come.

Their song is titled "Thank you."

Payvment Shopping Cart Linked to Facebook Fan Page

A couple of weeks ago I promised to keep everybody updated if I decided to try out the Payvment application on Facebook.

Well, I did it!

So, here's the scoop ... or at least part of it.

Please keep in mind that the Payvment application is still in beta.

First you'll need a PayPal account, a Facebook account and a Facebook fan page.

Here's a link to a video on how to set up the Payvment shopping cart on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=958864575553&ref=mf

It's pretty easy to follow (meaning I could do it). You'll need to open two windows - one for the video and another to follow the steps. The video goes  fast, so I had to keep stopping and restarting it to catch up. And there's a brief delay while Payvment emails you a secret code that you'll paste to your info to activate your account. Also, be sure you click to link Payvment to your fan page - that will put a "Shop Now" tab on your page that will take viewers straight to your shop.

The video doesn't explain how to add items, but I took the intuitive route and, compared to Etsy, found it relatively simple.

There's a little extra twist to it in that once you've saved your listing, you'll need to go back to Your Products, uncheck Unlimited Stock, and then type in the number you actually have available (in my case 1). I'm hoping, while the application is still in beta, they'll add a quantity box to the editing mode, rather than having the default set at unlimited stock.

You can create categories, and I tried it with three (necklaces, bracelets, earrings) but ended up just listing everything under jewelry ... because there doesn't seem to be any way to view all your items if they are categorized separately.

Also, I didn't choose to feature any items, because any that are featured are the only ones that appear without going to each category in the drop-down menu.

You only get one image, which is a drawback, and your image needs to be square or the application cuts off a bit from one side. And I can't figure out how to replace the image once the item is listed, short of deleting and starting over to get each one the way I want it.

I've listed a few items, so if you'd like to take a peek, click here. You can also get there by going to my Facebook fan page and clicking on the "Shop Now" tab.

The Payvment website says there will never be any fees, and that their cart also can be used on any website and some blogs.

So far, I see a few problems with launching through Facebook:
1) Getting found - that's already my pet peeve with the fan pages;
2) Gauging traffic - I can't find any way to track views or clicks.
 
Overall, I think there's potential here. Time will tell ...

New Rough Magic Creations on Etsy

New Jewelry at Rough Magic Creations on Etsy ~

Blue Skies Bracelet combines Deedee's wire wrapped glass stone and my handmade all copper chain.

Sesame Drops Earrings feature gorgeous briolettes of sesame jasper gemstones, wrapped in copper and crowned with African trade beads and bright copper rounds.

Please come over and take a peek: http://RoughMagicCreations.etsy.com

Let's Plant a Garden with Team Etsy Project Embrace!

Okay, it's that time again up here in Maine, and Joe and I are dreaming of a garden as lovely as the one in "the blue bench," this beautiful photo by the garden shed!

Most years our growing season is all too brief, but this spring has been a long one, with a mix of clear and cloudy skies, warm days and cool nights.

We've had rain and sunshine and more of both, and now the lawn is carpeted with the blazing yellow of dandelions. The earth is soft and moist and more than ready for its annual hoeing and tilling.  It's longing to make a home for the seedlings Joe has been nurturing in their little peat pots in the workshop. He has tomatoes, bell peppers, various herbs (basil, dill, cilantro to name a few). We're planning on green beans, squash, cukes and few flowers (marigolds, alyssum, lupin) as well.

And the time is right!  So what are we waiting for?  A bit of assistance from our teammates over at Etsy Project Embrace, that's what!

Just to make sure we know what we're doing, here's a vintage horticulture book offered by Simply Suzula.  Plantes d'Interieur has the advantage of being small, so I can carry it into the garden in my pocket.

And because it's written in French, Joe and I can polish up our parlez vous while playing in the bonne terre.

What to plant first? We'll look no further than these fabulous Plantable Tags by Green Post. Any seed that gets planted with its own green watering can is sure to flourish!

And now, to be sure we remember what we've planted where, we'll grab a handful of rustic Herb Stakes by Glazed Over.

Time for some serious watering now, and Joe found just the thing: this vintage Sprinkler Head from Open Door Studio.

On the side of our house we have a couple of Joe's handmade window boxes.  I'm hoping we can make them look as pretty as this Garden Wagon Planter by Bacon Square Farm.

Hey, Joe!  Have you seen my gardening gloves?