Catching Up

It has been quite a long time since I last posted on this blog.  The last few months of 2011 brought many changes to my life.  I had a total knee replacement and I’m still recovering from it.  I still go to physical therapy three times a week for about 2 hours each day. It takes up quite a bit of my time.  I try to limit my activity on those days so I can concentrate my energies on my knee.  As a result of this and some other changes, my online presence has dwindled to almost non-existent. 

I am trying to become as active online as I was in the past but between PT and preparing to move, it seems that I have no extra time.

That’s right, I said moving.  When we moved to Nevada we knew it was a temporary home for us.  Circumstances have changed and we are hoping to move back to Texas this year.  I’m real excited, 

I can’t wait to be living in Texas again.  We haven’t decided what area of Texas, but we are considering the Fort Worth area.  Know any good bead shops in the area?

The pictures in this post are pieces I made during the last few months. 

I started this post 2 weeks ago and forgot to publish it.  I guess this is a case of better late than never.

See Ya Soon! Click here to read more!

RED HOT Collection curated by sandeeknits on ArtFire

RED HOT

Curated By: sandeeknits

ArtFire.com

Handmade Soap

Click here to read more!

“Oregon or Bust” Sale

I am going to a wedding at the end of August.  It’s going to be in Oregon so Larry and I are planning to have a nice vacation. 

His oldest daughter will be getting married and to celebrate I will be having an “Oregon or Bust” sale in all my shops until August 15th.   I don’t want to have a boring sale where you get the same thing for several weeks.

I am going to change the sale every few days.  I will be having lots of short 2 or 3 day sales on specific items or categories of items.

I have added the Shop Now tab to my new fan page, CherylsPurpleCow-and-MyExtraBeads.  The sale there is going to be 20% off the sales price for fans of the new page.  You will receive the discount as a refund through PayPal unless you contact me for a reserved listing before you buy.

I am also having a contest in this shop.  I need a “user-friendly” url for my new fan page.  I want something short and easy.  I was thinking along the lines of “MyPage”.  The person who suggests the winning url will get a $20.00 gift certificate good for any of my shops.

At Cheryls Purple Cow on Etsy the sale is 25% off of metal free jewelry.  I have moved the stretch awareness bracelets to that section for the sale.

In My Extra Beads on Etsy I have added a clearance section with items at drastically reduced prices.

These particular discounts will only last a few days then I will change to new discounts so hurry over to take advantage of these great prices.
Click here to read more!

New Look for Cheryls Purple Cow

Good Afternoon!

I want to invite everyone to visit my blog and see the new look. If you are like me you don't visit each blog you follow regularly. You read the posts in a reader. The down side of that is that you don't get to see all the pretties.

I was doing the blog walk one day,
that's what I call it when I am on a blog and see a link to a blog that sounds interesting and follow a link on that blog that sounds interesting.... well, you get the idea.

I noticed that a few of the blogs looked real good and they were made by the same designer. So I contacted her and this new look is the result. I will be posting an interview with her when I post this.

I like my new look because I get to have the things I love to see everywhere.  The bracelet is an epilepsy awareness bracelet called the "Mandiye" that I designed for a good friend.  The white cat is Mi Dulcie Corazon, we just called her Dulcie.  Isn't that a pretty heart on her side.  The other 2 cats are the girls I have now, both are her children.  Spaz, the gray, is the only survivor of Dulcie's first litter.  Smokie, the black, is from the next litter.  My step-son adopted her but he made the mistake of leaving her with me when he went on vacation.  I wouldn't give her back.

This new design also brings a cohesiveness to my "branding".  I am using the same header as a banner in my Etsy shops, Cheryls Purple Cow and My Extra Beads and on my Facebook shop. Click on the links to see each one.

I also added a "Grab" button.  Please grab my button to post on your blog and if I don't already have yours on my blog, let me know so I can get it.

I also consolidated the tutorials and put the list on a separate page. Just click on the "Tutorials" to see the list.

I think that I covered the major changes. Let me know what you think in the comments. If you have done a recent redesign, and I know at least 2 or you who have, please leave your link in the comments so we can all come and admire yours too.
Click here to read more!

Survey: Please Read

It is time for me to examine my blog, my Facebook and my shops. I need some input from my fans and followers to help me make some decisions about what to keep, what to get rid of and what to change.

I have created a survey through Survey Monkey and I would love to get as many responses as possible. The survey is completely anonymous so please be honest.

You can visit my blog and click on the link at the top of the right sidebar or you can go to the survey here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/FY5QYX3

You don't need to be a fan or a follower to complete the survey. Please share the link with as many people as you can.

Thank-You Click here to read more!

February Highlights

I am going to move all my bragging on myself to one posting at the end of each month.  So Here is my brag sheet for February .I know that this list is incomplete.
  
If I forgot to mention something, please remind me so that I can add it to my highlights and please accept my apologies.  This is when I like to bring up the fact that my epilepsy affects my memory.  That sounds better than saying that I am getting older.  Sounds more official, don't ya think?

I entered a Trivia contest on Hippies Creations Blog and won my choice of Lotions from Hippie's Bath and Body Shop.  I chose the Almond lotion.  I love the way it works on my hands.  I live in the desert and you can imagine how difficult it is to keep your skin moisturized.  Click here to read more!

It's Caturday!

I have been looking forward to Caturday all week!

I found these everyday things laying around:

How many of you knew what these things really looked like? Click here to read more!

Friday's Facebook

Welcome to my new feature - Friday's Facebook.

This feature will concentrate on minor tips and setting changes to make your Facebook experience a little less stressful.  I am constantly changing the settings on the websites and networking sites that I frequent.  I realized a few days ago that not everyone knows how to do the minor tweaks when someone complained to me about all the email they got from Facebook. 

Your tip this week is how to turn off all the email notifications that you get from Facebook every time a friend of yours sneezes.

You have to be logged in to Facebook.  First, right click on the word "account" in the upper right of your screen.  You will get a drop-down menu.  choose "Account Settings".  On the next screen look at the tabs across the upper center of the page and click on "Notifications".

There is another way to get to that page.  Once you are logged in to Facebook just use this link:
http://www.facebook.com/editaccount.php?notifications

You are taken to a page that lists every action that Facebook can send you an email or SMS notification for.  Simply go down the list and uncheck everything that you do NOT want to be notified of by Facebook.

It is that simple. Click here to read more!

What's Going On?

I am pretty sure that if you are following my blog you want to know what is going on.  I have not been posting as often as I like.  And what is with the actual blog page?  Why is it in funcky colors and changing all the time?  Here are some answers.

I am in the process of totally renovating my blog.   My home page was just too busy and that made it hard to focus on any specific thing.   I am also testing different themes and colors to see which will work the best with the other changes that I am making.

If you really like a color I have used or can't read because of the colors, please let me know in the comments.  I moderate all comments so I will be the only one to see them.  Unless it is a comment on the content of a post, then I do publish them.
 
There will be one page for Cheryls Purple Cow and another for My Extra Beads.  That  way if you want to see some of the items in my shops you can navigate to that  shops page. 

I will have a separate page for social networking badges and links.  I am still working out how I can put my Twitter feed and Facebook feed on that.

There is a page for Epilepsy Awareness.  I will have badges and links to Epilepsy Related Materials on that page.

The next page is the one that is giving me the most trouble. It is the Ribbon colors page.  I spend about an hour a day on my Awareness Ribbon Colors and Causes document.  I am trying to format it so that I can have the complete, legible document on this page.  That way anyone can look up the color ribbon for their particular cause.  I have finally been able to publish the document, but it is not legible.  I need to figure a way to format it so that it remains legible when I upload it to the storage site and then embed it in the blog page.

I am trying to devote at least an hour or two a day to this project but life does intrude.  Since last Monday I have had 2 doctors appointments, an EMG test of the nerves in my legs, an MRI of my brain and  a 24 hour sleep deprived EEG.  It takes about 3 days to get back on the sleep cycle after the EEG.  And for those who question whether or not I have a brain, I have pictures to prove that mine exists, do you?  LOL

OH, and last but not least, I am finally working on that blog giveaway.  It is going to be a collaboration with at least one more shop, maybe more.  I should have an announcement ready this weekend. Click here to read more!

It's Caturday!

I love my cats.  They provide so much humor in my life.  I would like to introduce you to them. 


This is Dulcie.  Her full name is Mi Duclie Corazon.  She is no longer living with us.  But she is the mother of the two that live with us now.

Spaz is the only survivor of her first litter.  And she comes by her name honestly.  She is my Spaztic Cat.  She loves to hide in the most obvious places. 

And this is my Smokie.  She used to live with Larry's son , Ken, but he left her for me to babysit while he went to visit his Mom for 2 weeks.  That was about 5 years ago, but it's not his fault that she lives with us.  I wouldn't let him take her home.

She likes to wear flip flops.  Smokie cares about comfort not style.  lol


This is one of my favorites from lolcats:

I hope you enjoyed my new weekly feature:  Caturday! Click here to read more!

Wonderful Way to Wake Up

I woke up this morning to find out that I was featured in a Treasury by a great friend from Texas, Gabeadz..  She makes the most beautiful rings.  My favorite is her Blue Turquoise Carved Rose:





Her Treasury is called "Browny Things".  Please show this Treasury some comment and click love, just click on the title then click on each picture in the Treasury and leave a comment.

Click here to read more!

My Crystal Heart Necklace Is Featured On...

I want to say "Thank-You" to Beaded Tail.  She Featured my Crystal Heart Necklace on her blog article "Friday's Features".  My necklace is in such good company.  Here is one of the other pieces from that feature:

SALE Cherry Hearts - Red Coral and White Cat's Eye Heart Beaded Sterling Silver Earrings

by Beaded Tail

You can follow this link to see the rest of the feature:

Beaded Tail Blog Click here to read more!

I love Trading

I belong to the Etsy Street Team The Trade-A-Holics.  I love being a part of that team.  If you don't know me, I am of German descent.  My Mother was born in Germany in 1932.  She grew up there during World War 2.  As a rule the Germans are generally frugal people.  I definitely fit that description.

I found a team that basically uses the barter system. We buy from each other's shops in equal amounts so when the transaction is complete, I have what I want, the other person has what they want, Etsy has collected the fees so Etsy has what it wants.  And all I paid for the purchases I made is the postage to mail the other sellers items to them.

To me, it's a Win-Win situation.  I have the opportunity to try items from other sellers that I would not normally purchase.

When the team has a Trade N' Stay event it is usually a 4 day event.  It starts with 10 or 15 randomly chosen shops on the list. when you make a trade with someone on the list, your shops get listed.  But, get this, no one gets taken off the list.  That's why it is called a Trade N' Stay.  Once you are on the list, everyone who wants on the list will be trying to work out a trade with you.  and you do NOT hove to be a member of the team to participate. 

It is an energetic, exhausting, confusing at times, greatest weekend you ever had.  And just when you start coming down from the "high" of all the good deals you made, the packages start arriving.

I refer to the items I ordered as my "Treasure".  Look at the Treasure that I hauled in this time:

I got this from http://auntmartymadeit.etsy.com  She calls it a wireless heating pad.  I call it a Boo-Boo Bag.  It is custom made and it works like a dream.  I will be getting another on on the next TNS

 
Another good trade that I made was with Uneek4U.  I needed earring and bracelet cards for my finished products as well as thank-You cards for my customers.  i just didn't want to buy any.  So Ididn't buy them I traded for them.

Look at a ll these cards I got:

I don't know how many cards I got from http://Uneek4U.etsy.com but it was a bunch. Iam so happy that I finally have thank-You cards and cards for my earrings and bracelets.


Those first two trades were for things that I needed.  This last trade was for Swarovski Crystals.  i traded with Atomic Crystals and look at these crystals.  I think I just found me a new best friend.   this is how they came packaged.  Isn't that cute!




















These are the crystals that I  got:

I can't wait for the next TNS Event.  It is scheduled for March 26th thru the 29th.

Mark your calendar. Click here to read more!

A New Blog

I am in the process of setting up a new blog at WordPress.  I am excited about moving my blog because I will have pages on my blog.

I already have several pages set up, but no real information on them yet.  There will be a page for each of my shops and a separate page for my Epilepsy Awareness efforts.

The difficult part is learning how to manipulate the layout and data on WordPress.  If you want to start following now the address is http://apurplecow.wordpress.com.  If you know some shortcuts for learning WordPress, please let me know.  I specifically need to know how to fix the blog posts covering part of the blog title.

I will announce the new blog formally within the week with a special give-away.  I just have to figure out which hoops I can expect you to jump through for the give-away prize.

Click here to read more!

Awareness for Mom

I have not announced my Awareness Treasuries lately but I need to announce this one.  I dedicated it to my Mother.  Please help me support Awareness by visiting my Awareness Treasury.  Click on each picture and leave a comment.  This increases the rank of the Treasury.  

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=108313

expires Thursday Jan 28 3 am

Make sure that you don't miss viewing these Treasuries.  Sign up for my Awareness Treasury notification by leaving your email address in  the comment section.  I always moderate the comments so your email address will NOT get published.

Anyone can sign up to receive notice of my Awareness Treasuries by sending a message to me through this blog or through my Etsy shop. Click here to read more!

$5.00 Sale by the Trade-A-Holics

The Trade-A-Holics team has been very busy.  We had a great Trade Event this past weekend.  It gets kinda hectic in that thread but I traded for bunches of nice things from my teammates.

But its a new week and this busy team is keeping busy.  

The Trade-A-Holics January $5.00 and Under sale is already going strong.  I counted 85 shops listed in the first entry on the thread. There are many more shops listed in  the thread.  And here is the link to one of the best sales so far this year:

http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6416106&page=1 

Come and shop at the Trade-A-Holics January $5 and Under Sale.  

Click here to read more!

Exciting Sales from the Trade-A-Holics Team on Etsy

The Trade-A-Holics are having 2 sales Back-to-Back.

The first is the Trade N' Stay event that starts tomorrow and ends on Monday.  As soon as it ends the $5.00 sale starts and runs for a  week. 

I participated in my first Trade N Stay (TnS) in December and it was a blast.  You do NOT need to be a team member to participate.  You need to have a shop on Etsy with inventory because that is how you will pay for things.  There is a forum thread on Etsy with the names of the shops that are on the list.  You arrange a trade with one of those shops and your shop gets put on the list.  And once you are on the list, you will stay there until the end of the event.  There are some guidelines for courtesy Trading 101 that you should read here:  http://tradeaholics.ning.com/?xg_source=msg_mes_network. 

The $5.00 sale is just what it says.  Shops participating in the sale will have items in their shops that are $5.00 or less.  I will post the link to the thread with the list of shops in my Shop Announcement as soon as I get it.

Click here to read more!

Big Plans and Dreams for this Year

I have not been attending to my blog the way I would like to but that is due to the changes I am in the process of implementing.  I decided that I would share my plans with you.  

I started selling some of my destash supplies in my shop but I don't really like the way they look in the shop with my creations.  So I opened a new shop.  I call it MyExtraBeads.  the address is http://MyExtraBeads.etsy.com.  I will be selling quite a few extra beads and other arts and crafts supplies.

I opened a new FB account for my Epilepsy Awareness efforts.  If you are interested you can find that page at MyEpilepsy Page on FB. My personal page has way too much going on.  I have my friends and family, Larrys friends and family, people that I have met and fanned through Etsy, and all my Epilepsy contacts on my personal page.  Some days I have to go through 4 or 5 pages to see an hours worth of posts.  I decided to break off the epilepsy because that is something that needs undivided attention.  I even opened a group page along with it so that others could contribute more to the page.

I have been doing well with the Awareness Treasuries. I have kept them going almost continuously for almost a month now.  


I am also working on a comprehensive list of Awareness Ribbon Colors that shows all the causes for each color.  I am trying to figure out how to add a page to my blog so that the list can be posted here.

I started the Facebook Tutorial on my Tuesdays Tutorials segment of the blog.  I still need to come up with a couple more segments that I can publish weekly.

I am going to announce a blog giveaway as soon as I hammer out the details.  I will be giving away a custom made bracelet from my shop.  I think I know which one, but I'm not sure.

Hmmm, I need a couple new segments.  I need something to promote my blog giveaway.  Maybe I will combine the two.  

Boy, just seeing this list is making me tired.  


Till next time.


I Click here to read more!