Friday, December 2, 2011

Watch This Space for Coming Giveaways!

This is the time of year when giveaways are SO much fun!

I'll be offering at least 2 or 3 giveaways in the next week or so, so watch this space!

What would you like to see as a giveaway prize?

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Vintage and Aqua for Christmas Decor

Loving these turquoise and aqua Etsy finds for the holidays!



Fine art photograph by sparksoffire



Original oil painting by hartart13



Hand painted ornament by LoveMeOrnamentals



Vintage glass spray from ArtfulVintage



Wool felted acorns by reyaveltman


So what are your decorating colors? When do you start putting them up?





Wednesday, November 9, 2011

USPS Holiday 2011 Shipping Deadlines


Find the deadlines here:

faq.usps.com/eCustomer/iq/usps/request.do?create=kb:USPSFAQ&view()=...

In order to have your order delivered by Christmas, you have to have shipped by the following dates:

Domestic shipping in side the US:


Parcel Post- must be shipped by December 15th
First Class- December 20th
Priority- December 21st
Express- December 22nd


International:
Canada, Caribbean, Middle East, Europe
Priority- December 12
First Class- December 9

Africa, Central & South America-
Priority- December 2
First Class- December 2

Asia/Pacific Rim, Australia/New Zealand, Mexico
Priority- December 9
First Class- December 9


APO:
APO / FPO / DPO AE (Iraq and Afghanistan) ZIP 093
Priority- December 3
First Class- December 3
Parcel- November 12

APO / FPO / DPO AE (all others) ZIPs 090-092, 094-098, 340, 962-966
Priority- December 10
First Class- December 10
Parcel- November 12

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Gimp Update!

Everyone keeps asking for new pics of The Gimp, and I'm happy to oblige.


But...



It's next to impossible to take a picture of Gimpers because he always, always, always wants to attack the camera.


See?



Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Gimp Update!

The Gimp had a vet appointment on Friday to have his stitches out. YAY!

That also meant that his cone could come off and I have never seen a happier cat than when we came home.
More details and a bigger blog post later, I promise. But I've GOT to get jewelry made and listed and work done to offset the vet bills!

Here's the happy Gimpy when we got home from the the check-up/stitches removal:




Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Quick Pic of the Gimp

i will post more of an update when i have time, but i just wanted to share a picture of Gimpy for those of you who have been sending love and following his story.

his poor little leg was removed yesterday and he had a rough evening.

this was taken today (day 1 post-op) after he had some lunch and i'd spent a good half hour scratching his head and rubbing his cheeks. he HATES the cone of shame but he has to wear it. and his purr motor works just fine!



Tuesday, August 2, 2011

i'm having a really hard day today

i dropped the gimp off this morning and that was hard. i was in tears and still am, off and on. i know he'll be fine but he's wormed his way into my heart in such a short time and it was so hard leaving him there. they should call me in a couple hours and hopefully he can come home tonight.

i've been home for a few hours just waiting to hear something from the vet. i'm too distracted to do anything productive, which sucks, cause i have a LOT to do.

so i figured i'd double check my paypal account and make sure i have enough in there to pay for his surgery.
what do i find when i log in? unauthorized charges on my PP credit card to the tune of hundreds and hundreds of dollars.

WHY TODAY??

Monday, August 1, 2011

The Gimp Goes Under the Knife

first thing tomorrow.

at my last update, i told you all how i'd asked the doctor for more time to try and save his leg, right?
well today his poor overly swollen foot started oozing. the next step after that is gangrene so we have to act fast. i drop him off first thing in the morning and i'm hoping and hoping he'll be able to come home tomorrow night!

thanks so much for all your help and prayers and love. it means the world to me AND to him!

here he is taking a nap in the window. i just wanted you to see his adorable little face.


Friday, July 29, 2011

Gimpy Update: Day 7

Gimpy had his vet check-up today. I'd been thinking his foot and leg were looking a tiny bit better and so I was so hopeful walking in. The vet says I've done a fantastic job with his wound care and that the rest of his leg looks miles better but that his toes have gotten worse. The blood is just pooling there and not flowing back up and that we will have to amputate. I asked him to please give me a bit more time working with his leg and to see if I can save it.

The vet says that the only thing that will save his leg now are prayers and a medical miracle. But miracles happen every day, right? I've read horror stories about high-altitude mountain climbers who got frostbite so severe they'd need to amputate who miraculously recover and are able to keep their fingers and toes so I'm still hopeful. And I'm still trying with the water treatments, the meds, and the physical therapy. Say a prayer for little Gimpy if you can!

Amputation isn't cheap and the cost of it scares me. If you see some jewelry in my shop, all the proceeds will go towards the Gimp's vet bill and I'd be SO appreciative! And thank you to all of you who have helped get the word out about Gimpy and who have already donated. If you've got a blog, or twitter, or facebook, would you consider helping me pimp my shop? Thank you so much, all of you, for your love and support.

And here's a picture of little Gimp playing King of the Box with my Pretty Boy this morning:




Sunday, July 24, 2011

Gimpy: Days 3 & 4

The antibiotics are bothering his poor little tummy but he's using his own personal litter box now (thank god!). Cleaning up diarrhea at 5 am isn't fun, in case you were wondering.

My other cats seem to have adjusted to having the Gimp in the house and all I can say is wow, that was fast. Weezy, the 12 year old cat, is pretty indifferent to everything but I was worried about Pretty Boy, my fluffy white male cat who is actually a small bear. He's 15 pounds of male feline-ness and I thought for sure he'd have something to prove or possibly that he'd be offended that I brought another boy into the house (an unfixed one at the moment, too!) but all he seems to want to do is sniff Gimpy's butt on his way into another room. Sniffing butts = success in my book.

The dog (who we also rescued from certain death last year) is convinced that the new cat is going to be her newest playmate. I kinda hope so since the other two cats think the dog is an idiot and stick their noses up at her. (I think the dog is an idiot, too, but don't tell her!)

Gimphy's water treatments are still going pretty well, though it's hard work. Think cats and water and you get the idea. Add in an awful wound and you'll have a better idea. But the Gimp's so sweet and loving that he only needs one person to hold him during the treatments, as long as that person is petting him.

Thank you so, so much to all of you who have helped by donating or by keeping him in your hearts, thoughts, and prayers, or by helping to spread the word. It means the world to me, truly, and I am SO overwhelmed with your kindness and generosity. As I told one donor this morning, it's people like all of you who make it possible for my heart to be this big. And also for me to buy more first aid supplies today and to schedule his check-up on Friday.

Here's the Gimp today, lounging in the windowsill and almost asleep.


Saturday, July 23, 2011

Little Gimpy- Day 3

Thursday night had us at the emergency vet where they removed the rope (thank god), cleaned the wound, and bandaged him.


Friday morning had us at the normal vet for a check-up, bandage changing, and test to see if we will have to amputate. His prognosis for keeping the leg is poor, less than 50% chance. I have a whole list of steps and medications and I have to do water therapy on the wound with a water pik twice a day for the next 7 days until his checkup, and possibly for another month after that. They say if anything can save his leg it's the water treatment. So I AM hopeful and won't give up!


Cross your fingers for the little Gimp-ster that he can keep his leg!
Also, the vet bills are piling up. I'm running a Christmas in July sale in my shop and all jewelry sales will go towards Gimpy's vet bills and his care. If you can help in any way, it will be a lifesaver. Literally.


I will update more later but for now, Gimpy says good morning from my husband's big, comfy chair!!





Friday, July 22, 2011

Meet Gimpy: The Tortured Stray Cat I Have Adopted



a small cat showed up here a few days ago. one of the neighbors left him behind when they moved out. as if that's not bad enough, someone tied a fucking rope to his hind leg and it's so swollen and raw. my husband and i tried to cut it off yesterday but it was so swollen we couldn't, and the poor cat bit me while we were trying. so i had to take him to the vet last night.

he's so obviously someone's abandoned pet and not feral because he's so starved for human affection that he just meows at us constantly and when we go outside to feed him he limps over and rubs all over us. he's adopted us, the poor, sweet little guy.

but i have NO money for the vet, so i'm scrambling. if you see something you want in my shop, it will go towards the vet bill and will make Gimpy very happy. I have added the Donate button to the right side bar titled The Gimpy Fund.

here's Gimpy. you can see the rope tied around his hind leg.



Here is Gimpy after the emergency night-time vet removed the rope and bandaged him up:



He's the sweetest little guy and I am so heartbroken that someone would do this to a poor, defenseless creature!


Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Fresh and Undiscovered: Jennova from Hikisquid Designs


I'd like to introduce you guys to Jenn, a Michiganite who crafts the cutest animals! You know I had to feature her when I saw she had whales AND octopi! Her Etsy shop is here!




Tell us about YOU, the person behind the shop:
Well, I'm married to an awesome husband that lets me stay at home and sew things, I own a paralyzed bearded dragon named Ryuu, and I'm currently obsessed with axolotls. I draw too, but I don't show that off to people as much as my sewing. 


What do you make?
Plushies and soft sculptures mostly. Axolotls, dragons, stingrays, unicorns, lots of things. 


Where do you get ideas?
Mostly video games, random suggestions, and late night animal searches online. Once I asked for ideas, and that's when I came up with most of my current patterns, there were so many good suggestions from my friends. 


When and how did you get started?
I got my name from interrupting my brother's chat with a friend online, and having the attention span of a squid. I crocheted and hand-sewed plushies until my doctor told me to stop, then my grandma gave me a sewing machine and I started sewing plushies and fancy soft sculptures.

What do you do in your free time?
Play video games, sleep, eat, spend time with my husband, take care of house-related stuff, and play on the computer. Most of my day is spent either sewing or on the internet. 






Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Monday, July 4, 2011

Things I'm Currently Lusting After

Though lust may be a strong word for something that kind of freaks me out.
But I want it anyway. All of it.

Super Mario Bros rebooted (and I'm patiently waiting for Yoshi):



All images are the property & copyright © Sal aka 'thedarkcloak' 2010




Want to see more? You know you do! 
Visit Sal's (thedarkcloak) website here.
Wanna shop? Do it here!

Fresh and Undiscovered: 4 Ewe Designs


4 Ewe Designs is Rachel, a talented artist living in my sister city- she's in Melbourne, Australia and I'm in Melbourne, USA! She does some selling in a local gallery so if any of you lovely readers are in Melbourne (the Australian one) go check out the Fitzroy InCube8r store!

In the meantime, here are some juicy tidbits about Racel and 4 Ewe Designs!




 1. Who are you?
An American girl living in Australia.I am Rachel Buse, and my Etsy shop is 4 Ewe Designs. It is kind of a dream to be here in the land of cute and unusual animals. I refuse to grow up, even if I have some gray hairs. I love Hello Kitty, and all animals and cute things.  I live with my husband, two rabbits, and a cat. I am addicted to coffee.



2. What do you do?
I am a ceramic sculptor by day. I create "Living Vessels", teapots and pitcher and jugs that look alive. I am just starting doing that professionally though, we will see how it goes.
In my free time and at night I sew. I am fidgety, so I always need to be doing something. I sew cute things out of recycled wool sweater felt. Soft toys are my obsession right now, but I also make flower pins, jewelry, and bags. I will make the occasional hat or scarf, but I don't find them as needed here in Aussieland. It is a bit warmer here than my previous home of  Michigan. I am working hard to make a living from my art.

3. How did you get started? 
My dad was a photographer, and an engineer and painted too. He really encouraged my brother and I to be creative. He made a lot of the toys we played with as kids. I just grew up with the mind set of " if you want it, make it yourself". So I have been making things like jewelry and paintings and clothes for Barbie's or for myself for Halloween my whole life. As a result both my brother and I are artists.



4. Where else can we find you online?







Friday, July 1, 2011

Friday Feature: Meet 42Things!


Thanks for stopping by!
Today I'd like to introduce you to Jo from 42Things!


Where did you get the idea to use recycled items to create your designs? 
       I've just always had a sense of things being wasted and wanting to save them.
                   




What has been your favorite find that you've used in your creations? 
Wrapping paper, people use it, and save it or throw it away not knowing what to do with it... but the patterns and colours are so amazing!



Where do you get your inspiration? 
... many places, my kids my husband, the items that need rescuing.




Tell me a little bit about your creative process... 
Well, I don't think I'm that creative, but the ideas just come to me as long as I'm open to creating. Each thing wants to be used... wants to be made into pretty stuff, fun stuff.

Can we find you anywhere else? 
Facebook fan page

Artfire Shop

Twitter

Blog


Things I'm Currently Lusting After

Things in shades of RED!



natural eyeshadows from noellabeautyworks




vintage 80s dress from RustBeltThreads



bloomers from undertheroot

recycled wood sign by williamdohman



striped skirt by kimmi



Thursday, June 30, 2011

Seen on Facebook: Cool Shop of the Week

I'm always amazed at how many talented people there are in the world- and sometimes, I swear if I weren't on Facebook I'd miss a lot of it!


Here are a couple of girls, working together, to make cool jewelry and if it weren't for Facebook, I'd never have seen their stuff! You can check them out over at Harlan's Emporium of the Curious and the Bizarre.


I recently "hung out" with Jenna, one of the creators:






Who is "Harlan's Emporium?"
    We are college roommates and long-time best friends Jenna (a.k.a. Olympia) and Cori (a.k.a. Jane).  I am an adjunct college instructor and online tutor.  Cori is a Barnes & Noble bookseller and barista and ChaCha guide.



 

What do you make?
    We create jewelry; we prefer doing wire-wrapping and earring making, and we also work with hemp.  We also like to recycle materials - we work with Christmas light-bulbs, old keys, found fabric and lace, and just about anything that we can twist wire around.







How did you come up with the name for your shop?
    Harlan is Cori's dad's name, and it was from his stash of "treasures" (or junk) that we first got our ideas.  The rest of the title just had a Victorian theme to it.  I am a victorianophile, Cori loves steampunk, and so the whole theme fit together.




Where do you get your ideas?
    Talking, mostly.  We share everything.  Cori is also has a bachelor's in art, and so she has a good eye for composition and color.  I'm a little more impulsive; I put things together and hope they will work.  We have different styles, but we merge and mesh nicely.





Where can you be found?
    At the moment, we can be contacted through our Facebook page or by email (harlansemporium@gmail.com).  We're on evenbadgers.com, but we are waiting for it to come back online.


New Additions: Crackle Glass!

Capped with smooth sterling silver and hung on a simple sterling chain, 
nothing distracts from the beauty of these crackle glass baubles!









Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Meet WrathofRa- an Undiscovered (Yet Totally Awesome) Shop!

I really love giving a shout out and a leg up to new shops. It's so hard to start out and to get noticed.
So we're here to say, "Hey, we notice you!"


I recently caught up with Mark from WrathofRa and asked him some questions.
Actually, that's a lie. He asked himself the questions and then answered himself. I just took notes! Get ready to be blown away by sheer awesomeness!

 
Tell us about YOU, the person behind the shop:
I am a writer and editor for a publishing firm in Asia. I'm Canadian but have lived all over the globe (India, Singapore, Italy, Korea, US, Canada). I am incredibly tall and handsome (one of those things is a lie) and I just got married to my husband last December. Uh, I have a dog named Louis. That is all.






What do you make?
Egyptian-style art on a variety of recycled, wood, or stone materials.


 
Where do you get ideas?
Advertisements, ancient art, travel. Pretty much anything will give me an idea.



 
When and how did you get started?
I've always drawn or painted. I am self-taught. I heard the story of baby Moses at church one week and saw some pictures of the Egyptian princess at the Nile ... and that was it. For some reason, I was hooked on the Egyptian theme from that point forward!





To check out more of this amazing artwork, stop by Mark's Etsy shop! Give it a heart, spread some love, and tell 'em Waterwaif sent you!

Wordless Wednesday


Yes, that's a Hoffsicle.

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Giveaway: Peacock Teal Wire Wrapped Necklace Handmade by Yours, Truly! Ends 6/26!


Time for another giveaway! I have so much fun doing them and I just love the idea of someone out there receiving some of my jewelry. It makes me all tingly and happy!

During the course of this giveaway, enter coupon code WEBFAN20 to receive 20% off your entire order in my shop!

The item I'm offering today: the peacock teal quartz necklace.
A large faceted teal quartz briolette wire wrapped and hung on a sterling silver chain.
The necklace is 18 inches long and is a $50 value!

Here is the necklace one of my lovely, lucky readers will win:



To Purchase:

Can't wait to win the necklace and have to buy it right now? Don't worry, it's available here!

To win:

Mandatory entry: Visit my Etsy shop, browse around, and leave a comment here telling me what your favorite item is! Make sure to include your email address or a way to contact you if you win!


Extra entries (make sure you leave a separate comment for each). Current fans are eligible!



1 entry: Heart waterwaif's Etsy shop and leave a comment here with your Etsy username.


1 entry: Add waterwaif's etsy shop to your circle and leave a comment here with your Etsy username.

1 entry: Follow my blog
 publicly and leave a comment here. You can follow by clicking follow in the left sidebar or at the very top left of the screen. 


1 entry: Become a fan of waterwaif on Facebook and leave a comment here.

1 entry: Subscribe to the waterwaif newsletter and leave a comment here.

1 entry: Submit this giveaway to a linky or link-up list and leave the link here.

1 entry: Blog about this giveaway and leave a link here.

1 entry: Follow me on Twitter and leave a comment here with your twitter username.



1 entry: Tweet about this giveaway and leave a link here. You can tweet once per day and each tweet will count as another entry, just make sure you leave a separate comment for each tweet. There is a retweet this button at the bottom for your convenience! Otherwise, feel free to use this tweet or something similar: 

Win teal quartz wire wrapped necklace! #etsy #jewelry sterling silver
#blog #giveaway Ends 6/26! RT @waterwaif http://j.mp/mfdI27


1 entry: Grab my button from the sidebar and put it on your blog. Leave a link here.

1 entry: Feature waterwaif on your blog and leave a link here.



The giveaway will end at midnight eastern time on Sunday, June 26.
The winners will be chosen by random.org and will be announced here and he or she will have 48 hours to respond with their mailing address. If a winner cannot be contacted or does not respond, another winner will be chosen after 48 hours.


Make sure you leave a separate comment for each entry. The more entries you post, the more chances you have to win!

This giveaway is open worldwide. 
If you would like me to host your next giveaway or if you'd like further details, please feel free to email me at info@waterwaif.com or send me a convo on Etsy.