Two Fun Etsy Tools!

I love following Etsy on Twitter and receiving their Newsletters because I learn about so many great tools that are fun and functional.


Here are two tools I learned about this week that make a poster out of your favorite listings and track your exposure on Etsy.

The first tool is a Poster Sketcher that allows you to keep track of your favorite listings for a treasury or to create a poster with. Just plug in your favorite listing ID numbers and watch them fill up the poster!

If you would like to see some of my favorites just copy and paste these code numbers into the text box that says Add Listing Ids at the bottom of the page.

20494648,13623333,28980110,23899211,27529285,23925128,23478487,7660358,26888127,20377970,18726142,12838581,27973939,22073988,21273430,28404938

The listings will show up for you and become hyperlinks drectly to each listing!

The second tool I learned about is called Statsy. It is a great tool that will send you an email everytime you are featured on the Etsy homepage! How neat is that?

What fun tools or websites have you found lately on the web? Please leave a comment and let me know. I would love to see!

Happy Monday everyone!

Friday Fun! ~ Let's go on a Bike Ride!

Hi Everyone!

Emmitt here! Happy Friday!

It is such a nice summer day, let's join my mom on one of her favorite things to do...

Let's go on a bike ride!

Ok, here is my mom, Melissa. She will be your tour guide on her favorite route. I never go with her. She says something about me getting us both killed or something silly like that.

Besides she would need to find me a pug helmet and my head is kind of well.... dome shaped. :)

Heee! That is ok! I like to stay home and wait for her to get back. I always greet her with songs, dancing and kisses!

Here we go down the big hill towards Boulder. See the Flatiron mountains ahead?

We are going to turn left at the light and head south.

It is a beautiful sunny day and even the camera phone is taking good pictures. How fun is that?

Here is our shadow...

This field is about 1/2 way on our 11 mile loop.

and here is the turn around point at Marshall Rd. Now all the hills we came down, we go up and all the hills we went up to get here, we go down!

How fun is that? Mom likes that she can just hop on her bike from her driveway and have this safe beautiful route she can ride. She has lived here for 15 years and still cannot believe this is home! We love Colorado!

You may wonder what I am doing while she is off riding...

Um... I'm dreaming about lunch of course! Someone has to plan the menus around here!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Now you know what we will be doing! Please leave us a note and tell all about what you have planned. We would love to hear all about it!

xoxoxoxo

Emmitt & Melissa

Colorado Pug Rescue ~ Pugs in the Park 2009

Colorado Pug Rescue's Pugs in the Park 2009!

This is our final show of the year and we would love to see you!

Please join us for a day of fun and pugs on Sunday, September 27th from 1-5 pm in Denver City Park!

The afternoon is packed with 100's of pugs, food, activities, costume contests, raffles and prizes and the best part is that the event raises money for all of the pugs being supported by CPR.

We are so excited to be a part of this wonderful day!

Please stop by and say hello! We would love to see you!

Sun Square Sightings in South Africa

How exciting!

I just received the Knit-A-Square August newsletter, and I spotted my sun squares that I sent off in June 2009.

They have already been made into blankets for the children!

It is so wonderful to see them again mixed and matched with so many other squares from all over the world.

It is amazing how many pictures the Knit-A-Square group is able to share with all of us. Not only do they receive, organize and sew together thousands of squares each month, but they also write an extensive newsletter, update the website, interact on the forum and create fun challenges for us to contribute to each month.

The love, dedication and passion they put into this project is truly inspiring!

My first "Go-Over" sweater for the September challenge is coming along nicely. I will have something to show you very soon!

Celebrating Senior Dogs

Every moment, every day, every year I learn something new from my wonderful pug Emmitt.

He not only inspires all of my artwork, but he is a wonderful teacher of joy and laughter.

Through each step of his life, he has been showing me how to enjoy and appreciate even the simplest things.

One of the greatest gifts he has given me is to set the example of how to rise above obstacles with grace, courage and even excitement.

Emmitt is happy and healthy and just turned 13 this month, on August 1st. This post is a big thank you to him as we enter the senior years of our journey together.


In recent months, it has become clear to me that Emmitt has been showing me another great lesson about life...

Aging is not scary or something to be feared. It is a beautiful time to appreciate and most importantly to fine tune your thoughts and actions about so that it feels good.

Journaling is an amazing way to speak from your heart even when you are not quite sure what the message is. Here is a journal I created over a year ago...

It was an old music book that I rescued and altered. I passed by it the other day and smiled when I looked at it and saw the cover for the first time really. "Tuning Up! Oh my gosh, yes we are!", I thought. We are fine tuning our attitudes, thoughts, beliefs and feelings about changes that are happening so that they are not scary or sad.

If Emmitt has an ache, I find him relief. We now have a wonderful friend, Ingrid, who is a dog massage therapist that comes to the house every Monday to rub out his knots.

If he shows signs of eye issues, we take him to the doctor and choose the best treatment to find him improvement.

Reaching for solutions, reaching for relief, not giving in to fear of change ~ That is my secret for happiness.

I have learned these lessons from Emmitt and apply it to my own life too. This new outlook on life brings me comfort and makes this journey exciting for me.

Our friend, Ingrid, recently gave us this wonderful book that celebrates senior dogs.

It is called Old Dogs are the Best Dogs and is filled with wonderful photos and stories of other dogs who are teaching the very same lesson that Emmitt is ...

A happy life is about appreciating and fine tuning. If something comes up, don't turn away and resist it, look at it, embrace it and find feelings of relief concerning it.

Dogs do not complain (even with silly hats on their heads). They appreciate life in every chapter.

In tune with this wonderful lesson, Emmitt has inspired me to paint this series of Senior Pugs this year.

Each face makes me smile. They have a softness and a knowing about them that show me that all is truly well!

Thank you Emmitt for 13 wonderful years and many, many more to come!

The Peach Festival!

Peach Festival 2009
Lafayette, CO

We had the best time at the Peach Festival on Saturday!

It was a bright sunny day filled with fruit, art, shopping and cute dogs!

There was peach filled food everywhere!

Peachy Art!

and of course burgers, pizza, popcorn and more!

Here is Fred talking to the man with a hamburger hat on his head. :)

and looooook at this cute baby corgi!

Melanie just loved him!

and of course I found a pug!

Here I am with "The Green Collar Guy", David Jessup.

Melanie and I met first him in Steamboat and bought his beautiful cement planters there.

When I heard he would be just down the street at the festival, I knew I had to go!

Look what I got!

and Melanie got this beautiful bowl for her table outside.

We also each got peaches and handwoven baskets to hold them in.

Melanie and I both laughed when she came to pick me up because we put on the same shirt this morning. It was so fun because after 40 years of people asking us if we are twins, no one asked today! I think it was just totally obvious!

What a great day! :)

What fun things did you do this weekend? We would love to hear all about it!

Friday Funnies... Emmitt's Weekend Plans

Happy Friday Everyone!

Emmitt here!

I am just planning for the weekend.

My friend George and I are just thinking about what we should do this weekend.

I know the answer is right in front of my face, but I just cannot put my toe on it.

Hmmmmm....

* Sniff... Sniff *

By George I think I've got it...

Pug laundry!

OOOOooooo! Yep! That's it!

Maybe if I wash everything I can get my paws on then I will not be the one getting the bath!

Keep your paws crossed for me not getting clean! I work hard to get this way!

Have a wonderful weekend!

What fun things do you have planned? I would love to hear all about it!

xoxoxo

Emmitt

A Book Review ~ Journal Bliss

I was recently lucky enough to receive a copy of Journal Bliss by Violette.

It is a absolutely beautiful and inspiring book created to uplift and spark creativity in its readers.


I found the prompts presented in a playful and colorful way that made we want to immediately pull out all of my paints, pencils crayons, fun papers and glue.

Journaling is a wonderful way to express yourself without any pressure to create a masterpiece.

I love to open and reread all of my journal pages to hear what I am saying to myself. Only you can hear and follow your own bliss. The secret is to be able to tap into it.



I found the book to be a wonderful guide to get started on this journey. It is packed fun prompts and exercises, tutorials for creating backgrounds, borders, doodles, lettering and embellishments for all of your pages.

In addition to Journal Bliss, Violette has a wonderful website, blog and online class that you can explore and enjoy.

I found this book to be a jewel for anyone's creative library!

Happy Thursday Everyone!