I LIVE!!

I am alive still; just been kind of caught in a weird position. Lots of times at work I don't have time to do a proper blog post, and when I'm at home in the evenings and on the weekend, the last thing I want to do is be on a computer. This is particularly true now that the weather has finally started getting warm and sunny.

I've also been sold out of empty vial bottles, but I'm rectifying that today! I remembered to bring the proper serial codes to work so I can order them here on my lunch break, and will hopefully have them shipped in by this weekend.

I'm also adjusting to this full-time work thing again, and hope to go back to my evening crafting sessions, after diner, in front of the tv.

I appreciate those of you who are sticking with me. I know the internet is fickle and it's very easy to get forgotten in the blink of an eye, if you let things lapse even a little.

Once I get all this sorted, I expect to do a blog give away, to help kick things back up into gear; and if any of you have access to DeviantArt; know that when my DA page ( http://izile.deviantart.com ) hits 25,000 (it's at 24,949 last look), whoever grabs the screen cap will get 50% off any purchase in my shop! (I do this with my DA page views all the time; every 5,000 = 50% off, and every 10,000 = 1 free purchase!)

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And hey! At least I still haven't broken my blog promise to plug at least one different Etsy seller with every single post! - AND I'm not about to, either!!

And speaking of summer and sun, (and my dedication to never aging by avoiding sun damage - remember ladies, 95% of all facial wrinkles/lines are caused by sun damage!!), I LOOVE a parasol. Most of the time the streets up here are too crowded for them (I hate when it rains, because dodging people with umbrellas, ready to jab you in the face with the prongs is like an opsticle course!); but I still love them and think they'd be great for strolls in the park.

I love Japanese paper parasols, and Battenburg lace parasols, and whenever Abby on NCIS goes out with her black lace parasol, I'm always tickled.

As I'm pretty sure I already plugged Umbrella Heaven a long while back; I'm going to give a nod to Dice & Dolls Vintage today. While the former is more pretty, Victorian style umbrellas, the latter is more Asian paper parasols. An extra boon is that all her parasols are $20.00, and most have very unusual construction and shapes! My favorite is the "wild bird corners" parasol, pictured here.

I will make a slight non-etsy side note (more pre-etsy, rather) about my favorite fantasy parasols ever (pay attention you other FAE members, here's an idea for you). I remember finding a website, possibly up to 10 years ago, that sold all manner of fairy wings, crowns, accessories, AND PARASOLS. The artist (I believe it was "The Faerie Tree" but they seem to be gone from the internet, completely) started with Battenburg lace parasols, hand dyed them any variety of colors/fades, and then decorated them like you would fairy crowns or wings. I wish I could find some form of example, but the more I google, the more I turn up nothing but old links raving about "The Fairie Tree" linking back to a dead domain name :-(.