Moved to a New Site

Dear all,

I have relocated my blog to DragoninKnots.com . Please stop by to see new products and other updates.

Best!

Pardon the Construction

I'm doing some blog "renovation" so it may be a bit messy for awhile. Also, I'm trying out a new template. What do you think?

Recipe: Spinach Cream Cheese Spread

A delightful way to get more spinach into your diet or someone else's!

Ingredients:
1 8-oz. package of cream cheese
fresh spinach (about a medium mixing bowl full)
a few leaves of fresh sweet basil
5 or more cloves of roasted garlic
a dash of pepper
optional: a spoonful of milk to thin the mixture out

Old-school Method:
Fill a medium mixing bowl half-full of fresh spinach. Add garlic, cream cheese, basil, and pepper. Add some leaves of spinach on top. Mash entire mixture with wooden spoon until well-blended, adding the rest of the spinach gradually.

Modern Method:
Put everything in the food processor (you may need to add some spinach leaves in halfway through if the food processor can't hold everything at once). Blend until cream cheese is evenly distributed throughout (don't over-process or you'll end up with green goo). 

Serving Suggestions:
- Spread onto your favorite crackers. Large crackers work best.
- Use instead of mayonnaise in a sandwich or burger. 
- Spread on toasted bagels.
- Spread onto flour tortillas. Roll the tortillas up and slice them into manageable pieces. Great for parties or children's snacks (or adult snacks for that matter)!
- Eat it straight.

Recipe: Squash Potage (Soup)

I hope everyone is having a wonderful autumn (or spring if you are on the other side of the equator). Here's a simple vegetarian recipe of mine to warm you up or cool you down. It tastes great hot or cold!

Squash Soup

Ingredients:
1 butternut squash
1 onion
1-2 carrots
cooking oil
3-4 cloves of garlic
rosemary
thyme
ginger
pepper
salt
sour cream or plain yogurt (optional)

Instructions:
Cut butternut squash in half. Bake in oven at 375 degrees F until tender (about an hour).

Chop an onion, a few cloves of garlic, and 1-2 carrots. Put a bit of oil in a large soup pot, add the onion, garlic, and carrots, and cook till soft (I like the onion a touch browned, but that's up to you). Add water (or broth), rosemary, thyme, ginger, pepper and salt. Simmer (if you are using water instead of broth, simmer longer to let the flavor develop more).

Peel and chop squash. Add it to the pot. Add enough water to cover the squash. Simmer until everything is soft. Then, blend till smooth (I use an immersion blender, so that I don't have to transfer anything) and adjust seasoning as necessary. Can be served with a dollop of sour cream or plain yogurt if you eat dairy.

New Fruits!

Please welcome the two newest members of the citrus slice coaster family: Green Tangerine and Pomelo! Both are now available at Dragon in Knots.

New Resident

An elusive robo ham from Lucky Paws adoption center! I'm still trying to come up with a good name for her.

Faces

Our prayers are with everyone affected by the recent events in Japan. Please help where you can, whether it be by donating your time or money or by simply keeping Japan and other affected areas in your thoughts and prayers.

Donations

Adieu EtsyWiki!

Etsy is shutting down EtsyWiki, so I'm preserving the acronym list here.

__________________________________________________________
Official Unofficial Acronym & Lingo FAQ

A

• ACEO - Artist Cards Editions and Originals. Basically they are miniature pieces of art, 2.5" x 3.5", roughly the size of a playing card. They are an affordable way to collect original works of art by your favorite artists. Can be bought and sold. (not specific to Etsy)
• AFAIK - as far as I know (not specific to Etsy)
• AJC - Art Jewelry Collective (street team)
• ATC - artist trading cards -- note the emphasis on trading; most ATC artists do not sell their cards, they trade them with other artists. http://www.artist-trading-cards. (not specific to Etsy)
• AOP - artist's own pattern
• alphabet people - folks who are 'buyers only' and do not have their own avatar

B

• BAO - Bead Art Originals (street team)
• beta - a public test version of software or a website. On Etsy, this refers to the version used until November 2006, when V2 (version 2) was released.
• BF - boyfriend (not specific to Etsy)
• BFSC - built from scratch clothing : http://www.etsy.com/forums_topic.php?thread_id=16029
• bling - rhinestones and other shiny stuff, big jewelry. (not specific to Etsy)
• B&M (or BM) - "Brick and Mortar" shop with a physical location. (not specific to Etsy)
• BNA - "Be nice, assholes". refers to threads lecturing or advising on what not to say or do in Etsy fora. (attributed to goat).
• BNR - buy and replace. Buy an item and replace it with one of your own in a treasury or forum thread.
• BOGO - buy one, get one (second item free, usually; sometimes half-off)
• bookmarking - term used when a user wants to track a thread without posting a comment. Note: the word "bookmark" is no longer in use, it's a banned word in the forums.
• brb - be right back; used in chat rooms and instant messengers (not specific to Etsy)
• btw - by the way (not specific to Etsy)
• bump - what someone does when she wants to get a particular thread back to the top of the forum (not specific to Etsy)
• Blue Room - chatroom (see also Green Room, Red Room, R)

C

• calling out - discussing specific transactions and feedback on the public forums, i.e. "Please do not discuss specific transactions and feedback on the public forums. This is calling out another user and is against our rules. Please email support [!at] etsy.com privately for assistance." (from stellaloella.etsy.com)
• carp - stuff you make; from a typo in the olden days about all the "crap" that was being sold.
• CCCOE - Californa Crafters Club of Etsy, a street team for those who live in California
• CGGE - Creative Glass Guild of Etsy, street team of glass artists on Etsy
• c.lit - not the obvious (cubistliterature.etsy.com)
• convo - Etsy's private messaging system, conversation between Etsy members, initiated by clicking on "contact this seller" on seller's shop site

D

• D&D - see Do's and Don'ts below
• DBCB - Designers & Buyers of Children's Boutique
• destash - term used when one is selling (getting rid of) a stockpile of supplies
• DIY - design it yourself, do it yourself (not specific to Etsy)
• DH - dear husband (not specific to Etsy)
• DNBF - Do Not Buy From -- a list some sellers have because they don't like the postings, manners, politics or other personal aspect of a particular Etsy seller, usually based on postings from the fora.
• Do's and Dont's - Etsy rules http://www.etsy.com/dosdonts.php
• Dork - Automatically replaces "dick" in forum titles, even for proper names. Is not RevolvingDork, one of the Etsy four founders & early forum mod.
• Dyno - Etsy seller who provided incredible guides to using Etsy in the Beta days

E

• E - Etsy
• EBW - Etsy Bead Weavers (street team)
• EDA - Etsy Dark Art (street team)
• EDM - Electronic Dance Music, as in raves or desert parties
• EEJA - Etsy eclectic jewelry artisans (street team)
• EGA - Etsy glass artists (street team)
• EGCG - Etsy Green and Clean Guild (street team)
• ESST - Etsy Supply Street Team (street team)
• Esty - common typo for Etsy. Appeared in the orange box website header on April 1, 2010.
• ETSIANS - everyone in the great Etsy community
• EtsyFAST - Etsy Fiber Arts Street Team (street team)
• ETTEAM - Etsy Treasury Team
• ETC - Etsy Texas Crafters (street team)
• EVST - EtsyVintage Street Team
• EWT - Etsy Wedding Team (street team)

F

• fantastic - a word which automatically replaces the word "ass" when typed in the chatrooms
• FAST - Etsy Fiber Arts Street Team, made up of sewers, knitters, weavers, dyers, spinners, crocheters, felters, and any other fiber crafters. The group has a monthly themed challenge. Search tags/titles for EtsyFAST. http://www.etsyfast.com
• FDL - Fashion Design & Lifestyle Street Team.
• flag, flagged - to report an item or shop to Etsy for violating an Etsy rule.
• FP - acronym for the Etsy Front Page.
• frell - a word which automatically replaces the word "fuck" when typed in the chatrooms (originally from Farscape, not purely specific to Etsy)
• FWIW - for what it's worth (not specific to Etsy)

G

• Green Room - chatroom (see also Blue Room, Red Room)
• GWBG - Girls Will Be Girls (street team)
• GA - Google Analytics

H

• heart - to put a shop or item into one's favorites. This can be a verb or noun: "I hearted your earrings", "I have 100 hearts".
• HTF - hard to find
• "headdesk" - forum eye rolling on Etsy

I

• IBTL - in before the lock (specific to Etsy for marking threads destined for closure)
• ILLTWITTERATE - Not understanding social networking
• IMO - in my opinion (not specific to Etsy)
• IMHO - in my humble opinion (not specific to Etsy)
• ITA - I totally agree

J

• JK - just kidding, joking (not specific to Etsy)
• JET - Jewelry on Etsy Team (street team)
• JFGI - Just Friggin'/Frelling Google It

K

• KWIM - know what I mean? (not specific to Etsy)

L

• LMAO - laughing my ass off (not specific to Etsy)
• LOL - laugh out loud (not specific to Etsy)

M

• Man Knitter - A man that knits (ex. Cubist Literature)
• marking - making a mark to find or follow a thread later
• MoE - Men of Etsy (street team)
• MSOE - Mad Scientists of Etsy -- a street team of sellers who are either scientists, have a science background, or sell scinece-themed items.

N

• newbie - new Etsy member, new poster in forums, new member of any online group (not specific to Etsy)
• NFEST - Needle Felting Etsy Street Team (street team)
• NPB - non-paying buyer
• NSFW - not safe for work, usually a warning of adult content. When posting a link to a website with nudity or adult content, it's good netiquette to label it "NSFW".

O

• OMG - oh my god/gosh (not specific to Etsy)
• OOAK - one of a kind (not specific to Etsy)
• OP - original poster; the person who starts a forum thread (not specific to Etsy)
• OSWOA - original small work of art (not specific to Etsy)
• OWS - Old World Shoppes (street team)

P

• PCAGOE - Polymer Clay Artists Guild of Etsy (street team)
• PIF - pay it forward -- http://www.etsy.com/forums_topic.php?thread_id=3691
• PITA - pain in the ass (not specific to Etsy)
• PLUR - Peace Love Unity Respect, mantra of the rave culture.

Q

• QA - quirky alone, unmarried childfree individual (as opposed to SAHM, for example -- http://www.quirkyalone.org)
• qnb - quirkynberkeley

R

• R - Red Room chat room (vote's still out on this one); notorious in Etsy lore for reasons deserved or not (vote's still out on this; join the debate); also site of the first Etsy town hall meeting on (what was the date?)
• RevolvingDork - One of the Etsy 4 founders, made famous by pithy, witty forum posts & closures
• RAOK - random act of kindness (not specific to Etsy)
• RAOGK - random act of glassy kindness (not specific to Etsy)
• ROFL - rolling on floor laughing (not specific to Etsy)
• ROFLMAO - Rolling On Floor Laughing My Ass Off (not specific to Etsy)

S

• Sac Etsy - Etsy Street Team for Etsy artists living in and near Sacramento, California (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sac-etsy)
• SAHM - stay at home mom (not specific to Etsy)
• Scratch - Etsy Street Team for sewn clothing "built from scratch"; handmade, not reconstructed.
• SEO - Search Engine Optimization - methodology to getting websites or specific URL's to the top of searches
• sleavy - alternate spelling of sleazy. Born in Etc on 2-11-09, followed by a week of non-stop threads.
• snark - sarcasm, sarcastic remark. Can be either humorous or mean, depending on context and perception.
• SNS - Saturday Night Special, weekly sale promotion (http://www.etsy.com/forums_topic.php?thread_id=25677)
• sock puppet -- username/account created for the sole purpose of posting, shilling, harassing, promoting in fora without being identified.
• spam - posting too many promotional threads in the forums, posting promos outside the promo section of the forums, posting promotional replies to unrelated topics, sending unsolicited convos or emails promoting one's shop, thanking people for hearting.
• spambot - Etsy's automated program to stop convo spam. If a user sends too many convos in a short period of time, the spambot will mute her convos.
• SRA - self-representing artist
• SRAJD - self-representing artist jewelry designer
• stash - a lot of craft supplies waiting to be used (not specific to Etsy)
• stash-busting - cleaning out, giving away, selling or using up the stash (not specific to Etsy)
• stellaloella - one of the 42 Etsy employees
• STFU - shut the fuck up (not specific to Etsy)
• stoked - (as in stoking a fire) excited or happy. Origin: surfer slang (not specific to Etsy)

T

• TGH - The Glass Haven (street team) -- http://teams.etsy.com/profilest/glasshaven and lampworking forum -- http://theglasshaven.com.
• thread - an ongoing conversation in the forums, aka "topic." (not specific to Etsy)
• Thread with a capital T, aka "The Thread" - a series of long ongoing chats in the Etc. section of the forums. Participants are called "threaders."
• TMI - too much information, over-sharing (not specific to Etsy)
• TOS - terms of service, often used interchangebly with TOU
• TOU - terms of use -- http://www.etsy.com/terms_of_use.php
• treasury - a list of favorites, created by one person, and lasting up to 3 days before it expires. The treasury "limit" is currently 333, but this does not mean there can't be more than that. It means that when the number dips to 332, anyone who is in the treasury has the opportunity to create one. Depending how many people do create one, the number can go as high as 375 or more. Retired Fall '09.
• Treasury East - current unlimited treasury free-for-all of immortal treasuries
• TRIF - trade it forward -- http://www.etsy.com/forums_topic.php?thread_id=16914
• TTFN - ta ta for now (not specific to Etsy)
• TVP - thinly veiled promotion. thread or post for the sole purpose of calling attention to the poster's items or shop

U

V

• VAST - Visual Artists Street Team
• V2 - version 2 of Etsy, which was released in November 2006

W

• WAHM - work at home mom (not specific to Etsy)
• WIP - work in progress (not specific to Etsy)
• WIST - Wisconsin Street Team -- http://wist-etsy.blogspot.com/ and http://team.etsy.com/profilest/wi.shtml
• WJW - Wow, just wow
• wtg - way to go
• wtf - what the fuck (not specific to Etsy)
• wx - weather (not specific to Etsy)

X

Y

• YMMV - your mileage may vary; you may have different results or opinions than the stated one, due to variable conditions. Often used on tutorials. (not specific to Etsy)

Z

Symbols

• <3>
• =^.^= (and its variations: =^^= ; =p.p= ; etc) – represents a happy cat face with whiskers.
• :) - happy smiling face (tilt your head to the left) (There are many variations in expression, i.e.: :( ; 8-| ; etc.)
• (: - happy smiling face (tilt your head to the right)

Notes

This list is NOT complete.

New Hamster Lair!

I did not like the bright plastic igloos sold at the pet store for hamsters, so I placed a request on Alchemy for a ceramic hideout for my hamsters. Etsy artist Black Dachshund Potter responded and made this gorgeous piece for my little ones! I love how it turned out, so do the hamsters, but they don't know they are the owners of a piece of art!

Two Hamsters and a Food Dish

In the midst of all the madness in the world, one needs a little cuteness to look upon every once and awhile to set things aright.

Meet my two new furry friends!