Pinterest - More Than a Fancy Bulletin Board

    Recently I have discovered the site Pinterest. For those unfamiliar with what Pinterest is it could be described in it's simplicity as a fancy, electronic bulletin board. But in working to try and find ways to make my blogging and foundling amigurumi designing better I came across this wonderful article on the Handmade Success blog by guest blogger Bettie. In the article "Organize Your Online Content with Pinterest" (click link to read article in it's entirety - recommended) it talks about more of the possible ways the site can be used other than just another online time sucker.
    The thing I initially loved about Pinterest is that it was a great place to visually organize any of the ideas that I would find online. Much better than cutting & pasting to Word as I had been doing. I look to those ideas when I am looking for that spark of inspiration that we creative types sometimes need to get our "juices flowing" when we are getting a new project started. I love that it is quick, easy and I can leave my own notes or comments for when I go back.
    Even better you can follow others boards and repin them to your own. As you repin you will also start to notice that others become interested in the boards you've created and might start to follow you in return.
    So I recommend checking out the article by Bettie and if you can even check out my Pinterest boards if you haven't heard of it before and just want to check it out.

Best wishes to all ... and Happy Ami,            Shannon

Porter Penguin & Ami 4ur Pup

Porter Penguin
 
    Meet Porter Penguin the newest addition to the A.O. family of designs. The meaning of Porter is door keeper or gatekeeper and I thought he was a little stocky so I thought it would be a fitting name until he reaches his new daddy who can give him the name he wants. Porter stands about 8" high and is a slightly larger version of a penguin named Percy who hangs around with me guarding keys. Hopefully I should have the pattern of him done soon so I can add to my Etsy and Ravelry sites.

Ami 4ur Pup


    Have been thinking about making a line of amigurumi for people and their pups. I must admit that the idea has been brought up to me before but I never really gave it much thought before now. I've been looking for a way to be creative and unique in my designs.
    Recently I gave my friend Wanda a completed set of the turtle/tortoise since she collects turtles. Since she loved them so much she was quite distressed the next time I talked to her when she wanted to tell me what had happened to them. She had put them up on a shelf in a closet until she had decided where she was going to put them out at. One day she noticed that both of her dogs Boo boo and Tyke were paying extra attention to the closet. When investigating what had them so entranced, especially the younger one Tyke she had noticed that he had somehow gotten a hold of them. Taking them away she moved them to the dresser in the bedroom. It was then that Tyke proceeded to go lay on the bed where he could stare at the turtle & tortoise and wine until Wanda finally gave in and let Tyke have them. Tyke is after all one of her babies. I just had to laugh, since I actually thought it was adorable. The thing that has surprised Wanda the most is that Tyke no longer wants to play with his other toys. (She did try to go out and get him something new also, but he was not having it. No way!) He and Boo Boo share all their toys, but Boo Boo is not allowed to play with either the turtle or tortoise. Tyke will growl if Boo Boo tries. He also will not "chew" on them. Instead he likes to lay on them with his front paws. (Go figure!)

    So that got me started again in thinking about the ami line of doggie toys. I really want to know what you all think of the idea.  Ya :-) - good idea     (or)     Na :-( - not so good

Have a wonderful day and Happy Ami,           Shannon

Works In Progress Wednesday - H.R. Puff-n-Stuff

   It's the middle of the week and in the tradition of other amigurumiers (is that a word???, lol) my current Wednesday WIP (work in progress) is for a friend who asked if I could do a H.R. Puff-n-Stuff. She wants to give it to a friend who is a big collector so I have to make sure I get it right.

   Now for anyone who is asking who/what is a H.R. Puff-n-Stuff, well the short answer is that it was a live action childrens show from the 70's.  H.R. Puff-n-Stuff was the main character along with (okay this will date me and require some brain cells to wake up), Witchie Pooh, Sigmund the Sea Monster, and a kid whose name I don't recall. Now if I do remember correctly H.R. is supposed to be a dragon. (Any die hard fans out there please forgive me if I am wrong). I cannot honestly say that I watched the show too much. Scooby Doo and the Peanut's specials were more my thing.

   Above center was the best picture I could find for reference so I hope I have done him justice. Not many actual pics of the back of him were available so I had to go off photos of some of the promo products that were produced in promotion of the show (which I have to say weren't all that great and really kind of scary looking in that some don't seem to be close to the original - sorry).

Have a wonderful week... and Happy Ami,        Shannon

Amazon Associates Cancelled California Contracts (updated)

   UPDATE: 6/29 pm - Gov. Brown signed it, now contracts have been cancelled!!!

This is really gonna suck if it goes thru and will do little if anything to help the failing California economy or to balance it's budget. All it is going to do is take money from the little guy cause for starters as Amazon is not based in California so any sales that the program leads to aren't subject to California sales taxes anyway.
    I cannot say that I have been making lots of money from the program, but really if the state want to get some money to help pay their bills I can make a big suggestion (Legislatures) Cut those "fatcats" paychecks and remove the "perks" they seem to think they are entitled to cause they haven't been able to do their job in what over 10 years getting a budget in on time. Most of us "regular" people get paid on our performance. Why shouldn't they be held to the same standard. Yes, we passed the law that if they don't get the budget in on time they don't get paid (not sure why that took so long to do either). I think it should be added that when they do get paid they only can draw minimum wage too! Let's see how they like living on that.
   I posted a copy of the email from Amazon below in case anyone is interested in reading it. As you can see I am just a bit "fried". I cannot really put any blame on Amazon though. It all goes back to the politicians (bunch of gov't criminals if you ask me)!

EMAIL/LETTER:
Hello,
For well over a decade, the Amazon Associates Program has worked with thousands of California residents. Unfortunately, a potential new law that may be signed by Governor Brown compels us to terminate this program for California-based participants. It specifically imposes the collection of taxes from consumers on sales by online retailers - including but not limited to those referred by California-based marketing affiliates like you - even if those retailers have no physical presence in the state.
We oppose this bill because it is unconstitutional and counterproductive. It is supported by big-box retailers, most of which are based outside California, that seek to harm the affiliate advertising programs of their competitors. Similar legislation in other states has led to job and income losses, and little, if any, new tax revenue. We deeply regret that we must take this action.
As a result, we will terminate contracts with all California residents that are participants in the Amazon Associates Program as of the date (if any) that the California law becomes effective. We will send a follow-up notice to you confirming the termination date if the California law is enacted. In the event that the California law does not become effective before September 30, 2011, we withdraw this notice. As of the termination date, California residents will no longer receive advertising fees for sales referred to Amazon.com , Endless.com , MYHABIT.COM or SmallParts.com . Please be assured that all qualifying advertising fees earned on or before the termination date will be processed and paid in full in accordance with the regular payment schedule.
You are receiving this email because our records indicate that you are a resident of California. If you are not currently a resident of California, or if you are relocating to another state in the near future, you can manage the details of your Associates account here . And if you relocate to another state in the near future please contact us for reinstatement into the Amazon Associates Program.
To avoid confusion, we would like to clarify that this development will only impact our ability to offer the Associates Program to California residents and will not affect their ability to purchase from Amazon.com , Endless.com , MYHABIT.COM or SmallParts.com .

We have enjoyed working with you and other California-based participants in the Amazon Associates Program and, if this situation is rectified, would very much welcome the opportunity to re-open our Associates Program to California residents. We are also working on alternative ways to help California residents monetize their websites and we will be sure to contact you when these become available.

Regards,
The Amazon Associates Team

Meet Emily Elephant

     Meet Emily Elephant the newest addition to the A.O. family. Emily is here straight from her home on the African Serengeti. She stands a stout 7 1/2" to 8" high (that's inches - American) .

     I loved the idea of doing an elephant with big, floppy ears and decided to go with the 2 yarns (variegated and a solid), but she would be just as cute in a solid color only. I also used the variegated yarn on the top of the head and bottoms of the feet (which can be seen on my etsy site).

     I have slowly but surely started to post patterns as I am getting them completed. I have sites set up on both Etsy and Ravelry, but as still working on getting the pattern postings linked here to my blogsite as there are still many things I am learning about this as I go along.

      Hope you like Emily as much as I enjoyed making her.


Best Wishes to All.... and Happy Ami,        Shannon

Turtle & Tortoise Pattern 1/2 Price

   For a limited time only my "new" (duo-pattern) Turtle & the Tortoise is available thru my new Etsy site for 1/2 price when you use the coupon code TANDTINTROCOUPONS  at checkout.
   Right now it is the only item listed. You can go to AmiObssnbyShannon to get the pattern that can be used to crochet both turtles (have flippers) tortoise (have legs) with minimal adjustments needed. You can even choose to make a shorter (see green turtle) or taller (see brown tortoise) shell.

   This is really my first pattern out there for sale so I would like to hear feedback from all of you as to what you think about it. Please be honest... I can take it.

    Thank you for stopping by... Best Wishes & Happy Ami,
                                                                        Shannon

Hello Kitty Has Gone Zebra

   One of the guys I work with and his wife are expecting a little girl coming up in August. The colors for the baby are zebra stripes and hot pink. When I asked about what they might want he said "Well I was going to ask if you could do something with Hello Kitty and zebra stripes."

   Do they make black, white & pink yarn? Of course. Well then chances are that I can do something with it then.

   No really, I had just finished my turtle/tortoise project and was looking for a new idea for inspiration. So there I had it and here it is for you to see too. She's pink, she's white and now she has stripes... meet zebra striped Hello Kitty.

Best wishes to all... and Happy Ami,      Shannon