the goods, the bad, the winner

so where do i start, the good, the bad, or the winner?  whenever i have several things to talk about, i never know where to start, and that goes for blog posts and real life; i'm kind of scatter-brained all the time, and i hope it doesn't get worse with age otherwise i only have a few more good years before i'm crazy.  anyway, first i want to announce the winner of the danielle clubmaster sunglasses from tumbleweeds!  drum roll..... the winner is LIZ!

now, how about some good(s)?  it's been cold and rainy here, so i've been watching old tv shows (the millionaire is one of my favorites) and stockpiling links of all the things i want, want, WANT!  i'm seriously eyeballing the boots, but there's just one thing in the way of me making them mine, and i call him husband.  why must my wants outnumber my dollars?

you can find these beauties here: lulu*s, i miss the sea, raw dezign, honey and bloom, turquoise city, lulu*s, hindsvik, tumbleweeds handcraft

okay, it's time for the bad.  but there is some sliver of good in it., so i won't be a complete negative nancy.  last night beca told me that there was a shop on etsy selling cell phone cases with my elephant painting on them.  it felt like a punch in the gut.  i put so much work into what i do, and i just finished communicating with someone who told me a few months ago that she loved my shop and was inspired by it, and then ended up copying some of my paintings, so the last thing i wanted was to have to deal with it again.  not only did Daddydecor steal my artwork, they also stole artwork from several other artists on etsy, and then used it to make a profit.  this is disgusting and it makes me so fucking mad i could shoot smoke out of my ears.  i'm not sharing this because i'm looking to have my ego stroked, but rather as 1. a warning to artists who share their work on the thief-infested internet - be proactive and STAND UP FOR WHAT'S YOURS, and 2. to hold people like Daddydecor accountable for their actions in hopes that potential customers will see it and not give another cent to sellers who don't think twice about stealing.  this sort of thing runs rampant, and sadly, there's so much of it on etsy it makes me want to cry. the listings have been removed, thanks to another artist (whose art had been stolen) confronting the seller, and that's the good part, but etsy (as usual) refuses to get involved and enforce anything; let a non-vintage item be listed as vintage though and etsy is on it like white on rice, because that's an important issue, right?  geez.  i think beca summed it up pretty well in her last blog post, so i won't continue a rambling tirade, but be sure when buying things - handmade or otherwise - that you're supporting the REAL artist and not a copycat or thief!