What's Mine is Mine

I've met a great group of people on Etsy and Artfire who are crafters of handmade items. Some use these venues to augment their family income and there are those like me who sell on Etsy and Artfire for mad money.

I am an artist who loves all things artistic such as photography, oil painting, mosaic, and anything that is old and rusty. In a nutshell, I see beauty in almost everything. My husband says if it doesn't stink, I save it! As a fellow crafts person I chose to use my talent to help other Mosaic Artists by creating beautiful tiles made from antique and vintage china dishes. I absolutely love cutting the tiles to preserve the pattern and it gives me tremendous satisfaction in knowing they will be incorporated into something beautiful. I also love knowing that a new mosaic artist has an outlet to buy tiles already cut thus lessening their learning curve about the craft.

However, I'm one of the lucky ones who sell on Etsy and Artfire for my OWN mad money! What I earn from these venues is mine, every last dime. Since my forced retirement in 2008 and now my new job as a homemaker my husband is in charge of paying the bills ~ which I love! For the first 25 years of our marriage I was in charge of juggling the money, paying the bills, living the stress during the lean years ~ and I don't miss anything about bill paying!  That said, I do miss having having my own paycheck and the freedom that comes with it ~ even though my paycheck went to the household finances.

I opened my online stores fairly recently ~ 5 months ago ~ and I love having my own little "stash" that is completely mine, to use as I wish. This is not to say that I don't have access to money from the household income, I do ~ but since I don't pay the bills or even want access to the household accounts ~ I have to ask my husband for money. He'll give me what I ask for however, I have to explain what I want it for. I simply hate saying, "I just got a catalog from my favorite dot come store and I want to order such and such." Frankly I feel it's my business when I want to buy whatever, or if I want to surf the bowels of an auction site to find an item I really want. Soooo, my online store income provides me a modicum of independence.

I no longer create mosaic art due to a severe injury to my left hand ~ and I'm left handed ~ but I can still cut tiles and maintain artistic satisfaction. Here are some of my tile creations. Bottom line, "what's yours is ours and what's mine is mine!!