New year, new things happening!

All right, we're gearing up for St. Valentine's and St. Patrick's here at Dead Pleasures.  Melvin is happily chomping away on roses and parsley, Amanda is double-checking our books and moving products, and I'm making them as quickly as I can!  We will be announcing our 2nd Annual St. Patrick's Day Contest soon, as well, so check back later this month!

Collaborations in the Works

All right, my lovelies!  Melvin Bunny is ignoring me in favor of  a carrot and a small nibble of apple, so I can type without her pestering me for love and attention.  (Not that I mind snuggling my bunny, but it does often make typing one-handed and slow, and occasionally it makes typing completely impossible.)  Speaking of bunnies, look how big our little mascot has gotten!  Kind of hard to believe she was ever so small that she could barely look out of her cage while she was standing like this, and it was only nine months ago...


In other news, you read that title right-- there is a collaboration in the works where our exclusive jewelry will be featured on an upcoming web series!  And hopefully without any snags in the red tape holding the production at either end up at all.  Those of my fans who enjoy steampunk and the gothic aesthetic should really enjoy it (never fear, my anime buddies, it sounds like there will be nods there for you too)!  Yes, I'm keeping mostly mum on the details, because I don't want to let loose any spoilers or influence people too much before they see it.  We will definitely be keeping you posted, so stay tuned!

And now, if you will excuse me, I have a rabbit who wants some "mommy nibbles" on her nose.  Ta!

Way more than you ever wanted to know about carbs

Okay, so one of my friend's friends on FaceBook was asking about carbohydrates.  The answer was way too long to put into an ordinary FaceBook comment, so I figured it would be a good idea to post it here.  Being healthy is important, so it's sharing time!

Despite the popularity of low-carb diets, carbohydrates are needed for metabolism and proper body function. They help our body carry out metabolic functions and allow our brain to perform at its best!  While a low-carb diet is good sometimes because it lets your body burn up the carbohydrate reserves stored in your body fat, following it all the time leads to something called ketosis.  In ketosis, your body feeds off of itself to get required nutrients to continue functioning.  In other words, your metabolism will cannibalize your muscles and eventually your vital organs for nutrition, much in the same way that the system of an anorexic or malnourished person does.
Carbs are an ideal energy source for the metabolism, since they are easily converted to glucose.  Glucose is the type of sugar our body uses for energy, and it is made more easily from carbs than from fats or proteins.  Good fats and proteins have their places, and a balanced diet is still essential for your health.  Too many carbs upset your body’s blood sugar levels and can cause symptoms of hypoglycemia or diabetes, energy crashes, mood swings... lots of stuff you generally don’t want to deal with.

Congratulations and Updates

First off, congratulations to the winner of our first ever Dead Pleasures "No Pinching Allowed" contest, Heather Randall!  She should be receiving her prize tomorrow afternoon, just in time to save herself from the pinch-fiends of St. Patrick's Day on Saturday.

Second, more good news!  You can now find us on FaceBook using the following URL: facebook.com/DPDstudio.  Or you can just look us up as Dead Pleasures Design.  Your call, we're not picky as long as you're comfortable.

Third, and finally... we're getting the gears in motion to actually open up an Etsy store, where it will be easier to purchase Dead Pleasures merchandise.  Following this, we will be phasing out our Cafe Press store.  Hopefully we will be able to find printers and screen printers who will be able to help us keep those products alive so they are still available to you.  We are doing everything we can to keep your favorite Dead Pleasures products available on Cafe Press, so that when we open our Etsy store you can buy them from us directly, which will be win/win by saving you money and helping us pay our overhead costs more efficiently.  Cafe Press just isn't worth our time anymore with all the new restrictions and the choking product fees-- it's cutting into our business and making it harder for us to be available to you.  So, with that in mind, we want to say we appreciate your custom at our Cafe Press store all these years, and thank you for your understanding about it being phased out of the Dead Pleasures product family.

First Annual Dead Pleasures "No Pinching Allowed" Giveaway!

Okay, ladies and gents!  It's kicking off a day late due to real life being a pain and me only being one person, but the first ever Dead Pleasures Design giveaway is here!

Head over to the Dead Pleasures Design FaceBook Page and follow these simple rules.

1. "Like" the Dead Pleasures Design Facebook Page!
2. Post to our wall your favorite thing that's colored green, and why you enjoy it so much.
3. Each person can enter up to five times.

That's it! This year's prize is a handmade bracelet, approximately 7 inches/177 milimeters in length, with enough green on it to keep anyone safe from being pinched on St. Patrick's Day. (For those with metal allergies, please be aware that it is made of permanently-colored brass and brass-plated copper findings, along with glass and natural stone.) Perfect for the ladies, or as a gift for a special someone! The contest is open to everyone, I will ship worldwide if the winner turns out to be from outside the United States. The contest will be held from now until March 10th, 2012. That way I have enough time to go through the entries, find a winner, and ship the prize to the winner. Good luck, everyone!  Photos of the prize will be added later today for everyone to check out!

ZOMG, so busy!

Holy cracker-snackers!  I have been so busy, I completely forgot to update my blog!  I am so sorry, everyone!  I have way too much on my plate right now.... there's work, being a new pet parent, having a relationship with my hubby, my new gym regimen (yes-- I am actually going), cleaning my house, a baby shower for a friend coming up, another friend's daughter's birthday (both the shower and the birthday need me to make presents still), and family coming to town.  Plus I'm trying to build a stock base for the Etsy store I hope to open in the next 2 to 3 months.  And I'm worrying about fixing my fence and chopping down the dead tree in my front yard.  AND I had just got my car fixed today after almost a month of being worried I was going to blow up in it while driving to or from my job.  Obviously, there hasn't been too much concern about posting on my end.

However, as I said somewhere in the middle there, I'm going to be trying to open a new Etsy store within the next couple of months.  I will definitely keep you posted as to the status of that as it goes along.  Before I open, I want to make sure I have a good product base, so that you have quite a bit to choose from.  My best friend and I are trying to coordinate the shop together: I have better pinwork and threading than she does, and she is far better at wirework; I crochet, she knits.  Together, we are a single functional craftsperson.  :)

I am also coordinating a giveaway for St. Patrick's Day, which will be launched from the Dead Pleasures Design page on Facebook either Friday or Saturday of this week, and announced here and on our Twitter account, @DPDmelvin.  Pay attention, ladies... you could win the something green you need to keep unwanted pinching away!

Until next time, have a great week, and good luck!

Melvin's Habits

Downside number one of a bunny-- silly Melvin likes to rattle her cage by grabbing the water bottle with her teeth and shaking the crap out of it before she gets a drink. Note: she grabs the metal drinking spout with her teeth and shakes it.  And then she gets herself a drink.  She has to arrange the bottle to an angle that suits her at the time.  Apparently this is amusing as all get out, since she woke me up five times last night doing it, because she likes it at a different angle every time.  Again, this is part of being a responsible pet parent (or just a parent or caretaker, period).  You put up with their quirks.  You don't love the animal any less, you just smile, sigh, and move on with life. I bought the bunny, so I'm going to have to alter my life to fit her into it.  Although it does make me wonder... why in God's name do I always manage to pick the weirdo animals out of the lot?