The Internet is one big black hole . . .

that's constantly trying to suck me in (and succeeding most of the time). I've found SO many time-wasters in the last couple of weeks, it's amazing. Ok, they're not ALL time-wasters. Some actually nudge me toward productivity. But it's not like I needed anything else to do with my time, seeing as how I'm constantly coming up with to-do items on my own. At any rate, here's a list of the sites, in case you feel the need to get sucked into a black hole, too:

Twitter.com: post snippets of messages (140 characters max per message; this isn't much room!) and they're automatically sent to all your twitter friends, and those in RL who sign up to receive them (they can even receive them as text messages on their phones). The premise is that you answer the question, "What are you doing right now?" and people literally answer that question. Some of the messages run along the lines of, "Making myself a PB&J sandwich." I tend to post about whatever artsy-craftsy thing I'm working on (look in the right column for my last 5 twitter postings). I try to justify spending time on Twitter as a way to keep track of what I'm doing, but mostly I'm just reading other people's messages. But it is a good way to promote your blog or Etsy store. If you're on Twitter or if you sign on, let me know and I'll be happy to follow you.

Fiber Arts/Mixed Media: This is a networking site started by Susan Sorrell on ning that's pretty cool. You can upload pics, make friends, see other people's work, join discussion groups, and endlessly tweak your profile. If you have a page or add one, let me know and I'll add you as a friend.

Swap-bot.com: This site takes the prize, probably, for being the biggest time-sink in my day. But it's pretty amazing; you can sign up for a gazillion swaps of everything from ATCs and postcards to fabric to hot chocolate to . . . who knows what all. If you're not sure about whether you want to join a swap, you can put it on your "watch" list until you decide (or the deadline for signing up passes). Once you complete a swap, your swap partners rate you and you rate them with a simple check-box form that swap-bot provides. I had been thinking about trying to swap some ATCs I made a while back (if I can find them . . . who has time to look, though???) and suddenly I ran across this site. If you're into swaps, this is a very, very, cool site.

Of course, there's also my Etsy store . . . and posting to this blog . . . AND reading everyone else's blog . . . AND reading all the discussions in the forums of the online classes I'm taking. It's a wonder I ever manage to drag myself away from this computer!

I did manage to get some crafting done this morning. I finally bought some rice paper, so I tried this technique that had been on my list for some time. Basically, you emboss the paper, paint it, and then iron the embossing out. It leaves a translucent area in the paper.

I used some of these to make notecards that I sent off to two swap partners (and I don't even MAKE cards; that darned swap-bot.com!).