Dora, Dora, Dora, The Explorer?

My almost 2-year-old boy has recently developed an all-consuming obsession with Dora. We have Netflix, so he's been streaming the episodes to our TV through the Wii, starting with Season 1 and moving on up....and down....and up...and down...

Season 1 is pretty okay, I think. Granted, Boots is annoying and makes me hope desperately that my son does not try to emulate him. However, Dora is okay, and the show is definitely educational. I love the repetition of key words or points. The characters count everything there is to count, so I feel that the show is beneficial in that regard, as well as having the obvious advantage of exposing children to Spanish at an early age. I don't think the show is going to teach my son fluent Spanish, but even a small amount of exposure will help him more easily learn a second language later in life.

As the seasons progress, the repetition decreases, which is unfortunate. The characters still count things, but the shows feel rushed. The map's song and the backpack's song are shortened and faster. The shows begin to have more events packed into them, and odd things like star collecting are added in. I could definitely do without the "collecting stars along the way" portion. I don't find any benefit to it, and I consider it ridiculous. The show begins to include things that are more "cute" than educational, with talking insects and flying horses.

Now, I realize that I'm not the only one in the world, and that the makers of the show are trying to make more than a show - they're trying to make money. Therefore, I have no doubt that they are creating the changes that viewers claim to want. However, I don't necessarily believe that these changes are good for the children, and I don't believe that they are in line with the initial concept of Dora. What do you think?

The Quest For The Mighty Sword Review

Today, I thought I would turn on some instant play Netflix for the kiddos to watch while I worked on crocheting some gnome hats. Browsing through the selection, I ran across "The Quest for the Mighty Sword." This title reeked of low-budget fantasy junk. So I hit play.

This movie was not the most horrible movie I've ever seen. In fact, surprisingly enough, it wasn't even any worse than I expected it to be. I think they may have even had more than $10 to spend on graphics. The storyline is your basic epic tale of the boy whose father died, passing on to the young son the duty of claiming the magic heirloom sword and leading his people back to their homeland or some such.

Of course, I either missed the shot of "his people" or else they didn't really show them; but it did include a rescue scene of some scantily clad woman, and a whole lot of love going around. It also included some really ugly critters that looked kind of like the troll from the movie aptly named "Troll". I think these guys were a little uglier than that troll, but I'm pretty sure "Troll" based their troll on these. In fact, there were a lot of ugly people in this movie. I wasn't overly impressed with the hero guy, nor did I consider the female lead to be particularly beautiful. Not to worry - their acting wasn't any better than their looks; however, that said, I think they were the best actors in the movie, other than the pimply and/or scarred guy who liked to make statues out of people.

Overall, I'd have to say this movie didn't even give Ed Wood a run for his money. If you'd like to see a movie in a fantasy epic-style setting with bad (but not horrible) acting, pretty bad (but again, not horrible for the time) graphics, a sketchy storyline, and a scantily clad, not-quite-beautiful female lead, this may be the movie for you. Or you can save yourself the trouble and watch the old version of Clash of the Titans. You decide.

If I Were A Kangaroo Greeting Card Review

If I Were a Kangaroo.... A Limited Edition Love Card

As I wandered through this seller's store, this kangaroo card really jumped out at me! Yeah, I know...bad pun. I thought so too. As luck would have it, this card does not include a bad pun, but does include sparkly things. Who doesn't love sparkly things?

The sparkly things in question happen to be Swarovski crystals and they also happen to be randomly placed upon the kangaroo's shirt. Yes, I said the kangaroo's shirt. Why is this kangaroo wearing a shirt? The kangaroo may know, but I do not.

Now for the really cool part: If you want this card to include your very own very bad pun, you can buy it with nothing written inside of it! On the other hand, if you want it to include something slightly sappy, yet grammatically correct, this seller has a slightly sappy inner text already designed to supply you with.

In the tags area, this seller would benefit from combining the terms "cards" and "greeting" into "greeting cards" so that the tag "kangaroos" could also be added.

This seller ships everywhere, allowing for the greatest possible customer base by location; however, this seller only accepts Paypal as a payment option. Accepting another form of payment (such as the highly recommended money order) would open this listing to a wider potential customer base, thereby increasing the odds of a sale.

Plum Cozy Scarf Review

Plum Cozy Scarf

What a gorgeous color for a scarf! The main picture is very well done, with a nice cameo style fade. This listing makes me wish I had a mannequin to display my scarves on. Ah well, in the absence of a mannequin, my fiance makes a very pretty model, particularly for flowery hats and pink scarves. It brings out the color in his beard.

But speaking of pictures, this seller has done an excellent job of filling all the available picture slots. Every picture taken shows an alternate way to wear the scarf, and each of them are viable.

Concerning tags, there is no reason for listing the tag "handmade," since all items on Etsy (except vintage or supplies) are handmade. This tag slot could be put to better use by replacing it with another word such as "fall." Many people wear scarves in the fall as well as in the winter.

Shipping for this scarf is available anywhere in the world, creating the largest market possible by location. However, as I have a tendency to repeat, I recommend offering at least two forms of payment: Paypal and one other. Money orders are relatively safe, and many buyers who will not use Paypal will use money orders.

Beaded Dragonfly Pins Review

Dragonfly Beaded Bobby Pins (set of 2)

I'm generally not into "cute," but I have to admit: these little dragonflies are pretty cute. I can't imagine what use I would have for them, but I imagine that *some* people might be interested in wearing them in the hair, or placing a magnet on the back of them and using them as pretty little magnets. What a cool idea!

The pictures in this listing are nice, but I would like to see more of them. For instance, a more detailed view of the large circular bead on the dragonfly's back would be nice. I would also like to see a frontal view of the dragonflies.

The seller could benefit from changing the tag "beads" to "beaded." Since the next tag is "glass beads," the search for "beads" would already return this listing, so there is no need to write "beads" in the tags again. I would also like to see tags such as "insects," "bugs," etc.

This seller ships everywhere, resulting in the largest user base possible by location. However, the seller limits that base by only accepting Paypal as a form of payment. Accepting at least one other form of payment, such as the relatively safe money order, helps reach out to those customers who do not use Paypal.

Man Lies Pillow Review

Man Lies pillow in Purple

Man Lies Pillow In Purple...how should I take this? I am lost within the maze of many possible meanings here. Does this refer to the picture of a man lying on the pillow, merely a comment on the supine state of the person drawn there? Or is there a deeper meaning?

Perhaps, for instance, all of the colorful designs on the pillow represent a man's colorful lies. Or, perhaps "man," in this title, refers to mankind as a whole. This would explain the somewhat neuter image presented of the individual on the pillow. The orange makes me think of Egyptian heiroglyphs, supporting the possibility of the "mankind" lies theory. And, is this pillow a representation of those lies, or is it merely a statement that mankind does, in fact lie?

I could also interpret this heading to mean that a man is lying something in something purple. But what? What is this purple thing in which the man is lying his pillow. And is it his pillow or someone else's pillow? This would, of course, imply that the writer of this listing is using the word "lies" in place of "lays," but all things considered, that doesn't seem like much of a stretch of the imagination. So many questions, often never answered.

The pictures in this listing are good, showing all sides of the pillow. I might add a picture of someone lying on the pillow, but otherwise, the pictures are crisp, clear, and leave little to the imagination.

The description could use some editing. Glancing over it, I see capitalization and punctuation errors, to name a few. In the tags area, the seller may want to substitute the word "cushion" in place of the word "poly fill." A prospective buyer will more likely search for "cushion" when looking for a pillow than "poly fill."

Offering shipping to everywhere is an excellent way to appeal to all Etsy buyers, but by only accepting Paypal, the seller is removing the portion of buyers that avoid Paypal from the customer base. The seller should consider accepting another form of payment, in addition to Paypal. I always suggest accepting money orders because they are relatively safe.

Matryoshka Doll Review

Matryoshka doll

It's a Russian stacking doll! Wait, no...it's made of cloth.

A good friend of mine in high school collected stacking dolls from Russia. They were so cool, because when I was first introduced to them, I didn't realize what they were until she started pulling them apart. My eyebrows shot up in surprise and I said "Oh, look - there are more of them inside!" Kudos to this listing for bringing back fond memories.

This little Matryoshka doll doesn't come apart, however. It could just be the lighting, but in the pictures, it appears to have one blue eye and one brown eye. How cool is that? It's like a malamute doll!

I advocate proper use of grammar in Etsy listings, so I would suggest capitalizing the "I" in the description. Otherwise, this listing looks good - with three pictures with decent views of the item, proper use of item tags, shipping offered to anywhere in the world, and two forms of payment accepted, this listing appeals to almost any buyers. Bravo!

Aaliyah Original Oil Painting Review

Aaliyah - 24 X 36 Original Oil Painting - EBSQ

Many minutes of my life have passed while I studied the thing in the upper left corner of this painting. I cannot determine positively what it is. After much consideration, I concluded that, if anything, it must be a wine glass. Another possibility that I considered was a sparrow, but I'm leaning more toward a wine glass than a sparrow. I have no clue what relationship Aaliyah had with wine glasses or sparrows, but I imagine that she probably had a lot more to do with wine glasses than she did with sparrows. Maybe I'm wrong, but that's my guess.

I would love to see more pictures in this listing. Pictures of this painting hanging on the wall, both framed and unframed, would show the buyer how the painting could look in the buyer's own home; thereby, making the buyer more inclined to purchase the item. Also, many buyers may not realize the sheer size of a 24" x 36" oil painting. Placing the painting close to an item the buyer can more easily relate to would help the buyer to understand how large this painting is.

I can't help but notice that the seller only offers shipping within the United States. Because Etsy is such an incredibly diverse place, filled with people of many nations, only marketing towards those in the United States cuts out a large portion of the potential customer base. The more customers that are able to purchase the item, the more likely it is that the item will sell.

Gameboy Fabric And Felt Electronics Case Review

Gameboy Handheld Fabric and Felt Case - iPod iPhone iTouch Cell Phone Gadgets and more

The nerd in me is totally geeking out over this oh-so-awesome electronics sleeve that looks like...a Game Boy! I am taken back to my childhood...a time of long car trips and brothers who say "lemme alone, do somethin' else." My answer: the Game Boy!

Now, if you're thinking that the creator did an excellent job of imitating the way that an actual Game Boy looks, then you're absolutely correct. After all, this is a photo of a Game Boy printed onto cotton photo fabric. I was previously unaware of the existence of "photo fabric" and I am very impressed with the quality of this.

The main picture in this listing shows the item, tilted at a nice eye-catching angle, and with an electronic device partially inside. This effectively allows the potential buyer to see the item, develop interest in the item, and see how to use the item - all before clicking through to the listing.

Once on the listing page, the prospective buyer may view the back of the case, a glimpse of the wool interior of the case, the packaging of the case, and other case options that a customer may choose instead of the gameboy case.

The seller offers shipping to the US and to Everywhere Else (yes, that means you). Unfortunately, it appears that the seller only accepts Paypal for payment. Because some buyers do not use Paypal, I suggest accepting Paypal and at least one other form of payment (money orders are relatively safe).

Clear Rubber Cupcake Stamp Review

Handmade Clear Rubber Stamp -cupcake-

After reading over this description, my first thought is "Gift wrap? Where?" The description claims that a buyer can have the stamp gift wrapped, but shows no indication of this in the pictures.

I love how there is a picture of the top of the stamp, the bottom of the stamp, and of the finished product resulting from the stamp. Still, I'm left to wonder about what the offered gift wrap looks like. As we all know, there's gift wrap, and then there's gift wrap.

The cupcake image itself is very cute. It isn't quite symmetrical and yet it is definitely not haphazard, resulting in a subtle charm. I could see this stamp being used on envelopes, greeting cards (think Happy Birthday!), or in scrapbooking.