This and That and So On and So On:)

Tomorrow is the big "Protesty" on Etsy. As of right now, about 4,000 shops have pledged to put their shops in vacation mode as a means of protesting Etsy's acceptance of resellers of mass produced, non-handmade goods. I had originally signed up to join the protest. BUT ... on second and third thoughts and then some more, I changed my mind and have decided I am NOT closing shop.

Not that Etsy and I have kissed and made up. Oh no! That's not us you see in the card above:)

It's just that I didn't want to risk giving them the satisfaction of closing my shop again! I'm staying open to spite them. hehehe
I posted on the forums and point-blank asked, seeking a reply from Administration, to state their official response to Protesty and address whether or not they will close the shops who participate. No answer.

According to their terms of use, they are obligated to do so for our shop announcement area cannot be used to air disputes against anyone, Etsy in particular. And the Protesty folks have a one-line sentence that they are suggesting you post with your On Vacation announcement. I don't recall now exactly what the statement is....but regardless...what I really wanna tell you....

I had the most wonderful customer service experience with Zazzle! A customer from Canada wanted two FrenchKissed images printed as posters, so I went into my Zazzle store and created two listings for her. Well, things got complicated because the Zazzle US site was having a big poster sale but not the Zazzle Canadian site and she wanted to take advantage of the sale but couldn't create a US account. Long story short, I put the order in for her, using her Paypal address as the shipping address.

A month went by. Still no posters. Figuring my efforts were all in vain, I nonetheless contacted Zazzle and asked about the order. "Would Canadian customs be holding up the posters this long?"
I got a reply in 24-hours. They assured me that her posters should have already arrived. If I could verify her shipping address, they would reprint the order and get a new set of posters off to her ASAP.

I double-checked with my customer and she had made a mistake inputting her address on Paypal. One letter in the zip code was wrong. When I explained this to Zazzle, I figured they would rescind on their offer for free replacement copies. NOT so! In less than a week, I got an email from Canada.

They arrived!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They are gorgeous and I am so very happy. I can not thank you enough for all of your help. I am so very appreciative. ...  I am more than extremely pleased!

Don't you love stories with happy endings?:)

Mary of Washington wrote and asked to know more about the fan postcard I had posted last week. The furry, fuzzy background is mostly worn off, but I'm quite proud of my find. Fan postcards can be quite pricey. Most recently I came across one with an asking price of 61 euros! 

I stole mine for a mere 3 euros....

The fan blades are plastic. The top added pansies petals are like felt. 

As you can see from the back side, there's no date or stamp.So I'm assuming it was delivered in an envelope. Sent to Mademoiselle Gabrielle "chez ses parents cafe" in Castelnaudary, France. Located in the Aude department in southern France, Castelnaudary is southeast of Toulouse. I feel confident in saying the card is pre-World War I, likely very early 1900s. 

At first glance, I thought Francois was saying something about "Raiders" ... but upon closer examination, I see that the only thing invading was good kisses. 

Yes, that's "Bons Baisers" -- Francoise just writes with a little extra flourish, I think:) 

Best wishes for all and that last line  -- something to you?? 

Few more items on the agenda!
I've posted a link to a new blog I've discovered: Paris Avant. The blogger posts an antique photo of Paris and a picture of that same scene as it is today. I don't know anything more. I  just learned about it from a commenter on Eric's Paris Daily Photo site and I'm looking forward to checking it out more...

Speaking of commenters....how's this for a perfect segue...as a thank you for taking your time to drop in and leave a comment, I'm going to start having a weekly winner among commenters. I'll use the Random Number Generator thingie and the winner gets to pick 2 free scans, $3.99 or under, from my Zibbet shop (or Etsy)!  So leave a comment! Every Monday along with the weekly freebie, I'll do the random number thingie and the lucky commenter from the week before will be announced. IF you want to save your comment for voting on Part II of the Kissed Again! contest which I'll be posting before the week's out, you can...but there's no rule against commenting more than twice a week:)

And if you're looking for something to set a bonfire under your creative self  to enter the monthly Love Me TWO! challenge, how's this:

Deadline extended to May 15 for the latest round of mail art swapping. IF you miss the deadline, don't worry. Send something in for the next round! Use freebies posted here, use FrenchKissed scans you've bought ... just create and participate! You'll love what you get in return:)