Since posting about my copyright infringement saga, a number of people have come to my defense, and the entire internet drama has really reached a clamor and come to a head. I want to repost a few things here for the record.

I really don’t want to get into the background of what’s been happening before and after I published my previous post in the mailling community (and I recognize there’s lots of other places other than the maille artisans site) but there is an entire thread on weave restrictions going on here, on the Maille Artisans site, which you can read if you like. I do want to point out a few things in this situation, and in so doing, I’ll just repost a post I made to that thread:

Oddly, I find myself coming to Legba’s defense.

[snipped links to her flickr stream]

In my opinion, I think there are three issues here.

Legal copyright, the maille community, and the strength of said copyrights.

One has nothing to do with the others.

Legally, I don’t believe that Legba (believed she) did anything wrong in registering her copyrights and enforcing them. These are all for pieces of jewelry which she created and she (believes she) holds the copyright on them, regardless of registration.

I think technically (and I am very sorry for saying so, Laura *hug*) Laura copied her design, even without the pearl drop, and as such, infringed on Legba’s inherit copyright. Laura obviously did not think it was wrong to do so and made this mistake in error.

The problem comes with the 2nd issue — the maille community. Over the past 2+ years since Legba posted the original weave, others have made the weave, posted their variations, & Legba herself has posted her designs. Due to the sharing nature of the site, it is quite possible for someone to mistake a jewelry design for something that they can freely make a copy of. In the recent past, from what I’ve looked through, Legba has even posted that such and such design are copyrighted. (Sadly, she turns around and deletes these comments at times.)

Probably the best route for Legba to have taken was to post something initially, saying, “hey I got some of my work published and as such I am going to need to start enforcing copyright on these pieces, just FYI. Here they all are! Cheers!” This would have alleviated much, if not ALL of this mess. There would be no hiding behind shadowy publishing companies and mystery on what is protected and why and “OMGWTFBBQ, can I not make stepping stones at all now? PANIC!?!” etc. Mass hysteria would have never been.

THAT BEING SAID! HOWEVER!

IN MY CASE, however, I believe that Legba copyrighted her design without checking to see if anyone else had actually made something similar, as I had. A simple enough mistake, sadly compounded by her present actions. I tried to point out the fact that my item(s) predate hers, and she sent me the cease and desist, fine. I am through discussing and reject her claims to the otherwise. The ball is in her court if she wishes to persue legal action.

Legally, I don’t think Legba has done anything wrong except in my case.

and now comes the second HOWEVER!

WOULD THESE COPYRIGHTS STAND UP??

Whether or not ALL of those copyrights would/will actually stand up in court is another question ENTIRELY. I think the ones with a lot of detail such as Athena’s Tears and the piece with the X and the pearl drop (again, sorry Laura!) would stand the best chance of that.

The others, including the pendant which she claims I infringe on, is a toss up. Not a lot of, as someone had stated, “artistic STUFF” going on there. This is the discussion that could have continued when these pieces were originally posted, if Legba had been willing to participate in them.

-amy

I just want that little piece “on the record” of my blog, as it were.

Finally, Legba/Sara contacted me again today, and I submit our following interaction.

I admit.. I was bitchy.

(I think I had a tiny right to be after all this, but there you go. Bitchy.)

subject: can we reach an understanding?

Your blogpost is very interesting but shows a lack of copyright understanding. You have actually used my photo from MAIL on it without my permission despite MAIL’s very clear copyright statement, this is another infringement, please link but don’t post my photo on your blog.

I see you have chosen to credit me with the weave design on Etsy, thank you, that was all I asked for in the end so maybe you can now stop pot stirring and post on MAIL that we seem to have reached an understanding (have we?).

If I choose to issue a take down notice against you on Etsy or Flickr, it would then be your job to prove my copyright wrong not my job to prove it is right. However I have no intention of issuing take down notices unless you continue to stir things up. So please let’s get past this and carry on with our jewellery work as ‘comrades’ rather than enemies, it is not healthy for either of us. I am happy with the credit you have given me and I hope you will be happy knowing that I am sorry for causing you stress over this issue.

I would appreciate some kind of acknowledgement to this email even if it’s to tell me to get lost.

She was correct. I removed the offending image.

My reply:

I acknowledge receipt of your email. To sum up: I intend to continue selling my items on Etsy, my own website, http://rainestudios.net, and on any other site as I see fit until a court orders me otherwise. I have no issue with stating, “based on Stepping Stones weave, created by Corvus Chainmaille.” — this verbage is, and has always been, in my page of instructions in the kits I sell (along with a direct link to the Maille Artisans site tutorial) as a courtesy.

I still reject any claim that my pendant/earrings infringe upon any copyright you have registered, any my inclusion of the “based on” language is not intended as any admission or acknowledgment of any infringement or as a settlement of any claim you have or may have later.

See? Bitchy. Lawyerish bitchiness – but again, I think I had a right to be on the defensive. Plus, I was DONE. I had done my research, wrote a blog post about it, drew my line in the sand and in my mind, it was up to her as to how she wanted to react. She could do what she liked, whether it be issue take downs, or talk to her lawyer, or take a nap, and it didn’t need to concern me anymore until I got a notice from Etsy, or papers delivered to me by a sheriff, because I WAS DONE.

Amy
I did state that the credit for the weave was all I wanted (not at first but later) in an effort to resolve this issue. That is what I’m trying to do, resolve this issue. If you are happy to give credit (not admit infringement) then I am happy.
Am I to understand that that we do indeed have an agreement? That being, that we both made this design independently. Am I to assume that you accept my apology? If so can you please post on MAIL and your blog that we have reached an understanding?
If the answer is ‘no’ to any of these then I will have to speak to my legal counsel again. This is not a threat of any action but you must realise that you have been discussing the issue between us publicly and that could put you in a poorer position.
Please respond.
Sara

She did state earlier that she wanted credit for her design.

At that time, I took that to mean that she wanted credit for her PENDANT design, and to be fair, she could very well have meant the weave in general. That’s fine. I had previously stated on all my pieces, “based on the Stepping Stones weave” and had added “by Corvus Chainmaille” when I re-activated them on Etsy – I have absolutely no problem with that at all.

I was still very much done and seeing red with the entire situation however, and did not see any reason for her to be emailing me, especially if she had the credit she wanted. So read my continued bitchiness below:

For some reason, you believe our mutual agreement will end this issue on the Maille site.

Whether or not we come to any agreement doesn’t mean everyone will say, “oh good, no worries everyone, it’s all OK now!” This is an issue that affects everyone in the maille community and it will continue to be discussed whether you do or do not participate, or if I accept your apology or not (which by the way, I’m not sure I actually ever heard? “Accept my apology, or I’ll tell Etsy/Flickr/my lawyer on you” doesn’t exactly sound like an apology to me.)

I have stated my intentions, and if you can live with them, that is up to you. No further agreement or non agreement is necessary, just your acceptance or non acceptance and your chosen actions thereafter. I will continue to post on the Maille site and my own personal website the details of my experiences and interactions as I see fit.

But since you seem to require it, we do seem to have an understanding. As for the rest, I don’t really care about your apology. Thanks anyway, feel free to tell your lawyer that we didn’t kiss & make up, or hug it out in the end.

Her reply:

Your attitude stinks, you are ignoring my apology which is quite clearly there below “I hope you will be happy knowing that I am sorry for causing you stress over this issue.” there were no buts or ifs after it.

She is dead right about my attitude stinking. It did. I still had a very large chip on my shoulder and was intent on driving my point home until there was a 10 foot hole in the ground. Ah well. She wanted a happy ending, and I was intent on drawing it out.

Oh high road, I bet it’s nice up there! I sure wish I had taken you!

So it is all over – I need to check over all my listings to make sure I have everything proper, but I have no issue with doing so.

I want to make a few things clear though. While I flew off on the defensive when accused of copyright infringement, I STRONGLY believe that designers should have the right of ownership over their designs.

I STRONGLY beleive that Legba SHOULD HAVE AND DOES HAVE THE RIGHT TO COPYRIGHT HER DESIGNS. Absolutely and forever and ever amen. If my previous post detailing this experience has muddled that up at all, I want to make it clear. Designers deserve rights to their property. That is why copyright exists.

Should a copyright exist on a weave? I don’t think it should, no, but far more experienced chainmaillers than I can weigh in on that one.

I think it was said PERFECTLY by CShake on the thread I mentioned above,

If anyone posts a weave to the weave library, it is explicitly there for others to make themselves, including variations. If the submitter wants to keep control over who is “allowed” to use their weave, it should not be in the library – the gallery is the place for that if anywhere, and with a note to that effect. Be aware that someone else may make the weave independently if you don’t post yours (there are only so many ways to connect a bunch of rings), and if there is no entry they can submit it, at which point anyone can make it without fear of being stopped.

But people, if you took significant inspiration from someone else’s piece when you made your variation – Say so! Say “inspired by so-and-so”! If you are so inspired that you want to make the same thing they did with no variations – ASK THEM! The majority of people here will be flattered and say “go ahead”, but then again you may run into someone who says “No, it’s mine, make your own” in which case that’s what you should do.

Very well said. In asking him if I could quote him, he did give me this addendum:

Sure, quote me, I expect that when I post in public

However, the official FAQ here states “All submissions to M.A.I.L. remain the copyrighted property of the original submitters. They just grant us the right to publish their property on our website. If you want to use their work, you need to contact them directly and ask their permission.”, so my part about explicitly granting the right to make the weave may not technically be correct. It’s just how I and many of the board of directors feel. I don’t want to be quoted as stating the official policy, just my opinion on the matter is all.

Well fuck! Oh copyright, how your tenants shall elude us all!

So anyway.

How could all of this been avoided?

I don’t know. I really don’t.

Looking back at the entire incident and putting myself in Sara’s shoes, I really don’t know how I would go about informing someone they are infringing on my copyright. Whether I came up with it independently or not, she was doing her duty, and when you have to do that kind of duty you instantly put that person you are dutying in Super! Uber! DEFEND! mode, at least I certainly was put in that mode.

And honestly, I have not designed anything nearly as extraordinary as Sara has. Have you looked through all those flickr links I posted? Amazing. My modest little pendant is nothing special compared to her talent and I’m sure a ton of people would/will/have/whatever come up with that thing on their own. I wish her the best and hope she will continue her generosity with the mailling community.

I hope that someday I will be as innovative and as STUNNING of a designer as her so I will have to issue my own copyright infringements.

EEP, I hope not!

-amy

I find myself in the very interesting position of being accused of copyright infringement.

Specifically, these pieces:

I sell these finished jewelry pieces, and I also sell supply kits, complete with the necessary jump rings, findings, and a page of tips for construction. I was asked repeatedly by other chainmaillers for a kit until I finally did (seriously, if it weren’t for Jessica in Ontario, there would be no kits!!) I also freely give the ring sizes I used to others when they ask – no kit purchase required. I do not however, sell a tutorial, instead, I point to the Maille Artisans site, as I firmly believe that there are plenty of free chainmaille resources on the internet and why re-invent the wheel? (Also – I suck at tutorials.)

The accuser claimed that it is an infringement of her pendant on Etsy (I am not going to put her image here, you’ll have to click to see. Please do click through though, because this post will make much more sense if you see what I’m talking about).

INSERTED 9/1/2010 to add~~~~~~

I have been accused of being “one sided” which, I think is a stretch, but here is the conversations from Etsy, preceding our email interactions below.

Etsy time stamp: 26 August 2010 9:42am EDT
I’m sorry to have to contact you about this but this design is copyrighted. I invented the Stepping Stones weave and copyrighted 8 specific designs using it. This pendant and these earrings:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/36361488/shenandoah-earrings-sterling-silver

are one of those designs.
UKCS Registration Services © 323379
Please could you either remove these from your shop and anywhere else they might be or change the design slightly (e.g. if you replaced the bottom ring with one the same size as the top it would not be one of the copyrighted designs).
I would rather not get Etsy’s legal department involved as this would be stress for both of us so please take this as a friendly ask.
Yours sincerely
XXX

Etsy time stamp: 26 August 2010 10:16am EDT
Thanks for contacting me Sara. Could you please send me a copy of the copyright and the other 8 designs? I would like to see for myself please.

Etsy time stamp: 26 August 2010 10:35am EDT
OK I am not required by law to do this but here are photos of the certificate
[snipped]
with their address
[snipped]

and the 8 designs are
[snipped]
although this is copyrighted I allow people to use it

[snipped]
the one in question here and I have been assured by legal counsel that hanging the other way does not change the design enough.

[snipped]
[snipped]
[snipped]
[snipped]
[snipped]
[snipped]

XXXX

THe next 3 messages were the fact that pictures didn’t come through asking for my email, I gave it, and then she said, “On the way”

Thanks, I will look for them. The pendant and earrings are deactivated, and also the kits I sell in my supplies shop. I’m confused as to why the bracelet is OK? I just would like to read what the copyright is so as to better inform myself.

Thanks again!

26 August 2010 10:51am EDT

~~~~~~~ END INSERT.

I was at first aghast, but then grew a bit suspicious. You see, I learned the Stepping Stones weave right on the Maille Artisans site.

For the non-maillers out there, the The Maille Artisans site is a fantastic resource for anyone interested in chainmaille, and is self touted as “an international community of artisans and volunteers dedicated to the advancement of the chainmaille art form. We aim to encourage the sharing and spreading of information, archiving as many techniques and weaves as possible.”

A weave is a pattern of rings linked together in a certain way. The weave can be used alone, or it can be tweaked with different ring sizes or embellished as the weaver sees fit. Chainmaille weaves can be used for jewelry, armor, clothing, accessories – the list is endless. The Maille Artisans site hosts a weave gallery, free tutorials, member galleries of photos, and forums for chainmaillers.

I have seen the Stepping Stones weave used countless times on the site and off with no mention of any copyright or wrong doing, so when I made up my own Stepping Stones pieces, I had no thought of copyright violation. In fact, I prided myself in creating a piece that actually differs significantly in look.

Here is a picture of the Stepping Stones weave as is posted on the maille artisans site:

[Click to see the Weave Photo - removed due to copyright issues]

Here is a picture of my bracelet, based on the same weave. I do credit the weave itself in my product description (“based on the Stepping Stones weave”):

(linked to my blog post from my very first attempt at this weave. Later renditions show small changes from this one, mostly in the fact that the small rings meandering in between the large rings connect in TWO places instead of ONE, as is shown in this photo.)

You can see that the ring sizes I chose makes for a very different look to the bracelet, which I why I choose to name my piece “Shenandoah” – it has the look of a winding river. After I made the bracelet, I completed the earrings and pendant as well.

It is also worth noting, that my accuser had NOT tried to enforce her copyright against my bracelet — ONLY the pendant/earrings. This is NOT because she did not hold a registered copyright on them, but because she chose not to.

Back to the subject at hand, you can understand my suspicion when a weave tutorial is posted on the Maille Artisans site, freely available to all, and then the creator of this weave, all of a sudden begins enforcing her copyright. [9/1/2010 INSERTED] I am not claiming that it is not within her rights to enforce her copyrights, it just seemed fishy to me and it roused my suspicions enough to investigate rather than rolling over.[/END INSERT]

I asked the accuser to see the copyrights, and while I was waiting, temporarily took my Etsy listings down. She acquiesced, and sent them to me. She sent me the copy of the certificate along with photographs of 8 designs, including the Stepping Stone weave in general. Again, as I mentioned before, she stated that she is not enforcing the copyright for the generic Stepping Stones weave.

The UK copyright certificate was dated August 12, 2010, which she explained this way:

… The registration date is 12th August this year but intellectual property copyright is legal from the first recorded instance of the design which can be found on my Flickr account.

The [pendant] in question [is] here and I have been assured by legal counsel that hanging the other way does not change the design enough.

She included photos of the 8 registered designs, which did include the general Stepping Stones weave. (If one is curious as to which designs she has registered, they can look in her flickr stream as she has indicated the copyright on all the photos in question, as of this blog posting.)

The registration date was an instant red flag. The registration had just been done in the past 30 days. The weave has existed on the Maille Artisans site for over two years. What is up with this? She has registered her copyright on a weave that has been circulating on the internet for over two years, and then turns around and tries to enforce it?

Now, now Amy, hold on — while she registered the general Stepping Stones weave itself, she stated in her email that she is NOT enforcing that particular copyright, which she must know is impossible. Not only could it not be enforced without an army after all this time — it’s been made hundreds of times (maybe thousands?) by maillers internationally — but the question of whether the copyright would actually hold is in question. The Stepping Stones weave is based on the Japanese 12-in-2 weave, and has close ties to Hodo as well, what if someone had used different ring sizes as I had — is it really even copyrightable? She chose to sidestep all these questions quite neatly by stating she is not enforcing the copyright on the weave.

Well, very good then.

So what about the design in question? The other designs she included in her email were very specific, they were stunning, in fact, designs using the Stepping Stones weave. Some pieces had a very specific look and use gemstone drops. Surely these are copyrightable? I would venture to say (though I am not a lawyer, nor do I play one on TV) yes, absolutely!

But what if someone else had never seen one of those designs?

What if someone used different sized jump rings?

What if her design is for 14 gauge rings, and someone else’s is 16 gauge?

What if, say, someone else’s pendant used 11 doubled jump rings around the outside instead of 10, as hers does?

What if someone else worked for hours piecing together, taking apart, and then reconstructing, trying one size, and then another, finally deciding on using TWO different sized connecting smaller jump rings — one size connecting to the inner big ring, and then another ring only .25mm smaller than the first to connect the outer jump rings, so that no rings bunched together from the rings being too loose, and so the pendant, when finished would be super stiff and not at all floppy? (Sorry for all the non-maillers that I just totally lost!)

What if that someone (OH, OK, I ADMIT IT, IT’S ME!) shed blood and tears over getting those pesky outer rings THROUGH those super tight connecting rings, causing frustration and profanity and I am not too proud to admit, the hurling across the room of said pendant/earrings?

OK, I’m not sure how much a courtroom judge would care about the throwing across the room part, but my point is — I worked hard at my pendant/earrings, I determined my own sizes, I used my own construction method, and this part is key —

I HAD NEVER SEEN HER PENDANT BEFORE, EVER.

I don’t claim to be a copyright lawyer and so make no claims as to whether these are legitimate legal grounds in a copyright case, but the fact that I independently came up with my earrings and pendant, having never seen HER pendant before seemed pretty compelling to me.

I had initially removed my listings when I received her copyright claims, and so the first order of business seemed to be to investigate further into the dates of each of our pendant/earring designs. Going by what she told me — that the copyright is from the “first recorded instance of the design which can be found on my Flickr account” — I went there to go looking.

Mine weren’t easy. I hadn’t posted my first instance of my earrings/pendant in my jewelry set, but I had uploaded a few crappy iphone photos straight to my photostream. A little careful looking in the archives by date and I had found my first earrings:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/crazymokes/3877310209/in/dateposted/

These are dated September 1, 2009 (taken and posted to flickr on the same day). I can also corroborate these photos with posts made during the same time frame to another chainmaille group.

Then I took a careful look at the pendant in her flickr account. The obvious photo that I saw was dated December 8 2009 (taken December 8 2009, posted to flickr December 9, 2009):

http://www.flickr.com/photos/redcrow/4170865099/sizes/s/in/set-72157611096575542/

This is several months after my own photographic evidence. Still, I had to go hunting in my own archives to find my picture, so I gave her the same benefit of the doubt, looking through each month carefully to see if any sign of this pendant had been missed.

I found nothing.

Many of her other designs were created in 2008, but this one, even with careful picking through the archives of her photostream, did not appear until December 2009.

After all my poking around, I grew more and more convinced that my pendant/earrings actually predated hers, and so I emailed her to that effect:

Thank you for forwarding [the copyright information] to me, I appreciate it, especially as I could not find the designs by the number you referenced in the UK design search.

I believe my pendant/earrings design preceded yours, as mine is dated October 2009, and yours dates December 2009.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/crazymokes/3877310209/in/dateposted/

Did you create this piece previous to December 2009? I see others dated in 2008, but not this specific piece.

Her response to this was a generic link to the Stepping Stone weave:

yes all the pieces were originally made in the same year as the Stepping Stones weave was submitted to MAIL. http://www.mailleartisans.org/weaves/weavedisplay.php?key=803
Dated February 2009

She had not pointed to any proof that her pendant came before mine. Regardless, I really wasn’t sure what to do at this point. I thought about posting my dilemma to the Maille Artisans site, but I am not an active poster on the Maille Artisans site and was afraid of being lampooned as a relative upstart compared to the maillers who have been there for many years (my accuser included).

I thought maybe I could let it go.

I tried to let it go all weekend, but it festered and would not stop. She hadn’t answered my question. My pendant had been created first. Hadn’t it? Wouldn’t my copyright predate hers?

Finally, I decided I couldn’t let it go. Even if she had created her pendant before mine, I had created my earrings/pendant independently, with no reference to hers (which is easy to prove, since I couldn’t find any record of her pendant before December 2009).

I went looking on the Maille Artisans site also, where she has shown a history of posting her designs in the forum.

I think she may have initially posted this pendant in this thread:

http://www.mailleartisans.org/board/viewtopic.php?t=14641

But then afterward deleted the photo and her comments due to others wondering about the legality of using “Twilight inspired” in connection with her jewelry. This thread date matches the date of the pendant appearing in her flickr stream, as early December 2009.

This strengthened my resolve, and I emailed her one last time:

XXXX, I don’t see any photos of that specific piece made before December 2009. I’ve looked through your flickr stream carefully and the Maille site. If I am missing it, please point it out directly to me. If not, then my pendant predates it and you are violating my copyright.

I will be reposting my listings on Etsy.

I immediately reposted my listings on Etsy — both for my finished jewelry, and also for my supply kits — Again, please note, that I do not profit from selling tutorials of chainmaille weaves that are largely available for FREE all over the internet. I feel quite strongly about this. I instead point customers to these resources, rather than charging for my own tutorial. (I would love to take credit for this noble act to forward the art of chainmaille — (which I do faithfully believe), but the fact is I’m just too lazy to even make a free tutorial. There are gorgeously done tutorials out there if one would care to google cough cgmaille.com ahem.)

After my email was sent, she responded in kind:

Just because I don’t have a photo on Flickr of that date does not mean that it wasn’t made before yours. If you relist on Etsy I will be forced to issue a take down notice and inform my legal council.

I did not respond.

She soon emailed me a cease and desist form letter, giving me 30 days to act, or face dire consequences. I did note that she quoted U.S. law, whereas before, she was acting on a UK copyright registration.

[INSERTED 9/1/2010:

Here is the exact email she sent me:

It has come to my attention that you have made an unauthorized use of my copyrighted work entitled Stepping Stones pendant (the “Work”) in the preparation of a work derived therefrom. I have reserved all rights in the Work, first published in December of 2008, and have registered copyright therein. Your work entitled “Shenandoah pendant” is essentially identical to the Work and you have, by your own admission, used the Work as its basis.

As you neither asked for nor received permission to use the Work as the basis for “Shenandoah pendant” nor to make or distribute copies, of same, I believe you have willfully infringed my rights under 17 U.S.C. Section 101 et seq. and could be liable for statutory damages as high as $150,000 as set forth in Section 504(c)(2) therein. Violation of copyright law is also considered a federal crime when done willfully with an intent to profit as set forth in 17 U.S.C. Section 506(a)(1)(A) and 17 U.S.C. Section 506(c) therein. Criminal penalties include up to 10 years imprisonment and fines of up to $2,500 under 18 U.S.C. 2319.

I demand that you immediately cease the use and distribution of all infringing works derived from the Work, and all copies of same, that you deliver to me, all unused, undistributed copies of same, or destroy such copies immediately and that you desist from this or any other infringement of my rights in the future. If I have not received an affirmative response from you by September 20th, 2010 indicating that you have fully complied with these requirements, I shall take further action against you.
XXXX

I did not respond.

She followed up with this final email:

Just to prove my point I have uploaded the originally made pendant to my Flickr as you know the date of when the photo was taken cannot be changed (it’s a rubbish photo which is why I didn’t use it before), it is dated Feb 2009, predating yours and this is when the copyright came into being. The date of the registration of the copyright has no bearing on this.

I was instructed by my legal council to send the last email but I do not expect you to abide by all the demands set out in it. However if you are going to continue to post/sell the design and sell kits credit should be given to me for the original design. If you fail to do this I will take further action.

Here is the uploaded photo that she is referring to.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/redcrow/4944800152/in/photostream/

I do not accept this as any sort of proof, as EXIF data is easily changed through a myriad of downloadable freeware. Regardless, seeing as how she had to upload it to prove herself, it wasn’t on the internet anywhere September 2009, when I created my pendant.

The entire episode is interesting, especially in light of the 5 pointed maille flowers copyright fiasco — which I will not comment on.. Oh, how I wish to comment on, but I will refrain.

As for me — I won’t be responding to my accuser via email any further. Aside from this blog post (which I admit is a response of some kind) if she would like to prove her claims of infringement, she is welcome to do so in court.

-Amy

My kids are pretty good readers, in that they enjoy sitting down and reading, you know, when they have to. Or when Mommy hid the Legos and Barbies. OK, I don’t do that — those legos are very small and difficult to pick up, you know, and when I pick up Barbie, I am overpowered by the need to style her hair.

So no, seriously, they do enjoy books and have always enjoyed books. Jocelyn has taken to reading in a scary way this past kindergarten year, and many the time James and I have looked at each other with eyes wide and said, “Did she really just read ‘Transcendentalism?’” I know you’re not supposed to compare your children, but dude! She is *way* better at reading at this age than Ethan was at this age!

Reading has been a little trickier for Ethan, mostly because he prefers to look at the first letter of a word and then take a while guess if he doesn’t know it, rather than, you know, that pesky sounding it out and all. This however, hasn’t dampened his love of reading at all, and this past 2nd grade year when the “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” movie came out and the craze swept the elementary school, he read through all three books within, and I swear I’m not making this up, 15 minutes.* There just may have been a few words in there that he took wild stabs at, and when asked, he has no idea of the names of the characters — this is due, I’m sure, to just not having heard them said out loud.** Don’t worry. He can tell you word for word the fart joke told by said character.

*OK, I made that up.
** This coming from a person who pronounced, in her head, the word ‘gigantic’ as “guy-gan-tick” all the way up into jr high because she had only seen it spelled. Not judging here!

I have actually totally longed for this. I have always had a great love of books, and growing up, always had a book in my hand or in my backpack waiting to be in my hand. I devoured children’s literature and then young adult literature and never really outgrew any of it. I still have many of my books from my teenage years on my shelves, and steadfastly refuse to get rid of them — especially not NOW, not when we’re RIGHT ON THE CUSP of our own children being able to READ them!!

A lot of my favorite books are geared a tad more for girls than boys, Noel Streatfield with her “Shoe” books (Ballet Shoes, Dancing Shoes, Skating Shoes are my top 3), Frances Hodgeson Burnett with “The Little Princess” and “The Secret Garden” and of course the complete works of Lucy Maud Montgomery, of “Anne of Green Gables” fame. Jocelyn, while a great kindergarten reader, is still a few years away from these.

But there are plenty children’s books that would be perfect for Ethan, and for years James and I would say, “Is he old enough for X?” “No, probably not quite yet.” And so we’ve stuck with the Junie B and Magic School Bus, and Nate the Great. Oh and Star Wars, let’s not forget the 1,472 Star Wars EZ readers that grace our shelves.

Until we introduced Harry Potter.

We drove out to Utah in June, a decision that must have been made in delirium for all the sense it made. My brother and his family were going out, and when 1 member of a 6 sibling family decides to go visit (that’s right! I am the 2nd youngest of 6 children!), a mob mentality often kicks in and other siblings will try to make it as well. We didn’t really have the time to go for very long, which makes this decision to DRIVE TO UTAH even MORE daft, but there you have it. We drove to Utah, spent 4 days, and then drove back. That was 6 days of driving, for 4 days in Utah. Like I said. A decision made in delirium.

Another decision I made, which actually turned out OK, was to forego the portable DVD player. It always has cords everywhere and switching DVDs is a pain and Jocelyn always gets bored of it after 10 minutes anyway. We didn’t forego movies all together, we just skipped the VISUAL of movies. I played movies from my ipod over the car’s audio instead. They have all the movies pretty much memorized anyway, so it worked out fine. I think I did hand over my phone once or twice to let someone who was particularly irritable watch a movie to “just watch this and quit asking Mommy where the hotel is already!”

It was when we were about a day away from Utah that we decided to put in the audio version of Harry Potter and the Sorceror’s Stone. At first, we had no cooperation from the pipsquirts in the back seat.

“Mom, there’s a MOVIE of this.” Ethan informed me.
“Yeah, so?” I replied.
“Don’t you know, it’s better to WATCH something than to have to READ. You can see it better in a MOVIE.”

Oh, words have never cut me to the heart quicker! Luckily, I think he’s since seen the error of his ways.

“Have you seen the movie?” I asked gingerly.
“Parts of it. At daycare.” he replied.

I’ve shielded him from my favorites all this time only for him to catch parts of it at daycare? Oh, my tattered heart! Next someone will just show Jocelyn the good parts of The Last Unicorn!

We listened to Harry Potter, and the kids slowly grew more enthusiastic and enthralled in the story. We listened as the troll almost got Hermione, and Harry got troll bogies (British for boogers! See, it’s educational!). We learned how to “swish and FLICK!” and of course, “ALOHAMORA!” and witnessed a dragon being hatched in Hagrid’s hut — Ethan and Jocelyn went from bored to tears to on the edge of their seats. We reached the beginning of the climactic ending of the first book late at night in the car, and I stopped the tape and informed everyone we’d listen to the ending the NEXT day, as I didn’t want to worry about Jocelyn waking up at 3am being scared. (The girl has watched The Nightmare before Christmas over 100 times, but you never know how she might react to something scary for the first time.)

There was MUCH protesting and whining and promises to not be scared, promise! Which was a far cry from when we had started the book! We finished it the next day, re-listened to bits and pieces whenever we were in the car through our days in Utah, and then went through book 2 on the way home.

That was in June. Since we got home, Ethan has commandeered the CDs to book 2 (we only have book 1 on tape) and has been playing them NONSTOP. The second we get in the car and before I even have my seatbelt fastened, it’s, “Mom, can you turn on Harry Potter?” I will pause it to ask how something went and it’s, “Mom, can you turn on Harry Potter?” We get home and second Ethan’s set down his bag he’s turned on Harry Potter. At night after reading time, he goes to sleep listening to Harry Potter. And in the morning? How I know he’s awake? He’s downstairs playing legos and … you guessed it. Listening to Harry Potter.

I think since June, we listened to book 2 approximately 1 meeeeellion times. You know. Approximately.

Now, let me make sure this is clear. I love Harry Potter. I’ve purchased the books the minute they were released and read them in 24 hours. I’ve seen every Harry Potter movie. James and I even attended a midnight party for the release of book seven. I even listened to a Harry Potter podcast for a while! Sh*t, JAMES AND I listen to Harry Potter when WE fall asleep and have for YEARS!

All this and I never thought I would ever say these words….

I am totally SICK of Harry Potter!

Ethan has even started to read through book one each night during our “reading time” — OK in my book, even though he’s heard it on tape already. We own the movie to the Sorceror’s Stone, which has been on repeat as well, mostly on the weekends.

Finally, in response to book 2 brain overload (it’s been playing every day since JUNE!) I ordered books 3 and 4 on CD so we can listen to them as well, and got Netflix to deliver the book 2 movie. Maybe now we can finish up our Harry Potter summer without Mommy and Daddy going batsh*t crazy

I only hope that this is only the beginning, and someday Ethan and Jocelyn will be just as nutty over some of my other favorite books as well.

I have been going a little nutty over bangle bracelets. I can’t tell you how satisfying and fun it is to make a whole slew of them! About a month ago I had a hankering for a nice thick bangle, one with some real weight to it and today I’ve finally listed my Thick Bangle in copper, brass and sterling silver!

I also managed to photograph and list my (normal thickness) brass bangles, which have been sitting patiently on my photography table waiting for their turn in the spotlight, so you can also check those out.

BUT AMY, YOU SAID THERE WAS A GIVEAWAY?!?

Why yes, I’m so glad you asked!

I’m very excited to annouce that Julie who writes Inspired Shares approached me with praise and gushing for my shop, and asked about doing a giveaway for my thick brass bangle and I, drunk with flattery, gleefully agreed! Visit her blog to see how you can enter to win! I love the items and sites she has featured in the past – the Supermarket Sarah post especially – Love that bathroom!

I’ll have some more jewelry news in a few weeks, in time for fall. Summer has flown by!

We’ve always been big fans of legos in this house, so after attending the last 2 years as the “public”, we decided to do the whole registration, as exhibitors, for this year’s BrickFair 2010. It has been awesome!

This year, they moved from the Tyson’s Sheraton, to the Chantilly Expo Center, a move I thought was a little dubious, as which would you prefer to hang out in? A lovely hotel, or a concrete warehouse? However, it was always totally jam packed at the Sheraton during public hours, so the expo center was definitely the best move.

Public hours are on Saturday and Sunday from 11-4. the public pays $10, enters, looks at all the awesome displays, watches a few Brick Films, builds their own at the Stay and Play, maybe take the little ones for a bounce on the moon bounce, watches the Mindstorms competition, maybe a little Bingo for Lego prizes. All very awesome.

So what do you get if you go the full registration route? Well, first, you pay about $50, instead of $10, and there are no discounted registrations. If you are over 6, you register, and if you’re under 18, you must be accompanied by an adult, who must also register.

But oh the awesomeness you get as a full registrant!!

First of all, you don’t just walk through and look at everyone’s creations. You get to bring your own MOC — “My Own Creation”. Ethan registered his “Pokeball Factory” and a very awesomesauce “Missile Launcher”. Next year, we’ll have to see about ALL of us bringing MOCs!

Here are some of the seminars: Historic Architechture, Teaching Math with The Brick, Landscaping, Lights! Camera! Lego!, Arduino Processor, Bloggers’ Roundtable, and more.

You get to participate in The Running of the Bulls, which is a Lego Store sale – after the store closes, they reopen and sell damaged boxes (barely noticeable damage!) to Brickees for a significant discount. SIGNIFICANT!

There are lots of awesome games – Bingo (the registrants only bingo has the big lego prizes, unlike the mini bingo that the public is allowed to play), Minotaurus Tournament, Combo Build, Speed Build, & Dirty Buildster. After 9pm on Saturday night, they kick out any kids and have BYOB time, with a LEGO Hold’em Tournament, Dirter Brickster, and of course, the Drunk Speed-Build.

There is a charity auction, and a yard sale — where folks put out the stuff they want to unload, and the lego market is open! I saw some vintage legos, still in the box, from the 70s. It was incredible!! there is also opening and closing ceremonies, and awards given for the best MOCs from each category — which registrants get to vote for, and enter, of course!

James went to the Running of the Bulls while I went home with the kids, and the next night, he went home with the kids and I stayed to play Hold’em. (I totally won, came heads up with another guy who lives not even a mile from me, that it turns out I’d met at some other poker events in the area.) James and the kids should have stayed long, because Ethan would have rocked the house with the Dirty buildster (each entrant is given a cup of assorted legos and makes the best creation they can). I was walking around oohing and ahhing as the Dirty Buildsters were creating, when I got tapped to be the co-judge! It was very tough, as they were all so awesome, but the other judge and I didn’t pull each other’s hair too much to decide on the winners.

It has been just incredibly awesome. My only sadness is I keep thinking, “Next year, we need to do that.” or “Next year, we’re definitely doing THIS!” But alas, next year, we will not be in the DC metro area anymore — we’ll be moving to Denver next summer. Maybe we’ll come back for a vacation for BrickFair 2011 — We’ll definitely be making plans for some of the other lego festivals going on around the country (sadly, none in Denver).

If you like Legos, and want to feel what’s it’s like to dock with the Mother Ship and meet more of “your kind of people” — I can’t recommend registering as a full exhibitor at the BrickFair any more — it is just awesome – awesome folks, awesome MOCS, awesome fun.

http://www.brickfair.com

I will post some pictures this week of some of the awesome MOCs on display!

-amy

Yesterday I got up quite early, drove myself to fairfax, and had surgery on my foot.

It was done at my podiatrist’s office, so, very much outpatient, and I was also very much conscious. I took a valium the night before surgery, another when I arrived at the office, and a final one halfway through the prep. The staff seemed to think that I would likely sleep through the procedure, but that doesn’t appear to be my body’s modis operandis – Yes, when I am anxious in the face of possible pain, I like to talk! Incessantly! And to somewhat comic relief, I think! Always the entertainer, that’s me! I kept comparing the effects of the valium by how many drinks it would have taken to bring about the same affects! Blabber blabber, that was me, and I kept it up right through the surgery. The doctor realized that this was my way of not focusing on what he was doing, and started asking me questions on whatever I was talking about, and I informed him that I knew what he was up to! But that’s ok, as it was fine with me.

The worst part was the at the very beginning, when he gave the local anesthetic, and it felt like the injection filled the entire area to about the size of a grapefruit. I couldn’t see though, so that’s probably an exageration. I can’t remember exactly all he said he did, but here’s what I think was done in there – the issues have all been at my 2nd toe joint, and the bones in that joint have slowly squared off, instead of being nice and round like bones are supposed to be when they meet, so he rounded off the bones (which I totally felt, it had a nails on a chalkboard sort of feeling, or actually, like when your dentist scrapes plaque from your teeth. Except he was FILING DOWN MY BONES!) so they would move in the joint better. Not only did the bones need rounded off, but they were also trying to fuse together, or “bridge” which even I sense would be a Bad Thing. I also had a tendon (or was it a ligament?) that needed repair, and a tear in one of the plates that needed stitching.

Overall, it didn’t take long, and I was very comfortable through the entire thing. I blabbered on and on about everything in the world, while the doctor asked leading questions to get me to continue — “I’m on to you, bub!” I think I let out a few times, but I did manage to get him to talk some, about his daughter who’s heading off to college, and life in general.

After it was all over, James arrived (he had to get the kids off to school) in time to hear the post op orders, and then we headed home. The doctor and his staff seemed to think I would sleep most of the day, but I was chipper and wide awake – I think most of the effects of the valium wore off about an hour after I got home, but it took the local longer.

I took my first vicodin around 11 or 12, thinking that it would be better to have it kick in BEFORE I started to feel any pain, and I braced myself for that loopy giddy feeling I remember from percocet after both of my c-sections, but really didn’t feel much of that. By 3, I was feeling a dull ache in my foot and if I dared move, it snarled and roared at me at a much higher pain level, so I called the office and talked to the doctor. James made an emergency run to pick up the prescription and then to target, and brought home some percocet, which I’m happy to say, did the trick quite nicely.

Today has been fairly uneventful, except for a small bout of naseau this morning right when I woke up — apparently, my body needs food WITH the percocet, or I get queasy. James dutifully brought me some bread and butter, and after nomming on that, I felt much better.

It’s been a nice 2 days though – I had ordered some plastic storage boxes to use for jump rings that arrived yesterday, so I was happy as a pig in mud labeling, dumping, checking, relabeling again, and I am so tickled with my new jump ring storage system. That pencil box with zip lock baggies was getting HEAVY and CROWDED, so this was a timely change.

I made some jewelry, played on my new laptop, dozed, watched tv, and dozed some more. I even managed to work for a few hours these past 2 days! Tomorrow will be some more of the same – Ethan and Jocelyn both have games to play, and then the school is having a fun fair they are very excited about, so I’ll be at home blissfully alone to do my own thing. I may have some visitors, as we have some friends in town with TWIN BABIES! I know that feeling of being at someone else’s not-baby-proofed-enough house though, and I won’t really be able to get up and run after babies-making-their-bid-for-FREEDOM! Hopefully they’ll love to be held, and their parents won’t be too alarmed at the massive Nerf Gun arsenal Ethan is currently maintaining on the coffee table.

So that’s the story of surgery! After dealing with a bum foot for about a year now, it will be nice to finally be back to normal *knock on wood*.

-amy waves hi to her foot doc, in case he actually came looking for that domain she mentioned during surgery

From now until Mother’s day (midnight EST 5/9/2010), I’m offering free shipping anywhere from my Etsy shop. Buy something for mom, or hey, a little something for yourself! In addition to the free shipping, if you “heart” my shop — as in, make my etsy shop one of your “favorites”, I’ll refund 15% of your purchase price!

SMALL PRINT: 15% off jewelry only, no tools, kits or supplies. I’ll check and see if the etsy name you bought under has my shop as a favorite, and then refund the 15% back to your paypal account. In order to get the 15% off, I have to be able to see it (sorry, “secret admirer” doesn’t count).
Free shipping is for every order except for pliers – they have to be sent flat rate priority.

I recently both crashed my 4Runner, and purchased a Prius. It was needing the time to detailing these events on the blog that has kept me from updating for so long, but no more! You get the short version, so that I can just blog already!

After the first 3 weeks of desperately gliding and pulsing and watching the energy/MPG screen compulsively to try to get my MPG over 50, I’ve settled down into driving fairly normally (at about 45MPG), smugly smiling and shaking my head at the people who BOLT like they’re at a starting line at a light only for me to catch up to them in 10 yards at the next light (NOTE: I WAS TOTALLY THAT GUY WHO BOLTED), and finally, crusing in the HOV lane with giddy delight every day, thanks to the hybrid laws in VA. (NOTE: OH PLEASE RENEW THIS LAW NEXT YEAR TOO KTHANKXBYE)

I sometimes think about my beloved 4Runner, in the scrap yard, airbags deployed, lonely and abandoned. She was a damn fine truck, and I still miss her. She was 10 years old, but we were planning on keeping her until she couldn’t run anymore, which probably could have been another 10 years.

Jewelry Stuff

I have been amassing tools and supplies, but haven’t gotten quite down to the MAKING of all my grandiose visions yet. I bought myself a Big Girl Torch – like the one I use in class, instead of the little creme brule butane one I managed with at home. And have used it exactly once! Some of my ideas have come to fruition though, namely, my eyeball ring, pink moonglow ring, and several samples for classes which I’ll be teaching in the summer — like this dragonscale pendant, and these interupted byzantine earrings. Shiny!

Also purchased: a alphanumeric stamping set and I have been desperately wanting to stamp “ZOMGWTFBBQ” on something. Also: “PWNED” Any other ideas, I’ll take em! Stay tuned!

After a year of moaning and complaining, I am going to have surgery on my foot this Thursday. The irony? My foot feels AWESOME this week, like nothing’s wrong with it. Wish me luck!

After almost two years, James and I are going to get new Google Droid Incredible phones. I am sure I will be very excited for about 3 months and then settle down and do nothing but play Sudoku and deposit checks online with the USAA app (which is pretty much all I do with my iPhone now!)

-amy is going to try to get back into this here journaling stuff

My beloved Jocelina,

Oh my goodness, you have grown so fast. You are six years old now, and so capable and smart!

You have been breezing through kindergarten with excitement. Daddy and I have watched as you discovered the world of words and jumped right in. “Discovered” is really not the right word, because you discovered it long ago, but you have really blossomed. You have always been creative and artistic, the art table being one of your pastimes – When you were 3 or 4 I let you have tape, as that was the easiest way to keep you from glueing your creations to my walls. There have always been little Jocelyn creations taped up right at Jocelyn level throughout the house. Now there are notes or titles on them as well. My absolute favorite was when you took a chair from the kitchen table and dragged up to the landing between the main floor and the upstairs, facing downward, and carefully spread my red scarf on each step leading up to it, like a red carpet. Then at the bottom, you pasted this sign:

“You may come up now, she is here.”

You explained to my delight, that the chair is where the queen sits, and when the sign is up, that is when people may go up and see her. And then you promptly went and sat yourself in the throne, as it were.

Your joy and exuberance show in every dancing step you take. I apologize for constantly asking you if you have to go to the potty, because your constant dancing – even when you’re seated – make me think you’re doing the peepee dance. I gently remind you, that many times I was right, you did need to go, but when you returned, you danced and wiggled and swayed.

Ever since you were a baby and I stupidly took you to get a haircut where they must have thought you were a boy — I’ve been growing your hair out. You started your 6th year of life at your 5th birthday with lovely long hair already, and it got even longer as the year progressed. However, this presented a few challenges – the first being your hatred of having your hair brushed. And since we always bathe you at night during the week, you always have plenty of tangles the morning after which didn’t make hair brushing time any better.

And we’ve definitely gone back and forth on the length of your hair from time to time. I remember when you decided you wanted SHORT bangs and insisted that I cut them off RIGHT at the scalp. Confused, I finally realized that it wasn’t that you wanted short bangs, it was that you wanted NO bangs at all, and thought cutting them that short would do the trick. We worked on growing your bangs out after that, and they were about down to your chin when you convinced me that you wanted short hair.

Remembering the flip flops before, I gave you plenty of time to change your mind, but you really were adamant – you were ready for short hair, and you insisted that you even wanted to cut your bangs! I think it was the fact that all that hair was really getting in your way at school. I almost cried when we finally did get it cut, but I must admit, you look just cute as a button. We even got it cut again, a bit shorter a month later.

It hasn’t been all sunshine and candy, you are a strong willed girl, and rightly so! That strong will and determination I’m sure is responsible for you being the little night owl that you are – this month you’ve taken to coming downstairs a good hour after your bedtime — which is better than the times you come down 10 minutes after bedtime (complaining that you can’t sleep – Come now, honey, you barely gave it a shot). And when Daddy and I at times exert our will over you, (You must try at least one bite if you want any dessert, it’s time for shower, it’s time to get dressed, markers are NOT FOR WALLS) you have no qualms about letting us know that you are not happy either.

But it’s been a fantastic year, and I marvel at how you’ve grown. My pudgey rolly polly baby is SO tall and thin! I can’t quite see the woman that you will become in your face, but I do know she will be strong, beautiful, exuberant and full of life.

Love,
Mommy

note: I’ve been writing this for 3 weeks now and just want to POST already, but I’ll be adding photos in very soon)

This banner is taken from a note Jocelyn wrote to James, that she really did write all by herself!

“I love you and I did this all by myself. I love you so much, I can just eat you up. From Jocelyn.”

Love love love it.

You can see all my banners here.