Linda B's Blog Giveaway

I'm thrilled to be hosting my first giveaway. And, you'll be pleased because other Etsy sellers are participating too, so your chances of winning prizes increase.

Item no. 1 is from ljctree.etsy.com . It is "hand crafted soap made in small batches. This lovely soap is a french green clay soap fragranced with rosewood and palmarosa, with a light sprinkling of pink rose petals. All of my soaps are hand cut, so they vary a bit in size. This lovely bar is between 2-3 ounces." She is including a bar larger than the one pictured.



See this item at ljctree's shop.

To win this item no. 1, post a comment here about your favorite item in lcjtree's shop, include the word "soap" and leave your contact information so we can get in touch with you if you win.

Item no. 2 is from Deb at the muddy moose. It's a 6 oz. Body Massage Candle. The image is a 4 oz. size, so you'll win a larger pure relaxation candle.



Isn't this a unique idea? You get a candle containing massage oil that you heat up and massage into your body for total relaxation. Six ounces would be good for 3-4 applications, depending on how much oil you use.

To win this item no. 2, visit muddy moose's shop, post a comment here about your favorite item in her shop, include the word "candle" and leave your contact information so we can get in touch with you if you win.

Item no. 3 is from my shop. It's a useful 2009 calendar covered with polka dot paper and a cat image. Each page shows one week and it flips open vertically for easy use.

Click here to see more details.

To win this item no. 3, visit my shop, post a comment here about your favorite item, include the word "calendar" and leave your contact information so we can get in touch with you if you win.







Item no. 4 is also from me, it's a pair of pink glass earrings on silver plated earwires. They are 1.5 inches long and listed here.





To win item no. 4, visit my shop, post a comment here about your favorite item, include the word "pink" and leave your contact information so we can get in touch with you if you win.



Rules:

-1 comment per day is accepted.
-You get 1 additional entry if you follow my blog.
-You get 1 additional entry if you tell me how you heard about this giveaway.
-You get 2 more entries if you purchase an item from the Etsy shops listed or my artfire shop and post your transaction number in a blog comments.
-If you do not select an item number, an item will be selected for you.
-Winner only gets one prize.
-Entries without contact information will not be counted.

The fine print:
-Linda B. is not responsible for sending the soap or candle items from the other gracious Etsy sellers.
-This contest is open only to people over 18 years of age.
-The prize winners agree to having their comments quoted on this blog or at my Website or other online medium, after I contact them for further information.

Comments will be accepted through March 12, 2009. Prize winners will be notified by email.

Good luck.

Thurs. Blog Giveaway - Wanna Be In?

On Thurs., in honor of my parents Wedding Anniversary, I'd like to have a blog giveaway with my items and a couple from other sellers. Want to participate?

So far, I have a mini book, earrings and soap.

If you'd like to participate, please let me know. Need:

A Description of the item, and url
Price
Permission to use photos and shop name

Thanks a bunch. This will be my first blog giveaway!

I'm excited!

Earrings in a Spotlight

"Handmade Honeys in Chi-Town" created a spotlight including my Pretty Green Earrings.

I'm excited. Aren't you?

Thanks.

Mardi Gras

Today is Fat Tuesday. I made a memory wire Mardi Gras red, yellow, green, black bracelet


What is Mardi Gras?
Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday, is the final day of Carnival, which begins on the Feast of the Epiphany, or Jan. 6, which is also known as Kings' Day or Twelfth Night.

Twelfth Night celebrates the arrival of the three kings at Jesus' birthplace, thus ending the Christmas season. And in New Orleans, simultaneously starting Carnival. This festival of fun finds its roots in various pagan celebrations of spring, dating back 5,000 years.

Pope Gregory XIII made it a Christian holiday when, in 1582, he put it on his Gregorian calendar (the 12-month one we still use today). He placed Mardi Gras on the day before Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. That way, all the debauchery would be finished when it came time to fast and pray.

To those of you who observe Lent, I hope you choose something easy, like The Big Easy. And, I promise not to tell you that you have dirt on your forehead.

So, party and have fun today, for tomorrow it changes.

BookWormz: Your Chance to Win a BookWorm!#comment-form#comment-form

Check out this great giveaway.

BookWormz: Your Chance to Win a BookWorm!#comment-form#comment-form

In a Spotlight - EtsyTwitter Team

I found out that my turquoise chandelier earrings are in a spotlight today. Please have a look here.

And, I'm a new member of the Etsy Bloggers Team. Woohoo!

I'm excited.

Thanks for your support.

First Spotlight

I've made my first spotlight of Linda B's Jewelry Designs. Can't capture an image right now, so please check it out.

Thanks.

Featured Etsy Seller - PhotosbyPenny

I met Penny is one of the Etsy threads and wanted to share her shop with you.

Here's one of my favorite items in her shop.



This is my interview with Penny:
Penny: "First of all...thank you, thank you, thank you!

I am a SAHM of three: 4, 10, 15. I have been married to the love of my life for over 15 years. Our family is trying to be more responsible and efficient with all of our resources, including finances.... I love to craft, especially cards and scrapbooks and as you can read in my blogs, photography has had a place in my life for years. I love taking pictures of my kids and of our area. We live in a beautiful river valley in Oregon. Nothing compares to God's creation!

My Blog is called Photos by Penny, and you can find it here. I post some photos and my thoughts occasionally, as well as links to Etsy and Winkelf."

Linda: What is your favorite color combination?
Penny: I love greens...with crisp whites or blues.

Linda: What is the first thing you can remember making by hand? How and why did you make it?
Penny: I grew up doing a lot of craft type projects...I remember making potholders on a little plastic loom with the nylon loops. I got the loom as a gift and used it to make gifts for my family. I got my first camera when I was 10. I bought it with my own money...$20 was quite a sum! It took 110 film. When I would get the pictures developed they were cute little squares. I loved to take pictures of our creek by the house, my family and even a picture of my ten speed bike!

Linda: What inspires you?
Penny: Nature (awe inspiring) and my family...faces, moments...

Linda: Where do your ideas come from?
Penny: I like to capture moments that are everyday, ordinary, lovely, warm, fleeting moments. I get most of my ideas just walking out the front door and thinking wow.


Here's a terrific gift card set from Penny.



Linda: Where do you create, in a workroom/studio or in a park? What are your favorite materials?
Penny: My photos are almost entirely outdoors, where ever I find something that catches my eye. I make my cards while I sit with my family in the evening.
I actually enjoy my 35mm camera best for the quality, however, I have gotten spoiled by all digital features such as instant feedback.

Linda: Why should people buy handmade?
Penny: Homemade items are more likely to be high quality, unique and customizable.

Linda: Any tips of wisdom on selling handmade items?
Penny: Try to find things to sell that you are passionate about. It is important that others are interested in your items, it is more important that YOU are interested. Would YOU buy it? Be confident in your items.

Linda: What have been the most valuable lessons learned from other artists? Penny: Persistence and patience. If you believe in what you do and are willing to do the leg work, you can make it happen. Only do what you enjoy, don't make it feel like work when you are creating.

Thanks, Penny.

Treasury

I was delighted to find out that my Green Egyptian Pendant Set was featured in a Treasury today.






The earrings are made of aventurine and black onyx.


Both items can be purchased here.

Thanks for looking.

Free Ad

I wanted to share this special offer to you posted today.

"Since the economy is down and under we wanted to offer an enticing freebie from us at FoundHandmade.com to you.

If you currently have a personal blog, you can take advantage of this offer.

We are offering one block (which costs $5, but will be free for you) for one month in exchange for a post about FoundHandmade.com on your personal blog.

This post can be anything you want, all we ask is that you link back to our site at Found Handmade.

After you post about us on your blog, just send us the link to the post and we will send you info on uploading to your free block.

(If you have not already, you would need to register and log-in to upload to your block.)

Send us your post and your blog link. The deadline to send in your blog post is February 28th.

After you get that to us, we will send you info on uploading to your free block right away. The sooner you email us your blog post, the sooner you can advertise your shop on our site!"

You do not have to currently be a member and registered on our site to participate.

Anyone who sells handmade, vintage, and supplies with a personal blog can participate!

Don’t miss out on this offer for free exposure for your shop on www.FoundHandmade.com!"

I'm taking advantage of this now. How about you?

New Listings

I've just added some earrings to my Artfire shop.

Cheshire Cat Earrings



and for St. Patrick's Day, Green Chain Earrings



Both are made using sterling silver earwires and headpins and Swarovski crystals.

- The cat earrings are made of clear AB cube crystals with a silver detailed cat charm, simple and elegant.

- The green chain earrings have olivine, jonquil and opal 4mm Swarovski crystals, a sterling silver detailed spacer and green jumprings.

Purchase them this weekend, through 2/22 and you'll get the listed introductory price. After 2/22 at midnight, the prices will increase slightly. If you buy another item from my Artfire shop, I'll offer free shipping for both items.

If you're not purchasing, please let me know what you think of them, anyway.

Thanks.

Insomniac Scrapbook Theater's Giveaway

Check out this giveaway.

Insomniac Scrapbook Theater

Good luck.
Linda

Featured Etsy Seller - Ashley Pahl

I was on Etsy and came across this Etsy shop with beautiful felted items. This is one of my favorite cards in ashleypaul's shop.


So I asked Ashley to tell us a bit about herself.
"My name is Ashley Pahl, and I’m a recent college graduate from Michigan State University. My husband, our infant, and I just recently moved to Chicago. I currently stay home with our daughter and craft full-time."



Linda: What is your favorite color combination?
Ashley: My signature color combination is pink and brown, but lately I find myself really drawn to gray and yellow.


View this notecard.

Linda: What is the first thing you can remember making by hand? How and why
did you make it?
Ashley: The first thing I can remember making by hand was a Valentine heart when I was about 4 years old with my grandma. It was the kind with accordian arms and legs, googly eyes and a smile. It was my grandmother who got me into crafting and I’ll always cherish those memories.

Linda: Where do your ideas come from?
Ashley: First and foremost it is color that sparks an idea for me. Certain color combinations pop out to me and I like to think that certain colors and tones fit certain occasions. I then think of a general design once I know what colors I want to work with. It is definitely more difficult to create now that I have an infant, and I find my head swarming with ideas when I’m too busy to be able to do anything with them. Sometimes it seems that I get my best ideas when there’s no time to act on them.

Linda: What are your favorite materials?
Ashley: It used to be lovely papers and card stocks, but lately I’ve moved into fiber arts such as wool roving and felt.

Linda: What is your favorite thing to do with your creativity?
Ashley: I like to create objects that I can share and that have a practical purpose. I most love my note cards that people can use to give for birthdays or weddings; they can be keepsakes and people always appreciate getting an especially unique card. Recently I made a wool coaster set. That’s another example of a practical object that can be made into something pretty and unique.

Linda: What are the web addresses people can find you at?
Ashley Etsy
Twitter
The Ashley Pahl Blog

Linda: Why should people buy handmade?
Ashley: I think that handmade can be much higher quality than manufactured items. Each handmade item receives individual attention to detail, and artists build their reputation with each item sold. It is personal and it is loving work. There is a real human behind each piece and that makes handmade items unique. Never before has it become so easy for people to share their craft with others ... The Internet has opened up a whole new world of commerce that deserves to continue to expand.

Linda: Any tips of wisdom on selling handmade items?
Ashley: Find your niche as an artist. Figure out your market and serve it with unique pieces in a style all of your own. Don’t pursue a market that is already saturated with more of the same. It also helps that if people see photos of your items, they recognize it as your work. Find your style, figure out what people want and what people like, and keep developing that. You can be an artist for yourself: create what you like and what inspires you, but you can also be an artist for the people. I think to be a successful seller of handmade goods you need to find the happy medium between creating what you like to create and creating what people like to buy.

Also, take a step back and look at what you are creating. Is it something that you would buy? Why or why not? Make sure if you are selling online that you are creating a cohesive look to your shop. Pictures with similar backgrounds that are aesthetically appealing are helpful, as is a cohesive brand image. My banner, avatar (although I switch it up), packaging and business cards all have the same graphics, color scheme and font. It helps people recognize you! I myself am still working on all of this. I think it’s all a process of evolution, and it takes time to find your niche.


Notebook

Linda: Apart from creating things, what do you do?
Ashley: As I mentioned before, I am the mother of an infant and she keeps me VERY busy. Cooking and baking are escapes for me. I love to try new recipes and spoil the people I love with tasty foods. In college I studied geology and physical geography. I went on a couple digs, did some work with plant fossils, and I collect rocks and minerals. Besides that, I really enjoy camping and going on walks.

Linda: What have been the most valuable lessons learned from other artists?
Ashley: The most valuable thing that I have learned from other artists during the last couple of years has been to create things that no one else makes. Find that one really unique and awesome idea that no one else is doing and run with it! A few of my favorites with unique style on Etsy: BeanPickleSprout has a very distinct look and design for her baby and home items. I always recognize her work; Bittersweets makes this instantly recognizable angry felt food; JacquelineKnits makes those very cute knitted apple jackets. Many may try to imitate, but it seems none will be as successful as the original. So be original – start a new trend! Make others think, “why didn’t I think of that?”

Thanks so much Linda, I'm so flattered that you approached me!

Updates for Linda B's Etsy Shop

I'm featured in a blog today on the Etsy Twitter Team's blog. Thanks so much.

Added "Luck of the Irish" Malachite Sterling Silver Earrings. Introductory price is $30.00. Pure gemstones and sterling silver earwires, headpins and daisy spacers.



Show your friends and get a discount off your next order.

I won a Lemonade Award

My wonderful friend, Gems by Jerri, nominated me for a Lemonade Award. I hope Jewelry by Desiree doesn't mind I stole her version of the rules from her blog.... the rules are quite simple.



1. Put the logo on your blog or post

2. Nominate at least 5 - 10 blogs that show great Gratitude and/or Attitude.
http://craftyhangover.blogspot.com

3. Be sure to list and link your nominees within your post.

4. Let them know they have received this award by leaving a comment on their blog.

5. Nominate your favorites and link to your post.

So, my nominees are:

apunkincardcompany
ripperarts
polkadot
luvmymonkeys
pawsandclaw
beadiful
365cat
forlove
thegreenviolet

Congratulations!

Penny Fae

This is Penny Malibu, the new addition to the family. I picked her up on Friday after work and spent the usual 6 hours at the dealership making the deal, signing the papers, etc. So now, I'm committed to a car payment for a beautiful new vehicle.




While I was looking for my prior Malibu's title, I discovered that I had kept the 2000 Malibu brochure, window sticker and research documents.

This is the 2nd car I drove this year in my search for cars. I drove a Chevy Cobalt, Chevy Malibu, Dodge Avenger, Chrysler Sebring, Pontiac G6, Hyundai Sonanta, Subaru Legacy, Honda Civic, Hyundai Elantra.

If you're interested, I can tell you a lot about tricks salesmen use and sites I used to reseach the value of the cars were edmunds.com and kbb.com. Also, I checked the reputation of the dealerships and evaluated the salesmen while I was talking to them.

One salesman tried to have me sign a document stating I'd buy the car if we came to an agreement on the price, before giving me a ballpark figure of how much the car would be. My husband went to the dealership afterward and told the General Manager what happened and that he would ask me to come back with another similar dealer's paperwork and see if they could beat the number.

when I came back, a different salesman and the sales manager sang a different tune. I only wanted to drive the car again to make sure that was the one for me and was headed to another dealership to purchase. Long story short, they showed me now that they were willing to deal and offered me a number lower than the other dealership. The number I paid was lower than both numbers and I tried to get it for $1,000 less, but compromised at $500.

My husband couldn't believe how tough I was and what a good negotiator I did. I said they weren't going to mess with me or I'd take my business elsewhere.

I hope this helps the U.S. economy. And, I remain my father's daughter, a GM girl.

Linda :)

Custom Order

A new customer, who has seen my work, gave me a dark green sweater and picked the ocean jasper (green and yellow) beads along with the brown jasper and some bloodstone and other semi-precious beads. She wanted me to make her a necklace pendant to go with the sweater.

I knew that her bead choices were a tad out of her price range so I added some wooden and seed beads for this creation.

This is the pendant I designed.


Here's a closeup


What was great is that she was wearing a beige sweater and skirt which has the necklace colors. I told her it would match what she was wearing and she put it on immediately.





Another satisfied customer wearing a Linda B. original design.

Etsy :: Treasury West List

I found my Mini Love notebook in a Treasury. Thank you, pagancellar!

Etsy :: Treasury West List

I'll offer free shipping on this item through Tues. 2/17.

Happy Shopping.

Linda

Featured Etsy Sellers - Creative Crafts

SarahLydia and Abigail are "sisters from Colorado and love making cards, doing crochet and knit projects ... just creating in general!"

This Blue Mountain Scarf is my favorite item in the shop.



Linda: What is your favorite color combination?
SarahLydia: Brown and pink, or green and blue.

Linda What is the first thing you can remember making by hand? How and why
did you make it? SarahLydia: I first started with a crochet scarf, when I was about 11. I was just learning how to crochet, and it was an experiment.


Linda: Where do your ideas come from?
SarahLydia: Color, nature, God, yarn, paper, books, patterns.

Linda: What are your favorite materials?
SarahLydia: Eyelash yarn! Colorful papers!

Linda: Why should people buy handmade?
SarahLydia: Because handmade is so much better than storebought- it's of much better quality than mass production. And handmade is carefully made ... with love - machines can't give that. Machines are in it for the money - handmade is in it for quality, and creativity!

Linda: Apart from creating things, what do you do?
SarahLydia: I act, sing, play piano, and am a student.

Linda: What have been the most valuable lessons learned from other artists?
SarahLydia: Do your best, and keep trying.

Love Necklace on Crafty Hangover's Blog

I was interviewed and a picture of my Love Necklace was featured on a blog by Craft Hangover.

Saturday, February 7, 2009
Valentines Day Count Down 7

Spell it out L O V E, I love this necklace. So cute, it reminds me of junior high when my friends and I would make all kinds of jewelry with words, be it our names, our crush or just sayings we liked. Linda B's Jewelry Designs has a great variety of jewelry to choose from. All hand beaded and beautifully priced.

Here's a little about Linda B's Jewelry Designs:

How long have you been crafting? Since grammar school, pony beads, clay, painting sweatshirts, making candles

What inspires your art? the colors, textures, shapes and characteristics of the gemstones

What are your favorite methods/ materials to use in your artwork? bold oddly shaped beads mixed together, jasper, black onyx and sterling silver

What sets you apart from other artist? The colors and designs I use are all OOAK. Each piece is unique.

Eartha Bracelet

My newest listing: Eartha Carnelian, jasper and red agate bracelet

is featured in avidhunter's Monday blog

Thanks, avidhunter.

I've been a little busy to blog, but I'll get back to it soon.
Linda

Valentine's Day Ideas Part 4

Need gift ideas for Valentine's Day? Online sellers need some leeway time to mail out your orders. So, I'm featuring some Etsy sellers shops and items, listed in no particular order.

Here's a lovely pink, mixed media piece by
prairieboutique's shop.



Get greeting cards and reusable lunch bags at spendidthings shop.


Lace vintage tags from JazziesJunque are a great gift.



Find love in a bottle.


Littlemoa is offering 14% in her shop on this pink notebook.


RFCreations is marking down her trinket boxes for Valentine's Day.


Need to be warm? KnitzandFeltz has several great scarves in her shop. I really like this color.


I am offering a sale on my Valentine's Day items. My love letter necklace is at the lowest price.


Need a versatile pendant? I call this a dual flowered pendant because it looks like the flower is purple and red. It looks great with red and brown or red and purple earrings.

This bracelet is one of my favorite Valentine's Day items that can be worn all year round . It's made of honey onyx and red siam Swarovski crystals.

If you order 2 or more items by Feb 7 from my shop, I'll give you free shipping. That's not a bad deal!

This is the last Valentine on my blog for this year, unless you want to upgrade and pay for 2-day expedited shipping.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

I need suggestions for new blog posts.

Valentine's Day Ideas Part 3

As Valentine's Day approaches, I thought you'd like to see what is offered on Etsy right now. These are in no particular order.

Please show them your love and visit my shop, too. To ensure Valentine delivery, I am asking for orders by Feb. 7 at the latest.

Love Letter Necklace by Linda B. It's on sale!

Bellasmile’s Love
Magnet



Pink Hearts burp cloth






No Calorie Heart
Cake



Tea Cozy



Be my honey card




Thanks for looking. Heart your items and get your orders in soon!

Etsy Twitter Team's Featured Shop

The new Etsy Twitter Team has picked a shop of the week, Beautiful Bridget.

She does fabulous work with yarn.

These are two of my favorites from her shop.

Mardi gras scarf




Betty Boop hat

Read more at the Etsy Twitter Team's Blog.

xoxo
Linda

Blog Feature - Me

I was pleased to find out that I'm featured on a blog today by Rebecca ofAdorkable1.



I noticed this creative item in her shop. It's the pattern for this adorable book cover.



Thanks, Rebecca.

Blog Giveaway - Bracelet

Just wanted to share information about a blog giveaway that Firehouse jewelry is having for a blue polymer clay bracelet.



Here are the rules.

Go to Firehouse Jewelry's blog

1. Must provide a e-mail address. I will contact you for the address to ship the bracelet to. Must respond to my e-mail with in 5 days or another winner will be selected.
2. Two entries for blogging about this giveaway and post the link here.
3. Two entries per purchases from my shop (Click Here for my shop).
4. One entry for following my blog (all current followers have an automatic entry).
5. One entry per comment on all February Blog Comments (limit one entry per day)
6. Blog comment entries must be more than one word.
Four ways to enter. On March 1st, I will enter the names into a spreadsheet and use a random number generator to pick the winner.

Good luck!
Linda

Interview with Featured Etsy Seller - Carissa Halton

Today's blog feature is about a wordsmith artist, Carissa Halston, combining words with images.

One of my favorite items in her shop is Girl


Linda: Tell us a bit about yourself (name, location, affiliations, personal stuff).
Carissa" My name is Carissa Halston and I'm a fiction writer. I currently live in New York City, but plan to return to Boston later this year. I've been writing "seriously" for almost nine years and am currently working on a play for voices, along with my second novel.

Linda: What are the web addresses people can find you at? (website, etsy, blog, flickr)
Carissa: you can find me at my Etsy shop.
The website for my production company is. Here's a list of my published work.

Linda: Do you have a blog (and what is its address)?
Carissa: My blog is mainly about my writing and where I'll be selling or reading my work.

Linda: What is your favorite color combination?
Carissa: Definitely orange and green. If I were pressed to choose specific shades, I'd choose "emergent" orange and "army" green.

Linda's Healing Heart bracelet

Linda: What is the first thing you can remember making by hand? How and why did you make it?
Carissa: I remember making relief prints in middle school art class. We were allowed to use linocutters-how delightfully dangerous! Shortly thereafter, I made marbled paper in my leisure time because someone asked if I wanted to. Everything turned out satisfactorily and I kept the paper for years until they fell prey to water damage.

Linda: What inspires you?
Carissa: The compulsion to accomplish things. I must be making something or I get incredibly cranky.

Linda: Where do your ideas come from?
Carissa: Snippets of overheard conversations. Advertisements. Visual art. Hypothetical arguments I have in my head with people. Quiet moments of reflection and where they would lead if they were less quiet.

Linda: Does the atmosphere affect your creativity?
Carissa: When I'm writing, I cannot have music on. But when I'm drawing I need it. When I'm stitching a book, I need some outside stimuli to break up the monotony of, "sew to the inside of the book, then the outside, then back in, out one more time...tie a knot, cut string."

Linda: What are your favorite materials?
Carissa: Words, text, paper, ink, typewriter

Linda: Why should people buy handmade?
Carissa: It actually affects the seller. If you go into a Wal-Mart and buy a shirt, the checkout girl isn't beaming with pride because you've deigned something she designed worthy of attention.

In this world that's being made simultaneously smaller and larger by globalization, just the connection that you gain by interacting with the crafter or artist or artisan whose work you've bought is worth so much more than the price you've paid.

Linda: Any tips of wisdom on selling handmade stuff?
Carissa: Put your personality into it. Inject yourself into your work. It'll show because you love doing it and that's what matters.

Linda: Apart from creating things, what do you do?
Carissa: I'm a bookseller and a student and an adult literacy tutor.

"Linda, thanks for giving me the opportunity to be featured!"