EtsyBloggers Shop of the Month - BunnyKissd

Welcome to my new followers.

Congrats to Diana http://bunnykissd.etsy.com/ the EtsyBloggers Shop of the month.

Diana is an artist and teacher and designs clay jewelry creations, bookmarks and art dolls.

Today, my favorites in her shop are

Magical Shamrock Flower Necklace 

Bunny Read Bookmark

Please visit her shop to see more of her adorable items. 

Thanks for stopping by. 

Visit her blog and tell her I sent you.

Mountain Creek Gifts – Solo Blog Feature

Congratulations to Mountain Creek Gifts for winning the Solo Blog Feature with this entry.

Thank you so much! I'm very excited! :-)

My name is Brittany Blubaugh and I live with my husband in Central Ohio, in Amish country. There are lots of beautiful farms around. I grew up on a farm in Florida, and met my future husband when I was seven years old. I had a crush on him since then. We got married 2 1/2 years ago.

All Natural Loofah and Handcrafted Soap

> What is your favorite color combination?
I love blues and browns together.

Vintage Soap Dish with 3 Bars of Soap

> What is the first thing you can remember making by hand? How and why did you make it?
The first thing I remember making is an apron and oven mitt with my mom. We went shopping together for the perfect material, and I picked a pretty floral pattern. Then she showed me how to cut it out, and helped me sew all the pieces together. I thought it was the best thing EVER and wore my apron all the time helping my mom around the house. I was about seven at the time.

 

> What inspires you?
Beauty inspires me. Whether it's a small daffodil poking out of the snow, a snow tipped mountain, an open field of flowing grass and wild flowers, an orange grove in full bloom, or a tiny little stream running over rocks in a pasture. I love the variety in the plant world. God is truly amazing. There are countless numbers of different herbs and weeds, each one different, and each one beautiful in it's own way. I love the different colors and textures and scents of all of these plants, and I try to incorporate that into my soaps.

I am also inspired by the beauty of a simple, old fashioned life. I love working with my hands. I love being outdoors in the sunshine AND in the rain. I love being with family, and around animals. I guess I'm inspired by a lot of things. :-)

> Where do your ideas come from?
Well, sometimes they come from an herb combination that I discover and love. Sometimes they come from what I have learned and am learning about the health benefits of different herbs, oils, and foods. And sometimes I just throw a whole bunch of things together that SOUND good together and see what happens. That part is pretty fun! A few of my products were suggested by friends, and then I put my own little twist on it.

My Kelp & Lime soap is one example

> What are your favorite materials?
I LOVE lavender and I'm planning on using it more in different things like bath salts and lotions. Olive oil is another favorite. It is great for your skin, your hair, and your diet. Shea Butter is awesome. You can't really beat it for moisturizing skin.

All Natural Lavender Soap

 

> What is your favorite thing to do with your creativity?
As far as my shop goes, my favorite thing to do is to find different scents that go well together, or herbs that work and smell great together. In other areas of my life, I LOVE to draw, but I'm not good enough for you to see any of my drawings anytime soon I don't think. ;-)

All Natural Oatmeal Soap, Handcrafted, Vegan

> Why should people buy handmade? Any tips of wisdom on selling handmade items?
I grew up making things, and it's kind of a way of life for me so I had to think about this one some. When you are buying handmade you are supporting a small business rather than a huge company, which I find appealing. Also, I've found the quality of the items are much higher. They weren't slapped together by a machine or a miserable rushed factory worker- or, heaven forbid, a child in a sweat shop somewhere in china! Most handmade things are much healthier for you and your family as far as food and bath and beauty items. Even if the focus of the item is not to be all natural or organic, at least you won't have to be a scientist to read and understand the ingredient list!

Tips? I haven't been doing this long enough to think I know a lot yet, but the biggest thing that I am learning, and that I find draws me to other handmade shops, is to be personable. Let your personality shine through in your online shop, or be friendly if you are selling your items in person. Try and have your selling venue, whatever it is, be inviting.

> What have been the most valuable lessons learned from other artists?
I've learned what I just mentioned above, to be personal and inviting. I've also leaned to take much better product pictures.

> Apart from creating things, what do you do?
I spend lots of time with my amazing husband, keep house, cook, play with our cat, pray for children, sing, dance, and sew.  In the spring and summer, I love to spend lots of time outdoors gardening, doing yard work, whatever. We just joined a gym, so now we spend two hours in the early morning getting our bodies whipped into shape. And ANY time I get the chance, I go horseback riding.

> What are the Web addresses for your work?

My Etsy shop:
www.etsy.com/shop/mountaincreekgift
Facebook Page:
www.facebook.com/mountaincreekgift
Blog:
mountaincreekblog.blogspot.com/
Twitter:
twitter.com/#!/MCSCandG

> Are you offering my readers any specials?
Yes, I am 10% off the order with coupon code FEATURE10 when placing the order.

Again, thank you SO much!

Brittany

=  =  =  =  =  =  =  =

Editor’s Note: St. Patrick’s Day is coming – Please check out my earrings.

Lucky Horseshoe Earrings

Congrats to El Dorado Soap

Congrats to El Dorado Soap for winning the blog votes on my Top Etsy Finds blog post.

 Sweet Berry Soap

I'll be sending out the interview questions in a few days for a solo blog feature interview.

Thanks, dear blog readers, for voting in Linda's Top Etsy Finds blog.

Thursday Thoughts and Tips

I'd like to shout out a big "Welcome" to my new blog followers. Thank you so much for visiting. I hope you'll take the time to comment and introduce yourself.

This may be a new blog feature for me. I'm thinking it might be every other week. We'll see how it goes.

Jewelry Tips:
Use rubber ear back stoppers for your jewelry works in progress and you can put them on bead strands to keep the beads together instead of tying that teeny, tiny knot in the end.

Plan early for upcoming holidays with enough time to order supplies and list items

I've been in Passover production for a couple of weeks already and need to start on Mother's Day and Graduation.

Wire Beaded Kippah for Women Copper and Beige

Product and Bookkeeping Tips: Know where products are located if you do consignment. I keep an Excel spreadsheet for each shop, the description of the item, the price and what has sold. I've learned the hard way to either inactive the Etsy listing or create 2 of the same items if I have one on consignment and one on Etsy.

 Copper and turquoise owl earrings

 

Tax Time Tips: Keep your data as organized as your beading or other supplies.

I use one Excel spreadsheet to log in my new jewelry purchases and the costs per bead/gemstone, a second sheet to calculate my cost of each jewelry design and a third to track the PayPal and Etsy listing fees and the way I price my items. These are all in 1 document for easy access with different tabs.

Black Onyx Round Spanish Style Earrings

When an item is sold, I use a color to highlight it and move it over to a Sold spreadsheet. I admit that this part of the process doesn't go as smoothly for me. I need to get better at recording this part along with PayPal, Etsy and mailing costs.

Sold Destash snap clips

Source: Wisebread Open Forum - some information used.

Do you have any tips to share?

Reminder, please vote in the left sidebar of my Blog Post yesterday. Thanks :-)

March - Pisces Birthdays Feb 19-March 20

Happy Birthday Pisces

If you were born between February 19 - March 20, your astrological sign is Pisces. "The fishes" is the Latin translation. Usually Pisces cares little for making money, but cares about ideals and aspirations. Pisces likes to dream, s/he is not interested in competing. Pisces is drawn to the arts, especially the stage. Pisces can be moody and vague.

Pisces is often the friend of the underdog. Pisces may have many marriages.

Pisces Gemstones:

Amber - Yellow 3rd Chakra Art for Healing & Personal Power Original Painting by modbrush

Aquamarine Swarovski Necklace by Prittyfy

Amethyst

Amethyst Healing Wire Wrapped Pendant

Matching Amethyst Glass Sterling Silver Earrings

 
 
Bloodstone - Corresponds to the first Chakra. Red - Calm and Ground Yourself


Blue Lace Agate -

Angel Earrings

Blue Lace Agate Sterling Silver Earrings by Beaded Tail

Cat's Eye Gray Cats Eye Bracelet by Biji

Crystal Quartz Gemstone Chips by Galla 

Jade
Green Russian Amazonite, Malachite and Jade Gemstone Bracelet

Matching Earrings

Peridot
Passover Swarovski Peridot Seder Plate Earrings

Famous Pisces:
Edgar Cayce
Chopin
Wyatt Earp
Jackie Gleason
Liza Minnelli
Ralph Nader
Auguste Renoir
Harry Belafonte
Elizabeth Taylor
Tommy Tune
Gloria Vanderbilt
George Washington

2.21.11 Vote in Left Sidebar for your Fave from Linda’s Top Etsy Finds

Sorry for the delayed post this week. But, here are Linda’s Top Etsy Finds. To be considered for this feature, comment on my blog saying “Top Etsy”, show me your best item and tell me your shop name.

Since Etsy has changed the forums, I’ll be searching shops through my Etsy Teams, Blog Followers & Comments, and FaceBook followers.

 

Winter Fairy Fantasy Art	Beautiful Vintage Dress Pattern
Handmade Address Book Happy Home	Sweet Berry Soap Bar
Metal Basket	Music Notes Notebook

 

OK, these are this week’s items. Please vote in the sidebar for your favorite and if you are selected, promote.

The handmade Etsy item with the most votes wins a blog solo interview with me.

 

You never know, your item could be featured one day!

Linda B.

March is Springing up on us - Pre March Madness Sale 12% OFF

Can you believe that it's already February 17? It seems like yesterday that we were celebrating Thanksgiving.

Valentine's Day has come and gone. I hope your honey got you a token of love; I received 3 Lord of the Rings DVDs, gotta love Frodo Baggins, right.

I still have some unclaimed Valentine's Day jewelry items in my shop, but they can be used to express your love at any time.

Red Swarovski Cherub Earrings

 
Aren't these cherubs adorable? I got them from Bountyofbeads, an Etsy seller.
 


















12% off purchases totalling $15 (not including shipping) in my shop with the Coupon Code 121212.
 
March Dates:
March 5-8 - Carnival
March 8 - Mardi Gras
 
I'm sure if you browse my shop, you'll find something funky to wear while celebratins.
 
Of course, we're all Irish on March 17 for St. Patrick's Day
 
Irish St Pat's Day Greeting Card

St. Patrick's Day Mini Gift Tags

Irish Leprechaun Earrings 

Lucky Green Teardrop Pendant

 
Elegant St patricks Day Bracelet

 











If you love green and want to go more upscale, here's my Green Russian Amazonite, Malachite and Jade Gemstone Bracelet 

If you purchase the earrings at the same time, I'll give you a discount.

I design my handbeaded jewelry with gemstone and glass beads and carry items in various price ranges to suit all budgets. Also, I will consider layaway if something strikes your eye, and your funds are limited right now.

And, I'm always happy to work with my clients on custom designs to match any outfit or occasion. Just let me know how I can be of service to you.

Please, remember to use the coupon code 121212 for 12% off purchases totalling $15 (not including shipping).

Thanks, Dear Blog Readers for reading this.

Blog Feature Interview with Annemarie of MyCrochetShop

> Congrats, Annemarie on winning the vote and the blog feature interview.

Hi Linda, thanks!! I've noticed and was so happy! Thanks so much! Here are the answers to your questions:


My name is Annemarie and I live in Delft, The Netherlands. I am 35 years old. No kids, not married but I do live with my boyfriend. I started knitting in 2009 and just for fun I followed a crochet course about a year ago and ever since I've been a total addict.

Flower Ornament Garland

> What is your favorite color combination?

My favourite colour combination is red/purple/pink. I love to use bright colours.

> What is the first thing you can remember making by hand? How and why did you make it?

I can remember making a crochet hat. I intended to make an egg warmer for Eastern, and I didn't understand why the egg warmer got bigger and bigger and eventually turned out to be a hat. Of course, I increased way too much but I didn't know back then. Based on that experience, I thought crochet was extremely difficult so I was very surprised when I found out last year that I didn't find it difficult at all.

> What inspires you?
I get inspired by lots of things. Ofcourse there are some other crochet blogs I love and that give me inspiration, like the blog of Attic24, Karinaandehaak or Sarah London (I can give you the links if you like). I'm also a huge fan of Flickr.


Little Hearts Garland


> Where do your ideas come from?
Most ideas are based on things I've seen on the Internet. I use existing patterns and vary with the colour scheme. There are also a lot of things I make without patterns. For instance the pincushion that's on my blog. I've written down the pattern in Dutch, just like some patterns of granny squares I've made myself. These patterns are on my blog as well.

> What are your favorite materials? I love cotton! There are so many colours available so you can vary endlessly. I've used acrylic and wool as well, but I allways go back to cotton.

Crochet Star Garland

> What is your favorite thing to do with your creativity?
I love having a day off and spend an entire day on making garlands. It really is my favourite object to make. I also love to go shopping for new materials.

> Why should people buy handmade? Any tips of wisdom on selling handmade items? People really should consider buying handmade, because it is so special! Just take a look around on Etsy. There are so many shops where I would love to choose my birthday-presents from (and I will this year!). And my tips for selling handmade items? Promote everywhere you can! The secret to success is getting support from people so don't just wait untill someone comes to your shop, invite them!

> What have been the most valuable lessons learned from other artists?
That you shouldn't give up when things don't work out the way you want the first time. I've had some great advice from other bloggers when I just started to crochet, so don't every hesitate and just ask. I get all kinds of questions about knitting and crochet almost daily and I always try to help if I can.

> Apart from creating things, what do you do? I have a full-time office job that I like very much. I also love to do horse riding and I'm a total coffee addict as well, so on weekends you can always find me somewhere in Delft drinking coffee in a cosy cafe.


> What are the Web addresses for your work? (website, etsy, blog, flickr, Twitter, FaceBook)

My blog: http://annemariesbreiblog.blogspot.com/

Etsy: http://etsy.com/shop/annemariesbreiblog

Twitter: http://twitter.com/annemariesblog

Facebook: I'm on facebook but I don't know the URL, I've just started using it and I haven't figured it out yet. You can find me when you type: annemaries breiblog.

> Are you offering my readers any specials?
Yes! Readers from Linda B's blog will get a special 10% discount. Just use the coupon code SPECIALOFFER in my shop.

 Readers, be sure to use the coupon code to get the discount in her shop.

Thanks again, Annemarie.

Watch for my postings on Facebook and comment there and on my blog to be considered for Linda's Top Etsy Finds.

Wednesday Woes - Wed post part 1

Very briefly,  Woes
1. I can't find my flash drive ... think my cat Fritzie stole it. You can see his mug shot here

2. I couldn't get my PC monitor or maybe it's the mouse to work correctly so I could see the computer screen.

3. I'll have to shoot new pics of my Easter and Passover earrings.

Positives:
It's Wednesday and I'm going out for Chinese food with N for lunch.

This is only a placeholder blog post. I want to feature Etsy sellers and/or post an interview later.

Tuesday Twitter Hop - Test

I just signed up for this Twitter Hop at Real Mom Reviews.

You can follow this Twitter Hop in the sidebar by clicking this image.




Follow these people
1. @RealMomReview 2. @RealDadReviews


3. @knitwitshair 4. Mom Always Finds Out (@skipbang)

5. @toesthattwink 6. @DAT's so Cute

7. @practicalmom 8. @Mommyinondfly

9. Mostly Food and Crafts 10. @OurHSReviews

11. @jonitaylor3710 12. @KerrificOnline

13. @LambAround 14. Frazzled Mama

15. @greenmissionmom 16. @greenmissionmom

17. Just Another Hat @giveawayfan 18. Hello Mommy @marirene74

19. @kimslittlelife (Mo'Betta) *follows back* 20. @SemiCrunchyMomB

I'm @lindab142

Thanks!

EtsyTwitter Shop Soap Rehab

This week’s EtsyTwitter shop of the week is soaprehab, where Sara Addington, licensed Esthetician, makes soap and lip balms out of materials so luscious it's a shame you can't eat them! Check out some of these names: Pears in Champagne Soap Bar, Brown Sugar Pecan Soap Bar, and (my personal favorite) Chocolate Covered Cherry Soap Bar! Many of these delicious-sounding soaps are made with wholesome ingredients like avocado oil and mango butter. Perfect for the person who wants natural, yet fun, bath and body products! Sara's goal with her product is to provide "Great formulas that work well, feel luxurious, with unique scents."

Chocolate Covered Cherry Soap Bar Corrected image

soaprehab is offer a 10% discount
off your entire order this week
use coupon code SOTW10
soaprehab is happy to ship internationally.
~~~~~~~~~

Ginger Orange Solid Sugar Scrub Cubes

Stay abreast of the latest at soaprehap:
Etsy Shop: http://www.soaprehab.etsy.com Twitter:http://www.twitter.com/soaprehab
Facebook: http://www.companies.to/soaprehabilitation
Blog: http://www.soaprehab.blogspot.com

Please tell her that her teammate, Linda sent you. Thanks, Dear Blog Readers.

Spring is Happening at Linda’s Workshop

Spring holiday jewelry and other accessories items are being photographed and created in my workshop. I’m working on earrings for Purim (Jewish holiday), St. Patrick’s Day, Easter and Passover.

Here’s a peek at newly listed and soon to be listed items.

 

Wire Beaded Women’s Kippah	Irish Leprechaun Earrings
Green Glass Bunny Earrings	New listing Custom Address Labels
St Pat’s Day Swarovski Crystal Earrings	Spring Colors Easter Earrings
Passover Seder Earrings	Passover Seder Necklace
Coming Soon
Yellow Jasper Gragger Earrings for Purim	Plum Purim Earrings
Matzah Swarovski Earrings	Evil Eye Challah Earrings
Passover Haggadah Earrings	Pink Shell Wire Earrings

I hope you’ll like what you see. Let me know if you do.

And,  please let me know if there’s anything special you’re looking for and I can create it for you.

Thanks, Dear Blog Readers for looking.