Giveaway from Marchello Art! (this giveaway is now closed)

If you love fun, unique, upcycled items then you are going to love Marchello Art. When I first started this blog I ask my readers what they wanted to see on here and some of you said jewelry made out of silverware. I had never heard of jewelry made out of silverware so I went on the search and look what I found.

Marchello Art sent me a bracelet to review. The bracelets are so cool and so different. I can about bet you would be the talk at the office if you walk in wearing one of these fun bracelets.

Not only does Marchella Art make bracelets but they make fun signs out of silverware, angels and other things.

Let's learn more about Marchella Art:

When did you open your Etsy shop? I actually opened an account with Etsy with the intent to sell last July, but I was so busy that I was not able to list things for sale until the end of March. A few of my customers recommended Etsy to me, so I thought that I would give it a try.

Can you tell me a little about yourself? I love to create. I always have. Ever since I was a little kid, I have been making interesting and unusual things. I am a student at the University of Michigan Dearborn campus, even though I live in Ann Arbor. I love to try new things and to be adventurous. Art, to me, is a way to express my self and pursue my passions. In addition to creating new things, I love music, good food and spending time with my wonderful girlfriend.

How did you start making art out of silverware? Actually, my dad was the one who started it. When he opened up his napkin at Holiday's Restaurant in Ann Arbor, he found that his fork was oddly bent. With a spark of creativity, he turned two stainless steel forks into the first fork angel. He soon converted into silver-pate because it looks nicer and is easier to bend. In late 2007, he inspired me to make silverware art. I have been creating new, unique things ever since.

Do you take custom orders? Yes. I love making new things out of recycled silverware! Many of my designs have come from custom requests. Many of my custom orders have been large pieces, such as a 36 inch crane that was made for Creekside Grill and Bar located in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Buy It - This would make another fun Mother's Day gift.

Win It - Marchello Art is offering one of my readers a bracelet similar to the one pictured above. This giveaway is open to my readers in the US and Canada.

How To Win:

Mandatory Entry (this must be done before you can gain any extra entries) - Visit Marchello Art and tell me your favorite item in their shop.

**YOU MUST LEAVE AN EMAIL ADDRESS WITH YOUR COMMENT SO I CAN CONTACT YOU IF YOUR THE WINNER.

Extra Entries (must have mandatory entry completed before you can gain extra entries) -
If it says (3) comments you must leave 3 separate comments.

1. Follow my blog - (3) entries

2. Grab my button and leave a link of where I can find it - (5) entries

3. Blog about this giveaway - (5) entries

4. Heart Marchello Art on Etsy (add as favorite) - (1) entry

5. Enter any of my other giveaways - (1) entry for each giveaway

6. Email 3 friends or co-worker telling them about this giveaway and make sure to give them the link (I'm trusting you on this one) - (3) entry

7. Purchase anything from Marchello Art and come back letting me know what you purchased - (10) entries

This giveaway will end on May 14, 2010 and is open to my readers in the US and Canada only. I will select a winner using a random number generator and I will email the winner. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to my email before I select a new winner.

Happy Friday Follow!!!

Welcome Friday Followers! My blog is filled with lots of wonderful handmade giveaways from some amazing handmade shops. Make sure you get signed up for all the goodies while your here.

If you don't know what Friday Follow is then click on the button below to find out more. It is such a fun way to get new visitors to your blog. It's kinda like having a party every Friday. Have fun!

I Have A Winner!

The winner of the Dryer Ball from Hooked On Wool Primitives is........



Marci J


Congratulations!

I will be emailing you shortly and you will have 48 hours to reply before I need to choose a new winner.

Giveaway from Poppy Dip! (this giveaway is now closed)

I am soooooo excited about the giveaway I get to share with you today. I am a customer and HUGE fan of Poppy Dip. I ordered my girls Easter dresses from her and they are just wonderful. I would share a pic with you of them but that was right before I got my new camera and the pics aren't that good but the dresses are beautiful. Poppy Dip also makes these dresses and ships them out FAST, she does not waste anytime getting them made.

My girls loved it because I let them choose the fabric they wanted their dresses in. Yes, I wanted something other than what they picked but I let them pick and really I am so glad they picked the ones they did. Actually they both picked different fabrics but they matched.

Poppy Dip started as an adoption fundraiser but I have a feeling this adoptive momma had no idea how famous her dresses would become. I know I will be buying from Poppy Dip again!

Poppy Dip also has a blog that you can follow to learn about specials they have going on. Look for the blog address in the extra entries below.


Let's learn about Poppy Dip:

Can you tell our readers why you started making dresses? I've always sewn...started when I was 3 or 4 years!! Love to make clothing... mainly started POPPY DIP for our upcoming adoption...we are in process waiting for a referral for a child age 0-2yr. either gender... this is our 3rd adoption from Ethiopia... I do hope to continue making little girls' clothing even after our new little one arrives... to help in 'life costs'...and to also help others with adoption journeys!

Can you tell us a little about yourself? Adopted by the King of Kings!! a wife of 20 years to the most amazing gift --my hubs!... a Mom to 3 bio/2 adopted kids ... a home school teacher!!... and the daily life and all it has !

What sizes do you make? dresses size 12 mo - size 7 (but these will sometimes fit older girls depending on their measurements)...
TWIRLS...can fit baby up to even some 'Moms'!! just need waist and length for these :)

Do you take custom orders? Yes!! You choose from my fabrics page... I'll choose the ruffle or you can... and then if you don't see something you like, I'm happy to look for you on all my shops I buy from (most all online so you can look too )

Buy It - Every item you buy from Poppy Dip helps them with their adoption expenses. You get help make the difference in a life of a child just by ordering from Poppy Dip!

Win It - Poppy Dip is giving away your choice of a Poppy Dip short sleeved dress or a Poppy Dip twirl to one of my readers. The giveaway is open to my readers in the US only.

Trust me, you will want to make sure to get all the entries in you can on this!

How To Win:

Mandatory Entry (this must be done before you can gain any extra entries) - Visit Poppy Dip and tell me which fabric you would choose (fabrics are listed at the top of the homepage).

**YOU MUST LEAVE AN EMAIL ADDRESS WITH YOUR COMMENT SO I CAN CONTACT YOU IF YOUR THE WINNER.

Extra Entries (must have mandatory entry completed before you can gain extra entries) -
If it says (3) comments you must leave 3 separate comments.

1. Follow my blog - (3) entries

2. Grab my button and leave a link of where I can find it - (5) entries

3. Blog about this giveaway - (5) entries

4. Become a follower of http://www.itspoppydipblog.blogspot.com/ - (1) entry

5. Enter any of my other giveaways - (1) entry for each giveaway

6. Email 3 friends or co-worker telling them about this giveaway and make sure to give them the link (I'm trusting you on this one) - (3) entry

7. Purchase anything from Poppy Dip and come back letting me know what you purchased - (10) entries

8. Grab the Poppy Dip Button on the sidebar of her site and put it on your blog (you must leave me a link of where I can find the button) - 5 entries

This giveaway will end on May 13, 2010 and is open to my readers in the US only. I will select a winner using a random number generator and I will email the winner. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to my email before I select a new winner.

I Have A Winner!

The winner of the jewelry wall hanger from Melissa Woods is......


Joanne J


Congratulations!


I will be emailing you shortly and you will have 48 hours to reply before I need to choose a new winner.

Giveaway from Memories by Andrea! (this giveaway is now closed)

Today I would like to introduce you to Memories by Andrea. Memories by Andrea is a shop of beautiful photography. If you love nature you will love this shop.

Memories by Andrea sent me the Willow print pictures below and it is just beautiful and of high quality. The prints can be ordered in 4 x 6 or 8 x 10 and she can also make greeting cards out of them.

I love the photos she takes of the old barns too. When I see photos like the old barns I just wonder what stories go with that old barn.

I ask Andrea some questions and this is what she had to say:

When did you open your Etsy shop? I am new to Etsy, and just opened my shop in March of this year. I have been doing photography for about 5 years, 3 of those years as a business.

How did you get started in photography? I started in photography by just taking pictures because I liked it. I had always liked pictures, but it really started when I was taking an art course in college and one project was to experiment with an art medium we were fairly unfamiliar with, so I chose photography. I got some nice pictures out of it and fell in love with taking pictures and framing them and having others admire them so I kept going until a couple years later someone asked me to do their wedding, and then another request for a maternity photo shoot, and from there I kept going and turned it into a business! :-)

What size prints can people order? Custom orders for different sizes or mediums for display are welcome (please inquire within for details). Any print you see can be ordered in standard 4x6 size ($7) or 8x10 size ($17) as well. Requests can be made for larger sizes, customers will need to inquire within for pricing according to their request.)
All images can also be made into greeting cards. Photos are mounted on white 5x7 sized cards with a black border and come with a 5 1/4 x 71/4 envelope. Prices for greeting cards are $3.75 each or 3 for $10.00.

What inspires you? I am inspired by many things, but I have a particular affinity for flowers and rural landscape scenery. When doing portraits, I love to capture people as they are and have the photo speak about who they are. My favourite is black and white for portraits... there is just something simple, and beautiful about that to me! :-)

Buy It - Memories by Andrea's specials at this time are "Buy one print and receive either a second print of the same size free OR 3 photo greeting cards free!" . The second print does not apply to the giveaway print.

Win It - Memories by Andrea is giving away to one of my readers an 8 x 10 print of your choice. Memories By Andrea is willing to ship anywhere so this is open to all my readers including international readers.


How To Win:

Mandatory Entry (this must be done before you can gain any extra entries) - Visit Memories by Andrea and tell me your favorite item in their shop.

**YOU MUST LEAVE AN EMAIL ADDRESS WITH YOUR COMMENT SO I CAN CONTACT YOU IF YOUR THE WINNER.

Extra Entries (must have mandatory entry completed before you can gain extra entries) -
If it says (3) comments you must leave 3 separate comments.

1. Follow my blog - (3) entries

2. Grab my button and leave a link of where I can find it - (5) entries

3. Blog about this giveaway - (5) entries

4. Heart Memories by Andrea on Etsy (add as favorite) - (1) entry

5. Enter any of my other giveaways - (1) entry for each giveaway

6. Email 3 friends or co-worker telling them about this giveaway and make sure to give them the link (I'm trusting you on this one) - (3) entry

7. Purchase anything from Memories by Andrea and come back letting me know what you purchased - (10) entries

This giveaway will end on May 12, 2010 and is open to all my readers including US and International readers. I will select a winner using a random number generator and I will email the winner. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to my email before I select a new winner.

I Have A Winner!

The winner of the I Spy Bag from Emmie's Designs is......


Lund7



Congratulations!

I will be emailing you shortly and you will have 48 hours to reply before I choose a new winner.

Giveaway from Posh Pots! (this giveaway is now closed)

We love our little feathered friends here and we get so excited when spring comes. One day I was looking for bird feeders and things on Etsy and I found this Posh Nesty. I contacted Posh Pots about having her featured on my blog and she sent me a whole box of goodies.

Not only did she send me the Posh Nesty but she sent a Tea Party To Go, a Posh Pillow and One Posh Pot Rosebuds & Raspberry Tea.

All the items from Posh Pots are beautifully packaged. The items in her shop would make the PERFECT gifts for bridesmaids, hostess gifts, Mother's Day, Secret Pal gifts, party favors, or maybe someone suffering from an illness that needs a little pick-me-up.

Now if you look at the picture below you will see what happened when I hung my Posh Nesty outside of our livingroom window. The picture below was taken from my window last night and the nest is just 2 feet above the Nesty I placed. I know you can't see the fabric pieces in this picture but they are in the nest. My kids are sooooo excited because very soon there will be babies birds to watch right out our window.


Let's learn more about this shop:

When did you open your Etsy shop? I opened my etsy shop about 2 years ago.

Can you explain the Posh Nesty to my readers? The Posh Nesty is a glittery dispenser filled with colorful pieces of ribbon, raffia, fabric bits and yarns for backyard birds to grab and take back to enhance their usual hum drum nests! It's kind of like providing a creative outlet (by chance) to your birds! Just hang the cute dispenser with your outdoor feeders and watch the activity begin!

Do you take custom orders? Yes I accept custom orders...just convo!

What is your favorite item in your shop? My favorite item is the Tea Party To Go. I get lots of great feedback about it such as it makes people smile and that it's a beautiful and delicious gift!

The shop owner of Posh Pots also told me that she has a private gardening service. Posh Pots also provides full sit down tea parties for ladies groups sizes 20-120.

Buy It - If you are in need of a party favor or gift this is a great store to shop at. Also I noticed that on her Tea Parties To Go there is FREE shipping.

Win It - Posh Pots is giving away a Kitchen Garden In A Box to one of my readers. This giveaway is open to my readers in the US only.

How To Win:

Mandatory Entry (this must be done before you can gain any extra entries) - Visit Posh Pots and tell me your favorite item in their shop.

**YOU MUST LEAVE AN EMAIL ADDRESS WITH YOUR COMMENT SO I CAN CONTACT YOU IF YOUR THE WINNER.

Extra Entries (must have mandatory entry completed before you can gain extra entries) -
If it says (3) comments you must leave 3 separate comments.

1. Follow my blog - (3) entries

2. Grab my button and leave a link of where I can find it - (5) entries

3. Blog about this giveaway - (5) entries

4. Heart Posh Pots on Etsy (add as favorite) - (1) entry

5. Enter any of my other giveaways - (1) entry for each giveaway

6. Email 3 friends or co-worker telling them about this giveaway and make sure to give them the link (I'm trusting you on this one) - (3) entry

7. Purchase anything from Posh Pots and come back letting me know what you purchased - (10) entries

This giveaway will end on May 11, 2010 and is open to my readers in the US only. I will select a winner using a random number generator and I will email the winner. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to my email before I select a new winner.

I Have 2 Winners!!!

The winners of the dictionary jewelry from Out Of The Blue are.......



Elena - Necklace

and

Tony and Rett - Ring


Congratulations!

I will be emailing you both shortly and you will have 48 hours to reply before I need to choose a new winner.

I Have A Winner!

The winner of the hair clippies from Marisabel is........


HSUper Parents


Congratulations!

I will be emailing you shortly and you will have 48 hours to reply before I need to choose a new winner.

Giveaway from Country Crafts and Candies! (this giveaway is now closed)

You are not going to believe the shop I have to share with you today. Are you hungry? If not your going to be hungry by the time your done reading this. Look at the picture below........is your mouth watering? These donuts pictured below have 0 calories because they are made of fabric by Country Crafts and Candies.

Country Crafts and Candies is an unbelievable store filled with candles, bath items and decor. Country Crafts and Candies is also VERY generous as you will see when you read about what's being given away. This shop sent me a huge package of goodies to try out including a hot fudge sundae candle, a gooey jar candle, sugar scrub, and 2 bars of soap that look like real pieces of cake.

When I opened the box to these things my kids could not understand that you don't eat these. The gooey jar candle had Hershey pieces on it and if you didn't know it was a candle you would have grabbed a piece and eaten it.

You can even purchase the secret recipe for these candles in her Etsy shop. Make sure you check out that listing!

Ohhhhh and I must tell you that this shop also has LEMON lip gloss. If you have been following me anytime at all you know that I'm crazy about lemon and last night as I was working on this post I had to convo her and tell her to make me a special listing for 3 lemon lip glosses because I am a little addicted to lemon lip gloss.

OK, I could go on for hours and probably even write a book about this shop but let's see what the shop owner has to say:

When did you open you Etsy shop? I opened my Etsy shop a year ago but it was used mainly for me purchasing and shopping which I love to do, but what woman doesn't, LOL I basically did my sales off my .com web site and retail shop. It wasn't until Jan this year that I really started posting my products on my Etsy shop and utilizing it for sales. Since it has brought me much business, and much business through my regular web site as well. My full product line is featured on my .com site as only a portion of my products are listed on etsy.

How did you start making these amazing candles? I am a 35 year old loving wife and mother of my 5 year old daughter, Isabella. Bella is our only child; if you do not include our four legged puppy Magee, and our four feathered friends; Chance, Shadow, Blueberry, and Coconut. Bella fills our life with so much love and laughter. She says that one day when she gets older she is going to make candles with me and have her own cupcake business; Princess Cupcakes, because everyone loves cupcakes. Very smart and creative little girl! My business was established in 2003 in the heart of Holmes County Ohio. When I started my business I had been working in Upper Management in the Hospitality Industry working 60 plus hour weeks. Basically I had no life, and wanted more with my little one on the way. I always had a creative side, and enjoyed art in many aspects. I would paint on canvas, draw, crafts, you name it. When I first started my business, it mainly consisted of the decor type items, candies, and a small amount of candles. Of course my creative mind took over, explored, and expanded. Since then I have grown, moved, and now not only sell on the internet, but also retail, wholesale both nationally and internationally, and do fundraisers! As you can tell I love to stay busy, and I enjoy every minute of my hectic but rewarding life! Do you take custom orders? Of course I do custom orders! That's one of the best things about my candles. I hand sculpt my cupcakes, cakes, tarts, etc, and use very few molds. I have over 200 scents available, and can make any of my candles in your color choice and scent! I love coming up with new and exciting items. I love bringing visions to life!

Can you tell us about your Children Bath Products? My children's bath products stemmed off of my daughter asking, "Mommy, can you make soap for me?" Well of course kids love the not so ordinary items. So my daughter helps me test all my children's bath products, and gives me the thumbs up and thumbs down. I know if my daughter loves them, then others little ones will love them. I try to make the children's products appeal to what would make bath time fun for any little one.

Buy It - PLEASE READ: This shop owner is leaving for vacation on Thursday April 29th and will not return until May 10th. They are keeping the shop open for orders but will not be shipping anything out until they get back on May 10th. If you want to order something for Mother's Day (this would make a great gift!) then make sure you place your order before April 29th.

Country Crafts and Candies can customize any order, make special listings for you on Etsy if you need more of one item (this is what I did with the lip gloss) and they can also make a special listing for you if you see something at http://www.countrycraftsncandies.com/ and you prefer to purchase it off the Etsy site.

All shipping prices for this shop are estimates. If the shipping ends up costing less than what you pay she will refund you the amount over. This is not something you would find very often.

Win It - Remember I said how generous this shop owner is? Country Crafts and Candies decided they wanted to giveaway a grand prize and 3 runner up prizes. So that means 4 of my readers will be winning from this shop!

Grand Prize - (1) 4 ounce milk bubble bath scented in sweet milk with a hint of white chocolate. (1) 4 ounce chocolate exfoliating scrub (1) 4 ounce brown sugar scrub, (2) lip butter tubes, choice of chocolate fudge, Lemon Ice,or Raspberry Craze flavor, (6) Blissful Cocoa butter bath truffles, and (2) bars of processed soap in their choice of scent all packaged in a vinyl spa bag with a $20.00 Gift certificate with free shipping, valid for 6 months.

1st Runner Up - 5" mini cream pie in your choice of scent

2nd Runner Up - cookie dough bowl candle

3rd Runner Up - a candle tart box that will contain all sorts of various candle tarts (chocolate bars, mini bread loafs, gooey tarts, chocolate strawberries, and etc.) The tart box will contain about 6 different tart packaged in a bakery box.

This giveaway is open to all my readers including international readers. If you live outside of the US though you will be responsible for paying shipping on the items you win. If you live in the US shipping is FREE.

Country Crafts and Candies has been very generous and as a way of saying thank you would you help me in spreading the word about this giveaway by blogging, Facebook, email or texting? You can gain extra entries by spreading the word!!!

How To Win:

Mandatory Entry (this must be done before you can gain any extra entries) - Visit Country Crafts and Candies and tell me your favorite item in their shop.

**YOU MUST LEAVE AN EMAIL ADDRESS WITH YOUR COMMENT SO I CAN CONTACT YOU IF YOUR THE WINNER.

Extra Entries (must have mandatory entry completed before you can gain extra entries) -
If it says (3) comments you must leave 3 separate comments.

1. Follow my blog - (3) entries

2. Grab my button and leave a link of where I can find it - (5) entries

3. Blog about this giveaway - (5) entries

4. Heart Country Crafts and Candies on Etsy (add as favorite) - (1) entry

5. Enter any of my other giveaways - (1) entry for each giveaway

6. Email 3 friends or co-worker telling them about this giveaway and make sure to give them the link (I'm trusting you on this one) - (3) entry

7. Purchase anything from Country Crafts and Candies and come back letting me know what you purchased - (10) entries

8.Visit http://www.countrycraftsncandies.com/ and tell me either something you learned or tell me your favorite item there - (1) entry


This giveaway will end on May 10, 2010 and is open to all my readers including international readers. If you live outside of the US you will be responsible for the cost of shipping. I will select a winner using a random number generator and I will email the winner. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to my email before I select a new winner.

I Have A Winner!

The winner of the gift basket from Coe's Noodles is..........


Stephanie


Congratulations!

I will be emailing you shortly and you will have 48 hours to reply before I need to choose a new winner.

Giveaway from Ziji Baby! (this giveaway is now closed)

OK, I know I'm an adult and that I really shouldn't be jealous, but let me just come out and admit that I am a tad bit jealous that my daughter was the one who got to keep this item I reviewed.

Yes, I wasn't going to tell anyone but I had planned on keeping this little cutie all to myself. My daughter had surgery right when I got this and she left her stuffed doggie in the OR and as a mom with a crying child I told her she could have my little friend.

He is so stinking cute and soft though that I sneak him once in awhile for a nap (shhhhhhh, don't tell).

What I love about these too are that everyone of them is original and there are no 2 alike. Do you know you can even make special requests from the shop so if your child has a physical difference like my son who is missing an arm then I bet they could make one that has the same difference as your child?

So, do you get the idea that I'm in love with Ziji Baby?

Let's find out more about Ziji Baby:

When did you open your Etsy shop? ZIJI BABY opened shop on Etsy February 24th, 2010. I love Etsy. It is like opening a store in a really cool neighborhood. The other sellers are inspiring and incredibly helpful and I think we improve the quality of each other’s shops.

What I make are one-of-a-kind, hand-stitched sock dolls that are most often described by their owners as weird, cute, funny and the occasional awesome. I also sell ZIJI BABY bodysuits and toddler t-shirts that feature the dolls. Hip young parents what their kids to look the same.

Can you tell us how you started making these precious animals? I started making the dolls two years ago and the clothing more recently. Originally, I wanted to make homemade gifts for the holidays. I started with a kit then began to work without a pattern. I don’t really sew, so they ended up lumpy and full of flaws—like us! The dolls turned out so cool that my friends all wanted one. Now, through word of mouth, my ZIJI BABY dolls are all over the country—in Portland, Burlington, San Francisco, Boston, Charlotte, New York City, and as far off as Japan and India.

In making the dolls I like using antique buttons, fake diamonds (most of the dolls are engaged), felt, and jingle bells. I love jingle bells!

The reason I keep making the dolls is that they bring me joy. I’ll wake up in the morning and one of the dolls will catch my eye and I’ll just burst out laughing. At some point I was encouraged by friends to start of shop, so here I am.

Do you take custom orders if someone is looking for a specific color of animal? Yes. Let’s co-create.

What is your favorite item in your shop? I post my best, so what you are seeing are my favorites. They all make me smile. I suppose I have a soft spot for HAYDEN, who is whimsical. Then there is THURSTON who is just brilliant. Of the clothing, I think WALTER is my favorite. I have chosen this t-shirt as a giveaway item. Please come by my shop.

Buy It - Let me just tell you that if you buy one of these little creatures you will be in love!

Win It - Ziji Baby is giving away a T-Shirt like the one pictures above in a size 4T. If you don't have a child in this size you could make a child's day by giving to someone that is that size. This giveaway is open to my readers in the US and Canada only.

How To Win:

Mandatory Entry (this must be done before you can gain any extra entries) - Visit Ziji Baby and tell me your favorite item in their shop.

**YOU MUST LEAVE AN EMAIL ADDRESS WITH YOUR COMMENT SO I CAN CONTACT YOU IF YOUR THE WINNER.

Extra Entries (must have mandatory entry completed before you can gain extra entries) -
If it says (3) comments you must leave 3 separate comments.

1. Follow my blog - (3) entries

2. Grab my button and leave a link of where I can find it - (5) entries

3. Blog about this giveaway - (5) entries

4. Heart Ziji Baby on Etsy (add as favorite) - (1) entry

5. Enter any of my other giveaways - (1) entry for each giveaway

6. Email 3 friends or co-worker telling them about this giveaway and make sure to give them the link (I'm trusting you on this one) - (3) entry

7. Purchase anything from Ziji Baby and come back letting me know what you purchased - (10) entries

This giveaway will end on May 7, 2010 and is open to my readers in the US and Canada only. I will select a winner using a random number generator and I will email the winner. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to my email before I select a new winner.

I Have A Winner!

The inner of the choice of necklace or earrings from Full of Glee is........





J.E.





Congratulations!





I will be emailing you shortly and you will have 48 hours to reply before I choose a new winner.

Happy Friday Follow!!!

Giveaway from Blithe Gardens! (this giveaway is now closed)

When I started searching Etsy for this blog one thing that kept popping up were terrariums. I was very curious about these and I contacted Blithe Gardens about being featured on my blog aand she was excited to be featured. Blithe Gardens has even been featured on Good Morning America!

Blithe Gardens sent me a terrarium and I had no idea how excited I would get over this thing. Yes, it looks like some moss in a jar but it is BEAUTIFUL moss and it is simply amazing. The directions she sent said not to water it for 2-3 weeks and my husband kept saying "you need to water it". I wouldn't let him and we are amazed at the moister this thing produces itself. If you have a brown thumb then this is the houseplant for you!

These would make perfect gifts for Mother's Day, someone in a nursing home, teachers (kids would love watching these on a teacher's desk) and for the person who has everything.

Here's what Blithe Gardens has to say about their shop:

When did you open your Etsy shop? I opened my Blithegardens etsy shop in January 2009. I have always loved plants and gardening and I was on the lookout for something I could do since my youngest of four children was in kindergarten and noticed that terrariums were back in style - I had seen them featured in magazines and also a new book. So I thought the moss terrariums would be a great business that would work with an etsy store.

Can you explain to my readers what a terrarium is and how you care for one? A terrarium is an enclosed glass container that contains potting soil, charcoal and plants. Many plants love the high humidity that a terrarium provides and the enclosed container creates a mini ecosystem that is practically self sustainable! I rarely need to water my terrariums and they do not need fertilizer and don't even need much light. You just have to be careful to keep them out of the sun and not in a really warm room because they can overheat. Otherwise they make great gifts for people who work in offices, nursing homes and even kids or anyone that has a brown thumb!

How did you get featured on Good Morning America? The person in charge of press and marketing for etsy contacted me through a convo and asked if I would be interested. The correspondent for GMA was doing a feature about women etsy sellers. Featuring etsy as a great way to make extra money from home. There were three other sellers products featured and they had picked mine from the plant and horticulture category. I was really excited and nervous - but glad that I didn't need to have an on air interview. They asked me questions by email and I had to ship out samples of my terrariums to New York and they appeared on the segment along with my picture.

I can also make terrariums to order - I have a lot of glassware and small figures etc that I can include in the terrariums. I am also going to start featuring some more of my concrete fairy houses on my website in the near future.

Buy It - These would make such a fun gift for anyone and Mother's Day is just about 2 weeks away!!!

Win It - Blithe Gardens is giving away a gift certificate for a terrarium of your choice up to a $38 value. This giveaway is open to my readers in the US only due to the nature of the moss.

How To Win:

Mandatory Entry (this must be done before you can gain any extra entries) - Visit Blithe Gardens and tell me your favorite item in their shop. I just noticed that she has been very, very busy and her shop doesn't have much listed at this time. If you go to the sidebar in her shop and click on sales you can tell me one that you like that she has already sold, thanks.

**YOU MUST LEAVE AN EMAIL ADDRESS WITH YOUR COMMENT SO I CAN CONTACT YOU IF YOUR THE WINNER.

Extra Entries (must have mandatory entry completed before you can gain extra entries) -
If it says (3) comments you must leave 3 separate comments.

1. Follow my blog - (3) entries

2. Grab my button and leave a link of where I can find it - (5) entries

3. Blog about this giveaway - (5) entries

4. Heart Blithe Gardens on Etsy (add as favorite) - (1) entry

5. Enter any of my other giveaways - (1) entry for each giveaway

6. Email 3 friends or co-worker telling them about this giveaway and make sure to give them the link (I'm trusting you on this one) - (3) entry

7. Purchase anything from Blithe Gardens and come back letting me know what you purchased - (10) entries

8.Visit Blithe Gardens sister shop Blithe Vintage and tell me your favorite item in this shop - (1) entry


This giveaway will end on May 6, 2010 and is open to my readers in the US only. I will select a winner using a random number generator and I will email the winner. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to my email before I select a new winner.

I Have A Winner!

The winner of the amazing sampler box of cookies from Kim's Cookie Couture is.....




trixx



Congratulations!


I will be emailing you shortly and you will have 48 hours to reply before I have to choose a new winner.

I Have A Winner!

The winner of the choice of dog harness or dog coat from Little Paws Apparel is.......


Victoria

Congratulations!


I will be emailing you shortly and you will have 48 hours to reply before I choose a new winner.

Giveaway from My Snoozles! (this giveaway is now closed)

Oh my goodness, you are going to LOVE this shop!!! Are these not the cutest leggings ever?

I was so excited when My Snoozles said they would like to be featured on my blog. These leggings are fun, colorful and how could they not make any little girl feel special? My Snoozles sent me some leggings like the ones pictured here. My 6 year old wore them to school today and she came home so excited saying everyone was going crazy over her leggings. She told me that the art teacher wanted a pair for herself.

I can't wait to hear what your favorite ones are!

Let's learn a little about the shop:

When did you open your Etsy shop? I opened etsy store in December 2007. But haven’t been very active to promote it and mostly selling at the crafts fairs, festivals and boutique shops.
Reading etsy articles and people’s stories inspired me to give it a chance and quit some of my day jobs. ( actually I still have 3 other part time jobs).

Can you tell us a little about yourself and the products you make? Crazy Russian and crafty mom, a cook, a teacher, world traveler etc... Big believer in repurposing, recycling "life leftovers" and embellishing old or just boring piece. Calling myself "Fusion mixilogist" I love to combine thrift- store finds, scraps, kids art, tie-dye, yarn, things from the nature... Since I become a mom of 2 little fairy princesses this passion become stronger and transformed into fairy magical embellishment integrated with my kids drawings.

5 years ago I moved to US, actually was forced to stay here as got hit by a car standing on the side walk and ended up in wheel chair for a year. In order to keep insanity I remembered my old hobby of crocheting from the childhood. Embellished almost everything in my girls wardrobe and started to get questions: “where did I buy such a cute things?”. My girls loved running outside without the shoes but wearing tights. So I had to cut green soles( feet) and embellish the bottom part and cover stains with tie dye technique…that is how upcycled fairy leggings were born!

I started to get orders from friends, people on the street. And decided to give it a try selling it at craft fairs, boutique shops and now on etsy.

Do you take custom orders? I do a lot of customized orders! Very flexible about sizes, colors. Please check my blog page and see samples of special customized t-shirts and canvas bags with kids drawing transfers.

What is your favorite item in your shop? My favorites always changes depends on my mood, season, inspiration.. I guess it would be Avatar inspired bright blue colors leggings.



Buy It - Every legging purchase during the month of April comes with a FREE matching hairband.

Win It - My Snoozles is giving away a $10 gift certificate to one of my readers. This giveaway is open to all my readers including international readers but My Snoozles will also give FREE shipping if the winner is from the US.


How To Win:

Mandatory Entry (this must be done before you can gain any extra entries) - Visit My Snoozles and tell me your favorite item in her shop.

**YOU MUST LEAVE AN EMAIL ADDRESS WITH YOUR COMMENT SO I CAN CONTACT YOU IF YOUR THE WINNER.

Extra Entries (must have mandatory entry completed before you can gain extra entries) -
If it says (3) comments you must leave 3 separate comments.

1. Follow my blog - (3) entries

2. Grab my button and leave a link of where I can find it - (5) entries

3. Blog about this giveaway - (5) entries

4. Heart My Snoozles on Etsy (add as favorite) - (1) entry

5. Enter any of my other giveaways - (1) entry for each giveaway

6. Email 3 friends or co-worker telling them about this giveaway and make sure to give them the link (I'm trusting you on this one) - (3) entry

7. Purchase anything from My Snoozles and come back letting me know what you purchased - (10) entries

8.Become a follower at http://www.mysnoozles.blogspot.com/ - (1) entry


This giveaway will end on May 5, 2010 and is open to all my readers including international readers. I will select a winner using a random number generator and I will email the winner. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to my email before I select a new winner.

Giveaway from Radiant and Bright! (this giveaway is now closed)

I am so excited to share about the shop Radiant and Bright because with every single purchase from this shop you will help this family pictured below be one step closer to bringing home another child. As an adoptive mom myself I know the cost is very, very high but I also know there are more than 147 million orphans in the world waiting for mommy's and daddy's. This family is working very hard to raise the money to bring home their next child.

This is a picture of their family on their "Gotcha Day". The day they met their son for the first time 3 years ago.

Angela from Radiant and Bright sent me a whole package of goodies. Angela sent a "Hug Bell" which you just have to read about in her shop. She sent hair clippies (so cute), adoption bookmark and the wonderful meditation CD.

I am not someone that knows how to relax at all and I put this CD in and couldn't believe how easy she made it for me to relax. I will let Angela explain it more for you below.

Radiant and Bright also has some very cool suncatchers. When I was a child my mom had one of these in the kitchen window and we were so excited everytime the kitchen was filled with rainbows.

Let's learn about this adoptive family and their Etsy shop:

When did you open your Etsy shop? February of 2010, when we decided to start the adoption process again.

Can you tell us about your adoption fundraiser? Three years ago we adopted a little boy from Korea and he has been such a light in our life. He is such a blessing to our entire family. When we adopted him, we never thought it would be possible for us to adopt again due to all the expenses. Well, a few months ago my little man told me he wanted a brother or sister and it just about broke my heart. That is when my husband and I decided that we would not let money come between us and another child. We will find a way to bring home a brother or sister for Cy!

That is when I decided to open Radiant and Bright Creations. About a year ago, I started making suncatchers for friends and family and have gotten so many compliments. They make great gifts and really brighten up a room. My son just loves the rainbows from the suncatchers and he inspired me to create one to go along with an adoption poem that I wrote.

I work as a Massage Therapist a few days a week and many of my clients are under stress. I am always being asked for relaxation tips and my number one answer is meditation. With my clients in mind, I decided to create my Serenity meditations. This is a wonderful system for beginners to find serenity.

My Lily Love Hair Clips were just something that jumped out at me. Since we already have a little boy, I thought oh how sweet it would be to have a little girl to put dress up with these precious hair clips. We would be more than happy with another little boy, but if we have a girl, her name will be Lily.

I also plan on adding an Infant Massage guide to my Etsy shop very soon! Who knows what else we will come up with. We are having fun!

All the profits from the handmade items in this shop will be used towards our adoption. Thank you for supporting our adoption journey. We are so grateful!

Do you take custom orders on your clippies? Yes!

Could you please tell my readers about your meditation CD? My meditation CD will teach you how to turn stress into Serenity. By spending just a few minutes a day, you will learn how to restore inner peace and balance into your life. The Serenity Meditation guide and CD includes: Meditation tips for beginners, a 5-minute guided morning meditation, a 5-minute mid-day meditation, a 5-minute evening meditation, a 16-minute relaxation meditation, a guide to creating your own customized meditations, a breathing technique for relaxation and relaxation tips for children!

Listening to the guided meditations is a wonderful way to begin your practice. Once you find your style and get comfortable with meditating, you will be ready to follow my simple guide to customizing your meditations for your needs.

Buy It - Every single purchase you make from Radiant and Bright will help them be one step closer to bringing home their next child. You can make a difference in the life of an orphan just by purchasing from this shop.

Win It - Angela from Radiant and Bright is giving away one of her meditation CD's and guide to one of my readers. This giveaway is open to my readers in the US and Canada.

How To Win:

Mandatory Entry (this must be done before you can gain any extra entries) - Visit Radiant and Bright and tell me your favorite item in their shop.

**YOU MUST LEAVE AN EMAIL ADDRESS WITH YOUR COMMENT SO I CAN CONTACT YOU IF YOUR THE WINNER.

Extra Entries (must have mandatory entry completed before you can gain extra entries) -
If it says (3) comments you must leave 3 separate comments.

1. Follow my blog - (3) entries

2. Grab my button and leave a link of where I can find it - (5) entries

3. Blog about this giveaway - (5) entries

4. Heart Radiant and Bright on Etsy (add as favorite) - (1) entry

5. Enter any of my other giveaways - (1) entry for each giveaway

6. Email 3 friends or co-worker telling them about this giveaway and make sure to give them the link (I'm trusting you on this one) - (3) entry

7. Purchase anything from Radiant and Bright and come back letting me know what you purchased - (10) entries


This giveaway will end on May 4, 2010 and is open to my readers in the US and Canada only. I will select a winner using a random number generator and I will email the winner. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to my email before I select a new winner.

I Have 2 Winners!!!

The winners of the dog treat from Barking District Bakery are..........


Tylerpants - Pumpkindoodle


and


Trixx - Nuttin But A Hound Round

I will be emailing both of you shortly and you will have 48 hours to reply before I need to choose a new winner.

Giveaway from Set In Stone Shop! (this giveaway is now closed)

Mother's Day is less than 3 weeks away now and I have another great Mother's Day gift idea for you. Set In Stone Shop creates personalized stepping stones, concrete signs, pet memorial bricks and more.

Set In Stone Shop sent me this beautiful "Grandma's Garden" stone pictured below and it is so pretty and my mom was very excited to have it in her garden.

Set In Stone Shop sent me a lot of pictures of things that they can do and I wish I could have shared them all with you. If you look in the picture below you will see a concrete leaf. Set In Stone Shop told me that they use real leaves to mold these and there are so many different things you can do with them and many different sizes you could have them done in. They said people have used the leaves for bird baths, table decorations, wall hangings or even to put your keys and things on.

Let's learn more about Set In Stone Shop:

When did you open your Etsy shop? My friend and I started the Etsy shop in Nov. of '09.

Can you tell us how you started making Stepping Stones and Pet Memorials? We started making concrete leaves,which are useful as a table decoration, birdbath, garden decoration, etc. and which we plan to display on Etsy as well, now that spring is here I will have many leaves to choose from, as I use real leaves. We graduated from there to creating the stepping stones and bricks. I started out making them for friends, appreciation gifts for good friends, pet memorial stone when my friends dog died. Other people saw them and wanted them as well.

Do you take custom orders? A large percentage of our business is custom orders. Within reason, we can fit most anything onto a stepping stone, 12" round and the square is 11", 10" or 9" size. Bricks are 4" x 8, 11 or 14". Bricks can be a single word or multiple words in a set. I've made several "teacher" gifts as well. The teachers name (or coach) on a brick.





What is your favorite item in your shop? I find it hard to pick a favorite since many of the custom orders can be creative (one customer wanted"wiping 16 paws" she had 4 dogs and was always wiping their paws whenever they came into the house. The round stepping stone included their names in addition to 16 paw prints, which was an effort to create as their was only so much room on the stone..but I did it and really liked the way it came out.






Buy It - Mother's Day is May 9th and I'm sure there are many mom's and grandmother's that would be very excited to get a personalized stepping stone.



Win It - Set In Stone Shop is giving one of my readers a custom item of your choice. This giveaway is open to my readers in the US only.


How To Win:

Mandatory Entry (this must be done before you can gain any extra entries) - Visit Set In Stone Shop and tell me your favorite item in their shop.

**YOU MUST LEAVE AN EMAIL ADDRESS WITH YOUR COMMENT SO I CAN CONTACT YOU IF YOUR THE WINNER.

Extra Entries (must have mandatory entry completed before you can gain extra entries) -
If it says (3) comments you must leave 3 separate comments.

1. Follow my blog - (3) entries

2. Grab my button and leave a link of where I can find it - (5) entries

3. Blog about this giveaway - (5) entries

4. Heart Set In Stone Shop on Etsy (add as favorite) - (1) entry

5. Enter any of my other giveaways - (1) entry for each giveaway

6. Email 3 friends or co-worker telling them about this giveaway and make sure to give them the link (I'm trusting you on this one) - (3) entry

7. Purchase anything from Set In Stone Shop and come back letting me know what you purchased - (10) entries


This giveaway will end on May 3, 2010 and is open to my readers in the US only. I will select a winner using a random number generator and I will email the winner. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to my email before I select a new winner.

I Have A Winner!

The winner of the card from Kathy Cherry Designs is .............



Marci J


Congratulations!


I will be emailing you shortly and you will have 48 hours to respond before I need to choose a new winner.

Giveaway from Hooked on Wool Primitives (this giveaway is now closed)

Today I would like to introduce you to a shop named Hooked On Wool Primitives. I found this shop looking for "green" items. This store carries Wool Felted Dryer Balls. I was really curious about these and Hooked On Wool Primitives offered to send me one to try out.

Let me tell you.....I love this little ball!!! First of all our dryer is getting old and gets used way too much and most times I have to run it more than 1 time. I have been using this ball and I have not had to run it more than once using this ball. Also a big thing I noticed is that my clothes don't come out wrinkled. The clothes look so nice when they come out of the dryer. You do not need a dryer sheet when using this ball so think of the money you could save.

These dryer balls would make great wedding gifts or housewarming gifts!

I asked Hooked On Wool Primitives to tell me more about her shop:

When did you open your Etsy shop? I opened my shop in November or 2008. However, I really haven't done much with it until this last Fall.

Can you tell me a little about yourself? I grew up raising and showing sheep in New England. I was at a show in Barnstable, Ma when I met my husband - he raised and showed sheep too. After we got married,he continued to work with the sheep while I started working with the fibers.
I became very interested in hooked rugs some years back while shopping at an antique shop. After collecting them for over 25+ years, I decided I should be hooking my own pieces.I have done most of my work for my family and friends. Once I started working with the wool fabric, a friend and I started playing around with the wool and learned the art of felting.
When I found etsy on line I thought it would be a great place to sell when I am not at my fiber shows.
I have 2 beautiful girls and 4 fantastic grandchildren from 18 to 6. Thankfully they all live only 30 miles away so I get to see them and work with them as much as possible.

I am the President of my local Spinner's and Weaver's Guild.

Can you tell me how the dryer balls work and how long they last? Basically the wool dryer balls help the circulation of the air in the dryer. As the balls bounce back and forth on clothes they will absorb the moisture and thus cut the time in the dryer. With that you can save the cost of energy. There will be no chemical by-products added or left in your clothes. The static in laundry is highly reduced and the dryer balls can be used over and over. I have customers that have used the same ball for over 4 months at a time. Then, it becomes a great toy for your kids and even your cat or dog.

Can you tell me about the adorable little creatures in your shop and explain what needle felting is? I love needle felting 3-D characters. My characters are usually seasonal. However, I do custom work of all kinds for individual. I usually just need a picture to go by. All are solid wool and one of a kind.

Felting is the process of making a fabric by matting and condensing fibers together. Needle felting is condensing the fibers into a flat or shaped object with a very sharp and barbed needle. The fibers best to use are wools.

Buy It - These dryer balls cost $8.50 and can be used for months so you are saving money by using these balls. Not to mention the electric you can save from the drying time being shortened.

Win It - Hooked On Wool Primitives is giving away a dryer ball to 1 of my readers. This giveaway is open to my readers in the US only.

How To Win:

Mandatory Entry (this must be done before you can gain any extra entries) - Visit Hooked On Wool Primitives and tell me your favorite item in her shop.

**YOU MUST LEAVE AN EMAIL ADDRESS WITH YOUR COMMENT SO I CAN CONTACT YOU IF YOUR THE WINNER.

Extra Entries (must have mandatory entry completed before you can gain extra entries) -
If it says (3) comments you must leave 3 separate comments.

1. Follow my blog - (3) entries

2. Grab my button and leave a link of where I can find it - (5) entries

3. Blog about this giveaway - (5) entries

4. Heart Hooked On Wool Primitives on Etsy (add as favorite) - (1) entry

5. Enter any of my other giveaways - (1) entry for each giveaway

6. Email 3 friends or co-worker telling them about this giveaway and make sure to give them the link (I'm trusting you on this one) - (3) entry

7. Purchase anything from Hooked On Wool Primitives and come back letting me know what you purchased - (10) entries

8.Become a follower at http://www.hookedonwoolprimitives.blogspot.com/ - (1) entry


This giveaway will end on April 30, 2010 and is open to my readers in the US only. I will select a winner using a random number generator and I will email the winner. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to my email before I select a new winner.