Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Interchangeable Earring Sets

Interchangeable earring Starter Set
$16
Available at:
http://sparklystrandz.com
or
http://sparklystrandz.etsy.com

I have a new item in my shop and on my website. I don't know why it's taken me so long to get these going again. It was always my best seller.

It's a set of interchangeable earrings. It comes with a pair os sterling silver ear wires that close for extra security, and 4 sets of drops in classic colors-Garnet, Crystal, Jet, and Pearl.

Each set will come packaged in a little metal tin that will not only help keep the earrings all in one place and easy to find, but great for travel as well. As an extra bonus, the tin will also contain one of my crochet cotton scrubbies (that you can use on your face, dishes, etc).


For only $16, this is a great starter set, and you can always add extra dangles from my site or my shop for a greater variety.

Monday, January 21, 2008

ETC: Giving Back to the Community

Etsy Texas Crafters (ETC), the street team known for First Mondays, is now celebrating Third Mondays by giving back to our community. Each month, participating team members will donate a percentage of their sales for that day to a charity selected by the team. Please help support this worthy cause by shopping the participating stores!

For January, ETC members will donate to Homes for our Troops. This organization is building and remodeling homes for severely wounded veterans. Proceeds from our sales will be donated to assist in the modifications of the home of US Army Specialist Latseen Benson, who lost his legs to a roadside bomb in his second tour of duty in Iraq.
http://www.homesforourtroops.org:80/site/PageServer?pagename=Spc_latseen_benson

Our ETC Cares promotion for January will begin at 12:01am Monday, January 21 and end at 12:00 midnight the same day (Central time -- that's 1:01am Monday to 1:00am Tuesday, Etsy time)

The participating shops are listed below, along with a description of their donations:

http://etsytexascrafters.etsy.com
ETC Team Shop
20% of all sales will be donated

http://2muchstuff2day.etsy.com
Hand knit cloths and baby items and natural stone jewelry
25% of all sales will be donated

http://artspot.etsy.com
Treat yourself to *Enchanted* bath and body luxuries
25% of all sales will be donated (excluding wholesale orders)

http://bailliesbagsbaubles.etsy.com
Purses, totes, diaper bags, backpacks, and accessories
20% of all sales will be donated (Will also accept purchases that buyer wants to donate back to Homes for Our Troops April Gala Silent Auction!)

http://bybethstudio.etsy.com
Handmade quilted items such as fabric postcards and mini quilts
20% of all sales will be donated

http://cinnascents.etsy.com
Retro style aprons
20% of all sales will be donated

http://comfortandjoycrochet.etsy.com
Warm, fuzzy, and fun handmade scarves and neckwarmers
20% of all sales will be donated

http://craftiness.etsy.com
Small wooden objects: pens, knitting tools, vases, etc
20% of all sales will be donated.

http://ducttapeanddenim.etsy.com
Vintage papers, trims, craft kits, and collages
20% of all sales will be donated

http://killerbeedesigns.etsy.com
Purses, Wine Bottle Carriers, Business Card Holders, Hair clips, Skull-themed items, and more
10% of all sales will be donated

http://kathydkeith.etsy.com
Photo note cards, excess supplies, vintage, bookmarks, art, flower pens and more.
10% of all sales will be donated

http://lavenderlizard.etsy.com
Crocheted Apparel, Accessories, Scrubbies & More
20% of all sales will be donated

http://mychinamosaic.etsy.com
China tiles and ready made arrangements for mosaic art
50% of all sales will be donated

http://preciousbeads4you.etsy.com
Sterling silver and 14K gold-filled supplies
15% of all sales will be donated

http://preciouslinks.etsy.com
Custom made jewelry, homemade doggie dresses and dolls
10% of all sales will be donated

http://spadazzle.etsy.com
Acrylic collage, artwork, prints, cards, & more
$1 will be donated for each item over $5 sold

http://sweetwolf.etsy.com
Funky Handmade Items for You and Your Home
25% of all sales will be donated

http://thistlecraft.etsy.com
Hand-painted Glass and Window Clings, CD Collage Cards, & Other Fun Stuff
25% of all sales will be donated

http://ultratrixie.etsy.com
Eclectic Vintage, and other Super Cool Stuff
25% of all sales will be donated

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Featured Artist: Ann Burke

Lattice Work Bracelet
$48

Today's featured artist has a LOT of patience. Her beadweaving work is absolutely beautiful. She is appropriatly a member of Etsy Beadweavers Street Team (check out their blog). As you can see from the bracelet above, she puts some time into her work. I think the colors in this bracelet are very soothing.

Purple Beadwoven Doily Earrings
$38

These earrings are another example of her bead weaving work. I am a little partial to purple, and I think these are also very beautiful. Seriously, I cringe at the thought of working with such tiny beads, but I do admire those that can do it!

So go check out Ann's shop to see some beautiful bead work, as well as other necklaces, bracelets, and brooches to name a few.

You can also visit her blog: http://myfairladyvt4.blogspot.com

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Featured Artist: Autumn Leah

Today's artist is Autumn, who is not only a fellow Texan, but a fellow stay at home mom (ok--I work a day or two here and there to get out of the house). She started making jewelry keep her sanity. With a degree in graphic design, it has given her the edge on making other things as well.

Sassy Girl Bow and Headband
$9

This cute little bow comes on a soft lacy headband (which, if your baby girl is anything like mine and BALD still at 16 months, you 'll need it), and can also be detached to be put in the hair of an older girlie (which in my daughter's case it will be 3 years old!!). She's got a good variety of baby boutique items.


If you have a business on the internet, especially Etsy, you'll need a banner. I said she made other things as well, and her banners that are available for purchase at a very reasonable price are very cute. You can look at them here.

Don't forget to go check out her blog while you're at it: autumnleahdesigns.blogspot.com

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Featured Artist: Katrin Lerman Jewelry

Be My Valentine Necklace
with Silver, Pearl, and Coral
$79

Today's artist comes from a family of makers and has been doing jewelry since she was a little girl (if making friendship bracelets is considered jewelry. She is originally from Germany, then settled in Massachusetts almost ten years ago.

Katrin now has a beautiful baby girl and tries to spend every free minute (and those of you who have a baby know that there are few) creating jewelry. Her sketch book is filling up with ideas and she can’t wait to get working on all those ideas and designs!!!

In honor of Valentine's Day, I had to choose this beautiful heart pendant. It's made from pearls and coral, and great for all year 'round, not just V-Day! Also, the earrings pictured below had to be included because being from the south Texas coast, we don't see much snow, so "Snow Queen" stood out at me not only for the name, but the beautiful design.

Snow Queen Earrings
$129

You can find all of Katrin's designs at her Etsy shop, as well as her second shop that she's opened up with her sister. For more behind the scenes information visit her blog at http://katrinlermanjewelry.blogspot.com



Sunday, January 13, 2008

Etsy Texas Crafters Treasure Hunt

January's Texas Treasure Hunt
By now everyone is familiar with ETC's awesome First Monday’s Sales event when dozens of ETC shops participate by listing fabulous sales in their shops. Since 1st Monday’s are so popular we thought we would give 2nd Mondays their day in the spotlight too! 2nd Monday’s are Texas Treasure Hunt days!
On the 2ND Monday of each month, ETC (Etsy Texas Crafters) will host a Texas size Treasure Hunt!
WINTER WONDERLAND Treasure Hunt details:
  • This month we want to warm you up Texas Style! Willy the Perky Penguin has escaped from tiddlyinks shop & is running amuck through Texas Etsy shops picking out all his favorite items to warm you heart, warm your spirits or just plain keep YOU warm.
  • Our Jan Treasure Hunt will begin at 12:01am on Jan 14Th & end at 12:00 midnight on that same day (Central time -- that would be 1:01am Monday to 1:00am Tuesday, Etsy time).
  • To play, search participating ETC member shops to find a minimum of 10 items with the designated image in the items' photos.
  • When you've found 10 or more items, convo your list of the URL addresses (links) for those items to http://ArtSpot.etsy.com
  • If there is more than 1 correct entry, by the midnight deadline, all correct entries will be placed in a stocking & one winner will be drawn. If there are no complete & correct entries, the person with the most correct entries will be designated that month's winner. Winner will be notified/announced no later than midnight on Tuesday Dec 11Th.
  • ETC members are not eligible to win.
Tip:
The more items you find and submit, the better your prize selection will be. The winner will get too *choose* 1 item from their submitted list as their prize!
Disclaimer:
In the event that the winner’s 1st choice of prizes sells during the contest, winner would have to choose another prize from their submitted list. Have fun hunting!
Tabitha, aka http://artspot.etsy.com, and the whole ETC Team
participating shops (in random order)for Jan:

Thursday, January 3, 2008

Nursing Necklaces

I've posted about my nursing necklaces that was added to my Etsy shop and website a while back, but I thought I would add pics of a few more styles, as well as a way to purchase here from the Blog. (you'll find that over on the right-hand column).

As a mother of two small children (ages 1 and 2), and owner of a jewelry and craft business, I was always a little upset when I first had my babies that I never could wear my earrings or necklaces, or even bracelets because they would inevitably grab and pull really hard (you never know how strong babies are till you have one of your own), and I was always scared they would snap my jewelry and accidentally choke on a bead (my mind always went to worst case scenarios).

Crystal and Pearl
$12

I began to make these necklaces out of my desire to have something "Sparkly" to wear that would also be safe for my kiddos to play with while they were feeding.

I call them "Nursing Necklaces" because that's how I used them, but they are perfect for bottle fed babies as well.

The pendant is made into a loop style that baby can grasp, and tied in a continuous piece of organza ribbon to prevent the beads from being able to fall off. These necklaces are not meant to be a replacement for a teether toy. Even though babies are small, they can bite down rather hard and accidents can happen, so please supervise when wearing.

The length of this necklace is approximately 20", which is a little longer than average, but long enough that baby can reach it. The ribbon makes it feminine and light weight, and suitable for everyday wear.

Just listed: Baby Leg Warmers





I've come up with a simple, yet fabulous pattern for crochet baby leg warmers. They are already listed in my Etsy Shop, and are added (but not published) to the home page. If you want to browse around my shop or website, feel free, but you can purchase and customize these babies right here if you want to (over in the right hand column)!!

These are crocheted leg warmers that is a must-have for any baby this season. They help keep their little legs warm without having to fuss with pants that will ride up and you don't have to remove them for those diaper changes!!

Baby leg warmers are also terrific for adding a little padding when baby is busy crawling around.

Available in:
Pink
red
black
aqua
white
Lavevnder
(or pretty much any color you like!!)

Please make a note of the size you want when ordering, otherwise I'll be sending size 6-12 month.

0-6 month are approximately 9-10 inches in length.
6-12 month are approximately 10-12 inches in length.
12-18 month are approximately 12-14 inches in length.