May's Giveaway Beach Daisy Limited Edition Soy Candle

May has two holidays close to my heart: Mother's Day and Memorial Day! As most of you know, if you keep up with my blog - I lost my mom a few years ago to lung cancer (see post below) so Mother's Day is a bitter sweet holiday for me. Bitter sweet because I miss my mom terribly, but at the same time I am a mom with all the joy and love that comes with that.

Memorial Day is a time to remember all our heroes that have gone on before us and those who are still out there fighting this crazy war. It seems to me that as this phase of the war winds down and we don't hear about it in the headlines continually that we don't think of those still over there as often and the sacrifices they make on a daily basis for us to live free.

So, I dedicate this giveaway to our moms and our heroes. Thank you for all that you do for us.

To enter to win this cute Beach Daisy Limited Edition Soy Candle -simply leave me a comment about your mom telling me what you love most about them and say a special thank you to all our heroes (or the one special to your heart).

Sweet Pea Candle & Soap Giveaway

Thanks to everyone for entering the contest. I so enjoyed reading them all. The winner of this contest is Nickolay!! Congratulations Jason !!

Spring is my favorite time of the year. For me its a sign of renewal and new beginning. So, in honor of Spring I am giving away a Sweet Pea & Rhubarb Shea & Mango Homemade Soap bar and matching 4 oz Soy Candle in Travel Tin.

To enter simply tell me in the comment section what your favorite thing about spring is. For an additional entry follow me on my blog. If your already a follower, just leave me a note and I'll add your name to the hat a second time. Don't forget to leave me contact info in case you win. Contest ends April 30.

New Featured Artist and Giveaway

AND THE WINNER IS: Rosemary. Congratulations.

Laurel from Ellemardesigns is our new featured artist. Laurel is generously giving away this simple yet striking year-round Mountains & Pines Ornament . This ornament was hand-decorated on a hollow ceramic circle that is 3" wide and 1 1/8" thick, then fired to cone 06. It is quite light weight. The front of the ornament features a mountain landscape with trees in the foreground, while the back of the ornament is glazed in glossy dark brick red. It is totally one of a kind, and would make a great gift for yourself or someone special in your life.




Laurel has been creating art for most of her life and enjoys creating intricate freehand black and white glaze patterns on ceramics, as well as more naturalistic designs.Like this great expresso cup and saucer.

I recently had a chance to "talk" with Laurel via email and ask her a few questions about her inspirations, work and being a WAHM, homeschooling mom.....

What inspired you to begin creating your ornaments?The ornaments are a fairly recent endeavor for me – as of last November, actually, when I saw some in my local ceramics studio and wanted to try doing them. Certain shapes are a real pleasure to work with, and give me a variety of small “canvases” to be creative on. I've only been seriously working at my art for the past two years or so, although I've always enjoyed drawing and painting. The drawings came first (my college notebooks are full of the abstract stuff in the margins – it's a good thing I can listen and draw at the same time!). I started decorating ceramics about a year ago, and was hooked. Here is one of her stunning drawings...



What inspires you?The natural world, with its patterns of symmetry and texture, inspires me more than anything. But I like to see and learn from all kinds of visual art. My work has echoes of some Native American design (like Acoma Pueblo pottery, which I greatly admire but would never try to copy), and I love textiles and ceramics. Finally, my Christian faith inspires me to share the Gospel through my life and art.

Why do you homeschool? And what lead you to that decision?Oh, that's hard! It's been a tough year, I can't give a pat answer. I home school mostly because it's the best environment for my kids to learn and grow. I started home schooling after our son was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome (usually called a mild form of autism) in an Early Kindergarten program. He had some sensory issues that made being physically in a school very trying for him, and we realized that teaching him at home would relieve many of his difficulties. Socially, home schooling allows him to learn with and from a wide range of kids and adults, in many situations. It also allows our kids to explore their own interests through school activities – unit studies have been very useful to us.

How do you balance running a home-based business and homeschooling your children?My Etsy shop is very new (opened just last October), so this is a learning process for all of us. Since I haven't had a large number of sales, I'm not spending a lot of time away from schooling. I work on my art projects mostly in the evenings, after the kids are in bed, and I do the administrative/networking/chatty Etsy stuff on a catch-as-catch-can basis during the day.

What has been you biggest handmade "oops"?Probably just the learning curve of decorating on ceramics, using different techniques. I have quite a few “seconds” at home because I only want to put my best work up for sale. I have high standards for what I sell, and if it's not something I would buy myself, I won't sell it to anyone else. So, I have NOT made a profit on my shop - yet.

How do you spend your time when you are not creating?Besides taking care of my husband and kids, I'm an avid gardener, a total bookworm, and a history nerd. If I had cable, I'd be sure to have the History Channel on every evening while doing my art. Before staying home with my kids, I was a Special Education teacher. We are in the process of moving since my husband recently started a new job in another part of our state, so life is a bit unsettled now, to say the least.

To enter the giveaway simply visit Ellemardesigns shop, comeback here and tell us in the comments what your favorite item in her shop is (please don't forget to leave contact info). This contest ends on March 12.

Featured Artist & Giveaway

I recently met Donna ,a WAHM homeschooling mom through our ETSY She team (a group of homeschooling mom's that own home-based business on etsy.com). Donna has two wonderful shops CellChic and Huebsch Designs and she is generously sponsoring this week's giveaway of a beautiful Cell Phone Charm similar to the one seen below. Donna will let the winner choose which charm they prefer from her CellChic Shop(9.99 value).

I've had the pleasure of talking with Donna via email and got to ask her some question on running a homebased business and homeschooling...

What inspired you to begin creating cell charms and open your homebased business? I've always loved crafting of all sorts. I started beading about 5 years ago, and it really stuck! I made and gave away all the bracelets, earrings, necklaces and jeans jewelry that I could, and then I discovered the little straps for making cell charms...I was hooked! I made and gave them away until everyone I knew had one of my charms. I was interested in selling my crafts, but knew that weekend craft shows didn't mesh with our lifestyle. I placed my items in several boutiques, but having to sell them at wholesale prices made it difficult to make a decent profit.A few weeks ago, I discovered Etsy and thought I had died and gone to heaven! It was exactly the venue I wanted. It's like having your items in a 24/7 craft show with the entire world as potential customers, and you never have to leave your house!

What inspires you? Almost anything - I'll see something where the colors catch my eye, and think about how I can use that in a piece of jewelry or a decorative accessory. For example, I was making a pumpkin pie yesterday, and when I had dumped the sugar, ginger, and cinnamon in a bowl, I thought, "Ooo-o-oh! Nice colors. That would look great in a cell phone charm." Check my shop - I'll be adding a charm called "Sugar and Spice" soon :o)

Why do you homeschool? and what lead you to that decision? We homeschool because we feel it offers the best educational oppotunities for our very bright child. I guess what led us to that decision was the experience of having our child in public school for grades K-5, and realizing that we wanted something different.

How do you balance running a home-based business and homeschooling your children? With our eclectic style of homeschooling, it all kind of blends together actually. Starting the home-based business is giving lots of opportunities for practical, real-life educational experiences.

What has been you biggest handmade "oops"? There are probably lots! The first to come to mind is when I decided I just HAD to try working with PMC (precious metal clay). I made one attempt at a pair of earrings -- the clay dried way too quickly as I tried to work with it. I finally fired the pieces in my little "hot pot", and then promptly broke one of the earrings in half as I tried to finish them. Before I could try a second project, I broke the lid to my hot pot, so I have shelved my interest in PMC for awhile!

How do you spend your time when you are not creating? We love to camp, so every now and then we pack up the people, the 3 dogs, the cat and the Abyssinian guinea pig and head off to the wild blue yonder.

To enter the giveaway simply visit both of Donna's shops CellChic and Huebsch Designs and tell us in the comments section what your favorite items from her shops are. Giveway ends February 23.2009.

Featured Artist and Giveaway

My featured artist this month is Bad Cat Jewelry from San Antonio, Texas. Bad Cat Jewelry offers stunning handmade jewelry using sterling silver, vintage beads, lampwork, Swarovski crystal, and textiles. You can find Bad Cat Jewelry on Etsy, Artfire, 1000Markets, twitter, http://www.badcatjewelry.com/ which links to her *new* blog: http://www.blog.badcatjewelry.com/, and Flickr. If Bad Cat Jewelry is typed into Google, she will turn up. Bad Cat is also in the process of increasing her stock to sell at a crafter's market in February.

I recently spoke with Bad Cat via email and asked her a few questions...

What inspired you to begin creating jewelry? I needed an outlet when my husband was deployed. I put all the blame on my sister-in-law who got me back into beading (I did a little in college). Then I found out that our friends' child had been diagnosed with brain cancer, and I couldn't help them since I was so far away. So I decided to set up a little tiny business online and donate 10% of the profits to Specially for Children in Austin, Texas.

Where did you start and how did you learn to make the products you are creating today? I am totally self taught. I took one class, but it was basically what I had already taught myself.What are your favorite products to make? Anything that has been in my mind's eye. I love seeing an idea come into fruition and working.

What inspires you? Color and symmetry. I love playing with colors. Symmetry is very important to me. You probably won't see me using chips or oddly shaped stones in my pieces. I just can't do it.

What was your biggest handmade oops? Ummm...really just messing up with some sterling. That always irks me. I'm too impatient at times and just jump into a project without a practice run on some cheap wire.

How do you spend time when you are NOT creating? I would love to say I am an incredibly organized person who runs a perfect household. Its just not true. In my spare time I am trying to coax my active preschool boy into clothing, finding matching socks, and making sure shoes are on the correct feet. I am also trying to fix whatever toy is broken, building train tracks (I should have an engineering degree), cleaning up from little "helping" hands (Pinesol gets crayon out of the carpet), and explaining why the cat doesn't want to be dragged around by his tail.

THE GIVEAWAY

I will be giving away of a pair of Bad Cats beautiful Pink Stacked Earrings, which are constructed using two fabulous, faceted pink stones on sterling silver headpins and attached to earwires. These earrings would make the perfect Valentine Gift for yourself or someone you love. To enter the giveaway simply go to Bad Cat's shop http://www.badcatjewelry.etsy.com/ and to http://www.smokeymountainscents.etsy.com/ then leave a comment on this blog (please don't forget to leave contact info or I will have to choose a different winner because I won't be able to reach you) to tell me what your favorite item is in each shop is. The contest begins January 21 and will end February 4. I will have one of my lovely kiddos choose the lucky winner. The Earrings will ship in time to give as a Valentine gift.

Featured Seller & Giveaway

At KristieGK you can find beautiful jewelry, cards, scrap booking items and cute primitive salt dough ornaments. Kristie is a very talented craftswoman who is also a fellow home schooler and East Tennessean

Kristie is generously sponsoring a giveaway of a pair of her lovely Cascading Pearl Earrings. These earrings would be perfect for all your holiday dress occasions. To enter the giveaway simply go to Kristie's shop http://www.kristiegk.etsy.com and then leave a comment on this blog (please don't forget to leave contact info) to tell me what your favorite item in her shop is. The contest begins November 6 and will end November 16. I will have one of my lovely kiddos choose the lucky winner.



I've had the pleasure of chatting with Kristie and had the opportunity to ask her a few questions.

What inspires your designs ?
Anything and everything! I can see a color, smell a fragrance, feel a texture, or think of someone, and the next thing I know I am elbow deep in another project. It can be a curse and a blessing at times. Mostly a blessing though.

Tell us what one of your products we shouldn't be without and why. A simple yet sophisticated pair of pearl earrings. The classic white or ivory pearl is versatile for so many occasions. They can compliment jeans and a nice blouse, business casual, and certainly formal attire as well. Also, If white isn't your "thing" and you want more variety you now have so many color options available.
Lastly, they are great for passing down from generation to generation. There is something timeless about pearls that will never go out of style.


What is unique/sets you apart from the rest about your products, materials, process?
Quality materials, genuine hands on creativity, and fair prices.
I like to have products available for all budget levels. Whether you have a six figure income or are just looking to spend $5 you won't get cheap, shoddy products!
For me, Etsy is a venue that allows me- as a stay at home mom- to turn my creativity into a little extra "me" money. Which is why I can operate my shop with a bit more flexibility price wise. I know that a lot of sellers cringe at me for even saying that, but I choose to look at my business as a place where friendships are made as well as money. Never forget that there is a real person on the other end of the transactions and treat them with respect and fairness.

What is your favorite item from your shop
If I were to choose just one it would be my salt dough candy cane ornaments right now.I enjoy the entire process from mixing the dough to the right consistency, rolling it between my hands and forming the canes. I love the smell as they are baking, then painting them, sanding them, and dipping them in the wax. I am very much a fan of primitive decorating in general because it just makes me feel like life doesn't always have to be so rushed and so corporate. I hope to convey that peaceful feeling through my prim goodies to others as well.


What do you do when you aren't making jewelry and paper crafts?Actually I am a brain surgeon in my spare time. I wish! Nope! Actually I am just a typical happy housewife doing things like washing this, cooking that, raising my two teenage boys and loving every precious, and rare minute I get to spend with my husband Chris.
Oh, and spending insane amounts of money shopping on Etsy! Shhh... ;)

Halloween Soap Giveaway

My first official giveaway will be one of my Candy Corn Soaps. These soaps are wonderful as a Halloween treat for yourself or to give as a gift. To enter all you have to do is post a comment on YOUR best Halloween costume (or one you would like to do, but like me can't get up the nerve to do it) and leave an email where I can reach you if you win. I've always been a huge 40's "pin-up" girl fan and would love to dress up like that, but to be honest -I'm too big of a chicken.

The contest starts tonight and will end Sunday October 26 at 12:00pm EST. Your prize will be mailed on Monday and should arrive in time for Halloween. All names will go into a basket at the end of the drawing and one of my wonderful children will do the honors and choose the winner.