Cheri’s Pickin’s – Julia’s Closet October 28, 2008

Hello and welcome to this edition of Cheri’s Pickin’s where I, your wonderful host, introduce you to some fabulous sellers and their wonderful goodies! There are so many fabulous sellers on etsy and all over the web and I am going to help you find some of them. I have asked each seller to give me a little info on themselves and their shop and at the end you will find out how you can win a free item! So, without further delay…. here is this weeks pickin’!

(If you are a seller on or off etsy please let me know if you would like to be featured in my blog!)

Julia’s Closet

I have been knitting for as long as I can remember myself….knitting from scraps and then unwinding the result (to explore what else could have been done with same yarn), knitting on a train, in front of a book, under the covers of my bed….

When I had my son I discovered that there are not too many quality knits for tots – actually none at all in acceptable price ranges that would please my esthetical sense as well as justify the price tag by quality…so I had to knit – first, cashmere blankets, then hats, then little sweaters with protection for neck out of softest materials I could find that would not irritate baby skin…that’s how I got back to it. My next discover was absense of complex patterns for kids knits and need to learn to imagine by myself….

I knit daily, I knit avidly and I pride myself on my perfectionism – from choosing the yarns of highest quality to paying attention to smallest details of execution…..

Now you can have a chance to win a mohair scarf.  Wohoo! Thanks Julia’s Closet:)

To enter:

• go and look at Julia’s Closet
• choose your favorite item
• leave a comment here with your pick
• don’t forget your e-mail address so I can contact you

The winner will be randomly chosen. Good luck to you all! Please, only one entry per person to make it fair. I will announce the winner Monday morning November 3rd! If winner does not respond within 48 hours a new winner will be chosen.

Congrats to Katherine on winning the mohair scarf from Julia’s Closet. Yeah:)

For My Princess October 26, 2008

I spent a few hours yesterday at a friends house working on projects and I decided to finally make the hair clips for Miracle that I have been procrastinating. I didn’t have all the stuff I would have liked to have used but I still came up with some cute new clipies for her. Now if only I can get her to leave them in….

A Mailbox Full of Fun October 24, 2008

I love getting mail. Most days are mostly bills and junk, but every once in a while there is some extra special fun in my mailbox. Today was indeed a very fun day.

There was a Blockbuster movie (Heroes, season one-disc 5). Yes, my husband has talked me into watching Heroes with him. The guy at Blockbuster made fun of me because I close my eyes during the icky gross parts but I still watch it. It is a good story!

Next was a box of ribbon I ordered from carouselfreak on etsy. It was a priority box full of mystery ribbon… Pretty good. Lots of colors and a great deal. There were over 40 spools of ribbon stuffed in that box for only $15 including shipping. Most of them were narrow and will be perfect for my tags. I was hoping for some wider ones because I’m going to make Miracle some hair clips tomorrow but it was still a box full of fun surprises.

The final bit of fun in my mailbox was a scrabble tile pendant I ordered from HomeStudio (also on etsy). It is so cute. Even cuter in person I must say. I have been looking at scrabble tile pendants for a long time and just not committed to one. HomeStudio has so many cute choices plus they are offering free shipping for the month of October.  I am loving the owl craze right now and see this as mommy me and my two babies:) Such a reasonable price, and they packaged it so nice. If you are looking for Christmas gifts or stocking stuffers these come ready to give!

Cheri’s Pickin’s – The Willows Nest October 24, 2008

Hello and welcome to this edition of Cheri’s Pickin’s where I, your wonderful host, introduce you to some fabulous sellers and their wonderful goodies! There are so many fabulous sellers on etsy and all over the web and I am going to help you find some of them. I have asked each seller to give me a little info on themselves and their shop and at the end you will find out how you can win a free item! So, without further delay…. here is this weeks pickin’!

(If you are a seller on or off etsy please let me know if you would like to be featured in my blog!)

The Willows Nest

Hi people, my name is Helen Wheeler-Shaw, a New Zealander now living in the good ol’ US. After recently ‘discovering’ etsy, I have had a lot of fun getting my shop together called ‘The Willows Nest’. I am one of those crazy creative types who finds it ‘ hard to breathe’, if I haven’t been ‘throwing some paint around’ for a while!

I have been ‘arty’ all my life, am always’ into’ something new but always return to painting, my true love.  I am delighted to have many paintings in private collections in Australia,  America,  New Zealand , Saudi Arabia and South Africa.

I create in my lovely studio looking out at the wildlife in the hill country of Texas, very inspiring! I live there with my husband ( from South Africa,) our son Luke (born in Saudi Arabia) and  Zackary ( our very own little American) We are like a mini United nations! lol!

So even with the constant battle of keeping the 18 month old toddler from ‘loving’ all my animal paintings, I have managed to start filling up my little shop, here are a couple of examples!   ‘Saffron’ and ‘Sunset’, painted in watercolors and Indian Ink

and ‘Fuchsia and Friend’, also watercolor and Indian Ink.

Currently I am all inspired by the old Botanical prints, so popular in Victorian Times, these current works reflect this.

I have included a give away for your draw, it is a set of  6 yummy textured notecards with matching envelopes entitled ‘Nesting.’ There are 2 cards of each image – Prints of my original work ‘Falling Feather’ , ‘Little Blue’ and ‘Spring Nest.’ All 3 works were completed in charcoal, pastel and Indian Ink. Enjoy, congrats to the winner!

Lovely to pop in and say Hi’ to you all, come and say hi to me if you have time at:

www.thewillowsnest.etsy.com

Cheers , Helen

Now you can have a chance to win those notecards.  Wohoo! Thanks Helen:)

To enter:

• go and look at The Willows Nest
  
• choose your favorite item
• leave a comment here with your pick
• don’t forget your e-mail address so I can contact you

The winner will be randomly chosen. Good luck to you all! Please, only one entry per person to make it fair. I will announce the winner Monday morning! If winner does not respond within 48 hours a new winner will be chosen.

Congrats to Sandra for winning the notecard set from The Willow’s Nest!

Cheri’s Pickin’s – Chicken Scratch October 21, 2008

Hello and welcome to this edition of Cheri’s Pickin’s where I, your wonderful host, introduce you to some fabulous sellers and their wonderful goodies! There are so many fabulous sellers on etsy and all over the web and I am going to help you find some of them. I have asked each seller to give me a little info on themselves and their shop and at the end you will find out how you can win a free item! So, without further delay…. here is this weeks pickin’!

(If you are a seller on or off etsy please let me know if you would like to be featured in my blog!)

My name’s Beth Merriman & I’m the owner of Chicken Scratch.  I know it’s an odd name for a shop – a while back, a prospective customer asked me what the name of my shop was (which I hadn’t actually listed on etsy yet) and that was the first thing that came to mind.  My grandfather always called my sister and I “chickie” when we were little; and I needed to make some scratch (cash) quickly.  Plus, of course, my candles are made from scratch.  I listed my shop on Etsy the next day.

I’m 30-something, single, living in San Diego, CA with a cat and a roomie.  The roomie works days, and I work nights, so my craftiness doesn’t infringe (much) on her life.  She’s been a good promoter, handing out business cards and talking me up whenever she can.  I work in backstage theatre as a dresser – some of my best customers are the actors and crew, who are always looking for opening night presents or something to send home to their loved ones.

Massage candles burn like beeswax candles, but the melted wax can be used as massage oil.  They make great little gifts, and you can pop them into your suitcase and really spoil yourself on vacation.  And, of course, if your romantic partner needs a hint, you can leave one on their pillow and see what happens next! My candles are vegan, meaning no animal products are used.  The soy wax melts at a lower temperature than beeswax, so it won’t burn you, and the shea butter just melts into your skin.  I’m always trying out new scents, and I’m open to customer requests.

Congratulations Teresa for winning a massage candle from Chicken Scratch. Thanks again Beth!

www.chickscratch.etsy.com

To enter:

• go and look at Chicken Scratch
• choose your favorite item (scent)
• leave a comment here with your pick
• don’t forget your e-mail address so I can contact you

The winner will be randomly chosen. Good luck to you all! Please, only one entry per person to make it fair. I will announce the winner Friday morning! If winner does not respond within 48 hours a new winner will be chosen.