Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Team FEST Lottery March 1st - 31st

It's that time again –

Team FEST is running a lottery March 1st through March 31st. You can win a fabulous prize package compliments of Team FEST as well as a feature of your shop on the team blog (including an etsy shop mini!)

How to enter:

You must create a 100% Team FEST treasury and post the link in the comments section below. You can find Florida Etsy Street Team (FEST) members to select treasury items from their shops here: FEST MEMBERS

Be sure to include these three tags in your treasury:

1. etsyteam

2. teamfest

3. fest

You can enter as many times as you wish but you must create a new 100% Team FEST treasury for each entry. (treasury date must be posted between March 1 & March 31 ... no recycling treasuries please)

You can enter to win March 1st – March 31st

The winner will be chosen with the random number generator.

The lottery is open to all!! Share the opportunity with your family & friends both on and off etsy, share on twitter & facebook too!

If someone who is not an etsy shop is a selected winner he/she can choose the shop they wish to feature. (perhaps a friends shop or a favorite)

Winner will be announced April 2nd!

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Team member blog share:

MadScientistsDesigns says:
 Check out my interview with the wonderful Carolyn Jenkins of forpawsandhome and comment for a chance to win a pretty jewelry box. GIVEAWAY ends March 1st.
http://madscientistsdesigns.blogspot.com/2012/02/carolyn-jenking-of-for-paws-and-home.html



and Stop by and say hello to Allison of TheSketchyLife, read her interview and comment for a chance to win an original drawing. GIVEAWAY ends March 2nd.
http://madscientistsdesigns.blogspot.com/2012/02/allison-of-thesketchylife-interview.html






Saturday, February 18, 2012

Hello Again!

It has been a while since I did a guest post here on the FEST team blog. For those of you who do not know me, I am Melissa. I will be guest posting on the third Thursday of each month. As you can see, I am late. I loathe being late, so I will try harder next month. I live in Trenton, FL, homeschool my two beautiful children, am a part time nurse, gemstone collector, jewelry maker, and I am learning to paint. Are there any painters here? I am sure there is. I am having a ball learning to paint, and would someday love to be able to paint on jewelry. That is my goal. My mom is our painting teacher, and we do it for homeschool art. That way everyone gets to have fun. The Donna Dewberry method is supposed to be the easiest method to learn. I still not convinced of that, lol! I am obsessed with learning to make the perfect rose.

I have been working on different ways of advertising my store and blogs. I love Pinterest, and have been pinning Team FEST items for some time now. I try to do it everyday, but sometimes I just don't get it done. If you have Pinterest, you can follow my Etsy board, and if you share your link I will follow yours. If you don't have Pinterest, I highly recommend it. It is really nice for not only sharing things you love, but for storing and cataloging sites and products you might want in the future. It saves space on your computer if you want to share pictures as well.

As far as sales, how has everyone been doing in this very slow economy? I did have two sales so far this month, but I average about one a month. I have lots of stuff to list, just need to get time to do it. Is anyone using FB as a way of selling your items? What I mean is do you list your stuff straight out on FB and let buyers purchase from there? I know some people who do this, but I am leary of it. If you do, have you had success, and what about issues of non payment, or things like that?

I guess I have blabbed enough for one post. Please take a minute and share one of your sites or pages that you would like to promote. I will do a blog post on my Gemstone and Jewelry blog in a few days, highlighting each link shared. Have a great weekend, and happy crafting.

Friday, February 17, 2012

FEBRUARY 2012 - TEAM MONTHLY CHALLENGE: CAST YOUR VOTE

With the end of the cold weather and the feeling that Spring is in the air,  gardening is on the mind - So our theme this month is "Sewing the seeds of Love", garden planting.
Cast your vote for your favorite, poll found in right hand side bar. Voting ends on February  29th at midnight!

Seeds of Love by RecreationalArt
Garden Stake Watering Can by GardenWhimsiesByMary

Bamboo Wall Art by TheWoodenBee

Mint Vegan Soap with Poppyseed by AquarianBath

Gold and Gray Acrylic Painting by hannahbird

Itty Bitty Blocks by http://www.etsy.com/shop/LuckiiArts


ok everybody! vote for your faves now!!! ------------------------------------------>

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Greetings From On Board The SS Tesla 02/12/12

Hello Fellow FESTers!

I have brought to you a few tutorials, and just in time for Valentine's Day too! The Captain will be super busy this week and next since Grad School and work are taking up a huge chunk of her life at the moment.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Godspeed,

xoxo,

The Captain







Friday, February 3, 2012

February's Em- Powering Days


If you are not familiar with Ellen Whitehurst then you should be!
Ellen Whitehurst is a Better Living Expert and is recognized as the country's premier expert in Feng Shui and other empowering modalities.
If you would like to know more about Ellen Whitehurst, you can subscribe to or read her website.
And as part of this month activities, we would like to share our picks from the Florida Etsy Street Team to help your Shuistrology for this month.

FEBRUARY 1 - Uh oh, Venus and Mars aren’t making nice with each other!  Looks like these cosmic consorts need a time-out.  Could be that you might like one too.  Some will be extra touchy/sensitive while others are just plain too entitled for our tastes.  Any way you go, it’s a bit of a difficult day so let’s go ahead and make it all better.  Cleanse and clear your space with some violet incense (the ‘happy’ incense according to Feng Shui) or simply smoke out the shit using any incense at all.  Frankincense and sandalwood will do the trick too.  Just be sure to stand at your front door and walk the main floor in a clockwise direction holding the incense, cleansing and cleaning the negative vibes until the smoke clears.  Literally.
Sandalwood Solid Perfume
AquarianBath

FEBRUARY 3 - Neptune packs up and returns home to Pisces today!  This planet now plans to take up some radical real estate in its homey sign until 2025!  This is big shi(f)t!  Especially for anyone with dominant Pisces in their charts!  THIS will be YOUR decade.  For all others, this Neptune move signals a shift into a new age of revolutions and romanticism, rebellion, imagination, intuition, idealism and creativity.  From ANY search engine download an image of something called ‘Neptune Magic Wand’ (looks like a trident with an arrow/point at the top) and position that in the ‘CHILDREN/CREATIVITY’ area.  Leave it there until 2025 if you know what’s magic, um, I mean, good for you!
Little Miss Magic, Applique Swaddling/Receiving Blanket, Ready to Ship
HappyLittleMonkey

FEBRUARY 5 - End of the first 15 days of the Chinese New Year.  All new Flying Star cures can now be put into place.  Follow me on Facebook to see what/when/how/why to get the most out of this year-altering information.
Happy Chinese New Year Dragon Linocut original hand printed limited edition
craftyhag

FEBRUARY 7 - Full Moon in dramatic scene-stealing Leo while Saturn sneaks off and goes retrograde where he will stay in stuck and stall until June 25.  That means that now both Saturn the Taskmaster and aggressive warrior Mars are both appearing to move backwards in the skies at the same time.  Frustrations and the BIG D (c’mon, you know I’m talking about DRAMA!)  Chaos chimes in as well.  Do whatever you can on this day to channel your irritation and annoyances into something constructive.  At the very least don’t let the drama do any damage.  With your index and middle fingers, press against your temples, while using your thumbs to press against the hairline on your neck.  Work the thumbs from there to the other fingers, slowing moving along while exerting slight pressure.  Always press firmly enough to lose feeling in the area being touched.  This will IMMEDIATELY release stored stress but can’t really do anything about the asshole with the road rage in the car next to you!  Blame that on the bs happening high in the sky and let your fingers do the walking while the drama queens do the smack talking.  That’s the ONLY things your fingers should be doing today though, capiche?
Headache Relief Pure Essential Oil Blend - Sample Size
ClearBlueAroma

FEBRUARY 9 - Venus conjunct Uranus – OR – love can be found in the most exciting, electric, surprising and unpredictable places!  Time to meet the love of your life or re-energize an existing one!  If you don’t want to wait for our pending release of our newest product, THE POWER OF LOVE (due out on February 14, of course!) and you want to take total advantage of these extra-special stellar energies, then, go out and paint the town red.  Wear that same color while you’re at it.  Now, if you really want to fuel the fires, put red sheets on your bed.  Sizzle.  ‘Nuff said.
Shoe Print - Paso Doble Ballroom Dancing Flower Shoe - Signed and Enhanced with Watercolor
brownleeartstudio

FEBRUARY 10 - My birthday.  Celebrate away!
Pink happy birthday
sherrieleeberry

FEBRUARY 13 - Mercury the Messenger in a harmonious trine with stuck in stall Saturn while also hittin’ up Neptune before entering Pisces.  That’s a lot of mercurial action.  So you can expect a lot of inspiration, ideas, imagination and, yes, communication to be coming your way as well.  Hang a round and faceted, clear quartz crystal over your computer at work or even or your headboard/head of the bed at home.  OR you can hang one from nine inches (or any multiple of nine) of red ribbon, thread, yarn or string from the center of the bedroom ceiling.  Any/all of these cures keep all communications fortune-filled and flowing!
Crystal Quartz Necklace
luvlaughsparkle

FEBRUARY 14 - Valentine’s Day and Venus is still enjoying the afterglow stemming from her tryst with unconventional Uranus.  Planets in fire signs will be on fuego and some tempers could go that same way.  Since Venus is on the DL, why don’t you follow suit?  Or don’t say I didn’t warn you about potential disputes, disagreements and even arguments over what it takes to tow the love line.  Now, just in case you totally forgot and put your foot in your mouth, this next step could conceivably smooth everything over.  Place an open container filled with fresh spring water in your bedroom and let it sit there for three days.  At the end of that timeframe dispose of the water and put the receptacle away.  This is Feng Shui 101 for absorbing the angst associated with an argument, you know, in case you dove in head first.
Chubby Wheel Thrown Vase With An Attitude by Symmetrical Pottery Ready To Ship
symmetricalpottery

FEBRUARY 15 - Venus is squaring off against Pluto.  Much like yesterday, romance could be a bit rockier than usual today.  See yesterday’s advice before you decide to step away and reassess the entire situation.
Blue Love fine art print
RobinMariaPedrero

FEBRUARY 16 - Mercury the Messenger is sextile generous and jovial Jupiter!  Ahhhhh, all better now.  In fact, better – better – almost the best – day of the month that is.  This gift of the present is asking you to unwrap a goal, wish, dream or desire and set it free.  Make a presentation, make a deal, make your dream come true.  Or simply make a wish.  But don’t forget to write it in red ink on four individual index cards.  Place one by your bed where you can see it both morning and night.  One goes on your bathroom mirror while one goes somewhere where you can see it in the kitchen.  Last one goes to work with you – right before it goes to work for you!  Twenty-seven days and you’re good to go.  Start TODAY!
Notebook Blue Gray Butterfly Journal Lined Imagine Dream Wish Laugh
TierraSolPaz

FEBRUARY 18 - Sun shines on Saturn while Mercury makes hay with powerful Pluto.  Harmony all over the place.  Both compromise and compassion in the air with karma pulling up the rear.  First do some random act of kindness before asking for guidance from a maven, mentor or any other VIP.  Deals done today will last forevuh.  And evuh.  Burn those nine red candles in your FAME area and, then, burn baby burn!
Beveled Stained Glass Suncatcher Window treatment Yin Yang
WindchimesAndWhatnot

FEBRUARY 19 - Sun shimmies into Pisces today while also conjunct Neptune.  Creativity is pervasive and pressing you to get involved and indulge as well.  Music.  Poetry.  Art.  Dance.  Especially DANCE.  In the ‘CREATIVITY’ area of your house.  Dance to the music that sings to your soul.  You’ll feel like you spent a week at the spa.  Open up and say “ahhhhhhhhhhh.”  Or you can hang a rainbow image in the CREATIVITY too.  Color your world!
The Dancer-  Fine Art Photograph
malinda612

FEBRUARY 23 - Mercury the Messenger is talking down to aggressive and retrograde Mars and Mars ain’t havin’ none that!  In fact, pretty much anything that any one of us says today will be wrong.  Keep it zipped and keep your distance.  Silence is golden and so is wearing that same color especially if you only think sunbeams and warmth all this tense day long.
Citrine Earrings in Sterling Silver - Faceted Citrine Briolettes - November Birthstone
DelicateAdornments

FEBRUARY 24 - SUPER DUPER UBER STELLAR DAY!  This one rocks!  Of course you can only find this info if you are a subscriber to my free monthly newsletter.  Come on, join the tens of thousands of empowered elite who know exactly how to make the world their oyster!  Pearls of wisdom and wit await!  See you there!
Forest Green PEARLS and Crystals with MABE PEARL Clasp Necklace
petites41

FEBRUARY 27 - Sun sexing up Pluto!  People in power want YOU to shine!  Ask anyone.  Or, really, ask them.  No, I mean it – screw up your courage and ask a VIP for a favor.  Or advice.  Or both.  Be sure to wear your CROWN OF SUCCESS powder too.  Quarter cup of cornstarch blended with a quarter cup of powdered sugar with 33 drops of pure basil essential oil added for good measure.  Stir with the power finger from your power hand (index finger/hand you write with) and then wear on your hands (at least) during any proposed meetings with the higher ups.  Speaking of higher up, look at how close you are getting to the top!
Smiling Spaniel with a Crown Original Painting
genasemenov

FEBRUARY 29 - This day only happens once every four years and is said to be a time when a gal should/could propose marriage to her guy.  Take the LEAP but do be sure to hang an image of a two pink peonies to the left of the door to your bedroom before asking for his hand.  With those peonies in place, he’ll pick you, I’m positive!
Bee Mine Pin
PaintedLatheesPlus

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

In My Corner with GardenWhimsiesByMary

A little note before starting my piece. If you have never checked out Mary's garden stuff I definitely think you should head that way after the article because I have to admit that I use her in almost all my treasuries.   Okay now that that is off my chest I can begin.
After being down-sized from a corporate job in 2008 and working part-time, Mary wanted to do something "creative and fun to earn money." So to supplement and not have to go back to a full-time job Mary created Garden Whimsies. 
"I've been an avid gardener for 15+ years and have always been a "flea market" junker when it comes to decorating my garden. I believe you can decorate your gardens the same way you'd decorate your home. I've been repurposing other peoples' discarded treasures for years for use in my garden. I love fun, whimsical gardens where you find unexpected treasures."
In 2010 after seeing a picture of a glass totem she liked she put together a few things using ceramic and glass pieces and asked her friends to crique them.  Guess what, everyone of those pieces sold and they told her to make more. 
Her  studio is her daughter's old bedroom (again jealous a whole room).  Where there is a shelve that holds her daughters old trophies that is slowly getting taken over. She has a stronger will then me ladies b/c I would have packed those up already and invasion fabric and notions. 
Although she would love a huge craft room she thinks it is better then the kitchen table where she started at was.  She got a table from Goodwill (got to love thrift stores) and made a skirt to hide boxes and supplies.
 Her huge supply of unexpected treasures are stored on shelves in closets through out the house.

 She said "Thank goodness I have an understanding husband who puts up with me hogging all the closet space." Amen to that huh girls.  You know how they say behind ever good man there is a woman shaking their head, well I think behind every crafting woman there is a man shaking his head and smiling.  Mary also believes the best part of having a dedicated studio is that you can leave your projects out and just close the door if you don't want to see a mess. Not that she is messy of course. "Well, maybe sometimes LOL." she told me.  I love the fact that there is a broom and a cleaning supply can still trying to keep their spot in the closet.  There are so many times in my house that I go hmmm that needs a new spot b/c I need to put something else there.
What inspires Mary?
 " I never knew I was creative until my children were grown and I became a grandmother. Probably because I was busy being a wife and mother, while being employed full time for 30 years. My time now is split between my part-time bookkeeping job, taking care of my precious 19 month old grand-daughter Bella and creating my garden whimsies. I find inspiration in many things . . . my garden and art for example. My garden whimsy designs usually begin with an 'inspiration' piece. That could be a fabulous teapot or beautiful plate that I find when I'm out "junkin" at the many, many thrift stores in my area. Once I find that special piece I can't wait to get home to see what other pieces I have that will go with it. At that point I'm already designing the piece in my head."
She just can't live without "(1) My Tomboy Tools caulking gun (ergonomically designed for women)" I am sorry but just the name makes me think of her with a huge gun with shell casings at her feet. "(2) Picnic, my photo editing program. I am not the photographer in the family, so I need all the help I can get to help make my photos look good." Yes I understand Mary- that is why I send free items to photographers to take pictures on their children. "

(3) A Lazy Susan for creating my garden totems. This is just so darn helpful for spinning the garden totem around while I'm working on it. " For that, all I can think about is that I love the fact that my new kitchen has one.  Pots and pans are just so much easier to get. Oh right we are talking about craft spaces not my kitchen. 
Her storage tip Rubbermaid 36 gal storage bins. "I can store lots of whimsies in those bins. They also come in handy for transporting my whimsies to craft shows."

Thank you Mary for sharing and Enjoy,
Barbara