FEST

In My Corner with GardenWhimsiesByMary

2012-02-01T14:54:00.000-05:00

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

Greetings From On Board The SS Tesla 01/29/11

2012-01-29T10:20:00.000-05:00

Hello Team FESTers!

The Captain is back! (Well sort of). And I have some wonderful new shows to tell all of you about! Keep in mind that the vendor slots for some of these shows is closed but if you ask and poke around a bit, there might be some spots available so for all of the Team FESTers that would like to attend or vend, here are some of the shows that are going on right now!

February 5th: Pinned Up South Florida: This show is super awesome. For those in the South Florida area, come check it out!

February 18-19: Art: Sunny Side Up Craft Show at the Coral Ridge Mall: This is a great show that showcases different types of vendors selling unique items and not to mention the organizers of this event are super nice. This one is definitely great for those of you who are in the Ft. Lauderdale and further South areas.

February 22nd: Art Nouveau Presents: Love Struck/Love Sucks Pt. 2: These shows are monthly and are in the West Palm Area, so if you're local, (like me) then this is one show you definitely have to check out! They are looking for vendors for the show and the price for the spot is $40.

That's all of the shows for February. If you have any others, please feel free to post them in the comments section. Next month, I will be focusing on Valentine's Day and the fun stuff you can do if you have someone, or if you're single.

Good Luck and Godspeed!

xoxo,
The Captain!

Showin some love!

2012-01-28T11:42:00.000-05:00

Getting ready for another Show Season!

2012-01-19T20:42:00.000-05:00

As the show season gets ready to kick into high gear for me, I thought I might take a few minutes to rehash the Do’s and Don’ts and some common mistakes of Craft Shows. When I first started Art & Craft Shows (and occasionally still) I find myself committing some of these blunders – so if this helps anyone at all, then it is a successful night of show prepping.

1. Little or no inventory for sale. If you don’t have enough inventory and variety of inventory to sell, don’t plan on any sales during the event. In the past I have seen more sales from an overstuffed, but well presented booth, than from an under stocked booth. I always bring at least one whole box of back up stock (for me that is about 40 bags) in the hopes that I need to restock all of it.

2. No signage. I know some shows won’t allow outside signage, but a banner hung inside or even smaller signage around the booth with help promote and entice the customer into the booth. Another thing to keep prominent is pricing. I have found if some people look and don’t see a price they assume it might be too expensive and venture on. I have also seen people who will look, but just don’t want to ask pricing (you know the ones who don’t want you to speak to them) and then leave if they cant find the price themselves.

3. Business cards. I have finally found that I can never have enough cards. Always take more than you think you will give out. I have had several people call me after the show to see if that adorable bag they saw was still available. So, therefore, stock up on cards and giveaway promotional materials.

4. Don’t attack the customers – but don’t ignore them either. After 5 years of shows, I still haven’t figured this one out yet, but I have found a few tips that help. Occasionally a simple “Hello” or “How are you doing today?” or “Is it cold/warm enough for you out there?” gets their attention. Let them know you’re not a total slug, but allow the customers to look in peace. Sometimes I get a response, sometimes not. Either way, I have at least tried.

5. Welcoming and Attractive Displays. This is one of my favorite areas. I spend my summer months working on a new display for my fall/winter season. I try to keep is fresh and accessible, always changing the look each season, to keep up with the ‘brick & mortar” stores. They all have great window displays, and so I make my booth the same way. Repeat customers will not be bored with a new display and might even buy something they overlooked last time they stopped in since it is now featured.

Well that about sums up what I have been focusing on the week. I hope that any of these tips help anyone with their next show. Just remember, take a deep breath and smile! Let the shows begin!

Cheers!
Gypsy Blue

2012 Rings In Our January FEST Blog Giveaway

2012-01-05T20:46:00.011-05:00

Ring in the New Year with a Special Treat from
TheWoodenBee for our January FEST Blog Giveaway. Bee started it all with a love for the environment and partnered with Busby Cabinets recycling pieces of wood and other materials to make her wonderful art and product lines.

We are delighted to offer, as this month's Giveaway, the beautifully fashioned Wall Hanger seen above. It's made from reclaimed cherry wood with a merlot brown stain and would be perfect for organizing keys, necklaces, belts, pet leashes, aprons and much, much more.

Each item is one of a kind and requires "following the wood" to unlock the beauty within and create masterfully finished products, giving reclaimed materials new life. You will find Wall Art, Bulletin Boards, DYI Wine Cork Kits, Mirrors with Hangers and a myriad of interesting finds in Bee's Etsy Shop.

You can visit Bee at her Etsy Store to see more of her unique and original wares at TheWoodenBee. Find the perfect item for your home and save the environment too.

HOW TO ENTER: Enter to win this versatile Wall Hanger by visiting TheWoodenBee or any of the FEST member shops listed on the top of our Blog Page. Find your favorite item, share it with us and tell us why you love it. Remember to add your email address or contact info so we can contact you if you are the Winner! Winner picked on 02/05/12. Simple and Easy!

January's Em-Power Days

2012-01-03T12:04:00.000-05:00

JANUARY 1 - Mercury squaring off against Mars makes for a whole lot of aggressive energy out and about on this day. Steer clear. Literally. Stay off the road even for that one rad rager. If you must drive, do it defensively and with a clear quartz crystal as your co-pilot.

WeAre1

JANUARY 6 - On the Feast of the Epiphany let’s encourage the Universe to gift you with one as well. In keeping with the zeitgeist of this holyday burn some frankincense incense and tune in to that still small voice within. Forget the myrhh, the inspirations and ideas that come to you now will be golden. Your silence, however, won’t be. Write them down, paint them, create them in some tangible way and then take them out into the world. Recognition and rewards are yours. Oh baby, take your talents on the road and your gifts will be applauded and appreciated!

Paintingsbygretzky

JANUARY 7 - Mercury the Messenger whispering sexy somethings to foggy Neptune but Neptune can’t seem to get a grip. With Mercury entering practical Capricorn today too you might be finding it hard to stay grounded too. Play middle C and high C in harmonic convergence/together at the same time on any musical instrument. Known in sacred music circles as activating ‘Thy Rod and Thy Staff’ this secret sacred sound will activate meridians both back and front and give you the grounding you need.

craftyhag

JANUARY 8 - Busy, busy, busy Mercury trines generous and joyful Jupiter while squaring off against impulsive and unpredictable Uranus. This is an alchemical day filled with pure magic and bliss. Don’t believe me? Just start it by saying (nine times aloud) … “I look with wonder at that which is before me.” Yes, yes, a wonder-full day indeed!

kari1121

JANUARY 9 - Sensitive, emotional Full Moon rises in security conscious Cancer. Tender. Vulnerable even. Feeling mushy, gushy and good. You love everyone and everyone loves you. Each time you eat or drink anything today imagine that you are swallowing LOVE. Breathe LOVE. Consciously take a moment and breathe in LOVE. Smile. Share love. Show love. XOXO

bluestarfishstudio

JANUARY 12 - SUPER STELLAR DAY! First of the New Year! YAY!!! SUPER AND STELLAR AND BRAND SPANKING NEW! YAY! You know what to do – click on the link in the free monthly newsletter because that’s the ONLY way you can have access to this life-altering info! WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU’RE NOT A SUBSCRIBER? Hop right on over and subscribe to Ellen Whitehurst Website!

AspiringImages

JANUARY 13 - Venus conjunct Neptune and romance my friends is in the air. Want to bring it into your bedroom? Red sheets!

iDoArtsyWeddings

JANUARY 14 - Venus entering Pisces while SEX-tiling a jubilant Jupiter. All that romance that was burning up the charts yesterday returns with a renewed heat quotient today! Speaking of amped up hotness – burn two pink candles in the ‘ROMANCE’ sector of your bedroom. The room with the bed with the red sheets. Let the candles burn all the way down. You, my friend, will be burning UP!

PAMELAJ76

JANUARY 19 - Uh oh. Sun squares Saturn. Uh oh. Stay on the straight and narrow and invoke (three times!) Archangel Jabriel to clear your path, light your way, make it easy every day. Can I get an ‘AMEN?’

RobinMariaPedrero

JANUARY 20 - Sun enters Aquarius and Venus SEX-tiles Pluto and love just makes the world go round. Speaking of round, there might be a ring in your future if you are looking for commitment. Put the DOUBLE HAPPINESS symbol above the headboard of your bed and sleep tight. Soon enough you’ll be sleeping for two!

MieleMelograno

JANUARY 23 - New Moon in Aquarius! Lunar Chinese New Year! Mars goes retrograde! Don’t start anything new unless it’s putting an image of a water dragon next to a moving water fountain in the power corner of your living room. That’s the corner that’s diagonal or catty corner to the front door. A fountain. A dragon. A lamp or light. GUNG HEI FAT CHOY!

ClassyCookAprons

JANUARY 28 - Mercury sextile electric Uranus. And it all starts NOW. Expect the unexpected in every possible way but prepare for some positive programming as well. Good communications are all over the place. Tweet! Text! Email. Just reach out to someone. And don’t forget to surround your responses/replies with a pink light sent straight from your heart. You’ll infuse the nuance with so much more than just joie de vivre. Expect the unexpected with some surprising communiqué that has money attached. Ooops, hope I didn’t ruin the surprise!

brownleeartstudio

Happy Birthday To You!

2012-01-02T00:47:00.001-05:00

Happy Birthday wishes going out to the following

Noajordan on January 3
http://www.etsy.com/listing/59346051/needle-felted-mushroom

MySirenaDesigns on January 6
http://www.etsy.com/listing/74130172/red-coral-white-snow-quartz-and-blue

Danelichicjewelry on January 7
http://www.etsy.com/listing/62561965/cranberry-mobius-cowl-eternity-chunky

Bethsteamspiritgems on January 8
http://www.etsy.com/listing/86596829/garnet-and-black-cuff-bracelet

Hope ya'll have a Wonderful Birthday!
ReneeBrownsDesigns

In My Corner with Bead Lover Korner

2012-01-01T15:42:00.000-05:00

So I must amit that I am a little jealous of Bead Lover today. She has a whole ROOM to craft in. Although it gave me hope for the future because she did tell me that she started with only half the room until her sons moved out and she gave her husband's desk (which was really a pile of papers he never touched expect to pile more papers on) the boot. HEHE. At least she didn't have to act on the threats of throwing his "important" papers away. There has been a time when my husband has found an old newspaper in that pile of "important" papers.

I am shaking my head as I write that.

These two pics are where Bead Lovers Korner operates nearly every single day of the week, 12-14 hours a day and I must say she must love what she does to be so dedicated.

These shelves hold boxes of products that need to be photographed still, and the little pink crate holds orders that are pending for payment or backorders waiting on shipments. What a great organizing system I am still trying to find the best way to organize already made items though I must admit jewerly is probably easier to store than clothes.

Bead Lover sells items she has made as well as Biagi Beads and clasps.She sells these and Landmark beads to people who have the Pandora and other style Euro bracelets.

Here are a couple of storage racks like I mentioned in my space, she got one at ACE hardware and the other at Lowes and all the little bins are perfect for storing different beads and things.

She had everything in bags stored in boxes and it would take her forever to find what she was looking for! Now look how organize it is with labels. I bet she never has to look though multiple drawers to find what she is looking for again.

When asked what she couldn't live with out she exclaimed her computer.

Especially since all of her sales are done on several different venues online and she has to constantly move items from one place to another, make sure the pictures are really good, answer emails and print all her postage labels. A couple of years ago her husband got her this huge monitor for Christmas because he kept seeing her right on top of the old monitor and he said he didn't want her to go blind! She also can't do without her coffee cup, it's probably hard to make out but it is one that she bought from Paintings by Gretzky that has a picture of herTailess Black Cat silhouette.

Across from her desk is her beading table, for years it was way back in the bedroom which left a mess around the house when she beaded.

Now she have her own space and she can leave things out and it doesn't matter! " You know how sometimes you aren't finished with something or want to "sleep on it" before you make the final touches?" she said. Oh yes, Bead Lover we know.

Where does she get her inspiration from?
"Well, I have a ton of Bead Style Magazines, Fire Mountain Gems catalogs and others for visual references and sometimes I get idea from those. I really don't ever want to copy another design so I just use them to spur ideas. What really makes me think are the Team Challenges and the Etsy Merchandising lists. Those two things help me formulate ideas on what I can make from what I have."

One of the many reasons this team is so great for us!!!!!

Lastly, here is her storage tip. Her husband is an avid fisherman and practically has a bait store in his closet (can she say Hoarder again?). Anyway, one time he came home with some of these really neat little partitioned storage containers that he got at Walmart to hold all his Lures, worms, hooks, etc. and he only paid a few bucks for them. She had seen really cool bead storage units in the different bead catalogs, but they cost more than she ever wanted to pay. So one day she went to Walmart and found this cool tackle box that came with three large partitioned boxes and two little tiny ones. And it had space in the top to hold other important fisherman stuff, it was pretty cheap really (She thinks it was like $15-$20.00). And guess what? Now she have two of them, LOL!!

What's missing that is the kiln and torch that she bought and that Bead Lovers Korner carries over on inventory every year. She did beading and all sorts of crafts when she was kid, but really took off with this about 10 years ago when her husband took a lampworking class. He had done glass blowing in school (back when they used to have real SHOP for guys) and he wanted to take this class. Meanwhile she wanted to hang something pretty and decorative in her car and had some beads someone gave her. One thing led to another and then her hubby took her to the bead store where he took the class. So she started beading and selling about 6 months later Bead Lovers Korner was born! She bought the kiln thinking he would make beads she could sell, but that portion of the plan has yet to really happen. She keeps thinking she will learn to do that, but she stays so busy all the time with what she is doing that already she hasn't had time. Every time she mention the words sell and kiln in the same sentence her husband insists that he is going to start that soon!! That sounds like most husbands and to do lists. My husband's is getting pretty long, it may be reminder time again....hmmm.
Well I was so glad to see Bead Lover's area and she gave great tips for us all. I am sorry this was a little late the holiday season gets the best of you.
Enjoy,
Barbara

Happy Birthday To You!

2011-12-26T00:40:00.001-05:00

2011 HOLIDAY COUNT DOWN #24

2011-12-24T08:21:00.003-05:00

Count down to 2012 - Our gift from FEST to you!

#24 ~ TODAY'S Tutorial By Sharonscandleshop where you will find a beautiful collection of handcrafted Natural Wax candles!

Today Sharon shares some useful Candle Safety Tips:

Keep away from children and pets

Never leave candle burning unattended.

Always put candle on a candle plate or some other non-flammable, no melt item to catch any melted wax. Never set directly on furniture

Make sure candle is on a sturdy, level, hard surface.

Keep 3 feet away from walls, drapery or any other flammable materials.

Keep out of drafts and breezes.

All decorations should be removed from candle while lit. Hot melted wax or large flame could ignite decoration.

Keep wicks trimmed to ¼ inch – 1/8 inch for wooden wicks.

The ideal length of time to burn a candle is 2 to 4 hours. Any shorter length of time and the candle will only burn a small tunnel hole down the center, leaving a thick, unburned outer shell; any longer than 4 hours and the melted wax pool will be to large either drowning the wick or causing a fire hazard.

Flames should be ½ to 1 inch tall and straight. A flame which bends or flickers too much is a sign of a draft or a less than perfectly formed candle. If the flame gets too high or the wax pool too deep, extinguish the flame and when the wax dries it can be re-lit.

By following these simple tips and exercising a little common sense you can enjoy your candles with confidence.

2011 HOLIDAY COUNTDOWN #23

2011-12-23T01:22:00.000-05:00

Count down to 2012 - Our gift from FEST to you!

#23 ~ TODAY'S Tutorial By TheQuirkySquirrel where you will find Gifts for knitters that are fun and quirky!

Today Terri from the TheQuirkySquirrel shows you how to make a felted beret in a four-part video tutorial.

If you would like more of these tutorials on felting please visit Felting Lessons!

2011 HOLIDAY COUNT DOWN #22

2011-12-22T07:18:00.001-05:00

Count down to 2012 - Our gift from FEST to you!

#22 ~ TODAY'S Tutorial By Handmade3D where you will find great hair accessories, handmade plushies and coffee cozies and so much more!!

Today Ellen shares: Flower Growth Chart

Can you believe my little Zoe turned 1 year old today! This has been one of the best years of my life. And to end it off, I wanted to create a growth chart for my little flower. I have seen cute ones at stores and online, but they are either too expensive or I think "I could do that!" Well, now you can too. :) I made this over a couple of days, but if I had uninterrupted time I could have probably done the entire thing in one afternoon. But other moms out there know that uninterrupted time is not a luxury!

What you’ll need:

½ yd of green felt by the yard 60”
Fat quarter for center of flower
Scraps of fabric for petals (about 3 fat quarters)
Polyfill Fiberfill
Water Soluble pencil
Sewing Machine
Rotary Cutter and Rulers
Thread
Scissors
Pins

** I use an embroidery machine to create the leaves but you would use any type of machine or applique or write the markings by hand.

Creating the stem of the flower:
1. Cut a strip of 6” x 60” of the green felt.
2. Using your water soluble pencil and ruler, draw 1 inch markings along the right side of the vertical length of the stem.
3. Mark every 6” with a pin.’
4. Using a dark green thread, stitch a line at every marking
For the inch markings, stitch a 1” inch line
For the ½ foot markings, stitch a 1 1/2” inch line
For the foot markings, stitch a 3” inch line
Special Note: With the measurements given you should be able to create a growth chart starting at 6” at the base going to just over 6’ tall. I am only 5’4” so I imagine my daughter will be around that height. If you have a taller family, you may want to mark the bottom as 1 foot or even 1 ½ feet tall. You will need at least five inches at the top of the stem to attach and overlap the flower.

5. Mark the 1 foot increments with numbers. You can use your embroidery machine or applique.

Creating the leaves:
I created 12 leaves in hope that she will still let me mark her growth at 12 but who knows! I would rather have too many leaves than not enough. I also changed the directions for every other leaf to be on the opposite side of the stem.

Machine Embroidery:
Load the vip embroidery file into your embroidery software. Add the years with your text functions. Depending on your hoop size you may be able to create more than one leaf at a time.
After stitching out the designs, cut out the leaves.
By Hand:
Use the attached template to trace the leaves on to your excess felt.
After cutting out a bunch of leaves use whichever method you like the write the ages on the leaves

Creating the Flower
1. Create the 12 petals out of scrap fabrics.
2. From your extra felt, cut a 6” circle and a 4” square. This will be the back of the flower and a pocket.
3. Stitch the 4” square on top of the circle.
4. Cut a 5” x 2” strip of fabric. This will be the hanging loop.
5. Fold the strip of fabric in half lengthwise, twice. Stitch along the edge to create the loop.
6. Stitch the loop to the top of the pocket circle.
7. Cut a 12” circle out of your yellow fat quarter. This will be the center of the flower.
8. Stitch a long loose stitch around the edge of the circle.
9. Using the thread, hold one end and gather the circle so the edge folds over itself about 2”.
10. Lay out your 12 petals along the raw edge of the inner circle.
11. Whip stitch the petals to the circle to keep them in tack.

1. Using your sewing machine, use a zig zag stitch to secure the petals to the center.
2. Place fiberfill in the center of the flower.
3. Cover the hole with the stem and the felt pocket. Hand stitch the three layers together.

You are done! Measure carefully on your wall to hang. Measure your little flower and place the leaves at her mark!
If you would like a pdf version of this tutorial, as well as the VIP embroidery files for the leaves, please email me at 'ellen@3doodle.com'

2011 HOLIDAY COUNT DOWN #21

2011-12-21T04:38:00.002-05:00

Count down to 2012 - Our gift from FEST to you!

#21 ~ TODAY'S Tutorial By TheWoodenBee

where you will find a fine collection of unique, handmade products that have been made from reclaimed materials with love!

I love to make wine cork garland. It’s a quick and classy way to decorate for a special occasion. At home I use it for anniversaries and adult birthdays. In our shop, I use it to decorate our vendor space and for our DIY craft parties. I think it would look fabulous on our Christmas tree this year…if I can get around to making enough!

Below, I used some wine cork garland on a window doorway at one of our DIY craft parties. I hung five double sided square chalkboards from the garland, that read CRAFT on one side and PARTY on the the other.

I thought I’d share some how-to tips for making wine cork garland.

What you need:
- oak wine corks
- ribbon, yard, or twine
- drill, optional
- beads, optional

For the garland twine I normally use natural jute or hemp. I find the cost is much less than ribbon or yarn. I also like the width & stiffness of the twine to allow for easy threading. However, I have used yarn, tied up scraps of ribbons, and recycled fishing line to make pretty wine cork garlands.

First determine how long you would like your wine cork garland to be, and then add four feet to your measurement. If I wanted an 8 foot garland, I would cut a 12 foot piece of twine. I would leave two feet on each side to allow extra twine for tying it up, for knots, etc.

You can drill holes in your wine corks either vertically and horizontally. Find a drill bit a size or two larger than the width of your twine. It will make it easier to thread the twine through the corks. Moving the drill bit in & out while drilling will help clear the holes of extra cork as well.

Decide your garland pattern based on your materials. For an 8 foot garland I would recommend having 35-40 wine corks. You can scale up or down from there. I think my eight foot garland has been a great length for several different uses. Anything under 6 ft seems too short, unless you want a mini garland for the archway of an inside doorway, or some other specific space. The garland below has a cork, three wooden beads, cork pattern. The colors of the beads varied. Remember to start your pattern in two feet from the end of your twine.

Wine cork garland is always fun to hang things from as well. Mistletoe at the holidays, letters and signs at special occasions. We hung Christmas cards on them one year. If you would like to hang heavier objects like wooden letters, or mini chalkboards like we did, then small ornaments hooks work the best!!! I have tried several methods and good ole ornament hooks work great! They hook and stay in place without sliding between corks, etc. We use these hooks, purchased for a great price, fromCathy's Unique Creations.

No Drill Option

So, if you don’t have a drill, or want to make a cork garland while sitting and watching TV, just tie the corks to the garland!

I would cut TWICE as much twine as what you want the length of the garland to be doing it this way. If there is extra is it better to cut it off than to run short at the end. Again, design your pattern and when you get to the cork, wrap the twine around the cork a few times, tie a knot, and continue. In the beginning, tying the knots with the long piece of twine will take extra time and care. As you get to the end it will get shorter and easier. Just think you didn’t have to sit there and drill hole after hole though.

Storing your Garland Tangle Free

You can use discarded paper towel or gift wrapping rolls to store your garlands in between uses. Cut two small slits in each end of the cardboard roll. Insert one end of the twine in a slit, and then wrap the garland around the roll and secure the other end of the twine in the second slit.

Happy Crafting!

2011 HOLIDAY COUNT DOWN #20

2011-12-20T07:25:00.001-05:00

Count down to 2012 - Our gift from FEST to you!

#20 ~ TODAY'S Tutorial By SBB1 where you will find Handmade Clothing items and Accessories in American, European and Middle Eastern designs/styles as well as Pads and Wet Bags -

Today Sabina shares a video on Pre-washing Fabrics Before You Sew Them :

2011 HOLIDAY COUNT DOWN #19

2011-12-19T07:47:00.001-05:00

Count down to 2012 - Our gift from FEST to you!

#19 ~ TODAY'S Tutorial By SBB1 where you will find Handmade Clothing items and Accessories in American, European and Middle Eastern designs/styles as well as Pads and Wet Bags -

Today Sabina shares a video on How to Do a Slip Stitch :

Happy Birthday To You!

2011-12-19T00:15:00.001-05:00

Happy Birthday Wishes going out to the following

Rosemintbathandbody on December 19
http://www.etsy.com/listing/76522170/shaving-soap-sandalwood-vanilla

MelaniesOriginals on December 21
http://www.etsy.com/listing/79270955/lazy-daisy-wizard-print-pincushion-with

SoapAddicts also on December 21
http://www.etsy.com/listing/50692849/doggie-wash-natural-dog-soap-with-aloe

Fabfindsanddesign on December 23
http://www.etsy.com/listing/88186903/mens-vintage-travel-kit-in-leather-case

FashionBeautiful also on December 23
http://www.etsy.com/listing/60347919/venetian-glass-watch-bracelet

Almcleary on December 24
http://www.etsy.com/listing/70497295/handmade-decorative-custom-art-pillow

Hope ya'll have a Wonderful Birthday
& a Merry Christmas!
ReneeBrownsDesigns

2011 HOLIDAY COUNT DOWN #18

2011-12-18T02:24:00.006-05:00

Count down to 2012 - Our gift from FEST to you!

#18 ~ TODAY'S Tutorial By Runningwithescissors where you will find a large variety of splendid scrapbooking supplies to suit your fancy!
Today Barbar shares: Simple Holiday Candles

A quick trip to Ikea for some candles and I was off to play. I used 7 Gypsies Tissue but there's also some just out from Tim Holtz with musical notes on it that would be stunning too.

Tissue paper has little weight to it. Make sure your cuts are straight if you’re covering the whole candle as I did. I found using my big cutting surface and large straight edge, I got the best cut.

I held the paper to the candle with a very small amount of tape from a tape runner. Make sure your candle is parallel to the tissue paper, even the slightest angle will throw off your symmetry. Test before you tape and commit.

Start heating on one side of the seam and work your way around in 1 inch increments. Adhesion takes very little heat, keep the gun moving and smooth as you go. The very last thing I did was heat the bottom and top edges to make sure everything was adhered.

About $11.00 worth of material and I think I’ve got a smashing holiday gift for someone. Then again, it may never leave my mantle!

2011 HOLIDAY COUNT DOWN # 17

2011-12-17T04:57:00.000-05:00

Count down to 2012 - Our gift from FEST to you!

#17 ~ TODAY'S Tutorial By TheWoodenBee where you will find a fine collection of unique, handmade products that have been made from reclaimed materials with love!

Today Bee shares with us this delightful idea for wreath making!

Crafting with Nature

We select only the best shaped cones on our nature walks. Those that have not been broken and still have soft fuzz over them. Magnolia fruit cones hold up beautifully throughout the year, even when exposed to the elements. Our wreaths will be hung up during the holidays, and look just like they did last year when we made them.

You can even toss some cones in glass vases with holiday colored ribbons and are using them to help bring in the change of season!

2011 HOLIDAY COUNTDOWN #16

2011-12-16T01:20:00.000-05:00

Count down to 2012 - Our gift from FEST to you!

#16 ~ TODAY'S Tutorial By TheQuirkySquirrel where you will find Gifts for knitters that are fun and quirky!

Today Terri shares with you how to make felted ropes!

If you would like more of these tutorials on felting please visit Felting Lessons!

2011 Holiday Count Down # 15

2011-12-15T07:51:00.010-05:00

Count down to 2012 - Our gift from FEST to you!

#15 ~ TODAY'S Tutorial By AquarianBath where you will find only the finest selection of soaps and natural herb products!

Today Cory shares: Easy Do It Your Self Soap Mold Making

Take apart wooden soap molds are great for making the perfectly shaped soaps, but they can be quite expensive. For 10 dollars or less you can make a soap mold yourself which is suitable for making professional quality soaps.

Here is what you will need to make a mold that will make 14-15 4.5 oz bar soaps to fit into standard soap boxes:

Sandpaper
Rotary saw
Power drill
1 natural board 3.5 inch wide X 1.5 inch thick X 27.5 inches or longer
1 natural board 5.5 inch wide X 1.5 inch thick X 35 inches or longer
2 six inch bolts with 1/4 inch diameter. The tip of the the bolt should be threaded at least an inch.
1/4 inch drill bit
4 1/4 inch washers
2 1/4 inch wing nuts

The first board forms the base of the mold and ends of the loaf. Measure and mark a length of the board 17.5 inches and 2 lengths 4.5 inches. The second board forms the sides of the mold. Measure and mark two lengths of the board to 17.5 inches. Cut and sand the rough edges of the boards. Next you will need to drill holes for the bolts that hold the mold together. Two bolt holes need to be made in two corners of the each board. Stack the 2 matching 17.5 inch boards on top of each other. Near one corner of the top board measure inward from the long side of the approximately 2 inches then measure from the short end 1 inch out. Mark this spot with a dot. Make a dot on the opposite end of the long side of the board. Drill the through these markings keeping both boards stacked securely together. Sand around the newly drilled holes. Next thread your bolt and washers and wing nut through the two boards. You are ready to assemble the mold. The narrow long board goes at the bottom in between the bolted side boards that secure it. The 2 short end boards stand up in between the sides of the board and are secured by the bolt which sits behind it. Be sure to line your soap with wax paper before use.

Cory Trusty is a community herbalist and Soap maker in Daytona Beach, Florida.
Visit her one Etsy at AquarianBath or DelicateAdornments. You can also find her on Facebook.

2011 HOLIDAY COUNT DOWN # 14

2011-12-14T07:16:00.001-05:00

Count down to 2012 - Our gift from FEST to you!

#14 ~ TODAY'S Tutorial By SBB1 where you will find Handmade Clothing items and Accessories in American, European and Middle Eastern designs/styles as well as Pads and Wet Bags -

Today Sabina shares:Pre-Washing Your Fabrics before You Sew Them *VIDEO*

2011 HOLIDAY COUNT DOWN #13

2011-12-13T04:38:00.000-05:00

Count down to 2012 - Our gift from FEST to you!

#13 ~ TODAY'S Tutorial By TheWoodenBee

where you will find a fine collection of unique, handmade products that have been made from reclaimed materials with love!

Today Bee shares: how to make this GORGEOUS holiday tree out of corks!

Materials:

__paper craft cone ( 11” or 14” height)
__wine corks (either synthetic, oak or both)
__strand of Christmas lights (battery operated or plug in)
__mini tree topper star
__hot glue gun

First, decide what size cone you would like to use for your tree. The number of wine corks available to you can help determine the size. When using the smaller 11”cones, you will need about 50 wine corks per tree. The larger 14” cones will take at least 100 wine corks. Once you have determined the size, you have some options on the material of the cone. We prefer the paper cone because it is the color of the wine corks, should you not cover every spec of surface with the wine corks. We also like the paper cone because it is hollow & allows you to hide the battery box so the lit tree can be put anywhere! The other cone material available is Styrofoam. Styrofoam cones allow you to easily pin the lights to the surface & are offered in much larger sizes should you have hundreds of corks to use. However, they are not as environmentally friendly as paper.

After, you have purchased your cone, put on your star topper & get ready for the lights. You can use white lights or colored lights. Most battery operated light strands have only 10-12 lights per strand & I would only use them for the smallest of the paper craft cones. If you are using the 14” cone for your tree, around 30 lights would be best. Remember to leave a little extra cord at the bottom, either to tuck under the cone or to reach the wall outlet. Start your light strand at the top, evenly wrapping the lights on the cone. With the paper cone you can use tape to hold the light strand in place as you wrap the lights (this also allows you to reposition them as you glue your corks if needed). I like to leave a little extra give when wrapping, so that when I am gluing the corks on I can move the lights to fit into place perfectly.

When your glue gun is hot & ready, start applying your wine corks at the bottom of the cone. Make sure to glue them so that you still keep a nice level surface for the tree to sit on. I start the corks at the bottom but then I jump to the top & then fill in the middle. There is no pattern, put the corks everywhere & anywhere as you are covering the surface of the cone. A second layer of wine corks will help cover any gaps or holes & the Christmas lights will stick out through the layered corks. I have even had to add a third layer to the base of the tree to help keep the tree shape. You will have to hold the corks in place for 20-30 seconds sometimes, especially when you are gluing cork to cork.

If you would like to add a little extra jazz to your wine cork Christmas tree, cut acrylic paint with blending gel (or water) & paint your wine corks before starting! Cutting or diluting the paint allows the designs on the wine corks to still show but adds a little color to the cork. I chose to dye only some of my oak wine corks on this tree…green & red wine to add the perfect Christmas colors. You can paint synthetic corks but I would only recommend the oak.

Please feel free to email, thewoodenbee@gmail.com, with any questions (& send pictures of your wine cork tree creations)! One of the things I liked about this craft, is it allows you some play & creativity so each tree is unique.
Our next crafting blog will be a magnolia cone wreath! Our daughter is thrilled to help with this, since she’s been collecting the magnolia cones on our nature walks all year long!

Happy Crafting!
~Bee

Happy Birthday To You!

2011-12-12T00:44:00.001-05:00

Happy Birthday wishes going out to the following

Bohemienneivy on December 14
http://www.etsy.com/listing/86070520/emeraudes-et-opales-emerald-opal

Dkskinner also on December 14
http://www.etsy.com/listing/69200094/argyle-copper-cuff-bracelet-in-pink-and

Justbecausebowtique also on December 14
http://www.etsy.com/listing/88439665/rodney-the-reindeer-felt-hair-clip

Eyyad or Eyadology on December 18
http://www.etsy.com/listing/71870092/fbml-custom-facebook-welcome-page

Hope ya'll have a Wonderful Birthday!
ReneeBrownsDesigns

2011 HOLIDAY COUNT DOWN #11

2011-12-11T09:09:00.003-05:00

Count down to 2012 - Our gift from FEST to you!

#11 ~ TODAY'S Tutorial By AquarianBath where you will find only the finest selection of soaps and natural herb products!

Today Cory shares: How to make Herb Infused Oils

A herb infused oil is a base oil such as Extra Virgin Olive oil or Coconut oil that has been steeped with freshly wilted or dried herbs. Herb infused oils are fun to make and can be used for many purposes including culinary, for anointing, as body massage oils, for general skin care, or as a base for natural salve, lotion & balm remedies. Infused herbal oils are similar to essential oils in that they contain volatile oils from the herbs used to make the infusion, however the concentration of the volatile oils within an infused oil is significantly lower compared to essential oils. For this reason herb infused oils have a number of advantages for the average person compared to working with pure essential oils. First herb-infused oils are very safe, whereas working with essential oils is relatively dangerous and requires extreme care in regard to storage and dilution. There are many recipes in books and online for using essential oils, which are not particularly safe. Second, herbal infused oils can be made easily in the home with abundant herbs which can be harvested ethically, respectfully and sustainably in your local bioregion. For example, in Central Florida common plants like Southern Plantain, Elderflower, Pine.

There are a variety of methods for making herb infused oils, and each has its own advantage. They each have in common that fresh wilted or dried herbs are used to make the oil. Generally leaves, flowers, twigs or resins are used. The first method for preparing infused oils is the 'cold' method in which chopped herbs are added to a clean glass jar, filled with oil and left to steep in for a number of days. This method has it's advantage in that no external energy is required to make the oil, however with this method the chance of spoilage increases when using fresh herbs due to the residual water content in the plant material. Also infused oils cannot be made effectively using resins with this method. A second method is the crock pot method. This method is very convenient in that it is self contained, however much care must be taken to ensure that herbs are not overheated and burned. The third method, which I will present here, is the water bath (Bain Marie) or double boiler method. This is the method gives me the best results. Using a water bath herbs are heated slowly in a glass or ceramic container which sits within a larger container of hot water. This method is fast and convenient, there is little chance to overheat the herbs, and there is low likelihood of having residual water in the finished oil. It is important that the oil remains water free, because water-containing preparations are susceptible to bacterial growth.

Materials for Making Infused Oils by the Water Bath Method
~ Electric or gas burner
~ Freshly wilted wild harvested or home grown herbs OR dried wild harvested or organic herbs
~ Stable base oil (preferably organic) appropriate for either culinary or external use depending on your choice of herbs and your plan for the finished oil: Extra Virgin Olive oil, Coconut oil, Fractionated Coconut oil, Jojoba Wax, Sesame oil, Lard. Fractionated Coconut oil and Jojoba wax have an unlimited shelf life. When making body oils, persons with sensitive skin may wish to avoid coconut oil or use it at not more than 50% of your total oil solution.
~ Double boiler which can be made with a small pot and a Pyrex glass container, a mason jar, or other heat resistant glass or ceramic container. Use a glass container than you don't mind recycling if you are working with a resin.
~ Very clean utensils including: spoon or chopstick, knife, funnel, glass storage jar for finished oil, small plate, and cutting board for working with fresh plants.
~Cheese cloth
~Sharpie pen or sticker label & regular pen
~ Vitamin E
~ Pipette

Method
Clean and clear your workspace. Gather all necessary utensils and containers. Clean containers and utensils thoroughly in a dish washing machine or by hand with hot soapy water and a small amount of borax. You may also chose to sterilize utensils in the same way that one would do for canning. Another option is to wipe down utensils with high proof alcohol. Let containers and utensils air dry. Oil containers and utensils must remain free from water throughout the infusion making process.

Gather your herbs. If you are working with dry herbs, then organic or wild harvested are the best choice. Mountain Rose herbs is a good source for dry herbs. For fresh herbs, gather plant material with consideration to the ecosystem from properly identified specimens that are free from blemish and are at least 8 feet away from any roads. The best time to collect herbs is late morning when there is no dew or rainwater on the plant. Collect not more than 10 percent of a wild population of plants. Chop herbs coarsely and let them wilt in the shade for a few hours. Wilting herbs decreases the water content of the herbs.

Fill your clean jar or glass or ceramic container with herbs, then cover with the base oil of your choice. Coconut oil and Extra Virgin Olive oil are my personal favorites. I also use Sesame oil very often. Place your herb-oil container in your water bath and turn on heat to medium-high. Ideally you can cover your herb & oil container partially but not completely with a lid. Next let the herbs infuse in the oil for approximately 1-2 hours. The oil should get warm, but not so warm to burn the skin. You will need to monitor the oil and adjust the temperature. To check the temperature of the oil use your clean spoon or chopstick to drip oil onto your wrist. The oil should feel warmer than your body temperature but not so warm to burn the skin. After testing the temperature place your oily spoon on your clean plate. Be cautious throughout this step not to let water from your boiler to splash up into your herb and oil container. You will know when your oil is becoming ready when it has taken on the color & scent of the herbs. If you have used fresh herbs then you will want to steam off any excess water remaining in the oil before decanting. There are two good ways to check for lingering water in the infused oil when working with fresh herbs. First check the herbs with your spoon, they should have a crisp feel about them. Second, use your lid to completely cover the oil for a minute or two, then look under the lid for condensation. If there is condensation, then continue to infuse the oils with the lid partially covered so that water can steam out of the container. Check again until you are satisfied that the oil is water-free.

Next turn off the heat and remove the oil container from the water bath. Carefully dry the outside of the container and prepare to decant the oil. Place the clean funnel in your clean dry glass storage jar, and line the funnel with a couple of layers of cheese cloth. Pour the oil and spent herbs into the funnel and let strain. When the oil is strained completely, you can squeeze or press the cheesecloth to maximize your oil yield.

If you would like to make a double or triple infused oil then you can repeat steps 3 and 4 with this freshly infused batch of oil.

Double check your infused oil for water if you used fresh herbs. Let the jar of infused oil stand over night. Check the bottom of the jar for water droplets. If there is any water at the bottom of the jar, then you will want to pour the oil into a fresh jar, or pipette out the water droplets.

Storage and shelf life: Now you should have a fresh batch of infused oil that is clear with no remaining leaf or flower pieces. Oils, including infused oils go bad after a time because of oxidation. Rancid oils are oxidized and will have an off scent. To maximize the shelf life of your oils, put it in a container with a small amount of air overhead, keep it cool and dark. Add a small amount of Vitamin E to extend the shelf life of your infused oil.

Suggestions for Herb Infused Oils
Culinary: Oregano, Rosemary, Basil, Mint
General Skin Care: Calendula flowers, Mulberry (Morus alba) leaves, Elderflowers, Plantain leaves
Invigorating Massage oil: Mugwort leaves, Camphor resin, leaves or twigs, Lemongrass, Goldenrod flowers
Congested Chest Massage oil: Camphor resin, leaves or twigs, Lemongrass, Pine twigs & needles, Mint leaves
Anointing oil: Frankincense resin, Myrrh resin, White Sage leaves
Extra strength: double or triple infuse your herbal infused oil
Locally grown: What is growing in your back yard or neighborhood in abundance? Check out a field guide from your local library. There are many medicinal wild weeds, trees, and ornamental plants with culinary or medicinal value that would be great to experiment with.
Natural colorants: Annato seed (below), Alkanet root (see first blog image)

Article by Herbalist and Soap maker Cory Trusty in Daytona Beach. Cory's Etsy shops are AquarianBath and DelicateAdornments.

Copyright 2011 Cory Trusty aquarianbath.com. Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation;with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html

FEST Happy Holidays Blog Giveaway

2011-12-10T21:52:00.006-05:00

We are delighted to feature as our Happy Holidays Giveaway three colorful and fun polymer clay sculptures from Kathy of SmallThingsClay. Kathy creates fanciful clay sculptures of frogs, toads, lizards, crabs and all things whimsical from the sea and sand. She utilizes glass beads, colored wires, found shells and other items to produce unique and happy figures sure to bring a smile.

Kathy is providing a set of three of her wall hanging Nubibranches from her Epicenter Gene Pool Series as our December Giveaway, two of which are pictured. Each one of a kind Gene Pool is created with polymer clay, fired to specifications, painted in the best acrylics and sealed for UV protection. A swipe of a soft damp rag is all you need on cleaning day. They are durable enough to gift to a child and also perfect for adults.

As a sponsor of the Florida Parrot Rescue, Kathy donates $5 to the FPR for every item she sells and helps in the effort to rescue, rehab and rehome Companion Birds throughout the State of Florida. Below is another of her creative figurines.

You can visit Kathy at her Etsy Store to see more of her clever creations at SmallThingsClay. HOW TO ENTER: Enter to win the Nubibranch Set by visiting SmallThingsClay or any of the FEST members listed on the top of our Blog Page. Find your favorite item, share it with us and tell us why you love it. Remember to add your email address or contact info so we can contact you if you are the Winner! Winner picked on 01/10/12. Simple and Easy!

2011 HOLIDAY COUNT DOWN #10

2011-12-10T08:43:00.001-05:00

Count down to 2012 - Our gift from FEST to you!

#10 ~ TODAY'S Tutorial By RecreationalArt where you will find Unique Jewelry Creations and Vintage finds

Today Rose shares: Sweet Potato Pie Empanadas!
During the holidays I am all about simple, low cost, easy recipe's to fill in around the turkey and ham and all of those sides. If you have never used Goya's Empanada Disks

you do not know of ALL of the possibilities you are missing out on! I love love love these babies! You can find these in the frozen foods section, I have noticed a lot of grocers now have a GOYA section. I always have a package on hand because they can be filled with ANYTHING! you can make them salty, savory or sweet depending on what you have in your fridge!

A couple of years ago I had left over pumpkin pie filling and decided to try this out, everyone loved them so much now I make them every thanksgiving and Christmas to go with dinner!

I use a canned pumpkin pie filling (of course you can use sweet potato pie filling or even fresh!), some pumpkin pie spice to your liking and if the filling is not sweetened you can use a sweetener of some sort (I use agave), mix it all up and then fill each disk

then fold, crimp and bake~

when they are golden brown take them out, let cool a bit (the inside is hot). I wrap them in tin foil and keep warm until it's time to serve. SO easy!

...oh, and now you all have had an insight of how old skool my kitchen really is with that turquoise-teal color looking counter tops! yep. it's REALLY vintage!~ lols

2011 HOLIDAY COUNTDOWN #9

2011-12-09T01:18:00.004-05:00

Count down to 2012 - Our gift from FEST to you!

#9 ~ TODAY'S Tutorial By TheQuirkySquirrel where you will find Gifts for knitters that are fun and quirky!

Today Terri from TheQuirkySquirrel shows you how to make felted rocks.

If you would like more of these tutorials on felting please visit Felting Lessons!

2011 HOLIDAY COUNT DOWN # 8

2011-12-08T08:01:00.007-05:00

Count down to 2012 - Our gift from FEST to you!

#8 ~ TODAY'S Tutorial By AquarianBath where you will find only the finest selection of soaps and natural herb products!

Today Cory shares: How to Make Fresh Herbal Boutineers and Corsages

You can make fresh herbal corsages or boutineers with Rosemary and other evergreen herbs and shrubs from your yard or neighborhood. Rosemary is one of my favorite herbs for the holidays, but these kinds of arrangements with other herbs as well. I've just been having fun with rosemary and red pepper.

You just need a few tools. You will need wire snips, florist tape and florist wire. You can get these from a craft store.

I choose herbs with fairly sturdy stems, but you can also use herbs with more delicate stems if you wrap them together with sturdy stemmed herbs. Strip the foliage from the bottom inch or 2 of the stem.

Poke a hole through the the green tender part of the herb stem and wrap the wire around the stem to stabilize it.

Stretch the tape and start wrapping it tightly at the base of the plant and continue down to the end of the wire.

Once you have the stems wraps you can combine them together however you wish. Finish by wrapping them all together with a new piece of florist tape. Here is a simple Rosemary and Hot Pepper boutineer.

You can also make and hanging ornament, a small wreath or corsage with additional herbs of your choice.

Tutorial by Cory Trusty, soap maker and herbalist in Daytona Beach, FL. Check out Cory on Etsy at AquarianBath and DelicateAdornments.

Team FEST November Lottery Winner

2011-12-07T12:57:00.006-05:00

Congratulations to Sherry Spiers of Gemstone Isle on being the selected winner of the November Team FEST Lottery!

Sherry created beautiful handmade jewelry. She began her craft in June of 2010. Sherry loves to make jewelry and finds it very relaxing. She uses mostly semi-precious stones, crystal, and glass beads.

When asked about making her jewelry she describes her pieces as a reflection of her personal preference for jewelry that is feminine, not too big, and can be worn any time. She likes lots of sparkle too! Her design inspirations come from many sources, from everything in nature (flowers, trees, mountains, sky, the ocean) to a color or texture that strikes her fancy on a particular day. Her favorite piece listed at her shop right now is her lovely Dragonfly Charm and Mixed Purple Bead Pendant Necklace.

You can find her work both at her etsy shop and several local craft markets in the Tallahassee area. Stay tuned into her shop she will have a facebook page coming soon!

2011 HOLIDAY COUNT DOWN #7

2011-12-07T07:34:00.002-05:00

Count down to 2012 - Our gift from FEST to you!

#7 ~ TODAY'S Tutorial By RecreationalArt where you will find Unique Jewelry Creations and Vintage finds

Today Rose: shares Sugar Coated Grapes!

Ok, this is an old one - but I find that sometimes I forget the old ones and get carried away with way too intricate recipes that they are teaching now a days! This is really a simple fun recipe that has more wow factor than you can handle, but better yet you can let the little ones do this one while you are working on dinner and let them feel like a part of the program!
These pictures were from Thanksgiving, hence the orange Sparkling Sugar For Baking - but with ALL the color choices now a days you can make these any time to color coordinate with your holiday or party theme! If you are going to do something like pink sugar it would probably be best to use a light green grape so that the color sparkles, I used the purple ones because I just thought with the orange coating they had more of a Harvest feel.....of course now that I see them here in these (poor quality) foto's (yes, I used my cell phone) they kind of look like they would have been PERFECT for my Halloween party!
A few simple ingredients and you can have a great appetizer or a dessert to go with fruit. You will need a tiny amount of Light Corn Syrup - and believe me when I say a little bit goes a very long way! just keep rolling your pre-washed grapes in the corn syrup until they are all coated.
(ok, I let my grandson roll up his sleeves and get in there with his hands and feel all the ooey goeyness of it!)

then you put your choice of colored sprinkles in a bowl and you roll your grapes in it!

and voila!~ it's that easy. Keep them in the refrigerator until you are ready to present them to your awed guests!

2011 HOLIDAY COUNTDOWN #6

2011-12-06T07:07:00.003-05:00

Count down to 2012 - Our gift from FEST to you!
#6 ~ TODAY'S Tutorial By SBB1 where you will find Handmade Clothing items and Accessories in American, European and Middle Eastern designs/styles as well as Pads and Wet Bags -

Today Sabina shares: this crochet project I started for my bathroom a few weeks ago. It will consist of a couple of throw rugs (1 for the sink and a slightly bigger one for stepping out of the tub) and "Maybe" one for the toilet.

I finished this one which is for the sink. See, nothing fancy, just want to step on something I've made, totally easy (a great project for beginners) and here are the instructions...

You will need:

a crochet needle size USK 10 (6.50 mm), and 2 cones of 4-ply Peaches and Cream cotton yarn (Susan Bates hooks are my needles of choice and I got the yarn at Walmart for $6.74 each).

To Begin: Double the 2 cones of yarn throughout the project.

•Chain 65
•Row 1: 1 hdc (half double crochet) in third chain from hook, 1 hdc in each chain across to the end of the row, chain 2 and turn,
•Row 2: 1 hdc in first stitch, then you will do 1 hdc in each stitch across to the end of the row, chain 2, turn.
•Repeat row 2 till you reach your desired rug length
•To end: 1 slip stitch after last stitch is made to secure the work, edge both ends of the rug in tassels, done.

This pattern is super easy and you will love it. Change the needle size, yarn choice and length/width of this basic pattern to make table runners, table cloths, bed spreads...anything.

2011 HOLIDAY COUNT DOWN #5

2011-12-05T05:20:00.000-05:00

Count down to 2012 - Our gift from FEST to you!

#5 ~ TODAY'S Tutorial By Beadloverskorner where you will find quality beads, Featuring Beads that fit Pandora bracelets, Charms and Dangles, Landmark Travel Beads, Bead Bracelets, Jewelry, Clasmeyer Beads and Clasps for jewelry design~

For those of you in the industry, today Gari Anne shares some tips on Getting Started Building Your Website:

Deciding to create a new website can be a little daunting, but just like anything in life it is the challenge ahead and the goal at the end that leads you to experience and knowledge of things that you would ordinarily only dream of doing. Many years ago I decided to open an online business on EBay selling beads and other items that I thought were cool. That worked pretty well and eventually I needed a website too. I am now on my 3rd website, and each time I upgraded to something a little better to stay in step with technology and incorporate more functions. If you are selling products, the shopping cart and how it is connected to the payment gateway is very important, as well as ease of use for the customer. That is where I become stupid, it is tricky and I really don't have time to learn that end so on this third website I hired an agency with design, technical and promotion experience to help me out. Most developers will only set things up and load maybe 50 products. After that they teach you and you have to do all the work, unless you want to pay them a whole lot more money. Really you are better off doing it yourself anyway, because you know your product better than they do.

I learned a few things from these three different website experiences, and the most important thing I learned is that while you need someone to help you with all the technical mumbo jumbo and programming, many times you are better off doing it yourself. Once you find this person to help you out, hook everything up correctly and pay their fee, you can never find them again! Then you're in a real mess and there's no one around so you just have to wing it and figure things out for yourself. Everyone knows someone who knows html or programming but they are like Gnomes hiding under a rock or in the trees. When you go looking for them again they have absolutely vanished!

A lot of websites today come with built in editors that will do the html for you. But it's always a good idea to know a little of the basics like how to make things bold, make something italic, etc. Lots of times those editors get all jumbled up with different things every time you change something, so you can just view the code and take out all the extra stuff if you know what to look for.
Basic html examples:

For more instances this is a great source http://www.ncsu.edu/it/edu/html_trng/basic_commands.html causes a line break and adds a trailing blank line for paragraphs, to end a paragraph use this at the end causes a line break with no trailing blank line if you just want to bring something down one line

This is a boldface tag.
This is how boldface appears.

This is an italic tag.
This is how italics appear

After those few things it's all pretty easy if you take things in steps. If you try to do everything all at once it is very overwhelming! Here are a few other things to think about:

Domain names and hosting: Match your domain with your brand. Most hosting companies can help with your domain name, but be sure to get a hosting company that has real people working there so you can talk to someone if you need help.

Branding: Use the same colors, logos, design (if possible) in all other areas like Facebook, Twitter, Etsy, Blog etc. This way the customers are used to seeing the same things and will know it's YOU!

Image: Decide what kind of image you want to portray to the world, what kind of customers do you want, what do you want the customer to feel when they see your front page? Do you want them to read or buy? Think of things like that to help put together what your image will be in their eyes.

Photos: Invest in a good camera and photo editing program, it really makes a difference in the quality of the picture and what your customer sees. Etsy has some great write ups on photography. A picture REALLY is worth a thousand words!

Image names: If you are selling products and you have a LOT, be sure to start using a good image naming system so that you can find the pics when you need to. I use the manufacturer's product code along with a prefix that I assign to them Example: BI-BS202 - which is used for the image and the item code. Image management can be time consuming if you don't have some organization in the beginning.

Organize products: Do an outline or spreadsheet to help decide how to organize your products so the customer will have an easy time finding what they want. You may change your mind later, but if you have an outline in the beginning it makes it easy to know what you have, how products might work with each other as cross selling, etc.

Product Descriptions: You can do it however you want, but I think it should be fairly short. When people are shopping on the internet they usually know what they want and will only skim your descriptions.

Security: Make sure your site is secure from hackers, malware, and that encryption is high so there is no risk of your customers information getting into the wrong hands.

Marketing: In my opinion pay per clicks are a waste of money unless you have the time to sit and really figure out how the company presents your ads. I think Facebook, email marketing and good SEO (Search Engine Optimization) are your best bet. Word of mouth is the best advertising of all!

Gari Anne
Bead Lovers Korner
Web: http://www.beadloverskorner.com/
Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/shop/beadloverskorner

Happy Birthday To You!

2011-12-05T00:12:00.001-05:00

Happy Birthday wishes going out to the following

Untwistedsister on December 6
http://www.etsy.com/listing/76648862/14k-gold-filled-wire-wrapped-bracelet

Migophoto on December 8
http://www.etsy.com/listing/68709898/st-patricks-cathedral-by-night-fine-art

CameriBeadStudio on December 9
http://www.etsy.com/listing/86777103/christmas-swarovski-crystal-snowflake

Kybritor3kreations also on December 9
http://www.etsy.com/listing/87857431/mother-of-pearl-chunky-bracelet-with

Artemissa on December 10
http://www.etsy.com/listing/86794265/virgin-mary-miraculous-medal-loteria

AnotherPersonsView on December 11th
http://www.etsy.com/listing/81791401/receipt-68-dollars-bulk-supply-beads-for

Hope ya'll have a Wonderful Birthday!
ReneeBrownsDesigns

2011 HOLIDAY COUNT DOWN #4

2011-12-04T04:31:00.005-05:00

Count down to 2012 - Our gift from FEST to you!

#4 ~ TODAY'S Tutorial By TheWoodenBee where you will find a fine collection of unique, handmade products that have been made from reclaimed materials with love!

Make Your Own Wine Cork Tacks

Check out this fun idea I had to reuse wine corks as thumbtacks!

What you need:
- oak wine corks or oak champagne corks
- drill
- glue
- thumbtacks
- hand saw, optional

First decide how you want your corks to look. You can drill the holes in any side or end of the corks. You can also cut the corks down or in half. This is done best with a small hand saw or knife.

Choose a drill bit that is close to the size of your thumbtack and start drilling. You only want to drill deep enough for the head of your thumbtack to slide into the cork. Try comparing the length of the tack, to the length of your bit & see where to stop. Slightly rotating the drill bit in circles will help remove the cork pieces & increase the hole in size for a better fit, if needed. You might want to practice on a cork to get a feel for drilling.

Place small amouont of glue in the hole & then push in thumbtack. Let dry 24 hours. We use craft glue & clear thumbtacks.

If you aren’t into using a drill or would like to purchase some, we have a few sets of wine cork tacks available on our Etsy shop.

Happy Crafting!

2011 HOLIDAY COUNT DOWN #3

2011-12-03T04:24:00.001-05:00

Count down to 2012 - Our gift from FEST to you!

#3 ~ TODAY'S Tutorial By Uptomykneesincrafts, where you can find truely unique custom children's clothing ~

Tutu's Made Easier!

Tied tutus are so easy to make and great for the holidays. Using these crochet headbands make it even easier.

Use them instead of elastic when working for girls with chest or waist sizes 24in or smaller. It allows for you to not have the rough feel of the tulle on your little ones body. It also makes a prefect top band to a tutu dress. It is easy to tie the tulle to the sections of the crochet headband as shown.

Add some flowers and other beautiful things and you can have this:

December's Em-Power Days

2011-12-02T23:18:00.002-05:00

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!

DECEMBER 1 A mischievous Venus is conjunct a pouty Pluto and that could make all of our relationship issues come to surface. Intensity might take the place of passion but only if that’s what you choose to happen. Otherwise ‘ligthen up’ and take some of the concern out of the conjunction by shining a lamp, light or even TWO PINK CANDLES in the ‘ROMANCE/RELATIONSHIP’ area of your main floor and/or bedroom. Not only will you lighten up but your relationship just might brighten up too! You’ll see!

customfavors

DECEMBER 2 Yesterday’s passionate/intense energies continue as the Sun squares off against Mars. Use diplomacy and/or tact when addressing sensitive subjects (as I KNOW you always do!) or keep it zipped altogether. Now, speaking of Mars, that planet hooks up with Neptune today too so while you’re embracing the whole ‘silence is golden’ thing you can also see all the silver linings behind creativity clouds. DREAM big but don’t count on meticulous meeting this bunch. A perfect day to ‘Sky Gaze.’ At any point, go outside and just stare off at the horizon for a few minutes or more. Next thing you know your visions will be unlimited too!

AspiringImages

DECEMBER 4 Mercury the Messenger squaring off against warrior Mars – avoid ANY travel today, or, at least, carry an image of the magical MYSTIC KNOT. Carry it close if you are hitting the road, the sky or the railways. Via Con Dios.

awpphotography

DECEMBER 5 Oh thank goodness, Venus comes to save the day and the whole first week in fact! She is flirty and fun and full of the holiday spirit as she trines her main man Mars! Mommy shouldn’t be the only one hooking up with Santa under the mistletoe if you know what I mean. Kiss, kiss, bang, bang. And, speaking of mistletoe, hanging some in the four corners of your dining room will bring a big bang to your bottom line as well! That one deserves tongue.

PinkPupsDesign

DECEMBER 10 Full Moon Eclipse in Gemini brings some balance to what you know and what you simply have an intuitive trust in. There is magic afoot so go ahead and take a BIG leap of faith! Today is THAT day! Create a vision of your dream and, then, all day long, be grateful as if it has already come to pass. Say ‘Thank HU’ all the day long while blowing that same HU breath into your visualization. It’s all up to HU today, take advantage of this cosmic Christmas gift!

zizzybob

DECEMBER 13 MERCURY MOVES FORWARD. Wait two days and, then, put those shopping shoes on!

blondiemom11

DECEMBER 14 Dramatic. Powerful. Mars. Pluto. Mercury. All in Capricorn. Yipes. World stage style stuff. Governments and other structures. Issues around power, control, action and desire. Stay in your center. Or put a lucky bamboo in the middle of your living space to remind you to bend with the wind and/or go with the flow. Or just stay in bed. With GREEN sheets!

TheWoodenBee

DECEMBER 18 Venus squaring off against taskmaster Saturn. Uh oh. The road to love and the one with some money on it could both be rough sledding today. Challenges and obstacles will give way to better times tomorrow. For today, surround yourself with the white light of protection and call on Archangel Michael (invoke his intercession three times) to keep you safe and warm. Well, safe at least, those two planets and their pissing match will provide enough heat, believe me. “Oh Archangel Michael be to my left and to my right, be above me and below me, be in front and in back of me. Archangel Michael be IN me surrounding and protecting me with your bright light.” Can I get an AMEN?

PaintedLatheesPlus

DECEMBER 19 Ahhhh, that’s better! A sizzling Sun is sextile Saturn and this bodes well for that office Christmas party or any other socializing. Could be that you meet new friends or even a chemical romance! You’re cookin’ with oil! Speaking of cooking with oil don’t forget to blend two drops of rose essential oil with two drops jasmine, two drops of bergamot and a drop or two of damiana. Add these oils to a quarter cup of almond oil and get going. Oh, you won’t need to take a coat tonight, you’ll have a new love to keep you warm. It’s getting hotter in here already.

AquarianBath

DECEMBER 20 Oh my, Venus is being a little Ho, Ho, Ho today! First she enters Aquarius and then she sextiles Neptune next! Oh but she’s not done yet. She also squares Jupiter today before sextiling Uranus! See? What did I say? HO! HO! HO! Okay, enough name calling, let’s see what her cavorting can mean for the rest of us? LOVE AND MONEY of course. Yesterday’s tip dealt with the love stuff and since love could appear out of the blue today I would go back and oil up. As for money, sprinkle a little ginger inside your wallet and on your checks and credit cards too. Spice up your love life and then bring a kick to your bottom line too! Merry and Happy, or, the other way around. Either way, it’s ALL good!

LuckiiArts

DECEMBER 22 WINTER SOLSTICE. Come to the blog post – http://ellenwhitehurst.tumblr.com/ to read about the magic and the mystery at our disposal on this season changing day. Endings and beginnings. With the Sun trine generous and expansive Jupiter on this same day though fortune can be found under everyone’s tree! A total Lunar Eclipse in Gemini opposite the Galactic Center. Let’s get all rapt up in ritual to welcome our soul home. See you there!

UntwistedSister

DECEMBER 24 New Moon makes it mandatory that Rudolph guides that sleigh tonight. And a New Moon so close to the Solstice always guarantees a dynamic and dramatic six months ahead so best to get a jump today. With Pluto in this New Moon mix there could be an ending OF YOUR CHOOSING – releasing or letting something go in order to make way for something extraordinary and new. Write something you want to release with a black marker on a red balloon with nine inches of red string or ribbon attached. Let the balloon go and watch until it drifts out of sight. That’s where your past will go as well. Outta sight. Groovy!

RobinMariaPedrero

DECEMBER 25 HARK THE HERALD ANGELS SING! They won’t be the only ones! Joyful all ye nations rise. Join the triumph of the skies. With angelic host proclaim TODAY IS SUPER STELLAR DAY! You know you can only get this information if you are a subscriber to the free monthly newsletter! www.ellenwhitehurst.com. Otherwise, JOYFUL ALL YE NATIONS RISE, JOIN THE TRIUMPH OF THE SKIES! A very merry Christmas indeed!

totallylegalpot

DECEMBER 26-28 More power-packed and intense energies abound. Make your 2012 Wish List and stick to yourself.

WindchimesAndWhatnot

DECEMBER 29 Sun conjuncts Pluto and so the higher ups will think you shine too! Support from VIPS is yours for the taking. Help them along by playing some sweet music in the HELPFUL PEOPLE area while also lighting nine red candles in the FAME area too – just to be doubly sure you get yours!

DesignedWithGlass

DECEMBER 31 Mercury the Messenger squaring off against mighty mad Mars. Emotions could be tender. Vulnerable. Don’t talk to strangers. And don’t do ANYTHING else with them either, it won’t turn out well even if Venus is making hay with the Moon. Doesn’t matter, best to plan to be with those you trust and love and leave the rest of the melarchy to the moonshiners. Great energies to end and old year with. Do be sure to have your image of a red bird ready though. Remember, old adage says that if the first thing you see on New Year’s Day is a red bird then you will have fab fortunes and much luck all the New Year long. Glue it to your eyes. HAPPY NEW YEAR! XOE

happyshackdesigns

West Elm Event

2011-12-02T14:50:00.000-05:00

This December Etsy and WEST ELM partnered up to bring a special handmade holiday event to each of their store locations. The FLORIDA ESTY STREET TEAM was chosen to send members to the Estero, Florida location on December 1st.

West Elm provided a DIY activity table for attendees to craft up a little project to get them in the handmade holiday spirit and Etsy designed special activity and provided all of the supplies for a super cute Christmas Ornaments that everyone could make and take home!

Sarah of SewZinski volunteered to be the team leader for this event and was able to snap a couple of pic in between all of the fun!
Other team mates that showed up to help run the event and have fun with the public were Giorgi of JeniLuScraps, Barbara f Uptomykneesincrafts, and Marcia of MarciAnnDesigns - Thank you all!!!

The event itself was easy to run and the West Elm staff were very helpful and friendly. There are Lot's of left over ornaments sitting at the West Elm in Estero store, feel free to stop by and grab as many as you want.
Our team mates sent in a variety of goodies and we had these awesome bags made and filled them up and gave away Swag Bags for this event!

thanks to all of you that donated items and time to this event to help the public learn more about our great FEST team and the super Etsy community!!

2011 Holiday Count Down #2

2011-12-02T13:55:00.001-05:00

Count down to 2012 - Our gift from FEST to you!

#2 ~ TODAY'S tutorial by Tierrasolpaz, where you can find some very lovely mixed media art and home of some of the most stunning photographs out there!
A touch of glistening snow on natural pine cones make a fabulous addition to your holiday decor. This easy craft is great for filler in a decorative vase, string them together to create garland, or get out the hotglue gun and attach to a napkin ring!

Materials:

Pine Cones - any shape or size
Paint Brush
Egg Carton (used to hold the paint and for drying pines cones)
Glitter Paint (find at the craft store near you)

Load your paint brush with the glitter paint and stroke downward with the grain of the pine cone. I like to add dollops to each layer of the pine cone ... let dry and continue with opposite side.

CONGRATULATIONS NOVEMBER 2011 TEAM CHALLENGE WINNER!!!!

2011-12-01T19:02:00.000-05:00

"It's beginning to look like Christmas, everywhere you go!"

For last months monthly challenge we asked our FLORIDA ETSY STREET TEAM members to give us some Holiday Shopping Inspiration! We asked for Christmas Gifts under $10.00 - and we got a pretty impressive list to shop from!

But the winner chosen by our viewers was this brilliant idea brought to us by TheWoodenBee

Congratulations!!!

THEWOODENBEE's mini will remain at the top of each blog page until the end of the month for you to drroool over and click click click away!!!------------>>>

2011 HOLIDAY COUNT DOWN #1

2011-12-01T04:57:00.001-05:00

Count down to 2012 - Our gift from FEST to you!

#1 ~ TODAY'S Tutorial By SmallThingsClay where you will find a Super Sweet Colorful Fun Polymer Clay Sculptures and Figurines!
Today Kathy shares the birth of a special clay toad!

Happy Birthday To You!

2011-11-28T00:07:00.002-05:00

CYBER WEEKEND DEALS 2011!

2011-11-26T04:42:00.000-05:00

It's that time of the year again! Black Friday and Cyber Monday are the epic adventure of finding and siezing the best buys for you holiday shopping! Take a gander at these fine Florida based sellers that are offering some mega deals for the upcoming weekend:

RECREATIONALART - 50 % off of everything in shop for Cyber Monday only and free shipping in the U.S. with COUPON CODE: RACYBER50

GENTLEMANSEMPORIUM - 20% off of everything in shop for Cyber Monday only and free shipping in the U.S. with COUPON CODE: GECYBER

PENNYBOPEROO - 20% off of everything in shop for Cyber Monday only with COUPON CODE: PBCYBER

GARDENWHIMSIESBYMARY - 20% off entire shop on Cyber Monday only with COUPON CODE: CYBER

DEVINEDESIGNSJEWELRY - Free shipping from Thanksgiving day through cyber Monday with COUPON CODE: FREESHP

THEWOODENBEE - 25% off our reclaimed wood & supplies with COUPON CODE: CYBERMONDAY
CHECKEREDSHIRTS - 15% off good for the entire shop with coupon code HOHOHO

BEADLOVERSKORNER - free jewelry cleaning cloth with purchases from Black Friday through Cyber Monday. (one per customer) That is a $5.00 Value

MADSCIENTISTSDESIGNS - 25% off your purchase in my shop now through Cyber Monday, November 28th with COUPON CODE: BLACKFRIDAY

PAINTEDLATHEESPLUS - 10% off through Christmas with COUPON CODE PLPhohoho and a free gift with each purchase, a 5 to 10 dollar value

TIERRASOLPAZ - Free Shipping (domestic only) now through December 1st with COUPON CODE: FREESHIP

BIRDHOUSEDESIGNS - everything will be discounted by 15%, No code needed, most items will also have free shipping already applied. This will run from Thursday to Tuesday

LAFEMMEFANATIC - coupon code TOUCHDOWN for free shipping Thanksgiving Thursday thru Cyber Monday!!

Greetings From The SS Tesla: 11/25/11

2011-11-25T00:12:00.000-05:00

Happy Black Friday!!

Another short post team FESTers! And I have an awesome recipe to share with you for the Holiday Season. This is for all of the Team FEST cooks out there courtsey of All Recipes:

Ingredients

2 cups white sugar
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups canned pumpkin
4 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 12x18 inch pan. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.
In a large bowl combine sugar and oil. Blend in vanilla and pumpkin, then beat in eggs one at a time. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in nuts. Spread batter into prepared 12x18 inch pan.
Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool.

Nutritional Information

Amount Per Serving Calories: 438 | Total Fat: 26.8g | Cholesterol: 60mg

Happy Holidays Everyone! Now I have to get ready for my exams!

xoxo,

The Captain

What Are You Thankful For? ~ WJFLINSTONE

2011-11-23T08:00:00.004-05:00

Not too long ago I asked my team "What Are You Thankful For?" And some amazing stories were told. I would like to share one with you today:

Wilma of WJFlintstone shared this beautiful story:

I have a blended family with two wonderful daughters born to me and one daughter and a son that grew in my heart after I started dating their Father, whom I later married. I work in a jail and until recently with the teenage offenders. Plus I've seen how many people over the years have had trouble of varying degrees with their children from youth through adulthood. I have been blessed with children who have grown into adults with not enough troubles given to the parents to even mention. While there was some adjustments to be made blending the families even those where mild. So this year as always I am Thankful and blessed by my wonderful Children! I did not originally intend to expand my crafting into jewelry making, but I saw a pendant that was perfect for one of my daughters and made it for her birthday. That expanded into gifts for each daughter and also my son for xmas. Each was thrilled and firmly decided that I should add some of these to my etsy shop. And thus began my jewelry making. Now I'm totally hooked.

Beaded White Heart Necklace

Very Nice! Thank you for sharing~

Happy Birthday To You!

2011-11-21T00:35:00.001-05:00

Happy Birthday wishes going out to the following

LaCoquetteCosmetics on November 22
http://www.etsy.com/listing/82299933/2-bottles-of-nail-polish-you-pick-the

Blindsquirrel on November 23
http://www.etsy.com/listing/75426326/nuno-felted-scarf-in-olive-and-brown

Sewzinski also on November 23
http://www.etsy.com/listing/62282459/ceramic-travel-mug-red-roses-bird

SoapmakerMonica also on November 23
http://www.etsy.com/listing/86385201/sample-sets-solid-shampoo-shower-shave

TheQuirkySquirrel also on November 23
http://www.etsy.com/listing/82728035/stitch-marker-box

Hope ya'll have a Wonderful Birthday!
ReneeBrownsDesigns

What Are You Thankful For? ~ Aurorasoriginals

2011-11-20T08:00:00.001-05:00

Not too long ago I asked my team "What Are You Thankful For?" And some amazing stories were told. I would like to share one with you today:

AurorasOriginals shared this beautiful story:

I recently married a man I knew immediately after high school. My own son has graduated high school and moved on into a life in the Army. My husband has 3 children- oldest in college, middle turns 16 this year, youngest just turned 6. Im finding bonding with these new children difficult at times. Building jewelry has been part of my life for years, my son was used to beads all over the place, the step children are not as tolerant. I sat down one morning and started working with wire- in a few minutes, the youngest was sitting beside me fingering through the beads in the tray, asking about color, shape, what was I going to do with these? I asked him what he thought about them and he said they would make great earrings- he carefully dug through a box of metal pieces until he found just the look he wanted- and he created the earrings in this set. I was so impressed, we created the necklace to match so my ears wouldnt be lonely all dressed up. I told him if this set sells, he gets the money- since he created them- he asks me everyday "have they sold yet?" I want to get a ........ (everyday that changes LOL)

glass beaded jewelry painted glass jewelry matching set beaded necklace dangle earrings metal bead jewelry-Chess

So pretty! Thank you for sharing~

What Are You Thankful For? ~ DMCJewelryCentralFL

2011-11-16T08:00:00.002-05:00

Not too long ago I asked my team "What Are You Thankful For?" And some amazing stories were told. I would like to share one with you today:

Delaine of DMCJewelryCentralFL shared this beautiful story:

I have a guardian spirit, I often believe. That little insistent voice in your head that tells you things you'd rather not hear but need to. This time it told me to stop sticking my head in the sand about certain health issues and take action. Thankfully I listened and just narrowly missed being diagnosed with cervical cancer. Simple surgery is all that's needed but if I had continued to ignore my little voice the outcome would have been far worse. I'm just thankful it's not my time to check out yet. Have a wonderful day and hug the ones you love! :o)

Guardian Spirit Lapis Sterling Necklace

Indeed Special! Thank you for sharing~

NOVEMBER 2011 - TEAM MONTHLY CHALLENGE: CAST YOUR VOTES

2011-11-15T19:26:00.000-05:00

"It's beginning to look like Christmas, everywhere you go!"

Right around the corner we will have December and the hustle and bustle of holiday shopping is already starting and so this month we asked our FLORIDA ETSY STREET TEAM members to give us some Holiday Shopping Inspiration! We asked for Christmas Gifts under $10.00 - and we got a pretty impressive list to shop from!

custom-silhouette-portrait-with-chevrons by jenniferalexisdesign

notebook-scrolling-green-embellished by TierraSolPaz

vegan-oatmeal-raisin-cookie-mix-jar by JerilynSw

scrapbook-stick-pins-florida-etsy-street by runningwithescissors

jolly-cat-pendant-florida-etsy-street by PaintedLatheesPlus

bead-bracelet-metal-charm-bracelet by AurorasOriginals

dress-me-up by SoulfulEarrings

simple-bar-bell-collar-bar-team-fest-challenge by GentlemansEmporium

floral-bead-hemp-bookmark-gift-under-10 by BeadLoversKorner

purple-in-pink-bracelet-single-strand-team-fest-challenge by RecreationalArt

frog-charm-beaded-book-mark-greens and-blues by PattiMakes

morgan-paper-doll-set by studiopop

soap-christmas-ornament-soap-on-a-rope by AquarianBath

sleeping-children-never-lie by brokenbees

pre-holiday-sale-sapphire-lightweight by TealwaterDesigns

seatbelt-cover-spicy-fruits-free by chantalmarieliving

cloisonne-czech-glass-earrings-singing by DMCJewelryCentralFL

christmas-reindeer-ornament-tennis-ball by roseartworks

chalkboard-gift-tag-made-from-reclaimed by TheWoodenBee

Cast your vote for your favorite, poll found in right hand side bar. Voting ends on November 30th at midnight!

Happy Birthday To You!

2011-11-14T00:03:00.001-05:00

Happy Birthday wishes to the following

Jpwithlove on November 14th
http://www.etsy.com/listing/80942368/stud-earrings-flower-teal-yellow-light

Richarme also on November 14th
http://www.etsy.com/listing/63486131/richarme-orange-turkish-agate-long

Tiquita16 on November 16th
http://www.etsy.com/listing/35390809/xmas-trees

Knittedwavestudio on November 19th
http://www.etsy.com/listing/38570135/sale-hanging-out-on-the-line-hawaii-five

Athenasarmoury on November 20th
http://www.etsy.com/listing/74740169/cinnamon-clove-spice-soap-natural

Brokenbees also on November 20th
http://www.etsy.com/listing/85531207/sleeping-children-never-lie

Dancingplatypus also on November 20th
http://www.etsy.com/listing/81157017/kawaii-flexible-dessert-slices-for

Hope you all have a Wonderful Birthday!
ReneeBrownsDesigns

What Are You Thankful For? ~ StainsInPains

2011-11-12T08:00:00.004-05:00

Not too long ago I asked my team "What Are You Thankful For?" And some amazing stories were told. I would like to share one with you today:

Tricia of StainsInPanes shared this beautiful story:

I live in a small town and a couple of months ago we lost a dedicated K-9 police officer named GUS. Gus and his partner Fred helped keep us safe for many years. Thankfully he was able to enjoy retirement in his finial years. I made a memorialized piece of stained glass art complete with his photo's, obituary and badge. As a thank you to Gus, for the many life's he touched .
I am thankful for the special souls that risk their lives to protect us, both two and four legged.

Reserved Memorialized Stained Glass Art

Very Nice! Thank you for sharing~

It's the Start of the Holidays FEST Blog Giveaway November

2011-11-08T18:52:00.004-05:00

We are so delighted to have our November FEST Giveaway sponsored by Cory of Aquarian Bath from Daytona Beach. Cory is a herbalist who makes wonderful and delicious natural soaps, specialty salves and natural perfumes and grows her own herbs for her organic products.

Cory is getting us ready for the Holidays with her wonderful Christmas Gingerbread Man Soap on a Rope Ornament of Ginger, Cinnamon, Clove and Essential Oils.

Her veggie soaps are hand cut and strung with natural hemp. Gingerbread men soaps are a great gift for co-workers, family or friends. Cold-process soap and Orangutan friendly; no palm oils are included.

All of Cory's items, such as those pictured below, are made from scratch and formulated by her and are either unscented or lightly scented with pure essential oils.

You can visit Cory at her Etsy Store to see more of her luxurious wares at: AquarianBath.

HOW TO ENTER: Enter to win this darling Gingerbread Man by visiting AquarianBath at her Etsy Shop or any of the FEST members listed on the top of our Blog Page. Find your favorite item, share it with us and tell us why you love it. Remember to add your email address or contact info so we can contact you if you are the Winner! Winner picked on 12/10/11. Simple and Easy!

What Are You Thankful For? - CyndieSmithDesigns

2011-11-08T08:00:00.002-05:00

Not too long ago I asked my team "What Are You Thankful For?" And some amazing stories were told. I would like to share one with you today:

Cyndie of Cyndiesmithdesigns shared this beautiful story:

Three years ago I lost a close friend to breast cancer. It changed my life and made me reexamine everything. I have learned what's important, and try not to sweat the little things. I'm thankful for my health, my family and friends, and my art. When my friend died, I made the Life cuff for her.

Wide Brass Folded Cuff Life

When I first listed it on Etsy, I told the story of its creation, and was flooded with requests to make them, telling their story. I retired the design once, but brought it back by request. The last one is currently listed, and after that, it will be retired once again.

So pretty! Thank you for sharing~

Happy Birthday To You!

2011-11-07T00:09:00.001-05:00

In My Corner with Tierra Sol Paz

2011-11-05T20:41:00.000-04:00

Today I am honored to share with you Laura from Tierra Sol Paz 's little corner. Her entire one bedroom apartment is 706 square feet and she had to really plan out her crafting space. I am amazed at how well she created this area for herself with such limited space. It tells you that no matter how big or small your home you can have a corner of your own to devote to your crafty side.

She told me when they first moved in she had her supplies all seperated into 4 plastic tubs which were stacked on top of each other in a closet. She commented on how demotivating it was to be crafty when she had to "stack, unstack, stack (repeat) to access supplies." I have to agree there I had that experience-no fun. She said she looked around the apartment and saw the shelves next to the fireplace and thought "... hmmm this could work.
Add curtain... and voila!! a crafting nook!"

I must say I love it. She labels her bins and drawers so she knows where she put things b/c I must admit I have reorganized my area several times and I always find I can not find where I put an item and spend 30 minutes to an hour looking for it.

Here is how her lay out works so efficiently:

Top shelf … boards, frames, blank slates for mixed media crafting.

Middle shelf.... papercraft tub (well organized inside) and jewelry making supplies

Bottom shelf … in each of those containers are in progress projects. It makes it easy (working in a small space) to just pull out the project container and inside are all the tid-bits and supplies that are needed. This shelf also houses her paints and paintbrushes.

And when she needed more space she told me:

"Quick trip to Ikea and found a solution. These drawer units are perfect for the space. Each drawer has a purpose clearly labeled. The top surface of the drawer units is the perfect amount of space to store completed projects and projects that are drying!!"

She also keeps one tub for her stash (you know the stuff you have been harboring for that perfect project you haven't found yet, I know you all have one too, I have several hahah a horrible crime I know). She brings this out when making new items.

Now you are probably asking...okay so your supplies are organized in the nook...but WHERE DO YOU CRAFT???

I must admit I was wondering myself with such limited space organization is key and she has got it down. I admire her for this.

Her comment to where she crafted was, "I often craft right at my couch using the “coffee table” … or I use the dining room table for larger crafting. The downfall to not having a designated space to spread out … I have to clean up and put things away after a crafting session...I live with a dog, cat, and husband … so I do not have the luxury of just leaving it out. My cat would totally enjoy it though! ahhh the joys of apartment living. It didn't always used to be this way I have had the pleasure of having my own crafting room, but I'm working with what I got!"

I feel she has done wonders with her corner.

I saw a quote once that said "I am creative you can't expect me to be neat too." and I sometimes live by that but when your space is very limited you still want to invite guests over and have a place for them to sit, so great job Laura on your space and thank you for sharing.

Enjoy,

Barbara

2011-11-03T08:00:00.001-04:00

Hello there! I’m Sarah from sewZinski.etsy.com and I am here to let you know about a cool opportunity for your Etsy shop and our team. Our FLORIDA ETSY STREET TEAM has been asked to help promote Etsy this year at the Florida West Elm Holiday Event!

This December Etsy is partnering Team Fest and West Elm to bring a craft night to local stores. Etsy is providing a craft and four team members have volunteered their time to help demonstrate, to shoppers that show up at the event, how to create their ornament.
West Elm Holiday Event

December 1, 2011 

West Elm Location, Coconut Point 

Event time 6-9pm (tentative) 

Our team will be represented at the local Estero West Elm store in Coconut Point. We thought this would be a great opportunity to also spread the word about our individual Etsy shops, our Florida Etsy Street Team, Etsy, and how important it is to buy handmade this holiday season by giving away 35 FEST swag bags to the first 35 people that show up to the event.

These bags will be chock full of goodies made by any of the team members that would like to promote their shops and spread the word about what they do. We wanted to let team members know now so they can start creating in time to get the goodies to me so we can assemble the bags and have them ready for the event. Team members can go to the Team Home Page on Etsy and find the discussion thread for details to sign up.

These bags are going to be a high quality natural cotton tote (14 x 16) that people can take home and reuse over and over again. The bags will have “I Support Handmade.” Printed on them along with our Team info.