Daily Finds & Giveaways!

Custom T-shirts

2010-07-09T22:34:00.001-07:00

New Custom T-shirt Pricing!

E-mail us at rainbowswirlz@gmail.com

if you're interested in placing a custom order!:)

Panda!

2010-07-09T16:53:00.001-07:00

Pretty sure I want a Chow Chow so I can turn him into a Panda ♥

My neighbors would probably freak out if they

saw a "panda" running around in my front yard!!!

2010-07-08T20:53:00.001-07:00

(In the process of changing around the layout. Hopefully I'll have it looking good sometime within the next few days... sorry for the mess) Haha!

Just a little update.. :)

2010-07-08T20:26:00.000-07:00

Rainbow Swirlz loves you!
Sorry I've been neglecting the blog lately.
I've recently become obsessed with facebook.
If you don't already.. you should become a "fan" on our facebook page!

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We're having FREE shipping on our etsy site right now!
7.8.10 - 7.11.10

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Item of the week on ETSY
Monster in Training - $15 - Expires 7.11.10
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Rainbow Swirlz Bucks!
Only available on our .com

$10.00 Rainbow Swirlz Bucks..
Just for you!!!!

$50.00 minimum order.
International orders included.
Coupon code: July

Checkout with the items you want...
Enter coupon code: July at checkout & $10 will be knocked off your order!
Awesome!

OR

$5.00 Rainbow Swirlz Bucks...
Just for you!!!!

$30.00 minimum order.
International orders included.
Coupon code: July5

Checkout with the items you want...
Enter coupon code: July5 at checkout & $5 will be knocked off your order!

Tell all your friends!
Expires July 11th, 2010.

Both coupons can not be used at same time.
However you are more than welcome to use the coupons more than once!

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We are giving away 2 $100.00 Gift Certificates next month!!!!
How to enter:

Place an order on rainbowswirlz.com sometime in July!
There is no minimum order.. However for every $5 spent
your name will be entered into the drawing again!

Winners will be notified on August 1st!

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WHEW! That was a lot to cover!<3>

Join us!

2010-04-11T17:56:00.000-07:00

2 Giveaways!

2010-02-05T19:26:00.000-08:00

We are giving away 2 $25.00
Gift Certificates in February
to newsletter subscribers! :)
So sign up quick to be entered into the drawings!

•Sign up for our newsletter -
(e-mail rainbowswirlz [!at] gmail.com with
"SUBSCRIBE" in the subject)

Custom Buttons + Custom T-shirts NOW AVAILABLE!

2010-01-29T10:48:00.000-08:00

Only at http://www.rainbowswirlz.com

Everything is on SALE!

2010-01-29T09:30:00.000-08:00

Everything is on SALE!
Etsy & .com

Mustard + Maroon

2010-01-28T18:11:00.000-08:00

Mustard + Maroon

Hat - Mojospastyle
Hair Clip - Wendyandpeter
Necklace - Itsbeautiful
Bag - Tippythai

I'm back...

2010-01-05T12:03:00.001-08:00

So much stuff is going on right now!
We are trying to buy a new house, might be moving the business into a new building & having to train a new rainbow swirlz elf because our last elf.. well, she sucks & I say that in the nicest way! :)

Our favorite graphic designer is working on some new graphics for the site. So hopefully in a couple of weeks we will have a fresh prettyful site!

We will be releasing several new designs within the next couple of months! I can't wait!

We are trying to fill our schedule for craft shows this year so if you know of any good ones then let me know! We do travel!:D

Also if you have any pictures of yourself sporting any Rainbow Swirlz gear send them our way.. If we decide to feature you on our blog or online stores we'll send you a $25.00 gift certificate! Cool, huh?

Just a heads up for some of you who don't know. I'm 5 months pregnant so Rainbow Swirlz will more than likely be closing in May / June for a couple of weeks.

Okay enough rambling.. Time for a giveaway!
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We are giving away 2 $25.00 Gift Certificates to the site!

To enter:

Leave us a comment with...

1.We mentioned above that we are going to be releasing several new designs...
What kind of designs would you like to see us release?

2. Please provide your e-mail address. If an e-mail address is not provided you will not be chosen as a winner.

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This giveaway will close towards the end of January!
2 Winners will be notified via e-mail!

Hope everyone is well!

It's been too long!

2009-12-19T08:31:00.001-08:00

Wow, it's been way too long!
I have been insanely busy!

I hope everyone is doing well!

I will be back soon with more giveaways + updates!
Miss you all!

Tee of the week!

2009-10-03T09:01:00.000-07:00

Available on our etsy or .com for $15!

Also we are having a huge tee sale until 10.10.09
All tee's are on sale for $16.99 !

TEE OF THE WEEK Can I Keep It Monster Alternative Apparel Crew Top

2009-09-19T20:35:00.000-07:00

Chicago!

2009-09-16T19:24:00.000-07:00

Woohoo The Renegade Craft Fair in Chicago
was a HUGE success for us!
We sold out of so much stuff
It was a long drive but well worth it..
Finally home and trying to get caught up
on an insane amount of online orders!

Now to prepare for our next show!
Indie Emporium in Tulsa!

Just a few pictures of our booth on the first day before the show started..

I wish I would have took some after pictures!

Alright, hope everyone is well!:)

TEE OF THE WEEK Pretty Bird Long Sleeve Scoop Neck

2009-09-05T15:21:00.001-07:00

Tee of the week! $15
Available on our etsy site
or our .com !: )

Tank SALE!

2009-09-03T07:19:00.000-07:00

The price is already adjusted!
Ribbed Tanks & Gauze Tanks
will be pulled end of September!
Sale is only good for our .com!

Dustbowl in Norman! :)

2009-08-30T14:27:00.000-07:00

We had an absolute blast at the Dustbowl Arts Market
in Norman yesterday!
Thanks so much to everyone who stopped by our booth!:)

I forgot to take pictures until we had already
started pulling down our booth!
So it's kind of a mess in the pictures.. but you get the idea!:)

Now we have to start preparing for Renegade
Craft Fair in Chicago next month!
We are going to change up our set-up a bit for it.. Ah I can't wait!:)

New Goodies!

2009-08-17T15:43:00.000-07:00

Free shipping for you! Enter coupon code: blogger
at checkout! International orders included!
Expires: August 19th (my 23rd birthday) !

News..

2009-08-16T07:14:00.000-07:00

New Long Sleeves in the shop now!

New Tee of the Week! Only $15!

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We will be at the Dustbowl Arts Market in Norman
on August 29th from 10am - 6pm!
Come check us out if you're in the area!

I need your votes..

2009-08-11T12:55:00.000-07:00

Vote Now!
We are trying to get ready for our
fall / winter update & we are having
trouble deciding which style to use for
our new long sleeve tee's!

Alternative Apparel Organic L/S Scoop Neck Tee
Alternative Apparel L/S Crew

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You are NOT voting on the color.. Just the style!
Please let me know if you prefer scoop neck or crew neck.
If you do not like either of them.. put neither.
I am still on the lookout for others..

Thanks everyone!

Congratulations!

2009-08-08T10:01:00.000-07:00

The winners of the $25 Gift Certificates to
rainbowswirlz.com are

Saturday Samarai & CrochetRUs

I have sent you both e-mails!:)

Thanks to everyone who entered!

Back to School SALE!

2009-08-05T11:38:00.000-07:00

I'm alive!

2009-07-27T16:20:00.000-07:00

Wow, this past month has been absolutely insane.
I am sorry for the lack of updates!
So many things are happening right now in
Rainbow Swirlz land... it's hard to keep up with
everything sometimes!

I wanted to do something nice for my readers so here goes!

A Double Giveaway!
Two winners will win a $25.00
Gift certificate to our .com!

Enter the giveaway by going to our .com &
letting us know your favorite item!

Earn extra entries by:
Following us on twitter
Following our blog
Subscribing to our newsletter

If you enter the giveaway please be sure to
leave your e-mail address in the comment.
Also leave an additional comment for each
of the above actions you do!:)

Thanks & I hope everyone is doing well!

Giveaway ends: August 10th

Tee of the week!

2009-07-12T16:18:00.000-07:00

Rainbow Swirlz Tee of the Week!
This tee can be purchased on our etsy shop or our .com!

Ends July 19th

Tee of the week!

2009-07-05T08:48:00.001-07:00

Rainbow Swirlz Tee of the Week!
This tee can be purchased on our etsy shop or our .com!

Ends July 12th

I'm a slacker!

2009-06-30T19:13:00.000-07:00

I'm slacking on the blog updates, I'm sorry everyone!
Things have been a little insane for me..
I have several craft shows that I'm planning for +
trying to keep all the shops that carry my line stocked..
and on top of all of that I have my daily orders.. so it's a crazy time.
I will be back with a new Rainbow Swirlz giveaway
sometime this week or beginning of next!:D

My little one is enjoying the summer..
Shes a fish.. loves the water!

If you haven't already...

2009-06-30T10:05:00.000-07:00

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER!

Just send an e-mail to
rainbowswirlz@gmail.com
with "SUBSCRIBE" in the subject!

Lots of freebies, sales & promos only for newsletter subscribers!

Sweet Deal!:D

Congratulations!

2009-06-28T07:56:00.000-07:00

The winner of the TheGuestRoomCloset Giveaway is... Doubleknittwins!

&&&

The winner of the Rainbow Swirlz Giveaway is... Lyn!

Congratulations! I have sent you both an e-mail!
Please respond within 48 hours or a
new winner will be chosen!

Tee of the week!

2009-06-27T18:26:00.000-07:00

Rainbow Swirlz Tee of the Week!
This tee can be purchased on our etsy shop or our .com!

Ends July 5th

Free shipping!

2009-06-25T10:28:00.001-07:00

Free shipping on our .com until 6.30.09!
Enter coupon code: blogspot
No minimum purchase.

3 Things I love..

2009-06-25T10:07:00.000-07:00

3 Things I love...

Gretel Leather Tote Bag - Renneslechateau - $175

Yellow Agate and Bronze Necklace - 10dollartreasures - $10

Keep Calm & Carry On - Derder - $18

Twitter

2009-06-24T18:55:00.000-07:00

Follow me on twitter

3 Things I love...

2009-06-24T18:22:00.000-07:00

3 Things I love...

Beautiful Felt Butterfly Ring by Mixko - $7.00

Be You dish by Mudhutt - $14.00

Vinyl Clutch by GetReadySetGo & 10th Street - $35.50

Congratulations!

2009-06-24T17:58:00.000-07:00

The winner of the BotanicalBird Giveaway is... Linna!

&&

The winner of the SugarPieChic Giveaway is... Hookernextdoor!

Congratulations! I have sent you both an e-mail!
Please respond within 48 hours or
new winners will be chosen!

If you haven't already.. Go enter our other giveaways!
You can find a list of current giveaways at the top
right hand side of our blog! :)

Big Bad Bag Sale!

2009-06-22T14:35:00.000-07:00

We're kicking off Summer with our first ever
BIG BAD BAG SALE!

You can purchase them on our etsy site or our .com!

This sale runs from 6.22.09 / 7.15.09

Tote Bags: Regularly $10 - Now only $7!
Field Bags: Regularly $20 - Now only $17!
Messenger Bags: Regularly $35 - Now only $30!

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If you would like to subscribe to our newsletter
for special offers, please e-mail rainbowswirlz@gmail.com
with "SUBSCRIBE" in the subject field!

Rainbow Swirlz Giveaway - June 21st - 28th

2009-06-21T05:35:00.000-07:00

Rainbow Swirlz Giveaway!

Introduce yourself!:)
My name is Mendy - I'm 22 from Oklahoma! I have an amazing husband. We have a beautiful baby girl together!:)

Tell us a bit about your business..
I started Rainbow Swirlz 5 years ago.. just as a way to earn some extra money. I was only 17.. Never did I imagine that I would be doing this full time and have a couple employees to help out. I love what I do!

What inspired you to start your etsy shop?
I believe I read about it on a livejournal community back in 2005.. Etsy is not my only selling venue.. I also sell on Dawada, Artfire, 1000markets, shophandmade & plenty others. I have wholesale + consigner accounts all over the world! :)

When you're not being crafty, what do you do?
We usually go camping every weekend.. My family is extremely close so we pretty much do everything together. My daughter is everything to me... I love spending time with her.. :)

Whats your favorite book, song, movie & website?
Website: http://www.google.com - I love googling things. hahaha
Movie: Oh geeze.. I can't pick... I'm addicted to watching movies.. I love romantic commedies though. Scary movies are fun too.. but then I can't sleep at night and make my husband get up to walk around 800 times in the middle of the night because I think I hear something. LOL.. :)
Song: I'm obsessed with any song by the Ramones, Tegan & Sara, The Cure, Rancid & FATA. One of my favorite songs is Autumns Monologue by FATA.. that song makes me feel.

How do you promote your work?
I have been lucky enough to not have to do much advertising.

What are your short-term & long-term goals?
Short term: Keep up with work.. We are so busy that sometimes we struggle with that.
Long term: Expand.. I have so many dreams.

Do you run Rainbow Swirlz full time?
Yes, I do..

What advice do you have for other crafters who may want to start an indie craft business like yours?
Go for it:)

Tell us something random about you!
I have a pink dell laptop & at all times I have 8 browsers open.. ALL DAY & more open when I start working.

1. Gmail
2. Etsy
3. My .com
4. Twitter
5. Ebay
6. Myspace
7. Artfire
8. My blog

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Item up for grabs: Rar Monster Tear Away Tee from Rainbow Swirlz - You pick the size - s, m, l, xl

To enter the giveaway: Go to Rainbow Swirlz, look around.. come back & tell us your favorite item from my shop!

Earn extra entries:
*Subscribe to our blog.
Do no forget to activate your subscription.
*Blog about this giveaway on your Blog.
Leave a link to your blog in your entry.

You will receive one extra entry into this giveaway for each of the above actions you do.

This giveaway will end on June 28th at 11:30 p.m. (Central Standard Time). The winner will be notified by e-mail and it will be posted Sunday night on our blog. Please be sure you have provided a valid e-mail address. If there is no e-mail address provided to contact the winner, another name will be drawn. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to the e-mail notification with their mailing address. This information will then be forwarded to the sponsor. If this information is not received within 48 hours another name will be drawn.

TEE OF THE WEEK Rar Monster

2009-06-20T19:13:00.001-07:00

Rainbow Swirlz Tee of the Week!
This tee can be purchase on our etsy shop or our .com!

Ends June 28th

TheGuestRoomCloset Giveaway - June 20th - 27th

2009-06-20T11:30:00.000-07:00

TheGuestroomCloset has Adorable hair clips,burp cloths, cloth napkins & more! :) Enter code "RainbowSwirlz Giveaway Blog" in message to seller at checkout & they will send you a revised invoice with 15% off your purchase! This discount code will end on June 27th!

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Introduce yourself!:)
We’re two sisters and a mom – Merri, Janet, and May. We live in three different states and have joined forces in a single shop that we call the Guestroom Closet. We’ve always kept our guestroom closets jammed with our craft supplies, ribbons, and fabric - sneaking away from our crazy lives for a creative and crafty fix whenever we can. Though our supplies have outgrown our closets and we’re spending more and more time on crafty endeavors, we still say we’re “in the Guestroom Closet” when we’re in full-on production mode.

Tell us a bit about your business..
Together we make and sell a variety of accessories and useful items for your kids and your home. Merri makes hair clips and barrettes and some nursery decor items. Janet makes reusable snack bags, napkins, and other goodies using rescued vintage fabric. May makes diaper totes, burp cloths, and big bows....and she has a really cool monogramming machine! Because none of us live in the same state, Etsy was a perfect on-line venue for us to get started. We love it there, and have found it to be user- friendly and a supportive community. We’re also starting to sell at craft shows and in boutiques near our own towns. We love custom orders and have begun accepting wholesale orders as well.

What inspired you to start your etsy shop?
We love to make things for ourselves and our kids, and an etsy shop was the perfect excuse to keep making more stuff, and a reason to indulge our obsession with pretty ribbons and vintage fabric.

When you're not being crafty, what do you do?
Merri- A recently 'retired' elementary school teacher- I now can be found keeping pretty busy with my 2 littles- 2 year old Ellamay and 1 year old Keller.
Janet- I spend my time procrastinating, chasing two kids, working at my day job as a museum lawyer, and dreaming about traveling more.
May- Living the retired life with my husband of forty years, I spend much of my time gardening and travelling. I am also a proud grandmama to four wonderful grandchildren.

Whats your favorite book, song, movie & website?
It's difficult to narrow this one down- but we do share one in common- we spend a lot of our time on Etsy!

How do you promote your work?
Etsy, word of mouth, facebook, blog, and our own kids/grandkids are the best models and walking ads for our products!

What are your short-term & long-term goals?
Participate in a few shows each year- hopefully atleast one in each of our 'states' and blog more.

Do you run TheGuestroomCloset full time?
We wish!

What advice do you have for other crafters who may want to start an indie craft business like yours?
Just do it. Etsy is an easy way to get started and the risks and costs are low.

Tell us something random about you!
We’re all natural blondes...and we like to think not of the ditzy variety.

--

Item up for grabs: $15 Store Credit to TheGuestRoomCloset

To enter the giveaway: Go to TheGuestRoomCloset, look around.. come back & tell us your favorite item from her shop!

Earn extra entries:
*Subscribe to our blog.
Do no forget to activate your subscription.
*Blog about this giveaway on your Blog.
Leave a link to your blog in your entry.

You will receive one extra entry into this giveaway for each of the above actions you do.

This giveaway will end on June 27th at 11:30 p.m. (Central Standard Time). The winner will be notified by e-mail and it will be posted Saturday night on our blog. Please be sure you have provided a valid e-mail address. If there is no e-mail address provided to contact the winner, another name will be drawn. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to the e-mail notification with their mailing address. This information will then be forwarded to the sponsor. If this information is not received within 48 hours another name will be drawn.

SugarPieChic Giveaway - June 18th - 24th

2009-06-17T21:00:00.000-07:00

SugarPieChic makes some of the most awesome retro, vintage, old-fashioned aprons! I love her style!:) This is our first apron giveaway - I am super excited about it!

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Introduce yourself!:)
Hi, my name is Leslie Rutland. I am a native Texan and live in the sunny city of Austin, TX. My husband (of 32 years) and I have two grown daughters and one grandson. As a young girl, I was always around talented women who loved sewing. My mother is an accomplished seamstress as were both of my grandmothers. I began sewing and designing when I realized that my Barbie needed something new to wear! With fabric scraps from my mother’s stash and some blunt-tip scissors, a lifelong passion began.

Tell us a bit about your business
Sugar Pie Chic originally began as a collaboration between me and one of my daughters. We were inspired by some of the beautiful fabrics available from designers and wanted to do something creative with fabric. About that same time, I discovered Etsy which was a perfect way to display and even sell handmade items. At first, my daughter helped me choose fabrics and create purse and apron designs. She would put fabrics together with purse or apron designs and I would sew them. After a few months of this, I was more inspired by aprons, so I began focusing on making aprons that were individual and unique. I also had some vintage apron patterns that belonged to my mother. I was able to rework some of these patterns to make aprons that were both sassy and chic. I wanted each apron to evoke something from the past while remaining both simple and practical for today’s woman.

What inspired you to start making APRONS?
For some time I have been dwelling on the idea that women throughout history have always worn aprons of one kind or another. This universal connection with women inspired me to want to do something that would continue this chain. The more I thought about this, the more I wanted to create something for today’s woman. I wanted to give her an apron that would be unique and personal. I didn’t want to stop there, though; I also wanted to make a quality apron that would be something treasured by her children and grandchildren. Perhaps one of my aprons would be passed down with beautiful memories of the woman who wore it.

When you're not being crafty, what do you do?
Before moving to Austin two years ago, I had not been doing much sewing. Instead, I was investing a lot of time in gardening. Through the county extension I had become a Master Gardener and was studying landscape design. So, when I’m not in my studio sewing, I’m usually in my garden. It seems to me that both sewing and gardening go together great as hobbies. Both are rewarding and fulfilling. I would hate to have to choose one over the other.

Whats your favorite book, song, movie & website?
As far as a favorite book is concerned, I’ve never seen a book I didn’t want! When I was a teacher I would tell my students, “Anything well written is always worth reading.” I truly believe this. I won’t commit to any one movie as a favorite, but I really think O Brother Where Art Thou is one of the best movies I’ve ever seen. However, I do have a favorite ballet and it is Giselle. I just love the forest scene in Act II!

How do you promote your work?
This is probably one of my biggest weaknesses. Mostly, my work is promoted by word-of-mouth. Of course, Etsy is where I do most of my selling. I have been asked to put some aprons in local shops in Austin and I am considering doing this. Above all, I want to keep my aprons unique and personal. If I were to go all out with an advertising blitz, I might have difficulty keeping up with the demand and then I’d be straying from my mission of connecting with women who wear aprons. For the time being, I will probably remain a small apron boutique on Etsy. This allows me to stay well-connected with my customers.

What are your short-term & long-term goals?
My short-term goals are to continue to create an aprons that are somewhat unique and personal to the women who purchase them. My next goal is to market my apron designs as patterns. I have been working on perfecting some of my designs, but I still need to draft them and then have them digitized. Each design needs a little more tweaking; I feel that this will happen in the next 18 months.

I have also been toying with the idea of opening a second Etsy store for my machine embroidery art. I would like to create a series of embroidery designs on water color paper, fabric, or linen. These could then be framed and hung on a wall. I may also do some pillow covers that follow the same design. I am hoping to have this up in time for the Christmas selling season.

Long, long term…I would love to write a book about connecting women throughout time via aprons. Currently, I am puttering with an outline. I see this as something that I will work on for several years.

Tell us something random about you!
You asked for random…I grew up in Houston, TX during the 60’s and 70’s. When I was a little girl my mother got me and my sister all dressed up because we were going downtown. The reason…the President was coming through in a motorcade and we were going to wave American flags at him and his wife! It turned out that this was November 21, 1963 - the day before President Kennedy was assassinated. So, technically, I am one of the last people to actually see Kennedy alive!

Do you run Sugar Pie Chic full time?
Define full-time! Yes, this is the only income I produce, but I wouldn’t put it in the “breadwinner” category. I am fortunate to not have to produce volumes in order to support myself. Instead, I am able to passionately concentrate on the joy that goes into creating something I love. Hopefully, this joy and passion is extended to the future wearers of my aprons!

--

Item up for grabs: Adorable garden themed apron by SugarPieChic!

To enter the giveaway: Go to SugarPieChic, look around.. come back & tell us your favorite item from her shop!

Earn extra entries:
*Subscribe to our blog.
Do no forget to activate your subscription.
*Blog about this giveaway on your Blog.
Leave a link to your blog in your entry.

You will receive one extra entry into this giveaway for each of the above actions you do.

This giveaway will end on June 24th at 11:30 p.m. (Central Standard Time). The winner will be notified by e-mail and it will be posted Wednesday night on our blog. Please be sure you have provided a valid e-mail address. If there is no e-mail address provided to contact the winner, another name will be drawn. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to the e-mail notification with their mailing address. This information will then be forwarded to the sponsor. If this information is not received within 48 hours another name will be drawn.

Congratulations!

2009-06-17T19:49:00.000-07:00

The winner of the PaulaNC Giveaway is... Tamara B.

Congratulations! I have sent you an e-mail!
Please respond within 48 hours or a
new winner will be chosen!

If you haven't already.. Go enter our other giveaways!
You can find a list of current giveaways at the top
right hand side of our blog! :)

BotanicalBird Giveaway - June 15th - 21st

2009-06-14T19:01:00.000-07:00

This is the second giveaway I have done for BotanicalBird!
She is so great to work with!
She did the interview on the first giveaway -
you can find it here!
For this giveaway she wrote up a little about her daily routine + sent
us some fun pictures of her workspace!

--

--

So I'm not real big on blabbing about my routine, especially since the really interesting things mostly happen when I am out of my routine, but still I hope you'll find this somewhat amusing.
About 6:00 AM I am awakened almost always by one of my 3 cats, although lately the crows are beating them to it by about 30 minutes. After taking care of the cats food, water etc., most days I'll make some tea and then go back to my bedroom, plop back down on my bed and then get on my laptop, to see what's happening on Etsy, and then onto my email etc. I almost always linger in bed with the laptop for another hour or so before actually emerging out of bed for the day.
When I'm finally up and going I head off to my jewelry studio....just down the hall, love the commute, in fact it is one of the true blessings about staying home and making jewelry for a living, so much less driving, which equals good things, like less stress, less time wasted in traffic, less money on gas...yay!!

Anyhow, next I see what jewelry orders need to go out and will begin to work on those, at this point most of the items in my store are made to order, it's quite rare that anything is actually made up ahead of time, unless I have just listed a brand new item or I've done a jewelry show and have some extras made up. Then depending on the flow of things I may or may not ship things that day, but I do end up shipping 3 or 4 times each week.
Another ongoing part of my routine is to be sure that I'm always listing some brand new designs, in order to keep things fresh and lively. Which by the way I will be adding many new designs over the next couple of weeks. So this process can be quite time consuming with making the new pieces, picture taking and writing descriptions.

Then there is also the ongoing ordering of supplies and bead store shopping, I buy both online and at local Portland stores, or if I'm traveling I love going to bead stores in various locations, you just never know what cool stuff you might find there.

I guess one other thing I should add is I get to take as many breaks as I need (most days) which is really great, I have a young kitty who loves to play so I will almost always take time out in the late morning to go out in the backyard and run around with him, I know that's just as good for me as it is for him, since it gets me outside and out of the my crazy bead mess for awhile. Oh, and lastly I try my best to take the weekends off, I always manage to take Sunday and at least half day Saturday.

So without getting into too much detail about each step, that's pretty much my day.
Thanks so much for reading and for supporting handmade!

--

Item up for grabs: Green Garden Necklace by BotanicalBird

To enter the giveaway: Go to BotanicalBird, look around.. come back & tell us your favorite item from her shop! Please be sure to leave your e-mail address in the entry.

Earn extra entries:
*Subscribe to our blog.
Do no forget to activate your subscription.
*Blog about this giveaway on your Blog.
Leave a link to your blog in your entry.

You will receive one extra entry into this giveaway for each of the above actions you do.

This giveaway will end on June 21st at 11:30 p.m. (Central Standard Time). The winner will be notified by e-mail and it will be posted Sunday night on our blog. Please be sure you have provided a valid e-mail address. If there is no e-mail address provided to contact the winner, another name will be drawn. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to the e-mail notification with their mailing address. This information will then be forwarded to the sponsor. If this information is not received within 48 hours another name will be drawn.

Congratulations!

2009-06-14T18:58:00.000-07:00

The winner of the CraeVita Giveaway is... JC

Congratulations! I have sent you an e-mail!
Please respond within 48 hours or a
new winner will be chosen!

If you haven't already.. Go enter our other giveaways!
You can find a list of current giveaways at the top
right hand side of our blog! :)

Tee of the week!

2009-06-13T23:46:00.000-07:00

Rainbow Swirlz Tee of the Week!
This tee can be purchased on our etsy shop or our .com!

Ends June 21st

PaulaNC Giveaway - June 11th - 17th

2009-06-10T20:00:00.000-07:00

Brilliant! PaulaNC makes awesome glass lampwork beads... The detail in her work is amazing! She is very talented!:)

--
Introduce yourself!:)
Hi I’m Paula Mullikin and I live with a wonderful understanding husband and a menagerie of pets in Western North Carolina.

Tell us a bit about your business...
My business is IslandTop Glass Art, I am very lucky to have a home studio where I create handmade lampwork glass beads. I love making fun bright, bold beads and I get a lot of inspiration from my pets and you can see this in my dog, cat and bird beads that I offer in my Esty Shop.

What inspired you to start your etsy shop?
Drawers, boxes and jars full of beads :-) Really when I first start doing lampwork beads it was like many hobbies I’ve done in the past…a hobby. But there was something about glass that captured me and I knew it was going to be more then a hobby, it became a passion. When I started selling I did craft shows and realized that was not for me and needed to find a venue where I could work from home. It’s very exciting to be able to create and sell from the comfort of my home and studio.

When you're not being crafty, what do you do?
Hubby and I are foodies and love entertaining other foodies.
I also spend a lot of time with my pets Ruby & Sidney 2 parrots, Sadie & Henry 2 Mastiffs, Tony & Samantha 2 cats. Ooh and to keep food in the dinner bowls I manage both residential and commercial property.

What’s your favorite book, song, movie & website?
Oh this list could go on and on. Music anything from the 70’s that takes be back to my “Free Spirit Years”
Being a foodie of course I check out all the recipe sites and blogs. As for books I think I’ve read all of Jodi Picoult, Patricia Cornwell, Sandra Brown and right how I’m reading The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar. Corny I know but give me a box of tissues and the movie “The Way We Were” with Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford, that would be my all time favorite movie…gosh was he sexy or what.

How do you promote your work?
I have a website http://www.islandtopglassart.com that shows people where I can be found on the internet. I am learning that social networking is very important on the internet and I have Twitter (PaulaNC) and Facebook (Paula Mullikin) along with visiting the trade forums. So Twitter me and I’ll follow or Facebook me and we can be friends.

What are your short-term & long-term goals?
I’ve never been one to set goals, so I guess my life goal was and is learning and improving.

Tell us something random about you!
Ooh my… random about me let’s see, I don’t like pea soup, pasticcio pudding, or green Jello but green is my favorite color. :-)

--
Item up for grabs: Bully Dog Pendant placed on 22 inch hand dyed black ribbon with lobster claw clasp by PaulaNC

To enter the giveaway: Go to PaulaNC, look around.. come back & tell us your favorite item from her shop!

Earn extra entries:
*Subscribe to our blog.
Do no forget to activate your subscription.
*Blog about this giveaway on your Blog.
Leave a link to your blog in your entry.

You will receive one extra entry into this giveaway for each of the above actions you do.

This giveaway will end on June 17th at 11:30 p.m. (Central Standard Time). The winner will be notified by e-mail and it will be posted Wednesday night on our blog. Please be sure you have provided a valid e-mail address. If there is no e-mail address provided to contact the winner, another name will be drawn. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to the e-mail notification with their mailing address. This information will then be forwarded to the sponsor. If this information is not received within 48 hours another name will be drawn.

Congratulations!

2009-06-10T17:40:00.000-07:00

The winner of the Nikoart Giveaway is... Live*Love*Create

Congratulations! I have sent you an e-mail!
Please respond within 48 hours or a
new winner will be chosen!

If you haven't already.. Go enter our other giveaways!
You can find a list of current giveaways at the top
right hand side of our blog! :)

Yart Sale - June 10th - 14th

2009-06-10T09:21:00.000-07:00

YART SALE!!!
All ribbed tanks are on sale - $14.00 each!
Click the picture!:)

New Pillows!

2009-06-09T20:36:00.000-07:00

Look what I did tonight!:)
Whatcha think?

I'm pretty addicted to pillow making now..
I made a new etsy shop:
http://www.rainbowswirlzproject.etsy.com
& I will be listing them there!

It will be a side project.. when I have free time.. :)

I'm Crafty!

2009-06-08T19:44:00.000-07:00

Adorable little throw pillows I made tonight!
I will be listing them in the shop shortly!

What do you think?:)

CraeVita Giveaway - June 8th - 14th

2009-06-07T17:42:00.000-07:00

Absolutely brilliant! CraeVita makes some of the most unique jewelry! I love this piece!:)

---

Introduce yourself!:)
My name is Victoria. I absolutely love art in all it's forms. I make all kinds of random things at home but I am currently only selling my stone wrap bracelets. The rest of the time I spend outdoors in the beautiful Arizona desert!

Tell us a bit about your business..
CraeVita started with me making jewelry for myself and friends. One day a friend of mine introduced me to Etsy so I started selling on here. I absolutely love the Etsy community and what it stands for! The people are great!
I plan on expanding when the time is right and carrying more jewelry styles but for now I love making my wrap bracelets.

What inspired you to start your etsy shop?
My friends! Also, my collection of wraps was getting too big not to share!

When you're not being crafty, what do you do?
I love to be outdoors and traveling. I take roadtrips whenever I can and look for unique beads. I love meeting new people and learning about how people live. The ocean is my favorite place to be!

Whats your favorite book, song, movie & website?
Book: There are so many, I recently read The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz..what a great book! I love any book that I can learn something from.
Song: I love beats, not so much music that you hear on the radio. Reggae is great!
Movie: The Beach, The Fall, Accross The Universe
Website: Etsy...of course

How do you promote your work?
Well I recently joined Twitter so I am still learning about that! twitter.com/craevita I rely a lot on word on mouth and I use Etsy advertising when I can actually get a spot!

What are your short-term & long-term goals?
Short term goals are to get into a local boutiques within the next couple months.
Long term I would love to get my own website, which would require me to get somewhat computer literate! I want CraeVita to be a name everyone recognizes with quality design.

Tell us something random about you!
I am a Ukrainian born girl who moves around frequently. Thank goodness for online business!

---

Item up for grabs: The gorgeous bracelet shown at the top of this post by CraeVita!

To enter the giveaway: Go to CraeVita, look around.. come back & tell us your favorite item from her shop!

Earn extra entries:
*Subscribe to our blog.
Do no forget to activate your subscription.
*Blog about this giveaway on your Blog.
Leave a link to your blog in your entry.

You will receive one extra entry into this giveaway for each of the above actions you do.

This giveaway will end on June 14th at 11:30 p.m. (Central Standard Time). The winner will be notified by e-mail and it will be posted Wednesday night on our blog. Please be sure you have provided a valid e-mail address. If there is no e-mail address provided to contact the winner, another name will be drawn. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to the e-mail notification with their mailing address. This information will then be forwarded to the sponsor. If this information is not received within 48 hours another name will be drawn.

Congratulations!

2009-06-07T17:34:00.000-07:00

We have two winners!:)

The winner of the Uniques giveaway is... Ashley

&& the winner of the UnravelMe giveaway is... Throuthehaze

Congratulations! I have sent you both an e-mail!
Please respond within 48 hours or a
new winner will be chosen!

If you haven't already.. Go enter our other giveaways!
You can find a list of current giveaways at the top
right hand side of our blog! :)

TEE OF THE WEEK!

2009-06-06T19:26:00.000-07:00

Rainbow Swirlz Tee of the Week!
This tee can be purchase on our etsy shop or our .com!

Ends June 14th

T-shirt Dresses

2009-06-06T15:35:00.000-07:00

Woohoo! 15 T-shirt dresses now available in the shop!
Click HERE to check them out!

Nikoart Giveaway - June 4th - 10th

2009-06-03T20:10:00.000-07:00

Ohhh Nikoart makes the BEST stamps ever. I'm in love with all of her adorable little designs. :) I was so excited when she agreed to this giveaway.. Someones going to be very happy in a week! -JEALOUS FACE- ;)

--
Introduce yourself!:)
Hi! My name is Nicole. I'm from the small, rainy town of Hilo, Hawaii (where I was born and raised). After being a perpetual student for waaaaay too long
I finally managed to graduate with a degree in art from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. I spend my days with my wonderful boyfriend and three little friends - Hobocat,
Hoborooster and Hobocrayfish. They were all strays (yes, I even the crayfish!) that are now a part of my family.

Tell us a bit about your business..
I've been selling artsy and craftsy stuff under the name "nikoart" since around 2000. I've tried almost everything including selling drawings, paintings, prints, handmade dolls,
cards, stickers, etc. etc. I've only recently begun to find my niche and focus my efforts on my rubber stamp line! My handcrafted stamps have been the most well
received of my products which I am also able to produce reliably. I am a perfectionist and admit that I work at a sloth-like pace so that makes it almost
impossible for me to produce things like my paintings or dolls at a fast enough pace to keep up with demand. I've found that with the rubber stamps I am finally able to come up
with new designs and products at a much more consistent pace than anything else I have tried.

What inspired you to start your etsy shop?
I started out selling my artwork and paintings on eBay in 2000 and worked on craftsy things for fun on the side while attending college. I never really felt like I fit in with
the other artists in the eBay community but at the time it was the only venue I could find that was an easy way to get my work out there and make sales. Then one day in 2005 as
I was browsing through some crafty forum (I forget which one!) I read a post about this new website called etsy that was exclusively for handmade artwork and items and it was
free to join! I posted a few drawings and prints and made a few sales and right away I felt like I had found the perfect home!! I was so excited to find a place with such a
welcoming community of like-minded individuals and it was great that my artwork would no longer get lost among a sea of used louis vuitton bags, care bears and thousands of
other garage sale worthy items (not that I don't like louis vuitton bags, care bears or garage sales...but you know what I mean right?).

When you're not being crafty, what do you do?
I enjoy spending time in the garden with my little troop of hoboes, reading, watching my favorite tv shows (Lost, True Blood, nature documentaries, all those crazy shows about
UFO's and the paranormal and almost anything on PBS!) and riding my bicycle on sunny days. :o)

Whats your favorite book, song, movie & website?
Book: The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Song: The Man Who Sold The World by David Bowie (but I love it no matter who sings it)
Movie(s): My Neighbor Totoro, Donnie Darko, Ghost World
Website(s): The Straight Dope - www.straightdope.com
FFFFound - www.ffffound.com
TED - http://www.ted.com/

How do you promote your work?
So far I haven't really done much to promote my work. I don't even have a business card. :oP It is definitely something on my to-do list! Hmm...I guess I try to relist
at least once a day on etsy and I have been fortunate enough to be featured on a few blogs...like this one! (Thanks so much!) I also have a blog (hoboville.blogspot.com) but I
don't update it as often as I should and I'm not sure if anyone even reads it actually. Haha!

What are your short-term & long-term goals?
I'd like to increase traffic to my etsy site, get more wholesale accounts, work on promoting my stuff more and get my own website up and running! In the long term I'd really,
really, reaaallly love to be able to make enough to do this full time and have the people in my life regard "crafting and rubber stamp making" as a legitimate job! heehee.

Tell us something random about you!
I tend to catch a cold at least once a month. Boo. :o(

Do you run Nikoart full time?
Unfortunately no! See above (short & long term goals).

---
Item up for grabs: A stamp set of the winners choice from Nikoart!

To enter the giveaway: Go to Nikoart, look around.. come back & tell us your favorite item from her shop!

Earn extra entries:
*Subscribe to our blog.
Do no forget to activate your subscription.
*Blog about this giveaway on your Blog.
Leave a link to your blog in your entry.

You will receive one extra entry into this giveaway for each of the above actions you do.

This giveaway will end on June 10th at 11:30 p.m. (Central Standard Time). The winner will be notified by e-mail and it will be posted Wednesday night on our blog. Please be sure you have provided a valid e-mail address. If there is no e-mail address provided to contact the winner, another name will be drawn. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to the e-mail notification with their mailing address. This information will then be forwarded to the sponsor. If this information is not received within 48 hours another name will be drawn.

Congratulations!

2009-06-03T20:07:00.000-07:00

The winner of the ReallyBadKitty Giveaway is... Heather_Delynn!

Congratulations! I have sent you an e-mail!
Please respond within 48 hours or a
new winner will be chosen!

If you haven't already.. Go enter our other giveaways!
You can find a list of current giveaways at the top
right hand side of our blog! :)

Exciting news!

2009-06-02T16:32:00.000-07:00

We have some really exciting news that we will
hopefully be releasing in a week or two!

I can't wait to share it with everyone!!

--

Oh & don't forget about our $15 tee of the week!
Right now it's our Robot Attack Tee /
White print on a black tee!

Good stuff!

UnravelMe Giveway - June 1st - 7th

2009-05-31T20:05:00.000-07:00

Dress up your apple in style with this cute little apple cozy by UnravelMe! Her work is absolutely beautiful! Scarves, apple cozies & caps are just a few of the things you will find in her great shop!

---

Introduce yourself!:)
Hi, I'm Theresa Grant, and I'm an obsessed yarn addict. I love to play with colors and texture, and I know more than any sane person needs to know about yarn. I also like to dabble in crochet and knitting design. I'm a self-taught crocheter since the age of 11, and have been knitting for about 5 years now. It's become an everyday part of my life, and that makes me happy. I'm thrilled that I am able to make a little bit of money doing what I like. I believe that if you do what inspires you, only good can come from it.

Tell us a bit about your business..
Everything in my shop is created by me and crocheted/knitted by me. I pride myself in coming up with my own unique designs and having high quality workmanship. I like to think I have something for everyone in my shop. My apple cozies are probably my best seller, but also sell hats, scarves, and some of my crochet patterns are available as well.

What inspired you to start your etsy shop?
As my little brother told me, I'm going to make it anyway, so why not sell it? I can't argue with his logic! I'm pretty much always working on something, and Etsy gives me an outlet to explore new ideas and when I make a sale, it makes me work even harder because I know someone else out there likes what I do. :)

When you're not being crafty, what do you do?
I'm a very lucky Mommy to an ornery 5 year old little boy. He keeps me pretty busy just doing everyday things. When I have free time, I am cooking/baking, playing online, listening to music, and of course, out shopping for yarn. :)

Whats your favorite book, song, movie & website?
My favorite book is probably Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, specifically the audiobook read by Davina Porter. I am simply captivated by the book and the narrator is probably the best I've ever heard.

My favorite song...well, that is a hard one. I have many, many favorites. Coming up with one song is impossible. I love Simon and Garfunkel, The Weepies, U2, Michael Buble, Allison Krauss, among many, many others.

My favorite movie is When Harry Met Sally. Corny and romantic. Not very realistic, but I love it anyway.

My favorite website is Ravelry, with Etsy as a close second. Ravelry is the most amazing site ever if you knit or crochet. I can't say enough good things about it. It really opened up my knitting/crochet world.

How do you promote your work?
I advertise here and there, and promote within Etsy and other forums. I recently started using twitter, you can find me there at http://twitter.com/UnravelMeDesign
I also try to knit and crochet in public when I can, so that I get people to approach me and ask me what I'm up to.

What are your short-term & long-term goals?
Short term, I'd like to make a little bit of money to help support my yarn habit as well as buy those little things like swim lessons that we can't normally afford on our limited income. Long term, I'd like to design and offer more patterns, but I also just like to go with the flow and see where it takes me.

Do you run UnravelMe full time?
Well, I'd say it's a part time business on the verge of becoming a full time business very soon. I spend lots of late nights working when everyone else is in bed, so I guess it's upon me.

Tell us something random about you?
I love to sing, but never karaoke. :)

---

Item up for grabs: Apple Cozy from UnravelMe!

To enter the giveaway: Go to UnravelMe, look around.. come back & tell us your favorite item from her shop!

Earn extra entries:
*Subscribe to our blog.
Do no forget to activate your subscription.
*Blog about this giveaway on your Blog.
Leave a link to your blog in your entry.

You will receive one extra entry into this giveaway for each of the above actions you do.

This giveaway will end on June 7th at 11:30 p.m. (Central Standard Time). The winner will be notified by e-mail and it will be posted Sunday night on our blog. Please be sure you have provided a valid e-mail address. If there is no e-mail address provided to contact the winner, another name will be drawn. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to the e-mail notification with their mailing address. This information will then be forwarded to the sponsor. If this information is not received within 48 hours another name will be drawn.

Congratulations!

2009-05-31T17:37:00.000-07:00

The winner of the AlphabetLove Giveaway is... Kelli!

I have sent you an e-mail.. please respond to it within 48 hours
or a new winner will be chosen!

If you haven't already - go enter our other giveaways!
You can find a list of current giveaways at the top right hand
side of our blog!

Congratulations!

2009-05-31T17:29:00.000-07:00

The winner of TheFairyRing Giveaway is.... sarasophia

I have sent you an e-mail.. please respond to it within 48 hours
or a new winner will be chosen!

If you haven't already - go enter our other giveaways!
You can find a list of current giveaways at the top right hand
side of our blog!

TEE OF THE WEEK!

2009-05-31T05:59:00.000-07:00

Rainbow Swirlz Tee of the Week!
This tee can be purchase on our etsy shop or our .com!

Ends June 7th

FREE SHIPPING

2009-05-30T15:59:00.000-07:00

FREE SHIPPING

Use coupon code: freeship
at checkout & get free shipping
on ANY order!

Only available on our website.
http://www.rainbowswirlz.com

Expires June 1st!

Lotus Love

2009-05-30T09:14:00.001-07:00

We did a little somethin' different with our Lotus Design!
Thoughts?

We still have this as well
--

Which do you like better?

A. Centered
B. To the side

Thanks!

Uniques Giveaway - May 29th - 4th

2009-05-28T19:13:00.000-07:00

Wow. This necklace is gorgeous! Uniques makes awesome leather pouches, jewelry & other random goodness!

--

Introduce yourself!:)
My name is Pamela Robinson. I was born and raised in San Diego but currently live in Reno Nevada. I have been creating things since I was 7 years old.
I have always known that I would do something in the art field but it never became clear until about 2 years ago. I enjoy
working with fabric and leather and finding use for items and material that would otherwise end up in the trash.

Tell us a bit about your business..
I make handbags using reclaimed materials and currently work in my home studio
My personal website is at uniquehandbags.net
I operate 2 Etsy shops
uniquehandbags.etsy.com
uniques.etsy.com

What inspired you to start your etsy shop?
I used to make crochet wire jewelry and found Etsy through a random search on google for other artists that were doing the same thing I was. I wanted to find my competition. When I ran into Etsy I decided to list some of my work and was shocked my the amount of interest people had in my work. This was the true start of my online career
with Etsy.

When you're not being crafty, what do you do?
Lots of e-mailing, marketing and website design

Whats your favorite book, song, movie & website?
Books~I don't do much reading but when I do, I enjoy more of the self help and business books. I know, sounds boring!
I enjoy all of the Artist Way books and read the "Blessings" book on a daily basis
...and anything to do with art ~ I am very visual and enjoy looking at others work.
Song ~ Music is a MUST!!! I like so many: Cant name just one!! Three Days Grace - "Just Like You", Stained - "Mudshovel", Coldplay - "Speed Of Sound", The Postal Service-"Such Great Heights", MGMT-"Time To Pretend", Switchfoot- "Adding to the Noise"
Movie ~ Young Frankenstein
Website ~ Stumbleupon.com

How do you promote your work?
I network with other artists online. I think its important to promote locally, so I have been getting the word out around Reno as much as I can.
Whenever I go anywhere, running errands around town or shopping at the mall, I tell people about what I do. The easiest form of advertising has been carrying a bag that I designed and get compliments on that. Its easy to explain to people what I do when I can show my work.

What are your short-term & long-term goals?
Participating in more local shows. Long term - Opening of my own gallery/boutique

Do you run uniques full time?
Yes, Full time + I don't get much sleep. My hours are completely random and long, but I enjoy the flexibility of this and would preferworking for myself over someone else anytime:)

Tell us something random about you!
I used to be a fitness competitor and model

--

Item up for grabs: Flower pendant necklace from Uniques (You pick the cord length)

To enter the giveaway: Go to Uniques, look around.. come back & tell us your favorite item from her shop!

Earn extra entries:
*Subscribe to our blog.
Do no forget to activate your subscription.
*Blog about this giveaway on your Blog.
Leave a link to your blog in your entry.

You will receive one extra entry into this giveaway for each of the above actions you do.

This giveaway will end on June 3rd at 11:30 p.m. (Central Standard Time). The winner will be notified by e-mail and it will be posted Wednesday night on our blog. Please be sure you have provided a valid e-mail address. If there is no e-mail address provided to contact the winner, another name will be drawn. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to the e-mail notification with their mailing address. This information will then be forwarded to the sponsor. If this information is not received within 48 hours another name will be drawn.

ReallyBadKitty Giveaway - May 28th - June 3rd

2009-05-27T17:50:00.000-07:00

B.E.A.U.T.I.F.U.L - I have an amazing bouquet of flowers by ReallyBadKitty sitting on my desk beside my laptop & I absolutely adore them. ReallyBadKitty makes adorable Button Bouquets & fun felt creations! -smiles-

--

Introduce yourself!:)
Reallybadkitty (RBK Creations) is a mother (Brenda) and daughter (Ariela) team from the Dallas, TX area. Brenda works full-time in the dental industry and Ariela is working on building up RBK Creations full-time while looking for a job in the advertising industry.

Tell us a bit about your business..
RBK Creations stated in August of 2008. We thought it would be fun to sell a few things we have made for friends and family members in the past. The shop started with a few stuffed animals and bird houses. It has now grown into buttons, buttons and more buttons!

What inspired you to start your etsy shop?
We started the shop somewhat on a whim actually. We had run across Etsy on a few different occasions. We come from a very crafty family and figured we could make and sell the things we love to create. It was viewed more as a hobby for the first five months. It is now viewed as a great opportunity to make that hobby a real business.

When you're not being crafty, what do you do?
It is great to spend time with friends and catching up with those spread across the country. It is also nice to spend time with the dogs; Rascal, Roxanne and Remy.

What’s your favorite book, song, movie & website?
(Responses a mix from both Brenda and Ariela)
Book: I am such a nerd, but right now I am reading a book about the first 200 years of advertising and I am loving it!
Song: It is hard to pick a favorite but some of my favorite artists are: Girls Aloud, Adele, Estelle, Feist and Kate Nash (I like just about everything, a good mix!)
Movie: Grease, The Breakfast Club, Mystic Pizza, My Best Friend’s Wedding
Website: Etsy of course!

How do you promote your work?
We promote a lot through Etsy within the Chat Rooms and the Forums. I have started using Facebook and Twitter as well. With our new bridal line, we are working to promote our work through bridal blogs.

What are your short-term & long-term goals?
Short-term we would like to keep growing our little business and getting our name out there. On a long-term basis we would like to start building our own website and increase our sales.

Do you run reallybadkitty full time?
RBK Creations is a part-time business at the moment. It would be great to transition to full-time though!

--

Item up for grabs: $25.00 Store Credit to ReallyBadKitty

To enter the giveaway: Go to ReallyBadKitty, look around.. come back & tell us your favorite item from her shop!

Earn extra entries:
*Subscribe to our blog.
Do no forget to activate your subscription.
*Blog about this giveaway on your Blog.
Leave a link to your blog in your entry.

You will receive one extra entry into this giveaway for each of the above actions you do.

This giveaway will end on June 3rd at 11:30 p.m. (Central Standard Time). The winner will be notified by e-mail and it will be posted Wednesday night on our blog. Please be sure you have provided a valid e-mail address. If there is no e-mail address provided to contact the winner, another name will be drawn. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to the e-mail notification with their mailing address. This information will then be forwarded to the sponsor. If this information is not received within 48 hours another name will be drawn.

Congratulations!:)

2009-05-27T17:46:00.001-07:00

The winner of the Aphrodite888 Giveaway is... Doubleknittwins!

Congratulations! I have sent you an e-mail!
Please respond within 48 hours or a
new winner will be chosen!

If you haven't already.. Go enter our other giveaways!
You can find a list of current giveaways at the top
right hand side of our blog! :)

$15.00 Tee of the Week!

2009-05-26T18:24:00.000-07:00

Something new in Rainbow Swirlz Land...

Starting NOW! We will have a $15.00 tee of the week!
Each week we will post one of our tops on sale for $15.00!

The tee for this week is our Octopus Backstage Top!
It's available in all sizes & colors!
You can purchase the shirt for $15.00 on our ETSY
or our .COM!

Let me know your thoughts on the new deal!:)

Alphabetlove Giveaway - May 25th - 31st

2009-05-25T16:39:00.000-07:00

So cute. Alphabetlove has some of the most adorable illustrations that I've seen on etsy! This giveaway is so fun!:)

--

Tell us a bit about your business..
AlphabetLove is a shop full of cute and quirky works of art (prints, magnets, placemats) that celebrate letters, words and everything they represent. All the illustrations are bold, colourful, and my own original creations. Perfect as gifts for boys and girls of all ages.

What inspired you to start your etsy shop?
I seem to be surrounded by babies lately! After spending several weekends searching for the perfect baby shower gift, I decided it was time to utilize my graphic design background and make my own. A friend told me about a purchase she made on Etsy and after investigating for myself, I realized it was the perfect place to sell my work. I am so inspired by all the unique crafts and ideas I find on Etsy everyday.

When you're not being crafty, what do you do?
In between illustrating at night, reading celebrity gossip websites at lunch and working as an Art Director during the day, I try to find time to pick on my younger sister. That last part is still my favorite.

Whats your favorite book, song, movie & website?
Lamb, by Christopher Moore
Midnight Train To Georgia, by Gladys Knight & the Pips
Amelie
laineygossip.com & tshirtmonster.ca (other than Etsy of course!)

How do you promote your work?
I'm still fairly new to Etsy so I'm just learning how to promote my work. So far I've just been focusing on spreading the news by word of mouth. However, I'm always interested in learning how fellow Etsians promote themselves successfully.

What are your short-term & long-term goals?
In the short-term, I'm hoping to continue to raise awareness of my work, increase my sales and meet happy customers from all over the world. In the long-term, I am hoping to extend my line of products and become an Etsy success story.

Tell us something random about you!
I drink soup but I don't like warm drinks. No coffee for me!

--

Item up for grabs: 8x10 Alphabet Kitchen Print from Alphabetlove
Fram Not Included.

To enter the giveaway: Go to Alphabetlove, look around.. come back & tell us your favorite item from her shop!

Earn extra entries:
*Subscribe to our blog.
Do no forget to activate your subscription.
*Blog about this giveaway on your Blog.
Leave a link to your blog in your entry.

You will receive one extra entry into this giveaway for each of the above actions you do.

This giveaway will end on May 31st at 11:30 p.m. (Central Standard Time). The winner will be notified by e-mail and it will be posted Sunday night on our blog. Please be sure you have provided a valid e-mail address. If there is no e-mail address provided to contact the winner, another name will be drawn. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to the e-mail notification with their mailing address. This information will then be forwarded to the sponsor. If this information is not received within 48 hours another name will be drawn.

Congratulations!

2009-05-25T16:35:00.000-07:00

Woohoo!
The winner of the RoseKnits Giveaway is... Tirebabesandi

Congratulations! I have sent you an e-mail!
Please respond within 48 hours or a new winner will be chosen!

If you haven't already.. Go enter our other giveaways!
You can find a list of current giveaways at the top
right hand side of our blog!

Memorial Day Weekend Sale

2009-05-23T09:55:00.000-07:00

Rainbow Swirlz

TheFairyRing Giveaway - May 22nd - 28th

2009-05-22T06:30:00.000-07:00

These wood dolls by TheFairyRing are super adorable!
I love them!:)

--

Introduce yourself
I am a SAHM who homeschools. I have 3 boys who will turn 9,7,5 this year and a sweet little girl who just turned 1 in Jan. I do most of my painting and crafting in the evening after my husband is home to care for the little one and I also use that time to give the older boys some one on one time. My crafting really started become a "real" side thing for me in the end of 2008 when I joined Etsy. With the economy and gas prices we had to go down to one car and that meant my stress level went up. I needed an outlet and started putting my energy into my crafting. I tried lots of different things but then really feel in love with these little wooden dolls. I saw that others were making them but no one was making items to go with them and there was my niche! I get such joy out of playing with,lol, I mean making these toys.

Tell us a bit about your business..
My official Business is Beccijo LLC, but I have a few shops online; The Fairy Ring on Etsy and The Enchanted Cupboard on Etsy and 1000 Markets. My business was started out with plans to have a large variety of items that I craft. but it has changed its focus to my Wooden Dolls and Playsets. I hope to get time in the future to develop my cloth dolls line and my recycled useful items line. I am also working on book series that will go along with the playsets.
I work out of a very small office, 5' by 7', but as you can see - it works for me. When I have big orders to fulfill I move into the dining room.

What inspired you to start your etsy shop?
My kids were my inspiration. I went on a "GREEN" clean of the house and got rid of plastic toys. I had originally got my tax number to start a day care out of my home, but God felt I needed a surprise and blessed our family with a baby girl. We were delighted, as we had accepted that after the complications of our third son’s birth that there would be no more children. That situation was hard for me, because I really wanted a daughter. Once she came into our lives, I wanted to protect her and her brothers, inside and out. I wanted to make sure she and our whole family environment was non-toxic. So not being able to find what I wanted for them, I started making them.

I ordered my first set of dolls from Etsy to make a set of our family for my daughter. I then went to the craft store that weekend to get some paint. I still remember the AHHHHH!!!! moments with the light bulbs and fireworks going off in my brain as I walked the wooden items aisle! I think I sat on the floor for an hour. Yes, right there on the floor playing with wooden shapes and putting them together. I’ve been in love with the ideas ever since!

Somedays, I can't contain my creativity and I draw out my new playset ideas. I love to get to see the kid's faces when they play with them for the first time. Also knowing that my toys were waiting under other peoples’ Christmas trees made me feel like a little girl once again.

When you're not being crafty, what do you do?
I am a very busy mom of 4 wonderful and very smart kids. We homeschool and really start education from birth. I love to garden and cook. I even grind my own flour from organic wheat berries. I make all my own cleaning products and laundry soap. I love tea time and try very hard to work in it each month to take my mother and my daughter for tea.

What's your favorite book, song, movie & website?
Book:
Mutant Message Downunder.by Marlo. Morgan
This book changed my life and molded me in how I would mother my children.

Song:
Galileo , Rites of Passage
The whole album I could listen to over and over

Movie:
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)
and
The Man Who Knew Too Little ~ Bill Murray, Joanne Whalley, Peter Gallagher, and Richard Wilson (DVD - 1998)
This one makes me laugh no matter how many times I see it!

Website:
http://www.naturemoms.com/blog/

http://www.pathtofreedom.com/

http://urbanhomestead.org/journal/

How do you promote your work?
Before I started I did a lot of reading up on what others do and have done to promote. I do 1 or 2 giveaways a month. I joined groups and teams on the sites I have my shops on. I donate items to schools and charities for their auctions. I also started going out looking for consignment and wholesale opportunities. I blog, twitter, and facebook, not very well, but getting better. I go into the forums and make a Treasury when I can. Basically I shamelessly self promote myself wherever I can!

What are your short-term & long-term goals?
Short-term
Promote, promote, promote

This is always changing as I learn more about myself. I want to keep a balance in my life and make sure I go at a pace that lets me stay in love with what I do. I have lots of ideas, more ideas then time, also need to finish designing the series of playsets. I have finished my first book for The Fairy Ring and will be giving it to my publishing contact. I already have one local consignment job and I am working on getting a few wholesale as well. I have plans for only a few shows this year to test out the market. And most importantly to balance it all, so it does not effect my family in a negative way.

Long-term
To grow my business to where my husband and I could both work from home and support our family. To have a great product line that is loved by and played with all over the world.

Tell us something random about you!
I am a graduate of the English Nanny and Governess School. I had a wonderful and rewarding career for over 12 years before becoming a mother.

--

Item up for grabs: Choose between a wooden mermaid or pirate doll from TheFairyRing

To enter the giveaway: Go to TheFairyRing, look around.. come back & tell us your favorite item from her shop!

Earn extra entries:
*Subscribe to our blog.
Do no forget to activate your subscription.
*Blog about this giveaway on your Blog.
Leave a link to your blog in your entry.

You will receive one extra entry into this giveaway for each of the above actions you do.

This giveaway will end on May 28th at 11:30 p.m. (Central Standard Time). The winner will be notified by e-mail and it will be posted Thursday night on our blog. Please be sure you have provided a valid e-mail address. If there is no e-mail address provided to contact the winner, another name will be drawn. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to the e-mail notification with their mailing address. This information will then be forwarded to the sponsor. If this information is not received within 48 hours another name will be drawn.

Congratulations!

2009-05-22T06:20:00.000-07:00

Congratulations!:)

We have two giveaway winners!
Yippee!

The winner of the IMCreations giveaway is... Asrul Wahab!
I have sent you an e-mail.. please respond to the e-mail within
48 hours or a new winner will be chosen.

The winner of the iDesignMyWorld giveaway is... Insanity Kim!
I have sent you a comment through blogger. Please e-mail
me within 48 hours or a new winner will be chosen.

Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaways!

If you haven't already.. go enter our other giveaways!
You can find a list at the top right hand side of our blog!

Aphrodite888 Giveaway - May 21st - 27th

2009-05-20T17:40:00.000-07:00

Aphrodite888 makes the most amazing jewelry! I love her style. Ohh & she even sent me a pair of these awesome earrings for myself. SO sweet!:) They look 100 times better in person! I love them!

---
Introduce yourself..
Hello. My name is Sari. I live in Coral Springs, Florida with 2 young boys and a wonderful husband.

What inspired you to start your etsy shop?
I come across etsy one day and decided to try to sell a couple of necklace that I made (12 pcs. I start making jewelery 2 years ago after my sister ask me to fix her jewelry that she bought at the craft show. I love it and decided to make one for my self. Slowly I make more but only as a gift for my sisters (I have 4 of them!!), friends and teachers. I also fell in love with stone beads. I have a huge collection from several years ago, without planning to do anything at that time when I purchased it.

When you're not being crafty, what do you do?
My crafty time was only when the kids at school and after they went to bed. In between that time is a typical schedule between kids to school, pick up, household maintenance, swimming class, doctor visits..and more..

Favorite book : The Count Of Monte Cristo- Alexandre Dumas
Favorite movies : In The Name Of Roses, The House Of Spirit, Dances With Wolves..
Favorite songs : So much....we listen a wide range music from Skeeter Davis to Billy Joel, Yanni to Pavarotti, Bon Jovi to David Archuleta...
The most song we play and sings with the boys is "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" Elton John&Billy Joel.

What are your short-term & long-term goals?
Short term goal : More organize with my supplies. Lear more about money management.
Long Term Goal : to develop a unique design that would be my signature. More knowledge in business management specialy in marketing and finance.

Tell us something random about you!
I'm a very simple person. A warm morning shower with a brand new soap bar that has lovely scent could MAKE MY DAY!!

---

Item up for grabs: Sapphire Czech Flower Earrings by Aphrodite888

To enter the giveaway: Go to Aphrodite888, look around.. come back & tell us your favorite item from her shop!

Earn extra entries:
*Subscribe to our blog.
Do no forget to activate your subscription.
*Blog about this giveaway on your Blog.
Leave a link to your blog in your entry.

You will receive one extra entry into this giveaway for each of the above actions you do.

This giveaway will end on May 27th at 11:30 p.m. (Central Standard Time). The winner will be notified by e-mail and it will be posted Wednesday night on our blog. Please be sure you have provided a valid e-mail address. If there is no e-mail address provided to contact the winner, another name will be drawn. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to the e-mail notification with their mailing address. This information will then be forwarded to the sponsor. If this information is not received within 48 hours another name will be drawn.

Fun Finds Wednesday - May 20th

2009-05-19T20:07:00.000-07:00

Devilishgrin - Baby Shoes - $22.00
Designshop - PDF Pattern - $5.95
Hippofabulous - Vinyl Wallet - $35.00
RainbowSwirlz - Field Bag - $20.00
SugarLust - Necktie - $15.00
Shuusei - Plush - $40.00

Super excited..

2009-05-18T15:29:00.000-07:00

Rainbow Swirlz in P.S. Magazine - Spring Issue!

Into the Wild!
Feel confident when you embark on any shopping
safari with this adorable, handmade Zebra Tote Bag created
by Esty username rainbowswirlz. ($10; etsy.com)

--

I'm so excited.
I was asked back in November if I wanted to be in the Spring issue of P.S. Magazine.
Ah, I've waited so long to see it.. I looveee it!:)

RoseKnits Giveaway - May 18th - 24th

2009-05-17T20:00:00.000-07:00

Roseknits is amazing.. I'm so glad I asked her to do a giveaway.. we are both from Oklahoma and now we e-mail back and forth almost every day.. maybe we'll do some craft shows together this summer!

--

Introduce yourself!:)
My name is Annie and I am from Oklahoma!! I am 27 years old and opened an Etsy shop earlier this year after discovering I can't possibly hoard every bag I want to make or every fabric I want to play with! I've tried, believe me...

When you're not being crafty, what do you do?
When I am not sewing or knitting... I enjoy golfing with my hubby, baking, shopping, the usual.

Whats your favorite book, song, movie & website?
Favorite movie is Rocky IV hands down! I've enjoyed the movie since I was a child --- I watch it every time it is on TV and even own the rocky series!!! Favorite book... I know this much is true by Wally Lamb... Song --- I love lots of songs! Favorite, though, is Lucky by Jason Mraz and Colbie Calliet - my husband and I danced to that song at our wedding.

How do you promote your work?
I have not done a lot of promoting until lately... I will have some ads on ravelry starting in May and received my first order from a store - due also in May. It should be an exciting year for RoseKnits from what I can tell.

What are your short-term & long-term goals?
to keep promoting RoseKnits and provide fun, quality products! Long-term goals - if this could ever be my full-time job, I think I'd be in heaven!!

Tell us something random about you!
Random... I always envisioned myself as working in corporate America (which I do now all day long!!) and now desire nothing more than to be a crafty lady full time! I keep threatening my husband that I am going to get knocked up and be a stay at home mom :-/

--

Item up for grabs: $30.00 store credit to RoseKnits!!

To enter the giveaway: Go to RoseKnits, look around.. come back & tell us your favorite item from her shop!

Earn extra entries:
*Subscribe to our blog.
Do no forget to activate your subscription.
*Blog about this giveaway on your Blog.
Leave a link to your blog in your entry.

You will receive one extra entry into this giveaway for each of the above actions you do.

This giveaway will end on May 24th at 11:30 p.m. (Central Standard Time). The winner will be notified by e-mail and it will be posted Sunday night on our blog. Please be sure you have provided a valid e-mail address. If there is no e-mail address provided to contact the winner, another name will be drawn. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to the e-mail notification with their mailing address. This information will then be forwarded to the sponsor. If this information is not received within 48 hours another name will be drawn.

Congratulations!

2009-05-17T19:38:00.000-07:00

The winner of the Atelierofmine giveaway is.. Sulz!

I have sent you an e-mail.. please respond to it within 48 hours
or a new winner will be chosen!

If you haven't already - go enter our other giveaways!
You can find a list of current giveaways at the top right hand
side of our blog!

Congratulations!

2009-05-17T19:05:00.000-07:00

The winner of the MayBeads giveaway is.... Kim Smith!:)

I have sent you an e-mail.. please respond to it within 48 hours
or a new winner will be chosen!

If you haven't already - go enter our other giveaways!
You can find a list of current giveaways at the top right hand
side of our blog!

Rainbowswirlz.com

2009-05-16T17:52:00.000-07:00

Woohoo, Rainbowswirlz finally has a domain.
www.rainbowswirlz.com Use coupon code: thankyou
when checking out and receive $5.00 off a $30.00 order.
Expires May 23rd.

I built this site in 1 day.. so I'm still doing a couple finishing touches.
If you come across anything weird.. let me know. Thanks!

Rainbow Swirlz Update

2009-05-15T06:48:00.000-07:00

Rainbow Swirlz Update
3 New designs on our new
Alternative Apparel Burnout Tee!

Oh &&& we get about 10 requests a week for
the skull & robot attack print to be printed in white
on black tops.. guess what.. woohoo.. we did it!:)

They are in the shop now!
Ohh we have an awesome idea
for a scarf print.. we are trying to decide if
we want to do it limited run.
It's a huge project and will take some time to make them.

Hopefully I'll have some news on it in a week..

iDesignMyWorld Giveaway - May 15th - 21st

2009-05-14T19:41:00.000-07:00

How fun are these flash cards!!!!! I am super excited that iDesignMyWorld contacted me.. I am so getting some of these cards for my daughter!:) The images are so stinkin' adorable!

--

Introduce yourself:
My name is Lindsay, I’m from a quaint little town in Minnesota called Stillwater located on the St. Croix River across from Wisconsin. I have a three year old Daughter named Zoe and a lovely boyfriend and best friend named Nate. I have a Bachelor of Science Degree in Graphic Design but currently work in a hospital as the intake coordinator (admitting) in order to help support my awesome family.

Tell us a bit about your business:
The one area of Graphic Design that I have always loved is children’s illustration. I have always been very drawn to bright colors and cute animals. Back when I was pregnant with Zoe I started to draw a few animals here and there and as I fell in love with them the set grew bigger and bigger. I decided to have a goal for my little animals – flash cards! Once finished designing all 26 cards I had them professionally printed and set out for a craft fair. They were very well received so I knew I had something great that other people thought were great too!

What inspired you to start your Etsy shop?
I believe that I ran across Etsy last summer while searching the web for something craft-related. I started browsing around and thought to myself “this is it!” I posted all of my cards and sold a few sets and a few single cards. Then things kind of fell off for me (life happened.) The timing wasn’t right, I was getting ready to move and I was starting my new (full time) position at the Hospital.
Well now I’m done moving, I’m settled in and my office is unpacked! I decided that I now have the resources to get back into it, and this time I want to go big! I just love making things, it’s that simple. I love wowing people and being able to say “I made that”!

When you’re not being crafty, what do you do?
Believe it or not, even after growing up in Minnesota I still hate the cold. So during the winter I hibernate and catch up on the movies that I’ve wanted to watch. In the summer I start a new list of movies I’m going to watch next winter. I play softball on a co-ed team with a bunch of friends and we also love to enjoy the weather and grill in the evenings with our friends when it’s nice outside.

What’s your favorite book, song, movie & website?
Book: Freakonomics by Steven D Levitt and Stephen J Dubner
Song: Right now it’s “Rock & Roll” by Eric Hutchinson, I love feel-good, upbeat music
Movie: Amelie – I’ve seen it enough now that I can watch it without the subtitles and still know what they’re saying (and I just love the French language and everything France)!
Website: I’d have to say with all of this Etsy stuff going on my most visited site is craftcult.com because I love seeing when I get new hearts! Every once and a while I like to sit and play some games as well and I go to pogo.com to do that.

How do you promote your work?
So far I have been in a few showcases on Etsy, had a few ad spots and I have been featured on a few blogs. I am going to be selling at some craft fairs this summer so I’m hoping to spread the word that way as well.

What are your short-term and long-term goals?
My short-term goals are to start generating more traffic to my store (www.idesignmyworld.etsy.com) and my blog (www.zooplesandco.blogspot.com) and also start selling my flash cards and prints in a few small retail gift shops.
My long-term goal is to be able to support myself by doing what I love (this means no more hospital!) Even when I was in school for Graphic Design I kind of knew that I didn’t want to design for other people, I wanted to design for me. Working for myself is my ultimate goal and I’m going to keep at it until I get there, whether it takes 1 year or 10.

Tell us something random about you:
When I was little I always said that I was either going to be a Marine Biologist (with a focus on Great White Sharks and protecting them) or an Artist. The Artist thing worked out a little better for me considering there are no oceans in Minnesota! (7th grade science also turned me away a little.) I still live vicariously by watching Shark Week on the Discovery Channel, and I also have a goal that I am going to dive in a shark cage off the coast of Australia with Great White Sharks sometime in my life!

--

Item up for grabs: A full set of cards, winner's choice of animal featured as the first card from iDesignMyWorld!

To enter the giveaway: Go to iDesignMyWorld, look around.. come back & tell us your favorite design from her shop!

Earn extra entries:
*Subscribe to our blog.
Do no forget to activate your subscription.
*Blog about this giveaway on your Blog.
Leave a link to your blog in your entry.

You will receive one extra entry into this giveaway for each of the above actions you do.

This giveaway will end on May 21st at 11:30 p.m. (Central Standard Time). The winner will be notified by e-mail and it will be posted Thursday night on our blog. Please be sure you have provided a valid e-mail address. If there is no e-mail address provided to contact the winner, another name will be drawn. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to the e-mail notification with their mailing address. This information will then be forwarded to the sponsor. If this information is not received within 48 hours another name will be drawn.

IMCreations Giveaway - May 14th - 20th

2009-05-13T19:45:00.000-07:00

I love these pendants!:) IMCreations has a GREAT variety of pendants to choose from.. and for only $6 bucks! A.w.e.s.o.m.e!

---

Introduce yourself!:)
Hi everyone! My name is Irene and I live on Long Island, New York. I have been married for 12 years and have two beautiful children. I run my craft business during the day, and work as a graphic artist at night. I consider myself a creative soul, and always wanted to start my own craft business. I have been creating things with my hands for as long as I can remember. What I strive through all my handmade creations is to tell a story, and to touch people's lives.

Tell us a bit about your business..
I started my business about a year ago. IM Creations was derived from my name Irene Maria. I wanted a simple name for my business that most people could identify, and that was not specific to one type of product line. I currently, and mostly, create pendants made from reclaimed Scrabble tiles. I have been a graphic artist for over 15 years, so most of the images placed on the tiles are designed by me. Besides, Scrabble tile pendants, I also create pendants using bamboo tiles and glass tiles. I also hand paint trinket boxes and photo frames, handcraft magnets sets, crochet, knit, and occasionally make greeting cards. Most of my creations consist of eco-friendly and nontoxic materials.

The designs I create are sometimes inspired by nature, sometimes by my children, or I could wake up in the morning with a fresh idea. Other designs that I use on my pendants are derived from scraps of decorative paper lying around my home. I love to upcycle! I think about what colors go together, what great images have influenced me, and the design unravels before my eyes.

What inspired you to start your etsy shop?
I finally found a venue that provided me the perfect community to display my work. Etsy has allowed me to focus more on creating my pieces, rather than spend hours managing my own website. Etsy has also provided the tools to promote my creations. I am very grateful to Etsy.

When you're not being crafty, what do you do?
I love to read, write, go horseback riding, play tennis, yoga, and travel. Most importantly, I enjoy just being with my family.

Whats your favorite book, song, movie & website?
I have many favorite books, but my top two would be The Great Gatsby and To Kill a Mockingbird.
Favorite Music: I like all genre except for heavy metal.
Favorite movie: Forest Gump.
Favorite webite: www.ecoholistic.com

How do you promote your work?
Besides, word of mouth, I sell my items on other sites beside Etsy. Currently, you will find my items on, of course Etsy, ArtFire, 1000 Markets, and Silkfair. I also participate in local craft shows.

What are your short-term & long-term goals?
My short and long terms are both the same: enjoy life and be grateful everyday! Creating is an expression of one self, life is full of surprises, and I am here for the experience.

Do you run IMCreations full time?
I run my craft business during the day, and work as a graphic artist at night. I would eventually like the craft business to become my only income. Creating has always been with me, and doing it from my home and getting paid for my creations are an extra bonus.

Tell us something random about you?
I love to recycle, and I prefer products to be nontoxic and mostly made from natural materials. Anything to do my part in this one planet we live in. I believe in recycling wherever possible. Let's all go green!!

---

Item up for grabs: A $6.00 pendant from IMCreations.. of your choice!

To enter the giveaway: Go to IMCreations, look around.. come back & tell us your favorite item from her shop!

Earn extra entries:
*Subscribe to our blog.
Do no forget to activate your subscription.
*Blog about this giveaway on your Blog.
Leave a link to your blog in your entry.

You will receive one extra entry into this giveaway for each of the above actions you do.

This giveaway will end on May 20thth at 11:30 p.m. (Central Standard Time). The winner will be notified by e-mail and it will be posted Wednesday night on our blog. Please be sure you have provided a valid e-mail address. If there is no e-mail address provided to contact the winner, another name will be drawn. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to the e-mail notification with their mailing address. This information will then be forwarded to the sponsor. If this information is not received within 48 hours another name will be drawn.

Congratulations!

2009-05-13T19:27:00.000-07:00

The winner of the ThePinkPaisleyTotes giveaway is... Neas Nuttiness!

I have sent you an e-mail.. please respond to it within 48 hours
or a new winner will be chosen!

If you haven't already - go enter our other giveaways!
You can find a list of current giveaways at the top right hand
side of our blog!

2009-05-13T14:44:00.000-07:00

I am completely overwhelmed.
I am so so so so so so so so stressed.

First I find out my tunics are being discontinued.
Then the carly tops are being discontinued.

Guess what I found out today.. just guess..

MY BACKSTAGE, MY T-SHIRTS, MY BIGGEST SELLER
is being discontinued.. Oh and my long sleeve v-neck..
Oh and the gauze tops????

S.H.I.T

I have been working non-stop today on new style tops,
I'm really happy with the new t-shirt I chose and I think
everyone else will love it too..

Stay tuned.. look at my site now.. in about a week or so..
it will be completely different. (same designs, just new shirts)

I hope that everyone likes the change.. I hope I hope I hope!

I'm stressed. I have a migraine.

Fun Finds Wednesday - May 13th

2009-05-12T19:26:00.000-07:00

Pinkquartzminerals - 10 Jars of makeup - $30.00
Wearablesok - Handspun yarn - $30.00
VermontFairies - Wool Felted Beads - $8.00
Dedeetsyshop - Flower Surprise pillow - $27.00
Cricketscreations - Scarf - $40.00
Ionascloset - Headband - $26.00

PDF Tuesday - May 12th!

2009-05-11T21:26:00.000-07:00

So adorable!:)
Dangercrafts - Pick 5 Danger Crafts Knitting Patterns - $20.00

2009-05-11T05:30:00.001-07:00

Hiya!
Had some people asking who the $100 shopping spree was!
She was from NY.. and didn't post in blogger. :)
She got a couple tunics & bags!

Atelierofmine Giveaway - May 11th - 17th

2009-05-10T21:00:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I'm totally into clutches right now! Atelierofmine sent me this clutch in the mail to send to one of you lucky bloggers.. and I have to say.. it's AMAZING in person! I'm in love!

----

Introduce yourself!:)
Hi, My name is Anna Watkins and I live in Shorewood, south from Chicago with my husband, 6 month old son and everything loving golden retriever named Nina. I am originaly from Poland where I went to high school and collage. Since I remember my passion and hobby were two things, horse riding and all kinds of crafting and art. My husband loves to hang my painting and drawings everywhere he can around the house (that is a cheap way of decorating your walls without breaking a bank:):) ).

Tell us a bit about your business..
I started making purses for fun and after a very positive response from friends and family I decided to open an Etsy store in November 2008. I love to look for new beautiful fabrics and turn them into cute, stylish and elegant clutches pouches that every woman can enjoy on any occassion.

What inspired you to start your etsy shop?
I found out about Etsy by accident when I was shopping for colorful beads to make another fun piece of jewelry when I read on one of the sites about turning your crafty passion into business and Etsy was one of the name that was brought up. After exploring this wonderful place I thought that it would be a great place for my purses...that is how it all began.

When you're not being crafty, what do you do?
I am a full time mom which is the most wonderful job in the whole world however i still manage to find some time for my another hobby which is cooking. I love to try new recipes and and send time in my kitchen.

Whats your favorite book, song, movie & website?
I am a huge fan of Stephen King's, Alex Kava and Paulo Coelho, love to listen to Phil Collins and recently my favorite movie is Marley and Me
and website...of course Etsy.

How do you promote your work?
I don't really promote my work except passing business cards around friends and family and adding one to every sold purse.

What are your short-term & long-term goals?
My recent goal is to go back to collage and finish my degree. In the future I would love to start my own interior design business.

Tell us something random about you!
I like coffee with cream, walks with my husband and son and long phone calls to my mom who still lives in Polnd and skype conversation with brother in England.

---

Item up for grabs: Clutch from Atelierofmine (Picture shown above)

To enter the giveaway: Go to Atelierofmine, look around.. come back & tell us your favorite item from her shop!

Earn extra entries:
*Subscribe to our blog.
Do no forget to activate your subscription.
*Blog about this giveaway on your Blog.
Leave a link to your blog in your entry.

You will receive one extra entry into this giveaway for each of the above actions you do.

This giveaway will end on May 17th at 11:30 p.m. (Central Standard Time). The winner will be notified by e-mail and it will be posted Sunday night on our blog. Please be sure you have provided a valid e-mail address. If there is no e-mail address provided to contact the winner, another name will be drawn. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to the e-mail notification with their mailing address. This information will then be forwarded to the sponsor. If this information is not received within 48 hours another name will be drawn.

Congratulations!

2009-05-10T20:20:00.000-07:00

The winner of the KimberlyJonesDesigns giveaway is... Kat C!

I have sent you an e-mail.. please respond to it within 48 hours
or a new winner will be chosen!

If you haven't already - go enter our other giveaways!
You can find a list of current giveaways at the top right hand
side of our blog!

Newsletter!

2009-05-10T10:14:00.000-07:00

We officially have a Rainbow Swirlz Newsletter!

I am so excited to announce that we now have a newsletter!
We do a lot of promotions, free shipping, bogos & such and I hate
when people miss out on them because they didn't happen to check the site that day. I get so many e-mails after I take down the sale asking if they place an order right away if I will give them the discount!

So hopefully this will solve the problem!

If you subscribe..
Around the first of the month you will receive an e-mail
outlining specials, promotions & deals going on for that current month. You will be one of the FIRST to know in case it's a limited deal. You will also receive special deals JUST for newsletter subscribers!

We promise not to send junk & you can unsubscribe at ANY time!
Just CLICK HERE & enter your e-mail address!
Check your e-mail to confirm your subscription & your done!

Thank you!

BOGO!

2009-05-08T20:36:00.000-07:00

Click the banner to get your shop on! :)
BOGO - Buy 1 item get the 2nd item half off!
Read shop announcement for details!

-Happy weekend!

MayBeads Giveaway - May 8th - 14th

2009-05-07T19:00:00.000-07:00

These necklaces are adorable &
1 of you will get to pick one for yourself!
The detail on these adorable necklaces
is amazing! Maybeads does awesome work!
--

Introduce yourself!:)
Hi! I’m Lauren, and I’m a lampwork bead artist. I live in a suburb of Chicago, with my husband, three kids, Chunky the dog, Buzz & Newman, our cats and some unnamed fish.

Tell us a bit about your business..
I make lampwork beads, otherwise known as glass beads. I take colored rods of glass and melt them with my Hot Head torch. My beads are mostly what are called “critter” beads - they bead creatures with faces. I love to make turtles, penguins, cats, dogs (those are new!), cows and aliens. I mostly sell just the beads, but I do have some finished jewelry in my shop as well. I like to make charm-sized beads to hang from stretch cords for fun kids’ stretchy necklaces. My two girls have a bunch! My shop is called Maybeads because my maiden name is May, and, well, Mazurskybeads just didn’t have the same ring to it (sorry, honey).

What inspired you to start your etsy shop?
After a couple months selling on ebay, I discovered Etsy. I was completely intrigued by it. It was so easy to set up a shop, so I made the switch.

When you're not being crafty, what do you do?
I’m a stay-at-home mom, so I hang with my youngest who is in half-day kindergarten. I also enjoy reading, running and baking.

Whats your favorite book, song, movie & website?
Favorite book: “The Kite Runner”
Favorite song: Anything by John Mellencamp.
Favorite movie: I’m a huge fan of comedies, so Blazing Saddles, Airplane, Stripes, Monty Python -- they’re all good.
Favorite website: Etsy!

How do you promote your work?
I am on two Etsy teams: the Fire Divas, a lampwork team, and the EART TEAM, which stands for Eclectic Artisans Team. I do a lot of promoting with my teams, plus I post in the forums regularly, I tweet on Twitter and I also promote on Facebook. I know there’s probably a lot more I could be doing and one day I'll figure that out.

What are your short-term & long-term goals?
For the short-term I’d like to continue doing what I love - making beads. I’m just so grateful to be able to support my habit, er, hobby, by selling my work on Etsy. I’d also like to take another lampwork class to learn some more advanced techniques. For the long-term, I’d like to find some other ways to promote my work and increase my sales.

Tell us something random about you!
My birthday is 11/7/69 -- and my son’s is 7/11/96 - that’s got to be lucky, right?

--

Item up for grabs:
Stretchy Necklace from MayBeads

To enter the giveaway:
Go to Maybeads, look around.. come back & tell us your favorite item from her shop!

Earn extra entries:
*Subscribe to our blog.
Do no forget to activate your subscription.
*Blog about this giveaway on your Blog.
Leave a link to your blog in your entry.

You will receive one extra entry into this giveaway for each of the above actions you do.

This giveaway will end on May 14th at 11:30 p.m. (Central Standard Time). The winner will be notified by e-mail and it will be posted Thursday night on our blog. Please be sure you have provided a valid e-mail address. If there is no e-mail address provided to contact the winner, another name will be drawn. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to the e-mail notification with their mailing address. This information will then be forwarded to the sponsor. If this information is not received within 48 hours another name will be drawn.

Congratulations!

2009-05-07T18:49:00.001-07:00

Still no camera. I haven't been to town yet.

Two winners... :)

The Nounces Giveaway winner is - LittleGemsByKari

The LuckyBella Giveaway winner is - Sherry

I have sent you both an e-mail.. please respond to it within 48 hours
or a new winner will be chosen!

If you haven't already - go enter our other giveaways!
You can find a list of current giveaways at the top right hand
side of our blog!

ThePinkPaisleyTotes - May 7th - 13th

2009-05-06T19:00:00.000-07:00

Thepinkpaisleytotes is such a fun etsy shop! The darla hobo purse is so awesome!:) && So is this bag over to the left &&& one of you will be able to claim it in a week! How exciting!:D

--

Introduce yourself!:)
My name is Lori and I have thepinkpaisleytotes on etsy. I also have a part time job at a pediatricians office. I have 4 kids and a loving husband. They keep me pretty busy.

Tell us a bit about your business..
I started selling online about 6 years ago. I have a love for creating and sewing and this is a creative outlet for me. I also have designed and sold girls clothing but love the tote and bag end of the design process.

What inspired you to start your etsy shop?
I love the etsy format. It's so user friendly. I also love the etsy community. The creative people amaze me. I can spend hours just browsing shops.

When you're not being crafty, what do you do?
I love to volunteer at church, We have boys who play ball and it seems that there is a ballgame everynight of the week during the spring. I also help out with a womens aerobic class at church. That has really become a fun outlet for me.

Whats your favorite book, song, movie & website?
I like to read christian romance, I listen to contemporary christian music and I spend time searching for the newest fabric line online at places like www.fabritopia.com

How do you promote your work?
Lately my repeat customers have been keeping me busy. I also have local customers that I do custom work for. I belong to some online boutique groups and I post new listing there.

What are your short-term & long-term goals?
I would like to have 10 bags listed consistently during the summer. Then in the long-term I would like to buy a new embroidery machine.

Tell us something random about you!
I love to sing.

----

Item up for grabs: Bag shown in above picture from ThePinkPaisleyTotes!

To enter the giveaway: Go to ThePinkPaisleyTotes, look around.. come back & tell us your favorite item from her shop!

Earn extra entries:
*Subscribe to our blog.
Do no forget to activate your subscription.
*Blog about this giveaway on your Blog.
Leave a link to your blog in your entry.

You will receive one extra entry into this giveaway for each of the above actions you do.

This giveaway will end on May 13th at 11:30 p.m. (Central Standard Time). The winner will be notified by e-mail and it will be posted Wendesday night on our blog. Please be sure you have provided a valid e-mail address. If there is no e-mail address provided to contact the winner, another name will be drawn. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to the e-mail notification with their mailing address. This information will then be forwarded to the sponsor. If this information is not received within 48 hours another name will be drawn.

Fun Finds Wednesday - May 6th

2009-05-05T19:00:00.000-07:00

Majestyinc - Vegan Vinyl Pouch - $18.00
MadisonCraft - Pocket Mirror - $4.50
Fieldandsea - Personalized Card - $3.00
Nikoart - Rubber Stamp - $4.00
FlashyFish - Hair Clip - $5.00
RainbowSwirlz - Field Bag - $20.00

Congratulations!

2009-05-05T17:59:00.000-07:00

I have two winners for this Rainbow Swirlz giveaway!

So excited to announce that Lisa was the first name drawn out!
She will receive these four totes (if she responds to the e-mail)

Black Bird - Lime, Retro Flowers - Orange, Green Owl - Natural, Unicorn - Black

The second winner drawn was.... Abigail!
She will also receive four totes (if she responds to the e-mail)

Fall Flowers - Black, Bunny - Lime, Unicorn - Black, Robot Attack - Yellow

Both of them will also receive a free t-shirt once they
respond to the e-mails and let me know sizes!:)

Thanks so much to everyone who entered the giveaway!

Congratulations!:)

2009-05-05T16:16:00.000-07:00

I broke my camera.

I have gone through two cameras since I started this blog!
How horrible is that? I was photographing some pieces of metal
for my husband & dropped it with the lens out.. of course it snapped
it.. Argh.. -cry-

So I'm still doing the giveaways.. still drawing names like I always do..
Just can't show pictures.. :(

--

The winner of the ScamperingScotties giveaway is... Anna!

I have sent you an e-mail.. please respond to it within 48 hours
or a new winner will be chosen!

If you haven't already - go enter our other giveaways!
You can find a list of current giveaways at the top right hand
side of our blog!

Potatoes are wonderful!

2009-05-04T18:09:00.000-07:00

Potatoes are wonderful mashed, baked, scalloped, or fried, but they have a less conventional use, too: as decorative stamps for personalized gift cards and tags. The best potato prints have a painterly quality reminiscent of impressionist art. To make one, cut a potato (any variety will do) in half, and draw a shape onto the flesh with a pencil. Then, using a utility knife or jackknife with a thin blade, carve around the outline of the pencil design, and cut away the background to a depth of 1/4 inch. Mix gouache paints (available in tubes at art-supply stores) with a little water, then apply the paint directly onto the design with a brush; or dip the potato into a dish of paint as though using a stamp pad. Press the potato onto blank cards, reapplying paint when the prints become faint. Each print will look unique and slightly irregular -- a work of art in itself! To make a tag, punch a small hole in the corner of the card with a needle or an awl, and thread a piece of string or ribbon through!
-From MarthaStewart.com

KimberlyJonesDesigns Giveaway - May 4th - 10th

2009-05-03T09:21:00.000-07:00

Wow, this clutch is FANTASTIC! Working with KimberlyJonesDesigns was awesome.. she is super sweet!
Her clutches are fun, hip & very affordable!

--

Introduce Yourself
Hi, my name is Kimberly and I live in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. I have been married for 25 years and am a mother of two children and one very opinionated bird.

What inspired you to start your Etsy shop:
I am the type of person who must be busy at all times. I do not like idle time or hands. I have been crafting and creating most of my life. As a stay at home mom, crafting was a sanctuary for me. Now that my last child has left home, I have the time to devote to creating and crafting. I am very passionate and personally motivated to create. I opened a quilt store on Etsy in October and have loved the experience. I wanted to diversify so I decided that a purse store would allow me so much creative freedom. Although I am a very traditional person, I wanted to have the freedom to be a little funky with these creations. I surround myself with wonderful designer fabrics and supplies to inspire me.

When I am not Crafting:
I love to be fit and active. I am an equestrian rider who devotes much time to perfecting my stills for the show jumping ring. This consumes most of my free time. I also ski and work out at the gym. Time with my children and extended family are the most important aspect of my life.

Favorite Book - Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt& For One More Day - Mitch Albom
Favorite Song - Beautiful Day by U2
Favorite Movie - Braveheart

Short and Long Term Goals
In the short term, I would like to develop my computer and business skills in order to promote my business. In the long term my goals is to use all my newly acquired business skills to develop a successful and rewarding business.

---

Item up for grabs: Medium Clutch (picture shown here) from KimberlyJonesDesigns

To enter the giveaway: Go to KimberlyJonesDesigns, look around.. come back & tell us your favorite item from her shop!

Earn extra entries:
*Subscribe to our blog.
Do no forget to activate your subscription.
*Blog about this giveaway on your Blog.
Leave a link to your blog in your entry.

You will receive one extra entry into this giveaway for each of the above actions you do.

This giveaway will end on May 10th at 11:30 p.m. (Central Standard Time). The winner will be notified by e-mail and it will be posted Sunday night on our blog. Please be sure you have provided a valid e-mail address. If there is no e-mail address provided to contact the winner, another name will be drawn. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to the e-mail notification with their mailing address. This information will then be forwarded to the sponsor. If this information is not received within 48 hours another name will be drawn.

:)

2009-05-02T21:11:00.000-07:00

Hello! Thanks to everyone who voted on this!

#1 & #3 were VERY close on votes.. so we have
decided that we will use both! We just listed
#3 up in the shop & will be listing #1 up in June!

Thanks everyone who took the time to do this..
I greatly appreciate it!:)

Help..

2009-05-02T04:58:00.000-07:00

Come on... :P
I need more votes on this post..

LuckyBella Giveaway - May 1st - 7th

2009-04-30T23:30:00.000-07:00

A custom avatar giveaway! So much fun!! Luckybella made a custom avatar for me! I love it!!:)

--

Introduce yourself!:)
Hello! :) My name is Laura, I'm an artist and I love to do crafty fun stuff. I'm 26, from Brooklyn, NY and I love the city!

Tell us a bit about your business...
My etsy shop is more of an extension of my professional illustration work- it's a great little venue to sell things, and I'm hoping to add more over the summer. Right now, I've got some custom digital art available, as well as some tiny paintings, and paper dolls. Gocco printed stuff coming up next!

What inspired you to start your etsy shop?
My sister (bellatote.etsy.com) started a shop and is doing really well! I was inspired by her shop to start making & selling neat art stuff. Things are still picking up, but it's the best little sales venue site I've come across. There's even a speciality website for selling illustration goods, but Etsy is just so much fun, it comes with the community, and it's just a really nice place to hang out.

When you're not being crafty, what do you do?
When I'm not promoting my work or making more samples, I like to hang out with fellow artists in the city, ride my Vespa around town, and play lots of video games :)

Whats your favorite book, song, movie & website?
Ooh, I'm so bad at picking! Tim Robbins is my fav author, couldn't pin down a book that's the best. Same for tunes, although Rockabilly and Daft Punk pretty much dominate my play list! I love "My Neighbor Totoro", an old Japanese animated movie, and my favorite website- besides etsy of course- is http://www.drawger.com. It's a community art blog I'm a part of, and someone's always posting something interesting up.

How do you promote your work?
I'm still starting promotion for my Etsy shop- feeling my way around. I love posting in the Etsy forums though- not a lot of sales, but I get about 10 hearts every time I pop back there to say hello!

What are your short-term & long-term goals?
Short-term: I'd just love to share some of my art with other women, girls, families, and heck, even some of the more open-minded boys! I'm also working on developing some new products to list up there.
Long-term: Famous artist rock star with a gazillion dollars and maybe some groupies.

Tell us something random about you!
I had an epiphany while glittering & packaging the paper dolls- if I can be "grown up" and still working on glitter fairy paper dolls, then I don't want to be in other line of work. Ever!

---

Items up for grabs: Custom Avatar from LuckyBella

To enter the giveaway: Go to LuckyBella, look around.. come back & tell us your favorite item from her shop!

Earn extra entries:
*Subscribe to our blog.
Do no forget to activate your subscription.
*Blog about this giveaway on your Blog.
Leave a link to your blog in your entry.

You will receive one extra entry into this giveaway for each of the above actions you do.

This giveaway will end on May 7th at 11:30 p.m. (Central Standard Time). The winner will be notified by e-mail and it will be posted Thursday night on our blog. Please be sure you have provided a valid e-mail address. If there is no e-mail address provided to contact the winner, another name will be drawn. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to the e-mail notification with their mailing address. This information will then be forwarded to the sponsor. If this information is not received within 48 hours another name will be drawn.