Autumn Tags

TGIF!! More autumns tags that I like to share. I'm in love with kraft papers now. I always love brown but with a touch of kraft color, it adds some warm feeling. T

hese are perfect for Thanksgiving or any autumn wedding.

Check out my shop to see more of these beauties. They're on sale, by the way :-)

So Thankful for You Tags

Fall is here and I'm in the mood to create these So Thankful for You tags. 

Perfect to show our gratefulness to people we love. Thanksgivings Weddings These are just two examples where you can use them.

I'll see you soon with new designs to show.

Giveaway Winner of Fairyshadow

Happy Monday everyone! The fall is officially here. This means that it's time for me to gear up in getting ready for holiday seasons. Without we even realize, it'll be here in a blink of eyes.

Congratulations Lyudmila (#76) for winning Fairyshadow's giveaway! I think we all had fun, didn't we? 

Thank to Tania for sponsoring the giveaway and as always, YOU, who entered the giveaway. Don't forget to enter the current giveaway. 

Now, let me get back to my prep for the holiday seasons. You will start to see christmasy works around here :-)

Giveway: Headband or Hair Clip

Win a headband or a hair clip of your choice from the Little Magpie. Get to know Maggie, our Saturday Artisan this week.

There are many ways to enter. Please make sure you leave a separate comment for every entry.

How to enter to win:

Mandatory entry:

• Go to the Little Magpie shop. Return to my Adore By Nat blog and simply leave a comment here about your favorite item from the store.

Extra entries (only qualify once mandatory entry is fulfilled):

• Earn 2 entries - Go to yesterday's post to know her more. Leave a comment there (yesterday's post) on at least one the following: what you learn from the interview, what you want to see more on her shop and why, or any constructive feedback are always appreciated. Come back here and leave 2 comments that you did, to ensure your entries are counted.
• Heart the Little Magpie (1 entry). Simply let us know your Etsy username.
• Follow my adorebynat blog (1 entry). If you're already a follower, you still get an entry, just says you're following already.
• Like the Little Magpie Facebook page and tell Maggie, Nat of adorebynat send you there.
• Like my Adorebynat Facebook Page. You must drop by and let me know that you enter this giveaway (1 entry).
• Follow adorebynat on twitter (1 entry).
• Tweet about this giveaway, add "@adorebynat" in your tweet. (1 entry).
• Blog about this giveaway to earn 2 entries. Leave two separate comments here please providing me with the link to your post.
• Be creative and share the love! Refer your friends and family to enter this giveaway. Use your social media (other than twitter and blog) to shout out this giveaway. As long as you provide me a link or a way to confirm it, you'll earn 2 entries (two separate comments).
• Purchase an item from the Little Magpie and earn 10 entries for each purchase. Don't forget letting us know by leaving comments.

Contest starts now and ends on October 8, 2011. Contest opens worldwide. Don't forget to leave me a way to contact you. Entries without contact information will be disqualified. Entries that do not follow the rules will be disqualified. Contest winner will be drawn on Sunday, October 9 by a random number generator, by the artist herself. Winner must respond within 48 hours after being contacted otherwise another winner will be randomly selected.

Saturday Artisan: the Little Magpie

Meet Maggie of the Little Magpie, our Saturday Artisan. You can tell her love of flowers (I do too!). Let's learn more about her, shall we? 

Tell us a bit about yourself and what arts/ crafts that you make?

My name is Maggie, I am 22 and recently got married. I make flower headband and clips for babies, toddlers, and adults. The headbands and clips look amazing in photographs, as well as everyday wear. The headbands and clips are created using either silk flowers, or handmade satin flowers. 

Which part of creation process that you like to do the most? 

My favorite part of the creation process is shopping for supplies. I love seeing all the different flowers and imagining the possibilities.

Could you share on how your organize your products, we all can use a little tips here and there in this department? 

I have found that ziploc bags have kept me from losing my mind. They come in all sizes, they are cheap, and they can be used over and over. The bags help keep the different flowers from becoming creased and getting squished. 

What is your best seller?

My best seller would be a white flower headband. It looks so sweet in a newborn photo shoot, and it's simple enough to wear anytime without looking like a garden just sprouted out of your head.

How do you balance your personal and work life?

Because my husband is a huge sports fan, my home and etsy work life actually coexist quite well together. There seems to be some important playoff game nearly every night, so I move my workspace to the living room where I can work and still be with my husband. 

What is your favourite tool that you cannot live without? My favorite tool is by far, my hot glue gun. While we seem to have a love / hate relationship, (I don't like the burns), there is no way I could function without it.

Custom Business Cards

All you need to do is ASK! You never know what I can do for you. Just like these business cards I recently made, customized as requested.

The pictures do not do justice. It's much cuter in person. Owls are just too adorable. One day I was approached if I could make business cards with owl images. What a great idea and I was up for the challenge.

If you'd like to make some for you, please do not hesitate to ask!

Giveaway Winner of All About You

Oana had been contacted and she has asked us to pick another winner who could use this gift certificate. So, another random draw was done, and the next winner s #12: Sandy of sandyandcosmo. Congrats, Sandy! Jayna is in touch you now. 

 Happy Tuesday! It's a beautiful sunshine day but I can tell that the Fall is near. The chill weather, the morning fog, and the cold that most of us are having. My little one is under the weather and I'm working from home today so that I can take care of him. Now the good news, I'd like to announce the winner of All About You's giveaway. Congratulations, Oana! Lucky #45 is the winner! Thanks to Jayna for her generosity and thanks to everyone who entered. Don't forget to enter the current giveaway if you haven't done already.

Giveaway Winner of Kyandkin

Happy Tuesday!

Congratulations, Babalisme! You've won Kyandkin's giveaway.

Thank you Heather for sponsoring the giveaway and everyone who entered.

Enter more giveaways that are going on now.

Giveway: Red Flower Headband and Hair Tie

Win Red Flower Headband and Hair Tie from Fairyshadow. Get to know Tania, our Saturday Artisan this week. There are many ways to enter. Please make sure you leave a separate comment for every entry.

How to enter to win:

Mandatory entry:

• Go to Fairyshadow shop. Return to my Adore By Nat blog and simply leave a comment here about your favorite item from the store.

Extra entries (only qualify once mandatory entry is fulfilled):

• Earn 2 entries - Go to yesterday's post to know her more. Leave a comment there (yesterday's post) on at least one the following: what you learn from the interview, what you want to see more on her shop and why, or any constructive feedback are always appreciated. Come back here and leave 2 comments that you did, to ensure your entries are counted.
• Heart Fairyshadow. (1 entry). Simply let us know your Etsy username.
• Follow my adorebynat blog (1 entry). If you're already a follower, you still get an entry, just says you're following already.
• Like my Adorebynat Facebook Page. You must drop by and let me know that you enter this giveaway (1 entry).
• Follow adorebynat on twitter (1 entry).
• Tweet about this giveaway, add "@adorebynat" in your tweet. (1 entry).
• Blog about this giveaway to earn 2 entries. Leave two separate comments here please providing me with the link to your post.
• Be creative and share the love! Refer your friends and family to enter this giveaway. Use your social media (other than twitter and blog) to shout out this giveaway. As long as you provide me a link or a way to confirm it, you'll earn 2 entries (two separate comments).
• Purchase an item from Fairyshadow and earn 10 entries for each purchase. Don't forget letting us know by leaving comments.

Contest starts now and ends on September 24, 2011. Contest opens worldwide. Don't forget to leave me a way to contact you. Entries without contact information will be disqualified. Entries that do not follow the rules will be disqualified. Contest winner will be drawn on Sunday, September 25 by a random number generator, by the artist herself. Winner must respond within 48 hours after being contacted otherwise another winner will be randomly selected.

Saturday Artisan: Fairyshadow

Meet Tania of Fairyshadow. Oh how I LOVE her shop, full of vibrant colors. So cheerful! Find about more about Tania through our interview below. Perhaps someday I could drop by to where she lives.

Tell us a bit about yourself and what arts/ crafts that you make? 

I am a work at home mother to two teenage daughters and a sweetheart of a husband. We are a ranching family, raising sheep and cattle in northern California. I am also a handcrafter who is working with upcycled textiles to produce a line of floral hair accessories. I also make waldorf inspired, natural fiber dolls. 

Which part of creation process that you like to do the most?

I love being inspired by new-to-me fabrics. I recently found a couple of tie dyed t-shirts that made really beautiful flower petals. I am considering how I can alter some of the other textiles I work with using bleach and fabric dyes to give some visual texture to my blossoms. I love thinking about new ways do things and how I can put my own stamp on my products. I also enjoy figuring out how to make my production as efficient as possible so that I can keep my prices reasonable. 

For us who love to travel, could you share a bit about your beautiful town? 

I live on a 300 acre ranch, about a mile and a half from the pavement, in the rolling coastal hills of Sonoma County. The region is well known for the wines produced here and many of the ranches neighboring ours have been converted to vineyards. We are fortunate to live in this beautiful place where the weather is temperate, coastal influence keeps us cool through the summer and relatively warm in the winter. No snow here.

 

Could you share on how your organize your products, we all can use a little tips here and there in this department? 

I love clear plastic totes for organizing my crafting supplies. I can see what they hold and they do stack so nicely. I would love to have a space dedicated to my work but I am a kitchen table crafter so it is important to me that I can put everything away at the end of the day quickly and easily. I use the totes for my finished pieces as well, grouping like with like, making it simple to pack up for a show or farmers market. They keep everything dry and clean. 

What is your best seller? I have only recently started making and selling hair accessories but so far I have found the flower ponytail ties to be my best seller. My fairy babies are my best-selling dolls.

How does your day go in general?

I usually start my day getting my children off to school, followed by household chores. By mid-morning I have time to work the online part of business for a while. With these tasks out of the way I can move on to crafting, usually working on a batch of items so that I have a series of a given piece, a bed of red flowers, for example, or blue dolls. Next, it is time to pick up the girls, do errands in town and then home again to evening chores. I get a bit more handwork done in the evening. 

How do you balance your personal and work life?

It is all pretty integrated now. One thing flows to the next and because we work at home we sort out our own schedules so if we want to go to the beach we do and when it time to shear sheep it gets done. My husband and I sit down from time to time to sort out priorities, setting dates for dealing with ranching matters and the children’s needs and the other stuff fits in around those things. I enjoy my home life and family and my work suits the lifestyle.

Do you have a favorite Etsy seller?

At the moment, I am really attracted to handmadepretties shop. 

What inspires you? 

y sixteen year old daughter was diagnosed, and successfully treated, with cancer last year. She showed a powerful courage that has helped me see that so many things I worried about were relatively insignificant. What we perceive as big road blocks are often of our own making and seeing my daughter fight her way through treatment has inspired me to move through my own fears. 

What is your goal for 2011?

To get through my daughter’s cancer, I took life one day at a time, watching only where my next step would land as looking to the future was at times, frightening. My goal has been to get my gaze off my feet and to look to and plan for the future once more. 

And are you on the right track?

By opening my Etsy shop I have met one of my goals, so I have to say that I am on track. 

What is your favourite tool that you cannot live without?

 I love my rotary cutter and cutting board. I cannot imagine having to do all my cutting with scissors. I would be so lost without them.

How do you promote your shop?

 I just started to twitter and set up a facebook fanpage, but I am still trying figure out how it all works. I hand out free shipping coupons at shows and the farmers markets and I tell everyone I know about my shop. 

Any advice for others running their on-line shop?

I am still pretty new to it myself but I guess I found I work every day on my business by setting attainable goals and trying hard to accomplish them. 

Saving money is important; tell us one thing that you do to save money? 

I try to use the resources I have on hand before going out and buying more. I frequent second hand stores for materials as well. We are an incredibly wealthy country and we sometimes forget the riches we have in our own homes and neighborhoods. Harvesting those supplies doesn’t work for everything but you can surprise yourself sometimes with a little creative thought. 

Stay-tuned for tomorrow's giveaway!

Hopscotch Couture's Giveaway Winner

Hello everyone,
I know I should have been around more often, at least that's what I keep telling myself. But things have been preventing me from blogging. I hope I'll have more time after October, when my day job contract ends.

I'm please to annouce the winner of Hopscotch Couture's giveaway. Congratulations Kitty Cat #19, you won a beautiful vintage bracelet.

Thanks so much Marelle for sponsoring this giveaway and as always, I thank to those who entered and made this is a fun giveaway.

We have 2 giveaways that are going on now:
$10 gift certificate
$20 gift certificate

What are you waiting for? :-)

Giveway: $10 Gift Certificate

Win $10 Gift Certificate from All About You. Get to know Jayna, our Saturday Artisan this week.

There are many ways to enter. Please make sure you leave a separate comment for every entry.

How to enter to win:

Mandatory entry:

• Go to All About You. shop. Return to my Adore By Nat blog and simply leave a comment here about your favorite item from the store.

Extra entries (only qualify once mandatory entry is fulfilled):

• Earn 2 entries - Go to yesterday's post to know her more. Leave a comment there (yesterday's post) on at least one the following: what you learn from the interview, what you want to see more on her shop and why, or any constructive feedback are always appreciated. Come back here and leave 2 comments that you did, to ensure your entries are counted.
• Heart All About You. (1 entry). Simply let us know your Etsy username.
• Follow my adorebynat blog (1 entry). If you're already a follower, you still get an entry, just says you're following already.
• Like my Adorebynat Facebook Page. You must drop by and let me know that you enter this giveaway (1 entry).
• Follow adorebynat on twitter (1 entry).
• Tweet about this giveaway, add "@adorebynat" in your tweet. (1 entry).
  
• Blog about this giveaway to earn 2 entries. Leave two separate comments here please providing me with the link to your post.
  
• Be creative and share the love! Refer your friends and family to enter this giveaway. Use your social media (other than twitter and blog) to shout out this giveaway. As long as you provide me a link or a way to confirm it, you'll earn 2 entries (two separate comments).
  
• Purchase an item from All About You and earn 10 entries for each purchase. Don't forget letting us know by leaving comments.
  

Contest starts now and ends on September 17, 2011. Contest opens worldwide.
Don't forget to leave me a way to contact you. Entries without contact information will be disqualified. Entries that do not follow the rules will be disqualified. Contest winner will be drawn on Sunday, September 18 by a random number generator, by the artist herself. Winner must respond within 48 hours after being contacted otherwise another winner will be randomly selected.

Saturday Artisan: All About You

This week Saturday Artisan is Jayna of All About You. Jayna makes adorable Pet ID tags and keychains. Let's get to know a bit more, shall we? 

What inspires you?

My two loves inspire me each and every day! Marc & Abby! 

Tell us a bit about yourself and what arts/ crafts that you make?

Creative. Motivated. Mom. I recently started my own home business crafting unique handmade pet bling! I definitely love what I do & the best part is… being able to spend most of my time at home with my beautiful 3 year old daughter, Abigail! 

Which part of creation process that you like to do the most?

My favorite part of my business, is creating my own custom graphics for new tag designs! I already have over 300 and counting! My most popular tags are the ones embellished with Swarovski Crystal Rhinestones. I like to call them “Pet Bling!” They are definitely fun to make.Aside from Pet ID Tags, I also make photo keychains & pendants for necklaces, I just find that pet tags are what sells best from my shop.

For us who love to travel, could you share a bit about your beautiful town/ city? I was born & raised in Seattle, WA. If you have never been, it’s definitely worth a trip! The thing I love most about my city is we have all four seasons each year! Yes. Lots of rain, beautiful warm summers, and snow-packed mountains! 

Do you have a favourite Etsy seller? 

Yes. My favorite etsy seller is the person that nominated me to Nat! Miranda from BellaGifts4U (Read her Saturday Artisan feature here) & wttillcock!!! In the few short weeks I have gotten to know her pretty well. I have bought 3 items from her shops that I totally love! & the best part… her daughters’ name is also Abigail!

Any advice for others running their on-line shop? 

I would say Etsy is an awesome place to start! Make sure to join all the teams & circles you can to help get your product & shop out there. It’s also a great place to meet great people that you become friends with!