Another Bookmark

I just can't seem to stop making these!  They're such fun to make, and relaxing at the end of a long day.  This is last night's fun.  She's even told me her name -- "My Little Gypsy Heart."

At present she's residing in my Holiday Shop, but she's hoping to find a home in someone's favorite book, with a brief nap in a stocking along the way! 

 

I'll donate 10% of the proceeds from the sale of  "My Little Gypsy Heart" to the American Cancer Society in honor of my friend Laura Slocum of lauraslocumpainted.etsy.com.

Handmade Copper Bookmarks Make Fabulous Stocking Stuffers!

While I was browsing Prospero's Bookshelf and looking at all his vintage books, it occurred to me what a wonderful stocking stuffer a handmade bookmark would be!

The timing was right, too, as I just sold my last three bookmarks and had it in the back of my mind to make some more.

So I picked up a couple of the shepherd's crooks Joe has been making for the purpose and, since I'd been reading some "high-brow" poetry lately, decided to create "His & Hers" bookmarks to appeal to the secret aristocrat on everyone's shopping list.

Here, from my Holiday Etsy Shop, is "Milady" ~

And from my Main Etsy Shop, "Country Squire" ~

Give Vintage Gifts for the Holidays ~ Prospero's Bookshelf on Etsy

For unique and hard-to-find Christmas and Holiday gifts, visit Joe's Etsy Vintage Shop!  http://ProsperosBookshelf.etsy.com

Here are a few of his offerings.

And here to visit his blog:  http://ProsperosBookshelf.blogspot.com

And keep an eye on Prospero's Bookshelf, because he's always adding "new" vintage items!

Big Holiday Sale in My Holiday Shop!

Here are just a few of the items On Sale* now in my Holiday Shop: http://RoughMagicHolidays.etsy.com

Click on any image to view full details.

Click here to see them all!

And to add an extra bit of spice to the Sale, I'm offering FREE SHIPPING on all Earrings, Suncatchers and Christmas Tree Ornaments in the shop!

And be sure to check back often, as I'll be adding new items to this Sale, including a number of new bookmarks!

http://RoughMagicHolidays.etsy.com

*Sale ends at 10:00 p.m. EST Monday, November 20.

Happy Thanksgiving!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING, Everybody!

A Happy Surprise!

I'm still reeling with happiness ... and a fair bit of astonishment!

My little Copper Bird Christmas Tree Ornament from my Holiday Shop is in the Etsy Voter this week!

And it's an Etsy Project Embrace (TeamEPE) item, which means I'll donate 10% of the proceeds from its sale to the American Cancer Society in honor of Laura Slocum of lauraslocumpainted.etsy.com.   To learn more about TeamEPE please visit the team page:  http://team.etsy.com/viewteam.php?id=685

Here's the bird.

If you'd like to give my little bird your vote (pretty please), here's the link: 
http://www.etsy.com/voter_list.php?ref=voter&room_id=80

Many thanks!  :)

Another Generous Jewelry Giveaway!

Wow!  Look at these gorgeous earrings!  Hey, I know you want them. 
And so do I!  Read on to learn more ...

My friend Karon of Wild Woman Jewelry will be celebrating her 2nd "Etsy-versary" on December 7, when she'll draw a lucky winner out of the "hat"!  So be sure to click this link to learn how to enter to win this fabulous prize: Ruby Holiday Lantern Earrings

To see more luscious handmade jewelry, be sure to visit Karon's beautiful Etsy Shop:  WildWomanJewelry.etsy.com

Many thanks, and good luck!  But not too good -- remember, I want them too! ;)

Rays of Grace - A New Etsy Shop, filled with Love, Hope, Faith and Giving!

I'm so happy to have the opportunity to introduce Rays of Grace to my blog followers!

This lovely new Etsy artist is a talented and generous nature photographer in Caddo Mills, Texas, just a stone's throw from the college (now a branch of Texas A & M) that I attended many years ago, and none too far from my hometown, Dallas.


The top photo pictured is entitled "Promise for the Seasons" and is one of her Faith Art Collection in her Etsy Shop: http://RaysOfGrace.etsy.com.

And this photo is "Dawn in Texas" from the same collection.
From her mission statement:
"100% of the profit from the sale of my Faith Art will be donated to Christian ministries. My current project is Breaking Chains, a ministry that rescues women who have been sold into slavery in Mexico. I have committed a total of 4 sales to this project. Please help me meet my goal by purchasing Faith Art from this shop." 

Here are a few more of her gorgeous art photographs, now available in her shop: 

Let's give this new Etsy seller a welcome as warm as this sweet puppy! 

And Yet Another Generous Heart!

Here's a generous giveaway offered by Anna of Noble Gnome, another Mainer and fellow member of Team Etsy Project Embrace.
Anna is offering her gorgeous handmade jewelry set to someone who has hit a rough patch and needs a little cheering up.

To learn how you can nominate someone for Anna's giveaway, please click the link to her beautiful blog: http://noblegnome.blogspot.com/2009/11/giveaway-time.html

And then, be sure to visit her equally beautiful Etsy Shop: http://noblegnome.etsy.com.

Warm Hearts Around the World -- Ngan's Necklace, Traveling for St. Jude Children's Hospital!

Here's  a wonderful project created by my friend Ngan of eNVe Designs! 

Ngan is sending her gorgeous handmade necklace on a "World Tour" from participant to participant -- to raise funds for St. Jude Children's Hospital in honor of our mutual friend and fellow Etsian Laura Slocum.

And just look at this necklace of goldstone, aquamarine and sterling silver!

For the opportunity to wear this necklace as it makes its way around the world, simply click the link below and follow Ngan's instructions.  I've signed up -- You sign up too:   http://envedesigns.blogspot.com/2009/10/my-secret-project-revealed-warm-hearts.html

And then be sure to check out Ngan's lovely work in her Etsy Shop: http://envejewelry.etsy.com 

Many thanks!

A Fantastic New Giveaway!

Heads up, Everybody!

I just found out about an Inaugural Giveaway that's too good to miss. 

My super talented friend Jill is offering this set of her glazedOver Tiny Teabag Bowls -- and are they ever delightful! 

It's easy to enter!  (I did!!!)  Just head over to Jill's blog, http://glazed-over.blogspot.com, and follow the instructions. 

And be sure to check out her online shop, http://glazedover.etsy.com, to see more of her beautiful work -- you'll be so happy you did!

Two More Etsy Treasuries for EPE - One from Each Shop

Here are two treasuries currently running on Etsy.com.  Both are for TeamEPE (Etsy Project Embrace).

The first is by Joe, prosperosbookshelf.etsy.com, entitled "I'll tell you how the Sun rose --" and inspired by Emily Dickinson's poem.  Until 11:32 a.m. Tuesday, November 17, you can view it by clicking here.

The second is mine, roughmagicholidays.etsy.com, for my friend and fellow Etsian Laura Slocum, lauraslocumpainted.etsy.com, to wish her well.  I named it "Hey Laura! Love You Lots!" for the top left item in the treasury, a set of magnets from her shop.  Click here to view it, until 10:16 a.m. Thursday, November 19.                                                             

Enjoy both treasuries while they last, and whisper a prayer for Laura and all those in need of healing.

ROTFL

I had to laugh.  Even though the joke's on me.

Maybe this happened to other Etsians today, and I'm sorry if it caused you discombobulation, but it struck me as hilarious. 

Okay, here's how it went.... The main treasury is about to open, so here I sit all hunched and nervous, poster sketch at the ready, fingers twitching, waiting for that little box to appear ... 3 minutes ... 2 minutes ... 1 min-- Aha!  There it is!

Quick like a bunny I click in the box and type my title, "Putty please pass the salt" (more on this later), hit my Enter key and ... INTERNAL SERVER ERROR.

What?????  Backspace.  No luck.  Forward space.  ETSY IS DOWN FOR MAINTENANCE.  Over to my poster sketch window.  It's working just fine over there -- no maintenance going on.  And no treasury.

Rats!  Off I go moping, dust the dining room furniture, fix and eat lunch, back to Etsy.  Still no treasury.

But ... all is not lost!  Treasury West is now about to open, and I still have my poster sketch at the ready.  So here I sit, all hunched and nervous ... 3 minutes ... 2 minutes ... 1 min-- Aha!  Quick like a bunny and all that, hit the Enter key and ...

Tada!  I've got my treasury.  "Putty please pass the salt," which is a composite of two items in my treasury.  "Putty" is from a happy pair of striped socks by LamaWorks, and "please pass the salt" is from a pretty little lidded glass dish from 5gardenias.

So I start filling in the boxes with items from my poster sketch, and about halfway through I notice that I have a new message from another Etsian.  Do I stop to open and read it?  I do not.  Nope.  I finish up my treasury first, and here's the treasury!

Whew!  All done.  Now it's time to read my message.  It's from Betti of realfaery, writing all the way from Budapest to tell me that my main treasury is there waiting for me!   And sure enough, when I click the link Betti has provided, there it is with its 16 little empty boxes ready to be filled ~ and its title written in stone ~ "Putty please pass the salt"

So here I sit, no poster sketch, no ideas, just that title.  Again.  And did I ever scramble to get my 12 items and 4 alternates in place!  Betti was the first one to go in, and after that some fellow Team EPE members and a few more favorites ... and here it is!

So yes, I do have two treasuries with the very same name.

And you know what?  After all the moping and dusting and treasury making and rolling on the floor laughing, I'm plumb tuckered out.

Nighty night all.  zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Saying "Thank You!"

To all our veterans, here's a heartfelt THANK YOU!  There aren't any words adequately to express our gratitude for your service to our nation and for the sacrifices you've made to safeguard our freedom.

Without your dedication, valor and determination, we would enjoy none of the rights and blessings we too often take for granted.

But please know that you will never be forgotten -- not on Veteran's Day ... not ever!

May God bless all our veterans.  May God bless America!

And to my own very special veteran of World War II .... you are everything to me.

Yikes! I've been Tattooned!

Hmmm ... Well, my eyes aren't quite that green, my hair isn't quite that gray, my lips aren't quite that red, my teeth aren't quite that straight, and my hat is red and green plaid.

But hey, the wine is okay ... so I guess the 'toon will do!  

Look out, Joe!  You're next ...

... and here he is!  Okay, so he gave away most of his suits and ties when we left New York (!), and I couldn't find a fedora so substituted the chef's hat, and the creators of the program don't think a man should bake pies ... but aside from that, it's not a bad likeness.  Especially after we've polished off that cabernet sauvignon!

Here, for the sake of comparison, are the "real us."

 

I dunno.  Anyway, this is how I frittered away a perfectly good Saturday morning!  LOL

P.S.  Well ... I guess the chef's hat wasn't such a bad choice after all, considering the way Joe spent his morning!

Joe's Applesauce Cake, made from apples from our orchard!  Yummy!

Do I feel guilty for frittering while he baked away?
Nah.  I'll save my guilt for after dessert tonight!

ETSY PROJECT EMBRACE EXPOSED !!!

Many many thanks to the fabulous Vicki Diane of VickiDianeDesigns.etsy.com for featuring Team Etsy Project Embrace (TeamEPE) in this fabulous treasury!

Here's the link to Vicki's treasury:
http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=92015

Quiz:  All these featured artists are "cyber" sisters.  Can you guess which two are flesh-and-blood sisters as well?

Special thanks too, to Kristin of loveartworks.etsy.com and Rebecca of KneeDeepOriginals.etsy.com.

And hugs and kisses to all the EPErs!

To view all the members of this fabulous and caring team, click here!

Two More Treasuries for Etsy Project Embrace

One from Joe, one from me!  :)  Every seller featured below is a member of Team Etsy Project Embrace, working to promote cancer awareness, to support those whose lives have been touched by cancer, and to make donations to the American Cancer Society in honor of fellow Etsian Laura Slocum of lauraslocum.etsy.com, whose ovarian cancer is in remission.

On the left, Joe's "no{YES}vember" ~ to welcome the new month.  On the right, my "Whiplash" ~ to introduce some hot color to a cloudy fall day when the sun sets early. 

Joe's featured sellers (left to right, top to bottom):

GlazedOver.etsy.com, LaTouchables.etsy.com, 5gardenias.etsy.com,

ginnyhuber.etsy.com, maclancy.etsy.com, Monarchdancer.etsy.com,

Antiqueish.etsy.com, ErikaPrice.etsy.com, dbabcock.etsy.com,

DesigningIt.etsy.com, moonskywoodworks.etsy.com, simplyshay.etsy.com

My featured sellers:

noblegnome.etsy.com, SexySkins.etsy.com, jennreese7.etsy.com,

dragonhouseofyuen.etsy.com, Anhoki.etsy.com, slinkymalinkicat.etsy.com,

5gardenias.etsy.com, fawnpotter.etsy.com, twolefthands.etsy.com,

TanyaMac.etsy.com, Monicaj.etsy.com, akaCINDERS.etsy.com

To visit any of delightful these shops, just click on that seller's name!

Until 5:53 this afternoon, you can view my treasury by clicking this link:

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=91351

Until 9:35 tonight, this link will take you to Joe's treasury:

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list_west.php?room_id=74115

My Upcoming Holiday Banner and Avatar by simplydoodles

Maestro, drumroll please! 

Introducing my Christmas banner and avatar for my Etsy Holiday Shop ...

These beauties are the work of the incomparable Shay of simplydoodles.etsy.com. 

Shay has made at least six banners for Joe's Shop and mine over the past year (I'm always changing mine to match the seasons), and every time we've been absolutely thrilled with the results!

And now, even before they've gone up at my shop, here they are ... Tada!!!

You can see why I'm so happy!!!  I can't wait to see them in place at my shop! 

Thank you, Shay!  You're a marvel!!!

So, if you're thinking of a new banner for your shop, be sure to visit Shay at http://simplydoodles.etsy.com.  You'll be so glad you did!