Wonderful Spooky Collection!

My candles were featured in this great ArtFire Collection. Enjoy!

Are you afraid of...

Curated By: artandjewelry

ArtFire.com

Jewelry Supplies

New to ArtFire Sale!

I finally made the plunge and joined ArtFire. ArtFire, like Etsy, is an online marketplace for handmade and vintage items.My new shop is http://DragonsDen.artfire.com

20% OFF everything in the shop!

To celebrate, I'm offering this awesome special until next Sunday (October 10thth) midnight EST. The prices are already marked down to make it easier for everyone. :)

Since this is to honor my new shop, the special only applies to the ArtFire shop, and not the Etsy shop. So drop in and help me celebrate!

Visit DragonsDen's ArtFire Shop

Crocheted Blanket in Progress

I'm really excited about this project I've been working on that is finally starting to take form. This is a small blanket/throw made up of many rectangles sewn together. So far it is about 1'4" by 2', so I've got a long way to go yet.

Since I have a hard time following crochet patterns, I do pretty much everything freeform. I watch the examples of friends' work for new ideas. So I'm sorry but I can't really provide a proper pattern, but I'll let you know generally what I'm doing.

I found five colors of the same texture of very soft synthetic yarn. I wanted to incorporate them all together somehow, and that's how I came up with the blanket idea. I like easy projects, so I thought I'd start with making a lot of small rectangles and then go from there. I said I like easy - that doesn't mean it's not tedious! Actually, crocheting is one way I relax, so I prefer projects that are very simple and repetitive.

Using the single crochet stitch, I make the rectangles about 6" wide by 4.5" long. I haven't been exact - I measure each rectangle against the last one to make sure it's the right size. I don't even count the stitches or the rows. Insert here the shocked gasps from experienced crocheters! ;) So no they are not exact, but even still, it's fitting together well.

I then put a border of beige around each rectangle. And then using the beige yarn, I sew the rectangles together.

I don't have a pattern in mind, other than keeping the colors well mixed up. I'm not sure how big it's going to end up. I still have many rectangles that need to be added, and I still need to make more rectangles as well.

So even though it's not done yet, I just wanted to show it off! I'll follow up here when it's done. And I think I might want to hunt for more yarn after and make another one! This is definitely a long-term project, but working on the little "squares" is so easy in waiting rooms or airports or wherever you have free hands. Of course it's also possible that I won't want to see another crocheted rectangle as long as I live! I'll keep you posted. :) This blanket is for my house, but if I make another it'll be a gift for some lucky friend or family member.

Featured on Etsy Item of the Day!

Today my beeswax tea lights and my shop are featured on Etsy Item of the Day. This site is beautifully organized and a great resource for all of us who love Etsy!

They included a picture of my tea lights in the gorgeous wood holders made by Peg and Awl.

This has inspired me to get back into my work on this blog! So expect to see more entries soon.

In the meantime check out this great feature!

Ren Faire Vending!

This weekend (September 18-19) I will be vending at The Village Renaissance Faire in Wrightstown, PA. This Faire is a blast! It's a great family event with lots to see and do for a low entrance price.

I'll be sharing the space with a friend of mine. We did this faire last year and it was lots of fun! My friend sells jewelry and bellydance accessories (some handmade). Her stuff was a hit last year! You can see her site at Crystal Kini Designs.

Hope you can join us there!

Here are a couple of pictures from last year.

Giveaway!

Mrs. Nespy's Frugal World is running a bunch of great giveaways in September for back to school. It's a great opportunity to pick up some fun free stuff!

One of these great giveaways is from my shop! Click this link to find out how you can win a $15 credit that you can use for anything in my shop.

Don't forget to check out the other giveaways while you're there. Mrs. Nespy's is one of my new favorite blogs!

Team Tuesday: Barnegat Bay

This past Saturday I was one of the Etsy NJ members that set up to vend at the Barnegat Bay All About the Waterfowling Day. It was great to connect in person with these fellow team members! It was so fun browsing through these items in person that I just wanted to show off some of them here.

Barnegat Bay Vending

Just wanted everyone to know I'll be vending Saturday, March 27th at the "All About Waterfowling Day" at Barnegat Bay, New Jersey. Vendor table fees are donated to the National Resource Education Foundation of NJ, so I thought it was a great chance to get out for my first vending this year and help out a valuable service!

This will be a great event for the whole family! Along with the specific waterfowling displays and demonstrations, there will also be music and hayrides. And I'm just one of the many crafters who'll be vending there. All vendors are selling 100% handmade items!

For those of you who haven't seen my handmade items check out my shop at dragon06.etsy.com

All About the Waterfowling
www.experiencebarnegatbay.org
Barnegat Bay, NJ
March 27, 2010
10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Free Admission
Free Parking

Sunday Roundup (Feb 28 - Mar 6)

Have a few new things to share with everyone today. These really caught my attention this week.

Fave blog post:
Good Job! by Lisa Bonchek Adams
* A fun post talking about appreciation.

Fave tweets:
by @McMedia One never succeeds by trying to look good at someone else's expense. Always be kind, show class & integrity.

by @BelieveAngels Should you shield the canyons from the windstorms, you will never see the beauty of their carvings.

Fave New Webcomic:
Valor of Zen
* Beautiful fantasy comic!

Team Tuesday: A Shop for Yarn Addicts!

As some of you know, I do some crocheting in my spare time to relax and create fun things for my family and friends. I don't go through much yarn this way, and that's a big problem ... because I love buying new yarn!!

I am drooling over the gorgeous yarn from Pancake and Lulu, one of the great sellers on the Etsy New Jersey team! I dare you to try and browse this shop without buying! As soon as I've worked through enough of my current yarn pile I will back here for sure. :)

Just click on the pictures or links below to buy or get more information.


Read more about Etsy New Jersey shops by checking out the blogs listed below.

Sunday Roundup (Feb 21 - 27)

I wanted to share with my readers some of my favorite things from this week. Enjoy! :)

Fave blog post:
The One Deadly Sin of Changing Habits by Leo Babuata (@zen_habits on Twitter)
* Straight-forward delivery of some great advice. A great read!

Fave tweet:
by @paulocoelho "25/02 Dreams cannot be tamed. Dreamers cannot be ruled"
* Enough said :)

Fave Books:
The Story of my Life by Helen Keller (audiobook on Librivox)
* A touching story full of beauty and wisdom.

Before They are Hanged by Joe Abercrombie
* Second book of "The First Law" fantasy series. This series so far is filled with great characters, action, intrigue, and wit.

Team Tuesday: Handmade Jewelry in NJ

"Team Tuesday" blog posts are part of an Etsy New Jersey Blog Hop. So to check out more great posts about New Jersey artists take a look at the list of links below.

This week I'm featuring some items from a couple of my favorite jewelry artists in the EtsyNJ team. Click on the pictures to purchase or find out more information about their items.



Join Us for the 1st "Team Tuesday" Blog Hop and add your Link to our List!

Rules

Blog post must be about an EtsyNJ member shop. To find an EtsyNJ shop, search "EtsyNJ" at Etsy.com. Please limit yourself to just EtsyNJ shops, you may feature more than one if you like, use whatever style or format you want, its your blog. Your post can be as simple or as elaborate as you want.

You do not have to be a team member to participate, but you MUST feature an EtsyNJ member on your blog.

Snowed In!

We got a snowstorm last night that left us with drifts a couple feet tall in the backyard. Our poor little dog just looked at the wall of snow at the door like, "Now what am I supposed to do?" :)

So since I'm stuck inside today I might as well enjoy it! I put together this lovely selection of picks from the Helping Others Street Team (HOST) and the EtsyNJ team. Enjoy!

Free Lotion With Every Order!

I now make cream lotions, and I know my customers will love them! This all natural cream lotion is made from a high quality, paraben free and vegan lotion base. It works in quickly, leaving your skin feeling silky smooth and not sticky or greasy. You don’t need to re-apply very often, and a little goes a long way!

Here are the scents I currently have available.

• Unscented
• Lavender (made with Lavender essential oil)
• Chamomile Neroli (made with essential oil blend)
• Vanilla (made with fragrance oil)
• White Tea & Ginger (made with fragrance oil)

And more scents are on the way! Custom orders are always welcome.

For more information and a complete list of ingredients, you’re welcome to check out the listings in my shop in the Lotions and Lip Balm section.

Free Samples!

For the entire month of February, I will include a free lotion sample with every order. I know once people try this they’ll love it! As well as a promotion for these lotions, this is also a thank you gift to my wonderful customers. This free offer applies to every order – no minimum!

The samples are ½ oz each and come in bottles for easy application. These bottles are also a perfect size to keep in your purse or use when traveling.

No special code is required to receive your sample. However, when placing your order, please let me know if there is a scent of lotion you really would love to try. Or if you would prefer unscented, just let me know. You can tell me by just putting your preference in the message to seller box at checkout. If you don’t mention a preference, I’ll pick a random scent for you.

My family and I are in love with this lotion! I hope you love it too! :)

Purple Friday Finds

Pretty, perfect, passionate ... PURPLE!

These are some of my favorite picks from the Etsy Freethinkers Team. Click any of the pictures for more information about each item.

Use LOVE to get more of what you love!

If there’s something you’d like to see more of in your life, feel the LOVE for it instead of feeling a “need” or “want” of it.

How is the feeling of “love” different from “want” or “need”? The best way to describe it is to have you feel it for yourself. Think of someone or something you know you love in your life right now. This can be a child or a spouse or a pet. The list is endless. We’ll use a person as an example. Close your eyes and feel the love you have for that person. Then think of something else in your life that you love and feel that feeling. The trick here is just to recognize exactly how it feels TO YOU to feel love. Describing how I feel isn’t going to help you because each of us feels and senses things in a unique way.

Now try this exercise

Think of something you want more of in your life. Let’s pick money for example because that’s a pretty popular one. Normally if you’re feeling short of money, you feel a burning desire, a need to get into a better situation. That’s a natural feeling. Now think about money, and think about why you want more of it, in a general sense. For me, money brings me a feeling of security and freedom. Whatever good feeling you get from money in general, focus on that for a minute. This is something you love in your life.

Part of this process is taking a very specific want and making it more general. This helps me because I have been known to obsess over things that are lacking in my life. So trying to think of that specific thing in a different way can be very challenging. But it helps to make the feeling and statement more general.

Now this isn’t saying you must always feel this new way about the thing you desire. We’re human, and we’re used to thinking certain ways about things. Just once in a while, whenever you happen to be thinking of something you want, try the exercise above.

It helps to have words to go with this feeling because that helps you focus it. You can phrase it in any way that works for you. I can share a couple of mine: “I love the security and freedom I get from having more money in my life.” “I love the feeling of purpose I get from knowing I’ve helped someone.” “I love seeing my family happy.”

By changing how you feel you can change how quickly you get this thing you’re wanting. By simply holding that sensation of love and focusing your attention on it, you will manifest more things in your life that make you feel that way!

Make every day a good day!

Here are a few easy things you can do today to help improve your mood and reduce your stress. They take very little time and no money. Try a couple of them and see how you feel!

* Do you have a minute alone – maybe in the elevator, stairwell, your car, or office? Smile once for no reason at all.

* Have one of your favorite foods as a meal or snack. Don’t rush it. Take your time and really enjoy it.

* If you have a clumsy moment, laugh at yourself! It’s not important enough to get upset about, and it was likely pretty funny if seen by someone else.

* If you’re dealing with someone who annoys you, focus on something you genuinely like about them. Maybe they’re wearing a nice shirt or maybe you like the color of their eyes. It won’t make you love that person, but you’ll notice that working with them becomes a little easier.

* Take a minute or two to spend with a pet. Feel the softness of the fur, or really notice the colors of the eyes, fur, feathers – whatever applies to your pet. :)

* If you have a chore to do around the house, turn on your favorite music or audio program. Your mood will rise as you listen, and then the job will be over in no time.

* Take a minute to think of your closest circle of friends and family. Sometimes the ones closest to your heart are not the people you see or talk to the most. If you feel like it, you can even send someone an e-card or a little note by snail mail.

* Take a few minutes and play a silly game. If you want to play it with someone else, like your kids, then that works even better! But it’s best if it’s something silly or physical that doesn’t take much brain power. Before you know it, you’ll be smiling and maybe even laughing.

Do you have a tip you’d like to add to this list? Leave a comment and share it!

Wordless Wednesday

Water on a Leaf

by Art by LAQ

Deals for the New Year!

I just wanted to share some of my favorite Etsy shops with my readers. And as an added bonus, all of these are either marked down or have free shipping. Click the pictures to shop or get more info.

Hope you like the selection. :)