Inspiration - metal rings

Metal smiths on Etsy just continue to amaze me with their talent, and above all, creativeness with just a piece of metal. The way the metal is worked to not only make the item itself look beautiful, but also the hand that is wearing it, and the body that that hand is attached to. I just feel gorgeous when I wear that handmade ring, knowing so much love went into it.

Featured above left to right, top to bottom: kateszabone | indiaylaluna | gemmafactrix | stamp | rheta | MikeandMary

Thank you to all Etsy metal smiths that do this daily.

Treasury - bureau of labor

From top to bottom, left to right:

Large Art Card- London Eye
Redwood scarflette
Spring Snowflakes - Print
Sad Flower Girl print
Colorful Pearl Ensemble

YumYum
Cabochon
Refreshed --- Handknit Handspun Scarf
Hammered Ring Set
Eye Shadow in LUST
felt and crochet long necklace
Aqua Grape Focal Bead

Merry December All!

Inspiration - soap on etsy

Soap sellers on Etsy have to be almost one of my favorite to browse through on Etsy so I thought, why not share the joy. Here are some of my favorite soap sellers, just click on the photo to go to their Etsy shop!

Happy Selling!

Inspiration - roseyeskova.etsy.com

I have yet to purchase a piece of clothing off of Etsy, but this will (someday) be my first purchase of Etsy clothing. I am continually amazed by the clothing on Etsy, the priceless pieces of handmade clothing with their creativity that just inspires so much of our day, the jewelry we wear, how we present ourself, where we go, and who we are with. Our fashion says so much about us and this tunic even says so much about the creator. Rose is a young, start-up fashion designer currently living in Brisbane, Australia. Her current collection (including this tunic) was inspired by Early Anglo-Saxon costume 4th-7th Centuries, but has been updated with innovative techniques and contemporary designs. Rose continues to inspire my heart with this tunic and someday I will hopefully own it and then review it here, but until then, this is it.

You can find more creations by rose in her etsy shop here: http://roseyeskova.etsy.com

Inspiration - jenoaks.etsy.com

With my daily life in general there are those certain places, certain people, certain art, and certain oddities that just make me smile and take a deep breath to slow my day down. Well, this print by Jen Oaks is just one of those things. Everyone I have shown this too admits to it reminding them of someone they know, whether those people are still close friends or not so much, it still strikes that chord in them. The colors in this print were just executed so fantastically that your eyes look at both the print in general and each individual detail.

Jen Oaks is an aspiring editorial illustrator and gallery artist who likes to make things. I encourage you all to check out her shop and to remember to shop handmade: http://jenoaks.etsy.com

Treasury - daily anecdote

From top to bottom, left to right:

Fleeting Dandelion - original painting
Landscape Pendant 4 - sterling
Black Swag Earrings
Hammered Ring Set
smallest silver matrix ball necklace
The Curl Ring Sterling Silver
Atomic 27...Eye Shadow and Wet Liner
N409- Yummy Life Sized Renkon
Modern Holiday Hanky
Flora In Blue - Print 5x7
An Earthy Bowl of Gold Ring
grass mini post earrings

Happy Selling!

Review - sourkittenglass.etsy.com

Sometimes I wonder if anyone else remembers the first shop on Etsy they really truly fell in love with. I know I remember mine, it was the shop of sourkittenglass who had these amazing little 'mod glass pendants'. I knew eventually, I had to go back and get something and so I did. The dark pink glass of the pendant is cut and capped with clear glass for depth and clarity. The piece is accented with three little black dots. First the piece goes in the kiln to fully fuse it. Then the pieces are ground to achieve the shape desired, and re-fired in the kiln to fire polish it. All of her glass items are properly annealed (cooled slowly) to ensure strength and durability. Sourkittenglass now has much more of a variety in her shop including screenprints on these wonderful and colorful glass pendants!

Overall, she is a wonderful person to work with and I will work with her again soon hopefully! I highly recommend her shop to anyone who loves fun, retro, and modern pendants. You can find her shop and items here: http://sourkittenglass.etsy.com

Review - etsylabs.etsy.com

We all love Etsy and many of us have it as a full time job or dream of that. We love to spend our days chatting in the red room, looking through treasuries, or buying gifts for our loved ones. I love relisting and renewing my items just to support etsy and now have finally purchased from the Etsy Labs shop. This is such a fun way to support Etsy, not only do we feel excited about supporting them but we also get some awesome handmade goodies when we do support them!

I purchased two Etsy bandannas, one green and one blue. They were designed, cut, ripped, serged, and screen printed right in the Etsy Labs and the design is one of Anda's latest depicting her signature bird, and text which reads: "Etsy is an online marketplace for buying and selling all things handmade." The shipping was quick and I was super excited to find that not only did I get both bandannas, but I also received a few extra goodies including an Etsy sticker!

I super encourage everyone to at least buy something from the Labs, it feels great and you get some super cute ahndmade things to boot! To purchase from the Etsy Labs go here: http://etsylabs.etsy.com

Review - unconventionalida

I was running short of time trying to find the perfect gift for my boyfriends and I two year anniversary but when I came across unconventionalida's shop I knew his was it. My favorite photo of my boyfriend and I is a low quality photo from a webcam. I really was hoping that she could work with this and she did!

Shipping was well done, she shipped it priority, which was great as it arrived on our anniversary! She wrapped the wood square in tissue paper and put a little note attached with it (I attached the note to the back of the art because of how sweet it was). She also added a little writing to the back which was unplanned but made this an anniversary gift to remember, it says, "Every time people see Nicole and Erik together, they smile."

Overall, the customer service was amazing and she is just a great person to work with. Her art is just so creative and unique that every piece you own will be an asset to your home and to your heart. Thank you unconventionalida, from both of us!

For more art like the one above you may visit her shop here: http://unconventionalida.etsy.com

Review - parasolsister.etsy.com

There is a bit of a story of why I really wanted parasolsister's 'Inner Ear Pendant'. I grew up with a mother that lost her hearing at a young age, before grade school. Growing up she struggled with speech and her personality as well. Many people never understood why she spoke or acted the way she did so I always had to explain to people. It made me feel helpless when people asked in front of her as well. I am hoping this necklace shows the strength my mom has in her and also makes a statement to others. It has been a burden to grow up with a mother that was disabled but it also is part of who I am today.

Parasolsister pierces and cuts an image out of the top sheet and rivets it with tube spacers to the base with felt backing to give the negative image a color. Every piece in this pendant is handmade which is just gorgeous, I love the handmade vintagey feel of the different metals.

I 100% recommend anyone looking for a necklace, to look through her shop, which can be found here: http://parasolsister.etsy.com

Review - estasketch.etsy.com

Moving to a new apartment I had barely any art on my walls. I finally found the courage to approach a shop that I had loved since I joined, for a trade. Estasketches screen-prints are just imaginative and thought provoking. She uses soft, neutral colors with splashes of bolder colors to give it just the right pop. The silkscreen print and journal shipped quickly and arrived at my apartment safe and sound. Her print and journal were enclosed in a cellophane packaging for safe keeping. The notebook is just wonderful! I think it's a brilliant idea having different types of paper within the same, very attractive cover. The book is a really handy size (4"x 6") and contains about 20 pages. I love the idea that is is all recycled papers and scrap art pieces. The print is one print of a small series which follows a regular girl through a regular day, who just can't escape her inner desire to be somewhere else [or someone else] completely. I highly recommend checking out her shop, I'm sure you will find it lovely and addicting to look through. You can check out her shop here: http://estasketch.etsy.com

Review - dressgreen.etsy.com

I bought a set of samples from dressgreen.etsy.com to be sent as a gift. Her customer service was just fabulous! She worked with me through the convo system until I found just what I wanted and she even threw in one of the items for free. I received the items about 3 days after I ordered in a nicely wrapped box. Upon opening, I found my order (they were all in little metal canisters with stickers closing them), a business card with a note on the back, and a printed out note for first time users of 'green' products. Even without opening the products, the smell was just amazing and, for lack of better words, green. Here are a few facts about her shop and products:

• Each of her products is all natural - no chemicals or petroleum products, no parabens or formaldehyde, and no artificial flavors or fragrances.
• Everything is made in a smoke- and meat-free environment.
• Her DressGreen quest - to develop completely natural, super-effective, and safe products that provide complete user enjoyment.

Here is the list of items I ordered for the gift and prices for each item:

2oz Lime and Mint Exfoliant $3.50
1 Twinkle Toes Foot Repair $5
Green Thumb Hand Repair $5
2oz Snow Day Exfoliant $3.50
Cafe and Shea

Among the items I ordered for the gift there was a facial sugar scrub (Snow Day) which I kept for myself. It works wonderful and the smell is fresh and not over-powering(It has a nice sugary and minty scent to it but its still a soft smell). I really enjoy that dressgreen offers the sample sizes of almost all of her products in her shop. It makes it much easier than the customer having to convo every time they wanted to try a sample. This whole order cost a total of $20.25 including priority shipping. I really recommend you checking out her shop and at least ordering a sample size, I know you will be back for more. You can check out her shop here: http://dressgreen.etsy.com

Review - moop.etsy.com

I'm not usually the person to buy a purse/bag that costs much over my phone bill, but this lovely 'market bag' made by moop I just had to have! The shipping did take quite a while. I ordered on 10.01.07 and received the bag on 10.17.07. She does have a disclaimer in their shop about shipping times though, so I wasn't worried at all. The package arrived in nice packaging with handwritten addresses. Upon opening the package, the wrapping paper was screenprinted with the moop logo. I was quite impressed by the little touch of packaging, simplistic but very sophisticated. The bag was just as I expected and more, the fabric is heavy yet soft, it's made of heavyweight tan canvas and lined in a lovely light tan cotton. The inside boasts 6 useful pockets and a pair of d-rings for clipping keys. It's a great bag for carrying lots of things...books, laptops, clothes, groceries. There are no loose strings anywhere that would immediately say it was a bad manufacturing. The moop logo was again screenprinted on the inside of the purse. The bag is huge, I'm about 5' so the bag looks a bit overwhelming on me but thats how it is supposed to look. The dimensions of the bag are as follows:

12" across the top
13" deep
16" across the bottom
When holding the strap in the middle, the bag hangs about 14" down.

I don't regret this purchase at all. I use this bag for everything and even thats an understatement. If you are looking for a new bag to add to your collection I highly recommend you buy a moop purse/bag. They are worth the money, overall I paid $80.50 including some nice priority shipping. You can find this moop bag and others at her shop here: http://moop.etsy.com

Review - yummybodycandy.etsy.com

This sale started as a trade but has now ended as an addiction! I received two bars of soap and one brown sugar scrub as a trade for some shop graphics! The package arrived quickly and safely in a tan envelope. Upon opening, I found a ton of Etsy promos from other shops and even an Etsy sticker along with the two soaps and sugar scrub. I quickly ran to the bathroom to shower. Both soaps smelt just fabulous and the scrub was absolutely delicious, It didn't smell like a base that is commonly used or any product other than brown sugar! Not only do the soaps smell fabulous but they leave your skin clean and soft. Overall, her soaps and scrubs each cost $7.50 with shipping included. I really encourage you to buy at least one bar of her 'turkish mocha' soap! You can find her complete shop here: http://yummybodycandy.etsy.com

Review - sugarlips.etsy.com

I don't even know why I bought SugarLips' 'Veggie Deodorant Stick' in the first place, all I know is I did and I am now amazingly hooked! The package took quite a while to get here but it was from an understanding view, she was out of materials. When I did receive the package it was very nicely done with handwritten addresses and sealed nicely! Upon opening I found my deodorant, a sample of some wonderful menthol smelling soap, and a piece of paper saying thank you for your order and a coupon code for 10% off my next order! I will never go back to non-veggie store bought deodorant after using this. The smell (mine was apricot vanilla but she had many to choose from) was not overly strong and stayed while you went out and played volleyball or even if you sat at home. I was sick and tired of smelling like cucumber and sweat when using a store bought deodorant. Ick. Here are some facts about sugar lips and her amazingly delicious (non-edible) deodorant:

• None of these items (in any phase of their production) have been tested on animals.
• Salicylic Acid and Tea Tree Oil have also been added to help eliminate ingrown hairs.
• Made with vegetable protein that is commonly used in food and hospital facilities, this deodorant stick neutralizes the enzymes that cause odor and turns them into a simple salt. It is both aluminum and bactericide free!
• SugarLips' laboratory is located in an office building in beautiful downtown Chicago.

Over all for the deodorant I paid $10.50 including shipping. I realize that $10.50 may be much more than they want to spend to try something like deodorant. SugarLips is also now offering trial size deodorants! I really encourage all of you to at least try the sample size! You can find these deodorants and more at her shop: http://sugarlips.etsy.com/

Review - roseofsharonacres.etsy.com

Curious, I purchased a sample size of 'peppermint tooth chips' from roseofsharonacres.etsy.com on 11.06.07. They arrived by the time I got back on 11.11.07 and I grabbed the package from my mailbox and quickly rushed in to open it. The package arrived very nicely done, a stamped return address, and a handwritten address for me. Opening it there were some staples I had to get through but this was nice and safe and what I paid for shipping was spot on. Opening it, there was a business card with a handwritten note on the back, a soap sample, and the tooth chips I ordered! I was off to the bathroom to try out my new 'tooth chips'! At first I was more than excited! The directions were to place one chip onto a back molar, bite down, and start to brush with a wet brush. I found this seemed like the best way to do it too. The chips have neem in them so they are not recommended if you are pregnant or trying; it is also a flavor to get used to. I wish the peppermint was stronger but overall the product is well done and does what it says; my teeth felt nice and clean after brushing! I am still deciding if I will be getting more but they are definitely worth a try! The price is only $3.70 total and you can find them here: http://roseofsharonacres.etsy.com/