Hello all my lovelies! I hope you're all having a wonderful Sunday night. I for one just want to go to bed. BUT since it's the last day of January, and I have yet to write my EtsyBloggers blog feature (I am SO behind this month!) I'm not yet going to bed. Which is probably a good idea, since it's not even 6pm.

So, I'd like everyone to meet Erika!!



Erika runs NicoDesigns on Etsy and has been a member since December 2008. Erika sews for sanity due to all the years being a Behaviour Specialist and Special Education Teacher! She makes darling dolls, adorable pin cushions, fashionable diaper bags and wonderful totes!



At Nico Designs, every product is created with design, style and functionality in mind! They strive to make products that are eco-friendly by utilizing a combination of new, repurposed, recycled or upcycled materials.




You can find Erika's wonderful blog at DesignsByNico and fan her fabulous Facebook FanPage!



With every purchase, Nico Designs donates a portion to her local Ronald McDonald house, and to the MD Anderson Cancer Hospital in Houston in memory of Chloe. Chloe, the daughter of Erika's close neighbours, died at the age of 7 due to cancer.


I hope everyone enjoyed seeing all the amazing products by NicoDesigns! Congrats Erika for being EtsyBloggers January Feature!

Good morning all my lovelies!! I hope everyone is having a fantastic Wednesday! I for one am *trying* to get in a better mood, it's been an extremely taxing few days. Life is getting in the way of my crafting. *sigh*. So, in order to really cheer myself up, I've decided to do a bit of a feature! There are so many talented and friendly people who are currently joined up on MyCraftCorner, and I can't resist showing you all the amazing works of my fellow MCCers. I'll be doing quite a few of these posts (our community is growing every day!) so be sure to follow "ze blog" to keep up to date on all this talent :) And just as a reminder, all pics are linked to their listings!

Faux + Flowers = Flauxers! (Pronounced Flowers)

I'm sure you've all heard me talk about Tanya before, she's been an Esty friend of mine for quite a while, and I've previously done a full feature on her shop! She recently decided to join up on MCC to see what the heck I was raving about all the time, and already has her MCC page fully gussied up!

Tanya currently resides in State College PA, and her niche is creating amazing works with artificial flowers, but she also dabbles in knitting, crochet and jewellery making. She has an official Flauxers Website, an Etsy Shop, and an ArtFire shop where she sells all of her fun creations - flower jewellery, headbands, magnets, and my new personal fave - ornaments! 


Currently you'll find a 2009 YEAR END SALE!!! Just enter 'YearEndSale' in the message to seller, and you'll receive a 25% refund via Paypal! Plus, as an added bonus, this sale coincides with Flauxers December Monthly Blooms. Are you wondering what Monthly Blooms are!? Every month, Tanya chooses a certain flower theme, and marks those items down by 10%. This month's 'Blooms' are on all items containing Poinsettias or Holly! To keep track of all the great things Tanya is up to, sales she's having, or even just to read up on her regular 'Friday Flower Facts', make sure to follow Tanya's Blog.
 

Where else can you find Tanya? Lots of places!
Flauxers on MCC
Flauxers on Facebook
Flauxers on Twitter



Theresa has been such a joy to know! I met her when I joined up on MCC and she was one of my first friends. Since then I've been a regular follower of Theresa's Blog and Facebook, and even won her November Chill Giveaway! Yesterday I received my prize, wonderful fingerless mitts, a pendant with matching earrings, and she even added in a cute Christmas canvas bag and a werthers original candy - my fave! :)


Theresa resides in Meriden CT, and is a creator of many things - from jewellery to knitted pretties - you're sure to find something you love at her Etsy Shop! Beyond what she sells, she also enjoys candle making, drawing, decorative painting, gourd-art, papercrafts and photography.

Her current sales include: FREE SHIPPING through Friday December 18th, plus, she's having a Buy one get one 50% off on all her individually sold jewellery pieces! Just enter the code BOGO50 in message to seller.



Where else can you find Faerie Moon??

FaerieMoon on MCC
FaerieMoon on Facebook
FaerieMoon on Twitter


Maile is another new friend of mine whom I met on MCC! She currently resides in Manchester NH, and is a creator of gorgeous painted works! Along with making dull things pretty, she also creates beautiful jewellery pieces and fun ornaments! Make sure to check out HeavenlyHomes on MCC, as she has pictures up of a handpainted fan that I'm absolutely in love with.


Along with her many talents, Maile also enjoys fabric-art, knitting, metal-crafts, mosaics, polymer clay, scrapbooking, sewing and woodworking! She has a wide range of various craft types on her Etsy Shop, you're sure to find something that you'll love to see in your home! 


Where else can you find HeavenlyHomes?
HeavenlyHomes on MCC
HeavenlyHomes Blog
HeavenlyHomes on Twitter


Urska is one of the sweetest people I've ever met! We actually first met in the forums of Etsy, and I noticed that she's from Ljubljana, Slovenia! My family's homeland!! We started convo'ing back and forth and a friendship sprouted! I'm sure to make a trip out to meet her when I go visit my parents in Vienna :)
 

Urska just recently joined up on MCC, and she makes incredibly gorgeous jewellery! She mixes an elegant choice of beads with her handmade polymer creations to make these one of a kind pieces absolutely beautiful! Definitely check out her Etsy Shop to see her incredible talent!



Where else can you find Urska?
Urssika on MCC
Urssika on Facebook


I discovered BriAnna one day while searching through our many wonderful and talented MCC members, and fell in love with her creations! I was also quite excited to see that she resides in Nova Scotia, my dad's homeland!! Bri does absolutely wonderful work in turning driftwood into jewellery holders - I had my eye on one, and whilst I was checking my Paypal balance to see if I could swing it, someone else bought it! You gotta be quick! I can just imagine one of these "DriftyGems" on my wall here in the craft room. I'll just have to imagine one there for awhile until I can afford it :)
 

Along with turning driftwood into art, Bri also enjoys drawing, jewellery making, metal-crafts, scrapbooking, and obviously woodworking!
 

Definitely take a moment to check out Bri:
BriCheese on MCC
BriCheese on Etsy


Veronika is a brand spanking new member on MCC! I fell in love with her shop - not only is everything Organic, she's eco-conscious and honest! As she states in her Etsy Shop announcement "Herbolution is not only a personal care product manufacturer but also pursues a mission to educate average consumer about healthy body, healthy communities and healthy Planet. We try to recall ancient knowledge and co-build sustainable future."


Plus, her product pictures are fabulous!!

Veronika resides in Harrison NJ, and also enjoys candle making, papercrafts and sewing! Be sure to visit Herbolution on Etsy for amazing organic products for your whole family!



Where else can you find Herbolution?
Herbolution on MCC
Herbolution on Facebook
Herbolution on Twitter

Alright kids, I hope you enjoyed my features today! We have so many talented folks over on MCC; I could go on and on! But don't worry, I'll be back on a regular basis to introduce all my lovelies to this wonderful community!

And if you happen to already be part of this community could you do me a favour and join my new group, Canucks?! Lol.. I have 2 fabulous members already, but I'd love to see many more! You don't have to be Canadian to join! As I say in the description:

"Being Canadians and selling online in U.S. based venues, we often find hurdles that are sometimes difficult to overcome! This group is a place to discuss and help eachother out, and it's not only for those living in the North! Everyone is welcome!"

Plus I have up 3 great discussions that I'd love some feedback on:
Shipping to and from Canada
Supplies
Humour, Humor? Favorite, Favourite? Tagging away your items!

And on a side note regarding the tagging - I'd like to add that all MCCers are welcome to tag their etsy, (or artfire, or 1000markets, what have you) items with MCC! Let's support our community, and find eachother so much easier on our selling venues. A few of our members on etsy have already started tagging with MCC, so go ahead and type in MCC in the search bar, and find some amazing crafts :)



Have a happy Wednesday! :)

Good Monday morning everyone! I must say, I had a veeerry interesting weekend hehe. I won't discuss it as of yet, because the "drama" may continue. I'm just laughing my butt off at it all really, because who exactly has this much time set aside for drama!!??


I for one don't have time for drama, because it's time for me to write my EtsyBloggers Feature this month on CalKat! CalKat is a shop run by 2 young women, Carrie and Kathy. And we're in for a treat, because they don't just have one shop! These 2 are quite ambitious and have a grand total of 4!! So sit back and relax this wonderful Monday morning, and feast your eyes on the incredible talents of Carrie and Kathy! All pictures are linked directly to their listings!


Carrie and Kathy currently reside in Las Vegas, NV, and have been making and designing OOAK pieces of jewellery for over 5 years. They both love making beautiful things that are shiny and complimentary! They use only quality sterling silver, gemstones, and Swarovski crystals in their designs. Each piece is handmade with love and extreme care! So check out their jewellery designs at CalKat!


Their second shop, Ametista's, is filled with ultra cute MonsterBoxes, bookmarks, bottles and polymer clay! They both share a passion for creating custom keepsakes - they love to discuss ideas with their customers, and just run with them! (Sometimes with scissors!) So for anything cute, and sometimes creepy-cute, head on over to Ametistas!!


Have you ever wanted to make your own clay creations?! Well, with the help of Carrie and Kathy you can! Their 3rd shop, TheClayShoppe, you can find all your supplies! There are loads of molds to choose from at very affordable prices, tools, clay, and tons of inks and pigments to gussy up your own creations! And as an added bonus, they're currently offering FREE WORLDWIDE SHIPPING now through New Year's Eve!



Do you Yoga? Love fairies? I know I do, and in Carrie and Kathy's 4th shop, that's exactly what you'll find! So check out these fairies doing all those poses you either love or hate at YogaFairies. And again, FREE Worldwide shipping now through New Year's Eve!

I hope you all enjoyed what you see, and make sure you check out each shop to see all the wonderful items I didn't have room to put pics of on ze blog! :) If you'd like to keep up to date on what these 2 are creating next, visit and follow their blog: CalKat The Jewelry Junkie.

I'll be making just a short little post here! So much to do today! So I apologize to all of you hoping for my rants.. I don't have time to make them hehe...

Which brings me to a question for all of you lovely readers! Fellow MyCraftCorner members along with myself, were discussing what makes a great blog. And one of those members, JennieWaterous, said that a very reputable blogging website said that blog posts should be kept short and sweet to keep the attention of the reader. With so many people in the world having busy schedules, multi-tasking and of course having ADHD, if they're more than a few paragraphs, people lose interest and move on.

Then I gasped! Even my short blogs aren't that short! LOL... So my dear readers, do I cut down on the ranting? Should I break those gigantic blogs up so that I'm writing a few a day, or spreading it out throughout the week? DO I write blogs that are much too long?!

I realize my middle name is Tangent, so I automatically have issues with short blog posts (I used to say my middle name was Procrastination, but it was too long for my birth certificate, so my Mom just put "Anne" instead - but lately I've been getting better with the procrastination! Well.. Maybe I just got sick of rushing all the time! I've been doing it all my life, so that I only had 2 speeds, lazing around and feverishly finishing a project. I used to say in highschool that it works much better for me and I'm beginning to really realize how much I freakin' tangent.)

Maybe that's what I got to stop doing!

But isn't that fun!? I thought it was fun! hehe

So please dear readers, I ask you all. Keep 'em long and crazy, or cut 'em down and keep the eccentric kerfuffle to a minimum? Or should I desperately try for a happy medium?! And while I'm at it, is there something I can do to make this blog more interesting for you all?

It's such a hard thing really, keeping your blog interesting, because so many interests vary. Some people say "I hate it when business blogs blog about their dogs! It's a business blog, keep it business!" and others say "I hate it when business blogs don't blog about personal things! Like, let me know a bit about you, do you have a dog?!" Well I definitely have a dog. And his poo makes me wanna wretch!


But yes, busy busy day today! I've been working on getting to know all of you wonderful people who signed up for My Craft Corner, reconnecting with members that have been on for awhile, joining up with more groups, and chatting up a storm! On the non business side, I'm cleaning, organizing all the freakin' Christmas presents, trying to make my own cards to send out, organize my craft room because it's driving me crazy and working on the presents I'm making for some fam! And I already feel like I wanna pass out!

Just for a heads up - I will be taking a one week hiatus from the features this week! I know, I'm horrible! I love to bring you more features and meeting all these great people! BUT I'm still celebrating. And I will still be featuring this week, yet it will be on members of MCC! I'm going to introduce all of you to a crafting extravaganza if you will, a whole lot of artists whose works I love and I want to share :) PLUS I want to rework my feature questions, I'm getting kinda bored typing the same ones over twice a week. Once I'm back on track, I'll let you all know!

Oh, and I also wanna change my whole blog appearance yet again. Why do I keep adding more projects onto my already hectic schedule?! Thank God I don't have a day job to get in my way :)

Okay, so, this to me is short. But it's still too long isn't it?!!? LOL

Have a great day everyone!!

Good Morning everyone!! This months featured Etsian for the EtsyBloggers is TheFabMissB!! So sit back and relax, take in all the wonderful information and eye candy, and click away at the pics as they're all linked to their listings!

Now, it's a little more difficult doing a feature when you don't get to ask questions! hehe. But I've taken as much pertinent information from her shops profiles and blog to let you know a bit more about TheFabMissB!!

TheFabMissB aka Becky Kazana has 2 Etsy shops which are both filled with amazing products! The name "Kazana" was actually adopted by Becky and her husband as their last name whilst travelling through Africa. It's a Swahili word that means "to make a home", and they fell in love with this philosophy. To them, home is not a physical place but rather their life together.  Becky and her husband love to travel and in the past 3 years have travelled through Africa, Europe, China and all over the U.S. They recently moved to The Big Island in Hawaii where they enjoy endless summers, which were denied to them growing up in Minnesota!

Other than crafting, painting and travelling, Becky is also a writer, loves to bake, read and ransack thrift stores!

TheFabMissB shop carries unique vintage items, cross stitch ornaments, framed inspirational posters and much more! Here are a few items from her shop that I absolutely love! Pictures are linked directly to their listings:



BeckyKazana shop carries everything from prints of her watercolour paintings, greeting cards and other paper crafts, as well as pipe cleaner creations and ornaments! Here are a few items I can't resist! These pictures are also linked to their listings:


Becky has quite a few promotional venues that you definitely need to check out, I personally love her blog as it's filled with the inspiration she finds around her every day!

Blog: thefabmissb.blogspot.com
Web page: beckykazana.com
Flickr: flickr.com/photos/thefabmissb
Facebook: facebook.com/people/Becky-Larson/1047722678
Twitter: twitter.com/BeckyKazana

Have a great Thursday everyone, and I hope everyone enjoyed my first EtsyBlogger feature on TheFabMissB!

Yes, that is entirely my fault lol. I keep forgetting what day it is. So therefore, I'm not giving my features enough time to fill out the questionnaire! And since I *just* realized it was Friday about 10 minutes ago, I really don't think I'll find someone to answer the questions fast enough!

So what shall I talk about today??



First off, I haven't had much time to do the "Wednesday How-to"'s but that's probably obvious! I'm working on another card "Deck the Halls", I had to do a magazine spread (Funnily enough it was a how-to) for a brand new magazine launching this December for young girls (when I have more info, I'll post you all links to their online site!) I had to do a short little photoshoot, AND I'm desperately trying to make christmas presents! Being as I'm so incredibly poor lol, I'm trying my darndest to make some really great gifts for the fam this year. I won't divulge any info because well, then they'll read about it and know!

Oh and here's something I completely forgot to mention! Oy. I was supposed to write another blog about these like, LAST WEEK! Oh wait, make that 2 weeks ago! What the crap is the date today? Anyways,  I was featured on 2 blogs!!! Firstly, my duster mitts were featured on TKDesigns4U Blog. I highly suggest checking out this blog, She's not only incredibly talented herself (check out her Etsy Shop!!), but she finds amazing products to feature on a regular basis, and she must have great taste, because I love all of it! (HA I bet you all were thinking I was gonna say "She has great taste, because she picked something of mine"!!)

Secondly, my Giveaway for 10 Christmas Cards was featured on the blog The Naughty Penguin. I am in love with this blog! I met Jennie on MyCraftCorner, and she had started the Creative Bloggers Group. She's also an amazing artisan who does a lot of graphic design - so anything you need for your twitter, blogs, etsy, head on over to Jennie's site and check it out. The Naughty Penguin has tons of info on just about everything. Jennie also just recently launched her "The Naughty Penguin" Facebook Fan page!



What else what else.. OH! Okay, so I've always stood by my view of Craftgawker being the snobs of the crafting world lol. Bitter much? Yes, 3 of my fave photos were not accepted, and I was feeling dejected. Plus, I never got that many views with the one that was accepted, so hey, I don't see them as that big a deal. There's been a lot of talk lately on some different views about Craftgawker, and I figured, what the hell, I'll give it another shot. So I submitted 2 photos and guess what? They were BOTH accepted! Whaaaa? I was shocked. I still haven't gotten any views from them, but hey. Atleast my work is out there. So I can't complain about that!

You can view my submissions that made it: Clematis, Daisy and Poppy.

In yet some more news (Y'know, maybe it would be a good idea to actually blog a little more often! Hmm... There's a thought!) One of my photos has been proudly displayed at a busy local restaurant along with my business cards! The owner absolutely LOVED it, woohoo! Here's to hoping for some local sales!


Okay, one more thing... I met Aik when she entered my last giveaway, and I love her blog - she always has something great going on, has fabulous book reviews and hosts tons of giveaways! I highly suggest you head on over and check out her blog Friends and Family. This morning I awoke to find a wonderful email from Aik, saying that I was chosen for an award!!! That's so sweet! So here's the award I got..


And now, I need to pass it on to 15 other Lovely Bloggers! Here are the rules if you are chosen :)

I am SO bad at giving notice for a feature!! lol. Pretty much everyone I've asked to be a feature receives an email that always starts the same way "I know this is short notice, but!" So just so everyone knows, I may not have a feature ready for Tuesday! But I'll make sure *something* is written in there! (Maybe i'll do a feature on MYSELF! *snort*)



I don't have too much news at the moment. I was working on a "how-to" this weekend, but not for my blog this Wednesday! But don't worry, I'll have something better than 'How God made Boys' like I did last Wednesday! Actually, the how-to will *possibly* be featured in a new magazine coming out this December! I don't want to say for sure, because you never know. I have horrible luck. So no details yet! But it's very exciting!!




And has EVERYONE ENTERED MY GIVEAWAY?!!??! C'mon people, humour me here! lol. I've hardly had anyone comment and enter!! I've been promoting it like crazy! I think people have put me on "mute"!!




In other news, my puppy puked 7 times this morning.

I'm so excited that it's finally sunny and it's actually quite warm! I wish it was like this all winter. Funny how that works. I usually loved winter, but as my mom told me, I'd change my mind when I get older... And yes, it's happened. I guess I just don't have that tolerance for extreme cold anymore. It's no longer fun for my nose hairs to freeze as I walk out the door. And at my age, it's no longer acceptable to have soaked pants up to the knees, static-y haired hat head and snot running down your face.Oh, and having that ... smell. Do you remember that smell? When you were a kid and you'd be outside for hours in the snow, and when you came in and started to melt and dry, there was that.. smell? Does anyone else know what I'm talking about? 'Cause I for one really don't *enjoy* that particular smell anymore lol.

Okay that was off topic. I was going to talk about how excited I was that it was sunny so I can actually take some pics for the how-to. Yeesh. (and I really wish I'd stop accidentally typing "hot-to" or "hoe-to" because those don't show up as a mistake in spell check and I really don't want to write that!)
Well, i'm off to make more things for the not-hot-or-hoe "How-to".

Have a great day everyone!!!