Friday 30 July 2010

Friday Fancies - Sunshine :)

Ahh..Summer! Gardens growing, birds singing, and SUNSHINE!! My favorite part of Summer is to be outside in the beautiful sunshine. Here are a few pieces from fabulous Etsy sellers that remind me of sunshine, enjoy!!

xo Nickole


Wednesday 28 July 2010

Treasury Challenge - "Weather"

Happy Wednesday, Team!

It's time for this month's Treasury Challenge.

Here's how it works:
Once a month, we team administrators will choose a theme to base an Etsy Treasury on.
Once we announce the theme, we encourage team members to create a Treasury on Etsy.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

If you've never created a Treasury before, it's not too complicated
and is a really fun process!

1. Search for items you love. Add them to your favorites.

2. Click on "Treasury" on the lower left side of Etsy's home page.

3. Then click on "Create a Treasury List" in the upper right hand corner.

4. Once there, a blank template will pop up where you can enter Listing URLs . . . these can be either the address or the listing number {this works best when you have 2 internet tabs pulled up, so you can copy from your favorites in one tab and paste them into your treasury in the other tab}

5. Don't forget to give your Treasury a title and SAVE it!

6. {optional} Convo the sellers whose items you have featured to let them know they've been featured in a Treasury . . . don't forget to include a link to the Treasury

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Okay, so, the next part of the challenge is easy . . .

Come on back to the team blog and post your link so we can all see
your treasury, and leave comments! :)

This month's Treasury Challenge theme is:

Weather

Select items to feature in your Treasury this month using "weather" as your theme.

It's as easy as that!!

For this month's theme, I've created this treasury:


Here's a sneaky wee peek.....

Monday 26 July 2010

Positive Quote




The path to joy:

Do more than belong . . .  participate 
Do more than care . . .  help 
Do more than believe . . .  practice 
Do more than be fair . . .  be kind 
Do more than forgive . . .  forget 
Do more than dream . . .  work

Having joy and becoming our best selves requires not only desire, but ACTION as well. It requires us to go that extra step, beyond what might be comfortable for us!

{Lovely photo, don't you think?! Such a simple, poignant word. It's as if mother nature spelled it herself!}

Fondly, Kate

A "heads up" for this month's treasury challenge!

The theme this month is "weather".

I'll be posting my treasury on Wednesday, and it would be lovely to have some links to your own ones on the same theme....hint hint.

Friday 23 July 2010

Friday's Fancies {Take Me to the Carnival}


This time of year always makes me eager for the Carnival. That colorful, jubilant event filled with cotton candy on a stick & candied apples, exotic animals, thrilling rides, and of course, the big top.

Hope you enjoy these lovely carnival-inspired items from talented Etsians!
  

{clockwise from top left}

The vibrant colors and whimsical feel of this "Fly High" photo print from Integrity Studio {bucks county frames} conjure imaginations of whipping freely through the breeze. Please check out all of Carl Christensen's Carnival and Fair photos, which are all equally as lovely!
*
Every Carnival needs a clown, and what could be sweeter than this tiny cherub-faced one? This vintage-inspired Clown Costume from Dahlhart Lane reminds me of years-gone-by. Plus, there's no chance this will leave you with scary images of painted-faced jesters! 
*
What's a carnival without Fresh Roasted Peanuts??? Please don't try to eat these ones though! They're made of soap! Perfect for washing all the cotton candy off your fingers after the Carnival! Fresh Roasted Peanut Soap from LoveLee Soaps
*
You must have tickets to ride the ferris wheel! I just Love that Ruth Mikos has created this Jubilee Ride Ticket wooden bracelet with a vintage Ticket image! If I wore this to the Carnival, do you think they'd let me ride for free?


Mmmmmm . . .  now I'm hungry for elephant ears!

Happy Carnival season!

Fondly, Kate

Tuesday 20 July 2010

Positivity Team Member Features

Birthdays have always been the most celebrated day of the year in my family. Growing up, I always new it was a day of your favorite foods and CAKE! :) It was always a day that just made you feel special!

This week is a big birthday week in our family; my Aunt's birthday was Monday, my Hubby's was Tuesday, and I share a birthday today with my late Great-Grandmother. So, in honor of all the birthdays in my family and yours here are great items for a 'birthday themed' treasury all with items made by our AWESOME Positivity Team members!

Enjoy! xo Nickole

Vintage Happy Birthday Gift Tag by BenandJess
Birthday Cupcake Pendant by wickedlymodpendants
Antique Collectible Vintage Postcards by spankyluvsvintage
Party Flash Poloroid Camera by valnorthwoods

Monday 19 July 2010

Positive quote - learn, live and hope

Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.



Albert Einstein
 
What could be more hopeful than a new life?
 
 
Kitten and feather photograph by SharonMontrose

Friday 16 July 2010

If you don't have a blog, you can still join in!

Did you know that you can contribute to the Friday's Fancies feature, even if you don't have a blog?

The principle is basically the same, you just need to put the "collection" you've assembled somewhere online where we can all look at it.

The ideal location is a photo sharing site, such as Flickr. I've tested this tonight and am delighted that it works perfectly. It's quick and easy to do. I presume that all photo sharing sites will work, although Flickr is the only one I've tested.
  1. Create your mosaic using this magic wee programme (http://bighugelabs.com/mosaic.php) and save it to your hard drive.
  2. Open your Flickr account (or whatever photo sharing site you prefer) and upload your saved file onto your "page" there.
  3. Add details to the text box, such as what items you've chosen and the name of the shops they're from - and save.
  4. All you then have to do is add a link to that particular "photo" in your collection to the list shown on the team blog........et voila!
I really hope that this will encourage some without blogs to participate in this, as it's a lot of fun looking at other people's collections!

Friday's Fancies - Dresses

Seeing as I've spent the last few days sewing toiles for bridesmaid dresses.......take a look at these lovelies!


7 ways to wear dress by Lirola

fiji dress by modaspia

purple cotton quilted dress from outofline

fringe dress by MyLolaFashion

I absolutely love them all!

Have you done a Friday's Fancies treasury? Add a link to your
appropriate blog page below and let us all take a peek!

We really want our team members to have fun with this feature and do
their own ones, and to be able to tell us all about it.



However, PLEASE don't add unrelated links.


Use of this box for anything other than links to your own Friday's Fancies blog posts means that we will delete the entire section. Unfortunately we cannot isolate rogue posts so will have to delete every link.

Lotsalove
Lois
x


Tuesday 13 July 2010

Monthly Team Contest for July!




As the winner of the first Etsy Positivity team monthly challenge “FLOWER”,

with her entry “Fabric Ball Flower” ,

Sheshanna from Piece Unique has had the task of picking this month’s new challenge !



Get your brains thinking and your little hands working...

Create beautiful objects on a very in-season theme:


“THE ESSENCE OF A HAPPY SUMMER”


Think about anything that makes summer a really special time for you and your loved ones. Make something beautiful that really means holidays, heat, resting, relaxing...



This must be an item that you have created specifically for the Contest.

List your item on Etsy and leave a comment on this post with the link to your creation.

Photos of your listings will be added to this post as they are received.

All entries to be received by the 4th August when Sheshanna will pick her favourite.

The winner will be announced here on August 5th.

The winner will then choose the theme for the next month



***picture above by BOMOBOB***

Click here to see Sheshanna's original posting on her blog!


Here are the entries: {drumroll please!!!}









Rhapsody in Blue/ Reclaimed Recycled Necklace by Spankyluvsvintage




*
Treasures from the Sea Pearls Nestled in a Shell Necklace by Rose Petals Jewelry


*
Summer's Essence {delphie earrings} and {cottage by the sea muslin pouch} by Kate's Cottage








Monday 12 July 2010

Positivity Quote Monday

Read, every day, something no one else is reading. Think, every day, something no one else is thinking. Do, every day, something no one else would be silly enough to do. It is bad for the mind to continually be part of unanimity. ~Christopher Morley

I found this quote and fell in love! I think it is so important to not follow the crowd and to be an individual--our creativity makes us who we are!! Have a great day and don't forget to do something no one else is silly enough to do :)

Friday 9 July 2010

Friday Fancies - Good Books

I LOVE reading! I am usually an avid reader in the mystery genre, but these precious books and journals caught my eye! :)

This week's Friday Fancies is all about books and journals found by typing 'books' into the Etsy search engine. What will you find?!Retro Girl Vintage Journal by VintageScraps

HandMade Vintage Journal - Things To Make by itsalljustmenagerie

Hand Bond Journal/Sketchbook - Alice and Rose
by undercoverst

Vintage Children's Book - Mother Goose 1905 Edition by AtomicMob

Team Contest . . . And the Winner is . . .

We've had SO MANY absolutely GORGEOUS, BEAUTIFUL, UNIQUE submissions from 10 of our FANTASTIC members!!!

We administrators have had more than a difficult time choosing ONLY one winner for this contest as each entry has conveyed the monthly theme of FLOWERS so beautifully!!!

What an absolutely wonderful, POSITIVE garden we have created! 

{All members who have submitted or even thought of submitting should be patting themselves on the back right now!}

We have, however, HAD to choose a winner, as we promised to do so at the beginning of this contest, and so . . . 

The winner is . . . 



Congratulations, Sheshanna from Piece Unique!

Sheshanna will have a few days to come up with July's Contest Theme, which will be posted next Wednesday, July 14th . . . she will also be the judge for the Contest. :)

Come back next Wednesday to find out what the theme will be, and ready to start creating!

You can also check in the monthly forum thread on Etsy for updates:


Have a lovely evening and start getting ready for the Friday's Fancies tomorrow!

Wednesday 7 July 2010

Meet the member - ElectricPenguin

Please introduce yourself. Who are you, where do you live?

Pam Hurst Hill, and I live in the western suburbs of Philadelphia PA
How would you describe your work / style?

Eclectic and natural. I'm not a sparkly kind of girl!! I try to create things that are not the same old, same old. Like this piece:

Who, or what, inspires you?

New beads will do it for me every time!! Also nature, other sellers, magazines, or a really cool beer label like in these:

What made you decide to start selling your work?

I had created more items than I could ever wear in many years! Everyone told me I should try selling the designs, so I did.

Do you have a website or blog address?

Not yet!

How did you learn your craft? How long have you been creating?

I started the way many people have – no one sold what I wanted to wear! I’ve always been the crafty type, as in I can paint/modify/improve that. Drives my family crazy!! So when the necklace I was looking for didn’t exist, I headed off to the craft store, bought the supplies and made it myself. One necklace led to two, then some simple earrings, stretchy bracelets, how-to websites, jewelry design books, etc., etc., etc. I've been on Etsy about 9 months now with 108 sales to date!

Is there any other craft skill you would like to learn?

Photography! I'm a wanna-be photographer, without a good camera or much training.

Anything exciting planned that you’d like to share?

I have some new pieces coming out that use Krobo beads and recycled glass beads from Ghana. I love them! These two are listed so far:


Have you had any work featured in magazines/books/galleries?

No, but that's a dream of mine.

Has your work won any prizes/competitions?

No here too.

If I wasn’t doing this, I’d be………

Crazy from no expression of my creativity? Or out in my garden, singing and moving plants around. Maybe that is crazy.

Describe your perfect day.

Hmmmm... I have two! At home, it would be not going to my day job, sleeping in, then waking up to several sales. Then I'd pack the sales up, create some new pieces, walk the dogs, garden, and spend time with my husband. The other perfect day would be sitting on the beach in Jamaica, reading a book.

Describe your proudest moment.

I'd have to say that would be marrying my husband. We'd dated years ago in college but broke up after graduation because we were too young and stupid to keep it going. We stayed in touch over the years as friends, even marrying other people. Our marriages broke up about the same time, and not long after that things between us changed. We've been married almost 4 years now!

What do you do to relax?

Garden, create, walk, listen to music

What animal would you like to be, and why?

A dog - so I can sleep all day, wander around the yard, bark at a few squirrels, get belly rubs, and generally have no cares in the world.

What’s your weakness?

I'm way too nice and believe everyone else is just like me!


Monday 5 July 2010

Positive Quote


"Each mighty oak began as a tiny acorn"

It begins tiny, but an oak tree, through harsh weather, drought, and wind, along with quenching water, warm sun, and rich soil, becomes something strong, beautiful and valuable. 

Such is life for each of us! We may start small {in more ways than one}, but with proper nourishment, both physically and emotionally; as well as a fair share of adversity, we become strong, beautiful and valuable to many. :)

Friday 2 July 2010

Friday's Fancies - Love All

Even though there's a soccer World Cup going on, there's something even
more important happening here in the UK (for tennis fans, at least).

So, we're in the throes of Wimbledon mania here in the UK.  We have
a Scottish player doing quite well (Andy Murray fever is reaching new
heights, even as I write) and it's all about centre court, the game and, of
course, the strawberries!


Stitch markers by fripperiesnbibelots

Soft stuffed strawberries by aebaby

Wimbledon earbud cosy from WonkyGiraffe

Tennis love zippered pouch by rachelwhelton

Have you done a Friday's Fancies treasury? Add a link to your
appropriate blog page below and let us all take a peek!

We really want our team members to have fun with this feature and do
their own ones, and to be able to tell us all about it.




PLEASE don't add unrelated links.
Use of this box for anything other than links to your own Friday's Fancies blog posts means that we will delete the entire section. Unfortunately we cannot isolate rogue posts so will have to delete every link.

Lotsalove

Lois
x

Thursday 1 July 2010

Anyone Interested?



Happy July, Team!

At the end of August, we're planning a week-long Positivity Team giveaway. If anyone is interesting in participating in this {willing to donate an item to give away}, will you please convo me through Etsy at: http://www.katesCottage2.etsy.com

Thanks!

Fondly, Kate