Pay it Forward

Welcome to Monday, and items from some of our very talented team members.

In order to qualify for this feature, you must conform to the following criteria:

1 - be a member of the Positivity Team on Etsy

2 - contribute to the current monthly team discussion at least once

3 - comply with the team ethos of supporting and promoting each other.

Items for this feature will be chosen from those who comply with these requirements.

 Butterfly mosaic from valnorthwoods

Butterfly hair clips in silk, from katesCottage2 

  

Lilou coat from Pieceunique

Fabric bunting by simplewhimsey

 Photographic print by TheEarthAndStars

and finally, a little love from newly engaged Claire, of MissWrightDesigns

Autumn Beauties

After the break we've had, it's time to revive the team blog again, so lets meet some of our newest members and take a quick peek at their work, shall we?

Autumn is a time of slowing down, a time for preparing for the coming winter. Stores of food and fuel are built up, warm clothing and blankets are taken out of storage and lightweight summer items are packed away.

I've selected items from some of the most recent members of the Positivity Team members on Etsy that reflect the time of year. Which is your favourite?

Mushroom ring from FlowerLand85

Shoulder bag from Lintschi

Bracelet from BlessedRepublic

Leaves photographic print by Neus

Abstract painting by JennaMichellePink

Cassia and Clove soap by BeautifulBodies

Welcome to the Positivity Team, everyone!

Monday Positivity Quote!

"Live one day at a time and make it a masterpiece." Dalai Lama 

'Bloom' Original Watercolour by so very happy art

A to Zen of life:

A-avoid negative sources, people, places, and habits

B-believe in yourself

C-consider things from every angle

D-don't give up and don't give in

E-everything you're looking for lies behind the mask you wear

F-family and friends are hidden treasures, seek them and enjoy their riches

G-give more than you plan to

H-hang on to your dreams

I-if opportunity doesn't knock, build a door

J-judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it

K-keep trying no matter how hard it seems

L-love yourself

M-make it happen

N-never lie, steal, or cheat

O-open your arms to change but don't let go of your values

P-practice makes perfect

Q-quality not quantity in anything you do

R-remember that silence is sometimes the best answer

S-stop procrastinating

T-take control of your own destiny

U-understand yourself in order to understand others

V-visualise it

W-when you loose, don't loose the lesson

X-cellence in all your lessons

Y- you are unique nothing can replace you

Z-zero in on your target and go for it

~I love this, SO relevant for those of us who have Etsy shops too, and who question ourselves and what we create from time to time!! :)

with love,

Naomi

Positivity Team Treasury

Here's another amazing collection of goodies from fellow positivity team members!

 

Enjoy!

Hospitality House Earrings by coppersonja

Romantic decorated wooden spools and old cloths pins by tinybeardk

Familiar Road - 5x7 Print by linzyarnott

Textured tree soap dish by Emburr

Welcome to our newest Team Leader!!

As of today, the lovely Naomi of Historika has joined the

leadership team. We're all looking forward to working with 

her over the next months, and will be asking her to tell us 

more about herself soon.

Sharing our blessings.

Unless we make Christmas an occasion 

to share our blessings, all the snow in 

Alaska won't make it 'white'."

Bing Crosby 

  

In no particular order........ 

I'm grateful to have a home to live in.

 Felted brick house tote bag by taffyknits

I'm grateful to have music in my life.

Peace and love guitar pick pendant by susanwilliamsdesigns

I'm thankful to have my friends and family.

Family fine art photograph by briefmoments

I'm grateful to be free to have dreams and ambitions.

Dream catcher hair sticks by Karilan

I am thankful for laughter.

Laughter and joy journal by thisisit

As Bing says, how about we share our blessings and truly appreciate our 

lives, instead of getting caught up in the commercialisation of this season.

Irrespective of faith or beliefs, this is surely the true joy of December.

Merry Christmas everyone.

With much love from Lois, Nickole and Kate

xxx

Friday's Fancies

Just a teeny bit early, as I don't think I'll have time to do it tomorrow. I'm going to the funeral of a close friend's father just before lunch, and in order to get there by bus and be sure I'll make it in time, I need to leave the village at 9.30am then have to wait in town for another bus to the venue. It's unlikely I'll remember to do this tomorrow!

Sometimes a label merely describes the item it's stuck to. Sometimes the label informs you of how the item is to be used. Or perhaps the label is all about status, making the garment or accessory more desirable than something without the label.

All of these labels are functional, imparting information and providing a service (although you could argue that the last ones are decorative only but I like them).
 

Gift tags from thequeenofcups

French apothecary jar from TheShabbyChicCottage

DIY sign kit from ourhobbytoyourhome

Merci ornaments from FrenchAffairs

Meet the Member - Kristen from Simplewhimsey

Please introduce yourself. Who are you, where do you live?
I wear many hats. First I'm a mom of two great boys, 13 and 10, and a wife to a wonderfully crazy guy. Those three guys keep me very busy between baseball games, boy scouts, play dates and homework. I'm a city girl living in the country. I grew up in one of the best cities in the world, (ok I'm a little bias) San Francisco. Now we live in a historic gold rush town in the Sierra Foothills of California. Both two incredible places to live. I went from living around the corner from 3 different types of restaurants to living in the forest raising chickens and trying to keep the bears away. Never a dull moment.

How would you describe your work / style?
I would describe my work as happy, fun and whimsical.

Who, or what, inspires you?
Color, color, color. My favorite part of making my banners is picking the fabric. Sometimes a fabric will just catch my eye and that will inspire me. It's probably why my fabric is billowing off my shelves. Fabric is very addicting.
I also love simple designs and clean lines.

What made you decide to start selling your work?
I was laid off, and my friends encouraged me to use my creative juices and make something to sell.

Do you have a website or blog address?
No just my etsy shop: www.simplewhimsey.etsy.com
and my facebook fan page http://www.facebook.simplewhimsey/

How did you learn your craft? How long have you been creating?
I've been creating and crafty forever. but I have been really sewing for about 9 years.

My sisters all were sewing by the time they were teenagers but I didn't have any interest. My oldest sister is an amazing seamstress and has worked for companies we all know (don't know if we can mention names) and has even taught pattern making. Anyway she was down visiting me, brought her old sewing machine from the sixties, and said I'm teaching how to sew we are going to make a pillow. We made a couple pillows and that was that. When my husbands sister was pregnant a few years later I saw an adorable quilt but thought it was crazy expensive and thought "I can make that" So I dusted off that sewing machine and have made about 10 quilts since then. I love making the banners because they are fun and festive and you can re-use them year after year. They are soooo much nicer than the plastic ones too. Just added the hats to match the banners. Ohh and I think the are so dang cute! Wish I made these when my guys were younger! Don't think I'd have much luck getting my teenager to wear this at his next party but he did try it on for me! I did say I have great kids huh!

Is there any other craft skill you would like to learn?
I've always wanted to try mosaic making. I've even started keeping my plates and bowls that break. One of these days.


Anything exciting planned that you’d like to share?
I'm looking forward to the change of the seasons. I love the fall colors here in the Sierra Mountains. I'm also looking forward to some eggs from our chickens! Got our first one this week! So exciting!! Hey it's the little things in life I enjoy.

Have you had any work featured in magazines/books/galleries?
Not yet, maybe one day...

Has your work won any prizes/competitions?
No, I've never entered my work in anything

If I wasn’t doing this, I’d be………
Who knows....

Describe your perfect day.
Good cup of coffee, some fresh fruit with a crepe (that I don't have to prepare or clean up). Then relaxing on a sunny beach with friends and family. A massage, then ending the day with a fantastic meal with friends and family and maybe even a little dancing.

Describe your proudest moment.
Ok this is such a mom moment. Reading never came easy for either one of my guys and I will never forget the first time they sat down and kept reading a book after their minimum time was up. It was awesome! My youngest said, “ I want to stop reading but I need to find out what is going to happen so I have to keep reading!”

What do you do to relax?
Hot bath with candles.

What animal would you like to be, and why?
I love dolphins they always seem happy and look like they are having so much fun!

What’s your weakness?
Organization, Chocolate and kittens. not necessarily that order. Ha ha

Friday's Fancies - relaxing evening (oops - a day late!)

At the end of a hard week, all we want to do is relax,

and here's the perfect Relaxing Kit to get your evening started.

Light this vanilla and lavender soy candle, made by BazilEssentials, to add a soothing aroma to your room, before relaxing those tired muscles and aching feet with this pretty hot and cold therapy pack by theferriswheels. Once these have begun to work their magic, wrap yourself up cosy in this stunning green wool tunic from sandmaiden before indulging in some delicious cinnamon and strawberry cookies courtesy of saoirseangel.

A good book, a comfy sofa (feet up, of course!) and a purring cat,

and that's the the perfect end to the week all sorted!

Ahhhhhhh.................

xx

Apologies for the delay - I had this all written on Thursday ready to post quickly on Friday....and I forgot to. I was out all day at an exhibition and then in the evening we went to a slide show and presentation by Chris Bonnington, one of the first team of climbers to successfully scale Everest by the South West face. Alas, in all that excitement I totally forgot my obligation. Oops........

Friday's Fancies - feeling fruity!

Peaches and apricots are piled high at the greengrocers, glowing like little candles. The sweet scent of baskets of ripe strawberries wafts over the market. A lusciously ripe mango, dripping with juice, fills the air with sweetness. Heady, claret coloured raspberries glow like stained glass, while currant bushes are swathed and garnished with tiny red and black jewels that hang in heavy clusters to the ground.

Start the day with delicious strawberry-jam-and-sweet-vanilla-cream soap from solsticescents.

That's the outfit chosen. Now the accessories...hmmm. How about this? fruit-tart pendant from PetitPlat?

Now for a bit of crafting and I've got just the wool to work with. This yummy looking fruit-cup merino/tussah silk blend from CorgiHillFarm is just what I want! 

A new piece of inspirational photography for my mood wall - luscious cherry photograph  from sixthandmain will add a splash of colour to my day.

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.

Meet the Member - SoleDeVita

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

Hi, there! My name is Solvita and I am 27 years young! I live in a small town called Valmiera in the North of Latvia. I am married almost 3 years now. My husband is Jānis, who works in Theater as a sound operator. I am a warehouse manager at small Optical company. I spend my working days at the computer so in the evenings I want to do something creative. :))

How would you describe your work / style?

Hmmm.. Since I remember my self, I've always created something. Greeting cards, button necklaces, earrings, picture collages and so on... Now I am grown up and I wanted to do something different. I started to make colorful Pin-back buttons for young Ladies. I wanted to do something different an NOT to make those buttons with "funny jokes". So I found my stile. I use natural feathers, gorgeous colorful paper from Thailand, real gold and silver foil and Beautiful dried flowers from Latvian meadows. I describe my style as a quite unique and one of a kind.

Who, or what, inspires you?

I love nature and it is the greatest inspiration of all. I spent lots of time with my Mother and she is also mad nature lover. Very often we go for long walks through the woods and we collect the flowers, which finds its place in my buttons.

What made you decide to start selling your work?

I just wanted to share my creations with other people. And if I can earn a little money with this... So why not?

Do you have a website or blog address?

http://twitter.com/SoleDeVita
http://soledevita.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/SoleDeVita?ref=profile

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

I learned it on my own, without any assistance. Well, maybe with a little help from Internet. ;) I create my buttons already half a year.

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

I would like to learn making stained glass. It is Amazing art.

Anything exciting planned that you’d like to share?

This month is my Moms 50 years B-day! I am planing a nice surprise party by the sea! Shhhhh... Don't tell anyone! :))

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

Unfortunately, no. But I hope to..

Has your work won any prizes/competitions?

I am doing my thing only a half of year. And I do have a long way to go to become recognizable and to win something.

If I wasn’t doing this, I’d be………

making something different. Maybe Floristic.

Describe your perfect day.

It certainly is sunny Saturday. Leisurely morning with a cup of coffee in hand.

Describe your proudest moment.

This interview is also a proud moment for me. I am proud when someone gets my Badges, and is happy with them.

What do you do to relax?

I drive my bicycle, I sleep a lot, and I go out with my friends to have some sushi!

What animal would you like to be, and why?

I would be a cat. They are so fantastic animals. Fun, proud and independent.

What’s your weakness?

Chocolate cake and champagne. This is all that is necessary for full happiness. :))

This is me and my Mom. :)

Meet the Member - Bluepumpkincorsetry

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


My name is Eleanor and I live in Nottinghamshire, England, UK. It is quite an old city known best for Robin Hood, Lace and Hosiery and has some wonderful architecture, including of course the castle itself built upon secret caves.

How would you describe your work / style?

My work is very much me. Plain and simple. Usually the more elaborate the piece is the more custom it is. I prefer using blocks of colour mixed up with fine prints, laces, textured fabrics etc. Corsetry has been a part of my life for the best part of 5 years now and I’d like to think my style has developed to a sturdy, high quality level. I enjoy nothing more than to sit down and create something that wasn’t at all planned. I find my best work is when that happens. The Fuchsia corset is a prime example of that.

Who, or what, inspires you?

I’m inspired by little things, like when I find a remnant of gorgeous fabric or a ribbon or lace. I love to go for long walks around my favourite places, Hardwick being on of them, and seeing the dragonflies and flowers and trees. I find it incredibly therapeutic and relaxing and that’s generally when I get inspired. Whenever I’m confined to the house for any reason I go insane and cannot sew to save my life. Sometimes watching an old movie will inspire me, I love costume dramas like Dr. Quinn and the Elizabeth films. I love costume.

What made you decide to start selling your work?


I wasn’t really ever planning to. One day I was asked to make a couple of corsets and I was offered a lot of money and I had to declare it to HMRC, so I figured I’d carry on for as long as I could. I love sewing and I feel honoured that people pay me to do what I love, but it is not anywhere near a big enough income to support me. That’s why I also work full time in retail.

Do you have a website or blog address?

I have a livejournal that gets updated from time to time.


8bluepumpkin8.livejournal.com

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


I am self taught. I went to college for two years to study pattern production and fashion/textile design but my tutors refused to spend the time teaching me about corsets, so I was told to go out there and do it on my own. So I did. My first dozen corsets were such a huge mess, even though they were well received by some folks in the industry at the time, my recent work is definitely the best. I have been making corsets for 5 years now, I have been sewing for 7.

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

There is so much I would love to do. Cold Process soap making absolutely fascinates me but I just don’t have the time or patience to try it. I bought all the stuff though! Lol! I’m hoping to get round to it some day. I can knit and I’d love to learn to crochet. I’d also love to learn how to make Jam. But for now I’ll just stick to sewing.


Anything exciting planned that you’d like to share?

I’m currently planning on opening a couple more shops before the end of the year. But it really does depend on time constraints, I’m also planning to re-hash BluePumpkinCorsetry and take less custom orders on as I have been promoted in my day-job and cannot dedicate enough time to custom orders.


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


Not that I know of, sadly.

Has your work won any prizes/competitions?


I’ve never entered my work into any competitions. I don’t really look into it although I would consider it should the right sort of competition come up. My work has featured in a few small fashion shows which was exciting.


If I wasn’t doing this, I’d be………

Not myself at all. I’d probably just be doing my day job and I’d be thoroughly depressed. My boyfriend likes to comment that I’m only half of myself when I’m not sewing.


Describe your perfect day.


Up at 6am, sewing by 7am, sunshine all day long, finish at 7pm, eat and spend time with my family.


Describe your proudest moment.

I have quite a few proud moments, and not all of them include sewing achievements. For example… I drove a car today for the first time ever… on a road… with other cars… I’m so proud I didn’t kill anyone!


What do you do to relax?


I enjoy reading and sleeping. If I’m really stressed I will meditate or count to ten whilst tapping my chest. I also enjoy drinking tea and coffee and love to just spend a moment relaxing with a cuppa in the sunshine.

What animal would you like to be, and why?

I’d love to be a sloth. I seriously love to sleep.


What’s your weakness?


My time management has always been a weakness, and junk food of course. I have always struggled with time management ever since I was at college. But I always manage to meet deadlines somehow.

Positive Quote

"Man is fond of counting his troubles, but he does not count his joys. If he counted them up as he ought to, he would see that every lot has enough happiness provided for it." ~ Fyodor Dostoevsky

We too often think of all the negative and wrong doings in our life. We all have so many reasons to be happy! Life doesn't always follow plan, but all it takes to brighten those troubles is to look at all the positive and happy joys that surround you!

What are the joys in your life?

Positive Quote

Just a bit of sunshine to brighten your day!

{emerging by EmeliaJane on Etsy}

“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

When I saw this beautiful and hopeful print on Etsy, I knew it must be posted on the Positivity Team blog with this WONDERFUL quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson!

No matter what we might have faced or what we might face, the power is within us to rise above and push through, positive and hopeful, and make something beautiful of something challenging!

Think of the tiny seedling. It may face freezing temperatures, bitter winds, less than ideal planting conditions, pounding rain, blazing sun. Yet still, it pushes through the soil, rearing it's verdant green head!

Remember what lies within you!

The Positivity Team - Forum Thread for May

Happy Saturday from the Positivity Team!

We just posted the first Forum Thread for May! Here's the link:
http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?page=1&thread_id=6509190

All are welcome to come on in and contribute some positivity in the thread! It is a place to get to know one another, share positivity, encourage one another and promote each other’s shops and listings!

For all new members

In order to have you properly logged as a member through the Etsy admin system, could you all please convo either Bluebelldesign or Katescottage2 with your Etsy shop name, your email address and the name you use on Google blogspot.

Many thanks

Welcome to the Positivity Team!!

Welcome to the Positivity Team on Etsy! We’re looking forward to the positive energy you will bring to the Team!

The Positivity Team has a monthly thread in the Teams Topic in the Etsy forums. We encourage team members to post regularly. In the monthly thread, we get to know one another, share positivity, encourage one another and promote each other’s shops and listings. Even when you’re feeling a bit blue, pop on into the forum and find tons of positivity to cheer you up and get re-energized!

We encourage all members to join the Positivity Team blog. This is where we will feature members and their shops, run contests, and promote each other and positivity in general.

Please begin tagging your shop items with “positivity team”. This is VERY IMPORTANT as it helps us find one another, promote one another, and create treasuries featuring each others’ items.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact any of the Positivity Team administrators: Lois from bluebelldesign, Kate from katescottage2, Val from Valnorthwoods or Nickole from HardLoveApparel

We’re glad to have you on board!