Monday, April 30, 2012

Etsy Treasury I'm Featured In

I'm featured in this Treasury!  Thank you Tatyana!
Show Tatyana some love by visiting her Etsy Shop and favoriting some of her CuTe items! http://www.etsy.com/shop/deniza17?ref=pr_shop_more


Saturday, April 28, 2012

Saturday Spotlight: Fun Storybooks



Saturday Spotlight with Fun Storybooks



Colorful illustrations and exciting stories await to delight and amuse within the pages of Fun Storybooks.  The hand illustrated stories make special gifts and keepsakes.  Please show Mary Anne some love in the comments below and visit your site. You just never know what new colorful creation will be waiting!




I asked Mary Anne some questions so we could get to know her better.  This is what she had to say.....

My Start:
Since I was a child, I loved to draw and create things. I remember using empty spools of thread, cardboard, glue and scrap materials to make doll furniture of which I was so proud. There is an artistic and creative gene on my father's side of the family, and I guess I inherited a piece of it:).  
About 10 years ago, my sister toyed with the idea of writing personalized storybooks for children. I was going to be the illustrator and insert the child's head in the story illustrations. Before it got off its feet, my sister abandoned the idea, but I decided to continue on with it myself.
I do this on a very part time basis since I spend time caring for my mom, grandchildren and volunteer work.
My daughter-in-laws have bought items on Etsy and one of them has her own shop, so that's how I learned about the Etsy site. 




I can also be found here:  
I also have a website where my storybooks can be viewed and ordered. The site is called FunStorybooks.com
My shop includes a choice of six different personalized fantasy storybooks for boys and girls, ages 4 through 8 years.



Challenges: 
The initial writing of the story and then illustrating and painting the pictures takes quite a bit of time and is therefore the most challenging part in creating my storybooks. Once that's all completed and stored in the computer, then it's much easier to insert the child's personalized info into the storyline and superimpose his/her photo into each story illustration.
My Work Environment: 
 It's usually quiet in the back bedroom of my home where I do my work on the computer, but it's next to a large window where I can frequently rest my eyes on nature's beauty. 
I don't put any drinks around the computer because I know I'll knock them over, so I usually takes breaks and walk back to the kitchen for some iced tea or diet soda.  I really like that this part time job is so relaxing :)


It would be great if you would take a few minutes and browse through  Fun Storybooks  and show Mary Anne some love by letting her know which of her books you like in the comments below. 

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Treasury I'm Featured In!

Thank you Mary Anne!!   Show Mary Anne some love by favoriting one of her awesome storybooks!  http://www.etsy.com/shop/funstorybooks?ref=pr_shop_more

Awesome Scavenger Hunt!

Who doesn't like a good scavenger hunt?   Well have I got one for you!
I joined an Etsy team called PCF "Promoting Creative Friends" and they're in the middle of an awesome giveaway!

PCF Team Spring Track Flip Flop Scavenger Hunt!  

April 23rd at 7am EST, to May 1st midnight EST  




There are 37 individual shops participating, with $800 in goodies up for grabs!

How can you resist that?

The basics are this.. go from shop to shop and find the Flip Flop pic below, then read the info and it will give you the next shop to go to (jot down the name of each shop as you go, you'll need this to send it at the end).

To gain more entries Favorite the shop and an item in each shop... purchases give you even MORE entries!
  
How's that for awesome?
Now go!  Start your hunt.

I've given you the starting point.. Here it is again..  START the PCF Team Spring Track Flip Flop Scavenger Hunt!  GO!!!!

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

I'm part of a Giveaway with fAveritte Creations!

I am so excited to be included in the "fAveritte creations appreciations 1000 Facebook fans GIVEAWAY!!!"




It's jam packed full of 16 awesome items, from 16 different Etsy Shop owners all you have to do is follow the link... read the rules (agree under them)  then look through the shops that are part of the album... when  you see one that you would like to win from simply hover over their name and "like" then like the picture and share.. don't forget to comment under the picture.. now you're entered to win the item from that shop!  It just doesn't get any easier!   


  
This is such a great way to help small shops get much needed exposure.  I'm going to be hosting a giveaway in the next week or so.  If you'd like to be updated on it just be a fan of my Facebook page and you'll get the information first hand!   


Good luck on the Giveaway!  


Don't forget to show some love for the shops involved by leaving a comment below! 

Monday, April 23, 2012

Just added.. Glass heart pendant

I just added this glass heart pendant to my Etsy Shop.  This is one of my all time favorite necklaces.


This glass heart pendant is just beautiful. I picked up several at gem and mineral show and this is the only one I have left. The colors inside are glittery gold, green and purple. It's simply stunning.

So as not to detract from the pendant I chose to hang it on a brown suede cord, which everyone just loves. I did something unusual for the closure, but people seem to love that too.


Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Vintage Bottle Caps Remind Me of Summer as a Child

Yay!  My shipment of vintage bottle caps arrived today ... yippee skippee!!   Okay, so I'm sure you can tell I'm just a little excited.  I love getting new materials and jumping into making something new. So the first thing I whip up are some earrings.  Next I'm going to make up some keychains (the hubs' idea)  and some necklaces. =o)   The one thing I can't get over is how much I am craving a Nehi... Peach or Strawberry.. doesn't matter which... I'll take both!  Oh and the Welch's Sparkling Grape Soda... *sigh* ...  They all remind me of warm summer days, running around barefoot ! Which is what we did as kids in Oklahoma... as a matter of fact I overheard some women referring to a study about being healthier when you "connect" with the earth... read; going barefoot! Hmm...  anyway will save that for another time.  So what do you think of my earrings?  Aren't they just the cutest?  I like 'em!

   



One of my hand drawn Mother's Day Card

Friday, April 20, 2012

Dinner Tonight.... Homemade Pasta Primavera

I wasn't sure what I wanted to make for dinner tonight... thought about spaghetti, but talk about blah... so I perused the freezer and cupboards and in addition to the spaghetti, and canned sauce (both bought for $1 at the store last week), I came up with a bag of Normandy blend vegetables that need to be used in the freezer and a pound of lean ground beef.  Pasta Primavera came to mind, actually started sounding really good the more I thought about it.

Canned spaghetti sauce always seems so sparse to me, tasting like nothing but glorified tomato sauce,  so I "beefed it up" by added a can of WELL drained and re-chopped collard greens.  The only taste it added was a rich flavor and great color too! I also added three garlic cloves (chopped), paprika, basil and a dash of cinnamon... {my mother in law always adds sugar to her sauce - think it's a "Northern" thing - well I don't like sweet spaghetti sauce so I thought the cinnamon would give a hint of sweetness without actually making it too sweet.  I was right! It's awesome.

Okay so here's how I made it... 

Start pot of water for the pasta first and foremost...  

Then start on the sauce.... 
3 cloves of garlic (peeled and chopped)  add to pan with a small amount of olive oil
then add the pound of lean ground beef, brown 

1 can of collard greens (drained well -I mean squeeze the liquid out!) then chop and mix into ground beef in pan.

Add spaghetti sauce + 1 can of tomato sauce (or diced tomatoes or another can of sauce or whatever you have on hand)

When water starts boiling add in the frozen veggies (yes I use the water for double duty) once the water starts boiling again add in pasta (you can also take the veggies out before adding the pasta if you'd like, if you do just use a slotted spoon or strainer scoop and add to sauce)

When pasta is al dente drain into colander; with veggies if they are still in the water.

Serve and enjoy!   

This is a super cheap meal that covers all of your bases.

I did manage to snag a pic when I dished up the hubs' dinner, but it's on his phone and he's left for work, so I will add it tomorrow. =o)




Money Saving Subscriptions in my Etsy Shop

I'm offering several different money saving subscriptions on my Etsy shop.  Below are just a few. They make great gifts for yourself and that hard to buy for person in your life.