scrooge is taking the plunge...

Ok, so you may have seen this on some other blogs, but Shutterfly is doing an amazing promo for bloggers! Blog about their wonderful Christmas cards and get 50 cards for free! So by doing this publicly on my blog, I am taking the plunge and I'm going to send out Christmas cards. At least 50 of them. Wish me luck! hahaha.

So, Shutterfly has over 800 different templates to choose from for your Christmas cards, and they are all awesome! I had a hard time picking my favorite, so I picked a few:

[click picture for link]
wouldn't this look all cute, like a christmas present? of my face? love it

this looks expensive. and fancy. it might be a little too classy for us, but i might try it out! we shall see...

i think this one might be my favorite, because it's cute and youthful. like us, right? haha

so what do you think? which one is your favorite? click here to see all of them. i love shutterfly, they are awesome and they have so many options it's insane. if we ever have a baby, or if any of my friends have a baby, i will be searching through these birth announcements. making birthday invitations? they've got awesome templates for those too. and of course, holiday cards. other cool things shutterfly can do? photobooks! we did one of these from our wedding and i love it. we got a few of them and gave them to our parents as a present. i mean, what's better than showing off your attractive children with a book you put on your coffee table for bragging rights!? am i right or am i right?!

anyways, i am so excited to get these lovely christmas cards. maybe if i like you, you'll be getting one in the mail. actually, i only get 50 so we'll have to see who makes the cut ;) haha. are you a blogger? check out this offer here!! now go forth and be merry, by sending the best christmas cards around!! you want your card to make the fridge cut, right? then check these out, stat!!

Yarnell Emporium

Here are some of our adventures at Yarnell Emporium in Yarnell, AZ. If you are ever in Arizona you NEED to check this place out!!!!

giant chaise out front

cactus bench. there were matching chairs.

aluminum flowers. now this looks like a garden i could upkeep! haha

dinosaur!! i love dinosaurs ♥

ha ha ha. we're antiques ;P

bamboo pots. they start decomposing in 2 years. isnt that awesome??

aww. it's jay-z!

i wish i had this set up in my bathroom! josh was looking through my pictures and goes, "eww, you took pictures in the bathroom!?" i was like...so...? haha

ha ha ha ♥

cat clock. we got this one. isn't it awesome? haha

skinny chicken. now it's in my kitchen!

dinosaur clock. we almost got this one, but decided on the cat

cuuuute

succulent bouquets. they even felt like succulents, even though they were plastic. this is for you, melissa!

owl clock. for all you owl lovers out there!!

fish clock! i love the bright colors

kitty! and lots of other amazing clocks around it

fat chicken. now in my kitchen!!

pair of chickens i wanted. i sort of have a thing for chickens, in case you didn't pick up on that...

they had flowers and different plants that light up. these are ours, we need to buy a proper vase though, but i wanted to show you how cool they are

This shop was seriously amazing. It's a lovely mix of new and old (antiques), and one of the highlights of the shop was all the clocks. There were all kinds of clocks, it was incredible. I've shown all my favorites above, but they had so many that there were new ones in every direction you looked. I absolutely fell in love with this shop, and we probably spent a little too much money... But as Josh said, we will be going back in the future and hopefully by then it will have been long enough that we'll forget how much we spent this past time... haha. And really--if you are ever anywhere in Arizona you NEED to go to this store!!


*All photos are taken by me, with permission by store owners. If you want to use any, please ask me first. Thanks!

BESTeam feature: Too much of a good thing

this weeks BESTeam feature is on Leyla of Too Much of a Good Thing. in case you forgot, BESTeam is an etsy team i'm on and we do posts on each other once a week. this lovely lady featured our shop last week, which you can see here. Leyla makes handmade greeting cards, and some crocheted goodies including headbands (smart lady), dishcloths, and beanies for her store. she blogs about her fun life living in oregon with her husband, and her outlook is funny and fresh. definitely a fun girl. read her interview:

What's your favorite color?
Red and green, but not together :)

[click pictures to view listings]

What inspires you?
Lots of things. Pretty pictures. Tutorials. Paper. Yarn. Browsing blogs and craft supplies.


What do you love most about what you do?
I love the finished product. The fact that you start with a pile of paper, glue, paint, fabric and a hot glue gun and come up with something unique is so much fun. And I love it when people like what I make…it’s silly but I get so excited when someone likes what I make enough to actually buy it. It’s not about the money, just the fact that people really like what little ol’ me makes :)


Is Etsy part-time, full-time, or hobby for you?
It's a hobby.


What are your top favorite blogs or websites?
Too many!


What are your current projects?
I'm a little schizophrenic right now. I have a stack of composition notebooks to be altered. I'm making flower hair pins and brooches with satin and beads. I recently debuted a new line of headbands decorated with crocheted flowers. All over the map but all so much fun! :)


How did you get started w/your Etsy shop (what made you open it)?
I've been making cards forever and my friends were always encouraging me to take them around to little shops in town to see if they would carry the cards. I was too chicken for that so when I found Etsy, I opened a shop right away. Since then, my husband has become the world's best salesman, stopping at little farm shops and boutiques and asking if they would be interested. My cards are in four stores in Salem right now and I would really love to branch out, considering I do much better in brick-and-mortar stores than online. Right now I'm working on figuring out how to display my headbands so I can try to find a place for those.

we wish you the best of luck!
where to find Too Much of a Good Thing:
etsy
blog
facebook

BESTeam feature: Love Elycia

so as you may know by now, i am part of an etsy team called BESTeam (boosting etsy sales team). each week we do a feature on another member, and this week i got to feature elycia of Love Elycia! this girl is super cute and has awesome style (i love her hair!). her blog is always full of pretty things, and her cats get some good air time on her blog as well (which jay-z loves). here is her interview:

What's your favorite color?
it changes all the time...right now, turquoise.

[click pictures to view listings]

What inspires you?
sunny days, pretty photos, my cats, ivan, reading, thrifting. I get inspired by a lot of things. i love feeling that wave of inspiration when i can't wait to start working on something.


What do you love most about what you do?
i love it when i think of new ideas. it is so fun to be excited about something. I also love doing craft shows. I really enjoy interacting with people who like my little creations. it is very satisfying.


Is Etsy part-time, full-time, or hobby for you? How do you balance it with everything else?
currently etsy is part-time. i would love love love to make creating my full time job and i have a lot of ideas and goals that will hopefully help me get there.


What are your top favorite blogs or websites?
i have too many! visit my blog and look along the left side bar to see some of my favourites :)


What are your current projects?
currently i'm working on some halloween projects! i'm so excited!


How did you get started w/your Etsy shop (what made you open it)?
I originally started my etsy selling purses. I made one for myself and everyone loved it so i started making them for friends and eventually etsy. i closed up shop for a while and i eventually re-opened because i had made myself too many headbands! i thought it would be fun to share them with other people. i have recently added a vintage section because i am a life long thrifting addict.

where to find ♥ elycia:
ETSY
BLOG
FACEBOOK
TWITTER

BESTeam feature: cadiwompus

this weeks BESTeam feature is on the store cadiwompus. she is thirteen years old. whoa!! and here she is on etsy doing her thing! she makes adorable tanks, original drawings/paintings/collages, plushies, and cute accessories. take a look at her cute stuff, and have fun reading her interview answers:

What's your favorite color?
All colors are my favorite! Lol!

[click pictures to go to listings]

What inspires you?
A lot of things inspire me, some examples are: all things vintage or retro, animals, photography, makeup, old books, magazines, fashion, and lots more!


What do you love most about what you do?
I love to make things over the top and creative! I also love to hear what people think about my work!


Is Etsy part-time, full-time, or hobby for you? How do you balance it with everything else?
Oh, gosh! Since school started its hard to do Etsy with all the algebra HW and other stuff! Lol! I try to to Etsy on weekends, or on days where homework is light!:) I would say Etsy is a part time job/hobby for me!:)


What are your top favorite blogs or websites?
Well, I love my moms blog, www.yellikelli.blogspot.com, I really like shabbyblogs.com, and freeprettythingsforyou.com. I also like my grandmother's Etsy shop, www.sheerfab.etsy.com, because I have modeled some of her outfits for her!:)


What are your current projects?
My main projects I have been working on are what ever is due tomorrow at school!:) I also am always working on cute graphics for my blog!:)


How did you get started w/your Etsy shop (what made you open it)?
My mom found Etsy and was really interested in it, so I asked her if I could open a shop if she opened one, and she said sure! She won't let me have a facebook but she lets me have an Etsy shop and a blog!:)

well, dear, we are glad your mom is looking out for you! now go check her out asap!

BESTeam feature: Alexander's Design

this weeks BESTeam feature is on Alexander's Designs. this glamorous etsy store is a husband and wife team who make all sorts of beautiful jewelry. incredibly unique and bold, you seriously need to check out their store. i don't even need to say more because the pictures and interview will speak for themselves:

What's your favorite color?

Purple

"ugly glass"--isnt this awesome?
[click on pictures to go to their listings]

What inspires you?

colors, nature, my dreams

What do you love most about what you do?

the freedom of being my own boss and seeing people wearing my pieces

Is Etsy part-time, full-time, or hobby for you? How do you balance it with everything else?

I would say etsy is part time, if you are talking sales wise. It is hard to balance it with life and craft shows, but it is something I set time aside for every day. I try to not let it interfere with family time, so you hardly ever see me online in the evenings.

What are your top favorite blogs or websites?

etsy of course, then I like to google trends, so I can try to keep up to date (like: http://daily.stylebakery.com/)

What are your current projects?

Getting ready for a huge festival that draws in over 250,000 people in our area. So we are working on lots of ugly glass and some new beaded pieces as well.

How did you get started w/your Etsy shop (what made you open it)?

I lost my job and was forced to do something. I did craft shows and that was it, so I wanted something for my pieces while they were just sitting in the bags. And I opened my second shop to help get rid of some destash supplies I had.

Alexander's Design has been generous enough to offer 20% off to my readers!! just convo her first and she will adjust her listing price for you!

where to find Alexander's Design:

ETSY
WEBSITE

BLOG
FACEBOOK

BESTeam feature: Fish Princess Designs

This weeks BESTeam feature is on Fish Princess Designs. Isn't that a cool name? It makes me think of those japanese fish...koi? I think thats how you spell it. Anyways, she has a nice shop that matches her name very well. It is full of creations inspired by and built with elements of the ocean. It makes me miss Maine. I loved walking the beaches searching for sea glass and other treasures. Felicia has some very pretty pieces, please look through her store and read her interview questions!

What's your favorite color?
I love the colors of water-anything from soft gentle blues and aquas to dark greens and the colors of sandy beaches.

[click pictures to view their listings]

What inspires you?
I draw my inspiration from what surrounds me. When I sometimes can't quite get a color combination right, it helps to take a walk outside. Mother Nature does really amazing things with her color palette.


What do you love most about what you do?
I like that creating jewelry gives me an outlet for my emotional expression, as my moods and interests change, so do my designs.


Is Etsy part-time, full-time, or hobby for you? How do you balance it with everything else?
Etsy is the most full time part time venture I've ever tried. To really be successful at Etsy take a real time commitment. I have a full time job outside Etsy, and I'm involved with many other things,so I don't spend as much time as I would like to with my Etsy shop. I try to balance it out and set aside about an hour each morning to check my shop, then I try to not peak at it too many times a day! On the weekends I spend a little more time. I always have to juggle my Etsy time with "home" time, it can really get away from you very quickly!


What are your top favorite blogs or websites?
One of my favorite blogs is Greenpix. I have learned so much about photography from this site. I think it should be mandatory reading! It is so well written, and in a language that us "non-photographers" can understand. If you want to improve your skills or learn some new tips, I would definitely check it out!
For just a bit of fun, take a look at: For Love Or Funny. Everyday life, just funny!


What are your current projects?
Right now-I'm actually on vacation-trying not to work!


How did you get started w/your Etsy shop (what made you open it)?
A friend recommended Etsy to me, she found it and thought it would be a great place for me. I really have to thank her, it really made me think professionally about what I'm doing, not just as a hobbyist.


where to find Fish Princess Designs
ETSY
BLOG
TWITTER
FLICKR
FACEBOOK*

*Keep checking her facebook page for upcoming giveaways and promotions!