Fun Giveaway

You have till Thanksgiving till enter this fun giveaway on the right sponsered by 30 Etsy sellers.
So this means there are 30 winners. Have a look through the list of lovely items

If you buy from one of the sponsers you have 15 extra entries

What Can Be Made With Buttons?

There is a shop on etsy that creates awesome handmade buttons, each button is unique and made with love. Please check out buttonalia, there is a choice of red swirly buttons, sand and sea, fun little buttons to name a few

buttonalia says "I'm a New Zealand trained ceramicist with my specialty being sculpture, glazes and glaze techniques. I am now working from my small studio in Kent, England. Each button is hand crafted by me and many of the glazes are my own. Because these buttons have been glazed front and back and fired to a high temperature, they are non porous, durable and will never lose the brilliance of the colours. Do enjoy them, as I have in making them.

Here are some of buttonalias creations

Here are a selection of items made using these fun buttons. Buttons are not just for fastening your cardigan you know!

An Aviator Bomber Hat by melaniegansion

Flower Bookmark by DorsetHillBeads

Fun Wine Bottle Decoration by ArtByAna

And I made some fun cupcake pincushions

Buttonalia made a fun treasury featuring some fun items made using her fab buttons

FREEDOM

A selection of my birdcage necklaces. Some of them have the bird trapped inside the cage, some have regained freedom

These are fun to make and fun to wear. Something a bit different

My Newest Items - Something Different

Thought i'd make something different to the felt food and ended up making some hanging ornaments and magnets. So far the toadstool, cupcake and bird, hopefully this week an acorn and owl. Owls seem to be very popular at the moment.

I've also been busy with cupcakes and muffins and am hoping to make a batch of six muffins this week. When i was little my mum used to make awesome fairy/butterfly cakes and i managed to make a set out of felt. I'm quite pleased with the outcome. Here is a recipie for the real thing, plus a photo of my felt creation.

Ingredients

4oz soft margarine

4oz caster sugar

2 egs

4oz self-raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

Icing
6oz butter

12oz icing sugar, sifted

Pre-heat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6. Get about 18 paper cases ready.
Measure all the ingredients into a large bowl and beat well for 2-3minutes until the mixture is well blended. Half fill the paper cases with mixture.

Bake for about 15-20 minutes until the cakes are well risen and golden brown. Allow to cool.
For the icing beat the butter until it is soft, add the Icing sugar and mix until smooth.
Cut a slice from the top of each cake and cut this slice n half. Pipe a swirl of butter cream into the centre of each cake and place the half slices into the butter cream at a fairy like wings.

New Items - Pies and Cheesecakes

I've been making some new items and came up with slices of pie and cheesecake. Hopefully very soon i'll be making a whole pie, cheesecake and cake. I may start with a whole chocolate cake, who doesn't like chocolate cake?

They look quite yummy and when i've finished i have to raid the kitchen for something to eat. I particularly like cheesecake, luckily i didn't have any in the freezer.

When I tell my poor husband what i've made that day he looks hopeful then soon realises he can't actually eat them

Beautiful Hummingbird Treasury

The Beautiful Hummingbird

Morning Glory
dkjart$18.00 USD

SALE - Sweet Nectar
raquelcastillo$130.00 USD

Hummingbird No. 2 - fine
NatureMandalas$25.00 USD

Laptop Sleeve 13 inch Cas
bertiescloset$22.99 USD

Shadow in Autumn Pillow a
bonjourteaspoon$75.00 USD

Large Round Hummingbird B
uniquebuttons$7.00 USD

A Hummingbird's Fligh
Marolsha$22.00 USD

Art Print . Hummingbird A
DevineDesignStud$10.00 USD

Hummingbird Scrabble Tile
bluefingerstudio$6.95 USD

Heavenly Hummer 5 - 8x10
CactusHuggers$30.00 USD

Colorful Set Hummingbird
DolphinMoonCreat$30.00 USD

SALE Mustard Hummingbird
joom$29.00 USD

FRAMED PRINT--- Mix And M
MatchBlox$28.00 USD

HUMMINGBIRD FEEDER, Fused
GloriousGlassGar$34.00 USD

Hummingbird Flight - arti
Emilynn$35.00 USD

Vinyl Wall Sticker Decal
urbanwalls$119.00 USD

Generated using Treasure Trove by packagery.com

Preview

4GetMeNotTreasures On Etsy

Time to feature our second mother hen from the daily listing club. 4GetMeNotTreasures has a shop full of wonderful treasures from vintage jewelry, and vintage home goods to handmade diorama eggs There are also a selection of fun salt and pepper sets, collectible spoons and stamps. Its fun to see what new item will be listed each day. 4GetMeNotTreasures keeps the listing club ticking along nicely and we would be quite lost without her and mystuff2.

We live in a time when people just can't be bothered and just throw stuff away. I love to think that the items i've lovingly collected over the years would be respectfully and carefully found a new home as 4GetMeNotTreasures is doing with her mothers and Great Aunts items.

Heres what 4GetmeNotTreasures says about why she opened her etsy shop

"A bit about me…. I’m the mom of 3 kids – all grown now. My two sons still live here at home, my daughter is out on her own – and just gave us our first grandchild back in Dec. '09 (we’re so excited still!!). We have the wonderful pleasure of babysitting for him every weekday - and we're loving every (well - ok - almost every) minute. I live on Long Island, NY with my husband, two sons, a menagerie of dogs & cats…..and school of goldfish & a turtle. We are heavily involved in Boy Scouting. LOL – believe it or not it’s very important that this is known since there are weekends on end that we are out running events for hundreds of Scouts and I will be unavailable to check the shop until late Sunday night or early Monday morning. (Fall & Spring are our 2 heaviest seasons in Scouting.) Needless to say – it’s a busy – and cluttered household in more ways than one! :)

I’ve always loved collecting things. I’ve been collecting ever since I can remember – and the older I get, the worse the compulsion is. It’s in the genes. My Grandmother & Grand Aunt were both “antiquers” – well…..my aunt collected just about anything. And…my Mom collected anything AND everything & this apple did not fall far from that tree!

Like many people it’s time for me to begin to pass on some of my – and my family’s – treasures. In a few years I plan on moving to my mom’s old place…a house which is considerably smaller than my own & packed with just as much stuff (if not more). No matter how much I have tried to ignore the obvious, I now have to face the reality. My packed house and her packed house are impossible to combine (that is if I want to be able to actually live in the house :) )!!

Add to the collecting bug that I am an extreme sentimentalist – or as some would say – a pack rat. I save just about everything! I love junk…it almost always turns out to be quite the treasure (at least in my eyes). In my spare time (what little I have) I like to craft (usually using some “junk”), cross stitch & garden (where you’ll see more “junk”).

Mom and I loved to shop flea markets, second-hand stores, antique stores, garage sales and – auctions (you’ve got the idea!). She had so many plans for us and our collecting frenzies but unfortunately passed on before we could see any of it come to fruition together.

4Get-Me-Not Treasures is in a sense, a tribute to mom. Her favorite flower, combined with the promise that I will forget-her¬-not – nor the promises, dreams, and times we shared. She and I can still work together side-by-side while in different worlds. What more could anyone ask for?"

Here are some of my favourite items from 4GetmeNotTreasures shop

mystuff2 On Etsy

I thought i'd feature one of the mother hens who help keep The Daily Listing Club on etsy run smoothly. Mystuff2 takes wonderful photos and creates them into inspiring bookmarks, greeting cards, prints and mini thank you cards

Here's what mystuff2 says has inspired her to create..

"I used to say I was going to learn to watercolor "when I grow up" because I love the medium and have collected prints and cards for years, but sadly, I'm fully grown now (and then some!) and I don't think it's meant to be. So I continue to admire the artistry of others while I focus on photography.

I've been fortunate enough to be able to travel, which provides me with lots of subjects, and to train with award-winning photographers in several states, which has brought me different perspectives and skill sets. I've found that a glance at a photo can take me away to a special time or place, and it's my hope that some of these photos can do that for you, too.

While obviously these photos can be printed in any dimension, my current focus is on bookmarks. As an avid reader, I always have a few books I'm reading at any given time, plus cookbooks and reference books that need markers as well. After misplacing one too many dental appointment reminder postcards used to mark a page and then forgotten, I've found that seeing a favorite photo when I return to my reading puts me in the right frame of mind and brings a bit of beauty to an ordinary day.

I hope you'll find that some of my images speak to you, and I would love for you to tell me if they do - especially if you decide not to buy. If you'd like to own one or more, I would be most honored to know that my photo will be brightening your day, and thank you for the opportunity to share that with you"

Mystuff2 has a wonderful selection of fun, beautiful and inspiring items in her etsy shop and i hope you'll stop by her shop and have a look. Here are a few of my favourites

New banners and lots to make

I'm trying to revamp both my etsy shops but its a slow process. This week i've purchased new banners for both my shops, both very cute. I'm also trying to take new and better photos of my items. From the listing club i'm a member of i've been learning a lot about tagging my items from 4GetMeNotTreasures so thats next on the list to sort out.

Here are a few new items in my shops

The sun is trying to come out here in New Zealand so i'm hoping that winter is nearly out. I'm very excited as next July i'll be going out for a holiday to the UK for 4 weeks (i'm trying to stretch it out to five) I'll be avoiding the worst of winter here and catching the summer in the UK

Cute Crochet by MelanieGanson

I've joined a listing club on Etsy and the aim is to list one item per day. We also check each others listings and give helpful hints and encouragement. I've been listing nearly every day for about a month now in either of my shops and the comments from other members has really helped me in listing my items and encouraged me

Every now and then i'll feature one of the members on my blog. I've found some awesome shops and have traded with a few members and purchased from a few

Todays feature is melanieganson who makes awesome crochet items. These include dress up hats, cute beanies, crochet food, washcloths to name a few

I've actually ordered a few items as presents for little ones. The cupcake hat is adorable and will be given to a friend who has just had a little girl and the red hat with flower is going to my three year old niece.

Crochet is on my list of what i'd like to learn, in fact a friend is coming to see me on Thursday and attempt to teach me. I'm quite amazed at the amazing items that can be crocheted