Yeah! Teamecoetsy on the Front Page (Nov. 30th.)

Eco Friendly Shops (Part 3)

Blackstar's beautiful jewelry!

MiltonandMargies pumpkin pie soy wax candle!

East Coast Kitsch's darling tea cozy!

Custom order bag from Fisheye!


Liz Plummers beautiful Fantasy Garden!

Please remember it's okay to 'Reduce, Reuse &
Recycle during the holiday's! It's actually
accepted and become the "IN THING TO DO"!

My part of holiday 'Reducing & Reusing'! has
become such a fun quest(it's quickly
becoming one of my favorite hobbies).
I usually start my holiday shopping for
the kids in the summer and find fabulous
clothes and toys(and save $$$)to fill their
wish lists! My youngest granddaughter will
be two soon and I'll admit, I bought one new
item for her birthday, but other than that,
all from the 'thrifty's'. Even though,I'm very
choosy, not a problem, I start my hunt
early, it gives me plenty of time to find
awesome new and almost new items!
When I can't find what I need by recycling myself...
here's where I go to find it, you can get
everything you need and more from these artists!!!

Here are a few Eco Friendly Shops to
help you find fabulous gifts on your
lists that are "handmade" by eco
conscious folks!

1)Liz Plummer is a fantastic textile artist
that I've admired for awhile and I
think you'd make even the pickiest
person on your list, very happy with
a gift from her shop!!!

2)This shop has wonderful jewelry with
a nice selection that would make it
easy to fill a wish list for that
special someone! I've enjoyed Blackstar's
Flickr site and luvvre their cat!!!

3)Fisheye's another favorite shop I luvvre!
Great selection of eco friendly items that
she makes from recycled materials! Ask about
her custom bags!!!

4) Milton and Marge have awesome soy
wax candles that are in unique and
creative recycled holders, so darn
cute! I luvvre the pumpkin candle!

5)East Coast Kitsch 'Recycle and Upcycle' most of their shop items, along
with using natural fibers! (I just luvvre
their catchy 'kitschy' shop name)! Great
selections!

Please take a minute and check out these
wonderful eco shops!!!

Happy Thanksgiving from 'OUR' Home to 'YOURS'

Eco Friendly Shops (Part 2)

'Part two' of my eco friendly gift
ideas from some of teamecoetsy finest!

1) Here's shutterkate with this fabulous
gift idea! I can't imagine anyone not
loving this fabulous link scarf!

2) I love these greeting cards from mvegan5
with the polar bears, the colors are
beautiful and they're a great reminder
for us about global warming! FYI...
She donates 10% of her money to animal
charities!

3) With winter upon us here in the states,
a warm scarf would be an ideal gift for the
person on your list! Check out ASecondChance,
to see some of her other great items!

4)Luvvve this one too! Lavender soap, from
Cypress Lake Soaps. Great for sensitive skin!

I'll be posting some more of my favorites from
teamecoetsy in the next couple of weeks,
I hope you'll add some of these great shops
to your holiday lists!!!

Be Sure and Search TeamEcoEtsy for Awesome Eco Friendly Gifts! Check out these shops!

My EcoEtsy team is a like minded group of people working
towards reducing their carbon footprint!
They have wonderful shops full of beautiful items
that would be an A*W*E*S*O*M*E eco friendly gift,
for that hard to buy for friend, or relative!
All you have to do is click on teamecoetsy to find fabulous
eco friendly gifts!!!

Here are a few of my favorites that you may want
to add to your shopping list!

DinnerTimeChimes has fabulous
outdoor chimes, but if you're looking for a reasonably
priced, fun gift for your favorite cook, this is adorable
and would hold his or her recipes! Love it!

Every household could use a set of these! Re-usable food bags from Kootsac !Fabulous gift idea, for the person who has almost everything, but not a set of these!

Or how about SeaFindDesigns
original jewelry made from beautiful genuine sea glass!
Who wouldn't like something from this beautiful shop?!

If my family is peeking, hint, hint...Isn't this a beauty?! mandinka features handbags made from mens suits...How cool is that!!! Fabulous designing!

These are just teasers!!!
I'll be sharing more eco goodness from teamecoetsy with you, in the next couple of weeks, in hopes of you finding the perfect eco friendly gifts to add to your list this year!

Have a Green Christmas this year!

I'm trying to have a green Christmas,
save money, reduce my carbon footprint,
and have a more eco friendly and sustainable
holiday season!

Christmas Cards
I'm making my own cards, using recycled
paper when I can, next year I plan on
making my own paper.

Holiday meals
Remember for your holiday meals, shop locally
and buy what's in season!

Packaging and wrapping materials
Try and save boxes throughout the year to
reuse at Christmas. Use your imagination and be
creative! If you can't recycle paper there
are many places you can buy recycled paper
products! (it's less expensive if you save it).

Gifts
Lets face it, most of us give something
we'd either love ourselves, or if you're
like me, anguish over the perfect item for
that hard to buy for person in your life.

For me, there's only one way to shop, keeping a
'Green Christmas' in mind,(unless someone has
asked for a high tech gift), there
isn't a reason why a person, couldn't shop
early and find the perfect gift for everyone
on their list, from their local
thrift store! Seriously! The prices are great too!
I've dressed my granddaughters and for
that matter myself, except for undies,(for
which I prefer new), from our local Thrifty's!

Christmas is a wonderful time to start living green!
What does 'eco friendly' mean to YOU?
I understand 'buying green' or 'going green' mean
different things to each individual, I believe,
if each of us is making an effort,
even better, if we're doing all we can possibly
do as an individual, to reduce 'OUR OWN CARBON FOOTPRINT' , we're being eco friendly.
Some of us reduce, and therefore someone else
benefits from that, by reusing the
found items the other person decided to
give away. Some clever artsy people repurpose items
giving new life to an unwanted item for themselves,
or to sell. They may even make a living by doing this
and keep these repurposed/upcycled things out of
our monstrous landfills!
All of these 'eco conscious' ideas would
be wonderful to keep in mind this
holiday season.
So when you make your lists, look around
your home first, then check out your local
thrift stores or consignment shops, they're
full of new and almost new items 'YOU' would
love for the people on your list!

If each of us did a little more
to reduce our consumption, and reuse the things
we have just a little longer, and try and
repurpose what we can to make it do.
I believe we'd get more fullfilment
out of giving this holiday season!
The life lesson our children would learn from our
lead, about what the true spirit of Christmas really is,
and how we're working towards being better stewards
of this beautiful Earth, is truely the "BEST GIFT"
we can give them.

"Use it up, Wear it out, Make it do, or do without"

I love 'POUNCE AGAIN!'

...AND THIS IS WHAT POUNCE LOOKS LIKE...:)
It's ever changing and fun to see whats New or just Sold!

Christmas is fast upon us

Here's a peek into my Christmas follie!





I've been inspired to make some holiday
bracelets. They're OOAK and full of whimsy,
with trinkets and baubles that I've been gathering.
I've also been having fun raiding my button boxes again!
This has been such a fun project, it's a little like being
on a treasure hunt!

I finally went to the infamous "All that Glitters Sale"

The lines were across the front of the building
down the block onto the main street in front of
the GoodWill, and thats where we were standing! As
soon as the store opened, the line started moving
and we actually got to go inside the doors. We
then were told to follow the pink line to the
glitter room, which was at the back of the store.
They were only letting in so many people at a
time and the line was doubling up and another
line started across the store from us...:(
But, we made the best of it. We had fun
talking to people in line (A shout out to
Karen from Msvl), I've already had a
convo on etsy from someone I met there!
Luckily someone fed up with lines and
the long wait from inside the Glitter
room, came out and gave us her number!
#162...so when we were finally lucky
enough to get in the door, we found
out they were all the way up too #50.
We weren't allowed to ask to look at
anything, until our # was called and
really, the glass cases with the jewelry
we wanted to see, were crowded with wall
to wall people.

After what seemed to be a lifetime.
You know how it is not quite being
able to reach the golden ring?!?!
Our # was called and we were then told we
had to wait....(again)for the next available
helper. That person would stay with us from
showcase to showcase until we were done...
What a job...So, we met our gal Alice and
we so appreciated her, she was so
helpful, cheerful and such a hard worker!
Thanks Alice!!! She works for the education
part of Goodwill and we know how awesome
they are with "Our kiddos"!!!(I work with
kids in a lifeskills class,that go into her
program when they reach high school)!
We found the prices to be high, no doubt
because "THEY CAN" get it.
We did purchase a few things, but we did
well and didn't get too caught up in the
Hoopla of "All things Glitz & Glam! But, the
experience was unforgetable.

~~All That GliTTers Sale~~

I'm going to the widely advertised
'All That Glitters' Sale tomorrow morning
at the Seattle Goodwill!!!
It'll be my first time to this
huge sale and I'm more than excited!
A friend from work went last year and
invited me. I tried to be strong and
resist, but to no avail...I'M
GOING and THATS THAT!!!She's told me
it's fabulous, I can hardly wait!
I'll blog tomorrow after the show,
and share with you, what I couldn't
possibly live without!

~At a Glance, Admit it...Your sweet tooth reacted!!! GIVING IT UP... FOR A GIVEAWAY!

To find out more about this
F*A*N*T*A*S*T*I*C Polymer Clay
artist, Check out her fabulous
Blog!!!

PLEASE READ POST BELOW

Beatblack touch of 'CaNdY HeAvEn'

There I was minding my own business
checking out my Flickr contacts...
and what catches my eYe, but the
most delicious batch of chocolates!
TrUfFlEs no less. Then,
to my astonishment, I find out,
they're 'EyE CaNdY'! I now
have the will power of a petite size 3
(dream on girlfriend!) I find myself
pressing on...I want to see more,
I must see more, now that I'm not
tempted in the ways of ChOcOlAtEs PoWeRs.
As I am PoWeRlEss!
Only to find more delectible EyE CaNdY!
Now I'm totally hooked -----read-on----->
Again, I feel helpless, totally
captivated by BrIgHt RaInBoW-Y
CaNdIeS tWiStInG mY thoughts back
to childhood dreams of my
favorite Christmas Eve Story.
Where I too, dreamed of the
beloved "ViSiOnS Of SuGaRplUms"
as they danced around in my sleepy
head!

But really, you must go see for
yourself! But first,you must allow the
child in you to take a peek
into this WoNdErLaNd Of EyE CaNdY! Enjoy~

The Shadow Knows~

I've known from the get go, that pictures
are pretty much the cornerstone of ones
online business. If it's a good product,
but the pictures remind would be customers
of an old black and white Bella Lugosi
movie...It aint' happenin!

So I believe it's time to invest in some
good lighting equipment for my jewelry!

I haven't even looked at what's out there,
so, I don't even have a clue as to which
is the best way to go, or most cost
effective?!

Any input would be greatly appreciated!
I think I'll hit the threads for this
one.

I bought this necklace to deconstruct and upcycle it's rhinestones into something 'New and Fabulous', BUT...

It's so beautiful, as of yet, I haven't had
the heart to take it apart!