Nov 20th Etsyblogger Blog Carnival

Most countries around the world have a day set aside to give thanks for a bountiful harvest. Here in the US, it's Thanksgiving. What do you celebrate wherever you live and how do you celebrate?

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays! The entire family gets together either at my place or my brothers and we all cook, play cards and just laugh about old times! My sister is stationed in Germany and one of my brother's is in Maryland so it is definitely a treat when all of us can come together! Now we all have kids and I am the grandma so our kids enjoy laughing at all of our old stories too!

Happy Holidays!

MadebyMelissa Oct Featured Etsyblogger

Congrats to this month's Featured EtsyBlogger MadeByMelissa! I hear she has been a supporter of the EtsyBlogger team since it started! What a great supporter! Check out a few of her hand crafted Jewelry pieces!

Hotdiggity Dog Carnival

July is National Hot Dog month! write about anything related to hot dogs.

Never heard of such a thing but hey fun to post images about! Nothing like hotdog visuals! LOL!

Featured Etsyblogger MiesMama

MiesMama - An Etsyblogger team mate that is all about felted goodness! Check out her featured items below, blog and flickr photos!

Summer Etsybloggers Blog Carnival

Tell us your top five favorite things about summer! (And tell us why, of course!)

My top five favorite things about summer are:

1. Every other year 4 of us divas go on vacation together. This year we are going to Montego Bay. A couple of years ago we went to Aruba! I LOVED it!

2. Spending time with my grand daughter! She is getting so big!

3. Going to the Zoo! I love nature and animals! It makes me feel close to God!



4. Thunderstorms!

5. No school traffic! YIPPEE! HOORAY!

Fabulous Blog award

Aww my BFF Tecia gave me this "Your Blog is Fabulous" award! I am so tickled by the fact that she has become an expert blogger! LOL!

Anyway, Lets get to the rules of the Award.

list 5 of your LEAST favorite things. Yes that is a switch! After you do go pick 3 people to share this lovely award with!

5 of my LEAST FAVORITE THINGS:

1. Rude People
2. No special someone to share the rest of my life with
3. that my BFF lives in Florida
4. being overweight
5. that I feel tired all the time

I am passing this award on to the below bloggers!

1. SavonShoppe - A newbie Etsyblogger team mate
2. Miesmama - Just a cool lady and a fellow etsyblogger team mate
3. Memoriesforlife - One of my favorite Etsyblogger chics
   

Etsybogger Team Treasury

Thanks Sassalynne for doing this lovely Treasury and a special thanks for featuring Unique Commodities PRICE BUSTER earrings!

Etsyblogger Blog Carnival - Birthday Memory

1) Tell about your favorite birthday memory, gift or wish...

Birthdays for me are all about spending time with those I love and who have impacted my life. I don’t need a bunch of gifts or even a huge party. It is the time of sharing and laughing that I love most!

One of my more encouraging celebrations was at a restaurant with a ton of my friends. We had buffet lunch, laughed and talked, all of my friends (some tearfully) shared about me. I in turn shared with each person the impact they had on my life. It is because of the culmination of friendships that I am the woman that I am today! Those kind of birthday memories and gifts are simply priceless and irreplaceable!

Quote: Remember, the greatest gift is not found in a store nor under a tree, but in the hearts of true friends.

Etsyblogger Blog Carnival - Fairy Tale

What is your favorite fairy tale? Any parallels to real life?

You know I really did not have an absolute favorite fairy tale but I love Cinderella's story. I loved that she was a young lady of noble character, a good spirit and a humble heart in spite of being

continually abused and mistreated by her Step mother and step sisters! She always kept her spirits up and I don't recall EVER hearing her complain about her circumstances. I always wondered where her slack father was though! Looks like Step mom ran the show and HIM! I loved that she got to go to the ball after all wearing a beautiful dress, gorgeous glass slippers and got to ride in that lovely carriage. I wanted those slippers by the way! LOL! In the end, good won over the mean spirited and cruel and she got her charming Prince. You can not ask for much more than that.

There are a number of parallel to real life one could make.

• Good in the long run prevails.
• Treat people like you want to be treated - Cinderella did
• Never give up! Good things come to those who persevere
• Never give up on your dreams no matter what the naysayers do or say!
• Love in spite of!
  
• See the good in all circumstances and know there is a light at the end of the tunnel
• Sing and dance a lot
• It is not where you start but where you finish and I would say Cinderella finished strong!!

Create A Thought - Featured Etsy Blogger

Well what do you know! The Featured Etsyblogger for the month of May is CreateAThought! Hey I can see why! She captures our every day thoughts in a very unique way! Check out a few of her items below and don't forget to scope out
CreateAThought's Blog!

A little Etsyblogger Love

More than enough Etsyblogger Love to spread around!

Lovin' Your Feet Razz Nilla Soap by SpottedCowSoaps

Accordian Flower Love Gift Tags by StampinMom

Love Etsy Felt Business card holder by HomeMadeOriginals

Bleeding Heart Choker Necklace by AkeepersJackpot

I Heart my cat word album by MemoriesForLife

Queen of Heart Earrings by 3RexesJewelry

A little Etsyblogger Green

A little Etsyblogger GREEN to celebrate the Spring!

Photo by NatureManipulated

Beadaholic Woven Bracelet by RoseworksJewelry

Little Pea Head band from MiesMama

Minty Mindy Littles by DorsetHillBeads

Glowing Emerald Green Pendant Necklace by SuperiorStone

Welcome Back Lily!

We sure did miss you Tulips Treasure Box AKA Lily! Welcome back to being active on the Etsyblogger forum and it is already starting to feel like home again with you there!

Tulips Treasure Box has some of the most exquisite and gorgeous jewelry!

As a jewelry artisan, I look up to her!

Craft It Forward

I love looking at other crafters blogs because you come across so many neat ideas! I was looking at Beaded Tail’s blog and she is doing a Craft it Forward so I decided to be a copy cat and do the same! So here goes!

I'm going to offer a Craft It Forward to the first five people to respond to this post. You will get something handmade by me!

Here are the restrictions that come with this:

*There are no guarantees you will like what I make although I sure hope you do!
*What I create will be just for you
*You'll receive it this year (2009)
*The item will be a surprise to you and can be ANYTHING handmade
*And in return, all you need to do is post this text into your blog, email me the link back to your Craft it forward blog and make 5 things for 5 people. My email address is uniquecommodities@yahoo.com

The first 5 people to respond in the comments section WINS!!!!!

Beauties by Etsybloggers

Etsybloggers - Let's Go Green!

What do you do (or what can you do!) to make your etsy business or home a little bit greener?

Truly we all need to look at what it means to Go Green and equally important is what It will mean to our future if we do NOT Go greenIt has been shared that preserving the world’s natural resources is the responsibility of EVERY individual both at work and at home. !. I was reading an article on World Watch Institute that shared 10 ways to go green and I decided to list there here! Personally for me is that I no longer buy paper plates, plastic silver ware or cups! I purchased the compact Fluorescent bulbs and love the money I save on my energy bill! I don’t eat a lot of meat! Not much at all actually. I also am a yard sale junkie and I Use BookMooch to get the books I want and to recycle those that I have! I even have a few 'Go Green’ Tote bags in my shop!

1. Save energy to save money.

· Set your thermostat a few degrees lower in the winter and a few degrees higher in the summer to save on heating and cooling costs.

· Install compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) when your older incandescent bulbs burn out.

· Unplug appliances when you're not using them. Or, use a "smart" power strip that senses when appliances are off and cuts "phantom" or "vampire" energy use.

· Wash clothes in cold water whenever possible. As much as 85 percent of the energy used to machine-wash clothes goes to heating the water.

· Use a drying rack or clothesline to save the energy otherwise used during machine drying. If you must use a dryer, consider adding dryer balls to cut drying time.

2. Save water to save money.

· Take shorter showers to reduce water use. This will lower your water and heating bills too.

· Install a low-flow showerhead. They don't cost much, and the water and energy savings can quickly pay back your investment.

· Make sure you have a faucet aerator on each faucet. These inexpensive appliances conserve heat and water, while keeping water pressure high.

· Plant drought-tolerant native plants in your garden. Many plants need minimal watering. Find out which occur naturally in your area.

3. Less gas = more money (and better health!).

· Walk or bike to work. This saves on gas and parking costs while improving your cardiovascular health and reducing your risk of obesity.

· Consider telecommuting if you live far from your work. Or move closer. Even if this means paying more rent, it could save you money in the long term.

· Lobby your local government to increase spending on sidewalks and bike lanes. With little cost, these improvements can pay huge dividends in bettering your health and reducing traffic.

4. Eat smart.

· If you eat meat, add one meatless meal a week. Meat costs a lot at the store-and it's even more expensive when you consider the related environmental and health costs.

· Buy locally raised, humane, and organic meat, eggs, and dairy whenever you can. Purchasing from local farmers keeps money in the local economy.

· Watch videos about why local food and sustainable seafood are so great.

· Whatever your diet, eat low on the food chain [pdf]. This is especially true for seafood.

5. Skip the bottled water.

· Use a water filter to purify tap water instead of buying bottled water. Not only is bottled water expensive, but it generates large amounts of container waste.

· Bring a reusable water bottle, preferably aluminum rather than plastic, with you when traveling or at work.

· Check out this short article for the latest on bottled water trends.

6. Think before you buy.

· Go online to find new or gently used secondhand products. Whether you've just moved or are looking to redecorate, consider a service like craigslist or FreeSharing to track down furniture, appliances, and other items cheaply or for free.

· Check out garage sales, thrift stores, and consignment shops for clothing and other everyday items.

· When making purchases, make sure you know what's "Good Stuff" and what isn't.

· Watch a video about what happens when you buy things. Your purchases have a real impact, for better or worse.

7. Borrow instead of buying.

· Borrow from libraries instead of buying personal books and movies. This saves money, not to mention the ink and paper that goes into printing new books.

· Share power tools and other appliances. Get to know your neighbors while cutting down on the number of things cluttering your closet or garage.

8. Buy smart.

· Buy in bulk. Purchasing food from bulk bins can save money and packaging.

· Wear clothes that don't need to be dry-cleaned. This saves money and cuts down on toxic chemical use.

· Invest in high-quality, long-lasting products. You might pay more now, but you'll be happy when you don't have to replace items as frequently (and this means less waste!).

9. Keep electronics out of the trash.

· Keep your cell phones, computers, and other electronics as long as possible.

· Donate or recycle them responsibly when the time comes. E-waste contains mercury and other toxics and is a growing environmental problem.

· Recycle your cell phone.

· Ask your local government to set up an electronics recycling and hazardous waste collection event.

10. Make your own cleaning supplies.

· The big secret: you can make very effective, non-toxic cleaning products whenever you need them. All you need are a few simple ingredients like baking soda, vinegar, lemon, and soap.

· Making your own cleaning products saves money, time, and packaging-not to mention your indoor air quality.

Two Zany Zebra's Featured Etsy Blogger

What a pleasant surprise for the awesome SAHM! TwoZanyZebra's is our Featured Etsyblogger of the month! I have a grand daughter so I loved all I saw in her shop! LOL!

Donna Pool Featured Etsyblogger

Donnapool is Etsybloggers team featured artist of the month!

In her own words, she says "Think of my shop as a place where you can find something traditional...with a twist!"

Check out these cool items from her shop!

Why Etsy? Blog Carnival

What made you open a shop on Etsy? What do you like about being a seller on Etsy? What don't you like?

I had been selling on Ebay for a couple of years and was growing tired of how saturated it had become and its off the chart fees. Fact is though I happened upon Etsy. I was doing a search for a particular item I was looking to buy and Etsy came up as a place that someone offered it. I saved Etsy to my favorites out of curiosity and several months later, I finally looked around at the site, liked what I saw and opened up my Unique Commodities Etsy shop on April 11^th, 2007. While I greatly enjoy the team spirit of Etsy and love all of the new online relationships I have built, it seems IMPOSSIBLE for jewelry sellers to get much exposure. So many people are selling it and the fact is as soon as you post so are 10,000 other jewelry sellers. The search criteria is HORRIBLE. Even when I search for my own items after posting, sometimes I can’t find them!

But overall, being a part of the Etsy team has been a positive experience even if all I get to do on it is network and have a few good laughs with a great online friends!

Bonanzle Featured Earrings!

I am loving all the exposure I am getting on the two new venues I joined thanks to all the research provided by Roseworksjewelry and Tiltcreations!

I logged on tonight and Miss Jones Booth had me featured on her handpicked Limes list! So exciting!