My Bubble Popping Addiction Intervention

Since kiddiedom I have always loved to get a package wrapped in bubble wrap and being able to pop and stomp away. But now that I am a regular user (the glass test tubes I ship pretty much require it) of this plastic eco nightmare (plastic will never biodegrade in a landfill) - I have found a source for the latest biodegradable wrap. A new wrap called Bio-Bubble is oxo-biodegradable; which allows the wrap to break down into water, carbon dioxide and some biomass for mico-organisms in a year or less (that should be enough time for my packages to arrive!) when exposed to sun and water. I am so excited to get my test tubes shipped out safely without having nightmares about the piles of plastic bubbles I am creating! If you don't have any of this addictive wonder around to pop- here is a fresh sheet ....

Fractal Artist Diaspora Comes Uncorked

I am so excited about my newest artist collaboration. Fractal art is a new way of looking at space and form. Through the medium of the computer and all of its associated peripherals a new vision of the world has opened up. It is as if a new type of camera has been invented! An amazing shop on Etsy featuring abstract fractal art is Diaspora. Hal is the incredible artist behind Diaspora. Hal's fractals will remind you of your most wonderful dreams and night skys with fireworks and resounding JOY and all those things in life that are explosive and powerful and make you feel ALIVE! Hal's work is now available for your walls at Diaspora and for your body at Uncorked.

PUCKER UP People

I happen to know that REAL men wear cork and REAL women love to wear little recycled auto parts. How do I know this you ask? Well, let's just say a little naked guy with an arrow told me.

Paper or Plastic = A Gift from zJayne

I was having a bad week, a very bad week (I realize that bad is a relative thing and you are going to have to trust me on this, but it was a bad week). So, this morning I am eating my breakfast, thinking about my bad week and realizing that I had memorized the back of this cereal box already (this was not what made my week bad, but it is a sad day when you realize something like this) and thinking I need to start buying a new kind of cereal when the doorbell rang and my mailman, as is his custom when I have a package, tossed my mail onto my porch which caused Olive (the biter) to jump off the arm of the chair where she likes to spend her mornings dangling over the heater, and bark.This got me moving (and away from my raisin bran) and I was SO excited to find a gift from my Etsy buddy Jane Pierce (aka zJayne) on my front porch. Jane is an amazing Ohio artist who creates beautiful art with meaning. She salvages found objects, once loved jewels and other treasures into one of a kind defining images that make a difference to the people who are fortunate enough to experience them. She is also the famous 'T-Shirt Market Bag' maker on Etsy. When I had admired her Red Cross market bag (made from a t-shirt) she gifted it to me along with an amazing and adorable bird wristlet bag (made from a t-shirt sleeve). Jane reminds us that the answer to paper or plastic is neither and that it takes as much petroleum to make 14 plastic bags as it does to drive a car one mile. Her bags are so sturdy and well-made, roomy and amazing (and cheap!) that everyone sincerely needs to own a few! Check out zJayne's amazing Etsy and 1000markets shops. Thanks Jane - I have already used your amazing bag to stock up on some new cereals! It is never leaving my car.

Social Responsibility for Java Lovers this V-Day

More than 150 million people in the U.S. drink at least 1 cup of coffee a day. This represents a huge opportunity to have an environmental impact. If you are a coffee drinker- what can you do? 1. Make your own coffee at home - keep that throwaway cup out of the landfill, save the energy that we call money that is in your wallet and have some control over where the coffee you are purchasing with that energy and putting into your body comes from - buy beans with the rainforest alliance seal of approval and avoid supermarket brands with poor environmental records. 2. If you are an addict of Starbucks or your local coffee shop - don't forget your travel mug! And learn more about the business practices of the places you patronize. Is Dunkin Donuts still using styrofoam coffee cups and Nestle genetically engineered coffee beans?

If you love Johnny like I love Johnny....

These amazing My Little Ponies are from designer Mari Kasurinen from Finland! I love her Captain Jack Sparrow and Edward Scissorhands! She has a collection of Star Wars favorites, 80's movie characters and an incredible Pan!

Wouldn't you love a peek inside Mari's brain??

The Amazing Walrus Tusk on Etsy

This week I am introducing you to Jennifer’s incredible Etsy shop Walrus Tusk. If you spend any amount of time on Etsy you have come across her intricate and amazing pieces of beadwork. Jennifer was brought up in the far north in Fairbanks, Alaska where she learned from craftsmen how to adorn the body with beautiful pieces of bead work. She now lives and works in the desert in Arizona. The dry desert air creates such a different environment where she cannot help but be inspired.

I also know the ruddy duck is her favorite bird and she loves Pan’s Labrynth and Pushing Daisies and is a coffee addict (Me, too! Although I am not sure I have ever seen a ruddy duck). Her work is stunning with amazing craftsmanship (she also makes some of my favorite treasuries!). Check her out!

6 Things You Don't Want to Know ABOUT ME

I have been tagged by the amazing Ngan of nNVe Designs (who I will never forgive). These are the rules:

link to the person who tagged you > post the rules on your blog > write six random things about yourself > tag six people at the end of your post and link to them > let each person know they've been tagged

1. I have lived in the same state my entire life, the much maligned state of New Jersey, where I somehow managed to go to 7 schools in 7 years.

2. 5th grade was my last great year of school- I won most popular, best looking, most athletic, starred in the school play, won the spelling bee, got straight A’s . The next year I lost all my charm and stayed that way until… well, I stayed that way….

3. My husband and I met on a blind date. I only agreed to go out with him because my sister promised me he was moving to Florida the next week. He had only been told I was very skinny, had just cut my hair super-short and had a scar on my shoulder- he showed up anyway. He had no money to go anywhere, asked me why I wore my hair so short and looked at me like a starving man looks at a steak dinner…. proof that love does not have to happen at first sight, although he still swears it did for him….

4. I was a bank manager for 10 years. Actually I was a bank teller for 1 year, a head teller for 1 year, an assistant manager for 1 year and a bank manager for 7 years. I was really good at it. Until a gun at my head during a robbery, a knife pulled on me during a forgery attempt and a crazy stalker customer pushed me out the door and back into myself ……

5. I am diet pepsi obsessed. I only buy the caffeine free kind from the grocery store, because it makes me feel better about myself- but sneak off to fast food drive thrus almost daily for a caffeinated one- I think the ones you drink in your car don’t count, right?

6. I do not really like cats - please do not hate me for this

7. I go to a psychic once a year around my birthday even though she is wrong about almost everything

8. Cat is short for Catherine which is my middle name. My real first name is top secret, but you probably have an old, gray-haired, maiden aunt with this name who used to pinch your checks and give you sticky quarters…

Oops overdid this- probably should delete the cat thing....
now to pass this on to 6 people - please forgive me guys!

I am tagging ButtonEnvy, Something Whimsical, Decorate the Diva, AntiGenre, ShutterKate and Fisheye

Sweetness Jewelry Is Named Just Right

One of my favorite Etsy sellers is Kelly of Sweetness Jewelry. I met Kelly through our mutual love of making treasuries on Etsy and knew Kelly for a while before I discovered her secret- Kelly is 12 years old! She makes her jewelry, takes her own pictures and runs her own online jewelry business and she does it all with an amazing 'sweetness' that makes her one of Etsy's favorites! I bought one of her amazing pieces and it always gets me lots of compliments.

When asked our OliveBites question of the week about her earliest crafty memory- Kelly answered, "My earliest crafty memory must be drawing animals on the dining room walls with black and purple crayons. I was like 3 years old." I am sure she is the only Etsy seller who can remember being 3 years old! Go Kelly!

Grace Hartigan Memorial

I recently received an email from Kat of Kat Gallery to let me know that a Grace polarity locket that she had given to the director of her graduate program, Grace Hartigan, who passed away recently at the age of 85, had been placed in her archives in Syracuse. You may recognize Grace's name and work. She was an amazing abstract painter and I thank Kat for giving her this gift and for letting me know of its final destination!

Christmas Presence!

I hope everyone had an amazing holiday! These are a few of the handmade items I gave or received this holiday season that brought a little Etsy presence to our Christmas!

The shops include DoeAndDame Shauneil BriefMoments Kootsac TheBLine LoranScruggs CurlyGirlCrochet f2images Rafya Kangas
WoofPurrCreations