Spooning out the Hump Day Honey

There is a chill in the air here and even little pup Olive may need a sweater soon

(yes, I may become one of those sweater dog mommys - but she will be trucking her own little self through the snow believe me)

so time to see what the blogosphere has to offer up in the way of the new, cool and autumn inspired!

Like the amazing Odd Molly tunics that I am totally in love with, the beautiful modern mosaics of Charis Tsevis, the best way to save money now that savings rates have tanked (isn't his cork nose just too cute), Mischer Traxler's limited fungi shelf at the Berlin Design Festival, Robert Stadler's father's grave, the stunning photography of Illinois photographer Vaeda Baty (and she has a locket), Anthro bird button necklace and of course, Martha always has the best pumpkins.












GIVEAWAY Awesome zJayne T-SHIRT BAG 6 PACK! CLOSED

AND THE WINNER IS TAYLOR B. - Check out her blog - Congrats Taylor and a great big thank you to everyone who entered! Chosen by Random.org - True Random Number Generator Min:1 Max: 503 Result: 76

Jane Pierce is my EcoEtsy buddy and the famous t-shirt to bag recycler who's shop is totally filled with the most amazing eco goodies!

Her upcycled items are featured in the premier issue of Green Craft Magazine on the stands now.

Jane also creates the most beautiful and moving assemblage doll jewelry from vintage pieces as well as the most adorable and well-made recycled t-shirt wristlets that you will just love.

I have a bundle of her t-shirt bags and use them everyday for trips to the post office and grocers- they are super roomy and sturdy and totally upcycled and functional. Jane's answer to "Paper or plastic?" is always - NEITHER, and now yours can be, too!


WHAT YOU GET:

One lucky winner will receive zJayne's T-Shirt Bag 6 Pack!



HOW TO WIN:

Visit zJayne's gorgeous shop and leave a comment below letting Jane know about your favorite item or something you would like to see her carry!

For additional entries:

(5) Twitter this post
(5) Blog about this contest; linking to this post
(5) Follow my blog

Let me know if you have done these things so I can give you additional entries. This contest is open to everyone.

DRAWING:

MIDNIGHT on Sunday, October 4th! Good luck! CLOSED

1000 Sales 4 Sherry = R Lucky Day!

My favorite "level headed" Jersey girl, Sherry Truitt

(she makes the seriously stunning level jewelry you've seen on Etsy so many times and the most level headed comments I've ever read in the forums - coincidence? I think not! I've also heard her head may be a wee bit flat- but I don't think she wants me talking about that ...)

has reached 1000 sales and is celebrating this AMAZING milestone with a giveaway you don't want to miss! So hop over to her BLOG and leave a comment to get yourself entered for a gorgeous customized map necklace in your choice of locale!

And put some serious energizer bunny into your hop folks because this contest ends Monday!

Where Have All The Cowboys Gone...

I am starting to think that maybe people and people whose sex starts with M in particular are starting to get a little wimpy on us. I am missing cowboys (maybe) and I'll tell you why.

Today I was standing on the sidewalk getting my mail from my curbside mailbox and a blue Corvette was waiting in a line of cars backed up from my corner.

The driver had the top down, allowing everyone within a four WalMart radius to share in his enjoyment of Van Halen. When he increased the volume even more, I turned around just in time to see him thrust his fist in the air, eyes closed.

Jump!

(fist!)

Might as well jump!

(fist! fist! fist!)

This was sort of like the Tiger Woods fist pump without the Masters win. Not something a cowboy would do I don't think (of course this move would likely cause the cowboy's trusty horse to go galloping off into the woods so maybe this is not a fair comparison), but still ....

Then after dumping my mail all over the back seat of my car

(who's afraid of lost bills and bill collectors- not this cowgirl- that's who)

I head out for some errands and I go to the gym.

(and when I say "go to the gym" I mean walk past the gym's glass doors and windows on my way to Blockbuster)

And in the gym I see 3 separate guys on treadmills and ellipticals with fanny packs.

Now, the last time I went to the gym (and by "to the gym" I mean actually walked through those glass doors and worked up a sweat ... sort of) this equipment didn't actually take you anywhere, so I am not sure why 3 separate men felt they needed to take provisions ... maybe they are the modern man's equivalent of those sexy, soft leather saddlebags, but let's hope this is not some kind of a trend.

And speaking of fanny packs I once was explaining to Noelle of Xenotees about the cash bag I wear on my waist and use at shows and she said "oh, you mean you use a FANNY PACK?!" - which left me scrambling for a new cash bag.

Anyhoo- hubby came home all grumpy and dirty and reeking of testosterone (or maybe just kind of smelling like the pastrami and provolone he had for lunch) and for once I didn't mind.

And come to think of it he has no rhythm (well, his feet have no rhythm- he can actually tap out some mean Rush on the steering wheel, but I've never seen any kind of eyes closed fist pumps from him) and he would not be wearing a fanny pack (I hope) although he is getting older and does spend an awful lot of time in slippers lately ...

I know cowboys are not all they are cracked up to be (maybe) and they do walk kind of funny from all that horseback riding, but for some reason I am just missing them today ... off to get those bills from my back seat before they get lost....

GIVEAWAY - Shauneil AMAZING Dot Rack! CLOSED

AND THE WINNER IS : Jean of 3Squares on Etsy! Check out her amazing metalwork inspired by cooking and her totally gorgeous Moo card holder necklace! Congrats Jean and thanks to everyone who entered!

True Random Number Generator Min:1 Max: 328 Result: 219 Powered by RANDOM.ORG

Tobey Meseth has the best rack on Etsy!

Tobey is the amazing artist behind Shauneil (her middle name); the Etsy shop where the most adorable racks are waiting for you! I bought one for myself and one as a gift and they are incredibly well-made, have stunningly beautiful clean, bold lines and are totally unique!


Tobey is (in her own words) a stubborn Taurus (hmmm), a curious watcher (I've told her those binoculars are going to get her into trouble), an excellent listener (yes, she is), an avid reader (we will test her on this), a psuedo vegetarian and a thrift store shopper (ie- she is broke and needs you to buy something from her).

Tobey's creations are also one of the inspirations for my Polarity locket series! If I had never seen her amazing racks I know that first box of little metal 'cups' on my hubby's shop floor would never have found their way into my house and into my studio and into my heart.

We are so lucky to have one of her gorgeous creations for our giveaway this week!

What you get:


One luck winner will receive Shauneil's amazing 3 hanger jewelry display or key rack in turquoise, purple and grey!



HOW TO WIN:

Visit Shauneil's gorgeous shop and leave a comment below letting her know about your favorite item or something you would like to see her carry!

For additional entries:

(5) Twitter this post
(5) Blog about this contest; linking to this post
(5) Follow my blog

Let me know if you have done these things so I can give you additional entries. This contest is open to everyone.

DRAWING:

MIDNIGHT on Sunday, September 27th! Good luck! CLOSED

Another Saturday Night and What I Ain't Got....

Home alone this Saturday night, so a good time to scout around the web and find us some total awesomeness!

Like this gorgeous textured rug by Gan Rugs that will freak out your feet, these amazing wedding portraits by my favorite wedding photojournalist Kella MacPhee of Faye and Mike's Asbury Park wedding last weekend, Lola Falk's gorgeous clutches, Keetra Dixon's beautiful layered wax now showing at I Space in Chicago, love these new cans of tea, how cool is this sliding barn door for your closet - I really, really want to make this

Rachel Demsick of GetReadySetGo's amazing vintage luggage (have bought 2 of these so far) and Rachel has a locket, gotta love this armoire turned into a bird house, SF's parking spaces into parks- how cool is that, round the corner picture frames, the park seat that you do NOT want to collapse on you - ouch! - the happiest pendant lamps I've seen lately!
















A Knightrider Knightmare ....

So, first of all when I get stressed two things happen to me (well, maybe 3 or maybe 47 odd things happen to me, but two that I will own up to here)- One - I have something called night terrors where I "wake up" a couple hours after falling asleep except I am not really awake.

But, I definitely feel like I am awake and I see spiders and shadowy figures and sometimes strangely specific things in the room with me.

Like the other night I saw David Hasselhoff and he was the David Hasselhoff in that video his kids took when he was loaded and eating that hamburger- so you can only imagine how scary that would be at 2 a.m. on a Thursday...

The other thing that happens is that Olive gets stressed, too and mostly from me screaming at David Hasselhoff not to drop his pickles on my new(ish) Anthropologie bedspread (I'm talking dill slices here ladies not the whole pickle)

Olive climbs under our bed to sleep and ... stays there .... and cannot be coaxed out... and makes some strange digging noises that we try to ignore and hope the carpet will survive.

Anyhoo, she has been sleeping under there for the last few nights and this morning when grabbing some laundry and noticing quite a few things missing I decided to move the bed and see what she has been up to

and sure enough she has been slowly building some strange dog bed or nest (or some sort of sacrificial altar where she will eventually drag me to my demise for buying the store brand dog biscuits) out of socks and underpants. And truthfully, it looks kind of cozy, in a gross sort of laundry basket dumped on the floor kind of way.

So tonight I went for a long walk/run because physical exhaustion definitely helps me sleep through the night and we'll see what happens. I decided to leave Olive's little lovenest alone, if David Hasselhoff shows up again, at least I will know where to hide.

GIVEAWAY The Black Spot Books Leather Necklace! CLOSED

AND THE WINNER IS:
True Random Number Generator Min:1 Max:692 Result: 262 Powered by RANDOM.ORG=
Jessica McQuarter! Congrats Jessica! And a great big thank you to everyone who entered!

The Black Spot Books is the totally amazing Etsy shop of Philadelphia artist Margaux Kent.

Margaux's arts are made from olde things, treasures found and recovered from misfortune and neglect, relics of the unusual, the confused and the macabre, cut and pulled and bound into wearable curiosities and inscribable keepsakes.

I fell in love with her hand stitched leather book necklaces the first time I saw them! Her leather has been bartered from farms in Ecuador, ripped from old chairs in Holland, taken from boots and shoes and saddles, and found in abandoned houses across the United States. Every book is made with different materials, so no book will ever have a duplicate!

I talked to Margaux on Saturday where she was enjoying a day at the Jersey shore with her hubby, Walter, just back from Iraq and their baby Soren.


Margaux also has a wonderful shop full of vintage treasures called Plundered and a beautiful website where you can see what she is up to!

WHAT YOU GET:

The Black Spot Books is giving one lucky winner one of Margaux's amazing hand stitched leather book necklaces!




HOW TO WIN:

Visit TheBlackSpotBook's gorgeous shop and leave a comment below letting her know about your favorite item!

For additional entries:

(5) Twitter this post
(5) Blog about this contest; linking to this post
(5) Follow my blog

Let me know if you have done these things so I can give you additional entries. This contest is open to everyone.

DRAWING:

MIDNIGHT on Sunday, September 20th! CLOSED

YUP ... It's Me ETSY FEATURED SELLER 9/9/9!



Even though I submitted this picture of me looking a little like a giddy, red headed chipmunk

(not that I have a problem with red-headed chipmunks, but I swear my hair is not red and my teeth not quite so ... chicletty ... and giddy not a word usually associated with me)

and I do ramble on about turtles (no clue what I was thinking with this) and blanked on all my favorite books and music for the interview -

I AM FLIPPIN' OUT and have wanted to post about this since my post on keeping secrets weeks ago!

So.. I will let you know how this goes - maybe cork will save the world and get us all healthcare or maybe you will just be stuck with my kisser up there for 48 hours- which is about my usual expiration date for people so this should be ok ....

Giveaway ELISA SHERE Rustic Urban JEWELRY CLOSED



And the winner is (chosen by random.org # 993 out of 1016) Alexz! Alexz has a great Etsy shop called BirdTrouble! Check it out!

Thank you to everyone who entered and to Elisa for her generous giveaway!

Elisa Shere
is an amazingly talented metalsmith dedicated to environmentally sound metal jewelry!

Each piece of Elisa's jewelry is beautifully and meticulously handcrafted from raw materials such as sterling sheet and wire. She loves to find unusual vintage elements to incorporate into her work. Her work is metalsmithed using hot or cold connections (never glue) and will last a lifetime with proper care! Her biggest goal in jewelry making is to design something that becomes someone's most treasured possession.

Elisa wrote a great storque article on metal jewelry with a conscience that is a great read.

She is giving away one of her amazing pieces to our lucky giveaway winner.

WHAT YOU GET:
One lucky winner will receive Elisa's organic flower necklace entirely hand fabricated from sterling wire and valued at $58.00!





HOW TO WIN:
Visit Elisa's gorgeous shop Elisa Shere Jewelry and leave a comment below letting her know about your favorite item!

For additional entries:

(5) Twitter this post
(5) Blog about this contest; linking to this post
(5) Follow my blog

Let me know if you have done these things so I can give you additional entries. This contest is open to everyone.

DRAWING:

MIDNIGHT on Sunday, September 13th!