NOT a Loser Part II

Ok- so the last time I was in an Etsy 'contest' it was called the Handmade Kids Contest and I entered my totally amazing (if I do say so myself and I am apparently the only one saying it) See Jane Run magnet board which was bumped from the competition by Etsy admin when the contest went from 35 entries to 30 and I am still kind of sore about it.

So- when I got an email today from an Etsy intern saying my Mother Knows Best locket is in their Mother's Day Contest I started to sweat. I mean I do NOT expect to win this thing, but I am hoping to stay out of the bottom 5 again, if you know what I mean. So, if you do not have a sister, cousin, best friend (or well even if you do and you do not really like them that much) in this contest- how about voting for my Mother Knows Best Locket to keep me from total Etsy hari-kari this time- so here's the LINK what do you say? UPDATE - Thank you to everyone who voted for my locket - I had a very respectable showing and no need for hari-kari...this time.

You are NOT a Loser ... (I am pretty sure)

OK- so I have some serious blog goodies to be given away on four blogs right now- that's right you are not seeing in quadruple - I said FOUR!

I know this is going to take you a few minutes to enter all of these, but these little lockets used to be cars (or car parts actually) and I think it would be worth a few minutes to win a car (uhm... part), right?!

Plus entering all four of these has got to increase your chances of winning, by what, at least a gazillion percent, right? I mean, if you enter all four of these and you don't win anything, well, I mean that still wouldn't exactly make you a loser ... but I would start to worry about you a little bit....

1. Noelle over at Xenotees in giving away my Kendra Zvonik Locket
2. Jen at IndixFix is giving away my Jess Gonacha Locket
3. Tia at CleverGirlGoesBlog is giving away my Unconventional Ida Locket
4. The amazing Helene at Helene's Dreams is giving away my Dilka Bear Locket


You gotta be in it, to win it, people!

Seed to Table

Instead of growing more and more of our own food, my hubby and I seem to be growing less and less. Partly because so much of it ends up in the bellies of the rabbits and groundhogs that get past any fencing we devise and partly because although our heads and hearts are green, our thumbs have not caught up. But this year we are determined to improve our output and get more home grown goodies to our own table.

We are hoping to get at least some of the the seeds into the ground this weekend. I am also planting a large cutting garden of zinnias. Having flowers to bring in each night with the veggies will make the effort more worthwhile for me.

When we can't grow our own it is often worth it to buy organic especially if the foods you eat most often are ones that tend to be the most heavily treated. More pesticides are found on apples than any other fruit (36!) - if you can't find organic- rinse them well, peel them and look for little produce stickers that saw New Zealand (they use about half as many pesticides as the United States).

You should also choose organic grapes, because grapes ripen quickly and tend to mold, growers hit them with multiple applications of various chemicals. The worst are Chilean grapes which are treated with as many as 17 chemicals (90% of the grapes eaten in the U.S. this time of year are Chilean). The key is always a very thorough rinse in cool or warm water.

You should even rinse your cantaloupes before cutting since your knife can drag exterior residues through the fruit as you cut it and cantaloupes often contain five of the longest-lasting chemicals including one banned in 1974 that still persists in soils and is taken up by the fruit. When you can - choose local and 100% organic.

Here's a few "organically" grown Etsy beauties:

1. Xenotees - Good Luck Fork T-Shirt
2. afiori - 4 Mini Pictures Il Giardino Segreto
3. SpoonerZ - Fork Top Family Necklace
4. Kootsac - Reusable Food Bags
5. BCStoneDesign - Mushroom Planter
6. CustomEyes - Vintage Egg Beater
7. BovineBubbles - Assorted Jams and Jellies

Newest Artist Collaboration Lockets

This week I am so fortunate to add four more amazingly talented artists to my Polarity locket artist series!


GollyBard - Holly's paintings represent a whimsical and peculiar narrative of both an everyday and make believe world. Watercolor scenes painted with detail and exactness, though filled with ambiguity. They are jumbled, untidy stories inspired by anything and everything that she is infatuated with for the moment.

Fricdementol - Ana lives in beautiful Portugal where life is her inspiration. She loves simple things like a smile, her dogs or cooking. She uses all her senses to live! She listens to alot of music and she also watch movies. She has no car so she rides a bike. Ana is fascinated by people's portraits and expressions. Portraiture is her obsession.

zJayne - Jane enjoys creating art with meaning. You’ll find her salvaging an array of found objects, metals, once loved jewels, costume and semi precious treasures to create one of a kind defining images. Jane has learned that being authentic and owning your talent brings a form of peace of mind that is well received and encourages her to live in the moment.

Brief Moments - Maribeth has always been fascinated by an artist’s ability to capture a brief moment of time, whether that moment was of clarity, of joy, of disappointment, or even chaos. All of her photographs and paintings strive to capture the brief moments that are quiet and sometimes overlooked, moments that she hopes speak to you as much as they have spoken to her.

Check out their amazing shops. The purchase of any locket from my new locket series gets a FREE set of extra lids this week!

This week's giveaway is at the amazing blog of Helene's Dreams for the gorgeous Dilkabear locket. This giveaway ends on Earth Day 4/22- so get over there and get entered! Also check out Helene's gorgeous Etsy shop!