Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Where's your manners? Don't forget the favors?

Since summer is now upon us and weddings are in full swing, I thought I share a little something about the wedding favor tradition. 



 The Wedding favor tradition goes back to the Europeans it was a symbol of wealth and royalty. A Wedding Favor should be made to look special like they were prepared just for you and not out of a box. They don't have to be expensive, just a token from your special day. Most people especially family members love to keep a keepsake from your special day. The traditional history of soap and itself was a symbol of wealth as only the wealthy could afford to bathe with soap. Egyptians were the first to experiment with soap, also...In 1622, King James 1 monopolized soap artisans for $100,000 a year. Soaps throughout history has been heavily taxed thus making it hard for common man to purchase and use it. It wasn't until the 1870's this tax was removed and made available to the common people. 

Now, It's your turn to share in this wonderful history! You cannot go wrong with offering soap as a wedding favor plus you won't have to worry about whether or not they can eat sugar or if they are allergic to nuts.







Enjoy your day!




Thursday, May 26, 2011

Congratulations to Ardent Reverie!

I would like to give a big shout out to Ardent Reverie and their big win at the RAWards in April. RAWards is based on community participation and Ardent Reverie won "Accessories Designer of the Year".  See their spotlight here: http://www.rawartists.org//fashion.  

Ardent Reverie, the inspiration behind the brand are two sisters Meghan and Melanie who share the same passion for Handmade Jewelry and Craft Items. Through music and support from their local underground network of artists, they are inspired to create something that is truly a piece of unique artwork that you can wear. Located in San Diego, Ca, they opened their Etsy Shop in Oct of '09. See their shop here ArdentReverie.etsy.com Some of their items include jewelry for your hair, your neck and your ears!  I just love their twist on texture and color.    

                                 


                              Emilie's Garden Flower Clip





If you are getting ready for those summer nights and you need something special to add to your wardrobe of accessories..you should really think of adding a gorgeous piece from the Ardent Reverie Collection.

You can also follow them on their blog@ http://www.ardentreverie.com/











Sunday, May 15, 2011

Sometimes we just get busy....

Most of us are pretty busy right about now with the kids getting ready to be out for school soon, maybe you have a graduation to go to or maybe you're one of the lucky ones getting ready to leave out of town on your own vacation.

Since my niece has come to live with us, I have been busy as well.  It's kind of funny how a teenager can have such a busy social life...but here I am in middle of it.  Most people get to build up to this point, not us.. we kind of jumped right to the year 15!  My own daughter is only 10... so I kind of missed 5 years of getting ready for this point.  So needless to say... I am getting the quick version of it.  

I find my self needing quicker ways of doing the things and because time is an issue today I have found someone else to make my handcrafted cards for me on Esty!  Creativitybugs~ http://www.etsy.com/shop/creativitybugs, she makes some fabulous handmade cards that you can pair up with those all those graduation gifts you know you'll need to get. 

I firmly believe in handmade way over store bought any day, but I personally don't have the time to make them.  So there she was~ Creativitybugs helping me solve my dilemma for a beautiful expression from the heart in the form of a handmade card.   

Gold Burgundy Green Firefly Flower Blank Card

Blue Green Yellow Flower Achieve Bank Card

Blue, Green, and Turquoise Hummingbird Hello Card

She also has a blog as well.. Stop by to see her  http://creativitybug.blogspot.com/.  

If I don't see you until I get back from Miami.... Have a Happy Memorial Day!





Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Just in Time for the Beach!

Since I've joined Etsy, I am completely thrilled to meet so many talented people. Everything from couture children dresses to stunning jewelry pieces. I have even made a few treasuries with some of my favorites.  This is a whole new world to me from trying to build up my own website to instant sales here on Etsy. So far I am impressed and thrilled to have some sales under my belt already...Thank you to all my new customers!


I have also joined a few Etsy Teams as well, one in particular is called BESTeam. This team is pretty fabulous for a few reasons because all though we have quite a few members, we also have a stringent acceptance policy.  I feel pretty good that have accepted my shop! If you would like to learn more check us out here....http://www.etsy.com/teams/5645/besteam-boosting-etsy-shops-team


I want to introduce you to a team member and her shop...http://etsy.com/shop/tiltcreations.    Tiltcreations hand makes all sorts of handbags, backpacks and these too cute creatures called Plush Monsters. I am excited because soon I will be leaving for the HANDCRAFTED Soapmakers Conference in Miami.. And I am in need of a too cute beach bag just for this trip.  Let me know what you think of them???


See some of her designs here.... and stop in her shop to see all of her goodies 1st hand.


Large Hand Painted Tote in Tropical Iota Pebbles with Pink and Green
Large Hand Painted Tote in Tropical Iota Pebbles with Pink and Green


Red and White Floral Anna Backpack
Red and White Floral Anna Backpack


Blue Daisy Floral Karen Handbag
Blue Daisy Karen Handbag

You can also visit her blog as well.. she blogs about many things involving her life, even recipes where she can mix up a mean Breakfast Frittata!  http://tiltcreations.blogspot.com/

Have a Beachy Good Time!