The 3 Day Handmade Raffle Drawing

This week's regularly scheduled Friday Finds blog post will resume next week. This week, I'm so excited to announce the drawing for The 3 Day Handmade Raffle winners!

I was originally going to use a random number generator when this was strictly an online raffle, but that plan changed a bit since I was actually able to get out in public with it. We've got a nice little glass jar of actual raffle tickets instead. As I got donations in from each of you, I added the appropriate number of tickets to the jar.

So, without further ado... The winners are...

Sassy Pink Armband by 88 Links
FaerieKat (ticket #685690)

Watercolor Portrait by Amber Moran
whskr (ticket #685713)

Flower Necklace by Anika's Art

aquariann (ticket #685769)

Aware. breast cancer awareness fairy art print by aquariann
cascreates (ticket #685785)

Beaded Bliss Earrings by Armored Hearts
FaerieKat (ticket #685707)

Japanese 12-in-2 Chainmail Bracelet by Baron Byron
cascreates (ticket #685778)

Bright Gold Peyote stitch & Red Tear Drop Glass Set by cascreates
FaerieKat (ticket #685697)

Sweet Sweet Honey - 2 sets of cards: Plain Pink and White Fur and Classy Lady Earrings by Crazy4Cards
Savannah, Tampa Downtown Market (ticket #685766)

Ostara, German Goddess of Easter by Daydreamer Art
Lady Steel (ticket #685708)

Pink and Silver Stepping Stones Bracelet by Coldfire Customs
cascreates (ticket #685784)

Canterbury Bells Earrings by FaerieKat
Joyce N. (ticket #685798)

Lavender Babies Set - Hearts by Fairies Nest
Char Anderson (ticket #685802)

Three Flower Buds, One with Breast Cancer Ribbon Choker by Fairy Queen Crochet
FaerieKat (ticket #685703)

Wire Wrapped Heart Pendant Necklace by Gypsy Moon Art Studio
FaerieKat (ticket #685706)

Bead Crochet Bracelet by Inner Muse Jewelry
Monica R., Tampa Downtown Market (ticket #685736)

Breast Cancer Awareness Pink Chainmaille Scales Bracelet by Kali Butterfly
FaerieKat (ticket #685702)

Cartilage Chain Earring by merigreenleaf
Joyce N. (ticket #685796)

Cop A Feel by mermaiden
Eirewolf Creations (ticket #685772)

Stainless steel Half Persian 4-in-1 bracelet by Nicole Hill
cascreates (ticket #685790)

FAIRY CAT STATUE - Fantasy Fairie Concrete Art by Phenome Gnome
whskr (ticket #685712)

Wings of Hope Owlet by Plushroom Soup
Lady Steel (ticket #685710)

Heart Strings Wallhanging by Threads of Magique
Elle Belle (ticket #685711)

April Spring Blue Pin by whskr
cascreates (ticket #685787)


Congratulations to all of the prize winners!! I'm so excited for all of you, there were some really amazing prizes! I will contact each of you directly to confirm your mailing address. I have all of the prizes and will be busy putting packages of them together over the next few days to ship out to all of you. I'm hoping to have everything shipped by the end of next week and will notify you when your package goes into the mail.


A Very Special Thanks:
~It started with the amount of people that were willing to help me and help the cause. I had no idea that I would have so many amazing artists and crafters offer to donate their work. I get warm fuzzies when I think of all of the support I received from these amazing people. Not only did they donate products, but also helped promote the fundraiser.
~Tiffany at the Tampa Downtown Market rocked my world when she let me set up my fundraising tent for free. Thanks to Tiffany, I was able to bring all of the amazing raffle prizes out for showing off, raise money to find a cure, and help raise awareness.
~Tara at Scoutie Girl and Mallory at Miss Malaprop were insanely cool and helped promote the raffle to their readership. Thanks so much for the support, ladies!
~My main line of support, my rock: Scott. Thank you so much for helping me get my signs made, being my wing man at the market (including making sure I ate something!), listening to me talk about the raffle incessantly for the month of planning and then the month it was running, and so much more. What would I do without you?
~And finally, to all of my donors: those of you who were able to follow my rather wordy instructions to donate online and the others that I met at the market that oooohed and aaaahed over all of the prizes. Every dollar that you donated will go straight to Susan G. Komen to fund breast cancer research, education, and breast health programs. With all of my heart, I thank you.


A little bit of a synopsis:
The final week started with $125 raised for the raffle. There was $600 worth of amazing goods donated and what I thought would be a realistic goal for the fundraiser would be $200-300. The final amount raised was: $210

Friday Finds - Raffle Sponsor Spotlight Part IV

This is the final Friday Finds to feature the amazing sponsors for my handmade raffle benefiting the 3 Day. Because of these wonderful artists, ALL proceeds from the raffle will go directly towards my fundraising for the 3 Day to help fight breast cancer. Please check out these amazing Etsy sellers and, of course, the raffle where you can win some of their work! The raffle is super easy: check out the amazing goods, buy tickets (aka: donate to my fundraising), and then comment on my blog to let me know. That's it! Enjoy! Let's make this final week of this fundraiser a good one!

Make sure you read through until the end for a special offer!

Not only has whskr made a beautiful piece to contribute, but she also made an impressive commitment to help spread the word about the 3 Day and this raffle. In addition to making this beautiful Art Doll Brooch, Marjorie is a doll.

Crazy4Cards has donated these adorable and very appropriate bra cards. Whoever wins her donation, will open the package to find not just the cards but also some earrings and some other goodies. I think she had some fun putting together her package!

When cascreates offered to donate a piece for this raffle, Chris very generously offered for me to pick any item from the shop. This necklace and earring set glimmer and glitter like pure gold and the beadwork is beautiful!

Amber Moran has offered a very special piece as her contribution. She will create a custom portrait of up to two people and/or animal. Talk about an amazing way of honoring a loved one.

Don't forget to visit the 3 Day Raffle for your chance to win one of these or many other amazing handmade items!
It's super easy: check out the amazing goods, buys tickets (which really means donate to my fundraising for the 3 Day), and comment on my blog to let me know. That's it!

********************************************

As I mentioned, this is the last week of the handmade raffle fundraiser. I'd like to make this last week count, so I'm going to make a special offer to everyone who participates this week. You don't even have to be one of the lucky prize winners. Everyone who purchases tickets (aka: makes a donation) for this raffle will receive a free Euro 4-1 chain maille bracelet from Athena's Armoury.

All you have to do is:
-Make a donation of any amount (the minimum that the 3 Day website will accept is $5) to my 3 Day fundraising.
-Make a comment on the raffle blog post (with you name, e-mail addy, & number of tickets or dollar amount) so that I can correctly cross reference.

There are $600 worth of amazing products to be won. So far, this raffle has raised $125 to go towards breast cancer research and breast health programs. Will you help me raise at least another $75 (to get up to a nice even $200) to go towards the fight against breast cancer?

Thank you so much for your support!!

Free Breast Cancer Awareness Accessories

From now until Mother's Day (Sunday, May 9), I'd like to share some love with all of you!

I want to give you a free silicone breast cancer awareness bracelet, a pink awareness ribbon, and a breast self exam card.
All three free!!

What do you have to do to get the free goods? It's simple, really:

-Make purchase from the Pink Warrior Collection at Athena's Armoury on Etsy or Artfire and use the code "awareness." ALL proceeds from the purchase of items in the Pink Warrior Collection will go directly to my fundraising for the 3 Day to support breast cancer research & breast health programs.

OR

-Enter the handmade raffle that I'm hosting to benefit breast cancer research. If I pick your ticket to win one of the amazing pieces, you'll get this bonus gift, too!

Have fun & thanks for supporting breast cancer research!!

Friday Finds - Raffle Sponsor Spotlight Part III

We're about halfway through my raffle to raise funds for The 3 Day and so we're up to Part III of my series featuring the amazingly generous folks who contributed their time & talent to the event. Because of these wonderful artists, ALL proceeds from the raffle will go directly towards my fundraising for the 3 Day to help fight breast cancer. Please check out these amazing Etsy sellers and, of course, the raffle where you can win some of their work! The raffle is super easy: check out the amazing goods, buy tickets (aka: donate to my fundraising), and then comment on my blog to let me know. That's it! Enjoy!

I am a part of the amazing Fantasy Artists of Etsy Street Team. Not only a very talented group of people, but also very kind, generous and supportive. I've already featured a few members in the last few weeks (mermaiden, Gypsy Moon Art Studio, aquariann, Fairies Nest, Threads of Magique, and Meri), so today we'll check out the rest of the fantasy artists that contributed!

Plushroom Soup created this adorable little plushie called Wings of Hope Owlet. I think the name speaks for itself.

Tremendous supporter of my 3 Day fundraising, FaerieKat made these delicate earrings. She says, "In the Victorian language of flowers, Canterbury Bells signify gratitude, and gratitude is exactly what I had in mind when I created these dainty cup-and-saucer version earrings to support awareness for research and outreach efforts to cure breast cancer. "
Fairy Queen Crochet hand crocheted each rose colored flower on this choker and even attached the center one to an awareness ribbon. This piece reminds me to use my voice and spread the word. Yes, the 3 Day is about fundraising, but it's also about awareness.

Daydreamer Art has been a strong proponent of my fundraising and the cause. She was inspired by Oestre, now more commonly referred to as Ostara, the German Goddess of Oestre/Eoster- or also known as Easter when she created this piece.
88Links contributed this armband that rests on your upper arm like a metallic ribbon. Talk about wearing your heart on your sleeve.

Inspired by spring, Anika's Art hopes that like the blooming flowers, hearts will open for hope. I do, too.
Phenome Gnome shares that Feline Fairies are considered extremely good luck and they are excellent guardians of the fairy realm. Sounds like we can all use to have one around. Believe!

Don't forget to visit the 3 Day Raffle for your chance to win one of these or many other amazing handmade items!
It's super easy: check out the amazing goods, buys tickets (which really means donate to my fundraising for the 3 Day), and comment on my blog to let me know. That's it!

Friday Finds - Raffle Sponsor Spotlight Part II

Welcome to Part II of the ongoing Friday Finds that feature the artists that have so generously donated their time and talent to my 3 Day raffle. Because of these amazing artists, ALL proceeds from the raffle will go directly towards my fundraising for the 3 Day to help fight breast cancer. Please check out these amazing Etsy sellers and, of course, (shameless plug here) the raffle where you can win some of their work! The raffle is super easy: check out the amazing goods, buy tickets (aka: donate to my fundraising), and then comment on my blog to let me know. That's it! Enjoy!

This week, I would like to feature some of the amazing maillesmiths that have contributed their work.

Kali Butterfly donated this amazing piece that uses scales (as in scale maille) and finished it off with an adorable pink ribbon clasp (nice touch!). Thanks to early detection, her mom beat breast cancer! Early detection saves lives, her mom is living proof.


Armored Hearts made these little dazzlers with Jeweler's Brass: they shine like gold! And of course, they are trimmed in breast cancer awareness pink.

Baron Byron told me that he enjoys donating his work for good causes and he was thrilled to help find a cure with this Japanese 12-2 earrings and bracelet set.

Nicole Hill donated this divine Half Persian bracelet that uses square jump rings. It's a great chunky piece for a guy. It was really important to me that there was something in the raffle that can be a good representation of the guys because many times people forget that men get breast cancer, too.

The forthcoming Coldfire Customs donated this bracelet and earrings set. The bracelet was created to be reminiscent of a pink ribbon (I love the versatility of chain maille!).

Meri is one of my fellow FAEteam members and she was kind enough to post my 3 Day widget on her blog for me when I first registered for the walk.

Don't forget to visit the 3 Day Raffle for your chance to win one of these or many other amazing handmade items!

Herb Society Meeting: Growing from Seed

At last night's Herb Society Meeting, we discussed some resources for growing from seed. I must admit that I haven't had much success growing from seed, but it's still fairly new to me. I tried growing lavender from seed a few years ago and got nothing from it. This past fall, I tried Thai Basil (from some seeds from the Herb Society, in fact) and got some adorable little green sprouts that quickly died. Honestly, I think I may have over watered that one. One of these days, I have to give it a go again. I also have to eventually invest the time, energy, and money to try to plant something in our sandy soil.

I have not tried any of these, but here are a few seed suppliers that they recommended:
Horizon Herbs
Johnny's Selected Seeds
Kitazawa Seed Company

A highly recommended fertilizer (again, I haven't tried it but it sounds amazing):
Ocean Solution

I was also thinking that I need to pick up a field identification book and heard at the meeting last night that the Smithsonian Handbook of Herbs is a really great book for all of it's color photos.

For the workshop portion of the evening, we repotted some herbs that one of our members who has a farm was growing for the group. I repotted & brought home with me (two for $1 was a steal!) a nasturtium, some lettuce, Tulsi (or Holy Basil), and Perilla.

The nasturtium is a lovely edible flower. I'm not sure what it tastes like, but it's colorful and looks so pretty on salads.

I was warned that the growing season for lettuce in Florida is probably just about over, so I'm not sure if these will take but I thought I'd give it a shot anyway.

I'm very excited about the Tulsi and Perilla. Tulsi is a nerve tonic, helps lower fevers, is good for treating respiratory problems, reduces cholesterol, it's an adaptogen, and even helps treat insect bites.

Perilla is good for sinus & allergy problems, colds, congestion, asthama, bronchitis, it helps sweat out a cold, and is anti-bacterial. Plus, it's leaves are green and a really lovely purple.

Here's a little gem that I picked up last night: The plant leaf most attacked (by bugs or whatnot) has the most magic and medicine of the plant.

If you're in the Tampa Bay area, the Green Thumb Festival is going on this weekend in St. Pete. It sounds like an amazing event with every kind of flower imaginable, food vendors, gardening accessories, soil testing, and more. I hope my feet are feeling up to it because I would love to check it out!

The lovely ladies on the board at the Herb Society allowed me to set up my fundraising goodies last night, too. It wasn't a huge success, but I did leave with $15 more to fight breast cancer than I had before the meeting. Every little bit helps.

Don't forget to check out my raffle benefitting the 3 Day!

Friday Finds - Raffle Sponsor Spotlight Part I

Yesterday's regularly scheduled Friday Finds blog post was completely forgotten about while I dealt with getting my feet checked out by a doctor. I'll tell you more about that situation with Monday's 3 Day update.

For the next few Friday Finds (albeit on Saturday this week), I'd like to feature the artists that have so generously donated their time and talent to my 3 Day raffle. Because of these amazing artists, ALL proceeds from the raffle will go directly towards my fundraising for the 3 Day to help fight breast cancer. Please check out these amazing Etsy sellers and, of course, (shameless plug here) the raffle where you can win some of their work!

The first artist that I'd like to feature is Gypsy Moon Art Studio. This gypsy lady has been a strong supporter of my efforts for the 3 Day from the beginning and was the first artist to offer a piece to contribute my fundraising.

An amazing artist and a true friend, mermaiden created a vintage ephemera piece that is not only beautiful, but also reminds us of the importance of monthly breast self exams.


aquariann (my recent giveaway winner!) shares that "Aware" is a breast cancer awareness fairy inspired by her mom, a survivor of 14 years and an incredibly strong woman.


Inner Muse Jewelry was the first Etsy seller to respond to my call for items in my Etsy forum thread. She used to work at a cancer treatment & research center, so she was glad to help increase the funding!


One of my FAE friends that saw my call for help on twitter, Fairies Nest donated these adorable lavender & flax seed filled baby dolls. Their cheerful faces and lovely scent will relax & brighten anyone's day!


I'm very excited that Threads of Magique donated one of their amazing wall hangings. It sings of the hope and faith in the hearts of everyone involved in the fight for the cure.

Don't forget to visit the 3 Day Raffle for your chance to win one of these or many other amazing handmade items!

3 Day Raffle - ALL Proceeds to Benefit Susan G. Komen

I am thrilled to announce my first big fundraising event for the Susan G. Komen 3 Day for the Cure: Athena's Armoury is hosting an online raffle! Thanks to the support and generosity of the handmade community who donated their talents, ALL proceeds will benefit my fundraising for the 3 Day!!

Some of the work you will see was custom made just for this raffle, there are items that are the signature piece of the artist, others are completely one of a kind, all items are handmade and fabulous. There really is a little bit of everything including artwork, jewelry, plushies, sculpture, and wallhangings. And believe me when I tell you, the work truly is spectacular!!

There is approximately $600 worth of amazing handmade items included. If just five people buy just a single ticket for every piece in the raffle, we will raise $600 in the fight against breast cancer!! That would be absolutely amazing. Will you help make a difference?

Okay, here's what you do:

~Read this page for information about the 3 Day and how the raffle works. This is important because it will explain to you how to purchase your raffle tickets. Please read it carefully and follow the instructions.
~Go explore the plethora of handmade goodies that you have the opportunity to win.

Thank you so much for your support & have fun!!!

Call for Raffle Donations to Support BOOBS!

To date, the majority of my fundraising for the 3 Day has been in the form of letters, chatting up people, and social media promotion. Through those outlets alone, I have already raised $850 - only $1,450 to go! I'm excited to announce my first true fundraising event! Sure, it's a virtual event, but an event nonetheless!

As part of my fundraising, I will be raffling off items from my blog. Some items I will make or I will have donated from local businesses (show tickets!). Others will come from the loving and supportive arts & crafts community. This is a call out to all of you amazing artists and crafters for items to donate.

~*~ This is how it will work. ~*~

-Amazing crafter provides me with picture(s), a detailed description of the item, and an estimated value or simply directs me to an item in their shop where I can gather all of this information. All of this information will be in your item’s listing in the raffle in addition to your shop information.

-The raffle will run for one month.

-In order for all raffle ticket purchases to go towards fundraising, I will direct people straight to my profile at the 3 Day website (as opposed to Paypal which will deduct fees).

-The minimum donation of $5 (which is the minimum that can be donated at the 3 Day website) will be the equivalent of 1 ticket, $10 will be for 3, $20 for 7, and $50 for 20 tickets.

-I will require everyone that purchases raffle tickets to leave a comment on my blog post with their first name, e-mail address, and number of tickets purchased so that I can cross reference their information at my 3 Day Personal Page (where they make their donation) and be sure that I have a way of contacting them to receive their winning item.

-I will promote the auction on my blog, on Facebook, and twitter as well as among all of my online communities and encourage all participants to do the same.

-If you are able to include your product donation on your taxes, I am more than glad to supply you with the 3 Day’s tax ID number.

-I will use a random number generator to pick the raffle winners.

-At the completion of the raffle, I will notify the winners via e-mail that they won and I will notify my lovely donation crafters of their mailing address. As part of your donation, I will ask that you take care of shipping your item and try to have it shipped out within three business days of receipt of their address.

~*~ Why would you want to do this? There are a few reasons. ~*~

-Free promotion: in addition to promoting the raffle, I talk about this event a lot and boast about the angels that support me & the cause.
-A possible tax deduction: if you include your Etsy business on your taxes, that is.
-Getting your work out there: the more people that see your fabulous goods, the more likely they are to come back or tell their friends about you.
-Supporting an amazing cause: if you’ve got boobs and, yes we ALL do, you benefit from supporting the 3 Day.

~*~ Important Dates ~*~

-This Etsy forum thread will be open to accepting item donations until Sunday, April 4, 2010. Donations can still be made after this point, but I need somewhere to start!
-The raffle will go live on Monday, April 12, 2010 and stay open for one month.
-The raffle will close at 11:59pm on Sunday, May 9, 2010.
-The drawing will occur on Monday, May 10, 2010. And winners will be notified promptly at the completion of the drawing.

Again, visit this thread to let me know what you'd like to donate.

One in eight women in the U.S. will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime. Without a cure, one person will die of breast cancer every 13 minutes in the United States. That's why I'm walking in the 3-Day for the Cure: because everyone deserves a lifetime. I hope that you'll share this incredible adventure with me by supporting me in my fund raising efforts.

If you’d like to make a monetary donation, go to my personal fund raising page: http://www.the3day.org/goto/Janine.Vanderhoff

If you have any questions or want to hear more about what I'm doing, I love talking about the event. Thank you for taking the time to read this message. Thank you in advance for your generosity!