Customer Appreciation: iWunder

Way back in November or December, the Florida Etsy Street Team did a holiday secret swap organized by Kelli of Red Marionette (if you haven't seen her adorable felt critters, do yourself a favor and check them out). The chilly weather we've been having lately made me want to share with you the wonderful swap that I received! It was an extra long, skinny scarf in chocolate brown with resin and wood beads woven into it by iWunder. It's cozy and gorgeous and can be worn long, wrapped multiple times, or even as a belt. Here's one very similar to mine that she's got in her shop right now:


Everything in the shop is hand knit and hand dyed and she's got such a wide assortment of items including tops, purses, appliques, and even some felted bowls in addition, of course, to her scarves and yarn. Go ahead and get yourself something warm and cozy and give this amazing shop some love.

Customer Appreciation: The Green Cat

Once upon a time, I used to travel the country (and then some) as a stage manager for Broadway tours. On one of these tours, I worked with Cat: a fellow stage manager, quilter, environmentalist, and all around awesome woman. I was reading her blog and found out that she opened an Etsy shop (using her sewing talents and in keeping with her environmental ideals):

TheGreenCat ~ Handmade Items from Repurposed Fabrics ~

****Using up every scrap of fabric I can get my paws on!****

Jack had something from her even before I did! When she heard that I had a new family member, she sent him some catnip mice. Jack absolutely loves these little guys. You can pick up your own in her shop.

I had been in the market for some cloth napkins and fell in love with the fabric she used for those featured below. She sent them lovingly packaged and even included some napkin folding instructions (a great touch!) plus an extra little present for me.

She has coasters, wreaths, and the most adorable little birds.

She's having New Year Sale in her shop, so be sure to check it out!!

I'm clearing out some stock so for a limited time you can receive 25% OFF ANYTHING IN THE SHOP! Just put "newyear25" in the notes to seller and wait for your revised invoice before paying.

Eco Tip: Skin Deep

I've always been concerned about our environment and conscious about the things I put into my body, but in recent years I've also become more aware of the things I put onto my body. Your skin is your largest organ and whatever is put on it seeps in and can affect the rest of you. I've more and more been making an effort to use personal care products with all natural, organic ingredients. I've been a long time fan of Lush (especially their bath products), but also like to support my crafty sistas, too.

I've been known to indulge in bath products as well mineral cosmetics from Lollibomb. By the way, Luca (of Lollibomb fame) is a doll and her products are amazing. I had gotten her six month subscription and had so much fun opening a box of goodies every month.

I also fell in love with the Veggie Deodorant originally offered by Sugar Lips who passed the torch onto Wicked Clean.

Pink Quartz Minerals has the best ever under eye concealer called Goldenrod (I use this stuff religiously).

Lately, though, I've been taking matters into my own hands.
Above, you see some awesome sugar scrub that I talked about in a previous post, some baking soda style 'tooth paste', a vinegar rinse for my hair, and some lemon hairspray. The vinegar rinse works great, but took a little getting used to (my hair went through an adjustment dealing with the different ph). As I mentioned, I love this sugar scrub. I'm still deciding on the lemon hairspray: my hair is either super fly away crazy or kind of gunky when I use it. Since it goes from one end of the spectrum to the other, it may be another factor (like the weather), so I'm giving it some more time. So far as the tooth paste goes, my teeth have never been whiter and I love how clean and not chemically they feel. My only concern is the lack of a protective ingredient in it. I have read that there's more fluoride in tap water than ever before, so does that mean I'm getting all the fluoride my teeth need through my drinking water now?

**Did you know that only 11% of ingredients in beauty products undergo premarket safety tests? If this concerns you (it certainly does me), check out Skin Deep. First launched by the nonprofit Environmental Working Group in 2004, the website provides information on more than 25,000 personal care products and nearly 7,000 ingredients. Searchable by brand, type, and ingredient, the site ranks products according to known risks. Ever question the wisdom of appying chemicals like phenoxyethanol to your delicate skin? I would.**

I've Been MIA: Here's What I've Been Up To

I've been horrible about updating lately!! The last few weeks have been insane. I'm not sure how it happened, but I was still rushing to wrap and ship Christmas presents even though I started shopping in October.

I finally finished up my custom orders. I had one order for two Dice Bags, one of my standard and the second with copper cinch rings:

I was spotted working on a Dice Bag while at work and got a custom order on the spot for a Crown Royal size bag:

I don't have any in shop at the moment, but if you want a Dice Bag just drop me a Convo through my Etsy shop and I will get back to you with an estimate of how soon one can be ready (usually 3-4 days).

I got to go to the Atomic Holiday Bazaar in Sarasota recently and walked away with all kinds of awesome booty. You can see some it in my flickr Customer Appreciation Set. Also, I finally upgraded to a Pro flickr account! Ooooh, the organization possibilities!

I recently hit 150 Hearts! THANK YOU!


The folks over at Real Simple gave Etsy an awesome shoutout in their December issue:


Need a last minute handmade gift? Check out Etsy's fantastic new feature called Shop Local. It will show you all of the Etsy shops in your neighborhood.

The Fantasy Artists of Etsy (FAE) Street Team's December Newsletter is out! You can sign up to receive our once monthly newsletter here.

You have just 11 more days to check out the FAE Christmas Exhibition. There are many wonderful items here from our members.

We've got another wonderful feature over at our FAE website called the Magic Door. Every single day, it is updated to take you to a different member shop. It's a little happy surprise to go through that door!