From The Factory

relocating.

2011-04-29T19:08:00.001-07:00

it's time to move on, kids.

smooth move

2011-04-12T14:45:00.000-07:00

I'm planning a dinner with a few friends on Friday night, so I was browsing Real Simple for recipe ideas. Some of their smoothies caught my eye and now I'm hungry!

raspberry and nut

carrot pineapple

banana cashew

spinach grape and coconut

gingery berry and oat

Video Craft Tutorial: No Sew Hair Bow

2011-03-10T15:21:00.000-08:00

I've been making an absurd amount of hair bows lately.....

so I decided to make a craft tutorial as I made one, to show you how it's done! It's super easy and only takes about 5 minutes per bow. I hope you enjoy!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-13T14:14:00.001-08:00

as a present for my husband, I experimented with my camera & mac and made my first stop motion animation. I am planning on making more of these in the future... they will hopefully get better as time goes on. I hope you enjoy!

wishlist

2011-01-09T08:39:00.000-08:00

I'm currently swooning over the following things on Etsy, just sitting and waiting on the day to make them mine:

pink wig by MissVioletLace

big bucks shirt by maybeyoushoulddie

Sunday Morning print by rosiemusic

It's my forest clock by decoylab

what's up cupcake by johnnyvintage

not a fashionista

2010-12-30T20:38:00.000-08:00

first of all, let me say that I am NOT a fashionista. I do not, nor will I ever, pretend to think for one second that I am fashionable. I like to wear clothes that I think are cute and do a somewhat decent job at hiding my chub.

today was just the first day in a long time that I woke up not feeling like absolutely death, so I wanted to get cute and take a picture with my new camera (a Canon rebel, Christmas gift from my husband, xox), and put it on my blog. so here it is.

cardigan-target

dress-target

tights-walmart

boots-forever21

bib necklace-autumnart

I gave serious thought about posting outfits on my blog regularly. I decided that no one really cares. And they don't. Nobody wants to see a 200 (or so) pound 21 year old throw together outfits in the dark composed of clothing she picked off clearance racks in the mall.

But to end this on a positive note, tomorrow is New Year's Eve. And I'm going to St. Louis, with my husband (and a couple of friends) and going to a casino. Cheers to you all!

an interesting find

2010-08-25T21:09:00.000-07:00

I have admitted several times in blog interviews that my existence on Etsy is completely due to my husband. When we were dating, he was searching for skeleton key jewelry and discovered Etsy through google. He bought me a handmade Alice in Wonderland necklace for my birthday that year (from a shop that is now closed)... and we have fallen in love with the site ever since.

As I was browsing the treasury today, I noticed this lovely ring:

Hide and Seek Sterling Keyhole Ring

I immediately needed to see more from this shop. So I click over.... and discovered that the shop name is HouseThatCrowBuilt. I thought this was special because our last name is Crowe, and we are infatuated with skeleton keys. My husband even has a skeleton key tattoo. (mine is coming soon)

This shop is filled with amazing things, but I just thought I would share a few more skeleton keys:

Antique Skeleton Key Shadowbox Pendant

Starling Necklace

it girl.

2010-08-23T20:31:00.000-07:00

isn't she beautiful?

things that remind me of edie:

source

weddings are fun

2010-08-16T12:33:00.000-07:00

summer has been impossibly busy. Last weekend one of my very best friends, Sara, got married to her lovely fiance, Dan. The wedding was absolutely perfect, the reception was gorgeous, and the dancing was fun and uninhibited (for the most part). I was lucky to be asked to make the programs and the hair flowers for the bridesmaids. Here are some snapshots!

myself and Colton.... waiting on the formal pictures to be taken.

one of the programs

the blushing bride

the ceremony

cake kiss

dancefloor!

Also, this was my 100th post on this blog... and my 100th treasury is coming up soon, and I am planning a treasury challenge/giveaway so get excited for that!

I have a confession to make.

2010-08-12T15:50:00.000-07:00

Making supplies an art...

2010-08-01T10:22:00.000-07:00

I just love it when supply shops on Etsy have pretty pictures. It's not very common. A lot of supply shops use photos from their wholesaler or hastily taken photographs with bad or no photoshopping.

But there are a few with great photography that really stand out to me....

What supply shops have your favorite photos? Do great supply photos influence you to purchase from that shop over another one?

Birthday sale & $20 bucks for you!

2010-07-14T12:13:00.000-07:00

Friday is my 21st birthday. ....I KNOW! So feel free to make many treasuries inspired by me on that day and send me whatever gifts you please. (I'm just kidding.)

Instead of taking, here's what I'm offering YOU for my birthday!

I will discount 21% off your entire purchase from my shop when you simply mention the code "21" at checkout. I will send you a refund via Paypal after you pay, since I will be busy running around going to the spa, St. Louis, baseball games, etcetera. I really want 550 sales by my birthday. I'm at 549 right now.

Also, I'm giving away $20 to spend in my shop at BailyBelleCreations blog. It's super easy to enter. If you follow this blog you just have to comment saying so, and you've entered! There's some other ways to put in a few more entries.

So happy birthday to me! Enjoy your party favors.

how did this even happen?

2010-07-13T20:57:00.000-07:00

907 convos? How did this even happen?

let's get deleting!

almost there....

January? What? Why?

Two clicks away.....

*sigh of relief*

ETSYPOCALYPSE2010

2010-07-09T20:55:00.000-07:00

When I first blogged about Treasury East.... I had no idea this was in store for us. Okay, maybe I did.

That's right. I'm blaming the Etsy Crash on Treasury East. Whatchu gonna do about it? Seriously, the possibility of billions upon billions of treasuries? REALLY ETSY? Where you gonna get the servers for that?

Did you really think we wouldn't notice? Anyways.... until Etsy is back I am complaining on twitter and constantly refreshing Etsy Status.

I would hate to be Admin right now. I imagine them running around Etsy HQ, phoning for help in their plushy telephone booth.

And I was listing new stuff for once. GEETHANKSGUYS.

Also, I apologize for being a bad blogger lately. xo

I was on the teevee!

2010-07-08T15:08:00.001-07:00

and for the record, my name is spelled "Ashli", not "Ashlei".

We have a winner!

2010-07-07T19:29:00.000-07:00

First of all, thank you virtuebathandbeauty for the fantastically fun giveaway!

Random.org chose comment #11 as the winner!

That means imeondesign is the winner!

A big thank you to everyone who entered! If you are interested in doing a giveaway on this blog, send me a convo!

Pssst.... My 21st birthday is next Friday. Stay tuned for a birthday sale....

A giveaway with a little bit of virtue......

2010-06-30T09:23:00.000-07:00

I apologize for the lack of blog posts lately. All I can say is that I suck. Summer has been.... well, summer. Crazy busy! After getting hit with a load of non-paying buyers in a row, I lost a little bit of interest in my shop and blog. I'm also busy running my treasury project and have picked up my treasury team's blog. However, I'm just taking a deep breath and letting the inspiration flow in. What you have to look forward to: I will soon be doing a guest blog at blueheart, and I'm considering opening another shop to separate and expand my paper line.

But for now.... let's do a feature and a giveaway! Today I'm featuring virtuebathandbeauty.

Jessica is graciously offering up $20 to spend only in her shop. Which means you can buy me about 3 of these Cocoa Commitment Bath Bombs. Did I say "me"? I mean "yourself"! Keep reading to find out how to win (trust me, it will be easy peasy).

Ashli: What brought you to Etsy?
Jessica: I have a friend who is actually a photographer and she bought a lot of her props on Etsy. I decided to check it out and instantly fell in love. The community was amazing and I was obsessed with searching for vintage items and I thought it would make a great home for my shop.

Ashli: Who or what is your current muse?
Jessica: I don't know that I have a specific muse, it changes a lot. But i've always had sort of an ideal woman in my head. The person I try to create for. She's timid, but not afraid to be bold. She loves vintage items, but she's always looking towards the future. She's the woman I try to be.

source

Ashli: What are your Etsy goals?
Jessica: I really want to be able to just live off of my etsy sales. I want to be an iconic etsy seller, like those I look up to. But most of all I want to give my buyers the best, most pleasant experience possible!

Ashli: Favorite thing in your shop?

Jessica: I love all of my bath bombs! But I especially love the peppermint. I am super hot natured so it gives me sort of a little bit of winter in this hot georgia weather. I do have a lot of exciting things coming though that may turn out to be my favorite. *cough* bath cookies *cough*. I love my eyeshadows too though, I have loads of makeup artist friends that have put away their MAC and only use my shadows now. That makes me so happy.

source

Ashli: Describe what you would want your last meal on earth to consist of.
Jessica: Oh lord, do you have a while for this question? I am definitely a foodie and I love to make bath products that remind me of food. If I had to pick, I would say a good old southern meal my granny always makes me for my birthday. Fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, sweet tea and green beans. Although, I think it wouldn't be the same without my family's company. I just love them!

*GIVEAWAY TIME!*

How to enter:

Do any of the following and comment saying so. Make sure there is a way for me to contact you on your profile or in the comment. Leave a separate comment for EACH entry, otherwise it will only count as one entry.

1. Follow this blog.

2. Follow virtuebathandbeauty's blog.

3. Follow virtuebusiness on twitter.

4. "Like" virtuebathandbeauty on facebook.

5. Go to virtuebathandbeauty & comment back here with your favorite item.

6. Make a NEW treasury with anything from virtuebathandbeauty & comment with a link.

7. Purchase anything from virtuebathandbeauty from now until the close of the contest.

8. Promote this giveaway in any way (blog, facebook, twitter).

This giveaway will be open from now until Wednesday, July 7th.

SUMMER IS HERE! Giveaway winner announced.

2010-06-21T21:19:00.000-07:00

I hope that everyone had a fantastic Summer Solstice. I definitely did.... I drank plenty of water and iced green tea with lemongrass and made plans to go to the beach at least once this week.

Time to announce the giveaway winner!

Thanks to random.org... comment #51 won!

And that comment belonged to....

Congratulations BailyBelleCreations!!!! I will be sending your prize out this week. And just to remind her of what she's won (and make everyone else sad that they didn't win)....

A big thank you to everyone who entered!!! I'm so excited to have 250 followers at this blog, and almost 50 at my treasury blog! I love my readers.... your comments keep me going.

xo
Ashli

One year.

2010-06-12T22:02:00.000-07:00

Etsy Feature Buttons

2010-06-07T16:07:00.000-07:00

I got bored with the "featured on the FP" buttons that Etsy gives us for free.

So I made my own. Feel free to save these and use them in your own shop!

for features in the Etsy Voter:

Hopefully I get to use this one someday:

Enjoy!

My first video craft tutorial! Paper Yo Yo Greeting Card

2010-06-01T15:05:00.000-07:00

I made my first video craft tutorial today! I demonstrated how to make a card using a paper yo yo technique. The card in the tutorial was the card for June for members of my Card of the Month Club.

I hope you enjoyed this little video! I want to make more... and I would love suggestions on future tutorials.

Don't forget to enter the giveaway below!

It's Almost Summer Giveaway (with a little help from Paula Deen)

2010-05-31T13:15:00.000-07:00

hello friends. It's almost summer!!! To celebrate this fact (as well as to celebrate my 500th sale!!!!) I'm having a giveaway. Where does Paula Deen come into the picture?

I'M GLAD YOU ASKED! Paula Deen (or as I affectionately call her, Paula) has this new fun summer line of products at Michael's. She has everything from recipe boxes and cards to gift tags... and then a little more.

Here is everything that will be given away to ONE lucky winner right here on this very blog!!

To get you even more excited... let's talk a little more about Paula and her line at Michael's. Paula Deen is basically the modern, southern version of Julia Child. They both have very distinct voices, and believe the more butter the better. Paula has a show on Food Network called Paula's Home Cooking and does several other specials.

Included in the giveaway are these fantastic Paula Deen recipe cards (there are 18):

A set of 4 "You're A Peach" Mini Cards from my Etsy shop and 4 gift tags from the Paula Deen line:

These fantastic Paula Deen cupcake liners (it's a package of 50!):

And a pair of "Let's Eat Earrings (Nickel Free)" from my Etsy shop:

This giveaway is open from now until Monday, June 21, 2010.... because that's the first official day of summer!!

How to enter:

Do any of the following and comment saying so. Make sure there is a way for me to contact you on your profile or in the comment. Leave a separate comment for each entry, otherwise it will only count as one entry.

1. Follow this blog.

2. Follow my treasury project blog.

3. Follow me on twitter.

4. Like my shop's facebook page.

5. Go to my Etsy shop & comment back here with your favorite item.

6. Make a treasury with anything from my shop & comment with a link.

7. Purchase anything from my shop from now until the close of the contest.

8. Promote this giveaway in any way (blog, facebook, twitter).

Upcycled Dress into a Lace Back Vest (the how-to)

2010-05-28T12:58:00.000-07:00

I bought a lacy dress at Forever 21 on clearance a few summers ago. It was great for walking to the beach in Chicago.... but now that I am beachless in Charleston, I decided to upcycle it.

I've slowly been collecting lace back vests (like this one form Charlotte Russe).

I decided this would be the perfect next life for my dress. So I trimmed off the bottom with my rotary cutter, mat, and guide thingy.

Originally, the lace was on the front of the dress. For the vest, I wanted it on the back. So I put my mat in between the front and back of the dress with the original back of the dress facing up. I lined my guide in the center of the tag all the way down the back. Next, I cut down with my rotary cutter and cut out the tag.

If you wanted, you could hem it... but I like the unfinished look.

here's the front:

I hope you enjoyed this how-to! If you give this a shot.... please take pics and post links in the comments! I would love to see your projects.

I'm halfway there.

2010-05-25T18:56:00.000-07:00

When I started my Etsy shop, I waited about 3 weeks for my first sale. I remember how ridiculously excited I was when I got my first sale. Since it took so long to arrive... my husband made a deal with me. He said that when I reached 1,000 sales, he would buy me a Land Rover. (I've always wanted a white Range Rover... my Olds' Bravada is about to die but I refuse to buy another car because I ONLY want a Land Rover but can't afford it right now.)

Today I reached 500 sales.

I was going to celebrate tonight with a giveaway.... but I didn't want to just throw something together. So I'm going to plan out an awesome giveaway and post it *hopefully* by the end of the week.

However... I did reward myself by buying myself something special. And it just so happened to be a fantastic shop's 1st (and 2nd) sales. I saw this on the FP and HAD to have it! I also picked up this cutie.

So a giant thank you to everyone who has supported me through these last months... looking forward to working with you in the months and hopefully years to come. Keep checking back on this blog... keep on board with my treasury blog... and brace yourself for the exciting things (and hopefully Land Rovers) to come!

Craft Fair Aftermath...

2010-05-23T14:10:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I packed up my jewelries and such and took them to Not Your Grandma's Craft Fair in Collinsville. I had no idea what to expect because it was the show's first ever year. It was founded by this lovely lady:

Here is a photo of me cheesin' it with my setup:

Here are the super cute vendor tags they made for us:

There's even more photos on my facebook fan page.

Anyways. Here's what I learned from the experience:

1. Get more than 3 hours of sleep the night before.
2. Don't expect it to be busy the whole time.
3. Don't get discouraged and leave early. Wait until the end of the show.
4. Bring your tools and offer to make adjustments on pieces. I made a sale because I was willing to shorten a necklace chain.
5. Have fun with the shoppers... go beyond "Hi! How are you today?" without being invasive.

Here's a quick shot of some of the stuff I bought:

goldfish mug by linafasano, journal by thread and paper, pin by bunniesandbows, and truffles by ms. mary

Amy from bunniesandbows was a total sweetheart and had her eye on a necklace & a ring on my table. She's saving $ to go on a missions trip to Japan, so isn't able to spend right now. I offered up a trade and scored these fantastic prints:

You should seriously check out her shop... pick up a great print (or two) and help support this fantastic artist!

Everyone at the show was SO unbelievably talented... it was inspiring to walk around and so much fun to chat with the vendors. Oh... and on top of that, it was great to sell some stuff. I'm marking the show as a "win" in my book.

New Blog: A Treasured Year

2010-05-21T14:35:00.000-07:00

I started a new blog. I'm going to challenge myself to make 365 treasuries in 365 days. I wanted to keep it separated from this blog.... so check it out here:

A Treasured Year

How I Spent Music Monday

2010-05-18T16:46:00.000-07:00

Just because I don't do a "Music Monday" blog post or anything like that doesn't mean I don't enjoy good music. On Mondays. As a matter of fact, the husband and I went to a pretty swell concert yesterday in Indianapolis.

The band is called Them Crooked Vultures. Haven't heard of it? You probably kind of have.

It is fronted by Josh Homme from Queens of the Stone Age....

with John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin on bass (and piano... and violin... and KEYTAR)....

and Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters & Nirvana on drums (okay... this was my favorite part).

Concert summary: wowza. These three musicians are incredibly talented. They are some of the absolute best at what they do. I was a little surprised when the band formed, but I'm ever so glad they did. This group of guys has "been there-done that" with touring to make money and chase fame. With them, it's all about the music. You don't see that every day with a show. I highly, highly recommend this band.

The opening band was pretty good, too. Usually I wish away the opening bands (because they seldom catch my attention). However, Alberta Cross was something unexpected. I enjoyed them so much, I downloaded their newest album on iTunes almost the minute we got home.

I hope everyone enjoyed their Music Monday as much as I did. Can't wait for Not Your Grandma's Craft Fair in Collinsville on Saturday!

Time for New "Sponsors"

2010-05-15T13:34:00.000-07:00

It's been well over a month for the "sponsors" on my blog... so it's time for new ones! I will soon be taking down all of the Etsy Minis from my sidebar.

If you would like to be featured for the next month (or so), simply create a new treasury east featuring one of my items. You MUST comment here with a link to the treasury. I will then convo you asking for the code for your Etsy Mini. Hooray for free ad space!

I cannot thank everyone enough who featured me before!

Mother's Day Weekend

2010-05-14T09:26:00.000-07:00

Mother's Day was last weekend. I'm sure you were aware of this. Anyways... I had to work on Sunday so I spent Saturday with my mom. We went to the Ethel Edith spring show, and I picked up this fun pink chair for my craft room.

I made these flower pots for my mom & mother in law. There was a how-to on a blog somewhere. However, I have no idea where.... I just made a mental note of the process and moved on. Oops! Basically, I painted the pot with an off white acrylic paint. It was almost dry brush technique.... to give it an "aged" look. I printed a vintage French label graphic from The Graphics Fairy blog and mod podged it onto the pot. After it dried, I sealed the whole thing.

My mom sent me home with these yummy farm fresh organic strawberries. They grow organic produce on their farm.

I hope you all enjoyed your weekend, as well.

Letting Your Etsy Photography Evolve

2010-05-13T20:11:00.000-07:00

When you've been on Etsy for awhile (okay... I've only been on Etsy for 7 months, but that's still long enough to notice a difference) your photography will hopefully evolve. What do I mean by this? Your photos will naturally improve as you learn how to use your camera to its advantage, how to compose a photo, and how to edit your photos to your item's best advantage.

To illustrate my point... I will be providing "before/after" style photos from my shop as well as from other Etsian volunteers. The other Etsians are shops whose photography I have always admired.

First... an example from my shop. This photo was the second photo from the first item I ever sold. So bad.

This is the photo from the last item I had on the Front Page.

You might be able to immediately notice some differences. Brightness, clarity, life... the fact that you can actually tell what the item is (or SEE what the item is).

This photo is from my dear friend GlitzGlitter's shop. This was her first sale:

Although it is significantly better than my "first sale" photo... There are some obvious changes that need to be made. And thank goodness she made them! Look how luxurious and expensive her jewelries look now:

This next photo is courtesy of the earlier work of peaseblossomstudio.

Not terrible, but that blue background just isn't doing much for those lovely cards! I admit that I ditched my fun/different background for a neutral tone simply to be put in more treasuries and hopefully more FP's. It has paid off. peaseblossomstudio also uses more neutral backgrounds now... and don't her photos look lovely?

This next example is courtesy of ChelseaVanTol.

Not bad... just a little dark. Also, when Etsy cropped it for the display, it was a little off. But seriously... when you look at her photos now, you can see such a fantastic evolution in the photography. Absolutely beautiful!

Finally... an example from one of the first shops I hearted on Etsy... knockknocking. This example is a detail shot from this shop's first sale.

Wowza! A little bit blurry there... plus the colors are totally washed out at the bottom of the photo. However, knockknocking has now beautifully mastered her shop photography, including the "detail shot". She even made the detail shot the display photo for this wreath.

The point of this "lesson" is that as long as you are actively involved with your shop... your photography skills will evolve. Get feedback in the virtual labs, forums, Etsy twitter friends, and wherever else you can. Listen to their advice.... but ultimately YOU are in control of your shop and will find out what works best for you.

My photography motto: NEVER think that you've "made it" with your photography. Continue to try new things with your camera, photo composition, and editing programs. When you get stuck, try something new or ask for help.

Remember.... a good photo is an evolving photo.

Blog Buttons

2010-05-12T13:10:00.000-07:00

I finally MADE MY OWN blog button! Yeah yeah I know.... it's not THAT hard. It's just that... well.... I don't have photoshop! So, I had to use my resources. I found an easy way to do it with picnik.

Here is the first one I made. Feel free to swipe it (or one of the following) for your blog. If you've been featured on this blog, you can edit the html code with the link to the specific feature instead of the general blog link I have included.

Suggested Shops on Etsy

2010-05-11T16:21:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Etsy unveiled the "Suggested Shops" tab in everyone's "favorites". I finally got a chance to check it out... and let me tell you, my Paypal is getting DRAINED. I've found so many great supply shops and vintage items I just NEED to have!

Etsy has done a pretty good job guessing my favorites.... pastels, ruffles, birds, supplies, quaint photography, and adorable vintage.

The following items were discovered in my "Suggested Shops".

neogranny

2010-05-11T15:38:00.000-07:00

I think this is probably the coolest shop on Etsy with 5 sales or less.

Check out neogranny.

Craft Show Displays: Making the Most Out of Vintage

2010-05-06T10:25:00.000-07:00

In my opinion, when it comes to craft shows.... you attract people by the creativity of your displays. If you are using the same white tablecloth, black velvet necklace stands, and earring trees as everybody else you are sure to bring in some customers. However, if you choose to make and find creative displays, you will see a lot more people walk into your booth. Interesting displays also strike up a conversation, which is key to making sales at a craft show.

In my last post I talked about how to make a DIY necklace stand with a vintage frame. I did the same thing here with a vintage frame with very litte alteration. I simply stuck thumbtacks in the top of the frame and hung necklaces. Very easy and costs very little.

I like to display business cards in a teacup. These can be found at rummage sales, antique stores, and flea markets for less than a dollar. You could also display them on the vintage plate stand I made in this post.

I found this vintage birdcage stand at a flea market. I believe I paid $20 for it. This stand is perfect for craft shows because it will take up very little booth space and absolutely no table space! (Once you do a couple shows you will realize how precious that table space is!)

For the purpose of this blog, I just tied a few necklaces onto the top with ribbon and taped business cards onto lace trim that I tied in the center of the stand.

The possibilities are almost endless with this display. You could tie more rows of trim and clip on hair bows, bracelets, earring cards... you name it! This would also be a great elevated place to hang a sign saying who you are and what you sell.

I'm also loving this display idea from BailyBelleCreations. She tied her earring cards to a vintage birdcage.

I'm getting so excited for my craft show at the end of this month! If you are in the Collinsville, Illinois or St. Louis, Missouri area... you should come see me, mylovies, jillianpye, and more on May 22nd.

DIY Craft Show Display Tutorial #3: Vintage Frame Necklace Stand

2010-05-06T10:01:00.000-07:00

Hello! Today I will be showing another ridiculously simple tutorial to make your craft show displaying a lot more fun and personal!

This necklace stand was made from a vintage picture frame that I found at an antique shop for 25 cents.... as well as three other materials.

Shelf brackets from Ikea ($1 each), spraypaint (but you could use regular paint, if you like), and screws.

Simply paint the frame to your liking (or if you have a really awesome frame, leave it!), let dry, screw on brackets.... and DONE!

Now you are ready to display your necklaces (or bracelets... or anything else you choose to hang!).

DIY Craft Show Display Tutorial #2: Mannequin Headband Display

2010-05-05T09:55:00.000-07:00

My next tutorial is of a project I've been dreaming of making for a LONG time! It is a styrofoam mannequin head that has been covered with vintage sheet music. I think it's going to be perfect for displaying headbands at craft shows!

What you need: a styrofoam mannequin head (I got this one at Hobby Lobby for $5), a vintage saucer, Mod Podge, a foam brush, vintage sheet music (or any other type of vintage paper ephemera). You will also need a sturdy type of glue (besides E6000) to secure the head to the plate. I tried E6000, but it was an epic fail. It ate away at the base of the foam.

First step: cut the sheet music into little squares, no larger than 2.5". Keep your scissors handy throughout the project, because you will find that you will need to make smaller squares and cut bigger squares in half throughout the project.

Next, brush Mod Podge on the back of a square and apply it to the mannequin head.

*Note: the paper sticks better if you put the Mod Podge on the mannequin, and then stick the paper to the mannequin. However, you have to have at least one ring of paper already adhered before this method will work. When you first start out, the Mod Podge wants to absorb into the styrofoam.

I started out covering the base of the neck, then the face, then the crease of the neck, and finally the rest of the head. You will have to tuck, crease, and cut the paper as you go so it follows the shape of the head. Don't be afraid to smooth the edges with your fingers. This is NOT a clean project... you've been warned!

Go back and smooth the edges of the papers and let it dry. Next you will turn the saucer upside down and glue the head to the center.

Once everything has set and dried... you're all done! Now it's time to arrange your beautiful headbands (or whatever else you choose to display).

DIY Craft Show Display Tutorial #1: Vintage Plate Stand

2010-05-05T09:33:00.000-07:00

Hello readers and friends! Today I'm going to give my first tutorial on this blog! I'm rather excited about it. I'm going to be showing you how to make an easy peasy craft show display using vintage plates and saucers.

What you're going to need: vintage plates and/or saucers, a short taper candlestick holder (I got this one for $1 at Dollar Tree), and E6000 or any industrial strength glue.

All that you do is line the top of the candlestick holder with a generous ring of E6000.

Turn the plate/saucer upside down, stick the candlestick holder to the plate, and let it set.

After the glue has set, turn it upright and arrange your craft show lovelies on top!

How I Feel About Treasury East

2010-04-25T10:07:00.000-07:00

I made my first Treasury East today. I've been putting it off for awhile because I've been protesting. I'm a huge fan of the current Etsy treasury system. I love the thrill of the catch, and it's exclusiveness.

(for those not on track, an Etsy Treasury is a collection of 12 items from Etsy made by members of the Etsy community. Previously, you had to wait until the amount of treasuries dropped below 333 in Treasury Main and 222 in Treasury West. Enough people complained in the forums that they could never get one and that treasuries should last forever and you should be able to make as many as you want and people should be able to leave as many comments as they want... and Treasury East was born.)

Anyways, I cracked and made one. I just re-watched "The Royal Tenenbaums" and thought that would be a fun treasury to play around with. So I went for it! Here it is:

Now I feel that since I've made one, I can criticize the system.

Pros:
1. Availability. I can create a treasury whenever inspiration strikes.
2. Easy to arrange. I love being able to drag and drop listings.
3. Visibility. Treasury East was made to reflect the site widening of Etsy. I love the larger images.
4. More items. I had such a hard time narrowing down just 12 items for a regular treasury. Treasury East allows 16.

Concerns:
1. Attack of the Treasury Easts. Because none of these treasuries ever expire, I'm afraid the Treasury East hub will soon be overrun with outdated treasuries filled with mostly sold items.
2. Duplicate Treasuries. I'm afraid that people will make multiples of the same treasury trying to get the same items on the FP.
3. Lack of searchability. There is still no way to search to see what Treasury Easts you are included in. A beta version came out, but it was shut down for some reason. Hopefully one will permanently launch soon!

piggy!

2010-04-23T13:30:00.000-07:00

I want this necklace by laralewis. PS, my birthday is coming up soon.

Happy Earth Day!

2010-04-22T18:45:00.000-07:00

I hope that everyone had a good Earth Day. I celebrated by walking everywhere... I didn't use my car once! I walked to and from work this morning, to the post office in the afternoon, and back to the coffee shop I work at to sip on chilly raspberry chai and list some new delights on Etsy.

What did you do (or not do) for Earth Day?

Craft Room Remodel (slightly pic heavy)

2010-04-21T16:55:00.000-07:00

My husband & I recently moved from a two bedroom house into a four bedroom. Because we don't have any babies yet, I got a bedroom all to myself to use as a craft room. Before: it was ugly. Now, it is pretty!

I started out painting it "Colonial Yellow". Before it was this ugly mauvy brown. I kept the ivory cabinet I scored off of Craigslist for $30. To the right, my Cricut is setting on an old sewing machine cabinet that I picked up at a garage sale for $5 or so. It's spray painted pink (to match my KitchenAid mixer.... even though that's in the kitchen.)

Here is my craft desk. Not much renovation, but it is completely organized. That thing was a hot mess before this remodel. Above it hangs a framed pink pegboard that my husband and I made OURSELVES! We were feeling so DIY at the Home Depot, sawing away at the trim. This is perfect because it's so cute and shabby chic, yet is perfect for hanging up all of my tools! There's even room to expand....

Here's just a close up of the pegboard:

This is my sewing/order packing corner. I bought the sewing cabinet at an auction for about $8 and picked up the vintage seafoam green metal shelf at a flea market for $5. The shelf is repurposed from a vintage printer block tray. I bought baby blue brackets at Ikea for $1 each, screwed them onto the tray, and attached it to the wall.

I use it to organize my beads, charms, and findings:

I got the idea to combine small bulletin boards from Dollar Tree into one big bulletin board from Dollar Store Crafts. I think it's cute, but I probably wouldn't do it again. It was a big hassle to save a few bucks.

I purchased this cute light fixture from Target for about $20 on clearance. I just love it!

I bought this rug forever ago at Urban Outfitters for $10. Moses just loves it.... it looks like grass!

Arranging Your Etsy Shop

2010-04-19T18:56:00.000-07:00

Did you know that Etsy allows you to arrange your shop basically however you want? You can send items from the first page to the last page, items from the second page to the seventh page, switch them all around and line them up however you want!

First, click on "Your Etsy", then "Appearance" under "Shop Setup" in the left column, then scroll down and make sure "Rearrange Your Shop" is enabled.

Then go to your shop and click "Rearrange Your Shop". A box like this will appear:

Then you can send items to other pages and drag and drop your items wherever you want! This feature is a great tool to direct how buyers look at your shop. I try to group items together in rows of three similar items. I'll do a row of cards, a row of necklaces, a row of button bobby pins, and so on. I mostly only worry about the first page because I have so many pages of items. Remember to SAVE your changes!

One of my favorite shop arrangements belongs to slubird. She has hers arranged by color. Check it out, it's absolutely beautiful and oh so clever!

ClaireAndMeDesigns Giveaway Winner

2010-04-15T20:22:00.000-07:00

A big thank you to everyone for another awesome giveaway! An even bigger thank you to ClaireAndMeDesigns for letting me have so much fun featuring you!

Out of 45 entries, random.org chose #6!

That means the winner is Elizabeth! She happens to be an Etsian too... be sure to give her shop a looksie sometime!

Keep Calm And Enter A Giveaway: ClaireandMeDesigns

2010-04-10T08:16:00.000-07:00

Dude. It's time for a giveaway. Today we will be giving away 2 prints from ClaireandMeDesigns. I know as soon as you visit this shop... you're going to freak out and want to buy everything anyway. So, Janae is taking 20% off any order from her two shops (ClaireandMeDesigns and claireandjanae) with the code "ASHLI" in the notes to seller.

Janae owes her Etsy-dom to her sister Rachelle. After moving to Pennsylvania with a three month old baby and no friends, they started talking all of the time on the phone. Rachelle mentioned she wanted to start an Etsy shop. Janae thought she could sell some rag quilts she made.... then the listing began. (She admits she never sold a single rag quilt, though.)

This creative Etsian draws inspiration from her daily life. "One day I realized I had a friend who didn't really like me. I didn't understand why she had nothin good to say about me and yet hung out with me. I wish she could just break up with me. Maybe with a card."

"For my other shop I got pregnant and got a job at a fabric store. I had to pretend to know how to sew and started quilting. Danielle had reflux and I liked decorating cloth diapers to use. I wanted to buy more fabric than I needed so I like making it into things."

(I could be wrong but I think this shirt was named after me!!)

Janae's least favorite color is a warm dark purple. She thinks she looks terrible in that color. I look terrible in yellow, but for some reason.... I wear it all of the time! oops. And that song that cheers her up no matter what? "Madonna's 'Like a Prayer'. So good. Every time."

Time for favorites. This is her favorite print. She says this is something she does every time she cooks.

Favorite from the baby store... a real tie. Not a clip on or one sewn onto a bodysuit.

This just in.... THIS is actually her favorite print.

Check her out on twitter & follow her blog.

Now it's giveaway time. Winner will be selected via random number generator at random.org. Whoever was the person that commented on the number selected will be named the winner.

There are several ways to enter, but EACH entry must be in a SEPARATE comment to count. You also must provide either an email address of your etsy address so we can message you to let you know you have won.

The prize, once again, is 2 prints of YOUR CHOICE (oh don't you just love choosing?) from ClaireandMeDesigns.

1. Mandatory entry: Follow this blog (and comment saying so).

2. Extra entry: Visit ClaireandMeDesigns and/or claireandjanae and comment back here with your favorite item (2 total entries).

3. Extra entry: Follow factorygirlashli or claireandjanae on twitter and comment saying so (2 total entries).

4. Extra entry: Follow claireandjanae's blog (and comment here saying so).

5. Blog, tweet, facebook, or promote this giveaway in the Etsy forums Promotion thread & comment with a link (4 total entries).

6. Purchase anything from ClaireandMeDesigns and/or claireandjanae and provide the transaction link in a comment (unlimited entries). Remember to enter code "ASHLI" in the notes to seller for 20% off!

There are lots of ways for you to enter this giveaway!!! Remember that #1 is mandatory, and the rest are extra entries. If you are already following, just leave a comment saying so, and your entry will still count. This giveaway is open from now until I leave a comment on this post saying it is closed on Wednesday, April 14, 2010.

Got a second to click?

2010-04-09T09:20:00.000-07:00

Hello there! I need your help! My "Grow Your Own Everything Necklace" got a spot in the Etsy Garden Voter! If you have a second, could you vote for it?

This is what it looks like:

Thank you!

The weight issue.

2010-04-07T21:04:00.000-07:00

I checked the Postsecrets tonight and this one made my heart hurt.

Thankfully, I have the opposite problem. I weigh more than my husband, but he always sees me as beautiful. He even reminds me of this when I feel like 300 pounds. But I still struggle with my weight.

I've always been a little bit of a chub. I noticed it pretty early in my childhood.... so it quickly grew into an insecurity. After I got married, I developed a McDonalds addiction, and put on about 20 pounds in just a few months. Holiday calorie splurging didn't help much, either.

In February, I decided to do something about it. For real this time. Not just lose 15 pounds, give up, gain it all back, and repeat like I usually do. I started doing the Jillian Michael's "30 Day Shred" and taking what I eat seriously. I've started cooking at home a lot more.... with partial thanks to my husband finally having a consistent schedule at his work and being a full time Etsian. I can barely remember the last time I had my beloved "mcdouble with no onions, add leaf lettuce" from the Arches. I've tried to give up my sugar-free Cinnamon Dolce Frap addiction and my all things ice cream addiction... but those aren't going as smoothly.

Anyways. I'm fractions of a pound away from having lost 10 pounds in a month in a half. I've moved in two notches on my belt. I couldn't be happier.

twisteddelight Giveaway Winner

2010-04-07T17:22:00.000-07:00

Thank you everyone who entered the giveaway.... and a huge thank you to twisteddelight for letting me feature you!

Out of the 61 entries, random.org chose #12.

That means that JessicaDoesMakeup is the winner! She also has a lovely Etsy shop.... you should check it out! How pretty is this Mineral Eyeshadow Palette?

A Spring Giveaway from twisteddelight

2010-04-03T08:32:00.000-07:00

The Easter Bunny has a surprise for you. It's a lovely little giveaway from twisteddelight! A set of these delightful spring hair pins could be yours.

Rena'e of twisteddelight has been crafting since childhood. When most people got jobs at McDonalds and such in high school, she chose to make jewelry and accessories for people. She owned a boutique in Texas, but had to close it up because of the recession. Lucky for us, her sacrifice led her to Etsy!

She is most inspired by the mini vacations she takes with her family. She & her husband recently took their girls to Cambria, California, and she said the colors there were magnificent.

Just as a little bit of an anti-interview question, I asked Rena'e what her least favorite color was. This was her reponse, "Puke green! Ewwww! Why does that color even exist? It's disgusting." I'm going to have to agree with her on that one!

I also asked her what song, no matter what, always puts a smile on her face. She said that song was "Old Man on the Back Porch" by Presidents of the United States of America. I would have to agree that the Presidents have the magical ability to always put a smile on your face with their music!

Rena'e's favorite thing in her shop is the Green Gables Beanie... she says it's great for when you don't feel like fixing your hair!

Be sure to check out her blog & follow her on twitter!

Now it's giveaway time. Winner will be selected via random number generator at random.org. Whoever was the person who commented on the number selected will be named the winner.

1. Mandatory entry: Follow this blog (and comment saying so).

2. Extra entry: Visit twisteddelight and comment back here with your favorite item.

3. Extra entry: Follow factorygirlashli or twisteddelight on twitter and comment saying so (2 total entries).

4. Extra entry: Follow twisteddelight's blog (and comment here saying so).

5. Blog, tweet, facebook, or promote this giveaway in the Etsy forums Promotion thread & comment with a link (4 total entries).

6. Purchase anything from twisteddelight and provide the transaction link in a comment (unlimited entries).

easter eggs.

2010-04-02T20:43:00.000-07:00

It's our first Easter. We dyed us some eggs. We used traditional paas & attempted silk tie eggs. I'll just let the pictures do the talking.

the fabric of our lives.

2010-04-01T19:56:00.000-07:00

I want every single outfit in this commercial, especially the last one.

time for destash.

2010-03-31T18:15:00.000-07:00

I've reached that point in my life where I have bought more beads than I know what to do with. So now it's time to destash. "Whats destash?" you say? Well... dictionary.com has no definition of the word... so don't even bother looking there. Thankfully.... urbandictionary.com always has the right thing to say.

Destash	7 thumbs up
	To sell or trade your existing crafting supplies or 'stash' to allow a crafter to buy different, often newer, materials. I'm done with knitting, so want to destash my yarn to make way for my new hobby, sewing. I'm tired of my bead collection. I'm going to destash them on Etsy so that I can buy some new ones. Beads galore at factorygirlashli

Here Comes Peter Cottontail!

2010-03-26T19:22:00.000-07:00

Easter will soon be here! April 4 is just barely over a week away.... So to celebrate, I'm going to be hiding Easter eggs in my shop. Well, actually I'm having my husband play the Easter bunny. I will make 5 paper eggs that he will be hiding in random gift boxes of jewelry for sale in my shop.

I will have NO idea which boxes they are hidden in until someone purchases that item. When I take the box out of my inventory to gift wrap and ship it, I will discover the egg myself. If you purchase 5 items, and all 5 happen to have eggs... you are just a very lucky duck! Or chick?

The eggs are:

Free Shipping off Entire Next Purchase

10% off Entire Next Purchase

$5 Gift Certificate

$10 Gift Certificate

$30 Gift Certificate

The eggs are being hidden as we speak... but here's the catch! You have until the end of April to find them! All jewelry purchases from now until May 1st count as a chance to find an egg. Good luck!

Spring Wreaths: DIY and where to buy.

2010-03-26T12:08:00.000-07:00

My newest obsession has got to be Spring wreaths.

My obsession began with this DIY wreath:

Paper Sacks Ruffly Wreath

Then it was encouraged by this one (also DIY):

Girly Girl Burlap Spring Wreath

I fell absolutely in love with this one (yet another DIY):

Egg Wreath #3

And when I saw this final DIY wreath, I became an addict:

Paper Flower Wreath

Not so crafty? That's okay! Etsy has plenty of adorable handmade wreaths that you can simply purchase and wait for them to be shipped straight to your door.

I'm in love with this wreath by whiteserenade:

Vintage Paper Wreath

I'm positively charmed by this one by KnockKnocking:

Mr. McGregor's Garden Yarn Wreath

And what's not to love about a wreath full of feathers by victorianpetals:

Lavender Feather Wreath

Quick Ad Giveaway!!

2010-03-23T09:37:00.000-07:00

Hello friends! I recently decided to give away ad space on my blog via Etsy mini's. ANYONE can get their Etsy mini on this blog. But HOW you ask?

Both treasury & treasury west are opening up today. Put factorygirlashli in a treasury, comment here with the link, and I will convo you about getting the code for your mini. Then I will put it on the blog, and you will get some FREE advertising! It's a win/win.

There is no limit! If 2349832 people put me in treasuries, I'll put that many minis on the blog. Craziness, I know!!!

free spirited.

2010-03-20T18:20:00.000-07:00

So I'm on this team.... it's called the Indie Free Spirits. Our fearless leader is Blueberryshoes.... and you can find out more about us on the blog.

Recently we were challenged. Challenged to make something that expresses what we see as free spirited.

I made this.

The Empty Birdcage Necklace

I made this necklace because the cage is empty, the bird that was once captive within now flies free.

In Vogue.

2010-03-16T20:05:00.000-07:00

So a couple months ago, the product reviewer at Vogue Knitting magazine contacted me about this necklace.

She said she wanted to put it in the Spring/Summer 2010 issue. They were doing a feature on knitting-themed jewelry... and she thought this necklace would be perfect.

How did I feel? Shocked. Honored. Nervous. I'm not even kidding, at first I thought it was a scam. After tweeting and consulting help in the Etsy forums, I was assured it was legit. Eventually the nerves turned into excitement. Months later, they turned back into nerves as the release date neared. I was convinced they decided not to feature my necklace.

But they didn't. And here it is.... right there on page 10.

Here's an image of the cover of the issue (courtesy of Vogue Knitting's Facebook fan page), in case you want to check it out in real life. The whole magazine is incredibly inspiring. I can't wait to flip through it some more.

I will soon be adding the Vogue Knitting featured color pattern back into the shop. For now, feel free to check out the designs that are currently ready for purchase! There is even a "create your own color combo" listing!

I'm so excited about this opportunity. Thank you Vogue Knitting!

Bunny Love.

2010-03-14T22:03:00.000-07:00

What can I say? I'm obsessed.

Bunny Booties by CUTEureCreations

Felt Chocolate Bunny by BeckyM

Bunny Cupcake Toppers by DianaEvans

Little Bunny Foo Foo Necklace by Faeriedtreasures

Vintage "The Hunt Bunnies" by silocurb

Alice in Wonderland Giveaway WINNER!

2010-03-12T17:29:00.000-08:00

First of all, I want to thank everyone who entered the Alice in Wonderland giveaway!! I was not expecting the huge response! Remember to continue to check out the shops who were generous enough to participate in this giveaway.... those shops again are:

BanjoBaySoaps

imfromthewoods

TheLightningBolts

Even though there were 198 entries, Random.org smiled upon entry #57. This entry belonged to.....

Fyrecreek!

I will be contacting you soon with shipping information. Please remember that each of these sellers will be shipping their prizes separately. Did I mention that Fyrecreek has an Etsy shop? How cute is this gnome that is hiding within it, waiting for you to snatch him up?

Down The Rabbit Hole: The Alice in Wonderland Giveaway!

2010-03-05T09:07:00.000-08:00

Alright friends! The much-talked-about Alice in Wonderland Giveaway is HERE! The Tim Burton film premiered last night at midnight, and I can't wait to see it tonight at 7! I'm putting on the oh-so-attractive 3D glasses to be transported to Wonderland. Now, to celebrate..... let's have a giveaway! A few other shops on Etsy have joined in to create a truly wonderland-ful prize package for you. Please note that each shop is responsible for shipping their items to the winner, so they will arrive separately.

The prizes:

Alice's Little Teapot Necklace (valued at $16) by factorygirlashli

Alice in Wonderland Mini Cards Variety Set (valued at $8) by factorygirlashli

Vintage Yellow Floral Teacup (valued at $5) by TheVintagePatisserie

One Bar of "The Sleepy Cheshire" Soap (valued at $5) by BanjoBaySoaps

5x7 Alice on a Mushroom print (valued at $10) by imfromthewoods

Alice's Tea Party Necklace (valued at $20) by TheLightningBolts

Winner will be selected via random number generator at random.org. Whoever was the person who commented on the number selected will be named the winner.

Now let's get down to how you can comment to enter!

There are several ways to enter, but EACH entry must be in a SEPARATE comment to count. You also must provide either an email address or your etsy account so we can message you to let you know you have won. If the winning comment does not have contact information, a new number will be generated and that person will win.

1. Follow this blog (and comment saying so).

2. Visit factorygirlashli, TheVintagePatisserie, BanjoBaySoaps, imfromthewoods, or TheLightningBolts and comment back here with your favorite item. You may do one comment per shop (5 total entries).

3. Follow factorygirlashli, imfromthewoods, or TheLightningBolts on Twitter and comment saying so (3 total entries).

4. Blog, tweet, facebook, or promote this giveaway in the Etsy forums Promotion thread and comment with a link (4 total entries).

5. Purchase anything from the above shops and provide the transaction link in a comment (unlimited entries).

As you can see, there are plenty of opportunities to enter! If you are already following, just leave a comment saying so, and your entry will still count. This giveaway is open from now until Friday, March 12, 2010.

Alice Giveaway Spotlight: TheLightningBolts

2010-03-02T12:21:00.000-08:00

Today I have the pleasure of introducing another shop to you, TheLightningBolts. I was introduced to Sophie through the team, Indie Free Spirits. Her shop is just fantastic! She describes it as "Curioser and Curioser: Jewelry and Art" in her shop title. I have to agree! Everything in this shop is curious, artistic, and jewelry-tastic!

Now you are just so lucky AGAIN because you will be eligible win the above Alice in Wonderland themed necklace in Friday's giveaway! This necklace is perfect for a Mad Tea Party, featuring a little teacup, pearl, and the Queen of Hearts red charm. The chain is silver plated. TheLightningBolts has all sorts of Alice themed items if you simply cannot wait until the giveaway.

Once again, I'm getting so ridiculously excited for this giveaway! I read the book today, and I'm getting so anxious. I may have to read the book eight more times before I see the movie. Perhaps that was a bit of exaggeration, but I'm really, really excited. In the meantime, check out TheLightningBolts, follow Sophie on twitter, check out her blog, and see what she's up to on facebook.

Alice Giveaway Spotlight: imfromthewoods

2010-03-01T10:15:00.000-08:00

Today's giveaway spotlight is of imfromthewoods (aka blueberryshoes). I'm not sure when I first "met" Hollie of both of these shops, but it was possibly in an Etsy chat. Since then, I have joined the team of which she is the fearless leader, the Indie Free Spirits. But back to imfromthewoods!! Her shop is filled with fantastic fantasy artwork, including this Alice print:

Not too long ago, I traded some cards with imfromthewoods for this print, and I just love it! I just loved the eco-friendly packaging it arrived in. Just everything was perfect! And you are so lucky because this is one of the items you can win in the Alice giveaway on Friday! Are you so excited about this giveaway? Because you should be!

In the meantime, be sure to check out both imfromthewoods and blueberryshoes, check out the Indie Free Spirits Team, and follow Hollie on twitter! She also has a very follow-worthy blog.

Alice Giveaway Spotlight: BanjoBaySoaps

2010-02-28T11:57:00.000-08:00

I first discovered BanjoBaySoaps through an Etsy chat. She had this bar of soap called "The Tulgey Woods Bar." The Alice in Wonderland lover in me jumped for joy with this sighting! The bars are 65-85% organic, which is awesome both for your skin and the environment.

I have since purchased this bar and love its earthy scent. I have also purchased "The Sleepy Cheshire", which is full of rosy goodness. The best thing is, you can WIN "The Sleepy Cheshire" in my upcoming giveaway!!!

Be sure to check out BanjoBaySoaps and get ridiculously excited about the prospect of winning one of her luxurious bars of soaps. Check back on Friday, March 5 for the giveaway!

Olympic Bronze!

2010-02-27T15:40:00.000-08:00

So there's nothing wrong with bronze, right? I wish I could refer to something that happened during the Olympics where someone won bronze but it was just as good as gold, but I haven't watched much Olympics due to the fact that we've been moving and our tv was down. What a long sentence! I do know that there was one ice skater who got silver but called it "platinum" on his website. But I think that is less "inspirational" and more "full of himself".

Anyways, the Etsy Olympic Voter is over, and I took 3rd. I'm quite pleased!

My prize was a top row front page spot. I ended up selling six of this necklace. After I sold out, I even got another convo asking for one more! This has been an awesome experience, and I'm so thankful for all of it!

1000 Hearts!

2010-02-25T07:15:00.001-08:00

Last night I reached 1000 hearts in my Etsy shop. I mentioned earlier I would be doing a random heart giveaway once I reached 1000 (just like I did at 500).

Well, random.org selected #699.... which is the lovely KatesCottage!

She won a lovely prize package featuring different items from my shop.

Thank you to everyone who has hearted my shop. We'll do this again at 1500!

Nothing like a little competition....

2010-02-20T07:56:00.001-08:00

So the Winter Olympics are in town... No not my town, but they are underway nonetheless! Etsy decided to pay tribute with a feature in the Storque and the Voter. And guess what.... one of my necklaces got featured!!

It was my Around the World Necklace:

You can vote for my necklace (right now I'm 14 votes behind 1st place) here: http://www.etsy.com/voter_list.php?ref=voter&room_id=94

The feature has been amazing for my shop. I've sold the two I had in stock of that necklace, with more charms on their way. I've also had crazy amounts of traffic coming in. I have received over 50 shop hearts since the feature. This brings me to my next point....

I'm doing ANOTHER heart giveaway! When I reached 500 hearts, I random number generated a winner. That number of heart got a little prize package from me. When I reach 1,000 I am going to do the same thing! So heart away.... the winner could be you!

In the mail.... BirchberryFarms

2010-02-12T19:03:00.000-08:00

If you're not making treasuries on Etsy, you need to. "But whyyyyyyyyy?" you ask? I'll give you a short list.

1. It's really fun to do.

2. It's great for networking with other Etsians.

3. The more you make treasuries, the more likely you are to get put in a treasury, which means the more likely you are to make the front page of Etsy.

4. Sometimes your treasuries make the Front Page. And sometimes there are rewards.

On February 8, this treasury of mine made the Etsy Front Page. Someone bet me a dollar it would, but you never know.

When I make treasuries, I try to have a good variety of featured products. I needed a good body product... so I searched "primitive soap". I was lucky to find BirchberryFarms, a shop that is any primitive treasury maker's best friend. And much to my great fortune, Renee at BirchberryFarms was very appreciative of her Front Page feature. She offered to send me a little thank you.

What was I expecting? Oh maybe a few samples or something... nothing big... but no! I got THREE FULL SIZED bars! As soon as I opened the package, I was greeted by the most delightful aromas. The first bar I picked up was Chocolate, and I am not the least bit shy to say that it smells absolutely orgasmic. If you don't go buy this bar RIGHT NOW you are sure to regret it for the rest of your life. The second bar was Almond Poppy, which is only a few inches away from being the piece of heaven that Chocolate is. The last bar was the wonderfully earthySleigh Ride, which my husband has already claimed.

BirchberryFarms has so much more than soap though! Check out this amazing Primitive Gift Basket.

And how fabulous is this burlap pillow?

Be sure to follow Renee at her blog and treat yourself to a little slice of primitive heaven at BirchberryFarms.

Stay Tuned for a Giveaway!

2010-02-11T08:38:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure how much I've BLOGGED about my love for Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Ohh you know... Alice in Wonderland).... but I'm pretty crazy in love with it. I always have been. I watched the movie as a kid, then read the book. It's just delightful. The original Disney cartoon is very loosely based on the book, however.... so I got excited when I saw the new live action movie coming out. For one, the pig is in it. For those of you thinking, "Yeah... what's the deal with the pig?"... read the book! It's a must. If you need a copy, I collect them. I've got about 6 different versions right now.

Why else am I so excited about the movie? Two of my favorite people ever are playing some of the strangest characters.

Anyways, the movie premiers March 5. Put this date in your calendars boys and girls, for that day I will also begin a giveaway right here on this very blog. And it's going to be EPIC. Not quite as epic as the movie promises to be, but epic still. I'm not going to tell you right now everything that is going to be IN this giveaway.... but I will give you a little preview.

Which photo is more "Seventeen"?

2010-02-10T12:22:00.001-08:00

So I have been contacted about a potential feature in Seventeen Magazine. Don't get too excited, it isn't official yet.

For my first "interview", I need to attach a photo of myself "with my craft". Which one is more "Seventeen"?

In the mail.... chefjen137

2010-02-06T20:48:00.000-08:00

How lovely are these photos? I mean really! They are the loveliest.... and probably the most scrumptious photos I've ever seen.

And guess what? The prints are mine! chefjen137 was having a giveaway at Sterling Roses Design's blog, and I won!

The best part is... I have been lusting over these prints for SO LONG! I've put them in a couple of treasuries and dreamed of the day that they would be mine!

I heard about the contest on twitter... so you should probably follow chefjen137 as well! She's great to tweet with!

Remember to check out chefjen137's shop... and feel free to visit the giveaway's host, Sterling Roses Design.

In the mail.... Lanyapi

2010-02-01T13:14:00.000-08:00

I recently hearted this marvelous shop called Lanyapi. What I didn't know at the time was that I was their 1000th heart! And what was even better than that.... they were having a giveaway! What a wonderful surprise!

There are so many lovely things in this shop... you simply must check it out! I especially love the Julia Child Earrings set:

Here's the lovely necklace I chose as my prize... I'm wearing it right now, and it is just heavenly!

Be sure to follow Lanyapi's blog and check out the shop.

Embroidery Hoop Wall Hangings

2010-01-30T14:51:00.001-08:00

Let's face it, Etsy is obsessing over embroidery hoop wall hangings right now. They're everywhere! And not one is the same. It's interesting to see so many unique hoops.

Anyways, I decided to make my own. The ones you can buy are gonna cost you around $20 each, but I made a trio for around $5. I admit that my embroidery skills are NOTHING compared to the artisans on Etsy... but hey, I also get that feeling of accomplishment with mine.

I just bought some tan cotton fabric (which happened to be 40% off at Hobby Lobby) and stretched it in my hoops (which also cost practically nothing at Hobby Lobby). Now, I will be the first to say that my stretching needs improvement. This was my first embroidery project... I'll get there! Then I used my Cricut, Sentimentals cartridge, and cut out the three skeleton keys using the "Layers" function. The first key was 3.5", second 4.5", and the third was 5.5". These sizes will vary depending on the sizes of hoops you buy.

Then I just started stiching! When i was done, I trimmed the excess fabric around the hoop. I think next time I'm going to use some sort of glue to anchor the fabric in place. But anyways, I can't wait to hang these up in our new house!

Cupcake Heaven

2010-01-28T14:07:00.000-08:00

My morning started off chatting with some lovely ladies on twitter about cupcakes.

For those of you who know me, you know I love cupcakes. If you don't, well..... I love cupcakes.

And if I haven't said it enough times yet, I love cupcakes.

So today I made vanilla chai cupcakes. Don't ask me for the recipe, because I don't have one. I hate recipes. I'm the anti-recipe. I'll tell you my method. Make your favorite vanilla cupcake batter.... just throw in a couple tablespoons of chai latte powder in with the flour. I used Oregon Chai... but you could use your favorite. (Pssst... if you are a box mix kind of lady, that's okay! Just throw in the couple tablespoons with all your other ingredients and mix away!) The cupcakes don't really taste that chai-y. They just have a hint of chai flavor. The frosting is where that lovely chai flavor explosion comes in.

How do I make frosting? I start with butter. UNSALTED! I mean you could use salted, if you like vaguely salty frosting. I do not, so I use unsalted. I use 3/4 of a pound... which is 3 sticks. Let 'em soften for awhile. If I get impatient, I throw them in the microwave, let 'em cook for 5 seconds, rotate, 5 seconds, rotate, until I'm satisfied with their softness. Throw them in the good old KitchenAid (if you don't have a KitchenAid you can't make cupcakes. Fact.) and let 'em whip away until they're almost white. WARNING! You will have to stop the mixer to scrape the bowl down a couple of times to get all the chunks out. (eeewh butter chunks...) When I'm satisfied with the smoothness, I throw in a couple teaspoons of vanilla. Then blend. Then I added 3 packets of Oregon Chai latte mix. Then blend. Then I just mix in heapings of powdered sugar until it's at a good piping consistency.

I use a giant pastry tip like THIS ONE! from BakeItPretty.com and just lightly swirl the frosting around the cupcake. I bought the cute pics at Hobby Lobby in the Valentine's section. The liners I bought on Etsy.

Being the DIY Bride

2010-01-28T09:33:00.000-08:00

First of all, I want to point out that I could not call myself a "DIY Bride" without this book:

It gave me so much inspiration... and many of my projects (flower girl buckets, cupcake stands) were taken right from the book and adjusted a little to fit my needs.

Next I would like to point out that the following photos were taken by Jarnagin Photography. Believe it or not, Brett was one of the first people I got a hold of after my engagement. I had to make sure he was available for June 13. He does travel... so don't think he's only exclusive to Central Illinois. If you are considering him as a photographer, you might want to get a hold of him soon! I hear he's gotten about a thousand requests for June 26 already.

Anyways, why DIY? Because it's fun. It's personal. It's unique. My husband and I planned our whole wedding by ourselves. Well, I mostly planned it and asked for approval... which usual was a simple "whatever you want!" I can't imagine what our wedding would have felt like if a planner had told us what to do. I love every personal touch and detail we created. Yes ladies! My husband even helped make some stuff! Here are some photos and links that help tell the story of the things I made for my wedding.

1. Programs. These were made by buying recycled brown cardstock in 8.5x11 sheets, cutting them into thirds, and doing a lot of other cutting and glueing. I printed all the important info (wedding party, order of ceremony) and simply glued it on. The hearts I cut from the pages of an old novel using a Cricut. They were stamped with two little kissing birdies. I cut rectangles from postcard themed scrapbooking paper and stamped our monogram, "C" in black. Now I'm going to admit that I read it was bad luck to use the married monogram before the ceremony. But did I care? Obviously not. The programs were tied at the corner by ribbon. These, the invitations, and thank you's were accomplished assembly line style with my mom and girlfriends. Total cost? Um, probably about $30 for 150.

2. Card holder at the ceremony. I loved birdcage style card holders. There's an ugly white one at Wal-Mart that you can buy.... but I was in love with this one I found at save-on-crafts.com. I simply propped it open and fastened on a pair of lovebirds I found at Michael's and some silk ranunculus I found at Hobby Lobby, and it looked very elegant! Total cost: about $25.

3. Ring Bearer Pillows & Flower Girl Baskets. The ring bearer pillows were hand sewn by moi from felt. I loved some I saw on Etsy, but I didn't feel like paying around $30 each for a tiny pillow a little boy would be carrying down the aisle at my wedding for thirty seconds, then resting in a box in my basement for the rest of my life. And because I had two ringbearers, that drove the price up to $60 or so. So, I decided to make my own. I sewed this out of felt, added some ribbon, tied on a skeleton key to each... and perfect! Total cost: about $3 each. Instead of flower girl baskets, I did buckets. I bought small tin pails at Michael's for $1 each, painted them, covered them with scrapbooking paper, mod podged the heck out of them... and glued on ribbons, flowers, and more skeleton keys. Because it's difficult to find attractive brown and gold flower petals, I bought these faux leaves. And they were BEAUTIFUL on that ivory aisle runner, let me tell you. Total cost: about $5 each.

4. Reception Centerpieces. The flowers and vases were rented from a florist, but you could easily collect milk glass vases and buy flowers from a local grower. Single stems are easy to arrange! The ceramic birds I collected all over the state from a dollar store, so they were $1 each. I bought the paper doilies at the same store, as well as the brown damask placements (pssst don't tell anyone, but they were actually just pages of printer paper). The gold pillar candles were bought in sets after Christmas. I simple attached a brown ribbon and skeleton key, and perfecto! You can barely see them in the picture, but instead of confetti I bought a lot of old canceled stamps from an antique shop and scattered those on the tables.

5. Favors. This one was easy. I bought 250 seed packets (at ten cents each from the dollar store) and my husband and I printed and glued tags that said "Ashli & Colton June 13, 2009" and "Let these flowers grow with our love. Send a photo or note to our new address......" onto each package. Total cost: 10 cents each.

6. Head Table Place Cards. I bought small white frames from Michael's in the $1 section, cut out "mr." and "mrs." with the Cricut, and glued them onto scrapbooking paper with a skeleton key. Total cost: about $1.50 each. We still have these out, "mr." is on his nightstand, and "mrs." is on mine.

7. The Snacks On the Table. We collected teacups and saucers from antique shops, flea markets, and garage sales. Then we filled them with individually wrapped chocolate mints. They were simply adorable. I know you're thinking, what am I supposed to do with all of those teacups AFTER the wedding? Well, I made them into teacup pincushions and gave them to my grandmothers as Christmas gifts. It was sentimental because it was a gift that had a part in our wedding. I paid around $1-5 for each teacup set.

8. The moment we've all been waiting for..... THE CAKE! Okay, yes, I am a cake decorator... and no, I didn't not make my wedding cake. But I did design it. And I also made the cupcakes. If you're having a hard time spending $4+ a serving for a huge cake, you might want to half cupcakes it like I did. I ordered a cake of 100 servings and baked and decorated 100 cupcakes (with help from my lovely bridesmaid, Sara).

The cake was made by Flour Girl Cakery in Paris, Illinois. To save more money, I picked the cake up instead of having it delivered. I wouldn't suggest doing this if you have no experience driving with a cake. You have to have like a mini van or something that allows you to put the cake between the axels of your vehicle, and you have to drive very slow. I bought the topper off of ebay long before I was even engaged. I saw it, fell in love, and knew that if I didn't buy it right then, I would never see it again. It was from 1947, and it was perfect.

For cupcakes, I found these adorable liners from FancyFlours.com. I also bought some ecru and golden pearls for the decoration off of that heavenly site. The rest of the dragees I bought from an Amish bulk foods store in Arthur, Illinois. I made red velvet with cream cheese frosting and chocolate with chocolate frosting. The stands were made from cakeboards, scrapbooking paper, ribbon, and drinking glasses. The how-to is in that book I mentioned earlier, "The DIY Bride".

And there you have it. And if this blog post wasn't pic heavy enough, here's one of the happy couple:

Hearts For Haiti

2010-01-24T08:57:00.000-08:00

You may already know about this... but it's very likely you do not. Hearts For Haiti is an Etsy shop that is essentially one large collaboration from the many different shops on Etsy. Their goal? To raise money for disaster relief in Haiti. 100% of their profits (deducting only the listing fees and Etsy's 3.5% commission and Paypal's commission) go to Doctors Without Borders.

Hearts for Haiti opened on January 14. As I type this blog, they have had 1,257 sales. What does that amount to? More than you think. As of last night, January 23, at 9:54 pm EST, Hearts for Haiti has raised $14,857.76 for Doctors Without Borders. That is after all fees have been subtracted!

The other night, I donated three sets of my "Be Mine or Else Mini Cards". They have been popular in my shop, so I thought they would be a good donation. All three had sold by morning. The first set is on its way to Australia! I don't know why I was so shocked to see that Haiti Relief was global, but it was very encouraging. Last night, my husband and I went to pick up some more cardstock, and so the card sets have been relisted. There are five in stock right now. Make a donation of $4 and get some awesome Valentine's Cards in return!

A few other shops that I talk to through Twitter have donated items, as well. This lovely "Nostalgia" Print by chefjen137 is irresistible! A 5x7 is yours for only a $15 donation.

This gorgeous "Love" Shaped Photo Album is by SimplyInvitingCards. You will love this! I made a shaped album once, and it is so much harder than it looks. This one is yours for a $35 donation.

But the goodies do not stop there! Here are a couple of other things that I have my eye on, but I won't be offended if you pick them up before me!

3 Pairs Fabric Covered Button Stud Earrings by shagpile $10

Love You Vinyl Decal by HouseHoldWords $12

I Heart Owls 5x7 Print by KitschyHippo $12

This is just a sampling of some of the must haves you can pick up for a simple donation at HeartsForHaiti. And you better hurry... during the time it took me to blog, they are already up to 1,260 sales!

For information about how to donate, send an email to etsyforhaiti@gmail.com.

Hello. My name is Ashli, and I'm a Pink Addict.

2010-01-16T19:25:00.001-08:00

For those of you who follow my treasuries or my blog know that I love PINK! And you may have noticed that I am crazy obsessed with this necklace by GlitzGlitter on Etsy:

Well, after my last pink treasury hit the Front Page.... that necklace became mine! My self photos aren't nearly as polished as her photo... but here's me cheesily showing it off! I squealed with delight as soon as the packaged arrived, ripped it open, and immediately put it on. I haven't taken it off since.

And in the spirit of pink, here is a screenshot of one of my most recent treasuries that made the Front Page last night!

A big thank you to GlitzGlitter for getting that screen shot for me, since the husband and I were at a friend's house when it happened! And if that isn't enough pink for you, I made another pink treasury tonight which you can check out here.

Treasury Love

2010-01-13T08:24:00.000-08:00

It's always fun to get put in a really great treasury. The other day I was selected for this treasury by StringMeAlong, and I was just obsessed! I wanted to buy everything in the treasury. How lovely is that vintage dress?

It featured my Three Matryoshkas Valentine Card, which has been very popular! I've sold 5 of this card already, and one went to the UK!

Etsy Shop Feature: BlueHeartBoutique

2010-01-10T12:34:00.000-08:00

"I am a full-time college student and etsy has become my creative outlet" says Jessica of BlueHeartBoutique.

"Blueheart has one of a kind handmade clothing and eclectic paper journals which are also unique in composition. Blueheart is aimed for teens and twenties girls that enjoying dressing unique and being a little different than the person next to them, but I like to think that the clothing would suit women of any age that enjoy being unique."

This is Jessica's favorite item in the shop:

This is where you need to go to find Jessica:

SHOP: http://blueheartboutique.etsy.com
BLOG: http://blueheartlove.blogspot.com
TWITTER: http://twitter.com/blueheartlove

More Front Page Hysteria!

2010-01-09T18:54:00.000-08:00

This blog will be short and sweet! I just wanted to share the big news! The lovely pink treasury that I showed below made it on to the front page of Etsy this morning! After I settled down, I went to work. Then I came home, ate lunch, and made some new valentines. As I was getting ready to list, I noticed my friend glitzglitter's treasury was on the Front Page...

And why is this extra exciting? I was an alternate! Some items quickly sold... and I sneaked my way right onto the Front Page!!!

Here is a little close up. There I am, hanging out at the bottom!

I got a lot of shop hearts, about 11 hearts on that particular item, and sold 2 different items in my shop right at the time. It's so exciting just to be featured! Here is the item that was featured:

My Obsession With The Color Pink

2010-01-07T14:52:00.001-08:00

So I have this big obsession with retro colors. Bright cherry red, Martha Stewart blue, and milky pale pink.

Every time I see a KitchenAid item in pink, I pick it up. I've receive a lot as gifts, including this stand mixer that was a gift from my parents and brother after graduating culinary school.

But my obsession doesn't end there. I scored this cute straightener at Ulta on State Street in Chicago, IL. It was only $30, but seriously works as well as my CHI.

I've been wanting to buy some retro headphones for a long time. Partially because they look so cool, but mostly because the earbuds Apple gives you don't stay in my ears. So, after I received an iPod touch for Christmas from my husband, I knew it was time. I received these delights this week.

So it's probably not much of a surprise that I made a pink treasury last night! It features some great shops! You have until 10:19 AM Saturday, January 9 to click here to see it. If you missed it, here is a screen shot of what it looks like...

Oh, hello Mr. 200 Sales! Nice to meet you!

2010-01-06T12:19:00.000-08:00

Last night I reached 200 sales in my Etsy shop. I'm considering this a pretty epic moment, seeing as I opened up shop in late August. I sold this pretty headband to my favorite customer, GreenHeathTreasures. She has her own shop, which you should definitely check out!

My shop has grown and changed into something I am so very, very proud of! Just to show a little bit of the change... here is the photo of the first item I sold in my shop, on September 14, 2009.

And at the moment, factorygirlashli.etsy.com has 490 shop hearts!! To celebrate, I will do a giveaway when I reach 500 hearts. That's only 10 away! And anyone can win. All you have to do is heart my shop! When I reach 500, I will use a random number generator. That number of heart will win a prize! It's so wonderful that I'm not even sure what it is yet! The prize will include some cards, and something blossom related, and perhaps even some jewelry! So heart away my friends!

Welcome, 2010

2010-01-01T12:46:00.000-08:00

To celebrate the new year, here are some of the things that changed my life in 2009.

Christmas Has Come and Gone

2009-12-31T09:46:00.000-08:00

I'm pretty much like a 6 year old when it comes to Christmas. I absolutely cannot wait for it. I countdown the days, hours, and minutes. Often times, I cannot sleep well starting a week or two before. I get this from my mother! But the best part is buying gifts for everyone. I'm not the kind of person who shops and sees a sweater and thinks, "Oh... I think my mother would like this!" I have to carefully plan out thoughtful gifts for everyone! And for those who hurt my brain trying to think of something creative, I get them a creative gift card! There's nothing wrong with that, right? This year I was excited about two gifts specifically. One was for my mom and the other for my husband.

First, on Christmas morning my husband and I exchanged gifts. I was most excited about giving him this, an antiqued copper and brass fire extinguisher. He is a firefighter, and I have been searching for some antique that expresses this aspect of his life. Last year I was determined to get one, but these things go for $50-$200 on ebay. I was lucky to find one three or so months ago at a yard sale!! So I've had to keep this secret the whole time. It was a relief to see him finally open it and love it!

That afternoon, we had Christmas with my parents and brother. For my mom's gift, I had been searching for this certain ornament for years. Her first Christmas with my dad was in 1982, and they had the "Our First Christmas Together 1982" ornament. A few years ago, she was getting it out of storage to put it on the tree and discovered it was broken. I only remember her crying a maximum of five times in my life, and this was one of them. I made it my mission to find another one! A week or two before Christmas, I found it on Ebay. I kept getting outbid, and after I put in a max bid of $40.02 and was quickly outbid, I tweeted about my despair! A follower recommended hlmarklady.com to me. This lady has pretty much every Hallmark collectible since the beginning of time for sale! She had one left, so I quickly sent the money through Paypal and almost cried when it arrived. Mom loved it, of course.... and couldn't believe I found it! It was a lot of work but completely worth it!

I also made her this typewriter key necklace which I was so excited about:

Here I am with my Cricut Expression, a gift from my husband. I had this one figured out by the shape of the box! I was so excited because it was on my top three list of things I wanted for Christmas!

He also completely surprised me with another item from my top three list, an iPod touch! Here I am trying not to cry.

And here is my crazy jumping cat trying to help unwrap the fire extinguisher.

I hope everyone had a lovely holiday season and has a great New Years Eve tonight!! Colton and I are staying in and spending time with each other, since we don't get to do that very much!

Etsy Delights You Need To Buy NOW!

2009-12-17T18:55:00.000-08:00

Dear readers, I have recently been exploring Etsy and discovered there are several must-haves that absolutely cannot wait for you to buy them! I even picked up one or two myself! I've narrowed them down into a top 5 for you.

1. Printable Calendars ($3-$10)

I just picked up this one from TayloredArts.

2. Hot Air Balloons (?)

I am absolutely obsessing over hot air balloons right now. I have some charms ordered for my shop, and I simply cannot wait to make something delightful out of them! To get a little piece of hot air balloon beauty RIGHT NOW, you might want to pick up this sign from castleandcottage.

3. Sassy Pillows ($15-$50)

I call them sassy because I can't think of just one word to describe my pillow obsession. I have found so many BEAUTIFUL and unique pillows on Etsy like this one from dedeetsyshop.

4. Vintage Tupperware ($2-$45)

One of my favorite sets is this kitchy orange set from funkeyfinds.

5. Wrist Cuffs ($7-$100)

I've noticed that bracelets are quickly being phased out by textile wrist cuffs. My favorites are from PonderandStich, especially this one.

Happy shopping!

Christmas in Chicago

2009-12-14T20:10:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was my 6 month anniversary with my husband. To celebrate, we made a weekend trip to Chicago! The first night we stayed in my first apartment-turned hotel room, Comfort Suites at 320 N Michigan Ave.

It was a lot of fun to see the old place. We even stayed in my old room, 1001! It was really neat to see that it was basically the same, except it had been wallpapered and given nicer furniture. You could still see where they covered the holes from when our closet shelf fell down my first month of living there. I was so upset at the time, I was ready to pack up and move home!

First of all, we walked over to State Street for some shopping. I photographed all of the Christmas themed windows at Macy's even though the wind chill was -12 degrees, and my poor husband was freezing. I have to admit the display was much better than last year's!

That night we ate Bella Bacino's (NOT Giordano's, it's better!) and went to Blue Man Group for the 2nd time. Loved it all! The next day we ate at my first Chicago employer, Corner Bakery. I indulged in DC Chicken Salad, my all time favorite! After that we took our ice skates and went to Millennium Park!

We wrapped up the trip staying out at Elk Grove Village in the Sheraton Suites (which we snagged on Hotwire for only $39/night). We went to IKEA, Woodfield Mall, and this tasty Italian Restaurant. It was a wonderful trip. Needless to say, it was difficult to go back to work today.

Handmade for the Holidays

2009-12-09T11:35:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to show off some ornaments I've made this Christmas season.

First are these BEAUTIFUL ornaments made with clear glass balls, Martha Stewart glitter, and a secret ingredient.

Find out how to make these here.

Next is an ornament made with a vintage cookie cutter and scrapbooking paper.

Find out how to make these here.

And the last ornament I made is just a little handsewn birdie. So easy to make!

A Blog Giveaway You Should Know About

2009-12-08T18:07:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone!!

My friend GreenHeathTreasures is having an AWESOME giveaway over at her blog!

Enter to win a mega media package!!!

Contest ends on Sunday, December 13th.

Front Page Hysteria

2009-12-06T08:28:00.000-08:00

Since August when I introduced my shop to Etsyland, I dreamed of making it to the front page. I've improved my photos to the best my camera and photo editing software will allow at this moment, added lots of items, and stayed involve with Etsy forums, chats, and virtual labs in hopes of getting "discovered". Well yesterday it ALMOST happened!

If you have a Facebook fan page, you ABSOLUTELY have to add the "MyEtsy" tab. Why? For several reasons, it puts a complete preview of your shop on your fan page, fans can click on links to your items with you have to post them, and it automatically updates for you! But how does this relate? Well yesterday evening it did something I had never seen before. It automatically posted a link on my wall that said "The Factory has been featured on Etsy.com". This made my heart race! What could this mean? A gift guide? Etsy Finds Email? Or *gasp*.... the FRONT PAGE? So I clicked the link and found a minor flaw, it directs you to the item instead of the feature. So it was off to www.craftcult.com to see if I really had been featured or not.

I typed in my shop name and clicked on the "FEATURED" tab. And there it was. A shimmering glisten of hope that Etsy knows my shop exists. There, at the bottom of the Front Page list, I was an alternate. Somehow, with all of the beautiful Christmas cards on Etsy, they chose me. Now all I needed was for someone to buy something off of the Front Page so I could get my 15 minutes of fame!

Unfortunately the least expensive thing was about $25, and it wasn't something I needed. And even if my card did it make it, it was only $3 and probably would have been snatched up right away, creating about 5 minutes of fame instead of 15. And another "unfortunately" is that no one else on Etsy bought anything off either, so I was forever stuck as an alternate.

So I went on with my life. I played around a little more on Etsy, mostly in the "5 min FS" chat of which I am an addict. Around 12:45 am, I decided it was time for bed. I did a quick check of Facebook and noticed that one of my favorite shops, IslaNewYork had a similar post to mine earlier thanks to her MyEtsy tab. I knew this meant she was on the Front Page!! The item was a very cute one that I had just put in my Treasury West a few days ago (the treasury had expired at 5:30 pm that day, though). So I go back to Etsy.com to check it out.

And there it was.

My treasury.

On the Front Page of Etsy.com.

Sure, they made a couple changes. They brought in my alternates, but I'm so glad they did! It was even better than I remembered. I'm pretty excited about this, if you can't tell. Just to see my shop's name near the top of Etsy's front page is more than I can handle! Three of the twelve items sold out right away. Etsy moved in items from their last Front Page and it started to make less sense. Oh well! My shop only got one new heart from the exposure, but the shops featured got LOTS! Congrats to you! I'm so excited to be able to be a part of this.

Here is a photo of the complete treasury before any items were bought:

Winner of Designs by Jamie's Giveaway

2009-12-05T07:51:00.000-08:00

Another big thank you to everyone who entered this giveaway! This contest has TWO winners!

Thanks to Random.org, the winners are....

Scrabble Tile Pendant: #20 The Soap Corner

Key Fob: #7 Ashley

Congratulations both of you!

Winner of Dorianne Agostini's Giveaway

2009-12-05T07:49:00.000-08:00

Thank you everyone who entered! Random.org selected "12" as the winner... so that means SandyM204 is the winner!

Congratulations!

Christmas Delights in the Factory

2009-12-03T10:40:00.001-08:00

I have been VERY busy making holiday cards and such for the shop. I made a big batch of adorable winter cards that sold out within one day! Here's one of them:

I made a second batch and most of them are gone already! Here was one of my favorites:

And here's a very pretty one that's still available!

Feel free to check out all of the holiday cards in my shop. If you see one you like, better get it now! These aren't likely to last very long!!

I also made this "Jar of Snowflakes" Winter Necklace. It's only $15! What a great holiday gift.

SPECIAL OFFER TO BLOG READERS!!! Mention "blog" in the notes to seller at checkout, and I will refund your shipping through Paypal on ALL purchases!

Remember to enter the giveaways below, they end on Saturday, December 5!!!

Oh Christmas Tree!

2009-11-30T18:58:00.000-08:00

So..... Christmas has got to be my favorite thing ever.

EVER! Wait..... no it's cupcakes.... wait. Nope. IT'S CHRISTMAS!

I would have had my tree up on November 1, but we were thinking we might get our house before Christmas, and I didn't wanted to put up all my decorations and then have to take them down a month later. Then I would have to put them back up and take them down another month later. Now that we don't think we will be getting it any time soon, they're up!

And just like every couple celebrating their first Christmas together should, we have TWO Christmas trees up! The first is a white tree with white lights with colorful, sparkly ornaments!

There's even presents underneath already!

In our living room, we have a traditional pine with white lights that is decorated with vintage look mittens and stockings, rustic woodland animals, and another primitive delights.

My favorite ornaments were bought on Etsy from tranquiltrail. See the cute primitive snowman ornie? That's one of them! I have two snowmen and two Christmas tree shaped ornaments on my tree. They're made entirely from materials found in nature and are definitely must haves for any primitive or rustic tree.

Underneath this tree are some of my favorite holiday books: Olive, the Other Reindeer, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and a Merry Christmas Songbook I've had since I was a kid.

And what would Christmas be without footie pajamas? Colton and I picked some up from Target. True, we had to invade the boys section.... but they fit just fine and we love them! His are sock monkeys and mine are red with penguins.

More Christmas decorations around the house coming soon!

Psssst... have you entered the giveaways yet? There are two below this post and the last... JUST KEEP READING!!! Both giveaways are open until Saturday, December 5.

My First Craigslist Experience

2009-11-30T18:38:00.000-08:00

I've heard that as a blogger, it's a fun idea to show your inspirations and also talk about your crafting space. Well, I always afraid to show my crafting space because it was such a disorganized disaster.

Thankfully, all of that changed today.

My husband and I are needing to move two counties east of here for his new job. We've found a house are are playing the waiting game. In the meantime, I've been scouring through the classifieds and Craigslist trying to find a washer, dryer, and furniture to fill up the house that is at least three times bigger than the house we live in now. I recently found a 2 piece white dresser that I fell in love with it. It was a great price and not too far away, so I emailed. When I found out it was still available, I packed up my husband and mother in my not too big, not too small Oldsmobile Bravada and headed to pick it up.

After many "Move it this way.... no! move it that ways" and a few "Oh! can we just take that part off to fit it ins"... We loaded up the giant 2 piece dresser in the back of the Brav. The only bad thing was that we had to fold down the 2nd seats, so Colton had to squeeze himself in between the front seats and the dresser and sit on the floor!

Next we went grocery shopping at an Amish foods store, filled up the Brav some more, then went to another foods store, and filled up the Brav even more! Poor, poor husband.

When we got home, we immediately got to work setting it up and organizing the craft room! There were so many drawers and shelves, I found a place for everything! And I had a LOT of crafting supplies and materials tucked away in messy, unkept boxes. Now I know where EVERYTHING is and I love it!

Take a look... what do you think? Yeah, yeah, I know... it's missing a handle, and some of the drawers are a little askew. But hey.... look at the photos and then I'll tell you how much I paid for it!

Drumroll please...... this diamond in the rough was $30!!! I know!

Looking for great deals, too? I'm hosting TWO giveaways until Saturday, December 5. Find out how to enter below!
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Handmade Spotlight (and Giveaway!): Designs By Jamie

2009-11-29T09:28:00.000-08:00

Dear readers, you are in for a treat with this giveaway! Why, you ask? There will be TWO winners! Read through the feature of this lovely Etsy shop and find out how to win! Today I am featuring Designs By Jamie.

Jamie is a stay at home mom who loves to sew. "I'm addicted to fabric and have so much fun working with different fabric combinations to create unique handbags and accessories" she says about her shop. She also designs purses for purse parties in her area! She got started about 4 years ago. She dreamed of having a booth selling SOMETHING at a craft show and decided on purses. She had been making them for friends and after getting a good response, she decided it was right for her. At her first craft show, she sold almost EVERYTHING and decided this was worth pursuing.

Her favorite item in her shop is this Angie Bag. She loves it because it "is made up in yummy Fall colored fabrics of brown, pink and orange."

Jamie's advice for new Etsy shops is this: "Be patient, sales will come. Keep creating and listing items as often as you can. Keep your items at the top of the categories by renewing your listings. Create a blog, twitter account and facebook page as a way to advertise your creations. Encourage and promote others etsy sellers on these pages and that often leads to new sales for you as well."

One of Jamie's favorite Etsy shops is Janesapron. "She makes great items like notecards and clipboards using vintage sewing patterns. I believe I found out about Janesapron through another blog."

When not on Etsy, Jamie likes to hang out with her family and go to coffee with her girlfriends. She is addicted to blogs and loves seeing what people are up to and their crafty inspirations. She says she is "really lucky to be able to stay home with my kids, and own my own business doing something that I love."

You can find DesignsByJamie on any of these sites:

Shop: www.designsbyjamie.etsy.com
Blog: www.designsjamie.blogspot.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lewiston-ID/Designs-By-Jamie/90201257060

A look into DesignsByJamie:

GIVEAWAY TIME!!!

One winner can choose any scrabble tile pendant available in DesignsByJamie's Etsy store and the other winner can choose from any key fob.

Ways to enter:
-Follow this blog and leave a comment on this post saying so
-Follow DesignsByJamie's blog and comment on this post saying so
-Become a fan of DesignsByJamie on facebook and comment on this post saying so
-Visit DesignsByJamie and comment back with your favorite item
-Blog, tweet, or promote this giveaway in the forums or on facebook & comment with a link

For 5 bonus points, purchase anything from DesignsByJamie's shop and comment here with a link to the purchased item.

Contest is open until Saturday, December 5, 2009. Two winners will be selected!

Handmade Spotlight (and Giveaway!): dorianneagostini

2009-11-29T09:02:00.000-08:00

Good morning readers! I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! To continue on in the spirit of giving, I am posting TWO giveaways today! The first one is from Dorianne Agostini from dorianneagostini.etsy.com. Check out the feature and keep reading to find out how to win a $10 Gift Certificate good towards clothing and handbags!

Dorianne loves to make clothing, handbags, hair accesories, and jewelry. Her interest in this began when she used to watch her grandmother make beautiful creations for family and friends. This is when her passion for sewing and making jewelry start. She says it "is something that I enjoy so much to do, I feel free and happy. This is part of my life and I will do it for ever!"

This is her favorite item in her shop. "My favorite color is black and I think any women needs a cute black dress in her closet!" she says about this beautiful garment!

Dorianne gives this advice to those who are starting out on Etsy: "take good pictures, believe in [yourself] and to be persistent. There's a lot of talented sellers on Etsy and the competition is really strong. Just be yourself and do what love to do from your heart, don't follow what everyone is doing."

Her favorite shop on etsy is her friend, PriscillaDawn. "I love her style, is very sweet and dollycute!" says Dorianne.

When not on Etsy, Dorianne loves shopping, enjoying the peace of the forest, or staying at home with her fiance watching movies and cooking together.

Just a preview of dorianneagostini:

And now for the giveaway! This giveaway is for a $10 gift certificate good towards clothing and handbags!

Ways to enter:
-Follow this blog and leave a comment on this post
-Visit DorianneAgostini and comment back with your favorite item
-Blog, tweet, or promote this giveaway in the forums or on facebook & comment with a link

For 5 bonus points, purchase anything from DorianneAgostini's shop and comment here with a link to the purchased item.

Contest is open until Saturday, December 5, 2009!