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Showing posts with label calendars. Show all posts
Showing posts with label calendars. Show all posts

Recent Handmade Purchases - What I've Bought Lately!

I am long overdue for another handmade purchase blog post!  The goal of these posts is just to have a little fun!  You get to be nosy and see what I spend my money on, and I get to introduce you to a few Etsy sellers I really like!  So, let's get on with it!!

This year seemed to be a lot about aromatherapy for me.  I go through phases where scents feel very motivating to me.  And when I can combine my aromatherapy fetish with my soap fetish, I'm extremely blissed out.  Topping it off with awesome packaging and I'm likely a lifetime customer, lol!  First up is my Juniper Seed Mercantile purchase:



My soap fetish was in full swing after this as evidenced by my discovery of Naiad Soap Arts!  The owner, Erin, puts a ton of care into her products and I found a couple of scents that I'd been trying to hunt down for awhile.  One of these is Beach House.  Virtually every Etsy scent and/or soap seller offers a version of a beach scent, but (surprise! surprise!), I'm very peculiar about what I like.  I want something that doesn't overwhelm me with coconut and palm trees, something that feels right in summer or winter.  This is it:


You can even try out her sugar whipped soaps in smaller batches before investing in a big jar!  I also recommend her key lime & grapefruit combination if you're into soap that smells so juicy, you accidentally eat it in the shower.  It has sugar in it for exfoliating purposes, so it's not a complete caloric mistake, lol.

If you read past posts on what I buy, you'll see that this next seller, Chicks in Hats, is a favorite. This is the second year in a row I've purchased this calendar for my Mom.  She's a complete chicken addict/collector.  Julie, the shop and chicken owner, takes these pictures of her own chicks!  They are beyond adorable.


Now, onto some other gifts given this year.  This summer, one of my nieces turned 11!  She's big into swimming and an inspiring kid to be around.  Here's what she got on her special day!



I customized the purse with the quote: "DON'T WISH FOR IT, WORK FOR IT!" and had her first initial, A, as the scrabble tile. She absolutely went BONKERS over it.  

Signage must be on my mind this year!  Because I work from home in my fabulous studio, I get kind of annoyed at the number of people who solicit in our neighborhood.  Every ring of the doorbell is an interruption of my creative spirit, lol!  I bought this sign to help cut down on that.  It's sort of working.  Now, I just get folks who ring the doorbell and then explain to me that they're not actually soliciting whilst they are trying to sell me something.  I think some folks need to review the definition of  'soliciting.'


Awhile back, I wrote a post about all the packaging fun we're having in my shop and forgot to include the fabulous washi tape I got from the Sewing Post!  If you decide to enter this shop, you do so at your own risk! It's unbelievably addicting! Washi tape is worse than beads--addiction wise.  You will start putting tape on your tape.



And finally, the gift I bought for my Dad for his birthday this year (and last year, lol!), Cherry Pie Heart Pops!  They are delicious (he tells me!!).


Well folks, that's the latest look at where my money goes. I'm happy every time I get to support a handmade micro-business because I know how having a successful shop can truly change your life.  If you've never shopped on Etsy, why not give it a go this year?  You can read these posts for previous purchases!!

Be sure to check out all the new products we launched in 2013 HERE!  And all of our personalized Christmas ornaments HERE.

Talk soon,
Lori
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Recent Handmade Purchases- Rings, Calendars, and yes, More Soap!

Time to invite you guys to be super-nosy and see what else I've bought on Etsy lately! My previous posts can be found here.  Read them! They're fun!  Let's dig in....

My ring fetish is back in full swing again.  I'm a writer in my other-other life, and I need to constantly remind myself that writing = rewriting, so I bought myself another sterling silver stacking ring from Tiny Tokens.  I know what you're thinking...you make jewelry, why are you buying from someone else?  It's because I don't work with sterling silver and sometimes I like to treat myself to something different than what I make day-in and day-out. :)


I really wanted to get a set of rings with my kitty cats initials on them, so I bought 2 of these little cuties from Kathryn Reichert.  Aren't they adorable?


And to further support my author-alter-ego, I bought some cool custom pencils from The Carbon Crusader.


Next, I bought a small chipboard calendar to keep track of marketing events for my shop.  I absolutely love it!!


And finally, I gave in to my soap addiction with some new whipped soap in a jar from Anderson Soap Company!  I tried a new scent called Infinite Romance, and O.M.G. this scent is perfection if you favor fruity scents over floral.  I adore it!!


And a little peppermint, too. I love the tingle!!


Hope you enjoyed this peek behind my curtain!! 
~Lori
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Recent Handmade Purchases - Scarves, More Kitties, Calendars, Signs

Well, as promised, here's another round of my recent handmade purchases!  All of my previous posts can be found here.  Now that everyone in my family has opened their holiday gifts, I can chat about some of them.  And true to form, many of the things I bought were just for me!  First up, are 2 more new additions to my handmade stuffed kitties kabal!  Meet Madame Meow from S. Auman Smith's shop on Etsy.  This fabulous lady is about 1 1/2 feet tall! She looks amazing on my dresser in my bedroom and even though I couldn't sleep at first, I'm used to her all-knowing stare now!


I've also added another kitty from Marjii's shop...the golden raisin cat!  Isn't she gorgeous!


Next up is an awesome sign from SignFail that perfectly exemplifies my life within my Risky Beads empire.  It couldn't be more true!


It's gotten pretty cold here in NC as of late, so I was back buying one of my major must-haves...screen-printed scarves.  I bought 3 for myself from Rainbow Swirlz and one for my sister from ellembee.  So here's the one I got for my sister...


And here's my favorite one from my recent splurge, and no, that isn't me in the picture, lol!


And last but not least by any means are the new calendars I bought.  One for me from Modern Printed Matter, one for my assistant from Sudachan, and one for my mom from Chicks In Hats.

Here's mine:


And here's my assistant's.  She has new dachshund puppies so it's appropriate!


And here's my mom's. Please note that the artist takes all the pictures herself and no chickies are ever harmed, just adorned for a few seconds! They are beyond adorable.  I almost can't stand it!



The buying will slow down for awhile, but I'm sure it'll pick up again before too long.  Ya can't teach an old dog new tricks, ya know?

~Lori
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January is Organization Time!

January is a popular month for re-organizing. I freely admit that I love organizing my beads as much as I enjoy making jewelry with them. I hardly ever throw away a container without thinking, 'I could put beads in that!' Here are some interesting organizational options from our handmade friends at Etsy:


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What do you think of these solution?

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