My latest ETSY treasury

Hello again everyone, what do you think of my latest collection of cool stuff from shops on Etsy? This time I have compiled my treasury using shops that participate in "promotional frenzy" Together we all help to promote one another in hope that we all will gain more exposure and therefore more sales.

If you are not already part of the promotional frenzy thread in the Etsy forums then go to the promotions section and you will see it. Don't be put off by the amount of posts there are thinking that you will get lost amongst the other posters, the shop owners that organize the thread set a daily challenge where if you take part you will get seen.

If you are an Etsy buyer and not a shop owner, perhaps think about having a look through the treasuries searching for the tag "promotional frenzy" if you want to find something current, fresh and new.

'Golden!' by sammi10

This treasury is full of lovely things from my frenzy pals who all have a hint of gold.I hope you like it.

OOAK Bracelet and Ring ... timasartstudio $575.00	Peace Sign Pendant on C... zenbreeze $17.75	Silk Ribbon Wrap Bracel... charmeddesign1... $34.00
SALE - Mustard Yellow T... bagsofblessing $29.00	Luxe OATMEAL GINGERBREA... toystorynutty $5.25	Peace and Flowers Circl... sewmeamemory $40.00
Fertility Tracking Brac... petitehermine $22.00	Blank mini red Japanese... CraftyGamerGir... $15.00	Green Tea and White Tea... teaman $10.50
Peace Tree in Golden Gl... laurali $12.00	Fine Silver on Yellow G... GlitterbirdGla... $30.00	Bridal thank you tags w... SweetandSassyC... $6.00
Gourmet White Chocolate... chocolateandri... $12.95	Mary and Baby NRaymond80 $4.99	Fresh Cucumber Hot Pro... atfcandlecreat... $3.50

Generated using Treasury HTML code generator by Whale Shark Websites.

ETSY EXPLAINED

Right then all you face book friends that have bothered to click on the link and who are just a little bit curious as to what this ETSY stuff is all about that I keep banging on about I will now explain everything.

I'm sure I ve tried explaining what ETSY is in the past but trying to do it on facebook I have always felt like i was spamming people if i wrote more that two sentances.

Here I am on my very own blog and I can rant on for as long as I like, BUT I'm not going to. I m going to try and keep it quite succinct and to the point.

As most of you who know me will  know, I make jewellery and scarves and bags amongst other things. ETSY is where i try to sell my wears. But ETSY is so much more than just a place where I sell my wears. It is a huge creative community of crafters, from furniture makers and leather workers to jewellery makers and soap makers. It's like having Covent Garden, Portabello Rd and John Lewis all in the same place.

You may have a quick look and think " Ah this is just for Americans" But no there are thousands and thousands of UK and European based shops. If you prefer to shop a little closer to home you can use the "SHOP LOCAL" tool where you can specify even the town you live in to see if there are shops on your doorstep.

Now like Ebay and other multishop websites you will need to join to buy, but it couldn't be simpler.

If you love all things unique then this is the place for you to shop, go and have a browse. If you love one of a kind bits and bobs for the home, this is where you will find it. You need never fear that you have given the same gift as someone else ever again.

'It's a kinda Christmas' by sammi10

Celtic Knot Oval Soap G... crimsonhill $6.50	Slouchy Beanie in Oatme... HiJinx $20.00	Gorgeous Blue Plaster A... theshabbychate... $18.00
Custom String Ornament ... windowfog $12.00	Christmas Special Natur... Crystalphotogr... $36.00	Early Budding Vine Brac... Giftbearer $600.00
Grey and black flower f... Lbtoyos $9.90	Felted Rustic Santa/Gre... SensoryFelteds $15.00	Dark Blue and White Cro... SuzanneMedrano $10.00
Fresh Cinnamon and Peca... BiscottiQueen $8.49	4 Piece Leaf Branch and... bountyofbeads $4.00	Gourds for Ornaments, S... midnightcoiler $12.00
One Dozen Peppermint Pe... chocolateandri... $9.25	Assortment of Clear Cab... BMSupplies $1.25	Frills Headwrap moosetteorigin... $17.00

Generated using Treasury HTML code generator by Whale Shark Websites.

Featured blow are just a selection of the cool kinds of things you might find on Etsy. If you want to look specifically at my shop click HERE

Student University fee increase Rant!

Ok now I am going to swerve from my usual creative babble to rant for a minute about comments made on face book about the rise in Uni fees in the. The fees are set to almost triple in 2012! So instead of a 3 year course costing around 10K it will cost nearly 30K.

I've been reading comments like "Too many people are getting into university these days it will make a degree be worth something again"

Ok this person should just shut their cake hole in my opinion. I will write this slowly so they can understand. If they made GCSE the A levels harder this would make it more worthy as you would have to work harder to get in. I mean come on the introduction of A* clearly shows that exams now days are just too easy there fore cheapening education.

My mate Tamsin is a frickin genius and she didn't get 10 A's at GCSE or 3 A's at A level. Making something more expensive does not make it worth more!

The other little gem "It works in America" HA does it really, I believe that it only makes the divide between the rich and poor even bigger. The rich ones who have marginal intelligence get to walk in because they can pay and the poor kids have to be Einstein to even get considered. Then this has a knock on effect out in the big wide world where more and more companies will only take on graduates. So an averagely smart poor person will be far more limited in Job opportunities than an averagely smart rich person.

One my husband heard on the radio "Yeah why shouldn't they pay, they'll be able to afford it when they get their 100K job" Having a degree doesn't mean you are automatically a 50k bonus a year banker. My nephew wants to be a teacher ( And God knows we need them) But he'll never earn that kind of money. My friend Lucy is a teacher and she earns OK money but it's taken her nearly 15 years to get there.

I think a lot of people who didn't go to university think that it's just a doss and have a bit of a chip on their shoulders. I didn't go to university so I don't know if it is or not, I think some courses are more of a skive than others. But to assume that everyone is just on a four year piss up is a bit unfair.

What I think raising the fees will do is put off a lot of kids from lower income families from even bothering to try because they don't want to put any more financial burden on the family.

I think that what it will do is instill an idea that only the wealthy get ahead and create more animosity and less motivation to try.

Now last but by no means least where is this extra money going? Will the universities be getting any of the extra 6K per student a year? Will the extra money be going towards making a better education system. Or is it going to the government? Is it a glorified EDUCATION TAX. Is that extra money going towards trying to fish us out of the shit that they themselves created?

Next we'll be paying through the nose for health care and pledging allegiance to the flag. I think you know which one I mean.

Handmade Felt bag Christmas giveaway

 I am giving away this hand wet felted seamless handbag, 100% merino wool, very soft and lovely.

As you can see from the photos she has been made using very on trend colours, purple and green. They just happen to be my favorites too!

The bag measures 10 inches/26cm in width and 8 inches/21cm in height with the handles being 4inches/10cm above the top of the bag.

The giveaway is open to anyone over the age of 14yrs.

Worldwide, no restrictions you can be from the moon.

The giveaway will end on saturday the 18th of december 2010 at 17:00 GMT (UK time)

What to do to enter?

Option 1: Go to my ETSY shop then leave me a comment to this blog post telling me which item is your favorite.

Option 2: Click to like my page on face book ( see link above ) and leave me a message on my wall mentioning your favorite item from my ETSY shop.

Don't forget to leave some way I can reach you if you win.

Latest Etsy Treasury

'blog love and other friends part 2' by sammi10

This is a treasury full of shops that have advertised on my itty bitty blog and some others too.

Holiday ring red copper... steufel $12.00	20% off original oil p... adamfonos $80.00	Silk Flower Brooch Gree... GreenPondCraft... $10.00
FREE SHIPPING-Lovely an... dramatiquedesi... $23.00	10% OFF Entire Shop Pin... BeadsbyGiovani... $0.90	Those Hanging Glass - 4... Maulani $7.00
Pleated Floral Canvas B... ickadybag $27.00	cheery pink strawberry ... samandrodger $37.00	Red pin pop 8x12 photog... JellyCircus $11.00
Moss Upcycled wool doll... JumpUp $15.00	Creative Yarn Variety P... SixSkeins $5.00	Fresh Baked Bread Soap karenssoaps $5.00
Camille Coat with Gobli... malam $370.00	Patchouli Citrus Natura... rainwaterbotan... $9.00	Chester the Holiday Ham... Middleburg $73.00

Generated using Treasury HTML code generator by Whale Shark Websites.

I hope that you all like it I would love to hear some comments and and by the way click away on the pictures they link directly to the shops apparently....ENJOY!

Top tips on blogging and creating healthily part 2

Ok so last time I spoke about:
sight
light
food
hydration
This time I want to start by talking a little about temperature. Having a nice ambient temperature in these cold winter months is important. Our bodies will burn a lot more energy than normal trying to keep warm.
If we are trying to work in a cold environment I bet you find it hard to concentrate, I can't do anything if I am cold other than perhaps update my blog.

I go into hibernation mode where all I want to do is stay in bed, hey If i can do it from bed bring it on! So the cold does not feed our creativity.

 See this is me not practicing what I preach I can hardly type I am so cold.

Next on the list for this time is BACK HEALTH. I will bet a million quid that most of us creative types suffer with bad backs and necks. This I will guess is down to bad work positioning. Slouching while embroidering, sewing on the soft squishy sofa, felting on a table that is too low am I ringing any bells yet?
I try to imagine myself in a period drama, corset and all sitting bolt upright on a very uncomfortable looking chair doing my needle work and this does make me sit up straight.
At regular periods during the day do a set of back extensions ( either sitting or standing) try to elongate your spine, imagine being pulled by the top of your head, chin out shoulders back as far as they will go, try to make yourself as tall as you can. Then relax, repeat this ten times just to remind you back muscles to hold you up.
We need to keep our backs strong if we want to remain creative into our old age. Ask at your gym ( if you go to one) for some back strengthening exercises. I might write a blog post on this topic alone in the future.

We move onto something a little more "binky bonky" Music and singing. Yeah whatever I hear you mumbling. I always used to work in silence, no radio, no TV, but although I still enjoy some quite moments a bit of music and singing does massive good for the soul and spirit.

I am in no way a hippie or a Jesus freak ( though I do like a good hymn) Try a bit of singing and dancing while you are creating your next masterpiece, even if you are tone deaf. I guarantee it will make you feel happy.

And finally for this post WORK SPACE. Now if you are anything like me I can be described as a mucky puppy.

As my creative mind is whizzing back and forth I'll start one thing and then move on to another and leave the first thing in the middle of the room. Then I'll think of something else an idea maybe, jot that down leaving the thing I was doing on the table then I ll think of something else and so on and so forth. You get the picture. Next thing you know You can't remember where you left the first thing, you've had a great idea but can't find your note book, then when you find it you can't remember the idea you had in the first place.

This does us no favors. I do try to put things back in the same place each time (though my husband would disagree) I try not to get involved with too many things at once and I try to finish one project at a time.

Having a little focus does not strangle our creativity but helps it come out in a more orderly fashion ( sometimes)

Another thing I would like to say about WORK SPACE is to try and keep it tidy, I know I am untidy but even for me there is something distinctly off putting about a messy work space, I get confused and start talking myself out of starting things because everything in front of me is so jumbled.

When I am not creating I wok as a painter ( of houses) and I find that I concentrate far better in a tidy work space. My sister would be having a fir if she were to read this as when I was a kid I was the messiest kid on the block.

My latest ETSY treasury but for real this time

'blog love and other friends' by sammi10

I ve compiled this list from shops that have advertised on my blog and some other cute things that I have spotted along the way

Cute as a button soap s... LoveLeeSoaps $4.00	Owl Pendant thechristmasco... $5.00	Cherry Red Chrysanthemu... AllureByU $19.00
Knitted wool Mittens si... CaboDesigns $23.00	Simple Bunny- O.N.L. OmNomLindos $16.20	Rainbow Shell Bracelet momsjewels $12.00
Earrings, Modern, Rings... lilabelledesig... $19.50	Custom Made Baby Shower... CountrySquirre... $60.00	Lady In Red terracegallery $49.99
crochet CUPCAKES with s... ChildsPlayCroc... $	Contemporary Modern Abs... DistinctiveCol... $	Fleur de Sel Caramels -... TheCaramelJar $15.95
Unisex Wash Cloth Cupca... babycakesandde... $15.00	Pistachio Owls On a Whi... cottonthreadfa... $8.00	Wipe Clutch with Changi... MondayTaylor $

Generated using Treasury HTML code generator by Whale Shark Websites.