Brown Paper Package Exchange

Awhile back I received a newsletter from Kim at Everything Etsy regarding a Brown Paper Package Exchange that Max and Ellie was hosting for this holiday season.

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I've read blog posts about these exchanges in the past and thought it would be really fun to participate - so I signed up. Today I received my exchange partner's information and I am afraid that it may be more of a challenge than I anticipated. She lives in a different country than I with an entirely different climate (that was probably done on purpose just for interest sake). The good thing is that you were required to have a website or blog in order to sign up so I will be able to sneak around there a little bit to hopefully learn my exchange partner's likes and dislikes (I did say hopefully).

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It is definitely too late to get anything in the mail for Halloween and also a little unreasonable for me to think I could make the Thanksgiving deadline, so I am aiming for Christmas.

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I am definitely going to take advantage of the 2010 Winter Olympics being held in Canada this year so there will be something in the package celebrating that. Also, Canada is known for its maple syrup so that could be the sweet treat. I do want to make something but not sure what yet. I also need to include a holiday item for the home - I may have to visit some of my talented Canadian Etsy friends to help me with that!

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I can't wait to start assembling my gifts and will try to post about my finds as I progress.

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Brown Paper Package Exchange

How Cute are These?

I had to let you all know about these fantastic little gift tags that I won this week from Etsy shop Crafted by Lindy via the blog Lullaby Lucy. They are called Trick or Treat Ghostie Gift Tags and they are ADORABLE! I have been following Lindy's blog for a while and am also a fan of her Etsy shop so I was thrilled to say the least. The designs are so cute with a Frankestein Ghostie, Pumpkin Ghostie, and a Ghostie Ghostie of course! They are still available for sale in her shop for $3.00 for 9 tags. Make sure you get them while you can. I can't wait to use them on my special Trick or Treat bags this year. Thanks Sandra and Lindy!

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How Cute are These?

Etsy Item of the Day

Have you had a chance to visit "Etsy Item of the Day" today? It is a fabulous site where each day, blogger Jackie posts her daily favourite pick from one lucky Etsy shop. As a regular reader of this blog, I have always hoped that one day we may be featured. And today is our lucky day!

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Thanks Jackie!

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Etsy Item of the Day

Happy Thanksgiving

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Happy Thanksgiving

and the Winner is......

The winner of our Halloween Teaser contest via The Fabulous Finds is......... A. Molina! She will be receiving an assorted set of Halloween pinwheel cupcake toppers, 6 gift tags, and 6 lollipop favours. I will get those out in the post to you first thing tomorrow morning! Thanks so much to everyone who entered.

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and the Winner is......

IndieSpotting!

Happy Monday everybody! And it is especially cheerful for me since our Monster Mash cupcake toppers made the front page of IndieSpotting this morning. They can also be found in the Home and Garden section as well. Thanks IndieSpotting!

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IndieSpotting!

Handmade Halloween

It's always a very nice compliment to see your handmade items included in an inspiration piece such as the one above. This one is by Katy Garner for Fairy Bread and includes the following Etsy shops in addition to Twirlie Whirlies: Fairy Wonderful, Cr8ted 4U, Under the Oak, Siiri, Go Make Me and my personal fave, Giggleberry Creations.

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Handmade Halloween

Craftgawker

So this is a very late post coming, however, I only just found out by accident two nights ago that my one and only submissions to Craftgawker was accepted!

For those who don't know, "Craftgawker is a gallery where anyone can showcase their art, crafting, and photography skills. It's a place for you to discover new artists and handmade goods to inspire your own creations."

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From what I understand, Craftgawker is extremely picky about the submissions they accept to be posted in their gallery. Their philosophy is "to select the highest quality images to appear on the site, otherwise no one would gawk at the pictures". Submissions are limited to two items at a time or until the previous ones have been accepted or declined.

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So, for someone like me who struggles and pains over their photographs day after day, why would I even consider trying my luck at getting posted on Craftgawker? Simply because I believed the quality of my paper party accessories can withstand whatever hatchet job I do to them with my lack of photography skills. Apparently, someone at Craftgawker saw the potential too and my Blockhead Party Hats are now proudly displayed in the Paper Goods section amongst other fabulous artisans such as oliveandruby, paperacorn, and fallintopink just to name a few.

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This brings me back to the beginning of the storey. I had submitted my item, photo, and description waaaay back on September 19th and the item was accepted and displayed in the gallery on September 21st. Since I never thought to change my e-mail notifications to have Craftgawker let me know if my submissions were accepted or declined, I never knew until this past Friday night. I was on Twitter and I saw a tweet from someone sadly posting that her submission to Craftgawker had been declined. It got me thinking about mine and whatever had happened to it? You can imagine how surprised I was to find out it had been sitting there for all to see for a couple of weeks. Duh - that certainly explains the views it had been receiving!

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Anyway, I have obviously changed my notification preferences and have two more submissions in queue pending review. Wish me luck!

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Craftgawker

Friday's Tidbit

So nice to wake up this morning (after a horrible, non-existent sleep) to find that Beth of IndieNorth has chosen our Monster Mash assorted cupcake toppers as her "Friday's Tidbit". Thanks Beth!p.s. Be sure to check out the newly redesigned (and all decked out for Halloween) site layout at IndieNorth. It is fabulous!

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Friday's Tidbit

It Was a Fabulous Silent Auction

I recently participated in a silent auction hosted by Fabulous Fund Finds. It was in support of Shelley Mingo and her three children. Shelley recently lost her husband, father-in-law, and brother-in-law in a plane crash. I bid on several of the generously donated listings and was thrilled to discover this morning that I was the highest bidder on this gorgeous necklace!

This beautiful silver necklace is called Springtime Sparrow and was made and donated by Lillyella. I was also given the choice of which coloured glass blossoms I wanted to adorn the chain - I chose turquoise. Odd colour selection for me, but I could use a punch of colour once in a while! I'm not sure what this necklace is priced at on Lillyella as her very popular shop, which boasts 3640 sales, is temporarily closed (taking a well deserved break I am sure), but I have a feeling I got it for a steal. I feel bad about that, wishing I could have donated more, but also very privileged that I have the opportunity to proudly wear this lovely piece of jewelry - a luxury I wouldn't have been able to afford otherwise. So now I patiently wait for my little treasure to arrive and hope that my little needle-in-a-haystack donation to the Mingo family has helped them in some small way.

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It Was a Fabulous Silent Auction