NanjoDogz Pandora Beads

Nancy, of NanjoDogz, is the most talented polymer clay Pandora bead artist that I've seen on Etsy. Her shop is full of handmade beads, mostly of dogs, and also carries a few sculptures, ornaments, and plaques.

It is amazing how realistic she can make her Pandora beads look. Check out her Beagle Puppy "Toes with Calla Lily" Pandora bead! She makes beads of many more breeds of dogs, and she accepts custom orders.



She also carries beads that are not dog-themed, such as this Bookworm Polymer Clay Pandora Bead.



How cute is this Boston Terrier Polymer Clay Plaque with Art Print?!


Take a peak at her beautiful blog.

Featured Artist: Mystic Wynd

Karen of MysticWynd has something for everyone in her shop. Her shop offers items appropriate for work, that appeal to a fashionista, and more exotic jewelry for a trend setter. There is even something for a bride and her bridal party. If you are a nature girl like myself, you will definitely find something you like. She incorporates natural material, like wood and stones, and several of her pieces were designed with a natural subject in mind, using colorful beads and creative titles.


Her Saddle Up cuff was designed organizing the beads to look like a horse and saddle saddle, with saddle horns, stirrups and the briddle.



Perhaps someone special would like this Heaven's Rose Rosary in their Easter Basket this year. It is made with malachite and agate beads with a wood and silver crucifix.



Get excited for spring with Karen's Gardener's Copper Charm Bracelet with Flowers. The beads are made of polymer clay, lucite, and glass. The copper charms are of gardener's tools and butterflies.



Follow her blog here

Splendid Little Stars and Sparkly Park

Margaret of Splendid Little Stars and Sparkly Park has a lot of creative talents. She hand dyes and hand paints clothing, and has been doing so for over 18 years now. Like myself, she enjoys being outdoors and finds inspiration in nature. She makes really cute infant and toddler clothing as well as beautiful jewelry.

This cute bubble suit was hand-dyed and hand-painted by Margaret and is called Dreaming in Pink. It features pink roses and green vines painted with dye on a light pink dyed bubble suit.

She has matching knotted hats available on 100% soft cotton jersey. These hats feature the same hand painted pattern. There are also several different patterned bubble suits and hats available.


If you're shopping for an adult, she has plenty of jewelry available in her shop Sparkly Park. I particularly liked the vintage blue grass and fresh water pearl earrings.



Margaret has a very interesting blog that I recommend following!

Patch: Three Great Shops

Patch, of Patch First Shop, PatchVintageShop, and PatchSupplyShop makes jewelry beautiful enough to be bridal jewelry. She lives in Thailand and her items ship from there. She has a great passion for jewelry and is willing to make custom orders.

Patch First Shop specializes in beaded Swarovski and custom bridal jewelry. Her items range in colors ideal for all bridesmaids dresses as well as classic pearls for the bride.

Double Loop Crystal Pendant

All Pearls Dangle Earrings

Go back decades in the vintage clothing in Patch Vintage Shop. The items look brand new and come with a rating system for what condition they are in. She even offers a measurement guide so that you can be confident the items will fit! These items are all from her mother's closet and they are all on sale until they sell out!

Vintage Graphic Blouse

Vintage Linen Dress - White with Green Polka Dots

Patch Supply Shop offers packaging supplies, jewelry making supplies, and gift bags. Some of these supplies are hand made, like her lotto ticket flowers -what a unique idea!

Origami Flowers made with Thai Lotto Tickets

Want to learn more? Visit any of her three Etsy shops, her blog, and her wedding blog!

Missie from Sykin and NWWonder

Browsing through Missie's two (yes two!) Etsy shops, it's hard to believe that she has time for her creative talents, being a mother full time working 26-year-old mother of two! He creative outlets include jewelry, photography, and paper crafts, not to mention her expansion into sewing clothing and other items.

Sykin is her shop which exclusively features items related to the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer. If you can't find what you're looking for, she takes custom orders as well. Here is beautiful pair of Twilight Inspired Pine Tree Earrings.



Her Breaking Dawn Spoiler Topaz Bracelet represents each member of the Cullen Family.


Missie takes advantage of her geographic location in her second shop, NWWonder. All items are from the Pacific Northwest. Her photography in this shop is stunning, capturing her local natural wonders. That being said, the jewelry in this shop is gorgeous as well! This is a sample of her work, Burnt Driftwood.

Ruby Red

The Ruby is the birthstone of July and the subject for this week's EtsyBloggers Team Carnival. I struggled to find a related topic to discuss or items in my own shop to feature, as most of my reds are Christmas and Valentine's Day themed. Much like Dorothy who had access to what she needed to get home, her ruby shoes, all along, I realized that I too had access to my goal - a ruby themed blog post. I ended up doing a search on Etsy for fellow teammates who had some ruby red items that I could show off, that's what being part of a team is all about!
"... To Oz?"


Juicy Cherries by MoonMystic features a genuine ruby rondelle, sterling silver, and pearls. What a beautiful pair of earrings!



Ebogie invites you to show off what a strong woman you are in this Sparkling Ruby Elegance Bracelet made of czech glass and gold tone spacers on a sturdy stretch cord.



Ruby in the Sky With Pearls is a lovely necklace by ArtsyTartsyJewels - a chain with pearls and a ruby red flower button.

Featured Etsy Seller: Beaded Tail

"Making tails wag one bead at a time"

Sharla, of Beaded Tail, combines her love of jewelry making and animals into a great business. In 2007, Sharla found inspiration in news reports of animal hardships. Her mom went into business with her and they began to make animal themed jewelry for animal lovers, donating a portion of all sales to various animal awareness causes.

Beaded Tail offers a lot of animal themed jewelry like the earrings and bracelet below:

Ruby Red Cat Face Earrings



Royal Blue Cats Eye Bracelet With Awareness Ribbon (Sale)


Jazz up your pet's collar with these collar covers! This one has a patriotic theme.

Freedom Cat or Dog Collar Cover


The causes that they support include:
American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
Humane Society for the United States
Dogs for the Deaf
Alley Cat Allies
Chintimini Wildlife Rescue


They have raised about $1100 in 2008 and 2009!

Read about her crafts and pets on her blog.

HandmadeBySandi

Meet Sandi, from Handmade By Sandi on Etsy. Her items are soft and full of love, touching, much like her story as to how her hobby became a business.

Her mom taught her how to crochet when she was a little girl. Scarves, hats, and stuffed animals for children were her specialties. In 2006 she began chemo treatments for breast cancer, inspiring her to knit caps and hats to keep warm. After her recovery she started crocheting chemo caps for cancer patients, as well as scarves, hats, and chokers for everyone - warm items that make you feel hugged!

Her talents don't stop there, she also sews and makes jewelry. The entire store is 50% off until the end of May, and in addition, you will be entered into a drawing for a gift certificate.

These are just some of the great finds in her shop:

Her Pink Ribbon Earrings raise awareness for breast cancer, and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to breast cancer research.


This Shamrock Coffee Cozy would be perfect around a cup of Irish Coffee, no?


How about this Lacy Crocheted Shawl?

This is one of her famous hats - Crocheted Hat with Flower.

Sandi has a second shop, Sandi's Stash, where she sells fabric and supplies. Read about her crafts, favorite books, and other Etsy sellers on her blog.

TILT!

This month's featured Etsyblogger team member is Theresa from TiLT Creations and her second Etsy shop, TiLT Too.

Theresa is a creative stay at home mom. When she's not busy with her two boys she is painting, sewing, or cooking. As she says, she has been into art since she picked up her first Crayola! She studied art and art history in college and creating art has become a big part of her life.

I absolutely love her handbags, totes, and messenger bages. She is having a sale right now, buy one get one half off. The sale ends February 28th, so you better hurry!

This Janet handbag with geometric print is unique. The straps are a cotton ribbon of laddered circles matching the pattern on the bag.


This FUNdamental tote combines her eye for fabric and hand painting talent. The yellow compliments the patterned fabric nicely and the hand painting matches the print.



She sells some left over fabric and patterns in her destash shop, TiLT Too. She also sells patterns for bags, clothing, and crafts. This pattern is cute; it's a pattern to make children's soft fabric books.


Visit Theresa at her blogs:
TiLT's Creations
Crafts, Kids, Home, and Life

Nico Designs: Home Decor, Crib Shoes, Totes, and More!

This month the EtsyBloggers are featuring our fellow member, Erika, of Nico Designs. She has been a member for nearly two years now!

I think what makes Erika stand out amongst the many other sellers of hand sewn items is not only her great talent, but her choice in fabrics as well. For example, check out this tote bag. While Christmas is over, it's not to early to shop for next year, especially since it's on sale! It shows off a mix of patterns in the stripes that blend perfectly together and a cute gift-giving snowmen fabric separated by a simple red ribbon.

How wild are these crib shoes? The Heidi Grace fabric was embellished with felt flowers and then was lined with flannel material. They are made without buttons, sequins, and seams with the safety of the child in mind. If only my feet were small enough...

This lady bug pin cushion, as well as other select items, will be shipped to you for free in her current sale which is ongoing for the next couple weeks!


Visit her blog!

CalKat Love

As a jewelry designer myself, I have great admiration for the work of CalKat. CalKat is actually a great duo, Kathy and Carrie, and they make one of a kind jewelry, beads, and pendants.

I especially admire their work with silver, such as this pendant on their Capricorn Zodiac Necklace. They carefully chose stones that are representative of the sun sign, complimenting the sterling silver pendant.



This gorgeous multistranded Citrine and Pearls necklace mixes citrine chips and ties in the matching sterling silver pendant with a faceted amethyst and citrine inlaid.


This bead is awesome! It is a bisque bead layered over several days with pure silver precious metal clay (PMC) striped with a 24K gold PMC swirl effect.


They have quite a variety in their shop such as book marks, bracelets, necklaces, and beads, each organized into sections of "love".

Check out what CalKat is upto on their beautiful blog, creatively designed with a great play list of music and useful widgets!

Best Halloween Costume EVER

You don't have to know much about me to know that Halloween is one of my favorite days of the year. I love dressing up in a costume, making fun of myself, eating candy, watching scary movies, and going to a good Halloween party. The costume I wore this year has actually been an idea of mine for about three years, but between my husband having to work last year and no party to attend the year before... I had plenty of time to perfect it.

Perhaps you watch Family Guy and have seen one of the few scenes where Peter gets in a random fist fight with the giant yellow chicken? It all began when the chicken outside gave him an expired coupon... If you are not familiar, here is a clip. Keep in mind it could probably rated somewhere between PG and PG-13.

That's right. Most people with a Peter Griffin mask would have gone as Peter and Lois, but not us. We were Peter and the Chicken. Well, of course I needed a chicken mask. But not just any chicken mask - one with some cuts and bruises, so naturally I turned to Etsy. In my search I stumbled upon Roses7184 who makes hats and stuffed animal plushies. I sent her a picture the Family Guy bird and a write up on what I was interested in and she was happy to help!

The hat came out better than expected, and I had high expectations! Some cuts, some blood.... a beak, comb, and mouth big enough to eat and drink out of... I got so many compliments and I proudly stated, "I had it custom made for me."






So, if you need a good custom Halloween costume hat made for you next year, I highly recommend Roses 7184!



Best. Costume. Ever.

Made by Melissa

After looking through MadeByMelissa's Etsy Shop you may be left wondering if there is anything that she can't make! From toys to jewelry, dishcloths to afghans, she can do it all! Although she may make similar stuff sometimes, its never exactly the same as anything else that she's created - everything is unique. After reading her profile, I see we have quite a bit in common. We are the same age and both have full time jobs in a scientific field (hers being engineering) where our creativity is suppressed. Luckily she has found the perfect creative outlets!

This Larry the Monster Chasing Ladybug toy looks much like the ones my house was inundated with earlier this fall. It's kid and baby safe.


Her beautiful Let it Snow Glass and Crystal Snowflake bracelet would be lovely in this upcoming winter season.
The Camo Baby/Todler Blanket would be perfect for a cool little boy.


As you can see, she is a lady of many talents and active in the Etsy community. Not only is she a member of the Etsy Bloggers team, but also of the EtsyKids, EtsyMoms, and EtsyNJ teams. Don't forget to check out her blog!

Memories for Life

This month's featured EtsyBlogger is Memories for Life Scrapbooks. I don't scrapbook, unless you count my handmade pendants using pretty scrapbook paper. But I must say, if I ever do start, the urge would be inspired by Edi.

My favorite items in her shop are her cute flip-flop scrapbooks. How creative are these?!


She also makes mini-albums, like this Summer Vacation Album:



Do you know an animal lover? She has a simply stunning pet album:


Edi has over 12 years experience in paper crafting. For now she is a machine operator at a semi transmission factory while she works on her MBA, she will be a paper crafter for life! Her passion began as making paper cards with stamps. Check out her Etsy Shop, her Blog, and if you don't see something you want, she loves custom orders!

Lazy T Crochet ~ Knit and Crochet Fashion Accessories

Since I've known Lazy T Crochet, or LazyT as I call her, on Etsy, I have admired her work! She knits and crochets the cutest fashion accessories including scarves, wraps, shrugs, and jewelry! Her style suits many tastes with her original, modern, and traditional patterns.

She loves working with yarn, especially with hand-spun wool and cotton. Her items are a great price, and that's not even including the items in her sale section!

Coral Wrap Fringed Stole


Soft Red Handbag


Green Apple Cloche


Green Wide Shawl or Capelet


Loop D Loop Long Blue Wrap Scarf Fiber Necklace

The items above are my favorite items in her shop. You can read about her projects on her blog and shop at her destash store on Etsy called LazyStuff.