Oh My Heart

Yes, it's February, and there is a pretty popular holiday coming up...President's Day! lol just kidding, it's Valentine's Day. The theme for this week's Blogfire blog carnival is Valentine's Day or red/pink. I decided to delve into the V-day stuff on Artfire and find some heart-shaped items for you to enjoy.

First though is my latest creation, a lightweight polymer clay heart pin with a matte paint/glaze.

The pictures don't really show off its best features. The color is unique due to the glaze mix and how I applied it. There's also a nonuniform wave to the heart to make it more of an active piece rather than just a pin.


Here is a showcase of other great hearts that are just a little bit different than your normal Valentine's day heart jewelry

Feb 1 EtsyBloggers Blog Carnival!!

Welcome to the February 1st, 2010 edition of the rockin' EtsyBloggers blog carnival! The theme is all about snow, snowflakes, and winter fun!

Lois presents Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow! posted at Foxy G's Den of i-KNIT-quity.

Eugena Topina presents New Free Tutorial Snowflake Cane posted at Eugena's Creations.

Nancy presents Boston Terrier Snowflakes are Kisses from Heaven posted at NanjoDogz.

Two Zany Zebras presents Rain Rain Go away! posted at Two Zany Zebras.

Lauren presents Canadian Winters (and How to Make the Most of Them) posted at Lost Mitten.

gilliauna presents Snow Day Activities - A Rare Post By Leal posted at The Meandering Musings of a Consummate Shopper.

Erika presents A craft for kids--bulletin board circle posted at NICO* Designs.

Beth presents Snowflakes! posted at Sunshine Daydreamz.

Brittany Wende presents Blog Carnival for January!! posted at - B.W. SILVER -.

storybeader presents Etsybloggers Carnival - Jan 29, 2010 posted at Stroll Through Storyland, saying, "enjoy the fireplaces with me!"

tanya presents snowflakes posted at whimsy & charm.

Alicia Mae presents Snowflakes! posted at Crafts and Cooking.

Jane Poh presents Etsyblogger's January Blog Carnival - Snowflakes posted at Projects by Jane.

Maggie Knight presents Rain, rain, go away. Come again, like ...in a few years, or maybe never. posted at Magpie Night.

Sandy Simpson presents A little flakey posted at Punky Jane.

Rainy presents Snowflakes Blog Carnival posted at RainyDayArt.

Karen aka MysticWynd presents Winter Busy-ness in the Desert Southwest posted at Mystic Wynd.

Vicky presents Dreaming of snowflakes... posted at Shore Debris' Handmade Creations.

Sykin presents Etsybloggers.com Carnival Post posted at Sykin's One Stop Etsy Shopping Guide.

dizzydragonflies presents Snowflakes posted at dizzydragonflies.

theashgrove presents Blog Carnival: Snowflakes posted at Notes from the Ash Grove, saying, "Hope I'm not too late!"

BunnyKissd presents BlogCarnival: Snowflakes posted at Diary of a Crazy Rabbit Lady, Too.

HomeMadeOriginals presents Is it True No Two Snowflakes Are Alike? posted at Home Made Originals.

TiLTcreations presents Etsybloggers Carnival: Snowflakes and Winter Activity posted at Crafts, kids, home and life.

Kat Lantz presents The wonderful thing about snowflakes posted at SassmowthDesigns.

Linda Pruitt presents Carnival Post - Snowflakes posted at Pruitt Handcrafts.

Margaret Freije presents snowflakes posted at Splendid Little Stars, saying, "fun!"

Lisa Nguyen presents Snowflakes - Carnival Blog – Jan 2010 posted at Jewelry Delicacies.

ThorisDesigns presents Seasonal Snowflakes posted at Thoris Designs :: Cooking. Crafting. Calumny., saying, "Yay! My first on-time blog carnival submission. Enjoy ;)"

Joey & Aleethea presents does it snow in Raleigh-Durham? yes it does!! posted at J o e y & A l e e t h e a, saying, "We're in a winter wonderland!! Come see our snowy fun!"

Enjoy!

Featured EtsyBlogger - January

Wow, I'm getting it in at almost the last moment this month. Amazing how crazy busy I've been :)

This month's featured EtsyBlogger is Erika of NICO Designs

She has so many great sewn decor items and art dolls. She also makes pin cushions and totes. Her designs aren't flashy, she uses neutral tones and colors, but they have a vibrant aesthetic in the patterns she uses. Or maybe it's just how she takes her photos that makes her shop look so elegant.

Be sure to stop by the NICO Designs blog to check out various charitable causes and to enter a giveaway for a doll or a wee mouse.

Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade NICOdesigns.etsy.com

@rainnwilson Etsy funny

Thought my Etsy friends would appreciate this set of tweets I just saw on my Twitter feed



If any of you are wondering who this Twitter user is, he's an actor (most notably Dwight Schrute on The Office)

Snowflakes!

This week's EtsyBlogger blog carnival theme is snow, and I'm hosting :) One option was my favorite snowflake item on Etsy...but there are just so many amazing items that it was impossible to choose just one.


Look at the vast range of materials! From the design on pottery to being shaped in glass and leather to being an abstract visual...snowflakes!

If I had to choose a favorite from the collection I assembled above, I'd have to say it's PotatoBirdStudio's mixed media snowflake ACEO. There's just something about the dark contrast to the white of snow and the allure of the text hidden beneath that draws me to it. There's something victorian to the printing that makes it complex, yet so simple in that it's just snowflakes.

Look for the full blog carnival on Monday, February 1.

Wow and Warm

This week's Blogfire guild blog carnival theme is Wow Items: Knitting and Crochet, and what this brings to mind is warm things...warm, fuzzy things.

I haven't done too well at learning to knit, mostly because of a lack of time spent on practicing, but I love the outcome when someone knows how to do it.

And crochet is more than fabric and more than wearable, as shown among the samples I found on Artfire, which are spotlighted below.

Store Proceeds to Doctors Without Borders

Until Valentine's Day (Feb. 14), all proceeds from my Artfire shop will be donated to Doctors Without Borders/Medecins sans Frontieres. This organization is working in Haiti to save lives, patch up limbs, and alleviate suffering. They also work in other third-world countries on a regular basis and are involved in medical responses to natural disasters.

The way the donation works:

The shipping cost of the item covers the actual shipping cost of the item. 100% of the price of the item purchased will be considered the donation. Exceptions are if the shipping cost is higher than the shipping charged, then the difference will be taken from the item cost and the remainder donated. Also, if shipping is overcharged, I usually refund the difference to the buyer, but for the next month I will add it into the donation. So donations will be figured one of three ways depending on the circumstances: 100% item price, 100% item price plus leftover shipping charges, or almost all the item price after needing a bit to cover excess shipping charges.

Doctors without Borders do not take Paypal for donations. Because of this, I will be consolidating all received funds into my account and then making a donation of the accumulated amount with my credit card. Because of this, I will likely not be able to provide proof of the donation.

If you are worried about how much will actually be donated, you can donate to Doctors without Borders directly.