My 15 minutes of fame

Audrey from Audrey's Country Crafts was nice enough to feature my Etsy shop on her giveway site. She did a very nice question-and-answer style interview and she's offering lots of ways to enter to win my new Spa-aaah Gift Set. Check it out at Audrey's Give Away Blog. And, of course, check out all her other great giveaways while you're there!

Sweet Tidings giveaway: Some very non-traditional fragrances!

Blogger Sweet Tidings is sponsoring a Valentine's Day giveaway for a five-vial fragrance sampler from The Poison Apple Apothecary. They have an awesome collection of scents with names like "Bloodlust," "Scorned," "Death by Sugar" and "Burial Bouquet." The full descriptions of the scents make a very entertaining read! These would make a great Valentine gift for your non-traditional sweetie, or even an anti-Valentine's day gift for yourself or a Cupid-boycotting friend.


Personally, I think I'm going to have to give this one - called "Gwyllion" a try!

Valentine's Day challenge: Shopping for a good cause

With so much in the news about Haiti and fundraising efforts, I did a bit of sleuthing on Etsy to see what other causes shop owners support. A search for "fundraising" brought up 1,771 results for products ranging from jewelry, t-shirts, and notecards to baked goods and teddy bear. And the causes and organizations they support are just as diverse: adoption organizations, support groups for parents who have lost children, Haiti relief, animal shelters, cancer research and camps for disabled children, just to name a few.


Closer to home, a co-worker is raising funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society with her shop, Team in Training. That's her Curvy Pop-Tab Purse in the photo above. And fellow Cleveland Handmade team member JMT Glassworks supports a different animal rescue group each month through the sales from her shop.

With so many items and causes to choose from, I'll bet you could find a Valentine's Gift your sweetie would love AND support his or her favorite charity or cause at the same time!

At a loss for gift ideas?

This is a great post by Scoutie Girl: "A Dude's Guide to Shopping Handmade". It's written for guys shopping for Valentine's Day gifts, but there are some great tips here for anyone who's ever felt at a loss for unique gift ideas for any holiday.

Cleveland Handmade giveaway: felted scarf from Knitgrrl Studio

Every week Cleveland Handmade has a giveaway to spotlight one of their members and thank all their wonderful supporters and customers. It's a great opportunity to win some lovely items and check out the high-quality handmade art in their member shops. Entry is easy - full rules at the Cleveand Handmade web site.



This week's item is 100% one-of-a-kind wet felted scarf made from fine local Great Lakes–area wool, created by Knitgrrl Studio. Check it out!

Long overdue update

The holiday craziness seemed to spill right over into January. Whew! I feel like I'm finally getting back into a semi-normal routine. I made some shop updates yesterday and posted some new items. Any of these would make nice Valentine's Day gifts - drop a hint or two to your sweetie!


Spa-aaaah Gift Set includes a small herbal comfort pack, lavender eye mask, terry bath mitt and soothing Lavender Bath Salts.


Bath Salt Sampler/Gift Set - includes one 2-ounce container of each of my bath salt blends: soothing Lavender, energizing Citrus, refreshing Candy Cane, calming Lavender/Rose Geranium and Lavender Lemongrass. Each container is enough for two baths.


Bath Salt Mini Sampler/Gift Set - Your choice of any three bath salts in a 2-ounce trial size.

There are lots more new products in the works!