Project Wonderful

Okay, I recieved and email from Project Wonderful (thank you for your quick response!) and they explained things a little more clearly. I was under the impression that it would be de activated permanently. This is not the case, this was intended to give me a heads up that I needed to maybe do some tweaking to make the ad spots more effective. So I am happy to say that their prompt response and their clearer explanation means that I can still support PW and continue to encourage people to use them. Hopefully they may re word that particular e-mail so that there is a little less freaking out by people like me lol!

So here is an interesting little tid bit about Project Wonderful. I have had Project Wonderful ads on my blog for some time. Usually they go for anywhere from o to about .04 cents an ad. So I get an email today from Project Wonderful stating that since the bidding on my ads and the click throughs are below a certain thresh hold they will de activate my ad box. Mind you it has only been 5 days for this particular thresh hold. So I have been telling everyone I know how great Project Wonderful is and how they should use their services to advertise and they should use Project Wonderful on their blogs and sites. I am feeling a bit betrayed quite honestly, I don't recall seeing that particular issue when I signed up. Also, I can see maybe 30 days of poor performance but 7 days? Maybe I am on vacation for two weeks and there isn't any activity on my site. What gives? I am seriously rethinking my advertising efforts with them and may in fact pull all of my advertising off of their site and find other means of advertising. What a shame that they have decided to do this.

Yes Another Give Away!

So I am on a roll this month. Can't help it I keep finding all these great products to try lol! And no I don't get any free samples or anything its just fun to do. I know I love entering give aways so I enjoy doing them and I like to help other people too. Works out well all the way around.

So anyhow here it is what is up for this week: VOTRE VU

AU REVOIR! Trouble Spot Treatment
Say goodbye to bumps and blotches pronto! Relief is here and ready to spot you. Use on troublesome pimples, whiteheads and bumps. The disinfecting, healing and anti-inflammatory properties of salicylic acid combine to restore the skin's surface and help normalize the production of sebum, controlling the formation of blemishes. Camphor provides unmatched properties to purify and disinfect the skin, while the anti-bacterial ingredients tighten pores, allowing your skin's surface to gradually take on a completely new appearance - uniform, clean and matte. Apply wherever needed. Say AU REVOIR to Spots and Bonjour to Smooth Skin! This is a retail value of $19 plus $5 shipping and handling so this is a $24 value shipped straight to your door for free.

This comes straight from Paris France (which is pretty cool in and off itself). Have you seen the women in France? They usually have quite beautiful skin, I wonder if this line of products is one of the reasons. So in order to win this FREE full size bottle please go to Arlene's website
Arlene Lizarraga - Votre Vu

Take a good look around and then tell me which product you like the best or that you think would be something that you could use. Also please leave an email address so that I can contact you if you win. The winner will be chosen via random.org.

Personally I am seriously considering the PORTRAIT COLLAR Restorative Neck Crème since I have lost 40 lbs and the wrinkles are starting to show on my previously plump neck lol! And the LES SORBET Advanced Care Iced Sérum for Face sounds like a fabulous way to wake up my tired eyes in the morning. I have a feeling that these products are worth every penny and I am determined to look as young as possible for as long as possible. And besides, we all need to pamper ourselves once in a while. Go ahead, you deserve it!

Congratulations!

Congratulation to the winner of my ring! I picked the winner through random.org and have sent an email to notify them. I am going to do a couple more give aways, and will have a new one ready to go tomorrow. As a teaser the next give away, starting tomorrow, will be a great skin care product that comes from France. And this is not a sample size this is a full size product.

Spring Give Away!

So spring is right around the corner and Ohio got a little taste of it over the weekend (including heavy downpours lol). It was such a nice change from icy winds, lots of snow and gloomy gray skies. In fact it put me in such a good mood I decided to do a give away of my own. I will be giving away my Vintage Glass Sky Blue Cat's Eye Sterling Silver Ring. I will make this in your size if you win. (sizes 4 to 15 available and it will take a week or two for me to mail since it will be custom sized for you).

The rules are simple. Go to either my 1000Markets shop or my Artfire shop and choose the item that you like the best and then leave your pick in the comments along with a way to reach you if you win. Also please leave your ring size in the comments. The winner will be chosen by random.org on Sunday March 15th 2009.

"Lovely vintage blue cats eye glass cabochon set in a fine silver bezel with a sterling silver hammered band. This ring is oxidized to give it a lovely aged finish."

Have fun and good luck! If you decide to make a purchase during this give away simply put Spring Blog Giveaway in the notes to seller and I will refund 10% of the price.

Spring Alert!

Okay check out what I just found on Artfire. Now I am really longing for spring to arrive (as the sun glares off the snow that fell last night and this morning lol)!

All of Andrews items are recycled and I am going to insert what he has to say about them as he is much more clear and coherent than I am lol! As some of you may know I am a big believer in helping our environment and am doubly happy that I found Andrews stuff since it combines my love of gardening and nature with eco friendly things lol! Here is what Andrew has to say about what he does:

Quality And Value

Prized by boat builders and other artists for centuries, clear Western Red Cedar is the very best lumber for outdoor use. Its properties of stiffness, straightness of grain, high strength-to-weight ratio, resistance to decay, beautiful color, and enchanting scent are even greater when sawn from old-growth trees.

Unfortunately, there are so few old-growth cedar trees left, that with a steadily growing demand, the cost of this material is rising at such a rate that it’s becoming difficult for we as consumers to justify its use over cheap-looking shiny alternatives. The good news is, the lower prices I pay for this higher quality lumber gives me room to spend the time to carefully craft into each piece properties of unusual strength, and higher overall quality than normally found in cedar garden structures, and to sell the finished piece at a fair price.

Originality

Every piece is unique, as all have been crafted from woods full of different clues to its history, in decades-old fastener holes, tool marks, embedded mineral stains, and other minor inclusions. Although I saw and plane most stock to uniform thicknesses, I like these imperfections to remain as evidence of its antiquity.

Environmentally Friendly Goals

Thank you for considering recycled cedar. You may be contributing to a healthier future for your children and theirs, by playing the most important role in the preservation of our forests, and encouraging the further use of sustainable forestry practices throughout the Pacific Northwest and all over the world. You are actively contributing to the conservation of some of our most beautiful and beneficial resources, while finding the perfect addition to your garden.

So, go check out his shop at ANDREWSRECLAIMED or just click on a picture to go straight to that listing. Also Andrew might have mentioned something about a give away closer to spring so make sure you check back often.

More give aways are in the works also, including jewelry (not mine lol but maybe in the future), and beauty/skin products, so that's at least 3 give aways coming up in the next couple of months.

Top Ten Reasons to Buy Handmade

This is just a quickie post to direct you to this awesome blog by the Artfire Artisan Jeweler Guild over on Artfire. Go check it out and find out why YOU should be buying handmade. (This of course applies to more than just jewelry). And yes I am a member of this guild and proud of it lol! There are some extremely talented people who are a part of this guild.

Artfire Artisan Jeweler Guild

Also keep an eye out I have several possible give aways I am mulling over so check back often.

New Series of Copper Pendants

Well I have been busily coming up with new designs (mostly in my head since my time has been very limited the last several weeks, can't wait for a couple of those vacation days headed my way lol), but I did in fact get the prototype pendant for my rustic wildflower series done. I will be doing a limited number of these, each one will be slightly different in size, how many flowers and what stone is used as the main flower. Also the patina on the copper will vary from piece to piece as it is done with the flame of the torch so each will be different in that respect also. So here are the first two in the series, one has a matte finish and one has a slightly more polished less patina finish. If you would like to purchase the one the left simply click on it and it will take you to my shop. The other one will be listed in the next couple of days. Of course if you wish one custom made with a particular stone please feel free to let me know, I would be happy to work with you.

Treasure Hunt!

Today is the day! Start you treasure hunting now! If you have already answered the questions and written them down go to the link at the bottom and put your answers in!

Contest ends at midnight on Feb. 10th 2009

Okay here is a chance to win a $50 gift voucher to participating Art Fire Stores. This is a true treasure hunt and you will have to work at it but it looks to be a ton of fun! And remember, you could in fact win $50 to spend in any or all of the shops participating. It is free and you can enter as many times as you would like. Please go to the link below for details and to participate!

http://de.regenboog.googlepages.com/signuptoentertreasurehunt!

Give Away Over

Thanks so much to all of you who participated in this give away. I have sent an email to the winner. Winners are always picked via random.org. I will be doing one or two more give aways in the following weeks so check beck occasionally to see if anything is up for grabs. (hint: the next give away is for jewelry, although its not my jewelry, I think you'll love it).

Free 8x10 Print Give Away from Infinite Vision!

Well this seems to by my month for give aways lol! The last one went really well and I hope that some of you found some hand made soap to try.

This week we are giving away an 8x10 print from Infinite Vision. You pick any print in his shop that you like, even the larger prints and if you are chosen you will receive that print as an 8x10. He has some beautiful work and this is a chance to get your hand on a piece of it lol! He also has very diverse subject matter and this would be a good chance to pick up something for the men in your life. Some of these prints would be excellent as a gift for husbands, boyfriends, dads, brothers or even your boss. I know I have the hardest time finding something unique and different for the men in my life. This would be a great option! Of course there is plenty to choose from for the women in your life also.

Pick which print you like the best and post it in the comments sections. Please leave a way for me to contact you at the end of the give away. Contest ends Sunday February 1st.

Free Handmade Soap Contest Is Over

Many thanks to all of you who participated! I will be choosing the winner with random.org. Rebecca from Soap Deli will be getting in touch with the winner to make shipping arrangements. Please note that I will running another give away in the next day or so for an 8x10 print from Invifisions shop on Artfire. I will most likely have the post up on Tuesday or Wednesday. It had been planned for today but unfortunately I have the stomach flu and don't feel able to give his awesome work the kudo's it deserves until I am feeling better so look for another giveaway in the next day or two.

CONTEST! WIN Hand Made Soap

Featuring Hand Made Soap by Soap Deli (also known as Rebecca's Soap Delicatessen)

Soooo have I mentioned my addiction to hand made soap? If not, let me just tell you that I no longer buy commercially made soap if at all possible and will save up my pennies to make sure that I don't run out. I have super dry skin all winter long and I am here to tell you that hand made has cut my need for lotion in half. I can even skip a day (of lotion) and still not look like an alligator in 24 hours or less, and the smell oohh the smell of hand made soap is to die for. Seriously! So... to help spread the word on hand made soap I am having a contest give away.

SoapDeli has been kind enough to offer THREE bars of soap (1 of each) in these luscious flavors to one lucky winner. Too bad I can't enter my own contest lol!

SOUTHERN SWEET TEA SOAP
This soap is reminiscent of tea with lemon that is sweetened with a touch of honey. The scent is a blend of tea leaves, honey nectar, wild flowers, and lemongrass. The bar is naturally colored a light yellow from the addition of real lemongrass essential oil. Real tea leaves are dotted throughout the bar for visual interest and exfoliation. This soap rinses cleanly away and is all natural except for the fragrance. Vegan. Each bar weighs 4oz. - 4.5oz.

Yum!

LAVENDER AND BASIL SOAP
My Lavender and Basil Shea Butter soap has a clean, fresh scent that combines the summery aromas of lavender and basil. This soap is strongly scented so you are left with a light fragrance on your skin afterward. The soap rinses cleanly away and is all natural except for the fragrance. Each bar weighs 4oz. - 4.5oz.
I really want to try this one!

YUZU GOAT MILK SOAP
This yellow and orange colored soap is a cleanly scented blend of refreshing spring flowers highlighted by touches of Japanese Yuzu, tangy mandarin and sweet orange. Goat milk and shea butter make it feel especially nice on your skin. It is strongly scented so you are left with a light fragrance on your skin afterward. The soap rinses cleanly away and is all natural except for the fragrance. Each bar weighs 4oz. - 4.5oz.



HOW TO ENTER!
The important part lol! Go to SoapDeli's shop and take a look around. (be careful you may break down and buy some while looking lol). Come back here and leave a comment on which one of her soaps you like the best. Also leave a comment as to why you love hand made soap or why you would like to try hand made soap. I will randomly choose a winner on Sunday, January 25th, 2009 and SoapDeli will ship your soap to you. Please make sure that you leave me a contact email so I can notify you if you win and make shipping arrangements.

GOOD LUCK!

Save a Seed Coalition

I have to say that I love the outdoors. Not the outdoors that I see from my windows at the office or out of the windows of my house, with the concrete and wires everywhere. Don't get me wrong we have beautiful trees that line our street and there are fields and trees across from our office but it is still the city, filled with noise, pollution and, well, ugliness. I crave the wide open spaces outside of the cities, quiet walks in the woods, breathing fresh (as opposed to poisoned) air, where you can actually smell something besides gas fumes from a million cars. The wide open space are getting smaller and I don't even know the going rate of extinction for plant species anymore, I can't make myself look at the numbers. So in an effort to contribute just a little toward reversing some of the damage we humans do because of our lack of care for our environment I am suggesting that everyone check this website out and see if maybe you are motivated to a little something also. Please not this that this does NOT COST YOU ANYTHING! I am copying and pasting since I suck at paraphrasing lol! Do you want to make a difference?

Good Morning SuperForest!

As you can see from our little "fund-o-meter" down on the right, we have now raised more than $1,100 toward preserving a single plant species via the Millennium Seed Bank.

This is wonderful news!

So, thinks we, how to best raise the remaining amount?
Better than that, how to spread the Save-A-Seed meme across the blogosphere and internet in the hopes of raising further awareness and funds?

Our question is this: Can the blogosphere save the world, one cause at a time?

Here is how we're gonna try to find out:

We are hereby setting out on an Attention Generation Excercise! One whose sole goal is to tell people about the Millennium Seed Bank.

Right now, there are 37 people who follow SuperForest. Of those 37, 30 are bloggers. Those 30 bloggers have 49 blogs among them.

If you add in the members of Team SuperForest, you've got over 40 bloggers with approximately 50 blogs between them. So what can you do with 50 blogs?

We're hoping to unite them!

Today, the thirty bloggers who follow SF received the following email or comment on their sites:

"Dear (fellow blogger),

We would like to invite you to join us in a little adventure.

As you may well know, we've started an awareness and fund-raising campaign for the Millennium Seed Bank. In our opinion, the MSB is performing an invaluable service by preserving plant species, all for the incredibly low price of approx. $3000.00 per species. Compared to trying to save a piece of land, or an animal species, 3000 smackers is an absolute bargain.

We think their work will benefit all of humanity and is as far as we can tell, controversy free.

We happily invite you to join us in forming the Save-A-Seed Coalition.

The SASC will be an informal organization of volunteer bloggers with two goals: Tell people about the Millennium Seed Bank. And, tell more people about the Millennium Seed Bank.

We figure that the best way to raise awareness, (and hopefully funds,) for the MSB is by telling as many folks as possible, generating as much interest as we can...

Here is our plan for how we accomplish that:

We here at SuperForest will write a post about the idea of creating the Save-A-Seed Coalition and our plan to reach out to you.
If you decide to join in the fun, you write a post about being asked to join the SASC and whether or not you'll join.

If you join, we write a post about who has joined and we link to you. You write a post about joining up, and you link to us!

(See where this is going?)

Between the 37 folks who follow SF and us, we have over 50 blogs.
With 50 blogs writing about and linking to the Millennium Seed Bank, the Save-A-Seed project and one anothers blogs, we've all of a sudden created a very powerful informational and communication entity.

A sympathetic coalition of bloggers, flexing the blogosphere's infant muscles to help a needy organization sounds like just the sort of elevating content that people are hungry for, and we can all share in the fun!

Our immediate goal is to save one seed, (i.e. raise $3,000 for the MSB.) We are one third of the way there. Our plan is to raise this amount, send them a check, and immediately set to work on saving a second seed.

Micro-donations, collected across the vastness of the internet, could provide the lifeblood for the Millennium Seed Bank, and we hope that this little action will help that come to pass.

And as an added bonus, we all get to "meet" one another and get to know each other and each others work as we work for a worthy cause.

What say you? Will you join us?

With love and respect,

Jackson, Niki, Andrew, Alex, Taylor,
Jaell, Julius, April, Jordan, Iman, Carla, & Spoon

a.k.a Team SuperForest"

Joining the Save-A-Seed Coalition doesn't mean you have to donate money, or raise money, or ever deal with money... To join, you merely have to mention that the SASC exists and link to it.

I repeat: No need to donate, only post and link.

Enough folks mention, enough folks link, and the Millennium Seed Bank is as good as covered. That's what we're hoping.



When enough bloggers get on board, then we can all write posts about the MSB at once, link to each other AND work up a press release about the whole thing thus far. Fun, right?

Let's work together and see if we can improve our environment.
Here's to exploration!

Love to All,

Team SuperForest

Artfire Artist Review

So, I have to say I am very happy that the holidays are over. January doesn't really seem to be moving any slower though lol!

As previously mentioned I am expanding my selling venues on some fronts and getting rid of some on other fronts. One of the Ivenues I am going to be using quite a bit is artfire. Lovely community, great artists and lots of things to choose from. I came across a fabulous glass artist in the forums there. Her name is Tanya and her shop is ArtisticAccentsEtc-artglass. Now I do little bit of glass fusing, mostly for the fun of it but when I saw her shop I started to drool. Now I know that drooling is not that attractive but I really couldn't help it lol! Wonderful work, some of the best that I have seen and I strongly encourage you to go take a look at her shop. They are planning on adding many more pieces so I would encourage you to check back with her shop often. Below are a couple of words from Tanya about her and her family's business.

" I am a 33 year old glass artist from Chicago. I have been working with glass for about 8 years. This is now our family business and we have never been happier to be able to create our glass art full time. We are constantly trying new techniques and furthering our education in glass art to bring cutting edge designs to the art and jewelry lovers alike. Our techniques included, fusing, lampworking & blown glass."

So as you can see by the photos (and this is a small sampling of what she has) there is something for everyone in her shop. If you haven't spent your Christmas money yet (or even if you have lol) this would be a great place to shop at.

Our Dogs!

This post is completely devoid of any business lol! Dedicated to my three favorite canines, Black Jack (he's not really black by the way, and has beautiful pale blue eyes.), Liberty (also known as Libby, and Moo Cow) and Ella( who also has those baby blue eyes), the baby of the bunch. Black Jack and Libby are Ella's parents. All of Libby's first litter of pups died except for Ella. I nursed this puppy like it was my own child. Up every 4 hours so Libby could nurse her, I took her to work with me and bottle fed her in between, heck I took her to Walmart in a box lol! She slept at the top of my husbands pillow for a long time. Anyway by the time she was 10 weeks old we were so attached that we couldn't give her up. Crazy to have three Australian Shepherds in a house in the city but hey who wants normal anyway! So Black Jack is almost 11, Liberty will be 5 and Ella will be 4. And I am happy to say that her other two litters survived and thrived and have gone on to good homes. The whole point of this long drawn out post is to just say how much these dogs mean to us. Such good and faithful companions, such personality and love lol! So much mud in the house, stolen food off the counters, loud barking in the middle of the night. I wouldn't miss a single muddy paw print, these dogs have brightened and lightened our life simply by being themselves.

<--(Black Jack wishing hard for a piece of steak)




(Libby and Ella having a piece of steak)->



<--(Ella's favorite TV watching spot, just ignore the feet lol) The utter exhaustian of opening presents! --->









<---the sleep of the righteous dog lol!

Thank you Black Jack, Libby and Ella for keeping us sane, for loving us no matter how bad a mood we are in, for making us laugh at the most unexpected times, for gaurding our house (and sidewalk and block against the many squirrels and cats and birds that go by our front window lol), for making us excersize no matter how badly we don't want to go to the park and walk, for the complete and utter joy you bring to our lives on a daily basis. We love you!

1000Markets

So I have been away from my blog for awhile. It has been super busy at my house between my day job and the new venues that I am currently exploring. It takes a long time to list all of my items in new venues (over 230 plus new stuff that I am trying to list at the same time). Not to mention that I need time to actually make the new stuff lol, since that is the fun part. So I have mentioned before that I am pairing down on my venues and will be letting some of them die a natural death when my items there expire. One of the venues I will be keeping is 1000Markets. This venue is extremely classy and elegant looking. The concept is different from many of the other online market places. (the main concept, that of selling your items is obviously the same lol).

There are no listing fees, they only take their cut at the end. I like this part since it means that I am not out any cash unless something sells. This also is a great motivation for the owners of the site to make sure that the site is the best that it can be for its sellers.

It is a juried site, if you photos or your items are really bad, you will have to work to improve them in order to be accepted. This is great for everyone accepted on this site since there are NO resellers, no shoddy workmanship and you can see clearly what an item is in every picture. The fact that the pictures need to maintain a certain standard gives the whole site a very professional look and feel. This can only be good for business lol!

They also have markets and arcades. Specific markets for specific items. For instance, the Wear It Out market has a variety of items, a shopper could easily put together a complete outfit from clothing to jewelry to hair and outerwear. There is a market just for metal craft, a market for kids, several markets based on location, a market devoted to food, I could go on but there is something for everyone. It's kind of like walking into a virtual market place, kind of like the mall only better and bigger. The possiblities are endless. This will be one of the venues that will get a lareger portion of my time and advertising budget in the new year.

Anyway, sellers you should check it out, I think that this is one of the new venues that will succeed in the next couple of years. Buyers, you should check it out just because the site is so beautiful lol! No really, there are a huge group of extremely talented people on this site.

Wow I can't believe it!

Not too long ago I mentioned that I was going to be broadening my horizons and listing items on a several new venues. I specifically did a post on Shop Handmade, and how it was eco friendly and helping the rainforest.

Well I just got an email from them that said they were going to feature one of my items in an ad spot in the January edition of Beads Unique magazine! How exciting is that! Truly I am doing the happy dance lol! Needless to say I will continue to list my products on this site and come the New Year, when I need to make decisions on which venues to cull, Shop Handmade will be a keeper. And to confirm what I said in my previous post, this listing is free (can't beat that) you can choose to donate to the save the rainforest or not and it does not get billed til you sell that item. I choose to donate but that's just me. Please take a closer look at this website and if you are looking to help the environment this is the place to shop.

Cyber Monday Madness!

Check out this event at http://www.fashionsensei.wordpress.com . She has the most amazing fashion blog and will be having some excellent, one of a kind offers from many online shops. If you are shopping on Cyber Monday you need to make this your first stop!

Come celebrate the official kick off to the online holiday shopping season with Fashion Sensei's "Cyber Monday Madness!" Enjoy Exclusive Discounts, ONE HOUR Web Busters and amazing ONE HOUR Giveaways. You won't want to miss it!

New Venues

I know in a previous post I mentioned that I was going to expand the venues that I was selling on. I have done this, sort of a grand experiment lol and have decided to give each venue until after Christmas, through the four month period most of these venues give you for listing times. Sooo say til the end of February. I have just recently signed up with four new venues, 1000Markets, Shop Handmade Handmade Fuzion and Artfire. So far I am very very happy with 1000Markets, the site looks awesome, it's juried (ya I know but I really like it, it is very profressional looking and the concept is completely awesome) and the admins are fabulous. Plus they already offer most of what that other site seems to think is not important, like stats, being able to move your items around and put them in any order you want. And there is no listing fee, they don't plan on making there money from listing AND they are going to be doing advertising for the site, as in for buyers. Also lots of other stuff that I won't mention now.
I like Shop Handmade simply because it is very proactive as far as the environment goes. Not hard to list on once you get used to the interface either. And its free to list. I may keep this one simply because its free to list and free to sell, plus I can donate a quarter for each item I sell and help save the rainforest. Doesn't get better than that.
I was pretty excited about Handmade Fuzion at first, the site is very clean looking and it has some good stats also. However the listing fee is .15 (which I really don't have a problem with) but if you want to get any hits at all you have to also pay .50 for front page exposure. So now its .65 to list instead of .15 or no one looks are your items. That is a bit steep for me and could rapidly become a fairly large bill. If I don't get some sales from this venue fairly regularly by February it will most likely be taken down.
Artfire is free to list and free to sell but I am not sure how buyers find your products. I am currently paying $7 a month for the upgraded shop which does have awesome stats. I was told that this would also give me additional exposure. We will see how it goes.
I am not closing my etsy shop, I have invested way too much time in it at this point but I will not be listing new items as often as I am being completely buried. I am adding all of my new product to my 1000Markets shop at this point and will most likely spend a good bit of my energy on that. More to come on how that site works later. I have several more that I am aslo using that are also under review but I won't go into that now.

Thanksgiving is Coming!

Wow time flies! I can't believe how close Thanksgiving is! I have nothing done and have barely started gathering all of the supplies I need much less cleaning the house. If you haven't guessed yet Thanksgiving is at my house lol! We usually have 10-12 people depending, and even though everyone brings food it is still a lot of work. This is usually how it breaks down. I get the turkey (the biggest one I can find, preferably over 25 lbs., everyone wants to take home leftovers), I make two kinds of stuffing, one with bread, onions, celery, and meat, and one with apples, onions, celery and bread. I also make home made mashed potatos, corn, and home made gravy. I also usually do two pumpkin pies, two apple crumb pies and a pecan pie. My sister makes green beans, a pecan pie and rolls and red cabbage. My mother in law makes cucumber salad, and sweet potatos. Needless to say no one can move after dinner for about 3 hours. I am very thankful that my 15 year old daughter really likes to cook so she comes home from school on Wednsday and starts helping with the stuffing. I usually get up and start on the pies on Wednsday and just do two at a time. That way all I have to do on Turkey day is stuff the bird, peel potatos and make gravy. We usually invite the neighbors over for dessert (let's face it there is plenty to around lol!).

So I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving with their loved ones. I for one am now exhausted and hungry lol and I still have a week to go.

Sale Reminder

Just a quick reminder to anyone thinking of purchasing for the holidays. I am having a 10% off sale until December first in my etsy shop silverriverjewelry.etsy.com. If you mention my blog in the notes to sellers I will include free shipping.

I am also having a $1.00 off any stitch marker set in my silverriverstitches.etsy.com shop. If you know any knitters this is an excellant, affordable gift. Everything in this shop is $10 or less already so with the $1.00 off nothing is more than $9.


Happy Holidays and have fun shopping!

More on Shop Handmade

Quick update this is awesome!

A ShopHandmade-sponsored forest fills yet another patch of scorched earth... ShopHandmade has just donated enough money to the Trees for the Future foundation to plant a total of 10,000 trees. One tree for each product listed on the site. You are doing your part by shopping at our environmentally-aware handmade stores. Continue to support the Earth and support handmade crafts. Heck, forget all the good stuff and just come and window-shop. It's an entertaining visit and you just might fall in love with something!

I will continue to list some of my jewelry on this site so if you would like to purchase something and do something good for the environment please check out my shop there. I am slowly adding inventory. Just click on the link --> Silver River Jewelry

Saving the Rainforest

There is a fairly new selling venue out there that is focusing is on saving the rain forest. I thought this was really cool since if we continue to cut down our rain forests eventually we will manage to cause our extinction through greed and lack of managing our natural resources well. I recycle and try and do all I can to support our environment but I always feel I could do more. ShopHandmade allows me to list my items for free and also to sell them for free as long as I allow one of two sponsors to have a spot on my listing. Addicted to scrap booking and Addicted to rubber stamping are the two sponsors. The spot is very inconspicuous and does not in any way detract from my listing. You have the choice of donating a percentage of your price, or 10 cents or 25 cents when you sell an item. Donations are not required though. I just really liked this idea a lot. The site takes a couple of run through to get the whole listing process down as it is a bit different but once you figure it out is really quite easy to do. Go check it out and decide if you want to save a little piece of the rain forest today!

This is my shop url and you can check out the rest of the site from there. http://www.shophandmade.com/Store/Silverriver

I Was Featured!

WooHoo! One of my items in my Silver River Metal shop was featured on Friago's blog in her top 7 at 7 pics! How cool is that! Thanks Friago! Here is the link to the post if you want to check it out.

http://blog.friago.com/post/My-what-pretty-jewelry-you-have.aspx

Do you Twitter?

So apparently this is the new thing to do online nowadays. I finally broke down and checked it out after hearing about it for several weeks. I was surprised really at how much fun it is! It's amazing to me how tiny little snippets of peoples lives (140 characters at a time) can be so darn interesting lol! So I decided to give it a try. I can post as little or as often as I want. I am going to try and not make it completely a marketing tool and just try to blend it with life in general. Go check it out and let me know if you like it or not! My twitter address is http://twitter.com/SilverRiverJ

Both of my names are too long to fit entirely and silver river was already taken. Oh well

Don't forget I am currently offering 10% off in my SILVERRIVERJEWELRY.ETSY.COM store and if you mention my blog in the notes to seller I will also ship your items free, worldwide.

Also recieve $1.00 off any set of stitch markers in my SILVERRIVERSTITCHES.ETSY.COM store. Sorry no free shipping on these.