Filed under: Uncategorized
Alright…I’ve decided to move my blog (yes, again). This blog will be kept though, for those who click on old links to be able to find my new home. You can find the new blog here. This blog has served its purpose, but it’s time for me to move on.
~Paige
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: etsy, new items, Vintage, Working Wednesday
A couple weeks ago, after my PMC class at Sweetland Retreat, the owners held a craft night. I was super excited to have a fun crafty night out with friends–I hadn’t created anything new in weeks, and was itching to be creative! I had tons of fun and ended up being very productive. I ended up making two pairs of earrings, two necklaces, a bracelet, and a watch band. I’m not happy with the watch band, so that has since come apart, but it was a start. One necklace is already listed in my Etsy shop, and the rest of the items will be listed in the next week or so. But first, I need to think of some names for a few pieces. I’d love some ideas from you on what to name these pieces! Be sure to leave them in the comments section!
Vintage metal silver plated leaves with Amazonite briolettes. Sterling silver Ear wires.
Vintage lucite “fireworks” bead dangles. Sterling Silver ear wires.
Vintage matte metal chain, Blue Chalcedony briolette, and “Love is Blind” Pendant.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: 1980's, 80's, etsy, Handmade, Must Have Mondays, Vintage
Sparked from a post over on The Handmade Guru last week, I found some awesome items using fabrics from the 80′s. And some vintage finds from the 80′s. Here are my must haves from my searches on Etsy.
Rainbow Brite Bag by Couture Rags
Pac Mac Charm Bracelet by UIEGeek
Vintage "Shy Violet" from Rainbow Brite Doll from moxieminx77
Alright, so the Violet doll may not be handmade, but I do love vintage. And you can’t have an 80′s theme without a little vintage! I had this doll when I was little, Violet was always my favorite character from Rainbow Brite. =)
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Charity, Cuddles from the Heart, holidays
Happy Valentine’s Day! Did you know that today isn’t just Valentine’s Day? Yep. There’s a slew of other “holidays” today. One of them is National Congenital Heart Defects Awareness Day. I wasn’t aware of this until my parents adopted kids. I have both a brother and sister who are effected by CHD. My brother, Bryton (he’ll be 16 this week), was born with Transportation of the Greater Arteries. He ultimately was in need of a heart transplant, and spent half of 2008 in Children’s Hospital Boston, waiting for his heart. He was lucky to receive his new heart on July 16 of 2008. Desiray (she’s 7) was born with a Congenital Heart Defect as well–though I can’t tell you the name of it because it’s so long and filled with medical jargon! All I know is that when she was just 6 days old, she was rushed to the Barbara Bush Unit at Maine Medical Center in Portland because of it. She was just 2 weeks old when she had her first open-heart surgery. She’s been doing great so far, and hasn’t needed any medication or other surgeries to help–yet. She is going to need another surgery to correct it again, soon. My family is just waiting until the doctor says it is time.
While my brother was in the hospital, he received many gifts–and loved everyone of them. Some of the most special though, were gifts of blankets-some that were made by people he’d never met. Some came from organizations that donate blankets to hospitals, some from previous patients, and some from hospital roommates that had been released. My mom “met” another heart mom (that’s what they call each other!) though a thing called CarePages (A blog-type site that is sponsored by hospitals for families to be able to connect and update each other without making a thousand phone calls. It’s awesome!), whose young son also received blankets while in the hospital. Her name is Stefanie. Stef decided in 2008 to give back to her local children’s hospital (in Iowa), and donate as many blankets to the children as she could. She got lots of help from people all over, and was able to donate 350 blankets her first year. Since its conception, Cuddles from the Heart as now donated over 2000 blankets to children in all over the United States. There are now 9 Coordinators, covering 12 states. How does this fit in with me? Well, my mom and I are coordinators for great state of Maine!
We will be collecting blankets for children in both Children’s Hospital Boston, as well as Maine Medical Center in Portland. You can e-mail us at our e-mail address we set up for this at CuddlesMaine@gmail.com for more information, and to learn how/where you can donate. We will be making our first donation in July, in honor of Bryton’s transplant and Desiray’s first surgery. We’re accepting donations of all sorts! They must be new, and can be either handmade (Yay!) or store bought.
Cuddles from the Heart
- All sizes–from infant to teen
- Blankets can be knitted, crocheted, sewn, quilted, etc–and the kids love the no-sew fleece blankets!
- Receiving blankets
- Toddler/Throw blankets
My church in Vienna will be holding some blanket making afternoons in February and March. If you’re in the area, and would like more information, please e-mail me! I’ll send you a bunch of information on times and dates! Have kids and no sitter? There’s a nursery and plenty of toys for little ones to play with! The more the merrier!
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Feature Friday, handmade highway, jewelry, maineteam, willowandme
This week’s featured artist is Lisa from Willow and Me Jewelry (She’s a fellow Maine Team member and Handmade Highway member) I chose her for many reasons, including the fact that I’m going to be taking a class tomorrow that she is teaching! She’s teaching Beginner’s PMC at Sweetland Retreat, a cute little farmhouse not too far from where I live, which run by a few of our friends and fellow Maine Teamers. I am extremely excited to learn to work with Precious Metal Clay (PMC), and to get to spend time with some good friends! You can expect to see some pictures of this class early next week.
I really wish I could comment on every piece in Lisa’s Etsy shop, but that would take far too much time and space. So I’m going to pick a few, and let you explore the rest of her work on your own. Lisa works primarily in PMC, but also does some beaded work, including her very cool Beaded Bouquets. It amazes me with each new listing exactly what you can do with PMC. Lisa makes pendants, pins, rings, bracelets, earrings, charms, and beads–in a range of themes and designs.
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- Flower Pendant, Willowandme.etsy.com
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- Mitten Charms, willowandme.etsy.com
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Charity, Donations, etsy, No Limits Foundation
“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.”
(Aesop)
This is one of my favorite quotes…ever. And even better, it’s one of the featured quotes on the No Limits Foundation’s website. I make it known in my Etsy shop that I donate $1.00 from each sale to the foundation. But not many people know what this foundation is, or why I chose to donate a portion of my sales to it. Well, I’m here today to let the world know the answers to both questions.
The No Limits Foundation was founded in 2004 (originally called Camp Ability, with a name change in 2007) by Mary Leighton, an Occupational Therapist in rural Maine. She had been working with a little boy with limb loss for awhile, and while talking to a few co-workers, friends, and a few prostethists at Hanger Prosthetics and Orthotics, she decided to found a camp where children with both congential and traumatic limb loss could come together and learn the importance of both physical and occupational therapy and to learn of new prosthetic options. She also wanted children with limb loss to be able to have as much of a “normal” camp experience as possible. So Camp No Limits was born. (You can find out even more about the foundation on their website.)
Camp No Limits started here in Maine, held at the Pine Tree Camp (A wonderful camp which is entirely handicap accessible, and holds camps solely for individuals with physical and developmental disabilties) and held its first camp in 2004. Since then, it has grown and there are now camps throughout the United States. Locations currently include Maine; California; Idaho; Missouri; Florida; and new this year is Maryland.
Alright, we’ve covered “What is the No Limits Foundation?” question, now the “Why donate?” question. It’s safe to say that most people who donate to a cause do it because it holds meaning to them. That’s certainly the case here–the little boy I mentioned above? Well, he’s one of my brothers. Yeah, I said one of. I have 4 brothers and 4 sisters. Anyway, his name is Nick, and he was born with limb loss. My parents adopted him in 2006, but he was a foster child in our home since 2004. Camp is a wonderful thing–it’s 4 days of being surrounded by kids and families just like ours. There’s no staring, no asking us if he was born that way or why he looks like a robot, or what he did to loose his limbs, etc. Oh yeah…I said limbs. Did I mention he’s a multiple amputee? Yep. He’s missing both arms from about the elbow down, and his left leg from just above his knee down. This kid is amazing. While there are things he can’t do, or at least not yet, there are tons of things he can do.
In addition to donating a portion of my sales from my jewelry shop on Etsy, I also opened another shop on Etsy about a year ago specifically for the No Limits Foundation. 100% of the proceeds (less PayPal and Etsy fees) are donated directly to the foundation. There are all kinds of items, including jewelry and paper crafts I have made, some cards Nick has made, and items from the Etsy Maine Team. The Maine Team is one of the teams I’m part of, and my wonderful friends have donated some of their items to be sold for the foundation. In the past year, I’ve been able to donate more than $110.00 between sales in both shops.
I live by Aesop’s words–I truly believe that any act of kindness is never wasted. It may seem small to donate just $1.00 from each sale, or for my friends to have donated just a $10 item. But it adds up over time, and every little bit helps.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Charity, Donations, Feature Friday, Hearts for Haiti, MySerenityWay
This past week I was able to be a part of great new shop on Etsy–Hearts for Haiti. I donated a pair of heart earrings for sale, and I also purchased a couple of items (so far–there’s so many in my favorites right now it’s not funny!). One of the items I purchased was this paper cut piece, made my MySerenityWay. I received it today, and my oh my. The detail is extraordinary! I can’t imagine how long it took to do.
Hearts for Haiti is donating 100% of the purchase price (less paypal and Etsy fees) to Doctor’s Without Borders, for their efforts in Haiti. Be sure to check out their blog, and also their shop. There’s so much to choose from, and you’re sure to find something you want or need. 
In just one week of being open, the shop has raised over $12,000!
I wanted to have some pictures of my newest pieces I’m working on to show everyone today, but I didn’t get a chance to take any today. So words will have to do! I’m currently working on some pins for the shop, made of vintage plastic/lucite flowers. I love working with these stacking flowers! They’re so bright and colorful, which is much needed in my snow filled blah life right now! I’m hoping to have a few finished and photographed to be able to list next week.
I’m also working on some new necklaces and bracelets. The necklaces will be going in to my Quotables collection in the shop. I’m really loving the pendants I’ve found with these amazing quotes on them. The bracelets, they’ll be going in the Charming collection in the shop. I got my Chain-Sta in the mail today (yay!), so it’ll be easier to make my charm bracelets. I’ve not had a chance to use it yet, but will tomorrow! I love getting new tools in the mail!
Another new product I’m working on are rings. Wire wrapped rings, to be exact. I spent most of Monday and Tuesday searching online for the right tools and supplies, and finally ended up placing orders with 3 different places! I bought a ton of copper wire, and colored coated copper wire, along with a ring mandrel, ring sizer, and beads. I bought some of the most beautiful lampwork glass beads from Gillian Beads over on Etsy, including this one. The supplies for these rings won’t be in for a few weeks, but I hope to have some made and listed in the shop by mid-February.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: chellabelladesigns, christianmarie, etsy, Must Have Mondays, worthygoods
I love purses. Totes, bags, wallets, clutches, pretty much anything that can hold anything. There are tons of purses on Etsy, for any purpose you can think of. Below are some of my latest must have bags!
The Project Pouch–Polkadot Valentine is my newest favorite for my projects. Specifically my knitting. I love the fabric choices Dory has made with this pouch. It has two pockets inside, and is roomy enough for a small knitting project. Dory has lots of other colors available, so be sure to check her shop out! She also makes the cutest hats for kids (and adults!) that are comfy and cozy, and just too cute!
Next on my must have list is this market bag by chellabelladesigns. It is amazing. It’s super big, perfect for your trip to the market (or other shopping), and has a ton of pockets! There are 6 pockets on the outside, and they are big enough for large cans of soup, sodas, wine, water, etc. The inside looks extremely roomy as well, being divided into 2 (still large) pockets, and 2 smaller pockets on one side for coupons, keys, your phone, etc. This may be mine by the end of the week. I’ll surely remember to bring this bag with me when I do my shopping! There are many other bag styles to choose from, even yoga mat bags–and she gives a portion of her sales to rescue Greyhounds!
My last must have isn’t really a bag…it’s a wallet. But I still love it and must have it! It’s the Slim Wallet–Pale Green & Blue Paisley. It’s my favorite shade of green (and blue!), and has room for 6 cards. It also has 2 long pockets, perfect for cash, checks, or business cards! I have a feeling this too shall be mine soon…
After a long break, I’ve decided to move my blog off my personal website and back to wordpress. I enjoy blogging here much more, and it looks a little odd on my website. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately, about my business, and have made some goals for 2010. Not resolutions. I don’t do resolutions. Just goals. If they don’t get met, that’s alright–I’m just going to work my hardest to achieve these goals. What are these goals, you ask? Why, I’d love to share them with you!
- To blog at least twice a week.
- To blog more about other artists.
- To have one sale a week, on average–that’s 52 sales this year, about 10 more than last year. It’d bring me up to 99 sales total! How exciting that would be.
- To have 200 items in my shop. (last year’s goal was 100–which i had at one point!)
- Work on making my shop more cohesive.
I really think I can achieve most of these goals. And to make my blogging goals more attainable, I’m going to set up a blogging schedule to help myself. The schedule will be as follows:
- Must Have Monday– Handmade items I’ve found that I simply must have.
- Working Wednesday–Works in progress, news about my products, etc.
- Feature Friday–I will feature an artist or product each Friday.
Hopefully this schedule will help me keep up on my blogging. I enjoy it, but never can think of anything to write about. I think this will do the trick!
