Free Shipping: Polaroids

Polaroid 21 by friction


4x6 fine art print by alicebgardens


Print by Emmalynne

Giveway over at OhHelloFriend

Check out this awesome giveaway over at OhHelloFriend. :) Soooooo pretty.

Giveaway: 22pages

Here's a little Cyber Monday treat for you... the chance to win these two lovely votive holders from 22pages. Thank you to Jillian for offering these beauties to a very luck, Daily Etsian reader. You may enter one or more of the following ways:
1. Comment about your favorite item in 22pages.
2. Twitter about this giveaway and leave an URL here.
3. Blog about this giveaway and leave an URL here.

Do one (or two or three) of these by Wednesday, December 2, 2009 at 11:11PM EST. I will pick the winner the following day. Good luck!

Cyber Monday: Free Shipping

Necklace by LaBelleChainette $80


Scarf by ThongbaiTatong $54


Set of Ornaments by MintyFreshFusions $24

Print by sunnychampagne $16

Set of Six Sewing Notecards by Emmalynne $20

Artist Highlight: 22pages

One of my favorite parts of keeping the Daily Etsian up and running is meeting the artists that supply the inspiration and beauty behind all the posts. One these artists is Jillian who makes things all sorts of gorgeous over at 22pages as well as over here on her blog.

- Tell us about yourself. What are your two best characteristics?
I grew up on a fruit farm in the rural lands of north central Washington state. My interest in art has been as much a part of me as the color of my eyes and from an early age I developed a passion for illustration. When the time came I left my hometown and spent a lot of time traveling, going to school, wearing many hats, and moving boundaries. I now live in Portland, Oregon and although it is a completely different world from where I grew up, I feel like I have found a place that supports the child artist within me. I try to find amusement and wonder in everywhere I go. I don't take myself too seriously and prefer to be surrounded by people who are good at laughing.

- What do you do outside of Etsy-ing?
I spend a lot of time buying, listening, and talking about music. I am also a photographer so I spend a lot of time taking pictures as well as looking at other peoples photographs. I love that I stay at home with my two children who keep me on my toes and offer endless entertainment. I love being outside and am constantly trying to find balance between our urban surroundings and my desire to explore the natural world. Luckily, I can't think of a better place to live that offers the best of both worlds.


- Why "22pages"? What's behind the username?
It came to be out of a literary reference from one of my favorite books Catch 22. I feel that the paradox of being in a catch 22 is more revolving and frequent than people realize. I try to imagine moving through the paradoxes of my life as easily as turning the pages of a novel.

- What inspires you? What gets those creative juices flowing?
You can't live in portland without seeing somebody being successful at doing what they love. It is so inspiring to constantly meet people who are encouraging their creative sides. Lately, my inspiration has come from a mixture of many different things: being in nature, the re-use movement. I'm inspired by children and their beautiful little minds. Music, politics, human rights, and conscious living all have a hand in not only what I create but also the motivation behind what I do. I am inspired by people who put themselves out there because they believe in a greater good. Although my art isn't a political statement by any means, I do believe that our society has been set in "disposable" mode for far too long. I am at my most creative when I find something with potential that has been discarded.


-What is your favorite quote(s)?
"Do your little bit of good where you are; it's those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world." - Desmond Tutu
"The dude abides." - Jeffery Lebowski

- What's your favorite writer, musician/band, and artist?
Writer: Kurt Vonnegut Jr. is my favorite writer. I love early- to mid-century American writers like Steinbeck, Kerouac, and Brautigan. for the past year or two I've become obsessed with graphic novels, especially the works of Craig Thompson and Marjane Satrapi.

Musician: that's a difficult question! I listen to a wide range of music, I love old country music, gypsy folk, French ballads from the 40's and I can't seem to get through a winter without lots of Nina Simone on my playlist. The best way to answer this question is to maybe give an idea of what I'm listening to as of late: the Decemberists, Laura Veirs, M.Ward, Neko Case, Laura Gibson, the Octopus Project, Neutral Milk Hotel, Sufjan Stevens, Megafaun, and I can't stop listening to Alela Diane.

Artist: I'm crazy about the depression era photography of Dorothea Lange. I love illustrations of The Jungle Book by John Lockwood Kipling as well as the work of Sir John Tenniel and more recently Carson Ellis. I am fascinated by the ongoing works of James Turrell.


- What is your favorite part of being a handmade seller?
I love being able to create something one of a kind that will find its place in somebody's life. I'm also not starting at the beginning. My piece starts somewhere else, often times in another century. It will have traveled through the hands of many people before it finds me. Then I add to its story and pass it along, hoping it will pass through many more hands.

Thanks, Jillian, for sharing your life, creativity, and art with us. It has truly been a joy getting to know you!

Handmade Black Friday: Under $10

Handmade stocking stuffers or small gifts for a loved one... all for under $10. These items made me feel all cozy and toasty. Enjoy!

Soap $4.50 by LoveLeeSoaps

Print $9.00 by MarcoLaGrenouille

Coffee Cozy $5.00 by amyjoshandmade

Ornament $7.50 by RomanceCatsAndWhimsy

Handmade Black Friday

Giveaway Winner: maxandjaxvintage

Oops. All the festivities, family, and fun of Thanksgiving, I forgot to post the winner of the MaxandJaxVintage giveaway. Congratulations, Sarah!

I hope you had a blessed day with your loved ones. I found this quote that I wanted to share with you:

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. ~John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Giveaway: maxandjaxvintage

The lovely Rebecca over at maxandjaxvintage is offering the Daily Etsian readers this awesome giveaway of...

How cool is that? You can pick out all your vintage goodies - perfect timing for some vintage Christmas shopping!

You know what to do! You may enter to win the gift certificate by doing one (or two or three) of the following:
1. Comment about what you would buy from this lovely vintage shop!
2. Twitter about the giveaway - leave a link here.
3. Blog about the giveaway - comment with a link.

All entries must be in by Wednesday, November 25, 2009 at 11:59PM EST. I will pick the winner on Thursday, November 26. Good luck!

Digbat Press Giveaway

Head over to Dingbat Press for this delightful holiday giveaway!

obellanaturals' Giveaway Selection

Thank you to all who participated and a big ol' thank you to Betsy for hosting this amazing giveaway. Megan, have we mentioned how lucky you are?

Giveaway: obellanaturals

Oh, you lucky, lucky, lucy readers. Betsy from obellanaturals is offering an amazing giveaway for one lucky reader.

You may enter this giveaway by...
1. checking out obellanaturals and leaving a comment about your favorite item
2. twittering about this giveaway. Leave a separate comment here.
3. blog about this giveaway. Leave a comment here.

All this commenting must be completed by Friday November 13, 2009 by 11:11PM EST (make a wish!). I will be back on Saturday to announce the winner!

The lucky, lucky reader (I'm just a teeny bit jealous, just a bit) will get to choose one of the following.

Java Junkie Gift Set description:
This is one sweet set. Everything that you would think to find on a breakfast table, coffee, brown sugar, honey, oatmeal... this set is for the person who likes oh-so-sweet scents and has a jonesin' for their coffee fix.

One incredibly exfoliating and nourishing bar of Mocha Cream Natural Soap, one soothing and moisturizing bar of Brown Sugar and Oatmeal Natural Soap, and quarter ounce one slidey tin of smooth Brown Sugar Rustic Butter.
Sweet, sugary and creamy. Wrapped up nicely in cotton cloth.

OR

Sweet Summer Gift Set description:
What a lovely way to capture summer memories. This gift set includes 3 different scents all reminiscent of summer, picking berries, making jam, smelling wild sage....

One bar of tart and zesty Lemongrass and Green Tea Natural Soap, one bar of fragrant Huckleberry Patch Natural Soap, and one quarter ounce slidey tin of Blackberry and Sage Rustic Butter.
Summer perfection. Wrapped up nicely in cotton cloth.

Artist Highlight: obellanaturals

Today's interview is with Betsy who creates all sorts of beautiful things over at obellanaturals on Etsy. This is one of those shops that makes me wish that my computer had a smell function. Betsy's creative spirit infuses her life and Etsy shop. It's been a pleasure getting to know her albeit virtually and I am pleased to feature her as a highlighted artist today. By the way, if you can't get enough of obellanaturals, check out the bloggity-blog and flickry-flick for more scrumptious details.

1. Tell us about yourself. What are your two best characteristics?
Mentor. Guider. [mama] Soulmate. Best friend. [wife] Musician. Creator. Lover of the arts. Sister. Daughter. Aunt. Dreamer. Thinker. Lover of all things beautiful. 25 years old.

I live by the ocean [palm beach, florida] but dream of the mountains.
My two best characteristics that keep me going would have to be passion and tolerance.

2. What do you do outside of Etsy-ing?
I've got lots of loves - first and foremost - my family. I've been happily married for two years to my amazing soulmate and we have an incredible little girl who is 10 months old, Isabella, who my shop is lovingly named after. It was because of my want to use only natural products for her where my shop was first inspired. I'm also very close to my parents and siblings, as well as my husbands family and we love to get together and go to the state park around us or just hang out and do a dinner together. I also try to stay politically active and am concerned with free markets and sound money.

I mostly love to spend time in the mountains in the west - which is pretty far from where I am [Florida] I try to get out as often as I can to camp, hike, see small towns, pick flowers, collect rocks, splash around in rivers. While I'm not out camping in the west, I'll visit the beach here or get my favorite lunch [subs and cupcakes] and eat them at the park.

I'm classically trained on the flute, and love to do gigs, teach and learn new styles of music. I also enjoy playing piano, violin and whatever else catches my ear. Music is very much a part of my creative being and was my first love. My husband plays guitar and bass guitar and we love to sing and play a good Pink Floyd song together while our little one plays at our feet and dances along.

Anything that involves things with naturalness - the way things used to be made. We started our own organic garden, I like to use natural body care products and find fresh produce. I'm really interested in alternative building materials, especially with cob, and my husband and I are in the beginning planning stages of a future cob house. I also try to paint and sew - neither of which I'm good at but I like to try anyhow!
3. What inspires you? What gets those creative juices flowing?
Music, textures, rustic colors, old glass jars, nature, mountains, cool weather.
I love stumbling upon new patterns to knit, it really gets me inspired to create new, stylish but functional things to wear. As far as soap goes, nature really does inspire me and makes me search out the benefits of natural products on the skin and neat things to color my soaps [like blueberry fibers!] I've also got my collection of [earthwear] that I'm beginning to build up that is based on the idea of creating beautiful, natural art to wear out of items found in the earth.

4. What is your favorite quote or motto?
“Everything that is really great and inspiring is created by the individual who can labor in freedom.” - Albert Einstein

5. What's your favorite writer, musician/band, and artist?
It ranges from classical to bluegrass, rock to symphonic. Bach and Haydn, 30 seconds to Mars, Pink floyd, Deathcab for Cutie, Switchfoot, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Howard Shore, Lucia Micarelli.

As far as writers go, my favorites lately are Tolkien, Ron Paul, Stephenie Meyer, Philippa Gregory.

My favorite painter is Claude Monet.
My favorite clothing artist is Gaia Conceptions on etsy:
www.gaiaconceptions.etsy.com
6. What is your favorite part of being a handmade seller?
I love being able to create things with my hands and things that useful to other people. I don't sell anything I wouldn't buy myself and I enjoy being able to provide a natural, handmade alternative to mass-produced storebought items.

Artist Highlight: lobsterandswan

I want to go live in the world of lobsterandswan. The calm, still, peaceful world of lobsterandswan beauty is simply lovely. Jeska, the artist behind this pretty shop, graciously consented to interviewing with the Daily Etsian. If you would like to enjoy more lobsterandswan world check out the Lobster and Swan blog and the Record the Day blog - it's like jumping into a magical sketchbook.

1. Describe yourself in three words: reserved, hopeful, imaginative

2. What do you do when you're not photographing, blogging, tweeting, or Etsy-ing? Look for inspiration within my daily routines or travels.

3. What is your favorite part of each day? Early morning when the sun is up in time to wake me, no cars on the street and lots of birds outside and a hot cup of tea with a dash of honey to warm my hands.

4. What inspired (and continues to inspire!) Lobster and Swan? Trying to savour the best from each day.

5. When did start collecting images for "Record the Day"? I have always been obsessed with magazines, designers, packaging and all things pretty so I have some images I have treasured for over 15 years!

6. What is your favorite color? Antique Gold or silver.

7. Who/what is your favorite artist, website/blog, music, and writer?
Artist- Melissa White- I have been coveting Melissa's work for years as a friend has a piece and I just managed to buy one that I am so in love with. Her web address is http://www.fairlyte.co.uk/

Website - http://www.apollineaparis.com/ so magical I actually found the store by accident once when I visited Paris and saw the dolls, they are just so lovely.

Blog - has to be Pia's which is the first I check religiously every day, I find it such a quietly beautiful place to spend time. http://blog.piajanebijkerk.com/WordPress/

Music - I have an old New Orleans Jazz CD that I always play, that and some Billie Holiday.

Writer - Joanne Harris books always stir me, I loved Chocolat and coastliners. She always seems to paint such unusually beautiful scenes.

Hope for Gavin

Johwey Redington is asking for donations of handmade Christmas cards to benefit her nephew, Gavin. She writes on her blog,

This is a fundraiser for my 3-year old nephew, Gavin, who is battling Tay-Sachs Disease – an extremely rare genetic disorder (with no known cure) that progressively destroys the brain and nervous system. This fundraiser is made possible by all the generous people, from all over the world, who have donated their time, talent, and resources to make cards to be sold for Gavin’s benefit and to promote awareness regarding this very fatal disease whose victims are innocent and helpless children.

This is a very special way that crafters can come together to support each other during hard times. To pre-order your Christmas cards as a part of Hope for Gavin, click here. The photos above and below are images from Johwey's website illustrating the lovely cards people have handcrafted and donated. To donate handmade cards, click here. To follow Gavin's journey, click here.

Johwey, Gavin and your family will be in our prayers.