Feature Friday #5

I didn't do much blogging this past week. I guess I've been tossing around my next promotional release idea as well as some other marketing plans, time just got away from me. I think I've got something in mind that I will anounce next week, so be on the look out.

The week has gone by faster than I expected. It helped that I had Monday off so it felt like each day was the previous one.

Before I announce my new featured seller of the week, I want to express my gratitude to several new people I have had the pleasure of meeting online. Each one has been a blessing in different ways but all so incredible, helpful and talented. Blaire of Good Karma Soaps, Mignon of Jewelry by Mignon, Anna of Betafly, and Trudy of Art by Trudy. These wonderful ladies have been helpful in many ways, each of them know what they've done and Ms. Trudy has been a great inspiration in overcoming some of lifes hardest challenges. Each one has their own unigue shop on Etsy and I would encourage you to take a look and also read their profiles and learn a bit more about them. A big hug to each of you!

Now, if you will look to the right of this page you will find my newest featured seller for this week. Jewelry by Mignon. Take a moment to browse around in her shop, give her a heart or find her on twitter and let her know I sent you to say hello.

Feature Friday #4

I am proud to introduce you to my featured seller of the week, Kate Gabriell of Flapperdoodle. She is the creator of Eloise and Ramona, the fashionable ladies, illustrated in the prints in Kate's shop. She is a young and talented artist and comes from a family full of talent. I would love to spend sometime with them, maybe some of the talent will rub off on me. LOL

Kate's line drawings are so stylish and I can imagine one of her characters wearing one of my crocheted hats and doing with such style and flair.

Take a peak at her art, her etsy mini is on the right side of this page, directly under mine and you can also find her at these other locations. Visit her and let her know I sent you. No, I don't get anything for you doing that, I would just like her to know that you saw her on my blog.

http://www.kategabrielle.com
http://www.flickr.com/kategabrielle
http://www.flapperdoodle.blogspot.com
http://www.silentsandtalkies.blogspot.com

Kate and Flapperdoodle will be here all week and then next Friday I will introduce you to another great Etsy artist/crafter.

Feature Friday #3 - Hair Bow Depot

Phew, it's been a fun and busy day. I promised Kerry of Hair Bow Depot that she would be my featured seller for today and I am so happy that I am able to fulfill my promise. You can find her stores mini below mine on the right side of this page.

Reading her profile, I was tickled by something that caught my eye. She is a married mom of 3 boys! Yes, I said it - boys. LOL I can understand her wanting to break away from the usual boy inspired items. I have a son and 2 nephews so when the family was blessed with a girl, my niece, it was a refreshing treat. Now don't get me wrong, having a son is awesome. However, shopping for girl clothes and accessories is on a whole new level. I have to stay out of the little girl sections when I shop because I end up ooh'ing and aww'ing at every cute outfit and buying way too many.

Anyways, back to the reason I came here, check out this great etsy seller and her sweet products. Be sure to let her know I sent you.

Have a great weekend and come back on Monday to find out who the give-away winners are - could be you!

Feature Friday #2

It's feature Friday time. TripleLdesigns is the recipient of my FREE Etsy Mini hosting special I have offered to several Etsy artist recently.

Her mini share a spot on my blog for the next week. I encourage you to take a moment to visit her shop and let her know you found her here.

Have a wonderful weekend and don't forget, Monday, I'll be announcing my next secret give-away. Come back for a chance at winning something wonderful and FREE.

Special Announcements

Good afternoon Friends!

I have several announcements that I wanted to share with you so I'll do it all in one post.

1. Upcoming Blog-Give Away - Check back on Monday. I will be announcing a special give-away sponsored by another Etsy seller. You won't want to miss this!
2. Etsy Yart Sale - I will be participating in Etsy's Yart Sale next week, starting on June 10th. I will be offering special deals on select merchandise, to include reduced prices, free shipping and other fun surprises that I think of by then. I have a special Yart Sale Section in my shop.
3. Twitter: I would love for you to find me on twitter. I will be tweeting secret Twitter Only Specials from time to time. http://twitter.com/designsbyjenai
4. Charitable contributions: I have decided to donate 10% of my sales to a wonderful organization that I recently discovered, Gainesville Fisher House. This means that your purchases will also help others in my community. Want to learn more about the organization? Visit their link on my links section.
5. Feature Friday - I will be featuring another Etsy seller and her mini etsy on my blog tomorrow, check her out, find a few things you like and heart them or better yet, find something to buy. :-)

What is an Etsy Mini - I just heard someone ask the question, glad you asked, someone else may have been too shy to ask. It is way for sellers on Etsy to show you a few things that are offered in their shop and it is linked directly to their shop. So, all you have to do is click on one of the images and it will take you directly there. You can see mine on the top right and theirs is directly beneath mine.

Why are you posting someone else's shop on YOUR blog Jenai? Aren't you afraid that you will lose business? Heard that question too. Short answer would be: I just rock like that! Long truthful answer: I am nice like that and I do rock, but I have other reasons as well. I feel if we support each other, folks will find us (me, my shop). I am asking them to also let their friends, followers and enemies know about my blog and my shop as well. I am a firm believer in "you reap what you sow". As I help someone else, the favor will be given to me. Finally, I enjoy meeting new people and connecting with them and I get to do that with my blog, etsy shop and twitter.

Have a great Friday Eve and come back and check out my give-away announcement and Feature Friday.

Thoughts for Thursday

Photo by: Jenai Collins - Designs by Jenai
Titled: Take time to smell the flowers.

Happy Friday Eve!

I made a new friend yesterday, another awesome Etsy seller and she has a huge heart - Blaire of goodkarmasoaps. Her shop is full of fantastic soaps - with my must have, exploding frogs. Yes, I said it exploding frog soaps. I am going to win Aunt of the Year as I am ordering them for my niece and nephews.


Today she shared some words of wisdom from the Dalai Lama and I felt it was a great reminder to myself and wanted to share it with others as well. Take from it what you want and feel free to share it with others.

Instructions for Life from the Dalai Lama


1.Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
2.When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.
3.Follow the three R’s: - Respect for self, - Respect for others and - Responsibility for all your actions.
4.Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.
5.Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.
6.Don’t let a little dispute injure a great relationship.
7.When you realize you’ve made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
8.Spend some time alone every day.
9.Open your arms to change, but don’t let go of your values.
10.Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
11.Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you’ll be able to enjoy it a second time.
12.A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life.
13.In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don’t bring up the past.
14.Share your knowledge. It is a way to achieve immortality.
15.Be gentle with the earth.
16.Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before.
17.Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.
18.Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.
19.If you want others to be happy, practice compassion.
20.If you want to be happy, practice compassion.

I would like to challenge each of you to find at least one item above to reflect on for the day. Also, practice an act of kindness as often as you can and watch how your life changes. Feel free to come back here and comment on either my challenge or an experience you have had with a random act of kindness.

Jenai

Meet my new friend - Herbert

Every once and awhile I come across something that really catches my eye or heart for that matter. I fell in love with Herbert the moment I saw him. He is just the cutest guy ever and he is so well traveled and has many friends.

Yes, Herbert is an owl, a drawing of an owl by a very talented and creative Etsy artist, Maggie Hurley. Maggie went to school at the Laguna College of Art and Design before moving to San Francisco and then on to Berkeley, which she now calls home. She accepts commissions for portraits, specializing in children and pets. She occasionally sculpts as well. She is multi-talented for sure.

When I saw the picture of Herbert and the Aliens I knew I had to talk with Maggie and Herbert and invite them to my blog. They agreed to share some information with us as well as some pictures.

Share a little about yourself and what inspires you: I've been drawing and painting as long as I can remember and seem to have difficulty focusing on just one genre. Herbert, my little owl, sprang to life one day of his own accord. I just surround him with what feels right. This same idea rings true for most of my work - I feel like more of a conduit than a creator. I think, in a lot of ways, each of my paintings is a direct line into what I'm thinking at that moment... often I can't really tell how I'm feeling until I read the expression on my character's face!

Other locations were Maggie's artwork can be seen - check them out:http://hushmouse.etsy.com/, http://hushmouse.blogspot.com/, and http://www.maggiehurley.com/

Above is one of my favorite pictures of Herbert with his Alien friends, below Herbert can be seen on a magic carpet ride and riding along with his Yak friend. Check out Maggie's other sites to see her wonderful work.

Thanks Maggie for sharing these great pictures with us and a bit about yourself.

1st Blog Give-Away

In celebration of Mother's Day tomorrow, I thought it would be a great time to have my very first blog give-away!

I will give ONE of my newly listed scrabble tile rings. They are super cool and very adorable. Wear your favorite initial on your finger. Rings are made with upcycled scrabble tiles and silver tone adjustable rings.

Here are the rules and ways to earn points towards being the lucky winner:

1. Leave me a comment with the following info - your name, the initial you would like to have, and at least one reason that makes your Mom special. - 1 pt

2. Write about my give-away on your blog. Send me the link to your post - 1 pt

3. Sign-up to follow my blog, let me know you did - 1 pt

4. Visit my etsy shop and leave me a comment here about at least one item you like or dislike. Go ahead I can handle it. - 1 pt

5. Ask a friend to participate in this give-away. They must leave a message with your name. - 1pt for you 1 pt for them. :-D

You can choose to do one or all of the items above. For each point you earn, I will put your name in a hat to draw from.

I will draw the winning name on Friday, May 15, 2009. I will post the winner's name that day. Please check back to find out who the winner will be. Winner will be responsible for contacting me by Monday, May 18th to claim their prize. If not claimed I will pick another name.

I can't wait to see who will be my first give-away winner!

Free Beaded Bookmark Tutorial - by April of Rougeriverbeads.etsy

Welcome to my first guest tutorial. April is a fellow member of Etsy and she has been kind enough to share this great tutorial on making a beaded bookmark. If you aren't crafty, but would like to own a beaded bookmark, please check her shop out and let her know I sent you.

http://rougeriverbeads.etsy.com/

Making your own bookmarks are a great way to use up leftover beads and they are a great gift for any age!

Supplies-

7” of beading wire

Two crimp beads

A charm

6-10 beads depending on size

1-jump ring

1-bookmark

Flatnose pliers or a crimp tool
To begin, thread the beading wire through the crimp bead and the charm

Bring the beading wire back through the crimp bead and crimp with crimping tool, or flatten with pliers.

Add your beads in whatever order you like.

Add another crimp bead.

Thread wire over jump ring then thread the tail of your wire through your crimp bead and a couple of beads.

Crimp or flatten your crimp bead.

Trim excess wire.

Open your jump ring and add the bookmark

Most bookmarks have a hole through which you can thread something.

I find it easiest to attach everything to a jump ring, its easier to turn around if you happen to have your charm backwards!

And volia! You now have your own bookmark to enjoy or give as a gift!