Talent Envy - Volume 1-Wood

I'm going to start a new series on my blog called Talent Envy. I'm doing this because this because I have a severe case of it that's exacerbated on an hourly basis as I visit handmade venues and blogs . If you're a handmade seller, I'll bet you have it, too. Sadly, there is no cure; a little bit of envy just multiplies over and over! And now the first installment of Talent Envy... dedicated to wood!

Our first victim of Talent Envy is Daphne from The Wood Shoppe's. Check this ribbon organizer out: Get Those Spools of Ribbon Out Where You Can SEE Them.... . I wish I could be trusted with power tools; I'm a hazard every time I pick up my blow dryer! I have so much ribbon, twine, cord, oh my! I need at least 2 of these!


Victim 2 is Rob Greig from Made in the Hudson Valley. I LOVE this Tea Light holder. I have neither the skills nor the patience to spot 'tea light' friendly branches. I'd probably set a forest on fire trying to make one.


Victim 3 is Tom Roche. Look at this adorKable kitty cat cutting board! It makes me want to cut cheese all day long. (If you took that the wrong way, shame on you, lol.) Can you think of a better hostess gift for the holidays? No, you can't! He even makes...Mittens to go with your Naughty Kittens!

And finally, victim 4 is Mark Taylor from Southern Craftsmen. Look at these fly boxes! He even does custom engraving on them. If I survived the actual fly fishing, I'd be too pooped to do the engraving!


That's it for the first installment of Talent Envy. Stay tuned...next week's pics will come from my own discipline...jewelry!

~Lori

Pulling Over to the Side of the Road

See this sign right here?

Click it and you'll go straight to our very first Souvenir Stand on the Handmade Highway tonight! We have 43 pieces of gorgeous jewelry marked down and ready to go! If you're not in the buying mood, that's okay! Just come by and enter our giveaway. You could win free registration on the Handmade Highway or a very cool necklace from one of artists.

3 Washers Necklace from Additions

Isn't that the coolest necklace ever? Remember, click the road sign to get to the Souvenir Stand! See you there, Lori

Sale runs 5pm - midnight, Friday, 9/18

It's Giveaway Time!--CONTEST CLOSED

I haven't done a giveaway on my own blog in a long time, so I decided it was time to jump back in! This giveaway is pretty simple. The prize is this Mulberry Wine Bracelet which retails for $36 in my shop plus a free pair of earrings ($10 or under)--your choice!!!

It's a one of a kind piece made from 8" (20 cm) of antique silver-plated cable chain adorned with 8mm rounds of red artistic paintbrush jasper wearing ornate twisted metal bead caps and vintage milky white rounds topped with gorgeous tulip bead caps. Each bead is triple wrapped directly onto the chain for durability. The piece closes with a flower-embossed toggle clasp. It will be custom sized for the winner!

You can enter up to 4 times by doing any of the 4 things below, each in a separate comment. Be sure to put your email address in each comment so I can contact you if you win!

1. Go to my shop, Risky Beads, come back and tell me what your favorite piece is.

2. Visit my new seller directory, Handmade Highway, come back and tell me about a new seller you found there that you'd never know about before.

3. Tweet about this giveaway, come back and link me to the tweet.

4. Tweet about the Handmade Highway, come back, and link me to the tweet.

Good luck and have fun!! Giveaway ends midnight on Tues, 8/18.

Lori

P.S. To link to a tweet, click on the gray text underneath each tweet that gives you the time of the tweet like: 'about 1 hour ago'. When you click that, it will take that tweet to it's own page and you can copy and paste the url at the top of the web page.

CONTEST CLOSED. WINNER CHOSEN! THANK YOU!

Souvenirs From the Handmade Highway

Here's our first 'commerical' for the Handmade Highway.



Read the entire post: Exit #9-Turn On the Radio

Sellers, put your own card into the virtual rolodex.

Hitch a Ride on the Handmade Highway

Just in time for Independence Day, I'm launching a new project called the Handmade Highway, which is the flip side of FindAFeature. It's a dynamic, living directory designed to serve as a central location that customers, buyers, and fellow sellers can use when they're looking for sellers to feature on their blogs, participate in giveaways, and/or do custom work, consignment, or wholesale work. Each seller has their own billboard complete with all relevant data about their shop, links to their blog and Twitter account, pictures of their products, location, availability and contact information. Your information can be updated at any time; your shop can be searched via tags for location, products, category, etc.

There are a few requirements to be on the Handmade Highway:

--You must have at least 5 items for sale in your shop.

--You must have quality photos that don't detract from the product you're selling in any way.

--You must have a good customer service record.

Handmade Highway will be much more than a directory as we grow. I'm very excited to kick off this project, and if you'd like more information, please see this post. There is a nominal charge to register your shop(s) as this directory is a huge under-taking, but I think you'll find that it's more than worth it!

You can follow Handmade Highway on Twitter and FindAFeature on Twitter.

~Lori

Click here to bypass all the verbage and go straight to Handmade Highway registration.