Team Tuesday - Hanging Out

Saturday was my first show of the season, at the Natural Resource Education in Waretown. I got to see some of my show buddies that I haven't seen since show season ended, right before Christmas! So, today for team Tuesday I'll feature the etsy shop owners that spent the day with me on Saturday!
First up is Robin from Creations by Robin, last year we did a bunch of shows together, and it rained at nearly all of them - hope our luck is better this year! She makes fabulous sea glass jewelry from sea glass that she finds right on the Jersey Shore! Her creations can also be found in the brick & mortar shop in Mount Holly, NJ - Jersey Made.
Another show buddy that was there was my friend Doreen, she is from Seahorse Designs and she crochets and knits all sorts of wearables - hats, fashion scarves, fingerless gloves, etc. She had her son with her, and it was particularly cold for playing outside so she wowed us all when she crocheted him a winter hat to wear in what seemed like no time! This is one of my favorite things she makes, it's a scarf that looks like a vine of roses. It's in pieces so you can wear it in lots of different ways - so cool. Her creations can also be found in the brick & mortar shop in Mount Holly, NJ - Jersey Made.The other show neighbors that were there was Amanda from Dragon's Den - she makes wonderful soaps, lotions & lip glosses. I bought 3 lipglosses from her and I just love them, so silky and smooth! Great scents too - I am such a lipgloss addict, when I see it I just can not resist! I got Coconut, Mango, & Vanilla - they're all lovely!And my last booth neighbor of the day was Susann from Alonia Creations. She makes all sorts of adorable sewn goodies for kiddo's and some awesome stuff for the home too! My favorite was this adorable outfit for a little girl, the top could be worn as a dress too if you wanted to - which I think is just adorable for a little girl!
Team Tuesday - Week 6
Blog post must be about an EtsyNJ member shop . To find an EtsyNJ shop see the side bar of this blog or search EtsyNJ at Etsy . com . You do not have to be a team member to participate but you MUST feature an EtsyNJ member on your blog .
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Easter Basket!

As I was cleaning out Neil's room, purging some old toys and clothes that he's outgrown, I came across two Easter baskets he's used in the past. One shaped like Lightening McQueen, one shaped like a Firetruck. I'm sort of a traditionalist here, so I am not a big fan of the plush commercial Easter basket.So that spurred me to feature my mother in law for this week's Team Tuesday.WebmavenNJ, aka my Mother in Law, Pola. It occurred to me that I should ask her to make Neil an Easter Basket, after all - she's a basket maker. Don't know why this never occurred to me, I guess because I have different idea's of Easter baskets vs functional or decoration baskets so it just never came to mind. Between my mother in law and her best friend (and basket mentor) Mary from Pineland's Folk Music & Basketry Center I have been conditioned to appreciate and recognize quality handmade baskets. They've made me quite the basket snob!
So, within a few days I asked Pola to make one, and she came up with the design off the cuff & created it! She's still gotta sign it, but it's all done! It's great - Neil loves it! Extra strong bottom, to hold all that candy :). I asked for a yellow accent color on it. Before the bunny hops along and fills it up, it's going to sit on the center of the table as a centerpiece. I have an idea for some eggs I want to fill it with! I'm so excited to have this heirloom Easter basket for Neil. Handmade baskets last forever (We just bought one from the 1920's!) and Neil can pass this basket down to his children some day. Pola is taking custom orders for Easter Baskets if you are interested. The price is $75, which is not much for an heirloom quality basket like this. It's got a double bottom for extra sturdiness, and the handle is extra strong too. The basket is about 6" deep, 13" diameter, and from bottom to the tip of the handle it's roughly 16" tall. Act fast if you would like a custom Easter basket, because Easter is just around the corner! You can contact Pola through her etsy shop, or her facebook fan page.Of course I had to put our new little baby Gypsy Rose into the basket for the photo op! She's just too cute, and while I do not condone getting bunnies as Easter presents, she just happened to arrive around Easter time for us. She sure is a cutie pie!

This post is part of the EtsyNJ Team Tuesday Blog Hop! Visit the EtsyNJ Blog!
Check out my other team members that are also blogging about New Jersey Artists today!

Even more goodies!

I scored so many awesome goodies at the auctions, it'd have been way too much of a pic heavy post to have them all in one blog, so here's a little more. I love these too, but I might end up selling the canisters. I love them, but I don't know that I can find a hope for them. I bid on them with the intent to use them in my hoosier cabinet for storage, which, they would make great storage - but - the hoosier is in my dining room and I think the canisters make it look too kitchen-y. If that makes any sense.
They say "Lincoln Beautyware" on the bottom, they're metal and the striping looks a bit more pronounced in the photo's than in real life. If somebody had a retro kitchen, these would be a perfect fit for it. I don't know, may list it on ebay or etsy, or maybe just craigslist. If I got $25 for the set I'd be a happy camper! So, if anybody is interested, let me know. I am happy to trade too!
I also picked up some more contractor rulers. I love these things. I got these ones at the flea market. I have quite a collection of rulers going hehe. I just can't get enough of them! Although yesterday I picked one up and the seller said "oh - it's $25 for that" and I nearly burst out laughing in front of him. My cohorts in flea market junking, Holly & Nicki were laughing at that too. We always find good deals when we go to the flea but there are the occasional people who think they can charge antique store prices at flea markets - and we just have to laugh. I haven't paid more than $3 for one of my rulers yet and I have quite a few - most I even paid as little as $1 for!

More Funky Finds

This is one of my favorite things I've gotten at the auctions. Sometimes when I walk into the auctions, or into a booth at a flea market, I see something that just speaks to me. This is more intense at the auctions because if I see something that is calling my name I still have to wait an hour or so for it to be auctioned off. Those of you who know me, know that I am not a patient person in those terms. I don't like waiting! I sit and wonder what it will go for, decide how much I'll bid on it.... case the crowd, watch for anyone else looking at it..... yeah, it's borderline sociopathic. It's also a major thrill! Especially when I actually win the item! Like this time!

Wednesday my item of lust was these two spice drums. They're about 17" tall. I just love them. Butchers Mills Brand, from Philadelphia Pennsyvania. I like local stuff. The auctioneer is getting to see my tastes and looks straight at me when something he thinks I want starts off, is that a good or a bad thing? My favorite things are American rooted, early 1900's, simple, functional farmhouse kinda things. Something that is well loved, not over the top frilly. When I get my hands on these old finds I can imagine when they were new, the scenery that surrounded them and the people that used them. At the time, they were nothing special, it was a spice drum - big whoop! But now? It's like a window to another world. Call it an overactive imagination, but I just see another life time when I hold these things. Hey I know, call it a psychic ability and I can sit on the boardwalk and scam tourists out of their money! LOL!

Their purpose? You must wonder? Right now - we're still adjusting to the new sofa set in the living room. The ottoman, while on the chair is a bit like "sofa land" in our house so when it's not in use we've been tucking it on the end of the sofa, topping it with a coke crate (another auction find) and sitting the lamp in there. Looks great, I love it. But, when we want to use the ottoman, our light is homeless - so, it sits on these fine spice canisters. I think I may find a better use for them in the future, the fact that there is storage inside of them definitely is a plus! Living in an old home, storage is always something that needs to be found creatively, so this is perfect!

Auction Goodies

I got so many great Auction Goodies & Flea Market goodies that I'm going to break it up into a few posts. Partially because I am excited I actually *have* something to blog about, and partially because I got really cam-whorish with the pictures, and I don't want to have a pic overload haha.





I've been wanting to find a silver set ever since I saw Gypsy Fish's Silver Sunday post a few weeks back. I love the look of the succulent plants in the silver! Last night I found this silver set, and I have 2 succulents that have been looking for a better home - so I'm going to polish this up a tad and rehome the plants! I'll take a pic of the finished product, gotta get some silver polish first. I tried the toothpaste & baking soda method on some other silver-ish stuff I had, not fun!


The two cups that are here are engraved - no clue who they were at the time but I googled it and they are engraved with the names of Baron Von Der Trenck and Baroness Von Der Trenck, who, I would assume was his wife. No wiki on her! Looks like Baron Von Der Trenck was kinda a badass though! I am a skeptical person, I find it hard to believe that these cups were theirs - and from the 1700's. If they are, yay for me! I don't know how I could ever find out for sure, unless Antiques Roadshow comes to town.... or maybe I'll take them down to Pawn Stars! Haha.

Maybe they're from a reenactment or something, who knows. Anybody know this guy? Haha! Either way, I'm happy with my find!

I'm a St. Patty's Girl...

We have seen this woman at the flea market for a long time now, for every holiday - no matter how big or small, she is decked out to the nines in holiday attire. Sometimes not even attire, for Christmas, she was wearing a Christmas tree skirt as a cape/poncho!

I love people like this, I really do. She sort of reminds me of my late neighbor, Margie. Of course I don't really know this lady beyond her outfits, but I'd like to think she's kinda like Margie. I miss Margie, she was awesome. I think it's the stretchy pants that really synch the Margie memories with this lady!

So, today - being that I am a St. Patty's baby and I'll be turning 28 on the 17th with my green beer & corned beef with cabbage - I am eternally looking for fun St. Patty's decorations. I really never find much that is great - so when I saw her, I decided she was the best St Patty's decoration I'd ever seen and I needed a pic of us together! So I asked, and she obliged happily.

She told us that her husband likes her to dress up, he really likes it. She said she's gotta "keep her man happy" because "there are a lot of bitches out there that would take your man" I don't even know what my reaction to this was,.... hysterical laughter? I never in a million years would have expected her to tell us about all the "bitches out there" haha! What a character, I love it!

Team Tuesday! Decor I Love!

On the eve of the new furniture delivery day, I am thinking about decor. We've recently rearranged a bit of the house. Partially because I am forever lacking storage for my art supplies and we have remedied that with the purchase of an antique hoosier cabinet. Closed door storage, what an amazing thing! That's another post though!

Tomorrow we are having a new sofa, oversized chair "and a half" and an ottoman delivered. We are psyched! A lot of our furniture has been hand-me-downs, so this is a big deal for us! Something that is very US and not just available! Not that we are not grateful for the hand me downs, but, we've lived here for 7 years with the "i'm getting rid of _____ do you want it?" decoration theme. It's time to make this house more ours. I'm loving the steps we've made so far!

So, my team Tuesday post is about decor! I am a big fan of Orange Slice Art, by the awesome Lauren R. She's one of the team members that is actually local to me! Not only have I done quite a few art shows with Lauren, (good and bad!) but we both also sell our work at the Mount Holly shop Jersey Made - which sells all handmade goodies, all handmade in New Jersey! Hence, Jersey Made! I have a humble collection of Lauren's creations, no pillows, yet - but they are awesome! Lauren cuts her own block stamps, dyes & stamps the fabric, sews the pillows - she's really hand making everything!

My second choice for design is Beach Chic Designs letter canvases. These are something I've been lusting after for quite a bit. Totally customizable so you can make your anniversary, or your and your spouses initials, your baby's name - your last name - you name it! I've been waiting for someone I know to get married so that I can give these as a gift - wouldn't they make a great wedding present!? Kim is a not so local, but, not so far away team member @ the Jersey Shore. We've had the pleasure of meeting quite a bit and we chit chat on facebook. She's multi talented and has a variety of creations in her shop. She steals my heart with the kid's clothes, and I have some adorable pics of my kiddo wearing some of her designs -but, alas I chose decor for my theme so I'll stick to it haha! Kim is also one of the artists in Mount Holly's Jersey Made!

Last but certainly not least is Sarada's artwork "Nail Polish Witch". Those of you who have seen inside my home know that I have a "thing" for witches. I have a dress from that was my Nanny's dressed up like a witch, wearing a custom handmade witches hat, handmade wand, handmade dreadfalls.... boa... it's quite a sight. I don't think I'm doing it any justice describing it so - let's move on - that's a blog for another day! Annnnywayyyyy...... Sarada's etsy shop is full of witchy goodness! It was hard to pic a favorite, but I definitely am feeling the nail polish witch, maybe it's the owl that makes her speak to me! But - either way, what is a home without decor, and what is decor without artwork?!

EtsyNJ Team Tuesday - Week #3
Welcome to the EtsyNJ Team Tuesday Blog Hop! To participate simply feature any EtsyNJ team members shop on your blog . You can find the EtsyNJ team by searching EtsyNJ at Etsy . com or by visiting our blog at http : //etsynj . blogspot . com

I'm a creator....

I found this fun little quiz linked to from another blog I follow, looks like it actually got a lot of things correct! Creator then Persuader! Hahah!

It's all by picking colors..... pretty cool!

Try it!

here's what it said about me!

Best Occupational Category

You're a CREATOR

Keywords

Nonconforming, Impulsive, Expressive, Romantic, Intuitive, Sensitive, and Emotional

These original types place a high value on aesthetic qualities and have a great need for self-expression. They enjoy working independently, being creative, using their imagination, and constantly learning something new. Fields of interest are art, drama, music, and writing or places where they can express, assemble, or implement creative ideas.

CREATOR OCCUPATIONS
Suggested careers are Advertising Executive, Architect, Web Designer, Creative Director, Public Relations, Fine or Commercial Artist, Interior Decorator, Lawyer, Librarian, Musician, Reporter, Art Teacher, Broadcaster, Technical Writer, English Teacher, Architect, Photographer, Medical Illustrator, Corporate Trainer, Author, Editor, Landscape Architect, Exhibit Builder, and Package Designer.

CREATOR WORKPLACES
Consider workplaces where you can create and improve beauty and aesthetic qualities. Unstructured, flexible organizations that allow self-expression work best with your free-spirited nature.

Suggested Creator workplaces are advertising, public relations, and interior decorating firms; artistic studios, theaters and concert halls; institutions that teach crafts, universities, music, and dance schools. Other workplaces to consider are art institutes, museums, libraries, and galleries.

2nd Best Occupational Category

You're a PERSUADER

Keywords:

Witty, Competitive, Sociable, Talkative, Ambitious, Argumentative, and Aggressive

These enterprising types sell, persuade, and lead others. Positions of leadership, power, and status are usually their ultimate goal. Persuasive people like to take financial and interpersonal risks and to participate in competitive activities. They enjoy working with others inside organizations to accomplish goals and achieve economic success.

• Section I: You and Your Team
  This personality overview section highlights your natural workplace talents—the tasks you pursue with passion. You'll learn how your natural strengths complement those of your coworkers and how, joining forces, you can resolve on-the-job dilemmas.
• Section II: Your Key To Success
  Here you discover your capacity for dispelling disruption and maximizing profitability. Use this proven, beyond-self-perception advice to create a more positive career path free of detours.
• Section III: Managing Strengths and Weaknesses
  Your evaluation's highest and lowest scores result in this section's recommendations for staying on-track in your career and reversing wrong turns. In focusing on your talents and missteps, you'll re-stoke your energy and enthusiasm for managing costly mistakes.
• Section IV: Leadership Power Moves
  This final section identifies your "street sense," those power moves that turn obstacles into insignificant details. Here suggestions based on your color-ranked evaluations will guide you towards making the most of an interview or harnessing your fast-paced workday.
  
  

Team Tuesday- Wool Lust!

Well this is going to be an exciting week. As some of you may know, my pet rabbit, Hendrix passed away last November. We have really missed him since then. He was a really sweet little guy. When I heard from Hendrix's breeder that she had a new litter of bunnies available, we decided to get a new bunny. We'll be picking her up on Thursday! I haven't decided on a name yet, I have to see her in person first. She'll be a birthday present for me from my Mother in Law and I can't wait to have a little hippity hoppin' bunny in the house again! We get angora rabbits, because we are learning to spin their wool. The wool brushes off naturally with no harm to the animal and it is the warmest type of wool you can get from an animal.
I couldn't find any angora products from New Jersey but I found plenty of awesome hand spun yarn, and an awesome fingerless glove creation made from a luscious yarn! Sort of a"Before & After" for yarn!
Our Etsy New Jersey Team member Pancake and Lulu spun the lovely blue "Mermaid" yarn" in the first picture.

Another Etsy New Jersey Team member Chimera spun this bulky Sweetheart yarn in a lovely pink colorwheel in the second picture!




And for the "after" part of yarn, the lovely Happiknits brings us these darling fingerless gloves. I absolutely love fingerless gloves - and - since it doesn't look like winter is going away any time soon - it's not too late to get yourself a pair!