I'm A Winner! HandmadeMN August Challenge: Purple Rain

Thank you to ALL of you out there that voted for me in the HandmadeMN August Monthly Challenge: Purple Rain

It was an excellent competition and there were some terrific entries!
http://etsymn.blogspot.com/2009/08/august-challenge-purple-rain.html

The best part was that the competition closed on sept 17, so the results were determined on my birthday (sept 18th)! Wonderful birthday present!!! I really hope that the 1 month free advertising helps drive some traffic to my site, and maybe even some sales! :) Also, note that I am running a birthday promotion this weekend, see previous post.

Thanks again to all for your support and votes! Couldn't have done it without you!

VOTE FOR ME PLEASE! HandmadeMN Monthly Challenge

The August Monthly Challenge for my HandmadeMN Team was PURPLE RAIN.

My submission was this: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=29727618

It has been a neck and neck competition so far, so please give me your vote! You can vote here:

http://etsymn.blogspot.com/2009/08/august-challenge-purple-rain.html

Voting ends Sept 17 at midnight! Right before my BIRTHDAY!! The winner gets a month of free advertising on the blog, so that would be a pretty awesome birthday present for sure! :)

Birthday Promotion

Hello Everyone!

Friday Sept 18th is my BIRTHDAY!!!! :D WOOHOO!

And to celebrate, I am running my very first promotion! Check out my blog here and tweet about it! Be the 500th RETWEET and you will win a pair of earrings of your choice from my shop! :D

Good luck and HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

Also, from 12am Friday through the weekend, use code HAPPY 29th BIRTHDAY in message to seller to get a 29% discount (refunded to your paypal) on your purchase! :D

Whew! Its been a while!

Lots going on these days and it has been too long since I have posted anything. It has been a busy summer, couple shows (good and bad) hopefully a couple more coming up.

My birthday is FRIDAY (sept 18th) so I am considering doing some sort of giveaway competition.... if you have any suggestions, I would love some comments. I am new to this, so I am not sure how to go about doing it.

Check for updates! I will be posting something soon! :D

Teacher Appreciation

After 40-some years of teaching 1st graders, she decided to retire...

Wow, it is hard for me to imagine doing something, ONE thing, for 40+ years. You'd really need a passion for it! And apparently she does! My Mother, also a teacher at my home K-12 school (she teaches high school english/literature/etc) asked me to create a school themed mobile to befit Mrs. Y as a retirement gift. My Mother and a couple other teachers were going to chip in for it.

Well, I wasn't sure how it would turn out... or what I would even use. Mom and I got a few things at the Hobby Lobby (LOVE that store, but make sure you get the sale prices at the register) but it was still a puzzle to be solved. This was going to be unlike anything I have ever done, I just knew it. I'm pretty sure Mom didnt have a whole lot of faith in the final product (she kept assuring me that it was ok if it didn't work out and they would think of something else to give) but I knew it would be terrific, one way or another.

It was a process and a joy, and in the end it was loved by all. So I thought I'd share some pics. :)