artfire pro rates

I'm going to be upfront about this post.  I created it with the hopes of winning a new camera!

Artfire has a new lock-in rate for going pro.  Again it has a catch.  This time if 20,000 people opt in to going pro, all of those people pay $5.95 for life.  http://www.artfire.com/groupdeal

So, if you were thinking of trying out artfire, or if you've already tried out artfire, and are considering going pro now is definitely the time.

Although artfire certainly doesn't get as much traffic as etsy, and is not as aesthetically pleasing, I love how responsive artfire administrators are.  Also I find artfire much more inviting than etsy.

I have both an artfire and an etsy, and even though I don't always maintain both, I think it's a great idea to put yourself in as many markets as you reasonably can.

Harvest and Planting For Fall

Although the days are still roasting here in Raleigh, I can still see fall approaching.  The nights are cooling, giving the air that crisp fall feeling in the mornings (even if it's still in the 90's during the day.)

With fall approaching, I was planning on first, getting some long overdue knitting done, hopefully in time for cool weather.  Second, I was considering trying some fall crops.  Although most people think of fall as the time for harvesting, it can also be time to plant.  I'm hoping I still have time to plant some of the yummy leafy greens that grow this time of year.  (If you're a gardener, and have any tips PLEASE let me know.  I am quite the novice :P)

Here's my treasury to celebrate fall as not only the time for harvest, but also for planting!  Please click the photo to see the items up close and personally.  Then comment and click away in the etsy treasury.  I really like this one, and would love to see it have at least a little success!

The Results are in!

Its official, our newest flavor will be cranberry orange!  Congratulations to Julie for her winning selection.  She will be receiving 4 lip balms, 3 of her choice, and 1 of the new cranberry orange flavor.

As a way of saying thank you we will also be giving our runners up one lip balm of their choice.  I will be contacting you soon.

Thank you to everyone who participated and made this contest such a success!

History of Quilts

click the picture to see these products up close and personal!

There is something so comforting and old fashioned about a handmade quilt.  Each quilt is full of history with each of the scraps it contains.  I've recently gotten tired of my store bought quilt, and I've decided to try my hand at my first quilt.  It's an overwhelmingly big project, but I'm excited to make my very own.  A quilt seems like such a personal project, and I'm overjoyed at the thought of getting rid of my sterile Target quilt, and replacing it with something I made, out of things that remind me of home.

The quilt does not quite have the history and origins that I initially assumed.  Quilting seemed to me as old a past time as any in America, and also a working class endeavor to use everything one has.  An old fashioned way of recycling.  Although quilting did become what I just described, its origins greatly differed.

The life of the colonial American woman was difficult and full of household chores, including weaving and spinning their own cloth.  The average colonial woman could not make time in her day for the detailed leisure activity of quilting.  Only upperclass women had the time and extra cloth to stitch the decorative bed coverings.

The advent of the industrial production of cloth during the industrial revolution made ready made cloth readily available, and granted women more time to use cloth creatively.  After this period quilting became closer to the modern interpretation of the craft.  Quilting became a way of being thrifty, and remembering the past, family, and friends.

During western expansion, women moved away from everything they knew to make a new life thousands of miles away.  In correspondences with friends back east many of these women would include quilting patterns and sometimes even scraps of cloth to include in quilts.  Sharing quilting experiences allowed women to continue relationships across wide distances.

The history of quilting is of course much longer and more complex than just these few facts and stories, but these few stories make me want to become a part of the world of quilting.  Stay tuned to see how these encounters with quilting go!

Pick Our Newest Lip Balm Flavor

The results are in!  We asked you for suggestions for a brand new lip balm flavor, and you gave us some fabulous ideas!  We have the results of our randomly selected contestants.  The selected comments are numbers 69, 68, 16, 39, 47.

The delicious flavors suggested in these comments are listed in a poll below.  Please vote on your favorite selection early and often!  The poll closes at midnight on Sunday Sept. 12th.

The person who suggested the winning flavor will win three lip balms of his or her choice, PLUS one lip balm in the winning flavor.  Feel free to spread the word on facebook, blogs, or twitter.    

Choose Our Next Lip Balm Flavor!
	Cranberry Orange
	Cherry Pink Sugar
	Coconut Mango
	Peach
pollcode.com free polls

Thanks for all of the wonderful suggestions!  Even if you were not lucky enough to be randomly selected, your suggestion could still come to fruition.  We'll be sure to look through all of the comments for inspiration :)

As always stay tuned to the blog and etsy shop for our newest products, shop news, and other tidbits!