A little pre-holiday Giveaway!

I haven't hosted a giveaway in a loooong time! Well, the holiday season is a perfect time to do that! You can either get something for you, or a gift - totally up to you :) Here's what I'm offering up this month - $10 toward anything in my shop! That means YOU pick what you want, and get 10 bucks to use toward it!

How to enter...you get 1 entry per:
Follow my blog
Follow me on facebook
Tweet this giveaway and add @4madbird to your tweet
Post about this giveaway on your blog/facebook and link back here

Please let me know in the comments what you've done.

As a bonus entry....of course anyone who buys something from my shop and enters "giveaway" in notes to seller will get an additional five entries!!

This giveaway ENDS Monday!! You only have this weekend to enter, so don't wait! The winner's name will be randomly pulled from a hat ;)

Good luck!!

An early gift for me

Sometimes, I buy myself something. Big deal, I know....but it isn't very often that I just splurge a little and buy something really nice for no reason. I did this last week when I bought this super functional berry bowl.

I have a great love for pottery. Maybe it's because my high school clay teacher was really nice to me. But, I remember learning to throw on the wheel, and that, friends, is no easy task. When I taught art to middle schoolers, ceramics was my favorite unit. I always loved working with mud.
Anyway, about this bowl...it is extremely nice, high quality, and a really gorgeous blue. More of Anne Marie's work can be found in her etsy shop. She's very nice, and her customer service is tops!
What I reeeally need is a new mug, but both hand thrown mugs I've owned, Rob has dropped and thus, broke them both. His hand thrown mug, however, survives to this day....curious, isn't it? Maybe I can convince him that he owes me one.

I just bought...

this super cool mini-journal/sketchbook (complete with the letter A) from Useful Books. It is made using a 45 red record - how cool is that?! I cannot wait to get it! I also must start holiday shopping soon....yikes.

My dream necklace

A week or so ago, I asked a fellow etsian - Mavis of sparklegarden - to craft me my very own "story necklace" . I was excited to see what she would create for me! And, she did not disappoint. I sent her a few things to incorporate into my necklace, including a couple charms from hint (who makes amazing silver, by the way). I asked Mavis to make my necklace mostly green, with some blue and orange. I also asked for custom stamping - here's a look:

Here, Mavis stamped my husband's name and a tree-ish design complete with a bird. And, look - a fish!

The stamp at the top includes my boys' initials and a lotus. You can also see one of the small charms by hint - a goddess.

The whole piece: the large olive jade pendant is from a necklace Rob bought me a long time ago. It was a nursing necklace, and since I don't nurse anymore, I never wear it (but it's still special!). The green cabochon was from a ring my grandmother gave me. Mavis took it off the ring and incorporated it into the necklace. She also added scissors, since I do sew an absolute ton! Overall, I was very excited about the necklace, and can't express how awesome it looks in person!

Materials used: sterling, ceramic, carnelian, turquoise, jade, fluorite, lampworked glass, Hilltribe silver, Aventurine, green garnet, green tourmaline, ocean jasper, tree pendant, blue lace agate, freshwater pearls.

Support Handmade - what's your favorite?

Not only do I sell handmade, but I also buy handmade more often than ever. Why? For me it's for a couple reasons....first, I like the one-of-a-kind-ness that comes with handmade. Second, the customer service cannot be beat when you buy straight from the maker.

Lots of people have a certain category of handmade goodness that they cannot live without. For me - it's soap. Just regular old bar soap. But, handmade soap is nothing like what you buy at Target. It's creamy and extra lathery - and the smell. You can get any smell from sandalwood (one of my most favorite) to fresh cut grass. From fruit to nuts. Flowers and leather. The possibilities are endless. I myself will never ever buy store bought soap again. I even use handmade soap on my youngest who is 2. His current bar is orange sandalwood. It is fabulous! My husband and boys are currently using "beowulf". Mine is a floral blend this time, and of course we have our facial bars too.

Soap is my handmade obsession. What's yours??

NEW Offerings!

Due to many requests for dpn (double pointed needle) organizers, I've decided to make some up! Check them out HERE , and let me know what you think! They can also be used as larger crochet organizers, or a combo of both!

A new find

I love Tatsu fabric....the purpley orange dragon fabric from Alexander Henry, as seen here. I was pretty excited to get my hands on a black/red version of this fabric yesterday! I've already whipped up a couple of products with it....
A new SUPER organizer, for crochet hooks and knitting needles

and a new project bag

Both incorporate a really nice gray batik. I am definitely making a bag out of this for ME....I deserve it, right?? ;^)

Also....my "weekend deals" sale ends today!!!! Take advantage while you still can!