Featured Seller: dizzeelizzee (and she's giving something away!)

If you are looking for something totally out of the ordinary and crazy unique, welcome to:

dizzeelizzee

I came across dizzee's shop a few weeks ago while looking for items for my Time Machine Top 5 feature (which I have really been slacking on and I'm sorry about that). I featured a quilled gift bag of hers, and once I started the featured seller back up, I knew instantly that I wanted to feature her, and more items from dizzee's fabulous shop. And, without further ado, meet the wonderful woman behind dizzeelizzee.

Tell us about yourself. Who is the creator behind such awesome designs?
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All about me! I'm an average person....who fell in love with crafting and creating. Even when I was a youngster, I be drawing or doodling, instead of doing my math homework.

How did you come to be in the paper craft business, and what inspires your wonderful designs?
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I'm a late bloomer to the paper biz. I painted all thru my 20's and sewed thru my 30's, so now in my 40's....I finally into paper! Inspiration comes from all areas....I love flowers and nature, I'm lucky enough to live in a place that has wonderful access to nature and unique places.

How do you keep things new and fresh, and keep yourself motivated to make new designs?
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Keeping things new and fresh is difficult for any artist. You want to go with what works before. Personally I keep reading books, blogs, instructional materials, any thing I can get my hands on! I find I experiment a bunch, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. To me, that is the joy of creating!

How did you come to be on Etsy, and what do you think are the best things about owning an online business?
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I found ETSY by accident. I was looking around for places to buy materials...and there it was. After years of nagging from my family to try and sell some of the things I've made, it seemed like and easy and relatively inexpensive way to get my feet wet. It's been a wonderful experience. I still feel the joy of a convo...and I've made a couple of cyber friends too!


When you aren't creating and spending time on etsy, what do you do for fun?
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....I love baseball, so I'm always watching my Mariners! I try to grow flowers, and vegis, and my family keeps my running around.

(I have to say lizzee, I'm got sucked into the Red Sox Nation myself)


Anything else you would like to share?
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The only thing I'd like to tell your readers is that you MUST try! What ever your passion, desire, or wish...go for it. You get only one shot at this life...don't let fear of failure hold you back.

I have to say, that dizzeelizzee's designs amaze me every time I look at them. Everything in her shop screams loveliness and I can't wait till the holidays come around, because I know exactly where I'm going ot be getting my christmas cards and gift bags!

And because she's fantastic, dizzeelizzee has graced us with an awesome giveaway!!!


This is her Floral Fantasy Magnet. From the picture you can see how dainty it is and how much detail went into this lovely little piece! Thanks so much lizzee and good luck to everyone!

Here are the rules:

1) go to dizzeelizzee's shop, pick out your favorite item, come back here and post the link to it. There must be a link or you entry is void!
2) Blog, twitter, or post something about this giveaway anywhere on the internet and it will earn you extra entries, just make sure that you come back here and post the links to your post about this giveaway.


The giveaway ends Wednesday July 8th at midnight!

My friend really needs your good thoughts and prayers

Today, a really good friend of mine is going to court to here the verdict regarding the custody of her children. As of right now, she currently has full custody of them.

In January of 2008, the father of her children left her and her two boys for another woman. He doesn't admit that, but two months later he was bringing this woman around her children. I don't know if he was telling the truth or not, but I don't believe that he wasn't with her when he left. He allowed my friend and the kids to stay in his house till then end of the school year until she could find another place to live.

She has told me stories about how he has beaten her children, pointed a gun in her face while drunk, threatened to kill her and the kids, peed in the closets and all of the house while drunk, and passed out naked in his son's bed drunk. She went to the police but they said there was nothing they could do. She didn't want to leave him because she firmly believes in family and was hoping she could change him.

In July of 2008, she took her kids and moved back to her home state of New Hampshire. She did not tell the father. She feared for her life because of previous experiences, and he had also told her that she would never leave the state alive with his children. She was able to get a restraining order against him in NH temporarily, and it was lifted in February when he made it out there for the hearing and it was clear he wasn't a threat to them since he could barely afford to get there.

In April, she went back to Michigan to begin court proceedings. She was told be the Friend of the Court that she was a disgrace as a mother for taking her kids so far away without notifying him and they don't see anything wrong with him. So, obviously he has been lying to them as well. He is saying that she is mentally unsound, a liar, and all kinds of other stuff. The recommendation made to the court was for him to receive full custody of the children.

This is the man that left because he said that he couldn't handle being with them all the time, told his son that he deserved nothing more than a bag of dogshit as a birthday gift, and told my friend that he liked his younger son better so maybe she should take the older one and he gets the younger one.

Please, if you pray, pray for my friend. If you don't, then please just keep her in your thoughts and hope for the best.

I don't agree with everything she did. I know that she put herself in this position by not leaving sooner and filing reports and all that other stuff. I know that it was wrong for her to leave without telling him. In her mind she was doing what she thought was right. And I hope for her sake, and for her children's sake even more, that she wins out on this one.

Thank you.

Featured Seller: kirevi8

Ok, I told you that would be get back into the swing of doing a featured seller series. I searched through the time machine to look for some awesome pieces and guess who I found.....

kirevi8

Take a look at anything in her shop and her talent and uniqueness emanate from every piece she has in there!

Take this piece for example - new joy of anatolian woman.
This was the one that REALLY caught my attention when I was scrolling through the hundreds of images in the time machine. I couldn't take my eyes off of it and I knew I had to see more. Once I was in her shop I wanted to meet the woman and creator of such wonderful pieces of wearable art.


Tell us about yourself. Who is the person behind kirevi8?
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My name is Semra Ascioglu and living in Istanbul -Turkey with my family and my 9 years old cooker, KUKI.
I studied Journalism and public relations. My section was Radio -TV

Despite of different jobs, my hobby followed me since my young ages up to now.
I have been always happy to learn and practice all kinds of handmade arts, work with my hands and always been told that my designs were original and very stylish.
I started my own line with bali style and modern jewelry and specialised in authentique anatolian jewelry.
In other words I want to bring the old ethnique traditions to our modern life.
In my designs I like to use exotic colored beads, crystal, hand stitched flowers, ethnic symbols as oya flower, ceramic and glass beads, leaves, coins, leather, knitting pieces and combine them with modern materials.

Every piece is unique and each jewellery has its own story in Anatolia which makes sense to me.

I have to agree with her here. Look at this piece! There is so much variety in the materials and colors, it's easy to see how anyone could combine the old and new into any outfit.

What inspires your pieces? They are all so unique and very creative!
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I like very much to visit art museums in Istanbul.
Specially I prefer Turkish Islamic Arts Museum and Ethnography Museum where I can find old Anatolian and Turkish traditional accessories, dresses, life style.
I follow all Turkish and Foreign publications, reviews concerning traditional Turkish arts.


Because the ocean is one of my favorite places, I couldn't help but fall in love with the fantastic sea shell necklace! I love the variety of shells used and how they all look so elegant together.


How did you get into crafting in the first place, and what motivates you to keep doing it?
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I really do not know how or when I started to get into crafting.
I started to make different kind of handwork since my very very young ages, lets say when I was 4-5 years old. First I learned how to knit, then comes stitching, then decorating flowers, patchwork, glass painting, painting, one stroke, wood painting, stitching, etc.
It is a lifestyle for me to make or to work on handmade arts. I love to do it and always I try to progress in my works.

This piece is absolutely stunning! This is an oya Turkish lacework necklace. The delicacy of this necklace, to me, makes it absolutely beautiful and so feminine. The colors in it are so rich and wonderful. Awesome work!

What do you have planned for the future of your etsy shop, or any plans with your crafting business?
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I am planning to list more and more oya turkish lacework flowers. They are so beautiful and all they have their own story. I want to share all my knowledge with my customers. Also I will add new textile designs to my shop. I want to open an other shop for supplies and accessories. I guess I will do it at the beginning of next season.



Is there anything else that you would like the readers to know about you?
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I can tell this - that I faced a lot of difficulty when I started this business professionally. I was off from work for 20 years. I did not know how to use PC, programs, how to make photos, resize them,... what does it mean to give a link?? what is to open a shop in web... etc etc..
It was really very very difficult and hard for me to learn it. But I never gave up. I begged my sons to teach me all about PC. They were very helpful. After 5 years I know almost everything about PC. But it was really very hard and harmful process for me. Now when I look behind I am smiling and I feel very proud of myself. After 20 years I made big job.

Well, we are so glad that you learned and tried as hard as you did. You are truly an example of how hard work, persistence, and passion really pay off. The Etsy community is lucky that they have such wonderful talent to share!



Anything else that you would like to share?
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I would like to say that now I am very happy to be a member of Etsy family. I am working very very hard to improve my sales in Etsy and make myself to be well known there. But the most important point is that I met very nice friends there

To see more of kirevi8's beautiful pieces, you can visit her shop by clicking on her name at the beginning of this post, or by clicking on her etsy mini in the sidebar. Thank you so much for reading and I hope that you enjoy kirevi8's creations as much as I do.

KITTY PHOTOS!!!!!!!

These aren't the same tiny kitty ones I promised, but any kitty photos are cute kitty photos!!!

These ones were taken of the farm kittens that are up near my dad's place in Maine. These ones are only about 3 weeks or so old, and there were 11 of them!

My dad has a crate that he keeps them all in when they are at the farm this way they can't get lost and the other cats can't get in. It has a top that closes and screened in sides so that they can see out and everything, and the mamas can get in.

For being little kitties, they were SO LOUD! Especially when they are all competing with each other for attention. When we first went over and opened the crate up they were all piled on top of each other sleeping and we could only see about half of them since the rest were buried underneath.


In this picture you can see how little they really are. I held my hands out and one kitten fit nicely in my palms.

This little black and white ones was one of my favorites! He fell asleep right there in my hands and I just wanted to take him home with me.

I'll try to post some more pictures soon! but since my sis is the one that took them, I have to wait until she posts some more.

Enjoy everyone! I hope this little guys make you smile, because I know they make me smile!



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Some sad news....

I know I promised pictures of the little kitties, however they are sick and I haven't been able to go over there.

One of them died today. The little calico, that I named Princess, because she was loud and very needy, was the one to go. I talked to my sister in law and she said the other two aren't looking too good either.

With two cats of my own, i don't want to go over and bring home something that my kitties might get.

These poor little things are only about a week old. The two black twins (I named them Sherlock and Mr. Watson because even with their eyes closed they are trying to investigate everything around them) aren't looking too well she told me. One is really cold and they are looking too thin. I hope for their sake that they pull through because they all are really cute.

I went over earlier this week and they are so tiny that one whole kitty could curl up and fit snugly in one of my palms. They are only about 6" long from tip of nose to tip of tail.

If you pray, please keep these little bits of wonderful in your prayers. If you don't pray, then please just think good thoughts for them.

I gave my blog a new look!!!

Let me know what you think. I'm not sure what is going to be easy for people to read, or if on your computer you can see the leafy outline on the side.

So, if you have a minute and don't mind giving me a little feedback I would really appreciate it. There will be more changes coming. I'm waiting on my friend to make me a new banner for this, hopefully that will be done soon, and I'm looking for some things to add to the sidebars.

Thanks to everyone who leaves me some feedback!

I love TINY KITTIES!!!!!!!

I mean that! I love them!

My sister in law surprised me this morning by bringing by three TINY kittens that her roommate had found outside their apartment. These little bitties are only about 1 day old and are some of the cutest things I've ever seen!

Their eyes aren't even open yet. And the have little nubs for ears and their tails are only a couple of inches long, if that. I got to feed them and it was so cute! They were just sucking it down and when they were done I could see the pudge in their bellies because they are so little.

There are two little black twin boys and a little calico girl. But, I can't have them. I have two of my own kitties and my husband would kill me if I brought more home. And, luckily, these ones already will have homes when they are old enough to be given away.

I told my sis in law that if she needed help with feedings and things like that I would help out since she works nights.

I will have pictures soon enough so that I can share these wonderful lovey little kitties with everyone!

Holy crap, I think I'm actually getting good at this!

This week has been quite an awesome week, and it's only MONDAY!

First, I had two awesome giveaways. Congrats to those that won!

Next, I had two items featured in the gift guides. One of them was actually in three different ones!

This one was featured in the June pearls gift guide!

It is made with fantastic gold pearls that are wire wrapped to a length of chain and have a beautiful czech cut glass bead on top.

I was so excited about this when I made it. It was my first creation with these pearls and I'm so happy that it made it to the gift guide so that so many wonderful people could find it more easily.

I had always questioned the real significance of the gift guides, and often wondered if the really made that much of a difference. But this little guy ended up with over 150 views in 4 days. So, questioning is all over with.

The next one that made it was this key book pendant. Which is totally cool to me because it's a new line of book marks that I've only had up for a couple of weeks!


I used a red ribbon with a large pewter key. At the bottom hangs a bunch of red and aurora
orealis glass beads. And the book it's attached to isn't too bad either.

This one was featured is currently featured in the teacher's gift guide, was in the student's gift guide yesterday, and then was in another one but I can't remember what it was.

So, thanks Etsy admin for that!


And, last but not least, I came home today to find that I am an alternate on a front page list. It's not the front page exactly, but it's close enough.

This fancy-shmancy wire doodle is the alternate. I don't know if it will show up, but I feel good knowing that I'm closer than I was.

My mom made this one. It's really cute with a variety of brownish beads and yellow beads, all on a copper wire with fun wire wrapped shapes at each end. The whole thing can be viewed here.

So, all in all, it's been a pretty good start to my week. hopefully my good luck will continue and maybe all this wonderful featuring will lead to lots and lots of sales!

Now I just need to find time with my day job to make, list, and take more pictures of stuff!

Yay me!

Congrats to Bellissima!

She won the giveaway from the feature in Roses7184's blog.

This is what she will be receiving in the mail -


This is a pretty green book thong decorated with large lucite trumpets and czech cut glass beads. I hope you enjoy in Bellissima!

I will be hosting some more giveaways on a couple of other blogs too. I will give you all the details when they arrive!

May Giveaway winners!

Ok, sorry it's been awhile everyone! I have a day job now and it's totally killing my etsy time.

Here are the winners of the May giveaway! Congrats!


1) Audrey - Sun/Sky Lanyard = Blue Lagoon Lanyard



2) Carapace - Coppery Green Wire Doodle = Amazon River Snake Wire Doodle (currently inactive while I retake the pictures)



3) Woolies - Amber and Purple Lanyard = Honey and Lilac Lanyard



Thanks so much to everyone who enter! I will be contacting the winners to get the info to send you the gift certificate. And because this giveaway was subjuctive, everyone else who entered will receive 10% off their purchase in my shop. I have to give you guys credit for trying to help me out! Thanks so much everyone! There will be another giveaway later this month and I'll give all the details when it starts!

For those of you that did win - this weekend I will be re-editing the listings so that your new name shows up and credit to you will be given in the item description.

Thanks so much to Roses7164!

Thanks so much to her for the lovely feature she did and the giveaway that she is hosting for me!

She has an absolutely LOVELY blog! Hopefully one day I'll get mine to look that nice. If you have'nt seen you you definitely need to check it out.

She was nice enough to do a wonderful feature of me, for which I am SO grateful. You can view the feature and the giveaway here!

P.S. For all of those who entered my May giveaway, I'm going over everything right now and making my final decisions and will post the winnings soon. I will contact those who win this week to send you the certificate!