MT Coffinz - tutus, dreads, and more!

I know it's been a while since I've posted on my blog, I've been pretty busy these last few months! But I just made a post-worthy discovery! I found MTCoffinz , an awesome Etsy shop that specializes in all things alternative! Hair falls, tutus, belt skirts, even winter accessories!

Check out these great rainbow striped armwarmers:

Or these Bubblegum Pink and Black hairfalls...

...and don't forget the tutus!



Definitely some great gifts in this shop, the holidays are right around the corner! I know I would love to see some of these things under my tree on Xmas! Head on over to MTCoffinz to see all of the great stuff they've got!

Very cool giveaway

Very cool giveaway over at Custom Zombie's Undead Ramblings blog from Agonysdecay. You can win your choice of ring!

I had to add this shop to my favorites. Seriously. I will be buying something as soon as I get some extra $$$. This shop has something for every Goth/zombie/horror/macabre/Victorian enthusiast. Jewelry, soap, hair accessories, and more - all in one adorable little Etsy shop!

Check out the giveaway before it ends July 25th!

Handmade soap from Soap Deli.

This past week I won a giveaway on the Soap Deli blog for a gift certificate to the Soap Deli. Etsy shop. As anyone who shops or sells on Etsy knows, there are a TON of handmade soap shops on Etsy. . . I just happened to be lucky enough to win some products from this one! Not only was Rebecca, owner of Soap Deli. very prompt to answer any questions I had about products and how to redeem my gift certificate, but she shipped the package promptly, too! Oh, and she there in a few extra samples for me, as well. Now that's great customer service!


I have nothing but good things to say about Rebecca and her shop. I would totally recommend her soap to anyone, she sells goats milk, sea salt, and VEGAN SOAPS! I am a total animal lover, so when the fact that she sells vegan products totally appeals to me. And vegan or not, they smell great! Oh, and her soaps also happen to be great for dry skin and eczema. Since it's summer I don't really have any dry skin trouble, but I do have eczema - though it shows up rarely, and I think more often in the winter, it's nice to know that her soap not only smells great, but also has benefits for my skin! But that's enough boasting about how great her shop is, and on to what I ordered from her. . .

I ordered:

1. Falling for You - cocoa butter and shea, cold process VEGAN soap - A light scent. The word "delicate" comes to mind. According to her page: "an alluring blend of Lemon Peel, Vanilla, Musk, and Mandarin." Sounds about right! Not overpowering, which is always a concern for me when ordering scented products online. She also says it is great as a facial bar, or an all-over soap, which I could totally see why this would make a great facial soap bar. I have used facial scrubs for years, and have only used body washes, not bar soaps for too long to remember now- but, this is definitely something that could change that. Also, according to feedback from one customer, it is also great as a shampoo bar. Plus, my boyfriend who tends to like Old Spice and Axe, typically mens bath product scents, loved this one, just to give you an idea that it's not an overtly feminine smell by any means; could definitely be a unisex product.
   

2. Raspberry and Vanilla - cocoa butter and shea, cold process VEGAN soap - The description list it as "a soft yet fruity blend of raspberry, plum, and vanilla". I love vanilla, I love raspberries figured I couldn't go wrong, and I didn't. Not too sweet, not too strong. Accroding to one buyers feedback for this soap: "So far your soaps have been the best for my very dry skin out of the natural ones that I've tried! Thanks again!"

3. Lemon and Poppyseed cold process soap, ALL NATURAL. VEGAN - Like lemon poppy seed muffins? Of course you do! Who doesn't. This soap is scented like a fresh, tasty batch of those muffins. Only in this case, you get to have a nice, clean lemon scent and the poppy seeds exfoliate your skin!

4. Red Velvet Cake, shea butter and goat's milk cold process soap - "My handmade Red Velvet Cake Goat Milk and Shea Butter Soap is a delicious combination of dark chocolate, strawberry syrup, and red currant, cocoa powder, sugar cane and vanilla." The name and description sold me on this one. I am totally a fan of red velvet cake...Well, I am a fan of cake..Okay, a fan of confections in general. I LIKE SWEETS. lol But here was my concern with this one before I order it - I must admit, I was worried when I saw dark chocolate and cocoa powder as notes. Simply because every time, except for maybe one or two ever, that I have seen ANYTHING supposed chocolate scented it would only smell NOTHING like chocolate, but it would usually make me feel sick. I can't quite describe the smell those prodcuts would have, but they were always bad, so now I tend to veer away from them. And I know that's a problem quite a few of my friends and other people I've run into have had, so they don't go for chocolate scents either- not because they don't like chocolate, but because they don't like the weird faux-chocolate, off-putting, kind-of-like-dirt-but-more-metallic smell. lol
BUT FEAR NOT! THIS IS NOT THE CASE IN THIS TASTY, RED VELVET SOAP! Though, I didn't immediately think of chocolate when I smelled this soap. It definitely smells sweet and cake-like, but like her other products not at all overpowering. As in, you wouldn't get a tooth ache from smelling this.


So that's what I ordered....but that is not all! Yes, the lovely Rebecca also included 3 samples!

She included a...
- Lemon Lavender cold process she butter soap - My boyfriend wants this one. Badly. lol As he put it, "It smells like health food store. I want it." Lavender can be a really heavy off putting scent in some instances, or a really relaxing, light scent. In this case, it's the latter. Not too strong, just right. Worth buying, if you like lavender, lemon, or calming scents.

- Natural Patchouli shea butter cold process soap, ALL NATURAL - I love patchouli, but in most cases it is a STRONG smell. Typically if you walk into a room wearing patchouli, everyone will know it. From across the room. In this case, the soap stays true to the smell of patchouli (as it is made with 100% natural patchouli essential oil), but it is not overpowering. Patchouli lovers and hippies rejoice!

- Red Velvet Cake goat milk lotion - I had told her after ordering my soaps that I wished I could have ordered a bottle of her red velvet cake, but that I only saw it in $20 full-size bottles. And I wished she had samples of it available, because I didn't want to buy that then not be able to try as many soaps and scents. She was kind enough to include a VERY generous 2 oz. sample of this lotion in with my order - which I am very thankful for. It will last me a while for sure. It smells just like a sweet, cake confection. But I love it most because I can't smell it from 10 ft. away, it's a perfectly light sweetness. Just as any fragrance should be. Not greasy, perfect. Everything you would want in a lotion. I put a bit on my hands this afternoon, they still feel moisturized and smell just like red velvet cake.

My Soap Deli swag:

Just in case this post didn't give you an idea of how great her products and service are, check out her Etsy feedback- she has 2632 sales! Of that she has received ZERO negative feedback, ONE neutral feedback, and 2460 positive feedback. I rest my case.

HERE ARE ALL OF HER LINKS:

SOAP DELI SHOP

Soap Deli Blog

Soap Deli Twitter

Soap Deli Facebook

Pinup shoes!

Okay, so this post may not pertain to handmade wares- BUT my reader know, I am a huge fan of retro/Burlesque/pinup style. So, imagine my delight when I found this giveaway on Review Retreat!


They are hosting a giveaway offering the chance for one lucky reader to win any 1 pair of shoes from pinupshoes.com of their choosing! HOW COOL IS THAT?!

They offer a wide variety of heels (sooo many heels!), flats, platforms, and boots. They have shoes for women, men, and children- and some unisex shoes, too. The giveaway closes July 12th, so check it out while there is still time!

Mr.Sogs (via Familylicious)

I was skimming through the blog-o-sphere this morning and found this great review (AND giveaway) on the Familylicious blog. - click here to check it out -

Upon reading the review and seeing all of the adorable pictures that were posted, I immediately fell in love with Mr.Sogs creatures.

I checked out his Etsy shop and loved every bit of what I found. Strange little plush creatures. According to his shop announcement:
"All the creatures from Mr. Sogs are handmade and every creature is two of a kind with an identical twin so that none of them will ever be lonely. Every pair is unique and can be adopted as a pair or individually."
How cute!



Definitely check out the review on Familylicious, and have a look at his Etsy shop- filled with bunnies, and Penguins, and Creatures; Sea Suckers, OddVarks, and Orbs! You're guaranteed to find a strange, new friend to love.

The Winner of the Uprinting 500 Business Card Giveaway Is...

The winner of the Uprinting 500 business card GIVEAWAY is...

April!

Uprinting Business Card GIVEAWAY!

-THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED-

I know that many small business owners and Etsy sellers, like myself, are always in need of business cards. You ship them out with orders, you give them to friends...and let's face it, ordering them can get costly. ...But hat's something one of my lucky readers won't have to worry about for awhile because Uprinting has offered to give 500 business cards to one of my readers. And even better...not only will the winner win 500 business cards, but they will receive free shipping! I have used Uprinting before and I was very pleased with the quality of their products. They offer gloss, matte, and even recycled cards.

The Prize:

500 Business Cards for One (1) Winner
Sizes: 2 x 3.5”, 2 x 3”, 2 x 2” (square card) or 1.75 x 3.5” (slim card)
Paper: 14 pt gloss cardstock, 14 pt matte cardstock or 13 pt recycled uncoated cardstock
Specifications: Full Color Both Sides; Offset Press; 3 Business Day Printing
Shipping: FREE UPS Ground Shipping
Print online

This giveaway is open to US Residents only.

To check out their business cards, templates, or to design your own go to: http://www.uprinting.com/Business-Cards.html

To Enter:
Comment on this blog telling me what you would use these business cards for. Don't forget to leave your e-mail address so I can contact you if you win!

Extra Entries:
Follow Ella Etc. on Twitter (1 entry)

Become a fan of Ella Etc. on Facebook - (1 entry)

Follow this blog - (1 entry)

Comment on another one of my blog posts, and come back to this post with a link to what you commented on - (1 entry)

Purchase an item from my Etsy shop, leave 'uprinting giveaway' in message to seller box at checkout - (2 entries)


GIVEAWAY ENDS Sunday, MARCH 28th, 2010.

The winner will be chosen via random.org. Good luck, everyone!

The finished displays! (And some new items...)

The necklace display and bracelet display are finished! Now, I am just about set in terms of displays. I just need one more ring display and then I'll be good to go!

The bracelet display that my boyfriend built for me (and I painted it...and choose the pretty green paint):

Bracelets on the display:

The necklace display:
And since I finished some of my brand new resin bangles, I thought I'd include a few pics of them, too. I am very proud of how they turned out!

The first two bangles I made:




So I am loving these! And I am very excited to see what customers and other craftspeople think of them at the fairs, festivals, and farmers markets I'm going to be doing. I have been hunting for more vending locations. So far it's the farmer's market, starting May 29th. August 14th is August West Fest. There's still potential of doing a fundraiser at the high school sometime in April/May. I was contacted regarding a festival in Montgomery, VT in early Sept. which I am highly considering. Last night I found an indie crafts fair in VT! I applied to be a vendor and I am REALLY hoping to get in. That will be May 8th, if I get a table. I didn't know there was an indie/alternative crafts fair in this state! It's called the Queen City Crafts Bazaar. I will know in about 10 days whether I'm in or not, but fingers crossed until then! Really want to be a part of this one!

Keeping busy!

Sometimes, it's just easier to update fans and followers via my Facebook page or Twitter page with a quick sentence or a picture, than to write an entire blog. To be honest, I tend not to have much to say, and I haven't been keeping up on my blog as much as I would like to.But mostly lately, it's because I have been so busy!

I've been getting ready for upcoming events, at which I am going to be selling. That means trying to build up a lot of inventory and items to sell, working on brand new items that I've never made before, getting all of my displays ready, ordering supplies...It may not sound like much, but it is keeping me fairly busy. But, I am very excited for everything that is coming up. Starting this May, I'm going to be selling at a local Farmer's Market. In August, I'm going to be selling at the August West Festival in Jay Peak, VT. Also, I visited my former high school this past week and spent a day there talking with each art class proposing a sign designing contest to them. I need a sign for my vending table to get the attention of potential buyers and let them know what I am selling. I put up an offer to the students, to design a sign for me to display at my table at all of these upcoming events, and whoever creates the sign I choose as my favorite I will make them a pendant/necklace from my shop for free (or a ring, or hairclips if they would prefer). My former art teacher got a kick out of the idea, loved that I wanted to involve and likes that I am still involved in art. Several other former teachers of mine were very impressed with my work, and the fact that I was attempting to run a small business on my own and pave such a path for myself. I brought some of my latest items with me to show the students, and I even made a few sales (to students and teachers). I will probably be posting pictures of the winning sign when the contest ends, so keep an eye out for that upcoming post.

The reason I decided to blog today was because I have been working on getting some of my jewelry displays finished today, with the help of my boyfriend. We picked up some wood and a jar of bright green paint. The two displays that we're working on today are - a necklace display (using some wood that he fashioned into a frame, and some screen), and double-tiered bracelet holder. I wanted two rows of bracelets because I think I'm going to be putting beaded bracelets on one row, and the resin bracelets that I will soon be making on the other.

They're not finished just yet, but I will try to post pictures when they are. In the meantime, here are some pictures of a few of the things I've been working on:

The beginnings of the bracelet and necklace displays.



A few of the brand new necklace designs. None of these are posted in my Etsy shop right now, but they are available upon request, if you see something you like!


One of my ring displays. ALL new rings, none of these are listed in my Etsy shop. I still need to make another display for my bigger rings that are going to be around maybe $8 (which is still VERY reasonable for a handmade resin ring, they're typically at least $10.)


The same ring display as previously pictured. Guess what this pretty, green box originally was? .....A box of chocolates! Gotta love re-purposing and recycling! I stuck some of my new hairclips (again, available upon request but not currently available in my shop) and some sets of earrings to the back of the box, as you can see. Which, conveniently frees up a lot of table space. ...I love being so crafty!


Now, all I need to do (in terms of display gathering, anyway) is get another ring display for my bigger rings that will cost a few dollars more, and I need to put some finishing touches on a ring display that I have for my children's rings! I know, I know, LOTS of ring displays. But I can't wait till I put all these displays to use really soon!

Life is a cabaret!

Personally, I love cabaret/burlesque style. There's just something about corsets, lace, feathers... And as I have been looking for a few new pretties for myself, I browsed Etsy for the most fabulous Burlesque-inspired items I could find. I came across quite a few beauties (some of which I would just love to call my own, so I simply had to add a few of them to my favorites). I made a list, which was difficult, I found SO many great things!

And The Winner Is...

The winner of the Spectrum Cosmetics giveaway is.....

Jessica!

Jessica, I will contact Erica and get your info to her right away so she can contact you and get those samples out to you!

Spectrum Cosmetics - Review & GIVEAWAY

Erica, of Spectrum Cosmetics, was nice enough not only to let me do the interview - but a review of her products! ...AND A GIVEAWAY!

I don't wear eye shadow as much as I used to, and when I do I typically gravitate towards vibrant colors. Usually, with bright eye color (or really any eye color) you get it and it's really bright and pretty in the package, but then when you put it on it's really light, you have to wet it and put it on thicker than you should have to. Then, it just ends up cakey, and lasts an hour...Ugh. No fun at all. If you're looking for pretty shadows and pigments on a budget, you can find yourself hard-pressed to find a good product.

Erica let me choose 5 colors that I would like to try (was difficult choosing, with so many pretty colors), and was very sweet through all of our convos. The 5 colors I chose were: Peacock, Poe, Lenore, Green Man, and Under The Sea.

-THE REVIEW-

Peacock


I REALLY liked this one, it just might be my favorite. The name is very fitting for the color, a very pretty, shimmery blue-green. It's not dark, it's really vibrant and beautiful. I applied it dry, and with only one coat, and got great results! I highly recommend this product. Definitely worth buying...and at $4 you can't go wrong! It would cost the same price (or more) in a drugstore for a lower quality product.

Lenore

I absolutely loved this shade of purple. It went on exactly the same color as shown in the pot above. It's a slightly shimmery purple pigment, a really nice shade of purple. After Peacock and Under The Sea, this is one is my third favorite. I thought it looked nice. If you're looking for some pretty purple pigment - look no further.

Poe

Personally, this wasn't a favorite of mine. I preferred Lenore in terms of a purple color. But, that all depends on what colors you like and what looks good on you. This is a matte purple, a very true shade.

Green Man

This one was my least favorite of the five products I tried. Again, it all depends on what you like and what colors you feel comfortable wearing. This is a matte spearmint green shade. I just didn't feel it looked that great on me, but it could definitely work on some people.

Under The Sea

Loved it. Loved this color. I couldn't decide if this one was my favorite or Peacock, but I would definitely recommend this shade to anyone. It may look similar to Green Man in these pictures, but this one is so much prettier in my opinion. It's shimmery, and not in a weird silvery way that shimmery makeup can sometimes have. I was really impressed with this color. I think it would work on just about anyone. (Side note: Of all the five shades, my boyfriend thought this one was the prettiest by far. Said it was his favorite, no question.)


THE GIVEAWAY!
Erika has offered to giveaway 3 sample pigments of the winners choice!
She has 59 fabulous colors to choose from, so you have a nice selection to choose from. (And might I add, the sample bags are fairly generous you could get at least 2-3 uses out of them.)



TO ENTER:
Leave a comment with your favorite Spectrum Cosmetics color. Leave your email address so that you can be contacted if you win!

EXTRA ENTRIES (LEAVE A SEPARATE COMMENT FOR EACH ENTRY):

- Follow this blog

- Purchase an item from Spectrum Cosmetics. Then come back here and leave a comment with your Etsy username, and that you made a purchase.

- Subscribe to the Spectrum Cosmetics YouTube channel

- Heart the Spectrum Cosmetics shop.

This contest ends February 12, 2010 at 11:59 PM EST.

The winner will be chosen at random and will be announced the following day. This giveaway is only open to U.S. residents. This prize is not redeemable for cash or a shop credit. None of these pictures were touched up. All of the opinions I have given are my own, and I was not paid to give them.