Cows, cats, and champagne

No, this isn't a Sesame Street special on words that begin with the letter "C" (can you imagine how many kids would be bewildered by that last word if it was? tee hee), it's a glance into the associative leaps my mind likes to make. Just a small glance, don't worry--I'd hate to scare anyone.

As you may have noticed from some of the photos on my blog, I have two white-with-black-spots cats. Since that's such a clunky way to describe their fur, I prefer to call them "cow-colored." Zorro is even kind enough to further this association by desperately loving chewing on grass (he tries to escape just so he can sit on the lawn and chomp away) and having a little pooch that looks remarkably like a slightly furry udder. (I tried to get a picture of it for this post, but Zorro glared at me with a "don't even think about embarrassing me like that where all the world could see" and was utterly undeterred by my reminder that hardly "all the world" reads my blog. Sigh.)

Consequently, when I found out that this month's featured etsy blogger was SpottedCowSoaps, I immediately thought of my cow-colored cats. And when I found her yummy-lishious looking bottle of champagne soap it left me desperately missing my old bathtub (the condo we currently live in has only a shower. So again with my sighing).

Now, about half the time I look at my lovely cow kitties I find myself suddenly drifting into a fantasy land with bubbles and bubbly. I think the cats are starting to get worried about the dreamy expression on my face when that happens--especially when it's while I'm, say, clipping their claws or holding their open-but-not-yet-dispensed food. They seem to prefer having my complete and speedy concentration in those moments. Gee, I wonder why...

;)

Help protect handmade

I know I usually try to avoid anything that prevents me from smart-alecking myself all around the blogosphere, but I've become non-ironically concerned about the Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act, a very understandable response to the issues with lead poisoning in children's toys last year, but one that threatens to respond with too broad a brush and drive a lot of independent artisans and crafters out of business.

You can learn more abou this act, and what you can do about it, by checking out Cool Mom Picks' explanation of it. If you're in a hurry though, here's the skinny: the act would basically require extensive testing of all materials and items being sold to children, something that sounds like a good idea until you consider the fact that people who are hand-making children's clothing and toys don't have the resources to send all their items out for independent lab testing. The purpose of this law is, of course, to prevent the kinds of toxic disasters caused by irresponsible corporations cutting corners on their manufacturing processes (a goal I wholly agree with). However, it would--ironically--drive those artisans who are already being very careful about the materials they use (but who can't afford to send everything out for testing) out of business.

The most effective way of protesting this too-broad act is to write to your representative (and Cool Mom has handy links with sample letters to help you do that); if you're short on time, however, you can simply go and vote at change.org to modify the act.

Please take just a moment or two to help protect artisans and crafters from being indvertently crushed by laws that weren't written with them in mind.

The hubby gets big bonus points for this Xmas

Gift-giving is not always my hubby's strong suit, and I've become okay with that since he is so supportive and delightful in most other areas. But this year he really outdid himself, even by talented gift-giver standards. First, he got me the wacom bamboo fun tablet, so I can really push my digital art much further than I have been able to do when trying to draw with a mouse (note to self: if I ever want to create art that looks like it was drawn by children, pull out the mouse again. Otherwise just stick with my tablet).

Then (and just the tablet would have been enough, believe me!) he got me this super cool ring I've had my eye on from Catherinette's shop--isn't it just chock full of funky fun goodness?

To top it all off, the poor guy had to then spend most of Christmas day at the emergency animal hospital with our cat Allie Mae. She's okay now, and for the sake of delicacy I won't tell you all what was wrong with her just in case anyone is eating while they're reading this.

Suffice it to say he has earned a plenty big stockpile of brownie points this holiday season and thus will probably be coasting on those for months. That is, unless I keep stepping on the small parts of power tools that have been recently appearing just as I put all my weight on a bare foot...if they keep "I don't know how that got there, I swear, sorry honey"ing under my delicate little toesies for much longer then that stockpile of points might be gone in a week or two ;)


P.s.--after Ms. Mae got sick and then got treated my soulmate-in-cat-form, Zorro, also got sick and is still not fully recovered yet, so we appreciate all thoughts and purrayers anyone might care to send their way.

Happy Holiday week to everyone!

I'll be away from my blog and entrecard until after my sister leaves town on the 26th probably--I'm sure you all know how it is with house guests; you never get much anything done when you're having that much fun :)

I hope everyone has a happy, safe, and delightful holiday season.

Could frivolity be defined as "the refusal to follow directions"?

I ask this simply because I promised, in my last post, that the next post would be frivolous. Then I realized that I need to announce the giveaway winner in this post, and figured the best way to combine those two needs would be in a picture of my cats (frivolously) batting at the image of the winner on the laptop screen. Usually, of course, the cats are all too happy to attack the computer--especially, say, if I am working on some terribly important paper that is already late and I'm re-reading what I wrote and suddenly my paragraph is obscured by a big chunk 'o kitty fur as one of them slaps the screen, or sticks their head up close to the monitor for a better look, and so on.

Or perhaps I'm being unfair and they are trying to be as helpful as this kitty here?
Or perhaps, like all cats, they just love (love, love) being difficult. So that, of course, when I try to get one of them to do something cute (and frivolous) in front of the computer screen, this is as close as I get:
Anyway, as you (perhaps, if you have super-human eyesight) can see from the picture, comment #3 was selected by randomizer.org as the winner--thus congratulations, and a set of cat snow angel cards, go to QuirkyDolls.

Thanks so much to everyone who entered my giveaway--I'll have another one again next month--and it's not too late to enter my December giveaway for my newsletter subscribers--just subscribe to my newsletter (see upper left corner of my site) to find out more.

All business today: 2 quick reminders

First, don't forget to enter my current free giveaway if you haven't already, since it's ending tomorrow.

Second, I wanted to give everyone a heads-up that my cafepress shop will be closing indefinitely. It's become too expensive to maintain. I may reopen a smaller one in the future, but I'm not sure when I'll have the time, so if you wanted anything from there you'll want to snag it before Weds. morning (12/17), because that's when I'll be shutting it down.

To balance out this post being so utterly practical I promise my next one will be utterly frivolous and silly :)

Wow--did I get hit by a luck fairy?

I opened up my etsy email today to discover 3 different messages about being featured--two blogs and one treasury. The treasury is an especially pretty one I think--check it out

The blog entries are also pretty cool--an unexpected selection by LazyTcrochet and an interview from storybeader.

Ooo--and I got awards from Of Cats for my blog, too. Thank you--I'm adding them to my awards page now.

Whoever sent this lucky attention fairy my way, thanks!

P.s.--my giveaway contest is still open--just scroll down one entry to check it out and enter if you haven't already.

Cat Snow Angel postcard set giveaway (ends 12/16)

It's been a little while since I've had a giveaway here on my blog, so it's time to remedy that situation. So, without further hemming and hawing...

• What you can win: a set of 5 Cat Snow Angel postcards (these aren't holiday specific, as you can see from the comic, so they can be sent out throughout the winter months).
• How you can win them: leave a comment below with a link to your favorite item in the PurrPrints etsy shop, zazzle shop, or cafepress shop and a brief explanation of why it's your favorite OR a suggestion as to something else you'd like to see in one of my shops that isn't there (yet). You can get a second entry if you blog about this giveaway and post a link to that blog post here in a separate comment from your first one. Make sure to leave a way for me to contact you as well.
  
• When the fun stops: Tuesday, December 16th at midnight EST

I will use randomizer.org to determine the winner and post that info here on my blog once I do.

A guest post from Zorro: Sitting pretty

Since my mom has been too busy to write about us lately, I figured I'd just take over the keyboard and do a post myself. (Sheesh--it's so hard to get good help these days.)

Anyway, since I am an absolute champion at the sport of Unusual Perching, I thought I would share a few pointers with those of you who wish to expand your seating repertoire.

This first photo is a good example of taking advantage of unusual spots that open up when your humans get distracted. Mommy was putting things into the big thing that makes weird liquid-y noises sometimes, then my obnoxious younger brother went tearing through the room and distracted her, and I took the opportunity to check out this new unusual perch.

Now this one exemplifies my preferred approach to unusual perching: find the smallest surface area you can possibly fit on, preferably one that is precariously arranged, and then show off your unusual feline grace by perching perfectly atop it without knocking anything over. If possible, position yourself against a really ugly background while you're at it, so your human has to spend an hour or two going o.c.d. over removing the background and replacing it with something that doesn't hurt to look at. This way the human will keep a nice perfectly still warm lap open for a while due to sitting in front of the glow-y flat box for so long--and you can take advantage of it! This is an especially good choice during chilly winter months when it is such a bother to try to generate your own heat.

Of course, there are dangers with unusual sitting. The most risky one is the chance that your human will see you sitting there and for some reason feel the irresistible urge to scoop you up and give you kisses. Ugh!

For those who don't know about Freekibble yet...

My cats have agreed not to be the center of attention for one more post, since it's for a good cause. I just read an article at another cool blog about Freekibble and Freekibblekat, two related places that donate kibble to dogs and cats in need when you answer trivia questions. And the whole thing was started by a 12 year old--how cool is that!

Anyway, I'm off to answer some trivia--sounds like a great way to put off reading these student reports I should be reading right now ;)

Yummy holiday brownies

My cats are deeply offended that I've now gone so many posts in a row without showing off their cuteness, but I had to tell them to at least pretend they had a modicum of patience so I could use this post to share a favorite holiday recipe with you all. It combines two of my favorite things: peppermint and chocolate. Chocolate isn't really a holiday thing for me--I'll eat it any time I get the chance--but combining peppermint and chocolate makes me feel all winter-y, so I associate this recipe with the winter holidays (even though there's really no reason not to eat it all the time -- well,except for not wanting to weigh 800 lbs., but I don't really count that, since these could very possibly be worth it).

Anyway, basically all you do is mix up your favorite brownie mix, pour it into the dish you'll be baking it in, and press a peppermint patty into the center of where you imagine you'll cut each brownie. When you bake them the patty melts a little, but not totally, and it gives an ever-so-yummy gooey minty center to your finished brownies. You can find a more detailed recipe here if you like.

Enjoy!

[WW] My next knitting project (hopefully--if I can figure out how to )

Supertastic Secret Sale: 20% off til Dec 1st

(Sticky post--scroll down for new ones) It's holiday gift giving time, and we're all feeling the crunch. So here's the deal: all of my blog readers are entitled to 20% off one total order from my etsy store (as many items as you'd like; shipping rates stay the same) until December 1st. This even goes for custom orders, so if there's something you'd like that you don't see listed in my etsy shop but would like to have made that's fair game too (cat tags, for instance, or a different key chain or cell charm than the ones I've got up now). Just contact me to find out whether or not your particular idea is feasible.

So how do you get your discount? When you make your purchase there will be a section entitled "notes to seller"--simply put "blogsale08" in the notes there, as well as what your preferred method of payment is (PayPal, Rme, or check/money order) and I will send you a revised invoice with the discounted amount.

If you have any questions about the process just let me know!

Cell phone charms, cat tags, key chains, and zipper pulls

Who was it that said "if it wasn't for the last minute, nothing would ever get done"? Besides me, that is?

Anyway, after requests from a while back that I make cell phone charms, key chains and zipper pulls, I started doing some product testing. Now (at long last--whoo-hoo!) I've started to list them. Each of these shown here are hand-drawn, and can be attached to either a clip (for zipper pulls), a lanyard (for cell-phone charms) or a figure-8 style keychain. My current official listing is for the rainbow cat keychain, but you can get any of the ones shown here.

I'm still working out all the kinks on the cat tags as I wait to hear back from all my lovely product testers--the initial responses are favorable though (see Angus wearing his here, or Grr wearing her's here)--I'm simply working on figuring out the best way to attach them to cat collars so they don't dangle too low--so if you want one, feel free to ask and we can sort out the attachment that will work best for your cat's collar based on your individual needs.

Well, I always knew I was immature...

I've never been fond of acting my age--and apparently my tastes in reading match this inclination. First it was Harry Potter, then the Inheritance Cycle (Eragon, Eldest, etc.), and now Twilight--all book series aimed at teens or children, and all series I've come to love. Twilight is my most recent obsession--and I've only read the first one so far, so no spoiler messages about what happens next please!

Anyway, if you don't know what I'm talking about but want to, or if you're already a fan and want to indulge, you're invited to check out my Twilight page on squidoo (with a spoiler-free review and some other fun stuff).

Oh--and Allie Mae (who is developing quite the crush, no matter how many times I warn her he's already taken) has asked me to request everyone send good thoughts to Lux as he continues to heal from his tooth removal (Allie had one of those several years ago, so she's sympathizing big time)

Just listed: Winter cat cards

Well, I've finally gotten my tookis around to putting up the first of my holiday-themed cards in my etsy shop: The Catnip Carolers (thanks to Sharon for her suggestions on some slight edits to my original design).

Anywho, I have 2 other designs that are equally adorable (I know, my perpetual modesty just continues to awe and amaze, yes?) that will be going up in the next couple days, but I'll include a little preview of them now just for you, my super-special blog readers.

I know, I know--by this point you're probably feeling overwhelmed with the whole "awe and amaze" thing (super-modesty and a super-special preview? my goodness!), so I'll leave you to soak it all up in peace by bestowing my final gracious act of the day: shutting up. ;)

Wordless Wedsness--More of my holiday jewelry dreams

A few Holiday dreams: Jewelry, part 1

I've been spending too much time lately drooling (note: this is bad for the keyboard, so don't look at pretty things you want if, say, you just got a new ergonomic keyboard to keep your wrists happy and your hubby might be particularly upset to find evidence of droll on it) over pretty things on etsy that would be so lovely to get for the holidays. Since I know I can't get all of them, I thought I'd just pretend I was filthy rich and could get anything I wanted and thus was showing them off as items already in my home--except instead I'm not at all, and I'd never let you into my messy home because it would take hours to clean it first, so I'm showing them off on my blog.

I know, I'm demented and strange, but in a (usually) harmless way. (Unless you ask some of my students. They might disagree that it's harmless. So I suggest not asking them; it's easier that way.)

Anyway, doing one entry on my drool-fest would be waaaay too long, so I'm going to break it into sections. This first section in my little fantasy-world series is on jewelry.

One of my fave jewelry-makers right now is the awesome steampunk stuff at CatherinetteRings (except they make more than rings, and neither of them are named Catherinette. I'm hoping this means they might be as demented-and-strange as I am, and might suddenly suffer such a strong demented-and-strange episode as to feel the overwhelming need to give me lots of beautiful jewelery. Unlikely? Of course--but hey, "likely" just gets so boring, ya know?).

All these pics are of CatherinetteRings's incredible stuff. Did I mention it was incredible? And that I love it? Oh, and, um, that it's incredible?

Yeah, I guess I covered that...

Anyway (wait, I already did that once this entry. Okay, definite sign it's time to wrap this sucker up), here's to hoping my hubby gets my heavy-handed hinting and buys me one of these beautiful pieces for the holidays this year! Especially one with moonstone or amber in it--hint, hint, and again with the hinting!

By the way, if you happen to rich, generous, and/or just demented-and-strange enough to want to buy me pretty things, you can see my full list of etsy faves here.

My favorite (unusual) Thanksgiving tradition

One of the options for the EtsyBloggers blog carnival this time around was to describe your favorite Thanksgiving tradition. I must admit, I usually don't think about Thanksgiving much any more because it tends to make me a bit sad; my mom always organized these incredible turkey-day dinners for anyone and everyone who wanted to join and she passed away 4 years ago, so Thanksgiving has never been quite the same.

Still, sometimes it's good to squeeze through that initial sadness to remember something good.

I was lucky enough to grow up in a house with giant dining room (we could seat 25-30 people in there--no, I'm not rich, my parents just happened to buy a run down country "estate" for a song and fix it up before I was born). My mom was a very inclusive person--she definitely lived by "the more the merrier" cliche--and this willingness to have anyone and everyone sometimes translated to some pretty odd collections for Thanksgiving dinner.

See, my dad had been married twice before he married my mom, and had kids from both those previous marriages. My mom not only invited her step-children, but their mothers and even their mothers' other children (the ones not from my dad) and parents to join us. She'd also invite and neighbors and family friends who didn't have a big gathering of their own to go to.

It's funny how what you grow up with just seems normal until you get enough exposure to other people's families--I think I didn't realize just how unusual it was for my mom to invite her husband's ex-wives and the family of those ex-wives until I was 12 or 13. Still, even after I'd realized it was a bit "weird", it never stopped seeming anything other than perfectly suited to the spirit of the holiday itself, no matter how un-traditional a tradition it was. My mom was never terribly big on very "traditional" traditions anyway--that's her pretending to pour the pot of stuffing on my half-sister's head in the picture above.

Turquoise tales: Storybeader

I have a confession to make. It's about a secret addiction of mine, one I rarely allow myself to fill because I know it would quickly grow out of control. Promise not to tell? Okay, here it is...I'm addicted to turquoise. I don't even care that it reveals me to be the uber-caucasoid faux-southwesterner that I am, that wearing the chunky native-american or tibetan style pieces would permanently embarrass my oh-so-fashionista sister; I loooove turquoise.

Thus I was delighted to see that this month's featured EtsyBlogger is StoryBeader, an artisan who makes, among other things, lovely turquoise pieces. Even her blog has a turquoise background. She is obviously a long-lost-turquoise-lovin'-sibling. So if you, too, share in this (not-at-all-) devastating addiction, be sure to check her out--and rest easy knowing you are no longer alone.

One word Wednesday

Hurray!!!!!!!!

A quick note from Zorro

Mom is too anxious/hopeful about the election to have anything interesting to say today, so she asked me to come up with something instead. Unfortunately, she failed to remember that I am far too regal and important (and therefore occupied with regal and important things, i.e. not her blog) to waste my valuable intellectual resources on some entertaining snippet for the blogosphere. However, since she bribed me with Greenies I had to at least post this much as a simple matter of honor. Speaking of, now I'm going to go collect my reward...

When Zorro's away, Ms. Mae will play...

Since Zorro was finished with his "costume", Allie Mae decided it was her turn to have a little fun in the cardboard box (with pauses for all important scratching and cleaning, of course). I guess the brown blending with her furs did not bother her today.



This is my first ever uploaded video, so please let me know if something doesn't work! And I apologize for it being perhaps a bit longer than necessary--in case you hadn't guessed it already, I'll give away my big secret: I'm obsessed with cats. If there was a cat lovers anonymous, I'd be competing for the presidency of it. Or wait--no I wouldn't, because I'd never agree to abstain from overly adoring all things kitty in the first place.

Kitties thinking inside the box for Halloween

Zorro decided that he wanted to be a package for Halloween this year:

Allie Mae briefly tried to steal Zorro's idea, but she decided she didn't like the way the box blended with her brown furs:

So Zorro got to reclaim his costume (and, as an added bonus, give me a sulky look for letting the other cats near it in the first place--or perhaps for blinding him with the flash--or maybe both?):

Happy Halloween!

At least it's over...

No mocking self-aggrandizement today, just sheer relief that my test is over...6 hours, 13 pages, and a near hyperventilation later and now all I'm hoping for is that I passed it so I don't have to do it again...lol.

And as if to say "see Mommy, we can be good for you the night before your test", look what I saw Puma and Allie Mae doing last night (I guess I can call them cat beds again now, rather than nocat beds--yay!):

No alien abductions, just another test to cram for

Turns out my last post wasn't short and sweet because I've been abducted by aliens; rather, I'm just stressed out about my next big grad exam.

So I've decided I won't be posting much (if at all) until after Oct. 29th (when my next big exam, for which I am currently completely underprepared, occurs). I will still return all comments on my blog (promptly or eventually, depending on how procrastinatory I'm feeling when I see them) though, so no need for utter silence unless ya feel like it.

(Important note to Entrecard users: This also means my Entrecard dropping has been and will continue to be virtually nonexistent for a while as well, but I'll pick that up again too once I can. I'll be denying all new ad requests for the PurrPrints blog until then though, and you're welcome to cancel current pending ones with no hard feelings; I'd understand not wanting to pay credits for an un-updated blog)

I did find out a few days ago that I passed the first big exam, so that's good news at least. Here's to hoping my luck holds...

I have some fun stuff planned for once I'm back though, so don't abandon me forever!

The PurrPrints giveaway on Handmade Showcase ends today

...so don't forget to hop over there and leave your free entry before midnight EST if you haven't already. You can use the $15 store credit on anything in PurrPrints on etsy.

Wow, look at me being all short and sweet. Have I been abducted by aliens without realizing it?

The Best Laid Plans: (Not quite) Wordless Wednesday

Apparently the interest in the new cat beds has officially worn off... or perhaps Puma and Zorro are just more passive-aggressive about my inadvertently thwarting their plans to take over the world than I realized?

(The black lump on the left is Puma; the cow colored kitty on the right is Zorro. The two empty puffs in the middle are the cat beds. Or perhaps I should rename them the NoCat Beds. And all that fuzzy stuff in the middle is the cat fur they've been depositing everywhere but their beds.)

(Sorry the pic is so blurry--it was pretty dark in the room and I didn't want to scare them off with the flash.)

Catnip distracts my kitties from their attempts to take over the world

It finally dawned on me (with my Bittersweeets entry) that I need to find other things to write about besides the stuff I make. Granted, I'm just amazingly talented and smart and funny so I can see why it would take a while for my lovely (and oh-so-modest) self-aggrandizing charm to wear off, but still.

Anywhozzle, I'm going to start sharing more of the stuff I love from other crafters and artists on etsy. That way we can all pretend that I'm not solely writing this blog in the hopes that people will buy stuff from me and me alone as part of my cats' plan to take over the world.

(Wait, did I just type that aloud? I really need to develop a better brain-to-fingers filter. I wonder if Google could invent something like their Mail Goggles for bloggers like me who don't even need a few drinks to type foolish things? My kitties will be so ticked that I gave their plans away; I wonder if I can bribe them with more catnip...)

Blah blah blah. Boy do I take forever to get to my point! Well, here it is (finally!). ShaggyChic has some adorable stuff for pets, including these cute catnip fortune cookies. I bought a few for my cats the other week and they adore them--to the point that I am embarassed to take pictures of the ones in my house because they are already so battered and dirty. I even sent one through the wash (when my cats like toys they make them filthy fast) and the cats still like it, despite the fact that the detergent must have removed most/all of the catnip smell. (I think it's because they seem to be the perfect weight and size for carrying around and tossing in the air.)

Anyway, if you're looking for a fun treat for your kitties, these have a stamp of approval from Zorro, Allie Mae, Puma and Snacker--and my four kitties hardly ever agree on anything!

Then again, if you think my kitties would make wonderful world rulers, you can also feel free to stop by my etsy or cafepress shops and support their mission.

(For anyone wondering, no, I am not writing this review due to compensation or blackmail; that is, unless you count the remaining shreds of my non-self-centered-ness blackmailing me to write about someone other than myself )

Don't forget the SG giveaway is about to end!

Just a quick reminder to anyone who hasn't had the chance to enter the giveaway over on ScoutieGirl: it closes tonight (Sat.) so hop over there quick to enter--there are over 15 different handmade items to choose from. Not that any of them are nearly as cool as mine, of course, but it's still fun to look ;)

[WW] Another sleepy Wedsnesday for Allie Mae

Bittersweeets is so freakin cute I can barely stand it

I just discovered Bittersweeets' etsy shop the other day and I think I'm in love.

Angry fruit. Angry vegetables. Angry cupcakes and candy corn. Seriously--can it get any cuter? I want to buy this entire shop. I so need to win the lottery now...

Anyway, just had to share the adorable-angry-ness in the hopes that sharing it would somehow lessen the urge to spend all my savings. It hasn't...at least not yet. But I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

On a different note, I wanted to thank Sharon Hart for the "Brilliante" blog award--though really it should be going to Chica and Pumuckl as much as me because part of the reason Sharon is so kindly giving me the award is because of my pretty new blog design--but most of the credit for that goes to C&P. But hey, I'll take love everywhere I find it--so thanks Sharon! (Since I received this award before I'm not going to give it out again but I wanted to express my thanks--especially because I know Sharon is very selective in who she compliments, so this really is quite an honor.) Unlike the typical award post, Sharon used her commentary on this award as a chance to talk about the role of humility in art--it's a very thought-provoking entry and one well-worth reading; I recommend it.

The second October Giveaway plus a new addition.

The second week of every month ScoutieGirl hosts a giveaway with a variety of "indie goodness"; this month's giveaway includes 15 different artisans--and there's a LOT of great stuff (my 5x7 of "Sabrina and Friends" included, of course ). Signing up is easy and you don't have to pick just one of the 15--you can enter to win as many as you want. But you'll want to be speedy because the giveaway ends Sat. Oct 11th at midnight.





On a different note, the pendants shown here are the newest addition to my etsy shop; they were made in collaboration with the unbelievably talented Artistic Flair (she makes amazing fused glass sculpture and jewelry--check out her blog and her etsy shop if you're in the mood for some pretty).

$15 PurrPrints store credit giveaway and new awards

Giveaways:
Beyond my monthly contest for newsletter subscribers I'm offering two giveaways this month. One I don't have all the details for yet (but I'll let you know as soon as I do!), but the other one just went up on the beautiful blog HandmadeShowcase. You can read the brief interview she conducted with me and enter the giveaway over on her blog--have fun! It's for a $15 store credit to my etsy shop--the perfect amount for, say, picking a custom pendant (like the ones shown here) in your choice of design and colors.

Awards:
I've also been the lucky and grateful recipient of some new blog awards--three of them (lucky me!). Two came from MyPoochLife and one from ThreeFatesDesign. You can see the pretty awards on my new awards page by either clicking on "awards" in the navigation bar above or just following this link to my awards page. I never know who has already received these awards so I'm hesitant to pass them along and end up just giving them to people who already have them, but I really appreciate receiving them--thank you!

Keeping babies busy: Mama's Magic (featured blogger of the month)

Time for another featured blogger from the EtsyBloggers street team--this time it's Mama's Magic, a creative mom who makes really pretty nursing necklaces (like the one shown here--who'd guess it was designed to keep breast-feeding babies happily busy rather than just for a night on the town?). She also keeps a fun blog on crafting, etsy, and being a mom.

Oh, and if you're an avid knitter I suggest checking out her cute "knit the knot" earrings--they're adorable.

Couch corners are cozy: wordless wedsnesday