A Penny For Your Thoughts -- UPDATED

I started this blog as a means of relaying information about the natural products I make for my Teddy Started It Etsy shop, and to encourage others to seek wellness and remedies from Mother Nature’s pharmacy rather than from the local drug store. I stray from that goal periodically. But hey! It’s my blog and I can do with it what I will. Well, today’s one of those days that I’m in the mood to stray. So I’m taking a busman’s holiday.

Today I’m wearing my FlutterbyGirly hat. FlutterbyGirly is my other Etsy shop. It’s my creative outlet. The shop is primarily populated with my Penny Pendants. I love making them and I love wearing a different one almost every day. I’m working on some new inventory, sprucing up the photography of my existing inventory, and promoting the shop. The holidays are coming and I think these little pretties make great gifts. Each one comes ready to give in a tiny gift-tin. I need to sell some so I can justify making some more!



I’ve set a lofty goal of selling 100 pendants before the end of the year. (YIKES!! OK, it’s real now…I’ve gone and made my goal public. Breath girl, breath.) I’m hoping you all will help me with that goal. Hence, the give away.

Here are the specifics:

To enter all you have to do is leave a comment here with your favorite pendant.

Now for the extra credit:

* 1 extra entry - mention this give away in your blog (leave a comment w/a link please)

* 1 extra entry - tweet about this contest or an item in the shop -- with links, of course (include @teddystartedit so I can find your tweets)

* 5 extra entries - purchase something from the shop - leave me a comment telling me what you purchased. This includes custom orders as well. I'll set up a reserved listing for you and then we'll work out the details of the project privately.

Keep checking the shop. I’ve got dozens of pendants that I’ll be listing in the next few days, so the inventory will be growing and growing.

This contest is open to everyone regardless of location. I will pick the winner using a random number generator. It closes at midnight EST on September 30th.

Let the fun begin!

Bear Hugs: WireDreamsDesigns

A while back I was talking about starting a Customer Appreciation Feature…well, here’s my first installment. Meet WireDreamsDesign. She bought a bottle of my Bzzz Off! insect repellent back in July and she was the first to respond to my solicitation for participants in this feature. So, she gets to go first.

Tell us a bit about yourself.

I'm originally from Texas but now live in Florida with my husband of 10 years and my son who is 2 1/2. I more than make up for the fact that my husband has no real hobbies because I frequently take over half our dining room table to work and have two shelves of nothing but yarn. I’m slowly working on taking over the garage with my kiln and a workspace set up to do lampwork glass beads.

I read in your profile that you’ve always been a rock/mineral collector. What was your 1st exposure to wire wrapping and did you instantly connect this art form to your hobby?

I was first exposed to wire work while looking for something Celtic for a friend. While searching, I came across a site that did wire wrapped jewelry. I bought two ear cuffs and a beautiful moonstone pendant. I was intrigued after that and started looking for references and supplies on how to do it.

I like how your love of one thing led to the love of something new. Do you make pieces out of favorite rocks/minerals from your personal collection? And if so, does your heart break a little each time you sell one?

My personal collection is comprised mainly of specimen-type pieces that are too large to make jewelry out of. Even if I could make jewelry out of them they are stones I picked because I was drawn to them, I couldn't sell them. I do tend to lean toward my favorite type of stones when picking out pieces for jewelry, like labradorite. It is my absolute favorite to work with. I will admit I have had a few pendants that I was a bit sad to see go because I really loved how they turned out.


I like many of the items in your shop, but right now I’d say “Down by the Sea” is my favorite – probably because it's the end of summer and I’m an East Coast girl living in land-locked Dallas. What is your favorite item in your shop at the moment and why?

Currently [the] larimar pendant [pictured at the beginning of this post] is my favorite. Larimar is another favorite stone of mine just because of the different shades of blue it can have. The bright blue color in this stone is absolutely amazing. {Sorry folks, this one sold before I got this post up, but check this one out. It’s beautiful and available…at the moment.}

You have a pretty successful Etsy shop. What secrets of your success would you like to share?

I have no secrets. Maybe it's just luck or people looking for something different when searching on Etsy. I do no real outside advertising other than a main showcase on Etsy here and there of which I have had sales from or people that have seen something then and came back later to buy.

What’s been your best moment since you started selling your wares?

A best moment is hard there are so many. I guess for me it's when you get a repeat customer. To know someone likes your work so much they want to add another piece to their collection. I haven't had anything really catastrophic happen since I've started.

Share something about yourself that most people (at least in your public life) don’t know or some other interesting tidbit/funny story/etc.

I was totally a geek in high school. Every Friday night was spent playing Dungeon & Dragons or a card game called Magic the Gathering. I also collected comic books (and still do) and I would love to go to Comic Con in San Diego one day.

The Big Goodby Project (part 2): Photo Albums the Hard Way -or- "I Can Do That!"

OK, the kids and I made those fabulous Goodbye Bags for our friends that were moving back to Germany (The Big Goodbye Project). Now we just had to fill them full of great stuff. Dallas to Frankfurt is a long flight for anyone, but it’s especially long when your 3 years old…or 5 years old…or the mother of a 3 year old & a 5 year old. So I wanted to fill the kids’ bags with fun stuff to do on the plane. Here’s what went inside each bag:

Bandana: What could be more Texan than a bandana? OK, cowboy hats and boots – the kids already had them; an armadillo – taking live animals out of the country can be such a hassle; a gun – NOT on the TSA approved list of carry on items (party poopers).

Postcard kit: note cards, pre-addressed envelopes, colored paper, TSA-approved kid scissors (yes, you can take scissors on a plane now as long as they’re the right kind), and glue sticks. The idea was to cut the colored paper and pages out of magazines, glue them onto the note cards and mail them to us when they got to their destination. My kids will play with scissors forever. Sure, it makes a bit of a papery mess, but it’s easy to clean up. And let’s face it, if it keeps a kid occupied on a plane, who cares if there are a few paper scraps on the floor, right?!

Paintboxes: WHAT?!? Yes, paint. Before our last trip, I picked up these great Crayola Watercolors. No fuss, no muss! No spilling, no dripping, easy clean up. Everything snaps into place so there aren't a bunch of little parts to keep track of and nothing's rolling off the tray table. My kids love them and so do I. You can get some really cool effects with them. Crayola's got a video demonstration on their website. I think I got them for $4 at Target.

Photo Albums: My intention was to find a small photo book for each of the kids and then fill it with pictures of them having fun with us. However, with the advent of scrapbooking, it seems the simple little photo album has gone the way of the typewriter. I couldn’t find anything cute and small. No problem! “I can do that!!” I’ll just whip one up…


or two… or three (mom needed one in her bag too.) What a ridiculous idea that was!!

Let’s get one thing straight, I’m no scrapbooker. I’ve tried, but I just don’t have it in me. I think the whole idea is just too overwhelming for me. I’m not a multi-day project kinda girl. If I know I can’t finish something in a day, I don’t even want to start. But oh Lawdy! Those scrapbooking aisles at the craft stores are like crack! I gotta have it, I gotta have it, I gotta have it!!

Of course, I couldn’t find a pre-made book that I liked that was small enough to fit into the kid’s bags. So, I decided to make the book covers too. (“I can do that!”) Not only did I spend hours and hours creating something way to fancy-schmancy for a kid, but I picked up a new hobby…bookbinding. Like I need another hobby!!!! I thought the husband was going to kill me – especially as I was sewing the bindings in the car on the way to our goodbye dinner. (Yes, I am that kind of ridiculous!) In the end, I think the books turned out very nicely. I’m sure they’re all torn up now, but they had the personal touch I was going for. It was definitely NOT the easiest way to put together a photo album. Gee...I think I'll make one for everybody for Christmas.

The Big Goodbye Project: Something Even Cooler

Yes! I'm back! I know, I know...I've been gone for a while. What can I say? I've been busy. Vacation. Post vacation laundry. Tax holiday shopping. Back to school. Sick kitty. You know, all that "life" stuff that sometimes interferes with blogging. But the main thing that kept me away was the Big Goodbye Project.

Our good friends moved back to Germany last Friday. This makes us very sad. With a daughter Ladybug's age, a son Buddy-boy's age, interesting perspectives and conversation that revolved around more than sports and the latest movie...well, they were just perfect for us. Saying goodbye was something no one was looking forward too. So like any good handmade-junky, I threw myself into creating meaningful mementos for our friends. The brain damage involved in creating the perfect gift from scratch can really keep your mind off your troubles.

You may recall my fused-bag project from a couple of months ago -- if you don't, you can check it out here: Something Very Cool (June 28). I've been dying to try my hand at this again (fusing plastic shopping bags into a sewable "fabric"). I decided this would be the perfect way for the kids to create going away goody bags for their friends. Last time I tried the fused-bag thing, I used Sharpie markers to add color to white shopping bags. Since the idea of my kids playing with permanent markers gives me the vapors (which has to be pronounced VAY-puhs -- like a good southern woman would say it), I decided to try something else...acrylic paints.

So I got my supplies together, taped down a couple of Target bags and gathered the kiddos around the playroom table. Buddy-Boy painted surfers, sand & the boardwalk (still fresh in his mind from the previous week's trip to Santa Cruz). Ladybug? She's really all about the pink these days. Pink, pink, PINKALICIOUS!! (and if you have a girly and you haven't check out the book, you really ought to.) Me? Well, I just got all sentimental and patriotic (in a Texas kind of way.)

After the paint dried, I sandwiched 6 layers of shopping bags (the white backs of 4 target bags, the painted bag, and a clear produce bag) between two sheets of parchment paper and "fused" them together with an iron set to medium heat. It took about 10 minutes, working in 60 second intervals to get the bags completely fused together. I then ironed a layer of fusible interfacing to the back sides so the finished goody bags would be crisp, strong and have a nice interior. I added some coordinating trim and handles.

Voila! Something even cooler!! Just wish I'd remembered (or had time) to take some good pictures of the finished products before I had to give them away. Or that I could just call my friend, go over to her place, drink a cup of her fantastic coffee and take pictures of the bags. Actually, what I really wish is that I'd never had a reason to make the them in the first place. I just hate saying goodbye.

Next up... The Big Goodbye Project: Photo Albums the Hard Way

"Bear Hugs"

That's it! Bear Hugs. The name of my new semi-regular customer appreciation feature. ("Semi" because you know I'm way too lame to commit to anything regular.) I like it. It works with the Teddy-thing, and it's got the word "hug" in it. Hug. The word just makes me smile a little. It gets right to the point. It's short and sweet -- unless of course you're talking to me after a couple of margaritas -- in which case I can easily turn "hug" into a 3-syllable word. (Yep, I'm fluent in Texan after a margy or two.)


"Bear Hugs" was TZel's suggestion. She chose the Love Birds pendant from my FlutterbyGirly shop as her prize. Her daughter loves chickadees, so she's going to give it to her as a gift. A quick email exchanged with TZel revealed many interests and passions: photography, healthy cooking, home schooling, ecology, and travel among them. But high on her list is juvenile diabetes. Her daughter has diabetes and is soon to receive her own Diabetes Alert Dog. Everyone knows dogs are fun and useful, but did you have any idea dogs could help individuals living with diabetes? I sure didn't! You can learn more about these amazing dogs here. Diabetes runs on my husband's side of the family, so I'm always interested in learning more on the subject. So thanks to TZel, I have a feature name and a new insight into managing diabetes.
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I want to say thanks to everybody who responded. AlyGatr gets an honorable mention here for providing me with the "out" of not tying the feature to a specific day of the week. Now I can be my inconsistent best! (BTW, if you haven't checked out AlyGatr's blog, you really should -- it's always lots of fun.)I really appreciate all the suggestions and your willingness to do the brain damage for me. I'm seriously thinking about solving all of my bothersome little problems this way. I'll never have to think for myself again! As a matter of fact, let's start now: what should I make for dinner tomorrow night?

Etsy Oops!

OK, short post tonight. Not because I'm lame or anything -- because we've pretty much established that I can be very lame at times. But tonight, I just want to see if you're on your toes. So, tell me what's wrong with this package.

Thank You Thursdays!

OK, so it's not Thursday. Well...I suppose you might be reading this on Thursday, so maybe it's Thursday for you, but it's not for me. For me it's Blogday, which is Sunday -- or at least Sunday used to be blogday for me. I broke my streak last week and didn't get a post up. Since no one harassed me about it I'll assume it didn't ruin anyone's week. Thank goodness because that kind of pressure's just too much for me.

Anyway, back to Thursday. I've decided to add a regular Customer Appreciation feature to my blog and I'm thinking about doing it on Thursdays. I've had some really great customers since I started this Etsy thing, and it's time to share the love. So, starting next week I'll be introducing you to the great folks who've bought my stuff. Before I get started, I need a little help.

I really feel like I need a catchy name for my feature but I'm at a total loss. I don't know if it's the heat, the creative drain of keeping the kiddos happy during the summer, or what. I feel like I don't have a clever bone left in my body. So I'm going to let you all do the work for me. Great idea, eh?!? Here's the deal: YOU come up with the clever feature name for me...I'LL send you a little prize. I'll even let you pick your prize. You can have a pot of my Once Bitten after bite treatment or you can pick a penny pendant from my FlutterbyGirly etsy shop. It's a win/win!!

Now for the details. Leave a comment with your idea of a great customer appreciation feature name. Also leave your choice of prizes and a way to contact you. Easy, right?! As for the feature name, it can be anything that gets the point of appreciation across. It may or may not include the day of the week. I'm not married to Thursday either. I only selected it because it begins with TH - just like the word "Thanks". Get it? THursday...THanks.... (See what I mean about creative-drain?) I'm open to just about anything as long as I don't have to do the brain damage. My brain's damaged enough.