Thinking Green...

We are surrounded by beautiful nature here in Oregon so we do what we can to keep it that way and help make our planet be a greener place. One way of doing this is with reusable shopping bags...

Mommy takes these bags to the grocery store and fills them up with lots of treats! Well, okay, sometimes she puts other things besides treats in them too. Uhm, this isn't exactly what I meant about other things...

This reminds me of a very good point. It's important to make sure reusable bags are washable since you never know what might be left behind from whatever is in it...

Oh come on. A little kitty fur never hurt anyone.

Mommy thinks Angel is "so cuuuute" so she gets away with a lot around here. I can't figure why...

Because nothing's cuter than a bag full of Tortieness!

Do you have any ideas to help make our planet a greener place?

Isabella

Wish List...

Since I'm going to be selling my jewelry at a 3 day craft show starting today, my BeadedTail shop is going to be "on vacation" while I'm there so what better time to feature items that are on my Christmas wish list! These are all items that I'd love to find under the tree from Santa. Hope you enjoy them!

DELUXE Custom Whimsical Portrait with THREE Pets ... Cat, Dog, Bird, or Bunny.. Original Art matted to 11 x 14 by SusanFaye HANDMADE LAMPWORK - HEART LOVE - LAVENDER - CAT BEAD PENDANT SET by PuddyTatGlass Personalized Love Birds by lauratrevey
Black and Cream Floral Pleated Bag by atouchofstardust
Whipped Body Silk with Shea Butter, Sunflower Oil, Aloe and Silk - Euphoria by LusciousLatherLove Story - Metallic Fine Art Photography Print (8x10) Photograph by AmeliaKayPhotography Kleofas the Cat and Cats Meeting by ifONA

Inspirations...

Don't I look pretty modeling Mommy's new necklace?

Mommy has just become a member of the blogging program at Artbeads.com and the current theme is the "Colors of fall". The colors that inspired her were Chocolate Truffle so she searched the many choices of gemstones on Artbeads.com and found lovely choices of Amethyst, Crystal, Smoky Quartz, and Rose Quartz. She also looked for a wood ring for an additional punch of "chocolate"...

She made a matching bracelet with the same leaf toggle clasp that she used on the necklace...

You may wonder why I'm the spokesmodel today instead of the resident "Supermodel" Isabella or my other sisfur Angel...

Well, Isabella got in trouble because when Mommy was making the necklace and left the beads unattended for 5 tempting minutes a second, she knocked all the beads on the floor! She even tried to take off with the necklace during my photo shoot...

And Angel was only interested in giving the necklace a sniff or two...

Anyway, I'm a cute spokesmodel and I hope you enjoyed my photo shoot and of course Mommy's new creations! These pieces are not listed in her Etsy shop but if you're interested, let her know!

Hope you have a wonderful Thursday!

Sadie

Disclosure...As a reviewer of products at Artbeads.com, I received the beads and toggles above free of charge. I have been asked to review these products and give my honest opinion of the products...positive or negative. I am not being compensated by Artbeads.com for my endorsement as it pertains to the products received and reviewed.

Splendid Indeed...

We're a little late in announcing this but the EtsyBlogger for the month of October (see, told you we're late) was Margaret of Splendid Little Stars. Margaret is a very special furiend who we like a lot. She even has two very handsome Mancats named Earnest and Oliver...

Aren't they just adorable?

They are as cute as their mom is talented. She has been making and selling clothing and jewelry for over 20 years. Here's some examples of her beautiful work such as hand dyed silk scarves...

Fun hand dyed scrunchies...

Colorful hand dyed Tie dye shirts...

And cute little dyed hats for little beans...

Be sure to visit Margaret's Etsy shop to see more of her work and also visit her blog for photos of her travels, beautiful flower and sky photos and of course the occasional but oh so important posts of Earnest and Oliver!

Hope you have a great Sunday!

Angel & Isabella

Ode to Summer...

Since Labor Day is coming up here in the U.S., the current EtsyBloggers blog carnival asks how we celebrate this 'official' end of summer and what it means to us. Well, this time of year is special because our mommy's birthday is August 28th and she's going to take off work the week between her birthday and Labor Day. Our mommy will be a squizillion more than 3 but here's a demonstration of how we'll celebrate this weekend...

Labor Day also signals the end of summer vacations which means less tourists on the beach!

And it means windows will be open more often as the temperature gets cooler...

It also means Daddy will be getting ready to go back to school too so we'll have to help him keep his straight As again...

So, we are sad that summer is almost over but we are looking forward to the things that this time of year brings.

What does Labor Day mean to you?

Supermodel, well, Sort Of...

The Etsyblogger for the month of August is Patch from PatchFirstShop. Patch lives in Thailand and makes really pretty jewelry so we wanted to show you some earrings that she custom made for our mommy. Well, our resident Supermodel Isabella is taking a nap so I'm going to be the Supermodel today. I'll show you the pretty earrings with me doing my thoughtful look in the background...

Oops, I couldn't resist whapping them...

At least I didn't sniff them like Sadie did...

Okay, this Supermodel stuff is harder than it looks. No wonder Isabella is resting up. Maybe we'll just show you them without a model...

Better yet, see them here in Patch's Etsy shop and be sure to check out all her other lovely jewelry in her shop too!

Disclaimer: No pretty jewelry was harmed in the photo shoot for this post.

Friday Features

Today is Friday Features with a twist! The twist is that it's all about my shop, BeadedTail! The current Etsybloggers blog carnival gave the two choices of:

1. It's Summer time! Tell us about your upcoming or current Summer inspired designs!
2. Where, when or who did you learn your handmade craft from?

Well, I thought I'd combine both of these items today for my Friday Features. I'll begin with #2... I learned how to make beaded jewelry from my mom in the summer of 2007. She had taken a class in beading in Las Vegas and when she came for a visit she taught me and I loved it! Since then I have taught myself how to do several other things and continue to learn new techniques when I can. My mom is now working with fabric and things not as tiny as beads but she's still a creative help to me. As an accountant my mind works better with numbers than with being creative so beading is not always easy for me but it is always fun!

Now onto my current Summer inspired designs. My first item is actually inspired by our furiend Duke and today is his 3rd birthday so he'd love it if you stopped by his pawty!
Duke - Westie Dog Ceramic and Black Onyx Beaded Sterling Silver Earrings

How can I not be inspired by summer flowers?

Lily - Fuschia Flowers and Deep Purple Swarovski Crystal Antiqued Brass Earrings
Milo and Alfie's mom inspired these earrings when she asked about some green cat earrings. Angel and Isabella helped me put together several green cat earrings and this was one of the results...
Shamrock - Shiny Kitty Cat and Green Glass Beaded Sterling Silver Earrings
I just love purple and these cat focal beads so came up with this necklace recently too...
Violet - Purple Polymer Clay with Black Kitty Beaded Antiqued Bronze Necklace
I have several other ideas mulling around in my head - it just takes awhile to get them out! Anyway, hope you enjoyed my features from my shop, BeadedTail, today!

Making Tails Wag One Bead At A Time!

We're here today because the current EtsyBloggers blog carnival is for Mommy to post about her recent accomplishments. Well, our mommy doesn't like tooting her own horn so we're going to tell you some of her accomplishments on her behalf.

As many of you know, our mommy makes and sells beaded jewelry on Etsy in her BeadedTail shop. Well, last month a purchase by Delilah from The Monkeys was her 125th sale! We think this is a great accomplishment! She gets just as excited with each sale as she did with the first sale way back in March 2008. Thanks Delilah for helping her hit this milestone!

Since Mommy started making and selling jewelry on Etsy, she's contributed $1,200 from her BeadedTail sales to animal and human charities. Contributing to charity was the reason she opened her shop so we're thankful to her customers for helping her help charities!

In addition to being a member of the EtsyBloggers, she's also a member of the Etsy Angels which is another wonderful team that has fundraisers every other month in which they donate a portion of their sales to team member's chosen charity. Well, last month the charity was one that Mommy chose - Chintimini Wildlife Rehab Center. At the end of the month, the Etsy Angels had 171 sales and raised $311.10 for Chintimini! We are all very thankful for each Angel who participated!

We are glad to have this chance to toot Mommy's horn since normally the only tootin' around our house is done by Sadie!

Hope you have a great Thursday!

EtsyBlogger of the Month - Handmade by Sandi

The EtsyBlogger for the month of May is Sandi from Handmade by Sandi! Sandi makes a variety of lovely items including the following...

Pet Placemat
Valentine Coffee Cozy Pink Felted Bowl
Puppy Paws Earrrings - Fabric Covered Button Earrings Crocheted Hat with Flower
Sandi also makes her lovely crocheted hats for cancer patients as described here:

"In 2006, after starting chemo treatment for breast cancer, I crocheted myself little hats and skull caps to keep my head warm - even in bed!

With the completion of my treatment, and my energy level coming back - I decided to pay it forward, by crocheting hats for other cancer patients. What a wonderful feeling to give back for all the help I received! "

Until tomorrow, May 31st, Sandi is celebrating her birthday this month by having a Birthday Bash in her shop - everything is 50% off! To take advantage of this sale and to see her other beautiful items, check out Handmade by Sandi on Etsy. She also has a second Etsy shop with fabric and supplies called Sandi's Stash.

Enjoy your Sunday!

Picture Purrfect

The current EtsyBloggers blog carnival hosted by Sweet Sally Soaps asks us to show our all time favorite piece of art and why we find it inspiring. Well, for me this was an easy choice. Isn't this a beautiful piece of art?

Do you see the resemblance to some kitty in particular?

Here's a hint - notice the name of the gorgeous Tortie on the card...

Now do you recognize the (Super)model?

As for inspiring, well, that's self explanatory!

Many thanks to Kira the BeaWootiful's mom, Pamela Fleming, for painting such a lovely Tortie fairy and be sure to check out this card and her other lovely work in her Etsy shop, The Magic Sleigh.