Busy, Busy, Busy

Wow have I been busy. I been making tote bags for my Etsy shop, http://veganessa.etsy.com and I've spend a LOT of time listing them too. until you list lots of items in one go, it's hard to imagine just how laborious listing can be. Glad it's done. maybe next time, I'll stagger the listings over a few days, which is probably a better idea, but I do like to see them up there as quickly as possible. Here's a photo of the tote bags on a table, just before I photographed them individually,
quite a lot of work.

Spay Day USA 2009 - Tuesday, February 24

Spay Day USA 2009 - Tuesday, February 24 humanesociety.org/spayday

More than 4 MILLION homeless pets are put down in the U.S. every year.

Tomorrow's count is up to you. Please spay or neuter your pets.humanesociety.org/spayday for further information. Too many lives are needlessly wasted.

Millions of cats and dogs are needlessly euthanized each year. They may be street animals, or the offspring of cherished family pets, even purebreds. Maybe someone's cat or dog got out just that one time or maybe the litter was intentional, but efforts to find enough good homes failed. Spay/neuter is the only permanent, 100 percent effective method of birth control for dogs and cats and a proven way to reduce the vast numbers of animals who are born only to die prematurely and without a family who loves them. Learn more about why you should spay or neuter your pet.

Etsy.com teams, EFA and EtsyVeg, have joined together in support of Spay Day.

Members from both teams are offering a 'SPAY DAY 1 DAYSPECIAL' on Tuesday, February 24, in our Etsy shops.

Check out the shops below for further details, and click on:

1. Nancy - NanjoDogz.etsy.com - 20% to Illinois Doberman Rescue

2. Jen - DragonRags.etsy.com + jlynnpro.etsy.com - Free Shipping

3. Heather - aktie9.etsy.com - 50% of all sales on Spay day to the EFAcharity ofthe month (Rainbow Connection Animal Foundation)

4. El - elephantdance.etsy.com - 100% donations of profits to paws-saipan.org

5. Michele - mvegan5.etsy.com - 25% of shop sales to the EFA Charityof the Month (Rainbow Connection Animal Foundation)

6. Marjorie - WHSKR.etsy.com - giving 50% of my sales

7. Meghann - littlestudiojewels.etsy.com - 25% of the total sales tothe Lanark Animal Welfare Society

8. Holly - silverrosedesigns.etsy.com - free shipping, and 50% of shopsales to German Shepherd Rescueof New England.

9. Eva - alilsumptinsumptin.etsy.com - 25% of proceeds divided equallyto HSUS & SCGR Rescue plus Free Shipping

10. Linda - AllAboutCats.etsy.com - Free Shipping

11. Lynn - LolaLynn.etsy.com - 10% to the EFA charity of the month(Rainbow Connection Animal Foundation), 10% to Sophia the dog for herheart surgery and Free Shipping

12. Emily - punkybunny300.etsy.com

13. Heather A. - creaturecomfort.etsy.com - Free Shipping and 10% tothe EFA Charity of the Month (Rainbow Connection Animal Foundation)

14. Kim - veganessa.etsy.com + midnightrabbits.etsy.com - Freeshipping on that day and 50%of anything sold will be donated to: friendsoftheanimals.co.uk/neuter.htm

15. Kylie - silentlotus.etsy.com - 20% off all purchases, withproceeds being split betweenthe HSUS and a local Pittsburgh animal organization

16. Cynthia - kittyanydots.etsy.com

17. Bonnie - wovendreams.etsy.com - 10% off on dog leashes, plus many items 100%donation to Dance with the Bunnies Rabbit Rescue

18. Julie - jbirkemeierphoto.etsy.com - Free Shipping

19. Lynn - aguavino.etsy.com - donate 20% off ALL sales that day toPigs Peace Sanctuary

20. Ashley - NYCrochet.etsy.com - Free Shipping

21. Christina - KnittyKrissy.etsy.com

22. Cari - LoveLuca.etsy.com - 50% to an animal charity

23. Ginger - BarkingDogBlankets.etsy.com - 100% of the proceeds onthe small blanket sale to spay day

24. Wei - WeiOpenSecret.etsy.com - Free Shipping

25. Gina - claynfiber.etsy.com - Free Shipping for orders of $40 ormore and donate 100% of the proceeds to HSUS.

26. Akire - Lacewood.etsy.com

27. Rebecca - beckynot.etsy.com - Free Shipping

28. Ann - AnnRan.etsy.com - donate 25% of any of my reproductionprints ( http://webmail.ntlworld.com/do/redirect?url=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.etsy.com%252Fshop.php%253Fuser_id%253D5532445%2526section_id%253D5316177) or earrings (http://webmail.ntlworld.com/do/redirect?url=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.etsy.com%252Fshop.php%253Fuser_id%253D5532445%2526section_id%253D5306725 ) sold on Spay Day to one of my favorite local critter charities. Some of mylistings already specify a charity - for those listings I'll donate tothat charity. For the listings that don't specify a charity, I'll pickone.

29. Maria - pocketfulofsunshine.etsy.com - 100% of all sales from my"DT" Collection and 25% of all sales from the rest of my shop will bedonated to the Florida Boxer Rescue

30. Karen - TheFaerieCupboard.etsy.com - 50% of total sales on Spayday will go to Patriot Siberian Husky Rescue

31. Nita - ApacheMoon.etsy.com - Donate 50% of proceeds on two items(http://webmail.ntlworld.com/do/redirect?url=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.etsy.com%252Fview_listing.php%253Flisting_id%253D9681161 andhttp://webmail.ntlworld.com/do/redirect?url=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.etsy.com%252Fview_listing.php%253Flisting_id%253D15483972)

32. Shari - CiaoHound.etsy.com + PetsJubilee.etsy.com - 20% Discount

33. Stephanie - LuLusPhotography.etsy.com

34. Renee - BelleSirota.etsy.com - 20% of sales will go to the EFAcharity of themonth (Rainbow Connection Animal Foundation)

35. Gena - Dogonwear.etsy.com - 100% to spay day
36. Annette - http://dragonhouseofyuen.etsy.com 20% from each baby hare will be donated to a rabbit rescue and have free shipping.

37 Pey - http://peylu.etsy.com

Australian Bushfire Appeal.

A good way to help raise funds for the tragic victims of the Australian Bush fires, is to buy something from the fabulous shop that has been set up with wonderful donations from Etsy Artists to help out.

http://OzBushfireAppeal.etsy.com

This is the introduction from their shop:

This shop has been set up in response to the Australian Bushfire Tragedy. Australian and other Etsians from around the globe have donated items for sale. All items have free International Shipping. NEW ITEMS listed almost around the clock right now, thanks to the generosity of Etsians from around the globe. Please visit us often. Sales from all items will be donated to the Australian Red Cross every week.

A quick look through their shop, and I can say that there is something for everyone, a fabulous selection of items, and a very good way to help the Appeal. Check it out!

A review of my Etsy purchases.

I am going to do reviews of my Etsy purchases, so that I can share the delights that I find.
My first review is an Etsy Shop called Karramandi
http://karramandi.etsy.com/

I came across this seller through one of my Etsy teams Etsyveg . http://etsyveg.blogspot.com/
Our team has posts on google and Yvonne from Karramandi introduced herself there, so I took a look at her shop. It is a wonderful Etsy shop, filled with vegan friendly soaps, creams and lotions among other luscious items. The seller is UK based, the same as me, so it cuts down on my carbon footprint if I buy 'local'. Yet another good reason to treat myself :)
After pondering which of the lovely sounding items I should buy, I decided on
Rose Otto and Frankincense Face and Body Cream
and Grapefruit, Ginger and Lime Shea Butter Soap.

The delivery time was quick, and the parcel arrived safe and neatly boxed.
As I opened the parcel, I could smell the wonderful scents arising from the packaging.
Firstly I opened the Rose Otto and Frankincense Face and Body Cream. It smelled divine. I had to try it immediately. The cream was light and delicate. I put a small amount on my hand and my skin devoured it with pleasure. It was easily absorbed, and left my skin feeling soft and lightly scented. I have since used it on my face, just before bedtime, and in the morning my face is very soft and feels wonderful. The consistency is just right, the aroma is perfect. I will probably use this cream on my face more than my hands, as it's such a wonderful find to have a face cream that actually doesn't leave a greasy face, yet still moisturises really well.

The Grapefruit, Ginger and Lime Shea Butter Soap, was beautifully presented. I could smell the fresh scent of lime as i opened the packaging. It was delightful. It almost seemed a shame to open the pretty packaging! The soap is delightful to use, and feels creamy on the skin, and leaves it feeling fresh. The smell is wonderful.

I also had a lovely surprise of a sample of Frankincense soap, which again, smells gorgeous, although I haven't tried it yet, I'm sure it will be just as wonderful.
I can truly recommend Karramandi as a fabulous shop for delightful creams and soaps.
http://karramandi.etsy.com/

My latest addition to my vegan shop!

So much to make, so little time! I have some wonderful ideas for a whole range of natural hessian, hemp, jute, organic cotton etc eco-friendly vegan bags and purses. I have made the first one of this type and listed it in my etsy shop:

http://midnightrabbits.etsy.com/ .

It's a wonderful, large messenger/laptop bag, which is unisex. I enjoyed workin with hessian and jute, although the fabric is quite heavy and at one stage 'broke' my sewing machine, and I had to get an engineer out to refix the timing. Gosh, that cost a bit! But now I am up and running, and have finally finished and listed the bag.

I can't wait to get working on the next one or two.....

VeganEtsy giveaway

The Vegan Etsy Team are having regular Giveaway contests. they are fun, and free to enter. the first one is up and ready to enter.

Hop over to http://veganetsy.blogspot.com/2009/02/great-vegan-etsy-giveaway_13.html

to check it out.

SPAYDAY IS COMING.............

Look out for promotions and offers, to promote Spayday USA. I'll be posting news of this event very soon. watch this space.....................
Check out:
http://www.hsus.org/pets/issues_affecting_our_pets/pet_overpopulation_and_ownership_statistics/spay_day_usa/

Revamping my Blog!

Well, what do you think? I spent quite some time playing around with my blog, trying to create a new look. I got bored with the standard old one. And so many others blogs are pretty and interesting to look at. Unfortunately my tech-know-how is not up to much. I managed to widen the width of the posts, as the blank columns each side seemed a waste. Having done that, maybe the new width is a bit less easy on the eyes? I changed colours, i guess that was the easier part. Can't work out how to get rid of the number(is it 897) box, so I'll have to leave it there. Oh, I also put a picture behind the heading. Nice colourful veggies. It's not the most inspired ever, but it's a change. Until I can find a blog template I like or work out anything else, It'll do :)
Please leave a comment on what you think of it, and any improvement you think may help. I'd love to hear your suggestions.