Friday Feature

This week's featured seller is StudioFlowerPower.

1. Tell us about you and your shop.

Hi I’m Jackie, a single multi-tasking mom to a 9 year old angel. I make my very small living selling my greeting cards with real pressed flowers to boutiques across Canada. You can imagine between all the flower pressing I do, and design, production, sales, etc…I am not always as active on the Etsy Greetings Team as I wish to be.

I think creating art with pressed flowers is an art that has stagnated a bit over time and I like to think that I succeed in putting a breath of fresh air into this ancient craft!!

My shop presently sells my greeting cards with real pressed flowers . They are not prints; EACH card is made with real flowers. The cards are protected with a special film so that the flowers do not crumble off.

I am working on larger original pieces intended for framing (8.5” x 11”).

2. How did you get started in your craft?

I started experimenting with flower pressing about 10 years ago I started pressing the flowers with art in mind. I did a lot of research into flower pressing art and found that it lacked a bit of imagination so I thought it would be my goal to try and modernize things a bit.

3. What is your favorite material or tool?

Obviously flowers!! I love as the years go on that my pressed flower collection grows; it allows me to to try out new ideas all the time.
I also like working with papers and have recently been trying out stamping and “rubbings”.
I have recently been obsessed with old children’s books, encyclopedias etc. Sometimes I think I have too many ideas in my head!! Presently I am working on combining decoupage with the real flowers.

4. Where do you get your design inspiration from?

I truly believe inspiration is all around us, you just have to look for it sometimes.
I get inspiration from so many things; nature and art I guess are the two biggies. I just try and look at everything a little outside of the box and always with my flowers in mind…
I look at a lot of art books, from classic to contemporary. I surf the web looking at other artists be it etsy, myspace, art sites, pressed flowers artists etc…I am constantly amazed at all the talent out there!
Just open your eyes the inspiration is there!

Giveaway offered by Haley's Handmades

.... is this set of 4 Bluegrass Poodles Greeting Cards

From the Artist: I love to create poodle greeting cards that will make you smile with amusement.

To enter simply make a comment here or tweet about the giveaway. A winner will be picked on the morning of June 27th. Please make sure you leave a way to be contacted should you be the winner.

Please have a look at Haley's Handmade Etsy shop for more great card selections.

EtsyGreetings Featured Sale: Squeeze Card Co

Each week EtsyGreetings highlights a sale from one of our member shops. This week, we are excited to offer you special pricing on the delightfully unique collection of Squeeze Card Co.



The Sale:
From 8 a.m. EST Monday, June 22 through 8 p.m. EST Tuesday, June 23 enjoy 22% off all items in the shop, including the sale section. As a bonus, if you buy two or more items, you'll get free shipping! Just enter coupon code "TWOcool" in the notes at checkout and await a revised invoice.

This week's featured shop is Little b Bunny.




1. Tell us about you and your shop.

I opened my shop in January, after several months of trying to convince myself to do it. I named the shop after my daughter Brennan. I called her LB, Little b and Bunny all of the time, so "Little b Bunny" seemed appropriate. I sell a variety of paper goods, but my focus remains on greeting cards. I make a lot of blank cards that can be used for any occasion, but I also try to create a few holiday specific ones.

2.How did you get started in your craft?

I am a stay at home mom, cultural anthropologist and writer. I am working on my dissertation on gender and immigration, spending time with my daughter and obsessing over my etsy shop, of course. I would love to do this full-time, but my business isn't yet at the point where it will be possible.

3. What is your favorite material or tool?

I began paper crafting when I wanted to make some Christmas gifts in 2007. I decided to make scrapbooks for several family members, and I was immediately hooked! After Christmas, I began making cards to give to people for birthdays and they were really popular. After a period of time, I started to think about opening an etsy shop, having loved it since I found some beautiful art quilts. I built up some stock and then convinced myself that I was ready.

4. Where do you get your design inspiration from?

Although it takes a fair amount of time, I love to quill, so I guess I would say my quilling tool and quilling paper are my favorite tool and material, respectively. My quilling tends to be simple items, such as flowers and I use them to embellish the fronts of cards. I hope to expand to eventually make the kind of artwork I see on the quilling list serve, but I'm a long way off from that point.

I get inspiration from a variety of sources. When I make cards for family members, I am inspired by my relationships with them and often make a version of that card to sell in my shop. The seasons inspire me. In spring, I like to do flowers and butterflies, but, in the fall, I start thinking of trees and using autumnal colors. I guess everything around me provides inspiration at some point or another.

This week's giveaway by SugarcoatPaperie

Looking for some fine art custom invitations and personalized notes on high-quality paper, printed with archival inks? Too busy to plan your party’s theme, or waiting for a spare moment to make some stationery yourself? Here’s your chance to get beautiful invitations/notes for free!

Sugarcoat Paperie is offering SIX invitations, notes, or greetings of your choice for FREE.



To enter this contest:
Go to SugarcoatPaperie.etsy.com and find your top two favorite items (they don’t have to be cards).
Comment on this post at between June 18 and June 20, telling me the top two favorite items, and which thing (invitation, note, or greeting) in the shop you want to win.
You will be entered twice if you mention this contest on your blog! Simply link to your blog when you enter the contest!

Leave your comment here by 11:59 p.m. (PDT) Saturday, June 20. Winners will be chosen randomly & announced by me Monday morning June 22, here in the comments section of this blog post.

EtsyGreetings Featured Sale: RandomScraps

Each week EtsyGreetings highlights a sale from one of our member shops. This week, we are excited to offer you special pricing on the beautiful collection of RandomScraps.



The Sale:
From June 16th, midnight PST- June 19 midnight PST, FREE shipping on all orders over $20. Use code 'etsygreetings' at checkout and wait for a revised invoice.

Tuesday Treasury

A Little Bird Told Me...created by Ah! La carte



Flying Bird Pack by Twohanddesign



For The Birds, set of 2 blank greeting cards by CarlinCardCreations



Bird with Floral Design Artistic Greeting Note Card by kellybeesplace



Tweet Tweet Little Bird in a Branch -- Any Occasion Card -- No. 180 by adorebynat



TWEET LITTLE BIRDIE--AN ALL OCCASION HANDMADE GREETING CARD by CardMaven



Tree Top Greetings 3 Pack by mrsdstahl



Happy Day - An Altered Notebook for Happy Notes by CarasScrapNStampArt



cottage style bird card by petitepear

Beautiful Giveaway from Blue Cole Press

Blue Cole Press is a small letterpress shop, creating an assortment of letterpress goods in San Francisco.

The giveaway is an assortment of cards & other letterpress goods from Blue Cole Press. You will win a set of hand stitched cards, letterpress tags, coasters and letterpress cards (as shown in photo)


You have a few ways to enter the giveaway, (each adds another entry, for a total of 4)
• Leave a comment here on the Etsygreetings blog about what you use greeting and note cards for

• visit my blog and leave a comment on any post mentioning this giveaway

• make a purchase from my shop, mention "Etsy greeting giveaway" in the Message to Seller upon checkout

• Tweet about this giveaway and leave a comment here with your Twitter post link for another entry! (visit me at http://twitter.com/withlovedesigns)

The winner will be picked using a random number generator on the morning of June 15th. Please make sure to leave a way that you can be contacted should you be the winner.

Check the EtsyGreetings blog often for articles, contests, giveaways and much more!

EtsyGreetings Featured Sale: YUMStationery

EtsyGreetings Featured Sale

Each week EtsyGreetings highlights a sale from one of our member shops. This week, we are excited to offer you special pricing on the elegant collection of YUMStationery.



The Sale:
A "Thanks To You" Sale on all thank you cards June 10, 11, and 12: take an additional 15% off any thank you card purchase. Not to be used in conjunction with any other sale. Offer runs 8 a.m. today until midnight June 12. Please include "thanks" in the notes at checkout and await a revised invoice.

Tuesday Treasury

Think Pink created by Cards & Moore By Terri



I Love You (a lot) Card by Jemily



Summertime Flip Flops In Pink Card by Petite Pear Paperie



Thank You, You're the Best by Turnaround Design Recycled Paper Goods



Good Job Card by AJKArtistry



Spring Butterfly Notecard by Polka Dot Moon



Slightly Shabby, but oh So Chic, Couture Fabric Greeting Card by LwhelenDesigns



Baby Girl Embossed Onesie Card by CarasScrapNStampArt



Handmade Patchwork Heart Card by Winemakerssister

May Team Challenge - WINNER

Stephjacobson

CarasScrapNStampArt

Or should I say WINNERS!!

It was a close race and I'm glad to announce that for this challenge there are two winners!

Stephjacobson and CarasScrapNStampArt!

These are two beautiful cards and one winner will get the pleasure of receiveing both of these fabulous cards.

The winning comment is from

Charlotte

Congratulations to all the winners for making this challenge such a success!

Friday Feature

This week's featured seller is Lilly Pea Designs.



1. Tell us about you and your shop.

I’m Jen! I am recently married to a wonderful man, and the proud “mom” of two very loving dogs. Currently my life is in limbo as my husband is graduating with his PhD in a few weeks; which means big life changes for us such as moving to a new city, starting new jobs and finding a new home! I am the creator and owner of Lilly Pea Designs; a selection of adorable hand made cards. All of my cards are designed by me. Most of my cards are hand stamped and blank inside. Just a few I use a laser printer for sentiments. But every card is hand cut, hand scored, and hand made!

2. How did you get started in your craft?

Shortly after graduating college I found myself to have a lot of free time. My boss at the time turned me onto card making and the love for paper crafting began! Last year I made wedding invitations for a friend, and then later made my all the stationary for my wedding (save the dates, invitations, thank yous, program, etc) and realized that I could mass produce pretty quickly. With encouragement with my family and friends I decided to go for my dream of selling my creations by opening an Etsy Shop in last November.

3. What is your favorite material or tool?

Oh what a tough question, as I’m really addicted to buying supplies. I would say hands down my favorite material is paper; I buy it by the pounds (literally). I currently have way more of it then can fit in my little crafting nook.
My favorite tool I’m is something I can’t live without... my light box - although it’s not my favorite tool for creating it’s definitely my most favorite tool to show off my cards as accurately as possible on my blog and shop.


4. Where do you get your design inspiration from?

Inspiration to create comes from purchasing new supplies, browsing a catalog, flipping through a magazine, checking out a blog... But my design is a reflection of personalities. My favorite way to create is to think of someone and design a card based on their personality, which is why a lot of my cards are named after people. It’s pretty fun giving special meanings to my artwork… what’s that saying “A picture is worth a thousand words?”

Honeybeedesign starts June's Giveaways

Honeybeedesign is offering these cute cards to begin June's giveaways. There are 10 Folded cards 3 1/5" x 5" along with envelopes. See below on how to enter. Also please take a look at Honeybeedesign's shop to see more of her beautiful work.


About The Artist:
I am a full time marketing and graphic design professional for an architecture firm in Minneapolis. I design custom wedding invitation sets, personal stationary and note sets, birth announcements and invitations. Inspired by clean modern design, geometric shapes, and bold colors my collection includes products for all of life’s occasions. I use recycled paper, and earth friendly inks whenever possible.

When I’m not designing or obsessing over ideas, I keep busy taking care of Lulu, my beloved orange tabby, hanging out with friends, listening to music/going to shows, cooking, baking, and planning soirees that require invitations, cooking, baking, listening to music, and hanging out with friends!

How To Enter:
It's my birthday on June 2nd, but you get the gift - leave a comment about your favorite birthday memory and I will select the winner at random. The winner will be selected on the evening of Friday, June 5th.

Tuesday Treasury

Summertime created by digtheearth



Butterfly Wishes in Green Card by RoseBushDesigns



Personalized Notecards - Bright Colored Flip Flops, Set of 20 by JoyfulHeartDesign



Fresh Card by collectiveelements



Watermelon - 4bar folded card set- Pack of 8 by fivedot



Freshly Cut - Dahlia (5-notecard set) by katieblairdesigns


Squares and Butterflies - Handmade Greeting Card - 20 PERCENT OFF - BACK HOME SALE by matdi123

June Team Challenge Yellow

Courtsey of bluecole

With summer just around the corner, I thought that I would make this month's Team challenge a bit different.  This month I challenge you to show off your yellows, that's right create something using the color yellow.

Team Members:

All entries will be posted on the blog on June 26th and open up to the public for voting!

The guidelines for those who wish to enter are as follows

1. Please ensure that your entry is tagged in your shop with the tag "challengeyellow"

2. You must be prepared to send the winning card to the winning reader FREE OF CHARGE

3. Either reserve your creation in your shop, or ensure that you can produce another one in case you sell it before the challenge is over (which is always nice)

4. Greeting cards, tags, and/or stickers are welcome

5. One entry per person

I will select your card from your shop and upload it to our blog.

Readers:

Once the voting is open on June 26th, you are encouraged to vote and leave a comment for your favorite card. You may only vote once.

Prize:

As always the wonderful prize will be the winning card/item. I will select a random readers comment and they will be the winner.

Have fun!