One of my favorite shops on Etsy

Daisy Designs Floral is a awesome shop filled with whimsical floral designs. These designs are well made and sold at an affordable price. I own a few myself. And best of all it is my good friend Terri's shop.
I asked Terri a few questions so others could get to know the artist behind the designs. She is offering a cool giveaway contest at the end of the interview.
Enjoy and good luck all.........

1. Terri how long have you been a floral arranger?
7 years

2. What kind of arrangements do you make? What are you favorite and why.

I create arrangements for any occasion. Weddings, Funerals, Proms, and New Baby just to name a few. But custom orders are always welcomed.

I love to work with fall flowers, and I think that the arrangements I create from them are my favorite. I like doing wreaths, and bridal bouquets.

3. What other kinds of crafts do you enjoy?

I recently started making handmade greeting cards. I really enjoy using this as another outlet for my creative energy!

4. Tell us a little about yourself.

I have been married for 32 years, and we have two grown daughters. But I am proudest to be called grandma by my two year old grandson, and soon he will be joined by a brother.

5. Do you have any sales running in your shop?

I have free shipping on my entire shop and all of my Christmas wreaths $30.00 and higher have been reduced by $10.00 until Monday December 1, 2008.

6. What are your shops urls?

daisydesignsfloral.etsy.com

daziemae.etsy.com

is there anything else you want readers to know? Do you want to offer
a give away contest?

I love what I do and I hope it shows through my designs.

For everyone that e-mails me with the event that sparked the idea of selling my arrangements, will be entered into drawing for the Jolly Floral Arrangement pictured below. Hint you can find the answer in my profile.

daisydesigns2006@aol.com

I'm having a Black Friday- Cyber Monday sale!!

I was thinking that I will be avoiding the Mall this Holiday season and I imagine I won't be the only one. I am busy all week with the Grandkiddos and my shops and craft shows. I just don't have the energy to deal with the crowds. So I will be doing the majority of my shopping on line. I have been seeing some great sales out there so I thought I would offer a big sale in my shops too.

SOOO here are my sales.....

Http://GingerbellsGifts.Etsy.com
FREE SHIPPING on any order
I think that's a pretty good deal if I do say so myself

Http://GingerbellsBathShop.etsy.com
Buy 3 get 1 FREE
FREE SHIPPING on any order totaling $50 or more
That's a great deal because I have a lot of gift sets at great prices so you could do a lot of your gift shopping in one place and save on shipping.

These sales start tonight 11/27 at midnight and run till midnight Monday 12/1

So have fun shopping and I hope you take advantage of my sales, I know I will be shopping cyber space looking for some great bargains.

I love Art Deco

I have been shopping around for beautiful metal mountings to add to my polymer clay jewelry and I found these beautiful copper Art Deco style pieces and I turned them into these pretty earrings. I am very pleased with the final product.

I made the focal cabochons using liquid polymer clay and gold and copper leaf. I think these earrings are very dramatic looking.

I have several other new mounting I have found that I am enjoying working with and will be blogging about them soon and posting them in my Etsy shop in time for holiday gift giving.

I like to experiment .........

One of the reasons I love polymer clay is because the possibilities of what can be done with it are endless and I love to experiment. I am always trying to find new ways to incorporate polymer clay into all of my crafts.

Here is one of my little experiments.....
If you shop Etsy you know how popular the little scrabble and glass tile pendants with the pretty paper decoupaged on them are. I think they are cute but I don't want to make the same thing as others. I like the clean look of the glass and I thought it would make a great way to showcase some of my cane work. So I thought I would experiment with one of the tiles and a retro cane I had laying around the craft room. I like the way the glass slightly magnififys the cane work and how the light shines from the sides to catch the sparkle of the pearl and metalic clays. Soooo I ordered 40 of the tiles to experiment with to showcase some really pretty pattern ideas I have. I know there are millions of these on Etsy but mine will be one of a kind and I think will do well at craft shows paired with some of my handmade beads. I am going to keep this experimental one for me but will be making several when my tiles come.

The other 2 photos are of some bracelets that I made yesterday with some polymer clay cabs I made. One is made from a retro cane and the faux opal with foil one is Polymer clay too.

My little pumpkin

Well little Lexie is now 6 weeks old.

When her Mommy left her with me yesterday I put on her little Halloween out fit on. The little Jack O Lantern blouse is a little big on her but that's OK she is growing fast and will be filling all of her outfits out in no time. It is so fun to watch them grow; her big Brother is 2 1/2 now and it just seems like yesterday he was a little one just like her.

She is starting to show her personality some she smiles a lot, loves to be cuddled, { good thing}, and responds really well to being talked and sang to. She is only 6 weeks old but has her Grandpa Jose totally in love, he never has been able to resist chubby little red heads. I knew she had him hooked when he came home from the store the other day with a little plush dolly for her that has chubby cheeks and red hair. He said he got it because it reminded him of her awwww, not bad for the worlds most MACHO Man. He also bought her some little pink onesies I was surprised they were pink and not Camo.

I have been making up little gift sets for my bath shop. I like putting them together. The other photo is of another new bangle bracelet for my gift shop. I like it it is comfortable to wear even on my chubby wrist. the center focal is one of my polymer clay cabs.

Pretty in Pink

For some reason I have been going a little Victorian with my jewelry designs, and pink has been the dominate color. Could it be my sweet new Granddaughter binging out the softer pink side of me.

The bold pink and gold bracelet is a perfect example of this style. I sculpted the center focal using my favorite medium polymer clay. This piece isn't for the shy woman it is bold and ornate. It looks heavy but it's not that's the beauty of polymer clay durable but not heavy.

The cameo necklace is a beautiful feminine piece I haven't decided weather or not to sell it or to give it to my sister in law who collects butterflies . I love the metal mounting I am glad I bought several; I will enjoy designing with them.

The other photos are of some of the soap I made this weekend. I made 8 different kinds of soap this week end. Soapmaking is such a satisfying craft. I love to make things that are pretty and functional. I will post some more photos of then in next post.

Let the soaping begin!!!

I just love getting new scents it is one of my favorite things about making soaps and candles.
In the mail today I got....
Spiced Orange..OMG this is yummy and will make some awesome soap and bath soak.
Bonsai...A beautiful unisex spa scent.
Pumpkin Brulee....need I say more.
Mandarin Basil Lime.. is another beautiful unisex spa scent that will make some excellent Olive Oil Soap.
Zanzibar Clove.. A rich and beautiful clove that will become a soap and milk bath.
Wild Rose and Oak....Beautiful, rich, woodsy and sexy. I love it.

This is just the start of my Fall and Winter scent line I have 10 more new scents on the way; Yummo.

Today I made some Ginger Milk Olive Oil soap and it smells like heaven. I am keeping some for myself. I also made some Pumpkin spice Honey soap that is very nice. I'll try to list them tomorrow.

I am one happy soaper.

Another long festival over!

The Parke County Covered Bridge Festival is a 10 day county wide craft show held every October.

This is the 4th year I have done it and I really enjoy it. It is one of my favorite shows of the year but 10 days is a long time; by day 7 I am ready for it to be done.

Sales were down this year for everyone but it still was a profitable show. I sold 98% of the necklaces I brought and about 75% of the bracelets as well. I started the show with 89 candles and brought home 8 and sold many bars of soaps and soap sets as well as pillar candles and other misalliance items.

So needless to say my shops are looking kind of sad. I have been ordering a lot of supplies so that I can make new inventory for my shops and the 2 shows I have coming up in December.

The next couple of weeks I will be making new beads for jewelry , soaps and candles. While at the show I crocheted a bunch of pretty new wash cloths ,soap bags and bath puffs to pair with some soaps for nice gift sets. I also demoed polymer clay canes so I have a bunch to use for my new beads and to list in my shop for others to use.

Before I can start all the fun creating I need to clean up this messy house. My loving spouse is a "Spoiled Latino King" who's sweet Mom never made pick up after himself and he still does not. He's a great Hubby but damn he's spoiled of course after 21 years I ought to know better then to expect anything different. ( random rant over).

I am so excited to get the new oils I ordered so I can get started on the 20 lbs. of olive oil soap I am planning on making next week ; my curing racks will be jam packed with beautiful soaps. I ordered a bunch of fall and winter scents like Orange Spice , Zanzabar Clove, and Pumpkin Pound Cake. I'll also have some Shea butter soaps ready for listing next week and maybe a couple of bars of Pumpkin Spice Honey Soaps. I ordered 18 new scents so there will be loads of new wonderful smelling goodies going into my shop over the next few weeks.

I have a bunch of cool Christmas Ornaments in my gift shop and I am offering a 25% discount to my blog buddies. If you order them and put "blog buddy" in the notes to seller I will be happy refund the 25% to your pay pal account.

Well it's time to go mop the floors ............ OH JOY!

Branching out

I have been thinking for some time now about starting an online craft supply shop and I am getting closer to that goal by starting to write a business plan.
There are so many options to consider................
1.] Do I want to hire someone to maintain a website for me or do I want to open it on Etsy?
[pro] Having my own website would be nice because I have complete control.
[con] I would have to start from ground zero with no traffic.
[pro] Etsy has a established crafting traffic. Fees are reasonable and website format is already there.
[con] Lots of competition.

2.] What kinds of supplies do I want to carry...... Specialize in one medium or carry a variety of mediums?

3.] If I had my own website would I offer tutorials for any of mediums carried?

4.] Financing....Small Business loan/grants, low interest loan, 0 interest credit card.

5.] storage of merchandise is no problem I have a huge room lined with shelves ready to go.

These are just a few of the ideas rolling around in my head. I have a huge folder filled with wholesalers and contacts and other specifics.

Dreams are great they keep me motivated..................

Welcome to the world!!

I would like to introduce my new Granddaughter Alexis Cailyn McAmis she is one week old today. We are so happy to say she is healthy and very alert and seems to be good natured. She has such a serous little face.
Her big brother was not to excited about her but he is starting to warm up to her a little bit. He is only 2 and we have all made him the center of our worlds so it must be hard for him to share us with her.
My daughter in Law has had such easy labor and deliveries, I am so happy for her. She is a strong woman and has worked up until the day of delivery with both kids; wow. She is a very loving Mother. My Son will be crazy this first time she gets a call from a boy. He is a very protective Daddy.

Crazy for crystals

I really like the sparkle of things made with crystal beads.

The watch is made with peacock and silver crystals they are very lively in the sunlight.

The black and white bracelet is made with jet and aurora clear crystals. This is a very bold elegant bracelet.

The last bracelet is a pairing of round amethyst gemstone beads and green/silver crystals . I think the purple and light greed beads goes well together.


I made a couple of pairs of crystal earrings yesterday. It was a sparkling day on my worktable.


I have been making a lot of new things because I am getting prepared for my first show of the season.

I will be at
The Rosedale Indiana Civic Center
October 10-20 2008
For the 51st annual
Parke County Covered Bridge Festival

So if you plan on being in Central Indiana come and see me......

This is a great 10 day festival that covers the whole county and is a great time with lots to see.

Saturday Night Sale

Every Saturday night on Etsy a group of us have a Saturday Night Sale. Its a fun way to shop.
Here is my sale...

Http://GingerbellsBathShop.Etsy.com
Buy 3 bars get 1 FREE
It's a great way to get stocked up and combine shipping......

Http://GingerbellsGifts.Etsy.com
15% off any order over $20.00
I have a lot of new things in my shop that would be great for gifts.

It's a good time to start getting your Christmas shopping started, there are so many talented artists on Etsy waiting to be discovered.

Gift sets

With the fall craft show season starting I have been adding a lot of new things to my inventory and one of the new things I have added are gift sets.
I have been making candle sets and some soap sets.
I enjoy crocheting but can't do big projects anymore because it makes my hand hurt so making these wash cloths and soap savor bags were a way to enjoying crocheting on a smaller scale.
I like the 100%cotton your for making wash cloths because the more they are washed the softer they get and they last a good ling time. I think these little sets will make good gifts and stocking stuffers they are inexpensive little luxuries.
The tan set is Gingermilk shea butter soap...I love this scent it is a warm rich scent
The green set is Bamboo Zen Tea Shea Butter scent.... Nice spa type scent
The pink set is Sweep Pea Shea butter Soap with a soap savor bag.....This is a BBW type scent.
I have also been making more bracelets. The beads I used in this one are so awesome in real life. I was surprised how much I love these beads together because they are not my usual color pallet. It tells me I need to work out side of my normal colors more often. I like this one so much I am making one for my personal collection.
I would be interested if people are interested in the gift sets.

Bead weaving with crystals

I love sparkling crystals they are so pretty . I like using them in bracelets because as you move your wrist they catch the light in the facets.

I made these 3 bracelets yesterday with some beads I picked up at a bead show. I like them all but my favorite one is the blue green one the beads are so pretty with hints of pink and violet in the blue ones. The Blue and silver one is very pretty to and the photos don't do the beads justice. they look black but really they are a peacock iridescent iris blue.

I have big wrists so I make most of my bracelets to fit other plus size women, I know how hard it is to find pretty bracelets when you have big wrists. I am going to post these later today in my Etsy and Dawanda shops.

Candles are fun

I have been enjoying making new candles and holders.
The rose one has a English Rose candle in it.
The tropical one has a White Tea and Ginger candle in it. Check out the cute little frog made by my friend Moe.
The purple candle is Victorian Vanilla scented.
The blue set is Fresh Linen scent.
I love being able to combine polymer clay with my other crafts.

I have 2 SALES in my shops
In the soap shop I am running a Buy 3 bars and get the 4th free. It's a good way to stock up.

In my gift shop I am running a BOGO
Buy 2 pieces from the Holiday section and get a third one free..
this sale runs through the 10th.

A fun family day!

My Grandson Brenden is in love with trains. He has so many Thomas the Train things and they are some of his favorite things to play with. So we surprised his with a train trip.

My Daughter in law is ready to have our new Granddaughter any day so this was our last chance to give him a day that was all about him before his baby sister gets here.

We found a great railroad museum in French Lick Indiana which is about a 2 1/2 hour drive from where we live. They have a bunch of old trains and they have a 20 mile trip on one of the old trains. Brenden was so excited to see all the real trains and was really happy when we told him we were going to ride it. He was having such a good time enjoying the ride he didn't even notice it was 2 hours long. He is only 2 years old and I can't believe how good he was. He was content to set in a seat with one of us and look out the window. We had a great day together.

Victorian Rose Candle Holder

For some reason I have been enjoying Victorian things lately, I seem to like romantic things more as the days get shorter and cooler.

I made this little romantic Victorian Rose Candle Holder last night. I tried to make the roses look like they were just starting to dry and change their colors. I haven't decided yet if I am going to pour a candle in it or not before I list it. If I do it will be a great English rose scent I have. Maybe I will list it as is and offer to pour candle scent of customers choice ..

I like the size and shape of the glass it is only 3 1/2 inches high perfect for a votive candle.

The roses and leaves are made with polymer clay, I don't use paints on any of my polymer clay designs.

Insperation and and a blog feature

Where can you find inspiration, great polymer clay art ,adorable animal photos and a blog feature on my shop all in one place...That would be Artsy Clay's blog http://artsyclay.blogspot.com/ .

Her blog is well written and has a lot to offer a reader her photos are a lot of fun. She is also a wonderful polymer clay artist she makes the cutest sculpted cat faces as well as other lovely pieces that can be seen on her blog..

I am always touched when someone likes what I do because I get so much joy doing it and for someone to put that much effort into telling others about it is very touching to me and I really appreciate it.

She has reviewed several other shops and I found some new artists things to drool over so if you want to see some cool things check out her blog.

Cute little frogs

I have a friend named Moe who lives in Hawaii she is so good at making tiny little things. Awhile back I asked her if she could make me some tiny frogs for a custom order. Well the customer changed her mind and decided she wanted lady bugs instead of frogs. So I got to keep the delicate little cuties Moe made for me.
I can make things but not anything as small as these frogs they are less then 1/2 inch and have tons of detail. She sent me several in different poses so I wanted to make something cute with them; they are cool little buggers.
So I made a little 3 1/2 x 5 frame on a 6x6 1/2 inch piece curved beveled glass. They are little tiny tropical Hawaiian frogs so I wanted to give them some tropical flowers to live on. All of the embellishments are made with polymer clay there isn't any paint on this project.
I hope Moe likes what I have done with her little froggies. I saved my 2 favorites for another project.

Blog Feature

Today I was featured in a lovely bath product review blog http://thebathfairy.blogspot.com/ .
This is a well written and informative blog if you love bath and body. Check out her review if you have time and leave her a little comment to let her know what you think; I am sure she will appreciate it, I know I will.

Ho Ho Ho More Christmas Ornaments!

So While the Grandson was napping this week I made these cool ornaments. He sleeps for about 2 hours so I was able to gets some work done.

I made the red and green one with Fimo Soft Effects clay. I like using it when making holiday items because the subtle glitter effect is very pretty with several coats of finish.

The others are made with Premo Pearl and Fimo Effects. I used my most favorite texture sheet to make these ornaments. I love snowflakes and I will be bummed when I finally wear it out.

I accented the snowflakes in the pearl ornaments with Swarovski Crystals. Each ornament has at least 21 crystals adorning it. I love the curve on each of the 6 panels on them.

My favorite is the blue and pearl one. I love blue and white pearl for the holidays it reminds me of winter.

I am going to post these over the next week or so in my Etsy shop. I am also going to be opening a second DaWanda shop and I will be adding these to it.

I am planning a busy week end. Jose went camping with our Son, our nephew and my Brother in Law. It will be a real testosterone weekend in the woods. So I am going to take advantage of the time by myself to get some creating done and I make take a break and do a little housework [probably not].

Making Christmas ornaments when it's 90 degrees outside..

It can be hard to get in the mood for making Holiday items when it hot and humid outside; unless you live in Australia or any other country where it's summer during the holidays. So I have been cranking up the A.C. and watching Christmas movies while I work it's been fun.

These photos are some of the pieces I made Friday. They are boxes that are great for giving a special gift in and also make a great decoration. I made some last year that sold like crazy so I thought I would make some more this year; each one is different. I used glitter clay for the embellishment but unfortunately it doesn't photograph well.

Yesterday I worked on a new ornament design I am really happy with I am waiting for the finish to dry so I can take some photos of it. I am sure I will be making more today and I will post them when I am done.

I really enjoy making Christmas themed things. I buy ornaments all year around. When we go on vacations we always try to find a new ornament to remind us of our trip. Other then the ornaments we buy on vacation all of the others on my tree are hand made.

Well it's time to pop the White Christmas DVD in and get back to making some more holiday bling.