ETC's $5 5th Monday SALE!!

Monday, August 31st is Etsy Texas Crafters $5 5th Monday Sale!!

I have a special section set up in Handmade Whimzy and Pink Pear Designs just for the sale. Some items in Pink Pear Designs are marked 50% off!!

Sale is Monday only - but I've already changed my prices so for me it starts NOW!!

Go Shop!!

For more ETC members who are participating in the sale, go to this etsy.com forum thread.

Field of Sunflowers

Driving through drought stricken South Texas a couple of weeks ago, we came across this beautiful field of sunflowers.

Enjoy.

Sunflowers, as far as the eye can see.

Ready, Set, VOTE!

Today starts ETC's Design Challenge voting for the month of August. The theme was Earth, Wind, Fire and Water.
We had 31 entries!! YAY!!

Please help us pick a winner. Anyone can vote - you do not have to be a member of Etsy Texas Crafters.

To vote, go to this link: http://etsytx.ning.com/page/august-design-challenge

You will see all the great entries and just click the button at the bottom of the page to vote on your favorite.

Vacation at the Beach

Last week, my family and I drove the 650 miles down to South Padre Island. Have I ever mentioned that I HATE to drive long distances in cars? Well, I do!

We've always been a Galveston beach family - mostly because it's about 8 hours closer than South Padre. It only takes about 4-5 hours to get to Galveston, we've been there many times and know it well. But I must say, South Padre was really alot different. The beaches really were alot cleaner and the water was so clear.

We loved the beach there but I don't know that we'll want to make the drive there again anytime soon.

My son got to practice his sand castle making skills. He and his dad built several and unfortunately, because of my son's penchant for wanting to build them as close to the water as possible, most of them didn't last very long.

However, on the last day, they managed to build a really great sand castle dubbed Fort Harvey. It was awesome.

I also took several pictures of an elephant sand scuplture that someone else did. I thought it was great. Very cute.

And now summer vacation is over and school starts back next week. My how the time flies.

Pass it on!

Liz of LavenderLizard recently tagged me with this:

Here are the rules:
1. Collect the book you have most handy.
2. Turn to page 161.
3. Find the 5th complete sentence.
4. Cite the sentence on your blog.
5. Pass it on to other blog friends.


Here is Liz's:
Pretty soon, other bikers will find excuses to walk past so they can take in the sight of her leaning against the table just right. (Book of the Dead by Patricia Cornwell)

Here is mine:
For a moment he thought they had not left the wedding after all: They still seemed to be surrounded by people. (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling)

I love Liz's quote. I've never read any of Patricia Cornwell's books but this quote makes me want to :)

To read Liz's blog, go here.

So now, I'm suppose to pick 3 people to tag. I pick:
Milly at http://thistlecraft.blogspot.com/
Cheri at http://roycheri.blogspot.com/
Charity at http://subearthancottage.blogspot.com/

Well ladies, give me a quote! LOL

Gift Swap Goodies!

I received my gift swap goodies on Wednesday for the Etsy Texas Crafters 3rd quarter 1-1 gift swap.

My gifts were made by Holly of EdenEssentails. She sent me 3 yummy smelling handmade soaps. I love handmade soap, so this was very exciting! Holly sells the soaps along with essential oils at her Eden Essentials etsy shop.

Thanks so much Holly! I love it!

Mac's New Collar and a Thrift Store Find

This past Monday, during our team's First Monday Sale, I purchased a new collar for our dog Mac from Suzanne at crazyforcollars.etsy.com. We got it today and it is soooo adorable. It's a turquoise bandana print - sewn very well and with a super easy clip to take it on and off.

Mac was soooo excited when I showed it to him. He smelled it for a long time and just danced around with a smile on his face. He wore it tonight during our walk but unfortunately, his cute little fluffy girlfriend who lives down the street wasn't out tonight :(

Also, this week, I had to sojourn downtown to take the sacks of glass bottles to the recycling center. It's too bad that I didn't know they were closed on Monday and Tuesday. LOL So, since my trip downtown was a bust, I decided to stop in at the thrift store that I don't usually go to because it's ALL THE WAY downtown.

And look what awesome find I made there! Brand new Martha Stewart napkins in aqua which match the cute placemats I got on clearance last year at Target. I haven't been able to find napkins I liked to match and was just planning to make my own. Now I don't have to! They were really cheap too. Only $0.75 each. I bought 12 for $9. YAY!

I have Fiesta ware in pretty much every color of the rainbow that I use with these and it will look great. The napkins are the ones on top and the striped fabric is the placemats. And yes, I know I need to iron them - I promise I don't use them all wrinkled for company. I love for my table to be full of color. No one gets matching plates. They get one color for salad and another for main course.

So, if I block all the aweful back to school shopping from my mind, it was a good week!! LOL

Buy 1 Get 1 50% off SALE!!

August's Etsy Texas Crafters 1st Monday SALE!! is August 3rd!

I am having Buy 1, Get 1 50% off at both Handmade Whimzy and Pink Pear Designs. (50% off item is item of equal or lesser value)

To view the complete list of 100 shops who are participating, click here.

I will honor my sale from NOW until midnight on Monday, August 3rd.

Now is the perfect time to shop for back to school and early Christmas shopping!