Spingtime Shopping Festival on Etsy!

Shop Window Pioneer Square Seattle, WA by Shelley McElhiney*

Hi everyone! Today I wanted to let you know about the Springtime Shopping Festival going on through 4/15 on Etsy :) Shops from the Simple Trading Team are offering shopwide discounts from 20% to 40% off or even free worldwide shipping! It's a great time to get fun, handmade, vintage & one of a kind gifts for upcoming holidays, birthdays or even yourself :)

Here is the list of the participants & a little about what each one makes. Check them out & Happy Shopping:

FREE WORLDWIDE SHIPPING
1. http://www.etsy.com/shop/PaperPlaza Cards, Stickers, Supplies
2. http://www.etsy.com/shop/Ye1lowSubmarine Custom Digital Stickers
3. http://www.etsy.com/shop/ArtisTerraBoutique Clay, Multi media Jewelry
4. http://www.etsy.com/shop/ThePillowBook Jewelry & Home Decor
5. http://www.etsy.com/shop/FripperyFrocks Vintage Clothing
6. http://www.etsy.com/shop/ZeeGlassworks Glassworks
7. http://www.etsy.com/shop/uniquemaking Jewelry & Accessories
8. http://www.etsy.com/shop/ChiTreeSign Prints & Paintings
9. http://www.etsy.com/shop/BifrostShoes Hand Painted Shoes & Tees
10. http://www.etsy.com/shop/PinkParlorBijou Jewelry & Accessories
11. http://www.etsy.com/shop/dreamcatchermaker Dreamcatchers

20% TOTAL TICKET DISCOUNT
1. http://www.bigheartboutique.etsy.com Cards & Gifts
2. http://www.metzlislight.etsy.com "Inspiration to Your Mailbox"
3. http://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/BLPhotography Photography
4. http://www.EcoFabricStore.etsy.com Fabric
5. http://www.etsy.com/shop/DodoLeather Leather Wallets & Accessories
6. http://www.etsy.com/au/shop/kreativeblossom Weddings & Special Occassions
7. http://www.etsy.com/shop/moncherilingerie Vintage Lingerie
8. http://www.etsy.com/shop/Deecreated4U Weddings & Special Occassions
9. http://www.etsy.com/shop/repurposedkate Jewelery
10. http://www.etsy.com/shop/LauriesRockPaintings Rock Paintings
11. http://www.etsy.com/shop/LFBArtandJewelry Jewelry & Art
12. http://www.etsy.com/shop/Emariecreations Polymer Clay Charms
13. http://www.etsy.com/shop/PinkParlorBijou Jewelry & Accessories
14. http://www.etsy.com/shop/samsstuff *** Me :) Jewelry, Accessories & Wearable Art
15. http://www.etsy.com/shop/CaseInfinity Phone Cases

30% TOTAL TICKET DISCOUNT
1. http://www.etsy.com/shop/VintageVandu Vintage
2. http://www.dmrhas2.etsy.com Beads & Charms
3. http://www.SPMArt.etsy.com Jewelry & Photos
4. http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheSunshineVintage Vintage Clothing
5. http://www.etsy.com/shop/videnda Bottle Cap & Scrabble Jewelry
6. http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheIndianBazaar Incense, Wallets, Jewelry
7. http://www.etsy.com/shop/petiteutile Resin Jewelry
8. http://www.etsy.com/shop/byRima  Nature inspired Jewelry

40% TOTAL TICKET DISCOUNT
1. http://www.butterstitch.etsy.com Crochet Accessories & Home Decor
2. http://www.etsy.com/shop/Ye1lowSubmarine Custom Digital Stickers
3. http://www.IndianJournals.etsy.com Journals & Paper

*Photo the property of Shelley McElhiney, all rights reserved. Please contact the blog for any desired usage.

News & Other Ramblings

Hi again :) How's everyone doing? Any new news or projects to share?

So, one of the things I decided recently was to create more of a collection or cohesive design for the products in each of my shops & since I've decided to do this, I've added a sale section (to samsstuff Etsy, so far), to sell some of the things that no longer fit or are not currently part of the collection I'm working on. So far, I've added some of my headband designs to the section:

Red Hummingbird Headband. Sale Section

I still have some headbands, like my "Lucy" design & the "Punk Princess" & I still have a custom option, so I'm not retiring all the designs, just concentrating more on other lines & the ones I have ready to ship from the Sale section, will be 25% off!

Speaking of new news, I thought I'd show you a couple of new items I've been adding to the Statement Jewelry category:

Wrap Bracelet with vintage military & shell buttons, hand crocheted in soft alpaca wool & silver thread, in a great deep emerald green Now available

Sequined Crochet Cuff Bracelet: Hand crocheted in a coral/peach recycled cotton yarn, with antique green sequins & vintage glittery silver color button closure. Now Available

Beachy Cuff Bracelet: Hand crocheted in hemp string, silver plated stars, bone tyre disk beads, snap closure Available

Vintage will remain in both shops (it's just too much fun scouring the area for vintage finds, to use in my creations/to pass on to happy, new homes...), so the "True Stories & Tall Tales" will remain, just as a more cohesive collection, with new stories to take the spotlight. Hurray for sales & new tales! SAM

12 Days of Christmas

Recently, my mother sent me this great piece (author unknown) all about different Christmas traditions around the world (some with gorgeous photos) & at the very end of this piece was a description of the hidden meaning in the 12 days of Christmas song. It was an interesting bit of history:
From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly. Someone during that era wrote this carol as a catechism song for young Catholics.
It has two levels of meaning: the surface meaning plus a hidden meaning known only to members of their church. Each element in the carol has a code word for a religious reality which the children could remember.
-The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ.
-Two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments.
-Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love.
-The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John.
-The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old Testament.
-The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation.
-Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit--Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy.
-The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes.
-Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit--Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control.
-The ten lords a-leaping were the ten commandments.
-The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples.
-The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in the Apostles' Creed.
While I can't top the story, it sparked an idea to do a 12 days of Christmas promotion, so for each day until Christmas I will post a Christmas special through my shop/shops on Twitter. If you don't already follow, add me to you list so that you can see the specials. For anyone who does not have a Twitter account, I will edit this post, each day to include these specials.
Do you know of any interesting holiday historical facts?
I hope everyone has a wonderful '12 days of Christmas' or is having a great season, whatever holidays you do or do not celebrate! SAM

Day one: Vintage rhinestone 'party' pin set with case

Day 2 Tattoo Sailor Girl Sails the Seas of Peace OOAK skirt

Day 3 The King & Queen of Hearts framed embroidery set

Day 4 While the City Sleeps Messenger Bag

Day 5 Hidden Dragons bag

Day 6 Peace, Love & Balance a small easel framed embroidery samsstuff on ArtFire

Day 7 Pink Keepsake Box

Day 8 Rhinestone Hearts & Skulls Bracelet

Day 9 Peace Dots Keepsake Box

Day 10 Sunshine Keepsake Box


Day 11 Peace & Balance Choker

Day 12 Pretty Bird Bracelet

I've gotten behind on this (work, etc.) I'll catch up & leave everything up until 1/1/10. Buy a little something for yourself? New Year's? Start early for Valentine's Day?

Winter's End SALE!

Just wanted to let everyone know about my "Winter's End SALE" at Sam's Stuff. Check the shop SALE section for discounted items throughout the shop. Great gifts for Mom, friends, yourself or your home! While you're there, check out the rest of the shop, it's filled with "lost, found, vintage & new items for everyone!

Hello, Daylight Savings & other randomness

Hey everyone,
So, first a little about myself. I'm a designer & a writer. I say this, not because I do these things professionally but, because these are things that I love to do & couldn't stop myself from doing, if I wanted to (& I don't). I have my own shop http://www.samsstuff.etsy.com where I share the things that I make, in the hope that, one day, this will be my full time job!
I can also be found on flickr (all kinds of photos, not just things I've made, please take a look), twitter, mycraft, ravellry & craftstylish, as samsstuff.
One of the first things that I wanted to talk about, since we just went through our annual torture, is Daylight Savings Time. Do we really still need to go through this twice a year? We have "modern" lights & electricity. What function does this practivce now serve? Most of us do not live outside (& if we did, we'd probably rise & go to sleep with the sun, so we wouldn't need a system anyway) so why do we need to go through some torturous, antiquated ritual? It really defies logic. We work & go to school at all hours of the day & no longer function only during daylight, plus we have lights & electricity to see & function when it's nighttime. So, my thought is that we should abolish Daylight Savings in all states (some states have already done this, like Arizona). What do you think? Sorry for the rant, I go through this every year, particularly in the spring. We have to force our bodies to adjust & really, for what?
Winter is definitely still here, in the Northwest! Yesterday we had snow again & expect freezing temperatures for the rest of the week. The day before, it was rain, snow, hail & sun, randomly dispersed throughout the day! When will it end. I'm so ready for this to be over!
I have been working on several new projects for my shop & will be posting them, I'm hoping daily. Stop by! I have also been adding vintage items (some of them handmade, by my grandmother!). Multiple item shipping has been reduced!

Winter Madness sale at my shop!

25% off items throughout the store
25% off all headbands

That's it for now. Stop by the shop, let me know what you think about Daylight Savings (& winter) & take care!

SAM