I Just Bought Myself Some Great Items From Etsy.com!

My Christmas stocking is a beautiful and precious stocking. It was made 37 years ago by my mom's Great Aunt Eva, who is no longer with us. It was for my first Christmas, and is pink and white with a "toy mobile" on it...done in felt and sequins and embroidery floss and beads, and braids. I LOVE it! But alas, it has gotten more fragile with each passing year, so I decided to retire it, so that it wouldn't completely disintegrate.

So what did I do? I purchased a gorgeous handmade stocking from BarbarasCrafts on Etsy.com. What do you think?

While I was on Etsy.com last night, I also was flipping through the cool new device on Etsy, called "Pounce". I was having WAY too much fun looking at things! I found these fun magnets that I can use on my overcrowded and outdated refrigerator. I need to spice things up a little. After all, we live in a small apartment with an even smaller and very crowded kitchen. Our cabinets are just Colonial White. We can't paint them. Our refrigerator is...you guessed it...Colonial White, or at least some color close to that...maybe it's Almond or Eggshell, or Colonial Almond Eggshell! Anyways, I wanted some new fridge magnets, and when I found these from MissChief, and at such a great price, I just HAD to get them!!!

Well, thanks for looking and God bless!

Angie

Merry Christmas to All of our Dear Friends, Family, and Customers!

I just wanted to take this time (before I forget!!!) to wish each and every one of you a blessed Christmas and a wonderful New Year! This year has definitely had its ups and downs, and the scale has proven that to be all too true!

We have been so blessed by God this year!

He allowed us to take a wonderful week long trip to Hawaii with our 14 year old son, and my hubby's brother and his wife.

We were able to attend one of my husband's best friend's wedding, where my husband actually officiated the wedding. I was a pastor's wife for a day!

We went to Scott's Flat Lake in northern California for a wonderful 5 day "vacation" with my inlaws. Is camping ever truly a vacation??? I think NOT!

We became licensed foster parents and are still waiting for our precious little one to come into our home.

We celebrated our first Etsy sale (Ambrosia Delights Shop) in April, after waiting 6 months and forgetting that we even had an Etsy shop!

We opened our second Etsy shop, Rio Oso Designs in late May, selling banners, business card design, and other digital design products, and have FAR exceeded our first shop in sales!

My husband and his dad got to go on not just one, but THREE hunting trips this year. They didn't bring anything back, but some of the other guys they always hunt with, got bucks, so we got some yummy deer meat!

Our son was promoted in his jujitsu class and should be getting his third belt any time now.

My husband and I were both able to go to our church's Men's retreat and Women's retreat (in that order of course), on God. He totally paid the way for both of us to attend our retreats!!

Our church ordained a brand new worship pastor, who we are really excited about. He and his family have such a passion for God, and I am thrilled to be able to be a part of our worship team.

My brother-in-law and his wife had a precious baby girl in August!! Yay! Finally a girl in the family!

God has really worked in our hearts and taught us so many things about Himself, and about ourselves. He has given us a stronger love for one another, even though we had to go through some rocky spots to get there. I am learning that God really wants to shape me and mold me, but I have to be willing. I have fought that process, and He has gently and lovingly carried me through, once I was willing to allow Him to work.

I just am so thankful for God's love, for the love of my husband, and the love of my son.

I am thankful for the once a month Friday Night Girls' Night Out with some of the most wonderful friends in the world. I can be myself and you still love me!!

I am thankful for the wonderful relationship I have with my inlaws and with my own family. I miss my family in New Mexico, but I thank God for the wonderful mom and dad I have here!!

I thank God for my CUSTOMERS! You have helped our family make it through some tough financial times after we dropped down to only babysitting one child, from having been watching 2-3 kiddos! Without God, and my fantastic customers, we would've had some REALLY lean months!!

Speaking of kiddos, I am grateful for the family whose little boy I watch. He turns two tomorrow, and he is SUCH a bundle of energy and of joy right now. He so fun and has this hilarious little personality. We are so grateful to have you as friends, Donna and Andrew. Thank you for entrusting us with your precious cargo!!

I guess I had better end this soon. Thank you to all of my readers. It's been a lot of fun. I am really looking forward to all that next year will bring.

GOD BLESS EACH ONE OF YOU!

If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his command I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God:

You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country. The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock--the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.

Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed.

You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.

Deuteronomy 28:1-6

I just found my new favorite website! Wrapables.com!

As usual, I was surfing through some blogs today, and I found what looked like a Flickr photo montage, but when I clicked on it, it showed items from this very cool website...Wrapables.com. I am in love! Well, not really. But there are SOOOO many things that I would LOVE to get from here. Santa, is it too late?


I know they're not handmade, but they're so very neato! I signed the "BUY HANDMADE" pledge for Christmas shopping, so I can't buy them for myself. Drats! Maybe for Valentine's! But if you're wanting to surprise me, and buy me something for Christmas or New Years, feel free! :-)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Angie

What Puddle Hoppers is Giving Away...

I have been spending SOOOOO much time on other blogs, and just loving everything that I see. I stumbled upon such a sweet blog called Sweet Cottage Dreams, and I have loved reading and drooling over her gorgeous photographs of her home all decked out for Christmas. I have also been checking out some of her favorite bloggers. I found one of her favorites called Contest Addict, where I found out about Puddle Hopper's giveaway.

So this is where it gets really fun. Puddle Hopper's author is a Christian, which is very exciting to me, as I am also a Christian, and I LOVE finding out about other Christians on the web. Anyways, Puddle Hopper's is giving away a beautiful TUTU! Now granted, I only have a handsome 14 year old prince, but I do have a beautiful little princess sister, and a brand new little princess neice. (We are still waiting for our little princess--or another prince.) This could be a lot of fun. Now I just have to figure out who to give this little tutu to when I win! :-)

Thanks for looking and God bless,

Angie

UPDATE: I WON!!! I'm so excited! I am getting the tutu for my brand new little niece for when she is older. Thank you Puddle Hopper!

Great Gifts for the Fun Kiddos in Your Life!

There's only 12 more days until Christmas,

but birthdays happen all year long,

so why not do some birthday shopping on Etsy.com?

Can you BELIEVE how many cool things there are out there for kids, that aren't commercialized and that hopefully DON'T contain lead?

Indian Headdress-The Matosapa from World of Whimm

Set of 7 Buzzlewic Coloring Books from Tricia Courtney.

Stock Car Race Car Step Stool from Tots Only.

Two Bite Cake Playtime Bake Set from Puka Shell.


"Benedict" from Little Red Pear.


Wooden Chicken Puzzle from Dsthings.


Puzzle Piece Shaped Soaps from Victoria's SudsnSoaps.



Thanks for looking and God bless!
Angie

I've GOT to get things done today!

Yes, I'm a little behind on things, what with being sick and all. So today, I will only feature one item...something new I found on Etsy.com. This is a cute, cute, cute roll-up nap pad (they call it Nap and Roll) from Zany Baby, that your little one can just carry with them, wherever they go! Isn't it just the funnest thing???!!!

Thanks for looking, and God bless!

Angie

I'm So Sick of Being Sick!

I know I said that I would post something every day until Christmas, featuring various Etsy artists and crafters. But I have been sick! I am really tired of coughing and having a stuffy nose and congestion. I have been taking quite a bit of medicine each night in order to just sleep. I still wake up coughing in the middle of the night. But I have been off for four days now, so it has helped to be able to sleep in a little...ok, a LOT!

That being said, let me get back to the task at hand...featuring some wonderful handmade items from Etsy:

Run, Daisy Run Hair Flair from Daisy Chains on Etsy.com.

Looby Lou Obi Belt in Sakur/Cherry Blossom Design from Looby Lou Crafts on Etsy.com.

Faux Very Cherry Pink Cupcake from Jenni B Originals on Etsy.com. Did you know Jenni B was featured on the Martha Stewart Show? Cool, huh?!

Eighth Note Earth and Water - Sterling Earrings from Girl Gone Mod on Etsy.com.

Thanks for looking and God bless!

Angie

Gifting Isn't Just for Christmas

Christmas is only 16 days away. Are you finished shopping? I'm not! But that's ok, because that's not what Christmas is all about, right?

Here are some more wonderful items from some very talented crafters and artists at Etsy.com.

Bubbletree-Original Handcut Art from Bitty Starr on Etsy.com.

Sleek Narrow Blue Dichroic Pendant from TN Glass Stains on Etsy.com.

Orange Fall Scarf from Bacon Pecan Pie on Etsy.com.

Theater Bag from Armstrong Industry on Etsy.com.

Thanks for looking and God bless,

Angie

Want to Know the History Behind Some Great Christmas Traditions?

If you do, then check out my other blog:

Ambrosia Delights

Thanks for looking, and God bless!
Angie

Were You in the Running?

I posted a thread in Etsy to find people who would like an item from their shop featured on my blog. Some of them made it into my Favorites. You can see them in the EtsyMini to the right of the page here. Others will be featured as I am able to get to them.

Here are some now. If you click on the picture, it will take you to that person's Etsy shop.

I know it's only four, but I got such a huge response, that I will be doing more, a little at a time.

Do You Want Your Item to be Featured?

I am looking for some GREAT handmade items to feature today. If you comment on any of the previous four posts on my blog, I will put you in the running to have an item from your Etsy shop featured.

Be sure to mention "in the running" in your comment! And comment on this post so I know you commented somewhere! :-) Hope that all makes sense!

Also, please make sure I know where to find you on Etsy!

Some Beautiful Winter and Christmas Items from Etsy

Softie Snowman Ornament from Urban Paisley.

Winter Bungalow--a Stitched Home from Stephanie Dos Reis.

Blue Poinsettia Glove Wreath from Little Bit Crafts.

Sweet and Sugary Aqua Glittered Snowflake Box from LeesieBella.

Polka Dot Christmas Stockings from Jump Up and Down.

In the Meadow We Can Build a Snowman Primitive Winter Christmas Wood Sign

from Penn Street Primitives.

Adoption Fundraising

Hello to all of my readers. Once again, I am posting something that is not a plug for Etsy. This one is much more important to me, and closer to my heart, than Etsy. Sorry! I really like Etsy, but I LOVE babies.

We have been put in the running as a family waiting to adopt a precious little baby. The baby is due to be born in February, and we have spoken to the birth mom twice now. We will be meeting with her sometime this week so that she can get to know our little family and see if we will be a great family for her precious little gift.

One of the things that comes with having children is the added financial need, and with adoption, it is no different; sometimes it is even more costly. This birth mom is going through an established adoption agency/attorney. She will not have to pay for anything while going through this process. We, however, will be responsible for roughly 1/3 of the costs involved. As some of you may know adoption costs, including lawyer fees can really stack up.

We are trying to put aside some money for our part of things, regardless of whether this particular birth mom chooses us or not. You may have noticed the advertisements on the bottom right of this blog. We are able to make a little commission when you click through to these shops and purchase something from them. We will be adding a few more as we are able. We will be taking all commissions made from these shops and putting them in our "Adoption Fund". Thank you so much for helping us out! We really appreciate your generosity!

Have a blessed day!

Angie

Challies.com December Giveaway--Modern Parables

I know, I know, it's not about Etsy this time. But my husband reads a blog called Challies.com all the time, and they have this really great giveaway right now.

Tim Challies is the author of the blog, which is a full-time job for him. He does live blogs while at Christian conferences throughout the year, all across the nation. He does book reviews on an almost daily basis. He is currently a brand new author, of his first book, The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment. He also does giveaways each month from some of his sponsors.

This month, the giveaway is for a fantastic DVD set called Modern Parables. "Modern Parables is “an original Bible study curriculum designed for people who like movies. It is the first in a planned series of film-driven studies on the parables. The films are uniquely designed to parallel the original parable and thereby drive the viewer back toward the Biblical text. The 12-lesson study (with 6 additional lessons on cinema and theology) uses short dramatic films that explain Jesus’ parables using the particular strength of the cinematic medium. In other words, just watching the films helps teach the historical, grammatical, contextual and interpretive elements in the parables.”

You can read Tim Challies' review of this DVD set here. If you enter to win this DVD set, please use our referral ID # which is 40928. This will allow us to have more chances to win.

Thank you for reading this, and allowing me to digress from the Etsy promotional content you are used to in this blog.

Have a great day and God bless!

Angie

Only 22 Days Until Christmas...Are You Done Shopping?

If you're still looking for some great gifts for Christmas, check out these gorgeous items I found on Etsy.com!

"I Wish I Might" limited edition print from Stephanie Fizer at Etsy.com.

Pink Shabby Chic Christmas Tree from RicRacSally at Etsy.com. Black Filigree Long Sleeved Tee from Stevester on Etsy.com.

Queen Dragonfly Zipper Pouch from Murwati at Etsy.com.

Christmas Gifts for Girls from Etsy!

Green Apples Outfit in Size 4T from Ambrosia Delights.

Modern Monogram Sparkling Stool from Ellie Cates.

Dressup Petal Tutu Skirt from Junebug Dressup.

Baby's First Birthday Bracelet from MiniBelle.

Is Miss Ladybug Made Out of Poppies?

Isn't this just the most darling piece of artwork? This little boy with his freckles, his slouched sock and the hole in his sweater sleeve, is just intently studying Little Miss Ladybug. I love this! This is a from a new artist at Etsy.com--HidenSeek.