Sharing Hearts

I have to admit that one of the greatest joys that I get on Etsy is all the love I receive from the Etsy community! Each heart that I receive on Etsy excites me and keeps me motivated to create more and more!

So I thought to myself, what steps can I take to show gratitude to those who follow my shop, giving me their hearts? And this is what I came up with:

The 500th member of Etsy to heart Art Whims will receive a special free gift! AND the hearts from 423 to 499 will be entered into a drawing for a gift as well!

Thank you so much to all who support Art Whims!!!

Recycled Tin Mini Dress Earrings

I was browsing through Etsy the other day and found these awesome refurbished tin earrings! Definitely a unique creation by shixie! This is a wonderful shop filled with a variety of jewelry items. Who knows your gift for mom may be in this shop! Make sure to stop by and shop!

Miriam's Treat Soap

That's not edible! That is soap!

Miriam's Treat Soap offers a great variety of soaps shaped like all of our favorite treats (e.g. cupcakes and donuts)! How neat are these? You should definitely take time to visit this Etsy Shop!

1st Arts and Crafts Show in 2009

I just returned from an arts and crafts show at Patriot's Landing in Dupont, WA, and let me tell you --- the community was wonderful! AJ, the coordinator for the event, worked really hard to put together the show for us all and was ever so graceful throughout the entire event. Not only did I meet a lot of wonderful people, I also had the opportunity to promote Art Whims and have been offered some great opportunities for the future! It was truly a positive experience!

It is Etsy Day!

In 2008, as I woke up from a nap on the couch I learned all about Etsy on Good Morning America! Being the kind of person who believes everything happens for a reason, I felt that Etsy was that marketplace that I had been looking for to sell my products. I was so excited!

With the support of my husband, family and freinds, I have grown as a seller on Etsy. Yesterday I hit sale 40! How exciting is that?! But I have to admit, I also like to shop on Etsy! Below are some of my favorite recently discovered shops from Etsy.

Have a great Etsy day!

Grandma's Rigatoni Recipe

Ever since I was a small child this rigatoni dish has been my favorite meal. From my grandma's kitchen, to my mom's and now mine, this recipe has kept everyone coming back for seconds! Our personal family tradition is that only those who get a bone in their dish can have seconds; you can imagine that this is the first thing everyone looks for when they get their plate!

Ingredients:

• 2 pork steaks diced
• 1 cube oleo ( one stick butter )
• 1 can ( 6 oz ) tomato paste
• 3 cans water
• one medium onion diced fine ( or you can used minced onion from the pantry )
• rigatoni noodles

Directions:

1. Brown pork and onion very brown in butter.
2. Add paste and water.
3. Simmer covered most of the day ( at least 4 hours ) stirring occasionally
4. Cook noodles in salted water. Drain.
5. Sprinkle generously with Parmesan cheese.
6. Add sauce.
7. Eat! MMM good!
   

To celebrate the deliciousness of this dish why not consider one of these fabulous serving dishes found on ETSY?

Dovecote Design
Clear Mountain Craft

AugustEve - Keeping Art Fun!

The other day AugustEve decided to follow me on twitter. When I saw the artwork I was intrigued! I love the way that the artist works with color and images to create a story within the piece of art! A must see of Etsy!

I Finished that Scarf!

Well after a few long days, I have finished that scarf I started to make a while back: that creation that was my first crochet project in quite sometime. I have to say it came out pretty good! A little long, but what can I say? That is the way that I like my scarfs. I am now working on a hat... I hope I can do it!

But in the meantime... Here are a few of my favorite crochet and knit Etsy Shops!

kirstenlovesdinner

Bring Home the Zoo! Cake Toppers by the Fine Art Gallery of Khary G. O.

Happy Birthday to you.... Happy Birthday to you!

With my husbands birthday right around the corner, I could not help but fall in love with this wildlife cake topper by the Fine Art Gallery of Khary G. O.. Every critter is very detailed, and so adorable! The shop also offers wedding cake toppers. If you are having a celebration soon, you should definitely swing by this shop!

I love my APPLE COZY !

Recently I purchased a wonderful apple cozy from Unravel Me Designs, and I absolutely love it! I cannot wait to be sitting at my teacher's desk in a year or so, with an apple all wrapped up in its cozy looking as cute as ever!

Mini Toothey Monster by Frank & Me

How awesome are these Toothey Monsters? I think they are fantastic! Coming in an array of colors, these "lost tooth" holders are a great way to keep the tooth fairy fun! Frank & Me has designed a truly adorable collection of children's goods from Boo Boo Packs to Little Swipers. You should definitely check out this shop!

A New Identity for Art Whims!

This last week has been incredible! With the help of my loving husband, I have been working hard to recreate the identity of Art Whims. I have created a new logo, slogan, and have been very busy revamping shop. I have pulled a lot of late nights getting this going, but it has also been a great deal of fun!

With a new logo and slogan also brings new ways of advertising. I am currently having a custom window decal made by Rita of Squier. She is very customer friendly and has worked to create a layout that I love!

In addition to mobile advertisement I am working with Donna Pool to create buttons that I can hand out to customers or people that I meet. They are awesome! I have worked with Donna before to create buttons and they came out fantastic! I cannot wait to receive the new ones!

I am also working with Jennifer of My Paper Crafts to design some custom packaging labels that I can use on my dishwasher buddies, and laundry buddies. They are looking great!

I am so happy to share that Art Whims is growing into the business I always hoped it would be!