Welcome Sweet Buddha - Journals, Supplies, and A Blog YOU Must Read

The Hand of Life Set of 5 Cards , $12

Welcome to Sweet Buddha's Etsy shop.  Diana is a mixed media artist who creates out of her studio in Brooklyn, New York. More often than not, she's referred to as, "The Craftaholic".

Summer Vacation Mini Scrapbook, $25

She admits her speciality is upcycled cardboard art journals but her love for art and inspiration to share with others (check out her post on Fantasy Fiber Journal Cover) expands beyond that.  She loves knitting and crocheting (a couture shop on Etsy for that too), making shrine boxes, designing, blogging, and teacher workshops in and around New York City.

Gorgeous tags she made with bottle caps appeared on her blog, "Confessions of a Craftaholic".

In her Etsy shop, you may find handmade Lino Blocks (stampers), thank you cards, gift tags, and some of her handmade art. These are under the category she calls  'stuff to make stuff.'  These items should be nabbed up immediately, as they are cute, chic, and priced right.  Probably why they don't stay around too long.

Paper Embellishments (Flowers) normally available in sets of three!

Custom Lino Blocks are available, if out of stock convo her and she'll set up a listing!

 
She told Art Glitter Blog , "I describe my style as 'Vintage City Grunge', and take my creative inspiration from the artist Jean Michel Basquiat, The Buddha, Nature, and from my collections of vintage paraphernalia including records, perfume bottles and vintage cookbooks."

Hand Carved Tibetan Buddha and Lotus Stamp Set $18

I'm very much in awe of Sweet Buddha's shop, and the fact she does great with social networking.   She has an awesome blog you should read, by clicking HERE, or on the butterfly below.  Make sure to check out all her great links in our member directory for more information and her photo galleries. Lastly, welcome her to our team!

Tee Tugs : Upcycled Pet Toys

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I'm pleased to welcome a new member to our team, the very creative Kaylin Carol who makes "Tee Tugs."  What are they you ask?  Adorable pet toys made of upcycled t-shirts!  That's right, full of special knots, these tugs will keep your loved ones busy!

Cats, don't fret, check out these tugs for your pretty kitty!

A real bargain, 8 kitty tugs for only $6, available here.

Dogs and precious pups, you'll never give up trying to tug and tug on these toys!

Dogs tugs range in price around $12.50, a real bargain, and come in lots of pretty colors!  Check 'em out here.

It's all in the knot, Kaylin has special gloves that allow her to tie those knots super tight, to allow your pet long hours of playtime.  Not only that, Kaylin's love for recycling and upcycling goes a step further. She ships her items the very special "CAREMAIL"  way, where she uses an ECO FRIENDLY packaging made from 95% recycled, 55% post-consumer materials. 

All design of products go through "pet approval" and quality checking for durability.

She was featured in People Magazine's online Pets section, make sure to read her article here.

Kaylin is a student living in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  She is an artist and graphic designer, who loves pets and the environment.  Read more about her two very special cats, and more about her in her Etsy profile located here. 

Our first Craft show by THE WEEPING WILLOW'S

We did our first craft fair last Sunday and it was fantastic. It was held in a little seaside town near us called Lancing. The fair was actually held in the theatre on the actual pier with stunning views out to sea and it was a beautiful sunny day.

Me and my mum got together on the Saturday to finish off a few things that's we thought would only take an hour or so..............well, it took a lot longer! So the first lesson we learnt is to prepare a little better and not leave the packaging until the last minute.

On the morning of the craft fair everything was running smoothly until I dropped a huge box of tiny seed beads on the pavement outside the venue.....we both saw the funny side, hunched over on all fours at 8am with everyone watching us whilst we picked up tiny beads! Lesson number 2....put lids on EVERYTHING!

We had not set up a stall before but had lots of fab ideas and the stall next to us did not show up so their table was added to ours at no added cost which was fab. Lesson number 3, always bring extra material in case that happens again as only our first table had our lovely turquoise material on it.

We sold things from 3 of our shops.

The Weeping Willow's
House of Willow
Willow's Wool
anyway, here are some photos of our set up:

Things like these offered in our Etsy shop located here.

Overall we had a great day and it went well. We made quite a few sales but more importantly got out there, meeting people and getting a really good response. When you work so hard on your Etsy shops you don't get the experience of face to face sales and they really are amazing.

We feel confident now and have already made a booking for a second craft show in the same venue next week.......

We had such a great response to our 'use again' and 'recycle' products....it was really nice to see.

top tip: Put everything into one of those soft suitcases on wheels because you can then just tip it up slightly and wheel all of your things in and out really easily instead of carrying box after box!

Wrapcycle Is In The Spotlight

Summer Spotlight

AUGUST-SUMMER SPECIAL 2010 SPOTLIGHT 

Award Winner:  WrapCycle

Winner of the Team Vote!

Eco Padded iPad Wraps in 3 Different Colors, $42

Thanks to a huge team vote, I'm proud to spotlight WRAPCYCLE and Janet Michal of Atlanta, Georgia as this summer's Etsy Recycler's Guild award winner. Janet walked away from a corporate job in July of 2009 to concentrate full time on her business.  Let's learn more.

Janet says, "All things environmental and ecological are my passion  I drive very little and when I do it's in my Prius; I compost and recycle like mad; and I garden organically and sustainably - so this shop is a natural evolutionary step."

Eco Passport Cover Globe Trotter $14

Her creations combine her eco-consciousness with her ability to offer attractive designs at affordable prices. Earth-friendly cases for laptops, accessories such as passport covers and business card holders are just a few things you'll find.  Combined with custom detailing and embroidery, her fashions are both practical and useful.

Custom Embroidery 16-50 Characters, $5

Success and determination have made Janet's fashions a household name, and she works on her business in many ways, not just in her Etsy shop. She is a weekly vendor at the East Atlanta Village farmers market; has her own website, http://www.wrapcycle.com/; and most important, is seeking to expand her wholesale business. Janet goes the extra mile for her wholesale customers - primarily college and university bookstores - by offering a seasonal catalog in PDF format and special pricing. 

Catalog in PDF format is a great addtion to the Wrapcycle website.

Janet says, "I partner with local recycling centers and thrift stores for materials.  I love cruising yard sales for interesting fabrics. There's not much I can't use! I am especially excited about the partnership I formed recently with a local fabric manufacturer to take on their samples and remnants. They informed me that they would have to throw them away if they couldn't find someone to give them to, so this is a real win-win situation."

The "Wrapcycle Workroom"

I must admit, I'm jealous Janet was able to leave her corporate job behind.  I ask if she has any regrets?  She explains, "I've never been happier and I've never looked back. One of the things I like best is getting ideas for new products from my customers. I started with LapTopWraps (which are laptop bags and sleeves), but my customers had visions of other products that could be made from recycled fabrics, and I was and am happy to try to realize their visions as well my own."  

 

 

A customer suggestion led to these Eco Business Card Holders, sets for $75  

Eco Padded LapTopWrap Sleeve with Fruit $28, is what Wrapcycle is known for!

Janet continues to market and promote her product on many greenie sites offers sales and promotions, in addition to using social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Her drive, determination and keen eye for fashion and quality craftsmanship are to be commended   Please visit her shop on Etsy, or contact her for special orders at 404-219-1980.

The Weeping Willows

Recycled * Upcycled * Eco Friendly * Natural

Please join us in welcoming Weeping Willows to our team!
All the way from Brighton, Britain, UK!
From these GORGEOUS little pillow boxes

To these FABULOUS jewelry pieces,

The Weeping Willows provides whimsical upcycled jewelry and pretty little boxes to put them in.

Natural, Recycled, Upcycled, Eco-friendly, Ethical jewellery made from handcrafted rolled paper beads, semi-precious chips & stones, fresh water & faux pearls. All finished of with silver & gold plated wire and jute string.
SOMEONE LOVED ME ONCE........CAN YOU LOVE ME AGAIN??

Recycled Wares : Keeping Vintage Alive

I'm a vintage junkie, and I was thrilled to learn of Nerrissa from RecycledWares joining our group.  She is from Fort Worth, Texas and does her part to rescue and re-offer these way cool vintage items. 

Check out this great 60's can for only $16 in her shop .

When I first joined Etsy, vintage was something they weren't 100% sold on.  Vintage sellers had to unite and fight for the same "type" search results as the other categories.  There was a time we were in fear that vintage would go away.  Etsy did love vintage items, however, their aim was a handmade (and supply) marketplace.  It's no wonder that because repurposing and reusing vintage items is a way to reduce the carbon footprint - that it was bound to stay.  (Maybe in part by modern day divas like Rachel Ray  with her retro kitschy items and Martha Stewart who show that vintage can be functional as well as decorative and go hand in hand with crafting and other daily activities...) 

Imagine Rachel Ray whipping up something in this mod enamelware casserole at $30.

Nerrissa says, "With so many items being discarded, our mission is to rescue as many items as we can (within reason) and present them to the arts & crafts and collector's world. We work with local businesses and families to find items that are no longer of use to them. All the treasures we find are in good condition, but just need a second home. The space in our home and our budget will only allow for so many rescues, but you can be certain, that if you find it within our marketplace, it was a rescued ware."

  Martha Stewart could transform these 93 vintage swatches, $10 into a masterpiece !

Nerrissa keeps busy promoting her shop, and has opened two new shops on Etsy. House of Mirth offers the best in Clay, Wood and Paper Arts and Paper Picker which offers the best in vintage paper.  

Find our more about her here:

FLICKR:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/recycledwares/

BLOG:
http://recycledwares.blogspot.com/

Or go visit her Etsy shop now!

Yarashi ( va.de.nuevo )

Shop Name:  Yarashi  (va de neuevo)


Owner:          Yara Salazar and Marta Hidalgo

Location:  San Jose California ( Costa Rica, UK, global! )

Shop Link: http://www.etsy.com/shop/yarashi

va•de•nuevo is an ecodesign project by Yara Salazar and Marta Hidalgo, that's seeking to improve the use of resources. 

They explain, "We start with used leather clothes that have been discarded due to damages or fashion trends. The idea is to make good use of second-hand materials, designing and putting together a new handbag from recycled leather. We create totally new, modern products  while reducing the amount of waste. This makes gorgeous bags out of upcycled leather coats. "

.

For more information, be sure to check out Yarashi's website http://www.vadenuevo.net/

or check out their Etsy shop today!