Loads of Ribbon to Unload

Have you ever come across a great find that you didn't really need? You know, that bulk stash of buttons for a quarter or the 20 pound box of poly-fil for a buck? Yeah, well I had one of those and now I need to get rid of it. I have 600+ yards of lovely designer ribbon, all on rolls that I need to unload on some other person. lol, I have to make more room for different items in my craft room and my husband told me that I had to start either using some of what I have before I can buy more craft supplies, or I have to sell some stuff that I am not using. I was intending on selling the ribbon on my supply shop on etsy, and some of it has already sold. However, it is very time consuming to take pictures of each roll, since there are probably at the very least, 100 different rolls. And, on top of that, I am just tired of cutting the ribbon by the yard, only to discover that I still have 19 yards left of that one ribbon. So here is my proposal, I will bestow upon somebody all of my ribbon for $150 plus shipping and handling prices. That is a steal of a deal and really would benefit somebody who uses a lot of ribbon on a regular basis or somebody who can sell it even (and has the patience to do so one yard at a time). I am adding some pictures here, but if you need to see more, please comment here and I will add some more. These are just a few of the ribbon types that I have. There are many, many, many, many, more.

Monthly Challenge Feature

Congratulations to our winners! And also a hearty congratulations to all of the contestants for putting so much thought and effort into their lovely items. I sincerely hope that your customers will appreciate your work just as much.

And so, now we move on to the winners. Lindabutterfly.etsy.com and NanasNikNaks.etsy.com collaborated together to make wonderfully whimsical cards. Using a little of Nanas, creative cross stictching, Linda transformed them into cards. I know, I know, you have already seen the cards and now you want to see more. Well, I will not keep you waiting any longer. Behold, the creative works of LindaButterfly!


Linda is such a talented artist. She works in several mediums to create her artwork. I've seen pencil, paint and photos which have all been beautifully captured by Linda. The really cool thing about her shop is that she uses all of her artwork to make interesting cards- from greeting cards to post cards. She even offers mouse pads and all-in-one gift and card fixes.


Her photography and other artwork range from the beautifully serene (as seen above in this lovely Silver Dew greeting card) to the fun and whimsical (as seen below in this all-in-one gift and card set).


Would you have ever guessed that this adorable kitten on the card, easily detaches to become an everyday magnet to use on your fridge, in your locker or at your desk? Seriously, this is an awesome deal, considering how convenient and CUTE it is.



And I know that you just can't go on without seeing the wonderful works of NanasNikNaks as well!

Nanas works range in different mediums as well. She offers hand knitted treasures, adorably fun cross stitch pieces and even a few beaded works.

Every girl dreamed of being a princess at some point in time. Well now, they can get one step closer with this fun cross stitch piece. You could easily frame this and put it on a wall for a wonderful addition to your princess' room.


And everyone needs an angel every now and then. Someone to watch over us and catch us when we fall a little lower than we expected. This wonderful angel and others can be found in Nanas shop as well so go and check them out now!


(click pictures to be taken directly to them)

And the results are in...

I know it came a little bit late, but since we had some technical difficulties, I allowed the poll to stay up for another couple of days. That way, everybody had the right amount of fair voting time.

It was fun to watch the poll day by day, to see it waver back and forth between the entries. I have to say it was quite the close call.

So now that the results are in, do you want to know what they were? Of course you do... In third place was the collaboration between LindaButterfly and ElektraJewelry, with three votes. Great job you guys! In second place was Mary's Maids with a total of five votes! Awesome! And in first place, was the collaboration between LindaButterfly and NanasNikNaks at a total of 6 votes on the poll. Way to go you guys! (A feature on the winner(s) will be posted later today)

Congratulations to all of the contestants who brought forth such awesome ideas. Congratulations for completing the challenge and for really getting inspired by your teammates.

Monthly Challenge for September

The poll results are in and I am happy to say that we have a new monthly challenge for the month of September. The results were a favoring 2-to-1 for autumn colors. So collaborators, look out your windows at the lovely changing colors of the fall leaves (if you have any yet) and begin to get inspired and motivated.

Remember, you can comment here in this post to nominate a theme for next months challenge and we will vote as a team on it later in the month.

And check out the poll up top for the members challenges for the month of August! Be sure to vote for your favorite interpretation of collaboration.

And the contestants are...

Hello again all!

Today is the day that we have all been waiting for (hopefully). Today is the day that we show off a few items from our monthly challenge. Let me remind you all that tomorrow on the 1st day of the new month, I will add a poll to the top of this blog which will allow you to vote for your favorite item. You may comment on this post about each item if you wish to do so.

Here are the entries...

Entry # 1)
Marys Maids has provided for the contest, a lovely mermaid globe.

This item was inspired by ValerieEssentials sea scape gel candle


Entry # 2)

I myself (yes, I am not excluded from this just because I am blogging about it) a.k.a. KawaiiBuddies have chosen to create a bamboo resin and clay pendant.



This item was inspired by a photograph from LindaCaterpillar




Entry # 3)

Cherry Pie a la Mode and White Flowers Gift Card by LindaButterfly and ElektraJewelry

These two members really collaborated with one another to pair up a couple of their products that look well together.

Entry # 4)

Purple Butterfly, pink tulip greeting card made by LindaButterfly and Nanas NikNaks


This item was made using LindaButterfly's card making skills and photography skills as well as using a wonderfully cross stiched butterfly from Nanas NikNaks. They have a series of three more cards which are similar to these so be sure to check out their shops for more.


(click pictures for links)

As stated before, a poll will be posted tomorrow so that everyone can place a vote at which item is their favorite or the their idea of the best interpretation of the theme. Remember that the theme in collaboration and is all about getting inspired by other peoples items/crafts.

And don't forget to look at all of the awesome other items from our group members.

***I updated this entry because apparently my email box contains gremlins that eat my emails from certain people. If you have an entry and it hasn't appeared here, it is probably because my gremlins thought that your email was extra tasty. Please be sure to comment if I have missed something or someone. Or message me on CIC! Thanks for your patience as I work out the kinks.

It's the 1st...

It is both the first of the month, and the first of our team challenges.

To begin, let me remind you that you should read the details, timeline and rules of this themed challenge in the post before this one. And to briefly remind you that, as of today, you have until August 31st to send in your themed challenge entries. Also, beginning today, I will be accepting comments on this post only, for nominations for next months challenge theme. Whatever you want- nominate it. Rainbows, puppies, anatomy, fitness- whatever, just comment about it and I will make sure that it gets into the poll for next months theme.

And the theme is (drumroll please)...



Collaboration

Seeing as how, our team began on the definition of that word, we have decided as a team, to collaborate with our fellow team members. The general idea is to actually collaborate to be inspired for our new items.

Team members- Please choose another team member's item that you could feel inspired by. Be sure to ask for permission to make something inspired by that item. It is not a rule, however, it is only courtesy. Make something inspired by their item or something that would go well with their item. For instance, you see a lovely painting- create a fabric frame for it; you notice a gorgeous set of fuschia crystal earrings- create a scarf that compliments it; you see a bouquet of silk flowers- create a hat with similar silk flowers... You may also team up with one another to correspond your items even further! The possibilities are endless. You do not have to list your challenge item, although if you list your challenge item, I will be able to link directly to your shop via a picture here on my blog which could mean more hits, views, hearts and even sales. If you do decide to list the item that you have made, it would be nice to link to the other item that you collaborated with or that you were inspired by. In this way, if you made a hat that matches another team members purse item, you can link to their item and both of you could get some views, hearts or sales this way. This challenge does not encourage or excuse a blatant copy of another person's item. This challenge is to be collaborative and to be beneficial to both the inspiring member and the inspired member. I reiterate, in no way and under no circumstances are you expected to, or encouraged to, copy another item.

Viewers, Readers, Followers and Guests- You may nominate themes if you like. When polls are posted, you may also vote for your favorite theme or item. If you are interested in joining our team, Collaborators in Cahoots, please visit our team blog.

Now get to it collaborators!

Time for Motivation and Inspiration

I am on a constant apology spree for neglecting my blog and I apologize yet again. However, I have found a way to fix my neglectful ways! And in the process I will be helping my awesome team out. There will be motivation and inspiration all around!

So here is the deal. The team that I am a part of (Collaborators in Cahoots) has voted yes to doing a monthly challenge. The monthly challenge will sort of be hosted by my blog, in that all of the entries will be recorded here for all to see. There will be some other neat things going on with it as well so let's get into the nitty gritty of it all.

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Details

*This challenge will hopefully help to inspire our team when we have those ruts that we all get in. You all know very well what I am talking about. It's sort of like writer's block but for now we will call it crafter's block. We will be holding a monthly challenge which will have a new theme every month. The participants will hopefully be inspired by the theme and make something new, exciting, liberating, and maybe even other-worldly for all of us to see. We will have a monthly poll when all of the participants have entered their new pieces, to see which one, our readers think is the best. Whoever wins, will get a feature of their own in this very blog.

*Everyone on the "collaborators in cahoots" team is welcome to join in on the challenge but they are, in no way, obligated or forced to join in. This challenge is only open to "Collaborators in Cahoots" team members. However, you can play along and use the themes for your own inspiration, and as a reader, you will have the objectivity to vote in polls for the winner of each months challenge event. If this isn't enough for you, please feel free to contact the team via the teams blog to see if there is an opening in the teams members for you.

*Once a month, on the first of every month, I will announce here, what that months challenge will be. At that time, team members will have until noon (central US time) on the last day of the month to send me an email with the link to their item in their etsy shop, or a single picture and description if they choose not to list their newly inspired item. I will add these items along with descriptions and links to a blog post on the first of the following month. During this time, you as the reader or team members, may leave comments for what theme you would like to see next month.

*As well on the first of every month, I will create a poll of the items that have been entered into the challenge and have appeared on the blog. You as the reader will have the chance to vote for the item which you think is best. Team members are allowed to vote as well, but preferably only once. And please be honest with your vote.

*On the seventh day of the month, the poll for the best item will be closed. On the following day, the person whose item won the poll, will be featured on my blog. I will include a short blurb about their shop and pictures as well as links. If they are available for questions before hand, I will add a few Q&A pieces.

*As well on the seventh day of the month, I will post a new poll for the challenge themes that have been nominated. On the fourteenth day of the month, this poll will be taken down and the winner will be set for the next months challenge. If by chance there is a tie, I will call tie breaker.

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Timeline
* 1st- Monthly challenge announced
Poll of items entered in previous month will be posted
Will begin accepting comments for nominating next months theme
* 7th- Poll for item votes will be closed
Poll for next months theme will be posted
* 8th- Themed challenge winner is featured
*14th- Poll for next months theme will be closed
*31st- Monthly challenge will be closed at noon (US central time)
* 1st- New Monthly challenge announced, etc...

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Rules

*Participants of the themed challenge must be a member of Collaborators in Cahoots. All polls can be participated in by both members and non-members.

*Participants must email entries to beads_elegance@yahoo.com by noon (US central time) on the last day of each month.

*Entries emails will be required to have either a direct link as well as a single photo and short description or a single photo and short description of the item without the link if they choose not to list it.

*Entries do not have to be listed but it is encouraged to list the item for maximum exposure.

*Entry items need to be inspired by the monthly challenges theme. If there is obviously no link to the challenge theme and the item, a brief description of the link between the two will be requested from the creator.

*No vulgar, offensive or otherwise overly mature items will be shown here. Since this is my blog, I will still attach links, however I will not show items of the above stated content. I have the final say in this in all cases.