~When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Lemonade!~

After much thought and deliberation I am starting to list more of my greeting cards in my Artfire shop.  Etsy is where I began my online store, Cards By Jenna, but to tell you all the truth and to be quite blunt every month when I get my bill from Etsy I feel like a bunch of lemons have been squirt in my eye!  20 cents to list an item and then taking 3.5% off the top of my sale, that hurts when you are selling one greeting card for $2.50.  I do not sell my cards to make lots of money, that never was my goal…but…I am not even making back the cost of materials. 

Soooooo, what does all this mean?  Well, Etsy, you gave me lemons therefore I am going to make lemonade and move my items to Artfire where I pay a small monthly fee, no listing fees, and no % taken off the top of my sale.  I will still keep my Etsy shop open for now but it’s days may be numbered.   

For fun here are some items from Artfire that are full of lemony goodness.

What a fun Cosmopolitan Cranberry and Lemon Handmade Cocktail Soap from Epically Epic Soap.  The best part about Epically Epic soap is that they make your soap fresh just for you!  At $4 this soap is a steal.  Looks like if you need more than one soap bar this soap is included in the buy 3 for $10 deal. 

Need some lemon for your lips?  Check out this Lemon Drop Kiss(tm) Lip Balm from Coquette Bath.  This lip balm includes shea oil, sweet almond butter, Vitamin E, castor oil, and real lemon essential oil to give your lips all the moisture that you need.  For a .15 ounce by volume tube you can purchase this for $3.25, what a great deal!  I love the graphics on the packaging too.

Sadly summer will be coming to an end soon so get ready for fall and pick up a beautiful scarf from Valerie’s Gallery.  This Handknit Wool Blend Scarf in Lemon Meringue would be the perfect addition to your upcoming fall wardrobe.  Knit with a wool/acrylic mix this scarf is sure to keep you warm and is even soft to the touch!  Not a fan of yellow?  Contact Valerie and she can custom design a scarf just for you.

This set of Bird and Lemon Pot Holders really caught my eye.  You can find these beauties in Bean Pickle Sprout’s shop.  Since these pot holders are made to order you are receiving a one of a kind item.  I love the color combo and design of these.  What a great addition to add to your kitchen!

  Have a little girl who needs this cute Custom Boutique Lemon Smocked Dress?  What a great dress for summer.  The print is very summery and the dress design is so adorable.  Contact Lil Bug Clothing to place your order!  

Enjoy the weekend!

~Jenna

~Bath & Body Works Coupon~

Wow, have I been neglecting my blog or what? I figured since my last post was a coupon offer for Michaels why not post another coupon?

Bath & Body Works is one of my favorite places to shop. Right now Bath & Body Works is having their Semi-Annual sale in stores and online. Special online deals include 4 for $10 hand soap, $4 Foam Burst, $5 Wallflowers, plus up to 50% off select items!

Here you will see a coupon for $10 off any purchase of $40 or more. You can print this out and use it in the stores or online. If you can't print from the photo click HERE to get the original coupon. The authorization code for online shopping is TAKETEN. This offer is good through June 14th.

~Cinnamon Anyone?~

Cinnamon is one of my favorite spices and is used in so many different items.  You wouldn’t know it but cinnamon is actually a small evergreen tree and is native to Sri Lanka.  According to wikipedia cinnamon is harvested by growing the tree for two years and then coppicing it.  Coppicing is a traditional method of woodland management in which young tree stems are repeatedly cut down to near ground level.  The next year, about a dozen shoots will form from the roots. These shoots are then stripped of their bark, which is left to dry. Only the thin (0.5 mm) inner bark is used; the outer woody portion is removed, leaving meter-long cinnamon strips that curl into rolls ("quills") on drying; each dried quill comprises strips from numerous shoots packed together. These quills are then cut into 5–10 cm lengths for sale. 

Cinnamon is mainly used in cooking and flavoring but has been known to have health benefits.  For more information click HERE.

I decided to go window shopping on Etsy to find items that contain the spice, remind me of it, or are named after it. 

This little Cinnamon Toast Guy Card is bound to put a smile on the lucky recipient’s face.  This card could be used for any occasion and can be found in Jackeyo’s Etsy Shop. 

This Natural Cinnamon Soap comes to you from Dragon Soap’s Etsy Shop.  Each ingredient in this soap is 100% natural and creates a luxurious lather.  This soap would make a perfect gift for you or for that special someone.  This dragon even comes with a lucky coin!

I couldn’t post this without adding in some real cinnamon rolls!  These yummy cinnamon rolls can be purchased from Dreamy Pleasures Etsy Shop.  You will receive about 15 delicious hand made cinnamon rolls loaded with cinnamon!  Sounds good to me. :)

If you are looking for a fat free and no calorie version of the cinnamon roll check out these Cinnamon Bun Earrings from The Scoop Pat Boops Etsy Shop.  These earrings are made with polymer clay.  They look good enough to eat!    

Thanks for stopping by!

Feel free to post a comment, especially if you have some yummy cinnamon recipes. :)

~Featured EtsyBlogger Member Of The Month - December - Spotted Cow Soaps~

Congrats to Spotted Cow Soaps for being the EtsyBloggers Street Team Member of the month for December! There is still plenty of time to shop before the holidays and Spotted Cow has the perfect soap delicacies for all the people on your shopping list. Here are a few of my favorites from Spotted Cow's shop:

This Bay Rum Soap is made especially for the guys in your life. Who says soaps are for girls? This classic scent is Clean, Spicy, & Masculine. Your man will love taking a shower with this one, and you will love how he smells when he's done! Who could ask for anything more?

For the kiddies! Check out this adorable Ladybug croched with 100% cotton yarn. The special recipent can use this ladybug as a bath mitt for bathtime washing, or play with her as though she's a puppet. She comes with a bar of yummy Fruit Tonic Glycerin Soap to make bath time fun! If you would like to add some lotion and make a complete gift set check out this Fruit Tonic Lotion.

Yummy! Chocolate! What a great stocking stuffer for the chocoholic on your holiday shopping list. Check out this Delicious Chocolate Whipped Sugar Scrub. Need a matching bath puff to go with this sugar scrub? Spotted Cow has the perfect matching Chocolate Brown Bath Puff handmade with 100% organic yarn. If you would like a different color contact Spotted Cow through her shop or her blog: http://spottedcowsoaps.blogspot.com/.

~Mini Halloween Gift Guide By Jenna~

Since Halloween is next week I decided to put together a gift guide for those of you out there who buy gifts for your favorite ghosts and goblins. Who says you can't buy gifts for Halloween?

Along with the holidays we find ourselves in the kitchen whipping up themed meals or baking those yummy frosted sugar cookies. You can't go wrong with giving the chef or baker in your life a Halloween dish towel! Check out this Halloween dish towel from 2nd Street Designs shop. The best part about this towel is that it was crocheted by the shop owners 86 year old father. What a treat to own something like this. This kitchen towel is currently on sale for $2.50. If you aren't into Halloween check out 2nd Street Designs other items, everything is unique and one of a kind, especially the floral wreaths!

After the kids come in from trick or treating their hands are full of germs! Running around from house to house ringing door bells and knocking on doors. Before letting the goblins go through their candy loot give them some soap to wash up with! I found the perfect mini soaps at Machine Gun Lullaby's shop. Check out these skull and pumpkin mini colored soaps! Vegan friendly and on sale to boot! You pay $1.40 for 10 sweet shea lotion soaps. What a great deal and a fun gift!

Need a trick or treat bag to hold all the loot you plan on collecting Halloween night? Well here is the perfect bag especially if you love kitties! This Halloween Themed Orange & Black Cat Bag comes from Monk Rock Creation's shop. Not only is this bag environmentally friendly but a great tote to use for any number of items! At $10 this bag is a steal. :-)

Don't forget to bring out the candles to light your way on Halloween night. These Halloween Tealight Holders are not only one of a kind but hand painted and decorated individually. No two holders are alike! These fabulous tealight holders come from Dizzee Lizzee's shop. Not only does Dizzee Lizzee have an awesome shop but she is located just a few hours away from me in Washington state!

Now that we have the candle holder figured out we need to find some tealights to put inside. I have found the perfect tealights at Sweet Surrender Candle Shop. Check out these Pumpkin Spice Soy Tealights! Makes me want to eat pumpkin pie. :-) You get a dozen tealights for $6.99. I noticed there is a sale going on at the Sweet Surrender Candle Shop. Until Ocotober 25th you buy 5 candles and get the 6th one free! What an awesome sale and a great way to stock on up wonderful smelling candles.

Well there you have it! My mini Halloween gift buying guide from etsy sellers. I forgot one thing! If you need Halloween cards to go with any of these fabulous gift picks check out my Halloween cards. Right now all Halloween cards are 50% off.

~Crazy Cats on Etsy~

My favorite animal is the cat and to recognize that my blog feature today is all about crazy cats on etsy! I've found some of the most unique items for sale and wanted to share them with the rest of the world. Check out these fun items that can be a part of your world with one simple purchase.

Cats driving a purple Volkswagen bug? Yep here they are riding along on a bright summer day. This unique and one of a kind acrylic print reproduction comes from Shelagh's etsy shop: http://www.aliceinparis.etsy.com/.

To purchase this wonderful little print please click here!

What a cute pink kitty necklace! Images Under Glass is a new etsy store that just opened the end of June. This shop currently sells pendants/necklaces with unique designs and prints under glass! As a grand opening Images Under Glass is offering a buy 2 get 1 free sale.

To purchase this adorable kitty kat necklace click here!

Clean yourself up with some Maneki Neko (The Lucky Cat) goat's milk soap. If you don't know the story of Maneki Neko check out Angel Bella Body Shop's soap for sale by clicking here! To view all Angel Bella Body Shop's yummy body goodies visit her shop here: http://www.angelbellabody.etsy.com/.

Stay tuned for more blog posts! You never know I could pick an item from your shop next!

First Etsy Blog Feature

So I decided to put up a post in the etsy forums and asked fellow etsians to post their unique item that they felt is blog worthy. Here is a link to the forum post:

http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5655692&page=1

I want to thank everyone who contributed their suggestions. I decided to pick: Karina's Rose Petal Soaps! http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=12356161

Karina's etsy shop URL is www.KreatedbyKarina.etsy.com. These rose petal soaps are very unique and I love the fact that they are single use. The tin the petals are packaged in can be personalized and also reused once all the petals are gone. I could see these being great hostess gifts and very chic wedding favors. I think it's awesome that Karina discloses the ingredients in her products. Not only are these rose petal soaps a great price but shipping is low too!

Thanks to all who contributed to my forum post. I will need more to write about in the future so keep the posts coming!