AND THE WINNING BANNER IS.....................

WOW....well it was a CLOSE vote between #1 and #4!!

However, after tallying up the polls here, the posts here as well as the results from the Etsy Thread I had in the forums taking votes/opinions "Fancy Floral" won by a narrow 2 votes oveall. Thank you SO much to all who voted and also gave me feedback, it was wonderful help!

And the winner of thier OWN new look is
JENSPENS
www.jenspens.etsy.com

Congratulations Jen!!!! And thanks for voting!!

HELP ME PICK MY NEW BANNER AND WIN A PRIZE!

OK...so I'm TOTALLY undecided.

I need to give my shop "The Woody Nook" a complete facelift....but I just cannot make up my mind on a new banner. I've been tossing these around few for about a month.

I want something that can be used attractively on subsiquent business cards/tshirts/vinyl banners etc....

HELP ME!!

Which one of these would turn your head at a craft show if on a vinyl banner, or make you wanna click my shop w/the matching avatar, or perhaps that which you would take notice of if you saw somebody wearing it on a tshirt.....

You can make your choice by simply voting over in the poll box

OR earn a chance to win a FREE CUSTOM Banner and Avatar for your shop as well!

In addition to voting in the poll box, also leave a comment as to what banner you voted for and why. I will draw a random name from those who commented on what ends up to be the most voted banner for the winner of their own new Custom Banner and Avatar.

#1 Fairy Woods

#2 Magical Forest

#3 In the Woods

#4 Fancy Floral

VOTING WILL END ON TUESDAY, AUGUST 11th.
WINNER WILL BE POSTED HERE....SO BE SURE TO CHECK BACK!!!

AArrgh---There Be TREASURE Here!

Here be the great prizes up for grabs in the

"Collaborators In Cahoots" team Treasure Hunt!

To Play and for Full Details, Please visit here:

http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6202533&page=44

--------------------------------------------------------------

TREASURE CHEST PRIZES:

1-Guitar Note Pad from

www.PromoPixie.etsy.com

2-Crocheted Washcloths & Scrubbie from

www.CapeCodConsignments.etsy.com

3-Coloring Journal from

http://www.aprilsoriginals.etsy.com/ (design may vary from pictured)

4-11x14 Art print from

http://www.rachelsgarden.etsy.com/

5- 7" Pink glass bead bracelet w/gold toggle from

http://www.shadesofvictoria.etsy.com/

6-Freshwater Pearl & Swarovski crystal earrings from

http://www.ginabee.etsy.com/

7-3 long stemmed 'rose' votives from

http://www.valerieessentials.etsy.com/

8- $15 Gift Certificate from

http://www.kawaiibuddies.etsy.com/

9-2 Adorable seashell magnets in box from

http://www.whatshername.etsy.com/

10-Crocheted Facial Scrubbies, Star Shape from

www.2kute.etsy.com

11-Refreshing "Sea Mist" soap from

http://www.goodegear.etsy.com/

12-3"diameter x 4.5" tall Palm Wax Pillar Candle-MacIntosh Apple Scent from http://www.candleguy821.etsy.com/

DAVEY JONES' LOCKER:

Enter to be the lucky bloke win ENTIRE contents of this Treasure Trove by making purchases from ANY of the 21 participating shops during your Treasure Hunt!

1-Crocheted Arm Warmers from www.BijouxBoutique.etsy.com

2-7" tall Mermaid Doll from http://www.marysmaids.etsy.com/

3-Full set of 7 Project Wonderful Ads from www.PromoPixie.etsy.com

4-7" tall Pitcher (holds approx 24oz) from www.AdornYourself.etsy.com

And Just WHAT does the Buried Treasure look like, you ask??
Pictures will be larger than shown......and no...."X" will NOT mark the spot for ya! LOL

Red, White and Blue Contest Winner!!!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

PinkrosesSupplyShop

Was the winner for the Red, White and Blue contest!

Her Patriotic Thank You card rcvd the most votes and she will be rcving a custom 4th of July T-Shirt as her prize!

Thank you to everybody that submitted entries AND to those who voted!!

Happy 4th of July everyone!!

Jasmine - An Angel in DOG'S Clothing....

This story was sent to me via Email, and it was so sweet, I just thought I'd share it with you on my blog......

In 2003, police in Warwickshire , England , opened a garden shed and found a whimpering, cowering dog.. It had been locked in the shed and abandoned. It was dirty and malnourished, and had clearly been abused.
In an act of kindness, the police took the dog, which was a Greyhound female, to the nearby Nuneaton Warwickshire Wildlife Sanctuary, run by a man named Geoff Grewcock and known as a willing haven for Animals abandoned, orphaned or otherwise in need. Click for- Geoffand the other sanctuary staff went to work with two aims to restore the dog to full health, and to win her trust. It took several weeks, but eventually both goals were achieved.
They named her Jasmine, and they started to think about finding her an adoptive home.

But Jasmine had other ideas. No-one remembers now how it began, but she started welcoming all Animal arrivals at the sanctuary. It wouldn't matter if it was a puppy, a fox cub, a rabbit or, any other lost or hurting Animal, Jasmine would peer into the box or cage and, where possible, deliver a welcoming lick.

Geoff relates one of the early incidents. "We had two puppies that had been abandoned by a nearby railway line. One was a Lakeland Terrier cross and another was a Jack Russell Doberman cross. They were tiny when they arrived at the centre and Jasmine approached them and grabbed one by the scruff of the neck in her mouth and put him on the settee. Then she fetched the other one and sat down with them, cuddling them."

"But she is like that with all of our animals, even the rabbits. She takes all the stress out of them and it helps them to not only feel close to her but to settle into their new surroundings.


"She has done the same with the fox and badger cubs, she licks the rabbits and guinea pigs and even lets the birds perch on the bridge of her nose."
Jasmine, the timid, abused, deserted waif, became the animal sanctuary's resident surrogate mother, a role for which she might have been born. The list of orphaned and abandoned youngsters she has cared for comprises five fox cubs, four badger cubs, 15 chicks, eight guinea pigs, two stray puppies and 15 rabbits.


And one roe deer fawn. Tiny Bramble, 11 weeks old, was found semi-conscious in a field. Upon arrival at the sanctuary, Jasmine cuddled up to her to keep her warm, and then went into the full foster mum role. Jasmine the greyhound showers Bramble the Roe deer with affection and makes sure nothing is matted.



"They are inseparable," says Geoff "Bramble walks between her legs and they keep kissing each other. They walk together round the sanctuary. It's a real treat to see them."

Jasmine will continue to care for Bramble until she is old enough to be returned to woodland life. When that happens, Jasmine will not be lonely. She will be too busy showering love and affection on the next Orphan or victim of abuse.


From left, Toby, a stray Lakeland dog; Bramble, orphaned Roe deer; Buster, a stray Jack Russell; a dumped rabbit; Sky, an injured barn owl; and Jasmine with a Mothers heart doing best what a caring Mother would do... Such is the order of God's Creation.

Come on in! The Water's FINE!!!

WOOHOO!!
My daughter was soooooo excited yesterday! It was FINALLY warm enuff to get in the pool--you can 'see' her underwater LOL

I love it when the weather is this nice, I just love seeing that bright blue water against the full green trees....

We'd just put this pool in last year towards the end of August, so this will be our first summer to have it open all season and we plan on USING IT!! LOL

We still need to do some much needed landscaping around it and a few more little cosmetic touch-ups but all in all, we love it. Could hardly pass it up!! A friend that my hubby works with was getting ready to scrap it...hubby asked how much he wanted for it instead...friend said $100 if he helped tear it down.

$100!?!?!?! For everything!?!? Deck, pump, filter, sweeper, skimmer, rails, ladder, EVERYTHING---even the stones to put the columns on!

It needed some SERIOUS Cleaning (hubby said there were frogs living ontop of the water filled cover LOL), a new liner and I also repainted all of the white pieces (ladder, columns, deck, rails-everything white was repainted LOL)...but hey...anything worth having is worth working for right?

And so what that it was 'used', put a new liner in it and it bascially becomes a totally new pool!!

By the time it was ALLL said and done, when we tallied up our total expenses to install it, after getting the sand/liner/chemicals/new hose and even counting the rafts and new beach towels, we only put $500 into the WHOLE kit-n-kaboodle.

What REALLY saved us on installation costs was hubby does excavation work on the side and owns his own heavy equipment...so we didnt have to pay anybody to level out the ground. Which is a GOOD THING cuz we had to dig pretty deep to level out a space!

These are pics from us putting it up last year....

You can see part of the deck and the colums in the background on the wagon drying from being repainted

Jack loved this part, any excuse to play in the dirt! LOL

Look how deep down he had to dig! LOL

Jack and Felicia putting on the tops

Full, but now it needs the deck.

ALL DONE!

Come on over!!!

Moving Along!

WOW!
Well, my newly introduced line of professional quality promotional items has really taken off! Those are just a FEW images of completed items, there are more in the works and some not yet pictured!

What started out as a little shop consisting of just Etsy Shop Banners/Avatars and some little paper thank you note cards has rapidly grown into much, much more...both in inventory and quality!

As of now, I offer Car Magnets, Business Cards (matte AND glossy!), vinyl craftshow banners, rack cards, t-shirts, product cards such as for hair accessories and jewelry, price tags, hanging tags, labels, window clings and probably even a few more items I'm forgetting at the moment LOL.

I am now also offering Tote Bags-of which I yet to have a 'completed item' picture of...but will hopefully soon! They are going to be terrific! They come in 2 sizes (100% cotton canvas) of Small and Deluxe, and the Deluxe size also comes in a two-tone option if you'd like! (black handles and bottom) I really can't wait to make my first one so that I can have pictures to show....so excited!
If you may be interested in details, please click on the above image to visit my shop-you can contact me there :-)

Since first beginning this line 4-29, I've now completed/shipped over 35 custom item orders and I LOVE it. I really enjoy working so closely with so many great Etsians and getting to know them...and I totally love the designing process. With Soooo many different shops and soooo many different personal styles between them, I really get to stretch my creative muscles---I've even used some I forgot I had! LOL

I whole-heartedly want to thank each and every person who has trusted me to help them grow and enhance their business and presentation. In doing so, you have helped me to grow and enhance my own little business as well. I am truly flattered to have a part in helping to make your dreams/visions/wishes of making your shops/talents/crafts stand out among the rest come to life :-D And I hope to continue to have that honor as you grow even bigger!