Today's feature shop came to me! Isn't that great? Usually, I browse and peruse Etsy in my travels around the site (and other sites such as Flickr, CraftGawker, as well as various blogs) and find artisans to feature.
I then send them a note asking for permission to feature them here on this blog and use their product pictures to show off their work.
Today's shop actually contacted me, though. And I'm so glad she did!
After I checking out Blushing Dove Boutique's on Etsy and taking a browse through the selection of jewelry and headbands, I found myself more than happy to do a feature on this wonderful shop.
What do I like best about this shop? Well there's a couple of things. First, this shop is very feminine. You see a lot of jewelry shops on Etsy (after all, I myself have one there!) but it's pretty rare to come across a shop with a very sweet and feminine flavor to it. And second? The shop has matching sets!
This is something I haven't seen many 
offer and I love it! In this shop you can find earrings that match rings (like pictured in this post), bracelets that match headbands and much more! You can buy each piece individually too so you can mix and match as you want.
The woman behind these lovely, sweet designs is Amy Lilley, from Newark-on-Trent in the UK. She's 22, which is the same age as my business partner (Leal) who you sometimes see posting here on this blog.
Her pieces have a sweet and delicate femininity about them that I think you'll enjoy so be sure to stop by and take a look around.
TO VISIT THE BLUSHING DOVE BOUTIQUE ON ETSY YOU CAN CLICK THE PICTURES ABOVE OR, IF YOU'D RATHER, CLICK RIGHT HERE!
You may also enjoy visiting Amy's Blushing Dove Boutique Facebook page.
"Ever mind the rule of three -
Three times what thou givest returns to thee,
this lesson well, thou must learn -
Thee only gets what thou dost earn."
It's a common theme, no matter the culture or religion you follow. Whether it's "treat others as you wish to be treated" or lessons of charity and kindness.
When I saw these cards, I immediately fell in love with them. The rule of three is a tenant that I was taught at a very young age and one that has influenced my life through the years from childhood onward.
As my years as a mentor, this was an important lesson I worked with parents to teach to their children as well and it has been one of the most rewarding lessons I've shared with those I've been fortunate to have helped along their own individual paths.
The shop where I found these wonderful cards is CraftyPagan Designs on Etsy. It's a shop filled with wonderful handmade tags, cards and other hand-stamped artwork and designs by Rowena. Some are themed to the pagan path such as the cards pictured above in this post, but that's by far not the only theme offered.
Rowena's CraftyPagan Designs is filled with different themes from Alice in Wonderland to The Wizard of Oz and more. They offer gift tags and cards as well as stationary, wedding and anniversary announcements, luxury greeting cards, holiday themes and even some canvases and altered art!
I love the aged paper look that many of their items have to them as well. It's unique and different as well as positively eye-catching.
YOU CAN CLICK ON THE PICTURES ABOVE TO VISIT CRAFTYPAGAN DESIGN'S SHOP ON ETSY AND TAKE A LOOK AROUND OR, IF YOU PREFER, CLICK RIGHT HERE.
You might also enjoy taking a peek at CraftyPagan's blog where you can see even more of Rowena's creations. You can also stop by and say hello on Facebook or Twitter!
I love giveaways and I really, really love winning free stuff. (Who doesn't?!?) It doesn't happen often but it always comes as a surprise when it does and brightens up my day.Every Wednesday here on The Meandering Musings is "I Wanna Win" Wednesday! This is where you can come to find terrific giveaways to enter and win as well as share giveaways with others.SO... Do you have a great giveaway going on this week or know someone who does? If so, spread the news and share!In the Linky below, share your current giveaway or any great giveaways that you have discovered, or... explore (and enter to win) a few of the giveaways left by others.After all, you can't win if you don't enter![ PLEASE ENTER YOUR LINKS IN THIS FORMAT... Name of Giveaway You're Sharing (End Date) ]If you would like to add this Linky to your site, you can contact me in comments with a request (and way to contact you) and I'll be happy to share the code with you!
Today was supposed to be a feature for the BESTeam, a wonderful team I've mentioned being a member of in the past on Etsy where team members support each other through various means of promotion.
I ran into a little problem tho, because the shop I am to feature is empty at the moment. (And it's a knit/crochet shop too! You all know how much I LOVE knit and crochet shops.)
I would like to mention that although the Taylor House on Etsy is currently closed for the season until cooler weather gets here, you can still take a peek and a browse at some of their sold items to see what they'll have to offer once the fall and winter season rolls around.
Still, closed as they are at the moment, I thought I'd introduce you to the blog founded by Chaucee, the artisan behind the knitted and crocheted pieces from the Tailor House shop on Etsy.
The Searched and Found is a blog that's much like this one, with a wide selection of features outlining different handmade artists and artisans you can find in the handmade market place. Chaucee and Melissa work together to create a variety of articles from Friday Finds collections to Tuesday Tunes features, Giveaways and more.
If you're looking for a little bit more inspiration for your shopping and browsing enjoyment, I definitely suggest stopping by and checking Searched and Found out as a resource.
TO VISIT THE SEARCHED AND FOUND BLOG, YOU CAN CLICK THE PICTURE ABOVE OR, IF YOU'D RATHER, CLICK RIGHT HERE!
You might also enjoy visiting Chaucee's personal blog or stopping by and visiting her on Twitter.[This blog post is a "BESTeam Feature" for the Boosting Etsy Shops Team. The BESTeam is dedicated to helping its members promote their shops and assisting each other in marketing, advertising and sharing the tips and tricks of running an online business. If you are a seller on Etsy and are interested in becoming a member of the BESTeam, the team is accepting new members and you can find more information about the team as well as apply to become a member HERE.]
When I was in school, I took every pottery class I could get into (and a couple of them twice) because I loved sitting at the wheel. I found the process both creatively stimulating and yet extremely soothing. And, in my high school career, I made a LOT of vases, bowls, cups, mugs, plates, pedestals, candle holders and more on that wheel.
Yet, although I had (and have) a decent amount of talent with tossing clay, sculpting was never one of my talents and still isn't to this day.
That's not the case with today's featured artisan.
Clayworks by Kim Detmers on Etsy is filled with absolutely exquisite polymer clay pieces with the kind of detail that takes your breath away. There's fantasy fairy doors, beautiful butterflies and flowers so realistic you'll want to take a sniff of the petals.
There's so many beautiful pieces that I had a really hard time choosing just one or two to picture in this post, in fact. I wish I could include a few more!
Kim was once a "muralist" painter and some of the miniature "murals" she now creates in clay are just amazing. She has some decorative badge reels that are just downright inspiring to behold.
It's clear she's inspired by not just color but nature as well. In fact... I can imagine her spending hours in the garden staring at the flowers! How else could she make her clay ones so realistic?
Her shop offers a variety of items from hair accessories to badge reels, magnets, fairy portals, jewelry and more. There's lots to browse through and enjoy and more arrives nearly every day it seems! Each time I visit there's some new beauty waiting to stir a smile.
YOU CAN CLICK ON THE PICTURES ABOVE TO VISIT KIM DETMER'S SHOP ON ETSY AND TAKE A LOOK AROUND OR, IF YOU PREFER, CLICK RIGHT HERE.
You might also enjoy taking a peek at Kim Detmer's blog where you can see even more of her beautiful creations!
As you all know, I love originality and artwork as well as the slightly strange and interesting. Today's shop fits into all of those categories and I'm very happy to have the chance to introduce you to the paintings and illustrations of Kellie Schneider.
Original Artwork and Prints by Kellie Schneider (aka. kelliedrawspictures) is a wonderful little shop with a collection of original artwork and prints with a slightly dark and mysterious air to them, and no small bit of emotion as well!
Kellie has been dabbling in the arts all of her life and has experience in a wide array of different mediums and techniques. Her latest works have been created using a self-developed combination of oil pastels, watercolors, charcoal, and ink on heavyweight watercolor paper.
The effects are both unique and interesting 
not to mention brought to life with a whispering of emotions just beneath the surface that rise through the eyes of the characters she portrays and the atmosphere of the prints and artwork she designs.
Many of her pieces remind me of Edward Gorey artwork, which has a dark and storytelling theme to the pieces, but with a softer touch in Kellie's case which adds an extra level of appeal for me.
If you like dark art created with a hint of emotion that can reach out through a piece to touch you and blended with a bit of cute for good measure, you'll love the artwork of Kellie Schneider and should stop by her shop for a look around.
TO VISIT KELLIE SCHNEIDER'S SHOP ON ETSY, YOU CAN CLICK THE PICTURE ABOVE OR, IF YOU'D RATHER, CLICK RIGHT HERE!
