Cyber Monday is HERE!

SALE!!! 40% off Coupon for Pixie Dust Necklaces at Market1

I don't know about you, but this Thanksgiving after the turkey is eaten and all is said and done I plan to plant myself on the couch and do nothing but sip tea, wrap myself in a blanket, and watch a movie with my laptop close by.

Last year I went to the Wrentham Outlets, which open up at midnight Thanksgiving... I left home at 7:30 pm and arrived by 8 and was one of the first 50 cars in the parking lot... that changed very quickly, (if you arrive much later the back up is a miles long just to get a parking space ~ no thank you)  So anyhoo,  I was all excited about being so early and walked myself over to my store of choice to wait.... I thought maybe, just maybe they would let customers in a bit early???   NO WAY!  I waited the full 4 hours in freezing cold temperatures, I was under prepared to say the least. If I ever do this again I will take a tip from the countless teenagers who happily bustled past me, warm and toasty in their Uggs, Juicy Couture Sweatpants, and Northface jackets ~ plus hats, scarves, gloves, and coffee.  Some even brought fold up camping chairs and rolling luggage to store their purchases.  I am such a novice.
Once the stores finally opened I spent two hours attempting to shop ~ didn't really end up with much other than an extreme feeling of the need to spend spend spend ~ fueled in part by the playing of "Wizards in Winter" by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra over the loudspeakers over and over and over. 
Well, in honor of my lesson learned I am offering a coupon for 40% off anything in stock in my Etsy shop.  The coupon will only be good from 10 pm Thanksgiving until noon Friday. 

And now, back to baking, two gingerbread cakes done, pumpkin/vanilla pudding and cookies to go!

Video Review on You Tube

I was lucky enough to receive a wonderful surprise from a client yesterday in the form of a video review of one of my personalized Message in a Bottle necklaces.  What a sweetheart!

Thank you!

Stocking Stuffers ~ For Girls

I can hardly believe that it is that time already ~ but I must admit, I am way more excited than I have ever been for the holidays.  This year both my little girls will be old enough to really experience the magic of Christmas and I can't wait to see it through their eyes!  I started early with my shopping this year as I have made the choice to try and support local and/or handmade as much as I possibly can this holiday season ~ that being said you need to have your ducks in a row early as custom and handmade take a bit more time.  I already have purchased quite a bit and in my own personal Etsy shop I am seeing orders for the holidays start to come in.  Every year I have a difficult time shopping for stocking stuffers for everyone in the family and usually end up sticking to the standards of candy, coloring books, toothbrushes, stickers, etc... but this year I want to make each stocking a bit more special and am filling them with handmade treats from many artisans.  Below is my list for little girls ~ many of the items are what I have already ordered for my girls and a few are ones that I can't get as their stockings are already full!  but there is always next year :)

And here is my list!

Custom Headbands

This headband is a custom creation made by Molly over at MaxineandNormaJean I have two custom headbands ordered for my girls in the colors of the rainbow and I know my girls are going to adore them!

Handmade Soaps

These cupcakes look (and smell) good enough to eat!  I bought a 3-pack of these sherbet scented soap confections  from burntmill and I can't wait till my girlies see these!

Rings

Cute is the first word that comes to mind with these heart shaped cookie rings!  I purchased two of these from ScrumptiousDoodle.


Now for some edibles!  I absolutely will be visiting a local shop to purchase some chocolates for our stocking this year.  We love the Hot Chocolate Sparrow located in Orleans, Ma.  This Cape Cod gem is open year round and not only has amazing coffees but has a ginormous (is that even a word?) chocolate bar! 

Here is a picture of our youngest about to eat her first caramel apple this fall at the Sparrow!

I was browsing on Pintrest today and came across an amazing blog by Bakerella Amongst some amazing cupcakes, cakepops, and desserts were these amazing handmade gumdrops.  I will be making these, but in my excitement I already told my girls about them so they will not make it into our stockings!

Have you ever seen anything so pretty!?!?
YUMMY!

As for other stuffers, I do have to add in some standards that I always had in my stocking, like coloring books and crayons.   Since my girls love it I will also probably add in a nailpolish for each of them too ~ maybe some by Piggy Paint. 

And last but certainly not least here are my own stocking stuffers!  A little extra glitter during the holidays never hurts!

A pinch of pixie dust...

Check This Out!

I have in recently participated in a few amazing giveaways on Facebook and doing so have been exposed to some amazing shops (both on Etsy and not)  One of those shops is Vintage Lucy's.  Over at VL they create amazing boutique shirts and clothing for girls and women, and more!   They are running a fabulous giveaway on their blog so check it out ~ and become a fan on facebook while you are at it, I am!
http://vintagelucys.blogspot.com/2011/11/rocker-chic-giveaway-hooray.html#comment-form