Season of Light Treasury Challenge!

Hello Teamies!!
I know all are counting down the days to Christmas,
but first...
Here are our fantastic finalists!

Season of Candy Cane Dee-Light!

A Season of Light, A season of Calm

Golden Light before the Dawn in the Season of Light

A Season of Light

Season of Lights Challenge- For November Babies

Oh, Beautiful Season of Light and Color!

Season of Light-Dazzle Her with Shiny and Bright

Wonderful, Incredible, Magical~season of Light~ Sky is The Limit

Which is the Brightest Season of Light Treasury??
	Season of Candy Cane Dee-Light
	A Season of Light, a Season of Calm
	Golden Light Before the Dawn in the Season of Light
	A Season of Light
	Season of Lights Challenge- For November Babies
	Oh Beautiful Season of Light and Color
	Season of Light- Dazzle her with Shiny and Bright
	Wonderful, Incredible, Magical-Season of Light-Sky is the Limit
pollcode.com free polls

Thank you to all who participated,
and a huge thanks to our judges- Suz and Joe!!

Voting will end Monday, December 6th.
Happy Season of Light Everyone!

Novem-Beard Interview!!!

Hello Teamies and Happy Thanksgiving!!
Here is our last Novem-Beard Interview,
Thank you to those who came out of the woodwork
to let us get to know them...

Introducing Wayne...

I live in Lansdale, PA in a one bedroom two studio row home. My wife and business partner, Margaret Almon, came up with our name, Nutmeg Designs. Nutmeg has nothing to do with our craft, but all to do with an old nickname. Design is what we love to do. I primarily sell stained glass sun catchers and small panels. I collaborate with Margaret on mosaic signs. I design the lettering and numbers and cut out the pieces. Then I hand them to Margaret, who glues them down and does the background creating the mosaic.

How did you learn about Etsy Project Embrace?

Margaret told me about it and I loved the idea.

Of all your creations, what is your favorite? And why?

Lets get back to designs. My favorite design is now called the Dr. Ed Mandala. It is named in memory of a good friend who died of pancreatic cancer. The last time I saw him in public was at a craft show and he bought a mandala. Soon after he died I named it after him and have donated 30% of all sales to pancreatic cancer research. The one he bought.

What is your favorite possession, and why do you cherish it?

Got to go with two and they both came from my grandmothers. Mamie was a quilter and I own a few of them. She was the first crafter I knew and the Log Cabin quilt in blues, which she made for Margaret and I, is the one we use. From Mom Mom I got years of strudel and the lesson on how to make it. She taught me shortly before she had a stroke and that day spent in her kitchen is seen as a blessing for sure. I am the one who now makes it for our family. Under the quilt, making strudel

Is there something special you collect?

Back in the day it was baseball cards. Now it is craft with a special love of Scherenschnitte and art ceramic tiles. Tile of squirrels , Scherenschnitte

Do you have a blog? URL?

My blog is named Stratoz and is about all that I do and love: stained glass, Pennsylvania, jazz, friends, Margaret, food, teaching, science, and spirituality, gardening, and birds. http://stratoz.blogspot.com/

Where do you hope to be, personally and in your artistic endeavors, in say 10 years time?

Seeing my teaching career coming to an end and seeing my crafting career soaring. I want to do special projects where someone tells me of a concern for a loved one and I take that into my studio and create a moment of hope out of glass.

A most special commissions: Hope for a Friend

Thank you so much Wayne!!

Weekly Challenge

Hello lovelies!

It's time to announce our Weekly Challenge winner!
This week's theme was "first frost."

Our winner is Gabriele from emmarts
with her "Sugared Blur," a cool fine art photo.

Leslie said: "Although the other entries beautifully captured the hard brilliance of ICE, I liked the warm colors peeking through the cold sparkle of frost in Gabriele's photo."

Congratulations Gabriele!

A huge, hugtastic thank you to our other
oh-so talented participants:
Stevie from Designs by Stevie J
Kristin from loveartstudios

You can check out their fabulous entries
on our Weekly Challenge page.

Gabriele's choice
for this week's theme:
"A time for reflection"

To participate in the fun:
1) Start creating!
2) List the item in your Etsy shop.
3) Contact me with a link to your entry by next Monday (November 29th) at 12 midnight EST.

**I just want to remind all of our teammates
who sell vintage or supplies that you can enter too!**

I also want to make sure that everyone knows you don't have to create something brand spanking new for the Weekly Challenge. If there's something in your shop that fits the theme, enter it!

I will post all of the lovely entries on our Weekly Challenge page as they come in. The new winner will be posted here next Wednesday. The winner then gets to choose the following week's theme, and of course, it's winner!

Happy creating!
xo, Jen

Season of Light Challenge

Hi Teamies,

I know that this is a busy time for everyone

and challenges are definitely not a priority.

So, to make it a bit easier on everyone, we are going

to extend the Season of Light Challenge treasury making phase!

Because of Thanksgiving, any treasuries made using the challenge

guidelines through

Sunday, November 28th at midnight

will be judged for the prize!

Thanks everyone and keep making those treasuries!!

Thank you so much to Joe who so graciously offered to

judge this one with Suz!! Good luck everyone!

xoxo,

Erica

Member Interview

Happy Novem-Beard!!

We continue with...

Hi, I am Brent LaRue, LaRueGraphics, and I live in Ontario. I am originally from a small town called Glencoe, but moved to London for college and university. I have a two year diploma for
Multimedia Design and Production and am now in my forth year at the University of Western Ontario. The shop name is my last name and since everybody usually chooses designs as the ending, I chose graphics just to be that much different. I sell custom graphic design as well as simple etsy banners. A lot of my custom services are down due to a heavy school load.

How did you learn about Etsy Project Embrace?

I was interested in joining a club to increase views of my shop at first. I decided to choose Project Embrace because its a noble cause and cancer has affected my life as my father died of it when I was only four. Than again, I don't know many people that cancer has not had an effect on there lives so I believe Project Embrace is a good cause.

My girlfriend Ashley, (I call her Ashe).

Of all your creations in your shop, what is your favorite? And why?

Choose One Slim 3 Piece Set - Deep Woods - Banner/Avatar Package

I really like the atmosphere that was created on the "Aura Woods" banner. Kinda spooky, but makes you want to step into the banner and take a look around. Also, its nice not making girly stuff all the time :)

Deep Woods

What is your favorite possession, and why do you cherish it?

My mom took a picture with myself and my dog the day he was put to asleep. She asked me to smile and I created the fakest smile in existence. It's a bit funny now that I'm over it. But at the time I was pretty hurt. I have the picture which she enlarged and framed. Wow, this is a twisted story now that I think about it. I still enjoy having it for the good memories (just not that day).

Ancient Book-Banner/Avatar Package

Is there something special you collect?

I have a book series I collect that intrigues me. I take really good care of all the books and don't wish to pass them on which is a bit obsessive, but oh well. It comprises of two authors, Steven Erikson and Ian Esslemont.

Triple Daisy- Banner/Avatar Package

Where do you hope to be, personally and in your artistic endeavors, in say 10 years time?

Teaching children as I am a applying to Teachers college shortly. Hopefully doing graphic design on the side to add income.

Night Time- Banner/Avatar Package

Thank you so much Brent!!

Weekly Challenge

Hello lovelies!

It's time to announce our Weekly Challenge winner!
This week's theme was "gather."

Our winner is Leslie from Leslie Lee
with her "The Dilemma" note card.
Kristin said: "Oh MY!! This is a TOUGH ONE!!!
What a MOST EXCELLENT GATHERING of Goodies!!
I love the ingenuity of each entry."
In the end, she went with Leslie's because she says
"Not only do I adore her explanation of it,
but it's how the Holidays can sometimes feel
for all of us Independent Artist/Business people...
this time of year is like gathering Insanity and constantly juggling it...
at least that's how it feels to me!!"

Congratulations Leslie!

A huge, hugtastic thank you to our other
oh-so talented participants:
Audrey from Audrey Garden Lady
Tina from Adorn Me Jewelry
Julie from Oooooh Shiny!
Joe from Prospero's Bookshelf
Stevie from Designs by Stevie J

You can check out their fabulous entries
on our Weekly Challenge page.

Leslie's choice
for this week's theme:
"first frost"

To participate in the fun:
1) Start creating!
2) List the item in your Etsy shop.
3) Contact me with a link to your entry by next Monday (November 22nd) at 12 midnight EST.

**I just want to remind all of our teammates
who sell vintage or supplies that you can enter too!**

I also want to make sure that everyone knows you don't have to create something brand spanking new for the Weekly Challenge. If there's something in your shop that fits the theme, enter it!

I will post all of the lovely entries on our Weekly Challenge page as they come in. The new winner will be posted here next Wednesday. The winner then gets to choose the following week's theme, and of course, it's winner!

Happy creating!
xo, Jen

Season Of Light Treasury Challenge

Hey there Teamies!
Announcing another Challenge...
We want to get our team out there as much as we can and hopefully flood the front page!

Here are the rules...

1. It would be so great if you could get each member to make 3 treasuries each... 300 shops=900 treasuries!!! To be in the running, you have to make 3.

2. Each treasury must have Season of Light in the title and be tagged with Season of Light and teamepe, so our judges can find them.

3. Each treasury must have AT LEAST 8 team members, no less!! We want our team to light up the front page!

4. The challenge will run from Sunday, November 14th at noon to Saturday, November 20th at midnight, so any treasuries between those dates and times are fair game.

5. Use these marketing guidelines to increase your chances of a front page spotlight!!

http://www.etsy.com/storque/how-to/from-etsys-merchandising-desk-novembers-holiday-feast-10707/?ref=fp_blog_title/

Now... For the fantastic prize... For the 2 tippety top treasuries...

An ad on our blog for an entire month!!

The winners of our last Ad challenge will use their talents to judge this one!

Rebecca- KneeDeepOriginals

and

Suz- SimplySuzula

Get those fingers clicking

and keep your eyes on the front page!!

Novem-Beard Interview!!!

My name is Nathan Edwards and I live in a small town in the woods of Maine. I named my shop Moonsky Woodworks because of my now 4 year old daughter. One day back when she was learning to speak, pointed up to the sky and said "moonsky" It became her favorite word to say and it was what instantly came to mind when my wife and I tried to come up with a name for the shop. I am obviously a woodworker but what I like to concentrate on is turning small vessels, pens and other small objects. I am also a burl junkie! To me, the figure of the wood is as important as the shape of the object I turn. I usually let the wood tell me what it should become rather than start with an idea set in stone. This is unfortunately only my weekend "job".

Cocobolo Wine Glass Wine Stopper

How did you learn about EPE?
My wife Anna from NobleGnome Jewelry had just joined the team and I wanted to join her in raising money for a cure. We both do quite a bit of contributing outside the shop and it feels good to add pieces where part of the proceeds go to the American Cancer Society.

Buckeye Burl 10K Gold Jr Gents

What is your favorite item in your shop?
You had to ask! I really don't know if I have a favorite piece but I have been working with Elm wood lately from the oldest Elm tree in Maine that recently had to be cut down. I love that it has a history! It has turned into some remarkable hollow vessels that I am not sure I want to part with yet.

Curly Maple Painted Fruit Bowl

What is your most prized possession?
That's easy. My lathe! My wife gave it to me as a gift and it has yet to stop giving me joy and a way to escape from the daily grind. When I'm at my lathe it doesn't matter if I fail to find the shape or form I wanted. I still find something interesting in the wood. Even if it comes off the lathe and hits me in the head. It has happened enough times that it should have knocked some sense into me!

Is there anything that you collect?
I really don't collect a particular item but have lately started to find old tools, mainly hand tools, fix them up and then use them in my shop. There is something special about using simpler tools rather than power tools all the time.


What would you like to be doing ten years from now?
Holy cow, 10 years down the road! I can't think a week ahead! I am forever striving to be a better father and husband. As I work on being the best man I can be for my family I find that my work in the shop also improves.

The photos I have attached are of the kids helping me paint some of my bowl blanks for the drying process and one of my work area. Child labor rocks!!

Thank you so much Nate!!

Finds 'n' Fancies

out of the box

 kyoo hood by a. e. brown (medusawolf), galliano patchwork sweater

black afgano fragrance by nasomatto, louise bourgeois: the fabric works

cube by bebond20, march edition print by essimar

steel vessels set by modernindustry, blue spots cube embroidered pop art by WeirdWoollyDesigns

Phew! Tip-toed just a little outside of my comfort zone for this one, but thought it would make a nice segue into Erica's next Novem-beard interview. If you missed the first, you can find out more about our Joe here.

May you all succeed at something new today! --katie :D

Weekly Challenge

Hello lovelies!

It's time to announce our Weekly Challenge winner!
This week's theme was "rememberance."

Our winner is Kristin from loveartsworks
with her Hope Hummingbird Dish.

Lana really believed that for different reasons, she could choose any of the entries as a winner.
She decided to go with Kristin's because "Her piece touches my heart in a personal way as she talks about strength and hope. Both of my parents have passed away ~ my Dad in 1997 and my Mom in 2006. Prayers from my family and friends for Strength, and the Hope that's in my heart that tells me I will see them again are what have sustained me through these losses. "

Congratulations Kristin!

A huge, hugtastic thank you to our other
oh-so talented participants:
Stevie of Designs by Stevie J
Julie from Little Altars Everywhere
Melinda from Crab Apple Vintage
Rebecca of Knee Deep Originals

You can check out their fabulous entries
on our Weekly Challenge page.

Kristin's choice
for this week's theme:
"gather"

To participate in the fun:
1) Start creating!
2) List the item in your Etsy shop.
3) Contact me with a link to your entry by next Monday (November 15th) at 12 midnight EST.

**I just want to remind all of our teammates
who sell vintage or supplies that you can enter too!**

I also want to make sure that everyone knows you don't have to create something brand spanking new for the Weekly Challenge. If there's something in your shop that fits the theme, enter it!

I will post all of the lovely entries on our Weekly Challenge page as they come in. The new winner will be posted here next Wednesday. The winner then gets to choose the following week's theme, and of course, it's winner!

Happy creating!
xo, Jen

Cozy Treasury Challenge Winners!

Hello Teamies!!

Announcing our amazing

Cozy

Treasury Challenge

Winners!

Cozy Home

CrabAppleVintage

Quintessential Coziness

BlueBerryCream

Such a blustery day and all I want is to get cozy!

CropCircleClay

Thank you so much to our Judges

and to all who participated!

A special thanks to our generous shops who donated prizes:

Gabriele- Emmarts

Amy- AdornbyAmySingley

Stevie-Dbsj

Stay tuned for our next challenge!!

Our winners will be using their talents judging the next!

Novem-Beard Interview

Hello Teamies...

Welcome to Novem-Beard, where we will be honoring and getting to know the men of our team!

Introducing...

Hi there! I'm Joe, and my shop is ProsperosBookshelf. I live with my wife Mollie and Kitty Moonbeam on the coast of Maine.

Born in Portland, Maine, inspired by childhood summers on the shores of Sebago Lake, educated through the generosity of the GI Bill, I turned my early love of reading into a career of teaching and research as a professor of English. Over the years I accumulated a substantial library, along with a collection of curious theatre memorabilia. As time passes and life changes, one starts wondering: What on earth shall I do with all this stuff?

I found the answer as Mollie expanded our knowledge of the internet. Having explored our genealogy, we learned that an ancestor was a voyager on the Sea Adventure, the wrecked ship that inspired Shakespeare to write "The Tempest." In the magician's declaration near the end of the play, "This Rough Magic I hear abjure," Mollie found the name of her shop, RoughMagic Creations, and I borrowed the magician's name for my shop: Prospero's Bookshelf.

I have a second shop, FeedbackTheatrebooks. In our business Partnership (est. 1983) Mollie and I publish theatre books and pre-World War I American plays for university courses. I now list those plays in this shop, along with the more esoteric vintage books from our library.

I learned about EPE from Mollie. Laura had purchased some copper blanks from us, and she quickly became a good friend. When she was diagnosed with cancer, the word spread, and the world changed.

My favorite item from Prospero's Bookshelf is a small, colorfully illustrated book, printed in Japan on "crepe paper," entitled "The Boy Who Drew Cats." It's a Japanese fairy tale translated into English by Lafcadio Hearn (1850-1904). I can't remember which dusty book store I was poking around in when I found it, but the book's singluar character was irresistable. There is much that I would love to say about Hearn, a Greek-Irish-American author who became a Japanese citizen, but for now I'll quote a critic: "At his best, Hearn evokes both in form and content an ethos 'as gentle as the light of dreaming.'"

The Boy Who Drew Cats Lafcadio Hearn

It is difficult to choose one favorite possession, but I'll settle on a hand saw that my father used. It has a handcarved handle with finger holes and is very comfortable in my hands. Although not a carpenter by trade, my father built our family home, including beautiful oak china cabinets and fireplace surround. His father, however, was a carpenter who died after falling off a schoolhouse roof when Dad was very young. The home my father built still stands, well kept and handsome after all almost 100 years. And Dad's saw - I use it all the time and keep it in my grandfather's tool chest.

Town Hall Tonight, American small town theater in the 1880s and 90s

I guess that I would have to say that along with rocks, sand from beaches I've visited, birch bark and different varieties of moss, I still collect books. I can't seem to sell them in my shops as fast as they accumulate on my shelves, tables and every other flat surface.

I have a blog, and I must post there more frequently:http://ProsperosBookshelf.blogspot.com

Hanuman Monkey King Malaysian Shadow Puppet

Personally, Mollie and I have a mantra relative to all future dates: Stay happy; stay healthy; stay here. (Here being the sprawling old house we love and have renovated room by room over the past 21 years.)

Artistic endeavors. I have always enjoyed "doing things" - the legacy of a stern mother who did not tolerate childish complaints about boredom: "You find something to do, or I will find something for you." I don't remember ever complaining. The problem is that I never think of the things I do as "artistic endeavors." I like to make the things in copper that Mollie uses in her designs, and I hope to get better. As a teenager, I made a "Indian War Club" by uprooting a small birch tree, sharpening the roots into points, varnishing it and adding a leather thong to the handle. It looked fierce in the corner of my room, and I'l like make another one. But artistic? I doubt it.

Thank you so much Joe!!