Are Your Ears Sensitive to Metals?

Many people have sensitivities to metals and the jewelry that's made out of them. If you're one of them, there are some things that you can try that may just get you back into that pair of earrings you so love!


You can experiment to find out what you CAN wear!

EXPERIMENT:
First, Let your ears heal. If you have extreme sensitivities, check with your doctor first.

Always clean new earring posts/earwires with rubbing alcohol. Then you can try out earrings made with the different types of quality metals: sterling, 14K gold filled (or 14K gold), and, if necessary, argentium silver. Wear each one for a day to see if your ears still react to the metal. (At the FIRST sign of irritation, take the earrings OFF! If you think you have an infection, be sure to check with your doctor.)

You can also try dipping an irritating earwire in clear fingernail polish. Be sure to let them dry thoroughly before you put them in your ears!

Once you find what works for you, you can
* have a jewelry artist replace the earwires of your favorite earrings with earwires that work, or even
* order a special pair of earwires from which you can hang
your earring dangles!

For step by step instructions and some additional information, you can check out my blog on this topic. If you'd like me to help you with the experimentation, you can convo me through my Etsy shop. I'd be happy to help!

Written by Judy of WellspringCreations

Shop of the Week - dizzlePOP

Introducing Gigi Thorsen, the creative mind behind dizzlePOP, the Etsy Twitter Team's Shop of the Week. Gigi makes coffee cozies in a wide assortment of fabrics from bold to subtle, from flowers to skulls. It's no wonder she finds inspiration from these wonderful fabrics she's collected. In just over three years, her Etsy shop has seen 870+ sales, so news of her quality and attention to detail has certainly spread. Gigi says "I love making items functional and lasting!"

Some of dizzlePOP's popularity stems from Gigi's great customer service and fast shipping. Not one to rest on her laurels, her goal this year has been to make sure she has enough inventory to be able to turn her orders around quickly, but that's not her motivating force. She says, "For me it's not the numbers but the joy of creating and sharing!"

Gigi feels that Twitter is the best tool that brings business to dizzlePOP. Her secret? "Have relationships with your followers and those you follow." It's not just about the marketing, but the relationships you build through the medium of Twitter than can cause someone to check out your shop and stumble upon that 'just right' purchase. However, she does have a secret Twitter pleasure: Gigi loves to "watch views after a tweet and...to watch the number rise!"


Gigi is planning a holiday special starting sometime after Thanksgiving, but this week she's offering a shop of the week special!

Buy one, get one half off.
If you order 3 or more, shipping is free!
~~~~~~~
Find dizzlePOP on
Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/shop/dizzlepop
Twitter: http://twitter.com/dizzlepop
Written by Judy of WellspringCreations

HARVEST FESTIVAL!! ~Let's shop!

Meet Donnielle from

Design Knit Fun
Make sure you check out the Harvest section of this amazing shop! You can also find
Scarves, Neckwarmers, Cowls, and Bangles.

Include code ETTHarvest at purchase for a complimentary Simply Fun bangle - choice of colors depends on availability

Meet Ellie from My Little Chickadee Creations

Here you will find Tile Coasters, Wedding Favors, and Personalized Ornament.

Sale is the following -please use the code "ETTHarvest"

25% off select tile coasters & trivets during the harvest festival.

Meet Claire from RhodesAnnalsDesigns

Claire makes beautiful scarves, cowls, and bags.

Her sale is:

FREE international shipping for September using the code ETTHarvest

Meet Debby from starbabyonline She has set up a special section just for our Harvest festival where you will find beautiful jewelry.

Her sale is EtsyTwitter Team is having a fall Harvest Festival sale! For my part, each of my items with the "ETTHarvest" tag are each $2.00 off - no limit on how many you can purchase! Just include ETTHarvest" in the "message to seller" section of your final review and I'll PayPal the $2.00 back to you within 24 hours.

Meet Janelle from Scrap with Style .

If you love to scrap or love pretty ribbon you gotta book mark Janelle's shop. Where you will find tons of Paper, Ribbon, Scrapbook Kits all in fall/autumn themes

Sale of 10% off any order of $10 or more (not including shipping) with the ETTHarvest code entered in the "msg to seller" spot at checkout. Refunds will be given via paypal after payment is made, 10% back will not be given on the shipping charges. Only one promo code/offer per order.

Welcome to Jus Shar desings run by Beth. She sews, knits and crochets many different items for men, women, children and teens. Pictured on the left here is one of her hats for men. She has several other designs and colors to choose from.

Mention "ETTHARVEST" in sellers notes and receive

FREE shipping within the United States, and 15% off shipping for the rest.

Hope your finding some great deals for the holidays. If not do not give up hope there are many more shops we can help you find that perfect gift in.

~Jen

www.Jenco13.etsy.com

HARVEST FESTIVAL!! - Photo & Cranberry Stuffed Acorn Squash

Photo and Recipe submitted by:

Maxine Forward
Whimsy Fish Arts (http://www.etsy.com/shop/whimsyfish)

"This was taken at Applecrest Farm in Hampton Falls, NH last October. I have always loved the Ghosties (white pumpkins), as they are not very common around here. Nothing says Autumn like a pile of pumpkins!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is very yummy, easy to make and uses great Autumn produce. Makes you hungry for Thanksgiving!

Cranberry Stuffed Acorn Squash
2 Servings

1 medium Acorn Squash
2 tbs. Slivered Almonds
2 Sweet Italian Chicken Sausages (6 oz. total)
¼ cup chopped Celery
¼ cup Water
3 oz. dry Cornbread Stuffing
¼ cup sweetened Dried Cranberries

1. Cut the squash in half from top to bottom. Scoop out seeds and discard. Cut a sliver from the bottom of each half so that they will sit upright. Place the halves, cut side up, on a baking sheet and roast in a 375° oven for 1 hour or until the flesh is soft. When cool enough to handle, scoop out the flesh leaving a ¼ inch thick shell. Put squash pulp in a bowl and set aside. Save the shells for stuffing.

2. Place the almonds in a skillet and toast for 2 to 3 minutes until lightly browned. Set aside.

3. Remove casings from the sausage and discard. Place sausage and celery in a non-stick skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until sausage is crumbled and no longer pink. Add water and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and gently stir in stuffing mix.

4. Mix stuffing with squash, almonds and cranberries. Cover and let stand 5 minutes.

5. Fill the 2 squash shells with stuffing and place on a baking dish sprayed with non-stick spray. Bake in a 350° oven for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

HARVEST FESTIVAL!! - Photo

These photographs were submitted by Judy of Wellspring Creations

According to Judy "The neighbors complain about the Liquid Amber trees which drop brown prickly golf sized balls (shown below) by the truckload most of the year. There are no complaints in the fall, however!"

HARVEST FESTIVAL!! ~Sweet Potato Casserole (or Sweet Potato Bake).

Curtis & Lydia Kinsey of FaerytaleWing's Art sent me this recipe to share with all of you. Here is what they said about it:

"We love this recipe because its super sweet and tasty! Curtis also loves sweet potato casserole, all year round. Lydia made it about 8 times since January."

Sweet Potato Casserole

(or Sweet Potato Bake)

Ingredients:
3 cups mashed sweet potatoes
2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar (as I learned it, it was about 1 cup of sugar! It was way too sweet like that!)
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/4 cup heavy cream (or half and half, or whole milk) (don't add if lactose intolerant!)

(Adjust sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves to taste/diet/wants/wishes)

Topping:
1 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup pecans (or walnuts, but pecans are better) chopped
Mix together with fork; sprinkle over top of casserole.

Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Mix all ingredients together except for cream. Beat with an electric mixer until smooth.
Add cream;mix well.
Pour into greased casserole dish (preferably a 9"x9") and add topping.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.
Cool and consume.

http://twitter.com/faerytalewings

Shop of the Week - jusshar

The Etsy Twitter Team shop of the week is jusshar, featuring the sewn, knit, and crocheted accessories created by Beth Newbern-Hallam. Beth just doesn't run down to the store to buy material for every project. She loves to recyle yarns and fabrics. As she puts it, "I'm really dedicated to using what I have, and repurposing materials into something new." She does buy new materials for use in custom projects, unless the customer is like-minded and requests the repurposed materials!

As for ideas, Beth doesn't just get inspired; she is driven! "I just have an internal need to create. I knit and/or crochet every single day. I can't imagine NOT creating." Another thing Beth loves about her work is its mobility. She'll take it along on trips, car rides...even to her kids' school events! And if she's not getting the result she wants? "I can just unravel it and start over."

On the business front, Beth is planning to revamp her blog and website. She also plans to change the direction of her work from trying to hit trends to creating the items that come from her own imagination. This will be a challenge as she is a full time student in graphics and web design and planning a move to North Carolina where she plans to continue her college education. She wont' be alone though, as her youngest son will be attending the same college!

As for Twitter, Beth does tweet, but considers herself a "dabbler". As a business tool, she approaches social media carefully as she is concerned about being spammy. "That's such a turn off for me personally." Bringing business to her shop has been a struggle, although she has concluded that her sales are cyclical, with increased activity over the holidays. With her busy college schedule and planned relocation, Beth is planning to put her Etsy shop on an indefinate break on November 30th. "I'd like to sell out my Etsy shop(s) by then."


This week, jusshar is offering
25% off to anyone who adds
"SOTW" in the message to the seller!
~~~~~~~
Other links to jusshar:
Etsy Shop: http://jusshar.etsy.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/jusshar
Facebook: http://facebook.com/jusshardesigns
Blog: http://jusshardesigns.blogspot.com

Written by Judy of Wellspring Creations

HARVEST FESTIVAL!! - Photo

These photos were provided by Janet from

http://honeyfromthebee.etsy.com

Don't you just love the colors??

HARVEST FESTIVAL!! ~ Pumpkin dip

One thing I love to do at this time of year is to cook. Out comes the baking pans, measuring cups and tons of cook books. So with the new cooking movie Julia and Julia coming out this past year I figured I am not alone. So I asked our members to share some of their favorite items they love to cook.Below is a Pumpkin dip sure to make any football fan or baseball fan happy to munch on while rooting on their favorite team.

Pumpkin Dip

8 oz. cream cheese softened

2 c. powder sugar

15 oz. solid pack pumpkin

1 T. cinnamon

1 T. pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp. frozen orange juice concentrate (optional)

Mix ingredients together, and serve with gingersnaps.

A special thanks to Lois from FoxyGknits for sharing this beautiful Pumpkin dip with us. I am sure looking forward to making some for the football games this weekend.

Twitter: @foxygknits

MEET US AT THE FAIR!

If you're like me I love this time of year when the weather cools and bring out craft fairs and farmers markets. Which made me think that many of us on the Etsy Twitter Team (ETT) have been talking about the up coming shows we are having. With over a 1,000 readers and approx 100 shops I thought about how much I would love to meet some more of our members. So I asked the team to send me a list of Craft shows/farmers markets that they will be doing in the next few months.

If you have never been to a craft show/farmers market I highly suggest going to check them out. You can not only meet our sellers, Etsy Twitter Team, but you can talk to them one on one about their craft and products.

My DH, Joe and I go to a farmers market every Sunday and when we do we meet and find the most amazing things. I have even started my holiday shopping. My biggest surprised was to already have found one of my "hard to buy for" gifts.

Please come meet the following sellers during the month of September:

September 11th

Meet Janet from ~~~Honey from the Bee

Opulent Art Show

10-5 PM

The Cutting Garden, 303 Dahlia Llama Lane, Sequim, Washington

My etsy shop: http://honeyfromthebee.etsy.com

Opulent Art Show link: http://www.opulentartshow.com/

or

Meet Thea from ~~~ Fibrous

Portobello September Craft Fair

10.00am - 4.00pm

Portobello Town Hall, Edinburgh, UK

147 - 149 High Street
Portobello
EH15 1AF
UK
http://www.edinburghcraftfairs.co.uk/Venues.htm

Fibrous: http://fibrous.etsy.com

Ooh and for our readers if you mention the code "TWITTER" at the Portobello Market she will be giving you a 10% discount!!

~~~~~~

September 18, 2010

Meet Jen from ~~ Jenco13

(aka ETT team leader)

9TH ANNUAL ROASTED CHILE FESTIVAL

9AM TO 3PM

12500 E. Old Spanish Trail about 4 miles east of Saguaro National Park East in and around the big green & white barn

www.rvfm.org

www.Jenco13.etsy.com

Mention this blog post l to me and I will give you a 10% discount.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

September 26- Sunday

Meet Thea from ~~~ Fibrous

She will be doing a class and demonstrations at:

Edinburgh Bead Fair

11-00am - 4.30pm

Corn Exchange, 11 Newmarket Road,

Edinburgh, EH14 1RJ
UK
http://edinburghbeadfair.co.uk/visit_edinburgh_bead_fair_3.html

http://fibrous.etsy.com

~Hope you will join us at our fairs. there are more fairs to be posted for October, November and December.

Wishing you all a very happy shopping season.

Jen

HARVEST FESTIVAL!! ~Let's shop!

Meet Janet from Honey from the Bee.

Janet joined our team this summer and sells necklaces, earrings, bracelets and brooches. I'm in love with this beautiful Tiger Lampwork and silver acorn pendant.

Meet Rita- one of our newest members of ETT. Rita runs 2 shops on etsy AndMoreBags

& RitasCreationsOnETSY

Pictured to the left is one of Rita's items from AndMoreBags where you will find

Reusable Snack Sacks, Zippered Bags, Mini Wallets/Business
Card Holders. I love this apple Reusable bag that is sure to brighten up anyones lunch box!

Rita is offering a 10% off on any item tagged with HARVESTFESTIVAL - use the promotional code

ETTHarvest and I refund via PayPal

Meet Lois from Foxy G. Knits .

She makes beautiful scarves, wraps, and shawls in a variety of autumn shades and hues. She has a beautiful variety of other colors sure to please all during those cool autumn days.

To see Lois's selection of what reminder her of autumn check out this section of her shop: Harvest festival

~Jen

www.jenco13.etsy.com

HARVEST FESTIVAL!! - Photo

Happy harvest festival day 2. Before the festival started I challenged all the EtsyTwitter Team (ETT) members to send in pictures that reminded them of fall, autumn or harvesting. Here is what makes our members think HARVEST FESTIVAL!

Above is a photo of a breeze blowing through native grass (on my weekend property in Central California)~Nina

Nina was also kind enough to send me a picture of one of her cards with dry flowers in a handcut vase. It is currently for sale in her etsy shop:

Prettycheapjewerly

~Jen

www.jenco13.etsy.com

HARVEST FESTIVAL!!

Good Morning all and thanks for join us for our 1st Harvest Festival. I hope you will join us every day to learn about our team members favorite recipes, photographs from the fall and all about their shops.

Let's start out with a few of our shops. If you would like to go directly to their shops or to the pictures that are shown below just click their shop names or the picture. It will take you right into the Etsy shop of your choice. I would also like to suggest clicking on their "shop" buttons as these links will take you only to one section of their shops.

Happy Early Holiday shopping all!! (108 days till the holidays)

~Jen

Meet Jessica from FrostedTreats. Jessica is offering FREE SHIPPING in her shop during our Harvest Festival. She is a very talented person who was kind enough to design our graphics for this event.

She makes these darling little charms, earnings, necklaces, bookmarks and more.

Meet Judy from WellspringCreations.

You may know Judy from our SOTW post here on our blog.

She makes beautiful bracelets, cuffs, earrings, rings and pendants.

Meet Max from Whimsy Fish Arts

Max is one of our newer members to ETT and has several different Harvest items in her shop. May I suggest checking out her Halloween Sweater Ornament and her Glass Bracelet with Celtic Charms.

See you all tomorrow! ;)