Be on the lookout later today for the Bea Green Blogorama!
Get your posts on bea-ing green ready, for there is a market tote to win :)
Monday, September 1, 2008
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Go Green, Save Money?
An article on MSN that talks about ways going "green" can save you money
It's true...there is another reason to switch to fabric or reusable grocery bags--it may save you money. Many stores all over the world will give you a "bag refund"--a small amount of money back per bag you use that isn't theirs. And more and more states, cities, and countries are moving toward fining, banning, phasing out, or penalizing plastic or paper bags.
I did find it ironic, though, that the bags they featured--while very cool--were rather expensive. I mean, it would take you a long time to make that money back. I understand...I mean, I sell my bags basically at wholesale price. I could--and probably should--charge more than I do. But that would kind of make them out-of-reach for some people, and perhaps take advantage of the more economically advantaged green folk. But we won't get into all that since I've talked about it before. It was still rather ironic. :) However, the good news for those that can't afford a reusable grocery bag priced at $50 or more is that you have many more affordable options. Including yours truly, of course. :)
It's true...there is another reason to switch to fabric or reusable grocery bags--it may save you money. Many stores all over the world will give you a "bag refund"--a small amount of money back per bag you use that isn't theirs. And more and more states, cities, and countries are moving toward fining, banning, phasing out, or penalizing plastic or paper bags.
I did find it ironic, though, that the bags they featured--while very cool--were rather expensive. I mean, it would take you a long time to make that money back. I understand...I mean, I sell my bags basically at wholesale price. I could--and probably should--charge more than I do. But that would kind of make them out-of-reach for some people, and perhaps take advantage of the more economically advantaged green folk. But we won't get into all that since I've talked about it before. It was still rather ironic. :) However, the good news for those that can't afford a reusable grocery bag priced at $50 or more is that you have many more affordable options. Including yours truly, of course. :)
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Housewarming Gift
My littlest sister recently struck out on her own, renting a two-bedroom house with a friend. Her friend had lived on her own before, and apparently had many of the basic gadgets covered. Between that and what my mother was giving her, she didn't really need much in the way of basic necessities. So what's a girl to give as a housewarming gift?
I knew she wanted a bag from me, which would make an excellent gift in and of itself. Especially as more cities and states and countries are moving toward limiting, taxing, fining, or banning plastic and/or paper grocery bags, the gift of a Bumble Bea Green market tote or three is an excellent choice for the savvy giver. Green, beautiful, and rather multi-purpose, a market tote is sure to score.
Of course, she is my sister, and I can't just stop at one thing. Oh no. I'm the type of person who likes to give theme gifts. Last Christmas, I made several family members cry--in a good way--with a thoughtful gift. That Christmas will be hard to top, heh. Anyways, I knew that for her gift I wanted to give her things that were ordinary and yet so often overlooked. Things like, the little touches that make a house a home.
So I scoured Etsy for something unique, handmade, and yet ordinary. I found a refreshing "bath tea infusion" from Ollie Baby. My sister works a very physical job, and I knew it would be the perfect tool to help her soak away those sore muscles in her antique claw-foot tub. One thing that is fun to have are pretty magnets. So I consulted one of my favorite Etsy shops, Washi by Maoiliosa, for a perfect set of lovely pink magnets to grace her antique fridge. Finally, I wanted to add one more personal touch to her house. Having added a bit of relaxation and heavenly scent in the bathroom and a glimpse of her pink-obsessed personality in the kitchen, I decided to go with a set of coasters from RuBee Designs that reflected her shopping obsession (especially with shoes and purses!). Perfect! Now all I needed to do was put it together!
Another great use for my totes is using them as gift bags. These items, however, were small and fragile. So I thought I could just wrap it all together, but that wasn't a fun and eco-friendly idea. Then I thought...what if I use the bag to wrap it up?
Here are my carefully chosen and handmade-by me and others--items
A close up of the goodies I bought
I carefully placed all the items inside, putting the coasters more on one side and the other items on the other side
Then folded the bag up around the items
I folded the bag in half, and used the straps to secure it. Voilà!
Green, handmade, beautiful, meaningful, unique gift that wrapped and even padded itself. How awesome is that? :D
I knew she wanted a bag from me, which would make an excellent gift in and of itself. Especially as more cities and states and countries are moving toward limiting, taxing, fining, or banning plastic and/or paper grocery bags, the gift of a Bumble Bea Green market tote or three is an excellent choice for the savvy giver. Green, beautiful, and rather multi-purpose, a market tote is sure to score.
Of course, she is my sister, and I can't just stop at one thing. Oh no. I'm the type of person who likes to give theme gifts. Last Christmas, I made several family members cry--in a good way--with a thoughtful gift. That Christmas will be hard to top, heh. Anyways, I knew that for her gift I wanted to give her things that were ordinary and yet so often overlooked. Things like, the little touches that make a house a home.
So I scoured Etsy for something unique, handmade, and yet ordinary. I found a refreshing "bath tea infusion" from Ollie Baby. My sister works a very physical job, and I knew it would be the perfect tool to help her soak away those sore muscles in her antique claw-foot tub. One thing that is fun to have are pretty magnets. So I consulted one of my favorite Etsy shops, Washi by Maoiliosa, for a perfect set of lovely pink magnets to grace her antique fridge. Finally, I wanted to add one more personal touch to her house. Having added a bit of relaxation and heavenly scent in the bathroom and a glimpse of her pink-obsessed personality in the kitchen, I decided to go with a set of coasters from RuBee Designs that reflected her shopping obsession (especially with shoes and purses!). Perfect! Now all I needed to do was put it together!
Another great use for my totes is using them as gift bags. These items, however, were small and fragile. So I thought I could just wrap it all together, but that wasn't a fun and eco-friendly idea. Then I thought...what if I use the bag to wrap it up?
Here are my carefully chosen and handmade-by me and others--items
A close up of the goodies I bought
I carefully placed all the items inside, putting the coasters more on one side and the other items on the other side
Then folded the bag up around the items
I folded the bag in half, and used the straps to secure it. Voilà!
Green, handmade, beautiful, meaningful, unique gift that wrapped and even padded itself. How awesome is that? :D
Bea Green Blogorama is BACK!
What?
On the 1st and 16th I will be hosting this "green meme"-the Bea Green Blogorama! I'd love to get our heads together and learn about living a more green and natural way from each other. Most of my friends already post about "green" topics frequently, so I figured, why not put them all together once in awhile so we can all enjoy them?
How?
To participate, all you need to do is dig up a past post or write a new one about bea-ing green...how you are, what you are doing that is 'green', ways to be green, what it means to you--the sky's the limit, as long as it's family-friendly and environmentally conscious. Hang your laundry instead of using the dryer? Tell us about it! Saving money and the air on gas somehow? Please share! Planting a garden--and growing it organically? The topic is broad and yet the focus is narrow.
On the 1st and 16th I will be hosting this "green meme"-the Bea Green Blogorama! I'd love to get our heads together and learn about living a more green and natural way from each other. Most of my friends already post about "green" topics frequently, so I figured, why not put them all together once in awhile so we can all enjoy them?
How?
To participate, all you need to do is dig up a past post or write a new one about bea-ing green...how you are, what you are doing that is 'green', ways to be green, what it means to you--the sky's the limit, as long as it's family-friendly and environmentally conscious. Hang your laundry instead of using the dryer? Tell us about it! Saving money and the air on gas somehow? Please share! Planting a garden--and growing it organically? The topic is broad and yet the focus is narrow.
Huzzah!
I scored another treasury! What is a treasury, you may ask? On Etsy, when you visit their homepage and see the lovely featured items, that is a treasury. Treasuries are collections of favorite things picked by fellow Etsy artists. To score a treasury, one must be in the right place at the right time, and that is actually harder than it sounds. Getting your treasury on the Etsy homepage is even harder. Etsy Admins choose from usually 300-500+ treasuries for truly exceptional ones to grace the front page.
It may sound like perhaps it's not something to be terribly excited about, because it's not for self-promotion. But I like to think of it as self-promotion in a backwards sort of way. First of all, I love to promote Etsy, and I definitely love to promote handmade products, and I DEFINITELY love to promote quality handmade products from sellers I trust or know personally. When I pick you for a treasury, I let you know. In a way, that's promotion, and good for both of us. My name is on the treasury, so my name is at least out there, if not my products. So it is good for me, and good for my friends and fellow respected artists and artisans. I figure that eventually, people will do the same and pick me.
And in fact it already happened once, and that particular treasury featuring one of my bags made it to the front page, which was quite an honor. :) This is the second treasury I have made. :) I'm pretty excited about it! I either know or have purchased from about half of the people I featured this time, and found some new neat stuff from people I haven't.
So if you haven't yet, take a peek!
It may sound like perhaps it's not something to be terribly excited about, because it's not for self-promotion. But I like to think of it as self-promotion in a backwards sort of way. First of all, I love to promote Etsy, and I definitely love to promote handmade products, and I DEFINITELY love to promote quality handmade products from sellers I trust or know personally. When I pick you for a treasury, I let you know. In a way, that's promotion, and good for both of us. My name is on the treasury, so my name is at least out there, if not my products. So it is good for me, and good for my friends and fellow respected artists and artisans. I figure that eventually, people will do the same and pick me.
And in fact it already happened once, and that particular treasury featuring one of my bags made it to the front page, which was quite an honor. :) This is the second treasury I have made. :) I'm pretty excited about it! I either know or have purchased from about half of the people I featured this time, and found some new neat stuff from people I haven't.
So if you haven't yet, take a peek!
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Treasury!
I love Etsy and that it is such a community. We support each other and buy from each other and promote each other. One of the ways to promote each other that is uniquely built in to Etsy is the Treasury. It's not a place to promote *your* work, but others. And it is darn hard to score a spot. But I managed to score one! Check it out:
Summer's Last Stand...of Lemonade
I love all those items, and have had personal, favorable interactions with jenngee, Tumus, 29 Cherry Blossoms, Naiad Soap Arts, and Washi by Maoiliosa. I have personally been featured once that I know of, and that treasury actually made it to the front page of Etsy which is quite the honor :D.
Summer's Last Stand...of Lemonade
I love all those items, and have had personal, favorable interactions with jenngee, Tumus, 29 Cherry Blossoms, Naiad Soap Arts, and Washi by Maoiliosa. I have personally been featured once that I know of, and that treasury actually made it to the front page of Etsy which is quite the honor :D.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Life and Being Your Own Boss
One thing that is very nice about being your own boss is that you don't get in trouble when you need to take an unexpected break due to life circumstances. One bad thing about it is that business comes to an all-stop. I fear my little shop may have suffered due to my inattention; people looking for new bags may be discouraged from shopping with me since it has been so long since I have posted anything new. But alas, it cannot be helped.
So instead, I will focus on the blessing that it is to be free to take a break when I need it. 2008 has been a crazy, up-and-down, difficult year. Some wonderful and exciting things happened this year (like the long-time-coming birth of my business), but I do not think I will remember 2008 with much fondness besides.
Most recently, my dear Grandma and next-door neighbor had a stroke. Fortunately, it was caught early and she is recovering well and expected to continue to recover, but of course that has taken up much of my emotional and mental energy. It is difficult for me to attend to much of her care because of the little ones I have, but I have filled in here and there wherever there are gaps in her care.
Two other people precious to me have had falling accidents in the past week; one very serious, one not as serious. My sister, the less serious accident, was bucked off of a horse and sustained a mild head injury as well as a broken back. So we are rallying to try and help her in HER business, as she works with horses and it is physical labor that she cannot do at this time.
Add to that the craziness of "birthday season", and well, I am one busy lady. We homeschool, and I am attempting to plan for the school year as well as our annual de-clutter and thorough deep clean of our home. After a period of unemployment, my husband is back to work at a new job, which has required paperwork and such. Yup, life is full right now...full of happiness and wonder, minutiae and grunt work, heartaches and worry. And a lot of busyness. I hope to get back to making bags with more regularity soon, and rolling out new products. Fortunately there *are* some bags for sale on my website, or I'd feel like a total slacker. ;) But August is seeming a daunting month for me to get through...we'll just have to see! :)
So instead, I will focus on the blessing that it is to be free to take a break when I need it. 2008 has been a crazy, up-and-down, difficult year. Some wonderful and exciting things happened this year (like the long-time-coming birth of my business), but I do not think I will remember 2008 with much fondness besides.
Most recently, my dear Grandma and next-door neighbor had a stroke. Fortunately, it was caught early and she is recovering well and expected to continue to recover, but of course that has taken up much of my emotional and mental energy. It is difficult for me to attend to much of her care because of the little ones I have, but I have filled in here and there wherever there are gaps in her care.
Two other people precious to me have had falling accidents in the past week; one very serious, one not as serious. My sister, the less serious accident, was bucked off of a horse and sustained a mild head injury as well as a broken back. So we are rallying to try and help her in HER business, as she works with horses and it is physical labor that she cannot do at this time.
Add to that the craziness of "birthday season", and well, I am one busy lady. We homeschool, and I am attempting to plan for the school year as well as our annual de-clutter and thorough deep clean of our home. After a period of unemployment, my husband is back to work at a new job, which has required paperwork and such. Yup, life is full right now...full of happiness and wonder, minutiae and grunt work, heartaches and worry. And a lot of busyness. I hope to get back to making bags with more regularity soon, and rolling out new products. Fortunately there *are* some bags for sale on my website, or I'd feel like a total slacker. ;) But August is seeming a daunting month for me to get through...we'll just have to see! :)
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