Put Your Geek Stuff Here - Artfire Collection

Poppy put me in a collection. Isn't she sweet. Love the geekery.

Put your geek stuff here!

  Curated By: PoppysWickedG...

ArtFire.com

Indie Design

Cyber Monday Deal

Stop by the shop for a great deal on shipping through the end of the day cyber Monday. I've even discounted International shipping. There's even a $5 discount on chef's aprons for your guys.

Poppy's Garden Gate 

Your #1 shop for handmade Genre and Geekery

Sharing Time - Holiday Gifts 2011 Part 4

Getting so close to the Holidays and I am looking all over for gifts and decorations to make for friends and family. Did you get your gift from me yet? I think it's in the mail.

I do wish I found this one earlier for you, but if you run out now you might have time to make it. This is the cutest ever "Book Bag". A little handbag recycled from a vintage book binding.

And you can't fool me. I know some of you have not finished decorating yet. Here is a Fabric Yo-Yo Tree.

And Better Homes and Gardens has some cute Decorations for you.

Back to gift ideas, how about a quick easy Monogram Mug? Fill it with a bag of Cocoa.

Here's another easy one. Lemony Kitchen Hand Scrub. I think I want this one for me.

I love this Etched Trifle Bowl, and I have etching paste. Why didn't I think of that?

Oh and a handmade Wooden Wax Seal I have all I need for this too. I better get busy!

Polymer Gift Tags. They would make such cute jewelry charms too.

OK enough for today. I hope you all have a wonderful Holiday with Many More Joyous Days to come.

Sharing Time - Holiday Gifts 2011 Part 2

Another round of DIY gift ideas for you today.

Well I made my Treat Stand. What do you think. I found some inexpensive Snowman Themed plates at a discount store and $1 candlesticks at the Dollar store. Total cost without the E-6000 that I already had? $4

I'm making one for a friend and another for family. Shhhhh! Don't tell them.

Here is another one I'm dying to make for our house. It's a recycled T- Shirt Rag Rug Great blog and tutorial.

Here is a list of 10 Gifts to Make But my favorite is the Photo Wreath. Too cute.

Do they have a Fireplace or Camp out a lot. How about these Great Eco friendly Fire Starters? What a great use for all that darn dryer lint.

And finally the cutest little marble Magnets. I think I'm going to have to make these too.

Sharing Time - Holiday Gifts 2011 Part 1

I was trying to get volunteers to post their craft tutorials here, but silly me, it's so busy this time of year. So to help you with your holiday making, I'm linking to some of my favorites.

Oversized Beach Tote - at MaidenJane blog This HUGE tote is not only perfect for the Beach, but also for hauling around those great piles of gifts and goodies for family Holiday parties. Don't want to make it yourself? You can buy it at MaidenJane.etsy.com

Jane also has more wonderful Tutorials, check out her blog.




OliveBites is another great Blog. Cat, of Polarity and Uncorked loves to upcycle. This tutorial is for a Upcycled Ruler Picture Frame. Too cute! Comb through her blog for more great ideas.

I found this Great Doily Lamp Shade tutorial on Pinterest I want to make it so bad.

How about a delicious Sugar Scrub? Find the recipe here. I love to make homemade Bath and Cosmetic gifts, they are so appreciated.

I absolutely Adore Adore Adore this Treat Stand, and plan to make one for us and for gifts this year.

Pinterest is a GREAT place to find tutorials. Search DIY, but please click through to see if they are really tutorials or pins of Handmade Seller items.

I'll bring you more next week too. Happy Crafting

Sharing Time - DIY Flame Sculpted Poppy

This is my first experiment with Hosting a PDF. Because the economy is not so great, I thought it would be nice to offer a free PDF for you to get a leg up on Holiday gifts. I will also be hosting another tutorial soon by Maiden Jane an Etsy seller and blogger at MaidenJane.blogspot.com

Flame Sculpted Poppy Tutorial

Just click on the image or the link above to take you to the FREE printable PDF tutorial. The site is a teeny bit spammy, because it is free. But there are few sites out there that aren't. I'm referring to Facebook in particular.

You can use this to make jewelry like the one pictured, or use your imagination. You must use the eco felt, because that is made out of plastic that can be formed. Don't use any other material, or hold the flame too long on the felt, or you will have a hot flaming mess.

If you feel brave enough to try it, you can make some pretty wonderful gifts for your loved ones. And remember, the pattern is copyrighted, so it's just for you and your friends and family, not to resell.

Shops I Like - Autumn Leaves

I loved Last Weeks collection so much I had to do it again. Autumn that is. But this time It's Autumn Leaves.

For those of you that don't live in the North and have never seen the beautiful Fall colors. You should take a trip sometime. It's wonderful when the trees look like fire and the leaves crunch under your feet. Our school yard was surrounded by Maples. In the fall we would make house floor plans of them and pretend we were living in those huge rooms.

 
    ellemoss                Peaseblossom Studio             Tea Party Hats

     
                                                           Amber


  Lena's Boutique       Pesky Cat Designs      Rough Magic Creations

Please stop by these shops and see what other wonderful goodies they have to offer.

May 4 Giveaway - Rooster Vendor - Craft Apron

Today You have the opportunity to win this ADORABLE Rooster and Egg Vendor, craft or Hen House apron. Very chic way to feed your chicks.

These aprons are great for so many things, crafts, gardening, cute tool belts and some of my customers with little ones just wear them around the house so they can pick up stray cars and hair clips and such and slip them in the pockets. You can find lots more at my Poppy's Garden Gate Shop on Artfire

So the basic rules to win this are HERE and in addition you have to stop in my shop and tell me what your second favorite Vendor Apron is. Just leave a comment here on the blog and if you are a follower you are entered to win. Easy!

More prizes tomorrow, so don't forget to return. There are no limits on the prizes you can win.

The May 2 winner of Poppy Longstockings is Jane. Congratulations

May 3 Giveaway - Rainbow Brite Clutch

Today I'm giving away an Adorable Rainbow Brite Clutch like the one seen here and at my Artfire shop Poppy's Garden Gate. And just because I love you so much I'm not making you work so hard to get her.

You still have to follow my blog and all the other rules blah blah blah that you can find HERE

Then You have to just leave me a comment on your fondest memory of Rainbow Brite, maybe the show, movie, doll, or even the bedsheets. That's all and you will be entered to win her.

And Don't forget to come back tomorrow.

May 2 Giveaway - Peppermint Poppy Longstockings

Today is the First of Many May Giveaways. This is a Pair of Poppy Longstockings from Poppy on Artfire.


She has a wonderful shop and You should visit her. Here's Poppy's Shop


To win these wonderful Longstockings, go to her shop and find something awesome. Then leave me the name of your favorite item in Poppy's shop on this post in the comments. 


That wasn't so hard, was it?


Oh and remember, you have to be a follower of this blog to win. 


See all contest rules and calendar of prizes HERE


Don't forget to come back tomorrow for another chance to win more great stuff. 

Thank You Gifts

Do you give a little Thank you with every purchase? It's such a nice idea. I'm never really sure what to give. I have an Apron shop, but to give away something sewn is a lot of work for a small thank you. To make a piece of Jewelry for my jewelry shop is a bit much too.

I see some sellers give pieces of candy, that's nice, but not everyone eats candy. I used to give those magnetic business cards, but I never really felt comfortable with people wanting to put a magnetic version of my business card on their refrigerator. Not so pretty.

Thanks to a team members suggestion, I finally got a great idea. There's that team thing again. I can't begin to stress how helpful they can be. I decided to make a nice magnet with a nice saying, instead of just my business card. I have a few of my flowers from my jewelry, a saying that relates to my product and my web address subtly added to the bottom. Voila! something my buyer might want to keep. I got them made at Vista Print for a reasonable price too.

I searched around for something nice and inexpensive for my Apron shop too. I decided to get printed pencils made with my web address. Cute, practical and purchased from Oriental Trading at about $.25 each. They printed and shipped in ONE DAY! Now I am all set to give nice little Thank Yous.

Handmade Thank Yous are very nice. I like the tiny refrigerator magnets, or make up samples. But when that is not practical for your shop, consider a nice alternative.