Black Friday/Cyber Monday Crester Specials and Savings

When I found out I was moving to DC a few months ago, I knew I had to find a local support group on Etsy that new all about the area. I needed to become friends with local artist to learn about the craft shows and festivals here, learn where all the bead stores are, and just be around people who are always willing to help and give useful advice. I found that group the Capitol Region Etsy Street Team (or CREST for short). In the short time that I have been a member I have learned a tremendous amount about the area as well as the ins and outs of Etsy.

For Black Friday/Cyber Monday a great handful of members will be offering FREE WORLDWIDE SHIPPING (including my shop found here), 10% and even 20% off their fabulous handmade items.

Why not buy a beautiful one of a kind handmade craft for someone special this holiday season? Instead of heading to the crowded and expensive mall, pour yourself a glass on wine, throw on your favorite PJs and shop the CRESTer shops on Etsy. Check out their blog here for a complete list of all the specials.



Here are some of my favorite items from the team:

A beautiful Orchid from Shapphire Child's shop is perfect for the flower lover in your life! And who can beat a 15% discount!



A nursery rhyme inspired tea towel from StitchBerry is perfect for the cook in your family! Free world wide shipping!



A fabulous clutch for your fashion forward friend available from MoreWarped is 20% plus free worldwide shipping!



And lastly my favorite new piece from my shop! My vintage deer locket necklace! FREE WORLD WIDE SHIPPING! Shipping cost will be refunded via paypal Friday Nov. 27th- Monday Nov 30th



Happy Shopping!

Etsy Spanglish Team: Piñata Giveaway

Growing up in Texas where Spanglish is pretty much an official language I have always had a fascination with it. I even took a linguistics class in college to study it. Traveling to Peru, Mexico, and Spain also made me realize how much English has affected native Spanish speakers. So many English words make their way into every language and I think it is so fascinating. Two of my favorite books about the topic include:

Spanglish: the making of a new american language

Biting the Wax Tadpole: Confessions of a Language Fanatic

When I joined Etsy to sell my jewelry designs I searched for a team that had a love for the language and latino culture. I found that group in the Spanglish Team. It's wonderful to be in a support group with people from all over the world making wondering crafts. This week we are celebrating our one year anniversary! In honor of this great occasion we are giving away a Piñata full of goodies made by its members. I contributed this cute item.

Visit the Spanglish Team Blog for rules on who to enter and win this amazing prize!



With this blog I also want to give good tips on shopping. So here I go! If you are looking for affordable high quality handmade goods for the holidays check out some of my favorite Spanglish team members sites here:

MissButler for colorful Mexican and Latin icons! Including beautiful ornaments!

EstudioMartita for my favorite Frida Kahlo inspired boxes!

SoapyBlessings for amazing soap! The perfect stocking stuffer!

So, how's the job hunt going?

My fiance and I have recently become obsessed with the show, "How I Met Your Mother"...we are a little late on the band wagon so we have been renting the DVDs to catch up and cannot get enough of this hilarious sitcom. The other night we watched a season 4 episode that really hit close to home for me. Robin is unemployed (like me) and currently apartment-less and gets that ever so pleasant question everyone gets only o a few thousand times when searching for a new job or home. Here's how it went down on HIMYM:

Marshall Eriksen: So, how's the job hunt going?
Robin Scherbatsky: Didn't you hear? I got a job at CNN this morning. And I moved to a penthouse made of gold overlooking Central Park. Get your head out of your ass, Marshall.

I think I literally fell off the couch when I heard this. Could I respond to people like this when they ask me about the job hunt? Oo that would be classic. A good friend of mine, who he himself got laid off earlier this year and whose mother also recently got laid off from a high powered exec position told me that he heard the average time it is taking people to find a job right now is 9-12 months. 9-12 months. That's insane but with the state of the economy right now I believe it. Not only is it just plain hard to find a job that is a good fit for you (heck you spend more time at your job that you do at your home you want it to be a pleasant place) but it's just so incredibly difficult to get a call back from the companies you don't even want to work for. Am I crazy for quitting a job I loved in Boston to move to DC to be with my fiance? I hope not. I don't think I would be happy working in a job I like but not seeing my fiance everyday. It's a sacrifice I made and there will be lots of jobs in my life....but I'll only have one true love like this. So that being said I better get to cracking the Rolodex and making some networking calls. Wish me luck...

I leave you with a great clip from the show that makes me so excited to be on "conference calls" again!

Taking a dive in...

O well hello there friend-

Instead of talking about the normal first blog worries about how I am new to this and I don't know what I am doing (both true facts)...I am going to skip all that and take a dive right in and hope I can keep afloat in this crazy world of blogging. I want a forum, not only to talk about my jewelry designs, but to share all sorts of things floating around in that crazy little head of mine. I hope to keep you tantalized with stories about travel, art, fashion, design, food, and more.

I'll start my first blog post and tell you a little about myself...

Born and raised in Houston, Texas I am the sole girl in my family surrounded by two older brothers and two younger brothers. I planned my escape from Texas at quite a young age and decided to graduate high school a year early and head to the liberal east coast as fast as I could. It's quite fitting that I decided to go to an all women's college, perhaps to get away from my testosterone filled house-hold (hehehe). I truly had the most incredible experience. At Smith College I studied Spanish language and literature as well as Studio art. It's there where I had wonderful opportunities studying in Peru and Barcelona and making the most wonderful friends. At school, I met my now fiance, Christian who went to Amherst College to study Economics. He is the love of my life, my soulmate, and I don't know what I would do without him. After graduation we moved to Chicago for our very first 9 to 5 jobs. Those were the days when I sold insurance to United Methodist churches...and if you knew me you'd know that was the most ill fitting job for me. After two years I finally found a job in the industry I knew I wanted to be in- advertising...only thing was the job was in Boston. So off we went on the second stop on my post college tour- Bean Town. At Hill Holliday I worked as a media planner on Dunkin Donuts and couldn't be more happy to find the industry I knew I was made for. Then Christian went ahead and got himself accepted to one of the best law school in the country. So barely after a year in Boston we made a move down south to DC for Christian to attend Georgetown Law. Christian proposed this May in Paris of all places (seriously how perfect can you get) and we are having a fabulous time planning our wedding and can't wait to tie the knot. So here I am. I'm in my third city after just three and a half years since I left Smith, looking for a new job, and to be honest I should be more scared than I am but I am more excited than ever. I'm finally able to throw myself into my jewelry making and really take the time to find a job that is perfect for me. So here I go...I am starting yet another adventure in another city and I am just going to do all that I know I can do in this situation and just dive right in...

Until next time...

Daisy