Smu's Friday Finds: Oh Deer!

Take a look at today's friday finds from MADART, regansbrain, DecorDesigns and luxedeluxe!

Original MADART Painting ABSTRACT Fine ART Modern - 2 Foot - DEER - PRIDE

Curry and Plaid Buckhead Pillow

3 Deer Heads Wall Decal FREE SHIPPING

Antique Antlers. Long Necklace - SALE

Wish List Wednesday!

Robot Love Vinyl Laptop Messenger

I found this fantastic robot bag in one of my long-time-favorite Etsy shops, Sugarlust! I can just picture myself on the way to work with my laptop stowed in this "geek chic" tote :)

Smu's Friday Finds: Home Decor in Green!

Our new house will be finished next week (Hooray!) and despite the fact that there are a million things to be done before we get to decorating, I couldn't resist adding some handmade home decor to my Etsy favs :) Round 1 of today's Home Decor Friday Finds--Green items from urbandesign, SimpleSweetDesign and LeenTheGraphicsQueen !

Dragon Tail - 8x8 Fine Art Print

Letter N Custom Moss Hanging Wreath Initial

Beautiful Wispy Wild Grasses Wall Decal

Wish List Wednesday!

UFO Forest Digital Art Print

While looking through my list of Etsy favorites this morning I re-discovered this hilarious digital art print from SepiaLepus and felt compelled to share this wonderfully humorous critter-themed art :) Be sure to check out the other fantastic critter-themed art in her shop!

Where's Waldo? Treasury Feature

Check out this fantastic "Where's Waldo" treasury featuring items from EtsyTwitter Team members' shops (including SmuTopia!)

Smu's Friday Finds: "Think Pink" Round 2 Breast Cancer Awareness Month

More great handmade finds in pink hues for Breast Cancer Awareness month! These items are from FancifulForm, CritterJitters, bubbletime, and BellflowerTextiles on Etsy.

Pink Lotus Pendant

Ofsprey Birds Tshirt Graphic Bird Tee American Apparel Pink Womens Shirt S M L XL XXL

Plush Microbe Large Pink Fluffcrobe

DELUXE Makeup Brush Roll - Black and Pink Striped

Smu's Friday Finds: Think Pink! Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Today's "Think Pink" Friday Finds were selected in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Today's finds are from downstairsDesigns, WinchellClayWorks, WellspringCreations, and vivikas on Etsy. Be sure to check out their shops for more fantastic Handmade items!

In Touch Clutch (tm) in Wallflower Pink

Be Still my Hearts Ceramic Pendant

Breast Cancer Awareness Elegant Pink Ribbon Silver Earrings

Shhhh... She is sleeping

Sneak a Peek at what's New from Smu!

This fall I've been expanding the selection of metals in my designs and have become very fond of using brass. The contrast of antiqued brass with light-colored beads like the lovely lilac purple ovals used in the beachy bracelet pictured here. In addition to my normal product shots using driftwood and flooring tiles for a background I've also taken photos of this bracelet on one of my wooden hand bracelet displays.
I have a set of 12 wooden hands (made by my Grandpa) that I use at craft shows, and they've become a real conversation piece with customers! Hopefully they will draw as much attention in my Etsy shop as they have in person at shows :)

In addition the the beachy brass bracelet, I have this pretty little blue seastar bauble pendant and several other items ready to list. Stay tuned to my Etsy shop for some great new stuff as we close out the week!

Wish List Wednesday - Halloween is Coming!

Meowmmy by davenevanxaviour

Today's Wish List Wednesday selection is all about Halloween! Even though I won't be decorating this year as we are packing up to move I'm sorely tempted to add this little guy to my collection of Halloween home decor :) Check out davenevanxaviour for more handmade Halloween and geeky goodness!

Messy Jessy Packing Up for the Big Move

As you may be aware from previous posts, my alter-ego "Messy Jessy" takes over my craft room on a regular basis and destroys any attempts at organization :) It's all part of the creative process, and tends to go in cycles of messiness and organization that revolve around the SmuTopia craft show schedule.

Right now, the room is without a doubt in the messy part of this ongoing cycle! However, circumstances for clean up are a bit different now that my hubby and I have just purchased our first house (Hooray!!!!). I'll be spending the next month packing and moving, and the thought of packing up all of my beads and other supplies is rather daunting.

To make my life a bit easier, I picked up a whole bunch of plastic shoe-box-sized containers on sale at Target after the back-to-college sales were over and have been packing my supplies into those then labeling them. Between the labels and the clear plastic containers I hope to be able to find my supplies a bit more easily after the move. Unfortunately, after packing up at least 10 of these the room seems just a full as it did when I started!

Despite all of the work that needs to be done, I'm thrilled about the move. Not only is this a big milestone for the Smuteks as we move into our new home, it is also a great opportunity to get more organized both in my craft room and throughout the house. How do you organize your supplies? How do you set up your workspace? I'd love your thoughts and ideas on this!

Smu's Friday Finds: Creature Feature!

Take a moment to check out my "Creature Feature" including some animal-themed finds from fantastic Etsy shops!

Owl Twins Pencil Pouch Khaki Olive Green (Cheryland)

Baby Bottle Monster Shark with tail in Sapphire (Handamade)

FELT BUTTERFLY RING -BUTTER CUP- Medium (MIXKO)

Kawaii sweet pink cake squarrel/Hamster bag charm key holder (YuraPockylover)

Trading for Holiday Gifts!

I have been doing a lot of trading lately with other Etsians to start gathering holiday gifts for my fantastic family :) Without giving away too much about the gifts I traded for, I've listed the shops I have traded with most recently below--give them some love!

dreamtimeharvest

lavendergreetings

CosmicCleanBody

OhMeOhMyStash

With so many wonderful handmade goods and lots of other sellers looking to make trades for gift items now it the time to get in on the trading fun! Check out this ever-growing list of shops open to holiday trades!

Wish List Wednesday!

I came across this Jewelry Seller's Travel Roll for necklaces and thought, GENIUS!!!! This item is from the shop of fellow EtsyTwitter Team member Dig Under Rocks (aka Sandy Pantalones). I had never seen anything like it, and can say from my own experience that this could save a ton of time during show set up as it will keep the necklaces from tangling (a problem I always seem to have despite my best packing efforts.) Great item, great shop--this one just shot straight to the top of my wish list :)

NCTriangle Street Team Treasury: I go by RED

This beautiful collection of red items from the NCTriangle Team was selected by JemmDeeCreations of Cary, NC and includes my Red Tide bauble pendant (Hooray!)
Follow this link to the treasury and check out these fantastic shops!

Sneak Peek - New Listings Coming Soon!

It's been rainy all day here, but that didn't stop me from shooting some photos of new work while I was home on my lunchbreak.
The photos came out rather well considering the lack of sunshine!

Let me know what you think, and be sure to check my Etsy shop later in the week as I will be listing these new items and several others!

Happy Feature Day for Smu!

I resumed my normal Smu-tivities this morning after some well-earned weekend rest, and was happily suprised to find I've had items featured on non-Etsy shopping sites!


MyShopping Connection has featured my "Jewel of the Sea" beachglass and brass necklace :)

and IndieSpotting has selected my "Washed Ashore" medallion necklace! I love both selections as they represent the beachy-feel of my shop while incorporating my new autumn color palette :) The MyShoppingConnection feature has a place to leave comments--I would love your support and feedback--please visit!

Smu's Friday Finds: ETT Tweets!

Here are a few new bird-themed finds from my friends on the EtsyTwitter Team! This is an incredibly talented team with a wide variety of skills, as exemplified by the items highlighted below!

WINDUP BIRD Antique Watch Steampunk Ring - 17 RUBY JEWEL SILVER CLOCKWORK - Twitter Machine TIME FLIES on WINGS OOAK Eco-Friendly from 19Moons

Needlebook -- Sweet Baby Bluebirdy from MisseskWittys

Old School Twitter from GeekDetails

Limited Edition ACEO Illustration Print - Little Bird in Spring from TamaraGarvey

Smu's Friday Finds: Faux-Food Love Affair

It's official, I LOVE faux food! I've found so many new faux-food-favs this week I decided to bring back the theme for today's first round of Friday Finds. When I have kids, they will definately have a well-stocked play kitchen :)

Pizza with Vegetables WOOL Deluxe Felt Play Food (bugbitesplayfood)

Burger Pendant (beadpassion)

Fun Felt Foods Sushi Deluxe Tray (mclean2612)
Lime Frosted Bath CUPCAKE Bomb Mini Fizz Fizzy (myotherprincess)

FELT CAKE SET - I LOVE CHOCOLATE Tea Party Dessert Set (onenonly88)

Treasury Love! Parasols on Snowy Days

Woke up this morning and checked Craftopolis, happily fiinding that my Fun in the Sun earrings are featured in this amazing treasury! Great way to start the day :)

Thoughts for Thursday and Sneak Peek at New Work!

Autumn is definately here! While much of the country has been cooling down for weeks now, the cooler temperatures have just made their way to Raleigh, NC within the past few days. While I am enjoying the cool fall air, I must say that I miss the long days of summer! As an early-riser, I'm bummed that it is getting dark before I get up lately--Daylight Savings Time, where are you?On the other hand, the changing seasons offer a great deal of natural beauty and inspiration! I created the Seahorse Bauble set (to be listed soon on Etsy!) shown here to bring on of my favorite designs into the new season--what do you think?