Free Tote!

After my Earth Day post, I hope that I've inspired people to say "NO to plastic and "YES" to tote bags. But if not, here's a little incentive for you folks... A FREE lunch tote! Thanks to Whole Foods and Oprah Winfrey, we can get a lunch tote for free! No purchase necessary but hurry as this is only valid until April 26, 2008, while supplies lasts. Click here for the coupon.

This cute lunch tote is designed by Sheryl Crow and it's made of 80% post-recycled P.E.T. bottles. It's definitely a cool way to carry your lunch or snack but you can definitely use it to carry other items too! I have one and I love it! You can reuse it over and over so it's better for the environment too! I firmly believe that if we just do our part, no matter how small or simple, we can definitely help save our planet. Please... Say "NO" to plastic and "YES" to tote bags today.

Earth Day

Today is Earth Day and I spent most of my morning refreshing the Aveeno page to get the free Envirosax tote bag. I was undoubtedly one of the first 1000 people to go to the page when it went live because I refreshed just the right time to witness it. (Yes, I was refreshing *that* much because being the tote bag junkie that I am, I had to have that bag). The page was very buggy and it had tons of Java errors. I tried a couple more times (a few more hours actually), but the bugs were still there. In the end, I did not get one. Boo! :(

I've become environmentally conscious almost a year ago when I got my Method "Plastic Bag Rehab" tote bag. I thought it was really cute and clever that from that day on, I vowed never to use plastic bag ever again. I've collected tons of other tote bags since then and I have a shoe box full in the backseat of my car, ready for use anytime! I also carry 2 in my purse for those "you'll never know" moments. I use them to carry groceries, craft supplies, clothes, books, anything!

In our house, plastic bags multiply like bunnies. Next thing you know, you've got a gazillion in your stash. We avoid plastic bags as much as possible but in instances that we do get the occassional plastic bag, we make sure that we reuse them by using them as trash bin liners. We also bring the excess plastic bags to our local grocery store since they offer to recycle them for free.

Using tote bags is definitely one easy change that we can all get into and actually stick to that will help the environment. Who wants to carry those icky plastic bags anyway when you can carry your goods around in a really cute tote?

Come join me and say "NO" to plastic and "YES" to tote bags!

Craftease Feature!

The lovely Amy of Craftease has featured our humble little shop in her awesome blog! Please drop on by and *squee* along with us. You know you want to! :)

Thank you again, Amy, for the kind words and the awesome feature! Be sure to check out her Etsy shop too!

Painty.

I'll be participating in a craft show soon and I decided to paint wooden trays to use as displays. I've been painting and varnishing them for a couple of nights now. I find it so soothing. I just let my mind wander as I brush (sometimes slather) paint and varnish on. Of course, the final product is not as pretty as the ones you would buy in a store but I'm quite happy with it. They turned out nice. Kind of shabby chic. I cannot wait to use them and I really hope that the craft fair will be a success! I plan to brainstorm the layout for my table next week when I've got everything in order. I'm so excited and nervous at the same time! If you're in the area, please do drop by and say "Hi!". :)

Running With Scissors.

Running With Scissors is an indie craft show featuring Michigan's best artists and crafters. Parking and admission are FREE! Show hours are from 10am - 6pm and will be held at the E.L. Hannah Community Center (819 Abbott Rd., East Lansing, MI). Food and drinks will be available for purchase, provided by KJ's Cafe. A DJ will be there to rock out while you shop too!

We will be accepting non-perishable food donations to be given to the local food pantry. There will also be a raffle with all proceeds going to the Capital Area Humane Society. Raffle tickets will be $1 each with awesome prizes donated by the vendors.

Products will include paper goods, buttons and magnets, cute felt hair accessories, needle felted sculptures, knitted gadget cozies, mosaics, stained glass, jewelry, mixed media, original paintings, upcycled and eclectic clothing, screenprinted tees, and much more! Susan Van Camp, fantasy artist and creator of Dragon Storm RPG, will be there too!

So, come check out some truly unique and talented Michigan artists and crafters! Mark your calendars and help support handmade Michigan! Don't walk, run! (But leave the scissors behind)

See you there! :)

Get animated!

I've designed my animated banner today. It's been quite some time since I've made one of these animated gifs and I must say, it was a lot of fun! Anyway, if any of you would be interested in linking me up in your blog, here's the code! Thank you!

[START OF CODE]

<a href="http://prettypixels.etsy.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v108/yukito/gotcute.gif" border="0""></a>

[END OF CODE]

New stuff!

My package arrived the other day! *yay* This means only one thing...

New items in my Etsy shop soon! :)

I won! I won!

Today, I woke up to such lovely news! I won Kelli's awesome brooch! *yay* :)

Kelli is one creative lady! She has a cute and colorful Etsy shop where you can purchase her brooches and plushies. Her blog, Happy Place Design, is full of fun and creative stuff too! Be sure to drop by and check them out! Thanks again, Kelli! :)

This is so exciting! I absolutely cannot wait to get my cute brooch! *wee*

Chillin' with my gnomies.

This is the second time that I've lost my Joann's coupons! The first time, I thought it was just a fluke, that maybe I just misplaced it. Now, I'm starting to think that we have a Joann's coupons gnome! (And I thought they were only interested in socks! LOL!)

I clipped the coupons last weekend to purchase some red melting chocolate for Valentine's but since they were on sale, I didn't need to use the coupons. I distinctly remember putting the coupons back in my bag. Yesterday, I dumped out all the contents of my bag and there were no coupons in sight! I've looked everywhere! Still, I could not find those coupons!

Some people have gnomes that collect socks. Ours collect Joann's coupons. If I ever catch him, I will tell him to sign up for his own newsletter!

Ladies and gentlemen, we've got one crafty gnomie!

Show me some love!

Today, I received the most wonderful Etsy-related news ever! A lovely intern from the Etsy Blog sent me a convo informing me that my Cute Owl card set has been selected by the Storque as one of the cute lovey dovey items! They're currently having a poll and the winners will be featured in the Gift Guides and the Etsy Blog! This is the biggest thing that has ever happened to me on Etsy. It made my day! Heck, it made my year! Win or lose, I feel like a winner already having been chosen to participate in the poll. Being featured alongside the other items is such an honor. But I must admit, it would be nice to be featured though! :)

Give me some love, vote for me here!