Etsy Newbies Info

Just a few things I've learned being somewhat new to Etsy.

In Terms of .....

Giveaways........Define if shipping will or will not be included in the Giveaway.

Shipping............after many different ways of packaging and shipping I've now standardized
on using PayPal. It is very easy to use in terms of calculating the best way you would like to ship. Confirmation of delivery and postage is less than going to the post office. Shipping labels are printed in one easy step and it includes a receipt for your records.

Packaging.........After trying all types of envelopes, I'm finding the thin plastic ones that
can be purchased at K-Mart are working well so far. They seem to hold up
during shipment and they are very light so weight is minimal.

Hope that helps some of the newbies like myself.

Wild Rosemary Restaurant - Bridgeville

Well it seems I was right about the Wild Rosemary in Bridgeville. I tried to get a reservation for a Christmas dinner for the women in my family and the best I could do was January 6, 2009. Of course it is the holiday season and I waited to long to call and our time need wasn't working. But I was happy to get January 6. I did get there for lunch yesterday with my husband and was ever so pleased again with the meal....especially my husbands. He had a flatbread with roasted chicken. It had such flavor it really impressed him. After our lunch, we were honored with the chef stopping by our table to say hello and chat. At which time, she mentioned that after the first of the year they may be changing their hours. She wanted feedback as to our reaction to the new hours. We were happy with them as long as they didn't move. SO.......be sure to make reservations. Did I mention....it's a BYOB spot.

Winner of the R.E.D. Tote

The lucky person was Kathleen Taylor. I want to thank all of you for following my blog. This was great fun. I'll be doing another giveaway in January so check back. To thank all of you for following, I'd like to offer you 10% off on the purchase of a tote through December 15th.

Thank you all.

LAST DAY TO SIGN UP FOR GIVEWAY

Last opportunity to win the great tote for just following my blog. All followers listed will be put into a hat and the winner will be picked tonight December 1...my mom's birthday. So be sure to send me contact info. Good Luck!!!

Montour Trails - Thanksgiving Day

Photos are from my walk on Thanksgiving morning. This part of the trail just recently opened in Pittsburgh. The section is from Morganza Road to Valleybrook Road and over looks Valleybrook Country Club. Must say it is one of the more scenic parts of the trails in the immediate area.

DECEMBER 1 - GIVE AWAY - REMINDER

Here is a great opportunity to win this great tote for just following my blog. All followers listed will be put into a hat and the winner will be picked December 1 on my mom's birthday. So be sure to send me contact info. Good Luck!!!

ETSY FEATURE SHOP ---- INDISCRETION

My name is Mara Franklin, and I'm the owner, designer and seamstress behind my company, Indiscretion. When I went away to college, I originally wanted to start in a fashion design program. I ended up in the art department instead, earning a BFA in Jewelry/Metalsmithing, and a BFA in Art History from the U of I in Champaign. I then attended NYU for their Costume Studies/Decorative Arts graduate program. I worked in different museums handling their textile and clothing collections, but I really wanted to make them myself! To give my desire an outlet, I'd create clothing and accessories, only to hoard them or give them to friends and relatives. A really close friend suggested I sell my unusual style online (as I was too shy to approach any local stores), and that was back in December 2005. I started with some handmade vintage style hats on eBay, and branched out from there.I now have two different clothing/accessory lines on Etsy: Indiscretion - Street Couture, and Haute Indiscretion, a more formal/dark side of my designs. I absolutely love what I do!



Where am I?

http://indiscretion.etsy.com/,

http://hauteindiscretion.etsy.com/
http://www.indiscretion.us/

An Etsy Find..House of Mouse

I have been learning a great deal about Etsy the past few weeks. One of the by products of learning about Etsy is that you find many friendly shop/owners. One such shop is http://www.houseofmouse.etsy.com/. Here is my favorite listing and I'd like to share it with you.

TRIO OF BANGLES - Beaumont Fields Collection

Three bangles, wet felted from merino roving in shades of orange, are each encased in soft 28 gauge, crocheted wire. SIZE: Diameter: 2.5 inches.COLOURS: Orange; Cranberry; Gold; Peach.

This is just one of her many unique listings so go check out www.houseofmouse.etsy.com. It's not to early to start Christmas Shopping.

White Wine - Chardonnay

The other night we enjoyed a dinner during "Restaurant Week" in Pittburgh and were introduced to a very nice chardonnay. Chardonnay is never my first choice and fortunately, because it was a "restaurant week" dinner, I did not have a choice of what wine I wanted with my dinner. The wine choice came with the meal and I'm very glad it did. I loved it. I had asked to the waiter for the name of the wine and he in turn sent the sommelier to our table. The sommelier was very gracious and so happy to tell us all about the wine and why it was different than most.

Once the grapes are soft-pressed, 40% of the juice is drawn off and fermented in oak wine barrells for 4-5 months then reunited with the stainless steel-fermented portion. The touch of oak created a smoother chardonnay. The price is reasonable.....approx. $12.00.

My dinner was an appetizer of squash ravioli and a main course of quail.

DECEMBER 1 - GIVE AWAY

Here is a great opportunity to win this great tote for just following my blog. All followers listed will be put into a hat and the winner will be picked December 1 on my mom's birthday. So be sure to send me contact info. Good Luck!!!

Favorite NEW Restaurant

The WILD ROSEMARY in Scott Twp., Pittsburgh, Pa. When I was raising my family the building was a ice cream shop that we would take the kids to after a T-Ball game. Now it has morphed into my perfect idea of a restaurant. Wear your favorite jeans and top, linen table clothes, silver sugar and creamer, bring your own wine, AND ABOVE ALL the most wonderful food. The available seating is for only about 16 people so reservations are important. The exterior draws you in with the wonderful Italian type urns of rosemary flanking both sides of the building and the 3 tall glass vases topped with clay crocks of ...what else but ....rosemary in the window. I'll be going tomorrow for lunch and hopefully will be able to take some pictures to show you what I'm babbling about. So check back tomorrow for the photos. If you happen to live in the 'BURG, look them up and tell them RoomThreads sent you. At which point, they will look at you like you had two, maybe, three heads. But do put it on your list of restaurants to visit when in Pittsburgh.

Not just another Election...

Below is lengthy but WORTH THE READ. This was an email I rec'd from a family member and was moved by it. I myself didn't realize the impact the election had around the world. Do take the time to read.

I'm sure by now, you have all had your fill of presidential politics but I wanted to share an experience with you that literally transcends words... I'll do my best.

As you all know, I'm a political junkie and after this 21 month extravaganza, I was more than eager to finally see the results. By this point, I really didn't think anything would surprise me on election day. Then again, the actual experience of observing an American election from overseas is something I failed to consider. Perhaps that aspect should have been obvious, but I guess I overlooked its simplicity. Yet, I did have the amazing privilege to witness this event from New Zealand and I doubt that I will ever see anything quite like it again in my life. I watched the coverage with fellow Americans, Canadians, French, German, Swiss, Swedish, Norwegian, Kiwis, Australians, Spanish, South Africans, Irish, English, and Welsh. And those were just the people I talked with. In all honesty, there were probably a couple more nationalities represented at the lodge this past evening.

I know that some of you are not Obama supporters, but I hope that I can communicate this to you in a way that goes beyond Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative. Believe me, regardless of who you voted for, any American would have been astonished by what I saw.

As the electoral map filled in and an Obama victory became evident, the lodge, chalk full of people hailing from no less than four continents, came alive in a way I don't know how to describe. Even now, seven hours later, just trying to find the appropriate words for this email brings tears to my eyes. There was an energy in the room that was nothing less than palpable. When CNN called the election for Obama, well... the room just exploded. Champagne flowed, everyone cheered, people I never met in my life before this evening embraced me as if I were their brother. They rushed over to me just so they might get an American's insight. You would have though they had witnessed their own elections, all of which were somehow as exciting, important, and transformational as this particular one. Perhaps the quote that summed it up best came from a Swiss girl. She simply cried out, "America is back!"

Now, I know what you might be thinking, who cares what a bunch of foreigners think? The fact that most of the world has a love affair with Obama won't help us through this financial crisis, two wars, or any of the other problems facing America. And if that is your thought, you are absolutely right. They can't help us. But that's not the point.

The point is America, in many ways, is still the beacon of light on a hill. In spite of all the things we get wrong, and how damaging those errs can be to the rest of the world, they really do look to the U.S. for leadership and guidance. I've left North America four times, have been living abroad for well over two months, and have met people from every corner of the world, yet I couldn't grasp that concept in its entirety until this evening. The only other time in my short life that I've experienced any emotion on this level was when I walked into my fourth period French class on 9/11/01 and realized what had happened to my country. Thankfully, this time the experience represented the opposite end of the emotional spectrum. Words like 'hope' and 'change' became a seemingly relentless mantra in this campaign. I never gave them much credence, but rather passed them off as the regular political banter we see every four years. But I tell you from the heart, I've never felt hope like I do now and I think the requisite change is very much on the way.

In short, I've never been so proud to be an American and I've never been so eager to take on the responsibility that comes with it. I read what I've written about thirty times over so far in the hopes that I might be able to better describe this momentous event, but I just don't possess the words. However, I hope my message comes across and I hope that you are all able, in some way, to appreciate and embrace the decision America made today as well as the impact it will have on the rest of the world. I hope we can all live up to what it means to be an American. Whether you think Obama's election is a direct victory for the people or if you think it will inspire the Republican party to reinvent itself so it may finally fulfill the promises made in 1994, change is coming tomorrow and I have no doubt we'll all be better off for it.

WIN THIS TOTE........

Here is a great opportunity to win this great tote for just following my blog. All followers listed will be put into a hat and the winner will be picked December 1 on my mom's birthday. So be sure to send me contact info via email. Good Luck!!!

Wine Find

I don't know much about wines other than what tastes good to me. And Rosemont Estates happens to be one of those wines. It doesn't matter if it is a red or white that you like, Rosemont Estate has a great selection. What I like best are the number of blends that they offer. One of my favorites is Traminer Riesling. AND BEST OF ALL no headache from it. Couldn't begin to describe it so below you'll find a market description......

Traminer Riesling .....is a delicious blend of two of the world's most expressive and flavoursome grape varieties. Traminer - also known as Gewurztraminer - has a spicy, tropical fruit aroma reminiscent of lychees and exotic scent, with a generous, soft palate. The Riesling component adds elegance to the finish, with lifted, floral flavours and a fine acidity which balances the wine to perfection.
A pale straw colour with a light green hue. The Traminer has spicy, tropical fruit aromas reminiscent of lychees, whilst the Riesling adds elegance and lifted floral characters. The palate displays well balanced proportions of sweetness and acidity, with a clean and crisp finish.

So go out today and pick up a bottle and let me know if you like it.

Flip Flops Keep you smiling

Just couldn't resist this canvas fabric when I was shopping. What to do with it came to me when going past a fun store for teaching kids to cook. What fun to wear this while helping mom or dad with supper. And besides flip flops are just plain fun no matter what!!!
These are on http://www.roomthreads.etsy.com/ for $13.99 "What a Deal"!!!!

Montour Trail - Pittsburgh Pa

I love biking but only on trail. Here in Pittsburgh we are blessed with the very extensive Rails-To-Trails system. Below are some pics from the stretch from Hendersonville to Venice in Washington, Pa.

To see me sometimes will make you smile, because I have a 5# Maltese dog that rides in my basket. He loves it most of the time. And without exception, anyone passing by flashes a smile. So I figure, that's good Karma.

SEWING TIP #2

After a few years, I decided to actually paint and organize my sewing room. Which lead to the project shown in the picture. Most sewers have the plastic storage containers to organize their goods just like I do. But since I was creating a room that clients would be seeing, I didn't want those plastic containers visible. So I created a cover for them.....see the photo below. Now I have the best of both worlds. Let me know what you think of it.

EXTREME MAKEOVER HOME EDITION -AGAIN!!!

We have been honored again to participate in EXTREME MAKEOVER HOME EDITION. And again it is for the Season Finally scheduled to air in January 2009. Our bed linens will be used in the little girl's room. Sorry.....Can't tell you anymore than that until it gets closer to the air date. So check back to see were it's going to take place and which of our products will be used.

Reversible Endless Design Tote - R.E.D. Tote

Here is a tote that is ever changing. New designs are always being posted so please check us out at http://www.roomthreads.etsy.com/.. Great for teachers, students....large enough for manilla folders, mini diaper bag ...for the times when you just need to take a few items. There is also a set of interchangeable straps....one for under the arm and one for a hipster type tote. See our ETSY site for more details.

If you want something specific, just send us an email at www.roomthreads@gmail.com. We love working with customers to help them enjoy the process of creating something.

Let us know what you think of the tote/purse.

Sewing Room Tip #1

My sewing room is carpeted and always had a bit of trouble with cleaning up fallen scraps of fabric and pieces of thread. Used to use the suction end of my sweeper attachment but found something else very high tech....a little rake. Makes clean up quick and easy and you don't clog your sweeper

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Extreme Makeover Home Edition

Extreme Makeover Home Edition May 2008

RoomThreads was honored this year by being invited to participate in a third edition of Extreme Makeover Home Edition. This year's season finale episode was the story of the Usea Family. Our embroidered sheets were used in Abigail's (Abby) and Audrey's (Sissy) bedrooms. We hope our linens added to their delight when they snuggled into bed that evening. At only 2 and 4 years old these two little princesses had experienced something more than their share at such an early age. Their home had been destroyed first in hurricane Katrina and then in a tornado.

Here are the sheets that were used....

WELCOME to our blog!

Well we've been "ETSYFIED" and through them found our way to the blogisphere. What fun!!! I say "we" because this blog is a joint effort of my duaghter-in-law and myself and our ETSY site "RoomThreads.....a little room frosting!"
Here are our muses!
Ella Rose

Claire
Marin