Etsy Seller of the Week: WarpedandWonderful

This week brings us to the world of WarpedandWonderful! I have one of her handwoven baby blankets and all I can say is WOW! I drooled over it every time I saw the listing online, but holding it in person was immensely better. The quality and workmanship is superb. My daughter is snuggled in her blanket right now as a matter of fact!

Now is a great time to give WarpedandWonderful a try, because she is offering 10% off all orders during the week of her feature! Convo her with "Rain's Blog" and she'll adjust the price or mention "Rain's blog" in the notes at checkout so she can send an adjusted invoice. Offer ends July 6th.

Now for her interview....

How did you find Etsy?
I first stumbled upon Etsy soon after it started but I was not ready to set up a shop at the time. A little over a year ago it was mentioned in a forum and I decided to join.


What do you love about Etsy?
I love the community. There are not many places that everyone answers questions and gives so much of themselves to help others. The variety of crafts represented is staggering. Where else can you find so many wonderful things in one place?


What is your favorite dinner?
Wine and lobster ~or~ steak and salad ~or~ roast beef and potatoes ~or~ roasted chicken um - I can’t make up my mind....


What would you like us to know about your craft/shop?
Weaving is not a lost art. There are handweavers around the world exploring and rediscovering what masters of our craft knew centuries ago. Many of the designs I use come from old manuscripts written by weavers in the 1600's and 1700's. They were struggling to compete with the factories of the industrial revolution. Some master weavers decided to break with tradition and share the information they had been keeping secret in the guilds. They hoped to help weavers in outlying areas be able to continue to earn a living with their craft.


If you could take an all-expenses paid trip anywhere in the world, where would you go?
Anywhere in Europe. I am fascinated by old buildings. Here in Idaho the oldest buildings are the old cabins of early settlers and they are just over 100 years old. I dream of wandering through old castles and ancient ruins.


What do you love about what you make/sell?
The fact that I am able to do it! Weaving fascinates me. I love the process and am mesmerized as I watch the patterns grow on the loom in front of me.


What is your favorite way to relax or unwind?
A good book, once I start one, I can’t put it down till I’m done. I’m looking for new authors all the time and would love suggestions!



What do you like to shop for on Etsy, even if it is just browsing, not buying?
I love to look for several things on Etsy. One of my “fetishes” is fountain pens. I am searching for just the right one when I have money to spare. The turned wood pens are so beautiful. I also discovered a love for lampwork beads. The ones I have found on Etsy are amazing.


What are you working on right now?
Right now I am working on my Certificate of Excellence in Handweaving. I completed Level 1 two years ago and am finishing up a specialized study for Level 2. It has been an all consuming task the last few months. I will be able to call myself a “Master Weaver” if the judges approve of the work I have done. I will be so relieved when it is finished and I can focus on adding new things to my shop in the fall.

Etsy Seller of the Week: WhimsybyMari

This week's featured seller is WhimsybyMari! Check out her shop for fresh, fun jewelry. I especially love her earrings! From now till next Monday (June 30th) she is offering 10% off if you mention "Rain's Blog" in notes to seller at checkout! :)

How did you find Etsy?
A very good friend “Angelinabeadalina” thought it would be a great outlet for my jewelry. She already had a shop and was having success. I registered and shopped for awhile to get comfortable then slowly started stocking my shop.

What do you love about Etsy?
There are so many things I love about ETSY. Number one are the people I have met, everyone is so helpful and supportive. I love it that people from all over the world has a chance to purchase my jewelry. I love being able to look at everyone else’s shops.

What is your favorite dinner?
This is the hardest question yet. I love BLT with my heirloom tomatoes straight from the garden, fresh picked corn and a cucumber salad. Homemade ice cream would finish off the meal.

What would you like us to know about your craft/shop?
That I craft each piece as if I was to keep it myself. I use the highest quality supplies and best Lampwork beads I can find. Each piece is a small work of art in itself.

If you could take an all-expenses paid trip anywhere in the world, where would you go?
It is several places, I would like to visit all our National Parks. There is so much beauty in this country I have yet to see. I have had the opportunity to see a grizzly bear in Glacier National Park, a condor flying over the Grand Canyon and shooting stars over Crater Lake. I don’t want to camp, I would like to stay in the nicest rooms at the lodges.

What do you love about what you make/sell?
I love the glass, the small little treasures each piece contains, the way the glass reflects differently with the sun. I love the look in someone’s eye when the try on that perfect piece and know they have to have it. I love putting different components together to make a piece of jewelry. Sometimes I play with them forever until I get it just right.

What is your favorite way to relax or unwind?
I like to read, and garden and of course playing with the dogs. We have a 14 year old Golden, a Brit and a ShihTzu, three cats round out the family. I love to take my coffee out on the deck early in the morning and watch the world come alive. I like to walk and canoe too.

What do you like to shop for on Etsy, even if it is just browsing, not buying?
I love to pounce, just to see what comes up. I don’t have a organized pattern to shopping on Etsy! I have bought beautiful bangles with scripture written on them, lampwork beads ( a girl can never have too many lampwork beads!), purses, the list goes on and on. If I like it I usually buy it. All the gifts I have purchased this year have been from Etsy, that is a good feeling.

Where so you see yourself after a year on Etsy?
I hope that I will have many repeat customers, that is when I will feel like I have accomplished my goal. Success in my book does not always mean monetary, sometimes it is knowing I have done a great job.

Visiting Elderly Loved Ones

My mom and I took my newborn daughter on a road trip this past weekend. We went east over the mountains to visit my grandma, who is 84 and slowly losing her memory to dementia.

It was fun to see how much she enjoyed having the baby around. It was sad to hear her ask 10 times in an hour how old the baby was, or what her name was. It was great to laugh at old family memories. It was hard to see that she no longer remembers some of her favorite stories she used to tell. It was hard to see her cry when it was time for us to leave. It was sort of a relief to know that an hour later she will have forgotten we had left. Although not when I realize she would also have forgotten we were even there at all.

The trip was fun in many ways. I got to spend quality time with just my mom and my daughter. We ate whatever we wanted without worrying about calories or fat content. I learned some new funny family stories I hadn't heard before. I also learned things about her and her family that I probably didn't want to know - things she hadn't told me about before because I was too young. Apparently now that I am a mom of three just like her, I was ready. I really wasn't.

However, the past is the past, and I can't do anything to change it. I can only move forward, hopefully with more understanding for why people are the way they are. And really, can't that be applied to everyone we know? That crotchety neighbor who has a fit over how fast you drive down the road (even when you are going the speed limit) - maybe he had a grand-daughter who was hit by a car. The cashier who is impatient with you at the checkout - maybe she gave up cigarettes three days ago. Your son's teacher who grills you about every bruise he gets - maybe she was abused as a child. Your uncle's new wife who wants to know how much you make and how much your mortgage payment is - maybe she was homeless during part of her life.

I guess this weekend was a reminder, in more ways than one, that life is so short and so out of our control. We need to take each day as it comes, being thankful for the blessings we have and simply surviving the hard parts. And in the midst of it all, show love and forgiveness for people and their shortcomings. Because face it - you have shortcomings too.

Etsy Seller of the Week: JazziesJunque

Welcome to this week's featured seller: JazziesJunque! She sells all sorts of great supplies, plus a selection of her own hand-crafted goodies. And through Sunday, June 15, she is offering 30% off one item if you put "Rain's Blog" in the notes to seller at checkout (she'll send a revised invoice). What a great time to try her out! :)

How did you find Etsy? I found out about Etsy from my good friend Kate from KrazyKateDesigns. She has been wonderful in helping me to get started and answering my many questions, such as "Does this look good and do you think it will sell on Etsy?". She has been great.

What do you love about Etsy? The best thing about Etsy is the people. I have met so many wonderful people here and consider them as good friends. And I love being able to provide that item that someone has been searchng for but not able to find.

What is your favorite dinner? This one is a toughy - Favorite dinner would be chicken enchiladas with green chile, spanish rice, and a sprite. For dessert white chocolate Reeses Peanut Butter Cups. Notice the plural?

What would you like us to know about your craft/shop? I try to provide unique items that can be used to make really cool altered art, mixed media or assemblage. And also I like to make things that has (as far as I know) never been made by anyone else.

If you could take an all-expenses paid trip anywhere in the world, where would you go? I would love to go to Australia or to Africa on a safari.

What do you love about what you make/sell? I like the originality of what I make and the ability to find something that would have been thrown away and sold to someone that can bring new life to it through Art.

What is your favorite way to relax or unwind? Sitting on the sofa with my dogs is the best way to relax.

What do you like to shop for on Etsy, even if it is just browsing, not buying?
I buy way too many beads, just ask Kate. I don't know what it is but I have the hardest time finding a bead I don't like.

Anything else you'd like to add?
Why didn't I think of the Etsy concept first?

Etsy Seller of the Week: ancientgamecupboard

This week I am featuring the shop ancientgamecupboard. The business is a family effort, with Mom running the Etsy shop! See her interview below and check out the amazing games from history! For the week of this feature, ancientgamecupboard is offering 10% off the item price if you put "rainy" in the notes to seller at checkout.

How did you find Etsy?
My Mom kept bringing it up. She saw Etsy featured on a TV show and then saw it in our local paper, too. This was just at the time that we were thinking about making our games for more than just gifts for our own kids. So, Providentially, I made our username something to do with the games and even though we eventually registered our business under a different name, our Etsy name still makes sense.

What do you love about Etsy?
I love the community, as quirky as it may be sometimes. Generally speaking, people are very willing to help you learn new skills for your craft even if it means adding competition for themselves. Etsy is such a diverse community that every individual can find an audience - there may be a lot of jewelry, for example, but it's diverse enough in style and price that you can reach your own target market despite all the 'competition'.

What is your favorite dinner?
Arabic food - specifically, anything involving hummus and filafel.

What would you like us to know about your craft/shop?
That we put our heart and soul into it. We love what we do, we love to see a game turn out perfectly and we obsessively re-do them until we are satisfied with them. Also, most of our wood is reclaimed from sources such as discarded furniture, hardwood pallets, and any other high quality wood that still has life and beauty in it. We love to discover some really great pieces of hardwood in a heap of discarded materials.

If you could take an all-expenses paid trip anywhere in the world, where would you go?
I think I'd go back to Jordan. We used to live there, and I just love the people and the culture there. I'd also love to take a year off from life and backpack across either Africa or Asia with our little tribe.

What do you love about what you make/sell?
Everything! I love that we've found a business making something that combines our love for board games, history, woodworking, and art, and which has aspects that every member of the family can take a part in. The older kids are learning woodworking from their Dad, they all do some sanding and have aspirations of moving on to staining and painting someday, they're all learning about customer service, quality control, sales, time management. It's been the perfect family business for us.

What is your favorite way to relax or unwind?
Reading. We're book-aholics in this family~

What do you like to shop for on Etsy, even if it is just browsing, not buying?
I love to look for other woodworkers shops and for shops selling Renaissance Fair or other historical reenactment wares.

What game is your current best-seller?
Our best-selling item is our Viking Game, Hnefetafl.