SweetB Studio

Never Leaf You Alone Card
This SweetB Studio is full of sweet drawings that seem to come alive and jump out from the page. The artwork is very personalized and the artist does glorious things with each letter. The artwork as a whole is full of wonderful stories, but it's in all the little details of this artwork that surprise and delight. This shop has prints and greeting cards and many of the art pieces can be personalized with names, dates and other details.

Close up of Autumn Fun Desk Plate

Tag Heuer Watches

TAG Heuer Aquaracer Ladie's Watch
If you’re looking for a great watch to give someone this holiday season take a look at the Tag Heuer watches. They have a beautiful selection of watches from the very simple to the extremely stylish. There are plenty of different styles to choose from including sports watches if you’re not into anything too fancy and if you like more of the bling-bling, well, they’ve got that too.

I must say that I probably fall somewhere in between those two categories. I don’t necessarily like anything too sporty and definitely not something too showy. I like the more practical watch, something with a simple elegance; a watch that says your pulled together but not pretentious. I like a more practical watch because, well I am more practical and I don’t really go out to a lot of fancy places. I definitely need a great watch for business, at work and when I go out to dinner or a movie with friends. So a more traditional watch would be the right choice for me.

I was looking through their selection of watches and they have a great selection for men and women. It was hard to take a pick through all of their great watches, but I finally picked out the Aquaracer, a watch that I’d love to have that fits me like a glove (that is of course if the glove is underneath the watch).

English Bull Terrier Bead

One English Bull Terrier bead hand-sculpted from polymer clay.
Size is approximate:
7/8" vertical (top to bottom)
1-1/8" horizontal (ear to ear)
1" horizontal (nose to back of head)

The bead is pierced vertically from top of head to bottom.

1985 Chicago Bears

There was nothing like the 1985 Chicago Bears, the Monsters of the Midway. That was a great time for the City of Chicago and football. And since I am a huge football fanatic, it was a great time for me and for my whole family -- you see we are all a bit football crazed. And there was nothing like the 1985 Bears. The whole season was awesome all the way up to the Super Bowl. What a team, Walter Payton, the Fridge, Hampton, McMichael, Butler, and of course who can forget Ditka. There was nothing better than to watch Ditka get his blood pressure up each and every game.

Here is a great sports video with some super highlights of that season where the Bears were kicking some serious butt. We used to have tickets and were able to go to a couple of the games back then and that was always a thrill to see.

SportsVids is a great new site where you can upload any sports video you like whether it be something from a major league game or a nephew who has just joined the little league. I remember when my nephew was younger he used to play for a team called the Barrington Bears. He was so cute in his little uniform -- it would’ve been great to have some sports clips of him to upload, showing off while doing his thing out there.

Halloween Fun

Before we get started on Halloween, let me first announce the favorite for last week's features. There were actually three, it was a three way tie between the Petra Necklace, the Red Jasper Pendant and the Party Favor Slugs -- congratulations to those three favorites and thank you to all who keep voting weekly for your favorite! Now for some Halloween treats.

Halloween Ghost - Black Hi Tops
To kick off some Halloween fun I'd like to start this week by featuring some handmade Halloween goodies. First up take a look at these adorable shoes for kids. These hand painted canvas hi-top style shoes are sweet and oh-so-spooky and would be a great addition to your Halloween -- and how about a matching T-shirt to go with those sneakers! For plenty of delightful designs for children, trick or treat right on over to Boy Girl Boy Designs.

Halloween Ghost T-Shirt

Remember to stop back at the end of the week to vote for your favorite!

Week In Review - What's your Favorite?

1) Joker Munny - Kid Robot - Urban Vinyl by SavageLucy42


2) Petra Necklace by LieblingDesigns

3) Red Jasper Pendant by timelessdesigns07


4) Custom Party Favor Slugs by MarthaLand's


5) Puppy by One Dollar Sketch


6) Wild Things Crochet Bracelet by BeadyEyeLass.

Boston Terrier Floral Pendant

Boston Terrier Floral Pendant
My latest little Boston Terrier, it's a hand-sculpted pendant that depicts a Boston Terrier holding a favorite flower ready and waiting to present to his mommy.

Approximate size of the pendant is 1-3/4" long (bail to bottom) x 3/4" wide.

The pendant is hand-sculpted from polymer clay and painted in colors of purple, peach and green to match the flower. The Boston Terrier holds an enamel/crystal flower.

Winter Workout

Summer is quickly ending and our activities are going to start dwindling down to practically nothing -- eventually we start to become couch potatoes, at least I know I do. I know for me the winter can be a big problem when it comes to inactivity, unless you count switching the channels on the remote as exercise. The summer does tend to keep us more active with all the outside activities that we have, but winter starts the slowing down season and that’s not to mention all the holidays that come up with Thanksgiving and Christmas that help to add those extra pounds. So now is a great time to get ahead of the game and start thinking about an exercise program and why not get started now on a fun, new, constantly moving exercise routine. I believe that exercise is not only great for the way it makes me feel physically, but it definitely does something for me mentally. I love when I’m physically and mentally exhausted, it’s like a natural high.

XFLOWSION is a new triple training exercise program that gives you three workouts in one session combining martial arts, power yoga, and dance, which would be great for me because I love to listen to music while working out and actually do dance around. It gives you the ultimate workout that provides great results in a third of the time. So if you are ready to get your body ready for a total transformation and your mind healty then try XFLOWSION, it's a constantly moving body workout with a triple combination formula that will definitely burn fat and tone muscle while helping to give you good mental health. It is the most fun you’ll have doing a work out!

The Joker Munny

Joker Munny - Kid Robot - Urban Vinyl
My nephew is fascinated by the Dark Knight, the latest Batman movie and especially the Joker, seems like that's all he ever talks about. When he went to see the movie, he went with a bunch of friends and they all put on the Joker make-up. He was so excited about it, he wanted to see it again and he actually dragged me to go see it with him, which I must admit would not have been something I would have gone to see on my own, but I was glad I did, it was a really good movie. So when I came across this adorable Joker Munny doll by SavageLucy42 I thought this is something he could appreciate. This doll is a wonderful, hand-painted little Joker. SavageLucy42 also has other great dolls including the Corpsettes, you'll want to take a look at those gals, they're drop dead gorgeous!

Jewels with a Natural Touch

Petra Necklace
I love all jewelry and love to browse through the many shops on Etsy that feature handmade jewelry and these are just a couple of shops I came across. Their designs bring me back to nature, which is something I love. LieblingDesigns for her use of flowers, I love the fact that she uses flowers in her designs, it adds something just a bit different, that makes me think of walking through a beautiful garden.

And timelessdesigns07 with the use of her natural stones, I get the feel of climbing a mountain, walking through the desert or sitting near a beautiful ocean. I love the use of her natural stones, it brings a great earthy quality to her jewelry.

Red Jasper Pendant

My New Dragonfly

Little Darcy, isn't she cute, she's such a happy dragonfly, she loves flowers and loves to stop by and sit a spell upon the leaves and smell all the lovely scents in the garden.

Darcy is a large bead hand-sculpted from polymer clay. She has a black body with black and kaleidoscope cane wings. Her body is studded with pink glass beads along one side.

The approximate size of the bead is:
2-4/8" tall top to bottom
2-5/8" side to side (wing to wing)
5/8" front to back (nose to back of head)

The bead is pierced vertically from top of head to bottom.

Starting my Online Business

Since I started selling my creations online I have been thinking about starting my own web business. I have been seriously thinking about creating my own website now for quite some time and I have been shopping around for the best possible prices and best place for web hosting and building my website. I came across this web hosting site that gives you some insight on the various places and plans available. They give you a rating as to how good each web hosting company is, what features they offer, cost comparisons, reliability, basic E-commerce strategies and so much more. It kind of takes a lot of the hunting around out for you and is a great place to begin doing some serious homework. Maybe within the next year I’ll have finally created my own website. I sure hope so because it is seriously something I’ve wanted to do for a while now.

Slugs Anyone?

Custom Party Favors
Who says slugs aren't cute? I was delighted when I came across MarthaLand's slugs -- I just new I just had to do a feature on these little ones. They are the cutest little guys and gals I have seen. The slugs come in various styles and some even come with their own accessories like these party favors available for boys and girls. You can get these party favors personalized with each child's name on a MarthaLand ID card. Each also includes a photo of the slug and a fun fact to personalize each child. How adorable is that!

Not having a party? Then you can even have your own slug customized to resemble you or a favorite slug of your own.

One Dollar Sketch

Puppy
One Dollar Sketch is full of ACEO's (size is 2.5 x 3.5 inches). They are original, hand drawn and digitally colored pieces of artwork. Each comes to you signed and dated by the artist and all for just $1.00, now you can't beat that. And of course, I was drawn to the puppy ACEO, this is one of my favorites from her shop, I love the big, happy smile.

Cat and dog BFF's

A great story -- every time I find a touching story about an animal I love to share it so when someone sent me this great article, I just wanted to post it. It's the story about a blind dog and his cat buddy who is his best friend, his eyes and his little helper. What a wonderful bonding between the two --isn't it wonderful!

Wild Things

First let me say thanks to all who voted for last week's favorite. The winner for last week and your favorite was A Colorful Bracelet,Dorianne Agostini Designs. Thank you again for all your votes! I think I'm going to have a 'vote your favorite' every Friday to recap the week and see what your favorite was. I think it's a great way to keep this blog fun, informative and interesting while bringing lots and lots of eye candy.

And speaking of eye candy and for the start of a new week.....

Wild Things Crochet Bracelet
I'm getting into the fall frame of mind so my color choices may change a bit. I noticed I've been starting to look at the gold, brown, rich red, orange colors so be prepared to fall into a few goodies. To start the week here is a lovely wire crochet bracelet by BeadyEyeLass.

The Week In Review -- What's Your Favorite?

The end of the week, pick your favorite. Take the poll above and mark your fav for the week!

1) A Colorful Bracelet,Dorianne Agostini Designs

2) Sharpen Your Ears Earrings by wearmycolors

3)Purple Rose Ring by Melt'm Design Studio

4) Lady Autumn Waldorf Nature Table Doll by FaerieRebecca

5) Celtic Knot Bracelet by lilesj

Charm Bracelets

A Colorful Bracelet
I love charm bracelets and I especially love these fun and funky charm bracelets featured at Dorianne Agostini Designs. I love all the little details like, of course, the polymer clay hearts (being a polymer clay freak that I am). These bracelets are great for young ladies of all ages. The shop is full of bright and fun jewelry, headbands, handbags and more so grab a cup of tea, sit down, head on over to her shop and take a look see through her many wonderful items.

Hello Kitty Charm Bracelet

Fun and Funky

Sharpener Your Ears Earrings
If you're into fun stuff and something a bit different and whimsical then head on over to wearmycolors for fun and funky creations. These earrings are a hoot and what better way to hold your cash than in this wonderful recycled apple juice package -- that will help keep your change in our pocket while doing something for the environment -- now that's change you can believe in!


Apple Juice Wallet

Jewelry to Die For - Melt'm Design Studio

The Rose Collection - Purple Rose Ring
For beautiful handmade jewelery to die for check out Melt'm Design Studio. The pieces are made from sterling silver, oxidized sterling silver, gold, gemstones and freshwater pearls. This is jewelery you'll want to check out. There are many lovely pieces in this shop, unique and feminine with a range of mixtures from bold choices to oh so delicate pieces. Here are a couple of my favorites. The ring is out of this world made of sterling silver and purple amethyst and the necklace is oh so beautiful from its rose pink quartz center down to the filigree ends -- exquisite.

Pink Elegance

Dressing Up Pets For Halloween

Halloween is almost here and what a better way to get that great costume for your pet. So that’s my question for this post, do you dress up your pet? I have only gone so far as putting head pieces on my dog or should I say my stepdaughter did it, she has put a princess crown and a nun’s headdress on my dog, Lena. One year my stepdaughter came over with her witch costume on and she had a nun’s headdress to put on the dog so Lena got to be a nun that year -- and the funny thing is Lena actually let her put it on her and she kept it on for a while. Another year she was a princess with a crown on her head and that same year we had a dollhouse that we decorated in the Halloween spirit with spider webs, spiders and pumpkins. That was a fun year and I remember it well. And then there was my neighbor who actually dressed in matching costumes with her dog, they both were pirates that year -- it was too funny to see both of them walking down the street together.

My stepdaughter just loves costumes and loves to go to Halloween costume stores to browse through the selections. Every year she has to be something special and often goes to great lengths to find just the right costume. She is starting to get a bit older now so dressing up Lena is a thing of the past, but I kind of miss that because it was always fun dressing up Lena, even if it was just a headpiece -- so that makes me wonder how many of you dress your pet up in a pet costume for Halloween? I always get these great e-mails around this time of the year showing off all the pets in their costumes. The costumes range from the truly adorable to the totally outrageous. Maybe I will put a little something on Lena again this year.

Little Jailbird

Carrier the Cairn Terrier has his favorite costume on. He's so glad that he got to be the jailbird this season, last year he was an angel and this year he's been begging for this costume since who knows when. He's been so happy he hasn't been able to take that costume off -- he's been sleeping in it and everything. His costume is complete with striped top, hat and ball and chain and he carries his very own pumpkin basket to fill with tasty Scooby snacks.

The tile is hand-sculpted from polymer clay, the approximate size of the tile is is 1-1/2" square. It has orange ribbon attached at the top for hanging. These tiles can hang just about anywhere, they can be worn and can also be used as a Christmas ornament. So sweet!

FaerieRebecca

Lady Autumn Waldorf Nature Table Doll
FaerieRebecca is a sweet shop full of handcrafted dolls in the Waldorf tradition. These are a couple of my favorites, with their beautiful autumn colors, and sweet simplistic style -- just looking at them makes me so happy that the beautiful fall season is about to begin. These two dolls are just a small sample of a shop full of beautiful handcrafted dolls. I'd also like to wish a Happy Birthday to Rebecca and her daughter -- hope your daughter had and you will have a wonderful birthday celebration!

Autumn Nature Table Set

lilesj

Celtic Knot Bracelet
Chainmaille -- need I say more. Wow, what an art form. I love chainmaille and am amazed at the artisans who create such beautiful pieces such as lilesj who combines chainmaille and wire wrapping with semi-precious stones to create handmade, one-of-a-kind jewelry. Here are a couple my favorites from her shop, although there were many, these were the two that struck me the most.

The Celtic Knot bracelet, what can I say other than awesome, I love the celtic knot design. This entire bracelet is handmade beginning with half-round sterling silver wire, that's then knotted and linked together and finished with a handmade hook and loop clasp, what craftsmanship.

Wishing for the Sea Bracelet

Joanna Goldman Designs

Cartoon Sammy The Alien Poster
The etsy shop joannagoldman is sure to delight you with her whimsical illustrations. You can purchase these wonderful illustrations as prints, postcards, buttons, magnets and more. I especially love these two google-eyed creatures, ladybugs -- I just love ladybugs when they fly down and land on me to give me a quick hello before they're off again, I think they are the cutest little critters around, but these ladybugs are the best with their wide bright eyes -- and the alien, well who doesn't love an alien?

Linda the Lady Bug and her Daughters

A Favorite Color

What is a favorite color I like to use? The answer to this is not a simple one because I love color, all colors. I would have to say the color combination I seem to use the most are black, white and red, but I love black. Black is the base, it's the starting point for me, I always have enjoyed working in pen and ink and then adding a touch of color. The above portrait is a pen and ink I did when the war first began and I couldn't help feel for the women of the soldiers who were left behind, what they must be going through, so I depicted a woman holding her man's dog tags close to her heart.

Tanybug - Art Prints

Art Print - We Are All a Superhero
Tanybug is a great little Etsy shop full of colorful photography, art prints and hand sewn camera straps. I especially love these little art prints, so sweet. I mean who doesn't want to be a superhero -- to someone? If you'd like to see more of Tanybug's items stop by my new blog Indie Sista's where I showcase her photography and her camera straps.
Art Print - Fly Away