Jelly Donuts

I've been brainstorming some projects lately & thinking of Chanukah. It's been pretty hard trying to translate motifs of this holiday into the kind of projects that I like to make. Dreidels? Too childish I thought. Menorahs? Too complicated to think of all the candles. Stars? Well, I made some of those and I need to work on them some more. Then, of course, my thoughts turned to food....

Jelly Donuts (or Sufganiyot) are a Chanukah tradition – Lots of Chanukah foods are fried, remembering the miracle of one day's worth of oil lasting eight days.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanukkah#Hanukkah_foods

I crocheted a few large donuts last year and since I love miniatures, I decided to work on those. But when I was done, and had almost a dozen miniature (nickel-sized) jelly donuts, I didn't know what to do with them. They sat on my desk, rolled to the floor, took up space, haunting me. Until inspiration struck!

These are some donuts you can wear on your wrist, not on your hips. To be seen in my Etsy shop by tonight... Now, here!

Ingredients: Cotton dough and jelly, Polyfil, beads and novelty yarn sugar-coating.

Yes, it's silly. You wouldn't even know they were more than an interesting decoration on the bracelet unless you were reading this. But, why not have a little whimsy to wear?

And for some variations on how to spell “Chanukah” – check this out.

Baking Cookies

Baked some cookies this weekend. Haven’t done this in a while, made a small batch – only about 100! (That’s 200 cookies sandwiched together with jelly.) There was a 40th birthday … I just had to.

Shopping Online

I bought this pillow for a wedding gift & I wanted to share.  I thought it was so unique when I saw it on her blog, that I messaged the seller and inquired about it & sure enough, she made one for me.  Rikkianne was so great to work with, and her shop Chakra Pennywhistle is so charming.  (& yes, I’m going to a wedding next week!)

I often search Etsy for unique gifts, haven’t blogged about this before, though!  Once in a while I’ll have an impulse purchase, but I try to keep those few and far between.

I wish I could make something as nice as Jacqueline at So Cute it Hurts!  She’s been working on a wedding gift and it is so precious.  Here’s a peek:  Go look, she’s a wonderful creative artist, with her own Etsy shop, too.

What about you?  What’s your first go-to for online shopping?   Do you have an impulse shopping budget or price limit?

E.T.T. Shop of the Week - Linda B's Beaded Jewelry

This week’s Shop of the Week is Linda B’s Beaded Jewelry, and I have to say upfront that she’s a wonderful Etsy seller! I work with Linda on the EtsyChai Team and she’s great.  Here work is wonderful, too! 

This necklace caught my eye, it’s so striking and bold & that’s how I like to wear my jewelry.

There’s a great interview with her over at the E.T.T. blog… and… a special!  In honor of her November 1 birthday, Linda is offering a week long discount: “20% off purchases totaling $10, excluding shipping November 2 - 8”  Go & celebrate with her!

Halloween was Scary

Had fun at the party.  But my costume wasn’t as flattering as I had hoped.  I guess that’s what I get for waiting for the last minute … like trying to find snakes to wear in my hair Halloween morning, or 1/2 hour before the event, making alterations in a hotel room.

 

That’s as big a picture as you’re going to get here.  (I really, really wasn’t happy with this.)  What’s that on my head you say?  A pony tail, with braids, desperately holding onto these heavy, slimy feeling snakes:

 

 

Next year I will either plan earlier or suck it up and buy a costume.

‘Tis the Season to be Orange

HuayruroPeru is always on the ball with making Treasuries, click and visit!:

Makes me think of Vitamin C with all the sniffles around me, too.

Teams!

I stopped doing many weekly blog posts about team members because I felt that was all I was doing.  And I was busy.  Not making stuff, but just busy. I’m still involved in teams, but just in different ways.  For instance, I love the Etsy Twitter Team and my Tweet Deck is usually running in the background of my pc while I’m working at home.  Follow me on Twitter if you like.

This week’s E.T.T. Shop of the Week is Cape Cod Jewels and Things.  I thought her creative use of jewels and puzzle pieces was really creative.  There’s a great interview with her at the team blog.  And her shop is really charming, filled with all sorts of beautiful creations.   Spooky Halloween sale going on now, too!  Here’s one of my faves:

 

I also love to blog and the Etsy Bloggers Team is a perfect fit!  Since one of my recent posts was for a “Blog Carnival” – you can read what other etsy bloggers have written about in the same category by checking out A Keeper’s Jackpot blog.
Next week there will be a post here about my participation with the EtsyChai Team and an upcoming promotion for the holidays.

Oh, and just one more.  The EcoEtsy Street Team is one I’m not very active in, but finally, one of my nominations was put up on their blog! 

How involved do you get with your Etsy Teams?