Christmas has come and gone...what a great holiday

So another Christmas has past and what great memories we have from this one.

On Christmas Eve we received another huge downpour of snow. We ended up this week with just over 40 cms of snow, all in one week, that is incredible for us on the coast! We played for most of the day in the snow and had such a great time.

Once everyone was out of the snowsuits and settled I started on the evenings prep. Cooking, cooking, and more cooking! We had such a great Christmas eve feast. I tried a new recipe for Shrimp rangoons and they were quite a hit.

I had to go out and pick up my Mom from work because her car wouldn't make it in the snow. She has a spyder and it is too low to get through all the snow on the side streets. So once she was here we continued to prep until my sister, her boyfriend Craig and Rorys sister and dh arrived. Then we ate, and ate, and ate!

They played some Wii

and horsed around until it was time to get the cookies and milk for Santa

and then off to bed for the little ones. I honestly thought we would be doing the bedroom shuffle for hours, you know, in bed, out of bed, back to bed, and so on, but I was pleasantly surprised to find both boys asleep in about 15 minutes, they were definitely exhausted. The adults then played some poker, ate some more and then were in bed early too. We were all really tired.

Tracy and Craig were not staying over like my Mom but had strict orders to be here by 6:30 on Christmas morning. We had told Trevor that he had to stay in bed until 6:30, they came close, they were both out of bed at 6:20 and then the fun began!

It took some time to get through most of the presents as everyone went overboard. Oh what fun we had :)

We always have Christmas breakfast and then rush out to Rorys Moms house for afternoon fun but this year we stayed home. Too many accidents and way too much snow it just wasn't worth it. So we had a really fun day playing with our toys, staying in our pj's and just relaxing. We finally got dressed for dinner around 4 (it was a late dinner because when I took the bird out of the fridge it was still frozen, it had been in there de-thawing for two days, not sure what happened). They were so cute in their Christmas sweaters.

So since that dinner we have been eating Turkey like crazy, we finally made it out to Rorys Moms on Saturday (it snowed again all day on Boxing day), and have really just been relaxing and playing with toys.

funny story about the DS, get into in just a bit.

I was spoiled this year as well. Both my sister and Rory got me tickets to a Canucks game so I get to go to 2 different games in January. My Mom surprised me with a ticket to Vegas and tickets to see Elton John in early Feb (Oh I can't wait!!!!!!) I was also lucky to receive some new cricut cartridges and the cricut jukebox, I will probably open my toys tonight.

So it should stay quiet and relaxing for the entire week and I hope to get some scrapping done as well, in between the board games with the boys and playing in the snow.

I have also listed some auctions on ebay this week.

My Let it Snow layout is listed, you can check it out here:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=370136129271&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT

as well I have listed a 20 page custom layout auction and the bid amount is still really low, it's a really great deal, you can find this one here.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=260337891713&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT

Finally the mean parent DS story, actually I think Santa was playing a trick.

We opened all the presents with the exception of a couple grown up ones left. Trev turns to Ror and I saying (almost in tears) that Santa must have forgotten the DS. He has asked only for this since earlier this year, it is the only thing he really wanted. Anyway we don't know what to say because he's right all the presents are gone and he hasn't opened a DS. We know its behind the couch, we didn't want him to see it so we hid it until the very end. Well I am sorry the camcorder wasn't working because this was the reaction of a lifetime. We all start walking away like we are done when my sister throws some paper at Rory on the couch, then Rory finds the lost present. Once Trevor opens it the screaming doesn't stop, "he didn't forget, he didn't forget", it was priceless.

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday as well!

Cheers

Finally uploaded my pictures

So far the kids Christmas holidays have been a lot of fun. We have played in the snow, made gingerbread, and decorated cookies.

I have been taking pics but have not found the time (or just a little lazy, lol) to get them uploaded to the computer. So here goes.

First photos are of the layout that I have completed. Again as I noted before I have not decided whether to list on ebay or Etsy. I have decided to wait til after the holidays because I worry it will just get lost in the mix.

We have had quite some fun playing in the snow over the last few days. It is really weird snow because it is very light and fluffy (not common for us) and we are having issues making snowballs and snowman (they keep falling apart). We did decide to start a fort but the kids became bored so it ended up more like a horseshoe!

Even the dog is having a blast

Next on the list were gingerbread houses. I was so excited. I had a kit in my hand earlier this season and decided that even though I am not a baker we would make them from scratch. So I found this recipe, it was supposed to be more kid friendly in taste so I thought I would give it a try. Well the cookie is awesome but note I used the word cookie and not house! This recipe does not contain molasses, I now believe that without the molasses the dough is not strong enough to hold the shape long enough to get them on the pan. After about 20 attempts I gave up and we made cookie shapes instead.

We spent the morning today decorating them and it was great fun!

This will be my last post until after Christmas so I would like to wish everyone the happiest holidays!!

Cheers

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

Well I can count on one hand how many White Christmas' we have had but I do think it is safe to say that we will have one this year.
We are now up to at least a foot of snow, maybe not much for some but a ton for us.
The kids have been having a blast and it has been so fun to watch. I wish I had pics to post but I plan on taking them tomorrow.
I am not a snow hater, I actually love the white stuff but the cold.....despising it!!!! Serious abnormal temps lately, what's the deal, I thought we were living through global warming, lol.

I did manage to finish a layout, titled "Let it Snow" and I hope to have it listed tomorrow. I am just trying to figure out if I should wait til after the holidays or do it now. I also can't decide if I should list it on ebay or Etsy. I am leaning towards ebay, I love the way it turned out and I am thinking that an auction style may work better. I will post pics of this tomorrow as well.

Regarding Christmas....I am done!!! Who hoo, Yahoo, Yippeee, can you tell I am excited. I have NEVER been done this early. I knew the snow was coming so I have even finished my food shopping, went out late last night. Honestly it is kind of freaking me out, keep thinking that I have forgotten something because I am never not running around frantic the last few days before the big guy gets here. Rory is even finished his shopping, he just has some wrapping to do.

So tomorrow on the list. Playing in the snow, building gingerbread houses, (never done this as an adult and not much of a baker so crossing my fingers and toes that they work out, regardless the kids will have fun!), and possibly some shortbread cookies. Looks like I will actually have some free time to work on some scrapping. I am working on a custom album right now and really have to get some of the boys layouts done. Oh and the cutest thing today from Trev, he was looking at the snow layout I just finished, he usually pays no attention to them, anyway he asked if I made the bears, to which I answer yes. He turns to me all serious and says, "well Mom, this is your best work ever", it was soooooo sweet I could have cried!

I will be posting pics tomorrow so cheers for now.

Wow, what a week!!!

I can't believe I have not posted for a week but it has been a very productive one and unfortunately to accomplish this my computer time was limited.


Last Saturday we took the kids out to get our Christmas tree. Usually we go out and cut our tree down but because Rory is limited in what he can do and since it had been raining like crazy we decided to skip it this year. When we arrived I was fully expecting to be searching the lot for the perfect tree however we lucked out with the first tree we looked at. It was beautiful!


When we got home we started pulling out the decorations only to find that we were missing some boxes. Earlier this year we had done a massive cleanup with the help of my brother-in-laws, I have a feeling that some Christmas decoration boxes were mixed up with the dump load and were thrown out. Anyway off to the store to find some lights, well........everyone was sold out. I was quite surprised.



Trevor really wasn't interested in decorating the tree, he is so funny, all the things I think will be fun for him really seem to be a chore for him. I didn't push it with Trevor because really why bother, not fun to force a kid to decorate a tree :) Brendan on the other hand was so into it. I was worried the tree would fall over because the bottom of the tree was so loaded with his decorations. From start to finish he was right in there, it was really sweet.

Here is the finished tree.

Sunday we had some friends over for dinner. They have a little girl Trevs age and it was really cute to watch them play. Trev kept asking me all night if he could tell her that he loved her. A little 6 year old crush :)

Next was the cold, we usually are above freezing this time of year but this week has been terribly cold. Today the temp is -7 but with the windchill -14 (the non-metric conversion is 19, feeling like 7) This is nuts! We had snow on Tuesday, 15 cms, usually we have snow and then the next day its gone but with the cold temperatures it is still around. For all you that live in the east you probably can't understand the desire for a white Christmas, I think I can count on one hand the number of white Christmas' so this is a real treat. They are calling for more snow on Sunday, Monday, and possibly Tuesday. The kids are having a blast but I am finding it a little too cold to enjoy.

I finished all of my Christmas shopping yesterday, I have never been this organized. All the shopping done and the wrapping should be done today. I love it!

So now I am on to the food, I just put together my menu

Christmas Eve

Mushroom Caps

Sausage Rolls

Fried Ravioli

Shrimp Rangoons

Crab Dip

Fried Rice

Sweet n Sour Meatballs

Christmas Dinner

Just a traditional turkey dinner with all the fixins, mmmmmmmmmmmm, in all honesty I like the fixings much more than the turkey. I am excited to try a different carving method this year. I was watching Jamie Oliver and they way he cut the turkey was inspiring, we'll see how it goes.

I am hoping to post again before the big day but just in case I don't get a chance, I would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and the happiest holiday ever!!

New Pre-made Scrapbook club and.......it's snowing!!!

I started a new club in my Etsy shop yesterday. Here are the details.

One common thing I hear when I mention scrapbooking is just how much people would like to do it but just don't have the time in their already too busy lives.
Well here is the solution.
Join the KriskropMemories Pre-Made Scrapbook Club and have all of your wonderful memories preserved into beautiful scrapbooks.

The Bronze level is 2 12x12 layouts each month for THREE MONTHS.Every month (1st of the month) you will either mail or e-mail pictures you would like scrapped, and journalling if desired, and I will have your completed layouts in the mail by the 15th of the month.
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=18574361

This is also a perfect gift for someone who just had a baby or was recently married, a gift that keeps on giving month after month.

This club is also available in silver and gold variations, each with extra bonuses included!!!

Also I am working on a snow themed layout and guess what it is snowing today, perfect timing I'd say, really puts me in the mood. We don't get very much snow here so when it does snow it is quite the event.
Brendan just saw that it was snowing and his reaction was "HOLY SMOKES", "THIS IS CRAZY". He is so excited. Trevor is at school so I can only imagine his response but I know he has been doing a countdown since he heard the possibility of snow 5 days ago.
I am not sure if it will stick but I hope it does a little, really be great picking out our tree in the snow. That's the plan for tomorrow, haircuts for the boys, a trip to see Santa, and then off to pick out the tree. Should be a great day!

Cheers for now

Chocolate Goldfish...oh my

In the past when I was a kid it was such a treat to go to Washington state to find all the different things we couldn't get here in Canada. For example, breakfast cereal, the types available would just be overwhelming to a kid, so many choices but only one box allowed. We could always get one new box of cereal and one snack. However as I grew older and free trade came to be the differences didn't seem as large but I still always have to check.

I am glad I did this time. I had no idea there were chocolate goldfish.

You can imagine the number of bags of goldfish we consume here with my 2 boys and the additional 2 I watch, when I showed them the bag of chocolate goldfish they were really happy. I didn't think to try one till last night and now honestly I am thinking of hiding them, they are sooooooo good.

So anyway this is my tribute to pepperidge farm and chocolate goldfish and may they reach the Canadian border soon :)

A little down and out the past few days!

The dreaded Christmas cold came early (I hope). As a family everyone except Trevor has been battling a bad head cold.
I have had so much planned and really cannot find the energy to even think let alone do.
I am starting to feel better so I am hoping to get a lot done over the next few days, at the very least get the Christmas cards out in the mail.

I did go to Seattle this weekend with my sister, that was fun, I was looking forward to this for weeks and when the time came I was full on into this cold. I tried my best not to let it stop me. I was able to pick up some really great deals. People were bugging me about the dollar because it has come down so much but honestly the sales in the stores more than made up for the difference in the dollar. We are facing some of the same economic issues but honestly I have not seen the evidence in the stores, no mind blowing sales like I saw in the US.

Then yesterday I was able to complete one of my favorite things of the holiday season. Every year my sister through her work collects donations for a toy drive. We (sister and I) then go shopping for toys. We had just over $1300 for toys. There isn't a better feeling than shopping for toys for kids that don't have much and not really worrying about the prices. Don't get me wrong we wanted to get as many as we could but we wanted to make sure they were gifts that the kids could really enjoy and get some good play out of. We managed to spend just under $1100, we should finish the rest tonight. I just love this. Unfortunately my desire to adopt some families really won't come true this year simply because of the financial issues we have gone through when Rory took his leave but I am going to save all year to ensure that we are able to do this for sure next year. It is really important for me to teach our kids that they are fortunate and that they always need to think of others. My goal is to not only adopt the family at Christmas but for the entire year, my Dad brought this up to me one year when I was working with some other families, how many birthdays are just as important that get missed because they don't fall during the Christmas season.

Anyway I am off to bowling tonight and then will sit down and send out my cards, I also hope to get some new layouts listed and work on some projects for the kids. Time and my stuffed head will tell.

Cheers

Just got back from the school

We went to our first parent/teacher interview for Trevor and it was wonderful. Just love when the first words out of the teacher are how much she loves him, just how much fun he is to teach. I already knew this of course but when someone else tells me it makes me feel so good. Anyway enough gushing over my first born :)

I just found out I will be working on a custom Disneyworld scrapbook and I am so excited. I love anything Disney. I have so much fun working on custom scrapbooks so if you are in need just let me know ;)

So I am now in my sweats finishing up lunch for the kids and then I will start working on some layouts for the boys, hope to have them posted tomorrow. The Canucks are playing in a few hours so we should have a fun night in today.

Cheers!

I think this is the longest I have gone in a while

between posts I mean!

It has been a crazy few days, super busy!

Trevor received his first 1st grade report card, he did awesome. I couldn't get over the number of items they are graded on, I think it is about 48.

We had a birthday party and a Christmas party on the weekend, and I was super busy finishing custom orders. For the first time in days I am finally sitting down.

I have put together my list for Christmas, I will be prepared, I will be prepared, lol. So far I have been able to cross off 3 items. The christmas ring chain has been made, see bottom of post for more info, it's great if you have little ones asking you how many more days til Christmas, outdoor lights have been purchased, and they are up.

So next on the the list....send out Christmas cards, finalize the gift list and budget.

In between all these fun Christmas activities I will be making some new pre-made scrapbook layouts, working on my website, and working on more custom scrapbooks. I am hoping to find some time to work on the boys books as well. Actually I will make the latter a priority, the whole reason I started scrapping was to get their memories done and I haven't worked much on that.

So I will be getting back to regular posts as it was a favorite time of the day for me. Talk to you soon.

Cheers

ps The Christmas Ring Chain

take some wrapping paper and cut into 24 strips about 6 - 8 inches long. Wrap strip into a ring and tape together. Take the next strip and wrap through the first again taping it into a ring, this is making a chain. Continue this until all 24 have been intertwined and form a long chain. Each night the kids cut one ring off the chain, come Christmas eve there will be one last ring to cut, when they are all gone Santa is coming!

Black Friday, Cyber Monday and more

I would like to start off this post with the announcement of my first ever Black Friday/Cyber Monday sale.

****In my my Etsy shop all handmade items (Christmas cards, tags, and pre-made scrapbook pages) are part of my BOGO SALE. Buy any one item and receive a second of equal or lesser value FREE.
All listed scrapbook supplies are also on sale, they are all 20% off.

****In the ebay store all commercial cards are part of the BOGO SALE. These cards will no longer be listed after this sale until next year so be sure to grab them now!
Also like the Etsy shop all other supplies are 20% off.

These sales are on now til 11:59 p.m. pst December 1st

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On a completely different note, I had a great Mommy experience today. For the first time ever I spent time helping in Trevors classroom. I didn't get a chance when he was in kindergarten because of the other kids I was watching, this year with Rory home I was able to go. What a great time I had. I went with the expectation that I would be helping the teacher help the kids so I was a little surprised to find myself filing for the teacher but actually it was a blessing because I was able to listen to all going on.
The one shock I had was the lock down drill. it was the first one of the year so the kids were quite confused.
Oh what a different world we live in from when I was in school. I get why we have it but being a part of it really made me mad, to think these kids grow up thinking this is something normal.

The Christmas season is now in full swing around here and the kids have their first Christmas party on Sunday so I am really excited. I keep asking Brendan what he is going to ask Santa for for Christmas, the answer is always "a little present", I have no idea what this means but I am determined to find out!

So hopefully the lights go up this weekend, Trev has a birthday party and the Christmas party, and I am hoping this sale noted above has me hoping off my feet.

Cheers

Happy Thanksgiving

I would like to wish a Happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends.
Have a truly happy turkey day!

The Christmas to do list

I know for many of you Christmas planning is still a few days away with Thanksgiving the main focal point but for me it is time to put together the lists.

I don't know if I would ever get anything accomplished if I didn't sit down each morning and make my daily to do list, well the same goes for Christmas but to a much bigger degree. So I plan today (it's actually on my to do list for the day) to sit down and make the Christmas to do list. What gifts I plan for everyone, what kind of food to plan this year (I like to try something new every year and still stay with the traditional), when to decorate, what clothes the kids need, what our family donation will be and so on.

Once the to do list is done (it's never done until boxing day) I will be posting it here. I am thinking if I make it public than my procrastination won't take over on the cold and rainy nights.

Cheers

Wow when Rory gets focused on something.....

He just doesn't stop. Today he was determined to make our elf Christmas greeting. He fell in love with this last year and has been on the computer all day (except while the Grey Cup was on, Canadas version of the Superbowl), mixing different photos and well... honestly I don't know what he was doing!

Anyway this is the end result, I have never uploaded anything like this to my blog so I hope it works. If you click on the photo (please come back for the rest of the post) I am hoping our crazy family will start dancing for you, and yes that's the dog with sunglasses on. Ror was in a weird mood today which should also explain his facial expression.

On a completely different note I too was a little creative this weekend. I am working on my first brag book and I am really not sure what I think of it.

Here are some pics of the process

Can't work without the coffee!

I am hoping to have this finished tomorrow but not sure if I will find the time. We have a showing for the house (fingers, toes, and nose crossed) and I have some custom work that needs to be completed tomorrow before anything else. So we'll see!

That's it for me today

Cheers

Holiday EtsyFest - mark your calendars!!!

Who?

200 current etsy sellers have united to offer shoppers exclusive sales from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday (Nov 27-Dec 1)

When? from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday (Nov 27-Dec 1)

Where?individual shops on etsysale blog: http://heatherknitzgiveaways.blogspot.com/2008/11/holiday-etsyfest-shopping-guide-sale.html

Bath and Beauty/Hair:http://heatherknitzgiveaways.blogspot.com/2008/11/etsyfest-bath-and-beauty-and-hair.html

Children and Baby:http://heatherknitzgiveaways.blogspot.com/2008/11/holiday-etsyfest-children-and-baby.html

Clothing/Bags/Purses:http://heatherknitzgiveaways.blogspot.com/2008/11/holiday-etsyfest-clothing-and-purses.html

Eclectic Gift Shops:http://heatherknitzgiveaways.blogspot.com/2008/11/holiday-etsyfest-eclectic-variety-of.html

Fine Art/Photography/Ceramics/Home:http://heatherknitzgiveaways.blogspot.com/2008/11/holiday-etsyfest-fine-art-ceramics.html

Jewelry:http://heatherknitzgiveaways.blogspot.com/2008/11/holiday-etsyfest-jewelry-gifts_16.html

Knitting/Crochet/Fiber Arts:http://heatherknitzgiveaways.blogspot.com/2008/11/holiday-etsyfest-jewelry-gifts_16.html

Paper Goods:http://heatherknitzgiveaways.blogspot.com/2008/11/holiday-etsyfest-paper-goods-and.html

-----------------------Happy Shopping!

I was able to get some creative things done yesterday

I just listed some new Christmas cards on Etsy this morning. I am so happy because this has been on my to do list forever and I haven't been able to find the hours in the day.
The rest of the day will be spent on some custom Christmas cards and the brag books.
So here they are:

True BOGO Sale for commercial cards

Many of the cards I have listed in my ebay store are going to end today, within 4 hours or so. I will not be re-listing these cards as they end because it is getting too late in the season. So I have decided to have a true BOGO sale. Buy 1 get 1 free. You can mix and match the designs. This is a great deal so be sure to take advantage before they end for the season!

Here is the link
http://stores.ebay.com/Grove-Designs-Company
simply click on Christmas cards to see the great designs

Cheers

I have decided to take the plunge!

I made the decision last night to go forward with a company website. I have found that I have been stressing over the Etsy, ebay question for too long and it is time to take the plunge.

As I noted in previous posts I was uncertain whether to do this or not due to the economy but I am hoping that by the time I get the site up and running the economy will have taken a bit of a turn in the right direction. Probably a little bit of wishful thinking but that is my new mantra these days, positive thinking will evolve into positive results, here's hoping :)

Anyway the plan is to finish all of my Christmas card designs today and tomorrow, I am also working on some photo brag books, once I have done this I will start to focus on the new website.

A fine line for sure!

I really started thinking last night about how easily we can turn our kids into greedy monsters. I wouldn't even say it's their fault either.

When discussing their Christmas lists recently I was surprised about how Trevor just expected that no matter how much was written on the list that he would receive it all. Is this his fault?, I don't think so, for the first 6 years of his life we have wanted to give him all we could that in fact we have given him everything he's wanted.

How does one learn that they are lucky or to be greatful?

I have been trying really hard lately to explain this but it just seems to be falling on deaf ears. My husband does not believe they need to be exposed to the concept of money yet, I fiercely disagree. Rory believes that children do not need this worry. However when Trevor asked why he had to pick between soccer, hockey, baseball, bowling and swimming, the only answer I could think of was that they all cost a lot of money and we can't afford for you to do them all.

I don' t know maybe I am just rambling about nothing, but the last thing I want is to raise greedy children. Is he too young to understand all this, will he grow into it, or is this something that I should be emphasizing about as much as possible. Anybody reading this that has gone through this or understands what I am speaking of your words of wisdom would be very appreciated!! >At the bottom of this blog I have a poll I would really love if you could participate in. I am trying to determine what types of greeting cards I should concentrate on more.

Cute

Traditional

Non-Traditional

Handcrafted

Thanks for taking part, it will really help me in making decisions for next year.

Cheers.

Hit by the Christmas bug!!! Can I be Martha Stewart this year?

Last month I posted about how Christmas seems to be arriving earlier and earlier every year. I was upset about this but it seems now I have been hit by the Christmas bug. I find myself throughout the day singing Christmas carols and can't wait until I can decorate the house.

Every year I have these grandious plans to be the Martha Stewart of Langley. I want to have the most elaborate decorations, the biggest most beautiful tree, and little fairies dancing around the house, ok just kidding, but I think you get the idea.

Well what happens, life! I never find the time to complete all projects, or I take on too much and don't finish the projects like I want them to be.

So here's what I did today. I signed up for the Martha Stewart Christmas workshop, this starts today www.marthastewart.com , apparently this is supposed to help organize me.

So will it happen?, well I don't know, but maybe this year I can get a little closer to my Martha Stewart Christmas, or I will again just be satisfied with happy kids, and the true meaning of Christmas.
Cheers

Wow the talent on Etsy is mind blowing!!

As the title states the talent on Etsy is mind blowing. I put out an offer for Etsy shop owners to be featured on my blog and the response was incredible!


I decided to make this a Christmas gift feature with quite a number of different items and shops. I wasn't able to include all simply because my fingers would fire me for all the typing but I have to say that every shop that responded was amazing!

So let's get started, hoping that you will be able to find that perfect Christmas gift from one of these sellers.

HammelmanArt - http://www.hammelmanart.etsy.com/

This shop includes a wonderful selection of watercolor paintings. Florals, Abstracts, Land & Sea, and much more.

They are currently have a great sale. If you purchase anything in their Holiday Gift section you will receive another item of equal or lesser value FREE.

Here is one example of the beautiful work in the shop.

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Just Add Charm - http://www.justaddcharm.etsy.com/

Well if I had girls I would be spending a ton of money in this shop. Since I wasn't allowed to cut my hair until I was 12 you can imagine just how many ponytail holders I have worn. These are by far the sweetest I have ever seen. These would make a great stocking stuffer for sure!

This shop is also offering free shipping for all orders over $20.

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AlloverArt - http://www.alloverart.etsy.com/

This shop features oil paintings, pet portraits, pendants and more.

The pendants really struck me, simply beautiful and a great selection.

Here is my favorite. Be sure to check out the shop as they have many different designs.

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Treeartist - http://www.treeartist.etsy.com/

When I came across this shop I fell in love with the paintings, they are so unique and really vibrant. I was quite happy to see that the artist was just down the highway from me. I love supporting local business.

Currently they are offering free shipping on all purchases till November 30th.

Check out these wonderful paintings

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Across the Pond Designs - http://www.acrossthepond.etsy.com/

This shop has something that I have never seen before and I think it is the greatest idea. Perfect gift for the person who has everything.

It is a wooden locket that you can do so much with, here are some examples from the artist

Some ideas for using your locket:

-Use index prints from your photo processing

-Print tiny pictures from your own computer

-Type up your favorite quotes

-Put inspirational messages that you can look at throughout the day
-Collage a tiny little scene

-Scan and reduce a love note from your favorite person

Here is my favorite

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Once Upon a Box - http://www.onceuponabox.etsy.com/

Here is another very talented shop owner. The quality of the work looks outstanding and the originality is superb.

If you are a butterfly or cat lover this is one shop you don't want to miss

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Dreamin of Beadin - http://www.dreaminofbeadin.etsy.com/

There isn't much to say about this shop because the pictures speak volumes. Stunning work for sure. I can't imagine any woman on your list that you couldn't find that perfect gift for.

This shop is also having a great sale, Free earrings with a minimum $20 purchase. Please check with the store for further information on this sale.

Again my favorite:

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Bancroft Studios - http://www.brookepickering.etsy.com/

One look at the dinnerwear available in the shop and I'll bet you' ll be in love. I know I was.

All of the pieces are dishwasher and microwave safe. Currently they are offering nautical or hydrangea designs, however you can visit http://www.bancroftstudios.com/ for other designs as well.

This piece is beautiful!

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Jillian Haupt & Co - http://www.jillianhaupt.etsy.com/

If you have a princess or cupcake in your life then definitely stop by this shop. The items for sale are just so sweet that every little one should have something special like this.

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Tias - http://www.tias.etsy.com/

Are you looking for a ring that is truly unique to you or for that someone special on your shopping list. Well look no further. The rings available in this shop are stunning. Stop by an take a look, so many different colors!

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Covetables - http://www.covetables.etsy.com/

This is the description on their front page and I think it describes their inventory wonderfully.

Welcome! To the home of lovable, huggable, joyful, covetable toys, dolls, craft kits, t'shirts and more!

There isn't one item in their shop that isn't really sweet, this below just happens to be my favorite

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Wimzee - http://www.cmu55@etsy.com/

Ok doesn't every little girl deserve a strawberry hat. I think they all do, or maybe an acorn hat, cupcake hat etc. The items available here are so much fun. I mean really Mary Jane booties, awesome!

Take a look at these pics, just two of the sweet items currently for sale.

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Ok so finally I was dared by a fellow shopowner to feature their shop. Well I never step down from a dare, lol. I do not wish to add pictures but another shop to visit on Etsy is:

http://www.naughtyknits.etsy.com/ (be warned they disclose mature items on their pictures)

Happy shopping everyone, only 39 sleeps til Christmas

Cheers