Owl Spotlight--HollyStott

Have you ever started a project and then like 2 or 3 months later you haven't finished it and it stresses you out. Well, this rarely happens to me, but in the case of this bracelet it happened. I started this bracelet several months ago in preparation for the fall. It sat unfinished in my art room for a very long time. All the while it was sitting in the back of my mind...."you have to finish that bracelet." It was actually stressing me out a bit. I have no idea why. There is no deadline or requirement that is forcing me to bead. However, I decided to make my own deadline...to finish the bracelet before today so I could blog about it. So I did it! Finally! I finished it yesterday and here it is....




I know this is a totally lame post, and I do apoligize. I'm sure I'm boring everyone, but I have an excuse. As most of you know, I'm a law student, and every moment of every day is more or less dedicated to something about school. Most of my days are usually reading (what feels like hundreds of pages) Contracts, Property Law, and Torts. As you can imagine this is a very boring semester. The only semi interesting course is Torts.

So anyways, I don't have any free time and so therefore I have no life outside of school and Etsy. So I don't have anything else to blog about. I'm sorry. I'm a dull person. Maybe when I graduate I will be allowed to have a life.

My next goal is actually getting this listed on Etsy! hahaha! That is a feat in itself. My goal is to have it listed tonight. So if you happen to be interested check out my shop at www.hollystott.etsy.com and hopefully it will be there tonight!

Thanks for reading!

I'm Holly Stott, and I approve this message.

Owl Spotlight--executeme

There's a new hangout in town, a meeting spot for total opposites. Tall and short, sociable and shy, slobby and prudish. There is in fact a lot of slobbering going on here. Some may say it's a godforsakenplace, stinky and chaotic. But for dogs, it's heaven.

Poopy loves going to the dog park, she can smell it from a mile away and knows the way by heart. As we approach the park she gets so excited that she yanks the leash and whines in anticipation to see who's there that day. The yippy Pomeranian? The dopey Great Dane? She doesn't care, she'll play with anyone. Just get me in, I can't take it anymore!

We rescued Poopy from a pound two years ago when she was just a mere pup the size of a guinea pig. We found her in a cage full of other dogs that had not only been stepping all over her, but also pooping all over her. She was very cute, but awfully stinky. So we took her home, gave her a bath, and named her Poopy.

She has since then grown into a beautiful Border Collie mix full of life and energy. She loves to travel and has been with us all over the East Coast. From the Mexican Gulf in Florida to the Outer Banks of North Carolina and the most eastern point of America way up in Maine. But most of all she loves to swim in the creeks and rivers of West Virginia where she was born.

We are very fortunate to have Poopy be a part of our lives, and I wish all dogs had loving homes. But sadly that's not the case and I think it's important to do what you can for your local dog shelter. It doesn't have to be much, a little goes a long way, especially if as many people as possible pitch in.

Maybe pick up an extra bag of dog or cat food next time you go grocery shopping. Or see if you have some old stuffed animals collecting dust in your closet. If your animal shelter has a website they usually have a wish list of things they need, it could be anything from blankets to leashes and collars, or even paper towels and postage stamps.

ExecuteMe is Maria, one of the original founding Owls. She likes, obviously, puppies, and makes some amazing jewelry that can be found in her Etsy shop. Maria's also a quite gifted photographer, and some of her photography can be found at MariaAfRolen.com (when it's not down for service!)


Editors Note: Maria photographed these precious doggies on the left at a local shelter in her area. If you are interested in finding out how you can get involved, contact your local shelter. Like Maria said, there are a lot of small ways to get involved. If you are unaware of your local animal shelter, there are easy ways to find out where it is! Visit AnimalShelter.org and search for your local shelter, or even a puppy or other animal to love!

Trick or Treat Challenge

Happy Owl-O-Ween!!!



The theme of this challenge was to create an item that could be taken, worn, or used during Trick-Or-Treating! Three of our Owls were able to take on this challenge, and their entries are scrolling in the slideshow above. For a closer look and the detailed listings, click on the items and shops below.

The Bee Costume belongs to Erin of CagedBirdSings

The Grunge Bracelet belongs to Linda of StripeyMonkey

The Trick or Treat Bag belongs to Corky of CorkysCookies

Please help determine the winner by voting for your favorite! Use the poll on the left!

Owl Spotlight--RobinsonsNest

Autumn Is In the Air.......

As summer winds down and the craziness of the many barbecues, festivals, get togethers and beach outings comes to an end, I am feeling a renewed sense of creativity! Something about the crisp air, the cool breeze and the shorter days gives me a yummy feeling inside and makes me want to CREATE!

My newest paper crafting tool that I am very excited about is the Sizzix Big Shot, there is so much to do with it and it is SO pretty too!!!!

Black and pink with a touch of "bling"!

I'm sure all of you papercrafters out there are familiar with this nifty device and I can assure you, for those of you who haven't tried it yet, it's super FUN!

So, in the coming weeks I am going to be blasting out some cards, die cuts and other fun stuff and uploading them to my shop. I even have this cute little owl die cut that I am planning to use for some upcoming projects!

I have some other cool ones on order now, but I will keep those for a surprise to reveal at a later time! With that said, I am off to create some eye candy for my Etsy shop that I hope you will enjoy perusing!

Hope you all had a great summer and are looking forward to the fall season as much as I am!

The Off the Wall Lady behind Robinson's Nest is Nora, one of our newer Owls. You can get to know her by clicking on her shop name above or by reading her blog. For more Owl Spotlights, type 'Owl Spotlight' into the Blogger search box in the top left corner or click on the Owl Spotlight label at the end of this entry.

The EtsyOWLS Halloween Giveaway Contest!

Get Ready for an Owl-oween!

Here's the skinny on this one...

We have put together three amazing prize packages to go to three lucky shoppers!  Everyone who shops at our participating stores from September 22nd thru October 6th will be entered into a drawing to win these super cool prizes!

The Deal:

Limit TWO entries per person per shop. An entry is considered one transaction with a seller. If you buy 4 items, you get ONE entry for that transaction. If you come back in two days and purchase another 2 items, you get another ONE entry.
You can shop at as many of the participating shops as you like and receive entries from all of them, but only TWO per shop!

You will be contacted to submit your address once your name has been drawn. Please contact us within three days to claim your prize, otherwise we will draw another name. Prizes are distributed at random. You may not ask for a specific prize.

For Our International Shoppers:

Due to the nature of shipping costs, we are unable to ship the prize packages abroad for free.

If you make a purchase from one of our shops, we will contact you about participating. If you choose to participate and you are a selected winner, you will be required to pay $5.00 for shipping and handling.

Unfortunately, some of the prizes are weighty and would not ship cheaply.

The Shops:
Here is a list of the participating shops

AFabricQueen

BiscuitBrigade

CagedBirdSings

ChezMichelle

CorkysCookies

Executeme

GyspyeyeStudio

HollyStott

Jamieleto

KnitandPearl

lalala08

LeatherSculpture

OfftheWall

PresentsforPirates

RaynaE

RemixStudio

RobinsonsNest

Suenosdejmi

StripeyMonkey

Tabmade

UnstrungSisters

WeiOpenSecret

The Prizes:
All prizes will be Halloween or Fall themed! You should have them in time for Halloween!! Yay!
Below are some close up photos of a few of the prizes:

knit handwarmers by KnitandPearl, amigurumi bat by Suenosdejmi

Small windchime by CagedBirdSings, scrabble tile pendant by WeiOpenSecret

oxidized earrings by StripeyMonkey, t-shirt passport cases by RemixStudio

Felt finger puppet bat and pumpkin card holder by RedMarionette, spooky bracelet by GypsyEyeStudio

earrings, bracelet and owl keychain by Executeme, hand sewn Trick or Treat bag by CorkysCookies/AFabricQueen and ghosty glass earrings by HollyStott.

It was hard for me to photograph some of the items due to me not wanting to remove them from their nice packaging.  Also, the Trick or Treat bag is best seen in the first picture.  It's lined and really durable for carrying your load of candy home!

Good luck to all of our shoppers and thanks to all of the owls who donated prizes!

Wendy Does Crochet!

One of our original Owls, Wendy, was featured on a crochet & knitting website. Lime & Violet is the ultimate paradise for all lovers of yarn, the site covers a variety of things yarn to shops to knitting and crocheting patterns. In the case of Wendy, Lime & Violet featured one of her crochet patterns on their blog. This is a pretty big deal, and we're very proud of Wendy! The pattern looks great, and I for one can't wait to try it!

Learn all about how exactly Wendy does crochet and a whole lot more at her blog, and visit her Etsy Shop if you want to check out some of her other patterns. Good job, Wendy!!

Owl Spotlight--Biscuitbrigade

My latest crafting venture:



Button Jewelry!



I have been trying to figure out what to do with some old vintage buttons for a while now. A couple of weeks ago I was experimenting with some medium gauge gold wire and after a few prototypes came out with a button ring that I'm pretty darn happy with!

I wrapped the wire around a medium sized marker (I put one of my regular rings on the marker first to see if it fit - I wear really small rings, so it works for me), and then also looped the wire in through the button holes.

I have a bunch more different styles and types of buttons that I'm looking forward to fiddling around with soon. I will send more pictures when they are complete!



The voice behind BiscuitBrigade is Melissa, who can be found in her Etsy store or on her blog. For more Owl Spotlights, type 'Owl Spotlight' into the Blogger search box in the top left corner or click on the Owl Spotlight label at the end of this entry. Thanks Melissa for being our first Owl Spotlight!!

Owls Stellar Seller, Zemphira

We Owls love sellers who love owls, and Zemphira falls into that catagory! She's got some precious owls in her fabric filled shop, some of which we're highlighting in this feature. Read the interview below to get to know her better, and visit her shop for more items like the ones pictured!

EO: Tell us and the Etsy world a bit about you, anything you'd like to share...

Zemphira: I am one of those people who have always been crafting. My mom had me doing arts and crafts things as long as I can remember - coloring, candle making, sewing, cooking, you name it. Then I really got into rubber stamping, beading, and now sewing. I lived in a very small Yupik eskimo village and I learned traditional beadwork and skin sewing. When I wasn't teaching I was beading. Now I have been reaquainted with my sewing machine, and I am sewing whenever I can. I enjoy making baby quilts as gifts for people, but I really love making art quilts and memory quilts.

EO: How did you end up on Etsy?

Zemphira: One day I was reading one of the crafty magazines and I saw an article about Etsy and I had to check it out. Whenever I make something for a friend or family member it's always "you should open a shop" or "you should sell those" So here I am on Etsy, with an open shop, trying to sell "those".

EO: What inspires you to create?
Zemphira: Everything inspires me - old photos, my family, nature, my travels, other cultures, fabric . . .

EO: Describe yourself in one word.
Zemphira: Impulsive

EO: What is your favorite...

• dessert? Kahlua Cheesecake
• cartoon from your childhood? the Snorkels
• time of year and why? I love all seasons - OHIO is perfect for that - But I guess I'll pick Autumn, I always feel very inspired to create, bake, go outside, get ready for holidays....