couponchief!

Do you have a ..........

Is this your constant friend?

and you live by these words?

“Spare and have is better than spend and crave.”


I do!..................and I have found the perfect place to apply all this in my day to day life!

I came across this incredible site called couponchief.com....................they contacted me about doing an unbiased review on their site & I decided to have a look & was instantly hooked & booked:)

They have some nice features like

**  all the usual bells & whistles like the other coupon sites of finding tons of retailers where you can search for coupons and browse by product category.What I liked about them is that the coupons are all valid and rated by community!

** You can rate coupons and leave comments,you can set coupon alerts and view your browsing history as well as share coupons with friends and relatives via email.

** One of the most attractive features I found is the their Pays-2-Share Program

They  pay you for submitting your own coupon codes!
You have to Sign up to be part of their Pays-2-Share Program, upload your coupons, and then track the
progress which you can do on your "my account" page. Every time someone uses a coupon you've uploaded,
Coupon Chief  gives you 2% of the sales via check or PayPal!
How awesome is that!
I am totally trying that out!

** Another very mention-worthy feature is their Coupons-4-Causes.

With Coupons-4-Causes, you can help support your favorite cause every time you shop. On using your coupon for online shopping, they donate up to 20% of the purchase to your favorite charity, school, or church!.................though I am not aware of how much is the UPTO 20%...............but something is better than nothing right!


Other than these,I found the site very clean,easy to navigate.................it's not cluttered with unsightly ads like many other coupon sites.................their links to twitter,FB & RSS are right there ,you don't have to search for them!

The only feature I didn't like is you cannot link up your individual etsy shop............you have to have a website or a blog which you can add to the site!


Have you tried it?..............I am going to upload my Christmas In July coupons there & see it how it works for myself!
 Hop over to couponchief.com & let me know what do you think!

All things Lacey & White!

"I consider lace to be one of the prettiest imitations ever made of the fantasy of nature; lace always evokes for me those incomparable designs which the branches and leaves of trees embroider across the sky, and I do not think that any invention of the human spirit could have a more graceful or precise origin."  Coco Chanel, April 29, 1939

I just love everything lacey & white,with pearls or dainty sequins with delicate vines criss-crossing.................they are JUST perfect for the summers..............do you like wearing lace?

all images via pinterest

"Keep those bobbins, shuttles, crochet hooks and needles flying!"

All that glitters..........

................is close to my heart!
I just love everything that sparkles,shines......... is decadent,glamorous & beautiful!
Found these amazing things on pinterest..........................want to share them with you!

Photography props!

Well..............if you read my blog ,you know by now,my Achilles heels are my pics!

I can make wonderful purses,design techniques in my head & translate them into reality without a single prototype but when it comes to clicking their pics,I am as creative as a sack of potatoes!

I just for the sake of God CANNOT figure out how to use props & make my purses look artistic!

So I have been looking around for inspiration & found these gorgeous Etsians who have used wonderful props & yet their items are standing out & not merging with the props....................if I do them,you will be confused as to exactly WHAT is for sale!

#So here is my list of WOW pics#

Photo credit-Pillipillihandmade

This is SOOOOOOOOOOOO creative!

I would NEVER in a million years think of keeping pencils with a pencil case,or a small notebook!

look at that paper boat...............I am really jealous,why can't I think of these things!

Here is another of my fav Etsians, MerriweatherCouncil,all her items have some very interesting props & they never interfere with her main item!

Photo credit-merriweathercouncil

I love how the spools & wooden clothespin look perfect with the bunting!

Check out this set of 4 porcelain cups,I can never ever never think of putting a chipped piece of porcelain in the cup,doesn't it elevate a mundane cup to another level!

Photo credit-LittleWrenpottery

This is another example of creative explosion!

I have seen tons of complaints from people saying they hate seeing earring on a person,but look at this!

Photo credit-catchalljewelry

Is this WOWEST or what!

I am yet to understand how to click pics with a blurred background,something to do with aperture,conversion lens & other blah blah that goes right over my head!

This pic is so artistically done,the simple wall pockets are looking just so..........Shabby Chic & plain stylish!

Photo credit-funjyshique

 

Now who wouldn't want to buy them!

This is again one of my absolute fav's

Photo credit-OldNewAgain

The plain wood shelf is accentuated with  the simple glass vase which is again blurred in the distance,the glasses...........all this just makes me feel ARRRRRRRRRGH!!!!!!!

Why can't I think of all this!

Ok I am going to lick my unartistic & uncreative wounds in private,you can enjoy these goodies meanwhile!

St.Patty Day is coming!

yup yup..............we all know it!
And this is the only time of the year when I actually look at & notice different shades of green!
I am more of a red,orange,fuchsia person.....................but St. Patty day demands greens,clovers,shamrocks ............so be it!
This is the list of some of the green goodness me likee!

I like it that it has just a dash of green as opposed to a total green wedding gown.........ugh!
This is so much more classy!...............I came across this super Wedding Gown with swallowtail lace-up
at the Fab Parisian Shop Malam...................& it only costs $2,259.49 USD ;)

How about some cute hair candy to go with this gown!.................so here ya go

You can buy these pretty Apple Green Satin Handmade Flowers pins for just 13$ at priya123's shop!


What would be a wedding ensemble without gloves eh?
Check these Extra Long Fingerless Gloves from MoonHalo.............

LOL.............the green here is only to go with the color scheme I agree.............you can imagine a bunch of flowers in your hands instead of the apple;)............oops almost forgot,you get them for 29$.


OK so now imagine yourself walking down the aisle wearing that gorgeous gown,with the floral hairpin & the elegant gloves towards your groom with an apple.....flowers in your hands!...............ah,what a sight!
or why not go in for a Goose Biot Feathers instead of a regular bouquet!

Wow.............isn't it super!.................it's yours for 2.5$ from Kimonos



hmm............ why am I in weddingy mode today!..................let me get out of it pronto!
so here is a totally unwedding green goodie just for you! 

 Ooh.............this totally yum & Charming Faux Birds Nest with Eggs comes for just 9.95 bucks from birdie1


ah............I feel so much better after all this window shopping;)
hope you guys find something for yourself too from here!

Care for a Shamrock!

While looking at the fashion trends for the month of March ,I realized Green will be the IN thing thanx to St. Patrick's Day & along with the Euro Week coming & all things Irish coming to fore how can we miss the Shamrock!
The shamrock (♣) is a symbol of Ireland. It is a three-leafed old white clover.
The four-leaf clover is often confused with the shamrock. While the four-leaf clover is a symbol of good luck, the three-leafed shamrock is mainly an Irish Christian symbol of the Holy Trinity and has a different significance!
So when I came across this lovely tutorial to make a Shamrock,I could not help but admiring it!

Melinda from Under My Umbrella has  this lovely tutorial on how to make this 2x4 Wood Shamrock!
I am really impressed with her creativity...................I have never tried doing any kind of wood work except for in my Engineering days preliminary workshops which I HAD to do!
Let's see if I can motivate myself enough to make this soonish................
well I did finish the clutch I posted pics of halfway....................I like the knotty bling!

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand I FINALLY made those leather coin purses I had cut gazillion  years ago!
Will post some pics as soon as I click them:)

From Shirlee

Once upon a time, there was a woman named Shirlee. She was very beautiful and talented.
Shirlee was the mother of a girl named Linda. She taught Linda all the secrets of being talented and crafty, and Linda came to excel at them.
Linda grew up and became the mother of two girls named Brittany and Ashley. She raised them in the grand tradition of arts and crafts.
Together, they decided to create an Etsy shop. Between the three of them they had the fantastic talent of crafting stacked to the nines.

It all came FROM SHIRLEE.

I love love this beautiful etsy shop where you can find amigurumi,accessories,blankets,cards, holidays,home decor,scrapbook pages all under one roof!

I loved this cute lil octopus:)
Check out the pretty jelly fish.............isn't it amazing:)

look at this gorgeous magnetic board

This is quite a new store & I wish Shirlee loads of success.Check out her amazing blog here .

Elizabeth O Hara

hey all
I always look in for things like jewelery,knitting,crochet,accessories on Etsy.I am guilty of never looking at arts section.There are so many talented artists & somehow I have never looked at fine arts section!
I am going to rectify that pronto & introduce you to a fine artist Elizabeth O Hara.
This powerhouse seller has a blazing list of credentials tailing her............she has studied art at Santa Barbara City College, University of Arizona, College of Art and has earned her BA from Connecticut State University.

She has a solid work experience as a graphic artist, production manager, studio manager and art director, at different corporations. Her entrepreneurial bent has led to a 6 year stint as a specialty painter, providing murals, faux finishes and gold leafing for commercial and private clients. Just look at these!

She has fortunately now opened up on Etsy where  you can buy  her lovely watercolor paintings.

  Like a truly gifted & motivated artist she has explored other mediums, crafts and techniques (handmade paper, embroidery, art quilts, mosaics, beading) seeking to find her niche. Fortuitously,she discovered "warm glass" in 2001 which led to her second shop Elizabeth O Hara glass.

I just loved going through both her shops.................they are a must see!
I also discovered her blog,so bright,happy & warm:)
I am now off to devour the goodies in her shops...................

Moon Angel Nay

Etsy is a powerhouse of talented artisans & I would like to introduce one today to you.............meet Naomi from Moonangelnay. She has a beautiful shop full of Original Home Decor Altered Photography & Photo Jewelery.See this,isn't it amazing!

Clicking pictures have  ALWAYZ been my Waterloo so I really appreciate anybody who is good at photography .And Naomi is a mean photographer................AND it's a compliment:)
Just look at the clarity here

This UK based photographer is inspired by the human form, philosophy, nature, free will and color. A fine art artist at heart, yet she has an ever changing abstract style which has also drifted into her digital art work.
She  brings contrasting duality into her work, highlighting her interests in both light and dark and the veil in between through form, color, mantra and poetry to bring forth her objective to brand her work as more than just physical art or home decor, but something to think about:)


She has an amazing blog , where she features new shops on a regular basis(weekly),and I have the honor of being on her blog too:)


She has lots & lots of variety in her store(over 200 items).............believe me it's a visual feast!
So go ahead & check it out:)

Buy Some Love

If you have ever been on Etsy you will know it is flooded with Jewelery,it's really difficult to browse through hordes of shops finding what you like!
Amidst the crowds,this shop stands out proudly with a wonderful name to boot........Buy Some Love
This wonderful shop is the brainchild of a young Canadian couple who run this shop to quench their artistic thirst:)
Look at these..............I love them

The loads of variety coupled with the phenomenally reasonable prices are a sure shot magnet................Go check it  out:)

LoveElycia

As a mom of a young girl.........I am constantly on the lookout for cute girly things.What a pleasure is it to bump into this lovely shop.........LoveElycia.
I share a lot of things with this lovely canadian................she too like me is an engineer,who no longer wants to work as an engineer:)
Like me she too knits,crochets,sew,paints:)
her shop has such amazing things...........I fell in love with this one

She has lovely headbands,clips,berets,prints,vintage stuff & keeping in tune with the time of the year,Halloween stuff too!

Check out her frankenstein clip:)................Isn't it super cute:)..... love it

She has upcoming show on October 29 here- Brocante Lux, Market Square, St. Catharines

She also blogs & has a FB fan page here.
Which savvy businesswoman of today does not tweet:)
So here is she tweeting away.....................with 140 sales under her belt & 100% positive feedback you are sure in for a treat!

From Nevita's hands to yours!

I am a sucker for all knit goodies & I just cannot pass up the opportunity to introduce this lovely artisan with  a shop chock -a- block of knit yummies!
Be it cowls,scarves,headbands,boleros,scarf necklace,gloves................she has it all.
I knit myself so I can identify good workmanship when I see one...................& this is one neat knitter!
Have a look yourself.

See the cables!.............the lines are amazingly clear!
My personal fav is this one

 You have loads of choice in her shop with more than 150 items listed!
Though the artist is based in Europe ,she ships worldwide & I see that her shipping is extremely reasonable too:)
Have a look at her lovely store here.
She is net savvy & has a beautiful blog too-Boutiqueaholic
As a successful business woman of 21st century she has lots of venues to connect with her customers.You can find her here
http://www.facebook.com/nevita.etsy
http://www.flickr.com/photos/handknitbynevita
https://twitter.com/handknitbynev
http://www.youtube.com/handknitbynevita

With winters approaching I am sure you would want to flock to her now:)
Enjoy!

Indian Crafts.......Incredible!

I am so lost in my own bag making & crafting that I almost forgot that I belong to the land of immensely talented artisans & amazing hand crafts!
I just came across an Indian blog Gaatha which  means rhythmic poetic verse or a phrase in the ancient Indian languages of Prakrit and Sanskrit.Gaatha  means, to speak, sing, recite or extol. Hence gatha can mean either speech, verse or a song.
In their own words-

The ‘Gaatha’ project was conjured to play that key role of storytelling, and therewith bringing social and commercial benefits to the artisan settlements. We desire to become the instrument though which the artisans can directly connect with the global audience, we desire to be the resource which helps craft sell not as objects but stories and ideologies. We are vying to make not just ’sales’ but ‘dialogues’ between the craftsmen and their patrons, encouraging ‘co-creation’ possibilities and a collective growth. We are committed to keeping all the good practices intact and all processes humane, just and ecologically balanced. Above all, we want to identify and recognize the faceless artisan. .................~...................

~Gaatha Team - India~ 

While going through the blog I came upon the label "Handmade"..................& being a sucker for every & any thing handmade I clicked on it.I was overwhelmed by the lovely crafts featured which I have always seen around me but never bothered to observe & realize the beauty of the craft! 

It's probably because I have grown up seeing  women sitting out in the verandas chatting,having a cuppa & knitting away or crocheting without even bothering to follow any pattern or design & churning amazing things!

Almost all the women of my mom's generation can sew,crochet,knit,cook,paint etc etc.............

The handmade revolution has taken the western world by a storm now,but this is something which has always been a part of our world!

But now Indians are blinding aping the west & going for all mass manufactured,cheap "Made in China " stuff............It really really hurts me to see women of my generation shunning handmade things!

My kids are the ONLY ones who wear handmade sweaters..............all others prefer the branded commercially produced ones!

Well...............back to Gaatha,I  came across this lovely lovely cap I have always seen Bohra men wear.I had never ever wondered what it is made of or how it is made!

Gaatha goes behind the scenes on the creation of this.Imagine it is made with a  plastic or aluminum vessel of the required size as a frame for making this cap!!!

 See the deft hands working on the thread!!!!

I also came across Budni Lacquer Craft   ------ there is a small locality of craftsmen in a place called Budni Ghat in India, who make lacquered wooden articles. 

These are mostly illiterate  poor artisans who work in really appaling conditions like this

  And see what they create!

These hand made goodies are sold for peanuts in India because people prefer the gaudy shiny plastic toys dangerously coated with chemicals for their kids!!!!

My heart literally bleeds for these lovely crafts which are dying very fast in India .................all because of ignorance of my people:(

But with people like Gaatha Team around I am sure something can still be salvaged of the glorious craft culture of my country!