Typhoon Haiyan affects a part of my family

Typhoon Haiyan killed so many people and damaged so many homes in the Philippines.  I can't even imagine witnessing that type of devastation.  It so happens that my 1st cousin's 89 year old grandmother, Lola Ning, was one of Typhoon Haiyan's victims.

 Lola Ning has lived in her home since her parents built it after World War II, in 1948.  She and the rest of her siblings grew up in that house and she was given the task of taking care of the compound after her parents died and her siblings had families of their own.  Her home is her pride and joy along with her orchid collection and flowering plants.

 It's extremely heart wrenching for the family to see their "ancestral" home destroyed along with their family memorabilia.  To so many, this place has been their haven all their lives.

 

I know that I can't help everyone that was affected by this devastating act of mother nature.  I know that I could donate to the Red Cross or some other organization to help the families out there.  And maybe there are many out there with worse situations, but I have this chance to directly make a difference in Lola Ning's life.  I know that the donation will help her get her pride and joy back to it's old glory and put that sweet smile back on her face. 

So now until Dec. 31, 2013 I am pledging to donate 20% of all sales to help Lola Ning re-build her home.  Please help me with my plight by sharing this story to as many people as you can. You may find my entire inventory at my main online site: AnnaBela Artistry

Many thanks to my cousin, Joe Tablante and my Aunt Jean, for the story, the information and the pictures.  God Bless Lola Ning and all the people in the Philippines that have had to endure so much.

Holiday gifts for the men in your life.

I find shopping for men the most difficult task especially during the holiday season.  It's hard to find something other than the common watch, wallet or tie!  I wanted to find something original, unusual and just plain cool for men.  So I went on a mission at 2 am, in search of some really cool gifts for men. I do believe it's mission accomplished! 

How awesome and unique are these?  Perfect for any man who has everything!  It's such a personal and original gift that would be great for a husband, your father, your son, your grandfather.  This would be great for someone who is away for long periods of time like someone in the Army, Navy, etc. Plus, it's not just for men.  It would be perfect for a woman as well.  Who wouldn't love a personalized token of affection that you can have for eternity?  Their priced from $15.00- $45.00.

Rame Works is a two-person team, Chris and Meghan. Collectively, the two have over 10 years experience selling handmade, personalized items. Working with materials like fabric, leather, and wire, and copper.
Each insert card is hand cut and hand stamped by Chris. Meghan finishes the cards by sanding, filing, painting, and polishing. Each card is then gift wrapped and packaged for shipping.
 

Teals Prairie and Co. offers a huge variety of engraving products. From tools to wood drawers, you name it...I do believe they've got it!  This particular one that caught my eye would be a perfect gift to any man who is handy and loves construction.  It screams Tim Allen's old tv show "Home Improvement".  What do you think?  Right?!

What's even greater than the huge selection that they offer is all products are personalized with initials, graphics or anything you want. There is no setup or engraving fee!  What?!  Yup, that's right...no setup or engraving fee!!!! Prices range from $3.99 on up to the $100's.

Okay, this one gave me a little chuckle!  I know my husband would love these!  I mean, who wouldn't?  Reclamation Candle Co  makes these very interesting candles named Mandles!  Man-Candles!!!  LOL  They feature scents that is all things manly!  Their signature scent is......drum roll please.....Bacon!!!  Yes, you read it right....Real Bacon!  They also offer a good variety of other man tested, man approved scents such as Monkey Farts (a fruity blend of what monkey's eat: bananas, kiwi), Pumpkin Lager, The Great Outdoors, Skinny Dip and a few more.  This is one of those times where I wish we had smell-e-vision. 

They use a 70% soy blend that burns clean and complete. Burn time approx. 40+ hours.  Priced from $9.99 to $15.00.

Here's an interesting one that would be great for a religious man.  Made of real horseshoe nails and colored wire and designed by Disciples Crosses.

All are 1-3/4" long and all are handmade. This unique cross comes with a 24 inch stainless steel chain, which is shiny, durable, and will not tarnish. They do recommend that you take it off when showering or swimming.  They come in a variety of colors and are priced at $9.00.

Okay, that's it!  There are so many unusual, original, handmade products for men these days.  Make sure to check them out.  I found these from Etsy and Storenvy.  I would love to hear what you think of my selections.  Please leave a comment and follow my blog.  More gift guides coming up.

**I was not paid in any form for posting these products.

Blessings Bag Giveaway by Whispering Sweet Nothings

Let me just start by saying, the blogging community is second to none. You ladies never cease to amaze me when it comes to the support for causes I am so passionate about.

If you were around my corner of the internet during the holidays last year, you may recall my Blessings Bags for the homeless giveaway and how YOU helped me touch 150 lives? I've decided I want to make this an annual tradition!  

No longer will you need to ask yourself: Do I hand him money? But then what will he spend it on? Do I drive through that McDonald's and buy him some lunch instead? Are they even homeless?  It always seems to leave you feeling guilty whether you give in to their pleadings or not.

My first thoughts were in asking friends to donate trial size toiletries. But, unfortunately, with all my blogging pals living across the country (& world), this would be difficult and costly to coordinate. So instead, this giveaway will help to gain donations to purchase items that go in the bag. In addition, I am pledging to match you guys dollar for dollar in what I spend on the items!

Insert these fabulous contributors:

Kelly / Lisa / Nicholl / Chelsea / Erica / Jena / Shirley

Miss Angie / Cody / Shane / Allison / Kim / Color by Amber

Breanna / Sarah / Chelsea /  Rachael /  Kristina / Paige / Anna 

I am overwhelmed with the amount of support I have received this project and am truly blessed to have each and every one of these ladies in my blogging life because I surely could not have pulled this off all on my own! 

My contribution will be a fun prize pack  full of Vera Bradley, Essie Summer Collection, Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette, braided bracelets from my shop. Below are the physical items up for grabs.

In addition, gift cards to all of our favorite places: Target // Starbucks // ASOS // Bath & Body Works // Etsy // Sephora // Paypal // Amazon
This entire loot will go to ONE lucky reader!

I do hope some of you will follow suit and set up a similar gig in your own community. Trust me, the faces of these people you restore hope in are simply priceless. You haven't truly lived until you've done something for someone who can never repay you, and are perfectly content with that.

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Holiday Gift Ideas for the Little Ones

Here's the 2nd installment to my Holiday Gift Wish List.  My first wish list was solely off of Storenvy.  This time around, I am going to get my sources from Storenvy and Etsy.  Here's what I found...
The Mollie Shop:

If you're looking for a great gift for a special little girl....here's the place to go!  The Mollie Shop offers some of the most unique dolls I've ever seen!  I love the color combinations that she uses for her dolls.  I wish I could go back in time and be that little girl who receives one of these creations on Christmas Day.  It would surely be a favorite!

Each of these dolls are unique with different colored hair, dresses....they even have their own names!  She also offers custom orders at $35.00 a doll with felt hair and $45.00 a doll with fur hair.  And even though most of the dolls she offers are for little girls, they do offer little boy dolls as well.  They also sell girl's accessories.

Lu and Ed:

Here's one for the little boys.  Lu and Ed creates their products with up cycled textiles such as fleece, fur and felt to name a few which makes their products eco-friendly!  Woo hoo! They offer a variety of stuffed monsters, storage bags, gadget holders and totes.  You can definitely find something for every member of the family! 

This little one eyed, one tooth monster, named Kob, caught my eye and I think every little boy would love to have.  Priced at $12.00, you could definitely have a Monster Party!!

Sew Sweetz:

Okay, so I have a sweet spot for all things girly.  Yes, I'm biased.  Having my miracle girl, how can I not be?  LOL I love dressing her in cute clothes with tutus, bows, flowers and bling!  Sew Sweetz is my kind of store!  She's got cute fabric selections paired with cute color combinations and that girlish style with a modern twist.  Check out this adorable skirt with bow for $38.00.

This skirt is too too cute!  I love the black and white with the pop of bright yellow!  I never would have thought of that combination.  It's so adorable that I want one for me!  Yup, the fun part about shopping for others is finding stuff for me!  Yes, yes...I'm "that" person.  He he.

Samantha Leigh Designs:

What little one wouldn't like to be a super hero?  Samantha Leigh Designs offers custom capes that can be customized to your little one's specifications.  For $12.00 the cape will fit kids from ages 2-7 years old with a choice of color and a letter or a number.  For additional charge, you can get a specific shape.  For orders of 15+, a discount is offered.  Wouldn't it be great for a birthday party?

I would have definitely loved to have had one of these when I was growing up.  I remember using bed sheets and pretended to be Super Girl.  Ohhh the memories!

Design by Maya:

Here's a great find for the mommies to be out there.  I know that when I found out that I was finally pregnant after trying for over 10 years, I began picturing how my baby's room was going to look.  For all the non-artists out there, this is a great way to personalize your baby's room.  Design by Maya takes all the hard work out and just lets you focus on making your baby's room the exact way you want it to be.

Her prices range from $17.00 to $55.00 depending on the size.  She has a huge variety of reproductions from her own artwork.  Honestly, her artwork is something special!

Thank you for stopping by and checking out my Storenvy and Etsy finds for your little ones.  Make sure to stop by Storenvy and Etsy and shop Handmade.

Stay tuned for my next installment: Holiday Gift finds for the Men in your family.   I would love to get your feedback and please follow me. 

**I was not in any way paid for this post. 

Holiday Gifts from Storenvy Shops

I thought it would be cool to show you items that I've found on Storenvy that would be great holiday gifts that I would love to receive.  Hint, hint, wink, wink....LOL

Lokta Paper Goods:

The first item that caught my eye is this really cool eco-friendly, handmade notebook by Lokta Paper Goods for $14.99.  This would be a great present for anyone especially someone who loves to write in diaries, journals or an artist who can make for a quick jot or sketch on the go.

Lokta Paper Goods also offers photo albums, paper sheets and invitations. 


Glow Lockets:

My next find is really cool!  These Glow Lockets are handmade and 100% non-toxic, they are kept safe inside this gorgeous antiqued brass ball locket on a 24 inch link chain with lobster clasp. The orbs are smooth and beautiful, pale colorless when not glowing. Charged up in sunlight, uv light, flourescent or a bright indoor bulb (sunlight is absolutely best) they glow in the dark for several hours.  Collect all the colors at $28.00 each!

Sino Special:

I love, love, love this dress!!!  At times I wish I lived in the 1950's so that I could wear these type of dresses.  It's stylish, feminine, sexy, girly.....all things beautiful!!  It would help if I had that body, too..but we can only wish!  Now this dress is on the pricier side at $205.99, but it is well worth every penny!  Anyone want to buy it for me????  LOL

Sino Special specializes in handmade dress. All dresses here are customized from scratch by professional dressmaker. Our high quality dresses can be shipped to over 200 countries worldwide with DHL, UPS, EMS, Fedex, etc.


Gipson Wands:

Here's another one on my wish list.  I fell in love with crochet a year ago and I have been addicted ever since!  I do believe that I have crocheted every day for the last year.  It's become a need for me.  I wonder if there's a Crocheter's Anonymous out there.  If so, I soooooo need to be on it!  LOL  At $25.00 for this handcrafted hook, I must have one!  Or two, maybe three...okay ALL of them! I should have married a craftsman! 

Anyhow, I absolutely love Gipson Wands!  Not only do they make crochet hooks, they also make wands, mini wands, keychains, bookmarks and custom orders!  If you have a child, it's a must, must, must buy!  Which child wouldn't want a cool wand to play with? 

Violet's Buds:

Another one of my favorites are flowers.  Flowers in your hair is just so romantic and feminine!  Violet's Buds offers a variety of handmade hair accessories for any occasion!  What's great about these is that they are flowers that you can wear forever!  Here's one of the many flower accessories that she offers....

This particular Let It Snow Snow Clip is only $10.00!  I can just see a bride on a winter wedding wearing this in her hair.  Or someone celebrating the holidays wearing a red or green dress with this as an accent.  If you have a little one, you can wear matching hair accessories.  Picture Perfect!

Okay, I could go on and on....but I have a daughter who's been waiting patiently for me.  So, I must end my holiday wish list.  Please, come on over to Storenvy and see what great things you can find.

Stay tuned for future gift lists for kids, husbands, family, etc.  I would love to have you as a follower and any feedback/comments would be greatly appreciated. 

Didi Style

Even though I have so much to do, sometimes I just need to relax and aimlessly click my mouse button to see what I can find.  So, doing just that on Etsy, I found this cool gift idea that would be perfect for any family and for any occasion.

Didi Style does personalized items that's not the normal "Things Remembered" type of designs that you find at the malls.  What's even better is that they send you a high resolution digital file that you can use over and over on any type of canvas you want to use.  Another plus is that for all the procrastinators out there, there's no need to figure in the mail time.  Just make sure to give them enough time to design your product. 

Here's one of the items that they offer:

What's so original about this is that the leaves are from your fingerprints!  How awesome is that?! Now remember, this if for the digital file only, no frames, etc.  But for $16.50, it's affordable enough that you can purchase a frame to go with it.

They offer a variety of personalized products.  Here's another one of my favorites.  Personalized Family Portrait with word art.  For $25.00 you get the digital file and it's all up to you how you want it printed and what you want to print it on.  Love it!!!

 This would be a great present for the holidays, a birthday, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Grandparents Day, and so on.  The possibilities are endless!!

You can find Didi's Style on Etsy:  https://www.etsy.com/shop/didiStyle?ref=l2-shopheader-name

* I was not paid for this. 

50 Store Storenvy Cyber Monday Sale on Dec. 2, 2013!

I'm participating in my very first Cyber Monday Sale being hosted by Lu and Ed and I'm super excited about it.  I've never done any collaborations with anyone before so I'm really excited and nervous about it. 

I've got less than a month to get my Storenvy shop stocked and ready to go.  I'm really unsure what I should stock up on.  Most of my handmade stuff are one of kind.  I do have some resale items such as rings and pendants, but I only have 1 or 2 of each item.  I'm really just phasing out the resale items and just solely sell handmade creations.  So I don't want to buy any resale inventory. 

This is going to be a huge sale as it's 30% off the whole entire store!  With 50 different stores participating, there will be a huge variety of products. 

Come on over and check out which stores are participating in this momentous event!
http://luanded.blogspot.com/p/storenvy-cyber-monday-flash-sale.html

My Halloween Princesses

Here's a picture of my little Izzy and Kylie wearing the matching crochet Halloween Princess dresses I made for them.

I wish I had taken pictures of the whole process of making these matching crochet princess dresses.  It was my very first time making the dresses and I wasn't sure how it would turn out.

Lesson learned.  Take pictures no matter what.  If it doesn't turn out, I can always delete the pictures.