The Daily Sweets

Let's Choose a Date

2011-06-12T14:07:00.000-07:00

Pull out your calendars, girls! We need to get this retreat on the calendar if it's going to happen, and we need to find out when the most people are available. Your intrepid survey maker is at it again. Please click on the link over there to the right and fill out the survey, ASAP!

Thanks!
Elle

The Next Retreat Survey

2011-05-21T08:25:00.000-07:00

Just for your info, on the survey, there is a question with sample rental properties to take a look at. In the survey the links are not live, so to make it easier for clicking, you can click on the city links here, and it will take you to the properties. They are available, but are simply examples of what might be available. Once we decide on a location and dates, we'll have choices from one particular location to choose from. Once again, these are just EXAMPLES.

Michigan City, IN (on Lake Michigan, near Chicago and Gary, IN)

Grand Haven, MI (on Lake Michigan, near Grand Rapids, MI)

St. Augustine Beach, FL (on the Atlantic Ocean)

Gulf Shores, AL (near Mobile, AL and the Florida Panhandle)

Ashville, NC (the one mountain location, known to be really artsy)

Bethany Beach, DE (on the Atlantic Ocean)

Cayuga Lake, NY (near Ithaca, NY)

Some of these locations I'm familiar with, and some I know absolutely nothing about, especially the one in New York. Input from other Sweets will definitely be solicited when we get down to picking the actual spot.

Survey Says...

2011-05-20T15:49:00.000-07:00

I've crunched some numbers, as they say, and wanted to give you a little summary of the 2 surveys, before I write up a new one refining our Sweet Retreat 2011 plans! Click on the map to see the whole thing. The red dots on the map are everyone's location that is a current member (on the list as of today, May 20th), except for Kylie, Vee and Rachel, obviously. The ones with green circles around them are members that indicated they want to attend a retreat, and left their name, or other clues that they filled out the survey. Not everyone left their name.

22 (twenty-two!!!) indicated that they are interested in a retreat. The top two months are August and September, and the majority indicated that 3 days and 2 nights (a weekend, basically) is the perfect length, but if it turns out to be longer 100% said they are fine with staying for just part of the retreat.

Destination desires are a little more spread out, and will definitely need to be refined. If memory serves, California got a lot of votes, but since we were there last October, in fairness to vast majority of us weighing down the North America from the midwest eastward, my executive decision is to leave it off the list for the next round of voting.

The beach was the #1 pick with 77% of you voting for it. Urban areas got 50% of the vote (this was a multiple pick question), so urban beach, anyone? Actually, that isn't that hard to accomplish with lots of fun cities located on beaches. Too bad the Mississippi River is wreaking such havoc, or New Orleans could be fun. St. Augustine was a suggestion worth looking into.

Everyone wanted a kitchen, or said it didn't matter, so I think a kitchen it is! That will point us to a rental house or condo most likely.

Look for another question about the kiddos on the next survey.

And the all important, but hardest question of all... how much can you spend. 20 of you answered this question. Here is the breakdown:
$151-300, 20%, (4 of you)
$301-400, 30% (6)
$401-500, 15% (3)
$501-600, 5% (1)
$601-800, 10% (2)
and a whopping 20% (4) said they would pay whatever it costs, you just aren't going to miss this event!

Now, how do we interpret this kind of information? I have a couple of ide150as, and will try to formulate questions around them. If you have any suggestions for questions in the budget area, please comment here! I'm no statistician. It's no secret that we have different financial obligations, and different economic realities. If I can afford to pay more than person "A", I don't have a problem with that. What about anyone else? If you can't afford to pay as much, would you feel bad if you couldn't contribute as much? These are kind of rhetorical at this point, but my idea is that just as a mathematical example...

Taking the upper limit of each category (except obviously those that will pay whatever it takes), and the # of people in said category, we get $6300. Of course, there are travel expenses, so let's divide this in half. That gives us $3150 for accommodations and food, and other group stuff. Do y'all see where I'm going with this? Basically, put your money in the collective pot, and we'll go from there is the idea.

OK, that's it for now. Look for the next survey to help us refine the 3 most critical things we need to know: WHEN to go, WHERE to go, and HOW MUCH will it cost.

Can't wait to meet you alll! It's become my mission in life!
~Elle, Jenna Belle Designs.

P.S. The old surveys are closed now.

Do you want a meet up?

2011-05-07T20:22:00.000-07:00

First, I'd love to call it something else. A Sweet Get Away? Sweet Rendevouz? Any ideas?

Second, it's really hard to plan these kinds of things with people flung far and wide, with various and varying responsibilities, both of the family and financial kind. So... lets gather up some information.

I've made up 2 surveys... two, because with a free basic membership you only get 10 questions... to try to make some of the planning easier. Even if you aren't interested in a trip, let us know that too. The more info we have, the easier it will be to make some plans.

You may notice some interesting responses in the 2nd survey. Just keepin' y'all on your toes!

Anyway, where is the survey. Scan your eyes to the right sidebar at the top, and click on the links. The surveys (fill out both, please) are short and sweet (no pun intended).

Thanks!
~Elle, Jenna Belle Designs

First Annual Sweets MeetUp Oct 13th to Oct 17th -- Day 3

2010-11-13T10:53:00.000-08:00

Really... really... really?! It's been a whole month last the meet- up and I haven finished blogging about it yet. I'll try my best to remember now since it has been so long.

Day 3. -- A day in Big Bear

Early in the morning, Heather drove Karen and Kim down the mountain. They were leaving us already... and we just got there. boo hiss!

And Deb was not feeling well at all...She threw up. We were all worried about her but she insisted that the rest of us go out and enjoy the day... and all she wanted before we left was some Sprite and ice.

So Kila, Ginny, Elle, Melissa, and I went up the mountain even more to Big Bear. The ride up wasn't so pleasant because Kila, Melissa, and I were all car sick. We're just not made for the mountains. LOL. But we had fun when we arrived.

Melissa, Giny, Fen, Kila, Elle

Kila and me posing with a big bear ;)

Mama Mel looking at baby stuff

Elle holding up "The sacred sisterhood of Wonderful Wacky Women" -- sounds like us! :D

mmmmm...mmmm delish cupcake at the Copper Q cafe.

Sweet Ginny.

Melissa, Ginny, Fen, Elle

Kila had me model her son's new hat.

...to be continued.

Fen Li
http://www.beadflora

First Annual Sweets MeetUp Oct 13th to Oct 17th - Day 2

2010-10-27T21:33:00.000-07:00

Day 2 of the Sweets Meetup!
Heather got up early and left for work. The rest of us spent the day chillin' around the cabin. The day began with Karen giving all of us massages. hahaha... ;P

I believe the lucky chick on the table is Kim.

After massages and showers, a bunch of us decided to take a stroll around the mountain and enjoy the view.

Proud mama Mel

Kim being a dork.

And we did some crafting.

We were scheduled for the Skype chat with Holly Anne (her virtual baby shower) that evening but found out that the malt shoppe closed at 2pm. We were kinda frantic. The only phone that was capable of tethering to a laptop (mine) didn't have a connection up at the mountains. I called my hubby from Elle's phone for help since he is an I.T. guy. He got crabby because it was the first time I've called since I got up to the mountain and it was for help. LOL ;)

Long story short, we had to get to the malt shoppe to download a program for Elle's laptop so we could connect to her phone to go online later. And we had delicious malts. Yum!

Deb and Kim also tagged along because they can't stay away from their Etsy shops.

We then had dinner.

And then we went on Skype. We were able to chat with Holly Anne, Lauren, and Amy.

Elle wore her Canada shirt in honor of Holly Anne living in Canada.

It was super fun chatting with Holly Anne and the girls. After Lauren and Amy went to bed (it was almost midnight for them), we plucked the laptop and walked around the cabin and gave HA a virtual tour. And we also "met" Ryan, Courtney, and some furry animal (I don't remember what... dog?, I was tired. lol)

And alcohol was involved through out the day ... that goes without saying, of course ;)

Heather came back up the mountain after a long day's work... made snarky remarks, drank some wine and then showed Karen how to make pitcher covers all the whilst whining. ;)

End of Day 2. Next post, Day 3 with Big Bear Lake, taco night, margaritas, and then 6 strangers show up at the cabin wanting to kick us out.

Cheers,

Fen Li

http://www.beadflora.com

Day 1 Birthday Party

2010-10-25T09:57:00.000-07:00

My first attempt at posting a video:

First Annual Sweets MeetUp Oct 13th to Oct 17th -- Day 1 Continued...

2010-10-23T21:28:00.000-07:00

Day 1 continued...

By the time we got up to the cabin in the mountains, it must have been about 9pm already... we were all so tired and didn't get many pictures. The drive up the mountain was about 1 1/2 hours. We were all super exhausted and most of us were up since 3 am in the morning to make our flights...

The moment that we walked into the cabin, we were greeted by Heather's stepmom Cyndy and dad Kevin, and two huge swarms of moths inside the cabin! They were having a ball just chillin' by the two lightbulbs on the ceiling. There must have been hundreds of those buggers flying around. We were all freaked out, especially Ginny who is deadly afraid of moths like most people are afraid of snakes.

Ginny remained unbelievably calm...more calm than I would have been if I walked into a cabin full of snakes. LOL. Ginny, Deb, and I were standing huddled in a corner...and Ginny whispers to Deb, "I think there's a mouse behind you." Yikes. Deb makes a face, freaks silently, and looks behind her. Luckily, it wasn't a mouse...just some lint or something. But heck, thanks for adding more to the already freakish moment, Ginny! LOL.

Cyn had a moment of freak-out and didn't know what to do... but ultimately, she opened the door and turned off the lights and let the moths fly out. There were still some lingering ones that stayed behind... Kevin was in the back and we could hear the ruckus of him trying to get rid of the moths. And Cyn was in the main cabin with us and she was hitting them with a rolled up newspaper.

Finally, Cyn and Kevin left but there were still some residual moths still lingering around to keep us company. We started to make dinner. At this time, Miss Kila decided to show up! :)

For dinner, we had rotisserie chicken, salad, and a selection of olives.

It was Kim's birthday so Heather got a cake! Elle will post a video soon of the birthday celebrations :D Deb gave everyone Ophelia goodies based on their past purchase histories. heehee... yum! Elle made everyone monogrammed tote bags. And I made everyone beaded butterfly hair bobbies.

Here's just a few of the pictures I have...

Ginny and Elle settling down before dinner begins.

After dinner, we settled down and went to sleep upstairs. Needless to say, we didn't have that great of a first night sleep because of the excitement earlier and not to mention the foreign beds. Karen had the worst bed because it creaked like crazy... we talked all night until we were too exhausted and fell asleep.

To be continued... Day 2.

Cheers,

Fen Li

http://www.beadflora.com

First Annual Sweets MeetUp Oct 13th to Oct 17th

2010-10-23T15:22:00.000-07:00

So the trip is over and we all had a great time. Our group have known each other for almost 3 years online and we finally got to meet! It was surreal! We talked to each other like we've known each other forever, even though it's the 1st time we've meant each other in person.
Day 1:

Kim, Fen, Elle, and Deb meet at the Enterprise car rental place right after getting off the plane.

Next, the 4 of us headed over to the Topanga mall where Deb's products are displayed. Before that, we headed over to the Target to get some supplies ...

Deb got a pillow, socks, shoes, and an object that will not be disclosed ;) -- Elle got a more comfy pair of shoes...and I got a towel. Kimster packed her whole life with her for the trip, so she didn't need to pick up anything.

We met up with Karen and Heather outside Target and we all proceeded to head over the the Greenbodee shop where Deb's products are on display.

Look at the happy beaming lady there with her things on the shelve. Deb didn't know we were surprising her with a trip to the mall after we got off the plane. Deb's partner in crime, Heather (her Heather, not our Heather), contacted Elle (our most excellent and gracious driver) two weeks prior to the trip and wanted to know if we can surprise Deb with the trip to the mall to see her things on display.

After the mall trip, Heather and Karen went back home while the 4 of us went back to the airport to pick up Melissa and Ginny, the later arrivals. After we picked them up, we went back to Heather's house to make up the grocery list and ALL 8 of us went to the grocery store to pick up the food for the cabin.

Elle grabbing us roast chickens for dinner. After a long tiring day, we were in no mood to cook.

Deb, our designated cart pusher, with our stash of food.

It was quite a sight with the 8 of us food shopping at the grocery store.

We got our food and headed up the cabin in the mountain... more pictures to come once I obtain them from Sweets who have pics of the dinner.

Next blog post: the excitement that surrounded the cabin when we got there... stay tuned ;)

Cheers,
Fen Li
http://www.beadflora.com

Meet our Members: Lapis Beach

2010-08-10T12:38:00.001-07:00

Meet Lauren of Lapis Beach.

Tell us a bit about yourself.
A little bit about yourself. I have always loved to create and have been knitting for over 15 years. About 3 years ago, I visited a knitting convention, picked up rayon, beads and the tiniest needles I have ever seen...and I never turned back. I made hand knit bracelets for family and friends...and due to inquiries about the unique bracelets...lapisbeach was born. I love to create different color mixes for my pieces and I try to add new designs often.

Apart from creating, what do you do?

Apart from creating - I am a mother who is constantly "on call" due to one of my son's having epilepsy. I feel very fortunate I can be a stay at home mother who is able to offer my creations through etsy.

What first made you want to become an artist?
I think deep down I always wanted to be an artist- but shyed away from the idea in college. I took many art classes - but thought to be successful, I needed to focus in other areas. A Masters degree and a PhD degree later- and I am back to what I love to do...art! Hindsight is a funny thing;)

Please describe your creative process.
My creative process comes from many things. I am inspired by color and nature. I used to write all of my knitting patterns from scratch and have done the same with my knitted line of jewelry. I see a piece in my mind, and I take the needles and start to create....sometimes it works out...sometimes it does not. I constantly tweek my designs and color combinations.
What handmade possession do you most cherish?
Hmmmm...I would have to say a book one of my son's made. There was such effort put into that handmade book...I will always cherish it.

Name your top five books, movies, musicians, and websites besides Etsy.
My husband and I love to watch movies and I am usually knitting a piece every time- so I will go with movies I love for this one.
Overboard
The Princess Bride
So I Married an Axe Murderer
Forrest Gump
Silence of the Lambs
A Christmas Story
Music- My taste is too eclectic to desribe...I can listen to everything from classical to modern top 40 hits.
Books- I love a quick beach read...anything from James Patterson will usually do.
Websites- I guess there are a few- but when I steal moments on the computer- most are spent on Etsy.

What advice would you give to artists who are new to Etsy?
Advice....I am not sure I could give advice, as I am somewhat new myself. I guess I would encourage them to list new items often. Have really good photographs and even when you think they are wonderful- re-photograph items often. You would be surprised at how much better a photograph can be. It is about time for another re-shoot on my items again. I would also encourage them to read Etsy's blog. Read the marketing emails, they can inspire new creations fitting themes and color schemes.

How do you promote your work?
I stink at promotion- no matter how hard I try. I am much better promoting a friend's items- then my own. I do have a twitter account, fb account and I am considering a Kaboodle account- but I am not sure where I would find the time to fit another one in. Thank goodness I have met some wonderful friends through Etsy - who help me promote my work.

In ten years, where would you like to be?
In ten years I would love to still be creating. I would love to grow my business every year. It would be a dream come true if lapisbeach could become a full time business. I am passionate about my work and for that to be my "job" would be amazing.

-----
Visit Lauren's Etsy shop at http://lapisbeach.etsy.com
Follow her on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001218641369&ref=ts

Cheers,

Fen Li

Bead Flora and Jewels

Sweets Swap

2010-08-10T07:30:00.000-07:00

Sweets Winter Swap... yeah, we're starting early this year. Names have been matched. Deadline to get to your sweet is November 15th 2010.

You can still enter your info to be on a waiting list if you've missed sign-up and will match you up if there are more than person in the waiting list.
Waiting List form

I have sent everyone an email already with the form info. Convo me if you haven't received it.
Convo Me

Now the fun begins!
After reading the form and you still would like to ask your sweet a question without revealing your identity, ask her here by using this form:
Ask Your Sweet a Question

What next?
So what happens after you send that question into the black hole of the form? Stuff happens... ;) I forward your question to the appropriate Sweet and a link to the question form. I will be sending emails daily (if there are daily answers)

Questions are welcome :)

Cheers,
Fen Li.
Bead Flora and Jewels

May's Challenge

2010-05-01T13:45:00.000-07:00

Happy May Day!

Boy, time does get away from me somehow. Anyway, after informally polling members posting in the thread, it has been decided to continue April's hand embroidery challenge into May. Several Sweets had plans to embroider, but just not the time, or the health to get to it. Holly Anne's morning sickness is hopefully fading fast, and she can make an adorable bib for her little bean.

Michael's always has lots of cute little kits that come with everything you need, except maybe needle and scissors.

Happy Sewing,
Elle
Jenna Belle Designs

April's Challenge

2010-04-07T19:08:00.000-07:00

The vote is in! Of course, you can all see the run off poll over there, but hand embroidery is our challenge for the month. One quick search of the interweb and you can find plenty of how to's, but here is one to get you started. Feel free to continue on with the other challenges. Ginny had some great late entries to January's ACEO challenge!

April Craft Challenge Poll

2010-03-31T15:45:00.000-07:00

The April Fool's joke is on me this month, and April totally fooled me and is showing up tomorrow. The poll for the craft challenge is up now, and since it's late, I've shortened the time for voting. Voting ends Sunday at midnight, and as always choose up to 3.

How are you doing on the March challenge? I confess that I have not made any flowers, but I did take some arty photos yesterday, and will post them tonight in the Daily Sweets Pool (or at least one of them). Don't feel bad if you didn't get to the challenge because there are always more challenges around the corner. And we all know that sometimes it's a challenge just to get our own craft taken care of.

~Elle
Jenna Belle Designs

Spring is in the Air- More Beautiful Creations from the Daily Sweets

2010-03-24T11:49:00.000-07:00

February Bonus Craft Challenge -- Drink Up

2010-03-19T11:32:00.000-07:00

I wanted to post the results of the Bonus Craft Challenge For February... decorating porcelain mugs with special pens. Ten of us dedicated some time and resources tracking down Pebeo pens, and some appropriate mugs to discover an easy, and thoroughly addicting new craft. After experimenting with another kind of pen that says it is designed to write on ceramics, Kila found out that yes, indeed, the kind that require baking in the oven to achieve permanency are what you need. Any type of porcelain mug will do. Deb discovered that Pebeo pens are not food/beverage safe, so her mug, with a beautiful sun on the inside, has become a pen holder.

I think Sue made the most mugs, making one for everyone in her family for Valentine's Day. Take a look at some of our efforts:

Well done, Deb, Elle, Kila, Kim, Meagan, Melissa, Sarah, Sue, Wendy and Kylie! Click here to see the larger versions of the pictures, so you can see the great quotes, and to see some other views of these mugs.

Have you started on your paper flowers yet or checked out what's blooming with some great spring photography? I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with!

February Craft Challenge -- The Knotty Results

2010-03-09T15:05:00.000-08:00

We were all in knots over the crocheting craft challenge, what with the short month of February, and all our other responsibilities! Ten of us took on this challenge and as far as skill levels go, we had beginners who had never held a crochet hook before, to one of us who has been crocheting since she was 3! Actually, I should say that there were at least 11 of us that did the challenge, and maybe more. Some, who will remain nameless, wouldn't post their pictures, and one hasn't found the perfect picture spot yet. Melissa, Karen and Ginny are veteran crocheters, and they chose new projects to test their skills. Take a look at our gallery of yarn (names will follow in the order of the pictures, left to right)

Fen (2 scarves); Ginny (coin purse); Heather (neck warmer); other Heather (felted purse); Karen (purse); Kila (cowl, and 2 adorable kid's scarves); Melissa (bear); Sarah (neck warmer and hat); Vee (stress ball happy face and scarf); and me (dishcloth and scarf). It seems that some of us liked crocheting, we made more than one thing!

I believe the send off for crocheters is...

Happy Hooking!

~Elle

March Craft Challenge Poll Results

2010-03-01T19:27:00.000-08:00

photo from Our Fun Life

The results are in, and we can see that making paper flowers is the clear winner for our challenge this month. Ginny has graciously done some research for us, and found us lots of fun tutorials to choose from. These include tutorials from Dozi; Imagine, Create, Inspire; Folding Trees; Balzar Designs; Our Fun Life; It's in the Details; rebecca sower's weblog; Honestly Speaking; plants blog; another one from It's in the Details; A Fanciful Twist; and finally, one more from Folding Trees.

Thanks so much, Ginny, for doing some work for us, so we can just jump right in!

Finally, every month, as we chat, we come up with new things to add to our challenge list. So I made an executive decision to add a second bonus challenge like we had last month. This way, we can cover more crafts, and if one thing doesn't appeal, or is more cost prohibitive you can still participate. Of course, all participation is completely voluntary!

Anyway, two things came in second in the poll, decoupage and art photography. I made an executive decision to make the art photography our second challenge, because I know we all have cameras. The challenge here is to step away from your light boxes and items, and release your inner photographer. Kids, pets, sunsets, melting snow. I have a feeling that we'll all come up with some spectacular photos. Post as many as you want to your personal flickr accounts, but limit your challenge submission to one or two favorites.

You still have time to post your crocheting and mug challenge pictures. I'll do the round up of those at the end of this week.

Sarah's Awesome Mug / The Sweets Top 10

2010-02-23T11:30:00.000-08:00

Sarah of AFineDistraction.etsy.com made a top 10 list on her mug which a bunch of us just loved!

10. When in doubt, ask a Sweet.
9. Don't renew. List the new.
8. Pictures! Pictures! Pictures!
7. We are NOT Walmart.
6. Meet all good news with a mighty
RAR
5. Chocolate isn't optional.
4. Learn. Evolve. Every stitch is a new
miracle.
3. If you put yourself down, you get the
skillet.
2. You are a goddess of creativity.
Price accordingly.
And #1...
Support and friendship are but a few clicks away.

March Craft Challenge Voting Open

2010-02-22T13:26:00.000-08:00

Can you believe that February is almost over? That means that winter is almost over for most of us! Yay! Sorry, Kylie, because I guess that means your summer is almost over, and that always makes me sad.

Please vote for the craft challenge you want to participate in next month. You can choose up to 3. And, as always, participation is entirely voluntary. No prizes either, just the satisfaction of trying something new. I know several of us have really gotten into the crocheting challenge, and have a new appreciation for yarn. I can't wait to see the mugs either.

Only 6 days to vote with this poll, darn that short February, so don't delay, vote today!

Some Sweet Treasuries!

2010-02-22T08:28:00.001-08:00

A few of us snagged some treasuries last night!

Charming Treasury of Beautiful Sweets Creations

2010-02-18T19:32:00.000-08:00

Thank you Kim of Chloe and Maddie for putting this lovely treasury together!

Ophelias Apothecary - Our very own Deborah is featured on the Etsy Storque

2010-02-11T18:51:00.000-08:00

Love is in the air. V. day is around the corner. And we all knew and always believed that Deborah from Ophelia's Apothecary would make it big when she opened her bath and body shop on Esty last year. Well, she did it. She's featured in the Etsy Storque :D

Meet Deborah and Heather.

Read it here: http://www.etsy.com/storque/handmade-life/etsy-love-stories-opheliasapothecary-7032/

Love,
All the Sweets

BeadFloraJewels, aka Fen

January Craft Report

2010-02-11T07:02:00.000-08:00

January marked the beginning of our monthly craft challenge, and after a vote, we decided on something easy. ACEOs. The hardest part about making these little art cards is deciding what medium to use. Some of us stuck with what we knew, and others branched out, but the results were all spectacular. Even if one wasn't entirely thrilled with their own results, *cough... me... cough, cough*, I think we all had fun trying.

Thirteen of us participated in the January challenge. Take a look:

To match the artists with their art cards, please check out our flickr photo group, here.

Well done, ladies. Can't wait to see all the finished crocheted items!

~Elle

Front Page Excitement

2010-02-08T18:11:00.000-08:00

Recently, the Etsy admin have rolled out some changes. Now, instead of unilaterally choosing items for the front page, they've started to ask us who should be there. The Sweets love a good nomination thread, and so have taken on this challenge with gusto. And it paid off in spades this weekend.

I hope that I didn't miss anyone, but I used the Vault over at Craft Cult for my research, and, since the Friday 5:00 p.m. front page until the Monday 5:00 a.m. front page, 14 15 (!) Sweets made an appearance. This includes Kim, Kristin, Lauren, Fen, Gayathri, Kylie, Nora, Holly Anne, Jennifer, Kila, Sue, Kara, Melissa, and me. AND Wendy!

Some of us were alternates, but I think even the alternates made at least limited appearances. We were on 9 different front pages, at all times of the day and night. The Sunday 8:00 p.m. had 5 Sweets at once (2 were alternates).

Congratulations to everyone!

~Elle

The Bonus Mug Challenge

2010-02-01T13:59:00.000-08:00

Here are some more details about the mug challenge.

You'll need some supplies.

1 Mug (the one in the picture is from Ikea). Click on the link. A white ceramic vase would be nice, too. Or even a pretty pastel.

1 Pebeo pen I believe that you can get these at Michaels, too.

An oven. You'll have to check to see if you have one in your kitchen. Then: write your quote on the mug, or decorate a vase, let your imagination run free! Let the ink dry for 24 hours and then bake it in your home oven for 35 minutes at 300 degrees F (you Celsius girls will have to get out a converter). This makes the ink permanent.

Please leave any Daily Sweets quotes in the comments for inspiration!

February Craft Challenge

2010-02-01T13:39:00.000-08:00

What you've all been waiting for! Well, as you can see by the poll results, it looks like we'll be learning how to crochet this month. Unlike last month's challenge, where we could choose our medium, and thus possibly already had the skills even if we had never made an ACEO, this month, many of us will really be learning something entirely new.

If you know how to crochet, and would like to offer guidance, that would be great! A good place to start may be recommended links or books, and you can leave those right in the comments. Perhaps some awesome youtube videos. Last year, I dabbled in teaching myself to crochet, and purchased a book by Susan Bates called My Crochet Teacher that includes special left hand instructions. I think I bought it at Michaels.

And I know that February is a short month, but we're going to do a bonus craft as well. I need to gather some more information on supplies for it, but this will be a mug project. And it's simple and quick. Intrigued?

Tomorrow will be a wrap up of the January ACEO challenge complete with pictures!

All Sweets Valentine Treasury

2010-01-26T13:30:00.000-08:00

Shop with the Daily Sweets by Clicking this link!

Sweet Treasury on Etsy

2010-01-25T22:12:00.000-08:00

Sweets Treasury on Etsy

2010-01-25T22:03:00.000-08:00

February Craft Challenge Poll

2010-01-24T17:23:00.000-08:00

Can you believe that it's almost February? I hope we're having lots of fun creating ACEOs this month! No pressure, though. If you run out of time, move on to the next craft. One thing to keep in mind for February... there are only 28 days.

The poll is over there in the right hand sidebar. Choose up to 3 things that you might like to try. It is completely anonymous, and ends at 11:59 p.m. on January 31. Sadly, I don't know what time zone the blog is on, so it would be a good idea to just vote before then! Feel free to contact me with any questions.

~Elle
Jenna Belle Designs

Our Hearts go out to Haiti

2010-01-21T09:06:00.000-08:00

Our hearts go out to all who have been affected by the tragic earthquake in Haiti that took place on January 12, 2010.

Whether it be through donations of money, time, possessions or prayers, candles lit; continued support is needed. Seeing the overwhelming response of individuals and organizations to assist is heartwarming.
The Daily Sweets encourage you to continue putting forth whatever efforts you are capable of to show your concern and love.

A few ways to contribute:

A shop has been established that donates all proceeds (less fees) to Doctors Without Borders .
There are hundreds of items to choose from and it would be a perfect place to shop for Valentine's and Mother's Day. You can visit this shop and purchase or donate by Clicking here HeartsforHaiti.

You can also donate to Doctors Without Borders Directly by going to their web site.

The Salvation Army Haiti Relief Fund. Make sure the box for Haiti is checked.

There are many other ways to contribute. Feel free to comment and leave any further suggestions.

January's Design Challenge

2010-01-17T14:36:00.000-08:00

For 2010, the Daily Sweets decided that, as if we didn't have enough going on in our lives, we needed a new challenge. Oh, sure, the old challenge of listing every day is still there, but in order to stretch our creative selves, we want to try new things. The diversity of the talent in this group makes this easily doable, so each month, we've decided to try new mediums. There will be voting, so we don't end up trying something nobody wants to try anyway. Watch for February's voting here in a blog poll the last week of January.

For the month, we're creating ACEOs. ACEO stand for art cards editions and originals, or miniature pieces of art 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches. Using any medium you want. NO RULES. Karen Jean of Yarrow1 is the authority in this team for ACEOs, contact her with any questions or help.

Deadline is January 31, 2010. Post pictures of ACEO in the Daily Sweeets Flickr group.

The Sweets are going to Orlando!

2010-01-16T10:55:00.000-08:00

Some of you have inquired about the Florida trip. Here's how it all happened.

Holly Anne and her tattoo-artist husband, Ryan, were going to head to Orlando May 6th to May 9th for a tattoo convention. She wanted to meet the Floridian sweets, Jennifer and Nora.

Deborah decided she wanted to go and meet the sweets as well. Then everybody checked out flights, etc. and now 12 of us have decided that it's within our budgets to travel to Florida for a sweets meet-up.

When, Where, and How?
We're still deciding on all of that. Jennifer has volunteered to look at lodging for all of us. Elle has suggested we rent a condo. Once all the details are set, it shall all be announced.

WHO?
Nothing's set in stone, but here are the Sweets who have expressed interest in going:

Holly Anne (flying) - from British Columbia, traveling with another couple for the convention
Elle (driving) - from Georgia
Sarah (hitching a ride with Elle, possibly) - from Georgia
Fen (flying) - from Wisconsin
Kila (flying) - from California
Melissa (flying) - from Indiana, possibly going with DH
Jennifer (driving) - from Tampa, FL
Nora (driving)- from Boca Raton, FL
Deborah (flying) - from Kansas, coming with her partner Heather
Ginny (flying) -from California, still deciding
Kim (flying)- from Colorado, possibly staying one night
Meagan (flying)- from New Jersey, still deciding

All sweets are welcome to join in! More details will be announced as things progress. Thanks Jennifer for checking out our lodging.

BeadFloraJewels

Welcome to The Daily Sweets

2010-01-13T12:19:00.000-08:00

A great group of Etsy (primarily) artists, that initially bonded on a challenge almost 2 years ago! I think that April 15, 2008 would be the date, and our founder, Chrissy, posed this simple challenge in the Etsy fora: list an item every day for a month.

When the month was over, we had all had such a good time getting to know and support each other, that we just couldn't let it go. The original group had around 20 members, and about 10 of those original are still active with the group, myself included. We number around 36 right now, but that fluctuates as members come and go, and sometimes come back.

So how did the challenge work out? We all had improved sales and activity. We had a few newbies to Etsy, and we made our first sales. Now, we may not always list an item a day, the our goal is to create every day.

Bottom line, we're supportive and not a strict bunch. If you can't list an item a day because life gets in the way, that's okay. We value quality products and excellent customer service in our business world. In our personal world, positivity, honesty and integrity are just a few of the words I would use to describe us.

Stop in and get to know the Sweets. We'll have interviews and features, and much more.

~Elle