Featured Etsy Artist & Giveaway...Huggermugger (CONTEST CLOSED...Winner Announced)

I am SO pleased to introduce to you Etsy shop...Huggermugger!!
I met Rachel, the owner of Huggermugger, through Busy Moms of Etsy Team that we both belong to. I am so glad to feature this multi-talented Mom!! As you can see in her shop, she offers a variety of handmade goodness! Rachel told me the word "huggermugger" means "jumble," and she describes her store as a jumbled assortment of different items, which is why she chose that for her store name. Trust me, her store holds something for everyone! She has a variety of items to choose from such as patterns, crocheted hats & purses, sachets, journals, & crocheted finger puppets(so cute!) and I must add some GREAT gift options for Mother's Day! I talked with Rachel (she's awesome!) and she gave me the inside scoop on running her own business and being a very busy mom!

Here is what Rachel had to say!

1.Tell us a little about the person behind Huggermugger? My name is Rachel Kovaciny, and I'm a 29-year-old stay-at-home mom. I live in Connecticut with my husband and our 18-month-old son.

2.How long have you been creating, and what inspired you to start doing this? I've been crafty all my life, and love coming up with new ideas for projects. I make up a lot of my own patterns/designs, and sometimes it takes me several tries to get them right, but I'm stubborn that way :-D My craftiness comes from my mom who taught me to crochet, sew, knit, and do just about everything else. As for how I got started on Etsy, a dear friend of mine has a shop -- Knitsational -- and she encouraged me to start one too. In turn, I got my mom started on Etsy; her store is called TheSquareGrammy.

3.What is your favorite item to create and why? I adore making my collaged journal covers. I started doing them in college, and I dig the challenge of finding just the right-sized pieces for each collage. Plus, I get to incorporate another of my passions: words and writing. And I get a lot of satisfaction from seeing the finished collages come together. It's also lots of fun doing custom collages for people, because I can focus on their particular interests and make something I know they will enjoy.

4.Being a Busy Mom and Business owner, what is the most challenging aspect of it all, and do you have any tips for other business owners/busy moms? I'd say time is my biggest challenge. I can knit or crochet with my son around, but collages and most sewing projects have to wait until he's either asleep or playing with his daddy. As for tips for other busy moms, I guess the best thing I can say is learn to multitask! :-D

You can also find Rachel in the Blogosphere here. She posts all kinds of things on her blog, from new items in her shop to recipes, to cool things from other Etsy sellers. She says she tries to update it at least 3 times a week, though being a busy mom, that doesn't always happen. I know exactly what she means!! :)

Rachel has so graciously offered to giveaway to one of our readers her favorite item to make...A BEAUTIFUL Collaged Journal(pictured to the left and below)! To win Rachels Off the Beaten Track (ONE-OF-A-KIND) Journal go on over and check out her shop Huggermugger. Come back here and leave a comment telling us your favorite item or items! That is good for 1 entry and is a must to enter.

As always I will give you some more opportunities to win!!

1. Follow(or already follow) Rachels Blog...Huggermugger... for an extra entry

2. Follow(or already follow) Ozark Scents Blog for an extra entry

3. Follow(or already follow) Busy Moms of Etsy Blog for an extra entry

4. Tweet or blog about this giveaway and leave us the link for 3 extra entries (leave 3 comments for this one)

5. Make a purchase from Huggermugger and receive 5 extra entries (will be verified, leave 5 comments)

Please make sure your email address is in your comment or your blogger account so we can contact you if you win. Contest open to everyone and ends May 6 at 7pm CST.

Thank You Rachel for a wonderful feature and sponsoring this fabulous giveaway!!

Have Fun & Good Luck Everyone!!

♥Amy

Busy Moms of Etsy!

Hi everyone! Hope your week is going great! Mine has been busy as usual between yard work, soccer games and cheerleading meetings for my kiddos. Spring is always bustling at my house with so many kids and so many activities! I'm sure you other busy moms know exactly what I mean!

Speaking of busy moms, I joined a new Etsy team called Busy Moms of Etsy and I am so glad I did! If any of you are Etsy sellers and are busy moms you should come join us! To Join Contact Crystal Ellis at annies.soap@yahoo.com It is a fun yet resourceful team! Check out Busy Moms Blog for tips, recipes and other great resources from busy moms!! Thanks for the pic HuggerMugger!

Another great team I belong to for moms is Cafemom team and anyone can join that sells on any handmade venue, so you can join even if you are not selling on Etsy, you just have to be on Cafemom. Check it out too, it also is fun and very resourceful! To see all the Busy Moms wonderful shops just type in busymomsteam in your etsy search. To view all of Cafe Moms wonderful shops type in cafemomteam in your etsy search.

Hope you all have a great week!

♥Amy

Congratulations....

Congratulations! The winner is #33-momtoanutball!! You have 24 hours to respond to the email we sent you or we will pick another winner.

Thank You to everyone who entered this great contest! We appreciate you all!

A special THANK YOU to Jennifer @ PlutosGiftShop for a great interview and giveaway! I hope everyone can visit Plutosgiftshop and find something they love!! I know I can find lots of stuff I love!!

♥Amy

I won a Giveaway!! & I LOVE it!

Hi Everyone! Hope you are all having a happy Friday! I spent my day planting my veggie garden! Yay! Spring!

I wanted to share with you all that a couple of weeks ago I entered a giveaway over at Midlife Truckers blog for a tote/bag/purse from Olebaglady on Etsy, and to my surprise I won!! I never win anything, this was my first win from a blog giveaway. I was so tickled because I have admired Olebaglady's shop for awhile, she has such cute bags and she's a fellow Missourian!

I suggest if any of you are looking for a wonderfully made, versatile bag to check out Olebaglady's shop. She has so many different fabrics and types to choose from and her workmanship is excellent. She also has very reasonable prices. They would be great reuseable gift bags or shopping bags. I use mine as a purse/diaper bag, it is a large tote/giftbag/purse, she also has smaller ones and she does custom orders. Really I just love my bag!! And Tami the owner and creator of these great bags is such a friendly person, you will love her as much as the bags!

I took a few pictures of the bag I received. It came all gift wrapped and even included a gift tag that matched the bag!

Thanks so much Tami for the adorable bag you sent me and Thank you Treasia @ Midlife Truckers Blog for my first giveaway win!!

Hope everyone has a Great weekend and try to check out Olebaglady's shop if you have a minute, you won't be sorry!

♥Amy

Featured Etsy Artist & Giveaway...Pluto's Gift Shop (CONTEST CLOSED, Winner announced)

We are happy to introduce to you Pluto's Gift Shop! I found this lovely shop through Etsy and I was enchanted by the beautiful pieces and all their sparkle. I had a chance to chat a little with Pluto's Gift Shop owner & creator Jennifer, she was kind enough to give us some insight into her busy life and business and she has graciously offered to give one of her gorgeous sparkling pieces away to one lucky winner!!

Pluto's Gift shop has been open for business since February 2, 2009 on Etsy, but creating is nothing new for Jennifer because her skill has been pasted down from generation to generation in her family. Pluto's Gift Shop offers a variety of jewelry pieces made with authentic Swarovski Crystal beads. Every item is personally hand crafted by Jennifer.

Here is what Jennifer had to say!

1. Who are you? My name is Jennifer Johnson. My family and I live in Kettering, Ohio just outside of Dayton. I am 24 years old. Currently, I am studying for a college degree in Accounting while working part time at a local restaurant. When I am not busy taking care of my family, working, and studying, I love to create. I love creating jewelry because, it allows me to take time out from the rush of the day and focus on creating something beautiful for someone else.

2. What made you decide to start making jewelry? I started making jewelry as a way to create unique gifts for my family and friends. This past Christmas I made Swarovski crystal jewelry for all the women on my list. After the holidays, with all the buzz about the jewelry, my sister suggested that I start an Etsy shop. I loved the idea of buying and selling handmade products. My shop opened in February of this year!

3. What is your favorite piece and why?

My favorite piece is the Spring Floral Bouquet Brooch. I created this brooch with my grandmother in mind. The first one I made is going to be her Mother’s Day present for this year.

4. Anything else you want my readers to know? All of my products are handmade by me with care and attention to detail. I use genuine, high quality materials. The majority of my jewelry is made with Swarovski crystals! Swarovski is among the best crystals in the world....

You can also find Jennifer on Twitter!!

Jennifer has graciously agreed to GIVEAWAY 1 Midnight Sparkle Bracelet (pictured below) to 1 lucky WINNER!! YAY!We are going to give everyone a chance to receive a total of 10 entries into this contest! Just leave a post for each entry!

1. Go to Pluto's Gift Shop and let us know what your favorite sparkling beauty is! (This is required to enter) This is one entry.

2. Follow our Blog or already be a follower for one entry.

3. Add Pluto's Gift Shop to your etsy favorites to earn 2 entries (leave 2 posts)

4. Tweet or blog about this contest (leave us a link to your post or tweet) and link back to this contest for 3 entries ! (leave 3 posts)

5. Make a purchase from Pluto's Gift Shop to receive 3 more entries (will be verified, leave 3 posts)

PLEASE BE SURE I CAN CONTACT YOU THROUGH YOUR BLOGGER ACCOUNT OR LEAVE AN EMAIL ON YOUR POST!

THIS CONTEST WILL END SUNDAY APRIL 19, 2009 @ 5PM CST.

CONTEST OPEN TO ALL!

A big THANKS to Jennifer @ Pluto's Gift Shop for sponsoring this great GIVEAWAY!!

Good Luck to EVERYONE!! :)

♥Amy

Congratulations!

Congratulations to minishoes! You are the winner of the Mireio Feature and Giveaway!

Thank you to everyone who participated, and a special thank you to Wende of Mireio for the wonderful interview and for sponsoring this great giveaway!


Have a good day :)