Back in Stock

I recently sold a Flip Flop Guestbook on Artfire and realized that I don't have these listed in my Etsy shop as well! And with wedding season just around the corner, it is about time I get these relisted!

Here is the book I created recently:

These are now available in Black, White and Orange! Other colors may be available for an additional fee as well...just ask :)

Wordless Wednesday-Yearning for Summer

Necklace GIVEAWAY and Artist Interview

Last week for my Friday Features, I featured this beautiful Flip Flop Necklace. Laure, the owner of Elegant Arts, thanked me for featuring her necklace and offered to do a giveaway for this necklace!!! How awesome is that!

I also interviewed Laure as I always love to hear the story behind Etsy shops and get to know the artist behind the work better :) Here's what Laure had to say: 1. How did you get started making jewelry?

I started collecting gemstone beads before I even made my first piece of jewelry…I did a lot of international traveling in my 20s and my souvenirs were always beads – some I still work with today – now in my 40s…I was afraid to make anything with them until I learned that you can always transform something you made previously to a new piece if you ever fall out of love with it…I took a few jewelry classes at local bead shops to learn the basics and then had my first trip to the Tucson Gem Show where I was able to take classes from renowned wire artists…I also saw all the beautiful stones available worldwide…I made some vendor connections there that I still enjoy today and I try to venture to Tucson every other year or so…

2. Do you do any other crafts?

I love learning new crafts but I admit I am hooked on jewelry…Occasionally, I enjoy making silk flower arrangements for friends and for personal use…I love combining unusual colors together – changing up the scale and the look of arrangements and wreaths for the various seasons…

3. What is your favorite part of jewelry making?

Spreading it around…I love giving jewelry as gifts and I enjoy hearing the feedback from customers who purchase my pieces…I want people to be happy with their purchase and I will do just about anything to make sure that happens…

(We're sure glad she likes sharing!)

4. Where do you find your inspiration?

A lot of my inspiration comes from fashion...the overall fashion trends may inspire a tendency towards longer necklaces or chunkier bracelets and chandelier earrings… some fashion/costume jewelry that I see inspires me to put together something similar but with my classic spin…I try to make pieces that are timeless…

5. Do you sell on any other venues?

I have a lovely shop at 1000 Markets…I find this venue the most visually attractive…here is the link:http://www.1000markets.com/shops/elegantarts

6. Do you have a blog, facebook, twitter, etc? Share your links with us.

I have a blog that I confess, I don’t keep up to date on 1000 Markets but here it is:http://www.1000markets.com/users/elegantarts/blog_posts

I have a Facebook Page with no fans…I am just learning how to do a business page so this needs work.

And I have a Twitter account with no followers …I need to make the time to get these accounts in full swing but I’d rather make jewelry!!!

7. What is your best business tip for my readers?

As a shopper myself and a seller too, customer service is sooooooo important…treat all your customers like they are special and you may just set yourself apart in this challenging economic environment…some may notice you “went the extra mile” and some may not but you will be proud of the service you have provided and the care you gave to their purchase…

8. What is your favorite piece in your shop right now?

This is a tough question…my pieces have so many personalities and my favorites change by the hour!!! I am a BIG fan of summer and this piece is a recent design that I think “speaks” SUMMER…It is an easy Go To piece that will go with just about anything you put on…I love the colors and the smooth surface of the Amazonite pendant…not to mention the not-so-subtle message to Follow Your Bliss…life is short…make each day count…

Now onto the GIVEAWAY!!!

To enter:

*Mandatory: Visit Elegant Arts and leave me a comment telling me your favorite item.

*Optional: For a second entry, become a follower of my blog. Then leave a comment telling me you're a follower. Current followers please leave a comment as well.

*Include your email address in your comments. (Feel free to type out the "at" and "dot" to avoid spammers getting your email!)

*Contest ends Wednesday August 11, 2010 and the winner will be announced on my blog August 12th.

*Winner will be chosen using random.org

*Contest is open world wide. I will email the address of the winning entrant and Laure will ship the necklace directly.

Thanks for stopping and have an awesome day!!!

Thanks so much Laure :)

Friday Features-Flip Flops

I listed the rest of the Flip Flop Albums that I have on hand this week. You'll find three new fun albums in my Etsy shop!!!

Flip flops have always represented summer to me and I can never get enough of their bright, fun colors :) Etsy has so many awesome flip flop items, it was hard to choose just four!

Fun Flip Flop A-Line Dress in Aqua w/ Pink Polka Dot Trim

by KountryKids

Flip Flops tile coasters

by araemom

FLIP FLOP - Paua Shell Flip Flop Necklace in Sterling Silver

by lscaturo

(I will be doing a giveaway for one of these necklaces soon!!! Stop back for details! Thanks Laure!)

Flip Flops Wine Glass

by janjackson

Weekly Team Treasury

This week's treasury is brought to us by RandomCreative. She gives us an awesome display of Dots in this treasury!

Thanks for including my Flip Flop Scrapbook Rose :)

Flip Flops on Parade

I love making these slide shows and can't believe how longs it's been since I created a new one! I just love seeing pictures of these bright and cheery flip flop albums and the frame just goes so well with them!

All of these Flip Flop Albums can be found in my Etsy Shop. The Butterfly Album is the newest addition :)

(Note...I still can't figure out how to add a slideshow to an existing post...so see the show in the post below.)

SUMMER!!!

I'm so excited that it's the first day of summer!!! We've had some warm weather, but we've had SO much rain! I'm hoping that the change of the season brings a change in weather too!

We've been on the airboat twice, but had to wear sweatshirts both times. And we haven't had the canoe or ski boat out once yet! The river is too high now to put the airboat or canoe on, but I'm hoping that changes quickly!

My poor, pale skin is in need of some sun and water! And I'm hoping to get some fun summer pictures taken to fill a Flip Flop Scrapbook for myself :)

New Flip Flop Albums!!!

I'm so excited to finally have some new items in my Etsy Store!!! I finished and photo'd 3 new flip flop albums and am starting to get them listed!

Surfer Girl Flip Flop Album (Listed Sunday)

Pink Flip Flop Album (Listed Today)

Blue and Brown Flip Flop Album (In Store Tues. or Wed.)

Convo if you'd like this one before it hits my shop :)

I have a few others started that I hope to get finished in the next couple of weeks and listed...keep watch :)

Being Productive Makes Me Happy :)

On Tuesday I showed you what was on my todo list. Well...today I am happy to tell you that they all got done!!! I love being productive!!!

Cupcake Notebook

Small Address Book

Flip Flop Book

All of these are headed to the post office this morning :) And I even made another sale on Etsy that's headed out with them...Thanks Theresa :)

I hope the weekend can be just as productive!!!

A Wedding on the Beach

There is just something so romantic about a wedding on the beach! If I could have my entire family there...I'd love to get married on a beach :) The warm weather, the ocean, the great dresses they make for beach weddings! It all sounds so wonderful!

If I'm not getting married on a beach...I'm still happy that my latest Flip Flop Guest Books are making their way to the beach :)

I love how this one turned out! The bride wanted some extras added to her cover and I love how the flowers and ribbon add such a nice touch!

And this one was my first one in orange. We searched and searched and finally found the perfect pair for this bride :) The color really makes them stand out!

(I'll be adding this color choice to my shop soon as well!)

So while I've been playing in the snow for the last few days...my creations have been enjoying the warmth of the beach :)

So Many Projects...So Little Time!

Gosh...where to start today? I have so many projects I want to work on and can't quite decide where to start!

I have two Family Word Albums covered in cardstock waiting to be cut out and decorated. Do I start there? I have about 20 more of these I'd like to do though and I think I'll do them all together. So do I start covering more of these with cardstock?

I also have about 5 pair of flip flops waiting to be worked on. I have all of the inside pages cut out and waiting to be covered in patterned paper and decorated. Do I start here?

My Recipe Books seem to be selling well, so I bought larger index cards to make some different sizes and different patterns of these. Maybe I'll start here.

I also want to make some Address Books to add to my Etsy Shop. I'm trying to decide what size to make them. The first one I printed is 8"x8", but I'm starting to think this may be too big. Should I do 6"x6" or 4"x4"? Maybe both?

While I was at the State Fair, I found these really cool agates that I just couldn't resist. (Sorry for the poor photos...they're really hard to photograph!) I'd love to drill holes in them and just add jump wires, but I'm not sure how to go about this without cracking them! So I was told to wire wrap them. Not sure how to go about this either! So with everything else on my plate I'm going to try and learn a new technique!

Where to start, where to start!?!

Beat the Heat-Scrapbook Style

August 1st! Can you believe it! This summer has just flown by! I thought I'd celebrate by showing you several of my flip flop albums. Some are albums made as gifts, some are already sold, some are still in store, and others are waiting to be made into albums. Albums Still in Store: *Graduation Album *Love Themed Album *Custom Guest Book Album-Black or White *Mickey Mouse Album And I have over 50 pair of flip flops waiting to be made into albums!!! If you are looking for something special, just let me know :) I'd love to make an album for you!!!

Weekly Feature...On Sale!!!

Okay, so you've seen this weekly feature before...but now it's On Sale!!! Doesn't get any better than that :) My 2009 Graduation Flip Flop Scrapbook Album is now on sale for only $15! That's 25% off!!! So snatch it quickly because it may not be around for long at this price :) Isn't this the cutest scrapbook you've ever seen!!! That's right! It's a scrapbook made out of a real pair of (new) flip flops! This album is such a great, unique way to showcase special graduation photos. The album is made using one pair of flip flops. There are 12 pages (five double sided/two single sided). Pages are hand cut out of chipboard and covered with patterned paper. There are 24 photo mats for you to place your photos. Pages are embellished with stickers, die cuts, paper flowers, brads, and other photo safe items. Album is bound with two ribbons. This album is perfect for photos from Preschool to PhD graduations and everything in between :) The embellishments in the album will work for them all! Happy Monday...and Happy Shopping :)

Weekly Feature

I'm pretty excited about this week's feature :) I just listed it in my shop last night! I have made two of these Custom Wedding Flip Flop Guestbooks and decided they needed to be added to my shop as a permanent item :) And you blog readers get to see them here today! Want a guest book that everyone will talk about? Want a memorable keepsake from your special day that you can leave out all year round? Then my Custom Flip Flop Guestbooks are just what you're looking for! This guestbook is made from a real pair of new flip flops and reads Just & Married on the inside (bottom) of the flip flops.Choose from either black or white. And choose any colors for the inside of the album to be decorated with! This listing is for 26 pages. The front page is a great place for the bride and groom's names, wedding date, etc. Any information you would like included. There are 50 lined mats where guests can either leave a short message or over 500 people can sign their names. However you would like the book used. The pages are made of chipboard and are covered on both sides with patterned paper. Additional pages can be added for a fee...convo for more info. Please allow 2-3 weeks for the album to arrive. Need a rush order...please convo first :) So if you have a wedding coming up and would like a unique guestbook...look no further :)

Weekly Feature

Okay, I know I just posted about this item when I put it in my shop...but I just couldn't resist using it as my feature for this week :) I just think it's too cute not to show off again!

Isn't this the cutest scrapbook you've ever seen!!!

That's right! It's a scrapbook made out of a real pair of (new) flip flops! This album is such a great, unique way to showcase special graduation photos.

The album is made using one pair of flip flops. There are 12 pages (five double sided/two single sided). Pages are hand cut out of chipboard and covered with patterned paper. There are 24 photo mats for you to place your photos. Pages are embellished with stickers, die cuts, paper flowers, brads, and other photo safe items. Album is bound with two ribbons.

This album is perfect for photos from Preschool to PhD graduations and everything in between :) The embellishments in the album will work for them all!

One for the Grads :)

I just couldn't pass up these flip flops when I saw them over the weekend! And I had to get right to work on them when I got back from my weekend getaway! They are the perfect grad gift :) And they are perfect for grads of Preschool or getting their PhD! The embellishments will work for all graduates. Do you know someone graduating...or are you a graduate? You can check out these flip flops here. And in case you were wondering...yup...they are Real (new) flip flops :)

Flip Flop Frenzy!!!

I think I'm having flip flop overload...is that possible :)

I just got more flip flops in the mail yesterday :) There's nothing better than getting scrapbook supplies in the mail!

These will be used specifically for wedding guestbooks. I had another request for a custom one, so I thought I would order a couple more pair to have on hand :) Black and white seem to be very popular wedding colors this year, so I went with those. Any other colors can easily be added to the inside of the album.

I love how these say Just Married on the bottom side of the flip flop! How cute!

And here is the last Flip Flop Guestbook I created:

I think it turned out super cute...as my next one will as well :)