Cyber Monday Sale!

It's CYBER MONDAY!! All items in my shop are 15% OFF today only! Visit my Facebook page to receive a coupon code for an extra 10% OFF sale prices! Become a fan and save! Here's a peek at some of the new items I listed just in time for the big day...

"Simplicity" earrings

"Pink Rose" earrings

"Fly Away" necklace

"Something Blue" earrings

Check out Etsy on Sale and Etsy Coupons for more great handmade Cyber Monday deals!

♥Nicole

Etsy on Jeopardy!

Recently Etsy was featured on "America's favorite quiz show" Jeopardy! And now it's got me wondering about the meaning of Etsy's name...

-Nicole

"Dia De Los Muertos"

I caught the treasury-bug this weekend and couldn't help but make this bright and colorful treasury in honor of the upcoming Dia De Los Muertos holiday. {November, 2nd} If you're a treasury fanatic also, read below to find out how to add treasuries like the one below into your blog or website. Click on the "Dia De Los Muertos" title to see the treasury on Etsy and leave a comment...Thanks!

 

'Dia De Los Muertos' by PASSIONandPAISLEY

In celebration of Dia de Los Muertos!

WHITE Pequeno Papel... BadBabyQuilts $18.00	sugar skull with vi... wickedminky $28.00	Spanish Tile Print ... ShrunkenCatHea... $18.00	SALE ... DAY OF THE... deadlyarts $79.99
Sugar Skull Bride P... artistamuerta $50.00	DIA DE LOS MUERTOS,... trulysanctuary $21.99	Day of the Dead CAT... illustratedink $65.00	Long Sleeved Sugar ... CausticThreads $17.00
DEAD GIRL DOLLED UP... ArtByLupeFlore... $45.00	Miss Skeleton Rococ... grigiodesign $18.00	Day of the Dead Not... madebyjackie $6.00	Day of the Dead Sku... rawartletterpr... $12.00
SALE - LOS MUERTOS ... PASSIONandPAIS... $	Day of the dead han... sacchetto $50.00	Dia de los muertos ... NatashaBlue $2.50	Day of The Dead Sku... asherjasper $45.00

Generated using Treasury HTML code generator by Whale Shark Websites.

      A big thanks to Whale Shark Websites for creating this useful treasury tool that allows you to easily add click-able treasuries to your blog or website. Just copy and paste the code generated...and voila! I'd love to see your latest treasury collections. Leave a comment with a link!

Happy Haunting! :D

xoxo,

Nicole

And the Winner is...

"Hooray" Letterpress Rooster Card by Curtie01 on Etsy

Congratulations to Ampeefyed Vintage for winning Passion and Paisley's recent $25 giveaway!! I wonder what goodies she'll pick?? Although the giveaway is over, the anniversary sale is still running through tomorrow night. Grab your favorites before the savings ends! Thank you to every one who participated in the giveaway, and those of you who helped me spread the word about the giveaway. Your support is amazing!! :D

♥Nicole

Passion and Paisley's 1st Birthday {FREE Giveaway & Anniversary Sale!}

Sweet Birdie Gift Tags by pearliebird on Etsy

One year ago tomorrow, Passion and Paisley was born! A magazine article on vintage fashion led me to Etsy, where I browsed handmade gloves for hours and instantly fell in love with the site. I quickly discovered that I could easily open my own shop, and after days of brainstorming, Passion and Paisley was opened on October 11th 2009!

In order to celebrate Passion and Paisley's 1st birthday, I will be having an "anniversary sale" where everything in the shop will be 15% off! The sale will last from October 11-17th. I will also be celebrating with Passion and Paisley's first FREE GIVEAWAY!! Read below for more details...

*Prize: The winner will receive a $25 credit to Passion and Paisley! This credit can be spent on anything in the shop and never expires. You can even pass the prize on to a friend if you're feeling extra nice. The credit will be emailed to the winner immediately!

*How to enter: Entering the giveaway is easy! Here's the two simple steps for you to take:

1. After "liking" Passion and Paisley's Facebook page, simply suggest the page to friends. {There is a blue "suggest to friends" link under the profile picture on the Facebook page.}For every friend that "likes" Passion and Paisley, you will receive an entry into the giveaway! Each contestant will be limited to 15 entries.

2. Email me at passionandpaisley@gmail.com with a list of the names of the people that you sent suggestions to, so I can count up your entries and notify you if you are the winner. Once your friends have "liked" the page, they are welcome to enter the giveaway as well!

Just to clarify...this is a raffle and the winner will be randomly drawn. Having 15 entries will give you a better chance of winning, but you could win with only one entry!

*Dates: The winner will be announced on Sunday, October 17th! I will count up how many friends "liked" Passion and Paisley on Facebook early Sunday morning, so be sure to send your suggestions to friends and send your list to me by Saturday, October 16th at 11:59pm.

Cupcake Candle by DanielleMarieRose on Etsy

I've had so much fun this past year and learned so much from my family, friends, and fellow Etsy shop owners! I can't wait to continue on this creative adventure. Thank you for all of your support and advice! :D

Please email me with any questions about the giveaway...Good luck to all!

♥ Nicole

Women's Self Defense Tip #2

Handmade painting by springhofeldt on Etsy

      

     It's time for another helpful self defense tip! In case you missed the news last week, I'm taking a self defense class on Monday nights and wanted to share the things I am learning with you. I'll be posting a new tip every week. Be sure to share them with you friends, mothers, aunts, sisters, daughters, etc!

WOMEN'S SELF DEFENSE TIP #2: Okay ladies, this week's tip is a no-brainer...Prevent attacks before they happen!! It sounds obvious, but many of us take our safety for granted. The most basic way to prevent attacks is with physical security mechanisms, such as locks, alarms, mace, even lights! Another way to prevent attacks is to remain aware of your surroundings at all times. Be conscious of the people and things around you, and avoid sketchy situations!

Women's Self Defense Tip #1

Handmade necklace by MetalTaboo on Etsy

     The last few months have been a whirlwind since I moved to Daly City and started school at San Francisco State University. For fun, I am taking a personal self defense class on Monday nights with my roommate. Although it has little to do with jewelry, I wanted to share this valuable information with you! Every week I will be posting a new tip, so we can all learn to protect ourselves. Pass it on to all the women you know, young and old!

WOMEN'S SELF DEFENSE TIP #1: Don't bother kicking a male attacker in the groin. It's an easy area to block, and they've been learning to protect that area since they were about five years old. Instead, always kick at an attacker's knees!! They won't be likely to continue their attack with shattered knee caps or a dislocated knee!

"HAUTE AUGUST" SALE!

I've got GREAT news!! Since I was busy moving and unpacking during the recent Etsy-wide "Christmas in July Sale", I have decided to extend the sale through the entire month of August! This gives me a whole month to list all of the items I have just waiting for a good home, and it gives you another month of savings! Woo hoo! Because this sale will be exclusive to my shop, and not promoted by Etsy, I've given it a different name..."Haute August Sale". {Haute: fashionably elegant; exclusive; made to order} A little play on of "Hot August Nights"! Receive $5 off any order over $30, and $10 off orders over $50. Here's a sneak peek at a couple of new items I'll be listing this week!

(Pearl Flower Hair Pins)

(Pink Pearl and Gold Shield Earrings)

Take advantage of these great savings by starting your holiday shopping early, or just spoil yourself. On top of this sale, Passion and Paisley recently began offering free shipping to anywhere in the United States! If you're thinking it's too good to be true...click on the pictures above to stop by the shop and see for yourself!!

Treasury East {The Future of Etsy Treasuries}

{Put a Cork In It - It's amazing what you can do with a few corks!}

 

Etsy treasuries are a great way to showcase all of your favorite items on Etsy. They're also a fun way to browse and shop for items too! They're easy to create and if an Etsy Admin spots it and likes what they see, it could possibly make it to Etsy's front page. The only problem is...you have to stay awake until 3:00 am or be doing absolutely nothing at 1:00 pm to snag a spot in the Treasury! It's doable, but it's not easy. (Treasuries expire 2-3 days after creation and in order to grab a spot you must be viewing the Etsy Treasury's main page at the exact instant that the number of treasuries in the list drops below 333. Don't ask me why, but this always seems to happen at some ungodly hour when most of us are sleeping soundly.) Luckily for us, Etsy is always improving and coming up with new stuff! One of Etsy's newest features is Treasury East, a beta testing ground for the future of Etsy treasuries. Treasury East is very similar to the traditional Treasury, except the listings never expire and you can create as many treasuries as your heart desires!! These new treasuries display sixteen items instead of just twelve and can easily be shared on popular social networking sites. For more information about Treasury East, and general information on Etsy treasuries, follow these helpful links:

• Treasury East {main page for Treasury East where you can create a new treasury and browse through others}
• "Treasury East Beta" {a forum thread posted by Etsy admin sean11, which lists the differences in the new Treasury East}
• "How to Make a Treasury: The Nuts and Bolts" {an article from Etsy's blog that will teach you everything you need to know about making a treasury}

With Treasury East the possibilities are truly endless! Look at this beautiful treasury with a "Grecian" theme created by WrenWillow - be sure to check out the adorable t-shirts in her shop too!

{Found using the search term "Grecian"}

FREE Giveaway at Kristina-Nicole's Blog!

Kristina-Nicole is giving away $50 worth of scrapbooking supplies! There are many ways to enter, not to mention that today is her birthday!! Stop by and show her some love! Check out her post below to find out all the details...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Monday, April 26, 2010

{Give-Away} Come Celebrate National Scrapbooking Day!!

Saturday, May 1st, 2010 is National Scrapbooking Day in the U.S. And I know many of you are preparing your Crop N' Styles, travel paper trimmers and "pages I've got to get done" for this weekend! Some of you may be going to a retreat, a day crop, taking a class at a local scrapbook store, or just setting aside "me time" away from the fam.

Either way, you'll be using a LOT of materials this weekend. So instead of having a give-away before National Scrapbook Day, we're hosting one ON NATIONAL SCRAPBOOKING DAY!!!

Yippie!!!!

"So.... what am I getting?," you might be asking....

Well here we go:

We're giving away $50.00 of scrapbooking supplies from the Kristina-Nicole studio!  Yep, $50 bucks worth of scrap supplies - enough to replenish part your stash or to even add to it!! If you're not a scrapper, you can always use these supplies toward your very own Etsy shop creations, start a scrapbook, or hey - you could find a scrapbooker & they'll probably barter with you for the supplies!! :)

"So..... what does $50.00 of scrapbooking supplies from the Kristina-Nicole studio include....?," you might say....

It will include supplies from the following vendors:















And may include things like buttons, rhinestones, ribbon, 3D glitter letters.... and much, much MORE!!!!





{How to Enter to Win}


1. MANDATORY ENTRY:  Follow Kristina-Nicole's blog { yep that's right, just following us here} AND leave a comment below about what you would do with the supplies if you won!


2. For one additional entry: Join Kristina-Nicole's email list. {click here to visit her site and sign up! It's a cinch & will only take you 3.5 seconds to do!!}


3. For one additional entry: Become a fan of {or like} Kristina-Nicole on Facebook. {Leave a comment there so we can give you credit!!}


4. For one additional entry:  Post/write about this give-away on your facebook profile(s), including a link to this blog post. {Send us an email with your page(s) so we can give you credit for each one!!}


5. For one additional entry: You can tweet about this give-away, including a link to this blog post. {Send us an email with your twitter address so we can give you credit!!} 






Good luck out there!! 


The lucky winner will be announced Saturday May 1st!  


xo,


Kristina-Nicole

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Stop by Kristina-Nicole's blog to read the original post and remember to tell her Happy Birthday!

xoxo
-Nicole

Mother's Day Sale!

...teal flower ring...

From now until Mother's Day, Passion and Paisley is offering FREE shipping on all jewelry and hair accessories in the boutique! If you still need to get something for your mom stop by and browse around. Handmade products make unique and thoughtful gifts. Show your mom how much you care this Mother's Day. Send me an email {passionandpaisley@gmail.com} if you are interested in a custom order!

...dragonfly patina earrings...

 Do you know of other Mother's Day sales?? If you have a shop, or know of another sale...leave a comment and share with us!

Why Buy Handmade?

...poster by slidesideways on Etsy...

Before Earth Month ends, I'd like to share with you one of the funnest and easiest things you can do to promote sustainability and "go green". Buy handmade!! I told you this would be fun and easy! I was unaware of all the benefits of buying handmade until I read an article about Etsy in Natural Health magazine last October. I went to Etsy's site and browsed through winter gloves for hours. (The poster above was my first Etsy purchase.) As my journey with Etsy has continued over the last six months, my eyes have been opened wide to all the benefits of buying handmade...

1. Handmade Products Are Unique: In this age of cookie cutter houses and mass production, we could all use a little individuality. When you buy handmade goods you buy one-of-a-kind. Even for the few artists who are able to easily re-create their products, you can bet they are still pretty rare! I guarantee you'll hear less "I have the same one!"
2. Handmade Products Make Better Gifts: Because of their uniqueness, handmade products make amazing gifts. Handmade gifts are more meaningful, and most likely have a great story attached to it. The love and care that was put into making the product is passed onto the recipient of your gift. 
3. Buying Handmade Battles Big Business: When you buy handmade products, you're putting money into the hands of the artist and keeping it out of the pocket of "the man". (He doesn't need another Ferrari anyways!) Artists work hard for what they create, and the best way to support them is to buy from them directly. 
4. Buying Handmade is Eco-friendly: Mass production may have a cheaper price tag now, but you and the environment pay a large price in the end. By purchasing handmade products you avoid pollution from factories and reduce waste. Handmade artists often up-cycle and are very conscious about the environment.
5. Handmade Products are Good for Human Society: Most of the products we buy in stores are made overseas under inhumane working conditions. While none of us are intentionally trying to hurt another human, we are indirectly supporting child-labor and other horrible practices when we buy mass produced products. Aside from this huge factor in human rights, the handmade community also re-connects people. There's something to be said about knowing exactly who made the item you purchase. Handmade products promote creativity in our society! 

Now that you're well informed and pumped up about buying handmade, it's time to take the handmade pledge. I did! Check out this video of others who have vowed to buy handmade.

Take the official pledge!

Buy Handmade Video from Etsy on Vimeo.

Remember to recycle, re-use and up-cycle whenever possible! This article was in no way intended to promote consumerism or encourage you to buy. However, when you must buy...consider the benefits of buying handmade. Why do you buy handmade?? Leave me a comment and let me know!

xoxo
-Nicole

Mums For Mother's Day

One of Etsy's great features is the "Treasury" where you can assemble your favorite items from Etsy shops and create a collection of sorts. This week I created a treasury called For My Dearest Mum, which is full of great Mother's Day gifts all involving Mums. Check it out and browse around!

...This treasury expires on Friday, April 23rd at 1:30am, but I have included links to all items that will remain active...

...row 1 - left to right...

1.  Tall Curvy Cup with Coral Mum  by  yogagoat
2. Doll Face no.3 (mixed media asemblage)  by  sushipot
3. Spider Mum Eco-T  by  Ahpeele

...row 2 - left to right...

• Mum Tote with Linen Straps  by  yourktownroad
• Coral Mum Ring  by  PassionandPaisley
• White Mum Obi Pillow  by  dgsHome

...row 3 - left to right...

• Pink Spider Mum Pens  by  bananatreeart
• Zacatecas Coin Purse  by  blueraisin
• Big Chrysanthemum Flower Wall Decal  by  mstdesign

...row 4 - left to right...

• Paper Flower Kit  by  paperplatypus
• Portable Foldable Purse Hook  by  MaJentaDesigns
• Switchplate (Dancing Mums)  by  funkychickendesign

If you're on Etsy, be sure to add these wonderful shops to your favorites. Thanks for stopping by! Leave me a comment if you have a suggestion for the theme of my next treasury, or if you have an item you would like to be featured in it!

xoxo

-Nicole

A Blog is Born!

Passion and Paisley has been going through some BIG changes! I get bored easily. So six months after opening my shop on Etsy, I decided it was time for a whole new look. I didn't dislike the old look (a peacock feather design in teal and bright green) however, it was not an original design and didn't have much personal connection for me. I wanted to incorporate some paisley designs into the shop banner and create a unique look that better represented my own style. Simple, natural, and quirky! After downloading 41 new fonts and discovering a new obsession with Photoshop brushes, I finally came up with the new look. I hope you love it as much as I do!

That's not the only big change! Passion and Paisley will soon be venturing out into other areas of design besides jewelry. (Did I mention I get bored easily?) I've got coasters made out of up-cycled wine corks and decorative flowers made out of copper electrical wire just waiting to be formally photographed and listed in the shop. I've already bought a really flirty apron pattern...the sewing machine is coming next week! To sum it all up, I've deemed Passion and Paisley a "handmade boutique"; a tiny shop full of exquisite things, from accessories to home decor. Of course, everything is handmade with passion. ♥

...wine corks...

In case you haven't already noticed, one of Passion and Paisley's biggest changes is the creation of this blog! I hope to fill this blog with useful information about the world of handmade goods, DIY projects, free giveaways, updates from Passion and Paisley, and anything related to creativity and design! Comment below and leave me some feedback! What do you think of the new look? What would you like to see on Passion and Paisley's new blog? Any suggestions for a Blogger newbie??

xoxo
-Nicole