Wonderful Wales

June 17, 2010 :: Posted by - amyorangejuice :: Category - Amy Orange Juice, Folksy Favs, Headline


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Photograph above and included in slide show courtesy of: The Stone House

By Contributing Columnist AmyMark aka AmyOrangeJuice

Britain must be a strange place to the outside observer, for such a small Island we have 4 very distinct country’s with their own culture and languages, all ancient and fascinating. I have always felt privileged to live in such an interesting and diverse country and it never worries me that we cannot afford holiday abroad as with all the history and amazing countryside on our doorstep we can always find a new corner of Britain to discover.

So last week we drove from our home in South West England to a small village called Cilgerran in the far West of Wales, to join old friends in an ancient house, in a gorge on the river Teifi and despite the typically wet Welsh weather we had a wonderful time.
In honor of the marvelous time we had there this article is all about the talented makers from the mountains and valleys of Cymru!

These earrings remind me of the swallows swooping all around the river at the back of our holiday home and they are made from recycled materials, so they have an eco heart too!


The countryside of Wales is stunning, mountainous, yet lush, imposing, yet charming and no Welsh showcase would be complete without the work of Lynwood Crafts; her detailed brooches are stunning and as my baby is called Violet, how could I resist including this piece?

The ancient house we were staying in was at the foot of a deep gorge and we had a 60 ft waterfall at the bottom of the garden; which was stunning. The garden was a wonderful place to sit and watch the wrens tending to their nests in the cracks in the gorge and Whimsical Wren’s summer bracelet is a lovely reminder of the magic of this summer garden.

The garden was also great for the gang of kids to play in (5 including ours!) and they would have had great fun playing with this soft tea set from Cwtch who is based in Cardiff (where I had a first date with my future husband).

This funky camera case has been included in honor of the amazing amount of ice cream the kids managed to consume in a week! They had at least 1 a day!

We always take a large amount of craft stuff for the kids to play with on the inevitable rainy day and this French crochet dolly would have gone down very well with the older girls!

As it was they made a lot of jewellery on the rainy days, but none as accomplished as the lovely work of Maxine!

It was a bit cold of an evening, so some of Teabreaks crochet would have come in handy to cuddle up with!

Wales is an ancient country, full of myths and legends from the Celtic past and Fflwcs interpretations of the characters from these tales would be great to fuel the imagination of the little ones (I have my eye on these for Christmas).

Holidays go far too fast and I always wish we could stretch time so not to have to return to real life so soon. There is so much to see in Wales, we visited castles, country homes, children’s farms, unspoiled beaches and an iron age fort. Diolch Cymru (thank you Wales) we will be back to see you soon! In the meantime I will keep my eye out for more talent from the lush valleys of my husbands home land!

Etsy Lights

December 24, 2009 :: Posted by - Sue :: Category - Favs

From the publisher, HAPPY HOLIDAYS to everyone! Enjoy this amazing “Ets Lights” slideshow that was put together by LindaGJ she is so wonderfully creative and puts so much effort into her beautiful slideshows…so all of us can enjoy!

Thanks for stopping by Indiesmiles and we hope that you do return soon! em>

By Contributing Columnist LindaGJ aka LindaGJ

Lights from a few of the Etsy Artists
One of the things I look forward to during the Christmas time of year are all the enchanting beautiful lights that gives me this overwhelmingly magical feeling that I wish would last all year. No matter what religion you believe in, if you are happy or sad, all is welcome to enjoy the bright lights of Christmas. I just had to visit Etsy.com to see what kind of Handmade Lights were portrayed by these wonderful artisans. Wow, I was not disappointed at all in what I found! All the ingredients I needed were there to make up this recipe of my Enchanting, Beautiful, Overwhelmingly Magical Feeling that I wish could last all year!

This slide video is only a handful of what I found. If you are interested in visiting and/or purchasing any of these shops portrayed in the video, please point your mouse over the image and it will freeze the picture so you can jot down their shop address!

ENJOY THIS SEASON & MAKE IT LAST ALL YEAR ROUND!

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Lucky Handmade Bacon…

December 06, 2009 :: Posted by - Sue :: Category - Biz Advice - Get Noticed!, Contests

…brought us a W I N N E R in the Cartoon Caption Contest!

By Susan Rosen, Publisher
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The winner GreenCleanShop of Etsy, came up with this winning caption:
“Oh no, my handmade Pig broke! “Can I turn this into handmade bacon and sell it on Etsy?”

Wow, I hope everyone enjoyed the fun cartoon contest as much as the group at Indiesmiles did! As you know, everyone that entered needed to choose a cartoon out of the two cartoons that were provided and then add a cute or funny caption. Two independent judges chose their favorite and then a coin was flipped (using an online randomizer).

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I interviewed Jessica of the GreenCleanShop and I thought you would love to hear about her cool shop and her thoughts on Indiesmiles!

Jessica, how did you hear about the cartoon “caption” contest?
I heard about the contest through the Black Friday fan page. I just thought it’d be fun to enter.

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Have you been to the Indiesmiles website prior to the contest?
Yes, I advertised on the site and also browsed through the shops.

What are your thoughts on Indiesmiles and the Coupon Directory?
I love it. I’ve told my friends and family to check out the directory look for shops to buy Christmas presents from.

Do you think it’s important for Indie shop owners to advertise their handmade and vintage shops?
It is so important! If people aren’t aware of our shops, they can’t purchase from us. It’s our responsibility to inform people of the benefits to shopping handmade and vintage.

I then asked “GreenClean” to talk about her shop and how she markets (or intend to markets) her shop name to keep it fresh in buyers minds!

I recently was interviewed on for a filler story on the Channel 6 news here in Tulsa, Oklahoma. They run that story at least once a week which is great!

I have a lot of word-of-mouth advertising.

I hand out business cards to the cashiers when I’m checking out with my supplies. They always want to know what I’m doing with it.

I also post flyers where I can.

Would you reconmend the coupon directory to other Indie shops, and will you be returning to the coupon directory and other advertising venues on Indiesmiles?

“Indiesmiles Coupon Directory was great for my Black Friday sale. While it’s not in my marketing plan at this current moment, I hope to include it in my revised plan for 2010.”

Congratulations goes to Jessica because she won all these wonderful goodies! Yay!

Handmade Bacon Image courtesy of hmmmbymel

Shop for handmade ornaments!

November 26, 2009 :: Posted by - Sue :: Category - Shoppers village

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By contributing columnist Megan Eckman aka Studiomme

Many of my friends graduated in May and this will be their first Christmas truly on their own. As such, this means I’ll be sending them all ornaments to decorate their trees or wreaths or the bundle of pipe-cleaners they’re calling trees.

My mother started a tradition when I was little to buy my brother and I an ornament a year so that when we move out, we will have enough to fill our first trees. That’s why I think it’s so important to buy unique, handmade ornaments that will become keepsakes.

When choosing an ornament for a friend, their household, as well as their personality, must be taken into account. Do they have small children? If so, make sure the ornament won’t shatter and has no sharp edges. Do they have pets? If so, shy away from ones made with edible or smelly materials. I had a gingerbread man ornament made from cookies that my cat decided to try and eat last year, so I’m one less decoration now. Are they vegan? If so, what materials went into the ornament? Small considerations like this will negate any incidents that could come up once the tree is decorated.

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Etsy can certainly meet any and all of these needs and guarantee you a unique and creative ornament that will bring smiles for years.

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You can also check out the Indiesmiles Coupon Directory for some great sales and discounts on many Holiday gifts!

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Pictures courtesy of:

“Live Moss Glass Ornament” by ShaneLilyRain

“Recycled circuit board ornaments” by DebbyAremDesigns

“Red plaid chubbikin ornament” by Erinaellis