Fireworks Challenge

Sit back & watch the Fireworks fly this month with these explosive creations from the North Georgia Street Team.

Choose your favorite from the group below & you will be entered in a contest to win one of these fabulous prize packs made up of some awesome items from Team NorGA shops. Here’s what you could win:

Fireworks Prize Pack #1

Fireworks Prize Pack #1

5×7 Print of Fireworks from CyberGirl5710, Skull & Crossbones Luggage Tag or Work ID from JudyBagCompany, Citronella Scented Soy Candle Tin from WorthySoyCandles, 6 Marble Push Pins from AliciasColors, Star Brooch from Smooshy.

Fireworks Prize Pack #2

Fireworks Prize Pack #2

Sunflower Card from SmellyRhino, Knit Wash Cloth from FoxyGKnits, Lizard Magnet from ElephunksEyes, Citronella Scented Soy Candle Tin from WorthySoyCandles & Peach Earrings from SeedlingsJewelry.

Below is our collection of Fireworks challenge entries. To view the entries close-up, you can click on the links below the mosiac. That will take you to the Etsy listing for the item where you can see more pictures, get more details & even purchase the item if you like! You can vote once between now and midnight EST on Tuesday, July 7, 2009. Note voting rules: Everyone, including Team NorGA members, may vote for a favorite entry. If you have entered a piece in this challenge, you are not eligible to vote. The challenge winner will be announced on July 8th, 2009.

1. Baby’s First 4th of July Bib by ThePlaidPolkaDot.

2. Sunburst Reversible Bucket Hat by ElephunksTrunk.

3. Reversible Fourth of July Pillowcase Dress by CelloRaisen.

4. Fading Firecrackers Shrug by WorthySoyCandles.

5. Steampunk Fireworks Machine Pretty Lady Set by SeedlingsJewelry.

6. Fireworks Reusable Coffee Cup Sleeve by MissMooseDesign.

7. Pillow – Sparkler by Smooshy.

How To Enter:

  • Simply make a comment on this post and tell us what your favorite item is.
  • Be sure to leave your contact information (Email, Etsy shop, etc.) Any entries without a way to contact the person will be disqualified.
  • You get 1 entry for leaving a comment. Only 1 entry per person/email

Note: Contest open to legal US residents, 18+ years old. Void where prohibited by law. Odds of winning depends on how many valid entries are received. Winner will be chosen using Random.org’s Integer Generator. First Place winner will get to choose which of the 2 prize packs they want to receive. 2nd place winner will receive the other pack.  No purchase necessary & purchase will not increase your chances of winning.

Shortly after the contest ends, the winner will be contacted. If you do not respond to the message that you won the prize within 72 hours, a new winner will be selected. Contest ends at Midnight EST July 7th, 2009.

*** Search “Team NorGA June” on Etsy.com for more great Fireworks items ***

Be sure to check back between the 1st & the 7th of next month when the Challenge will be Aquatic!

(Please note your comments must be approved, this keeps our spam down, so if you dont see yours right away don’t worry!)

Congratulations, Maryum!

The North Georgia Street Team would like to congratulate Maryum from SweetDesignsByMaryum.Etsy.com for being the winner of the Hendricks’ Hearth Blog Contest. Congratulations, Maryum! We hope you enjoy your prize.

Fire and Ice Collection

I was an English major in college.  And for that, I can get a cup of coffee for $1.75 and a loaf of bread for $2.00 – if I am lucky.   (My ex-husband used to refer to me as Lois the Literati, but that is a whole ‘nother Oprah show).  I am sure that my parents are SO proud that for all the money they spent on my education, I can find just the perfect poem to go with the Team NorGA Fire and Ice Collection:

Fire and Ice

Some say the world will end in fire,

Some say in ice.

From what I’ve tasted of desire

I hold with those who favor fire.

But if it had to perish twice,

I think I know enough of hate

To say that for destruction ice

Is also great

And would suffice.

-Robert Frost

worthysoycandles made this cool, vintage looking shrug in the fire-inspired colors of red, orange and yellow.

Fire Flower Shrug
Fire Flower Shrug

Fireblend is part of HendricksHearth aromatherapy line and is a warm and sensual combination of Ylang Ylang and Vanilla Essential Oils.  These spa-bath salts and botanical milk bath are just what you need to detoxify and rejuvenate.

Fire Blend

Fire Blend Botanical Milk Bath and Spa Salts

When you’re hot – you’re hot!  This bright and summery necklace was created with orange glass beads, fire opal Swarovski crystals and blue silver-lined glass seed beads by jewelicide.

Tangerine Dream Necklace

Tangerine Dream Necklace

And what is fire without fire trucks, ambulances and police cars?  This cute bib by CoonAndCole is 100% cotton through and through.

Ambulances, Fire Trucks and Police Cars Bib

Ambulances, Fire Trucks and Police Cars Bib

Ice Ice Baby Ring by JazzBloom is a very pretty light blue round chalcedony stone nestled around gold wire.  It can also be made using copper or sterling silver.

Ice Ice Baby Ring

Ice Ice Baby Ring

Ice Cold Mint Balsam and Fresh Evergreen Soap is crisp, cool and inviting.  Handmade by Hartleysoap, it is sure to awaken your senses and bring back memories of the smoky mountains.
Ice Cold Mint Balsam and Fresh Evergreen Soap

Ice Cold Mint Balsam and Fresh Evergreen Soap

Ice Princess Earrings by AFineDistraction are composed of beautiful faceted white opal Czech glass fire-polished beads, adorned with antiqued silver bead caps and dangling from pretty antiqued silver pewter connectors.
Ice Princess Earrings

Ice Princess Earrings

Designed by jamilary, Galaxy Ice Set is a combination of quartz beads and crystals.  Necklace and earrings can be purchased either as a set or individually.

Galaxy Ice Set

Galaxy Ice Set

Have you ever been inspired by fire or ice?

Seller Bio: Hendricks Hearth

www.HendricksHearth.Etsy.com

Tell us a Little about yourself?
My name is Lauren Hendricks and I was born and raised in S. Florida. I was very fortunate in that I was able to grow up in a very lush location, just beside the Atlantic ocean. It was quite fitting as I have always been in love with the natural world, and because of my environment I was able to spend most of my time immersed in it. I currently live just east of Atlanta, Georgia and although completely different from the world I grew up in, Georgia is beautiful in its own right.  I particularly adore the northern part of the state where the lovely Blue Ridge mountains begin and some of the scenery can completely take my breath away.  I dream of one day owning and operating an organic working farm on hundreds of rolling, pastoral acres.

Besides the great outdoors, I love animals (especially dogs and horses) and can usually be found at the barn tending my sweet adopted Clydesdale when I am not at home. As I mentioned above, I very believe in sustainable agriculture and grow my own organic garden every year that supplies us with fresh heirloom vegetables along with both fresh and dried organic herbs for cooking and my bath and body recipes. I also enjoy knitting and baking from time to time. In a world filled with uncertainty, I feel blessed to have a wonderful husband, a little house to call our own, and food on the table. I am thankful for the wonderful people I have met through soap-crafting and am so honored by those that decide to try our products.

How Did you get Started Doing What you Do?

I have very fair, sensitive skin as you can see in my pictures. I used to go through ten brands of soap whenever I had to pick a new one before I could find one that I could actually use without suffering ill effects. With that said, my husband is ten times worse and it seemed like we were always battling his skin sensitivities on some level. I had always believed that natural or organic was the way to go when possible anyway, and one day I decided that I could do better than any commercial manufacturing operation with the right dedication, research, and ingredients. So I spent approximately six months learning what I could online and through books and then I made my first batch of soap. It was a disaster, really. I miscalculated the oil amounts and it never fully cured properly, but I was determined. The next batch worked perfectly, but an addiction had taken hold. I kept finding things I could do better or ingredients I could change that would make the “perfect” bar of soap and soon I had shelves filled with curing bars. I decided to give some to friends and family and shortly after, I had requests for more with rave reviews. Then their friends wanted some too, and so it began.

How Did you Pick Your Shop Name?
Our home has two traditional stone fireplaces in it and I spend so much of my time in my kitchen/hearth area working that it seemed fitting to name the shop Hendricks’ Hearth.

What makes your items special/unique?
Soap (or any bath and body item for that matter) is a funny thing. It is one of those items that you can go just about anywhere to purchase. But there is an enormous difference between what you can buy at local grocery story versus what you can find from a local artisan soapcrafter. Commercial soaps really should be called detergent bars to be more accurate. They typically have their skin-loving glycerin removed (to be sold for additional profit) while fillers and synthetic detergents are added in its place. These chemicals clean, but often by stripping moisture and are potentially harmful, to boot. For contrast, handmade soaps are typically made from scratch out of quality ingredients and luscious butters. The naturally-occurring glycerin remains intact, a super-fat percentage is added to provide additional skin-benefits, and the resulting soap is surprisingly more luxurious than even the “best” store-bought brand. There are many quality handmade soaps out there; all I can say is that I have been working on my own recipes for quite some time; they are tried and true, with organic, sustainable ingredients used whenever possible. I superfat every batch with the most creamy, decadent butters and oils I can with great attention to detail.

Is there anything else we should know?
I currently offer a full line of bath and body products such as lathering cold-process bar soaps, creamy whipped soaps and butters, nourishing lip balms and vegan deodorants, lovely dry fragrances, and more. I work with both fragrance oils and essential oils, always have vegan options available, and 10% of our sales are donated to Heifer International. I welcome any inquiries and from our hearth to yours, thank you for your interest!

CONTEST INFO:

Thank you for reading my bio! When you have a moment, please stop by my shop at http://www.hendrickshearth.etsy.com and have a look around. Then, return to the blog and leave a comment about which item and fragrance is your favorite and why. By doing so, you will be entered into a contest for one free item from the shop. The winner will be chosen randomly; they can let me know their selection after they are notified, and I will ship it for free to them as a thank you for their time and feedback.

Congratulations, Lauren!

The North Georgia Street Team would like to congratulate Lauren from HendricksHearth.Etsy.com for being the winner of the Smooshy Blog Contest. Congratulations, Lauren! We hope you enjoy your prize.

Seller Bio: Smooshy

www.Smooshy.Etsy.com

Tell us a Little about yourself?

My name is Christina Donaghy and I am a married mother of three kids, all under the age of eight. I grew up traveling up and down the East coast, following my sailor dad. (I’m a Navy brat!) In addition to sewing, I love to bake and watch zombie movies, though not at the same time. I enjoy yoga when I can, and love a good book. My ideal day, though, is spent driving through the Georgia Mountains with my husband, dreaming of building a cabin in the woods!

How Did you get Started Doing What you Do?

I’ve always loved making things.  I would make furniture for my Barbies out of cardboard.  I devoured any craft kit my parents would buy me.  When I got older, my attention turned to art.  After joining the Air Force, though, I no longer had time for creativity.  It wasn’t until after I left the military, got married, and got pregnant with my first son that I started to revisit some of the activities I once loved.

How Did you Pick Your Shop Name?

The shop name came from my old blog name, which came from watching my cats chew on my yarn.  My first blog was called “Smooshy Knit” because my knits were always a little…wet.  When my knitting started to take a back seat to my sewing, I dropped the “Knit.”

What makes your items special/unique?

I can’t say what makes them special or unique, because I’m not sure what that really means. I just do what I do. I try to put a lot of detail into my work, but I’m sure everyone does! :) What makes a person’s work special is because each person sees and approaches their craft from a different perspective. Our work is as unique as we are!

Is there anything else we should know?

I participated in knitting the Largest Sock in the World.  I’m not sure if it’s finished yet.  I was still pregnant with my youngest, almost two years ago, when the sock visited Only Ewe and Cotton Too.  (Great store, btw.)

CONTEST INFO:

Smooshy.Etsy.com will be giving away my “Snazzy Lil’Lady” brooch.  Readers must comment on their favorite item in her shop, and of those people who participate, a winner will randomly selected. Leave your comment before midnight on Saturday, June 20, 2009 & the winner will be announced on Sunday, June 21st.

Congratulations, Kelly!

The North Georgia Street Team would like to congratulate Kelly from KellysClayCreations.Etsy.com for being the winner of the Sweet Designs By Maryum Blog Contest. Congratulations, Kelly! We hope you enjoy your prize.

Seller Bio: Sweet Designs by Maryum

www.SweetDesignsByMaryum.Etsy.com

Tell us a Little about yourself?
I am a stay at home mom to two precious gems, a 3 year old girl and an 18 month old boy. They keep me very busy and give me a run for my money everyday. Never a dull moment in this house. I grew up in Boston, MA and we have slowly navigated south to GA, where we have called home for just over a year now. I sort of found my hobby of sewing about 3 years ago shortly after having my daughter.

How Did you get Started Doing What you Do?
My husband is one of those guys that has tons of hobbies and when we got together I realized that I really had none, unless you call shopping a hobby. I set out on a mission to find a hobby, only to be sadly disappointed that everything I picked just did not interest me at all. When I was pregnant with my daughter I found all this cute boutique stuff I just loved but the prices stopped me from purchasing any of it and decided I could just make it myself, how hard can it be, right? Boy was I wrong. ha ha. My husband bought me my a sewing machine for my very first Mother’s Day and as giddy as a school girl set out on my “projects”. I think my first dress took me months to finish and I STILL have it to remind me of how t
errible it came out. After my son was born we decided it was time to make that move south we always wanted and alas I became a stay at home mom. That’s when I dusted off that machine and started to make all sorts of stuff and with practice I actually started to get good at it. Who knew, I had finally found a hobby I loved.

How Did you Pick Your Shop Name?
My shop name really just came to me one day when tossing around ideas of what to call my “store”.  I always say how “sweet” and “cute” these little clothes are so there came “Sweet Designs By Maryum”. Not the most original but it says what I feel.

What makes your items special/unique?
Most of what I have created or recreated for that matter came from ideas being tossed around between my friends and I when or an idea from something I saw. I love trying to match fabrics together and being different.

CONTEST INFO:
Comment below on your favorite item from www.SweetDesignsByMaryum.Etsy.com for your chance to win a gift certificate to be applied towards any item in my shop for $15. One time use, no balance to be carried forward. Winner will be chosen at random using Random.org. All entries must be received by Midnight, Saturday, June 13th. Winner will be announced on Sunday, June 14th.

Congratulations Sun, Moon & Stars Winners!!!

Without further ado, our celestial conquerers were…

1st Place: SeedlingsJewelry.Etsy.com

1st Place: SeedlingsJewelry.Etsy.com

2nd Place: Smooshy.Etsy.com

2nd Place: Smooshy.Etsy.com

3rd Place: KellysClayCreations.Etsy.com

3rd Place: KellysClayCreations.Etsy.com

Our fabulous voter winners this month were Renata & Amberly. A big North Georgia congratulations goes out to both of you!

Be sure to keep checking this blog for more chances to win all month long! Our next Monthly challenge voting will begin on July 1st with the theme “Fireworks”

Sun, Moon & Stars Challenge

The North Georgia Street Team has gone to the moon & back to bring you this sweet celestial creations!

Choose your favorite from the group below & you will be entered in a contest to win one of these fabulous prize packs made up of some awesome items from Team NorGA shops. Here’s what you could win:

Sun, Moon & Stars Prize Pack #1

Sun, Moon & Stars Prize Pack #1

Fuzzy Butts- Dog Folk Art 11×14 Print from ArtisticPaws23, Fiber Art Post Card from DebiDesigns, Hearts & Mushrooms Velcro Pouch from Dingogirl66, Baby Magnet from KellysClayCreations, & Black & White Wire Wrapped Glass Bracelet from AliciaG.

Sun, Moon & Stars Prize Pack #2

Sun, Moon & Stars Prize Pack #2

Hearts & Sparrows Velcro Pouch from Dingogirl66, Cotton Washcloths from FoxyGKnits, Moon Lake Musk Scented Soy Candle from WorthySoyCandles, & Cocoa Soap from HartleySoap.

Below is our collection of Sun, Moon & Stars challenge entries. To view the entries close-up, you can click on the links below the mosiac. That will take you to the Etsy listing for the item where you can see more pictures, get more details & even purchase the item if you like! You can vote once between now and midnight EST on Sunday, June 7, 2009. Note voting rules: Everyone, including Team NorGA members, may vote for a favorite entry. If you have entered a piece in this challenge, you are not eligible to vote. The challenge winner will be announced on June 8th, 2009.

1. Stars (ACEO) by AlchemistArt

2. Sun & Stars T-Shirt Tucker Inner by CelloRaisen

3. Sparkling Moonlight Hemp Necklace with Alligator Clasp by WorthySoyCandles

4. Fun & Funky Pin Cushion by BloomHillBaby

5. Star Spangled Cuff by Smooshy

6. Summer Solstice Goddess Shawl Wrap by FoxyGKnits

7. Sleeping Baby Keepsake by KellysClayCreations

8. Across the Universe Bracelet by SeedlingsJewelry

9. Celestial Ceason Melancholy OOAK by DingoGirl66

How To Enter:

  • Simply make a comment on this post and tell us what your favorite item is.
  • Be sure to leave your contact information (Email, Etsy shop, etc.) Any entries without a way to contact the person will be disqualified.
  • You get 1 entry for leaving a comment. Only 1 entry per person/email

Note: Contest open to legal US residents, 18+ years old. Void where prohibited by law. Odds of winning depends on how many valid entries are received. Winner will be chosen using Random.org’s Integer Generator. First Place winner will get to choose which of the 2 prize packs they want to receive. 2nd place winner will receive the other pack.  No purchase necessary & purchase will not increase your chances of winning.

Shortly after the contest ends, the winner will be contacted. If you do not respond to the message that you won the prize within 72 hours, a new winner will be selected. Contest ends at Midnight EST June 7th, 2009.

*** Search “Team NorGA May” on Etsy.com for more great Sun, Moon & Stars items ***

Be sure to check back between the 1st & the 7th of next month when the Challenge will be Fireworks!

(Please note your comments must be approved, this keeps our spam down, so if you dont see yours right away don’t worry!)