It's been a while.

Wow, September? That's the last time I posted? That's pitiful, hahaha.
The holiday rush has left my shop mostly empty (yay for that, though now I have a loooot of catching up to do), and things have died down now that it's a few days from Christmas. Therefore, I had a moment to pause and look through my fellow Etsians' shops. And you may know by now that I love to highlight unsung artisans, so where on Etsy did I go? Pounce, of course! :)
I found quite a few good shops that have not yet had their first sale (most have opened late this year, though).
Take a look with me, and see what I found:

From the shop of naturalammolite

From the shop of compassrosejewelry

From the shop of gelatinsilversurfer

From the shop of petitdecorllc

From the shop of upcycler



I could go on and on, but I had best stop there for the night; it's getting late.

Take care, and happy holidays!

Excuse me while I scrape my jaw off the floor.

I got the thrill of my life today. I checked out Etsy's main page, and noticed the Spotlight article was on Asian inspired goods, so I decided to check it out seeing as I have a common interest.
Many lovely Asian-inspired items graced my eye, and when I scrolled down just slightly, my eyes fell upon....

...a pair of my own chopsticks.


...Wait, what?! Am I dreaming?

Yes, these were part of the Storque's latest Spotlight collection, and I am unbelievably honored.
It's the kind of thing you always hope for, the kind of thing you think will probably never happen to you. The feeling is incredible. The listing got 43 hearts in one day. Wow.
Understand, I'm not trying to brag. I wish all handmade artists could feel what I'm feeling now. I'm just so dizzy with excitement, I have to share the news!
If you want to see the Storque post, check it out here.

A bit unusual, a bit lovely. A bit Unintentional.

In Etsy chat tonight I came across a budding Etsian, Unintentional, with all of four sales currently. Being as I like to support those who are starting out, and I LOVE a bit of oddity, I'm definitely showing off this shop. Take a look at these samples of her shop, and visit her shop at the bottom of this post:

Earrings from bullet casings! How creative!

These earrings...

...and this bracelet use resistors in their design. Colorful!

Visit Unintentional's shop at:

http://www.unintentional.etsy.com/

Another Blog Facelift

I was looking through some blog templates online and came across this one. I think I'm in love. What do you think of the new look?

How to make your own "training" chopsticks

Also known as "cheater" chopsticks, training chopsticks are basically just to help folks get familiar with the use of them. They're more like training wheels, you could say. There are some for sale online made in all one piece, which is handy except for the fact that you don't have the option of not using the trainer.

  This simple set of instructions allows you to use your own chopsticks, and a couple of small items around your house, to make a quick set of training chopsticks. All you need are chopsticks (which I can help you out with, naturally. http://www.windandrain.etsy.com/. Just a suggestion. ^-^ ), a rubber band (the smaller the better), and a small piece of paper (one of those mini notebook pages or a post-it note works nicely). Got all that? Here we go!

Step 1.

Wrap your rubber band around the large end of a pair of chopsticks. Wrap it just tightly enough that it securely holds the two together, but not so tightly that it is a struggle to pull them apart. (In other words, don't make it harder on yourself!)

Step 2.
Fold your piece of scrap paper into a small rectangle (the smaller and fatter the better) and slide it up between the two chopsticks, just under the rubber band. This will force the two chopsticks apart, thus creating a "spring" effect.

Step 3.

Hold the chopsticks as you normally would (see the photo for a better idea) and press them together to hold food. Voila`! See? That was painless. (Unless you popped yourself with the rubber band. Ouch.)

Hope this helps! Have fun.

Handmade Tea Bowls

This time I did a search for Japanese style tea bowls. The selection was impressive, to say the least. Here's a few for you to feast your eyes on.

Photo and item by http://gregjohnsonporcelain.etsy.com/

Photo and item by http://potterybyjolene.etsy.com/

Photo and item by http://jeffguerrero.etsy.com/

Photo and item by http://amyhalkoceramics.etsy.com/

Photo and item by http://newmoonstudio.etsy.com/

And that's all for now!

Be sure to visit their shops and check out the rest of their pottery as well.

(And check out my own shop at http://windandrain.etsy.com/)

Handmade Sushi plates

Furthering the idea I had of looking up handmade chopstick rests, here's some sushi plates to entice you. If you do a search for sushi plates on etsy, you'll see that there is quite honestly, a TON of them. It was really, really hard to decide, but here's a sampling, at least. If you want to see more, check out Etsy and see what you like.

Photo and item by: http://kooymandesigns.etsy.com/

Photo and item by: http://thepaintinglibra.etsy.com/

Photo and item by: http://pastanaut.etsy.com/

Photo and item by: http://susanrothschild.etsy.com/

Photo and item by: http://cannelleetleon.etsy.com/

As stated before, this is the tip of the iceburg.

Hey. Since you're heading to Etsy, why don't you stop by my shop as well?

It's the same ol' http://windandrain.etsy.com/

Have fun. :)

An Update on Chickens

Okay, time to bore you with more pictures of my little chicks. Now they're about 2 weeks old, and my how they have grown! You'll have to excuse my over-excitement, but I'm quite delighted in my little ones. (Just humor me.) :)

handmade Chopstick Rests (..not mine.)

I decided to do a search of chopstick rests under the Handmade catergory on Etsy, and here's some of the more awesome ones I found.I of course make my own chopstick rests that come free with purchase of my chopsticks, but some of you might find another that you'd like to use to make your set more unique. Shop links are listed below each picture. :)

Shop and photo by: http://pendantsandmore4u.etsy.com/

Shop and photo by: http://goldenjester.etsy.com/

Shop and photo by: http://sumiko.etsy.com/

Shop and photo by: http://yevgenia.etsy.com/

Shop and photo by: http://jojo2238.etsy.com/

Pay 'em a visit sometime.

Yay, pictures!

Hey, it's spring again! Time for more rainy-day photos.
Also, I modified my unused greenhouse into a chicken coop, so I have some adorable little additions to the family now. They are straight run mixed, so who knows what they are just yet. The surprise when they get older is part of the excitement of it all, I think. (Just so you know, the chicks are separated in two 3 x 3 hutches for now as they are of different ages. Later on they'll be released into the full length coop.)

And now, the chicks...