SUNDAY BRUNCH

Breakfast is my favourite meal of the day. During the week, mornings are rather a panic: children grabbing cereals and toast at somewhat different times on their way out to school, my husband oh! so Italian-ish-ly sipping just a tiny cup of Espresso, and I burning myself with hot tea and often even forgetting to grab a bite. So there's nothing quite like sitting down quietly (?!) well OK, noisily, with the whole family to a colourful, yummy Sunday brunch.

We find for you

Today I WANT SUN!

EtsyItaliaTeam is a very bubbly and active group of Italian artists, actively and daily discussing style, beauty, and crafting. Come and see our special finds for you today, all chosen with love and care amongst the crème de la crème of Italian, one-of-a-kind handicraft.
clockwise from top let:
1. VERITYUNMONDOAPARTE - handmade flower vases for wall decor
2. SCACCOALLEREGINE - sun ice crystals
3. KNITTINGCATE - Baby girl crocheted yellow bikini
4. BABYCARE - Yellow Booties with Shining Blue Stars

Front Page: yipee!

Thank you so much BacaCara, for taking me "up there" with you: to the Etsy Front Page. Wow, you really made my day!


Thank you so much ScaccoAlleRegine for making FP, and taking me with you!

CHERISH THE WORLD WE HAVE

Coming up on 22nd April is Earth Day: a day of celebration of our amazing Mother Earth, and a way to rekindle our awareness about our environment.

Come see all the lovelies the Italian Team on Etsy has come up with this week to promote Earth Day.


left to right, top to bottom:
NANOFACTORY "water is life" brooch
LABSPACE "down to earth" mini-purse
VALERIATELIER "recycled papier-maché brooch"
SCACCOALLEREGINE "loving the world" necklace

HAPPY LabSpace USERS

Today I would like to share with you what happens to the little LabSpace pouches once they leave my fizzy, simmering Laboratory Space in Rome!

Very glamorous lady, Monica M., used her LabSpace shantung silk pouch on her skiing holiday: "My lovely iPhone pouch is just perfect and very much of use on Chamonix slopes."


London's tip-top hair stylist Charlie C. has his LabSpace handmade leather belt-pouch with him at the restaurant. He also wrote me: "I love my iPhone pouch; it went with me everywhere during london fashion week.... thank you Rachel xx"



Guy H., extensive world-traveller living in the Far-East takes his pinstriped LabSpace belt-pouch on all of his travels. He says: "I really love the sobriety and impeccable finish of this pouch. Very useful because in hot weather conditions I often do not wear a jacket and my trouser pockets can end up stuffed with too many objects. This pouch allows me to wear my iPhone under my floating shirt--- and it's almost a pity it disappears from view!"


Margherita R., sportsy roman biker, keeps her iPhone cosy in her LabSpace iPouch, tucked underneath her leather jacket.


My beautiful friend Sabrina T. waves to us from Switzerland during her sunny Sunday morning walk and says: "This was taken earlier this morning, gorgeous weather but fierce wind, iphone nice 'n snug though..."


Isabella H. from Rome, Italy, loves to use her LabSpace pouch when she takes her dog for a stroll. "It's just the right size to fit my phone, my keys and a few treats for my four-legged friend."


Greta H., who lives in Texas, USA, says: "I love my LabSpace pouches! The colours, the raw silk. Very useful not only for my iPhone, but also as a little hand pouch for lip gloss, comb, tissue, pen, paper, etc.". Greta sent me these pictures on her way home from the NASCAR Race.



"TEA & CHI" Angela J. from Vancouver, Canada, is one of the most amazingly charismatic women I have ever met: she is a Chi-Running and Marathon coach, Iron (wo)Man, musician and businesswoman (she has a business in health-enhancing Rooibos Tea). I am so proud that she finds her LabSpace pouch useful when zapping around on her energy and action-packed days. Read all about her on her personal website.


For beautiful Ilaria R. from Torino, Italy, whether it be work

or "play"
her LabSpace pouch is in her day!

Thank you so much my friends for sending in your pictures. If you are also a "Happy User" and would like to be published on this blog, "send'em on in" by email to rachel.h[at]tin.it

FRONTPAGE FRENZY!

(My Sakura pouch is featured here)

One of the things you learn on Etsy pretty quickly when you participate in the Forums is that it is highly desirable to end up on the Front Page (FP) of Etsy, because this considerably increases your shop exposure. I kept reading about FPs and wondering whether I would ever end up there... In fact I already HAD, but didn't know it!
Thank you to Kosmika for including me in your lovely Treasury.

my new creation: BUTTON ME AROUND little purse

Kraplap from P8 Buttons & Fabrics got to to choose the EST-team Challenge theme this week: Buttons!



In case any of my readers are not familiar with these terms:
TEAM: artists who have a "virtual shop" on Etsy can decide to adhere to groups with common factors (for example, geographical location, or type of creations, like dollmaking, jewelry making, clothesmaking). I myself am part of ETSYITALIATEAM (craftspeople from Italy) and EST (European Street Team) (craftspeople from Europe in general).
CHALLENGE: within the teams we periodically give each other themes as a way to stimulate our creativity and stretch our artistic capabilities, it is a fun way to kick-start inspiration in case it lacks, and to then discuss our creations and give them publicity through our various blogs and networking channels (Twitter, Flickr, Facebook, etc.)

So! This was my equation:
(little pouches + buttons) x recycled materials = the "BUTTON ME AROUND!" bag

Read more about the challenge and see the other entries on Kraplap's blog.

Kraplap di P8 Buttons & Fabrics ha scelto questa settimana la sfida per l'EST-team: Bottoni!

Per chi tra i miei lettori non avesse dimestichezza con questi termini:
TEAM: artisti che hanno su Etsy un negozio virtuale possono iscriversi a dei gruppi con punti in comune (che possono essere ad esempio il luogo geografico, o ol tipo di creazione, ad esempio creazione di bambole, di gioielli, di abbigliamento..) Per parte mia faccio parte diETSYITALIATEAM (creatori italiani) e EST (European Street Team) (creatori europei)
SFIDA (cosidetta "CHALLENGE"): all'interno dei team ci poniamo ad intervalli dei temi come punto di partenza di una nuova creazione. E' un ottimo modo di espandere la nostra creatività o di stimolarla qualora dovesse languire. Ci da poi la popssibilità di interagire discutendo di quello che abbiamo fatto e poi pubblicizzandolo sui vari blogs e networks (Twitter, Flickr, Facebook, etc.)

Quindi! Questa fu la mia equazione:
(borsette + bottoni) x materiali di recupero = la borsetta "BUTTON ME AROUND!"

Per maggiori informazioni sul challenge e per vedere le altre entries vai sul blog di Kraplap.