Happy 5th Monday!!!

Sleigh bells ring, are ya listening?
On Cyber Monday the mice are clickin!
It's a beautiful sight,
You'll be happy tonight,
ETC's 5th Monday Sale!!!

Yes, today is one of those rare 5th Mondays in a month (how rare? well, there were only 4 this year & there will only be 4 next year as well).

To celebrate this special day, ETC has designated this to be $5 Monday.....on the fifth Monday of every month, we feature items in our shops that are only $5. This could be their regular price or a special 1-day-only sale price.

This month, we have more than 50 shops participating in this event, and the last time I checked, there were more than 750 items tagged with ETC5....yep, that's how you'll find these great deals, just search Etsy for *ALL* items with the tag ETC5.

Congratulations & Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Congratulations to our November Gratitude Design Challenge Winner, CraftyAngi for her Thankful Wooden Scrapbook Album! As her prize, Angela will be receiving Freshwater Pearl Earrings, donated by ViolaAndJean.

The remaining places and their prizes are as follows:

2nd Place = Pink Flowering Trees by NatureInPastels
Prize = $25 gift card to her Etsy shop, donated by Spluloacle

3rd Place = Appreciating the Audience by Carapace
Prize = Soldered Charm Necklace, donated by WrightHandy

4th Place = Sharon by TheIDConnection
Prize = Sm Bandana & Visor Set + Surprise, donated by EarlyBird454

Thanks, again, to all who supported this month's project, especially our entrants and our generous prize donors!

Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!!!

Tuesday Tutorial - Recycled Dimples Ornament

Why did I choose this tutorial to share with you, you may be asking? Several reasons, actually. First and foremost, I LOVE the name! Second, I also LOVE Christmas ornaments! And finally, well, Angie Hall Haviland is one of our many talented members and expert tutorial-writers!!!

Now, take a good look at the photo of this project.....can you tell what the base of this ornament is? Do you know what a "dimple" is? I'll give you one hint...NO, it's not a lid! Give up???? Click HERE to find out and to read Angie's tutorial for these wonderfully creative ornaments. Be sure to add this one to your favorites, 'cuz you're gonna want to make a boat-load of these.....I know I do!!!

Thanks for tutorial, Angie!

Time to vote!!!

It's the 4th Monday of the month, which means it's Design Challenge time again. This month's theme? GRATITUDE!!!

Click HERE to check out this month's entries and cast your vote. For those of you who have joined us in the past, voting is a bit different this time.... Since we only have four entries, we are asking folks to rank the entries in order from their Most Favorite to their Least Favorite. That's right... you get to cast a vote for all four entries!

Thank you to this month's entrants, Carapace, CraftyAngi, NatureInPastels, and TheIDConnection, as well as to this month's prize donors, ViolaAndJean, Spluloacle, WrightHandy, and EarlyBird454!

We also hope you'll take a few moments and join us in the Etsy forums and let us know what you are grateful for, how you express your gratitude, or simply what gratitude means to you.

Friday Feature: Harvest

As promised, this week's Friday Feature is being brought to you by the word Harvest!

So, after searching Etsy for both "Harvest" and our team tag, TeamEtsyTx, and trying very hard not to include anyone from last week's feature, here are the wonderful harvest selections I have chosen for you...


Members featured, from top to bottom and left to right, are:
OnGossamerWings, BeadzNBling, TheGemNest, TheSilverAcorn, JL67, GlitzGlitter, TheOtherMagdalene, GrievousAngelDesigns, ThePigAndThePeacock, CharonelDesigns, CrazyForCollars, JackWabbitPrimitives, LadybugsDesigns, ButterflyKissForYou, YarnCoture, and TheHighPlainsKnitter.

Want to see more Harvest listings by Texans & Texans-at-Heart? Just click HERE!

If you'd like to suggest search words for future features, feel free to post them in the Comments for this post.

Friday Feature: Leaves!

Sorry for being a bit late in posting this week's Friday Feature! This week, influenced by all the lovely leaves falling around town, I chose the word "Leaf" as our feature topic. So, after searching Etsy for both "Leaf" and our team tag, TeamEtsyTx, and trying very hard not to include anyone from last week's feature, here are the lovely leaf selections I chose for you...


Members featured, from top to bottom and left to right, are:
SpiritMamaVintage, IriasBloom, BradleyBeads, GemJunkie, BeauAndStella, OwlSay, RuthBl, EmmaAlisonDesigns, TexasCeramics, CDChilds, ArtByJC, Kanokwalee, TheMedicineWolf, BSchrag, KathyDKeith, and Carapace.

Want to see more Texas Leaves? Just click HERE for "Leaf" items and HERE for "Leaves" items!

Join us next Friday, when our feature word will be "Harvest"! If you'd like to suggest search words for future features, feel free to post them in the Comments for this post.

Tuesday Tutorial & More

Today's tutorial is an upcycling project. What is upcycling, you ask? Upcycling simply means taking something that would normally be thrown away and creating something new with it. In this case, we are upcycling those plastic bags that we've all got an over-abundance of into really cool and re-usable tote bags. This particular tutorial is basically 3 tutorials in one:

1. fusing plastic bags
2. Making box corners
3. Making a fusion bag

The fusing tutorial is courtesy of Etsy Labs, and the other two are courtesy of Sew Take A Hike. When you have time, wander around both of these sites for even more wonderful tutorials!

Also, if you have not already done so, please stop by our What's New with ETC? thread to meet our newest members and check out our latest creations.

Lastly, since this month has 5 Mondays, we will be holding our $5 Monday event again this month. And yes, it falls on Cyber Monday, so don't forget to spend some of your holiday shopping time with us that day, taking advantage of our $5 listings!

Friday Feature: Pumpkins!

Introducing a new addition to our blog: Friday Features! Each Friday, I will choose a word, like Pumpkin, and search Etsy for that word and our team tag, TeamEtsyTx. Then, I will select 16 of the search result items to feature here on our blog. If you'd like to suggest search words for next week's feature, feel free to post them in the Comments for this post.

Here's this week's Friday Features, brought to you by the word Pumpkin...

(click on picture for larger view)

Members featured, from top to bottom and left to right, are:
CottonEyedJo, ThePigAndThePeacock, TheHighPlainsKnitter, GigiGibson, SassySoapsNSuch, WiseImpressions, BadraBoutique, CharonelDesigns, 2MuchStuff2Day, CrazyForCollars, BeanStreetMarket, DesignsByCher, VickysCottageCrafts, MithrilDreams, LavenderLadybug, and Suezee2.

Want to see more Texas Pumpkins? Just click HERE!

It's time for our First Monday SALE!!!!

Yep, that's right.....it's the first Monday of the month (who can believe it is already November???), which means it's time for another awesome day of sales and special offers in the ETC shop and participating member shops. With nearly 100 shops participating this month, you are bound to find lots of goodies and sales that you just can't resist! This is a perfect day to get some holiday shopping done!!! But don't daudle.....sale ends at midnight tonight, Monday, Nov 2nd. For a complete list of sales this month, just click HERE. Happy First Monday, and Happy Shopping!!!