P.I.F.!

I've recently discovered something quite wonderful on Etsy, it's called PIF or Pay It Forward. Basically, alot of Etsy sellers will list something for 20 cents or some low low price...you just have to pay that price plus shipping and either list your own PIF or just do something nice for someone else. I got myself a couple of PIFs recently and now it's my turn to PIF by posting about the 2 PIFs I got.

First up is this great bag from Hazel Honey. I saw her post on the forum for a free bag and took a look. I loved this bag and told her I would take it. She is trying to reduce her current inventory right now as she is preparing to restock the store. This is a great patchwork tote bag with a tan courdoury (I know I butchered the spelling right) and an art print fabric. There's three great fabric flowers for embellishment and the handles are nice and strong. No pockets inside but I can live with that. And, even my husband said it's a really nice bag and he never says anything about the stuff I get :-) I think the bag was $18 originally but like I said it was free. Prices range from $3 (for a cute pincushion) to $18 (tote bag). I have hearted the shop and intend to take a look at her new items when they are up.

Next is this cute Sterling Silver Star charm that I snagged up from The Ivy Leaf. I did a search for handmade items with PIF in the title, tags or description. While perusing the items I found this little charm. The title, Sterling Silver Star Dangle Pendant - One Stinking Buck - JUST TO SEE IF ANYBODY IS OUT THERE, just made me laugh and I wanted to let them know someone was out there. Yes folks, $1 plus $1 shipping is all I paid for this charmer. I just got it in the mail today and it is a cute little star...just need to find a chain for it uggh. There's all kinds of these charms plus earrings on the site. Check out the Build a Necklace section where you will find charms and chains to put something together. There's also the "Stinking Buck" section which is my fav ;-) So, please check them out!

You can do your own search on Etsy either by category or whatever to see what PIFs turn up. Just remember to Pay It Forward and do something nice for someone else.

Carried Away with Contests

I figured I'd send out at really good FYI. I've been very addicted to entering Blog Giveaways or contests on Etsy.

There's a huge one going on right now involving BAGS! Yes bags, purses etc. It's called the Carried Away Big Bag of Luck Giveaway.

It's basically a scavenger hunt and I just love scavenger hunts no matter how big or small. Each of the participating shops has one listing with either a Shamrock (see the huge graphic at the top of this post) in a picture or the words "Bag of Luck" in the listing description. To be eligible for the grand prize, which is your choice fo 6 of the prizes, you must find all 26 listings and send the urls in to the team.

There are other "winners". For first place you must find at at least 5 of the listings and you get your choice of 4 of the remaining prizes. Second place, you must find at least 3 of the listings and you get your choice of 2 of the remaining prizes. The remaining 14 prizes will be given away via random drawings to 14 winners who must find at least one of the listings.

You can also get extra entries by BLOGGING (tee hee what do you think I'm doing), TWITTERING, Following the Carried Away Teams Blog and you can earn 5 extra entries by making a purchase at any of the shops.

Be sure to goto the Carried Away Teams blog and read all of the rules!!! You don't follow rules you don't win.

Oh and the contest ends on the 23rd so you better stop reading my blog (FOR NOW) and go go go.

Just Too Cute to Pass Up

I've been coming across some mighty cute stuff on etsy lately. It just amazes me that there is just sooooo much talent out there. I sometimes get overwhelmed. But, finding cute stuff is always fun.



I just bought this for my friend for her birthday (Happy Birthday Kate) and since I gave it to her today I can post the photo lol..didn't want to post it before she got it. Ok, this is Shenanigans. He's a SocKat To Me cat from SocKatToMe on Etsy. Yes, the cat is made from a sock. My friend's favorite color is yellow but I didn't see any yellow cats listed. I made an inquiry to Jenny of SocKatToMe and she found a yellow and blue argyle sock in her sock stash. So she made this one for me custom. I just love everything from the mismatched button eyes to the tongue hanging out. Even being a custom order, Shenanigans cost me the normal SocKat price of $16. I almost kept him for myself....hint hint my birthday is at the end of April and I would love a SocKat (with the tongue hanging out).


I also came across these tiny critters from Asher Jasper on Etsy. I think I was entering a blog contest or something, can't remember but these little felted animals are just really cute. My favorites are the Mom and Baby Ladybugs. There are bumblebees, sheep, birds, bears..heck even the Spider is cute. They run $4.50 for tiny ones or $15 for a 3" larger one. You can buy pairs or a lot of 10 but that will cost you more. My ladybug friends are $20 for the two.




These are edible cuties. I came across these just randomly shopping on Etsy. I have yet to try them but I do plan on it (just waiting for some survey money to come in lol). This is what I would call Edible Art from Visualicious on Etsy. There's these BonBons pictured here and there are candy jewelry creations as well. This is a fairly new Etsy store but with things this cute (and they sound very tasty) I'm sure we'll see more. The pack of 6 BonBons I have pictured here are $15. You get 2 of each flavor: gourmet fudge, flavorful almond marzipan, and guava-raspberry fruit filling. You can also get a 3 pack, one of each flavor, for $5.



I know that these are "luxury" items and not necessities. But, I think they are adorable and they make me smile. I hope they make you smile too.

Go On and Indulge Yourself

So, today I'm stuck in the house with EVERYONE because of the snow. I just got back inside after making my wonderful snow fort (I was still out there and the kids had gone back inside already) and need to warm up. So, I will start by warming up my fingers and type up my review of some great organic bath and body products from Indulge In You.

Sue from Indulge In You found me through another B&B site and sent me a nice little sampling of her products. She sent me her Organic Green Tea Antioxidant Scrub, Organic Body Whip and a sample of perfume called Applicious.

The Organic Green Tea Antioxidant Scrub is honestly unlike any scrub I have tried before. When I opened the jar I saw that it was like jelly in there. And it fools you, I touched it and thought that there wasn't much "scrub" to it...then I tried it and there's good scrubbies in there. The exfoliant is very fine but there is plenty in there. And, even though the jelly consistency kinda freaked me out, it didn't break apart coming out of the jar and was easier to apply to my skin than my normal sugar based scrubs.

Here's the key ingredients for the scrub direct from the site:

"Green Tea Extract an extraordinary anti-oxidant that protects skin cells from free radical damaged triggered by environmental factors.

White Tea Extract protects the skin against environmental damage and premature aging.

Olive and Avocado Butters emollients that provide hydration."

It provides a light but good exfoliation and light moisturization. It has a very nice scent to it, not overbearing. An 8 ounce jar normally sells for $11.95 but it's on sale right now for $8.95

The Organic Body Whip is very nice. It goes on very easily and my skin just drunk it up....my skin is always begging for moisture in the winter so it sucks lotions up. To me it is a light moisturizer. Don't get me wrong there is a ton of good oils in there but it's more like a lotion than a body butter. When I say light, I mean that it isn't too thick and heavy..easy to apply and absorbs quickly. The scent Sue sent me was Strawberries and Champagne, which I like alot. It's very easy on the nose and the scent lasts pretty long on the skin. Here's some of the ingredients if you're curious: aloe vera (organic), sweet almond oil, jojoba oil, shea butter, wheat germ oil, macadamia nut oil, sunflower oil, kukui nut oil and vitamins A and E. Really good stuff. An 8 ounce jar normally would set you back $14.95 but it is on sale also for $11.20.

The Applicious perfume is fantastic. I just love this fragrance. Even though "apple" is in the title, this is a very nice Spring/Summer fragrance. Here's the notes from the website: "A fragrance for the free-spirited! This gorgeous blend features mouth-watering green apple and juicy grapefruit melded with a bouquet of fresh-cut flowers--jasmine, rose and freesia cyclamen - and sensual woods." It all blends together so well that it's hard to distinguish the notes. I just love it. Very nice!

I mentioned that there is a sale...yes there is a Customer Appreciation sale going on over at Indulge In You right now. There is a wide selection of B&B products from lotions to perfumes to shower gels and scrubs. Sue has listed the key ingredients on every product listing so you can find out the benefits. Go on and Indulge yourself.