West Elm & Etsy Handmade Holiday Workshop

One of my favorite things about the holidays is the opportunity to make things. From cookies and cakes to ornaments and scarves, there are so many holiday traditions that use our hands. If you're itching to get your holiday crafting started, come by this Thursday night, 6-9 p.m., December 1, and make ornaments with us, Etsy Dallas, at West Elm at Mockingbird Station in Dallas presented by Etsy and West Elm.

We'll have supplies, templates, and friends on hand to help you make amazing Christmas ornaments. You can make one to keep and one to put on the tree we'll be donating to The Family Place. There will also be a mini-market featuring local Etsy sellers in the store, including Redtile Studio, Fifi du Vie, Party Poms, Rivalry Time, and Red or Gray Art.

Click here for more information about Etsy and West Elm teaming up for the holidays with the support of local teams, like Etsy Dallas!

Posted by Anne, Modest Ambition

Holiday Sales!

Hey y'all! Hope everyone had a very wonderful Thanksgiving, full of family, friends and good food! We wanted to spread the word that a few Etsy Dallas members are running holiday sales in time for the infamous Cyber Monday shopping extravaganza... check 'em out!

Regal Cottage is offering free shipping today and tomorrow - use code 'REGALSHIP'

Butter Design Lab is offering 25% off your entire order through the end of November - use code 'THANKYOU2011'

Bee Things is offering free shipping through Christmas - use code 'HOLLYDAYS2012'

The Pig and The Peacock is offering free shipping starting midnight tonight through 11:59 pm tomorrow - use code 'CyberMonday'

Modest Ambition is giving 50% off Rosette Barrettes on Monday only, found here, and free shipping until Dec. 31 using code 'freeshippingJB11'

Happy shopping!

Etsy Dallas Photo Booth at the Jingle Bash!

Thanks to all who came out to the 4th Annual Jingle Bash and played in our toasty fireplace themed Etsy Dallas Photo Booth designed by Rosemary from Paper Beats Rock!! The photo booth helped raise $450, which we donated to DFW Rescue Me to aid in their efforts to find dogs new loving homes. You are all so beautiful! CLICK HERE to see your pics, photographed by the talented Nicole Durbin.

  
How to download your own pics: 
1) Find your photo in our Photo Booth Set - HERE

2) Click on the thumbnail to view the photo. If you're having a hard time finding your photo in the thumbnails, choose one at the beginning and you can manually scroll each photograph until you find your pretty face!

3) If you find a photograph you'd like to download, click the "all sizes" icon above the top left corner of the photograph. You can then choose the size of the photo you'd like to download and save to your computer. (see below screen shot if you're not finding the button).

4) Save 'em! Get 'em printed! Put em on your facebook! Use them as your desktop background! They're all yours!

Want to edit your photo but don't have the software? Picnik is a great, free photo editing website online. You don't need a flickr account to download your photo - but we totally recommend the site for all of your photo sharing needs. Come join the fun!

Jingle Bash Recap

Do you hear that distant jingle? That’s the sound of the Jingle Bash wrapping up for another year. Etsy Dallas’ fourth annual Jingle Bash this last weekend was a huge success!

Thanks to everyone who came out to support handmade. This was our first year to offer VIP treatment for those with Bash Passes. We sold out of the 70 passes the week before the event and gave out 6 Bash Passes to lucky winners online. Bash Pass VIP'ers cut in line, in front of the hundreds of people waiting since 8 a.m. to get in to the show, and shopped their favorite artists before anyone else. We also hooked them up with a handprinted Bash Tote to carry their goodies and a free drink on us!

If looking at arts and crafts put you in a creative mood, there was plenty for you to try with block printing at the Make and Take Table with Oil and Cotton Creative Exchange, fabric ornaments and gift bags at the Etsy Inc. table, and photo alterations at Foto Fuze. Shoppers kept energized by the beats of DJ Juan Solo, kept hydrated with available beverages, and kept rested in shopper’s lounge areas. With over 60 booths spread over two rooms to take in, there was plenty of oooing and aweing, and so much more room for shopping without elbowing your way through crowds.

 

Besides offering the best shopping, art, and handmade experience, the Jingle Bash included the opportunity to give back and help the furry friends that mean so much to us. Outside of the Palladium, DFW Rescue Me had dogs available for adoption, while inside, the Etsy Dallas photo booth raised money to support the group. With the help of our awesome shoppers posing beautifully in the photo booth, we raised $450 and we able to send two happy pups to new homes.

It is so exciting to see all of the booths come together and watch the transformation from empty ballroom to fully decked out shop, art, craft, party! Mark your calendar, the Spring Bash will be at the Palladium (for the first time) on May 5, 2012.
 

Thanks again to our sponsors and thanks to you, for making this such an incredible event every year.

Photos by Morgan, Etsy Labs on Flickr
Story by Anne, Modest Ambition

The Bash Bag: Full Reveal

It’s the most wonderful time of the year (the Etsy Dallas Jingle Bash), and, for the first fifty people in line for the Bash, it’s even more wonderful.  Why?  Because the first 50 people in the door of the Bash walk away with an awesomely-designed- and terrifically-crammed-full-of-awesome-goodies-so-cool-your-eyes-will-water wonder called the Bash Bag.  Yes, Etsy Dallas Bash Bags™ are stuff of legend.  In 2009 shoppers arrived three hours early to stand in line.  And this year, two sweet ladies arrived at 8:30 with their lawn chairs. That’s right.  8:30am. 

Tefi revealing Dowdy Studio's Bash Bag design at the Deco Party

There are so many goodies in the bag this year, I couldn’t fit them all in one picture!  So take a peek below at the awesome generosity of our Bash Bag sponsors.  Even if you didn’t score a bag at the Bash (or, gasp!, weren’t able to make it to the Bash), you can maybe, just maybe, score some of the same awesome gifties. 

This year's bag is bursting at the seams!

Dowdy Studio—design and screen printing of Bash Bags

Karmacrochet—flower rings

Etsy—pins, DIY cards, bumper stickers, stickers

Nest Design—fabric gift tag

Sublime Stitchin—discount post card

Lovely Fitzgerald Photo—photo card

Chet Phillips Illustration—illustrated cards and bookmarks

Green Couch Design—cork buttons

fuzzy hippo—recipe cards

Homework Designs—strawberry plush and DIY appliqués

The Ruffly Owl—mystery sack of fabulousness

For the Love of Joy—fabric square

Striped Feather Co—feathers

Blue Eye Brown Eye—discount card and gift card pouch

Craft Chi—rubber stamps

Sheepish Knitting & Crochet—Crochet bow pins

Made by Rori—holiday greeting card

Yellow Bug Boutique—THINK embroidered bookmarks

Ello Lovely—2012 year at a glance calendar

tefi—jewelry (rings, bracelets, yoyo pins)

Modest Ambition—reindeer scarf bookmark

Lauren Allen Photo—animal crackers + fun things

The Pig & the Peacock—scented soaps in a pillowbox

YLK Photography—photo magnets

Amula Designs—earrings and rings

PaperBeatsRock—gift enclosure cards

K8 made—glass magnets

Fleegal Farms Soap—gossamer bags of soap chips

HOUSEofLOVELY—lace hair clips

Taylor2U—bottle cap charm

Circle Prints—stationery set

childsPLAYdesign—gift card holder/ornament

Midnight Snack—plush ornaments

maggie may i—confetti game piece jewelry

Christie Cone Ceramics—ceramic Christmas ornament

Honeycomb Print Shop—stationery set

Humble Bee Project—hair bobbies and rings

Seen Studios—t-shirts and prints

Jenni20 Designs—instant gift wrap + tutorial

La Alicia--stickers

PS--Check out Morgan's pix from the Bash: there are some great shots of the Bash Bags in action. 

Flash giveaway on Twitter!

Early birdies, carpool moms, 9-5ers, and everyone in between: you're pretty special. You deserve some VIP perks in life, don't you think?

Perks of being an early bird: tweet about what you're looking forward to seeing/doing at #jinglebash4 before 9:30am to win 2 (sold out!) VIP passes!





Winner will be selected at random from all tweets with @etsydallas and #jinglebash4 by 9:30am central time today (11.17.11). Good luck!!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Daily Discovery: Unique gift ideas!

One of the many awesome things about buying handmade is that you are buying something totally unique... which makes for an awesome gift! This Saturday at the Jingle Bash you can stock up on gifts for everyone on your list (plus a few for you!) Here are some highlights from a few of our bash artists:

Wrestle Pets 2012 Desk Calendar by ChetArt - $12

Handmade Glycerin Soap Guns by The Pig and The Peacock - $4.50/set of 3

Tin Man Keychain by Maggie May I - $15

Knit Wrist Warmers by Sheepish Knit Crochet - $27

Crocheted Award Ribbon Badge by Modest Ambition - $6

Oilcloth Passport Cover by Jenni20 - $12

Oven Roasted Turkey Plush by Midnight Snack - $25

See you Saturday at the Jingle Bash!

VIP Bash Pass and Bash Bucks Extravaganza Winners Revealed

Thank you so much for your entries (remember, treasuries counted 5x each). The random number generator selected munchkin and JO as our winners.  Please take a look at these awesome treasuries.

Winners, please email jenni20designs {at} att {dot} net to claim your prize!

Congratulations to all who won our blog giveaways this year! Take a peek at our Twitter--more exciting things could be headed your way!



Sponsor Spotlight: Yelp

One of the greatest things about Dallas is the wealth of locally owned restaurants, stores and small businesses. The only bad thing about that? It's really hard to choose where to go! Yelp.com provides actual customer reviews to help you decide - and many of these reviews go into detail about what to order/not order at a restaurant, parking tips, and funny stories. You can also search local events (such as this one!), lists of top bars/salons/mechanics/you-name-it and where to find the best of anything in the city, whether you are in the mood for a margarita or craving some fried chicken.

Sign up for the Weekly Yelp to be updated about local business openings and other cool new stuff - and go explore all this city has to offer!

Sponsor Spotlight: FotoFuze

Want to make your product photography pop? What about your photo holiday cards? FotoFuze has got some amazing photo enhancement tools that can make that happen for you. Use your ordinary pictures from an ordinary camera, and create extraordinary, top-notch professional looking photos. It's super easy and it's free!


Etsy sellers will especially love FotoFuze's Etsy App. Your shop can be directly integrated with FotoFuze. You can select your product photos directly from your current listings, and like magic, FotoFuze will clean up, brighten, and make your photos pop off the screen! 


Be sure to check out FotoFuze in action at the FotoFuze Vs. Photoshop Challenge!  You won't believe how much easier it is. It really does work like magic.


You can find even more FotoFuze fun on twitter and Facebook. 

Daily Discovery: Stocking Stuffers!

Stockings are one of my favorite holiday traditions... a bunch of little gifts all in one package! I've found lots of items from Jingle Bash artists that I would love to get in my stocking this year! (hint, hint... )

F is for Frank - Gold Jefferson Necklace

Silla Soup - Feather Bloom Clip

RACHELelise - Cluster Leather Headband

Cat Sweater - Sterling Silver Ruffle Ring

butter design lab - Eco Zipper Pouch

Revisionist Designs - Camera Lens Cuff

ReGeared - Star Keychain

KarmaCrochet - Texas Magnets

Haute Hardware - Feather and Tusk Necklace

Bee Things - Monkey Snack Sacks

The Soap Addict - Margarita Sea Salt Body Scrub

tefi - Bingo Bobbies

Only a week left until the Jingle Bash - get ready to fill your stockings!

Jingle Bash Giveaway: The Final Extravaganza!

This contest is closed. Please check http://etsydallas.blogspot.com for the winners.

We've had some fun the past few weeks with our Bash Bucks giveaway on the blog, and now it is time for the final blog giveaway.  This is big, folks....

Two randomly selected winners of this final giveaway will receive $30 in Bash Bucks and one VIP Bash Pass (total prize package $50). 

This contest is open 11.11.11 and will run through Tuesday, November 15, 2011 at 11:59pm.  Winners will be announced on the blog Wednesday the 16th. 

Contest rules:

Etsy is a sponsor of the 4th Annual Etsy Dallas Jingle Bash, so to celebrate their support, one way you can enter this giveaway is by creating a Jingle-Bash themed Etsy Treasury.  (Click here to find out more about treasuries.)

1. Create an Etsy Treasury featuring items from participating Etsy Dallas Members and Guest Artists. 

2. Tag your treasury with etsydallas and jinglebash so we can all see it and enjoy.

3. Post the link to your curated treasury on this blog.

4. Each treasury you make featuring ED Members and Guest Artists will give you five entries into this giveaway. 

Etsy Dallas is so proud to present a handmade holiday shopping event that is free-of-charge, so to celebrate our Members and Guest Artists, another way you can enter this giveaway is by visiting the artists' sites and selecting one item for your "wish list." 

1.  Visit the Jingle Bash Artists website.

2.  Browse through the artists' websites and collect the links to items you love.

3. Post the link to these items (one link per post) to be entered into our giveaway. 

Read more about BASH BUCKS.

Weekend Guide: November 11 + 12 + 13

Dowdy Studio Wagon @ Good 2 Go Taco + Cultivar Coffee + Goodfriend 

Date: Fri, Nov. 11th, Sat, Nov 12th, and  Sun, Nov 13th 
Time: 7am-7pm Friday, 7am-7pm Saturday,  7am-3pm Sunday 
Location: Good 2 Go Taco's Parking lot, 1146 Peavy Rd, Dallas 
More Info: http://dowdystudio.blogspot.com/2011/03/wheres-that-wagon.html 
Participating Etsy Dallas Member: Dowdy Studio

White Rock Local Market 

Date: Sat, Nov 12th 
Time: 8am-1pm 
Location: 702 N. Bucker, Dallas (Green Spot Parking Lot) 
More Info: http://whiterocklocalmarket.com/ 
Participating Etsy Dallas Member: La Alicia

Funky Finds 

Date: Sat, Nov 12th and Sun, Nov 13th 
Time: 9am-4pm Sat, 11am-4pm Sun 
Location: Small Exhibits Bldg, Will Rogers Memorial Center, Fort Worth 
More Info: http://funkyfinds.com 
Participating Etsy Dallas Member: childsPLAYdesign