Slowing Down and Catching Up

So, I'm getting ready to go to bed, since I have to get up earlllllyyy (for me) and drive to Atlanta in the morning to meet with Viviana of the Beehive Co-Op in Atlanta (SO excited about this). I realize I have no idea where the Beehive is so I pull up their website and lo and behold, there is Heather of Rinse Soap (go check her website out, seriously) at the top of the page as the featured spotlight seller. I immediately recognized the necklace as one of my very own - the Simple Double Lucky! Even more excitement abounds! Heather and I traded merch at the Ice Atlanta show in 2006 and I love her moisture sticks and soaps! Plus, she's super nice too, which is like a cherry on top!

This was a welcome and much-needed pick me up after the poo poo week I've been having. It also lifted my spirits to have dinner tonight with the fabulous Beth Howard - together we got to vent and dish at the Mellow Mushroom and it was so nice. Hopefully I'll have enough steam to keep me going on my road trip tomorrow!

the perfect Valentine Card

This is what you give when you truly, truly love someone. In fact, I gave one of these cards to my husband last year when he was still just my fiance. Little did I know how much "cuteness" abounds when you're married (or around someone 24/7)!


Go to The Beautiful Project's shop on etsy and get one for your sweetheart! I also find this one adorable, also from their shop:

fabulous stationery from Pink Loves Brown

I found this adorable set of cards today from Pink Loves Brown and they are a totally classic & modern personalized stationery design. If I hadn't just bought some stationery (that I don't really love, quite frankly), I would buy it. So... now I have to write a bunch of notes to people so that I can run out of stationery again so that I can buy this! Or maybe not - that sounds like a lot of work. Anyway, here are the fabulous cards:

introducing feather goods!

Uh, oh... Another side project! Can I possibly manage another etsy store? Why not!? Did you know I started out making jewelry by using vintage jewelry and remaking earrings and brooches into fun necklaces? I am getting back to my roots of re-purposing vintage findings and have created a new shop - Feather Goods. I actually already own the domain name for another purpose yet to be determined... Here is my newest selection of one of a kind items made from vintage materials:

Contest! Valentine Gift Ideas

In honor of my website makeover (which I am still finding mistakes on, so bear with me) and Valentine's Day (I adore seeing all the pink & red products on display everywhere!), I am having a CONTEST! What might you win? First up for grabs is this Blissen 2008 Hidden Habitats Calendar illustrated by west coast artists Jill Bliss and Saelee Oh. I loved this calendar so much that I bought one for myself and one to give away!


Together they have collaborated on 13 fabulous months of nature's magical, undiscovered places in all their whimsical, illustrated glory. Each 2008 calendar (valued at $16), which measures 9.5" x 11" open, is printed in full color with vegetable-based inks on 100 percent recycled paper and processed chlorine-free.

In addition to that, you'll also win a limited edition sterling silver heart necklace from Freshie & Zero, not EVEN available for sale on my website! If you live in Nashville, though, you may find a few at Queen Bee in Edgehill Village.


How do I win, you say?

All you have to do is post a comment on this blog about something handmade that you think would make a great Valentine's gift for you, your best friend, or your significant other. Please enter the link of where to buy it, too, so you can share the love! Don't forget to include some way of getting in touch with you in your comment (preferably an email address)! The last day to enter is January 31st, so don't delay! Easy, right? I'll start...

I would love to give (or receive) this adorable, fabulous, understated, beautiful bird bowl by Whitney Smith pottery for any upcoming occasion. I can't see how anyone who might open this up as a gift up wouldn't be delighted! Go and get it here. In fact, her pottery is so fabulous, I'm adding her to my links page right now!



1.22.08 update
Wow! Thanks for the amazing response, everyone! It's so great to find new items made by other indie designers, and there really are some great suggestions! I decided to post up some of my favorite reader submitted gifts that I've received so far...

I love the Mr. Poncho ipod holder submitted by Karen and it is the perfect gift for any one who owns an ipod (re: everyone). In fact, I may have to get one for myself...

This print by yumiyumi on etsy submitted by Edie is also very pretty and would make a great Valentine's gift for a friend or sister:

This necklace by amieking, submitted by Holly, is very edgy and pretty at the same time:

I liked all of JLC Studio's picks (I even gave my husband a set of custom typewriter key cuff links for our wedding day!), but I like this tongue-in-cheek tie by toybreaker the most:


Another of my favorites has to be these super cheeky red heart sequined pasties by FondaPetting Designs submitted by Ginger Girl. They have a lot of other fun little items in their etsy shop, all perfect for Valentine's Day!

new stuff in my Charm Star shop

I spent ALL DAY yesterday styling, photographing, and editing pictures of my Charm Star charms and I'm feeling a bit like a couch potato even though I was technically doing work. Sitting at home in your PJ's all day can do that to you, though. It was worth it, though, because I already sold the deer and the telephone booth and relisted them! Check out the awesome new stuff!

working on an ad for Venus Zine

So, my last Freshie & Zero ad in Venus Zine generated zero sales (but maybe they just forgot to use the coupon?) but I have decided to give the magazine another go. One, because it's cheap, and two because the necklace I promoted in the last issue has barely sold at all, which is so sad because I thought it was SO fabulous. Oh well, it was a pain to make anyway.

However, this time I have decided to promote Charm Star, my side venture, instead. Here are two different ads I'm working on. I think they're fun and silly, which is what Charm Star is all about. What do you think? (click on 'em to see them more clearly)



Of course, there's a downside to promoting an etsy shop. I can't track my hits! I wish etsy had a little stat counter code installed on your shop home page, just so I could see how many hits I get and where they come from. Speaking of, have you gone to etsytools yet?

website makeover!

I stayed up waaaay too late last night working on my website redesign, which was a bad move since I had to get up and work in the gallery today (I still work in an art gallery/frame shop two days a week for the extra cash, the discount, and the motivation to get dressed and put on makeup at least twice a week). I'm definitely tired, but I'm so happy with the new look! I've been working on it for a couple of weeks, but I decided to publish it when no one would be shopping (in the middle of the night). Unfortunately, I didn't realize it would take over two hours when I began around 1:30 a.m. Oh well, it was so worth it! I've definitely got some more tweaking and I can't wait until I can make and photograph my new designs to upload them to the website, too!

Tell me what you think of my new look for Freshie & Zero!

crime spree in 37215

So, one of my supplies packages from Fed Ex was STOLEN from my front door (scary! what's stopping the thief next time from breaking in??) I wish I could have seem the thief's face when they opened up to find a bunch of wire inside. I half expected it to be returned to me, since what was inside was pretty useless to a criminal.

The day I reported it to the office, two cars were broken into the same night! I live in a "safe" area of Nashville, but I feel anything but safe and secure right now. My car was broken into last summer here, just yards from my front door, along with several other cars in the same week. How many times does this have to happen before our homeowners association does anything about it??? Arg!

If you want to know more about the criminal activity going on in Green Hills, let me know. I'll give you an earful!

Ella, my new niece, looks around

Ella looks around
Originally uploaded by freshie & zero

My new niece, Ella is about 5 weeks old and is already holding her head up and looking around. She is my husband's brother's daughter, for those of you who are interested. She is so cute! We just met her in Virginia this past weekend and it's unbelievable how tiny she is!

featured in Etsy Gift Guide for teens!

My Charm Star pizza necklace is currently in the Etsy gift guide for teens (bottom left)! Cool! I found it when I was cruising around the guides looking for a gift for my sister, who is about to turn 13. I found her something adorable, but I'm not going to post about it until after I give it to her...

Check out Gawk Magazine

Gawk Magazine wrote up a little feature on me here. It's a new online magazine, and I think it's based here in Nashville but I could be wrong. Here is a copy of their mission statement:

"The purpose of Gawk Magazine is to discover, reveal and promote the extravagant. In doing so, Gawk Magazine actually redefines extravagance by looking at the process in which a product goes through, and revealing why it is worth what the showroom floor price tag says it is."

the Stitch podcast is up!

I just now found this, even though it was posted a couple of weeks ago, but it's the podcast from Stitch, of which I was interviewed for! Usually I cringe at myself on camera, but they did a great job editing and it actually turned out really well!

The podcast is hosted by Vickie Howell, edited by Cory Ryan and soundtrack provided by Has Anyone Ever Told You? This segment is all about the craft bazaar at Stitch. Look for interviews with 31 Corn Lane, Felt Good Fibers, Freshie and Zero, Handcrafted by Vera, I Like Apple Juice, M. Schopper Ceramics, Leslie Bonnel, Ruffeo Hearts Little Snotty, Duncan, Birds, Lollibomb Beauty, Fort Cloudy, Carlo Rossi and More!

Check it out: