CarDon and Co.

Team ESST - March Madness Sale

2011-03-16T06:47:00.003-04:00

CarDonCreativeDesign is offering 25% off of purchases of $25.00 or more (not including shipping) Use coupon code - MARCHMADNESS25

GramsVintageButtons is also offering FREE SHIPPING (on domestic purchases) use coupon code - ESSTFREESHIP

Team ESST - Our Favorite Things

2010-07-26T11:29:00.002-04:00

Happy Mother's Day

2010-05-11T11:38:00.000-04:00

Personalize a greeting

John Voight Statement - Watch It

2010-05-07T12:47:00.001-04:00

Psalm 2010

2010-05-03T22:10:00.005-04:00

PSALM 2010

Obama is the shepherd I did not want.

He leadeth me beside the still factories.

He restoreth my faith in the Republican party.

He guideth me in the path of unemployment for his party's sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the bread line,

I shall fear no hunger, for his bailouts are with me.

He has anointed my income with taxes,

My expenses runneth over.

Surely, poverty and hard living will follow me all the days of my life,

And I will live in a mortgaged home forever.

I am glad I am American,

I am glad that I am free.

But I wish I was a dog ..... And Obama was a tree.

Say Amen!

Happy Earth Day from Team ESST

2010-04-16T23:07:00.000-04:00

Another free slideshow design by Smilebox

Saint Patty's Day

2010-03-17T12:41:00.001-04:00

Create your own free greeting card

The Ant and The Grasshopper

2010-03-07T21:36:00.004-05:00

Again my Fabulous cousin Penny sent me an e-mail I had to post. Feel free to copy and pass it on, and on, and on!

Subject: The Ant & The Grasshopper

This one is a little different...... Two Different Versions.................. Two Different Morals

OLD VERSION

The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away. Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed. The grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Be responsible for yourself!

MODERN VERSION

The ant works hard in the withering heat and the rain all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away. Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while he is cold and starving.

CBS, NBC, PBS, CNN, and ABC show up to provide pictures of the shivering grasshopper next to a video of the ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food. America is stunned by the sharp contrast. How can this be, that in a country of such wealth, this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so? Kermit the Frog appears on Oprah with the grasshopper and everybody cries when they sing, 'It's Not Easy Being Green...'

ACORN stages a demonstration in front of the ant's house where the news stations film the group singing, "We shall overcome." Then Rev. Jeremiah Wright has the group kneel down to pray to God for the grasshopper's sake. President Obama condemns the ant and blames President Bush, President Reagan, Christopher Columbus, and the Pope for the grasshopper's plight. Nancy Pelosi & Harry Reid exclaim in an interview with Larry King that the ant has gotten rich off the back of the grasshopper, and both call for an immediate tax hike on the ant to make him pay his fair share.

Finally, the EEOC drafts the Economic Equity & Anti-Grasshopper Act retroactive to the beginning of the summer. The ant is fined for failing to hire a proportionate number of green bugs and, having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home is confiscated by the Government Green Czar and given to the grasshopper. The story ends as we see the grasshopper and his free-loading friends finishing up the last bits of the ant's food while the government house he is in, which, as you recall, just happens to be the ant's old house, crumbles around them because the grasshopper doesn’t maintain it. The ant has disappeared in the snow, never to be seen again. The grasshopper is found dead in a drug related incident, and the house, now abandoned, is taken over by a gang of spiders who terrorize the ramshackle, once prosperous and once peaceful, neighborhood. The entire Nation collapses bringing the rest of the free world with it.

MORAL OF THE STORY:

Be careful how you vote in 2010.

"I've sent this to you because I believe that you are an ant not a grasshopper! Make sure that you pass this on to other ants. Don't bother sending it on to any grasshoppers because they wouldn't understand it, anyway."

Rules for Kickin' ASS

2010-03-05T15:41:00.002-05:00

This was an e-mail sent to me by my cousin. I feel it says many things I feel and want to share. In my family, my Father served in the Army, one of my brothers also served in the Army, one brother served in the Marines, and my little brother served in the Navy. I have a niece that is now in the Air Force serving our country.

I could go on listing my Aunt, Uncles and Cousins that have served but, I won't so you can get on to the letter. I don't know who wrote it but, we all need to take the time to read it.

Dear Civilians,

We know that the current state of affairs in our great nation has many civilians up in arms and excited to join the military.

For those of you who can't join, you can still lend a hand. Here are a few of the areas where we would like your assistance:

1. The next time you see any adults talking (or wearing a hat) during the playing of the National Anthem - kick their ass.

2. When you witness, firsthand, someone burning the American Flag in protest - kick their ass.

3. Regardless of the rank they held while they served, pay the highest amount of respect to all veterans. If you see anyone doing otherwise, quietly pull them aside and explain how these veterans fought for the very freedom they bask in every second. Enlighten them on the many sacrifices these veterans made to make this Nation great. Then hold them down while a disabled veteran kicks their ass.

4. If you were never in the military, DO NOT pretend that you were. Wearing battle dress uniforms (BDUs) or Jungle Fatigues, telling others that you used to be 'Special Forces'. Collecting GI Joe memorabilia, might have been okay when you were seven years old, now, it will only make you look stupid and get your ass kicked.

5. Next time you come across an *Air Force* member, do not ask them, 'Do you fly a jet?' Not everyone in the Air Force is a pilot. Such ignorance deserves an ass-kicking (children are exempt).

6. If you witness someone calling the *US Coast Guard* 'non-military', inform them of their mistake - and kick their ass.

7. Next time Old Glory (the US flag) prances by during a parade, get on your damn feet and pay homage to her by placing your hand over your heart. Quietly thank the military member or veteran lucky enough to be carrying her - of course, failure to do either of those could earn you a severe ass-kicking.

9. 'Your mama wears combat boots' never made sense to me - stop saying it! If she did, she would most likely be a vet and therefore would kick your ass!

10. Bin Laden and the Taliban are not Communists, so stop saying 'Let's go kill those Commies!' And stop asking us where he is! Crystal balls are not standard issue in the military. That reminds me - if you see anyone calling those damn psychic phone numbers, let me know, so I can go kick their ass!

11. 'Flyboy' (*Air Force*), 'Jarhead' (*Marines*), 'Grunt' (*Army*), 'Squid' (*Navy*), 'Puddle Jumpers' (*Coast Guard*), etc., are terms of endearment we use describing each other. Unless you are a service member or vet, you have not earned the right to use them. Using them could get your ass kicked.

12. Last, but not least, whether or not you become a member of the military, support our troops and their families. Every Thanksgiving and religious holiday that you enjoy with family and friends, please remember that there are literally thousands of soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen far from home wishing they could be with their families. Thank God for our military and the sacrifices they make every day.

Without them, our Country would get it's ass kicked.

'It's the Veteran, not the reporter, who has given us the freedom of the press.'

'It's the Veteran, not the poet, who has given us the freedom of speech.'

'It's the Veteran, not the community organizer, who gives us the freedom to demonstrate.'

'It's the Military who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protester to burn the flag.'

AND ONE MORE:

13. If you ever see anyone singing the national anthem in Spanish - KICK THEIR ASS.

WE LIVE IN THE LAND OF THE FREE, ONLY BECAUSE OF THE BRAVE!

IN GOD WE TRUST

Team ESST Semi-Annual Sale Feb. 26 to 28

2010-02-24T22:19:00.000-05:00

Team ESST Semi-Annual Promotion

Beginning at 12:00 AM EST February 26
and ending 12 pm Sunday EST February 28.
The Etsy Supply Street Team (ESST) will be holding its
Semi-Annual Supply Street Team Promotion.
This sale exclusively features the members of the
Etsy Supply Street Team!

Crafting supplies for most any project you may have.
Team members will be offering specials like free shipping, discounts, extra goodies,
and everyday fabulous prices.
And for a look at the Team members promos checkout out Team ESST Promo blog: http://esstpromo.blogspot.com/

Search TEAM ESST for all your supply needs!
http://www.etsy.com/search_results.php?search_type=supplies&search_query=team+esst&ref=auto
Also, check out our Promo thread in the Etsy Forums (will post when available)

We will be featuring the latest: *Deals *Sales *Bargains
*Great Every Day Prices
*Supplies for the Talented Artist in You!
***********
***

SWEETHEART SALE for January 31 to February 6

2010-01-31T15:31:00.007-05:00

ღஐƸ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒஐღ This WEEKS Special 1/31 ~ 2/6 * SWEETHEART SALE 25% off Anything red/pink or with red/pink on it/in it! - Write "SWEETHEART" in Message to Seller - We will refund the discount to your PayPal account:)ღஐƸ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒஐღ

All of shops will offer the same Weekly Special.

Don't miss these great Deals, they are for this week only - January 31 to February 6.

Weekly Specials for January 24 to January 30

2010-01-24T16:03:00.004-05:00

CarDonCreativeDesigns offers * An additional 30% off Our Sale/Special section - Write "30% off Sale" in Message to Seller - We will refund the discount to your PayPal account.Looking for craft or collectible buttons? GramsVintageButtons has many to choose from. This week we will be offering a *$5.00 Button Special!! ~ 8 carded buttons in a package! Great Deal!
Last week for CarDonsBitsandPieces offer of * Buy One, Get One FREE special! (free item equal or lesser value - not including shipping). Please make a note in the Message to Seller area - "BOGO". We will refund the discount to your PayPal account.

This weeks Special for LottieMaesVintage is * 20% off any Jewelry purchase~(does not include shipping fees)- note in Message to Seller area - "20% off Jewelry" . We will refund the discount to your PayPal account.

Don't miss these great Deals, they are for this week only - January 24 to January 30.

Our Shop Specials for Week of Jan 17 to Jan 23

2010-01-17T17:11:00.002-05:00

This weeks Special for LottieMaesVintage is * 20% off any Pfaltzgraff item(s)~(does not include shipping fees)- note in Message to Seller area - "20% off Pfaltzgraff" . We will refund the discount to your PayPal account.
CarDonCreativeDesigns offers * 20% off EPOXY Charms - Write "20% of Epoxy" in Message to Seller - We will refund the discount to your PayPal account.
Looking for craft or collectible buttons? GramsVintageButtons has many to choose from. This week we will be offering * Buy One, Get One FREE (Free item to be od equal or lesser value ~ not including shipping)- Write "BOGO" in Message to Seller - We will refund the discount to your PayPal account.
Our CarDonsBitsandPieces shop will offer a * Buy One, Get One FREE special! (free item equal or lesser value - not including shipping). Please make a note in the Message to Seller area - "BOGO". We will refund the discount to your PayPal account.

Don't miss these great Deals, they are for this week only - January 17 to January 23.

Shop Specials Week of Jan 10 to Jan 16

2010-01-10T16:55:00.002-05:00

This weeks Special for LottieMaesVintage is * 20% off any Geisha Girl item(s) purchase (does not include shipping fees)- note in Message to Seller area - "20% Geisha SALE" . We will refund the discount to your PayPal account.

Our CarDonsBitsandPieces shop will offer a * Buy one and Get one FREE special! (free item equal or lesser value - not including shipping). Please make a note in the Message to Seller area - "BOGO". We will refund the discount to your PayPal account.
Looking for craft or collectible buttons? GramsVintageButtons has many to choose from. This week we will be offering * FREE SHIPPING on purchase of $10.00 or more (not inlcuding shipping)- Write "FREE SHIPPING" in Message to Seller - We will refund the discount to your PayPal account.
CarDonCreativeDesigns offers An EXTRA 20% off our SALE/Specials Section (not including the shipping) - Write "Extra 20%" in Message to Seller - We will refund the discount to your PayPal account. Don't miss these great Deals, they are for this week only - January 10 to January 16.

Shop Specials Week of 1/3 to 1/9

2010-01-03T01:09:00.007-05:00

This weeks Special for LottieMaesVintage is *Buy 1 pair of Earrings get 2nd 50% off (2nd pair equal or lesser value). Please note in Message to Seller area - "Earring Sale" . We will refund the discount to your PayPal account.

Looking for craft or collectible buttons? GramsVintageButtons has many to choose from. This week we will be offering 20% off our Bags of Buttons section! Please note in Message to Seller area - "20% sale". We will refund the discount to your PayPal account.Our CarDonsBitsandPieces shop will offer a Buy one and Get one FREE special! (free item equal or lesser value - not including shipping). Please make a note in the Message to Seller area - "BOGO". We will refund the discount to your PayPal account. For your jewelry making supplies, CarDonCreativeDesigns offers FREE SHIPPNG on purchases of 25$ or more (not including the shipping). Please make a note in Message to Seller - "FREE SHPPING" and we will refund the discount to your PayPal account.
Don't miss these great Deals, they are for this week only - January 3 to January 9.

Shop Specials Week of 12/27 to 1/2/2010

2009-12-26T21:58:00.006-05:00

This weeks Special for LottieMaesVintage is *An EXTRA 20% off all of our SALE items! Please note in Message to Seller area - "20% SALE" . We will refund the discount to your PayPal account.

Looking for craft or collectible buttons? GramsVintageButtons has many to choose from. This week we will be offering an EXTRA 20% off our Sale section! Don't miss this super special. Please note in Message to Seller area - "20% sale". We will refund the discount to your PayPal account.

Our CarDonsBitsandPieces shop will offer 10% off all of our BOOKS and MAGAZINES. Please make a note in the Message to Seller area - "10% off books and mags". We will refund the discount to your PayPal account.

CarDonCreativeDesigns offers 20% off on ALL of our GEMSTONES. All of our gemstone listings will be 20% off this week only. This includes sale items too! Please make a note in Message to Seller - "20% off Gemstones" and we will refund the discount to your PayPal account.

Don't miss these great Deals, they are for this week only - December 27 to January 2, 2010.

LottieMaesVintage Weekly Specials

2009-12-16T06:43:00.005-05:00

Each week Mom and I will be offering a different Special in our LottieMaesVintage Shop. For the week of December 14th to the 19th will be a 20% discount on our Geisha Girl Dishes. We will refund the discount to your PayPal account. No limit, buy one item or buy more:)

LottieMaesVintage offers many different Geisha Girl Dishes, bowls, cup and saucers, Chocolate Pots, creamer pitchers and more.

Team Time: Etsy Supply Street Team

2009-12-10T06:45:00.000-05:00

Team Time: Etsy Supply Street Team

Holiday Happiness - Team ESST

2009-12-02T07:49:00.000-05:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Black Glass Button SALE

2009-11-10T07:35:00.002-05:00

GramsVintageButtons is having a sale!!

BLACK GLASS BUTTON SALE...Buy 3 buttons get 4th button FREE (equal or lesser value) AND shipping of just $2.00 US and $3.00 international. Refunds made to your PayPal account.

Offer good until BLACK FRIDAY 11/27/09. Convo with any questions:)

Team ESST - Tools of the Trade

2009-10-30T20:15:00.001-04:00

Team ESST SlideShow by RunswithScissors4

So, the Holiday Shopping Begins!

2009-10-19T17:29:00.010-04:00

I know, I said it! Holiday shopping, Yikes! But, Christmas/Holiday Club checks have been sent and the kids are already making their list. If you look at the calender it's just about 9 weeks to go until Christmas and Kwanzaa and even less for a Happy Hanukkah - only 7 weeks.

Come on let's get in on some great shopping finds before they are all gone. Wasn't it Mom that said "The Early Bird gets the Worm."? Well, I don't want a worm but, good deals I'm all in for.

So, my Mom and I want to show you some of the great finds at our LottieMaesVintage shop. We have loads of goodies for just about everyone on your list. Look at our lovely vintage Ladies Handkerchiefs, a beautiful gift for Grandma, or maybe a favorite Aunt. Stroll though our other linen offerings too.

Get more Bling with less Cha-Ching!! Looking for a great pair of vintage earrings for that Holiday Party? Or a Beautiful Brooch for a Fabulous Friend.

Looking for a unique gift? We have Geisha Girl Dishes in a variety of patterns and colors. Maybe a lovely Teacup and Saucer, or other collectable item from LottieMaesVintage.

Fancy a Fur Collar Coat? Maybe a Lacey Collar to jazz up an outfit? Elegant Ladies Hats?

We also have gifts for the men in your life. Tie tacs and Cufflinks make a thoughful gift.

LottieMaesVintage will be adding new listings weekly for your shopping pleasure, don't miss a thing!

Team ESST Weekend Shopping Extravaganza - Oct. 3rd & 4th

2009-09-30T18:57:00.003-04:00

Team ESST is sponsoring the October Weekend Shopping Extravaganza - October 3rd & 4th.

Our CarDonCreativeDesign shop for your jewelry making needs, will be offering FREE SHIPPING on orders of $25.00 or more for US purchases only - discounts on international orders. See shop announcement for details.

Need crafting buttons or do you collect buttons? Come and visit GramsVintageButtons, all orders $25.00 and over will be SHIPPED FREE - US orders only, discounts on international shipping. See shop announcements for details.

For Altered Art or Mixed Media projects check out CarDonsBitsandPieces. Books, bags of bits and pieces, lace and trim.....and more!

For your Vintage Fix!! check our LottieMaesVintage shop. Beautiful costume jewelry, lovely linen, delicious dishes, clasic clothing and much more!

Don't miss a thing!

Come and shop with Team ESST!!

2009-09-02T01:01:00.004-04:00

Team ESST is hosting a September Weekend Shopping Extravaganza!! September 5th and 6th. Come a check out all the great shops from Team ESST. Are you a crafter? EtsySupplyStreetTeam has shops with tons of items for you!

As for us.....well, stop by our shops and see all the great deals. Stock up on jewelry supplies at CarDonCreativeDesign. We are offering huge discounts on orders of $40.00 and more!! You will get a 50% discount (not including shipping) on orders of $40.00 or more :) Write WSE09 in message to seller.

Need buttons for collecting or crafting or maybe sewing? GramsVintageButtons has loads of buttons for you. Bags of buttons, black glass, buttons still on cards and more!

Oh, don't forget the Sale Section.

Our CarDonsBitsandPieces shops offers magazines and books, lace and trim, items to reuse or repair, and more.

Don't miss a thing!! These specials and sales are only for the weekend.

We Need to ACT NOW!!

2009-08-17T15:49:00.003-04:00

It's a good time to let our Washington folks know our concerns about their health care plans and all the other shenanigans going on unless you wish to see your children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren saddled with a debt they they can pass on to their succeeding generations. Friends, we are in fiscal difficulties that are bound to multiply if this reckless spending is not brought to a halt. Will we make our voice heard or will we sit back and watch our nation disintegrate? We will only effect the outcome if we act! Neil

Social Security 2009

LET US SHOW OUR LEADERS IN WASHINGTON "PEOPLE POWER" AND THE POWER OF THE INTERNET. PLEASE FORWARD TO ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS.
IT DOESN'T MATTER IF YOU ARE REPUBLICAN OR DEMOCRAT!

KEEP IT GOING!!!!

Propose this in 2009:

START A BILL TO PLACE ALL POLITICIANS ON SOCIAL SECURITY
----------------------------------
SOCIAL SECURITY:

(This is worth reading. It is short and to the point.)

Perhaps we are asking the wrong questions during election years.

Our Senators and Congresswomen do not pay into Social Security and, of course, they do not collect from it.
You see, Social Security benefits were not suitable for persons of their rare elevation in society. They felt they should have a special plan for themselves. So, many years ago they voted in their own benefit plan.

In more recent years, no congressperson has felt the need to change it. After all, it is a great plan.

For all practical purposes their plan works like this:

When they retire, they continue to draw the same pay until they die.
Except it may increase from time to time for cost of living adjustments...

For example, Senator Byrd and Congressman White and their wives may expect to draw $7, 800,000.00 (that's Seven Million, Eight-Hundred Thousand Dollars), with their wives drawing $275, 000..00 during the last years of their lives.
This is calculated on an average life span for each of those two Dignitaries.

Younger Dignitaries who retire at an early age, will receive much more during the rest of their lives.

Their cost for this excellent plan is $0.00. NADA!!! ZILCH!!!

This little perk they voted for themselves is free to them. You and I pick up the tab for this plan. The funds for this fine retirement plan come directly from the General Funds;

"OUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK"!

From our own Social Security Plan, which you and I pay (or have paid) into, every payday until we retire (which amount is matched by our employer), We can expect to get an average of
$1,000 per month after retirement.

Or, in other words, we would have to collect our average of $1,000 monthly benefits for 68 years and one (1) month to equal Senator Bill Bradley's benefits!

Social Security could be very good if only one small change were made.

That change would be to

Jerk the Golden Fleece Retirement Plan from under the Senators and Congressmen.. Put them into the Social Security plan with the rest of us

Then sit back.....

And see how fast they would fix it!

If enough people receive this, maybe a seed of awareness will be planted and maybe good changes will evolve.

Team ESST WSE - Weekend Shopping Extravaganza

2009-07-30T21:30:00.009-04:00

YES!! It's here again, Team ESST is having a WSE - August 1 & 2. You don't want to miss it!

So, Mom and I are offering a whole load of special mark down items in all of our shops. Our CarDonCreativeDesign jewelry supply shop has a special Sale section with dozens and dozens of sale items.

Need a button or two? GramsVintageButtons has a special Sale Section too!

Have the Vintage bug? LottieMaesVintage has a selection of sale items too! Jewelry items, dishes and linen also on sale. Don't miss any of it.

And our bits and pieces shop called CarDonsBitsandPieces, clever aren't we, has a load of craft stuff for all kinds of projects.

Team ESST Wednesday! Sewing Supplies

2009-07-15T00:15:00.006-04:00

This week I am featuring a few of my teammates from Team ESST - Etsy Supply Street Team.
My theme is Sewing this week. I don't sew and have to say I admire those talented people who can and do. I see great patterns and lovely fabric , the lace and ribbon, and the buttons ...well don't get me started. I just need to let everyone know what great patterns, fabrics, notions and such, Team ESST shops have to offer the sewing world!

The first shop I would like to feature is Artdoodads. Artdoodads carries a very nice line of uncut sewing patterns for babies, kids, men and women and vintage patterns and interesting patterns too. she also has real cool rubber stamps!

Next on our trip though Team ESST sewing circle:) are the lovely fringe and trims of LivinOnTheFringe. Need an embellishment for your sewing project? Well, shop on by and fill your cart with a load of lovely goodies! You will find appliques, beaded fringe, real cool fiber fringe, well just get over to LivinOnTheFringe and start Livin'!!

Where do we go from here? Well, now we need some fabric so, head on over to Tliss for fabric for sewing and crafting. She has fabric by the yard, remnants and scraps. Tliss has patterns, ribbons, and buttons too! I just love her cute fabrics:)

One last sewing must, BUTTONS!! TheButtonShop, Home of the ORIGINAL Tree Branch Buttons™ offers very interesting buttons for your sewing and crafting projects . Not only does the owner make these amazing tree branch buttons, she home schools her family of 8!!

We have finished our Team ESST sewing circle but, you can find more Fabulous patterns, trims and embellishments, fabrics and buttons by visiting our Team ESST site.

Menu Mondays - Pasta Salad!

2009-07-12T23:14:00.005-04:00

On Monday we will be sharing a favorite family recipe with you. Some will be quick and easy for summer meals or get togethers. As, the weather changes we will look forward to dishing out heartier meals. Pun intended:)

This week we will prepare a fabulous Pasta Salad. There are many different types of pasta one can use when making a pasta salad and that is a great thing about this recipe. My family likes to have the ruffle style pasta in our salad.

So, let's start with an ingredient list.

1 box of pasta 16 oz.- make it a fun shape to hold the great flavors of the dressing.

your choice of fresh vegetables, we like to use

grape tomatoes

cucumber - yellow squash or zucchini work well to

peppers of any color - pick 1 or more to add to the salad

carrots - baby work well and are very easy to prepare for this dish.

celery

radishes

This time of year when the harvest are coming in try one different veggetable in your salad. You and the kids may find a new favorite veggie.

cubed cheese - we like to use sharp cheddar, you use what your family likes

cubed cold meats, leftover chicken, canned tuna or go meatless if you wish

canned black olives - my kids love these

You can use a bottled salad dressing or make a packaged one. My family loves to have a Caesar dressing on the pasta salad.

Cut and cube the veggies to bite sized pieces. After the pasta is cooked to desired firmness rinse well with cold water. Add the bites of veggies, cheese and meat. Toss well with the dressing of your choice. Pasta will absorb the salad dressing so, if you plan on chilling for a few hours and not eating right away, you may want to leave a half cup to add just before serving.

This is great to serve with bread sticks, crusty rolls, or crackers - there are many great types and flavors to make your salad fun and fabulous.

Super Sale at CarDonCreativeDesign!!

2009-07-02T22:55:00.003-04:00

When Mom and Dad moved here just over a year ago, Mom brought with her all of her jewelry supplies!! Well, now we really need to clear out our jewelry supplies so we can get more!! To do that we have marked down dozens and dozens of our jewelry making supplies. These are "get them while you can" deals.

Our CarDonCreativeDesign Etsy shop is clearing our many great supply items. Do you love beads, create jewelry, or just want a great deal on a new hobby?

This is the time to save on beautiful beads, gems and jewels. Don't wait, when they are gone they are gone!!

Happy Shopping!!

Our Yart Sale - Sales!!

2009-06-10T07:00:00.002-04:00

It's time to YART!! Mom and I have 4 Etsy shops and we are offering great sales in each one of them. The 2nd Annual Yart Sale sponsored Team ESST is Wednesday June 10th to Sunday June 14th!!

Our CarDonCreativeDesign shop has a wonderful selection of jewelry making supplies. You can find all sorts of beads from glass to gem stones. Sterling silver and copper findings, metal filigree, resin links and...well, come and take a look!Looking for stuff!! Not sure what you want but, ya gotta Yart something! Come and visit CarDonsBitsandPieces we have bag o'beads, craft magazines, bits of this and pieces of that!!

Then, looking for collectible buttons or buttons to craft with? GramsVintageButtons has Victorian Black Glass buttons, Bakelite and Celluloid buttons, Vintage Carded and more.

Satisfy your need for vintage at LottieMaesVintage. We carry vintage jewelry, dishes, linens, clothes and fun stuff too!!

Each shop offers - Buy 2 items and you get the 3rd item (of equal or lesser value) FREE. (Does not included shipping) Checkout our shops for more details!!

2nd Annual Yart Sale June 10th - 14th * Sponsored by Team ESST

2009-06-06T21:12:00.005-04:00

The “2nd Annual Yart Sale” will be held from Wednesday June 10th-Sunday June 14th, 2009. This year the “2nd Annual Yart Sale” will be sponsored by the Etsy Supply Street Team (Team ESST). Although not an official Etsy event, it is Etsy supported as evidenced by the Storque article. A “Yart Sale” is an artistic spin on the traditional Yard Sale: Art + Yard Sale = “Yart Sale”. There are many art museums, artists, and groups that have Yart sales annually to raise cash. All Etsy shops are invited to participate. Choose to participate in your Handmade Store, your Supply Store, or your Vintage Store. If you have more than one shop you can participate in all of them. To join the sale, simply post the following Yart Sale Announcement in the Shop Announcement section of your Etsy Shop and please include a short description of how you will be participating in the sale:“I am participating in the Yart Sale on Etsy sponsored by Team ESST”.Team ESST invites you to come, post, chat and shop on the “Official Yart Sale” thread in the Promotions Section of the Etsy forums. A new thread will be posted daily at 7:00 AM EDT beginning on Wednesday June 10th by the Etsy Supply Street Team with the forum title:“SECOND ANNUAL YART SALE sponsored by Team ESST – June 10th, 2009”

We have 4 shops on Etsy and all of them will be participating. Checkout our jewelry supply shop - CarDonCreativeDesign for you jewelry making needs, GramsVintageButtons for your collectable or crafting buttons, our CarDonsBitsandPieces shop for craft books, bits and pieces, and our LottieMaesVintage for your vintage passion!!

Short and Sweet!

2009-05-24T12:48:00.004-04:00

I haven't blogged in a couple of weeks so, here is a short note on how things are going.

Mom and I have been busy with our 4 Etsy shops. But, more busy outside!! It is finally nice here in Central NY and we have been outside in the yard and planting in the gardens. Mom wants to have a big vegetable garden but, we just don't have the time to work in one with our shops needing tons of time too. So, we have decided to have a container garden. We have lots of big pots we are going to filled with dirt and then our veggie plants. I think we will have beans, peas, tomatoes, some cucumbers and try to grow peppers. Peppers take lots of time so, we need to find plants that mature in a short season. Oh yes, and we have a long window box planter for radishes :) And some baby carrots, too! Okay, it will be a bit more than what we had first planned but, my son Zac will have fun helping Mom and Gramma.

Hope you are enjoying your spring time weather!

Shopping Extravaganza X Four

2009-05-05T19:04:00.004-04:00

Yup!! It's time for the Team ESST Shopping Extravaganza Weekend!! Best news yet, we have 4 etsy shops that will be participating in the weekend. Mom and I would love for you to drop by and check out our shops :)

CarDonCreativeDesigns offers interesting and unique as well as your basic jewelry making supplies.

Then we have GramsVintageButtons where we have vintage buttons and many crafting buttons for your button collection or crafting projects.

For your crafting bits and pieces we have a shop for that too!! CarDonsBitsandPieces what a creative name ;) You will find lace, trimmings, bag of bits and things, books and magazines and more.
Our LottieMaesVintage shop carries a wide variety of vintage items. We have vintage jewelry, pins, earrings, necklaces, and cuff links. We have found vintage linens, dishes, deco items, clothes and more.

For this Shopping Extravaganza Weekend we will be offering a 15% discount on orders over $25.00. We will combine orders in all of our shops. You can shop in all of our stores and if the total of the orders is over $25.00 we will refund 15% of the item total (not including shipping fees) to your PayPal account. Please note to seller that you have made purchases in our other shops.

May Team ESST sponsored Shopping Extravaganza Weekend - May 7th (Thursday) to 10th (Sunday). Happy Shopping!

Coming Soon !! Team ESST May Shopping Extravaganza

2009-04-27T08:09:00.001-04:00

The Etsy Supply Street Team - ESST - is proud to announce the "May - First Weekend Shopping Extravaganza".The May event will run from Thursday, May 7th - Sunday, May 10th, 2009. ALL ETSY SHOPS - HANDMADE, SUPPLIES AND VINTAGE - are invited to participate by placing an announcement in your shop and joining in with promoting on the "Official" Promotional thread in the Etsy Forums.This will be a “Shopping Event” similar to a Public Marketplace. There will not be a "Overall theme" since Etsy is a Global Marketplace hence, the seasons, cultures, holidays, etc. can vary quite a bit. Although not required, we do strongly encourage shops to have a feature, theme or sale as this can pique interest and help you to draw people to your shop. You do not have to participate for the whole weekend simply join in when you can on the Promo thread in the Etsy Forums. You can search for the official thread - “MAY FIRST WEEKEND SHOPPING EXTRAVAGANZA MAY 7TH-MAY 10TH”. Here is the Promo thread in the Etsy Forums: Will be posted once the Extravaganza has started!The only requirement is that you have a shop on Etsy and help promote by joining in and bumping the thread throughout the weekend. Talk about your shop and what you have to offer our shoppers. Those of you who blog or twitter can post and/or tweet about it and promote to people that are off Etsy to visit us. It will provide the Etsy community with publicity, making our shops more visible, and hopefully creating a monthly event shoppers will look forward to. If you have any questions please convo the Etsy Supply Street Team

Sale-Sale-Sale-Sale

2009-04-01T20:10:00.002-04:00

OK, now that I have your attention! CarDon and Co. (all of our Etsy shops) will be Celebrating our 2nd Anniversary for CarDon Creative Design shop. Mom and I started our first shop on Etsy two years ago as of April 3rd.

Wow, those 2 years have flown by! In those 2 years we have switched from selling at home parties our finished jewelry and selling jewelry on Etsy to selling jewelry supplies and have opened 3 more shops. Yup, we have been busy girls.

We invite you to come and help us celebrate our anniversary! All of our shops will be apart of the sale. CarDonCreativeDesign our jewelry supply shop, GramsVintageButtons for vintage and crafting buttons, LottieMaesVintage has great vintage finds - dishes, linens, jewelry, clothes, and more. Our newest shop - CarDonsBitsandPieces carries...well, bits and pieces, great items for your altered art, mixed media and craft projects.

Now the good part the Sale!! We are giving 20% off any order over $10 (that doesn't include shipping - just the merchandise) and if your order is over $40 (not including the shipping - just the merchandise) we will give you the 20% discount and free shipping. We will return the savings to your PayPal account or you deduct it from your Money Order.

You can combine orders from all of our shops too! Just let us know in notes to seller that you have placed an order with another shop.

Sale dates are April 2nd to April 5th.

I was on Blockhead Radio!!

2009-03-24T22:42:00.002-04:00

I was just on Blockhead Radio Live!! As Team ESST leader I was invited along with the whole team to be on the "Artisan Teams and Groups" talk show. It was so exciting!! Several team members were able to chat along with us as we talked about the team and what we were about.

I got to talk with teammates I have "know" for a long time but, now I got to talk with them!! Hi Jazzie, hi everyone :) Lily our host was great, she is also an Etsy shop owner, TulipsTreasureBox . We had lots of fun talking about our team and the terrific members we have. Also, we covered our teams variety of supplies and the great service we give to our customers!

Thanks Blockhead Radio for a great time and wonderful way to promote our team!!

MOSAIC's This Weeks Team Tease

2009-03-20T09:42:00.010-04:00

Last year I got hooked on Mosaics! I saw all of the beautiful mosaic shop when I admitted the new team shops and thought I can do this. So, my first attempt went well. I did two trivets with supplies from team members. Here are my offerings :)

Team ESST has many wonderful mosaic supply shops and this week I will cover just a few of them. Not only are these supply shops they are Fabulous mosaic artist.

First shop pick this week is judysnow's Hand Cut Mosaic Tiles . You will find classic tiles, beautiful patterns, interesting bits and pieces, and Papa Honey's awesome wooden toys.

My next team mosaic shop pick is Mosaic Tiles Supply Mosaic Art CoCoMo Etsy. Cocomo supplies the tiles I used in my first project. Mom and I love tea pots and cups and Cocomo had the perfect tiles to use.

Another fantastic mosaic shop is Artful Mosaic Supplies. Here you will find marvelous handmade clay tiles and handmade MDF bases, I used them for my trivets as well as the grout from this shop!

I can't resist so, here are the rest of the Team ESST mosaic supply shops!

Another awesome shop for handpainted tiles, DooDles Mosaic Supplies and Handpainted Tiles.

And another terrific shop CMKSculptures2, which I featured last week :)

Then there is mosaictiledesigns for wonderful tiles!

Can't forget artsyhandpaints, check out her delightful handpainted tiles!!

And our newest team member glassshack, featuring glass shards, real cool :)

Thanks for looking and see you next week!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day

2009-03-16T21:57:00.005-04:00

Well, it's here the day my son has been waiting for - Saint Patrick's Day! I barely remember the excitement from my elementary school days but, Zac has brought them back to me. Over the weekend Zac went "Green" shopping with Grampa. I gave him some money and told Dad that was all he had to spend. Yeah, right! Grampas are great! Anyway, an hour or so later in came Zac with his "Green" stash. He had to model the goods for me and I had to take pictures. We played with the edit mode and made Zac into a cartoon :) No, he does not have a pierced tongue but, there are times I would like to glue his mouth shut ;)

And just for fun here is a great bunch of Shamrock items from Team ESST :) The Shamrock tags are from JennifersCozyCottage.

Happy Saint Patty's Day :)

Thursday Team Teaser

2009-03-12T20:50:00.004-04:00

Yea!! Time to get to our weekly team tease. As I have written before I am the team leader of a Fabulous Etsy Street Team :) Team ESST - Etsy Supply Street Team is a wonderful group of supply shops on Etsy.com. We offer a wide variety of supplies for your crafting needs. Here are this weeks shops!!

We have a new Momma and an awesome shop owner in EllaHound! One of our many International members EllaHound offers some amazing fabrics and notions in her shop. Looking over her fabric makes me want to learn to sew :) Check her out and find very interesting crafting items, so much fun!!

The next Team ESST shop tease this week is MailleEtc. Do you like chainmaille jewelry? Want to make some? Get your kits here. Do you work with sterling silver or solid copper jump rings? Want a great way to let the creative you out?! Check out MailleEtc today :)

To wrap up this weeks team tease, I want you to see some of the nicest mosaic tiles around. CMKSculptures2 has beautiful hand painted and kiln fired tiles. I have to admit I am in love with her award winning mosaic bird house, this is a Must See!! A multi talented artist and a gotta see shop!

Menu Monday - Burritos!

2009-03-09T11:37:00.005-04:00

This weeks recipe is Burritos! My family loves this dish, it is an easy item to fix and feed a hungry bunch of guys.

Adjust according to your family size. I make about 10 for my family of 4 and have a couple of leftovers for late night snack. You know how boys are :)

You will need-

1 - 1 1/2 lbs of ground beef or turkey if you like

1 package of taco seasoning - choose your taste - mild, hot, etc

1 can refried beans - again choose your taste

1 small can (4.5 oz) of chopped green chiles

1 16 oz. package of shredded cheese - your taste, cheddar, Mexican style, etc.

10 large size tortillas

Salsa and sour cream

Brown the beef or turkey until cooked through. Add the taco seasoning according to the package instructions. Mix in the beans and green chiles.

Once the beef or turkey mixture is done you will need to preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Next you will assemble the burritos. On each tortilla shell you will layer the meat mixture and top with cheese. Roll the shell and place seam down on a cookie sheet. Repeat for each burrito. I top the center of the burritos with the rest of the cheese. Bake for about 30 minutes, until the edges begin to brown.

Serve with salsa and sour cream. Enjoy!!

Team Teaser

2009-03-06T10:12:00.002-05:00

I'm running late with the Thursday Team Teaser so, here it is on Friday :)

I think all of the shops that are members of Team ESST are fabulous, which makes picking each week real tough. Enie-meanie minie Mo here we go!

I just love Tiny Ark, Jason makes the coolest polymer clay buttons and I am amazed at his skill. From lovely buttons to animal buttons to just plain fun buttons Tiny Ark has something for everyone to enjoy. To make this even cooler Tiny Ark is in Dublin!! This shop is one of our many International team members, so happy to have you here Jason!!

Who doesn't like Junk :) ? Well, my friend JazziesJunque has great stuff! Need some interesting items for your altered art project? See Jazzie! Want some cool things for crafting? You got it! See Jazzie! My favorite thing out of her whole shop has to be the adorable Monopoly money envelopes.

Now it's tool time!! What crafter can craft without tools? EviesToolEmporium has wonderful tools for the crafter. She carries pliers and screwdrivers to the interesting and awesome Universal/Clamping Bench Vise . EviesToolEmporium carries a wide variety of tools I can't imagine that you would not find something you need in her shop.

Run don't walk to these fabulous Team ESST shops and see what great items you can find!! Till next week happy crafting :)

Monday Menu Helper

2009-03-02T08:01:00.002-05:00

Squizzle!! Yes, it's squizzle time :)

My grandmother (Dad's mom) used to make this fun casserole and the whole family loved it.

You will need -
1 can of vegetable beef soup
1 pound of browned ground beef - drained
6 cups of made instant potatoes

Optional
Fried onions - the ones in a can
or
Shredded cheese

In a 9x12 casserole dish mix the browned beef, soup, and half a can of water. Layer the potatoes over the beef and soup mixture.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes - you will see bubbles and then top with fried onions or cheese and bake for 5 minutes more to toast the onions or melt cheese.

Serve with dinner rolls and a tossed salad or your families favorite side dishes.

Happy Squizzle:)

Thursday Team Teaser :)

2009-02-26T09:04:00.001-05:00

I am the leader for Team ESST - Etsy Supply Street Team. On Thursdays I will feature team shops. So, a type of tease, for the awesome shops that are teammates and members of Team ESST.

The first shop I would like to feature is Livin On The Fringe. This shop has the most beautiful, oh yeah, FRINGE. The photos of the great supplies in this shop will knock you out! This is one of my favorites!

The second tease is a fabulous shop and terrific teammate :) 32NorthSupplies has lovely mixed media items for all kinds of crating. I really love her Dresden and foil items. I drool over this one!

For the third tease this week I would love for you to see this Unique shop! Yarn to Spin not only sells awesome natrual and dyed roving but, they raise some of the fiber:) What you say? yes, they raise Angora bunnies. Cool check out Sugar!

Check back next week for a new Team Tease, now go an see what these great shops have to offer!

Snows a Blowing

2009-02-25T09:16:00.000-05:00

Mom and Dad have been here for almost a year now. They retired to Central New York from Virginia. Yes, they have been asked "Why?" by just about everyone they meet. The answer is different depending on who you ask. Dad will tell you it's because they are nuts:) But, Mom will tell you it's because they have 5 out of their 6 children living here and best of all, 14 of their 18 - yup 18 grandchildren living here in Central New York.

We did learn that Dad "loves" to use the snow blower.

Dad waves from his house :)

He even has a special hat to wear when he snow blows our shared driveway.

I think he may miss the sunny south just a little bit ;)

The path to our house.

Monday Menu Magic

2009-02-23T20:13:00.008-05:00

OK, this week as promised I will feature Corinne's favorite meal at our house. Corinne is my son's beautiful girlfriend. She comes to our house a couple times a week and has come to love my Chicken Pesto.

First, you will need these ingredients:
Chicken - sliced in bite sized pieces (about 1 to 1 1/2 lbs.)
Onion - sliced (1 medium to large)
Peppers - green, red, yellow (mixed or if you prefer, use just one kind) - sliced - (Use 2 peppers)
Linguine - 1 lb. box
I used a jar of pre-made pesto - works great and saves time :)

Optional - pine nuts - toasted lightly

While your preparing the pasta.

In a large fry pan toast the pine nuts if you choose to use them. Quickly stir the nuts around a dry medium-hot pan until they start to change to a light brown color. Remove and place in small dish until needed.

Next, cook the chicken in a small amount of oil (olive oil is great if you have it, otherwise use what you have). Move the cooked chicken to a large serving dish and cover with foil and set aside.

Now, you need to saute the onions and peppers. We like them tender crisp but, cook them to your families taste. I use olive oil again to saute the veggies.

By now your linguine should be al dente, drain and set aside for a moment.

Add the cooked chicken to the onions and peppers, add the drained linguine and pour the pre-made pesto over all of it and gently toss or stir to mix pesto evenly. Pour back into the serving bowl and top with the pine nuts.

Serve hot with a tossed salad and bread. This serves about 5 adults.

The best part is, Justin and Corinne clean up ;)

My Bionic Mom

2009-02-18T19:02:00.001-05:00

Well, she really is a diabetic Mom. But , she is wired up :)

Mom has been a diabetic for over 26 years now, and insulin dependant for 25 of those years. When my Dad retired last year and they moved next door to me and my family. Her new doctor told her she was a candidate for an insulin pump. Great, this is a mini computer that delivers insulin right into her body. I went with Mom for a 3 hour training course on how to run this little gem of technology.

Oh my!! Mom's neat little pump requires her to have a needle to insert the cannula (a tube that stays inside to deliver the insulin). Then a little tube sends insulin on a regular basis called a basal, which is a small amount to keep her sugar regular. Then if she eats Mom has to calculate the carbs, program the pump and do a bolus. A bolus cover the carb intake.

After she had the pump for a few months, the doctor wanted her to use a sensor with the pump. Now she has another device she must insert into her tummy with a needle and leaves a sensor to measure her blood glucose at all times. The benefit of this is to keep her sugar from going high or low between her regular testing, which is usually at meal times.

Now, on top of this Mom has a heart condition and the cardiology doctor wanted her to wear a heart monitor!

So, my Mom is the Bionic Woman. She is wired for all kinds of "fun" stuff. But, as my business partner she can still keep up with me (that doesn't mean much ;). Just this week she learned to edit photos. My Mom is not only Mom, she is my best friend, my advisor, and she cooks too!

Monday Menu Helper

2009-02-15T08:13:00.001-05:00

I love to cook but, hate to clean up! So, on Mondays I will post easy quick meals you can make or bake to please you and your family.

I love Emeril Lagasse's motto, "This ain't rocket science"! I generally don't measure or use exact recipes. I keep a basic list of ingredients in my pantry, canned cream of soup (what ever you like - chicken, mushroom, celery, cheesy broccoli, etc.), for something special I have a jar of pre-made pesto. I also have a variety of pasta too. In my freezer I keep bags of frozen veggies - my kids love peas and broccoli. You will need your favorite meats on hand.

So, with this in mind here is my first quick meal.

Chicken Divan - most Campbell's cream of chicken soup labels have this recipe. This is my version.

You will need -
Chicken - I like to cut is into chunks, it makes it go further than whole breast. Trust me :)
Cream of chicken soup - any brand works
milk
frozen broccoli - we prefer floret's but chopped works too.

optional -
shredded cheddar cheese - for an extra touch
bread crumbs and melted butter - for a crunchy topping - about 3/4 cup crumbs and enough melted butter to keep it together.

First - brown the chicken chunks - make sure chicken is cook though.

Assemble the casserole in a 9x13 baking dish.

Put the broccoli on the bottom of baking dish, then layer the browned, cooked chicken chunks on top of frozen broccoli. Mix soup with a full can of milk if you like a soupier casserole or 2/3 can of milk if you like a less soupy casserole. Pour the soup and milk mixture over top of the chicken and broccoli. Cover tightly with foil and bake at 350 for 30 to 40 minutes. Check the broccoli at the 30 minute time to see if done. For last 10 minutes if you would like add the shredded cheese and bread crumb and butter topping. Finish the last 10 minutes without foil to melt cheese and brown the bread crumb topping.

Serve while hot. Serving size depends on the amount of chicken and broccoli you use. I use a pound bag of broccoli and about 1 1/2 pounds of chicken to feed my family of 2 growing boys and my husband and me :) With some leftovers for a midnight snack.

Easy add-ons to any meal - bag salad and cherry tomatoes and dinner rolls.

Next week - Turkey pesto Corinne's favorite :)

First Weekend - Team ESST Sponsored Event!

2009-02-04T18:09:00.003-05:00

The Etsy Supply Street Team is sponsoring a "First Weekend Shopping Extravaganza" for the month of February. We invite all Etsians of every category to participate by placing an announcement in your shop and join us with promoting your shops on the Promo thread in the Etsy Forums.

This is not a Sale, it is a Shopping Event sponsored by the Etsy Supply Street Team. On the first weekend of each month, Team ESST will sponsor the event from Thursday - Sunday by promoting it both on and off of Etsy.

This month's event will occur from February 5th -8th. Please look for the post "February Shopping Extravaganza sponsored by Team ESST" in the Promos section of the Etsy Forums beginning on Thursday, February 5th around 12:00 AM EDT.

Because Etsy is a Global Marketplace and the seasons, cultures and holidays can vary quite a bit, there is no overall theme. However, we do strongly encourage shops to have a feature, theme or sale as this can pique interest and help draw people to your shop.

You do not have to participate for the whole weekend as we will be posting a fresh new thread each day of the event. You can easily find the new link by checking the last post of the old thread each day.

To join our Shopping Extravaganza, the only requirement is to help promote the event by joining in and bumping the Promotion Thread throughout the weekend. In the thread, please let us know about your shop and what you have to offer our shoppers.

If you blog or twitter, please promote this event to those outside of the Etsy community. It will provide the Etsy community with publicity and add visibility to our shops. As this will become a monthly event, it will be something for shoppers to look forward to.

The First Weekend Shopping Event is sponsored by Team ESST, not by Etsy. More information about our team can be found right here on our blog. If you have any questions about this event please convo one of our members at TheArtistsCloset.etsy.com

A Few of My Favorite Pearls

2009-02-02T21:46:00.004-05:00

If you haven't seen our shop banner or avatar for our CarDon Creative Design shop, it's Pearls! Pearls used to be just white and worn on special occasions. Now, they are a designing must. There are several kinds, the most popular to use in jewelry designing is the freshwater cultured pearl. We just love them! They have the classic round shapes in different sizes, then we get the fun and lovely shapes like rice, button, potato, coin, sticks, flat sided, baroque, and maybe more I haven't used yet. They can be half drilled for earrings or dangle designs, top drilled or the most common, side drilled.

Of course, we then get to the fabulous colors!! A rainbow full of colors in about every shade you can think of. The pearls are dyed bright vibrant colors and soft pale colors. Freshwater cultured pearls come in different grades of quality. Surprisingly C and some D grades can make very nice designs.

Designing with pearls can range from the most elegant to simple fun. Wear them with ball gowns or tee-shirt and jeans and everything in-between. We have many different varieties in our shop. Have fun looking them over and planing your next freshwater cultured pearl design.

We Love Black Glass Buttons

2009-02-01T16:57:00.007-05:00

We have a huge collection of black glass buttons. Some are rather plain but, most are just lovely. When we were lucky enough to win a bid lot last year at an auction we found a can and a couple of bags with black glass buttons.

Black glass buttons became popular during the reign of Queen Victoria. After the death of her husband Albert, jet buttons were apart of the black mourning wear. Jet was replaced by glass and thus more available.

We have our buttons listed in our Etsy shop GramsVintageButtons. We carry other vintage buttons celluloid, colored glass, some still carded, some just for crafting. Take a look and enjoy!

Teaching Little Girls Jewelry Making

2009-01-31T22:27:00.003-05:00

Today Mom and I had a great time teaching 11 little girls how to make jewelry. The PTA at my sons school asked us if we would participate in the PTA's Enrichment Program. Of course we would love too! So, Mom and I spent last night putting bracelet kits together and preparing for today.

Our first session, 5 girls from the 4th and 5th grade came in and we explained who we were and what we were going to do. You never can tell about kids now a days but, they were very excited to get started. We began with the simple earrings we had planned to make, then next came the bracelets. I was ready to see all kinds of "interesting" designs. Much to our surprise they were very good at making wonderful patterns and we helped them finish up the bracelets with crimps and split rings.

The second session was a group of 6 girls this time 3rd and 4th graders. It was exciting to help them learn the different jewelry terms and tools. They all did very well with their designs also. Both Mom and I had a fantastic time with all the children, it was a great experience. Maybe we have started the next great jewelry designer on her way!

Next year my son will be in middle school but, I will let the PTA know we would love to be apart of the program again:)

Mom and I Visit the Auction!

2009-01-27T23:26:00.004-05:00

We have a local auction house that we just love to go to. They have an inhouse auction every Wednesday night. Other auctions are onsite where the estate happens to be. One very memorable trip was by myself as Mom and Dad had company and Mom wasn't able to go. Well, needless to say I came home with more than I planned on spending. Mom immedately informed me I was not to go to the auctions again unless she could go and suppervise my spending.

The auction house is our biggest source of vintage goods. We find lots of great items that we resell in our GramsVintageButtons Etsy shop and our LottieMaesVintage shop also on Etsy.

A few weeks passed and a great auction was coming up. Mom and I went to the regular inhouse auctoin with the intent on looking for a FEW things to add to our growing vintage stock. We came prepared with pad and paper, Mom wrote down the items we really thought would make fabulous additions to our shops. There was a little bit of this and of that, we knew we just had to have and then there were items, that if we could get them at a good deal, and so on.

I forgot to mention, my oldest son works at this auction house and has for the last 3 years :) So, Mom and I get to sit right up front. Now you see, we had every intention of sticking to the list but, there were these deals on such awesome stuff....;) Before we knew what we were doing, we had trays and boxes full of teriffic goodies!! It took to guys to haul everything to our van.

Bottom line....Mom helped us spend twice as much as when I went alone. If you like vintage, keep checking on our shops because it will take us quite some time to get all of this listed.

Here is a sample of our New Years 08 Vintage find - buttons and buttons and more buttons.

Russell and Cody - Their Turn

2009-01-12T21:52:00.005-05:00

Russell has lived with us for almost 6 years now. He came to us a 6 week old puppy. We had just lost our beloved Doberman "Rusty". He was the most beautiful red doberman you have ever seen. Yes, I know, we were a bit bias but, he had the nicest shape. You know the ones, the big huge chest and little bitty waist. I would loved to have had that shape myself :) But, at 10 years old he got sick and he went to doggie heaven. In my grief we went and got a puppy! I needed a dog to love. So, I just happened to talk to my brother who lives 600 some odd miles away and told him of our puppy search. Well, he just so happen to have pasted the television set and "WishBone" was on and out of his mouth came - "Why not get a JRT?" "A what?", I asked. "You know, that cute little well behaved dog from the T.V." "Oh, sounds good." Right?!

Well, not really!

But, my hubby obliged and off we went to get our new pup. I picked up every puppy there. One that I kept picking up would go right up my neck and cuddle with me. Sold!! We'll take him. My family had discussion after discussion on what to name him. R2 for Rusty the second, Repeat, Ditto, and so on. We finally settled on Russell which we figured was a proper name for Rusty. Russell was only six weeks old when we got him and if you get only one thing from this story it would be - Don't get a puppy that young! I am sure Russell truly believes I'm his Momma :)

And guess what?! WishBone is a very well trained dog and has to be on T.V. for 5 minutes at a time. Real JRTs are very active, very hyper, very protective and they jump up and down just like the commercial on T.V. Moral to my story - never listen to your brother who lives 600 some odd miles away!

Ok, then every time my in-laws came with their dog, Russell was actually better behaved. Even after LottieMae came to visit - now that she is big - Russell was a very good dog. I came up with this fantastic idea! Let's adopt a dog!! I begged and pleaded for my hubby to let me get another dog. Yup, he loves me, we got another dog. Cody is a Brittney. His owner had passed away and his family was unable to care for him. We were so happy, he was just the kind of dog we wanted. A dog that had been loved and wanted all his life but, due to unfortunate events lost his master. We didn't want a dog with issues - we had one of those :) Cody is the sweetest dog you ever will meet. He is a role model for his little brother Russell. Well, most of the time :) He learned quickly that once you come inside from potty time you get a treat. I do swear that Cody will hold some back just he can go out again and come back in just to get his treat. He knows just where the treats are kept even when we move them around, he finds them.

I keep in touch with Cody's Aunts, they send letters and have sent some of his puppy pictures. I hope they know how much we love Cody and will care for him always. He is such a wonderful big brother to Russell. When Russell gets in trouble he has to go to his crate. Cody will remind us that Russell has spent enough time "in the corner" and we should let him out.

Cody is in love with LottieMae. He takes bones outside and leaves them so LottieMae will come over and get them. He gets all jumpy happy when she comes to visit. Yes, as you can tell we love our dogs. Hope you enjoyed my stories and the pictures of these wonderful furry friends :)

Matt, my brother visiting at Thanksgiving - he thinks Russell is a great dog. Of course this is the one time he is actually behaving, go figure ;)

Just Who Is Lottie Mae?

2009-01-07T11:51:00.008-05:00

Well, I am glad you asked :)

Lottie was my Dad's grandmother and Mae was my Mother's Mom. I never met my great-grandmother Lottie but, my Father said she was a sweet and loving grandmother. Mae my grandmother, I knew very well. I am the first grandchild of the first daughter so, I feel we had a special relationship. Gram and I shared many wonderful times together. As the grand kids had their own children we called Gram, GG. Gram-GG has been gone for 10 years now and we miss her dearly.

On to the rest of the story. Two years ago my parents, who still lived in Virginia had lost their beloved cat Reilly to illness/old age and were considering a new pet. Dad wanted a standard Schnauzer, anyone who is familiar with this breed knows this is a huge dog. Reilly was a big cat but, Mom cringed at the thought of a mini horse in the house.

Luckily for Mom, while on vacation in New York they found out that a relative had been breeding mini Schnauzers for a while and was expecting a litter in a few weeks. So, they went home to Virginia and waited the birth of the puppies. At last they were born and ready for adoption. Mom and Dad drove to my house in New York, an 11 hour trip. They spent the night and first thing in the morning my Dad, hubby and sons set off to get the puppy. Mom had spent 11 hours in the car the day before and opted out of the 8 hour round trip to get the puppy and come back to our house.

Oh, I forgot to mention that this was in January and in central New York we have snow at that time of year. Off the boys went to get a fur ball and Mom and I went shopping for beads :) and other important things.

By dinner time Mom and I had shopped till we dropped and the boys were just getting home with an adorable ball of fur. She was the cutest little thing. I asked Dad what he would name the puppy. He said "Lottie Mae". Lottie Mae? Where did you get a name like that? Well, he told me what I've already told you. A sweet little name for a sweet little puppy, right? Yeah, she is the sweetest little dog you will ever met. Ok, well I am off a bit on that one. Lottie Mae is very sweet and everyone wants to take her home with them. The issue is she has gone from a little puppy to a portly little dog :)

Let's back up a bit. Mom and Dad took their new baby home. Mom held her alllll the way home, all 11 hours. Spoiled, no of course not, she's just a baby. I called Mom every day as apart of my normal habit but, now we had a long discussion on the "BABY". She did this or did that fun thing or "She is so smart!". Yeah, she was smart, she was wrapping 2 grown ups around her little paws ;) She was fussy about her food so, Mom would hand feed her till she ate from her bowl, like ever happened! Mom and Dad held her and rocked her so she would be happy. Dad started training her, she was very smart! She learned quickly and thus earned her spot as the smartest dog in the WORLD!

Just to add a note here, we have a dog a JRT-Jack Russell Terror (not a spelling error) he had an issue with "Darling Lottie Mae". He is after all a hunting dog and a little grey furry critter was open invitation for hunting time. So, needless to say every time I talked to Mom or Dad they would ask how my ROTTEN dog was.

A year passes and Mom and Dad come for Christmas. Wow, they get out of the car and out comes this huge grey furry critter. They come into the house and Russell runs for his life :) Lottie Mae struts her stuff and lets Russell know she is the Queen and doesn't go for any of his silliness.

Here are some photos of Sweet Lottie Mae. I'll finish her story later. Hope you enjoyed getting to know her :)

What's Next in Our Etsy Adventures?

2008-12-31T21:27:00.003-05:00

We started our Etsy shop on April 3, 2007 and our first sale was May 24, 2007. We tweaked and posted more jewelry, we worked our home parties and handed out our Etsy shop cards. But, no more sales :( In total frustration I listed some of our stash. Some miscellaneous beads and findings. Sales, we got sales!! 18 sales in the first week!! I called Mom (she still lived in Virginia at the time) "Mom we are selling our beads, send me what you got!" She sent me some of her stock. I took photos - with our huge light box! It was great, we found our niche!! Supplies, jewelry supplies! We had tons of them. Mom and I had been designing and making jewelry for over a year and we had stash of everything :)

Yeah us!! We already had wholesale suppliers so, we were set to switch our gears. Mom and Dad were still in Virginia which put a load on me to list, sell and ship our merchandise. They put their house up for sale and Dad prepared to retire. The plan was to retire and move next to us!! Not just for the business but, because we - my family wanted them to live next door.

Now...we wait for the house to sell. We waited and waited...Stay tuned for the adventure of selling a home.

The HeartBreak :(

2008-12-29T20:18:00.002-05:00

Next in our adventures, we had frustration and more frustration. I started listing, and listing, and listing. For those familiar with Etsy, we did get views and hearts but, no sales. I was on the forums looking for clues as how to get more - well, ANY sales. I got up some courage and posted a "Help Me" question. I asked for a shop critique. Ahhh...what had I done!! I posted and ran back to my shop to see if I could find what was the problem. I must be missing something!

Sadly, I went back to the forums and looked at the post to see several responses. I read and read, the majority of them said my photos - they put it nicely but, said they stunk. One of the post said to get or make a light box for the photos. So, mini-side adventure into "Photo Box" making. My hubby to the rescue :) We went and purchased the material to make our own light box. It was fun, me and he building a huge and I do mean huge light box. I think we could have taken photos of babies in our light box. But, I just re-shot the necklaces, earrings and bracelets and re posted the photos.

Finally, six weeks after we opened, our first sale!! Please, don't get to happy for us. Weeks went by and no more sales. Lucky for us we did home parties and were selling our jewelry but, not online.

Was our online dream going to die a miserable death? Would we be able to make a go of our Etsy shop, CarDon Creative Design? Keep watching for future adventures!

CarDon Creative Design Year End Sale

2008-12-27T23:06:00.004-05:00

We are having a year end sale in our CarDon Creative Design shop. You will find great prices on a wonderful selection of jewelry making needs.

Check out our Sale Section - http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5113198&section_id=5083916

* Mother of Pearl Coin Beads

* Gemstones

* Findings

* Watch Faces

* Pendants

* More...

Trade Necklace

2008-12-26T19:44:00.002-05:00

Ever trade? Well, it's lots of fun! I found a person who wanted a necklace made with a pearl cross we had in our shop and I saw a fabulous crocheted scarf in their shop. Thus, a trade was born.

A Sample of Our Designs

2008-12-26T19:34:00.003-05:00

This is first and only design Mom and I collaborated on. We had a great deal of fun working on this fabulous piece. In the list of awesome supplies, we used turquoise donuts, turquoise nuggets and heishi beads. Also, used were carnelian nuggets, clear crystal chips, keishi pearls, sterling silver beads and much more! I wire worked the earrings to match the necklace.

We have step by step pics of our designing this piece but, we are in our jams, no make-up, and our hair is a mess so, you won't be seeing those :)

The Adventure Continues!

2008-12-26T12:00:00.003-05:00

OK, for all of you who are waiting for the adventure to continue here we go!!

We left you last at my dear hubby bringing up selling on the Internet!!! Well, as I said, I went into a panic. INTERNET, isn't that space, like the unknown place people get sucked into and are never see from again? Alright, I was a bit dramatic ;) But, I really didn't have a clue how or where to start and was happy not learning. My extent of computer knowledge was shopping for our supplies and was really good a playing "Diablo" with my sons. Here again, my hubby was great at searching for useless info - for the most part. He loved looking up the facts about how many penguins lived at the Artic Circle and where cheese came from...OK, I'm really just kidding. He did find a great site for our made jewelry though, Etsy.com.

New chapter of CarDon Creative Designs.

So, I took a look at Etsy.com and it was a great fit for our business. I took some Prozac ;) and jumped into the process of setting up a shop. First issue was our name, CarDon Creative Designs would not fit into the allowed Etsy space so, off came the "s". Now, as CarDonCreativeDesign - no "s", I started listing our jewelry. Oh wait, first I had to figure out how to take photographs of our jewelry :p I have never been a camera person. We would go on vacation and on the last day go back to all the places we had been just to get pics to show we were really there!!

Camera!! Well, as luck would have it I did have a good digital camera. I bought it to take pics of our then 8 yr old playing football. Now to find a place with good light and background to take these "Fabulous" pictures of our jewelry. My dinning room table was a nice start and the wall behind it made for a good backdrop. Click,click, clicking I went. But, that was not the end...now I have to "EDIT" all of those pictures. Oh please, I am back to no clue again!! I could go to the help tab and see how to do this "Edit" thing or wing it. You guessed it, I winged it :) I was pretty happy with the results and was now ready to list the jewelry.

It is the day after Christmas and I need to go and put away the gifts and check out our new vacuum - it sucks up dog hair!! See our slideshow and you will see we have sweet dogs but, they shed like no tomorrow!!

Stay tuned for the next installment of our adventures..."HeartBreak"!!

Let's Get Started

2008-12-22T19:08:00.000-05:00

Well, here we go on another adventure!! Blogging :O Just 2 days before Christmas and we're off on another project. Didn't someone say "No time like the present."?

Okay, we will start at the beginning of our mother, daughter partnership. Our first business was about 26 years ago. Mom and I started a printed tee-shirt business. Remember the shirts with "Gag me with a Spoon", "Grody to the Max", "Valley Girl", okay enough of those. We did fun pics and so on. We did a party plan for sales and had tons of fun. But, Mom and Dad moved, I got married and moved to Syracuse NY.

23 years flash by!!

Mom and Dad are now living in Virginia and I still live in Syracuse NY with my hubby and 2 sons :) Mom the forever crafter has done just about everything ;p and said "I think I'll do some jewelry making." Great, I thought!! Something else I can't do. But, while on vacation in Virginia, Mom and I hit a couple of craft stores and bought a few (well, lots) of jewelry supplies. Wow!! Who would've known, I love it, I can design. My hidden talent has surfaced.

Mom and I jump into CarDon Creative Designs - jewelry parties!! Mom makes her style of designs and I do mine. She mails me her jewelry and I do parties here in Syracuse area. A year or so pass all is going well and my hubby says "How about selling online!" Oh, no not that...I panic. I don't know much about a computer, how can I run an online shop......

Well, I do have tons to wrap and cooking still left to do. Check back after Christmas and I will continue on our adventure :)