Vote vote vote!

I was very excited yesterday to hear from Etsy admin that my little vampire meerkat had been selected for the Halloween Voter!



This is what the voting page looks like right now, as you can see I'm in 5th place with a lot of catching up to do - please vote for me :-)

Tenterden Folk Festival next weekend!

We picked up the programme for next weekend's fair yesterday and flipped through excitedly to see my name in print!



Shutting the programme, I noticed an ad on the back for our local steam railoway. "Oh look, there's a photo of the Morris dancers I blogged about a while back."

Then I looked more closely:



and more closely still:



Yes - it's Mr Nifty and I sharing a "moment"!

If you're in the area, my stall is upstairs in the Town Hall - discount to anyone who claims to know me through blog / twitter / facebook /wherever!

Needled to death

A few weeks ago my daughter found an abandoned book on the train - and when she read the title she just knew it was destined to be mine!



I'd never come across the writer before but I'm totally impressed by her ingenuity - not only is it a crime story (big market!) but it's a crime story wrapped around KNITTERS! So she's cornering a niche market - well done Maggie Sefton!

After visiting her website I discovered she's even more clever than I'd suspected. Not only does she write Knitting Yarns (sorry), she also has a series of Estate Agent stories. Whatever next?

Red Alert!

"Red Alert! There isn't enough ribbon left for a replacement crew - set scanners to max!"

It was a meerkat emergency - I had exhausted the stock of ranking ribbon, and the local shop wasn't able to re-order. What to do?

Luckily, Captain Kirk was able to twiddle the knob on his communicator until he picked up some vibes from Overspill ... and we sent her an arm. (Well, we always thought that particular crewman was 'h'armless)



Armed with the arm, our trusty crewmate set off across the galaxy went to the wholesalers and came back with a very close match.



Logically, this means there will still be Meertrekkies for sale :-)

For customer service you can do no better than to try Overspill and her sister-shops. Live long and prosper, Cal!

Overspill
CarolineHardy.etsy.com
EnglishGentleman.etsy.com

Visual DNA

With thanks to Biljana, on whose blog I first saw this. Not sure how well it's caught me...



This is supposed to be about "friends" but I was just thinking about my husband.



And in this one - those beers were for just the two of us! Style? Me? I don't think so. Function rules!



Pampered? They think I'm pampered cos I like bubble baths?



It's true I do like an open road - but not in the car. I love the great outdoors, but I would rather walk, thanks.

Have you met Thomas?

Cos I did - this weekend!

Diverse Kent fauna!

Walking in Kent in September we expected to see pheasants - and weren't disappointed.



What we didn't expect were alpacas. We visited an alpaca farm a while back, but this was yet another Kent alpaca farm.



Loving the babies - they're called crias - and the fabulous hairstyles!



I hadn't realised alpacas could be grey.

This is... Naomi from Moonangelnay

http://moonangelnay.etsy.com

Favourite colour?

I'm greedy. I LOVE rainbows :)



Favourite smell?

Coffee, Lavender, Musk, Nag Champa, and Onions (I know LOL)

Favourite place?

I don't really know if I have one! I spend a lot of time at home, and in my garden which is due to the rubbish weather we've been getting in the UK lately, otherwise I'd be taking my son out to parks, or to see familiar faces :) I guess anywhere that stirs those happy feelings is a good place to be for me!




Favourite sound?

My son attempting to sing... He is SOOOO sweet!, also love bass guitars and happy folky music!

Favourite way to spend your time?

I'm boring and I love researching topics of interest LOL.
It's broken at the mo (thanks son!) but I love to play on my guitar... or my bass but haven't done that in a while! playing with my little boy Yukio is great! or spending time with my other half. OOOO and I love to knit and crochet... and obviously taking photographs ALL the time... I'm easily pleased lol!

Favourite item in your shop of all time?

That would have to be my print "Twilight Electric", that also welcomes people to my shop in a banner on the shop homepage :)



Why?

I think it stands out to me because of the strong contrasts of color and texture. I'm a bright person by nature, and pretty bold in personality yet theres a mystical side to me that rarely gets out unless i go out of my way to talk about it. Although it does in all of my work I think this particular piece reflects my core being the most.

Favourite shop that isn't yours?

http://madart.etsy.com - Check out the work here... Sums up my head perfectly. Love it!



Tropical Serenity by Madart
Why?

I am a color magpie! I don't know why but I am just in love with the brightest of colors you can see, and the work in this store I find is wonderful, fabulously abstract and very spiritual. At least to me :)

What has been the most useful lesson you've learnt so far that youâ?Td like to pass on to our readers?

I think marketing yourself is important... however you do it, it needs to be done. Some people are lucky and don't have to do anything, yet there is no harm in spreading your name around!



Find me...

Store - http://moonangelnay.etsy.com
Twitter - http://twitter.com/moonangelnay
Blogger - http://moonangelnay.blogspot.com
Facebook - moonangelnay-on-Etsy

It's a special day today...

well actually, it's TWO special days. It's our 29th wedding anniversary (WOOHOO!) and also International Talk Like A Pirate Day!



So - Happy Anniversary shipmate xxx



Excuse the crummy photo-of-a-photo, it's faded more than I'd realised. If I wsa the sloppy type that would be my cue to say something like "it's faded, unlike our lurve..." but I'll spare you.

YAY me! I win again!

A wile ago I entered a fiendishly difficult (but great fun!) contest on Laughing Daisy's blog. She showed us a picture of her button collection in which she'd hidden some birds - anyway, it brought my competitive nature to the fore and yesterday my prize arrived. I wasn't expecting anything like this much in the package!



There are some hairclips made from fabric-covered buttons, another couple of funky plastic hairclips, very retro! a temporary tattoo with which to horrify my grown-up kids, a dear little gift bag, a couple of gift tags, introductions to various new shops ... and some American candies!

Many thanks Mindy!

Please check out Mindy's shop LaughingDaisy
become a fan on facebook (I just have!)
encourage her to get going on twitter!

New Developments...

in our love story...

Look here... for more details...

Compare the meerkat?

Surely not

Could this be the magic moment?

I'm hoping you've been following our romantic story...

episode 1: Lovelorn meerkat looks for love



episode 2: Love is in the air



episode 3: Lovelorn meerkat tries a Project Runway makeover

Could it be working?



Today's thrilling installment: could it be magic?

Blog giveaway winner...ME!

I do so love a giveaway - and I've been lucky enough to win a couple recently.



Maggie of intothemagpiesnest.blogspot sent me a beautiful faerie collage sheet, and I knew there was someone in my family who would love it even more than I do. If collage is where your heart is, check out Maggie's shop MagpieMine.etsy.com for more.
Follow Maggie on twitter

Still Lovelorn :-(

Thanks to Queen of Photoshopping Kitschycoo for the photo above :-)

Our little meerkat decided to try a new tactic. If internet dating is the way to go, then she needs some wardrobe advice from impartial friends before the all-important photo shoot.


"What do you think?" she asked the wooden surfer dude. "Do you think my shades work with the sundress?"

He grunted, and hit the waves.




"What do you think Teddy? Are stripes the way to go?"



"Clanger, you're my last hope...is the button fascinator just too much with the wrap?"

Lovelorn :-(

The newest little meerkat was sad. All dressed up and ready to party - but no beau to go out to party with :-(

"Where will *I* find love?" she asked a friendly Flutterbutt ... but there was no reply.



She asked a nearby tweet but didn't understand the response. Why would she want to know about the birds and the bees?



She was sure she'd heard somewhere that kissing frogs was the way to go...but this one *felt* just too froggy.



It's no good, she thought to herself (as she threw on her fluffy wrap and grabbed her handbag) I'm going to have to go out into the world and look for love...I wonder if there is someone on Folksy who can find the one I am dreaming about?



Watch this space!

thanks to 5erg for the frog and feltmeupdesigns for the tweet and raisinlike for the Flutterbutt card :-)

This is...CrazyDaisiesDesigns - Jessica

CrazyDaisiesDesigns.etsy.com



Favorite color?

ooohhh I'd have to say I have a few: Green, Brown and Yellow are
my top 3.




Favorite smell?

I'd have to say again that I have a few favorites. One being my daughter she has such a great smell. Then 2 different flowers, lilacs and lily of the valley! Ohhh They smell soooo good!



Favorite place?

My bed! No kidding, I'll say my favorite place....I do love my sewing room. It's painted yellow and green! So bright and fun. Makes me feel alive! I love the little cottage we stay at in Maine. It's so peaceful I just love it. I also love the beach and the mountains. Since I live in NH I've got both only 45 min. away!


Favorite sound?

My little girl when I ask her how much I love her and she says "to pieces"! I also love when my kitty "talks to me". She is a rag doll cat and VERY LARGE and VERY FLUFFY! She chats all the time. I love music and listen to it whenever I can. I'm very eclectic I will listen to just about anything!



Favorite way to spend your time?

I LOVE reading but I have a hard time finding time to do that. I love going on adventures with my family. Even if it's to the grocery store, we make it FUN! Of course I LOVE sewing and creating but again have had a tough time finding a minute to do that. I also love taking photos and drawing.

Favorite item in your shop of all time?

WOW fav item....I'd have to go with my Leafy Green - Over the Shoulder Bag, because I love the fabrics and of course I love green! I also LOVE how the photos of that product came out.


Favorite shop that isn't yours?

OH don't make me choose!! I'll have to go check my fav's....be right back.... Ok my first choice would be: Marieflyfly because she has stunning, inspiring photos! I just drool over her pics! Not to mention her products are pretty great too!



Second runner up would be: Radcow because I LOVE her products! I have yet to buy anything from her but would LOVE TO!



What has been the most useful lesson you've learned so far that you'd like to pass on to our readers?

I wish I had a great pearl of wisdom to impart but I guess the one thing I would say is GOOD PHOTOS are the key! I have felt bad for so many sellers who have great stuff but not so great photos to represent themselves. Keep trying new things until you get it right. I made myself a lightbox and just tried everything until I got it right.

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