Hugs, Kisses & FREE SHIPPING from Happy Hands Hand Cream

I’ve just sent a coupon for free US shipping to all my Happy Hands hand cream fans who’re signed up for my mailing list.

Would you like a free US shipping coupon too? You can join my fan list to get one for yourself. But hurry, this coupon ends April 4!

And if you’re outside the USA, sign up and stay tuned for a new coupon especially for international orders.

Don’t worry: I don’t spam, and I don’t share your email address with anyone. Ever. And it’s as easy to un-join as it is to sign up, should you tire of my mailings.

Even though this offer ends soon, you can join my list anytime to get my latest special offer to members. It might be a coupon like this one, or it might be free samples of a new scent, or a members-only sale. Always a goodie!

For those of you new to Happy Hands, I hand-blend this unique hand cream for knitters, crocheters and fiber artists from shea butter, goats milk, honey and aloe.

It’s non-greasy, and won’t transfer to your handiwork, which means it’s great not only for knitters, but also scrapbookers, rubber stampers, jewelry makers … anyone who works with her hands!

I offer Happy Hands hand cream in 25 different scents, plus Unscented, in my Happy Hands Store.

--MaggieBelize
Designer, kNotes for kNitters
Creator, Happy Hands Hand Creams for Fiber Artists
Sandia Park, NM

Fabulous Fiber Friday: Freebies, Contests & Sales

Welcome to my third “Fabulous Fiber Friday”, a weekly round-up of the best of the fiber-oriented freebies, contests and sales that’ve turned up through the week.

If you’ve got a fabulous fiber deal of your own, feel free to post it as a comment here (find how-to instructions at the end of this post). The more, the merrier!

EtsyKnitters’ Spring Scavenger Hunt

This week, I am so excited to announce the EtsyKnitters Team Spring Scavenger Hunt!

We have a grand total of 31 Etsy shops participating, each offering BOGO specials, discounts of 10-15-20% on purchases, and/or free shipping, and/or charitable donations from their sales!

The eye candy clues on the official Hunt page are worth the trip alone. Wow, it’s really an honor to be a member of such a creative & talented group of knitters! (Learn more about the EtsyKnitters team.)

The Spring Scavenger Hunt is a simple concept:

1. Find any 10 items in the EtsyKnitters’ stores, using the gallery of photo clues we’ve provided.
2. Send us the 10 item numbers matched with the Etsy store where you found them, using our easy online Entry Form.
3. You’ll get the “magic word” back by email!

Use that magic word with any order you place with these participating EtsyKnitters, and voila! You get tons of great deals on handmade, fiber-y goodness.

The Spring Scavenger Hunt promotion begins today, Friday April 3. Deadline for entries is Sunday, April 12. Your special discounts will be good for shopping throughout the Hunt, plus an additional week – until April 19. Click here for complete details.

Let the game begin!

--MaggieBelize
Designer, kNotes for kNitters
Sandia Park, NM

~*~

Are You Having a Fabulous Fiber Sale?

If you’re offering a special fiber arts or yarn sale, contest, promotion or giveaway, and would like to share it here on Fabulous Fiber Friday, feel free to post your promotion details as a comment to this or any subsequent Fabulous Fiber Friday post.

Be sure to include your URL link, plus the beginning and ending dates of your special offer!

The Yellow Pages Project – Crafty Tips from Etsy Artists

I began my “Yellow Pages Project” last week after seeing a depressingly large bin of new phone books at our local post office.

As we live in a community with few or no recycling resources, I wanted to come up with creative ways to re-use last year’s phone books, to keep them out of the landfill and to tap into a massive source of free paper!

My first stop for inspirational input was the Etsy Community Forums. It’s a fabulous brain-trust of creative artists! I posted my quest in the Techniques & Materials forum, which Etsy members can follow here.

(If you’re not already an Etsy member, go join right now.
It’s free, of course.)

Here are some of the ideas submitted by Etsy artists, linked to their Etsy profiles by way of a “thank you”! (I’ve lightly edited some of the comments for clarity & brevity.)

Art Materials

• thecyclingartist: make envelopes with the pages
• urbanwoodswalker : Yellow pages are cool. But the color will fade; the inks and the paper itself are very poor quality. I have made sculptural baskets ... but I use adhesives and UV spray varnish coatings to make them permanent. Still, never leave any item made with this kind of paper out in strong prolonged light.
• Skinonskinbeautiful : I make paper out of the yellow pages, color bleeds into what mix you have and makes pretty pale yellow, looks ancient.
• dmriceart : papier mache is easy to make & use; paper pages are great for collage backgrounds, painted with an opaque paint so some of the lettering shows, but not all! If you glue pages together, you can actually make paper thick enough to form small boxes (see Internet Resources, below). Scrunch and use for 3-D artsy flowers, with a bit of bright paint, and a button middle. Roll, and flatten, then make cool little woven baskets. Sit on them, and feel tall? (That is what we used them for, growing up!)
• TheTinyFig : origami?
• crochetgal : I've been rolling yarn from paper lately … it’s a fun but messy process!

Cleaning Supplies & Studio Props

• Use as 'rags' for paint cleanup (thecyclingartist)
• Use them to clean mirrors or windows, with vinegar (dwhitecreations, crochetgal, laksaware)
• MadisonHouseDesigns : I was just reading in Best Friends magazine (from a large animal sanctuary in Utah, bestfriends.org) that they use old phone books for their rescued birds, who like to dig their beaks into them. There may be an animal shelter in your area that could put them to good use. :)
• akuadesigns : I use them to press leaves and flowers. It's so wonderful in the winter to find all these great dried flowers from the summer.
• WhiteDragonPaper : I use mine to drill into with my Dremel. It's good soft protection so I don't drill through my book covers and into my floor or the ground or anything. (I also use them for papier mache projects and recycled paper bowls.)

Internet Resources

Most of these resources on the net use newspapers, but yellow pages paper will work, too!

• How to Make a Box from Rolled Paper & Cardboard (YouTube Video)
• Similar Paper-Box-Making Videos
• The Recycled Newspaper photo group on Flickr, and several more Flickr photo groups including recycled newspaper works of art (suggested by urbanwoodswalker)
• How to Make a Recycled Yellow Pages Card Holder (suggested by wiggle)

  Project & photo from GreenUpgrader

• DIY Sofa from Yellow Pages, by way of CollegeHumor, of course!

Thanks to every Etsy-an who contributed to the Yellow Pages Project. Keep those bright ideas flowing! You can post your comments & links here, or share them on the Etsy Forum thread.

--MaggieBelize
Designer, kNotes for kNitters
Website,www.LocalGringos.com
Sandia Park, NM

Follow-worthy: Indie Art Blog from Down Under

Woke up this morning to two great surprises: (1) it's snowing, and (2) I've been featured in an Aussie art blog! Woohoo!

Chrisy from Brisbane writes the Sophism Press blog, featuring independent artists & writers. She picks gorgeous stuff to showcase - and no, I'm not just saying that because she picked my stuff. Go take a look, you'll see what I mean.

For her art postcard post, she chose my Hands Knit #1 postcard design, along with an intimidatingly beautiful selection of other Etsy artists' cards ... a quilted one ... a wooden one ... 

Here I was worried no one liked postcards anymore! 

And she's woven a clever "Postcard from Dulcie" text throughout her mini-gallery.

Thanks, Chrisy! Nice little art break on a snowy morning.

--MaggieBelize

Designer, kNotes for kNitters

Website, www.LocalGringos.com

Sandia Park, NM