pandacub wants...lilies

I love lilies! Lilies of every colour, big lilies, calla lilies, tiny lillies - I love them all.

Look at all the lovely lilies on Etsy!


Top row:
1. Sweet Lilly Bracelet - Liquid Silver, $19.00 by sweetfindings4you
2. Ruby Red Lily Napkin Rings - 50 pieces, $65.00 by PrudenceOctavia
3. Carved Stone Black Lily Pendant, $18.00 by TrashAndTrinkets

Middle row:
4. 1/12 Scale Dollhouse Miniature Wedding Cake with Blue Ribbon and Calla Lilies, $15.50 by creationsinminiature
5. 10 Hand Molded Calla Lily SOAPS -Scented Favors/Table Decor 4 inch, $12.99 by enchantingsoapfavors
6. Purple Flower Blossom Earrings - France Earrings in Mattte Purple Lucite, $22.00 by Dalim

Bottom row:
7. Blue with Purple Lily Hair Flower Clip, $8.99 by paintergrrrl
8. Melanie Collection lined in Victorian rose silk, $70.00 by FIAZCO
9. Snow Lily, $12.00 by allnaturalimages

pandacub shops local in...toronto, canada

Ok, this is cheating a little, but for my first "pandacub shops local..." feature, I, obviously, HAD to do my own hometown of Toronto, Canada.

The best thing about this list is that I've actually met some of these great Etsians in person at local craft shows so I know first-hand just how talented they really are. (And yes, I do own some of their great hand-crafted creations).

Ok, so now that pandacub has checked out the Etsy sellers in Toronto - where should I "shop local" next?


Left to right:
Top row:
1. Quick Snap Card Holder - Little Bird Sunburst, $8.00 by DearSukie
2. Pink glass pendant with steel wire chocker included, $22.00 by taragilchrist
3. Little Gnome, $20.00 by VintagePaperParade

Middle row:
4. elk pillow, $38.00 by linesbydavis
5. I love my coffee break - 6x6 inches print, $20.00 by joojoo
6. Mustache Handkerchiefs - Pop Of Color - Set of 4, $56.00 by avrilloreti

Bottom row:
7. contemporary table runner (cyan blue and brown), $40.00 by knottednest
8. pretty spring skunk, $37.00 by pupa
9. Pleated Wristlet- Indian Summer, $25.00 by LMcreation

mmmm...candy

Let me start this post off by saying I never win anything. Nothing. Ever. My sister, on the other hand, wins things all the time. She must have gotten the "luck" gene from my parents.

Anyhow, I rarely bother entering contests because of my lack of luck, but once in a while there are contests that I can't resist - cute handcrafted dolls, unique prints...and candy. :)

So I threw my name in to the Sweet Lollipop Shop's 12 Days of Christmas Giveaway back in November and then forgot about it. Imagine my surprise when I got an email telling me I won!!!

I was soooo excited!

I won 2 YUMMY bags of their Crystal Jewels Barley Hard Candy - in "Egg Nog Delight" and in "Cranberry".

The Crystal Jewels candy come in perfect bite-size and last quite a long time. I love having the bag at my desk at work for a quick pick-me-up whenever I have a sweet craving. Now I'm hooked. The best thing is that the Sweet Lollipop Shop has soooo many flavours to choose from that there's something for everyone.

And they don't just sell Crystal Jewels candy - they also sell fun-shaped lollipops as well. You can check out all their tempting goodies in their Etsy shop - Sweet Lollipop Shop.

50 books in 2010

Well, I managed to read 33 books last year, 17 short of my 50 books in 1 year goal, so of course, being a glutton for punishment (and still hoping to keep on discovering great reads) I'm going to try to hit that 50 mark again this year! Anyone else want to join me in this crazy venture?

I did receive one book for Christmas (which I just finished reading, so it's the first book on my list!) and I also have a couple of gift cards to my favourite book store, so hopefully that will give me a good head start!

1. The Last Boleyn by Karen Harper, finished January 13

Currently reading:

- Buon Appetito, Your Holiness by Mariangela Rinaldi & Mariangela Vicini

- The Man Who Ate the World by Jay Rayner

a new pandacub feature!

I love doing my pandacub features. My "pandacub travels..." and "pandacub wants..." series have really exposed me to many great Etsy sellers and products that I normally may not have been browsing for on a normal basis.

So I've decided to add one more to the mix and I hope you like it too! It's going to be called "pandacub shops local at..." and each post in the series will feature 9 Etsy sellers who are all located in the same region (ie. city, town, country).

I'm already starting to browse around for my first choice of location - any suggestions?

If you're an Etsy seller - where are YOU located???

pandacub wants...birthday cake

Psst - it's my birthday today! Although I'm not fond of the idea that my age has inched up by another digit, I do love little birthday surprises.

It's only 9:30 am and I've already had 3 nice birthday happenings - all were simple gestures by husband, friends and family, but that's what I like - little surprises all through the day.

So today's pandacub wants are filled with birthday cakes (and cupcakes, because I love cupcakes)! :)


Top row:
1. Birthday Cake , $13.00 by robinsjewelrybox
2. Creme Caramel-print, $19.00 by PaisleyBeetle
3. Edible Butterflies - 1 dozen Large Orange, $7.95 by SugarRobot

Middle row:
4. Candy Cakes mini cupcake bath bomb set, $8.50 by candycakes23
5. Panda Bear Face Fondant Cupcake and Cookie Art, $12.00 by TwoSugarBabies
6. Birthday Cake Cards Set Of 4, $8.50 by monkeymoomoo

Bottom row:
7. Scrabble Tile Pendant - Personalized Birthday Gift, $9.95 0 by ThePendantFactory
8. Birthday Cake - Confections Whipped Body Butter 4 oz, $5.50 by ajoeynamedroo
9. Blue Frosted Tan Plush Cupcake with White Rose, $15. by cherylasmith

i love this map maker

It lets you click different countries and updates a map for you! I love using this map maker.

I use it on this blog to update where pandacub countries live. I love seeing how global my little products are travelling! I keep an updated version of this map at the bottom of my blog.

My goal is to have this entire may coloured in blue - mwa haha - world domination - here I come! :)


http://bighugelabs.com/map.php

brand new for 2010

The holidays were just what I needed to get some much-needed energy to re-focus on pandacub and I'm excited to see what 2010 will bring.

I already have 2 new collections of products that I've introduced into my Etsy shop:

- the flaunt collection: sparkly flower bobby pins - perfect for special occasions or those days that you just want some extra pizzazz in your hair.

- the contessa collection: another line of bobby pins for special occasions - these are a mixture of pretty and elegant bobby pins. Each set comes in 3 so you can mix and match and create several looks with each set.

There will be new sets of bobby pins added to both these collections in the coming months, so keep an eye on the pandacub shop for the new additions!

star sign rings - update 2

What a great way to start the new year! Just the other day I got a message from someone asking about my star sign rings. She had seen them on this site and wanted to know if I had any left in her sign.

Since this lovely mention, I have definitely noticed an increase in interest in these rings, which is very exciting.

I have searched high and low and have been totally unable to find more of these stunning vintage intaglios, so these rings are VERY rare and unique. I have only been able to make 2 of each symbol and unless I can uncover more intaglios, this will be it. A couple of the zodiac signs are already sold out, so get yours before it's too late!

Here's an update on what's available:
Aries - 2 available
Taurus - SOLD OUT
Gemini - 1 available
Cancer - 1 available
Leo - 1 available
Virgo - SOLD OUT
Libra - 1 available
Scorpio - 2 available
Sagittarius - 1 available
Capricorn - 1 available
Aquarius - 2 available
Pisces - 2 available

happy new year!

Wow, is it already Day 6 of 2010? I can't believe it!

I had a super-relaxing holiday and spent a lot of time with family and friends. Needless to say that during that time, I tried to keep work, blogging, Etsy, etc, to a minimum and just enjoyed my time off.

But now I'm back, ready for a fresh start and lots of new things to come!