what a weekend!

I had a great Etsy weekend and wanted to do a quick thank you to everyone!

This past weekend, I hit 400 sales in my pandacub Etsy shop and I was featured in THREE treasuries!

addicted to mooching

Mooching can be fun! Well, it ends up being more like "trading" than mooching, but it can get quite addictive.

As many of my regular blog readers know, I read quite a bit (trying to hit that 50 books read in one year goal again!) and buying new books can be quite hard on the wallet. And I love "owning" my books, so I tend not to go to the library very often (although I know I should). Besides, whenever I go, they either don't have the book I want or the waiting list is about 100 people long!

Anyhow, there must be lots of other people who feel the same way because I've discovered "BookMooch"! Basically, it's an online site that lets you give away books you no longer want/need (people "mooch" them from you), get points for books you give away and redeem those points to "mooch" books from others! Yes, you do have to cover the cost of postage, which can be expensive for heavier books, but sending things via surface mail helps keep that down (plus you can choose where you want to send books - within your own country only or internationally).

Anyhow, I've already mooched a few books and am waiting for them to arrive, meanwhile I've already sent some books out to other countries. The best thing is discovering new titles, and meeting other book lovers.


Illustration credit Andrice Arp, courtesy of BookMooch.com

pandacub wants...a happy chinese new year!

To celebrate the upcoming Chinese New Year (Lunar New Year) which begins on February 14, pandacub took a peek at all the lovely Year of the Tiger goodies on Etsy!


Top row:
1. Year of the Tiger Shirt-Black, $15.00 by 88avenue
2. Year of the Tiger Print, $25.00 by tsaifi
3. PDF pattern guide for Gurumi 'O' Tiger, $2.75 by gurumiorama

Middle row:
4. Year of the Tiger mounted archival print, $26.00 by betsythompsonstudio
5. Year of the Tiger Lucky Red Envelope - Printable PDF, $2.00 by katwright
6. Happy New Year Tiger, $15.00 by 99marga

Bottom row:
7. Chinese New Year Tiger Card Set-A2, $20.00 by stillwaterartstudio
8. Lil' Tiger Hat, $15.00 by DinkyDimples
9. 2010 Year of the Tiger(s) Calendar Poster Print, $40.00 by aruppel

thank you!

I just wanted to post a happy hug & thank you to my lovely friends, fans and customers. :)

My little pandacub Etsy shop shop is 2 sales away from its 400th sale and this week we hit 900 shop hearts!

Yay!

february giveaway

I had such a great time with my November giveaway that I figured it would be a nice cheerful way to brighten up February.

One lucky winner will receive ONE pair of Flaunt bobby pins in the colour of their choice (available colours: black, purple or red).

These bobby pins are new to the pandacub shop and are very sparkly and would be a nice feminine touch for a night out on the town or just to to brighten up a normal day!


Here's how to enter:
Visit my shop, pandacub, then come back here and tell me what your favorite thing in the shop is! Just leave it in a comment on this post.

Want extra entries? (you must complete the first step above before doing these)
- 1 extra entry: Follow this blog. Leave a comment telling me that you've become a Follower (or that you were already a Follower).
- 1 extra entry: Become a Facebook fan at http://www.facebook.com/pages/pandacub/82432588156. Leave comment telling me that you've become a fan (or that you were already a fan).
- 3 extra entries: Follow me on Twitter (pandacubcafe) and tweet about this contest (use the tag @pandacubcafe so I can see your tweet). Leave a comment letting me know you've done this.
- 5 extra entries: Blog about this giveaway on your blog with a link back to this post. Leave a comment here and include the URL where I can see your post
- 10 extra entries: Buy anything from my pandacub shop. Come back and leave a comment letting me know what you bought and your Etsy username.

Remember to leave your email address so I can contact you if you win!

Notes:
- This contest closes at midnight (ET) on Monday, February 15, 2010.
- Winner will be announced on this blog shortly after the contest closes.
- This giveaway is open worldwide.

GOOD LUCK, EVERYONE!

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???