Little Tesoro

Where in the world...

2010-11-19T08:17:00.000-08:00

I love discovering handmade items from around the world. In the old days I would've thrown a dart at a map on the wall to find a new place to explore and search for artisans in the area, but since my boyfriend insists that I live in the 21st century, I've turned to the interwebs to find the digital equivalent. Lucky for me an MIT grad student has created Globe Genie which uses Google Street View to find random places around the globe - just hit "teleport" and you're off on a journey!

My first teleport landed me in.... drum roll......

L'Aquila, Italy

L'Aquila is located in central Italy and is the capital of Abruzzo and the Province of L'Aquila. The city is situated in a valley and surrounded by mountains. In April of 2009 a 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck the city damaging thousands of buildings in the medieval city. That same year the 2009 G8 summit was held in the city so that disaster funds could be distributed to the area. L'Aquila is also home to the University of L'Aquila so is a college town with many cultural institutions. I'm sure I will have no trouble finding a local artisan.

Off I go to locate the handmade items of L'Aquila.

TO BE CONTINUED......

My favorites

2010-11-17T09:42:00.000-08:00

An etsy shop I have had my eye on for some time now is Dahling Accessories. This shop has adorable bags at great prices and many with vintage or vintage inspired fabrics, which I love. If you are shopping handmade this holiday season, I would keep this shop in mind.

Going way back....

2010-11-14T17:49:00.000-08:00

We had an old school night this Saturday. Popped some Jiffy Pop and watched Airplane. Good times :)

Before

After

My first craft show - The Etsy Denton Barn Sale

2010-11-09T10:25:00.000-08:00

I'm a member of a great team called "Etsy Denton". We are a group of Etsy sellers who live in the Denton, TX area and have come together to support our successes. Our first event was an awesome Barn Sale on 10/30 with lots of diverse sellers, live music, costume contest and lots of fun. A great day was had by all. Here is our team facebook page.

The Great Big Giant White Wall

2010-10-20T09:26:00.000-07:00

Recently I posted about the giant white wall in my living room that had nothing on it. Thanks so much for the ideas. A lot of you suggested wall decals which I thought was great. I decided to try large canvases covered in fabric. It was a super easy and really inexpensive project. All you need is fabric, canvases, and a staple gun. I love how they turned out!

Here is a tutorial that gives step by step instructions.

And the WINNER is.....

2010-09-08T07:39:00.000-07:00

The winner of a set of vintage hairpins and a 25% off coupon to Little Tesoro as chosen by

Random.org is...

4O9COPE in Ontario, Canada

Congratulations! I'll be sending you an email shortly and your prize will be on the way soon!!

Thank you so much to everyone who entered!

Help me with my great big, giant white wall..

2010-09-04T20:35:00.000-07:00

Folks, I need your help. You might have a hard time figuring out what this is a photo of... because it is really a photo of nothingness. It is the huge blank wall of whiteness that I have in my apartment. You walk in and there it is. It must be about 16 feet long, if I could find my tape measure I would measure it. Every time I hang something on it I wind up taking it down because it looks like it is just floating in the sea of white. I need some kind of art that is BIG and something inexpensive. Any ideas? I am planning on putting a piece of furniture on the wall, let's say a console table, dresser type thing with a lamp or two, so keep that in mind.

I need to get creative and quick. My boyfriend moves here from New York in three weeks. I'd love to have it done by then. HELP!!

A few more days to enter my giveaway..

2010-09-03T16:44:00.000-07:00

There are a few more days to enter my giveaway for a set of vintage glass hairpins. The random winner will be announced on the morning of September 8th. You have until midnight September 7th.

Have a safe and happy holiday weekend!

No more long distance

2010-09-01T20:32:00.000-07:00

There is a new movie out called Going the Distance about a long distance relationship, starring Drew Barrymore and Justin Long. Having been in a long distance relationship for the past two years - this is one I definitely have to see.

I live in Dallas, he lives in New York. BUT, the big news is he is moving to Dallas in just a few short weeks (okay - 24 days). I am beyond excited and happy that we will finally be together.

Here is the trailer for Going the Distance. I told him we should both go see it at the same time and talk about it on the phone afterward.

Giveaway Time!!

2010-08-26T19:17:00.000-07:00

I can't think of a better time for a giveaway than right now. Recently I've been adding more and more vintage glass hairpins to my Little Tesoro Etsy shop. For this giveaway you can win a set of three pretty hairpins shown below.

You get a pale yellow flower style glass stone, a delicate pink ridged glass heart stone and a pale blue art deco style stone. All are vintage glass and date back to the 1940's - 1950's. They are securely adhered to brass hairpins.

As a bonus, you will also win a 25% off coupon for your next purchase from Little Tesoro.

To enter just leave a comment below and be sure to include your email address!

Additional Entries:

+1 Become a blog follower through google friend connect. You can do that on the side bar to the left. If you already are - let me know
+1 Like Little Tesoro's facebook page. You can do that on the left hand side bar also
+1 Join Little Tesoro's mailing list. I will send occasional updates about what's new at Little Tesoro
+2 Spread the word about this giveaway on Facebook or Twitter!

Let me know about additional entries in your comments.

The giveaway will end at midnight on September 7th.

Open to everyone no matter where in the world you live :)

I will announce the random winner on September 8th. Good luck!

Would you, could you, in a cave?

2010-08-25T05:01:00.000-07:00

I've become obsessed with a show called House Hunters International, which, if you haven't seen it, is about people buying homes all over the world. My favorite episode features a British couple who are seeking a cave home in Granada, Spain. I was struck by the beauty and simplicity of the cave homes they visited. Turns out caves are affordable and energy efficient and millions of people live in them. Do you think you could live in one?

The Lizards

2010-08-16T21:12:00.000-07:00

As you may know I have twin eight year old boys. For the last few months they have been saving up and preparing a habitat for two anoles. Several weeks ago we finally purchased the cute little lizards, a green anole and a bahaman anole. The boys named them Jumpy and Greenie - how could I argue?

Everything was great with Jumpy and Greenie until the boys went to spend the weekend with their dad. That's when I went and bought some crickets to feed them with. By the time I got home all the crickets were dead. I can only assume the brutal Texas heat and the crickets being in a plastic bag, caused their untimely death. Wait... they were going to be lunch anyway. Luckily anoles don't mind eating dead crickets.

I was proud of myself for completing this task. The truth is lizards kind of freak me out. This particular kind are super fast and their tails come off as a defensive mechanism. Not only do they come off - they still move for a bit when they do. I find this very creepy. What I forgot to do after feeding the anoles was shut the door to the boys' room. My cat wandered in there. While I was on the phone, I heard a crash. I ran in the room to find Greenie sticking out of the cat's mouth, tank knocked over, glass broken. I screamed - the cat let go of Greenie, but he was without tail. And dead. Luckily I found Jumpy still in the wreckage of the tank. Completely horrified I rushed out to the pet store. I returned with a new green anole and a new tank. In the midst of putting the new tank together, Greenie came back to life and started walking! At this point I scream like a child and run out of the room.

I couldn't handle it anymore. I had to have my kids come back home. I told them everything that happened and they helped me put everything back together. Unfortunately Greenie didn't live much longer. He is now buried in the yard and remembered fondly. Greenie Jr. is doing well.

In the end, I'm glad I told my kids the truth about what happened. They were sad, but they handled it so well and made me proud. I also learned that it is best not to get your kids pets that you are afraid to handle on your own. Eventually you will be in charge of feeding them.

Where have I been?

2010-08-15T10:48:00.000-07:00

I've been neglecting my little blog and I feel terrible. This weekend I decided to re-design the whole thing. What do you think? I love the new template by Itkupilli. She is a Finnish artist and has tons of beautiful templates for free on her website.

In my last post I talked about my new shop. Unfortunately it is not quite ready to open. I'll keep you posted though - should be soon!

In the meantime, here are a few new items from my Little Tesoro shop.

Be back soon...promise.

A new shop

2010-06-02T14:14:00.000-07:00

I'm opening a new Etsy shop soon and I am so excited about it, I had to post about it. I won't be selling jewelry in this shop, but I want to keep what I am selling a secret until I officially open. Here is a little hint for you.

Check back soon for details!

Something new...

2010-06-01T13:44:00.000-07:00

I added some new hairpins to my shop today. They feature pale pink antique glass flowers.

The Book Group series

2010-05-23T08:21:00.000-07:00

I discovered "The Book Group" British TV series on Hulu.com and am completely obsessed with it. Has anyone else seen this? You should. The series takes place in Glasgow, Scotland where Clare, an American has recently moved and started a book group to meet interesting people. I think there are only two seasons in the series and I have just finished the first one.

Playground for Seniors

2010-05-21T12:35:00.000-07:00

This story made my day. If you haven't heard, a playground for seniors opened on Wednesday in London's Hyde Park. The playground is modeled after several similar playgrounds that have opened in other European countries. The park features six low impact excercise machines and so far is a big hit with seniors lining up in the morning to enjoy it. How fun! I can't wait until retirement.

A poem...

2010-05-10T08:39:00.000-07:00

Here is a little poem my son Daniel wrote to me for Mother's Day. I was touched.

Red roses

Blue birds

You're not smelly

You're not turds

Beebeebee Saints & Stuff Giveaway

2010-04-13T11:46:00.000-07:00

A talented artist and a good friend is having a custom pearl bracelet giveaway on The 24/7 Mom blog. Beebeebee Saints & Stuff is a gorgeous shop filled with both elegant and edgy rosary jewelry. Be sure to check out this shop and enter the giveaway by May 12th for your chance to win a custom bracelet. You won't be sorry.

Glam Goth Rosary Beads

Featured Seller - William R. Bonnichsen - Glass Artist

2010-04-06T10:50:00.000-07:00

I’m very excited to feature Etsy seller William R Bonnichsen. Not only is Will a talented glass artist, he also happens to be an extraordinarily nice person.

Q. How did you originally get into working with glass?
A. Wow, that's a biggie. In 2007 I worked for an Art Gallery on the Island of Oahu and on my days off I would spend all my time in Haleiwa on the North Shore watching a flame-worker do her Alchemy (her name is Jessica Landau and she also has a shop on Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/shop/JessicaLandau I spent almost a year and a half watching her do this. Then I moved back to Pennsylvania and got into engraving eggshells, but the bases and stands did not do the eggs justice, so I thought I would try my hand at flameworking and create unique bases for my eggs. I was hooked! The more I did it, the more I wanted to do it. Then one day I visited a friend and sitting in the corner of his porch were a few cases of empty beer bottles and my desire to recycle kicked in, I experimented and researched different ways to rework the glass and the results are what you see in my shop.

Q. What made you decide to sell on Etsy?
A. There is a stained glass studio in the town I'm from in PA (Waynesburg) run by two sisters called Our Glass (http://www.ourglass2.com/) At the time I was attempting to find places to sell my art and they mentioned "Etsy". So I went home and checked it out...at the time I wasn't ready to offer my items to the world so I put it on a back burner and continued to refine my skills. On Dec 7th 2009 I moved back to the island of Oahu and after a brief attempt at placing my work in art galleries and shops I became disgusted with the percentages that they expected just to sell the items that I put my heart and soul into. So one day after a gallery owner said that he would love to offer my stuff to his clients at 75% I came home and opened my Etsy store. I haven't looked back.

Q. What motivates and inspires you to create?
A. "The voices in my head" lol :) Actually there is no one thing that gets my blood pumping. You could say it's like cooking a stew with lots of different ingredients.

Q. What are your interests outside of etsy?
A. Helping other people reach for their dreams, climbing, back-packing, swimming, snorkeling and the collection of knowledge and artistic techniques.

Will's website is:http://www.engravedegg.com/
Will's blog is : http://engravedegg.blogspot.com/

And of course, Will's Etsy shop - 99.99% Recycled

And now something from my shop...

2010-04-01T11:46:00.000-07:00

I just listed this necklace this morning. It has a vintage solid brass oxidized frame pendant that I really love.

Mint and Ivy Necklace

Maybe they will open their own shop

2010-03-25T14:02:00.000-07:00

They can sell masks and sculptures.

They need to work on the cleaning up afterwards part.

Powered by Coffee

2010-03-16T11:10:00.000-07:00

I'm in love with coffee. This affair has been going on since I was about 3 years old and my grandparents would give me tiny tea cups of milk and sugar with a splash of coffee.

When did you have your first cup?

I figured it out

2010-03-11T12:24:00.000-08:00

Check out my first attempt at a treasury. This was so much fun to make - it might be addictive.

Spring in Central Park

2010-03-10T09:44:00.000-08:00

The warm weather has me daydreaming of lazy Sunday afternoons in Central Park. I am imagining lying on a blanket in the grass next to my best friend. Ah...soon.

This is our special spot.

Central Park at Dusk
Buildings above the leafless trees
Loom high as castles in a dream,
While one by one the lamps come out
To thread the twilight with a gleam.

There is no sign of leaf or bud,
A hush is over everything --
Silent as women wait for love,
The world is waiting for the spring.

-Sara Teasdale

Giveaway Winner!

2010-03-08T08:58:00.000-08:00

And the winner of the the Celeste Earrings is Virginia E. Berry! Check for an email from me.

Congratulations Virginia, I hope you enjoy the earrings. Thank you to everyone for entering. It was fun and I hope to do it again soon.

A little humor

2010-02-24T08:48:00.001-08:00

My First Giveaway!

2010-02-23T09:59:00.000-08:00

I think it is a good time for my first giveaway - I'm excited. You can win this pair of Celeste Earrings. The first pair of beads are czech firepolished renaissance glass beads in opaque green, although yellowish and blue hues can be seen. The other pair of beads are transparent czech glass beads in sparkling blue. They hang on oxidized antique copper cabled chains and handmade oxidized copper french earwires that have been lightly hammered. They measure 2 and 1/4 inches from the top of the earwires to the bottom bead.

Here is how to enter:

Become a blog follower and leave me a comment telling me. If you are already a follower, leave me a comment telling me you would like to be entered. One entry.
Share this giveaway through twitter or facebook and leave a comment telling me about it - Two entries!

That's it! Enter before midnight March 7th. The winner will be chosen at random and announced on Monday, March 8th. Good luck!

Blizzard 2010 - Free Shipping Sale!!

2010-02-12T17:52:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone - I'm having a winter Blizzard 2010 sale in my shop. Free shipping until February 20th.

Little Tesoro on Etsy

The New Love In My Life

2010-02-12T10:17:00.000-08:00

This is 6 month old Henry. Great at cuddling. What more can I say - he's a keeper.

Why is life worth living?

2010-02-05T08:54:00.000-08:00

I'm in the mood for a little Woody Allen today. Thought you might enjoy one of my favorite scenes from Manhattan (1979). What would be on your list of the things that make life worth living?

A surprise in the mail...

2010-01-27T15:11:00.000-08:00

Not too long ago I won a giveaway on Capricorn Soap Company's blog. I forgot about it and last week I got a surprise in the mail when my package from them arrived.

I was not expecting such a wonderful gift. It reminded me of the importance of packaging to those of us that sell handmade items. I'm just jealous that my jewelry doesn't come with the wonderful scents of the soap and foot and body balm that I received. You can find the Oatmeal & Honey Bath Bar, the Lemon Verbena Bath Soap and the Herbes de Provence Foot and Body Balm (smells amazing!) in Capricorn Soap Comany's etsy shop. It is now one of my favorites.

Naked Fruit?

2010-01-20T11:07:00.000-08:00

Do you have naked fruit lying around your desk? Chances are they are going to get bumped and bruised. Why not make them happy and get them some clothes. I particularly like this get up made by KnotWorkShop. That is one stylish apple.

New York Big Apple Jacket

Word Picture

2010-01-16T16:10:00.000-08:00

I found a link to the Wordle website on another blog called Crochele Handcrafted. It makes a collage of words with text you paste in. You can either type in words or do what I did which was enter the url to this blog and submit it. See the word collage I created with words from my blog. The bigger the words, the more they are used. Scarves and babies have been hot topics! Ha.

Boutique-a-holic Handknits by Nevita

2010-01-12T09:02:00.000-08:00

I wanted to share one of my favorite etsy sellers with you. Her name is Nevita and her Etsy shop is called Boutique-a-holic Handknits by Nevita. She handknits scarves and baby items from her home in Bulgaria. Here is a little more about Nevita:

Q. What made you decide to sell on Etsy?
I live in Bulgaria, it's a small country in south-eastern Europe where only a small number of people know that there is such amazing place like etsy.com. On my blog, you can find amazing videos about my country. Here is one of those posts. I always wanted to open a store and sell my hand knitted scarves and baby clothing. However, my full-time job, and pregnancy didn't bring enough confidence in this picture.
When my beautiful baby daughter came to the world, she brought new hope and faith in myself. I found knitting section and crochet section and I was happily surprised that someone is selling so many handmade creations. At that time the idea that etsy.com is an easy way to create and maintain shop came into play. With etsy, I figured, I wouldn't have to care about maintaining a physical shop room, and I'd have flexible working hours. Now I am stay at home as mother, enjoy spending time with my baby daughter, my knitting, and promoting my shop via interesting online tools.
Q. How did you originally get into the Handknit and Gobelin making business?
I learned to knit and make gobelin tapestry, when I was a child. I went to my grandparent's home, during school offs. My grandmother taught me different handmade techniques, such as knit, crochet, sewing and others. During the years, I was paying more attention to knitting and gobelin tapestry, and found I enjoyed it a lot. It became my hobby, and after my daughter's birth I decided I was determined to share the products of my passion with people around the world. My shop is http://nevita.etsy.com.
Q. What motivates and inspires you to create?
Winter scarves... When I was young girl, my mother kept telling me to wear scarves so I wouldn't get cold. I hated scarves! That is, until the day I knitted myself a very colorful, soft, and pleasant to touch and look at piece of happiness (yes, a scarf!). My classmates loved it. That motivated me to make more scarves, because I found scarves could be joy, emotions, and good looking fun - yes staying warm became not so bad experience after all :) Inspiration sources have been changing during my path in life. At some point in time, I enjoyed to come back home, and to get calm and be all by myself while making my needlepoint tapestries. At other times, inspiration was there, but I couldn't tell where it came from, so I'd like to think of it as coming from deep within the human soul. Now I am motivated from the smile of my baby daughter and the look of her eyes. In addition, when I look and reflect on the results of my hand made creations I've made during the years, I get a good feeling of accomplishment, and I want to do more. I'm proud of my winter scarves, my gobelins, and last but not least my baby clothing.
Q. What are your interests outside etsy?
I like the Human Resources area and I am finishing my masters degree in Human Resources management. I enjoy interacting with people. I love to travel and regularly organize small trips through my country.

Here is photo of downtown Plovdiv in Bulgaria

Here are some of the beautiful items you can find in her shop:

Thanks for sharing with us and good luck with your lovely shop.

Moonlight Earrings

2010-01-07T10:30:00.000-08:00

I was finally able to post a new item! These are lemon quartz faceted beads that are a pretty pale yellow color. More to come soon.....

Moonlight Earrings

A nice start to 2010

2010-01-06T21:20:00.000-08:00

Here are some photos from my trip to New York for New Year's.

My boyfriend cooked blackeyed peas and cornbread on New Year's Day. I was very impressed.

I helped by stirring.

Starting the New Year in New York

2009-12-30T09:40:00.000-08:00

My boyfriend lives in New York and I live in Dallas. I'll be heading there tomorrow morning to spend New Year's Eve with him. I can't wait! I think we'll eat some Greek food or sushi, drink some champagne and play Wii. Sounds perfect to me.

When I think of New Year's Eve I think of this scene from When Harry Met Sally. Enjoy.

I won!

2009-12-29T10:29:00.000-08:00

I entered a giveway on Twitter and guess what? I won a $25 gift certificate to Hannah's Bowtique! This Etsy shop has the cutest bows and accessories for babies and little girls. Marcy, the shop owner will soon be adding boy stuff, room decor, blankets and pillows, so watch for that. This is what I am thinking of using my gift certificate for. My little friend Ruby is going to love these.

Extreme Gingerbread

2009-12-27T15:05:00.000-08:00

The official National Gingerbread Competition is held each year in Ashville, North Carolina at The Grove Park Inn Resort and Spa. They are on display until January 3, 2010. Check out this year's winners. I'm amazed by how much work goes into these. I wonder if anyone eats these at some point, hehe.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-25T07:44:00.000-08:00

A cup of tea

2009-12-24T08:38:00.000-08:00

Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the world earth revolves - slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future. ~Thich Nat Hahn

Tea is drunk to forget the din of the world. ~T'ien Yiheng

There is a great deal of poetry and fine sentiment in a chest of tea. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson, Letters and Social Aims

At this time of year, there is nothing like escaping from the bitter cold and having a cup of tea (okay so it was 70 degrees in Dallas yesterday - but it is freezing today). Here are some Etsy "tea" finds that made me feel warm and cozy. My boyfriend just discovered he is a tea lover - he will love this.

70's Building Tea Set byEstherCoombs	Brown Bear Art - Byron by Amberalexander
Traveler's Tea Wallet by grandpasragsnbags	Herbal Tea Kit by cookoutsidethebox
Green Tea Solid Lotion Body Balm by thepinksink	Afternoon Tea Necklace by ABoxForMyTreasures
Eucalyptus Tea Towel by Jewelweeds	Teapot Cozy, Hand Crocheted, Blue Brown by soulybarb's

Christmas Eve Eve

2009-12-23T10:28:00.000-08:00

Look at the cool gift I found on my desk this morning. Yummy coffee and an awesome coffee mug from my office mate Lindsay. I only have 3 items left in my Etsy shop so I plan on spending some late nights working. Now I know what I will be drinking!

A little bit about me...

2009-12-22T16:48:00.000-08:00

Hello, my name is Lisa and I live in Dallas, Texas with my twin 7 year old sons. I have an Etsy shop called Little Tesoro which I opened in November 2009. I sell handmade jewelry that is simple and unique.

I set up this blog to share Etsy finds, to connect with other crafters and to document the journey of a hobby that brings me great joy and peace.

Feel free to comment on my blog, I'd love to hear from you. You can email me, convo me via my Etsy Shop or find me on Twitter.