This tote bag can help the victims of Hurricane Katrina!

This tote bag can help the victims of Hurricane Katrina!

I just listed this tote bag over at craftrevolution.etsy.com. If you buy it, 100% of the proceeds will go to the Red Cross to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Buy handmade and support a good cause!

Edit: These are all gone, but there's lots of great stuff in the shop - please go take a look!

Crafters Unite!

Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast earlier this week with devastating effects, forcing hundreds of thousands out of their homes and causing at least 68 deaths, including 55 in Mississippi. Rescue efforts are currently under way, with many victims trapped on rooftops and in flooded communities. The area is experiencing a shortage of food, a lack of drinking water and no power to homes that are still standing. The devastation is unbelievable.

We at Craft Revolution have been watching the news coverage together (online) with heavy hearts. We know full-well the power of the indie community to come together to support one of our own in need. Now is the time to mobilize that power and reach out to the victims of this horrific storm.

We have approached Etsy.com with a plan to offer donated indie items for sale on their website. Etsy has offered us shop space (http://craftrevolution.etsy.com/) and to help us promote the event by mentioning the event in their blog and featuring some of the items from the shop.

All proceeds will be donated to the Red Cross Hurricane Relief Fund, which is providing hot meals to victims and rescue workers, as well as providing other much needed assistance such as shelter, medical needs and even therapy for victims. Our initial goal is to raise $1,000.

With hopes of forming an unprecedented partnership across the entire indie design community, we’ve contacted the major shopping websites for help in promoting the event in their newsletters, blogs, and on their websites. Tanya Sharma of MyCicy.com and Leah Kramer of Craftster.org have already agreed to work with us.

We have set up a special disaster relief page on CraftRevolution.com (http://craftrevolution.com/craftersunited.htm) where we list our partner sites and maintain a complete list of participating shops and cash contributors. We will also provide a special banner and a blurb for anyone who wants to help spread the word to post on their websites and in their blogs.

We’re also working on a press release for the event that will be sent to numerous shopping sites and also sent out on PRWeb.

Want to help?

Donate an item for sale! You just need to provide us with a good-quality photo, description, retail value and shipping cost (if applicable) for your item. We’ll post the item on Etsy in our special disaster relief shop. Your business and website will be mentioned in the listing. When the item sells, we’ll contact you with the name and address of the winning bidder to ship to.

We’re also asking for participating shops to send out a special newsletter to help spread the word to their customers.

Even if you can’t donate an item, please consider posting something about the event on your sites, in your newsletters, and in your blogs. The more we get the word out, the more we can help!

If you’d like to make a direct donation with paypal, you may send your contributions to donations@craftrevolution.com. Please also send any inquiries or offers of donations and help to that address.

Thank you tons and bunches!

wacked out fortune

Your fortune:

The best way to save face is to keep the lower part of it shut.

The Wacky Fortune Cookie Generator

Ain't that the truth!

Friday Fun

Got this from Veronica, and I couldn't help but repost it for a little TGIF fun...

The Washington Post's Mensa Invitational once again asked readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition. Here are this year's winners. Read them carefully. Each is an artificial word with only one letter altered to form a real word. Some are terrifically innovative:

1. Intaxication: Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with.
   
2. Reintarnation: Coming back to life as a hillbilly.
   
3. Bozone (n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.
   
4. Cashtration (n.): The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period.
   
5. Giraffiti: Vandalism spray-painted very, very high.
   
6. Sarchasm: The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.
   
7. Inoculatte: To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.
   
8. Hipatitis: Terminal coolness.
   
9. Osteopornosis: A degenerate disease. (This one got extra credit.)
   
10. Karmageddon: It's like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it's like, a serious bummer.
    
11. Decafalon (n.): The grueling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you.
    
12. Glibido: All talk and no action.
    
13. Dopeler effect: The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.
    
14. Arachnoleptic fit (n.): The frantic dance performed just after you've accidentally walked through a spider web.
    
15. Beelzebug (n.): Satan in the form of a mosquito, that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot be cast out.
    
16. Caterpallor (n.): The color you turn after finding half a worm in the fruit you're eating.
    
    And the pick of the lot:
    
17. Ignoranus: A person who's both stupid and an a**hole.

Happy Friday, friends!

Hooray!

I just got the nicest little surprise in my inbox from Miss Christina of Fern House Studio! She recently posted in her blog to ask for some help in choosing which of her lovely prints she should offer in her shop, and put everyone who responded in a hat for a chance to win a sample pack of her beautiful cards. She chose my name, and I'm so excited! I've been a fan of her artwork ever since I discovered her site, and I'm stoked that I'll get to call some of her work my own. Yay!

If you haven't seen her work, you really should get on over to her shop to check it out. She makes the best stuff. I love her designs, and her little finger puppets are the most darling things ever!

Pretty pillows for sale!

I just added these 3 new pillows to the site last night. Yay!

They're all are made from vintage fabric - some are Vera napkins and table linens, some are scarves, all are fabulous, if I do say so myself.

They're one of a kind, so hurry up and snag one (or all!) before they get gone.


Come see these and more at india*romeo!

so freaking cute

dessert erasers at fred flare

these are the cutest ever. love them!

Sweet Swaggy Goodness

Yesterday's Southeastern Swag Market was a rip roarin' success, and a whole lot of fun. Thanks to everyone who came out! I had a wonderful time, and can't wait until the next one - I'll be there with bells on for sure.

The drive up to Danville and back was really nice - pretty back roads and lovely scenery most of the way. I really wish I'd taken some pictures of downtown Danville - I really loved all the old buildings and homes along the main street. Judging by all the gorgeous 20's and 30's architecture, Danville must've been the place to be back in the day. The photographer from the local paper was out covering the Market, and I wound up having a conversation with him about the North Theater, which was built back in the 40's and recently restored. He said the acoustics in the building are amazing and that it's one of the best places to see a movie. They're showing some great movies in the next little bit, so I might have to get myself back there to check one out.

I've got a mini site update scheduled for this week, so keep an eye out. New lovelies will be coming your way soon!

P.S. There's a nice review of the Southern Swag Market in the Danville paper, and yours truly gets a mention, although apparently my first name has been changed to India. Oops! Go check it out!

Southeastern Swag Market, here I come!

I'm busily working away at some new treats for this Sunday's Southeastern Swag Market. If you're in the NC/VA area, you should come on down. It should be a lot of fun! It's this Sunday (August 14th) at the Squire Recreation Center in Danville, VA from 2-5 pm. You can find maps, directions, and a list of vendors at the event's website.

If you stop by, tell me that you found out about the event through my site, and I might have a special treat for ya!

These are two new bags that I sewed up this morning - they're small, but very roomy on the inside. They'll be making their debut at the SSM, and will be on the site shortly thereafter. I've got a bunch more cut in all sorts of yummy new fabrics, and will be sewing them up this afternoon - keep an eye out!

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

A couple of weeks ago, I received some very good news. Unfortunately, I was sworn to secrecy, and couldn't share the details until August 1st.

It is now officially August 1st, so I can spill the beans. Hooray!

Here's the secret:



I won! So did my friend Erika at Mellifluous Couture, and Janice at Copacetique! Lots of other wonderful and talented folks won, too! Yay!

I'm honored, stoked, pleased, tickled, overjoyed, stunned, and completely bowled-over that I won.

But even more than that, I'm so overwhelmed with feelings of thanks because I know that the only reason why I won is because of you (yes, you!), the nice folks who were kind enough to vote for me.

To each and every one of you who voted for me, I sincerely thank you from the bottom of my heart. I wish I could give you all hugs and kisses. It means so much to me that you would even remotely think that I deserve this honor. I'm so touched. I feel like I'm the luckiest girl in the world to have friends like you.

Thank you.

xoxoxo,
Ileana