Hey folks, just a little reminder that there's still a spring sale going on at my shop. Be sure to check it out and scoop up these little frames and assorted items before they sell out!

I rearranged some of my shop items tonight for the upcoming Valentine's Day. I also finished creating my latest embroidery hoop. I love how the XO pops off the background with the stitching detail. You can check the listing out here on my Etsy shop.

 Here we are, the happy couple at the end of the day in Boston. We drove in with Tater and walked around, ate, and had a drink to end the day.

beacon hill

market

cemetary

ryan, setting up his shot

It's nice to get out into a bigger city once in a while. Besides it being my birthday this week, I had a couple of other exciting things happen as well. A review about one of my tea towels went up on Lotus Be Barefoot. Brandi's blog includes other product reviews, as well as a bit about her life with her child. Check out her blog if you get the chance. Another was being featured in a beautiful treasury. I know, I know...treasuries happen a lot. This one really stuck out to me as a beautiful one, though. Perhaps I needed some brightness during the dark winter months? I loved the collection of items together and had to share it with you.

curator:moranalhalel

What a great collection! I also have a fourth bit of exciting news, but I will need to wait to share it! It will be hard to wait, but so worth it!

Today is the day, my friends. The day to use the code below, that is. Click on over to our shop at TurtandElephant and use the code below to check out and save 20% off of your order.

As promised, here is my special shop announcement. For one day and one day only, the code "smallbusinesssat" can be used at my Etsy shop to save 20% off from your purchase price. Write it down now, folks, and use it this Saturday, November 24, 2012 as a small token of my appreciation for your support of a small business. Thank you!

hand-stamped jersey infinity scarf

a work in progress, but will be listed soon

star banner

heart banner

upcycled sky blue cowl

hand-stamped and naturally dyed tea towel, 28" x 28"

I worked at my packaging style a bit over the last few weeks. I am very pleased with how this turned out. I love the winter embellishments on the top of the kraft paper.

As I was packaging another order for shipment tonight, I realized that I am definitely still in love with my cards from Moo.

I cannot wait to show you a few more projects I am working on and I also have an exciting discount code to share earlier next week. I think every day is small business day; however, I do like that there is a special day for small businesses coming up next weekend and I wanted to treat you guys to a little something.

Hi All! I'm having a shop sale at T&E celebrating the end of summer. Many of the items are 50% off or more. Check out the shop and see if any of your faves are on sale.

Hello my friends who are lovers of vintage. Today I listed something different in my shop than I normally do--the gorgeous frame listed below. I painted the frame liner with chalkboard paint, but it is otherwise left untouched.

View the listing here to read a little more about it if you are interested.

Don't forget to enter Janee's giveaway for a chance to win a print of the cows we visited the other week! The giveaway closes in roughly a day.

Remember the post I wrote that included information about a giveaway from the Plaid Barn? I am thrilled to announce that I am one of their affiliates now! Please see the sidebar on the right of my blog (you may need to scroll down a little) to see their ad. They sell craft and diy materials at a deep discount and I have been loving the stuff they have had. I told you guys about the fabric tape and the vintage charm crafting items that I ordered and as soon as they arrive, I will be posting about them.

Good morning! Just as one giveaway ended, another has begun! I sponsored the blog Yellow Bird, Yellow Beard this month and she is hosting a giveaway from several of the month's sponsors. I am excited to be amongst two other giveaways--one is for $25 to anthropologie and another is crafting supplies. Both prizes are so amazing!

So, what am I giving away?

Well, remember when Ryan and I went to visit the farmhouse apartment? It wasn't meant to be for us, but we still had some awesome pictures from it. We are giving away one hand-printed image.

It is roughly a 5x5 image printed (via our darkroom) on a 5x7 piece of Arista photo paper. You may trim it to your heart's content or leave it as is. Click here to enter. The giveaway ends in 6 days!

I had a request on my shop to paint one of my chalkboard frames a different color than I normally have up. This specific request was something closer to those blue Tiffany jewelry boxes. I picked out some paint from the craft store and had fun coating the frame last night and this morning. This is the result:

I am quite happy with it! There is one listed on my shop now if you would like to purchase it. Otherwise, feel free to happily gaze upon it as I do.

Yesterday marked the one year anniversary of my Etsy shop, Turt & Elephant.  I remember at the beginning when I was glad to have 10 views in a week. Many orders later, it makes me smile to think back on that small number now. Thank you all so much for your support.

As a thank you to my supporters, I am offering a free giveaway. It's not to gain more readers or to have more people follow me in social places, but just to plain thank you guys. One lucky winner will win the beautiful bag below.

I bought this bag in San Francisco around 2005. I had saved up money for a vacation to visit family (the very same family I posted about earlier last month) and had fun shopping while I was there. This bag was new at the time; I think I found it in a shop in the Mission District. It is a bag by Hardwear by Renee. I love this brand because she reuses materials to create super stylish bags. This one is made from marine vinyl, driftwood, and airline hangar wire. The measurements are 11"x9"x4". Take a gander below at all of the details:

As you can see, it is very hard for me to simply part with it and I would love for it to have a good home. To enter the giveaway, simply leave a comment answering the below:

• What your favorite part about the summer is so far.
• What you are looking forward to for the rest of the summer.
• And an email address to contact you with should you win.

I truly appreciate people coming to read here about my day-to-day life, DIY projects and shop updates. Best wishes to all!

** This giveaway will end on Friday, July 27 and a winner will be chosen at random with random.org. The winner will be announced on Saturday, July 28! This giveaway is only open to U.S. readers only. **

**Extended one more week!