ACEO contest

HOST recently held an ACEO contest - open to all of Etsy to participate and show off their creativity - with the ACEOs submitted being submitted to the HOST store to be offered for sale!

Art Card, Editions and Originals (ACEOs) are art miniatures commonly used for trade or sale between artists. The only standard requirement for an ACEO is that its height and width measurements be 2.5 x 3.5 inches (64 x 89 mm); and they can be of either vertical (portrait) or horizontal (landscape) orientation. The sky is the limit for every other aspect of this art!

The FIRST PLACE artist who gets the most votes will win a $10.00 gift credit to the Host store, or a PayPal payment of $10.00 to their account. The SECOND and THIRD place artists will receive super awesome HOST goody promo bags that are stuffed with all kinds of wonderful items!

Participating artists submitted their entries by uploading photographs of their ACEO to the HOST flickr group at http://www.flickr.com/groups/hostchallenge/ and sent listing details for their entry to the HOST store for listing.

This contest has now closed, and below are the entries that were received, together with the link to their listing in the HOST store, where you can read more details about each ACEO. You can VOTE for your FIRST, SECOND and THIRD choices by leaving a comment after this post, or by convoing the HOST store...

#1. Memories - by allaboutthebuttons

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=16680313

#2. Sunflower - by walkinthewoodsllc

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=16702844

#3. Native American Eagle Feather - by nativetalismanart

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=16702296

#4. Nature - by Lor2507 (and her daughters, Maria and Diana)

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=16701950

#5. Abstract Spring - by bellsakabin

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=16718561

#6. Pink Goddess by LDphotography

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=16722594

We would like to thank everyone who participated in this competition for their help and support of HOST :) Good luck everyone!!! The results will be collated and published here this Sunday/Monday... so watch this space!

A HOST NEWSFLASH...

COME JOIN US!

Welcome, HOST baby!

HOST members start younger and younger these days! This is our latest tiny new pair of hands... Please meet * Trystan Liam * who was born by caesarean section on 15 September 2008 at 8:12am. Trystan weighed in at 7lbs 4oz and judging from his contented smile, he is very happy to be here! Can we all say "awww"?!

Trystan's Mum is Krystle, or you may know her better as dkjewels . Krystle is doing well and you will be happy to hear that she has now reopened her Etsy store, selling her beautiful earrings. There are new designs listed already, and with so many bits and pieces needed for little Trystan, now would be a great time to check out the new additions to the dkjewels collection...

Evergreen and snow earrings - http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=16126930

Golden pumpkins - http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=16126093

Congratulations to Krystle and family on the safe arrival of gorgeous little Trystan; and what an adorable little bundle he is too!

Mama and baby competition - the results!

Thank you to everyone who joined in the voting for this, our first HOST competition, and special thank you to all those members who participated and donated their creations for sale in the HOST store. As with all HOST sales, the proceeds will go to help Etsians in need, so your shopping with HOST goes even further!

This is the moment you have all been waiting for (music, maestro, please)... In THIRD place, dancing dragonfly earrings by maisyh:

Follow this link to purchase from HOST:

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=15739639

In JOINT SECOND place, super cute lavender baby beanie by CrochetMaggie:

Follow this link to purchase from HOST:

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=15749880

and this adorable bib by DownTheStreet:

Follow this link to purchase from HOST:

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=15706517

And finally... the moment you have all been waiting for... in FIRST place, this fabulous pumpkin hat by Knitrgal:

This cute hat has already sold but if you would like one, you can visit Knitrgal's fabulous Etsy shop, or convo her for a custom order - http://Knitrgal.etsy.com

HURRAH!!! Congratulations to the winners, and to all of you who participated. The voting was super close and made even harder by the wonderful quality and range of the entries :)

HOT Birthday SALE

Our HOSTie Michelle of FireAndIceDesigns is having a Birthday this month - on 19 October 2008.

To celebrate, Michelle is offering an amazing 25% off all orders until her Birthday on 19 October.

Sounds to me like all our Birthdays just came at once, so get over to Michelle's store and get gift shopping!!

Absolutely gorgeous NEW soft turquoise glass lotus flower votive candle holder and soapdish SET from FireAndIceDesigns

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=11596192

IT'S COMPETITION TIME!!!

The first HOST members' competition closed yesterday, 30 September 2008. Participants were asked to create an item - or items - for a Mother/baby contest, with a maximum of two entries per person to allow for baby boys and baby girls!

Participating members have all donated their competition entries to the HOST store and these have all now been listed for sale in a special new Mother/Baby contest category.

HOST members have a wide variety of craft skills, and this is certainly reflected in the range of items entered. Each of the entries is showcased below for you to view, or you can visit the HOST store to read about them in more detail.

We would like your help to choose our competition winner! Please make your choices for first, second, and third place, and vote by leaving your comments here on the blog, or convo us with your choices privately via the HOST store.

Voting will close at 12 noon - Etsy time - on Sunday 5 October 2008 and the winners will be announced here the same afternoon!

Don't forget: these competition entries are all available to purchase through the HOST shop, and as with all HOST sales, the proceeds will be used to help Etsians in need.

If you need a Mother/baby gift - or if you are tempted to do some early Christmas shopping - now is the perfect time to visit HOST, where your gift will go even further :)

Note: click on each photo to view a image, or follow the Etsy link to view the item directly in the HOST store...

ENTRY #ONE http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=15707084

Adorable baby bonnet, donated by ArretsPlace

ENTRY #TWO http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=15706714

Feline "FEED ME" bib, donated by DownTheStreet

ENTRY #THREE http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=15706517

Five Star bib, donated by DownTheStreet

ENTRY #FOUR

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=15707317

Practical in pink mini bag, with pretty in pink scarf extra, donated by soulinchains

ENTRY #FIVE http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=15774626

Teeny tiny crocheted baby shoes, donated by BStep401

ENTRY #SIX http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=15774401

Hot baby butt pants, donated by LazyButtPants

ENTRY #SEVEN http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=15749880

Loveable lavender baby beanie, donated by CrochetMaggie

ENTRY #EIGHT http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=15740028

Too cute little pumpkin baby hat, donated by KnitrGal

ENTRY #NINE http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=15739639

Dancing dragonfly earrings for Mother, donated by maisyh

Oh, for those of you who are wondering... there are no prizes! We all did it for the love and extra team hugs :)

And by the way...

...the next HOST competition is already open and Etsy-wide participation is invited! Now is your chance to get extra creative and push your own creativity beyond your usual comfort zone.

Details will be announced here shortly but for now, you can read all about it and register your interest in participating here:

http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5832552

Falling into Fall!

Autumn has officially arrived, and to mark the occasion, LavenderDragonHerbs is celebrating with a:

Falling into Fall SALE

Check out Lavender's shop and this is what you will find on offer:

• 25% off Gift Baskets
• 25% off Tinctures
• 20% off Non Medicinal Teas
• 15% off Medicinal Teas
• 10% off Incense (except Sample Packs)
• 10% off all other items in the shop

Lavender invites you to visit her shop and SAVE SOME HOLIDAY CASH by getting your gift shopping done early, at discounted prices!

All orders can be gift wrapped, with a gift card, at no extra charge.

Items can also be shipped direct to the gift recipient, if required.

Purchase $100 or more and receive a $25 Visa Gift Card!

Also ALL purchases will be entered into Lavender's monthly drawing for $25 gift certificate to my shop.

Please pay with "other" at checkout and await your revised invoice.

Please add "FALL SALE" in the comments box at checkout for another Free Gift!

Wildcrafted English lavender sachets from LavenderDragonHerbs http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=8470656

HOST - the new look

A big thank you to HOSTie Maura of LiliMava for the new HOST shop and blog duds! Instead of a Spring Clean, we secretly plotted an Autumn Makeover and Maura and her fabulous graphic design skills immediately got on the case.

Once the design was ready, Maura and I uploaded the new banners simultaneously to the HOST shop and blog and then announced the new SURPRISE look to fellow HOST members in our weekly chat thread... Here is the current one if you'd like to stop by: http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5832226

We are all thrilled with our new look - please leave us your comments and let us know what you think too! Oh, and if you'd like a new banner for yourselves, just get in touch with Maura through her Etsy shop LiliMava .