During the autumn many folks gather wood for the long winter ahead. Woodcrafters also gather wood for use in their arts and crafts.
Eric Sloane’s best known book is “A Reverence for Wood”, which examines the history and tools of woodworking, as well as the philosophy of the woodworker, is one of my favorite books. This week’s Fantastic Five shows some of my favorite woodcrafts I found on Zibbet.
After reading about this week’s Fantastic Five, be sure to check Zibbet’s search for over 4,000 handcrafted wood art under woodworking.
1. Antique’d Natural Whitewash Wood Large Wall Mirror by KennethDante $287: I love this creative wood mirror. Kenneth says, “This frame features solid wood construction and is finished in weathered whitewash natural. Each piece of wood detail is hand-cut and carved and sanded. Whitewash collects along the inner edges for a gorgeous soft and natural restored, weathered appearance.”
2. Personalized Dream Catcher - Customized for you by Tiny Tipis LLC $24.99: Totally awesome! You get to choose all the components for your very own dream catcher. The artist says, “Every dream catcher I sell is handcrafted with care and attention to detail. I begin with a branch that I harvest myself from a tree that allows me to cut it. I slowly turn each branch into a natural circle that is woven in a way so that it requires nothing to hold it in it’s shape.“
3. Medium Parallam Hand Turn Nut Bowl by Blockhead Productions $25: I love wood bowls, and this unique one caught my eye. The artist says, “This unusual Nut Bowl is totally reclaimed lumber. The bowl is turned from a piece of wood called Parallam. A lot of you probably have Parallam in your new homes and don’t realize it. Parallam is a Engineered Lumber. All these little squiggles you see are layers of lumber that have been compressed together.“
4. Love Pendant with Cord - Cherry Wood Names by Dusty Newt Keychains $14.95: This is one of my favorite shops on Zibbet that has been with us since 2010. I have purchased several times, because Scott’s keychains make awesome gifts, and are always happily received. Now he is also making cool wood jewelry and more. Over 500 items listed in this Premium shop!
5. Birdhouse Retreat,Driftwood Art,Hand Made Garden/Yard Decor by Burlgirl Creations $65: I’m in love with this new shop on Zibbet. You really must visit as each birdhouse is truly a one-of-a-kind. So many different styles. The artist says, “Driftwood Birdhouse retreat made by hand with driftwood I collected at the coast. It measures 11×9x10 inches. I have also added hinges to one side of the roof for easy cleaning at the end of the year.”
very top image - Gather, Family, Welcome, Wood Letters, Miniature House, Autumn, Fall
by The Ugly Barn Farm $40
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Judy writes the ‘Fantastic Five‘ column where she features 5 Zibbet items every week. She is the owner of four Zibbet shops: Portable Graffiti Graphics, Portable Graffiti buttons, Proofreader, and Wild Goose Chase vintage, crafts and supplies. You can follow Judy on Facebook.
Tags: Fantastic Five, Gathering Wood
This week Zibbet is very excited to introduce you to Debbie and John of Thunder Rose Leather from outside Sedona, Arizona. Debbie and John make handmade buckskin leather handbags, pouches and bead work.They have been working with leather and beads for more than twenty years. All their creations are custom made. You can choose colors and styles. You will also find adorable buckskin baby moccasins.
John and I are a husband and wife team working from our home in a small community outside Sedona, Arizona. For over 20 years now we have been making quality handmade buckskin leather goods and beadwork, all the way from small leather pouches to custom designed leather handbags. We are so grateful to do what we love. We also have a beautiful daughter, four grandchildren and a sweet dog (fur baby) that we adore. When we aren’t creating and shipping and promoting ourselves and others we spend our time in our small organic garden enjoying the beauty of nature and life.We really enjoy making beautiful, functional, wearable art for our customers. It makes us smile when we hear back how much they love their new handbag or whatever they have purchased.John and I have both been influenced and inspired by some of our artist friends who have completely mastered their art. They are friends who have become famous at their trade. They always encourge us to follow our dreams and never give up and when we come across an artist block just to work our way out of it.
We love our small garden and being able to give a helping hand or a warm smile to someone, be it online or just a passerby.We really enjoy helping fellow artists anyway we can. We always like to encourge others the way we were encouraged.We both do alot of promoting others on social media and I have two blogs that I feature artists on.We both really love the community and the warm welcome we received when we joined.The site is very user friendly. It’s great being able to ask questions and receive a quick response.I am not real sure what to say here.I guess I would have to say more places to promote and share pictures and share one another on the site. We are still learning our way around.We promote our work on social media. Facebook is one where we have our own Facebook group for all handmade artists and we encourage everyone to share one another, not only is it good Karma but it benefits artists to be seen in more places.We also are members of many other promotion groups. We are on Google+, and I have two blogs where I promote others and our business.
Do your best to have a full store. Go inside the community and make your name and brand known to everyone. Be sure to always leave links to your Zibbet store. Promote others, it is good Karma.living in a community of like minded artist friends.
All communication between Zibbet and our buyers and sellers is by way of email. When you open a seller account, you’re asked to enter an email address in two places, one for contact and the other to connect your Zibbet account to your PayPal account. The address can be the same for both, or different–that’s up to you. Part of setting up your seller account is confirming your contact email address. Notifications of sales on your account and messages sent within the Zibbet message system as well as messages sent directly from Zibbet Support, are sent to this address, making confirmation of your email address extremely important. This step insures that you’re able to receive messages sent from Zibbet to the contact email address listed on your account. If you’re not receiving messages from Zibbet, here are some troubleshooting tips for you to try:
If your email address changes, make sure that you update the contact email address on your account. You can do this on your Account Info page in your My Zibbet.Changing your contact email address will not automatically change your email address on Zibbet’s weekly newsletter mailing list. To change this address, click the Unsubscribe link at the bottom of any newsletter that you’ve received. On your ‘Manage Your Email Subscriptions and Profile’ page, click the ‘Edit Profile’ link in the lower right hand corner of the page.If your PayPal email address changes, make sure to change this in your Zibbet account as well. You can do this on your Payment Method page in your My Zibbet.When you send a message to support@zibbet.com, please send from the contact email address listed on your account. This helps us identify your account so that we can better assist you.
Vicki is committed to assisting her fellow Zibbeters improve their shops for successful online selling. She is the owner of five Zibbet shops: LOC Design Studio, Papa Spivey’s Trunk, A Stitch and a Prayer and Think Like a Fish. You can follow Vicki on Twitter and through her LOC Design Studio blog.
This week’s Fantastic Five, Autumn Ambience shows you just a few of the delightful handmade products I found on Zibbet by searching for Autumn, Harvest, and Fall Colors.
This week Zibbet interviewed Sandi Holland from Jacksonville, Florida. Sandi’s business name is Artsy Craftery.Sandi’s profile page on Zibbet says, “I was born to create, and I’ve loved artsy stuff since kindergarten. Art is my blood, and craft my life breath. I create from anything, and it excites me to use found objects, recycled materials and salvaged items.” Sandi is a very active member of Zibbet’s Community Hub. She uses all the features the Community offers from Blog Posts, Photos Albums, Slideshows and of course the Forums. You should check out her profile there. Sandi is always willing to help other Zibbeters and we are glad she has joined Zibbet.Please enjoy the interview, leave Sandi a comment, and then use the Share Tools so others can read it, too. Please spread the Zibbet Love!
I’m a prolific crafter, writer and artist with a clerical background. I’ve been creating for over 25 years and am self-taught. My first love is papercrafting, but I am a mixed media crafter who loves glass, wire and fibers. I write and self-publish non-fiction, including articles, essays and poetry. I like writing poetry and I like coffee, so I have written two coffee poetry chapbooks, and have material for a third. A month ago I started drinking decaf coffee, after 30 years of drinking regular. I’m adapted to it now and it tastes fine. I have one grown son and I assist my 74 yo mother. She is by no means an invalid, but she IS 74, lol. I share my craft supplies and tools with her, and teach her easy techniques. I try to walk every morning shortly after dawn, with coffee in hand, and enjoy nature and pray. I watch creative programming throughout the day, and I take online business classes. I also enjoy hiking, grilling and fishing, all of which I want to do more of. I like visiting street markets and craft shows. I would like to do more grilling, hiking and fishing.
It’s hard for me to say, because it just comes from within. I love working with color, balance and design. Looking around me everyday, inside of the house and out, anything can motivate me to start a project, or add to one in progress. I love nature so much that I’d say it is my biggest inspiration, both in writing and crafting. I have written a lot of nature poetry.I look up to those who have identified their dreams, worked hard and made them come to pass, against all odds.I want to get to a place where I can tutor an adult to read. Being involved in a literacy program is very important to me. I’m blessed to have been an avid reader since I was a youth. Because reading is so valuable to me, I want to help someone who feels that the dream of being able to read is forever out of their grasp. I want to help their dream to come true. That goes along with my constant desire; to help others who are less fortunate than I am.
The Community! I was familiar with Ning sites before I joined, and I like the format.I would like to see 6 more photo thumbnails added to the Community homepage, for a total of 12. A photo would then have a chance to be displayed longer, before being bumped off onto the “more” page.Merchandise tagging, brochures that I design, business cards, fully-completed online profiles at all of my venues and social sites. Many people look at profiles. I do. I use Twitter, G+, Pinterest, Wanelo, LinkedIn, Flickr, Blogspot, etc. I welcome new members, give a free gift with orders, and I always answer emails, even if I don’t have the answer yet. I’ll give an interim response. I take the time to type a linked signature if there is no auto-generated one.
Any little thing that I think of that may attract attention to my brand, or that may help spark a memory of me, is an investment that is worth my effort.Join the Community, participate according to your style and personality, and have fun. The Community is a blessing because some venues don’t even have one. At other venues the community is not that convenient to access. Support your Community, and it will support you 
Just creating, and all of the things that go along with that, from dawn to dusk and beyond, every day…and teaching someone to read.
Gifts for Daring Dudes is this week’s Fantastic Five. No mundane gifts for the guys this year. Starting with this totally awesome bright pink handmade bow tie.
Welcome to all of our new sellers! We’re glad that you’ve chosen to join the Zibbet Community of sellers and wish for you much success here. We understand that moving from one venue to another, or getting started with your first online shop at any venue, requires learning the ins and outs of the system. As the huge increase in information requests that we’re experiencing in Support shows, you have lots of questions and we’re more than happy to answer those questions. To help you along in the learning process, today I’d like to encourage you to get to know your Zibbet shop as an exploratory experience. Find that button on your mouse that opens things and start clicking. Below you’ll find some fundamental information about your shop to help you get started. After you’ve read through this brief introduction, let the clicking begin!
GENERAL This section contains links to information about your account.SHOP SET-UP As the name implies, look in this section for links to areas where you set up your shop.LISTINGS The Listings section is where you create and manipulate your item listings. This is also where information about sold items is accessed.PROMOTE contains links to promotional tools available to you.BUYING OPTIONS Sellers are also buyers. This section contains links to records related to your buying history.
New to Zibbet this past August is Becca from Atlanta, Georgia with her delightful shop named Rabbittude Buntique.Becca is an active member of the Zibbet Community Hub and we are very happy she has joined Zibbet. You can find her in the Community Hub here.Check out the fun widget she has of Binky the bunny in her shop.She also has another shop on Zibbet, Birdsong Supplies. Becca has written an awesome interview, so without further comment from me, please read on about Becca and Blaine.Please enjoy the interview, leave Becca a comment, and then use the Share Tools so others can read it, too. Please spread the Zibbet Love!
Hi, this is Becca. Blaine said he would give me a hand with the picture and you can see he is a man of his word and provided his hand. I do the creation work. Blaine is an awesome idea contributor, handles getting shipments to and from the post office, and fixes all our computer hardware and email problems. He prefers to be the silent partner. That actually creates a good balance, because I talk way too much.Compared to those around me, I feel like I operate in quirks mode. I am both right and left handed, both analytic and creative. I switch back and forth a lot between left and right brained tasks and thinking. That can confuse people where I am coming from at times. Perhaps that is one of the reasons I so greatly love rabbits, because if you live with them and watch them, you realize they zig and they zag around and are full of unexpected surprises all the time. I read once rabbits are an animal favored by those who love mysteries and I do love mysteries, puzzles and figuring things out. I like looking for the patterns in things and not just those that are visual but also the patterns and strategy that I can see in how things work out in events for businesses and people.
My quirky sense of humor and seeking that in others is a big part of how rabbittude came to be. Rabbits are such a natural fit for me as an animal to love. I grew up loving Bugs Bunny cartoons and enjoyed seeing the movie Bugs Bunny Superstar. The movie showed how the cartoons were created with human actors being filmed or photographed acting out the scenes so that the movements could be properly drawn. It taught me there is a lot of behind the scenes work and thought in doing cartoon comedy really well.My first house rabbit was one my father brought home. Dad was good for showing up with pets with no warning, leaving mom scrambling to find ways to take care of the new arrivals. The bunny was a bit more challenging than others, because none of us had ever had a rabbit as a pet before. Thumper actually showed us that he could be litter box trained by picking out the same place outside his cage to do his business. Mom thought to try putting a litter box there and that was it, he was trained.
Thumper also introduced me to the first taste of rabbittude, although the thought for that term was years away in the future. He had a little bunny rock star routine. Mom hung a bell in his cage thinking he would play with it. Thumper would ring for service, meaning he wanted out or fed, NOW! If he was not answered in what he considered a reasonable amount of time, he began trashing his cage. He would overturn food bowls. Then he would take his little metal bowl and drag it across the bars like the best bunny version of old movie prisoners clanging cups against jail bars. Next Thumper would shred the newspaper that lined his cage. He would bounce his water bottle up and down until he dislodged the holder from the bars and dropped the bottle to the floor beside his cage. At that point, if you came to see him, you would find yourself looking at his bunny behind amidst all the mess. He had officially tuned everyone out in disgust. If we tried to lift him out of his cage, he would spread his legs out so that his paws would catch in the bars making it difficult to get him out. We would need to pamper and pet his outrage down again while we cleaned up the mess.
After Blaine and I married and relocated to Georgia, there came a time we decided to get a pet. Blaine knew Thumper had been my favorite. So we kept our eyes out for a rabbit. We brought Tigger and Shadow home as baby bunnies and spent the first two years constantly saying we had rabbits with attitude. We said it so much, it slurred right into rabbittude. Then those two rascally rabbits got so creative with their rabbittude, we realized we had to share it. We added in Portia bunny after a couple years thinking to help tame or tone down the other two a bit and instead found another layer of rabbittude began. People were laughing themselves silly over our funny bunny stories.The rabbits got in to everything imaginable and were up for anything. Little bunny heads were bouncing around and popping up everywhere. They were so personable and funny that they inspired a bunsiness. First came a website to share some of their stories and photos and gather the stories of other rabbittude rabbits and then came our Rabbittude cartoon designs that we sell online on licensed items through CafePress. Later came handmade items available online and through some wholesale arrangements.
We lost Portia to a heart defect after just a few short years, but had eleven wonderful years with Tigger and Shadow. Through learning how best to care for them, we came to know of rabbit rescue and adoption groups which is how Portia bunny came to us and Petfinder.com, which is how we found our current rabbident, Leo. We have lots of stories and photos of all our bunnies on our Rabbittude website, with many more to come. We also have lots of stored up bunspiration that hasn’t made it to cartoons or products yet.Oh boy, do I go on once I start talking about the bunnies!I do freelance web design and have had a great time working on websites for businesses located coast to coast in the United States. This past year I have been taking some extra time working more with learning WordPress blogging options and solutions. I want to have better choices to offer solopreneurs and small businesses for being able to do a lot themselves.
Over the decade plus that we have had house rabbits, we have assisted a number of rabbit adoption and rescue groups. Rabbits are universally associated with Easter and often bought as pets then. The months after the Easter holiday are especially difficult ones for rabbit groups as many bunnies are abandoned and need to be rescued to be spayed or neutered to settle the crazy teenage bunny hormones down and find them new homes.Getting involved with creating jewelry and beaded accessories had me seeking out better supply sources. This year we set up wholesale accounts with some wonderful companies. We are starting our supply store Birdsong Supplies with some destash craft items and a first taste of what those wholesale companies we work with have to offer. We hope to grow in our buying in bulk ability to bring more choices and better prices to others.
They do say necessity is the mother of invention and need molded my choices and direction for my current work. I’ve always had allergies, but popcorn became my Kryptonite for taking away my ability to function in the regular workforce. I’m allergic to corn and can’t eat it or breathe it. Fortunately the internet was growing at the same time and pace as the corn allergy. I always knew I wanted to be in an entrepreneurial business and took my college training to gain all the basics skills. I have two Associate Degrees, one in Accounting and one in Business Management. I’ve also completed certificate programs in microcomputers, print design and web design and one in web coding languages. I have way more college credits than a four year degree would need, but never sat in one place long enough to actually earn a bachelor’s degree. I’ve always felt the need to just get going and start taking things and putting them in to practice as soon as I could.I wanted to be as well rounded as possible to be able to do things for myself and others via web based businesses. I have been doing free-lance web work for mostly small businesses for almost a decade now as well as having my own online selling businesses. I want to understand the needs of people I work with inside and out.
At the moment, I am in a retraining phase with my web design work to be looking and testing more of what I think might be good solutions now that many are moving from standard computers and laptops over to mobile devices for their internet experiences.I look up to everyone I meet at some point and usually they are quite nice about offering me a hand to help me back up off the floor. I am a klutz. Saying I have two left feet doesn’t adequately cover it. Blaine calls me his boo boo bumble bunny. Thank heavens for those lessons learning how to ski early in life. I never realized how valuable being taught the right way to fall was going to be. Having this tendency started me out very young looking at how others deal with adverse situations, turning negatives around. I learned and continue to learn from so many people the power of humor and ability to laugh to lift myself and others up. If you are on the floor, the only direction to go is up.
I’ve found that really special moments can happen when I am open to letting others reach out to offer a helping hand. There is so much power in extending and receiving a helping hand, learning to graciously give and receive. Using humor can turn situations totally on their head from tragedy to bringing in a lightening of spirit that can return the ability to find hope, optimism and creative thinking and problem solving.Blaine would tell you that my boxes have boxes. I just love plastic storage drawers, rolling carts, bins and organizer dividers. I really get in to tearing apart closets and drawers and reorganizing things. If I am lucky when I’m done, I actually remember what is stored where. So that brings in a supporting passion, my label maker. With that and all kinds of colored label tape, I can label all my boxes so that I don’t have to try to remember what is in them.
Blaine loves to garden and over the years we have had some lovely orchids and pitcher plants as well as colorful gardens. Our home is set in a semi-rural area and we have a regular flow of animals through the yard: birds, bunnies, squirrels, deer and one time a trio of wild turkeys walked through. We are members of the Atlanta Botanical Garden and visit there at least once a season. I love working on my digital photography skills in the garden. There is just so much beauty to be found and enjoyed and it is a great antidote to stress. Being surrounded by nature really brings home a sense of the hand of a grand designer in all things.Blaine and I both love reading or watching mysteries and quirky comedy. We have been said to have the same laugh. I love hearing Blaine’s laugh. It makes me happy if mine is thought to be as pleasant to hear too.There are so many things I love about Zibbet. I love the way that Zibbet is using Pinterest boards for colors, themes, locations, all of which I think is a fantastic use of that social medium to showcase what Zibbet has to offer. Seeing that inspired me to get active again with Pinterest .
I also love that Zibbet allows customization of shops to better reflect their unique brands as part of the Zibbet venue. The geek in me is super crazy about the ability for premier accounts to have widgets. The organized side of me is crazy about having as many sections as I want and being able to put things in more than one sectionI would love to see lots more shops and buyers joining Zibbet. It is exciting to be part of a growing market and community. It is great to be here in a time of growth. I am looking forward to seeing some exciting things coming with Zibbet in the future.As far as added features for Zibbet, I would love anything in shop tools that makes things more streamlined and easier for listing or inventory management. I love getting new tech tools. I’m looking forward to seeing what is in the Zibbet rebuild.
I guess I would say I promote like a rabbit. That means I work fast and furiously when I have the ability and opportunity. Since I am working around my freelance work schedule, it can be a challenge to keep the promotion evenly paced and not be disappearing from sight too much or too often. I am working on finding the best way to have some things built up ahead of time that will aid in keeping to a more evenly paced schedule.Telling stories is the easiest form of writing for me. This month I am working on our Rabbittude blog, trying to share something every weekday: bunny stories, photos, what is going on in the studio here or great bunny rabbit things I have found on the internet.I use Twitter to let followers know about new blogs. When I have time, I look to connect there with people looking for those with funny comments or great rabbit stories they are sharing. I look for people that I can reach out to on a personal level. I do love that I don’t have to feel a need to say a lot if I am pressed for time. The 140 character limit relieves any feelings of guilt about not having much to say at times. I also love getting back on to Pinterest, creating lovely visual boards for people to enjoy and find things they might like too. I also have a Facebook page.
I think joining and connecting with the community is important, because that will always provide a place to go to ask questions or be able to give assistance to others. It is also great fun to connect with people all over the world and learn more about them and the businesses that have all brought us together in the community.I like that Zibbet provides the opportunity with the premium accounts to really personalize shops and would recommend everyone take advantage of that. One of the wonderful things about an online marketplace like Zibbet is the ability to have the feel of being in an online arts and crafts market or in an antique or boutique neighborhood. The individual styles and color choices of shops contribute to making the Zibbet neighborhood unique. Those who like shopping in unique physical locations will recognize and appreciate it when they see the individual personalities and tastes of shopkeepers showing through.
For any venue, it is important to work on keywords, understanding search engine optimization and finding out how people actually search for and find things on the venue.There is a plaque over our front door that says, “Live simply, laugh often, love deeply”. I see life as a journey of learning and experiences. Everything is good along the way and whatever comes up along the way is just another part of the road to either navigate around or celebrate and enjoy. I’m always trying to look forward to new experiences. I am working to keep to a simpler life where I can laugh and be more with those I love both human and furry friends.