THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT - "Out of Many, We Are One" - FINALIST in ETSY/NASA Art Contest

After an emotion-packed month of suspense, disappointment, relief, pride and excitement, the FINALISTS were announced and my entry "Out of Many, We Are ONE" was voted by our community into the FINALS!

THANK YOU for your votes and support!

It is now in the hands of the Etsy and NASA judges panel. The judging will be done in the end of February.

I was tickled to see my entry next to my dear friend Christen's of copperleafstudios.etsy.com. I couldn't be in better company!

Make sure to check out her incredible shop filled with gorgeous copper artwork and stay tuned to read about the labor of love that she's working on!

PLEASE VOTE FOR: "Out of Many, We Are One" - Semi-Finalist in ETSY/NASA Art Contest

I have just been notified that my entry to ETSY's NASA Contest has made it to the Semi-Finals and I'm SO excited!

Please click HERE to VOTE!

It would mean the world to me to get your vote!

The entry piece is called "Out of Many, We Are ONE" and it took weeks to complete.

I hand-punched thousands of brightly colored dots from card stock and arranged each dot, one by one to create a space view of our beautiful Planet Earth from an image taken by a NASA Shuttle mission.

How COOL would it be for that piece now to go to the International Space Station on the Shuttle's final voyage!?

Each member can only vote once and voting ends Monday, December 6, at noon.

The response has been wonderful and I'm very proud of this piece.

To all who have voted, my sincerest thanks (including my family who I held prisoner on Thanksgiving Day after dinner and passed the laptop to, one by one)!...

I am always awed by the cheer leading support from my handmade and online community.

You are truly an inspiration to me.

Please feel free to repost this blog and SHARE!

** Click here to find out how to get a FREE LARGE PHOTO PRINT CARD of this design! **

siempre- dorana

Crafting Cat Approved Handmade Kitty Bed by iWunder.etsy.com

There are antisocial cats, and those that only search for you during mealtime, and those that need to be a part of every breath you take throughout the day!

I am blessed with one of EACH!

Here is my dear Merlin as he succumbs to an afternoon nap after pouncing on a pile of thousands of tiny dots that were piled up on my hammering mat. Pleased with his kill, he curled up in this wonderful cat bed knitted by fellow Etsian iWunder.etsy.com!

More Meaningful Gifts - 1st ANNIVERSARY FEATURES: The MAD SCIENTISTS of MMG

"A MAD SCIENTIST is a stock character of popular fiction, specifically science fiction. The mad scientist may be villainous, benign or neutral, and whether insane, eccentric, or simply bumbling, mad scientists often work with fictional technology in order to forward their schemes, if they even have a coherent scheme. Alternatively, they fail to see the evil that is implied will ensue from the hubris of “playing god”."

Perhaps they're not quite villainous or god-playing, but the rest is quite possibly true!

As we wind down the celebration of the More Meaningful Gifts Group First Anniversary, I know I couldn't let the month pass without acknowledging the love and support of my favorite Mad Scientists!

At any given time of the day these incredible women are always there to give their love, support, and guidance.

If there is ever an award for ETSIAN OF THE YEAR, no one would be more deserving than our very own Wunder Woman, Jennifer Wunderlich of iwunder.etsy.com.


We are so incredibly blessed to have our very own Etsypedia! She selflessly shares her experiences, tutors us on how-to's in photography, descriptions, the all important tags and everything Etsy! It's like having our own member of the Etsy Admin to talk to everyday!

Wunder, even if you never shared another Etsy tip with us, I couldn't love you more! You are the voice inside my head, never hesitant to speak your mind and make us laugh, always ready to defend us and bold enough to give us harsh critism when we need it!

Thank you for being an amazing team mate and friend...



If Wunder is our Etsypedia, then Ulimanda is our biggest cheerleader! Amanda Giesler of ulixis.etsy.com is best known for her incredible BLOG! Creating instant envy among us all with her dedication to posting everyday, she showcases her wonderful crafts, incredible recipes, and daily Etsy Favorites; our very own Martha Stewart! (I have succumbed to MANY of her found treasures!)

The VERY essence of MMG, Uli is the first to join in on every new project, feature, treasury, blog, listing, life event, and my partner at handmaderegistry.com... I can't imagine an MMG home where her beautiful goddesses don't grace the pages.


Uli, I am so proud of you and the incredible woman you are. I can't wait to see and be a part of the woman you'll become. A Martha Stewart Scientist - who says you can't do it all! I would never have been able to accomplish all of our MMG successes without your support and love.

Thank you for being such a wonderful partner my friend!


No family is complete without a sister! (and I'm not talking about the screaming, pulling hair, get in trouble when THEY throw the once bitten into apple into the trash can and YOU get punished for a month-kind of sister!)

But the kind of sister that you share your own secret language with, that understands "just keep swimming" and doesn't think you're crazy for singing it, the one that you can share your bad days with and is ALWAYS there to pick up the pieces when they're just too difficult to carry on your own...

The same sister that cheers your successes, life events and can be that little voice you need to help you keep dreaming those dreams that may seem hopeless...




Jena Campbell, of marinebiochic07.etsy.com, thank you for being the second mother to our MMG family!

We are so blessed to have you watching over us and making sure no one gets left behind! We are so proud of all of your hard work and determination as you begin your PhD work and all of the good that you do for the ARK.

Thank you for being my MMG sister and friend!


Who would have thought a year ago that a little list of my ten favorite shoppes would lead to such amazing kinship!

Happy Anniversary MMG!

4 MMG SHOPPES FEATURED in Etsy's SEPTEMBER SAPPHIRE GIFT GUIDE!

CONGEMULATIONS TO THE MORE MEANINGFUL GIFTS BNR SHOPS FEATURED IN THE

ETSY SEPTEMBER SAPPHIRE GIFT GUIDE!

dorana.etsy.com
yarncoture.etsy.com
TrickyBugPaperArt.etsy.com
andra358.etsy.com

ORIGINAL MMG Thread-Mates! A Year Later and Still Supporting More Meaningful Gifts!

I'm the kind of person that doesn't believe in gift cards and cash as gifts...

There's nothing like the initial glance someone gives you when they get a wish fulfilled or something they hadn't dared to dream of or something that they think there's no way that you could have known they wanted or needed...

I started the More Meaningful Gifts Thread with that in mind.

A year later, out of the nine shops that I originally invited, we are blessed to still have three amazing women who take the time every day to share their talents, thoughts, and ideas with us; but I am most blessed to call them my friends.

Thank you Debra, Kara, and Sima for your continued love and support...

If you're looking for More Meaningful Gifts definitely take the time to check out these amazing shops and talented women.

debralinker.etsy.com

karalennox.etsy.com

simag.etsy.com

TEAM WORK Blog Feature of DDOTS ® Spiral Notecards by SimaGJewelry.blogspot.com

I am honored to be featured by SimaGJewelry!

I created custom DDOTS ® Spiral Mini Note Cards for Sima's signature Spiral Necklaces and Charms.

Thank you for the wonderful write up and feature Sima!

siempre- dorana

Successful LAUNCH OF DDOTS.ETSY.COM - Premium Hand-dotted Paper Art Cards and Gift Tags

On Etsy Day, April 24th, I officially launched my new Paper Art Shoppe - ddots.etsy.com! I am absolutely thrilled with the great feedback and success! It is a wonderful day when you can create something new that others appreciate and embrace.

DDOTS ® Greeting ART CARD and Gift Tags are hand-dotted with a hammer and special tools - they ARE NOT done by using a hole punch or templates of any kind!

Simple designs in three different hand-dotted fonts create beautiful shadows of the image INSIDE the card as you open it!

Each DDOTS ® Greeting ART CARD measures a standard 4 ¼” X 5 ½” on textured card stock in BOLD COLORS and is paired with a plain white envelope and comes packaged in our parent company a Dorana design custom packaging ready for gifting and mailed in a rigid mailer to protect from folding and damaging your ART CARD!

DDOTS ® Greeting ART CARDS are currently available in these colors:

Sky Blue
Aqua
Lime Green
Vanilla
Orange Sherbet
Red
Coral Pink
Chocolate
White
Black



DDOTS ® Greeting Art Gift Tags are created using archival quality papers and adhesives accented with beautiful ribbons and MAKING MEMORIES BRAND eyelets.

Etsy Buy Handmade ddots

BLOGGER FRIENDSHIP AWARD

BLOGGER FRIDAY FRIENDSHIP DAY!

I'd like to thank Tami of The Holistic Diva for her support and awarding me last week's Blogger Friendship Award! It's truly my pleasure to be able to share great artists and business tools with our amazing HANDMADE COMMUNITY!


In turn, I would like to award the Vespa Blogger Friendship Award to the following people who have shared their friendship and support!

Ulixis Crafts
Penguinware Boutique
H20 Works
Nicole's Homemade Treats
DBaker817
Marine's Craft Corner
SimaG Jewelry
Tsurfer
Bella Cosa Art
Debra Linker

If you would like to pass this award on to some of your blogger friends, then here's how to do it (as passed on to me):

1. Put the logo on your blog

2. Add a link to the person who awarded you

3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs

4. Add links to those blogs on your blog

5. Leave a message for the nominees on their blog

Thank you to my blogger friends for sharing your knowledge and humor.

SpoonerZ.etsy.com - Talented Artists of Etsy Feature - TAETSY

Today's TAETSY FEATURE showcases the talent of fellow Etsian : SpoonerZ.etsy.com!

I received one of these incredible "FORK IT OVER!" money clips as a gift for featuring her work in our HANDMADE WEDDING SERIES at myhandmaderegistry.com!

I was "forked away" by the amazing craftsmanship and detail! What a wonderfully unique gift for Father's Day and your groomsmen!

Thank you SpoonerZ.etsy.com for your support and generosity! Make sure to check out other amazing silverware creations!

myHandmadeRegistry.com's CROPPING TUTORIAL by doodlage.etsy.com - FEATURED ON ETSY SUCCESS!

Congemulations to our fellow myHandmadeRegistry.com member Doodlage (doodlage.etsy.com) whose CROPPING TUTORIAL was featured on Etsy Success this week!

myHandmadeRegistry.com - Not Just Another Networking Site

What I think sets apart successes from failures are those that find adversities and ADVERTISE them and those that find adversities and look for ways to make them ASSETS!

After half of a year dedicated to the idea that people really are interested in the artisan community and then researching, promoting and marketing my jewelry shoppes from various online retailing sites, I came to an enlightening conclusion that I had heard over and over again...

"These sites are really just SELLERS selling to SELLERS!"

After all, before I learned about them from another seller, and joined to sell, I had never heard of them either!

And so I started researching about how I could get BUYERS to find MY STORE of handmade goods and I stumbled across a couple of interesting blog posts...

"I wish I could register for my wedding at Etsy.com!"

"Oh, I'd LOVE it if everyone would get me Etsy.com stuff for my baby shower!"

After searching for several days, I found ONE online registry where registrants could add Etsy.com item numbers to their wish list of goods along with the likes of Macy's, Bloomingdales, ToysRUs, etc.

I thought, "Hey! I CAN DO THIS!" : a Handmade Registry - a place where everyone can create a personal page with a list of their favorite items from only HANDMADE RETAILERS!

Won't be able to find Macy's HERE!

Then the daunting task of figuring out HOW TO DO THIS! With neither the desire to wait what must surely take months to create, nor the funds to support it, I remembered a site that I was introduced to where members could customize their pages to create their own social networking site! And myHandmadeRegistry.com was born!

It's still in its infancy, but I believe it can grow into a powerhouse tool!

It is NOT just another Networking Group - our platform happens to be BUILT as one, but this is my vision...

Imagine the now millions of artisan shoppe owners that flood the gates of the Handmade Community. Now imagine how many times just this past week each one of those members have been asked, "What do you want for Christmas? Hanukkah? Birthday? Anniversary?"

myHandmadeRegistry.com is designed for these shoppe owners to share their Wishlist with their families and friends - especially those that have such a hard time shopping for them! Imagine the incredible relief husbands and boyfriends will feel knowing that there's a place where she has pictures of everything her heart desires and all they have to do is CLICK ON IT and it takes them right to the check out counter! (no offense guys - I KNOW there are many of you that are godsends! but let's face it - this is the promise land for most of you!)

This registry now opens up the artisan marketplace to so many more people!

But lets take this another step further...

I've created GROUPS within the community that I plan to market for OUTSIDE OF THE ARTISAN COMMUNITY - for expectant parents, a house-warming group to share decorating tips on a budget and find that special accent piece, and my favorite :

my $5000 Handmade Wedding!

These days the Platinum Weddings we see on WE are becoming more and more of a fantasy to most of us...

But lately, I've been finding myself watching those shows and saying... "I can do THAT" and "oh! I saw something like that in the forums last week for 1/100th the cost!

My vision in this group is to link these dreaming brides with Handmade Retailers who can make those pictures come to life in quality and affordability!

Members of this group can create BLOG posts on their pages with images of the various ideas for their fantasy wedding with tags relating to the items such as "dress", "invitations", "jewelry", "favors", etc. Vendors who can provide those products or services can then find and leave comments on their BLOG where they can also attach images, sketches, estimates...

How wonderful will it be to have such an incredible resource at your fingertips - remembering first and foremost that the most priceless resource in any network is building relationships - someone will always know someone who can help you fulfill your dreams!

...A place where brides can take those black and white fantasies and turn them into vibrant rainbows of possibilities while keeping as much green in their pockets!


I look forward to a million more endless possibilities with this project and welcome any new ideas, suggestions, questions... but PLEASE COME JOIN US and share what an amazing community of artisans and talented business supporters we have among us!

siempre - dorana