Don’t forget to enter to win a “Tell Your Mama to Vote for Obama” tee from Octopedal Arts.The contest ends tonight, August 29th, at 11:59 pm.

ENTER HERE!

Renee from Wolfie and the Sneak wrote to tell me about the Handmade Kids Sweepstakes over at Etsy that she’s participating in.  You can vote for your favorite Etsy kid’s stuff and enter to win one of fourteen $350 Etsy shopping sprees. Vote Here!

If you want to vote for Renee, her section is here. Each of the participants have a chance to win a $200 shopping spree if they win their categories.

Each week I share some of the shops from the Indie Fixx Galleria, a monthly juried showcase of indie shops. You can read more about the Galleria here.

This week’s highlighted shops include:

Eclectic Eccentricity - a vibrant collection of vintage and contemporary jewellery, which combines Lucy Averill’s love for unique and varied pieces with a hefty dose of fun. The collections are as different as the name, which happens to combine two of Lucy’s favourite words in the English language. From the shabby to the chic, Eclectic Eccentricity continually updates its range with new and exciting pieces.

ShanaLogic -  features handmade and independently designed gear by artists from around the world! With tons of hip jewelry, unique accessories, awesome apparel, pet gear and more, you’ll be sure to find some goodies for yourself and for your family & friends! Shop Indie. Pass it on!

melissakate - by Melissa Kate McMurtrie is a collection of colorful and fun linocut cards and prints. From the initial drawing to the finished item, each card and print is handmade in her home studio in Brooklyn , NY. Melissa loves to incorporate layers of blocks to maximize color and detail in every print. All cards are printed on eco-friendly or 100% recycled card stock. Use code MKGAL to receive 15% off all orders!

Call for submissions for October’s Indie Fixx Galleria!

If you are an independent artist, designer, crafter or shop that carries indie products and would like to take part in the Galleria for October, just send me an email to apply or for more info.

**The deadline to apply for October is September 5th.  I only accept applications one month at a time.**

Read more about how to apply to the Galleria here.

On Thursdays, I share a reader’s inspirations with you and today’s inspirations were sent in from Jill Brown from Out of the Pink Sky (and her blog).

Do you want to share you inspirations? Click here to share your 3 inspirations for “I’m inspired by…”

1. Music! On several occasions, a song has inspired an interesting jewelry design. Music moves me more than any other art medium.

2. Customer sales! I love that someone out there in the world is wearing something I created. That always pushes me to create more.

3. Autumn! Autumn is such a beautiful season. The colors, smells, sounds, traditional foods, and holidays (Halloween!) are particularly inspiring to me.

Just in time for the 3-day (or 4-day if you take off Friday) Labor Day Weekend, here’s a delicious-sounding Sangria recipe for ya. I discovered this recipe over at Love and Olive Oil, which is the foodie blog by Lindsay of Pattern & Paw, and Lindsay got it from Bobby Flay.

I promised my friend Laura some Sangria when I bought my new patio set a while back, and I’m sure she’d say it’s about time that I invited her over for some.  I do believe that she’ll like this recipe. I think I’ll try it with agave nectar instead of sugar though, since I  gave up white refined sugar last month. I also might try peaches instead of apples!

Ingredients:
2 bottles red Spanish table wine
1 cup brandy
1/2 cup triple sec
1 cup orange juice
1 cup pomegranate juice
1/2 cup simple syrup, or more to taste (equal parts sugar and water, heated until sugar dissolves, cooled)
Orange slices
Apple slices
Blackberries
Pomegranate seeds

Directions
Mix all ingredients together and let stand in a tightly sealed container or pitcher for at least 24 hours in the refrigerator before serving.

I’m going to the library today, and for the first time in a long time, I don’t have anything on hold to pick up.

Do you have any book suggestions for me?

I like books by Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Tom Robbins. I read mostly fiction, but I will do some non-fiction, especially biographies and books like Thomas Friedman’s and Jared Diamond’s. I have a personal goal to read one classic for every non-classic I read…sometimes, I live up to this goal. Some of my favorite titles include: To Kill a Mockingbird, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, The Great Gatsby, Half a Life, Love in the Time of Cholera, Like Water for Chocolate, Lord of the Rings and Jitterbug Perfume among others.

Bookplates from papered together