Black Friday / Small Business Saturday SALE

All Badge Reels are 20% off (No Coupon Necessary). Stock up on these great stocking stuffers for co-workers, friends and family!! 

PLUS 15% off purchases of $25 or more with coupon code BLKFRIDAY plus get a FREE set of gift tags with your order! 

Happy Shopping: www.etsy.com/shop/snugglymonkeyco

{GIft Guide} Handmade Of the Month Clubs

What do you get the cousin who has everything? That hard to please uncle? How about the gift that keeps giving all year long - a subscription to an "of-the-month" club! Branch out of the ordinary and try a unique handmade monthly subscription.

The Badge Reel of the Month club is perfect for that nurse, teacher, co-worker or student in your life that likes to change up their look and style on a regular basis. Three different subscription options are available - the 4 month, 6 month or 12 month plan. Allowing you to change out your badge reels with each holiday, season or month! Each plan is fully customizable and monthly, quarterly, annual shipping is included* with the price of your subscription! (*US shipping is included. International club members are always welcome, however there is a nominal shipping fee added to the cost of the subscription)

There are all sorts of unique and creative subscription clubs available in the handmade world of Etsy, such as a Marshmallow of the Month club or an Earring of the Month Club or a Baby Octopus of the Month club! Here are a few of my favorites...

Happy Shopping! Join me in taking the 

Handmade Holiday Pledge!

Special Birthday Sale!

Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday dear Me, Happy Birthday to me :) 

I am celebrating my birthday this week! Join in on the celebration and enjoy 20% off anything in my shop with coupon code HPYBDAY. Hurry in today because this special discount ends at 11:11pm on Friday, 11-11-11. 

Great chance to get a start on your holiday shopping and stocking stuffers!

Gift Guide for Teachers

Whether you are shopping for your child's kindergarten teacher or that special professor that helped you on your dissertation, the teachers in our lives deserve some extra special recognition for all that they do. In support of the Handmade Holiday Pledge, here are some unique handmade gift ideas for the teachers on your list.

Snuggly Monkey Lanyards and Badge Reels make cute and economical gifts for teachers and school office staff. With over 100 designs available (and more added regularly), you can surely find one that brings out each teacher's unique personality.

Quantity discounts are available, so buy in bulk and save!

After a long day at school, help your favorite teacher relax with an organic Flax seed and Lavender filled Eye Pillow. These eye pillows can be stored in the freezer to help sooth puffy, tired eyes, or heated in the microwave for some healing heat therapy and headache relief. 

Handmade teacher's gifts abound on Etsy. Here is a collection of a few of my favorites...

Handmade Holiday Pledge

With Christmas less than 48 days away and Hanukkah only 43 days away (12/20-12/28/2011), the holiday shopping season is officially upon us! As you start putting together your holiday gift list, I would like to encourage you to think about taking the Handmade Holiday Pledge this year. 

The Pledge: 

I pledge to support a handmade holiday this year by making gifts myself or by buying from handmade artists and crafters.

This is not meant to be an all or nothing sort of thing. Even if you just purchase one handmade gift or make a batch of cookies for your neighbor - you are upholding the pledge! The handmade holiday pledge is meant to encourage your creativity and to support small businesses that are striving to create beautiful, unique, and high-quality items for the special people on your list. 

Some benefits of buying handmade...

• Give the gift of uniqueness! Handmade = unique, custom, one of a kind, different, special.
• Economical Gift Giving - in these difficult financial times we are all looking for ways to save some money. When you buy handmade you are often times buying directly from the creator/maker/designer, so you are saving on traditional retail costs! Many crafters also offer quantity discounts if you by many of the same/similar items. So if you find something you would like to give to your co-workers, ask about quantity discounts to save more!
• Avoid the long lines and hassle of shopping malls during the holiday season
• Excellent customer service! Many handmade vendors truly appreciate YOUR business and tend to show that appreciation with a variety of "little gestures" that make your shopping experience with them pleasant and memorable
• Custom items - many handmade businesses are more than happy to work with you to create a one of a kind piece in the colors/theme you are looking for. Just ask!
• Support small businesses. Many handmade artists and crafters are folks just like you that are trying to either bring in some extra income for their families or make a living doing what they love. In buy buying from a handmade artisan you are helping to support these individuals. 

Where to buy handmade...

Handmade is all around you! Here are a few ideas on where to start looking.

• Etsy
• Artfire
• Local Craft Shows and Fairs
• Local galleries and shops

To help you out with the Handmade Holiday Pledge, I will be posting regular Holiday Gift Guides over the course of the next few weeks with handmade gift ideas for all the people on your list. I will also be posting links to DIY gift projects for quick and easy gifts you can make too. 

So join me and take the Handmade Holiday Pledge! Leave a comment below saying that you are in! Grab the Pledge button (in the sidebar) & post it on your blog/website, or post it on Facebook or Twitter to get your friends involved too.

Do you have a great holiday gift idea or tutorial? Email me or leave a comment below, and I might post it in my next gift guide!

Happy Crafting!

{Featured Artist & Giveaway} Alyssa from Kadydid Designs

Welcome to (a slightly belated edition of) Featured Fridays on Snuggly Monkey! Each week we chat with a different Etsy artist and take a peek inside their Etsy world. This week we are talking with Alyssa from Kadydid Designs. 

 Alyssa and her sister have teamed up to make the gorgeous baby and toddler creations you will find at Kadydid Designs. Specializing in fashion tutus, car seat covers, burp cloths and bibs, Kadydid Designs is the place to shop for our budding fashionista. 

How did you come up with the name "Kadydid Designs"?
My sister (who works with me on Kadydid Designs) and I were brainstorming seperately about name possibilities, and we both happened to come up with Kadydid Designs.  I'm not sure where it came from, but it seemed to be the right fit!
 
How do you describe your work when someone asks “What do you make?” 
We focus mainly on making infant car seat covers and tutus, but dabble in bibs and burp cloths too.  Anything baby related!
 
When did you start doing your craft/art? 
After I had my second son.  He was a major mess maker, and I needed more absorbant burp cloths. 
 
How did you first learn how to sew and create tutus? My mom taught me the basics of sewing when I was little.  To be honest, I never really did anything with it until we opened this shop.  However, in the last 6 months since really starting the shop, I have pushed myself and found a real love for sewing and creating with my hands.  There have been a lot of self teaching moments at my house lately!
 
What aspects of your Etsy business do you find challenging?
It's funny, but my shop gets absolutely slammed when my personal life is allowing no extra time for anything. I'd say that's the most challenging thing about my store. And I just keep trying to make it as streamlined and organized as possible!

How do you advertise or promote your shop? 
I do a lot via social media sites, and even more through blogs (such as this one!). I've recently branched out to pay for advertising on a blog and am still feeling that out. So far so good, I think, but I'm still not quite sure. Only time will tell!
 
What is your marketing “philosophy”? 
Of course marketing and advertising are important! But, I don't think a lot of money needs to spent to do it. I really think that building relationships with other Etsy shop owners is just as a productive marketing tool than anything. Once you have those relationships in place, it feels like you kind of "have each others backs", so to say, and you build each other up.  

How did you set up your shop banner & avatar? 
I paid somebody to set one up for me, and it was great.  However, my sister in law was dabbling on her own banner and avatar, and just happened to make a few for me too. I feel like those fit my personality better than the pre-made ones I had purchased.

What else do you do to keep your shop looking great?  
I try to keep everything as uniform as possible.  All of my photos are taken in the exact same spot at almost the exact same time of the day to keep the lighting the same.  All the wording is pretty much the same from item to item, which I hope cuts down on confusion.  I like things to be organized!
 
How do you go about obtaining your supplies? 
I get 99% of my fabric from other Etsy shops.  I want to be supported in my business, so I want to do the same for others. My top 2 favorite fabric stores on Etsy are Bloome, and Raspberry Creek Fabrics. The women who run these shops have answered ridiculous questions for me, are super friendly and have amazing products. I just love shopping with both of them!

 Many thanks to Alyssa for sharing so many great tips and ideas with us! Please be sure to keep in touch with her and Kadydid Designs by visiting them on... 

Etsy: www.kadydiddesigns.etsy.com

Blog: www.kadydiddesigns.blogspot.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/kadydiddesigns

Twitter: @kadydiddesigns

  Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/acstander

 Alyssa has generously agreed to sponsor a giveaway for Snuggly Monkey readers!

Prize: $15 Gift Certificate to Kadydid Designs

Start Date: Monday, November 7, 2011

End Date: Monday, November 21, 2011

{How to Enter to Win}

The winner of this Giveaway will be chosen at random, so the more times you enter the higher your chances of winning! I like having options, so there are SEVERAL ways to enter.  Feel free to do as many or as few as you like. Don't have time to do them all now? No problem! Come back later and add a few more entries (this giveaway will be open for TWO whole weeks).  

Entering is EASY with Rafflecopter. When you have completed one of the tasks below, just click the green "I DID THIS" button, enter the requested information and move on to the next task! No need to leave a separate comment for each entry (unless the instructions for that particular task ask you to that is!). Good Luck!