Week of 01/25 to 01/31 Features Buy Handmade, Make Someone Happy

Daily links go live as soon as the corresponding features are published:
Sunday ~ Back to our regularly scheduled program :)
Saturday ~ Second Honorable Mention Favorite
Friday ~ First Honorable Mention Favorite
Thursday ~ First Honorable Mention Favorite
Wednesday ~ Bronze Favorite
Tuesday ~ Silver Favorite
Monday ~ Gold Favorite

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01/31 Buy Handmade, Make Someone Happy

Today's shop is kvossdesigns, specializing in creating custom, hand-stamped pieces that are especially meaningful and truly one-of-a-kind. There, you will find that perfect customized gift for anyone.

I encourage you to contact the artisan above if you see an item you love, even if just to let them know how much you enjoy their work. Share your favorites in the comments section, and twitter, plurk, blog, etc. if you find something you like!

kvossdesigns's Lowest priced item is $14. The highest priced item is $75.

Here is one of my favorites:

What is YOUR favorite? :)

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01/30 Buy Handmade, Make Someone Happy

Today's shop is WhisperingWoods, specializing in turning devastation into creation, through his mystical and beautiful wood items. There, you will find perfect gifts for people appreciating crystals, staves, amulets, and other mystical gifts.

I encourage you to contact the artisan above if you see an item you love, even if just to let them know how much you enjoy their work. Share your favorites in the comments section, and twitter, plurk, blog, etc. if you find something you like!

WhisperingWoods's studio sections are:

Amulets
Candles
Gemstones and Crystals
Handcrafted Boxes
Hiking Staffs and Canes
Handcrafted Wands
Jewelry
Ritual Staffs
Strange and Different
Stone Figurines

WhisperingWoods's Lowest priced item is $5. The highest priced item is $65.

Here is one of my favorites:

What is YOUR favorite? :)

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01/29 Buy Handmade, Make Someone Happy

Today's shop is MADART, specializing in capturing the beautiful world God has blessed us with. There, you will find perfect gifts for people appreciating art that speaks to one's soul.

While there are only three prints in this artist's studio today, I am hoping there will be more soon. Please encourage this artist :)

I encourage you to contact the artisan above if you see an item you love, even if just to let them know how much you enjoy their work. Share your favorites in the comments section, and twitter, plurk, blog, etc. if you find something you like!

Here is one of my favorites:

What is YOUR favorite? :)

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01/28 Buy Handmade, Make Someone Happy

We continue featuring our top winners with toys2treasures, a shop specializing in quality woodwork toys, puzzles, and other treasures. There, you will find perfect gifts for people who love products made "like they used to."... High quality, handmade in the USA!

I encourage you to contact the artisan above if you see an item you love, even if just to let them know how much you enjoy their work. Share your favorites in the comments section, and twitter, plurk, blog, etc. if you find something you like!

toys2treasures's Lowest priced item is $5. The highest priced item is $150. For all ages and incomes.

This business card holder is one of my favorite gifts from this shop:

What is YOUR favorite? :)

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01/27 Buy Handmade, Make Someone Happy

Today's shop is judemcconkey, specializing in dreamy, intense, and sometimes creepy images full of emotion. There, you will find perfect gifts for people from all walks of life.

I encourage you to contact the artisan above if you see an item you love, even if just to let them know how much you enjoy their work. Share your favorites in the comments section, and twitter, plurk, blog, etc. if you find something you like!

judemcconkey's Lowest priced item is $10. The highest priced item is $45.

Here is one of my favorites, accompanied by the author's words. (You should check out her "Inspiration / Story behind this Product" when you look at her photos ~ she has some interesting insights).

" Hope springs eternal in the human breast;
Man never Is, but always To be blest:
The soul, uneasy and confin'd from home,
Rests and expatiates in a life to come. "
-Alexander Pope, An Essay on Man, Epistle I, 1733

" I took the photo of this daisy and thought of this quote by Pope because the flower reminded me of the tenacity of the human spirit. All alone and grown up through the crack in a burned out and deserted gas station, this daisy was a singular form of beauty where noone would expect to find any. "

What is YOUR favorite? :)

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01/26 Buy Handmade, Make Someone Happy

Today's shop is CarriedAwayBeadweaving, specializing in incredibly detailed beaded boxes. There, you will find perfect gifts for everybody. Make any other gift EXTRA special by putting it in one of these intricately amazing boxes (perfect for wedding gifts and engagement rings!)

Read her Bio, very touching...

I encourage you to contact the artisan above if you see an item you love, even if just to let them know how much you enjoy their work. Share your favorites in the comments section, and twitter, plurk, blog, etc. if you find something you like!

CarriedAwayBeadweaving's Lowest priced item is $35. The highest priced item is $225. Perfect gifts for a special someone!

Here is one of my favorites:

I will add links to other favorites throughout the day, as I tweet them. Check back tomorrow to see all the cool ideas, or visit her studio to see them all now.

Valentines gift idea http://bit.ly/17S3A4 <~~ Does she enjoy puzzles? Put a puzzle in this math puzzle box and you'll win her heart :)

Valentines gift idea http://bit.ly/186MAr <~~ Forget flowers! Get her these beautiful Swarovski flowers. Guaranteed not to wilt! :)

Valentines gift idea http://bit.ly/spUWX <~~ Propose to her in a novel way, think outside the box. Outside the same-ole box, that is :)

What is YOUR favorite? :)

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01/25 Buy Handmade, Make Someone Happy

As part of the prize, in addition to other goodies, the TOP WINNER had their own feature page. Check it out! That studio, she's a beauty!

After.Six - Where Skill, Creativity, and Patience meet

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01/25 Buy Handmade, Make Someone Happy
Special Feature

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Today I would like you to meet the TOP WINNER of the Favorite Undiscovered Studios contest. This artisan's studio is filled with breathtaking wire wrapped jewelry, playful pendants, artful earrings, stunning bracelets, unique necklaces, and fun rings.

Every item is so unique! This artisan's skill is beyond compare, and her attention to detail is amazing.

Please join me in congratulating After.Six!

Valentine's day is around the corner, and I can tell you that you WILL find the PERFECT gift in her shop. Check it out! :)

I encourage you to contact this wonderful artisan if you see an item you love, even if just to let her know how much you enjoy her work. See a piece you like? Ask her about it. Not sure about some detail? Hit the CONTACT link :) (especially now that one need no account to securely email a seller on ArtFire - new cool feature!)

Please do share your favorites in the comments section, and twitter, plurk, blog, etc. if you find something you like!

After.Six's studio sections are:

Wire wrapped jewelry
Lacy Wire Work
Wire Whimseys
Wearable art
Just for Fun

After.Six's Lowest priced item is $8. The highest priced item is $459. Something for everyone!

Although I have already shared this with you in the previous blog post about the poll results, this ring is so stunning I cannot stop gushing about it! So check it out:


What is YOUR favorite item from her shop? Will you gain the bragging rights of being her first sale? :)

Comments section is open for gushing and bragging :) Please proceed! :)

January Winners - Amazing Undiscovered Studios

Just like last month, this has been a lot of fun. My thanks go to the wonderful friends who have visited, voted, and promoted this month's group of yet-to-be-discovered studios.

Everyone has mentioned how hard it was to pick a favorite, how all the studios were splendid. In fact, it does look like the average of studios favorited per vote was three, so yes, it was hard to choose!

I have also noticed that all studios have had votes, as well as visits. You are all WINNERS! Congratulations! :)

With 53 total voters at the end of the poll, that means at least 53 people have visited these studios. Why at least? Because I am certain there were some who've visited but have chosen not to vote, so there were probably more visitors than voters.

In terms of sales, last month, we had 4 studios getting their first sale during the poll and it was awesome! While I'm a little sad that only one studio has made their first sale during this month's poll, I hope people have bookmarked their favorites and will come back whenever they need something for themselves, or a gift for someone they love.

As promised last month, this month's timelapse starts at zero. You can see the poll from its birth and through its growth. I really think it looks super cool! I like seeing the variety in people's choices because it shows there really ARE customers out there for each of us :) We just need to help the right customers find us.


Every person has their own preference, de gustibus non disputandum est and all that. So it's nice to see this visually. As an artisan, I am encouraged by the thought that even though I sometimes doubt myself, there will always be someone out there who will adore what I am doing. That is my motivation for the hard work that is needed in order to promote.

I used to be afraid of twitter, facebook, blogging, all that social networking stuff that seemed to display people's private lives in the town square for all to see. I used to think "I don't have time for all that useless stuff." I still am overwhelmed by all the new things that I need to get used to, by the dizzying pace at which things are moving. Yet everyday I try to set aside a few minutes to learn something new, to learn how to use new promoting venues... because there ARE customers out there with similar tastes to mine and who will appreciate my work.

To all the undiscovered studios reading this, you should always, ALWAYS trust your talent! You created something because you liked the idea, you made it because it was something you wanted to make. And while we are all unique humans, the uniqueness is built on the similarities we have. You are unique because of the combination of myriad of little things that are you, but if you picked one little thing only ~ like say your favorite color ~ there are other people out there who are sharing it with you. Promotion will help those people find you.

So keep promoting, and if you haven't started yet, come to this ArtFire thread for guidance and support. Our doors are always open :)

So without any further ado, here are this month's winners:

After.Six
alphagrl
ambergoulet
BarronDesignStudio
baublezptoa
bluepiranha
CactusHuggers
CarriedAwayBeadweaving
judemcconkey
KimDeanArt
LynwoodJewelry
MADART
Middleburg
NettieGs
PatriciaAFrantz
PositivelyCharmingThings
printsnat
tootalootdesign
toys2treasures
WhisperingWoods

Please visit them, there is something for everyone in those studios.

Now, for the final tally for the TOP 5 by number of votes...

~~~~~~DRUMROLL~~~~~~

STUDIO - VOTES (PERCENTAGE BAR)
WhisperingWoods - 10 (18%)
MADART - 11 (20%)
toys2treasures - 11 (20%)
judemcconkey - 13 (24%)
CarriedAwayBeadweaving - 14 (26%)
After.Six - 15 (28%)

Once you are done visiting all these wonderful studios, make sure you check ~~~After.Six's~~~ studio again. Browse through and let your eyes delight in the beauty of her jewelry.

Here is one of my favorites from her shop. Isn't it STUNNING? Click on image to see more...



The poll is over, but that doesn't mean you can't mention your favorites. That is what the comments are for :)

Looking forward to hearing from you!

The story of Paul Pole

Paul Pole was a poll. (Try saying that 10 times fast!)
Paul Pole was alone.
Lonely heart in snowy land,
Waiting for a role.

For you see, Paul Pole
Had a lot of talent,
Excellent actor he was
Yet he got no call.

He checked his phone one day:
"Still got a dial tone..."
But the only calls he got
Were from Fannie Mae.

Then... one day...
A knock on the door!
A bit of sunshine
Floating on a dust ray.

"Who could it be", he asked.
"I know no one."
He opened the door
And there it was.

A bouquet of flowers.
A message!
"I've seen your play,
T'was lovely. - a neighbor"

"Oh my!" he thought,
"Must've been at the park...
But when?
I thought I was alone..."

He went again to the park
No one was there
Yet he performed his best
Knowing someone would see... some day.

The days went by.
He oiled the hinges.
For his door
Had to be used much more

More flowers.
Chocolate.
And then one day,
A little boy.

"Hi there" he said
My friends saw you at the park
I want to be like you,
When I grow up."

He cried.
He was so happy!
Paul Pole, the poll,
alone was no more.

His talent had been seen!
The town was abuzz!
"We should invite Paul Pole,
to play the first scene!"

Paul Pole, the poll,
Obliged.
Standing ovation!
Happy soul!

Paul Pole became very famous,
His shows were oversold,
Yet every day he'd still
Go to the park and play.

For had it not been for new friends,
His neighbors, and the kids,
Paul Pole, the poll,
Would still be all alone.

Have you met Paul Pole?
Yes, the poll Paul Pole.
Ah, I see.. You have!
Thank you friend!
You are very cool :)

Twitter Karma rocks!

Many thanks to shesbatty for posting her super helpful Best Twitter Tips on her blog! She had also posted them on the old ArtFire forums, but I didn't have the time to experiment then, so here I am now, gushing about one of the tips she has mentioned.

So I have finally gotten around to trying Twitter Karma today, and WOW, so easy to use and so useful! BTW, Twitter Karma is a tool for managing Twitter friends and followers, providing ways of sorting/filtering by activity, reciprocity, etc.

To use, just go to http://dossy.org/twitter/karma, click "Sign in with Twitter", click "Allow", and when redirected back to the application, click "Whack!"

No worries, it won't whack anything until you click the checkboxes on the next page. You can also sort and filter friends and followers with the drop down menus at the top of the page. VERY cool!

Check out the clean look! So easy to scan visually:


I found this tool to be very helpful to get a bird's eye view of my twitter account, so I'm hoping the steps above will help other businesses just starting on the social networking scene. Believe me, I'm still at a point where I find everything so overwhelming! :)

And while I will probably not "whack" for a while, I am sure the day will come when I will need to balance my karma so twitter likes my account (there are people out there who only follow until one follows and then unfollow, but hopefully it won't get too out of balance).

While I am still a beginner at these things, I can try to help as much as I can, so if you have any questions, go ahead and post a comment. And if you have tips you'd like to share, please, please do!

Finally, If you haven't already, do visit Batty's blog for more tips! She's awesome! Thanks Batty!

Update: Well, I had to do it as the difference was starting to impact searches. The easiest way is to click Hide Avatars right before clicking Whack, and then Sort by Ascending and Show Only following on the next page. Ta-daa! Just click the unfollow link under each name that you'd like to unfollow. Balance restored :) Easy peasy.

Week of 01/18 to 01/24 Features Buy Handmade, Make Someone Happy

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Don't forget to Vote for your Favorite Undiscovered Studios! Pick as many studios as you like, no limits here :) Tweeting this would be awesome. Click to tweet.

Found an undiscovered treasure? Share the love and post a link to that studio here.

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There are no features for 01/23 and 01/24, as I was very busy with the poll and preparation of the prize. I have however posted during these days, so please check out the poll related posts under the "Newer Post" link :) I guarantee it will be fun! :)

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01/22 Buy Handmade, Make Someone Happy

Today's shop is AmusedStudios, specializing in fabulous pottery and other clay works. There, you will find perfect gifts for ALL and every one of your friends.

They are very popular on the show circuit, and their show dates are available at http://www.myspace.com/amusedstudios.

I encourage you to contact the artisan above if you see an item you love, even if just to let them know how much you enjoy their work. Share your favorites in the comments section, and twitter, plurk, blog, etc. if you find something you like!

AmusedStudios's studio sections are (condensed):

Art, Bottles, Bowls, Business Card Holders, Cups, Dishes, Goblets , Musical Instruments , Jars , Jewelry, Miniatures, Mugs, Pendants, Pitchers, Recycled Glass Sun Catchers, Soap Dispensers, Tea Pots, Vases, Wall Hangings, Wine / Bottle Stoppers

AmusedStudios's Lowest priced item is $4. The highest priced item is $400.

Here is one of my favorites:

What is YOUR favorite? :)

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01/21 Buy Handmade, Make Someone Happy

Today's shop is GramnanMoore, a family affair specializing in one of a kind jewelry. There, you will find perfect gifts for your lady friends.

I encourage you to contact the artisan above if you see an item you love, even if just to let them know how much you enjoy their work. Share your favorites in the comments section, and twitter, plurk, blog, etc. if you find something you like!

GramnanMoore's Lowest priced item is $8. The highest priced item is $50.

Here is one of my favorites:

What is YOUR favorite? :)

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01/20 Buy Handmade, Make Someone Happy

Today's shop is skymagenta, specializing in crochet patterns. There, you will find perfect gifts for your crafty friends.

I encourage you to contact the artisan above if you see an item you love, even if just to let them know how much you enjoy their work. Share your favorites in the comments section, and twitter, plurk, blog, etc. if you find something you like!

All skymagenta's crochet patterns are in PDF format and priced at $5.99.

Here is one of my favorites:

What is YOUR favorite? :)

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01/19 Buy Handmade, Make Someone Happy

Today's shop is MEWtoYou, specializing in bold and playful jewelry. There, you will find perfect gifts for every jewelry lover in your entourage.

MEWtoYou is the ArtFire Guildmaster of the Northeast Network of Independent Artists. Other professional memberships include the Association for the Study of Jewelry and Related Arts.

I encourage you to contact the artisan above if you see an item you love, even if just to let them know how much you enjoy their work. Share your favorites in the comments section, and twitter, plurk, blog, etc. if you find something you like!

MEWtoYou's studio sections are:

Necklaces
Bracelets
Earrings
Sets

MEWtoYou's Lowest priced item is $16. The highest priced item is $129.

Here is one of my favorites:

What is YOUR favorite? :)

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01/18 Buy Handmade, Make Someone Happy

Today's shop is danilavdesigns, specializing in fresh-looking beaded jewelry. There, you will find perfect gifts for teenagers and young-at-heart alike.

I encourage you to contact the artisan above if you see an item you love, even if just to let them know how much you enjoy their work. Show us your favorites in the ArtFire thread too and twitter, plurk, blog, etc. if you find something you like!

danilavdesigns's studio sections are:

Bracelets
Necklaces
Earrings

danilavdesigns's Lowest priced item is $10. The highest priced item is $35.

Here is one of my favorites:

What is YOUR favorite? :)

Timelapse Poll Evolution ~ Preview

I really liked how last month's poll evolution time-lapse came out, so I wanted to make one for this month too. (BTW, last month's animation is about half way down this post, if you are curious).

Now... last month we had more studios (38) and more votes, so that video looks more interesting, but nonetheless I still like to see how percentages move up and down. I have no idea why, but I find those moving bars mesmerizing! I really hope we get a lot of votes this month to see how the animation evolves! Oh, and BTW, if you haven't voted yet, make me happy and vote now :) Don't worry, you can just scroll back to the beginning of the page and continue reading once you are done voting. The poll is at the bottom of this same page...

So anyway. Tonight there were enough votes to create a quick preview of the poll's time-lapse so far, so I got busy and stitched them together. This is how it looks:

It's really short since I've only had 20 votes to work with. Hint! Hint! Tell your friends about this too!

I hope you find those time-lapse bars as mesmerizing as I do. I'll be falling asleep watching them tonight...

Thank you for visiting! Looking forward to hearing your thoughts! :)

Testing inline opinion poll

Tests commented out for now.

Week of 01/11 to 01/17 Features Buy Handmade, Make Someone Happy

The newest Undiscovered Studios Poll needs your votes. The links and poll are at the bottom of this page, or you can click here and go straight to it. Vote for as many studios as you like, there are no limits :) Thank you for participating!

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01/17 Buy Handmade, Make Someone Happy

Today's shop is Badgercrafts, specializing in 3D decoupaged greeting cards and handsewn soft-toys. There, you will find perfect gifts for grown-ups and kids alike.

I encourage you to contact the artisan above if you see an item you love, even if just to let them know how much you enjoy their work. Show us your favorites in the ArtFire thread too and twitter, plurk, blog, etc. if you find something you like!

Badgercrafts's Lowest priced item is $2.50. The highest priced item is $33.

Here is one of my favorites:

What is YOUR favorite? :)

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01/16 Buy Handmade, Make Someone Happy

Today's shop is JeannesTreasures, specializing in fine gold and silver jewelry. There, you will find perfect gifts for the lovers of fine jewelry in your entourage.

I encourage you to contact the artisan above if you see an item you love, even if just to let them know how much you enjoy their work. Show us your favorites in the ArtFire thread too and twitter, plurk, blog, etc. if you find something you like!

JeannesTreasures's studio sections are:

rings
necklace
bracelet
earrings

JeannesTreasures's Lowest priced item is $25. The highest priced item is $575.

Here is one of my favorites:

What is YOUR favorite? :)

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01/15 Buy Handmade, Make Someone Happy

Today's shop is crystaldiamonddesigns, specializing in colorful mosaics and mixed media. There, you will find perfect gifts for housewarming parties and any redecorators in your entourage.

I encourage you to contact the artisan above if you see an item you love, even if just to let them know how much you enjoy their work. Show us your favorites in the ArtFire thread too and twitter, plurk, blog, etc. if you find something you like!

crystaldiamonddesigns's studio sections are:

Mosaic Tiles
Tiles
Mosaic Bread Boards
House Signs
Mosaic Gazing Balls
Mosaic Flower Pots
Mosaic Mirrors
Mosaic Wine Bottles
Sculpture
Trays
Wall Art
Other Mosaic Designs

crystaldiamonddesigns's Lowest priced item is $3. The highest priced item is $78.99.

Here is one of my favorites:

What is YOUR favorite? :)

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01/14 Buy Handmade, Make Someone Happy

Today's shop is SuzanneMedrano, specializing in beautiful fabric and paper handcrafted gifts and cross and fish inspirational items. There, you will find perfect gifts for the craft lovers in your entourage.

I encourage you to contact the artisan above if you see an item you love, even if just to let them know how much you enjoy their work. Show us your favorites in the ArtFire thread too and twitter, plurk, blog, etc. if you find something you like!

SuzanneMedrano's Lowest priced item is $1. The highest priced item is $70.

Here is one of my favorites:

What is YOUR favorite? :)

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01/13 Buy Handmade, Make Someone Happy

Today's shop is JMCustomWoodDesign, specializing in scrollwork and customized wood designs. There, you will find perfect gifts for anyone in your entourage.

I encourage you to contact the artisan above if you see an item you love, even if just to let them know how much you enjoy their work. Show us your favorites in the ArtFire thread too and twitter, plurk, blog, etc. if you find something you like!

JMCustomWoodDesign's Lowest priced item is $10. The highest priced item is $75.

Here is one of my favorites:

What is YOUR favorite? :)

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01/12 Buy Handmade, Make Someone Happy

Today's shop is ReticulatedDesign, specializing in unique fine art mixed media jewelry with a touch of steampunk. There, you will find perfect gifts for the unique jewelry lovers in your entourage.

I encourage you to contact the artisan above if you see an item you love, even if just to let them know how much you enjoy their work. Show us your favorites in the ArtFire thread too and twitter, plurk, blog, etc. if you find something you like!

ReticulatedDesign's Lowest priced item is $50. The highest priced item is $110.

Here is one of my favorites:

What is YOUR favorite? :)

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01/11 Buy Handmade, Make Someone Happy

Today's shop is InletImages, specializing in unique fine art prints. There, you will find perfect gifts for the nature loving folks in your entourage.

I encourage you to contact the artisan above if you see an item you love, even if just to let them know how much you enjoy their work. Show us your favorites in the ArtFire thread too and twitter, plurk, blog, etc. if you find something you like!

InletImages's studio sections are:

Photographs
Abstracts
Floral
Landscapes
Wildlife
Note Cards
Bookmarks

InletImages's Lowest priced item is $3. The highest priced item is $20.

Here is one of my favorites (It seriously looks to me like the flower is pulsing as I look around it! Can anyone else see it?):

What is YOUR favorite? :)