Bracelet Blog Giveaway - Etsy Beagle Team♥

Enter for your chance to win your choice of a beautiful bracelet from the lovely, talented Beaglebeads:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/35807123@N03/4121892967/in/pool-etsybeagle

All you need to do is go to our team's Blog and comment on your favorite item in our Happy Howl-i-days Winter Challenge! Enter here:

http://etsybeagles.blogspot.com/2009/12/etsy-beagle-street-teams-happy-howl-i.html

Come check out all the fabulouse entries by my talented team mates! The handsome hound you see in the team blog photo is our mascot - Flash! I can't help but smile when I see his sweet face!

Thing One, Thing Two and Thing .03

Let sleeping dogs lie. NOW I know what they meant by that. When these three come to there's gonna be pandemonium!


Her Ladyships Juliette, Lucilla and Sylvestra enjoy a life of luxury and privilege. With a personal staff of four flunkies to cater to their every whim and desire their home is truly a doggie dream come true.
So far the littlest member seems to fit in fine. What she lacks in size, she makes up for with attitude. She seems to be oblivious to the fact that she weighs about a pound.

♥♥♥A New Addition To Our Family!♥♥♥

Here she is - Her Ladyship Juliette of Pinestream. Little Beagle Julie is coming to join our family next weekend. What a sweet face and just look at those socks!

Hopefully big brother Lucky-dog and big sisters Lucy and Sly will welcome her with open paws. I'm expecting a lot of sniffing. Lucky just turned 11 years old last month and Beagles Lucy and Sly turned one last week! Sly (J.R. Ewing's secretary) and Lucy (Ewing) are named after characters in the popular nighttime soap from the 70's - 90's - "Dallas" - so is Julie (another of J.R.'s secretaries on the show).

Going into winter is not the best time to get a new puppy, but we got Lucy and Sly last December and we all managed to survive the winter. I'm questioning our sanity, but everything will end up just fine.

Birdhouses and Outhouses at 2RavenChicks

Finally, we have posted some birdhouses to our Etsy site! They are made by the chief Raven guy - Husband and Father of the 2RavenChicks. They are made from recycled cedar fence boards from our backyard fence.

Here's an outhouse for the feathered friends - the Shoot the Moon Outhouse Birdhouse - complete with crescent moon ventilation, a rusty old cabin nail and a vintage Miller padlock:
We've named this one the Tarts and Bed Springs Birdhouse (what a BAD name - LOL). It's got an old tart tin and a rusty vintage bed spring and very knotty wood so what else could we call it?

More Charm Necklaces!

We just listed these charm necklaces in our Etsy shop today. I really like the vintage lock escutcheon and cabinet key on the Persephone's Garden necklace.

We are both Jane Austen fans and loved Bollywood's take on Pride and Prejudice - Bride and Prejudice! We became big fans of the over the top, outrageous production numbers in the movie.

We named this charm necklace Moon Over Bollywood . Complete with a bejeweled, enameled, bright orange elephant charm (so cute), rhinestone studded crescent moon, colorful beads, tiny vintage Indian bells, and a really amazing little vintage glass inaglio of the Taj Mahal. Very colorful and fun!

We've got a lot more charm necklaces in the works right now - a sea creature themed necklace as well as the Etsy Beagle Street Team Fall Challenge Piece - the theme - "Bark to School"!

I can't wait to see what my talented team mates come up with! This will be our first challenge, so we're not quite sure what to expect, but it will be a lot of fun! The Beagle Team is such a wonderful group of Etsians!!

Starting today through Midnight EST on Monday, August 31st, we are offering free shipping on all the items in our Etsy shop! This is to Celebrate the milestone 18th Birthday of the younger of the 2RavenChicks on August 28th!

Well, it's getting late and it's been a long day, so am signing off for now! Thanks for stopping by our blog!

Spooktacular Fall Find - Vulture Decoration

Isn't this guy terrific? Handcrafted by Lex of Northwindstar - this vulture is just too adorable! With his hunchback the younger RavenChick and I have named him Quasimodo! The bones on the vintage bobbin she's used as a base are just a scream!

Lex has an amazing assortment of primitive items in her Etsy shop. How could anyone resist these bats with their beady eyes and tiny fangs? They even have wire in their little wings and can be posed - I love the one she's got hanging upside down:Candy Corn too - with no calories!I had to have them all! I had ordered a set of her Barn Owls and was delighted when I got them! They smelled delicious too (Lex uses an aromatic cinnamon rub on a lot of her items). It's so nice to order things online and get the item and love it even more than you thought you would!

Lex is also a very lovely, gracious lady! Check out her blog: http://northwindstar-primitives.blogspot.com/ for tasty recipes, craft ideas and other delights! I can't wait to see what Lex has in store for Christmas!

Since many of you reading this are still sweltering in the scorching temperatures of summer you may think August is a little early to be talking Halloween. Just close your eyes for a moment and think about the brilliant blue skies and cool Autumn air soon to come.

I'm already thinking of the Fall! Here in Interior Alaska we've had frost a couple of times and some of the leaves in the woods around us have started turning to gold.

Autumn is my favorite time of year. I love the smells of the season - spices , pumpkins and crisp, juicy fall apples! Rich savory soups and stews - mmm. The rich colors of the turning leaves and fashions. Getting out my boots and fuzzy comforting sweaters.

I can hardly wait!

Waiting for the 172nd Stryker Brigade

After deploying to Iraq for a year, the soldiers of the United States Army's 172nd Stryker Brigade are making their way home to Fort Wainwright, Alaska.

I've taken photos of a few of the wonderful handmade banners put up by families and friends of the troops.

Banners and signs are also showing up on many of the quarters in the housing areas as well. I drove through several streets and saw so many yellow ribbons!

As more and more banners show up along the main road on Post you can almost feel the excitement in the air.

It's easy to spot the Soldiers who have just come home. They're the ones you see in the Commissary with children clutching at them in a grip not even a gale force wind could break. Or the couple giggling and holding hands in the food court of the Main Exchange.

Signs are appearing on local businesses as well - from coffee stands to the used car dealerships. This is a town that loves its military and as a Veteran myself married to an Army Retiree, I'm proud to live in this supportive community.

I have several friends who are anxiously waiting for their loved ones to arrive.

A big shout out to the weasel/worm and the one that will let you pet his rank.


You KNOW who you are.
God willing, ALL the soldiers will return no later than the end of September.