allaboutcats Cat Toys!

Tuesday - BESTeam Mosaic
weekly shoutout to the dedicated workers that like to help other handmade artists...

allaboutcats on Etsy... I love that there are so many animal lovers on Etsy that have shops dedicated to our little furry sidekicks! Allaboutcats as you can tell is a shop dedicated to our feline friends, offering a lovely handmade collection of cat toys and other accessories for owners that are sure to win over your heart. Linda, who owns 3 rescue cats herself, is the lady behind the work with a bit of help from her cats too :) I enjoyed reading her bio on her blog which briefly explained the goings on of her cats Brady, Maggie and Jerry whilst she makes and stuffs the toys! Sounds like they are very lucky that their mommy can make special toys for them! She also donates some of her cat toys to her local (no kill) animal shelter which I think is really sweet! The first thing that strikes me in the store is the COLOR. Bright cute little catnip toys everywhere! Not only are they special for being handmade but they are organic too so you can be certain that our cat is being given a beautiful considered gift that benefits all :) Linda has an awesome Halloween collection going at the moment. Check out some of the listings in the mosaic!

allaboutcats' Blog... to learn more about linda and to check out some adorable pictures of her cats, this is the place to go. Linda writes up some excellent articles on other artists too so besides her posts about her business, you'll find a nice mixture of handmade posts to browse through!


For those of you with a passion for handmade, and you have a blog that is in need of a consistant weekly post to drive your traffic and help fellow artisans by doing the same. Come and join the BESTeam!


All items are clickable and will take you directly to allaboutcats' listings...

Monday Magic! - Near Undiscovered Wonder

Monday Magic...Animals!

brownsco	fiberpuppy	SSJewellery
LisaDorsey	Conflagration	DianeChallenger
DancingBird	saramontour	josasser
jrbaileydesigns	puppazzi	TheClayStore

Introducing my 13th installment of my new weekly feature, Monday Magic! These Etsy.com sellers all share something special... Fabulous work! Yet, somehow like many sellers on Etsy are wondering where all their admirers are! So this is where I feel it's time to showcase the undiscovered talent of Etsy, on Monday each week so they have a chance to shine like the best of Etsy do :)

All of the sellers names can be typed into the navigation bar on your browser followed with ".etsy.com" (dot etsy dot com) to take you to their stores. Otherwise click on an image to go directly to their listing!


I am now taking requests for next weeks Monday Magic Expo. If you would like to be a part of it, you are required to have less that 20 sales in your Etsy store, and the theme this week is Stars! Contact me via convo @ http://moonangelnay.etsy.com to send in your requests, plus a link to your suitable item :)

Have a fab week!

moonangelnay xxx

FRIDAY - Friday Finds... IndigoElephant

Friday Finds... IndigoElephant

This is my sixth interview of the amazing not-so-well-known artists of Etsy.

Being a mother myself, it's really hard not to notice cute things for kids especially if they are handmade, as you know they are made with genuine love! IndigoElephant has that kinda bright style that I love to see because that's what I like to think about when it comes to our children. That they are bright and happy and brimming with love :)



(Just click the images to go direct to the listings)









-- Tell me a bit about you! (Name, Age, Location, and give us a random fact whilst you're at it.) My name is Sash, I'm 30 and live in Sydney, Australia with my wonderful husband, two sons (2 and 9 months) and our dog. Random fact: I have a degree in Interior Architecture!

-- What is your business about then? I create accessories and toys for kids, but love things that are different to what you'd find at large shopping centres. I started with making bibs, as my first son was extremely chucky and commercial bibs just didn't soak up enough - plus they didn't look that great either! Since then I've included the various toys and the Dribble bibs, which are the perfect size for keeping a teething baby's shirt dry, while also being long enough to wipe their chin. I have a particular interest in items for boys, as having two of my own has made me realise that there is so much lacking in clothes and accessories for boys. That said, I do enjoy indulging my girly side with things for the girls as well!!

-- How did Etsy come into your life? My husband actually told me about Etsy about a year ago, but it took a LOT of persuasion for me to give it a go. There was always the fear that no-one would want to buy my things, however, being a stay at home mum meant I really needed a creative outlet and something to think about other than housework and the boys, so it was the perfect opportunity to give it a go.

-- Are you working a day job too? Before kids I worked for an Interior Design company here in Sydney, but now my day job is my family, so I guess quitting my day job won't happen for a very long time!!

-- How long has the artist in you been 'unleashed' for? My parents were both graphic designers, and one of my earliest memories is of sorting the coloured pens & pencils at their studio! I would've been about 4 at the time, and ever since then I have been dabbling in various forms of creative expression!

-- What has been the inspiration behind your business? Definitely my kids.

-- If you could describe your products in three words, what would you tell me? Gorgeous, colourful and functional.

-- What would an average working day for you be like from dawn til dusk? 6am-ish Wake up and get the boys fed, dressed and ready for the day, feed the dog, put on some washing, check my emails, list or re-list something on Etsy, get myself ready for the day. Oh, and hang out the washing if I have time!!
9am - 10am Get ourselves out the door for whatever morning activities we have planned, playgroup, swimming, play dates with friends, a visit to the park, grocery shopping, the library...
1pm Start heading home, hoping that the boys will fall asleep in the car, transfer them to their beds, hang out the washing, check my emails again, sew/cut/plan until the boys wake up - which seems to happen as soon as I get into the groove of what I'm doing.
2:30ish Kids are up, have something to eat, read some stories or go outside to play.
5pm My husband gets home from work, he plays with the boys, we cook dinner and eat all together.
6pm Kids are bathed and into bed by 7pm.
7pm I 'work', either making things, or designing new items until I crash into bed!


-- What's your favourite material and techniques to work with? Currently it's fabric, but I also love paper and paint!

-- What is your ideal vision for the future for you and your work? I would love for IndigoElephant to be so successful that I wouldn't need to go back to a 'real' job. At the moment I fit my sewing in around the kids but as they get older I'd love to be able to spend much more time, expanding the range of products and honing my skills.

-- Away from work, what do you like to do for fun or to wind down? I love reading, cooking and gardening, catching up with friends when the kids are tucked up in bed, or watching a good movie. In reality, my sewing time is my wind down time right now!!

-- What are you likely to search for on Etsy? Fabric, jewellry, art, things for the kids...

-- Any last words? Thanks for taking an interest in me and IndigoElephant, I'm very new to Etsy and am loving the community there! I love working on special requests so if you have anything in mind please contact me, I love having an idea of who I'm creating something for as I make it.