Vegan Sample Bags--On Sale Now!

The first batch of Vegan Sample Bags is now available! This is a collection of sample size items from various artists and crafty-type folks-- all without the use of animal products or ingredients. Heather, from Holistically Heather came up with the concept for this a few months ago. After countless hours of work, (including making each bag by hand!), and donations from over 30 awesome vegan merchants (including yours truly), the bags are now up for sale here.

For just $25 you get a beautiful handmade, reusable tote bag filled with 15-20 items. That's a bargain if you ask me. Plus 10% off all sales goes to For the Animals Sanctuary! Vegan Craft Samples are a great way to test out some vegan products that you've been thinking about, and also make a great gift! (Think "Mother's Day"). For a list of all the participating shops, and detailed descriptions of their sample items, you can check out the Vegan Samples Blog.

Get 'em while they last. They are already selling like hotcakes!! And we all know how fast hotcakes sell.....

Martha & McGyver -- Tips for Winos #384

Picture this: Martha Stewart is doing last minute preparations for a huge dinner party. Everything is perfect-- the handmade cloth napkins have been embroidered with each guest's name; and neatly tucked into the laquered walnut shell napkin rings. The centerpiece of a mini replica of Alderson Federal Prison, is perfectly placed on the dinner table, between the array of hand thrown ceramic plates, fresh from the kiln. The only thing left to do is open the bottle of 1984 Marsonnay that she had been saving for just the right occasion.

Can you imagine the look of horror that comes over her face when she realizes that her wine opener/corkscrew is missing?!?!

Fortunately for her, one of the dinner guests is Richard Dean Anderson-- the extremely resourceful secret agent, MacGyver, from late eighties prime time television. And he happens to be the first guest to arrive! MacGyver makes a quick assessment of the situation and immediately whips a plain old ordinary screw from his pocket. He screws the screw into the cork of the seemingly unopenable bottle, and instructs Martha to fetch her tool box, which is conveniently located underneath the kitchen sink. He uses another ordinary tool-- the handy hammer, claw side hooked on the screw, to ease the cork out of the bottle. Voila! The party is saved!

While the above story may be fictional, the act of using a screw and hammer to open a bottle of wine, should a corkscrew not be handy, has been employed as a successful technique on more than one occasion in my lifetime.

This story was inspired by actual events involving a couple of underage thieves who came to my bar recently and asked if we could open their bottle of wine, as they did not have a corkscrew. My first instinct was to help a neighbor in need, so I took the bottle from the young-looking lad, (who seriously needed to pull up his pants). But then the skeptical, responsible bartender in me took over, and for fear this may be a trick by the ever-lurking liquor control board, I insisted that they show me their IDs before proceeding. Since neither boy was able to provide proof of legal age (or any proof of identity at all), I refused to give them back the bottle of wine. And it was concluded that most likely the bottle of wine had been stolen.
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Relaying this little tale to friends has sparked many other resourceful, McGyver-esque ideas for opening a bottle of wine, sans corkscrew. In addition to the "Screw & Hammer" technique, here are a couple of others that were presented:

--Pushing the Cork:
This involves pushing the cork down, inside the bottle. Not ideal, but a good solution in a pinch.
--Tapping the Bottle:
This one is a little trickier, potentially more dangerous, and requires some patience-- Lightly tap the bottom of the bottle against a tree just right, and the cork will eventually work its way out of the bottle through some magical law of physics.



I have not tried either of these other 2 methods, but would love to hear any success stories you might have with these or any other techniques.

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Lucky Bird-- Winner & Highlights!

There were a lot of great entries in the latest Name that Bird contest. Lots of hummingbirds, but also some other interesting ones. The most original entry was for the Peeps. Although I do not endorse these, as they are not vegan (they contain gelatin, which is derived from animal collagen), they did technically qualify as a "green bird" :)

Here are a few of my favorite entries:
(You can find them all in the comments of the original post)

The Wild Parrots of New Orleans & Brooklyn


Green Jay
Green Violet-Ear Hummingbird

Hand-fed Hummingbirds!


Yellow-throated Vireo

The winner of the Lucky Green Bird Contest was Heather, of 3 am Art, whose favorite green bird is the Green Budgie. I was so happy that her name was picked! Although I don't know her in person, she is a hoot on email/forums and VERY supportive of all her veggie teammates. Congratulations, Heather! Check out her Etsy shop for some great nature inspired photos. You can also stop by her Blog to congratulate her for being the lucky bird!

Her name was picked randomly from a bag that I had just purchased from Vegancraftastic. It's the cutest little squirrel bag you've ever seen, and really well-made. I bought it for a friend, but it arrived just in time to use as a "hat" for picking the winner of this contest. (My friend LOVED it, btw.) Please check out Vegancraftastic's Etsy shop for more awesome handmade items. She is also hosting a giveaway on her blog for a similar bag, but with a really cool skull & knitting stick cross bones pattern. Perfect for your favorite knitting pirate!

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Bird's Eye Review

I don't know if it's the weather, or what, but this winter I have been spending money like it's going out of style (and maybe it IS going out of style, but I'm definitely doing my part to stimulate the economy!) It's ok though, since our trip to Mexico didn't happen this year, I've been doing nothing but work, work, work. So with my extra little stash o' cash, I have made some great Etsy purchases-- no buyer's remorse on these delightful handmade items:

Martin's Chair Collection
Limited Edition Print by ZukZuk
"This is a picture of Martin the rooster's beloved chair collection. He's the kind of guy who can't drive past a chair on the side of the road without taking it home and fixing it up; well, sometimes fixing it up, a lot of the time they just get added to the ever growing brokeny tree forest in the garage. Miriam the hen finds this all very vexing."

I fell in love with this drawing the moment I saw it! It was the perfect Xmas gift for the BF because 1) We have chickens, and 2) He is always complaining that I bring too many chairs into the house! Plus I found a perfectly fitting frame for it at the thrift store, complete with matting.

Vivid colors and whimsical characters with endearing stories are a constant theme in ZukZuk's work of digitally colored pen and ink drawings. She currently lives in Canada, but her upbringing in New Zealand is a definite influence in her work, especially with the types of birds she features. My second favorite piece is "Birdland". Having visited the famous jazz club in NYC last fall, it was a close second choice...maybe a future purchase.... I highly recommend ZukZuk's shop--not only is she a very talented artist, she is also super friendly and a proud member of Etsy Veg. Unfortunately (for buyers) she is on vacation right now, so she is not taking any orders. But you can check out her work in the "sold" section, and please bookmark her shop for the future!

Swallow in Flight Necklace
by SilentLotus Creations

"A beautifully-detailed brass swallow in flight is suspended from elegant brass chain interspersed with smooth and faceted aqua-green Amazonite. All pieces have a vintaged, honey-toned patina for an aged look. The brass has been purchased from wonderful Etsy sellers and is solid, unplated, and nickel-free. Necklace clasps with a handfabricated hook clasp "

I'm not a huge jewelry wearer or purchaser, but decided it was time to accessorize when I saw how beautiful and well-crafted this necklace is! Kylie, the gal behind SilentLotus has a wonderfully artistic eye for combining naturally beautiful gems and minerals with sterling silver and pure brass to create a unique selection of necklaces, earrings, bracelets and rings. If you're looking for a little pizazz for yourself, or for a gift, I'm sure you'll find something you love from SilentLotus. But wait... that's not all!! She is also a talented painter, and offers several of her Chinese Brush Paintings in her shop as well.

Although SilentLotus is an Etsy seller, I actually purchased this necklace through 1000 Markets, a newer online shopping site for handmade items. (So I justified this purchase as "market research" to test out the shopping cart & procedure of the new site, to make sure it is user friendly for buyers....It is!) Kylie is also super friendly, and a member/leader of Etsy Veg (I'm starting to see a pattern here), so please check out her shop(s)!

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Famous!

Just about everyone in the family was featured in various blogs this month:



Noah was the Pet of the Week for Etsy Veg. Check out his cute pic and find out what he's been reading lately. Also be sure to check out Etsy Veg and the shops of all their members in the Crafty Veggie Marketplace.








You can find Tom and Roadrunner the Chicken at Binge Cafe. (Please don't report us for animal abuse--she really doesn't mind sitting on top of his head! We let the chickens sleep in the house one night during an unusual cold snap that hit Seattle last month.)












And, one of my light switch covers is featured in the latest treasury for Etsy Veg.

You can also find a review of one of my necklaces (and my first Etsy sale!) by Molly of Vegan Etsy from way back in September.

Check out both Etsy teams for fabulous handmade cruelty-free items.