Turtlebug Goods blog has moved!

Hey guys!

I'm leaving blogspot for a blog hosted on my own website. I've already migrated a few important blog posts there. Please check it out to keep up to date with Turtlebug Goods:


http://www.turtlebuggoods.com/blog.html


Thanks blogspot! Its been fun!

Hit and Miss

Baking has always been Hit and Miss for me, with luckily more hits than misses. You can ask my boyfriend and he'll be the first to admit that I freak out when things don't go perfectly, but I'm not always so bad that it burns. But last week I had an expereince so catastrophic I had to tell you about it.

It provided momentary amusement to my friends on facebook, too.

My friend Kristina, over at Ayianai Home Goods, invited me over to make cupcakes one day. We set out to make Black Forest Cupcakes and Chai Honey Cupcakes. We never got to the second recipe, but we are planning to get there sometime next week. The Black Forest Cupcake recipe we used first required us to make a tame looking Devil's Food Cake recipe that I swear I've made on my own. You then top it with glaze, and lastly with a fresh cherry/heavy cream topping we made.

The first batch looked like it cooked fine, at first, but it did overflow a little. We assumed that we filled the cups too high, and so we scrapped those cupcakes by making them into cake balls, along with some other cake we made earlier that day from a box.Which came out fine.

By the time the second batch came out of the oven, we were ready to call it quits. It was beyond terrifying just how bad they came out. They crazy thing is that these are not burnt cupcakes. They tasted fine, and they were still soft - well, what was left in the cups were still soft. The only burnt parts were the parts that fell into the oven itself.

So, I suppose....better luck next time? Round two of baking should be sometime next week. Let's hope for the best!

If you haven't already, I hope you are keeping up with my facebook fanpage. I've been posting some new sneak peaks of cupcake cards that I hope to release in the coming month!

Where did I go?!

Hello, followers!

I know I haven't been around a whole lot lately, and I do apologize! Things have been crazy around here, in an exciting way! First off, I have been hard at work on my website, providing content that I think you guys will enjoy as well as keeping it maintained and up to date.

And very importantly, I graduated from Colorado University at Denver on the 21st with a degree in Business Administration! Let me say, it was well worth the effort. I am so glad to be done with this chapter.

Woohoo!

This means more time doing what i love the most - creating! As a result, I've started to research all sorts of fun products that I may be able to implement! Some of the things are for my mother's vintage shop, such as fabric flowers and pendants out of otherwise ruined products - such as ceramic pieces. Other things will be for my paper goods shop, such as spiral journals, notebooks, other sizes of calendars (and more designs!) and maybe even day runners. Stay tuned for more information on that end!

At this very moment, I'm printing off some cards that will be donated to a friend's silent auction for charity, which I hope to have more information out for those of you in the Denver Metro Area.

Alright everyone, I hope you are all well, but I'm about to wrap this blog post up! Tell me what you think about the new product ideas!

The Website is Up!

Hey guys!

I'm sure some of you have noticed, but our website has just launched! Please check it out at http://www.turtlebuggoods.com

And I have some good news. I have decided to keep my blog right here on blogspot. This means that I can keep up with all of you! You can navigate to here and from here by using some handy links at the top of the page.

That's all for now, folks!

Happy Birthday, Turtlebug Goods!

The short: Turtlebug Goods has been open for two years as of the First of April. Happy birthday Turtlebug Goods! May there be many more years!

These next couple years promise to bring many exciting changes...
-The reintroduction of jewelry!
-An awesome website!
-And so much more!

Thank you for everyone's support over the past couple years. And here's to many more!

Exciting News!

Hey guys! We have some exciting news here at Turtlebug Goods, and we're working to make it awesome!

With the help of my friend Mallory, we're going to put together and put up a dedicated website exclusively for Turtlebug Goods updates, fans and supporters. We're working on making it entirely integrated so that my dear friends on blogspot can continue to keep up with us and our products.

The number one question I've been asked so far: will we still be on Etsy? Of course! The website will be primarily content driven, but I do love the friends I've made on Etsy so much that I don't want to leave. :) In the distant future, Turtlebug Goods may migrate off of Etsy, but it will not be as a result of the website creation.

Do you have any questions or suggestions? We'd love to hear it! And we'll keep you updated!

For the sake of cupcakes...

Hello, everyone! Let me start off by thanking all of you for your comments on my last blog entry featuring Never Too Old Vintage. He is so much fun, and I'm glad that I was able to interview him! Since the first entry was such a success, keep an eye out for the March edition in the middle of next month.

I also wanted to announce some new cupcake designs currently for sale in my shop, so check them out! I have many more listings to put up soon, so keep an eye out for new designs coming in for spring!

Have a great weekend!

Etsy Crush: Nevertooold Vintage Finds

I hope everyone is enjoying their Valentine's Day! And I am happy to announce the first installment of my Etsy Crush segment! Let me introduce to you Dave of Never Too Old Vintage Finds. One of the things that first struck me was his blog. He takes time to features both friends and exceptional shops. I can appreciate that kind of selflessness! He describes himself as "I'm just a kid at heart and a grownup only when I'm told I have to be," and you can definitely see this is true in both the items he puts in his shop and in his personality.


I originally met the owner, Dave, in the Etsy Chatrooms. What a great guy to be around - very fun, easy going, and playful. He describes his products as "finding him-" he may go to garage sales, estate sales, or even what he calls "cold calling," that is, he goes up to houses with some vintage cars out front and sees if the owners have anything they would part with. "I've met some very cool and interesting people doing so," he explains, and also told me about how he might pass an item three or four times before it jumps out at him. But regardless of his source, whether flea market, classifieds, or cold call, the number one question on his mind has always been, "would you buy it Dave?"

When I found his board games for sale, my only question was does he have Crossfire?!
Oh well, maybe next time ;-)

Dave has definitely added his own personal flair to this collection of vintage goods. Everything seems to belong with each other, despite the collection spanning decades and sources. So is it such a surprise that I have an Etsy Crush on Dave's shop? Thanks for letting me pick at your mind and shop, Dave! Here's a few other favorites that I love from his shop...

Seeing Red...and Pink!

Valentines day for 2011 falls on a Monday, making it difficult to buy last minute gifts online. So be sure that you get your cards and gifts ahead of time! Otherwise you may find yourself panicking to find the perfect gift when its too late! So what are you looking for this Valentines' Day?

The equation for love...

cupcake math cards. On Etsy for $2.50 each. Other quantities available.

A quick and fun message to your friends...

Valentine's Day mini cards - $8.00 for 8.

Oh forget it. Let's go get some chocolate.

Four sets of Chocolate cutouts - $8.00

Product Sneak Peek Teaser: What's that?

Hmm, a teaser. I wonder what it is?


Yep....calendars! I Have three different designs I've finished the past few weeks, and I can't wait to list them. Get ready for a super top secret sneak peak at what you can look forward to being listed in this coming week:



twelve months of individually illustrated pictures on 5.5x8.5 card stock. All of the pictures featured are of the quilt design. (I didn't like the number font as shown in the first picture, so that will change. Posted pictures will reflect the change). There are others that should be popping up in my shop as well - but I want those to remain a secret until they are revealed. I think everyone will be pleased. :)

On top of this, I'd also like to announce that starting in February I'll start a monthly blog series called Etsy Crush - the shops that I have bought from or would love to buy from. So keep an eye out for those posts!

I see a few of you are interested in a review of Anticraft. You are correct when you say this does not sound like your average craft book- part of the reason I love it! But since it does contain designs, I would like to try a few of at least the basic stitches before completing my review. Stay tuned for that.

I think February will be an exciting month for Turtlebug Goods. Do you guys have anything planned for next month?

Now Reading: The Anticraft

So I found this awesome book at a very nice price in an Etsy shop, and it came in a couple days ago. I can't wait to get into it - from what I've read its fascinating. I hope to post a review after I've finished reading it, or even better after I've tried some of the crafts.

Have you read this book? What did you think of it?

If you're interested in this book, you can find it on Amazon here.

Enjoy!

Happy New Year!

Dear friends and fans,

Thanks for your support this past year :) I look forward to having another productive and exciting year to design cards and content for you.

Over the next few weeks, you'll see some new designs with cupcakes, chocolates, and hearts. Know what that means? It is almost Valentine's Day! As such, some of my Christmas cards are on clearance. I hope you check them out.

Once again, thanks for making my reopening so successful. Happy new year!
Anna
PS: We made some cookies last night. Go ahead and take one.