Team Eeat Silent Auction!! T Minu- 2 days

The count down to the Team Eeat Silent Auction has began!!  There have been so many awesome donations!  We would like to thank each and everyone of you that have donated!  You have made this auction possible!  All of us espiring culinary artist are very grateful for your support in our on going quest to acheive our individual goals in the culianry field.

The Auction Info:

Starts: Midnight EST, Sunday Nov. 8th
Ends: Midnight EST, Saturday Nov. 14th
Auction Link:  http://www.32auctions.com/view_auction?id=TeamEeat&pwd=teameeat
Auction ID:  TeamEeat
Auction Password:  teameeat

Whats up for auction:


  Bears Banners & Graphics

                                                   

         AS2DESIGNS

         AS2DESIGNS

                                     

                  Sea Sprite Soaps

   

              Sea Sprite Soaps

              Private Donor

             Private Donor

               Pets Jubilee

      TCapone Photography     

      A Thyme To Bee Comforted

                                                 

       

   
We are adding more donations as the come in!  So check back to see if anything else has been added!!  Tell your friends, family!  Tweet it, FB or blog it!!  We want a large turn out!  We hope to see you there!!

Many Thanks!

Team Eeat

Our Next Awesome Donation is from TCaponePhoto's

Our next donation is from Tracey Capone Photography!!  Tracey is donating the winners  choice of two 8 x 10 photos that have an estimated value of $70!! I visited Tracey's shop and she has several LOVELY photos from landscapes to animals!  The photos are all bright and very pretty!  So get your bidding paddle ready!!  I am sure you will find some thing beautiful in Tracey's shop to add a splash of uniqueness to your home!  Lets get to know a little about the photographer!

Tell us a little about yourself!

I am a self-taught photographer, originally from Philadelphia, PA, now located in Nashville, TN by way of Chicago, IL where I lived for 10 years. (Favorite city of all time!) I'm single, with no kids (unless you count my two cats... ) and a million and one different interests. I sell fine art photography as well as do portraiture. Aside from my first love of photography, my second love is travel, which ties quite nicely to the photography as I usually end up with 400 to 500 beautiful photos to work with after each trip. In addition, I'm also a very accomplished home chef (and former caterer), an avid reader and love anything pertaining to music.

What inspires you when you are making your products?

I know, as an artist, I'm probably supposed to come up with an artist statement ripe with eloquent words, a poem if you will but, basically, I shoot what I love. If something catches my eye, I take a photo of it and, if it ultimately appeals to others, fantastic. I draw inspiration from my travels, music, books, you name it, all have shaped my view of the world and what I ultimately frame out for a photo.

What is your favorite product that you have made so far and why?

My favorite photo is called, "The Guardian." It's of a wooden chair sitting outside an abandoned warehouse in Venice, Italy. I love the photo for a number of reasons. First, I took my mother to Italy, somewhere she had always wanted to go. So it was a wonderful experience to see her eyes light up at every amazing site we came across. This photo brings me back to that week we spent travelling from Rome, through Florence and on up in to Venice. The second reason I love this one is because the minute I saw the chair sitting in front of the warehouse, a story popped to mind of the owner of the warehouse, a Venetian glass blower, taking a break to sit in the chair and watch the passersby, walking along the canals. It was such a vivid image and I was so pleased with how the final shot turned out.

Any tips for Etsy newbies or those who are starting their online business?

Don't get down on yourself. Setting up an Etsy shop, or any online business, doesn't guarantee that you are going to immediately be flooded with sales. It takes a lot of hard work, perseverance and patience. It will happen but wasting time with negativity will only serve to demotivate you. Someone once told me, "if you love what you do, it will never feel like a job." You got in to your craft, whatever it might be, for a reason, and, hopefully the primary reason was because you loved it; never let go of that. Oh and gerat customer service is key ;)


 All of use at Team Eeat would like to thank Tracey for her donation!!  So go on visit her shop and pick out what you would like to get if you win her prize in the auction!!

Many Thanks,
Team Eeat

Our Next Awesome Donation is from Sea Sprite Soaps!

Our next donation is from Sea Sprite Soaps!!  She has donated her Soap Trios and a Luxury Lip Balm!!  Boy we are getting a little bit of everything for this auction from doggie treats to artwork!  Everyone will have a good selection to choose from when its auction time!  Well lets get to know Stephanie from Sea Sprite Soaps ( I LOVE her banner btw!).

Tell us a little about your self:

 It's been a lifelong pleasure for me to make beautiful and useful things for myself and for others with my own two hands. I'm married, the mother of two college students and live in Naples, Florida. Although my primary profession was clinical psychology for many years, I have never lost interest in handcrafts and living a creative life. I have interests in many arts and crafts and love them all. I've written 3 books about an image editor called PhotoImpact and maintain a tutorials site on the program. My husband and I have a small publishing business called East of the Sun Publishing. I make and sell 3D characters for a program called Poser, which are sold at Daz3D. I try to blog regularly at HeartCrafts. My Sea Sprite Soaps Shop and my Etsy store are a source of great satisfaction to me. I hope you will drop by and take a look around. :)



What inspires you to make your product?
I am inspired by living close to the sea, with pristine beaches, beautiful weather and many beautiful tropical plants and trees. Many of my soaps reflect a Caribbean sensibility that's consistent with my location. My mission is to make beautiful, fragrant, luxuriously lathering handmade soaps from only the best vegetable oils and butters.

What other things do you like to create?
 I don't make many homemade doggie treats, but occasionally have made some homemade dog cookies for our two Welsh Terriers, Taffy and Libby. They love anything with peanut butter!

What advice do you have for others that want to start an online business?

My best advice for new sellers online is to know your target customers and cater to them. Don't try to be a one-size-fits-all shop, do what you do best and love to do. Your passion for what you do will draw buyers. Don't cheapen your work by offering constant sales, discounts and free shipping. It's hard to resist that lure when you're just starting out and it's hard to be noticed. Do promote yourself in the forums, answering questions and being helpful if you can -- people will remember you. Remember that lots of buyers are also sellers, and they will see your posts.

If you blog, include information about yourself and your inspirations, so that readers aren't constantly bombarded with only posts aimed at selling things to them. Readers like to know who you are as a person too.

My last piece of advice is to not spread yourself too thin. If you twitter, Facebook, MySpace, blog, and have multiple shops in every venue available, flailing around trying to be noticed, you will have less time to make desirable products. Consider how much time and energy you have to devote to your business, and spend them wisely.


All of us at Team Eeat would like to thank Stephanie from Sea Sprite Soaps for her contribution to the Silent Auction!  Her soaps, balms and frosting look delish!  So give your skin  a treat and visit her shop!!

Many Thanks!
Team Eeat

Our Next Awesome Donation is from AS2Designs

Our next donation is a 8 x 10 Floral Print and a set of 2 gift tag cards from AS2 Designs!  If you love nature you are going to adore AS2 Designs Donations!  Her shop is filled with tons of beautiful photos of flowers!!  Browsing her shop is like running through a field of flowers on a warm spring day!!  So lets sit back and get to know a little more about what inspires AS2 Designs!!


Tell us a little about yourself!

Hi, I’m an Alaskan Artist. You can find my work at http://www.as2designs.1000markets.com/.  I work in photography, mix media and paper crafts. During summer months I’m running around my little town on my bike or walking. You can spot me always carrying my camera so that when I spot a pretty collection of flowers I can snap away.

Since I have a complete brown thumb for growing anything; my photography focus is floral. It brings a calming effect into my creative side.

During the winter months my activities turn to activities such as cross country skiing, walking and selling my creations at various craft shows and holiday bazaars.

What inspires you when you are making your products?

When doing my photography it’s stepping into the buyers eyes and seeing art through their eyes. Otherwise I could become very wild in my creations as my guy says. I tone my work way down so that its more natural and something one would find in home who loves flowers. I took photography college courses over the years and just totally enjoy the freedom it offers me. I’ve loved photography since I was a kid with my first ‘brownie box camera’. If I could get a photo assignment with National Geographic a lifelong dream would be fulfilled!

My greatest thrill is working in my photoshop elements7 computer program and taking my photos into the wild zone that the creative side of me craves!

When I create my mix media/papers crafts I just go with things that I would like to own. The major theme of my mix media creations are Victorian, Cottage Style, and Steampunk. It’s the girly girl side of me. Otherwise I would be out in the community doing construction work. Yep I have my own construction and power tools. It’s a job that fills a notch of my orderly mind. I am available for hire ~ have references for several home remodeling jobs I handled from start to finish for customers.

What is your favorite product that you have made so far and why?

Has to be the photo that I have donated for the Team EEAT. I just love the simple look to the bud with a waterdrop coming off the petal. As a watercolor photo it just appeals to me. Several folks have also told me that they love this photo – it’s a favorite! Hence the reason for it being an item that I hope raises funds for the Etsy Edible Arts Team.


 Any tips for Etsy newbies or those who are starting their online business?


Do what you love. Otherwise it becomes a chore. Selling online is very hard and demanding. Join teams, different selling venues, and remember to Promote ~ Promote ~ Promote yourself, your products, and your shops! One final word of advise "always believe in yourself" ~ Don't let others tell you "you can't do that".


All of us from Team Eeat would like to thank AS2 Designs for her donation!!!  We thank you from the bottom of our stock pots!!  If you like what you have seen in the post inregards to AS2 Designs work, then you will absolutely adore her shop!!  So go on go take a peek!!

Many Thanks!
Team Eeat!

Another Awesome Donation from Bears Banners and Graphics!!

V as I like to call Vanessa is donating a $20.00 Gift Card to be used in her shop!  Just so all of you are aware V does all of the graphic design for Team Eeat!  She is the one that put the blog design together, alsong with the buttons etc that you see!  So as I am sure you can tell she does some AWESOME work!  On a personal note V also just re-designed all of my labels for my shop, she had over 30 labels to do and she did them in a flash!!  So lets get to know a little bit more about V!!

Tell us a little about yourself!
My name is Vanessa and I own and operate Bears Banners & Graphics on Etsy http://bearcengic.etsy.com/. I am married to my wonderful husband Emil and we have a sweet lil dog named Flora. Emil takes care of the website design portion of our business and I do the graphic design.
What inspires you when you are creating designs?
I gain inspiration from a variety of places. My office faces my backyard with the window just beyond my computers monitor. I get to observe nature (birds, stray cats, squirrels, lizards and more). So I would say the creation around me. Flowers, animals, trees etc.
What is your favorite product that you have made so far and why?
I love our printing packages. They are all eco-friendly using recycled paper and soy inks. Printed professionally on a digital printing press. These cards will really get your business noticed.

Any tips for Etsy newbies or those who are starting their online business?
Tips for newbies:     
• Provide excellent and creative descriptions for your products.
• Treat each customer with great care and always do more than what is required. 
• Take your product images in natural indirect light. On a windowsill or back porch and try to use the same background for each image to provide uniformity. This will make your image stand out instead of the background.

If you need a new graphic designer or some printing done go to Bears Banners and Graphics, you won't be dissapointed!  V is easy to work with and she is great at communication!  V Thanks soo much for donating to the Team cause!!  We LOVE U!!

Team Eeat

Another Awesome Donation from Heathers Handmade Creations!!!

Here is another AWESOME shop that has donated to the Silent Auction!!  Give a big Eeat Thanks to Heather from Heathers Handmade Creations!!  Heather is another VERY talanted paper artist!  For those of you that have ordered from my food shop, you will have seen one of her cards!  I send them out with every order!  She does an awesome job!

Heather is donating these ADORABLE Cup Cake Cards!!

Heather is a person that is passionate, creative and very gifted when it comes to designing her cards! Yes there are many card shops on Etsy, but I have yet to find one that has her unique flair for design or for the quality that she provides!

I know about her quality first hand as I have ordered cards from her several times! Each time I have been pleasantly surprised with my orders!! Not only is it the quality of her cards, but Heather is very nice and easy person to get along with. She cares about her customers and wants to be sure that they are happy with their purchases.  So lets sit back, relax and get to know a little about Heather!!

Q: Tell us a little bit about yourself:

Heather: I'm 36 years old,married, no kids. I started cross stitching at a early age, took up beading, then crocheting, but not till 2.5 years ago when i took up scrap booking did i really get hooked on a craft. I started out with 12x12 layouts, then took up card making 2 years ago when i ran out of pics to scrapbook. I love hockey, the Leafs and Oilers :) and i love my dog and two cats. I work full time as an embroidery machine operator, and have been doing so for 11 years now. (god!) lol~ Heather also resides in lovely Canada...brrrrrr..........

 

Q: What inspires you when you are creating designs for your cards?

Heather: I get a lot of inspiration just from my stamps, I can look at a stamp and then in my head know what papers, colors and embellishments to use. I am also able to picture the layouts of my ideas in my head. I'm addicted to ribbon and embossing.

Q: What is your favorite card that you have made so far and why?

Heather: My favorite card I have made so far is the Love Bird card. I had the stamp set for a while and when I finally got around to using it, it just came out way better then I expected. I love the heart with the flourishes the best, I plan to do some nice valentines cards with that stamp.

Q: Any tips for Etsy newbies or those who are starting their online business?

Heather: The tips I would give to anyone starting out, is to just have fun! Don't' expect too much to quickly, I think most expect to sell a lot and sell right away, it doesn't always happen, and disappointment can come quickly. I joined not expecting anything but to list my cards. If someone likes and buys them that is great!!

Q: What are a couple of your favorite Etsy shops and why??

Some of my favorite shops are http://www.lucatedde.etsy.com/ he made me the best dog portrait ever and was my first big purchase on Etsy. I was his first sale and it was just a nice experience.

I also love http://www.bluesaphire.etsy.com/; I have never bought from her but I think she has the best sock monkeys around! I just love looking at them to cheer me up, she was my first international sale and even with high shipping she has come back again and again, that makes me feel good :)

I also love http://www.buttfreckle.com/ if I ever have a bad day i just go to her shop and I'm instantly cheered up lol !!

Oh yeah and http://www.txbutterfly74.etsy.com/ as well she has been my best Etsy friends almost since joining and i talk to her nightly she is a paper crafter as well, and we have lots in common!!

So you can see that Heather is an easy going and fun person which is really reflected in her work! What she is to modest to tell you, when you look at the pictures of her cards you would assume that she printed off the images that she uses, which is what I thought when I first saw her cards. In actuality she hands stamps each card and then the color that you see is hand painted with water color pencils!! She does custom orders for any occasion, and not just limited to cards. She also has these adorable gift card holders that would be PERFECT for the Holidays that are just around the corner!! So do yourself a favor and send the ones that you love a card from Heathers Handmade Creations to bright up their day!!

We hope that you will visit Heathers shop!  We would also like to thank you so much for donating to our cause!


With Many Thanks!
Team Eeat

Our First Featured Shop! TXbutterfly74!

All of us from Team Eeat would like to THANK  Txbutterfly74's shop for making a huge donation of her beautiful paper art to our Silent Auction!  I have personally ordered from TX on several occasions and her paper art ROCKS!!! 

For those of you who don't know yet Team Eeat is going to be doing a Silent Auction in November to raise funds for its members continued culinary education!  If you would like to be featured on our blog please click on the Silent Auction button on the side of the blog for more details!!

As I mentioned above I have ordered from TX before and example is the pendant above, I ordered it for my sister! A cute black cat!! They pendant arrived in a flash and it was really an awesome piece of work!! So when I find those that are masters at their crafts I have to share it with the world!! After all I can't be too selfish.....hehehehe....

So I did a little interview with TX, and here it is!!

Tell us a little about yourself: My name is Cherilyn and I will be 35 years old in February. I moved to beautiful Austin, Texas in August of 2000 from South Florida with my long term boyfriend, Alexis . We have three beautiful dogs. Alexis and I love to collect vintage musical instruments. Haha what TX forgets to mention is that she paints and she does it well.  You can see some of her work on her Flicker account!

Your store has a wide range of items from chic pendants to adorable tags, what inspires you to create all these adorable items? My Inspiration comes from a lot of sources like nature, music, colors, life or other creative people. I absolutely love to brainstorm with someone to help both of our inspirations shine. It's a beautiful thing!

What are some of your favorite shops on the net? Oh my goodness! Everyone is so talented on Etsy! I am so addicted to these shops, checking on the multiple times a day to see what they are doing!

Here are a few of TX's Fave Shops:

Miss Avocado : Very cute Aceo's

Nushkie Design : Needle and Wet Felted Creations to Treasure

AmberSky's : Very Cute Jewelry

Heathers Handmade Creations: Awesome Cards and Tags

Hillsidebakery's: Some VERY awesome fudge!!! Hehhe she has other stuff too!

Well besides being a great artist TX is a VERY sweet lady!! So do yourself a favor and give her shop a try!! You won't be disappointed!! Hehheh I would also check out her fave shops, there are some really awesome items!!

Once again THANK YOU Cherilynn for donating to our cause!!  We all appreciate it greatly!!


With Many Thanks,

Team EEAT

Team Eeat Silent Auction!!

Team EEAT will be hosting a Silent Auction in November to help to raise funds for its members continued culinary education. Running a business that deals with food is a costly endeavor, especially when trying to keep up with culinary education!


We as a Team has designated November funding raising month, a portion of our sales will go to the Team Eeat Scholarship program. This program is designed to help those struggling with all of the fees of their culinary educations!


What YOU can do to help!

1. Team Eeat is in need of items for the silent auction. We currently have 4 shops participating and would like to get a couple more!

What you get out of donating an item for the auction, we will highlight you on our blog that currently has over 160 followers. You will get a full 24 hours of promo time on the blog via a shop interview!

2. Come participate in the silent auction!! There will be lots of cool things up for auction!!


The auction will take place in the middle of November and it will all be done on our blog! All proceeds will go to the Team Eeat Scholarship fund. So if you would like to donate and item and be featured on our blog please contact us via email at TeamEeat@yahoo.com.


Many thanks to all of you food lovers and your continued support of Team EEat!