Friday's Favorites: Kid's Entertainment

I just played hostess to my 2-year-old niece and 3-year-old nephew for two days, so kid's entertainment is very much on my mind right now. I decided to search through the Quiltsy shops to find unique quilted items with kids in mind.

My first pick is the I Spy quilt by Frost Cottage. With just a quick glance I know this would be a hit! I believe that anything with Dora the Explorer will win over my niece's heart!

Next, I fell in love with this Crayon Tote Bag by A Quilt Dream. What a great and colorful tote that holds your little one's crayons on the outside and coloring books or paper on the inside - ingenious!

My final favorite is the Veggie Tales Memory Game by Ice Purple Penguin. Now, my niece and nephew, like a lot of kids, may not like to eat their veggies, but they certainly love to watch Veggie Tales and I bet they'd just love to play memory or Go Fish! with these cute "cards."

You can find more wonderful kid-inspired items by typing "Quiltsy" and "kids," "games," or "fun" in the Etsy search field.

BEWARE! Scam Artist Targets etsy Quilt Sellers

Several quiltsy members have asked about convos received recently that feel 'fishy.' Working within the rules of etsy's TOS it is difficult to discuss specifics, and typically the short answer is "it's a scam...report it to abuse@etsy." Since this crook or group of crooks seems to be specifically targeting etsy quilters (because we sell larger ticket items), it is very important for us to completely understand this scam, but because of etsy rules, we can't discuss specifics on the etsy forums.

A member of my local team (Artisans of Houston), and fellow quilter Kim of http://alwaysquilting.etsy.com/ sent the following email to the Houston group about the scam. She has graciously given permission to share it with Quiltsy. You might say she's given emphatic permission: "Absolutely please share! It is my mission to put the crooks out of business. They make me crazy - or crazier or something like that."

Please read Kim's message and better educate yourself to protect your business. ~Robin

* * * *

Good morning everyone. I just wanted to share this convo I received from Etsy this morning. It is most definately an attempt at fraud. I don't really know most of you since I joined the Artisans of Houston group recently, but my day job is working as a cash manager at a major international real estate company. I work with banking all day every day and we have had to deal with variations on this scheme for about the last 4 years.

This convo I received this morning is evidently the next new twist. Please read:
______________________________________________________

Referenced item - English Trellis, listing #17343081
by [INSERT Scammer's screen name]

I am interested in the immediate purchase of your item and will be make payment via cashier check/money order, my private shipping company will handle the shipping, but before payment will be made i need to be sure of who i am dealing with if you are going to be honest and sincere throughout the transaction. A certified cashiers check is cash-able the same day,there is going to be an excess fund on the check ,the excess fund is meant for the private shipping company who will come to your place for pick up of the item, so shipping is not a problem,will you be able to transfer the excess fund to the shipping company the same day you receive the check?. check would be sent to you so when you get payment you can easily cash it at any cashing point near you or deposit in your bank. You'll be sending excess fund to my shipper , which would be meant for shipping arrangement.if you agree, signify your interest by forwarding to me your Final Asking Price, Full Name & Contact Address and Tel # also i will want you to email to my private email address [INSERT Scammer's screen name]3 [!at] rocketmail.com because i had some bad network with my acct in Etsy.com,So plz kindly email me to my email address I await your response soonest.Best and kind regards,
25 October 2009 4:00am EDT

____________________________________________________

This person has stolen someone's checking account information and is printing checks on it.

I would most likely receive the "certified cashiers check" by fedex sent by a 3rd party who is someone who has responded to a "make money by working at home on your computer" offers. They don't even know what it is they are sending checks out for and that they are fraudulent.

Most likely this check would be for about $2500 (for a $300 quilt!). "[Screen name]" requires that I send the excess the same day I receive the check.

Here is what actually happens:

I take the check to my bank, the bank may call the bank the check is written on or may not. If they call to verify the account, the bank says yes the account exists (because "[Screen name]" stole good bank account information) and they deposit the check into my account. I ask my bank to send the excess amount to the "shipper's" account information that "[Screen name]" sends.

A couple of days later, the check will be returned to my account and (since I don't have a couple of extra thousand in the bank) my account will be overdrawn costing me not only the money I sent to "[Screen name]" , but lots of fees, other checks bouncing, more fees, etc. The bank will not be at a loss, the company listed on the check will not be at a loss, the company who's account "[Screen name]" stole will not be at a loss. It will only be me. And "[Screen name]" with have the "excess" that I sent him.

I will then spend lots of time trying to track "[Screen name]" down (he will be in the wind), filing police reports to police that can't do anything because my one amount is too small to do anything about.Here are some hints that struck me right off the bat:--If you read this carefully, some of the words don't sound quite right. This may be someone that does not speak English well and tries to make it sound very business-like and misses.

--"[Screen name]" picked the most expensive item in my shop but didn't ask any questions about or comment on it in any way.--who needs an outside shipper to ship a quilt??--there isn't really such a thing as a certified cashier's check.

Yes you can have the bank certify a check, but it doesn't really mean anything but there was money in an account when the check was issued. "[Screen name]" can print that on a check just as easy as anything else.--when I clicked on his profile on etsy, I got an error that this person does not have a profile. Probably deleted as soon as he sent lots of convos in the middle of the night.--he doesn't want me to contact him the way he contacted me and he has a specific reason why.

That's because he doesn't want Etsy or any company that might be able to track him down or track how many of their shops are affected by this to know about him (they'll know shortly - I'm going to contact them as soon as I'm done here)

Like I said, I've been dealing with this at work for several years now, and I've heard lots of sob stories from people who have been taken by these folks. Smart people fall for this!

People are having hard times and they want to think they can trust people, but this is one you can't!

Unfortunately, these crooks are smart enough to keep their amounts small enough to make it not worth the police's, FBI's, Secret Service's time to track them down. We have tried to make them realize the amount they add up to, but since one person or company is only out small amounts of cash (they don't count the business costs from having to deal with this), they can't allocate personel to it. We are currently working with our congress people to get the laws to catch up with this type of fraud, but it isn't high profile enough for them to pay attention to it.

I'll get down off my soapbox now and let you enjoy this beautiful day. Please don't let this crook take advantage of you!!!

Kim

Friday Favorites: ACEOs

I've recently gotten turned on to ACEOs - art cards: editions and originals. These "cards" must be 2.5" x 3.5" but after that the skies the limit. This week I thought I'd find out what Quiltsy Team members are creating in mini-mini quilt ACEOs.

My first favorite is Beaded Tree by Kim's Crafty Apple. The embellishment with thread and bead work really makes this ACEO special.

Though Christmas is still thankfully 2 months away - wow ONLY two months! - another favorite is Santa with Two Tree Sweater from Sojourn Quilts. The fabric used is recycled - such detail in such a small size!

And, in honor of Halloween, the last Friday Favorite is Thoughtful Skeleton by Penny Fabric Art. I really couldn't pass this one up. It's got it all: an embroidered skeleton sitting in thoughtful introspection, a silk valence, and a satin rose on the included easel - all so very creative!

You can find more great ACEOs from these artists and other Quiltsy members by typing "Quiltsy ACEO" in the Etsy search field. Great examples of big creativity on a small scale.

Friday's Favorites: Think Pink

I used to live in Columbus, Ohio and every October one of the tallest buildings downtown would put pink exterior lights on the building for breast cancer awareness. I thought I would use this Friday's Favorites to showcase some "think pink" items from our Quiltsy members. Each of these featured sellers is donating a portion of their proceeds to breast cancer awareness, so please be sure to check them out.

First, I couldn't pass up this adorable quilted Think Pink Potholder by Sewing Granny. The french poodle on the Christmas ball is just too cute!

This Breast Cancer Support Wallhanging from Miranda's Place really caught my eye. The colors made it stand out from the other solid pink items, but I really think it was the messages that did it. It would be very inspirational for the recipient - and the giver!

And last, but certainly not least, is this darling quilted eyeglass case from Creations by Nora Marie. The slanted scalloped edge on this case makes it unique!

Quiltsy Members Shine at 2009 International Quilt Market & Festival

Three Quiltsy members, Terry Aske Art Quilts, Canton Village Quilt Works and Warm 'n Fuzzies have had their work on display this week at the grandmomma of all quilt gatherings, the International Quilt Market and Festival in Houston, Texas.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the International Quilt Market trade show. It's where businesses that buy and sell in the creative sewing fields come together to order all the wonderful goodies. New fabric lines and gadgets are premiered here, ideas planted, teachers educated and designers, publishers, manufacturers, fabric store owners and others mix and mingle for an explosion of new creativity. The 2009 Quilt Market closed yesterday and the Quilt Festival is about to kickoff tomorrow for five exciting days.

Tiffany (aka warmnfuzzies) was recently approached by designer Sandi Henderson about showcasing Sandi's newest fabric line Meadow Sweet in a pair of cathedral window pillows that Tiffany is known for. The completed pillows were part of Sandi's booth at Quilt Market and helped generate sales and excitement for the new line. "It was such a thrill to be one of the first people to see, touch and work with brand new fabric, not even on the market yet," said Tiffany.

Jackie of Canton Village Quilt Works had a quilt of hers on display in the Moda Fabric Bake Shop booth during Market.  What an honor!  (Jackie, if you link us to a picture, we'd like to include it here).

This year is also the 35th anniversary of the International Quilt Festival, sometimes referred to as the "World's Fair of Quilts." As the world’s largest annual quilt show, sale, and quiltmaking academy, attending this show at least once is on just about every quilter's 'bucket list.' Attendees come from all over the world to see more than 1,500 quilts, dolls, and pieces of fabric art in this Best-of-the-Best show. Last year, the International Quilt Festival drew a total of 52,542 attendees, making it one of the largest conventions in Houston.

Terry Aske has not one, but TWO of her quilts hanging in this year's International Quilt Festival. Both her 'Zig Zag' quilt and 'Marble Tiles' quilt have been traveling North America as part of a special exhibit called 'O Canada.' This exhibit features quilts showcasing Canadian's special love of quilting that runs much deeper than just the desire to keep warm!

Congratulations to these super-talented ladies! It's wonderful for their skills to be recognized at such a world class level.

Can't make it to this year's Festival? Beginning October 15, the official webcast of the 2009 International Quilt Festival/Houston will be live! See scores of quilts and garments that will be featured at the show, as well as photos taken on the show floor and in the classrooms and updated daily. And shortly after - vidcasts! If you can't make it to Festival or want to relive your experience there, Quilt Festival@Home is your free online ticket to the excitement!

Click HERE for more information.

Friday's Favorites: Halloween

With Halloween quickly approaching, I thought I would take this opportunity to direct you to some terrifyingly spooktacular Halloween offerings - Quiltsy-style.

First is Mimis Crafts' Witchy Halloween Wall Hanging. What a creation! I love the curly boots on the witch! I urge you to take a close look at the detail that went into this lovely wallhanging!

Next, I just fell in love with 3 Stitch Creations' Spiders and Brew Trick O' Treat Bag. Wouldn't you just love to send your little ghost or goblin out with this bag? OK, I'll be honest, I don't have kids - I'd just want the bag for myself!!

And the final frightfully fantastic offering is the Purple Pumpkin Polka Dots Mini Quilt by bybethstudio. How can you not just smile when you see that cute pumpkin face? Oh, wait, I mean how can you not just tremble in fear at the frightful face??

There were many more amazing Quiltsy Halloween items. Take a look by putting "Quiltsy Halloween" in the Etsy search field.

Friday's Favorites: Fall

Hello everyone! It is with great excitement that I begin this new weekly post: Friday's Favorites. Each week I will feature either a favorite Quiltsy Team shop or favorite items from some wonderful Quiltsy Team shops. This week: fall - my favorite season!!

This first offering, the Turkey Tablerunner from Heavenly Pouches, really caught my eye. Wouldn't you love to grace your table with this beautiful runner?

Next, I couldn't help but fall in love with Warm 'N Fuzzies' Autumn's Harvest Cathedral Window Pillow Cover. The batik used for the windows is just a dream! I can imagine two of these adorning my parlor sofa, can't you?

My final fall favorite (say that three times fast!) is the Pumpkin Patch Quilt from Terry Aske Art Quilts. The pumpkin and leaves appliques are just divine on the pieced background.

Make sure you check out these three wonderful shops and other Quiltsy artists by entering Quiltsy in the Etsy search field.