This Week's BESTeam Feature - On Behalf Of

Who cannot love a shop that is all about helping others! And On Behalf Of at etsy is all about that!  Ninety percent of the proceeds will go to various organizations that provide clean water in developing countries, free modern day slaves, care for orphans, or provide medical help to those with HIV.  Although the owner claims to not be a professional artist, she has an artistic flair and a great eye! She is also passionate in “using beauty to fight against the ugliness in our world and fighting back against the forces of injustice. “

Her artwork reflects multiculturalism  – I love her altered photographs and rich, colorful paintings. 

Take a peek –buy a little something for yourself and help make the world a better place!

Here are the organizations this shop helps to support.

Lahash International: http://www.lahash.net

Blood: Water Mission: http://www.bloodwatermission.com

Not For Sale Campaign: http://www.notforsalecampaign.org/

John M. Perkins Foundation: http://http://www.jmpf.org

Shaohannah's Hope: http://www.shophope.org

A Beautiful Idea: http://http://www.beautifulidea.us/         

You can read more at On Behalf Of's blog.        

Classic Black from the BESTeam

Black is always in style and makes a classic statement.  You will never go wrong with black. 

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Sir Paul Still Rocks!

Paul McCartney's Up & Coming Tour is AMAZING!  At 68 the man has retained his boyish charm and gives an energetic performance that brings the house down!  Three hours of nonstop hits from the Beatles and Wings! Three encores! Fireworks! When he played the early Beatle hits, the screen flashed photos of the young fab four!  He also played a tribute to John and another for George - awesomeness! This was a show I did not want to end! It was truly a night to remember!

BESTteam Feature of the Week - Sandy's Handmade Soaps & Things

This week's featured shop is Sandy's Handmade Soaps & Things at Etsy.Sandy uses an old-fashion cold press method of combing oils, butters, and lye in the perfect amounts to create a luxurious soap.  For quality control, the soaps are made in small batches, cured for 4-6 weeks, hand cut and individually packaged.  The cold press soaps are available in almond, oats & honey, vanilla, lavender, blueberry, and toasted coconut. You’ll find a variety of molded soaps that are made from goat milk, shea butter, oatmeal and honey bases.  Make a summery soap dish collection with the darling flip flip, sunflower, ice cream,  and popsicle soaps!  Too cute!  If you’re an animal lover – there is a Labrador, horse, and pig!

Sandy has also added knitting stitch markers and earrings to the shop! The stitch markers come in a really cute themes: ice cream cones, turtles, sailboats, dragonflies, cupcakes, bumble bees, and my favorite – Summer Vacation!

I've got summer on my mind!  Stop by and take a peek !  You can also visit Sandy’s blog.

Chile - Thailand

Zanzibar in Santiago

I can't say that I miss Thailand very much, but for some reason Thailand has been on my mind a lot today. For Mother's Day we went to Zanzibar Restaurant for a late lunch.  A good choice, as the menu has a variety of foods from all over the world. Enjoyed a pisco sour in honor of the day. Then ordered Pad Thai!  Not as great as the dish is Thailand, but hit the spot and was rather tasty! Better than I had anticipated. Hope you have all enjoyed your Mother's Day.

Sir Paul!

Paul McCartney will be performing in Santiago on Wed!  How excited am I!  Mark this one one off the bucket list!  Here is a collection of Sir Paul items that are available on Etsy:

BESTteam Feature of the Week - Jewelry by Jaynemarie

                                      Jaynemarie creates beautiful artisan jewelry with high quality pearls, crystals, and gemstones. Wedding pieces are her specialty. She can customized any of her pieces in her shop to meet your needs as well as match your color scheme. She is also willing to work with you to create your very own dream piece. Here are a few of her exquisite bridal earrings and necklaces.



Her shop also features jewelry for any occasion. I love her gemstone pendants:  moonstone, citrine, moonstone, topaz, smoky quartz, and garnet.  Beautiful stones and fine workmanship! You can also visit Jaynemarie's blog.
 

Mother's Day - Gifts from the BESTeam

Wine Country

Last weekend we drove south to Santa Cruz, which is famous for its many wineries.  Our cute little bed & breakfast was just on the outskirts of town.  On Friday we drove to a little nearby town, Lolol to visit a small craft museum featuring each region of Chile with the handicrafts from there.  Next stop, lunch at one of the local wineries.  Our friend and her husband own a beautiful restaurant in Santa Cruz, so we wined and dined there for the two nights. The beet ravioli was delicious! We didn't get to do everything, but it is worthy of another trip or two back.

Our B & B Posada Colchagua

An embroidered tapestry - winery scene - from the museum

Viu Manent Winery

Vino Bella Cafe, Bar, Ristorante

Horses at Viu Manent

Etsy has a wide selection of wine related items - check these out!  

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BESTteam Feature of the Week - Ardent Reverie!

Check out Ardent Reverie, a cool shop owned by "two crazy sisters who work like crazy" to see some totally awesome and unique accessories! This shop is full of accessories, necklaces, hats, scarves, and solid perfume. 

I am crazy about scarves - these are my favorites:

I also love necklaces and these are so darling! The Garden Mosaic is so different, pretty, and feminine!  I love the medley of pearls, stones, Czech glass and other ornaments that are artistically places onto a square pendent!

  

These solid perfume necklaces are too adorable!  The handmade solid perfume is contained in a decorated tin and hangs on a gunmetal chain. The removable sliding cover allows you to easily change the color/design if you own multiple necklaces.

The scents available include Jasmine, Sweet Pea, Honeysuckle, Meadow, and Vanilla. Refills are available as well.

These "crazy sisters" are also very clever!

This is just a little peek at all the items in this etsy shop - so click here and have a look around! 

BESTteam Feature of the Week - Your Daily Jewels

Your Daily Jewels has a glamorous collection of handcrafted sterling silver and gold filled jewelry with colorful semi precious gemstones. Norah is offering a 15% discount today and free shipping within the US always. Also, during the month of April, 10% of sales proceeds will be donated to the Autism Society of America in support of National Autism Awareness month. Everyone loves to support a cause and who doesn’t love a sale?

Norah became a serious designer when she discovered that her young patients loved her jewelry and the little stories behind each piece. 

Blue handmade boro lampwork bead organic shaped faceted aquamarine nugget beads!

Gold, red, and Winter white Lampwork beads, Czech glass beads, hand blown glass, Italian hand made Aventurina beads play off each other as they are suspended from a beautiful gold plate chain.

Ivory, bronze, and taupe freshwater pearls of all shapes and sized are accented with crystals and Bali silver accents to result in a detailed pendant full of motion.

Balls of color-enhanced mother of pearl-shell earrings are capped in Bali Silver.

Marquise Shape Sparkling Blue Goldstone Dangle Earrings

Lampwork beads are combined with Creamy Czech glass beads in these really unique earrings.

I love how bright and colorful her pieces are! There is a vast variety of styles of bracelets, earrings, and necklaces to choose from. Each piece is so unique and different.   You will find numerous colorful semi precious stones, lampwork, Czech glass, Swarovski crystal, pearls, made into stunning, artistic jewelry perfect for day and/or night! You can also read more about Norah at her blog.

BESTteam Feature of the Week - Cerlandia

Cerlandia (Serh land de a ) or the Land of Sarah is where you will find crafter Sarah’s etsy shop!  Sarah has been knitting, crocheting , and sewing for many years. Her shop features handmade totes, bags, purses, hats, cuffs, and other accessories.  She recently began working with Charles Taylor – together they are creating some awesome silkscreen items to include in her shop.

 

I love this silk screened cameraman bag – I have had an obsession for cameras for a while now and this is just too cool!  It is a sturdy canvas making its uses unlimited! Think eco-friendly!

What a great hat – an aviator made with a wool blend yarn!  This would keep you warm during the cold winter!

A colorful set of crocheted dish cloths might brighten the dreary chore! 

You can also stop by Sarah’s blog.

Ancient Oils - A Besteam Feature

Ancient Oils’ shop on Etsy has a wonderful collection of handmade products – representing aspects of a variety of goddesses: Artemis for strength, Gala for grounding, Coventina for purification, plus others. Some of my favorites are Bast, Egyptian Cat Goddess, which nourishes and restores your nails – this is a necessity for the cold, dry winter weather. I also like the Dead Sea Mud Mask for hydrating and exfoliating the skin. There are four different scented pure therapeutic grade essential oils, which are known for their healing and spiritual properties. According to the shop owner, “The blends are uniquely design to enhance the Goddess principals within you, remove blockages in energy centers, and lift your spirits.”