Three treasuries!!!

January is "the month of treasuries" for Vegan Etsy. The member that makes the most treasuries during the next month wins a prize! If there's a lot of participation in this, we'll have more than one winner. Plus, all treasuries will be featured here with credit to the person that created it. So, grab those treasuries whenever you can, members, and make sure to post about them on the message board or send me a link to it.

To start off this month long challenge, Michelle of My Zoetrope created this very colorful one.

I also was able to get two of them. You can find them here and here. Please show all three lots of love by leaving a comment and clicking on the featured items! Let's get veganism noticed!

Become our fan on Facebook!

If you have Facebook, you can now become a fan of Vegan Etsy!

Thanks to Melanie of The Coma Girl Designs and the soon to open Doolang Doolang Boutique for creating the fan page. Melanie has been a huge help to the team by creating several of our lovely graphics (the four with fruit in it and the one below), Facebook group and blog ring. You rock, Melanie!

Welcome to new member!

We have one new member to welcome to the team this week!

Adornment Deluxe

Please give them a warm welcome!

Another team treasury

This one is extra special because it features items that 100% of the profits go to charity. Please show it lots of love!

Two Team Treasuries!

The first is one that I got yesterday and the second is one that one of our customers made. Wasn't that nice of him? Please show them some love here and here!

The screenshot cut off the bottom three store names on this one. From left to right, they are from For The Love of Vegan, Lemon St. Photography and Cards & Jewelry by Michele.

Happy Holidays To All!!

No matter what you celebrate, I'd like to wish everyone a very happy season. I hope that 2009 brings much health and happiness to each and every one of you! I'd also like to thank the members for making this team possible and to all of our followers and customers- a huge thank you for being so supportive of us!

Most of all, thank you to everyone that not only celebrates the holidays with compassion, but lives the compassionate life year round! If you're not vegan yet, why not make it a goal for 2009? Just give it a try for three weeks and see how it goes. Your health, the animals and the environment will thank you!

Cooking With Compassion Cookzine

The Cooking With Compassion Cookzine is now available for preorder and will be ready to ship soon! This zine features about 50 mouthwatering vegan recipes from the Vegan Etsy, Cruelty Free Etsy and EtsyVeg teams and all profits will be going to Peaceful Prairie Sanctuary.

But wait, there's more! It's also made out of recycled paper and is printed with vegetable ink. Pretty neat-o, right? Just go here to preorder your copy today!

Team Sampler Packs Are Available!

We now have team sampler packs available for purchase in the team shop, so get yours while they last! Over half of them have sold in the last 24 hours and what's listed is all that we have left. There are some nice goodies in the packs and you can't beat the price!

All profits from the sales of these sampler packs go to helping our team pay for promoting our team and veganism. We donated $200 to two different sanctuaries from the money we raised with the last round of sampler packs!

Review- Forest Nymphs and Brisil Bath & Body

The following review was written by Roni of Daisy Wares and Daisys Destash.
It's winter time and my skin is dry and itchy. Yuck. Nothing worse than being stuck in an office where everyone has their space heaters cranked up and there is nothing I can do about all the hot air blowing around just drying out my skin further.

So I was on a search for something to quench my thirst so to speak. I turned to my good friend Silvana's shop, Forest Nymphs & Brisil Bath & Body and found the perfect solution, Yerba Mate' Botancial HYDROSOL Facial Mist. This is the miracle of all miracle cures. You just spray and a comforting mist comes out to moisten that dry skin. To quote from her ad, "This facial mist is an all natural botanical hydrosol (by-product of esential oil production) made with yerba mate'for its antioxdants;chamomile and rosemary,orange, rose and our essential oil blend to calm, heal and hydrate parched dehydrated skin."

You can't get closer to earth or more natural than this. Why would you want all that alcohol and other crap on your skin when you can have a little bit of heaven to gently sink into your skin and make you feel so good. This product is highly recommended for the dry and itchy!

Our Team Shop Helps Farm Animals!

We took a vote for what to do with the money we raised through our team shop and it was decided to first spend it on adopting a farm animal. I'm happy to report that after some discussion and another poll, it was decided to give $100 to For The Animals Sanctuary and another $100 to Animal Place Sanctuary. These are both wonderful places that focus on vegan advocacy.

For The Animals is run by one of our members, Debbie of For The Animals, who uses the profits from her shop for her sanctuary. They currently have two cows, Herbie and Kevinah, and 8 goats. If you're in the New Jersey area, please consider volunteering some of your time to them. They're a small sanctuary that just got started, so they could certainly use all the help they can get!

Animal Place is located in California and not only are they a farmed animal sanctuary, but they also work with Compassion Without Borders to rescue dogs from Mexico. With the money we donated to them, we sponsored four animals- Cecilia the chicken, Sophie the sheep, Peggy Sue the pig and Howie the cow. They recently were able to expand to 590 acres, so they're a great sanctuary that is steadily growing. Definitely what the animals need!

Vegan Etsy & CFE Team Treasury

Thank you to Jennifer of Jak Random Art for creating this lovely treasury for the Vegan Etsy and Cruelty Free Etsy teams! It can be found here for the next few days, so please show it some love by commenting and clicking on the featured items!

Recipe- Vegan Biscotti

The following recipe was submitted by Lindsay of KM Stitchery.

VEGAN BISCOTTI

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup of olive oil or 1/4 cup butter substitute at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 banana or 1/3 cup of applesauce
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup finely chopped almonds

DIRECTIONS:

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease 1 large baking sheet. Better yet use parchment paper
-Combine the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl.
-In a large bowl, cream together the oil or butter substitute and sugar until fluffy.
-Add the banana or applesauce, mix well. Add the dry ingredients, and then add the vanilla extract and mix well.
-Fold in the chopped almonds.
-Scoop the batter from mixing bowl on to lightly greased baking sheet or parchment paper, into two mounds. Flour your hands and shape the batter/dough into two loave, shaped kinda like a football.
-Place in the top rack in the oven. Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown, about 40 minutes. Use a toothpick to test for doneness. Insert a toothpick in the center of one of the loaves, when you remove the toothpick, it should be dry. If it isn’t, return the loaves to the oven for about another 7 or 8 minutes.
-Remove the loaves from the oven ( they’ll look like two giant cookies) and let them cool completely on the sheet.
-Transfer the cookie loaves to a large cutting board and with a serrated knife cut/saw into 3/4-inch thick slices. Spread the cookies, laying them flat, on the baking sheet.
-Bake in the oven on the center rack for 20 minutes, turn the Biscotti over and return them to the oven for ten minutes, turn them over again and return them to the oven for five more minutes.
-Then remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool. (For Chocolate Biscotti add 1/3 cup of Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa Powder and reduce the amount of flour by 1/3 cup.)

Member Sales!

Forest Nymphs and Brisil Bath & Body is having a sale through December 19. Buy any bath and body product and get a second one at 50% off.

Art by Funk is also participating in this sale. Buy any ceramic piece and get a second one at 50% off.

Discounts will be refunded once your order is received.

Vegetarian Women feature!

The Vegetarian Women website featured us today! Above is what they put on their home page, but that's not all! They also put us on their Holiday Bargains page as well as their blog. How cool is that? Thank you to the Vegetarian Women site for recognizing our team!!

Our team has received quite a bit of publicity since it first formed in February of this year. Check it all out!

Team Treasury!

Please show it some love by clicking on the featured items and leaving a comment! You can find it here for the next few days.

Team Happenings

There are always a lot of opportunities for members to become involved in the team. Here is a summary of what's currently happening with us.

December Team Challenge- "Down On The Farm". Your entry must be farm animal themed. Along with your entry post a short story about the farm animal you chose and why. The deadline to enter is December 24 and after that, a poll will be posted to determine the winner. The winner gets to choose a prize and their entry will be featured here!

Vegan Etsy Giveaway- Melanie of The Coma Girl Designs (and the one who made many of our awesome graphics, including the one that's in the current VegNews issue!) is going to be having a vegan handmade giveaway on her blog. If all goes well, she will be making it a monthly event to help promote our team and the shops that donate to the giveaway. If you would like to contribute something to this, please contact her.

Holidays With Compassion Campaign- This is going on all month and is an effort between us and the Cruelty Free Etsy team. Please encourage people to celebrate these holidays compassionately whenever and wherever you can! Post about it on your blog, twitter about it, create a treasury, bump threads on the etsy forums or anything else you have time for. If you have any more ideas on how to promote this, we'd love to hear them. Just contact me or you can post about it on the message board .

Holiday Gift Exchange- For those of you that are participating, this is just a reminder to mail out your packages to your recipient soon. When you receive your package, please post about it and share pictures!

The Little Black Box- Just a reminder that if you're doing this, Kim needs to receive your promo items by January 21. Want to know what The Little Black Box is? Visit the website to learn all about it! If you want to be in this, please contact Kim as soon as possible. Her email can be found here.

Team Sampler Packs- More will be listed soon! I'm waiting for a few more people to send their items in. If you want to participate in this next round of sampler packs, please let me know as soon as possible.

Business Card Exchange- This is a great way to help promote each other's shops! We are exchanging business cards to send out in our sales packages, hand out at craft fairs and use wherever else we get a chance.

The List Goes On!- For more ways to become active with the team, please see the Handy Dandy Member Guide. It's packed full of things you can do to help this team succeed.

Got Twitter?

For those of you that use Twitter, you can now join the Vegan Etsy Twitter Group! Don't have Twitter? Well, what are you waiting for? It's a great way to market your shop, get to know other team members and have some fun!

We're in Vegetarian Times!

Vegan Etsy is in the January 2009 issue of Vegetarian Times! Thank you to Tami of Tami's Soapworks for scanning the page of the article that mentions us. Just click on the image to enlarge it-

Welcome to new member!

We have one new member to welcome to the team this week. Please give them a warm welcome and heart their shop!

LNC Greetings

Welcome to you both!

Holidays With Compassion Treasuries

Please help to promote Holidays With Compassion by showing these treasuries lots of love! Click on all items featured and leave a comment here, here and here.

Recipe- Penne in Mint Cilantro Pesto Sauce

The following recipe was submitted by Susmitha of Art by Susmitha and Veganosaurus.

Cook 1 Cup of dry Penne in salted boiling water according to the instructions on the pack.

To be blended into a paste/sauce without using any extra water (the liquid from the tomatoes will be enough).

1 C spearmint
1 C cilantro
2 Green chillies
Handful of Almonds
1 T nutritional yeast
1 T flax seed
2 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil
4-5 Ripe Tomatoes
Sea Salt to taste

How to proceed:

Cut 1 large capsicum (green pepper) into cubes. Put in a microwave safe glass dish, cover and cook on high for 3 minutes. Mix in the blended sauce, cover and cook on high for 3 more minutes. Let it sit for a few minutes.

For the microwave haters, this can also be made easily on stovetop. Just stir fry the green pepper in a dash of olive oil very briefly (about a minute), add the pesto sauce and bring it to a boil and immediately switch off the flame.

Mix in the cooked Penne.

Enjoy! :)

Holidays With Compassion!

Thank you to Susmitha of Art by Susmitha and Veganosaurus for writing the following lovely explanation of the Holidays With Compassion campaign! Please see this post for a list of members that are offering sales and promotions.

The Cruelty Free Etsy Team and the Vegan Etsy Team have teamed up to create the Holidays with Compassion Campaign with the intention to promote Vegan-Handmade gift shopping. Veganism is by default Eco-Friendly! All creations on etsy are handmade with 100% love but what sets the items of the CFE and Vegan Etsy team members apart is that they are made with a 100% kindness too. Celebrate the true meaning of this festive season of love and giving by gifting Compassionate Handmade items. Not only will the receiver love you for it but so will the animals and the environment.

November Team Challenge Winner

Congratulations to Carla of Threaded Smiles for being the winner of November's team challenge! The theme was "Thanks-Living" and the outline was to show what the true meaning of giving thanks on this annual holiday means to you.

Carla's entry is listed here in her shop. This is what she has to say about them-

this is a set of coasters i made for thanksliving, a way to peacefully and compassionately show what i am thankful for this holiday season. the pics of my family and my rescued animal companions are placed on cork and made into coasters. cruelty-free holidays are the best way to spend the upcoming season.

New Shops!

Some existing members have added a second shop. Check them out!

Michelle of Bees Knees Jewelleries has opened Sticks In Stones.
Silvana and Brian of Forest Nymphs and Brisil Handmade Bath & Body have opened Art By Funk.

Please give them all a warm welcome by checking out their shops and hearting them!

Review- For The Animals

I wear a necklace almost every single day and have several that say "vegan" on them that I wear quite often. It's a nice, positive way to show the world that you're vegan and it also generates some discussion. So, naturally, I was thrilled when I found For The Animals.
The best part about purchasing from For The Animals is that all proceeds go to their sanctuary, For The Animals Sanctuary and the anti-fur group that Debbie runs, Caring Activists Against Fur. Here is some information about the sanctuary that Debbie wrote-

My dream was to save a cow and her baby (son) from being exploited and murdered. I met my Vegan husband who also felt the same desires. We saved our $$ bought a house and built a barn and waited. Then we saw Herbie on the news (one week before Xmas) running for his life in Brooklyn. I cried. I called all the sanctuaries to see if he was being saved. Thankfully WFAS was rescuing him but they didn't have the room so we stepped in. At the same time Kevina was born in a dairy farm. The farmers thought she was a boy and they were drowning all the boys. Lucky for Kevina a girl that worked there brought her to WFAS. I named her Kevin (thinking she was a boy) now she is Kevina. Herbie and Kevina just got married on May 31 2008. We had about 65 guests and tons of Vegan food.

Our sanctuary is 8 acres. We are small guys but we do a lot for the Animals!! We just rescued 8 goats. 3 of the goats were really sick needing critical care treatment i.e. blood transfusions, injections and forced oral meds and were separated for 4 weeks from the rest of the goat sisters. They were scouring (massive diarrhea). They are all better now YUPPIE. Our goal for 2009 is to rescue some chickens and focus on Vegan outreach. We have an abolitionist approach to Veganism.

FTA has no volunteers. My husband and I do all the work around the farm. We both work full time in order to keep it running. I am a critical care nurse and my husband works in NYC (5 hour commute every day). We also rescue 11th hour dogs and cats. We lost 6 dogs and one cat over the past year due to health reasons (all old dogs that were going to be euthanized in a shelter). We currently have a 5 dogs one of which is blind. We recently had to put my old boy Corki (blind and had massive cardiac issues) down. That was and still is devastating I miss him so much. We have 8 cats 4 of which live out in the barn. I also run an anti fur group called Caring Activists Against Fur (caaf) www.caafgroup.com . We protest fur in NYC/NJ.

We received our 5013c in July 2008. This will make it much easier to fundraise. Our focus for 2009 will be on fundraising and finding volunteers to help us out on the farm. Its very very hard to find reliable animal loving people. Its also hard to compete with the larger sanctuaries. We try and make it fun to come over i.e. Vegan potlucks with themes like the wedding we had a baby shower when they arrived.....If anyone has ides please share. The more donations we get the more we can do out here in NJ farm land. The awesome thing is i am a nurse in the local hospital. I do Vegan outreach every day I am at work. I wear my jewelry and it get the conversation started. Its awesome.

As you can see, Debbie and her husband are wonderful, compassionate people! If you'd like to make a donation to their sanctuary, please do so through their site. You can also watch some videos of Herbie & Kevina here.

I have now purchased three beautiful necklaces from her shop and will proudly wear each one every chance that I get. The first one that I purchased was a sterling silver drop pendant with a heart-

Nature is as important to me as animals, so I loved that it has a little flower on it, too. The heart brings my two loves all together in one gorgeous little package! Her shop is a regular one I stop by to see what's new, and recently she listed some that I fell in love with, so I just purchased these a few days ago-


I'll be wearing both of these a lot! She also has bracelets, buttons and rings in her shop, all in a variety of designs. There's something for every compassionate vegan out there!

Review- Vegan Dish

The following was written by Roni of Daisy Wares and Daisy's Destash.

Have you ever seen anything so beautiful? And I'm not just talking about the cranberries.

One of my most favorite vegans made this for me. Jeanette of Vegan Dish! It actually came from her other shop, Vessels and Wares and she modified it for me by adding, "vegan" and adding the stars. Not that it wasn't perfect without it, it just added that extra umpf!

It's called the Aqua-licious berry bowl. Here is Jeanettes stock picture so you can see the drain holes under it.

This bowl is going to get a lot of use in my house. It is so well made, very professional and will even stand the dishwasher. Jeanette is so very talented. She packs it so well too. You never have to worry about it breaking in the mail.

Now I'm off to boil up these cranberries to add to my Vegan Thanksliving dinner! For Thanksliving I am very thankful that Jeanette has come up with this wonderful idea of vegan dishes so all of our food can taste just that much better.

Team Treasury!

Thank you to Michelle of My Zoetrope for creating such a beautiful team treasury! Please show it some love by clicking on all featured items and leaving a comment here.

Recipe- Tofu Scramble

The following recipe was written and submitted by Heather of Holistically Heather, For The Love Of Vegan and Recycled Cycle.

Tonight we are having breakfast for dinner, I used to love those nights when I was a kid. Cereal for dinner was the best as a little kid, you feel like you are breaking some sort of rules, but in reality its mandated by your parents...its the best! We are having tofu scramble and rye toast!

Tofu scramble is sooo easy
chop half a medium onion and about 4 cloves of garlic ( i use more, use what you want!)
put a little bit of oil or margarine in your cast iron, and heat it up a bit
Throw the onions and garlic in there to saute
while that is happening chop up a bunch of kale leaves, about 8 button mushrooms and squeeze the water out of your tofu
After the onions and garlic are sauted add the tofu and mash and scramble it
add some tumeric to give it a nice orange glow and a little flava....this is when I add some Braggs and nutritional yeast for the cheesey flavor.

Let it simmer a while then add the kale and shrooms, add some pepper, garlic powder, onion powder...more tumeric, more nutritional yeast...you name it you can add it just make it how you like

Member News!

KM Stitchery is having an END OF NOVEMBER SALE: Buy 2 items and get the 3rd item (of equal or lesser value) HALF OFF! This offer lasts until the end of the month.

Also, congratulations to Silvana of Forest Nymphs & Brisil Bath and Body! Her products were featured on VegNews blog, This Just In!

Welcome to new member!

We have one new member to welcome to the team this week. Please give Gothcupcake Creations a warm welcome by checking out her shop and hearting her! She also has a second shop, Kala-Atita, so make sure to check both shops out!

Message Board Events

Members, the message board is hopping with all kinds of exciting team activities!

For those of you participating in the holiday exchange, there is now a "secret santa" thread where you can log into the board using the Secret Santa username to ask your recipient questions. Make sure to check out the thread every now and then to see if you have any questions to answer!

If you haven't already, please vote in the poll to determine what we will spend our team money on first. We have some items for sale in the team shop right now and sampler packs should be listed again sometime in the next few weeks, so we should end up having enough money to do at least a few of the things on the poll.

The deadline to enter the November Challenge is fast approaching! If you'd like to enter an item in the challenge, you will need to do so by this Monday, November 24. The winner will get to pick a prize from several member's shops and their entry will be posted about on our blog!

Roni of Daisy Wares and Daisy's Destash has started a business card exchange. This is a great way to help fellow members get more exposure as well as receive exposure for your shop.

New Team Graphic!

Seb of Sebastien Ettinger Photography (the same awesome person who made our banner) made this lovely new graphic for our team. Isn't it great? Make sure to check out the fine print below and use it if you would like on your sites or listings! Thanks so much, Seb!!

Tips for Shop Owners

A Vegan Etsy Team Member Compilation Of Handy Shop Tips For Etsy Shop Owners and a list of places to advertise you shop ♥

Tips:

Load your shop. Having a large number of items in your shop will be your #1 traffic driver.

Keep your shop announcement short and sweet, people want to see photos load as soon as they click your site

Having sections in your shop, keeps it neat and easy to navigate. No one wants to go through 392 pair of earrings to find the necklace they want etc.

In your profile make the shoppers feel at home, make them feel like they are getting to know you. But don't get too personal, there is a happy medium..

List store policies payments accepted, shipping methods, return policies. The more detailed your policies are the better. Have them outlined in an easy to read forum and give enough information that buyers will be comfortable with purchasing from you.

Make sure your photos are crisp and clear, do your best anyway

Don't take photos on the floor, some people have allergies and that will turn them away immediately

No clutter in the background, keep it neat and clean looking!

Show the texture of hand knit items and get really close using macro setting for jewelry too

Most people don't like to see earrings in real ears before they buy them

Mention in your shop if you have critters in your house, some shoppers have pet allergies.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE mention if you smoke, or there are smokers in your house, it is really upsetting to get something that smells like an ashtray

Make sure to list measurements in the listing if there are measurements

Make a nice little description, give some background, maybe a fun story of a small and sweet poem in each description

Use all 14 of your tags!
describe your items as well as possible. Mention all aspects of it correctly, colors, content and even size. The more the merrier, but be sure they are all accurate as misleading tags can really turn off some buyers. Here is an Etsy tutorial on using tags:
http://www.etsy.com/storque/how-to/guidelines-tips-tagging-on-etsy-281/

If you ship internationally mention that in your shop announcement, tag international or worldwide shipping, and make sure you have your shipping options set up so people don't have to wait for an email in order to buy if they are from a different country

Make sure you list your state and country, this gives people an idea of shipping times

Send a thank you email when someone orders, that little courtesy goes a long way and makes people feel appreciated

Include business cards in your packaging, and maybe small gifts

Email people to check to see they liked the item if they still haven't left feedback after a while, it usually gets them to remember to leave feedback

Start a blog, do giveaways, twitter, myspace, check out and participate in forums and chat

If you do trades, customization and reserves, mention that!

Create Social network profiles that are established *just* for your etsy shop. Pick or create a layout for these sites that is very elegant and stylish. You want the profiles to represent in reflection your style. Add people to your friends list that are like minded in crafting and style.

Create a flickr account to upload your product pictures to. Find picture groups that are like minded with work and love.

An attractive avatar. When you heart another shop your avatar is visible to anyone that looks into "who hearts this shop". An attractive and eye catching avatar will provide more trace-backs to your shop for exploration.

Renew items. This brings your shop name to the top of the list in seller searches, your items to the top of ALL item searches.

A list of places you can advertise:
FREE:
http://www.myspace.com/etsymall
http://promoblogforetsy.blogspot.com/
http://etsymini.blogspot.com/
http://www.kaboodle.com/

Paid Advertisements:
http://www.weloveetsy.com/
http://cafehandmade.blogspot.com/
http://www.indiesmiles.com/
http://www.projectwonderful.com/
http://www.craftcult.com/adinfo.php
http://www.compassionatecooks.com/
http://www.everythingetsy.com/?page_id=198
http://craftopolis.com/index.php?com=ad

Sampler Sites
http://www.vegancraftsamples.com - run by VeganEtsy Team Member holisticallyheather

http://www.mommysamplebox.com - Mother & Child Related Items Only
http://www.lemmingcentral.com/sampler_boxes.html - Bath and body and Candles Only
http://www.outoftheboxsampler.com
http://www.thelittleblackboxes.com
http://www.homeofthesampler.com/
http://snowberrycreek.com/


Advertising Tips Sites
http://www.ehow.com/how_2099651_advertise-etsy-store.html
http://almostfrugal.com/2009/01/02/how-to-market-your-etsy-shop/
http://etsymarketing.org/

The Team Shop Has Listed Items

Stop in and check out the new items that are listed in the team shop! We should have more team sampler packs listed in the next few weeks, too. Check back often!

Members- if you would like to donate an item to the shop or contribute to the team sampler packs, please contact me for details.

Welcome to new member & new shop!

We have one new member this week. Please give them a warm welcome and don't forget to heart their shop!

Deviant

Also, Susmitha of Art by Susmitha has opened a second shop, Veganosaurus.

Items Listed in Team Shop!

The Vegan Etsy team shop is once again open for business! There are just a few things listed right now, but stay tuned for more items and another round of sampler packs!

Peaceful Prairie Sanctuary Update

For those interested, here is an update on the post about Peaceful Prairie Sanctuary.

Dear friend of Peaceful Prairie Sanctuary,

We're so close...but we still need more help to make it to the finish line!

We've been working feverishly behind the scenes on acquiring this property for several months now.

Thanks to your overwhelming response and generosity, we were able to make another cash offer for $97,000.00. Having consulted with, and been working, with Realtors and financial professionals, we had every reason to expect that offer to be accepted.

However, the property is owned by Fannie May and we are dealing with a hugely dysfunctional bureaucracy. They have countered our offer with an asking price of $115,000.00.

Although donations are still coming in, we need to raise another $15,000.00 ASAP.

If you use JustGive, as soon as your donation is recorded, we can show Fannie May that PPS has the funds. We won't need to pay the sale price until the closing date of Dec. 17th, at which time, JustGive will have dispersed the funds.

Credit card donations can also be made through PayPal from our home page. http://www.peacefulprairie.org/help.html#donateButton

Thanks to so many of you, we've come amazingly close to making this sanctuary expansion and new education center a reality for generations to come!

Please spread the word and we'll get there TOGETHER!

Thank You!

Michele Alley-Grubb
Peaceful Prairie Sanctuary

P.S. This property was originally listed at $255,000.00. Due to the market crash, the price has gradually been dropped to the final asking price of $119,000.00. If PPS can purchase it for $115,000.00 (even though we had hoped to get it for 100k), it will still be an unbeatable bargain and once in a lifetime opportunity!

Urgent help is needed!

I received the following email from Peaceful Prairie Sanctuary today. They only have until the end of the week to raise the money they need for this, but if everyone pulls together, we can make this happen!! Please help the animals by helping this wonderful sanctuary see this through. To donate, please visit their site or go here.

Dear Friend of Peaceful Prairie Sanctuary,

We have an incredible opportunity to expand the sanctuary by 35 acres and to acquire a 4000 square foot home that will be converted into an Education Center and volunteer / intern housing and B&B for sanctuary visitors.

This kind of capital improvement to the sanctuary is 10 years overdue -- but we now have the opportunity to purchase the property for $100,000.00.

Thanks to one VERY generous benefactor, we've already raised $70,000.00!!!

We need to raise the other $30,000.00 before the end of the week in order to make a cash offer on the property.

Another family has placed an offer and, due to the Agricultural zoning, they will have to use the land to enslave and exploit animals.

Please help us stop it before it starts, while simultaneously expanding the sanctuary and our ability to care for and advocate for countless more victims of the egg, dairy, flesh producers and consumers.

Time is of the essence - if you are able to contribute to this, please let me know right away.

Thank You!
Michele Alley-Grubb
Peaceful Prairie Sanctuary

Welcome to new member!

We have one new member this week who I would like to welcome to the team! Please give them a warm welcome by taking a peek at their shop & hearting them!!

Blushky Designs

Welcome to you all!

Member Sale!

Brisil Handmade Bath and Body is running a special for the rest of the year!

****** HOLIDAYS SHIPPING SPECIAL!!! ******ALL SHIPPING IS $5.00! - United States & Canada Only (November 1st 2008 thru December 31st 2008)

Check out her shop for some lovely gift items!

Members- if anyone else is having a sale, please let me know & I'll post it here!

Recipe- Raw Vegan Organic Chocolate Pudding

The following was submitted by Heather of Holistically Heather, For The Love Of Vegan and Recycled Cycle.

Yeah thats right, its not too good to be true. Homemade raw vegan organic chocolate pudding!
Since Jessi cant eat solid food for 2 weeks after her surgery, I decided I would make her very favorite sweet treat....raw pudding!
All you need
2 bananas
2 avocados
1/4 c. organic fair trade cocoa powder

Blend it up, and viola, its a delicious snack, and its healthy!
If you like your pudding a bit sweeter, add some organic agave nectar! Get creative, and enjoy!

Thank you, Farm Sanctuary!

Farm Sanctuary mentioned us in an article about online animal advocacy in their Fall 2008 newsletter. Just click on the images to enlarge them-

Review- Starrlight Jewelry

The following was written by Heather of Holistically Heather, For The Love Of Vegan and Recycled Cycle.

Trade cookies for jewels hah

I hadnt done a trade in a while so when Starrlight Jewelry contacted me about one I was stoked. We decided to trade 2 different batches of my cookies, for 3 of her beautiful necklaces. As always the photos on the internet never do artsy items justice. The necklaces I received are gorgeous, and were nicely shipped in a little jewelry box and tied with a ribbon.
The first necklace is called "Amber and Honey" and as soon as I opened it my grandmothers eyes lit up...she simply loved it. Her birthday is in November and I guess it is her birth stone color, so I tried to play it off like I knew that, and she is a happy little old lady with a beautiful necklace now.
"Moonlight" When I saw this necklace I knew that I had to have it,and I knew exactly who it was meant for! My sister that just had her first child is a very classic beauty, really into old actresses and movies. She even named my niece after Audrey Hepurn. Her birthday is also in November, its crazy how these things all fall into place!
"Purple Passion Heart" Last but definately not least is this gorgeous somewhat gothic looking necklace that I knew would be perfect for Jessi, my model, best friend, and closest companion. Jessi wears a lot of meaningful jewelry, and I thought I could add a beautiful piece like this to the collection for her! These are some really beautiful pieces handcrafted by a fellow vegan etsian!

Team Treasury & More VegNews Publicity

VegNews has a new website and has the bloggy awards featured here, which includes the Vegan Etsy blog! Please leave a comment thanking them for giving Vegan Etsy an award!

Michelle of My Zoetrope made us a SUPERMEGAAWESOME team treasury! Check it out here!

Review- For The Love Of Vegan

The following was written by Starr of Starrlight Jewelry.

If you are a member of the etsy forums, then you know that there is much conjecture and trepidation about buying food online. A large number of buyers and sellers alike speculate what is in the food that shouldn't be. I think that through their own fears and insecurities they attempt to sway others from making purchases they themselves would not.

Having a strong will and a mind of my own I am very rarely if ever swayed by the thoughts and feelings of these types of expressions. As to that I breached a gap so many are unwilling to and purchased some cookies for my family.

I looked about the Vegan Etsy team food sellers for a number of days, after the decision had been made to buy some cookies, deciding which ones to pick as there are a great number of treats to choose from. My eyes lingered over ForTheLOVEofVEGAN for a period of time and then found myself returning to her shop repeatedly, thus my decision was made.

I selected 2 types of cookies, Spicy Oatmeal Raisin Vegan Cookies Organic and
Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Vegan Organic Cookies for my purchase. I was very pleased by the quality customer service when Heather, the shop keeper pm'd quite shortly after to ask me about any changes or customizations I may like for the cookies. I thanked her for the options, already eager to receive my prizes, and said to keep the order as is.

The cookies arrived 5 days later, via Priority mail, not a single one smashed up, broken or falling apart. She had done a marvelous job to ensure the wrath of the post office would not befall my treats.

The cookies themselves were fantastic. These delectable treats were large, soft and chewy! My little one, always excited to see new packages coming to the home, was standing beside me in the kitchen hooting a happy "cookies mommy! COOKIES!" in her excitement. I selected a Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie for myself and handed her one as well.
The sensation of that first bite was indescribable. Melt in your mouth seems to be such a flat and unimaginative statement compared to the total oral ecstasy of these cookies. The look on my daughters face can sum it up a bit though.
I've always been partial to oatmeal and peanut butter cookies, and in my 27 years of sampling I can honestly say that these are the best ones that I have ever had. If you are ever in the mood for a tasty tid-bit of pleasure I strongly suggest a snack sampling from TheLoveOfVegan, as I can assure you, you won't be disappointed.

World Go Vegan Days Team Promotion

Several members of our team will be having promotions in their shops from October 25-31 for World Go Vegan Days. If you're not vegan, we urge you to give it a try! Check out our links on the right hand sidebar for a lot of information on veganism and visit Go Vegan Now to get your free vegan starter kit.

The following members are participating in this event. Please see their shop announcements for information on their individual promotions.

Gracie (Bonnie) Update & Please Vote!

Members! The poll for the October challenge is up, so please vote for your favorite entry. It will be up for one week.

For those of you that helped out Gracie (formerly Bonnie), there's great news! 90% of her coat has grown back and she is doing so well. You can see a video of her progress here. Now she just needs to find her forever home, so please get in contact with Nicole of Late July if you're interested in adopting her!

Publicity

Vegan Etsy has had quite a bit of publicity since it first formed in February 2008! If you know of anything that isn’t on this list, please send it to Melissa Bastian.

Vegan Etsy Blog Ring- our members blog about the team a lot!

The Storque

Cruelty Free Etsy

Etsy for Animals

Vegan Radio, Show #58

Veg News Magazine, July/August 2008 and November/December 2008 issues

Vegan Freak Radio, Show #97

Leafy Green

Slashfood

Serious Eats

Vegan Soapbox

Post Punk Kitchen

Preraphaelite Punk

Farm Sanctuary's Fall 2008 Newsletter

Ecorazzi

Jumbleberry Jam

Vegetarian Times- January 2009 issue

Vegetarian Women- they featured us on their front page, Holiday Bargains and blog.

Review- Uber Duper Creations

I’ve ordered from Uber Duper Creations several times now for all of my animal companions and myself, loving my experience each time. Whether it was Beastie Biscuits for Emma, catnip toys for Crystal and Sophie or lovely cards, I got fast shipping, friendly service and quality products each time. Everything was beautifully made and the biscuits & toys went over very well!

Any shop that caters to companion animals has a special place in my heart, but Uber Duper Creations pulls on my heart strings even more because they give a percentage of their sales to Peaceful Prairie Sanctuary, (my favorite charity) and are located in Colorado, one of my very favorite places in the world. Plus, Pippi is just a wonderful person all around!

If you’re looking for something special for your companion animal, this is the place to check out. You will not be disappointed!

Sales & Team Challenge

Brisil Bath & Body is having a sale until October 24. Buy one scrub, get one free! Visit her shop for lots of decadent scents to pamper yourself with! She is also having a 25% off sale on all companion animal bowls!

Also, Heather is having a 15% off sale in all three of her shops- Holistically Heather, For The Love Of Vegan and Recycled Cycle. She has a large variety of great stuff, including treats, organic scarves, jams, wallets, cloth pads and much more. Make sure to check it all out!

Members! Today is the last day to enter in the October Team Challenge. Don't miss out on the fun & chance to win a prize!

Did you know?

DID YOU KNOW...

863 animals die every second

pigs are smarter than dogs and three year old children

more than half of the water consumed in the U.S.is used to raise livestock

vegetarians and vegans live an average 6-10 years longer than a meat eater

In every package of chickens there's a little bit of poop

cattle ranching is the number one cause of amazonian deforestation

a meat eater's risk of developing heart disease is 50% higher than a vegetarian

they flavor McDonalds french fries with meat juice

vegans save an average of 100 animals a year

animals like cows are kept in dark, filthy rooms, then they are taken in a metal truck which usually makes the cows sick and then they are killed in the slaughter house consciously

birds and chickens are kept in small cages, they are also debeaked with a hot blade so they don't peck the other animals to death

male chickens are either gassed, or suffocated in a bag because they don't lay eggs when they grow up

when cows are done making milk they are killed

pig farmers cut off a pigs tail so the other pigs tail don't bite it off due to the fact of the small space

when chickens are done laying eggs they are also suffocated in plastic bags

Animals are fed drugs so they can grow bigger

eating one hamburger uses enough energy to drive a small car 20 miles and take 17 showers

cows are excellent mothers

sheep can recognize other sheep's faces and human faces as well

goats are very curious and playful, have individual personalities and capable of great affection and loyalty

goats intelligence is comparable to that of pigs and dogs

if you give an apple or a small ball to a group of turkeys they'll play with it

hens and their babies communicate even while the chick is still in the egg

cows must be pregnant in order to give milk, they are artificially inseminated and confined in one stall where they have to stand in their own urine and feces

fish grow underwater algae gardens

to get milk out of cows farmers use electrical machines and usually the cows bleed and pus comes out so that's usually what you're drinking

mad cow disease is in the united states

fishing hurts. imagine a hook is stuck through your lips and you are being pulled up rapidly.... Pain right?

baby cows are separated from their moms within 24 hours of birth

raising animals for food needs more than a third of fossil fuels and raw materials in the U.S.

Going vegan does more to stop Global Warming than switching to a hybrid car

the U.S has the highest upper limit of milk pus concentration in the world

World go Vegan Days Promotional Event!

Several members of Vegan Etsy will be doing a promotional event from October 25 - 31 for World Go Vegan Days. Each member that is participating will have their own promotion in their shop, which can include sales, free shipping, buy one get one free, giving a percentage of sales to an animal charity, etc.. This Friday, I will be posting another announcement about the promotion along with a list of participating members, so stay tuned! If you are a member and would like to participate in this event, please visit this thread on the message board for details.

The Team Shop Is Open & VegNews!

There are two very exciting things to announce today.

First of all, our Team Shop is now open for business! Sampler packs are available for purchase and will be listed until we sell out of items that were submitted for the packs. Hurry and get yours before they're gone! All profits from the sales of the packs will be used for promoting our team and veganism, based on what the majority of the team decides on. There is also the option of donating some or all of the profits to an animal charity.

Second, the issue of VegNews that is arriving to subscribers now (and will be on newstands November 1) has our ad in the gift guide on page 54. Look on page 22 to see a letter to the editor about Vegan Etsy from Michele of Cards & Jewelry by Michele, page 42 to see Sarah Kramer holding a mug from Vegan Dish and a lovely ad in the marketplace for Vegan Dish on page 100!

Thanks so much to all members who contributed to the ad and team sampler packs!

Vegan Soap Giveaway!

Want a chance to win some wonderful vegan soap that's made by one of our members, Dirty Loves Clean? Well, then, all you have to do is head over here for the instructions to enter to win. It's easy and definitely worth your time!

A little about Dirty Loves Clean-

Do you like your bath with a touch of sweetness? Rich organic brown sugar and creamy shea butter will tickle your sweet tooth. Resist the urge to eat it.

This soap contains 40% olive oil & a whopping 10% shea butter. Superfatted 5% for extra moisturizing qualities.You will receive a bar approx. 4 oz

Handmade in a little kitchen in Brooklyn-- Dirty Loves Clean bath and beauty products are made using natural ingredients, are free of things commonly found in store bought products like petrochemicals, parabens, and phthalates, and are 100% vegan, which means no animal testing or animal products! Dirty Loves Clean is an eco-friendly operation-- products are packaged in handmade labels made from recycled paper, biodegradable bags are used for packaging, and recyclable materials and locally-sourced ingredients are used whenever possible. If you can't stand not winning this great soap, or want to pick some up for gifts you can get some right now.

Team Treasury!

Ariel of Big A Little A got a beautiful treasury- click here! Please show it some love and help to bump up it's "hotness" by leaving a comment and clicking on all of the items. The hotter it gets, the more it'll get noticed! Thank you, Ariel!!

Food Not Bombs

The following was written by Heather of Holistically Heather, For The Love Of Vegan and Recycled Cycle. In addition to contacting Heather, you can also post in this thread.

Gift bags for local food not bombs are filling up nicely with vegan etsian items. Anyone else who would like to donate items to a good cause and promote their shop, please get ahold of me!

What is food not bombs?if you want more info check out http://www.foodnotbombs.net/
We share a vegan hot meal with local folks who need it. Food not bombs is a worldwide organization that is always one of the first to show up at a natural disaster. Our local chapter just started and we are still struggling to get on our feet. We rely solely on donation and reclamation of food.

New Members & Team Treasuries!

I have two members to welcome to the team this week-

Held
Eat Your Greens

Please give them a warm welcome and don't forget to heart their shops!

I also got two team treasuries today that can be found
here and here. Please show them some love by leaving a comment and clicking on each featured item!

The Team Store Opens in One Week!

One week from today, I'll be listing team sampler packs that will be available to purchase in our team shop. The sampler packs will consist of a variety of samples & promo items from several of our members shops, including jewelry, soap, coupons, zines, lip balms, keychains, magnets and more. We will have a vegan-themed one available, too, which will include items that say "vegan" on them.

The profits from the packs will go into a treasury for the team and will be used for whatever the team decides on- ads, promo items, vegan advocacy, etc.. So, by shopping at our team shop you'll be helping to support our team, which means we can promote veganism even more! Plus, you'll have some super cool stuff in return.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

These are a great treat for this time of year. For the frosting in the middle, I use the fluffy buttercream frosting from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. You can use a vegan cream cheese frosting, too. This is a recipe that I veganized & tweaked to make just right. It took several tries, but they finally turned out perfect! Oh, and that picture is not of pies that I actually made. I found a stock photo on one of the online recipe sites. The ones I make do not turn out that purrty....

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

3 cups flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. ginger

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

2 1/2 cups brown sugar

1 cup canola oil

2 egg replacers (I use Ener-G brand)

2 cups pumpkin

1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and spices in large mixing bowl. In a seperate bowl, cream together sugar, oil, egg replacers, pumpkin and vanilla. Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix together. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto greased cookie sheets and bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until the center of the cookies springs back when lightly pressed. Cool thoroughly on wire racks or towels before spreading with filling.

Make the frosting of your choice and "sandwich" two cookies together.