World Farm Animals Day Promotion!

Several Vegan Etsy members are doing a team promotion for World Farm Animals Day from October 1 thru October 7. What this involves is that each member who is participating will be having their choice of promotion in their shop, which can range from a sale to donating a percentage of their sales to an animal charity. Please check out the World Farm Animals Day site for information and resources.

"WORLD FARM ANIMALS DAY, observed on (or around) October 2nd, is a time dedicated to exposing, mourning, and memorializing the needless suffering and slaughter of the more than 55 billion cows, pigs, turkeys, chickens, and other sentient land animals in the world's factory farms and slaughterhouses. It is a time for all to speak out against the atrocities and brutalization of animals raised for meat, eggs, and dairy."

Our team has a member that has her own sanctuary, For The Animals! To read her story, check out her shop for links to it as well as a video. All proceeds from her lovely shop go to the sanctuary.

Below are the members that are participating in this promotion. Everyone will have their promotion listed in their shop's intro. To find some of our items on Etsy, search for "WFAD" or click here.

New team treasury!

Michelle of My Zoetrope snagged this treasury. Please show it some love by leaving a comment and clicking on the featured items. Thank you, Michelle!

World Farm Animals Day Promotion

Vegan Etsy will be doing a team promotion for World Farm Animals Day from October 1 through October 7. This promotion will involve several of our stores with each doing their own promotion, which could include donating a percentage of sales to an animal charity, sales, free shipping or any number of other things. Please check back here a day or two before the promotion starts to find out which stores will be participating.

What is World Farm Animals Day, you ask? Their website explains it much better than I can! WORLD FARM ANIMALS DAY, observed on (or around) October 2nd, is a time dedicated to exposing, mourning, and memorializing the needless suffering and slaughter of the more than 55 billion cows, pigs, turkeys, chickens, and other sentient land animals in the world's factory farms and slaughterhouses. It is a time for all to speak out against the atrocities and brutalization of animals raised for meat, eggs, and dairy.

If you are a member and would like to participate in the promotion, please visit this thread for more information.

Calico Beans

This is a really simple recipe that's great served over rice with some steamed veggies on the side.

Calico Beans

1 package burger style crumbles
1 onion, chopped
1/2 cup brown sugar (Sucanat works fine)
1/2 cup ketchup
1 teaspoon mustard
2 teaspoons vinegar
2 16 oz. cans beans, your choice, drained (kidney, butter, black, etc.)
1 16 oz. can vegetarian baked beans

Combine everything in a large bowl and mix well. Pour into a casserole dish and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

Blog Giveaway!

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

This blog giveaway is going to be a bit different, you have to work for this one!

I make vegan whips/floggers and I need a list of things you could use them for, a funny list, for my listing on etsy.

So here is how you enter, go check out my whip, and enter a funny use for the whip/flogger...I will most likely end up using some of the answers...the answer that my roommate and I like the best will be the winner!
The winner will be announced next wednesday October 1st!
Vegan Flogger

This is all fine and dandy, but what do you win?
You will win a set of 3 organic lavender laundry sachets!!
A $10 value.
Lavender Laundry Sachets



Thanks to artbysusmitha for the idea for this giveaway!

http://www.holisticallyheathersgiveaways.blogspot.com

Review- Belle Sirota and Aguavino

I don't spend a huge amount of time in my car, but it's nice to have a few extra things in it that make me smile. My beetle has a little vase next to the steering wheel, so when Belle Sirota joined the team, I knew I had found the flower that I wanted to put in it. She was very accomodating, making me a custom flower of the size and colors I wanted. The result was a gorgeous flower made out of beads that sparkle when the sun hits them. My mom loved it so much that I ordered a second one for her beetle, only in colors to match her car. They were both perfect and the service was exceptional!

The second item I got was from Aguavino. We had just come home from a road trip to Boulder, where I had fallen in love with the prairie dogs that were by one of the dog parks we went to. Well, as soon as I saw that she had listed a necklace with a prairie dog on it, I had to have it. The necklace now hangs on my rearview mirror and I have named the prairie dog Myrtle. As with Belle Sirota, my experience with Aguavino was perfect. I would definitely recommend both of these stores!

Vote for the challenge winner!

The September team challenge is now closed and a poll for everyone to vote for your favorite is posted here. The poll will close in one week, so please take a minute to vote!

Members- Don't Miss Out!

This weekend is your last chance to enter in the September team challenge! As of midnight tomorrow, the challenge will be closed. After that, a poll will be made and everyone can vote for their favorite entry. The winner gets to choose a prize from this list of member stores. Don't miss out!

Also, a lot of members aren't taking advantage of the benefits you can receive from being a member. Please take some time to visit this page to learn about how you can make the most out of being on the team. They are great ways to help give you more exposure and publicity, so it's worth a little bit of time!

Forest Nymphs and Brisil Handmade Bath and Body is having a sale this weekend. 15% off all products THRU MONDAY Also, ...NEW- Ceramic necklaces and pet bowls in their "ArtbyFUNK" section and ...NEW- Botanical Facial Toner and Mist!

A team treasury to go with today's review!

Since today's review (see the post below this one) was on one of our shops that sells spectacular vegan food, I thought a food treasury was in order. You can find it here for the next few days!

New team treasury!

This treasury can be found here for the next few days!

Blog Giveaway!

The following was written by Heather of Holistically Heather. Her blog can be found here.

welcome welcome welcome, step right up to the latest blog giveaway!

This time I am giving away a vegan cooking zine that I made, its called "Vegans are Easy" it is chock full of easy vegan recipes for all of you aspiring vegans out there!

I am hoping to get as many entries this time, or even more!!!

Go to my shop, and find the item you like the most, come back here and post the link (make sure you leave a way to get ahold of you if you win) http://www.holisticallyheather.etsy.com/

ways to get more chances to win

*Post about this giveaway in your blog
*Put one of my ads on your blog
*Purchase an item from my shop
*Purchase an item from the vegan etsy shop to benefit the animals

Once you do these please come post again in the comments and link me to what you bought or where you posted! Good luck, spread the word, and thanks again!Winner will be drawn from a hat on Tuesday September 23rd! Good luck and please spread the word!

Team Calendar

Carla of Threaded Smiles made a great suggestion to me. From now on, I'll be adding our team events to our calendar, which you can find in the upper right hand corner of the home page on the message board or just click here.

I'll be putting up the due dates for projects as well as anything else that comes along. Feel free to add your own stuff! To do this, go to the bottom of the calendar's page and click on "add event" in the lower left hand corner. Don't be afraid to put personal stuff like sales in your shops.

I also set it up so that anything that is happening in the next 30 days will be displayed on the message board's home page right underneath today's birthdays section, so you can see what events and due dates are coming up in the next month.

Welcome to new members!

We have two new members this week, which brings us to over 100 members now! Please give them a warm welcome!!

Cyanide Sweetheart
For The Animals

Welcome to you all!

Humane Myth

Humane Myth is a community of former farmers, animal rescuers, animal sanctuary founders, educators, and artists working to create a just and nonviolent future. They describe the humane myth as "An idea being propagated by the animal-using industry and some animal protection organizations that it is possible to use and kill animals in a manner that can be fairly described as respectful or compassionate or humane.".

They started their website to "correct the misinformation that is associated with the Humane Myth, and to inspire a form of working for the peaceful transformation of our society that fully respects the inherent dignity and worth of animals and people alike.".

Member Sale!

Brisil Fresh Handmade Bath & Body is having a sale today thru Sunday. Buy any bath or body product (candles included) at regular price and receive a 2nd one at 50% off! If you're looking for some wonderful bath and body items, don't miss out on this great sale!

Recipe- Green Goddess Garlic Pizza

Today's recipe is from Heather of Holistically Heather, For The Love Of Vegan and Recycled Cycle.

You wont be let down, its a lot of work and kinda pricey but ohhh sooo goood!
I am making it simple by making you a shopping list seperate from all of the recipe instructions! It is a good time of year to make this, gather as many items from your garden or your local farmers markets!!!!! And most importantly, have fun! Throw in a cd, team up with a friend and make the dinner of your lifetime!

grocery list:
sugar
1 package of dry active yeast
olive oil
3 cups all purpose flour
salt
1/2 c. walnuts
4 c. basil leaves
2 bulbs and 9 cloves garlic
1/4 c. nutritional yeast (optional)
1 lemon
1 bunch spinach
1 c. chopped broccoli florets
1/2 c. pitted green olives
1 pound asparagus
1 pound green beans
1 c. frozen peas
1 c. slivered almonds
1 c. fresh parsley
4 scallions
nutmeg
1 package xtra firm tofu

Start oven at 350 degrees
roast a couple bulbs of garlic, by pulling off as much of the outer garlic paperlike stuff, and putting on a cookie sheet...keep an eye on it, the recipe says it takes a half hour, but it doesnt while you are cooking the garlic you might as well roast the 1/2 c. of walnuts for the pesto they take about 10 minutes!

start out with the pizza crust
1c. warm water in a bowl add 1 1/2 T. sugar to it and mix it..then add 1 packet of yeast
let sit around for about 10 minutes, if it is foamy and maybe even bubbling the yeast is good!
while you are waiting that 10 minutes you might as well assemble the other ingredients in a seperate bowl!
2 T. olive oil
3 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
knead and then let sit for about an hour in a warm place ( i never wait a full hour, im impatient)
punch the dough to get the bubble out

Classic Pesto
1/2 c. roasted walnuts (from above)
3 c. packed basil leaves
3 cloves of garlic smashed and coarsley chopped
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. olive oil
1/4 c. nutritional yeast (optional but i wouldnt do anything without my nutritional yeast!)
2 tsp. lemon juice
combine walnuts,basil, garlic, and salt in food processor or blender...slowly add olive oil...add nutrtional yeast and lemon juice, and pulse the mixture! Should be the consistency of a grainy paste not a puree.

Green Garden Puree
1 pound asparagus
1 pound green beans
1 c. frozen peas
1 c. slivered almonds
2 cloves garlic
1 c. loosely packed parsley leaves
4 scallions, green parts only
2 T olive oil
juice of half a lemon
dash ground nutmeg
1 package xtra firm tofu
1 c. chopped basil
Get a large bowl of ice ready! Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil...add asparagus and green beans, boil for 2 minutes...then add peas and boil another 2 minutes! drain veggies and then submerge in ice asap, to stop the cooking process!
Pulse almonds into a fine powder, add the boiled veggies, garlic, parsley, scallions, olive oil, lemon juice, and nutmeg....puree until smooth
In a large bowl mash the tofu, add the puree and mix well.. fold in the basil...cover and refrigerate until ready to use!

Green Goddess Garlic Pizza The finale!
pizza crusts
1 bunch of spinach
salt
roasted garlic
1 T. olive oil
the pesto
garden puree
1 c. choppped broccoli florets
1/2 c. pitted green olives
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

Preheat oven to 500 degrees
roll your dough out
the recipe says this makes 2 pizzas, but i use a standard rectangle cookie sheet and make 1 BIG pizza
your choice
Fill a skillet with about an inch of water and bring to a boil. add the spinach and sprinkle with salt, cook until spinach is wilted, about 1 minute. Drain in a colander and run some cold water over it, press out as much water as possible....set aside
Remove roasted garlic from their skins, place in a bowl and mash, add a T. of olive oil and mash into a paste
Spread garlic paste on dough ( i am typing the recipe as if you are only making one pizza, if you are making 2...split all ingredients you are adding in half!)
Spoon dallops of pesto on top, about 2 inches apart...fill in the empty spots with garden puree.. place spinach ,olives, broccoli florets, and sliced garlic randomly on the pizza...drizzle veggies with olive oil to prevent them from drying out...brush the edge of the crust with olive oil.
place crust in the bottom of the oven on a pizza stone if you have one, i use a cookie sheet
8-12 minutes in the oven on 500 degrees!

Now sit down, relax, kick off your shoes, and enjoy with a nice tall glass of hemp milk!!! <3 href="http://www.holisticallyheather.etsy.com/">http://www.holisticallyheather.etsy.com/

Our new banner & team challenge

You may have noticed that we have a new banner on our sites. Isn't it great? Thanks so much to our member Seb for making it for us!

The September team challenge is under way, so don't miss out on it! It's very easy to participate in it and if you enter, you'll have the chance of winning a prize from a member's shop. Details can be found here.

The Vegan Etsy Shop- Opening Soon!

By the end of next month, the Vegan Etsy Shop will have items for sale! For now, we'll just be having Vegan Etsy sample packs available. These will be packs of several smaller sample items from our shops. Depending on how many samples from everyone are sent in, there may be different types of sample packs. If all goes well, we'll be listing more items over time!

All profits from the shop will be used to purchase things that we decide on as a team- promotional materials, ads, etc., that will help to promote our team and veganism. There is also the option of donating to an animal charity of our choice if we would like to do that on a regular basis, but that would be dependent on how much profit the shop generates.

If any member would like to donate items for the sample packs, please contact me for the address to send them do. If you have any questions or want more information, please visit this thread.

Review- Starrlight Jewelry

Today's review is by Carla of Threaded Smiles.

The “Wysteria” necklace created by Starrlight Jewelry, a proud, active member of Vegan Etsy, caught my attention for three reasons: 1. It was made by a fellow vegan, 2. it has purple, a color that I have been wearing a lot more lately, and 3. it has a razor blade-reminiscent of “Dimebag Darryl” of Pantera.

So in a flash, virtually over the weekend, the package arrived safely from Hawaii to Texas. I hurry to the counter with my daughter tagging along behind me, dying for me to rip it open. Inside the bubbled parcel is an envelope of goodies with magnets and cards-very exciting to get lots of things to look at. Now to the big stuff, the necklace!! The box is wrapped in bubble wrap, nice to know my precious is secure, and has a purple ribbon. As I open it, snatch, my sweet little preteen grabs the box and shouts with glee how she LOVES it. I forgot for a second that purple is HER favorite color. Ooh yes, and there were matching earrings that Starr generously added. These faux pearls came from a necklace from the 80’s-even better they have been repurposed. So my daughter made out like a bandit with an extraordinary set of jewelry made by Starr. I highly recommend Starrlight Jewelry for anyone that loves jewelry- she’s definitely a favorite for Holiday gifts! Thanks for the care you put in your product and packaging, you really made our day!

Welcome to new members!

We have one new member this week who I would like to welcome to the team.

Monkeys Always Look

Please give her a warm welcome!

New Team Treasury!

This one can be found here for the next few days. Please show the featured items some love by clicking on them and leaving a comment!

Review- Tami's Soapworks

I have purchased soap for both myself and my husband from Tami's Soapworks several times now and I can honestly say that I've never been disappointed at all.

Not only is her shipping the fastest ever (I usually receive my orders within a few days!), but her soap is quite remarkable. The bars are a good size and last a long time. They sudz up very nicely and the scent is perfect- not weak but also not overpowering. Both my husband and I never find that our skin is dry after showering. Actually, it's quite the opposite. If anything, they're quite moisturizing!

I find myself wanting to take a longer shower sometimes because her soaps smell so good and feel so luxurious. Although there hasn't been a scent that I don't like, my very favorite ones are raspberry vanilla, green tea & honeysuckle, vanilla sandalwood and black tea & berries. My husband loves woodstock and by the falls.

The costs are very reasonable. Six bars of soap ship for $4.80 and 7 or more bars ship for $8.90, both priority mail. Minimal packaging is used and they are made in small batches, so you'll not only be buying vegan soap made by a vegan, but receiving a high quality product that is eco-friendly.

I highly recommend giving her soaps a try. You won't be disappointed!

Team Events- Please join in!!

There are several things that we have come up with for the team to do. Below you'll find a list of them along with links to the threads on the message board about them. Please check everything out and participate in the ones that you can!

First of all, there are four events that we'd like to see what kind of participation we could get before getting them rolling. Please vote in the poll about what things you'd like to participate in (please only vote if you'll actually do it!) and feel free to comment or ask questions about any of it in this thread. The four events are:

Selling promo items in our team shop- This would be a lot like The Little Black Box, but the purpose of it would be raising money for our team so that we can buy ads, promotional materials or anything else we would like. Members would send promotional items (and their business cards) to me and I would list them. Unless if they were larger items that are worth more, I would put a bunch of the items together and sell them as a "Vegan Etsy Sampler". I was also thinking that we could do the same for the cookbook that we're doing with CFE & EtsyVeg. I'll front the cost for several cookbooks and when they sell, the profits will go to the team.

Holiday gift exchange- This is for fun and building our team's community, which is mighty important! Members that are participating will send their info for the exchange into the person running it and that person will randomly pick people for each other. It will be completely anonymous until everyone gets their holiday gift from their person. We will have a $$ cap on what everyone can spend (to keep it affordable for everyone) and there will be a deadline for when you need to send your gift out to your recipient. This is basically a secret santa type of thing.

Team promo swaps- Whoever is participating would be split up into even groups (with groups consisting of about 5 people). Each person in the group has to send the rest of the people in their group 10 promotional items. You could use the items to put in your packages to customers to help support your fellow team members.

Trade for review- This is basically like the holiday gift exchange except that you would be writing a review about the person that sent you stuff and the review would be posted on our blog. We would have a $$ cap on this, too. This would be a great team builder and would really help to build our team's cohesiveness!

We also have several things going on that you can get involved in:

World Farm Animals Day Promotion- October 2 is World Farm Animals Day, so Vegan Etsy will be doing a team promotion. The way this promotion works is that those members who want to participate will decide on what kind of promotion they want to do within their own shop. This can be a sale, offering free shipping, buy one get one free, giving a large percentage of purchases to an animal charity, etc.. You decide what you want your own promotion to be. We will have the promotion last for one week, during which time you will have the promotion in your shop with an announcement for it in your shop's intro about what the promotion is and why you are doing it. The promotion will be posted about her along with a list of all participating shops. Members also help to spread the word as much as possible. The promotion is taking place from October 1st through the 7th. Details can be found here.

The Little Black Box- This is taking place in January, but if you're going to be in it you need to let Kim know as soon as possible. It's a really great thing that will give your store and the team a ton of exposure. We're also the sponsor of the month on The Little Black Box site, which will give us even more exposure. A big thank you to Starrlight Jewelry's husband for paying for the sponsorship! Details can be found here and here.

Team Games & Challenges- These are ongoing, monthly events that are announced on a regular basis. You have the chance to win prizes in them! Details can be found here and here. The September challenge just started yesterday, so please check it out here!

Team Cookbook- This is something we're doing in collaboration with CFE & EtsyVeg. If you're interested in submitting a recipe, please go here for details. All recipes in the cookbook will be vegan, of course. :)

Food Not Bombs Raffle Basket- Holistically Heather is putting together a basket to raffle off for Food Not Bombs. She needs donations for the basket as well as ideas on where to raffle it off. Please let her know if you will donate and share any ideas with her here.

Getting Fit & Healthy Support Group- Yup, that's right! I started this thread for those of us that want to make big or small changes to improve or maintain their fitness and health. It's technically not an event, but it is a group activity that can benefit anyone who wants to be involved. All you need to do is post in the thread whenever you have something to say!

As always, I'm accepting any recipes, reviews, news pertaining to your shop or the team and interviews to be posted here. We also have this thread for anyone who wants to give a member discount in their shop or is willing to trade. I'm also looking for a new team banner. If you'd like to make one, please see this thread for details.

There's a lot more going on at the message board, so please check in as much as you can. We'd love to see you there!