JANUARY 2011 EFA CHALLENGE: WiNTER WONDERLAND

Hey Team!

Hope everyone is enjoying their holidays!!

It's time to enter our new challenge for the new year!! Yeah!

For January 2011, we have a great season-inspired theme called-- (drumroll please)..."Winter Wonderland"!

Depict your favorite, cute white winterland animals or flowers! Think... tones of white ! Think... cold, think... warm, think... adorable furries! Think of... lovely winter landscapes or create a wonderful snugly indoor craft!

Theme is open to artist interpretation so use your imagination!!

Share your wonderful talents with the world, or at least our team, and promote your store!

Need more inspiration?

Try poetry...

Winter garden

by Matsuo Basho

"Winter garden,

the moon thinned to a thread,

insects singing."

or

The Snow Storm

by Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Announced by all the trumpets of the sky,

Arrives the snow, and, driving o'er the fields,

Seems nowhere to alight: the whited air

Hides hills and woods, the river and the heaven,

And veils the farm-house at the garden's end.

The sled and traveller stopped, the courier's feet

Delayed, all friends shut out, the housemates sit

Around the radiant fireplace, enclosed

In a tumultuous privacy of Storm."

If you are an EFA member &

would like to submit an entry...

click HERE for instructions !

THANKS

Heather of thebluewindmill

EFA 2011 CHALLENGE THEMES-at-a GLANCE

A new year is almost upon us !

Below you will find the new themes

for EFA's Monthly Challenges...

We look forward to seeing your entries

on the Challenge blog throughout 2011 !

2011 EFA CHALLENGE

THEMES-at-a GLANCE

January 2011

"Winter Wonderland"

... depict white winterland animals or flowers.

Tag your listing with: teamefawinter

February 2011

"Companions Corner"

... pay homage to your non-human companions and family.

Tag your listing with: teamefacompanion

March 2011

"Sweet Shelter & Cozy Comforts"

... depict 'homes' or things for the home, us or 'theirs'.

Tag your listing with: teamefashelter

April 2011

"Raining Cats and Dogs"

... rain rain rain... things to do with cats, dogs & lots of rain.

Tag your listing with: teamefaraining

May 2011

"Flora and Fauna"

... show off your regional wildlife: flowers and/or animals.

Tag your listing with: teamefaflora

June 2011

"Off to the Beach"

... show us a day out at the beach !

Tag your listing with: teamefabeach

July 2011

"In the Deep Blue"

... a great month to display Oceanic & Sea-fluenced products

Tag your listing with: teamefadeepblue

August 2011

"Reptiles Rock!"

... its time for the reptiles to come out.

Tag your listing with: teamefareptiles

September 2011

"On The Farm"

... feature farmland or animals that can be found on the farm

Tag your listing with: teamefafarm

October 2011

"Things that go Bump in the Night"

... Creatures of the night unite !

Tag your listing with: teamefanight

November 2011

"Thanks for the Smiles"

... products that have humour & make one smile :)

Tag your listing with: teamefasmiles

December 2011

"Treats and Toys"

... what the animals want for the holidays !

Tag your listing with: teamefatreats

Click HERE for directions on

HOW TO ENTER a MONTHLY CHALLENGE !

HOW TO enter EFA's Monthly Challenges

Entering the monthly Etsy for Animals Challenge is a fun way to participate in the EFA street team !

Every month there is an opportunity for EFA's members to submit one of their product listings to be featured on the Challenge Blog. Each month has a specific theme which the listing must reflect in some way.

EFA has a blog that is solely dedicated to our Monthly Challenges. Our Challenge Blog provides the perfect venue and setting to display our monthly entries... not only does it make for a festive display of goods but it's also a wonderful marketing opportunity for EFA's artists & suppliers to introduce themselves and talk about how they help animals !

If you are an EFA member & would like to submit an entry, please convo our Challenge Blog Leader, Jess of jessicalynneart, with the following information:

1. PROViDE the link to an item in your shop that fits the theme or has been created for the theme.

2. EXPLAiN how you think the item fits the monthly Challenge theme

3. TELL US a bit about your work/donations/volunteer work with animals or animal charities

4. TiTLE your convo with the name of the MONTH and the word CHALLENGE, for example: JANUARY CHALLENGE.

Two more important steps:

5. TAG your Etsy listing with the monthly Challenge theme tag (see the Themes-at-a-glance list) and be sure to ALSO keep your regular team tag in place, either 'team efa' or 'team efa cotm'.

6. Renew your listing !

Remember, when we've received sixteen qualifying entries... these will be featured in a Treasury and in our Challenge Competition, where the winner will get a free etsy mini 1x1 advertising slot on EFA's Challenge blog the following month.

Challenge entries are also promoted on Etsy Teams, EFA's Yahoo Groups, Twitter and Facebook... so get your entries in asap !

A BiG Thank you to our Challenge Leader: Heather of thebluewindmill & Jess of jessicalynneart who serves as our Challenge Blog Leader.

Comments ? Suggestions ? Feel free to contact us !

Little Deer Notecards by thebluewindmill

This entry fits the challenge by using the definition of old that means "previously existing" or "former" as these cards were made from an already-existing image, the "Little Deer" watercolor painting in my store.

I volunteer as challenge promoter for the team and routinely donate to EFA's COTM!

Dog Collar Clip On ChristmasNAUGHTY bottle cap charm by Shaggychic

Recycled bottle cap (flattened) turned into a dog collar Christmas tag. This cute collar decoration matches our "Naughty" shirts. Same graphic in a flattened bottle cap, covered with a resin dome;two Swarovaski crystals and a bead dangle from bottom. The extra large clasp on top will attach to D-ring on dog collar. I currently have a holiday challenge in my blog (www.shaggychicpetz.com) for everyone who comes by and leaves a little note about a pet, or just says leaves a message, I am putting one of my catnip Fortune Cookies in a jar. Then on Christmas Eve I will take it to our local animal shelter and give all the collected catnip toys to them for the kitties that are there. The jar is filling up fast, first week over 30 cookies in the jar!

Victorian Vintage Dove Pin by mvegan5

Vintage/recycled findings come together in this unique pin, measures about 2" across. 10% of shop sales go to the EFA Charity of the Month; http://efaartistshelpinganimals.org/charities.htm
or to the Tel Aviv SPCA http://www.spcaisrael.org

Billfold Wallet / Jeans by AubreyMade

The jeans fabric was actually a huge pair of pants (xxxxl) probably for a big man but it was not worn because it still had its tag when I found it. I washed it and kept it in my closet full of fabric for a long time. Someone asked me to make a wallet for a preteen and remembered I have this pair of jeans which is perfect for this project and this is what came out of it.

I give 15% of the purchase price on selected items to the COTM. I love to feed stray kitties.

Knit Catnip Mouse is Bright Rosy Pink by VivaLeChat

This mouse fits the theme because I made it using up the last of the pink yarn (that's why it is slightly smaller and has a blunter nose than my normal mouse pattern). Whenever I use up a skein, I allow myself to buy a new skein--so it's time to go shopping!

I donate a third of my profit to imom.org, a charity that fundraises for families that cannot afford needed emergency vet expenses for their companion animals

Warm Wishes Mug - Handmade Card by fairycardmaker

It's no secret that I'm not the biggest fan of pink. On top of that, I have 3 nephews and no nieces, so very little use for pink papers, really. Those are the reasons why this pretty pink paper has been in my stash for about three years! Well, OUT WITH IT now! I decided to use a monochromatic colour scheme and suddenly, this two-toned pink paper came in very handy!

15% of the proceeds from the sale of this Winter Wishes mug card will go to SOAR: Southern Ontario Animal Rescue. It is a small, registered charity out of Brampton, Ontario, Canada that arranges for the rescue, foster care and adoption of dogs from all over. This September, one of their principal volunteers lost her battle with cancer so the charity has been hit hard. Every little bit will help!

This year, my creative crew and I made over 40 handmade cards for SOAR to use for the 2010 holiday season!

New York City Token Pendant

Out with old. In 2003 New York City discontinued the use of subway tokens when they introduced the "metro card." In a recent clear out of some dresser drawers I discovered some tokens. No longer "good for one fare", they make great jewelry.

This necklace, as well as other items in my shop, supports EFA's charity of the month program with 10 to 50% donations. The sale of our "Matthew and Me" paintings support rehabilitating turtles since the BP oil spill.

Husky Kisses Embroidered Pillow Cover for Christmas by FaerieGood

I had fun creating this OOAK design by combining and reversing these motifs and choosing the colors to sew it out. I then matched some different Christmas prints and used a log cabin quilt piecing design to complete this fun pillow for the Husky lovers out there.

10% of this sale will go to help the dogs at S*N*O, http://www.siberiansneeding owners.org
go there to read some of these dog's remarkable rescue stories and how this rescue is making a big difference in the lives of these Northern Breed Dogs.

Christmas Kitty Coasters 2 by Catcalls

These bright cheery coasters are made from OLD cotton fabric that has sitting idle for years! But it now has been reincarnated into four sweet Christmas kitty coasters, purrrfect for the holidays.
A portion of every month's earnings goes to support my local rescue for cage sponsorship. I am also very fond of the Feral Cat Rescue, last month's charity, and send catnip toys for the kitties to play with.

Apple Wood Brizel Brigid Cross by Brizel4TheAnimals

Brizel’s Brigid Crosses are handcrafted & individually unique, made from apple wood and sewn together with colored hemp cord. They are an original adaptation of a very ancient pre-christian Celtic tradition.

Brigid Crosses are solar symbols, equal armed and stretching in four directions, which symbolically encourages the strength of the Sun through our front doors and into our homes. It is a talisman, usually hung above the inside of the front door or near the hearth, and it is believed to bring protection, blessing, fertility and prosperity into our households.

On the eve of St. Brigid’s Day. Crosses from the previous year are burned & replaced with new ones affirming the old saying: “Out with the old, and in with the new”.

***

Brizel, aka Nicole, owns some 20 acres up in the mountains of no. Cal where I have planted orchards and floral gardens. This habitat attracts birds, butterflies, bees, bats, hummingbirds... and it is also a seasonal mating ground for dragonflies ! Twilight is part of a 2000 acre ranch out in the chaparral wilderness where wild animals still roam. I work to provide a safe loving home for my animal rescues; I participate in EFA's COTM program; and volunteer as Co-Secretary & Blog Mistress for TEAM EFA.

RECYCLED CIRCUIT BOARD POOCH BROOCH by DebbyAremDesigns

This pooch brooch has been made using all recycled items - a recycled circuit board, recycled scrap brass, recycled scrap copper, recycled cabochon

When I'm not on Etsy , I volunteer with 2 local dog rescues - one is an all breed rescue and the other is Samoyed rescue. I do vet checks, home visits, transport if possible,and adoption shows. My husband ( who works with me in the Etsy shop ) does most of the photography for the all breed rescue of the dogs or puppies that come in before going to their foster homes. We also donate money whenever possible.