New Online Store

www.mariaracines.com

Come visit!!!

I have a $25 giveaway going on until February 14th, 2012! Just take a peek at the fan page on Facebook www.facebook.com/dropofsunshine

:) Maria

Giveaway Winner!!!

Thanks to our beautiful people over at Random.org, I won't have to print out 138 little pieces of paper and draw one. So here goes! The list of the people that entered is as follows (bear with me, it's a lot of people):

Strawberry Anarchy 1
2VirgosDesign 2, 3
Zizzybob 4, 5, 6
Michele P 7, 8, 9, 10
The monkeys mama 11, 12,
Miss Judy Bloom 13,
Melissa 14, 15,
Bella 16, 17
Amber 18, 19
Caroline 20, 21
Comfort Joy Designs 22, 23
Carol VR 24, 25
DEA ANGEL 26
Amanda 27, 28, 29
Jc 30, 31
Va 32, 33
Bridget 34, 35
Aljna 36, 37
Meninheira 38
Angeloco 39, 40, 41
Celeste 42, 43
Perfect blue moon 44
Lin3arossa 45, 46
Divaqueenie 47
Katjamaria 48
Mframe 49, 50, 51, 52
Kathy55439 53
International Giveaways 54, 55, 56, 57
Sherry 58, 59
Miranda 60
Shalamaryta 61, 62, 63
Dor 64, 65
The soap corner 66, 67
Khaski 68, 69
Sarah 70, 71, 72, 73
Digital Misfit 74
Trisha too 75, 76
Chris and Sarah 77
Fashion frugality 78, 79
Rose 80
Aik 81, 82, 83, 84, 85
Deedles 86
Katie 87
Dovile 88, 89 90
Heather! 91, 92, 93, 94, 95
Clenna 96, 97, 98
Daeron 99, 100, 101, 102, 103
Nicole D. 104
Mim 105, 106
Bachuchay 107
Vaverine 108
Abby 109, 111 (referral)
Selene 110
Tazimd 112
Arielle 113, 114
John and Debbie 115
Michelle 116, 117
Heidi 118
Megan May 119, 120, 121, 122
Lisa 123, 124, 125, 126
Roxy 127, 128
h. 129
Noosa 130
Tylerpants 131, 132
Trixx 133, 134
Debbiejackson 135
Arlette 136
Kristen 137
EMC 138

And the winner is...

Congratulations to #90 - Dovile! I will contact you through email to arrange the shipping of the item you choose.

To all of the other participants, I am offering an 8% discount until Thursday, December 31st! Please understand that to take advantage of this offer, I will have to refund your money after payment via PayPal, as Etsy does not have coupon codes. Use code GIVEAWAY on the notes to seller and I will make sure to give you your refund ASAP :)

Thanks to all for participating!!!

Last chance to enter the giveaway!

Today is THE day! The giveaway winner for ANY one item (totaling up to $15) will be chosen at 11:00 pm EST and it will be posted tomorrow, December 24th, at 12:00 pm EST. The prize will be shipped out on Monday, December 28th. There is still a chance for you to enter! Click here to go to the giveaway post. Thanks to all of those already participating :)

Please post your comments on the other blog entry. Any comments here won't count as an extra entry to the giveaway, sorry!

♥, Maria

Thursday Treasures - Toys

Don't forget the little ones - or the little-big ones. I love toys, and I think I always will. These are just brief examples of everything you can get on Etsy. Remember, handmade is the way to go!

Wee Matryoshka dolls - set of 2
$18 at Littleredcaboose

First tool set (baby rattles)
$36 at fede

Owl in black
$20 at vivikas

2 eggs sunny side up - play food
$6 at CricketandBear

Flippity Dippity Frog Plush
$15 at Handmade3D

Jumbo Crayon Soap set
$11.50 at carvelcountrysoaps

Soft Baby Toy Jumble ball
$18 at woodponddesigns

Natural Wooden Toy Sports Car - box of 12
$32 at countrysidegiftsllc

Rice Mice in shades of blue - set of 3
$12 at worksofwhimsy

Green with Rainbow stripes fuzzy Octopod
$18 at OopisNein

Don't forget to nominate your favorites for next week in the comments below! Next week's topic will be: Girly gifts

P.S.: If you liked these, remember to re-tweet! Click on the green button to the bottom right hand of this post. Thanks!

Birthday/Christmas giveaway!

Well, it's my birthday today :) and I wanted to celebrate by posting my very first giveaway! Since I am the most indecisive person on Earth, I am giving you the chance to pick ANY one item (totaling up to $15) for you to take home on Christmas Eve. If you prefer something that is more than $15 then this amount can be discounted from a higher priced item. The winning item will be carefully packed ready for gift giving to yourself or someone else! There are many things to choose from, good luck!

Here are the rules. Doing each one qualifies you for one entry (limit 7 per person):

1. Visit my shop (dropofsunshine.etsy.com) HERE and share this with me: which is your favorite item?
2. Follow my blog (dropofsunshinedesign.blogspot.com) HERE
   
3. Follow me on Twitter (www.twitter.com/dropofsunshine) HERE
4. Become a fan of Drop of Sunshine on Facebook (www.facebook.com/dropofsunshine) HERE Rule has been cancelled
   
5. Make a post on your blog about this giveaway and leave the link on the comments
   
6. Tweet about this giveaway and add @Dropofsunshine to it so I can see it
7. Sign up for my e-mail updates via Feedburner - you can find it on the right column under the blog followers. It’s free and if you change your mind later, you can always unsubscribe
8. Refer someone to this blog and tell them to post your name on the comments

The giveaway winner will be selected on Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009 and the results of the picking will be posted on this blog on Thursday, December 24th, 2009.

UPDATE 12/11/09: As I have been recently informed, Facebook has certain rules about giveaways and contests, so the rule #4 "Become a fan of Drop of Sunshine on Facebook (www.facebook.com/dropofsunshine) HERE" has been removed. If you became a fan prior to this update, your entry will count. You can still become a fan but this won't guarantee an entry on the raffle. Thanks and sorry for the inconvenience!

Thursday Treasures - Manly gifts

It's week 3 - and I have 5 days to go for my birthday yay! Watch out for a giveaway soon. Just saying :)

Back to Thursday Treasures... Don't you find it extremely hard to buy a gift for that man in your life? Well, today I'm giving you not only one, but ten solutions to that problem!

Record Bifold Wallet with snap
$28 at QuietDoing

Sterling Silver Mandolin Guitar Pick - Personalized
$62 at AndrosCreations

The Dude Scarf - Hand knit
$40 at iWunder

Wolf Man - Original painting
$70 at cupcakebomb

Hangman
$150 at RCFAW

Black Gray White LEGO Tile Cufflinks
$16.99 at Cufflinks

Ribbon Stripe Silk Tie
$17.50 at rabbitstop

Rustic Tied Leather Journal
$18.50 at KarleighJae

2 Pirate Skull Pint Glasses
$28 at BreadandBadger

Smells like a man
$6 at tiasoap

Don't forget to nominate your favorites for next week in the comments below! Next week's topic will be: Toys

P.S.: If you liked these, remember to re-tweet! Click on the green button to the bottom right hand of this post. Thanks!

Thursday Treasures - Home Accessories

Wow, a week zipped by and I barely noticed! Basically I have been counting down to the start of the holiday madness: Thanksgiving! This year I'm trying out my mom's classic cheesecake - which is usually strawberry - with a blueberry twist. Hopefully it turns out good! For this week 's Thursday Treasures I've chosen the Home Accessories category, in honor to the gathering of families at home during the holiday season.

Spring Bird Napkin Rings (Eggnog) - set of 2
$32 at Greenbriar

Branch Design Cup - Set of four
$52 at soule

Donut Felt Trivets - Set of 2
$30 at moufelt

Mini White Porcelain Vase - Winter Edition
$12 at RouDesigns

Red Poppy Flower Art Deco Mural - Set of 2 decals
$27.95 at Charming925

Moss Terrarium No. 17
$24 at madebymavis

Honeycomb Modern Wall Clock
$59 at pilotdesign

Fused glass platter with glass cane accents
$130 by kristysly

Poppy Flower and Polka Dots Recycled Rack
$32 by BululuStudio

Tied up pillow case in dark chocolate, beige and leaf green -16 inch
$39 at rukkola

Don't forget to nominate your favorites for next week in the comments below! Next week's topic will be: Manly Gifts

P.S.: If you liked these, remember to re-tweet! Click on the green button to the bottom right hand of this post. Thanks!

Thursday Treasures - Paper Goods

The countdown has started, in five weeks it's Christmas! For this weeks edition of Thursday Treasures I have chosen the Paper Goods category: Items to pack with, to mark, to include in your gifts, to send, to keep track.

Best Christmas Ever Mini Note Cards - Set of 5
$6 at whimsypics

Christmas Tags - I felt your presence - Set of 6
$6.50 at ableandgame

Bookmark Calendar 2010
$12 at kifli

6 x 8 Book with Yellow Green Diamonds
$45 at windyweatherbindery

2010 Mini Print-Ready Calendar
$5 at littleTstudio

Holiday Cards - 4 designs to choose from
$32 at khamm75

2010 Giclee Calendar
$30 by joojoo

Modern Drink Markers - Carnival pack
$8 at thiswineismine

New Years Firecrackers card
$3.50 at SleepUnderStars

Unique, funny thank you card
$4.50 at NeatThings

Don't forget to nominate your favorites for next week in the comments below! Next week's topic will be: Home Accessories

P.S.: If you liked these, remember to re-tweet! Click on the green button to the bottom right hand of this post. Thanks!

Thursday Treasures - Sneak peek!

image: Poinsettias on red felt by kutz

Back again with the Thursday Treasures theme, only this time to count down to Christmas and gift giving! Five weeks are left until we get to that beautiful morning where wrapping paper floods our floors, shrieks of happiness fill up the rooms and smiles are plenty. As there are five weeks left, there will be five different approaches to the Treasures, with a different topic every week. The products featured will be:

• Paper Goods - November 19th
• Home Accessories - November 26th
• Manly Gifts - December 3rd
• Toys - December 10th
• Girly Gifts - December 17th

All readers have a chance to nominate shops you know have these kind of items, as there will be ten spots every week for me to fill up. Help me find my new favorite shops! Leave a comment below with the item or Etsy shop you're nominating.

Giveaway - First year of the Spanglish Team!

If you are a lover of all handmade things and would like a taste of what Etsy and the Spanglish Team is all about, this is your big chance! Fifteen miembros of the team have pitched into a Piñata (made by another one of our members, Lolos, our team co-founder!) by giving donations from their own Etsy shops - how nice of them!

The giveaway is until Sunday, November 15th, so hurry!!! You will find all the rules in the Etsy Spanglish Team blog, as well as the pictures of all the goodies you can win. Don't miss out!

Update: The winner was Cindy, congratulations!!!

Please vote!

If you have been reading this blog for a while, you might remember the story I wrote about back in March. It was about a man in Queens, NY, that gives a lot to the community. Please read it here.

The reason of this post today is that I received an email saying Jorge Munoz, the angel in Queens, is nominated for CNN Hero of the Year 2009. Please vote for him as I personally think he is doing a selfless job by giving a lot to people he barely knows! To vote, click on the following link:

http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cnn.heroes/vote/

You can vote many times a day, and many days in a row. There is no limit! Read his story on An Angel in Queens.org and see for yourself what this humble man and his mom are doing for the community.

Defend art copyrights

His name is John T. Unger, and he is trying to maintain his sustainable art/sculpture idea as his own. His original art has been copied by a manufacturer. He is now being sued to overturn his copyrights and continue making knockoffs of his own work.

This artist's story is just one of many out there that have the same experience. He is trying to raise awareness - and save his art! If you can, please pledge any dollar amount to help him fund his defense in court. He has spent a lot of money toward it already. Please click here, he needs anything you can help him with! From $1 to as much as you can. Let's lend a hand to keeping our own art copyrights rightfully ours.