monday, monday...

what a wonderful monday indeed! i woke up this morning to 3 notifications that some fellow etsians had featured monkey and squirrel goodies in the their treasuries! for those of you who don't know what a treasury is, here's a brief description for you...

imagine taking all your favorite little keepsakes that you own, and then also take the ones that you wished you owned, and put them on a display shelf for all to see. an etsy treasury is someones very own little display shelf. so you can imagine how flattering it is when someone picks out your shop and basically gives you a cyberspace shout out! take a look at "distressed and blue", "flap your wings", and "clever"... all super cute little treasuries!

as if this delightful news wasn't enough. Scoutie Girl, one of my favorite blogs out there, is doing a feature on Monkey and Squirrel. readers can enter, just by commenting, for a chance to win one of my cast iron hangers, and which hanger you get is totally up to you!

after having only been doing the etsy thing about 2 months it's really quite nice to get a little pat on the back. so all in all, i'd have to say that this is a lovely way to kick off my week...

salvaged cast iron refinishing!

when i started monkey and squirrel, my etsy shop, the idea was for it to be mostly small paintings and picture frames. as kind of a last minute add on i decided to post a few of my favorite cast iron finds that i had hand painted over the previous few months. little did i know that i was discovering an untouched niche in the etsy world... or so it seems. these cast iron pieces have become my best selling items. in fact i would say that approximately 95% of my sales are c.i.g (cast iron goodies, as i've come to call them). i thought i'd share the process with all y'all that each of these pieces goes through.

it all starts with the hunt! there is a huge antique/salvage shop out in the sticks of NC where i find my c.i.g's. they're all sitting outside in piles. some organized, some not. often they are covered in rust and dirt, generally not looking so hot.

once i get them home i sand off all the crud, scrub off the dirt and see what lies underneath. it's amazing how much better they look after just this step alone. i often think about leaving them in this stage and just giving them a clear coat... but i rarely do. then i chose a color, or in some cases two, that best suites my newly cleaned up piece. i paint it and once i've got it looking brand new...

i take the sand paper to it! these really do look best slightly distressed so you can tell that they were once in the trenches! they all get finished off with a clear coating and voila... a lovely little goody for your home! one of them is even featured in an etsy storque article! yippy!!!

ANNIE!!!

if you don't already know, i work at a dog rescue. an amazing job that i couldn't possibly say enough good things about. except when i see one of my favorite dogs get passed over again and again in favor of a new cute puppy that has just arrived. so... i'd just like to take a minute to give a little shout out to my favorite gal, annie.

annie is a pit, boxer mix. just calling her by that alone works against her. these are considered "bully breeds" and are often a tough adoption. it makes me angry, to say the least. she is quite possibly the sweetest, most affectionate dog that we've got at the rescue right now. she would love for nothing more then to curl up in your lap, or have you rub her belly all day. no exaggeration, if you were to rub her belly she would allow it to continue forever. she's also a HUGE fan of car rides. the best co-pilot you could ask for!

i love this dog with every little bit of me. you may be asking yourself, "if you love her so much, why don't YOU adopt her?". well i would in a heartbeat. only my husband and i moved into an apartment complex that doesn't allow dogs. so until my lease is up... no annie for me. if she is still available however, you best believe she's coming home with me!

so please just take a look at miss annie. pass this along to anyone you know who is a dog lover as well. we've had her for over a year and it's breaking my heart that she hasn't found her forever home... will you help her?