Two Artisan Sisters Blog

Curated By: AfterDarkVint...

Fine Art Photography

This great fun collection curated by ProsperosBookshelf on Artfire features items from 12 different studios. It features our Jolly Old St Nick Norman Rockwell Collector Plate! Hope you have fun checking all of these great items and studios!

Two Artisan Sisters Featured in Spring Collection

2011-02-28T18:18:00.003-05:00

Spring Flowers

Red Stocking Stuffers Galore!

Handmade Gifts

Here is a great collection entitled Spring which we were honored to have been featured in today. It is curated by AfterDarkVintage. Check out AfterDarkVintage and all of the great studios represented in this lovely collection!

Two Artisan Sisters Featured in Red Stocking Stuffers Galore Collection!

2010-12-04T18:08:00.004-05:00

Curated By: GoldBracelets

Dashing Designer Ties A Gift Guide Of Th...

Craft Supplies

Wow! We are so honored to have been featured in so many beautiful collections over the last couple of days! Here is the latest one and we have two items that are featured. Check it out and see if you can find them!

Dashing Designer Ties A Gift Guide Of Things To Buy For Him

2010-12-01T10:17:00.004-05:00

Terrific Teal Gifts and Treasures

Unique Gifts

Just wanted to post some of our fabulous newly listed designer ties. These would make a great gift for your favorite guy whether he's your cousin, nephew, brother, father, boyfriend, or husband.

Two Artisan Sisters Featured in Terrific Teal Gifts and Treasures Collection

2010-11-17T18:20:00.004-05:00

Don't you just love all the gorgoeus shades of teal in this collection! They are all striking to say the least! As you can see our teal colored hand knitted hat is one of the featured items!

Curated By: NaturesSecrets

Handmade Soap

A Passion For Green Collection By Two Artisan Sisters

2010-10-18T13:41:00.003-04:00

We always support green ideas, but these are a very different way of being Green! Purchasing and wearing or using one or all of these beautiful artisan items will have your friends green with envy and wanting to know where you got it!

A Passion For Green

Curated By: sunnyskiesjew...

Handmade Gifts

Sunny Days Collection Features Two Artisan Sisters

2010-10-03T10:09:00.005-04:00

What a beautiful, bright and warm "Sunny Days Collection!" Just click on each item and it will take you to the items full description page! Have fun checking out all of the items in this outstanding collection!

Sunny Days

Curated By: glittercritter

Handmade Gifts

Artfire Group Deal of A Lifetime

2010-09-15T19:20:00.007-04:00

Hey! Just wanted to pass along this group deal of a lifetime that was just announced by Artfire to all of our friends. Now you can have a PRO Artfire Fusion Studio for just $5.95 a month, that's right less than $.20 per day. This offer for the $5.95 goes into effect when they get at least 20,000 people to sign up for the deal. In less than 24 hours, so far more than 2,000 people have already joined. What is fabulous too is that once you sign up for this rate it is good for a lifetime as long as your account is kept current! That means your monthly rate will never go up as long as you keep your account paid.

If you are looking for a fantastic place to sell your handmade and or vintage items you really need to sign up now for this fabulous offer. There are no hidden fees or contracts ever. Go to the link below to checkout all of the fantastic advantages and features of an Artfire Pro Studio! Not only are the features great, but so are the staff members and other artisans who are always supportive and ready to help when the need arises.

Please don't miss out on this Artfire Group Deal of A Lifetime. Check it out here now so you don't regret it later!

Two Artisan Sister In Retro Christmas Artfire Collection

2010-09-10T18:18:00.005-04:00

This fantastic Retro Christmas theme Atrfire Collection was curated by Genevive and you can visit her studio here. Check these out and get some of your Christmas shopping done early!

Two Artisan Sisters Featured in Lemonade And Ice Collection

2010-09-01T10:30:00.005-04:00

Lemonade Ice comi...

Craft Supplies

The fantastic Collection above was curated by Glittercritter and you can visit her studio here. To checkout the items in the collection just click on the individual photos to be taken to that particular items' studio! Our vintage yellow scarf is a featured item!

Chic And Elegant In Black

2010-08-31T19:03:00.004-04:00

Chic And Elegant ...

Green, Green Grass of Home

Fine Art Paintings

This is Two Artisan Sisters latest curated Collection on Artfire. Oh! So Chic and Elegant In Black! Check these fabulous items out! What do you think?

Two Artisan Sisters Featured In New Artfire Collection

2010-08-22T13:39:00.005-04:00

Curated By: Jewelrybyjane29

Two Artisan Sisters was honored by having not just one but two of our items featured in this Green Green Grass of Home Collection which was curated by Jewelrybyjane29. It is a beautifully put together collection and features ten other stunning offerings in addition to ours. Check them and tell us what you think!

Two Artisan Sisters First Artfire Collection

2010-08-06T17:54:00.006-04:00

Good Morning Sunshine!

Handmade Jewelry

Artfire now has a new feature and that is the ability to create collections. Here is our first try at using this new feature. Pretty cool!

Two Artisan Sisters Crop Report

2010-08-04T17:23:00.007-04:00

Well as you can see this is our first crop of our homegrown green beans. Not a bad crop considering all of the plants are growing in large container pots and not planted in the ground.

Our herb crops are doing well, however our corn crop is not doing too well. Hardly any of the seeds we planted germinated or something got to the seeds before they had a chance to germinate, like maybe birds? Anyway, we only have about a dozen stalks of corn growing and they are not even tasseling yet and all the corn in the farm fields around here are to the tasseling stage. Oh, well maybe we will eventually get a couple of ears of silver queen corn!

Our tomato plants are producing but no great amount as of yet, we keep hoping their production will pick up with the Hot weather, but it does not seem that way. So much for our crop report, we hope that you all are having a good summer! Hard to believe back to school and Fall are just around the corner, especially with all this extreme heat lately!

Two Artisan Sisters Green Thumb

2010-06-10T10:03:00.004-04:00

Wow! Time sure flies when you are having fun!

Hope you are having a great start to your summer!

Over the past couple of weeks in addition to our usual work schedule and chores we have been working outside planting our garden. Our first chore was cleaning out our 8' x8' fenced raised bed and amending the soil with organic compost before we planted it with several rows of Silver Queen Corn. Now once it matures our challenge will be to be the raccoons and deer to the ears of corn!

The other crops that we now have planted are 28 bush type beans, 10 peppers, 2 red tomato, 2 lemon boy yellow tomato, 4 basil plants, 2 parsley, one pot of basil seeds, one pot of parsley seed, two pots of dill seed. We also have been busy cleaning up and sprucing up our front porch and planted our planters with impatience, portulaca's,and spreading petunias.

Green Tip: If you want a good way to keep small animals such as chipmunk, squirrels or even cats from digging in your flower boxes we have found that taking the hair/fur brushed out of our four legged fur baby acts as a real deterrent to having our plants dug out of their pots! If you want to try this, just pull a small amount of hair/fur out of your dogs brush and place it inside the pot along the edge and just very slightly pressed into the dirt so that it does not blow out of the pot. We usually have to refresh it every 2 to 3 weeks, but it works like a charm to keep unwanted visitors out of your flower pots, keeps your four legged fur baby well groomed and keeps harmful chemicals out of the air and soil!

The Latest in Green Ideas

2010-04-21T18:15:00.002-04:00

There just do not seem to be enough hours in a day to get everything done that needs to be done! Obviously, a problem many of us have and the main reason I have gotten behind in posting on our blog. That said, I came across a couple of very interesting articles the other day, however the one that really caught my eye was one that said is Laundry Detergent Really Necessary?

The article started out pointing out that laundry detergent is a relatively new development and that for hundreds of years prior to that people were washing their clothes and you have to assume getting them clean at least to some degree. It continued talking about the extensive reasearch done on this subject and that the detergent is not the main factor in getting your clothes clean. The main factor in cleaning is the agitation of the clothes in the water. That is how people got them clean by rubbing them on rocks in the water and scrubbing them in moving stream water. The conclusion was that the detergent really isn't necessary to get your clothes clean as long as you put them in clean water and agitiate them around for a period of time. By not using the detergents you would not only save considerable money, but it also would be a much more green solution to cleaning your clothes.

However, if you are skeptical about this conclusion there is also another alternative and that is to use your current detergent but only use half of the amount that you would normally use and your clothes will get equally as clean! You can well imagine that I was definitely skeptical about this, so I tried it on the last couple of loads of laundry that I have done, and lo and behold it really does work! The clothes are just as clean as when I have used the regular amount of detergent, and no one else in the family has noticed any difference either!

So for another green solution that works, try using half of the amount of detergent in your next couple of loads of wash and see for yourself that it works just as well. You will not only be saving money by using that much less, it will also be good for the planet!!

Two Artisan Sisters Go Red For Women's - Heart Health Month

2010-02-10T19:36:00.014-05:00

February is Heart Health Month, so I thought it would be a good time for me to discuss a little known heart ailment. The heart problem I am talking about is called a myxoma. Have you ever heard of such a thing? Well, neither had we until a number of years ago.These myxoma tumors can form in any part of the body but this story is about a heart myxoma. A heart myxoma is a tumor that forms and grows in the heart, usually in either the right or left atrium. A myxoma of the heart consists of a stem which is attached to the heart wall and from there it is shaped like a grape cluster. Each of the "grapes" in the cluster is like a semi-formed gelatin consistency.

Little is known about the origins of its cause, but some researchers theorize that is it caused by errant stems cells at birth. Whatever the cause, if left undetected it is fatal. It will appear that you have had a heart attack and died, unless an autopsy is performed and the real cause is discovered. I don't know what the current statistics are but a number of years ago only roughly 2% of these tumors were discovered before they proved fatal, which obviously means that roughly 98% at that time resulted in what appeared to be heart attacks.

Researchers do know that roughly 80% of the tumors discovered in the left atrium are benign and once removed require no further treatment as long as no damage has been done the mitral valve. However, tumors found in the right atrium have something like a 90-95% chance of being malignant and require significantly more treatment.

A myxoma of the heart can develop in either a man or a woman, however heart attack symptoms are significantly less pronounced in women than they are in men. You might ask how is this type of thing discovered, well with an Echo-Cardiogram, which is like an ultra-sound of the heart.

The following are a few symptoms to be aware of in women in regard to heart problems:

getting winded when climbing a flight of steps if you have previously not had that problem.
feeling like you have a case of indigestion and or nausea.
a slight discomfort across your upper stomach area.
aches across your shoulder blades or down your arms like you have been shoveling deep snow.
gaining weight because you are retaining water.

If you have some of these symptoms it would be wise to get them checked out, better safe than sorry.

You might ask how I know so much about this rarely discovered unusual heart problem? Well, over 15 years ago I very nearly died from having a benign myxoma in the left atrium of my heart! It was my sister, Marilyn who saved my life. When I passed out on the bed early on the morning we were going for an Echo-Cardiogram, she in desperation shook me violently bouncing me up and down on the bed which resulted in the tumor bouncing out from blocking the valve and restored enough flow through the heart to thereby save my life. The cardiologist and surgeon at the time, said that if she had not done what she did, I would not have made it to the operating room and would have died of an apparent heart attack at age 42!

Strangely enough about three years later there was an article in the local paper about a 15 year old girl who was a star athlete at her school. One day she collapsed on the basketball court and was rushed to the hospital. You guessed it, she also was found to have a myxoma of the left atrium of her heart. The same two doctors performed her surgery and she was back to school in no time.

The technical information above was passed along to us from the cardiologist and surgeon. My surgeon at the time said that despite performing thousands of heart surgeries and procedures in his whole career, he had only removed one other myxoma in a living person prior to mine. I am writing this personal story so that there may be some increased awareness of this type of heart problem! Your heart health is something that you need to take seriously no matter what your age!

Two Artisan Sisters Finds For Valentine's Day

2010-01-25T18:25:00.009-05:00

With Valentine's Day around the corner we wanted to find and feature a few as yet undiscovered studios here on Artfire to feature on our blog this week and I think we have found a fantastic selection for you to check out!

If you are looking for some sweets for your Sweetie this is the place to shop! With all these healthy delicious ingredients who cares about calories! Although she has a shop on Etsy with over 1,000 positive feed backs, this is a yet to be discovered studio on Artfire that definitely deserves your immediate inspection! You can check it out here http://www.nikid70.artfire.com/

This beautiful set of earring is featured in the studio of JeanMariesJewels which is a yet to be discovered beautiful studio here on Artfire. This studio belongs to Karen Terry who also has a shop on Etsy with many sales and positive feedback there. I know the beauty of her pieces personally as I have purchased several myself and the pictures really do not do the pieces justice as they are much prettier in person! These earrings would make a lovely choice for that special someone for Valentine's Day! Check out her studio here http://www.jeanmariesjewels.artfire.com/

This stunning original design 7" Red Murano bracelet can be found at CT Jewelry Designs. It is made using Rubino (red) murano hearts with 24 ct gold core and White Freshwater Potato Pearl bracelet with Sterling Silver 1" extender and lobster clasp! This would make a great Valentine's present! Check out her studio here http://www.ctjewelrydesign.artfire.com/ CT Jewelry Designs is run by Carolyn Tuttle who is the consummate business professional, so you can be guaranteed of fast, efficient service with a very personal touch.

HOLIDAY COUPON CODES FOR TWO ARTISAN SISTERS

2009-11-30T19:40:00.004-05:00

Just want to let you know about our Holiday Coupon Codes.
First of all if your order totals more than $50. you can use the coupon code
2009HOLIDAY15%OFF and receive 15% off of your entire order!

If you are just interested in purchasing a knitted hat then you can use the coupon code
5DOLLARSOFF+APLACE2BARK2 and receive $5.00 off of the price of the hat plus will will make a matching $5.00 donation to A Place To Bark Animal Rescue in Portland, TN. You can visit the website at http://www.aplacetobark.blogspot.com. By using this coupon you not only get a great deal on a one of a kind Two Artisan Sisters hat, but you will also make our donation to this very worthy cause possible.

One one coupon can be used per order!

Stop by and visit us as we have added many new items in the last few weeks,, just in time for the holidays! Happy shopping!!

Update on Two Artisan Sisters Activites & Latest Coupon Code

2009-10-24T19:37:00.004-04:00

First of all let me apologize for not updating this in quite awhile, but Marilyn, my sister and the other half of Two Artisan Sisters fell on September 11 and broke her right ankle while we were out for our evening walk at the local community centers outdoor walking track. Yes, exercise at times can be hazardous to your health. At first, we thought it was only a bad sprain but by the next morning she was in such pain it was obvious it was more than a sprain so off to the emergency room at our brand new hospital! We were taken right in and in less than an hour we were on our way home with her right foot in one of those black boot type casts along with crutches and told to see the orthopedic doctor as soon as possible. Crutches were not much help for quite a while since she also hurt her left arm in the fall. After a visit to the orthopedic doctor several days later, she was told not to put any weight on it for 3 weeks!! Needless to say she needed a lot of help and attention just to move around. It gives you a real appreciation for what folks with permanent disabilities go through every day!
After 5 weeks with the boot on she was finally released by the orthopedic doctor and is back to walking again, although much slower and more carefully!! Word of warning: Watch where you are walking, or it could be hazardous to your health!

Last but not least we want to advise our readers of our brand new coupon code which will give you a 15% discount on all orders over $50. Hope you will check out studio frequently as we are adding new items all the time.

Artfire's New Facebook Kiosk and New Coupon Codes

2009-09-02T14:44:00.004-04:00

Things have really been hopping over at Artfire this last week with the introduction of their new Facebook Kiosks along with the launch of their new coupon codes for sellers to use, both of which have never been offered by any other Handmade venue!
The Artfire kiosk is new app which is placed on your Facebook profile page or on your Facebook business fan page. Two Artisan Sisters Artfire kiosk is located on Ruth's Facebook Profile page and all you need to do is click the Artfire Kiosk tab at the top of the page. You can then browse through our whole studio page by page and should you wish to purchase something it can be done right there through a secure encrypted connection without ever leaving Facebook!
Also new this last week are the new coupon codes which sellers can use to offer things like dollar discounts, percentage discounts, free shipping, free gifts and many variations of those options.
Artfire is always on the cutting edge of innovation and is always looking to assist their sellers in promoting their businesses!! Thank you Artfire, you ROCK!!!

Artfire Is The Source For Unique Gifts of All Kinds

2009-08-12T23:37:00.012-04:00

Over the next several weeks we will be featuring some of our friends on Artfire and showcasing some of their fabulous works of art! Artfire is the place to find Unique Gifts of all kinds for every possible occasion, whether for yourself, family or friends.

This week we are featuring Reenie's Bizaar who has been making and selling jewelry and specialty items for years. She also has a store on Etsy and also sold on E Bay with a 100% positive feedback rating. If you are in the market for some beautiful pieces of jewelry at reasonable prices, you need look no further than Reenie's Bizaar!!

No matter whether you want something as a special treat for yourself or someone else these gorgeous Green Jade and Copper earrings will fill the bill!

This lovely Sterling Silver and Swarovski Crystal necklace will put a sparkle in the eye of any woman who buys or receives this as a gift!

These Sterling Silver Earrings with Genuine Turquoise & Swarovski Crystals are spectacular and will make any outfit you are wearing look stunning.

You can find all of these beautiful jewelry items at Reenie's Bizaar on Artfire.

Check out her studio at http://www.reeniesbizaar.artfire.com

Wow! Fascinating Linen Facts From The Ground Up!

2009-07-20T23:23:00.003-04:00

We have known for some time about the benefits of flax oil , flax seed and that linen was made from flax but had no idea just how involved that process was until recently when we came across the following interesting information. The fibers of the flax plant have been used to make linen cloth for over 8,000 years. The process go as follows:

Harvesting involves pulling the whole plant from out of the ground and not cutting it as the roots contain some of the finest fibers.
Retting is a two-week process where the harvested plants are taken and thinly spread out over a field so they can absorb the dew, rain and the heat of the sun, all of which rots the pith and loosens the fibers. The process is frequently referred to as "dew retting"
Drying is the next step n the process where the retted plants are now placed on top of a frame that is referred to as a "kiln" and put over a low fire until they become as dry as tinder.
Breaking this part of the process involved the dried plant stalks being beat by a "breaker" which has opposing wooden blades hinged at one end. The breaker breaks the woody fiber and loosens the finer threads.
Scutching comes next in the process and this is when the fibers are held against a vertical board and they are then scraped with a "scutching paddle" which causes the woody pulp to fall off and leave behind long, glossy fibers.
Heckling comes next, no not the verbal kind! This kind of heckling involves the long, glossy fibers being pulled through rows of iron spikes. It involves working from courser or larger and wider spaced teeth down to finer or smaller and closer spaced teeth in order to remove any remaining pulp along with the shorter and courser strands of fiber.
Spinning is the next step in the process where the fine fiber is spun on a spinning wheel into linen thread which is then wound onto a spool or bobbin.
Weaving this is the final step in the process and involves taking the bobbin or spool of thread and place it in a shuttle which is threaded back and forth through a linen loom in order to make the linen cloth.

It sure does give you a real appreciation for all of the work involved in the making of linen fabric. I know we will never look at a piece of linen without thinking about all of the steps that it took to make it.

There is a Flax Scutching Festival in Stahlstown, PA that demonstrates the practices that have been used for more than 200 years in the Ligonier Valley. The Stahlstown Festival is held the second Saturday and Sunday each September so if you are in the area at that time of year you might like to stop and investigate this fascinating process in person!

Social Media Optimization - Part 2

2009-07-01T14:35:00.011-04:00

Here is a very brief summary of the next installment of Artfire's Social Media Optimization. The segment relates to micro-blogging sites such as Plurk and the popular Twitter .

The following are 5 steps to Tweeting greatness and are very similar to the one for blogging success.

1. Be involved.

2. Update frequently.

3. Have a goal.

4. Use all available tools.

5. Watch other tweeps.

If you are already a tweeting veteran then these are just reminders of things you already know.

Six steps to get your new Twitter account started.

1. Register - when you register use your studio name
2. Set up a Tweet schedule. Determine the amount of Tweets per day that you want to do.
3. Hit the forums. Here you can let other sellers know your Twitter information. Follow your favorite shops and post your Twitter name and information so others follow you.
4. Don't forget your widgets. You can add several different kinds of widget to your Artfire studio.
5. Find your audience. Find people who talk about things that interest you. Search Twitter forums to find discussions you can jump into and contribute.
6. Make use of the many applications. Some of the top applications are Tweet deck, Twit-seeker, and Tweet Later.

As we have said this is just a very brief summary but it will give you some idea of the helpful information that Artfire provides to its sellers. If you are interested in more information you need to check out Artfire, we have provided a link below. This is a community of very talented, friendly and helpful artistic sellers along with an unbelievably friendly, helpful and responsive administrative staff and technical staff. Artfire is The Place To Be!

We have provided our link to Artfire should you wish to check it out and sign up and join us!

Two Artisan Sisters Artfire Mavens Update

2009-06-29T19:52:00.005-04:00

This week is Social Media Optimization (SMO for short) week at Artfire. The first installment of information is on blogging and what makes a good and interesting blog. Here is the list of 8 things to remember when you are writing your blog. Here is a brief summary:

Be genuine. Write about things that interest you or that you love and enjoy.
Be real. Add personal touches to let the readers know the person behind the blog.
Have a goal. It can be as simple as "informing my readers" or "thought provoking".
Use pictures. Even the most interesting newspaper articles have pictures.
Keep it fresh. Update often with new an fun material.
Keep it Brief. Usually around 500 words is a reasonable length.
Preview your post. By doing this you can catch any errors and fix them before going public.
Engage your readers. you can do so by things such as "part 2 coming soon" or"sign this petition" or ask for comments.

We always try to do all of the above but there is always room for improvement and we will certainly try to do so in the future.

Part 2 coming soon!

Two Artisan Sisters Selected As Artfire Mavens Marketing Team

2009-06-20T23:50:00.002-04:00

Two Artisan Sisters is honored to have been selected as one of Artfire's Mavens Marketing Team. Members of the Maven Marketing team will be privy to insider information about all of the latest happenings at Artfire. The Mavens will be the folks to check with to keep up to date will all of the new developments on the Artfire site! Believe me there is always something new and spectacular going on at Artfire! It is definitely the place to be for both buyers and sellers alike!
This past week the administration has had there tech folks posting lessons for the seller on Search Engine Optimization or (SEO) for short! Wow! Talk about great information! Of course it has meant a great deal of additional work for Two Artisan Sisters as we have had to go back through all of our product listings in order to implement the suggested changes. Now we have to wait and see how long it take to pay off. Check back here often and we will let you know the latest developments!
This past week has been very eventful for Two Artisan Sisters as we have also opened our studios to the International market! Looking forward to finding new customers and friends in far away places!

MIDWEST REGIONAL MEETING OF A. C. GILBERT HERITAGE SOCIETY

2009-05-23T18:55:00.005-04:00

Two Artisan Sisters was recently privileged to host the A. C. Gilbert Heritage Society at its Midwest Regional Meeting which was held here in Lafayette, IN at Faith Baptist Church Community Center. The A. C. Gilbert Heritage Society was founded in 1993 and is a not for profit organization of enthusiasts and collectors of his famous Erector sets, Mysto Magic sets, American Flyer trains and a list of other toys that you probably never knew existed.

The purpose of the society is to collect, preserve and promote A. C. Gilbert toys as well as to study the life of the man and his wonderful manufacturing company. In addition, members do research and network with each other to identify sets, their parts, the year of manufacture, original layouts, set inventories and the manner in which they were marketed. Some members are also Erector model builders.

Should you wish to join this group of enthusiasts, A. C. Gilbert Heritage Society member ship includes the following benefits:

Quarterly newsletter packed full of color photos as well as black & white, articles, restoration tips, for sale and wanted ads.

National membership directory

Annual, fun-filled conventions with tables of Gilbert treasures for sale, auctions, lots of informal socializing and information-sharing. Some areas of the country also have regional meetings in addition to the annual meeting.

Annual Dues are $25.00

For More information:

Call: Ken Weinig, Secretary/Treasurer, 1-302-737-5537 or e-mail him at kweinig@comcast.net

To join, go to : http://www.acgilbertheritagesociety.com/ and click on "Join Us"

In Celebration of National Zipper Day Today

2009-04-28T18:31:00.005-04:00

Did you know that today Tuesday, April 28, 2009 is National Zipper Day? I had no idea there was such a holiday until I recently read an article in the newspaper that pointed out that few people have any real appreciation for the lowly zipper which keeps their clothes fastened together. It's history records a slow birth and many years of rejection, but the zipper eventually found its way into everything from pencil cases to space suits to countless "fly" jokes.

One of the first zippers was actually invented by Elias Howe in 1851, but did not reach the market as Howe was preoccupied with the sewing machine that he had patented in 1846. Whitcomb L. Judson who loved making many different kinds of gadgets came up with a slide fastener for a friend who had back problems and could not tie his shoes. In August 29, 1893 he patented his new "clasp locker"These clasp lockers were used by the apparel industry by 1905 but were not consider practical.

The design actually used today which is based on interlocking teeth, was invented by an employee if Whitcomb Judson's, Swedish born Gideon Sundback in 1913 he patented the "hookless fastener". Later improvements were made in 1917 that became known as the "Separable Fastener."One of the first customers was the U.S.Army as it used the zippers on clothing and gear for the troops of World War I.

In 1925, B.F. Goodrich decided to market galoshes with Sundback's fasteners and the product became very popular, because these new galoshes could be fastened with a single zip of the hand. A Goodrich executive is said to have slid the fastener up and down and exclaimed "Zip 'er up," echoing the sound made by the clever device, hence the fasteners came to be called "zippers."

In the 1930's a sales campaign was started featuring zippers in children's clothing praising zippers for promoting self-reliance in young children by making it possible for them to dress themselves in the self-help clothing. The zipper beat out the button in 1937 in the "Battle of the Fly" when French fashion designers raved over zippers in men's trousers. The zipper was declared the "Newest Tailoring Idea for Men" and among it's virtues was that it would exclude "The Possibility of Unintentional and Embarrassing Disarray." Obviously, the new zippered trouser owner had not yet discovered the experience of forgetting to zip-up!

The next time you zip-up perhaps you will have a little more appreciation for this very useful invention that is so much taken for granted.

14 Uses For Coffee Filters

2009-04-08T17:40:00.003-04:00

The following were sent to us from our Aunt who is always coming up with neat things that you never think about. The following are some terrific uses for plain old coffee filter that you can purchase at stores like the Dollar store, Dollar tree, or Big Lots for $1.00 and get 1000 of them.

1. They are great to cover bowls or dishes when cooking in the microwave.
2. They are excellent to use to clean windows and mirrors. Coffee filters are lint-free so they'll leave windows sparkling.
3. They are great to use to protect China, by putting a coffee filter between each dish.
4. They work great to filter broken cork pieces from wine. If you break the cork when opening a wine bottle, filter the wine through a coffee filter.
5. Protect a cast-iron skillet. Place a coffee filter in the skillet to absorb moisture and prevent rust.
6. They work great to apply shoe polish. Ball up a lint-free coffee filter to apply and ball up one to polish with afterwards.
7. They work great to recycle frying oil. After frying, strain oil through a sieve lined with a coffee filter.
8. They are great to use to weigh chopped foods. Place chopped ingredients in a coffee filter on a kitchen scale.
9. They are great to hold tacos. Coffee filters make convenient wrappers for messy foods.
10. They work great to stop the soil from leaking out of a plant pot. Line a plant pot with a coffee filter to prevent the soil from dropping through the drainage holes.
11. They work great to prevent a Popsicle from dripping. Poke one or two holes as needed in a coffee filter.
12. They work great if you put a few on a plate and put your fried bacon, French fries, chicken fingers, etc. on them as they will soak up all of the grease.
13. They are great to keep in the bathroom as they make great "razor nick fixers."
14. Last but not least, they work great in a Coffeemaker!!

By making use of these terrific ideas for using coffee filters, you should be able to save enough money so that you can spend your money on more pleasurable things like something from Two Artisan Sisters studio!

Green Tips For The Kitchen

2009-03-23T14:33:00.003-04:00

The following are several tips for greener ways to cook and clean up.

A full freezer is an energy saving freezer, so one of the best ways to save is to buy in bulk whenever possible and fill your freezer with what can not be used immediately. This is great for buying fresh vegetable and fruit in season and freezing them. We love to go to a local farm and pick strawberries and blueberries in the spring and early summer and freeze large quantities for use during the long winter months until it is time to pick a fresh batch the next year!
We have also learned to practice no waste when undertaking baking by using silicone baking mats on baking tray instead of parchment or foil and we also use silicone muffin holders rather than the paper ones that always seem to stick to the muffin or cupcake.
Another way to save energy in the kitchen is when you are needing to boil a pot of water to put a lid on the pot to prevent the heat and therefore energy from escaping. Doing this not only saves energy but also money with the high costs for electric and or natural gas these days.
Another item that bears watching also with regard to pots on the stove is their size in relation to the size of the burner on which they are placed. Quite naturally large pots require more energy to heat than smaller ones, so make sure that the pot is always centered on the heating element or flame to get the most benefit from the energy expended. Whenever possible use the same pot for cooking multiple foods.
Another money saving tip is to avoid opening the oven while baking. As tempting as it is to open the oven door to check and look at what you are cooking the temperature of the oven can drop from 25 to 50 degrees in that period of time, so resist the urge and save energy and also money.
Running a dishwasher when it is totally full without pre-rinsing the dishes uses less water than hand washing them. To make the most of the energy expended run the dishwasher only when completely full and skip the heat drying cycle and air dry them.
Unplug and turn off electric switches and appliances when not in use. It may seem insignificant but the savings can add up. Always be sure to turn off things like lights and ceiling fans when you leave a room and are not coming back to it in the next few minutes. a Pulling out your small appliances when they are not in use is another way to save electric, as they still draw a very small amount of current even when they are turned off.

The above items are all things that we have implemented ourselves and have found that they do work and do save energy and in turn money! We hope that if you are not currently doing these things that you will try them. With all the money and time that you will be saving, it will give you plenty of time and money to spend shopping at Two Artisan Sisters.

10 Things For Which We Overpay

2009-03-09T14:10:00.007-04:00

The following is a list of 10 items for which we overpay, making note of these things and making a few changes can drastically cut your spending and increase your savings.
1. Afternoon snacks such as energy bars cost about $2. and although they may seem to be a healthy alternative many contain as much sugar as a candy bar. The much more healthy and cost saving snack is to pack or pick up fruit such as an apple, pear, some grapes these are much healthier as they contain much less sugar and are much lower in cost.
2. Bottled water can cost $2. although staying well hydrated is important, it is much more cost effective and better for the environment to invest in a filtered water pitcher or if in your home a reverse osmosis filtered water system and you can have delicious water for just pennies a glass. You can fill a large cup or bottle at home and carry to work.
3. Caffeine Fix for the day a Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts can cost you $1.65 and up however a much more cost effective way to get your fix is to purchase your favorite gourmet coffee which can cost $8 - $13. a pound but makes at least 40 cups making the cost of each cup about 20 cents to 33 cents each.
4. Favorite tunes cost about $18 per new CD however the more cost effective way to collect your favorite tunes is to download tunes from iTunes for 99 cents or from Amazon for about 79 cents.
5. Night out to the movies can cost an average of $20 - $30 for two people with popcorn and that doesn't include babysitter costs. More cost effective is to enjoy 2 movies from Netflixs for $5 a month or for $9 a month you get unlimited viewing. Even better if you wait a little longer for new releases you can check them out for free from you local library.
6. Fresh flowers always brighten a room and your mood, however a bouquet from the florist will set you back around $25. The more cost effective alternative is to purchase a lovely seasonal fresh flower bouquet from you local grocery store which will only cost you about $5 - $10.
7. Fresh fruits and vegetables are very good for everyone but if you are stopping to pick up pre-cut or packaged fruits or vegetables to save a few minutes time you are paying dearly for convenience and may not be aware of that fact. Broccoli florets or pepper can cost $6 per pound pre-cut however the uncut versions cost about 1/3 that much or about $2. If you purchase pre-cut pre-washed lettuce in a bag is cost about $5.98 per pound but you can wash and spin dry arugual for your salad for about 1/3 that price or about $2. If you purchase whole strawberries rather than packaged sliced one you save 75% off the cost of the sliced packaged ones!
8. Credit Card Fees can mount up if you pay your bills late as the fees assessed each time can be as much as $39. The more cost effective thins to do is to set up an automatic debit to your bank account so you are never late.
9. ATM Fees can cost as much as $3.43 if you use an ATM that is out of your network and if you do it once a week those charges will amount to around $180 by the end of the year. A more cost effective solution is to choose a bank with a large network or an online account that reimburses your fees. Another alternative is to get cash back when you go to the grocery store.
10. Fax and Mail services. If you need to send a fax instead of paying $1.49 to fax one page you can sign up to send free faxes from providers like faxZero or K7.net. When it comes to shipping you can mail an envelope or small package by USPS Priority Mail for $4.95 ( and the post office supplies the envelope or box) and it usually arrives in about 2 days. Larger packages cost $10.35 That will save 50% over shipping by UPS 2 day service which varies by weight and distance.

After following all of these money saving ideas you should have enough money leftover to spend on a few beautiful items from Two Artisan Sisters Studio! Using the new Artfire Rapid Cart you can purchase and checkout an item from right here in just 28 seconds with no sign up required.