Back to Normal at Serendipity

We have our technical problems resolved thanks to Kevin at ipower and Adam at Just Spiffy so stop on by the shop and see what's new for spring!

Serendipity Collections 2008 All Star Award

At the end of 2008, less than 15% of Constant Contact's more than 250,000 customers met their All Star requirements. We at Serendipity Collections are proud to have been named a Constant Contact 2008 All-Star for maintaining sound permission-based email marketing and list management best practices.

Who is the real St. Patrick?

St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland. Although he is one of the most recognized figures in Christianity, his life is a bit of a mystery. Many of the stories normally associated with St. Patrick, including the famous telling of his ridding Ireland of all snakes, are false. This is just exaggerated storytelling.

He was born in Britain near the end of the fourth century. He is believed to have died on March 17, around 460 A.D. His parents were quite wealthy but not particularly religious. At sixteen, Patrick was taken prisoner by a group of Irish raiders who were attacking his family's estate. They took him to Ireland where he was in captivity for 6 years. During this time, he turned to his religion for comfort, becoming a devout Christian. (It is also believed that Patrick first began to dream of converting the Irish people to Christianity during his captivity.)

After more than six years as a prisoner, Patrick escaped. According to his own writing, God’s voice spoke to him in a dream, telling him to leave Ireland. He had to walk 200 miles from County Mayo to the Irish coast. He escaped to Britain and reported that he had a second revelation. It was in the form of an angel in a dream that told him to return to Ireland as a missionary. Soon after this vision, Patrick began religious training which lasted more than fifteen years. After his ordination as a priest, he was sent to Ireland to minister to Christians already living in Ireland and to convert the Irish. This contradicts the widely held belief that Patrick introduced Christianity to Ireland.

Patrick incorporated traditional rituals into his lessons of Christianity. He used bonfires to celebrate Easter since the Irish traditionally honored their gods with fire. He also superimposed a sun, a powerful Irish symbol, onto the Christian cross to create what is now called a Celtic cross. Irish tradition is rich in story-telling so it is no wonder that the tales of Patrick’s life have been embellished and exaggerated over the many years.

Source: www.History.com

Gags, Giggles, Goofy

New Tattoo Sleeves. I am thinking about carrying these in my shop! What a giggle!

These are nylon and one size fits all. You just pull the sleeve up over your arm and it looks like a real tattoo!

Pretty cool, huh?

*DaYDReaMs*
Originally uploaded by sPaRK*YouR*iMaGiNaTioN

I LOVE this! My friend, Debrina created this for a swap. She is just coming out with her CD of images. She has lots of vintage images and she is extremely talented. Check out her blog at Whinsical World of Fairies.

Design by Nora

Design by Nora is an excellent place to find cool handmade jewelry, paper goods and handbags! Nora is extremely talented (I had the pleasure to interview Nora awhile back and was so pleased to showcase her talent) and I am sure you will find something in Nora's shop that will be sure to delight!

Be sure to read my interview with Nora. What a treat!

Kevin Pollak's morning cup of soy latte

Just thought this was a cool cup AND I love Kevin Pollak (remember him in A Few Good Men, among many others?)

by your design - Spoonflower

Thanks to my friend, Anna of misosouper I found out about a new site called Spoonflower. There you can create your own custom fabric. It is just the coolest thing! You need to create an account before you can upload your designs on Spoonflower but it is easy. They require your email address, name and username. You will receive a confirmation email and then you click a link to accept. Once you do that you will be taken to the site and asked to create a password. That is all there is to it.



They run a weekly contest showing about 5 or 6 fabric patterns designed by their users and then you vote for your fave.

Some recent designs on Spoonflower:

Here is how it works. You upload your design and they will put it on fabric for you. You are not obligated to purchase any fabric - you can keep a portfolio of your designs and purchase when you are ready. Once you have uploaded your design, you will be able to see your fabric with a repeat. The cost per yard (42" x 36") is $18.00. You can order an 8" x 8" swatch for $5.00. They are currently in Beta so you cannot purchase other folks designs but they say that will change once they are out of Beta.

A pretty teacup design on Spoonflower

Don't miss Spoonflower!

Serendipity Sampler