Even during Christmas in July, every day is Halloween....

In the Do Bats Eat Cats household, the Halloween decorations stay up all year 'round. (I know you're all shocked to hear that!) The spiderweb candelabra and skull votive holder are still adorning my mantel, there's a large fake spider seated atop our stereo speakers, and I'm sure I've frightened a neighbor or two with my skull and crossbones welcome mat. Muahahahahaha!!

It may be July, but some of my fellow Etsy sellers are also putting out their pumpkins, witches, and skulls a little bit early this year.

Today's featured Christmas in July Etsy seller, PinkyCrafts, handmakes adorable scrapbook pages, party decorations, gift tags, die cuts, and other goodies for life's big and little celebrations. I checked out her shop today and was excited to see these cute and spooky Halloween-themed scrapbook pages:



Halloween pumpkin jack o'lantern scrapbook page


"Boo!" Halloween pumpkins scrapbook page



Aside from Halloween, one of my favorite things in the world is Alice in Wonderland, so I fell in love with these adorable "Eat Me" cupcake toppers. I kind of want to pick some up and stick them atop some cupcakes to bring to work -- come on, don't tell me there isn't someone in YOUR office who richly deserves that sentiment?! ;)



"Eat Me" cupcake toppers



All orders placed between July 13th and July 25th in PinkyCrafts' shop will receive FREE SHIPPING! In addition, all orders over $100 will receive an additional 20% off! All refunds will be given via PayPal (Valid only on in-stock items; does not apply to Gift Certificates).

Have a sassy Christmas in July!

Yep.... still hot as hell out there. PSA for the day: if you're going to spend an afternoon sitting outside in the shade with friends, beating the heat with icy cold vodka pink lemonades, for god's sake get some water in you too. Oof!

Speaking of girly drinks, today's featured Christmas in July Etsyseller is my fellow jewelry maker SassyBelleWares! Sassy Steph creates fun and whimsical pieces that pop with color. She and I enjoy many of the same things, such as skulls, sparkly things so bright you can see them from space, and, of course, cocktails.

For the Etsywide Christmas in July promo, Sassy Steph is offering 20% off all items -- enter code "CIJ20" in the message to seller section at checkout & the discount will be refunded via PayPal. Offer valid 7/15-7/31 & cannot be combined with other offers.

Here are a few of my favorites from her shop:



Fireworks necklace


Wino wine necklace


Skull and crossbones pirate link bracelet



Check back tomorrow for more Christmas in July goodies!

The 12 Days of Christmas in July!

Here in Chicago, it has been oppressively hot these past few weeks. We Midwesterners are not used to running around the city while trying to breathe air that feels more like wet towels! (All of you people who live in states where humidity and heat is the norm can go ahead and point and laugh at us now. Go on, I'll wait!)

The snow and subzero temps will be back here soon enough, but in the meantime, we all can get a little taste of winter in the Etsywide Christmas in July sale. The sitewide promotion officially kicked off yesterday and runs through July 25, but many sellers, myself included, are running it throughout the entire month.

My shop Do Bats Eat Cats is offering 20% off all non-custom-order jewelry -- prices have already been adjusted so no need to wait for a revised invoice.



"Coraline"-inspired earrings with silver Other Mother's hand charms and Swarovski crystals


Wiggle weave chainmaille earrings with big purple sparkly crystals



Also, all my destash supplies are buy one get one free (lesser valued item is free; refund given via Paypal).



Deep teal blue glass pearl beads



Many Etsy sellers wil be joining in on this promotion and are offering everything from free shipping to buy one get one free deals. I'll be featuring one seller every day (or so) for as long as the sale lasts.

Today's featured seller is DeborahJulian, a New Yorker who creates awesome notecards, prints and fine art photographs, many of which star her cats and the city she lives in. Her black cat Billy was born in July and, according to her, is definitely a proud, showy Leo! In honor of his birthday this month, all her artwork showing this black kitty with lots of personality is 20% off. Here are a few of my favorites from her shop:



City Cats notecards


"Can I jump that high?" signed matted print


A Lazy Afternoon notecards



Check back again for more featured artists who are taking part in this Etsywide sale. Nothing like thoughts of Christmas, snow, and sleigh bells to beat this heat!

Changes....

card by Maikai on Etsy



Big changes have been afoot at the Do Bats Eat Cats household over the past couple of weeks. My boyfriend's company and my company both had extremely bloody layoffs, within days of each other. In both cases, more than half of the company was jettisoned unexpectedly and, at least in the case of my company, amid lots of tears. I was one of the lucky few who were spared, although we survivors all have to take a small pay cut. My boyfriend, unfortunately, was not spared, and is now in full-on job search mode.

I'm very grateful to still have a job but, man, it was HARD watching all of my work friends breaking down crying while packing up their desks. As for my boy... well, we went through all the stages of grieving his job -- anger, depression, sheer abject terror. We've since picked ourselves up, made a plan, and reworked the budget, and are doing our best to stay positive.


buttons by misschief on Etsy

Oddly, this turn of events has made us want to work even more on our respective crafts -- he is a painter and songwriter, and obviously I've got my shop to keep me busy. We're both so grateful to have these creative outlets. I've been inspired to work harder on my shop because, in these times, you cannot have just one stream of income. Sales are slow for a lot of us on Etsy right now, myself included, but I feel like every sale I do make gets me one step closer to the day where I'm not dependent on some faceless corporate overlord to determine my success or failure.


card by breadandbuttershop on Etsy

That being said, both he and I are new to this whole layoff thing and the roller coaster of emotions it stirs up. If you've suffered or survived a layoff, what are your best strategies for coping?


custom printed cookie topper by bitterbakingco on Etsy