Spreading Good Cheer Giveaway: Where it all Began.

Time to spread some good cheer and love all round again! xx

In this post, I would like to take some time to recap and reminisce about how and why I picked up crafting.

Way back in time, when dinosaurs roamed the land, a group of friends and I decided to start our little 'fairy' store called Mustardseed, creating whimsical organza pouches and cushion covers, inspired by Shakespeare's fairies in A Midsummer Night's Dream. Our collaboration lasted but a mere few months, during which we set up shop at flea markets or whatever fairs we could land a booth at. We had a steady stream of orders, but it was a pity we were all so young and new to life. We were at a transitional stage, waiting to get into college, waiting to start a new phase, waiting for exciting things to happen.

And so we went on our individual ways.

I never forgot the joys of camaraderie, of designing and sewing into the wee hours of the night, of rushing orders, preparing for fairs, of selling our items. We were so thrilled when we did an interview for the local paper about our little venture.

But I also remember one of the hardest pill to swallow was pricing. How to price our items so they could be agreeable not only to our customers but also our pride. So many times we had lost customers because we refused to mark our prices down. I think we were pretty naive, and not too market-savvy. One thing though, we believed ourselves to be true artists.

The next Christmas, I handmade my first gifts for my new college friends. I still remember the vaguely square shaped zippered cushion cover, saved only by the awesome print and colors. The tiny pink coin pouches, flimsy little things, without any lining (*gasp*), and horribly aligned zippers.

But I felt an immense pride.

Then I crafted on and off, letting the bustle of life distract me mostly. About four years ago, I lugged my sewing machine with me when I moved to China, where I rediscovered the joys of gifting my handmade items. Ten years on, I am still crafting, sewing basic shapes and simple stuff, but with more pizzazz. I am picking up neat tricks here, new skills there, and even made some crafting friends! Most recently, I started an Etsy store, just because I've always wanted to, and maybe (subconsciously) in tribute to Mustardseed.

So in honor of Mustardseed and my first crafting buddies, i am doing a giveaway. I just made a purse organizer for a friend's birthday. As usual, I made one more for the Etsy shop and one for this giveaway!



This Faux Patchwork Pouch / Purse Organizer is up for grabs! It measures 8.5" x 4.5", has a zipper closure and is padded with polyester batting and fully lined. Oh and it also comes with the cute button charm (or whatever you call it).

To enter this giveaway, leave a comment below by 4th of July, 11:59PM EDT. (Thought I'd make it a 4th of July celebration tie-in too!) I'm going to ship internationally too, so join in the fun everyone! I'll be selecting a comment at random. You don't have to, but following my blog will be really nice, give me an extra dose of encouragement, and not to mention reap good online karma.

So.

Good luck!

If you have any when-it-all-began crafting stories too, i hope you'll share them with me. I'm a sucker for sappy/ happy stories. Post a link to your blog entry together with your comment below. I WILL read it i promise!