Busy Busy week!

Hello world!

Thank you for your kind and encouraging comments from the last post.

I thought I would be updating the blog more with J away.

It seems I thought wrong. I must be doing a great job keeping myself busy.

I've been working on an Etsy order, making a cute set of 6 placemats for a customer. They're turning out to be so pretty, I hope she likes them as much as I do!






Cooking and gardening take up the majority of my time (who would've thought!), and giving the house a deep cleaning while J is away is a good way to while the time away too!

I love that the house stays nice and neat while I'm away at work. Hah!

Anyhoo, I know this has taken so long, but I have yet to give away the turquoise necklace from my last giveaway because the winner didn't contact me (for a long long time!) so I picked another winner and guess what?

Miss KYLA! 

I will be emailing you soon for your mailing address.

You're the new owner of Oksana's beautiful necklace!!! 

Woot!

xoxo

4th of July Turquoise Necklace giveaway winner!

We have a giveaway winner for the beautiful Turquoise beaded necklace from Oksana Plus Hobbies!

Congrats #5 Kate Duff of CheapCraftyMama

Thanks for participating everyone! Look out for more giveaways meanwhile, and I hope you had a great 4th!


xoxo

Spreading Good Cheer Giveaway: 4th of July

Today, I would like to introduce one amazing lady and crafty fellow blogger friend. Meet Oksana, from Oksana Plus Hobbies.

Oksana wrote to me one day and we decided to do a craft exchange. She would make me a pretty turquoise necklace, in return for one of my little embroidered pouches. Well, the exchange was settled, but I decided to turn it into a giveaway + interview post because this little lady is just about amazing. When the blog title says Oksana PLUS HOBBIES, she absolutely is not kidding.

1. First of all, please tell us a little about yourself!

Hello my dear bloggers! I’d like to thank Chui for the opportunity to tell you
about myself. My name is Oksana. I’m a girl from Siberia. You would think that
I’m tough and used to cold and snowy weather, but I’m not. I hate cold, maybe
this is why I now live in California :).

2. Living in an exciting city like LA, can you introduce one of your favorite spots?

I’m also a city girl (yes, there are big cities in Siberia). Maybe this is why I
immediately fell in love with Los Angeles. The Old Town in Pasadena is my
favorite place to hang out. And of course, Santa Monica which is near perfect—
has a beautiful beach + the Promenade, the street with all my favorite stores and a
shopping mall.

3. Tell us more about your passion for creating jewelry. Why jewelry, how you got started, who/ what was your inspiration, how long you've been doing this.

After I graduated from a medical school “100 years ago”, I landed my first job as
a psychiatrist at a hospital for mentally ill. Wait, what psychiatry has to do with
jewelry? It’s funny, but one of my first recollections about that time is looking
at stunning jewelry pieces my colleague used to wear. Later, she told me that her
husband made them for her. I couldn’t imagine even in my wildest dreams that
one day I would be making my own cabochon earrings. But here I am, taking
jewelry classes at a community college.

4. Do you have any new exciting craft projects in the works?

I’m always working on something, a necklace, earrings, etc. I also like to cross-
stitch, sew, take pictures and blog in my spare time.

5. Do you have any words of advice/ encouragement for fellow crafters out there?

A word of advice/encouragement for fellow crafters: Be open to constantly
learning new things/skills. Get out of a rut/comfort zone, and take risks:
experiment with a new craft/technique/project. It will be exciting, maybe
frustrating at times, but you will advance at the end. And most of all: your
everyday life won’t be boring. I’m taking an applique class this month :).


*******************

Check out Oksana's blog for crafty DIY tutorials, especially on jewelry making, as well as to read about her latest hobbies. She also has a gallery of photos of her past projects. You can email her with custom orders!

We're doing a giveaway on Oksana's turquoise necklace!

This giveaway is open to international readers, but you'll have to be either a follower of ElephantisLove or Oksana Plus Hobbies or BOTH!

Leave a comment below to enter, and don't forget to include your email address so I can contact the winner!

The giveaway is open till 11:59PM EST on July 13, Friday the 13th! *gasp* and the winner will be picked via Random.org. Have a great 4th of July and good luck!

Yoohoo! We have the ElephantisLove Giveaway Winner!

And we have a winner!!

(Nana) Glo Haynes of Glo Sews, please send me an email granolabar[AT]gmail[DOT]com with your mailing address!! Congratulations and I hope you love it!

Thank you friends for participating, and always showing your support. It means a lot to me!!!

xoxo

Giveaway: ElephantisLove is ONE!!!

Via



ElephantisLove is ONE!

I cannot believe how time flies! Only one year ago, I took the plunge and started my very own Etsy store. It has been a whirlwind of adventures, and I'm very grateful for all the experiences I've had and friends I've made.


Looking back, here are a few worthy mentions of the year gone by:

1. My sewing skills have improved drastically. As always, practice makes perfect. I'm not quite anywhere near perfect, but I am proud of my progress!

2. Deviated from making the usual bags and tried out a few different things that I would never have thought I was capable of. Most notably, I picked up embroidery and made quilts.

3. Participated in craft fairs and watched with joy when people actually came forward to buy the things I made! Definitely very encouraging!

4. Started a blog (well, technically I continued blogging but renamed it ElephantisLove) and found some talented and crafty friends on the blogosphere who share my joy of crafting. Special shout out to Ashley of The Feisty Redhead, Jordan of Trailer Gypsy, Jamie of Love in Everything, Jane of Projects by Jane and more! It was such a great pleasure meeting friends from all over!


As a special token of thanks,


there will be a 10% discount on all items in ElephantisLove + FREE SHIPPING in the month of April. Use Coupon Code ANNVSRY1ST for discount, and I will also refund listed shipping costs!

And I have also made a lavender sachet to giveaway to one special reader! Lots of hand sewing involved in this one, but it comes packed with some sweet smelling goodness! You can hang it up in your closet, place it in your linen drawers or even by your pillow for a good night's rest!






To participate,

You HAVE to be a follower of ElephantisLove on Blogger. Click on the button in the sidebar on the right that says "Join this site!" and then leave a comment below with your email address.


For additional entries:

1. Leave a comment below to tell me about your favorite item in my Etsy store.
2. Like ElephantisLove on Facebook
3. Tweet about this giveaway. Copy and paste this "Win a lovely handsewn giveaway! ElephantisLove turns ONE! http://bit.ly/HqfvHN @punkychewster"

Leave a comment for each when you're done to get an additional entry for the giveaway!


Giveaway will close April 22nd 11:59PM EST, and open to international readers too! Thank you for your support and I hope to create more new items for the Etsy store in my second year!!!

Happy Easter everybody!

Hear hear! Winner of September giveaway!

Yes we do, we do have a winner!

I apologize for taking forever!!! But here it is.....

the winner of the September giveaway is Amanda of MilkandHoney who by the way, owns a pretty cute little Etsy store of her own!

Congratulations Amanda!!! Wear it proud!

xoxo

I MADE THIS!

and i don't even cook! So you can totally master it. It's perfect for the oncoming coldness! BRRRR!


I guest posted this recipe on Tongue Tied in Awe and did a tie-in giveaway, so head on over and give me a shout-out! xoxo


But also, DO NOT forget about the September giveaway -- the pretty awesome Rainbow Winged Pegasus Brooch that ends September 30th!



Woot woot!

Spreading Good Cheer GIVEAWAY August and Etsy Pick of the Week :: sometimesiswirl

Yes, after the long hiatus, the Etsy Pick is back!

This week, I bring you a wonderfully talented little lady by the name of Sarah Hennessey, who draws and doodles as a first love, but also embroiders her creations (yes, yes, you can tell i have a certain bias affinity towards embroiderers hehe). Her pen ink drawings remind me of a dear childhood friend D. D once doodled (beautifully) all over a photo frame, included a picture of us and gave it to me as a birthday present. I still have it to this day, even though she presented it to me 12 years ago (OMG!)

But back to Sarah, of the Etsy store sometimesiswirl. I looked through her Flickr account and I'm so much more in LOVE with her drawings now. I know i should include more pictures of her ink drawings, but I really love how her designs translate so well into embroidery! See it for yourself in the pictures below. Or you can check out her flickr too!

----------------------------


1. When and how did you begin drawing / doodling, and what is your background?

I was drawing and doodling ever since I could hold a pencil, it seems. As a young child, I loved coloring books (always tried to rope a parent into coloring with me), and in elementary school, I was constantly doodling little abstract designs in my notebooks, on the back of my left hand, in sketch books at home, everywhere. I did also take art classes in grade school and high school, and in college, I majored in Art History. For my major, I was required to take a handful of studio courses, so I do have experience with drawing, design, painting, and fibers from college.





2. You sell prints of your illustrations, but also embroider them as well. Why do you choose embroidery over other methods of presenting your illustrations?

I just decided to try embroidery one day, and I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. I didn't even have a set idea or object in mind, and naturally, the composition that started to take shape resembled one of my illustrations - while it wasn't perfect, I was surprised by the fact that the piece turned out halfway decent, so I just continued to sew my designs. Through a lot of trial and error, I've found that I absolutely love embroidering. It's incredibly relaxing, and I think my designs translate naturally to fabric and thread. I'm still able to capture quite a bit of detail by separating out a smaller number of strands from the embroidery floss, and there are endless possibilities with color, so I think that helps too.


My favorite!


3. What are some your influences and sources of inspiration for your illustrations?

I have always found myself gravitating toward mehndi, floral textile patterns, but at the same time, I love really modern and simple design, too. I absolutely love the early drawings of Paul Klee (anything by him, actually). I also love the automatic drawings of Andre Masson. Other illustrators who inspire me: Heinrich Kley, Kay Nielsen, Hannah Davies, Alphonse Mucha (love art nouveau), Hannah Firmin, Nadia Flower, Yellena James. Oh I could go on forever...



French knots are fun!


4. Do you have a favorite piece, or a special story about an illustration to share?

I will always have a soft spot for this drawing (see below), as it's the first thing I listed in my etsy shop when I first opened it, and it very much inspired most of my other "swirl" drawings that came after it. I have really loved coming up with different variations of the weird, abstract garden scenes I draw - they all kind of derive from this one.





5. Do you have a day job, or do you do this full-time? Can you share a few tips towards your success?

I do have a full-time day job at a university, so I must do all-things-etsy after hours. I recently did a blog post imparting my most important advice, and you can find that here. If I had to pick some really quick tips, I'd say take photography very seriously, and have an established/experienced seller critique your photos and shop listings. Also, network network network - In person AND throughout the etsy community (or, in whatever artistic/creative community you belong). As soon as I joined some incredible teams on Etsy, I really challenged myself to improve my shop. Also, being on a team provides an incredible support system.


----------------------------




And here is the giveaway for the month of August! One lucky reader will win a set of 5 Abstract Flower blank notecards (pictured above) if you:

1. Leave a comment below
2. Go to Sarah Hennessey's Facebook page and 'Like' it
3. Tweet (@punkychewster) about the giveaway
4. Follow my page

Leave a separate comment for each of the above. PLEASE include your email address when leaving an entry below so I have a way of contacting the winner. Giveaway ends Friday, Sept 2nd, 2011, 11:59PM EDT. International readers are welcome as usual, and a random winner will be picked!

Alrighty! Have fun and happy weekend!

Birthday Bonanza in my Etsy shop!

Hello friends!!


Because my birthday falls in August, I'm making it a month long celebration in my ETSY shop elephantislove.


I'm offering FREE INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING on all items in my shop. Just enter the code

BDAY2011

to get your free shipping!

Also DANIELLE, winner of the Amy Perrotti giveaway, I have no way of contacting you to send you your prize. I'm hoping you read this, because you need to claim it! I emailed the wrong Danielle to claim her prize, and she was so sweet to reply and told me that I've made a boo-boo. But in case the first Danielle doesn't reply, I'll have to pick another winner. So Danielle, please reply by the end of this week, 7th August, 11:59pm EDT. I hope you see this!!!


So a few lessons learnt doing giveaways:

1) Closing comments after the giveaway is over

2) Asking readers to leave their email addresses in their entries

Do you have any advice to add? If you do giveaways too, what are some rules that you include to make sure the giveaway is a smooth one?

+ Winner of Amy Perrotti Giveaway +

And we have a winner for the Amy Perrotti Pink Hanfu Matryoshka Girl Art Print giveaway!

*drumroll please*





WHEE!!!!!

Danielle, please contact me at granolabar AT gmail DOT com with your mailing address! Hope to hear from you soon! :)

Spreading Good Cheer Giveaway (July) + Etsy Pick of the Week: Amy Perrotti

Hi y'all!

I'm bursting with excitement to tell you all about this week's Etsy find. I am always very excited to find fellow Etsians in and around my area and I try to buy from these stores. The other day I bought a very cute vintage weekender bag off Etsy from a lady who lives in Greenville, SC. I must admit, the location is one of the factors that makes or breaks the deal. For one, shipping costs affects the final price of the product, and then, I get excited to think that these local artists are so close by that I might have unwittingly met them at some point or another. It's completely baseless, but that's just me!


Vintage Floral Tapestry Weekender Bag



********************




So today, I bring you a very talented lady who lives about an hour's drive away! Her name is Amy Perrotti of the Etsy shop under the same name. I came across her illustrations on Etsy one day, and was intrigued by her life story. And because this mother's love for her daughter inspired such creativity, we are able to share in her colorful illustrations that celebrate unity in diversity.

I bring you Amy Perrotti.



************************



1) Can you tell us a little on how you got started on Matryoshka illustrations?

Years ago, I was shopping with my husband Eric at an antique store, when I came across a painted portrait of a woman wearing a scarf around her head (matryoshka style). It was unsigned and is probably by an amateur, but I fell in love with it. I have displayed it in our master bedroom ever since. Staring at it every morning as I wake has undoubtedly left a lasting impression on my mind. I have always loved nesting dolls, always wanted one as a child. One of the perks of having a daughter is I was able to buy her nesting dolls. We adopted our daughter from China, and we want to and do celebrate her heritage. A few years back I was wanting to draw some portraits of my daughter and her friends and I guess all of these things factored into my decision to draw them as matryoshkas.



2) Your illustrations are depictions of the people of different cultures. Do you have a favorite that you enjoyed illustrating the most, OR perhaps do you have a special story to share about a particular one?

It would be hard to pick a favorite matryoshka drawing. The ones inspired by my daughter would be obvious picks since I do adore her very much. These would be my Chinese Hanfu Matryoshka and my Tibetan Matryoshka (she is not Tibetan but I did incorporate her likeness (sometimes I can't resist). My Aqua Indian and Indian Mother and Daughters illustrations I especially adore. The Indian community has been very supportive of my work and kind to me as an artist. I must say though, the people of many different countries and backgrounds have been very supportive. I am very thankful and lucky.



Indian Mothers and Daughters Matryoshka Art Print



3) What is your research process before you begin each illustration? (does it involve travelling to different places? i hope you do because that will be such fun!)

I am working exclusively from a suggestions list (posted on my blog) and work on it in the order that I receive the suggestions. This helps because I know what is coming up and what to be researching. I have done some research in my local library but predominantly the internet is where I do the majority of my research. Here, people have shared their cultures and people who research cultures share what they have found too. I'm not an anthropologist but I do love people and cultures and have a great deal of respect for both. My Matryoshka illustrations are my original designs, my artistic interpretation, inspired by various cultures. They share common design elements to both unify the collection and to illustrate that all cultures, all peoples, have much in common. I hope my work sparks interest and curiosity in the viewer's own heritage and inspires them to do their own research to learn more about the many cultures of our world. Through education, knowledge of ourselves and other people comes understanding and respect and I believe it is the road to a peaceful planet.



4) Have you travelled to many different places? Which destination is most memorable and why?

I was born in Ohio, lived in South Carolina as a child, and then North Carolina since the age of ten. I have also traveled within the US along the East Coast. I've only been abroad during our trip to China to meet and adopt our daughter. We were very lucky to have had this opportunity to travel extensively throughout China (Beijing, Xi'an, Guangzhou, and Hong Kong). We would love to travel more, see more of the world and of the US. My grandfather was in the military and my mother lived all over the world as a child. The stories she, my aunt, and grandparents have shared also have had an influence on me.


********************



Chinese Pink Hanfu Girl Matryoshka



Wasn't that a great story? In celebration of my Chinese heritage, I am giving away a signed copy of Amy Perrotti's Chinese Pink HanFu Girl Matryoshka 5x7 Art Print.

To enter this giveaway, visit Amy Perrotti's Blog and leave her a suggestion on her blog for a new Matryoshka doll to illustrate. Then leave a comment below to let me know that you've done so!

Also, you can leave another comment below if you share this blog entry on Twitter or your Facebook.

And as usual, following this blog would be very nice indeed! I do monthly giveaways, haha!

Ok back to serious business. This giveaway ends 31st July, 11:59pm EDT. I'll be shipping worldwide, so everyone can join in the fun! The winner will be picked at random via the random number generator @ random.org

Alright, hop on over to Amy's page to leave her some love! xx

********** THIS GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED! THANKS FOR PARTICIPATING! **********

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!!

#4 happens to be KJ @ Let's Go Fly a Kite.

Congratulations my dear! I will email you shortly!

Thank you friends, for joining in the giveaway fun! I'll be doing monthly giveaways so keep a lookout for them!

By the way, do you know where the phrase "Winner, winner, Chicken dinner" originated?

According to the Urban Dictionary (they had a few, but this one's my favorite)

The legend tells that years ago every casino in Las Vegas had a three-piece chicken dinner with a potato and a veggie for $1.79. A standard bet back then was $2, hence when you won a bet you had enough for a chicken dinner. !”

So, the call of glorious victory rang out “Winner Winner Chicken Dinner"

Isn't that neat? Alright, guys. It's time for work! Peace!

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!

Winner of Spreading Good Cheer Giveaway!

Yay! the giveaway has ended!
And the winner is...

T E! Or Teuni as she is known on Twitter.

She was kind enough to indulge me (haha) but it did help spark off some ideas and that's what I likey!

She had 2 suggestions for me:

"Floating on by? Come in and say Hi!"

and

"There's always something beyond the clouds..."

I liked the first one immediately because guess what it reminded me of?
My old-time favorite "Float On" by Modest Mouse!!



So, I took the liberty to embroider a phrase from the song instead. And unpicked a few areas that i wasn't too satisfied with. It was my very first try at cursive embroidery, and it came out a wee bit tiny! But at last I'm done and I hope you'll like it just as much!



Please contact me at granolabar AT gmail DOT com with your mailing address and I'll mail it out promptly! Yay!

Spreading Good Cheer Giveaway: Look up!

Guess what we saw up in the sky today?






It's a balloon fest! We screamed hello and they tried to land in a field next to our house, but not quite successful, because they almost got caught in a tree, so they took off again.

Now is this inspiration or what.



Except that i'm not too witty to think up a clever phrase to accompany the embroidery. So i'm doing my FIRST giveaway, seeing how giveaways always spread good cheer all round.

SO...

Help me think of a catchy phrase to embroider. I'll pick the best one, embroider it, and then send you this embroidered wall art, as a way to say thank you! The hoop measures 5". The giveaway ends next Friday, 3rd June 11:59PM EST.

I am going to extend this to international readers too, since most of my friends are not in the US. So put on your thinking caps!! Send in your clever entries. Oh yes, and multiple entries are ok :)

Yay!!!

For all you fabric hoarders out there...

Sharing a fun giveaway I found while blogsurfing.

Fat Quarter Shop is doing a weekly giveaway this month, click on the button below to find out how to enter!



This week's giveaway ends May 17th midnight EST. Am loving the fabrics I find in the Fat Quarter Shop!!! I found some cool Dr. Seuss ones and take a look at this fat quarter collection! Too CUTE!