Better Late Than Never

For any and all of you who were waiting for my normal Wednesday post announcing this weeks giveaway winner and my words of wisdom I apologize for the lateness of my post.

I was out of commision for most of the day today thanks to a horrific migraine courtesy of some new meds I'm on.

But better late than never!!

I've been one busy been lately! Re-photographing my jewelry and making new pieces and stocking up my shop. This week the focus as been all about necklaces, lol. But thats me, I have way too many interests and shift back and forth heavily alot. Anyways, I thought I'd give you all a glimpse of a few of my new pieces :-)

Wednesdays Words of Wisdom

"Love does not consist in gazing at each other, but in looking outward in the same direction."
- Antoine De Saint-Exupery

"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to confront only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived."
- Henry David Thoreau

"You see things and you say, 'Why?' But I dream things that never were and say, 'Why not?'"
- George Bernard Shaw

"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Winston Churchill

"The probability that we may fail in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just."
- Abraham Lincoln

"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it."
- Aristotle


This weeks blog giveaway is officially over and we have a winner!

As always I used the Random Number Generator website to make sure that the prize is awarded fair and square. BIG Thank Yous to everyone of you who entered for a chance to win, making this a super sucessful giveaway!! You all ROCK!

CONGRATS to Cicada Studio who wins the amazing 3 card set from Three Red Hens Letterpress & Design!!

***NOTE*** I've decided to take a break from my giveaways for a little while - in part because tommorow my family and I are leaving for vacation in wonderful, sunny Flordia and I'll be away from etsy-land and blog-land for a little over a week (don't worry folks, I'll still be checking in!) and partly because I need a break - its tough to have to make time every single Wednesday Thursday afternoons to post when life with 2 kiddos is wonderfully unpredictable. I will still be doing a few etsy seller/item features, but no giveaways for a bit - maybe when school starts in the fall. Hope you all understand and can support me and my little blog on this ♥

Face Lifts on a Monday Night

I've decided that its time to give my humble little jewelry store a face lift.

I switch focus between my shops so much that I always feel like one side of what I do is constantly lacking, thus making me constantly tweak things.

To be honest I havent taken enough care in my photographing for my TwistThis shop, and I think that's been reflected in my sales. I mean I can't complain, I've done well for the amount of time that I've been on etsy, but I'm afraid my shop layout isnt as professional and cohesive looking as I'd like it to be. Sooooooo.... in the wake of a major update, with a bunch of new pieces too that I'm slowly adding to the shop, I've decided to rephotograph my jewelry and lighten the pictures (God Bless Picassa!) and crop them down to size to make the best thumbnails that I can and eliminate distortion.

So I thought I'd share a few of my new photos with you all in a feeble attempt at getting a little feedback .... *hint hint* And if you'd like to see the rest.... well I suppose that you'll have to check out the shop!! ♥

From Small Acorns Do Tall Trees Grow

I have a new and wonderful hobby! And its all Janell aka Dancing Mooney's fault ♥

So some back story would be appropriate here... awhile back I contributed to some of Janell's giveaways for her blog - which I'm a huge fan of and a daily reader of. And being the wonderful person that she is, she sent me a thank you card and tucked inside was a beautiful little collaged owl card that I just so happened to have had in my favorites list on etsy. --- the owl on the left if you'd all like to be nosy and take a peek!

Now at that point I wasn't really familiar with ACEO's. I don't live under a rock - and as an etsy addict I knew what they were, but never really had an interest in collecting them, much left making them.

That little owl flipped a switch in my head.

With a little friendly coaxing via convo my brain, as per norm, started swirling. I wanted to try my hand at collage art, and those little ACEO's seemed the best place to begin. They are, after all, so small and unintimidating - should be easy right??

Now if you follow my blog - then you know all about my dilemma here thanks to this post. The inspiration just wasn't there. Journals I'm awesome at. Jewelry I can do. But when it comes to actual art - well, Brayden out shined me by about a mile. I was discouraged and just chalked it up to me not really needing yet another creative focus - I mean, with 2 kids, 1 husband, 2 etsy shops I DO have alot on my plate. And that was that.

Then, out of the blue I got a wonderful package from Janell in the mail - which is always a delight when the only thing you are expecting is a fist full of bills and random junk mail. I was pleasantly surprised with oodles of embellishments, ephemera, and sweet little goodies along with another wonderful ACEO (the one on the right this time! She's so talented!!) tucked inside of a sweet and inspirational note saying that I should give it another go.

And so I did. And this time I struck creative gold. I got on an ACEO roll and just can't stop now.
The train is a-movin' - The wheels are in motion - Theres no turning back now!

I've been bitten by the bug and have made a bunch of fun little ACEO's - and I'm making them for me. Not in the style that I think others will like, and will sell, but rather what I like.

I haven't decided what I want to do with them yet - I'm so proud of them that part of me wants to keep them. I want to make some to trade too, and maybe, just maybe some time in the future maybe add them to my etsy shop. But for now I'm having fun, enjoying a new hobby, and unleashing a wonderful new creative part of my brain!

Thank You Janell ♥

By The Numbers

Yay! I found myself in a lovely numeric treasury this afternoon and thought that I would share! I would send you all a link, but it only had 14 minutes left when I discovered it :-( But it was beautifully done!! I love me some numbers!! BIG thanks to AREjewellery ♥

Etsy Feature: ♥Three Red Hens Letterpress & Design♥

Etsy Feature: ♥Three Red Hens Letterpress & Design♥

Shop Name: Three Red Hens Letterpress & Design

What do you make? In my Etsy shop, Three Red Hens, I create fun letterpress greeting cards for all occasions. I love using modern original illustrations and bold colors to create cards that serve a function but are also fun art pieces.

How did you first pick up your craft? I took a letterpress class here in New York City and fell in love with it. Letterpress takes a lot of patience and knowledge of machinery & sense of design – it’s a difficult craft that I’m still learning to master but I love the challenge.

What are you inspired by? Classic letterpress designs are inspiring but I feel most inspired by modern illustrations, graphic design, silkscreen art, and retro-inspired designs. I’m really inspired by the farm & education center where I work (as you can tell with the chicken-inspired business name). I hope to have farm-inspired vegetable, fruit & animal cards designed & printed in the coming months. I also like Japanese art: nature prints, simple spacious designs, and cute cartoon characters.

Tell me about yourself: My name is Erika. I have a lot of other artistic outlets that I’m exploring one by one. I started out drawing and doing photography, then letterpress. Now I’m getting into woodblock & linoleum printing. It’s so much fun – I just wish there were more room in my little Manhattan apartment for a real studio.

Other etsy shops you love:
Magic Jelly
She Rides the Lion - I’ve been inspired by her skills as I get into woodblock & linoleum printing.
Schmetz Petz - I just discovered this artist who offers prints of his sweet & sometimes hilarious paintings of dogs and other animals doing very human things like surfing, sipping martinis and playing guitar.

Advice for fellow artists/crafters? Keep exploring & stay positive. Becoming skilled at your art takes time & patience. There are so many helpful people on Etsy and in the community who can help you grow. Search out positive environments and opportunities to learn.


♥GIVEAWAY♥
This weeks giveaway is fabulous!! Three Red Hens Letterpress & Design has some the most beautifully designed letterpress cards out there and I am so thrilled to be able to offer you all a chance to have the oppertunity to make the next card you send out and extra special one courtesy of Erika and her wonderful designs!!

Three Red Hens Letterpress & Design has graciously offered not one, not two, but 3 of her stunning cards to the winner of this giveaway!


How to enter:: RUN, dont walk, on over to Three Red Hens Letterpress & Design and leave a comment here stating your favorite design from this spectauclar shop! I guarentee that you'll have a hard time picking out your favorite because Erika's cards are absolutely stunning!!

Standard Rules apply ---> You must leave a way for me to contact you in case you win! On Wednesday 07/23/08 I'll announce the winner provided at least 10 people have entered this giveaway!..... what are you waiting for??? Go and check out the amazing goodies at Three Red Hens Letterpress & Design!!

Wednesdays Words of Wisdom

"Expecting the world to treat you fairly because you are good is like expecting the bull not to charge because you are a vegetarian."
-Dennis Wholey

"Human beings, vegetables, or cosmic dust - we all dance to a mysterious tune, intoned in the distance by an invisible piper. "
-Albert Einstein

"Life is a train of moods like a string of beads; and as we pass through them they prove to be many colored lenses, which paint the world their own hue, and each shows us only what lies in its own focus."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."
-Mark Twain

"Every piece of paper has two good sides ... unless you're using a magic marker. Then your fucked!"


It's that time again... We have a winner folks! This weeks blog giveaway is officially over!!

As always I used the Random Number Generator website to make sure that the prize is awarded fair and square. BIG Thank Yous to everyone of you who entered for a chance to win, making this a super sucessful giveaway!! You all ROCK!

CONGRATS to Raven who wins the amazing Custom Mounted Rubber Stamp - 1 1/2 Inches by 1 1/2 Inches from Official Initial Rubber Stamps!! And of course be sure to be here tommorow for this weeks new giveaway featuring the stunningly sweet items from Three Red Hens Letterpress & Design!!

Going GREEN

I'm going green. Well acctually I've been green since the birth of my little business but in the wake of the green movement and the rapid consumer desire to buy recycled goods and help out our planet I'm advertising it for the first time.

My amazing, wonderful, incredible mother in law works at a local paper factory/mill making office and hospital paper goods. As you can imagine they go through quite a bit of paper on a daily basis and only use bigger cuts for their projects. Awhile ago she started bringing home some of the plants "waste scraps", aka paper deemed too small to use, home for Brayden to color on - literally boxes at a time. And now she brings it home to me to fill my journals with - and I'm not talking crapola thin computer paper, heavy duty, durable bristol board paper! Rather than just burn it and watch the once beautiful trees that were cut down for the sake of those "waste scraps" go up in smoke, I like to think that I'm helping to save the earth one piece of paper at a time ♥


And while we're on the subject - A few of my favorite amazing and earth friendly sites you may enjoy::
EarthFirst - Quite possibly my favorite Green website. Hilarious and Relevent!
Ideal Bite - Bite-sized ideas for green living.

Desolate

I've always had a sort of facination with darkish - desolate photography. I dont know, perhaps its the way that the photographer finds the beauty in the little things that we so often overlook and take for granted, but something about it just strikes my fancy. So of course I thought I'd share a few of my etsy favs with you all.

Gothicrow Images
lightleaks

Sixhours Photography

Jacqleen Bleu Photography

Anthropologie Lovlies

I'm totally drooling over all of the new goodies in the Anthropologie cataloge. If I had nothing to wear for the rest of my life but these clothes I'm pretty sure that I would be perfectly happy! So of course I thought I'd share some of the lovlies with you all.

Yay! A Blog Fashion Show!

Etsy Feature: ♥Official Initial♥

Etsy Feature: ♥Official Initial♥
Shop Name: Official Initial Rubber Stamps

What do you make? We create custom rubber stamps for people to use for their craft. It started by us using stamps in our pottery and then it grew into a booming full time adventure inspired by ETSY and only available from us here. We do have a website and a blog: our website is http://www.stampativity.com/
which links right to our ETSY store. We get alot of new customers that never bought anything here ever and found our website and make their first purchases through us.

How did you first pick up your craft? My mother ( Jody ) started a business that specialized in monogramming and personalization in the late 70's in NC. We sold it in the 90's and we found that we missed the excitement we created for our customers and all the nice people we met over the years and when Cole ( short for Nicole ) found ETSY she said it would be the perfect creative outlet where we could shine as a mother and daughter duo once again.

What are you inspired by? Our customers inspire us, and well...anything! We love graphics and vintage things and we really like to hear the customers delighted responses when we create something just for them!

Tell me about yourself: Jody is mom to Cole we both live at the beach and have full time jobs.

Cole is a famous potter who creates tabletop that is sold all over the world as well as many originals in galleries and gifts shops all over, she is also the artist behind the line drawings and most of the compositions.

Jody is the type stylist and likes to make the vintage images from things she finds everywhere. Jody also answers most of the e-mails because Cole is in her studio most of the day.

Other etsy shops you love: We both love glass, anything blown glass.
Providence Art Glass
Alis Glass Designs
Mandella Glass
and we both agree some of the nicest customers we have had have been jewelry artists. We have some of our customers shops listed in our blog in no particular order or love but as we find the time to add them all ;)
BLOG - http://officialinitial.blogspot.com/

Advice for fellow artists/crafters? Advertise! You can never afford not to advertise! That should be your mantra. Spend a certain amount each month just promoting yourselves. It really pays when you keep it up.

♥GIVEAWAY♥

This weeks giveaway is fabulous!! Official Initial Rubber Stamps houses so many amazing pieces and beautiful designs and I am absolutely thrilled to be able to offer you all a chance to win your very own customized stamp!!

Jody and Cole has graciously offered the lovely Custom Mounted Rubber Stamp - 1 1/2 Inches by 1 1/2 Inches from their etsy shop to one lucky reader of this blog! Totally awesome right???

How to enter:: RUN, dont walk, on over to Official Initial Rubber Stamps and leave a comment here stating your favorite design from this spectauclar shop! I guarentee that you'll have a hard time picking out your favorite because Jody and Cole's pieces are absolutely stunning!!

Standard Rules apply ---> You must leave a way for me to contact you in case you win! On Wednesday 07/16/08 I'll announce the winner provided at least 10 people have entered this giveaway!..... what are you waiting for??? Go and check out the amazing goodies at Official Initial!!!

Wednesdays Words Of Wisdom

"I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day."
- Elwyn Brooks White

"Life is like an onion: You peel it off one layer at a time, and sometimes you weep."
- Carl Sandburg

"You have been my friend. That in itself is a tremendous thing. I wove my webs for you because I liked you. After all, what's a life, anyway? We're born, we live a little while, we die. A spider's life can't help being something of a mess, with all this trapping and eating flies. By helping you, perhaps I was trying to lift up my life a trifle. Heaven knows anyone's life can stand a little of that."
- E.B. White - Charlotte's Web

"Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing."

- Hellen Keller

"In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life. It goes on."

- Robert Frost


And in other news, its that time again... We have a winner folks! This weeks blog giveaway is officially over!!

As always I used the Random Number Generator website to make sure that the prize is awarded fair and square. BIG Thank Yous to everyone of you who entered for a chance to win, making this a super sucessful giveaway!! You all ROCK!

CONGRATS to Michele P. who wins the lovely Personalized Tree Notecards - Set of 12 from Deb's Design !! And of course be sure to be here tommorow for this weeks new giveaway featuring the stunningly sweet items from Official Initial Rubber Stamps!!

Fun With Flickr

Ok, so I stole this fun little game from a blog that I clicked my way to this afternoon courtesy of subu. - Its super fun too, which is always a plus ... and maybe a selling point to get you all to do it too! So here goes...

The Concept:
a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.b. Using only the first page, pick an image.c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker.

The Questions:
1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One Word to describe you.
12. Your flickr name

And heres what I came up with:

And for those with a flickr acct - you should add me :-) - http://www.flickr.com/photos/ifyoustealmysunshine/

A - C - E - Oh No!

Awhile back - in my "I'm going to be some kind of master artist" phase I bought some ACEO blanks and was all geared up and ready to create! - So I finally got them in the mail, all fresh and white and new and sat down at my desk, supplies stretched out, blank card in hand and......

Nothing.

Seriously, truely, absolutely nothing at all came to me. I did "attempt" to make one, a collaged tree with buttons but, well, lets just say that it will remain in the annals of my paper box never to see the light of day again. (did I mention that I can't draw to save my life either?)

So I gave the blanks to Brayden who was more than happy to make some art of his own - thus resulting in the most treasured ACEO's I could ever have. ♥

Happy 4th of July!

Wishing everyone a wonderful and happy 4th!!

Eat lots of hamburgers, watch lots of fireworks, spend lots of time with your families, be safe and have fun ♥

Etsy Feature: ♥Deb's Design♥

Etsy Feature: ♥Deb's Design♥

Shop Name: Deb's Design

What do you make? I make a lot of different things, but my focus right now is on illustration design and personalized cards. I love everything that has to do with paper.

How did you first pick up your craft? I originally fell in love with scrapbooking, but I found that it was just too hard to keep up and drag everything out to assemble pages. I found that stamping and creating cards were easier to do in a short block of time and fell in love once more. When on maternity leave with my baby, I could not drag out all the stamps and necessary items to stamp cards so I started working on designs on the computer and it has just grown from there.

What are you inspired by? Oh, there are so many things. I am inspired by youth, sunny weather, traveling, family, the farmer’s market and so much more.

Tell me about yourself: I love to be outside and want to live in the mountains RIGHT NOW. I miss being able to go hiking or camping without dying of heat exhaustion. It is really humid where I live and once you step outside you feel like you need to go take a shower right away. (Yuck, I know!!)

I love spending time with my family and making them my first priority. I also work in real estate and love photography too.

Other etsy shops you love: Oh, there are so many, but some of my FAVORITE favorites right now are:
Posh Dots
Piddles
Iragrant

Advice for fellow artists/crafters? Love what you do and you will be happy and successful.

♥GIVEAWAY♥
This weeks giveaway is fabulous!! Deb's Design houses so many amazing pieces and as a die hard paper lover I'm absolutely thrilled to be able to offer you all a chance to have some of it grace your home!

Deb has graciously offered the lovely Personalized Tree Notecards - Set of 12 from her etsy shop to one lucky reader of this blog! Totally awesome right???

How to enter:: RUN, dont walk, on over to Deb's Design and leave a comment here stating your favorite item from this spectauclar shop! I guarentee that you'll have a hard time picking out your favorite because Deb's Design pieces are absolutely stunning!!

Standard Rules apply ---> You must leave a way for me to contact you in case you win! On Wednesday 07/09/08 I'll announce the winner provided at least 10 people have entered this giveaway!..... what are you waiting for??? Go and check out the amazing goodies at Deb's Design!!!