FYF - DUO (GIVEAWAY)
April 24th, 2009THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED!!!!!
Welcome to another edition of Feature You Friday! Meet Laura Kim of Duo….
Hi there! My name is Laura Kim and I’m the designer behind the earrings at my shop, Duo. I have been living in Georgia with my husband for about three years now. I am an elementary art teacher by day and a jewelry maker by way of night. I’m a true Hoosier girl at heart who happened to fall in love with the beauty of stones at a very young age when my Dad took us to Rock & Gem shows.
I have been designing and selling jewelry online for well over 6 years. After about 4 years running my own jewelry website, I decided that I wanted to work at a slower pace and so I opened my Etsy storefront. I absolutely loved making necklaces and bracelets too, but I couldn’t keep up with the overhead of so many supplies. I couldn’t bear the thought of just giving up my love of jewelry making, so I decided to focus on earrings for the time being, because well, I just love them! Working with kiddos and art supplies all day long doesn’t really allow me to wear a lot of adornment, however, earrings I can do without much hassle! Plus, I’m just addicted to beads and baubles and have to get my hands working with them whenever possible. My Etsy shop has been a great place for me to run a small business where my handiwork can be appreciated while I stay connected to my customers that I have built up over the years. Plus, I have a great time networking with other Georgia artists.
My shop name, Duo, is just a reflection of the jewelry I make. Since I concentrate on creating earrings; duo: two objects of the same sort seemed to be the perfect name! I hope you enjoy browsing around and to say thank you…I am giving one lucky reader any pair of earrings (their choosing) priced at $15 or under. (This would make a great Mother’s Day gift!)
To Enter: Visit Duo and choose the pair you like the best. Leave a comment here at The Post-It Place stating your choice. All entries must be received by May 1st at 5 PM EST. All entries must have a valid US mailing address. Winner will be selected using Random.org. Winner will have 3 days to respond to the confirmation e-mail before another winner will be selected. Have fun and Good Luck!
Want extra entries? Blog it, with a link back to here (leave link where it can be found). Subscribe (either by a reader or request in your comment to be added to the e-mail list only for contests and giveaways). Place my button on your blog (leave link it can be found at). Stumble it (leave your ID in comment).Twitter it (leave ID in a comment, mine is jillybean01 if you would like to follow me). Technorati it (leave your ID in comment). That is 6 extra entries that you can earn for a total of 7. All extra entries must be left in a separate comment.
FYF-OhNoUDidn’tDesigns! (GIVEAWAY)
April 17th, 2009THIS CONTEST IS CLOSED!!
Welcome to Feature You Friday… an ongoing series where you can hear about great arts and crafts and meet the great people behind them. This series features mostly artist and craftsmenpeople from Georgia but is open to others as well. So if you know of someone you would like to see featured just let me know. Even if it is you. Today, is all about fun, funky, and using recycled products to make something very cool. Merci has come up with products that are conversation starters, they are plain out FUN and they are useful…and help save our planet. Let’s meet her:
Tell us a bit about yourself - name, location and personal stuff.
My name is Merci’a Gomez-Powell and I am located in north Atlanta. The crafting world calls me “Merci.” I am a wife, mother of four children and work my OhNoUDidntDesigns by Wrapper Fashion business full time.
How long have you been a crafter/designer?
With the help of matriarchs in my family, I started sewing my dresses in the 9th grade but the real love for sewing didn’t happen until after I had children in the early 90’s. I started my own fairly successful business in Connecticut that focused on ethnic print fabric accessories like hats, jumpers, men leisure suits & home decor. I moved away from ethnic styles and began selling vintage jewelry and clothing in 2001. In 2004 I caught the recycled accessory bug after seeing a duct taped tote made from Kool Aid Jammer wrappers at a friend’s cook-out. With some nudging by me, my children started bringing home mounds of Capri Sun wrappers from their summer day camp for me to create totes. By the fall 2004, I was utilizing lamination and snack wrappers and other “fast foods” and sewing them into creations you see today.
Are you professionally trained?
I have no school training. The quality of my designs comes from learning under the elders of my family circle. I come from a long line of seamstresses and crafters. But, I’m always seeking out new methods, classes, etc. You can never learn too much about your craft!
Do you have a favorite item that you make?
I love the recycled 2-liter soda wrapper purses and totes. They’re usually so colorful, and pliable to work with when creating one.
Do you recycle?
My whole family recycles religiously. I also encourage others to recycle. I have many donors of the wrappers in inventory and partner with a few schools to collect their snack trash. Teaching by example is the best way to get the word out!
How long does it take to create a purse or tote?
I can whip up a medium sized, basic tote within 1.5 hours. I’m creating a more elaborately designed line for summer, and those style purses take about 2.5 hours.
Do you/your family eat all of the food inside the wrappers you use?
Absolutely not! We’d all be as big as a house if that were the case. Most of the wrapper inventory I have comes from donations by individuals and schools.
Do you see yourself still creating the Wrapper Fashion line for years to come?
I will create these recycled yummies until the last one goes out the door and no one orders anymore. Hopefully that won’t be for a long time! 
Merci and OhNoUDidn’tDesigns is giving away this cute Reese’s Purse to one lucky reader. But don’t be fooled by the representation of her work that you see here. It is far mor extensive than I could show. Check her out, you will be amazed at the different items she has learned to create out of recyclable materials.
To enter Visit OhNoUDidn’tDesigns and then leave a comment here stating what your favorite item on her store is. All entries must be recieved by April 24th at 5 PM EST. All entries must have a valid US mailing address. Winner will be selected using Random.Org. Winner will be notified by post here and by e-mail and will have 3 days to respond before another winner will be selected.
Want extra entries? Blog it, with a link back to here (leave link where it can be found). Subscribe (either by a reader or request in your comment to be added to the e-mail list only for contests and giveaways). Place my button on your blog (leave link it can be found at). Stumble it (leave your ID in comment).Twitter it (leave ID in a comment,and you can follow me if you would like). Technorati it (leave your ID in comment). That is 6 extra entries that you can earn for a total of 7. All extra entries must be left in a separate comment.
Whisper Wing Studio (GIVEAWAY)
April 15th, 2009THIS CONTEST IS CLOSED!!!
Hi, my name is Julie Crudo-Stroud and I live in Senoia, GA with my husband, Paul and 14-year old Yellow Lab, Amos. I am a jewelry artist. I love working with metals and gemstones. I specialize in one-of-a-kind or few-of-a-kind and custom-made handcrafted jewelry.
My love of jewelry goes way back to my childhood. I came from a from a family that wore it and gave it away as gifts. I became an early trained girly-girly who loved jewelry. One of my fondest memories is playing in my Grandmother’s and mother’s jewelry box.
My jewelry making days started early too! My mother recently presented me with a brooch and a tie tack that I made for my parents when I was in the Brownies (Girl Scouts). Now granted it was only gluing little stones in the metal, but it was a beginning. In my early teens, I made chokers and ankle bracelets with a needle and thread, a hook and eye, and plain but colorful glass beads that came in tubes from the “Five and Dime”.
Fast forward to the 1990’s in Atlanta. I saw a bead store. I thought to myself “how cool”. I thought about it and brought a couple of necklaces with me to have redesigned but the woman at the counter convinced me that I could do it myself. So it began, a rekindling of an old love. Over the years, I’ve given my jewelry as gifts to family and friends and at their beckoning, I started selling, doing craft shows and now most recently, my Etsy shop. The beads gave way to taking classes in bead embroidery, bead weaving, wire wrapping, then Silversmithing classes and then a 3-month formalized jeweler’s program.
I use only quality materials in my work: gemstones, glass, crystals and precious metals to creatively design jewelry.
I feel that jewelry is a very personal expression and like fine art -it speaks to you. Not only is jewelry a body adornment but it reflects “you” in many ways, i.e., symbols, colors, memories, and healing. My creations are lasting, distinctive treasures for you to enjoy for many years to come.
I am a 2-year Breast Cancer Survivor - a percentage of my proceeds go to the American Cancer Society and while I’ve been doing jewelry all along, I found it to be very therapeutic for me. I found I was also inspired while I made my pieces which helped me to keep my sanity and helped with my healing process.
What is amazing though is that I found the name of my studio during this time. I have always loved angels - the night before I got the results of my biopsy a dear friend presented me with a Sterling Silver angel wing that she bought for me on eBay - she told the vendor that she wanted 2 - one for me and for her - and she told her that if she didn’t have 2 she didn’t want to buy them. Well, when she received them - they were left and right wings - not 2 left and not 2 right - one for me and one for her…her husband said that this was amazing because with a matching pair of wings we could lift each other up - with one wing, angels couldn’t fly. So this wing became something for me to focus on when I prayed or when I was scared or upset - touching it would bring me peace.
The morning of my surgery, I was sitting in my little cubicle waiting for my husband and daughter to be allowed to come in to see me off. I could feel the anxiety building so I was doing some heavy praying and trying to regulate my breathing. All of a sudden, on the wall across from my bed I saw 3 images what looked like wings and it looked like light coming through a blind. I was baffled because there were no windows in the room. I asked the nurse if I could go to the bathroom since I was already hooked up to some of the intravenous so I could double check to see where this light source could be coming from. There wasn’t anything that was causing a reflection. When I got back to my bed, I was sitting there kind of mumbling to myself when my husband, daughter, and minister came in. I told them what I had seen and told them that this was sign that everything was going to be alright.
When I thought about a new name for my business and Etsy Shop “Whisper Wing Studio” immediately came to my mind…divinely inspired! And today, although I am happy and healthy the wings continue to whisper to me through my work and the people that I meet.
Julie at Whisper Wing Studio has offered to give one lucky reader a pair of her gorgeous handcrafted earrings…just in time for Mother’s Day! Whose Mother wouldn’t love to receive these? Or a perfect Mother’s Day gift for yourself!
This gorgeous combination of gemstones really reminds me of the tropical sea…beautiful faceted Amazonite rectangles and domed freshwater pearls dangle with a tiny accent glass bead the same color as the Amazonite from shiny sterling silver handmade wire earrings. They measure 1-1/2 inches in length.To enter:
Visit Whisper Wing Studios and leave a comment here at The Post-It Place stating which is your favorite piece. All entries must be received by April 22nd at 5 PM EST. Winner will be selected using Random.org. Winner will have 3 days to respond to the confirmation e-mail before another winner will be selected. Have fun and Good Luck!
Want extra entries? Blog it, with a link back to here (leave link where it can be found). Subscribe (either by a reader or request in your comment to be added to the e-mail list only for contests and giveaways). Place my button on your blog (leave link it can be found at). Stumble it (leave your ID in comment).Twitter it (leave ID in a comment, mine is jillybean01 if you would like to follow me). Technorati it (leave your ID in comment). That is 6 extra entries that you can earn for a total of 7. All extra entries must be left in a separate comment.
MMM - MuddSpirit (GIVEAWAY)
April 13th, 2009THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED!!
Welcome to another edition of Meet Me Monday! I would like to introduce you to Tina from MuddSpirit Ceramic Pendants. A delightful person who really, really needs to come to my house…she likes to de-clutter. And loves the creative process. And I need both in my life. She is a fellow homeschooler and doesn’t live to far from Hick Town. I plan to look her up one day and beg her to show me her shop and have coffee with me. She has some beautiful pieces and I hope you enjoy meeting her as much as I have enjoyed getting to know her a little.
Balance and Flow with Ceramic Pendants By Muddspirit
My name is Tina and I live in Acworth, GA with my wonderful husband and son. We moved here from CA about 5 years ago, and have had the great fortune to find wonderful friends and a great community that we love.
I really, really like this one!
I have always wanted to make art of some kind, but always been so involved in music that there really wasn’t room for anything else. A while ago I stopped teaching. I wanted more time to homeschool my son, who is now 13 years old. But having this insisting urge to create, be it pulling together an event, de-cluttering my house, research school books or make something crafty, I just couldn’t stay put doing only one thing. Since I love trying new things I signed up for a pottery class one day. I took one class and I was hooked! Now, I couldn’t afford a large kiln and a wheel, so to get started I bought a tiny kiln (called a test kiln after its use for testing glaze samples), and I decided to make tiny things that would fit in my tiny kiln. And so it is that I came to make pendants!
I love the elemental look of a lot of her pieces, it just speaks volumes to me
When I create, time disappears and there is a kind of flow that I don’t want to break. I like both the fast action and excitement of throwing on the wheel, and the detailed, slower work of decorating a pendant or a pot. It’s all absorbing to me!
Nature is becoming more and more important as I get older. It is one of my main inspirations now. Being in nature connects me with life and fills me with a sense of peace and joy that I often lose in the hustle and bustle of a busy life. I also like geometric shapes (especially squares!), lines in a simple pattern or as random, sparse accents. I guess simplicity speaks to me, and since I tend to constantly bring new things and activities into my life, I have a lot of opportunity and a great need to simplify and find space. It’s a balancing act indeed.
My favorite piece! I long to have it!
Another balancing act - the pull between working in the studio and staying close to my boy and being involved in his studies. That’s an act of balance truly. A wise teacher once said that balance is movement. The act of balancing is a series of never ending adjustments. And although I would like to “find” balance and stay there, I know that every day is a new opportunity to learn the fine art of finding balance - again. Luckily I have help. Both my need to create and my love for my son help motivate me to do the balance act, called life.
You can find Tina’s creations at MuddSpirit located on Etsy. Please visit her to see all of her creations. Tina is a proud member of TeamNorGA, the local Etsy team in North GA. Please take a look at what these talented and creative people have to offer in their shops - www.teamnorga.etsy.com.
Tina is offering up this great pendant for one of you lucky readers to win.
To enter:
Visit MuddSpirit and leave a comment here at The Post-It Place stating which is your favorite piece. All entries must be received by April 24th at 5 PM EST. Winner will be selected using Random.org. Winner will have 3 days to respond to the confirmation e-mail before another winner will be selected. Have fun and Good Luck!
Want extra entries? Blog it, with a link back to here (leave link where it can be found). Subscribe (either by a reader or request in your comment to be added to the e-mail list only for contests and giveaways). Place my button on your blog (leave link it can be found at). Stumble it (leave your ID in comment).Twitter it (leave ID in a comment, mine is jillybean01 if you would like to follow me). Technorati it (leave your ID in comment). That is 6 extra entries that you can earn for a total of 7. All extra entries must be left in a separate comment.
FYF-Daisycake Soap (GIVEAWAY)
April 10th, 2009THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED!!!
Welcome to another great edition of Feature You Friday! This week we are going to come clean with our craftswoman. It is her desire to make the world a cleaner place one bar of soap at a time!
My name is Jean-Marie and I started Daisycakes Soap, LLC in New Orleans & Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Now based in Athens, GA, the business has survived our nomadic life style and has even thrived. My husband and children have helped Daisycakes grow over time, and for that I am so grateful.
(I love this one! She makes some of the cutest soaps as well as the traditional bar soaps)
I have a BS in journalism/photojournalism from Boston University and an MSW from Tulane, but have been making and selling soap full time now for 10 years. Fresh, fragrant soap can provide a unique comfort to the person using it. In that sense, soap making is a natural offshoot of being a social worker–I relate to the tangible comfort it offers.
(Have a hard time getting your kids to take a bath? Check out some of her kids soaps!)
My shop has built a solid retail Internet presence on Etsy: http://daisycakessoap.etsy.com. I still do some festivals and markets, but in recent years the focus has become markedly retail internet/wholesale. Most recently, I launched a new fund raising program to help teams, clubs, many organizations capitalize on the popularity of handmade soap! That site is: http://daisycakesfundraiser.com.
Our recent move to Athens was a great one for the business–it now has an expansive workshop, storage, curing and office space–much, much different from the beginning! It’s a space that allows a number of large projects to go on simultaneously, which is amazing. I’m committed to making Daisycakes better every single day. I love what I do & know I am incredibly lucky to get to do it.
Enter To Win It!
Jean-Marie at Daisycakes Soap is offering you each a chance to win one of her most popular items, a cake of Hockey Puck Soap!
To enter: Visit Daisycakes Soap and then leave a comment here at The Post-It Place stating what your favorite item on her site is. All entries must be received by April 17th at 5 PM EST. All entries must have a valid US Mailing address. Winner will be selected at random and will have 3 days to respond before another winner will be selected.
Want extra entries? Blog it, with a link back to here (leave link where it can be found). Subscribe (either by a reader or request in your comment to be added to the e-mail list only for contests and giveaways). Place my button on your blog (leave link it can be found at).Twitter It (leave your ID in a separate comment) Stumble it (leave your ID in comment). Technorati it (leave your ID in comment). That is 6 extra entries that you can earn for a total of 7. All extra entries must be left in a separate comment.
FYF-Foxy G Knits (GIVEAWAY)
April 3rd, 2009CONTEST CLOSED!
Welcome to Feature You Friday! I just have to tell ya’ll, it is so much fun getting to know people. I love meeting new people and learning about who they are. I hope that ya’ll are enjoying meeting some of my fellow Georgians as much as I am introducing them to you. And this week, we have a doosie!
Meet Foxy G. She runs Foxy G Knits. Her shawls and scarfs are as unique and fun as she is. And when I say she is fun…let me just show you an example:
See, told you she was fun. I want to go where ever she goes because she just exudes this exuberance that is catching. You are guaranteed to have fun.
Foxy G, tell us a little about yourself!
How Did you get Started Doing What you Do?
Knitting is my passion that has its roots in childhood. I learned from my mom, way back when we were carving our needles out of dinosaur bones. And then, sadly, I fell off the wagon and embraced needlepoint and counted cross stitch for countless years (pardon the pun). However, being a woman of true grit and strong character, I saw the light and found my way back. (told ya’ll she was a hoot)
For a long time, knitting was an avocation and not a vocation for me. While others expressed their creativity through cooking or gardening or painting, I was clicking away on my needles. In sheer and utter desperation, friends and family finally convinced me to open a store on etsy. I just know that they were getting so tired of receiving scarves, shawls, baby blankets and hats for birthdays and every other special occasion! I recently took the plunge and opened Foxy G. Knits where everything is knit by hand - from my heart to yours.
How Did you Pick Your Shop Name?
I have a little granddaughter who is going on two years old. When we were selecting our grandparent names, I joked that I would be “Grandma Lo” by day and “Foxy G.” by night. When I was trying to come up with a name for my shop, Foxy G. Knits was a natural!
What makes your items special/unique?
Foxy G. Knits features hand-knit, one-of-a-kind shawls, wraps and scarves that are versatile and designed for today’s woman. My items encompass comfort and style, and you don’t have to give up one for the other.
Is there anything else we should know?
My favorite part of the creative process is coordinating and blending various yarn colors and textures within the same garment. In addition to designing and knitting all the items that appear in the store, I also knit shawls for a local hospice.
When I am not knitting, I am collecting weird, old ashtrays. Currently, I have more than 3,000. (They live in my master bedroom, and I inhabit the west wing!) I also have cigarette cases and boxes, lighters, old magazine ads, sheet music and many promotional pieces that were put out by the various cigarette companies. My goal is to one day curate an exhibit of the 20th century as seen through these items. (ok, so I forgot to mention she was a little eccentric as well, but I told ya she was a hoot!)
FOXY G says for ya’ll to drop in to her etsy store and have a look around. And if you do, come back here to The Post-It Place and leave me a comment telling me what your favorite item is and you will be entered in a drawing for a $20 gift certificate good torwards any item. All entries must have a valid US mailing address. Deadline for entries is April 10th at 5 PM EST.
Want extra entries? Blog it, with a link back to here (leave link where it can be found). Subscribe. Place my button on your blog (leave link it can be found at). Stumble it (leave your ID in comment).Twitter it (leave ID in a comment, mine is jillybean01 if you would like to follow). Technorati it (leave your ID in comment). That is 6 extra entries that you can earn for a total of 7. All extra entries must be left in a separate comment.
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