Artist Interview Feature - Cindy from Dixie Pixie

Artfire seller and artist Cindy Thomson let me interview her for this artist feature. Cindy creates jewelry and sells them in her Artfire shop here. Check out some of Cindy's products here:

Tell us a bit about yourself and your family!
I am 31 years old and I currently work as a public school elementary school music teacher.  I currently live in SW Kansas and teach here in a small school district but I'm a native of northern MN.  My immediate family lives up there.  I have a younger sister and brother.  My sister is married with 3 beautiful little girls... my lovely nieces.  My parents still live up there as well and I try to visit them at least 3 times a year but we are working on visiting each other more.
I have a wonderful boyfriend down here in Kansas.  His name is Lee.  He makes me laugh and is the best dance partner ever.

How did you come up with your shop name?

One year a friend of mine and I decided we wanted to make hand puppets to take the Renaissance festival with us.  She had an old pattern stowed away and we set to work making the king, princess, queen and jester puppets.  The jester ended up being my favorite.... so I made more of them.  I also had gotten into making my own jewelry about the same time and thus the name.... Fools and Jewels.  Sadly, the jester puppets don't seem to sell well so I quit making them.

Where do you create your items?
Most of them are created at home while I am sitting on my bed watching/listening to the TV.  Sometimes I take my stuff on the road and create things on my lunch break, out in the park, at a craft show and at my bf's place.

Cinnamon Haven Sale and Giveaway Announcement

One of my blogmania sponsors, Ally from Cinnamon Haven, recently announced that she is having an amazing sale in both of her stores:
-Etsy
-Cinnamon Haven Website

The sale: 3 for the price of 2 on all charms!

Details:
3 for 2 on all create a charm bracelet
Launching this month is our 3 for the price of two promotions create a charm bracelet.

Prices starts are little as $0.80 cent equivalent to £0.50 pence. Charms or blanks bracelets in our 3 for 2 offers and the lowest priced for free.
Offer ends at 5th November 2010

Ally is also co-hosting a giveaway for her delicious-looking jewelry:

Anum Khan and i are hosting giveaway, for our subscribers on you tube. Our subscribers will have the chance of winning a set of chocolate-chip

...cookie earrings and a matching necklace handmade by me. Please bear in mind that you

don't need to enter more than once. The contest ends on Friday,

September 24. Anum Khan will be choosing a winner randomly.

This contest is also open to those who read PB&J Mag, so the winner could also be chosen from there.

+ + + + + + + + + +

Rules:

- You must be a subscriber of summerxskin, and allybruce08 channel

- If you are under 18 or under, please have permission from your parents before entering

-You are entering for a chance to win a set of chocolate-chip cookie

earrings and the necklace, and if you do win, Ally will ship the item

directly to you

- To enter, simply comment on the video saying, "Enter Me!"

- Due to fraudulent activity, this contest is only open for residents in Canada, United States, and United Kingdom

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MmI3wzrJig 

Giveaway 3 Custom Fortune Cookies! Open to All

Just Say It is the creative venture of Allison Book. Allison creates buttons, magnets, greeting cards and these:

Here is a bit about the fortune cookies, from Allison's shop listing: 

A custom cookie makes a perfect gift, especially for Valentines Day, wedding favors, birthday gifts, Christmas ornaments, or for no reason at all.

The fortune cookies are handmade. They are constructed of velveteen, cotton thread, and cotton rag paper.

Each cookie comes with its own individual fortune, the materials to convert it into a hanging ornament, and a small take out box, in which it is stored.

The fortune cookie itself measures 2 x 2 inches (about the same size of a real fortune cookie). The fortunes attached to the cookie extends approximately 2 inches out of the cookie’s edge

If you are thinking of ordering a custom fortune cookie please remember the following:
There is a maximum of 30 characters (including spaces) per row x3 rows. If you went any higher the font would have to be very small and it would be hard to see.

Other than the adorable and unique fortune cookies, Allison also has a great selection of 'wordy' buttons and mirrors:

Allison answered a few of my questions about herself, her art practice and her
life outside of Etsy:

Whimsical Hair Accessories by Green Pickles

U.K. artist  Aimee of Green Pickles shop and Green Pickles blog creates gorgeous vintage-inspired hair accessories.

About the artist: I am a designer and crafster who loves creating and making accessories! I adore pretty things that remind me of the fun I had as a child, fairytales, whimsical romantic feelings and sunny days. I have a lovely Fiance and I AM GETTING MARRIED THIS YEAR! Hooray for happiness!


Aimee has offered this lovely hair clip for giveaway during BlogFest - which is a blog hop of sorts, where you jump from blog to blog to enter giveaways and check out new some new blogs! I will be participating September 10-12th! 

Which of Aimee's hair accessories do you like the most? 

What hair accessories do you most use?

Polymer Accessories by Cinnamon Haven Feature

Cinnamon Haven Craft Boutique is Ally's Etsy shop, which features delicious-looking charms, earrings and more.

Be sure to check out Ally's Facebook page to keep up-to-date on her new products and what is going on in her world!

I am excited to show you what Ally will be offering for giveaway during Blogmania. . .here is just a glimpse (the rest is a surprise!):

Jenny's Treasures Feature

Jenny creates accessories for everyday use, weddings and other special occasions. I especially like her wire creations and her jewelry made with vintage beads! The shop Jenny's Treasures features hair accessories, necklaces, earrings, rings, bracelets and even a hat!
Here are a few of my favourite things in the shop:

So Rad! Sponsor Feature

Jazz's So Rad shop on Etsy features greeting cards and clothing for babies and kids. This Toronto-based online store has beautiful greeting cards that are suitable for framing, some of which will be given away right here on Being Tazim, in September!

Even though I don't have children of my own, I am really impressed with So Rad's products! Jazz discusses some of the benefits of these clothes here:

- 70% Bamboo 30% Certified Organic Cotton

- Ribbing is 100% Certified Organic Cotton

- Made and designed in Canada - by a Canadian!

- Even the fabric is knit in Canada!

- Triple stitch cover seam for durability and no inner seam (and it looks so nice)

- Super quality and well made

- All around environmentally responsible

- Environmentally responsible inks

- No flame retardant chemicals


- Matching and colour coordinated

- Contrast thread colour (green items have brown thread, blue items have avocado green thread, pink items have orange thread)

- Hypoallergenic 


- Anti-bacterial properties

- Heat regulating 


- Prewashed for minimal shrinkage and super softness

- Very generous sizing

- Functional clothes designed with thought

- Making Mummy Madness Manageable!

Hair Accents - Flower Clips and Accessories Sponsor Feature

Southern-California based artist, mom and home stager Yogi Gray is multi-talented. I am happy to be working with Yogi to promote her businesses, and to have her as my newest Blogmania sponsor! In addition to being a sponsor for Blogmania, she is also my new blog sponsor. Please take the time to look at her two stores by clicking on her ads in the sidebar! 

A little about just one of Yogi's creative ventures from her Etsy store bio:

I create beautiful hair accessories inspired by the most beautiful things in the world--flowers.

I strive to bring you beauty and joy in something so simple as a flower to brighten your world.

I'm a full time wife and mom of two adopted-at-birth children, now 5 and almost 4 years old. We were so blessed and honored to have these children! 

Yogi started out in the home-staging business and later moved to creating paintings, which she sells in her Distinctive Color Art store, and these beautiful flower accessories in her Hair Accents store:

Color Me Art Spa Feature

Debra Lee Murrow operates Color Me Art Spa, where she runs art events. She also sells prints in her online shop. Debra will be providing a lovely black and white print for giveaway during the Blogmania event September 15/16!

It seems like people are already starting to look into gifts for the holidays. Debra offers a postcard of the month gift that you can purchase in her shop. I think that this is a really fun and clever idea. It costs only $3 a month!

All photos from Debra's shop. 

Ecclectic Ladyland Studio Feature

Angelique from Ecclectic Ladyland creates beaded jewelry items, which she sells on Artfire. Do check out her store, if only to take a look at her great store banner! Angelique shared some information with me about her life and art practice, as well as some photos of her studio and a work in progress:

Secret Safe Books Studio Feature

Kara from Secret Safe Books' niche product is a series of books with their insides cut-out so that valuables can be hidden within.

What I love about these books is that they are real. Kara is happy to accept custom orders if buyers want a specific book used or a particular shape cut-out from within the book. This customization ensures that the book looks perfectly natural in your home/office. This is important because you can use these Secret Safe Books to hold your passport, money, keys or other valuables. . .and the uniqueness of the book means that it won't easily stand out on a shelf.

Check out Kara in her studio:

Even if custom ordering isn't what you're after, I'm sure you'll find something that you'll like from the extensive collection of books in both the cult classics/pop culture and classics/keepsakes sections. Just take a look at some of the 'pre-made' books Kara has on offer:

Fresh Cut Fabrics Sponsor Feature

Check out the Fresh Cut Fabrics blog for great ideas on what to use their store's fabric on.

For instance, look at this before and after:

Bio from Eileen and Karena:

We are a mom and daughter home based shop selling freshly cut fabrics right off the bolt or roll. All of our fabrics are NEW and cut fresh for you upon ordering. Most of our listings will be by the yard, by the half yard, by the fat quarter, or by the panel. We may have more available and we will also be more than glad to order fabric for you from every major manufacturer. 

We carry Alexander Henry, Michael Miller, Robert Kaufman, Waverly, Timeless Treasures, Cranston Vip, Springs Industries, Marcus Brothers, Westminster, Fabric Traditions NFL and many more. Most of our fabrics are novelty and quilting cottons and upholstery fabric. Everything is kept in a pet free and smoke free space dedicated solely to our fabric business

I showed you the 'studio' on Saturday, but here is a glimpse of Eileen's office space.  

The Fresh Cut Fabrics store carries too many kinds and types of fabric to name, so I have selected just a few to show you: 

Waverly SEASIDE Stripe AQUA Powder Blue Beige Pink Green Stripes

New York City Skyline & Statue of Liberty ~ Black & White Fabric

I am happy to have Fresh Cut Fabrics as my newest Blogmania sponsor for the September event! This unique laminated cotton fabric will be given away: 

This is the giveaway for my 'Being a Decorator' persona. I have a few other sponsors so far, which you can check out here.

Giveaway Sparkling Bliss Pink Flower Earrings

Michelle, who has a shop named Sparkling Bliss, has a great love for jewelry design, which is evident when looking at this week's giveaway item, a pair of pink glass flower earrings:

Pink Glass Flower Earrings

Here is Michelle's description of the item: Vintage inspired and oh so pretty. Designed and quality hand-crafted with loving care by jewelry artist Michelle Hynek. These earrings were created using pretty pink glass lily beads dangling from pretty copper hoops with copper findings. They measure about 2 inches and are finished off with copper French hooks. Comes beautifully packaged in a lovely gift box for immediate gift giving or as as a treat for yourself!

Prairie Star Jewels Artist Feature

The first thing I noticed when I looked at Deb's shop is how light and peaceful the store looks. The shop banner's soothing colours work well with the jewelry, which also takes on the same tones. 

A Short Bio:
My name is Deb Williams and I am the jewelry designer behind Prairie Star Jewels. Thanks to my parents I have always been interested in making things. I have made macramé, tole painted, made clay creatures, stationery, wooden snowmen, feather earrings and Picture Frames just to name a few.


I have been laid off from the corporate cubicle world for a year and finally decided to do something fun. I had been making some jewelry for art shows to go along with the picture frames. I decided no more frames (not creative enough). That left me with my jewelry where the sky is the limit.


I love sitting down with a bunch of supplies around me and just having ideas come to me. Sometimes I sit up all night. There are times in the morning though when I look at these late night creations and wonder why I didn’t go to bed!
I always wanted a fun and creative job. Now I have it at least for awhile. My favorite saying is ‘Do what you love, love what you do’ and I am living it up!

Deb let me take a look at her work space:

I love how organized Deb's jewelry making supplies are!

Inkblossom Sponsor Feature

Tiffany, the owner of inkblossom on Etsy, is one of my sponsors of Blogmania! If you are unfamiliar with the Blogmania event, it is a 2-day event September 15th and 16th, where readers hop from blog to blog and enter to win giveaways which are valued at $100 minimum! You can read more about the event on my dedicated page. 

Tiffany makes and sells lots more than tags, but I will be focusing on just the tags today, since she will be providing some for the Blogmania giveaway.

All these tags can be found in the inkblossom Etsy shop.

____________________

inkblossom's Shop Announcement

Welcome to my shop! Please take a look around!

If you see an item that you like and you're interested in a custom order, please let me know. I love custom orders and enjoy trying to exceed your expectations! Coordinating items can also be made upon request. Send me a convo if you have any questions.

I hope you delight in my products as much as I do!

____________________

This is what Inkblossom will be providing for the Blogmania event on my blog:

Being a Traveller:

-Distressed Travel Tags, set of 3 from Inkblossom| twitter | facebook page

You can see the tags in the last picture, with the man and the umbrella! 

You will get extra entries if you follow Inkblossom on twitter or facebook during the Blogmania event, so why not get started and follow now? 

Busy at Home - Blogmania Blog Feature

This is a feature post on a great blogging lady, Glenda, who writes the blog Busy-at-Home. She is a fellow Blogmania blogger. She and I (and over 173 others) will be participating in this great blog event in September!

Busy-at-Home strives to support and encourage wives and moms in the day-to-day details of the work they are blessed with at home. I am a wife, a mother of five (ages 8, 14, 17, 24, and; 26) and I have three adorable grandkids. We have homeschooled for twenty-one years.

At Busy-at-Home, we spend a lot of time finding ways to be good stewards of the talents and

resources each of us has been given, sharing cooking tips, once-a-month cooking ideas and recipes, plus home decorating and gardening tips, homeschooling experiences and information, book and curriculum reviews, crafting projects, and general reflections on life as a wife, mom, and grandma. I also love doing reviews and giveaways of products that make all

the "hats" we wear, easier to juggle! I hope you'll visit soon, and often, and know that you are warmly welcomed! And now, to Blogmania. I couldn't be more excited and I know you will be, too!

So, you've started your Christmas planning and shopping, right -- working out the deals, grabbing the best bargains and planning the most exciting and memorable family celebration a frugal budget will allow? -lol- Me either. I know some of you are much more organized than I have been and actually have started thinking in that direction, but until this past week, it wasn't even on my radar screen. We all know the only way to make sure spending doesn't get out of hand is to plan ahead, have a firm budget in place and then stick to it. I love that time of year and everything that goes along with it -- the cooking and baking, decorating and celebrating, the times with family and friends, creating and celebrating treasured memories. That's why, without a plan in place, it is easy to get caught up in the moment and just spend, spend, spend. So, I couldn't be more excited to share an opportunity I received right before the Fourth of July weekend! Maybe you've participated before, but it is brand new to me and the concept is extraordinary! It's Blogmania 2010.

Kim Ann Rose Saturday Studio Feature

Kim Rose Colored Glass is the shop of Kimberly Ann Rose. She creates stained-glass style wall hangings, keychains, fans, dog tags and more! We've already gotten to know Kim from her interview she gave during the 30 Days of Giveaways event. This photo of Kim in her studio shows a bit of her design process:

Here are some more amazing things made by Kim:

Hi Girls Studio Feature

This is the first official Studio Saturday post. Each week I will bring you a post featuring an artist's studio, some examples of their work and a short interview with them. Alternatively, or sometimes in addition to, I will feature a physical store with pictures of what they carry and more.

If you would like to be included in these features and have an online store or are an artist with pictures of your studio space (even your living room, if that is where you work!) please email me.  

I would like to introduce you to Lisa who owns the shop HiGirls. Lisa creates handbags, jewelry and household items. 

Here are some pictures of Lisa's studio space and what she has to say about it:

The floor cloth is of course handmade by me. This is a former guest room on the third floor of our victorian house. As you can see, I've made it quite comfy. Futon works as extra bed when the house is full! I especially love my folding, rolling work table. It converts into an ironing table as well.  

Golden Birthday & the End of 30th Birthday Month

Today is my golden birthday. That is, I am the same age today as the day of the month that I was born. It means just about as much (to me) as 8/8/88 (for August 8th 1988) or similar, I think.

I've had a lot of fun meeting new people through the 30 days of giveaways and birthday-themed posts. Thank you readers for celebrating my 30th birthday month with me! 

Here is a bad photo from one of my birthdays at my mom's montessori that she owned. I am in the middle with my mom and dad.

A huge thank you to all the wonderful (and talented!!) sponsors who provided items for the giveaways. Many of the giveaways are still up, so if you haven't entered to win, you still have time! Here is the list of sponsors so that you can go visit their shops, and enter their giveaways if they are still up:

• Kimbas Critters (Multimedia Cat Tile ends tonight at midnight 6/30 worldwide)
• Sass & Peril (Choice of Print & Plush Keychain ends 7/1 worldwide)
• Pikithins
• Storm One
• The May Flower (Handmade gift pack with Pikithins and Storm One ends 7/2 worldwide)
• Nevita
• Bhang-Tiez (Handmade gift pack #2 with Nevita ends 7/3 worldwide)
• Spirals (Mother of Pearl Headband ends 7/4 worldwide)
• N.O.W. Creations (Oven Rack Helper ends 7/5 US/Canada - low entries!!!)
• Industrie (Washer Earrings and $5 GC ends 7/6 worldwide)
• Lovegrant (Silver Cuff Bracelet ends 7/6 worldwide)
• Foxes and Robbers (Gift Tags as part of stationary prize pack ends 7/7 worldwide)
• Parami Panda (2 crochet patterns ends 7/8 worldwide)
• Studioahimsa  (Choice between 2 prints ends 7/9 worldwide)

Other amazing sponsors who have also provided items for giveaway:

• Eventually Cottage
• Just Sew Sassy
• Ugabugabowls
• SSheilah
• Sarah Wong Jewelry
• Once Upon a Peony
• Nature Sweetie
• Yanni's Creations
• Cabbing Rough
• Kim Rose
• Pieces of Me Pendants

If you haven't had a chance to read my birthday month posts, here they are:

Giveaway 30 Days - Choice of Print

The last giveaway of the 30 Days of Giveaway Event is one sponsored by my best friend Greg. 

The giveaway item is your choice of either of these brand-new prints from our Studioahimsa shop: 

Coffee Coffee Coffee 8"x10" print on cloth

OR

Lake Waikeromoana print

Limited Edition Signed 1 of 12 with black matte 8"x10"

Greg is a Vancouver-based artist who works in a variety of mediums.