Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Taipei, Taiwan - December 2011



We stayed in Taipei, Taiwan for 3 nights. It's too bad that it was cloudy and rained the entire time we were there.
Unlike most tourists, we did not go to those attraction sites that are normally suggested such as Memorial Halls and Temples. Instead, we went to places where most Taiwanese go on a day-to-day basis.


Night market is one of the examples. We really enjoyed the foods and drinks: stinky tofu, noodle soups and bubble teas. Authentic as is. Shopping is fun and inexpensive. Gotta love that, right?



So we thought let's go to at least ONE recommended tourist site, and we chose Taipei 101.

They had Coral Arts Exhibition. I was in awe. The details are impressive. The fact that these corals are hard to get makes them very expensive.

 
I wish we had more time to spend in Taiwan and explore more what it offers. Maybe next time.

Giveaway Winner of Vintage Children Book

Hello sweet friends! I'm in Indonesia right now, enjoying a little break but I do miss papercrafting so much. Good thing that my shop is an online shop and we have FB and twitter, which somehow makes me feel that I'm still present and is in touch with what I love doing. We have a winner for the Vintage Children Book's giveaway. Congratulations Shannon Foust! Thank you Lilly's Lucky Penny for sponsoring the giveaways. To everyone who entered, thank you! I'll be sharing some pictures of our vacation soon!




Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Giveaway Winners

I'm sorry for the giveaway winners late announcement. I've been crazy busy in completing last orders, final errand runs before heading for a vacation. Did I mention that I haven't done any packing yet? Eek!!
So without further a due, Congratulations to Kairi #128 for winning Shadow Jewels's Earrings and Maegen Morin #4 for winning Scrapbooks and Stones' $10 gift certificate. Thank you Rhonda and Colleen for sponsoring the giveaways. To everyone who entered, thank you! There are 2 current giveaways. Be sure to enter here!

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Giveaway: $10 Gift Certificate


Win $10 Gift Certificate from Baby Tweeds. Get to know Christine, our Saturday Artisan this week.

There are many ways to enter. Please make sure you leave a separate comment for every entry.

How to enter to win:

Mandatory entry:

Extra entries (only qualify once mandatory entry is fulfilled):
  • Earn 2 entries - Go to yesterday's post to know her more. Leave a comment there (yesterday's post) on at least one the following: what you learn from the interview, what you want to see more on her shop and why, or any constructive feedback are always appreciated. Come back here and leave 2 comments that you did, to ensure your entries are counted.
  • Heart Baby Tweeds (1 entry). Simply let us know your Etsy username.
  • Follow my adorebynat blog (1 entry). If you're already a follower, you still get an entry, just says you're following already.
  • Like Baby Tweeds Facebook page AND tell Christine , Nat of adorebynat send you there.
  • Like my Adorebynat Facebook Page. You must drop by and say hello to earn 1 entry.I'd love to hear from you.
  • Follow Baby Tweeds on twitter (1 entry)
  • Follow adorebynat on twitter (1 entry).
  • Tweet about this giveaway, add "@adorebynat" in your tweet. (1 entry).
  • Blog about this giveaway to earn 2 entries. Leave two separate comments here please providing me with the link to your post.
  • Be creative and share the love! Refer your friends and family to enter this giveaway. Use your social media (other than twitter and blog) to shout out this giveaway. As long as you provide me a link or a way to confirm it, you'll earn 2 entries (two separate comments).
  • Purchase an item from Baby Tweeds and earn 10 entries for each purchase. Don't forget letting us know by leaving comments.
Contest starts now and ends on December 17, 2011. Contest opens worldwide.
Don't forget to leave me a way to contact you. Entries without contact information will be disqualified. Entries that do not follow the rules will be disqualified. Contest winner will be drawn on Sunday, December 18 by a random number generator, by the artist herself. Winner must respond within 48 hours after being contacted otherwise another winner will be randomly selected.

Saturday, December 3, 2011

Saturday Artisan: Baby Tweeds

Meet Christine of Baby Tweeds, our Saturday Artisan. Baby Tweeds is an Etsy shop where vintage is dedicated for children. Adorable vintage clothing, toys and blankets and many more can be found at this shop.

Tell us a bit about yourself and what arts/ crafts that you make?
I am a stay at home mom (living in Seattle, WA) who spent several years working in high tech before my daughter was born. After the birth of my daughter 1.5 years ago I decided that I wanted to pursue a career where I would have flexible hours and that would be a great creative outlet for me. A friend of mine turned me on to Etsy and I finally opened my shop at the beginning of 2011 (although did not have any items to sell until August of this year). I love to sew headbands for babies and also plan on making some quilts and caplets in 2012.

Why vintage?
I have always been drawn to vintage items whether it is clothing, furniture, serving pieces, it is something that I love. I think that this is probably because there was a certain craftsmanship, care and detail that was used in years past to make things that you don't necessarily see in items sold today.


What is the story behind your shop name?
I can't quite explain the name except to say that one day it just came to me when I was thinking about opening a shop on Etsy.

Who is your target market?
Moms, grandmothers or anyone interested in purchasing a unique gift for a child.

For us who love to travel, could you share a bit about your beautiful town/ city?
Seattle is an amazing city. My husband and I moved here 8 years ago and absolutely love it. Downtown Seattle is filled with fun restaurants and shops in addition to the world famous Pike's Place Market where you can buy everything from fresh seafood to hand knit sweaters. Also, the Space Needle is a big draw for people visiting Seattle for its unique architecture and beautiful views. The city itself is divided into specific areas or districts (similar to San Francisco). We live in Wallingford which is an historic part of town. Many of the homes in Wallingford are over 100 years old and are craftsman style architecture (we live in a Craftsman bungalow which was built in 1906).

Could you share on how your organize your products, we all can use a little tips here and there in this department?
I organize my products by the type of clothing that I sell (as opposed to organizing the products by gender). For example, I have one section called Christening and Baptism, another called Dresses, Suits and Slips, another one called Sweaters, etc. I think that this organization works well in helping people find what they are looking for easily.

What is your best seller?
Coats, then dresses then sweaters. Everyone seems to really love a vintage warm winter coat for their child.


How does your day go in general?
Each day is different and always crazy busy. However, my daughter attends preschool 3 days a week so on those days I take her to school and then spend the rest of the day focused on my Etsy shop (photographing new items, uploading them, creating treasuries, looking through the blogs of the teams that I belong to to see if there are items that I can add to a discussion thread, etc.

How do you balance your personal and work life?
I always place my family first and once their needs/wants are covered than I work on my business. My husband is incredibly supportive of my Etsy shop so he does a lot to make my life easier in terms of keeping the house running smoothly allowing me time to work on my business.

What inspires you?
My daughter as she has a really sweet and sunny personality and makes me laugh a lot but also see the world in a new and different way. Also, other Etsy sellers have been really inspiring in terms of their products, treasuries and feedback for me.

What is your goal for 2011? And are you on the right track?
My goal for 2011 was to break even in terms of the cost of starting up my business vs. total sales. I am unfortunately not on track because although I opened my business on Etsy at the beginning of this year, I didn't actually upload anything to sell until the Fall. I am ok with this however, because I am having a lot of fun and feel like the sales and positive exposure will pay off next year.


What is your favorite tool that you cannot live without?
My laptop or sewing machine depending on how I am looking at my business. :-)

How do you promote your shop?
Through treasuries. Also, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. I also want to start a site on Tumblr and independent blog but haven't had the time yet.

Any advice for others running their on-line shop?
Have great tags for your items - this is key for helping buyers and other Etsy sellers find your shop. Create treasuries and get them out on Etsy through teams that share similar interests that you have. Create a Facebook site, sign up for Twitter and also Pinterest. Lastly, stay positive and ask for feedback from fellow sellers as they often give the best advice and can be incredibly supportive.


Saving money is important; tell us one thing that you do to save money?
I am constantly looking for bargains related to my business in terms of buying supplies and also trying to find the most unique items to sell that are at a reasonable price so that I can resell them and make a good profit. Also, I have found shopping at thrift stores (such as Goodwill) is a great way to find business supplies and items to sell at really reasonable prices.

Stay-tuned for tomorrow's giveaway!

Friday, December 2, 2011

Weekend Special - 3 FREE Cards

This weekend only, from Friday to Sunday, Dec 4, 2011:
Buy 3 Handmade Cards Get 3 FREE Handmade Cards (doesn't apply to sets of cards)

 
Simply purchases all 6 cards of your choice and I'll refund 3 cards (equal or lesser values).

 

So what are you waiting for? Shop for the holidays at my AdoreByNat shop. A set of handmade cards are great gift!

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Christmas Door Sign



Hello friends! Today I'm sharing with you a Christmas Door Sign that I made for my son's preschool teacher. 




Tomorrow is Ethan's last day at the preschool before we're going for our vacation. I'm using one of Amy Jaz Designs' Document Your December kits, the Modern Merry Element Pack.



Thanks for stopping by!

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Giveaway: Vintage Children Book

Win a vintage children book!

This giveaway is sponsored by Lilly's Lucky Penny who is giving away one book of their choice to the winner. Just let them know the gender and age of the intended reader and a few of their favorite things and they will ship out a surprise book!

Get to know April and Kara, our Saturday Artisan this week.

There are many ways to enter. Please make sure you leave a separate comment for every entry.

How to enter to win:

Mandatory entry:

Extra entries (only qualify once mandatory entry is fulfilled):
  • Earn 2 entries - Go to yesterday's post to know her more. Leave a comment there (yesterday's post) on at least one the following: what you learn from the interview, what you want to see more on her shop and why, or any constructive feedback are always appreciated. Come back here and leave 2 comments that you did, to ensure your entries are counted.
  • Heart Lilly's Lucky Penny (1 entry). Simply let us know your Etsy username.
  • Follow my adorebynat blog (1 entry). If you're already a follower, you still get an entry, just says you're following already.
  • Like my Adorebynat Facebook Page. You must drop by and say hello to earn 1 entry.I'd love to hear from you.
  • Follow adorebynat on twitter (1 entry).
  • Tweet about this giveaway, add "@adorebynat" in your tweet. (1 entry).
  • Blog about this giveaway to earn 2 entries. Leave two separate comments here please providing me with the link to your post.
  • Be creative and share the love! Refer your friends and family to enter this giveaway. Use your social media (other than twitter and blog) to shout out this giveaway. As long as you provide me a link or a way to confirm it, you'll earn 2 entries (two separate comments).
  • Purchase an item from Lilly's Lucky Penny and earn 10 entries for each purchase. Don't forget letting us know by leaving comments.
Contest starts now and ends on December 10, 2011. Contest opens worldwide.
Don't forget to leave me a way to contact you. Entries without contact information will be disqualified. Entries that do not follow the rules will be disqualified. Contest winner will be drawn on Sunday, December 11 by a random number generator, by the artist herself. Winner must respond within 48 hours after being contacted otherwise another winner will be randomly selected.

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Saturday Artisan: Lilly's Lucky Penny

Meet April (Penny's Mom) & Kara (Lilly's Mom), two sisters that works together offering vintage toys and books for children at Lilly's Lucky Penny. There are something about vintage items that I adore, the story and memories that they have being passed on to next generation. I really wish that I still have my toys that I could pass on to my son, but unfortunately I didn't get a chance to take them with me when I moved here in Canada. Most of you knows that I'm a mom to a little man and I'd bet he loves this pick up truck.

 
So without further adue, let's get to know these 2 womens, April and Kara. 


Tell us a bit about yourself
We are two sisters who have fairly recently become moms together. Our girls are both under two years old and keep us real busy when we're not at work or school. We both love to garden and neither of us like to cook, luckily the men in our lives do otherwise we'd only eat red vines and hummus (not together!) for supper. 



Why vintage store for children? When we were shopping for our girls, we were drawn to Fisher Price and other toys we played with when we were kids. We ended up finding more stuff than we had room for in our homes but we didn't want to stop looking.



What is the story behind your shop name? 
Our little girls, Lilly and Penny, were the inspiration for our shop so it was a no-brainer that our Etsy shop would carry their names. 


Could you share on how your organize your products, we all can use a little tips here and there in this department? 
We organize the store in a way that we would like to shop it if we were the customer in a physical store. We put all the fun attention-grabbers in the front and the browsing-type stuff in the middle and our bookstore is at the end.


How do you balance your personal and work life? Leave your work at work! It's easy to do when you walk through the door at home and are greeted with big toothy smiles and outstretched arms from your kids. If we have time at the end of the day and when the kids are in bed and the dishes and laundry are done, we try to get some more of our inventory up on Etsy, Every couple of weeks we have a Friday playdate for the girls, and Happy Hour for us girls and we'll bang out a bunch of Etsy stuff - it makes it less work and more personal when we can do it together.

Stay-tuned for tomorrow's giveaway!

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Black Friday Sale


BLACK FRIDAY SALE:

Enjoy the following promos at my Adore By Nat shop! It's time to stock up for the holiday and party you've been planning for.

FREE SHIPPING within CANADA, use coupon code: BF2011

For EVERYONE: Spend $5 (before shipping) and get $5 toward your next purchase of $10 or more. Offer cannot be combined with any other offers, discounts, or promotions.

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

A Very Vintage Christmas

I am in love with A Very Vintage Christmas Kit by Amy Jaz Designs. Truly, the kit is wonderful and I have so many ideas running in my head. But let's do it one step at a time, shall we?



Many papers to select from the kit and I just combined 3 of them. Love the deer!





Added the Joy to the World phrase and a couple of gold brads. Of course, red and white baker's twine adds a christmasy feel to it. Subtle machine stitching and distressed ink makes the card perfect.








Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Lona de Anna Special Offer

Hi friends, Lona de Anna from the land down under has a special offer for AdoreByNat's readers. Enjoy 25% off on her prints available in her Etsy shop from Tuesday to Thursday (3 days only). Enter Coupon Code - LDA25ABN on checkout to receive your 25% off any print. To use this coupon codes, you must be a visible follower of Adore by Nat and heart Lona de Anna Etsy store.

Monday, November 21, 2011

More Holiday Gift Card Holders

Happy Monday! Hope you had fabulous weekend! As I'm preparing for holiday season, I thought I'd make a few more Gift Card Holders. They really come in handy for adding special touch to your gift cards. Sometimes I think they're the best gift as you could just get what you want or need.

 

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Giveaway: Crystal Snowflake Earrings

Want to win this gorgeous Holiday Crystal Snowflake Earrings? This giveaway is sponsored by Shadow Jewels. Get to know Rhonda, our Saturday Artisan this week. There are many ways to enter. Please make sure you leave a separate comment for every entry.
How to enter to win:
Mandatory entry: Extra entries (only qualify once mandatory entry is fulfilled):
  • Earn 2 entries - Go to yesterday's post to know her more. Leave a comment there (yesterday's post) on at least one the following: what you learn from the interview, what you want to see more on her shop and why, or any constructive feedback are always appreciated. Come back here and leave 2 comments that you did, to ensure your entries are counted.
  • Heart Shadow Jewels (1 entry). Simply let us know your Etsy username.
  • Follow Shadow Jewels blog (1 entry).
  • Follow my adorebynat blog (1 entry). If you're already a follower, you still get an entry, just says you're following already.
  • Like Shadow Jewels Facebook page AND tell Rhonda , Nat of adorebynat send you there.
  • Like my Adorebynat Facebook Page. You must drop by and say hello to earn 1 entry.I'd love to hear from you.
  • Follow Shadow Jewels on twitter (1 entry)
  • Follow adorebynat on twitter (1 entry).
  • Tweet about this giveaway, add "@adorebynat" in your tweet. (1 entry).
  • Blog about this giveaway to earn 2 entries. Leave two separate comments here please providing me with the link to your post.
  • Be creative and share the love! Refer your friends and family to enter this giveaway. Use your social media (other than twitter and blog) to shout out this giveaway. As long as you provide me a link or a way to confirm it, you'll earn 2 entries (two separate comments).
  • Purchase an item from Shadow Jewels and earn 10 entries for each purchase. Don't forget letting us know by leaving comments.
Contest starts now and ends on December 3, 2011. Contest opens worldwide. Don't forget to leave me a way to contact you. Entries without contact information will be disqualified. Entries that do not follow the rules will be disqualified. Contest winner will be drawn on Sunday, December 4 by a random number generator, by the artist herself. Winner must respond within 48 hours after being contacted otherwise another winner will be randomly selected.

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Saturday Artisan: Shadow Jewels

Our Saturday Artisan this is week is Rhonda of Shadow Jewels. Come on, take a peek at her shop and you'll stay awhile admiring her beautiful jewelry collections. Looking for a perfect Holiday gift? She gets that covered. 

Tell us a bit about yourself and what arts/ crafts that you make? 
My name is Rhonda, but everyone calls me Shadow. I make vintage inspired and wire wrapped jewelry. I'm a nurse and a nature nut. I'm married, have two grown kids, and a house full of cats. I live near Los Angeles.



Which part of creation process that you like to do the most? 
Putting beads and rhinestones together in different ways to create something beautiful and unexpected, that keeps me interested in my craft. But even more than that, I love shopping for vintage beads and rhinestones, and finding rare old pieces to use. My favorite part of all is opening a package, and finding my vintage rhinestones in their original wrapper. I love the yellowed crackly paper, the warm musty smell, and the soft cotton batting that has kept the crystals safe through the years. And of course the labels are wonderful sources of information. It's always fun to be able to tell my customers exactly where their beads or rhinestones were made.



For us who love to travel, could you share a bit about your beautiful town/ city? When I go out, I don't head for the city, I run to the Sierra Nevada mountains. There is something so serene in the high lonely places, it touches my soul. I am drawn to the forests and giant trees of Sequoia National Park. The sweeping vistas, spring flowers, forest creatures, and the colors of nature through the changing seasons are my main sources of inspiration.



How does your day go in general? Oh boy. Well, a couple of months ago we took in a stray mama cat. Someone had obviously dumped her when she was pregnant, and she was the skinniest, sorriest cat I have ever seen. It took a few days, but she finally grew to trust us enough to bring her kittens. They are growing up fast, and mama is fat and happy now. My days are filled with caring for them and playing blanket monster and paper ball.


What is your favourite tool that you cannot live without? My dremel with the burr cup attachment. With this amazing little tool, you can remove the sharp bits from the end of a clipped wire, and make your own earrings. Brilliant!



How do you promote your shop? First, I strive every day to improve my shop and make it the best it can be. I signed up for the Etsy emails, and read all of the tips they send us. It does no good to promote your shop if you only have a few tired items, poor quality photos, or bad tags and titles. I mainly promote my shop through team activities. Making treasuries is great for promoting inside Etsy. For off Etsy promotion, I use social networking. Facebook, twitter, my blog, and other sites around the web. Get the word out people! Shake your moneymaker! 

Stay-tuned for tomorrow's giveaway!

Friday, November 18, 2011

He is 4


Today my little baby turns 4. No matter how many times he corrects me, "Not baby, mama. I'm a BIG boy," he will always be my baby.

That's him trying to show me his four fingers. How adorable!

I love you, my little man. You makes me smile and laugh. Tonight I asked you if you know what a birthday means. I started to explain it to you that you were on mommy's tummy and then you came out... You quickly asked me, "Mama, where is the door?" LOL. I was speechless and could only laughed.

Yes of course, there are moments that you're a trouble-maker. But still at the end of the day, I still love you so much no matter what.

I could see you were SO happy today: having a little party at the preschool, getting lot of toys from grandparents, aunties and cousins, and visiting Toys R Us to get your Thomas Trains and more. The joy was overwhelming, but in a good way.

Happy Birthday my little man!

Monday, November 14, 2011

EtsyGreetings Holiday Blog Hop

This year EtsyGreetings team is doing a Holiday Blog Hop and the theme is My Favorite Handmade Holiday Tradition. Oh how I love this time of year as it gets very festive with all the bright lights and carols. We love to drive around the neighborhood to see all the pretty decors and sometimes we go up to the mountains to get a little bit of white Christmas. One of my holiday favorites is Eggnog. It's sad that I can't have it throughout the year but come to think of it again maybe I like it a lot because I can only have it during the holiday season and that's what makes it special. Mmm.... A friend has an eggnog cake recipe that she's going to share with me very soon. I think if I can make it right, it will be part of our holiday tradition. But for now, being a papercrafter myself, my handmade holiday tradition is not far from making anything that involves papers. This Christmas Card with our son's picture is a perfect one to send to our family and friends.



I'm also making Christmas Tags. Aren't these adorable? I can't help in mixing vintage and modern style together. Who says we have to stick to just one style, right? The tags are 2"x3". The images and paper are from A Very Vintage Christmas Kit by Amy Jaz Designs. Add some baker's twine, ribbon, and brads and you get beautiful tags.




Thanks for hopping by!

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Giveaway: $10 Gift Certificate from Scrapbooks and Stones

Win $10 Gift Certificate from Scrapbooks and Stones. Get to know Colleen, our Saturday Artisan this week. There are many ways to enter. Please make sure you leave a separate comment for every entry.
How to enter to win:
Mandatory entry: Extra entries (only qualify once mandatory entry is fulfilled):
  • Earn 2 entries - Go to yesterday's post to know her more. Leave a comment there (yesterday's post) on at least one the following: what you learn from the interview, what you want to see more on her shop and why, or any constructive feedback are always appreciated. Come back here and leave 2 comments that you did, to ensure your entries are counted.
  • Heart Scrapbooks and Stones (1 entry). Simply let us know your Etsy username.
  • Follow Scrapbooks and Stones blog (1 entry).
  • Follow my adorebynat blog (1 entry). If you're already a follower, you still get an entry, just says you're following already.
  • Like Scrapbooks and Stones Facebook page AND tell Colleen , Nat of adorebynat send you there.
  • Like my Adorebynat Facebook Page. You must drop by and say hello to earn 1 entry.I'd love to hear from you.
  • Follow Scrapbooks and Stones on twitter (1 entry)
  • Follow adorebynat on twitter (1 entry).
  • Tweet about this giveaway, add "@adorebynat" in your tweet. (1 entry).
  • Blog about this giveaway to earn 2 entries. Leave two separate comments here please providing me with the link to your post.
  • Be creative and share the love! Refer your friends and family to enter this giveaway. Use your social media (other than Twitter and blog) to shout out this giveaway. As long as you provide me a link or a way to confirm it, you'll earn 2 entries (two separate comments).
  • Purchase an item from Scrapbooks and Stones and earn 10 entries for each purchase. Don't forget letting us know by leaving comments.
Contest starts now and ends on November 26, 2011. Contest opens worldwide. Don't forget to leave me a way to contact you. Entries without contact information will be disqualified. Entries that do not follow the rules will be disqualified. Contest winner will be drawn on Sunday, November 27 by a random number generator, by the artist herself. Winner must respond within 48 hours after being contacted otherwise another winner will be randomly selected.

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Saturday Artisan: Scrapbooks and Stones

Meet Colleen of Scrapbooks and Stones. Colleen specializes in scrapbooks (custom books or premade pages), handmade jewelry, and things made out of duct tape. As some of you may know, I scrapbook and I love it. Preserving memories, looking back to what we'd been through, is priceless. Scrapbooking is more important to me now that we have a son who is growing up so quick. So when I 'meet' Colleen, I said, "Gotta love this gal". Lol. Let's get to know her a bit more, shall we? Tell us a bit about yourself and what arts/ crafts that you make? I am a newly wed and when my husband and I moved to Florida for his job I needed something to do. So I started my etsy shop. I make scrapbooks pages, custom scrapbooks, jewelry, and things out of duct tape. I started making things out of duct tape when I was about 13 and I used to sell it to other kids. Then I started making jewelry when I worked at The Pot & bead, which was a beading and potter studio. Finally I started scrapbooking for my boyfriend (now husband) when I was in college.

  Why scrapbooking? My father was a photographer so photos were always a big part of my life. He took pictures of everything. When I got to college no one was taking my picture anymore, so I became the friend with the camera and I took pictures of everything. I made my boyfriend a scrapbook because we were going to be apart for the summer and I never stopped adding to it. I think scrapbooking is a great and unique way to preserve photos and other memorabilia.
What is the story behind your shop name?
I wanted something that incorporated my items, and I like the idea of everything starting with the same letter. Scrapbooks and Stones was the result. 



Which part of creation process that you like to do the most? I like the planning process. I like coming up with an idea and sketching out a scrapbook page, or laying out beads and seeing what looks good together.


For us who love to travel, could you share a bit about your beautiful town/ city?
I live in a small town on the east coast of Florida. It is in-between Orlando and Ft. Lauderdale. I’ve only lived here a few months so I haven’t discovered all of the cool things to do, but the beach is always nice. 


How do you balance your personal and work life? This is pretty easy. My husband goes to work all day and I work on things while he is gone. I know sometimes he gets annoyed that I am constantly checking the computer, but I figure it’s a good opportunity for him to check on sports.



What is your favourite tool that you cannot live without? 
Tape. I use tape while scrapbooking, I use it to tape off one end of a string while I’m beading, and then of course there is duct tape.


How do you promote your shop?
I have a facebook, twitter, and tumblr that I use regularly. I’ve also just started a chime.in and digg. I do a lot of promotion through those but I also am a part of lots of teams and participate in challenges, giveaways, and blogs. 


Stay-tuned for tomorrow's giveaway!

Friday, November 11, 2011

Sweet Silver Giveaway Winner

Happy Friday! Happy Remembrance Day! Amy from Sweet Silver has picked a winner
randomly. 

Congratulations, Vicki! You've won a beautiful pair of purple fluorite earrings set.

Thank you so much Amy for sponsoring the giveaway. I thank everyone who entered. Stay-tuned for more artist features and giveaways!! Support Handmade!

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

BzzAgent Review: Scrubbing Bubbles

As a busy mom who has day job, Etsy shop to take care of and a house to clean, I need to be effective and efficient. Finding the right products that helping me do the job is very important. 

So when over a month ago I was invited to join the Scrubbing Bubbles® One Step Toilet Bowl Cleaner campaign of bzzagent, I said Yes!

 A kit was sent directly to my house and I got my chance to try out the Scrubbing Bubbles One Step Toilet Bowl Cleaner. When I opened the package, I was hesitant about how to put the kit together.  It looked complicated but when I read the instruction on the side of the box, it was actually VERY easy. And that's my friends, I know things will just get easier from then. 

 I have 4 bathrooms and one kit. So, I choose the bathroom that we use the most and see if it works well. How does it work? First, I installed a refill can of cleaner into a base on the floor beside the toilet. It has a white tube cover that gives the clean look to it. Then the base is connected to a sprayer. I clipped the sprayer to the toilet bowl. It's very easy as I said. The step-by-step instruction has pictures to follow. Make sure you get a clean toilet bowl, to begin with, and it will maintain keep it clean. So here is the deal, one step twice a day and it keeps the toilet clean. It features a 360-degree action sprayer that covers the complete bowl, even under the rim. All you need is to step on the foot pedal for one second. Soon after that, you could smell the freshness. The cleaner has a Fresh Mountain Morning scent, a smell that is not too strong which I like. My little one is my helper. He's so happy for being useful, stepping on the pedal and seeing the spray in action. 

The retail price is about $10 and the refill is about $5. No batteries are required. Refill cans last up to 30 days which come to think about it, it's worth your 30 minutes/ month from bending, scrubbing, cleaning the dripping mess you make, and gritting your teeth. I'll buy more kits for the other bathrooms and refill cans with coupons that I receive.

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Gratitude



Happy Sunday! Hope you've been enjoying your weekend. I had one of most relaxing weekend for the longest time. I had to run a few errands but still, being able to stay at home on weekdays have given me sometimes to do house chores when I want to instead of when I need to. I even had some laundry folded. Ha! I made this Thank You Card a few weeks ago. I love the phrase: Gratitude is an action word. Isn't that simply beautiful?











Thursday, November 3, 2011

Holiday Gift Card Holders



Sweet friends, Christmas is fast approaching. It's one of my most favorite holidays and I'm sure for most people as well. What not too love? The festive feeling, the bright and cheerful decors? Totally, right? I'm going to get ready earlier this year for it and that includes making some Gift Card Holders. This set as a starter which is already listed in my shop. Of course more to come as they are fun to make.



Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Pumpkin Patch


Autumn is so beautiful.

The change of leaves' color.

The crisp of dry leaves.

I realize I appreciate this beautiful nature more and more as years pass by.


We went to Pumpkin Patch a few weeks ago. The weather was perfect. It had not been raining for a few days prior. The sun was shining. All of us, Ethan in particular, had so much fun and I'm sure he would have enjoyed a little bit more if he was not under the weather.

Sunday, October 30, 2011

You + Me

Hello sweet friends! I have an exciting news to share. If you liked my FB page, you probably knew already. I'm honored to be one of Amy Jaz Designs Creative Team members


.Check out her new release: You + Me. I fell in love the first time I saw it.This is a versatile kit, I must tell ya. First I made this card.

Then I said to myself that I should make the 'male' version. He does deserve that, doesn't he?



The calculator really caught my attention. Won't you?

And I had to make another card. It's so hard for not to :-)

When I said versatile, it's really is!! It's perfect for the Christmas theme as well.

Note to self to do some scrapbook pages using this kit. And if you want something quick, Amy also has Quick Pages to grab as well. 

Monday, October 24, 2011

Giveaway Winner of the Thrifty Gift.

Hello blog friends.
I hope you all have a great weekend.
I'm popping by to let you know that Amy of the Thrifty Gift has chosen the winner of her giveaway via random draw. Congratulations #15! You've been contacted :-)

See you all soon.

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Giveaway: Purple Fluorite Earrings Set

Win these beautiful Purple Fluorite Earrings from Sweet Silver.
These beautiful purple fluorite fluted rondelles in shades of fuchsia and violet have, and have slight rainbow inclusions when the light hits them just right. Adorned by a small silver saucer bead, they hang from hand formed and hammered sterling silver earwires. The total length of the earrings is 1-1/8 inches. They will wrapped in a gift box and ship them USPS First Class.
Get to know Amy, our Saturday Artisan this week. There are many ways to enter. Please make sure you leave a separate comment for every entry.
How to enter to win:
Mandatory entry: Extra entries (only qualify once mandatory entry is fulfilled):
  • Earn 2 entries - Go to yesterday's post to know her more. Leave a comment there (yesterday's post) on at least one the following: what you learn from the interview, what you want to see more on her shop and why, or any constructive feedback are always appreciated. Come back here and leave 2 comments that you did, to ensure your entries are counted.
  • Heart Sweet Silver (1 entry). Simply let us know your Etsy username.
  • Follow Sweet Silver blog (1 entry).
  • Follow my adorebynat blog (1 entry). If you're already a follower, you still get an entry, just says you're following already.
  • Like Sweet Silver Facebook page AND tell Amy, Nat of adorebynat send you there.
  • Like my Adorebynat Facebook Page. You must drop by and say hello to earn 1 entry.I'd love to hear from you.
  • Follow adorebynat on twitter (1 entry).
  • Tweet about this giveaway, add "@adorebynat" in your tweet. (1 entry).
  • Blog about this giveaway to earn 2 entries. Leave two separate comments here please providing me with the link to your post.
  • Be creative and share the love! Refer your friends and family to enter this giveaway. Use your social media (other than twitter and blog) to shout out this giveaway. As long as you provide me a link or a way to confirm it, you'll earn 2 entries (two separate comments).
  • Purchase an item from Sweet Silver and earn 10 entries for each purchase. Don't forget letting us know by leaving comments.
Contest starts now and ends on November 5, 2011. Contest opens worldwide. Don't forget to leave us a way to contact you. Entries without contact information will be disqualified. Entries that do not follow the rules will be disqualified. Contest winner will be drawn on Sunday, November 6 by a random number generator, by the artist herself. Winner must respond within 48 hours after being contacted otherwise another winner will be randomly selected.

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Saturday Artisan: Sweet Silver

Meet Amy of Sweet Silver, our Saturday Artisan. You must add her shop as favorite (I had!) because her work are simply beautiful. There is something about Amy that I truly admire, her positive attitude and her praise to God of his blessing to her and her family. This is one of the reasons why I love handmade. 


Tell us a bit about yourself and what arts/ crafts that you make?
I am almost 30 years old, I have been married to my husband for 5-1/2 years, and we have two very active and silly boys, ages 3-1/2 and 2. Oh, and we also have a 2-1/2 year old Border Collie mix who has so much energy you’d think we only fed him Red Bull. 

 In addition to taking care of our boys, I work 20 hours a week in the office at a landscape irrigation service company while my mom and my mother in law take turns taking care of the boys. I am so thankful to God that I get to work with wonderful people at my “day job”, that my boys get to spend so much quality time with their grandparents (and we don’t have to pay for childcare!), that I get to spend some time being a stay-at-home mom, that I get to do something I love in my free time and make a little money doing it, and most of all for my loving and super supportive husband.

I discovered Fine Silver Precious Metal Clay in the fall of 2010 and taught myself, with the help of books and the internet, how to create jewelry with it. It is the most amazing material. It has a clay-like consistency composed of superfine particles of pure silver and an organic binder. It can be formed, shaped, and textured in almost exactly the same way as stoneware clay, but on a much smaller scale. Once the piece is dried, filed, and sanded to perfection, it is fired with a torch or in a kiln at very high temperatures until all of the organic binder burns away. What is left is 99.9 percent pure silver – more pure than sterling silver, which is 92.5 percent pure. Then the piece is painstakingly polished, a patina is applied, and then polished some more.

 As long as I can remember I have always enjoyed creating something from scratch with my own hands. I have tried my hand at lots of different 'arts', including watercolor, pencil drawing, acrylic painting, sewing, clay, stained glass, paper crafting, wire and steel, photography, and graphic design. I even like putting together Ikea furniture! I love that even though jewelry is what I create, I get to use almost all of my past art interests in the creation and promotion of my work. From sketching ideas, to using some of the same techniques I learned in working with stoneware clay, to working with wire and tools, to sewing handmade felt pouches for my personalized metal clay items, to photographing my items, to graphic design and paper crafting to aid in the recognition and feel of my “brand”.


Which part of creation process that you like to do the most?
I truly love every part of the creation process, but I would have to say my favorite part is when I get to work with a customer to design a piece that is personalized specifically for them, and then delivering the finished product to them. My Sweet Petite Teardrop Initial pendant came about in this way and is one of my favorite pieces. A friend was pregnant with her second baby girl and described what she wanted for a “mommy necklace”. We emailed back and forth for a few weeks discussing different options and refining exactly what it was she wanted. I was able to complete the necklace just a couple weeks before her sweet little girl was born and she got to wear the necklace during the birth. 


Could you share on how your organize your products, we all can use a little tips here and there in this department? 
I LOVE CONTAINERS! As I have acquired more and more gemstone beads, I have had to “upgrade” my storage. I love the Snapware Smart Store System of containers. The boxes are clear and come in lots of different sizes. They have handles and the lids snap on with clasps that are effective at keeping little hands out! My workspace is in my kitchen/dining room/office, so I try to keep it as tidy as possible. I find that if my workspace is clean and tidy, so is my brain and my thought process. (Both can get quite cluttered!)


What is your best seller?
My best seller so far is my Lovebirds Personalized Necklace. I created this because my dad wanted something that he could give my mom for Valentines Day that would also commemorate their 40th year of marriage. (WOW!) I came up with the design of the kissing lovebirds sitting in a tree, which led me to thinking about how couples carve their initials into a tree. The back has a faux bois/tree bark texture that I carved their initials into. I have sold a few of these and each one ends up being just slightly different than the one previous, which is the awesome thing about handmade and individually created pieces.


How do you balance your personal and work life? Actually, I don’t believe my life is in balance. With two small children, my husband, an office job, a house to keep up, and a small business, and trying to fit sleep in there somewhere, I constantly feel like I am just trying to keep up. I frequently do not get the laundry put away, or the floors cleaned, and sometimes I have to put off jewelry projects until later, but I try to remind myself that God did not create me to DO stuff, but to LOVE people. If I love my family and the other people in my life well, then that is success. How do you promote your shop? I have a facebook page, and I just started a Tumblr. blog where I plan to post a bit about how I create with metal clay and what inspires me. You can also see some of my photographs there. Please “like” me and or “follow” me! I would love to hear feedback and any suggestions for new items.

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Giveaway Winner of Jazzies & Lilies Designs

Happy Thursday! One lucky winner of Jazzies & Lilies Designs' giveaway has been selected randomly. Congratulations, Laura #37, you won one of beautiful Treble Clef Ring! Thanks Glenn for your sponsorship. Everyone who entered, thank you! Enjoy the rest of your week!

Friday, October 14, 2011

BzzAgent Review - Titanium (TM) Maximum Security

Over a month ago, as a member of BzzAgent, I was invited to join the Titanium Maximum Security campaign.

 
It was a perfect timing as we just bought a new desktop and the 30-day free trial from Norton Virus had about to expire. I signed up and was given a one-year free subscription for up to 3 computers including smartphones. Isn't that awesome?

Protecting ourselves from internet dangers is very important. We are surfing the internet at almost all times. I have a couple of online shops, twitter and Facebook accounts, just to name a few, in addition to e-mail account. I download data and images constantly and therefore need to have a secured system that protects us from virus, spyware, hackers, etc.

My husband installed the software into our desktop and laptop, but held off in installing to the smartphone as he wanted to see how it works first in our desktop and laptop.

 
PRO:
The installation is pretty straight forward. FAQ and installation guide are available via video. And if we would have any difficulties in setting it up, there is technical support team that we could reach.
Every couple of weeks, we diligently keep up with the updates and it's an easy and user-friendly task to do.

Another thing I like about Trend Micro Titanium, compared to Norton Virus is that it gives a monthly review/ update on how it had successfully protect us. For example, how many spyware that it was able to detect.

CON:
We find that since we have installed the Trend Micro Titanium, our computer is a bit slower. I'm not sure if the software takes a lot of memory space.
Overall, Trend Micro Titanium is a good virus protection software. It might not be the greatest but I'm quite happy with it.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Giveaway Winner of the LIttle Magpie

Happy Tuesday!

The the Little Magpie's giveaway has ended. Maggie did the random draw and it's is.....no 83 is the winning number. Congratulations, Kimberly!

Maggie, thank you for sponsoring the giveaway and thanks to everyone who entered.

Be sure to enter the current giveaways. We have 2 exciting giveaways!

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Giveaway: Bracelet and Earrings Set

Win these beautiful Snowflake polymer clay bracelet and earrings set from the Thrifty Gift. Get to know Amy, our Saturday Artisan this week. There are many ways to enter. Please make sure you leave a separate comment for every entry.
How to enter to win:
Mandatory entry: Extra entries (only qualify once mandatory entry is fulfilled):
  • Earn 2 entries - Go to yesterday's post to know her more. Leave a comment there (yesterday's post) on at least one the following: what you learn from the interview, what you want to see more on her shop and why, or any constructive feedback are always appreciated. Come back here and leave 2 comments that you did, to ensure your entries are counted.
  • Heart the Thrifty Gift (1 entry). Simply let us know your Etsy username.
  • Follow the Thrifty Gift blog (1 entry).
  • Follow my adorebynat blog (1 entry). If you're already a follower, you still get an entry, just says you're following already.
  • Like the Thrifty Gift Designs Facebook page AND tell Amy, Nat of adorebynat send you there.
  • Like my Adorebynat Facebook Page. You must drop by and say hello to earn 1 entry.I'd love to hear from you.
  • Follow adorebynat on twitter (1 entry).
  • Tweet about this giveaway, add "@adorebynat" in your tweet. (1 entry).
  • Blog about this giveaway to earn 2 entries. Leave two separate comments here please providing me with the link to your post.
  • Be creative and share the love! Refer your friends and family to enter this giveaway. Use your social media (other than twitter and blog) to shout out this giveaway. As long as you provide me a link or a way to confirm it, you'll earn 2 entries (two separate comments).
  • Purchase an item from the Thrifty Gift and earn 10 entries for each purchase. Don't forget letting us know by leaving comments.
Contest starts now and ends on October 22, 2011. Contest opens worldwide. Don't forget to leave me a way to contact you. Entries without contact information will be disqualified. Entries that do not follow the rules will be disqualified. Contest winner will be drawn on Sunday, October 23 by a random number generator, by the artist herself. Winner must respond within 48 hours after being contacted otherwise another winner will be randomly selected.