Sweet Sundae Ice Cream

It's hard to believe that I'm still longing for summer. We haven't really gotten a good summer here. It was SO nice on the weekend and then it gets cold and cloudy again. Ethan, my little man and I had a date on the weekend. We simply agreed to eat ice cream at the deck. What a moment that I cherish, and it inspired me to create these adorable tags. 

Blue and pink tags.You can also create these or get them from my shop. Get this cute sundae image from JW Illustrations.

Giveaway Winner of Isabelle's Attic

Hello friends, It's cloudy here at the westcoast. It was raining this morning...where are you summer? The weather changes seem to make a lot of people to be under the weather, including my DH. Poor guy. Without further a due, I'd like to announce the winner of Isabelle's Attic's giveaway. Congratulations to #14 ArtsyChaos! Liseth will be in touch with you shortly and please grab the prize in 48 hrs. Thanks so much Liseth for sponsoring this great giveaway. I thank everyone who entered! There are 2 giveaways that you can enter now:

• Cerise crocheted earrings
• $25 gift certificate

Baker's Friendship and Thank You Cards

Happy Monday everyone! Hope you had a great weekend. I surely did. The sun showed up (finally!!) but hide again today. I come to a conclusion that the sun doesn't like Vancouver for now. 

I got a chance to make a couple of cards using JW Illustrations' Stack of Mixing Bowls Digital Stamp. 

Boy oh boy, I had so much fun with the laces and twines....and sewing. These little fabric materials simply adorable.

 

I use distressed ink to adding a soft and warm touch to the cards.

Giveaway: Cerise Crocheted Earrings

Win Cerise Crocheted Earrings from My Hobby Shop. Get to know Patti and Miranda, 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:

• Go to My Hobby Shop shop. Return to my Adore By Nat blog and simply leave a comment here about your favorite item from the store.

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 My Hobby Shop (1 entry). Simply let us know your Etsy username.
• Follow My Hobby Shop 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 My Hobby Shop Facebook page and tell Lily, Nat of adorebynat send you there.
• Like my Adorebynat Facebook Page. You must drop by and let me know that you enter this giveaway (1 entry).
• Follow My Hobby Shop 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 My Hobby Shop and earn 10 entries for each purchase. Don't forget letting us know by leaving comments.
  

Contest starts now and ends on August 6 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, August 7 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 Artisan: My Hobby Shop

Meet Lily of My Hobby Shop. I always admire those who can crochet cause I can't. My mom taught me when I was young and after a few attempts, I gave up. Somehow it confused me, unlike knitting. Weird, huh?

Take a peek at Lily's shop and you'll see beautiful crochet works: crochet scarves, hats, hair accessories, bracelets, earrings, home decor and more for women, men, teens and children items.

Such a busy mom who works FT, which I can relate, and yes, we're so blessed having a great family supporting us.

Tell us a bit about yourself and what arts/ crafts that you make?
My mom taught me how to crochet when I was 13 year old. I loved it and have done it ever since. I started out making small baby blankets for friends and family, and then moved to scarves and hats. I love experimenting with yarn and new stitches. My mother and I now work together to make handmade unique crocheted items for our Etsy shop.

Could you share on how your organize your products, we all can use a little tips here and there in this department?I have a wonderful hubby who worked very hard to build me a space of my own. I have an old dresser that holds my supply of yarn, hooks and any other craft item you can think of. I keep all my shop items in lovely totes. This helps keep them clean and fresh. I did learn from a friend that it’s not a good idea to put fabric softener sheets in these tubs. The smell is overwhelming and hard to get out! Some of my smaller items are placed in individual bags with the item number on them to help me find them easily.
How do you balance your personal and work life?
I work fulltime. I am married with three kids, in addition to taking online classes and running my Etsy shop. I wish I can provide a guideline on how balance all of my craziness but I don’t have one! I am honestly addicted to crocheting and anything Etsy. I have a very patient family who provide me plenty of time to work on what I love.

How do you promote your shop?
I have joined some Etsy teams that have helped me out tremendously. I have met some wonderful people and honestly it’s helped me through some of my dry spells on Etsy. I understand the importance on social networking. I promote via:
Facebook Fanpage, Twitter, and Blog.


Do you have a favorite Etsy seller?
Absolutely! I love shopping on Etsy. I love creating treasuries of my favorites. Here are just a few of my favorites:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/armcandyforyou
http://www.etsy.com/shop/TwigsAndLace
http://www.etsy.com/shop/thebqe
http://www.etsy.com/shop/gardenmis
http://www.etsy.com/shop/vintageprecious

Giveaway Winner

Hello sweet friends!
Hope your week has been great so far. Mine has been extra busy at my day job. Phew! I'm so glad that I have a day off tomorrow to spend with family and give myself an extra time being crafty. Ha! There are so many ideas running on my head and I cannot wait to share my new creations with you.

It's time to announce a giveaway winner. Congratulations, Giovanna!! All the way from Ireland and you won Rachel's 2 beautiful 4x6 photos of your choice!! Isn't that awesome?? *jealous*

Thanks so much, Rachel of Rae of Light Photography for sponsoring the giveaway. And to those of you who have entered and left comments.

There are 2 giveaways that you can enter now. Good luck!!

Crafty Challenge: Firetruck

This week is kinda special. It's the first week of JW Illustrations Crafty Challenge. It's my first time working on a digital stamp and I LOVE it! This week challenge is such a coincidence with what my 3years old son has been wanting. He LOVES fire trucks!! And lately he asked me to have a door sign made for him since he saw me making a couple of door signs for clients. So, of I went to create this door sign, asking him first if this is the image he wanted. YES with glowing eyes! He was so HAPPY that I made his dream come true: Fire Truck Door Sign.

See what other design team members created with this firetruck and play along! Head over to Jess' site, get the firetruck digital stamp, create something fun and get a chance to win $10 gift certificate.

Giveaway: $25 Gift Certificate

Win $25 Gift Certificate from Bella Gifts. Get to know Patti and Miranda, 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:

• Go to Bella Gifts shop. Return to my Adore By Nat blog and simply leave a comment here about your favorite item from the store.

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 Bella Gifts (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 Bella Gifts Facebook page and tell Patti and Miranda, Nat of adorebynat send you there.
• Like my Adorebynat Facebook Page. You must drop by and let me know that you enter this giveaway (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 Bella Gifts and earn 10 entries for each purchase. Don't forget letting us know by leaving comments.
  

Contest starts now and ends on July 30, 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, July 31 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 Artisan: Bella Gifts

Meet Patti and Miranda, mom and daughter, the 2 women running Bella Gifts shop, our Saturday Artisan. Come on, take a peek at their shop and see beautiful handmade jewelries, and get to know a little bit more through the interview below. 

Tell us a bit about yourself and what arts/ crafts that you make? 

I love lampwork beads and they are by far my favorite items to work with. I love that each one is different from the other so that it ensures that each piece of jewelry is unique. Almost all of my jewelry is made with high quality sterling silver unless stated other wise in the description. I also do a lot of soldering work, which is always lead free, and like to make some funny charms. My favorite one said "A clean house is a sign of a wasted life", now there is some truth! That item sold really quickly in my shop. :) My daughter, Miranda, she is the one that runs Etsy for me, does every single photograph and tries to promote me like crazy all while pursuing a degree in fish biology at UC Davis.

Saving money is important; tell us one thing that you do to save money?

I have been making jewelry for over 10 years. Some of that time I haven't been able to make as much but boy did I ever stock up on the sterling silver when I started out. I basically kept buying more and more till my craft room was practically full! Something that has actually saved me money now that sterling silver prices have gone so high. This is great because I can pass this savings on to the customer and I have been able to keep my prices for my jewelry so low. 

Any advice for others running their on-line shop? 

From what Miranda has told me, when running an online shop, be prepared to spend a lot of time working on your shop. You can't expect to just load some photos and let the internet do the work for you. You need to constantly keep getting your name out there, network with other shops, don't be afraid to ask others for advice, and blogs, like this fantastic one (awww....thank you!), are your best friends.

Which part of creation process that you like to do the most?

I love to select the beads to see which combos will work the best. Its fun to play around with all kinds of combination's!

What is your favourite tool that you cannot live without? My needle nosed plyer. That's what I use the most while creating, it helps me to pull the string extra tight and it's easy tool that I use almost every single time I make jewelry. 

What is your goal for 2011? And are you on the right track? I am always trying to learn more about making jewelry and finding new techniques. So far I'm on track, I'm signed up for several classes!

Stay-tuned for tomorrow's giveaway!

Design Team of JW Illustrations

I'd love to share the good news. SUPER excited!! As you can see above, I'm one of JW Illustrations design team members. I'll be even busier now but I couldn't really pass this great opportunity where I can challenge myself to be more creative. Check out the rest of the design team! So honored being a part of talented women and stay-tuned to see our creations early next week using Jessica's awesome artworks. Have a wonderful weekend and I'll see you tomorrow when I introduce our Saturday Artisan for this week. Gotta go and work on my orders now.

Giveaway Winner of Soozie's Cutie Patooties

I've been busy. I know that I say that a lot. In fact, I may say it too many times. But really, I wish I have more than 24 hours in a day. And I know, I'm not the only one who needs that, right? I'm thankful though that I've been busy. It means that business is doing well. On my-tonight-to-do-list is to complete 2 orders and start with one order. All are for the parties which include invitations, favor tags, cupcake toppers, door sign, and banners. And all are custom orders! Yei!

Alrighty, let's get to the point. One giveaway has ended and a winner has been picked. Congratulations, Tamanisha (#74)!! You won 2 pretty rose bobby pins of your choice from Soozie's Cutie Patooties .

I can't wait to share with you what I'll be making tonight. Plus, I have a good news to share tomorrow :-)

Stay-tuned! ..... and don't forget to check current giveaways. There are 2 here.

Giveaway: Reversible Hat or Purse

Win Reversible Hat or Purse, Your Choice from Isabelle's Attic . Get to know Liseth, she is 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:

• Go to Isabelle's Attic shop. Return to my Adore By Nat blog and simply leave a comment here about your favorite item from the store.

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 your favorite item on Isabelle's Attic (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. Don't forget to say hi to me there and come back here to leave comment (1 entry). If you liked my FB page already, I would still love to have you drop by and say hi to earn 1 entry. I'd love to hear from you!


• Follow Isabelle's Attic 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 Isabelle's Attic and earn 10 entries for each purchase. Don't forget letting us know by leaving comments.

Contest starts now and ends on July 23, 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, July 24 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 Artisan: Isabelle's Attic

Meet Liseth of Isabelle's Attic, our Saturday Artisan.

Learn a few things about her through interview below and stay-tuned for tomorrow's giveaway.

Tell us a bit about yourself and what arts/ crafts that you make?
I am from California and enjoy traveling and seeing all the different cultures, being outdoors and enjoying the fresh air. When I was growing up I always saw my grandmother transforming just a plain fabric into beautiful creations, I always admired her for this. I began to sew in my early years in college and was hooked ever since.

I make items such as baby blanket buddies, reversible aprons for adults and children , dresses, corsets, accessories and recently I’ve been hooked on making things with feathers .

Which part of creation process that you like to do the most?
I like to experiment and make a variety of items, sometimes I buy fabric or crafting items and wait for an inspiration/idea to form. Such as this leaf:


Success is trial and error, my favorite saying is “The only time you fail is when you don’t try”

Saving money is important; tell us one thing that you do to save money?
I always look for bargains, sales and coupons to buy my crafting material. I try my best to keep my items priced reasonable. The best advice I got in pricing my items was to think: if I was the customer, ask myself “ How much would I pay for that item?”

Could you share on how your organize your products, we all can use a little tips here and there in this department?
I keep all my items in a wooden storage box with little plastic containers inside with has items separated by groups such as : all aprons together, baby items, headbands, purses, knit items
Any advice for others running their on-line shop?
I think the most important thing is have fun, enjoy your creations as it shows in your work. Make sure to go in forums/chat rooms often. Buyers would rather buy from someone they’ve chatted with as it builds a bond of confidence, than a complete stranger. If you have an etsy shop enter BNR Treasury’s it will help you get more exposure and more sales.

Any tutorial that you’d like to share? If so, I'll dedicate one more post for you for this.
This is a great website to keep track of all your finance incoming and outgoing and help you keep track for tax time unfortunately it is not free anymore, though they do have a free trial. For the visual person it will automatically make charts for you and at a glance you can see if you are making a profit. http://outright.com/

Simply Blessed

Dear friends,
My yesterday started with a 'blah' feeling, you know... for whatever reason, I felt something is missing in this life. Off I went off to work in the morning. Afternoon went by and the unsatisfied feeling was still there. I thought maybe the heat got into me (I can't stand hot weather!), but is there such thing?

Then God reminded me, through a blog that I visited and an old christian song that I listened, to be content with what I have. To live a simple life and be happy. Every now and then, it's good to be reminded: always be grateful. I'm simply blessed.

With that in mind, I slept peacefully.

PS: the above art is from scaredycatprimitives.

My Creative Space: Monogram Mushroom Tags

Hello blog friends! My main project for this week is to finish off this custom order, 50 mushroom tags, personalized with monograms. My client is going to use these for her wedding favor tags. Such a simply monogram adds a perfection to the tags, make them her own. I guess that's what we love about handmade.Two were done, forty-eight more to go. Then, I'll move on my bigger project this weekend, whilst planning to design new tags.

Giveway Winner of Jewelry By J

Who's the lucky winner this time?

Janelle did the drawing and #74 was what she picked. Congratulations, Cynthia!! Please claim your beautiful earrings by replying back to Janelle.

We have 2 handmade giveaways going on now, so go ahead enter and get a chance to win awesome handmade:

• 2 of 4x6 Photos


• 2 of Rose Bobby Pins

Have a great week!

Giveaway: 2 of 4x6 Photos

Win 2 of 4x6' beautiful photos of your choice from Rae of Light Photography . Get to know Rachel, she is 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:

• Go to Rae of Light Photography shop. Return to my Adore By Nat blog and simply leave a comment here about your favorite item from the store.

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 Rae of Light Photography (1 entry). Simply let us know your Etsy username.


• Follow Rae of Light Photography 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 my Adorebynat Facebook Page. Don't forget to say hi to me there and come back here to leave comment (1 entry). If you liked my FB page already, I would still love to have you drop by and say hi to earn 1 entry. I'd love to hear from you!
  


• Follow Rae of Light Photography 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 Rae of Light Photography and earn 10 entries for each purchase. Don't forget letting us know by leaving comments.
  

Contest starts now and ends on July 16, 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, July 17 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 Artisan: Rae of Light Photography

Meet our Saturday Artisan, Rachel of Rae of Light Photography. What a talented artist, she is. You will agree with me once you take a peek at her shop. I just love the vintage and natural feel of her photographs, and the fact that she was able to capture things that are no longer exist, and sharing the history with us. 

Tell us a bit about yourself and what arts/ crafts that you make? 

I am a photographer and have, only in the past year, become pretty serious about it. 

Which part of creation process that you like to do the most? I love getting my film developed and 

ooking at my creation for the first time. I never know quite how they will turn out. It's like opening a gift at Christmas. 

For us who love to travel, could you share a bit about your beautiful town/ city?

Well I live in Joplin, MO It's two main claim to fame items are, The Bonnie and Clyde shoot out, side note any photos you see of them were all captured here in Joplin, and the fact the Mother Road Route 66 goes down Main Street. Just think of the song, Get your Kicks on Route 66 and you'll hear it mentioned.

Could you share on how your organize your products, we all can use a little tips here and there in this department?

Well most of my items are placed in similar style groupings, ie. if they are Nature Shots, Industrial shots etc. 

What is your best seller? 

Hmm probably my "Can I Have your Number?" print which was also recently displayed in the 35th Annual Photo Spiva competition only 80 out of over 800 got chosen. 

How does your day go in general? 

Well I work at a great place called Christ in Youth. I'm their Connections Coordinator which is a fancy way of saying their receptionist. I love my job because there is so much creativity in the building. You can see what I mean by going here www.ciy.com . Since I'm still learning about photography my job allows me to continue my hobby until I'm able to maybe go a little more serious with my work. 

How do you balance your personal and work life? 

My personal life consists of me hanging out with my slobbering Basset Hound Ralphie so there's not a whole lot of distraction, just a chance to take more photos of my nutty little guy.

Do you have a favourite Etsy seller?

I have two, the first is Neatbeading, not only because she was my first customer but because she does these great bracelets by hand that are stunning, and my second is a great photography bethretrophotographyaphy. She doesn't have anything up in her store right now but you can check out her flicker to see what I mean. 

What inspires you? I guess trying to capture things that go unseen by normal life. I have so far captured three things that no longer exist, two of which are in my store, my photo of the red barn and white cottage were torn down this past year, and the third was a lean to, little barn that was destroyed by a tornado a few years ago, so I see importance to taking photos to inspire and maybe document things that might not hold any value to anyone else.

What is your goal for 2011? And are you on the right track? 

To continue to grow in my field, I do this by talking with a lot of other photographers and taking workshops. It's amazing when you discover how many great photographers have never stepped foot in a classroom. 

What is your favourite tool that you cannot live without? My Canon Rebel 2000 35 mm, I would be lost without it. 

How do you promote your shop? I have a blog, facebook page and twitter. Any advice for others running their on-line shop? Keep up the hard work. It's taken a long time to get where I am but that's because I have kept pushing to the point of near annoyance to get my items out there. Don't be afraid of a little advice but also realize you're an artists and sometimes you know what's best for your product. 

Saving money is important; tell us one thing that you do to save money? I love for free anything. You name and I'll do my best to find a coupon. I have never fully paid for my business cards and have found great deals on getting my photos printed, sometimes for nothing. 

Anything else you would like to share? I love art, I may not always like it but I can always do my best to appreciate it : ) 

Any tutorial that you’d like to share? Well I have a blog post about watermarking your photos. I know there's a big debate on Etsy about how best to protect your product and whether or not watermarking detracts or protects, I say that the more your protect the better. It took a while to find a program able to do what I needed and he he I found it for free. Here's the link to my blog post so artists can check them out. 

Stay-tuned for tomorrow's giveaway!