Giveaway: The English Pea

**Each weekend through Christmas, I’ll be offering giveaway’s from artists and artisans with a simple wish that we can all support handmade this holiday season! Enjoy!

This weekend's giveaway comes from the English Pea. TheEnglish Pea Studio offers a vibrant line of stationery and prints for children. From cute bagtags to bookplates to holiday gift tags you can find anything to tickle your little one's fancy.

I'm thinking this giveaway couldn't come at a better time! Wanting to get that personalized stationery in for the holidays is just where I'm at right now.

You can find the English Pea on her blog, website and facebook.

GIVEAWAY DESCRIPTION:

THREE lucky winners will receive a choice of any ONE item in the shop! Perfect for getting ready for the holiday season! In addition to that, The English Pea is offering a 15% discount to all Sarah Jane readers through the end of the month. Coupon Code (in message to seller) is SARAHJANE.

Giveaway instructions:

  • leave a comment making sure to enter your name and email where it asks you to
  • comments will be closed on Sunday Nov. 14th at Midnight EST
  • THREE winners will be chosen to receive ONE item of their choice
  • Winners will be contacted via email

Best of luck to you!

Please support handmade.

I got an email from Mahar Dry goods last week with very sad news. They are closing their doors after 5 wonderful years in business.  And I am very, very depressed.

Mahar Dry Goods was one of the first online shops that actually got me excited about opening my ETSY shop. Robert has stocked exclusively handmade, unique, modern yet vintage children's goods. It always made me so happy to go browse through his shop, and just this year, Mahar Dry Goods picked up some of our family trees and paper dolls. But, as I very well know, keeping a shop up is a lot of work. It looks all clean and neat on the screen, but there are a lot of things that go into the business of keeping up a business. Especially when you are a one-person start-up.  And so I am so sad to see Robert's shop close it's doors. It makes me think of all the handmade-make-it-happen-with-your-boot-straps-businesses out there, and all the love and heart that goes into starting something like this. There are rough times for sure! And though I am shocked and very sad to see his shop close down, I also know that it makes me want to support handmade even more.  So many of us are making it happen with little or no outside help, and yet have wonderful, amazing, inspired products that need to be out there.

So, I have to mention at least a positive that is happening with all this: Mahar Dry Goods will be open through the holiday season, and with the closeout, there is plenty, plenty on sale that you'll want to get your hands on for Christmas.

So, this is my "support handmade" cheer. Go check out his shop. Do shop handmade this season. Do click on my sponsor column to the right. Go and browse ETSY before hitting the mall. Think of how you can be supporting a young mother who wants to stay at home with her children, and  so opened a shop selling personalized paper dolls. Shop handmade, please.   Right now, I am wearing a cowl from Tickled Pink Knits, and it makes me so happy to be wearing something I know someone made with their own hands...and that I'm helping them keep their love of knitting alive. So, are you shopping handmade this Season? I am.

I'm  getting off my soap box now. But I'm off to Christmas shop here.

Support Handmade Giveaway

**Each weekend through Christmas, I’ll be offering giveaway’s from artists and artisans with a simple wish that we can all support handmade this holiday season! Enjoy!

Today's giveaway is combined! Launi and Lyndi are Mother and Daughter (respectively) and quite the creative duo. Here's a little about them:

Launi is the creator behind Greenwinkle. Here's a little about her shop in her own words:

Greenwinkle: Reduce. ReVamp. Recycle. Fashion forward.

All of our BagBags are hand crocheted from repurposed grocery and shopping bags--saving 50-300 sacks each--from littering our landfills. How's that for earth-friendly? Every bag responds differently to stitching so no two will ever be exactly the same.

Our greenWinkle hats, headbands and slippers are made from 100% warm, breathable cotton--easy on your skin, easy on the planet.

She also blogs and has blog full of great tutorials and recipes at Gracious Rain.

GIVEAWAY DESCRIPTION:

Greenwinkle would like to offer a $25 gift certificate good on anything in our shop.

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Lyndi is the creator behind Somebody's Stuff. Here's a bit about her in her own words:

Somebody's Stuff carries Frames, Magnets, Paper Chains, Stuff'd Bags (party favors) and anything else I fall in love with creating. It's all about :Anticipate. Celebrate. Decorate. Remember. I also blog at www.somebodys-stuff.com/blog. I love entertaining and I'm always looking forward to the next big holiday or event. I'm fun, goofy and random, so my shop is too. I got started with much encouragement from my friends and family. I realized that I wanted to help everyone anticipate, celebrate, decorate and remember the very best parts of life!

GIVEAWAY DESCRIPTION:

The lucky winner will receive a *Really Can't Wait Christmas Countdown Chain* and a CUSTOM 4x6 Frame and complimenting magnet.

Giveaway instructions:

  • leave a comment making sure to enter your name and email where it asks you to
  • comments will be closed on Sunday Oct. 31st at Midnight EST
  • ONE winner will be chosen to receive EACH giveaway offer
  • Winners will be contacted via email

Best of luck to you!

Sponsor Giveaway: Simply Silhouettes

**Each weekend through Christmas, I’ll be offering giveaway’s from artists and artisans with a simple wish that we can all support handmade this holiday season! Enjoy!

Happy Friday everyone!

I am so excited to introduce to you Angela of Simply Silhouettes

Simply Silhouettes was started by Angela and her husband which combined their love for children and family as well as their passion for creating beautiful art objects. Their  purpose is to help customers preserve priceless moments. But the short and sweet story can be found here: http://www.simplysilhouettes.com/ourStory.htm

You can visit them here on their blog as well as their ETSY shop featuring great holiday items. And if you are expecting, you need to check out this other site of theirs too.

Here are some more products you'll love:

(I personally love the Thanksgiving plates..personalized with the favorite things your child loves!)

GIVEAWAY OFFER: Simply Silhouettes is offering a $50 gift card to any of their shops.

DISCOUNT FOR READERS: Simply Silhouettes is offering Sarah Jane Readers a discount: you can receive a duplicate copy of one item in your order! So, one to keep one for your family, and give one as a gift...Brilliant! Deadline for the sale is Nov. 23rd. Mention "SARAHJANE" in your order.

Giveaway instructions:

  • leave a comment making sure to enter your name and email where it asks you to
  • comments will be closed on Sunday Oct. 25th at Midnight EST
  • ONE winner will be chosen
  • Winners will be contacted via email

Best of luck to you!

Giveaway: Silhouette Art

**Each weekend, I'll be offering giveaway's from artists and artisans with a simple wish that we can all support handmade this holiday season! Enjoy!

Photo credit: Edyta Szyszlo

I am so excited to announce this weekend's giveaway:

A copy of Silhouette Art: Papers, Instructions, and Patterns for Making Modern Heirlooms

Vana Chupp, artist behind Le Papier Studio has been creating personalized silhouette art for about the same time I've been in business. We have been each other's cheerleaders as we have built our businesses, and it's so wonderful to see her with her own book and instruction papers published through Chronicle Books! She has a lovely ESTY shop, online shop as well as a great blog....and have you seen her studio? Drool now.

She sent me a copy in the mail of this wonderful book. It's not exactly a book...because it comes with all you need to make your own silhouette art!

Photo credit: Edyta Szyszlo

Papers, ideas, you name it. But let me tell you....it's lovely.  It comes with a sweet little instruction booklet, with tips and how-to's. It also has a dozen stylized papers, black papers for cutting, and free silhouettes for your own use!

Vana sent me a copy to review, and I promise you will love this. It's gorgeous!

Giveaway instructions:

  • leave a comment making sure to enter your name and email where it asks
  • comments will be closed on Sunday Oct. 17th at Midnight EST
  • ONE winner will be chosen
  • Winners will be contacted via email

Best of luck to you!

EDIT: Congrats to lilbikegirl.com who won the Silhouette Art book! Stay tuned next week for another giveaway!

Reposted: Halloween Decorating

This is a repost from last year, but I loved our framed pictures so much, I'm posting it again in case you can use the idea!Happy Halloween Decorating!

Spooky portraits: so fun to make with the kids.

How we made them: On one particularly sick day, we laid around the house making spooky faces in the camera. The kids sat with me at the computer while I made them ready for printing. I had originally thought of framing them in these frames from IKEA, but since we were all too sick to get out, I drew a frame into photoshop inspired from the IKEA one I love, inserted the photos, and printed the whole thing out! Voila. Instant framed decor for Halloween!

**Other ideas if you don't have a printer:

  1. Purchase some mix and match frames from a local thrift store and paint them black
  2. Swap out some already hung frames on your wall, and fill them with spooky faced for just this month
  3. Trace out a simple frame on poster paper and have your children help you paint it black

And since we had more than enough spooky photos of the kids, I printed out the extras, and we had fun coloring in spooky embellishments in marker and crayon...like pirate eye patches, cat ears and sharp teeth. It's like dress ups without the mess on the floor!

Halloween floral arrangement: Hardly floral! We spray painted some dead branches from outside, adorned with glittered butterflies and black crows (which I did purchase earlier in the month). The spray paint was a hit...and even though the kids just watched me, they wanted to turn everything in the house black after watching the transformation. Good thing we ran out of spray paint!

Bats in the doorway: Oh these took minutes...and cost near to nothing..but they really look great as they hang in our entry way. Something about the silhouette factor. These were made with construction paper and string we had on hand.

If you have any fun links of kid-friendly Halloween fun, do share!

Happy Spooking!

Studio News.

This weekend, I had the lovely time of having the lovely Katherine photograph my studio. I'm going to be on KSL this morning (11:10 am on KSL news), and I needed to send in some pictures of my work space.  And though I haven't finished decorating and designing it, it was fun to shoot anyhow. I've had an array of work spaces over the years, and it's fun to look and see how they have evolved...I've had everything from corner of the dining room table to shared computer desk to bedroom. But if I have learned one thing about what I need in a work space, it's two words: "comfortable" and "inspiring." So that is what I am working on. I'll be sure to show more pictures soon! Like when I put up my half wall bulletin surface, and paint the other wall with chalkboard paint. Stay tuned.

But really, if you are local, tune in. I think it will be a really great panel. I'll be speaking with 2 other women and we'll be sharing tips and realities of starting a business at home. (I could say a lot on this topic!!)  And thanks for all your wonderful comments about that topic. I got some really good ideas, and I hope to be addressing those! I'll post the link to the web clip below as soon as I get it.

Thanks so much! See you on T.V.

P.S. I'll be the one who's trying really hard not to look nervous. I haven't been on T.V. since 5th grade morning announcements. This should be about the same thing, right?

EDIT: Here's the link to the video clip. It was fun to do...and not long enough...but I did it. Whew.