Giveaway #2: ATLY creative classes

I'm so excited to introduce atly to you.

atly is a brand new (launched this summer!) online creative class platform and is a fantastic place to spend a lot of time...learning, creating, making and engaging.

Their message: LEARN | IMPROVE | INSPIRE

I have been so attracted to their message, their clean, easy to navigate site and  their emphasis on forever learning for all ages. I love that you don't have to subscribe, but rather have the choice to take classes as you see fit. I love that they take a portion of their profits and donate to the Women's and Children's Education Fund. I also love that it's also set up in a way so that if you wanted to teach classes, you could earn a very good side income by sharing your gifts with others.

I asked them to share a little about their business so you can get to know them a little bit more:

Tell us why you started your shop:

atly was conceived because of a belief that we are never too old or too smart to learn.  We believe that life is best when we are learning from one another.

What sets your company and makes your work special?

We love being in a position to influence without borders, without restraint.  We hope to inspire and educate people across the globe.  We are believers in making education fun and accessible for everyone.  We are going to great lengths to enhance the learning process for our students.

Anything special for the holidays?

We'd love to spread the word. - Like Santa, we're giving away free stuff. We hope people will take advantage of our free classes.

 * * * * * *

What are you giving away?

atly is offering 1 free class of the winner's choice, with the upgrade. Some classes come with an upgrade option that includes instructor feedback.

Are you including a discount for our readers? 

We're going the extra mile here--readers have access to two free classes that are currently posted on our site. The

Buttercream Basics class

is free, and the

Crockpot Freezer Meals class

is free for the first 2,000 registrants.

* * * * * *

HOW TO ENTER:

1) Leave a comment below and tell us what class you'd love to take!

(optional)

2) Follow atly on Instagram and leave a comment here letting us know

3) PIN an image from the atly BLOG or WEBSITE and share the pinterest address of your board or pin here in the comments below

4) Follow atly on FACEBOOK and leave a comment below letting us know

5) Giveaway ends Sunday Night December 15th 10 pm EST

OTHER PLACES TO FOLLOW ATLY: 

Facebook,

Blog,

Pinterest

and

Instagram

GIVEAWAY #1: Fat Quarter Shop

A week of Giveaways! Just in time for the holidays. Each day this week I have a new sponsor offering a giveaway that will ship in time to arrive at your door before Christmas. I'm so excited!

First up, Fat Quarter Shop. 

I asked them to share a little about their business so you can get to know them a little bit more:

Tell us why you started your shop:

Kimberly started Fat Quarter Shop in 2003, after falling fast for the art of quilting.  She found that many of the fabrics she wanted were hard to find, and she decided to open an online storefront with top quality quilting fabric, making it accessible to everyone!

How long have you been in business?

Fat Quarter Shop opened in 2003, so we celebrated our 10 year anniversary this year!  We celebrated with the Deck-ade the Halls Quilt Along!  You can expect many more quilt alongs of this nature in the future!

Anything special for the holidays?

Our annual Countdown to Christmas begins on December 13h, and we will have different sales each day!  There will be plenty of opportunities for BIG savings, so follow along on Facebook and Twitter!

Fat Quarter Shop will give away a $50 gift certificate to one lucky winner! 

TO ENTER: 

1) Leave a comment below

(Optional)

2) Like them on Facebook and leave a separate comment below with that info

3) Follow them on Twitter and leave a separate comment below with that info

Have fun and thanks again Fat Quarter Shop! 

World Wide Windows

My mom took a day trip to London yesterday (my dad was just admitted into Oxford University, so they were there visiting) which was perfect timing to see the Ralph Lauren windows at Bond Street in London! Gosh. I wish so bad I could be there in person. It's such a gorgeous building!

(I asked my mom for a souvenir but all she could find were outfits more expensive than my stroller:) So fancy Schmancy. I love it.)

What a fancy little trip, and I just love seeing all your candid pics in front of the windows!

I'm starting to get instagrams and emails with people visiting the window displays around the world, and I can't wait to see yours!

If you are planning on bing in New York City, Chicago, London, Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong this Christmas, don't be shy, and take your pic  in front of the window display!

{Click here for a list of stores}

I would love to have a little collection...especially since I don't even know what the set up is in the other stores besides New York and London.

So do share! You can facebook, instagram, or email. 

Happy Christmas!

xo

Sarah

New Holiday images

I'm getting ready to load up some "print your own" holiday cards....for any of you that like the comfort of your own home, your own time table, and filling in last minute gifting requirements:)

(I fall into that category big time!)

I just love this time of year. It gets me every time.

Stay tuned!

Sarah Jane and Ralph Lauren: Nutcracker Display

Well, if you've been checking my Instagram, the cats out of the bag!

This holiday season, the Ralph Lauren Flagship store on Madison Avenue in NYC as well as the flagship stores in London, Chicago, Hong Kong and 10 other stores across Asia are featuring my Nutcracker puppet theater illustrations as their holiday window display this Christmas Season!

Ya. Pinch me.

The flagship store of Ralph Lauren at 72nd and Madison is literally both sides of an entire block. It's pretty spectacular. The buildings are breathtaking, and have a history all on their own. The detail inside and out is just exquisite. The Men's store is on one side, and Women's and Children's on the other...and each has their own themed window displays.

Each of the 7 windows were decorated with my illustrations....here's a tour of the displays!

On the front corner was a winder candy scene with the Sugar Plum Fairy and a dancer from Waltz of the snowflakes.

And of course, Nutcracker and Mouse King.

I love how they used the stage border on all the windows...it went so well with the architecture and feel of the whole setting.

The Mother Ginger window was my favorite. It's hard to see the details here, but she has little dancing children underneath her.

In the corner windows by both doorways, there were lovely framed prints of the Nutcracker Characters. So Magical!

And every window featured my website and name, which was such an honor. It was so lovely to be part of their celebration this year!

I went up for a short little 2 and a half day trip so that I could see them in person. And because Michael Miller Fabrics is located in Manhattan, we made a little outing together. It was really fun to share with them! (Nutcracker fabric coming soon anyone??)

The windows turned out so lovely. I just got goosebumps! How crazy to see something you made at home with your kids on a wintery saturday turn into a window display to be seen all over the world in such a magical setting! Just so cool.

So, forgive me, but I took lots of photos! Here's a photo dump. Hope you don't mind!

Here are some close ups:

Christmas Window displays are a big deal...especially in New York City where people take city tours just to see the yearly displays. So when I was asked to be part of a 5 window display with Ralph Lauren, my jaw hit the floor, and I admit to re-reading the email a few times just to make sure.

Ralph himself toured the windows and sent his approval. And while I was taking pictures, some of the Kardashian Klan popped into the children's store (most likely for Baby North!).

The greatest part was getting to spend a weekend trip with my Mom and baby Anders. What a wonderful getaway! I LOVE NYC during the holidays. It's just so magical. Anders has been quite the traveler lately! Poor guy has to follow his Mama and her crazy designs:)

Thank you Ralph Lauren for letting me in on the Holiday fun! And if you are in NYC this Christmas, or London, Chicago, Hong Kong, Beijing or Shanghai, do stop by and take your pictures...and send them to me via facebook, instagram or email! I wasn't able to get pictures with my own kids (sigh) but I look forward to seeing yours! I'd love to post any and all of you there at the display!

Here's a list of the stores that will featuring my Nutcracker Windows: 

• 72nd Madison, NYC
• Bond St., LONDON, England
• CHICAGO
• Ocean Terminal, HONG KONG
• Lee Gardens, HONG KONG
• Princes Building, HONG KONG
• Gough Street, HONG KONG
• Deji Plaza, Nanjing Forum 66,Shenyang
• L’Avenue, SHANGHAI
• Plaza 66, SHANHAI
• BEIJING
• Hangzhou
• Chongqing
• Chengdu

Happy Holidays everyone!! And enjoy making your own Nutcracker little displays :)  We are unpacking ours and using them as Tree Decorations this year. Have fun!!

xo

Sarah

The Nutcracker Surprise: Part 1

I have a really cool secret that I can't tell you just yet. But it's really incredible. My best secret yet.

I'm getting on a plane tomorrow (with cute baby Anders of course), heading on a really cool journey that has something to do with these Nutcracker Theater puppets.

The suspense it too much, I know.

And no, I'm not touring as the Sugar Plum Fairy this Christmas.

I know. You are SO bummed out right now.

But your getting warmer.

I'm going to be Instagramming my journey and you can follow along here

(Even if you aren't on instagram, you can peek by clicking my little camera button on the sidebar starting tomorrow afternoon!)

Eeek! I can't wait to tell you.

But in the mean time, you can download your Nutcracker puppets and start cutting them out, ready to dance.

And watch this adorable video here.

Any guesses? More hints coming tomorrow....

Stay tuned!

xo

sarah

it's not summer any more

Christmas is in 33 days and I feel like  it should still be summer.

I put away my kids summer clothes last week. I felt strangely sad. I bet a lot of it has to do with the fact that I didn't spend much time playing outdoors this summer.

We had summer pool passes. I didn't ever put on a suit. We had perfect days for hiking. I stayed in bed.

I'm so happy I have a healthy baby. And that he stayed inside me. But bedrest stinks.

I don't think I've ever appreciated my body and it's ability to move and play and explore as much as I did this past summer.

It snowed yesterday.

And I am christmas shopping today, and all I can think about is how it feels all too sudden.

Anybody else not ready?

It just feels like it should be summer again.

A girl can dream.

New holiday stuff coming to the shop this week. Stay tuned!