Sharing the Love with Indie Fixx & 1canoe2

 

Last month was the month of giveaways in blogland wasn’t it? I loved it and it was a great opportunity me to get to know so many great artists and find some new blogs. (I am now subscribed to 171 blogs, no wonder I never get anything done)

One blog that I was already a big fan of is Indie Fixx and she did a series called 12 Days of Indie Holiday Shopping with a giveaway for every store/shop that she spotlighted.  Have you been there? She is the genius behind Feed Your Soul and a lot of other great things.

It was a great way to explore a lot of Etsy artists that I hadn’t seen before.

Let’s just cut to the chase, we all know why I am writing this post. I WON a $75 gift certificate from 1Canoe2! Actually, I had been drooling over 1Canoe2 for a while before the giveaway, how could I not with beautiful letterpress beauties like this 2010 calendar….

Or this recipe box, complete with dividers and beautiful cards..

Or maybe a print from your favorite State?

Beth was very sweet and sent me her beautiful recipe box, extra cards and a print from her trip to Barcelona just in time for Christmas gift giving.

The print now has a frame, but I am still deciding on a home for it. The recipe cards? Well that is a work in progress. I am waiting until I have a good handwriting day. (Am I the only one whose handwriting is different depending on my mood?)

So don’t forget to check out Indie Fixx and 1Canoe2 and I thank them both for the art and skills.

A bit of Bling for the New Year

 

Christy at Embellished Bayou has reawakened a monster in me with her posts about beading. (see here, here, and here)

I used to make a lot of jewelry and have even been known to make my own beads to get just the color that I wanted. Well, the desire to get back into a hobby that takes up little space, has no dying time (unlike painting), can be used and shown anywhere at anytime is back.

So I have been slowly building up my bead stash by buying up items from Artbeads, Fire Mountain Gems, Ebay and a few other stores. By New Year’s Eve, I was ready to get busy. I fired up the torch and went for it.

The one thing that I didn’t see as being a problem was my camera. I am working on that issue, but bear with my cheesy shots until I get that fixed.

Here is Murphy Grace’s face when I started up the torch in the house…….

He was scared, but then again, he is scared of the Zhu Zhu pet. (notice, he even had his blankie on, big wuss)

How is the first week of 2010 shaping up for you? Picking up any old habits like I am?