You pick the giveaway...

For July I have decided that I would be doing the giveaway, but I'm not sure what I want to giveaway though. That is where you come in my lovely readers! Help me decide what to giveaway, earrings, necklace, bouquet crystals, or hair pins? I will leave this post open for about a week and then decide what the giveaway is going to be based on your responses. Thanks for all your help!!!! :)

Goodies in my mailbox :)

So today the post man was my favorite person. He brought me these.......

And can I tell you I am in HEAVEN!!!! I ordered this neck wrap and eye pillow and had them filled with a yummy migraine scented blend. I think I will be smelling these things even when I don't have a headache. And the cover patterns that are offered make these even more irresistible! Go check out Angel at Earth Angel Studios and get some soothing comfort for yourself too!!

Calling All Georgia Brides

Check out this great contest by Your Champagne Wishes Events, LLC for a chance to win a partial planner. You don't want to miss this great opportunity valued at $1,500!!!!

And the winner is....

The winner of the June Featured Artist and Giveaway...Part 1 is Jodi!!! Check your email Jodi for details. Thank you to all that entered and be sure to enter our Part 2 giveaway ending June 30th!

If you would like to be our next featured artist please send us an email at ellascottjewels@hotmail.com or leave us a comment on this post. We are always look for great talent to be shared with others. :)

Featured Artist and Giveaway...Part 2 Ends 6/30

Our second featured artist for June is the lovely Manyi from Illinois. Manyi is the fabulous designer behind MAU Promos and MAU Studio both on etsy.

Her MAU Promos shop features stickers in round, square and oval shapes. She also does graphic design, mint tins, tags, place cards, invites, and business cards. This shop is the perfect place to visit if you are getting married, having a baby shower, a bridal shower, need address labels or just want something custom. Looking for fun and playful items check out MAU Studio. Here Manyi offers buttons, cell phone charms, stickers and much more!!!

Want to learn a little more about Manyi? So did we! Here are some questions that we asked her to let us get to know her a little better.

• How did you get started in crafting? "I've been crafting since I was little. I don't remember when I started and how I started. I always enjoy making jewelry, origami, greeting cards, etc. "
  
  

• What is your favorite material to work with and why? "Paper. I'm a graphic designer and I specialize in print graphics. The different color, texture of paper, patterns make me excited. Paper packaging can transform a product and make it marketable, cute stationery and paper are collectible. Stickers and cards are great for parties, showers, weddings, etc. I can go on and on about paper. "
  
  

• How did you choose your business name? "MAUstudio is my business name. MAUpromos is only a part of it. MAU is a combination of my initial and last name. In Chinese, MAU means cat, and cat is one of my favorite animals."
  
  

• How did you find etsy? "When I first started my business, I didn't know there is a large community of craft businesses. I started out with my own website selling my jewelry and cards and started researching online. I found some forums and ETSY came up many times. So I decided to start my own shop on ETSY. My first shop on ETSY is www.maustudio.etsy.com and now www.maupromos.etsy.com"
  
  

• What is your favorite crafting tip? "Hum....it's okay to be inspired by other crafters' ideas, but don't copy them and then claim them as yours. Incorporate your own style and make your craft unique. If you are selling your crafts, your customers do not want to see the same things that they can buy in stores, your craft must be unique in some ways. Just have fun! "
  
  

• Anything else you would like to share with our fabulous readers? "I'm the owner and designer of MAUstudio.com, a consignment shop online that works with many crafters and artists. We are always looking for new talents to join our shop.
  I'm also a graphic designer. I specialize in print and branding. I've done many logos, business cards, ETSY banners, animated blog banners for crafters in the indie craft community. I've also done a few websites."

Manyi has graciously agreed to give away a set of 100 custom labels to one lucky reader!! To enter visit MAU Promos or MAU Studio and leave us a comment on your favorite item. Want another chance to win? Facebook, Twitter, or blog about this giveaway and leave a separate comment with a link to let us know. And just in case two entries wasn't enough we are giving you a third chance to win by following our blog and leaving us a comment to let us know.

All entries must be received by midnight EST June 30th to be considered. Please be sure to leave an email address if you do not have a blog so we can contact the winner. Once the winner has been announced and contacted you will have 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen at random.

All designs shown here are the property of MAU Promos are not to be used with written consent from the artist.

Cases, and clutches, and covers...Oh My!!!!

A few weeks ago before heading out to the wedding we were attending I decided I needed a new clutch and found this little beauty from Etsy artist Gold Crest Bags. Not only did Miriam deliver on a great product at a very affordable price but she also got this clutch to me super quick (since I wait until the last minute). Right now she is having a sale that will end on the 14th and everything in her shop is marked down 15%!!! Here are a few of my favorite items she has, all items are linked to her shop. Enjoy!!!

June Featured Artist and Giveaway...Part 1 Ends 6/16

Our first featured artist for June comes from the great state of Colorado. I'd like you all to meet Tatiana of Tatiana Rene Photography. This woman does absolutely fabulous work and when we saw her shop we knew we had to spread the word!!

We asked Tatiana to let us in on a little of her life and she happily obliged with her great answers to our questions:

How did you get started in photography? "As a child, I always loved the camera. I began modeling school when I was 9, so the camera has always been a part of my life. When I moved to Colorado during 7th grade, modeling was no longer a part of my life because I lived in a very small town tucked away in the Rocky Mountains. Modeling was unheard of there, plus it was too far away from any large city. So, I began taking pictures of my friends and family. When I moved to Hawaii after high school, I fell in love with landscapes. I have been taking pictures since. "

How did you choose your business name? "Tatiana Rene Photography. First and middle name. Simple. I love the name that my parents gave to me, so I decided to keep it as my business name as well. I mean, Kandinsky and Picasso didn't change their names on their artwork. =]"

How did you find etsy? "My mom actually started my Etsy site for me. She read an article somewhere about people being successful on Etsy from selling their artwork. So, she was really excited about getting my artwork out there and started my site. Kelela means Cheryl in Hawaiian. Cheryl is my mother's name. I could have started a completely different shop with my own name, but I love my family so much, so I wanted to keep my mother's Hawaiian name on my shop. Family is number one to me. They will be there for you no matter what happens."

What is your favorite crafting tip? "Photoshop to brighten and sharpen contrast is my love. You can take a great picture, but it will be even greater if you Photoshop it up a little bit. But I don't like to "over-Photoshop" it. Using filters and altering pictures too much tends to take away from the actual shot. "

What inspires you? "Everything inspires me. When I look at things, I imagine what it would look like in a photograph. I'm not kidding. I take pictures with my eyes before I actually take the photograph. Although flowers are somewhat cliche, I do love photographing them. Most of my work is centered around flowers and landscapes. Only recently have I began breaking away from that and started to become more urbanized in my work."

Is there anything else that you would like our fabulous readers to know about you? "I really want to be a fashion photographer someday, but my introvertedness tends to get in the way. I get super nervous taking pictures of people. I hope to overcome that fear. Someday you will find me at the end of runways in New York and Paris. =] "

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from Tatiana, and when I saw only a few I mean it. If I could by her whole shop...I would!!

Now for the best part...Tatiana has graciously agreed to give a beautiful greeting card featuring one of her photos from her Natural Beauties Collection. To enter visit her shop and come back here leaving us a comment with your favorite pictures name. Want to get a second entry? Blog, twitter, or facebook about this blog feature and leave us a separate comment with a link.

What a great way to get a wonderful piece of art from an up and coming photographer we are sure to hear about in the future!!!


This contest will end at midnight EST on June 16th. Enter now to make sure you don't miss out on this fabulous opportunity. Once winner has been chosen they will be contacted and have 48 to respond or another winner will be drawn at random.

And the winner is.....

Here are your random numbers:

3
Timestamp: 2009-06-01 12:38:00 UTC

Congratulations to Nanalulu!!! She said "I would use one for a tea party, how very cute! Thanks for offering prize!" I'll be contacting you shortly.

Exciting News

New featured artists and giveaways coming soon!!! Yes, I said artists, we are going to be featuring 2 this month!! Stay tuned, these artists won't disappoint!!