May Day Giveaway - Silk Jewelry Pouch - Handmade

Well here we are on the 1st day of May and have to say that it has not started well here in the South of France in fact it has been raining for most of the day. So, I thought I would do a little give away to cheer us me up. If your lucky enough to be having an upcoming holiday then you can enter my give away to win one of my jewelry pouches to take your treasures safely on holiday with you.

This is a Toile De Jouy cotton print with a delicious dusky pink pure silk interior, with eight compartments to hold your treasures. Bottom is padded and has the Toile De Jouy base inside, and pearl beads on the cord for closing.  For more pictures click HERE. Competition is open world wide and you don't have to be a follower of my blog to enter, great if you do though. Any shares always much appreciated but not mandatory. Good luck and I look forward to sending this to the winner soon. xx

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Sterling Silver Lucky Horseshoe - Giveaway

I am delighted to host yet another fabulous give-away from Huiyitan (pronounced "Hway Yee" a Cantonese name which means "a kind girl"). A beautiful sterling silver handmade Horseshoe Necklace valued at €34.  Perfect timing for a Christmas  gift just for you or your very very best friend. So lets get  started, this give-away is open "Worldwide" and simple to enter. Oh before you go could you google+ the post for me when you have done. Good luck everyone  and again huge thanks to Huiytan for sponsoring such a beautiful item.

Sterling Silver Lucky Horseshoe

Here is the lovely lady herself and the tools that help create her wonderful pieces of jewellery.

A few more of Huiytan's creations

shark-earring-studs-in-sterling-silver

air-force-blue-sapphire-ring-in-sterling silver

little-ghost-necklace-in-sterling-silver

sterling-silver-glass-ball-dangle earrings

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Personalised Monogram Cushion Cover Giveaway

Ever fancied your own personalised cushion cover to lay nonchalantly on your bed or favourite chair? then here's your chance. This giveaway is for a 40cm x 40cm 16" x 16" ( I can make a smaller one if preferred) cushion cover in white linen, you can choose from several colours for the monogram and I will discuss this with the winner. I have the full A-Z in this style with the rose so you can  choose any initial. Easy entry so are you ready... go and good luck. xx Value of giveaway €25 or approx $33 and is open worldwide and postage is also on me. If your not the winner this time then I am so sorry, but you can order your own, use this coupon code and you will recieve a 10% discount at checkout... Coupon Code " Monolove" 


We have a winner and it's Margot  and I will be in touch with you very soon. I had a problem with the rafflecopter displaying the winning  name, which has never happened before:( Thank you to all who entered and will be  doing another with a new design sometime soon. Congratulations Margot who has choosen the gorgeous sage green C for her cover.

Behind The Showcase Sterling Silver Stud Earrings Giveaway

Who doesn't love a success story and I for one am delighted to see Huiyi achieving her dream. I am

also thrilled that she felt I played a small part in helping her on her way. Picture below shows a pair of gorgeous little sterling silver Teardrop Studs which Huiyi has sponsored for this giveaway valued at $30 inc. postage worldwide. I am using Rafflecopter again so good luck to all who enter, and now Huiyi has a little story to tell you.......

Hello my name is Huiyi  pronoucned "Hway Yee" a Cantonese name which means "a kind girl" (blush blush:)

After finishing my degree to become an interior designer I then went on to study jewellery design at the Birmingham Institute of Art & Design, after my graduation I then moved to the states. I felt lost in the commercial world and went back to interior design for a living but always felt there was something missing and this needed to be corrected. At the beginning of 2010 I came back to the UK, and it was whist waiting for my documents to be approved I decided to make something fun and something I liked. My first “Pencil Lover” collection was born but as I had only sold two items over a two year period,  I felt my confidence beginning to slip away.

Luckily for me I met Krishenka aka Christine who was also selling on Etsy, she was very patient with me and gave me lots of help & encouragement whilst I was learning how to stand up, just like a newborn. How time flies and here we are now in 2012 and after working very hard for the past two years I now have 180 items in my Etsy shop and have sold 1,368 items. Last month a set of my sterling silver earring studs was featured on the US TV CBS channel show called “Fashion Matters”.

It was another fantastic encouragement to my career. Looking back, all the hard work was worthwhile and I love what I am doing now and am planning many more new designs in the near future. I am delighted that Krishenka and I still keep in touch and I hope that whoever wins my set of teardrop earrings will enjoy wearing them for many years to come.

As an extra special treat for you I am offering free worldwide shipping using this code at the checkout "KrishenkaShipping" till the 31st Oct.

Behind The Showcase

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Alva Rhassoul Mineral Wash Review + Giveaway

I am into my 6^th week now of trying  Alva Mineral Wash Cream.  I used it twice in the first week and the 2^nd week 3 times, now I use it every morning as I find the tingle I get from the this is so stimulating and refreshing, and it leaves your skin feeling really soft and deliciously clean.  You only need use a small amount for a face wash, it's a light chocolate  colour, with a hint of bergamot and citron fragrance, the smell reminds me  a little of tea tree oil. I personally prefer to use it in the shower, just give the tube a good shake first to mix and apply gently massaging into your face and leave on for a few minutes,.... Hint... if you have a piercing it's best to remove first or it will end up down the drain and join mine grrrr.  It  also removes dead cells and rebalances the skin by tightening the pores. I had a very annoying whitehead just under my eye where my glasses rest and I know from experience not to try and remove by squeezing, and after a week it just vanished without me having to do anything to it bar washing with the Mineral face wash, that got Alva big brownie points from me! Within the first week I can honestly say that I saw a difference to my skin texture, nothing overly drastic but certainly enough to make me happy using this product, and for me the most visible effect is the total reduction of the dreaded blackheads on the sides of my nose.

Rhassoul is a natural mineral clay mined in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco. Silica- rich volcanic clay based organic face wash containing, silicon, iron, magnesium, potassium, sodium, lithium and trace elements and certified organic, and not tested on animals.You can find  more information about it here:........................ Alva Mineral Wash

The tube is a chunky150ml, and even after 6 weeks still has plenty left so (in my opinion) this is going to last at a good 3 months which I think for £11.95 is excellent Value. 

Alva are generously offering one of my readers a 150g tube of the Mineral face wash, 2 runners up will receive a 50% discount code and if you really can’t wait to try this for yourself then I have a 25% discount code for specially for you, and you can rush off and get one right now.  Just add "KRISHENKA25" at the checkout to receive your discount. Hope you love it as much as I do, and would welcome you to comeback and tell me what you think.
PS: I just bought the face mask  and used the discount code and at the checkout you need to click on the little green basket to open the window for you to enter the code. Alva are working on changing this to make it easier but thought I would let you know.

Alva Facebook

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Felted Art To Wear Morning Glory Corsage Giveaway

I recently met Inken on face book, and when I popped over to her page amazing felted wearable art  just burst off her page with  stunning colours and vibrancy. In her own words Inken tells us how her craft evolved. 

My name is Inken Gaddass I am a German born felt artist now living in the heart of England. I grew up in Schleswig Holstein North Germany an area of open farmland combined with a coastline that is full of empty beaches, warm in summer and ice covered in winter. Using a variety of wet felting techniques I create 'Felted Art To Wear', unique and quirky, sometimes abstract, in the form of scarves, wraps, shawls, vests and jewellery. 

 My felt art is heavily inspired by the coastal wildlife and nature of my childhood years, the alternating and ever changing moods of the sea combined with the myriad of colours from endless fields of blooms in summer. I always loved working with wool and I was fascinated by strong and rich colours and different textures. About 10 years ago just after I moved to the UK I came across a beautifully felted scarf which I fell in love with immediately and I got curious on what felt is and how to make such a beautiful piece and it all started from there.

 I bought books, magazines and I searched the Internet for information about felting and taught myself the art of wet felting. Felting opened new doors for my love of colour, pattern and textures in a natural form combined with a quirkiness and uniqueness that is wearable art. Felting is like painting with fibres and an amazing process of transforming  loose wool fibres into the most beautiful textile which is unique and beautiful and in tune with nature.

 Felting makes me happy and I can't remember the last day I was bored. I can't just sit around not doing anything. I am always creating whether it is hands on or in my mind thinking about the next project. It just seems as if I've found my craft.  Inken xxx

Inken is offering a chance to win her "Morning Glory" flower corsage which is 23cm (9") in diameter and is as light as a feather, 100% handmade and felted from merino wool. The back has a large strong safety pin to fasten to scarf's, cardigans or any knitted clothing. A fine brooch pin is also attached for use with finer fabrics. Value $32.   Giveaway is worldwide.
Thank you so much Inken for sharing your story and for your fabulous giveaway. Good luck everyone.
Inken on Etsy 
Inken on Flickr
Inken on Face Book

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Krishenka Silk Pouch Bag Give Away

Don’t know about you, but for me July was a busy month and it just seemed to get started then it abruptly ended and her we are 1^st August already. 

So here’s the story and my give away.

 I had a lovely custom order last month to make a white satin and lace pouch bag same style as the one above.  

This set me off thinking about some beautiful vintage  bronze silk I have stashed  away, so digging it out I decided to make another pouch bag  along with the Nottingham scalloped lace, and as you can see I did just that. I was at the point of threading the ribbon through when to my horror I realised that I had stitched the lace all the way round and not cut in half as I did on the first bag, and as this was silk there was no way I was going to try and unpick two rows of stitching as it would have ruined the silkL Therefore renders the bag in my opinion unsalable, bummer!!!!

Unsalable yes, but nevertheless still a beautiful bag but a classic whoopsi  all the same.

The bag is bronze/gold vintage James Hare silk (which is around €48 per metre today)and the lace is a vintage Nottingham scalloped edged lace, the pouch is double layered and a reinforced base which has been over locked to stop any fraying. I think this would be cute for keeping you smalls in when you go for a special weekend Jbut whatever you do with it I hope you enjoy it.

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Designs by Dana $20 pair of Gorgeous Armwarmers

I recently met Dana on face book and fell in love with her fabulous creations and we got to chatting as we girls do! and she told me about her love of fiber art which for her started at an early age, living then in Spain she saw an elderly lady dressed in mourning black sitting in front of a medieval castle knitting the most intricate and beautiful lace. The lady was so skilled at her craft that she didn't even look to see what her fingers were creating. It was almost as if her fingers had eyes. Dana was mesmerized and thought to herself “It’s like magic… and I want to learn how to do this! This was the start of her love affair with all things fiber.

She also mentioned that she studied flamenco dance and guitar and her work as you can see has been greatly influenced by the vibrant colours and music of Spain, Portugal and Northern Africa.

Designs by Dana are a completely original take on fabrics….  Creating clothing – rather, works of art that force you to see fashion in an entirely new way. 

Dana has not hung her shoes up just yet and here are her favourite pair ready and waiting.....

 Her clothes not only look comfortable, flattering and best of all unique. From original patterns for couture hats, separates and outerwear to reconstructed materials putting life into assumingly tarnished textiles.  The detail and care put into every stitch from Dana is what makes her line unlike anything currently dangling in your closet or what is found on the every-day store racks.

Huge thanks to Dana for sharing her story with us and for her fabulous give away of a pair of up cycled gloves (First picture on post) which will go to one of my lucky followers.  Now how to enter and you know I like to keep it simple..... so for the first time I am trying out Rafflecopter so bear with me and if there are any problems please let me know so I can rectify. So good luck and meanwhile Dana will strum you a little tune on her guitar.

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