Feature Interview with Facebodyfeet + 2 Giveaways

 

Introducing Jacque a charming young Lady from New York who opened her Etsy shop in April of this year. I recently met Jacque on the forums and found her to be fun, enthusiastic and upbeat. I asked if she would like to do a feature on my blog, and as you can see she said YES!! not only did she say yes she has offered two readers the chance to win one of her delicious face.body.feet products. Rose & Spice foot soak, this fabulous foot soak boasts the stimulating scents of spice potpourri and roses to give your feet the ultimate R&R. And also Raspberry guava, this wonderful body butter boasts the yummy scent of raspberry guava--ripe, juicy raspberries and tropical guava. Made my mouth water just typing this!
First let's hear what Jacque has to say and then I will tell you how you can enter to win. Over to you Jacque pictured below with her man :) Giveaway value $18

Jacque & David

 Tell us a little about yourself.

All my life, I knew I was an entrepreneur, before I even knew what an entrepreneur was. I sold lemonade and baked goods on the weekends when I was younger. We held car washes in the summer. I sold candy year around in high school. I always had so many ideas that I wanted to do and now I just do them! I am a fun, outgoing person who loves to travel, play sports, watch Netflix, read, and be around all the people (and animals) I love.

What is your first memory of being crafty/artsy?

My first memory of being crafty/artsy was around age 7 when my friend and I decided we wanted to design clothing. We would draw out all the clothing designs and color them and research how we could make them. I made a dress once. It didn't come out so bad; the only thing was that I chose horrible fabric. I guess clothing design wasn't really my thing.
I was also always in charge of baking cakes, cookies, and cupcakes in my home for birthdays and holidays. I loved creating things and decorating them, and eating them of course!


 Pittsburgh

 Where do you get inspiration for your products?

I am inspired by everything! God has created so many interesting, odd, beautiful, and crazy items in humans, animals, and nature. I love to just be surrounded by nature, people, and animals. Smells also greatly inspire me for example, fruits, flowers and fauna, and the smells of nature. While my cats are lounging around, stretched out and sleeping, they put me in a happy state of mind, and really help me focus and want to create new things and get busy!

Movado and Linux

Where can we find your products?

My products can be found on Etsy, www.facebodyfeet.etsy.com I also have a Facebook Fan Page, www.facebook.com/facebodyfeet.  I have just started with Twitter @facebodyfeet.
As I grow and have a more established product line and customer base, I would like to have my own website and do craft shows, street fairs, and possibly wholesale.

What methods do you find best bring traffic to your shop?

I find that being involved in the Etsy forums and teams helps bring the most traffic and attention to my shop. I also created a fan page on Facebook to make my family and friends aware of my new endeavour. I try to renew all of my products at least once per day to keep my shop name out there if I am not listing new products.

Tell us a little about your workspace 

I am just getting started with my homemade bath & body goodies, so my workspace is not as yet developed as other crafters. I create my products at home in my kitchen and I have started to put together my office space where all my supplies are held and finished products shelved. Eventually, I will have a small studio/office where I can go create my items.

Is there anything else you would like the readers to know?

I truly believe in my products and test them out to make sure even I would buy them before I list them to be available for others. I am very excited and grateful to have been chosen to be featured for this blog and hope you see my passion as much as I see the passion within myself!


Customer feedback

"This transaction was an absolute pleasure from start to finish. My package was delivered safely and quickly, and was nicely wrapped -- perfect for my wife's birthday present. I'll shop here anytime without hesitation. Thanks!

HOW TO ENTER

1. Please follow my blog so you can come back on the 29th June to see if you are a WINNER!!

2. Like Jacque on www.facebook.com/facebodyfeet.

3. Take a peek at her shop www.facebodyfeet.etsy.com  and feel free to heart  away

4. Now the fun bit! Below you can see a box and all you have to do is guess the number combination to open it. It's a four digit number and you can guess/enter as many times as you like. If nobdy guesses correctly then the two entries with the closest will win.

5. This competition is now open worldwide. Jacque's a girl so she can change her mind and she did:)

6. Finally if you don't win I am sorry, but all is not lost, Jacque is offering a fabulous free perfume value $7 with any purchase over $15 or more. When checking out, add KBlog Reader in the notes so that Jacque knows to include your free perfume oil and also which scent you would like.

Good Luck to all who enter and also a huge thanks to Jacque and wish you much success, so ready,set,go!!!!



Feature with Mixed Media Artist Cathy Savels + Giveaway Value $28

“Nature is art, in absolute detail. A never ending paradox that tears me from reality. Everything has a spirit, a voice that needs to be listened to. Creativity is my passion. This was the journey of my childhood, as I watched my father create wonderful furniture in wood and observed my mother sewing beautiful garments with fabrics.

When I search for inspiration, I look over the vineyards surrounding my studio in south-west France and ideas engulf me. Dreams evolve into reality, midnight sketches become my driving force. Before my canvas, I see the world through a lens. I’m interested in what escapes me.”

Well if that does not get you hooked to find out more about Cathy’s work nothing will.



Cathy’s works combine the traditional medium of painting with the use of other materials such as string, paper and cloth to create beautiful textured works which are both striking and accessible for the viewer. The nature of the works invite viewers to touch and become involved on many sensory levels.

Cathy’s work was greatly influenced by both her father's cabinet makers skills and by watching her mother's work as a seamstress. She absorbed information about materials such as wood, fabrics, wool and paper, learning about their qualities, which has become a vital influence on her work today.

Her biggest inspiration is nature and organic structures. The textures, patterns and details created by nature are a driving force for her creativity. She remains fascinated by nature as art in absolute detail and strives to engage the viewer through the observation of nature's tiny details.

1.Was there anyone in particular who gave you inspiration?
My inspiration for starting to work with string and other textures came from an exhibition I went to see by Eva Hessa in Vienna, Austria. She didn't live a very long life due to a brain tumor but in the latter part of her life, she started to work with 3 dimensional shapes and forms. She used a lot of string as well as recycled materials. It dawned on me that here I was painting, and here I was making home decorations but if I was to combine all those skills and materials, I could have something truly unique.

My very first textured painting 'logs' was sold at Christies, London. Imagine how pleased I was since this has really just been an experiment. This painting was inspired by being stuck behind a logging truck. The ends of the logs were kind of mesmerizing and this painting just appeared in front of my eyes along that journey.

2.When did you discover your creative talents?

I've been creative really since I was born. Music and art have been my life. Alas it was not encouraged when I was younger so I never really believed I could do this for a living. It wasn't until I was hit by lightning in 2002 that it dawned on my that life really is too short and too fragile to not do what you feel passionate about.

3. Who are your favourite artists of all time?
It has to be Eva Hesse for inspiring me to find a way of working which is really unique and personal to me. O'Keefe also although I did not discover her works until I was already painting botanical subjects.

4. If you could change one thing about yourself what would it be?
To not be such a perfectionist. I literally drive myself crazy and I'm never happy with any of my work. This means I lack confidence in showcasing my work and it really holds me back. I'm really trying to just go for it but it's not easy! Ha!

5. Describe yourself in 5 words!
This is quite a difficult question. I don't give myself that much thought. OK, here goes. Creative, musical, sociable, perfectionist, nurturing. I'm sure my partner could think of a few more!

6. What makes you laugh hard?
My partner. Him and I laugh a lot, mostly at the most ridiculous things you can imagine. I'm sure no one else would laugh. We have what we call a 'happy hour' most days, usually after lunch when we sit and chat and it general descends into total nonsense.

Early this year Cathy along with her partner Joe came up with the idea of creating a free platform for all artists. It has been a tremendous success story in a very short period of time and Totalartsoul (TAS) was born http://www.totalartsoul.com and continues to grow, with already 1454 registered members, and last month saw 97750 unique visitors to this site.

Their vision of the platform was to encourage artists to share and expose their works in a personal gallery. Members would have a personal blog space; a gallery to showcase their work, a chat room, a forum and a video upload function. The discussion boards would serve as active halls to grow in the creative process while networking and connecting to international like-minded artists.

Cathy and Joe have written some step-by-step tutorials on how anyone who has to market themselves online can achieve similar results. The tutorials are inexpensive and are also a way to keep Total Art Soul free for its members. You can find them here http://www.totalartsoul.com/

Cathy is offering a set of 5 off her beautiful note cards value $14, in addition the winner will recieve a $14 gift voucher  to spend in my shop. http://www.etsy.com/shop/Krishenka

How to enter! it's easy, all you have to do is this (Leave your name and a contact address) and your almost done.......





1. Please follow my blog, it’s not mandatory but you know it makes me smile!

2. Please visit Cathy’s shop and drool for a few moments, all hearts are welcome.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/cathysavelspaintings


3. Cathy is also offering a generous 10% discount on any item from her shop, so if you would like to make a purchase, just add Krish in the buyers message to her, and she will adjust the price.

4. You can enter as many times as you like.


6. This giveaway is open worldwide and will close on the 29th Oct.


Finally a huge thank you Cathy for sharing your beautiful work and along with everyone else wish you continued success and happiness.

Lastly I would like to apologise for a technical problem that caused all previous entries to be deleted and I do hope you come back and try again.

Dear Sir, The Art of Writing is not Dead!

If you have not yet come across  the shop of Designer Pens  before then here is a chance to see not only Randy's beautiful handcrafted pens but to hear a little about where he lives and his love of working with wood and  creating his hand crafted pens. Here are a few questions I asked Randy. And  one lucky person will receive a fabulous handcrafted pen from Designer Pens shop value $30 

 "Lemon Lime European Style Pen" pictured above.

  Rules for this give away are at the end of this posting. Good luck.

Why did you choose to make pens out of wood

I went to a woodworking show a few years back in Denver, and there and then I decided that I wanted to work and create with wood. So I set to work on clearing an area at the back of my garage, set up my workbench, arranged my tools and set to my first project which was a, yes you have guessed a pen!

I have always loved wood and here in Colorado springs we are surrounded by Silver Maples, Green ash, Siberian Elms, blue Spruce and white fir.  I could go on to tell you about wood  from around the world  that I also use but I think it would be a very  long story. I try to put as much detail as I can into my descriptions  when listing  pens in my shop of the particular woods I use, so if you would like to learn more just pop in and have read.

What is your favourite wood to work with

I don't think I really have a favourite wood as I love all types. But if I had to choose one it would be the Pink Ivory wood, which is a rare African wood used to make luxury products and grows predominately in Zimbabwe, Mozambique and South Africa. Pink Ivory is the royal tree of the Zulus and only the royal family were allowed to possess the wood. It has not only a beautiful colour but the grains creates what to me looks like waves.

How long on average does it take you to make a pen

This varies really depending on whether I am working with wood or acrylic the wooden ones can take approximately 1.5 hours and an acrylic could take 2 hours.  I have never actually timed myself from start to finish as I seem to get totally absorbed in what I am doing and I never like to rush.

Do you think the art of handwriting is dying.

I  believe that younger people write less and would say that the Internet is one off the main reasons for the decline, and email is easy and fast, and and easy option for people nowadays.  But  I believe handwriting  will never  truly die as we all have and need the ability to hand write, can you think of the last time that you cherished an email? To receive a hand written letter is still and always will be a thrill for me and I hopefully for many others, and so by continuing to make  my pens I hope that I can encourage people to enjoy the art of handwriting, especially if they are using one of my pens :)

Randy in action

Rules for giveaway.

1. I would love you to follow my blog, this is not compulsory to do so, but would make me smile:)


2. I would love  you to visit Randy's shop and heart your favourite item from his shop.
http://www.etsy.com/shop/designerpens

3. Leave  your name and contact details on your post.


4. Tell me when was the last time you received a hand written letter. (No Fibbing)


5. Tell me when you last wrote a hand written letter. (Even if it was to the milkman)


6. Finally, good luck and hope the winner will use it often and cherish their hand made pen. Thank you so much Randy for your generosity and helping with keeping the art of writing alive.

7. Giveaway will close on the 14th July

I found this beautiful little embroidery piece in a shop  here on Etsy http://www.etsy.graceymay/ and it fits so well with this giveaway. that I just had to add it.

Rabbit Whiskers Great Giveaway and Interview

 

I came across this wonderful shop last year whilst I was putting together a treasury and used one of Judy's dresses for my theme. I decided to contact Judy to see if she would tell us a little more about the art of smocking. Judy not only does all the smocking but then hand embroiders little ducks, rabbits, and many more delightful little animals on her dresses, and the art she creates on her children's clothing is simply beautiful. Therefore, I was delighted when she agreed, and so asked her a few questions and here's what she had to say.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN SMOCKING

I have been smocking for 34 years, since my daughter was a baby. As a child I always loved  to look at baby clothes in the dept. stores and in my baby cousin's closet, where I found  her little smocked dresses  that I believe came from the Philippines.

WHAT WAS YOUR VERY FIRST PROJECT

I have always loved the arts and creating new things and always had a particular interest in little girl's clothing.I love the infinite amount of designs and special touches that can be added to girl's clothes to make them cute, pretty, fun, and special. I especially love hand smocked baby dresses and always hoped to have a little girl that so that  I could dress her in them. The first smocked dress I made was yes, you guessed  for my daughter and looked nothing like the dresses that I make today, however it was smocked, and it looked smocked! From there, there was no stopping me and my daughter had almost more smocked dresses than she could wear. She is now 32 and I have smocked continually since then and, as the years passed my smocking improved. I got bored with stitching just the basic designs, so I started adding bits of embroidery here and there, mostly little flowers

 DO YOU LISTEN TO MUSIC WHILE YOU WORK

I have music on continuously while I work~ always classical music.We have an excellent classical radio station here, and I find it helps and  inspires me to continue with my creations.

WHERE DO YOUR IDEAS COME FROM

I get my ideas largely from nature, and I also love looking at pictures for inspiration. I love going for walks & looking at all of the beautiful & interesting plants & animals, and I think that is probably my biggest influence. I also like to think of ways to depict animals in human-type roles in scenes embroidered on my dresses hence the name Rabbit Whiskers. There is a longer story attached to this but I fear it is a bit to long to explain right now, perhaps I will blog about it soon:)

DO YOU HAVE ANY OTHER HOBBIES

I have lots of hobbies- unfortunately more than I have time for. I love to garden &  could spend all day every day in the garden~ if I could. I also love to read, write- especially poetry, knit, and then there are a zillion art projects that I'd love to be able to do, but just don't have time, I also like to paint & draw, I would also love to do stained glass & quilt, to name a few, and it's on my list.

DO YOU KNOW WHERE SMOCKING ORIGINATED FROM

Smocking is a very old art form created in England, I believe, and  it has quite an extensive history, but I've never really taken the time to research it- I've managed to pick up a few snippets here & there, for example, I think it was first begun as a way to shape clothing; to reduce the bulk & make it more shapely & decorative

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO A BEGINNER

Hmmm, I think I would say to be very patient and not in a hurry to be finished. It is a very slow process and improvement comes from lots of trial & error. Expect to make mistakes at first-

DO YOU HAVE A HANDMADE ITEM THAT YOU CHERISH 

  Unfortunately, I am the only one in my family who likes to make handmade items, so while I love them, I have very few handmade things that have been given to me~ I guess I would say my favorite is the beautiful crib quilt that my aunt made for my son when he was born. I really treasure that. He & his wife are expecting their first baby in January, so I'm planning to pass it down to them~

 "GIVEAWAY"

I  also discovered that Judy is an excellent photographer and makes beautiful cards collected from her  travels in the countryside in Walnut Creek CA, and she has kindly offered to giveaway a set 4 cards

from her "The Language of Flowers" edition, shown below,  giveaway prize value is $13 and some lucky person will receive the set.

"The Language of Flowers"

HowYou Can Enter Upto 3 Times

Here's your chance to win a set of beautiful cards from Judy's shop, and all you have to do is go to Judy's shop, choose your favourtie item, add the link to your entry and tell me why you choose that particular item.

1. Please follow my blog to enter, and please leave a comment and a contact email address.

2. Tweet this giveaway and you will get another entry.

3. Facebook and you will gain another entry.

4. Winner will be announced  and notified on the last day June. Will use the random generator to select the winner.

Thanks and good luck

To see Judy's work here is her shop:  www.etsy.com/shop/rabbitwhiskers

If you would like to read a little more on smocking: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/smocking

Examples of smocking stitches: www.fashion-era.com/smocking_illustrations.htm