Giveaway at Aquariann's Blog

Hello fairy friends! Today I am pleased to announce that I am hosting a giveaway over at the lovely fantasy art blog Aquariann.

The giveaway is a $25 gift card to my Shoppe, but even if you don't win, you are in store for a treat! I am letting all customers raid my little pirate treasure chest of wirewrapped rosette rings and sparkling leaf earrings. Check out Aquariann's blog post to get the coupon code (good until August 10th 2014)! You'll have to visit her blog to enter the giveaway (which you can do by leaving blog posts, following myself and Aquariann on social media, spreading the word, etc!). I love her writing style, by the way, so be sure to read through the whole post!

Shabby Apple Gift Card Winner

Right now I am sitting at my desk, cuddled up in my warmest sweater with a cup of tea by my laptop, and staring out at a plain white canvas. Yesterday we had a major storm and I believe it is the second-largest snowfall that I have ever experienced! Well over a foot of snow and big drifts by my window. My brothers and I are in the process of making snow sculptures, and we've calculated that each one will require 98 cubic feet of snow. We're over halfway done!

But you don't want to know about the weather, do you? You want to know who won the Shabby Apple giveaway. I don't blame you! You had to wait an extra day because our internet speed was inching along during the snow.

And the winner is...

...

...

Melissa P.

Congratulations! I'm sending you an email right now. 

Shabby Apple Gift Card Giveaway

Calliope Skirt by Shabby Apple

If you haven't heard of Shabby Apple before, you are missing out. I can't tell you how many times I've browsed their website, gushing over all the eye candy and wishing that I had a good excuse to buy another dress! So it was with great excitement that I read an email asking me to host a $50 gift card giveaway for them (and boy, do I wish I could enter my own giveaways!).

They make some beautiful, vintage, bold, modest, and feminine clothing. My favorites have got to be the dresses... And some of the skirts, like the bright Calliope skirt pictured above. But mostly the dresses. Lookie lookie look!

{left to right: Cider, Veni Vidi Vici, Blue Eyes}

{left to right: Red Queen, Headliner Dress, Aripidae}

I literally just grabbed some random favorites here, I have a bajillion more but don't feel like organizing a bajillion photos for one blog post! You should definitely check out their website and take a peek at all the beautiful dresses. They even have a cool tool to help you find dresses that are especially flattering to your body type!

One of you will get to win a $50 gift card! This is enough to purchase a fun skirt or pretty blouse, or put it towards buying one of the dresses! Most are in the $60-100 range so they are definitely affordable if you want to splurge. 

Also, Shabby Apple is offering a coupon for everyone!

Enter shealynnsfaerieshoppe10off at checkout to receive 10% off your purchase. (Good until 4/12/13)

The giveaway linky is below. Please note that you do need a facebook account to participate in this particular giveaway. It lasts until next Friday.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Announcing the 12 Days of Christmas Giveaway Extravaganza

image via

Merry Christmas Eve, my dear friends! I hope you are having a lovely time with family and friends! Be sure to pray for those who cannot be with their loved ones this Christmas season.

Speaking of the Christmas season, the proper celebration of Christmas begins tomorrow-- on the 1st Day of Christmas! Once again, just like last year, twelve wonderful artisans have kindly offered to give away some of their beautiful pieces here on my blog! We'll spread some Christmas cheer and show you some wonderful shops to fall in love with!

(Update: I actually only have eleven artisans because one of them is very busy, so if you would like to give away something and have your own small business/blog/website featured on my blog, email me at shealynnsfaerieshoppe@gmail.com)

I can't wait until my cousins come over a couple days after Christmas. There are 30-some of us and it's always a blast! We'll probably have lots of good food and discussions about engineering and education as usual, along with some hairbrained inventions being shown off (like the levitating magnet toy that my little brother designed a couple of months ago).

 What are your favorite Christmas and New Years' traditions?

Giveaway at Arda Nessimava

Would you like to win an Evenstar Jewelry Set in your choice of colors?

Head over to the lovely and brilliantly geeky blog Arda Nessimava by Dec 27th!

Giveaway at Bramblewood Fashion

I'm doing a giveaway over at Bramblewood Fashion-- check it out to win a set of guitar string jewelry! It's open world wide, and you can also find a free US shipping code.

While you are at it, be sure to browse the Bramblewood Fashion blog! Ashley posts about many creative, modest, vintage-inspired outfits and her sense of style is so cute. :)


Head's up to anyone wanting some custom jewelry for Christmas: the sooner the better! Email me at shealynnsfaerieshoppe@gmail.com (I don't bite!).

Virvatuli Design's Elven Handflower Giveaway

A few weeks ago, while browsing through Etsy, I saw this beautiful pair of fingerless gloves inspired by The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien.

Nightengale (Tinuviel) Mitts by Virvatuli Designs

The pretty colors and quality caught my eye and I just had to check out the rest of Virvatuli Design's shop when I read the description:

"Tinuviel the elven-fair,

Immortal maiden elven-wise,

About him cast her shadowy hair

And arms like silver glimmering"

J. R. R. Tolkien-"The Lord of the Rings"

These mitts are a tribute to the brave, magical Elvish princess, Luthien Tinuviel, in Tolkien's "The Silmarillion." She forsakes immortal life to be with her beloved, Beren the mortal man, after suffering and overcoming numerous trials.

Rebekah and Grace, who run Virvatuli Designs, graciously offered to do a giveaway for the Tolkien Month celebration here at the blog!

I asked them to share a bit about themselves...

VirvatuliDesigns is a small shop run by two sisters, Rebekah and Grace, and they are both heavily influenced by J. R. R. Tolkien's work-particularly "The Lord of the Rings." The graceful, yet powerful elves, simple, brave hobbits, and shadowy warriors made an impression on us at an early age. Whether it's as obvious as a "Galadriel" doll (Grace has one on the back-burner), or as subtle as the Norse Mythology character gloves Rebekah is currently working on, Tolkien's writings are an endless source of inspiration. J. R. R. Tolkien's characters and worlds are rich, beautiful, and enduring, and we strive for that same quality in every piece of work that ends up in our store.

Lady Sif Fingerless Mitts

Skadi Mittens

These two mitts are inspired by Norse mythology (which greatly influenced Tolkien) and are knit with that complex and beautiful fairisle technique. Lady Sif was the wife of Thor and godess of harvests, and Skadi was the godess of winter.

OK, so this doll has already been sold but I just had to share it because I think it's so cute. And GREEN. And it's a MERMAID. And they call her a "steampunk siren!" (In the listing it states that they do custom items, so if you like this mermaid I'm sure they'd be glad to make it again!).

They have beautiful dolls like Marie Antoinette and Odette from Swan Lake in stock.

The Giveaway

VirvatuliDesigns is giving away one pair of Elven handflowers and a $10 gift certificate that can be used in their shop or for custom orders!

Don't know what a handflower is? Rebekah explains that is is essentially a wrist warmer with a triangular portion that hooks around the middle finger, like a medieval sleeve.

This is a picture of a pair of handflowers currently available in their shop:

Queen of Hearts Knit Handflower

The Elven ones, of course, will be considerably different.



.a Rafflecopter giveaway

300 Follower Giveaway

(UPDATE: This giveaway is now closed. Thank you to everyone who entered!)

Today I opened up Blogger, ready to buckle down and write a few new posts. Then a super-sparkly number caught my eye: 300! I have 300 Blogger followers!

I can't believe how big my blog has gotten over the past few years. I began Shealynn's Faerie Shoppe-- unspellable name and all-- when I was 14 so that I could have an online place to dump all of my craft photos. It was a purely friends and family sort of blog, and I imagine that very few people actually read it. :) I do tend to ramble when it comes to artwork.

Since then I've certainly learned a great deal about art and crafting and jewelry. Just look back in my archives; I almost cringe when I look at some of my old posts! But life is a journey and every day in which you don't learn something new is wasted... so I've been happily indulging in all sorts of creative pastimes and sharing some of them here on the blog. And earning the money to indulge in the supplies by selling jewelry at my Shoppe.

So this is a THANK YOU to everyone who has been with my on my journey. Thank you for encouraging me with your comments, and helping me with your critiques. Thank you for understanding when I have to take breaks from blogging (because life is crazy!) and for being so friendly (I can't count how many great friends I've met online). And thank you for just purely being awesome, whether or not you read my blog. Because everyone's got some awesome in them. Aaaaaaand now I'm sounding cheesy.

So! Let us commence on the part I'm sure you are more interested in than me mumbling some incoherent thankyous... the giveaway! Allons-y!

I made this little jewelry set especially for this giveaway. Right now I don't have any up on the Shoppe (a problem that will need to be remedied soon, since I've got a lot of leaf beads in dazzling colors just waiting!).

I don't know about you, but I prefer to wear small, elegant jewelry. This might come as a surprise, since some of my favorite things to make are big, intricate affairs, but for everyday wear I usually only slip on a small necklace and a pair of tiny, lightweight earrings.

And it goes without saying that I love anything fairytale, elven, flowery, sparkly, or shiny.

This "Slender Elven Jewelry Set" is just the ticket for me and I wear something similar all the time. It is made from firepolished Czech glass leaf beads and a Swavroski pearl. The chain is the most slender (slenderest?) that I could find. And the green! A lovely periodot, matte on one side, shimmering with sparkles on the reverse.

Like most of the giveaways I've held in the past, this one is going to last for two weeks. However, I've changed it to be open internationally. Yes siree, I'm an old hand at customs forms now, having mailed jewelry to over five different countries! I'm also experimenting with RaffleCopter. This should make the giveaway easier for you and I to manage. *crosses fingers* By the way, no one gets to see your email except for me, and that's only if you are the winner.

The only mandatory entry is for you to tell me what you would like to see more of on my blog.

As I'm sure you've noticed, I like to post about just about anything. But lately my time has been very crunched. I have a little notebook where I keep sketches and lists of ideas for the blog, and my "to-do" list is currently five pages long! But writing posts takes a long time, so chime in and tell me what you like the most. It might just inspire me to actually write the posts that are bouncing around in my head!

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

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One last question! I'm considering making a little stationary line of greeting cards, invitations, envelopes, and perhaps writing paper. They would be decorated with some of my artwork (I've got several ideas already, including pen-and-ink clockwork, watercolor fantasy drawings, and colorful calligraphy/typography).

I'd like to sell them in my Shoppe, but I've been a bit hesitant about jumping in head first... so how about it? Do you think that's a good idea? Would you or a friend be tempted to buy some? What type of artwork would you love the most?

2nd Day of Christmas-- Le Belle Madeline Giveaway

EDIT: This giveaway is also available for anyone living in Italy (not just the US.) My mistake. :)

Nothing could be a better combination than a mug of tea (or coffee or hot coca), a good book, and a long afternoon.

(Tea! Tea not only goes with good books; it makes studying and exams infinitely better. I know. I discovered this just a couple weeks ago. Chai tea, peppermint tea, pomegrante tea...)

Do you know what makes a mug of tea even better?

A darling mug cosy.

Luisa of Le Belle Madeline crochets the darlingest mug cozies you'll ever see.

She also makes crocheted bags and other goodies.

Crochet purse

And she is giving one of you lucky readers a chance to win her cute Bug on a Mug cozy! (top photo, and below)



It's got a little ladybug among the clouds... so pretty. :) What a perfect way to cheer up these dreary winter days! What book and drink would you most like to snuggle up with right now?

Be sure to visit her shop and check out her other goodies!

WAYS TO ENTER

Visit Le Belle Madeline's shop and leave a comment here telling me what your favorite item is! Mandatory. 1 entry.

Like Le Belle Madeline's  on facebook, follow Le Belle Madeline's  on twitter, or follow  Le Belle Madeline's blog. 2 entries each.

Share this giveaway on facebook, twitter, your blog, etc. 1 entry each.

Follow Shealynn's Faerie Shoppe on blogger, facebook, or twitter. 1 entry each.

HOW TO ENTER

Leave a comment on this post describing the way(s) you entered and the number of entries you have made.

FINE PRINT

The winner will be announced on January 11th. Winners will be announced on this blog, and those who have provided email or other contact means will be contacted. If the winner is not heard from within 48 hours a new one will be chosen.

The winning entry will be chosen via Random.org

Giveaways are only available in the US (so sorry to the rest of the world, but the sponsors have to pay out of pocket for shipping!)

If you are under 18, you must have a parent's permission to enter.

P.S. I finally fixed the photos in the first giveaway post. Go check it out!

Giveaways!

I'm excited to announce an event happening here at the blog during the 12 days following Christmas!

Over the past few months, as the blog has surprisingly grown (like, alot, it's quite a blessing and exciting!), I've been approached by a couple of people wanting to do giveaways here. I hesitated, because I'd prefer people to visit the blog because of the content, not because of how many freebies there are.

However, I think it would be really neat to do a 12 Days of Christmas giveaway extravaganza! It also strikes me as funny, how we start decorating for Christmas before... well, sometimes even before Halloween. And yet, people are ready to take down their Christmas trees on December 26th. The Christmas season (if we are going to be particular) starts on Christmas and lasts much longer.

So I'm going to be bringing some holiday cheer to you in the 12 days after Christmas!

I've written to several handmade artists and designers who have very graciously offered to give away some of their beautiful creations here on the blog.

I'll also be giving away a few items (and not just the jewelry you usually see in the Faerie Shoppe).

There are still a few days with no giveaways, though.

If you run a small handmade business or would like to make something to give away, please contact me at Shealynnsfaerieshoppe{at}gmail.com

(just remove {at} and replace it with @, I'm trying to avoid spam. Thanks!)

Also, I just changed the blog header. Now the fairy is actually sitting on something, rather than floating around and sitting in midair. Hopefully the new design also solves some problems a couple people mentioned about viewing the page. Let me know what you think! :)

Giveaway! 80 followers!

<a href="http://shealynns-faerie-shoppe.blogspot.com/2011/03/giveaway-80-followers.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Shealynn's Faerie Shoppe" src="http://img687.imageshack.us/img687/231/giveawaybutton1313.png" /></a>

Eeeeep! The Faerie Blog has 80 Blogger followers!

Back in January, I promised you a giveaway when I hit 80 followers. At the time, there were only 39 amazing Fairy People. 80 seemed a very long way away.

What a treat it was to log onto Blogger this morning and see 3 new followers! (New followers-- I hope you enjoy the blog!) I never imagined my blog would become so popular!

I started wondering, "What should I give away?"

Rather than deciding what to give away, I'm going to leave the choice up to the WINNER!

Here, my dears, is a gift card to my Shoppe. $5 and free shipping!

So, what can you get for $5?

Many small pieces currently on sale:

My brand new Celtic Knotwork creations:
  (the first batch is on a special sale-- all are under $5!)

Simple chainmaille earrings:

OR you can put the $5 towards any other item in the Shoppe!

To enter the giveaway:
(leave a separate comment for each entry)

• Visit the Shoppe and tell me which item or style is your favorite. Mandatory. 1 entry.
• Browse the blog and share your favorite post (and why it is your favorite). 1 entry.
• Follow me on Blogger/Google/other feed, fan on Facebook, or follow on Twitter. 1 entry each.
• Post about the giveaway on your blog, facebook, twitter, etc (leave a link). 2 entries each.
• Put the giveaway button (above) on your blog. 2 entries each.

The giveaway will be open until March 29th, 2011. 1 winner will be chosen with Random.org and announced on the 30th.

I can't wait to see what the winner picks! :)

P.S. What do you think about the color and design scheme on the button and gift card? I might consider re-coloring my blog design.

Edit: Forgot to add... Please include a way for me to contact you. Preferably an email. If the winner does not leave a means of contact, they will be responsible for emailing me when I announce the winner.

And the Winner is...

The winner of my blog's very first giveaway is Jessie. Congrats, Jessie! 
{ Check out her blog here-- she has some very creative crafts and has used some of my tutorials! }


Thank you to everyone who entered! I was especially touched by all the loverly comments you left about my blog... You made my day!

 Allow me to quote R.A.'s beautiful comment:

"My favorite thing about your blog is that is so inspiring to see a teenager making such beautiful and well-crafted things!... Because we live in an age where people will settle for ugly, badly made things because it's easier that way, it's so great to see someone making beautiful quality art! It inspires me to work harder at my crafting. :)"

Needless to say, that made me very happy. By the way, have you seen R.A.'s blogs? She has a beautiful medley of { poetry } and { paintings }.


For those who didn't win-- Don't worry! I'll be doing another giveaway pretty soon. Time for a vote, though. Leave a comment suggesting the next giveaway item! You can suggest anything that you have seen on my blog. 

Jessie-- please leave a comment with your mailing info. I moderate my comments and promise not to publish it. If I do not hear from you within a week, I will pick a new winner.

The Shoppe and a Giveaway!

***Please scroll to the bottom for info on the giveaway!***

So, dear friends, I have finally opened a Shoppe. As many of you have been telling me to do for quite awhile. :)

Shealynn's Faerie Shoppe is dedicated towards making fun, unique, and quality items. I specialize in chainmaille, fantasy, and religious jewelry.

But I certainly don't limit myself to that! You'll find an assortment of very random things on my Shoppe, just like you have on my blog. :)

By the way, I absolutely love custom orders. Have you seen something on my blog that you really want? If I've made it before, I can make it again. Have an idea in your head and want to see it come to fruition? Let me know! I love to experiment and make things, but I can't justify spending the money on supplies for every whim of mine-- I need an excuse. :)

 Here are some pictures from my first "batch" of jewelries. 

(Not all have been uploaded to the Shoppe yet, and some are for giveaways).

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What does this mean for the blog?

Don't worry. I won't spam you with a new post every time that I list a new item. Once a month I'll include a collage of the various things I have for sale on my Shoppe (see the picture at the beginning of this post).

In the past, I made a new post or two for every item I made. Now that I have a shop and have a "reason" for making a million jewelries... I won't do that.

Every time that I come up with a new design or a great spin on a previous one, I'll make a new post. But if I'm simply making more of the same design, I'll edit the post about that design and make a "gallery" of that design. I'll be sure to let you know when I update posts.

I'm not going to be stingy about how I do what I do. Keep an eye out for new tutorials, tips, and tricks.

And, as always, I'll keep you updated on non-Shoppe projects and hopefully give you lots of inspiration.

(Of course, the start of the Shoppe heralded a new look here at the blog. I hope you enjoy it and have fun with all the new features!)

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And now... what you've all been waiting for...

The Giveaway!

In honor of the start of my shop, I am giving away this lovely pair of earrings:

TO ENTER, please leave a comment on my blog post, telling me what you like best about my blog or Shoppe, along with any comments or suggestions. 1 entry, mandatory.

For additional entries:

• Follow the blog. 1 entry.
• Fan Shealynn's Faerie Shoppe on Facebook. 1 entry.
• Post about my Shoppe, blog, and/or this giveaway on your own blog. 2 entries.

Please be sure to leave a seperate comment for each entry, or they will not be counted.


The giveaway deadline is November 10th.