News from Whimsylandia and Giveaway Winner

Wow. I'm terribly sorry for the extra long silence here after my last post. I hoped to pop in every now and then to share a few words, but all hopes crumbled when I realized that I was never going to finish up all my deadlines if I didn't keep working like a mad woman. LOL. Thankfully, this mad woman's hard work paid off and she did manage to finish them eventually. Phew. :)

So, what's new? you may ask... Quite a lot, actually. But I think I'll just keep this post extra light and happy now that I have a reason to sigh a breath of relief. Let me show you some new little whimsies that are happily settled in their spots at Whimsylandia...

 

Well, I hope you like what you see. I must admit that creating dolls is an exciting experience because you get a bit more attached to them. Like painting or drawing, it gives you such a feeling of pride and joy, but you get this fuzzy feeling in your heart because you can actually hold the little darlings in your hands. :)

Anyway, in case you're wondering, I haven't forgotten about our last awesome Hallow's Eve Giveaway! Someone is going to get very lucky and receive that little black cat in the middle! So as promised, I have picked a winner and that person is...

I hope everyone had a good time on Halloween and thank you so much for participating in my giveaway. For those who didn't win this time, please accept a little something from me that you can claim at Whimsylandia...

Don't forget to click on the images to be transported to the links... See you soon, lovelies! :)


Much love,

Double Giveaway Announcement

The weekend is coming.♫♫.... Anything special for you on the horizon? I have no particular plan in mind myself, but I'm determined to stay away from work this time (really, I am!). I know that this won't be easy for me, especially because the end of the year is always crazy around that department. I still have a couple more commissioned work to finish and I'm very eager to have them finished before next year starts.

Well anyhoo...you know what would make this coming weekend more cheerful? How about bringing smiles to a few lovely faces?? A double giveaway winners announcement, perhaps?? (^_^)

Remember that awesome giveaway from Artist in La La Land? Well, congratulations to... Micu!!!
You have won a set of wonderful goodies from the wonderful artist Melissa Kojima! Expect them to be delivered to your door soon. :)

And the winners to my FIVE free 40% discount vouchers giveaway?? Here they are...

Congrats to all of you! (expect your unique voucher by email very soon!). And thank you so much to everyone who has participated... I have more giveaways coming this month, so be sure to keep coming back and get your chance to win some great prizes! :)

Have a fantastic weekend, everyone!

Grinning from ear to ear,

A Birthday and a Giveaway

First of all, I'd like to express huge, huge thanks to all of my wonderful, sweet friends for the wise words and kind comments you have left me on my last post. I'm overwhelmed and deeply touched by your heartfelt response, each was like a swift of cool wind in a much needed time under the sun. Reading them made me see my quest more clearly and I'm more determined than ever to carry on with my plans. I'm just so lucky to have all of you! :)

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Yesterday, my youngest baby son turned one. I can't believe how much this little bird has grown since the first time I held him in my arms. So let me share with you some of  the lovely things off my (very long) wish list, all dedicated to Little Rayyan's 1st birthday! Remember to click on the image if you'd like to visit the link...

Aren't they all adorable??? I was tempted to throw my baby a birthday party when I gathered all these fantastic finds for inspiration, but I'm kind off swamped with work at the moment (surprise, surprise), so that idea would have to be put on hold for now...

But it doesn't mean we can't still celebrate right? How about a little giveaway? Because I have one running at the moment over at The Art & Tree Chatter of Aquariann, hosted by the lovely Kristin. You can join now and get your chance of winning not one, but TWO fine art prints of your choice!! All you need to do is hop on over there and follow Kristin's instructions.

So anyway, thank you for always finding time to visit me and adding colors to this special space with all your thoughts and comments. I hope this weekend will be a wonderful one for everyone!

Hugs,

Letting it Out of My Chest

Hello! How's your day? I hope you're up for a little heart to heart talk, because I'm in need of some wisdom and objective point of views. What I'm about to share with you is probably one of the most classical dilemmas many bloggers have been debating about for years and something that would probably stay as an open topic for more years to come. If you are an avid blog hopper like myself, I'm sure you've noticed that more and more blogs are now opting to become for profit blogs by making advertising and sponsorship available on their blogs. While some feel there's absolutely nothing wrong with this, many have also expressed their uneasiness of receiving money by "renting" out spaces for businesses or fellow bloggers. Me personally? I say do what you want with your blog in the best possible ways, because it's yours and you know what's best for yourself.

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What brought this up? Well, it's actually something someone said to me a few days ago. This person asked if I have finally succumbed to the power of money and converted my blog to a commercial one simply because I now offer sponsorship. All I could say to her was that she shouldn't judge people if she doesn't have all the facts. Yes, I do offer sponsorship now. Yes, I do promote people here and on my other social sites. But I don't request payment for any type of advertising, be it ad spots, features, interviews, sponsored giveaways or any other kind of promotions there are in blogland. I have however, sent invites to friends and art related businesses that I think are in line with my blog's theme who may benefit from getting advertised here. For more intensive and active promotional support, I do welcome any amount of donation that they are comfortable with, only to be put toward advertising this blog, so we could all gain more traffic together.  

I hope this post is not starting to sound like a rant, because it's not. I'm not angry or fuming with smoke coming out of my ears. Just disappointed, and at lost at how some people would judge and label others without asking for more information before they do. If you remember my post on why I started the whole sponsorship thing, I'm sure you'll see that my real goal is to reach out to other artists and craftspeople so we could all grow together as a strong group. I've always dreamed of building a support system for all artists, whatever their backgrounds, for them to at least be introduced and recognized within the online world. Something I desperately needed the first time I decided to expose my work to the world, something I wish someone had offered me while I crawled my way up the steep hill.

So anyway, I just want everything to be crystal clear. If you are an artist, or own an art/craft related business, you are more than welcome to apply for a free sponsorship and have a badge advertised on the spots I have available here. However, I do have the rights to filter all requests and decide whether your application is in line with my blog. Also, if you're in need of a more intensive support through my social sites (which in fact helps generate higher traffic), please bear in mind that I will have to dedicate my time and energy to do this, so I think it's quite reasonable for me to ask for a little donation in turn to help support this blog.

Wow. I sure had a lot to say on that one. LOL. Better out of my chest than locked up inside, right? If you have any feedback or experience based on this topic, please, please share it with us here! I always love reading your point of views. :)

Hugs,

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Note: The amazing ocean storm photography above is provided by my lovely friend and sponsor, Sylwia Urbaniak. Visit her shop to see more of her stunning work!

Unexpected Bliss

Hello, lovelies! I hope you all had a wonderful week. Mine had been a mix of rush, surprises and as always a dash of chaos in the home area. So I'm definitely eager to unwind this weekend. Other than the unexpected (blessed, blessed) rain than suddenly came drizzling upon us after months of long drought, I also had another surprise that put a very wide smile on my face!

A few months ago, I was approached and invited by La Marelle Editions to join their exceptionally brilliant group of artists to make my work available as their products. If you aren't familiar with them already, La Marelle Editions is an amazingly creative French based company that sells whimsical artistic merchandises for children and the childlike at heart. Once I clicked the link to their site, I knew I wanted in right away! :)

So, voila! There I am now, smacked in the middle among so many artists I have admired for so long, including my all time favorite, Nicoletta Ceccoli! You just can't imagine how over the moon I was when I found out. I guess when you work so hard to find your dream, sometimes you just don't expect to see a glimpse of it until someone comes along and show it to you. :)

To celebrate...

My Etsy shop is just two sales away from 100. So, I will be giving away an 8x10 inches fine art print of your choice with the next 5 sales that come along! You can choose the print yourself at my shop's print section or at my new Society6 shop.

Anyway, I'm glad I could share this wonderful news and celebrate with all of you my bloggy friends and followers. This blog has been such a huge part of my quest to happily ever after, and I must say that I'm truly, truly blessed to have your friendships and support.

Many hugs to you,

Setting My Priorities Straight

My. That sounds like a seerrioouusss title, doesn't it? Well, it's pretty much true. After my recent confusion with priorities, I finally took some time to think about them and what's most important to me right now. Of course, family always comes first, no questions about that. It's work that desperately needs some organizing. And thanks to the tips some of you gave me on my last post, I think I can now see things more clearly, from refreshed angles and perspectives.

First of all, creating art is my top priority. I don't know about you, but sometimes I get so distracted and sidetracked in the midst of my chaotic life, that eventually I'd find myself lost with no clue on how to get back on track. This I think is a red alert for us working in the creative field because once you're lost, you tend to slip away from your creativity zone, leading you to a blank wall which you can't seem to fill in with art no matter what you do. Sounds familiar? I find it much harder to get back to the creating rhythm once this happens, so it's really best to watch for signs. Whenever you feel like you're getting sidetracked, then it's time for you to stop and evaluate. Good thing I found my way back, otherwise these new girls and their cats would probably still be hidden in my head, waiting for me to discover them! :)

One of the hardest things about working independently as an artist is not being able to balance the needs to create and promoting your work. Both are equally crucial, especially when most of your opportunities come from networking online. Maintaining your social circles is hard work and it's not something you can gain overnight. However, it's such a pain when you get carried away and wake up one morning to realize that you've been spending more hours socializing whilst your drawing table is gathering dust in the studio! That would be a huge setback to your productivity and unfortunately something I'm still experiencing until now.

So anyway, after much thoughts, here are a few things I've decided to do to help simplify things in the work area and hopefully my life in general...

♠ My Etsy shop will be a place where I sell my original art and illustrations only. As much as I love selling handmade prints and paper goods, it's just way too time consuming. Therefore, I'm having a special promotion on the prints still available in the shop... you get TWO EXTRA prints of your choice for each TWO prints purchased. Sounds good? :)
♠ I will be making prints of my work available in my new Society6 shop, which by the way provides beautiful high quality prints in a variety of sizes and options. You can even purchase bags, t-shirts and iPhone cases with my work too!
♠ My blog will remain the center of my online activities. It's the one place where I can really be honest with myself and communicate with friends more personally. I'm sure many of you bloggers out there would agree...

Okay. Pheww. That was quite a long post, wasn't it? Well, I hope it helped open up a few windows in your head and as always I love feedbacks...so fire away! :)

Hugs,

Down to Half

Checking through my mails and messages, I received a few asking if I would be having any sale on my original pieces soon.... So I thought maybe it's about time I do! And this time I'm going all the way, pushing the bar down to HALF PRICE! Yes, sirree... I feel so blessed and thankful that many of you appreciate my art and would love to have it as a part of your life. Here are a few examples of my discounted items, available in the shop as of today!

Hope to see you there! :)

August Giveaway Winners

Yes you are, yes you are! :))

I was thinking to myself the other day how I have mixed feelings about this particular giveaway. This is the first time I've asked followers to submit a story for their entry based on my illustrations. To my surprise, I didn't have many entries this time compared to my previous giveaways where I had only asked for comments. Of course, I was a bit disappointed at first. I thought maybe I had asked too much? I mean, it's not like people have nothing else to do! But then after I read each entry once again, I realized that it doesn't matter how many entries there are, but the quality of the stories I get. Even my dear friend Lissa felt inspired to write her own story because of it! (thank you, my sweet!)

So after thinking it through (which wasn't at all easy!), my girl and I decided that the winner of this giveaway, to receive my At the Meadow art print set is...

Jo James of Cart Before The Horse

Congrats to you, Jo! But hold on... I wasn't kidding when I said that you are all winners. Yes, I'm giving away my printable bookplate designs for everyone who had been so lovely to take part in the giveaway!! Just my way of saying thank you for sharing your imagination here with all of us. So please let me know your e-mail address later so I can send the file to you.

Lastly, I hope your days are filled with magical stories... I know I always need at least one to get me through the day! :)

Hugs,

Reaching Out to Grow

Hello friends! August is finally here, and I know it promises a lot of wonderful things for us! You're probably wondering why I sound so excited? Well, because I am! This month will mark a whole new chapter for my beloved blog, as I'm reaching further out and letting my branches grow...Yes, because as of today Pencils and Fireflies will officially be hosting its sponsor friends for the first time! If you take a look on the right sidebar, you'll see a line of my fabulous friends who are now sponsoring the blog. Here they are in closer looks...please click on each one to be transported to their link!

As some of you probably already know, art has saved me. It pulled me out from one of the darkest periods of my life and put me back on track. So I'm now dedicating this blog to art, as a special place to share art in all forms, from all across the world and throughout history. To show how much it has influenced our lives in so many ways. By reaching out and making room for sponspors, I hope we could fly and embark on a new adventure together! :)

I will be featuring all sponsors here throughout August, so please come back to find out more about each one. If you're interested to join our circle and would like to become a sponsor too, just send me a line and we'll work something out.

I hope you find plenty of creativity and artistic encounters today...here's to art and all the goodness it's brought to the world! ♥♥♥

With love,

PS: I will be having a giveaway in a couple of days...be sure to come back and join in the fun! oxox