First Giveaway of the Year

Hello 2013! 

Isn't it incredible that thirteen years have gone by after we entered the year 2000? I think I never would have guessed that my life would be the way it is now thirteen years ago from today. I am thankful that I'm still fortunately blessed to be able to stand on solid ground with the lovely sun shining down above me. So in celebration of the new year, I'm here to host the very first giveaway of 2013, with gorgeous prizes from Whimsy Whimsical!! For those of you who aren't already familiar with this wonderful shop, Whimsy Whimsical Paper Goods is a series of paper goods inspired by whimsical forest animals, illustrated and designed by Yee Von. Here are some of the beautiful things you can find there...

I'm so lucky to have met Yee Von through her blog a few years ago, who is the sweet lovely lady behind these creations. I absolutely love her whimsical world and adorable woodland creatures. She's created them with such perfect simplicity that makes me want to smile and hug someone! The fabulous news is, she's generously giving away these two gorgeous prints for two winners (one print for each winner) just for us at Pencils and Fireflies...

Overcome Fear, Behold Wonder, 42cm x 29.7cm

Not All Who Wander Are Lost, 42cm x 29.7cm

Aren't they beautiful? Both prints are part of Yee Von's new design series of silkscreen prints, inspired by her favorite quotes and they are coming very soon to her shop. What's more fabulous is, that these are limited editions of only 9 (yes, nine!!), and you now have the chance to win them! Here are what you need to do to enter the giveaway:

♥ Enter by using the Rafflecopter widget below.
♥ Be a follower of Pencils and Fireflies.
♥ Like Yee Von's page on Facebook.
♥ Leave a comment within this post, telling us your favorite quote and which print you would like to win. Please make sure to leave the mandatory comment with the same name you use to fill out the Rafflecopter to avoid confusion.

For extra credits:
♥ Share the link to this giveaway on Twitter (+1 )
♥ Share the link to this giveaway on Facebook (+1)

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Easy, right? Well, let's get crackin' because this giveaway will end on Friday, 18 January and I will announce the winners the following week. So good luck, you! I hope this helps kick up your spirit a few notches up as you start the new year. :)

Animals for the Heart

Hi everyone, what have you been up to lately? I've been doing some new collaboration projects, creating wooden model carvings with the local craftsmen. Remember the owls from my last project? They were such a huge success in the shop, that I decided to have a few more lovely creatures added to the collection. This yellow bird was one of them, and to my surprise he was sold just a few hours after I listed him. :)

Now if you have a soft spot for cute furry animals like I do, I have no doubt that you must collect a clutter or two of animal figurines in your home. I even know someone who has a whole cabinet full of them! She told me that she started the collection just a year ago with only a couple of clay models, and she hasn't stopped buying ever since. Who would blame her, right? Just take a look at these adorable creatures made by Hamlin Design and tell me they don't make your heart melt...

Cat, the lady behind these wonderful creations is a true animal enthusiast, who has an especially huge love for cats. Her sculptures are beautifully made out of polymer clay with just enough detailing to show a kind of innocent simplicity that I absolutely love! It's amazing how Cat is able to tell a story with these animals just from their shapes and postures. I guess this is one of the cases where less is more really proves to be a successful mean of design. :)

So how about you...do you collect animal models too? Any particular animal you're crazy about? Do tell! :)

Illustrated Wooden Treasures

Yes, it's Monday again. No need to feel so forlorn, especially because the holiday is coming very soon and then there will be nothing but festivity ahead for everyone! Now before that comes, why don't we feast our eyes on these gorgeous treasures by NUTAK...you sure are in for a real treat! :)

I first discovered NUTAK on etsy during the many hours of my satisfying explorations. Probably like so many of you, I find wood to be one of the most versatile and naturally beautiful material to work with, but making jewelry is something I've never tried to accomplish before. So you can imagine my excitement as I stumbled upon this fabulous shop! Each creation is so beautifully handcrafted, with great attention to details that shows amazing creativity. Monika and Darko are the creators behind NUTAK, both determined to put their heart and soul into each treasure they create. Other than jewelry, you can also find other uniquely made items in their shop...

So didn't that just lift up your mood? I always love finding inspirations on Mondays, just to kick things up a bit to set the pace going. I hope this feature brought you just that... Have a good week, everyone! :)




Links to NUTAK:
Etsy shop
Facebook page

A Giveaway from La La Land

Hello, hello! So good to be able to pop in and show you peeks to some artsome goodness! This time I'm taking you into the wonderfully curious world of Melissa Kojima, the creative and talented lady of Artist in La La Land. Claims to have been blessed by an abundance of energy, a playful spirit and uproarious laughter, she finds her mark at creating fun, playful art with plenty of influence from Victorian culture, the circus and exotic animals.

See what I meant by creative and talented? Melissa creates many forms of art from her endless imagination...from paintings to paper dolls, cards to ornaments, even three dimensional work! Check out her website and shop for more of fantastic creations. And if this little feast to the eyes isn't already awesome enough, I'm also very happy and excited to announce that I'm hosting a giveaway for her right here, on Pencils and Fireflies!!

In this giveaway you can win...
A set of two Lion Paper Puppets Gift Tags
A set of two Gingerbread Girls Christmas Cards
Gingerbread Family Christmas garland

And all you need to do is use the Rafflecopter below to enter and get your chance to win these great prizes. Please remember to leave the mandatory comment on the blog post with the same name you use to fill out the Rafflecopter. The giveaway will end on the 30th November, and all entries by winner must be easily verified or a new winner will be chosen.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

So good luck to everyone! I'm sure these prizes will bring lots of playful fun and magic to your holiday. :)

Sponsor Love ♥ Halloween All the Way

Wow. Do you realize that Halloween is practically creeping around the corner? I'll bet many of you are already decorating your homes with spooky fun decoration. But if you haven't, no need to worry because this post is to help you do just that! Just watch how this lovely October sponsor inspired me to create the perfect moods for Halloween. :)

The Baker's Daughter

Nancy Andrews is a featured seller on etsy.com. She named her business The Baker's Daughter in honor of her dad, who in fact was a baker for over 30 years. After plenty of experience working in the graphic design field, she ventured into the world of handmade crafts and began her exploration in creating seasonal decorative elements for the home. Her love for colors is obviously one of the strengths that she uses to make her designs stand out from the rest. And with attention paid to the details, Nancy makes each of them special, unique and fun. 

Here are a couple of moods I created using her designs to make your Halloween special too!

Into the Cauldron We Go

Links: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7

A Vintage Halloween

Links: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7

Now wasn't that fun? It sure was for me! I absolutely love mixing and matching stuff, and The Baker's Daughter is just full of inspirations. To see more of Nancy's wonderful products, visit her shop now!

Happy decorating, everyone! :)

Read more details here

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!

Sponsor Love ♥ Art and Nature

Hi everyone! I've been meaning to show off the art of this lovely sponsor and a very special friend of mine, Tammie Lee. For those of you who are already familiar with her beautiful photography, you should also know that she's a wonderful and naturally talented artist...

Beautyflows

What I love about Tammie's work is the peaceful soothing effect it seems to send out, and how each element within the art seems to flow harmoniously with one another. I think living so close to nature not only has given her the ability to understand all of its wonders, but also helps her to capture its spirit in a very positive and beautiful way. Each of her goddesses and whimsical ladies shines with feminine beauty and whispers comforting melodies to your soul...

Come visit Tammie at her enchanting blog or lovely shop to take a bigger peek into her world!

Links: Blog ♥ Shop

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I'm sure you all enjoyed seeing all those comforting pieces of art...and here are a few more to replenish your soul for the day...

As usual... clicking the image will lead to its link. Here's wishing you a peaceful and lovely day!

Hugs,

Send me an e-mail for more details

Sponsor Love ♥ An Ode to the Creepy Cute

Hello friends! I hope your day is wonderful! I'm back for another feature of my wonderful sponsor... Get ready to feast your eyes upon these sweet, creepy-cute lovelies. They're just so adorable, I even had a hard time choosing which ones to include here! :)

Little Nore

Meet the cute characters of Little Nore, an online shop created by UK based artist and illustrator, Heidi M. She loves to create wide eyed, pouty-mouthed beauties with a tad of cute and creepy edge through a variety of mixed media techniques. With a passion for story telling, Heidi loves to convey a story in each painting she creates, bringing her characters to life in their own unique way. If you're interested to follow Heidi's artistic journey and inspirations, hop on over to her fantastic blog and watch how she creates each of her work with plenty of love.

Links: Blog ♥ Shop ♥ Facebook Page ♥ Twitter

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And here are some more creepy cuties I found while wandering on Etsy.com, just click on the image to visit the link....

  

Have fun browsing! :)

Send me an e-mail for more details