Saturday, January 30, 2010

Brrr...Penguins & Giveaway Winner...

If you are looking for the OWOH giveaway, it's here.

It's really cold here tonight.  I am really glad it is supposed to warm up tomorrow.

I would like to first say thanks to Deb for giving me the opportunity to have such a wonderful giveaway.  
I would also like to thank you for giving Deb such fabulous ideas!! 
Was it you who won? 
If it wasn't you, then check out her blog...you'll love it.  =D

I have a secret...I have another fabulous giveaway coming up from another etsy artist this week!
Please meet my newest little penguin.  My son is smitten with her.

Time to go cuddle up under some blankets and relax.
XOXO
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Friday, January 29, 2010

Dear So and So... wk1

Dear So and So...









 I'm participating in Kat's weekly opportunity to address some things that I need to get off my chest. I have been wanting to try this out.  So here I go.

Dear Snow & Cold,
I am over you already, please make way for spring.
Shivering, melanie

Dear Neighbor,
Please do not snow blow your driveway at 6am.  Especially since you don't mow your lawn like ever...so why the urgency to remove the snow?
Annoyed, Melanie

Dear Lacy (my kitty),
Please stop chewing on plastic bags!
You are driving me insane, Human Mommy

Dear Husband's boss' wife,
Please pay us the $5000 you owe us.  We would like to pay off some debt.
Tired of waiting, melanie

Dear Lily,
Please stop throwing all out fits.  When you do your voice sounds like you have smoked a whole pack of cigarettes for a couple of days.
Hugs, mommy

Dear Excema,
Enough already.  Relax...the sun will be here soon.
Tired of Itching, Melanie

Dear Ian,
Please stop chewing with your mouth open.  You are driving me INSANE.
I am going to stop giving you crunchy food.
Love, mommy

Dear Extreme Home Makeover,
Thank you so much for coming to Buffalo and showing what we are all about.  (you can find it here) I was soooo excited to hear yesterday that you are coming back to do another show here.
Extremely proud, melanie

Dear New Followers & Readers of my Blog,
THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart.  I am floored I am over 500 followers now!
BTW...here is a sneak peak.

Honored, melanie





Hope you have a fabulous weekend!
 ___________________________________________________________________


Click here to enter to win one of my Daisy Pendants.  (ends 2/15) 
This is part of the OWOH blog carnival event.





Today is the last day to enter here, for a Deco Clay Valentine Rose/Hydrangea Flower Arrangement.





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Aloha Friday #14

It is Aloha Friday! In Hawaii, Aloha Friday is the day that people take it easy and look forward to the weekend.

http://islandlife808.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/aloha-banner.jpg
Therefore, I’ll ask a simple question for you to answer. Nothing that requires a lengthy response. If you’d like to participate, just post your own question on your blog and leave your comment below and link in Kailani’s blog. Don’t forget to visit the other participants! It’s a great way to make new bloggy friends!

This weeks question is:
Do you digitally scrapbook?  If so, what program do you use?

I have been scrapbooking for years.  Actually, I used to be a Creative Memories consultant once upon a time (8yrs ago I stopped selling it).  Since I bought a digital DSLR camera last spring I have decided that instead of printing out the photos I wanted to start digital scrapbooking.  I just bought the Creative Memories digital scrapbooking program.  I got it last Friday and haven't really had much time to play with it yet.  

________________________________________________________________



Click here to enter to win one of my Daisy Pendants.  (ends 2/15) 
This is part of the OWOH blog carnival event.





Today is the last day to enter here, for a Deco Clay Valentine Rose/Hydrangea Flower Arrangement.




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Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Wordless Wednesday-Horse

Neigh...


 


This one is for my dad.  I bet you thought I forgot.  Love you.  =D
_________________________________________________________________________




Click here to enter to win one of my Daisy Pendants.  (ends 2/15) 
This is part of the OWOH blog carnival event.






I also have another giveaway going on here, for a Deco Clay Valentine Rose/Hydrangea Flower Arrangement.  (ends 1/29)





For more WW check out 5 Minutes for Mom, WW & 7 Clown Circus.

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Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Take Me Back Tuesday & Flashback Friday

Softball 1986
Age 12


I only played softball in 7th&8th grade.  I was not very good...I am not really a sporty person.  I am loving the feathered hair.  What was I thinking?  Up until this year, my hair had been long and in 2 braids. After badgering my mom for years, she finally agreed to let me get my haircut and this is what I wanted.  What was I thinking?  Holey Helmet Head!  Hello, AquaNet Hairspray!  (I am shocked I didn't fly away with those wings)  How about those glasses?  They were pink on the bottom and brown on the top, stylin!  They were my first pair of glasses. 


I am loving Facebook lately.  I have gone crazy scanning in old photos.  I have been added them all to facebook, tagging people that are in them.

A Giveaway Addicted Mommy

You can participate and/or check out other Take Me Back Tuesday posts at A Giveaway Addicted Mommy.

You can participate and/or check out other Way Back When-esday posts at Twinfatuation.

You can participate and/or check out other Flashback Friday posts at Christopher And Tia's blog.




Click here to enter to win one of my Daisy Pendants.  (ends 2/15) 





I also have another giveaway going on here, for a Deco Clay Valentine Rose/Hydrangea Flower Arrangement.  (ends 1/29)




 
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Monday, January 25, 2010

Gerber Daisy Necklace Giveaway {CLOSED}

Welcome to this stop on the Magic Carpet ride!
Photo

For those of you who who have not visited my blog before, my name is Melanie.  I am a polymer clay artist and I LOVE to blog.

This is my second year participating in the One World One Heart Bloggy Carnival.  I had lots of fun last year and am looking forward to checking everyone's blogs out this year.

This year I have decided to giveaway a pink gerber daisy pendant. 
To enter:
  • leave a comment on this post. 
Extra Entries (please leave a separate comment for each):
  • Stop by my shop & tell me your favorite item. (you can check out my sold section, too)
  • Follow my blog (current followers count).
  • Subscribe to my blog via RSS or/and e-mail.
  • Become a fan of me on Facebook.  
Giveaway is open Worldwide.  Please make sure you leave an e-mail address so I can contact you if you win.  Giveaway ends Feb.15th.  Winners will be announced on Feb. 16th.


I also have another giveaway going on here, for a Deco Clay Valentine Rose/Hydrangea Flower Arrangement.  (ends 1/29)






Have a fabulous day & thank you for stopping by!
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Sunday, January 24, 2010

Sunday Citar

"Toughest city in America." Johnny Rzeznik, lead singer of the Goo Goo Dolls (about Buffalo, NY)


Tonight, I (like most of Buffalo) will be watching the 2 hr Extreme Home Makeover for the Powell Family of Buffalo.  Buffalo is known as "The City of Good Neighbors".  More than 6000 ppl volunteered here in Buffalo...it was one for the record books.



Thank you for stopping by Sunday Citar! This blog quote meme was created by Fresh Mommy. You can stop by her blog to see the quotes and photos that she and everyone else is loving right now. 




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Friday, January 22, 2010

Aloha Friday #13

It is Aloha Friday! In Hawaii, Aloha Friday is the day that people take it easy and look forward to the weekend.

http://islandlife808.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/aloha-banner.jpg
Therefore, I’ll ask a simple question for you to answer. Nothing that requires a lengthy response. If you’d like to participate, just post your own question on your blog and leave your comment below and link in Kailani’s blog. Don’t forget to visit the other participants! It’s a great way to make new bloggy friends!

This weeks question is:
Do you enter on-line giveaways & contests? If so, what is the best thing you have won? 

I love entering on-line giveaways.  I have won lots of really nice items on-line.  One of my favorites wins was the HD Flip Mino video camera I won for a photograph I took.  If you like to enter giveaways, I have a giveaway by a really talented floral polymer clay artist in the post below this one.  Here is one of her beautiful creations made of clay.

Hope you are having a fabulous Friday!

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Keepsake Blossoms Giveaway (Closed)

On Wednesday I shared this photo of a gerber daisy Deb from Keepsake Blossoms made for me.

I met Deb on etsy when I purchased this beautiful Red Hibiscus hair pick.  It was also Deb's first sale and my first purchase on etsy.
Shortly after I purchased that hair pick I asked her to make me 5 gerber daisies.  They turned out beautiful.
She also makes custom wedding bouquets.  If I would have known about her amazing flowers I would have had her make my wedding bouquet.

I was sooo excited when she agreed to have a giveaway on my blog.  Here is a little info about Deb...

1. Tell us a little about yourself…
This is the most difficult part. I am a really chatty person, but when it comes to talking about myself or my work, I generally clam up :). But well, I have been in the US for four years now and have loved everyday of it. I think I have really 'found' myself here - in a sense. I have been happily married to the most wonderful husband anyone can ever have! And I think I am craftsy, without being crafty :). That is such a cheesy line, but it pretty much describes me and that is why I believe I derive a lot of enjoyment from the work I do. I feel no sense of competition with others in the same or similar crafts and just focus on bettering my flowers. I am not the kind of person who could do a good sales pitch. Talking about how great my flowers are, make me embarrassed. I never do that :). I even got my item descriptions and my website profile written by someone else, who could be more objective about my work. The internet is a boon to me that way. I don't have to sell my flowers face-to-face. I have put my craft out there.... people contact me if they want my flowers and we go ahead from there. I truly enjoy what I do!


2. How long have you been doing this?
When I came to the US, I did not have a work permit. Instead of waiting around for one and getting bored at home, doing nothing.... I took up this course of clay flower making. I have always loved crafts, but have always sucked at them. My craft teacher at school had declared me a failure at it :). But thankfully, Yukiko Miyai, my Deco Clay teacher believed in me and slowly, with her encouragement and support (and that of my husband's), I started making decent flowers. Anyway... so I have been doing this for close to 4 years now. I started selling mid 2008, a year after I received my work permit :). I wanted to sell when I knew I was churning out at least decent work :).


3. Who/What inspires you?
My teacher - Yukiko Miyai - inspires me the most. She started the Deco Clay Craft Academy in the US about 10 years back. She hasn't looked back since. Even today, she works diligently on perfecting her flowers to make them even more perfect :) and on making new flowers. I try to follow her example. Also, of course, nature inspires me. I have always loved real flowers and now, I try making mine as close as possible to real ones. It is not easy or even possible, to replicate nature, but this is the next best thing I'd say... these flowers are works of art and last a lifetime.


4. What's your favorite piece?
There are many really! I love making flowers for weddings. It makes me happy to make people happy. So, I think the wedding bouquets are my favourite creations, because they make the brides so happy! The green and white bouquet, the orange and white bouquet (that appeared in a wedding mag), the lilac colored bouquet, the red anemone bouquet and the tropical flower bouquet - they are all favourites! I also love this centerpiece that I made for a friend's wedding.... it is a rose and peony centerpiece (sixth from the top, in the centerpiece section in my portfolio on my website)

5. What advice do you have for a beginner?
This is a very good question. I see a lot of overconfidence in new students. They want to sell as soon as they start learning...without even practising the craft. This is an art that takes lots and lots of practice. I made hundreds and hundreds of roses, before I made one that I liked. Beginners need to appreciate that this craft needs practice and should be prepared to do that. Also, they need to set high standards for themselves and not be happy with an average flower.
Another thing I come across is that a lot of people think, that they can simply buy the DECO Clay books in the market and start making great flowers. Trust me, that is just not going to happen. The books are a good starting point and good reference points(once you have learned how to make the flowers from an instructor). But you absolutely have to go to a teacher - even if you have done cold porcelain or gum paste flowers (they are the closest in technique) before.
In short, there is no easy way out :). Get a teacher you can work with and be prepared to work really really hard.


6. All of the links to your sites.
Website: www.keepsakeblossoms.com
Blog: http://blossomsandblooms.blogspot.com
Etsy: www.debashri.etsy.com
Facebook: Keepsake Blossoms
Twitter: http://twitter.com/keepsakeblossom (couldnt fit in that last 's' due to number of character restrictions)


So now for the giveaway.  Deb is giving away a pink Valentine's flower arrangement of roses & hydrangeas.  The arrangement is being made right now, so I have no photos...but I am sure it will be g.o.r.g.e.o.u.s!


To enter:
Leave a comment telling Deb what new flower you would like her to make this year?  Or what kind of product you would like her to make this year (something she hasn't done before)?  
Must do this first before you can get any additional entries.

Extra Entries (please leave a separate comment for each):
Please make sure that I have a way to contact you if you win.  Giveaway ends Friday, January 29th.  Anyone can enter, this giveaway is open worldwide. 

Good Luck!!

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Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Wordless Wednesday-Spring

These Gerber Daisies make me smile.  I am really looking forward to spring and flowers.  These daisies were made by my friend, Deb, out of air dry polymer clay.  She creates the most beautiful flowers!

I am sooo excited...she has agreed to have a giveaway on my blog!  You will have to come back on Friday to enter.  See you then.


I have to share that Beki from the Rusted Chain has raised $1690 as of Monday afternoon!! Beki ROCKS!!  (She is donating $10 from every Blessed necklace sold to Compassion International to assist those in desperate need in Haiti.)





For more WW check out 5 Minutes for Mom, WW & 7 Clown Circus.

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Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Take Me Back Tuesday & Flashback Friday

June 1992
Senior Year
18yrs old
My friend, Julie, had her artwork displayed in our school art show.  I remember going on my free periods to hang out with her in the art room while she painted it.

I did not have anything entered.  I didn't take an art class that year.  I did enjoy the beautiful weather though.


A Giveaway Addicted Mommy

You can participate and/or check out other Take Me Back Tuesday posts at A Giveaway Addicted Mommy.

You can participate and/or check out other Way Back When-esday posts at Twinfatuation.

You can participate and/or check out other Flashback Friday posts at Christopher And Tia's blog.

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Sunday, January 17, 2010

Sunday Citar

There are no seven wonders of the world in the eyes of a child.  There are seven million.  ~Walt Streightiff


For Christmas Lily got foam stickers in her stocking.  She spent hours "making cards" for everyone.  Mind you she will never give those cards because she wanted to keep them for herself.  She is still carrying around the paper with the stickers.  

She also had to buy "fluffy" socks with her Christmas money.  BTW...I can not find fluffy socks for toddlers.  They seem to have them for little girls & babies, but not for ages 2-4.  We bought little girl ones at Bon-Ton.  They are a bit big, but she is happy with them.

I love that she placed all of her petshop on the table to watch her.


Hope you had a fabulous weekend!  I am off to go scrapbooking this afternoon with friends.  YAY, for mommy time.


I also wanted to remind you that my bloggy friend Beki from the Rusted Chain is donating $10 from every Blessed necklace sold to Compassion International to assist those in desperate need in Haiti. (if there are none in stock, please check back. She restocking them as fast as possible.) 




Thank you for stopping by Sunday Citar! This blog quote meme was created by Fresh Mommy. You can stop by her blog to see the quotes and photos that she and everyone else is loving right now.

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