Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Nursery love give away!

That is right ladies and gents! Nursery love is having another handmade giveaway! This one is for beautiful hand made stockings by myadobecottage
The drawing ends December 11th and the winner will be chosen by random number generator.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Jdaniels's giveaway!

Go check out this awesome give away! Its for an awesome one of a kind clipboard made by Kute Klipboards by Amy. There are 11 ways to enter, so go to Jdaniels4's blog and enter! The contest ends on November 27 at midnight in whatever timezone she's in! The winner will be chosen by a random number generator. Go enter!

Saturday, November 14, 2009

This Baby's got BACK!

OH my gosh! This has got to be the funniest thing ever! Its a small furry mammal that has got booty to spare! You have to go to Hey Lola and see for yourself!

This is a contest to win the bootylicious bun, and $100 in gift certificates to Lola's awesome etsy store! Where you can see one of a kind, beautiful and eco friendly hand made jewelry!

Ok. Go enter. what are you waiting for? This is an awesome giveaway on an awesome blog! GO GO GO GO!!! :D

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

I made a Treasury!

Click HERE and go see the Treasury I made to honor my awesome etsy friends! People who've helped me out with advice, tips on how to work etsy, and frindship! Cheese I know! I really do enjoy all of these people's company and help! They all have beautiful items and amazing shops! You'd be lucky to own any of their hand made items! Go on! Go check it out!!!!

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

NursryLove giveaway!

NurseryLove on facebook is having another give away! This one is for a very pretty scarf by BellaUrbana on etsy. Rules are simple. Head on over to the facebook page, make comments, post blogs and all that jazz, winners are chosen by random on friday Nov 13th!

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Today's Cyanotype of the Hubbs

I love the way this turned out. I actually printed it on bigger paper, but I don't think you can see the actual edges of the paper. The image is a 5x7 but I can trim or leave the extra paper depending if I put it in a frame with matting or not. You can order a custom portrait from my etsy store. Just click Here. I can do a print off of any picture!

A tour of my "Studio"

Ok, so I finally rounded up some more paper, and took some time today to do some printing, but before I "unveil" my masterpieces, I thought I'd give you all a view of my "studio." My studio is actually just my apartment. My kitchen, my bathroom, my deck and my desk!

First thing I do is pick out my pictures on my computer, make a negitive and print it out. Then I use a frame like this


I coat the paper with light sensitive chemicals in my "dark room" also known as the "throne room," or "stink shack!" I usually sit on the floor with my work spread out around me! Every thing has been cleaned beforehand! Trust me!




After my paper has been dried, I put them in the frames and develop them in the sunlight on my deck. I don't have a table so I use the table off the side of my bbq grill.



I know it isn't much, but it works pretty well. Hopefully when the hubs and I move out of our tiny apartment, I'll have a proper porch with a big ol table! Ok so the next step after developing in the sunlight is to stop the exposure process. I do this by rinsing in cold running water. After the image is rinsed, and dried, I hang it to finish drying. I'd leave them flat, but I don't have a ton of counter space. Any who here is the view of my "photography lab."


These are a few I printed today, and as soon as they are dry I'll have them displayed and posted up on etsy. I have to say the one of my husband on the far left, is my favorite one I've ever printed! Not just because its the hubs, but because he's sitting on the dock, and the lake is behind him, it makes for a very fine print!

Thanks for visiting my little "studio!" It really makes me happy to share my process, and it always excites me to show people you don't have to have the perfect conditions or expensive equipment to make beautiful art!

Friday, November 6, 2009

FRIDAY GIVEAWAY!

Go to Seventh Smith to enter one of THREE awesome giveaways! The winners will be chosen by a random number generator. Go enter! Especially if you have a wedding or a little girl!!!

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

WendiWinn Giveaway!

The totally awesome, amazing, and some other cool word that starts with "a," Winn is hosting a Give Away on facebook. Click HERE to check it out. The person donating the fabulous items to the give away is TheresaJ from etsy! She has an abundance of beautiful hand made jewelery in her shop. Winn has it set up where you can enter severeal times! So go on over and enter enter enter!!!!

What the French Toast is hosting a GIVEAWAY!!!

Ok Guys another give away is up and running! This one is hosted by What the French Toast! The person Giving for the give away is Indie Creations. All you have to do is pop on over to What the French Toast Blog, and leave a few comments and pass the giveaway info on to your friends! Easy huh?!

Stay tuned to this blog for more giveaway action!

Monday, November 2, 2009

Nursery Love Giveaway!!!

Nursery Love is having another give away! This time its for $40 in awesome, beautiful amazing hand made jewelry by The Empress Jewel. All you have do is pop over to Nursery Love's Facebook Fan page and Leave comments on the post that talks about the Give away! You can enter up to three times, so just follow the directions to get the maximum entries!

Good luck!

Monday, October 26, 2009

Free Giveaway!

Nursery love on facebook is doing a give away! Super cute custom train set! Check it out! You can enter up to three times! The prize is going to be given away by sharwellstudio on etsy! Make sure you stop in and check out her awesome stuff!

Sunday, October 25, 2009

New work part 2

So I tried a few new things with my pendants. No dice. I tried acrylic paint as a back ground. I wasn't really sure how they'd turn out since the paint is water biased. The light sensitive chemicals just absorbed into the paint and didn't even print correctly, and then washed away when I rinsed. The second thing I tried was white india ink. It painted on just light enough that I thought I'd help be a good background, but it made the wood water proof. So the light sensitive chemicals just pooled up and made blotches. The ones I made that I didn't put a back ground on were way too dark, the wood just absorbed layers and layers of chemicals so when I rinsed the image you could barely see it and the dark blue from the next layer just made the image icky. My idea was to finish the pendants with a clear gloss that I tested on a piece of cyanotype I made, but when I painted it on one of the printed pendants it got all dark. Right now I'm at a loss. I really love this idea, I think they will be beautiful once I get the kinks worked out. If you have any suggestions, please feel free to let me know! If it works I'll send you a free pendant!

Thursday, October 22, 2009

New Work

I'm working on some new Ideas for my pendants. Today it has been really wet and rainy outside, so I'll probably paint some hearts and see how they stand up to the printing process. I'm also testing some book pages to see if they'll hold up to the rinse. Just picture it! A ghostly portrait with text in the back ground. I think It'll be really pretty! I hope anyway.

I also need it to get sunny outside because its fall! and the trees are beautiful! Oranges and Yellows everywhere! I can't wait for the weather to perk up!

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Mallory Alisabeth on Etsy!

I won a giveaway a few days back! (I enter everyone I find! and I finally won in two different ones!) This one was a Halloween scavenger hunt hosted by BunnyBlogs. You had to search through several etsy shops to find a cute little ghost and make a list of the links where he was. This was really cool because you got to search through several shops and see all the different hand made items in each one.

One of the shops that entered and hosted a prize for the give away was Mallory Alisabeth Of Mallory Alisabeth Creations. Mallory was super nice and got my prize to me very quickly so I can only assume that her shipping from sales is just as fast. Here is the awesome Key chain and Halloween Wallet I won!









Mallory is seven years old! Amazing right! She started making crafts because she was always complaining to her mother that she was bored, while her mother made doll clothes, so her mother asked her if she wanted to make doll necklaces to help out, and from there she moved on to try her hand at other crafts. I asked her what her favorite craft is to make and she said "I haven't decided to what my ultimate favorite thing to make is, but I really like making the shaving cream note cards. It can be pretty messy, but it's really cool how different each card comes out. Plus, my little brother can even help me sometimes" Awww! She sent me a little packet of those cards along with the wallet and key chain and they smell really good and are so pretty! Mallory's favorite item in her shop is the Halloween Kitty and pumpkin magnet. She says that Halloween is her favorite holiday and she loves cats because they are soft. I asked her what she'd like to be when she grows up and she said she isn't sure but maybe "a basketball player because I'm so tall, or a model because I have cool style and I have striking features (really dark hair and really white skin). I think I just want to be successful in whatever I do, and that would make me happy." I agree! If you don't love what you do, you will never be happy. Mallory is a girl after my own heart, her hobbies are: swimming, reading (She told me she's the best reader in her class), playing soccer (and beating the boys!) and having fun with her Girl Scout troop. Sounds Exactly like me when I was in school!

I just wanted to let everyone know how sweet Mallory is and how awesome her shop is! Please pay her shop a visit! She works really hard, every thing is made, photographed and listed by Mallory!

Thank you Mallory for participating in the giveaway and allowing me to feature you in my blog! You were very fun to work with and I hope your shop gets lots of hits! :D

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Bummer

I'm having a bit of a set back with my pendants. I printed some yesterday, but the images were way too dark and stayed too dark. I've got a few different ideas on how to fix this, so more experiments will come. Hopefully I can bust something out. I have a clear image in my head of what I want, but the road to get there is a little foggy.

Anywho, the image is too huge to fit so click here to see a picture of the two that kinda came out. The first is one of my dog, and the second is a portrait of me and the hubs.

If you have any ides feel free to let me know!

OH and October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month so go get your Ta Ta's checked!

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Beautiful Baby Stuff!

Tutto bellisimo Baby is an amazing etsy shop! She makes the most beautiful baby blankets, burp clothes, and baby clothing and accessories. I most recently won a $25 gift certificate for her shop. The give away was hosted by Seventh Smith. (another awesome blog!) They do giveaways every Friday I think.

I just received my Tutto Bellisimo Blanket today in the mail and it is so very beautiful. Very well crafted, so soft. and looks like it could be purchased in a fancy baby boutique for more money than I could afford! Just take a look!





My communication with the shop was very nice too, and she shipped very quickly! The package arrived and was wrapped in beautiful ribbon and tissue! I can't get over how professional and perfect this blanket and shop is!

I just wanted to let everyone know that Tutto Bellissimo is the place to shop for quality beautiful baby stuff! I know the next time I need something baby I'll be back!

I also want to say thank you to Seventh Smith for hosting the give away and thanks again to Tutto Bellissimo for being part of the give away!

Monday, October 12, 2009

WendiWinn Giveaway 11

Winn Is doing a giveaway. She is awesome, her blog is awesome. You can see and enter Here!!!

Monday, October 5, 2009

GIVE AWAY TIME

Awesome giveaways! Three different ones! Spread the word!

http://www.seventhsmith.blogspot.com/


Cute cute cute stuff!

Friday, October 2, 2009

Updates

I added some new prints to my shop. Check them out here I'm really excited. I have some really cool ideas for some upcoming personal and customizable items! Keep your eyes out!

Monday, September 28, 2009

Twitter!

I got a twitter account for the shop! Click here to follow!

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Whats new pussy cat?

Ok, so I have totally remodeled my etsy store. Almost everything is changed, and soon everything Will have changed. Ok, so let me tell you why I changed my shop. Well, as fun and cut and cuddly sock monkeys are, no one wanted to buy any, all my friends wanted free ones! I blame the economy. :D During my time off, I discovered the wonderful world of Cyanotype printing, and fell in love. I finally gathered up all the supplies and got some prints out. Now my store is going to basically be my art gallery.

You can read about how the cyanotype process works by visiting my my etsy shop and reading my shop announcement
I'm trying to keep the reading on both sites shorter. (maybe :D)

Now, The exciting part, I am offering custom prints! Thats right! (exciting I know) All you have to do is send me a message and we'll get the process started. What you need to have in mind is what kind of picture you would like to print. I can do pretty much anything. Portraits even snapshots of you or your family can look awesome. You send me the photo, tell me what you want in regards to the Artsy feel, like if you want brush strokes, or straight edges or toning, and I'll do the rest! I can give examples of each for you to see.

I'd also like to let you know that these make beautiful gifts, as cards just as framed prints, so if you'd like multiple prints of your image, I have specials for just that kind of package!

Please feel free to contact me here, on etsy, or on my facebook fan page for CheekyTreasures!

I hope you get as excited about this unusual and beautiful art as I am!

Sunday, July 5, 2009

HEY CHECK THIS OUT

Cool shop on ETSY check it out!!!

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Birds

So the house sparrows that were killing my blue bird eggs are gone. The maintenance men covered the vents in my apartment complex that the birds were nesting in. This is good news because house sparrows are vicious evil little birds. My blue birds have had to build three different nests and have laid a total of fourteen eggs only to have nine of them cracked open by sparrows. The current five look great. I'll be taking some shots later today and keeping a bird diary of the little blues growing up. I can't wait to see the little guys hatch. Right now there are five light blue eggs and the mom and dad blue birds keep taking turns going in and out of the house. They are so sweet to watch. I'm sure the bird diary is going to be sweet. :D :D :D

Friday, June 5, 2009

New on esty!

I added two items recently on etsy. One is a blue and purple travel pillow that has hearts on it. The second is a sock monkey that is a mermaid also known as a Mermonkey!


I really look forward to making more mermonkeys and maybe even some more pillows! Don't forget to check out the "oh I love that" blog to enter the contest!

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Vanilla blondie brownies!

Today I am making a vanilla blondie! A blondie is a brownie without chocolate and extra vanilla. Its very tasty! I am going to top this particular batch of blondies with a lemon glaze! I am going to start putting these up for sale on my etsy store soon, so keep an eye out!

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Oh I love that! Give away!

My friends from etsy that run the blog "oh i love that" are doing a give away and I'm supplying the item for the give away! Its an adorable crazy eyed sock monkey! Just go click here and follow the directions! You should also check out the shops ran by the "oh i love that" bloggers! Awesome people they are! They have cool stuff too!


Saturday, May 30, 2009

Leon the puppy!




I adopted a puppy! His name is Leon and he is a Beagal puppy. He is super smart. He has been so good! He goes potty every time we go outside. He hasn't had any major accidents in the house and he even goes to bed at night in his kennel without too much wining. I just can't believe how amazing he is. Check him out!

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Help feed and shelter rescued animals!

Visit this site once a day and click to help feed and shelter animals that are in rescue facilities all over! Its free, and for every click sponsors donate money to the program!

Click HERE!!

I bookmarked this page so I can click every day! You can too! Sheltered animals will thank you!

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Birds and Photography



I was watching the bird box on my deck and I was wanting to take pictures every day of the little blue birds that hatched, but the next was attacked by house sparrows and the eggs were destroyed. So I made a sparrow spooker and the blue birds are back to building a new nest. Hopefully soon I'll be able to continue the photography journal of my blue birds.


If you would like any of the pictures posted in my blog in the form of prints feel free to comment or send me a message on etsy. I'd love to work something out. Purchased photos will be free of watermarks of course!! :D

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Memorial Day



I know I'm a day late, but I needed this picture! This military man is chilling in his yellow snake skin boots, smoking a cigarette, and watching the crowds. I snuck this picture and I hope he doesn't mind.

Happy Late Memorial day!

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Yeppie!

I might be getting a puppy!!! YAY! *does dance*


That is all for now!

Morning Cartoons!

Ok, you guys have got to see the cartoon "Chowder" its the bestest cartoon ever! I love it. Its so so so very good!

Here is a little clip for you! Its funny chowder moments!





Anyway, I'll put something more relevant online later! Go check out Chowder!!!

Saturday, May 23, 2009

My etsy store!

Hello! I finally joined the blog-nation! I guess I should start by saying what motivated me to start a blog. That would be my etsy store! I'm pretty new on etsy but am loving it so very much. Its a online site that hosts shops who all sell handmade or vintage things! It is a pretty awesome place where you can find unique and personal gifts for everyone in your life. My store has photography (well cyanotypes right now) and sock monkeys, but I will soon be adding some of my favorite edibles and some photography prints too. I also have some purses I'm in the process of making and they might make it up into the shop too.

A little about myself: I am 22 years old, I got married last October to my awesome husband, who is also has an etsy shop in progress. (www.theleakylifeboat.etsy.com) I have two hamsters, several fish, including a Green Spotted puffer fish named G. Puff, and a bird box full of blue birds that I am stalking. As you may have already read, I love crafty stuff, sewing, photography and cooking! I hardly make anything pre-made anymore. My hubby loves it and so do I! (my butt maybe not so much lol.) I look forward to my etsy shop taking off so I can send my crafts and hobbies off to new homes around the country! Follow me and you'll see some of the madness that goes on in this skull of mine!!!