Starting the Year Off Right: Blog Giveaways!!

I hope everyone had a happy, healthy, and safe holiday season! In 2008, I was the lucky winner of a few blog contests. I never win anything, so imagine my surprise when I won three different blog giveaways!!

Cat is the amazing artist of Darkling Woods who creates fairy tale, fantasy, goddess, and mythology art. She's a fellow member of the Fantasy Artists of Etsy Street Team and I've loved her work since I was introduced to it so long ago. She had a Halloween Contest on her blog to help name a Pumpkin Girl that she was working on. Although I wasn't the grand prize winner, she certainly sent me all manner of Halloween treats and no tricks!

I discovered Ant's Pottery (aka antb) while browsing around Etsy a long time ago and have been drooling over her work ever since. I happened to see a post from her on twitter to check out her blog for her Saturday giveaway. First of all, she's got a great blog, but I also love the way she does her giveaways: this is the post I responded to. I won this adorable little Rock Box: it really does look like a rock on the outside, but you open it up to a sparkling, green glass treasure.

I was introduced to Julie of SewItsForYou, when I was accepted to vend at the Handmade Holiday Bazaar (she was one of the amazing women to organize the show). Her embroidered work is so beautifully detailed and add to that her wonderfully zany sense of humor and you get some really amazing work. To help celebrate her first 20 Etsy sales, she decided to have a contest on her blog. She asked that her readers respond to her post with a link to their most favorite creations and why. She presented me with a gift bag full of all kinds of goodies including some of her embroidered napkins, an eye pillow, and a little purse as well as some crafting supplies: jump rings (I am a mailler and make jewelry!) and an embroidery how to.

I'd like to return the good karma that was bestowed upon me with these wonderful gifts by doing a few giveaways of my own. Look for an announcement soon!!!!

Handmade Holiday Bazaar on Sunday!

Come visit Athena's Armoury on Sunday at the Handmade Holiday Bazaar in St. Pete, FL. Here are the nitty gritty details:

Sunday, November 9, 2008
10:00am - 6:00pm
At Fiberologie
411 15th Ave N
Admission is Free

I'm so excited about this show! I've got a bunch of new inventory not yet available in the shop to bring with, a fantastic new display (still finishing it up, but it should be done by Sunday. . .), it's the first time I'm using my tent, and I'm doing a chain maille demo.

New items include earrings, pendants, bracelets, ornaments, mojo bags, hackey sacks & juggling balls, even new armor.

For my demo, I'll be chatting a little bit about the history and uses of chain maille and demonstrating how to coil and cut jump rings by hand. If I have time, I'll also demonstrate a simple weave and some variations of it. My demo is at 4:30 in the Fiberologie classroom. There are other fun demos and make and takes scheduled throughout the day, so be sure to check them out here. I'm sure I'll be playing with pliers in my tent, too, so drop by and see what I'm working on.

ElleBelle and SewItsForYou have done a bang up job organizing the event and getting word out. They were even nice enough to feature each of the vendors at their blog. You can find mine here.

If you're local, I'd love to meet you! Drop by and say hi! Also, if you mention that you're one of my blog readers, get 10% off your purchase.