The Holiday Aftermath

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend filled with family and food and joyous times, I know I did!  The aftermath of our Christmas?

All of this:

Is now in our stomachs with a bunch of hearty cookies, tons of feast-y foods, plenty of beverage and a few more candies.  We're looking very much like the Claus himself over here.

More roundup to come, promise!

Happy Holidays!

Yesterday was a fun day spent with family, seeing my brother and his family (including my little nephew!) followed by visiting the Santa Fe Plaza to see some trains

and share some beers with my Dad at the Marble Brewery Tap Room

and ending with massive amounts of baking resulting in cookies and beer for dinner :)

Not to mention, cookies and tea for breakfast!  Thank goodness its only The Holidays once-ish a year, I could develop diabetes overnight at this rate haha.

I hope your Holidays are filled with much joy and love and fun, I'll see you next week!

Interview and Giveaway from Designerfavors

Dawn is the artist behind the shop designerfavors on Etsy. After having difficulties trying to find the right favors for her wedding 5 years ago, Dawn decided to make her own and after making some for her sister’s wedding a few years later, she chose to sell them! Allowing her brides to customize their favors lets them pick and choose something that works for them, that fits perfectly with their wedding aesthetic.

Her shop has blossomed into more than just wedding favors, she now offers favors for baby showers, anniversaries, birthdays and, of course, the holidays!

Read on to learn more about this amazing artist and see what you can win from her shop :)

Are you a self-taught artist?

Pretty much. I've never been to any creative classes or scrapbooking parties but I have seen a lot of other people's work. I usually do trial and error to mimick a look I like or a style I come up with all my own. I also get a lot of inspiration at craft store. They have really wonderful items on display and I always think "I can do that".

What is your favorite way to learn new techniques, books, YouTube videos, having someone else teach you first?

I mostly like to learn by trial and error again. I just figure out how to do something in my own unique way.

Where do you tend to find most of your inspiration?

Actually, just browsing through craft stores or down the scrapbooking isle. I tend to see items I like and just put them together. Whether it's coordinating papers or new items on display I just find something I like and try to do it myself.

What is one piece of advice you think is essential everyone know?

Do what makes you happy! I think that's true in life and in the life of etsy. If you build a business around something you don't like doing you will get burned out and frustrated. As long as you enjoy what you do you will always be motivated.

You can keep up with designerfavors by her blog, facebook fanpage, or on Twitter.

Now for the Giveaway:

Just in time for the upcoming Christmas season, Dawn is offering one of my readers a set of 24 personalized tags (8 of each design). These tags are about 2 ½ inches in diameter and come with ribbons for attaching to gifts! After the winner is chosen, Dawn will create a set just for them, personalized using their specifications :)

To Enter:

-First and foremost, you must visit designerfavors and leave a comment on which item is your favorite from the shop

-to gain another entry, follow this blog and leave a separate comment saying you are!

-to gain another entry, tweet or blog about this giveaway and leave the link in a separate comment so we can all see

with every comment, please leave a way for me to get a hold of you so I can notify the winner as soon as possible :)

That gives you 4 ways to enter this giveaway!

The giveaway will end at midnight on Sunday, November 15, a winner will be chosen by random number generator and notified on the 16th. So what are you waiting for? Get started!

And tune in next Monday when we announce the winner of this one and host another giveaway! (Hint: next week will be a set of earrings ;))

Holiday Advertising

Are you still looking for affordable holiday advertising on blogs that cater to the handmade/indie universe?

SillyLittleLady's Spot on the Web is offering advertising space to my fellow artists at an affordable rate.

Your space can be secured for $5/month or $8 for two months!

They will be shown on the left sidebar (<------------over there) below any giveaway announcements but above the Project Wonderful space.

You don't have to provide your own ad either, I will make one for you to make sure that it fits with the theme (if you can call it that hehe) of my blog and my aesthetic preferences.

Sponsors will also receive a free post! It will direct people to your shop and show them exactly how awesome you are :)

There are only 10 spots available so reserve yours now! You can contact me at: sillylittlelady(at)gmail(dot)com