Monday, January 31, 2011

Focus On... Orange Willow! {Update and Discount!}

The fabulous etsy shop, Orange Willow (previously featured here), is having an amazing sale today! Good today only, use code FIFTYOFF for 50% off of anything in the shop! Stock up on birthday, holiday, Valentine's gift or just get what YOU want! That's what I'm doing! :)


And, as always, Orange Willow offers FREE SHIPPING!

We Have A Winner!

The winner of the Soleil Girl Giveaway is... #34, Deb!! I'll be contacting you shortly to get your mailing information!

Thank you to everyone who entered and to Soleil Girl for sponsoring this giveaway!

Friday, January 28, 2011

Cart-Worthy + Heart-Worthy: Scandinavian Edition!

Scandinavian style is just cool. The clean lines, the repeated motifs, the bright colors and graphic nature. It's just cool, clean, crisp and refreshing. And as we head into a delightfully warm weekend here in Southern California (I know those of you on the East Coast are shaking your heads at me right now, but it's been chilly here!), I thought I'd share my Scandinavian etsy favorites with you! Enjoy!












Today is the last day to enter the Soleil Girl giveaway!

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Happy Birthday, Jonathan!

Today is the birthday of one of my bestest friends in the whole wide world, Jonathan! We've been inseparable for 8 years and I've had shared some of my best times with Jon. On your 27th birthday (so old!), I wish you health, happiness, love and laughter, Jonathan! :)

{jon and i at the getty in 2004 for my birthday (such babies)}

{out for amy's birthday earlier this month (such old fogies!)}


Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Focus On... Dear Colleen!

Dear Colleen is fun, bright etsy shop filled with typography fun, wordplay and happy colors. Colleen was dear enough (haha) to answer my questions, so read on to find out more about her and her creative process.


What kind of mediums do you use and why?
Words, imaginations and whatever materials I need to make my ideas a reality.


What made you decide to sell on etsy?
I found etsy about three years ago after buying a belle and boo (belleandboo.etsy.com) print in a gallery I started reading their blog and that led me to etsy. I was stuck in a job I didn't like very much at the time and I spend why to much time daydreaming about starting my etsy shop.


Where do you get your inspiration?
I'm a problem solver so inspiration comes when I get given a problem to fix this use to be by clients in set briefs. These days I set my own brief.


What is your favorite music to craft by?
On the whole I play BBC radio 4 through my computer. Now I live so far away from Briton it gives makes me still feel connected with home.


When it's cold outside, I'm grateful to have a coat.


When I'm hungry I eat, when I'm not hungry I eat, food is wonderful.


When I need a boost I go to a matinee.


I wish I was able to stay in one place without getting itchy feet.

{hi}

If I could give one gift to everyone I know, it would be a home.

{when life hands you lemons}

If I could have coffee with anyone, it would be my mum I haven't seen her for ages.

{make. love.sew.}

If you were an animal, what would you be a shark.

{hunky dory}

What's your favorite piece of your own?
without a doubt, the 'dishes tea towel'



What are your favorite blogs/websites right now?
all the usual the everyone loves so I thought I would share the best of NZ
You can find Dear Colleen
on facebook,
her blog and
on etsy.

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Happy Birthday, Jenjamima!

Today is my new friend Jen's birthday. I am so, so happy that I get to spend time with her. She's crazy and fun and hilarious and beautiful. :)

{amy, jen and i}

Friday, January 21, 2011

We Have A Winner!

The winner of the Orange Willow Giveaway is... #19, Alvin! I'll be contacting you shortly to get your mailing information!

Thank you to everyone who entered and to Orange Willow for sponsoring this giveaway!

Focus On... Lila Ruby King!


I am totally digging this shop specializing in beautiful contemporary jewelry made of natural materials like porcelain, wood, stone, glass and silver. Not only is her work stunning, but so is her ecological conscious - every month she offsets one ton of greenhouse gas in her effort to run a carbon neutral business. Take a look at some of my favorite pieces from her shop, then head over to check it out for yourself. 







You can find Lila Ruby King
on twitter
on her blog
on her website

Thursday, January 20, 2011

And The Glow From That Fire Can Truly Light The World.

Today is the 50th anniversary of JFK's Inaugural Speech. This is one of my favorite speeches and I'm actually working on a large scale print of it for my etsy shop. In the mean time, enjoy it here.


"Vice President Johnson, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Chief Justice, President Eisenhower, Vice President Nixon, President Truman, reverend clergy, fellow citizens:

We observe today not a victory of party, but a celebration of freedom -- symbolizing an end, as well as a beginning -- signifying renewal, as well as change. For I have sworn before you and Almighty God the same solemn oath our forebears prescribed nearly a century and three-quarters ago.

The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life. And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe -- the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God.

We dare not forget today that we are the heirs of that first revolution. Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans -- born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage, and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world.

Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and the success of liberty.
This much we pledge -- and more.

To those old allies whose cultural and spiritual origins we share, we pledge the loyalty of faithful friends. United there is little we cannot do in a host of cooperative ventures. Divided there is little we can do -- for we dare not meet a powerful challenge at odds and split asunder.

To those new states whom we welcome to the ranks of the free, we pledge our word that one form of colonial control shall not have passed away merely to be replaced by a far more iron tyranny. We shall not always expect to find them supporting our view. But we shall always hope to find them strongly supporting their own freedom -- and to remember that, in the past, those who foolishly sought power by riding the back of the tiger ended up inside.

To those people in the huts and villages of half the globe struggling to break the bonds of mass misery, we pledge our best efforts to help them help themselves, for whatever period is required -- not because the Communists may be doing it, not because we seek their votes, but because it is right. If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.

To our sister republics south of our border, we offer a special pledge: to convert our good words into good deeds, in a new alliance for progress, to assist free men and free governments in casting off the chains of poverty. But this peaceful revolution of hope cannot become the prey of hostile powers. Let all our neighbors know that we shall join with them to oppose aggression or subversion anywhere in the Americas. And let every other power know that this hemisphere intends to remain the master of its own house.

To that world assembly of sovereign states, the United Nations, our last best hope in an age where the instruments of war have far outpaced the instruments of peace, we renew our pledge of support -- to prevent it from becoming merely a forum for invective, to strengthen its shield of the new and the weak, and to enlarge the area in which its writ may run.

Finally, to those nations who would make themselves our adversary, we offer not a pledge but a request: that both sides begin anew the quest for peace, before the dark powers of destruction unleashed by science engulf all humanity in planned or accidental self-destruction.

We dare not tempt them with weakness. For only when our arms are sufficient beyond doubt can we be certain beyond doubt that they will never be employed.
But neither can two great and powerful groups of nations take comfort from our present course -- both sides overburdened by the cost of modern weapons, both rightly alarmed by the steady spread of the deadly atom, yet both racing to alter that uncertain balance of terror that stays the hand of mankind's final war.

So let us begin anew -- remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof. Let us never negotiate out of fear, but let us never fear to negotiate.

Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us.

Let both sides, for the first time, formulate serious and precise proposals for the inspection and control of arms, and bring the absolute power to destroy other nations under the absolute control of all nations.

Let both sides seek to invoke the wonders of science instead of its terrors. Together let us explore the stars, conquer the deserts, eradicate disease, tap the ocean depths, and encourage the arts and commerce.

Let both sides unite to heed, in all corners of the earth, the command of Isaiah -- to "undo the heavy burdens, and [to] let the oppressed go free."¹

And, if a beachhead of cooperation may push back the jungle of suspicion, let both sides join in creating a new endeavor -- not a new balance of power, but a new world of law -- where the strong are just, and the weak secure, and the peace preserved.

All this will not be finished in the first one hundred days. Nor will it be finished in the first one thousand days; nor in the life of this Administration; nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin.

In your hands, my fellow citizens, more than mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course. Since this country was founded, each generation of Americans has been summoned to give testimony to its national loyalty. The graves of young Americans who answered the call to service surround the globe.

Now the trumpet summons us again -- not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need -- not as a call to battle, though embattled we are -- but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out, "rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation,” a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself.

Can we forge against these enemies a grand and global alliance, North and South, East and West, that can assure a more fruitful life for all mankind? Will you join in that historic effort?

In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility -- I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it. And the glow from that fire can truly light the world.

And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.

My fellow citizens of the world, ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.

Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us here the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own."

John Fitzgerald Kennedy
Inaugural Address
January 20, 1961

Focus On... Soleil Girl! {And A Giveaway!}

Soleil Girl is a sweet shop perfect for kids and grownups. I love that Amy has created such wonders out of felt. FELT! I have worked with felt and it always ends up looking like I'm in a third grade arts and crafts class.  But Amy has figured out a way to tame the felt and she's turned it into brooches, hair clips, small pockets and pouches, even bookmarks! Read on for Amy's interview and a chance to win a Valentine's brooch!

Tell me some basic info about yourself.
My name is Amy Busch. I come from an artistic family, but only recently realized my own enjoyment of making things with my hands. I am the mother of 3 children, Caitlin: 5 years, Gavin 3 years, and Emma, 6 months. My family and I live in a 100 year old Arts and Crafts house in small city outside of Ann Arbor, Michigan. 


What kind of mediums do you use and why?
I kind of fell into felt. I don't have or know how to use a sewing machine, and I liked that I could hand sew felt without having to worry about fraying fabric or hemming the edges.


What made you decide to sell on etsy?
- When Gavin was just a little baby, my sister, Autumn (mamazakka.etsy.com) told me about Etsy and I fell in love with the site and all the very cool and unique things I could find and purchase. It became kind of my hobby to buy things on Etsy, and I soon realized that I needed to support my spending habit. So, while my son napped and Caitlin played, I began the discovery process of what I could make to sell on Etsy.


Where do you get your inspiration?
From nature, from my love of the Arts and Crafts period, from my love of color.


What is your favorite music to craft by?
I like listening to podcasts of This American Life and The Moth.


When it's cold outside...
you can find me inside making flowers.


When I'm hungry...
you need to feed me fast, or else I get cranky.


When I need a boost...
I like to go running or practice yoga.


I wish I was/were...
in France.


If I could give one gift to everyone I know, it would be...
a gift of tolerance and acceptance of different ideas and people.


If I could have coffee with anyone, it would be...
Shiva Rea.


If you were an animal, what would you be?
A lion.


What's your favorite piece of your own? 
Mother and Baby Nesting Playset. I love the tiny details, and it really speaks to me as a mother.


What are your favorite blogs/websites right now? 
When I'm on the computer, I'm usually checking my e-mail or at Etsy.com! :)

You can find Soleil Girl 
on facebook and
on etsy.

One lucky winner will receive this beautiful heart-shaped brooch just in time for Valentine's Day!


- To be eligible for entry, you must be a follower of my blog through google friend connect or through your preferred RSS reader. -
- Make sure you leave me a way to contact you if you win. -
- Please leave separate comments for each entry. - 

First entry (mandatory):
- Visit Soleil Girl, select your favorite item and tell me about it.

Extra entries (optional):
- Sign up for the Kate and Oli mailing list.
- Follow me on Twitter, tweet about this giveaway and leave me the link.
- Blog about this giveaway and leave me the link. 

Fine print: Giveaway begins when it is posted and ends at 11:59pm pacific standard time January 28, 2010. A winner will be selected by a random number generator on January 29, 2010 and will be emailed promptly.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Amazing Amazon Deal!

We all shop on Amazon, right? All the time? I know I do! LivingSocial has an AMAZING deal today!


You can get a $20 Amazon credit for only $10! This is basically free money! You can only buy 1 and there's no gifting allowed, so tell everyone you know! Plus, if you share this deal with friends using the link provided after your purchase, you will get the deal for free once 3 people buy using your link!

Simply go here (or use any link in this post) to get this amazing deal!
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...