Paper is the first anniversary gift

 Congrats to our winner #60

And our 60th comment was:

Congrats to Amanda T and thanks to all for entering!!

 Update: Giveaway extended until Saturday, June 4th at 11pm!!

Monday, May 23rd marks my first wedding anniversary with D.  I cannot believe a year ago we got married.  I cannot believe it has already been a year.  Amazing.  [D and I are going away for a few days but when I get back I'll write all about our anniversary gifts and our trip.]

In honor of my anniversary, I wanted to have a month full of love-inspired giveaways and was so blessed to have so many wonderful sponsors.

And just in time for my actual anniversary, one more.  For those who don't know ... paper is the first anniversary present.  And as we all know ... paper comes from wood (ok this might be a stretch but work with me!).

You all have read about my love for Etsy and I found one more amazing shop, PrinceWhitaker.  Allie, the designer of PrinceWhitaker makes some amazing pieces.

Like these garden sticks. I wrote about how D loves to garden and is doing a great job with our mini-balcony garden. He'd love these when we have a real garden! 

 Or this really cute photo frame for a graduation gift!

Or how about these wonderful napkin holders, perfect for a shower, rehearsal dinner or wedding!

I think Allie's designs are wonderful and unique.  As you know, I like to pry and find out lots of information from the designers.

WHEN DID YOU FIRST START DESIGNING?

Funny story. I was grounded for a whole weekend when I was a teenager. Before the days of social media and cell phones, when my friends went out they were unreachable and I truly had nothing to do. A light bulb when off and I climbed on top of my bedroom dresser and started to sketch out a mural of the Jetsons family in their spaceship/car (Astro too). From there, family and friends asked me to paint murals for them and eventually a business grew. As time went on (and I aged) murals became too labor-intensive. I've always designed and painted on every surface you can think of: paper, walls, ceramics, wood and then I discovered wood-burning and Prince Whitaker was born!

WHAT MATERIALS DO YOU USE?

Currently, I use different types of wood. I also use embellishments such as tulle and ribbons for certain products. The colors add flair and a personal touch to match the color scheme of the wedding.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ITEM TO CREATE?

Recently I've been having a good time making the guest / advice books. They can be personalized with the happy couple's names, a personal message on the front and back, and ribbon to match their bridal party colors. I add a piece of vellum to the front and back with gorgeous deckled edges for an extra special touch. I just received requests to make this for baby showers too! It's special to me because I know that it will be such a treasured keepsake for the recipients.

I am sure you are thinking of all the unique gifts/favors you could get from her shop.  Well good news, one lucky reader is going to win a beautiful I Do photo frame.

The winner gets to personalize it with their initials or you could give it as a gift and use the initials of the happy couple!

HERE'S HOW TO WIN:

This contest is open to people in the US or Canada only.  If your email is not visible in your profile, you must leave it in one of your entries!

MANDATORY ENTRY (1 entry)

•  Visit PrinceWhitaker's Etsy Shop and leave a comment with your favorite item!

EARN MORE ENTRIES! (You may do any or all of these in any order.  

Leave a separate comment for each entry completed.)

• 1 Entry: Follow IDoTheeWedSara publicly on Google Friend Connect
• 1 Entry: Follow PrinceWhitaker publicly on Google Friend Connect
• 1 Entry: Make PrinceWhitaker a favorite on Etsy
• 1 Entry: Like IDoTheeWedSara on Facebook
• 1 Entry: Like PrinceWhitaker on Facebook
• 1 Entry: Follow IDoTheeWedSara on Twitter
• 1 Entry: Follow PrinceWhitaker on Twitter
• 2 Entries: Tweet about this giveaway and include #PrinceWhitakergiveaway (maximum 3x/day and leave a comment each time!)
• 5 Entries: Blog about this giveaway (one time). In the comment include a link to your post.

Giveaway ends Saturday May 28, 2011 at 4pm EST. Winner will be chosen via Random.org and will have 24 hours to respond to my email or another winner will be selected.

A Gift for Me!

UPDATE: So we all know that blogger crapped out over the week.  I had saved all the emails I received from blogger and went through and reconstructed our "comments."  I promise you, every comment that you made did go through even though it doesn't appear below.  The lucky winner was number:

 
And the 11th comment was from:

Thanks to everyone who entered! Please check out my next giveaway coming soon!

Have you had the pleasure of meeting one of the sweetest "mommy bloggers" around?  Her name is Kim and she is the mommy behind Mama's Monologues (click here to go visit, I'll wait!) and mommy to three boys, though she's angling for a girl one of these tries!  I am not sure where Kim and I "met" though it was probably a twitter party.  Kim and I instantly clicked.  We are very similar people and of course, have become fast blogger/twitter/online friends.  (Though we both hope to meet in person someday!)

When I told Kim I was having a month of "love" inspired giveaways in honor of my first wedding anniversary (right around the corner!!!) she told me she had just recently opened up an Etsy store and very graciously offered up any piece of her jewelry that I wanted.  I had to resist the temptation to ask for everything!

So feminine!

Love the colors

Very Kennedy-esque I think!

Now you know from past giveaways that blue is my all time favorite color.  Fortunately for you, since blue may not also be your favorite color, the necklace I liked the most was not blue but rather pink.  Kim had a very sweet offer for me, she'd send me the necklace in blue but offer a pink version to my readers.  Did I mention how nice she is?!?!

So as always, I needed to ask Kim some questions about her Etsy shop and her inspiration!

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO START DESIGNING JEWELRY?

I admit, I'm obsessed with accessories. I love jewelry! I keep seeing certain pieces in the stores that I liked, but they were the wrong color, or too bulky, and just not quite right for me. Then I got the idea to try to make some on my own, using my likes and my style. Eventually it turned into something more that I wanted to share with other people. I figured if I had the same concern about pieces sold in stores, then I was sure I could please my customers with special orders and custom designs!

IS IT DIFFICULT GETTING INSPIRED SURROUNDED BY MALES? (did I mention she has a hubby and three boys??)

I actually think that helps me, as strange as that may seem! Since I live in a house full of boys, I think it made me more girly. I guess it's my way of making up for not having a girl to share all of the feminine things with!

Yes, I saved the tissue paper to use again!

My blue necklace!

Have you noticed that one of my favorite things about "gifts" is the wrapping?  Kim's wrapping was so lovely I had to take pictures!  

Now in my reviews I am honest and will tell you if I have any "concerns" with the item.  And I was completely ready to tell you that for me, the necklace was a little long.  It didn't quite hit where I would have liked.  But that was me wearing a button down shirt.  The next day when I wore a plain shirt the length was perfect!  I think it really depends on what your preference is.  The great thing is that because of the materials Kim uses, you can shorten the necklace, like I did when wearing the button down, to fit your "necklace mood" that day!  Although my necklace is blue, one of my readers will receive the same necklace in pink:

The links are silver but the beads are pink.

Because she is just that nice, Kim is also offering all of my readers a 20% discount for everything in her store!  Just enter "WEDSARA" at the checkout.  This offer will be good through the entire month of May.  And she is willing to customize orders and still offer the discount!  Make sure you check out her Etsy store and get something (maybe a late Mother's day gift??).

HERE'S HOW TO WIN:

This contest is open to people in the US or Canada only.  If your email is not visible in your profile, you must leave it in one of your entries!

MANDATORY ENTRY (1 entry)

• Visit DayDreamingDesigns Etsy store and leave a comment telling me your favorite item.

EARN MORE ENTRIES! (You may do any or all of these in any order.  

Leave a separate comment for each entry completed.)

• 2 Entries: Follow IDoTheeWedSara on Google Friend Connect publicly
• 2 Entries: Follow Mama's Monologues on Google Friend Connect publicly
• 1 Entry: Make DayDreamingDesigns a favorite on Etsy
• 2 Entries: Like IDoTheeWedSara on Facebook
• 2 Entries: Like Mama's Monologues on Facebook
• 1 Entry: Follow IDoTheeWedSara on Twitter
• 1 Entry: Follow Mama's Monologues on Twitter
• 2 Entries: Tweet about this giveaway and include #mamamurogiveaway (maximum 3x/day and leave a comment each time!)
• 5 Entries: Blog about this giveaway (one time).  Include a link to your blog post as a comment.

Giveaway ends Saturday, May 14th at 11pm EST.  Winner will be chosen via Random.org and will have 24 hours to respond to my email or another winner will be selected.

Love is Definitely In The Air!

And the winner is ... number 21!

The 21st comment was Denise

I'll email Denise and she will have 24 hours to respond.  Thank you everyone for entering!!!

So the royal wedding is officially behind us and tomorrow is the first day of May.  May 23^rd marks my first anniversary to D.  Although I have finally figured out his gift, I can’t write about it in case he reads my blog!  Suffice it to say, I’m sure he will love it.

He also keeps going on and on about how perfect his anniversary gift to me is.  I am a bit skeptical.  This is the same guy who bought me a welcome mat as a Valentine’s gift (his reasoning was I was going to move in May so it fit … I say it would have been a nice housewarming gift but not very romantic!).

I am sure many of my readers have been in the same position.  For the month of May I am hosting a series of giveaways in honor of my anniversary.  I say if you want a piece of jewelry, you shouldn’t have to wait until your partner gets it for you!  With that in mind, I started looking through Etsy stores for something that looked romantic and would be appropriate for an anniversary-themed giveaway.  And I found Brass and Chain.

I was immediately drawn to her flower rings and thought they would be perfect! They are super cute but also romantic (in my opinion).  You can only imagine how thrilled I was when Jennifer, from Brass and Chain, agreed to offer one of her flower rings to one of my readers!  I was so curious about what inspires her and decided to ask.

How did you start making jewelry?

My family has always valued handmade crafts. As a child, my home was filled with handmade treasures from various family members. Keeping with the family tradition, I began giving handmade stocking stuffers for Christmas every year. One year I decide to make beaded bracelets for all the women on my list. My bracelets become an instant hit and soon I began getting requests for different types of jewelry. From there I just never stopped creating, experimenting, and learning about different ways to make jewelry.

Why brass jewelry?

The inspiration for my pieces comes from a love of all things vintage and my love for nature. Brass has a beautiful natural color and an awesome antique quality. I love to take something old and breathe new life back into it. Gold and silver are everywhere, brass reminds me of a time when not everything came from a department store. My favorite pieces to create are items that combine brass with other lost and forgotten antiques that I find in local shops, like sheet music and maps.

Why not get something for yourself?  It doesn’t have to be your anniversary.  Or don’t forget Mother’s day is right around the corner.  I am sure your mother would love one of Jennifer’s pieces!!  Make sure you check out some of her other pieces including jewelry made from vintage maps! So creative.

I can’t quite decide which flower ring is my favorite.  Doesn’t matter what I would pick though since the winner gets to pick one of the flower rings.  For some reason I am really drawn to the light pink flower.  I love how you can see the detail.  

I think this light pink is my favorite







                                                 











WIN IT!

I am thrilled that one lucky reader will win their choice of flower ring!  Jennifer has agreed to ship worldwide!  If your email is not visible on your profile it must be included in one of the comments. 

HERE’S HOW TO WIN!

MANDATORY ENTRY (1 Entry):

•  Visit Brass and Chain’s Etsy Store and leave a comment telling me what your favorite item is.

EARN MORE ENTRIES! You may do any or all of these in any order.

Leave a separate comment for each entry completed!

• 1 Entry: Follow IDoTheeWedSara publicly on Google Friend Connect
• 1 Entry: Make Brass and Chain's Etsy Store a favorite
• 1 Entry: Like IDoTheeWedSara on Facebook
• 1 Entry: Like Brass and Chain on Facebook
• 1 Entry: Follow IDoTheeWedSara on Twitter
• 1 Entry: Follow Brass and Chain on Twitter
• 1 Entry: Tweet about this giveaway and include #brassandchaingiveaway (maximum 3x/day and leave a comment here each time)
• 5 Entries: Blog about this giveaway (one time).  Include blog post in your comment below.

Giveaway ends Saturday, May 7, 2011 at 4:00pm EST.  Winner will be chosen via Random.org and will have 24 hours to respond to my email or another winner will be selected. 

Delezhen Giveaway Winner!

Our Delezhen Jewelry giveaway ended today and we have a winner!

Using Random.org the comment number 26 was chosen!

And that makes the winner:

Gin for being a follower on GFC!!

I'm going to email Gin so she can get her pair of earrings!  Thanks to all who entered!

In honor of my anniversary that is in May, I have more giveaways lined up for the month of May!

My Favorite Color is Blue ...

My new secret (or formerly secret since I’m now blogging about it!) obsession is Etsy.  I love looking at people’s stores and marveling at everyone else’s creativity.  Although I can think creatively (in my humble opinion) I almost never can create something that looks even half way decent.

One of the first Etsy stores I found (and of course fell madly in love with!) was Delezhen. 

There was something about her jewelry that stood out.  I loved the bright colors and uncomplicated nature of her designs.  Although I admire people who are able to wear clunky, heavy jewelry, I am not one of those people. Simplicity is more my personal style (much to my sister’s chagrin after spending a small fortune on a Pandora-esque necklace only to have me remove 2/3 of the charms!!!).  But that doesn’t mean I don’t love beautiful things!

I was also impressed with Masha, the owner and creator of Delezhen.  I noticed on her Facebook page that her boyfriend was a big influence on her current venture.  I wanted to know some more about what got her started.

HOW DID YOU START DESIGNING JEWELRY?

I started doing jewelry design when I was in college and fell in love with creating colorful pieces that were feminine and delicate.  I sold mostly to family friends and wedding parties and enjoyed so much being a part of those wonderful celebrations.

WHAT MADE YOU SWITCH FROM PART TIME TO FULL TIME?

About two years ago while working as a web designer I began taking evening classes at FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology) and learned how to make rings.  At the end of last year, I discovered Etsy while looking for gifts for a friend’s birthday and decided that I would try to sell my jewelry online.  Very soon after that I realized that I could no longer balance a full time job and my Etsy business.  I would leave for work at 8am and get home at 8pm and then stay up until 3am making orders and answering emails.  My boyfriend, seeing how overwhelmed I started to become encouraged me to quit my day job and try to make jewelry full time.  I’ve never looked back. :)

WHAT DO YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT DESIGNING JEWELRY?

What I love most about what I do now is corresponding with people, especially brides who are picking jewelry for their wedding parties. Their excitement is contagious and receiving photographs of all their friends in dresses and wearing my jewelry is an absolute gift. I have had so much positivity and encouragement from people that I just can’t imagine doing anything else with my day. I try to make my collections seasonal and nothing inspires me more than the spring. I walk around parks and botanical gardens and find color combinations that I then bring into my work.

Imagine how thrilled I was when Masha agreed to a giveaway and to send me a pair of her earrings to review.  I can’t begin to tell you how excited I was to receive these earrings!! 

Image Courtesy of www.etsy.com/shop/delezhen

Aren’t these beautiful??  I should confess, I was at least partially drawn to these earrings because they are blue (my all time favorite color!) although a slightly brighter shade than shown.

I was so thrilled to receive the package from Masha that I started tearing it open.  Then I stopped once I saw the packaging.  The box the earrings came in was so pretty I had to take a picture.

Isn't it lovely?

Gorgeous shade in person!

And opened up the box to find such pretty packaging I had to take a picture of that as well!

I mean come on, there are even stickers with her name on it!  Lovely!

And the earrings themselves (I know this is taking a long time but I was so impressed with the packaging!):

And again, a little tag with her name. I’m just too impressed.

Enough about the packaging (which really is important especially if you want to send any of her items as a gift!).  Now as for the actual earrings—they are even prettier in person which is hard to imagine I'm sure.

I was a little worried about hosting an earring giveaway as I have had trouble in the past with wearing earrings.  I have very sensitive ears and was worried I would have problems wearing these earrings.  Since receiving the earrings about a week ago, I have worn them each day (I literally haven’t taken them off except to shower/sleep!) and have had zero (nada, zilch) problems with my ears.  I have been so happy with these earrings!!  (I’m even wearing them as I write about this giveaway!)

Be sure to check out Delezhen’s store and pick something up.  Mother’s day is right around the corner!  Maybe mom would like a piece of jewelry.  (Or maybe you can drop the hint that you'd like something!)

WIN IT!

I am thrilled that one lucky reader will win a pair of these earrings!  You must include your email address with each comment!  If you don’t include your email address your comment will be deleted!

HERE’S HOW TO WIN!

MANDATORY ENTRY (1 Entry):

• Visit Delezhen’s Etsy store and leave a comment telling me what your favorite item is.

EARN MORE ENTRIES!  You may do any or all of these in any order.  Leave a separate comment (with your email address) for each entry completed.

• 1 Entry: Follow IDoTheeWedSara publicly on Google Friend Connect
• 1 Entry:  Like Delezhen on Facebook and leave a comment (you still need to comment here!)
• 1 Entry: Like IDoTheeWedSara on Facebook and leave a comment (you still need to comment here!)
• 1 Entry: Make Delezhen's Etsy store a favorite!
• 1 Entry: Follow IDoTheeWedSara on Twitter
• 1 Entry: Tweet about this giveaway including #delezhengiveaway (maximum 3x/day and leave a comment here each time)
• 3 Entries: Blog about this giveaway (one time). Include blog post link in your comment.

Giveaway ends Friday, April 29, 2011 at 9:30pm EST. Winner will be chosen via Random.org and will have 24 hours to respond to my email to claim their prize before another winner is chosen.  I was provided with a pair of Silver Plated Brush Textured Calla Bead with a Blue Quartz drop Earrings for purposes of this review.  All opinions expressed are my own.

Coming Soon...

Exciting giveaway coming up in the next few weeks!  So excited :)

I'll give you a hint ... blue is my favorite color ;)

Stay tuned...