TeamT Thursday - Elefint

(Next week I will be switching this with Thrifty Tuesday where I list new giveaways and other ongoing things I find to save you money and pamper yourself at the same time!

So it will be:

Mystery Monday
Team Tuesday
What's New Wednesday ( coming next week)
Thrifty Thursday
Feeding Your Heart, Soul and Stomach Friday with crafting tips ( remember the boo-boo's?), and tid bits about organic living.

I hope to be able to keep up with this tight schedule and if I miss a day or two please forgive me. :) )

Now for Team T Tuesday (But airing first this Thursday). I'd like to share with you each week one of my TeamT members, their art, food, interests and more! We are quite an eclectic bunch but so interesting!

To make it as fair as possible I tried to think of ways to do this, alphabetically? Too predictable, so I gave each member a number and turned to the handy random number generator.

The first member I'd like to share about with you is Jonathan Capuano of Elefint designs. Elefint is located in Florida in the USA. From the Sunshine state Jonathan screen prints his artwork on 100% cotton T's, Totes and dresses! with bold graphic designs he creates himself. Jonathan is also a photographer who enjoy capturing the beauty in special moments in this life.


Jonathan has been with our team since its inception and is best known on Etsy under 'Elefint' for his simple but powerful graphic Tee shirts with a big Heart and the simple two word statement,

~~~~LOVE WINS.~~~~~

You have probably seen this shirt more than once in my treasuries as it is a favorite along with the Zebra one. Love wins comes in all different colors and styles so there is a special one for everyone! Take a moment and visit the rest of his offerings, I'm sure you will agree, Love Wins!


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Thrifty Tuesday

One of the features I've been wanting to share with you in the new year is how to save a bit of money and also to not let yourself feel deprived. Since I don't celebrate Christmas but took it off for a bit of down time, I soon got bored and started searching around the net. I came across some great giveaways and entered a few, and actually won some. But the great thing was I discovered some great blogs along the way and would like to use this space on Tuesdays to tell you about them. I only have a few this week but promise to have more in the future.

Interestingly enough one of the giveaways I entered was on a blog by an aspiring published writer. For years I have had aspirations of writing the great novel, but it never fully materialized because of all my other interests mainly my Art would always call me away from the processor. But I have written quite a bit over the years, much more than a novels worth but never received a penny but I guess it's in the eye of the beholder what worth you can place on doing something you love. So I could relate to this man's blog. He started a 25 days of Christmas giveaway. He wrote on a subject each day and had a specific book that went with that days blog post. I read a few as I found this late in the game. And I won the one I wanted the most! Tuesdays with Morie. When I told my husband about winning it and watching out for it in the mail he said to me, you have that book. I said "What??', No". I remembered hearing about it long ago and I think they made a movie and I saw that. I also vaguely recall it being on Oprah's book club so many years ago (I stopped watching Oprah at least a decade ago so it had to be before then). And I didn't recall seeing it anywhere in any of my book shelves so......................... Funny thing at the same time I had kicked myself in the rear to get the rest of my studio in order which involved rearranging three bookcases I have in there because there's no where else in the house to store them, and as I was working on one of them, I reached in and found a little hardbound copy of Tuesdays with Morrie, laying parallel to the bookcase on top of the other books. That was why I hadn't seen it. So he was right and I was astonished. As much of a bibliophile that I am, he isn't. But he told me back when I was reading it, he picked it up one day and actually read some of it and liked it.

So Dave, Your copy came on New Years Eve. I opened the package at my studio table while showing some new designs to my husband and he said, 'Can I have that one?'. I almost fell off my chair, he's never asked to read any of my books before, let alone ask to have one for himself so this is a first. While I did find my own copy, I am thrilled how me winning your copy has turned into it's own little story, and with a twist I'd never expect. So I thank you for your generosity in having this giveaway, just like the theme of your post, a very meaningful gift came of it! And thanks for the extra you threw in, a little something for me after all!

Please visit Dave's Blog and website at DaveUrsillo.com I'm not guaranteeing any other giveaway here, but good reading nonetheless! Even though the Giveaway is over , reading the posts for it are worthwhile time spent, so check them out! 25 Days of Christmas Book Giveaway . If you haven't read the book, seen the movie or play I do greatly recommend doing one of them!

Another Giveaway I won was for a pair of Sterling Silver Earrings. This was a based on what would you do with these if you won them, who would you give them to. My response was to send them to my local Woman's shelter and allow those in charge to decide who needed a special pick me up. My package just arrived and I shall do just that with them.

Now what about for you? Well, lets see what I've gathered for this week.

Speaking of Books..................
I just got this in my email, a Book in a Bag (and a lovely bag at that!) contest. Just click on the link there to enter. You could win an Elliot Lucca Valeras Double handle Hobo Bag in delicious Cream filled with a selection of the newest Books from Harper Collins, total worth close to $300!

And speaking of Bags, my friends and Team mate, JennyN is having a giveaway. Jenny makes all kinds of bags from small hip pocket ones to large leather stylish brief-bags. She uses the skills she obtained getting her engineering Degree in all her fabulous designs. Lately she has been pondering a pile of wonderful silk Sarees and has made her first clutch and has generously decided to give it away! Find out more by going to Jenny's blog at JennyNDesign. It's a beauty!

Don't forget to click on the badge I have on the sidebar for Fabulous Finds, there are always many giveaways going on there!

Now to accessorize, how about this beautiful necklace? It reminds me of a Carribean sea and I could sure go for that right now! This is the first giveaway of the year at BeadHappilyEverAfter. This is her 59th giveaway so be sure to become a follow to keep up on the next one!

Czech beads accented with coordinating Swarovski crystals and Sterling Silver findings, how lush and beautiful and just right for a pick-me-up this time of year!

Isn't it gorgeous? Check out the rest of the blog too. You also get more chances to win the more you visit, so make sure to bookmark and follow! Deadline to enter 9:00 p.m. EST on 01/10/10.

I love her method of entry too, you have to answer a cool question. But look at that prize, it's sure worth a couple minutes of your time, so check it out!


You'll also see this on the list of Giveaways on the Etsy Giveaway blog, have you visited there yet? Right now they have six giveaways going for this week into next so stop by and enter!

The Coupons Clippers are back from their Holiday Hiatus and are ready to fill your orders (I blogged about them in a previous post, check them out, you'll save lots, for sure!)

Not a giveaway but for those who follow my blog and love to design jewelry, I just signed up to participate in Lori Anderson's Bead Soup Party and Swap! Click on picture below to enter.


Last year someone suggested to me to hold a swap like this but I haven't gotten around to it yet so this is the next best thing! Join in, there's lots of great Jewelry artists participating! Promises to be lots of fun!

And don't forget about My giveaway announced HERE on Mystery Monday!

Well that's enough to keep you busy without overwhelming you so get started and HAVE FUN!!!


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Mystery Monday

Happy New Year! and Welcome to Mystery Monday!

As I announced yesterday each week I will be sharing a Mystery Photo with you. You have one week to guess what it is and to enter your guess in the drawing for a prize from one of my shops!

I won't keep you in suspense any longer, so here is the first photo.


The rules are simple.

Rules:
1. Study the photograph
2. You have until the following Sunday night at 9pm EST (changed to Monday NOON est on feb 1st) to identify what the picture is and get your entry in.
3. Enter the drawing by emailing me your guess ( make as detailed as possible), see my profile for email. LEAVE A COMMENT THAT YOU ARE PARTICIPATING BUT NOT WITH YOUR GUESS! Please send the guess to my email. :)
4. 1 Winner will be drawn from all the entries. Winner will be announced the following Monday with the new Mystery Monday Photo.

Please read this post for more detailed instructions about how you can get more than one entry.

The PRIZE: Something Green of course! Winner's choice of These Earrings , These Earrings , This Focal Bead or this Ring!

Happy Mystery Solving!

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New Year! New Contests! New Features! New Art!

I hope you all had a wonderful and safe Holiday Season! Tomorrow starts the first day of the workweek of the new year but before you have to trudge out into the cold and get back to work, I thought I would let you in on some of the things I have planned for you in 2010. (It's a nice round number, Monk would love it, but we said good-bye to him last year, now only reruns and rented DVD's. :( )

So are you ready?

I am going to try to keep to a schedule, but can't promise it completely because I don't know what's in store for me this year, I hop..........................................e good things ( excuse the interruption, as I was typing ' I hope good things' one of my doves crashed into the window right next to where I am sitting and startled me quite a bit. The Dove is OK, my neck is not so much, I hope that isn't a sign of things to come ?).

Ok, so back to my plans.

I have always loved photography, in my younger years I took a few classes, collected books, did some amateur work for weddings and some modeling shoots but my main love was always to capture the beauty of nature around me. Still life's of nature around me or action shots of animals filled most of my photo boxes. Since switching from my SLR Canon to a digital it's taken me awhile to get back into that because it seems I am always doing shoots for my shops but because I mainly shot near a window for natural light, what's going on outside doesn't escape my eye and I usually find my download intermingled with non art shots. I am thankful for digital for one thing, I can take as many shots as I want and not waste any money on film or developing! And so it is not odd for me to end up with more non shop items than not. Only thing that stops me is a low battery with non on recharge!

So, what does that have to do with you? Well I was looking through some of my recent photos the other day and thought, what could I do with these? I wanted to find a way to share them with you without having to devote a whole blog post to them ( I would never live long enough to do so! ) But thought of a way to share them with you to make it enjoyable!

Each week I will be posting a Mystery Picture - Goal Mystery Monday, to help you get your week off to a good start. You will have until the following Sunday night at 9pm EST to identify what the picture is. Yes that is the mystery! Now there is a contest attached as well! A bit different than other blog contests and different than others I will have. Since this is a mystery you can't post your guess on the blog then others would see. So, what's the solution? almost as easy. Stop by every Monday and take a look at the new photo. You have all week to ponder over it and when you think you have an answer just click on my About me avatar ( my green nasturtium leaf ) and that will take you to my Google Blogger user page. On the left hand side under Contact, just click on my email and send me your guess!

One winner each week will be drawn from all the correct entries. But your name won't be discarded from that group each week but added to the next weeks drawing IF you participate in that Mystery Monday and have a correct answer.

Example: Week 1 your guess is correct and entered into the drawing. Your name isn't drawn. You come back the following week, make another correct guess on the new mystery photo and now you have two entries into that weeks drawing. Even if you win that week, if you come back the third week and guess correctly you will have the first entry added to that weeks chance. So the object is to keep coming each week and make a guess.

You don't have to do anything else. You can choose to blog about it, or tweet it, or even write a blurb about it on Facebook and share, that is great, but you don't have to, I leave that up to you to share out of the goodness of your heart, not to gain you an entry. ( at least not on this contest). I would advise however that you become a follower if you aren't already and then you will be reminded when you go to your dashboard or reader each week when you see my post, so you won't forget!

So that's one of the fun things I've planned for this year, what, Oh, what was that, you want a prize if you win? Well fancy that! :) Of course I have something for your time and effort (besides the fun of the mystery), each week there will be a gift certificate for your choice of pre-selected items from one of my shops. Pre-selected because they will have something in common with the mystery photo, but not always obvious! But fun. And there will always be a choice so you will want to participate each week.

What else do I have planned? Another ongoing feature will be a post on a regular basis (not sure of the timing yet, once or twice a month perhaps) with the subject being Crafting Boo-Boos. There are many blogs I've visited that have tutorials on how to make this and how to make that but one thing I've found lacking is a source for how not to make this or how not to do that. This is a niche I think I can fill in many art and crafting areas since I have tried many of them and want to share what I've learned through my mistakes. I don't like wasting time and thought you could better spend the time you have for creating Art and being better prepared. I will also be sharing with you any other gems like this from others trial and errors so you can build a library of bookmarks to read up on what not to do before you spend your precious time and money on a project. I will try and include photos where possible or if need be a hand drawn sketch for you to follow.

Anything else? I will be trying to share with you this year more about Organic Living, with sources, recipes and ideas on how to incorporate more blessings from nature into your life. I will also be running an ongoing feature Called Animal, Vegetable or Mineral? No, it's not twenty questions, but twenty facts about one of those natural things each week. I hope this will help you to make more informed choices with your food dollar in the grocery store each week and also if planning a garden.

I will be working on some new lines of jewelry and jewelry components (for StudioARTBEAD) that I will announce here before putting in my shop. I plan on working on a new theme for each month. This month is "Ring in the New Year"! Stay tuned to see what that is all about!

Also there will be some great New Jewelry and Polymer Clay book reviews coming soon!

There's more in store, but that is just to whet your appetite, so I hope you'll join me each week and let's have a great year together! And don't forget to come back tomorrow to see what the first Mystery Photo is!


I'll give you a hint, it's GREEN!

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After Christmas Blow-out Sale!

Hee,Hee, aren't you tired of hearing that? Anyway, I wanted to thank my customers and blog friends and thought this was the best present I could offer you. I have many plans for the new year and need some room in my shops to put them. Of course etsy lets you have as many items as you want but after so many pages some things get 'lost in the corners' and need to find their place.

So I am offering from 25-50% off many items in my three established shops, AlmostARTifacts, OrganicOdysseys and PolkaDotSandals. And for my new shop StudioARTBEAD a buy two get one of equal or lesser value FREE!

Yes, Up to

I want to thank all those who have already shopped the new store and encouraged me to get busy with new ideas of beads, components and buttons for the coming year!

This Sale is only good until Jan 2 2010 so get over there while there is a lot to choose from! Don't miss out like on the Black Friday Sale. All items are already marked down and labeled in the title. Also you can search the shop with the tag Sale to find all the items being discounted!

Have fun and a Happy New Year!

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