Calling May Sponsors!

April has just flown by! I can't believe it is almost May.
Now is the time to let me know if you would be interested in advertising on my blog! I am so excited to see that my followers have grown by nearly 100 since the beginning of this month! I can't wait to see what the upcoming months will bring.


If you are interested in advertising or promoting your shop on this blog, here are some options. Please note that because I am getting this up so late that you will not need to have to contact me about an ad space until May 5th, instead of the usual first of the month. Thanks!

Sizes and Rates

XL Ad Space (300x200px) - $10

{3 spots available per month}

Large Ad (200x200px)- $8

{3 ad spots available per month}

Medium Ad (200x120 px)- $6

{3 spots available per month}

If you are interested in buying an ad for the upcoming month,

please e-mail me and I will send you an invoice via Paypal.

I do reserve the right to not post an ad if the content is not applicable or appropriate for my blog. You will not be charged if your ad is not put on my blog.

With each ad spot there is an option of hosting a giveaway or product review.

If you are interested in one of these options please e-mail me.

I will put a up a monthly post on my blog to introduce my readers to that month's sponsors.

 

Blog Stats:

Monthly page views: 3,896 ( up by 1,000 views from last month!)

Followers: 987 ( up by almost 100 from last month!)

 

Interested? E-mail me at:

samanthahartzell93{at}gmail{dot}com

// Other Promotional Opportunities //

- Product Review-

Send me an item to review! I have had quite a bit of experience with

product reviews and would love to grow your business through this.

I am interested in fashion, food and beauty reviews, but will also consider other requests.

How it works:

-You send me a product to review on my blog free of charge

- I will write an honest review of the product and the website/experience

- I will link to your website and social media sites in the post

 

-Artist Spotlight Feature-

These features go up on Wednesdays and offer a peak into your business.

Examples of this feature can be seen HERE.

Interested? E-mail me at:

samanthahartzell93{at}gmail{dot}com

Shop Feature and Giveaway // Wild Juniper

Blog // Facebook // Twitter // Vintage Shop // Baby Shop // Jewelry Shop

I love today's featured shop! It is a new find for me and I am so glad I found it! Wild Juniper is a delightful shop that offers handmade adornments for your hair, ears, neck and more.

Here's a little bit about the owners of Wild Juniper:

"i'm erin, an original midwest girl. i married my cowboy justin and we have a rambunctious little boy, everett jasper.

i'm racheal, a displaced southerner from Mississippi living in the midwest with my jeff our baby girl nora june.

june+jasper=juniper (and they keep our lives wild!)

♥♥♥ our passion ♥♥♥
we are two first time moms who love to create. to us, creating gives a sense of purpose. we are inspired by art, design, originality and all things vintage. we want our kids to grow up seeing the world as their blank canvas; to create, to explore, to dream up and to inspire.

we like to change everyday ordinary items into fun and creative pieces. everybody is unique...we'd like to keep it that way!"

Let's take a look into this cute and colorful shop....

So many pretty things!

For today's giveaway, Wild Juniper is giving away this adorable set of turquoise and red flower earrings! Aren't they lovely?

 Prize is valued at $18.

Giveaway is open Worldwide and will end on May 9th.

Please use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter.

Have fun!!

Artist Spotlight // Coquelicot and Bergamote

Please introduce yourselves to my readers:

We are Mathilda and Delphine, the designers of the brand Coquelicot and Bergamote.

M: I am a passionate, creative person through and through. After studying philosophy, I became a comic book colorist and I like to experiment with new techniques, nothing scares me. To this end, I am specialized in mosaic and now I am expanding my knowledge of ceramics.

D: I am a color fan and I collect all kinds of printed fabrics. I graduated from the Parisian Art School Duperré, I practice as a fashion designer, mainly in kidswear. Disappointed by the clothing industry, I decided to satisfy my convictions through the design of objects. I then rediscovered the material and took out my sewing machine to manufacture innovative and colorful items.

What inspired you to start crafting? Coquelicot and Bergamote is born of our shared taste for beautiful things. So we came together to express our emotions and to release our creative minds. Throughout our discussions, we discovered that, more than surprisingly similar tastes, we were also annoyed daily by the same little problems in our busy freelance mom lives. We also had the same desire to express ourselves through material in a personal way, true to our first love, fabric and mosaic. We have spawned a line of products both practical and beautiful.

What is your favorite item to make?

 Each one of us has her favorite field, mosaic for Mathilda and textile for Delphine, but what both prefer is prototype development. From a lack in the house, find an idea to solve it… Begin to talk about the function to reach a final form and then choose materials, patterns and colors.

  Do you have a best seller? Our two best-sellers are a good illustration of our work: the keychain Jasmin and the hooks Réglisse are both very useful and beautiful. They provide solutions to everyday life and can fit a lot of situations according to the user’s needs.

What inspires your designs?

Our thirties women common references are reflected in our taste for vintage fabrics and objects, directly from our childhood. We are fond of Liberty because of their  subtle patterns and so delicate fabrics. We are fans of Japanese style, and especially Kawaii patterns. 

 What tips have you learned that you can share with other artists? We need to be very thorough with the manufacturing of our products and patient because a new business needs a lot of time to take off. So far, we sell our creations through our website or via Etsy, and we participate in designers markets. On Etsy, we participate in several teams to make contacts, get answers and also to help other sellers. Social networks have become a part of us! We maintain a fan page on Facebook, which allows us to talk about our news and post photos regularly ... in short, to say a little more. Sometimes, we send out a newsletter by direct mailing. And recently, we also have a Twitter account. It is vital now to show we exist and to be active on the web.

Share a little bit about the process that goes into making your items:

We want to design objects that can make life easier and save time to other moms, and by extension, to the whole family. We then try to answer through our creations to this question: Why could a useful item not be beautiful? No more ugly items … Keep in sight only the best, just aesthetic pleasure! In practice, we spend a lot of time in discussions. Each one explains her ideas and argues to convince the other one. Luckily, we often very quickly agree, we really have close tastes. If there is no immediate agreement, we leave ourselves an area of ​​freedom to experiment. This confrontation inherent in working together is really an advantage. We build our sales pitch at the same time we create the object! Then we divide the tasks, and go! We create prototypes, which are again subject to criticism, and when it is validated, we start to produce! Thanks to this exchange in which each takes on the role of the client, we are sure to really take care and to make well-finished products. 

 Hobbies: family time with our children

 Favorite food/dessert: Earl grey Tea (with bergamot)

 Favorite colors: Silver, chocolate, red polka dots …

 Favorite way to relax and unwind: lunch on the patio with friends, hunt for vintage treasures at flea markets …

Learn more about Coquelicot and Bergamote here:

Facebook

Twitter

Blog
Etsy Shop

Special!!
Use the coupon code WELOVEMUMS to receive 15% off any item in the store!



P.S.
Congratulations to Brittany Hanson, winner of the Zevia All Natural Soda
giveaway! I will be contacting you shortly about claiming your prize.

Meet My Sponsors!

Today I'd like to introduce you to my three wonderful sponsors (you can see their ads on my left sidebar)!
Each month I offer affordable advertising for your blog, website or business. Sponsors for April include the Etsy shops Anjas Arts and Miss Crackleberry, and a blog, Mom's Daily Zen.
Let me introduce you to them...

Shop // Facebook // Twitter @ anja's

Anjas Arts is a lovely Etsy shop full of beautiful jewelry finds. You will find handcrafted wire wrapped pieces including rings, necklaces, earrings and more, all for affordable prices. Anja's Arts is offering all of my readers a 15% off coupon good on any purchase in the store. Just use the code frostedbutton15 to received your discount.

Etsy Shop

MissCrackleberry is a great shop for the handmade enthusiast! This shop offers a wonderful variety of handmade cards, journals, chipboard albums and more. All items are beautifully handcrafted by the talented Andrea, owner of Miss Crackleberry. Custom orders are welcome!

Blog

Looking for a fun new blog to read? Then you might want to check out Mom's Daily Zen! This blog is full of gift ideas, product reviews, giveaways and more. The blog is currently running a giveaway for some great handmade soap HERE. You won't want to miss that giveaway!

Interested in sponsoring next month?

Please visit my advertising page here to see how you can participate. I also offer some fun promotional opportunities for your shop, too, like giveaways and product reviews. I'd love to work with you!

P.S.

I have thrilled to announce that I will be hosting a *fabulous* giveaway in honor of reaching 900+ blog followers! Check back on May 7th to check out the prizes and enter!

Shop Feature and Giveaway // Tree Hollow Designs

Etsy Shop

Today's featured shop offers a beautiful variety of watercolor and oil paintings ranging in designs from flowers and leaves to adorable little animals.

"I live in upstate New York and I love to paint and draw. Many of my watercolor paintings are inspired by my golden retriever and all of the amusing things he does. He likes rolling in the mud, hiking, playing in the leaves, canoeing and napping.
Most of the my oil paintings are based on the scenery of the Adirondacks. I use photos that I've taken as reference for these paintings.
When I'm not busy in my studio I love to hike, kayak and walk my dogs.

Thank you for visiting my shop!"

Here are a few favorites from the shop:

For today's giveaway, Tree Hollow Designs is letting the winner pick any item from their shop up to $25 in value!

So many lovely things to choose from...

Please use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter. Giveaway is open Worldwide.

Have fun!

Product Review and Giveaway // Zevia Natural Soda

I've never been much of a soda drinker, mostly because of the high sugar content and the fact that I never felt well after downing a whole can of soda. The only soda I really liked was orange-flavored, and rarely drank that because of the aforementioned things.

So while I never really craved soda, I still wished there was a healthier (and still fizzy!) alternative to soda.

One day as I was browsing Bloggerdise (a website that helps put bloggers and businesses together to do product reviews and giveaways), I am across Zevia the Zero-Calorie, no sugar alternative to soda. Wow- sounds interesting! I promptly contact the company and soon got a rely from a representative about doing a review for Zevia.

Within a few short weeks of getting all the details settled I received a box in the mail containing a six pack of Zevia All Natural Soda in Grape, Cream Soda, Grapefruit Citrus, Mountain Zevia, Black Cherry and Dr. Zevia flavors.

The next chance I got (Friday night pizza!) I popped open a can of Zevia and took a taste. Whew! Was it ever fizzy! It was just as fizzy as any store-bought "non-healthy" soda on the market. I hadn't consumed normal soda in ages, so I didn't have an expectations for the taste, whether it would taste like the unhealthy counterparts or some obviously healthy-tasting soda. The flavors on the two I tried that night where nice and light, not at all over-powering. There was a slightly strange after-taste to the the two I tried, though it wasn't unpleasant. I use Stevia quite a bit and am used to the slight after-taste the Stevia can give to drinks. I don't think this would be a deterrent to anyone who wasn't used to Stevia, though, especially because Zevia has zero calories and sugar, making them a very healthy alternative to normal soda.

 I haven't had a chance to try all of the flavors yet, but I really look forward to trying some of the "stronger" flavors such as Black Cherry and Dr. Zevia to see how they taste.

Oh, and guess what? I felt perfectly fine after drinking the soda! Yay!

Zevia is  also a great alternative to those trying to wean themselves off of normal soda or for diabetics, since Stevia is a great sugar substitute and won't spike your blood sugar.

There is a lot of information about Stevia on the Zevia website includinging About Stevia and FAQ's, plus info on Stevia and Diabetes and Zevia for Weight Control.

I was very pleased with my Zevia experience. I am so glad to finally have a soda alternative the is healthy and tasty!

Want to try Zevia for yourself? Zevia is giving away a coupon for a FREE 6-pack of Zevia Soda to one lucky winner! Please use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter.

Giveaway is open to US and Canadian readers only.

P.S.

Congratulations to Eugenie Wu, the winner of the giveaway from

Loralyn Designs! The sponsoring shop will be contacting you shortly.

Shop Feature & Giveaway // Tiny Teapots

Etsy // Facebook

I just realized that I rarely feature shops on my blog that offer items for children, so starting with today's feature I hope to start featuring more Etsy shops in the future with items for kids.

If you have a shop you would like to see featured, let me know and I will be happy to contact the owner about a feature.

Today's featured shop is an adorable  shop named Tiny Teapots. This shop offers hats and leg warmers in a variety of colors and textures that are perfect for your little one! 

I had to refrain from posting every picture from the shop in this post- everything is so cute! Here are a few favorites:

Aren't those leg warmers adorable?!

Did I mention how awesome the photography is in this shop? So cute!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Heidi, the owner of Tiny Teapots, has generously offered to give away any child's sized hat to the winner of today's giveaway! How fun! Please use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter. Giveaway is open to US and Canadian readers only. Prize is valued at $24-$32.

Good Luck!

Artist Spotlight // Mary France Smith

What inspired me to start drawing?

I AM NOT and natural artist! Definitely was not one of those people drawing as a child. In college I majored in Interior Design and had some courses in rendering, for which I loved and learned I was a natural. When my boys were small, as a stay at home mom looking for something to do that didn’t involve legos or superheros, I started a small business drawing local homes, selling mostly to friends, local builders and realtors.

Do you have a favorite kind of drawing?

Really depends on my mood. Right now, in my “for fun” painting, I’m working on a watercolor of wild grapes, playing with the colors and light. But I do love landscapes, especially architecture, I love the straight lines, I love the way the light bounces off different planes, and I love the emotional connections people feel through my work, capturing a place for them.

What inspires your designs?

My house drawings are done from photos taken of the home. In fact most of my work is from photos. I’ve tried plein art (working outside-painting on site) but I work much too slow. As for fun drawing, it’s hard to say what inspires me, it’s just sometimes I see something I just have to paint.

What tips have others shared with you that has helped you sell your drawings?Customer communication is very important to me. Trust is important, especially when a client is meeting me only online, so I do all I can to earn that trust, responding quickly and professionally to inquiries, and taking as long as we need to work out exactly what is desired in the project.

What tips can you share with other artists?

When working on home portraits, it’s so important to have the details right, to have the basketball hoop at the end of the driveway, or the college flag flying over the door way, not to mention the correct number of frames in the window. Even if it isn’t the way I would choose to do it “artistically” to the client it looks like “home”

Describe the process that goes into creating one of your pieces:

Quite boring, after the details are worked out, using photos for reference, I draw the home in pencil using old fashioned drafting tools, tee-square, and drafting table. My one 21st century addition, I do use my computer monitor to view photos, get in closer to better see, add light to darker areas, etc. Watercolor is next. It will then sit on a shelf for several days, and I make adjustments at least every time I walk by. Once I’m satisfied with the color, I finish off the drawing in ink. It again will sit on my shelf until I’m sure I’m satisfied. Next it goes to Kinkos for a color copy, as it is too large to fit in my scanner, the copy is scanned and set off to client for their ok, then shipped off it its new home.

Thank you for sharing your lovely shop and artwork with my readers!

To see more artwork by Fran Smith or to order a custom portrait of your home,

please visit her Etsy shop, Mary Frances Smith

Product Review // Amy's Organics

 Over the past few months I've become a lot more interested in eating healthier foods. I love eating things that a good for me! While I do splurge occasionally on dark chocolate and ice cream (all-natural, mind you!), I have been doing pretty well with getting more fruits and vegetables into my diet. I've also been working on exercising daily ( I've been loving my Fitness Blender workouts!).

The only downside to eating healthier is that is takes time. While I'm not super busy right now, I don't necessarily want to spend half my morning in the kitchen making something organic/all-natural/healthy for lunch and dinner, especially if I'm gone or have a lot going on that day. That is where Amy's Kitchen comes in! This brand offers a huge variety of entrees, snacks, soups and more, all made with organic and natural ingredients!

Amy's recently sent me several coupons to use towards there products for a review. I received a coupon for any entree, any burrito and any soup offered by the Amy's brand.

Armed with coupons I headed over to my local Kroger store to select my products.

After some deliberation ( everything sounded so good!) I decided on a Cheddar Cheese Burrito, Lentil Soup and Margherita Pizza:

My  burrito, soup and pizza all contained natural, organic ingredients. I wasn't left guessing at what some strange ingredient might be - everything was easy to pronounce and was something that could be found in most kitchens.

My favorite was definitely the pizza, followed by the burrito and soup.

The Margherita pizza was excellent! The crust was crispy on the bottom and chewy on the top and the herbs and seasonings used complimented each other perfect. Definitely something I would purchase again! While the price was a tad bit expensive ($8 or so for a medium pizza) it is definitely worth that price to get something that is all natural and organic.

The burrito was very hearty and tasty, too.  I really liked the thick filling of beans, cheese, tomatoes and rice. It wasn't at all spicy, either. I also liked the fact that the burrito is wrapped in an organic tortilla, too, since most store-bought tortillas are filled with not so great ingredients like aluminum. Yuck.

The soup was probably my least favorite because it didn't taste a whole lot different than a normal canned soup. It was a lot healthier, though, and would be a great option for those who enjoy the taste and convenience of canned soups (I admit- I'm a bit spoiled since I grew up on mostly homemade soups!). The soup contained no MSG (none of Amy's products can MSG) and was made from organic veggies and is vegan. Low-sodium options are also available if you want something with a lower salt content.

Overall I was very pleased with the products I received from Amy's Organics and would definitely consider buying some of their products again.

A big thanks to Amy's for letting me review their products!

-Disclaimer-

I was not paid to write this review. All thoughts are my own unless otherwise noted.

P.S.
The winner of the photography print from Madden Photography is...

Constitution Girl!

Congratulations!

Feature & Giveaway // Loralyn Designs

Etsy Shop

Today's featured shop offers unique metal jewelry and gifts. Designs include necklaces,

rings, earrings, magnets and more!

My real passion is using my hands to create and design. I am thankful to have had a mom that encouraged crafting and creativity from an early age. She taught me the beauty of handmade items from sewing to painting and drawing, gift wrapping, jewelry making, and home decorations. At age 8, I was selling my jewelry door to door (OK, I was selling my fashion plate color drawings too). At 13 my mom invited me to join her in selling my 3D plastic canvas Christmas ornaments which did pretty well. I still have a few I put on my tree every year.

I branched out to woodworking and home improvement projects in my 20s. Now in my late 30s, I have discovered a new passion with metal crafts. I hope you enjoy the collection, please let me know if you have any special requests!

Here are a few of my favorite pieces from the shop:

Silver Gear Ring

Silver and Blue Flower Necklace

Small Green Dangle Earrings

Orange Flower Necklace

Want to win something from this shop? Loralyn Designs is letting one of my readers

pick any item in her shop up to a $19.99 value! Everything in this shop is $19.99 or under, so you'll have a great selection to pick from.

Please use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter.

Good luck!

Artist Spotlight // The Glass Spring

Facebook // Etsy Shop

Please introduce yourself to my readers:
A Graphic Designer by trade, and Artisan by design. I've been fueled by art my whole life. Whether drawing, music, painting, or design, anything requiring a fully engaged creative imagination has been what inspires, motivates, and ignites the creative process that leads to the works of art you see here.

Situated in Ottawa, Canada there are no shortages of inspiration, the changing of the seasons, our local architecture and the annual Tulip Festival to name a few. These are my local wells that I draw from when creating new pieces. With over ten years of experience as a graphic designer, and fifteen plus years as an artist, creating jewelry has been an ongoing love affair. With every new design there are no limitations where detail is concerned. Every piece of jewelry I create is lovingly crafted with precision and care. Etsy is an online hub of local and international artisans all focused on the same goal. Creating products they love and making it available to those who are searching for something truly unique. It is what drove The Glass Spring to choose Etsy as their location for online shopping. Not only can you come and see our line of jewelery but when you create an account you are connected with thousands of artisans and designers the world over. Our online store opened September of 2011. We'd love to see you visit us online at The Glass Spring.

How long have you been crafting?
 Jewelry making has been a love of mine since I was young. If my memory serves me well, I started making jewelry really for the fun of it, it wasn't until I was older that I started experimenting with designs and styles, stones, glass and other materials.

What is your favorite piece to make?

 There are no favorite pieces that I like to make, just a favorite part of the process. The finished piece at the end, and each one tells a different story. I love seeing how different textures, stones, or glass work with each other, and the end results are always something that leaves me feeling like "wow, I made this!". It's great when you can create something no matter what it is and immediately envision it in action.

Do you have a best seller?

 We're still a bit green to the whole selling process so it's hard to gage what would be a best seller, however, so far the popular piece in store would be my red dagger wire wrapped earrings. We've given away two ( chosen by the recipient) and sold a few both on Etsy and offline.

How did you learn your art?

 I am a self-taught-artist, always have been. It started with illustration in my early teens. I wanted to learn how to create paintings like those from the renaissance era so I started working at life drawing, sketching, and playing with light and dark. That eventually moved to watercolour, then ink, then a blending of the two after a while I just started trying a bit of everything clay, glass painting, jewelry making. It's all about keeping the hands busy and the creative juices flowing which sometimes isn't as easy as it looks, but still fun all the same.

What is the #1 thing that has helped you sell your pieces?

 Facebook has got to be the #1 source for driving interest. Next to that would be Etsy teams, forums, and treasury listings. Online networking is a constant learning process.

 What tips have you learned that you can share with other artists?
As for tips or tricks, well like I said earlier, I'm still green so the only thing I can say is be engaged. A good friend told me every little thing you do today helps move you toward the goals you have for tomorrow. So make a treasury, post an update, share a thought and hopefully someone will like what they read and spread the word.

 Share a little bit about the process that goes into making one of your pieces:
The process involved in making jewelry is different for each jeweler. For me it's all about getting that ah-ha moment where a design is sparked by a feeling, memory, or moment. It could be a memory of a day at the beach that leads me to create a beautiful silver chain adorned with turquoise, royal blue, and aqua shell beads. Or a feeling of wanting to get away to the country that leads to beautiful big silver leaf earrings. So far for me, leaning on those moments have lead to the most satisfaction when designing.

Favorite dessert?

 Chocolate anything

Which Etsy shops inspire you?
EmilyGrayJewels
Fuss Jewelry
JagnaB

This one isn't jewelry but her style is awesome:
Hopee

Etsy is a well of creatives that inspire. No matter how hard you try you can't just narrow it down to a few. For those of you who have never heard of Etsy, or maybe just think it can't be that great, really... it is. It's the world's creative, handcrafted market at your fingertips. So why wait, go log on and let your shopping spree begin!

Special!

Once The Glass Spring reaches 250 Facebook Fan they will be giving away a pair of earrings! Make sure to visit their Facebook page and fan them for a chance to win.

PR and Giveaway // Madison Street Beauty

Facebook // Twitter // Etsy

Over the past year or so I have become a lot more interested in making better choices with my makeup. I don't wear a lot of makeup, and only for when I'm out of the house, but still, who wants to put a bunch of yucky chemicals on their face? Not me! While I'm still working on finding a better foundation, I have been able to switch over my eye makeup to include more natural products. Madison Street Beauty is my most recent Etsy find, and this shop offers an amazing variety of eye shadows and liners, foundation, lip balm and more, all 100% natural and vegan!

Mineral Blush- Gilded Rose

Bridget, the owner of Madison Street Beauty was so sweet and allowed me to do a review on some of her all-natural mineral eye shadows. I tend to go for more subdued tones when it comes to makeup, so I selected Parisian Pink, Opal, Champagne, Cherry Blossom, and Celestial Silver.

 My favorites were the Cherry Blossom, Celestial Sky and Champagne, which all worked really well with my skin tone. My least favorites were probably the Parisian Pink and Opal, but only they were a more light color and didn't show up on my fair skin tone very well.

 I think both would look fabulous on someone with a darker skin tone, though.

Vegan Eye Shadow- Japanese Lily

All of the eye shadows were great quality and a lot of fun to try out. They were all true to color as well. I love how they are all shimmery without looking too gaudy or like "dress-up" makeup.


Overall, my experience with Madison Street Beauty was very positive. The owner, Bridget, was very friendly and easy to work with. The shipping was very fast and the sample sizes were very generous (little containers instead of the usual plastic bags most makeup samples are sent in). I really enjoyed reviewing the products and hope to be back for more soon!

Giveaway

Bridget has kindly offered to give away two full sized eye shadows to today's winner!

The winner will be receiving one each of the Champagne and Cacao colors.


Please use the Rafflecopter widget below to submit your entries. Good luck!