Giveaways, giveaways, giveaways....

I almost don't want to share this one with anyone else in the hope that maybe that makes my chances of winning even better.... but sharing is caring right??


Melanie from Whimsical Creations hand makes gorgeous polymer clay items and is running a giveaway on her blog of the same name, Whimsical Creations. Just by popping into her shop HERE on etsy, finding your favorite item (a hard mission I know) then leaving a comment back at the giveaway blog post about that item you are in the running to win!! Easy right?!

And look what it is the lucky winner receives.... this stunning handmade set of white snowflakes! I love them!!!!



Entries close November 2nd so be quick to grab your chance at having these gorgeous snowflakes decorate your home this Christmas!

Weekly Featured Artist - Kelly of Klymyshyn Design

What a fun interveiw this one turned out to be - Kelly you are a hoot as well as a talented crafter!!

Tell us all about yourself and your craft?
I make things because I have an unquenchable desire for perfection. Each design embodies my personal quest to make items which are beautiful, functional, easy to care for and if worn - enhance the human form. I like to play "dress up" with my real live dolls. (children)

How long have you been creating your craft?
I began to sew when I realized the stipend my mother would give me for wardrobe went further at the fabric store. Also, I have an impossible inseam and could never find pants to FIT me.
I began knitting with my BFF (still-who makes the Swarovski jewelry in my shop) on pencils in the 5th grade! We made scarves.


What is one of the biggest lesson you have learnt about your craft & selling it? Love what you make and make what you love...'cause you may hafta make alot of them!

Which of your items did you have the most fun creating & why?
My beloved Aunt Evelyn (who passed away recently) helped me with my very first crochet project. Ironically, I was only 14 and it was a baby sweater! For my next door neighbor's first child.


Is there a basic ‘household’ item you use when creating that seems to work just as good if not better than the actual ‘tool’?
I use weird stuff as stitch markers: bobby pins, yarn remnants, safety pins, pony tail elastics - whatever is closest so I don't hafta get up!

What is your favourite candy bar & why?
My favorite candybar is SNICKERS! It hits the spot every time.


If money, responsibilities, and time were no issue where in the great wide world would you go & why?
I think about Ireland and England but I'm not an adventurous person. Knitting is a great adventure as each project has a starting point, journeys through wraps and turns - gives my head great peace along the way.

Check out the pages and pages of Kelly's gorgeous items for baby, teens, moms - everyone at www.klymyshyndesign.etsy.com

Weekly featured Artist - Gwen of Tymely Designs

I absolutely adore Gwen's work!!! I think her plaques are stunning and each one is so unique!! Take a look through her many design options at www.tymelydesigns.com

Tell us all about yourself and your craft?
My name is Gwen and I live north of Boston, MA with my husband of 16 years and our 6 year old son. I am formerly an elementary school teacher who has been at home since the birth of our son. I have always had an interest in art and creating. I've always making something! The first plaque that ever made was for a friend's birthday. I received such a positive response that I got a router, learned how to do some woodworking and basically took over my husband's workshop. I attended a local craft show and that is how it all began. My company is named Tymely Designs, LLC after our son, Ty. Tymely Designs, LLC creates custom, personalized plaques for all occassions. Tymely Designs is a one woman show. All of the work is done by my hands, from woodworking to website building to packing and shipping. I cut the stencils myself and I do all of the script lettering by hand. Each plaque is custom made, one at that time. They are not printed or silk screened and there are are no vinyl letters on any of my signs... it's just lots and lots of practice. I have a partnership with American Forests to plant one tree for each plaque that I sell through them. It is my personal goal to donate 300 trees this year.

How long have you been creating your craft?
I have been making plaques since 2004.


What is one of the biggest lesson you have learnt about your craft & selling it?I have learned to take some leaps and step outside of my comfort zone. When I first began, if someone asked me to do a large custom piece I would say no and only stick to what I knew I could do well. I've learned that I can do different things and some of my most popular designs have come from my clients' ideas.

Which of your items did you have the most fun creating & why?
I love my wedding plaques because I love it when people send me photos of themselves at their weddings holding a sign. It makes me feel very honored to be a part of their special day.


Is there a basic ‘household’ item you use when creating that seems to work just as good if not better than the actual ‘tool’?
I find it beneficial to have q-tips near by to fix mistakes quickly.

What is your favourite candy bar & why?
Almond Joy. I love coconut and the protein in the almonds makes it a health food bar... right?


If money, responsibilities, and time were no issues where in the great wide world would you go & why?
I'd love to go to Greece. I love seeing thing that have withstood time. I am amazed by what can be done without mechanical power and what can be done by manpower.

I was floating through Gwen's store HERE recently to try and figure out the perfect plaque for me when I noticed her gorgeous 'Holiday Line' - perfect for Halloween coming up and Christmas too!!!
Thank you Gwen for sharing with us.

"I'm Leaving on a Jet Plane...."

We are off!! Our bags are packed and my 'to do' list is all crossed off so for the next week and a half hubby and I are on the opposite side of the world to our home in Australia, the United States. We take off Saturday morning around 9:00am Sydney time and land in JFK airport New York some many , many hours later. We are staying in NYC for one night then picking up our hire car that has it's steering wheel on the wrong side of the car and driving, on the wrong side of the road, to Sheffield Massachusetts. Where we spend the following five days at The Autism Treatment Centre of America at a training course called Maximum Impact - learning new and further techniques to help our daughter Felicity in her Son-Rise Program that day by day takes us closer to curing her Autism.


I have put a notice in my shop Giggleberry Creations letting everyone know all items in the shop are still for sale and can be purchased as normal but any custom orders and convos will be responded to after I return from overseas on the 30th of October. Any purchases made while we are away learning will be shipped off first thing on the 30th of October.

It will be a busy and quick trip but one well worth it - I'll fill you all in when we return.

Oh Goodie!!!

Just wanted to write a quick post to say thank you to Fabulous Fun Finds blog, who hosted a great giveaway - over 40 giveaways in one week!!


I have just found out I was the lucky winner of giveaway no.28 from Home Studios. I win this great pendant



The winner must have a Canadian or Untied States address, which I don't, so I entered knowing that if I won I would pass on my prize to a lucky someone who has donated to the fundraising efforts for my daughter - (see HERE for details). So the gifts keep coming - Yay!!!

Milla's First Haircut!!

Daddy finally agreed Milla needed a little trim so both her and I had our hair cut today!! Milla was very good - normal curious and wanting to play with the pretty shiny scissors but with a little food distraction it was done in seconds. Sarah, who did the cutting, said she has never cut 2 inches of hair of an 11 month old before and there still be so much left!!
We have kept a little bit of hair and of course I took some photos.

Puzzles, puzzles - everywhere!! 39 sleeps to go!!

There are 'Awareness Ribbons' for so many different causes and we all seem to know the well publicized ones like the pink breast cancer ribbon or the red HIV/AIDS ribbon but do you know what the Autism Awareness Ribbon looks like? I didn't either until I had Autism come into my life through my daughter, Felicity.
It looks like this
and has a great meaning behind it -

"The puzzle pattern of this ribbon reflects the mystery and complexity of Autism.
The different colors and shapes represent the diversity of the people and families living with the disorder.
The brightness of the ribbon signals hope - hope through research and increasing awareness in people like you".


With our up and coming fundraising Masquerade Ball - Behind The Mask Of Autism - for Felicity and two other children affected by Autism I thought this would be a great opportunity to use the puzzle print and colors of the ribbon for decoration inspiration for the event, and wanted to share with you a 'sneak peak' of the decorations all coming together!

The Masquerade Ball event is a sit down three course meal so we plan to have table centre pieces similar to these on each table


with these balloons in all the colors of the ribbon filled with helium coming up and out of the boxes in between the masks


and the boxes themselves tied with this Autism Awareness puzzle ribbon (supplied by JodisCraftEmporium)


Then sprinkled around the centre piece will be a handful or two of these puzzle pieces I have slowly been hand painting again in the Autism ribbon colors - I think they will look great against a white table cloth



To help with the fundraising we have managed to round up a great and HUGE selection of items for both a loud and silent auction on the night and will have all of these items and their details - like their value and who donated them displayed for all the guests to see. My plan is to use Giggleberry banners that I have made from Autism Awareness puzzle fabric (donated by NewEnglandQuilter) to decorate and highlight this amazing range of items.



Now if you use your imagination can you see the function room for our Masquerade Ball looking colorful, puzzle full and fabulous? - I sure can!

If you want to read more about Felicity or your chance to help us with the fundraising take a look HERE

Weekly Featured Artist - Melanie of Whimsical Creations

I'm thrilled to have Melanie of Whimsical Creations as this weeks 'featured artist' - I love her polymer clay items and I was the lucky first buyer in her etsy shop when I ordered my daughters a persanilsed fairy ornamant each! Melanie just keeps coming up with more and more unique things to make like cupcakes, snowflakes, wedding cake minatures, halloween ghosts and pumpkins, animals...... the list goes on and on!

Tell us all about yourself and your craft?
I am a stay at home mother of 2 children, a son age 7 and a daughter age 20 months. I have been crafting since I can remember. My family loves to hand make lots of things. My grandmother does portraits, my mother loves to crochet and my sister loves to create lots of things. I make polymer clay ornaments, figures, magnets, beads and pendants.

How long have you been creating your craft?
I started making ornaments out of salt dough with my mom as a child. I have been working with polymer clay for about 15 years.


What is one of the biggest lesson you have learnt about your craft & selling it? To be patient. Patience is really hard for me. I started selling my product on etsy in April and it took me until June to get my first sale.


Which of your items did you have the most fun creating & why?
My sock monkey & my cherry blossoms pendant. The sock monkey was inspired by fellow Fam (Fabulous Artistic Moms) members who have sock monkeys in their shop. They looked so fun. The cherry blossom pendant was inspired by a treasury I made of Cherry Blossoms, I absolutely love the way it came out.


Is there a basic ‘household’ item you use when creating that seems to work just as good if not better than the actual ‘tool’?
Toothpicks, string and an exacto knife....

What is your favourite candy bar & why?
Milky Way Dark (oh I'm sorry they changed the name to Milky Way Midnight). I have loved that candy bar forever (before dark chocolate became 'healthy' for you).


If money, responsibilities, and time were no issue where in the great wide world would you go & why?
I would love to travel to Hawaii. What a beautiful place to visit. I can only imagine the beautiful pictures I could take there while on vacation. My husband says every thing we do is a photo op. I also would like to take a class at the Deco Clay Craft Academy located in Hawaii. They teach you to make gorgeous flowers out of light weight deco soft clay.

You can visit Melanie on etsy HERE. With both Halloween and Christmas getting closer and closer you'll be covered at Whimsical Creations!! Mel says "I love to work on custom orders. Please contact me if there is something special you are looking for" - and don't forget to take a look through her sold items if you need a little inspriration for your custom order.

Theme Day - Sock Monkeys!

I have noticed that there seems to be a bit of a Sock Monkey following recently. If you head to etsy and search 'sock monkey' you will see what I mean and will find all kinds of gorgeous items, clothes, accessories, art works - everything in sock monkeys -

From Bam Designs, a very groovy Sock Monkey Fun Outfit for your cheeky little monkey


From Whimsical Creations a cute polymer clay Sock Monkey Figure


A new print that I adore from Elegant Snobbery, called 'Sir Jimmy and the Dragon' that would be great hanging in a little one's castle


And from Antoinette's Boutique a fun way to make yours or your little one's seat belt more comfy a Sock Monkey and Chenille Minky Dot Car Seat Belt Cover



All these great items inspired me to join in the monkey fun and make the first of Giggleberry Creation's colorful Sock Monkey Banners

My growing family...

What a coincidence that today was the day my hubby, Matt and I went to the hospital meet our bubby through ultrasound - as we were leaving Matt realized that today 8 years ago he was at a different hospital meeting his first bubby in the flesh for the first time!!!

8 years old - wow, now that time has just disappeared!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MISS FLISS!!!


I think Felicity will enjoy her day starting by waking up at her mum's house and then ending with a birthday dinner with Grandma at Dad's house.
All week the postman has been delivering cards and packages from great grandparents. So when Felicity gets to our place this afternoon she'll have a mountain of things to unwrap and show off!!
We had one of our monthly volunteer meetings booked in for this weekend to catch up on where we are at with felicity's program and progress, the last one before Matt and I head to the States for another training course in Felicity's Autism program, but we decided to change it to a volunteer birthday party - Yay. The good fun just keeps coming for Flissa!


Oh and just to fill everyone in - the ultra sound went perfect. It showed ten fingers and toes on two arm and legs and everything in the right spot internally - the doctor asked if we wanted to know what sex the baby is and when we said no told us to look away while he checked bubby's bladder and tail bone. I then asked if he now knows what we are having and he said (with a grin) he had a pretty good idea!!! Rude hahahaha. I added some pics - not great they are photos of photos but better than nothing.

Profile of bub:


Bub's face:

Giveaways, giveaways, giveaways......

This week is an easy 'One Stop' destination for HEAPS of amazing giveaways - 40 of them!!!! yep you read that right - 40!!!

Just head straight to Fabulous Fun Finds the blog and from the 6th of Oct to the 10th of October there is 10 giveaways being posted daily!!!


The only rules for the giveaways are - Winners must confirm within 72 hours or a new winner will be selected! Please email fabulousfunfinds@yahoo.com to confirm your winning status. Shipping addresses must be in the United States or Canada.
That sounds too easy to me - I'm in for sure. See you all there and Good Luck!!

MINI 'Featured Artist' - Heather of My Designer Baby

As most of you know I do a 'Weekly Featured Artist' spot here every Monday highlighting just a sprinkling of the awesome and unique items out there in the great wide world. In my searches and 'blog jogging' for some of these items I have come across a like minded woman, Heather, who has built a fabulous website - My Designer Baby, an 'Online Baby Boutique for the Stylish Mother to Be'!
My Designer Baby states - "My Designer Baby caters to mothers unwilling to lose their sense of style during the child rearing years. Our featured designers have taken ordinary products and made them chic and savvy for the upscale mother. Baby essentials truly can be eye candy!"
I approached Heather about being one Giggleberry Creations 'Weekly Featured Artists' but since Heather herself does not make any of the items in her shop it is hard to answer most of those regular questions. So here is just a little bit about Heather 'MINI feature' style!


Tell us a little about yourself and your shop?
I go to trade shows and contract with designers to sell their products on my site. I am always looking for items that are fashionable and functional. I love fashion and the baby industry has exploded with new trendy, fun items for moms. I strive to find the most eye catching items for mothers and babies.

What is your favorite candy bar and why?
My favorite candy bar is not actually a candy bar, but Lindt truffles! These little truffles are so soothing and take me away from reality for awhile.

If money, responsibilities, and time were no issues where in the great wide world would you go & why?
I have been lucky enough to travel all over the world, but my favorite place are the beaches of Thailand. These beaches are truly paradise!

Thanks for letting us have a sneak peak into your beautiful shop Heather! I know with a baby due in February I'll be back at My Designer Baby for a closer look!!
You can also stay up to date with reviews and news at the My Designer Baby Blog.

Weekly Featured Artist - J.Bee Designs

This weeks featured artist has an amazing talent for hand painting glassware! You can check out all her stunning items including wine glasses, cookie jars, martini glasses, plates, vases and much more on her website at www.jbeedesigns.com

Tell us all about yourself and your art?
I graduated from interior design school from Harcum college, bryn mawr, pa. I paint on glass and canvas, but glass is my favorite thing to paint on. I love designing interiors and I love designing tablescapes and creating beautiful tables .

How long have you been creating your art?
I have been painting now for 12 years on glass and canvas.


What is one of the biggest lesson you have learnt about your art & selling it?
I have learned to not let people take advantage of me and my art, some people don't appreciate what it takes to create hand painted items, and they don't understand the pricing that goes along with this sort of craft.

Which of your items did you have the most fun creating & why?
I had a lot of fun creating my holiday designs, but I actually have fun with every design I paint because they are all my creations and ideas come to life on glass. I also enjoying using fun & happy colors and especially when painting polka dots, whatever type of glassware it is it always turns out cheerful with polka dots on it!


Is there a basic ‘household’ item you use when creating that seems to work just as good if not better than the actual ‘tool'?
I use a lot of different items, like tape, toothpicks, I sometimes use a sharp knife to clean up a crooked line of paint.

What is your favourite candy bar & why?
My favorite candy bar is a snickers bar, I love chocolate and caramel!



If money, responsibilities, and time were no issues where in the great wide world would you go & why?
I would go all over Europe and visit all of the great art museums and architecture, I would love to see the louvre and Versailles. I am a huge history of architecture buff and I would enjoy seeing all of those famous places, I would also love to visit the Wedgwood museum in England!!

Don't forget to take a look at the selection of Holiday glassware HERE from J.Bee Designs to make your Christmas table setting unique to any one else!!

Drum Roll Please..........

Giggleberry MINIS
Originally uploaded by giggleberry

A few days ago I posted a quick note letting you all know that Giggleberry Creations was releasing a brand new type of banner, well the wait is now over!
Introducing Giggleberry MINIS!!!!
I love these adorable miniature versions of the original Giggleberry banners that we know and love.
A fellow FAM team member asked if I made something like these for decorating a Christmas tree and that was all I needed to start the creating process and put the first set of MINIS together!
A great way to add the Christmas feel to so many spots of your home - think stair case banisters, window and door frames, bookcases, mantle shelves, the Christmas tree - anywhere!!!
And who said they are just for Christmas??? any fabric can be turned into these gorgeous new MINIS.

Oh how I dream.....

This week I finally decided to get myself organized and put my sewing area into some kind of order. Firstly you have to understand that I don't have a room just for Giggleberry Creations to happen it's more like a sunny window seat of my dining table that gets set up and packed away every time I sew and until this week I had my fabric, ribbon, thread, sewing machine, stationary etc in all kinds of spots around my home. I knew where it all was but it just wasn't making sense to have it spread out like that.
So I grabbed the small set of draws that was practically empty from my daughters room and moved it next to my sewing spot. It's now full of all my things and I know it sounds obvious but what a difference it makes having everything at arms reach away!!



My fabric is in a huge tub next to the draws a tub that I'm positive my little girl has a sixth sense about - if it's open she knows and will come from the complete opposite end if the house and attempt to pull it apart.


My sewing area isn't extravagant but it works just perfectly for Giggleberry Creations to come together for now.... until hubby and I win lotto and I design and build my very own studio.
I was floating around Flickr recently and have found some amazing sewing and craft rooms that are now my inspiration.
THIS would be the start of my fabric collection, THIS my thread wall, and this photo I love for inspiration for my desk/computer space


I just can't imagine ever having a creating 'block' in this space!!!
So now I guess I need to start entering the lotto - LOL.