Friday Feature: Zachaliz!

Teddy Bear Leg Warmers by Zachaliz

As promised, here is a fabulous feature of artist Zacha, of Zachaliz on Etsy. Read on to learn more about her beautiful art...

My name is Zacha and although I had a difficult time choosing a name for my shop, intially selling vintage items only, when I decided to offer my own designs I changed it to my name.www.etsy.com/shop/zachaliz It was easier than trying to figure out something cute and quirky, I'm not very good at it :)
Right now I'm working on accessories. That includes hair accessories, bags and a line of leg warmers I did for kids this winter. But I enjoy offering pretty things for the home as well. 

Aged Muslin Scroll for Art and Craft Projects by Zachaliz

I've always been a creative soul, I think we all know this at a young age but how that translates into the rest of your life could be very different. For me I neglected it and tried to fight it. Eventhough I was encouraged in high school to go to art school I went to state college instead and graduated with a degree in Anthropology. It wasn't until I lost my job last year that I was able to reconnect with this part of myself. Since then I've studied costume design and taught myself how to sew. I couldn't be happier with where this new route has taken me. I'm enrolled in some fine art courses now, drawing and painting and working as a freelance costume designer. I'm always looking to expand what I know and continue to draw inspiration from other mediums. 
My favorite item in my shop right now... hmm... I love my chevron tote bag because I have one myself and use it everyday but I would have to say the muslin scrolls. Its something so simple but I was able to play with fabric in a way that wasn't constructing a wearable product. But I have found that my teddy bear leg warmers are a favorite of customers. These were sold at a local boutique and is the only other place I have sold my items other than my Etsy shop. 

Large Canvas Tote with Chevron by Zachaliz

I like to communicate with others mainly through my facebook page at :www.facebook.com/pages/Zachaliz/147745055328613February 3, 2012 I held my first game/contest. I think its a great way to interact with others. 
Supporting handmade and local businesses is very important to me. I hope that as my duaghter grows up and I continue to work on my craft that she is able to walk away knowing that was a big aspect of what I what I offer. I would love to some day be able to offer what I have learned and what I make in a boutique/studio in my little upstate NY town. 
Thanks so much for this opportunity!

There you have it, a great artist, with amazing items and great ideals. Please visit Zachaliz on Etsy today for beautiful handcrafted items.


Want to get yourself featured? Visit this post and leave a comment at the end: http://meglittlestudio.blogspot.com/2012/02/friday-features-i-want-you.html

Fabulous Friday: Special Deals for This Weekend Only!

This Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday, join me in my Etsy store for great deals on your holiday shopping:

Buy 2 items - get 20% off
buy 3 items - get 30% off
buy 4 items - get 40% off

The more you buy, the more you save! As always, all purchases are gift wrapped and come with a free blank gift card. Purchases over $10 get a FREE surprise gift!
Hope to see you soon!

Fabulous Friday Feature: She's Batty Designs!

This week's Fabulous Friday Feature is a surprise...at least to the seller! This week I am featuring the fabulous gift card designer She's Batty Designs. You can find her on Etsy and ArtFire, and she has a great blog as well. See below for some more great items in her shops. This is the perfect way to make any gift (or just a card!) stand out from the sea of mass-produced, rather soulless cards. All of her cards are hand made by her and are very intelligently designed.
I love these snowmen cards, the pop up 'snow' really makes them stand out from the crowd. It is also great that they come in different colors - you could give the same card to 3 different people and they'll still look different!
These are just the cutest pumpkins ever! I thought about buying them just to put up in my office as art. Of course, they'll also make great little thank-you's or even place settings!
If gingerbread cookies had to look like cards, hands-down, they would choose to look like these. Aren't these the most delicious and cute-looking cards ever?? Genius, that's all I have to say.
This beautiful, dainty card is also a pop up! You'll have to visit her stores to see the rest of this very pretty card.

Please visit her and tell her I sent you! She is a great artist, so don't forget about her cards when you are doing your shopping :-)
She's Batty Designs on Etsy
She's Batty Designs on Artfire
She's Batty Designs Blog

That's all for now, tune in tomorrow for Sweet Saturday :-)

Melodious Monday: I Always Wanted a Horse...

~Hmmmm....This smells good...~

As a kid I rode horses and wanted one so badly - I even tried to say it would reduce my dad's grass cutting time by having it eat the grass. They said no. However, fast forward about 10 years (okay, maybe more) and hear I am, with a horse-dog.

~Oh Yeah! The perfect piece of Grass! Yummmm!~

She delights in eating grass. Oh sure, she eats it if she gets an upset stomach, but those are the long, old blades of grass. For every day eating, she prefers to walk carefully up and down the yard, hoping to find just "the right" piece of succulent fresh grass, which she will promptly devour. I find it hilarious. She finds it delicious. I should mention that I asked the vet about it, concerned that the incredibly expensive ($50+ per month!) food wasn't enough for her. The vet smiled and said no, she just likes to supplement her diet and finds it tasty and fun. I still find it hilarious.

~A Dragonfly after eating a mosquito - thanks Mr. Dragonfly!~

Here's a dragonfly resting on my deck. After one of the rainiest summers on record (I'm sorry Texas), the mosquitoes are going crazy, and that means (thank goodness!!) dragonflies!! We have thousands of them - big blue ones, little brown ones, grey ones, black ones, so many, all munching like crazy on the mosquitoes...thank you dragonflies!!

TODAY IS THE LAST DAY OF MY 20% OFF SALE!! GET IN HERE WHILE YOU CAN!!

and Arwen

Monday's Mother's Day Update - Fun for All!

Well, mother's day was a blast! I went to my mom's in the afternoon and gave her the present: the special edition of Mary Poppins - I had purchased it when it had first become available for pre-order in January, as I knew it was the first movie my mom had ever seen in the theaters as a kid. It was definitely a hit!
After that we went to see a quilt show that my mom's quilter's guild was holding (it's only every 2 years so we were lucky to go). My mom had several quilts on display there, including the one she made for me, above. She didn't win any awards (I'd like to have a chat with the judges, lol), but we had a great time seeing all of the different quilts - there were over 200!! - and also the different vendors. I'm not a quilter, but as an artist, I can definitely appreciate the love and hard work that goes into this art form :)
While browsing one of the vendors I found a really cool book on quilting landscapes - too amazing - and my mom said she had never seen it before and had always wanted to try quilting landscapes....so I bought it for her 'early birthday present'...keeping in mind that her birthday is in September, LOL. It is a phenomenal book, however, and I can't wait to see what she comes up with! We kept walking around, admiring the quilts and vendors (a few vendors were selling these amazing computerized quilting machines that took much of the back-breaking labor out of quilting, but were....wait for it....$16,000 dollars!! eep!). One of the vendors had 'easy quilt kits' that had all the material and the instructions for about the same price as the book I got my mom. The fabrics in it were sooooo pretty and I kept picking it up and putting it down...picking it up and putting it down. I really liked it, but I'd just bought the book and didn't have the money to buy that in the first place so the quilt kit was definitely out of the question...
...."moooom?"
...."Yes honey?"
....."This is really pretty fabric..."
..."Yes it is - and the quilt would be very easy to make," (at this point the sales lady says, "Oh yes, you can whip these up in about 3 hours!" and I say, "Not with my sewing skills you can't!", anyway, back to the narrative),
..."Mmooomm I can't sew, and I'm really trying to work on my jewelry at the moment....do you think we could do this for my early birthday present?" (now the sales lady asks when my birthday is and I have to tell her that it is in September, to the laughter of everyone around us)
...."You want this? But...But...But....It's so simple! I could do something with a bit more flourish, though it might take a bit longer..." She kept spluttering at the near indignity of being asked to do something so rudimentary *sigh* she is sometimes too much of an artist, LOL.
...."But this would be a really good lap quilt that I could snuggle in and wash a million times and not have to worry about the dog farting on it and I could think of you every time I warm up under it.....Pleeeeease? I'll even buy it if you are willing to make it" (Here is where I do 'cute' eyes, which my mom knows is a joke as I would never beg and if she didn't want to, I'd never push her, but she's got that smile on her face, you know the one, where your mom really wants to indulge, but still can't believe you want something so small, simple, and inexpensive)
"Really? You want this? For your birthday? 4 months from now?" Her eyebrows are in danger of disappearing into her hairline from surprise...
"Mmmm hmmm. It is so pretty and simple and beautiful and I love it! And you'd have lots of time to finish it if you got busy with your art quilts,"
"Where's my credit card?"
"Woo!"
It was a good Mother's Day all around :-D
I hope your day was great too!

Wordless Wednesday

~NEW!! Multi-Strand "Cleo" Bracelet~

~A Custom, Braided Bracelet, Similar to Cleo~

Super 50% off Sale
January Contest

The Sale Gets Better!

Alright! The SUPER SALE just got even better! This one is for one week only, starting now:

Buy 2 Items
Get One Item Free!

The third item must be of equal or lesser value to the lowest priced item, and cannot be combined with another offer (not on previous specials, sale or custom items). Hurry - these items are going to go fast!
Shipping may be delayed slightly (2-3 days) due to sales volume.
Hurry to get your shopping done now - there is still time to have it arrive before Christmas :)
Also don't forget to enter the December Blog contest!
Hope you like it!
Meghann

Today's the Day!

It's finally here! Tonight I teach my first jewellery-making class at the Bead Store in Kemptville!
I think there is one more spot open so if you want to learn how to make a wire wrapped donut pendant like the one above, call them to see if you can come too! It'll be lots of fun and a great Christmas present that you get to brag that you made yourself.
Don't forget my SUPER SALE and enter the free December Contest to try and win a great prize!
Don't forget that 10% of the total sales before taxes and shipping go to the charity of the month, Epic Farms
Meghann

December Contest Announcement!

What's your favorite part of this time of year?
Visiting family? Driving around to see Christmas lights? Turkey? Presents? Aunt Mabel's inability to sing carols in tune, making your brother shoot milk out his nose (ok it's early right now and I'm not fully awake yet).
Your answer could win 3 different sets of 4 photo cards, just in time for sending out those thank you's after Christmas and New Year's!
I hope you like them!
Don't forget to check out the SUPER BOGO 50% off sale to get lots of affordable gifts for your friends, family, neighbors and coworkers. At these prices, you'll be surprised at how much quality gift-giving you'll be able to do!
Also check out our charity of the month, Epic Farms and see what great things they are doing for horses in need (I always have a soft spot for my 'neigh'-bors!)
Have a great day!
Meghann

It Keeps Getting Better!

WOO! I have decided to increase my gifts to you, my friends, by upping the ante on this phenomenal sale in my Little Studio Photography and Jewellery Etsy Store!

Starting right now, buy one item, get a second item of equal or lesser value for 50%off!!!

This cannot be combined with another offer (previous specials, sale items or custom items). If you have any questions, please let me know!
Enjoy ;-)
Meghann

More Sale Promotions!

~A Beautiful, One of a Kind Lampwork Glass and Copper Wire Ring~

Well we are 2 days into our mega (Meghann?) sale and I thought I would also do some other secret, blog-only discounts!
Here it goes:
When you purchase your BOGO 25% off items, get a ring (ANY ring) as a third item for an extra $2 off! For three items, we are talking some BIG, Beautiful discounts, and it is only available to people who read this blog! Enter "BLOG SALE" in the notes to seller during checkout and I'll refund your additional discount!
Any questions? Let me know!
Don't forget to enter the blog contest for November to try and win a beautiful ring!
Meghann

SALE SALE SALE EVERYTHING MUST GO!!

Just in time for the gift-giving season (and perfect for those trying to save a bit of money in these tighter financial times), I am trying to make room for my new creations, which means......

A HUGE SALE!!! Buy anything from my Little Studio Photography and Jewellery Etsy store and get a second item for 25% off!

Hurry - once these beautiful pieces are gone, that is it!

The nitty-gritty:
Second item must be of equal or lesser value. This is not available on custom orders at this time, and cannot be combined with another offer. The discount does not apply to shipping or taxes (if applicable). I will refund the difference after payment has been received. Shipping times may be slightly delayed due to higher sales volumes.
Don't forget to enter the contest of the month here on this blog.
Enjoy!!
Meghann

~Enter the November Contest and You Could Win This Ring!~

Our November Contest is appropriate, I think, given the current financial situations of most of us: by replying to this post, let me know how, in light of the current economy, you will be doing your holiday shopping this year. Are you scaling back a lot? Using credit cards? Making gifts yourself? Purchasing more carefully? Setting Spending limits? How? By replying, you will be automatically entered to win Celtic Style Sterling Silver and Czech Glass Spiral Ring, shown above. One reply per person please. One name will be randomly drawn on December 1, and I will contact the winner, as well as posting the winner on the blog here on that day. The winner will have 2 weeks to contact me and give me their address so I can ship them their earrings. If they don't contact me in the two weeks, I will choose another, random name and they will have 2 weeks, etc. Good luck and keep checking back for exclusive discounts available only to people who read this blog!!
Keep checking my Etsy store for more new items listed every day, and remember - I love to do custom orders :)
Get responding!
Meghann