Holiday Giveaway!

It's that time again...for twinkle lights and garlands, candy canes and iced cookies, window shopping and wrapping presents, and that unmistakable woodsy Christmas tree scent filling every home.

It's also the season of giving, of course, and some of my fellow Etsy gals and I thought it would be a great idea to do a holiday giveaway full of cute things to fill stockings, trim trees, and pass the joy of the season on to others. That's what it's all about, right?

The loot:

1. Felt ornament from My Hideaway 

2. Burlap Santa gift bag from Oh Nostalgia Designs 

3. Pencil set and 3 Christmas gift cards from Row House 14 

4. Your choice of woodcut ornament from Memories for Life 

5. 3" heart hoop/ornament from Milo and Molly 

6. Christmas keychain pouch from Eyelah

Simply enter through Rafflecopter- one winner takes all! Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway!

I've just added this set of postcards to my Etsy shop, and I thought it would be nice to do a giveaway! (I'm eventually going to add more postcards, prints, illustrations, and paintings to my shop, but I probably won't have time to list many until after the holiday rush is over.) In the meantime, I'm starting off with some colorful houses and balloons, things surely to brighten anyone's mailbox.

The set comes with four envelopes, but you could easily frame the postcards and keep them yourself. :) I'm also going to include this cute star ornament!

To enter, just leave me a comment telling me the last thing that made you laugh. Or smile. Or feel like dancing. Or whatever you want. Just leave a comment. :D

For bonus entries:
-follow me on bloglovin
-tweet about the giveaway
(Leave a separate comment for each entry.)

Open to anyone on the planet. The giveaway will be open for one week; I'll pick the number by random generator and announce next Wednesday. Good luck!

Scenes from Life + Giveaway Winner

Last Sunday, we went for a walk along the canal in DC. The sun was just beginning to set, and the air was warm. A few pink trees popped up here and there among mostly bare branches. Believe it or not, as we drove here, we glimpsed a family of deer eating grass or plants by the side of the road; I'm pretty sure that was my first time ever seeing wild deer...and in the city no less! We also saw really cute ducks (all traveling in pairs), an old railroad bridge, and a lockhouse. Did you know that you can actually stay in some of the old lockhouses along the canal? A couple of them have been renovated to have modern conveniences. Others don't have heat, electricity, or running water, and are pretty much the way they were built.

And now for the winner of the doxie giveaway...

It's Franca! I'll contact you soon to get your address. :)

Hope everyone is having a great weekend. xo, Mary

P.S. You can get free shipping in my print shop through tomorrow night at 12 am PST.

Giveaway!

You see that little dachshund brooch? He's really cute, right? Well, he was destined for my Etsy shop a week or so ago when tragedy struck. I had just finished making him and picked him up to walk across the room to get something and proceeded to drop him! No, not on the table or the floor, which wouldn't exactly be a tragedy seeing as he's not real. I did, however, drop him right into my coffee cup. Yep, I have really good aim!

Needless to say, I immediately gave him a bath. And while I don't recommend dunking my felt pieces in coffee and then soaking in soapy water, he seems to be just fine. I took these photos after the accident, and you can see he's still in one piece and pretty cute.

But seeing as he's been through a lot already, I don't feel right about listing him in my Etsy shop. I only list things that are perfect (or as perfect as I can make them). I had planned on just keeping him for myself, but I thought maybe it would be a fun giveaway?

I'm also going to include this little butterfly brooch. No accidents have befallen this pretty lady, but I realized the listing expired some time ago and I forgot to renew it...so might as well give it away too!

I'm also in the midst of a studio clean-out and trying to make room for new stuff, so I'll probably throw in a few more fun things as well.

Just leave a comment if you'd like to win. Open to anyone, worldwide. I'll announce the winner next Saturday.

***Giveaway Closed*** Thanks to everyone who entered! :)

Free Printable Holiday Cards

I was working on a hand-lettered holiday card recently, and it didn't turn out exactly as planned (mostly because I was using a heavily textured paper). This one:

Rather than scrap the whole thing, I thought I'd add a fun background and make a couple of free printable holiday cards for you to download. They aren't perfect, but if you find yourself writing the last card in the box and realize you still have several more people on your list, pop some nice paper in your printer and there you go!

Red Holiday Card

Green Holiday Card

These are pdfs sized at 8.5" x 11", but if your paper is smaller, you can always check the box in your settings marked "shrink to fit" or "fit to printer margins." This is the first time I've uploaded pdfs to Google Docs, so if it doesn't work, please let me know!

Giveaway!!! #4

I'm getting to be a pro at these giveaways! Haha. Anyway, today I have a really BIG giveaway: a Tiffany & Co signature crystal box. It was given to me as a gift, and I never even took it out of the box (except to take these photos of course). I decided this box is far too pretty to be left alone in a closet somewhere and neglected. It should go to the home of someone who will properly appreciate it and use it to hold jewelry or other pretty things!

To enter:
-follow my blog (if you already follow, tell me which reader you use);
-and tell me what's the nicest gift you've ever received?

Optional entries (leave a separate comment for each one):
-tweet this giveaway (please tell me your twitter name)
-mention this giveaway on your blog
-follow me on twitter
-follow me on bloglovin
-follow me on pinterest

*Open to US residents only (sorry international folks; I'll include you in one soon).

The winner will be announced next Thursday, June 30.

Giveaway!!! #3

I know there must be some Harry Potter fans out there who are as excited as I am for the final film to come out in less than one month!! To celebrate, I've got a giveaway for you: a Hogwarts tapestry-style pillow and Conversations with J. K. Rowling, which is a biography/interview of sorts.

I know some fans are equal parts excited and sad for the series to finally end - all the better to have a pillow to cushion the blow while you flail around sobbing. ;)

My brother has just started reading the books to my niece and nephew, and it's cool to see a whole new generation discovering the world of Hogwarts. Incidentally, my niece is not happy that Hermione has chosen Ron as her love interest, though, and said, "Hermione should like Harry, and they should get married." I'm not one to argue with her! All this to say that you can always win the giveaway for a friend or family member if it's not your thing (although how could it not be??? :D).

To enter:
-follow my blog (if you already follow, tell me which reader you use);
-and tell me your favorite character in Harry Potter.

Optional entries (leave a separate comment for each one):
-tweet this giveaway (please tell me your twitter name)
-mention this giveaway on your blog
-follow me on twitter
-follow me on bloglovin
-follow me on pinterest

*Open to US residents only (sorry international folks; I'll include you in one soon).

The winner will be announced next Wednesday, June 29.

Giveaway!!! #2

Today's giveaway is for the art lovers! (To enter yesterday's giveaway, click here).

Included in this lovely giveaway are:
-two postcards from Ashley G;
-a sheet of hand-drawn stickers by Tali from Tush Tush and TOSYA;
-a Keith Haring flip book that's really cute;
-and a poster of Alfred Stieglitz's photograph, Spring Showers, from The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

To enter:
-follow my blog (if you already follow, tell me which reader you use);
-and tell me your favorite artist(s).

Optional entries (leave a separate comment for each one):
-tweet this giveaway (please tell me your twitter name)
-mention this giveaway on your blog
-follow me on twitter
-follow me on bloglovin
-follow me on pinterest

*Open to US residents only (sorry international folks; I'll include you in one soon).

The winner will be announced next Tuesday, June 28.

Check back tomorrow for more giveaway goodies!!!

Giveaway!!! #1

Today, I'm excited to share the first of several giveaways going on this week. We're starting off with some cute accessories for summer.

Included in this fabulous giveaway are:
-a Beatrix bunny pin from My Hideaway;
-a papillon (butterfly) pin from My Hideaway;
-a sparkly headband from ModCloth;
-and a vintage-inspired cocktail ring from Forever 21.

To enter:
-follow my blog (if you already follow, tell me which reader you use);
-and tell me your favorite place to shop for accessories.

Optional entries (leave a separate comment for each one):
-tweet this giveaway (please tell me your twitter name)
-mention this giveaway on your blog
-follow me on twitter
-follow me on bloglovin
-follow me on pinterest

*Open to US residents only (sorry international folks; I'll include you in one soon).

The winner will be announced next Monday, June 27.

Check back tomorrow for more giveaway goodies!!!

Giveaway Week!

(Source: Mike Hiatt)

Just wanted to let everyone know that I've planned several giveaways (at least three) for next week. The fun will start on Monday! (And my giveaways will be a lot more awesome than smells, I promise.) Hope everyone's enjoying their Saturdays!