Monday, March 29, 2010

Planning a giveaway...

Hey there!

Yes, I'm fully aware there haven't been Sunday Shots for two Sundays now... first time it was my fault, and this week it's Gaurav the one that hasn't managed to take a shot he likes, but he really has a very good excuse, cause he's been horribly busy at work!

I just wanted to five a lil update to say that I've decided that at 86 followers, I'll be doing a giveaway by the time I reach 100 followers!!

And since I'm a bookworm and a handmade lover, the prize will be reflecting what I am! ;)

No more hits for now, but keep an eye on my follower count! ;)

Oh and btw, since I've got my awesome lens cozies by MsChrista, expect a blog entry about them soon!

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Wining a Giveaway: Quiltish!

Once again, my best intentions have been pushed back by either lack of time or lack of motivation, and I haven't been updating the blog as often as I should, but here I am again!


Quite a while ago, in January, I entered a giveaway that Allisa from Quiltish started on her blog, a Thankful giveaway. She was giving away a lovely zipper pouch to say thank you to all her blog readers, buyers, supporters and friends.




And I was so very lucky as to win it! It also arrived very fast, and I loved it to bits when it arrived!






I've been wondering for a while if I should give it as a present, or just keep it for myself, and I haven't been able to part with it!


If you'd like to get a lovely zipper pouch like this, do visit her Etsy shop!

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Handmade with love by Lauren!

Hello there!


Thursday here, and I'm already back at work at the hospital, and so far things are not too bad, hopefully they'll stay like this through the next 4 days on a row that I'm working!


I've been meaning to write this blog entry all week, but I've been quite caught up reading M. Hercule Poirot's short stories, so today, I've decided that before going back to my book, I need to update the blog!


Today I'm not writing about some amazing piece that I've bought (Etsy or otherwise) but about an amazing handmade gift that my very good friend Lauren made for me!


Lauren is a very crafty lady that can sew, knit and crochet, and I'm pretty envious of her craftiness! She's also quite an artist, and made a wonderful pencil drawing of Gaurav & me together (we really can't wait till we have a place of our own to hang it, next to Sheika's super cute drawing of us too!). She's always working on some project or order, maybe a new skirt for herself, a new style of book cover for herself or friends...


Her latest project and gift for both Gaurav & me, were a pair of super nice CD cases! I completely forgot to take a shot of Gaurav's before I left India, but I had a lot of fun the other day taking shots of mine!




Not only is super well made, clearly with loads of love! But also, Lauren used an oriental fabric I've been in love with for ages!




I love the fact that she decided to use velcro for the closure, since it's easier to open and close that way and it doesn't look bulky at all from the outside.






Inside the CD cases there were also 2 CD's, one of them was The Corrs' latest compilation (yes, I'm a metalhead with a love for Hello Kitty AND The Corrs... I'm odd, I know!) and also David Garret's Virtuoso, with many well know songs (classics and modern ones) in instrumental versions with his violin as the main performer, amazing CD I've fallen in love with!




All in all, it's a wonderful, very thoughtful and made with love, gift, and I want to thank my dear Lauren for it! (And also try to convince her to start working on a line for a future Etsy shop!).

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Sunday Shots: Week 48

We are back on schedule, and this week's shots are up on Sunday!


Let's hope we can keep it up till week 52! Just 4 more weeks left!


Without trying to set up a common theme, we ended up with the same theme for our shots: our love for reading and our love for Agatha Christie!





Hopefully, I'll manage to keep updating the blog regularly!

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Biting Gnome Snail Mail aka Karyl's Cards!!

Happy Saturday everyone!


How's your weekend going? Mine is not going too bad, I have finally finished the unpacking and my suitcase is already stored back, till next time.


Today I've updated also the Two Girls And A Bar of Soap blog with our very shiny and new blog button, feel free to grab it here!


And to continue on keeping myself busy I've been taking and editing a few shots for this blog entry, about the amazing Karyl from Biting Gnome Baubles and her fantastic handmade cards!


I discovered her amazing cards when I got one with my order from Absidy Jewellery and I fell in love with it!




So I checked her shop, but there weren't any more available, so I have been keeping an eye open for some new cards. And last month she listed some gorgeous Alice cards, with the original Tenniel illustrations and I knew I had to get me some!





I got me two sets of 10 cards each, one set in red with Alice and the cards and the other in purple with Alice opening the door to the garden!





After these two more classical sets, she has also worked on more sets, this time based in some amazing movies! Sleepy Hollow, Nine, True Blood, etc... I got me two more sets, a Nightmare Before Christmas one and a set with images from the newest Alice In Wonderland movie!


The Nightmare Before Christmas set is absolutely perfect for Hallowe'en cards, and I will be sending them this year, if I can manage to part with them!





The Alice In Wonderland set is amazing, and I will be using it probably for b-day cards or any other sort of greeting cards, again if I can manage to part with them! They're just too cute!





And if these brilliant cards weren't enough, Karyl also makes amazing polymer jewellery! From pendants to necklaces to pins and accessory clips! I own a few pieces and love them to bits, but they'll be featured in another blog entry!

Need more reasons to check her shop? What about the amazing samples of soap you always get? OR the fact that she's offering a FREE SHIPPING sale right now AND that every purchase in her shops enters a drawing where you can win a sock monster and a $30 gift certificate? Awesome reasons, I know!

Friday, March 12, 2010

Lens cozy by MsChrista!

Hullo there!


I'm back in Spain, after the usual long transcontinental flight, and the not so unusual running around airports (this time it was the Charles de Gaulle airport, really nice looking airport, of what I managed to see while running around it!).


I've decided to have a nice cappuccino made with my beloved Dolce Gusto and keep myself as busy as possible, so I don't feel too crappy now, missing the bf.


Today, I want to talk about Christa, the wonderful lady behind MsChrista's Rockin' Accessories. She not only make some stunning hair flowers and hair accessories, but she also makes some great bags and can even get out of her comfort zone and make awesome coffee cozies as she did before for me, and her latest success: a lens cozy!




I have been looking for lens cozies on Etsy since I got my beloved Olympus E-620 with its two kit lenses, and even more since I got my 50mm f2 macro lens, but none of the ones I've found seemed the right size or I simply didn't like the style, so I decided to ask on my twitter feed who was interested in trying their hand at it? And Christa offered her sewing skills to the challenge!




I provided the measurements for my 14-42mm kit lens, but somehow I managed to get them wrong, cause once I got the cozy, it was a wee bit small. My failure on measuring properly resulted on a strike of luck for Gaurav, cause he had bought an old used lens on eBay (fantastic lens by the way) and the cozy did fit it perfectly! And since the fabric was oriental but with dragons and the like, it was deemed manly enough to be added to the bf's stock!


The best thing that makes this lens cozy different from all the others is mainly the zipper closure, instead of the usual drawstring closure. It feels more secure in a way, and more easy access to the lens than having to grasp for it inside the cozy.




Other nice feature of this cozy is the fact that is lined in felt fabric for extra padding, but it's also a fabric that doesn't attract too many fibers, which is very good for storing lenses.


I'm actually thinking of asking Christa to make a few more cozies for my lenses, and this time I will be sure to take the proper measurements!!


And don't forget to check Christa's Etsy shop for amazing hair accessories!!

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Sunday Shots: Week 44, 45, 46 and 47!

Hello?! *hears echo*


Yes, yes, I'm well aware the blog has been VERY much abandoned for the past few weeks, but I was really busy and distracted with work and the preparations for the trip to India, and later on, I was too busy relaxing and enjoying my trip to update the blog BUT, finally, the time has arrived, and I present you with not one nor two but FOUR pictures of the week!


Week 44:

Gaurav's shot with him & Max waiting for me to arrive with my RockerByeBaby blankie!




My own shot en route to India!



Week 45:

Gaurav's shot was the marker for a panoramic shot of the hotel's pool during our short vacation in Goa.



Mine was taken in Delhi before leaving for Goa




Week 46:

Both mine and Gaurav's shots were taken while playing around the hotel in Goa, in one of the various courtyards.






Week 47:

A common shot for the both of us taken in the hotel's lift.




Hopefully, Sunday Shots and the blog will get onto a more regular schedule from now on... but who knows? I can only promise to try my best, though as Yoda would say: "Do, or do not, there is no try!"