Simply Saturday and October Giveaway

I am bone tired today! The hubby and I have both been fighting off colds all week and I think it's really taking it's toll on us. Neither of us has had the energy to do much tidying and the kitchen looks as if a tornado hit it. On top of that, I was painting in my jammies the other day and ran downstairs to grab some supplies out of a bag I had left sitting in the front hall. Of course, the postman picked that moment to arrive...as I was bent over in my paint spattered jammies with the hole in the tush. Yeah, I'm that classy. I was horrified and hope that he just put the post through the door without peeking in! LOL Oh well, I was overdue for an embarrassing moment.

Just a reminder, my giveaway for an original painting is still open for entries for a few morew weeks. Visit the original post to find out how to enter the prize draw for a chance to win the 5 x 7 inch painting on canvas shown below.

Fresh of the Easel Friday...well, the Art Table Anyway!

This is my 100th post. Woohoo! As a celebration, I'll send one of my bookmarks to the 1st person who comments on it!

As you know, I am quite busy with commissions in the last few weeks, so I don't have any new paintings to show. I don't intend to share the commissioned pieces publicly until after they are with their new owners, however, I won't leave you hanging!

I love doing commissions, but I also often find it necessary to take quick breaks from them to keep my creativity flowing. I think it's because with commissioned pieces, there is pressure to blend someone else's ideas in with your own. If I find my creativity blocked, I simply stop and work on something that it doesn't matter what the final result is. I can experiment, get it out of my system, then get back to the commission with my whole heart.

This week I experimented with these bangle bracelets and am so thrilled with how they turned out! The material I used to create the form of the bangle is recycled. Can you guess what it is? I'll also send a bookmark to the first person who guesses (or the person who gets the closest if nobody gets it exactly), so you could potentially get 2 bookmarks!

Solve it Sunday and October Giveaway

Every month I do a prize draw and this month, I am GIVING away this 5 x 7 inch ORIGINAL painting! This giveaway is open worldwide and you have until 9PM GMT on 10/31/09 to enter.
The winner will be selected at random and will have 72 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. I will announce the winner on my blog, but if you would like to make sure you don’t miss out, leave a valid email address in your post and I will notify you personally as well. Thanks for entering and good luck!

Required for Entry: Visit my Etsy shop then leave a comment here, telling me what your favorite piece is.

Extra Entries: It’s easy to get extra entries (see below), but please make sure you do the required entry first, as well as leave a separate comment for each entry.

• Suggest a name for this painting (1 extra entry)
• Follow my blog publicly (1 extra entry)
• Become a fan of JolieArt on Facebook and leave your FB name here (1 extra entry)
• Add JolieArt to your Etsy favorites and leave your username here (1 extra entry)
• Start a thread in the Etsy Promotions forum about my giveaway and link back to this post. Leave the link to the forum post here. (1 extra entry)
• Subscribe to my blog feed via email and leave your email address here (1 extra entry) .
• Blog about this giveaway and link back to it. Leave the link to your blog post here, so I know where to find it. (1 extra entry)
• Make a purchase at JolieArt and leave your username here (5 extra entries)
• Refer a friend from Facebook, MySpace, Bebo or anywhere else and ask them to leave your name in their comment. (1 entry for your friend, plus an extra entry for you!)
• Mention this giveaway in your Youtube video and tell me where to find it. (1 extra entry)
• Follow JolieArt on Twitter and tweet this message "RT@JolieArt giveaway. WIN her gorgeous original painting! Details here: http://bit.ly/i3gCz". Please leave a link to your tweet in your comment. (you can tweet this up to once per day and get 1 extra entry each time!)
  

Here she is for a bit of Solve it Sunday puzzle fun!

Simply Saturday - And the winner is...

Since it's the first time I have opened my monthly prize draw to online fans, I thought I would make a video to announce the winner. Boy, it's not as easy as some people make it look! It took me 32, yup, that's right, 32 tries to get it right. Even on take 32 there were still a few ums and pauses and I would have preferred not to have the sleeve of my very ugly pink painting sweatshirt show up at one point in the video, but I don't think I could do another take! It has already taken me over an hour and a half to record a two minute video. LOL

And the winner is...


I'll post the official entry guidelines to October's prize draw on tomorrow's post, so be sure to come back and check it out!

Simply Saturday

While checking the BBC One website tonight for information on the season premeire of 'Merlin', my husband discovered 'Waking the Dead', a show similar to 'Cold Case' in that it is about a team that investigates old, unsolved cases. I don't know how we missed it until now, as the show is actually in its 8th season.

You can watch many of BBC One's shows on their website for a few weeks after they air, so we thought, 'What the heck...we'll see if it's any good.' British TV tends to be a bit slower paced and less glamorous that American shows, and 'Waking the Dead' seems to be no exception. As an American, it's a bit of an adjustment for me, so I was surprised to enjoy it. As a matter of fact, because the show doesn't rely on gorgeous characters, special effects and a big soundtrack, it really has to be all about the storyline and the acting. There was a character that creeped me out beyond belief and I actually cried while the victim in this episode was describing her experience. I was just so engrossed in the story! I'm not sure if it's available in all countries, but if you can access the show, I definitely recommend watching it.

By the way, don't forget that I will be drawing a winner for my giveaway next Saturday, September 26th. If you haven't entered for your chance to win this original painting, be sure to get your name in for a chance to win! Have a look at the original post for details.

Art Market Monday/Giveaway Update

Kerry from County Antrim was the August giveaway winner. She stopped by The Artisan Market on Sunday to pick up her prize, which was her choice of one of my hand embellished prints. It's a bit hard to see the picture clearly, as the camera picked up glare from the packaging, but she chose Sophie, one of my favorite girls! Don't forget to enter for your chance to win in September! (See last Saturday's post for details.)

If you would like to see or purchase my work from the Montmarte Gallery, my work is now up on their website. Happy days!

As normal, I will be at Sugahfix's Artisan Market at THE OUTLET in Banbride on Sunday from 1-6PM. However, we are moving! From this coming Sunday, you will find us in unit 63, which is closer to the middle of the mall.

This week on Etsy, I will continue to list the new 5 x 7 inch paintings that I have been posting here on my blog, as well as a variety of prints. I was going to list some rings and pendants tonight, but all of my pictures turned out horrible! I should have known better than to try taking them without natural light. They are on special offer this week, so I'll definitely get them up tomorrow.

My SPECIAL OFFER this week is BUY ONE ring or pendant and get HALF OFF another. Special offers are available at both The Artisan Market and on Etsy.

Simply Saturday: It's Giveaway Time!

As I mentioned earlier in the week, I do a monthly giveaway for my offline customers and mailing list. I am now extending the opportunity to enter the monthly giveaway to my online customers and readers. The drawing takes place on the last Saturday of every month and the winner will be announced here on my blog. On that same Saturday, I will also announce what the next prize will be. To kick off my changes, I am giving away this ORIGINAL 5 x 7 inch painting on canvas on September 26th!


Entering is simple. For each of the things you do below, you get your name put in to the draw. The more you do, the more chances you get to win!

• Follow my blog and leave a comment on this post.
• Become a fan of my Facebook page (www.facebook.com/jolieart or see the link in the sidebar)
• Refer a friend to my Facebook page (make sure they tell me who sent them)
• Write about my giveaway and link to this post on your blog, Twitter, Myspace or whatever! (Be sure to let me know where you have posted)
• Start a thread in the Etsy Promotions forum about my giveaway and link to this post.
  
• Mention my giveaway in your Youtube video. (and tell me where to find it)
• Purchase a piece of my art. (this will get your name in 5 times!)

Don't forget to link back to everywhere that you have posted about my giveaway, so that I can find it. Good luck, everyone!

and the July Winner is...

Kathleen from Banbridge, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Kathleen entered my monthly giveaway when she visited my stand at The Artisan Market at THE OUTLET in Banbridge. The prize was her choice of a matted, hand embellished canvas print. Kathleen selected "Pansy", which just happens to be one of my favorites! I will soon be opening my monthly giveaways to online entries. Keep checking back for details!