Michelle Alynn Clement - Scissor Quirk.

Lovely Housewife (Giveaway!)

*This post is stuck to the top of the blog, for now - please scroll down for regularly scheduled programming!* :)

I've been a fan of Mandi's for a long, long while - (I know she inspires you guys, too!! Paper-wise, design-wise and fashion-wise...) so I'm totally psyched to have a rad giveaway sponsored by her lovely self over here at Scissor Quirk!

She's been so kind as to offer one of her great "Housewife" paper kits up to one lucky blog reader! (Yay!!) First, a little more about the girl behind the amazingly inspiring designs:

What's your name? Amanda Johnson

Where can we find you? http://candimandi.typepad.com and @candimandi on twitter

What are your most favorite things to do? I love being crafty (scrapbooking!) and thrifty (vintage shopping!), and of course hanging out with friends.  An old movie and bowl of popcorn always make for a fun time as well!

Favorite Tune: Horchata by Vampire Weekend.  It's like an instant vacation.

Favorite Something: sheepskin throws.  I want them everywhere in my home this winter! (http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/83235110)

(photo source)

What was your design inspiration for the scrapbook kit? I was definitely overwhelmingly inspired by vintage fashion, mainly vintage textiles.  I love finding old feedsacks and dresses made from old feedsacks.  The patterns are so bold, yet simple.  A perfect ingredient to scrapbooking, if you ask me!

What's your favorite item in the kit? Well, I made the wooden mini albums by hand.  A lot of labor and love was involved, so it would stand to reason that they are my favorite part!

Here is a photo of the albums mid-production:

And here's a little more about the fabulousness you could win:

The Housewife Paper Kit includes:

• 1 6x6 wooden mini album cover with book rings
• An assortment of buttons (button type will vary slightly)
• 1 vintage magazine page (each kit will have a unique page)
• 1 vintage beauty label (labels will vary)
• 2 pieces of vintage fabric (one piece 8"x8" and another approximately 7"x7")
• 1 pack of The Housewife paper collection (includes 10 12"x12" heavyweight pattern papers)
• 2 pieces of kraft cardstock
• 12" of white eyelet lace (style will vary) 
• 1 yard of white and red baker's twine.
• 1 yard of white and black baker's twine

To see the paper designs and find out more info, go to here (http://candimandi.typepad.com/half_caf/)

So all you lucky-ducks have to do to win this totally rad paper kit is hop on over to Mandi's blog right here and say hello (make sure you check out her awesome house tour while you're there!) and then leave a comment here on this post, too! Easy peasy, right?

The winner will be chosen randomly on Dec. 18th, so you have until midnight (PST) on the 18th to enter! :) Good luck!

So this is Christmas...

It's a Bubbly Shnooks kinda Christmas, now that all the goodies are up in the shop! :)

Today is the last day to purchase Christmas goodies, so please take a peep if there's anything you need & scoop it up! I'm going out of town for 3 weeks starting Wednesday, so tomorrow is the last day to have goodies shipped! :)

Printable Christmas cards will be available until Dec. 20th, though - for the last-minute shoppers - and the shop will reopen on Jan. 5th, when I'm back from my Christmas holidays!

Here's a peek at some of the new goodies:

"Joyful Critters" stickers, paper tags, and paper strips (these guys are soooo cute!!)

Cute "Scribbled Ornament" stickers (in various fun colors!):

And, of course, some cute holiday cards (a few different illustrated designs, most are available as printables, too!)

Thanks for peeking! :) I've been having fun cutting, folding, & addressing my own Christmas cards this morning (running a little late, as usual...lol), and I'm binding some Christmas presents this afternoon.

I have soooo much stuff to do, but it's mostly all creative & super-fun - so at least the few days I have to finish everything before the holidays will be rad and crafty! :)

How are you doing on your holiday stuff? Almost done? Just starting, like me? :)

Happy day!

Back! & the Winner(s)

Well, hello blog world!

We're back safe and sound from Mexico! :) We got back Thursday night after many planes and a lovely week of sun-soaking, fruit-drink drinking, sight-seeing, and a whole lot of beach-side naps. So rad. So relaxing and much-needed.

I'm just going through the photos now (oh. my. god. we took a ton!) and will share them soon - I'm messing with my computer and reinstalling Photoshop and such today, so I can't edit them just yet!

And without further ado, the winners of the Purple Onion Stamps arrrre: Sara Berry & Kim Sonksen!!

Congrads, girls! Please e-mail me your addresses and all that fun stuff, and I'll get the lil guys off in the mail to you both! :)

Okay. Back to work for me! I have a ton of stuff to get done before we jet out of here for the East Coast/Christmas!! Happy weekend, guys!

Whew!

Annnnnd....they're off! Bout to hop in a cab and then a plane all the way to Mexico! :) I had so much I planned on sharing here before I left, but it's been nuts around here, thus this quick little post!!

There is new Christmas stuff in the shop, which will stay open this week while I'm gone, cuz the last day to order for December is Dec. 14th! (I'll try to restock the shop during the week, but I may not have net access).  I'll be adding a few more items on Dec. 11th, once home, too!

Go see what's new, to keep you occupied while I'm gone!

And don't forget to enter for a chance to win my Purple Onion stamps, too! There's still a week to enter! :) Yay!

Be back on Thursday the 10th - a whole blissful week from now! :) Ahhh...

Later, gators!

Christmas is coming...

Aha! Christmas is starting to arrive at Bubbly Shnooks!

Brand new "Mr. Moustache" ornament/wall decor, a la the little Handmade Etsy bumper video I made (I drew one to decorate her wall...he he. I totally wanted my own!). How cute would they be on a tree?? (It's been brought to my attention that he totally looks like Mr. Pringle...hah. And he does, but waaaay unintentionally!)

And Christmas "Joyful Critters" stickers are up - in multiple forms. (You can get them colored and cut, as usual, but they're also available clear, cut-your-own/smaller, or printable!)

Anyhoo, there's waaaay more stuff (including cards and that illustrated kids' book!!) coming tomorrow - I lost my photo-taking light today...lol. It gets dark so dang early!!

These last few days I've been crazy juggling tons of stuff to do/barely any sleep trying to get all the things/jobs I need to get done done before we head to Mexico...it's crazy! I haven't felt this busy in a long time! Tonight I need to illustrate a book, among other things, though - so it's a fun kind of crazy-busy + artistic work. :) A good challenge. The break will just feel that much better, too!

More soon! And don't forget to enter the Purple Onion giveaway, above! 

(And, if you noticed "Tunes Tuesday" has been MIA, it's coming back - I'll keep it a one-Tuesday-in-a-while thing, simply because I can't stick to something every week, it seems. lol...)

Work in Progress.

I'm trying so very badly to get back in the habit taking pictures of what I'm working on nearly everyday. :) It's almost the new year, you know, and I'm sure that will be one of my resolutions! :) lol...

I'm crazy busy today, trying to finish Christmas designs and dying book covers (which is taking waaaay longer than I thought!) - the shop update was supposed to be today (sorry if you're waiting for it!), but I was so wiped out last night I had to take a break and read a little and embroidered a little and sleep for more than 4 hours, for once. lol...

Anyhoo - I'll be uploading the new goodies to Bubbly Shnooks tomorrow afternoon - so excited! :)

Til then, a peek at some things that'll be in the update - still work-in-progresses as of now:

(a peek at the illustrated book is behind the will-be-ornaments moustache dudes...)

More soon! :)

Want some cute stamps?

(This post is stuck to the top of the blog until the giveaway is over - scroll down for some newer updates, if you're looking for them!)

Happy Sunday! :)

Here I am, taking a little break from designing Christmas goodies - thinking it's been aaaaggges since I had a giveaway, over here, so I thought I'd stop in and see if your bellies are full from Thanksgiving still (my American friends) and you've had a happy weekend of fun, family, and good food? :)

If you're not all thanksgiving-ed out, and you took lotsa pictures over the holiday weekend that you're jonesing to scrapbook - or, heck - you just think my drawings are cute and you want them in stamp-form, here's your chance to win em!

I designed these Thanksgiving stamps (scroll down!) for Purple Onion Designs & thanks to the lovely Michele over at POD, I have a set to give away! Yay! :)

All you have to do is leave a comment to be entered into the draw!

(If you want to enter more than once to up your chances of winning, you can blog/mention or tweet this giveaway - just leave another comment with the link to your blog post/mention, or tweet it @michellealynn). Make sure you leave your full name and e-mail address, too! :)

There will be two winners (randomly chosen) - each person will get about 7-8 unmounted, unused rubber stamps (which rock, and are sooo easy to mount!)  - either the Pilgrims + Thanksgiving feast, or Indians + Teepee, and some of the other little stamps.

The draw will be open for entries until Dec. 10th @ midnight, PST. :)

Good luck! :)

Pirate Betty's Here!

*EDITED: The Shop Christmas update will now be happening on Tuesday, Dec. 1, now. (I need a break! Thanks for being patient! :)...)

Hi, guys. :)

I'm so, so, sooooo psyched to have a new friend up in the shop: Pirate Betty! Remember those peeks I showed you the other day? Welp - the limited edition print sets are done and listed in the shop!! Eeek!

They're my most favorite product yet. Serious. 

It was sooo fun to make these prints, I gotta explain how: the 'pirate text' was Letterpress printed, and I hand-set all of the letters my very own self. :) I illustrated the black words, and all the layers of 'pirate betty's print, and then carved them out of lino and printed them through the same big Letterpress printers - lining up the layers of color and registering everything so it was just in the right spot as I went along with each print. 

As I mentioned before, I had Pirate Betty in my sketchbook for ages, and I really really needed some cool pirate art for the wall in my soon-to-be-pirate kitchen, so that was my motivation. When setting type, I had to make more than one print, cuz it took so dang long to set the type...lol. Thus, there are sets for sale. Yay!! Hopefully for your pirate kitchen?

They're available in sets of 2 right here in the shop, and there's an option to have me dye the edges of them like an old map, too. :) (There's even a couple of cheaper 'woops' prints in the sale section!) And there are only 16 sets available, ever. So hurry!!

Perfect for your pirate-lovers Christmas present, no? Speaking of Christmas - I have Christmas goodies (cards, paper tags, and stickers) coming on Monday Nov. 30th to Bubbly Shnooks. 

Everything Christmas will be listed for sale then - paper tags, stickers, gift tags, cards (both paper and digital files), an embroidery pattern, and a limited edition special illustrated book release - yay!

In honor of my crazy late Christmas release, I'll be having a shipping promotion, too: when you spend over $65 in the shop, I'll upgrade your regular shipping to express shipping for free (it'll save you a pretty penny, believe me - express shipping is crazy!! lol...), so you get everything in time for Christmas. :)

If you'd like to 'reserve' a Pirate Betty set for yourself until you see the Christmas goodies on Monday (to take advantage of the free express shipping sale), please e-mail me at michelle.a.clement@gmail.com. :)

And I forgot to mention we saw "New Moon" the other day (yay!), and I was super-excited to recognize the beaches they shot some scenes with Bella + Jacob - it's where we go every summer, on the West Cost of Vancouver island, close to Tofino. So funny to see it on film and know we've been there! lol...

And I'm totally on team Jacob after seeing it. lol...he made Edward look so very pale and un-ripped. Did you see it? What did you think? :)

Anyhoo - trying to book a Mexican holiday for silly hard-to-find dates, sitting amidst paper and scrapbook things, have to start animating my work for the day, and am wishing there was more time. lol...

Happy day!

Whew + A Deal For You.

Busy as a bee, I've been.

I have lots to say, and lots to photograph before I can blog most of those things to say (which I haven't done yet), so in the meantime, a fab deal  for my lucky readers from the lovely Jen Geigley's shop - if you're just starting the Christmas-goodie search, like I am, this might help you out and fill your hot little hands with knitted goodness!

Read on, friends, to learn a little bit more about an awesome crafty girl I hope you already know (and are inspired by) + save some bucks:

The Deal: Free shipping on all orders from Jen's awesome shop, HeyJenRenee (just put keyword "Scissor Quirk" in the buyers' comments when you check out!) :) from now through December!

You gotta go peek at her lovely cowls, knits, scarves, and rad paintings, too!!

And a little more about the girl behind the rad knits, herself:

What's your name?
Jen Geigley

Where can we find you?

blog - http://heyjenrenee.blogspot.com
twitter - http://twitter.com/heyjenrenee
etsy - http://heyjenrenee.etsy.com

What are your most favorite things to do?

I love knitting, scrapbooking, snowboarding, painting and going to concerts.

Favorite Tune:
I'm loving Coconut Records, Manchester Orchestra and the new Slayer album. But the song that's been stuck in my head daily is Dominos by The Big Pink.

Favorite Inspirational Something:

(Photo Source)

Oh my, I just die for chunky knits. I love them to bits!! :)

So, enjoy the deal. It'll be going on from now until the end of December, cuz Jen is soooo nice. :) Make sure you pop in and say hi to her, too!

More from me soon - I've had meetings + great coffee dates this week, I get to illustrate a little something something, I've been animating a little bit on a show from the Netherlands, and I'm drawing Christmas goodies today/tommorrow & trying to bind books. Also, a rad Thanksgiving giveaway is coming thissoon, so peek back! :) Happy day!

Oh, pirates!

I love em love em love em.

I've had this little character, Pirate Betty, in my sketchbook for aaaages, and finally during bookmaking class I illustrated her in a little book, and then the other week I carved a linocut of her in her pirate ship to print during my Letterpress class. :) Yay! I went to the last Letterpress class yesterday (sigh) - I wish it was waaaay longer, 4 Sundays is not enough!! Anyhoo, I went into 'production mode', my teacher said (lol), got all of the pirate prints done. My desk is seriously a pile of cute, bright, spread-out, drying prints:

(It's the most grey, grungy day out there to be taking pictures...ugh. Weird lighting. lol. And please scuse the grungy desk, under all those pirates...)

Anyhoo - I'm so excited about these print sets that I had to share a little peek!! :) I'll be putting the sets up in the shop by the end of this week - I just have to experiment with map-dying their edges and then photograph them all (and hang my own set up in my soon-to-be-pirate kitchen). There are a seriously small amount of these prints, so please check back if they strike your fancy/think they'd strike someone's fancy for Christmas!! We're talking, like, 20 sets total.  

And those white/beige card-looking things at the back are book covers - I'm excited to get those printed/bound and listed up this week!! Eeek! :) I wish I could stay home and handmake books all day, everyday! lol...they'd totally make a cute Christmas gift, too, and again - there will only be about 20 available.

Some business calls to make today, and then we're going off to see "New Moon" (hopefully on Monday afternoon there will be no crowd?) - then I get to stay up and draw Christmas shop stuff allll night. I'm psyched. :) Happy day, guys!

Vivaaaa Las Vegas + 2 Years.

Yay!! After a crazy week of work-work work (I don't think hubby's slept in a day and so, trying to finish work & I've been juggling animation, linocut homework/letterpress class plans, class, and waaaay too much other random stuff), I'm crazy excited to jet away for a few days.

Vegas, here we come!

1. Untitled, 2. SIN, 3. Las Vegas: 3rd Neon Study, 4. Welcome to Vegas!, 5. Untitled, 6. Untitled, 7. Untitled, 8. The Flame Steak House Neon Sign in Las Vegas, 9. Untitled

We leave tomorrow morning, bright and early, and are back on Thursday night - lotsa time to see the strip, visit Z's friend Aaron, catch a Cirque du soliel show, drink, gamble, etc. etc.

It'll be soooo rad to not work for a few days - we seriously need a break!

The rock show we went to on Friday night was rad, too - we were out til 4 am - the headlining band our friends' friends were in didn't even come on stage til 2!! lol...It was great, I haven't been to a club in a while, let alone a club featuring screaming metal - always great to hear live music, though!!

And I had a great day in Letterpress class allll day today - my hands are totally all stained with ink, as were my black jeans - I got a dollop of white on my new fave black skinnies (agh!) but got em right back by covering it up with black ink. Hah! Totall undetectable. I got lots printed, and am sooo excited to share them in the shop after next week's last class! (need to finish a few layers of ink on some prints, still...)

I was going to be good and plan some automated blogs throughout the week, but it's late & I'm tired and I still have to pack, clean, and do laundry around here...lol. So I have to say:

Happy 2-Year Anniversary, Mr. Husband! :)

I feel like we just got married yesterday! Yay! Also, I'm crazy happy we get to spend our Anniversary in a new city, our first time out of the country together, indulging in our traditional Anniversary just-dessert-and-yummy-drinks dinner and relaxing!! :)

Okay, with that - I gotta go pack. Be back here on Friday with stories, photos, and a picture of the new baby! (Our new camera baby, that is...yay!!). Will be updating the shop within a week of being home, too, if any of you are waiting for Christmas goodies - they're coming!! lol. happy week!