Third Saturday Giveaway

Saturday... Giveaway #3 10/30 - 11/13
CLOSED


Hello everyone! This is your last chance to get your entries in to take part in this adorable giveaway! Submit your entries below after reading more about what to do :) The winner will be announced tomorrow in my Sunday Coffee and Cake Post!



The Prize...






Woohoo! Here's to my THIRD giveaway that will end on NOVEMBER 13, and here is another handmade item from my store babamoon.etsy.com. I will custom make it to your liking in terms of size, color etc :) Note that this giveaway is for the HAT ONLY.






This hat is adorable and light to wear for your baby and has a large attached layered flower on the side!

It is crocheted with 100% acrylic yarn. If you dont wish for my to use this yarn then you can always tell me a color you'd prefer or a combination! You can check out my store to see lots of items using acrylics yarns or others!



HOW TO ENTER

The best way to maximise your chances of winning is to take advantage of the opportunity to submit multiple entries! Read on to see how this can be done.

This giveaway is international and will run from today until the 30th of this month. That's 2 weeks for your chance to enter! When the giveaway closes I will announce the winner in my Sunday Coffee and Cake post on the 31st of October.


Each entry will be counted in my BLOG COMMENTS so you will need to submit each entry there to qualify also leave me an email or some form of contact so i can get hold of the winner easily! Just following these steps. Remember you don't have to do them all, but you have a greater chance of winning if you do!

• 1 Entry - Visit Babamoon.etsy.com and tell me which of my baby items you love best in a comment beneath this post
• 1 Entry - Visit moonangelnay.etsy.com and tell me which of my prints you like the best in a comment beneath this post
• 1 Entry - FOLLOW THIS BLOG, and tell me in a comment that you have. If you have followed me before then still mention it in a comment!
  
• 1 Entry - Tweet about this giveaway making sure you include @moonangelnay in the tweet so I can verify your entry AND tell me in a comment beneath this post so I know you've entered! (Only once please)
  
• 1 Entry - Follow me on Twitter and tell me in a comment below
• 1 Entry - Share this giveaway on Facebook and tell me in a comment with the link to your facebook page
  
• 1 Entry - Like me on Facebook and tell me you have here in the comments.

• 2 Entry's - SUBSCRIBE TO MY BLOG - Do tell me in a comment
  

• 3 Entry's - Grab my Saturday Giveaway button from the sidebar, and put it in a blog post or your own blog side bar and post the link in my comments below!

• 5 Entry's - BUY SOMETHING FROM EITHER OF MY STORES - Tell me you have in the message to seller on Etsy and in a comment here so I know who's who!

Good Luck!

Love Nay x

PhotoGrunt

Friday Finds... PhotoGrunt


This is my 30th interview of the amazing not-so-well-known artists of Etsy!

Steve of PhotoGrunt on Etsy is a fabulous photographer that I have twice mentioned in past Wednesday posts due to the the kind gesture of including some of my work on his own blog. I was delighted when he agreed to do an interview for this week, and by golly it's a fabulous one too. Steve's sense of humour throughout I found made his very precise photography seem so much more intriguing! I love how his focal point is entirely dependant on the surrounding light and shadow, and his chosen frame is based on what he can capture in the moment that it all seems to come together. It's a definitive style that is beyond point and shoot, which for me captures more than just the subject in the photograph but, the artist themselves. Almost like capturing your own reflection using subconscious descriptive imagery. I hope you enjoy Steve's photography as much as I do, and dont forget to check out his store offer at the bottom of the interview!


(Just click the images to go direct to the listings)

-- Tell me a bit about you! (Name, Age, Location, and give us a random fact whilst you're at it.) My name is Steve Raley; I’m 55 and live just east of Seattle, WA, USA. I’m retired military, having spent 20 years in uniform.


-- What is your business about then? My business is all about photography. Contrast, juxtaposition, irony, new perspective; observing and capturing everyday things that are rarely noticed; presenting them in such a way as to give them new life and meaning, that is what I’m endeavoring to provide.


-- How did Etsy come into your life? My wife was into Etsy, selling vintage collectables. She started telling me I should open up a shop to sell my photography. She told me some more, and told me some more, and kept telling me. Then one day, out of nowhere, I had this idea that I should open up a photography shop on Etsy, and here I am!


-- Are you working a day job too? Oh yes! I work as an IT Support Technician at a private school for gifted students, grades Kindergarten through 8th grade.


-- How long has the artist in you been 'unleashed' for? Well, I was really into drawing when I was a kid. Then in high school I got into photography and enjoyed the creative potential of the medium. Eight of my twenty years in uniform were spent as a photographer, honing my skills. I hadn’t picked up my camera for several years when, about 3 years ago, I got the itch again. I started back with film photography, and then a couple years ago I got a DSLR outfit. So, I suppose you could say my inner artist has been properly unleashed for about 3 years.


-- What has been the inspiration behind your business? The inspiration behind my business has really been my desire to create and to express myself through my photographs. It’s just that simple.

-- If you could describe your products in three words, what would you tell me? Three words, huh? My, you don’t give much quarter do you?! Ha! Well, if I only have 3 words to work with, I choose “Light”, “Dark” and “Perspective”.

-- What would an average working day for you be like from dawn til dusk? Oh my, that will put folks to sleep! Up at 6 am, out the door by 7:30 and to work by 8 am. Fix my first of 2 coffees, then check and respond to e-mail and phone messages. Follow up on any pressing technical matters and monitor/respond to computer trouble calls and technical problems throughout the day. Home between 5 and 5:30 pm and spend the evening with my wife. I’ll catch up on the news, have dinner, and spend time doing such things as working on my photographs, check the Photographers Of Etsy (POE) forum, process any orders I might have or work on correspondence. I may even work on either my blog or the POE blog. Go to bed and do it all again the next day. Pretty humdrum, eh?



-- What's your favourite material and techniques to work with? Well, working with digital photographs, as I do, there’s not a lot of “material” that I’d be working with. But techniques, well I’d have to say my favorite technique, or at least the one I employ most often, is to pick an area and go on a bit of a “photographic walkabout”, and shoot whatever catches my eye. I’m not talking quick “snapshots” but seeing something interesting and using the resources at my immediate disposal (light, shadow, exposure and perspective) to capture the most interesting images I can.


-- What is your ideal vision for the future for you and your work? Oh, you opened up a whole can of worms with the word “ideal”! My “ideal” vision is to have my own gallery where I display fine art photography; not just my work, but the work of other new and established photographic talent. Coupled with my gallery would be a stock photo archive and photo studio. And, since this is my “ideal”, let’s throw in a cappuccino machine with attendant barista as well.


-- Away from work, what do you like to do for fun or to wind down? I enjoy a quiet evening at home with my wife. I also enjoy taking in a good movie, going out to dinner, visiting the art museums or even going on my little photographic walkabouts.


-- What are you likely to search for on Etsy? Generally, when I do a search on Etsy, it’s for photographs. Mostly I’ll be checking out the work by fellow POE members, but other times I’ll widen my search parameters.


-- Any last words? Gosh, that sounds ominous, doesn’t it?! Do I get a cigarette and a blindfold too?! ;-)

The only last words I have Nay, is to express my appreciation to you for featuring me and my shop on your blog. I’m very honored, thank you!

Oh, and how about this?! Between now and next Friday, anybody making a purchase on my shop will get a free photo of equal or lesser value if they mention that they saw this feature on your blog! Is that cool, or what?

♥ Cute and Squishy ♥

Sunday - Coffee and Cake
weekly musings, articles and mostly babble...

HandmadeSpark NEW TUTORIAL POST...

My article on Handmade Spark is Up! Finding your Spark : Product Photography - Motivation and Inspiration

You can still catch my previous posts here:
* Finding Your Spark - Product Photography - Lighting
* Finding your spark : Product Photography - Getting The Best Out Of Your Photography
* Finding your spark : Product Photography - Making A Lightbox
* Finding Your Spark - Photo Composition
* Finding Your Spark - Got The Shakes?
* Finding Your Spark - Easy Post Production - Contrast Adjustment
* Finding Your Spark - Product Photography - Layering And It's Benefits



New Plans ... I am still reeling in amusement from something my other half said last night whilst I was feeding my daughter. She had just had the biggest spit up ever all over him and I was having a general squeaky babble with her, questioning why babies had to be so darned cute (broody already!) when he responded with the fact that it's to fool us parents into accepting the vomit, poop and noise... a clever distraction from the heavens LOL... Love his sense of humour!
To be honest all of that, now the second time around isn't bothersome at all... you ACTUALLY get used to poo, vomit and the loveliest of gross cocktails being slathered over you on a daily basis. It's a funny thing, I love seeing one of my closest friends run out of the room whenever it's changing time and the look on his face when I am so calm and collected over cleaning the grime all over my son's face and body LOL. Children really do make you hardcore! ANYWAY... excuse my yuckiness lol! This week (and last too) I've been spending a bit of time looking into form instead of nature photography, and preparing to get myself up and running as a business away from the internet and my known art form. I have been waiting for the right time and always thought it would come in a few more years when my kids are older and my hands are slightly less full of things. But to be honest besides serious cabin fever, I have been ready to get out for a while. My goal is to work in wedding photography in a few years time but for now I want to work with portrait photography. I already have a sweet portfolio in the works which has been filling up nicely since my daughter entered the world.

It was a visit to a friend this week that made me feel encouraged enough to get started on this venture earlier than planned. She and her sister were browsing through my flickr profile via my phone when she started showing off a bunch of sweet pictures from a recent shoot she had with her own kids and said with an err of disappointment in her tone "why aren't YOU doing something like this???". She knows of my intentions in photography as I had offered shoots for her girls before (just never had the chance to do it). I began my long list of excuses as to why it would be more practical to do it later on but then looking on my camera at all the recent shots I had left on there I began to wonder why myself. Nothing is stopping me besides the financial implications, and I would need to register myself, not trying to blow my own trumpet, but knowing that it would definitely give me an income. So since that day I have been making plans!

It'll be good to get out and have some identity as a professional besides as an artist. It's not a certainty for now but the plans are being made and hopefully it won't be long before it all works out! I think the best thing will be knowing that my kids will be able to see a happier and more confident mother in me. I feel that the sooner I start, the sooner I'll be able to realise my dream as being a wedding photographer in the future.


Recent Photography Posted to moonangelnay.etsy.com...


That's it for now. Have a great weekend all!


moonangelnay x

BiancaHewson

Friday Finds... biancahewson


This is my 29th interview of the amazing not-so-well-known artists of Etsy!

during one of my Link Referral review sessions I came across this amazing Animal Art Etsy store owned by biancahewson. I just love her style and the striking monochrome images she creates, inspired by our hairy little friends! I think what makes her work so special is that it's easy to feel the love and affinity between Bianca and her subjects as each picture is of an incredible quality that can only come with time, devotion and heart. I hope you enjoy her interview and dont forget to stop by her store, leave a heart or two and maybe take one of her spectacular pieces home with a purchase :)


(Just click the images to go direct to the listings)

-- Tell me a bit about you! (Name, Age, Location, and give us a random fact whilst you're at it.) Hi, my name is Bianca Hewson, born in Leeds, England. I am married and have a 3 year old monkey (sorry son) and 2 adopted dogs. I have been living in Almeria, Spain now for nearly 3 years and taking a break from teaching art. We previously lived in Bermuda for 5 years.


-- What is your business about then? I was missing the practical side and creativity of the classroom and I love creating pieces of art work, I was getting twitchy not doing anything. I also have a real passion for dogs, so I had time on my hands and started creating monoprint dog portraits. I started selling them at Saturday markets and did a few commissions, but the summer heat was a killer and standing on a stall for 6 hours in the scorching heat was just too much, so I set up my Etsy store. To be truthful I don’t consider it a “business”, because I would be creating the images anyway, I have to keep sane. Etsy is a way to show my current portfolio collection and hope there will be some purchases on the way. I know that’s the wrong philosophy but I don’t want to be stressed with the pressures of business………maybe that will and should change?


-- How did Etsy come into your life? I was browsing the internet for new gift ideas and stumbled upon it, I have been hooked ever since.


-- Are you working a day job too? No, After being a Head of the Arts and teaching art in the U.K and Bermuda in secondary schools, I was constantly buzzing with the timely commitment of the job. Although I love teaching, it took a near fatal illness to open my eyes and realize I needed to refocus my life. I had a 3 month old son and the horrors of being so ill really challenged my place in life. We decided to uproot ourselves again move closer to family, and spend quality time together. My husband went back to work in U.K after a year off, and now commutes to Spain!!!!!!! I do still trawl the internet looking for a new job, but it would have to be right for us all.


-- How long has the artist in you been 'unleashed' for? Oh crikey, since I remember. I have always loved art, and believe it is passed down from my heritage, I still paint with a brush my great granddad used it must be over 100 years old, more of a stump really than a brush, and I use the letterpress set my Great Uncle gave me. I studied art getting my BA(Hons) in fine art in 1996 and then completing a P.G.C.E to be a secondary school art teacher. I think I always felt at home and safe in the art room at school, and wanted to provide that kind of experience to someone else.


-- What has been the inspiration behind your business? I adore dogs and love to try to capture their real character. I have always had Old English Sheepdogs in my life. After 2 died in 1 year, I adopted and now have 1 beautiful Old English Sheepdog and 1 “muy feo” Catalan sheepdog. I have a passion for print and love the spontaneity of monoprint, the feel and quality of the medium lends itself I think to capture the true soul and character of the dog. I have now started to look into other subject matter, including anatomy and teddy bears(my mums favourites). Oh and I also have a collection of beach glass and pottery that I found in Bermuda that I am slowly listing.

-- If you could describe your products in three words, what would you tell me? Soulful, spontaneous, heart-warming.


-- What would an average working day for you be like from dawn til dusk? Well, taking my little one to pre-school, and then picking him up, gives me a time frame to work around, some days I research for inspirational photos to base my art work on, if I have a creative head on I normally can complete 2 images in the day time. Also we are continuing to improve our house and the land, oh and I have to have a chat with both the Spanish farmers about what we are doing wrong!!!! However we do get fresh fruit and veg straight from the tree and ground for free, so I go along with their suggestions.


-- What's your favourite material and techniques to work with? I love printing, monoprinting, linoprinting, collagraph, etching. I also love photography and painting and need to devote more time to these.


-- What is your ideal vision for the future for you and your work? To keep creating, involve my son in the process along the way, start teaching again, inspire others.


-- Away from work, what do you like to do for fun or to wind down? Creating a big arty mess with my son, going to the beach, snuggling my dogs, cooking, eating curry, traveling, music, driving, laughing at my husband breaking his back digging in the scorching sun like a crazy fool ..........I tell him not to, honestly!


-- What are you likely to search for on Etsy? Prints, vintage kitchenware, kids stuff, dogs.


-- Any last words? All out of my own words so a quote:
"I've seen a look in dogs' eyes, a quickly vanishing look of amazed contempt, and I am convinced that basically dogs think humans are nuts." - John Steinbeck

Monday Magic! - Near Undiscovered Wonder

Monday Magic...Dotty

makingstuffwithlove	boinne	photovalle
BeadzNBling	fairywings09	fstopinertia
annielise	emintaos	mariahscreations
groovyspookieville	Uturn	UrbanBelleCouture

Introducing my 4th installment of my new weekly feature, Monday Magic! These Etsy.com sellers all share something special... Fabulous work! Yet, somehow like many sellers on Etsy are wondering where all their admirers are! So this is where I feel it's time to showcase the undiscovered talent of Etsy, on Monday each week so they have a chance to shine like the best of Etsy do :)

All of the sellers names can be typed into the navigation bar on your browser followed with ".etsy.com" (dot etsy dot com) to take you to their stores. Otherwise click on an image to go directly to their listing!

I am now taking requests for next weeks Monday Magic Expo. If you would like to be a part of it, you are required to have less that 20 sales in your Etsy store, and the theme this week is Summer's End! (Show me items that are yellow and blue!). Contact me via convo @ http://moonangelnay.etsy.com to send in your requests, plus a link to your suitable item :)

Have a fab week!

moonangelnay xxx

Think Thinking...

ALL NEW ETSY LISTINGS. CLICK EACH PICTURE TO TAKE YOU TO THE LISTING IN MY STORE! :D

I've had the chance to do a lot of that lately. Not so much time, that's still stressing me out but I have managed to lift a fair weight off my shoulders by discovering a few things that have helped me get this marketing thing down a little better, and also in the process given me some wonderous ideas!

I made a FAB treasury the other day. I actually made it into the top 5 before it expired. I'm hoping my newest one is just as good. I may post a pic of that in a few days. But it made me think about this blog and what I can do with it. There is nothing really of value on here for my readers unless you like to hear me chat rubbish all the time, but I thought about my journey so far on the marketing train, and also where I am with Etsy and figured it'd be a great opportunity to share my discoveries and tips whether they are my own or great articles I've come across once a week to help other "new" or low sale etsy artists drive traffic into their stores. I'm very excited at the prospect of doing this as I want to be able to give more than just whether I've had a coffee that morning or not LOL! You get me? I don't see how it's fair I do all this work and not share it as ultimately the whole point of Etsy to me besides selling handmade is the communal aspect of it. Everyone helps eachother on there and I want to do my bit, and make a feature of it weekly now that I'm in a position to document what I've done trial and error wise and let you guys know what works and what doesn't when it comes to getting your name out there. I am JUST starting to make sales now because of what I'm doing and who knows maybe it's just that time of year, but I really do believe that the numbers suddenly rishing into my store has a lot to do with it, whereas before the past 3 weeks (thanks goodness for the other halfs holiday!) I would skip across the room if just one person managed a 5 second glance at my homepage in a day. I can totally feel for anyone who may be in that position, and if you want to work at a home business it's the most devestating and motivation severing thing in the world to have your hopes shattered by lack of traffic. It's hard work but I have done a lot of experiementation (still am doing) and I think so far what I'll share in the coming weeks will take people further step by step and hopefully work some magic in those empty stores.

Another thing I am planning to do soon is offer advertisement slots on my blog although this is still in the making so details will have to come later!

Ah, and especially for the Etsy newbies or under 10 sales people I have a special plan for you all which will also like my weekend help articles, be a weekly occurance. More details about that on Sunday with my other announcements :)

So yes! Sunday will be my first article day. I am going to call it Coffee and Cake, as that's all you need on a relaxing Sunday morning whilst browsing the net. I look forward to it!

Whilst im at it, here are my recent photography prints to Etsy. Enjoy!

From Day To Night

I seem to be cursed with this whole time malarky. Lol! I tell myself all the time about how much more efficient I will be after letting the wee hours anxieties form long lovely lists of plans for my future days. But I seem to get plagued with distractions (although they are necessary some of the time), then lo and behold I end up behind with my endevours. Today at least I'm slightly more relaxed about it, but I think that is more of a succumbing to the inevitable (no Naomi you cannot play the grand creator and MAKE time... not literally anyway). Ahhhhhh *that is a sigh I promise*, the joys of a mothers schedule! Well despite not getting absolutely all of what I hope to achieve daily done, I have at least catalogued a few new pieces to stick onto my etsy store over the next few weeks. I'll be playing nurse / "single mum" next week as my other half is having an operation and is on strict orders to take it easy for 3 weeks after. Which means I need a plan of action for keeping my son from bouncing off the walls for at least the first week so his father can get a good rest! So the ultimate full time action will be on the cards which sadly means I'll be cutting back on my beloved etsy work to cater for the boys needs.

I've planned ahead and have lots of goodies to share daily with everyone. It doesn't take a bajillion years to list on Etsy. It's the marketing that slows up my days, so treasuries will probably have to get cut (maybe not though), as will my hunt for the ultimate advertising tools. I should hopefully be able to continue blogging although they may be a little shorter and more scary due to impending bald patches (oh how will i live without my Etsy!), and i think a tweet here or there may get slipped past the little one without him noticing :)

All in all earlier this week had been about planning, so the stress levels were high, and I had been in a bit of a dark place... so to follow suit some of my recent work had taken a bit of a darker turn. That doesn't surprise me in the least. My style changes CONSTANTLY. I'm not a conventional artist at all really, I don't know why but I find it very hard to keep my style consistant yet I think it adds character to the fact that I lack it LOL. Contradiction and a half! It's the same with my fine and abstract art aswell. My photography has metamorphised now into something that I can now consider part of my being and not something I search for through a lense. I have total comfort in how I express myself through it so like I say it doesn't surprise me when each piece is as sporadic in style consistancy as i guess i am in moods LOL! i promise though that the work that is coming just as interesting. Becoming more light and wonderful (as has my mood the last few days lol!).

Tomorrow which is Friday the 17th of July my Etsy treasury "LAVENDER DREAMING" will be ending at around 9pm GMT London time so if you get the chance to check it out, please do! It's my best line of picks yet!

So I'd better show you a selection of recent uploads to Etsy. They are below! just click the titles if you want to see the listings directly :) All the best my dears!



Mandala Fire No.3 5x7 Abstract Fine Art Photography - By Moonangelnay



Rose Gold 5x7 Inch Print - Creative Fine Art Photography By Moonangelnay


A Walk Through Life 8x12 Inch Print - Creative Fine Art Photography By Moonangelnay

Vintage Bloom 5x7 Inch Print - Creative Fine Art Photography By Moonangelnay