And the Winner is...

Thanks to everyone who entered and made treasuries!  They were great!  I will be featuring them all in my "Treasury Tuesday" blog post next week.  But now it's time to announce the winner of the giveaway...

The winner or the "Treasury Love" giveaway is...

 Comment #4...which was by Victoria (ie: bearslp) and included a link to her treasury, Some Awesome Little Monsters.  Congratulations Victoria!  You will have a Nubbin arriving in the mail soon!

 If you didn't win or didn't get a chance to enter, don't worry, I'm planning on doing giveaways more frequently in the future!

Treasury Love Giveaway!

It's been quite some time since I did a giveaway here on the blog.  Years, actually.

But in celebration of getting 300 "likes" on my KiraArts Facebook fan page, I am doing a giveaway!

How To Enter:

• Create an Etsy Treasury featuring one item from the KiraArts Etsy shop and leave a comment on this blog post that includes the URL of your Treasury. 

(not sure what an Etsy Treasury is or how to make one?  Check out Etsy's Help Page.)

Rules & Stuff:

• Limit of 1 treasury per contestant
• Treasuries must be “full” (include 16 items) 
• Deadline for entry is February 21st by midnight 
• Winner will be picked by random number generator and announced on February 22nd in a blog post. The winner's treasury will be featured in the blog post (so make sure your treasury looks good!).
• The prize is a red Nubbin with a gray heart (similar to the one pictured)

*EDIT: I forgot to mention...this giveaway is open to US residents only.  Sorry international fans!

"Pin It To Win It" Contest from Sunshyne Silverwear

One of my friends and fellow RNEST member, Erin of SunshyneSilverwear, is having a "Pin It To Win It" contest!

The prize is a $25 gift certificate good towards any of the beautiful, handmade, recycled spoon pendants in her shop!

To enter the contest, all you have to do is create an imaginative Pinterest board using any product image found on www.sunshynesilverwear.com. Then post a link to your boards either on the SunshyneSilverwear blog, or on the SunshyneSilverwear Facebook Fanpage.*  Be sure to check her blog post for additional details.

*(Please don't post contest entry links on this blog post.  You must post them on SunshyneSilverwear's blog/Facebook page in order for your entry to be valid)

Haven't heard of Pinterest? Really?  I know I must have mentioned it before.  Anyway, it's awesome!  (and, for the record, I  have been sponsored to say that!) Pinterest is a virtual pinboard where you can "pin" your favorite items, links, and images from the web. It sounds simple enough, but it can be addicting, so you I'll give you fair warning!  But it is a wonderful way to collect all the cool stuff you like from the web into one place.  You can also follow other people's pinboards and other people can follow yours.  People use pin boards for their home decorating, style/fashion, recipes they want to try, products they like, and wedding planning.  I, personally, have created my own Pinterest boards for fun craft projects, kids' crafts for the homeschool art class I teach, and handmade gift ideas, just to name a few.  The possibilities are endless!

 To read a little more about Pinterest's possibilities, read their official 'About' page here.

One last thing...As of right now, creating Pinterest accounts are by invitation only. If you do not currently have a Pinterest account, e-mail Erin at sunshyne_silverwear(at)hotmail(dot)com and she will send you an invite so you can take part in the contest!  Happy Pinning!

Free Spoonflower Swatch!

*ATTENTION: This is NOT a sponsored announcement! I just thought it was cool and wanted to share the coolness with you all!*

Today is "Free Swatch Day" at Spoonflower.com, a custom-printed fabric company! (I found out about it via Craftzine) You can upload your own design, or choose from designs on the site. I just ordered my own 8x8 swatch! This offer is available until tomorrow, August 19th, at noon (eastern-standard time).

This is what my fabric will look like!

Some more info:

"This offer is limited to one swatch per customer. To activate the discount, add a swatch-sized piece of fabric to your shopping cart between noon EST on Thursday, August 18 and noon EST on Friday, August 19, then proceed to checkout. The discount will be subtracted from your cart total automatically. Note that in order to receive your swatches, you need to follow the transaction through to the order confirmation page. [And yes, shipping is free, too.] This offer works for your own designs or for any of the designs available for sale in the Spoonflower marketplace. Offer is limited to ONE SWATCH PER CUSTOMER." -via Spoonflower's Blog

This is the original design I uploaded. The site repeats it for you and there are different options for how to repeat it.

I'm not sure what I'll use the fabric for right now...but I'm thinking that I'll make myself a new pouch to hold my fabric scissors when I'm on the go (my scissor tips are very pointy!). I've been using this pouch I made awhile ago.

KiraArts Giveaways!

I've shared this on the KiraArts Facebook page, but realized I never posted about it here on the blog!

I've been featured this week in the RNEST "Wednesday Wellspring" Giveaway! Click the link to be taken to the RNEST blog and find out how to enter in order to win this cute multicolored spotted Nubbin! You have until Tuesday, March 8th to enter!

"You can win ME!"

As an added bonus, I've decided that when both my Etsy shop and Facebook fan page reach 200 fans, I will do ANOTHER giveaway here on the blog! The Etsy shop is past the goal right now (with 202 fans! Yay!), and my Facebook page is only 42 fans away from reaching 200! So get over there and click that "like" button!

Trick or Treat Scavenger Hunt!

Hey!

I'm giving away an Orange and black Halloween Nubbin as a prize of RNEST's Trick or Treat Scavenger Hunt!

All you need to do is follow the RNEST blog, then go to the participating shops in RNEST and look for shop listings that have a picture of candy as the last photo. So for example, if you go to my shop and start clicking on some of the items, you will see one of them has a picture of some candy bars hiding in the photos.

Then you post what you find in the blog comments (comments will be hidden until the contest is over), and you have a chance to win one or more great handmade items.

* Speaking of give-aways, I am seriously considering doing a give-away if my KiraArts Facebook page breaks 100 fans. I am currently at 95 fans (or "likes" or whatever). If you haven't already, come on over and click that "like" button and suggest my page to your friends! *

"Spools" by Abby Try Again

I came across this image by photographer Abby Try Again via the second storie blog today...

I LOVE this photo of vintage spools of thread. It's gorgeous. I'd really like a print for my craft room. There is a giveaway at a blog called Poppy & Leo where one of the prizes is a 8x12 print of this photo. I entered it, but there are 200 more comments besides mine. Of course, I have won a giveaway before...so it could happen. ;)

Even if I don't win, Abby is having a clearance sale until this Sunday (May 9th)...so I can still purchase the print for $15.00.

I think I remember Abby from the second storie indie market show I went to back in December...she was out of business cards, so she just wrote her name & info on the back of one of her small prints and gave it to me. The print was of a jar of colorful crochet hooks or something. I remember thinking that was so sweet of her, because essentially, she gave me a free print!

**EDIT:** Yes, it WAS Abby Try Again that gave me that print. I found the picture when I went home last night. They're not crochet hooks. I think they're hand-dipped candles...

***ANOTHER EDIT:***
I didn't win the giveaway. Bleh. :/

More Mini-Nubbin Ornaments

By the way, I know it's short notice, but anyone who orders from my shop in the month of December gets a free mini-Nubbin ornament!

Happiness in the mail!

So, I've been sick this week...sniffles, coughing, sore throat, headache...and just a general icky feeling. And this little bundle of joy I got in the mail on Wednesday just made an otherwise "ick" day just a little brighter!

They were a lot bigger than the picture I had in my head. I love them! I have the urge to do a little puppet show with them!

I imagine this blue guy with a deep voice and a British accent.

Any suggestions for names for these awesome little guys? Or how about a story that I can do a puppet show about?

My Happycloud Thunderhead Monster Finger Puppets!

I recieved an email from Happycloud Thunderhead today telling me my finger puppets will be in the mail tomorrow morning! He also gave me a sneak peek of what they look like from his Flickr...and you know I just HAD to share!

I LOVE them! They turned out so great! He does good work considering all he had to work from was this little digital doodle I sent him!

Newest Nubbins...

Here's what the lucky winner of my giveaway will be recieving! Her chosen colors were brown and green...

I was intrigued by 00noctum00's color combo choice of "grey and mustard yellow". At first glance I thought "That's a weird combination!" But then I thought about it and decided to try it out...

I had mustardy yellow felt (actually the sticker says "goldenrod"), and found some of the same yellow in a flower pattern fabric I have. I like the purple and turquoise it added into the color scheme. I'm very satisfied with it. It will be in my Etsy shop soon. I actually will probably be making a lot of owls in the color combos people chose. Keep watching...the next one could be yours!

Then there's the brown dog I made as a custom order (to go with the yellow dog I sold the customer before) .

I want to make a black & brown dog that looks like Luna now! And I bought some flesh tone colored felt at JoAnne's today, so I will be making Max from "Where The Wild Things Are" sometime in the next few days.

And The Winner Is...

I'm pleased to announce that the winner of the Custom Owl Nubbin GiveAway is...

FoundProdigalDaughter!

Congratulations! I will be contacting you soon regarding the details of your custom Owl Nubbin!Thanks so much to everyone who participated! I will be sure to do more giveaways in the future!

Last Day of Giveaway!

Today is the last day of my Giveaway! Go to the original post HERE to enter! The giveaway closes at midnight! Go enter now!

Owl GiveAway!!! (Ends Sept. 23rd)

Can you believe I actually WON? Yes, I won the Fun With Mama giveaway! I was hoping to win, but never expected I would actually win! I make my own plush monsters so much, but love other people's work too... yet I can never justify buying it for myself. I can't wait to design my own finger puppets made by Happycloud Thunderhead!

And I think to celebrate, I will have my own giveaway! Since owls seem to be so popular lately, I will be giving away a custom-made Owl Nubbin.

The givaway will be open for 2 weeks and will close on September 23rd. Here's how to enter:

(Mandatory entry) Leave a comment telling me...

• 1. Your favorite color combination (these will be the colors of your Owl if you win)
• 2. How you found my blog

(Remember, you must give both bits of information in order to qualify!)

Extra entries include: (leave an extra comment for each)

• Being/becoming a follower of my blog
• "Heart"ing my Etsy shop (if you have an Etsy account)
• Telling me which monster in my Etsy shop is your favorite
• Blogging about the giveaway
• Linking to my blog in the sidebar of your blog
• Posting a link to the giveaway on Facebook or Twitter

The winner will be determined by random number generator. Good luck!

Finger Puppet Give Away at Fun With Mama

Want a chance to win some adorable monster finger puppets? Go over to Fun With Mama's blog and check out the givaway she's having. She's giving away a set of finger puppets made by plush maker HappyCloud Thunderhead.

I've been a fan of Happycloud Thunderhead's work for a while. I originally discovered him via The Needle. I think I may have blogged about him before in a "My Fellow Monstermaker" post.

I'm entering the Giveaway of course (because you all know how much I LOVE puppets AND monsters!). And I get an extra entry if I blog about the Giveaway. Part of entering the Giveaway is to go to Happycloud Thunderhead's Etsy shop and leaving a comment at Fun With Mama's blog telling me which monster is your favorite in the shop. I like the Grimbitts, Wimbly, Kimbly, and Quimbly and their big floppy ears. I love the line in the description that "while friendly [the grimbitts] are not very sociable." I decided that Quimbly is my favorite because of his turquoise color.

I was debating about picking Wimbly as my favorite simply because his name reminds me of one of the Fraggles from Fraggle Rock, which was my favorite childhood tv show! (although I think the character's name was spelled Wembly).

Valentine's Day Give-Away Winner

All of you that commented and entered the Give-Away had such great sounding captcha monster names (that I will definitely be logging away for future use). So it was so hard to pick the best one! But after difficult deliberation, I decided that the captcha "Zogra" was the best sounding monster name and that means...

SquishyCuteStuff

has WON THE GIVEAWAY!

I can't wait to make a new monster and name it Zogra! I agree...definitely kind of scary, yet feminine...I'm visualizing either an Amazon or a monster/alien princess dictator. Hmmm..."Princess Zogra"...sounds good. "You will bow to Princess Zogra!" ...sorry, I got carried away for a second there!

Congratulations SquishyCuteStuff! And thanks again to everyone who entered. I kind of like the best-captcha-turned-monster-name terms of entering the give-away...it's at random, but still has an element of fun and creativity to it...better than a random number generator or picking names out of a hat. I'm definitely going to do this again, so if you didn't win, you'll have another chance another time!

Valentine's Day Give-Away!

So...I think we're due for another giveaway. I promised you one didn't I?

The prize?

...A Valentine's Day Edition Luv Nubbin. Please specify in your comment if you'd prefer a red one (with pink heart) or pink one (with red heart).

How to enter?

...Comment to this post and write the captcha (word verification) in your comment. Whoever has the captcha that makes the best monster name wins!

Entry will be open until midnight February 14th (tomorrow).

*UPDATE* Sorry, I forgot to mention that I can only ship to the US (sorry international peeps!)

And The Winner Is...

Thanks to everyone who commented yesterday for the Give-Away. You all made my day. I think the most comments I've ever gotten on a single post before has been 3!

Some people forgot to give me a name for the monster however, which I did mention in the post was a deciding factor in picking the winner. But for every one of you that forgot, there were a bunch more that gave cme some really fun ones!

I must say that it was very tough picking a winner. Some of my favorites were:
- Jagger (after Mick Jagger , because of the big lips)
- Mr. Scruffles
- Wonky Willard
- Gürkin
- Mr. Slurpstein the Third
- Purple Lipinski
- Basil Sludge-Fuzzworthy
- Phfancy Phfillip Phfishinger "(all pronounced with a very spitty spray)"
- Sir Fernando Flounce Mouth
- Zarthag...

There were so many great names! I finally needed to enlist my husband to help me decide. But in the end we decided on...

Stripes McDougal!

So Bird, you are the winner! I'm sure Stripes will have a good home with you. If you had just said "Stripes", I might not have picked it, but the McDougal was what did it We have a soft spot for the Scottish...plus it just sounded so funny...especially if you try saying it with a Scottish accent. Congratulations! E-mail your address info to kira(at)klsinclair.com so I can ship him to you!

Thanks everyone for all the great names. I will definitely log them away to name future monsters. I wish I could afford to give everyone a free monster. But you can always obtain a funny monster of your own from my Etsy shop. You just might end up seeing one with the name you suggested!

This was so much fun that I just might have a monthly monster give-away. So make sure to check back here occasionally!

Give-Away Day is here!

Gather 'round all you crafters, bloggers and blog-lurkers...It's Give-Away-Day!

Leave a comment on this post with the best, silliest, most fun, or most random monster name you can come up with for this little guy, and you can win him!

***Don't forget to give him a name in your comment! My final decision on the winner will be based on the monster name I like best!***

He's one of my "vintage" sock monsters...with button eyes and those unforgettable fuzzy lips! He'll be a perfect gift for the little monster in your life!
The deadline is 11:59 pm tonight. Please remember to include your name in your comment (it's hard for "Anonymous" to be a winner!).

Check back here tomorrow at noon where I'll announce the winner!
(Oh...and I'm not shipping internationally...only within the US...so sorry! Especially to the UK-ers...)

Give-Away Day

Hey there blog peeps! I'm attempting to do a little promotion for my shop. A friend of mine emailed me and let me know about Sew Mama Sew's Give Away Day on December 3rd. I will be planning on participating and doing a give-away on that day on my blog.

PS: I have some red & green "holiday edition" Nubbins sewn and stuffed! I just need to photograph them and get them up on my shop.