The Friendship Stone Power of 2 Giveaway (Closed)

What is a friend? A single soul dwelling in two bodies. - Aristotle

The Friendship Stone is one of those things that you see and say, “Why didn’t I think of that?!” They recently sent me their Power of 2 (PO2) gift set and both my husband and I loved it. I like that I can keep the stone in the bag on my desk or toss just the stone in my pocket so that every time I reach in my pocket it’s there as a tangible reminder of the other person. It can also serve as a sort of worrystone.

The PO2 comes with two stones, two bags, two blank gift cards and a brochure explaining the meaning and origins of the stones.


All Friendship Stone purchases are “giveback gifts” meaning that 10% of profits go back to Western South African communities where the stones originate as part of Project South Africa. The PO2 also gives back in another way through Big Brothers Big Sisters. Twenty percent of profits go towards BBBS with fifteen percent of that going toward a local agency based on the purchaser’s zip code. These purchases must be made through the Big Brothers Big Sisters-The Friendship Stone site to be eligible.


Cathy Raff is the owner/founder of My Stone Company. This is her story as given to me.

“Cathy Raff was born in Ocala, Florida. She was one of five ‘Cathys’ in her high school and was given the nickname ‘Rafi which has managed to stick still today. A graduate of the University of Texas, with a BA with honors in Journalism with the emphasis in Photojournalism she now owns her own studio in Israel. It is from here that she runs My Stone Company with her best friend and sister, Jill, in New York. The Friendship Stone keepsakes and jewelry that her company produces and sells are more than just giftware, they stand as a symbol of the power of positive thinking and the ability to change your situation.

In her first year of college, Cathy was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitus and on her 21st birthday, had a total colectomy (total removal of the large intestine). Of the ordeal Cathy says ‘I knew this was really my birthday, as I felt re-born on the day after I awoke from surgery.’ Then when she was 31, she met the man of her dreams and married. It took them four years and twelve unsuccessful in-vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments to start a family. In the end they realized how lucky they were to have an alternative; surrogacy. The following years Cathy and her husband worked with three amazing women who were each incredible and responsible for helping bring the couple three healthy children.

Because she had been medically challenged so many times, Cathy realized the disease she dealt with on a daily basis was actually a gift. Cathy spent quite a lot of time thinking about life and what was important to her. Before her surgery, she had forgotten what life was without pain. She could not imagine what it was like to have energy or even the desire to get up in the morning. Several months after the surgery, all of a sudden, Cathy realized she had not thought about her stomach for over an hour! She started crying tears of disbelief. From that moment on, there has not been a day that she is not aware of the feeling of being pain free.

And in 2004, so began her journey with the friendship stone on a business trip with her husband to South Africa.

There’s much more to Cathy’s story that I am sure she would love to share with you. And the stones themselves have quite a story, too."

Be sure to take a look around the website and read the different stories and see the different ways you can get a friendship stone – as a necklace, as an engraved traveling stone, as a Power of 2 set, and others.

Right now the Friendship Stone would like to give one of my lucky readers a PO2 set. To win:

1. Comment on this post before Thursday, December 31st, midnight central time, and tell me a little about the friend to whom you would give the second stone.

2. You get one additional entry for each social networking site (your blog, Twitter, MySpace, etc.) you post this giveaway on. For Twitter it's as easy as hitting the "Tweet this" button at the bottom right of this post. Come back here and tell me where you posted it.

I will post the winner as we ring in the new year. Good luck!

Dedicated to my sister. I'm still Miss Priss and she still does a darn good imitation of a frog.


This Giveaway is now closed!

I wrote this twice last night and then hit back and lost it. Arrrggghh!

When there are 20-50 comments on a giveaway post it's much easier to choose a winner. But when there are only a few I just want to send one to each of you. :) This time the Magic eightball chose Theresa Rhakov. Send me your mailing address and I'll pass it on to Cathy at The Friendship Stone. Congrats!

Good Mail Day Author Interview and Book Giveaway (Closed)

And the lucky winner is Apple! Congrats, Apple! And if you didn't win this time, don't worry. I'll have more book giveaways soon. Cross my heart. :)



I love mail art! There’s nothing better than getting something fun in the mail rather than bills. So naturally I flipped over Carolee Gilligan Wheeler and Jennie Hinchcliff’s new book, Good Mail Day. And I was lucky enough to score this author interview with Carolee from her publisher.

And at the end I’ll share some great mail art links as well as tell you how you can win a copy of the book!

the authors - Do you think there's a mail art badge?

What's the name of your book?
Good Mail Day: A Primer for Making Eye-Popping Postal Art

What's your book about?
Good Mail Day is about all of the wonderful ways to utilize the postal service (a medium that many have thought fallen out of favor) to send creative, unique mail and mail art to friends and strangers all over the world. We take new users through simple ways to create more individual and interesting pieces of mail, from the humble postcard to mail-able sculptures, and then we introduce them to the finer points of working within the Mail Art network.

How long have you been doing this type of craft or art?
I would honestly say that I have been making mail art since high school, when I had a variety of pen-pals that I discovered through the pen-pal section of my favorite band’s Fan Club. Those people introduced me to the idea of friend books (essentially an add-and-pass in the fine mail art tradition) and the idea of making one’s mail as distinctive and artistic as possible. Within were letters, yes, but also drawings, mix tapes, and even things like 100 plastic ants. People prided themselves on how unusual they could make their mailings, which were essentially to complete strangers. The only comparable level of dedication I’ve seen since has been with mail artists. I became more interested in mail art as its own medium (separate from mere letter-writing, in which I was still engaged) when I met Jennie in 2004 and we started sending things to one another.

What inspired you to write Good Mail Day?
Jennie {Hinchcliff} and I have been engaged in our project, Pod Post, since we met, and Pod Post is, purely and simply, correspondence-obsessed. We have sold stationery sets and mail art kits, as well as mail art bentos filled with tags, labels, stickers, and postal rubber stamps that we bought on a trip to Japan and assembled in little bento boxes (complete with fake sushi grass!). Our Pod Post logo incorporates the international symbol for Post. Pretty much everything Pod Post does has to do with mail and mail art. So it was a natural fit, and since we continually meet people who say, “Oh my gosh, people still SEND MAIL?” we jumped at the chance to show them all of the wonderful ways they can incorporate their love of collage, or typography, or illustration—you name it—into making and sending exciting mail art. Doesn’t everyone love to get REAL mail? Most people I know do. And the first rule of the Mail Art Network is that if you want to get great mail, you have to send great mail. We thought maybe people just needed a little nudge, and the book could serve that purpose.

What makes your book different?
Most of the mail art books I’m familiar with have been out-of-print for a long time, and other correspondence-related books seem to focus on either card-making or penmanship or something of a more specific nature. With mail art I think you get the entire package. At its best, it’s 100% handmade, completely unique to the sender, and definitely the kind of thing you want to keep. And unlike more traditional fine arts, mail art is still really affordable, especially in the United States, where you can send off a gorgeous piece of mail art for as little as a postcard stamp. I also hope people will notice the incredible variety of the mail art we received for submission, all of it received through a traditional mail art call-for-entries. There are so many styles in there that it’s my hope that everyone who sees it will understand that anyone can make mail art, it can take as little as ten minutes, and there’s room for everyone’s personal vision.

Who will most enjoy or benefit from this book?
Everyone! Seriously. Well, anyone who likes making things. A wood-whittler could make really exciting mail art! The most natural extensions of their crafts will be for calligraphers, illustrators, collage and scrapbook artists, printmakers, photographers, painters, typography and design nerds, philatelists, junk-hoarders, origami enthusiasts…. Honestly. Name a craft, and I could probably think of a way that it could be applied to mail art. Beyond that, we’re just looking for the people who say, “I remember when I used to get the best mail…”.

When and where will your book be available?
It's available right NOW! You can get it at Barnes and Noble, Borders, Amazon, and any number of craft stores.

Were there contributors to this book? If so, who were they?
We received a very large number of contributions through a call-for-entries and included nearly everyone in this book. They run the gamut—from friends and acquaintances who said “What’s mail art, again? Well, I guess I could do that…” to seasoned mail art networkers and paper crafters. There are far, far too many to list here.

Be sure to read up on the history of mail art at Wikipedia. It might surprise just how far it goes back. Then, check out the mail art at the following links.

http://www.actlab.utexas.edu/emma/
http://mailart2.com/
http://digitalmailart.blogspot.com/
http://www.zyarts.com/zybooks/mailartpage.html

Do you know of any others? Do share.

Now, wanna win a copy of the book? You get one entry for commenting on this post. But, wait! There’s more! Taking a cue from several blogs I’ve read recently I’ll also give you additional entries if you post about this giveaway on 1. Your blog 2. Your Twitter 3. One Other Social Networking Site. That’s a total of 4 possible entries. Just come back here and let me know that you posted about it and where. We’re on the honor system. :)

I’ll keep the comments open until Sunday evening 6 pm central time. Good luck and go forth and create mail art!

Oh My Goodness! Another Allen Designs Giveaway!

Oh, my! Michelle is giving away FOUR of her darling houses in another giveaway. She is one of the most generous bloggers I've ever run over with my car so that I could get my grubby mitts on that black, red, and pink one!

If you win be sure to email me and I'll send you my address.

Team Craft Critique Bats 1000!

Craft Critique is posting their 1000th post today! Woot! And to celebrate we're giving away all the goodies you see in this picture. Are you excited yet? To find out how to get your grubby little paws on this prize pack come on over!

Copic Tutorials List plus that little ol' Giveaway

Stamp by MK Colling

Ever wished there was one place to go on the web with an extensive list of tutorials and videos on Copic markers? Guess what? We gotcha covered at Craft Critique. Just popped up an article chock full of educational goodness. Plus it's not too late to get your name in for the giveaway we're having. So head on over and take a peek. :)

More Copic Marker Reviews and a Giveaway!

I am blown away by the reviews we have going on at Craft Critique. Tomorrow's the last day of them. And the funny thing is, I expected there to be a bunch of stampers. Not a one yet. Lots of cute illustrations instead. :) Oh! And get this - we are giving away a set of 12 Copic Atyou Spica glitter pens to one lucky commenter! How cool is that!

Win a class with Julie Prichard!

I first saw Julie Prichard's journal pages in Somerset's Art Journaling Winter 09 issue. They are juicy and full of life. And now she's teaching a class to show YOU how to get that look in your journals! Run, don't walk, and get signed up now.

Strands Book Review and Giveaway at Craft Critique

I forgot to mention I have a new book review up at Craft Critique. Go check it out and enter the giveaway for Jacqueline Myers-Cho's book. Strands Book Review and Giveaway

My Beautiful Kitty Canister from Michelle Allen!

I won this wonderful kitty from Michelle Allen over at Allen Designs. She described it as a "box" so I was quite surprised with how large it was when it came in the mail a couple weeks ago. It's more of a small candy or cookie jar. Which is exactly what I'm using it for on my art desk - to hide away my favorite candies.

Thank you so much, Michelle. I absolutely love my zany cat. I will treasure it for a long time. Oh, and I adore the cute little magnet you put in my package, too. :)


And my drug of choice? Old-fashioned candy sticks this week. :)

Book Giveaway Winners!

That's right, I said winners, as in two. The first name chosen was my sister's which, while totally fair, seemed a little biased. I already have a package ready to go out to her with a book in it. :) So I went ahead and had the boy draw another name. And that name is

Melanie of ScrapMel's Ramblings! yay! Email me your address and I'll get Complete Embellishing in the mail to you.

Thanks for reading all week!

Complete Embellishing Book Review

Tight budget? Bored with your current wardrobe and home accessories? Just want to stand out from the mall crowd? Creative Embellishing by Kayte Terry was written just for you. It contains “easy techniques and over 25 great projects.” The adorable headband on the cover is what really caught my eye what with headbands being all the rage now. It has a very Anthropologie feel to me.


The book starts with tools and techniques and a comprehensive section on sewing basics. This includes a variety of things such as hand-sewing, machine sewing, making pockets, patchwork, embroidery, crochet, felting, fabric printing, and basic appliqué. There are also simple directions for using beads, buttons, and sequins.


The rest of the book is divided into Garments, Accessories, and Home Furnishings. Each project is rated by its difficulty – Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced. There is a complete material list for each one that includes metric as well as standard measurements. The instructions are detailed enough that even the advanced projects are easy to understand and follow.


This book really embraces the DIY culture that is so popular at the moment. Most of the garments and accessories have a romantic feel to them while the 5 or so home furnishings are more modern. There’s a youthful vibe to the book as a whole. If you’re looking for that little bit extra that makes you unique, look no further. Complete Embellishing can help.


To wrap up book week this is the book I'll be giving away. I'll be taking all the comments on the book review posts from this past week (including this one) at 8 pm central time this evening and drawing one name. That person will receive Complete Embellishing compliments of Anova Books.

Update: The book giveaway is now ended. I will post the winner first thing in the morning! Thanks, everyone, for playing!

Kyuuto! Japanese Crafts Book Review - Fuzzy Felted Friends and Woolly Embroidery

The next two books are courtesy of the Kyuuto! Japanese Crafts book series by Chronicle Books. The series includes four books: Amigurumi, Fuzzy Felted Friends, Lacy Crochet and Woolly Embroidery. Since I don’t crochet I only have the embroidery and felting books.


The books were originally published in Japanese and have been translated into English. We’ve all run into badly translated foreign movies, instructions, and websites. These are nothing like that. They have been remarkably well done. The only thing that gives away their foreign nature is the naivete of the text.


Woolly Embroidery begins with 33 pages of color photos of the motifs and projects. This is followed by a guide to wool embroidery, useful tools and materials and thread color charts. There are also clear illustrations for 30 different decorative stitches. I find that particularly useful. The patterns are adorable, some even having a touch of that 1970’s crewelwork look that’s so popular.


Fuzzy Felted Friends is laid out in the same manner, with about half the book being full color photos of the projects. Several pages of step-by-step photos of the different techniques follow. The instructions for the projects are next and, fortunately, have both metric and standard measurements. It includes projects for wet and dry felting, for both felted animals and pouches/bags, for useful items and purely decorative cuteness.


I would say these books are suited to the crafter who has had some experience.However, they do have projects that are do-able by the beginner with a little bit of patience. I do wish there was a little bit more substance to each of them but $15 for an 80 page softcover book is still fairly reasonable.

Scrapbooker's Creativity Kit Book Review

The latest from the collage world’s darling Claudine Hellmuth is The Scrapbooker’s Creativity Kit: Prompts and Ideas to Jump-start Your Layouts. While it is marketed towards scrapbookers, the kit is useful for any type of journaling or painting really. In fact, many of the examples in the book aren’t even scrapbook layouts. There are also several of Claudine’s signature paintings as examples throughout the book.


In the kit you receive two decks of double-sided cards. One is a set of color cards and the other is a set of word cards. The trick is to draw two color cards and one word card and let those be the inspiration for your project. It’s not necessary to stick to the word precisely as you’ll find when you read some of the thought processes of the design team.


Speaking of the design team, Claudine has assembled some wonderful artists inside the 80 page book that’s included. They include Genevieve Simmonds, Donna Downey, Christina Lazar-Schuler, Rhonna Farrer, Ashley Calder, and Kal Barteski. Then there are many more artists in the gallery.


I wish the kit hadn’t been pigeonholed quite so specifically for scrapbookers. I think that will keep a lot of people from buying it that could really benefit from it. It’s a wonderful word prompt exercise that gets your juices flowing. Whether you use it to do a whole painting or journal page or just a quick ATC as a warm up, it’s comparable to one of those lessons they teach you in expensive art classes.

Stencil 101 Book Review

Stencil 101 by Ed Roth is one of those books that encourages you to tear out its pages. It contains 25 reusable stencils on glossy cardstock. And the very day it came in the mail my son was already pulling out the stencils and using them on a wooden case that was just screaming out for customization. And, hey, if something passes the teen boy test for coolness it must be pretty special. And he must be somebody special, too, because I let him use the book before I did.

I know it’s been said so many times that it’s ridiculous but really… these aren’t your granny’s stencils. You won’t find any English ivy or country geese here. We’re talking muscle cars and luchadores.

a journal page using a couple of the stencils

At the beginning is a brief history of stenciling and then a nice chapter on the basic stuff needed to get started. Then the author shows several projects using the stencils in the book. I wanted the book just for my journal pages but now I’m thinking my kitchen cabinets need an edgier look to them.

click for detail

The book has a nice expandable pocket in the back to keep your used stencils in. As I mentioned earlier the stencils are on cardstock, glossy on both sides so you can flip them either way. They should hold up to many many sprays. Even after you pull out the stencil there is a page left in the book that shows the design so you can still flip through the book to know what designs you have without digging them all out of the pocket. Or if it came down to it and you lost your stencil and were too cheap to buy another you could scan the image and cut another.

Speaking of buying stencils, Ed has lots of them available at his website, Stencil 1. He also has his own line of spray inks. And don’t forget to check out the awesome how-to videos while you’re there.

Don't Forget to Comment!

Don't forget that all comments left on the Book Week posts are entered at the end of the week for a book giveaway! I can see by the stats that y'all are out there lurking so start speaking up. :)

Cloth Dolls for Textile Artists Book Review

Cloth Dolls for Textile Artists comes to us courtesy of Ray Slater - textile artist, costume maker, doll artist extraordinaire. The dolls and surface techniques presented in this book are nothing short of stunning.

The author begins with a list of basic tools and equipment, general information, stuffing the doll, and the most general of info on machine embroidery. Since there are only a few pages devoted to this I would suggest that this book is definitely not for beginners.

She gives patterns for everything from the stump doll to the jointed doll and several variations in between. She’ll show you how to make a flat face, beautiful needle-sculpted one, or a completely 3- d head. The directions for the painting the face with colored pencils are excellent as well.


But really it’s in the embellishing and costuming that these dolls really take on their character. The author’s talents as a costume maker are brought out to play. There are a multitude of techniques for fabric surface treatments including dyeing, painting, beading, embroider – hand and machine, couching, appliqué, stamping and more. You’ll also learn how to make wrapped cords and braids, cutwork fabric from sheer polyester, fabric with water-soluble film. And then she shows you beautiful needle-felted hair and examples of headdresses from the techniques in the book.


While this book is not for the timid, it *is* for those who want to make a statement with their dolls. The techniques can be accomplished with the step-by-step directions and patterns. The photos are highly detailed and inspiring. I believe this is a book that should be on every dollmaker’s shelf.


For more of my reviews click here.

For more on Book Week click below:

French General: Home Sewn Book Review

French General: Home Sewn is one of those books that makes you want to push everything to the side, pull out the sewing machine and make.something.right.now. It’s the latest in the French-influenced line of books, stationery, and other sundries from Kaari Meng. And she does it so well. The photos are gorgeous. The illustrations are charming. And it never feels uppity-French (That’s a technical term. ;) ) It has a rustic elegance suited to almost any home.

one of the adorable illustrations

I want to make everything in this book. Fortunately, everything is labeled according to its difficulty - one spool for beginner, two spools for experienced, and three spools for advanced. The one spool projects are perfect for when I just have a couple hours and want whip up something simple and pretty. Speaking of simple, some of the projects will have you thinking “Why didn’t I think of that?!” Yet they’re so beautiful you won’t feel like they are a waste of space in the book.

The beginning of the book is dedicated to finding and caring for vintage French fabrics and notions. The instructions are applicable to all old fabrics. Next is a small chapter on putting together a sewing basket. In the back of the book you’ll find general sewing and embroidery techniques. Kaari has listed her favorite suppliers and designers in the resource guide, as well.

The book lies flat with a convenient spiral binding. There is an envelope of full-size patterns as well as monograms and embroidery designs.

All in all, I love this book. It’s my new favorite sewing book. I’ve pictured here some of my favorite projects… the ones that are first on my list to sew. Anyday now.

P.S. I may have to steal the spool rating system to start rating books here on the blog. :)

P.P.S. Don't Forget to leave a comment to be entered in thebook giveaway at the end of the week. For more info click below.