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  • Novica!

    November 22, 2011

    As promised, this week I have for you another awesome Novica give away, and just in time for the gift-giving season! Whether that gift is for you or someone else is entirely up to you.  But if you ask me, I think you deserve it.

    If you are unfamiliar with Novica and why I like them so much, here’s the deal – Novica works in association with National Geographic to showcase and sell art, jewelry, clothing, handbags, home décor, corporate gifts and more from artisans from all over the world.  Novica ensures the artists receive a fair market value for their work so that they might keep body and soul together, which as an artist and a human being, I really appreciate.  (I state this in every Novica  post because it is true and I can’t say it any better than I did the first time.)

    This time Novica has offered two $75 gift certificates, one for moi and another for one lucky Antique Mommy reader.  In addition to a dizzying array of jewelry, they have a huge selection of women’s accessories, like scarves and totes and handbags and even men’s accessories too, like cuff links. Do men still wear cuff links?

    I am trying to choose between these two bags.  What do you think? Which one?

     

     

    In my estimation, one cannot have too many bags.  I like the yellow one because it is shallow and a too-deep tote is worse than no tote at all because it becomes a big black hole which eats lipstick and important receipts.  And I love the color and style.  But.  I really like the Zapotec wool bag too. It just appeals to the eye.  Which one, which one? (insert hand wringing)

    If you would like a chance to win a $75 Novica gift card, check out Novica and leave a comment telling me about something you saw that you would like for you or someone you love.

    I will draw a comment at random when the mood strikes.

     

    * * *

    The mood has struck ~  contest closed!  Congratulations to Melanie, commenter #28!  Thanks to everyone for your comments and playing along!

     

    Fotolia

    April 19, 2011

    So what has Antique Mommy been doing for the past month and a half you ask? I have cleaned out my garage so that I can now walk in it and not trip over anything or have something fall on me. I can even set something down. This makes me very VERY happy. I am the anti-hoarder and orderliness gives me a thrill. And I’ve been playing with my camera and Photoshop and just generally goofing off and enjoying having the windows open and watching the grass turn green. There now, doesn’t your life seem more exciting just by comparison? You’re welcome.

    But enough about my clean garage and neat freak tendencies. I am here today to tell you about Fotolia, a photo stock company. They contacted me a while back and offered me some some free photo stock and asked me if I’d tell you about them and I said yes because I have been a Fotolia fan for a couple of years. And I like free stuff.  Don’t ask me how to pronounce it though because I do not know.  Is it “fo-toll-ya” or “foto-lee-ya”?

    Why would you use stock images you might ask. Well I use them on my blog from time to time. Sometimes a picture punctuates the story nicely. Any given post might not be worth a 1000 words, but a picture is.  I also have a company that makes photo montage presentations for businesses and people and sometimes I need an image to thread the story together, an image that I can’t get myself. A lot of what I do with Fotolia stock images is make digital art. But you can also make invitations, Christmas cards and scrapbooky type stuff.  In fact my blog background which I have had for the past five years is from Fotolia.

    So, here’s some stuff I’ve done with my Fotolia images recently.

    I call this Waiting for Miss Riding Hood.  It was made in Photoshop using a Fotolia stock image of a wolf (all three wolves are the same) and a Fotolia stock illustration of trees along with some stock textures. I thought it was very cool and put it on my Facebook page, but no one “liked” it.  Not even my mother.

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    This is a Fotolia stock graphic into which I inserted Sean’s pictures.

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    Below, I used a Fotolia stock graphic of a blank book and put Sean’s picture on the right and the text on the left.

     

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    So there you have it. If you are in need of reasonably priced stock images, check out Fotolia today!

    Awesome Novica Give-Away!

    November 3, 2010

    Congratulations to our winner, Kathy, commenter #60 selected by the good folks at Random.org.  Thanks to everyone for playing along!

    If you missed the contest, be sure to check out Novica for unique hand-crafted jewelry, gifts and more from artists all around the world.

    * * *

    I’m taking a break from venetian blind cleaning to bring you news of a give-away from Novica!

    Aside:  Know the best way to clean blinds? Get someone else to do it.  Also, who knew that the Venetian’s invented blinds? Certainly not I.  I visited Venice once and it never came up; it’s not on any of the chamber of commerce brochures.

    At any rate, I recently got an email from Novica saying they’d like to give me and you each a $50 Novica gift certificate!  I know.  I love $50 gift certificates, always have.

    As you may or may not recall from my previous Novica give-away is that they work in association with National Geographic to showcase and sell art, jewelry, clothing, handbags, home décor, corporate gifts and more from artisans from all over the world.  They ensure the artists receive a fair market value for their work so that they might keep body and soul together, which as an artist and a human being, I really appreciate.

    Their site is overwhelming with awesomeness.  They have a zillion items in all price ranges and all of them unique, handcrafted, eco-friendly and fabulous.  The jewelry comes in its own little handcrafted box and includes a bio of the artist. And in a world of identical big-box stores, it’s just kind of nice to know something of the person who made what I’m buying.

    Last time I got these earrings and this necklace which I love and wear just about every day.

    If you are interested in a chance to win the other gift certificate, visit Novica (and you may be gone for three or four hours because there is a LOT of cool stuff there) and then pop back in and leave me a comment telling me what you saw that you might like to have for yourself or someone special.  I’m thinking I might like to have this.

    I’ll choose a winner at some point on Monday.

    * * *

    Other ways to keep up with Novica:

    Novica on Twitter

    Novica on Facebook

    Novica Review and Give Away

    April 7, 2010

    I got an email recently from Novica, a company that works in association with National Geographic to showcase and sell art, jewelry, clothing, handbags, home décor, corporate gifts and more from artisans from all over the world.  Novica ensures the artists receive a fair market value for their work so that they might keep body and soul together, which as an artist and a human being, I really appreciate.

    I visited their site and was overwhelmed.  They have a zillion items in all price ranges and all of them unique, handcrafted, eco-friendly and fabulous.  Each item includes a bio of the artist and in a world of identical big-box stores, it’s just kind of nice to know something of the person who made what I’m buying.

    Novica has offered me two $75 gift certificates, one for me and one for you – isn’t that nice?  I’m getting these earrings for me because I seem to really be attracted to amber right now for some inexplicable reason.  And then I can get something else too, but I don’t know what yet.  I need another 6 or 7 hours to shop.

    If you are interested in a chance to win the other gift certificate, visit Novica (and you may be gone for three or four hours because there is a LOT of cool stuff there) and then pop back in and leave me a comment telling me what you saw that you liked or what you think I should get.

    I’ll choose a winner at some point on Monday.

    * * *

    Other ways to keep up with Novica:

    Novica on Twitter

    Novica on Facebook

    * * *

    WINNER!

    Pat #66 ~ congratulations!  Can’t wait to see what you get!

    Scrapblog Winner

    April 6, 2010

    And we’ve got a winner in the Scrapblog give away, commenter #66, Shelly!  Look for an email from me Shelly!

    Congratulations Shelly!  Let’s have a race to see who can finish their Scrapblog first!  Okay, you win.  So then, yes, I was going to have my Scrapblog done to show you but then I started working on the kindergarten graduation slide show and I’ve gone all Spielberg on it, which is to say it takes time to over-do something, and well, you know how it is.

    If you do a Scrapblog will you let me know so I can steal your ideas compliment your brilliance and creativity and of course marvel over your awesomely smart and beautiful kids/grandkids/dog?

    *  *  *
    In other news, we had a nice quiet Easter, the highlight of which was watching my nonagenarian Aunt Jean hunt the Easter eggs Sean hid for her in the park.

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    Stay tuned because later in the week I’m going to be giving away a $75 gift certificate to Novica which is a National Geographic site which sells all kinds of cool stuff from artists all over the world – everything from jewelry to gifts to home decor.  They have tons and tons of cool stuff, so you might want to start shopping now.  More on that later.

    A Scrappy Kinda Gal

    April 1, 2010

    I used to be a scrapbooker back in the day when scrapbooking meant gluing ticket stubs and photographs into a book.

    I started a scrapbook back in 1996 when I met AD.  I kept it up faithfully until we started building the house we live in now and I haven’t touched it since.  That was 10 years ago.

    When I learned I was pregnant, scrapbooking had come into it’s own and there were mega-stores with stickers and fancy paper and classes and cropathons, all of which overwhelmed me. Nonetheless, with good intentions, I went out and bought all the scrapbook stuff imagining I would make an awesome book for my baby.  Aaaaand, its all still sitting in the bag with the receipt.

    Somewhere along the way, scrap booking went digital and although I found digital cutting and pasting waaaay more appealing than literal cutting and pasting, I just never ventured into it but always thought that it would be something right up my artsy ally.

    Recently, Scrapblog.com contacted me and asked me if I would like to try out their digital scrapping site and so I took it for a spin and about 300 hours later I can say with all sincerity, “Hi. My name is Antique Mommy and I’m a scrapaholic.”

    On Scrapblog, You can make a free on-line Scrapblog, just like a regular blog only with scrap, or you can get it printed up into a nice little book. They have all the scrap you could ever want, some of it free, some of it you purchase in their marketplace, and you can even add music if you want and make it private or public, just like any other blog.

    I used to mock the scrapbookers and how they would hole away for weekends cropping and stickering, but now I understand their addiction. And addicts need friends and this is where you come in.

    Scrapblog.com would like to give one of y’all a Scrapblog package consisting of a keepsake book and two cards with free shipping.  Would y’all be interested in something like that?

    If so, leave a comment below and I’ll draw a winner on Monday and hopefully by that time I’ll have my on-line scrapbook ready to show you!  Here’s a page I’m working on.

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    * * *

    The contest is over and the winner has been chosen!

    Notes From The Underwire

    July 20, 2009

    I think the single most thing I love about blogging is its serendipitous nature.  Oft times I’ll click on a link on a blogroll and then another and another and like a beagle, I’ll end up somewhere far from where I started and have no idea how I got there.   Using that approach to the internet and life, I’ve met a lot of nice people, made some new friends and discovered some really incredible writers.

    And that’s exactly how I found The QC Report written by Quinn Cummings.  Which is to say, I have no idea how I found her.  Quinn is the author of the new book Notes from the Underwire and if you haven’t read her work before, I recommend you start by reading this post on Christmas, which I loved.  Then go here for something poignant and thoughtful and then here for something funny to top it off. Think of it as the Quinn Sampler Platter.

    Following is my interview with Quinn which I promised last week.  At the end, leave a comment telling me the title of your would-be autobiography for a chance to win an autographed copy of her book.

    Mine?  “Confessions of a Neat Freak ~ I Straightened Up Your Medicine Cabinet When I Used Your Bathroom”

    * * * *

    AM: Okay Quinn, I know that you were a child star in Hollywood back in the day, but based on what I know of you and what you write about, that fact seems to be more a less just a footnote to your life.  It doesn’t really seem to define you all that much.  Is that how you view your experience as a child star, or has it shaped you more than comes through in your writing? That’s my way of saying, you seem so normal.  Just like me. Only with more normal thrown in.

    QC: You see normal, I see the state about to get involved.

    Last week, I took my daughter to a water park, which is basically like swimming in the urine of a middle-school. And then we were starving and the pizza line moved not one person in twenty minutes and we were hanging on each other from low-blood sugar, so I bought us a funnel cake to eat for lunch. I ask you, is that normal? By the way, the average American is FAR more tattooed then I suspected. Things you learn at a water park.

    Anyway.

    Acting took up no more than about six years of my life. They were six rather public years, but even during those years I wasn’t an actress every second. Mostly, I was a ten year old roller-skating, or a eight year-old weaseling out of math homework or an eleven year-old washing the dog.  The part where I was acting was such a fraction of my life even then that I think I’d be a pretty pathetic figure to define myself by that. It would be like introducing myself to people as the second-fastest runner in the third grade.

    AM: Actually Quinn, I WAS the second-fastest runner in the 3rd grade.   It’s really a shame how few occasions there are to drop that in conversation.

    So then, if not Hollywood, what people or events of your life shaped you and your world view?

    QC: In case you wondered if I was really geeky and weird when I was a kid, try this one for size; I never saw an episode an episode of “Charlie’s Angels” and I ate dinner in front of “60 Minutes” every week. I saw my mother and father working hard every day of their lives, which certainly informed my idea of what real responsible adults looked like. I think the person who most deeply affected me was this internal vision I had of what being an adult was. I was to be well-read, hard-working, crusading for the afflicted, all that. I’m rarely her, but when I become disappointed with myself, that’s the image I see, the one I’m not living up to.

    AM: I absolutely loved the story where you tried to help this stray dog, but ultimately it doesn’t end well. It was funny and tragic all at the same time.  At the root of your stories is this sort of average girl who just wants to be helpful to people and animals and sometimes things go awry.  Is that true?  If not, what two or three words would you use to describe yourself?

    QC: That’s it.  Perfect. I’m weird and asocial, but I want to be the good person, doing the right thing, helping those who need help. And if only my need to be of service could be put into another body, much would be accomplished. But, sadly, that part of me is stuck with the inappropriate and graceless part of me.

    AM: I am a huge fan of the short story, which is one of the reasons I love this book and your blog, because right now, with a 5-year-old, it’s all I have time for.  I love the sort of randomness of the stories, I love that all together they are just the right mix of funny and charming to sweet and tender.  Did you set out to write a collection of short stories or have you been writing these all along?

    QC: The blog format suited me, because after about fifteen hundred words, my fingers and my brain goes numb. I have a friend who is working on a historic epic. She’s been doing the background work for years. It’s going to be such a page-turner you won’t be able to breathe! I’m in awe of her and could no more do that than take out my pancreas. When I write my stories, in my mind I’m walking through Target with my friend Veronica telling her about my newest ghastly exploit. The nicest thing I’m hearing from readers is that reading a story is just like having a friend with them.

    AM: What I love about your writing is how precisely you use language. As a reader, it feels as though the words just laid down on the paper for you.  There is no evidence of the struggle of writing and for me that what makes it a pleasure to read.  Does writing come easily to you?

    QC: Thank you for your kind words. I steal from Patrick Dennis when he had Auntie Mame say, “Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death.” I feel that way about language. I think about what I’m going to write for a long time before it goes on to the page. When I find the right word to describe something, I giggle in delight. But also, my brain works in metaphors anyway. I can’t rest until I’ve decided how something I’ve just seen is like something I already know. Ask Consort about how nice I am until I can find the missing metaphor.

    AM: Is blogging a help or hindrance to writing a book?

    QC: They’re not dissimilar, but thanks to an editor who said very firmly, “Blogs are what happens every day; books have to take on bigger topics,” I sort of instinctively shift some stories from “Ooh, book!” to “Oh, you’re a blog.”

    AM: I know you did some screen writing a number of years ago. What other types of things might you like to write? Do you aspire to write a novel?

    QC: I know better than to say never, if for no other reason than the universe tends to throw you the “Never” thing, just to see you explain it to your friends. I will say this; I write a fine little miniature about my life, but I don’t make up stories. It’s not my inclination and it’s not my talent. I cannot imagine  the circumstances under which I’d write a novel. I think I’ll stay with my miniatures.

    AM: I think all moms who blog have to decide at some point if and how much they are going to write about their children.  What does your daughter think of the book and having her life put to words?   What do you hope she will say of this book 10 or 20 years from now?

    QC: Her strongest feeling is being miffed that others get to read it and she doesn’t. She’s read a couple of chapters and laughed in delight, but not everything is for kids. Especially not the kid who is in the book; I chill at the thought of her doing something cute someday and turning to me and trilling, “You should put that in a BLOG!”

    I hope she reads this ten years from now, twenty years from now and a year after I’m dead and thinks, “My mother was a lunatic but she adored me.”

    AM: When the reader has turned the last page and closed the cover, what idea or concept or feeling do you hope they take away?

    QC: I got a phone call from a friend with nice things to say about the book. She said, “I had no idea how much we were alike.” You have to believe me when I say that there’s no way we’re alike. She’s sort of glowy and runs a fabulous house and her stationary is flawless and she was raised right. And she still saw herself in my cracked and finger-printed mirror of a book. I want every reader who sees herself in some way in my careening well-meaning, that we’re mostly all a little lost, running late, with every intention of helping with the school fund-raiser this year just as soon as we can determine the source of the weird smell coming off the dog. I started off this book thinking I was incredibly weird. And while I still think I’m a couple of bubbles off plumb, I think a lot of people need to be reminded that we’re all doing the best we can.

    AM: What’s next for Quinn?

    QC: Tonight?  Sleep. After that, some writing and a little parenting. And it’s safe to say that I’ll accidentally insult someone. If it’s you, please accept my apology in advance.

    * * * *

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    That’s actually Quinn on the cover in one of her “going to the grocery store” outfits.  What a fashionista!

    Don’t forget to leave a comment for a chance to win an autographed copy of Quinn’s book!

    What Happens When A Friend Comes To Town

    May 27, 2009

    Yesterday my friend Lysa TerKeurst was in town to do a taping at a local television studio.  In the afternoon, before the taping, I popped over and met her and Holly at their hotel for coffee, although there wasn’t any coffee. Lysa is off coffee and has managed to go on with her life in a meaningful way, but I am not.  And I could have used a pot cup. I was in my afternoon slump.  But I do want to report that I did not lie down and curl up on the sofa in the hotel lobby, even though I sorely wanted to.

    Okay, so then later that evening, my friend Donna at Way More Homemade (who is super on top of things and not only knew about the taping but scored us some tickets) and my other friend Jennifer (that’s four friends I have if you’re keeping tally) and I went over to the studios to be part of the audience and watch Lysa be interviewed and talk about her book.

    And she was compelling as always and funny and talked about the kind of stuff that stirs up unnamed things in your heart.

    At the end of the taping the host asked if anyone in the audience had any questions for Lysa, and my friend Donna popped up out of her seat.  Not to say, “Please Lysa, tell me more about Jesus” but “Where did you get those shoes?!”

    And in fact, Lysa did have on the cutest blue shoes you ever did see that matched her sweater exactly and it was not lost on anyone of the female persuasion in the viewing audience.  But her shoes in no way took away from her message because when we look at Lysa, we see the Lord. And then her awesome shoes.

    Everyone in the audience received a copy of Lysa’s latest book What Happens When Women Say Yes To God. And since I already have a copy, I had Ms. TerKeurst autograph my copy so I could give it away to you!

    And it just so happens that Jennifer and I are reading through this book together over here (or click on the little gal with the Yes heart in the right sidebar). We are only on chapter five, so if you’d like to jump in that would be awesome and you would be so welcome.

    If you would like to win this book, which I love even though it is challenging me and giving me unrest on some issues (in a good way) leave me a comment telling me what you are saying yes to today.

    I’m saying yes to doing less so I can experience more in a more meaningful way – God, my family and my friends in particular.

    I’ll draw the winner at the end of the day so I can get this off in the mail to you tomorrow.

    * * * * *

    We got a winner! Kay Sisk ~ commenter #58, writer of romance novels and self-described small town Texas gal.  Congrats Kay!

    Writers Who Write

    April 21, 2009

    Guess who won Scribbit’s April Write Away contest? You can find out here!  I had the privilege of picking the winner but I didn’t know the identity of the author until this morning.  She’s one of my favorite commenters here at Antique Mommy and an excellent writer with an unique perspective.

    It was a delightful honor to get to read all 56 submissions. And it was hard!  Not because there were so many to read but because they all touched my heart in some way and I wanted everyone to win.  If you didn’t win, don’t feel too badly. I’ve entered Scriibbit’s Write Away contest before and I didn’t win either!

    Congrats to the winner, the honorable mentions and all the people who took the time to submit an essay!

    In other writing news…

    I have this friend, Kay Thomas, whom I have known for (GULP!) 15 years.  I’ve known her since I was seven. I swear.  Anyway, it turns out that Kay is an author. And I had no idea until just recently. She has written not one book, but a bunch of them. Kay writes romance thrillers for Harlequin.  How did I not know that all this time?  About once a year, I see Kay at the Christmas party of a mutual friend, and when I see this face, I’m thinking carpool mom.  Who knows what romance and intrigue lurks in the hearts of carpool moms?  Apparently not me.

    Anyway, Kay has two new books out – “Better Than Bulletproof” and a continuation in that line of intrigue with “Bulletproof Texas”.  Her books have been given 4 ½ and 5 stars by star-giving people. That’s good.  Anyway, here’s the official synopsis below:

    “Better Than Bulletproof” — Gina Rodgers, a struggling advertising artist, has just landed the account of a lifetime when her sister mysteriously disappears and leaves behind a five-year-old autistic son. Even though she has no idea how to deal with her nephew’s overwhelming needs, Gina drops everything in her Dallas job and travels to Mississippi to care for Adam and look for her sister. There she discovers an unexpected ally in the child’s play therapist, Harlan Jeffries, an ex-military sniper seeking redemption through working with special needs children.

    “Bulletproof Texas” — The bulletproof action continues in this romantic suspense thriller about a pharmaceutical research scientist and a brooding caving guide who are forced to work together extracting cancer-eating bacteria from a flooding Texas Hill Country cave. As sparks fly and passions rise, so do the dangers when a competitor decides this potential cure shouldn’t see the light of day–and is willing to kill anyone who gets in the way.

    If you would like to win an autographed set of Kay’s two new books, leave me a comment telling me this:  If you were the star of a Harlequin romance novel, what would your name be?

    Mine would be Chenille Robeson.

    Your turn.

    * * *
    UPDATE:  Winner! #37, Sarah, um I mean Lynn Little Rock, who writes Beauty In The Mundane.

    The contest is officially over but please feel free to leave a comment with your Harlequin Romance name!

    PhotoWorks Winner!

    January 28, 2009

    …is the lovely Roxanne,  commenter #123, chewer of Green Apple bubble gum, builder of homes, teacher of children, mother of two, wife of one! Yay Roxanne! Congratulations.  Head over to PhotoWorks and pick out something groovy for yourself!  Look for an email from me with details!

    A big big BIG thank you to everyone who left a comment!  If I had kept the give away for myself I would have written each of you a personal thank you note for sharing your delightful stories. Seriously, I would. No not really. But! Each of your stories touched either my heart or my funny bone or both.  And I thank you.