One World One Heart 2011

Hi everybody!..Welcome to my blog!

My name is Laura,I am originally from Spain,but I live in Jacksonville,Florida right now with my husband and my puppy Angel!
I love reading ,painting, watching Hindi movies and sewing pillows and everything that cross in front of me!;^P
I also enjoy having "tapas" on Sundays with friends and family when I go back to Spain and long nights at the beach on the summers when you can see all the starts!

My door prize is going to be this little Flamenca doll brooch.
Everyone knows Flamenco as an important part of Spanish culture,recently UNESCO declared it one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

This cute little doll is a wink to my Spanish roots.Around 3 inches tall (7.50 cm) this little doll is cute and full of fun!.You can choose your favorite color!!!
this is open to all active bloggers worldwide, just leave a comment and let me know where can I contact you in case you are the winner and leave a link to your blog so I can visit you back too!

The Winner will be announced Feb. 17th ,I will email you and let you know and I will post it on my blog!:^P

For more inflo click in the button on  the right!
Have fun!!

The ABC: B is for Birds

Today is ABC's day!
Last week Tatter Beans started a new post where every monday she is going to follow the ABC's and  show us one of her creations!

Every body can participate on it, it doesn't have to be a print it can be whatever your craft is...you just need to follow in order of the Alphabet ...

This week it is B as Birds!

Like the hummingbirds that you can find in this pillow!

Take care!

Gifts are ready!

The little gifts from my Pay it Forward are ready to ship!...thanks arcoirisbundlesofjoy and LybbysGirlyThings for participating!
I hope you guys like it!!:^P

There is still three more gifts waiting to be send to somebody so click in the link above and leave a comment!!

This week I am grateful for...

This week I would like to thank for the good weather!!

I am very afraid of Tornados since one day I was home alone when one almost hit my apartment complex back in Maryland. I have been running away from them since then!

I thought Florida where going to be different about that. Yes,we have Hurricanes and huge thunderstorms, but I never thought I were going to be home alone again with a tornado warning!

So when the next day I went out to walk my puppy and the sun warmed up my face I was really grateful for that sun that give us life in many ways!

Walking around Etsy

It has been a long week so far and I needed to relax a little bit before I had to go back to packing for the moving,so I decided to take a walk around Esty like every week.

This time I wasn't really looking for anything, I just wanted to walk around an enjoy the beautiful village where Etsy market is.
For some of you Etsy village might be by the beach or by the mountain but to me it is like the little villages in south Spain known as "los pueblos blancos" (white villages).

Potograph made by mcresearch

The sun was up and it was feeling really good!.I set down and I took a look around, kids were playing, women were sitting in front of their houses talking about their every days  things, all the windows were full of beautiful geraniums and the birds were singing on the back ground.

Original Oil on Canvas Geranium by Ironsidelmpastos
 

love birds by GloriousGirlJewelry

The smell of orange blossom was everywhere, it felt like one of those days where the time doesn't matter and the afternoons are eternal.

Fresh Oranges by nboudreau

 After a while the sun started going down and a beautiful sunset showed up on the horizon, it was time to go back home....

Annoucning the FIFTH and FINAL One World One Heart Event!

 One World One Heart is a worldwide event for bloggers only. It gives all those who blog a chance to meet and mingle and form connections with those they may not have otherwise met from all over the world. In the past 4 years this event has grown to over 1,000 participants with lasting friendships (and even one love connection) formed along the way.  Think of it as a GIGANTIC open house allowing you to travel without ever leaving your home........going from blog to blog(in various countries) seeing the wonder each one has created and meeting all the fabulous people behind those blogs. As a bonus each blogger participant will offer up a "door prize or prizes"....just for dropping by, saying hello and seeing their world.  It's really that easy

IT WILL BEGIN ON SUNDAY JANUARY 3OTH WITH THE FINAL DAY BEING FEBRUARY 17TH.(the day winners are announced) 2011


For more information click here!

Give away!!

Last week I did my first Give Away and I  am very happy with the results, a lot of wonderful people participated on it and left lots of comments.I would like to thank them all!!
And now lets see who is the lucky one who is going to have my heart!!

And the winner is!!!...........ASIA!!!...congratulations!!lol..girl you left thousands of comments so you had a lot of chances to get the brooch!!:^D...send me a convo with your address and You will have your little brooch soon!!

This week I am hosting a give away for a great friend and a better person, Discola!..take a look to monday post Beach or Mountain? and you will be able to know more about her work!
She is giving away one of her wonderful earring, the winner will be able to chose between all this  models, isn't it grate??

In order to have the chance to take home one of her earrings you will have to visit her shop,take a look around and leave a comment with the item that you love the most and why.
If you want to have more changes then you can share this give away with your friend on FB,twitter or talk about it in your blog and leave a comment with the link.

Here a leave a few closer pics of the earring that you can chose from!

Orange and Blue upholstery fabric earring

Striped upholstery fabric earrings

Black and White silk earrings

Green and Pink upholstery fabric earring

Striped upholstery fabric earring

Denim earrings

This give away will be open until next Wednesday!...don't be shy,take a look around her shop,leave thousands of comments and get the chance to have one of her beautiful earring!!
Don't forget to come back next week to know the winner!!

Here I leave this week treasury challenge from the undiscovered team!!!..take a look around and click,click,click!!..I need to be the winner this week!!:^P

I love Pounce!!

Today is Pounce day!!

Every week we use the pounce button on Etsy to find new fantastic undiscovered shops and this week I found a very unique one!

The name is PetiteMascarade and belong to Jacob and Celeste.They create beautiful miniature mask that can transport you to a magical world.
Their mask are inspired by the magic of the masquerade, the beauty of nature and the character of small woodland creatures.Each mask is a unique piece made entirely by hand.

I asked them to tell me a little bit about their work and themself  and what a better way to tell you guys than transcribing their own words!

About our art... Hmmm... Well, we had been wanting to make art together for a while. I (Celeste) am an illustrator/painter and Jacob is great at sculpting and modeling, so we figured we ought to combine the two in some way.

We got the idea for the masks around Halloween. We created a large bull's head venetian mask for a minotaur costume, had a great time making it and it was quite popular (it got featured on the geek blog Boing Boing). We decided to make more animal/venetian masks and see what we could come up with. We thought of making the hummingbird mask first, a bit as a humorous opposite to the bull mask, because it was so tiny and cute in comparison. From the dainty jewel-like hummingbird sprouted the fantasy of little masquerade parties hosted by small animals and we decided to provide small birds, mice, insects and frogs with proper attire for the occasion...

It may be mainly a shameless excuse for us to completely go crazy in craft supplies, paint and sewing shops ;) But we are delighted with the great response we've had on Etsy since 'opening' our store in December. Lots of people added our masks as favorites and we're happy that they for a moment share the whimsical vision of little critters attending costume parties. Jacob and I enjoy every minute of creating each little mask, seeking the right shape and colors for them. We believe that enjoyment is contagious so hopefully we're spreading something pretty and fun around.

 


Only thinking about the little animals hosting little parties around the forest make me travel to a beautiful and magical world, just because of that this shop is one of a kind, please stop by and give them lot of love!!

Beach or Mountains?

Last week question was about who you love the most,cats or dogs. It ended up almost with tie..but the winners are cats!!;^P

Cats are the most popular pets in the world, they have been with humans for at least 9.500 years!
They are fun,clever and adorable!

Here it is some curiosities about them..

The oldest cat in the world lived for 36 years.
They obey women easily because they perceive better high-pitched sounds.
In the ancient Egypt,when a woman was very beautiful she was called "cat" and to look more pretty they use to paint lines in their eyes imitating the look of cats.
Chocolate,coffee and aspirin are poisonous for our little furry friend.I know it sounds obvious,but just in case some body didn't know!

And now lets talk about our three featured seller for today!

Our first seller is BonAndChi ,they are actually two seller in one, it doesn't mean that one is inside the other like the Russians doll,they are husband(Bon) and wife(Chi)!
They opened their shop on November last year and since then they have been creating fun and unique photo holders,charm ornaments and figures made out of polymer clay!

Take a look to their shop and don't leave without one of their items!

Our second seller is LibbyGirlyThings ,she makes beautiful hair bows for our little princesses and cute little felt dolls that I personally love,they are adorable!
Like this redhead here,isn't she cute??

Please stop by her shop and get some for your little ones!!

And our third  seller today is Discola, originally from Barcelona,Spain,this artist create grate handmade accessories mixing leather,fabric,felt,buttons and beads.
In her shop you will find leather and crochet cuffs, mixed materials necklaces and bracelets,leather broochs, rings and earings. Everything a women can dream of!

This one is one of my favorites!!..stop by her shop and give her some love!

This week question is ...What do you enjoy more, going to the beach or the mountains?
Looking forward to see your comments!
Take care!

Lazy Sunday.

Today I am feeling a little lazy and sad, my husband had to leave us today for a few days and I am not used to it.
I am used to be a lot of hours by myself, but in the end of the day I know he is going to come back home and he is going to sleep by my side.
What am I going to do the next couple of days?? I have some friends coming over on Monday night and they are staying for a few days,that is going to be grate for me and GG (my puppy)..they have kids and she love kids, she love licking them and knocking  them over too!

This morning I took her out for a while and we played soccer together, well I was kick the ball and she was picking it up and running away from me!

Later on i will take here out for play time with her best friend milky,an adorable boxer/lab mix who has a lot of patient with the little GG!..they love fighting for the same pine cone,stick or whatever they find out there!

Milky and GG kissing each other..they are too cute!

I am posting today two of my latest treasuries...and I wanted to thank all my teammates for featuring me in their beautiful treasuries!

Kinda retro pillow??!!?!

Yesterday I finished the new pillow for my shop...most of the time I know the title of it and I don't have a lot of problems making a description of it..but this one I wasn't really sure!
So since my dog cant really answer any of my question, the only things she can do is look at me and turn her head to one side, I decided to ask my husband about his opinion....I don't even know why I did it!

I showed him the pillow... he said "Nice!..humm cute!!" . and he kept doing his things.
So I tried again..."what do you think about it??."..he said "Nice!..it is very nice!."
After the second "nice"..I felt that all the blood from my body where coming up to my head and my nostrils where getting bigger every second.
I took a deep breath and I decided to ask him a different question hoping that he would give me a different answer!.
"So ...when you see it...how does it feels??..what style do you think it is??."
He looked at me,then he looked at the pillow,then back to me and say.."I don't know honey...I don't know about styles!"...more blood where coming up to my head..I think I even felt some smoke coming out of my ears!
Ok last try, I thought.."Do you see retro when you see the pillow??" ..and he said..."Kinda!"
what mean kinda?...maybe yes?...maybe no?...yes but no??...how can something looks like kinda some?
After that I gave up and I decided to ask you guys about what type of look you think is the most characteristic!

 
I would really appreciate your opinions!!...looking forward to see your comments!
take care!

This week I am grateful for...

Like every week I join Maxabella loves..blog and I thank something or somebody who help me go through my live ,and This week I am grateful for my parents.

I would like to thank them for giving me great values and a life that I will always be grateful for.
For sacrificing their youth working hard to give me everything that I needed and more!
For always supporting me in everything,even knowing that sometimes I was wrong in my decisions.
And I would like to thank them for being with me every day and every moment of my life even though we are thousands of miles away.

I have always known that they wanted what was best for me,even if we often disagreed on what that was!.
If I needed help,they would see me through,If I found success,they would celebrate it with me..
I have always known that they trusted me,believed in me,supported me,and loved me..

For all that and more I want to thanks them.

Walking around Etsy

I have been busy lately around the house because we are moving out in a couple of week to our new home.
I have noticed that a lot of things are getting old and plus in our new home I am going to be able to have a studio for me and I don't have anything to decorate it with!

So as every week I decided to go out and take a walk around Etsy market!
This time I had plenty of time to have breakfast at home so when I got there I went  straight to find what I needed.

I knew I needed a new entree rug for my door so I stopped by darckcycleclothing shop.
When I got inside I saw a lovely couple drinking their coffee and surrounded by a lot of fun T-shirts!
I know you are thinking, how is she going to find a entree rug in a cloth store?..well they don't only sell T-shirt ,they sell cotton tote bags ,throw pillow and the rugs that I was looking for!!..isn't it great??

The rug is made of polypropylene and has a latex backing to keep the mat firmly in place.It has been screen printed with an eco-friendly water based black ink.

Now..what else did I need??..Oh yeah!...a notebook!..one of my goals for this years is to make my Etsy shop successful and for that I will need to keep up with all my sells and costs, and I need a place where I can make my sketches.

After walking around for a little while I found sweetlifepaper shop.
I just felt in love with it!..her shop was full of really clean and organic inspired stationery cards,note books and notepads.
And the cool part about it was that she personalize  them with your name! So at the end of it I came out of the shop with the hole set!

Now I just needed some new placemats for my breakfast table.But before I got to the store I started feeling hungry after all this walking around ,so I stopped by SkippingSkones shop to get me some Raspberry Sandwich cookies with lemon butter cream filling,they were so delicious!!

After all that sugar I was ready to keep walking searching for the missing placemats!
I found it in descoquelicots shop, their shop create useful and practical object,with the main characteristic of the soft and warm aspect of the felt as the main material.
This two Aqua felt placemats  were perfect for my home!

I knew I needed to keep shopping but It was getting late..times goes by so fast when I walk around etsy!
I will be back next week for more shopping ,how about you?

Give away!!!

Hi everybody!!

Today is my first give away!!...the reason why I am doing it is because last week I was the winner of  asia bataev give away and I thought that a good way to thanks for this little gift was giving one myself!!

I am going to ask only for one thing!...post it in your blog, facebook, twitter or any website that you have and leave a comment with the link to it, the more comments your leave with links the more chance you will have to win!!

Now that Valentine's day is around the corner,I was thinking that what a better gift than one of my little heart brooch!..If you are the winner you will get to choose the one that you like!!

Looking forward to see your comments!!

And today is Undiscovered team treasury challenge!!..here is my treasury this week..please take a look and click around!!

I love Pounce!!

Today is Pounce day!!

I was pouncing around and I found Shopmiette!
She opened her shop just a few days ago and her work is amazing!

Amanda Spicer is the creator and curator of the mietteboutique, and shopmiette www.mietteboutique.com She was born in 1975, in the Eastern Townships of Quebec, an area commonly known as Estrie. She later moved to Saskatoon Saskatchewan where she spent most of her school years. It was there that she met her husband . The couple and their four children now live in Calgary Alberta. A completely self taught artist Amanda continues to teach herself new methods and mediums all the time in between drinking large amounts of coffee, enjoying the more than occasional glass of wine, and eating cookies. Drawing inspiration from Tarot, Fairy tales, nightmares and mysteries, mixed with a light dose of humour,The narrative illustrations that she creates have come from a far distant corner of the artists imagination. Where they are going, ... is open to your interpretation.

I asked her to tell me about her work and how she do it and this is what she told me!


"To achieve my desired final look for one of my pieces, it generally becomes a three step process. It can be a long way to the finish line when I am working away on a piece, but I enjoy it, and relish in the satisfaction when I feel that a piece is complete. Below is an example of how it starts out, and the finished illustration. ( I usually do not digitally colour my artworks)
First of course I start with a sketch in pencil, then so that the graphite does not conflict with my ink, I go over all of my lines with a nearly invisible sepia coloured pen, and I erase all of the pencil. Next, I colour the whole piece using inks, pens, water colours, and all final touches or backgrounds are done using acrylic paint, Voila, , some time later I am finished. The completion marks for me a sort of creative validation, and a license to create more works."

This is one of my favorites items from her shop!, Jenny and the rabbit archival card

And this one Humpty Dumpty card is just adorable!!

Please take a look around her shop and give her your heart!!

Dog lover or Cat lover?

Last week I asked for your favorite color and the most popular was blue!

Lets talk about the color blue then!

Blue is the color of the sky and the ocean.The color blue is peaceful and as the collective color of the spirit it can causes the body to produce calming chemicals, so it is often used in bedrooms.
Blue can also be cold and depressing ,and electric or brilliant blues become dynamic and dramatic.
Indigo, a deeper blue, symbolizes a mystical borderland of wisdom, self-mastery, and spiritual realization. While blue is the color of communication with others, indigo turns the blue inward to increase personal thought, profound insights, and instant understandings.
Fashion consultants recommend wearing blue to job interviews because it symbolizes loyalty.

Some curiosities about color blue...
 *Owls are the only birds that can see the color blue.
 * Mosquito's are attracted to the color blue twice as much as to any other color.
 *Pablo Picasso's "Blue Period" refers to a series of paintings in which the color blue dominates and which he painted between 1901 and 1904. The Blue Period is a marvelous expression of poetic subtlety and personal melancholy and contributes to the transition of Picasso's style from classicism to abstract art.

And now lets talk about our three sellers of this week.

Our first seller is Hannahbird , she specialize in fantasy/fairytale, children's book, and fashion illustration and she work primarily in watercolor and ink.
Her work is amazing!..this one is one of my favorites!

Please stop by her shop and take a look..you wont be disappointed!

Our second seller this week is Tatter Beans ,Her shop is fool of beautiful and great pictures like this one!

please take a look of her shop and don't miss the chance of getting one of her amazing photos!

And our third seller of this week is No Bake Cakes , Her and her mom create wonderful cakes out of towels,their shop is full of fun items for you and your children!

 take a look to her shop and you will fall in love with it!

Since we already know each other favorite color I think it would be a good idea to change the question every week..so this week question is..are you a Dog lover or a Cat lover??

looking forward to  see your comments!!

Pay it forward...

I have decided to participate in this fun chain that I think it can bring a lot of joy to a lot of people!

I found it in Tatter Beans and I signed up for it!..I am loving it!

I promise something handmade to the FIRST 5 people who leave a comment here. However, to be eligible, you must re-post this message, offering something handmade to 5 other people. The rules are that it must be handmade by you, and it must be sent to your 5 giftees sometime in 2011.

Ready, set, GO!

I said GO .... Go sign up

If you are one of the first 5 leaving a comment send me your address to....SaharasHeart@yahoo.com

And for tomorrow we are featuring three wonderful sellers who left comments last Monday telling me their favorite colors!!...don't forget to stop by and leave your comments!

take care!

This Week I am Grateful For..

I got this idea from Maxabella loves beautiful blog and I thought that thanking something or somebody every week would be great!..and It could help us to stop a second in our busy life and think about all the grate things and people that help us to go through it!

So this week I am grateful for...Books and writers.

 

I could be reading for hours,days or even weeks if I didn't have to go back to the real life!

So this week I want to thank the writers,for giving me the opportunity of exploring beautiful and magics places,and  transporting me from one side of the world to the other without moving from my bed, 

I want to thank them for letting me meet wonderful creatures and characters and  letting me cry and laugh with them

and thanks them also for letting me experience a lot of feelings and  sensations that probably without a book I would never be able to feel.

So this week what are you grateful for?

next week this post will move to Fridays!

I felt in love with felt!

A few weeks ago I discovered the wonderful world of felt and I felt in love with it!! \o/

When we first moved to Florida I decided to make a felt doll...I don't know what I was thinking!
I went to the local craft store and I got a lot of felt sheets..again..I don't know what I was thinking!!.
I came home and I started working with it...the result was the ugliest doll  I have ever seen!.I remember we used to make them at the school but I completely forgot how, and maybe because I was around 9 years old then, I thought that they were the prettiest and coolest doll ever!!...one more time...I don't Know what I was thinking!!
Sad and disappointed  I put all my little sheets in a bag and I left them in the deepest corner of my closet.

A few month later when I opened my Etsy shop I decided to dust off all my scraps and sewing tools and there they were waiting patiently!! I took them out and left them there with the rest of my fabrics.
After Christmas I started thinking about valentine's day and a little light ball popped up on top of my head..now I was finally thinking!!

I went back to rescue them!, I started playing with them and experimenting with the different colors,they were so much fun!! and by the end of the night this were the results, two cute little brooch ready for Valentine's day!

Aren't they cute???..and here it comes my last creation, if you like hot pink color this is the heart for you!!

And since love never expire or have a language I will write the letter "love" on any language that you tell me to!

Take care!!

Walking around Etsy

To me Etsy is like a market, one of those placed in a beautiful small town by the beach or the mountains,where you can walk around, enjoy and take a look of all kinds of little individuals shops and find all kinds of wonderful handmade products from local artisans!
Yesterday I went to take a walk around this beautiful market,it was really early in the morning!, and because I left home in a hurry I didn't have the chance to have breakfast, so I decided to stop on danaspin shop and take a nice cup of coffee!;^)

After having my wonderful coffee I started walking around,I was amaze of how many beautiful things I was finding and then I realize that I forgot to pick a bag to carry all the items that I was about to buy!!
Right in front of me I saw a cute little shop named translatica that was selling a crocheted bag,it was perfect for me!!

Now I was ready!!!..humm..what do I need??...oh yeah! I remember my mom told me that she needed a bracelet to match her new outfit!

I started walking around,looking trough all the wonderful shops but I couldn't find the right one!..I was about to give up when I saw it!!

 It was perfect!...the store was named DBeadery ,when I got inside a nice lady was waiting for me with a beautiful and welcoming smile in her face!

After all this running around looking for the bracelet I felt really tired so I decide to stop by hamanica, a nice shop where you can find all kind of handmade hammock to lay and rest after a long day of walking around.

It felt so good ...and I was so tired... that i felt sleep!..I woke up a few hours later ready to keep walking around but it was already too late..I needed to go back home!:^(
After that beautiful day I promised myself to come back every Thursday and take a walk around etsy!!..Do you want to walk with me next time??;^P