The Winner

Thank you to everyone who tweeted, blogged, and spread the word about this sweet

giveaway. And thank you to Julie for providing such a pretty prize! If you don't know what I am talking about, then read this, and be sure to go check out Julie's blog and shop!   

The winner of the Vintage Brooch from Restless Hearts is::  

Lucky #7 is: 

Congrats to you Gillian! We will be contacting you today! 

If you missed this giveaway, worry not, there will be more. If you are a Facebook fan of PuNk rAwK pUrL, there is a current giveaway just for you and you can find it here!

❤  
-t

For My Facebook Fans

This Giveaway is now closed. 


___________________________________________________


In March I had a giveaway to celebrate reaching 500 Twitter followers. 

Just two months later I have more than 750 Twitter followers. It's like a snowball... the more you gather, the faster you roll! Or something like that. 

But This GIveaway is all about my Fantastic Facebook Fans! 

And to celebrate reaching 250 Fans on Facebook this week, I am gifting one of the newest members to the PuNk rAwK pUrL Stitched Up Journal family.

________________________ The Giveaway ________________________ 

Thar-She-Sews Moleskine Journal 

{this is the working title... what would you name the new line of Stitched Up Whales?}

One lucky Facebook Fan will win::

This cute little Whale sewn onto the cover of a Large (5" x 8.25") Kraft Brown Moleskine Cahier Journal. The winner will choose which page style they want: 

Grid/ Lined/ Plain

How To Enter: 
(the first two steps are required for entry. the remaining steps are optional): 
1. In my Etsy Shop, click on an item that you like. On the righthand side of the item's page click the Like button to share it on your Facebook page. 
2. Leave a comment on this blog post telling me which item you posted to your page. 
(be sure to leave me your Facebook name or enter your email so that I can contact you if you win)


& 
for a second entry into the giveaway:
1. Go to my Facebook page & on the lower left hand side of the page click the "share" link. Copy & paste into the "write something" box : PuNk rAwK pUrL is having a giveaway on her blog just for her Facebook fans! See her page for details on how to enter!  
2. Leave a 2nd comment on this blog post telling me that you shared my page on yours. 


&
for yet another entry & chance to win:
1. Leave a 3rd comment on this blog post with your suggested name for the new Whale Journals. 

❤

Giveaway ends June 3rd at 9 PM pst. Winner will be chosen from the comments left on this blog post by random number generator & announced on June 4th. Giveaway is open internationally. 

various stages of the Whale prototypes...
sketches, finding the right sized button eye, h2o drops,  & playing w/ color (of course)

________________________________________________________

Congrats to #4 Catlyn Lawson!! 

Good Luck! 
❤  
-t

Getting To Know...

Welcome to the very first of many features & giveaways to be hosted on the 

PuNk rAwK pUrL Blog! I must say, that as much as I enjoy answering interview questions, 

I am ecstatic to finally be sitting in the interviewer seat.  

So, without further ado, let's get to know our first guest...

  

I am so very pleased to introduce you to the super awesome Julie from the fabulous vintage shop, Restless Hearts. Julie is also one-half of the perpetually pretty blog, Yonder! Julie and I met on the terrific Twitter, and it was an instantaneous mutual-funny-girl-crafty-blogger-etsy-shop-crush. She is an über sweet and multi-talented lady! I hope that you enjoy reading about Julie, her shop, blog, & enter to win the pretty pretty prize that Julie is offering. 

       

T::  Yonder /Restless Hearts... Tell us a little about the people /shops behind Yonder the Blog. 

J::  Yonder is made up of Megon and me.  Megon and I met when we lived in St. Louis together.  I think at the time I was 23 and Megon was a few years younger.  We've been friends since and have worked together on different projects through the years.  In St. Louis, we had a zine called "what's up bra?" when we were both involved in the punk/hardcore scene there.  In Austin, we both worked together as Juggernaut, which was an accessory line.  Today, we live 1,222 miles apart and we started Yonder as a way to keep in touch.  The blog has become something bigger than I ever imagined it to be.  In my head, I thought, "oh yeah, it'd be cool to have something to keep in touch visually" I never imagined we'd be doing features and giveaways for amazing artists.  The whole process is something I love.  I love using the blog as a tool to meet new people and as a tool to reach people.  I try to blog everyday.  It keeps me grounded and focused.  I started restless hearts when I was living in Austin.  I'd always wanted to have an Etsy shop and originally my shop was handmade items for people who rode bicycles.  I didn't have a car and I made bicycle influenced accessories like belt pouches and top tube pads.  I didn't have much success with it, and started to get more streamlined in my approach to Etsy.  The handmade items I have in my shop now are more sophisticated and I'm happy with that.  

☛ Yonder is now offering super affordable sponsor spots. ☚

T::  If you could bring any one animal /bird /fish/ reptile home from the zoo, who would it be, and why? 

J::  I'd have to say a big cat or a giraffe.  I've always been attracted to animals from the safari and I LOVE cats!!  If I could have a cheetah and it wouldn't kill me, I would.  They are so cute!!  The idea of having a cheetah kitten that has paws bigger than my hands is just too much!!

T::  You've lived in a lot of different cities. Take your favorite thing about each place that you've lived & create your ideal city. Tell us about it.  What would the name of this awesome town be? 

J::  Wow, that's hard! Well, to start off with, I've lived in St. Louis, Austin, Boston, Orlando and Columbia.  The thing I loved most in Boston was the transportation.  It was easy to get around, which was nice.  I loved the friendly southern mentality of Austin.  It was such a joy talking with people there because they are so laid back and easy going.  Orlando had AMAZING weather.  It never really got hot there and when you did get hot, there was a nice breeze to cool you off.  I also loved the hanging moss trees and all the water.   St. Louis has a lot of history and old, old buildings.  They are actually pretty great about not tearing things down too quickly which I love.  Columbia is small and I like that.  It's easy to get around, it's safe, it's clean.  I think the name would be the hardest to come up with--I'm so bad at naming things!  In Florida, there is a place in between Tampa and Orlando called Orlampa and we always used to think it was funny to try to come up with new city names by combining them.  So maybe, St. Loustinbosandombia, haha?  

T::  Next lifetime.... who, what, and where do you want to be? 

J::  Whew, let's see.  I want to be everything I am now, but better.  It's scary to think that my next lifetime would be in the future, but it might be.  I've always thought of going back in time, but never really had a desire to go into the future very far.  I would definitely be a woman, but perhaps instead of getting as many tattoos next time, I could try a life without any.  Maybe I could try a life totally opposite of my own.  No tattoos, no college, no travelling.  Wait a minute, this is sounding boring.  Or what if I could try a life that is mine, but amplified?  Extreme tattoos, brick and mortar shop, travelling like crazy.  I don't know.  I have a lot to learn, but I don't know what aspects of my next life would help me to learn those lessons.  It's hard to say.

T::  You are quite the crafty lady... who runs a vintage shop on Etsy.  You've been sneaky with a few handmade goodies in your shop (recycled map garland and some adorable bunting napkins).  Tell us about you as a craftsperson.  & Might you have any plans to expand your handmade talents into a similar entrepreneurial venture? 

J::  I'm what you call a dabbler.  I was in art school for 8 long years and my major is, are you ready for this...fine art.  Which means, I didn't have to pick any emphasis.  I loved this, but of course, it just perpetuates my inability to focus on making one kind of thing.  That's really my biggest battle right now; focusing on one kind of craft.  Ever since I graduated from school in 2006, I've been trying to figure out what kind of crafting will allow my attention to flourish.  So far, I've tried a lot of things, but I get so impatient so quickly that it's off to another project soon thereafter.  This month, I'm forcing myself to focus on an idea I've come up with.  The hope is to create a project that I won't lose interest in, and one that will be able to provide a portfolio strong enough with which to create a new shop.  The whole reason I wanted to get into Etsy in the first place was to sell MY creations to the world.  I've loved selling vintage, don't get me wrong, but I really wanna get back to making things again, and I want to be successful at it.  

T::  Tell us 6 things that you are grateful for right this very minute? 

J::  my health, the amount of love in my life, my experiences, my friends, my family and the opportunity that every day holds.  

________The Giveaway________

Plucked fresh from the shelves of the Restless Hearts Shop just in time to adorn the Springtime fashions of one lucky PuNk rAwK pUrL reader... 

Golden Brooch w/ Perfectly Peach Pearl Center-  2.5" diameter

How To Enter:: 
- Follow Yonder + follow this blog + leave a comment telling me which animal you would bring home from the zoo. {all of these are required for initial entry}


Additional entries (please leave a separate comment for each)::
-  Copy & Paste this Tweet:: { Enter the @restlesscrafts Giveaway on @punkrawkpurl to win a vintage brooch: http://bit.ly/lM1t6N }
-  Facebook it 
-  Blog about this giveaway & include a link to your post here in your comment.

The giveaway is open to all readers (U.S. & International) & ends on May 25th at 9 pm pst. Winner will be chosen by random number generator & announced on May 26th. 

❤  
-t

Check out both Restless Hearts Crafts & PuNk rAwK pUrL on My Girl Thursday this month! 

Craftastic Feature!

{ happy squirrel pin from Vegancraftastic Etsy Shop }

I was gleefully surprised and honored when Kala asked to interview me for a feature on her awesome blog, Vegan Craftastic. I have been a longtime fan of her Esty shop... just look at that squirrel pin! Be sure to check out her shop for heaps of cuteness & lots of knitty themed accessories too. 


Follow her on Twitter, she is friendly, adorable, and very approachable. Be sure and follow her Blog, there are tons of delicious crafting posts as well as food. She really knows how to make even the most die hard carnivore drool over vegan food!   

So head on over to Vegan Craftastic to read a little more about me & 

enter to win a one-of-a-kind prize made with love by me! 

just curious... are you vegetarian? vegan? raw foodie? pescatarian? occasional meat eater? or a steak & potatoes fanatic? 
❤  
-t

A Giveaway... Yonder

The über sweet header for Restless Hearts Yonder blog

If you were one of the many people grooving on my new Hip-to-be-Square Journals that 

I announced here last week, then you are in luck!   

The lovely ladies over at the very lovely blog, Yonder are hosting a Giveaway for one of these mighty fine new journals! See the bottom of this post for the link to the giveaway and to read an awesome interview with yours truly.  

(They really wanted to interview Rosco, but he was being a jerk shy.) 

Julie (one half of Yonder) is a great interviewer and asked me a few warm up questions that weren't intended to appear in the posted interview.  However, these questions really got me thinking... about things that I guess I hadn't really thought about recently.  I am very grateful for the inner dialogue that they prompted, and for the clarity that they brought me about my crafty background and influences.  I wanted to share them with you here::

1. (this one won't go in the interview but will serve as a little background for our readers) How did you get into sewing/crafting? Give us a little history of your involvement in art. Did you go to school? What are your main influences, etc.  

• I have been crafty since I was a little kiddo. In the toy store, I didn't give a hoot about dolls, tea sets, or stuffed animals, I'd make a beeline for either the craft or board-game aisle. I actually began sewing paper long before I ever stitched into fabric. I used to tear pictures from magazines and phone books to sew them onto pieces of cardboard (usually the inside of cereal boxes). Another crafty childhood hi jinx was to melt crayon shavings between wax paper. Oh, and decoupaging everything in sight.  
• I had a lapse in hands-on craftiness during my teenage years, during the 80's DIY wasn't cool. Instead I delved into theater arts & starred in every school play. It wasn't until my late 20's that I began crafting and creating art obsessively again. I took sewing lessons, taught myself how to knit, and eventually ended up in school to study fashion design. I didn't even finish one complete quarter before I realized I hated it. I immediately switched to interior design and loved it. I dabbled in that field for awhile... but ultimately realized that I just wanted to create objects, art, tactile things that could be passed from one person to another.  
• Influences... being a little kid in the 70's I was heavily influenced by bright colors and bold graphic design. I recall being aware of it everywhere I went. Walking through the aisles of a grocery store as a kid was a wonderland, the packing and logos were candy for my eyeballs. Advertisements, television shows, cartoons, movies, clothing, amusement parks.... everything was so tactile and vibrant and it made a very lasting impression on me.      

To Win a Hip-to-be-Square Journal of your choice, read the rest of this interview, and see some photos of my workspace...  Head Yonder! 

I'd love it if you came back here and told me what you thought!  

❤

-t 

and the winner is...

The winner of a one-of-a-kind Stitched Up Owl Moleskine Journal is 

Lucky # 54::

Congrats Jess! I will be contacting you to get your shipping details! 

A big huge "Thank You" to each and every one of you who took the time to enter this giveaway.  I truly appreciate all of the positive feedback & interest in this new product line. 

 To show you just how grateful I am... 

I am  giving everyone who entered this giveaway a very special gift::

20% off any purchase from my Etsy shop from now until end-of-the-day Monday March 28th

The coupon code: TwitterLove20   

To get advanced notice of future giveaways & special offers sign up for my newsletter! 

❤

-t

Twitter Loving Giveaway

Oh how I love me some Twitter! I look forward to visiting with my Tweet-tastic community everyday.  I started tweeting actively last October.  At that time I had about 40 followers. Just this week I've reached 500.  I have been diligent about cutting out the spammers and I it feels great to report that all 500+ of you are real live people who I share common interests with. 
By the way, if you follow me on Twitter, don't be shy... Say hello & introduce yourself, I am very friendly.    

To thank all of my Tweethearts for helping me reach 500 followers friends I am having a Giveaway just for them!  {See bottom of post for Giveaway details}

  

Nesting in The Shop

I am super excited to introduce the Stitched Up Owl Moleskine Journals.  Now available from my Etsy Shop are  the pocket sized (3 1/2" x 5 1/2") and the Large sized (5" x 8 1/4") journals.  

After a deadlocked poll on which page style to offer; plain, ruled, or grid... I am mixing it up and offering a little bit of all three. 

Don't see a color you like? I have a bunch of hatch-lings in more color palettes landing in the shop this weekend.  And, I am always excited above custom orders, just ask!

Each One has His or Her Own Personality... Which One Speaks to You?

A b o u t  T h e  O w l s ::

My Stitched Up Owls are created using my Grandmother’s vintage buttons, colorful papers, threads, & love.  I cut all of the paper pieces by hand & arrange them according to color & texture.  I then use different colored threads to stitch them all together.  The final detail in cuteness is applied when I hand sew the button eyes on.  Each Owl has his or her own personality.

Each Stitched Up Owl Journal is a one of a kind original, handmade with ❤ by me.  I machine stitch my Little Owl Buddies onto the front cover of a classic Cahier Moleskine Journal.  If you aren't familiar with Moleskine Journals you should check out their website.  

.........................................................................................................

Giveaway Details::

I am giving away ONE Large sized Stitched Up Owl Moleskine Journal.  The winner may choose the Page style they will receive.  (This giveaway is only open to folks who follow me on Twitter.  If you leave a comment & don't follow me on Twitter, it wont count as an entry.  If you aren't a Twitterer, don't fret, there will be future giveaways) 

To enter:

Simply leave a comment here to tell me that you follow me on Twitter & which page style you prefer (plain / ruled / grid).  Be sure to include the Twitter handle that you follow me with.

For Additional Entries: {leave a separate comment for each entry}

1. ❤ my Etsy Shop {be sure to leave your Etsy name in the comment}
2. ❤ one of my journals on Etsy.
3. Tweet this Giveaway:: " Have you entered the Twitter Loving Giveaway from @punkrawkpurl to win a one-of-a-kind Owl Moleskine Journal? http://tinyurl.com/4qajwls "  {be sure to leave your Twitter handle in the comment}
4. Follow me on Bloglovin
5. Follow me on Google Friend Connect
6. Blog About this Giveaway {be sure to leave a link to the blog post in the comment}

Please leave a separate comment for each entry, otherwise it won't count!

Contest is open internationally & will end Friday March 25 at 5 PM (pst)

The winner will be announced Monday March 28th.

Good Luck Tweethearts!

❤

-t

My First GIVEAWAY! Will You Be The Winner?

When it comes to hair accessories, what kind of hardware do you guys prefer?  For my crazy curly hair, I like the single prong alligator clip (w/out the chompy teeth).  I like these because i can also clip them on to a lapel of a jacket or the brim of a hat.  Several of my friends with baby fine hair cannot even get most hair accessories to stay in their hair.  

What about YOU?  Do you like Alligator hair clips... with or without teeth?  Perhaps you like the double prong alligator clips. Or do you like the french spring loaded barrettes?  Maybe you like combs or headbands.  Or do you hate wearing stuff in your hair altogether? I have an inquiring mind & i want to know!

    

So, Dear Reader, as you have probably figured out by this point, I have been designing & test running some hair accessories. I adore these sweet little machine stitched felt flowers.  I began making them as pins about a year ago, which are sold in a local boutique & continuously receive rave reviews about them.  Since I love wearing pretty stuff in my hair it was a natural progression to turn my felt garden into adorable adornments for my mane.  

 
Did someone say something  about a GIVEAWAY?!  You bet your sweet bippy I did!  The winner of this momentous & maiden PuNk rAwK pUrL giveaway will receive a custom made Felty Flower Hair Clip & matching Lapel Pin.  YES, I DID say custom made, as in I will make it just for YOU... the winner.  What a prize!  The giveaway ends Friday November 5th, 2010.  I will announce the winner on November 8th, 2010.        

To Enter:

1. Leave a comment here on the blog telling me your thoughts on hair accessories.
2. Want a 2nd entry?  Tweet on Twitter OR Share on Facebook this blog post & then come back here to the blog & leave a comment w/ a link to the tweet OR FB post. (You can use the links in the white boxes at the bottom of the post to tweet/share... or use your own method.)  
3. If you would like a 3rd entry; Follow me on Twitter OR "like" my Facebook page ( & then come back here & leave a comment to let me know)

Good Luck!  & if you have any questions... shoot me an email. ❤