Wednesday, September 26, 2012

100 FOLLOWERS GIVEAWAY!!!

It's giveaway time to thank all of you lovely people for helping me reach my first blog milestone - 100 FOLLOWERS!!!

I received some help from some lovely ladies to help me celebrate. Please get to know them all since they are all super sweet and super cool :)

Cassie @ Live.Laugh.L0ve

Erin @ Shades of Gray and A Pinch of Pink

Jessica @ Girl Booklet

Katlyn @ The Dreamy Meadow

Lindsey @ Babies, Books, and Signs

Maria-Isabel @ Agape Love Designs

Rosie @ Craftbotic

Oh yeah, I'm also giving away a Grab Bag of Random Clay Creations. Oh yeah, this giveaway is awesome! Just do whatever the Rafflecopter widget says and you're on your way to becoming a very happy WINNER!!!
(Please only U.S. participants. Thank you!)
a Rafflecopter giveaway





Monday, September 24, 2012

Choo, Choo! The GIVEAWAY Train is Coming!

Good morning all you beautiful, gorgeous people!

This is just going to be a "Hey! How are you doing?" post because I'm working on something amazing for you guys. Make sure to check back here Wednesday, September 24th. There will be an awesome, super, amazing, blow-your-mind, giveaway up and running for all of you to enter. That's right, it's finally time for the

100 FOLLOWERS GIVEAWAY!!!

Trust me when I say that you do not want to miss out on this one. Especially if you have a blog that you want to give more exposure to. I can't wait for you to meet all of the wonderful sweethearts that help me put this together.

So, I'll see you tomorrow for "5 Great Etsy Gifts for..." and definitely on Wednesday for the giveaway.

Have an awesome day :)

Friday, September 21, 2012

How Different Could I Possibly Look?


Something fun for this Friday!
This post is long overdue. Last month, I joined a party called 'Me, Myself, and I' where you answer 5 questions about yourself and then post your answers up on your blog for everyone to read. You can read it here

One of the questions was 'If a front page article was written on you, what would the headline be?'. Well, I cracked everyone up with my answer. My answer was 'Serial Bank Robber Stomps Police'. Now why would I put that?


Yes, that is me up above. Granted I have a wig on my head, but still you can tell I look COMPLETELY different. Whenever I straighten my hair, I always get someone who doesn't recognize me. When I was in college, I walked into my CPT 101 class only for my professor to tell me that he thought I was in the wrong class. Once he heard my voice he realized it was me...only because of my voice!

So now you understand why I put that as my headline! LOL! In no way do I condone stealing or even do it myself, but it's amazing how a different hairstyle can make you unrecognizable.

For those who have been waiting a whole month to see these pictures, I'm so sorry for the wait. Please don't be too mad at me :)

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

5 Great Etsy Gifts for Plaid Lovers!


For this week's theme, I'm paying homage to one of my favorite patterns: PLAID!!!

There are so many cute ways you can wear plaid, your wardrobe could be limitless! There's the nerdy look, preppy look, punk look, gothic look, flirty look, etc... And you can find them all on Etsy! I found just a few items that peaked my interest. I didn't have a particular look in mind when I pick these, so the items vary slightly. 

Happy Shopping :)

5 Great Etsy Gifts for Plaid Lovers!
Large Wallet Purse - Colorful - Plaid

Large Wallet Purse - Colorful - Plaid - $8.00



Preppy Wristlet Wallet Clutch - Pink Plaid Summer Fashion

Preppy Wristlet Wallet Clutch - $15.00


ON SALE Ring Colourful Retro Collage Cool Abstract Pop Pattren Jewelry Unique Gifts Kawaii

Ring Colourful Retro Collage - $6.00


Handmade Necklace Plaid Vintage Fabric Pendant OOAK

Handmade Necklace Plaid Vintage Fabric Pendant OOAK - $15.00


1950s Tartan Plaid Dress / Vintage 50s Red Green Tartan Plaid Accordion Pleated Full Skirted Dress, Drop Waist

1950s Tartan Plaid Dress - $115.00


*A Little Extra for Your Doggie*
Dark Plaid Dog Collar

Dark Plaid Dog Collar - $17.00

Monday, September 17, 2012

If You Really Knew Me...

Before I get started on today's post, I just wanted to let you ladies know that I have a giveaway going on over at Agape Love Designs & Photography. Click the link below to participate. 

Now...for today's post :)

You'd know that I can't swim...unless I wear my life vest. I don't care if people make fun of me while I'm in the pool, I'm having fun not drowning. LOL!

You'd know that I've worn my hair natural for about 5 years. That means that I do not use any type of chemical in my hair to straighten it. Yes, those are all natural curls on my head.

You'd know that despite appearances, I struggle with major depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder on a daily basis. The smile on my face is real, but sometimes it's a mask so I don't make others worry about me.

You'd know that I use to write poetry from the hurt and pain that I experienced. But after I met my husband I couldn't write anymore because I no longer felt that hurt or pain.

You'd know that my favorite season is Fall and my favorite kind of day is a rainy day. It's raining here and I'm so happy right now :)

You'd know that even though I'm suppose to stay away from gluten, I'll sneak a cookie or cupcake in my mouth in a heartbeat! LOL!

What's something that I would know about you if I really knew you?



Thursday, September 13, 2012

100 FOLLOWERS!!!


Yay!!! You guys are so awesome! You all, one by one, helped me reach an incredible goal that I set for myself months ago when I began blogging:
100 FOLLOWERS!!!

Oh yeah, baby! Thank you all so very much :) I really appreciate all the love I've received through comments, sponsoring, tweets, Facebook mentions, and e-mails. 

To show my appreciation I want to host a giveaway as a thank you. If you would like to offer anything (gift cards, ad space, handmade items, etc.) as a prize, I would really appreciate it :) 

You can contact me at cawinchell06@gmail.com if you would like to contribute anything :)



Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Interested In Becoming A Blog Angel?

You might have heard the name 'Blog Angels' popping up all over your social media over the last few months and wondered, what ARE they going on about?
Blog Angels is run by Rosie at Craftbotic. Every two months 100 bloggers get the opportunity to help each other out, build friendships and community in the Blogosphere.
The principle is easy. By signing up to be a Blog Angel you are promising to help another blogger for a whole month.  The least you need to do is comment twice a week on their blog, but the possibilities to do more is endless.
In the first two rounds of Blog Angels we had people commenting, guest-posting, giving social media shout outs, new blog design features and warm words of encouragement. Some people swapped addresses and sent little packages. The choices are endless.
So what's the catch? Well, it's all done in secret. For this round, things are changing slightly. Here are all of the details:
1. Sign up is on 15th September. The form you fill in can be found at Rosie's, but also on these sites:
 2. The form is slightly more detailed to help with the matching process. It still takes less than 5 minutes to complete though.
3. The project will start on 1st October and will be secret for the first two weeks. This will allow you to get to know your blogger, build up a relationship and start to act to help them. You would need to as a minimum comment twice a week on their blog.
4. After two weeks you link up a 'reveal' post at Craftbotic on 15th October.
5. You can then communicate with your blogger and give them more specific help, build friendships and develop your role. This is the newest part of the project and came out of a long conversation with the angel regulars.
6. On the 31st October you write a 'reflection' post reviewing your experience of Blog Angels and what you achieved with your Blog Angel.
It's pretty simple. These small steps will help you to be part of growing community of bloggers who care.
On a serious note, there is always a 'drop off' of Blog Angels. Those folk who get busy and disappear. Apart from being incredibly uncool, it is completely unnecessary. Please make sure you have time to help out in October BEFORE signing up. If life gets crazy you just need to email and let Rosie know. Orphaned bloggers can then be reassigned.  In Blog Angels the only thing you are guaranteed is the opportunity to help some-one else.
What an amazing opportunity that is! The first 100 people to sign-up before 25th September will be taking part. We all hope that it will include you!


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Tuesday, September 11, 2012

5 Great Etsy Gifts For Clock Lovers!


When I was in school, I dreaded this clock. Not because it calculated how much longer I had to stay in school that day, but because it was so boring to look at. I mean really, if you want to keep kids engaged in their lessons, give them something better to keep time with than this boring old thing. Lol!

If you ever felt like I have, then enjoy these unique and colorful clocks I found on Etsy. I'm pretty sure that if one of these clocks were up in the classroom I was in, I would think my teacher was pretty cool.

Happy shopping :)

5 Great Etsy Gifts for Clock Lovers!
Reverse Time or Mirror Clock

Reverse Time or Mirror Clock - $24.00


Love birds Wall clock- birds on a branch green and pink clock  -unique gift- canvas clock- Decorative  hand painted Square clock

Love birds Wall clock - $30.00


Doctor Who Tardis - Recycled CD Clock

Doctor Who Tardis - Recycled CD Clock - $16.36


SUPER MARIO BROTHERS Spiral Dali Nautilis Mario Charactors 8 Bit 10 inch Resin Wall Clock Under 25.00

SUPER MARIO BROTHERS Spiral Clock - $24.99


vinyl wall clock - girl

vinyl wall clock - girl - $36.36

Friday, September 7, 2012

Change Can Be A WONDERFUL Thing!

Good morning everybody! Yep, I'm up and at them at 7:00 am which is pretty unusual for me. So as I always say, "If you can't sleep, get up and do something". 

My something this morning was reflecting on how my blog and Etsy shop has grown over the few months. I'm almost at 100 followers on here! UNBELIEVABLE!!!

 I love and appreciate all of you for sticking with me through the changes with this blog. I first started out as 'ChibiLolita's All Kinds of Cute' mainly promoting my shop. Then I changed it to 'Crazy Beautiful Unique' because I wanted to talk and share more with my readers than shop updates. Yeah, I still post stuff about my shop and Etsy in general, but I also talk about my life, my goals, and just craziness in general. Thank you again for sticking around and reading my posts. 

I'm thinking of doing a giveaway when I reach 100 followers! So exciting! If you want to contribute anything, that would be awesome. You can contact me at cawinchell06@gmail.com 

Making changes to my Etsy shop has brought about a multitude of sweet people opening their arms to embrace me and my items. My first shop concept was jewelry. I made beaded jewelry, earrings and necklaces mainly, trying to make a name for myself. Well, that was really hard. You see, everyone and their Mom sells jewelry on Etsy. Lol! And if a customer is loyal and comfortable with a certain seller, there's no way they will jump from that train to mine. So, I thought about it for months as to what exactly had to change. This is what I came up with:
1. Items offered in shop
2. Shop name
3. The way the photos look
4. More promotion

I went from making ordinary beaded jewelry to creating jewelry from polymer clay that completely reflects me. My shop named changed from 'ChibiLolita's All Kinds of Cute' to 'A Girl and Her Clay'. The new name is easier to find, easier to understand, and just makes plain sense. I changed the background for my photos from colorful paper to plain, white paper. This allows all the attention to be drawn to the item.

See?
       

As for promotion, I opened up a Twitter account, created a business page for my shop on Facebook, and opened up a Pinterest account. Now when I post a new item, I can let my followers know on Twitter and Facebook and also 'pin' a picture of it on Pinterest. The results have been wonderful! I still have much work to do, but the changes I've made so far have worked out. 


Wednesday, September 5, 2012

5 Great Etsy Gifts for Birdhouse Lovers

So if you read yesterday's post, I promised to do Tuesday's feature '5 Great Etsy Gifts for..." today since I got mixed up on days due to Labor Day. 

One of my favorite things to do on a nice sunny day is watch birds that gather outside my window. I have to watch them while they are perched on tree branches, telephone wires, or my car since I don't have a birdhouse. After looking at the birdhouse offered on Etsy, I just might have to buy one or make one on my own.

The ones that are featured here have a whimsical feel to them, which I love. But you don't have to settle for this style if it's not your taste. Etsy has so many styles of birdhouses available - traditional, license plates, stone, mosaic, you name it! 

Have fun shopping :)

5 GREAT ETSY GIFTS FOR BIRDHOUSE LOVERS!
Dr Seuss-style birdhouse  condos

Dr Seuss-style birdhouse condos - $40.00


Birdhouse - Dark Tabby Cat Handmade Fully-Assembled Wood

Birdhouse - Dark Tabby Cat Handmade Fully-Assembled Wood - $75.00


Solid Wood Birdhouse with Metal Roof painted in Lime and Teal for Outdoors and Indoors Custom Hand Painted

Solid Wood Birdhouse with Metal Roof - $19.95


Large Hand Painted Cartoon Style Birdhouse

Large Hand Painted Cartoon Style Birdhouse - $49.00


Hand Painted Bakery Birdhouse

Hand Painted Bakery Birdhouse - $39.00

Labor Day Messed Me Up!!!

I'm a full day behind because of Labor Day! Since certain places were closed Monday (Labor Day), I automatically assumed that it was Sunday. So for me today, is Tuesday which means that I should be posting the feature "5 Great Etsy Gifts for...", right? Well, I wish it was because I completely missed the boat on that one :)

Now that I'm all sorted out, tomorrow I will make up for yesterday and do the "5 Great Etsy Gifts for..." feature. Not sure what it will be yet, so stayed tuned to see what awesomeness I find. To hold you over till then, here are some awesome linky blog parties that are only up on Wednesday.

Come join me and have some fun discovering new blogs and buddies! 
(buttons are clickable)




Wow Wow Wednesday with This Girls Life







Saturday, September 1, 2012

I Was Nominated!

Yay! I've been nominated for a blog award! I'm so excited and honored all at the same time. I must thank Courtney over at Chase All Your Dreams. Thank you so much for the nomination :)

RULES:
1. Nominate up to 15 fellow bloggers who are relatively new to blogging
2. Let the nominated bloggers know that they have been nominated for this award
3. Share 7 random facts about yourself
4. Thank the blogger who has nominated you
5. Add the Versatile Blogger Award picture to your post

7 RANDOM FACTS ABOUT ME:
1. I am the middle child in my family by default since I have an older sister and the babies of the family are twins.

2. I love to read! The only thing I wanted as a gift when I graduated college was a Nook.

3. My Mom named me Celeste after seeing the name during the credits on a movie that Celeste Holm was in. Thanks Mom cause I love my name :)

4. I'm deathly terrified of ink blots. When I see them, I go into a serious panic attack.

5. My favorite potato chip flavor is Salt and Vinegar. Yummy!

6. I'm addicted to fruit. Especially watermelon, peaches, and apples.

7. I recently turned 30 years old. Yes, I did freak out but I'm ok now. Lol!

THE NOMINEES:
1. Traci @ Nonsense Things 
2. Amy @ My Little One-Room Schoolhouse 
3. Shar @ Shar's Blog 
4. Ronni @ Anywhere Is... 
5. Lindsey @ Babies, Books, and Signs 
6. Chelsea @ Sunny With A Chance of Sprinkles 
7. Katlyn @ The Dreamy Meadow 
8. Rosie @ Craftbotic Q 
9. Chloe @ CJVZ Hearts You 
10. Jayne @ Handmade Cuties
11. Meesh @ Finding Michelina 
12. Dalayna @ Pointing Up 
13. Morgan @ Quite The Blog 
14. Sandra @ Lara's Vintage 
15. Nicole @ Unify Handmade 

Thanks again Courtney for nominating me and also allowing me to spread the love through this award :)

Blog Angel Reveal...FINALLY!!!

It's time for the August Blog Angel party to come to a close. Which only means one thing - you finally get to know who I've been 'stalking', I mean helping this month. Lol!

Everyone, it's a pleasure to introduce to you
KELLY!!!

Kelly blogs over at Miss Information. I'm telling you, this blog has it all! From recipes, to crafting, to decorating, and even cleaning tips, you'll find it all and enjoy it at Miss Information.

What Did I Do As Her Blog Angel?
Honestly, not much since her blog already has it going on! LOL! I did leave comments, placed her button on my blog and began following as many of her social media options that I could. I also entered her giveaway. To me, that was important. As a fellow blogger, I know what it's like to host a giveaway and feel like no one is interested enough to enter. So I entered and tweeted my excitement for her giveaway. Did I win? YES!!! What did I win? Free ad space for a month at By The Porchlight. Thank you Kelly for picking me :)

What Were Some of My Favorite Posts?
Parmesan Oven Fries
I LOVE french fries, especially if they are well seasoned. I haven't tried these yet, but believe me when I say I know what to do with the next bag of potatoes that come in my house!

How To Make a Recipe Page For Your Blog
I have always wanted create a page where I could put all the buttons to all the 'linky parties' I go to instead of cramming them all on the sidebar. Now, I know how. Kelly explains it in the best way - simply and with pictures.

Did I Enjoy Being a Blog Angel?
Well, of course I did! What could be better than discovering another blog and absolutely loving it! I'm not much of a fashion nut, so a fashion blog would do nothing for me. Sorry :( But give me a blog to read for a whole month that deals with cooking, crafting, and decorating...I'm one happy girl!

Would I Be a Blog Angel Again?
Yes, in a heart beat. It's so much fun getting to know not only different blogs, but the wonderful ladies behind them. Just from participating, the sweetheart that was my angel is now one of my really good bloggy buddies. I love her to pieces!

Hopefully I will be a blog angel for someone else in October :)