XL Sponsor Highlight Post: May

 This month's XL feature is Krista, from Saturated Canary. Krista is an artist who creates the loveliest little illustrations. Be sure to hop over to her blog and Etsy, and say hello!

My name is Krista.  I am a Mama to Niamh, 7 and Philly, 5.  I've been married to my blind date;) for almost 10 years.  We live in South Jersey.  It's quiet and kinda country here...so it's a nice place to raise our kids and enjoy our home and families.

I work from home, drawing my own special characters.  They are an eclectic mix of girls and boys inspired by a love of all things nerdy, cheeky, creepy, and beautiful.  I currently produce designs for a stamp company in Scotland called Sugar Nellie, and I am hoping to illustrate a children's book in the future (preferably my own...because I love to write as well).  I am inspired by my own children, my love for the Lord, and a deep belief that anything is truly possible...Sometimes dreams just take time and some extra hard work.  They are within our reach...Just gotta get up on those tippy-toes from time to time.

Thanks for taking the time to read about my family and my love of character art...It means lots!:)

1) Tell us a little about yourself and your blog.

I am 31 years old. I have a degree in civil engineering, but have taken the last year off to be home with my son and explore some opportunities as an artist.  To be honest, I really never liked sitting in a cubicle.  I use to visit the Etsy site during my lunch breaks and dream about being able to create for a living...being my own boss...and feeling like I wasn't bound by schedules and meeting times.  I love waking up each day and feeling free to be spontaneous...do fun, random things with the kids, and just live simply...enjoying the little things that make each day special.  I hope to use my background in engineering/ water resources in missions field work someday...and look forward to seeing what God can do with open hands and a willing heart.  For now, I plan on continuing with my character art, illustrating new projects, and working on being published. 

2) What inspires you?

Hmmm...This is a hard one to keep short and sweet:)  My favorite, *favorite* characters to draw include pretty monsters (especially zombies), nerdy girls (with ginormous glasses), and girls with attitude.  I like finding the beauty in something typically perceived as ugly.  My favorite all time movie role is the Wicked Witch of the West.  If you've seen the musical Wicked (or read the book),  it's easy to see that there is so much more behind the grimace in the movie...I love giving a back story to a character...a zombie with a twinkle in her eye...a witch that has a quirky smile...Something that says-- yeah, there is more to me than what you see:).  As far as nerdy characters, I just love big glasses and notebooks.  I am always inspired by my own kids, my own wonderful childhood memories, good music, fashion (I have a thing for Gwen Stefani boots...they are on lots of my characters), and sometimes just watching people.  There are lots of characters in this world...just waiting to be put on paper:)

3) If you had the opportunity to tell your 15-year old self anything, what would you tell her?

Whatever you choose to do in life, do it because it is in your heart and because you feel it in your soul...not because it makes sense or is what others expect.  Fearlessly try new things.  Have a plan, but be okay ditching it sometimes.  Enjoy the first phone call you get from the marine...It will be the beginning of the rest of your life.  And don't expect to be a cute pregnant lady.  It's just not in the cards for you.  :)  

4) Name the first five beautiful things you see right now:

a drawing from Niamh...it's one of the Chipettes and says, " I love you so much."

hubby on couch.  well, he's not really beautiful...but he is really handsome:)

sleeping kiddies in bedroom.  so quiet and dreamy:)

a handmade card from a woman I met through designing stamps...they are such creative and amazing ladies!

a stack of books that includes three Bibles, a journal where I write milestones and funny things the kids do, On Writing (a memoir by Stephen King), and an Alvin and the Chipmunks coloring book...A stack of books can tell a lot about a family:)

-----

Thank you so much for being a part of Sometimes Sweet this month Krista! And readers, don't forget to pop over and say hello!

February small sponsor highlight post

Hi all and happy Friday! I'll be posting my weekly links either later tonight or tomorrow, but in the meantime, check out all of the blogs and shops below!  These are my some of my sponsors this month, and I know you'll enjoy them- perhaps you'll even find a new blog to love or shop to indulge in. Happy browsing!

1) The Veda House: I'm on a mission to document every little adventure whether it be a trip to the thrift stores, last night's dinner, a sunday stroll and everything in between. As a graphic designer/web designer I appreciate beautiful things. I'm a girlfriend, golden retriever puppy owner, camera collector and lover of mid-century furniture and fashion.

2) Pamplemousse1983: about my life, my loves and most recently my pregnancy.  I love tea, embroidery and trying my best to be crafty, photography and vintage.  I also enjoy long walks on the beach and kissing in the rain.

 3) cameron+whitney: I'm a 25 year old self-taught artist who somehow landed a job painting piggy banks.  A complex amalgamation of comic books, cartoons, and go-gurt all my life has produced a constant and growing flow of imaginative creativity in my noggin and I've recently decided to crack it open and share what's in there with the world.  My blog, cameron+whitney, is a way for me to document and share my art, my various adventures, things I like, and my love for my partner in crime, Whitney.

4) Lehua: an accountant by day and crafter by night. Her blog "the GIRL and BOY" features her journey through her new marriage to the boy and highlights her love for paper. Her etsy shop is filled with the cutest mini albums and notecards.

5) L & Connect: the blog written by Lauren Lee, a 24 year old graphic designer who has fallen in love with the world of photography, fashion, and design. Her blog features photography, simple do-it yourself projects (including wedding goodies), style tips, and her own line of cute cup cozies!

6) Woodland Dreams: I'm a 25-year old newlywed, with a love for all things handmade, vintage, cute animals, food and nature.  Woodland Dreams is my personal blog to share my daily life, which almost always includes a bit of crafting, DIY, photography, baking, and my love for finding lovely things from all over the web!

7) Savannah Smiles: a mixture of everything I love! Cooking, crafting, DIYing, and taking life with a grain of salt. My greatest hope for this blog is to inspire people to try new things; whether it be a new recipe, creating something handmade, or just looking at life in a new, more beautiful way. I hope to glean inspiration from others and inspire them in return!

8) Chandelier Jenny: various inspiration, explorations with art, and captured magic. Vintage treasures, handmade pretties, and adventures of a Texas girl are just a few of the things you'll find.

9) Andrea: a film student, traveller, zinester, music lover, amateur baker, collage artist, avid reader and compulsive shopper from Spain who often stays up late when she shouldn't. She is also an etsy seller!

10) Ballpoint+pen: a personal blog about a girl named Ali. She lives in a little hippie town in CA,  is married to her best friend and dreams of working from home, having babies, and being supremely domestic.  She write this blog from a sun filled room in her little old house in whatever spare time she can come up with.

November Sponsor Giveaway!

Happy November everyone! Today is a super special day for me, number one because this is the month in which our son will be born...and number two, this is the very first month I am doing sponsorship/ads here on Sometimes Sweet! This is all a learning process for me, so as time goes by the way I do this may change, but for this first month, here's how this is going to work:

All of the following (AMAZING) shops and blogs are my larger sponsors, and they are each offering one item for this huge, multiple-winner giveaway! All you have to do is the following:

Leave your name and email address in the comments.

*(and see below for a way to get one additional entry too!)

Yup! That's it! On Monday, November 22nd I will pick 9 different winners at random, who will win the different prizes. I didn't want to get super complicated, and next month I may do separate giveaway posts, or have one big winner who wins everything. But this month I will be choosing nine names...so you have a GREAT chance at winning any one of these super-neat items! Again, simply leave your name and email in the comments to enter.

To get one additional entry, you can blog or tweet about this giveaway and leave an additional comment with a link to that blog or tweet, along with your contact info again.

So overall you can put your name into the drawing twice.

I am just so excited about each and every one of these amazing shops. I got such a big, big response about sponsoring my blog and I am so pleased to present these wonderful women as my very first sponsors here. I also have seven more sites I will be highlighting in my "small ad" post later this week, so you'll have seven more shops/blogs to check out as well. Many of you know I've been thinking about doing this for a long time, so I am just over the moon happy about bringing all of these great people to you, and supporting local/small/handmade businesses and blogs. In the future I am most likely going to keep my ads to a smaller amount, but this first month I thought I would do a few more than I normally would.

Be sure to check out my sidebar for all of the new, wonderful buttons I have displayed there, and give each one a little click and say hello!

And now, without further ado, below you will find a small description of each shop, as well as the item or items they are graciously giving away. The links for each blog/shop can be found by clicking the shop/blog name, and also grouped under the first photo. Have fun exploring and clicking around, and good luck!

1) I'm Kyla Roma, a twenty-something prairie girl living under the biggest sky I've ever seen. When I'm not blogging I'm designing blogs with Freckled Nest and running my etsy shop, A Little Thistle. I'm a black tea aficionado, life long vegetarian, tattooed lady, puppy mama and photography addict trying to live joyfully in every moment I've got.


http://www.kylaroma.com/
http://www.etsy.com/shop/alittlethistle

Giveaway item: Penny Farthing Bicycle Necklace


2) Doodle creates custom, modern and affordable paper goods you won't find anywhere else. We love to make stationery, recipe cards and custom invitations which we mail directly to your door. Each design is original, each card is hand cut and we strive for great quality and quick turnaround!


http://www.doodlepapergoods.com/
http://www.etsy.com/shop/DoodlePaperGoods

Giveaway items: Teal Arrow Stationery Set of 8 and the Purple Beads Stationery Set of 8. The sets each include 8 cards and 8 brown Kraft paper envelopes.


3) Studio M.M.E. is a quirky pen and ink art shop where you can find everything from antlered girls to hungry moons. Run by illustrator Megan M. Eckman, the shop abounds with humor, childish play, and the feeling of nostalgia thanks to the mostly black and white prints. For those who are still children at heart, Studio M.M.E. offers a wild visual thrill that embraces those old games of pretend.


http://www.etsy.com/shop/studiomme

Giveaway item: one 5" x 7" print of "Imogene Coming Home"


4) Tumbleweeds Oddities is a marketplace created by Beca Lewis Skeels and Doug Switalski, two southern transplants with a big heart for junk yards and recycled art. From our recovered earth-friendly leather and (vegan) vinyl bike saddles to our hodgepodge collection of vintage and recycled curios, oddities and recovered taxidermy, you can find a whole mess of curiosities in our shop for any collection, at every price range.


http://www.etsy.com/shop/tumbleweedsoddities
http://www.curiositiesandthelike.blogspot.com
http://www.facebook.com/tumbleweedsoddities

Giveaway item: Hot Pink Recovered Suede Bike Saddle handmade entirely from recycled materials (don't worry Vegan friends, all of our leather products are vintage or recovered from the scrap bin and recycled for posterity, we love animals!!) - Worth: $50.00

5) Hi everyone! Over at Happy Owl we are so glad to sponsor the lovely, long time blog friend Danielle! Happy Owl is a warm little space for me to share my musings, our loves, our two young boys and our wild life. We were born and raised in California and are living our dreams in Juneau, Alaska.


http://juneauecomommie.blogspot.com/

Giveaway items: "Alaska Autumn Favorites": Here are a few of my favorite things to share with you; a pair of fabulous metal candle holders (perfect plain or craftily recreated by you), cozy custard fingerless handwarmers made by me, a set of adorable vintage apple tea cups and a surprise gift also made by me. Enjoy!


6) My name is Susannah Bean and I live in the midwest with my hilarious boyfriend Chris and our adorable kitty Mr. Littlejeans. I taught myself how to knit and crochet, and I like to make things that I can't find anywhere else! I have a blog about my life and crafts, and my shop is full of cute and cozy accessories.


http://susannahbean.blogspot.com/
http://www.etsy.com/shop/susannahbean

Giveaway item: one pair of fingerless mitts (I call them The Lady Mitts, but it's a terrible name haha)


7) Pleasantly Plump [Knits.] is a combination of my love for knitting & all things sweet & plump!! Each pair of booties are hand-knit with love & personality for your baby's tiny toes!


http://www.etsy.com/shop/pleasantlyplumpknits
http://www.pocketfulofpretty.com/

Giveaway item: Gift Certificate for one pair of custom plump booties

8) Hello Dearie is a fiber arts company that designs original dolls and other textile goods. This mother-in-law/daughter-in-law team enjoy collaborating on new ideas and creating together.


http://www.etsy.com/shop/hellodearie

Giveaway item: This is our Elf OFF the shelf. He doesn't just sit on the shelf; he is ready for fun...and just in time for the holidays!


9) Gypsy 05 is more than an artistic statement; it is an expression that stands to make a difference in the world. "good planets are hard to find" is the motto that began Gypsy05's exploration to fight against environmental exploitation. Through the art of fashion, Gypsy 05 aims to communicate that the beauty of nature is a marvel. Gypsy's one of a kind designs incorporate organic fabrics, low impact dyes, and water based printing in every collection as part of our mission in environmental awareness. Our story suggests the importance of smelling the roses rather than picking them; of getting inspired by the beauty of the vast ocean rather than polluting it. The message is to Recycle, Reduce, Re-planet and feel naturally confident and free while living environmentally friendly.


http://www.gypsy05.com/shop/index.aspx

Giveaway item: a surprise Gypsy pack worth $225! The winner will provide their size, and Gypsy 05 will provide a fabulous prize pack full of adorable clothing.


So don't forgot, just leave your name and email to enter once, and you can come back and enter a second time by leaving your name/email again in that second comment, along with the link to a blog post or tweet about this great giveaway!

Good luck! :)

p.s., If you are curious about advertising YOUR shop or blog here for the busy retail month of December, I will make a call for ads on November 15th (they'll go quickly!), so keep your eyes peeled. If you'd like to get a jump start and reserve your spot, email me at sometimessweetblog@gmail.com and be sure to check out my ad info page here.

Giveaway winnner AND ad-space is now open!

Congratulations to the large ad-space give away winner, Dawn Trest!

Dawn, I will add you to my email that I will be sending out on Sunday in regards to all the info I need from you to get your sponsorship going. I'm so excited to work with you, promote your adorable shop, and host a giveaway. I will be talking to you soon!

AND, ad space/sponsorship is now OPEN! See below for details and contact information.

I'm going to be doing this on a month to month basis, and based on my traffic these starting/initial rates are an extremely smoking deal! I posted info about my stats here, but if you're ever curious, a quick way to check is to visit the sitemeter button on the lower left hand side of my page for up to the minute numbers or you can always shoot me an email.

Here's how it will be broken down for this first month:

Large ad - $30 a month (this 1st month/promo rate is a cheaper price than the regular rate that will begin in December)



includes:

• prime ad space on the top left hand sidebar of Sometimes Sweet (rotating who is on top)
  
• a spot in my monthly "large ad" sponsor highlight/informational post
• includes one giveaway in my monthly large ad spot giveaway post with multiple winners

Small ad - $15 a month (this 1st month/promo rate is a cheaper price than the regular rate that will begin in December)

• includes: ad space under the large ads, on the left hand sidebar of Sometimes Sweet
• a spot in my monthly "small ad" sponsor highlight/informational post

And who might want to advertise here? Anyone! Blogs who want to expand their readership, Etsy shops, small businesses, baby related sites/goods/shops, and anything else you could think of! The list goes on...

For this first month I am taking a limited amount of spots so email me at sometimessweetblog@gmail.com if you are interested by this SUNDAY. I will be finalizing my sponsor list and sending out the informational email with payment details, etc. on Monday.

I am SO excited about this and I am really looking forward to all of it.

So again, email at sometimessweetblog@gmail.com by Sunday if you'd like to purchase a SMALL or LARGE ad.

xoxo,
Danielle

Want to advertise on Sometimes Sweet? ...and a GIVEAWAY too!

Okay, I've decided to try this out for the month of November, which is great for potential sponsors because that is the month Henry will be born, with a high predicted traffic rate! To kick things off, I will be giving away one ad spot for free, which I'll discuss at the bottom of this post.

Here's how ad space on my blog will work:

I currently average 3,176 views a day (as of this very moment) with a little over 22,200 views per week (multiply that to get my monthly average of 88,800 per month)...and this number is consistently growing. If you're curious about my total stats break down, email me at sometimessweetblog@gmail.com for that information. What's neat and different about my blog is that I'm not a crafter, I'm not selling or promoting anything- it's truly just a personal blog with many different facets to it that people seem to find interesting, so it can appeal to all sorts of people from various walks of life.

I'm going to be doing this on a month to month basis, and based on my traffic these starting/initial rates are a smoking deal! Here's how it will be broken down:

Large ad - $30 a month (this 1st month/promo rate is a cheaper price than the regular rate that will begin in December)



includes:

• prime ad space on the top left hand sidebar of Sometimes Sweet (rotating who is on top)
  
• a spot in my monthly "large ad" sponsor highlight/informational post
• includes one giveaway in my monthly large ad spot giveaway post with multiple winners

Small ad - $15 a month (this 1st month/promo rate is a cheaper price than the regular rate that will begin in December)

• includes: ad space under the large ads, on the left hand sidebar of Sometimes Sweet
• a spot in my monthly "small ad" sponsor highlight/informational post

And who might want to advertise here? Anyone! Blogs who want to expand their readership, Etsy shops, small businesses, baby related sites/goods/shops, and anything else you could think of! The list goes on...

I'm REALLY excited about this because I think it's going to be so neat to be able to promote other blogs and small businesses. I went back and forth with this decision for a few months, and finally decided to go for it because really, why not? I know this blog will never, ever turn into some crazy sponsor fueled ad space, so as long as I keep Sometimes Sweet true to me I see no harm in moving forward with this.

So, with all of my excitement I am going to offer one LARGE ad spot for free this month. A handful of my blogger friends have done this when they started ads and I loved the idea, so I hope you do too! :)

All you have to do is leave a comment with your name and email address! I will be choosing the winner in one week, on Friday, October 8th. At that time I will be opening up the ad spots at a first come, first serve basis via paypal, with a minimal amount of spaces being filled for this first month.

Don't forget to leave your name and email in the comments to enter to win!

xoxo

TGIF, right? (I'd love some input too!)

older photo I made into a button over there on the right hand sidebar! ;)

Well, it's Friday! Today was a good day. I'm extremely happy it's the end of the week- not "relieved" because my classes are actually all pretty great, just basically overall happy. I had a doctor's appointment today and got to hear the thump-thump of our little boy's heart. It's always such an amazing thing to be able to hear that, and it always kind of makes me tear up a bit. Since it's a group practice I've been scheduling all of my appointments with the NP/Midwife and I love love love her. I should have seen her all along, but better late than never I guess. I got to talk to her about some things I've been experiencing that I haven't even talked about here. Since I've been pregnant I've had some weird episodes that are similar to anxiety attacks (which I am no stranger to), but they're slightly different. I get really hot, light headed, and overall it feels like anxiety, but the doctor thinks it from my very low blood pressure rather than my mental health. Who really knows. All I know is that it's not fun. Last time it happened was about 4 days ago on the first day of school, in the morning, and it was pretty bad. I had to sit on the couch for about 20 minutes until it passed. The midwife told me that even if I have minor anxiety issues (like I do from time to time), these can be exacerbated during pregnancy, or it could be the blood pressure thing she was talking about. It's happened just a few times but she said to keep an eye on this and let her know. So...let's hope that it was a passing thing and it is smooth sailing from here!

In other news, I began a really wonderful book last night. It's called "The Center of Everything" by Laurie Moriarty and according to my Kindle I've read about 30% of it. Obviously I can't give a review of it since I'm only about a fourth done but I will say that it has the possibility to be in my top 10 favorite books ever if it continues at the pace its going. I don't want to give anything away (I hate even reading summaries on Amazon beforehand), but here's a vague snippet about the book from Publisher's Weekly:

For 10-year-old Evelyn Bucknow, there really is no place like home. On all the world maps she's ever seen, the United States has been smack dab in the middle, with Kansas in the middle of that. "I feel so lucky to live here, right in the center," she proclaims, in Moriarty's wonderfully down-to-earth debut. Dazzled by visions of Ronald Reagan on the television, the twinkle in his eye and his contention that "God put America between two oceans on purpose," Evelyn's youthful optimism is shaken by her young single mother Tina's inability to take control of her life.

I definitely, definitely recommend it if you're looking for a new book to read!

Other than that, I've been keeping busy with sleeping a lot, hoping and wishing we hear news about our short (long) sale house offer, and daydreaming about holding baby Henry. Currently I'm thinking about getting myself to the gym for a late night workout to stretch my legs a bit and clear my mind. It seems like a perfect night for a long go on the elliptical with some music and a good book. If you couldn't tell, I'm having a wild Friday night!

Before I go, I'd like to ask all of you for some input about something I've been thinking about for a few months. Here are some of my blog's stats: currently I average 7 posts a week, have 1581 followers via blogger, 2,174 readers via Google Reader, and average about 3,150 page views a day (averaging approximately 14,500 visits/22,000 page views a week- and these numbers have been consistently growing). The reason I am telling you about all of this, is to share that I am currently thinking about opening up sponsorship spots. In the past I've been wary of sponsorship, but the larger my reader base becomes, and the more small business owners I meet, I've come to realize what a neat opportunity it is to be able to feature people I support- be them Etsy shops, Mommy bloggers, bloggers in general, baby shops, tattoo-related products, small-companies, etc, and share them with so many thousands of like-minded people. I've seen a handful of my blog friends go this way recently (the darling Holly Sarah being one of them who has inspired me- be sure to check out Create Loves if you don't already), and I've spoken to a few about it (thank you again Diana for your input), and I believe that this is something I'd like to do. What I'd like to know from YOU is how many of you would be interested in a sponsorship spot here on Sometimes Sweet? I would be doing a small number of month-to-month ad runs at a reasonable rate (with options for longer runs at discount) with giveaway options. The one thing I DO NOT want my blog to turn into, is a space that is all about sponsors, making money off sponsors, etc. There's nothing that I hate more than when I blog I love suddenly turns into giveaway central with tons of "ads" from all sorts of random shops and people, and the content I love falls to the wayside. This blog is about my life. That will never change. I never started blogging to have this many (wonderful) people a day come here, but it's happened, and I've welcome it with open arms. It's given me the chance to meet so, so many amazing people and have a place to share my writing, which I just love. I think this will be a fun step for me, and if I don't enjoy having sponsors, or I feel it takes away from the "me" aspect of this space, I will stop. But I think it is worth a try and something I am moving towards, probably as Fall begins.

So again, I'd love to see who is interested in a spot here, as well as get any and all feedback about this topic.

Thanks so much for your input, as always. Love you all!