I have never done a giveaway on still life 365, but I thought that this might be a great way to celebrate 300 posts, or 265 days of still life 365, or 100 days left, whichever milestone you like best. This year has been an amazing, heartbreaking, moving showcase of art, writing, music and craft exploring grief. This space is much more than I could imagine, and I know many people love this space as much as I do. So, in that spirit, I am giving away some shizzle to make you sizzle. This first giveaway, which I guess is the Grand Prize, was donated by my beautiful sister, Kellyann, who sells her sewn objects (purses, hangings, etc.) on Etsy. She is a sewing goddess and initially created this upcycled tool roll so I could travel with my watercolors and paintbrushes. These represent things I love dahlias and I love the color purple, which I always associate with my daughter Lucia. This morning, while having coffee with my sister, I mentioned wanting to do a giveaway, she immediately thought of this roll she had just finished, because it is great for carrying any tools. I really wanted to do a giveaway that would help inspire you to do some crafting, arting, knitting, or loving. This roll really would be great for knitters, painters, and crafters alike. The dimensions are 24" x 11" wide, and the fabric was from a sample book of an old furniture upholstery book, which is really cool. I photographed it with my paintbrushes, and put a pair of scissors in there, so you can see how big it is.
First you add your tools, the pockets could fit pencils, paintbrushes, knitting needles, or other things.
Then you roll to reveal the gorgeous Dahlia fabric on the outside, which has velvet-y accents, so it also has pleasing tactility.
Tie it up, and eh, voila! All rolled-up and ready to go.
The second item I am giving away is an original, one of a kind still life 365 bookmark. It is a prototype, so I'd love your feedback. I really love the Community Poems, so I am thinking of doing some projects with the community poetry. Anyway, this one is a bookmark of the very first post on still life 365, which is Community Poem I: one word. The front is the poem, and the back is an explanation of what the poem is and how it was written. And there is a sock yarn tassle that I created.
Hope you like these giveaways and what we are doing here on still life 365. The only thing you have to do to enter this giveaway is leave a comment on this posting telling me your favorite feature of still life 365, or how you found still life 365 or what still life 365 means to you. This isn't a contest, I am just interested in those three things and you can pick any one of those things to talk about, or all three. Make sure you have an email address somewhere so I can get in touch with you if you win. I am asking for only one comment per person. I will do the random dot org thing and the first person will get the Tool Roll and the second will get the bookmark. It does not matter if you are overseas. Everyone is welcome to join this giveaway.
I will be drawing on September 22nd, so comments will be closed on September 21st at some point. I will also link this on Twitter (where you can follow me @stilllifeangie. [I also tweet the daily post everyday and give my love]), Facebook (where you can "like" still life 365 (I update with photos and status updates on work I am doing behind the scenes of still life 365) and I will have a link to this post on the sidebar, if you mean to come back at some point in the future and can't find it.
And oops, I got so excited that I didn't answer your questions. I found still life 365 through you, obviously. And I love that you open it to everyone.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations Angie! 300 amazing posts curated so thoughtfully by you.
ReplyDeleteMy favourite thing about 365 is the community building that you do. I love the collaborative poems, or the work people create around your themes.
I found out about it way, way back. We talked about it a lot before its creation, and the idea for the community poem came out of one of our extremely long gchats. I feel a special connection to the site because of that, and also because you are one of my most treasured friends.
I think I found out about stilllife365 through various friends who have been much better than I have about contributing. I actually tried to scan something once, but my scanner kept balking. But I enjoy visiting and I love the community space you have created.
ReplyDeleteWoohoo! 300 posts! I need to learn the snoopy dance for things such as this!!
ReplyDeleteUm, I don't recall how I actually found stillife365...probably from your blog Angie? It went along with my outpouring of grief through my art...but being able to share it in a community setting. I feel I've grown a lot through it because of the mid-month challenges, and seeing others in their steps towards remembering their children and documenting their grief. It's been quite important for me.
congrats angie! so thrilled for you that this project has been so successful, that it has grown both in numbers and in depth. excellent work.
ReplyDeletei know i haven't participated much but my favorite feature is really the community poem. that last one about the trees was lovely.
ps rolled thingy is awesome
Well done, Angie. You should be so proud of you.
ReplyDeleteI love the sense of community you have created, and seeing so many different types of art, from so many different grieving parents. We are all different, the art is all different. This place is so inspiring.
If I win the roll, I would like to pass it on because I'm not overly arty and I'm sure someone could make better use of it than me. That said, it is so beautiful. The book marks are gorgeous and I have my fingers crossed for one of those.
xo
Wow, can't believe it's getting closer to a year. I like seeing the artwork that people create.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite thing about StillLife is the sense of community and support. I also like that I have an artistic outlet for my grief.
ReplyDeleteOh, my goodness, that thing is SO cool. I feel guilty though, I JUST now kept my word and submitted.. :(
ReplyDeleteGiveaways are soooooo fun! I think this is a great way to celebrate this special site. It really is a wonderful place you have started and continued. Thank you. The rolling travel case is faboo!
ReplyDeleteWhat an achievement...300 posts already! I think I found still life 365 through a post I read during ICLW but, I'm honestly not sure. I just know that the posts seem to touch a core of emotion that nothing else does. Everyone here has had a loss or two or three and it is so comforting to find the understanding and to identify with the feelings expressed here.
ReplyDeleteCongratz on the 300 posts!!I don't have a favourite part of SL365. I like seeing how others turn their grief into art, I like the artist interviews, the community poems... the whole thing. It's my medicine coming by here several times a week. It inspires me, makes me laugh and allows me to shed some tears.
ReplyDeleteI love the roll. It happens to meet my eye on the eve before my brandnew sewing machine will arrive. *yay* So even if I don't win, I'll try my best to sew one roll for myself one day...
Angie, I think I found still life through your personal blog but I cannot remember for sure. Either way I love that there is this creative outlet especially for babylost parents. I am seriously amazed at how much you do here.. it's beautiful.
ReplyDeleteOn a side note, do you plan on continuing this after a year?
Hey Angie
ReplyDeleteHow did I find out about sl365? I think you told me about it?! :-) I love what you do here, that's what I love best about it. For me SL365 is about Lucia and how you reach out to others with your daughter. She is the golden thread in all this.
I know SL365 is a place for people to connect and express and inspire and create. But it is what you, Angie, created here and the spirit of Lucia that I find in it all, in every brush stroke, thread of needle stitch, in every space between the letters of every word, in every pigment of colour, in every rhythm and rhyme, in every golden shimmer of any photograph.
Congrats on 300! I love the roll. :)
ReplyDeleteI love seeing how many and varied our expressions of grief and loss are. Some things are harsh and confronting, others are gentle and soft. Everything resonates on some level.
xx
my favorite thing on still life 365 is the mid-month challenge - because it challenges me to get creative even when i don't feel so creative.
ReplyDeletei don't remember how i came across still life 365, but i think i found it through another babyloss mama's blog and i'm so glad i did.
Congratulations Angie on 300 posts! What an achievement!
ReplyDeleteI am so glad that I was introduced to Still Life 365 by Kara - Mother Henna.
My favourite thing is is the addition of Photo Sunday.
I staggered here via Lazy Seamstress, Only a Whisper, your blog. In the days after I lost Freddie, those three blogs made it through the fog to me and I read and read and read. And then, after a while, I found this and it occurre to me that I could force a change in myself. After my other loss, all my creativity soaked away - I made models of broken women holding babies and then I stopped completely. I found this and decided that I would become creative again, in Freddie's name. That I wouldn't let his death sap away more of me - I';d make it part of something more hopeful.
ReplyDeleteTime flys eh? Bitter sweet, that we even have to have a blog like this. I found this blog through Mother Henna on her Facebook i believe . What do i like best about this, what it means to me. Well....a can come get a dose of comraderie here. Always someone has posted about a loss most don't want to talk about. I love art. Art created from the root of love and loss is SO powerful it draws me in and the aloneness subsides for just a moment. I appreciate you and this project.
ReplyDeleteANg