Firstly take a look at the BEST Blog, to see details of all the items in the First Prize Basket for our Seasonal Event (see also BEST Newsflash on the right). There's even a rather fab little video to show off all the lovely goodies included in the prize.
This basket happens to include my Circular Christmas Mini-Album, brother to the mini-book I gave away in the Blog Circle the other Saturday.
So if you think a notebook, journal, diary, planner, sketchbook, photo album, scrap album, or any other kind of book, may be an ideal present for one or more of your family, head over to the BEST Blog, for links to Etsy shops that are participating in the prize draw.
There is a wonderful selection of items available, at a good range of prices (and many shops sell stuff other than books too). Each $10 you spend will earn you a ticket in the prize draw (it doesn't matter if the spend is on one item - if it costs $30 you will get 3 tickets).
Also if you mention the words "BEST Holiday" in the "Message to Seller" on your order, you'll get an extra ticket. See the BEST Blog post here for all the information and the links you need. Some shops are also offering other seasonal incentives, such as free shipping.
I believe in Buying Handmade! You get a great choice of items, each one is unique and hand crafted. The prices usually compare well with machine-made, mass-market, store-bought items, but you get something so special. I've been shopping on Etsy myself this year and have bought some lovely things.
So, that's my plug for the shops of me and my Etsy Bookbinding Team colleagues. Do take a look - you may find something very special.
NEXT!
If you read my blog sometimes, you may have become aware of my niece, Keri-Anne Pink. She is a photographer, who sells her work through a shop on Etsy, has a blog, a Flickr, Twitter etc... She has also had work featured on several popular art/photography blogs and in a number of online magazines, so she's doing very well.
Her work is dreamy and fairytale-like. The light quality is very important and she spends ages planning and carrying out every shoot. We're all very proud of her success.
I have also made a bit of noise about her book. Recently she has published a small book of her work, including a photo-shoot that was planned specially for the book, with images that have not been published elsewhere or offered in her shop.
There are actually 3 different cover versions for each size, ranging in price from £10 to £26, depending on size and cover type, so it's very good value. Shipping starts at £3.99 in UK, € 5.99 and $6.99 US, for up to 5 books of 7x7ins.
THE NEWS
So, I plan a Giveaway of one copy of Keri-Anne's book. I have a softcover, 7"x7" version, still in its wrapper, worth £10. I will give it away after the weekend.
To qualify for entry to my Giveaway:
Leave me a Comment on this post (usual thing!), BUT I would like you to take a look at the Book and see its preview on Blurb.
In your Comment, tell me something about the book, that you have found out for yourself and is different to anyone else's comment. There, that is the challenge, do your research!
On Monday next week (7th December) I will go through the comments and enter all that have followed the challenge rules in a number draw. I will list them in the order they were entered and use a random-number generator to select the winner.
Have a look at Keri-Anne's book, leave that comment on my post and see if you are the winner of the lovely little book!
You know what I found out about this little treasure, Gingerlillytea? She is as romantic as she is playful. She can see past where the light seems to stop and unleashes my own daydreams into a picture without even trying. She makes me want to sip my own favorite tea in an old enchanted garden of my own in hopes that I can sail away on a paper boat into the sky. And yes, I would love to own her book. :) :) :)
ReplyDeleteLove,
Alexandra Jane
Keri-Anne and I met on a baby forum website, as soon as she posted i knew we had things in common, we were both due in the Sept 08 forum and both expecting a wee girl. We shared the love of shabby chic and Cath Kidston fabrics. We became friends on Facebook and i dreamingly looked through her beautiful photographs. In the preview of her book it shows Bluebell Meadows which hangs proudly in my daughters nursery and when my daughter asks about the girl in the Bluebell Meadow i will be happy to call her my friend.
ReplyDeleteThe thing I love about your niece's book is the combination of words and beautiful photos. In every single one of her pictures, she manages to capture the brightness that reminds me of spring, and by doing that, she also managed to bring some of that bright light into my heart.
ReplyDeleteFirst, I adore your handmade books and journals. They are so beautiful and such jewels. I love all precious things made of paper and still love sending letters and keeping journals so I will be visiting your Etsy shop!
ReplyDeleteAnd, I love Keri-Anne's/Gingerlillytea's photography. I found her work through Flickr and a female self portrait group that we both belong to. Her photographs alone are breathtaking. They take me away to this magical land that I thought was only real when I was a little girl, but there it is-so real, in a photograph! Just as I saw it when I was young growing up in the country and woods around my house. To me, this is magic and it encourages me to keep dreaming and creating art.
What I found out from looking at just a little bit of her book is that we are all called to be our true selves-not a copy of someone else or who we think others want us to be. Keri-Anne has stayed true to her vision, her gifts and herself and the reward is her amazing creativity and imagination which in turn inspires so many others to be true to themselves.
The photographs from the book and the little stores make my heart flutter because I recognized myself in them. I saw the little play horse my sisters and I had and the first dress I made out of a green, black and blue watch plaid. I saw the fence that I used to sit on and day dream amongst the wild flowers. I saw the little paper boats I made with my Grandfather and sent down our little creek together. All of these things and more I thought I had to give up because I am an "adult". The lighting and feel of these photographs shows me that this magic still exists-all we have to do is go out and get it and not stop dreaming.
What I found out is that I can still be myself no matter what age. I am going to find that little horse and that dress and dream more. This book is a map back to me-truly a gift! I want to thank Keri-Anne for all her hard work and for making it become something tangible. It is a memory of the life I need to being living now still.
Thanks and take care,
merle of Rowan DeVoe
Reading this book reminds me of reading a children's book. I get the same feelings of nostalgia as I do whenever I revisit my old copy of Alice in Wonderland. Her photographs are so innocent, so dreamy, so perfect. They make me want to run around in fields of dandelions with a mask and flowy white dress on.
ReplyDeleteThey are like perfect summer afternoons when you have all the time in the world to just be.
They are like the thoughts you have right before you go to sleep: somewhat complete, but not whole...fuzzy, soft, and dreamlike.
I love her photography so much that I featured it on my blog today!
xo
I love Keri-Anne's photography! Every picture is a snapshot into her world, one filled with magic and dreams. I love the soft exposure in all the photographs, making it feel so ethereal.
ReplyDeletei love the pictures. so soft and dusty and light. my favorite is the one of the girl sitting in the boat.
ReplyDeleteit's such a pretty little book. thanks for sharing it with us! <3
What a beautiful book! Keri-Anne is a wonderful artist and I understand why you are all so proud of her!
ReplyDeleteThe pages delighted me while flipping them, every photo is mesmerizing.., teach one of them tell a story, a story that takes us to our deepest memories, our childhood games.
I'm a woman who enjoys the little treasures life give us, Gingerlillytea is one of them, it reminds us to enjoy every little thing, no matter how insignificant it looks, it'll give us moments of happiness to remember forever, and they are all captured here in this book!
Gingerlillytea is part of all of us, our inner child should never be forgotten and should be in our hearts always..
I love Keri-Anne's photography. Before I even looked through the inside, the cover made me think of an illustration to a fantasy story, as did the rest of the pictures once I looked through it. They could be a story told through photos of teenage girl lost in her childhood. I realized that if you look at the photos as a story, everyone will view it differently, depending on your view of the world and your personality. I would love to own her book. It looks amazing.
ReplyDeleteI love Keri-Ann's work.
ReplyDeleteWhat I found from looking at the preview of her work is that her photographs, while themselves telling little stories of their own, are also arranged so they seem to tell stories with each other.
It's not a mere photography book, it's also a story book, told through pictures and a few words. It tells dozens of little stories within bigger stories.
After all, a photographer is just another kind of storyteller.
MJ
I follow your niece's tumblr, and I always feel inspired by her posts. She shows her individual style by playing with light, texture, the scene and the models, but it seems any person can relate to her pictures. A fashionista may focus on the cute clothes, a photographer the juxtaposition of emotions, a kid the sunny, summer day. I can see all of these aspects, and for this reason feel she is brilliant. I hope she reads all these wonderful comments, too.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Madhu
I feel overwhelmed at the opportunity to win this beautiful book... Looking through the preview the thing I have discovered is that gingerlily is photographing the quiet dreams that live in my heart. Those pictures create the visuals of what I feel inside- the lightness of the kite, the floating happiness of the boats on the lake, the playfulness of the rocking-horse... I would love to escape, for just one moment into her photos, and feel my soul from the outside in.
ReplyDeleteI found Keri-Anne on blogger and instantly became smitten with her unique photography style. To me, looking at her photos evokes fond memories of my childhood and daydreams colored with woodsy teaparty charm and opal pink softness. All the best Keri-Anne. I would love to own her book. ♥
ReplyDeleteLove,
Lara
I especially love the diction in the book. Sometimes it makes sense and at times it doesn't. But even so, it stills kind of flows throughout the book and sounds really nice and it just brings a smile to my face when I read it. Moreover, the words really sounds like a bedtime story that I would read and has a soft, flowery voice to it.
ReplyDeleteGingerlillytea is a really exceptional book unlike any photography book that I have ever seen. It brings out the innocence of a child and encompasses all the dreams, fantasies and all that I love to see in photography.
Thank you for sharing this book!
<3,
Jovy
I like the sun flares and sun haze in her shots. I also love that she said "I like to dance like a ghost". Made me smile.
ReplyDeleteHer amazing photographs touched me like nothing for a long time - dreamy, pure and very faithful, like some hidden memory, about which you didn't guess that you even have got, pictures of the bright days, sequences from your favourite fairytales. What talent.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I love about Keri-Anne is that a photo by her is instantly recognisable as being her work. She has her own unique style and whenever I come across a photo of hers on a blog or online magazine I know without checking the text who took it! I love to take photos myself but I haven't yet managed to create my own specialist style like she has, where all her photographs are consistently beautiful. It really shows in the preview of her book or by looking at her flickr photostream because all the photos definitely share a common theme. I just love the magical, fairy tale atmosphere she concocts in every shot!
ReplyDeleteKeri-Anne's photos allow me to escape into a world of fantasy where my dreams become a virtual reality, if not in real life, then in her photographs. Although I don't know her personally, I feel like her photo are reflections of herself, her identity as a photographer, and her life with her baby and husband. I first found her on Flickr and fell completely in love with her images as I found myself lost in a world where it seemed anything was possible. I have seen her grow progressively as she's broken out of her comfort zone, from photographing simple treasures and precious items, to self portraits. She is slowly learning to be okay with taking pictures of herself, giving others a chance to delve deeper into her life and understand her a better. Although she is now an adult with a family, Keri-Anne will always be a child at heart. She truly is a unique artist simply giving others the chance to explore their underlying child-like character through her own photographs. I have been so blessed to have been a part of this amazing journey.
ReplyDeleteWhat I found out is that I have one of the most beautiful and enchanting best friends I could ever ask for.
ReplyDeleteEverytime i preview the pages of her book I feel so proud to have been part of it. Even if I dont win this copy I will buy one myself.
Keri-Anne Pink is like a dream and I am so grateful to be part of her dreams and adventures.
I adore every page I have seen and adore her, from tip to toe Keri-Anne is one of my inspirations.
A proud best friend Hannah Emily Stocker.
x
Keri-Anne works with light in the most beautiful of ways, giving her photography a level of warmth and kindness that most photography lacks.
ReplyDeletexx Kit
hey lizzie! awesome give away. I guess looking at her books is like walking into a fairytale that has been changed so it is fresh again. I have so much to say about it, the way Keri-anne uses light to create a dream like feel, the little detail like the oragami paper ships. thanks so much for introducing her work to me! xxxx
ReplyDeleteoh my gosh, even just by looking at the cover i was like... I WANT THAT BOOK!! every single picture is very well thought and beautifully executed, i love the lights and i love the ideas behind it. love everything about it, it's like having a fairy tale book for adults. i want want want her book, please let me win!!! :)
ReplyDeleteOkay, so the Giveaway is Now Officially CLOSED!
ReplyDeleteThere are 22 entries and I will use Random.com to pick the winner and post it on my blog for today (Monday 7th December).