February Giveaway & first ever product review!

Hi everyone!

I hope you all had a wonderful week. In the spirit of Valentine's Day I wanted to share the love of this new boutique I just discovered called Lyli Craft on Etsy. Lily (the owner) is absolutely adorable and she wanted to share her handmade product with all of you dear readers! She is giving away the beautiful purse you are seing on top! (Giveaway link is at the bottom of the article)
But first, I  want to share with you my first ever review of her wonderful boutique.

The wonderful handmade creations for Lyli Craft right out of their enveloppe!

Lyli opened her shop in 2011 in Malaysia. Here is her intro on how she started this adventure :
'' I've grown up with my grandmother in the village and she like to sew during her free time. She sew my clothes, gown, pajama and making soft toys for me when I was a little girl. I always wanted to be like her, very talented and creative. Then I'm going to school and play soft toys with my friends during our free time. They like it and ask me to do it for them. Since then I'm making soft toys and selling it to my close friends.'' 
Her lovely shop specializes and pillows.  Her cute cosmetic purse just grabbed my attention, I couldn't resist their adorable vintage genre and colorful patterns.

The beautiful handmade purses for Lyli Craft!

Her cosmetic purses are simply lovely so very well crafted. I really enjoy their small yet very versatile size and the soft padding added to the clutch. They are big enough to contain all the cosmetics you might need - even that big foundation bottle that never fits in your pharmacy - or even a small pocket camera. The soft padding make it so you don't have to worry that anything breaks, it is well protected for your trip! The purse is small enough to be skidded into your backpack or luggage without taking too much space.

Each purse has a removable wrist strap that makes it easy for you to carry them around. Lyle just went the extra mile in mine and added a lovely name tag inside. I mean, how perfect is it? You can easily see them offered as a personalized gift to your bridesmaids or include the nickname of your BFF or sister for a beautiful custom gift.

Lyli Craft can add a personalized touch to every of her purses.

The sewing is elegant, precise and the zipper flows very smoothly. You can see how much care Lyli puts into each of her creations. I did take longer for me to get her purses because of the distance Canada/Malaysia, but in the end, it was totally worth it...! :)

Follow the link below to get a chance to win this beautiful handmade cosmetic purse from Lyli Craft!

On this you say, I want to have mine as well! Well, you can either enter below for your chance to win the beautiful marine vintage postcard purse (or purchase it here), or visit her boutique here!

You can also follow her on her Instagram or Facebook page!

On this everyone, best of luck! :D
The winner will be announced around the 24th of February.
* M *

Cosmetic Purse Giveaway from Lyli Craft

Crystal Earrings Giveaway!!!

Hello there! :)

I hope you are all as excited as I am about this sparkling giveaway....! 

It is very simple, there are many ways for you to gain extra entry points with this giveaway and one easy mandatory question : How would you describe your personal style?

Contest ends on August 9th and is open internationally, you only need to be 18 years and older to enter it.

It is my first time using the Gleam app for a giveaway, hoping to make it all easy for you!

Feel free to leave feedback on your experience...!

So without further introductions, here is the Giveaway, click below to get to the contest page :

Swarovski Dangle Earring Giveaway

Swarovski Dangle Earring Giveaway

Can't wait to have your own pair of dangling crystal earrings? You can find the entire collection here, including a custom option!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone and best of luck! :)

* Maxime * 

2014 recap & new projects for 2015

Hi there everyone! :)

I hope you all had an awesome start for 2015!! I love this lovely euphoric feeling that all is fresh and new, and full of possibilities at the beginning of the year ! :) I wanted to take a minute to lay out my goals for 2014 and 2015 as well as my new projects. Here were the objectives I had fixed for 2014:

Reach 100 blog followers * 42 FB followers * 1000 favorites on my Etsy shop * 142 Twitter followers * Make 142 Etsy sales * Attend 3 craft shows * List 100 items by mid-november * Pick up blogging seriously.

I think we can say that with 40 blog post last year, I commited myself to serious blogging and I hope you all enjoyed my articles :) ! As for my shop hearts, I didn't reach my goal but it's not because I haven't tried! I can't wait for 1000 hearts as I have planned a special giveaway once I reach it for all those who hearted my Etsy shop through the years. I'm also super proud to say I ended 2014 while having overreached my goal for sales! :) Thank you so much everyone for making this possible...! :) The success of the Berries on both my Etsy shop and at craft shows made it so that I ran out of time (and I have to admit energy and sleep) to reach 100 items on Etsy by the end of the year. 2015 started with 78 items in stock but not to worry though, I jumped on Boxing day sales to buy some more supplies to fill up 2015 with fresh new colors and designs! ;)

Best business moves for 2014:

Investing in a smart phone - it allows me to be so much more organized and time efficient it completely changed the way I think about planning. It also makes it so much easier for me to connect with all of you when I'm on the road and believe me, I do a lot of traveling. I personally own a Motorolla Moto G LTE android phone and I love how user-friendly it is.

Open a Facebook page - As much as I'm not a fan of FB for my personal page, I simply love my Kirameku Facebook page. I love to be able to send you quick posts about my newest projects, sneak peaks, promos and live feed while I'm at events like craft shows.

What's new for Kirameku for 2015 :

I have a lot of new projects this year for Kirameku so here's a quick list. I'll give you more details later but on feel free to leave a comment if there's something here that interests you! :)

Customer spotlight : Show us how you Style your Berry jewelry and awake your inner fashionista! Send me a picture of your best outfit featuring your Kirameku jewelry and a short text on your inspiration and I'll post it on the blog and my Facebook page. I would love to see your personal twist on fashion! :)

New Swarovski earrings : Yes, the precious crystals will make a big come back for 2015! :) Short and long dangles as well post earrings are on the menu paired with gorgeous colors! :)  I promise they will be glamorous, sparkling and full of colors! Stay posted!

New limited edition Berries jewelry : I took a break from listing Berries these past few days because I was on a hunt for new colors for the limited edition series! :) I found some gorgeous black with a mesmerizing firepolish, vivid two-toned green drops, soft blue and much more....! New rings and necklaces will be added soon! :)

Giveaways : It's a new year and I'm happy to say that the giveaway budget has been refilled! :) Make sure you hearted Kirameku Etsy shop to enter the giveaway for 1000 hearts! I'll be also collaborating with various blogs for more giveaway. Stay posted and don't hesitate to leave suggestions on blogs or which Berries you would like to win :)

Kirameku website : The graphic designer in me could no longer resist the temptation of building a website for Kirameku. For starters, I'll be using the free features of Wix, as I prefer for now to leave more budget for giveaways :)

Bridesmaids collection : I realized that Berries could be a wonderful gift for bridesmaids while staying in a decent budget. I'm working on some special packaging while trying to stay as eco-friendly as possible. For now, silk ribbons and glittery paper are involved ;)

Last but not least, a newsletter! You want to know all the news and stay posted on our latest additions? You can sign up to Kirameku's mailing list on the top this blog, just under the social network icons on the left side of the page or simply click here. You'll also get exclusive promotions and no spamming I promise. The newsletter should be sent about once a month.

I hope you are all as excited as I am about all those projects! :) Feel free to leave comments or feedback below I would love to hear your thoughts on all this :)
On this everyone, have an awesome weekend!
*M*

Necklace giveaway!

Hi everyone!

I promised some more Kirameku goodies for you in May and here it is...! :)

Since May 1st and until June 1st, you could win this Frosted Berry Necklace, exclusively drawn at the The Stilettosaurus Blog. 

But wait, you can win much more than that! Somdyuti (the Stilettosaurus blog owner) wanted to thank her blog followers so she's giving away much more than Kirameku necklaces. She's giving away 7 lovely piece of handmade jewelry. That is perfect for upgrading your jewelry drawer for this upcoming season! 

Want to win this gorgeous Frosted Berry Necklace? Well don't wait till the end of the month! Click here to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway :)

I would love your thoughts on this necklace, because there will be more in this series posted in a few days! So stay tuned! :) 

Want to see your favourite ring turned into a necklace? Contact me on my Etsy Shop to order a custom piece or simply leave a comment below! :)

On this everyone, have a lovely day!

* M * 

Artwork : Work in progress

Hi everyone! : )

I hope you all had a great week! On my side, it was a very busy week as I've started a job at a new place and it's simply awesome! I'm so in love with this job…!  I'm just a bit sad that spring seems to have pack up his things and left of for a few days… We had a snowstorm here - yes, again… sight - and kindda crappy temperature all week. Hopefully, Spring will be back in April. I can't wait to open up the door to my balcony in my atelier and have some fresh air and sunlight flowing in.

I'm still cleaning up my atelier, but if you guys are curious, I could try and take come pictures once we'll have a bit of sun here in Montreal and my spring clean up will be over. I've recently finished my complete inventory (beads, jewelry, supplies etc…) and I'm super glad that part is over…! It is very very tedious. I'm not too bad with numbers and I'm very organized, it's just that I really don't like doing inventory. But hey, it's part of the game and I usually treat myself with something sweet afterwards so it's worth it. Not to mention it's so much easier to see where you are heading once the inventory is done.

The main reason of my post today if to show you guys one piece I'm currently working on. I don't want to show too much to keep the mystery around that project, but here are some shots of the original drawing. ( I would so much prefer spending my day drawing than making inventory! ;) )

Images under copyright - All rights reserved  ©Kirameku

If you are curious about my artwork process, I create the original sketch with blue Col-Erase pencils. Why blue? Simply because it is an easy colour to touch up and easy to get rid of in photoshop if I ever need to make a digital copy of my artwork. I then use tracing paper to copy the original artwork on my media that will host the final illustration. It could be art boards, canvases, water-colour paper…. you name it.

Facebook

Hi everyone! :D

I'm so glad to announce that Kirameku is now officially on Facebook! Woot woot! :D
It took me a while to check out the different options to make sure it would really fit my shop's needs, but it was worth the wait! :) I hope you enjoy the graphics and let me tell you that I'm just getting started! Apps are the next thing on my list…! :D

All right *drum roll* Kirameku celebrates this with a 10$ gift certificate giveaway!

Cabane à sucre! Maple syrup sweets

Hi everyone! : ) I just had a flash yesterday while I was attenting the Yes Conference ''How to be your best on Etsy''… The Cabane à sucre event Sweet Lee told us about a few days ago is next week-end! On March 22-23 29-30, please stop by the Wellington street in Verdun and encourage local business owners while indulging in our unique maple products! Sweet Lee is planning on having maple syrup scones, how delicious does that sounds? : ) Yum yum, I'll definitely stop by!

Did you know that there's 13 500 maple syrup producers' in Quebec? (Source FPAQ) And there's plenty more across Canada but producers from Quebec represents about 93% of the production? Maple syrup is a very unique product and we are super lucky to be able to celebrate it this time of year. It is full of antioxidants, minerals and is a 100% natural so there's no reason not to have some in your pantry!

On this, my stomach is grumbling way too much for me to keep talking about food lol! I'll leave to you on one of my favourite cooking website where the recipes are all maple based.

I'll be back soon to tell you more about the Yes Conference : )

Oh, and don't forget to enter our giveaway! It ends in about 11h…!

* M * 

March Giveaway!

Hi everyone! : )

I'm sorry I've been buried under web design these past couple of days as my classes are coming to an end. I lost some work time because of my flu - do not attempt to code a website with an infernal migraine and irritated sinuses, you'll just mess your code up, I can guaranty you - so I worked super hard to pick up things and add the finishing touches this week-end. If ever you are interested, I'll post you the link to the website once it will be online. What do you say? : )

But, I didn't forget about you dear readers : ) In between classes I've been in contact with Kelly - a lovely blogger - who published an article about Kirameku and hosted a small giveaway. It's the first time I ever had a giveaway hosted on Rafflecopter, and I am more than curious to see the final results!

Here is a new model of the Dangle & Drop Earrings that you can win! Don't you think the colours are great for spring? :) Click the image to participate! And quick, you have 6 days left to enter the contest.

Also, Kirameku has open up on Wanelo, so if you ever wish to follow our latest fashion additions or to share your favourite piece, please visit us there! : )

On this everyone, best of luck for the giveaway! :D

* M * 

Made with love for you ! :D

Good evening everyone !

After a crazy day at school, here I am to bring you good news ! :D

Yesh, like I talked about yesterday, I have a giveaway that is going to start tomorrow, on Krista's amazing blog ! She launches a ``Handmade with love`` giveaway with more than one shop participating at once ! :D
So yep, that means more goodies for all ! :D

And I am super proud to announce that Kirameku is part of it ! :D



So, what can you win ? Hum, good question ! :D
Let me show you...



This necklace is a mix of soft pink and neon pink for a gorgeous and lovely effect !



And yes, it is an exclusive Valentine`s giveaway piece ! :D

Pin It


The chain is 24 inches long and the necklace is worth 30$. All the metal is silver plated, lead and nickel free.


If you want more goodies, please stop by my shop and I would be happy to have one custom order made just for you ! :D


So that`s it for today folks !

Best of luck to everyone ! Giveaway ends on the 6th of Febuary.

* M *

A year and full of suprises

Hi there everyone !

Sheesh, long time no see ! It has been almost a month since I have written a proper article ! O_o

Unfortunately I will have to keep it short and sweet once again since I have tons of stuff to do.

All right, I promised an interview with Marie, and it is coming up ! I just want to give us both a tiny break between our huge projects - cuz yes yes, we are in the same program.

Ok, so, what`s new ? Well, I have the pleasure to say that on the 8th of this month, I have celebrated Kirameku`s first year .... !!!! Yay ! I am so glad ! Thank you so much everyone for your love, support and guidance ! :D This is absolutely awesome ! :D

So, let`s sum this up !

Sales : 40
Twitter follower : 283
Blog follower : 61
Items : 58
Heart shop : 411


Youhou ! Almost all of my goals are achieved ! :D I didin`t had enough time to create some more new pieces as I was overwhelmed by orders because of the famous daily finds in wich I was featured ... ! * Dances in joy *

All right ! So, what do I have in stock for you ? Lots of new beads ! My drawers are almost all empty so I have to fill them up, and once this is done, I`ll be able to put all my items back on sale and much more ! :D Got Diotric Glass Bracelets coming up, giveaways and winter and fall themed items ! :D Yay !

All right, but all that is in bewtween my classes, so let`s all cross our fingers so I will have time to create new pieces as fast as I wish I can ! :D

All right ! Also, thank`s a lot to Krista`s lovely review of the flower paper earrings, we have a winner ! Congrats ! She has won a pair of Silver Flower Earrings, summer edition ! :D

All right ! That`s about it for today ! :D

I just want to post the Revised columbine artwork finished so you guyz can compare with the work in progess ! :P


Original Watercolor - Revised Columbine

Once again, thank you so much !

Take care everyone ! :D

* M *

O....M... G... !!

Hi everyone !

I will make this post kind of very very quick because.... my ! I am having so many orders I just can`t stop dancing in joy !

On the 28th, I had the honor of being on the Etsy daily Finds email. The sideeffects ? Lots lots of loves and hearts ! And sales as many as I had never seen them in my shop..... !!! O_O

Wow ! I am so honored to see that you guyz love what I do so much ! Wow, I don`t know what else to say but a huge HUGE thank you ! And lots of hugs ! :D

So, as promised ! I have goodies for you ! :D

I am doing a Flower Paper Earrings giveaway for this week on Krista`s lovely blog !

She was kind enough to write a review on them as she worn them for a whole week ! Result ? She fell in love with it ! :D

Yes, I am telling you, you will fall in love with my items ! And that will just make me super happy to send you unique items that I had so much fun creating ! ;P

On this, once again, thank you !

And simply follow the link for my lovely giveaway ! :D

Have a marvelous day everyone !

* M *

My, where to start ?

Hi there !

I know it has been a while since I wrote, but I have a good excuse :P !
My sweetheart got an unexpected vacation. So let me tell you that he didin`t had to say it twice that I packed up my things for a well deserved and sweet 5 days off.

It was great, and the best part of it, it was relaxing ! I really needed some time off to get some fresh air !

But I won`t tell you anymore than that lol ! :P After all, a private life needs to stay a bit private though, ne ? :P

So, when I got back, the head full of new ideas... and waiting for my bead supplies to come in.

I am so excited, I won a giveaway from Ahpeele ! This is great ! * Dances in joy ! * I don`t know what to choose ! There is so many gorgeous designs ! From everyday wear to yoga wear, it is all there !

It was hosted at Anna`s sweet blog. Great stufff in there, and giveaways ! Check it out : http://stunningannak.blogspot.com/

I have to get cracking on those items and artwork, I have two days off, I guess I`ll just grab my paint and make some watercolor, unless the heat wave have me melted... O_o My it is hot today !

So hot my idea barely follows one another.... ! O_o

I want to do so many things, but I have so little time ! Oh well, I`ll figure something out ! :P

That`s it for now !

I`ll see you guyz tomorrow, and hopefully my thoughts will be back in order ! :P

Ja ne !

* M *

And the winner is.... !

Good morning to all !

Thanks a lot to all of those who participated in my very first giveaway ! And all those who voted for what they want to see added to my shop !

Before I announce the winner, I want to say a big thanks to StudioHaus for letting me interview her ! She is a super sweet girl and she has an amazing shop. If you haven`t read her interview yet, I strongly suggest you do ! :P

And, as I have promised, more items are on their way ! I got new ideas for necklaces and earrings ! So stay posted !

Countdown : 47 items listed
33 more to go !

Oki, so without any further delay, the winner of this cute giveaway is.....

( Drum rolls )

Smiley Moo !


Congrats ! :P

Thanks again to everyone who participated ! This is the first giveaway, but not the last ! So come take a peek once in a while ;P

On this, have a nice day !

* M *

Giveaway ! Tada !!

Good morning !! :P

Yes ! Finally the wait is over.... !

- Drum rooooollssss - Here is my first Giveaway ! :D

To participate, it is simple !

1. Follow my blog
2. Post a comment so I can know that you are interested ! :P

How will it work ? Even more simple ! After you followed and commented, I will put all your usernames in a big bowl and will draw one name. The winner will have to send me her e-mail adress and the earrings will be sent the following days. No shipping charges ! :P

It starts : Now
It ends : Next Monday, the 21 of June, 12 o'clock

So here it is ! A very cute pattern, unique and summer inspired !

My Floral Lantern Earrings !
It's originality and exclusivity will all be yours to wear !

This cute little pattern is composed of high quality glass beads and is mounted on a silver plated, nickel and lead free small hooks. It is about one inch and 3/4 long, without the hooks.







Stay posted ! Another great entry will be next ! The interview with StudioHaus ! :P

* M *