Kirameku interview + goodies giveaway : )

Hi everyone! : )

I hope you all had a wonderful week-end! I had a great one, I was at a very dear friend's chalet and it was simply amazing. I had the chance to recharge my batteries and fuel up on sun and nature. How perfect is that? : )

On this beautiful - but awfully cold - monday morning, I want to invite you all on my friend's Lisa blog, Fashion by the Min, to fuel up on glamour. She just released a wonderful 2.0 version of her fashion blog. It is simply gorgeous. She was super kind and made time to release at the same time an exclusive interview with Kirameku paired with a very special goodie giveaway. Curious? Simply click on the link above to read it all and discover her amazing blog.

On this everyone, have a lovely day! :D
And  thank you for stopping by!

* M *

School… Wait, what?!

Hi everyone!

Wow, I never thought I would say this so soon, but looks like I'm going back to school. Well, maybe I'm being too dramatic about it lol, but I feel like the wooden chairs are still imprinted on my bottom. (Remember, I graduated in 2011) Fine, it's only two months and part time and all but still, I guess it comes as a surprise to me too lol! It's a bit strange to think that I'll be taking web design classes with a pen and notebook, but nothing beats paper for me - media speaking.
But hey, I've got a bit of extra time so why not? New year, new skill, horray! : )

Oh and I just want to take a minute to say a bit thank you to Sarah of the AAA Support Team for making me the Shop of the day : ) It was really sweet of her and I also want to thank everyone who took the time to stop by my shop and promote. What a great way to start the year.

2014 sure sounds full of surprises! :D And stay posted, some new jewelry is getting listed this week. Thanks for stopping by and see you soon!

Ready for a Handmade Valentine's Day?

Hi everyone! : )

Valentine's days is almost here, countdown : 1 month. How about you create something special for this year? Everyone loves some handmade attention. I thought that I might give you a few suggestions to help you get started : )

Got a tiny budget? 
No problem! I've got a few trics in my pocket to help you out. And tiny budget doesn't mean cheap, no worries! Your girlfriend, boyfriend, husband or wife will appreciate if you took your time to make something special for them that is full of your love. : )

For the foodie or the choco-holic :

Handmade truffles :

Truffles are really easy to make! And what's best, you can personalize them very easily! You can make them in advance so you can wait until your sweetheart is out of the house before making this delicious gift! You can store them up to two weeks, so the only worry you'll have is to hide them well in your fridge!  Here's one of my favourite from Martha Stewart website:

Love truffles but you want a healthier option? Check out this Avocado-based truffles recipe from Crazy for Crust blog.

Candle-light diner at home : 

If you want to have a more personal night than just going out to a restaurant, how about you cook his or her favourite meal, dim the lights, light up tons of candles and put on your sexiest pair of heels and dress? Take your time with your sweetie, take a break of all this crazy hectic schedule and enjoy every minute! 

Want to surprise them with an original meal? Here's my suggestion :

Sweet and sticky pomegranate chicken from How Sweet it is, with a simple salad

 and close with a delicious  homemade chocolate pudding from Buttered Side Up blog (tried this recipe and it's super easy and delicious!)

For the DIY-er in you :

As a few of you may know, I'm a pinterest addict - or almost lol! I've narrowed down three of my favourite DIYs from Pinterest for Valentine's day :

DIY Pop corn invitation from Eat Drink Chic

Heart Cards from Martha Stewart Weddings

Remember I love you Jar from Morea Seal Blog

Got a bit more you can spend but there's no time for you to make something?
Your sweetheart loves flowers but you hate that they wither away? Make a stop by The Crimson Poppy website to order a unique, handmade paper flower bouquet that will stay forever pretty.

* All rights reserved to The Crimson Poppy

May it be for jewelry, for gourmet or lingerie gifts, Etsy is filled with gorgeous shops that are sharing their love for handmade and giving you more options than you can think of.

Here's my suggestions from Kirameku for this Valentine's day :

That's if for me today guys! : )  If you have more Valentine's day ideas, please feel free to post it in the comments below! :D

Kirameku in 2014

Good evening everyone ! : )

Oh yes, as I mentioned in my previous post, time has fly. But what about Kirameku you might say? Did you left it on the side too like your blog? Well, yes and no… I didn't had enough time on my hand to do as many new products and promotions as I wish I had, but I enlisted in more craft fairs than in 2011. Some were good and some were bad but overall, I love it as much as the first time I tried it and I want to do 3 craft shows at least this year. I'm very glad Etsy has a Local market prototype and I can't wait to use it! Basically you can put up in your shop the location of your upcoming craft fairs. That is awesome! 

Now, I've had more free time on my hands from the end of 2013 and for the beginning of 2014. So, as a good graphic designer, I wasn't totally satisfied about my shop's image, so I rebranded it! Let me show you, I'm so proud of it! :D

Here's the Valentine's day shop banner. A lot of my visitors loved the bookeh effect on the Christmas banner, so I decided to keep it for this one too.

 Here are the ads that you will see on a few blogs and websites.

And here is the wonderful mini-cards from Moo! :D I simply love Moo and I love their products  Quality print, affordable prices, funky options and made from sustainable sources …? What more can you ask?! 
And now I still have to work on my packaging. I'll keep you guys posted : )

Frosted Berry rings for the Holidays

The Vintage Berry collection 

The Dangle and Drop earrings

And the Mother of Pearl earrings

''But, what about the paper earrings'' you'll say. ''I loved those!'' Well, a new collection is still in R&D, but I found some amazing new papers and I think they will be perfect for this fall! Right now with the scarves and all, I don't think long dangling paper earrings are such a good idea. I'm a big fan of those, but it's such a mess when they get stuck in your favourite scarf… :S

Yep yep, I sure kept busy! I've also introduced a wedding collection in my necklaces - those have pearls and Swarovski crystals in plus of the classic berry charm.

Also, last but not least, there was a lot of re-shooting my products in the last few months. It was a huge task but I think it was definitely worth it! I read a lot about online marketing and I want to share a few articles with you about it. But that's going to be for another time.

So, let`s sum this up ! 
Sales : 123
Twitter follower : 627
Blog follower : 92
Items : 69
Heart shop : 750

Thank you so much for taking the time to check all my hard work ! : )

Please feel free to leave comments or suggestions below! :D

2014 : New year, new life!

Hi everyone!

Hum…. first of all I have to apologize to all of you for disappearing like that for heurm, two years…(outch!) My sincere apologies to all of you dear readers. From my last entry ( my Illustration & Design vernissage) in 2011, my life took a very fast and might I say, unexpected turn.

From that summer with the vernissage, I ended up with a new job, a new home, then with another new job and pretty much with a new life.  The last two years have had their share of ups and downs and time seemed to have just disappeared from my schedule. I was alway busy - you had proof with my school years posts - but the last two years seemed hectic, with way too much to do and with way not enough time. And the ''me'' time seemed to have dissapered in the land of missing socks. You know it was there one day and simply gone the next.

Vernissage ! :D

Good evening everyone ! :D

I just want to take a few minutes to announce a very important news ! :D I am finally graduating from the Illustration and Design program, from Dawson College, Montreal !!!

It was a trip that was full of ups and downs as we faced different problems and happy suprises along the way. It will be this upcoming May 25th, at 6hpm, at Dawson College, on the third floor cafeteria. ( For those who came to Artist in Bloom this year, it will be at the same place. ) It is located at the Atwater subway station and there will be clear indications at where the event will take place.

Oh messy April....

Good evening everyone !

I am taking a small break from a more than crazy couple of weeks to give you a few updates.... O_x

Although the media burried Japan with the election news up here, it still needs your help. I could not believe my eyes when I say that there was so much ``problems`` on Etsy associated with that cause. Although I am certain that there is a lot of good-hearted Etsians, some of them are criticizing the donations via sales and, although they had fair points, I still believe that people should try. I any cases, they made one good point clear : the fastest way to help out Japan is by making a donation yourself.

I`ve tried to have any update on the link I gave in my latest post, but it took an awful lot of time before we could have any type of access to that association. Although now the messages have been translated in I believe more than 10 languages, and the artist took part in the help trips and he relates bits and pieces of what he saw and how the organisation went. You can read more here.
There is a Red Cross association in every country and I believe it is still accessible via paypal. If you haven`t made any donations yet, I strongly suggest that you do. Japan and other countries need your help.

On a totally different note.... Here`s an update about my life... well, if you can call that a life lol, a minimum of 77h a week... O_x

April is a hectic month so far, even more than the beginning of the semester. I took part in a charity event at Dawson college, named Artist in Bloom, where artist are invited to paint live for two hours and give their artwork for auction to help fundraising money for different associations. This year`s charity went to the students in need. A good friend of mine was kind enough to take pictures of my work at almost all the steps, so I will be able to show you guyz my artistic process ! :D

It was a huge deal for me to paint this time something as complex, as I usually take at least 10 hours to complete a detailed painting. So yep, from 2 to 10, there is such a huge difference ! O_o

The preparation for the Vernissage is slowly heading in the right way, we are still putting the final touches on our last projects of our degree.

My month of May is already so booked I barely can remember all that I have... so I'll cross my fingers to be able to drop a few lines here and there, and I also want to add up a few creative projects that you can do at home. So if there is anything you would like to know - painting tips, demos, project ideas... feel free to ask ! :D

On this, I have to run back to my paintings - I have 10 watercolors to finish up by this wednesday... T_T

Oh ! I almost forgot, on a more joyful note, I will be attending the Dawson Craft Fair again this year ! It will be on the 28th of April, at Conrads. You`ll be able to get exclusive deals and get a peek at the full Spring Collection ! :D

On this, for real, have a great day everyone !

* M *