giveaway + a recipe with sara thomas

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 yay to september!

cooler evenings. 

warm + cozy sweaters.

beautiful foliage.

gorgeous new handmade collections launching.

and apples apples everywhere.

so i'm especially delighted to have the talented jewelry artist sara thomas with us today, sharing both a yummy apple pie oatmeal DIY recipe + offering a beautiful autumnal giveaway from her simply gorgeous fall 2010 jewelry collection! you're gonna love it!

sara writes: i made up this recipe a couple of years ago. i love fall and always have lots of apples because my uncle is an apple farmer. when the weather starts to get cooler, i want a yummy hot breakfast that will keep my full! oatmeal is so healthy and it's not hard to make the "real" kind yummy so you dont have to eat the processed instant stuff!

:: apple pie oatmeal ::

1 1/2 cups water

1/2 cup rolled oats (organic if possible)

1 small apple, peeled and chopped

3 Tb. (real!) maple syrup- you could also use turbinado or brown sugar

1 Tb. butter

1 tsp cinnamon

nutmeg to taste

1/4 cup milk

Bring water, oats and apples to a boil over med. heat uncovered. Stir frequently to avoid burning! Once water has been soaked up and oats are cooked, remove from heat. Add the maple syrup, butter, cinnamon, nutmeg and milk and stir until mixed through. 

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good golly - that sounds delicious, sara! thanks so much!

and just as delectable is her beautiful work as an eco-friendly jewelry artist!

i just love sara's new fall 2010 collection: inspired by nature, capturing the hues and feel and emotions of our delightful new season! the pieces are unique, charming, engaging, inspiring, & wonderful - just like sara herself!

aren't they gorgeous? 

sara thomas designs
shop | blog | twitter | facebook

 

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and now... one lucky rikrak studio reader will WIN...

an autumn bird's nest necklace

{valued @ $33.00} 

designed by sara thomas

sara writes about the piece:  This unique and gorgeous necklace features a rustic bird's nest made of pure copper and glittery gold stone eggs. Gold stone is truly beautiful, flecked with golden sparkles throughout its cinnamon-colored finish. The nest is oxidized to a chocolate brown, finished by hand with a fine steel wool to achieve a weathered look and tumbled to smooth and shiny. The bird's nest hangs from an antiqued copper chain that measures 18-inches and closes with a claw clasp and handmade link embellished with a matching gold stone bead. *This item is a LIMITED EDITION piece of the Fall 2010 collection!

 

 

1. visit the lovely sara thomas designs shop!

...  tell us about your favourite goodie & why you love it!

=   1 entry

2. tell us  your fave breakfast recipe {OR apple recipe!}  to make!

=   1 entry

3.  become a follower of the beautiful sara thomas blog

...  and tell us

=   1 entry

4. follow BOTH sarathomas  (she's http://twitter.com/SaraTDesigns )

and me (i'm http://www.twitter.com/therikrakshop) on twitter.

...  and tell us

=   1 entry

5.  become a facebook fan of sara thomas designs.

... & tell us.

= 1 entry

6.  follow or subscribe to the rikrak studio blog

... & tell us.

= 1 entry

7. tweet on twitter

... about this giveaway and come back here and tell us! 

be sure to include @therikrakshop so i can find you! 

= 1 entry

8. blog about this giveaway

... come back and tell us.

= 1 entry

9. :: PLEASE NOTE :: 

each entry must be it's own comment.

thanks! ::

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:: RULES ::

a) it is possible to have a maximum of 8 entries total per person.
b) please make sure to leave each entry as it's own comment. thanks!
c) using random.org, 1 winner of the sara thomas designs giveaway will be chosen on thursday september 16th @ 11 pm EST.
d) open to contestants worldwide.
e) please be sure to leave me an email where i can reach you if your account doesn't link to one. thanks.

................................................

yay fall!

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what i'm working on: baby quilts

yes indeed. i'm working on lots & lots of little baby quilts these days. seems like it's another wonderful time when lots of friends are having sweet little babies & little quilted playmats are one of my very favourite things to design & create!

so that's what i'm working on...
how about you? what are you working on these days?
i'd love to hear.

a few of the little rikrak playmats and baby quilts i made last year.
you can always see what i'm up to on my flickr photo account. :)

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let's celebrate: architechture! doors open ottawa

inside the wonderful national gallery of canada
photo by Intrepide98

i just love architecture.
i've been a longtime fan of amazing buildings & fabulous structures. and one of the many funfun things our lovely city of ottawa celebrates each year is the amazing architechture all around us with *doors open!*

yay!
so this weekend, throughout our lovely city, folks are celebrating *doors open* : a rare chance to glimpse inside some of our city's most amazing buildings.

the ottawa experimental farm by Lin-Na Tan via the doorsopenottawa photostream

first of all, it's free! wonderful!
2nd, doors open is a fabulous chance to see many usually *private* buildings from the inside out, just for one or two days a year! this year, there are 108 buildings opening up to the public in ottawa. in the past few years, the family rikrak has been amazed and thrilled to explore the Canada Post Mail Processing Plant (you know how i love mail! - it was AMAZING in there seeing the letters whirrr past as cyber speed!), the Brittania Water Purification Plant (seeing how that works was so fascinating!) , and various science labs, goverment buildings, embassies and places of worship!

many museums and art galleries are also free over the weekend, like my very favourite, the National Gallery of Canada! woohoo!

started in 1984 in France, the doors open movement has spread throughout Europe. in 2000, toronto was the first city in north america to celebrate it's heritage buildings with doors open toronto! and soon the fun spread throughout ontario. according to the doors open ontario website, numerous other destinations, including new york, denver, newfoundland & alberta celebrate doors open each year!

so check your local doors open calendar, OR maybe encourage your own municipality heritage group to think about it!

interior detailing of the Chateau Laurier by georgia.g

it's a wonderful way to see, up close, the amazing architecture of our hometowns and cities. and i think a wonderful way to garner appreciation for the beautiful buildings that are part of our everyday designerly lives!

does your city participate?
if you had the chance, what's a building in the world that you'd love to see inside? i'd love to hear!

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handmaking with kids: art magnets with pinkfire designs

for me, there is nothing as fun as making something with kiddies! the curious, creative, limitless possibilities of a child's mind is so inspiring! here's a fun new series for the rikrak studio, with lots of fun, easy, inexpensive handmaking projects for you to make with your children, your younger family members, your students or some fun kiddies you know & love (or easily adapted for adults to make as their own fun projects!) i've invited various fun folks to share a handmaking with kiddies idea with us: it might be a craft or art; a handmade excursion or handmade recipe. today is the next in the seires handmaking with kids: art magnets with guest Keri of Pinkfire Designs. enjoy!

a fun project by Keri & her 3 wonderful daughters, Morgan, Rylee & Madison! in their words...

"My kids love to see their art displayed, what kid (or adult…) doesn’t! So I thought a fun project would be to take some of the art and turn them into magnets.

Here are the steps:

1. Get drawing or painting!
2. Scan the pictures into your computer.
3. Crop the images so there is no extra white space.
4. Using a word processing or desktop publishing program, arrange the pictures onto a full sheet of paper.
5. Print onto magnet sheets. I used 8 ½ by 11 inch sheets that I purchased at an office supply.
6. Once printed allow to dry and have your kids cut them out.

We have some posted on our fridge and my girls are going to give some to their grandparents as gifts.

This was a fun family project that kept a 3, 5 and 7 year old entertained!!! Which is always a good thing.

Hope you will try this with your kids!"

.,..................................................................................

thanks so much, nicies. your artwork is gorgeous, little sweeties! we're always looking for fun ways to preserve & share artworks at our home... so i just love this fun project!

now... you'll also love keri's beautiful handmade jewelry shop!
i can attest first-hand to the gorgeous, fantastically chic & fashion-forward style of her beautiful, creative & brilliantly crafted works!

i first met Keri through the wonderful Trans-Canada Etsy Team, and whenever i've had the chance to visit with her, her wonderful warmth & love of her little sweeties just leaps off the page! so here's to a wonderful mommy & artist! thanks so much, keri!

be sure to visit the pinkfire designs shop! and happy handmaking with kids!

hope you had a great weekend! see you tomorrow... when i'll announce the giveaway winner!

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