Monday, August 16, 2010

photo essay: pioneer day


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

welcome to a fresh new week, nicies!
a great day to try something new, start again, reflect and move forwar!

hope you had a delightful weekend.
ours was happily full visiting a dear friend, 
feasting on yummy local farm produce, and loving pioneer day on a day-trip to a nearby museum village

isn't handmaking from another era so inspiring!

oh natural light.
oh hands-on learning.
oh handmade crewel embroidery
i LOVE you!

{all images by me: kristal davis / rikrak, 2010}

have a favourite traditional handicraft?
i'd love to hear!
.....................

Pin It

Friday, August 13, 2010

with thanks!



happy friday, nicies!

fun news:  my latest etsy blog article is up!

check out one of designer & artist aimee ray's retro-fabulous vintage sticker collection!

i promise... it's a blast from the past, back-to-school supercollection!


so i'd be superdooper thankful if you had a sec to head on over to etsy and leave aimee &  i  a cheer if you can in the comments!

thanks so much, nicies!

and yay to back-to-school glittery, glow-in-the-dark, puffy sticker fun!

did you ever collect stickers? 
what about another kind of collection? 


ps: for extra fun: don't forget to ENTER the 2 fun giveaways happening this week here on the rikrak studio: 


::: the MEGA-giveaway with a $25 shopping spree from the shop of your choice.




and 


::: the amazing empty nest hostess apron giveaway, too!


AND... have a glorious weekend, nicies!
Pin It

Thursday, August 12, 2010

shakespeare in the park



oh summer!
how you thrill me with your chances to do things otherwise impossible here in our sometimes chilly nation: .... like *shakespeare in the park* on a warm summer's eve!

ever been to see theatre outside? 
in a park? 
by the sea? wow!

oh open-air-theatre!
oh bard in the rough!
i love it!

we took little rikrak to see twelfth night by the lakeside park here in our lovely new town last week.
laughing under the stars.
lapping waves in the background.

delightful.
gosh darn delightful. 










fabulous outdoor theatre images via: 


Pin It

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

fill-in-the-blanks with brilliant blogger Kim of Everything Etsy


it's a fabulous new series on the blog, nicies! a fill-in-the-blank interview with some of our favourite super-bloggers from around the blogosphere that inspire each of us everyday with their writings! we all know that brilliant bloggers spend so much of their precious time crafting the perfect posts. so  i thought we'd give our fave wordsmiths a little break: i sent each nicey the questions below in grey { with lots & lots of blanks } ...  & they filled them in with their insights. hope you'll enjoy fill-in-the-blanks with our first brilliant blogger: the lovely kim layton of everything etsy!

.............
-->> interview key <<--
rikrak's words = grey
kim's words = blue 
.............
First, let me tell you just how thrilled I am to be over here at rikrak!  Kristal is one of those people that you would love to have as a neighbor, and I love this blog!  Anyway, let me introduce myself... {editor's note: thanks so much, sweetie! love you as a neighbour, too!}

I'm Kim Layton from, my little corner of Blog World, Everything Etsy!  I love Etsy! 

I
'm a mom to two growing boys & wife to a sweet & crazy husband.  We're one of THOSE homeschool families!  {The fun ones!}  And we're all addicted to travel...for real! :)

I blog about well...Everything Etsy  & Etsy business tips & beautiful craft rooms  & creative people {and things they've made} over here: Everything Etsy.

{You might be surprised to hear that I  am really very Southern...as in Florida Southern { and super sweet iced tea...yum}.  We live in a little yellow house by a harbor & palm trees and water inspire me to use bright, tropical colors all over our house and yard!}

Beyond blogging, my  perfect
day would be : on the road {traveling in a vehicle of some sort, not walking...he he}, with my whole family, eating eating Chick-fil-A, talking about where we're going to stop next, listening to the Jimmy Buffett XM station and joking around with each other.  {It's the thrill of the unknown adventures in our future.}  Mix that in with stops all over this beautiful country {and Canada} & it would be the perfect life! :) 


Here's my favourite photo of myself.
 
I love it because this is a not so recent {but one of my FAVORITES} photo of me and my fun family after a flight from LAX to Auckland, NZ without sleep {since we arrived in the morning}.  We were going like 100 miles and hour and spinning around on a JET BOAT.  And that was after visiting glow worm caves and hiking...we can be maniacs!  This jet boat was one on the most thrilling things ever!!!  Ever!  That's why I'm willing to share my no make-up, no hair style photo with you! :) 

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

{about Kim!}


I just finished
making a few new necklaces for Fall and just started painting a bit with one of my boys.   I'm in the middle of a beautiful little embroidered house coin purse that I now believe I've ruined!  I might need to have a friend help me out...I'm in over my head on this one. :) 
 
I love making anything that turns lots of little thing into something pretty or cute & I always have a million projects around that are unfinished.  I'm sure I'm not the only one with this issue!! :)

I tend to gravitate towards little crafts because they're easy to mail...I can't stand the post office, and my sweet husband ends up going half the time for me. :)

My family makes me  crack up with laughter on a regular basis & hearing my boys say I'm the best cook in the world makes me smile!


A word I love to use  is  Sweet! I even have a whole section of my blog named "Sweet!"  Just doing my part to make the world a little sweeter. :)

And I may have made up the word
"pretties!"  I use it all the time now and I don't know where I got it! :)

 ..................

{about blogging}

I {heart} blogging!

The  photos and the creative Etsy finds inspire me!

I began blogging to
share my love of Etsy and all things handmade  and now I blog to shout it to the world!  I'm one of those people that believes the world would be a better place is everyone exchanged handmade gifts!  And taking other people's garbage and turning it into something beautiful is thrilling!

It amazes about blogging that 
there are so many great blogs out there!  I could read for days, and I find I lose track of time as I click from one blog to the next.  The information out there is amazing!

My 3 tips to a great blog would be:

Great blogs are made up of good information that's helpful to someone.  And beautiful photos never hurt.  I SO, SO LOVE blogs with beautiful photos!  I envy great photography skills.  {I have a great camera, but I'm lacking the skillz!}  And build relationships with others with blogs like yours.  It's funny how you can usually tell if you'd get along with someone by their blog.  Blogging is always more fun when you share with bloggy friends!

Gosh! It's challenging blogging when 
life is crazy and there's no time think creatively, but fear not, I just post a little less and sweet readers don't leave.  And if you share your struggles with them...they always have encouraging comments. :)  {My blog readers rock!...just sayin'! }

Some of my favorite blog posts I've ever written are my "Etsy Love" ones.  Here's an example.  They're short and made up of things I've found on Etsy that I just have to tell someone about.  And usually I end up buying one or two of the items I share {I can't help myself}.  I love how my creative readers understand my joy of finding such cool stuff!  :)

I {heart}  reading other blogs.

I love the 
One Pretty Thing blog because there's a million new creative ideas there every week!

and I 
 love the V and Co. blog because she's one of those creative, crafty people with beautiful photos!

and of course the
Alisa Burke blog because she's amazing!  I love her style and would be thrilled to take one of her courses one day.  Oh, and her photos are stunning!

And one more because she's a sweet bloggy friend, and has a great Etsy shop... Twirlie Whirlies!

One thing I wish I had learned sooner in bloggyville is that
comments don't measure the impact of your blog!  Comments are great, but soooo many people read your blog that will never comment.  It's just not their thing.

and don't worry: if  you put your heart and soul into a post that you believe will get lots of comments {or at least one sweet response} and it doesn't...don't let it bring you down.  It happens to everyone. 

 and don't worry: if  your subscriber numbers don't grow overnight.  It's a slow road to a good size blog & so many people follow your blog without subscribing.  Twitter and Facebook are very helpful for us!

My favourite part of blogging is meeting creative people { like Kristal}  that I wouldn't normally get to know due to us living WAAAAY away from each other.  It makes the world seem a bit smaller, and it's fun to make new friends on the other side of the world!

However, I could do without any kind of school-like, clicky things.  If I get around that too much I just want to stop blogging.  And I have stopped on a couple of occassions, only to miss it too much! :)
 
Something 
fun happens on my blog every Thursday.  Lots of creative folks gather for a blog party... I Made It!  Check it out here! everything etsy.


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

wowsers, kim!
so many thanks for your warm & wise insights and thoughtful sharings!
i'm  such a fan of kim & her amazing blog where she cheers on handmade day & night. be sure to visit kim's many wonderful projects to get to know this superstar even better!

 &; have a superstar of a day, nicies!
.................

find kim:

.................
Pin It

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

i love my sponsors {& the end of summer!} giveaway!



row one
row two
row three
....................


gosh!
i just have the loveliest readers out there!
thank YOU!

thanks for your encouraging words & dear dear comments. it's a pleasure to read thru each one each day. SUPERTHANKS! i always love reading what you have to say! and thanks for playing all the little games and activities on the blog, for your warm and wonderful emails too!

AND... thanks so much to all of you lovelies out there who have really made my day by supporting my little adventures, as dear sponsors! you nicies mean the world to me, and i really appreciate it! so with a thankful heart, and with that hot hot sunny summer sunshine filling our days, a little giveaway for all of you!





:::::::::::: the prize ::::::::::::
a fabulous $25.00 gift certificate from me to YOU to spend in
ANY ONE OF MY SPONSORS' shops!

that's right... one lucky winner will get to spend the prize in any of my sponsors' e-shops.


1. visit my lovely sponsors' shops.
(as seen on the left hand column).
come back here and leave ONE COMMENT on what your favourite item is from their fabulous shop! = 1 entry per comment.

you can visit as many sponsor shops as you like
and comment once for each shop.
--> in the case of a sponsor who is a BLOG (i.e. bijou's whimsy): please leave me a comment about your favourite blog post!
-->
in the case of a sponsor who is a band (i.e. the strip): please leave me a comment about which of their songs you like best (you can listen on the link!)


this month's sponsors are:
....................


2. in the spirit of the end of summer here,  tell us your fave end-o-summer thing to do!
= 1 entry

3. call, write or email a friend or loved one and let them know how much they mean to you!
then come back here and tell us about it (no need to use full names :) = 1 entry

4. come follow or subscribe to my little blog
(please note: to win this particular giveaway you
must be a rikrak studio follower or subscriber! thanks nicies!)and join the fun everyday! = 1 entry
please leave me a comment about it.

5. tweet about this giveaway
= up to 2 entries (one for each tweet!)
and come back here and tell me about it. please include my twitter account in the update: i'm @therikrakshop on twitter!)

6. follow me on twitter
i'm @therikrakshop
= 1 entry

7. blog about the giveawayand tell me about it here.
= 1 entry

8. do a facebook update
about the giveaway with a link, and tell us here = 1 entry

9. please just make sure that each entry is its own comment!


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

RULES:


a) it is possible to have numerous entries total per person.
b) please make sure to leave each entry as it's own comment. thanks!
c) for this particular giveaway, YOU MUST BE A RIKRAK studio follower or subscriber,
old or new! thanks!

d) the winner of this giveaway will be chosen from random.org on
wednesday, august 25th @ 9pm EST.

e) please be sure to leave me an email where i can reach you if your account doesn't link to one. thanks.
f) thanks so much everyone! and thanks for visiting the blog!

............................
Pin It

Monday, August 9, 2010

our summer photo album {blog hop!}

the family rikrak at the beach, 
summer 2009, photo by me.

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


happy monday, lovelies!

hope you all had a great summertime weekend.

as thoughts of back to school creep into our periphery vision here, and we begin to see leaves turning scarlet! (fear not - i won't give up summer quite YET!) i thought it the perfect time to share all of our favourite summertime images.

so here's what i'd love from you:

---> link to a post on your blog, or on flickr or twitpic your favourite image (or images) of summertime! of yourselves, your families, your friends.

and then we can all visit.

i'll start....
my favourite one of late is actually this image from last summer.
mr. rikrak & little rikrak playing in the waves at the beach.

i love the playful fun, the warm setting sun & the fond memories of that wonderful summer day happily alive in my mind!

now it's YOUR turn.

please add your link below and we'll all enjoy a fun summertime blog hop-o-images!
AND add a comment, too!

can't wait to see all of your summer photo albums!
it'll be a wonderful archive when the chilly winds blow this autumn!

Pin It