happy halloween link up!

happy halloween cuties!

hope you have a fun & festive day.

i'm off to finish up my last minute costume -

and don't worry - little rikrak's is done cause, yes of course, he really wanted another *bought* costume this year. alas. :)

here are a few of my favourite halloween thingies: enjoy! AND PLEASE ADD YOURS! costume photos, ideas, spooky decor ideas, halloween recipes, halloween blog posts, etc!

BOO!

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a gorgeous giveaway with artist darrin davis of crazy uncle art studios!

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have i got a treat for you today, nicies!

it's with great pleasure that i celebrate the launch of a wonderful new handmade fine art shop that's very near and dear to my heart.  hip hip hurray! & three cheers for one of my favourite folks in the whole wide world, my fabulous & talented brother, darrin davis, and the opening of his boutique Crazy Uncle Art Studios.

darrin says it best: "Crazy Uncle Art Studios "Balances Fine-Art Snobbery & Greasy Kids Stuff!"  - i create handmade art from the heart, ranging from vibrant, engaging fine-art Nursery Paintings and Prints for the kiddies to dramatic, breath-taking Black and White nature photography for the non-diapered! :)  This shop is like a favourite family diner for the eyes, providing nourishing treats to young and old, with the added bonus of a 100% no-heartburn guarantee!"

indeed, this shop is a veritable wonderland of fabulous gifts for everyone on your Holiday list!  

• how about an adorable personalized animal painting on canvas for your favourite little ones?  
• or a giclee print from his evocative "men wearing hats, crying" series for a favourite art-loving friend?  
• or ordering a few sets of his ever-expanding & mesmerizing "wanderlust" nature photograph notecards as the perfect everyone-will-love-them gift for co-worker gift exchanges, teachers, neighbours and more this gift-giving season!

on a personal note: darrin is the gosh-darn best brother around. his amazing talent in so many creative spheres always inspires me - among his many talents he's also a brilliant musician - isn't almost home so lovely? and remember his fabulous canadian playlist here?  

and... he's a true nicey! he's the most hilariously fun & funny person in the world and i love how you can sense his fabulous being in every piece of art he crafts from his amazing eye for colour-play to his captivatingly rich photography. love you, brother!

so be sure to visit darrin around the web, and read on to
WIN a $50 gift card to crazy uncle art studios! woohoo!

darrin davis
crazy uncle art studios shop | facebook | twitter | the darrin davis band
 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

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one way to enter is to grab one of my rikrak studio buttons,

like this one for YOUR BLOG! here they are!

<center> <a href="http://rikrakstudio.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img alt="the rikrak studio" src="http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/rikrakstudio/therikrakstudiorectangle.jpg" /></a></center>

<center> <a href="http://rikrakstudio.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img alt="the rikrak studio" src="http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/rikrakstudio/therikrakstudiosquare.jpg" /></a></center>

and add it to your blog!

{ ... just copy & paste the text in the box above onto your blog sidebar! thanks! }

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

 

:: RULES ::

a) it is possible to have numerous entries total per person.
b) please make sure to leave each entry as its own comment. thanks!
c) using random.org, 1 winner of this  giveaway will be chosen on nov.8th @ 12:01 am 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.

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look what YOU won! {part 2}

yay! i love being part of giving great handmade goodness away! this is the 2nd part in a fun new blog series of what YOU nicies have WON here on the rikrak studio. (so many amazing sweeties have offered the funnest ever prizes here over the years. )

IF YOU'VE WON SOMETHING FUN ON MY BLOG, PLEASE DO SEND ME A PICTURE OF YOUR PRIZE (AND YOU WITH THEM, IF YOU FEEL KEEN!) to rikrakmail at yahoo dot com and i'll feature you, too!) 

let's spread the handmade love! 
(& speaking of giveaways ... just enough time to enter to october *i love my sponsors giveaway* too! yay! )

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

efrat jewelry

chose this beautfiul handmade fox brooch for her daughter

from fine dolly lolly

when she WON the 

giveaway: 2012 handmade world cup!

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tofu fairy's brain pile

chose these beautiful  candles

by theme fragrance

giveaway: the april 2012 *i love my sponsors* giveaway

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amy's crafty shenanigans

chose these fabulous printed fabrics

from sarah waterhouse

giveaway: the june *i love my sponsors* giveaway


and... speaking of great prizes, sadly one of the winners from our fabulous MEGA birthday giveaway was not contact-able. (please be sure to leave a current email, nicies!)  alas ... so i'm redrawing it! congrats to random.org's #997 - malinda of animegirlie - you've WON the MEGA birthday giveaway prize pack C! it's a great one!

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HOLIDAY ad spots on sale NOW!

i just love my sponsors {here's my monthly FREE-to-sponsors giveaway, for example!}  i'm so thankful for their kind and artistic support each month! and i'm just delighted with how things are going, growing here on the blog with you lovelies. thank you!

so i'm very happy to be offering a few new ad spots as of today for NOVEMBER & DECEMBER!

with the Holiday season comes  the busiest shopping time of the year!  i hope it might be the perfect opportunity to showcase your beautiful shops & blogs for all of those handmade shoppers & bloggers & media out there!  i'm offering a few new ad spots, all at GREAT prices!

if you feel that your shop, group, Etsy Team, or blog would be a good fit with the rikrak studio blog feel & focus, and are interested in rates, please email me at 

---> rikrakmail at yahoo dot com <---

there's lots of continued fun coming up on the blog: funfun guests, little inspirations, more fabulous giveaways you're not going to want to miss, great games, fantastic features,  and, as always, a few extra fun surprises, too. being part of the blog is a great way to boost sales, increase exposure and build your business in the handmade indie community, too!

i'm a handmaker & mommy and know it's a challenging economic time out there... so i try to keep the rates nice & reasonable.

i also love designing ads for folks that need them, too.

so just let me know if i can help!

come & be part of the fun!

thanks so much, lovelies!

k.

PS: be sure to enter

WIN a $25 shopping spree to the sponsor shop-of-your-choice! 

&

i'm still looking for about 4 more nicies who'd like to be part of my MEGA holiday giveaway in november! 
lemme know! 

  

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artists 101: yayoi kusama's fireflies on the water

 ohhhhhlisa's instagram photo of *fireflies on the water*

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aren't fireflies the coolest? 

have you been to the whitney museum lately to experience the brilliant installation *fireflies on the water?* 

created by artist yayoi kusama, it's a whimsical room of lights, mirrors, water and let's be honest: magic, that individuals experience one at a time. i glimpsed the amazing photos folks have been tweeting the other day and am captivated!

oh how i wish i could experience it!

once upon a time, mr. rikrak and i saw almost the same scene, live, on the tiny island of ko lanta in the south of thailand. as a precursor to a crazy rainstorm, we sat on our beach hut porch and beheld the most magical thing: thousands and thousands of tiny glowing fireflies dancing in the dark all around us. it was AMAZING!

and for those of us that won't get to experience kusama's exhibit live, here's a fun video.... (and remember one of my other yayoi kusama faves: the obliteration room?

wow. what an artist!

check out all of the artists 101 stars so far: 

alex steinweiss 
noriko ambe
lucky jackson 
taylor holland 
shigeru ban 

jeanette johns

emily barletta 

kinnon elliott 

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and the winner is...

congratulations awards: a little handmade book by goldencatstudios

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congrats to our latest rikrak studio blog winner ... random.org's lucky #246 ... emily robinson! you've WON the fabulous ReComputing giveaway!

thanks so much to everyone that entered!

and great news ... just incase you didn't win this time... still a chance to WIN the fabulous october *i love my sponsors* $25 gift certificate to the sponsor SHOP OF YOUR CHOICE giveaway, on now!

hope you have a lucky day!


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call for submissions!

letterpress Holiday card by prickle press

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wanted: a few wonderful folks who'd like to give something fun away from their beautiful handmade or vintage or supplies shop!

i'm gonna be hosting a BIG BIG GROUP HOLIDAYS giveaway on my blog next month - something like last year's fabulous MEGA happy Holidays annual giveaway and very much like that superfun my birthday MEGA giveaway. 

 

if that sounds like something you'd like to be part of, please email me at 

rikrakmail  at  yahoo dot com  

with a link to your lovely shop! :)

---> please put the title " 2012 holiday GROUP giveaway"  in the title of your message.

i'm looking for HANDMADE, vintage or supply items:
* valued at over $20
* that fit into one of the following colour categories: gray/grey, silver and/or white OR a gift certificate for your shop that is in those colours :)

* YOUR agreement that you will send the item directly to the winner at the completion of the giveaway, so don't worry about shipping times right now.

PLEASE NOTE: i'm not looking for holiday-specific items necessarily. i'll send you more info on exactly what i'd like when folks respond. 

thanks for considering it!

hope it'll bring the participants LOTS of fun holiday-shopping traffic!

yay giveaways!

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ten

 no. 10 | mark rothko | 1950 | museum of modern art

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somehow. 
somehow today we are celebrating our ten year wedding anniversary!
{& 18 years as kissing friends?! wow.)
gosh i love that hubby of mine.

well we're off to kiss!

hope you have a great weekend, sweetiepies!

what are YOU celebrating these days?

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artists 101 - the architectural geometry of toronto by kinnon elliott

 

 all images by kinnon elliott illustration:

TD Towers | Toronto City Hall | Palmerston Branch

| St. Jamestown Branch| Sharp Centre for Design, OCAD University

| Beaches Branch |Uno Prii Apartment Building

 

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good golly i love the geometric stellar-ness of kinnon elliott's architectural illustrations: the "Toronto's My Home ... and I'll Be Here All Weekend Long" series. love how the art showcases the designerly lines of one of my favourite cities. so very wonderful! and all those fabulous city libraries highlighted? fantastic!

which artists are you loving these days, nicies?  

check out all of the artists 101 stars so far: 

alex steinweiss 
noriko ambe
lucky jackson 
taylor holland 
shigeru ban 

jeanette johns

emily barletta 

 

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the october *i love my sponsors* giveaway!

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yay!
aren't you the loveliest readers around!
thank YOU, sweet nicies.

thanks for your encouraging words & dear dear comments. it's a pleasure to read thru your hellos, responses & ideas each day.  i always love seeing 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 & advertisers of the rikrak studio blog. you nicies mean the world to me, and i really appreciate it! (this is my *free-to-my-lovely-sponsors* giveaway! interested in being a sponsor? contact me at rikrakmail at yahoo dot com for more info!) 

so with a thankful heart, and a happy focus on this wonderful  NEW season here and the things that october brings  ...  a little giveaway for all of you!

october's wonderful sponsors are: 


tooaquarius 
lucinda's nice things
la alicia    
jacaranda designs 
theme fragrance 
persimon dreams 
tickled pink paper + ink
buster and boo 

tiny happy
baymut

hopeful threads 

the little red door  
ecoetsy

ecokaren

crazy uncle art

everything etsy 

cover my world 

saige wisdom

{ the prize }  

a fabulous $25.00 gift certificate 

from me to YOU to spend in
ANY ONE OF MY SPONSORS' shops or on their blogs!

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

exciting news, cuties! after the tremendous success the past few months of using rafflecopter, it'll be our fun new giveaway medium! just click away and follow the instructions! 
i'll still be using random.org to draw the winner!

if you'd prefer to enter the way you always have (leaving comments in the notes below instead ) that's superdooper, too! either way is great with me! i'll put all of them together at the end!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

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

one way to enter is to grab one of my rikrak studio buttons,
like this one for YOUR BLOG! here they are!

<center> <a href="http://rikrakstudio.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img alt="the rikrak studio" src="http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/rikrakstudio/therikrakstudiorectangle.jpg" /></a></center>

<center> <a href="http://rikrakstudio.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img alt="the rikrak studio" src="http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/rikrakstudio/therikrakstudiosquare.jpg" /></a></center>

and add it to your blog!

{ ... just copy & paste the text in the box above onto your blog sidebar! thanks! } 

thanks for playing!

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

RULES:


a) it is possible to have numerous entries total per person.
b) please make sure to leave each entry as its own comment. thanks!
c) as always, this giveaway is open to all contestants, worldwide.
d) for this particular giveaway, YOU MUST BE A RIKRAK studio follower or subscriber,
old or new! thanks!
e) the winner of this giveaway will be chosen from random.org on
november 1st 2012 @ 12:01 am EST.
f) please be sure to leave me an email where i can reach you if your account
doesn't link to one. thanks.
g) thanks so much everyone! and thanks for visiting the blog!

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

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happy canadian thanksgiving!

all photos by me: kristal davis / rikrak

nasturtiums & sage from our garden

mr.rikrak's amazing pumpkin pies

fresh cranberry compote in the making

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mr. rikrak's crafting the pumpkin pies this afternoon.

i'm gathering nasturtiums & sage from the garden to pretty things up.

the scents of my mom's yummy & earthy root vegetables & cinnamon baking in the oven fills the house. 

little rikrak paints adorable little pumpkin faces. 

more family arrives tonight for celebrating: oh how i love thanksgiving!

wishing you all a wonderful & beautiful canadian thanksgiving this weekend sweeties.

so thankful for all of you.

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a playlist & a giveaway with a fabulous gold medal winner: ReComputing!

what a treat we have for you today, nicies!
not only a gorgeous giveaway with one of the 2012 handmade olympics gold medalists, but also a fabulous & fun playlist that'll have you dancing up a storm in no time!

don't you just adore ReComputing, a self-proclaimed *handmade geekery jewelry & accessories shop*, featuring goodies made from recycled computers? i love the clean, modern designs, with everything from cuff links, tie tacks, pendants, necklaces to earrings, clocks, rings! {and ps: owner natalka ALSO handcrafts some of my VERY favourite embroidered jewelry in the whole WORLD, too, in her gorgeous skrynka shop! *swoon!* what a talented superstar!}
  

so be sure to visit natalka around the web, and read on to 

WIN a $25 gift certificate to the ReComputing shop! woohoo!

natalka

ReComputing shop | Skrynka shop | blog | twitter |facebook

newsletter

first up, natalka's fun PLAYLIST. she writes: "So, my theme is inspirational songs. These songs always lift my mood and they never bore me!"

1.      Depeche Mode - Enjoy The Silence

2.      Kylie Minogue - 2 Hearts

3.      Muse - New Born 

4.      Natasha Bedingfield - These Words 

5.      R.E.M. - Love Is All Around 

6.      Queen - Don't Stop Me Now

7.      The Beatles - All You Need is Love 

8.      The Rolling Stones-  Rain Fall Down

9.      The Verve - Bitter Sweet Symphony

10.     Zaz- je veux 

"Most of these songs are not only my favorite but also my husband’s. It’s very important for me to have a partner with similar tastes, as they're the person I want to live life with! You can see, we are vintage folks when it comes to music. I can barely name 1 or 2 songs from the last year that I like. Zaz is the youngest in the list. 

Well, I thought about Adele but it had to take some time for the song to jump here.

All of the songs are confirmed by our little 2 years old son. He's enjoyed them since he was a baby. And when he learned to walk he started to dance and sing, too."

thanks so much, natalka! love your fun playlist! now for the superfun GIVEAWAY!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

one way to enter is to grab one of my rikrak studio buttons,

like this one for YOUR BLOG! here they are!

<center> <a href="http://rikrakstudio.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img alt="the rikrak studio" src="http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/rikrakstudio/therikrakstudiorectangle.jpg" /></a></center>

<center> <a href="http://rikrakstudio.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img alt="the rikrak studio" src="http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/rikrakstudio/therikrakstudiosquare.jpg" /></a></center>

and add it to your blog!

{ ... just copy & paste the text in the box above onto your blog sidebar! thanks! }

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

 

:: RULES ::

a) it is possible to have numerous entries total per person.
b) please make sure to leave each entry as its own comment. thanks!
c) using random.org, 1 winner of this  giveaway will be chosen on
october 12 @ 12:01 am 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.

 

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