December Featured Members and Giveaways - PART 2

Can you believe it's almost the end of 2009 already? And here we are, down to our last two BrisStyle blog giveaways for the year. So please whoop it up for these two very talented lucky last BrisStyle members, as they give us the sneak peak into their wonderful worlds of crafty goodness and offer up some truly delectable creations for two lucky readers to win.

To enter the giveaway is simple - just leave us a comment at the bottom of this post. For more info (and to find out how to score an extra entry) read The Rules at the bottom of the post. Good luck everyone :)

Introducing BrisStyle member...


NAME: Chrisy
ETSY SHOP NAME: Art Decadence

1. Can you please describe the items you are giving away to one of our readers?

I’m donating an Alice in Wonderland plate with hand applied decals of Alice, playing cards, clock numbers, and the words 'Nothing's impossible’. The base plate is vintage porcelain from Rosenthal Germany. The plate measures 7.5 inches across and has been double fired for durability.


2. How would you describe your work?

Everchanging! I’m lucky that I’ve always found it easy to slip into ‘play’ mode and being easily bored I like to try different mediums often.


3. How did your Etsy shop come into being?

When I discovered Etsy a couple of years ago it was a great inspiration to me. Here was a space filled with people on the same wavelength as me! I’ve always enjoyed being creative but it was Etsy that focussed me. And through the site I started networking with other artists through teams – DUST, BrisStyle – and other Etsy sellers blogs. This led to a real feeling of connection with other artists which has been reinforced through my own blog started ten months ago.


4. Who or what inspires you?

I believe we’re all artists. Whatever we’re doing in life we can do it creatively. Having said that I know how soul destroying it can be to spend time doing things that are a long way from what you want to be doing – and how wonderful it is to have the time to be creative. It’s a real privilege. I hope I can be always moving forward trying new things and maintaining a curious mind.

5. Do you ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’ as part of your creative process?

As I sit here surrounded by preloved décor and art materials a phrase comes to mind “My name is Chrisy and I’m a thrift shop addict”. And this porcelain series is the ultimate in recycling. All pieces are secondhand, but in pristine condition.


6. Can you describe your studio / work area?

Because of the need for water and an oven, this series is completed in my kitchen. I dream of a house with a big studio where I can play and just close the door on the resultant mess!

7. What is your favourite thing in the shop at the moment?

My favorite item at the moment is the shoe. It’s so different.

8. Do you have any other places that people can view/purchase your work?

My blog – Artdecadence

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Introducing BrisStyle member...



NAME: El
ETSY SHOP NAME: Rock n Wrap

1. Can you please describe the item you are giving away to one of our readers?

The item that I am giving away is a dendritic opal wire-wrapped pendant. This gorgeous stone has been cut into a twisted teardrop shape and handcrafted with sterling silver wire into an absolutely unique pendant.


The stone is a yellow opal with quartz deposits and creeping black dendrites. The dendrites are iron silicates deposited in cracks in the opal and are shaped like trees. Very cool!


2. How would you describe your work?

I work with precious metals in one of the most ancient forms of jewellery-making – wire-wrapping. Because wire-work uses no chemicals or soldering and only a few tools, the design styles are almost infinite and always absolutely unique. My first love is creating pendants out of exceptional stones – each one ends up being of singular design – unrepeatable! I try to make sure that my embellishments compliment the stone, to enhance what nature has provided me with.


3. How did your Etsy shop come into being?

My Etsy shop came into being through selfish means! My dad has always been a rockhound and specimen collector and I’ve always drooled over his collection. But all they do is sit in boxes. So one day when he won a wonderful collection on Ebay, he ended up with some pieces that he didn’t want. So I absconded with them. But they didn’t do me much good sitting in boxes, I wanted to take them out and show them off. So I got some tutorials about wirewrapping from off the net and it all snowballed from there. Soon I had far too many to wear myself, so to feed my obsession to make more, I had to sell them. And Etsy turned out to be the perfect forum to do so!

4. Who or What inspires you?

Like so many artists, I am inspired by nature, especially as I am working with some of her finest creations. The breadth of colours, texture and form that rocks come in is completely awe-inspiring. I never fail to be amazed by what comes out in the next cut, it’s so exciting!


5. Can you describe your studio / work area?

This is quite an embarrassing question, as up until very recently, I worked on a stable table on my lap. It has little jellybeans as its background picture. This was extremely convenient (not the jellybeans, the table), as I could move my mess from room to room, and I don’t need a lot of space. But with the continuing mobility and trail of destruction that my little daughter is wreaking, I had my husband build me a little shelf/desk next to my computer in the living room. All of my rocks live in plastic display boxes, ready to inspire my next creation, and my wire is safe and snug in a portable file under my shelf. I’m not going to share a picture because it’s an absolute pigsty at the moment, and I have absolutely no inclination to tidy it until I lose one of my pairs of pliers into its abyss.

7. What is your favourite thing in the shop at the moment?

I absolutely adore my lepidolite necklet, I’m so very very proud of it! I’d never created a complete piece before, just the pendants, and to incorporate one into a necklace all of my own design, created by my own hand was very very exciting. It’s a very definite statement piece, but absolute elegance incarnate. Can you tell I’m just a wee bit proud?


8. Do you have any other places that people can view/purchase your work?

My own personal webpage (still in various states of disrepair – maybe I’ll get to it after Christmas) - www.rocknwrap.com
Flickr page - http://www.flickr.com/photos/rocknwrap/
My blog - http://rocknwrap.blogspot.com/
I’m a Twit - http://twitter.com/rock_n_wrap
And my Facebook fanpage - http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/rocknwrap/164869793814?ref=nf

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Thank-you Chrisy and El

The rules:

Simply leave a comment on this post to be in the running to win one of these two fabulous giveaways. Be sure to leave a way for us to contact you. If you don't have a blog, please include your email address. Only one entry per person. You may enter twice if you mention this giveaway on your blog. If you choose to do this, please pop back after posting to your blog and include the url address to the post it was mentioned on here in the comments. This will count as your second entry. International folk are welcome to enter. BrisStyle members and their immediate families (ie: husbands/partners, dependent children, and their computer savvy pets) are excluded from entering all BrisStyle giveaways. A name will be randomly drawn on the 28th of this month and the winner will be announced on the blog on that same day.

And that, my friends, is it for the 2009 BrisStyle Giveaways. Good Luck Everyone, and Happy New Year from the BrisStyle team. XXX