StinkyMonkey4Eva + Giveaway

Around here, there’s no better way to welcome the NEW YEAR…A brief, yet INSPIRING introduction to one of my friends, Judyanne Ibargaray!

What’s your motto for life?
Philipians 4:13 – Holy Bible 

How did you stat sewing/crafting?
My Mami (mah-me=mom) is a professional seamstress by trade.  I have memories as a child sitting next to her sewing on my child’s Singer sewing machine creating clothes for my dolls and for my beloved pet Chihuaha at the time.  My Nana also taught me how to embroider, knit, crochet, and quilt at a very young age as well.  I was the child in elementary school selling my creations on the school yard.  My desire to create, as well as my entrepreneur spirit, began sometime in the early 1970’s.

Who inspires you?
Dreams. I will actually dream that I designed and created something.  The dreams are crystal clear and the vision of a new creation or design lasts for weeks long after I’ve awaken.  

How do you motivate yourself to not give-up
As the old cliche goes, “Haters are my motivators”.  Determination and my rebellious “in your face” attitude toward local kooks have done wonders for my art and my business endeavors.

5 things on your to do list for life!
Ironically, as an individual who functions daily by crossing off her “to do” list, I have never taken the time to consider a life’s “to do” or “bucket list”, so to speak. The request of 5 desires is a challenge.  I want to one day move back home to the ocean.  I truly desire to sell our home and purchase some land out in the country where the nearest neighbor would be miles away.  I’d convert an old barn,  ideally nestled amongst haystacks and behind a modest weathered house, into a huge studio where I would escape to create.  I’d also adopt many strays and rescue many black cats and black dogs from shelters and allow them to roam free throughout our property.  
Move back to the ocean, sell our house, own a farm, convert a barn into my mega studio, adopt strays and spoil them rotten:  That’s 5.

Any word words of advice/tips for people who want to express their creativity, but don’t know how?
To those who want to create but don’t know how, I would suggest that they simply dive in.  Practice makes for perfection.  Look to others for inspiration and ideas but NEVER reproduce a carbon copy of another person creation.  Add to it, alter it, make it your own and ultimately make it much better with your signature twist stamped all over it.  That’s what I do.

Judyanne, is going to gift the apron and pendant, pictured below, to one Nina on the Moon reader!
If you enjoyed this post, please share :)

Meet Vanessa and Company + Giveaway



A little about me huh? Well, I’m a native Southern California girl, and I still live about ten minutes from where I grew up! I love it here, and over the last several years have really fallen in love with the Mexican culture. I’m Mexican-American, and I’ve always loved the culture, but as I’ve gotten older, I’ve really learned to appreciate it. I’m also really inspired by the bright colors, and the warmth that they represent. I actually started out sewing children’s clothes, which I loved, and still do occasionally, but my true passion is my home, and making it feel warm and welcoming. I work in my tiny (and I mean tiny) home studio surrounded by the sounds of my two daughters, Sabrina and Coco (they are 12 and 8), and I’ve been married to Oscar, for almost 14 years (this month!). I truly love what I do, and look forward to continuing to grow my business in the coming years.



Vanessa is generously giving away a $40 credit (to her Etsy shop) to ONE lucky Nina on the Moon reader! She is also offering a 10% discount to you, with the code NINAMOON10.


Vanessa and Co Etsy
Vanessa and Co website
Vanessa and Co blog

a Rafflecopter giveaway
<a href=”https://rafl.es/enable-js”>You need javascript enabled to see this giveaway</a>.br />

If you enjoyed this post, please share :)

Meet MexiFolk + Giveaway

 Hi everyone, I’m Crystal! My Etsy shop is called MexiFolk Hand Stitched Earrings. I’m a graduate student from El Paso, Texas currently living in Tucson, Arizona. I found the love of my life in Arizona (getting married next November), as well as a love for hand-stitched beaded jewelry. I learned the peyote/gourd technique from a lovely (and patient!) Tohono O’Odham/Mexican woman named Thomasa. I can’t wait to graduate from school so that I can learn even more from her tremendous skill and creativity! I love indigenous folk art and I am thrilled to be able to carry on this tradition. I also come from a line of feisty and creative Mexican women. My great, great Grandmother Elisa was an inventive force and could make anything she saw or imagined — I think of her when I am crafting. 

MexiFolk Hand Stitched Earrings are created in the off-the-loom peyote/gourd technique and designed with an eye toward contemporary trend, urban and bohemian style. These earrings have become a staple in my wardrobe as well as those of my family and friends! I am always surprised at how versatile they are and how much they add to both casual and dressy outfits. 

I joined Etsy last December, and in February, along with muralist Manny Velazquez from Los Angeles, I co-founded Etsy’s Latino/a Creative Community. Please check out the awesome handmade and vintage treasures offered by our team: Latina/o Creative Community

Crystal has been kind enough to offer these beautiful hand stitched earring to ONE lucky Nina on the Moon reader!


a Rafflecopter giveaway
<a href=”https://rafl.es/enable-js”>You need javascript enabled to see this giveaway</a>.br />

If you enjoyed this post, please share :)

Greeting cards giveaway by Penelope Sloan

Today, I decided to quickly interview my friend, Penelope Sloan, from Penelope Sloan Design. Please check out the video + giveaway! Wishing you + yours a verry merry weekend 🙂

<a href=”https://rafl.es/enable-js”>You need javascript enabled to see this giveaway</a>.

If you enjoyed this post, please share :)

Meet ShopKei + Giveaway

Keyla Viviana, owner and designer at Kei Jewelry, was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Taking a break from her career in advertising, she has dedicated the past year to starting a new venture in a field she always new she was destined for: fashion. She still doesn’t know what triggered her fashion gene, whether it was the afterschool craft projects at her Girl Scout meetings, those late nights crafting at her aunt’s workshop or her amazing trips to New York’s Fashion District, one thing is for sure: she was born for this.
Self-described as a free-spirit perfectionist her promise is to always use the finest materials in the market. Most of her pieces are made of high quality gold filled metals, vermeil, sterling silver and beautiful semiprecious gemstones from around the world. Her designs are fit for any style, embodying a blend of fun, classy and chic. For now, she remains focused in creating unique, high quality pieces at affordable prices for all of her new and loyal clients.

*Keyla is giving away two Sebastian bracelets to one lucky Nina on the Moon reader!*


<a href=”https://rafl.es/enable-js”>You need javascript enabled to see this giveaway</a>.
If you enjoyed this post, please share :)

Meet "The Gray Deer" + Giveaway

“Since you get more joy out of giving joy to others, you should put a good deal of thought into the happiness that you are able to give.” ~Eleanor Roosevelt

Eleanor Roosevelt’s quote nailed it; it explains exactly why I love to give things away. Since it’s December, “the month of giving,” Nina on the Moon has teamed up with some amazing individuals to spread the gift of giving. Each week, you will be introduced to someone who shares this passion of giving joy to others.

This week, you are meeting Elizabeth Mariscal Badami from The Gray Deer
Elizabeth Mariscal Badami, in a nutshell: I am a first generation Mexican American, born and raised in the Windy City. I have a degree in art from Columbia College in Chicago. Mother of two kids and currently a stay-at-home-Artist/Mom/Wife. I love to sew with or without a machine. My work is a direct reflection of my thoughts, life as a mom and artist. I love to play with all types of materials, without rules or expectations and experiment endlessly.

Elizabeth, is giving away this one of a kind, hair accessory to a lovely Nina on the Moon reader! 




<a href=”https://rafl.es/enable-js”>You need javascript enabled to see this giveaway</a>.br />



Good luck!
If you enjoyed this post, please share :)

Haut Totes + Giveaway

I was over the moon in awe and admiration when I stumbled upon Haut Totes. The wide variety of tote bags, pouches and cell phone bags, are nothing close to ordinary! Did I mention, that they are all hand made with exclusive fabrics, in Northern Nevada, by Melissa Lewis?!

I read her brief introduction on her etsy page and was so inspired, that I knew I had to introduce her to you. Yes, you guessed it! Melissa is Nina on the Moon’s Honorary Sister for the month of October! 

Not only is Melissa Lewis the creative master-mind  behind the uniquely diverse, hand bag collection, Haut Totes, she is also an empowering mother to two young girls, Satori and Sydney.

The love Melissa has for herself, her family and life, truly exudes through her product! Just take a look at all of the bold and vibrant prints! Melissa does it all, she cuts, sews, packs and ships every single bag. I hadn’t seen purses like these before, they are so much fun and feminine, I can’t help but smile! 

Please take the time to read (and hopefully be inspired!) my brief interview with Melissa!

1. How did Haut Totes get its start? I am a stay at home mom to two young girls. My older daughter has a neuromuscular condition called Spinal Muscular Atrophy and uses a power wheelchair which makes it hard for her to carry a purse. She complained that the bags available for wheelchairs were so boring and ugly. So, I made her a pink skull and hot pink faux fur bag that attaches to the side of her wheel chair. Long story short, since that happened in 2008, I have made and shipped literally thousands of bags all over the world.


2. Do you have a plan (“motto”) for life and business?
– Laugh a little, life is short
– Believe in yourself and your product
– Plan for success
– Be flexible and open to new ideas
– Be organized
(above: Melissa’s studio)
3.  How do your daughters influence your work? My daughter were the reason I started Haut Totes, and the reason I continue with it. I do love the sewing, but if it weren’t for the fact that my sewing pays for some of the extra things we wouldn’t be able to afford otherwise, I certainly wouldn’t do it 70 hours a week!

4. You have done some travelling around the world, what is your favourite or most influential place? As for travel, I have been lucky enough to do a fair amount. I lived in Russia in 1993-94 and spent quite a bit of time in Turkey and Ghana. As well as shorter (few weeks) visits to Egypt, Australia, Netherlands, New Zealand, etc. I think the most inspirational place I’ve been would be Odumase Krobo, Ghana. I went there a few years back and stayed with a powder glass bead maker and his family for a month. The colours and textiles in Ghana are so vibrant and the people were extremely friendly and welcoming.
5. How has your practice changed over time? How do you deal with that pressure? I’m still trying to improve the way I deal with stress. My business has become far more successful than I anticipated and my “part-time” job is now 70-80 hours a week. I try to be very organized in my sewing studio or I lose huge amounts of time and REALLY stress out looking for stuff! I have to admit that laundry piles up, and I cook more frozen foods than I used to, but sometimes deciding to make frozen lasagna for dinner and taking the extra half hour you might have used cooking, to soak in a hot bath with a cup of tea does wonders for stress.
6. Any words of advice/tips for people who want to express their creativity, but don’t know how? Believe in yourself and your product!










Melissa would like to spread the love to TWO Nina on the Moon readers! The first giveaway will be the large, Pinup “Lovely Latinas” Tote Bag, and the second is the “Lovely Latina” Pinup Girl Zippered Pouch!



(Above: Large Pinup “Lovely Latinas” Tote Bag)

(Above: “Lovely Latina” Pinup Girl Zippered Pouch)
If you enjoyed this post, please share :)

Sweet Spot Card Shop + Giveaway
Ladies, and gentleman, let me introduce you to Leesandra Diaz. An amazing mother of twins, wife and entrepreneur, who resides in “La Gran Manzana” [the big apple, in Spanish], New York! I fell in love with her uber unique, one of a kind greeting cards and creative ways of using paper! Her store, Sweet Spot Card Shop has an array of hand-made items; greeting cards, rings, and wreaths to name a few! I am over the moon, with Sweet Spot Card Shop because Leesandra is able to capture and create the feelings of being unique/special, loved and humous in her all of her items!
1. Your cards are so unique, what is your approach to designing? My approach is to “do what I know”. By that I mean that I design things based on my own experiences, i.e. what I’d wear (jewelry), what I’d say. It’s also heavily based on relationships with my friends and family.

2. What 3 words best describes your cards? happy, colorful, and unique.
3. Is there a certain food, drink or song that inspires you? Oh boy. I constantly have music on when I create. Lots of times I make cards based on lyrics that stick in my head. A while ago, I made a card based on a drink and a song. It all depends on my mood, whether it’ll be lovey dovey or funny or just plain old crazy! But the biggest inspiration is my family. My boys and my hubby are my everyday inspirations.

4.What is your outlook on life? My motto is “one day at a time”. I suffer from a chronic illness and I have to learn that I can’t control how I feel physically, but I can sure try hard to control how I feel inside and how I see things. It’s a constant work in progress, but I can say for sure that my outlook has improved greatly from what it was 5 years ago. I’ve learned to accept what I can’t do and do a cannon ball jump into things I can do. Things are only as bad as you let them be.
5. How did you decide to start your shop? How did you decide to “take it to the next level?” I decided to start my shop so that I could have a real reason to keep creating. I figured that if I had people depending on me for something, I wouldn’t just let me desire to create die. It has also been a great stress reducer as I can come into my little studio and just create. Not to mention that it helps me keep my sanity from raising my twin boys. Last year, I decided to “take it to the next level” by setting more serious and actually dedicating set hours to networking and creating. It’s been great and I’ve loved every minute of it. I’m coming back now after having closed my shop in June and I’m geared up and ready to do my thing!


6. Any words of advice/tips for people who want to express their creativity, but don’t know how? Stay true to yourself! I can’t stress that enough. Don’t do something just because you see that others have success with it. You need to do something that  feels natural and right to you. It’s the only way your creativity and your product will shine above other and the only way you will find true joy in what you are doing. Lots of people don’t believe that they are truly creative, but I believe everyone has something the can contribute to the world. You just have to dig in there and find it. So, get diggin’!
    Leesandra is offering to giveaway a flower ring (pictured above) and a $20 gift certificate to Sweet Spot Card Shop (good for about 4 cards!) to one lucky Nina on the Moon reader!
    If you enjoyed this post, please share :)

    Roque Jewelry + Giveaway

    Luisa is the amazingly talented artisan behind Roque Jewelry. Luisa makes earrings, pendants, rings and necklaces with an eco conscience. She’s able to translate life’s natural beauties into such special pieces. I really, enjoy her pieces because they have such a raw vibe! She uses an array of materials, aluminum bronze, silver, copper, brass and recycled materials too!
     
    1) When did you first discover your ability to make such beautiful and unique pieces? First, as a matter of a brief background, I have always been drawn to art- by means of drawing… since I was probably 10 or so. I loved drawing everything and everywhere. But right after High School, that ability sort of got frozen in my first ‘wrong choosing of career’: Chemical Engineering! Yes, at first I thought this was the thing for me, don’t ask me why. Later on, my inclination for certain aesthetics and other artistic venues led me towards a different path (Communication) which somehow opened up again the art vein in me.
     
    In 2009, a group of fab woman friends of mine decided to get together and promote a social gathering that provoked us to make our own Christmas gift. You name it- decoupage, collages, clothing, and of course jewelry. I inlclined towards jewelry and found myself inmersed in a very interesting process: balancing out how the necklaces or earrings looked at a first glance. I loved it!!! Then, my dear friend Rosamaria from Santa Monica, CA introduced me to a jeweler in the area that noticed my “eye for design” and invited me to take his ‘lost wax’ technique workshop so I could have an ‘up and close’ encounter with the ‘real jewelry making’.   
     
    This is exactly when, by constructing and deconstructing wax and then having the piece transform into metal, I discovered my ability to make pieces that kept on pushing my everyday jewelry learning experience and life knowledge in itself.
     
     
    2) What is your favorite piece and can you describe its process? Actually, my favorite piece is METROPOLI Silver Ring. I still remember driving down the Santa Monica freeway, stuck in traffic trying to be on time to my ‘lost wax’ workshop. Frustrated, I started looking around me and taking mental pictures of my surroundings… Have it, buildings, sounds, people, airplanes… A big city full of good and not so good energy. Of excitement and frustrations. Dreams and hopes. A city of opportunities and failures… Yup! 
     
    And of course, this required that I pushed myself further in my jewelry learning experience since I was trying to built up on wax. I had to try to form cylinders that then conformed all together ‘the grand metropoli’. I first drew my initial concept and then from the original concept I started dissecting the ring in phases or parts. Once all parts were handmade in wax, I started waxing all the pieces together to finally form my structural ring in fine silver.      
     
    3) Where do your ideas come from? It’s interesting because although I always say nature is my major force of inspiration (I live in the countryside), I guess anything and everything does inspire me. I see things transforming into shapes. If an object or situation provokes me, alters my state somehow, I transform it into a shape whereas it is round, pointy, triangular, square… A even then, these shapes can start pairing with each other to form my unique pieces. 
     
    4) What themes do you pursue? I have a tendency to pursue Utopian themes. Themes that are ideal in nature or interpret nature in a raw form… Universal themes, these might be? Love. Moon. Motherhood. Nature. Recycling. Friendship. 
     
    Then, whenever I have a chance, I inspire myself in those situations that afflict woman. So, you can see that a lot of my pieces are described as for a Goddess or Queen. As if this would alleviate the pain and empower us (or me) to be who we truly are.  
     
    5) What do you like about your art? I like that my art does not respond to an ‘establishment’. That I still feel free from rules and regulations an that this allows for a certain naiveness that I truly enjoy. 
     
    6) Any words of advice/tips for people who want to express their creativity, but don’t know where to start? For those of you that don’t know where to start… I say take a class of ‘anything’ that you feel will help you  express that hidden creativity. A drawing class is always good since it aids in the process of designing- expressing figuratively what you eventually want to produce at a bigger scale. But bottom line, if naturally it does not come, just take a class, a course, a workshop of your interest… This will eventually lead you somewhere. It will open doors. It might not even be the class or workshop perse but then, the instructor or the new friend you make will then lead you into that new destiny of yours. Dare to explore!  
    Luisa has an amazing new Eco-Friendly line, and is going to give FOUR lucky Nina on the Moon readers, each an Anjana Hook Eco-Friendly Symbol necklace (pictured above)!!
    giveaway runs for the month of july, a winner each friday!
     
    If you enjoyed this post, please share :)

    Mano y Metal: Handcrafted Jewelry with an Industrial Edge

    Good morning! I’d like to introduce you to this month’s spotlight artist, Des. She is the super talented, self taught jeweler from Little Village, Chicago, USA. Des started  Mano y Metal in 2010 and has been working non-stop since! 
     
    Her art pieces quickly caught my attention while stumbling thru etsy. She has soft feminine pieces, like the hand painted wood earrings, Frida Khalo earings. The Heart of a Biker series has confidence and “bad ass” written all over it, yet feels as soft and feminine as the earrings, and I LOVE it! The cuffs and rings, are so awesome; adorned with quotes that are so inspiring and motivating!
    Mano y Metal is one of my favorites because of the unique contrasts between the tough metal and heart warming phrases. 100% SWAG!
     
    READ the interview below for some awesome inspiration and motivation!
    1. How did you get started (in this field)? I was inspired by a street vendor I met in Puerto Rico this past summer, she had a steel block on her knee and was hammering wire on it to make earrings and I returned to Chicago unable to shake the desire to create jewelry and most importantly: use a hammer in the process—I love the irony of such an aggressive action i.e. hammering metal—and how it produces a delicate piece of wearable art=jewelry. 
     
    2.What inspires you and how do you keep yourself motivated? People, experience, a phrase in a conversation, colors, train rides, dreams, tangled emotions, conflict, resolution, city sounds, the past, present, culture –all of it—I pull from all areas of my life and if something inspires me I scribble it on a post-it and add it to the collage of post-its on my wall… the pieces that get priority in being produced are the ones that keep me awake at night—tossing and turning, until I create and share them.
    What keeps me motivated is the love Mano y Metal has received in this short time of being up and running. When a customer sends me a picture or a message telling me how much they like wearing their piece—that motivates me to keep producing new and fresh work.
     
        3.How would you describe your style (your art)? Definitely non-traditional, I am a self-taught jewelry artist so every day is a learning process and I like to create work that is bold, truthful, thought-provoking and most importantly FUN to wear! What we wear is a reflection of us and I hope people are able to connect to my work in some way and have fun wearing it.
     
    4. What is your creative process? I ride the wave of impulse with my creative process and I almost have no control over what will be produced—my artistic side is quite dominating and all I can do is put on some music that sets the groove for my creation time and see what I come up with—I try to work in the daytime too because the sunshine streaming in my window inspires me. Most importantly, I tell my inner critic to take a nap while I work so it doesn’t distract me! J
     
    5. What do you enjoy most about creating your pieces? The ability to create whatever I want- literally—I like the ability to lift limits and if I like an image, color, word—I can put it on a piece of jewelry and I set out to make it happen- I no longer have to hunt for the perfect color, style—instead I can produce it myself and that is awesome! I love being able to share that ability with my customers too as I offer the option of customizing products– which transfers to them: the ability to get whatever they’d like hand stamped and created on jewelry (within my ability) for them or their loved ones. It’s a very cool feeling to be able to do that- be my own boss, create and share.
     
    6. Any words of advice/tips for people who want to express their creativity, but don’t know how? Put your inner critic on mute. I see how children push limits and scribble on a piece a paper and call it a house—or call it a universe and the children believe in their scribbles- even beam with pride at their creations and as adults we tend to lose the ability to shed logic and just believe in our imagination— we put our creativity through a series of internal filters and end up dismantling the passion that evoked an idea to begin with. Instead, pick a Sunday afternoon for that art project you’ve been putting off—play some music, set out your materials, remember to relax and have fun, trust your creative impulses and see what you come up with! Nurturing your creative side unveils parts of your personality that lay buried under the everyday routine we often get trapped in—use art to liberate the child within yourself; the one that believes in their ability to create.
    Des would like to giveaway this rad cuff to one special Nina on the Moon reader! 
    If you enjoyed this post, please share :)