November 2010 - Page 6 of 15

Sponsor giveaway: Tizzalicious

If you’re a lover of all things kawaii and cute, this week’s sponsor giveaway will set you in a tizzy! Tizzalicious is run by Maartje and is stocked with adorable hand-made jewelry, housewares, plush dolls and more — things that would make perfect gifts for the craft addict in your life, especially with holiday season around the corner!

A USD$30 gift certificate for you to go shopping at Tizzalicious!

Just comment on this post and we’ll pick out a lucky winner after the 23rd of November!

*UPDATE: Commenting has now closed, thanks so much for participating. The winner of this giveaway ~~will be announced tomorrow!~~ is Trixi!

Mel Stringer

I love the colorful work of Mel Stringer, an illustrator and visual artist based in Australia. She emailed me a couple of weeks back and her name sounded real familiar, so I dug out a few old copies of Frankie magazine and it turned out that I was right — she was the illustrator behind some of my favorite spreads in the magazine!

She has an Etsy shop where she sells zines, prints and stickers called Girlie Pains and not only can she draw, but she makes these cute little felt characters as well (available over at her other Etsy shop, Sweet Little Felt). And I just read that she’s experimenting with ceramics too — she’s one crafty person, that’s for sure!

kwon kyung yup

I know, this is a digression from illustration towards fine art but I am enamored lately by the oil paintings of Korean artist Kwon Kyung Yup. There is something positive and enlightening about the experiences of trauma and vulnerability in Kwon’s portraits. That something (I believe) is the feeling of internal peace; an often overlooked side effect of suffering.

When I stop and wrap myself in Kwon’s artwork, whatever kind of crazy I have going on in my life, just seems to heal itself.