Monthly Archives: June 2010

American Gem Tote BagHey everyone, it’s our first giveaway for Yellow Rose Designs! We’ve decided that, in honor of Flag Day, and to help you jump start your celebration for Independence Day, we would make our first giveaway our American Gem Budget Tote Bag. I’ve been carrying one of these budget tote bags with me for almost a year now, and it’s great for just about anything. The 100% cotton off-white natural fabric adds an almost ‘burlap’ texture to the design on the bag, giving it a bit of a rustic look, although the fabric feels quite soft. The strong handle has reinforced stitching and even though I’ve personally put this bag through a bit of a beating, both the fabric and the handle still have held up very well. I even put it through the wash when I managed to get it too dirty (washed inside out and line dried).

I’m especially proud to be offering this design on the tote bag too. Our amazing artist, Dean W, drew this design just for Yellow Rose Designs. This stunning American Flag was beautifully crafted one gem at a time to create the feel of Old Glory waving proudly in the wind. The text “Proud to be an American” is customizable – just let us know what you would like written under Old Glory when you’re the winner of this great giveaway!

But wait… how do you win, you ask? It’s simple. Just go to our Facebook Page and “Like” our page, then come back and leave a comment on this post! Be sure you have access to the email you add your comment with, because that’s how we can notify you that you’ve won! We’ll randomly draw a number and the comment number that matches will be our winner! Please only comment once. (Your comment may not appear right away as all comments are moderated, but we’ll approve all comments as quickly as we can.)

The giveaway ends June 21, 2010 at midnight Central Time, so be sure to Like our Facebook page and leave your comment before then! Not a U.S. citizen? Don’t worry, we haven’t forgotten you too. If you’re the winner, you can select any of the Budget Totes from our shop on Zazzle (Retail value $12.80, Budget Tote must be in the http://www.zazzle.com/yellowrosegallery shop only.)

Thank you everyone for all you kind comments and for entering our first giveaway! I used Random.org to generate a random number based on the number of comments . . . and the winner is . . . Comment #2! DeeDee, congratulations, you win one of our beautiful Budget Totes!

Random.org

Entries are now closed but feel free to comment. Thank you to everyone who participated! Look for our next giveaway coming soon! I wonder what it will be? :)

Alright, so it has nothing to do with the song, but it got your attention, didn’t it?

I went to the Panther City Bar Bazaar at Lola’s Saloon in Fort Worth this past Sunday. The artists there were absolutely amazing! I know the heat or other obligations kept some people from coming out for the Bazaar, but they really missed out if they haven’t seen the artwork from these DFW area artists.

I love going to festivals and bazaars so I had a great time, plus they had a live band playing that kept everything festive. I loved that the band wasn’t so loud you could actually talk to the artists too. This bazaar was really well thought out. When you arrived and paid admission to get in, they had a comfortable wrist band so if you wanted to leave and come back, you could. Not that you would need to leave – you could get food and drinks there, and even donate to the Fort Worth Burrito Project by buying a burrito and chips and salsa. Most of the artists’ tables were arranged away from the stage (and speakers). Because they had such a good response for artists, they had to put some of them outside (of course no one knew it was going to be this hot so early in June! thankfully there was a breeze to keep most of them cool.)

One thing that stood out for me about the Bazaar was the attitude of the artists themselves. If you go to many art festivals, you know what I’m talking about. You walk up to an artist’s table and they’re sitting there texting away on their cell phone or reading a book and they never look up. I understand the monotony of being a vendor, especially at a slow bazaar or festival. But one thing I can guarantee with 100% certainty – the vendors that never bother to even speak to a single customer are the ones you’ll find complaining at the end of the day about what a bad show it was for them. (You thought customers don’t hear the complaints? Believe me, WE DO.) And this was what was amazing about the artists at the Panther City Bar Bazaar. Every single vendor there was friendly, engaging and actively interested in their customers. Every one. That, my friend, is Rare. Even the artists who were outside in the heat were happy to be there, and laughed off when the breeze blew their cards off the tables. They were all excited to talk about what they do. Not only that, but the artwork itself was truly incredible. All handmade, and top quality work. If I weren’t a poor, starving artist myself, I would have bought something from everyone there! (That’s a hint, people! Go check out my site and buy stuff so I can go buy their stuff!)

Here are just a few of the wonderful artists that I met.

Shelli of Neke Designs has some beautiful hand-crafted wire jewelry. As a wire-wrapper, I can tell you, she does more than “just wrap stones” with wire. She looks for a truly unique way of hammering and fastening the metal together in a way that is aesthetically pleasing to look at and would be great to wear. Many of her pendants are offset so it doesn’t just “hang” around your neck, plus she combines copper, brass and silver in a way for each metal to complement the other. It’s like wearing a delicately hammered piece of art.

Karla from the Soap Addict makes all natural, vegetarian soaps, and lip balms. I was immediately drawn to her Lavender Palmarosa, which I didn’t get out without buying before I left the bazaar. The scent is a combination of lavender (my favorite, and all I ever wear) lightly accented with rose, and the soap itself has essential oils that are great for your skin and face. It was tough deciding between the Lavender Palmarosa and the Oatmeal Lavender with Honey soap, which has a much more subtle, soft scent. Her eco-friendly soaps and balms are a great alternative to just buying soap at the store and handmade soaps always last longer, so it’s well worth the price.