13 December 2011

Glass + Resin Pendant Giveaway

I am excited to announce that I am participating in the Sew, Mama, Sew Giveaway Day! What is Giveaway Day, you might ask? Well, first off- it's awesome. Second- it's a chance for you to win many, many amazing handcrafted items from some very talented crafters. Bloggers and shop owners are giving away fabric, handmade bags, items for the home, jewelry, and accessories - the list goes on and on!  So be sure to visit from  Sew, Mama, Sew now through December 16th for your chance to win!


I've chosen to give away one of my Glass + Resin Pendants in the Lichen color way.  Each handmade pendant features a microcosm of tiny glass spheres encapsulated beneath multiple layers of glass-like resin and is set in an antique brass bezel. The Lichen color way features a monochromatic selection of green and gold glass spheres perfect for the holidays!  


The pendant includes an 18" hand-oxidized brass chain and will arrive boxed and ready for gift giving!  


To win this lovely necklace all you need to do is comment on this post and tell me what your favorite holiday tradition is.  Do you bake an assortment of cookies for family and friends?  Do you host a party? Is there a particular dish that you make each year?  Tell me- I'd love to know!  Be sure to leave an email address so that I can contact you, too!

There are two more ways to win, and they are in no way mandatory.  I am simply offering these two additional entries as a thanks for my old and new followers.  : )
a.)  If you are a follower of my blog, please leave an additional comment and let me know!
b.)  If you have fanned Helen Ethel Studio on Facebook, be sure to comment that you are a Facebook follower!

You will have until Friday December 16th to enter.  Comments will close at 5pm PCT on December 16th and one winner will be chosen at random (using random.org) on December 17th.  I will announce the winner no later than Sunday, December 18th and will note whom that is in this giveaway post.  If there is no contact info, or if I do not hear back from the winner within a week of my original email, I will select another individual at random.

Finally, I will ship INTERNATIONALLY!

Thank you for stopping by and participating in this great event.  Be sure to visit my my shop, Helen Ethel Studio, as there is still time for holiday shopping!  From now until December 17th,  I will be offering free shipping on all items.  This is open to domestic and international shipping.  Please enter the code FREESHIP2011 at check out.  Thank you!












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06 December 2011

Regarding a current cookie obsession

Happy December everyone!  Like many of you, I can hardly believe that we are already trucking our way through December and knee deep in the holidays.  I will not lie- I'm rather excited this year, for many reasons.  One of those reasons just happens to be due to all of my baking plans!  Now that Dan and I have moved and are for the most part settled in to our new place, I finally have a space to dedicate to cooking and baking.  Our last kitchen was a tiny 6'x4' (I'm being generous here) space with next to no counter space.  It was a depressing site for any one with a desire to get serious in the kitchen.  By the end of our 5 years in that apartment I rarely desired to bake as it would only end up in massive bouts of frustration as I strategically created counter space where counter space should not belong and wedged cookie sheets into our tiny little oven. But, one must do what must be done if one wants to enjoy homemade sweet confections.

Thankfully, this year will be different.  We now have a kitchen that is nearly the size of our old apartment's living room and kitchen combined! AND I acquired a dining room table off of craigslist a few weeks ago (a vintage teak Danish Modern piece, I might add!) that will allow me to really spread out and get down and dirty as I bake my way through the month.  I've been thinking a lot about cookies- sugar cookies in particular.  The ones made of rolled buttery dough, formed by quirky holiday themed cookie cutters, and adorned in jewel-toned sanding sugars and sprinkles.  The ones I never would have dared to even consider baking in our old apartment.  THOSE.  Sugar cookies and I have got big plans this holiday season and it all begins with a recipe for Cardamom Sugar Cookies I saw on Etsy a few days ago that I just can't get out of my mind.  I picked up a handful of woodland and elf themed cookie cutters from Ikea last night that I can't wait to use with the recipe.  I also hope to make these Salted Caramel Cups, package them up nicely with the delicious sugar cookies, and take them along to a holiday party later that night.  I will then repeat the process over and over again until I can hardly take it any longer.

In honor of my recent cookie fixation, I've created an Etsy treasury dedicated purely to delicious and beautiful holiday confections.  Warning:  I highly advise having a cookie within arms reach while perusing the list!

What about you?  Do you have any recipes you have been gravitating toward?  What is on your holiday dessert menu? Do share!

'Sweets for the Holidays' by helenethelstudio

...mostly sugar cookies. I just can't seem to get them out of my mind!


Santa Cookies - Hol...
$30.00

Jam Rings Vanilla S...
$10.50

Candy Cane Peppermi...
$14.00

Christmas Tree Snow...
$15.95

Christmas Cookies -...
$42.00

Gingerbread Men Min...
$17.95

FAVORS Decorated Co...
$32.50

Assorted Christmas ...
$28.00

Christmas Cookies G...
$20.00

FAVORS Decorated Co...
$34.50

Snowy Pine Tree Sug...
$33.20

Coffee Pecan Sablé...
$7.99

Snowman in Hat Ging...
$28.00

Cookies Cranberry D...
$13.50

ELF Cookies - GNOME...
$34.99

Candy Cane Cookie P...
$13.00