"With a Flourish" is a cute shop full of handmade paper bead jewelry and unique accessories. Who would have thought that you could craft items this cool out of paper?! I love that each piece has a story behind it- you can read about them in her detailed descriptions. April is the woman behind the flourish. Let us find out a bit more about her and her shop before we get to a lovely giveaway. Please tell us a little about yourself, April.
My motto is "living the amazement", because life it just too interesting to spend time being apathetic and bored. I don't want to just exist, I want to live life with a flourish! This applies to many aspects of my life. My first and foremost identity is as a Christian, secondly as a wife, and as a mother to my beautiful 3 year old daughter. I also enjoy expressing this through creativity!
What is "With A Flourish" all about?
It's all about the difference between just doing something, and doing it 'with a flourish'! I'm not a big fan of plain. I like my food spicy, my music interesting, and my decor colorful. And my shop is a reflection of this as well. I think it is really unique to have colorful jewelry that used to be maps or ephemera. Instead of just wearing something- wear something "With a Flourish"!
How did you get your start in handcrafting pieces like this?
I used to sell antiques with my Dad, and we had a lot of fun going to auctions and hunting down treasures. One day I bought a box of vintage jewelry, and I found a long beaded necklace in the box that I liked it so much I kept it for myself. I wore it pretty often before I noticed something unusual about the beads. They were made of paper! This intrigued me I did some research and found that paper beading was quite popular in the 30's, and I decided to try it out for myself, using ephemera - paper that would typically get thrown away. After a lot of practice and plenty of sticky fingers, I was making my own paper bead jewelry!
Do you have something that inspires you or drives you to create?
I find it very inspiring to take something ordinary and turn it into some extraordinary. Turning an unimportant piece of paper into a piece of wearable art is so thrilling! I get very inspired by going to estate sales and vintage stores and finding forgotten treasures to be turned into something new and amazing.
What are some of your hobbies outside of crafting jewelry and accessories?
I just love to cook! I prefer to not use recipes, and instead create my own. Luckily my husband and daughter are good sports and will try just about anything. One of my favorites was inventing my own Caribbean chicken and pineapple salsa! I also love photography and writing.
A general day for you consists of..
My days tend to vary, but I always have a lot of time with my daughter because I stay home with her. We love to go to the library and bring home stacks of books! During the day, I take care of things at home, do any photography I need to do for my shop, ship out any Etsy orders to the post office, and in the afternoon cook dinner. In the evening is family time, and then, since I am a night owl, I tend to do a lot of my Etsy work in the wee hours of the morning.
What is next for With a Flourish?
The next step for 'With a Flourish' is a sister shop called 'Flourish and Debonair'. It will be more focused on the accessories and clothing side of 'With a Flourish', but will have items both for women and men! 'Flourish' for ladies, 'Debonair' for gentlemen.
Is there anything else that you would like to add?
Thank you so much for this opportunity to be on your lovely blog! :)
GIVEAWAY
TO ENTER: Be sure that you are a follower of "Samy in Wonderland" through google friend connect (top of left side-bar) and browse "With a Flourish", then leave 1 comment stating:
- I follow your blog via google friend connect, Samy! The username that I used to follow you is: _______.
- One of my favorite items from With a Flourish is _______ because _______.
- If I am the winner, you can reach me here: _______.
EXTRA ENTRIES: After doing the mandatory entry above, you may complete any or all of these for additional entries. A random number generator picks my winners, so the more times you enter, the more chances you have of winning! For these to count as extras, please leave a separate comment for each additional entry.
I "Don't Miss a Thing" because I subscribed to Samy in Wonderland and confirmed my subscription! The e-mail address used was: _______.
(Subscription box can be found in my left side-bar)I shared this giveaway on my facebook wall! I included a link back to this page so that my friends can find it. Here is a link to the wall post: _______. I tweeted about this giveaway on twitter. I included a link back to this page as well as "@PSVintage" somewhere in my tweet. Here is a link to the tweet: _______. I left a new and relevant comment on this non-giveaway post on the Samy in Wonderland blog: _______. (You may count up to 3 comments - use separate entries for each)
OPEN TO: UNITED STATES, 18+
ENDS: OCT. 15TH @ 11:59 PM
