Mr. Mustachio & another contest!

When Something's Hiding in Here first made a mustache on a stick over 5 years ago, it was because Stephen couldn't grow one of his own. He dreamt of all the 'staches he wished he could grow, carving them from wood. Shauna, brilliantly, told him to put 'em on a stick and the rest is photo booth history.

Why are Shauna and Stephen offering a mustache giveaway? The duo behind Something's Hiding in Here want to spread awareness about men's health issues such as prostrate cancer. What's a better way to do that than promote mustache-growing, conversation-starting, fun filled Movember?**

To celebrate Movember and give you a chance to continue your own year-round awareness campaign, we're giving a Mustache on a Stick away! How do you enter?

• Comment below and tell us who's your favorite mustached celebrity.
• Link to Movember on your site, twitter feed, facebook page...somewhere, anywhere! Come back to the comments and let me know where you posted about it. 
• You get 2 extra entries if you or your SO register to participate in Movember!

Easy peasy sneezy, right? My favorite mustached Mr. will pick the winner through a random drawing on October 31, 2011 at noon. That means entries close at 11:59 AM October 31, 2011.
Got it?

**What is Movember?

Since its humble beginnings in Melbourne Australia, Movember has grown into a global movement inspiring more than 1.1 Million Mo Bros and Mo Sistas to participate. No matter the city or country, Movember strives to change established habits and attitudes men have about their health, to educate men about the health risks they face, and to act on that knowledge, thereby increasing the chances of early detection, diagnosis and effective treatment. 

On November 1st, you can register at Movember.com with a clean-shaven face. For the rest of the month, selfless and generous men, known as Mo Bros, groom, trim and wax their way into fine mustachery. Supported by the women in their lives, Mo Sistas, Mo Bros effectively become walking, talking billboards for the 30 days of November. Through their actions and words they raise awareness by prompting private and public conversation around the often ignored issue of men’s health. 

In 2010, over 64,500 US Mo Bros and Mo Sistas helped spread the word.

Slow Gardening Give Away!

Felder Rushing's Slow Gardening is a broadly informative book that echoes my personal philosophy of gardening: don't worry about perfection, just get out there and do it. The book is chock full of pictures and explains the basics in a thorough, enjoyable way.

Beyond that, the book takes a conversational approach. Rushing doesn't lay out rules, he takes a gentle, encouraging approach, telling the us to get into the dirt and explore the life around us. He guides you through the seasons with an emphasis on enjoying each and every moment rather than getting bogged down with spring preparations. Don't get caught up in trying to make sure every last detail is right, just enjoy the details for what they are! There are creative ideas for recycling and reuse in the garden, plants to grow, and plants you can usually find for free. (Just make friends with other gardeners!) 

If you need step-by-step guidance, this book isn't for you. If you want a diving board into the pool of gardening joys, this is the go-to guide you've been looking for.

I have my review copy of the book to do a quick, one-day giveaway open to residents of North America, only. (Unless you want to pay shipping, 'cause that gets too expensive for me.) How do you enter to win? Comment below--do you take a slow approach to gardening? Are you a new gardener and need a little guidance? Just tell me a little about your gardening self. I'll draw a winner tomorrow at noon!

PS Don't forget to include an email address or link in your comment so I can get in touch with you if you win!

Wolfie visits Wilderness

Do you know Misti Little? We've internet-known each other for 4 (maybe 5?) years now and that girl is amazing.

Avid hiker, phenomenal photographer, and smart as a whip. So when she asked if I'd take part in her interview series this summer of course I said yes. I like to be associated with smart people, it makes me look smarter. Plus interviews are fun.

So I did. Annnnd it's up for reading today, so go check it out! 

I hope you all had a great weekend. Anyone get to spend some time outdoors playing? Or indoors playing? I managed to get some time in on the sewing machine, but not any pictures. One feat per weekend is enough, I don't want to push my luck.

***BUT YOU SHOULD PUSH YOUR LUCK, I'M HAVING A GIVEAWAY!***

Since I don't really have much to post today, and interview days are fun because it means new people are lurking around, I'm giving away an 8-1/2" x 11" prints to 2 readers! 

Read the interview and comment here with a factoid you didn't know about me if you've been reading this ol' blog a while.  If WatS is new to you and you knew nothing about me then just post anything relevant to the interview and that'll be just fine.  Comment as many times as you'd like between now and 12:00 AM Friday. I'll announce the winners in my post on Friday. Make sure you include an email address either in the comment form (it won't be viewed by the public) or as part of your comment, writing out "dash", "dot" and "at" so robots don't harvest your email address.

Calendar Giveaway!

I'd planned to do a post on Cursive Design and some other favorites of mine, but yesterday was an explosion of gettin' stuff done, so I have a lot of my own stuff to show. So Monday we'll drool over the colorful jewelry Sarah makes. Drooling is better suited for a Monday anyway, right?

Are you familiar with While She Naps? That was totally me yesterday: baby slung on my shoulder, deep in baby-sleep while I printed, scanned, colored and photoshopped away. For 2 solid hours I was doing the creativity hustle, and what do I have to show for it? The Winter Poster {and print, although I don't have that graphic on the site yet}!

I also begged Hi-C to get a shot of the calendar and he kindly obliged. Look at that--the 2011 calendar on a one-of-a-kind kindling shelf!

I know I'm whoring out the links left and right, but I'm pretty proud of how the shop is shaping up, so I want people to look at it!


And if you've made it past all the bragging excitement, I have a contest going! Vote for your favorite month's illustration {there are no right or wrong answers} for a chance to win one of our 2011 calendars! We're giving 3 away after the contest closes Wednesday, October 27.
Go now and Vote!

{PS--If you've had trouble opening the link, this link is the same survey.}

short and sweet now. later the prizes

Well, here it is, Friday, and the luster of new-found debt freedom is waning. I have thoroughly enjoyed the ideas everyone has shared this week, and will start drawing for names for door prizes soon, so look for an email or come back and check the names later on this afternoon--cause kickin' off the weekend with free stuff seems pretty dern cool, right?

In the meantime, I'm off to finish up my post for Modish today. Happy Friday, and see you back here soon!

Jason Munn's print (available through If you could do anything tomorrow, what would it be?; found via Sia Grafica) is exactly what I have in mind for the weekend. And just might have to be my next big splurge. Looks like I'll have plenty of time ahead of me to decide how lasting the design will resonate with me.

further thoughts from frugal mcdoogal

I hope I'm not preaching here, my intention is to share what we're working on personally. On that note, here are a few more thoughts on how not to spend:

Don't buy things because they're cheap. If you need something, but can't afford a well- designed lasting version, can you buy it used? Otherwise, you're throwing money into something that will be thrown away rather quickly in the bigger scheme of things. $30 bookcases come to mind...cheap bookcases rarely last.

Also mull over whether what you're buying can be fixed if it breaks. Is that $50 microwave a "disposable" product? Yes, $150 shoes may be a good investment if they can be repaired for $5.

DIY Wednesday at Design*Sponge; and while I'm not so keen on last weeks embroidered curtains (I think the font needs to be a bit more dynamic, otherwise it looks unfinished) Purl Soho's blog Purl Bee has more advanced tips on embroidery that could really take the project to the next level.

One of my favorite things to do is trade. Most often that happens with my oldest brother, who leads a similar lifestyle to my own. That means we have project materials laying around that get traded back and forth. But because we have different talents we can also trade those, helping each other out with skills that might otherwise require hiring someone or buying something.

As I've said before, a lot of these choices are also very ecological; but have you noticed they are also considered "luxury items"? I grow food without pesticides and chemical fertilizers--organic. I make dinner from scratch, with fresh noodles and no preservatives--all natural.
Even words like "recycled" and "handmade" have a certain expensive status behind them.

Today's giveaway is an easy one: What is something you make or do that is frugal and useful, but would otherwise be luxurious if you were to buy it?

Comment on today's post and I'll have 3 winners--2 will get a set of urchin prints (archival inks on watercolor paper, sealed with gel medium for extra richness of color and depth) and 1 commenter will get a super beachy gastropods poster!

a little debt relief for you

I think everyone that reads this blog commented yesterday, but in celebration of the end of my credit card debt, I'm giving away goodies all week long! If you commented yesterday, I'll be posting the winners all at the end of the week, and you can comment again, but please send your friends this way to comment, too!

So what is today's giveaway?

2 of these limited edition barnacle prints on lustrous photo paper. (An $18 value)

They're ready for a long stare-down as you escape into a Summer Daydream.

How can you win one of these? Tell me your favorite vacation on the cheap ideas. . .for my sanity, though, just don't use the word "stay-cation", k? That's one buzzword I just don't get.

Speaking of Giveaways, Jena posted the August giveaway on Modish. several hours later and she's already pushing 300+ comments. Whats up with that?? You can win one of my pieces there as part of that giveaway, too.
Jen also has a giveaway going on to celebrate the Indie Fixx 2nd Anniversary. She's got 2 prizes, so skedaddle on over there and wish her continued success, and enter to win some hand made goodies while keeping a steady budget.

* * * * *

Of course, being debt free doesn't mean it's time to quit working, so I have some new images to share with you! One from Charlie, and one from me!

Perhaps all the cooking and farmer's market talk has seeped in and spawned what will soon be the newest coloring book: Farms and Fonts.
There is likely little to connect the animal to the word, just a series of words I like, a lot of them are silly kids words that are innocent substitutes for cursing.

I just mailed off my pieces for Old School, and Janine has made a fun video to go along with the show (how cool is that??): Old School from UPPERCASE gallery on Vimeo.

And a random link of every day distraction:
Hello! You there! I like it. Passive aggressive in the time of technology.

Man oh man! I had 3 doorprizes and only 2 takers?? If anyone else out there wants to take a shot for the third one, leave a comment on my last post about a connection you've made! If there's one comment, it'll be yours; if there are multiples I'll do a drawing for who gets it.
Heather and Jessica: email me your address [ nobiting at gmail dot com ] and I'll send your package out this week!

In other news, today I have formally stepped into my 30s. Woo hoo!!

brighter days ahead. . . new doorprize!

I have been so glum lately, not posting and then posting horrific news. Yesterday I was really in the pit of my grief, but also wondering why these people I barely knew touched me so deeply.

It's those connections we all make. The ones that open our eyes to see the body in front of us, beside us in the car, the bodies all around us as humans rather than inconveniences. Those guys made me feel human when I was in line ordering lunch. It's so easy to forget the respect each of us deserves simply by being human, especially when another person interrupts our path of travel, sometimes literally, sometimes metaphorically. I wonder if we would be a kinder civilization if we reached out and felt the skin of another person as we interacted. Okay, that might be a little odd, especially coming from me. . .I like a nice distance and looooove my personal space. But finding that small way to contact someone, and for a second feel their tenderness, peer into their humanity and connect with the fragility and significance that deep down makes us all the same.

This is the part where I tie the pictures with the words poured on the screen. It's the little glimpses that count. What you see are small details, little changes. The top is a pile of things to be mailed and delivered. Beautiful, detailed little packages can be such a delight, and they let the recipient know how special they are. A small moment of happiness that shares the philosophy of creating a special gift for a friend. But also, the pink bag and the paper with the print mounted to it. How can I rationalize using plastic bags for my prints anymore? I can't guarantee they won't end up in the landfill. My responsibility towards other people is to use recyclable, biodegradable products, so they can maintain their small glimpses into the beautiful world around us. (The pink bag is for mini-prints and small pieces in the future, the bottom image is an empty record sleeve, trimmed and reused as the rigid packaging for mailing out my products.)

{So the doorprize?}
I'd like to send you a small gift. Comment below and on Friday I'll draw an name and send out some Wolfie and the Sneak delights!

What should you say? Tell me how you've connected with someone you barely knew. It needn't be an elaborate story, just some way you helped connect with the world.
I'll draw 3 names and send them a "collections" poster (winners choose which they want!) and several other little goodies.

I'm raining generosity today, my peeps

I've created a quick survey.
If you take it, you'll be entered in a contest to win a
$40 Wolfie and the Sneak Shopping Spree!

(**hint** check out my etsy shop and my own online site first, 'cause I ask some hard hitting questions about both of those sites on the survey. )

Click Here to take the survey

Now, tell me who you love!

(the survey will only take 100 people, then I get to glean the results. I'll keep the contest going til then. Please play nice! xoxo)

Modishoppe Til You Drop (with bonus tracks)

Not only is Jena (Modish) possibly the nicest person in the world, she has an incredible eye for talent and design.
Don't believe me? You must not keep up with her blog. She's a huge supporter of the little guy (well, I'll bet they're mostly little gals) and now she's brought us Modishoppe!
And just to prove she's so sweet, look! Free shipping on all orders over $75 (which won't be hard with all the talented designers you'll find there)!

To honor Jena, to wish her luck, and to inspire you to shop, I'm introducing the newest Door Prize!

Head over there, take a gander, and come back here and let me know what you bought! Get back and comment by Sunday night midnight (Monday morning, technically?) and you'll be entered in a drawing to win your choice of a print from my etsy site! How's that for motivation. Please just don't embarrass me by thinking you don't want my print!

And while you Modishoppe, remember, drooling on your keyboard is very unbecoming of you.

TIME AGAIN FOR A DOORPRIZE!

What's the deal with this one? Heh heh heh (sinister laughter) it requires a little work: post on your blog a link to my little ol' shop and comment here when you do, with a link
[ use this link: http://justkisseswolfie.blogspot.com/2007/01/blog-post.html ] OR
shoot me a quick email [nobiting at gmail dot com, at and dot are the symbols] with shop feedback: what you'd like to see, what you think of prices, whatever comes to mind when you take a gander. Don't worry, I won't hate you forever if you give productive criticism! Just plain mean remarks, however. . .

You'll be put in a drawing for a box of goodies, some of which are pictured:
Vintage Owl plaque, Strawberry Shortcake Fabric covered mirror, vintage necktie material (never made into a tie, straight off the bolt, it's the striped material you see), 60s floral print material, a vintage table cover, stickers and other goodies!

Will wonders never cease? Doorprize 4 and more

Through Tiny Showcase I found the amazing OKOK Gallery. (Every time I say OK, you say OK, OK?***)

OKOK represents a handful of artists whose work runs the gamut of pricing, but all of whom are incredibly talented and create the highest caliber of work.

***Which brings us to DOORPRIZE 4: If you can tell me where this quote came from, you'll get a priority box mailed to you that includes vintage goodies, an original drawing by me, and surprises galore!