A product review and a giveaway- Artful Vision photographic art!

I received a beautiful photographic art from Artful Vision for a review recently. Have you heard of Artful Vision?

Artful Vision offers an array of creative American made gifts and plays a vital part in an innovative fundraising effort that supports worthy causes across the USA. With an amazing selection of handcrafted jewelry and accessories, photography and paintings, pottery and home decor, garden art and accents, music and books, prints, note cards and more created by 129 artists, I am sure you will find something you love! For each purchase, artists, musicians and authors from Artful Vision will donate 20% of every sale to a participating non-profit organization of your choice! What better way to shop than for a worthy choice?

The photographic art I received came from artist, Maxine Gardner. Much to my surprise, along with the photographic art, she sent me a set of lovely note cards as well! Thank you so much Maxine, you are so kind.

Below are a few examples of her work:

Maxine Gardner's background:

In 1994, Maxine Gardner's husband died at 41 of an aneurysm and her two sons, then 9 and 12, became her total focus. In 2000, she discovered mosaics and became an accomplished artist. Working in mosaics has changed the way Maxine approached photography. Mosaic making helped her to focus on the details of the surroundings and not the big picture. As she records the moments that speaks to her, photography continues to be an emotional journey. With her camera lens, she captures what she sees but it is her vision and today's technology that enables her to transform raw images into gorgeous Photographic Art!

Jaffa Open Door

Isn't it gorgeous? The image above was taken from Artful Vision website whereas the images below were taken by me.

Printed in a glossy finish, the colors are gorgeous and sharp. It also comes with high quality matting as well.

A close-up.

A brief description of the artwork at the back of the photographic art.

I am very thrilled with my new photographic art! It looks realistic in an artistic way and reminds me of a watercolor painting but in a more vibrant, glossier setting. Beautifully printed at a professional lab, the overall quality of my  photographic art is top notch.

*I received this product to review for free but the views and opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Now, here is your chance to win one of your own! Artful Vision graciously offers one photographic art to one of Mix And Chic readers! One lucky reader will receive a large 11 x 14 (comes with matting) photographic art (worth $60) from the six wonderful selection below:

Blue Gate

Jaffa Gate

Neve Tsedek Green Door

Holy Selpulchre Cross

Metamorphosis III

 Church Mosaic I & III

The selection are fantastic, aren't they? By simply hanging a big artwork on a blank wall, it is easy to spruce up a space and create visual interest in any rooms.

To enter:

Must be a resident of the United States.

1. Be a follower of Mix And Chic blog via Google Friend Connect and let me know your favorite item here. (one basic entry)

For additional entries (an extra entry for each of the following):

2. 'Like' Mix And Chic on Facebook and leave a separate comment. (If you are already following, please leave a separate comment to let me know as well.)

3. 'Like' Artful Vision on Facebook and leave a separate comment.

4. 'Follow' Mix And Chic on Twitter and leave a separate comment. (If you are already following, please leave a separate comment to let me know as well.)

5. 'Follow' Artful Vision on Twitter and leave a separate comment. 

6.'Follow' Mix And Chic on Pinterest and leave a separate comment. (If you are already following, please leave a separate comment to let me know as well.)  

7. 'Follow' Artful Vision on Pinterest and leave a separate comment.

8. Create a category under "My Favorite Things" and 'pin' 3 images from here. Let me know your Pinterest link and leave a separate comment.

9. Mention this giveaway on your Facebook status (include a link back to this post) and leave a separate comment. 

10. Tweet about this giveaway (include a link back to this post) and leave a separate comment.

11. Bonus question: If you win, let me know which one of the above photographic art will you pick and why? 

The last day for entries is August 15, 2012. The winner will be chosen by random.org and announced on Thursday, August 16, 2012. Good luck!

And the winner of the giveaway is ..........

Announcing the winner of the recent giveaway brought to you by BuildASign.

I used random.org to draw a winner and here it is. The lucky winner of 100 pieces of customized business cards is

Jessica from Stay at Home-ista. 

Congratulations, Jessica. I will email you shortly. Thanks to everyone who entered this giveaway. There will be more wonderful giveaways lining up, so don't forget to check back regularly! Have a great day, everyone!

The One Room Challenge- Week 6:The Big Reveal (Updated Version)!

Today is week 6 of the One Room Challenge. This is the moment we have all been waiting for, The Big Reveal. If you have missed previous posts, please click here. 

Before we proceed, I would like to say a big thank you to Linda from My Crafty Home Life for coming up with this fabulous challenge and invited me to participate. It has been great getting to know other participants and support each other to finish up our rooms. 

I know I have bored you with my hardwood floor installation for five whole weeks so I am going to show you the pictures of my master bedroom instead. I hope it's worth the wait! :)

I will let the pictures do the talking..........

(Please note: The old photos were removed. These new photos were taken by my husband when he came home today.)

Evening shots:

Morning shots:

What do you think of my master bedroom? I am planning to discuss the details of this makeover and include the resources for all the items in my bedroom next Wednesday. So, check back next week, if you like. (Update: You can check out the list of resources here.)

Both my husband and I have been working around the clock to get this room finished. If it was not for the challenge, we would probably take another month or two to complete it. I really wanted to have the reveal today so I stayed up all night. Yup, didn't sleep at all, can you believe that?

Anyway, hope you enjoy the makeover. My eyes can barely stay open now. Alright, got to go take a nap now. 

Please visit the other participants from The One Room Challenge to see their finished rooms! 

Beth - Chinoiserie Chic

Lauren - The Cottage Mix

Sherry - Design Indulgence

Lindsay - Everything LEB

Barbara - Hodge:Podge

Kim - Kim Macumber Interiors

Lisa - Lisa Mende Design

Tiffany - Living Savvy

Jessie - Mix And Chic

Linda - My Crafty Home Life 

Alison - My Little Happy Place

Danylle - Nana Moon

Nicole - Nicole Scott Designs

Julia - Pawleys Island Posh

Jennifer - The Pink Pagoda

Bethany - Powell Brower Home

Lindsay - The Pursuit of Style

Emily - Rue de Emily

Lindsay - Sadie + Stella

Lisa - Trapped In North Jersey

The One Room Challenge- Week 5!

Time really flies when you are busy working and I can't believe we are now at week 5 of this challenge. Another week to go and we will get to see all the other participants' rooms. I am so excited! If you miss any of the One Room Challenge posts, please click here. 

As for myself, I have mixed feelings about this challenge. I am excited to finally have a chance to bring everything together particularly the accessories I have been buying and saving since last year. On the other hand, I am getting a little nervous because we are so behind schedule and there are still a long list of unfinished tasks for me to even think about decorating. Sigh.

Last weekend, we didn't accomplished as much as we had hoped for. A few hours were wasted trying to get the same baseboard moldings in different Menards locations. Isn't that the most frustrating when you are in a middle of a project and you have to go to a few places just to get all the things you wanted?

Anyway, during the weekend..........

we managed to patch the nail heads..........

.......... and filled in all the gaps with wood fillers.

The wood fillers are far from attractive so we are planning to fill them with wood stain with a color that matches the wood floors. We haven't had a chance to stain them yet, so we will probably do it this week. 

Hubby has already patched the unsightly holes in the wall and started to install the baseboard moldings. The yellow post-it notes are there to mark the wall studs.

The baseboards are half finished and the shoe molding are not installed yet.

We definitely have a lot to do this week in order to finish our room for the big reveal next Wednesday!

Our to-do list this week includes but not limited to:

1. Finish installing the baseboards and shoe molding.

2. Finish staining the wood fillers.

3. Finish painting the baseboards and touching up the wall paint.

4. Finish assembling the four poster bed.

5. Finish hanging the curtains.

6. Finish ironing/ steaming the curtains/ bedding.

7. Shopping for some last minute accessories.

The long to-do list is making me very nervous. As I am writing this post, hubby is busy installing the baseboards. He must be so tired after coming back from work and now, he still has to work on the room. I am so grateful and appreciative for all the time and effort he put into this. 

Anyway, let's move on to the fun part of this whole makeover. Yesterday, I had a chance to get some accessories for our master bedroom. I have always wanted lacquer boxes like these but they can be so pricey. Look what I found during my shopping trip yesterday.

Isn't it fabulous and oh-so-chic? I bought two of these, a small and a medium size from The Container Store. I love a pop of bright yellow accents to complement the blue and white color palette in the room. 

While I was at the store fussing over the two most "perfect" yellow lacquer boxes, a guy saw me. He can't help himself and get them, too. He also took his time picking the most "perfect" boxes. Seriously, have you seen a guy fussing over some boxes? LOL. Whenever I buy anything, I love to take my time whether it is trying on an outfit (it is usually checking the mirror front and back for at least 5 mins to make sure it's the right purchase) or selecting the perfect home accessories. When other people caught me doing that, they usually try to hunt down the items (whatever I was holding/ wearing at the time) and buy the same items for themselves, too. It's funny to think that I have some kind of "influencing power" on strangers when it comes to shopping. LOL. Do you have the same experience as well? Perhaps retail stores should hire me to do just that to boost up their sales! That would be fun! :)

Anyway, during my accessories hunting trip, I also found two inexpensive beautiful mirrors from HomeGoods, a white bowl from Marshalls and a few pictures frames and a small jug from Ikea. We already spend a lot on the wood floors so I hope to spend as little as I can on the accessories. 

Speaking of accessories, I had this art print poster by Roy De Forest for almost 10 years now. I was initially attracted by its color, vibrancy and quirkiness.

via

This was the first gift my husband bought for me during our early dating days when we were at an art museum in North Carolina. I really wanted to incorporate this art print in our master bedroom because it holds a special meaning for me. Unfortunately, hubby said the art print looked a little creepy. (so there's a high chance we won't have this art print in our bedroom.) What do you think? Do you find it creepy too? I am a little sad the art print will not be staying in our room. However, the print will not be hidden in the closet forever because I am planning to incorporate this art print in my son's room when we start decorating his room down the road! :) 

Now, don't forget to visit the rest of the following participants from The One Room Challenge to see how everyone is doing!

Beth - Chinoiserie Chic

Lauren - The Cottage Mix

Sherry - Design Indulgence

Lindsay - Everything LEB

Barbara - Hodge:Podge

Kim - Kim Macumber Interiors

Lisa - Lisa Mende Design

Tiffany - Living Savvy

Jessie - Mix And Chic

Linda - My Crafty Home Life 

Alison - My Little Happy Place

Danylle - Nana Moon

Nicole - Nicole Scott Designs

Julia - Pawleys Island Posh

Jennifer - The Pink Pagoda

Bethany - Powell Brower Home

Lindsay - The Pursuit of Style

Emily - Rue de Emily

Lindsay - Sadie + Stella

Lisa - Trapped In North Jersey

I hope you will follow me and the rest of these talented ladies through next week for the Big Reveal at Week 6!


P/S: Don't forget to enter in my current giveaway for a chance to win 100 customized business/ calling cards!

A product review and a giveaway- BuildASign business cards!

Recently, I received a set of lovely business cards from BuildASign. 

Founded in 2005, the Austin-based company (which also operates photos on canvas) is a custom printing company which provides customized signs and banners, car magnets, bumper stickers, decals, business cards, licence plates, parking signs and more.

Imagine how thrilled I was when I was offered a set of business cards from BuildASign in exchange for a review. I have always wanted to have my own business cards for my interior decorating business but I couldn't find the right ones. These are perfect because they can be customized exactly the way I wanted. I am so excited to share with you my new business cards! Here it is:

Here is how I customized my business cards: First, I made a slight change to my blog banner. Then, I uploaded the image to the website. Next, I determined my layout and favorite fonts. Finally, I checked the preview. 3 simple steps and voila, here's my new business cards! Easy peasy!

Close-up.

What do you think? Do you like my new business cards? I always knew I wanted my business cards to look like an extension of my blog and I am glad BuildASign made it happen. These cards are high quality and beautifully printed. Best of all, they are affordably priced. To give you an idea, a set of 100 business cards with a 2"x 3.5" size (matte) only costs $14.99 and the glossy version cost slightly more at $17.99. If you have looked or ordered any business cards before, you know the price is pretty unbelievable!

*I received this product to review for free but the views and opinions expressed are entirely my own.

The best part? BuildASign has decided to offer one of you lucky Mix And Chic readers a chance to win 100 business cards. Customized or not, glossy or matte, it is your pick! 

If you are a small business owner (think Etsy store owners, designers, web designers, consultants, event planners, etc),  a mom who wants to give out your contact information to other mommies during your child's play date or simply a blogger who wishes to advertise your blog, then these cards are perfect for you! 

To enter:

You must be a resident of the 48 contiguous United States. 

Be a follower of Mix And Chic blog via Google Friend Connect and let me know why you want to win these business/ calling cards. (one basic entry)

For additional entries (an extra entry for each of the following):

1. 'Like' Mix And Chic on Facebook and leave a separate comment. (If you are already following, please leave a separate comment to let me know as well.)

2. 'Like' BuildASign on Facebook and leave a separate comment.

3. 'Follow' Mix And Chic on Twitter and leave a separate comment. (If you are already following, please leave a separate comment to let me know as well.)

4. 'Follow' BuildASign on Twitter and leave a separate comment.

5.'Follow' Mix And Chic on Pinterest and leave a separate comment. (If you are already following, please leave a separate comment to let me know as well.)  

6. Mention this giveaway on your Facebook status (include a link back to this post) and leave a separate comment. 

7. Tweet about this giveaway (include a link back to this post) and leave a separate comment.

8. Blog about this giveaway (include a link back to this post) and leave a separate comment.

9. Bonus question: If you win, let me know which type of business cards you will pick, glossy or matte and why?

The last day for entries is August 1, 2012. The winner will be chosen by random.org and announced on Thursday, August 2, 2012. Good luck, everyone!