This is happening...

Yes.

Be excited.

The COZYmade blog is coming in 2013. Time for something new... stay tuned.

In the meantime.... be sure you are following COZYmade on Facebook and Twitter for updates.

Thoughts? Ideas? Anything you'd like to see on this blog? Email me!

It is time to say farewell...

Hello All-

As you have noticed, blog posts have been scarce over the 2nd half of this year. Although I have loved all things Bright & Cloudy, it has come time to bid it farewell. For those of you who do not know, I have started a new adventure; COZYmade. It has been quite a journey. Since opening my little shop in November of 2011, I have had a ton of fun creating new and exciting things. With COZYmade becoming more and more popular, I have decided to focus all of my attention there.

Starting in 2013, My Bright & Cloudy Shop will remain closed. If you have enjoyed following this blog, I encourage you to continue. New products, new adventures, maybe a tutorial or two.

It has been fun. I hope to run into you all in the future. If you have any thoughts or ideas of what you want to see going forward,  please email me.

-Stephanie

Hey All-
I know it has been a while since my last post- and I promise to fill you in on all the crazy-ness that is going on in my life but right now I need your help. I am trying to gain support for my design for the Talenthouse/No Doubt logo contest.

Every vote counts, so please head over and support me. Voting ends on September 18th and the winner is announced on September 25th- the day the new album is released. Click the link below to vote.

http://www.talenthouse.com/creativeinvites/preview/adcbe342b54a3312ad1a25c14832f192/700


Thank you to everyone who has already shown their support! This contest will help me greatly.

-Stef

Treasury Time: it's almost summer...

I've been noticing a lot of bright summer colors lately. Thus making me want to put a collection together. While I work on my new collection, check out this recent treasury I made over on Etsy.

So head over and check it out: it's almost summer. And stay tuned for new stuff from both Bright & Cloudy and COZYmade soon.

Giveaway over at The Crafted Sparrow!

Want a chance to win a $50 gift certificate to the COZYmade shop? Who wouldn't...

Gift certificates can be used on anything you wish! One of my favorites shown above. 

So head on over to The Crafted Sparrow blog and enter for your chance to win! But hurry, time is running out. The giveaway ends in Monday!

GIVEAWAY: Stickers from Print Runner

Today is an exciting day... my first giveaway! And it's a good one. As a graphic designer, I know how difficult it can be to find the right print services, and at a great price. Print Runner is a great place for almost anything you need to print! From business cards to posters, they have what you need and at great prices.

Now for the goods. Print Runner has generously offered to give a free set of stickers to one lucky reader!

Full Information on this Prize:

Standard Stickers
Size: 2" x 3.5"
Quantity: 250
Paper: Premium Sticker Stock
Colors: Full Color or  Black/White
Proof: none
Ready to Ship In: 3 Business Days

These stickers would be great for so many uses! Small business marketing (calling all Etsy-ians!), Crafts, Labeling etc. PrintRunner is your convenient online print service resource. Check out their site and try printing stickers from them today!

So how do you enter? You have 4 chances to win!

1. Follow this blog.

2. Follow Bright & Cloudy on Twitter and/or Facebook

3. Follow COZYmade on Twitter and/or Facebook.

4. Tell me what you will use your stickers for.

and post a comment here for each entry. Giveaway ends at midnight on Sunday. Winner will be chosen at random on Monday March 12th and will be notified. Please make sure to leave an email address to contact you.

Good Luck!

Giveaway is open to US Residents only, ages 18 years old and above. Thank you to PrintRunner for providing this prize, I will receive a set of stickers for hosting this giveaway.

*************************************************************************************************

This drawing is now closed. The winner has been chosen via Random.org.


And the winner is...... Comment # 3 from jacki w. Congradulations Jacki. 


Hopefully there will be more giveaways in the near future, everyone else stay tuned!



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Treasury Time: I feel blue...

So one of the things I would like to try and do more of this year, is create more treasuries on Etsy. Here is my latest....

Be sure to head on over to Etsy and check it out! There are alot of good items in this one, most of which have made my wish list!

Where did everything go? Bright & Cloudy Shop Update

Where did everything go? As of today, the Bright & Cloudy shop will be closed. I am in the process of revamping the shop to include better products and a slightly new look. I do not have an estimated time frame for this change, but I am working to make this transition quick. Check back here for more information and updates.

In the meantime, I am happy to announce that the new COZYmade shop is alive and thriving. While Bright & Cloudy is under construction, please visit COZYmade and check out all the amazing wreaths and cozy felt flower accessories. Also, because I am so generous... take 10% off your next COZYmade purchase with coupon code CLOUDY. This coupon won't last for long, so take advantage of the savings now. New wreaths will be listed over the next few weeks for spring.

Hope everyone had a happy Valentine's Day.

-Stephanie

Saw It, Pinned It, Made It: 6-layer Rich Chocolate Malted and Toasted-Marshmallow Cake

In 2012, it is one of my goals to start making things I see on Pinterest. If you aren't on Pinterest yet, I highly suggest. But beware, it is rather addicting, so don't say I didn't warn you.

A 6 layer malted chocolate and toasted marshmallow cake. Can we say YUM? I saw this cake on Pinterest back in December, and thought to myself "I must have that for my 30th birthday."

It seemed complicated, but luckily my mother loves to bake and was completely up for the challenge.

The original recipe came from Rosie over at sweetapolita.com. She did a fantastic job explaining the cake and mom followed the recipe perfectly.



The night of my birthday I came home delighted to see this cake waiting for me. I was so excited, I almost didn't want to eat dinner!

It may have not looked completely like the picture, but it didn't matter. It tasted fantastic! You can get the recipe here.

So I can't take any credit for ACTUALLY making this cake.... but it was my idea to attempt it :) and I highly recommend it.

Happy Birthday to Me! COZYmade Sale!

Well, I am officially old today. I turn 30. Although I am not quite sure how I feel about it yet, let's see how the day goes.


But my birthday means savings for you... help me celebrate and save 30% off your next COZYmade purchase! Visit cozymade.etsy.com and use coupon code BDAY30 at checkout.


Ok Ok.... you want to save at brightandcloudy.com too? Why not.... use the same code in the Bright & Cloudy shop to save 30% off any order there too!


Sale is good now through Sunday 1/8/2012 so hurry along and go shopping :)

BLACK FRIDAY DEAL & New Etsy Shop

I am excited to announce COZYmade is now open on Etsy. Check out the new wreaths, and ornaments. With more felt-ness coming soon, be sure to keep checking back.

Looking for a deal? Take 20% off all purchases for Black Friday in both the COZYmade shop and Bright & Cloudy shop! Use coupon code BLACKFRIDAY!

Another exciting deal coming for cyber Monday. Stay tuned.

Filters for the Filterless

So... like many these days, I am starting to have a little obsession with Pinterest. When I saw the coffee filter wreaths, I knew I had to make one for a girl who boasts about having no filter (check out her blog here). Of course, I needed to wait for her birthday- so I sat on this project for a few months. I must say I think it turned out quite nice.

This project was super easy. Basic instructions are as follows:

Supplies:

• Styrofoam Wreath
• Standard Coffee Filters (white or unbleached)
• Hot Glue
• Felt (optional)

Steps:

1. Fold a filter in half, then in half again.
2. Put a small amount of glue on the pointed end of the folded coffee filter.
3. Press to styrofoam wreath.
4. Repeat until entire wreath is covered.
5. Cover the back of the wreath with felt if desired.

Here are a few pics of my progress:

Tips:

• The amount of filters you will need will depend on the size of your styrofoam wreath. I used just under 100 filters for this 12" wreath.
• I tried to glue the filters as close together as possible, fluffing them up as I went. This made it easy to spot and fill holes.
• Other tutorials mention that you may need to trim the filters that stick out a little too much, but I didn't do this.
• Although I kept mine white, you can also dye or color the coffee filters before attaching them to the wreath.
• The plain wreath is great for embellishing for different seasons. I ended up attaching a birthday banner to it, but it can easily be decorated for christmas, fall, summer etc.

Fall Sale- Save 15% at brightandcloudy.com

Fall Sale!


Now through 10/31 you can save 15% off purchases in the shop! With lots of new product on the way, it's time to thin out inventory! Head over today and use coupon code FALL15 at checkout!


Stay up to date with shop happenings, coupons and sales by following me on Twitter. Not a fan of tweeting? Like me on Facebook!

Googley eyes put a smile on my face...

Completely submerged in Halloween at work, Nicole and I seemed to have a bit of fun carving a few pumpkins the other day in my cube. Surrounding cube dwellers claimed we were slightly funny to listen to... probably due to the fact that neither of us had ever carved a pumpkin. Nevertheless, it was fun and easy (what we were doing anyway)... and I decided to make a few of my own for home.

Of course, the googley eyes made my project so much better... check out my new clan.

Ahhh! Attack of Vampire Pumpkins...

These two are my favorite. The little one especially. I think his little brown bruise gives him character.

Happy Halloween Everyone!

Giveaway over at Dramatic Elegance Blog

I am excited to announce that Rachel over at Dramatic Elegance is doing a great giveaway! I am excited to be a part of this giveaway, so head on over and enter.

Check out the Bright & Cloudy goodness you could win:

Terry- It is Sad to See You Go...

Although I am not an avid sports fan... I often find myself in front of a TV with a game on. As a Boston fan it is sad to see Terry Francona leave the Boston Red Sox. Whats next for the Red Sox... I have no idea. Clearly, I am not writing this post to talk about sports, it's just not my thing... but instead using this as a gateway to introduce to you all a friend of mine with amazing talent.

If you have not seen the work of Kevin Barry before, I strongly urge you to head over to his blog and check it out. His latest piece of Francona going down with his ship is amazing- although I am not surprised because I often find myself jealous of his talent :)

Made of Lines- The Art of Kevin M. Barry - you won't be disappointed.

I have been very busy with new projects, so stay tuned for some Halloween fun along with fun new flowers for the shop. That's all for now.

BIllerica Yankee Doodle Weekend

The Yankee Doodle weekend was a huge success. Although my space was larger than any space I had ever had, I seemed to make it work.

The weekend began with a parade that headed straight down the street in front of my space. It was fun, loud and most definitely colorful. As the parade dwindled down, the people began filtering in.

I sold many brooches, in fact sold almost everything I had made of felt. You can expect these cozy felt brooches to appear in the shop over the next few weeks (stock needs to be replenished).

We had a few close calls because of the crazy wind on day two, but no catastrophes and most of the display remained in tac.

The wreaths were a huge hit. Everyone stopped by and gawked at them, telling me how lovely they were. I am planning on having the remainder of them in the shop by the end of the week, so if you are extremely excited (like I am) then hold on to your hats for a few more days...

All in all, it was a good weekend. I have to take one moment again to thank D for helping me and everything he has done for Bright & Cloudy over the past couple of weeks. From creating my headband displayer from pool noodles, to figuring out how to weight down my tent so it wouldn't blow away- and everything in between. I thank you again.

To see more pictures please visit my photostream here.

One more chance for Bright & Cloudy Goodness!

Didn't get a chance to attend the MWHS craft fair last weekend? We'll good news because there is another fair just days away.


Bright & Cloudy will be at the Yankee Doodle Days in Billerica, MA this weekend! The fair will be both Saturday and Sunday and will be full of fun events (including a parade), yummy food and booths of all kinds.


You can find me directly in front of the town hall (literally my booth is located in front of the front door). Full details below:

• DATE: Saturday 10am to 5pm & Sunday 9am to 2pm
• LOCATION: 365 Boston Road, Billerica MA
• EVENT HOMEPAGE: www.yankeedoodlehomecoming.org 

Check out the Facebook page here. And if you haven't already, be sure to "Like" Bright & Cloudy on Facebook. 


Hope to see you all there!

MWHS CRAFT FAIR 2011

This year's craft fair for the Metro West Humane Society went well. There certainly was alot of people. Here is how the booth came out...

The day was hot, but really a perfect day for a fair. It was nice and sunny. I finally had a chance to debut my new wreaths, which received a lot of compliments. They will soon be available in the shop.... so check them out soon.

And of course I had a fantastic neighbor, Remixed by Jacki had the booth next to mine. Her booth came out great as well...

For full display pictures, visit my newly made flickr page here.

If you happened to miss this fair, don't worry. Bright & Cloudy will be at the Yankee Doodle Fair in Billerica, MA next weekend, both Saturday and Sunday. Check out my Fairs & Events link at the top of the page for full details.

RENOVATION PREVIEW

Well, I already told you I've been working hard on new products... but I thought I would give you a little sneak preview. Below are a few of my new flower brooches.

Lots more to come. Hope you can contain your excitement a little longer.... And there is still time to save 20%... hop on over to the shop and check out the goods. Happy 4th!