Giveaway results!

Thanks to everyone who entered my 50 Etsy sales giveaway! Here are the exciting results...



The winner of the set of vintage knitting patterns is Vanessa!





The winner of the polka dot scarf is Lorraine of Head to Toe Vintage!



Well done guys, get in touch and we'll organise getting your prizes sent out to you!

Thanks to everyone who entered and keep your eyes peeled for the next one!

Extending the giveaway deadline!

Argh, I'm an idiot! I've planned the giveaway to end tomorrow (Sunday) night but just realised that I'm away on Monday for a week in the hospital, working in the intensive care unit for the horses at the vet school. So I'm not going to be around for a week to post the items to the winners!

Looking after these little guys again!



Consequently, I've decided to extend the 50 Etsy sales giveaway for another week, this time ending on Sunday the 17th of July.

I'm really sorry to those of you who've already entered, obviously your entries still count so good luck! For those of you who haven't entered yet, now's your time!

I'll do the draw when I get back on the 18th, which is a Monday, so keep an eye on your inboxes for then.

In the meantime, check out this lovely bird and branch necklace Heather, MJ and I bought for Karen's PhD graduation present. It's from Rose and Raven on Etsy and I would definitely recommend that shop, the postage was quick and the necklace came packaged in a lovely little box with blue ribbon wrapped around.



I actually bought 2 necklaces from Rose and Raven but I'm not going to show you the other one until the intended recipient has opened it!

50th Etsy sale giveaway!

I just made my 50th sale over on Etsy and I'd like to celebrate by holding another little giveaway!

Here are the lovely prizes up for grabs, hopefully something will tickle your fancy...

1. Set of 5 vintage 1970s knitting patterns. The sizes are listed over on the shop listing so head on over and see if this might be your choice of prize!



2. Set of 5 vintage photographs for scrapbooking. Check out the listing for more information, would be great for a collector or someone into paper crafts.







3. Vintage polka dot scarf, perfect for summer days!



Usual rules apply, one entry for following the blog, one for 'liking' Second Fiddle on facebook, one entry for following me on Twitter and one for linking back to my blog from your blog! Just comment with each entry, leaving a link to your blog if you're linking back to me. Does that make sense?! So there's a potential for 4 entries per person!

Oh, and in one of those comments, let me know which prize you'd prefer, I'll be picking the winner by random number generator on Sunday July 3rd at 8pm GMT. The giveaway is open to you international folks as well!

Good luck everybuddy!

Latest thrifting finds

Here are two of my favourites from the charity jumble sale this weekend. Isn't that crochet tea cosy adorable? I love tea cosies, just as I love tea pots, it's a match made in heaven! It's got a lovely paisley lining as well, so cute.



The blue tweed was a real find and a steal at only £2! I'm planning cushion covers for my study chair, I'm thinking blue tweed background with a riot of colour, velvet and grograin across the front, lovely, lovely, lovely.

In other exciting news, I recently made my 50th Etsy sale, woop! I'm planning another giveaway to celebrate so watch this space for prizes!

Thrifted coasters

Here are those thrifted French coasters I mentioned in yesterday's post. Aren't they sweet? I want to gradually replace the American flag coasters we were given by Andrew's folks, it's a nice gesture but they're so tacky! I want to eventually cover them in some other photos and varnish them like these ones over on Craftster (I especially like that idea since she used ceramic tiles as well, what an awesome idea!).



The blue and white one is a ceramic coaster I bought from Whittard's when I first went to uni, I love it so much, I wish I'd bought more than one!



Also, check out these amazing felt coasters I won in a giveaway from Bugs and Fishes! Laura runs a lovely site called Lupin Handmade selling adorable felt goodies, I love the bird brooches especially, my Mum would love this goldfinch:



I hope everyone has nice plans for the weekend! I have lots of work and chores to catch up on but I'm looking forward to a weekend in the flat to get organised and relax. Tonight's plan is Country Living in the bath with a glass of red wine...bliss...

And the winner is...

Thanks so much to everyone who entered my 100 etsy hearts giveaway!. So many new blogs to browse!

Without further ado, here are the 3 lucky winners.

The winner of the tote is number 6, the lovely author of Knitting it all.



The winner of the vintage knitting patterns is Cat of Wrap your troubles in dreams.



And, last but not least, the winner of the vintage postcards is Carolyn.



I'll be getting in touch shortly to arrange posting your prizes to you all!

In other crafty news, I finally got round to trying out my new glue gun, a present from my brother for Christmas. It. is. AWESOME!! I wanted to run around the house glueing stuff to other stuff but managed to keep myself under control long enough to make this thank you card, for Mr and Mrs Pearson who gave me the buttons.





This is the first of many thank you cards I have to make, I still haven't done my Christmas thank yous, oops. I bought the card stock and envelopes off ebay, a pack of 25 for £4.30 including postage, should save me a stack o' cash this year not having to buy ready made, beautiful but eye-wateringly expensive cards. Yay for thrift!

100 heart giveaway!

It's been a long time coming but Second Fiddle has finally hit 100 hearts! I know this is slow progress given that I've had the shop for 2 years now but juggling a degree and Etsy is no mean feat! You wait until I graduate, there'll be no stopping me then!

Ahem, anyway, back to the point in hand...celebratory giveaway! But what are the prizes? I hear you cry. Check out these beauts to choose from:

Prize number 1:

Paisley print cotton tote lined with purple velvet

Perfect fit to pop over your shoulder for browsing a farmer's market or carrying your books to school!



Prize number 2:

Set of 2 vintage postcards.

Perfect for scrapbooking or collage!





Prize number 3:

Set of 3 vintage 1960s and 1970s knitting patterns.

Knit yourself a vintage wardrobe in 2011!







But of course, there's a catch. There's always a catch. The rules are as follows:

1. You must be a follower of this blog or 'like' Second Fiddle on facebook. For two entries, you can do both!

2. Once you've done part 1, leave a comment stating which of the 3 prizes you'd like to be entered for, along with a contact email or blog link in case you're the lucky winner! If you do both (i.e. 'like' and 'follow'), be sure to comment twice so I know to count you twice.

3. For a bonus entry (so 3 possible entries available!) you can link back to me on your blog/facebook/twitter etc, just leave me another comment with a link to show me.

3. You have until midnight British time on Sunday 16th January to enter.

Good luck everybody! ♥

Sneak peak for 2011!

Here's one of the projects I've been working on for my Etsy shop for 2011 - fat quarters!

I had a big sort-out of my fabric a few months back (mainly because Andrew picked a fight with me about the amount of space it takes up - boys just don't understand) and tried to be really harsh on myself so that the entire stash now fits into one large trunk, one wooden box (still in the process of being made over!) and 2 smaller storage boxes. When I write it out like that it seems like I have loads of fabric...which I guess is the case, though it feels like you can never have enough...



So, to help me pass some along, I decided to make some fat quarters for the shop. That way I'm technically getting rid of fabric, though it will still be in the house, just in my 'Etsy shop box' instead of my 'fabric stash boxes'. See what I did there? Cunning eh? It also motivates me to destash when I know it's adding stock to my shop = greater chances of being found in searches etc. So I guess, winners all round!



I'm planning another giveaway in January as well, I'm 2 hearts away from having 100 hearts in my Etsy shop so I feel like that's a good enough excuse to do a giveaway. Maybe some of the fat quarters will be a prize? Watch this space anyway!

I'm back!

Hello everyone, I'm back!

Apologies for the long delay in posting, those who read me already know that I sometimes can't post for long periods because of uni work or placements. Those who are hopefully here via Oranges and Apples, please don't be put off by the large gaps in my blog, I've got lots of exciting things to post about in the next few weeks, once I get my flat and life sorted after being away!



In the meantime, check out the marvellous 500th post giveaway over on Oranges and Apples, one of my vintage scarves is part of the prize!

Oranges and Apples 500th post giveaway!

Well, it's nearly the end of the week and I didn't manage to post every day :-( I'm pretty pleased though, I've only missed 2 days which is much better than my normal blog posting of once a week!

I'm pretty excited, I'm taking part in my first ever blog giveaway! It's being run by Franca over at Oranges and Apples, she blogs about fashion and crafting and takes lovely photos. She's nearing her 500th blog post so she's having a giveaway to celebrate. I've donated this vintage hand printed silk floral scarf so I'm excited to see who wins it!



I really enjoyed the giveaway I did when I got 50 Etsy hearts, so I'm excited to do another one when the time comes. I wasn't that happy with the purse I made for the winner, Mary Jane of Invited to Attend, I rushed it and the photos I took were rubbish. It definitely needed something extra but I ran out of time and just had to send it off as it was, which isn't the best as a prize for a giveaway! Luckily I know MJ in real life so she didn't mind and seemed pleased with it (even if it was to my face!) but for my next giveaway I'll definitely have to make more effort.

Still more giveaway fun!

Whilst waiting for an ebay auction to end tonight (nothing exciting, just a new filofax. But brown leather, yum!) I wasted time browsing blogs. And stumbled upon this gem of the blogosphere, The Brocantess. Her writing style is lovely and she's all about flea markets and thrifting, just my kind of blog.



She's doing a massive French vintage giveaway over on her blog so I thought I'd have a crack at entering (though with currently 140 other entrants, I don't think I stand much chance!).

So here we are Ms. Brocantess, consider SecondFiddle entered! Hmm...maybe that's a poor choice of words...

More giveaway fun!

I'm slightly hooked on giveaways now, I'm entering The Green Violet's vintage giveaway over on her blog.

As proof I've entered and to spread the word, here's a little screen dump of my link on my facebook wall. So I've now promoted the giveaway twice! Hopefully that'll bring me twice the luck when it comes to picking a winner :)

And the winner is...

...number 1! M-J Fleming, thank you for your entry, let me know what design you'd like for the inside and outside of the purse :)

Everyone else, thank you so much for entering and keep an eye on the blog for future giveaways, I'm planning one to celebrate 10 sales (on 9 at the moment!) and one for 100 hearts (on 67 at the moment!).

♥

50 Etsy hearts!

Exciting news! It's Second Fiddle's first prize giveaway!

I now officially have over 50 hearts on Etsy and I thought I would mark the occasion with a giveaway!

The prize is one of my little velcro purses, you can see the one I have for sale on my Etsy shop or photos below. Except yours will be tailor (or Taylor!) made to suit you.

If you win, you can email me with your likes and dislikes in terms of colours, patterns etc (e.g. I like reds, blues and greens, floral, chintz and polka dots. I dislike yellow and cartoon characters) and I will try and make a purse to suit you personally.





Now, here's how to enter. It's pretty simple, just comment below to say you're interested AND (and this is the important part!) post a link to my blog or etsy shop on your blog/facebook/myspace etc. I know it's shameless advertising but I want to do another giveaway when I have 10 sales so all help is needed!

The closing date for entering is Halloween, so I'll be picking a winner using a random number generator on the 1st of November.

So remember, all you have to do is post a link somewhere back to my blog or Etsy shop and then comment below to say you've done so. Maybe linking me to where you've linked me might be an idea!

Good luck everyone! ♥