I just had to immediately prove to the world (*cough* the tiny bit of the world who reads my blog, still a surprisingly giant amount of people) that 1) my new tablet is awesome, and 2) I CAN'T DRAW ON IT VERY WELL YET.

First off, I wanted to say thank you to the wonderful shops who so kindly gave away some of their wares for this giveaway. I do hope you keep them in mind for future birthday gifts, treats for yourself, etc.

Secondly, I want to thank everyone who participated in this 12 Days of Christmas Giveaway Extravaganza! I really wish you all could have won! :)

And for those of you who are new to my blog, welcome! I'm a teenaged artist who loves... well, art! This blog is where I share all the artsy knicks and knacks that I work on-- everything from classical drawing to graphics design to jewelry making to crafts.


Below are the winners from the giveaways!

Please note that in some cases an email address was not left. If you won a giveaway, you need to contact me (shealynnsfaerieshoppe@gmail.com) within 48 hours.

I never know what to title these "random posts" that are filled with "random updates," because the word random is no longer random and has, indeed, become annoying.


The first bit of potenially useful information: today is the last day to enter any of the 12 Days of Christmas Giveaways! Hurry!



The second bit of potenially interesting information: I started school up again last week.

Okay, so that wasn't interesting at all. But I have to say it. It's my perfectly legitimate excuse for being a lousy blogger in the upcoming weeks. I'm doing a few too many honors classes for my sanity (nevermind that I'm also running the Shoppe, doing graphics for Ink and Fairydust, trying to exercise more, hanging with friends, spending time with my awesome family, cleaning my room.... etc... I'm trying to prove to you that I'm busy here).

I won't be posting every day; in fact, it may be more along the lines of once a week. There are some things-- alot of things... most things... in life that are more important than blogging frequently.

In other school-related news, I'm loving my Literature course. This year all my subjects are focusing on the Medieval Ages. (I am FINALLY done with Ancient Greece and Rome!) So far in Literature I've read everything from Beowulf to Dante's Divine Comedy to Sir Gawain and the Green Knight... and loved every minute of it. The next month will be spent on Chaucer and Shakespeare! *literature/history geek happiness*

However, the 3 essays a week may yet be the death of me.


Third bit of more-interesting-news-than-me-talking-about-school news: I've listed new items in the Shoppe!

Here's just a few of the new items. Browse the first 3 pages of the Faerie Shoppe to see more... and over the next week I plan on photographing the 10 or so things that I made over my lovely Christmas break!

Steampunk style necklace made with an old watch movement, watch face, used guitar strings, used violin strings, and bobbins from said instrument strings. Plus lots of faux garnet. Yummy.

Lembas Leaf Earrings, copper and my favorite beads EVER!

Guitar String Bangle

Blue Flowers

Woodland Leaves-- Made of very study solid copper and green seed beads. I plan on making this set in several colors-- imagine the glories of bright red autumn leaves!

Simply Elegant Copper Leaf Earrings-- a sturdy solid copper (oh my goodness it just about killed my fingers, but it makes for a long-lasting pair of lightweight earrings).

A feather charm hanging from a beautiful turquoise stone. Charm and
stone together are a little over two inches. Hung from a 24 inch
antiqued chain with lobster clasp.

WAYS TO ENTER

Visit Bright-Eyed Bear's Studio and leave a comment here telling me what your favorite item is and why! Mandatory. 1 entry.

Like Bright-Eyed Bear's Studio on facebook.. 2 entries.

Share this giveaway on facebook, twitter, your blog, etc. 1 entry each.

Follow Shealynn's Faerie Shoppe on blogger, facebook, or twitter. 1 entry each.

HOW TO ENTER

Leave a comment on this post describing the way(s) you entered and the number of entries you have made.

FINE PRINT

The winner will be announced on January 11th. Winners will be announced on this blog, and those who have provided email or other contact means will be contacted. If the winner is not heard from within 48 hours a new one will be chosen.

The winning entry will be chosen via Random.org

Giveaways are only available in the US (so sorry to the rest of the world, but the sponsors have to pay out of pocket for shipping!)

If you are under 18, you must have a parent's permission to enter.

Ear cuffs are a super-cute option for people without peirced ears... or for those who like a hint of the unusual!

Meri Greenleaf of Elfling Creations is giving away this unique, Christmas-themed ear cuff! You just slide it onto your ear-- it's quite comfortable.

WAYS TO ENTER

Visit Elfling Creations's shop and leave a comment here telling me what your favorite item is! Mandatory. 1 entry.

Like Elfling Creations on facebook, follow Meri Greenleaf on twitter, or follow Elbit Blog. 2 entries each.

Share this giveaway on facebook, twitter, your blog, etc. 1 entry each.

Follow Shealynn's Faerie Shoppe on blogger, facebook, or twitter. 1 entry each.

HOW TO ENTER

Leave a comment on this post describing the way(s) you entered and the number of entries you have made.

FINE PRINT

The winner will be announced on January 11th. Winners will be announced on this blog, and those who have provided email or other contact means will be contacted. If the winner is not heard from within 48 hours a new one will be chosen.

The winning entry will be chosen via Random.org

Giveaways are only available in the US (so sorry to the rest of the world, but the sponsors have to pay out of pocket for shipping!)

If you are under 18, you must have a parent's permission to enter.

This is a really cute cell hand clutch, or mini purse.

I crocethed this bag in "I Love This Wool" yarn in the color "denim". It is a varigated yarn in hues of blue. The yarn is 93% wool and 7% polyamide.

After I crocheted the bag, I felted it.

The purse measures 3" wide by 4 1/4" tall.

The flap closes with a blue leaf shaped button.

This is a one of a kind bag.

WAYS TO ENTER

Visit Luv 'n Craft's shop and leave a comment here telling me what your favorite item is! Mandatory. 1 entry.

Share this giveaway on facebook, twitter, your blog, etc. 1 entry each.

HOW TO ENTER

Leave a comment on this post describing the way(s) you entered and the number of entries you have made.

FINE PRINT

The winner will be announced on January 11th. Winners will be announced on this blog, and those who have provided email or other contact means will be contacted. If the winner is not heard from within 48 hours a new one will be chosen.

The winning entry will be chosen via Random.org

Giveaways are only available in the US (so sorry to the rest of the world, but the sponsors have to pay out of pocket for shipping!)

If you are under 18, you must have a parent's permission to enter.

I recently did some typography design for the Ink and Fairydust magazine-- my all-time favorite Lord of the Rings quote.

 The typography will be featured as part of an article on the importance of fairytales. Enjoy your SNEAK PEEK at the January/February issue!

The article didn't include my favorite part of the quote (and I'm going to talk to the other staff about including it...)

Frodo: What are we holding onto, Sam?

Sam: That's there's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo, and it's worth fighting for.

This quote has always meant a lot to me. You can see how much it inspired my Frodo and Sam drawing (which, in my opinion, I've yet to top... not because it's a brilliant drawing, but because it's brilliant subject matter. Thank you, Tolkien!) If you want to see the picture larger, click here.

And since I'm in the process of giving the world sneak-peeks, just look at this gorgeous cover artwork for the Jan/Feb issue! I'm very excited to announce that two incredibly talented young illustrators have joined the Ink and Fairydust crew. This painting was done by Mary Sullivan (check out her art blog!).

Today I would like to introduce you to Erika Heins, a talented artist with a love of Tolkien. She wrote this lovely guest post about what Tolkien's writings mean to her. Visit her Etsy shop for more artwork, and be sure to enter the notecard giveaway here at the Faerie Shoppe (ends Jan 10th).
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Hello there! My name is Erika Heins. I’m an English teacher and an artist with a special love for the work of J.R.R. Tolkien. My ventures into Tolkien illustration started with a poem I had written for my best friend, celebrating our friendship and comparing it to Frodo and Sam’s. It was an ambitious project, more than two feet wide with calligraphy, trees, several Tolkien characters, and a border of rope in elaborate knots. Since then, I’ve done many Tolkien pieces, almost all of them featuring words as well as images. Somehow I can’t seem to depict such rich literature without keeping some of the words in my picture. 

Companionship by Erika Heins, first LotR peice

I’ve been trying to figure out what, exactly, it is about Tolkien’s writings that captures my heart—because they do, more than any other work of fiction. Certainly, part of his stories’ appeal is his characters—lovable, flawed, and intensely realistic. And then there are his settings—rich enough to inspire generations of artists. Probably one of my favorite elements of his work is his themes. In one of my English classes, my students and I recently studied a list of universal themes, and together we were able to find examples of nearly every theme in The Lord of the Rings.

All of these things make his stories unforgettable and powerful. But I think that the single element that I find most inspiring is his sense of the “big picture.” From the first pages of The Silmarillion to the appendices of The Return of the King, Tolkien takes hundreds of characters in different locations and ages of the world, and weaves their individual struggles, failures, and triumphs into one grand story with one grand point—that good is ultimately better and stronger than evil, no matter how weak it may appear to be. We learn about his “big picture” most directly from Sam, in his musings toward the end of The Two Towers about what it means to be part of a story. He thinks back to the legends he’s heard from The Silmarillion and exclaims, “Why, we’re in the same tale still!” Tolkien does not make it too hard for us to imagine that we, too, are still in the story ourselves.

"We are Your Friends, Frodo." artwork by Erika Heins

  I’m a firm believer in the “big picture.” I think I always have been, but Tolkien’s work (and specifically, that one dialogue between Frodo and Sam) helped me discover that my favorite way to think about life is as a story. I was thrilled to recently discover a philosophical term for this concept—metanarrative. In down-to-earth terms, a metanarrative is simply a huge, overarching “story line” that we use to describe our beliefs about the world and our place in it.


It’s not that I think of my own life as a little self-contained story, with its own beginning, middle, climax, and end. Rather, like Sam pointed out about his role in Tolkien’s story, our individual lives play parts in the telling of a greater story—a story that began with Creation and will end with the Return of the King of Heaven and Earth. Many people feel that when things go inexplicably wrong, God cannot be in control or He cannot be good. But, as Sam pointed out, not everyone in a story comes to “a good end." Like hobbits, we like our peace and happiness; but, after all, there comes a time when the Teller of our metanarrative may require more of us. Instead of setting a goal of living in as much comfort as possible, perhaps our goal should be to play our part as nobly as possible, no matter what that part may be. Knowing that we are a part of a bigger story is often exactly what's needed to give us the courage to step out and face whatever waits around the bend--and to keep going when the adventure includes Barrow-wights, spiders, or just going without a second breakfast or two.