September Giveaway

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THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED

Thank you for the participation. It is now midnight of September 14, the Netherlands time and the giveaway is closed. Sorry if you have missed it. The October giveaway begins on October 1. Hope to see you again then.

The winner for September giveaway will be announced tomorrow (September 15) on my blog. Stay tuned!

Have a wonderful day.

-Thongbai

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Hello. Welcome to my September Giveaway!

This month's giveaway is my best seller bag: The Bean Bag – in black with red applique. It is sold at 69 dollars, excluding shipping fee, on my Etsy shop. Now it is totally free; if you win I will ship it to you for free too, wherever you are in the world. Below are the pictures of the bag. To read its description please visit my Etsy shop.

Here we go:

* The giveaway begins on September 1 and ends September 14, 2009. (The Netherlands’ time)

* A winner will be drawn using a random generator from http://www.random.org/.

* The winner will be announced on my blog on September 15. He or she has to contact me within 2 days either via my blog or my email address, thongbai(at)thongbaitatong.com. Otherwise, a new winner will be drawn.

* The giveaway is open to anyone aged 18 and above. If you are under 18 and would like to win the bag you can always ask your parents to do it for you.

* You may choose to do only one or two entries but maximum 3 entries per person.

* You may do the second and/or third entries only if you have done the first entry.

* If you would like to give a general feedback, contact me about anything or have questions please do not leave a comment on this post. Please write to me directly to thongbai(at)thongbaitatong.com or leave a convo for me on my Etsy shop.

First entry: Which product would you like to be the October Giveaway?

Please write three things in a comment.

1) Your name (if you are not comfortable giving your full name just write your first name and the initial of your surname such as Thongbai T.)

2) Visit my website http://www.thongbaitatong.com/ (Visit my website NOT my Etsy shop) and give me the name of the product you would like to be the giveaway for October. Each product has a name.

3) Copy the URL of this product (that you would like to be the giveaway of next month) and paste it on the comment. (URL from my website, http://www.thongbaitatong.com/, NOT from my Etsy shop)

Example:
Thongbai Tatong
Linen jacket, in natural linen
http://thongbaitatong.com/linenjacket.html

Second entry: Become a follower of my blog.

Please write two things in a comment.

1) Your name

2) Become my blog's follower through the link on the right of this page. Then tell me that you have become my blog’s follower. If you are already a follower please write “I am already your blog’s follower”

Example:
Thongbai Tatong
I have become your blog’s follower.

Third entry: Heart my product on my Etsy shop

You need to be a member of http://www.etsy.com/ to be able to do this entry. If you are not yet a member, you could join now. It is very simple. You only need an e-mail address to become a member.

Please write three things in a comment.

1) Your name

2) Visit my Etsy shop and add any of my products into your favourite list. And tell me which product you have added.

3) Copy the URL of the product you have added and paste it in the comment

Example:
Thongbai Tatong
I hearted Linen skirt with embroidered hibiscus (2) - Custom made available
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=30169267

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Thanks so much! Have fun and good luck!

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I am not able to update my website

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I am using a laptop at this moment because my PC, which I normally use for all online activities, is broken. I could not turn it on at all. It has been sent away for fixing. And I have just been informed that I might not get my computer back for another week or so.


This is not good for me because I build my own website and the website files are on this broken computer. I, therefore, have a few problems because I will not be able to edit or update anything on my website.

- There is an advertisement on the first page of my website about the giveaway that will begin tomorrow. I will not be able to edit the link from this advertisement to a new post on the Giveaway.

- I will also list a new product tomorrow but won't be able to update it on my website.

- I have been offering a 20% discount on all items on my Etsy shop. I advertised this on my website too. The offer ends tonight and I will not be able to update this on my website.

Please accept my apologies if you visit my website and experience strange things as mentioned above.

My new silk scarves and the EST

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I normally have some rough plan about what I will be making next, centering around bags and clothes. I had the idea of making scarves but that was not something I was likely to do soon. Until a few days ago I was becoming more convinced that I should make a scarf. Finally, I made two of them yesterday. One of which will be used as a challenge entry at the Etsy European Street Team or EST.

Not only is www.etsy.com “a place to buy and sell all things handmade” but also a community where sellers get together and form teams which serve both personal and commercial purposes. EST is one of such teams. I don’t know when the team was established, maybe more than a year ago already. I joined the team last week and it was really interesting. I am very happy to be part of the team. We chat, ask and give advice, and promote each other’s products through making treasuries. You can see the list of members and read what we talk about this week on the Etsy Forum thread. Click here.

One of the activities of the EST is the weekly challenge. Each week members make a product according to the theme set by the host, who won the previous week’s challenge. This helps encourage each other to become more creative, thinking of creating something that they would not normally create. Last week’s theme was “food”. And this week’s theme is “Fall is coming”. Check out the host’s blog for all entries of this week. Click here.

My entry is a silk scarf. I made two scarves yesterday and I will use the long one with satin lining for the entry. However, both scarves are also available for sale on my Etsy shop.

More knit cotton skirts are being made

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A couple of months ago I made three very colorful skirts from knit cotton (tricot) fabric. It was very popular and a lot of people put it on their favourites list on their Etsy accounts. The skirts were sold out quickly, even though only size Large was available. Later I have had a number of people asking me whether I would be making more of this skirt. So, last weekend I had some free time and went out to buy some more fabrics. This time it has more brown and yellow shades of colors, but still very lovely and colorful.

The first two pictures below are of the skirt that has been sold out and the last picture is the picture of the fabrics which I will use for the new skirt. This time more sizes will be available. They should be ready for sale around this weekend or early next week for 68 dollars each.

20% off sales are now on!

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My shop is now 3 months old and I am offering a 20% discount on all items. Sales end on 31 August 2009.

I listed two linen skirts today

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I thought I have been working hard in the past week but I don't know why I have finished only two skirts! I am working on the third one now. Ummm.. this sounds more productive;)

Nevertheless, these two skirts are just adorable, especially the goldenrod one. It is made of herringbone linen, something very unique. Check out the close up picture. This skirt will be great for fall and winter. Oh, and the grey one is not bad either. It is not too plain because I added a lot of dark green decorative elements. Both skirts are very comfortable skirts and are available for custom made too. These are their pictures.

Experimenting with a new skirt

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The purple/red jersey tunic is still coming, even though I am paying more attention to a new skirt now. I have designed a new skirt which will be made from linen fabric. I am experimenting it first with cotton fabric. It was not sewn neatly, though. No hem was serged. I just wanted to see how the whole piece would turn out.

I already know it is going to become a very cool linen skirt!!

Now in the shop: green cotton jersey tunic

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Here you are the green jersey tunic I was working on. I call anything longer than a normal top and shorter than a dress a tunic. It is now available for sale in my Etsy shop for 69 dollars.

The red/purple one will be listed for sale next week.

Giveaways begin in September

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There are a few things I would like to mention today.

1) I will be giving away my products each month, beginning in September. Giveaways will be the products from my shop, other products that I have made, some handmade products I have bought while on holidays, or lovely Dutch products (tulip and wooden shoes?), etc. To win the prize simply visit my blog and leave a comment.

The first giveaway will be my best seller bag: The Bean Bag - in black with red appliqué. Entry begins September 1st, 2009.

2) I would like to thank visitors to my website who saw some mistakes and mentioned them to me. If you see some typo, other types of mistakes, or some links that don’t work or lead you to somewhere else, please kindly let me know.

3) I finished making the green jersey tunic this evening. It is now too dark to take some pictures. I will do it tomorrow and then list it for sale.

Stay tuned!!

Working on a jersey tunic

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My current project is a jersey tunic. I have already drawn the design and made the pattern. I need a few more days to work on this design before I put it up for sale. It is now time to experiment with fabrics and decorative items. So far so good.

Linen skirts are now for sale

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I finished both of the linen skirts this morning. Below are their pictures. Click on them if you want to get a closer look. I am very happy with the results. Notice hand stitches at the side slits. They are my signature! I am going to the post office in a minute to post some orders and when I come back I will write the description for the skirts and list them for sale.

Linen skirts are up and coming

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It is 2.30am and I think I am gonna go to bed. I have been sewing new skirts. They are very cool, I must say. I finished one this afternoon. It is a linen skirt in black/brown/green with lovely embroidered flowers. I am almost done with the second one now (in grey and beige), except that my eyes are too tired to change the threads on the overlock machine, you know the one with four spools of thread and two needles;) I will do it tomorrow. No pictures of the work in progress today. I did not take any. But I am going to show you these pictures of my backyard, which I took 3 days ago. I live in the middle of nature but 25 minutes drive to Amsterdam, the Hague, and Rotterdam. Holland is small but it is very green and full of wild animals. The ducks in the pictures are wild too. They love our backyard. I took these pictures from our living room windows.

Lovely knee-length dresses

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I made these three dresses several weeks ago. I thought there were a little two long so I shortened them a little today. They look so pretty!

Buddy in Bordeaux red is now available

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I think I am in love with Buddy!! I am afraid I will keep making more of this bag. It is so fun especially when you try to mix and match different colors of fabrics for different parts, such as the flap, lining, applique, pockets, etc. It is like playing Bingo! When you find the right combination it is "Bingo!" This is Buddy I made today. For more information on description and measurements please visit my Etsy shop.

Linen Cadeau Bag is the latest listing

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My clothes have not had a lot of attention from me in the past days. I am in the mood for making bags! I made one Cadeau Bag today from natural linen. It is so pretty and can look very luxurious too. It is now listed for sale on my Etsy shop. Here are the pictures:




I am also making more of Buddy: the compact messenger. This time with lovely bordeaux red and dark brown. At least one of them should be completed and listed for sale by tomorrow evening . This is the picture of the fabrics.