Meltdown Monday Giveaway

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Good morning, dear readers! This week's giving is coming from Lucinda, who makes the most enchanting little gnome homes, furniture and also bird houses! You can find her keeping shop at Willodel and her personal website here. Now, let's get to know Lucinda!

Hello, and welcome to Meltdown Monday! Tell us a little about yourself so we can know the person behind the work.

Like many others, my story starts with my childhood. I grew up with creative, nature loving parents & was always encouraged to "make and do". My mother was a master doll maker, making marionettes and many other dolls from patterns she designed herself. My father was a naturalist and photographer. We lived in a very rural setting & much of my child hood play was about playing with Fairies and Elves in the garden and woods. This was a reflection from the book "The Giant Golden Book of Fairies and Elves" , illustrated by Garth Williams. This book was precious to me. So among the wild Violets, Maiden Hair fern & Forget-me-nots, hours of "pretend" would pass by, often blurring the lines of what was real and what was not. By the time I was 12, I was making paper mache houses in the form of tree trunks with doors and windows for the local puppet Theatre, I was also painting the back drops. I did this through high school. Besides painting and fabricating things, I loved making things from wood. I instinctively wanted to make everything from scratch and it had to be "original", in our house copying was never allowed! I was eager to learn how to make everything & if I wanted something, I just assumed that I would make it.

So as an adult, when I found myself a single parent of three, I rolled up my sleeves and did what I knew how to do best- make things! The passion for making things has stayed with me all my life and the originality and love for what I was doing always seemed to help sell what I made, for which I am truly grateful. Making things that people find joy in is wonderful thing! I took many college classes to learn skills such as etching, stained glass, pottery, drafting and house designing and then used this knowledge, which I combined in many ways, for my projects.

What inspires your creations?

My primary source of inspiration has always been Mother Nature and a passion to share and magnify that beauty so others can be inspired too. I also have always loved making things for children, things that reflect nature to help them love it and have it a part of their happy and pure world. This is also reflected in my artwork I think. I also think being "original" is important, as this made me draw deeply into my own imagination and creative powers and thus developed my creativity to a much higher level than a child given coloring books that just filled in line drawings. I made my own coloring books, including the line drawings!

How do you balance 'making' with mothering?

This was always challenging of course and in the early days I tended to work during nap times and at night. Much of what I did was done on the kitchen table so I could keep my eye on things. I wanted to be a stay-at-home Mom because I felt that strong pull to "do it myself" and that my children were my gift and responsibility. So of course I had them and let them make messes making things and creativity of their own was always encouraged. Once school age was there it was a lot easier of course. We did puppet shows for the classrooms and a lot of 4-H projects. As the children got older they actually participated in the businesses, in fact two of my three helped pay their way through college making birdhouses and going to shows with me --which pleased me to no end! And without a doubt, my original passion for art and making things was such a part of my basic character & identity that it , in itself, pulled me through, almost led the way at times. That is not say there were the usual moments of discouragement & wondering, but solace was always found in Nature, in gardens, trees, sky and wind. And so I would take a deep breath and begin again. Art has always been my form of meditation and rejuvenation, allowing me to re-center and focus. I am so grateful for it!

Today Lucinda is offering the bedroom set in the above photo.

Mountain Gnomes will jump with glee for how cozy they will be, to have such a place, no more a sad face for lack of a bed to sleep! This hand crafted one of a kind furniture is made from natural windfall Aspen and is sealed with beeswax and natural oils. The size is for larger Gnomes. The bed mattress is 5" long and 2.5 " wide. The dresser is 3" tall and 2" wide. The set includes:

A bed with wool felt pad, pillow & plaid blanket, a dresser, a night stand, a chair and a jute rug. The rug is 9"x9" and is hand painted with flowers. This makes a nice play place to stage the bedroom set.

The beautiful Gnome is from Painting Pixie.

OK, so to enter leave me a comment. You can let me know how your Monday is going or, better yet, tell me how you beat the dreadful Meltdown Monday or just say hi. Whatever.

For additional entries;
(leave a separate comment for each entry, if you don't, they count as one)
Tweet this (include @thiscosylife in your tweet)
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Visit Lucinda's shop and come back here and let me know what you love there.
Like her on facebook
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I will randomly pick a winner on Sunday November 20th and announce here, on my blog. (Please, make sure I have a way to contact you!)

*Please note, due to the cost of shipping heavy items, this week's giveaway is open only to US and Canada residents.

PS: If anyone is interested in participating in a Monday Meltdown giveaway, here on my blog, contact me here. Whether an item from your Etsy shop or just a little something you would like to give away to brighten someone's Monday, it's all good!