Weekly Giveaway: Yellow Trailer!

After a bit of a hiatus, and after the hullabaloo of our Countdown to Christmas Giveaway Extravaganza, we are excited to get back to our Weekly Giveaways for the New Year! We have several lined up already, but welcome all of you to sponsor a Giveaway in 2012~ especially since we are averaging over 5000 views a month on our blog~ Love 2 Upcycle!

A while back, Mary from Yellow Trailer sponsored a giveaway for us with one of her custom typewriter key pendants. Now she is, once again, generously offering another unique, upcycled piece of jewelry to our fans! This time it is made from a chardonnay wine cork and elements from a coffee can of nuts, bolts and screws that she had in her garage!

I asked Mary for an update on her shop, named for the little 'Yellow Trailer' that hauls her goods to markets and fairs, and life in general~

Mary chose her path as an artist and jewelry designer when, after 20 years, her position was eliminated because of downsizing. She also discovered a passion for antiquing and vintage treasures which she resells in an antique booth and also at fairs. Mary told me she loves being an Etsy seller because it provides an outlet for all the creative juices flowing through her head! She's quick to say though that if you want to have a successful shop you have to work at it since "nothing comes from nothing. If you just sit on your fanny and watch time go by, you'll grow 'old' in a hurry!" When asked if she had any advice for others leaving lifelong jobs or retiring, she replied, "You've worked hard all your life, now it's time to do what you love. Find the joy in what you do, otherwise it's not worth the time!"

And that's what Mary has done~ her favorite thing about creating jewelry is seeing the joy and happiness on others' faces when they find one of her pieces and make it their own. Her Etsy shop works hand in hand with the one on one connection she gets selling at the local farmers market, since many will browse for her latest items online as well!

Mary's latest passion is for wine cork jewelry~ she discovered the beauty of wine corks while taking an Italian cooking class! Her latest creation was for the chef who taught that class, and whose favorite wine happened to be Savigny, for which Mary combined the cork from a bottle and sterling silver to create a necklace and earring set. The chef had also previously purchased several pieces from Mary for her employees! She loves working with the corks, since they make such lightweight jewelry and are easy to work with.

Custom Cork Necklace & Jewelry Set

Custom Cork Jewelry

Suncatcher

Canned Sunshine in Canning Jars

Pet Collar Charm

We know you'll love getting to know Mary~ and be sure to remember that she'd love to create something special just for you! And now for the Giveaway!

Entering our Weekly Giveaways is easy! Here's how:


First, be sure you are a follower of this blog, Love 2 Upcycle~ not a follower? Just look to the left and click. Voila! You are a follower. But you haven't entered yet.

Now, you can choose 4 of the following ways to enter, up to 4 times!
 
1. Check out Yellow Trailer and favorite the shop!
2. Add Mary to your circle!
3. Tell us here in a comment about your favorite item!
4. Tweet or share this Giveaway!
5. Pin one your favorite items from Yellow Trailer to Pinterest!
 
Remember, only 4 entries count, and each one must be left in a separate comment! If you don't have an email listed on your bio, leave it here in one of your comments. Deadline to enter is Midnight, January 18th!
Winner will be randomly drawn using Random.org's generator. 

Good Luck!
 
Would you like to Sponsor a Giveaway on Love 2 Upcycle? You don't have to be a member of Upcyclers to be a sponsor, all Etsy sellers of upcycled or eco-friendly products are welcome! But of course, we'd love for you to join the team!