Kanna Inspire: Amy Cavaness and another giveaway

I have more goodies for you today! Stay tuned to the end of this post.

First, I wanted to spotlight one of the first issue's contributors, Amy Cavaness. She makes gorgeous art quilts and you can find out more about her at her website, Amy Cavaness Designs. 

How did you get started in your art?

I got started sewing in Home Ec in 8th grade, though my mother and grandmother sewed dresses for me. I came from very creative stock!

How long have you been creating?

I've been creating since I learned to sew--I've pretty much always had a sewing project going. I've subscribed to sewing magazines since my early 20's and have made extensive use of the internet to keep up on new products and techniques related to sewing and quality arts.

Tell me three things about you:

• In addition to my four sons and four dogs, I've "adopted" about 10 people over the years, living with me from periods of weeks to years. Making up for being an only child, I guess!
• I have a Master's Degree in Piano Performance and Pedagogy from Northwestern University. And I don't own a piano. (Oh, the things we do for our mothers!)
• Favorite hobbies are dancing and trail riding. LOVE working with my horse using Natural Horsemanship techniques (horse whisperer stuff). Some people call me a dog whisperer, too.

What appealed to you about participating in Inspiration Adventures?

I wanted to participate in Inspiration Adventures because I love color and I love challenges. I really want to do another one and do a new piece of art!

Now for this week's giveaway:

Please start sharing the love and letting other people know about Inspiration Adventures! 

An idea for a quick link to share: 

New art e-zine featuring 8 artists and one theme. Free trial issue! http://bit.ly/1d1jMTG

• Share on your social media outlets (PInterest, Facebook, Twitter, blog, etc.)
• Leave a comment below with the links to your shares.

For each social media share, you will be entered into a drawing. For example: if you Tweet, blog, and Pin the word about Inspiration Adventures, you will be entered 3 times.

What is the prize you ask? A print copy of Inspiration Adventures AND a $25 gift certificate to work with Amy on designing an art quilt for you!

Studio News: The winners!

Inspiration Adventures Summer 2013 Portrait

By Jennifer Borek in Inspiration Adventures Quarterly e-zine

64 pages, published 8/8/2013

An art magazine sharing gorgeous projects created around a specific theme from a artists across mediums. Summer 2013 theme is the North American prairie.

We have our winners! I used Random Number Generator and used the order of sign-ups to draw the winners:

Kara Jones 

Kim Smith

Thank you so much to everyone who has signed up so far for the mailing list. Stay tuned for more giveaways!

Kanna Inspire: Giveaway - two print magazines

I'm giving away two free print copies of the first issue of Inspiration Adventures if you join my mailing list. It's that easy. All new subscribers will be included in a drawing for a print issue (which turned out very cool indeed) to be sent to you. The drawing will be this Friday, August 23, 2013 at 7:00 p.m. EDT.

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Artfully Meandering: I'm an Indie Publisher!

I've been a bit quiet on this blog because I've been working on a project that has just been wrapped up and is ready to be launched.

I’m a little nervous and a lot excited to announce that I have become an indie publisher of a new e-zine called Inspiration Adventures! 

Inspiration Adventures Summer 2013 Portrait

By Jennifer Borek in Inspiration Adventures Quarterly e-zine

64 pages, published 8/8/2013

An art magazine sharing gorgeous projects created around a specific theme from a artists across mediums. Summer 2013 theme is the North American prairie.

Through desktop publishing and cool on-demand publishers like magcloud.com, this is now a possibility. I have to give a shout-out to Heather Anderson who gave me the courage to go for it and inspired me with her own gorgeous e-zine called Homebound (which, by the way, is a beautiful must-read on farmhouse style. Reminds me a lot of the NancyLindemeyer years of Victoria magazine.)

Eight fabulous artists participated in the premier issue. Download the e-zine for free in portrait or landscape format. The on-demand print version is available for the cost of printing through MagCloud. (There is no mark-up.) 

Stay tuned for more information on artist profiles and giveaways of the print edition. 

To get the latest on the next issue and how you can participate to be showcased in future issues, join my mailing list. Thank you!

Artfully Meandering: I'm not a food blog

So, I think it's clear that I'm not a food blog. I don't create recipes, etc. However, I'm trying to cook better for myself.  And, I love to cook yummy delicious food. My idea about cooking well is "cooking French." (Favorite blog where I have been introduced to the joy of French cooking ideas.) In 2011, I had an opportunity to work in the south of France for 3 weeks, and I experienced what it meant to eat and drink like the French do. I ate SO well. What interested me was that I didn't scrimp on portion or quality. Quality was way better than anything I eat in the US unless I eat at a very high end restaurant! The portions were equal to American lunch portions. There were two factors that I think contributed to my 5-lb weight-loss.

- No preservatives. Food was fresh, fresh, fresh. There is nothing like fresh off the vine and out of the garden. Food wasn't as sweet, either. But I think the key was that there were no preservative ingredients.

- I walked more than I do in the US. While I walked more when I lived in Hong Kong, I still ate preserved (prepared) food. My weight was fairly stable.

This combination ended up being the "sweet spot" of factors that contribute to me feeling really, really good. (Can I move to France? Please?) I don't have full confidence that even the "fresh" food in the US is as clean as it needs to be. Any food that would be considered the "clean" I experienced while in France would need to be cooked from home. I'd love to garden myself, but I'm not a fan of the fire ants (and other creatures) that infest the south. Sigh. (Seriously, I'm very allergic. As in - a visit to the ER for a round of antibiotics and steroids for each bite)

Another factor I'm just beginning to observe and formulate an opinion around is basing my cooking fully around vegetables. Grains, meat, fruit, sugar, etc. are all extras. I need to explore this idea more.

In general, I still make efforts to eat "clean" and improve my eating. Cooking today was a fabulous way to de-stress from work. Today was using the radish greens. I made a fabulous pesto using the recommended formula of: green, garlic, olive oil, hard cheese, and nuts.

My combo: radish greens, toasted pine nuts, raw garlic, gruyere cheese, and light olive oil. Whizzed up in the food processor and tossed on pasta - TO DIE FOR YUMMY! Plus roasted veggies - radish, zucchini, and eggplant.

Yes, please!