Umbra Giveaway

In celebration of cracking 500 followers, I am so very pleased to be able to do a very special giveaway featuring one of my favorite manufacturers: UMBRA!

The nice folks at Umbra have made it possible for me to give away not ONE, but TWO, phenomenal products as a way to celebrate my awesome followers! I started this blog almost three years ago, and never thought I would reach such a milestone -- THANK YOU for your support!

I love Umbra products, always have. Before I got into minis, I appreciated their functional and stylish modern aesthetic for what tend to be the more mundane things around the house: garbage cans, towel hooks, kitchen gear. Umbra always made things unexpectedly fun. Once I embarked on my modern miniature hobby, I was able to still use Umbra, but this time by repurposing for sleek environments. I absolutely love the Fish Hotel by Teddy Luong, and have used it many times for scenes, and continue to be entranced by Umbra's consistent craftsmanship and ingenuity. I keep track of all they do -- if you haven't already, bookmark their website, blog, Facebook page, and Twitter feed.

SO...here are the two fun and amazing products for this giveaway:

A BLACK FISH HOTEL, just released. I was so thrilled to see this, and it definitely did not disappoint! This is, of course, intended as a sleek fish tank, but I love the possibilities it offers for modern mini living!

And a set of three TALI WALL TILES. While I will not insist that you use it for mini work, I certainly did... the panels make for quite a dramatic backdrop. They are gorgeous!

Here are the rules:
THE GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED!!
* To enter, please leave a comment on this post, and please do share how you use Umbra in your life.

* You may only comment once, and you must leave your comment by Sunday, October 23, at 11:59 p.m. EDT.

* Once the giveaway closes, I will choose two numbers using the Random Integer Generator. The winning numbers will correspond to the order in which comments were left. The first person drawn wins the FISH HOTEL and the second person wins the TALI WALL TILES. Once I receive the winning addresses, Umbra will ship them to you.

* My domestic and international followers are welcome!

* Have fun and spread the word...Tweet-it, Facebook-it, Blog-it.

A big thanks to UMBRA! Commence commenting!

By the way, I have another giveaway going on right now on the Call of the Small Facebook page: it's the September ***FREE ALERT***! This time, I am offering a curated set of three sheets of handmade paper made by the Paper Source. Comment on your latest paper project and join in! Comments close on Monday, October 10, at 11:59 p.m. EDT. Good luck! GIVEAWAY CLOSED!




Credits: FISH HOTEL scene: Chair is Reac; table is from the Villa Sibi with an acrylic craft block top; planter is AG Minis; filing boxes are ELF Miniatures; filing folders are handmade by The Shopping Sherpa; blackboard is a craft from JoAnn Fabrics; rug is a fabric sample; wallpaper is from the Paper Source; magazine holder is an eBay find; light is vintage German. Accessories are SDK Miniatures, Re-ment, vintage German, AG Minis, my kids' toy collection, and random dollhouse store finds. TALI WALL TILES scene: Couch is AG Minis; pillows are minimodernistas; coffee table has a Bozart base with two different tops made from coasters: the faux bois is by Chilewich and the Eames chair lucite is from MoMA; planter is from Manor House Miniatures; Barcelona chair is Reac; flooring are felt pieces from Michaels; artwork is Bozart.

Did Someone Say Dollhouse?

In my mind, there is truly nothing better when the enthusiasm for minis catches fire. When you are wrapped up in this hobby, you sometimes lose perspective on what hooked you in the first place, whatever it may have been: the smallness of it all, the control, escapism, realism, beauty, fun...

Today, the lovely and funny Emily Henderson, winner of the HGTV show "Design Star" and host of her own very cool show, "Secrets from a Stylist," launched the "I'M A GIANT CHALLENGE." The challenge entails decorating your own dollhouse, be it a store-bought one, a vintage tag sale one, or a DIY one. Parameters are broad: you can do just about anything and let your imagination run wild, as long as it is in miniature. Joining Emily in the challenge are six design and DIY bloggers: THE BRICK HOUSE, Design for Mankind, Hommemaker, Girl Domestic, Little Green Notebook, Making it Lovely, and Simply Grove. Each will be participating in the challenge, using their own spin on miniatures and decorating, and will post on their progress all along the way as they finish everything by December 15, 2011. There will be a celebratory event  in Los Angeles in January 2012, where houses will be on display and there is the potential for magazine coverage.

And YOU can participate too! Anyone can join in the fun. You can read more details on Emily's blog, and she even shares the start of her mood board:

Both images from stylebyemilyhenderson.com

Cool! I had the opportunity to meet Emily at a blogger event in New York City in August, and she was great -- so inquisitive, funny, and smart. A super down-to-earth and a regular gal.

We talked miniatures and she hinted she was working on a dollhouse-related "thing." This is BIG! There's a wonderful, collaborative spirit to the challenge, and I think it is great that Emily is leveraging her growing popularity to shine a light on the hobby, enlisting other bloggers in the process. Bookmark their web pages, too, because they already started posting. For me, it will be most interesting to see how non-hobbyist adapt to the mini world -- I am sure lots of amazing ideas will emerge.

I'm IN. Who's joining me?