100th Facebook Fan Giveaway!

AKrauseStudio has finally reached 100 fans on Facebook!! So I'm hosting a giveaway to celebrate! Thank you to all my blog followers and Facebook fans. I truly appreciate your support. Now, on to the giveaway...

There are several ways you can enter to win my contest and receive a FREE pair of earrings (pictured above).

How to Enter to Win:

~ Go to my Etsy shop, pick out your favorite item and post it here in the comment box.

You will receive an extra entry for each of the following:

~ Follow my blog
~ Become a fan of my Facebook page
~ Post my contest on your blog, Facebook, or Twitter and post the link here
~ If you are currently a follower/fan, then you just need to make a comment stating so and it counts as an entry!

You will receive 2 extra entries for the following:

~ Make a purchase from my Etsy shop


Please leave a comment here with all of the ways you have entered and make sure you leave a way for me to contact you. The last day to enter this contest is Sunday, July 11th at midnight eastern standard time. I will announce the winner on Monday, July 12th.

Good Luck!

Photo of the Month - July

Lady Katherine

Love Victorian era jewelry? Then check out this necklace! It features an ivory cameo with the portrait of a Victorian lady against a moss green backdrop. Very charming and elegant!

Don't forget to check out AKrauseStudio's clearance section at www.akrausestudio.etsy.com!

Thrift Store Revamp

I love going to thrift stores or rummage sales to see what kinds of new things you can make out of "old" things. I really needed a way to organize our mail and various papers that seem to pile up as well as a key holder (because my husband likes to place his on the kitchen table which drives me crazy). Lo and behold I found a paper organizer/key holder at a local thrift store. Now that's killing two birds with one stone.



As you can see it was in really good condition when I purchased it. And it was only $1.99! I wanted to spice it up a bit with some color and a design of some sort.



It already had a sort of glossy finish to it so I primed the surface to get it paint ready. To achieve this I covered the surface with a tiny bit brown pigment and some white gesso. I wasn't digging the color of the hooks so I thought I might as well paint those too.



I put about 3 coats of a softer version of a dark umber on the entire surface of the piece. You can already see a huge difference by simply painting over the natural wood color. I ended up putting on another coat to even out the color in some areas after this picture was taken.




My next step is to add a design. I love birds so I wanted to incorporate a bird theme. I used what I like to call a nice "woody green" color. It's just a nice earthy green that is subtle and a nice compliment to the brown hue.



I painted in some brown and green foliage and voilà! Now I have a stylish new paper organizer/key hook. I love it! =)


Before

Revamped!

Huge Summer Clearance Sale!

Hello, friends! AKrauseStudio is having a huge summer clearance sale to make room for some new creations. Please stop by my Etsy shop and take a peek. Have a great summer!

www.akrausestudio.etsy.com

Photo of the Month (May & June)

Sandhill Crane
Irvine Park - Chippewa Falls, WI
(click to enlarge)