Monday, April 15, 2013

And the Winner of the Travel Journal Giveaway is...

I am happy to announce the winner of my travel journal giveaway. The journal will be traveling to its new owner Pippi Gülbeyaz. Congratulations!

Pippi, when you see this post please e-mail me your address (ivanawatkins83@gmail.com) or shoot me a message on Facebook (www.facebook.com/istriadesign). If the journal is not claimed within 10 days I will announce a new winner.

Thank you everyone for participating and check back often. There will be a new giveaway soon :)

~Ivana~

Friday, April 5, 2013

Giveaway Time: Travel Journal ~ Travel Scrapbook

I've recently reached 600 fans on Facebook and a 1000 sales in my Etsy shop, so I decided to share my work with all of my wonderful followers once again.

Don't you just love having a travel journal with you while you are getting to know new cultures, places and people? I know I do. That's why I created this vintage inspired old world map journal or scrapbook. And now you have a chance to get it for free.
This one will be perfect for your photos, museum tickets, postcards or any other whimsy you may want to preserve from your traveling adventures.


It comes with a tiny matching notebook for you to write in. The notebook is small enough to fit in your pocket and easy to carry around. It can be taken out of the journal, and returned in it once you are done writing your impressions about the Great Wall of China or the coffee you are drinking in this charming Parisian cafe. 




Interested yet? Okay, here is what you need to do. Follow my blog and leave a comment on this post. It's that simple. I will announce the winner on the 14th of April. 
Good luck everyone! And don't forget to share with family and friends :).

~Ivana~


Sunday, March 24, 2013

Paris Inspired Easter Eggs


Decorating Easter eggs is so much fun. This year I decided to go with something simple and easy to make. Paris is my favorite city in the whole wide World and lots of my work is inspired by beautiful French ephemera, so why not have French eggs as well?


To decorate your Paris inspired eggs you will need:
- eggs,
- tissue tape with a French/Paris motif on it (I buy mine from Etsy but you can find it in craft stores as well),
- distress ink (I love Tim Holtz distress inks. They are available in craft stores too),
- a pair of scissors,
- ink applicator or a piece of sponge.


Cut pieces of tissue tape as needed and start putting it around the egg. Make sure you get the edges down as much as possible. I used two types of tissue tape, one with vintage French ads and the other one with vintage French script on it.


To add a little variety to my Easter "basket" I applied a piece of tissue tape with the motif I liked best to the center of one egg and then tapped distress ink onto the rest of the surface. If you decide to do this, please make sure you put the tissue tape on the egg first and add ink afterwards because tissue tape will not stay on the egg if you try to tape it over the ink.


Voila! I got a unique and pretty beautiful centerpiece for my table on Easter day.

What is your favorite way to decorate Easter eggs? I would love to hear about it and see the pictures. Just share your links in the comments and I'll be happy to come visit :).

Blessed be,

~Ivana~