Sponsor Love + Giveaway - For The Love Of Joy

Entries for this giveaway have been closed! Thanks!

Today’s lovely giveaway is brought to you by the beautiful momma, Anna! Anna’s blog was one of the first ones I started reading when I started blogging. Her blog is super inspirational for those trying to juggle family time and a handmade business. The items she sews for her shop are made with perfection and of the happiest mix of fabrics! You can find accessories for your cup of coffee or tea such as coffee sleeves and mug rugs, boppy pillows for your newborn baby, personalized name and scripture pillows, hoop art to decorate your crafting space, camera strap sleeves for your DSLR and more!

{MEET ANNA}

1) Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Hello! My name is Anna Joy. I follow Jesus. I am an Indie Girl who is in love with a Cowboy. We have a 2 year old son who we are crazy about. I was born in Virginia but I call Texas my home. I am studying Visual Communications (aka graphic design) and *should* be done soon. I recently quit my web editing job to pursue my sewing business, For The Love of Joy, full time and it is the best decision I have ever made. I feel extremely blessed to be able to pursue my dreams! I am photography enthusiast and try to practice my mad skills daily. I also enjoy cooking and baking and am always trying to feed my family the healthiest foods.

2) What inspired you to set up shop?
My fiancee, Ben, was the one who really encouraged me to start selling my handmade items. I would talk about doing that for years and then one day he pretty much said, “Stop talking, more doing.” And so I did! The first year of business was very hard as I didn’t really understand the whole aspect of promoting my business. I signed up for the Indie Biz e-courses (ran by Leigh Ann from Freckled Nest) and that was when things started taking off. My sales were pretty good for about 6 months and then I decided to take time off from the shop to focus on my classes. However, that didn’t stop me from sewing! I started signing up to participate in sewing swaps over on Flickr. I made a lot of new online friends who were passionate over sewing/quilting like I was. My craftsmanship became so much better and I was challenged to try making things I had never made before. I love doing swaps! Later in the year, I had the feeling that I needed to open my shop again. My contract work as a web editor became slow so I wasn’t bringing in a lot of money so it seemed like a good idea but of course, I needed to pray over it. Two days later, two people approached me and asked if I would be willing to do giveaways for their blog because they had loved my shop so much. My prayers were answered! I opened again during Thanksgiving weekend and business has doubled within the last two months giving me the ability to quilt web editing and focus on my biz full time!

3) Who are your favorite fabric designers?
Hmmm, how to choose??? I am in love with all modern designer fabrics but my very favorite designers are Joel Dewberry, Lizzy House, Amy Butler, and Dena Designs. I am drawn to bright colors and eclectic patterns which all these designers have in their fabric lines!

4) What do you like to do in your free time besides sewing and blogging?
I love to cook and bake and eat, watch funny movies, play outside with my little man, and sleep!

5) What’s your favorite ice cream flavor?
Cookies and cream, hands down!

{GIVEAWAY}

Anna is giving away $30 credit to her beautiful shop, to one lucky winner!!

How to enter:

You must be a Google Friend Connect follower of Sandy a la Mode

1. Visit For The Love Of Joy and leave a comment with your favorite item!

For additional entries, leave a separate comment for each action.
2. Be a Google Friend Connect follower of Anna’s blog
3. Heart (add to favorites) For The Love Of Joy on etsy
4. Follow @sandyalamode and @thejoycottage on twitter
5. Blog, facebook, or tweet about this giveaway (make sure to include @sandyalamode and @thejoycottage in your tweet) and include the link (one entry each)

Feel free to use this tweet:
Need a new mug rug, coffee sleeve, pillow, or hoop art? Win $30 credit to @thejoycottage’s shop on @sandyalamode! http://bit.ly/h0tZhf

This giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY and closes on Tuesday, March 1, 2011 at 12PM CST. Good luck!