Final June Sponsor Highlight (+Giveaway +Guest Post)

Hello Lovelies! I hope you are all having a splendid Thursday! I know I am, first day off in a week, and who knows when the next one will be... that being said, I am spending the day planning things for you!

Today's post will cover a few things:
1. I guest posted for Leigh-Ellen over at Little Waterlilly, Big Pond: Guest Post - you should check it out...

2. There are a few hours left on this give away -  follower's you are elegible to enter (just input the email with which you follow)... you can also gain entries by following me on Twitter, or following my June Sponsors! (DO IT!)  Give Away Link

Now for the main event - Last Sponsor Highlights for June!  I love all my sponsor ladies so much, can't even tell you!

Twitter // Etsy // Blog // Facebook

Who are you? Why do you blog/ what do you blog about? I'm Stephanie, and I blog about the adventures of my life. Sometimes it's the direction my garden is headed in, other times it's the funfetti pancakes and coloring pages that filled my morning. There's pictures of the things I make and sell in my shop, and there are pictures of the days we spend at the beach. All adventures, all filling my life.

3 greatest fears (weird ones, not serious, like Balloons, Popsicles, etc). My 3 greatest fears are yellow flies, a restaurant that serves Pepsi products and not Coke products, and mustard

Favorite dessert? I could sit down and eat and entire Caramel Apple Pie without blinking an eye.

Best way to spend your free time? If weather allows, the best way to spend my free time is at the beach!

Last book you read? I don't read books. Crazy but true. There's always too much to be done and I can't find the time to actually finish one. 

Random thought or favorite quote: "God is obviously with you, helping you in everything you do" Gen. 21:22

Blog // Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest

Who are you? Well, I'm Maddie from Thriftary, of course! Please to meet your acuqaintance!

Why do you blog/ what do you blog about? I run a lifestyle blog that is a big fat mishmosh of everything awesome. From gardening and tending to my chickens, to lip gloss and fashion. I love it all.

3 greatest fears (weird ones, not serious, like Balloons, Popsicles, etc). Ask anyone who knows me. My greatest fear of all time is balloons. I cry and hyperventilate when they are around. It is extremely embarassing and uncontrollable. Im sweating just thinking about them. I hope one day I have children who hate balloons. I also despise sudden loud noises and guns. Don't judge me.

Favorite dessert? Creme brulee through and through. Anytime. Anywhere.

Best way to spend your free time? "This Life is In your Hands" - Melissa Coleman

Last book you read? "This Life is In your Hands" - Melissa Coleman

Random thought or favorite quote: "You can pick your friends, and you can pick your nose, but you can't pick your friends' nose"

Call for July Sponsors & Give-Away

Hello Lovelies!  This is a call for July Sponsors?! Any takers... it's free, so long as there is a Swap included (Non-swaps you pay)... As a sponsor you will get a sponsor highlight post, you can guest post if you want, you can participate in my July give away - the possibilities are almost endless!
Go Here to Sign Up... Email me for Swap Info

**Please note, if you do sponsor, I will most likely ask silly questions about you... and post the answers here (Just FYI)

Also... just in case the offer to sponsor here wasn't tantalizing enough... check out the give-away below!
Win something like:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

All About Canada Day - Guest Post by Little Waterlily in a Big Pond

Hello Artsy Anthropology readers.  If you've been around for awhile you may recognize me.  This isn't the first time Paige has let me take over part of her little piece of the internet.  I'm Leigh-Ellen and I blog at Little Waterlily in a Big Pond. I'm a Canadian who has lived in a variety of fun and exciting places but now reside in Quispamsis, NB on the east coast of Canada.  Sounds like a happening place doesn't it??

Excitement in Quispamsis New Brunswick

Right now most Canadians are counting down to a very exciting day in early July.  I'm sure you are too.  That's right it's CANADA DAY!  Hmmm... I don't think most of you said that with me.  Everyone together now CANADA DAY!  July 1st is Canada Day which is a lot like the Fourth of July but with just red and white... no blue. Also we have a maple leaf rather than stars and our anthem has a distinct lack of bombs bursting in air.

Plus Canada wasn't born after any sort of large scale conflict.  We kind of asked nicely and the British were kind of in the mood.  Plus we agreed to keep the monarch on the money when we got around to having our own. Jokes on them that the other side have funny looking animals like beavers and moose and loons.  Seriously.  Moose are funny looking.  The most noble looking animal we have on our coins is the polar bear so to offset that we called the coin a "twoonie".

Some of you might quite rightly be expecting some sort of Canada Day themed tutorial now, but that would be silly for two reasons 1. I have absolutely no idea how to make anything Canada Related. Seriously, try drawing a maple leaf. It's a pain.  2. What are you going to do with Canada Day items? Really? Instead I'm going to teach you some Canadian history.....

There about 5 people still reading this and at least two of them are probably related to me.  Thanks for sticking around.  So Canadians have this funny tendency to not be overly interested in Canadian History and some people back in the 80s decided this was a problem.  So they figured out the only way to get Canadians to learn about their history was to limit it to one minute at a time and stick it on television.  This also helped the CBC out with some of their Canadian Content issues.  Since Canadians tend to suffer from an inferiority complex many of these commercials made our founding fathers look a bit stupid.  Such as how Canada got it's name:

There were also the minutes that highlighted Canada's unfortunate treatment of various minority groups such as the Chinese immigrants who came to help build the railway.

Or (one of my favourites) Women's Rights in which women only got any rights because of the British Supreme Court. This was part of a series including how women in Canada had to fight for the vote and the right to attend medical school.  Basically we sucked on gender equality.

Obviously there were also numerous videos about Canadian accomplishments... these are hilarious to watch when celebrating Canada Day abroad.  We once had a group of Aussies watching them with the sound off trying to guess what Canadians had invented next... Trees! Paint! Canoes! For you see a Canadian invented basketbal (I need those peach baskets back) and Superman and Standard Time (why we change the clocks in Spring and Fall). For most of my generation this was how we formed our images of Canadian history and to this day if you mention smelling something burning Canadians of my generation will quite gleefully announce "Doctor, Doctor I smell burnt toast!"

Now you're all a little more Canadian! So on Sunday July 1st eat a beaver tail and some poutine before dawning a toque and heading out to whippersnipper! Or just stop over at my blog and say hi. 

June Sponsor Highlight (Pt. 2)

Are you excited to meet a few more of my June ladies? In true fashion, they were good sports... and definitely goofy ladies!  

Blog // Twitter // Facebook

Who are you? Kelly @ The Houtz House Party

Why do you blog/ what do you blog about? I blog about the mishmash of family with 4 little people, my husband, random cooking, crafty and fashion endeavors as well as my faith in Jesus journey.

3 greatest fears (weird ones, not serious, like Balloons, Popsicles, etc).

I HATE CLOWNS, BIRDS & VAMPIRES!  Somehow I love Twilight?  Not sure how I can get through it, BUT true story: I slept with a Rosary around my neck for almost an entire year in elementary school after checking out and reading a book about vampires.  WHAT KIND OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL LIBRARY HAS AN "EASY READER" BOOK ABOUT VAMPIRES??? #schoollibrarianfail

Favorite dessert? Scotcheroos - I'll have to write a blog post about that SOON! - Chocolate, butterscotch deliciousness!

Best way to spend your free time? On a walk with my kiddos and husband around our 'hood.

Last book you read? Bob the Builder pop up book; the Bible

Blog // Twitter // Shop

"Nothing too goofy about this picture, but I'm definitely wearing the brightest shirt I've ever owned!"

Who are you? 

I'm Kara from The Snugly Duckling! I recently moved back home to the south, and am so happy to be back. I love serving in my church and the simple differences you can make in a person's life. I love crafting and hate any kind of physical exercise. If it weren't for my fast metabolism, I'd be a for sure fatty. I'm really shy until people get to know me, so introduce yourself! I'd love talking to you.

Why do you blog/ what do you blog about? 

I blog as a creative outlet for myself. I've always loved writing and have a secret goal of writing children's literature when I grow up. Being able to tell my stories and thoughts with everyone has been a fantastic way for me to get to know so many great bloggers! 

3 greatest fears (weird ones, not serious, like Balloons, Popsicles, etc).

1. I am terrified of car washes. Especially the high pressure ones that sound like they're scraping your car into junk metal. No thank you.

2. I often get extremely, irrationally scared of my entire body becoming paralyzed. Usually caused by the smallest amount of back pain.

3. I hate, hate, hate  scary movies. I've only seen parts of The Grudge at least 5 years ago, and I still get scared by it.

Favorite dessert? I could never, ever choose a favorite dessert! My top three for sure are chocolate pizza (brownie crust, peanut butter "sauce", cut up reese's, and hot fudge drizzle over it all), nanaimo bars (Canadians know what they're doing), and Ben and Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie.

Best way to spend your free time?  I honestly spend my free time watching either How I Met Your Mother or The Office reruns, usually while embroidering or taking up some kind of craft.

Last book you read? The last book I read was The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks, and boy was it great! I hate telling people this, but I was extremely disappointed by the movie. So much was different from the beginning to the end. I'm kind of a Nicholas Sparks-aholic though, so I'm used to the movie adaptations.

(Agh, me too! I loved the book... and hot-damn - naked Zac Efron? Yes please)

Favorite quote: My favorite quote is by Dr. Suess. Cheesy, right? "Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is youer than you."

Making my point about Zac Efron in "The Lucky One"... if you haven't seen it, you need to!

First Insta-Friday in 3 Months...

Wowza, apparently I have been a huge slacker! This is my first Insta-Friday post in 3 months, and the one before that was like the first in a few weeks - let's hope this isn't a trend that continues!

New tutorials are in the works! And I am on a pony tail kick lately.

I spotted these owls at Ross... and bought this pink cactus at Lowe's!

Finished up and posted a tutorial... and watched the baby bunnies at mom's house.

Working in some new bags, "Scrappies".

Eating my PF Changs after work... and I got new zippers and have 12 Scrappies in the works.

That's my week in Instagrams... go spy on other people (click the button below, you know you want to!)

The Island Life of Clare from C Squared W (I'm Jealous!)

Hello friends of Paige and Artsy Anthropology!  I'm Clare from C Squared W, where I write about and share photos of life with my husband in the Caribbean.  

We moved to the islands nearly two years ago so that my husband could attend medical school here.  We live on the beautiful nature isle of Dominica {pronounced dom-in-eeka} where everyday is an adventure.  Today I'm excited to share with you my five favorite things about island life:

1. The tight-knit community.  Dominica is a small island, about 290 square miles with a total population of about 71,000.  I volunteer at several local schools and community organizations, and I love the small community here.  On any given day, I see a handful of friends, neighbors, students, and other familiar faces, and this is one of my favorite things about the island.  I love knowing the cashiers at the grocery store, and then seeing them on weekends when I go to town or spend and afternoon at the beach.  These familiar, smiling faces are what make Dominica feel like home! 

2.  We have fresh fruit here everywhere, all the time.  These papayas are from my neighbor's tree across the street.  Our garden is laden with grapefruit, star fruit, guava, passion fruit, banana, and plantain trees.  During mango and avocado {locally called pear} season, my husband and I collect fruits that have fallen off nearby trees, or climb a tree up the street for some fresh fruit.  You can buy all of these treats at the store or the market, as well, but you can't ignore the fresh goodies straight from the tree, either! {Also, the fruits and veggies here are abnormally large.  Sometimes I yell at them...}

3.  Dominica boasts 365 rivers, one for every day of the year.  There is no better way to spend a hot summer day than by hiking in the rainforest to one of the many rivers and waterfalls for a refreshing swim.  Some of my favorites are Bense Pool {pictured above} and the Seven Waterfalls Hike. 

4.  Island Hopping by plane or ferry to one of many nearby islands makes for an easy adventure and an exotic vacation.  Ferries travel from Dominica to nearby islands like St. Lucia, Guadaloupe, and Martinique on a daily basis.  It's also easy to hop a quick plane to other nearby islands like St. Maarten, Barbados, or St. Vincent {above}.

5.  The laid back, island lifestyle and attitude is one of my favorite things about the island.  This photo of happy carefree Rastafarian dancing on the beach at sunset sums this up perfectly.  Life here is simple.  People here are happy and they live with much, much less.  This is one of the greatest lessons that we have learned living here, and I hope that we continue to appreciate this simple lifestyle even when we return to the U.S.

So there you have it, my five favorite things about life in Dominica.  If you're interested in reading more about Dominica and our adventures here check out C Squared W.  I'd love to hear from you!  You can also find me here:

Twitter // Facebook // Pinterest // Goodreads

Thanks for reading!  Paige, thanks again for letting me share a little bit about island life today! 

June Sponsor Highlight (Pt.1)

Today I would like you all to meet 2 of my June sponsors, Leigh-Ellen from Little Water Lilly, Big Pond & Clare from C Squared W.

So first to explain myself, I asked my June sponsors some random, silly things this month and to include a photo of themselves that wasn't the standard "I look pretty in this picture" sponsor pic - because I feel you get to know someone best when they are joking about themselves... that being said lets meet these two lovelies!

Twitter //  Facebook // Blog 

Who are you? Gosh, "who are you?", what a highly existential question! Well first off I'm someone who really likes to over think things AND misspelled existential (twice).  Gotta love spell check!  I'm a wife, friend, fur parent, blogger living on the East Coast of Canada.  I don't really cook.  I don't really make things but I'm still fun to know... just perhaps not useful.  

Why do you blog/ what do you blog about? "Why do I blog?" sheesh, more deep questions from Paige this month! I honestly started the blog to extend the pool of people to inflict photos of my travels and my pets on.  From there it's grown into quite a fun place to rant and write about my life, pet peeves, etc.

3 greatest fears (weird ones, not serious, like Balloons, Popsicles, etc).

1. I'm afraid of squirrels.  Seriously though, they are angry, territorial little things with sharp claws and a lot of germs. 

2. I'm still a little afraid of getting a piece of clothing or my foot or something caught at the bottom of escalators.  That's obviously a hold over from childhood.

3. I'm quite obsessive about making sure my skirt isn't caught in my tights or underwear or whatever.  I was at a wedding recently and was able to rescue a girl from leaving the bathroom with her skirt caught in so obviously it's not an unfounded fear.   

Favorite dessert? I love dessert.  I love so many desserts.  My two favourites (Canadian spelling) are Chocolate cake with boiled icing and Lemon Meringue (another word I can't spell) Pie but they have to be made by my Mum.  Other people make them wrong

Best way to spend your free time? Right now it would be napping with my well behaved kitties cause I'm tired! 

Last book you read? Sadly "Making the Grade:  A Guide to Study and Success" cause I'm reviewing textbooks for work.  I have a couple lined up on the kindle though

Random thought or favorite quote: 

"Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much."

- Oscar Wilde

Blog // Twitter // Facebook // Pinterest 

Who are you? I'm Clare from C Squared W.  

Why do you blog/ what do you blog about? I blog to document my adventures living in the Caribbean with my husband.  I write about island life, travel, and anything else that makes me smile.

3 greatest fears (weird ones, not serious, like Balloons, Popsicles, etc): 

1. Line dancing

2. Walking over drain grates (Oh gosh, I'm with her on this, also subway grates)

3. Mayonnaise.

Favorite dessert: Crème brûlée or anything with chocolate and peanut butter.

Best way to spend your free time: Reading. 

Last book you read: Blue Nights by Joan Didion. 

Random thought or favorite quote: You're never fully dressed without a smile. 

Aren't these two fun?! Want to learn more about Clare?  Come back tomorrow for her guest post about her crazy island life! Are you as excited about it as I am?!

Terrarium Tutorial

Who doesn't love a good Terrarium Tutorial?  I have seen these little gems all over the place, blogs, Pinterest, my mind... so I finally decided to jump on the band-wagon, and I'm going to help you do it too!

You need little pebbles or glass rocks (Lowe's, Joann, etc)

Decorative sand (mine was tan)

Glass Container (anything with an opening big enough to work with is good)

Succulents (mix and match your sizes/colors)

Succulent potting soil

Layer your little rocks and sand at the bottom for a few layers, do what ever you want to make it "pretty"... but make sure you have an inch or 2 of this dry base to allow water to drain into it and not drown your plants.

After a few layers, you can add a layer of potting soil if you want to change it up - entirely up to you.

You then put about 1-2 inches of the potting soil down, and take your plants out of their little containers, shake of excess dirt, loosen the roots and arrange them in the potting soil.

Add some more potting soil on top to secure things. I also added another layer of the sand to make it look like a desert. 

Then, love what you have created!

These little things are so simple, and how cute is my pink cactus?! I mean, really (they also had red and yellow).

Oops, it didn't all fit - so I went ahead and put my left over bitty plant into a candle votive with sand at the bottom to soak up water... sand at the top to make the desert - and I have a mini-pot of succulents!

I would love to see what you all go out and make - the whole thing is like a 15.00 project, and it's so cute and pretty - if you buy your supplies in bulk these would make for fun little gifts, party center pieces, plant pets, what ever!

Now What...

So I know last month I promised all kinds of things I then did not deliver - and for that I am truly sorry, but a lot has happened since then:

I graduated with my masters, packed up, moved cross country with mom, now I live with dad, started a new job... AHHHH

Okay. So here's my life in a nutshell right now... I don't know if Anthropology was the best degree to go after, hmmm, weird! Haha. So for those of you that don't know, I have my B.A. in Physical Anthropology which includes evolution, fossils, primate biology etc... and then my M.A. in Anthropology with a focus in Forensics  (yes, like "Bones" on Fox).

With this, I have the option to become a cop for 2 years before applying for the FBI, which I had thought would be nice- but I really now, just don't see myself as a cop writing tickets - that's not my idea of helping people, which is why I went into the field in the first place... I also have the option of getting a PhD, and then going on and teaching... so I have thus thought about going to Nursing School - yes I know it's quite different than my original plan, and if I had thought of it 4 years ago I could have done it then...

But honestly, it's not a decision I would have made 4 years ago. Now that I have had all this time in school, I have realized that my real passion is people - and nursing would allow me to help so many different people and improve their lives. Who knows, eventually I could go into forensic nursing and use all my oodles of knowledge. The only downside to this plan, is that nursing school doesn't start until next fall... so I will be working at P.F. Changs for the next year making cash money while I bide my time.

So that people, is my life in a nutshell - now you know me a little bit better...

So what does this mean for you? The next 3 days I don't work, so I will be spending it working on tutorials, recipes, sponsor information and new shop products... so this then means, that I will no longer ignore you, I will love you all, I will post more often and I will be doing a give away sometime soon!

Guest Post, The Lovely Kelly - Houtz House Party

Here's the guest post (like the title says), from the Lovely, AMAZING, Wonderful Kelly over at the Houtz House Party - this woman is amazing, a new blogger she's busted onto the internet with wild force!

Hey guys!  

My name is Kelly and I blog over at The Houtz House Party.  

I sometimes try crafty things and here is one that actually turned out!  You see unlike Paige here, I’m not exactly NATURALLY talented.  I am what you would call “cultivating” my knack for craftiness…

I’m super happy to share my creation with you today: An EASY (and I REALLY mean easy) t-shirt bracelet!  

This bracelet is loosely based on the necklace/scarf tutorial found here.

What you need:

An old t-shirt

Fabric scissors

Fabric glue

A thread of a broken necklace (hello RECYCLE!) or you can buy a thread at the craft store (totally OPTIONAL)

What you do:

First cut a soft t-shirt across into one inch strips. 

Cut a 1x3 inch rectangle from the shoulder area of the t-shirt.

Gather 2-4 together and group into 3 sections. 

Braid the 3 sections together until it is about 1 ½ feet long(ish). If you have a jewelry chain you will include this in one of the strands in the braid.

Make a circle with the braid and wrap the rectangle around the ends.  Secure with glue and let dry overnight.

Wrap it around your wrist twice and enjoy your new arm candy!!!

THANK YOU SO MUCH for having me on your blog today Paige!!!  Love ya girl!

(See I told you she was awesome and amazing!)

Flash Sale!!!

So I had another craft-fair today - and apparently my profit of 45.00 was average, so alas, I left minus a few hair accessories and plus a nice sunburn (despite 3 applications of sunscreen)...

ANY WAY... There are new things up in the shop I had been withholding for the show - and since they weren't bought - I'm giving them away! (not literally)...

Everything in the shop is going to be shipped $1.00 flat-rate... and AND... everything is 30% off!

I'm calling it a "Flash Sale"... hence the coupon code: FLASHME

Also, please don't be offended by my recent bow-tie obsession!