Back-to-School Giveaway! | Giveaway

Guess what time it is?! It's giveaway time! This is the first giveaway that I have ever really hosted and I am more than excited! I just wanted to host this giveaway to thank you for supporting me both here on my blog and on my youtube channel! Please take a look at the linked video for all rules and regulations on how to enter and possibly win!!! :)

Craft'Ed wants to give you ALL 10% off your entire purchase, when you use the code JENNSPHILOSOPHY10!!! You have until the end of 2014 to redeem the code!
KarolinasKrafts also wants to give ALL of you guys 10% off your entire purchase, when you use the code 'JENNSPHILOSOPHY10'! Expires March 1st, 2015!!!

p.s. I have to thank all the amazing sponsors for contributing to this giveaway! They are the greatest!

RULES:
1. You need to be subscribed to my youtube channel! This one!
2. You need to be following my social media links which are listed below:

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/jennsphilosophy
Twitter:
https://www.twitter.com/jennsphilosophy
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/jennsphilosophy

3. You need to be 18+, or have your parents permission!
4. You can only enter once a day per account
5. You need to tell me what your dream job would be and if you could go to school for anything what it would be!

GIVEAWAY ENDS ON NOVEMBER 8, 2014!!!

SPONSORS!
Craft'Ed:
Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/craftedvan
Website: http://www.craftedvan.com

PlannerKate1:
Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/PlannerKate1
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PlannerKate1
Instagram: @Planner_Kate

AluminioPassions:
Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/Aluminiopassions

Lunitouti:
Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/lunitouti

ObscureGems:
Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/ObscureGems
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/obscuregems

KarolinasKrafts:
Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/KarolinasKrafts
Facebook: www.facebook.com/KarolinasKraftsOnEtsy
Instagram: @KarolinasKrafts

Other items shown in the video from Etsy shops:

BluCase:
Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/BluCase
Laptop Case: Click Here!

KawaiiGoodies:
Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/kawaiigoodies
Chevron Craft Bag: Click Here!

Special Interviews!!!

Craft'Ed:
1. What made you start your company? 
We LOVE to craft!!! We started scrapbooking a lot together at the end of high school and it eventually transformed to making anything and EVERYTHING we were inspired by. When Diana made a set of magnetic bookmarks for her boyfriend, we knew we had a product that was fun and would bring smiles to the world!! We opened our Etsy shop last year and have been doing craft fairs, as well. It's been so much fun. Craftedvan has brought so much happiness to our lives!

2. Where are you from? We are from Vancouver, BC!

3. Why bookmarks? Why not something else? What made you decide what you wanted to make?
Hopefully this question was answered well enough in question 1. We also felt that by making fun bookmarks, we could promote the fun of physical books again! We love the touch, the smell and crisp feel of books!

4. Tell us about your life story? How has it changed since opening your company!
Since opening craftedvan, we have become hermits! We love staying at home designing and cutting bookmarks!! All of our free time is spent working on "craft'ed" and we LOVE it! I doesn't feel like work at all.

5. What has been your proudest moment since opening your company?
Our proudest moment... that's a tough one. Probably our very first sale at a craft fair during the Christmas season!!! It felt so wonderful that others like our product! Most of our favorite times are during craft fairs, where we can feet people in person and talk to fellow crafters!

6. Did you already have the background knowledge on your product or did you just pick it up as a hobby?
We just picked our bookmarks as a hobby at first and it transformed into a business!

7. What do you love most about making your product?
Erica definitely loves the cutting of the bookmarks the best! Diana likes to organize the bookmarks in our "store" aka the upstairs room of one of our houses! ahha!

8. Why did you name your company the name it is?
Craft'ed came up a long time ago. Craft - because we love to craft and ED because of the first letters of our names (Erica and Diana). We also use craftedvan because we live in Vancouver!

AluminioPassions:
1. What made you start your company?
I always wanted to be my own boss. I consider important for me to make my own schedule! And with this job I don't need to set up the alarm clock to wake up, I can work in the comfort of my home even in my slippers! I can say when to take a break or keep working!

2. Where are you from? I'm from Athens Greece.

3. Why did you choose to make the products you make? Why not something else? What made you decide what you wanted to make?
Aluminium as a material is ideal for making such items because it is easy to work with, it is resistant to corrosion and water in general, and is very lightweight.
And with the specific process can be look like silver but with costing significantly less. And the most important aluminium is easy to work without expensive tools.

4. Tell us about your life story? how has it changed since opening your company!
My previous job before opening my etsy shop meant working for 10-12 hours a day, staying away from my wife and home and not having any time to do something I liked!
Now I can spend the whole day with my wife, we work together and enjoy plenty of quality time. We now own our lives!

5. What has been your proudest moment since opening your company?
My proudest moment was when through my Etsy Shop we were able to rent a new house and pay our bills!

6. Did you already have the background knowledge on your product or did you just pick it up as a hobby?
I studied aircraft engineering at a technical school and there we used a lot of Aluminium. So I was familiar with it and its properties. After graduating I crafter various items out of Aluminium. So I was familiar with it and its properties. After graduating I crafted various items out of aluminum and about seven years ago I used to make several items for friends (mostly keychains) as gifts.

7. What do you love most about making your product?
I like to make new items and try new shapes. But mostly I've very proud about my Spartan Collection. I like the fact that those Greek Items travel around the globe and people have one small piece of the Greek History is their hands.

8. Why did you name your company the name it is?
I want it to keep the Greek name of Aluminium that is Aluminio because the history of this elements starts from here in Greece.
Passion is a familiar characteristic of all Greeks. I'm Passionate about what I do.

Here are some photos of Kosmas hard at work and some of his great products!

ObscureGems:
1. What made you start your company?
We have always been art driven people, and living in such a rural area we don't have the opportunity to make art a career by working for someone else. In 2011 we were given some jewelry making supplies, and in 2012 I (Frances) found Etsy. After some discussion we desired to give it a try and began what is now ObscureGems.

2. Where are you from? We're from Upstate New York (Springfield Center).

3. Why did you choose to make the products you make? Why not something else? What made you decide what you wanted to make? 
Nancy learned how to crochet a while ago, and have learned with her aunt the process of creating crochet goods brings her back to those quality hours trying to learn, so each crochet good she makes is special to her. It was natural for her to start selling her items and it became an inspiration to have her try to think of new products. I learned jewelry making alongside Nancy, and I've always like the idea of being able to share my work with others, so creating jewelry became my niche. We both have a desire to create things that are not commonplace and really highlight the individuality of the user/wearer. 

4. Tell us about your life story? How has it changed since opening your company!
We've both been artist for quite a long time-Nancy had me drawing before I could speak or walk and taught me photoshop as soon as I could hold a computer mouse. She worked as a graphics designer for her aunt's video-editing firm after getting a fine arts degree, and I was always with her in hr office area. When we moved back to New York, I remember lots of crafts, bookmaking, and art. Nancy couldn't find work as a graphics designer and tried several time to put work out there but couldn't find anything. I began school, and in 2001 my brother Alex came along into our family. 
In high school I stumbled across Etsy and we started up ObscureGems. Opening the shop was a big step for us, no matter how much we struggled with it at first (we're still learning!), and even art through Etsy, and it has given us more confidence.
We're currently going through a pretty big change in our shop-I'm away at college so my dad, Chris, is stepping up to help out what I used to manage in the shop. ObscureGems has really become a full family business, which is just so exciting.

5. What has been your proudest moment since opening your company?
Whenever we get positive feedback from a customer it really makes our day. We feel so happy whenever someone else finds enjoyment or a little spark of happiness at receiving our product.

6. Did you already have the background knowledge on your product or did you just pick it up as a hobby?
As I said earlier, Nancy had mown crocheting for a long time before starting the Etsy shop, but jewellery making came more as a "let's try something new" adventure. 

7. What do you love most about making your product?
We both love that we can make something completely unique and handmade and share that with someone else, even if they are across the world. It is so cool to know that one of our phone cases in in France, and that someone in England is wearing our jewellery.

8. Why did you name your company the name it is?
ObscureGems came from the desire to create the unexpected, be it through a different idea, different material combination, or a new take on an old idea. 


Cheers,
XX