Month of Love: Grain & Dot

Happy Leap Day, y'all!

For my final Month of Love giveaway, I'm so excited to have Brittany here today to share all about her small business, Grain and Dot!  She has also been kind enough to give away $50 to her Etsy shop!

Hello Borrowed Heaven readers!  My shop came about through a passion for typography, design, quirky quotes, and making people smile.  Grain & Dot was officially “born” in January of 2013, but as BrittanyH Designs, a little Etsy shop that allowed me to keep my creative juices flowing and to keep me from feeling the monotony of my temporary job as a graphic designer at an office supply store in small town Montana.  

Later that year, after moving to Denver and pouring my heart and soul into freelancing for various studios and companies in the area, so too grew my desire to grow my own business!  In July of 2014, BrittanyH Designs received a grown up new name, Grain & Dot, and branding to match.  

As a little girl, my joy came from coloring, crafting, and scrapbooking. When it came time to choose my profession, graphic design hit all the marks. I am entirely passionate about what I do and I want to share it with everyone. My goal is to help others adorn their walls with unique art without breaking the bank as well as help others share their feelings through cards as uniquely up front and honest as they are. 

Grain & Dot is an evolving dream with more prints, decor, and cards added every week. Be sure to check back as my dream and shop continue to grow!  For custom prints and illustrations, visit my Etsy shop and for more graphic design offerings, check out my website.  

Thanks so much, Brittany!  To go along with my love for 30 Rock (at the top of this post), Brittany sent me my FAVORITE Liz Lemon quote for our bedroom.

The quality of the paper and printing are fantastic, and I am so pleased with her work.  Now it's your turn, enter below for a chance to win a $50 gift shop to Brittany's amazing Etsy shop - good luck!
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Month of Love: Katie Fern Studio

Good morning and happy Monday!  I hope many of you are still enjoying your long weekend and haven't eaten too much chocolate after Valentine's Day yesterday.  Today I am popping in quickly to share this week's giveaway for the Month of Love!  Katie's Etsy shop, Katie Fern Design, has quickly become one of my favorites with her amazing hand-lettered prints.  It helps, too, that we definitely share a love of fantastic tv: hello, 30 Rock and Parks & Rec!

When I saw her print with one of my favorite Liz Lemon quotes, I knew I had to have it!

Katie has been kind enough to give away $25 to Katie Fern Design AND offer 15% off anything in her shop with the code HEAVEN through February 29th.  Good luck!
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I received these prints in exchange for an honest review and to share with my readers through a giveaway.

Month of Love: Charleston Favorites

Hey, it's me again!  Two posts in one day?! What is this madness?? Well, I promised last week that there would be a giveaway up every Monday, and I couldn't disappoint on just my second week.  First of all, congrats to Sarah for winning last week's Cube Appeal giveaway!  I hope you enjoy your initial print.

This week, the giveaway is all about my city and some of my personal favorite brands.  I've joined together with some amazing small businesses so that y'all can get a taste of Charleston!  Here's what I've rounded up:

 Plantation Peach American Classic Tea ||| Candlefish No. 33 ||| Essentially Southern His & Hers sets ||| Megan Lacey Design Calligraphy Card (basket not included)

There are so many wonderful local vendors in Charleston from Etsy shops to stalls at the open air market, and I'm even so impressed with how many "big" stores will feature local brands and items!  Charleston is a great plac to shop.

Together, these items make for the perfect relaxing afternoon at home, and I am so excited for one of my readers to try all of them.  As an added bonus, one of the fantastic companies, Essentially Southern, is offering 15% off to all Borrowed Heaven readers with the coupon code SOUTH15 through February 29th!  Good luck!

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I received these products in exchange for an honest review and to share with my readers through a giveaway.  

An Afternoon at Candlefish

One of my most favorite things about Charleston is the fact that there are so many unique things to do in this little city.  Yes, y'all know I love the happy hours and shopping, but who ever thought of a workshop to make your own candles?  Last Friday afternoon (as you might have seen on Instagram), Mike and I did just that at Candlefish, a specialty shop located a few steps off King on Wentworth Street.

Candlefish has been open for almost a year and a half and has a large, airy, and beautifully decorated space.  Not only is the flagship Candlefish location a candle-making workshop, it's also a fantastic gift boutique. They sell tons of different candles (They're also the creators of Rewined and Produce candles!) as well as other fantastic items like stationary, art prints, and local Charleston gifts.

The intimate scented candle class we attended is only one of an array of different offerings from hand-dipping taper candles to therapeutic essential oil candle-making classes.  When we arrived, all of the tools and gadgets were already set up.  All we had to do was pop our cork (yes, it's BYOB!), put on an apron, and find a seat.  After a warm welcome from our professional chandler, Eloise, we all started the class by choosing our scents.

The most unique aspect of Candlefish is their library.  They have 100 different numbered scents from which to choose.  All of the scents aren't just one flavor either, they are mixtures of 3-4 different oils that create everything from floral and fruity to woodsy and masculine fragrances.  The reason each scent is numbered and not named is to keep each amateur chandler's fragrance choice as unbiased as possible.  I didn't know before I smelled the sample candle if the scent would be lemongrass and orange or lavender and elderflower, so I was more open to different aromas than I would be if each composition was listed on the bottle of fragrance oil.  Candlefish even has a card catalog where you can save your preferences on the "library card" below for subsequent trips to the shop.

After choosing our scents (a sweet oil for Mike that smelled just like baking and a musky scent for me), Eloise walked us through each step of candle making: pouring the wax, setting the wic, etc. all while sharing tons of important candle maintenance and care tips with us.

Mike and I had a fantastic time at Candlefish and could not wait to pick up our candles the next day.  They smell just as good as we imagined, and we have already burned each of our scents.  I highly suggest a trip to Candlefish if you're in the area, to browse their fantastic selection of unique scents and to try your hand at candle-making!  Even if you're not planning a trip to Charleston, they have a vast number of collections on their website to shop from, which, right now, include some fantastic winter and Valentine's Day gift ideas!

I was provided with a complimentary candle-making class in exchange for an honest review of their boutique and workshop.  All opinions are my own. 

Month of Love: Cube Appeal

Happy February, y'all!  I don't know about you, but for me, the first day of February is always a sigh of relief: we made it through the first month of resolutions, (hopefully) the coldest months are behind us, and everything pink, red, and chocolate starts making its appearance for Valentine's Day.  I know Valentine's Day has its fair share of critics, but any day whose main goal is to spread love, I'm all for.  Well, this year, I want Valentine's Day to last this whole month for all of you, so I'm teaming up with some fantastic businesses to bring you: "Month of Love" - a new giveaway each Monday throughout February.  And, actually, I have two giveaways going on right now because my collaborative Resolutions Giveaway doesn't end until tonight, so make sure you enter that one, too, by clicking here.

The first giveaway comes from Cube Appeal, an office decor company started by entrepreneur and mom, Clarissa.  I love everything in her shop, and the "Be Yourself" wall mirror she sent me is definitely a favorite in my office!

Some of my other favorites (below) include the Girl Boss Mug and Pink Lady Art Print.  Seriously, how cute and feminine are her designs?

Clarissa has graciously offered to give away a Floral Initial Print framed in your choice of black, white, gold, or silver to one lucky reader!  Enter using the Rafflecopter giveaway below and good luck!

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I was provided with complementary products in exchange for a feature on this blog.  All opinions are my own. 

Small Business Love: Royal Mile

I was provided with complimentary coffee from Royal Mile Coffee Roasters to facilitate this review, but all opinions are my own.

Do I have a fantastic company to share with you today!  Ever since Mike became obsessed with coffee, we've been in search of one that we could enjoy together (since I tend to be more of a tea person).  Well, we definitely found that with Royal Mile Coffee Roasters.

Royal Mile is a small, family-owned business with a big passion for single-origin coffees.  They run every aspect of the company and roast each order with individual attention.  Seriously, they are all about talkin' coffee: roasting, origins, brewing methods, even other fantastic companies out there, so you should definitely connect with them on social media: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, or even send them an email!

Jamie and Jessica sent us a bag of Rwanda Kigeyo coffee beans.  

Rwandan coffee is just starting to become popular, and our bag was a part of one of the first arrivals of beans.  The best brew came when we ground the beans in our burr grinder and made the coffee with an Aeropress.  When we tried brewing it in a reusable K-cup, it lost almost all of the unique flavors and tasted like your typical, American, nutty coffee.  So, with a good brew, Royal Mile is definitely right when it says that the Rwanda Kigeyo coffee has a nice brightness to it and a lemon tropical flavor to match.  Mike agreed and says: "It has more of a fruity taste than a typical American nutty coffee flavor.  When I brewed it stronger, it even had a buttery flavor."  He drank it black, while I added a teaspoon of sugar (sorry, had to! haha).  This is one of the first coffees I really enjoyed because the lemon flavor almost mirrored a strong tea with a background coffee taste.  This was our first experience trying international coffee and we'd love to try all of Royal Mile's different beans.  If you enjoy experimenting with coffees, you will definitely love Royal Mile!