Last Look at One World One Heart 2011

I apologize for posting this much later than I anticipated.  I kind of kept forgetting and wanting to post about other things!

So, at the end of the One World One Heart event of 2011, I was the lucky recipient of some amazing items.

From carolabartz.blogspot.com in Santa Rosa, CA

From UrbanRomantic.etsy.com in Alliance, OH

From theartofjune.com in Santa Cruz, CA

Also, here are the final products that I sent to my winners.

"Santorini Coral" was sent to Linda in Albuquerque, NM

Maganda Malakas Sirenas Shirt was sent to Debbie in Vallejo, CA

It was so neat to receive and send these gifts!  It was like a bit of warmth within such a cold February.

Thank you to everyone who participated!  I hope you enjoyed your visit, and I hope you come back often!

One World One Heart 2011 Winners!!!

Oh my goodness.  I can't even believe that it's over!!!

I really really tried to visit all of the blogs.  But, I kind of failed.  I got to 300.

Fail.

But, I do have some winners to present!!! Yay!

Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to present to you all, the Runner Up.

Commenter #15 is Linda from Just My Little Bit!  Congratulation, Linda!  You win the photograph of the underwater coral from Santorini!

And now, I present to you all, the First Place commenter.

Commenter #30 is WriterGirlDreams from The Sacred Ordinary!  Congratulations!!!  I will be emailing you soon to discuss the details of your shirt!

It's been great to participate once again in the One World One Heart event!  I've added more blogs on my list to follow and made some new friends!  I get to share some pieces that mean a lot to me with new people around the world.

It's been truly a pleasure!

2011 One World One Heart Give-Away!

***UPDATE***

The One World One Heart Event is now over!!!

Thank you all for participating! 

Welcome!

I am so excited to be participating for the 2nd and Final time in the One World One Heart Give-Away!

If you are a blogger who would like to participate, please click on the image above to take you to A Whimsical Bohemian's blog and the One World One Heart rules.

Now, let's get started, shall we?

A Bit About Me
Hi!  I'm Cecilia, The Greenest Mermaid!

I'm just another blogger, a sirenophile, a social worker, a wanna-be-world traveler, and an observer of the world around me.  Please feel free to click on any of the links on the link bar above to learn more about who I am in this world, and to check out some of the other blogs I own.

The Prizes
Now, I tried to think of something that I could create with my own hands, but I'm not as creative as many of my friends are.  But, I do have 2 door prizes to offer to all of you wonderful folks who stop by and leave a comment!

Runner-Up Prize
For my runner-up prize, I wanted to share part of my dream.  Last year, one of the major highlights was going to Greece with Jenny.  I sometimes can't believe that I've made it to Greece, but it's exciting to remember that I did.

So, for my runner-up prize, I want to give away a framed photograph of one of my favorite images I captured.

"Santorini Coral" July 2010

I noticed this bit of color under the waves, so I tried to hold my camera still as I snapped this.  Now, I want to share it with one of you!

The image will be 5x7 matte print, with a white frame.

Grand Prize
So, for my grand prize I wanted to give another t-shirt in honor of the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center Walk that I am walking in once again on April 10th.

As I said last year, I want to give away something that has meaning for me, and will hopefully have meaning for some of you as well.

Every year since 2007, I've participated in the annual Boston Area Rape Crisis Center (BARCC) Walk.  It's a cause that I personally have some stake in (click on this link if you have the energy to learn more about why).

But, I'm not about being victimized.  Instead, I choose to focus more on the strengths of rising above it all.

So, I gathered my friends and started a team in 2008.  In 2009, we raised close to $4000 for this wonderful organization!  I was very proud of my team.  In 2010, we raised $905 as a team.

Our team name is the "Maganda Malakas Sirenas" - Beautiful Strong Mermaids.

In Philippine mythology, Maganda was the first woman and Malakas was the first man.  While that has some implications, I think it's important to think that those two qualities are within each of us, as are the masculine and feminine and other dualities.  I feel proud to be able to wear those two monikers on my shirt, and it helps to bring energy and life into an otherwise difficult situation.

I hope that you visit BARCC's website and learn about some of the myths about sexual assault.  I hope that this will help people feel that they are able to open up communication lines with people who love them.

But here is an image of last year's prize.

2010 Grand Prize

The top row is the Tagalog translation.  The second row is the Baybayin (pre-Spanish colonialism script in the Philippines).  The third row is English.  The mermaid tail is my own design.

The winner will get to choose a shirt color (which I will purchase at American Apparel), and the ink color (I will send you a picture with all the ink colors I have, and we will work on your shirt together).

The Rules
1.  Comment on this post, and this post only!
2.  You must have a blog and give me your email address so that I can contact you if you win.
3.  In your comment, tell me where you're visiting from, give me your shirt size and what color shirt you would like.  Feel free to check out the American Apparel online store for specific details.
4.  Comments after 9pm EST on Thursday, February 17th will not be considered for the prizes.
4.  The winner will be randomly chosen (with a random number generator) and announced at 11pm on Thursday, February 17th.

Enjoy browsing through my blog, make sure you leave a comment, and good luck!

Happy Anniversary!

One year ago, I decided to embark on an exciting adventure that is this blog.  Here I am, a year later, and still excited about sharing more with you all.

I wish I could tell you that I had a super-awesome give-away in honor of my blogoversary, but alas, I got nothing.

Unless, of course, any one of you would be interested in winning another personalized shirt with the "Maganda Malakas Sirenas" logo on it?  Or perhaps just a shirt with the mermaid tail?  Or maybe you don't want a shirt, but a skirt or a scarf?  I'm open.

Pick this design...

Or this design...

Then choose a color.

The Rules:

• Leave me a comment!  Just say hi!
• Tell me what color and size you would like in a shirt (American Apparel).
• Please leave your email, so that I can get in contact with you!
• If you share this give-away with anyone else, and they post a comment referring to you, you get 2 entries.
• If you have a translation of "mermaid" that I don't already have or you help me with one of the ones I already have (on the far right column), you get another entry.
• I'll pick a winner on June 30th via random number generator.

Relatively easy, yes?  I promise that next year, I'll have a brand spankin' new give-away.

But, on the topic of Anniversaries, today is also my parents' 29th Anniversary.  I know I'm one of the lucky folks who still have parents who love each other dearly.  It hasn't all been perfect.  There's been nights of someone sleeping on the couch, or arguing/debating, or losing patience.  But, for the most part, I know my parents love each other very much.  And they've done one hell of a job raising 3 crazy kids, 4 different dogs, and a pond of koi fish.

Here's one example (out of so many!) of how awesome my parents are:  When I was done with grad school, and things fell apart with my ex, I was at a crossroads - somewhat similar to the crossroads I'm currently facing.  Should I try to find another apartment in Boston?  Should I move home?  Should I go someplace completely different? 

While I know my parents would have wanted me to move home (like they're wanting me to now), they said to me, "You know, you could stay in Boston, you could move to Chicago, you could move back to L.A., but we know that no matter where you are, you'll be okay."

Truth be told, that little bit of encouragement has stuck with me.  So, while this blog is just another thing that I've stuck with, like choosing to live cross-country (for now), it's really a testament to my parents' never ending support.

With that, I leave you with a video of how my parents are, no matter who's in the room.  Happy Anniversary, to Gerry and Ani!

Final One World One Heart 2010 Action

With February being what it was, I was pretty busy til the very end and then some.

But I had the chance to work through several emails with the winner of my One World One Heart giveaway on what she wanted.

Though she had already chosen a shirt color in her comments for the giveaway, I emailed her a picture of all the fabric paints I had.  It was fun to see them all bunched together when they're usually in an art box.  Though I have much more than those pictured below, I chose colors that would match with the shirt.

Cataloging

She settled on color #10, the Halo Blue Gold, which would come out a more shimmery green.  I explained to her that there would be some flex on where she wanted to place the image.  But we settled on keeping it where it was in my picture.

Though I had done a little bit of designing on shirts, I used to use regular paper stencils that I would cut out.  Since I was proposing that my friends and I make multiple shirts for the BARCC Walk, I knew I needed to use something more "professional."  But this was my first time ever using silk screens, so I didn't realize you needed to wash the screen every time you put paint on it.  Thus, I ended up with 2 screens.

2 screens, 1 shirt, 1 color

Finally, though, I was able to do the work, and on March 3rd, I sent it on it's merry way.  What I neglected to ask in all the preparations until the every end was where the shirt was going.  Well, ladies and gentlemen, it was going to Malaysia!!!

How cool is that???  I'm excited to know that this shirt is making its way across the world as we speak/type.

Ta da!

During our conversations, the winner of this shirt asked me why I didn't have an Etsy shop.  You know, I thought about that.  I've been told that I could sell several things, first my signature seashell necklaces and now my shirts.

She sells sea shells?

I guess I feel like I have to have all the necessary supplies on hand to be able to run a store.  Plus, I need to learn how to drill holes into shells.  The 2 necklaces above were already pre-drilled, so those have been easy.

Well, I don't need to make any decisions now.  In the meantime, I silk screened something for myself.

American Apparel Circle Scarf with Mermaid Tail

Today's the Day! The One World One Heart Winner is....

Which means that Abby from Reviews by Abby is the winner!

Congratulations, Abby!!!!
As I'm returning home to Boston on Thursday, I'll be able to work on your shirt this upcoming weekend!

What a truly amazing event!
Though I only got through about 760 of the 1100 listed, it was really quite a journey!
I've made new friends along the way, and discovered amazing fountains of creativity all over the world!

Thank you to all who left comments, and especially those who shared a bit of their lives with me.
No matter how you identify and what your life experiences have been,
you are all maganda and malakas to me.

Hello, World!

Wow!

I am truly humbled by all the comments that are pouring in on my give-away post! 

I feel very excited about being a part of this experience!  Though I'm not as creative as some of the AMAZING artists on the One World One Heart tour, I am blessed to be a pit stop (#688!) on this magical carpet ride.

I hope you all enjoy the random sights and sounds I have to share on my own journey.

Thank you all so much!!!

One World One Heart - My First Give-Away!!!

***OWOH Giveaway is CLOSED***

I'm inspired.

Thanks to a mermaid in the attic's blog I found a really neat activity to participate in, and it involves a Give-Away!

One World One Heart

Visit her blog for instructions on how to participate.  But let me tell you what you'll get from me first.

I'm not much of an artist.  I have wonderful friends who are more artistically inclined than I am, but I give it my best shot.

What I want to give away is something that has meaning for me, and will hopefully have meaning for some of you as well.

Every year since 2007, I've participated in the annual Boston Area Rape Crisis Center (BARCC) Walk.  It's a cause that I personally have some stake in (click on this link if you have the energy to learn more about why).

But, I'm not about being victimized.  Instead, I choose to focus more on the strengths of rising above it all (there's that social worker in me again!).

So, I gathered my friends and started a team in 2008.  In 2009, we raised close to $4000 for this wonderful organization!  I was very proud of my team.

Oh, by the way, our team name is the "Maganda Malakas Sirenas" - Beautiful Strong Mermaids.

In Philippine mythology, Maganda was the first woman and Malakas was the first man.  While that has some implications, I think it's important to think that those two qualities are within each of us, as are the masculine and feminine and other dualities.  I feel proud to be able to wear those two monikers on my shirt, and it helps to bring energy and life into an otherwise difficult situation.

One of the fun activities we got to do together was make t-shirts for the walk.  I designed our logo, and we had silk-screening parties.

As the 2010 BARCC Walk is on April 11th, and slowly inching closer, it's time again to register and start thinking about making more t-shirts for new team members.  In honor of the event, I want to give away a t-shirt.

Beautiful Strong

The top row is the Tagalog translation.  The second row is the Baybayin (pre-Spanish colonialism script in the Philippines).  The third row is English.  The mermaid tail is my own design.

The winner will get to choose a shirt color (which I will purchase at American Apparel), and the ink color (I will send you a picture with all the ink colors I have, and we will work on your shirt together).

Okay.  Now for the rules.
1.  Comment on this post.
2.  You must have a blog or give me your email address (as long as there's a way for me to contact you if you win).
3.  In your comment, give me your shirt size and what color shirt you would like.  Feel free to check out the American Apparel store for specific details.
4.  The winner will be randomly chosen (with a random number generator) and announced on Monday, February 15th.

That's it!  Easy peasy.

Good Luck Folks!  I'm excited to share this t-shirt with the world!