8 Days of Giving - Giveaway Day 1 OPEN!

For those of you who follow my Facebook or Twitter. you'll know that this has been coming..

My 8 days of Giveaways! It's basically 8 consecutive days where I give away one package every day. And each day, there will be a new winner. You are encouraged to enter per the rules outlined below.

I'm doing this giveaway as a thank-you for everyone who has supported He Qi-- it's a good time to do it since April is He Qi's anniversary :D

The prize for those who enter between now and end of the day May 1, 2012 is:

Prize Includes: 
- Lorac Eyeshadow in Negligee
- Daiso falsies
- Bath & Body Works Passionfruit Guava tasty lip color
- 2 purple themed imported bracelets

- He Qi Cinderella Carriage charm

- 1 Pair of He Qi Crystal Designs SWAROVSKI Baroque Earrings in Golden Shadow
Value: approx. $80 USD

Giveaway Rules:

- Must be 18+ or have guardian permission to enter

- Open to residents world wide

ENDS: May 1, 2012 at 6 PM United States West Coast (California) Time! 

I will announce the winner that very night, as well as post the next day's giveaway! You have from now till the end time to enter. BE QUICK!

To earn your first entry: leave a comment on this post, with your name, location, and the link of your favorite item on the He Qi website.

To earn additional entries....

Please make a NEW COMMENT for each additional entry!

For +1 additional entry: be a follower of this blog!

For +1 additional entry: be a follower of my Twitter

For +1 additional entry: be a Facebook fan!

For +1 additional entry: Spread the word about this giveaway via any social network (Twitter, FB, Pinterst, etc), and leave the link here!

For +1 additional entry: Leave a NEW review in my shop for an item you've purchase (reviews from prior to April 30, 2012 do NOT count) (Please only review items you've purchased... how can you review something which you have not purchased?)

For +10 additional entries: by making a purchase between now (April 30, 2012) and (May 1, 2012), post your order number here!

You can participate in this giveaway via this blog, OR on Facebook.
Lisa
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More of Kyoto - He Qi Update!

Are you tired of my Japan posts yet?

... I hope not. Because I took over 1200 photos. Not that I plan on posting all of them here... but I think that's the most photos I've taken in a 2 week period, ever. When I read travel blogs, I always want photos, photos, photos-- it's my way of reliving someone else's adventures.

I'm going to continue my Kyoto adventures.

Every prefecture in Japan has their "specialty" food. In Kyoto, they have special Matcha, resulting in special Matcha Kit Kats I did not want to afford, and these beautiful, dainty, triangular Mochi treats:

The mochi pastry (... is mochi is a pastry? I don't know) is rolled thin, cut into squares, and is folded around a filling. The mochi itself can be flavored as well as the filling. This particular one was Banana skin with Chocolate filling. Very tasty.

As we walked down from the Golden Temple, there was a street lined with little souvenir shops and food stands. One such stand was for this... Potatornado. lol


Potato that has been cut into a swirly shape, like 1 giant curly fry, then deep fried. It was ok. Sadly a bit disappointing since it was quite bland :(

We also got Sakura and Matcha ice cream & some mochi snacks-- it was good!


We went back to the train station, where you can see Kyoto Tower!


We went to another temple... at this point, unfortunately, I have started to lose track of the temples. They were all beautiful, but to my untrained mind, similar.

Then we began the ascent to the Monkey Park-- it was quite a hike, especially because it was actually quite warm-- blue skies, sun was out



And when we arrived at the top..
... so... many... monkeys...

They aren't held captive, but because they get fed here, they pretty much don't leave.

Baby monkey!


Then it was lunch time. Japanese portions, but, lots of separate "parts" and side dishes. I personally love this as it provides a bit of variety for the meal.

However, the Rice + Noodles with EVERY meal was.. getting to be a little too much, haha. SO much starch, not accustomed to it.

And off we went on the "Romantic Train Ride". During this season, Cherry Blossoms are supposed to line a portion of the train, but.. due to strange weather (storm) and colder forecast than usual, the Sakura did not blossom yet.

Cute offering area, in the Bamboo Forest!


We went back to Teramachi Dori and got some Takoyaki:

Delicious! First "genuine" Takoyaki I've had!

That night, we had our first "SUSHI" meal!
We had a variety of Nigiri, Tempura, Rice, Noodles, Tofu.

I half expected fish to be cheaper in Japan, but the price was the same as the US. Needless to say, for our two weeks in Japan, we spent a fortune on food since we ate out all the time.


UHHHH.. this was my meal. It was huge.

And this pretty much wraps up Kyoto.

He Qi news:
Very soon, I'm going to be doing 8 days of straight giveaways both here and on my blog.
Please keep checking back for updates!

I have also added quite a few new goodies, including these intense mystic topaz clusters:

Here's a custom phone charm:

And I really love these Golden Girl earrings, though they are brass:

Some classic Chalcedony earrings -- really perfect for work.

A simple version of the Faerie Forest:

And large CZ drop earrings:

I am also trying to clear out my inventory to make room for new goodies. Prices have been pretty dramatically decreased; please take a look at the CLEARANCE section!

And here is a sneak peak at the new project I've been working on-- more on it when I'm ready to release :D


I hope everyone is having a great weekend so far! Summer is quickly approaching-- it's already almost May.


Lisa
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New Gemstone Goodies!

A quick post... a change from the Japan posts-- I promise I do have more Japan posts coming, however!

I went to visit my parents yesterday and on our way out of town, we passed by a gemstone store. Needless to say, I had to go.

And I picked up beautiful, stunning, absolutely gorgeous Mystic Blue Topaz which I used to make these two beauties:

Simple Wire Gems for every-day and work:

And some extreme ones that I worked on for quite a while. I wanted something dramatic, so this is what I came up with- see them HERE.

So many gemstones in one pair of earrings. I might have overdone it.

And on the same note, more gemstones, Light Pink Amethyst and Tourmaline to create these little clusters:

Lastly but not least, a pair of Sakura inspired earrings:


Meanwhile, I am also prepping for a FACEBOOK Giveaway-- if you haven't "liked" He Qi yet, please head over and take a moment to do so! I will be offering a few prizes :) Please look out for this giveaway within the next week.

Lisa
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Japan Part 2 and New Creations

We stayed at K's House for our 4 day stay in Kyoto. In all honesty, I will not be going back if I return. This is a great place for backpackers to stay, or those traveling extremely light. If you plan to spend almost no time in your room except to sleep, I suppose it'll do. But I would prefer a room where we can actually set down our luggage.

In Japan, you are charged per room by the number of people staying in that room. But from what we've observed on our travels, there's one size room for up to 4 people. It is soo crowded. We don't mind the tatami floors, and the place was very clean. Bathroom are separate (also fine). But it wasn't a comfortable place for us to rest.

Here's a shot of the room-- this is.. as much space as we had. 4 sleeping mats placed directly next to each other, almost overlapping... and about 1 foot room for our luggage to stand.


Every morning downstairs, they had a breakfast buffet with some milk, cereal, yogurt (DELICIOUS YOGURT, Japan has the best yogurt ever...) They do definitely have modern facilities and a nice bar/hangout downstairs:

First day in Kyoto, we visited Kinkaku-ji, The Golden Temple -- beautiful!

Here, there are people who throw money and try to get it on a statue- I think it's something along the lines of good luck if you get your coin to stay on the top of the statue.

Beautiful scenery throughout.

Afterwards, we dine on my first official Japanese meal!

This pork chop was quite delicious; mild, but still good.

Japanese meals always come with a bit of side dishes, here were mine:

Good, fresh salad, sticky rice, miso soup and preserved veggies.

The other dishes included cream-crab croquettes:

Brian had ... a really RICH dish; a play on Chicken Parmesan with a different sauce. Good, perhaps... a bit too heavy :)

On our way back, I stopped by a little shop and  bought a small box of traditional Japanese sweets.. absolutely beautiful works of art.

And then off we went to Teramachi Dori to play some games!!!
Teramachi Dori is a popular area for locals and tourists alike. It's lined with many, many shops, arcades, eateries, etc-- it's HUGE. We did NOT get a chance to explore all its parts.

Lots of these pusher games with snacks! Snacks and candies and chocolate :)

Here's a claw machine where you can win yourself some Haigen Daz Ice cream! Our friend Keith actually won some, so it's possible :)

I wanted to get one of these cute cat things:

And failed, but that's okay, lol.

Brian and I are excited about playing-- I know my outfit is horrendous. Most of what I wore in Japan was disgusting compared to whatever everyone else was wearing.

Running pants, boots and a hoodie. Not hot, though extremely comfortable for all the walking we did.

POCKY! We won them :)

Teramachi Dori photo-- outside walking:

Of course, could not resist getting some fried chicken :D

This was a cool place to hang out, right in the middle of all these shops!

That's it for Kyoto pictures... FOR THIS POST :) I do have more but we'll have to take it a little at a time.

I did release the Personalized Lip Tint Lockets on my website a few days ago-- these make wonderful Mother's Day presents!

I brought back my Romantic Chandeliers today! Peacock - color scheme

Also I made a GIF of Kratos today. I couldn't resist. lol.

Lisa

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