Mermaid's Dream - Review & Giveaway

Purses and shoes! Those are two guilty pleasures in life that I believe most women will agree to. In my wedding planning, there has been no exception! For this post, I won't be talking about my shoes (although they are amazing), but instead an amazing Etsy shop that sells beautiful original clutches at affordable prices: Mermaid's Dream.

Sherry, owner of Mermaid's Dream (a Canadian-based Etsy shop operating out of Halifax, Nova Scotia), is dedicated to providing shoppers with high quality handmade originally designed clutches. Sherry has been creating original clutches for over 30 years and describes creating clutches as a personal passion. Sherry sells a wide variety of clutches - not only for weddings. At Mermaid's Dream, you will find clutches that are perfect for any occasion - whether you choose to use them for every day use, special occasions, or a night out on the town. Sherry believes in using only the highest quality fabrics so that you will be able to treasure your clutch for years to come!

All of the clutches sold by Mermaid's Dream are made in a smoke and scent free studio, which is great news for allergy sufferers!

Review
Sherry was kind enough to send me a clutch for review in the Wonderful Wedding Wishes event.  I received the Elegant Silk Dupioni Bow Clutch In Light Ivory, customized with a fabulous red interior (to match my wedding colors)! This elegant design is absolutely gorgeous and perfect for weddings! Sherry even makes them in a variety of colors (and in sets) for people who would like to match their bridesmaids. I'm including a picture of the red clutch that matches mine towards the end of this review.  I think it would be perfect for my bridesmaids!

The clutch I received is made from ivory Silk Dupioni fabric with a red Silk Dupioni interior to compliment. This clutch features two layers of interlining and batting to give your clutch a fuller look and to protect your prized possessions on your special day. The clutch measures 8" at the top and fans slightly down to 9" at the bottom. This clutch measures 5.5" in height. While reviewing this clutch, I found that the size of the clutch is perfect and very comfortable to hold.  To ensure the clutch holds up to time, all of Mermaid's Dream clutches have reinforced stitching for durability. The silver frame used for the clutch is elegant and it definitely adds to the beauty of the clutch! Sherry reminds shoppers on each product posting that if you love a clutch but not the lining (like in my case originally), you can request an alternative colour! This is great for people who would like to match their wedding colors or for brides who want to use their purse as that 'something blue'.

From start to finish, I was impressed with Sherry's professionalism. When I received the review clutch, it was evident how much pride Sherry takes in her work. Sherry shipped the clutch with care to avoid damage and she packaged it beautifully in an ivory organza bag with a red satin/organza ribbon (to match the interior of my clutch). This bag is not only great for receiving (or giving as a gift), but it is also great for long-term use; this bag can continuously be used to protect your bridal clutch from damage (stains, etc.). I'm not sure if Sherry hand makes the organza bags as well, but if she did, they are lovely! If she's ever looking for another outlet, selling these bags in an Etsy supply shop for other Etsy sellers would be perfect!

The clutch I received is absolutely stunning! The quality of the purse is evident; the stitching is strong and hidden within the clutch very well. To me, this purse definitely looks like something that I would find in an upscale boutique but without the upscale price (this clutch regularly sells for $65 and it is currently on sale for $52). The interior of the clutch was made in my complimentary wedding colour and the shade she chose is perfect! Inside the clutch, Sherry includes a small tag that says 'Mermaids Dream'. Unlike most product tags, this one is stylish and it works well in the purse. Plus, I think it's great because when people ask me where I got the purse, all I have to do is open it up and tell them (or show them). For brides who would like to have a personalized tag instead (possibly to commemorate their wedding date, etc.), for an additional $5, that is an option. The listing for custom tags can be located here.

One thing I noticed about this clutch that is different from others you can purchase in retail stores is the quality of the silver frame. This frame allows you to open the purse wide, so that you can easily locate the contents. Additionally, this frame is easy to open and close and fastens strong so you don't have to worry about losing anything.

Overall, I absolutely love this clutch! It met and exceeded all of my expectations.  I plan to use this clutch on my wedding day and proudly display it in my wedding pictures. I have already eyed up other clutches I love in Mermaid's Dream Etsy shop and I will be keeping them in mind for future indulgences. If you are in the market for a clutch (for yourself or a gift), I would highly recommend Mermaid's Dream - their quality and service is superb!

*GIVEAWAY*

What can you win?  One winner will receive their choice of any one (1) clutch from Mermaid's Dream (excluding sets).

To enter, visit Mermaid's Dream and heart your favorite clutch.  Then, come back here and leave a comment stating the name of the clutch you hearted and your Etsy ID. This question must be answered to gain an entry in the giveaway.

Each of the following will give you one extra entry in the giveaway (unless stated otherwise). Please make sure to leave a separate comment for each thing you do:

- *NEW* For each $1 you donate to my Wedding Fund (through ChipIn at the top right hand corner of this page), you will receive two (2) bonus entries for this giveaway.  Please make such to leave two extra comments along with your PayPal email so that I can verify your entry.

- Telling me the name of the clutch you'd choose from Mermaid's Dream if you win the giveaway.
- Making one design suggestion for a future clutch to be sold in Mermaid's Dream.
- Entering one other giveaway on Everything Up Close, then leaving me a comment hear indicating the name of the other giveaway you entered (Maximum of 1 entry).
- Subscribing to my blog via email or RSS feed (Maximum of 1 entry - please tell me how you subscribe in your comment).

- Adding my main button to your blog sidebar.
- Adding my 'Wonderful Wedding Wishes' event button to your blog sidebar.

- Following me on Twitter (@ihchicky). Please leave your Twitter name.

- Following me on Blogger / Google Friends Connect (publicly).
- Friending Everything Up Close on Facebook. Please leave your name that is shown on Facebook for verification.

- Tweeting about this giveaway with a link to this page. Please leave a link to your tweet or your twitter name. You can do this once a day.

- Blogging about this giveaway on your blog. Please leave a link to your blog post in your comment. 2 ENTRIES! Please leave 2 separate comments if you blog about this giveaway.

- Talking about and linking to this giveaway in any public forum or on Facebook. If you do this, please leave your user-name and a link to the post. 2 ENTRIES! Please leave 3 separate comments if you blog about this giveaway.

Important Entry Details: The above entries (main and bonus) can only be submitted once per person (except for the tweet entry, which can be done daily). Please do not use more than one blogger account or add additional anonymous comments to gain extra entries. This is not fair to everyone else and this practice is strictly prohibited. If a person is found to be using more than one account to enter the same giveaway, they will be disqualified from that particular giveaway, as well as all future giveaways.

This giveaway will end on Tuesday, July 20th at 11:59pm (Central Standard Time). After the giveaway has ended, the winner will be picked randomly using random.org. EMAIL RULES: In order to win, you must provide a valid email. I will be notifying the winner by email only. Please make sure your blogger profile includes your email address and make sure that it is visible. If you do not have a blogger account, please make sure you have included your email address in your post. If there is no email address provided, to contact the winner, another person will be chosen. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to the winning email notification with their complete mailing address (I will be forwarding all this information to the sponsor), If this information is not received within 48 hours, a new winner will be chosen.  

This giveaway is open to everyone WORLDWIDE.

Good Luck!

SALE! Mermaid's Dream is currently celebrating her first year in business on Etsy. To celebrate, she has reduced all her in stock clutches by 20-50% off! If you are in the market for a new clutch, now is the perfect time to buy!

**Disclaimer** To complete this review and post this giveaway, I was sent an Elegant Silk Dupioni Bow Clutch in Light Ivory.  Receiving this clutch did not in anyway alter the information which I discussed in this article; this review is 100% my own opinion.  I did not receive any other type of compensation for this review/giveaway.