Martha Stewart Book Giveaway Winner

I appreciate everyone’s sharing of things that make them happy. Reading them was a delight.

Today I announce the winning commenter for a copy of the new Martha Stewart Encyclopedia of Sewing and Fabric Crafts.

Using the Random Number Generator (found here), the winning commenter is number 42.

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Congratulations, Laura! Please contact me via email (link in right sidebar) within 10 days with your full name and snail mail address so I can order the book for you right away.

Thank you all for joining in a bit of happy fun.

Blessings Friday: Happiness Giveaway

Today is bringing me an extra bit of happiness in that my husband will be home this afternoon. He’s been traveling for work a lot lately and I’ve really missed him.

Yesterday, Martha Stewart announced the release of her new book (see her blog announcement here) . Martha writes that her book contains “…150 projects, 800 color photographs, and a CD of more than 50 templates”.

Sounds like fun to me, doesn’t it to you?

To share a bit of my happy feelings with you, I’m offering a giveaway. I will order one of you a copy of Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Sewing and Fabric Crafts: Basic Techniques for Sewing, Applique, Embroidery, Quilting, Dyeing, and Printing, plus 150 Inspired Projects from A to Z to be delivered directly from Amazon.com.

Rules of Participation

• Leave a comment on this post sharing something wonderful that makes you happy.
• As long as you have a name that doesn’t invoke the infamous Anonymous moniker and you don’t leave any mean-spirited comments, you’re good to go.

Deadline

• Enter by midnight on Monday, April 12. In respect to the time element, I’m talking about Arizona time which doesn’t abide by Daylight Saving Time—in other words, we never change our clocks forward or backwards. So my midnight will be the end of accepted entries.
• The winning name will be chosen via the Random Number Generator and announced Tuesday, April 13.
• Once the winning name is announced, the winner must contact me via email (link in right sidebar) within 10 days with their full name and snail mail address or a new winner will be selected.

My weekend is going to be a happy one and I wish the same for you! See you Monday.

Blessings Friday: Simple Gifts

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The magic of the Random Number Generator has decreed Commenter 16 as the winner of my giveaway for a copy of One-Yard Wonders: 101 Fabulous Fabric Projects.

Congratulations Jen of Dry Active Beast blog! Please send me an email (link in right-hand column) with your snail mail address so I can send you the book.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading about everyone’s Christmas traditions, some echo mine and some are new ideas for me to consider. One of my own traditions is attending an Annual Ladies’ Christmas Tea to which I’m invited each year. Tonight is this year’s tea.

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Another tradition is visiting various friends around town and exchanging small gifts. Tomorrow morning I’m attending a breakfast for my UFO craft group. I have small gift bags for each of them. Following that I’m meeting four other friends and have little offerings for them as well—simple key rings with glass hearts and silver charms. Sunday is going to be another opportunity to meet with friends; my gift is teaching them how to decorate clipboards and make perpetual birthday calendars.

No matter the time of year, love and friendship are the simplest gifts of all.

One Yard Wonders Book Giveaway

I’m back from Thanksgiving vacation and ready to embrace all that December promises. Today I’m going to hang wreaths and work on packaging our gifts for mailing.

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Since it’s Christmas season, I’d like to give one of you a gift. I’m offering a brand new copy of One-Yard Wonders: 101 Fabulous Fabric Projects, the book I told you about in a previous blog post.

My giveaway offer will be available today through Thursday. Leave a comment on this post sharing your favorite Christmas tradition. On Friday I’ll announce the winner (chosen via random drawing).

Weekend Projects

What in the world does WoOT mean? That was my question when I left you on Friday. Based on everyone’s comments, WoOT is the verbal equivalent of a celebratory fist punched in the air, as in totally rad, far out, cool, hooray, and so on.

Kristie of Fresh on Fridays blog is the winner of my November giveaway. For once I actually know a winner’s address, so I will get your package to you this week, Kristie.


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Thank you everyone for playing along, it was fun discovering new names visiting my blog. Stay tuned for another giveaway in December.

A change to colder weather in Tucson has made my body unhappy and everything I’m doing seems to be in slow motion. I even slept late this morning, very odd for me.

I finished a scrapbook Friday, attended my craft group’s monthly meeting Saturday, and worked on a sewing project for Ginny at iSew Blog yesterday. Ginny’s project is super easy, but my arthritic hands and a really bad headache remind me Super Junie Moon is but a figment of my imagination.


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The scrapbook is a Christmas gift for my niece Rachel who turned 16 over the summer. Fair warning, people, she’s out there somewhere on the road having now undergone the requisite driver’s license rite of passage.


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My sister Carolyn arranged a luncheon for Rachel and her girlfriends at Wrightsville Beach (NC). I bet money the girls used WoOT or its equivalent a lot that day.


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The culmination of Rachel’s celebrations was a dinner dance for all her classmates. Many of the photos Carolyn sent me feature Rachel and her friends in these very strange poses. What’s with that? Never mind, WoOT was enough for me.

Blessings Friday: It’s a Lucky Day for Someone

Although I’m superstitious about a few things, Friday the 13th isn’t one of them. However, there are people who suffer with paraskevidekatriaphobia (fear of Friday the 13th). Take heart if you’re one of them as the next time such a day appears on the calendar won’t be until the year 2015. UPDATE 11/16/09: Well, dang, I lied. Chris let me know there are indeed Friday the 13ths on the calendar (such as August next year). That's what I get for researching on Wikipedia; so, lesson learned. Thanks, Chris!

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My husband and I visited one of our favorite places last Sunday, the Tucson Botanical Gardens. The butterfly exhibit opened again in October (runs until March), but they also have a series of scarecrows on exhibit right now. I’ll only share a few as there were a lot of scarecrows. The one in the photo was labeled Voodoo Medusa.

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This is La Famous Philomena; she’s apparently trying to stay out of the prickly pear.

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And here we have Matilda ready to bless everyone with happy wishes; that ought to ward off any worries over bad luck today.

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Yesterday I made pumpkin bread, but I added a few ingredients to give it extra oomph. It’s takes only about five minutes to assemble before popping it in the oven. It’s insanely delicious.

Pumpkin Bread with Applesauce and Chocolate Chips

• 1 box Pillsbury Pumpkin Quick Bread
• ½ cup applesauce (doesn’t matter if it’s plain or cinnamon, but I did use the cinnamon version)
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Make the bread according to the instructions on the box, add the last two ingredients, stir and pour into a greased loaf pan. Insert into a preheated 375 oven and bake about 45 minutes. Remove the bread from the oven and let it cool in the pan for 20 minutes.

Giveaway

Let’s see, what else can I do to help make Friday the 13th a lucky one? How about a giveaway?

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My offer includes Heather Bailey’s Strawberry Pincushion Kit, Chronicle Book’s Stitch-it Kit, and a copy of Jenny Hart’s Sublime Stitching.

Just leave a comment on this post. I’ll draw a winner on Sunday night and announce it Monday morning.

Although not a requirement, I’d greatly appreciate it if someone would explain to me what this nonsensical word means: WoOT. I keep seeing it on various blogs and can’t figure out its meaning. Colicky owl? What?

Have a lucky day and a great weekend!

Labor Day Blogiversary Giveaway Winner

Happy Labor Day to everyone! For most of us, it’s the symbolic end of summer. Generally it means a day of rest and end-of-summer picnics and that’s what we’re doing at our house today.

To capture the beginning of autumn colors, I offered a small portable watercolor painting set giveaway on Friday. The lucky name drawn out of my mythical (number generator) hat is …

… Kim of Midwest Musings. Kim, please email me with your mailing address so I can get my package out to you.

Thank you everyone for sharing your fall inspirations, just reading them inspires me to look at the world around me in different ways.

Blogiversary Giveaway

Yesterday marked two years of sharing my world with you; today begins my third year of blogging.

To celebrate my tiny moment in history (or herstory as the case may be) and since my blog is all about living life creatively, I’m offering a small gift set of a portable pocket painting kit to thank you for accompanying me on this marvelous blogging adventure.


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Although the Tucson valley doesn’t experience any semblance of a typical fall season, it’s rapidly approaching for most of you. I thought some lucky person might like to venture forth and capture the colors of fall leaves somewhere. Whether you know how to draw or paint is really not important, getting outside and doing something creative is the point.

How to Get Your Name Included: One Rule

Please leave a comment on this post telling me something special that inspires you creatively during the fall season.

I’m a stickler for rules, so do remember my one and only request for adding your name to the drawing. I’ll randomly choose a name and announce it Monday morning. By the way, it’s okay to participate if you live outside the U.S., I’ll throw your name in the basket, too—after all, the internet is not geographically discriminating and neither am I.

Thank you all for visiting my blog over the past couple of years!

Summer Treats: Give-away Winner and Cuban Mojitos

National Parks Give-away Winner

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Congratulations, Sassy-Priscilla, your name was plucked out of my magic hat as the winner of my give-away. Please email your snail mail address; your package is gift-wrapped with a park systems map and ready to go. I hope Aidan enjoys it, too.

Bodeguita del Medio Cuban Mojito

Now the drawing is done, let’s relax. Just the aroma of a freshly-crushed mint leaf invokes a sense of cool comfort during summer’s sultry days and nights. I’ve been thinking about mojitos lately—Hemingway’s favorite drink. Invented at La Bodeguita del Medio in Havana, Cuba, mint is a prime ingredient.

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After searching online, I chose Taste of Cuba’s recipe to try last evening. Using a tall mojito glass and a wood muddler, I did my best to emulate Hemingway’s beloved drink but without the end result the hard-drinking author sought. I prefer awareness as opposed to oblivion.

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Hemingway would be appalled about my adding a paper umbrella, but it looks festive. Ah, my mojito tastes deliciously refreshing.

Have a great weekend!

National Parks Celebration Give-Away

Yesterday I took my camera and water on a trek to Saguaro National Park, a little over 4 miles from my house.

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I love the way this Saguaro seems to be clapping its hands for the Ocotillo (the cactus with all the skinny arms). I’m not sure what the Ocotillo did that was so marvelous, but I’m pleased the Saguaro is so happy.

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Century Plants grow so tall (up to 25 feet) I had to look way up to photograph this specimen’s blooms as evidenced by the clouds in the bottom of the picture.

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Flowers on the Fishhook Barrel cactus will soon turn into a small yellow pineapple-shaped fruit.

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This Prickly Pear has already bloomed and its fruits are just about ripe enough to pick. The fruit looks almost like a crown on this particular Prickly Pear pad so I stopped, bowed suitably to its regality, and then acted like a paparazzo in taking a quick photo.

Isn’t it amazing that the desert, even in summer’s deadly heat, still has much to offer?

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Since our National Parks have given me many years of enjoyment, I want to celebrate these amazing resources by offering a give-away opportunity. On my way out of the park, I stopped in the Visitor’s Center and did a bit of shopping for you. What’s inside this bag?

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• A Park Ranger doll
• Passport to Your National Parks book for collecting stamp cancellations on your visits
• Kids’ Passport to Your National Parks Companion
• A sticker representing Saguaro National Park
• Box of Prickly Pear Cactus Candy as a little tasty treat from my neck of the world

The Rules

Simply post a comment on any post beginning today until Thursday at midnight. I'll announce the winning name Friday morning.

If your name is Anonymous, you won’t be entered in the drawing—fair warning on that as the postal service dislikes packages addressed to Anonymous.

The Big 400 Give-Away Winner

Thank you for all the great comments you left about my blogiversary and your vacation plans. If you have a few minutes, you ought to read those comments and check out what folks are doing. From staycations to adventures in Borneo—amazing things are happening.

The lucky winner is Michelle of Michelle’s Quilting Journey

blog. She’s crafty and does an amazing amount of work to help others. Here’s what she said about her summer plans:

“If I win, I will be having a homecation where I stay home and stamp fabric and then donate the art quilts I made to AAQI ! My vacations, I'm so sad to admit, all consist of frequent trips to Alaska to care for my aging parents. But while I am there, I do get to walk on my beloved Sandy Beach, see my family, and help out in my SIL's 2nd grade classroom. Oh, I work too hard, and don't vacate enough. But I do so love helping others, so I talk too much AND work too much.”

Michelle, please email me with your full name and snail mail address so I can mail out your package tomorrow.

Source: I haven't a clue.

I’ll be back later today to share my own vacation plans and what I’ve stayed up doing until 1:30 a.m. for the last two days. I’ve got to find a neighbor, the FedEx lady, or maybe snag the mailman to hold my project so I can photograph it—why they aren’t ready and willing to model for me at 1: 31 a.m. is beyond me.

Sleep, I need sleep. G’night/mornin’.

The Big 400

Today is my 400th post. In writing about this milestone on their own blogs, many people say something along the lines of “who knew I had so much to say”. That’s so not me. I have plenty to say and could probably post many times a day if left to my own devices. If I write a lot, then you can imagine I talk a lot, too. Be glad you don’t live with me.

To celebrate, I’m offering a give-away—a collection of Anna Griffin stamps and kits.

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Some fun phrases and a brass stencil kit.

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Two alphabet sets.

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A starter stamps gift box with project guide; the following picture shows what’s inside.

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The Rules

• Leave a comment on this post sharing where you’re going (or maybe you’ve already been) for vacation this year—even if you’re just having a staycation. I’m very curious as to what everyone is doing this summer.


• Leave your comment by midnight (MST) on Tuesday.


• I’ll post the winning name on Wednesday morning. If your name is drawn, please contact me by midnight (PST) on Wednesday with your full name and snail mail address so I can mail out your package on Thursday. My email address is in the sidebar on the right.

Hugs!

Sewn Blog Launch Party Giveaway Winner

Tomorrow morning Sewn officially opens its doors. Although initially slated for today, their updated post indicates it's going to be June 9 (Australian time). I’m so excited about all the fun we’ll have learning and doing via this new sewing blog. And, today, I’m announcing the winner of my Sewn Blog Launch Party Giveaway.



The Prize


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A complete quilt kit, including the instructions and all the fabrics—all tucked neatly inside this lovely drawstring (and handled) purse made using the same Timeless Treasures fabrics.

The Winner

Grendelskin is the lucky winner. Congratulations! Please email me with your full name and snail mail address (click on the Email Me logo in my sidebar). I’ll get your package out to you right away.

Thank you for all the lovely comments you left as entries to the drawing. Every comment left on my blog from the day I announced the drawing until this morning when I woke up was entered.

Giveaway opportunities are a wonderful way to not only celebrate the launch of a new blog but also to make new virtual friends and discover new blogs. Don’t despair if you didn’t win. I’m planning another giveaway very soon.