Win a Spot in Maggie Holmes Design's Photo Workshops!

Today I'm excited to announce the launch of some must-experience online photo fun--Maggie Holmes' Photography Workshops. Maggie has an amazing eye for photography with seven years of professional experience. I have the pleasure of working with her on many photo projects for Creating Keepsakes magazine, and I can assure you her style is striking, fresh and full of life. 

Now's your chance to learn from Maggie and use her tricks of the trade to master your own photography style! Here's a peek at just some of her impressive work:

Aren't these pics perfect? I adore how she combines light and color to capture true personality. You can see more of Maggie's work here. 

This is your opportunity to learn from Maggie and watch your own photo skills...ahem, develop! 

These two online classes have just opened for registration, and, for the first time ever, Maggie is offering an early bird discount if you sign up before the month's end. Giddy up! 

Win a Seat in Class

Naturally, this blog hop party wouldn't be complete without a chance to win a spot in class. Leave a comment on this post on or before this Wed., May 23, and Maggie may randomly choose you to join in the photo fun for free. Yes, free! She's selecting one of her winners from the comments entered at every stop along the blog hop way, so make sure you take a minute to up your odds by also entering at your next two stops, which are:

Kim Watson

Maggie Holmes

Double the pleasure--Maggie will randomly select a second lucky winner from comments received on her blog, so you'll definitely want to enter there. 

A Little Fine Print: If you purchase a class and then are drawn as a winner for that class, your registration fee will be refunded. Does not apply to purchases made for previous classes.

Good luck to you, my blog friend! Whether you win a spot or simply sign up for your seat, I'm sure you'll love this experience. Now, hop on!

Cheers!

Hungry for prizes? Let's talk winner winners!

Someone grab the napkins. I'm serving up a tasty chicken dinner-dinner to two winner-winners!

First, Congrats to my Bravissimo winner, Savannah. Or perhaps bravo is the more appropriate sentiment for this occasion. Savannah, your sweet comment has randomly been selected. Please expect the following brand spankin' new Making Memories goodies soon. :)

Next, in the spirit of giving, I thought I'd send out another Follower Freebie. This box o' creative happiness is going to Ashley.

Cute Ashley, please e-mail me with your full name and mailing address with "Follower Freebie" in the subject line, and I'll get your box sent out. Thanks so much!

Always fun to give a few thing away. Without much more to say today, I'll leave you with this tidbit:

Find joy in the little things today, my friends. Happiness is all around us, sometimes we just have to look a little harder to see it. Thanks for being part of my daily happiness.

Cheers!

Medallions and a Making Memories Giveaway! Mmmmm!

This is my 200th blog post! And it's Valentine's Day ta boot. Sounds like two very good reasons to host a giveaway to me. Do you agree? Good! Because I have an assortment of the brand new (and awesome) Bravissimo products from Making Memories to give to one lucky winner. Woot!

This giveaway is part of the Studio 5 segment I did today, which was all about medallions.

Like that? You can watch more of my segments on the Creating Keepsakes website. Thanks for your interest and support!

Now, here's how to make your own medallion base (the fluffy back part).

1. Cut a strip of flexible material (paper, fabric, crepe paper, burlap, felt, etc.) into a 1" x 12" strip.

2. Knot the end of a string several times, and run a basting strip along the bottom edge of the material.

3. Pull the fabric tight along the string to form the medallion shape.

4. With the medallion shape formed, stitch the two ends together and snip any excess thread. With that, you have your medallion base. Now it's just a matter of adding a delightful center.

Here are a few things you can make from a medallion base:

A medallion card

A medallion banner

A medallion gift bag.

A medallion gift bag (would also look cute on an Easter basket).

A medallion wreath, good for Valentine's Day or any other day of the year!

Medallion treats, made using my new cotton candy machine. Yum!

I hope these ideas get you in the medallion mood. For a chance to win the Bravissimo line from Making Memories, please leave a comment between now and this Friday, Sat 19. I'll randomly select a winner from the comments received.

Cheers!
Megan

Craft-room cleanup and a Follower Freebie!

I’m determined to start the new year off on an organized note...at least where my craft room is concerned. I’ve spent the majority of my holiday break cleaning and sorting, sorting and cleaning. I’m tired (what else is old?). The pic above (taken today) may not look like it, but I’ve actually made much progress. For one, I can actually see my desk, my daybed, and even my floor. That’s progress, baby.

Here are just some of the supplies I’ve sorted out to give away. Whew! No wonder I’m tired.

The Problem

I’ve decided the problem is I’m a hoarder. I hang on to stuff for waaaaay too long. For example, I have Stampin’ Up! stamp sets from 1999! I was in high school in 1999. I have paper and supplies from companies that, sadly, aren't even in business anymore (Luxe Designs, Scenic Route, Imagination Project, Rusty Pickle, and many, many more). I have beautiful Making Memories ribbon cards that I purchased when I was a teenager, just discovering the magic of Michaels. In other words, I have a lot!  

It’s time for a change. As much as I LOVE my supplies, I just don’t have room for all of them anymore. My craft room is small, and I’ve decided that I need to keep only what I can contain. 

The Favorites! (some of them, at least)

Of course, there are those favorite lines that I’ll never bring myself to get rid of (what’s left of them), no matter how old they may get. We (scrapbookers) all have these. For me, some of these oldies-but-goodies include:

Mellow by BasicGrey: As soon as I saw the cute little people, pups, and tress in this collection, I was hooked! 

Girl Friday by Cosmo Cricket: I've always adored rotary phones (you can read more about that obsession here), and this line is one of the first I remember offering that cool motif (as well as many others). Also, the colors are so bright and happy! 

Little Pieces stamp set by Stampin' Up!: Funny story about this set. I actually came up with the idea for it's counterpart, Big Pieces, when I was working at Stampin' Up!. It was a happy accident that I'll have to tell you about sometime. In the meantime, don't you just love these versatile, bitty images?

Craft Fair by American Crafts: This line came out right after I got my sewing machine. I loved (and continue to love) all of the sewing sassiness found in this collection. 

Scrumptious by Sassafras (back when “lass” was still in their name): This is one of the first lines I remember seeing with an owl in it. And it was pink to boot! What's not to love?

And many more! 

Do you have some all-time favorite lines or products? If so, I’d love to read about them here. Just drop me a line in the form of a comment, and let me know what makes your must-keep product list. 

The Giveaways!

Alas, as much as I love some of the products I’ve gathered over the years, I’ve decided that it’s time to bid some of them adieu. (Note: I will not be giving away the ones listed above. Sorry.) On the bright side, this means giveaways! I’ll be dividing and boxing some of my stash to use as Follower Freebies over the next several months, starting today. 

The December 2010 Winner!

Congratulations to Brenda! You’re my lucky Follower Freebie winner for December. Thanks so much for your interest in my blog. I value and appreciate your readership. Please e-mail me with your mailing address and I’ll get your box sent out. You may even find some cute baby-girl scrappy goodness in it. (Brenda’s having a baby soon.) Huzzah! 

(Please e-mail me at M2E2G @ aol.com with your address and I'll get the box sent.) 

Happy new (and organized) year, all! 

Cheers!

Perfect Pen Giveaway and Tricky Tags!

If you’re like me, procrastination is your game and you’re just now getting to the gift wrapping. That’s okay. You still have time to make those gifts stand out with your own gift-tag creations. I put together a few tags for Creating Keepsakes and Studio 5 recently. I thought I’d share a couple of those with you here. 

Bitty ‘Bot Santa

I had fun making a bitty robot Santa tag using fabric from Cosmo Cricket. 

First, cut two of the same robot from the fabric.

Next, stitch those pieces together (wrong sides together), adding a little puff of cotton from a cotton ball to the middle.

Santa needs his hat, so I used these cute hat stickers from Jolee’s to top my robot off. I selected hats that were mirror images (opposites) so I could stick one to the other to adhere them to my bitty ‘bot. 

When your Santa is done, string a little twine through his hat and you've got yourself a groovy tag (or ornament). Domo arigato, Santa! 

Cone Kiss Tag 

This bitty cone tag doubles as a gift. You see, if you untie the baker's twine, there's a surprise inside the cone—a sweet chocolate Kiss. Fold the cone from an old sheet of book paper, insert a bit of tissue paper along the inside rim, attach a handles, add your Kiss (point down), and tie the cone shut with a piece of baker’s twine. Write your gift recipient’s name on a tiny tag, and attach it to the cone using the twine. 

Bitty Box Tag 

Dress up a bitty box (I used decorative tape and sequins) and use it as a tag on a bigger box. You can either insert the "to/from" alone in the box, or you can insert a smaller gift in the box for a double surprise!

Give a Gift Tag Set Last year, I created these boxes of tags and gave them as gifts. It’s as easy as using scraps from your creative stash and a few shaped punches, and you can create an entire collection of one-of-a-kind tags. Throw in a few fantastic pens to complete the gift, and you have something your gift recipient can use throughout the year. 

Pen Giveaway!
Speaking of fantastic pens. I recently had the pleasure of receiving as assortment of JetPens, and I love them! They have pens for any and all of your pen needs, from gels pens and brush pens to craft pens and and so much more! And they want to spread the holiday cheer by offering one of you a $25 gift certificate to pick and choose your own assortment of awesome pens from their website! Simply leave me a comment here between now and Monday, Dec. 27 and I’ll randomly select a winner. Trust me, this is one prize you’ll want to win. :)

More Tags

Looking for more tag ideas? Please check out my latest Studio 5 segment and check out the Creating Keepsakes blog. Thanks for playing this game of tag with me!

Cheers! 

Halloween Lighting and Prizes!

It’s starting to look like my lantern decorating is becoming an annual Halloween tradition. Last year I had fun decorating the lanterns in this post and this post. And this year I’ve been at it again. Here are a couple of my creepy creations, each created with vinyl from Stampin' Up! and lanterns (and a vase) from IKEA:

Gone Batty

I was excited to see this blood red lanterns this year, just right for a little vampire bat decor. I vant to suck your blood!

I love the shadow this style of lantern casts.

Spider Style

I couldn’t resist doing another spider lantern, but this time I used a jumbo-size lantern. It makes a freaky statement!

Venomous Vase

My vinyl fun didn’t stop at lanterns. I also adhered it to this tall, skinny vase.

I added some Stickles (glitter glue) from Ranger to the letters for a sparkling finish.

It looks like a spider has already moved into my vase. She appears to be a widow. Eep!

I made this flower with a little crepe paper, a spray-misted doily, and a bitty spider cupcake liner from Martha Stewart Crafts.

Note: Please keep in mind that these lanterns do get hot. Follow product instructions to ensure your safety. Thanks!

Enter to Win

Now’s your chance to bring a little vinyl boo-ty into your home. I’m giving away two sets of vinyl designs from Stampin’ Up! Simply leave me a comment here by Sunday, Oct. 17 and I’ll randomly select two winners to receive the following images:

The Prizes Continue

See another one of my lantern designs on the Creating Keepsakes blog and enter to win even more fabulous vinyl.

See a Demo

I’ll be on Studio 5 today at 11:00 AM sharing my lantern creations. If you’re in Utah, I hope you’ll tune in for the frightful fun! Bwa ha ha ha ha ha!

Cheers!

World Card Making Day and Prizes

It's time to "create & celebrate." World Card Making Day 2010 is here! Today marks its fifth anniversary. I remember when I worked for Paper Crafts magazine when this holiday was born (an idea put together by our creative team.) We did everything we could to introduce the day to the world in a big and beautiful way. We wanted it to be about the art of card making (and getting a jumpstart on the holiday card-making season) and connecting through creativity, which is exactly what it is. The creative world embraced the idea and it has grown into something bigger and better than we could have hoped for. Here are just a few places you can go to celebrate today (and win free stuff)!

• Paper Crafts Connection blog: They're giving away a prize package worth over $600!
• My creative friend Alicia Thelin's blog
• SRM Stickers blog
• The Studio Calico message board

Since this day holds a special place in my heart, I want to celebrate it in a big way. For starters, I’m sharing this Celebrate card. Like my projects in previous posts, this one was created with a cupcake liner that I cut down and adhered to a doily. The center of the fair ribbon is a second liner, which has been spirally wrapped to create a flower. (Thanks, Cindy Tobey, for the idea!) The next time I make a card like this, I'm going to adhere the fair ribbon to a pin so it can be removed and worn by the person doing the celebrating!

Speaking of celebrating, I'm going to my monthly card group tonight, where we’ll honor this hobby we love by exchanging handmade greetings. We each bring a dozen of the same greeting, and we swap them, leaving with 12 unique cards. Fun! I’ll be sure to post all of the cards from this event on here soon.

FREE STUFF

And what would a party be without a giveaway? I want to celebrate with you by awarding three lucky winners with a big box of paper crafting goodies. To enter into my random drawing, simply leave a comment on this post, stating what it is you love about creating or receiving handmade cards. From the comments received between now and next Saturday, Oct. 9, I’ll select my winners.

Happy World Card Making Day!

Stuff Week, Day 5: Hey, how about a card (& a giveaway)?

Okay, so technically it’s day six, but who’s counting? I hate to do this to you, but I’m going to share a recycled project—one that I’ve already featured on the Creating Keepsakes blog.

What’s the deal? Well, I used one of the happiest stamp sets around to make this card and My Cute Stamps has agreed to give a set away. So, this means a repeat (if you read the CK blog, that is).

This silly card was designed for my awesome card group. We were asked to make "humorous birthday cards," which is more difficult than it may sound. I hope this mades you chuckle.







The design was inspired by this video…





Which was inspired by old videos like this...






A Bit o' Blog Candy Happiness

Do you want to be entered to win this way dang cute stamp set? In the spirit of laughing, let's share jokes. Simply leave me a comment with your favorite joke between now and next Friday, Sept. 25, and I’ll randomly select my lucky (and funny) winner. I can't wait to laugh! :)


Thanks, My Cute Stamps, for providing this giveaway!

One More Stuff Post to Go
BTW, I promise that I make more than cards. I meeting a dear friend today, in fact, to work on a super fun jewelry project. I will share details of that here soon with a big Stuff Week grand finale. Thanks for peeking at my stuff! That's what she said. (Sorry, I just couldn't resist.) ;)