Alex Has Blog Candy!

I've been following Alex's blog (California Stampin') almost since I started blogging.  She is a wonderfully creative Stampin' Up! demonstrator from California, and she is one of the most generous, kind people I have come across.  Well, she is being generous once again with some seriously amazing blog candy to celebrate 100 000 hits.  If you haven't visited her blog, make sure you do - not only for the chance to win, but to check out her gorgeous creations and congratulate her!  I get a lot of inspiration from her, both for my paper crafting and for being a good person.

Click here to check out her blog candy offerings!

Congratulations, Alex, on all your hits - very well -deserved!  Thank you for inspiring us all with your creative, generous spirit. 

Blessings,

Blog Candy Winner!

Thank you to all of you who visited my blog and left such nice posts. I had my son draw a name for the blog candy, and he chose Denise from Stamping Vacation! Congratulations, Denise! Please email me your mailing address and I'll get this prize shipped off to you!

Blog Candy Time!

**This post will remain at the top until Sunday, so please scroll down to see newer posts.**

It's been a long time since I offered blog candy, so I thought since I've reached 40 000 hits, now is a good time! I'm so amazed that so many people have visited me, and I'm thankful that you still stop by even though I haven't been very consistent with posting!

So what do you need to do to win this candy? Simple! Just go to another posting I have on this blog and leave a comment on that post. Then come back to this post and leave a comment here telling me which project you posted on. I hope that makes sense! You'll also get an extra entry if you link this post on your blog (just make sure you tell me in your comment that you've done this!).

I'll put all the names from this post into a draw on Sunday, August 23, and one person will win this prize:Blog candy includes Polka Dot Punches stamp set, 10 assorted 6 x 6" designer series papers in a pouch, an assortment of embellishments (clips, buttons, brads), 1 metre of Riding Hood Red taffeta ribbon and 10 chipboard coasters.

Thanks for visiting!

Blessings to you,

Autumn Butterfly Bookmarks

I haven't had much stamping time lately since we're trying to sell our house. I've had to pack up most of my stuff and put it in the storage closet. But my wonderful husband gave me a stamping day yesterday, so I hauled it all out to play!

My Holiday Mini Catalogue pre-order arrived on Thursday, so I had a lot of fun playing with my new stuff! I made these bookmarks for the ladies in my downline.

I used the new Autumn Meadows designer series paper on a Chocolate Chip background. The butterflies are from Flight of the Butterfly, stamped in Really Rust and Chocolate Chip and punched with the new butterfly punch. The sentiment is from Teeny Tiny Wishes, punched with the Word Window punch and layered on some Really Rust punched with the Modern Label punch. At the top, I put in a pewter jumbo eyelet.

Thanks for stopping by, and make sure you enter my blog candy draw!

Blessings to you,

Stampin' Addicts Win A Big Shot Contest!

I've recently discovered an amazing website called Stampin' Addicts, which features tons of projects and ideas using Stampin' Up! products, including the Stampin' Up! Big Shot! (It's kind of like Splitcoast Stampers, but with only Stampin' Up! stuff!) And right now, they're having a contest where you can win a Big Shot Five-Pack of dies which includes:

• Stampin’ Up! Thanks (Embosslits)
• Stampin’ Up! Final Press (Embossing Folders)
• Stampin’ Up! Perfect Details (Textured Plates)
• Stampin’ Up! Two Tags (Bigz Dies)
• Stampin’ Up! Fancy Favor (Bigz XL Dies)

All you need to do is go to their contest page (click on "Big Shot Five-Pack" above) and link their information to your blog! So this is my entry!

Head on over there and check it out (after you check out my blog, of course!).

Blessings to you,

Halloween Blog Candy Winner!

The flu has hit our house full force this week! DH, DS and I have all been sick this week. Thankfully, my oldest son did not get it yet (fingers crossed!). We are planning to get our flu shots next week when they are available, so hopefully we won't get any of the other strains that are out there.

Anyway, I know you're waiting to hear who the winner of the blog candy is. Thank you to all of you who visited and commented. It was nice to read about your favourite Halloween memories. Random.org chose #5: Kathy Brown! Here's Kathy's memory:

I remember all the hussle and bussle of us 5 kids getting into our outfits for Halloween, piling into the family station wagon and being dropped off at the end of the street with Mom,and Dad would drive to the other end of the street and wait for us to go from door to door gathering up loads of candy then going to the next steet, etc. That was when Halloween was about treating and not so much tricking. Candy was safe to eat, alto our candy was still looked over, and kids were safe. Oh how times have changed. Thanks for the chance for some fun blog candy!!

Kathy Brown

Email me with your mailing address, Kathy, and I'll get this out to you ASAP!

Thanks for playing!

Blessings to you,

Blog Candy Time!

Well, in my busyness, I didn't notice that the counter turned over 30 000 hits! I'm so flattered that people even bother to come and look at my blog! So to thank you for your amazing loyalty and for visiting (even if this is your first visit!), I'm offering some Halloween blog candy.

And for a chance to win this candy, since it's October, all you have to do is leave a comment here telling me what your favourite Halloween memory is.

My favourite memory is a conglomerate of years. My sister and I always had to wear snow pants under our costumes because it always snowed before Halloween, and we only had two big costumes that fit over snow pants - a cat and a clown. We always argued over who got to be the cat because neither of us wanted to be the clown! (We had different costumes that we wore to school, but for trick-or-treating we had to wear the cat and clown!)

So here's what you can win:The candy includes:
- four 6 x 6 sheets of Ghostly Greetings dsp
- one 6 x 6 sheet each of Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie and Basic Black cardstock
- five die-cut pumpkins in Pumpkin Pie
- stamped images from Harvest Home
- 1/4" grosgrain ribbon in Basic Black, Always Artichoke and More Mustard
- Pewter Hodgepodge Hardware pieces
- Metal Edge circle tag stickers

I'll leave this open until Monday, October 13, and then I'll use Random.org to choose a winner!

Thanks for visiting!

Blessings to you,

Thank You, Denise!

Denise at Stamping Vacation sent me this fabulous RAK for her Pick Three Challenge! The blog candy was just supposed to be the stamps, but she threw in some CB'd cardstock and some Bella images (I love them!). Plus, look at the amazing card she made as well. Isn't that cute? I love the bright summery colours! Denise has her current Pick Three Challenge up right now, so check it out! It's lots of fun.

Thank you so much, Denise! I can't wait to use all this stuff!

Blessings to you,

Blog Candy Winner!

Thank you to everyone who commented. I've discovered some new blogs that I will be returning to! It was so interesting to read what people are planning to do over the summer - looks like there'll be a lot of traveling! And it's nice to just stay home and relax too! I wish you all the best this summer, and hope you enjoy time spent with friends and family.

And now - the winner is #11 - cricketpe. Here is what Cricketpe is doing this summer:

I'm getting married in December, so my plan is to get as much wedding stuff done as possible!

Congratulations on your upcoming wedding! Please email me with your mailing address, and I'll get your goodies sent out to you!

Thanks for playing!

Blessings to you,

Blog Candy Time!!!

I just realized that I've hit over 25000 on the counter! You know what that means...Blog candy time!! Thank you to all of you who keep on checking in even though I haven't been posting much lately. Here's what you can win:
There's some assorted 12 x 12 paper, stickers, brads, eyelets, flower embellies, clear stamps and ribbon.

All you need to do for a chance to win is leave me a comment telling me what your plans are for the summer. I'll have random.org select a winner on Sunday, June 8. Please make sure you leave an email address so I can contact you!

As for me, we'll be going to Jamaica for a little family holiday this summer, and I'm so excited! My husband's father is from Jamaica, so my MIL and FIL are taking all their children and grandchildren for a visit to see where he grew up. It should be great for us and our boys. We are so blessed!

While you're in the mood for some blog candy, you will want to head over to Diane's blog and check it out. She has AMAZING creations, and she's offering some yummy candy as well right now.

PIF Blog Candy Winners

The first three people to comment on my PIF Blog Candy post saying they wanted to participate are:

• Tracy
• Alex
• Stephanie

Thanks for playing, Ladies! I'll have some fun going shopping this weekend and get some goodies in the mail to you next week. Please make sure you email me your mailing address!

PIF Blog Candy

BLOG CANDY ALERT!!!

I signed up for Lee's Pay It Forward Blog Candy a few weeks ago, but I was absolutely stunned when I received the package from her this week. You would not believe all the goodies she sent! I had to take two pictures because I couldn't fit it all into one! She sent tons of paper of all different sizes, mulberry paper, flower brads, eyelets, ribbon, flowers, Color Box ink, micro beads, clear stamps, embellishments. All I can say is, "Thank you, thank you, thank you, Lee!"

Now it's my turn to Pay it Forward! So, if you would like to participate, leave a comment here. I will send some equally amazing blog candy to the first three people who comment here, who in turn, will "pay it forward" to three more people. I think this is such a fun way to see what other people are using for their paper crafting and get some new ideas and goodies!

BTW, make sure you check out Lee's blog. She's a new friend I've made here in Blogland, and I'm so thankful to have "met" her. What a wonderful, talented lady she is. Her creations are amazing.

Fun, Fun!

Wow! What a busy week! No time for playing at all! I've recently become an Epicure Selections Consultant, so I've had a couple of parties to do this weekend. I had originally signed up so I could get my spices at a discount because I buy so much of the stuff! But then one workshop turned into two, and it just continues from there. Of course, that's what I had intended when I joined Stampin' Up! as well, but as you can see, I quickly become obsessed and go way overboard!!! I had lots of fun at the Epicure parties though. There are always so many nice ladies and so much fun to be had.

Anyhow, it was a nice mail week. Diane sent me this adorable moose card and some goodies for my birthday! Thank you so much Diane! I just love them!


My blog candy from Candace also arrived this week! YAY! There's tons of paper and ribbon and a stamp and gel pen as well. Thank you so much, Candace. These will be great for scrapbooking my boys!

A Wonderful Birthday & A Blog Candy Winner!

What a wonderful birthday I had yesterday - probably one of my best ever! First, on Wednesday, I had a delivery of beautiful flowers from my mom.

Then yesterday, I went out for a bit in the morning, and when I returned, this beautiful drawing was in my mailbox. My SIL, Twyla, drew this for me. I had tears in my eyes when I saw that it's a picture of my dad (who passed away ten years ago) that she drew with my boys. He never got to meet them, but he would have been a wonderful grandpa! I can't believe how much my boys look like him. What a beautiful gift! Thank you, Twyla.

Then my friend, Sherri, showed up with lunch for me at noon (always a treat not to have to make lunch!). We had a great visit. She's such a thoughtful friend.

Later, my other SIL, Wendy, showed up with a vase of lilies for me. Take a look at the vase! Those are SU! Rub-Ons!!! A woman after my own heart. LOL.

My boys slept most of the afternoon, so I had some quiet time to myself. Then, when my husband got home from work, he and my boys took me out for supper. Again - nice not to have to cook! I spent the evening with my son at AWANA, then came home and watched Survivor and Celebrity Apprentice!

All in all, a wonderful birthday!

So anyway, you're probably wondering who won the Birthday Blog candy! I have enjoyed reading about your favourite birthday memories. Thank you all for visiting and commenting.

So without further ado, the winner (as selected by Random.org) is...
#26 - bluemoon

Here is her comment:
Best Wishes for a very Happy Birthday to you! and Happy 20K too! Lots to smile about

Here's a good b-day memory, I was a kid, up at our cottage on the lake, no tv etc. On my birthday my dad said he had a special present for me, and took me over to the neighbours cottage. there they were all eyes on the very tiny black and white... my dad told me he arranged this was especially on my birthday... we all saw the men landing on the moon for the first time on my birthday! As a kid, I did not know any better LOL. :) Happy Day.

What an amazing birthday memory - the first moon landing! Wow! Thanks for sharing that! Please email me with your mailing address so I can send your blog candy to you.

Thanks for playing and thank you for your birthday wishes. Have a great weekend!

Birthday Blog Candy Time!

I'll leave this post at the top until the winner is chosen. Please scroll down for new posts.

Well, I just noticed that my counter just passed 20 000 hits! I'm amazed. When I started this blog during the summer, I really didn't expect that anyone outside of my family would ever even look at it, and now I'm so privileged to have made so many wonderful blog friends all over the world. How cool is technology! And in addition to the 20 000 hits, it's also my birthday on Thursday.

So to celebrate my birthday and all the hits, I am going to offer some super-amazing blog candy.
ETA: The blog candy will be this In Full Bloom Simply Scrappin' Kit (it's opened, but nothing has been used - I just wanted to take a peek!), two sheets of Accents & Elements stickers, a clear envelope brag book that I made, a dragonfly stamp, a "Be Happy" incentive stamp, a black stampin' spot and some chipboard tags. I hope you'll like it!

For a chance to win this blog candy, all you have to do is leave me a comment on this post and tell me what your favourite birthday memory is. I will leave this open until 11:59 p.m. (mountain time) on Thursday, February 28 (my birthday!) and choose a winner on February 29 using Random.org.

Thanks for playing and thanks for visiting!

A Great Mail Day!

Don't you just love it when you get goodies in the mail!? Yesterday, I was thrilled to receive some creations from two very talented ladies whose blogs I stalk whenever I get a chance!

Teri sent this blog candy that I won from her awhile back. The Canadian postal system is so slow that it took awhile to get here! Thank you so much for sending the stamps, photo book and adorable card, Teri!
Here's the inside of the photo book Teri made:
Then Corie sent this criss-cross card! I was so happy to receive this! She posted a ton of criss-cross cards on her blog after Christmas, and I was just drooling over them! Thank you so much, Corie!

Make sure you check out these ladies' blogs! They are so talented (and super nice as well)!

And the Winner is...

It was so nice reading what all of you are doing for the holidays. It looks like most people will be spending time with family and eating lots! Sounds great!

I used random.org to select a number between 0 and 32.

And the winner is...#21 - Diane Noble! Here's Diane's comment:
We will spend Christmas day at our house with my parents and two grown sons coming. Gone are the days with little ones clamoring around the tree. It's quieter now, but oh, so precious when family is together. Later in the week extended family will gather at my sisters, spreading Christmas celebrations out over a full week!

Congrats on all your hits! You're ahead of me but I'm just getting started at all this and so look forward to other great connections with artists all over the world!!

Diane will receive the Oh So Lovely stamp set, an assortment of 12 x 12 SU! designer series paper (including Apple Cider, Baroque Motifs, Dashing, Cerise, Wintergreen and Petals & Paisleys), a Real Red Stampin' Write marker, some gold and silver elastic cord, some Chocolate Chip silk ribbon, some pink ribbon, and an assortment of embellishments (including brads, chipboard accents, Real Red zig zag ribbon and some buttons). Diane has a wonderful blog, by the way! Make sure you check out Diane's Designs.

Congratulations, Diane! Please email me with your address so I can send this off to you.

Merry Christmas, everyone, and thanks for visiting!

Blog Candy for 15 000+ Hits!

Please scroll down for new posts - I'll leave this at the top until December 21.

Okay Everyone, it's Blog Candy Time! My counter hit 15 000 last week, so I'm offering some yummy Stampin' Up! blog candy! Thank you to everyone who visits my blog regularly. I do appreciate it! I've met so many good blog friends here, and I'm so grateful and amazed!

Since I haven't had time to pull together all the blog candy and take a photo, I'm going to copy Alex (California Stampin'), who by the way is also offering some blog candy, so check it out! I'm going to offer some "wrapped" candy - you'll find out what it is after I select a winner. It will include a Stampin' Up! stamp set, some 12 x 12 SU! designer paper and some assorted embellishments (some SU!, some other).

Here's how to win: simply leave me a comment and let me know what you're doing for Christmas this year, if anything! I'm interested to know how people around the world will be spending the holidays. Our family will be going to British Columbia for a few days to visit my mom and step-dad. (Yay! A long van ride with two little kids!!! Thank goodness for the DVD player! LOL!) Mom always cooks a ham dinner on Christmas Eve and a turkey dinner on Christmas Day, so there should be some good eating! Afterwards, we'll have a late Christmas with my in-laws here in town. Our boys will exchange gifts with their cousins and we'll have a yummy supper afterwards (do you see that food is a theme here?).

Anyway, I'll leave this open until Friday, December 21, then I'll use random.org to choose a winner. Thanks again for visiting!

BLOG CANDY(s) and an Announcement

First, Alex (California Stampin') is offering some yummy "wrapped" blog candy for 7500 hits ("wrapped" as in we'll find out what it is later - but she promises it will be good, and I know it will be!) Check it out here. Congratulations, Alex!

Second, I noticed that my counter turned over 15 000 hits today! Thank you all so much for visiting! I will be putting up some blog candy this weekend, so please come back to enter for your chance to win!

Third, I've been feeling like I'm burning the candle at both ends, so to speak, and I've had to do a lot of thinking and praying about how to spend my time so I don't burn out and drive my family insane! So with that in mind, I have decided that I need to cut back a bit on my blogging (*sob*). I've been trying to post every day and check out others' blogs every day, but it's just taking up too much time (I am a SAHM, so I should probably spend some time with my kids! LOL!). Anyway, I'll only be posting a couple of times a week and blog surfing on weekends. So I do hope you'll continue to check in with me. I appreciate all the encouragement I receive from all of you in Blogland! And if you don't hear from me on your blogs during the week, I haven't forgotten about you, and I will be visiting on weekends! Thanks again for your support and understanding!

Thank You, Jenny!

Allison (Stampin' When I Can) posted awhile back saying she's never sure whether or not to post her blog candy winnings. I totally agree - I don't want to seem like I'm bragging about winning because that's not the case. On the other hand, I think it's important to acknowledge the person who sent the blog candy and thank her publicly since she went to the trouble of buying it, posting it on her blog and mailing it. That being said, I did win some blog candy (I'm not bragging!), so I want to thank Jenny for sending it!

I won this blog candy from Jenny (Stamping Moments), whose blog I have been stalking lately! She is a very talented paper crafter who just signed up with Stampin' Up! since the company recently arrived in the U.K. She's very excited about it, and she's been making tons of stuff with her SU! supplies, so I've been checking her blog daily to be inspired! Go have a look for yourself - you won't be disappointed!

It took awhile to get here from England, so I'm very excited that it's here! Thank you so much, Jenny - I just love it! It's a package of 12 x 12 paper (all Christmasy! It matches Blue Bayou perfectly!) and some matching stickers! Now my dilemma is whether to use it for cards or save it for some scrapbooking! I'm such a hoarder of supplies, and I always want to make sure I use my things for just the perfect project, so I end up not using my nice stuff! I think I'll make a few Christmas cards with this, then save some for scrapbooking. Okay, problem solved!