Final Papertrey Ink Giveaway #5!!

It's been a lot of fun doing these giveaways and reading all of your comments! Today I am offering lots of PTI goodies for this final giveaway. It is a sampler of many of PTI's products: stamps, impression plate, ribbons, buttons, paper, felt and more!

For those stopping by for the first time, I am celebrating my blogiversary by posting several Papertrey Ink giveaways throughout the month of January. Everyone can participate, so if you would like a chance to win, feel free to leave a comment!


There are three chances to win today!!

Giveaway #1 includes PTI Cardstock and patterned papers...

And it also includes three colors of felt, ribbons and buttons.

Giveaway #2 includes a Moroccon Motifs Impression Plate, mini paint cans, a 2011 blank mini calendar, a new pink PTI bag, and a PTI notepad.

Giveaway #3 is the yet to be released limited edition 2010 PTI Anniversary stamp set. For those who will not be earning one, this is a great chance to win a copy. I will send the Anniversary set free to you as soon I receive it later in the spring.

I will ship these free to 3 winners anywhere in the world. 

Here are the details to enter:

1. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment saying why you love papercrafting. Also, please mention which giveaway you'd like to win, or if you'd like to win any of them.

2. Since this giveaway is for my blog readers, I am asking that you must also be a follower to enter. Just click the "Follow" link to the side, if you are not already a follower. Please let me know if you are already a follower.

3. Also, it is not required, but I would so appreciate if you'd like to spread the word about the giveaway too.

I will announce the winners to the Giveaway on Thursday, February 3rd. This is the final giveaway for this round, but I will try to have more giveaways in the future!

Thanks again so much for reading my blog and for playing along with these giveaways!

Have a very sunshine-filled day!

PTI Giveaway #4: WINNERS ANNOUNCED!!!!

Thanks for sharing where your favorite places are in the world. Many of you chose "home" as your favorite place, which is very sweet. My favorite place is probably the house that I grew up in. Every time I visit it, it reminds me of so many happy memories from growing up.

Now it's time to announce the winners again! Thanks for everyone who played along with the PTI Giveaway #4! So without further ado, here are the winners of the ribbon samplers from Giveaway #4.

The US winner is...

KARA!!!!

Congrats, Kara!!!!!! You can check out her very cool blog here.

And the international winner is...

MINA!!!!

Congrats, Mina!!!!!! You can check out her wonderful blog here.

Please email me your mailing address, ladies, and I will send you the ribbon sampler! My email is under "contact info" on my sidebar.

The final PTI giveaway will be posted tomorrow! Sorry for the delay, it is going to be a big giveaway!

Seasonal Holiday Calendar

Hi there! Today I thought I'd share with you a patterned paper calendar I made for my mom. You can find the other two other calendars I made here and here.

My mother loves holidays and I remember fondly when we were growing up how she would decorate for each holiday with lots of decorations set all over the house.

In Florida the seasons don't really change outside, so it was especially fun as a kid to have all of the decorations up in the house to mark the changing of the seasons and holidays throughout the year.

Even though all of us are grown now and not living in the house, she still decorates for every holiday and season and I'm so glad she does. :)

So I knew when making a calendar for her that I wanted to incorporate the holidays and seasons for her. 

A way to thank her for all of the warm memories from growing up! :)

I used various PTI patterned papers from several different pads. The months are stamped with PTI's Calendar Basics set.

And here are the remaining months...

Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful, sunshine-filled day! :)

Daffodils for Rada

I made today's card for my mother-in-law, Rada. My husband flew to Croatia to see her and will hand deliver this to Rada on her birthday today. :) Every summer we go to Croatia to see her and this time my husband will be going for a week to spend some mother/son time together.

I like the card much better in person than in the photo. I wish the picture was a little better, but I had to rush to take the picture so we could make it to the airport. The daffodils are embossed in gold and the sentiment is outlined in a shimmery soft gold (it looks very pronounced here for some reason). The papers are shimmery as well.

In Croatia this past summer, Rada pulled me aside and handed me a couple of poetry books she'd studied as an English Literature major in college many years ago. She loves poetry and asked me to read several of the poems aloud to her. So we sat together on her couch as I read to her Longfellow, Dickinson, and more.

She loves many poems, but her favorite poem of all is The Daffodils by William Wordsworth. I must have read it to her at least a half dozen times. Her name translated means "daisy", so it seems especially fitting that her most favorite poem is about flowers.

Now everytime I see daffodils, I think of her.

So here is Rada's most favorite poem. Hope you enjoy it.

The Daffodils
by William Wordsworth

I wandered lonely as a cloud

   That floats on high o'er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

   A host, of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine

   And twinkle on the Milky Way,

They stretched in never-ending line

   Along the margin of a bay:

Ten thousand saw I at a glance,

Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced, but they 

   Out-did the sparkling leaves in glee:

A Poet could not but be gay,

   In such a jocund company:

I gazed—and gazed—but little thought

What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie

   In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye

   Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills,

And dances with the daffodils.

Papertrey Ink Giveaway #4: Win some RIBBON!

Thanks so much for playing along with these giveaways! For those stopping by for the first time, I am celebrating my blogiversary by posting several Papertrey Ink giveaways throughout the month of January. Everyone can participate, so if you would like a chance to win, feel free to leave a comment!

I am offering these goodies up today.

A PTI ribbon sampler! The sampler includes a foot of Papertrey Ink ribbon in almost all of the colors and styles, and also includes speciality PTI ribbons and twine for a total of 150 ribbons. This ribbon sampler is great if you want to keep it by your desk for reference or if you'd like to use them up on your projects too.


There are two full sets and I will ship it free to two winners. One winner will be in the US and the other will be International.

Here are the details to enter:

1. Leave a comment saying where your favorite place is in the world and why.

2. Since this is a giveaway for my blog readers, I am asking that you must also be a follower to enter. Just click the "Follow" link to the side, if you are not already a follower. Please let me know if you are already a follower.

3. Also, it is not required, but I would so appreciate if you'd like to spread the word about the giveaway too.

I will announce 2 winners on Thursday, January 27th. That same day I will also post the final giveaway.

Thanks again so much for reading my blog. I've really enjoyed posting these giveaways for you and hope you've had fun playing along!

Have a wonderful and sunny day!

PTI Giveaway #3: WINNER ANNOUNCED!!!

Thanks so much for sharing your stories about how you got started in papercrafting. I loved reading all of them! It was especially interesting to find out that most of you started with scrapbooking, and then eventually started making cards and other things. Many of you have also been papercrafting for awhile, some since when you were kids.

I have always loved crafting, but started papercrafting 1-1/2 years ago. I went to Joann's to find scrapbook supplies, but found the stamping and cardmaking aisle instead somehow. I was amazed, yet slightly overwhelmed by all of the types of inks and especially the clear stamps. A nice woman in the stamping aisle helped me out and explained what everything was. A month ago, I had an interesting experience in that same stamping aisle. Someone came up to me and asked me about the supplies. And I began to tell her all about dye inks vs. pigment inks and clear vs. rubber stamps, and I realized I had come full circle and now I was the experienced stamper.

Now it's time to announce a winner again. Thanks for everyone who played along with the PTI Giveaway #3!

So without further ado, the winner of the paper sampler from Giveaway #3 is...

CAROL!!!!

Big congrats, Carol!!!!!! You can check out her gorgeous blog here.

Please email me your mailing address and I will get your paper out to you! My email is under "contact info" on my sidebar.

Remember, there will be two more chances to win this month. Another PTI giveaway will be posted shortly! See you soon!!

Papertrey Ink Giveaway #3: PAPER!

Hi everyone! Hope you're having a great day. Thanks so much for playing along with these giveaways! I really appreciate it and hope you are having fun! For those stopping by for the first time, I am celebrating my blogiversary by posting several Papertrey Ink giveaways throughout the month of January. Everyone can participate, so if you would like a chance to win, feel free to leave a comment!

I am offering these goodies up today.

It is new sampler featuring 50 sheets of Papertrey Ink 110 lb. cardstock in all the colors, even the neutrals.

I am also including this...

A sampler of PTI envelopes (2 of each, 16 total) in a variety of neutral colors and sizes, including all A2 envelopes and square sizes.

And also this...

A PTI diecuts sampler with 50 different shapes. It includes all of the favor boxes, mat stacks, fillable frames, Beautiful Blooms flowers, tags, limitless layers, borders and more. They were all carefully diecut from PTI's Stamper's Select white cardstock.

I will ship all of this free to one person anywhere in the world.

Here are the details to enter:

1. Leave a comment saying what got you started in papercrafting.

2. Since this is a giveaway for my blog readers, I am asking that you must also be a follower to enter. Just click the "Follow" link to the side, if you are not already a follower. Please let me know if you are already a follower.

3. Also, it is not required, but I would so appreciate if you'd like to spread the word about the giveaway too. If you post the giveaway to your blog, you may enter twice.

I will announce a winner in 1 week on Thursday, January 20th. That same day I will also post a new giveaway. I won't say how many giveaways there will be, but there will be a few! ;)

Thanks again so much for reading my blog. Enjoy the giveaway!

Have a very sunny day today! :)

PTI Giveaway #2: WINNER ANNOUNCED!!!

Thanks for playing along with the PTI Giveaway #2! It's been a lot of fun doing these giveaways, and I hope you're having fun playing along too. I enjoyed reading your comments and seeing which colors are your favorite. Many of you chose blue as your favorite color, particularly Hawaiian Shores. A lot of you also chose green and pink. Your favorite PTI colors were Hawaiian Shores, Raspberry Fizz, Simply Chartreuse and Aqua Mist. All gorgeous colors!

My favorite colors are usually bold, such as blacks and reds. My favorite PTI colors are Pure Poppy and Aqua Mist.

Enough chit chat, I'm sure you want to find out who won. The winner of the felt sampler from Giveaway #2 is...

Jessica Wekenman!!!

Yay, congrats, Jessica!!! I hope you have fun with your felt! You can check out her lovely blog here.

Please email me your mailing address and I will get your felt out to you! My email is under "contact info" on my sidebar.

Thanks again for playing along!! Remember, there will be several more chances to win this month.

Another PTI giveaway will be posted shortly! See you soon!!

PTI Giveaway #2: Win some FELT!

Thanks for all of the sweet comments the other day! I appreciate all the blogiversary wishes so much and I loved reading which seasons were your favorite. (Just so you know, this is today's second post. To find out if you won the First Giveaway please scroll down to the first post!)

It was also wonderful to learn why each season is meaningful to you. Here are some overall results from the comments. The most favorite season was...AUTUMN! 15 people chose it. Spring was a runner up with 7 people. You seem to like the seasons that introduce a refreshing change. Autumn is a relief from summer heat, while spring begins the warm up from winter's cold. 5 of you chose Summer, 3 chose winter and 1 chose all seasons!

Autumn is my favorite time of year too when visiting a place where the leaves change. But here in Florida, my favorite season is spring. It is the prettiest time in Florida (and the best time to visit by the way). We love to go bike riding, take walks through the many state parks here and visit the beach too. Summer and fall are a bit hot and rainy here, winter is too cold but spring is just right! :) It is blue skies and in the 70s every day!

So, onto today's giveaway! 

It is sampler of 100% wool Papertrey Ink felt in eight colors, each measures 5"x10". I will ship it free to anywhere in the world.

Here are the details to enter: 

1. Leave a comment saying what your favorite color is and why. (If you think in Papertrey Ink colors like I do, you can also choose a PTI color. :)

2. Since this giveaway is for my blog readers, I am asking that you must also be a follower to enter. Just click the "Follow" link to the side, if you are not already a follower. Please let me know if you are already a follower.

3. Also, it is not required but I would so appreciate if you'd like to spread the word about the giveaway too.

The winner will be announced on Thursday, January 13th. That same day I will also post a new giveaway. I won't say how many giveaways there will be, but there will be a few! ;)

Thanks again so much for reading my blog. Enjoy the giveaway!

Hope you have a sunny day and stay warm out there!!

PTI Giveaway #1: WINNERS ANNOUNCED!!!

Thanks so much everyone for the blogiversary wishes and for playing along with my first giveaway! And hello to the new blog followers too. It was fun reading through all of your comments the other day and finding out which seasons were your favorite. :)

Without further ado, the grand prize winner of the 3 PTI button samplers from Giveaway #1 is...

STEPHANIE!!!!!

Woohoo, congrats, Stephanie!!! She has a lovely blog, by the way, be sure to check it out here.

And I had a couple of extra button samplers, so I decided to choose two winners! Two winners is more fun than just one, right? :)

The winner of the 2 extra Spring and Autumn button samplers is...

BECKY!!!

Big congrats, Becky!! You can check out her cool blog here.

Please email me your mailing address ladies and I will get your buttons out to you! My email is under "contact info" on my sidebar.

Thanks again for playing along!! There will be many more chances to win this month, and I will try to do more giveaways throughout the year too. When I decided to have a giveaway for my blogiversary, I wanted there to be many chances, so several of you could win.

Another PTI giveaway will be posted shortly today! See you soon!!

Papertrey Ink Giveaway #1: Happy Blogiversary!

I'm celebrating my Blogiversary today! Woo-hoo! In celebration of one year of blogging and also in celebration of the new year, I am offering up some Papertrey Ink goodies to give away to you!

I am continuing the giveaways throughout the whole month of January, each featuring a different type of Papertrey Ink sampler, so keep checking back. 

Here is today's giveaway!

It is set of new Papertrey Ink button samplers and includes Spring, Autumn and Winter buttons! I will ship it free to anywhere in the world. To enter you must leave a comment saying which of these seasons is your favorite and why.

Since this is in honor of my blog's anniversary, I am asking that you must also be a follower to enter. Just click the "Follow" link to the side, if you are not already a follower. Please let me know if you are already a follower. Also, it is not required, but I would so appreciate if you'd like to spread the word about the giveaway too.

I also wanted to add my biggest thanks to all of you who read my blog and comment! I started this blog as a way to share ideas and I hope you've enjoyed a thing or two that I've posted in the last year. I plan to share lots and lots more ideas with you this coming year.

Joining the blogging world and the PTI community has been such an amazing experience. It's been such a blessing to meet and get to know so many of you who are such kind and very talented crafters. It's a true joy to visit your blogs and to see the new creative and inspiring things that you're making and I hope you will stop by to say hi often when you can too!

I will announce a winner to the Giveaway on Monday, January 10th. That same day I will also post a new giveaway. Since the winner is randomly selected, it is possible to win more than once. I won't say how many giveaways there will be, but there will be a few! ;)

Thanks again so much for reading my blog. Hope you enjoy the giveaway!

Have a very sunny day! :)

Butterfly Calendar plus a tip!

Happy New Year to you all. Hope your year is getting off to a good start! :) Today I'm sharing with you another calendar I made using patterned paper. The first one is here. This can be a great way to go if you're trying to make a lot of calendars. You use up a lot of PP and can get them done relatively quickly.

The paper I used for this calendar is from the Mariposa 12x12 stack by DCWV. I think it's my most favorite paper ever and I was actually cringing a little when I diecut these pages, lol. But I knew this was a great chance to use the paper and then be able to stare at it all year, since I made this calendar for myself. ;) I love making cards and gifts for other people, but this time it was fun to keep something that I made for a change.

I stamped the months with Brilliance Graphite Black (love this black!) and the holidays with Memento Desert Sand, using the PTI stamp set Calendar Basics.

Here's the next month, February. And even though this page is one of my favorites, this is where I ran into a problem using the PP...

Do you see the very bottom of the white paper? Part of the word "Butterflies" is hidden behind the month page! Ack! I was not happy about it, but only had one more of this paper left. I didn't want to sacrifice a brand new sheet for a calendar I am keeping for myself!

To make sure this didn't happen again, I came up with a system to "preview" the calendar page, before diecutting it. I trimmed a sample calendar page from an acrylic Papertrey Ink stamp box. Then I outlined the edge of the clear page diecut with a black sharpie and inserted a sample month page.

And I was much happier with the results. Now it is possible to see exactly what the page looks like before you trim. No more wasted patterned paper! This also can work for any PTI die that you have, if you want to paper piece, you can see exactly what it will look like first. 

Here are the rest of the months. There is a variety so the calendar won't become too repetitious, but the pages still go together with the butterfly and nature theme throughout.

That's all for today! By the way, tomorrow is the first anniversary of my blog! I'm very excited and can't believe that it's already been a year. Check back if you can, there will be a PTI giveaway. Hope you are having a wonderful and sunny day! :)