Tea Cozy Giveaway

Dear friends, today is the last day to enter to win an absolutely adorable tea cozy from Garden of Daisies. Isn't the mushroom one adorable?! Go enter now!

Just yesterday, a friend and I were talking about hosting tea parties at our homes on a rotating basis. I will be visiting the Garden of Daisies site again and again for more tea ideas, I am sure.

It's the little things... Giveaway! (CLOSED)

And, the lucky random.org winner is.... Hayley! Look for an email from me, Hayley, and "thank you" to every one else who entered. I have a few more giveaways in mind, so stay tuned!

Welcome, welcome! This is the third Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day I have participated in. It is always so exciting. Though the end of the school year is really trying to push my stress buttons, squeezing in the crafting for this day of giving was actually a good idea. It was nice to find good reason to knit and felt. Please don't hold your breath, as my work week is about to begin, but I am hoping to add one more "little thing" to my giveaway. I might be able to get it done in time... stranger things have happened, I'm sure.

As it stands now, these little things would make great accents to your nature table, if you have one. If you don't have one, winning this would give you good reason to make space for one! It's always nice to be near nature, and so special when you can bring a little indoors without any harm to Mother (Nature).

For your summer table, a little felted strawberry:

To make this, I simply wrapped wool around a tiny pine cone and needle felted it in place.

For your autumn table, a little knitted acorn:

The pattern for the acorn can be found in this book:















How can you win these lovely little things? Simply leave a lovely little comment. That's all. If you are one of the folks who has been following me for a while (or wishes to start now), please leave a second little comment so I can give you a second entry as a token of my appreciation.

The giveaway will be open until Friday evening, because I will surely not get around to randomly choosing a winner until the work week is over! I will ship internationally ("hello" to my cyber friends across the pond and over the border!) by Monday, the 30th.

Giveaway Day 2010 (closed)

*Giveaway is now closed**

I had so much fun with SewMamaSew's Giveaway Day last year, I'm doing it again. (If you don't know about Giveaway Day, go to the aforementioned web site and enter to win many other giveaways!)

Here are the dry felted wool mama and baby duck that you may win from me. I was going to give away just one, but how could I separate a mama and baby?!!

They are propped on a piece of scrap wool, which I can pretend is to represent some green food they are eating, but really it is to sit them up straight because their heads are a bit heavy. In the hands of a storyteller or young child, I don't think this will be a problem.

Please leave a comment here, with your email address or blog profile with an email address in it, if you would like me to send you these soft little duckies. If you are a lovely follower, please do say so in a second comment for a second entry. I will randomly draw a winner on Saturday. I will ship internationally on The 20th. I can't imagine this will get anywhere but down the street before Christmas, though I do think this would be a fun stocking stuffer. Best of luck to you!

Toddler Skirt Giveaway--CLOSED

Remember this skirt?
She wore it at three,

and again at four,

and now it's time to pass it along. I think she only wore it these two times, so it has plenty of use left.

Would you like it for your little one? Will she wear it to a special event, or just for general girly fun? Let me know. Are you a follower? Comment a second time for a second chance. I'll choose a winner at random on Tuesday(ish) and send it their way shortly thereafter. This is pretty light-weight, and I'm just going to squish it into an envelope, so I am happy to ship to anywhere in this big, beautiful world.

Still getting the crap out, and trying out a new routine.

I am (at a snail's pace) continuing on my quest to rid my home of excess clutter after starting with the craft room. Today, V and Co. (my organizing hero) announced a little giveaway for $100 gift card... yeah, you should go check it out. You don't have to do anything special, just leave a comment. PLUS, you get to read about her brilliant keep-the-house-clean routine. Anyone who knows me in real life (e.g. married me and now has to live with this fact daily) knows that I hate cleaning. I'm not very good at it. Well, I just don't do it too often. Not a very good habit to instill in my child, so I shall turn a new page. Starting tomorrow, and totally plagerizing V and Co.'s routine, I will begin with "Organizing Thursday". View her post to see what each day of the week is geared toward and how she gets her kiddos to help (with or without complaining).

No link-ups, but a lot of great leads to other blogs in my last post. Keep 'em coming, and I will share my final decision(s) in another post or two. Thank you for your help.

Aw, you're so sweet. (And, a CLOSED giveaway!)

I have received my first blog award. Sweet! It's from my sister, so I'm hoping she didn't feel like she had to give it to me... but, I'll take it anyway. ;-)

There are rules for accepting this award, so let's get on to that.

1. Thank the person who gave you this award.
Thanks, Tess! Check out her blog, Baby.Got.Craft.. I like how she's paying the love forward with a giveaway--go enter it before Friday!--so, I'm going to copy her and give something away, too. Keep reading...

2. Share 10 things about yourself.

1. I am not a vegetarian. People think I am because I am thinnish.
2. I am not a runner either, though people think so for the same reason as #1. Actually, I hate running. The only reasons I would run are if someone were chasing me or my daughter were in danger. And, if my daughter was in danger, I would bust out a little TAVE-Fu as well.
3. I love to eat.... slowly. I like to enjoy the taste of my food. 
4. In light of #3, I fear the day my metabolism slows down. I thought it would be here a couple years ago, but it's coming, I know...
5. Like my sister, I'd choose shopping at an estate/garage sale over shopping at the mall...any day. In fact, I can't remember the last time I shopped at a mall.
6. I have fibromyalgia. It sucks. But, what are you going to do?
7. I broke my neck and back and punctured a lung in a car accident in high school. 
8. In light of #7, my daughter may never drive! I know that is not realistic, but it is going to be a very difficult day for me--moreso than most mothers, I think. Hoping her friends will understand after I scare the bugeesus out of them.
9. I love gardening on cool summer mornings until it gets too hot to work anymore.
10. I come up with my best ideas in the shower, which is why I now keep bath crayons in there (they're good for writing love notes, too). 

3. Pass the award along to bloggers who you have recently discovered and who you think are fantastic!
This was made a little bit easier by the term "recently discovered", otherwise this post would take the whole page.

• 
  
  Until Wednesday Calls--discovered this cool mama at the beginning of the month through my participation in Sew What?!! Her daughter is cute as a button and I share her love of denim and birdies.
• 
  
  Betty Rockit--a self-proclaimed robot extraordinaire I found through Sew, Mama, Sew's giveaway day last month. My daughter loves to pretend she's a robot, so I feel a sort of kinship with Betty.
• 
  
  BusyBeeFree--the knitter I hope to someday be, also found on giveaway day, who lives across the pond and reminds me of fun times spent over there. I greatly appreciate that she blogs in English. AND, I have made a purse similar to the one in her header!

4. Contact the bloggers you've picked and let them know about the award.

The Giveaway:
As I said, Baby.Got.Craft. is hosting a giveaway in thanks for her award. I would like to do the same. And, I like her rules, so I'm just going to copy them, too! Here's what you need to do to win:

• 
  
  Check out the blogs I am awarding (See #3 above), and let me know your favorite blog post found on one of these new Beautiful Blogs!
• 
  
  Second optional entry for becoming a follower, or being one already.
• 
  
  Leave a comment for each - That's it! I'll use a random method to pick the winner on Friday 7/2.

What will you win? These red fabric bits and other red things as I find them and stick them in the envelope.

Why red? I don't know. Sometimes you just need a good dose of red.

And the winner is....

Alright, well, apparently I'm not cool enough to figure out how to copy the cute little purple and white box from the random.org site and paste it here, so... you will just have to take my word for it. The "True Random Number Generator" chose comment #109:

That is so pretty! My girls and I dyed playsilks with koolaid a few months ago, and that was pretty fun (we did a rainbow one) but nothing like this... Thanks for the giveaway!

You are welcome, Genevieve P! I will be contacting you shortly, so check your email and we'll get the mailing details all squared away.

I have also dyed silks with Kool-Aid, and that was super-fun, too! I think my next project might be to try combining the two techniques.... Yeah, stay tuned for that and I'll be sure to let you know how it goes.

Have a great weekend, everyone.

Giveaway Day! (CLOSED. Stay tuned for the winner...)

**I will choose a winner after I finish teaching this afternoon... Stay tuned! Thank you to everyone for playing!

I wasn't prepared to do this in December, but I'm ready now. Sew, mama, sew! is hosting another giveaway day. Head on over there to see ALL the other fabulous goodies you can try to win. Who among us doesn't love to get a package of wonderful, free goodness in the mail with our very own name on it?!! Here is what I am offering:

A hand-dyed, 100% silk scarf.

I dyed this with bleeding tissue paper (gold, green, and blues). The Sewing Dork sent me some a while back after she'd dyed Easter eggs with it. I was then observing a kindergarten room and saw them using the same tissue to dye scarves for Mother's Day gifts... Genious! Simple! Beautiful!

If you don't win this giveaway, head over to my tutorial and learn how to make one for yourself. But, I do hope you win. Go ahead and leave a comment. If you like what you see here, become a follower and come along on the journey. I will randomly choose a winner in the wee hours of the morning of May 21st. I will happily ship internationally.
*If you don't want to leave your email in your comment, please make sure you are following so you will know if you have won!

Best of luck to you!

Winner of the Essential Oil Giveaway

Melissa said,
Loved your website! I would love to start to use essential oils around my house. I have heard they are so good for you and have been looking for a play to buy them. I make my own laundry detergent and have been looking for an oil to put in so I would pick lavender for me. Thanks for a fun contest!
Melissa, I want to know how your laundry detergent turns out with lavender because YOU WON! Watch for my email so you can reply with your mailing address.

This giveaway sure was a lot of fun to host, and I hope to do another in the nearish future. I am actually pondering an idea for a shirt swap.... so, stay tuned for that. In the meantime, I want to address some of the wonderful comments and questions that were left on my giveaway post. These are, of course, my personal opinions and suggestions based solely on my use of Young Living brand essential oils. If you would like any further follow-up, please comment on this post or send me an email.

My two cents:
Thieves is a great oil blend. Clove is one of my favorite smells, too! The immune support is fantastic. It is the oil that I diffuse most often, particularly in the winter months. I also spray it on the door handles, water faucets, etc. in my classroom for extra protection!

Lemon, orange, and other citrus oils are so energizing and wonderful to smell. The first time I smelled lemon, I was surprised, because I was expecting a smell similar to lemon juice. Citrus oils are pressed from the rinds of the fruit (not distilled) which is an entirely different smell--more similar to that zesty scent you get when you peel the fruit. Because the oil is from the rind, you could use the antiseptic properties to your advantage by pouring directly on a wound (I have done this on my child with lemon oil) and it would not sting. Again, this is based only on my experience with Young Living oils! I would NOT recommend doing this with any other brand of oil. Oils that you can buy in a store are often cut with stuff that you would not want to put on your skin (alcohols, other oils that are not listed on the label, etc.) as they could irritate it. This was the first thing that came to mind when a commenter mentioned getting a burning rash from lemon oil... Yikes! You do want to be careful with sun exposure after putting any brand of citrus oil (and certain others) on your skin, as they can cause photo sensitivity for a day or more after application.

Eucalyptus has been in the rotation at my home quite frequently lately, as we are all suffering from allergy induced stuffy noses! A drop on the pillow at night allows for easier breathing and more restful sleep. A drop in a warm bath with a closed door will help to "unstuff" a nose, too!

I hope this additional information is helpful to you. Again, I am more than happy to share my experiences with you if you are looking for more specifics on certain oils. Just ask! Or, visit my web site and look around.

And, if Mama Lusco and Melissa want to share their homemade laundry detergent recipes... I would love to give them a try! Have a great day everyone.

My very own giveaway: Essential Oil (CLOSED)

It's about time I hosted my own giveaway. Seems like the 100th post is usually when people jump onto the giveaway bandwagon, so I've been gearing up for this moment.

Here's what I am offering: a 5ml bottle of lavender or peppermint Young Living brand essential oil.

 

Lavender is my "go to" oil for most things. It is one of my favorite smells--very relaxing, which is why I often put a drop on my pillowcase before bed. My little one will ask for this oil (or Tea Tree--Nature's Neosporin!) whenever she gets a cut or bruise.

Peppermint is another oil that I keep in my purse. You never know when you might have a tummy ache and need a quick drop of peppermint on your tongue! Just smelling the oil has helped me get through many headaches.

Tell your friends to come on over and check it out. All you need to do is leave a comment. If after looking around here for a while you decide you'd like to follow me on the journey... cool, please do. But, it's not required to enter the giveaway contest.

What is required is that you go to my essential oil web site and take a look around. In your comment, tell me what oil (or other product) appeals to you. If you don't mind sharing the "why", I would love to hear that, too. Also, which oil would you like if you win--lavender or peppermint?

If you live outside the USA and know that an essential oil bottle will make it through customs to you, you may enter as well! I will use some random method of choosing names, depending upon the number of entrants. Good luck to you.... Contest closes Sunday at midnight. Come on back next Monday (May 10th), noonish, to see if you've won. Let the games begin!

Pay It Forward: The procrastinator finishes early!

Not a lot early, mind you, but it still counts. They've actually been finished for a while, I was just having a hard time getting myself to the post office. Now that they are en route, I will go ahead and share what I made.

First, I must share the absolutely detail-oriented apron I received in the mail a couple of weeks ago from Angela Pea. It is gorgeous, yes? Perfect colors for an autumn-born girl. I absolutely love it. Thank you, Angela Pea!!!

Next, I started with a gift for the youngest person to join my Pay It Forward post. I remember loving to dress-up when I was a young girl, so I thought this knit choker would be fun for her. Anastasia insisted it have a yellow button, so... there ya go.


Finally, I made little drawer sachets for my other two giftees.
This pattern was from another that I found in my pattern binder and hadn't used yet. I filled them with fresh lavender from my garden, enhanced with essential oil.

I wanted to wrap the gifts in something pretty, so I utilized these silks that I dyed last month.

I did enjoy making these and hope to stumble across this challenge again next year. It sure was fun to be part of something with such heartfelt intent.

Adorable Giveaway

I am completely enamored with CONFESSIONS OF A SEWING DORK's blog. Every time I go there, she has some awesome idea to share with me, like how to make a castle out of felt and cardboard, which I am going to do! If you have not visited her site, you should so it right now. She has a giveaway for the cutest little doll set right now that you should try to win. You have until Sunday to get in on this. She is also hosting a Make It and Mail It Exchange that should be a lot of fun.

Her giving mood is really inspiring. She just gave away two sets of leg warmers, of which I (Anastasia) was the lucky recipient of the cute Halloween cat pair. They arrived today and Anastasia tried them on as soon as I could get them out of the envelope.

I should get my act together and try to give something away here, too. Hmm... We'll see.

Giveaway: Twirly-Whirly Dress

One day, I will do my own giveaway... I swear. But, for now, here is another one that another mama is doing. Now, tell me your girl wouldn't love twirling around the house in this dress! Add some tap shoes and you've got yourself a little girl who will happily entertain herself (and you in the process, I'm sure). Check it out at Brown Paper Packages.

Pay It Forward: Give Something, Get Something

I am making an agreement with Angelapea and would like to do the same with you. So, I am entering into the following agreement with the first 5 people who comment on this post and then commit to doing the same on their blog. Just read below and if you feel up to the task, copy the following into your blog and leave me a comment.

I am willing to post overseas (I am in California), but remember you must commit on your blog to do the same for others.

1.I make no guarantees that you will like what I send you. But you may be pleasantly surprised. It will definitely be sewing/craft related.
2.What I send will be made just for you, with love, by my own hands. You'd be surprised how much of our personalities come through online.
3.I will complete all 5 gifts this year - 2009.
4.I will not give you any clue what it’s going to be. It will be something made in the real world, that you can touch and feel, and not something cyber.
5.I reserve the right to do something strange. It may be weird or beautiful. Or it may be monstrous and annoying. If you find it truly horrendous, just let me know. Perhaps you'll send it forward to someone who will absolutely love it.
6.In return, all you need to do is post this text on your blog and make 5 things for the first 5 to respond to your blog post.
7.Send your mailing address - after I contact you to confirm.

Everyone is welcome. I guarantee that you will receive something from me providing you do the same for 5 other people in your blog post. Are you game? Let's do this and I can't wait to send you what I hope you'll consider a nice surprise!


If you have stumbled across this post, and you're feeling the squeeze of life, and you need a pick-me-up, and you need to have someone show you some care and you're number 6, go stalk the blogs of the first 5 who respond until they post their pay-it-forward and get on their list. Seriously. That, to me, is exactly what this meme is about. It's about caring for those who need it, and passing that on once our soul has been refreshed in some small way.

Yes, another giveaway

Okay, I know that my last post was someone else's giveaway, too, but this one also has to do with cute dresses for little girls. I suppose I really need to get sewing some for Anastasia... If nothing else, I am posting this so that my sister can win a giveaway I directed her to AGAIN and she can go ahead and send the dress to her favorite niece. :-)

Anyhow, go to V and Co. and enter to win a dress from one of her sponsors, Sew Cute Shop. This lady is super awesome, in that not only are her creations clever and beautiful but she also donates all her profits to her friends' son. You can read all about it and decide if you would like to support the cause; a worthy one, I'm sure you will agree.

Magazine Giveaway

Freshly Picked's pillowcase dress tutorial is featured in Simply Handmade magazine this month. That is very cool. Hop on over to her blog by Saturday to enter the giveaway for a copy of the magazine that also features "5 fun projects to sew for your kids". Tell her mamaTAVE sent you!

Stay tuned for pics of pillowcase dresses that I make for Anastasia (I also have a thought of a matching shirt for me, for two matching pillowcases I found...) as soon as I have a chance. We found a couple more pillowcases at Thrift Town today. I must stop buying them until I have successfully made a dress out of at least one! But, first, I am going to make a couple more lunch bags, because I have a couple new zipper and strap ideas to try...

A Giveaway

I would love to do a giveaway of my own in the future. In the meantime...
try for this Origami book from Zakka Life.