new blog feature

Guess what? You can now subscribe to get this blog emailed to you! Yay (right?)!
I don't know about you, but I love reading blogs. I love hearing (er, reading) what other people are doing, what is important to them, the new things that they are doing.
But I don't read them that often because I just can't the hang of google reader and I don't get onto my blogger account very often. (not very good excuses, I know, but still - that's what I have!)
Anyway, because of that, I am always grateful when I find that a blog I enjoy has a way for me to get the updates emailed to me. And now I've found a way for you to get this blog emailed to you!

Now, on the left side of the blog under the links to my Etsy shop, you can see a little window that say "Follow by email" over it. Just enter your email address and voila - updates will start showing up in your inbox!

<3

"I LOVE YOU"

I've been loving Pinterest. Just loving it. I've been pinning just about everything and have a board for just about everything. Including Valentine's Day.

 {via}

One of the things I pinned was this sweet "I LOVE YOU" banner.

As I started writing this post I realized that the woman who made the original banner has a very nice post about how she made it - I of course didn't even think to click through to her blog to see if there were instructions or not. I just muddled though and made my own. : )

I used the font Arial Black in 400 point to write out "I LOVE YOU" and printed it onto white cardstock in very light gray.
Emma Grace chose the color of the glitter - pink, of course. : )

After trying a light layer of glue, I realized that, to get the nice thick and full look, I needed to put a heavy layer of glue on. A very heavy layer!

Once they were dry I cut slits in in the sides of the letters and threaded a creamy ribbon through.

It turned out quite well, but the sweetest part of the process was my helpers! They were so proud to be able to "help" with things like glue and glitter that are normally off limits to them.
And - even though there were a few moments where I was quite nervous about them smearing glue where it shouldn't be - their joy was more than worth it.


If you haven't joined Pinterest yet and would like an invitation, let me know - I've got several left. : )

(I'm linking this at a few of these crafty blogs)

and the winner is ....

(I had E.G. help pick the number)

... number 5!

Congratulations Vanessa!

For the rest of you who didn't win (and I really wish I had time to send you each a garland for Valentine's), you can use the code
"LOVE12" for free shipping on any order until February 29th. : )

xoxoxo

a giveaway!

And ooo, just in time for Valentine's Day, too!

I'd like to offer one of my 8-foot Romantic Heart Garlands in red to one of you sweet readers <3

Just leave a comment on this post for a chance to enter! (pretty easy :D)
For a second chance, click over to my shop and then leave a comment telling me what might go on to your wishlist.
And for a third chance? Share the giveaway! (and then leave a comment here letting me know that you shared and where)

The winner will be posted here on Thursday <3 {giveaway closed}

for your Valentines

 This was going to be a home-made Christmas gift post to go with my little mini-series from the Christmas before, but it's quite a bit after Christmas already (how in the world did that happen? and I was even planning a year re-cap post ... whoops!). So now it's a "just in time for Valentine's Day" post. : )

Have you seen the idea from Martha Stewart where you take a quilting hoop and make it into a card wreath? There are really excellent step-by-step instructions on her site, so I won't try to replicate them here. : )
I made one a few years ago, and this last Christmas I made two for my sisters-in-law. Notice the gold ribbons? I did that on purpose - not only will they be great for display Christmas cards neatly, but they will also work really well for displaying Valentines, Easter cards, or even family photos. We live a distance from some of our family, and pinning up photos of Grandpa, Grammie and Aunts and Uncles really helps the little ones with being able to associate a face with the voice on the other end of the phone. : )

 

So there you have it! A belated post saved from being deleted! Or rather, a special project just in time for Valentine's Day <3

xoxoxo


(I'm linking this at a few of these blogs {link here} - check them out for lots of crafty Valentine ideas!)

just a little update

because, well, I've been pretty bad about that lately. : )

- Kind of fun: two items from the shop got featured in an Etsy weddings email last Wednesday! (I snagged the above screen shot from it - if you click on it, you can see the entire email)

- Even more fun: I keep getting busier and busier! which means more money for projects that have been needing to get done around the house (yay!) but also means that I've been having to juggle my time and priorities to get everything done (and blogging has definitely become lower on the list - so sorry)

- Even more fun than that: because of the increase in sales in the last few months, I was just able to donate $300 to Samaritan's Purse - amazing, isn't it?! (did you know that I donate 10%? no? well, I do : ), so that means that by buying goodies for yourself you are actually sending money to help those in extreme need - a huge win all around!)

Anyway, just wanted to pop by and tell you that. Now I'm off to sew a few more garlands before the kiddos wake up. If I don't stop by sooner (and I really do plan to, but, well, you are all keeping me rather busy mailing out orders), happy Valentine's Day!

xoxoxo