Today's Pick ME Up - Your Time!

This totally made my day! 

Recently I won an amazing giveaway on Mary Janes and Galoshes (an amazingly inspirational and creative blog, btw).  I was lucky enough to receive a gift certificate to Your Time on Etsy - let me tell you I was beyond thrilled when I received my package in the mail today! 

I selected the lovely earrings and necklace above.  Of course, the nice picture of the earrings is Lata's, from her Your Time page on etsy (since there is another set available!), and the cheesy cell phone pics of me modeling my necklace don't do it justice.  It is gorgeous!  It is a little silver ring that has the word "focus" inscribed on it, with a delicate chain.  I love love love both of these items!  PLUS I have an event after work today and am so happy to wear these with my ensemble. 

You should definitely check out Your Time - she makes such lovely handmade jewelry, and all of the prices are incredibly reasonable.  Amazing stuff for gifts for friends, family...or yourself :) 

Thanks Lata, for the beautiful pieces, and thank you to Taylor for hosting the giveaway!  You made my day, ladies. 

Homestyle Crafty Books

Have you ever visited  One2Try? Its a fun blog with oodles of great giveaways.  I've entered several, and finally won!  

On my doorstep this weekend I received my prize - a copy of the book

Coming Home: A Seasonal Guide to Creating Family Traditions by Rosanna Bowles.  Its a really cool book!  Lots of recipes, decorating ideas, crafty stuff all focused on creating and sustaining family traditions.  

I think my favorite aspect of it is that everything in it seems doable, and homey, not too picture perfect.  Its more about the family and togetherness aspect, not being too "Martha-y."  You can check out Rita of One2Try's review here - I think its a neat book too. 

But that's not all!  I got a SECOND book in the package, Crafting A Meaningful Home by Meg Mateo Ilasco.  I LOVE this one!  It has some great craft projects that really resonated with me - all are inspired by personal memories, cultures, and people in the lives of the artists who created them, but could be transferred to your own families and friends to make some truly breathtaking gifts. 

I think I'll be making some decoupage plates for Christmas gifts this year, and I loved the family teepee idea too!  This comes out in September - check it out!

Thank you so much to Rita of One to Try, and also to Abrams books - what a delightful surprise! 

New Craft City!

Thanks to Craftypod and New Sheer Creations I am the proud owner of a new craft kit - handmade nylon flowers! I won the tulip kit and am so excited to try it out.

Look at how delicate and pretty! Can't wait to make a bouquet for my mom and maybe some other lovely ladies in my life! And since I'm a spaz without directions, it comes with a lovely book too!

It seems like DIY flowers in fabric, paper, and all sorts of other materials are so popular now - nylon looks very cool! I can't wait to try it out and share my creations with you. Plus, I have an awesome travel craft to take with me next week. Yay!

Thank you again, Diane from Craftypod, and New Sheer Creations - check them out if you have not already.

Lucky Girl!

I won yet another blog contest! I feel so lucky. Thanks to Kate and Oli (a really great blog that I check out often), I learned of the awesome purse making talents of Hayden J . Thanks to her generous giveaway, I won this amazing bag!

Yay look how happy I am! Lame pictures, I know - I received the package at work and was so excited I couldn't wait to post about it right away! (Or, after blogger resolved its weird picture posting issues this afternoon. Did anyone else have problems with that today?).

Thank you so so much to Aimee of Hayden J (check out her shop!) and Kate and Oli for putting this together. Woo hoo!

Thank you!

Lots of craft blogs have givaways - and why not?  Its a great way to get more followers and traffic, and showcase your skills.  I enter a lot of these little contests and I just received my very first prize! 

I was so excited to get a lovely package of notecards in the mail yesterday from Teresa at Its's A Good Day.  They are perfect for everyday cards - everyone loves getting cards on their birthday, why not send one for no special reason and brighten someone's day? 

You can check out her other fun items at her etsy shop here - very affordable, and very cute. 

Thanks Teresa!!!