December 27, 2010: Blog Candy Winners!

Pin It Now! Whoah - sorry if you got e-mailed the first draft. For some reason it posted as I was typing it then deleted itself. Lovely. :(

Anyway, what I was saying is that I struggled with the blog candy because I wanted it to be fair. My last blog candy was a disaster; the winners (I drew five) never appeared to claim the prize. I thought this time awarding candy only to followers would allow me to be able to contact people and avoid my mistake from last time.

Unfortunately, only about half of the entries for the blog candy are actually followers. I clearly stated (several times) that you had to be a follower to enter. I feel bad that so many entered yet cannot win. But, that did make the chances better for those who actually followed the rules!

Oh, two things - I did use random.org to draw numbers. :) And, several people who entered thought I was giving all the candy items in the picture to one person. I tried to state several times that I was giving a lot of little items away. All items are new or used but in good condition, and the used stamps have staining. I figure that just because they are loved does not mean they are not good!

As I stated, I wanted to give "extra credit" to those who were followers first So, the first winner and long time follower is:

Heartwarmers from Vicki!!!!!

Thank you so much for being my follower, Vicki. Please e-mail me your address so I can ship your prize. :) kovash001@hotmail.com

I drew an additional 9 names:

Debbie (there are a lot of Debbies...this one has Labs named Storm and Jett)
Crafty Momma
Debbie Martin
Jen V.
Jodi
Marilyn Coombs
Crys
Ginger Baby
Lorie Hethorn

Please e-mail me your mailing addresses so I can ship your prizes! kovash001@hotmail.com

THANK YOU to all who entered! I will be running more blog candies in the future now that I have a better system down.

And, thank you for following. :)

Elin K.

BLOG CANDY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pin It Now!

PLEASE NOTE - I AM KEEPING THIS POST AT THE TOP OF MY BLOG UNTIL I GIVE ALL THE CANDY AWAY; PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR NEWER POSTS!

I'm just 10 DAYS shy of my goal of 365 posts in 365 days; December 13th is my first Blogiversary! I'm so excited. In the last year, I have done some fun and amazing projects; many that I didn't even know I was capable of. I've met some lovely people and I can't even tell you how blessed I feel. I really want to take this opportunity to thank those of you who have helped me along the way.

I've cleaned out my stamp room and came up with some of what (I hope) are exciting items to give away. I took a photo of what I found, but I am adding more items! I want them to go to lots of different people, not just one. So, here are the rules to enter. You have SIX opportunities to gain entries!

1. Become a follower my blog then leave me a comment and I'll give you an entry.

2. In your comment, tell me what you like about my blog and some suggestions about what you would like to see more of, and I'll give you a second entry.

3. Refer a friend! If they become a follower, leave me a comment with their name and you get another entry.

4. Add my candy to your blog or Facebook, then leave me a comment with the link and you get another entry.

5. Place an order through me on my Stampin Up site (http://www.elinselegantdesigns.stampinup.net) and get TWO entries PLUS a hand-stamped card from me. :)

Please make sure you have contact info in your comment so I can locate you. :) Oh...and if you see something in the photo that appeals to you, let me know in the comment. I'll try to oblige!

Some of the candy items requires a manual die cut machine of some sort; please let me know in your comment if you DO NOT have one; I'll try to send you something else if you get drawn.

I'll draw names based on how many followers I get. The more followers, the more candy I'll give away!

Now, I don't want to leave out the you lovely followers who have stuck with me as I've learned how to blog this past year. I've already written your names down and you are in a special "first followers only" drawing. :)

I'll be running this candy until Midnight Christmas Eve; I'll announce the winners Christmas or the day after. It might take me some time to do the drawings...I'm hoping for LOTS of entries! I know you are out there. :)

Thanks for all the support in the past year...and here's to more years to come!!

March 28, 2010: BLOG CANDY WINNER!!!

Pin It Now! Oh, no...hubby's car didn't make it to work yesterday morning. Sadly, another driver ran a stop sign right in front of Jeff and he couldn't stop in time, so he T-boned the other driver. The other driver will be OK, but Jeff has a fractured sternum and a fractured ankle; between the two he is requiring constant care and assistance. If you e-mail me, please give me a little extra time to answer. I'm trying to call insurance companies, help him, locate a replacement car, etc, etc, etc. :]


Despite this, I didn't want you all to miss out on the blog candy...thank you so much to all who entered! I won't make you wait...

The winner of the blog candy is......Marilyn S.!!

Marilyn S., please contact me at kovash001@hotmail.com to discuss your custom card...congratulations!!

And now I will reveal the answer to the question about the bird. As I said, I don't have Stampin Up's Two Step Bird Punch; I couldn't justify it since I was already making very similar birds. The most poplar answer was the Cricut; but I don't have one! I'm actually kind of surprised no one tumbled to my "secret." :) Here is how I do it:

It's actually a Quickutz Revoution Die. As you can see from the negative image, the tail is significantly different from the Stampin Up punch - and I like Stampin Up's one better. It just looks so much more graceful to my eye, so I alter my diecut. I use the Fiskars daisy punch, but you could use any punch with a small point on it to cut a notch (or, you could hand cut it if you are better with scissors than I am!). Then, using the top point of the tail and the notch as a guide, I just cut the remainder of the tail off in a slightly convex curve. The resulting bird is slightly larger than the punch, which is all to the better. :)

Oh, and the wing (not pictured) is a small oval punchie cut off at a curving angle. It isn't a perfect replica, but I think it does the trick...and saved my $15.95 for a punch I actually needed (OK, didn't need, exactly, but...)

March 22, 2010: My 100th Blog Post!

Pin It Now! I can't believe that is has been 100 days since I started my blog. My counter is well over 1000 unique hits, and I am so thankful to each and every one of you. As a thank you, I think it is high time for an honored tradition in blogs...

BLOG CANDY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am so excited to offer my first blog candy. ;~D Here is how it will work. I am posting a picture of two cards below. The first is the card I made at Heather Westlake's Stampin' Up workshop, featuring Stampin Up's new bird punch (currently available in the occasions mini). The second card is my scraplift of the original that I made for my assigned attorney's birthday at work. Now I do NOT have Stampin Up's bird punch...so how did I get my bird?

Please make your guesses in the comments! Each commenter for this post and the daily posts until Saturday will get their name in a hat. I'll draw a name next Saturday evening and post the winner on Sunday's blog post. Just make sure that your name is on your post, so I can announce your name and you can e-mail me with your address for your prize. Easy peasy, right?

Now on to the fun part...the winner will receive a CUSTOM card from me created to their specifications, plus a few extra treats. If enough people comment, I'll draw more than one winner!

Here are the pics. Original card is on the left, my creation is on the right:

Have fun with your guesses!