the winner...

SUSAN!

I'll email you all the instructions, Susan.

No more shutterfly for you.

My Memories Suite Giveaway - CLOSED

Back to school and back to blogging.

Let's start with a giveaway.

I used to scrapbook all the time. A LONG time ago. I look back at those scrapbooks now and just sigh. I wish I wouldn't have cut up those pictures and spent so much money on all those funky embellishments. Sure, it's nice to have memories, but my style has changed so much that now I think most of my pages are tacky, and my pictures are all chopped up. I guess those scrapbooks will serve as a good reminder of my wonky style. Like the 80's.

I've heard of digital scrapbooking before but have never paid much attention to it. Then the people at My Memories contacted me about their software and asked me to take a look. I was curious, to say the least.

Their My Memories Suite software was easy to download. I quickly started browsing their page layouts and embellishments to see what this was all about, then downloaded some photos off of iphoto and started making some pages. After about an hour too long and dinner being neglected, I needed to stop. Oh, the possibilities.

I like to give grandparents and the kids photo books for Christmas. This software is just what I need to do that. Wouldn't it be fun to have a little spiral book with funky faces of all your relatives? Or a recipe book. Or an I-Spy book. Or thank you cards.

You can share your pages online, print them at home, or send them to a professional printer. You can also include music or movies to your pages. I'm not a facebooker, but that would be cool to have a talking scrapbook page on your update thing. (Can you do that? I dunno. I'm behind.)

My pages are really simple and basic, just how I like it. I didn't dive into all the possibilities here. There are a lot of embellishments, backgrounds, and templates you can use...I just made my own.

We made Andy's birthday invitations in about 10 minutes.

My Memories wants to give a copy of their My Memories Suite Digital Scrapbook Software to you, a $40 value!

1. Please visit their site and leave a comment on this post sharing your favorite Album Template.

2. The giveaway closes midnight,

Wednesday September 7.

3. The winner will be picked by random.org and announced Thursday morning.

4. This is a download of their software, so check their system requirements before you enter!

AND...just in case you don't win, they will give you a $10 discount off their My Memories Suite version 2 plus a $10 coupon for the MyMemories.com store when you use the coupon code STMMMS35749.

If you'd like to know more about their software, here's a video tutorial:

You can also check out the reviews on Amazon.com.

Good luck!

Shabby Apple Dress Giveaway - CLOSED

One thing I noticed on our vacation was skirts. Yes, I stared at people's food and at their clothes, and they were all wearing cute dresses and skirts. Where are the jeans, ladies? I need to move past jeans. So I've begun paying attention to simple, wearable, modest women's dresses.

Enter: Shabby Apple.

Shabby Apple is my favorite place for vintage inspired dresses and skirts. They also have awesome accessories, aprons, little girl dresses, maternity dresses, and swimsuits - which I love.

As I was browsing their site, I found their Oh La La collection, straight from the streets of Paris! It was so fun to see all their photos and be able to say "I was just there! Really there for real!"

After I compared my own ham and cheese baguette picture to this one taken in front of the VERY SAME fence (mmm hmmm), I found their Roamin' Holiday Collection! Swoon. I love it.

This cream flower applique dress is called the Spanish Steps Dress - and Shabby Apple said you can have it! For real! I love this fancy tee shirt dress. I kinda want to win my own giveaway.

Just leave a comment, and be sure to leave a way for me to contact you if you win.

The winner must be willing to supply me with their address, phone number, and dress size so Shabby Apple can send the dress directly to you.

This giveaway will be open for one week,

closing at 11:55pm on Friday June 17th.

I will randomly pick a winner and email her Saturday morning.

AND...Shabby Apple is giving you 10% off your next purchase! Just enter the code calico10off when you check out, and its yours.

they're on facebook, too. If you "like" them, you can get even more exclusive discounts and promotions.

Hooray! A free dress and discounts! What could be more exciting?

gelato.

the winner.

JEIGH.

I love Jeigh.
{email me}

Thanks for all your
very nice comments!
So many cool people out there.

I love giveaways.

And now...
Labor Day.

Have a good one.

tutorial fodder giveaway.

One more thing before I sign off for a couple weeks. Free stuff.

I've got all this tutorial stuff! We've got plenty of lunch sacks around here, so we don't need more. My hair is too short for scrunchies. And I've already got a diaper strap. So you guys can have it!!

Leave a comment, and everything pictured below is yours.




But seriously, I couldn't send it all naked to you, could I? So I made a bag. This bag has been in my head for a while, and I just couldn't contain it any longer. I love this bag. When I'm done all the other do quickly projects, I'm making myself one for Christmas.

So if your name is randomly drawn, this is what you get:

1 blue "LUNCH" oil cloth lunch sack
1 pink flower oil cloth lunch sack
6 scrunchies
1 diaper strap
and 1 cool vintage looking bag to put it all in.

Rules:

• Leave a comment.
• be nice. (no dirty words)
  
• Link to this post (and let me know) for 2 entries.
• Giveaway ends midnight Sunday, September 6.
• I'll post the winner MONDAY SEPTEMBER 7.

Now I'm off to make noodles for lunch, grind some wheat, chalk a driveway, perfect my lightsaber skills, increase my iron saturation levels without taking pills, which means eat steak, sell a house, stalk the coupon queen until her powers sink into my soul, and finish the pile of unfinished.

It may take a while.

spring bag giveaway.

Thankyou! for all your nice comments, guys. I love giving good stuff away.

Email me, Sharstin. It's yours! you should try to capitalize on those "good feelings".

Sharstin is an amazing photographer in Utah, btw. Check her out.

spring giveaway.

Oh, I love this bag. I've walked myself to the front door to stare at our green grass through the rain only a dozen hundred times today, just so I could glance at this bag as I passed it hanging in the foyer. I love it when I love what comes from a good idea.

Actually, this isn't at all what my idea was. I was thinking a couple ruffles across the bottom, and a soft striped grey for the inside with one big strap across the top. But a red button fell onto the ruffle as I was searching my bucket of buttons for an old copper look. I loved it so much, I twisted and turned that newborn ruffle until it found its place front and center.

And I love it.

So you can have it, if you want. Because I can make another one.

Just leave me a comment.

I'll give you a second entry if you link to it on your blog; just tell me you did in your comment. I'll announce the winner in one week, Saturday April 18th.

Happy Spring!

I won this Pay It Forward on Shellie's blog forever ago...and due to the total and complete loss of brain cells that follow every consumed Cadbury Mini Egg...I forgot the premise of the Pay It Forward. To...obviously...pay it forward. duh.


So, here it is. I get something handmade from Shellie (I'm hoping it's a short documentary on kissy face) sometime this year. And in turn, I do this for someone else. Here are the rules (which I have taken liberty on altering just a bit. Is that rude? Totally.)


1. Three of you who comment will get a handmade item from me within 365 days. I will pick randomly.

2. You have until tomorrow night, Friday the 13th. Oooh. Freaky.

3. You have to do this on your blog.

Shellie's rules were the first 3 commenters win, but I know not all of you read this blog every day and I wanted to open the playing field so I'm saying ANY 3 commenters (who will be chosen randomly). You can do it however you want on your blog, because you're the boss, just as long as you pass on a handmade package of bloggy happiness to 3 of your readers.

Thanks, Shellie. Looking forward to my handmade Godiva Key Lime Truffles.

giveaway winner.

Cassy Child.

No kidding. Fancy that. Cassy's my younger sister. And I totally imprint her. She's been sending me howlers because I haven't even made my lovely little sis a bag. Not really. She's been real nice about it. Pointing out that not even blood will get you Calico goodies. Sorry. Babysitting will get you whatever you want. Babysitting is gold.

Congrats, Casiopia. I love you. For real.

This is yours, too. Who better to personify 2008 more than Edward. Or Jacob. Whichever way you roll.

Thank you so much everyone, for all your nice comments. I love visiting your blogs...

mermag Christmas giveaway! holy moly.

It's a giveaway extravaganza in the blogoshpere! My ultimate favorite mermag is giving away a personal portrait. I'm not lying.

And you'll have to go to mermag to find out the other most fabulous second prize if you link...duh. You gotta link.

I'm dying inside.

giveaway! Because it's the 12th day of Christmas, and other reasons.

I was going to post a giveaway today because I'm so close to finishing my Christmas orders and I wanted to celebrate by giving away some misfit projects that have turned out pretty fantastic. And because Joey has successfully learned how to put himself in time out when necessary. Saves so much transport time and makes the holidays merry.

But now that Gabrielle (we're totally on a first name basis...I'm totally on a first name basis) has clued me into the 12th day of Christmas celebration thing, I'm pretending I knew that and I'm jumping on the festive chuckwagon. I mean band.

This is what you {might} get if you leave me a celebratory comment:

This monster that was going to be Dani's but she changed her mind.

And this bag whose shell was cut the wrong size for the almost last bag of the Christmas orders...but I didn't have the heart to send it to the island of silly mistakes, so I completed the bag using cool stuff from the scrap bin. And I love it. And I want you to have it. Because it's the twelth day of Christmas. of course.

The flower is only attached with a safety pin, so you can take it off and put it anywhere you want.

My sister called me the other day and randomly started complaining about how she hates it when radio stations and charity places give these huge prizes away to one person instead of dividing it out among the little people. Like she'd enjoy a slice of that pie thing. Justified.

But I'm not dividing it up. I'm choosing not to give in to the complaints of dewsie. I am her bundle giving adversary. If you win, you get the whole pie!! Or enchilada, whichever you prefer. And maybe even a bonus treat that you may or may not care about. Depending on how you feel about blood sucking blockbusters.

All right, enough babbling.

Merry 12th.

Giveaway ends midnight Thursday, December 18.

Link to this page and you'll get a double entry!!

Be sure to tell me you linked.

design mom MAJOR giveaway.

It's today guys. All your DesignMom dreams may come true. 12 giveaways; we're talking major! Gabrielle Blair doesn't go cheap. Her giveaways are slap your momma good!

If you post about it, you're entered into a secret 13th giveaway...which I believe in my heart of hearts to be an all expense paid trip to a cushy feather bed in a bamboo bungalow decorated by Anna Maria Horner on an island where all you do is sleep in expensive sheets with ear plugs and a lavendar mask you get to keep. And eat already peeled pomegranites. Like all day.

It's my time to shine.

you know I love a giveaway...

Put Scribbit on your bloggy schedule; I'm giving you time to plan ahead. And I'll follow up with a reminder. I'm promoting this because I can't stand it. And...I made Scribbit the beautiful buttons for you to put on your sidebar. Indulge me.

And add this on your calender, with a big red circle and a hand...like theirs. From Sew Mama Sew.

If you don't frequent the SewMamaSew Blog, then poo poo on you. This is the month to change your ways. They're posting cool homemade gift ideas each day of the month. An awesome place to support creative types. I love it. Oh, you know I love it. I get all gooey and hyperventilate about this stuff.

So plan ahead and take advantage of the cool free stuff! Maybe.

It's all about preparedness these days.

frame the alphabet on bloggy giveaways...

FrameTheAlphabet.com has free custom art on Bloggy Giveaways today!!

Seriously. You could win one. A $150 value, with your name on it.

Or whatever word you want...

Like Happy. Or Welcome. Or Cheesecake. Or Malapropism.

It ends Friday November 12.

I love this stuff.

a winner.

We went to Krispy Kreme last night. Their computer was down, hence they couldn't accept our credit card, and so instead of rejecting us they gave us our 2 dozen doughnuts for free.

For this...I am a winner.

And so is...

But maybe not a winner on such a fabulous scale as free doughnuts. All right jamie, you're the honest to goodness real life winner of all things lovely and of good report. And the bags.

Jamie is the college friend of my sister-in-law Katie, and my number 1 supporter. THanks, Jamie. Her blog is private, or I'd link ya.

I love this giveaway stuff. And I'll tell you why...

Because.

Because is satisfactory. Maybe someday my words will match my explanations and it won't come out overly-gooey and cheesy.

I am very grateful for all of your nice comments...and I loved this doll so much I had to make another one. A boy doll this time. Because.

and the winner.

Oh, I'm excited about this. Because it's perfect. I do read all your blogs, if you let me. I read the first post of boho girl's blog, Chronicles of Me, and loved it. Not only her photography, and her writing talent, and her designs, but I was touched by her representations of the adoption process. I was subtly reminded of the different faces of parenthood...and the blessings that come. She is graciously sharing her bits of the blessing; it's exciting to read. THanks, boho girl.

AND... the next winner is Hadley. Because.

I'm calling these dolls b.be's.

THanks again everyone.

NOw I'm going to go have some leftover happiness. It's lovely to have some of that just hanging out in your cupboards.

giveaway ends Sunday.

I'll post the winner Tuesday morning.

THANKS EVERYONE!!

she's a maniac. it's a giveaway.

here's the life cycle of a giveaway.


I ordered some fabric.
lOts of it.


And I couldn't handle it just sitting there, staring at me.

So I made something that turned out to be a new lunch bag for Dani.



It's not for you. It's for Dani, I said. But here is where you do come in...



And then I thought, oh my goodness, I just can't stop. This is a great excuse for a giveaway.

So the lunch bag became a handbag.



But, duh, not everyone carries around a funky little handbag barely big enough for a bag of Fritos.

So the handbag became a big bag.

But it needed a filler.
So the giganto shipment of lovely fabric became a softie.


She's a maniac. My favorite.


Again, too many goodies. I can't help myself.



Here's the deal.
Leave a comment, and you're entered to win all three.

LInk to this post, and you're entered twice. Make sure you tell me you've linked.

AND...hold on to your tutus...for every person that mentions your name in their comment, you'll get another entry. OH the Possibilities!

Feel free to use this as a sidebar button. I couldn't get the HTML to copy and paste onto this post (help), so only those of you who are HTML savvy will reap the benefits. Sorry. I know, it's not fair.

The giveaway ends midnight Sunday, October 25th.

I feel better. I can put my fabric pile away now.

By the way...if any of you are wondering how I got these pictures with a European galavanting cybershot...I spent a pretty penny on a universal usb adapter for Dani's camera. We're good.

giveaway winner.

THANK YOU for your generous comments. It's been crazy fun. I've been glued to my dinosaur monitor this week, reading so many fantastic blogs! You are inspiring, funny women; I'm addicted to you. Not good. I can't afford it.

I really do feel gratitude up to here. Tops. Kinda sheepish. But mostly grateful; thank you.

so Andy was really excited to pick this time. He rolled in the pile of names for a while before deciding to pick one. Oh, and don't mind the parka. He's hibernating.

WOO HOO! Dawn is a slurpee lovin', datin' hatin', jimmie johnson crushin', internet junkie. Who hates warm water. And she CRAFTS! I think. It's pretty safe to assume the etsy site she has on her blog title is her shop. Check out Bitsy Whimsy. Cute stuff.

hold on...we're not done...it's a surprise winner of a blue monster, because.

um, really, this girl is for real. woo hoo again! Her comments cracked me up.

Merrianne is one funny snow bunny, with a bug in her pants but not really. I like her.

email me (cally.cruze@gmail) with your monster rump writing requests, ladies, and we'll put these babies in the P.O!

ANd now, for the other suprise winner of the 2003 Honda Odyssey that leaks oil and comes complete with nasty carpet!

No kacie. Turn it around.

darn. I guess we'll never know.

hey, some of you mentioned getting the pattern. WEll, I don't really have one, but I'll see what I can do. Maybe a tutorial. But don't sell 'em because I'd be really bummed if you mada a gagillion bucks and sent your kids to college off the good looks of my little monsta friend. I'm selfish that way. Shucks. I guess one kid to college would be okay.

Oh, so fun. LEt's do it again.