A cute swimsuit giveaway at Panano!

I just had to share the info for this giveaway for your choice of some adorable designer swimwear for children! Go to Panano's blog and check out the details!

Click here!

Vinyl Lettering Winner!

Random.org's random interger generator came up with this number...



And lucky number 15 was...



Angel, please email me at smrfchic @ gmail . com to claim your prize! I hope you enjoy the vinyl lettering, and I can't wait to see where you put it up!

First Rainy Day Giveaway

Here in California, we're in the midst of a "record-breaking storm". We're supposed to get more rain in the next 2 day period than at any other time in the last 50 years. When it comes to rainy, gray, wet days I find it really hard to find my get-up-and-go, so what better way to pass the time than by writing a blog post... and hosting a giveaway?



The prize: Vinyl Wall Lettering, one of the biggest trends around right now! This one says "Live well, Laugh often, Love always".

How to win:
For one entry, post a comment below.
For a second entry, follow my blog through Blogger or an RSS reader (like Bloglines or Google Reader) ~ post a second comment letting me know that you're following.
For a third entry, post your favorite low-carb-friendly cold weather recipe (let's try to keep it under 30g carb/serving).
For a fourth entry, post about this giveaway on your blog and post a comment here with the direct link to your post.

Entries close Thursday, October 29th. Winner will be announced on Friday, October 30th.

Thank you Tara! :)

I wanted to take a moment to send a quick "thank you" to Tara from Never Gives Up for the fun surprise in my mail slot this afternoon! She sent me a copy of Gilbert Morris' Charade. I looooooove a good read and am looking forward to starting this one as soon as I finish my current novel.

Congratulations!!

And the winner is....


::::drumroll please:::::






And the lucky #6 is.....




Congratulations Nancy!! :)

The "Back to School" (and back to blogging!) Giveaway

Howdy Ya'll!

Things are finally getting settled back down. It has been a long summer, yet at the same time, not nearly long enough! The four little ones have started off this school year on the right foot. Nathan doesn't start his online courses for another week. I'm only taking one online course this semester myself.

Niko has started playing baseball in the city's pony league. Nathan is trying out a variety of karate dojos to see which one is the best fit for him. Big Nate is taking a pretty heavy load of four classes this year.

I have conquered Mount Washmore. For now. I am sure there will be later avalanches or other disaster that will make that beast rear up again.

So in this spirit of relief, happiness, and an insatiable need for retail therapy I am announcing what I hope will be a fun giveaway.


The prize? $15 for you to spend.

The catch? It has to be for an online store that accepts Paypal (Yes, even eBay counts). That's pretty much the whole catch, except for the standard disclaimers... open to US Residents only, yada yada. You must have your entries in by Friday, September 11th. Winner will be posted Saturday, September 12th.

How to enter:

1) Post a comment sharing what you would like to buy, and link to the site.

AND

2) Repost this giveaway on your blog, and post a comment here with a direct link to your post.



That gives you up to 2 chances to be entered in this giveaway. A name will be drawn using the Random Interger Generator.

So... get to window shopping!! Has there been something that you've been wanting a little extra spending cash to get? A pretty yarn? A knick knack? A book? Soft shoes or a cute cloth diaper for your baby? A cute necklace? Some neat WAHM product?

Figure out the one thing you want most that can be yours for under $15 (including shipping) and share it with us!

Coming soon...

A giveaway! I need to figure out exactly what it will be, but I have a few ideas in mind!

Pay it Forward Project #2

This was the second of my three Pay It Forward projects that I completed. I decided to make a framed silhouette set for my friend Chandra, featuring the profiles of her four awesome kids. Because I wanted it to be a complete surprise, I had to go hunting through her blog for photos that showed each of the kids' profiles clearly.

Using Microsoft Word, I cropped and resized each of the pictures so that they were proportionate to each other and printed them out. I cut out the profiles from the printed pictures and laid them right side down on the wrong side of black cardstock, and traced around them with a pen. I used scissors to cut them out.

Because the frame was 18" long, I couldn't use scrapbooking paper for the background, so I picked out this pretty fat-quarter of fabric in one of her favorite colors. I taped the fabric in place around the cardboard, and then mounted the silhouettes with scrapbooking adhesive tabs.

Hydration pack giveaway!

There's a great giveaway going on at Coupon Geek for a free Hydration Pack (kind of like a fanny pack that holds your water bottle). Go check it out and enter to win! It looks like it would really come in handy while running, working out, etc.

Pay it Forward Project #1

Now that it has been received, I can share what I made for my first Pay It Forward project. I made a bow holder for A Frugal Friend.

It all started with this little frame:


I took the glass out of the frame, and spraypainted it with many, many coats of a glossy white spray paint.



I taped off most of the glass, except for a strip across the bottom, and added scrapbooking letters.

I gooped on lots of etching cream, and then rinsed it all off and dried it.



For the inside of the frame, I layered two colors of blue cardstock, some pretty striped vellum, and a picture of her daughter. (Face edited out for privacy.) I topped the corner of the frame with a hand-tied blue bow hotglued in place.



I finished it off with two 24-inch long strips of grosgrain ribbon to provide a whopping four feet of bow-hanging storage!

Giveaway #2 Winner!

I forgot to draw names at 8! I was in the kitchen just now, doing dishes, and when I went to clean off the table I saw that Abigail had left a crochet hook and a piece of yarn on the table. She's been trying to learn to chain. The piece of yarn was the Lion Brand variegated yarn and it just clicked in my head that the drawing was supposed to be this morning.
My printer is not cooperating with me this morning. It is refusing to print anything that I send to it, so I decided to try out Random.org's number generator. :::::drumroll:::::



#10 is Gloria! Congratulations!

Another wool hat giveaway! - CLOSED

Here's another 100% wool hat that I made before reading the fabric care instructions. This one is made with 2 strands of Lion wool, one a pretty royal blue, and the other variegated with blues, browns and greens (and just a touch of purple). This size hat will fit most, from my four year old son all the way up to me! This pretty little hat requires hand-washing and laying flat to dry, but is very warm and cozy!

To enter, simply leave a comment below! Open to U.S. Residents only, names will be drawn on Monday, February 2nd, 8 a.m. PST. (Please, please, please make sure to include an email address or a link to your Blog or some way for me to get in contact with you!)

Pay It Forward

I came across WhittyBrooke's blog and Pay It Forward post via MoneySavingMom's Giveaway Mr. Linky. She chose me as one of her 3 giveaway winners (since I technically wasn't in the top 3, but she couldn't get in contact with some people or they didn't have a blog to continue this pay-it-forward thing), and now it is my turn to pass on the Pay It Forward love! Here's the details, as copied from her post:

"I'm always up for a good challenge aren't you? Last week, my friend, Kim, presented a challenge on her blog that I didn't hesitate to be a part of. All I had to do was be one of the first 3 bloggers to leave a comment on her post and in doing so, I would receive a handmade gift from her. Yippeee for me! I was #2!!! Now, let me just say that I have received a couple of handmade gifts from Kim before so I can't wait to see the fun, creative, and crafty thing she comes up with! Don't you just love receiving a special gift in the mail?

Now it's your turn to be a part of this challenge....

Be one of the first 3 bloggers to leave a comment here on my post. Those 3 bloggers will then receive a handmade gift from me. The first 3 bloggers can then pay-it-forward to 3 bloggers on their blog. All you have to do is:
~ post this challenge on your blog
~ the gift can be anything you choose and any price range
~ and you have 365 days to make/ship your item.

How about that for spreading some love around blog land!!!"

EDITED TO ADD:

Congratulations to A Frugal Friend, Chandra, and Georgi! I'll be sending you an email for your addresses, and then I will get the wheels turning in my head to think about what I can surprise you with! :) Congratulations again, and don't forget to Pay It Forward!

Giveaway winner!

When I went to take pictures of this dramatic moment, my camera batteries died. Don't tell my hubby, but I had to "borrow" the batteries from the remote. I put them back now, but shhhhhhhhh! That huge pack of batteries I bought before Christmas didn't last long, which is odd since I didn't buy one single present that required batteries this year.





Congratulations Kristen! Please email me at SmrfChic @ Gmail . com to claim your prize!!

Everyone else, please stay tuned... this is only one of THREE hats that I made out of the same yarn (in different colors), so I will be having more giveaways in the coming weeks. I am also working on finishing up a "UFO" (unfinished object) and will be giving that away too!

Giveaway! - CLOSED

Want to win this warm winter hat?

I didn't realize it when I made this hat, but it's 100% wool and will probably felt if it accidentally gets thrown in with a load of laundry. Since the girls "help" me with laundry, that's a big risk around here!It's made with two stands of yarn - one in a vibrant dark pink, and the other variegated with tones of blues, greens, and browns. It's very warm and cozy (probably too warm for our Southern California "cold snaps"!) Will fit most children and adults - it fits my 6, 8, and 10 year old daughters as well as it fits me!

If you would like to win this hat, simply leave a comment on this post. I will put all the names in the hat and have Niko draw one. This giveaway will close at 8am (PST) Friday morning. Good luck!