Friday, September 28, 2012

Winners of stuff, and more stuff to win :D

Okay so I'm a *tad* late with the blogging... you all should know by now I'm unpredictable in my procrastinating :P  I've been saying for the past.. so many days that I was going to post, so... here... I'm posting :D

Actually, I went from having one thing I 'could' post about , and maybe toss a couple of these other things in.... to having a crap load of stuff to ACTUALLY blog about.

So, to start things off.

There have been several giveaways here this month. Half of those prizes were won by previous winners/ participants here, and so, since I already had their snail mails, I just packaged up their goodies and mailed them off to them... without telling them they won.

So... if you won something here before, or took part in something where you gave me your address, and entered any of the giveaways here this month... you might very well open your mail box next week to a little surprise :)

Freebie Friday #9 was one of these... and while I won't say the name of the person who won it,  if you really want to know if it was you, just pop back to the FF blog and the winners name is listed right on the rafflecopter widget.

So, while we're in between F.F.'s, I'll do another little giveaway or two :) 

Speaking of which, I had two little ones last week that had very few entrants, but wow, what entrants they were!

In ' Slogging Through' I tossed up three bundles of faux suede cording , and to enter you just had to tell me a joke. Anonymous (zanc@att.net) , Lisa ( Pine Ridge Treasures), Beth, Shaiha, Jami , & Anvil Artifacts, all left a joke or two to brings smiles :) Six entries... so I took six flower beads, assigned each person a color, and tossed the beads towards a roll of packing tape I put on the floor. The only bead to land inside the roll of tape ( and stay there, since one bounced right back out again) won. That would be the bead assigned to Anonymous - who's entry I'll count because they left an email addie I can identify them with. I'm not emailing them... if they'd left their name or linked to their facebook or blog... I *might've * dropped in and left a little nudge, but... email is too impersonal.  So 'zanc', if I don't hear from you by Friday, Oct.5th, One of the other jokers will get them instead ;)

On 'Who Wants Free Stuff?' , I asked for links to funny websites or videos in exchange for a chance to win some pretty little glass beads. I received one comment that didn't seem to have anything to do with anything so I tossed it as spam, >.< lol  Rita ( Toltec Jewels ) & Susan are the only ones who entered that one, and Susan's link damn near killed me. I had to force myself to keep reading through the laughter and tears. When I recovered, I immediately shared it :D I haven't heard from my mother since... so I don't know whether she read it... and wet her pants from laughing so hard and so is rather ticked at me for sharing ... ;) or if she never read it.. in which case, I'll have to print it out for her :D hehehe  At any rate, I'd decided as soon as I read it, that whether Susan won or not, I was totally sending her something... THAT was a prize worthy laugh, let me tell you. Two entries doesn't really inspire me to come up with a way to choose the winner though, so... I'll just put together a twin bundle of beads to match the one I photographed and send it to the both of them. Ladies, you've got until Friday, Oct. 5th to send me your snail mails! 

As well, on the same blog, I posted for participants in my ' Pay It Forward'.

Lina58 & Carolyn will both be receiving a little handmade surprise from me at some point when they least expect it ;)  I'll be contacting you both for your snail mails and a few ' likes/dislikes' to play with.

Rita, I wasn't sure if you were saying you wanted to PIF again or not. If you do, let me know. If not, then I have one more spot open. Anyone interested, stick  the letters 'PIF' in a comment  to this post, and if Rita says no, I'll go with you :) If more than one person 'PIF's' , I'll... roll a die or throw some beads to pick which one gets in ;) lol

Okay.. so THOSE are done. The new FF for October will go up next Friday, and it'll be another 'extra nice' one. I'd like to point out that when I packed the last up, wow that little sucker was heavy... I hadn't realized it would be.. I was almost afraid to see the shipping cost, but amazingly enough, it was the same as most of the others I mailed off... must have *just* slipped under the wire though lol

Okay... off track again... 

Like I said, I have lots of stuff to share... but I'll just tease you about most of it today ;)

I finally used some of my precious artbeads ( *gasp* ), as well as some of the VERY FIRST lampwork beads made by a talented gentleman, who I guess I'll finally post about now *L*. I have some jewelry photos as well as other photos to share, plus I'm heading off to Pumpkin Fest at some point this weekend, so I'll have even MORE photos to share next week :) If you haven't heard of it, google it ' PumpkinFest  Port Elgin' . It's HUGE. they've had the Guinness World Record  Pumpkin, as well as several other veggies, there a few times, plus they have a MASSIVE antique car show... as in they shut down the entire main street as well as at least one of the side streets. A few years ago they had one of the original 60's tv Batmobiles  there... of course I didn't go that year >.< My brother took a pic for me though! Last year they had some gorgeous motorcycles too :)

Crap...distracted again... where was I? Oh right.. stuff to tease you about that I might remember to blog about soon...

Oh, three quarters of the parcels I mailed off yesterday are in fancy envelopes. Some of the previous ones I've sent have been in 'special' packing too, but I've decided to keep adding that special touch and ensuring smiles when those mail boxes open. No more looking at a plain, boring brown or white envelope and wondering who it's from or what it might be... no... you'll see a pretty blue and white butterfly bedecked envelope and KNOW it's from me :D ...or.. at least know it's special ;) lol   I sent two 'non-butterfly' packages yesterday, too.. but that's only because they were a smaller envelope and I hadn't had time to figure out the best way to fancy them up. Next time I send out that size, they'll be fancy too :)  


 See? Isn't that much nicer than a boring old brown thing in your mailbox? lol  btw .. that white squiggly thing on the top right corner .. that's a piece of fishing line taped to the board..  I was hanging earrings off it for photos earlier and never took it off >.< 

The reason I just told you all that... aside from making you cross your fingers and wish to see butterflies every time you open your mail boxes ... was because I was thinking I might just do a little tutorial to show you all how to make your packages extra special too :)

I'm sure there was more that I was going to say but... my brain is now stuck on making butterfly envelopes and walking around looking at fancy cars with a coffee in my hand on a (hopefully) nice Fall morning lol

I'll leave you with another little prize for a couple of you to win :)


All you have to do is tell me your favorite thing to do in Autumn. And yes, that includes baking or cooking something special.. but I think you should share a link to the recipe if you've got one ;)  A random winner will get their choice of which pair they want.. and the remaining pair will go to a second winner.. that may or may not be random.. which is.. kinda random if you think about it ;) lol

~ Skye

25 comments:

  1. PIF if no one has gotten it yet... What a time for my internet to be off.. I see I missed lots of fun.. Congrats to the winners..

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  2. After my youngest is on the school bus, I like to go back in the house, into the bedroom, turn off all the lights and sleep. If not asleep, I love my uninterrupted beading/blogging/crafting time. I also love to look at all the colors of the trees out of our floor to ceiling picture windows, with a hot cup of tea with lemon and brandy.

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  3. You rock! Thanks for all the fun and sharing.

    Congrats to winners!

    I love raking the leaves for my grandaughter and I to tunnel into and jump out of, as well as throw them everywhere - just to rake them up again and then put them into bags we decorate as ghosts, ghoulies and jack-o-lanterns.

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  4. i do enjoy your diversity! i think the same way. glad you liked the link i gave you. i too thought i would die before i could even finish reading it. thanks for the prize! don't forget to check me out at http://designsbysusan-dbs.blogspot.com/ too.

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  5. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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    Replies
    1. No worries, I saved your addie. I didn't think you wanted it out here for the world to see ;)

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    2. thanks. couldn't find the email link

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  6. Oh heavens, You had me laughing so hard, I could barely read the post! And after I comment, I've got to go back and see Susan's link. I didn't enter those, cause I'm awful at jokes, and didn't have any links.
    I love to make cookies and bake. One of my all time favorite recipes is for a Roasted Garlic Braid. It makes 3 huge loaves, and is totally addictive. It is a homemade bread, so not sure if you want to go through all that or not. Be glad to share the recipe if you do.
    LOVE the earrings!

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  7. LMAO - I have to admit to snickering a bit while reading this post! My favorite thing to do in the fall is to take a driver over to Colorado and go up in the Rocky Mountains to see the colors. The aspen trees turn the most amazing yellow color - they almost look like they're lit from within!

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  8. Love your post -- you've definitely got a lot going on!! My favorite thing to do in the fall is sleep with the door open. We have a door from the bedroom to the deck and I love to sleep in the fresh, cool air. After a hot, humid summer, it's a nice change of pace.

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  9. my favorite thing about fall is the way it smells when you open up the windows. and candy corn. i love love love candy corn

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  10. Girl, you get off track like I do! I have the worst time staying on track in a blog post. So....my favorite thing to do in the fall is get ready for Christmas. That means stocking up on baking supplies, trying out new recipes. Let's see.....favorite recipes....Here's a good fall recipe for you all: Now, these are sticky cookies (at least they are down here in the Humidity zone of Texas) so make sure you use a baking rack to cook them and don't stack them on top of each other. ENJOY!

    Pumpkin Cookies with Cream cheese frosting

    Ingredients
    For the cookies:
    1 cup sugar
    2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
    2 tablespoons Maple syrup
    2 eggs
    1 cup canned pumpkin
    1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
    1/2 teaspoon ground all spice
    1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
    Pinch ground cloves
    2 1/2 cups flour
    2 teaspoons baking powder
    Pinch of salt

    For the frosting:
    2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese
    1 cup confectioners sugar
    1/4 cup milk
    1 tablespoon vanilla extract
    Zest of one lemon

    For Garnish:
    Whole pecans

    Directions
    Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

    In a mixer, fitted with a paddle, cream the sugar and the butter until light and fluffy. Add the maple syrup and eggs. Mix to incorporate. Add the pumpkin and mix to incorporate. Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and cloves. Add the dry ingredients to the batter and mix well. Drop rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 10 minutes, or until lightly golden brown around the edges. Cool on racks. When cool, ice with the cream cheese frosting.

    For the Frosting: In a mixer, fitted with a paddle, add the cream cheese. Beat until light and fluffy. Beat in the powdered sugar until smooth. Add milk and vanilla. Beat until smooth. If frosting is too thick, thin with a little more milk. Fold in the lemon zest. When cookies are cool spread with some of the frosting. Garnish with a whole pecan.

    Thanks for always doing such amazing giveaways, Sandra!

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    Replies
    1. ... drool...

      I was never a fan of pumpkin stuff, aside from roasting the seeds, and I still can not stand pumpkin pie.. but the last couple years have had me falling in love with pumpkin muffins, pumpkin tea, pumpkin latte, pumpkin cake... and now I'm going to have to try some pumpkin cookies... damn it >.< lol

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  11. After years of making goodies for the kids, I really enjoy when the kids make goodies. My daughter is a whiz (ha, pun slipped in) and these Harry Potter inspired Pumpkin Pasties from The Anticraft Blog http://theanticraft.com/archive/samhain07/pumpkinpasties.htm

    Not your Mama's Pumpkin Pie.

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  12. I like to take a tramp in the woods - or anyone who wants to go.
    freda0@aol.com

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  13. My hubby and I like to go for motorcycle rides since the weather cools off & see all the fall foliage.

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  14. Love to make apple butter in the fall, and enjoy it the rest of the year! The easy way to make it is to peel and core as many apples as will fit in your crockpot, add a little apple cider, cinnamon, and 1/4 to 1/2 cup brown sugar, depending on how ripe and sweet the apples are, and let it cook on low all night long. In the morning, smoosh everything up with a potato masher, and let it cook a few more hours on low. You can then eat it, freeze it, or water bath can it! No more standing over the stove stirring for hours to make sure it doesn't scorch! Hope you enjoy the pumpkin festival!

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  15. My favorite thing to do in the Fall is to make Autumn jewelry. I love leaf beads and pendants!

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  16. Hello Skye!

    zanc here (who sadly has no blog or Facebook page to link. Guess I am going to have to break down and join the 21st century and get a Facebook page.) Thank you for the notice of the win. Yippe and Thank you!!!!!

    How would you like for me to get my info to you? I am a little reluctant to post it here in the comments section.

    Off to check into a Facebook page now. I think this is the push I have needed.

    zanc@att.net

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  17. Hi Sandra!

    No, I wasn't signing up for PIF because I already have with three people and so I have 9 people to send my handcrafted to. I didn't think I should make it 4 for me and 12 -- lol I would fall over trying to fulfill it, I think. I still have 2 places in my Pay it Forward blog post in fact, if anyone is interested :)

    Thank you for the FF gift!! I'll FB message you my email.

    What I love about Autumn is October Fest! Are you in it? It would rock with you hopping too, Skye! Almost 40 participants now. It is an October blog hop celebrating Fall. You can create anything for Autumn -- share jewelry, beads, a recipe, home decor -- any way you like to celebrate Fall!

    PLEASE JOIN IN MY OCTOBER FEST BLOG HOP EVERYONE -- it's still open for people to join :)
    http://www.jewelschoolfriends.com/2012/08/october-fest-jewelry-craft-bead-home.html

    Ok, now as to my personal favorite thing about Fall: my birthday right before Halloween. I love dressing up, being anything you wish, pumpkins, candles, trees, owls, witches and magic! The crunch of leaves, the colors, the smell, the wind. Here is my Autumn recipe -- my birthday cake that I've had every Oct 28th for 30+ years! It's my recipe posted at HSN.
    "1970's Cherry cheese Cake"
    http://tinyurl.com/cherrycheesecake1970

    Enjoy! Happy Halloween! Have a boo-tiful time and lovely Autumn! xxoo
    Rita

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  18. I love walking and crunching all the leaves. Scuffing through them and sending them into the area like a little kid. It hasn't quite reached that point of dryness but should be soon.

    Thanks for the notice on the PIF. Don't think I have received your email yet so looking forward to receiving it.

    Carolyn
    carolynscreationswa.blogspot.com

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  19. For me it would putting on our annual Witch's Ball and of course Samhain.

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  20. Sandra,
    Did you get my email about my choice of earrings? I'm hoping it didn't get lost...well, in the mail.....hahaha.

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