A Gift and a MyMemories Giveaway

Yesterday I was blessed with a beautiful gift in my mailbox!!   Nia from Caixinha de Pirlimpimpim spoiled me with a beautiful hand stitched card and a souvenir from her home, Portugal!

Look at how cute this card is!   And he's holding my favorite flowers...tulips!!!   She also included her adorable business cards....that look just like her blog, isn't that little girl the cutest?

My Portugal souvenir is this handpainted Rooster of Barcelos.  He is a legend/symbol in Portugal and there are many different versions of the history and story of him, one of which you can find here.  

This gift just brightened up my day...my week!  We've had nothing but rain and thunderstorms all week, the tail end of the tropical storm I suppose...and this little rooster and card brought sunshine to my eyes.   Isn't Nia just a doll!?  

 

So let's see...it seems I'm doing more giving away than I am stitching...hahahaha...which is fine by me because it is FUN!!

The folks at My Memories, a digital scrapbook software company offered me a download of their software along with a download to give away to one of you!! 

Now I'm sure you're thinking...what the heck do you do with a digital scrapbook?

If any of you are like me...you have folders and folders of pictures saved somewhere on your laptop, your smart phone...maybe even still on your camera!!   Believe me, I LOVE the art of scrapbooking itself...but I just don't find I have the time to get any of it done (I blame my stitching!)...so this is a fantabulous alternative!

The beauty of this software is that you can create lovely scrapbook pages, even books....quickly and easily!   You can save them for yourself, use individual images to load elsewhere or create scrapbooks to send to others (my parents live out of town, so this was perfect to make a quick book of pictures to share with them of the kiddos!)

When I say quick...here's a sample that I put together in about 10 minutes (my first try, so now that I have the hang of it, it goes quicker!)

They offer pre-created layouts, but also allow you to create your own!   I picked out all the cut outs, the paper colors/textures and just popped the images in (you can zoom in/out and crop them with their software too!)

They have nine...NINE pages of free themed kits you can download once you have their main software loaded!   A themed kit means you can download templates for holidays, occasions, moods...you name it! 

So.....now for the giving away part!  :)

I'll be giving away a free download of their software (once you have it loaded, you can get all those free kits too!) to one of you...here's how you enter:

• Be a follower of my blog
• Visit their MyMemories site and post a comment that includes the name of one of their kits and tell me why you like that kit
• Include your email address so I can contact you

Easy Peasy!!

Giveaway ends at midnight EST on Friday, June 8th....and I'll use Mr. Random Generator to pick out a winner!

Also, they've offered all of you a $10 off code for purchases....in case you want to buy before I draw a name, or if your name isn't drawn

Just enter this code when you check out:   STMMMS17078

You'll receive $10 off the software, and the purchase will also come with a $10 coupon to buy kits!

-lesli

Bracelet Winner!

We survived Tropical Storm Beryl!   Luckily, we were only hit with heavy rainfall and gusts of wind.  Had many friends and family members that lost power, but ours remained on through it all. 


Thanks to everyone who checked out my bracelet giveaway and entered to win!  I hope you found some cute stuff at Mel's Etsy shop, like I did  :)


And now to announce a winner........


Here's a list of those that entered:

And....drumroll......Mr. Random Generator chose:

Congratulations, Gizzimomo (Thea)!!!  

She chose the Kumihimo Silk Fibre Bracelet in Grey, Blue & Purple (beautiful choice!)

Check out my current giveaway of a Heaven and Earth Designs chart, with fabric and floss here!



-lesli

Memorial Day Giveaway

"True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic.

It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost,

but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.”  

 -Arthur Ashe

I had planned to do a giveaway tomorrow, in honor of Memorial Day....but since there is a tropical storm heading for me, I thought it be best to post it today (in case I have no power or internet tomorrow!)

I'm giving away a beautiful Heaven and Earth Designs (HAED) chart along with the fabric and floss needed to finish it.

I sifted through all the fantabulous (I think that's my favorite non-real word!) charts they have and I finally decided on this one:



QS Yesterday's Gone; artwork by Molly Harrison



I chose this one for a few reasons -

• This is one of my favorites....I love all the watercolor looking background colors and the colors in her wings. 
• I also chose it for it's name "Yesterday's Gone"....which I felt kept in-line with the idea/meaning of this holiday. 
• I decided on the "quick stitch (QS)" version of this chart, as I know many of my blog followers have not stitched a HAED before and I didn't want anyone to run away (like I did the first time I saw them!)

The chart's stitches are 175 W x 161 H, so it isn't nearly as large as the "regular" charts!

Along with the chart, I will send the winner all the floss necessary to complete.  I'll be sending full skeins of DMC floss, as I'm lazy and can't bring myself to measure, cut and wind them all!  (this way you can also use whatever floss is leftover for other projects!). 

Aren't the colors puuuuurty!

The chart calls for 032...some stitchers choose to use a Krenik braid, but I've substituded with DMC Metallic floss.  If this isn't your preference, I apologize!  Krenik braid isn't so easy to get my hands on around here!

I will also include fabric for this chart in the following choices
(I don't have any 14 count left in my stash....but if you REALLY want 14 count, let me know and I'll get some!) :

28 Count Cream Linen
28 Count Cream Evenweave
25 Count Cream Evenweave
22 Count White Hardanger
18 Count White Aida
16 Count White Aida

The fabric will be cut to allow for a minimum of 3 inches on each side for a border (in some cases it may be bigger...again...because I'm lazy and don't want to cut the fabric!)

 

How do you enter?

• Be a follower of my blog
• Enter a comment on this thread
• Include your email address
• Let me know which fabric you prefer.

That's it!! 

This giveaway will end at midnight EST, Friday, June 1st.  The winner will be chosen using Mr. Random Generator and will be announced Saturday, June 2nd. 

P.S.: The chart will be in the form of a PDF file.  It will be sent to you via the Heaven and Earth Designs "RAK (Random Acts of Kindness)" program, which means you will receive an email from HAED which will contain a weblink created just for you.  When you click on the link it will take you to their site and a download button for you to download and save the chart.  If you have any issues getting through this process, just let me know and we'll walk through it together!!

 

-lesli

Epic Stitching Giveaway!

Mel, from Epic Stitching is a complete sweetheart and sent me one of her beautiful bracelets!!  (She posted about them on her blog and I asked her some questions about what they are made of...and *poof*...just like that, she sends me one!)

I am SO IN LOVE with it!!

Some pictures:

Close up...look at the purty colors!

those veins in my hand look weird, don't they?

My daughter Kella asks me everyday, "Mommmmm, where is mine!?"

And if you're wondering..... "Where is yours!?"  ..... you can check out Mel's Etsy shop and pick one, or two or three out!   (I've already chosen another one for me and of course, the one for Kella)

Here's a sneak peek of some of the pretties she sells:

While I was checking out her shop, I thought to myself., "Why not give one away too!"


So without further ado...adieu?.... anyway.... let's give one away!


How to enter:
Post a response with the following info:

• The name of the bracelet you'd like from her Etsy Shop
• Your wrist size (inches or cm)
• Your email address (so I can contact you if you win!)

I'll draw a winner sometime on Monday, May 28th....and they'll win whichever bracelet they named!


p.s. - If you haven't already, check out her stitching blog Epic Sitching!  She won the HAED contest in December where she gets a free chart each month...I LOVE checking out what she's chosen!


-lesli

May IHSW & TUSAL and other updates

I'm such a slacker!  It has been over 2 weeks since my last post!   I've been busy with work and having to travel, as well as family stuff going on.   I have so much to update on, but I'll really try to keep it short and simple  :)

Here is my May Hermitting update:

I worked on two new pieces over the weekend, one was Moonlight Immersion.  This is my first attempt with 28 count, using tent stitches.  I've been wanting to try all the different ways people work their HAEDs, so here's on of them!

Here is the before the weekend pic:

And my after shot:

I also started working on QS Blue Butterly by HAED this weekend.  A good friend of mine chose this chart as her first HAED and I thought it would be fun to stitch together, to keep her motivated and help her through getting adjusted to HAEDs

My progress from the weekend:

I also did some gridding for other new starts, but I didn't take any pictures of those...kinda boring! :)

In other news.......

My QS Motherhood by HAED came back from the framers....I LOVE LOVE LOVE how it turned out!

The piece itself has some light hues of purple floss used in it...so the purple matting really brings that out.

The outer matting is a linen fabric, which I thought looked great with the stitching.  Here's a close up, you can sort of see it:

I sat down and updated my rotation/task list (located on my right sidebar).  The list is long, and I'll probably change it as I go...but my mind needed to lay out all my current goals.  I'll be working on two pieces just a few hours per week (SK Blue Moon and QS Blue Butterfly) as those are stitch alongs and then I'll be working my other pieces a page at a time. 

Eventually I'll need to add in the SAL from Papillon....Around the World in 80 Stitches, but I'm still waiting on my fabric to get here <sigh>.
I've also listed a "secret stitch" in there....this is something I am stitching as a gift and the recipient sometimes checks my blog...so just to be safe I won't post pictures until it is finished and given.

I was also asked to do a review of one of Yiota's Cross Stitch charts....and it just arrived...so I'll be woking on that this week!

Finally....I just wanted to share how proud I am of my son Sebastian.  Over the past few weeks he tested for his Blue Belt in Karate (Tang Soo Do).  This was a big deal for him, because this is the belt where he had to test and pass on EVERYTHING he's ever learned since he started.  It is also the belt just before Junior Blackbelt. 

HE PASSED! :)  He worked so hard to remember everything and do everything correctly, over the past 3 months....for a 10 year old, that can be asking a lot!  I'm a proud momma!



(edited to add my TUSAL)
After typing this up and posting it, I realized it was also TUSAL time!  <another sigh>  I'm so behind!

I took a quick snapshot of my monthly TUSAL jar and the big vase I'm using to gather everything for the year.  Pardon the Tony Hawk skate toys...my son took over my dining room table!





Whew! Sorry for the long post!   Have a great week!


-lesli

May WIPocalypse

Heeeeeeeere's my update!


Nature's Beauty by LHN - I LOVED stitching this piece!!  I see many more LHN WIPs in my future!

Before:

After:

QS Motherhood by HAED   (My second HAED finish!)

I stitched this as a gift, so I didn't post any pictures of it on my blog until now (I haven't given it yet either, but I'm crossing my fingers that the recipient misses reading my blog for a bit!)

Cathedral by HAED - Finished page 2!   Hoping my next WIPocalypse update brings a few more pages of this piece!

Before:

After:

Now...off to check out all of your updates!!  :)

-lesli