Friday, November 4, 2011

Give Away Linking Party...


You know I love doing linking parties to share inspiration from around the world...like Sew Darn Crafty

Well, I was thinking, how about a linking party to share all the give aways that bloggers have. Like Give Away Central!!

Bloggers who are having give aways will stop by here each Friday and link up their give away they are having on their blog.

Why a give away linking party?
  • brings new friends to your blog who might not ever stop by
  • more entries to your give away
  • for the people who want to enter give aways...it helps to search through the ones that are right for them...all in one place!
Here's how it works...
  • bloggers who are having a give away will click the link below to enter their give away post. Follow the steps to add your link and photo.
  • to find the url or http of that particular give away post, just click the TITLE of the give away.
  • make sure give aways are in keeping with a "Blog Friendly" atmosphere.
  • Sew Many Ways has no connection or responsibility to any of the give aways that are linked...I'm just the middle man! Lol !!
  • when your give away is over, it's a good tip to go back into the edit section of that post and type GIVE AWAY HAS ENDED at the top of the post. Helps to prevent people stopping by and joining the give away when it's already over.
  • I will have this each week, so if your give away is longer than a week come back and link up again!

If you are searching for giving aways to enter, just click the picture and you will be linked to that blogger's blog post!!

This is my first venture into this idea, so let's see how it works out.

If you know of any friends who are having give aways, pass this on so we can have lots of friends stopping by.

Happy Give Away,
~Karen~

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Thoughts on Thursday...

"Don't cry because it's over...smile because it happened!"
                                                          ~Dr.Seuss~


I just love this quote. It can fit so many circumstances in every one's life. Makes you think...or change how you think!

Happy Thursday,
~Karen~

Monday, October 31, 2011

Tool Time Tuesday...Hot Cocoa Quick Gift Idea

Happy Tuesday everyone!! I know we just finished Halloween, but it's never to early to start thinking about little Christmas gift projects.

Here's a super quick idea to make ahead and have on hand.

Hot Cocoa Christmas Tree!!



Most of you know my love for these little take out containers. I use them for storing small crafting items and anything else you can think of. Click here for a very popular post using them!!

I bought a package of 250 at a party store, but before I knew I could buy them, I collected them from our Chinese take dinners or from the ketchup at McDonald's or other similar restaurants.


They come in different sizes, so this is what I was experimenting with when the Hot Cocoa Christmas Tree idea popped in my head.


All you need are hot cocoa packets, marshmallows or fluff and some kind of chocolate....Hershey bars broken up, chocolate chips, chocolate sprinkles or Hershey Kisses.


Empty the cocoa packets into the larger container, marshmallows in the medium and the chocolate in the small. However, if you LOVE chocolate...the chips could always go in the larger size!!


Put a cover on each container. I added a dab of hot glue to the cover and then put the next size on...just to keep the containers stacked in the packaging.


I used low temp hot glue so it wouldn't melt the plastic. (wait..."low" temp "hot" glue, why do they call it that?!? lol


All set to decorate as you'd like. I thought I would add a little star to the top.


Print out a free printable star template from the computer. You need 2 to make a double sided star. I printed it on card stock for a sturdier paper.


Take one star and place a tooth pick on the center and spread with glue.


Top it with the second star and press until dries.


I used paper clamps to hold in place...hands free. Also, get your glitter ready!


Coat the outside of the star with glue again and sprinkle with glitter.


While that's drying, poke a small hole in the cover of the top container. This hole will be for the tooth pick.


Here is the star with one coat of glitter and edged with a line of glue.


Add more glitter.




This is the dried star. The extra edge of glue and glitter on the border sort of frames the star.


The picture doesn't really show how sparkly this is.


Place inside a cellophane bag and add a big bow.


I completely for forgot to add a hang tag and it's almost midnight and my sewing room is too dark to take a nice picture.

The hang tag should have a title with a little bit of instructions on how to make the cocoa.! You could even add a mug and spoon too!

Maybe if I'm inspired with a poem for the hang tag I'll share it with you.


It's November 1st, so there's still time to start saving those little cups. The ones I purchased are made by Solo.

Have a great Tuesday,
~Karen~

Blog Buddy...Clicking Around a Blog


Happy Halloween! Hope everyone has a spooktacular day!!

Today's blogging tip is just about "CLICKING" around a blog. There are some things a blog does that new and not so new bloggers may not know about...for the blog visitor or the blog author.

did you know that...
  • if you happen upon an blog on an older post, you can go to the most recent post by clicking on the blog "TITLE" or the "HOME" button.
  • if you run your mouse or cursor over something and it highlights, underlines or changes color...it's a link to something else, so you can click on it!
  • if you go to the bottom of a post, you will find the word LABELS. There will be one or several words related to that particular post. If you click on a word, it will bring you to all the posts in that same topic or theme.
  • Click around on your Dashboard too. If you click on the Design button, each section of the blog has it's own "edit" button. You can change things around and experiment. For example, in the design section of edit layout, you can click on the edit button under the "blog post" section. In there, you can change so many things...like how many posts show up on the first page, what the date looks like, do you allow links, add labels etc
  • Click the "Settings" tab...so many sub tabs too.
  • if you are having a hard time seeing a photo, you can click on it and it will enlarge on another page.
  • if you click on the TITLE of a post, it will bring you to just that post and all the comments will be underneath to read all at the same time.
  • clicking on the TITLE will also give you the specific web address or url for just that post. That's what you use for linking parties or linking to just that post.
  • In the comments section, if you click on the person's name, it will bring you to their profile page and their blog. Great way to meet new people.
  • On some one's profile page, if they have their town, state or country listed under location...did you know if you click on the state, it will bring up all other people who are from that same location!
Ok, I could go on, but you get the point...CLICK, CLICK, CLICK...you'll find so many new things.

If any one wants to share more "clicking" tips...leave them in the comment section!!

Have a great day,
~Karen~

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Sew Darn Crafty Party Theme Week 38...Apple and Pumpkin Recipes


It's Sew Darn Crafty THEME week time. All this week, it's RECIPES for APPLES and PUMPKINS for that autumn feeling. However, here in the northeast it feels like the dead of winter with the snow we had yesterday. We only have an inch or two of snow here, but some towns have over 2 feet of snow...IN OCTOBER!!!

You can share older recipe posts if you don't have anything ready for this week.

Apple and pumpkin recipes...here we come!! Let's see how many we can share this week. This gives us enough time to try the recipes, enjoy them and then make them again for Thanksgiving!!

Don't forget to look at the post following this one to see last week's MVPs

Here are the weeks and the theme for the weeks to come...so start putting all your great posts together!

November 6th...Anything Autumn
November 13th...Pie Recipes
December 4th...Christmas/Holiday Decor
December 11th...Cookie Recipes
December 18th...Last Minute gift ideas

If you want to add the button to your blog...Click HERE for a tutorial for adding a button


If you're NEW to Sew Darn Crafty, then grab a cup of something tasty, sit back and join in on the fun (starts Sunday and lasts all week long at Sew Many Ways).

WHAT IS SEW DARN CRAFTY...
  • "Sew" for anything to do with sewing,
  • "Darn" for anything to do with knitting. I always think of darning to do with knitting, but in my case "darn" usually is similar to the word I say when I mess up crafting!!
  • Let's not forget the word "crafty"...that can mean just about anything we do to create.

WHAT IS A LINKING PARTY...

So now we all know what Sew Darn Crafty means, let's explain a linking party again. I subscribe to a linking service, which provides the ability to link thumbnail pictures on my blog. The picture is a link that other bloggers provide to share their projects.

Two things can happen at a linking party...looking and/or linking
  • you can be greatly inspired by wonderful projects, ideas or vacation pictures (looking) and/or
  • you can share what you've been up to (linking)
If you want to be inspired by all the great ideas...just click on a picture and it will take you to that post from a wonderful blogger willing to share her thoughts and ideas.


HOW AND WHAT TO LINK TO THE PARTY...

Sew Darn Crafty is all about YOU!! Show off your projects, share a tutorial, show us your vacation pictures, share a family favorite recipe...share anything. Not only does linking inspire us all, it also brings lots of new people to your blog for a visit. Click here for past parties and lots of inspiration

Easy steps to join in on the fun...

  • link up to the specific project post, not your whole blog. Makes it easier to link right to that post and not  search through all your entire blog. To find the http address to a specific post, just click on the Title of your post.
  • link as many projects as you'd like...old or new
  • anything goes...cooking, sewing, knitting, crafts, organizing, remodeling projects, vacations, parties etc...
  • visit other links to share some blogging love! You know we all love comments!
  • grab a Sew Darn Crafty button for your blog (on my right side bar) or just link to the party in your post.
  • the more we share, the more people will join and then there's more inspiration to look at!
  • linking is open til Saturday night, so plenty of time to join in
  • just click the "click here to enter" button and follow the easy steps

Have fun linking up! Don't forget to come back and take a look at all the great projects during the week,
~Karen~

Sew Darn Crafty Party #37 MVPs...

Hi everyone!! Every week the Sew Darn Crafty Party amazes me...I just love all the wonderful ideas and projects that you share.

These are the top 3 from last week. The linking service I use keeps track of the number of hits per post and these were the winners!

The first is Mary Grace from Hooked on Needles. I've "known" MGM since I first started blogging. We've never met, but lots of fabric swaps and blogging make us friends!

Click here to visit Mary Grace's sewing room...so fantastic!! Organized, so much cabinet storage, an ironing board to die for and a cutting table we can all use with her at the same time!! Lol. Thanks for sharing MGM!



Next up are these adorable owl pin cushions from Cheree over at The Morning Latte. These are too stinkin' cute. I want a whole flock of them. I'm not sure if owls come in flocks, but I'll take a bunch!! Thanks Cheree, these are just great! Click here to visit her blog.



This mug rug is definitely on my "to do" list. This adorable one is from Heather at Crafting...

I just love the pattern and the fabric is my absolute favorite...need to get some of that! Click here to visit Heather and her wonderful blog. Thanks so much Heather, for taking the time to share.


If you'd like to grab a little "featured" button, the code is on the right side bar and click here for a tutorial on how to add a button to a blog.


Thanks to everyone who shares each week. I love it!!
~Karen~

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