Ready .. Set .. Giveaway!!

If you love paper crafting you’re going to love this giveaway!  I have not one but four fabulous giveaways.  Tons of great crafting products and goodies that you’ll be sure to enjoy!  

Unfortunately, with the cost of postage I must limit the snail mail portion of this giveaway to people who live in the U.S. or Canada.   BUT, don’t worry, there is still ample opportunity for my friends across the pond to win, too.  How great is that!!! 

Here’s the rundown…(please make sure you read all about the fabulous sponsors who are contributing to this giveaway.  This information is found after the Giveaway details under the heading ‘A Little About Our Contributors’.  They are all incredible and very generous and I couldn’t have done this without any of them!)

Giveaway# 1 (limited to Canada & the U.S. only)

I have put together a fabulous package of goodies that I’ve purchased just for my faithful followers here at A Piece Of Heart.  You’ll find products such as clear stamps, dies, gingham flowers, rub-on transfers, a burnishing tool, dimensional stickers, embossing folders, dies cuts, and tons more filling up your mailbox once this giveaway ends.  Here’s a sneak peak…

 

Giveaway# 2

• $15.00 Gift Certificate toward purchase of any digital stamps in the FBD store, donated by Fresh Brewed Designs
• “Spooky Hoots” digi stamp set, donated by Digi Scrap Kits

 

Giveaway# 3

• $10.00 Gift Certificate from DigiStamps4Joy, donated by A Piece Of Heart Blog (me, lol).
• 5 digis, donated by Digi Darla
• 4 digis, donated by Scribbles Designs
• Custom Designer Paper, donated by Décosse's Dynamite Doodles

 

Giveaway# 4

• $5.00 Gift Certificate, donated by KaDoodleBug Designs
• 3 digis, donated by Limited Runs
• 5 digis, donated by Creative Bug On The Loose
• 4 digis, donated by Scribbles Designs

 

A Little Bit About The Contributors

Digi Darla was formed by Kim Eskola and her teenage daughter, Emilea.  They both have a love for creating and designing digital stamps was their way of embarking on an incredible journey through cyberworld.  In collaboration with a few family friends, the Digi Darla store and the amazing stamps found there have been a huge success in the digi community.  When you visit the store you’ll see what I’m talking about!  I'm so excited and thrilled that they will be participating in this giveaway by generously agreeing to offer 5 digis of the winner's choice. Thanks so much, Karen!  You can find the store here >> http://www.digidarladesigns.com/

 

 

Sandy, from Scribbles Designs is a fellow Canadian who lives in British Columbia, a beautiful province surrounded by towering mountain peaks and deep blue ocean waters.  I'm sure she gathers much of her inspiration from the breathtaking scenery surrounding her.  The quirky, funky and fun images she creates are the perfect addition to great cards and projects.  Make sure you check out her blog – http://buyscribblesdesigns.blogspot.com - so you don't miss out on all the wonderful, new images in her store.  You'll also find some great tutorials and freebies there as well (among many other great things!).  Sandy is offering 2 packages with 4 digital images in each package. Thanks, Sandy!

 

 

It's quite obvious that Nikki at Limited Runs takes pride in her work!  You can definitely see it in the crisp black & white images she creates.  BUT, not only does Nikki create incredible digis, she also dabbles in card making, jewelry making, designing purses and she's even tried her hand at stained glass. This woman has it all! Her stamps can be found at http://limitedrunsstamps.blogspot.ca but you can also find her at http://graphixanddesign.blogspot.ca (cards & other paper products), and http://limitedruns.blogspot.ca (exclusively jewelry).  Nikki will be offering 3 digital images from Limited Runs to one of the lucky winners.  Thanks, Nikki!

 

 

I just absolutely adore Melissa Deuss, owner of KaDoodlebug Designs, and her fabulous work and I'm so excited that she is willing to participate in this giveaway by kindly offering a $5.00 gift certificate to KaDoodle Bug Designs!  Melissa is an incredible artist and her adorable designs are so much fun to work with.  She has a lot to offer with her digi stamps, clipart, paper piecing patterns, and cutting files and you don't want to miss out on any of it!  Melissa isn't the only artist in the family either.  Her precious 4 year old Kayla is quite the little artist herself.  Check this out ... http://kadoodlebugdesigns.blogspot.ca/2013/07/painting-and-peachy-keen-stamps.html.  Thanks, Melissa!

 

 

I have been a fan of  Trina Clark since I started designing years ago.  She was the first digi designer I was aware of when I first began digital and paper crafting and her work just really makes me smile.  I’m so happy I get to share her amazing designs with you all.  Trina began creating primitive and country graphics in 1999 and now operates a successful web based business, Digi Scrap Kits. Since early childhood, Trina has always loved to draw.  Her favorite Christmas presents were doodle pads, markers, pencils, and crayons.  Her talent inspires me to be a better designer.  Trina has graciously offered her “Spooky Hoots’ digi set for this giveaway.  Trina can also be found on her blog -- http://trinaclark.blogspot.ca/ – I encourage you to pop on over for a visit and, while you are there, make sure you congratulate her on her newest grandchild, baby Harper, who was just born this week.  Thanks, Trina!

 

 

If you are looking for the cutzie factor, sincerity or just straight up quirky you will love to dig into Naomi’s world of digital designz. Naomi Edwards, owner of Creative Bug Digital Stamps has created a hive to inspire card makers to take a plunge into the world of coloring.  Her store is fairly new but her love and increasing passion to create is sure to be evident as you buzz around taking in the view. If you are new to coloring digital images you will be pleased to know there are “how to videos” created by the lovely Christina from Card Making Magic who is  Spectrum Noir’s Accredited Instructor and Accredited Colorist Status! Drop on by and keep a look out for a new freebie biweekly!  Make sure to also check out Naomi on her blog -- http://scrapbookingforbeginners-naomi.blogspot.ca/.  Naomi has been kind enough to offer 5 digital images from Creative Bug On The Loose to one of the lucky winners of this giveaway.  Thanks, Naomi!

 

 

If you are looking for some freshly brewed inspiration, then you must visit Heather at Fresh Brewed Designs.  Fresh Brewed Designs is a small on-line company that has been offering a wide variety of digital images and rubber stamps since November 2010, designed to meet the needs of paper crafting addicts everywhere.  Owned and operated by Heather Dennis, loving wife and mother to two home-schooled children, you can always expect personalized service.  Whether you are looking for one of their uniquely designed coffee inspired images or something entirely different, you are sure to find something to please.  Heather and the Fresh Brewed Designs team would also love for you to visit them over on their blog (http://freshbreweddesigns.blogspot.com/) where inspiration is always percolating.  You will also find a digi release at least once a month as well as a monthly rubber stamp release and blog hop. Make sure to visit them on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Fresh-Brewed-Designs/139388879447210) too.  You never know what other goodies you may find there.  Heather is contributing a $15 Digital Stamp Gift Card which can be used toward purchasing any digital stamps in the FBD shop.  Isn’t that awesome!  Thanks, Heather!

 

Are you interested in digital sentiments, papers and other embellishments?  How about a badge made especially for your blog?  If these are items you are interested in, you are going to want to check out Lisa at Décosse's Dynamite Doodles.  With over 100 freebies to choose from, and new ones added weekly, she just might have what you are looking for.  Along with the freebies she offers, she also creates blog badges and is in the process of putting some kits together.  Additionally, there is always inspiration to be found among her many different features.  Pop by and visit Lisa.  I know you’ll have a blast!  Lisa has graciously agreed to create a digital paper of your request from a group of offered choices.  Thanks, Lisa!

 

So how do you get in on all of this, you ask.  It’s very easy.  Just take a short walk through the PromoSimple widget and in no time at all you will be on your way to your chance at winning one of the incredible giveaways being offered. 

Disclaimer: Please keep in mind that this is all new territory for me and there may be some glitches along the way *crossing my fingers there aren’t* so please have patience as I work to fix any problems that arise.  Thank you!

Alright, get ready, get set, let’s giveaway!!!!

 

A Piece Of Heart
300 Follower Giveaway!

What I’ve Been Up To…

I just wanted to let you all know that I’ve been very busy getting ready for the upcoming giveaway.  I’m really excited about it and I promise you, it will be worth the wait.  I’m hoping to post it up this coming weekend (if not sooner) so please keep an eye on this blog for more details. 

I am also in the midst of clearing out my basement and getting ready for a garage sale so I’m up to my ears in “stuff” today.  I have cleared a bunch out but there is still sooooooooo much more. My advice to you all … throw things out or give them to a charity when you are done with them.  I have almost 30 years of things down there to go through.  I promise you, though, I’m not a hoarder haha.

I hope you are all having a great day. 

Clear It Out Challenge–Summer Vacation

A new Clear Out Challenge has been posted and it’s time to empty out your stash and play along in another fab challenge!

The challenge this month is:

• Theme:  Summer Vacation
• Requirement: Use stickers or rub-ons

 

You have 2 weeks to play along (until August 19th).

 

Our sponsors this week are:

 

 

When I think of summer vacation I think about going away with my family.  For that reason, I chose the fun image below from The Stamping Chef.

 

 

I used star stickers as the required stash item. 

 

 

 

I kept it fairly simple except for one small detail which, unfortunately, cannot be seen in action.  I made my own wobbler from wire and a couple of adhesive pads and attached the rocket to it so that it would wobble back and forth with the flick of a finger.  It makes for a fun, interactive card.

 

 

That’s about it for this one.  Thanks for looking and come back soon!

Update..Giveaway

I promised to post the instructions and details of the giveaway for this week but I’m still working on how I’m going to package stuff affordably.  I didn’t realize postage was so stinkin’ much!!  So, with that said, I’m going to delay posting until I have each package together and I go to the post office to determine the weight. I put some fake #’s into a rate finder on Canada Post website and .. yikes .. $100.00 for shipping! That’s just not something I can afford.   For those of you who have hosted giveaways before, what have you found the best way to do this affordably?

So sorry for the delay!  I should have had all this organized before I let the ‘cat out of the bag’ but I was so excited I had stuff to giveaway that I didn’t think about the rest of it.  Please don’t think I’m a flake..I promise I’ll get this figured out as soon as possible!  Thanks for understanding.

Last Chance Reminder & Exciting News!

There is still one week left in the Clear It Out Challenge and I sure would love to see you participate.  Only 5 people have entered this challenge so chances are good that you will win if you enter your card.

First, I need to apologize for the quality of this photo.  I was having problems with my camera.  I chose to represent Texas for this card.  I used the colors in the Texas flag (blue, red & white) and chose an image that I thought represented Texas well.

 

 

This little cowgirl is a Digi Darla image..you can find it here.  I colored her with my copics and Bic Mark It’s.

• Skin – E01/E11
• Hair – Y11/13
• Hat & Shirt – R24 & Rambunctious Red
• Scarf – Margarita Green
• Jeans – B93/95/97
• Boots – Honey Brown/Tiki Hut/Woody Brown
• Belt – Tuxedo Black & Cloud Nine Grey for the buckle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The sentiment was created by me and will be offered up as a freebie in the near future so make sure to come back and look for it soon. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The inside is where I used my washi tape required for this challenge.  Take a look…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now on to some exciting news!  Laura, the CIO Challenge blog owner has generously decided to add a little incentive for anyone who comments on this blog post from now until August 5th.   With your comment comes the chance to win a $10.00 gift certificate to any CIO challenge sponsor’s store of your choice.  Make sure to leave your email address so we know where to find you!

But wait, that’s not all … (lol) … I’ve been wanting to do a giveaway for some time now.  I finally have enough stuff together that I can make it worth your while.

Here’s a sneak peek at some of the things up for grabs  …. 

 

 

 

There’s so much more up for grabs so please watch for all details and instructions on how to enter to be posted sometime this week.

Clear It Out Mid Challenge Post

Well, actually, since this is a three-week challenge there are still two more weeks to go so why not hop over to the Clear It Out blog for more details.

This week I used a yummy Digi Darla image.  When I saw this one I just knew I had to have it.  I mean seriously girls, what’s better than chocolate and strawberries, right??!!   You can find it here.

 

Since this challenge theme is to represent your country (or any country for that matter) in some way, I chose to use a basic red and white color scheme because that’s the colors of the Canadian flag.

I typed the words “happy birthday friend” and used my Cameo to cut them into wonky shaped rectangles and mounted them on top of a red matt which I framed in black.  I mounted the cake in the same manner and then used pop dots to pop it up.

I used my Rambunctious Red to draw faux stitches around the border of the card.

 

 

 

 

We also had to use washie tape so I chose to make a flag banner using assorted red and white washie tape.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Doesn’t that cake look simply scrumptious.  I used the following Bic Mark-Its to color the cake:

• Cake - Honey Brown/Tiki Hut Tan/Woodsy Brown
• Strawberries - Rambunctious Red/Prairie Berry
• Platter - Stone Grey/Cloud Nine Gray

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I finished off the inside very simply with some more washie tape and faux stitching.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope you decide to participate in the CIO challenge this week.

 

Clear It Out Challenge–International

A new Clear Out Challenge has been posted and it’s time to empty out your stash and play along in another fab challenge!

The challenge this month is:

• Theme:  International
• Requirement: Use washi tape
  

You have 3 weeks to play along (until August 5th).

 

Our sponsors this week are:

 

This week I’m showcasing an image from QKR Stampede and you can find it here.

 

Every year Canadians (me) celebrate Canada Day on July 1st.  This month’s challenge was to make a card that represented my country in some way so I chose to make an all red & white card since that’s the colors on the Canadian flag.  And speaking of flags, I thought I’d have this little sweetie proudly waving them.   I used red & white polka-dot washi tape in keeping with the challenge theme, used a red Bic-Mark-It to create the stitch lines around the edge of the card, and added a little bow with a red button.

 

 

 

I tried something a little different to color this image.  I used Paint Shop Pro and digitally painted the image using gradients and patterns and then printed it using my inkjet printer. 

 

 

 

 

 

I tried to keep this card on the simple side.  Here’s a look at the inside…

 

 

 

 

 

And here’s a close-up look at the butterflies.  I printed out an image and used my silhouette to cut around it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, that’s it.  Thanks for stopping by.  I hope you decide to enter your paper-pieced creation in the CIO challenge this week.

There’s Still Time…

There’s still one week left to get in on the Clear It Out Challenge – Make Someone’s Day – so why not hop over to the Clear It Out blog for more details and link up a card you’ve made to brighten someone’s day!

This week I’m using this sweet little Stamping Chef image and you can find it here.  The designer papers are from the Best Of Brenda Walton K&Company 12x12-inch paper pad

 

 

 

 

 

I used my copics to color the image. 

• Hair & Bag – Y13/15/17
• Skin - E0000/00/01
• Shoes – E37 (with colorless blender to soften)
• Shirt - BG10, 15, 18
• Pants – B93/95/97
• Bow & Striped Shoes – Bic Mark It Petal Pink & Pink Flamingo

 

 

 

 

I used a tutorial from Desire Fourie  to make the circular elements.  Mine are slightly different than those in the tutorial but pretty close.  Desire has a great blog with lots of great information and tutorials on how to make fun elements – I invite you to check it out by clicking here.

The jewels are my sparkly bits to meet the challenge requirements.

 

 

 

Finally, take a peek inside to see what I did to make someone’s day. (And if you knew me, you’d know that I hate shopping so this was definitely a challenge, lol).

 

Another Forgotten Card

I was going through my files and came across this card that I created back in May and never posted. May was not a good month for me.  At any rate, I’m happy to share it with you now.

 

 

 

The cute image used for this card is a Digi Darla digital stamp called ‘Mama Bird Sings’ and you can find it in the store for only $2.00.  I used my copics to color it:

• Birds – B93/95/97
• Leaves – YG61/63/67
• Twig – E29

 

 

 

The cardstock was purchased at a Stampin’ Up Estate Sale so I’m not sure of the color names.  The designer papers are from the Best Of Brenda Walton K&Company 12x12-inch paper pad.

 

 

 

The flowers were purchased at my local dollar store.  I love the dollar store for card making elements. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I used some ribbon from Walmart to dress the card up a little.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s a peek at the inside:

 

I’m off to make a sentiment for this week’s Friday Freebie.  Don’t forget to stop by and pick it up tomorrow.  Enjoy your evening.

 

Quick Share…

This card was made for my hubby on our 28th Anniversary back in May.  I just never shared it at the time because I was so sick for most of the month of May.
The dotted line border around the card was one of the line styles in PSP and I set my card up so that it would print out on the cardstock.  I also printed the sentiments and the bee directly on the cardstock.  I created the heart graphic images from scratch using Paint Shop Pro and the shapes brush.  I added the swirls and the dotted lines for fun.  Then I cute them out, sponged the edges and placed them on the card using pop dots.  I left the inside blank. 
It’s ‘clean and simple’ but I thought it was cute.

Clear It Out Challenge–Make Someone’s Day

A new Clear Out Challenge has been posted and it’s time to empty out your stash and play along in another fab challenge!

The kids are out for summer, the garden needs weeding, and sometimes it's just to hot to craft (okay not really) so we wanted to make this super easy...

The challenge this month is:

• Theme:  Make Someone’s Day
• Requirement:  Use something sparkly!  
  Interpret this how you will, but there must be something glittery, shiny, or sparkly on your projects ;)
  
  

You have 2 weeks to play along (until July 15th).

Our sponsors this week are:

 

 

This cute little flower girl and matching sentiment were designed by Bugaboo and you can find them here.  The wagon, flowers and fence are freebies from Cuddly Buddy.

 

 

I added gold glitter paint to the wings to make them shimmery.  I colored her with copics:

• Dress – BG00/01
• Hair – E13/29
• Skin – E0000/00/01
• Cheeks – R22
• Halo – Y13/15
• Fence – E29/37

The wagon and flowers were colored with various Bic Mark-Its.

 

 

 

 

 

I printed the image out on some pink cardstock and then cut a 2nd image out of white card stock.  After coloring the 2nd image, I used pop dots and positioned it over the printed image.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is a peek at the inside….