..ready for christmas!..

I am so looking forward to Christmas this year. Hubbo will be home, I got him rockin' gifts this year, and we've got lots of family to visit. I don't know how often he looks at my blog since I'm a complete slacker and I don't post very often.. but one of his gifts is very cool, and I can't wait to post pics. It's handmade ;)

So for all of my online friends, I just want to wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. I hope you all have safe trips, great food and wonderful memories! I hope Santa is good to all of you!

P.S. he called and asked how you all were. I lied, so you're on the Nice list! :)

..rain rain..

Big time raining here.. that's ok though. I've been cleaning and wrapping Christmas presents. Trying to get hubbo's wrapped before he gets home tonight. Sneaky sneaky :)

Question.. is it bad that I bought my sister a Christmas present last year and hid it so well that I still haven't found it?! Lol! :D

..geez louise..

I never thought starting my business would take me away from EVERYTHING! :) Can I tell you that I haven't even looked at my Google Reader in two months. I haven't picked up a needle and thread, or some adhesive and scrap paper in two months. But busy with the business means that business is good. And I'm thankful for that, very thankful. Now I'm just interested to see how the holiday season is going to pan out with me being so busy :)

..october WAS busy!..

Where did it go? :) I had cake orders for every weekend in October. I can't believe it's November already. Wowee :) I had an absolute awesome time doing the 13 Days of Halloween swap. I hope to host more blog swaps in the future. I just got to meet so many wonderful, talented people through this. Thank you all for joining and making it successful! :)

And now I have the holidays to look forward to. Somebody actually had the nerve to tell me there were 7 weeks left until Christmas. I did NOT want to know that! :D It's too soon, and I have too much shopping left to do! Although I've been trying to do most of it online and it's helping :)

And maybe I won't be as scarce in November as I was in October. I need creative time to myself and I haven't had any lately! :)

..october is busy!..

Wow, time flies when you have something to do every single day! :D For those who have asked about the accident, everything is fine. It was a car wreck, and I was pretty upset about it when it happened. But no one was hurt, everything is okay. It was just nuts for a few days.

On the cake shop front, business has been good! :) I've had two cake orders already for this month and doing a wedding this weekend. It's slowly but surely getting there :) I know it takes a while to establish yourself in the community, and I'm fine with that. Honestly, I haven't even had time to think about advertising (other than the bridal show I did last month, and the one coming up in January) because I don't know what i would do if I got swamped at this point. I hope to be sending out some flyers to local big-business offices letting them know my specials for holiday parties. So we'll see :)

But that's where I've been lately, in the kitchen :) I'd rather be busy than losing money! :D

..two winners!..

I know I'm late announcing the winner. We had a bit of an.. accident :) Everything's ok, no one's hurt. But needless to say everything got put on the backburner until today.

BUT, it's time to announce the winner of our giveaway. And that winner is:

Cindy from Thimbleprims Studio! Yay! Congrats Cindy :) And, I randomly drew a name from everyone that mailed out on time for an extra little goodie from me. And that winner is:

Miss AwtemNymf from Opal Moon Enchantments!

Congrats ladies! Ooh, and only 1 more week until we start opening gifts. I can't wait! Don't forget you can take some pictures along the way and post them to our Flickr Group!

..last of the 13 days giveaways..

It's mail out time! But the fun isn't over yet. I have one more sponsored giveaway for all you swappers!

**You have to be a participant in the Halloween Swap to win this giveaway**

This giveaway is sponsored by the beautiful shop, Antoinette Paperie. I was so happy when Miranda agreed to sponsor, because her work is just amazing. Here is a little bit more about Miranda and her shop.

About my shop:

I have always loved crafting for as long as I can remember. I love making things for special occasions especially birthdays and holidays. I recent years my focus has been paper crafting. I absolutely enjoy creating with beautiful papers, stamps and embellishments! My shop carries lovingly handmade cards and gifts tags influenced by European and vintage style. All of my paper goods are made with special attention to the detail and using only the highest quality materials to make one of a kind works of art to give to family, friends or even keep for yourself!

About the prize:

These tags are perfect for your Halloween celebrations!

I have hand stamped a Happy Halloween image in black pigment ink onto smooth ivory cardstock. The image is then distressed with distressing powder to create a raised image that feels like sandpaper. I put the circle on a black scalloped circle with foam tape to give it some dimension. An orange rhinestone tops the image for embellishment.

Each tag measures 3” round and is tied with black and orange satin ribbon.

This set of 4 tags comes packaged in a re-sealable cellophane bag...perfect for gift giving! They are also perfect for scrapbooking, baked goods, goodie bags, favors, and decorating!

*How to enter*

For your mandatory first entry, visit Antoinette Paperie and tell me another fabulous item you see that you love.

For a second entry, make a purchase from Antoinette Paperie and come back here and tell me.

You have until Friday, October 9th to enter. Good luck everyone! :)

..more cruise pics..

Just because I like 'em :)

This is the ship from the end of the pier in Progreso, Mexico. The pier was 4 miles long, so you had to take a bus to town.

The Lido deck at night..

Flamingos having some lunch in Progreso :)

The salt flats in Progreso, brought to you by your tour guide Pablo!

The Maya ruins in Progreso

And me & the Hubs being all close and married-like :)

..our 3rd winner is..

Julie from It's Sew Stinkin' Cute! I did a random draw, and her post with her in her Raggedy Ann costume won. Congrats Julie! I'll be sending your mailing info along.

And because I hate having a post without pics, I'll share some of the ones from my trip. This is by no means anywhere near even half of them :) But I don't want you all to feel like you're trapped at a family reunion, looking at slides :D **Not really sure why the quality looks awful in the small pic, but if you click on them, it brings them to a bigger size with much better quality**

View of the Lido deck, looking towards the back of the ship. There's the Carnival tail! :)

Me and Hubbo at the back of the boat.

Silly faces!

And I'm gonna assume the room stewards knew I would be posting pics, and I know they all read my blog. So what did they leave me? A Koala Towel Buddy!!! Isn't he cute?

..cruisin' and a giveaway!..

We leave bright and early in the morning for New Orleans. We'll be spending the night there tomorrow night, and our cruise leaves Saturday afternoon. I am so excited! :) I'll be gone for a week, and although they tell me there is internet to be found on board, I don't know how great it will be. So to keep you all busy while I'm gone, how about another giveaway for the 13 Days of Halloween swappers? :)

**You have to be a participant in the Halloween Swap to win this giveaway**

The prize is being donated by one of your fellow swappers, AwtemNymf! She has very generously offered to donate a set of Spooktacular Charm Squares!

Don't you just love this line?! :D This bundle includes 40- 5" charm squares.

*How to enter*

Go visit AwtemNymf's blog, and leave her some blog love. Then some back here and leave a comment letting me know.

For a second entry, follow her blog, then leave a separate comment for that.

For a third entry, leave a link to a picture of a Raggedy Ann or a Raggedy Andy that you have or have made. Miss Nymfie loves the Raggedies! :)

You have until Friday, September 25 to enter. I will draw a winner either Saturday or Sunday, depending on how late we get home :)

Huge thanks to Miss Nymfie for donating this prize. I only wish I was eligible to win, lol :) You all have a wonderful week while I am gone. If I have internet, I will post pictures from the cruise.

Peace, waves and koala fuzz y'all! :)

..ding ding ding..

We have a winner for our giveaway from Burning Moon. It's Tara Colna! Yay, congrats Tara :) I'll be sending your info along so you can get your goodies.

Thanks everyone for playing. We still have a few giveaways left, so check back here later this week :)

..09.09.09..

Today is very special to me. The hubbo and I started dating on 09.09.99, and then we got married on 09.09.06. Which means that today is technically our 3rd and our 10th anniversary :) This will be the only time in our life when we will get to celebrate with all 9's. Unless science makes some HUGE progress, I don't see either of us being around on 09.09.99 again :D So today is a big deal, but no big plans. I'm letting him sleep late, and I'll be working on cakes for the bridal fair this weekend. But next week is a different story. Next week we leave for a week long cruise :D That's our celebration, and I can't wait! It will be the first time either of us have ever gone on one. We're setting out to Cozumel and Progreso. And I'm even more thrilled, because one of the days we're at port, we're going swimming with dolphins. It's been on my "Bucket List" since I was a little girl.

So Happy Anniversary babe. I hope it's been worth it for you, because it's been a blast for me! :D

1999

2006

2009

See, some things do get better with time :)

**UPDATE** I just answered the door to a delivery.. a flower delivery for me! :) He sent me three roses (one for every year) in red, pink and white. He gets the award for hubbo of the year in my book :D

..next giveaway is here!..

Hey swap participants, ready for another giveaway?! :)

**You have to be a participant in the Halloween Swap to win this giveaway**

This week's giveaway comes from Burning Moon. Burning Moon is created & ran by Luna from Phoenix, Arizona. Her shop offers a variety of products for everyone from jewelry,candle holders, book marks, gifts + more all at an affordable price. Her shop just recently opened this year but she has been creating things since child hood. Looking for a great gift or help promoting your own Etsy shop? Visit Burningmoon.etsy.com today.

And make sure you check out Luna's Blog for even more inspiration!

Luna is giving away one (1) of her "Boo" hairclips, and and a black and orange woven bead bracelet, like the ones in her shop.

*How to enter*

For one entry into the drawing, visit Burning Moon and tell me an item that you love!

For a second entry, make a purchase from Burning Moon and let me know.

You have until Saturday, September 12th to enter. Good luck!

..bzz bzz..

Busy as a hyperactive bee today. Lots to do for this weekend and next weekend.

Check back tomorrow for a new 13 Days of Halloween Swap Giveaway! :)

Peace, love and koala fuzz y'all!

..winner winner..

It's time to announce the winner from the Luckygirlgoods giveaway, yay!!!

All the comments got jumbled up and tossed around, and the winner is this one..

Christine Edwards said...

Wow, amazing, a swap and giveaways! I love the SPOOKY garland in the Lucky Girl Goods shop. It would look awesome along the mantel.

Yay Christine! I will be sending your info to Cari so she can get your prize on its way!

Look for our second giveaway coming up later this week! :)

..i know some great people..

I really do. And I wanna mention them, because tooting someone else's horn is fun :)

First up is my pal Miss Nymfie. Me loves her :) One day we are totally going to hang out in real life. I'm working on it Nymfie, just keep the crafting table warm for me :) She bestowed this great award on me..

You know you gotta pass these awards along, so this award goes out to all of the ladies participating in my Halloween Swap. You girls rock, and I cannot wait to see what all of you create! :)

A few weeks ago Marichelle had a giveaway on her blog for this book, and I won..

The book was supposed to come from the publisher. But apparently they forgot about me. So Marichelle sent me a copy herself! How sweet is that? It wasn't her problem, but she didn't want me to be disappointed. Thanks Marichelle, you're awesome :)

And then last, but definitely not least, Brittany had a giveaway on her blog as well, asking what everyone's favorite cupcake flavor was. Mr. Random picked my number, and I got this pretty little package in the mail..

It was so pretty! I almost didn't want to open it.. almost. This is what that beautiful wrapping contained..

Woot! I love baking, and I love Martha. So I definitely love it when you put the two together :) But it didn't stop there. Brittany felt bad for not getting it to me sooner. (Um, I wouldn't have complained if it came on Christmas Day without a cover, lol!) But Brittany is a sweetheart, and took my answer from her giveaway, and sent me this..

Are you seeing what it says on that card? Do you know what magicalness comes from the Bangarang Bake Shop?

Cupcakes in a Jar! Be still my heart. What you're looking at right there is a strawberry cupcake in a jar, mailed to me, ready to devour. It gets better..

Look at all. that. frosting. Isn't it beautiful? And it's a lot! I mean, bigger than your average cupcake. I actually ended up sharing a couple of bites with the hubbo.

So I just wanted to tell you ladies thank you for being great people. Sometimes "thank you" is under-appreciated, because it's said so much. But I really do mean it, from my little heart. Thank you :)

..faerie folk..

Ti Kanae was a wee little faerie with blonde hair and a climbing ivy dress. She lived in a little house by a small brook..

She spends her days collecting fruits and nuts, and baking the most delicious pastries.

Ti Kanae is known as the best baker in the forest, and she loves sharing all of her treats with her neighbors.

Ok, so I'm living vicariously through a faerie :) But seriously, isn't that artwork and those miniatures just awesome? I didn't create them. Click on the pictures to be taken to the respective artists' pages.

And if you haven't, go check out FawnDear's blog for the Second Star to the Right Blog Party :)