Oh Joy!

We all know what comes after Thanksgiving....ah yes, the shopping, the sales, crowd fighting.
I must admit I did the midnight sale at Wal-Mart - it is more entertainment for me!  Plus, I got some great new sheets and a hand vac. whoopie.

In the spirit of the Black Friday through Cyber Monday hoopla, I've added a 15% off coupon code to Clever Notions.

Enter: 15JOY2010 to get the discount.

By the way, I've added some cute new headbands to the shop this week, great stocking stuffers.

I introduce you to Tough and Sweet: 

This is limited, only a couple left - your choice flower colors.

Next up is Bubblegum Ice Cream:

Love the sequins on this one, but it can be done more subtle with tulle or button.

Perfect for the girlie girls is Technicolor Flower:

And Purple is THE color this year, so everyone needs this one:

Purple is the New Black

More headbands are on the work table - how about a black and white or vintage brown with white polka dot? 

I have some new Crochet Candy original pins coming soon! If you are interested in those, let me know! 

They are $7 each. 

Remember, to shop local and shop handmade when at all possible!  If you are going to help out the economy, might as well be your local economy and those who are using their talent to make a living.

ETSY

I can almost guarantee you will see something you love 

everytime you go to the front page of Etsy!

CLEVER NOTIONS

Workspace Wednesday

For kicks I decided I'd start photographing 

my little workspace table each Wednesday and posting my
Workspace Wednesday. 

A couple of weeks ago it looked like this.

Today it's a packaging center for some new Crochet Candy I finished last weekend.

And you can see one of my obsessions:  5 gum in React.  

Love.that.stuff!

What are you working on?

Hoping you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with God's blessings.

Week 47

So my friend, Blayne over at bmedia is also a wonderful photographer and does wonders (obviously) with editing.  This is my Week 47 - taken by me, and edited by Blayne with his specialty ------> Black and White. 

Thanks Blayne!  The results are awesome.
Along with photography, Blayne offers web services and consultation. 
Check out his site for more info...



Oh and thanks for all the suggestions on the necklace - Bekka's "oh snap" seemed to be the most popular and I'm seriously leaning that way!   Thanks Bekka! :)

Help a sister out!

Okay, so I need a little help from my friends....

see I won an awesome giveaway for Vintage Pearl.  

I have been eyeing this necklace for quite some time and this GC will get it for me. 

{YAY}

Problem is I realized I can add whatever text (up to 15 or possibly 22 letters) I want.  

Don't really want "Shutterbug" which is shown.

{photo credit: Vintage Pearl}

Can you help a sister out and help me decide what to put on this cutie? 

Want one of your own or another adorable piece of jewelry, check out the Vintage Pearl.
These would make great gifts anytime of year.

 

We have a Winner

I am having a lazy Saturday morning  - drinking my coffee this morning trying to wake up - I randomly asked my hubs to pick a number between 1-10 and he quickly said 8.  I asked why, just because I was curious as he was so adamant about the number 8, but he had no real reason. 

He's a dude, what can I say...

Anyway, congrats to Michelle of Everyday Me!!!  You are the big winner! :D  BTW, if you do not know Michelle or her blog, I just hopped over there to find her contact info, and what a delightful blog she has!  You must check out her awesome frames - what a fantastic way to display those favorite scrapbook pages you have stashed away!!!  PLUS, she's a team member of my friend, Julie's These are a Few of my Favorite Things so she has to be awesome.

:):):):):):):):):):):):):) <-----for you Julie. ;)

Now Michelle, I don't envy you for having to decide which of Mandie's awesome items from Moxie Mandie you are going to select, but Happy Shopping!

AND a big Thanks to Mandie for this fun exchange and giveaway.  I thoroughly enjoyed and hope we were able to meet some new friends and showcase our fun shops together.

Can't wait to see who won the store credit to my shop:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/clevernotions

Something to Prove

I love fortune cookies!

This one from lunch with a great friend or "prend" a couple of weeks ago 

really struck a chord with me, so I held on to it.  

{It annoys me that they put a web address on fortune cookie fortunes...kind of takes the mystery and fun out of it.}

Nonetheless, this is my new mantra!

Oh and another thing that came from that lunch was that my friend and I decided we shouldn't have to work, but should be "Ladies who 'do' lunch" instead!!!  :)

What do YOU have to prove? 

Moxie Mandie Giveaway in Da house!

Who doesn't love a little giveaway?

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*insert crickets chirping*

Exactly.....not a soul!  EVERYBODY loves a giveaway, 

and this time of year is the perfect giveaway time, in my opinion.  

So in the spirit of giving, my sweet friend Mandie and I decided to do a little giveaway swap. Up for grabs is a $10 shop credit to her super cute new Etsy shop:
Moxie Mandie

And let me just tell you $10 is good! 

You can get this:

or you can get this:

And you can get several of these adorable gift tags!!!!

She also does a mean ruffle!

So how cute would one of these bags be as a sweet stocking stuffer? 

Or a great way to give a gift card?  

Oh, wait, I have a better idea!  

Keep one for yourself and get a couple more for gifts for your BFFs!  

So to win this fun giveaway, leave me a comment with your favorite product from her shop and just for fun the name of YOUR shop or favorite Etsy shop.

AND if you are new to Etsy, *GASP* Just hop on over there Etsy.com and search for something you like and see what you find then come back and leave us the name of the shop. I'm always on the hunt for new pretties. :)

Oh, and if you want to enter more than once, just post this giveaway {with link} on Facebook, Tweet about it or even blog about it.  Just stop back in and comment for each thing you do.  Easy Peasy! 

Giveaway will close on Friday night, midnight, my time.  

I'll announce the winner on Saturday. YAY!  

AND while you are at it, go over to Mandie's blog and check out her giveaway...  

it's a $10 credit to a familiar Etsy shop in my life. ;-)

Week 46

Random things I like about this picture:

• I like the way wood looks stacked up - pretty texture, no?
• I like that you can see my wedding ring with my Granny's pearl ring nestled in between my set.  Finally took that sucker out of the drawer to wear...use the good China, I say! 
• I like that I'm wearing my Toms, sans socks, in November!
• I like my favorite old Levi's that are getting to the point of thread-bare.  {I will mourn the day they finally give way.}
• I like that necklace.
• I like that my sleeves are long. {most sleeves are not like that on my monkey arms}
• I like that I was able to photoshop a zit off my chin. 

I will not mention the things I don't like, but I will say that they are less than what they would have been before I started this 52 week project.  I cannot believe it's already Week 46!

Oh, and did I mention that I'm in serious mode on the 52 Week Project for 2011? 

Well, I am.

I have lots of ideas to make this a fun interactive project for anyone who wants to participate.  It's not about taking the most beautiful pictures...it's about learning more about and playing with your camera, learning to like yourself and being comfortable in front of the camera, getting creative, and mostly it's about having a little fun!  

Details will follow over the next few weeks. 

This is my space

this weekend has been a photographing weekend and I have not completed any crafty projects, so this is what my sewing/craft table looks like right now:

It is definitely a colorful mess, no? 

There are headbands in the Etsy shop, so check it out! 

Oh, and another thing....I'll let you in on something... There will be a giveaway up in here this week, so stay tuned. 

Radio, Presidents and Faith

I have been listening to K-Love for several months now and truly receive a blessing each and every day.  Not just from the music, but many of the messages from other listeners, DJs and guests. 

It is amazing how music can touch so many people across the world - especially when that music is created by Christians with a positive message.  I sure recommend it over some of the mess that's on the radio...especially if you are toting around the kiddos! 

You can listen online so if you are unfamiliar, check it out here.  

Now, I consider myself a Democrat, but I'm a conservative Democrat.  I have great respect for many politicians...including Both George Bushes.  I know, you are asking yourself what in the world I'm talking about and what does a radio station have to do with my feelings about former Presidents!

Well, the link at the end of this post will take you to a podcast that K-Love ran the other morning and it is George W. talking about Billy Graham...one of THE great evangelists of our time.  It truly touched me and felt I needed to share it. 

What a great perspective on God, Christianity, Salvation, and Faith.

http://files.emfcdn.com/downloads/audio/podcasts/klovemsint_podcast5810_20101109.mp3

Thank You!

Thank you to all military personnel who have served our Country for your gracious service and sacrifice so I can live freely, communicate my thoughts daily, and serve God openly.

Happy Veteran's Day...please take time to thank those men and women who serve!

Week 45

I suppose with the colder weather the crochet bug has bitten me again.

I phase through some of my favorite crafts and I have not picked up my crochet hook for a few weeks, so I broke that baby out this weekend to work on some crochet candy. 

Everytime I look at this basket of colorful goodness it makes me so happy, so I decided it would be a perfect feature in my 52 week project this week.  In fact, it's pretty much the focal point, but I'm in there so it counts as a self-portrait, right!?  Plus there is a little cameo appearance by the one who is always by my side when I'm crocheting: Angus! :)

This week when I'm stressed out, I think this picture will be my happy place. :)

Have a lovely week my bloggy friends. :)  

{is it bloggy or bloggie?}

{Is that even a real word?}

Wishpot

With the help of a Tweet from Danielle of Kitschy Digitals, I discovered Wishpot today.
Oh I am loving it!

There is a great tool you can add to your toolbar and click to add to your wish list. 
You can also customize lists....for instance, I made a camera equipment wish list.

This is the time of year to make your list and check it twice, so I thought I'd share this new discovery.

If you are interested, or just wanted to know my wishes, check out my lists!

Kim's Wishpot

(my birthday is December 1st if you were wondering!)  ;-)

Moxie Mandie

I must tell you about my friend Mandie's very cute wares in her brand new Etsy shop called Moxie Mandie.




First of all, she is just an awesome person. Seriously! Read just a few of her blog posts and you'll see!

Second, she has worked hard to attain some mad sewing skills and is making these adorable zipper pouches.

Third, Her generosity and spirit of helping others truly amazes me. 

Take for instance how she has decided to donate 10% of her sales this month to something she is passionate about.  She is doing this for another adorable girl on the interwebs, Emily over at the Anderson Family Crew. Her photos are splendid, by the way!  They are adopting a little girl from Africa and need to alleviate some of the costs. 

I encourage you to head over to her shop and do a little Christmas shopping this month - Don't forget to put "Adoption" in the notes to seller so she'll know to deduct 10%!

Also, you might want to check out Moxie Mandie on Facebook and "like" her.  (BTW, I'm so glad FB has not put a dislike button on our profiles and pages - that would be rather humiliating, huh?)

So many pretties around the internet lately - I will share more this week.