Birthday Giveaway Winner

So I gave you an extra day to enter, hope everyone's okay with that.  I just picked random winner and it was lucky Cheryl!  I've sent her an email and will send off her fun package on Monday.

Thanks for playing along.

It's My Birthday (Giveaway)

So technically it was yesterday but really, who has time to blog on their birthday on a Sunday.  I had things to do so this just has to be a day late.  What a difference a year makes, last year on my birthday I was depressed and angry all day.  We were living in my in-laws basement, my husband was unemployed and I turned 30 years old.  It made for a crappy day.

This year though I just wanted to be happy and celebrate and enjoy the day, which I did and I thought I'd enjoy the day with you too.  I've collected a few of my favourite cosmetic products and I'm going to mail them off to one of you lucky ladies.

Let's start with the eyeshadow.  I love these L'Oreal HIP shadows, I own 5 of them but this Wicked duo is my favourite.  HIP stands for High Intensity Pigments and they really mean it, the colour payoff is awesome, long lasting and not chalky at all.  The bronzy colour goes with just about everything and I hit pan on it far earlier than the purple, despite my equal love for it.

I just discovered this Essence brand of make-up and I'm super impressed.  Shoppers Drug Mart just started carrying it here in Canada and I can't believe how cheap it is.  I picked up this pot of gel eye liner in Midnight in Paris for $3.00. It goes on nice and dramatic, is almost a whipped consistency and doesn't budge.  My friend Michelle just reviewed the same product comparing it to a MAC product so if you're interested check it out here.

Last is the Revlon Colourburst Lipbutter in Peach Parfait.  I have three of these lip glosses, they look like a lipstick but feel like a gloss and are pretty long lasting.  Peach Parfait is my favourite colour that I own though, it's a colour you wear every day with everything.

Here are my own products in the same colours, opened up so you can see a little better though my eyeliner is a charcoal grey instead of the black pictured above.

And I did a swatch of them for you too.

So, who wants some free make-up?

Let's have a giveaway.  If you are interested in these products leave a comment telling me about your favourite birthday gift, or maybe your favourite make-up product or you can just tell me you want the product.  Really, any comment will do, just leave a comment.

I'll leave the giveaway open until Friday and then I'll package up the make-up with an edible treat and mail it off.

Good luck!

MyMemoriesSuite Giveaway Winner

Guess what I forgot to do yesterday, pick a winner for MyMemoriesSuite Giveaway.

It appears this isn't something very many of my readers are interested in so ladies, the odds were in your favour.  I had five whole entries :)

I went old school and wrote your names down on pieces of paper (sometimes twice, depending on how you entered) and then I mixed them up and pulled one out.

JoDana, you won!
Send me an email and I'll give you instructions on how to download the software.

If you didn't win don't forget about my discount code to get you $10 off.

STMMMS87059

MyMemoriesSuite Giveaway

*Update - thanks for entering, I picked a winner already but I'm glad you came to check out the giveaway*

Guys, the craziest thing happened.  Someone contacted me and wanted to do a sponsored giveaway.
It's a company called MyMemoriesSuite and they're all about digital scrapbooking.  Here's the downside though, I've never been into digital scrapbooking and I just couldn't see myself doing this program justice.  I didn't want to turn down such a fun opportunity though and it didn't take me very long to think of my friend JaCobi who happens to love digital scrapbooking.  I asked her if she was interested in guest posting and she immediately said yes.

MyMemoriesSuite provided me with a copy of their software which I passed on to JaCobi for her to play with.  So without further ado, here's JaCobi and her review (make sure you read to the very bottom where there's a treat for you).

Hi there!!  I'm JaCobi and I blog over at Changed For Good.  I'm super excited to be visiting here at Laura Thoughts today and sharing my digital craftyness with you! As some of you may know, I've been into digital scrapbooking for a few years now.  I started by downloading the GIMP (an image manipulation software) and then teaching myself how to use it to scrapbook.  This was not an easy task, as this software is not very user friendly.  But I learned to do what I needed to and have made a ton of scrapbook pages and some other crafty stuff with it. But, recently I got a new digital scrapbooking software!  I was so excited to get MyMemorySuite and to try it out!  The first thing I noticed is how user friendly it is!  It has a convenient side bar menu that makes it quick and easy to add or change anything to your page, whether you want a background paper, a photo, embellishments, or text!

The next thing I noticed is that although there are papers and embellishments that come with the software,  I can still use all of the kits and embellishments that I already have!  This is a great feature, because I have been collecting papers and kits and stuff for years and would not be happy if I couldn't use it still.  But I can!  I can find all of my files and add them through the Resource Gallery menu on the left.  All I have to do is look through my files, then just drag and drop elements onto my page.  As easy as that!

Another thing that I love about MyMemorySuite is all of the ways to share a project.

• You can print at home or export to JPEG, which I usually do to post my projects on my blog or facebook, or to have them printed at Costco or Walmart.  
• There is a Professional Printing option.  You can upload your album right from the program to the MyMemory website to have it printed and bound as a book or calendar.
• And then there are the Multimedia Output options.  You can save your album as an Interactive Album, Movie, I-Pod Ready or DVD-Video files. 

I guess I need to explain some of the other cool features before I explain the multimedia output options.  MyMemorySuite allows you to add music or narration to your album.  So maybe there is a story that goes along with your pictures, but it needs to be heard, and not just read.  Now you can actually narrate your album, telling the story how you want it! You can also add video or audio clips, files, website links and links to another page of your album.  If you share the album as an interactive album on a CD then your audience can actually click your hotspots to play videos, or open websites or files.  I love that this scrapbooking software is not limiting, but allows me to do even more than I thought possible with my photo albums! I used these great features to make a Wedding Album.  I was able to add one of our songs as background music and then I added video clips from our reception program.  With all of the video, the album is too big a file to post online and keep the quality, so I ended up cutting out the video so you could just see the wedding album.  I also realized that no one else probably wanted to see our wedding reception program anyway!  So here's just the Wedding Photo Album, set to our wedding song, JALS by Colors.

Some of the other features I love:

• you can just drag and drop photos into photo boxes
• you can rotate text or set it around a circle or square
• you can quickly and easily add a mat or shadow to any photo or element

A couple things that I haven't figured out how to do yet (or maybe I can't do them at all) with MyMemorySuite:

• change the color of any element
• use page templates from other sources (the program has it's own, but I can't figure out how to use ones that I already have)
• how to change the size of the grid to help line things up more precisely

But the features definitely outweigh the limitations for me!  

Now check out some of the other projects I have made with MyMemorySuite digital scrapbooking software:

I made this page completely from scratch

Created with a kit by Connie Prince

Here's my new To Do list!  Check out this post to see other To Do lists that I've made

Created with a kit by Captivated Visions

Here's an album that I made using a pre-made pages that came with the software.  All I did was add pictures and titles

I hope you all have as much fun as I did playing with MyMemorySuite!  I'm so glad I could come visit LauraThoughts and all of you, her awesome followers!  Thanks for letting me come on by!

Thanks JaCobi, now the fun part for you.  Not only did My Memories Suite give JaCobi a copy of their software but they want to give one to a lucky reader.  All you need to do to enter the giveaway is visit MyMemoriesSuite website and then leave me a comment telling me about your favourite product.  Whether it be a scrapbook kit, a template or a theme, doesn't matter just tell me something you love.  I'll give you a second entry if you go to JaCobi's site and tell her how awesome she is (you'll need to comment here telling me you've done so).  I'll run the giveaway for a week and then pick a random winner.

Because they're so awesome they've also given me a discount code to pass on to you.  This code will get you $10 of the price of the software ($40) or $10 to the store.  Just copy this code, STMMMS87059, and paste it at checkout.

Simiple Serendipity Winner

I know that technically I was supposed to end the SimpleSerendipity giveaway yesterday but since I had a post ready I bumped it to today, no harm done hey?


I used a random number generator and guess who won?


Janine!


I liked her comment, she said, "Those earrings are just what I'm looking for to jazz up my entirely lame work wardrobe! I'm so tired of plain gray trousers and neutral blouses."

So Janine, there's uh, a Canada Post strike on.  How about I get my butt in gear, finish your quilled letter and then we can get together and skip the shipping.  Sound good?

And for those of you that didn't win, you should go buy something, here's one more picture of the loveliness you can find.

These are the Simple Marie Blue earrings, happy shopping.

Pins & Needles Giveaway Winner

Time to pick a winner for my Giveaway.

Like usual I used Random.org to find a number and it was

The 12th comment just happened to be from my sister Jenn!  I'm so happy you won Jenn, I may just send this down with Mom when she comes for Christmas, we'll see if I make it to the post office before then.

I think this will be my last giveaway for a while, my project list has grown to unmanageable levels so I need to  get some work done.  Perhaps I'll have another giveaway after Christmas.

Pins and Needles Giveaway

Like I mentioned earlier I love giveaways.  It's so much fun to make something and have other people want it.  I enjoyed the last one so much that I have another.

There are two parts to this giveaway and they are two of my favorite sewing items, and with both I didn't know just how much I'd like them.

First there is Ned.  He's such a cute little pin cushion and a great way to show off the pink pins that my husband Brad gave me for Mother's Day.  I made him for myself back in May and every time I use him it makes me smile a little.  I made a new one for the giveaway and I've made a couple improvements to the design, he's now a Weeble.  He wobbles but doesn't fall down, he always lands on his belly so your pins stay upright and handy.  I found a free printable pattern for him here that you can check out if you just want to make your own (he's super easy to make).  Sadly this Ned will not come with the pretty pink quills, you'll have to pick those up yourself but you can get them at Michaels.

The second part of this giveaway is a needle book.  I found the tutorial on Little Birdie Secrets.  This project was initially just something to keep me busy one night, I didn't know just how useful it is.  There are lots of projects that need some needle work, whether it's closing up a final seam on Ned or hand stitching my advent calendar.  It's so convenient to never have to hunt for a needle, you just grab your book and your set.  I went through a phase where I made necklaces and sometimes the beads would require a smaller needle, I didn't have to search I could just open the book and find a smaller one.

When my Mom saw my book she wanted one too so I made her one and she's commented as well on just how handy they are.

The book is made of felt and the closed with a vintage button (from my Grandma's stash)

Inside the book there are four felt pages for you to slip your needles inside.  The book won't include the needles, you'll need to provide your own.

So there you have it, a fun, two part giveaway.

All you need to do to enter is become a follower and comment letting me know.  If you already follow then leave a comment telling me your interested in the giveaway.

You can also have a second entry if you blog or Facebook about the giveaway.  Make sure you leave a second comment to tell me.

That's it, good luck!  I'll pick a winner in a week.

Passport Cover Giveaway Winners!

This is now my second real giveaway (the call for projects doesn't really count).  I've discovered that I love giveaways, I love them so much that if you come back later today you just might find another one. It's a fun one that would be great to add to your sewing room or as a stocking stuffer for someone else, but we'll save that for another post.

This post is all about picking the two winners of the Passport cover, and I couldn't be happier about the random numbers that were chosen for me, both winners sound like they'll use the cover a lot.

The first winner is Cara
She said, "I would LOVE to win this! I've been looking for something exactly like this, with no success (until now)! I'm leaving to go to China in a few months to adopt my daughter and this passport cover would come in oh so handy! Love your blog!!!" 

Congrats on your new daughter Cara, glad I could help make the trip stylish.

Second we have the Goss Family.  When she commented I really wanted her to win and I'm so excited that she did.  She said, "Living overseas due to the military, we are required to carry our passports with us just in case we are ever stopped. This would be a much cuter way to carry it then what I've been using =)"

I'm so thrilled to have such deserving winners.

Ladies, contact me and let me know where I can ship your covers and I'll do my best to get them in the mail, lets be honest the overseas one is going to slowest route possible... sorry but shipping can be pricey.  You can email me at westlaur@gmail.com


So that's it for now but like I mentioned, come back later to see what's coming.

Passport Cover Giveaway Update

When I posted this giveaway I was honestly concerned that no one would want one, I've been so happy to see all the comments that during Catie's nap yesterday I made a second one.

So on Monday when I give this away I'll choose not just one winner but two.
Good luck!

Passport Cover Giveaway

**Update - I've been so happy to see the comments on this post and see that my fears of no one wanting this were unfounded so I went ahead and made a second cover today.  When I announce the winner of this I'll choose two and both will get a cute, stylish cover.**

When I put out my call for projects Carla answered with a high chair re-cover request.  I've been wanting to work on a high chair for a while now but I think you need to use some sort of plastic fabric that can be easily wiped clean.  I considered laminated fabric but it's really expensive, I've never seen it in Canada and I hear that it cracks over time.  One day in Fabricland I happened to wander over to the vinyl section thinking I'd just see what they had.  I was pleasantly surprised and found a really cute black and white damask pattern.  I've never worked with vinyl so I bought the smallest amount they'd let me and brought it home to sew a few lines.  My few lines test was successful and I'm now convinced that it will work like I want.  The vinyl on the roll is really wide which is great but means my small amount was really a thin,  long strip.  I didn't want to waste the strip and I figured if I sewed a project with it I'd be that much more comfortable working on the high chair.  The passport cover is what I came up with.

It has a cute ruffle down the front to add a little something and it has black edging.  I think it looks classy and a great place to store your generic passport.  The inside is plain black fabric.

Here's a view from the back

I've decided to give this beauty away (hopefully someone wants it and I don't have an un-commented on giveaway, wouldn't that be embarrassing.)

To enter just become a follower and leave me a comment letting me know you did.  If you're already a follower comment and tell me.  That's it, easy.  I'll pick a winner and ship this off, it would make a great stocking stuffer don't you think?

I also have another fun giveaway I want to post but I have to get my act together and actually make the item first so stay tuned.


As a side note, isn't it funny how projects come in waves?  Three weeks ago I was out of projects and now I can't seem to keep up with everything I want to do.

A Giveaway Winner

So I probably should have mentioned in my Giveaway that this isn't a random type of giveaway, I always knew I was going to pick the project I wanted to work on most.

KD I want to re-cover your car seat, and Carla I'm thinking about and excited to work on your high chair.  You should send me a picture of it some time and I'll research fabric.

Perhaps when these projects are done I'll ask for some more.

A Giveaway (of sorts)

So I seem to have run out of projects.  I don't have anything to work on right now and nothing new I want to start unless it involves paint and it's too cold outside for paint.

Here's where the giveaway comes in but let me explain why it's only sort of a giveaway.  Unless you're willing to pay shipping costs or deliver this is for locals only.  I will be in Calgary this weekend so Calgary friends feel free to participate.

I'm looking for a new project, something to re-cover.  It could be a saucer chair, a bouncy chair, a stroller, a high chair, really just about anything will do.  You can check out my Re-Covered page to see the projects I've already done but I'm not afraid to try something new.  The only draw back is that you'll need to cover all expenses.  So you provide me with an item to cover and the fabric (I'd even love to shop with you) and I'll do the work for free.

To enter just comment with whatever project you want me to tackle.  I'll run the giveaway for a couple days or until there are a couple projects to pick from and then I'll announce the winner. 

Hopefully at least one or two of you are actually interested in this and my plea doesn't go unanswered.

Quilled Monogram Giveaway Winner (Again)

I gave her over a week, I tried to contact her multipe times yet I haven't ever heard from my giveaway winner.  I've decided it's time to pick a new winner.  Kelly, I'm so sorry but it's time.

Once again I used a random number generator and came up with number 10.

I'm really excited to make one of these for Sarah, she said, "I am a new follower of your blog and I LOVE it. I have been lusting over the Framed Quilled Monograms ever since you posted about them. I NEED one of my own! ;-)"  Makes it even more fun when I know she really loves them.


So we can avoid the confusion again I'll give Sarah a week to contact me.


Sarah, I need the following info:

1. What letter do you want?
2. What sort of color scheme, do you want browns and blacks?  What accent colours can I add?
3. I'll also need your address so I can ship it once completed.

You can contact me at westlaur@gmail.com


Hopefully this ends our Quilled Monogram Giveaway and I can make a great tutorial.

Giveaway Winner!

It's been a week, time to see who won the Quilled Monogram.

I used a random number generator and came up with the number 23.

The 23rd comment was left by Kelly Tillotson, I'm so excited for her!  I've already contacted her to get details, once I get them I can start.

I've decided that since there's interest in the Monograms I'll do a tutorial while I'm making Kelly her chosen letter so you can all make one too, I promise they're easy.

Thanks so much for playing along.

It's a Giveaway!

My very first to be exact.  I decided it was time and I feel like I have something fun to offer so let's get this going.

Here's what's up for grabs, your very own Framed Quilled Monogram.

These are the two I've done already and I love the way they turned out.  If you want to read more about the two above you can go here or here.  If you win I'll make one in whatever letter you want.  I'll let you choose a basic colour scheme and then I'll matte and frame it as well.  Size will be determined by whatever frame I find but it will probably be an 8x10.

There will be two easy ways to enter, first, become a follower and leave a comment letting me know.  If you're already a follower just leave a comment.

Second, post a link on your own blog telling others about my giveaway for a second entry, make sure you link back to me.  Just come back and leave a comment letting me know you shared.

That's it.  Easy right?

If you win I'll need to email you to talk about colours and the letter you want so make sure I can contact you.

I'll run the giveaway for a week and then at the end I'll use a random number generator to pick the winner.


One last point.  Since I'll need to mail a frame out and it won't be the cheapest shipping charge I'm going to limit this giveaway to Canada and U.S. so I don't have to pay oversea prices, sorry.

Good luck!