My Memories scrapbooking software Winner! (And a discount!!)

Today I will announce the winner of the giveaway, but FIRST, I wanted to give you ALL a treat. My Memories has provided me with a limited-time discount code for $10 off of their My Memories Suite, v2 (usually $39.97). That means you can get the software set for only $29.97! (See how good I am with math?) If you would like to take advantage of this limited time offer, go to www.MyMemories.com, add My Memories Suite v2 to your cart, and use this promo code when you check out:
STMMMS82844

I suggest you copy and paste it, to make sure it all gets in there correctly. Now, on to the giveaway winner!

Thank you to all (9) of you who entered this giveaway! After entering the few of you into www.Random.org, I came up with 3, which brings us to…..Julie!

 

 

 

 

Julie said...

I'm also a scrapbooking novice. I like the Lined Journal Cards by Sahlin Studil. For me, it's the stories that go along with the photos that mean the most.
May 31, 2011 12:51 PM

Julie, congratulations. Look for an e-mail from me with the details.

PS – Tonggu Momma? Happy birthday!!
PPS – A big thank you to My Memories for sponsoring this giveaway!

My Memories scrapbooking software (Review and Giveaway!)

In the past few weeks, a few people have asked me what kinds of crafts I like. And it’s easy to answer – anything that isn’t knitting, crocheting or scrapbooking. Those are fine crafts, just not ones that I’ve picked up yet.

 

 

See that? There might just be scrapbooking in my future after all…

 

Recently, I was contacted and asked if I would like to review (and give away!) the My Memories Suite software. It is digital scrapbooking software, and is billed as “easy to use!”. Fortunately for them, they were right.

 

I went to the website, added the software to my virtual cart, gave them my promotional code, and “bought” it (for the low, low price of FREE.) From there, I went to the My Downloads page and found the software in my queue. I downloaded the software to my computer, and I was good to go! There are a few pre-decorated albums already loaded into the software, which is perfect for a complete NOOB (that’s pronounced Newbie) like me. The page above took me all of three minutes to put together. (I spent the next 10 minutes trying to figure out how to share the image with all of YOU. Heh. Some blogger I am, right??!)

 

Oh, and the process to make the album? Super simple: open a new project. Choose a template. Click on the camera icon on the right to add new pictures. Drag those pictures over the blank “holes” and wait for them to light up blue. Let go, and use the icons to edit the picture as necessary (crop, rotate, etc.) That’s it! Save your project, and you’re done for the day. Later, you can print them out, or share them…and if I figure out how to do that, I’ll let you know. *grin* (Oh, and also? Don’t think this is just for scrapbooking…when you view your album, you have the option to make it into a calendar or a card, too! And wouldn’t the grandparents just love that for the holidays…)

 

So – the verdict? I like it. LIKE it, like it. As in, I might start scrapbooking. (Please don’t hold me to that…)

 

(I’ve also learned that iPhone pictures, while quick and convenient, always pale in comparison with shots taken with a real camera. Hence the pixel-y images that you would see on my “page” up there…if you could actually see all the details. Heh.)

 

Now, who would like to try out this software…for FREE??! You would? Listen up:

 

1) Go to www.MyMemories.com and have a look around. Poke around their papers section, and tell me which set you love most. Or check out their embellishments! Or free downloads! Just come on back here and leave a comment to let me know what you loved.

That’s it! We’ve all had a nice relaxing, LONG weekend, and I want to keep this short and sweet.

If you love My Memories, and would like to keep up to date on their shenanigans, you can also find them here:

Twitter

Facebook

Their blog

 

 

Good luck! The winner will be announced on Friday, June 3.

LoLo Tute: Easy Pillowcase (and a Giveaway!)

The giveaway is now closed. Congratulations, Melissa!!

(You might have already seen this post. I tried to get things done ahead of time...and apparently, got things all mixed up, with three or four posts going up in the same hour. Derp. So. Here you go! Giveaway!)


Now, I certainly can’t take sole responsibility for this tutorial. The original directions were found here, from Su at Vively Online. So, if you want a sweet little cheat sheet that you can print out…head over! She’s awesome!

But, if you’ve gone, say, to IKEA and picked up a Fjadrar pillow (because they’re big and filled with feathers and oh-so-cheap), I’m about to show you how to make a case for it. And you don’t have to think about any measurements. Sound good? (This, by the way, makes an envelope style pillow case.)

(This would also work for any square 20x20 pillow. Just so’s you know.)
First, round up your fabric. I’m using a cotton print from IKEA here, that used to be my drapes. Just about anything will work here. Now, cut it to size. You need a rectangle 19.5” x 45”.


Heat up your iron, and find one of the short ends of your rectangle. Fold 1/2” of the raw edge toward the wrong side of the fabric and press. Now, fold it down 1/2” again and press. Do the same thing to the other short side, then head over to your machine and stitch both hems down, close to the open edge so they don’t flap around.

Lay your fabric right side down on a table, and fold up the closest short edge to about the middle of the fabric, like you’re folding a letter. On the wrong side of the fabric, measuring down 5” from the hemmed edge, make a mark on the left and right sides of your fabric.



Now bring down the other hemmed edge to that mark. Pin through the top two layers so that you now have a tube.

Now that your tube is pinned, you can sort of roll it a bit to make sure that the second layer (what will be the outer layer when you turn this thing right side out) is positioned just about in the middle. (Here you can see that my 20” case is laid on my cutting mat, and the second layer edge just about lines up with the 10” mark.)

Making sure everything is flat, even and nice, pin it if you like, then put a seam on both remaining raw edges.

Snip your threads, flip, and you’re done!

Now, here’s the fun part. Just because it’s a new year. And because I have this insane goal to actually put things in my etsy shop this year, despite all the crazy new tax laws, so I need to practice sewing a few things. And because I love you.

Do you happen to have any 20x20 pillows around? Or live close to an IKEA? Or just really need more pillow cases in your life? I’m giving away a set of the pillow cases featured in this tutorial to one lucky reader. So, if your home needs more brown, green and khaki in its life…this is the giveaway for you! Simply leave a comment on this post to be entered. I’ll pull a winner early next week, and announce it…mid week. (See what I did there? This way, if I forget to take any of these actions, I can just tell you that it’s all on schedule. Heh.)

PLEASE make sure to leave an e-mail address in your comment. A winner without contact information…will quickly become that-person-that-could-have-won if they’d only had contact information!

Good luck! And here’s to doing 2011 up right!

GIVEAWAY: A button for you

My dear friends, first of all - have you entered the giveaway at Be Different...Act Normal, yet? Time is running out for you to win your very own handmade LoLo Craft apron!



Second, and on a related note - I have mastered the ancient ninja art of creating a grabbable button. (Yes, that's a word. "Grabbable" = to possess the quality of being easily grabbed. Go look it up.)



Lorie, from Be Different...Act Normal, contacted me a few nights ago and asked if I had such a thing as a button about me, such as would connect a blog reader to my etsy shop?



Well, my friends, I do have such a button...but I quickly realized tt the buton showed off my lovely burpcloths...which are no longer stocked in my etsy shop.



*sigh*



You do see, don't you, how that simply would not do?



With my trusty hubs by my side, a full hour of So You Think You Can Dance on my DVR, and my laptop in my....er, lap, I set forth to create such a button as would serve my purpose.



Not only did I create a button, but I made it grabbable so that you, too, can grab my button...should you wish to lead readers to my etsy shop.



(As I wrote that, I realized how slim a possibility there is that my readers would like their readers to visit...my shop. Never mind that. Just rejoice with me that I figured out how to do it, m'kay? Thanks!)



Now, should you wish to grab this lovely button, look over on my sidebar. Do you see over there, a little button that says "LoLo Craft"? Yes? Good. Now, just below it is a little text box full of gibberish. If you would like to add my button to your blog, go to your blog, and under the Layout tab, choose to Add a Gadget. Select the "HTML" gadget, and copy and paste my gibberish into that HTML gadget. Hit "Save" and voila! My button is on your sidebar.



NOW, if you've stuck with me this long...I have a special present for you, dear readers. As an early Christmas present to you, I will make a grabbable button for 10 readers. The button can link to your shop, to your blog...whatever. Whatever you would like to advertise...or let your friends advertise for you. Just leave a comment, and find a photograph you would like me to use. Preferrably something that represents your shop/blog/site, with a nice solid color somewhere on it for me to fit in the name of your shop/blog/site.



If there are significantly MORE than 10 comments on this post, I'll draw names. :-)

A new LoLo Craft Giveaway!

You might have noticed a little blurp up at the top of the blog? My sweet friend Lorie, over at Be Different...Act Normal is hosting a giveaway for me. She's getting ready to move, and life is crazy right now...but she's always got time to scour the net and post all of her favorite home dec projects. I love all the great ideas she finds...and (after reading the comments on the giveaway) I'm developing a crush on her readers, too. Such sweeties!

Also, because she's so very creative, she's come up with about 2 million ways for you to earn extra entries. The drawing will be for one of the aprons pictured below, your choice.

Hurry - the comments will close on 11/22 at midnight!
(Pictured, L-R: Child's full apron, Adult half apron and toddler full apron, with a pocket.)

LoLo Craft Giveaway on McMommy and Me!

So, Sunday morning, I was checking my e-mail and I was thrilled to see an e-mail from McMommy there. See, McMommy doesn't e-mail just anyone...or at least, she's never e-mailed me before! If you've never seen her blog, you should hop over. She's got two adorable little man, she's ridiculously gorgeous, and she's just so funny...you'll love it. She's also really, really popular...hence my star-struck reaction to her e-mail!

A few weeks ago, she decided she was tired of cluttering her hilarious blog up with giveaways and reviews...but still wanted to do the giveaways and reviews, so she branched out and started McMommy and Me.

So, like I was saying, Sunday morning, I got an e-mail from McMommy. It went something like this.

"Hey! I was perusing your blog, and you have a shop and I have a giveaway site, so, I was wondering.....let's put the two things together and have some fun!"

Or something like that. Now, this McMommy - she doesn't waste time. About 12 hours, and 17 e-mails later, we had a giveaway put together! (Why the rush? Well, I really want to get the prize into the winner's hands before Easter!)

So, why are you still here? Head over to McMommy and Me and enter to win! You have until Wednesday, March 25. Good luck!

Oh, what will you win?????

How about one of these!