amyHELLER | my paperie sweets & me

Giveaway Winner :: I'm Thankful for YOU Drawing

First, I just want to say THANK YOU to everyone who entered my drawing. I must say I had no idea so many people read my blog! I had 99 comments on a drawing that wasn't sponsored by anyone but me, and I've been blown away by the response.

 
Secondly, I wanted to say I'm so touched by so many of your candid comments on the stuggles you've faced recently, and how you are still able to come away thankful. Thank YOU for sharing with me. To those who are having a difficult time, I just want to say from me to you, we've all been through seemingly unsurmountable struggles in our lives. I want to commend you on your strength. Continue on your path of positiveness and optimism and things will come through on the other side. I just want to give you all a big (((HUG)))!! :D

And now for the giveaway WINNER! Congratulations go to:

Robin!! Please email me (top left) your shipping information and I will send out your package of goodies this week!

Again, thank you to all who entered!

Just a hint  - there's going to be some big news and ANOTHER giveaway going on here on my blog tomorrow! Make sure to check it out :)

I'm Thankful for YOU :: A Giveaway!!

Oh, boy! I'm still having trouble catching up, aren't I? Well, never fear, I've been working myself into a tizzy on a bunch of stuff, and will soon have some to share. :D

In the midst of the chaos that's been insuing here at home and in my craft area, and because I've been so absent of late, I've decided to THANK YOU for hanging in there with me and to let you know how thankful I am for your support, by having a giveaway!!! I've been cleaning up my space, and what do you know,  I have stuff to gift to you including the latest from American Crafts, October Afternoon, and Crate Paper!!! 
Simply let me know what you are thankful for right now in your life. That's it. I have so much to be thankful for, sometimes I feel like my cup runneth over. :) Today, I'm thankful for YOU! I'll leave the giveaway open until Friday, November 18th and announce the winner on Saturday! Good luck!!

2nd Blog-o-Versary :: WINNERS!!

Thank you so much to everyone who left such wonderful comments on my Blog-o-Versary post! You are all so kind, and I appreciate everyone stopping by!

It was so fun to see so many new names and some very familiar ones, too! So thank you for helping me celebrate 2 fantastic years of sharing my creations with you!

Without further adieu, the winners of the two prize boxes as chosen by Random.org, are:

 

Congrats to Shari P and Charo!! Ladies, please email me your shipping information and I will get your boxes out to you this week!

I also will have some fun stuff to share this week from American Crafts! Looking forward to sharing that with you this week, too! Until then, have a fabulous week!

My 2nd Blog-o-Versary!!

Last month marked my 2nd anniversary of having my little blog and sharing my love of design and paper crafting! I can't believe it! Before I started blogging, I never really understood the idea of blogging. To me it was people asking for money to pay off their credit cards, written diaries of  the daily lives of strangers, and ultimately, really of no interest to me. I'm fundamentally a private person, and I had really no interest in telling the world my deepest thoughts or rants. That hasn't changed. But my view on blogging has!

Back then, I found out from my great friend in real-life, Erin, who's had her own family blog for years, that there was a full Pandora's box of information out there about my passion, scrapbooking and papercrafting. Once she told me how to find them, it was all over. I was hooked and I haven't looked back since!

The ye ole blog has gone through some changes throughout these past couple years as I have felt my way around to achieve what I want with it - to grow as a designer and inspire others with papercrafting. I know there are some of you that remember me from way back when **waving** "Hi, you guys!", and there are many of you who are totally new to my place here, in either case, WELCOME! I'm so happy you're here!

I've always said that this place is a documentation of my "journey" in this wonderfully creative world, and it continues to be that! I hope that you enjoy the time you spend here and continue to follow my creative journey. I can honestly say, I couldn't have done it without you!! Your kind words, comments and loyalty, find a special spot in my heart everyday! I truly mean that! So THANK YOU!!

Prize Box 1
Prize Box 2

To thank you, I have 2 boxes full of goodies for 2 lucky followers for my 2nd Blog-o-versary!! Simply leave a comment, with when you discovered my blog and what type of posts you like the most, and you're automatically entered to win one of these two fantastic prizes! I'll leave this drawing open for the rest of the week and pick the 2 winners early next week. Pretty easy, huh?

That about does it for me today. Thanks so much for stopping by today to celebrate my blog-o-versary, and good luck in the drawing! :D

Scrap Your Scraps Challenge :: Week 3

Ridin' N Over Drive
(Supplies are scraps from: October Afternoon, Crate Paper, Basic Grey, My Mind's Eye, Studio Calico, Cosmo Cricket, American Crafts, Clost to My Heart, Elle's Studio)

Hello everyone! It's Sunday and I'm back with another installment for our Scrap Your Scraps Summer Challenge. This is a page I created last week with a pile of scraps I had. I wished I had remembered that I brought this picture of my little guy with me on my trip, cuz I would have scrapped it sooner! I just love it. The colors, his face full of wonder, it's a fun one!

I love all the colors and elements on this page - it really speaks of the wild and crazy and colorful sights that you see at a carnival, and I love that!
I think the only thing missing is a bunch of cotton candy and popcorn to go along with this fun page. If I wasn't doing this primarily in scraps, I probably would have spent a little more time/effort on the title work, but oh, well! It's scraps for goodness sakes and it doesn't have to be perfect, right?! :)

Well, I'm going to skedaddle, as we just arrived back home yesterday afternoon, and we have a lot of family fun to catch up on here at home! :) Have a wonderful weekend, and remember, if you'd like to play along, link yourself up to this post and I'll be having a drawing this week for our first month's winner! Have fun, and use up those scraps! :D

Scraps Your Scraps Challenge :: Week 2!

It's a couple days late, I know, but that's what's sweet about this challenge - it's meant to be laid back for the summer, right? :)

Today I'm bringing you my second installment for the Scrap Your Scraps Summer Challenge, here on my lil' ole blog. I separated all my scraps into colors last week when I was creating my page for last week's post. I loved how everything melted into one another with their colors and unique patterns. I was particularly drawn to the warm toned pile I created. So I gathered up those bits and pieces, stickers and buttons and went to town.

I used the same image as I used last week, mostly because I don't have the ability to print my own photos here - I have to have them printed at a local store - and I didn't want to have any more printed before I leave on Saturday. I really love this image of my sweet girl swinging on the back porch.I think it's going to be a framer when we get home. :) I must say, I'm incredibly excited to get back. Miss my husband, dog, my own bed, the heat, my Mac, and Photoshop very much!! LOL

So have you had a chance to play along this week? If so, I'd love to see. And I'm sure all those playing along would love to see, too! ;) Remember, next week, after week 3, I'll be doing our first giveaway to random participants, so if you'd love a chance at some really great product, play along and get rid of those scraps by using them in your next project! Just link your work up to this blog post to be considered. Thanks so much, everyone! I can't wait to see what you create this week! ;)

Scrap Your Scraps :: Summer Challenge :: Week 1

I'm posting this a little early, since I've not had a chance to check in all week. I've been up to my eyeballs in prepping for CHA, surrounded by new stuff from October Afternoon and Crate Paper. I know, not such a bad thing to be buried in, right? I'm not complaining. The only thing I have to complain about is the weather here in WA. It.stinks. I've spent numerous a-conversation defending the weather in WA to my east coast friends, but now - I'm not doing it any more! It's awful and rainy and cold - blech! I cannot wait to get back to the heat, even if it is miserable, of the east coast, because at least the kids can play in the pool, and me too! :)

Anyhoo, back to bizness. This is what I came up with today for my first installment of our Scrap Your Scraps Summer Challenge. I used several paper scraps and LOTS of my much ignored Studio Calico stickers that I've been waiting for such an occassion to use. Many of my scraps are from my SC kits as these are really the only source of varied product apart from my design team product that I get. We don't have any LSS where I live, or at least close by, so if I get anything it's always bought online, or come in the form of my monthly SC subscription. So many of my bits and pieces are from these kits. To be honest, it's been nearly two years with my SC subscription, and sadly I'm thinking of parting from it. I just cannot find the time to work with these kits with all my current commitments. And I hate the idea that someone else might not get a chance to purchase a kit (because they sell out so fast nearly every month, sometimes before they even are available to non-subscribers) and mine usually sits idly in a pile on my floor waiting for me to use it, sometimes for months on end. I dunno. I wish I didn't need to but, I'm just not thinking it's cost effective, ya know?

Okay, back on point. This page initially started out as a page using just the creams, woodgrains and aqua. But I had the yellow and pink in the little black frame so it took a while for me to figure out how to intigrate those colors as well. Eventually it came together and I think I'm happy with it. It really feels random and ecclectic and I really like that about it. I think that's the way most projects with scraps feel, and that's the fun thing. It's a collection that you probably wouldn't have put together otherwise. And that's what I love - it stretches your creativity.

So what about you? Have you played along this week? Did you eliminate some of your scraps? I hope so! I loved reaching into my bags and seeing that I was really making a small dent in my scraps. That's a great feeling!:D If you've played along this week, link up your creation here on this post so we can all check it out! I can't wait to see your creations! ;) Have a wonderful rest of your weekend!!