Giveaway WINNERS!

I owe you all some winners from the giveaways I've had.

First up, the winner from the Creating is Fun Blog Hop:

veronica
http://artfulcreations1.blogspot.com

Veronica, please email Martha at creatingisfunshop@gmail.com to claim your prize. You can pick any one item from the Creating is Fun shop, enjoy!

Second, the winner of my Glimpses by SignifyPink giveaway, chosen by Random.Brady!

BishopsMommie

Please email me, my contact is in the right sidebar!

Monthly Maniacs - Hearts

Hi friends! I hope you had a fabulous weekend and are enjoying a day off. Brady doesn't have school today but Dustin has work. We pretty much NEVER get a three day weekend because of the nature of Dustin's work.

I'm late posting my Monthly Maniacs post this time. I totally forgot to post it last night. The theme for this month is HEARTS. Monthly Maniacs is a group of alumni DT members from Paper Maniac and we do a challenge each month to keep in touch with each other.

Here's my project that I made for Brady to take to his class for their Valentine's party. Now, I have to tell you, Brady had a fair amount of input on this project. Meaning, perhaps I would not have chosen these specific supplies for this project. JUST SAYIN!

Here are the other Monthly Maniacs for this month:

Emily

Ceal

Tenia

Have a great day, friends!

Finishing Up the CPS Anniversary Challenge

Hi friends! I hope you are having lovely weekend! We had family fun night last night. We went to a new pizza place in town, got cookies for dessert, went to Trader Joe's (they have a stuffed elk that the kids have to find in the store to get a prize), and picked up some groceries. Parker fell asleep on the way home. So cute!

I finally finished up the last of the Card Positioning Systems Anniversary Challenges. It was really important to me to do to this because it's been a really long time since I was able to finish a huge set of challenges like this. I just wanted to show myself that I still had it in me.

Challenge #14: My Mind's Eye paper and stamps, May Arts lace, CTMH crocheted flower, and Stickles.

Challenge #13: My Mind's Eye paper, stickers and embellishments, My Thoughts Exactly Many Thanks stamp, and Love My Tapes 19mm white lace tape.
Challenge 10: My Mind's Eye papers and Love My Tapes 19mm white lace tape.
Challenge #15: My Mind's Eye papers and stamps, EK Success border punch from my friend Savannah that she gave me for my birthday! :D
Have a great day, friends!

Howdy Doody

Hi friends! I hope you're having a great day! We are doing good. Today is our weekend, kind of. Brady has school but Dustin is off work. I ran a bunch of errands this morning. I need to sit down and craft a bit more.

I have two cards to share with you today. This first one is for CASE Challenge #78 which is sponsored by My Thoughts Exactly. There's a lovely card that you are supposed to CASE and this is what I came up with. I used some My Mind's Eye Howdy Doody paper and My Thoughts Exactly Many Thanks stamp set.

This next card is for Card Positioning Systems Anniversary Challenge #8. Again I used elements from My Mind's Eye Howdy Doody. I love this soft pretty floral paper! The doily edge is a stamp from this collection as well.
Have a great day, friends!

Challenge Cards With Glimpses

Hi friends! I hope you are having a great day! We just spent a laid back day at home. Ok, I HAVE to share something with you guys and hopefully you can help me. Since late November my kids have been...CATS. Seriously, all the time meowing, crawling on all fours, batting at things, pretending to groom themselves by licking the backs of their hands, etc... Is there any way to get them to stop? It's just getting progressively worse. Any tips would be helpful. ;)

Ok, onto cards. That's why you're here right? I've been so inspired lately with all the fabulous anniversary challenge over at Card Positioning Systems, I've been crafting up a storm. It's rather nice after my long dry spell. I'll post really brief descriptions for each card because I know there's a lot of them.

CPS Anniversary Challenge #7: Glimpses Spring Fling paper, My Thoughts Exactly Sweet Thoughts stamp set, Recollections bling thingy, and a couple punches.

CPS Anniversary Challenge #5: Glimpses Life's a Party paper, Paper Smooches stamps, Creating is Fun ribbon, Purple Plum Divine Twine, bling, and a punch.
CPS Anniversary Challenge #6: Glimpses Life's a Party paper, Market Street stamps, lime green Stickles and ribbon.
CPS Anniversary Challenge #11: Glimpses Sweetly Chic and Life's a Party papers, Some Odd Girl stamps, punch, Copic, and bling. I'm also entering this in the Play Date Cafe #119.
CPS Anniversary Challenge #1: Glimpses Sweetly Chic paper, My Thoughts Exactly Lovey Puns Animals stamp, bling, and Cherry Divine Twine.

Whew! Have a great day, friends!

Swagbucks Birthday Party

Hi friends! I'm trying to get back into the swing of couponing after the holidays. YES, I know it's mid-February. I'm a little slow this year and I had CHA. But I digress. I wanted to let you all know about the promo going on at Swagbucks right now. I believe EVERYONE should do Swagbucks! I've earned over $150 in gift cards since I signed up, it's been less than a year. I cannot believe how easy it is to use!

Currently they are gearing up for their birthday celebration. You can get entered to win $1000 just for RSVPing to one of the parties by clicking HERE. If you have not signed up for Swagbucks yet, do it TODAY! I have a code for you for 110 FREE Swagbucks and you'll get 30 for joining. That's 140 Swagbucks upon sign up and that's over 1/4 of the want to a gift card! Use code BIRTHDAYBASH12 for the free 110 Swagbucks. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE use my referral link: http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/HeartHugs

For more information about Swagbucks and HOW I go about earning Swagbucks, click HERE for my post.

Thanks friends! Have a great day!

Birdcage Wishes

Hi friends! I hope you are having a great day! We are doing pretty good. We had a very low-key Valentine's Day. Brady is having his Valentine's party today at school since he only goes M/W/F and Monday was a holiday here. I will post pictures of the stuff I made for him later on.

Here's a card I made while I was cropping with my friends last weekend. Wanna know the best part about cropping with your friends? Well, other than spending time with your friends? Using their stuff! ;) I know, I'm horrible! But I get so bored with my own stuff! For this card, I borrowed my friend Marie's new Studio G birdcage stamp. Like she bought it and I used it before she even got a chance too. But hey, that's what best friends are for, right? Anyhow, I used a ton of trims, a button and a doily from the Creating is Fun store for this one. I think I'm gonna do a video on how I distress doilies. :D The paper is from Pink Paislee Sweetness and the sentiment is NEW Dear Lizzy Neapolitan.

Have a great day, friends!

Creating is Fun Valentine's Hop (GIVEAWAY!!)

***For my Glimpses Paper giveaway, click HERE! For my Paper Make Bakery post, please scroll down.***

Hi friends! Today I have a super fun post to share with you! Creating is Fun is having a blog hop and there are PRIZES ON EVERY SINGLE STOP! What?! That's crazy! Not only that but there's one GRAND PRIZE of a $25 gift certificate the the store! Holy smokes! I wish I could win!

If you are here from Carissa's Blog, then you are in the right place. To start the hop go to Martha's Blog. You don't wanna miss a single stop because EVERY SINGLE person has a prize! Woot! Martha has the whole list on her blog so if you get lost, you can head back there.

Here's my card for this hop. I used a bunch of products from my Valentine's DT kit that Martha sent me. The flower, lace, ribbon and trims are all from the Creating is Fun Store. The paper is Pink Paislee Sweetness, the stamp is My Mind's Eye, and the mist is from Tattered Angels.

GIVEAWAY! I'm giving away ONE ITEM of the winner's choice for this hop. Just leave a comment to win! And don't forget the WHOLE design team has prizes on their blogs. Leave a comment on each post to win and to be entered for the GRAND PRIZE!

Next up on the hop is MARIA!

PMB: Wishing You WELL

Hi friends! It's my turn to post on the Paper Made Bakery Blog today and I would LOVE LOVE LOVE if you could stop by and leave me a comment. Here's a sneak peek of what I've made:

Please go HERE to see my whole card and I'd super appreciate it if you left a comment!

Love is the Air

***For my giveaway: CLICK HERE!***

Hi friends! I hope you're having a great day! We had a great time today! We went to a Valentine's party with my mommy group friends who I've known since Brady was only 5 weeks old. It's amazing how much our kids have grown! I adore my friends and their sweet kids. It's always fun to have a holiday party with them!

Speaking of Valentine's Day, I wanted to join in the Valentine's Day blog hop over at the Dancing in Pajamas Blog. I love The Cat's Pajamas and how better to celebrate Valentine's than to make a cute TCP card? I can't think of a better way!

Here's a card I made with an older TCP set that I have. I think this rocket card is perfect for my little guys. They LOVE rockets and space! For this card I used the CPS 5th Anniversary Day 12 Challenge. The paper is Bo Bunny, the doily is from Target, and the ribbon is from L'il Davis. I colored with Copics and added some Stickles.

Have a great day, friends!

CHA Find: Glimpses by SignifyPink and a GIVEAWAY!

Hi friends! Today, I'm sharing with you a company I found out about at CHA (even though it was their second show) and a much anticipated GIVEAWAY! The company is Glimpses by SignifyPink and I adore their paper, embellishments, and awesome project kits! In this post, I'm going to show you a few pictures, share a short review, and end with a GIVEAWAY!

Here's a little peek at the Glimpses booth. Now, you might know SignifyPink because they hold the trademark on Fight Like a Girl. I'm sure you've seen their amazing breast cancer awareness items in your local gift stores. They have now branched into making scrapbook and card making items and they are just amazing!

Some papers from the Merry and Bright collection. Embellishments on the left are from Halloween Hullabaloo and the ones on the right are from Comforts of Home.

Papers from Comforts of Home. Embellishments on the right are from Pages of Honor.
Paper from Pages of Honor. Embellishments on left from Comforts of Home, on the right are from Halloween Hullabaloo.

I love these collections! They have bright, fun designs A sides and then I nice muted B side that's really is really easy to work with. Everything is so well thought out. They have 12x12 paper with full lines of embellishments for scrapbookers, 6x6 pads for card makers, and tons of cute project kits like cootie catchers and cupcake boxes for people who like altered projects.

One thing I found really thoughtful about their scrapbook kits is that they come with a little envelope of buttons and other little goodies. I've never seen that with any other 12x12 crafting kit before and I really like it. Also, their 6x6 pads have the same patterns in different scales like small polka dots and mini polka dots. Each page has a small border at the bottom telling you all the information on the sheet. This really helps if you pull sheets out of your pads, you'll always know what they are. Also, for those of you who submit, this is a fabulous way to keep track of what you're using.

GIVEAWAY

~ 6x6 pad in Spring Fling

~6x6 pad in Life's A Party (brand new CHA release)

~ 2 packs of brads from Fight Like a Girl

To win (leave one comment for each thing you do!):

~REQUIRED: Go "like" Glimpses by SignifyPink on Facebook and tell them that I (Ashley N Newell) sent you!

Extra entries:

~Follow my blog

~Share this giveaway on Facebook, leave a link so I can see it

~Tweet this giveaway. You can either leave the link here or tag @hearthugsdesign so I can check to make sure this was done.

~Blog this giveaway and share a link.

Giveaway ends next Sunday, Feb 19. Winner will be chosen by Random.BradyParker. ;)

Have a great day friends!

Cute Kitten Halloween Card

Hi friends! I hope you all are having a great weekend! My crop yesterday was amazing! I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with all my awesome friends and got a few creative juices following. I also got a few new CHA release goodies. (Like I needed more goodies!)

Here's a card I made a while ago for a call that wasn't picked up. I still just love this card. It probably has something to do with the CUTE kitten patch that's on it. The paper is from American Crafts and the patch is from the same line. I know it's not any where near Halloween but it's too cute not to share.

Have a great day, friends!

TCP Inspiration: What a Blast!

Hi friends! I hope you're having a lovely day! I'm really looking forward today because I am going to a crop! It's been so long! I've missed creating with my friends and finding inspiration with them and from them. I'm very excited!

Today I have a card using this week's inspiration from The Cat's Pajamas. The inspiration comes from my pal Jen del Muro and you can find the challenge on The Dancing in Pajamas blog HERE. It's a gorgeous one this week! I love the beautiful rainbow colors!

I used my darling new What a Blast stamp set for this card. What's that? Copic coloring? ;) I know, I actually remembered how to cute them too. The paper is from the Life is a Party collection from Glimpses by Signify Pink. (Promise, there's a giveaway coming!) I used the Card Positioning Systems Anniversary Challenge 4.

Have a great day, friends!

MTE Thurs Post Feb

Hi friends! I hope you're having a great week! We are doing pretty good over here. The kids are doing great. It's been really nice out so we've been able to go outside. Let's hope it keeps up! :)

Today, I'm sharing a couple cards using My Thoughts Exactly Stamps. I love these stamps! I also got to meet Alyssa at CHA and I LOVE her even more than I thought I would. Bet you didn't think that's possible. It makes working with her stamps even more fun because I know how much love she puts into them!

This first card uses the new Lovey Puns Animals. You have to know that I love my puns! The paper is Basic Grey Green at Heart as is the owl. How cute is he? I also added some rhinestones. I used the Card Positioning Systems Anniversary Day 4 challenge.

My next card is a play off a card set I made last year for the GCD Studios Blog. I love Holly Jolly Tags! It's still my favorite MTE stamp set. I made the card look like a present and the tag look like a...TAG. I know, sheer brilliance! The sentiment is from Under the Sea which has lots of sentiments that can be used in non-nautical settings. :) The paper is from my new favorite paper company, Glimpses by Signify Pink. (I'm going to be doing a Glimpses giveaway soon!)

Have a great day, friends! And be sure to check out the My Thoughts Exactly Blog to see what the other lovely ladies have created for you today!

LMT: So In Love Card

Hi friends! I'm blogging on my Love My Tapes Blog today. Here's the card I made for them that was displayed at CHA:

For my card, I used the Red Stripe Fabric Tape and the Light Pink Lace Tape. All the paper elements are from the Echo Park Be Mine collection kit. I also punched an edge with a border punch and added some gems onto my butterfly sticker.

Have a great day, friends!

Why I'll Never Fly JetBlue Again

Hi friends! I had a horrific experience with JetBlue and thought I'd summarize it for you just in case you want to save yourself some grief.

Here's a brief (well, I tried to be brief) summary of ALL the things that happened:

1. My flight was LATE. I understand this happens but I NEEDED to be in Anaheim to work at the Love My Tapes booth. I was booked on the 7:05am flight which meant I woke up at 4:30am. I got to the airport and the lady who took my bag said that my flight was delayed until 8:05am. I shrugged. Life happens. I got to the gate, they now said it was going to be 9:30am. Then 10:30am, then 11:30am, then 12:45pm! This is where I started to freak out thinking I would miss an entire day of work! I later found out that the plane had been having mechanical problems since the NIGHT BEFORE and they didn't call anyone to fix it until 7am and they got there AFTER our flight was supposed to leave. NO notification until we got to the airport even though they KNEW the night before.

2. The counter person was unhelpful. He told me there was nothing he could do because he wasn't authorized. I asked to talk to a supervisor. I waited TWENTY minutes where he told me to go, standing with my luggage, the guy never pointed her in my direction. Finally I flagged her down and she was SO rude to me. She did get me on a different flight but was completely flippant about it the whole time.

3. The Flight attendant was EXTREMELY rude. First she scolded me for not having my phone off before I got on the plane. REALLY? Who does that? Plus, I needed to call my ride because I was HOURS late due to the plane. THEN she refused to help a woman with medical issues store her luggage. Who does that? After this, she forgot to bring my drink. I was in the first row, she walked by me a bunch of times and never stopped when I said "excuse me."

4. A bunch of things in my checked luggage were broken. I've NEVER had this happen before. I didn't find out until late the night of my flight. Because my flight was late, I had to go straight from the airport to the convention. JetBlue told me there was a 4 hour policy to tell them things had been broken. Seriously? You're the people who made me late so I couldn't go get settled before having to work and you're blaming me for not checking my luggage in a timely manner??

5. Customer service was extremely unhelpful when I contacted them. I explained my whole situation and the lady offered me a voucher for JetBlue. What's THAT good for? The next time I want to be LATE, treated like CRAP and then have my stuff broken? Why on Earth would I want to fly with you again? She then told me if after ONE YEAR I couldn't use the credit, then I could transfer it to someone else. Lucky me, I have one year to meet someone who I want to TORTURE with a JetBlue flight and try to convince them to take it.

If nothing else, I hope that this will save someone from having a horrible experience with JetBlue like I did.

PMB Post!

Hi friends! I hope you are having a great day! I'm blogging over at the Paper Made Bakery Blog today! Please click over there and check out my card and leave a comment for me! :D I'd super duper appreciate it!

This is my card that I'm showing today. For details, you'll have to go to the PMB blog! I made this card using the Card Positioning Systems Anniversary challenge #9.

Have a great day!

Super Exciting News!!!

Hi friends! I have some FUN FUN super exciting news to share with you!! I've been asked to write some paper crafting and party posts for Dollar Store Crafts!!! WOOT!!!

If you've been following my blog for any amount of time, you KNOW that I love to save money! I can't stand spending more money than I feel like I need to on ANYTHING including my crafting. I have been an avid follower of Dollar Store Crafts for a LONG time now, probably at least two years, and I'm over the moon to be blogging over there!

Funny story, Heather Mann (owner of Dollar Store Crafts) and I met at LAX airport! I almost missed my flight because I was so busy talking to her. That was Jan 2011. We started chatting because we were trying to get the Wi-Fi in the airport. She told me that she was from Dollar Store Crafts and I flipped out! I'm so impressed with this genius woman who came up with this AMAZING idea! Taking things from the Dollar Store (or dollar section) and turning it into something FAB! Incredibly smart.

Here's a picture of Heather and I at CHA just last week. :D This is shortly before she asked me to write for her. I managed not to jump up and down and scream while at CHA. Afterwards...well... ;)

Alright, enough blabbering from me. Stay tuned, I'll be posting my first posts very soon! YAY!!!

CARDS Magazine Published Cards

Hi friends! I'm finally home from CHA and I am I SO SO SO happy! CHA was amazing and I have a few posts for you about that. But I'm taking today to catch up on a WHOLE bunch of stuff. Most importantly, Brady's kindergarten registration stuff. Gah! My boy is getting so big!

So, here are a couple card I've had published recently:

December 2011 Cards Magazine

Jan 2012 Cards Magazine

Have a great day, friends!