Week 12 Winner!

I'd love to say a huge THANK YOU to all of you who participated in the giveaway series over the last 12 weeks! I've had fun sharing each of the participants' wares with you, and giving you all a chance to win a little something, too.

Without further ado, I'd like to announce GloJoeSews as the winner of the last giveaway in the series. Congratulations! I'll be emailing you shortly to work out delivery of your prizes.

Thanks so much to everyone for your readership - Merry Christmas & Happy New Year! Amy

12 Weeks of Christmas Giveaway #12!

Here it is, the final giveaway of the
12 Weeks of Christmas at the SewArtsy blog!

Enjoy!

Over the past 11 weeks I have put together a couple of Christmas craft tutorials (found on my sidebar), and have been really happy with what I've produced creating them. Now I'd like to share my creations with you as my way of saying thank you for following along with this series.

Up for grabs this week is a stash of Christmas-themed items, handmade by me, for you to enjoy or pass on to someone else (open world-wide!) Included are one Christmas cake tabletop quilt made from charm squares, three small coordinating fabric gift bags with red grosgrain ribbon ties, and two winter print coin purses.

(click for larger, detailed photo)

There are many ways to enter to win:
1. Earn your first entry by heading over to check out my SewArtsy Etsy and SewArtsyAmy Artfire shops, and leave a comment below about your favorite item (don't forget to leave your email address in your first comment!).

2. Earn an extra entry by shouting out about this giveaway on Twitter - each tweet containing @sewartsy = an entry.

3. Earn an extra entry by shouting out about this giveaway on Facebook or other social networking site- leave a comment with the link to the post.

4. Earn an extra entry by blogging on your blog about this giveaway - leave a comment with the link to the post.

5. Earn 10 extra entries by making a purchase from either SewArtsy shop (I'm having a BOGO sale this week!)

This giveaway will be open from today through 11:59pm EST Friday, 12/18/09. The winner will be announced here on the blog on Saturday, 12/19/09.

Good luck! Amy

12 Weeks of Christmas Deal of the Week #12

Looking for a great deal? How about this? This week's SewArtsy last 12 Weeks of Christmas Deal of the Week is:

Buy One Get One on the entire SewArtsy stores! 12/14-19, atboth SewArtsyAmy's Artfire Shop and SewArtsy's Etsy Shop.

Just use the coupon code 12WOC12 in the comment section at checkout, and I will refund you the cost of each of your second items (of equal or lesser value) to your Paypal account.

Hope this helps with your holiday shopping!

Merry Christmas! Amy

Week 11 Winner!

Give a big "congratulations!" to Shelley, freeindeed - the winner of Maggie Sue Designs' cup and tissue cozy! Meredith will contact you to set up delivery of your prize.

Check back tomorrow when I'll announce the last of my 12 Weeks of Christmas Deals of the Week and Giveaways - see you then!

Happy Sunday! Amy

12 Weeks of Christmas Tutorials #11

Today I wanted to give you a tutorial for a "Gift For Him", but I've been racking my brain trying to figure out what I can make for the three adult guys in my life - hubby, brother and dad. So instead of sending myself to the looney bin I went hunting for ideas in blog land. I've found some really cool gift ideas for guys, along with their own craft tutorials so I can make them myself!

Here are the links to the blogs and the tutorials I like best:

Every man has a desk, right, so how about a pencil and pen cup? Here's a fab pencil cup from How About Orange (love, love, love this blog!)

Every man has a gadget he carries around with him, right, so how about a gadget case? Here's an excellent tutorial on repurposing a tie into a gadget case from Luvinthemommyhood (a blog I'm newly following!)

Every man needs to be reminded to put on a scarf when it's cold outside, right, so how about a snuggly flannel-backed scarf? Here's a great scarf tutorial, that with the right fabrics, a man could proudly wear into the cold winter weather from Max and Ellie (two sister-mommies who make, and blog about, items for little ones!)

There we go - I'm covered! Three great gift ideas for the three men in my life. I hope I saved you some time in your perfect-gift-idea-hunting!

Happy Thursday! Amy

12 Weeks of Christmas Giveaway #11!

This week's giveaway is brought to you by

Maggie Sue Designs

Meredith, of Maggie Sue Designs, has a justification for her fabric "obsession" - she creates her sweet handmade handbags and accessories in her Etsy shop! Cute accessories like cup cozies, key fobs, headbands, ponytail holders, wallets, organizers, tissue holders, fabric magnets, and more. This wife and mom has been running her business since 2005, and has been on Etsy since 2006. She is a member of EtsyKids and the Capital Region Etsy Street team, and right now in her shop, you can get one free cup cozy for every three you buy at regular price! (Many sold cozies, but not all, can be re-made for you - please check with Meredith for availability.)

This week's giveaway is for one of Maggie Sue Designs' Cup Cozies and Matching Tissue Cozy (open world-wide!)



Check out Meredith's blog at maggiesuedesigns.com

To win this cozy set you need to do is check out Maggie Sue Designs Etsy Shop and leave a comment below about your favorite item (don't forget to leave your email address in your first comment!). And of course, you can earn more entries by leaving a link to places you've made a shout out about this giveaway - Twitter, your blog, or social networking sites, etc. The more shout outs, the more entries!

This giveaway will be open from today through 11:59pm EST Saturday, 12/12/09. The winner will be announced here on the blog on Sunday, 12/13/09.

Good luck! Amy

12 Weeks of Christmas Deal of the Week #11!

Hello!

This week's SewArtsy Deal of the Week is:

15% off my entire stock! 12/7-13, at SewArtsyAmy's Artfire Shop and SewArtsy's Etsy Shop.

Just use the coupon code 12WOC11 in the comment section at checkout, and I will refund you 15% of your entire purchase to your Paypal account.

Hope this helps with your holiday shopping!

Come back on Thursday for my next tutorial.

Happy Monday! Amy

Giveaway #10 Winner!

Congratulations to Cynde Clark, Hip Chic Designs, for winning this week's giveaway from Bette's Bags!

Tune in Monday to read about next week's Deal of the Week and Giveaway!

Happy Sunday! Amy

12 Weeks of Christmas Tutorial #10!

Here's an easy peasy gift wrap option that will take you no time at all to whip up. The best things about these bags - they're reusable, you can adjust the dimensions to make them to fit your gifts perfectly, they'll hold the homemade delectables and handmade goodies you're giving this year :o)

For this 8.5"x11" bag, take a 1/4 yard cut of 44" cotton fabric, press and fold selvedge to selvedge right sides together.







Sew the short edge, leaving a hole for turning.


Then stitch up the two long sides.




Turn right sides out.







And top stitch the turning hole closed.








Using both hands, pinch the middle, and tuck the end with turning hole inside the bag - making the end seams meet at the bottom of the bag.






(The middle of the untucked piece becomes the top edge of the bag).

Cut a 30" piece of 1" wide grosgrain ribbon, and after filling the gift bag, tie up a nice bow to finish off a fabulous gift!

12 Weeks of Christmas Giveaway #10!

This week's giveaway is brought to you by

Bette's Bags

"One of a Kind bags made One at a Time"

Bette's Bags is a mother/daughter team who design and create original one of a kind handbags, purses, totes, yoga bags, and diaper bags made with a "Modern Day Dame" in mind. Each bag is made individually from start to finish with quality, care and attention given to every stitch.

Your bag is unique by its combination of colors, style and print, the ONLY one like it! You will never see another woman carrying YOUR bag! If another woman is carrying your bag...she stole it!

Find Bette's Bags here:

BettesBags.Etsy.com

BettesBags.com

BettesBags.Blogspot.com

This week's giveaway is for one of their mini cardholders with wristlet/keyfob! (fabrics may vary) (open world-wide!)


To win one of these mini card holders all you need to do is check out Bette's Bags shop and leave a comment below about your favorite item (don't forget to leave your email address in your first comment!). And of course, you can earn more entries by leaving a link to places you've made a shout out about this giveaway - Twitter, your blog, or social networking sites, etc. The more shout outs, the more entries!

This giveaway will be open from today through 11:59pm EST Saturday, 12/5/09. The winner will be announced here on the blog on Sunday, 12/6/09.

Good luck! Amy

12 Weeks of Christmas Deal of the Week #10!

Hello! This week's SewArtsy Deal of the Week is: A Buy Two Get One Free sale on Hair Clippy Caddies! 11/30-12/6. Just use the coupon code 12WOC10 in the comment section at checkout, and I will refund you the cost of your third Hair Clippy Caddy to your Paypal account. These make great gifts for all the girls on your list - no matter what age! Hope this helps with your holiday shopping!









Come back on Thursday when I'll be sharing a quick gift wrapping option -

Happy Monday! Amy

Week 9 Giveaway Winner!

Congratulations to Brenda, our last commenter of the week! You've been randomly picked as the winner of the Moon Blossom Designs giveaway. Nicole will be in touch with you soon to set up delivery of your prize.

Check in tomorrow to see this week's Deal of the Week, and our next giveaway!

Happy Sunday! Amy

Big Deals This Weekend!

Wow! Etsy and Artfire have made it so easy to save on handmade gift-buying this weekend.

Don't miss out! At Etsy, search the tags EtsyFreeShipping to find items that are featuring free shipping, and EtsyHolidaySale to find shops that are featuring a sale on their items.

On Artfire's homepage you can click on the Holiday Deals banner at the top, or choose your deal: Items on Sale; Free Shipping Items; Free Gift Items; Coupon Items; and BOGO Items

As for SewArtsy, here's what you can find this weekend: Free World-Wide Shipping & 15% off your entire purchase. Please stop by and see what I have to offer - I'm pleased to serve you!

Happy Thanksgiving Weekend! Amy

12 Weeks of Christmas Tutorial #9

One of my favorite memories from childhood was making cookies at the holidays with my mom. We made several different kinds, and had wonderful spreads for the holiday dessert tables as well as cookie exchanges. Today I want to share with you my all time favorite cookie. It has a wonderful flavor. It's easy to make. They are cute, and require no baking!

I'm not sure where my mom got the original recipe - it's still just a list of ingredients on an index card. Here's how we make our Lime Balls.

Ingredients:
1 box vanilla wafers
1 stick butter
1 lb. powdered sugar
6 oz. limeade concentrate, thawed
1 bag coconut flakes

1. In a big zip lock bag, crush the vanilla wafers into very small pieces, almost a powder
2. In a mixing bowl, cream the butter.
3. Beat in the powdered sugar and the limeade concentrate
4. Fold the crushed vanilla wafers into the butter mixture.
5. Using a small spoon, scoop a bit of the mixture out into your hand, and roll into a ball (the batter is very sticky! Have your container ready before starting this step!)
6. Drop the ball into the coconut flakes and roll around to cover.
7. Place finished balls into your container, and as you work through the batter, separate layers with a sheet of wax paper. Cover container and stick in the refrigerator overnight.


Enjoy!

Happy Thanksgiving! Amy

12 Weeks of Christmas Giveaway #9!

This week's giveaway is brought to you by

Moon Blossom Designs

After family and friends encouraged, flattered, and commissioned pieces, Nicole Radshaw opened her Etsy jewelry shop, Moon Blossom Designs, in 2008. One unique item Nicole creates is a nursing bracelet - a practical reminder in an elegant design. This ingenious creation helps mamas keep track of their baby's feedings. Bracelets are available in a variety of colors and gemstones. Learn more about these special bracelets by clicking on the photo.

In addition to nursing bracelets, her shop shows off earrings and necklaces inspired by nature, fabric and yoga. Recently, Nicole has taken up sewing and received her first commission for curtains last week. Will another Etsy shop be on the horizon? We'll see!

This week's giveaway is for this sweet pair of angel earrings, in the shop just in time for the holidays!


To win these adorable earrings all you need to do is check out Nicole's shop and leave a comment below about your favorite Moon Blossom Designs item (don't forget to leave your email address in your first comment!). And of course, you can earn more entries by leaving a link to places you've made a shout out about this giveaway - Twitter, your blog, or social networking sites, etc. The more shout outs, the more entries!

This giveaway will be open from today through 11:59pm EST Saturday, 11/28/09. The winner will be announced here on the blog on Sunday, 11/29/09.

*Don't want to take your chances on the giveaway? Moon Blossom Designs still has one for sale here!

And you can find MBD on Facebook!

Good luck! Amy

12 Weeks of Christmas Deal of the Week #9!

Dropping by to announce that this week's SewArtsy Deal of the Week is: A Buy Two Get One Free sale for my zip top pouches in my Etsy shop! 11/23-29. Just use the coupon code 12WOC9 in the comment section at checkout, and I will refund you the cost of your third item to your Paypal account. Hope this helps with your holiday shopping!


Come back on Thursday when I'll be sharing another favorite cookie recipe!

Happy Monday! Amy

Week 8 Giveaway Winner!

Congratulations go out to Julie! You have one the fabulous set of note cards from JenniferLynn Productions. Jennifer will be contacting you to set up delivery of your prize.

Everybody, check back on Monday when I'll be announcing the next Deal of the Week and Giveaway #9!

Happy Sunday! Amy

12 Weeks of Christmas Tutorial #8

I promised you two tutorials this week to make up for last week, so here's another quick fabric treat for you! A fun and quick patchwork bookmark I'm fixing up for my book club girlfriends.

I know you have fabric scraps, so grab a few that are still in strips. Iron on some fusible interfacing - the stiffness is up to you, however you like the feel. Sew your strips together vertically, and iron flat.


Grab your two-inch ruler and cut strips on the diagonal. The length of your bookmark depends on the width of your pieces sewn together.


Find another scrap of fabric the same size as your diagonal cut. Iron on interfacing to that piece. Place the two pieces right sides together and trim the 2nd fabric to a matching size.


With the two pieces still together, sew around three sides. Flip the bookmark right side out - make sure to really push on those sharp corners to get them nice and pointy! Give the bookmark a really good press to get all the wrinkles out. Top stitch all the way around to close the 4th side.


Use your eyelet hole-punch to make a hole. Push in the eyelet and give it a squeeze with the pliers. Add a little ribbon, and voila! you've got yourself a quick, easy, funky patchwork bookmark!


Happy crafting! Amy

12 Weeks of Christmas Tutorial #7

Today I'm going to share with you an easy fabric craft that requires little to no sewing. It's a sweet little wall hanging using two of your favorite fabrics, an embroidery hoop, and some bits and baubles you probably already have hiding around your house.

Embroidery Hoop Wall Hanging

Materials List:
*1 8-inch embroidery hoop (You can find these in wood that are quite lovely in their natural state or painted. I found these colorful plastic Hoop-la hoops in-store at Joann's.)
*1 scrap of fabric at least 10" square for background
*1 scrap of a second fabric the size of your applique design
*iron-on webbing such as Steam A Seam II
*coordinating bits and baubles - ribbons, buttons, crystals, rosettes
*scissors
*glue
*needle and thread

Instructions:
1. Iron all of your fabric pieces. Separate your hoop. Flip the background fabric right side down, and trace a circle about an inch wider than the inner hoop. Cut that circle out with your scissors.


2. Use the inner hoop with the iron-on webbing to figure out how big your applique can be. Draw or trace the reverse onto the webbing (I used a light box which makes tracing very easy!). Peel back the paper backing and press onto the wrong side of your applique fabric. (I'm doing initials for 2 little girls' Christmas gifts, so I found the font I wanted to use, and printed out the letters, then traced the outline of the reverse).


3. Cut out your applique, and position onto your background fabric, checking the placement with your inner hoop. Use your iron to steam set the applique.


4. Now's the time to decide on your embellishments, and truly make it your own! I suggest you play around with your layout to get it just how you want it to look before you do anything permanent. Sew on some buttons, glue on a bow, rosette or flower, hot set some crystals. Voila!

5. Lay your piece over the inner hoop, and place the outer hoop over top of the fabric. Be sure to keep your design centered as you tighten the screw. Tug your fabric every couple of turns to make sure you don't have any bunches. Once you are sure you like the placement within the hoop, use your scissors to trim away the excess fabric from the back side. Hang and enjoy!

Happy crafting! Amy

12 Weeks of Christmas Giveaway #8!

This week's giveaway is brought to you by

JenniferLynn Productions, LLC

This week you have the opportunity to win a set of 4 beautiful daylily cards from Jennifer Moore of JenniferLynn Productions. Jennifer is a professional photographer from Maryland. She has many wonderful items in her Artfire shop: JenniferLynnProductions. Check out her blog to find out what she's been up to lately, and take some time this week to browse her Artfire shop, and see what kind of goodies she has!

To win these fabulous note cards all you need to do is leave a comment below about your favorite JenniferLynn Productions item (don't forget to leave your email address in your first comment!). And of course, you can earn more entries by leaving a link to places you've made a shout out about this giveaway - Twitter, blog, or social networking sites, etc. The more shout outs, the more entries!

This giveaway will be open from today through 11:59pm EST Saturday, 11/21/09. The winner will be announced here on the blog on Sunday, 11/22/09.

Good luck! Amy

12 Weeks of Christmas Deal of the Week 8!

Good morning! This week's SewArtsy Deal of the Week is a big one: A Buy One Get One Free sale for my whole inventory! 11/16-22 in my Etsy shop and my Artfire shop. Just use the coupon code 12WOC8 in the comment section at checkout, and I will refund you the cost of your second item to your Paypal account. Hope this helps with your holiday shopping! *This coupon code will be good for each second item in your order. The items refunded will be those of equal or lesser cost.


I owe you two tutorials this week - sorry about last week - so come back again on Thursday for this week's 2 tutorials!

Happy Monday! Amy

Week 7 Winner!

Hey everybody! Please congratulate Anne J for winning week 7's giveaway.

Mary Ellen Doran will contact you directly to arrange delivery of your prize - enjoy!

Meet me back here tomorrow to learn about week 8's Deal of the Week and Giveaway.

Happy Sunday! Amy

12 Weeks of Christmas Giveaway #7!

This week's giveaway is brought to you by
Mary Ellen Doran

DC based artist Mary Ellen Doran has developed a unique line of hand linked chains and gemstone jewelry. There are many variations in size and design of the chains. Some chains contain links that are as small as 6 to one inch and some are made from links measuring larger than two inchs each. This link style has been incorporated in bracelet and earring designs where high quality gemstones are utilized for spectacular individual pieces.

This week you have two great opportunities with Mary Ellen:
When you make a purchase from her shop this week, leave 'sewartsy' in the comment section as you check out and you will receive 10% off your entire order!
AND

Up for giveaway this week is this spectacular pair of earrings:










This giveaway is open worldwide. All you need to do is leave a comment below about your favorite Mary Ellen Doran item (don't forget to leave your email address in your first comment!). And of course, you can earn more entries by leaving a link to places you've made a shout out about this giveaway - Twitter, Facebook, blog, networking sites, etc. The more shout outs, the more entries!

This giveaway will be open from today through 11:59pm Saturday, 11/14/09. The winner will be announced here on the blog on Sunday, 11/15/09.

Good luck! Amy

12 Weeks of Christmas Deal of the Week #7!

Good morning! This week's SewArtsy Deal of the Week is: Buy Two Get One Free on all of my card case key chains in my Artfire shop, 11/9-15. Just use the coupon code 12WOC7 in the comment section at checkout, and I will refund you the cost of your third card case key chain to your Paypal account. Hope this helps with your holiday shopping!

Come back again on Thursday for this week's tutorial!

Happy Monday! Amy

Giveaway Winner #6!

Congratulations,♥georgie♥ ! You are the winner of this past week's giveaway of two of my zip top bags.

Everyone, please come back tomorrow when I will be announcing this week's Deal of the Week and this week's Giveaway - see you then! Amy

Have you started your holiday shopping?
I have, and I'd like to share with you some of those shops with you!

Today I'd like to share with you From Morgan's Closet - unique hand knit, sewn and embellished duds for you and your little ones! In this shop you will find appliqued onsies, t-shirts, bibs, adorable ruffle pants, as well as knit bags and sock pets.

I recently featured a pair of Groovy Guitars ruffle capri pants from Shawn here on my blog. I ended up going right back to her shop and purchasing this sweet circus print set for my daughter. It was too cute to pass up! My daughter turned 1 this past Wednesday, and she'll be sporting this adorable outfit for her party on Sunday! Be sure to check out From Morgan's Closet if you've got little ones on your list this year! Right now you can find tons of Christmas-themed gear to buy now and wear to get into the holiday spirit.

Happy Friday! Amy

12 Weeks of Christmas Recipe Sharing

Today, rather than a tutorial, I'm going to share with you one of our traditional Christmas cookie recipes. Along with several other cookies, these Candy Cane cookies are a treat that we enjoyed both making and eating each year when I was growing up! These are so easy to make, and a great recipe to get your kids involved in. Best of all, you can play around with flavorings and colors to really make these cookies your own! *This original peppermint recipe is from Betty Crocker*

Try these variations by dividing the ingredients ahead of time in two separate bowls, and make each dough with different flavorings. Color each dough according to the flavor, or just mix them up to make pretty colorful candy canes. *Cocoa will be added with the dry ingredients*

Coconut and rum
Almond and vanilla
Cocoa and orange
Cocoa and coconut
Cocoa and peppermint

These are fun to make, and yummy, crunchy and so satisfying to eat!

Enjoy! Amy

12 Weeks of Christmas Giveaway #6!

Well, hello November! I don't know about you, but I love fall. It is my favorite time of year! Yesterday I had the pleasure of driving out rt. 66 to Browntown, Va, into the Shenandoah Valley and Blue Ridge Mountains. Just gorgeous!

Where is your favorite place to go in the fall? Let me know and you could be this week's winner of these two travel bags from yours truly! Each bag is 11" wide by 7" tall by 2" deep. The front bag is lined with a dark purple swirl fabric, and the one behind it is lined with a green hatch mark print. The set would make a cute gift together, or keep one for yourself and give only the other ;o)

Just leave me your answer in a comment below (and don't forget your email address so I can contact you). If you'd like to earn more entries into the giveaway, you can:
a) become a follower of my blog, or let me know you already are following.
b) become a fan of the SewArtsy Facebook page, or let me know you already are a fan, and leave a comment on the SewArtsy wall.
c) follow me on Twitter, or let me know you already follow me, either way send me a tweet, @sewartsyamy.
d) let me know where you've shouted out about the giveaway (ie, Twitter, Facebook, your blog, etc.). Each will count as an extra entry.

This world-wide giveaway is open today through Saturday, Nov. 7 at 11:59pm. I'll announce the winner here on the blog on Sunday, Nov. 8.

Good luck! Amy

12 Weeks of Christmas Deal of the Week #6!

Good morning! This week's SewArtsy Deal of the Week is: Buy Two Get One Free on all of my lanyards, 11/2-8. Just use the coupon code 12WOC6 in the comment section at checkout, and I will refund you the cost of your third lanyard to your Paypal account. Hope this helps with your holiday shopping!

Come back again on Thursday for this week's tutorial!

Happy Monday! Amy

November Amys in the Arts Free Gift With Purchase Promotion

This November, when you purchase from participating members of the Amys in the Arts team, you can receive a free gift with purchase. All you have to do is head over to the Amys Blog to get details!

*Promotion runs 11/1/09-11/30/09