Happy Holidays with Shutterfly: $50 Giveaway!

Have you picked out your Christmas Cards yet?   The last several years our have been from Shutterfly, and I was really looking forward to seeing this year's collection.   As always, I was impressed by the selection.  There's traditional colors and designs, ones with a more modern feel, and even some with bright merry colors.  I picked out some of my favorites to show you the great variety.  Below, I've shown the front and back of two flat cards, and also the inside of the folded card at the bottom.

We had a family photo session last month and I was very excited to see which design at Shutterfly would look the best with them.  I love how easy it is to search for exactly what you want.  Since we wore blue, with a click of a button I could refine my search by color.

I always think holly berries and leaves are the perfect classic motif for a timeless look.  The style of the illustration also gives this one a vintage feel.  Don't you just love the lettering and the big swirl on the end of the n in Season?

I usually send folded cards and picked this one for the vibrant colors.  It's so full of energy and I like the contemporary modern feel.  The mix of funky and san serif fonts is playful.  Plus folded cards let me showcase more of my favorite pictures from our photo shoot.

I hope you liked the cards that caught my eye and getting a sneak peek at our family photo session.  I'm really happy how the pictures turned out and glad Shutterfly had so many designs that look great with them.

Connect with Shutterfly

Facebook

Twitter

Pinterest

Instagram

Google +

Blog

Special Offer's Page

Here's the most exciting news.  I have a quick giveaway for my readers.  It's just one week long.  So hurry and enter for a chance to win $50 off a purchase of $50 or more!  Use it on cards, gifts, or whatever you like.  We make photo calendars every year for the Grandparents and their new melamine plates are great too.  Please be aware that the winner will need to use their code quickly.  It expires December 14 so get ready, set, enter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway


The beautiful pictures were taken by Wendy Martin Photography.

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Shutterfly.  They are providing promo codes to both me and the giveaway winner.  The experineces and opinions related within are both personal and unbiased.

Cyber Monday Sale + Creating a Tip-Top Thanksgiving Table with Martha Stewart Crafts

Guess what just showed up on my doorstep?  The brand new Martha Stewart Crafts Circle Punch!  It's currently only available on HSN and only while supplies last.  Papercrafters, hurry on over and order one right away.  They've got it bundled in an a great set.  You not only get the starter kit but two more cartridges all at a fantastic savings! 

Speaking of savings, here's a Cyber Monday sale I couldn't resist sharing with you:

To help get you on the way to master crafter, MarthaStewartCrafts.com is offering a fabulous Cyber Monday Deal! Simply enter at checkout to receive 25% off of your entire purchase, plus get free shipping when you spend $50 or more from November 19-26, 2012.

Plus, here's a cool opportunity to stock up on your favorite Martha Stewart Craft Supplies, for FREE:

For your chance to win a $100 MarthaStewartCrafts.com shopping spree, enter the “Crafty Mondays” Sweepstakes each day through 12/31/12. For sweepstakes details and to enter, visit:

http://on.fb.me/TETex3 on non mobile devices

or

http://bit.ly/TsM4HM on mobile devices.

I have been busy playing around with my new Martha Stewart Crafts Circle Punch and thinking about how easy it would be to incorporate what I make with it into my Thanksgiving table decor.  A big circle punched out of a 12X12 sheet of paper would look great folded around the meal's menu, like a sleeve envelope and placed at each table setting.  Here are some more ways to create a beautiful table for Thursday from Martha Stewart Crafts.  Each is very quick and doable, even last minute! 

Tip-Top Thanksgiving Table

So much goes into hosting a Thanksgiving dinner –from the planning and preparation to all of that cooking – but it’s well worth it once everyone sits down together to enjoy the meal. The turkey doesn’t have to be the only thing to take center stage at your feast, though. With these simple tips from the experts at Martha Stewart Crafts, your table décor can be a feast for the eyes!

Want a tip-top Thanksgiving table? Try these ideas from Martha Stewart Crafts:

Decorate bottles or jars with “Doily Lace Assorted Beverage Labels” to coordinate everything. You can apply to blank containers or right over existing labels.

Dress up beverage bottles with festive Martha Stewart Crafts “Woodland Wine Labels” – and add glitter accents for some extra pizazz! This is also a lovely idea for a personalized hostess gift that will stand out at all of this season’s soirees.

Highlight your glassware by placing them atop “Doily Lace Coasters” with a silver edge featuring a lacy, scalloped design.

Use place cards to make special days look even more special – visit MarthaStewartCrafts.com for different styles or for tips on how to make your own.

Decorate windows and mirrors in the dining room with “Glittered Snowflake Mirror Clings” for fun winter touches. They stick to mirror and glass without adhesive and easily remove for use year after year.

Wrap napkins in something interesting like the red and white “Modern Festive Twine: by Martha Stewart Crafts.

These are just a few ideas – visit MarthaStewartCrafts.com for more (and to purchase any of the products mentioned above)!

Happy Thanksgiving from Martha Stewart Crafts! Be sure to check back for more crafty holiday tips and tricks!

Cutting Edge Stencil Review: Layered Painted Canvas

You might remember that in September, one of our sponsors for A Crafty Soiree's September Celebration was Cutting Edge Stencils.  They provided an awesome giveaway and the winner has been super busy with the Casablanca wall stencil she picked out.  Check out Tara's before and after.

Pretty impressive isn't it?  I've been working on a stencil project too, also for the wall but on a much smaller scale.  Have you seen canvas photos mounted on top of either another canvas or a piece of wood?  I've seen a couple, really liked the look and wanted to try making my own version.

To begin with I picked up at 12X12 blanked wrapped canvas, two colors of acrylic paint, a 5/8" stencil brush, natural white bristle, and the small Nagoya allover stencil I was sent to review.  Both the stencil and brush are available at Cutting Edge Stencils.  After a little experimenting with the stencil I decided to also use a little temporary spray adhesive, the brand recommend on the website.

Step 1: Paint your canvas a base color.  Two layers covers nicely.

Step 2:  Since I was using a wrapped canvas, which is not a solid surface, I put a book into the space that is not backed with the wooden frame.  Then I lightly misted the stencil with the temporary adhesive, waited a few minutes as directed on the product, and then lightly attached to the canvas.  I also taped one end of the stencil to the canvas to help hold it in place.

Step 3: Using the stencil brush, I lightly painted in the stencil using a swirling motion, moving it once to stencil over the entire canvas surface.

Step 4: Ta-da! Here it is.  I love this stencil pattern, so pretty and the contrast between the green and blue is just beautiful!

Here's a close up.  Excuse the poor lighting, I was painting after the kids went to bed.  The finished pictures below have better true to life colors.  The project is almost done.  All that was left, was to attach a mounted photo I had made at a local photo lab.

Doesn't it look great!  I love it, it's just as I imagined and because I used a stencil to create the background I was able to match my home decor and the photo exactly.   I may eventually add a little bit more embellishment, but for now I really like how the stencil design really stands out.

This was my first time painting stencils and I'm so pleased by how it turned out.  The stencil was very easy to use and made out of thick, but not too thick, material.  The edges of the design stayed in place well and it wasn't hard to paint in the details.  Clean up was very easy too.   I found the tips and videos on the Cutting Edge Stencils website invaluable.  They're an excellent resource and highly recommend you view them before staring your project.   You can also get more tips and ideas on the Cutting Edge Stencil blog.

I will have another project using this same stencil but in a very different way next week.  I'm excited to show you have versatile it is.  Have you used a stencil before for either a wall, home decor, or another DIY project?  I'd love to see what you've done.  Link me up in the comment section!



Disclosure: A complimentary stencil package was provided for review.  The experiences and opinions related within are both personal and unbiased.

The mounted photo was created at Meijer Photo, and was provided via Buzz Agent free of charge with my participation in their program.  I will be reviewing it in a separate blog post.