2010 Martha's Circle Holiday Gift Guide

Check out the Martha's Circle 2010 Holiday Gift Guide, which includes some Gifts for Crafters picked by yours truly.

There are great gift ideas in every category, but I especially like some of the Family Stocking Stuffer picks.

giveaway week winners and reader discounts

Thanks for a great giveaway week!  I hope you enjoyed it as well.  A big congratulations to all the winners, who are listed below.  Enjoy your prizes!  For everyone else, check out the awesome online discounts listed from the giveaway vendors.

Congratulations, Lexi!  I hope you're able to change the world with your new Silhouette SD.  :)

If you are bummed that you didn't win, you can always take advantage of the amazing Cyber Monday deal that Silhouette has going on today using the discount code: Jill.

The Cyber Monday deal is only valid today, Monday, November 29, 2010, starting at 4 am and ending at midnight Eastern Standard Time.

Here's the deal ...the Silhouette will be sold for $199 (originally $299). Silhouette America has NEVER sold these cutters for this cheap! This is the newest version with more capabilities and newest technology - the Silhouette is now Mac compatible.

It gets better ... the Cyber Monday deal will also include:

1 Roll of Cream vinyl ( $7.99)
1 Roll of transfer paper ( $7.99)
1 Home decor CD (Value $55)
Total ($70.98)

All for only $199 - almost $200 in savings!

The discount code is: Jill

Silhouette is also having a great black friday sale in their online store, which lasts until midnight tonight.  Everything (except for the Silhouette cutter) is 40% off using the code: FRIDAY.  Now you can really go crazy with those temporary tattoo stocking stuffers.  :)

 

Congratulations, Kate Flick!  Your baby girl will love her new holiday blankie.

Komfort Kids is offering 20% off your total order using the code "homemadebyjill20."   Snatch up your favorite prints before they're gone.

Congratulations Steve and Nikki and Robert and Cassie!  Enjoy your ruffle fabric and elastic.

Planning to add some Ruffle Fabric to your holiday projects?  I'll be posting a tutorial for a Candy Cane Ruffle Stocking in early December, if you'd like to sew along.

Use promo code: Jill, to receive 10% off your order through December 5th.

 Congratulations, cjameliamom!  Enjoy your cute-as-can-be Scoomer accessory!

Scoomer is offering 20% off your order through December 3rd using the code: homemade20.

Congratulations, Meghan!  Your baby girl will have the most stylish baby head wear in town.

Winners:  Please email me at homemadebyjill@gmail.com to claim your prize.  Thanks! 

Miss Plunkett Giveaway (CLOSED)

If you love over the top baby hair accessories, this is the giveaway for you.  Miss Plunkett caught my eye because these hair accessories are interchangeable ... meaning you can create the perfect hair accessory over and over again.

Here's how it works:

When you need a new accessory, you can take it apart and start all over again.  All Miss Plunkett items are handmade, so each piece is as unique as your little one.

This giveaway is now closed.  Thanks for entering!

Love it?  Leave a comment on this post by midnight tonight (November 26th).  One lucky winner will receive a $20 gift certificate to Miss Plunkett.  

The winner will be randomly selected and announced November 29th.  This giveaway is available to U.S. and international readers.

The Rules:

1. There is only one entry per person.  If you accidentally enter more than once, please delete your duplicate comment(s).  
2. Make sure I have a way to contact you!  Your profile must link to your public blog or you can leave an email address.  Anonymous comments will be deleted.

I hope you've enjoyed giveaway week!  Next week I'll return to crafts-only.  :)

Scoomer Giveaway (CLOSED)

If the etsy shop, Scoomer, doesn't make you smile, I don't know what will.  The owner, "Scoomer" (a nickname since childhood), created her shop from her love of felt and making accessories for her daughter.  Hmm ... she sounds like a kindred spirit!

Scoomer currently sells headbands, hair clips, and the most adorable felt brooches you'll ever see. Each item is completely handmade, and is created in her home studio with occasional help from her husband.  I wonder what her secret is ... how do you convert husbands to crafting?

My favorite item in the Scoomer shop is definitely the pinwheel bobby pins.  Ruby might need a set in her Christmas stocking.  And I might need to borrow them until she has sufficient hair growth to wear them.

This giveaway is now closed.  Thanks for entering!

What's your favorite item in Scoomer's shop?  Check it out and then leave a comment on this post by November 26th, and you could get exactly what you wish for.  Scoomer is offering a lucky winner their choice of any item from the shop!


The winner will be randomly selected and announced on November 29th.  This giveaway is available to U.S. and international readers (yay!).


I hope you know the rules by now:

1. There is only one entry per person.  If you accidentally enter more than once, please delete your duplicate comment(s). 
2. Make sure I have a way to contact you!  Either your profile must link back to a public blog, or you must leave me an email address.  Anonymous comments (with no contact information) will be deleted.

I plan to eat copious amounts of sweet potatoes and a variety of pumpkin desserts today.  How about  you?  Happy Thanksgiving!

advent sew-along: week 4 - crunch time!

Fellow advent sewers ... we have one week until December 1st.  Can you make it? 

Here are my ornaments from last week: a bell, wreath, bow, snowflake, peppermint candy, candy cane, mitten, and Santa Claus.

I have to admit, though, I fell behind on my button sewing.  I have about half the buttons sewn on, and will have to catch up on the rest this week.

Here's what I'm loving from the flickr group this week:

Nativity Ornaments from Vivian Crafts - so cute!

Flickr user Igjcunha is finished and I love her quirky ornaments which include a garden gnome, mushroom, and hedgehog.

Kirsten W. is making us all look bad by cranking out two advent calendars.

Katie's ornaments are, of course, perfect. They look like they came straight from a pottery barn catalog.   She has mad skills.

Ready for your final assignment?  This week you need to ... finish your advent!  If you've been using my assignments, here's a list of what's left to do.

• Make 8 ornaments
• Sew any additional embellishments to the main calendar pieces.  I am embroidering a little note to my kids and the year it was made on the back side.
• Sew the front and back pieces of the calendar together.
• Add tabs to the top to hang.  You'll also need a dowel to hang it from.
• Put it on display and enjoy!

Can't wait to see your finished calendars.  Happy stitching!

Ruffle Fabric Giveaway (CLOSED)

If you are a fan of craft blogs, I'm guessing you have noticed that ruffles are kind of big right now.  I love them.  So maybe you've seen Ruffle Fabric cropping up here and there, or maybe this is your introduction.  Either way, feast your eyes:

Ooooh, yeah.  Ruffles as far as the eye can see, without all the work!

I had the pleasure of trying out the new Mini Ruffle fabric and I have to say ... it is delightful.  It is making my wish of covering every inch of my baby in ruffles come true.

First, I made a very simple baby hat.

As if the ruffles weren't cute enough on their own, I attached a little hair clip ... just clipped it to one of the ruffles ... for an instant, but changeable update.

Of course I couldn't resist making some leggings:

(pattern by Lil' Blue Boo)

Ruffle Fabric is surprisingly easy to work with.  It is nice and stretchy, sews easily with a ballpoint needle, and doesn't fray on the cut ends.  Hooray for not having to finish your edges!  That's my kind of fabric.

Do you think my daughter will ever forgive me for plastering her butt on the internet?  It is a very cute butt.

Need more ruffles in your Christmas decor?

I also made this fun Christmas stocking with the ruffle fabric and some felted wool from an old sweater.  The cuff folds over, so you can clip any decoration onto it.  Wouldn't this be perfect for the Candy Cane style fabric and a red sweater for the lining/cuff?

Stockings are super easy sewing ... like 20 minutes, start to finish.  Is this something you'd be interested in seeing a tutorial for, or is that too basic?

This giveaway is now closed.  Thanks for entering!

On to the giveaway ...


TWO lucky winners will receive one yard of ruffle fabric and one yard of elastic of their choice.  Fun!  So get those creative wheels turning, because I'd love to see what you'd make with this fabric.


If you would love to win, visit the Ruffle Fabric website and leave a comment on this post by November 26th telling me your favorite color (or print) ruffle fabric.


The winners will be randomly selected and announce on November 29th.  This giveaway is available to U.S. readers only.


You know the drill:

1. There is only one entry per person.  If you accidentally enter more than once, please delete your duplicate comment(s).  You may have to scroll to the end of the comment pages to view yours.
2. Make sure I have a way to contact you!  Either your profile must link back to a public blog, or you must leave me an email address.  Anonymous comments (with no contact information) will be deleted.

Komfort Kids Holiday Blanket and Pillowcase Giveaway (CLOSED)

Komfort Kids blankies are a favorite at my house ... partially because they are lovingly handmade by the kids' Aunt Alyssa, but mostly because the blankets are so comfy.   With soft flannel on one side and silky satin on the other, it is sure to be your kid's favorite blankie, too.

Ruby can often be found sucking on the satin binding of her blankie, and Oscar (if I'm not revealing too much) prefers to cuddle up to his "choo-choo" blanket wearing a diaper only.  I can't blame him - who doesn't love the feel of smooth satin on their skin?

The winner of today's giveaway will receive a blanket and pillowcase set from the Komfort Kids Holiday Collection.  It includes a double sided flannel blanket with red satin binding and a soft and cozy flannel pillow case, both made from Michael Miller Yule Trees fabric. The red, green and pink Christmas trees are accented with a fun polka dot print, for just the right holiday touch in your child's bedroom!

 This giveaway is now closed.  Thanks for entering!

If you would love to win, browse the Komfort Kids Etsy shop and leave a comment on this post by November 26th telling me your favorite blanket fabric.


The winner will be randomly selected and announce on November 29th.  This giveaway is available to U.S. and International readers!


You know the drill:

1. There is only one entry per person.  If you accidentally enter more than once, please delete your duplicate comment(s).  You may have to scroll to the end of the comment pages to view yours.
2. Make sure I have a way to contact you!  Either your profile must link back to a public blog, or you must leave me an email address.  Anonymous comments (with no contact information) will be deleted. 

Also, Komfort Kids is offering 20% off your total order using the code "homemadebyjill20."  Happy shopping!

Silhouette SD Giveaway! (CLOSED)

I was over the moon when Silhouette contacted me about doing a second giveaway. It was love at first cut when I tried it for the first time last June, and now it easily ranks in my top 5 favorite crafting tools. I use it for everything - party decorations, wrappings for baked goods, gifts, gift tags, clothes for my kids, etc, etc. It is already coming in really handy (and saving me money) this holiday season for decorations and gifts.

Here are the Silhouette projects I've had up my sleeve lately:

I cut fall leaves to attach as gift tags to yummy pumpkin bread loaves - a great way to dress up your baked goods for gift giving and customizable to any occasion or season.  I cut my leaves nice and large, so there was plenty of room to write a note on the back.

The women's group at my church made 30 sets of Christmas Advent Blocks, using instructions I found at How Does She?  We mod podged the blocks with cute holiday papers and applied vinyl numbers and lettering that I cut on my Silhouette.  At a cost of only $2 per set, this makes a great small gift for just about anyone on your list.

 My friend, Sonja, recently threw a Sesame Street/Elmo themed party for her daughter's second birthday.  She loves paper crafts and was painstakingly cutting out all her Elmo decorations by hand, until I reminded her of my magical machine that cuts whatever you want.  In no time, we had cut alphabet and number garlands and some Oscar the Grouch, saving her time and money.

My Oscar was appropriately grouchy at the beginning of the party until he was allowed to wander off with one of the table decorations (which was filled with "Dorothy"goldfish crackers).

Did you know you can import pictures from the internet or your camera to the Silhouette cutter?  You aren't limited to the (thousands of) images in the online store.  Which means you can cut anything you want.  Which is awesome.

I made lots of onesies over the summer using the Heat Transfer material, and now I am using it to make custom t-shirts for Christmas gifts.   I applied this dinosaur silhouette to one of Oscar's shirts - the tail wraps around to the back.

If you want to make your favorite guy a gift this Christmas, the Heat Transfer is a great option.  It is easy to do and looks so professional.  The hardest part is just picking the design he'll love most!

Ok ... so my new favorite thing to make with the Silhouette is temporary tattoos.  My nephews are all getting silly mustache finger tattoos in their stockings this year.

You actually don't need the Silhouette cutter to make the tattoos - you can buy the tattoo paper, print from your home office, and cut them out with scissors. So if you're looking for the perfect stocking stuffer for your Justin Bieber-crazed tween, or tough to please 9-year old boy, some fun temporary tattoos might be your perfect solution. 

If you still aren't convinced this is the best cutter out there, here are some links to my past projects:

Baby onesies and baby shower decor pantry organization birthday party decor custom t-shirts

So ... on to the giveaway! One very lucky winner will receive their very own Silhouette SD Machine (a $299.99 value). The package includes:

• a Silhouette machine
• Software for Windows XP/Vista, Mac
• Power cable, USB cable
• 2 Cutting mats (one for thick media, one for thin media)
• One cutting blade
• $10 gift card to the Silhouette Online Store

This giveaway is now closed.  Thanks for entering!

You know you want it!  Let's keep things simple ... there is only ONE way to enter: 

Browse the Silhouette website and check out all the amazing things this one machine does.  Then come back and leave a comment on this post by November 26th telling me how you'd use your new favorite craft tool for the holidays.

The winner will be randomly selected and announced on November 29th.  This giveaway is available only to U.S. residents (sorry - international readers!  There are customs issues with the blade.  I'll have other prizes available to you later in the week).  

There are three little rules:

1. There is only one entry per person.  If you accidentally enter more than once, please delete your duplicate comment (you will likely have to scroll to the end of the comments to view yours).
2. Make sure I have a way to contact you!  Either your profile must link back to a public blog, or you must leave me an email address to contact you.  Anonymous comments (with no contact information) will be deleted.
3. You can only win one Silhouette.  If you have won a Silhouette here or anywhere else in blogland, you are no longer eligible.

I'm also excited to announce a special Cyber Monday deal!

It is only valid on Monday, November 29, 2010, starting at 4 am and ending at midnight the same day.

Here's the deal ...the Silhouette will be sold for $199 (originally $299). Silhouette America has NEVER sold these cutters for this cheap! This is the newest version with more capabilities and newest technology - the Silhouette is now Mac compatible.

It gets better ... the Cyber Monday deal will also include:

1 Roll of Cream vinyl ( $7.99)
1 Roll of transfer paper ( $7.99)
1 Home decor CD (Value $55)
Total ($70.98)

All for only $199 - almost $200 in savings!

I'll have the discount code posted bright and early next Monday at 4 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. In the meantime, leave a comment and keep your fingers crossed to win!

coming up: a giveaway week!

Have I mentioned lately how glad I am that each of you stop by this blog?  It means a lot to me.  Almost four years ago to this day I started this blog with a very slim arsenal of crafting skills.  I didn't even know how to operate a sewing machine!  Since then, I have been amazed to see how this blog has grown and changed.  You've seen me through cross-country moves, a husband in law school, the birth of two children, and many life changes - the amount of support I have received from readers and the craft blog community in general is truly humbling.

To show my thanks, I am hosting an entire week of giveaways, kicking it off on Monday with a big ticket item I already know you'll love.  I'm sure it will be a busy week for my U.S. with holiday travel, preparations, and activities, but hopefully you won't be too busy stuffing your face to win some fabulous prizes.  ;)

I'll also be sharing new projects, and of course, posting the weekly Advent Sew-Along update, so there will be something for everyone!

advent sew-along: your ornament questions answered

I'm hearing a few common questions concerning the advent ornaments - how many layers are they? How do you hang them?  How do you sew a blanket stitch edge?  I don't know how to embroider - where can I learn the stitches?

Here is how I make them:

• Each ornament is two layers, because I like to hide my messy stitches and knots inside.  The top layer is decorated, and the back is a solid color, plus the thread loop.
• When I am doing little felt strips, like on this candy cane, I cut them much longer than necessary.  After they are sewn on, I trim the edges to fit.  This way, they are always the perfect length and don't get sewn on crooked.
• I am using a full piece of embroidery thread (all 6 threads) for my ornament hanging loop.  I simply tie a knot in the thread, make a loop though the back piece of the ornament, and tie a second knot inside to close it off.
• Embroidery is a valuable skill and just takes a little bit of practice!  Stitch School is an excellent blog to check out if you want to learn many embroidery stitches.  Here is a link to the blanket stitch, specifically.

One of my favorite parts of this advent project is I've been able to use this box of embroidery thread.  My mom brought it to me when Ruby was born.  It originally belonged to a much larger set of my grandma's thread collection.  She was an avid (and talented, I might add) cross-stitcher.  I love that I have a little bit of my grandma's supply sewn into every ornament!

advent sew-along: week 3

How is your advent calendar coming along?  I am just barely keeping pace with my own assignments (seriously - I finished my ornaments in the wee-est of the wee hours of the morning today).   However, it is very satisfying to have a few ornaments to stuff into those little pockets.

I started my ornaments out with four gifts (I love how it looks like there are presents under the tree on the Inchmark advent), a stocking, the star, a dove, and a baby Jesus, laying in the manger.   The baby Jesus ornament was always my very favorite on the tree growing up.

Ready for some beautiful inspiration?  This is an advent-in-progress by Katie at So Happy.

It seriously makes me want to scrap my advent and start over, copying her step by step.  I love everything about the tree.   Oh, well ... no time to start over now.  Must plug along.

You can also gather some ornament inspiration from Flickr user, Angela Allen.  I like her colors and use of buttons on the ornaments.

 Ready for this week's assignment?

• Sew on all 24 buttons
• Make 8 more ornaments

Piece of cake, right?  There is still time to catch up and join the fun!  Don't forget to share your progress in the Homemade by You flickr group.   I want to see more - especially those of you who are doing nativity advents.  :)