Tis the Season for Gift Giving: Tastefully Simple Giveaway

Disclaimer:  I am a HUGE fan of Tastefully Simple products!  Are you?  Have you ever been to a Tastefully Simple party?  Tastefully Simple products are made to make your life in the kitchen easier.  Check out their website - they have dip mixes, soup mixes, dressings, bread mixes, snacks, appetizers, and more.  Tastefully Simple parties aren't your typical hostess parties -- because you get to actually try many of their products before purchasing!  At the party you sit around and taste items while the consultant tells you about them.   I have hosted countless Tastefully Simple parties, and I love having them.  For several reasons, top on the list of reasons would be the swag.  Every time I host a party I earn free items and discounted items.  And my guests get awesome tasty treats.  It's a win win.  And I don't have to put forth much effort into having the party -- I spend about an hour preparing food for the guests to taste.  My consultant - the fabulous Katie Parks - gives me all of the mixes I will need ahead of time, and then I purchase the ingredients to mix with them and dip in them (usually a short list of items like mayo, sour cream, chips, etc - mostly things I already have on hand).  And then the night of the party Katie does all of the work, and I relax and hang out with my guests.  I know this is starting to sound like a commercial, but it's just because I get so excited about these parties!   The prices aren't bad, the items make awesome gifts at the holidays, and the dip mixes are indispensible in my house around the holidays, because we go to so many parties, I want to have something easy to prepare on hand to take with me to serve at the parties.
So if you live in the Northern Kentucky/Greater Cincinnati area and you are interested in hosting a Tastefully Simple party let me suggest that you contact my consultant, Katie Parks.  She is very sweet, and easy-going.  At the parties she does not pressure your guests to purchase, she does not act like a used car salesperson pushing a sale.  She simply tells your guests all the great things about the products, and all of the great uses for each item. 
And as a generous holiday gift, she has given me two popular Tastefully Simple products to give away on the blog this week! 

Up for grabs I have a box of Beer Bread Mix (yummo! perfect for dipping) and a Warm the Oven dip mix (my favorite dip in the catalog!).

You have two chances to win! 

1.  Visit Katie's Tastefully Simple page and look at all of the cool products, then come back here and leave a comment telling me what your favorite product is.

2.  Share this contest any way you would like (twitter, facebook, email, etc) then leave a comment below telling me how you spread the word.

One winner will be chosen on Friday, December 3rd at 1pm using Random.org.  The winner will have 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen.  Be sure to leave your contact info!

Mamachee Crochet Patterns WINNER!

Congrats to barneyn who said...


"ahhh! i love her shop! and blog! i like the elizabeth headwrap! thanks!"

You are the winner!  I will contact you shortly!  And to those who didn't win this week, stay tuned, we have a few  more giveaways up our sleeve for the holiday season, inlcuding something tasty next week.

{this moment}

Inspired by SouleMama: A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

thankful

today i am thankful for so many things....
~ creative and imaginative children who are always smiling ~ my husband, he just gets me, respects me and loves me unconditionally ~ our home, built with love, filled with love ~ my family, near and far, here and gone...especially our parents and siblings ~ our health ~ dear friends ~ food on our table, clothes on our backs ~ books ~ a fireplace ~ the cabin ~ fiestaware ~ fabric & yarn ~ note cards and more importantly, customers who love notecards ~ cookbooks ~ my camera ~flannel sheets and warm blankets ~ thanksgiving side dishes (not so much the turkey) ~ and the list goes on and on, the point is i'm a lucky girl with much to be thankful for.

texas caviar

for years i have avoided "texas caviar" salsa.  it was the corn.  i like corn, but for some reason corn in salsa turned me off.  until a few months ago, when i went to a bridal shower and decided to give it a try.  oh my.  why did i wait so long?!?  it was delicious! 

michael's aunt shared the recipe that she used with me, she had received it from a friend, and looking online i see that there are countless varieties.  i am sharing geralyn's recipe, with a few changes i've made along the way.  what i love about this recipe is that it makes a boatload of salsa!  it's perfect for busy weekends where you have to show up at numerous parties with a dish in hand.  i made some last night, and i think it's enough for the three parties i am making appetizers for this holiday weekend.

what is your favorite appetizer to take to a party?

texas caviar:

2 cans diced tomatoes (drained)

1 bunch green onions (diced)

1 bunch cilantro (chopped)

1 green pepper (diced)

1 orange pepper (diced)

1 small can diced jalapeno peppers (drained)
2 cans black beans (drained)
2 cans corn (drained)
dressing - italian or lime (i use the lime!)

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

mix well an serve with chips!

i don't know how this happened...

thanksgiving eve

max, sam and ottie are taste testing the stuffing,

henry is hanging out at my feet while i cook,

ella and max designed a box for the tooth paste we are collecting for the parish kitchen,

and they read some thanksgiving stories.

what are you and your family doing on thanksgiving eve?

Tis the Season For Gift Giving: Mamachee Crochet Patterns Giveaway - CLOSED

I have only recently begun to crochet, but I love it because it calms me, gives my fidgety fingers something to do while watching tv or waiting in line to pick up the kids at school. I am still a newbie, sticking to simple patterns, like hats, scarves & grannie squares. I am lucky enough to have an auntie who is patient enough to sit and teach me the basics, and whenever I am ready she teaches me new stitches. It’s been a fun learning process, and I’m happy to be creating beautiful things.

Last year I discovered Tara’s Mamachee Shop on Etsy. She has lovely crochet patterns – even some very basic patterns for rookies like myself. Her shop is where I found the pattern for the adorable hat I made for Henry last week. And Tara has many other patterns that I am itching to try once I get a little more practice in.

This week I have a special giveaway for my fans who like to crochet. Or, if you do not crochet, perhaps this would make a good gift for someone you know for the holidays!

One lucky winner will receive THREE free crochet patterns from Mamachee’s Etsy shop! She has so many cool things to choose from, you will have fun checking out all of the patterns she has created with love.

Here’s the lowdown:
Contest ends Friday, November 26 at 1pm
One winner will be selected using Random.org and has 48 hours to contact me or another winner will be chosen.

You have TWO chances to enter:
1. Go to Mamachee’s Etsy Shop and look at all of her patterns, then come back here and leave me a comment telling me what your favorite pattern is.
2. Help spread the word about this contest, via facebook, twitter, email, or even by telephone. Leave a comment below telling me you did so.
Best of luck!

christmas photo follies

if you have spent any amount of time perusing this blog you can probably tell that i am a photo-freak.  i love taking pictures, and do my best to chronicle my children's lives with photographs.  my brother teased me once that i have documented every possible memory for my kids, and it won't be necessary for them to remember anything from their childhood. 

but there comes a time when i want to give up the picture-taking all together.  and this usually happens when all four of them are in one shot and i am trying relentlessly to get a good shot of all of them.  today was one of those days, we barely survived.  i took almost 200 pictures trying to get a good one for our christmas cards.  fun times i tell you.  here's some of my photo follies from the day.

what's wrong with this one?  well, ella is sitting very un-lady-like (at least her dress covered her up), sam looks like someone killed his otter, henry is eating leaves and i really don't even know what max was doing.

what's wrong with this one?  well first let me say that ella looks very sweet and big sisterly.  max was yelling something, sam was attempting to step on max's foot and henry did not like holding hands.

what's wrong with this one?  well, there's the fact that only one of them is looking at me.  then there's henry chewing on stick. 

not to fear though, i got several good shots.  you'll just have to wait to see those until after we've sent out our holiday cards! 

green things

a gift for myself, from me with love.  

a brand new card for the shop

making christmas cards with children

Almost every year I try to get our kids involved in the making of our Christmas cards.  It's a HUGE job, but it ends up being less stressful when we all work on them together.  Does that make sense at all?  How can it be less stressful with young hands assisting?  Well it is.  And here is why, for one thing, making the cards keeps them occupied for long stretches of time.  Also, the more work they do the less there is for me to do.  We are all pitching in together and it just seems more like fun and less like work.  As an added bonus, you get to encourage their creativity and their confidence.  The kids are always so proud of their work, and excited to mail their art to all of our loved ones.  There are so many different approaches you can take to having your kids be involved.  The way I go about it is to think of a simple design that they can all contribute to in a fun way.  One year (see pictures) I cut out a bunch of snowman shapes, then Ella glued them to the cards and decorated them.  Last year I cut out Christmas trees and the kids went to town with glue, glitter and sequins.  Oh the mess, but they had so much fun, and the cards were adorable!  This year we are doing kind of the same thing, one design that they can all decorate, but we are branching out and letting them decorate however they would like...markers, paint, glue/glitter, etc.  Could be very very interesting.  I will share pictures after we mail them out (it's top secret stuff right now).

Another approach you could take is to have your child draw a picture and then print it on to cards.  Or design each card seperately, and as creatively as they would like (this hasn't happened in our house yet because we send so many cards, I think they would get bored with it).  There are so many ways you can involve kids, even though it can be messy it is fun in the end. 

Do you have a holiday card tradition with your kids?  Or other traditions you'd like to share?  Tell me!

Tis the Season for Gift Giving - Note Card WINNERS

I want to thank you all for entering this contest, and especially thank you for all of the sweet comments about my cards!  I'm glad you like them!

Here are the winners:
RoseMamie said... I've always been partial to your Celtic Cross note cards, so I'd have to say those are my favorite..but I just perused all of the gorgeous new ones and it's a tough decision. The Pretty in Pink cards are totally adorable! And all of the Christmas cards are lovely!!
asl said...love the Swirls and Twirls Thank You Cards, pretty!

If you didn't win this time, be sure to check back often, because in the next few weeks I will have a few more giveaways to celebrate the season!  Next up....a treat for the crocheting fiends out there!  And if you don't crochet, perhaps you know someone who does? 
Also, remember if you'd like to order note cards you can visit my etsy shop.  From now until Black Friday I will be giving each person who makes a purchase a FREE pack of mini photo notes!  Cards by Katie note cards make great holiday gifts!

{this moment}

Inspired by SouleMama:  A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

one down, three to go

i finished henry's winter hat last night.  it took me one week to make.  because i am slow.  it probably would have taken my crocheting mentor, auntie annie, about an hour to make.  i am still pretty new & slow and I have to sneak in these little pockets of time for crocheting.  it calms me.  so i have one winter hat finished, and three to go.  ella's is on the hook now. 

i love this pattern for the "little people" hat, i found it on etsy, created by mamachee.  i made several of them last winter too, henry came home from the hospital in one.  if you are looking for an easy pattern for cutting your crocheting teeth on, i suggest you look no further.  fyi:  i made henry the child-sized version, because my stitching is so tight the infant one wouldn't fit his big noggin.

what are you making this week?  please do share!

Tis the Season for Gift Giving: Note Card GIVEAWAY CLOSED!

For those of you who abhor the celebration of Christmas before Thanksgiving I apologize in advance.  I don't break out the decorations until after Turkey Day BUT I do start shopping months before, to avoid stress during the month of December. 

So in order to help my readers out with their gift giving needs I will be doing several fun giveaways in the coming weeks!  Stay tuned! 

The first "Tis the Season" Gift Giveaway is a Cards by Katie Note Card Prize!  The winners of this contest will receive a smorgasbord of note cards of my choosing.  I call it a "Mystery Pack".  So you are basically entering a contest for which you have no idea what the actual prize will be.  :)  I like to keep it interesting! 

Here are the details:
Two winners will be chosen on Friday, November 19th at 1pm. 
The winners will receive a pack of 10 random note cards of my choosing. 
Each person can enter the contest 2 times! 
~~ Entry #1:  Leave a comment below telling me which one of my note card designs is your favorite
~~Entry #2:  Share this contest, either via facebook, twitter, or email and leave a comment below telling me all about it.

Best of luck!  And just so you know, all note card orders placed between now and Black Friday (11/26/2010) will receive a FREE pack of mini photo notes with their order.  Email me at:  Katie@Cards-by-Katie.com if you would like to be added to my mailing list.

the napkin project - a cloth napkin tutorial

Disclaimer:  I really have no business posting a sewing tutorial, given that I just learned how to thread the bobbin a few weeks back.  Yet here I am, posting a tutorial. 

I am a newcomer to sewing.  I can't do fancy things with my sewing machine.  I can only sew straight lines, sometimes not even that.  And if my machine starts acting up I throw up my hands in defeat and whine to Michael until he fixes it.  Until a few weeks ago he was also threading the bobbin, threading the needle, replacing the thread, and anything else I needed help with.  All because I was frustrated reading the manual.  I hate reading manuals.  So I decided I needed to learn a few things and get in some more practice time on the sewing machine.  And thus began the napkin project.

Up until the napkin project began our family was using paper towels as napkins at meals (go ahead and rap my knuckles with a ruler).  The waste was really bothering me, and our family is always looking for ways to be more green in our everyday lives.  I decided to take all of the scraps of fabric, remnants, and fat quarters that I had been saving and do something productive with them:  make cloth napkins.  My talented friend Amy has been making cloth napkins, and they are oh so cute, and she made it seem so effortless and easy.  But then again she makes all sewing projects seem effortless, and she knew how to tinker with and fix her machine long before me!  But this time she was right, cloth napkins are pretty easy to make.

So our napkin collection now consists of a hodgepodge of designs that are bright and colorful, and many of them have sentinmental value.  There are napkins made from the same fabric I used to make quilts for the kids (ahem, 2 of the 4 children's quilts, 2 are still in progress), and fabric from skirts I made Ella, or pj's for the boys.  Now I have cleaned out the fabric collection, helped our family be a bit more green & learned a few things about my sewing machine and sewing in general.

While working on these napkins I was able to practice basic sewing techniques which helped me become a more independent seamstress (Michael is sighing in releif as I type this).  I'm not saying I can sew anything intricate now, I'm still doing the straight lines, but I am much more confident in my skills.  I think this is a great beginner sewer project, so I am sharing with you!  

So here it is, the napkin tutorial.  Hopefully it will help some other newbie sewer like myself.  And if you have a good beginner's pattern I could try please share!

The Napkin Project - Cloth Napkin Tutorial

1.  Select Fabric -- this is a great project for remnants, or you could even repurpose fabric: cut up some clothes that just don't fit anymore.

2.  Cut squares to desired size.  Just a note -- you can make these any size, but I made 6 inch squares for the kids & for lunch packing and I made 9 inch squares for dinner. This may seem small, but I figured if we were using the half size paper towels before this project, then we could use 9" napkins.  We have larger cloth napkins for fancy affairs.

Save your scraps!  This is our scrap basket, the kids find all kinds of uses for these bits & pieces, such as: collars for their pets, blankets for their dolls, capes for their action figures, scraps for gluing, and more. 

3.  Place your squares together, right sides facing each other, as shown above.  If you feel the need to pin the fabrics to keep them together then do so now, although the pieces are so small, they don't really need pinning.  Here's where it gets interesting, because I don't know the proper lingo to be using.  Sew the two squares together (wrong side of fabric facing out), leaving a 1.5 inch gap in which to turn the fabric right side out.  Be sure to backstitch at the beginning and end to reinforce your seams.  Leave 1/4 inch between the seam and the edge of the fabric.  After you complete the seam (don't forget to leave a hole!) then snip off the four corners and turn the fabric right side out.  I use a crochet hook to help me do this, and to push out the corners (gently).

4.  Iron the napkin. 

5.  Sew a seam along the entire edge of the napkin (1/8 inch), closing the gap.  Be sure to backstitch at the beginning and end to reinforce the seam.  

Then have your 3 year old fold and organized the new napkins. 

  

Ta-da!  That's it, you are finished.  Begin again on the next one, and before you know it you will have a whole collection of cloth napkins. 

Please leave a comment below telling me what you think of this tutorial, and share your favorite easy peasy sewing pattern! 

{this moment}

Inspired by SouleMama:   A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

lunch with papa

cabin life

what is cabin life?  it's an escape from reality.  it's a magical place where the only things that matter are sewing projects, movie watching, book reading, sitting by the fire, new crochet projects, bread making, drawing pictures of robots, eating good food (and drinking good beer), hanging out on the front porch, and most important of all...just being present with family.

{this moment}

Inspired by SouleMama: A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

a major purchase

this morning michael and i became homeowners.  again.  four years ago we bought the home that we live in right now from michael's family.  the home we live in was built in the early 1950's by michael's grandfather, it is the home that my father-in-law grew up in.  our house is a two family home that can be converted into a single family dwelling, but for right now we are keeping it a 2 family for the extra income while i am working as a stay at home mother.  we love that our home has such a rich history, and that it is a family treasure. 
michael and i have kept a look out for years for more investment property, but have never seemed to find the right thing.  many are too expensive, or in too much disrepair.  we would love to support our family with more rental property, but cannot afford to get in over our heads. 
recently my aunties sent out an email to the family stating that they were going to sell a home that they inherited from my nana.  not just any home, it is the home that my nana grew up in, a home that has been in the family since the early 1930's.  it seemed like kismet.  another family home that was converted from a single family into a two family.  a home rich with history, and overloaded with charm.  we jumped at the chance to purchase this gorgeous family home.  and the best part is, the home is already rented out to two fabulous tenants, so we won't have to go looking for someone to rent to.  it is all just perfect.
this morning we closed, and the keys are in our hands.  and we are homeowners.  again.  you can call us rescuers of family homes.  that's our new role in life.

nana on her wedding day in the living room

nana & bop's wedding party in the front hallway (above) and the hallway as it looks today (below)

pocket doors!

old kitchen cabinets



i want this window in my house.  trying to convince michael to expand our front window to fit this in.  he is obstinately saying no.



the place needs some updates.  the tenants have been complaining about the bathroom for a while, michael will get to work on that soon.