'Happy Birthday to Me' means Blog Candy to you!

Hello Friends!

Today is my birthday.

I'm not going to tell you my age, but I may or may not have been born in 1954.

As you all know, I am in DC, proudly and happily wearing my grandma hat this week,

but since it's my birthday, and since you've been so patient with me while I remodeled and, sewed, and traveled, I wanted to give some birthday gifts to some you...

Since this is our 4th grandchild, I'm going to have a random drawing for 4

'Itty Bitty Blog Candy' prizes!

To enter, just leave me a Happy Birthday comment below, and tell me a fun fact about you that I don't know!

I'll go first...

When I was a freshman in high school, I lived in Dolton, Il.  I was in a 'Miss Dolton'

contest, which was largely judged on our float.  Imagine my surprise (actually,

think about me hitting myself on the forehead, like the V8 commercial) when I lost

the contest due to a spelling error on our float!  Our Volunteer Fire Department float builder helpers had used Congradulations, instead of Congratulations 😲

So, I'm almost famous like Hillary! I got the most votes, but lost the 'Election' when the judges caught our spelling error! Wish we had a photo of the whole sign!

Oh, dear....look at that funky hair! Remember when the low part was the 'in' thing?
Probably not - I'm most likely the only antique in blogland :)

That's me on the right.

Now you know!

Hee hee...your turn.

Have a wonderful day - I cannot WAIT to read your comments!!!

All four winners will be announced on Thursday, April 12th.
Each of you will receive a padded envelope with something fun inside!

Thanks for coming to see me today!

Hugs,

Patti J.

Itty Bitty Blog Candy Blogaverary Winner!

Hi everyone!

October 2nd was my 8th Blogaversary!

Today, I have a winner to announce, but first, I have some very pretty cards

to share.  Pam Sparks is one of the most creative folks I know. She lives

in Iowa, and does a lot of classes there for Memory Box.  Pam happened

to have a few kits left over and my friend Shirley and I each bought

a kit.  I was blessed twice!  Once with the three beautiful cards that we

made, and once with the creative day that Shirley and I had when we got

together to make these cards!

Here they are:

Are these not adorable?  I love every one of them!

Going to add a bit of glittery snow here and there before I mail them, but my, oh my,

I had such fun with these - thanks Pam!!!

Drum Roll Please.....

My 1st blog post was on the 2nd of the month, and I have been blogging for 8 years,

so...

8 of you will get to choose 2 stamps each from Repeat Impressions!

Congratulations to:

Ionabunny

Regina

Cheryl W.

Lori K.

Judy I.

Sherry

Sandy

Lisa 808

Thanks for reading my blog!

Would you ladies please email me with your two stamp choices, AND your

mailing address?  My email is: mamagilliam at gmail dot com

Have a great day!!!

Keep smiling :)

Patti J.

Happy Blogaversary to me!!!

Wow!

Can you believe that my blog is 8 years old today?

This post is #1,445 - yikes!

* * * * *

Some of you have been with me from the get-go, offering encouragement when needed, 

offering kind words about creations that were not deserving (hee hee),

but mostly, offering friendships.

I feel so blessed...

Paper Crafting and blogging have brought so many of you into my life that I'd never

have had a chance to know otherwise.

I have friends in nearly every country, and nearly every state in the US.

When we travel, my hubby tries very hard to be sure that I get to meet a fellow paper crafter.

My very dearest friend, Shirley, was my first paper crafting teacher.

I remember eight years ago, getting my very first blog follower. It is humbling

to know that there are so many of you that take time from your busy days

to drop by and see what I've been up to.

* * * * *

To say thank you, I'm going to be giving away some 'Itty Bitty' blog candy.

All you need to do, is leave me a comment (please include your email so I can find you)

on this blog post.  

You do NOT have to be a follower of my blog to win.

If you ARE a follower, be sure to leave a second comment, telling me you're a follower.

You will have two chances to win!

When commenting with your email, type it in this fashion: mamagilliam at gmail dot com

This will help with spamming!

I'll keep this open all week, and will announce winner(s) next Monday!!!

* * * * *

Thanks for stopping by!

Hugs and smiles,

Patti J.

Blog Candy Winners!

Happy Thursday!

Today, my best friend and I have been married for 43 years!

He must be a saint, right?

Can't imagine life without this special man.

Now...I'm here to post the winners of last week's birthday giveaway.

I apologize for being late - sometimes life throws curveballs, and I just can't duck fast enough!

My birthday was the 3rd, so I have three winners:

Lori Kobular

Julie Tucker-Wolek

Marian

Each of you will get to choose any three stamps (because my birthday was on the 3rd!) from

Repeat Impressions.com !!!

After you choose three stamps, send me an email with the stamp numbers and names, along with

your mailing address, and I will get them ordered!

My email is mamagilliam at gmail dot com

Thanks so much for stopping by, and Congrats to my three winners!!!

Patti J.

Happy Friday - Itty Bitty Blog Candy!

Happy Friday!

Pretty day here in Missouri so far, but I think that's supposed to change.

Bah.... don't know about you, but this gal is ready for spring!

I have a couple of things to share today. Be sure to read on to the bottom, as there

is some itty bitty blog candy up for grabs!

First, we had two ladies in our Sunday School class that retired this week - both of them actually retired on Thursday!  We had their little retirement celebration last night, and these are

the cards that I made for them. Both ladies love to garden, so there was a small

gift card for something to plant tucked inside:

The flowers are from Stampendous, and the sentiments are from Crafter's Companion.

Next up is a card that I created for our new grandson's baptism, which will be on Sunday, April 3rd.

We will be making a very quick trip back to Albuquerque for this special event, so a few travel

prayers or well wishes would be appreciated!  This little guy was born on Aunt Melissa's birthday (our daughter), and is being baptized on MY birthday, so what fun, right???

I rarely CASE (copy and steal everything) a card without making a lot of changes. Rarely,

do I CASE a card, and have it come out even remotely looking the same. However....my bestie, Shirley, had made THIS card for her new great grandson last fall, and I just had to make one too!

Here's what I made for little Gilliam:

The dies are Spellbinders and AMuse.

Little Gilliam and I owe Shirley a huge thanks. She came here on Wednesday, loaded with dies, pretty papers, embellishments, and fellowship!  Thanks, dear friend, for not only loaning me your

beautiful crafty tools, but for hand delivering them!

Okay, thanks for peeking at my creations. Now, on to the fun part!

I will be having a birthday on Sunday, and thought it was a perfect time to give away an 'Itty Bitty Blog Candy'!  Since my birthday is on the 3rd day of the month, there will be 3 winners.

There are no strings attached.  You don't have to post my candy on your blog sidebar, you don't have to become a blog follower (although I'd love for you do follow me!!!).  You don't have to promise me your first-born child/grandchild, etc.  

All you need to do is leave a comment on this post. 

That's it!

(If I don't know how to contact you, please include your email address in your comment)

I will draw a winner on Tuesday, April 5th, so be sure to check back mid-day to see if

your name is posted!!!

Have a wonderful weekend - we are off for some baby snuggles!!!

Hugs,

Patti J.

Blog Candy Winners!

Annie's Crafts - Product Review

A few weeks ago, I was contacted by Elyse, the Video Classes Assistant, at Annie’s Crafts, asking if I would like to do a product review on one of their on-line classes. 

The class that I reviewed, is ‘Learn to Make Interactive Cards’.

You can read my review HERE if you missed it!

Elyse generously offered one class as blog candy for a lucky reader of my post.

The winner of this class is:

***GAIL***

Congratulations Gail!!!!!

Please email me at:  mamagilliam at gmail dot com with YOUR full

name and email address.  Elyse will download your class!

***

Next, I have an itty bitty blog candy for one lucky person who commented

on my CardMaker post last week!  That post is HERE if you missed it!

I showed what a few of the things that I use my scraps for...

The winner of my itty bitty blog candy is:

***Joan VanCourt***

Congratulations Joan!!!!!

Please email me with your name and mailing address, so I can get your prize out to you!

Thanks everyone for stopping by today,

Have a wonderful week!

Patti J.

Itty Bitty Blog Candy Winner!

Last week for my birthday, I offered up this gift for a lucky reader!

Comments were allowed for several days.

One person was randomly drawn.........................

The winner is:

JULIE!!!

Julie, please drop me an email with your mailing info - name, address, zip, etc.,

and this will be on the way to you asap!

Thanks everyone for making my birthday special.

Hugs to all,

Patti J.

Happy Birthday to me and YOU!

Just a reminder - you have until the end

of the day to leave comments on my blog posts for Tuesday,

Wednesday, and Thursday of this week, AND

to leave a comment on my CardMaker Magazine blog post

for a chance to win this:

You certainly don't HAVE to be a follower, but I love making new friends,
so feel free to follow if you like!


Have a great day!

Hugs,

Patti J.

Happy Birthday to me - Blog Candy for you!!!

Hi everyone!

Well, Friday is my birthday!

I think I'll be somewhere in the neighborhood of 29 again.

Okay, I'm busted....you caught me.

29 + 32 is pretty close, though, right?

Anywhooooo.......

I have posts scheduled for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday this week.

Every comment made on each of these blogs will be put in a random dot dear hubby

drawing, and on Friday, one of you will win an itty bitty blog candy!

Anyone who comments at the CardMaker blog on Thursday will be entered

an extra time!  So, you have 4 chances to win!!!

Here's what's up for grabs:

Have a wonderful day - it's a glorious day in Missouri today!

Hugs,

Patti J.

Itty Bitty Blog Candy!

Good morning, and Happy Friday!

So, I'm not crafting today - I'm actually doing some cleaning, and guess what I found...

One more copy of this AMAZING CardMaker magazine!

Since I don't need two copies, I would love to give this copy away to one of my faithful followers.

How can you win?

Easy peasy...

Just leave me a comment on this blog post, telling me something that you are thankful for!

I look forward to reading your comments.

I'll go first - 

Gosh, I'm thankful for SO many things - we have good health, electricity, running water...

God has richly blessed us.  

Each day, I am so very thankful for my wonderful family. 

My husband is uber-supportive of my 'wasted' time in my girl-cave, 

and our son and daughter have both grown up to be very successful, compassionate adults.

Life is good, my friends!

Your turn - what are YOU thankful for?

I'll pick a winner on Sunday, and get this in the mail on Monday!

Have a great weekend,

Patti J.

Itty Bitty Blog Candy Winner!

Happy Monday evening,  friends.

I'm home, a bit tired, but so happy to have had some time with DD. She's a special young woman, even if I do say so myself...

Please send up some extra prayers for her DH.  He's in Afghanistan, and is not in a good place. Their area is pretty dangerous, and we are all so prayerful for their safety.  Two soldiers lost their lives last Friday. If any of you would like DSIL or DD's mailing addresses, please email me - they are so appreciative of your kindnesses.   Those of you who are so faithfully remembering them, I can never thank you enough.

*** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***

Now, for my Itty Bitty Candy Winner...

Cheryl W. - you are the lucky 'random' person!  Congratulations :)

Drop me an email (mamagilliam at gmail dot com) with your name, address, etc., and I'll get your teensy giftie right out!

Now, dear friends, I checked, and Cheryl W. needs some bloggy love...  She's been blogging only a short while, but she's doing a great job, and only has 2 followers!  We all remember what that was like.  If you have a few minutes, please check out Cheryl's blog, Paper Panacea, and enjoy her pretty creations.  Thanks!

Thanks for stopping by.  I'll be back tomorrow with a bit of something to share.

Smiles,

Patti J.

Winner! Winner! Winner!

Lol...one would think they've won the lottery, looking at that Blog Title!

First, I want to wish my very good friend, and birthday twin a Happy Birthday today!  Dawn Lotharius is one of the kindest, sweetest, most sincere folks I've met out here in blogland, and we have shared a birthday the last few years!  By the way, Dawn has some absolutely FABULOUS blog candy on her blog, so be sure to head over there and comment for a chance to win.

Next, thank you ALL for so many sweet wishes today!  I have found wishes every place I've 'traveled' this morning in blogland, as well as Facebook, email, and the sites that I belong to.  You are all so kind, and I'm so blessed.

Now, onto my winner!  The winner of the Tim Holtz Ink Pad is Regena! 

Congratulations, Regena!  Please drop me an email at: mamagilliam at gmail dot com

I'll get your giftie right out to you!

Thanks everyone for stopping by!
Back later with a pretty share :)

Hugs...Pj

We have a winner! and... Itty Bitty Blog Candy!

Good morning!

Okay, dear friends!  The winner for the Bunny Box Hop from my blog (drawn randomly) is Redanne.  Congratulations Redanne!  Please email Adela at: 

creationsbyAR at sbcglobal dot net

Enjoy your fabulous new template from Creations by AR, my friend!!!

Please check out my fabulous fellow AR teamies for their winners - you might be lucky too!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Now then,

I have an "Itty Bitty Blog Candy" for one lucky reader!

Yes, I did it again.  Really.  How many times will I re-purchase something that I already have?

One of you will win a Tim Holtz Distress Ink "Dried Marigold"!

No hoops to jump through...just leave a comment on this post and tell me that you want to win!  I'll draw a winner on Tuesday, April 3rd - and I will send one of YOU a present on my birthday - 

how much fun is that???

Have a good weekend friends and family!

Hugs and smiles,

Patti J.

Winner!

Good morning!  

Thanks to all who left comments to win the CardMaker magazine - I wish that you could all be winners!  Random dot 'throw them in a bowl and pick one out' chose Judy I.  Congrats Judy!  Drop me an email with your mailing info, and I'll get that out to you this morning!  My email is: mamagilliam at gmail dot com

Have a good day, everyone - it's a short week!  Woot woot!

Hugs and smiles,
Patti J.

Ironman, etc......

Happy Saturday!

Hope that your weekend is off to a nice start.

I'd love for you to send up a few well wishes or prayers for our daughter's fiance, his dad, and her soon to be brother-in-law.  They are preparing to do an ironman tomorrow in Arizona.  Ugh!  I think that's a 2.5 mile swim, followed by something like a 112 mile bike ride, followed by a full marathon.  Did I mention Ugh?  Anyway, we'll be cheering them on from Farmington!

So...I'm pretty sure you are all on the edge of your seats, waiting to hear what the 'etc.' is!  I won't keep you in suspense.  Last night, grandson doggie, and little Sophie doggie decided to take on a skunk.  I'm quite certain that you have, by now, figured out the rest of the story.  Again, did I mention Ugh?  Oh my goodness.  It wasn't bad enough that they stunk, but they came inside before we realized that they had battled the stinky critter, and now it stinks in the house too!  And...if that wasn't bad enough, Sophie had the 'sickies' afterwards, and THAT stank worse than the skunk smell.  Bless her heart, she was a sick little gal last night.  

I have a couple of quick projects to show you today.  

First, using the pre-colored Doodle Pantry set, "12 Days of Christmas Mini's", and a very sparkly red wreath that was hiding at one of the dollar stores, here is my creation:

This set is so versatile!

Next, I have a little something I made up with some felt scraps.  If DD likes it, it will travel to Colorado next week.  If she doesn't, I'm not sure what I'll do with it!  Pretty self explanatory....made three of the little felt flowers, die cut a couple of Spellbinder leaves, put them all together, put a back on them, and then a pin back (not pictured).

I have an Itty Bitty Blog Candy for someone! 

I was lucky enough to have something in the last Scrap and Stamp Arts magazine, so they sent me a free copy.  However, since I subscribe, I now have two copies!  Time to share the wealth!  

No hoops to jump through - if you'd like the extra copy, just leave me a comment telling me that you'd like to have it.  I'll draw one name on Monday, from the comments left on today's post, and send the magazine out on Tuesday!

I'm off now, to do a few household chores.  Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope to see you tomorrow!  I have a few projects using Inspired Stamps to show you :)

Have a great evening - hugs and smiles,

Patti J.

Food for thought: 

Your #1 competitor is seen every morning, looking back at you from your bathroom mirror!

Blog Candy!!!

Sheesh...I've done it again! I had this issue of Just Cards, and guess what...I bought it again! So, I think it's time for a bit of 'Itty Bitty Blog Candy"!


Just leave a comment on today's post telling me what your favorite dessert is! Easy peasy! If you are a follower, you'll have TWO chances to win!

I have a quick card for you today, as well. This uses the pre-colored image and DP from the Doodle Pantry Little Lighthouse set. I think this set is so pretty, and makes up quickly. What a nice card to send someone to say hello!

Hope you are having a good weekend!


I'll be back on Monday - it's New Release day at Clear Dollar Stamps! See you then!

Thanks for stopping by.

Hugs,
Patti J.

Mmmm......Chocolate!

Well, good morning! Hope that you all survived your weekend.


I have to begin by apologizing for not commenting on your blogs this weekend. Believe me, I was there! I saw, I squealed, and I loved your creations!


However, since Friday, I've been in a recliner with a propped up foot, ice bag, etc. Not sure what I did, but I couldn't bear any weight, walking was difficult, and the swelling was terrible. Even had to resort to crutches on Friday night! Long story short, I could use only the laptop, and that old thing will NOT let me leave comments! So, I'm going to try to be back on the desktop for at least a bit today!!!


Mmmmmm.....Chocolate! At least one has to assume that chocolate is what this darling Baking Bear Digi from Clear Dollar Stamps is whipping up for us this morning! Is this not the sweetest image? This cutie patootie is one of the new releases for June at CDS. If you haven't been over there yet, hop over and check out their store - the new and older releases are all so much fun! This set actually has the images, sentiments, and designer papers all in one very low price!



I'm going to enter this in the sketch challenge at Sketches by Carly. You still have three days to enter, so grab this fun sketch and get creative!!!



Now, I promised some "Itty Bitty Blog Candy" over the weekend, and that didn't happen either due to my gracefulness (or lack of)! So....here's what I'm going to do - TWO of you will win something! Remember this is "Itty Bitty Blog Candy", so don't quit your jobs or count on retiring on your winnings...lol...


No rules - just leave a comment here on this post and tell me something fun about yourself! Example: Before I check out of this world, I want to zip line and sky dive!


OH! AND...I'm going to a U2 concert on July 17th!!!!! OMG!!! DS bought tickets for me and DD to go and I'm so excited!


As always, you certainly don't have to become a follower - if you're following, I want it to be because you want to be here! But if you ARE a follower, you will get two entries! Winner will be chosen via random DH drawing on Wednesday night, and will be posted on Thursday a.m.


Have a great Monday!
Hugs and blessings,
Patti J.

Food for thought: No matter how stressful, any day that you spend above ground is a good one!!!

Hope Perches...

Hello, and happy Thursday to all!

So, have you ever had a card that totally just fell together? This card is one of those. I spent the afternoon with my friend Shirley yesterday, and we literally crafted ourselves into exhaustion! We tried several fun new things, a couple of which are on this card. I brought all of the pieces home, as just that - pieces. I intended to make a few cards. When I dropped them on my workspace last night, they just went together so well, that I decided to make ONE card with all the pieces!



The background is from the StampTV video that Gina K. had up yesterday. It uses a brayer and rubber bands, as well as heat embossing and distress inks. We had a lot of fun experimenting with this technique - we'd used brayers, rubber bands, and ink before, but never embossed with them! Head on over to StampTV and Gina will tell you all about it!

Shirley also wanted me to try a new technique that was in our Technique Junkie magazine this month. She had already done this technique, but wanted me to try it. I will be using it again and again! I love it!!! The stamp set is "Hope Perches", by the Angel Company. (Shirley is a TAC demo if anyone needs stamps or catalogs!!!)

I used her Nesties Labels Eleven to cut and mat, and cut one of the birds a bit outside the 'box'.

I used several colors of Tim Holtz Distress Inks, and I can't remember them all! The gorgeous ribbon is StampinUp! binding ribbon, that was sent to me by my good friend Amanda! Be sure to check out Amanda's blog - she is very talented, and I'm sure she'd help you if you needed some products too!!!

Hope you like it! Thank you for stopping by.

I also have an Itty-Bitty Blog candy winner! The last question was whether or not you listen to music while you craft, and if so, what type. The answers were:

80's
Country
Enya
No music
Christian
Josh Groban
Christmas
Television
Glee
Quiet - no music except for the birds chirping and singing
Television - NCIS marathons
60's
Classical
Michael Buble
Lady GaGa

How's that for variety? Me, I have a STACK of CD's. They range from all of the above, to Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, Ozzie Osbourne, Sarah Brightman, and many, many more.

The winner, by random 'names in a hat' is: Sue from Oregon! Congrats Sue! Email me with your snail mail address, and I'll get your Itty-bitty, Teeny Weeny candy out to you!

Hugs,
Patti J.

Food for thought: Humor is the WD-40 of relationships, which stops the creaking and groaning almost immediately!

Itty Bitty Candy Winner!

WAY back on January 29th, I posted a new question, asking you, the smartest readers in the world, what type of cardstock they used. There were several different cardstocks named...

• Georgia Pacific white for printing a coloring digi's
• Neenah Solar White 80# - works well for Copics and Digi's
• Wausau 110# for almost all stamping
• X-Press It Blending Cardstock - perfect for Copics
• Yes brand paper for Digi's
• Gina K. Designs Pure Luxury Cardstock

It's always fun to hear what everyone out there uses! Thanks for your replies!

The winner of the Itty-Bitty Blog candy is:

Stef H.!

Congratulations Stef!

Drop me an e-mail, and let me know where to send your itty bitty prize!

I'll be back tomorrow with a new question!

Hugs,

Patti J.

'Itty-Bitty' Candy Winner

Please save this date.....

Hello Friends!

It is time to talk about the paper cutter post from last week! I was totally impressed with how many different methods of cutters you all use!

Many of you used Fiskars cutters. A few are very happy with these cutters, but many were disappointed with the blades dulling too quickly, and lack of straight and sure cuts.

Some seemed very pleased with the Stampin'Up! Table Top Cutter. No one had any complaints about it. I was told that it is self-sharpening, and cuts more than one piece of CS at a time.

Creative Memories was mentioned a few times with no complaints.

Favorite scissors mentioned were Kai, and 'fancy scissors'.

One reader has tried Carol Cutter, Fiskars, Tonic, Zutter, Creative Memories, and Purple Cow, just to name a few. Her fave is the Purple Cow, but she also loves her 12" Tonic Trimmer. For cutting CS in half, she uses the Zutter Dream Cuts.

Another reader mentioned with obvious happiness, that her 'cutlery of choice' is a cutter by Xacto.

The Creative8 cutter found at KMart was another favorite of one reader.

Another that I hadn't heard of was the Carl's Cutter (priced best at Oozaks per my reader!).

The Making Memories Cutter didn't seem to bring any happy dances; readers said that it dulls, and there are no replacement blades.

All in all, the favorites seemed to be the Tonic 12" Cutter, The Purple Cow, and the Stampin' Up! Tabletop cutter. The problem areas in the other cutters were that the blades dulled too quickly, they don't cut straight, and don't have great measurement markers.

As for myself, I can vouch for the Purple Cow that I use when I am at the house of a friend, and the Dream Cuts by Zutter. I love my Dream Cuts for cutting multiple sheets in 1/2 or 1/3's, and it will hold up to 12 x 12 papers. The ONLY drawback to it is that I can only cut one piece at a time, but it's so straight, and so quick, that I can't really complain!

I hope that this has helped some of you with your cutting decisions!

I think from the comments left, and the personal e-mails that I received, that my next table top cutter will probably be the Tonic 12" larger, tabletop style cutter. When and if I get one, I will let you know how I like it!

Drum roll please...... I promised an itty-bitty blog candy!

The winner is Sandy Ang! Sandy, please e-mail me at: mamagilliam@gmail.com with your mailing information. Congrats on winning this 'itty-bitty' blog candy...lol!!!

Thanks to all of you for your cutting advice! I'll be back soon with a new question!!!

Hugs and Smiles!
Patti J.