Giveaway Winners!

First of all - thanks to everyone who entered the double giveaway! It was fun reading about your resolutions, and seeing so many people interested in the two lots.  I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of bloggers who are just learning knitting or wanting to add to their collection.

Now, onto the winners!  They were chosen by random number from the submissions entered for each giveaway.

 First, for the two knitting books, the winner is...

Andrea B from four square walls

The winner of the Vogue sewing patterns is...

Erin of Gravamen of the Stitch

Ladies, I'll be emailing you to get your details.

Thanks again to all that entered and stay tuned as I'm going through my vintage pattern collection and hope to stir up another giveaway soon.

Long Awaited Giveaway... Ready, Set, Go!

As promised (and promised, and promised), I have a giveaway for my loyal readers!  You have two options: knitting or sewing.  Feel free to enter for both, you just have to state it in the comments.

So, what's up for grabs?

The set of Stitch N' Bitch books - the Knitters Handbook and Son of... (patterns for guys)



I've noticed a lot of my blogger friends have taken up knitting and thought this would be a fun item for their library.  It includes basics on knitting and some fun patterns.

or...

A set of Vogue patterns. In particular, V8648, V1208, and Vintage Vogue V1136.  All are size EE (sewing pattern sizes 14 -20/22)



To enter: Leave a comment on this post about which set you'd prefer (or either), and one of your New Year's resolutions.  If your profile does not have a link to your email, please also leave a way to contact you.  The giveaway will close on Friday, January 11th and is open to all readers that follow through Google Friend Connect, Facebook or RSS feed.

*Note, this giveaway is not sponsored by Stitch N' Bitch or Vogue patterns, but are new items from my personal collection.

Reacquainting Myself with the Seam Ripper

Last night I decided to reacquaint myself with my seam ripper. In actuality, I had hoped to just be reunited with my sewing machine but you know how that goes...

I haven't touched my machine since July when we learned our big news and promptly began the voyage through morning sickness.  Luckily, my morning sickness has been long gone, but I feel like I've just been overwhelmed with everything going on and haven't had the time to plan out a sewing project.  I swore to myself that over this winter break (my company shuts down for a little over a week during the holidays) that I would at least get some knitting done.  There's still a few days left of the break and I have not yet touched my knitting needles, but I did tackle a few sewing projects!

So, here's the back-story.  One of my co-workers has been kind enough to lend us her bassinet for our little Poppyseed due in March.  She has a little girl in the toddler ages and didn't currently need it.  I was stoked as I didn't really want to spend the money on a bassinet that is generally only used for a couple of months.  She passed the bassinet on with a few related items - bedding and a bumper.  Did I mention she had a girl?  The bassinet came with a hot pink animal print bumper with brown backing.  I debated just flipping the bumper to the backside so only a hint of pink would show through but said to myself 'you could totally make one of these yourself!' Sometimes I'm too intense for my own good.

I already had a fabric on hand; a minky type print in green and brown with little farm animals, including the sheep that fall into our theme.  My mother-in-law had also been kind enough to get me a gift card to JoAnn's so I was able to get some additional supplies for this project.  I knew I had enough minky to make the main piece, but I still needed the underlining and base.  I went with some basic green gingham.  While I was there I also stumbled across an actual pattern for the basket.  Score!  Simplicity 4636 had a pattern that matched the moses basket shape.  I headed home with my goods in tow.

Now I don't know if I'm just rusty or what, but the pattern instructions for what should have been a simple basket were in Greek or something.  I decided to loosely follow the instructions and use the pattern primarily for the cut-out pieces.  Problem solved... somewhat. Ok, then I had to deal with the minky fabric combined with the cotton.  The cotton cut like a dream but the minky was slightly stretchy and 'slippery' in the sewing machine.  Nothing was lining up! Somehow I managed to get all of the side pieces together but again, as I wasn't following the directions 100%, I butchered the bottom.  I spent at least 30 minutes cursing the pattern while ripping out the seams from the entire bottom piece.  Of course as soon as I finished, it then fit perfectly.  The hubby later remarked that he heard an awful lot of muttering and cursing coming from the sewing room so he decided to leave me alone.  Wise man.

So, what I was left with was a decent fitting bassinet cover.  It doesn't look 100% like it should, but I don't think Poppy will care too much.



Now, as I've promised for the last few months, I'm doing a giveaway this week. No, for real.  I'm composing the post immediately after this one launches.  It'll go live on New Year's Day - a little treat for 2013!  And I'll cover both knitting and sewing.  Intrigued?  Come back during the beginning of the New Year and you could win some fun stuff -  my treat for being such a slacker with the blog!

Summer Pattern Giveaway Winners

Hello readers! I apologize for the delay! It's been a crazy week at work and also getting back into our normal routines after house guests for two weeks.  I was totally wow'd by the number of people who entered the summer pattern giveaway and was excited to divvy up the responses.  Surprisingly, an almost even number requested either pattern.  I was waiting to see a clear favorite pop up, but it really was as close to divided in half as it could be (with 31 entries).  So, onto the winners!

Winners were selected using random.org after I sorted the entries into two buckets - Simplicity 1873 and 0325.

The winner of Simplicity 1873 is:
Stacy Sews and Schools
'My favorite summer tradition is cooking out and just hanging around the house with my family. '


The winner of Simplicity 0325 is:
Cuckoo Chanel
'My favorite summer activity is going to Block Island, RI with my boyfriend. During this heat wave, I am also devoted to jumping into the pool as soon as I get home from work!'

Congratulations to the winners!  I really had fun with this and it made me want to host more giveaways.  So, if you were not a winner, stay tuned as I'll try to get another giveaway going shortly.

If the two winners could please send me their mailing address at craftycupcakeblog@gmail.com.  Thank you!

Summer Pattern Giveaway

The promised giveaway is here!  In celebration of surpassing 250 GFC followers, 200 Facebook followers, and just because I appreciate my readers, I am giving away two of the new Simplicity summer patterns.   

One may look familiar – I just made Simplicity 1873.

And the other dress, Simplicity 0325, just looked like a fun summer pattern.  I love the center pleat in the skirt.

To enter: Please leave a comment to this post specifying the pattern that you prefer, and for fun... what's your favorite summer activity/tradition?  If your profile doesn’t have a link to your email, please also leave a way to contact you.  This giveaway will close on July 9th, and is open to all readers (global) that follow via Google Friend Connect, Facebook, or RSS feed.

*Note, this giveaway is not sponsored by Simplicity, but are new, uncut patterns from my own personal collection.

Giveaway! Tartan Hearts Jewelry Winner

I apologize for being a day late in this post, but I'm happy to announce the winner of the Tartan Hearts Jewelry giveaway!

The winner is:

Susan!  Her winning entry was: 'Oh, and I do also follow Tartan Hearts on Facebook as well! (Or 'like', or whatever they call it nowadays.) Either way, I love both your ladies' posts! :-)'


Susan, send me a note at craftycupcakeblog@gmail.com with your info and the jewelry piece that you'd like.


And on to other winning updates, I won that workout challenge I was telling you about.  Woohoo!  


Also, I plan to keep good to my promise on a global giveaway, coming soon.  So stay tuned!  Thank you to everyone who participated in this one!

Tartan Hearts Jewelry Giveaway Reminder

Just a reminder that the Tartan Hearts Jewelry giveaway ends this Friday.  You still have time for up to two entries to win an item of your choice from Tartan Hearts!  For more details on the giveaway, and the official entry post, please visit the original giveaway posting.

Primrose Polish Ring

Giveaway! Tartan Hearts Jewelry

I'm excited to offer you this awesome giveaway!

Primrose Pendant

Jess from Tartan Hearts Jewelry made the Primrose necklace that I wore earlier this week with my new Ceylon. Well, she is also offering one piece of your choosing to my lovely readers!

Wallis Warfield Spencer Simpson Pendant

You have two opportunities to enter.

1.  The first is to be a follower of this blog, either via Google Friend Connect or on Facebook.  Then, leave a comment on this post with your favorite item from the Tartan Hearts etsy shop.
2.  For the second entry, you can 'like' Tartan Hearts on Facebook.  Then come back here and leave another comment saying that you liked it.

Tardis Hidden Swimming Pool Pendant

To get the two entries, you need to leave two separate comments.

Faux Bois Earrings

So go ahead and pick your favorite piece!  The giveaway is open for one week - it will close next Friday, June 1st, at midnight, Pacific Time.  This giveaway is only open to readers in US and Canada, but don't worry global friends, I will have another giveaway open to all, very soon!

Hottt Chocolate Ring

The 'Primrose Polka Dot' Dress

I wasn't sure if I was going to be participating in the Sew Weekly challenge this week until about Wednesday.  I'd been trying to get caught up on some random sewing projects that I've had calling to me for a while now and felt like I'd lost my sewing mojo.  I hadn't gone into my sewing room and have had the same blouse laying on the cutting table for two weeks.  I don't know what it is... the idea of spending 4-6 hours on finished a garment? Maybe. Work has also been really crazy which has made me want to just veg when the day is done.  I do have some plans to improve my sewing time (more on that soon), but what ended up inspiring me was just a good old-fashioned sale.



My local yarn and fabric store had recently converted to online only, and now the owner is moving elsewhere in California.  This meant a massive sale.  Well, it first started out at 30%, but while I was tempted, the missing sewing mojo wouldn't let me be phased. Until she announced 50%. Let the web shopping begin!  I picked up a couple of prints, and some Kona solids, but it was just enough to inspire me to get me back into the sewing room.  I had a different garment planned, but then Mena posted some 40's inspiration pictures for this week's theme.  I loved all of the fun prints, and while I'm not crazy about some of the 40's dress features, I started thinking about how Colette's Ceylon dress definitely has a 40's vibe about it.  And I just happened to order some grey and pink polka dot fabric that could totally fit into the theme.  And there you have it! I practically ran to the sewing room to get started.

Even more exciting, my good friend Jess from Tartan Hearts Jewelry sent me a necklace that would go perfectly with this dress (and a few of my other upcoming projects).  The piece is one of my favorites that she carries - the Primrose necklace on a silver chain.  I love the color of the pink and the Hunger Games inspiration.  And the best part? She's going to be doing a giveaway for my lovely readers! So stay tuned for that announcement, coming this Friday!

The Facts

Fabric: 3.5 yards Michael Miller Dumb Dot cotton in dark grey with pink polka dots $20
Pattern: Colette Ceylon, previously made $0
Year: Contemporary
Notions: 16 buttons $4, bias tape $2
Time to complete: Approx. 6 hours
First worn: To my nephew's baptism
Wear again? Yes! Love it!
Total cost: $26

I've already made this dress before, but it was one of my earlier creations.  It's pretty easy to put together but even having made it before, I had to read over some steps a few times.  I even went back to my original dress to see how I did it and realized I had made a few mistakes back then.  It still fits great, but it's interesting to see how your skills (and hairstyles) change over the course of a year.



There was one slight mishap in making the dress, but it had a happy ending:

So, once the fabric came in the mail, I had the majority of the supplies for the dress.  On Saturday morning, I ran out to my local JoAnn's to pick up some buttons, knowing I needed 16. For some reason the 16 transformed itself into 14 in my head and I only picked up 3 packs of 5 buttons.  While completing my dress on Saturday evening, I broke one of the buttons on my machine. Oops. Good thing I only needed 14. But wait! I needed 16! And I'm wearing this dress tomorrow!  I looked at the clock and saw that it was 8:40.  Could I get to JoAnn's before they closed at 9?  Let's find out!  The hubby and I raced over there making it in record time.  At 8:50 I ran into the store and picked up on $1 pack of buttons.  Mission accomplished!  I was able to finish my dress in time for the baptism, without showing too much skin in Church from lack of buttons.



And there you have it!  My 40's inspired dress.  I seem to have a thing with polka dots, but I love the dark grey fabric and the fact that the dots themselves are such a light pink that it's a nice surprise when you realize the hint of color.  And I love that I have the perfect necklace to go with it!  Check in later this week for the Tartan Hearts Jewelry giveaway!

What I Watched: Finished off the last of the Scrubs that we own (I think Season 7?) and started rewatching Flight of the Concords, Season 1.

Going Green

Remember the yarn giveaway that I held in September?  Check out what the winner, Jennifer, has been up to since then.  I think I need to bookmark that pattern for myself!

Self-Stitched September Recap and a Giveaway Winner

Oh Self-Stitched September! How glad I am that you're over. Just kidding.

Overall, it really wasn't bad.  In the year of blogging/sewing, I've made up quite a wardrobe for myself. And it was nice to revisit some of the garments that have been tucked away in the back of my closet.

Of the 30 days in September:

• I only missed one day, because I really didn't even leave the house.
• I photographed all days, except for two. I actually think it was only just one, but for the life of me I can't find my picture for day 29. I wore my grey Rooibos dress with the matching plaid belt.
• I only wore a handful of repeats, usually separates.

My last day of Self-Stitched September was spent camping.  I didn't really have anything that I had sewn for those kind of conditions, but I did wear a cowl that I crocheted.

With the end of Self-Stitched September, also came the end of my month of giveaways.  I hadn't had a chance to pull the winner for the Whimsical Ornament Giveaway.  A few people submitted responses after the deadline so I unfortunately had to turn them away.  But the chances were pretty high for the two participants (3 entries) on the post.  And the winner is...

Yara!  

Congratulations Yara, I'll be reaching out to you to get your details for your prize.

Yarn Giveaway Winner and Final Giveaway Reminder

Hi everyone!  Sorry for the delay in choosing the winner for the yarn giveaway.  Things have been crazy busy, but I pulled the random number today.  The winner is...

Commenter #1! Jennifer!  Jennifer, please send me an email with your contact details.

Also, don't forget that there is still one last giveaway for the month of September!  You can still win an ornament of your choice from OneHotTomatoe.  Check out the giveaway post here.

Whimsical Ornament Giveaway

Well everyone, this is it! The last giveaway of my blogiversary 'month of giveaways'! This Etsy shop is special to me, as it's owned by my good friend, Danya.  She created One Hot Tomatoe several years ago, when I was also starting out my cupcake business.  

A wise old owl...

One Hot Tomatoe specializes in adorable felt ornaments and other whimsical products.  She's also done baby onesies, stockings, and much more, but her Etsy shop focuses on her ornaments.

So now my friends, here's how you can win one of her whimsical felt ornaments!

First things first, be a follower of this blog. You can do this by clicking on ‘Join this site’ from Google Friend Connect or on the What’s Up, Cupcake? Blog Facebook page. Both links are on the right side toolbar. Then, leave a comment on this post letting me know what your favorite item is from One Hot Tomatoe.

For an additional entry, follow me via both methods. If you already do follow me, just leave a comment for each method.

Meow

The contest is open now through Saturday, October 1st. Make sure to leave your entry before then (and include your email address in the post) and I will announce the winner, chosen at random, shortly afterwards. 
Thanks again, and I look forward to hearing what you think about One Hot Tomatoe!

I may need this is an ornament for my dog on the Christmas tree.

Don't forget, the yarn giveaway is open until tomorrow, September 24th.  Get your entry in for the chance to win a skein of some gorgeous Little Red Bicycle yarn.

*Every effort will be made for the winner to get their 'favorite' ornament, but if it is sold out, I will contact you for an alternate option.

Vintage Pattern Giveaway Winner

Congratulations to...

Commenter #19 is Tracy!  She wins the vintage pattern giveaway for Simplicity 4920.

Thanks to everyone who entered and spread the word for the contest.

There's still time to participate in my yarn giveaway, going on through this Saturday!

Enter now at the Fiber Fun, Giveaway post!

Fiber Fun, Yarn Giveaway!

And now for week 3 of giveaways for the What's Up, Cupcake? Blog September blogiversary!

Remember, you still have one more day to enter in the vintage pattern giveaway from last week!  Make sure you head on over to the above link for one last chance to get your entry in.  It's for the vintage Simplicity 4920 dress pattern.  It's a size 12, bust 32.

This week's giveaway covers a third area that I love... fiber crafts!  This week you can win a lovely skein of sock yarn by Little Red Bicycle.  Please note, this yarn is from my own collection, but I do highly recommend Little Red Bicycle's yarns.  Check out their Etsy store: Little Red Bicycle.

This giveaway is for one skein, 430 yards/115g of their Snowflake Sock yarn in OOAK.  This hand-dyed yarn is in a gorgeous green with bits of yellow and blue mixed in.

Here's how you can win:

First, be a follower of this blog.  You can do this by clicking on 'Join This Site' from the Google Friend Connect, or on the What's Up, Cupcake? Blog Facebook page.  Both links are on the right side bar.  If you follow via both methods, you get two entries for this contest.  Just be sure to put two separate comments stating each method that you subscribe by.

The contest is open now through next Saturday, September 24th.  Make sure you submit your entry on this post, and include your email address so I can easily contact you if you're the winner.  I will announce the winner, chosen at random (via a random number generator), shortly afterward.

Jewelry Giveaway Winner

Drumroll please...

The winner is...

Hartbarn!

Congratulations on winning the laurenblythejewelry giveaway!  I'll be reaching out to you to get your information.

Thanks again to everyone who participated! Don't forget that there are three more giveaways during the month of September, including the vintage pattern giveaway that is open until Friday.

In other news, I spent the day at the Gatsby picnic hosted by the Art Deco Society of California.  I had a great time, and will be sharing photos and details in the next day or so.

Vintage Pattern Giveaway!

It's that time again! Week 2 of giveaways for the What's Up, Cupcake? Blog September blogiversary!

But wait, you still have one more day to enter in the gorgeous jewelry giveaway from last week!  Make sure you head on over to the above link for one last chance to get your entry in.  You still have a really good chance of winning a beautiful ring from laurenblythedesigns.

Enough housekeeping - on to the giveaway for this week!

This week, you can win a vintage Simplicity 4920 dress pattern.  It's a size 12, bust 32.

Here's how you can win:

First, be a follower of this blog.  You can do this by clicking on 'Join This Site' from the Google Friend Connect, or on the What's Up, Cupcake? Blog Facebook page.  Both links are on the right side bar.  If you follow via both methods, you get two entries for this contest.  Just be sure to put two separate comments stating each method that you subscribe by.

The contest is open now through next Saturday, September 17th.  Make sure you submit your entry on this post, and include your email address so I can easily contact you if you're the winner.  I will announce the winner, chosen at random (via a random number generator), shortly afterward.

Gorgeous Jewelry Giveaway!

As part of the one year anniversary of What’s Up, Cupcake? I’m excited to host a giveaway for my readers! Lauren of laurenblythedesigns, is a talented jewelry designer who creates chic, vintage-style jewelry in her Etsy shop. I’ve picked up a few pieces from her and am happy to recommend her quality, gorgeous products. 

Lauren originally started her jewelry making career with bridal jewelry and accessories. After a brief hiatus with the birth of her son, she decided to get back into jewelry design. This time, incorporating her love of vintage jewelry into her pieces. Lauren now has over 100 items in her Etsy shop, and is offering to share a piece with one lucky reader.

Here’s how you can win a Lauren Blythe Ivory Dahlia Ring:

Ivory Dahlia Ring (see note on her Etsy page about the base ring color)

First things first, be a follower of this blog. You can do this by clicking on ‘Join this site’ from Google Friend Connect or on the What’s Up, Cupcake? Blog Facebook page. Both links are on the right side toolbar. Then, leave a comment on this post letting me know what your favorite item is from Lauren’s Etsy shop.

For an additional entry, follow Lauren’s shop on Facebook. Leave a separate comment on this post letting me know.

The contest is open now through Saturday, September 10th. Make sure to leave your entry before then (and include your email address in the post) and I will announce the winner, chosen at random, shortly afterwards.

Thanks again lovely readers, and I look forward to hearing what you think about Lauren’s jewelry!

And the winner is...

Faye!  Faye Lewis said:

Hey, would you please enter me in your contest too? I'd love that book. I'm a google follower, will join on facebook and also mention on my blog - don't know a thing about tweeting though. 

 

 

Thanks to everyone for participating and congratulations to Faye!  I'm close to reaching the next milestone of 100 followers so spread the word and there will be another giveaway soon! 

 

P.S. Thanks for bearing with the radio silence this week.  Work has been crazy and I've been playing catch-up with crafting from our little getaway this past weekend.  More coming soon!

 

Giveaway Reminder

Hey everyone! Don't forget that I'm doing a 75 follower giveaway.  Right now you have a great chance of being the winner, so submit your comment to the giveaway post for a chance to win!