Showing posts with label blogiversary. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blogiversary. Show all posts

Saturday, May 11, 2013

Wrapping Up Blogiversary Week: Final Giveaway from DCWV/Blue Moon Beads

Happy Mother's Day eve everyone. I'm here with the last giveaway celebrating my blogiversary  week. I'm on the design team for Blue Moon Beads which also owns the amazing paper line Die Cuts With a View. I'm super excited that they've offered one of my readers the chance to win a goodie box containing a mix of both! Trust me, you won't be disappointed.






I'm also behind on announcing the winners for the last two giveaways so here goes.

The winner of the $25 gift certificate to CutCardstock.com is LM. The winner of the bird's nest pendant and leaf charm bracelet is: Angela M. CONGRATS ! Both winners have been emailed. The DCWV / Blue Moon Beads giveaway winner will be announced on Tuesday.

Thanks again SO much for making my blogiversary week fun.

The Answer Is Chocolate

Thursday, May 9, 2013

BFF Open House Link Party #104: Come Share What You've Been Working On!

The Answer Is Chocolate

It's Friday Eve and once again time to party! Thanks so much to you all for making my blogiversary  week celebration so much fun. There will be one final giveaway starting on Saturday.

It's been a busy week around blogland. Lots of inspiring Mother's Day, Teacher Appreciation, Graduation, and Father's Day ideas popping up. 


Ales from anportraits shared this gorgeous kusudama ball made from origami flowers. She has a step by step tutorial to show you how to make these flowers. 


I am forever losing sunglasses or else breaking them because they're not in a case. Jeanie from create and babble has a stylish case makeover at a price that can't be beat. Embellish a case from the Dollar Store! 


While there are no babies anywhere near on my horizon, I adore this yellow and gray nursery shared by Andrea from Arch. The color scheme works for any room. 


Finally, if you're looking for a special dessert perfect for Mother's Day, Aimee from Twigg Studios shared this citrus cake complete with pineapple flowers! So pretty and I know...it's not chocolate ! 

OK on to this week's party! 

The Answer Is Chocolate




Monday, May 6, 2013

Blogiversary Giveaway #2: Cigar Box Full of Goodies to Alter It With

Anniversary Banner-001

Don't forget I have a giveaway from My Memories Suite going here.  

This giveaway is sponsored by : ME. My readers know that I love to alter things. I'm also really lucky to have a husband who gets that, and does things like bring  home cigar boxes for me to play with. I have seen them for sale at up to 10 times what he's gotten them for. SO ...I want to give one away to one lucky reader. 

I think I read somewhere( or just made up in my head) that it's bad luck to give away an empty box. What fun would it be to have a cigar box to alter without anything to alter it with anyway?  One reader will get a box filled with some of my favorite goodies to play with. Want to see? 


There are rub-ons and embellishments and washi tape oh my! Couldn't resist including a mini paper mache dress form too. 


Here's the top of the box (some places I've found cigar boxes rip off the lid but this lid is fully in tact which makes this a great place to store bits and pieces) You can use as is, cover it, or incorporate the design into your altered vision. 


And the box itself is a nice cedar ( I think ..but it's some kind of wood!). So in keeping with my history of "craftsplaining" um no, I don't smoke cigars but I sure do love the boxes they come in! Who wants it? (Gonna have to limit this to US only because ....postage)


The Answer Is Chocolate
<div align="center"><a href="http://www.answerischoco.com/" title="The Answer Is Chocolate"><img src="http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/ff511/AnswerIsChoco/Blog%20Buttons/3rdAnniversaryButton_zps3ac5dd0a.jpg" alt="The Answer Is Chocolate" style="border:none;" /></a></div>




Sunday, May 5, 2013

Third Blogiversary Giveaway: My Memories Suite Digital Scrapbooking Software

Anniversary Banner-001

Time to start having some Blogiversary fun! Be sure to check back this week for continued celebrating. Each giveaway will be up for three days. 

First up, I have loved using My Memories Suite digital software to create all kinds of things. Ironically, I haven't done much actual scrapbooking with it but I've used it to create holiday menus, in cardmaking, printables, and lots of graphics. 

My blog banner and buttons, and my anniversary banner and buttons were all created using My Memories. My weekly link party rules graphic was also created using it. So I'm excited to be able to give away one copy ( disclosure, I am a My Memories Suite affiliate, opinions are mine ). 

The winner will be able to download their own copy of the SW ($40 value) which comes with lots of great digital papers and embellishments. There are also a lot of free kits in the shop as well as kits you can buy, and each week there are "Friday Freebies" available on the My Memories Facebook page. It also works great with other photos and png files. 


Details are in the Rafflecopter-thingy-ma-whatsit . Good luck! 


3rd Anniversary Button


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Saturday, May 4, 2013

I Don't Know How It's My Third Blogiversary But It Is!

Anniversary Banner-001

I’m 3! It seems surreal to think that three years ago today I plunged in, logged on to Blogger, set up a blog and hit publish. Who the heck was I to start a blog and why would anyone (would anyone?) decide to read it? I had no clue that the day I chose was National Scrapbooking Day or that there was a whole Star Wars meme devoted to May 4th. See? The things you learn through blogging.

Three years later, I’m still as excited about blogging as I was that first day. With every post, I still wonder “will anyone like this”? and then hit the post button to find out. I started this blog because I’ve always loved creating and writing. The irony to my non-blogging friends is that they know me as somewhat of an introvert, someone who’s not overly social ( look up homebody in the dictionary and you’ll find my picture).

But here I am now with this, my 780th post and:
  • 1031 GFC Followers
  • Several hundred more via RSS , Blog Lovin and G+
  • 700 Facebook Fans
  • 947 Twitter Followers
  • 1300 Pinterest Followers
I’ve loved every minute of it and see no signs of stopping any time soon. I’ve met such amazing, inspiring, passionate, brilliant, and above all supportive people through the places blogging has led me.

I’m not going to attempt to name names only because there are so many and  I know I will unintentionally forget someone and honestly? Everyone I’ve encountered through my blogging life has had an impact.

I’ve had opportunities to work with companies I love and have been honored beyond measure to have had my work shared by them and accepted onto Design Teams.

It was kinda karmic that my link party this week was #103 , to coincide with my 3rd anniversary. The inspiration and creativity that gets shared each week feeds my creative soul. The chocolate recipes feed my chocoholic cravings!

If anyone out there’s reading this and has thought about starting a blog but something’s stopped you, take the chance. If you have the passion that makes you want to start, I guarantee you it only continues to grow.

Bloggers are a community, a family. I’m so glad to be among them.

OK so enough with the mushy gushy. Stay tuned this week for some “blogiversary” fun. I may still not be the biggest blog out there with the super-sized giveaways but we’ll for sure have some fun.

For now, a huge THANK YOU to anyone who has ever stopped by my little chocolate covered corner of the internet. To all who have decided to follow along with me one way or another, THANK YOU. To everyone who has featured my work, THANK YOU. To those who have given me an opportunity to stretch my skills, test myself, increase my confidence, THANK YOU.

And of course to The Mumster who bought me my first Martha Stewart book; to Mr. Chocolate who brings home cigar boxes, wine crates, and any number of found things for me to play with and understands and supports my excitement over things he has no clue about; to College Boy who spent countless hours in Michaels and JoAnn’s growing up ( and who now texts me from school asking “Does Michaels carry _________”  for a party or project or....) THANK YOU and I love you guys.

3rd Anniversary Button


Wednesday, May 4, 2011

I Can’t Believe I’m A Year Old Today!


It seems at once that time has flown by, and like it was just yesterday that I put on my big girl panties and hit the publish button. I had lurked for months on different blogs, agonizing over starting my own. Who would be interested in my ramblings? Would anyone be interested in my ramblings? One year, 627 GFC followers, 304 posts, 72,781 pageviews, later... it seems the answer ( in addition to being chocolate) is yes! And for that I THANK YOU!!!

There was no special significance about May 4, 2010. I just decided to take the plunge that day. I remember my husband came home and I said: “Guess what I did today?” and his response of “What exactly does that mean” when I told him I’d started a blog. We're both still trying to figure that out.

Blogging has been one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve ever had. I’ve met so many amazing bloggers and made so many friends. I’ve never encountered one blogger who hasn’t been helpful if I’ve asked them a how to question and so many have freely given supportive advice. I read every comment left on my blog and try to respond to each and every one as well. If you’re a “No Reply Comment” blogger, I can’t encourage you enough to change that!

A year ago, I had no clue what a blog hop or link party was (or how to link to them) , how to create a button, and a long long long list of things. I had no idea what if any expectations  I should have about how fast or big my blog “should” grow. I learned this is unanswerable, at least for me. I’d never sent a tweet, stumbling was something that previously involved gravity and stairs, and pinning was a sewing term.

I learned that you should try a bunch of different things but there is no one right way to blog. It’s easy to see other blogs that start out around the same time as yours grow faster than yours , have more followers, pick up sponsors, do giveaways etc and it’s human nature to be a little competitive. Be honest! It is. And I admit to getting caught up in those feelings but realizing that ultimately, you should be yourself. Be authentic. I know I feel it when I’m not.

I started blogging because I’ve always loved creating, and the more I do, the more ideas I get and the more projects I see, the more I want to do! This is where the hubs gets scared. "What else is she going to get into?" I found a community of people who “get it”…the thrill of a new material, or technique, or lesson learned from a fail!

I had no idea what to expect from blogging, and now I can’t imagine what I’d do without it.
Thanks to everyone who’s made it through this post and who’s decided to be part of this chocolate fueled journey with me. You all are the best!

This coming Friday, I'll start my weekly link party and celebrate my blogiversary with a giveaway. I hope you'll come and link up and celebrate with me!


And one year later, still can't get that darned button centered!

Friday, June 4, 2010

I Can't Believe It's Been A Month!

Today marks my one month "blog-iversary". I had no idea what I was doing when I started ( and only slightly more now) and it's hard to believe it's already been a month, but it has been an incredible and fun experience. I have met so many wonderful bloggers and am humbled that in that month, 70 people have decided to follow my little blog. THANK YOU!

I am looking forward to continuing this journey, learning more from so many talented people out there, meeting more new people and seeing where this all leads. Thanks to everyone who has left a supportive comment and for the encouragement you've provided. Thanks to my family who have put up with me acting like I invented something every time I figure something new out.

This experience has been re-energizing at a time when I really needed that. One of the things I've learned about are blog parties and follows so it's only appropriate to participate in one today :)

friday-follow