Welcome 2010!
photo courtesy of The Graphics Fairy
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Thursday, December 31, 2009
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Monday, December 21, 2009
And the Winner is....
Me!
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Hurray!
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This afternoon I had just logged into Twitter and saw a tweet from Posh Pixels saying that the first person to tweet her would win her fabulous "Let It Snow" printable mini gift cards seen below (aren't they lovely?).
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I had seen her reminder early that she would be posting the giveaway but I usually come and go from the computer so often that I usually miss out.
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Today must be my lucky day!
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Kristy's graphics are beautiful and I have been an admirer of her Etsy shop and blog for awhile now. Be sure to check them out.
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Thursday, December 10, 2009
It's a Great Day When....
you wake up to find that both Craftgawker and IndieSpotting have accepted your submissions - both on the same day!
Yay!
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Friday, December 4, 2009
Wrapped and Ready to Go!
Da da da DAAAAAAH!!!! Well, here they are! All of my Max and Ellie Brown Paper Package Exchange gifts wrapped and ready to go. I think nothing looks better with brown paper or cardboard better than candy cane red and white so that is what I have accented my parcels with. I have included a little tag on each of the gift to give my recipient a little history on why the gift was chosen (although if she has been reading my blog posts, she'll already know). At first, I wasn't sure if I should do this - it kind of gives the gift away before it is opened but then I reasoned - so will the customs declaration sticker that I will have to provide! BOO!!!!!~
I think next year if I have the opportunity to participate in another one of these wonderful exchanges, I will start earlier and include more handmade goodies. But, for my first exchange, I think I did pretty well. Let's hope my exchange partner thinks so too!
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Finally - Here It Is!
As I write this post, I have about 3/4 of my Max and Ellie Brown Paper Package Exchange gifts ready to be wrapped. My friend Nancy, who is also participating in the exchange, is coming over tomorrow and we are going to have a "Wrap-a-Palooza"!
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I am hoping to run out to the mall tonight and pick-up the last of my items. I want to get a few coffee treats from Canada's own Second Cup, again, keeping with the whole Made in Canada theme.
Not to disappoint, I am making a few paper items for the exchange but I can't show them here because they will be personalized (and that would ruin the surprise, wouldn't it?). But, I can show you these babies because my recipient will be getting a set.
I did mention previously that I wanted to give my partner the gift of "snow" so what better way to do this than with a snow globe? I searched high and low for the perfect globe and I think I found it.
The beautiful pink glass ornament is also being included. It is new, but it has a very vintage and distressed look. I love it - hope she does too!
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Below are my Olympic offerings including a mascot pin representing my favourite Winter Olympic sport, the Half-Pipe, and "Olympic" maple syrup. This syrup was harvested and produced in Vancouver, British Columbia (home of the 2010 Winter Olympics) - I guess that is what makes it "Olympic" quality.
And finally, a box of Canada's own Laura Secord Chocolates. Laura Secord is credited as the heroine of the War of 1812 and her fascinating storey can be read here. I live in the region where this battle took place so the history is of particular interest to me. It should be noted the Laura Secord really had nothing to do with chocolates - the company was named after her as a tribute.
My goal now is to get these gifts all wrapped tomorrow and on their way by Friday so that they reach my recipient in time for Christmas. Wish me luck.
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Saturday, November 28, 2009
It's Been Too Long....
Wow. I just realized today that it has been almost a month since my last post. Life has just gotten busy and with the holidays fast approaching, it will be full steam ahead from now until Christmas Eve!
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I do plan on posting photos of my Brown Paper Package Exchange gifts shortly. I have most of them ready to wrap and would like to get them out the door to my recipient by the end of next week. I must admit, I did purchase most of my items rather than make them but there will be a few paper goodies in the mix. I really wanted to focus on Made in Canada. Vancouver is hosting the 2010 Winter Olympics this year and I am really, REALLY excited about that. I also wanted to give my recipient the gift of "snow" and I could only think of one way to do that (you will have to wait until next week to find out what that is). I also focused on Canadian founded businesses for my "sweet treat" offering. *sssssh* - in Canada, we are not permitted to mail edibles to the U.S. but obviously I am going to live dangerously and send something anyway. I feel less guilty sending something store bought rather than handmade (plus, it is sealed in plastic so if they do decide to target my package, it won't seem so suspicious).
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So, I promise to post pictures next week of the gifts before and after wrapping and get them out ASAP so I do not disappoint my exchange partner. Until then....
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Thursday, October 29, 2009
Brown Paper Package Exchange
Awhile back I received a newsletter from Kim at Everything Etsy regarding a Brown Paper Package Exchange that Max and Ellie was hosting for this holiday season.
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I've read blog posts about these exchanges in the past and thought it would be really fun to participate - so I signed up. Today I received my exchange partner's information and I am afraid that it may be more of a challenge than I anticipated. She lives in a different country than I with an entirely different climate (that was probably done on purpose just for interest sake). The good thing is that you were required to have a website or blog in order to sign up so I will be able to sneak around there a little bit to hopefully learn my exchange partner's likes and dislikes (I did say hopefully).
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It is definitely too late to get anything in the mail for Halloween and also a little unreasonable for me to think I could make the Thanksgiving deadline, so I am aiming for Christmas.
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I am definitely going to take advantage of the 2010 Winter Olympics being held in Canada this year so there will be something in the package celebrating that. Also, Canada is known for its maple syrup so that could be the sweet treat. I do want to make something but not sure what yet. I also need to include a holiday item for the home - I may have to visit some of my talented Canadian Etsy friends to help me with that!
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I can't wait to start assembling my gifts and will try to post about my finds as I progress.
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Friday, October 16, 2009
How Cute are These?
I had to let you all know about these fantastic little gift tags that I won this week from Etsy shop Crafted by Lindy via the blog Lullaby Lucy. They are called Trick or Treat Ghostie Gift Tags and they are ADORABLE! I have been following Lindy's blog for a while and am also a fan of her Etsy shop so I was thrilled to say the least. The designs are so cute with a Frankestein Ghostie, Pumpkin Ghostie, and a Ghostie Ghostie of course! They are still available for sale in her shop for $3.00 for 9 tags. Make sure you get them while you can. I can't wait to use them on my special Trick or Treat bags this year. Thanks Sandra and Lindy!
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Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Etsy Item of the Day
Have you had a chance to visit "Etsy Item of the Day" today? It is a fabulous site where each day, blogger Jackie posts her daily favourite pick from one lucky Etsy shop. As a regular reader of this blog, I have always hoped that one day we may be featured. And today is our lucky day!
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Thanks Jackie!
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Saturday, October 10, 2009
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
and the Winner is......
The winner of our Halloween Teaser contest via The Fabulous Finds is......... A. Molina! She will be receiving an assorted set of Halloween pinwheel cupcake toppers, 6 gift tags, and 6 lollipop favours. I will get those out in the post to you first thing tomorrow morning! Thanks so much to everyone who entered.
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Monday, October 5, 2009
IndieSpotting!
Happy Monday everybody! And it is especially cheerful for me since our Monster Mash cupcake toppers made the front page of IndieSpotting this morning. They can also be found in the Home and Garden section as well. Thanks IndieSpotting!
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Handmade Halloween
It's always a very nice compliment to see your handmade items included in an inspiration piece such as the one above. This one is by Katy Garner for Fairy Bread and includes the following Etsy shops in addition to Twirlie Whirlies: Fairy Wonderful, Cr8ted 4U, Under the Oak, Siiri, Go Make Me and my personal fave, Giggleberry Creations.
Craftgawker
So this is a very late post coming, however, I only just found out by accident two nights ago that my one and only submissions to Craftgawker was accepted! For those who don't know, "Craftgawker is a gallery where anyone can showcase their art, crafting, and photography skills. It's a place for you to discover new artists and handmade goods to inspire your own creations."
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From what I understand, Craftgawker is extremely picky about the submissions they accept to be posted in their gallery. Their philosophy is "to select the highest quality images to appear on the site, otherwise no one would gawk at the pictures". Submissions are limited to two items at a time or until the previous ones have been accepted or declined.
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So, for someone like me who struggles and pains over their photographs day after day, why would I even consider trying my luck at getting posted on Craftgawker? Simply because I believed the quality of my paper party accessories can withstand whatever hatchet job I do to them with my lack of photography skills. Apparently, someone at Craftgawker saw the potential too and my Blockhead Party Hats are now proudly displayed in the Paper Goods section amongst other fabulous artisans such as oliveandruby, paperacorn, and fallintopink just to name a few.
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This brings me back to the beginning of the storey. I had submitted my item, photo, and description waaaay back on September 19th and the item was accepted and displayed in the gallery on September 21st. Since I never thought to change my e-mail notifications to have Craftgawker let me know if my submissions were accepted or declined, I never knew until this past Friday night. I was on Twitter and I saw a tweet from someone sadly posting that her submission to Craftgawker had been declined. It got me thinking about mine and whatever had happened to it? You can imagine how surprised I was to find out it had been sitting there for all to see for a couple of weeks. Duh - that certainly explains the views it had been receiving!
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Anyway, I have obviously changed my notification preferences and have two more submissions in queue pending review. Wish me luck!
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Friday, October 2, 2009
Friday's Tidbit
So nice to wake up this morning (after a horrible, non-existent sleep) to find that Beth of IndieNorth has chosen our Monster Mash assorted cupcake toppers as her "Friday's Tidbit". Thanks Beth!
p.s. Be sure to check out the newly redesigned (and all decked out for Halloween) site layout at IndieNorth. It is fabulous!
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p.s. Be sure to check out the newly redesigned (and all decked out for Halloween) site layout at IndieNorth. It is fabulous!
Thursday, October 1, 2009
It Was a Fabulous Silent Auction
I recently participated in a silent auction hosted by Fabulous Fund Finds. It was in support of Shelley Mingo and her three children. Shelley recently lost her husband, father-in-law, and brother-in-law in a plane crash. I bid on several of the generously donated listings and was thrilled to discover this morning that I was the highest bidder on this gorgeous necklace!
This beautiful silver necklace is called Springtime Sparrow and was made and donated by Lillyella. I was also given the choice of which coloured glass blossoms I wanted to adorn the chain - I chose turquoise. Odd colour selection for me, but I could use a punch of colour once in a while! I'm not sure what this necklace is priced at on Lillyella as her very popular shop, which boasts 3640 sales, is temporarily closed (taking a well deserved break I am sure), but I have a feeling I got it for a steal. I feel bad about that, wishing I could have donated more, but also very privileged that I have the opportunity to proudly wear this lovely piece of jewelry - a luxury I wouldn't have been able to afford otherwise. So now I patiently wait for my little treasure to arrive and hope that my little needle-in-a-haystack donation to the Mingo family has helped them in some small way.
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Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Halloween Cupcake Toppers
Since Autumn is upon us, I figured it may be time to give the Summery-fun pinwheels a well deserved rest and offer the traditional style cupcake topper. Since Halloween is one of my favourite holidays (well, all of the holidays are my favourite, but this one includes A LOT of candy), what better place to start? I've listed a few new cupcake toppers in my Etsy shop this evening and would love to know what you think.
Lil' Ghost
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Super "FLY" Etsy Treasury
We are so happy to have been included in another amazing Etsy Treasury. This one is by jenster76 and can be viewed until September 24th, 2009. It's called "FLY" and includes lovely shades of mustard yellow and bird motifs. Thank you, Jenny, for including our sweet double luncheon pinwheels.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
It's Time for a Giveaway!
Heather of The Fabulous Finds was so, well, fabulous to feature Twirlie Whirlies on her blog that we were compelled to offer a giveaway.Visit The Fabulous Finds and follow her simple giveaway rules to gain entries. The more you follow, the more chances you have to win our Halloween Teaser of 1 dozen assorted cupcake topper pinwheels, 6 assorted treat bag tags, and 6 lollipop favours.
Go, be fabulous, and enter now.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Ok, Maybe Just One More....
Contest, that is!
This one is via indienorth and sponsored by Boutique Karma. The prize is the beautiful eye pillow shown below valued at $9.50 USD.
Be sure to enter and keep your eye on the prize (no pun intended)!
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This one is via indienorth and sponsored by Boutique Karma. The prize is the beautiful eye pillow shown below valued at $9.50 USD.
Be sure to enter and keep your eye on the prize (no pun intended)!
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The Monkey is 2
Oh - where does the time go? It seems like just yesterday I was holding you in my arms for the first time and now, two years laters, here you are a big boy washing Mommy's car!
Happy 2nd Birthday Sebastian. My life didn't truly begin until I met you.Love,
Mommy
xoxoxo
Monday, September 7, 2009
Another Fab Contest!
Is it possible that I could get lucky twice in the month of September? I already think I am lucky since my beautiful handsome baby boy turns two on the 9th, my 12 year wedding anniversary is on the 13th (lucky 13, thank you!), and I turn 39 for the first time on the 30th. But, it never hurts to try and win another fabulous contest (albeit a bit greedy!). 
This time, the rikrak studio is celebrating their birthday and to honour it, they are giving away a fabulous $50 USD shopping spree for anything in their lovely shop! So, what are you waiting for? Go, RUN over to their blog to find out how to enter. NOW! Or, you can just click here - I've made it easy for you.
(you aren't still here, are you?)
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Everyone's a Winner, Baby!
Well, maybe just me this time!
I was so excited about the contest I posted below, and entered several times over the weekend I might add, and just found out that I won the gorgeous prize! Thank you Chelsea at Paper*Cakes and Elle's Studio! This made my Labour Day truly fabulous!
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Saturday, September 5, 2009
Amazing Saturday Giveaway
Check out this amazing Labour Day Weekend giveway courtesy of Elle's Studio via Paper*Cakes Finds. In celebration of releasing their new Halloween and Christmas lines, Elle's Studio is giving away everything you see in the photo below to one lucky winner (hopefully me!) to jump start your Christmas crafting. Fabulous!
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Friday, September 4, 2009
A Rare Bird Indeed!
What could make a Friday morning even better than just waking up and knowing that it is Friday morning? Waking up and seeing that your little shop was spotted and picked by Rose at Rare Bird Finds! How wonderful! Thank you so much Rose.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
A Little Birdie Told Me....
A little birdie told me, a Scarlet Peacock actually, that Twirlie Whirlies was going to be featured on Rare Bird Finds tomorrow. I can't wait....
Monday, August 24, 2009
Pumpkin Pie Anyone?
I have been working on some Halloween themed pinwheels and other paper goodies lately (which I do hope to post really soon) and have been thinking a lot about Autumn, falling leaves, crisp clean air, and pumpkins. PUMPKINS!!!! Jack-O-Laterns, but mostly pie. In the hopes to try and get this out of my head, I thought that I would share some of my favourite Etsy pumpkin treats. Enjoy!
Hand blown small glass pumpkin from providenceartglass
So I know these aren't pumpkins, but I just love them
{and aren't they so cute in this juicy tangerine colour?}
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Friday, August 14, 2009
We've Been Spotted!
Twirlie Whirlies has caught the eye of another fabulous shop owner! We are thrilled that Stacy of Inkspot Workshop has chosen to include our Summer-fresh citrus double pinwheels in her 49th Edition of iCandy. Thank you Stacy! Be sure to check out her shop that sells "hand crafted paper goodies that make you smile". They certainly do!
Monday, August 10, 2009
We've Been Featured (again)!
We are honoured to have had some of our product photos featured on Mindy Weiss' blog recently. Mindy Weiss is the owner and principal planner/designer of Mindy Weiss Party Consultants located in Beverly Hills, California. Thank you Mindy!
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Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Congratulations!
Congratulations to my good friends Nancy Bonney and Allen McKinnon on the safe arrival of their beautiful baby girl:
Chelsea Rowan Paige McKinnon
Born Sunday August 2nd, 2009
10:59 am
8 lbs 6 oz.
21 1/4 inches long
I wish you all the best!
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Sunday, August 2, 2009
Calendar of Events
Come and visit our table at the Stoney Creek
Mom-To-Mom Sale!
August 22nd, 2009
8:30 am to 1:00 pm
at the
Royal Canadian Legion
12 King Street East
Stoney Creek, Ontario CANADA
August 22nd, 2009
8:30 am to 1:00 pm
at the
Royal Canadian Legion
12 King Street East
Stoney Creek, Ontario CANADA
{donations will be accepted for the
Canadian Diabetes Association}
We will be selling a selection of pre-made cupcake toppers and handheld pinwheels. Custom order requests will also gladly be accepted. Hope to see you there!
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Thursday, July 16, 2009
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