GIVEAWAY! Made by Alejandro

Sword and dagger play is one of the favorite kinds of imaginative play for my boys.  From the wooden swords they bought at the Tower of London years ago, to Michaelmas celebrations, to the wooden dagger and sheath one received for a birthday, swords and daggers have long been a popular staple of outdoor play here.  They transform us into knights, noblemen, pirates, Medieval characters, and Indiana Jones. 

Although swords and daggers have long lived at our home, there have never been any as popular as these leather swords and daggers by Made by Alejandro.  Alejandro's work is impecable, authentic, and extraordinarily detailed, and each sword is emblazoned with a distinctive symbol. These sabers are second to none.

These blades are not only built for play, but they are built to last.  My grandkids will likely be playing with these same swords and daggers.

And while my kids are off playing with their favorites of these amazing toys, I have a fantastic opportunity for you!

Alejandro has generously offered the blue dragon dagger and sheath to one lucky commenter here.  All you need to do to win is leave a comment here telling me your favorite item from his expansive shop.

And because we're feeling particularly generous, you can earn multiple chances to win by liking the Made by Alejandro Facebook page, or sharing this giveaway on Facebook, Twitter, or another social medium. Just be sure to leave another comment for each extra chance telling me how you shared the giveaway or whether you liked the Facebook page.

This giveaway will accept entries until November 26 - Cyber Monday! I'll announce the winner here then. The winner, as chosen by random.org is #11, Knitty Gritty Homestead! Please send me your address so I can get the prize out to you as soon as possible.

Also, Alejandro is offering a coupon code, anartfamily2012, good until 11/28, for 10% off any purchase at Made by Alejandro. What a perfect beginning to your holiday shopping! 

Giveaway winner!

And the winner of the Cookbook Giveaway, as decided by random.org, is comment #9:

DonnaJune 6, 2012 10:34 AM

I think blueberries are my favorite. I love picking season.

Please contact me with your email address so I can make sure you get your free copy of the Summer Festival Cookbook, available from Little Acorn Learning.

Cookbook giveaway!

A few months ago, Eileen, at Little Acorn Learning, pitched the idea of a summer festival cookbook.  I barely let the words escape her mouth before I jumped on the chance to work with her on an e-book of recipes to celebrate the coming of summer and the festivals of that season.  The book just came online this week and is now available to order through Little Acorn Learning.

With recipes ranging from Summer Solstice Salad to Leftover Whey Buns, there is a little something for everyone of any cooking skill level.  You'll receive 10 recipes, with a few recipe variations, centered around the summer festivals using fresh summer produce.

Don't delay!  Summer will be here before you know it!

As a celebration of this launching, I am offering a giveaway of one copy of the cookbook.  Entering is simple!  Leave me a comment on this post.  I'd love to hear what your favorite summer dish or favorite summer produce is.  If you'd like an additional chance to win, you can follow Little Acorn Learning on Facebook, follow this blog, or share this giveaway on Facebook, Twitter, or your own personal blog.  Just be sure to leave me another comment letting me know what you did to earn the extra entry.  This giveaway will close on Friday, June 15, at 6 pm EST.

a tomten double giveaway!

This morning as I was bustling around the house getting the kids ready for school, I noticed a little red hat poking through the frosty grass of our backyard.

After giving this quick little fellow a chase through the yard for a few minutes,

he paused long enough to say, "Don't you already have a tomten living in these woods?"

"Why, yes," I replied. "We do."

"Humph!" He grouched, "I guess I must find other woods to inhabit."

Would your woods, or yard, or other small piece of this world, like a tomten sneaking around taking care of it's inhabitants? If so, leave me a comment in this post.

This tomten is part of a double giveaway with the book by the same name over at The Book Children! Enter over there and you'll double your chances of winning both items! Become a new follower of either An Art Family or The Book Children for an additional entry. The winner of both items will be drawn next Thursday, 12/9, at 9 am EST. What a treat for the little one in your life as winter is fast approaching!

The winner of the wooden tomten and The Tomten book is Carolyn!

Carolyn said...

I just became a follower. Would love this for my grandson, Arlo.

*The tomten's maker is the amazing Anne Moze*

WIP Wednesday & a giveaway!!

Several months ago, I decided to make my kids each an article of warm clothing for Martinmas, in the spirit of St. Martin sharing his cloak with the beggar. (I can't claim originality on this idea. I fell in love with Grace's Martinmas knits last year.) I've been working on felted slippers for the boys for a while and those are all finished and ready for Martinmas. Elizabeth's Martinmas knit began it's journey with me back in July while I was in my bread making class. I'd finish a panel, then work on something else for a while. Eventually, I ran out of yarn and needed an extra skein of the begonia pink. Finally, a little over a week ago, Elizabeth's sweater seams were sewn and her buttons attached...but I just couldn't wait until Martinmas to try it on her!

So you get an early preview...and I have to come up with a quick-y Martinmas knit for Elizabeth!

First, I just have to show you these gorgeous Indonesian-made buttons that I found on etsy. I love the delicate and simple flower design, and the fact they matched the brown trim on Elizabeth's sweater just perfectly!

All of the adjustments I made (or issues I had with the design...ahem, button placement) can be found in my ravelry notes. (Friend me on ravelry if you're a knitter!)

Overall, I think the "Libby" was a perfect fit for Elizabeth (almost 10) with great sleeve and sweater length.

A sweater you can hang upside down in, now that's a cozy knit!

Over the last couple of weeks, I've been playing around with a few autumnal patterns that I found online, and you get to benefit from it! This giveaway includes 3 knitted leaves, a knitted, stuffed acorn, and a felted rock. All of the items are from scrap yarn (all cotton and wool) and stuffed or felted with wool.

You might choose to decorate your nature table, cozy up a nook on your porch, or use them for an autumnal table centerpiece.

All you have to do to win is leave a comment on this post. To earn an extra entry you can become a new follower or blog/tweet/Facebook about this giveaway (just be sure to leave me another comment with a link, if appropriate). I'll draw a winner on Monday, Nov 1, at noon. International entries welcome!

I hope these little bits of autumn will be able to brighten someone's week. :)

The winner (as drawn by random.org) is #34:

gardenmama said...

the sweater is stunning joy! what warmth a love elizabeth is surrounded by! the giveaway is amazing, it would be incredible to win!!

eggs, eggs everywhere AND a giveaway!

I have grand plans for how I want to celebrate Easter, at least as far as the egg hunt goes, so I wanted to start plenty early to make sure I got everything done.  First off, Finn's getting old enough that I thought he might want an Easter basket, but the thought of buying another plastic basket makes me cringe.  So I got a grand notion into my head that I'd crochet him one, without a pattern, of course, and well...I guess it will at least hold eggs.  The basket, if you can call it that, has no shape and flops over at any chance it gets, but it's starting to grow on me.

The one thing I do love about Finn's new basket are the buttons I used to attach the handles.  They are handmade buttons that Paul found at a local craft guild shop and tucked into my Christmas stocking.  Now how can you dislike a basket with such fancy buttons?!

For a couple of weeks now, when I have a spare minute or two, I've been crocheting and needle-felting eggs of all colors.  I've tried to do as many as possible when the kids aren't around because they become little beggars when they see my cute little Easter eggs.  Hopefully, they will still be as fascinated come Easter.

And while I was needle-felting all those eggs, I noticed that my blog post count is climbing pretty high, and that in the next few days, I'll have 200 posts.  200!!  I thought I'd celebrate my blogging perseverance by doing a needle-felted egg giveaway.  That's right...all three of the eggs pictured below will be given away to one randomly drawn name from the comments of this post.  So de-lurk now and comment!

Speaking of eggs, I also made this cute little spotted egg for our nature table and thought he needed a story to accompany him.  My sweet husband wrote and illustrated a story card to sit with the egg on the nature table.  Didn't he do a fantastic job?

Have you commented yet?

I'll draw a name from the comments on Saturday noon EST.

The winner, as chosen by the random number generator is #14, Erin from Wild As Weeds. Congrats, Erin! If you'll email me your mailing address, I'll send these right out.