Giveaway Winners!!

Thank you to everyone who entered!!  That was a fun giveaway!  :)  Using random.org I chose one winner for the nursing cover and 4 winners for key fobs...  All winners have been contacted.  My lucky nursing cover winner chose the Asian Blossoms cover - I was excited and surprised to see how many people chose that as a favorite!

Never fear -- it is listed in my shop as a made-to-order item now (1-2 weeks to ship).  As a special thank you to everyone who entered my giveaway, please use coupon code GIVEAWAY10 at checkout to get 10% off your order.  Coupon is valid at fourharpdesigns and fourharpdesignsTOO.

Happy holidays everyone!!

**CLOSED** Nursing Cover Giveaway!

******* This giveaway is closed now - stay tuned to find out who won!  :) *******

You may or may not know that I opened a second shop on Etsy called FourHarpDesignsTOO.  I was getting a little weary staring at the computer so often and decided I need a hobby where I could work with my hands.  So I bought a sewing machine! So much fun!  I love making all kinds of fun gifty things with my sewing machine.



Reversible Autumn Placemat



A friend of mine asked if I wanted to sell some of my stuff at her holiday boutique and I went a little nuts making a bunch of things.  I wasn't really sure what to expect - how many of each thing I should make, what patterns would be most popular...  My poor family was a little neglected for a few weeks  :)



ruffled camera strap cover

   Well the boutique has come and gone and now I have an abundance of nursing covers!  I'd like to sort of clear out that inventory and I figured what better way than to give one away, right?  I love giving free things (I like getting them too ;-)  ).

  

Zippered Sash Clutch

  So let's do a giveaway.  One person will win a free nursing cover of their choice out of my shop.  My nursing covers measure approximately 35" wide by 25" long.  They have an adjustable neckstrap (2" by 26") that doesn't slip (my biggest pet peeve of the nursing cover I used for 2 years).  The top has 16 inches of boning to hold the top open making it easy to see baby.  I only use fabrics I LOVE and of course find myself wishing I had use for one....  Here's just a sampling of what's in my shop:

And maybe I'll feel extra generous when I'm drawing a name... perhaps give away some key fobs too.  'Cause I kind of have a lot of them (lots and lots...).

Wanna win?  I'll give you several ways to do so.  You can do one or all, it doesn't matter to me.  Just make sure that you leave a seperate comment for each entry and you leave an email address in your comment or visible in your profile.  Open to residents of the U.S. only.

1. Visit FourHarpDesignsTOO and leave a comment on this post letting me know which cover you would choose if you won. (you can describe it or tell me the name of it which is in the listing just after the words "nursing cover -"
2. "Like" FourHarpDesigns on facebook.  Leave a comment on this post letting me know you're a fan.
3. Follow FourHarpDesigns on Twitter.  Leave a comment on this post letting me know you're a follower.
4. Tweet about the giveaway: "Win a free nursing cover from @fourharpdesigns. http://bit.ly/dFzJ6N " Then leave a comment on this post with a link to your tweet.

Giveaway will be open until Friday, December 3rd at 3pm PST.  Don't forget to check back... I'll probably give you a discount code if you don't win.  Just sayin'.

Okay?  Ready, Set, Go!

Gotta Love Freebies!

Sorry to burst your bubble, this is not a giveaway - just wanted to show off a photo book I was recently gifted.  A friend of mine sent me a coupon for a free 8x8 photo book from Shutterfly.  I decided to turn my freebie into an alphabet book for my boys (two toddlers).  Instead of using their templates, I designed full pages to upload.  I was crunched for time to design it so I opted for a simple background.

I chose three pastels for background colors, contrasting darker colors for the text and then designed a few simple patterns to lay over the pastels (open circles, open stars, open diamonds and open squares).

I wrote out a list of words that start with each letter of the alphabet, words that mean something in particular to my family.  I waded through 2 years of photos to find some that would fit at least one word for each letter and then narrowed it down.  Because it was only a 20 page book, I had to put two words to a couple of photos.  For example, I used this photo of my older son picking strawberries out of his garden and called it "G is for garden, H is for harvest".

After completing the pages, I designed a simple cover page and back page using the same colors, patterns and fonts.  The back page is a photo index so as the boys grow we will remember when each picture was taken.

I'm thrilled with the way it turned out.  Although it was put together quickly and I wish I had more pages, it is a very special book that the boys already LOVE to read and will be with us for a long time to come.

One Little Candle

When I first designed my One Little Candle birthday invitation, I had no idea what a hit it would be!  I remember sitting on the couch with my husband (after wrestling our two boys to bed) and this card just flashed in my head - I hopped if the couch and said "I have this great idea!!"  Grabbed a piece of paper and scribbled it down quickly before heading to bed.

This card has been HOT.  I have been so blown away by the response I've had - it has been so much fun to create everyone's birthday invitations and to see their own babies grow through the last year.

These are some of my own designs that you'll find in my shop for different holidays:

Little Pumpkin for the fall babies:

 Little Snowflake for the Winter babies:

Another option for winter babies, the Winter ONEderland:

New for 2011, Little Lovebug

(lovebug clipart by Jessica Weibel at jddigidesigns.com)

Also new for 2011, Little Valentine

Also new for 2011, great for little boys - Little Heartbreaker

I've had a few customers want some creative and unique changes to the card so I wanted to share some of their fun ideas...

A new poem provided by the customer:

Something summery to match the wording provided:

A second birthday invitation:

I actually loved the idea of a second birthday invitation so much that I made a whole listing for it!  You can find it here.

a first birthday announcement to share the year with family and friends:

for a bowling party:

A Mickey & Minnie Mouse themed party:

Creative Touches - Floral Design

Inspired by arrangements I found in Creative Touches, a book my mom gave me years ago when I was first married, I went out this weekend to buy some fresh flowers and greens for my home.  Usually I just buy fresh cut flowers from Whole Foods or our local farmer's market.  This time, I did things a little different.

Contemporary Elegance
This would make a fabulous Mother's Day gift, hostess gift or even baby/bridal shower decorations!  I actually made two of these arrangements, one for the family room and one for my bedside table.

WHAT I USED

3" potted Parade Rose

4.5" cylinder clear glass vase

green moss

rafia

WHAT I DID

I placed the potted roses in the cylinder vase (still potted) and stuffed moss down around the edges to cover up the plastic pot the roses are in.  To finish it off, I simply tied a bit of rafia around the vase!  It was super simple.  I think this arrangement would look great with most potted flowers or plants, I just happened to find these roses on sale!

Serene & Sophisticated
I went to the market with a picture in mind of an all-green arrangement with very specific foliage that I wanted.  Of course, they didn't happen to have anything I had in mind!  This was a last minute plan that I put together while browsing all my options.  I really wasn't sure about it at first but it's definitely growing on me!

WHAT I USED
white rectangular vase - $12 at Michaels (4" W x 4" D x 12" H)
cut flowers and greens in different textures and shades of green

WHAT I DID
At the mouth of the vase, I placed baby's breath so it was just popping out the opening.  From there, I layered lady's mantle and then lime green chrysanthemums.  I topped off the arrangement with a spray of bear grass.

Tutorial: DIY Earring Display & Organizer

Three or four years ago I came across an article in Real Simple on how to make your own earring display for your dangly earrings.  Perfect!  My dangles were always getting misplaced or wrapped up in each other.  So that weekend, I purchased the supplies and set my husband to work (yes, I could have done it myself but he was more than happy to help!).  I love my earring display and have been using it ever since!

WHAT YOU NEED

• wooden frame (without glass or backing) - we used a shadow box and carefully broke the glass out the front of it
• piano wire
• small eyelet hooks (two per wire)
• pliers
• ruler
• pencil

WHAT YOU DO

Using your pencil and ruler, mark where you want each wire to hang. Screw in the eyelet hooks. Using the pliers, pull the wire taut and twist it around the hooks.

Hang your earrings from wires.  The frame can sit on a dresser or hang from the wall.

Giveaway for Facebook Fans ONLY!

When Four Harp Designs reaches 100 Facebooks fans, 2 winners will receive a photo card digital file of their choice (can be used any time in 2010).  Head on over to my fan page and don't forget to spread the word!!

I've added some new categories and designs to my etsy shop...

Religious 

(baptism, dedication, first communion, christening)

Baby Shower Invitations

Kids Birthday Invitations