Giveaway - Blogging Course

I'm evaluating a multi-media course on blogging from the folks at Simpleology. For a while, they're letting you snag it for free if you post about it on your blog.

It covers:

• The best blogging techniques.
• How to get traffic to your blog.
• How to turn your blog into money.

I'll let you know what I think once I've had a chance to check it out. Meanwhile, go grab yours while it's still free.

Fill-in-the-blank Thank You notes help kids

It is important to teach your child social manners and etiquette. There are many ways to help encourage your child to acknowledge the Christmas gifts they receive respectfully. You can craft the letter for your child or even guide his/her hand over the notepaper. When he/she can write on his/her own (7 or 8 years old), you can write the words down and ask your child copy it. Or, to make it even easier for your child, you can use Fill-in-the-blank cards, like the ones pictured below.

From ages 9 through 12, you will be more of a taskmaster, making sure that your child sits down and writes the note. When your child is in high school, the child will know that every present will require a thank you note.

My kids were always more enthused about writing thank you notes if they had their own personalized note cards. See my Etsy shop for more ideas.

The December issue of Delightful Details ezine went out a few days ago. It contained a Subscriber-Only special on Thank You notes. If you did not receive it and would like to you can subscribe now by filling in the blanks on the right.

Etsy Greetings Winter Holiday Promotion

I am a member of Etsy Greetings, a group of very talented artists who create and sell unique, creative, handmade greeting cards. To view and/or purchase some very lovely, cute, whimsical, elegant, chic, mod, one-of-a-kind winter holiday cards made by members of Etsy Greetings, visit http://cljdesigns.typepad.com/etsygreetings

New Favorite Movie

OK. It's official. I now have a new favorite movie. I don't know if it's very popular because I hadn't heard of it before, but it should be. It's called, "The Ultimate Gift". And it is the Ultimate, family-friendly movie, in my opinion. It has drama, it has romance, it has comedy, it has great actors, it has a great story that will leave you wondering what is going to happen next, and it has morals. What it doesn't have: bad language, sex, violence. I highly recommend it. Especially if you've ever experienced any problems in your life. (Who hasn't?!?!)

Check it out next time you rent a movie.
Or... give it to someone as a gift. You can tell them you got them the ultimate gift! :)

And the winner is...

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Happy Fall Y'all Bloggy Giveaway. And thank you for all those wonderful comments. I had a lot of fun entering some contests myself. Don't guess I won anything as I haven't been contacted by anyone yet... Of course, I could still win something if others out there are just now posting their winners like I am.

So, would you like to know if you won my contest?
Well, if you name (ID) is greg&sarina, then yes, you are the winner of my contest!
Congratulations!
I will contact you to find out which design you would like and how you want it to be personalized.

If your name is not greg&sarina, but you did enter my contest by leaving me a comment, well, I don't want you to be sad, so I am offering a 20% discount on a Christmas card design of your choice. Just send me an email and we will work out the details. joyfulheartdesign@sptc.net But hurry! The offer is only good thru Mon., Nov. 12.

Thanks again for the sweet comments!

New Christmas Photo Card Designs

I've added a couple of new Christmas photo card designs to my Etsy shop.
Go to JoyfulHeartDesign.etsy.com to get all the details.

Fall Y'all Bloggy Giveaway

Hello! I'm so excited to be taking part in the Fall Y'all giveaway! Thank you to Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer for hosting it!

I am thrilled to be giving away YOUR CHOICE of either:

• 30 custom-designed photo cards (Christmas cards, birth announcements, invitations, etc.) ($50 value) (Includes FREE shipping for continental USA addresses)
Cards are 4 x 6 and are printed on Fuji Archive Crystal photo paper.
OR
• A high quality jpg file of a custom 4 x 6 photo card design so you can print as many cards as you need.
($50 value)(This will be emailed to you, so there is no shipping fee.)

To enter the giveaway, just leave me a comment on this blog stating which type of card you would like (Christmas card, birth announcement, shower invitation, etc.) and which design from my website (www.joyfulheartdesign.etsy.com)you like best. Or if you have something in mind that you did not see on my website.

I will be adding more designs this week, so check back often.
In your comment, be sure to put your email address or your blog address so I will be able to contact you.

Giveaway is open to bloggers and non-bloggers. But if you have a blog, leave your blog address in the comments and I would love to visit your blogs.


I will randomly choose a winner on Sunday, Nov. 4th and will announce the winner here on my blog on Monday, Nov. 5.

Go over to Bloggy Giveaways during the week of October 29th for more great giveaways!

Cute as a Bean!

My sister just had a baby girl, so I am having so much fun shopping for cute things for my new little niece. Lots of super-cute handmade items can be found at Etsy.com. So I thought I'd share some of my favorites.

These bibs and burp cloths by Linabean are just cute as a bean! I love the very bright, colorful, fashionable fall patterns. And this is how she describes the burp cloth: "The burp cloth is a very absorbent cloth diaper in my own custom shape…A BEAN. It rests easily on your shoulder and stays there! It has piping trim and is reversible also." Brilliant!

Linabean has lots of other very chic designs. Check them out at: www.linabean.etsy.com.

Indie Star of the Week on The Handcrafted Wedding

Last week, Joyful Heart Design was chosen as Indie Star of the Week! I was so excited! On October 18, one of my Save the Date cards was featured on Lynn's blog at http://blog.thehandcraftedwedding.com/.

Tired of the ho-hum, mass-produced, cookie-cutter products that saturate the wedding market these days? If you’re looking for fabulously uncommon wedding ideas that will help your big day truly reflect your personality and style, check out www.thehandcraftedwedding.com.

There you'll find unique bridal jewelry and accessories, wedding stationery, wedding favors and gifts, and unique wedding accents and ideas.

Delightful Details - Issue #1

Yesterday was my birthday and I did something quite exciting. I sent out the very first issue of my first ezine - "Delighful Details". It was a lot of fun to write and design. I hope it will be delightful reading. It included a Recipe for a Mouth-watering Invitation, a note about breast cancer awareness, announcement of the winner of my monthly drawing, a coupon corner as well as a few other delightful details. And a special coupon for subscribers.

If you didn't receive a copy and would like to, you can subscribe at my website at www.joyfulheartdesign.com

In Honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month

To help raise awareness about breast cancer, and to help raise funds for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure, I am donating $5 from the sale of each set of PASSIONATELY PINK or PRETTY IN PINK Notecards.

For more info on how you can get involved go to komen.org.





To order a set of PASSIONATELY PINK or PRETTY IN PINK Notecards go to:
http://www.joyfulheartdesign.etsy.com

Necessity is the Mother of Invention

I tend to do my best work when I'm faced with a deadline and a clear purpose. Such was the case recently. I signed up to have a booth at a Baby and children's event. I realized that I needed more birth announcements to show examples of my work, so here's what I came up with on the night before the event. (Yes, I'm a night-owl. I had rather stay up late than get up early, much to the dismay of my husband.) I'm also a bit of a last-minute person. :)

I have not listed all of these on my Etsy site yet. So, email me if you are interested in getting prices or more info on any of these designs.

Indiecontests.com Winner

I sponsored a contest on Indiecontests.com which ended yesterday. Everyone who subscribed to my new ezine, Delightful Details, and left a comment on Indiecontests.com was entered in this random drawing.

And the winner is. . .
Jettu

Congratulations! I hope you enjoy this set of Wildly Fun Animal Print Thank You notes.



I encourage everyone who likes Indie items (things made by Independent businesses) to check out Indiecontests.com. They have new contests and deals every day on some really cool stuff!

If you missed the contest, but still would like to subscribe to my new ezine, Delightful Details, you can do so by visiting my website: http://www.joyfulheartdesign.com.

My cards included in Texas Treasury!

I am so excited! A set of my notecards are included in a Treasury on Etsy.com entitled, "Texas, Our Texas!"

But I can't take all the credit. All I did was put the design in a layout and print the cards. The original watercolor artwork (Horseshoes and bluebonnets) was done by my friend and partner, Nathalie.

Check out the treasure at http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=10151

I joined the Mafia!

That's right. I have joined the Mafia... the Lubbock Craft Mafia, that is.

The Lubbock Craft Mafia is an organization of independent business owners who represent multiple creative dsciplines in handmade good - fashion, jewelry, stationery, fine art, scrapbooking and misc. handmade gifts.

That's our "official" description. In more casual terms, we are a fun group of ladies who have a blast together as we work together to market our handmade items. The photos above are of some of our artwork.

We recently shared a booth at the National Cowboy Symposium in Lubbock, Texas. And we have three more shows we will be at this year. We will also be teaching various art & craft classes at our new studio located at Cactus Alley in Lubbock.

Visit our website for more info: http://www.lubbockcraftmafia.com.

And the Winner is...

Wow!!! I have had so much fun hosting this giveaway in conjunction with the Dog Days of Summer Bloggy Giveaway with Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer. I thought it would be fun to bless someone with a set of notecards, but I think I am the one who got blessed. I was overwhelmed at the amount of comments (a total of 185) the post received. Thank you all for such lovely comments. But the best blessing is "meeting" so many neat ladies. I have not had a chance to visit everyone's blog, but I plan to because the ones I have visited so far have been so uplifting and encouraging. And I have found some other groups that I would like to join. I am fairly new at blogging, but I think I am going to love it!

Anyways, back to the giveaway...

Drumroll please...

And the Winner is... Angela, who had the 75th comment... from www.demama.blogspot.com
Congratulations, Angela! I will email you to get details of where to send your prize.

And thanks again to everyone who left me a comment. This was so much fun! Please come back to visit me soon.

Win this Fun, Colorful Notecard Set!!!

You could win this fun, colorful set of notecards containing my original designs of striped swirls in 5 delicious colors! They are sure to make you laugh, smile, grin, giggle, wink or chuckle. ;)

Click on this link: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=6423930 to see more photos of the notecards.

All you have to do is leave a comment for me here on my blog and you will be entered into the drawing.
Yep, that's it. That's really all you have to do.
(Of course, I'd love for you to visit my website at www.JoyfulHeartDesign.com as well to see some of my other creations, but it is not required.)

On Friday, July 27, I will randomly draw one winner from all those who have commented. So, be sure to check back Friday night or Saturday. If you are the winner, then make sure that I have your contact info so that I can send you your prize!

I am holding this Bloggy Giveaway in conjunction with the Dog Days of Summer Bloggy Giveaway where hundreds of bloggers are all holding Giveaways at the same time. Get the details at http://rocksinmydryer.typepad.com/shannon/

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Giveaway is open to those living in the continental US. Free notecard set to winner includes free shipping.

Many NEW Items Added

I recently quit my full-time job and am now working full-time on MY business - Joyful Heart Design - doing what I love---creating unique custom invitations and stationery! I will be able to complete your orders much quicker now. And I have added many NEW items to my Etsy shop, so be sure to visit my shop at www.joyfulheartdesign.etsy.com.

Tomorrow I will be announcing the details of how you can sign up to win an adorable set of my colorful notecards (with an original design by yours truly).

Website is Live!

I published my website today - http://www.joyfulheartdesign.com

It is a very basic site at the moment. It is a work in progress, so stay tuned for updates.

First Post

My first blog. First post.

Stay tuned...