Welcome to the Big Top!

Guess how cool I am?! C'mon. Just guess.

Really, really cool.

If you are in the Baltimore or Fairfax, Virginia area and have young kids, I'm going to be your best friend.



I have been giving 4 tickets to giveaway for the upcoming opening night at the Ringling Bros. Circus in EITHER Baltimore or Fairfax. Opening night in Baltimore is on March 25th and opening night in Fairfax is April 8th. It will be the Over the Top show which you can see clips here.

Isn't this exciting?! Wait... There's more.

Even if you don't win the giveaway, there's a little something for you. I have two coupon offers for you. The first is 4 tickets for $44, and just $11 for tickets if you need more. The second offer is that there are a select amount of Front Row and VIP seats that have been reserved if you want to sit so close you can see the glimmer of the tiger's teeth. Here's how to get the deals. Just enter the code "MOM" in the MC promotional box when checking out at Ticketmaster.

Giveaway rules and info.

1. Contest will end Friday, March 20th at 11am (EST)
2. Contest is open to all Delaware, Virginia, DC, and Maryland moms.
3. Make a comment for one entry.
4. Follow my blog if you would like an extra entry.

And, I don't usually do this but...
5. If you blog about this giveaway with links, I'll give you 2 extra entries.

Also, my lovelies, keep checking back as I will have tickets to Disney on Ice as well when they come to town.

And, the winners are...

(drumroll please)....

The 2 year subscription to Organic Gardening magazine goes to (and I can't believe I'm saying this) DiPaolo Momma. She's a truly terrific blogger, such a sweetie, and makes the best wine and lavender soap. If you didn't win and need gardening help, definitely check out Organic Gardening's website. Lots of great tips and tricks there. I used it like everyday last year.

The winner of the bag of sea glass is nikkicrumpet. Isn't that just the cutest name?! And her blog is one of the cutest ever.

Let's have a round of applause for the winners. I didn't say I was done so if you have stuck around here's something for you. If you want some sea glass, email me and I'll send you a few pieces. I'm just nice like that.

Spring Fling and 2 giveaways

Of course, today I am late when there is so much and a lot of bloggie parties going on!

So, I have been sitting here debating on what to giveaway for the Secret Is In The Sauce Spring Fling. I really had and still have no clue. I don't own anything nice to give away so I've had to come up with something.

Since I couldn't make a choice and because K would be mad if I didn't give the one thing away, I'm going to do two giveaways. The one giveaway is for a 2 year subscription to Organic Gardening magazine. Yay! I just recently subscribed to this magazine. They have a website where you can get tips and info on gardening organically.



The second giveaway was handpicked by K and is special to us. We love to go to our "secret" beach and look for sea glass. Well, the other day we found just an absolute ton of glass so we are sharing the love. What do I want with sea glass you might ask. Well, it looks lovely put into jars and put in front of the window. You can make jewelry out of it. Whatever. You'll get some pottery, some glass, and maybe a little surprise.



Here's the details. I will pick two winners on Thursday, March 12th. How to enter:

1. Leave a comment letting me know which one you'd rather win if you have a preference.

2. Get an extra entry if you're one of my followers.

Pretty easy I think! Have fun and go check out the other SITSta's and their giveaways.

You may want to read this...(if you're fast)

So, I was doing my daily bloggy thing the other day and went to visit my bloggy pal, Jenn's, blog. It was full of bloggy goodness but this bloggy goodness was extra special. She told a tale of happening upon her gal pal's blog to find a Pay it Forward post. Yay! What does all this mean? This means that Jenn got a special Pay it Forward gift which in turn means I get a special Pay it Forward gift.



Now let's see how many of you are paying attention today. Because I got a gift from Jenn, I'm going to pay it forward in this post. I'm going to give my first 4 commentors a special handmade lovely from me. Not going to tell you what it is, but you'll get something nice. Here's the catch. If you want something from me, you have to agree to continue the Pay it Forward train on your blog. Just make sure I can get up with you so I can get you your handmade goodie.

For those of you not into Valentine's Day or just want to enter a giveaway, there is a fantastic giveaway going on at the oh so talented blog of Totus Mel. It's a Friday the 13th giveaway. She's giving away a Death's Head Moth magnet and numbered Aceo from Paynesgrey. Look how great these are!



Run over there and get in on the action. Then check out Totusmel's work because she is seriously one talented lady. I would wear one of her tatted masks everyday if I could.

Giveaways Here, Giveaways There

You know I wander the internet on a daily basis. Probably far more than I should, but I say it is just part of doing business. Well, sometimes I get lucky and find giveaways that you may not know about. Such is the case today. I know today is supposed to be Jewel Street Designs' Jewelry Review, but I wanted to share these with you so you can get in on them as quick as possible.

First one I heard about is the one over at Modish. There is $805 worth of handmade goodies that will be going to one lucky person. Wish it was me, but if it can't, I hope it's you.

Next one is a yummy giveaway. I heard about this one last night. Etsy's Team EEAT is having a giveaway over at their blog. If you don't know what EEAT stands for, it's Etsy's Edible Arts Team. Let me tell you, you will drool over some of the yummy goodness you can find in these shops. Plus, they are also having a huge Black Friday Sale so check out the post on that.

And since the title of this post is a giveaway here and a giveaway there, my giveaway is still going on. Let me know your favorite item in my shop so I can help plan for my big Black Friday Sale. It only happens once a year. I'll be posting hourly specials here starting at 6am EST, and there are some really good ones.

Halloween Contests

Well, as I have said before, I LOVE Halloween! It was a tradition in my hometown for me to decorate the house. All the kids would congregate because I had the most decked out house in the whole town. It was great. I loved seeing their costumes and how much they loved it.

But, since moving to the country, I have to find other ways to get my Halloween fix. This year I have found a couple of contests to put me in that Halloween mood.

First, there is Indie5's coloring contest. You can enter, your kid can enter, you both can enter, and they don't care how many times you enter. Just go here and hear
all about it.

Oh, then there is this pumpkin decorating contest I did last year with my daughter. It's called Pumpking Junkin, and it really is a lot of fun. You can see last year's entries here. My daughter's pumpkins are the ones with the leopard cape and the big blue eyes.

Both of those contests are a lot of fun and are great to do with your children. Now, if you don't have children or you'd like something to do on your own, there is this great crafty contest on Instructables.

Have fun with them! No blog post tomorrow as I will be attending a field trip to Baltimore to see the aquarium.

The Dreaded Wednesday

As usual it's another dreaded Wednesday, and it's been another one of those days that you just wish you could start over. First, I oversleep so I'm late getting K to school. Then she can't find her glasses so we are even later. Finally, I get her there at about 9:15. So it's a beautiful start to another day.

Well, here's my last entry to the beads4you winter beading challenge on Etsy. I would've liked to do two more. Goodness knows I have enough beads, but I just don't think I'm going to have time since the deadline is March 31st. I might try to do one more. We'll see. Anyway, I thought my new found technique of weaving wire would be perfect to go with the hematite rondelles and teardrops that we were supposed to use. It is a cuff- my favorite type of bracelet- so it should fit most people. It can be found in my shop. Now to finish my Creative Challenge piece for this week.

I did it

I finally did it! After over a week of making things that were horrible or not making anything at all, I finally made something that resembled what I had planned for it to look like it.

Believe me, creative block is a force to be reckoned with. I know that the key is to work through it, but sometimes, that doesn't even work. Nothing over the last week turned out even remotely the way it was supposed to. Most of it was a mangled, deformed mess. I thought I had pushed my way through "the block" with making a list and following it, but that turned out to be not the case.

Then, oh glorious, then I came up with this idea. I stared and stared at my copper sheet and my sterling wire. I was determined to get this idea to work. It took me literally forever to get that little, itty bitty piece of copper to bend the way I wanted. It took twice as long to get the sterling silver wire to bend and hold that little, itty bitty piece of copper, but it finally came together. My calla lily ring was born.

I am quite excited about it, in case you couldn't tell. I love the finish I applied to it. The ring itself is very elegant but fun. I have to admit I am quite proud of myself. It can be found in my shop along with my other pieces before "the block". Don't forget I am having the contest for two $50 gift certificates. The first drawing is quickly approaching!

Creative Block

Once again, I am getting absolutely nothing done. I am having severe creative block. I completely blame this on the fact that my wire order just got here. I am in awe of all the possibilities of things I could create, and yet, I can't get those ideas out. This is why I should not do bulk orders.

Check this out: Glass Artists Blog. Isn't that an amazing review?! Dee from Willow Glass did an amazing job writing about both myself and my job. In fact, the earrings pictured are created with some of Dee's glass cabs.

Today is the day they are supposed to announce the winners of the Upcycle Contest on Etsy. I am all nervous and jerky even though I know I have no chance of winning. I want to win, and I wish they would hurry up with the announcement so I can get on with my life.

My Tuesday

I got absolutely nothing done yesterday. It started out boring enough, but then my bf decided at the last minute to play hooky from work and attend a car auction.

I am an auction fanatic. This is what happens when your father is an auctioneer. So, I had no problem with this. Well, I took him to work so he could get his crew ready for the night because it seems no one else is capable of doing this. While he was there, my daughter and I went on an impromtu shopping trip. We had time to kill, and there isn't much else to do in this terribly small town that has aspirations of being a big city. First we went to a Dollar Store. My daughter loves the dollar store. She stocked up on a little bit of everything. It was actually kind of funny seeing her running around and picking out things. She even got a little kit to put those studs on her jeans. She can't wait to do this.

After that, we still had time to kill so K(that's my daughter) suggested we go clothes shopping. Sure. I needed new clothes anyway since mine either have holes in them or have been shrunk 3 sizes too small by my bf. Yeah, he does the laundry. I used to, but then we got a new washing machine. I think he's afraid I'll break it. I'm not your typical housewife type. Anyway. We decided to go to this store that gets the overstock or last season clothes from big name stores. I love this place. I often forget it is there since it is hidden, but I love it. We start looking not really planning to get anything, but then I spot a pair of sweatpants. Got to have those for StilettoHeights' virtual slumber party. Plus, their in this gorgeous blue color. My favorite color. We keep walking. By now, my daughter is itching to get herself something. When we get about 10 feet from her section, she can't take it anymore. She wants a pair of Capris, but I explain to her that it is still to cold for those. So, she settles for a pair of faded flair cut jeans that she has found. Now that she knows they have her size, there's no stopping her. She searches the racks trying to find a top that she can wear now. Got it. She finds this, I don't know how to explain it, furry top. It's purple with a little glitter and furry. That's the only way I know how to explain it. Needless to say, she has developed a style that is uniquely her own. Fine, I say. Well, then I spot some turtleneck/sweaters I like. Find my size, and we're on our way to the register. Of course they put the sunglasses rack right by the checkout. I couldn't resist. I tell myself I needed a pair anyway. Now how bad is my bf going to kill me because we're not made of money. A whole $11. Turns out everything was drastically marked down to begin with then they put 50% off on top of that. K's outfit cost a whole $3.50. Hooray! Clothes shopping without the guilt. Well, there's the pic of me in my retro-style sunglasses and sweater. I wanted to be a cloud today. Plus, it covers up that grey streak I recently found.

So, on to the car auction. We need a new car. Well, one that is new to us. I rather enjoyed this. I have never been to a car auction before. It's rather fun. They have three lanes of cars going at one time. There's everything from dealer cars, to repo's, to older cars that need a little TLC. It was fun but crowded. And, the prices the bidders were getting these cars for was outrageous. I saw a '91 BMW 4 door sports coupe go for $600. It was nuts! I am determined I'm going back next week and get a deal for myself. I didn't this week because I always think it is best to study an auction once before you go back to bid. This way you can see how the auctioneer works, how low they will drop, and how the crowd works. Then when you go back you will fit right in, and no one can take advantage of you. Oh, don't forge the contest for the $50 gift certificate in my shop. The first drawing is approaching very quickly.

Two Contests and a Necklace

I hope everyone made it through Monday with no problems.

The necklace pictured is my entry into the lovely Victoria's, of beads4you fame, winter beading challenge. The challenge is to take a bunch of beads, approximately 36" worth, and create something from them. This is just the first of my pieces. As soon as I saw the focal beads, I knew what I wanted to do, and I think it turned out very well. I even learned a new chainmaille weave for this project. I think it's very sexy. In fact, that's what I named it! It is currently available for purchase in my shop.

Now on to what I really want to talk about. My contest. I've decided to have my own contest. Here's the deal. Purchase anything in my shop and be entered to win one of two $50 gift certificates. For each item you purchase, you will receive one entry into the drawing. The first drawing will take place on Valentine's Day, and the second will be on March 1st. You can see all the details in my shop profile. How exciting is that?! I wonder who will win.