Design Team Call!

Made Especially For You is pleased to announce it's first design team call! Applications will be accepted until October 1st. Please see the Design Team Call page for more information.


Ashley
especiallymadeblog@gmail.com

And the winner is...

...Maribel Encarnacion at I Love Scrapping! Congratulations Maribel, you are the winner of my first blog candy giveaway! I will be e-mailing you with the details, you have one week to claim your prizes. :)


I would just like to give a HUGE thank you to everyone that participated! I reached my goal of 200 followers, yay! (It may say 199, but I have had multiple people tell me the 'follow' button was not working).  Thank you so much to anyone who passed along the giveaway to their friends, posted about it on their blog, or liked the Made Especially For You Facebook page. And of course, thanks to my new followers, I so appreciate you taking the time to stop by, I promise I'll make it around to all of your blogs, too! :)


I would love to do another giveaway once I am close to reaching 300 followers. It was so fun and went by so fast! Happy three month blogaversary, Made Especially For You! :)


I'll return to regular posting later today (I wanted to announce the winner as close to midnight as possible). Stay tuned for storytime crafts, sparkly cards, and a design team call!


Ashley

Thank You Card & A Blog Award

Hi everyone! I hope you all are having a great start to your week. :) I just got home from school and work and thought I'd share with you the thank you card I sent to my friend Katlyn for designing my new blog header and button. Her digital stamp store is awesome and her designs are so cute! Make sure to stop by and browse if you have the chance. :)

Front of the card: I have some great red and black ribbon that I really need to start using more often and I saw this as the perfect opportunity. I added the flower embellishments for an extra effect and also distressed the border around them with red and black ink, although it's hard to see in the picture. I really like the parallel effect of white on black and black on white with red as an accent color.

Inside of the card: I wrote a thank you message on the white half and left the black half blank.

Back of the card: I added the 'Made Especially For You' because that's a "signature" touch I add on all of my cards, and also where the name for my blog came from, but I'll explain that in a later post. :) I also added some more flowers and the polka dot ribbon that was used on the front of the card.

I recently received this award from two fellow bloggers: Laura over at Laura's Crafts and More and Karla over at Made By Karla. Thanks so much Laura and Karla, I really appreciate it! :)

I've added this award to my new "Blog Awards" page. I found it so helpful to have one of these so my sidebar wasn't always so crowded. It works great! I'd also like to pass along this award to the following three bloggers:

Linda at My Passion Is... She is an absolutely amazing scrapbooker and photographer, her creations are always fun to look at! :)

Sherry at Up Or Down They're Beautiful A wonderful crafter who always has fun tips, inspiring words and great projects! :)

Lisa at Lisa's Little Bits A fellow design team member that I can't wait to work with, her posts are so fun to read and her creations are so cute! :)

There's only 3 days left to enter my blog candy giveaway - I'm only 13 followers away from reaching my goal... that's so close! :) I can only do it with your help, make sure to tell all your friends! 

Thanks for reading!
Ashley

Always In Our Hearts - 9/11/01

Today I thought I would share with you a card I made in remembrance of September 11th. I was hoping to have this posted earlier today, but now that we are open Sundays at work I didn't have enough time to post this morning before I left. Better late than never though, right? :)

I never realized how challenging it was to make a card for a sad occasion. Usually the cards I make are fairly cheerful looking (or at least I like to think so) so creating this card was a bit of a challenge. I tried to make it as positive as possible, without losing its honorability. 

I was really pleased with how this card turned out, especially the stars. I absolutely love using glitter on anything I possibly can, I'm definitely a 'glitter girl'! To make the stars, I used wood star shapes and painted them red, white and blue and then drizzled glue onto them once they dried, and then sprinkled on the glitter. 

As for the bottom of the card, I cut different sized strips of red, white and blue cardstock in different widths and lengths. I used adhesive dots to apply them to the card and then used star confetti (on clearance for 79 cents at Hobby Lobby!) and glued those to the strips so that the card wasn't so plain.

I wish I would have known in advance to make the card a little bit larger, that way I could've centered the picture of the Twin Tower light beams that I found on the internet. I printed it on a clear shipping label in black and white and then highlighted the beams in blue, which is their actual color. I stamped the 'always in our hearts' using clear stamps in red and blue ink, and added a couple more silver confetti stars.

Have any of you created anything in honor of September 11th. I'd love to see! :)

Thanks for taking the time to stop by! There's only 6 more days to enter my Blog Candy Giveaway, I'm only 16 followers away from reaching my goal of 200! :) 

Ashley

Perfectly Paisley Card

Hi everyone, it's almost Friday! Even though it was a short week because of Labor Day, this week has felt like forever and I can't wait for the weekend! Luckily I have tomorrow off but unfortunately I'm stuck working all day Saturday and Sunday. The library I work at closes on Sundays during the summer and we open again starting this Sunday. Because I work in both departments (children's and adult circulation) I'll be working 3 of the 4 Sundays a month. At least it's time and a half pay! :)


Anyways, I know I've seriously been lacking in posting lately (I'm so sorry!) but things have been completely crazy with organizing my blog candy, updating my blog design, keeping up with work and school, and also finding time to craft. To top it all off, my wi-fi has been giving me a hard time lately so that makes it that much harder to post and comment. My next couple of posts I'll be playing "card catch-up" and sharing with you some cards I made a while back and am just now finding the time to post. 


This is an anniversary card I made for fun about a month or so ago. I realized I hadn't used my paisley embossing folder and wanted to give it a try - and luckily I had some paisley paper that matched perfectly! I really love the colors on the card, it's not a color combo that I've seen used too often. And maroon and gold are my favorite colors (also the colors of my bedroom!) so that's another reason I was pleased with this card.

I tried to get a close-up of the paisley border, but it didn't work as well as I hoped it would. :( It does however, give a nice close-up of the die cut, which is from the vintage pack for Cuttlebug.

To make the card, I used:

- Maroon and cream colored cardstock

- Gold metallic paper

- Gold ribbon

- Paisley paper

- 'happy anniversary' stamp in orange ink

- Cuttlebug

- 'Perfectly Paisley' embossing folder and a corner die cut from the vintage package

- Decorative scissors

Thanks so much for reading and bearing with me lately! Have an awesome weekend! :) 

Only 9 days left to enter my first blog candy giveaway, you can do so by clicking here. Good luck!

Ashley

** Blog Candy Giveaway - NEW ITEMS ADDED! **

Hi everyone! I apologize for my absence this past holiday weekend, I was out of town virtually doing nothing on a much-needed break! Regular posting/commenting will return tomorrow, I promise! :) 


Along with the original prizes being given away in my blog candy giveaway (you can view the original  post below) the winner will now also be able to choose 5 digital stamps of their choice from Jen's Digi Stamps. If you've already entered, don't worry, you're eligible to win the digi stamps, too! :) Her stamps are so adorable, I might have to buy a few for myself! :)


Comments made on this post will be eligible for entry, you do not have to refer to the original post if you want to enter. 

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Hi everyone! I'm so excited to announce my first blog candy giveaway! I've been wanting to have one ever since I started blogging and have finally built up my collection enough to where it can happen. The giveaway will be running from September 1st - September 17th in honor of having 200 followers and also Made Especially For You's three month blogaversary (which falls on the 17th)! I'm not quite at 200 followers yet, but my goal is to be at 200 by the end of the giveaway.


I suppose I should tell you what's included in the giveaway... :)

 Shown in the picture:

- 25 sheets of assorted 12 x 12 patterned paper

- 5 sheets of assorted 8 x 8 patterned paper

- 15 sheets of assorted 4.5 x 6 matstack patterned paper

- 'Heartfelt thanks' stamp

- Square brads in assorted colors

- Gold adhesive embellishments

- Autumn clear stamps

- Assorted embellishments (adhesive frames, flowers, fall leaves, etc)

Also not included in the picture, you will receive some extra chipboard embellishments and also some die cut punches from my Cuttlebug. They'll be completely random, even I don't know what they are yet! :)


Here's what you have to do to enter:
1.) Become a follower of my blog if you aren't already
2.) Leave a comment on this post with your contact information (please mention if you're a new follower or not)
3.) 'Like' Made Especially For You on Facebook. If you aren't a Facebook user, don't worry! Just make sure you mention that in your comment. :)


Anddddd... you get an EXTRA chance to win if you do the following:
Post about the giveaway on your blog (either a new post or your sidebar counts) and include a link in your comment so I can see that it's there. Feel free to grab my brand new button (located on my sidebar) and also the picture of the blog candy to help promote the giveaway! :)


The winner will be chosen by random.org and will have one week to claim their prize. If it has not been claimed by then another winner will be chosen.


Have questions? I can be reached at especiallymadeblog@gmail.com


On a side note.. Made Especially For You now has a header and grab button thanks to Katlyn at Splashes of Joy. Her designs turned out great and I'm so happy with the results! Make sure to stop by her blog and check out her beautiful cards as well as her awesome digital stamp store! :)

First Blog Candy Giveaway! :)

Hi everyone! I'm so excited to announce my first blog candy giveaway! I've been wanting to have one ever since I started blogging and have finally built up my collection enough to where it can happen. The giveaway will be running from September 1st - September 17th in honor of having 200 followers and also Made Especially For You's three month blogaversary (which falls on the 17th)! I'm not quite at 200 followers yet, but my goal is to be at 200 by the end of the giveaway.


I suppose I should tell you what's included in the giveaway... :)

 Shown in the picture:

- 25 sheets of assorted 12 x 12 patterned paper

- 5 sheets of assorted 8 x 8 patterned paper

- 15 sheets of assorted 4.5 x 6 matstack patterned paper

- 'Heartfelt thanks' stamp

- Square brads in assorted colors

- Gold adhesive embellishments

- Autumn clear stamps

- Assorted embellishments (adhesive frames, flowers, fall leaves, etc)

Also not included in the picture, you will receive some extra chipboard embellishments and also some die cut punches from my Cuttlebug. They'll be completely random, even I don't know what they are yet! :)


Here's what you have to do to enter:
1.) Become a follower of my blog if you aren't already
2.) Leave a comment on this post with your contact information (please mention if you're a new follower or not)
3.) 'Like' Made Especially For You on Facebook. If you aren't a Facebook user, don't worry! Just make sure you mention that in your comment. :)


Anddddd... you get an EXTRA chance to win if you do the following:
Post about the giveaway on your blog (either a new post or your sidebar counts) and include a link in your comment so I can see that it's there. Feel free to grab my brand new button (located on my sidebar) and also the picture of the blog candy to help promote the giveaway! :)


The winner will be chosen by random.org and will have one week to claim their prize. If it has not been claimed by then another winner will be chosen.


Have questions? I can be reached at especiallymadeblog@gmail.com


On a side note.. Made Especially For You now has a header and grab button thanks to Katlyn at Splashes of Joy. Her designs turned out great and I'm so happy with the results! Make sure to stop by her blog and check out her beautiful cards as well as her awesome digital stamp store! :)


Good luck! :)
Ashley