Cloth Diapers...WHAT?

Okay...I NEVER thought I'd do it. You know...use CLOTH DIAPERS. Read all about my 'jump' in my guest post on The Cloth Diaper Whisperer blog. And enter today's Fluffy Friday giveaway while you're there.

what did I choose?

Peace To All Religious Christmas Card

Create Christmas cards for the 2011 holiday season.

View the entire collection of cards.

Thanks, Shutterfly, for making my Christmas card crazies disappear this year :) Here's the design we went with this year. Have a great Thanksgiving next week, and enjoy the Season! xo

Sew To Swap, Blog Tour

It's my pleasure to announce that Sew To Swap: Quilting Projects to Exchange Online and by Mail, by Chrissie Grace, hit bookshelves last week.

What a joy it was to illustrate this project. It's my first published illustrative work, and it's exciting to see it available at Amazon and Walmart.com. The book highlights, step-by-step, how to create a quilted piece and participate in a swap as part of the newest, modern quilting community. You're maybe familiar with Flickr, home of many fabulous quilting and misc. stitched swaps. You'll be tickled to see MANY familiar quilting bloggers featured in the book, such as Allison from Cluck Cluck Sew, Kerri from Lovely Little Handmades, and John from Quilt Dad. Published by F+W Media, you can find it for a great price here. Use code SEW2SWAP for $10 off the retail price until Nov. 30th.

Here is a bitty peek at some of the images in Sew To Swap...(photo courtesy of F+W Media)

(photo courtesy of F+W Media)

Here is a list of bloggers contributing to the book, along with their blog hop dates...

November 7 Lovely Little Handmades
November 8 Stitches & Scissors
November 9 Cluck Cluck Sew
November 10 My Three Sons
November 11 Twin Fibers
November 12 Stitchy Quilt Stuff
November 13 The Creative Juices of Ariel
November 14 Texas Freckles
November 15 Quilt Dad
November 16 Artsy-Craftsy Babe
November 17 Little Miss Shabby
November 18 A Cuppa and a Catch Up
November 19 A Quilt is Nice
November 20 A Little Sweetness
November 21 House of A La Mode
November 22 I’m Just a Guy Who Quilts
November 23 Little Bit Funky
November 27 In His Grace

Robot Craft Time

In my former life as an Art Teacher, I was so good about lesson planning...making sure I had all the supplies needed for a much-scheduled, and thought-out art lesson. These days, it's survival. Today, T and I squeezed in a craft while baby brother was asleep. Totally on the fly...

For the folks who want to try this at home, you'll need: -magazines (we used Car and Driver, simply because it's full of machines)
-aluminum foil
-scissors and tape
-misc. markers, optional
-items from the recycling bin (we used cardboard boxes and paper towel rolls)





Titus' robot is named KOOL. Child made that up all on his own. He's kool, if you ask me :)

Doodling with my buddy...

Titus turned FOUR two weeks ago, and he's currently THE biggest space nut I know. Here's what we doodled today....

Happy Thursday!

Giveaway Winners!

Congrats to Cheree, Jennifer, and Rachel!!! Winners of 25 FREE Shutterfly cards each! Look for an email from me with your Shutterfly codes. Enjoy!

Remember, if you're a blogger and would like 25 FREE cards from Shutterfly, go HERE to sign up before Nov. 11th.

*P.S....all former card design ideas are scrapped. Who is a chronic 'can't-make-up-her-mind-on-ANYTHING, including body wash scents and picking out her Christmas cards' silly girl? Me.

Christmas Cards - A Shutterfly Giveaway!

It's almost that time. You know. Christmas. Don't dread it, friends...embrace it this year :) The Eldridges love to send Christmas cards. I especially love sending a card that reflects on the JOY of the birth of our Savior. I used to hand stamp each little card, folks. Are you kiddin' me? Before I had kiddos, it was so fun to sit and design a Christmas card by hand. Now-a-days, the 'creative juices of ariel' sometimes have to be 'hired out'. That's why I love me some Shutterfly.com.




We've been collecting 8x8" photo books since the birth of our first son, when I realized scrapbooking would not happen for awhile. I love how many designs there are to personalize our collections of photos. Shutterfly has taken it a step further and recently made their photo books so customizable, you can rearrange the text, layout, and embellishments of each page. LOVE that. Here's our latest book.



The Eldridges also love a good photo calendar. Where would I be without my Shutterfly photo calendar? Forgettin' birthdays, that's where. I know this because we decided not to get one last year, and I was a mess. Nieces and nephews were getting birthday gifts months late. Disastrous ;) I love what a great gift the calendar is in itself. We NEVER know what to give Papaw for Christmas...and I think we drew tears the year he opened his photo calendar. Perhaps we'll pick something from here for this year's gift?



Our kiddos get so excited when the Christmas cards start popping up in the mailbox. They love seeing the faces of the friends and family they recognize. What an awesome way to stay connected and teach your little folks the names and faces of those who love them. So, Shutterfly is making the Eldridge Christmas card again this year. I'm still deciding between these two designs...





So, you're not REALLY going to hand-make all your cards this year, right? ;) Want some free cards from Shutterfly? You're in luck. Shutterfly is giving 3 of my readers a set of 25 cards each. Just comment on this post for a chance to win one of the sets!


Are you a blogger? Want another chance at 25 free cards this holiday season? Register HERE.


I will choose 3 winners at random on Wednesday, Oct 26th.

**I did not receive monetary compensation for this blog post and am in no way affiliated with Shutterfly.com or it's company. As always, these are my genuine thoughts on the subject.

*Comments are Closed*

xo, Ariel