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

Oh, how He loves us...

enjoy a free printable on me today!

Christmas Red

I couldn't stand not doodling any longer ;) Back at the computer...this one is in the works for my pal, Kerri at Sew Deerly Loved. Perhaps to be a Christmas Red Riding Hood fabric in her shop....just a sneak peek for my sweet readers. XO

{Re:Fresh}

Whoooop! Where has the time gone? Probably into the hours.and.I.do.mean.HOURS I've been spending on Pinterest and IKEA recently :) Are you on Pinterest??? Bah! You should be! It's sah-weet!

Remember me rambling about taking a break from illustrating books to allow time for my hubs to work on his MBA and for me to make sure I hold down the fort with now TWO boys running around? Welp, every bit of my creativity is welling up inside, bustin' to do something creative-like......so I've decided to redecorate the downstairs. Crazy. Yup.

The dining room is gone. Well, not literally the room, just the fact that it is no longer for dining, but for playing. We broke down and created a playroom. Best idea ever. I just kept fighting it because I was holding onto that piece of me (pre-kiddos) that LOVED to entertain guests and set a mean Martha Stewart table for Thanksgiving. Who am I kidding? I'd rather my kids get their marble run off my coffee table. Who's with me?

Long story short (cause it's been since, what? AUGUST 2nd since I posted last) I've been pinning away all the ideas I can glean from Pinterest's wealth of creativity. I've fallen in love with curtains (all of them) from Urban Outfitters. And the last 3 lines of fabric by Anna Maria Horner (I might as well upholster the whole house in it. Love.it.) Oh, and chevrons...cause they're everywhere right now, right?

Somebody stop me.

A Visit with Spoonflower...

I'm freshly home from vacation in Raleigh, NC. We visited some of our best buddies for a much-needed break from flat land Indiana. While we were gone, we dipped our toes into the ocean at TopSail Beach (I wouldn't get all the way in...it was Shark Week on Discovery, y'all!), and breathed some FRESH mountain breeze in Blowing Rock, NC. I got a little suntan (little.) and a lot carsick (a. lot.)...

Here's the part that you'll be excited about too...I visited Spoonflower to see where all my fabric designs are printed. It was so fun to put a visual with the 'magical place that prints fabric'. I met Darci, who is one of Spoonflower's growing number of employees. I always look at my packing slip when I order fabric, and I know she's signed her name to many of them. Now I have a face and story to put with the signature.

(thanks, Darci!)

Spoonflower started with just a few employees, 2 tempermental printers, and one quilting cotton fabric option. They have since grown to about 30 employees, shipping their custom-printed fabrics all over the world. You can have your designs printed on organic cotton jersey knit or even a new silk to name just a few fabric options.

All that gorgeous fabric starts here...

...then is printed on one seriously large format printer, using eco-friendly inks

(they now have a room FULL of printers. Each printer has a name, face, and 'personality'...my favorite was Charlie.)

Once the fabric is printed, it's loaded onto a roll to run through a heat-setter.

Each order is then cut by hand...yardage, fat quarters, test swatches....you can see why it takes more than a day or two to ship your fabric order...but these folks get to marvel at each and every fabric design as it comes through.

the waiting area...chairs covered with several of the designs that come through Spoonflower

Many designers will make goodies out of their fabric and share...

Love these coffee cozies...

Turns out, Spoonflower folks love them some coffee. :)

The whole place was filled with gorgeous designs from independent fabric designers. The employees were so down-to-earth and it's evident that they LOVE their jobs. I can tell it's a great place to work. Now, if I lived in North Carolina, I'd so bring in my resume ;) Happy fabric lovin', y'all!

the DROID 'Charge'

Another great device is available from Verizon. And, the awesome Verizon folks allowed me to spend some time with the DROID 'Charge' for a very exciting event. *This review is based solely on my personal opinion after spending a week using the device. I did not accept anything in exchange for the review and these are my genuine thoughts on the subject...

Last weekend, my home church sponsored an awesome date night experience called, the Amazing Race. It was just that...an evening of running around with my husband, competing against 150 other couples, like chickens with our heads cut off -- all in the name of LOVE ;)

When I registered for the event, I knew for a fact that my husband and I are B-A-D with directions. Our GPS device in the car is almost worse than not having a map. SO, when I had the chance to review a DROID Charge, it was a no-brainer. The device made it easy for us to Google locations as part of the Amazing Race clues, and also phone folks for help. Not to mention, there were some crazy pictures and tweets flying around from other couples as they accomplished tasks such as, diving to the bottom of a pool for dive sticks (in their street clothes), hauling a dummy through a smoke-filled trailor at the fire station, and paddling boats at lightning speed along the Indy canal. We discovered several things:

a. folks get crazy when there's a finish line involved

b. we're lost without Verizon Navigation

c. hanging out with your spouse, on adventure is flippin' sweet fun

The evening was exhausting, and we used up every last second of battery life on that DROID. But we had an amazing time :) Here are a few things I discovered about the DROID 'Charge'...

• 
  
  Pro's: The Droid Charge is a Samsung device, and similar to the Fascinate that I reviewed earlier in the year, it's super user-friendly. The Android apps are every bit as awesome and updated as when I reviewed last. My new favorite is HootSuite, so I can say the same thing on Facebook as Twitter...This really came in handy as we updated our status throughout the 'race'. I also loved the size of this device, and would compare it to an iPhone, but more rounded edges. It slipped easily in several of my jeans pockets, which is ESSENTIAL to how I like to roll with my cell phone :) No dragging around an extra purse just for my phone, y'all. I like me some low-maintenence with a baby on the go. The 'Charge' is also a 4G phone rather than the 3G Fascinate, meaning lighting fast speed in 4G areas.

• 
  
  Con's: Battery life was lacking. It didn't hold up as well as the Fascinate, in comparison. Keep in mind that I had GPS tracking enabled most of the Amazing Race, which drains battery life significantly. It lasts a good full day with normal use (twitter, facebook, music streaming, etc.) I wasn't as impressed by the camera quality as the Fascinate. While still good 'phone quality', you just can't beat the lens clarity of the Samsung Fascinate. I wouldn't use this phone for heavy outdoor use, like camping or hiking, where you would be away from a charge source.

If you're interested in a new Verizon device, check out their website for links to simulate use of that device. Or just go play with them in the store. It's a great way to give it a 'test run' before you commit.

And, for folks who live in the Indiapolis area, and are interested in participating in the next crazy awesome couples event, visit http://www.iheartmyspouse.com/ for more info.

'Cause where else can you get the opportunity to dive to the bottom of a pool, crawl through a smokey house, dip into a pot of cash, get a tattoo, shoot baskets with toilet paper rolls, eat sushi blindfolded, build a robot, ride a mechanical bull, and renew your wedding vows...all on date night???

Fleece Diaper Soakers

Let me start by saying that I love cloth-diapering folks. I wanted to do it so badly with my boys, but couldn't get my hubs to be okay with the thought of 'poop in the washer'. Geeps. ;)

So I was super excited for my friend, Lindsey, who just had her second baby, when she decided she wanted to give cloth-diapering a go. She did her research and decided on un-bleached pre-folds with Snappis and soakers. I thought, perfect....I definitely want to buy her some wool interlock soakers for her shower. THEN, I did my shopping. Whoa. I found out that I can't afford wool interlock soakers, nor can I afford or FIND wool interlock yardage to make them myself. Sooooooo, here's my story of a comprimise, that hopefully will work wonderfully for my sweet friend's new baby Lilly.

My (other) friend, Lynsey, is a super-pro on cloth diapering, so I sought out her advice. She directed me to this pattern and advised me to try fleece instead. While not as natural as wool, fleece is also breathable and can be thrown in the dryer (perfect for folks who can't afford to have Nana 'accidentally throw their $40 wool soaker in the dryer on high' and end up with an extremely expensive, tiny wool scrubbie).

They were VERY fun to make. The pattern is spot-on. Just be advised that you have to stretch the waist and leg bands as you sew them on. I had some fun making appliques for the bum side...in this case, apples, which had me humming, "...apple bottom jeans, boots with the fur..." I'm sure her daddy would not appreciate my humor here. :)