A Wonderful Win

I have something EXCITING to show you!  I won this.....

This CUTE little set was a giveaway prize from the LOVELY Kate (of the BRILLIANT Signed with an Owl blog).  

Kate held the giveaway to celebrate her 2nd blogiversary.  To enter, she asked everyone to suggest a name for her little owl mascot.  And she picked the name I put forward. YIPPEEEEE!!!

Thank you SO much, Kate!  

See you soon.....

Carly

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Stripy Giveaway Goodies Galore!!!

Well, my dear blogging friends, we're back home after five weeks of fun and sun in England and Italy!  And guess what???  It's raining here in Düsseldorf.  I'd normally be a bit disgruntled about returning to drizzle.  But, after two weeks in Tuscany with temperatures way up in the mid-30°s (and no air conditioning in our room, with windows shut tight to keep the mozzies out), the rain and 20° temperature is very welcome indeed!!!  Now I’m home again, I’m looking forward to visiting you all and seeing what you’ve been up to over the summer.  I hope you’re all having a good one! WAY back at the end of June, just before the school holidays started, I was lucky enough to win a giveaway from the lovely Moo and Mouse blog.  I was VERY excited to receive my prize through the post – stripy goodies galore!!! Would you like a peek???

some colourful, stripy string

some cute, stripy bulldog clips

some pretty, stripy washi tape

and a pincushion (sewn by fairies, I think)

Thank you SO much, Emma!!!  I know I’ll put all of my new stripy bits and bobs to very good (crafty) use!  I’ll be back again soon, to tell you about some of my holiday adventuring..... Carly x 

Giveaway Winner Announcement

It's time to announce my giveaway winner.  Thank you to EVERYONE who entered.  If only I could send you ALL a prize!!!

I put all of your names into a recently-washi-taped jar (a new crafty obsession of mine).

I gave them a good shake up.  

Then I delved in (taking care not to get my hand stuck inside, of course) and picked out a winner.  

And the winner is.....

Congratulations, Mia! Your prize (some Crafted by Carly bits and bobs) is all wrapped up, and will be on its way to you shortly.

See you all soon, my dears.....

Carly

x

  

2nd Blogging Birthday Giveaway

Today’s my second ‘bloggiversary’ – hooray!  I really can’t believe that I’ve been doing this for two whole years!

I LOVE blogging.

 
I sometimes feel as though I put too much pressure on myself to get posts up, and I sometimes get annoyed with myself for spending too much time sitting in front of my computer. I get a bit nervous before I post things about myself, or before I do a show-and-tell of something I’ve made. I worry that people won’t visit me here, or that they might not like what I’m doing. I feel guilty if I haven’t visited certain blogs for a while, and I feel bad if I don’t get around to replying to the comments people leave me here..... 

But, I REALLY DO LOVE BLOGGING!!!

I love playing at being an author and a photographer, and I love keeping a record of all of the crafty (and some not so crafty) things that I do. I love receiving comments and emails from 'visitors', and having the chance to ask for feedback on what I’m doing. I love visiting other people’s blogs, getting inspired, and chit-chatting with like-minded souls from all around the globe. And, most of all, I LOVE all of the wonderful bloggy FRIENDS that I’ve made over the past two years!!!

I really can’t believe how great blogging pals are – and I’m so grateful to all of you for visiting me here, writing to me, encouraging me, and just being such blinking brilliant friends!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! 

 
And, to say THANK YOU once more, I’m going to host a little giveaway. If you enter, you could find yourself winning these summery Crafted by Carly goodies:

There’s a stripy (CK fabric) sunglasses case.....

..... with a spotty-dotty lining.....

..... and two little rosette pins (one blue and one red).....

All matchy-matchy, of course!

To enter, all you need to do is:

1)  Follow my blog

2)  Leave a comment under this post, letting me know what’s YOUR favourite thing about blogging 

Easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy!

I’ll leave the giveaway open for two weeks, and randomly pick a winner on Tuesday 25^th June.  Of course, it’s open to everybody, no matter whereabouts in the world you are. 

Good luck!

Hugs to you all!

Carly

x

A Pretty AND Practical Prize

I was VERY excited indeed to learn, a few weeks ago, that I'd won a giveaway that the lovely Susie was hosting over at her Flower Press blog.  

And the prize???  A planner (from Personal Planners) that I could COMPLETELY personalise myself!!!  Choosing from all the options made me feel like a kid in a candy shop!  I got to pick the size of the planner, design the front cover, plan the lay-out of the pages, add extra features to each page (like to-do lists, spaces for notes, 'idea of the week' boxes.....), select what sections I wanted to add to the back of the planner (like address pages, birthday lists, plain paper, lined paper, squared paper.....), pick out colours for the text and the elastic closure - and even the little ruler that clips inside.....  It really did feel as though the possibilities were ENDLESS!

As you can imagine, I spent HOURS playing around with my design!

I was SO excited when it finally arrived, all the way from Australia!  I DO love the postman when he brings me goodies (instead of leaflets telling me what kind of meat's on offer at the local supermarket)!!! 

Would you like a little look?

I chose a photo of one of my makes for the front cover:

I picked it because I love the shade of bright blue, with the grey.  I picked out a grey elastic closure to match, and a grey back cover:

I chose grey for most of the text and features inside the planner too - and for the cute little ruler/bookmark (can anyone guess what colour I'm into at the minute???), with little bits of red:

My new planner can even talk:

  

I'm VERY happy with it!  Thank you SO much, dear Susie!!!

Now I'm off to check today's to-do list.....

Happy Saturday to you all!!!

Carly

x

    

Giveaway Winner

We’ve been having some very strange weather here this week!  It was lovely and sunny last Sunday and Monday, and it really felt as though spring was on its way.  Since then, though, it’s been snowing pretty-much constantly.  BUT the snowflakes have been teeny-tiny, and never enough to cover the ground completely.  On a couple of occasions, it even snowed while the sun was shining brightly! 

When we got home from school on Friday, it started snowing quite heavily.  The flakes were dancing around in the sky, as the sun was setting.  It was so pretty!  It reminded me of the Waltz of the Snowflakes music from 'The Nutcracker' ballet (have a look at THIS).

So, I had to act quickly to draw the winner for my giveaway (before it got too dark to be able to take decent photos). 

I put all of your names into one of my new blue IKEA cups (we bought them a few weeks ago – I couldn’t resist the pretty colour).

I gave them a good shake up.  

Then I got Simon to pick out a winner.  

And the winner is.....

Congratulations, Helen! Your prize (Donna Hay's 'Chocolate') is all wrapped up, and will be on its way to you soon.

  

  

I’ll be back soon, with the final instalment of ‘100 Random Facts About Me’.....

Carly

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100th Blog Post Giveaway

Yay!  Today, I’m celebrating  my 100^th Crafted by Carly blog post!

And, to say THANK YOU to all of my fantastic blog-reading friends (for visiting me here, leaving comments and making me smile, and keeping me motivated to carry on blogging), I’ve decided to hold a little giveaway.

And the prize will be..... 

.....  Donna Hay’s ‘Chocolate’ book.  What better way to celebrate than with something bad for both the teeth and the waistline?!?

I LOVE this book!!!  The fact that it’s about CHOCOLATE is more than enough of a draw for me – not to mention the amazing (and mouth-watering) photography!!!  As you know, I don’t really do kitchens (it’s a matter of health and safety legislation in our house).....  BUT Donna Hay’s recipe books are a just a joy to flick through.  And, if you’re capable of producing some of the delights in the photos, well, even better!

Have a little look inside:

Feeling hungry now???

If you’d like me to put your name into the hat for the giveaway, all you have to do is:

1. Be a follower of my blog

2. Leave a comment under this post

You can enter no matter where in the world you are!

I’ll leave the giveaway open for 2 weeks, and pick the winner out on Friday 22^nd February (that’s 2 weeks away).  In the meantime (and also in celebration of my 100^th post), I’ll be posting 100 RANDOM FACTS ABOUT ME.  So, stay tuned.....

..... and good luck to everyone who enters the giveaway!!!

Carly

x

Giveaway Winner

This post's just going to be a quickie, to announce the winner of my little blogging birthday giveaway.

I like to do things the old-fashioned way!  So, no random number generator here.   I wrote all your names on little slips of paper (I was amazed by how many entries there were), folded them up nice and small, put them all in a cute little tin, mixed them up a bit.....

Stuck my hand in.....

And picked out a winner.....

The winner is Kazzy from the wonderful Country Rabbit blog.  If you’ve never stopped by her corner of the blogosphere, by the way, I suggest you pay a little visit.  I think you’ll like it there!!!    

Kazzy, congratulations to you!!!  Please could you email me your mailing address (craftedbycarly@yahoo.com), so that I can get your prizes sent off to you.  Here's a sneaky little reminder of what what you'll be getting....

Hope you’re all having a good start to the week!  Is the weather looking up where you are???

Carly

x  

1st Blogging Birthday Giveaway

A year ago today, I took the plunge and put my first ever blog post out into the big, wide world.  It was a bit scary.  What if nobody had visited me?  But, it was also really exciting!  And I'm very glad I did it!!!  

It doesn’t seem like a whole year ago.  In fact, I almost missed marking the occasion altogether.  I only checked the date of my first post a couple of weeks ago, when I’d read about somebody else’s blogging birthday.  As they say, time flies when you’re having fun!

And I HAVE been having fun – LOTS of it!  And that’s all thanks to you, my lovely blogging friends!  Thank you, thank you, thank you for visiting me, for being interested enough to follow me, and for all your lovely, lovely comments!!!

To say ‘thank you’ and ‘you’re amazing’ to all of you, I’m going to host a giveaway.  If you enter, you could win this little bundle of prizes:

It includes.....

a rosette pin (made by me)

a little purse.....

..... with spotty, blue fabric inside (made by me too)

a make-up/toiletry case (also made by me, of course)

‘The Wonderful Weekend Book’ (not made by me, but loved by me)

To enter, all you need to do is:

1)  Follow my blog

2)  Leave a comment under this post

Easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy!

I’ll leave the giveaway open for two weeks, and pick a winner out of a hat (or maybe just a little jar) on Monday 25^th June.  Of course, it’s open to everybody, no matter whereabouts in the world you are. 

Good luck!!!

Have a super week.....

Carly

x

Cheerful Rosette Pins

Oh my goodness!  It's been over a week since my last post - and I feel like I've let myself down.  I have been trying really hard to post at least once a week.    

My poor excuse is that we've had visitors (my sister and my parents) and we've been away for a few days - to the Netherlands.  I had planned to write a post last weekend, before we left, and schedule it to pop up mid-week.  But it didn't happen in the end.  Sorry, lovely blog readers!  

But, the past week has given me quite a few ideas (and photos) for future posts.  

For today, though, as this has to be a 'quickie', I thought I'd show you some of the little rosette pins I've been making.  Yes, it's another of my making obsessions!

I've hung them all up, along a row of pegs, in my crafting room.  I have to say that they look very cheerful and happy there, and I'm enjoying just looking at them.  I'm not sure I want to sell them now.

I'll be back very soon - on Monday.  It will be my 1st blogging birthday and, to celebrate, I'm going to be doing a little GIVEAWAY.  So, don't forget to stop by then.....

Have a super weekend!

Carly

x  

My Friend the Postman

This week, I have a new best friend – the postman!  We check our mailbox excitedly every evening when we get back from work.  And we’re usually both disappointed.  But, over the last week, my pal has delivered me 3 exciting packages!!!

Inside package number 1 was Issue 13 of ‘Mollie Makes’. 

Look..... free buttons!!!  How cute are they?!  And how pretty is the colour?!  There’s lots of cuteness and prettiness inside the magazine too.  There are so, so, so many things that I need to add to my ‘dream shopping list’.  And there’s a lovely, colourful crocheted cushion tutorial.  I think I might give it a try, to enhance my new-found granny square skills.

Package number 2 contained Issue 11 of ‘Mollie’.  Don’t ask!  It took 3 months (and countless trying-to-stay-calm-and-not-write-any-naughty-words emails) for them to send me my first subscription issue.  And I haven’t received any of the magazines in the right order.....  It was really annoying!  But now I’ve got all the issues I’m due, and they’ve promised me a few ‘extra’ magazines after my subscription officially ends.  So, I’m happy now!

Issue 11 came with a cute kit for making a little Russian doll key ring.  And look at the little mice on the front cover.  Look at that teeny-tiny little knitted cardie!!!  I’d LOVE to make myself and little well-dressed mousie.  But I think it would all be way too fiddly for me.  Maybe one day???  This issue has inspired me to try out some embroidery.  There are instructions for making an embroidered cuckoo clock, and I’d LOVE it for my crafting room!

Package Number 3 was the most exciting one of all!  It contained a giveaway prize from the lovely and VERY generous Jules at The Awkward Niche.  THANK YOU JULES!!!  Look at all the goodies I won.....

         

A cute hedgehog embroidery kit (more prompting for me to get my embroidery on):

A sweet little blue heart:

A kitty key ring (look what he ate for dinner):

And the super-cute ‘Super Cute’ book:

Thanks, postie!!!  What will you bring for me this week, I wonder.....

And thanks again, Jules!!!  Hugs to you and all my lovely blogging friends,

Carly

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