Winner Winner!-Red Heart Yarn Contest

Thanks to everyone that helped celebrate Red Heart Yarn's "Women's Choice Award! It was interesting to learn how all of you choose products to use! Out of all comments I could only pick one and turned to "Random.org" to choose my winner!

and that comment fell to:

 Kelly Sas said...Recommendations from valued friends certainly will influence my purchasing decisions. I also like searching on the internet for reviews of something I am considering purchasing, especially major purchases. I am a follower of your blog now. :)

Congrats Kelly,  I will be contacting you on how to claim your prize! A huge thank you to Red Heart Yarn  for sponsoring our contest! 

 

Red Heart Yarn-Contest!

Do you remember the first "yarn craft" you made? I do! I was 4 years old and just read the book Charlotte's Web. I wanted to be like Charlotte and so I decided to make my own "web" in my bedroom. I found a skein of yarn (it was orange)  and started tying it to every imaginable surface. The idea was to make my "web" all over my bedroom and then be able to crawl on it. I worked hard on it, so imagine my disappointment when my mom came in and wasn't as pleased with me as I thought she would be. (Apparently it took almost 2 hours to cut down my "web".)

Image from "String Fling"

As I have grown, naturally  my yarn crafting abilities have grown too.  From the humble beginnings of web making, I progressed to "god's eyes," and finger weaving, to knitting. My skill level knitting wise is basic, but that doesn't stop me from appreciating the gorgeous creations of my mother-in-law and friends. I love seeing what they create and then learning about the creative process and what supplies they used. I then use those recommendations to guide my purchasing decisions.

Apparently I'm not alone what influences my purchasing decisions. In a 2012 Fleishmen Hillard Survey.  Women value the opinion of others very highly when it comes to making a purchasing decision, and half of all women consider it their role to help others make smart decisions when it comes to purchasing product.

 The "Women's Choice Award" has a goal of helping women make better purchasing decisions. This product seal is awarded to companies and products, that are most recommended in a poll of thousands of women across the united states. For 2015 that seal was awarded to Red Heart Yarn. It's important to know this isn't just the brand used by women, it signifies that women are are willing to recommend it to others. As Delia Passi  CEO and Founder of the Women's Choice Awards states:

“When a woman is willing to recommend a brand or service to others, it means that business has earned her loyalty. Those are the businesses we wish to recognize for their efforts and commitment to the No. 1consumer – women." 

To celebrate their achievement. Red Heart Yarn is sponsoring a giveaway right here! One lucky reader will win a $50 prize packages sent directly to them by Red Heart! The prize includes:

Approximate Retail Value $50 

3 Red Heart Sizzle

2 Red Heart Medley

2 Red Heart Boutique Swanky

2 Red Heart Boutique Sashay Boho

1 Red Heart Boutique Treasure

1 Red Heart Tote Bag

 

What do you have to do to win???
Leave ONE comment telling me how about what influences your purchasing decision.  How important are "friends' recommendations" to you when buying a product?  Do you solely listen to friends? Do you research and also get recommendations? What influences your purchasing decisions?

Comment by Midnight March 26th, 2015 CST. One winner will be chosen at random from all eligible commenters. As a special 'thank-you' to my followers I'm awarding all followers that comment an extra entry. (Indicate in your comment if you follow my blog.) This contest is open GLOBALLY...yes you red that correctly. Red Heart has generously agreed to ship the prize anywhere in the world.

A HUGE thank you to Red Heart for generosity in sponsoring this contest!

2nd Place!

Remember my shelf turned pie safe??

 The talent in this contest was amazing! It was an honor to be a part of it and even more so to see my name and project up on the Winner's List! Thank you to everyone that voted for me! Plus a special thanks to Fave Crafts, for sponsoring the contest and to  Plaid Crafts and MD Hobby and Craft for having amazing products to work with.

For the full announcement http://www.favecrafts.com/contest/Blogger-Contest

and for instructions on my project: http://www.favecrafts.com/Painting-on-Wood/Restyled-Red-Shelf-Home-Decor-Craft

Be sure to look for the blogger ebook featuring projects from the contest coming April 1st!

New Product SNEAK PEEK Mod Podge Mod Melter!

The last two weeks or so I have been have loads of fun playing with a new tool from Plaid, the Mod Podge Mod Melter. Now everyone knows I LOVE my glue gun, but let me be one of the first to say the Mod Melter, takes traditional glue guns to a whole new level.

For starters the Mod Melter, can be used as a traditional glue gun with mini high temp glue sticks, but what makes it unique is that the Mod Melter is designed to use vertically.  Traditional glue guns are hard to see around when gluing your project, the Mod Melter is designed to be used above project with the glue flowing downward, meaning you can see exactly where you need to glue.  If the vertically design wasn't enough, Plaid added a longer cord (6ft.)  an on/off switch, a silicone safe tip, and to make holding the tool more comfortable an even a larger trigger, and silicone grip. In addition to it's gluing abilities, the Mod Melter is designed to use Plaid's Mini Mod Melts to create a whole array of embellishments for your crafting projects. Mini Mod Melts, look like a traditional hot glue stick and come in a variety of colors and finishes.

Once I practiced with the melter a couple of times getting used to the trigger, I was ready to attempt filling some Mod Melt Molds, these detailed silicone molds are designed to create resin looking embellishments with the melts.

My first attempt wasn't too bad. After they cooled (recommended time is about 10 minutes.) I found them to pop easily out of the mold, any "extra" hardened mod melt was easily removed with a pair of sharp scissors.

I loved the look of the "milk glass" sticks, the detail shown in the pieces reminded me of a cameo, so my first project I took a ring tray and made a faux cameo ring. To start i created my "shell piece" out of the white milk glass, I allowed this to thoroughly cool. Then I filled the tray of the ring with pink mod melt. I left a bit of space around the edges to allow for spreading. Then I embedded the white piece into the pink. As I carefully pushed the white piece into the tray, the pink mod melt spread out to fill the tray completely because it was still in it's molten stage.

The result a "faux cameo"ring. I can't wait to try this with different shapes and base colors.

 From the ring, I moved onto a project near and dear to my heart, embellishments for hair pretties. I pack shoebox gifts for Operation Christmas Child, and we love putting hair accessories into the girls boxes. I was given a bunch of plain clips that needed something extra. After creating some bows out of ribbon and hot gluing them into place, I added Mod Melt decorations to the centers of the hair bows. The shapes added a perfect finishing touch.

Even though the Mod Melts come in a variety of colors, you can paint and ink them to the color of your choosing. Here I simply rubbed some alcohol based ink over the owl with my finger. The color collected on the raised edges showing the detail of the piece.

My favorite project of my Mod Melter adventure, is this 8 x 10 canvas. I loved the mini frame molds, and thought mini "gilded" frames showcasing my family would be fun. So taking the frames, I simply painted them with gold acrylic paint. When finished I used them to frame mini prints of my family as the focal point of my "family canvas"

 

The Mod Melter will be available Mid March on Plaid Online and on Amazon.com and HSN.com March 9th. Be sure to check out my blog next week for more on the Mod Melter!