And the winner is... (Plus our hike for the Relay)

 Thanks to everyone who donated to our team for the Relay for Life.  We raised over $500 for the American Cancer Society!

I just drew a name from the list of donors to win one of my necklaces (see the last post).  And the winner is...

...Patricia Place!!!

I'll be contacting her, getting her mailing address, and sending this off to her this week.

Thanks to everyone who donated, walked, or helped in some other way!!!

We couldn't make it back to Texas for the relay so the California portion of the team was allowed to walk here.  I first thought about walking a track like the rest of the team, then the park, then Lauren wanted to hike up Mt. Diablo.  

Last week Glenn watched an episode of "Best of the Bay" where they listed the best beaches in the Bay Area.  One of the beaches was a beach with a waterfall right onto the sand... Alamere Falls.  So we set off to find it.

The hike started out along the coast (see Jo in the first photo) and then moved inland under the redwoods.

That's where we met this little guy -- a banana slug.  These are popular at science camp.  The kids dare each other to lick them.  Not sure why... anyone know?

I almost stepped on this one but I didn't lick it.

 After a two-hour hike we made it to the cliff where the falls start.  We stopped for lunch then climbed down the first cliff.  It wasn't too bad.  Here you can see me & Glenn coming down.  

The view was worth the hike!  There were three falls at this level.  But then an even steeper cliff went down to the beach.  We started but Glenn & I decided that even though we probably could do it, we probably shouldn't do it.  :-)

So the girls went down without us & took a picture of us at the top of the falls. 

I think we're all a little sore today but it was a great hike and a fun day with family & even met a few people along the trail.

Necklace Raffle & Drawing

 I'm afraid those of you who have been asking me about my "big announcement" are going to be disappointed.  No one's having a baby, getting married, or anything like that.

Actually, I have 2 things to share.  First, Jordann got into Berean Christian High School.  And we found out yesterday that she got a scholarship.  Not a full scholarship, but it will cover a big chunk of the tuition.  Yay, Jordy!!!

Second, my sister started a team for us to walk in the Relay for Life next weekend.  We are walking in memory of my mother, who died last year of liver cancer.

 If you look at our team page you'll see that my sister has done a good job of raising money.  But the rest of us are lagging far behind.  So we came up with the idea of raffling necklaces.  

My sister will have the first necklace at the relay next weekend.  You'll be able to see it there and buy tickets from her.  I did make one little change... I switched the "peace" and "hope" charms so that "hope" is hanging from the key.

You can enter the drawing for this second necklace by making a donation on our team website.  After the Relay I'll write all the donor names on pieces of paper and have someone draw a name.  So even if you've already donated your name will be in the drawing.  The size of the donation doesn't matter.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks for your donation!!!

A Sunday Song Music Giveaway!

I've been trying to share some of my favorite songs with you every Sunday.  This week we reorganized our office area and found some extra CDs.  I'd like to give this one away to one of my followers.  It's a great CD to listen to if you're going through tough times right now.  If you would like this leave a comment on this post and when I get back from Texas on September 9 I'll pick a number and mail this to you.  Make sure you leave me an email or blog url so I can contact you.

From the CD cover:

Come Weary Saints is an invitation to redirect your focus to the God whose love has been forever demonstrated at the cross of Calvary.  As you listen to these songs may your faith and joy in the Savior be strengthened for the challenges you face, now or in the future.

Here's one of the songs from the CD:

Time for a Sunday Song

We sing a lot of modern hymns at our church.  This is one of my favorites, by one of my favorite writers -- after Glenn, of course.  :-)


O church, arise and put your armor on;
Hear the call of Christ our captain;
For now the weak can say that they are strong
In the strength that God has given.
With shield of faith and belt of truth
We'll stand against the devil's lies;
An army bold whose battle cry is "Love!"
Reaching out to those in darkness.

Our call to war, to love the captive soul,
But to rage against the captor;
And with the sword that makes the wounded whole
We will fight with faith and valor.
When faced with trials on ev'ry side,
We know the outcome is secure,
And Christ will have the prize for which He died—
An inheritance of nations.

Come, see the cross where love and mercy meet,
As the Son of God is stricken;
Then see His foes lie crushed beneath His feet,
For the Conqueror has risen!
And as the stone is rolled away,
And Christ emerges from the grave,
This vict'ry march continues till the day
Ev'ry eye and heart shall see Him.

So Spirit, come, put strength in ev'ry stride,
Give grace for ev'ry hurdle,
That we may run with faith to win the prize
Of a servant good and faithful.
As saints of old still line the way,
Retelling triumphs of His grace,
We hear their calls and hunger for the day
When, with Christ, we stand in glory.


This group came to our church a few years ago and our choir got to sing with them.  We still have four CDs leftover from that concert.  I think I gave their CD to all our family members that year for Christmas, but if there is anyone else who would like to have one I'd be glad to send it to you.  It's the "In Christ Alone" CD.  You can read more about it and listen to clips by clicking the link below.  Amazon's best price is $7.72, but mine are FREE!  If you want one, leave a comment on this post with info about how to contact you and I'll get your mailing address.

The Winner Is...

Today is the end of the Cottage Charm giveaway.  I just picked a name, using a random number generator and the winner is.... Kathy of Eykamp Haus.

Jordy & I did a little shopping today.  First an estate sale where we found lots of goodies.  I'm thinking about selling at a local antique market so we found some things to resell & help display some of the jewelry I'm making.  If she doesn't find a job this summer she may be helping me more than she expects. :-)

I haven't taken a picture of the things we bought today yet, so I'm showing you a photo of something I bought at an estate sale several years ago... thinking about displaying some earrings on this.

Cottage Charm Giveaway

I'm participating in the 4th Annual Cottage Charm Giveaway hosted by The Twice Remembered Cottage for the first time this year.  I've heard it was a lot of fun last year.  You can see everyone who is participating here on this post.

Here's what I'm giving away - 5 beautiful, old silver forks.  I love the delicate floral design on these.  Four are full size dinner forks & one is a smaller salad fork.  

Old measuring spoons -- just like I grew up with!

And a few other things... a glass salt or pepper shaker, a gingerbread man cookie cutter, old spoon, and a fun old celluloid nail buffer.

You may enter my giveaway up to three times.

1. Leave a comment on this post.  You do not have to have your own blog.  But if you don't, please let me know how to contact you if you win.
2. Send a "tweet" out on Twitter about my giveaway with a link back to this post.  Come back here & leave a comment on this post with your Twitter url so I can come visit you there.
3. Become a fan (or, "like", now that FB made a change to their group page) of Duct Tape And Denim on Facebook.  Then come back and leave another comment here on this post.

Unfortunately, due to the weight of this package, my giveaway is limited to the US only.

And here's something I finished last night.  A vintage skeleton key necklace.  I made one for myself & one for Jordy.  I'm about to list this one in my Etsy shop.

A Blog Giveaway

I just found a fun new blog & they're having a giveaway this week!  Go check out The Red Chair Blog.  Lots of fun tutorials -- including a No-Sew Pillow, Chalkboard Table (Love this idea... like our chalkboard kitchen door!),  & a Meal-Planning Magnet system.

And, since I don't like posts without photos, I added one of my own photos.  I made this ATC a couple of years ago for a humor challenge.  This is me on my dad's tractor.  Looks really safe, right?  :-)

More Valentines...

I added more stamped Valentine tickets to my Etsy shop this morning. Now I have pink, red, and white. The Valentines below are being added to my One World One Heart Giveaway. I made them with my Vintage Valentine Postcard Collage Sheets - also in my Etsy shop.

This one has glass glitter around the edges.

If you would like to win these & other Valentines go back to my original post and leave a comment by February 15.

One World One Heart Giveaway

I'm participating in the One World One Heart Giveaway this year. I've decided to give away some Valentine tags & envelopes that I've made. So far I have three but I know I have more upstairs that I'm going to pull out and photograph later. It's just a little too dark to do it now.
So, to win my Valentine's all you have to do is leave a comment on this blog post. (If you're reading this on my Facebook account you'll need to come over to my blog to leave the comment.) On February 15 I'll use a random number generator to choose my winner. You can be anywhere in the world and you don't have to have your own blog or have a giveaway of your own.
There will be a LOT more blogs giving things away. Click on the button below to see them. Have fun & hope you make some new blog friends.

NOTE: More Valentines have been added to this giveaway! See photos of them on this post.

Thanksgiving Giveaway!

To thank all the people following our 30 Days of Thanksgiving I thought I'd have a giveaway. I still have a few of these banner kits that I list in my Etsy shop. Leave a comment here and I'll draw a random number Sunday night and send one to the winner. If you blog or Twitter about it, leave me another comment & you can have 2 (or 3) entries.

My little nephew made one last year. Do y'all have it up?

A Giveaway

Hero Arts is celebrating their new website with prizes, games, and giveaways all week.  Check their blog for the current giveaway.

Sunday Update

Well, we sang this morning.  Didn't sound quite as good as the Brooklyn Tabernacle choir... but we're getting there.  lol...

I got online this afternoon to see what time our local scrapbook store closed today.  (Turns out that they're closed on Sundays.)  I saw that they had posted a new challenge so I took it!  The challenge was to make a funny ATC with a photo of yourself as a child.  I don't have a lot of photos of me as a child.  I think they're mostly slides.  But I do have the one above.  Yes, I'm on a carseat on the side of a tractor.  Looks safe, doesn't it?  That's probably illegal today.  It reminds me of the words to a country song:

...Our cribs were covered in lead based paint.  No child proof lids, no seat belts in cars.  Rode bikes with no helmets and still here we are... We got daddy's belt when we misbehaved.  Had 3 TV channels you got up to change.  No video games and no satellite.  All we had were friends and they were playin' outside... No bottled water, we drank from a garden hose.  And every Sunday, all the stores were closed...

I won again!!!  This time I won Carolyn Peeler's giveaway.  She created this piece of art for her new book and to celebrate she gave it away.  I was the lucky winner.  This is giving me hope!  Someday I'll win that $5000 Home Depot prize!  :-)

Tomorrow we're going shopping for a graduation dress for J then going over to eat with some friends.  

What a Good Day!!!

NOTE:  Please scroll down to see more good things that happened today.

First Good Thing:  I FINALLY won something!  It all started last summer when my sister told me about the giveaways on the Rocks in My Dryer blog.  I think over 400 blogs linked to hers and they each gave something away -- $20 Starbucks cards, leftover craft supplies, jewelry, coupons & other gift cards, some really great stuff.  So I joined in.  I think I gave away a bouquet of my paper flowers.  I had over 200 comments on that one post!  I knew there were a lot of people playing but I must have left comments on over 100 blogs that had something that I'd like to win.  But I didn't win anything.  :-(  But that got me started.  I told my dd that I WAS going to win SOMETHING.  Well, it's a good thing I don't gamble 'cause I've been entering everything I can find since then and just now won my first drawing!  I've entered more blog giveaways, magazine contests, and those drawings you can enter on the bottom of your Home Depot/K-Mart/other retail store receipts.  (Still want to win the $5000 Home Depot gift card!)

So my first blog prize was won from Paula's Palace of AltAred Art.  And it was well worth the wait.  I couldn't believe how much stuff she got into this box.  This isn't even everything!

Pages from a 1905 magazine. 

Chipboard!  Including a Scallop Book.

Lauren's already trying to get these papers away from me.  They're all 8"x8" squares.  There were also some 12"x12" sheets in pink & black that I forgot to photograph.

Vintage goodies!  

Glittery paper:

Second Good Thing:  I just got an email today that 2 of my projects are going to be included in the 2008 Somerset Holidays & Celebrations magazine!!!  They're going to be in a technique-based article and I have to send them a 600-800 word article about how I made them, my inspiration, lessons learned, instructions, tips, etc.  Wow!  I've never done anything like this before and I'm really excited!  I'm sure you'll be hearing more about it from me.  The mag will be available September 1, 2008.

Third Good Thing:  Carmen had her baby!  Her husband works with Glenn & this is their first.  Her family is here from Australia and from what I've heard baby & mom are doing fine.  What a Mother's Day gift, huh?

More Good Things:  I just got off the phone with our homeowner's association.  I called because I thought I had forgotten to send in a payment.  But instead, I have a $244 credit!  Not sure how that happened!  Maybe during the sale?  Anyway, that'll leave me a little more money to pay for all the graduation expenses that are coming up.  Boy, as kids get bigger they keep getting more expensive!  

And I could go on & on... beautiful weather, moving into the new church building next week, this week going to ladies day away with my dd...  So what kind of good things are going on in your life?

A Valentine Giveaway

Yay! It's another bloggy giveaway! I made some more Valentine's magnets yesterday (using some of the fun goodies we bought in Berkeley last week) and for this I'm giving away the one in the first photo. It's a mini-collage on a vintage poker chip. If you'd like to win this just leave a comment on this post. I'll draw a name on Sunday after the Super Bowl. If you want to try to win something else go over to this blog... there are over 800 blogs giving things away!!! Have fun!

These others are going in my Etsy shop.

This last one is a pendant. Think I'll keep it.

And the winner is...

... Heidi from Everyday Cookies at Sweet Woodruff Acres! Heidi is also the administrator of one of my favorite Flickr groups, Brown Paper Bag Scrapbooks. Here's a peek at my latest paper bag creation:

I'm thankful today for friends -- near and far and blogging and Flickr friends I've never met! Now we're off to choir to sing with more friends!

200!!!

Happy 200th Post to Me!

Here's what I came up with to give away. A bouquet of paper fall flowers that Jo and I made. I don't think the ones in the photo are the exact ones I have left, but very similar. Just leave a comment and let me know at least one thing that you're thankful for! I'll draw a winner one week from today - at noon on Tuesday, November 13.

On a completely different note. Lauren compared our senior pictures today. She chose the red fluffy wrap because that's what I had my photo in. Take a look:

D is for Designing with Words!

Here are a couple of our projects from last week. I love decorating with words! Not only my collages & paper crafts, but also our house. "Eat" is in our kitchen -- notice I just photographed from the window up. The sink was full of dishes. "Tatum" is in our living room. I didn't mean for them to be finished but this is as far as we got. But everyone has liked them like this! (Notice the little tin man climbing the A? Jordann made that.)

The apron giveaway drawing was today! The winner has been contacted and I'll post who it was as soon as I hear back from her. Thanks to everyone who participated. I'm going to do it again when I find -- or make -- something else to give away.

A is for Apron Giveaway

Well, I tried again immediately after that last post and it looks like it's going to work this time.  I was sorting through my craft closet yesterday -- looking for things to stick on my Bingo card collages! -- and ran across these two aprons.  I originally bought them to go in my Etsy shop with the other aprons but they both have light stains on them.  I haven't tried Oxy-Clean or anything else other than just normal washing.  (SE, maybe I should put them out in the sun, huh?)  I had so much fun with my last giveaway I thought I'd do it again with these.  So if you want these two aprons leave a comment on this post and NEXT Wednesday, August 15, I'll do another drawing.  Both aprons are pink.  The lighter one has a Mexican man and woman dancing embroidered on it.  I think I have close ups of that one on my Flickr.  It also has a little pocket and a little worn area on the ties.