Well - it's about time - let's celebrate!!!

 

In early January, the hit counter on my blog passed one million.  February 1st was my three year "blogoversary."  In March, the number of posts reached 1,000 (that's a lot of projects and writing!).  Now it is April and I think it is about time to have a blog celebration in honor of all of these milestones.  I have been looking into some new options and may be changing things around as I continue to develop as a crafter and designer - I hope you will enjoy the journey with me!

If you are a long time reader of my blog, you know my favorite numbers are three and seven.  I went to the post office and got three large flat rate priority mailing boxes and for the next seven days I will be adding items to the boxes - at the end the week I'll draw to choose three winners and send off some amazing gifts to three people.  Some days I'll add several items and some days just one - so you'll need to check in every day to see how the boxes are filling up.  Some of the things I'll be adding are similar, but not identical - just to keep things interesting.  The boxes will be sent randomly to the three winners so you won't know exactly what you won until you are unpacking the box (I love a surprise and I hope you do too!).

Some of the items in the boxes have been donated by companies that I have worked with over the past few years and others are items that I have selected and purchased to share with my readers.  There are also a few things that I have made to add to the boxes - I hope you like them!

I chose the large flat rate boxes because they would hold a 12 x 12 stack of paper - and the first item in each box is a fantastic DCWV stack called "Ciao Bella" (or "Hello Beautiful").

This stack has lots of pages with glitter and beautiful birds, butterflies and flowers with a modern vintage twist.  Here are a couple of my favorite pages...

There is also a page of elements that can be cut out and used with the papers.

When I was looking for the date of this stack I discovered that it is the second version of the stack.  If you are a digital scrapper you can download a free kit of the original stack from the DCWV 300 dpi site HERE.  You can also purchase the digital version of this stack - the two versions would work wonderfully together for a large project.

This stack was also used for one of the fabulous dresses in the DCWV booth at CHA in January.

In addition to the paper stack, each box has one other item added today.

The February/March Premier Issue of the Cricut Magazine.  I received these at CHA from Northridge Publishing in the ProvoCraft booth.  

I was surprised when I looked through this first issue to see that there were a lot of items used in the projects that were not made using the Cricut (scalloped borders from dies, chipboard letters, etc.).  I talked with the representatives and they assured me that future issues will be more focused on using the Cricut to full potential.  The magazines from Northridge are beautifully produced and there are some nice projects in this first issue.

So - what do you need to do to take part in this celebration?  As always it's simple - just leave a comment.  But not just any comment - each day I'll ask you to answer a question (just to keep things interesting!). 

You don't have to be a blog follower or a subscriber to play along, but if you are, you can leave another comment and have a second chance each day as a way for me to thank you for your support.  If you are a Facebook user you can also "like" the Capadia Designs page HERE and leave another comment telling me that you are a Facebook fan.  I started the Facebook page at the request of some readers who wanted to keep up with my blog on Facebook and I am planning to start using the page in some new ways (more about that later).

You can leave comments everyday so you will have multiple chances to be one of the three winners.  Please don't leave more than 3 on one day (1 comment, 2 follower or subscriber, 3 Facebook fan).  When you leave a comment be sure that you don't have the box checked to be notified of follow up comments so you don't get tons of emails clogging up your in box.  Please be sure to leave some way for me to contact you if you are one of the lucky three - you can leave your email address and use (at) and (dot) to help avoid spam.

I am so excited to show you all of the things that will be added to the boxes and I wish you all good luck!

  

I had to share this photo of the sky from our back deck Tuesday night - amazing colors!

 

...and here is a sneak peek at one of the "assembly" projects we have been working on...

Today's question is

Do you use Design Studio or the Gypsy (or both) with your Cricut and if you don't use either of these will you use the new Cricut CraftRoom free online design tool when it is available?

Subscribe to Capadia Designs 

 

"Blogoversary" Celebration and Gifts!

I started this blog exactly one year ago today - what a year! I have learned so much (and spent so much!), made new "virtual" friends and had a lot of fun creating and sharing designs and preparing and sharing tutorials. I am amazed by the number of people who view my blog regularly (over 180,000 "hits") and download my designs (over 75,000 downloads) and I love to see all of the locations from around the country and around the world that visitors to my blog call home.

To recognize and celebrate my "blogoversary" I am offering a chance to win a few gifts to those who read my blog. All of the gifts relate to calendars and time...

Gift #1



First, I have a complete group of the Studio G Calendar months mini stamp sets - assembled on multiple craft store visits by digging through those bins!



Also included is a lucky 13th set with the full names of each of the months.



Gift #2



Next, I have a Creative Memories Minutes Picfolio Album in the "Playful" design - these are pretty and useful with a great striped cover in pastel colors. The closed album measure 6 x 7 inches. Here is a LINK to the page on my CM Personal Website where you can see more information about the album.



The album is closed with a magnetic strap which can be used to turn the album into a mini easel as demonstrated in the photos above.



There are twelve pages inside (24 sleeves) sized for a 4 x 6 photo on a 4 1/2 x 6 1/2 inch mat - you can use these to make a great desk calendar - above is an example of one I did a few years ago (before I owned a Cricut).

Gift #3



This is a Creative Memories "Mini Moments" set. It was a Memory Keepers Club prize and never available for purchase. The set comes in a nice tin which can be used to store all sorts of things.



Inside there are 12 calendar mats which have the grids printed in different sizes on either side. (the calendar mats are currently available to purchase - here is a LINK to the page on my CM website if you want more information)



There are also 12 sheets of 4 1/2 x 6 1/2 inch paper (above) and an idea sheet (below)



Inside the tin, there are also two small magnetic backed lidded containers and an exclusive hole punch.



Here is another view of the tins and the hole punch - it cuts a rough edged swirl and a zig zag edge sunburst shape.



So, if you want to help me celebrate and perhaps win one of these items, here is what you need to do...

Please leave a comment by clicking on the "comments" at the bottom of this post (an example showing where to click is below) - a box will pop up for you to type in your comment and name.



You can also comment on the post on the Cricut Message Board which is LINKED HERE (this is just in case you have trouble leaving comments on blogger sites - I prefer that you comment here to make it easier for me when it is time to do the drawing). Only comments made in one of these two places will be included, so, if you are a subscriber and receive my posts by email, please do not reply to the email to enter the drawing - it won't work!

If you already own any of these items, or are only interested in one or two of them, please note this in your comment. Please also be sure to identify yourself if you are posting as "anonymous" by leaving your name (real or message board) in the comment.

If you have read my blog for a while you know that my lucky numbers are three and seven - there are three prizes and the time to comment will remain open for seven days - on February 8th I will choose a winner for each prize using a random method - you can only win once but there will be three separate drawings so you have a chance for each prize (unless you ask not to be included in one or two of them).

I will keep a link to this post at the top of my blog for the next seven days to make it easier to comment.

Thank you all for being part of my blogging world - I hope that you are enjoying the work I share and that you are actually using it for your personal projects, cards and albums. I always appreciate seeing how people have used my designs so, if you are willing to share any photos, I'd love to see them (you can email me at capadiadesigns@gmail.com).

Thanks again - I am looking forward to continuing my attempt to meet my goal to post daily this year (my version of "Project 365") and there will be some changes in format and interesting new projects coming soon...

Enjoy the Super Bowl tonight (if you are watching it instead of crafting)!