Today : :

I want to thank you for being a part of my life this year, for visiting me here, and for being so kind to me and my work! I wish you all a very merry Christmas and a wonderful day full of peace and joy!  

♥  The Cracknell Family

News & A Favor : :

I have some great news and a HUGE favor to ask, but first I wanted to share a little progress I made on my most recent sketch stitching project.

I started adding color with a little of my Urban Cowgirl winnings for the collar and dress-band, and some of a Bryant Park print for the rest of her dress. I had planned to make this a mini for my girl, but now I'm dreaming of making a large quilt combining these special sketch-y blocks with patchwork. I do have a plan!



And now on to the BIG news and favor! I'm hoping that you all might take a second to vote for this years Handmade Olympics happening over at the rikrak studio blog. I was nominated by a couple of my regular followers here and now I've been chosen as a finalist!! I'm in event 7 : :  

Favorite Blog with a Hand-making Focus!

The judge for this event was Dana from Made, who won the gold medal last year, and had to narrow all the nominations down to the top 10 shortlist. I am just thrilled to be listed amongst these other blogs!

Again today, I thank you all for supporting my blog the way you do! I said it in my Handmade Giveaway post and I want to mention it again -- It's you all who keep me motivated to keep on creating and who are making so many of my crafty dreams come true! So many blessing keep emerging for this little blog, especially this week, and I'll have some very exciting news to share in the weeks ahead! I Thank You for visiting, nominating, sharing, and for the sweet, encouraging words you leave me here each day!

Thank you in advance for voting (you can click here to do so)! I wish you all a beautiful day!!

♥ Maureen

A { Thank You } GIVEAWAY : :

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How about a Giveaway today!!!



Randi at Fresh Squeezed Fabrics puts together such beautiful custom fabric bundles. She offered this tangerine and steel bundle as a fat 1/8 set giveaway on the FSF facebook page a few weeks back and it really caught my eye! You can check out more of her bundles right here.
 
This month begins the Fresh Squeezed Sew Alongs for 2012 that Randi is hosting on her blog, i have to say... The sew-alongs will take place on the 2nd Tuesday of each month and will feature a fun project -- some will be simple and perfect for beginners, and some will be more advanced, designed to up your skill levels.To get all the details, you can visit Randi here! I think it sounds super fun! And, I got to help create the button! :)
 
Today's giveaway Prize!

A gorgeous fabric bundle from Fresh Squeezed Fabrics featuring fat quarters from a few of our favorite designers. You will receive one fat quarter of each of the following prints:

PR206, Bryant Park Collection
Lina in Rugged Suede, Echo
Scissors in Tangerine, Half Moon Modern
Paisley in Steel, Half Moon Modern
Foliage in Outsmarted, Outfoxed
Foxglove in Outsmarted, Outfoxed
Chevron in Steel, Half Moon Modern
Leaf in Tangerine, Half Moon Modern

I have this bundle myself, and it's perfect!

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Enter to Win!

Here's how,

Simply add a comment below. In light of my sharing post from earlier this week, I'd love it if you'd be willing to share a quote, scripture, prayer, book, song, movie, hobby, or activity... that helps you stay positive or gets you through your own struggle.

I heard from so many people who were touched by the comments and stories that were shared here this week and I thought it might be nice to share something uplifting, without asking you to get too personal.

Please, enter now through 10 o'clock pm (EST) Sunday, January 8th. Mr. Random will pick the winner and I will announce their name this Monday morning in a new post here on the blog.

* Note * This giveaway is open to EVERYONE! If you're a "no reply" or an anonymous commenter, remember to include your email address in your comment so that I can contact you, should you win! I learned that many of you are a "no reply" commenter when trying to reply to your comments from the other day. Please check to make sure you can be contacted!

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 Wishing a wonderful weekend to all!!!

This Weekend : :

This Weekend was exactly what I needed!

- I worked on last weeks orders, spending all of Saturday, enjoying the Harry Potter marathon with lots of popcorn, cocoa and my favorite little people.

- My little photographer took pictures of me, taking pictures of him. It went on way too long and now my memory card (all 16gb of it) is full! :)

- We got our tree!!!

-  I got to play dj, with the sounds of Christmas being sung by my favorites -- Elle Fitzgerald, Ingrid Michaelson, Bing Crosby, KT Tungstall, Pricsilla Ahn... while Kevin and Haila worked their magic with the Christmas lights.

- My boys danced and entertained us all afternoon with their usual goofy antics. ♥ 

- We got a visit from our little piggy friend, Abner!

- We all felt the spirit of Christmas. Yes, it's here!!

- I have no doubt now that real friends are made through this blogging thing we all do and love! I thank you for showing me your support by visiting me here and by leaving me your sweet words that make me feel wonderful and special and keep me creating day after day. Thank you, friends!

Today, I'm wishing you all a beautiful start to your own week!!