Anniversary Specials and Prizes!

My Precocious Paper anniversary is quickly approaching and I would love for you to celebrate with me!  Almost two years ago I thought I would give Etsy a try, sell a few cards, perhaps make a few embellies.  Since then I've been blessed with many creative opportunities, new friends, and wonderful customers.  As I see sale number 2000 approaching, I get goosebumps thinking of how blessed and lucky I am.  And I wouldn't be here without YOU!  To express my gratitude, between February 1st and 28th, I'm giving away more than $150.00 in Precocious Paper goodies!  Here are the details:

SPECIALS*:
♥ Every purchase receives a free gift: a clothespin ribbon, flower embellishment, or yummy destash.
♥ Cards: Buy one, the rest ship for free.
♥ Destash Items: Buy one, the rest ship for free.
♥ Paper Bag Albums: Buy one, the rest ship for free (regular US destinations only).
♥ Flower Pairs (Fabric, Lace, and Dyed Cardboard): Buy five, get one free.
♥ Fabric Flower Bouquets: Buy three, get one free.
*Complete your payment and I will send a refund within 24 hours, or make your purchase and request an adjusted invoice.

PRIZES:
♥ Random giveaways will appear on Facebook and/or the blog - keep those eyes peeled!
♥ Off the Page Challenge: Upload a photo of a non-papercrafting project that you used Precocious Paper product on to the Flickr group or the Facebook fan page.  One randomly drawn winner will receive a $10.00 gift certificate to the shop.
♥ Papercrafting Contest: Upload a photo of a scrapbook page, card, or other papercrafting project you used Precocious Paper product on to the Flickr group or the Facebook fan page.  One randomly drawn winner will receive a $10.00 gift certificate to the shop.  If you already have a project there, you're already in!  Every project you enter gives you greater chances of winning!
♥ One customer for each week of the celebration will be randomly drawn to win a $5.00 gift certificate.

GRAND PRIZES:
♥ Winners may choose one of the following: Two Dozen Flower Embellishments, Two Dozen Ribbon Clothespins, or One Custom Paper Bag Album.

♥ If the Facebook fan page reaches 200 fans by 2/28, I will randomly draw one grand prize winner from the Facebook fans.
♥ If the blog reaches 100 followers by 2/28, I will randomly draw one grand prize winner from the blog followers.
♥ If the shop reaches 2000 sales by 2/28, I will randomly draw one customer who made a purchase on that milestone day to win a grand prize.

So much fun!  All winners will be announced on Monday, March 1st.  Grand Prize winners who choose Custom Paper Bag Albums should allow 3-4 weeks for completion of their albums.  All other prizes will ship within 3 days of hearing back from the winners.

Thank you, again, for a fantastic 2 years!  Now let the fun begin!  Tessa

I Love You to the Moon and Back

I think I am finally on the mend.  They say that when you move to a new place, it takes about a year for your immune system to adjust.  I've got three months to go, and I hope they go quickly.  I wouldn't wish this latest illness on my worst enemy!  It feels good to have the strength to open up the laptop again.  I missed a lot in one day!

Yesterday was Thursday, which means I have a Sketchy Thursdays layout to share.  I decided to use these photos that my brother-in-law took during our informal family photo shoot over the holidays.  Carson is a crack-up, a very animated child when he's in his element, and this day was no exception.  I knew I wanted to use this rocket paper for the layout, but then I couldn't come up with just the right title.  After a morning of thought (and fussy cutting), I knew "I Love You to the Moon and Back" was the most fitting.

On a Precocious Paper note, I wanted to let you know that I am playing a guessing game on my Facebook Fan Page.  Today is the last day to participate, and some of my new Bridal Satin Blossoms are up for grabs.

On a Scrap That Poetry note, I still haven't heard from my blog hop winner, Kate.  Kate, if you are out there, send me an email so I can send you your prize!

I'm off to rest.  Enjoy your weekend and stay healthy! Tessa

Shop Update and a Winner

I enjoyed getting to know all of you who participated in the Scrap That Poetry blog hop! Thank you for your sweet comments and I hope to "see" you often.  The lucky commenter/follower that will be receiving a Valentine's Day package from my Etsy shop, Precocious Paper, is Kate!  Kate said, "Beautiful banner!! Thanks for the chance to win! Fun etsy shop btw!"  Thank you Kate! Please email me with your mailing address (see my profile).

Have you visited my Etsy shop lately?  I am having a huge Destash Bash!  After donating all of the superfluous supplies I could to my kids' school, I decided to fill my virtual shelves with some great supplies at amazing prices.  Please help me take charge of my scrapping space again and take some goodies off of my hands :).

Also, just listed today, is a line of new luxe blooms - Bridal Satin Blossoms.  These goregous flowers are made of strips of bridal satin, folded, tucked and spiraled on a cardstock base.  They will add beautiful dimension to your scrapbook pages without adding a lot of heavy bulk.  And they're affordable at just $3.50 for three blossoms.

In one month I will be celebrating my 2 year anniversary on Etsy! Stay tuned for giveaways and specials!  Have a wonderful Tuesday.  I'm off to teach breakdancing to 1st graders at my kids' school - so much fun!

Tessa

Scrap That Poetry Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to Scrap That Poetry's first ever blog hop!  If you want to play along, please start here.  If you just came from Jennifer Campbell's blog, you're in the right place (this is destination #3).

I'm excited to be a new member of the Scrap That Poetry design team! I'm really looking forward to getting to know you better.  So, please, tell me a bit about your scrappy self.  What's your favorite color, which scrapbooking manufacturer do you like best, or how do you organize your scrap stash?  Leave a comment, be a follower of my blog, and you could win this Valentine's Day prize from my Etsy shop, Precocious Paper:

I love the poem that Jennifer chose to be the theme for our hop: "How Do I Love Thee" by Elizabeth Barrett Browning.  I used the title of the poem to make some Valentine's Day decor for our family room.  Since I'm the only girl in the house, I didn't let it get too girlie or frilly.  Simple pennants tied with ribbon made a sweet banner:

Thank you for stopping by and I hope to "see" you often!  Please remember that in order to win the blog hop prize from STP, you must follow the STP blog, visit all of us (yep, all 14!), and return to the STP blog when you're done with your virtual travels.  Your next stop is the lovely Jessica Wilson!  Have fun!

Tessa

A Lot to Share

Hello, all! I have quite a bit to share today.

First, a Valentine's Day card.  While drooling over all the new American Crafts releases on their blog, I came across a challenge to use at least two mini marks in a card or layout.  I used a red dotted oval to frame my sentiment, and I created the sentiment with a combination of a mini mark and my own handwriting.  I think I may give this to my hubby :).

Supplies used: cardstock (Georgia-Pacific and DCWV), rub-ons (American Crafts), pen (Sharpie), heart paper (Sassafras), other paper (unknown - it came in a kit I won), paper frill (Doodlebug Design, Inc.), ribbon, dimensional adhesive.

Next, it's Thursday!  Wow, we had so many wonderful entries over at Sketchy Thursdays for the last sketch.  Head on over to see who won, the design team faves, and the new AMAZING prize and sponsor. 

Here is the new sketch:

And here is my take:

Do you see the Nikki Sivils papers we got to play with?  Adorable! I love having orange in a Valentine's Day color palette.  And in case you can't tell, that's not my hubby.  It's Chad, the Old Navy manequin :).  On our annual day-after-Christmas-shopping-trip, my sisters and I all posed with the manequins - too fun!

Have you visited my Etsy shop recently?  I just added three new embellishment sets.  Each one includes a dozen ribbons on clothespins, flowers, and buttons.  I would love to see what you could make with these.

*Frosting*

*Romantic*

*Sugar*

Have a wonderful day! And check back tomorrow for that blog hop - I'll have a really fun Valentine's Day project to share.  Tessa

Happy News and Colorful Projects

Have you noticed the newest blinkie in my sidebar?  I enjoyed playing along at Scrap That Poetry so much that I decided to apply for the design team - and I was asked to join!  We will be holding a blog hop this weekend - Valentine's Day themed - so that you can get to know us better.  Stay tuned!

Also, I wanted to share a custom order with you.  A sweet customer asked me to make some photo albums for her.  I used to make and sell these all the time, but took a break to focus on embellishments and paper bag albums.  I was more than happy to make some more per her requests.  They are simple photo albums for 4x6 photos with customizable covers.  I added scrapbook papers, hand-written sentiments, die-cuts, dimensional stickers, and rhinestones, as well as pretty ribbons to the spines.  I handmade the camera embellishment from a digital image, chipboard, and Diamond Glaze.

Please stop by later this week for a tutorial, new items for the shop, and of course, that blog hop!  Tessa

Please Don't GROW So Fast

The first day of kindergarten for my oldest son, Colten, was emotional for me. I had a terrible morning - I hit a car in the parking lot of Michaels, I was feeling sick, and my car battery died and we were almost late for school. We made it, though, and on our way to school I snapped this photo. I wanted to cry, but didn't. About a week later we found out we were expecting our third son, so that explains my overly emotional reaction to his first day, but just the same, it was a milestone that I just couldn't bring myself to scrap until now (a year and a half later).

The new sketch at Sketchy Thursdays is fantastic! It was the perfect sketch to chronicle this experience. I loved working with it and I know you will, too. Here's the sketch:


And here is my take:


Visit Sketchy Thursdays for all the details on entering, the sponsor and prize, and last week's winner and design team favorites. Have a wonderful Thursday! Tessa

Hope

I love Emily Dickinson. Of all the poets I've studied, she speaks the most to me. When I saw that the poem this week at Scrap That Poetry was "Hope" by Emily Dickinson, I couldn't help but immediately start brainstorming. I also saw that If the Shoe Fits...Scrap It was challenging readers to use chipboard on a layout, so I found my Maya Road chipboard bird and a little chipboard bird sticker by K and Company that I completely re-covered.



The large bird didn't come with a wing, so I made a wing out of a Maya Road chipboard flower petal. The little bird's wing was attached to the center of her body, so I removed it and placed it to look like the bird was flying. I inked the birds with chalk ink to be sure they stood out. I misted the background paper and made the orange words by hand (I drew the letters, painted them with Twinkling H2O's, and then cut them out with my Cutter-bee scissors).


I have to say, this is probably my favorite layout of 2010 so far. Thanks for looking! Tessa

Scrapping the Music

I had a little time today to play along with the challenge blog Scrapping the Music. The song for inspiration is the theme to "The Golden Girls" tv show, "Thank You For Being a Friend". I decided to do a layout about my love for Facebook and all of my FB friends. The photo is of my computer screen yesterday afternoon.

Thanks for looking! Tessa

Did you notice my new blinkie?

I am thrilled to share that I am one of the new design team members over at The Studio! I have really enjoyed being a part of this community ever since "meeting" Amanda through Sketchy Thursdays and then participating in the fund raising event charity:water with Precocious Paper. The people at The Studio are wonderful. Besides the challenge blog, there is a ning site with a forum full of fun chit-chat and a gallery with more inspiration than you can believe. I especially love that even though members are scattered across the globe, scrapbooking brings us together.

Here is the layout I made as part of the application process:

If you are looking for a fun scrapbooking community to be a part of, I suggest The Studio! Having already seen what is in store for the next six months, I can guarantee you a wonderful time. Amanda is revealing the other new team members one day at a time (I got to be first!), so check back daily to meet the other fantastic artists and to learn a little about them. If you want to know my most embarrassing moment and what I would take with me to scrapbook on a desert island, take a peek!

Have a wonderful weekend! Tessa

2010 - My Word

I've been familiar with the practice of choosing a word to live by each year, but this is the first year I have decided to go for it. I had actually been thinking a lot about what changes I wanted to make and what goals I had for 2010, and the word I chose was born from those thoughts - balance. As I figure out how to be a stay-at-home-mom, settle into a new life in a new place, run my Etsy shop, explore my hobbies, and serve in my church, I hope to find a balance in my life that brings happiness and fulfillment. I was going to make an altered canvas of my word (and I still might, given the time), but when I saw the new Sketchy Thursdays sketch, I knew it was the perfect format to celebrate my choice. I also had fun using my new profile image as the photo :).

Here is the sketch:

Here is my take:

Check out Sketchy Thursdays for all the details, a look at last week's favorite layouts, a spotlight of our new guest designer, and of course - the amazing prize and sponsor!

Have a wonderful Thursday! Tessa

Love Is In the Air!

Can you feel it? I love Valentine's Day! I don't think it's too commercial like some say. I love the idea of exchanged notes of friendship and love, and who doesn't like flowers and chocolates? I don't need the flowers and chocolates, but I really do appreciate receiving Valentine cards, especially handmade ones. Speaking of which, have you seen the new cards in my shop?

Stay tuned for accessories, luxe blooms, new flowers, ribbons, albums, and gifts too! And here on the blog I'll be doing my first tutorial soon. Thanks for stopping by! Tessa

Love Story

Happy New Year! I hope everyone's holiday celebrations have been wonderful! I just got back home from California and am re-adjusting to the Wyoming snow and temperatures. I had a wonderful time but am itching to get crafty!

Before leaving I was able to make my layout for the latest Sketchy Thursdays challenge, and even though I am a day late in posting (I was driving ALL DAY Thursday), here is "Love Story", a layout of my sister's wedding.

I normally take sketches literally, but this time I flipped the sketch. I thought the little photo space in the sketch was perfect for a close-up of their rings. I used vintage seam binding, I hand-dyed the rhinestone swirl to match her bouquet, and I stamped the title - quick, easy, and simply beautiful, I think. I would love to see what you do with the sketch. This feels like one of those especially "limitless possiblities" sketches. Find all the details on playing here.

Speaking of limitless possiblities, I don't know about you, but I have a lot of thoughts about this coming year. 2009 was a year of many major changes for me, and now that life has settled a little, I am excited to be making some goals, planning some projects, and just being open to what else is coming. I've decided to follow along with Ali Edwards in choosing a word to direct my thoughts for 2010 - balance. I'm going to play along with Project 365 in order to push my photography skills and to take more photos. I have a list of scrapbooking challenge blogs that I look forward to more diligently playing with. I am looking forward to growing Precocious Paper. I also have some personal and religious goals that I am excited to work toward.

It feels like a breath of fresh air. Here's to 2010! I wish you the happiest year yet!

Tessa