$450 Cash Giveaway

Welcome to the $450 Craft Dictator Blogiversary Cash Giveaway!

$200 PayPal Cash Giveaway

$500 Holiday Gift Card Giveaway

Christmas is here, bringing good cheer, Merry, Merry, Merry Christmas! 

Merry, Merry, Merry, Christmas! I love Christmas!!! With Thanksgiving right around the corner, what better way to start you on your merry way than a gift card for 500 buckaroos? Myself and 24 incredible bloggers have linked up to give YOU the chance to win! Exciting, huh?!

✥ UT Blogger Social Recap ✥

Oh my goodness.
You guys.
I had so much FUN at the Utah Bloggers Dinner!

Lindsay {via Southern Lovely} and I were thrilled to meet up with several local bloggers. We had so much fun chatting it up and eatin good grub at the Brick Oven in Provo.
{Too bad we took this pic while gals were at the salad bar- but we tried to get at least one before we stuffed our faces!}

Lindsay and I had never met in "real" life before- but truthfully, I felt like I had known her my whole life. You know how that happens every once in a great while?  I could not have asked for a better girl to put this little shindig together with. She rocked the house in a major way and I was totally thrilled to know her in real life!

So many talented ladies showed up and I feel like I made a ton of great friends. It was fantastic!
It was exactly what I was looking for- friends who understand the what an SEO is... and the importance of social networking. Gals who would rather paint walls than their nails.  I can't speak for anyone else-
but I was totally blown away by how great all the girls were and ow fun the night was!
I guess I was feeling nervous to meet all new people and about how things would go, but {thankfully} it exceeded my expectations!!!


I had TONS of fun with these darling friends- {it's me}, Beth from Free Stylin &
 Erin from Lavender and Lemon Drops!
Beth is hilarious and such a treat to talk with! She runs a crafty, DIY and design blog. We both have a background in social work- so it's too funny that we both blog about design.
Erin runs a DIY and design blog- that I've been a fan of for months and months. We both love us some knock offs- so I was first drawn to her for that. I love how her casual and friendly approach to blogging. She has great style and taste, so you can always count on her to round up beautiful ideas.


Amanda from Burlap and Denim & 

Ruth from What's Cooking With Ruthie
I have "known" Amanda for quite some time- and adore her work. She is crazy, ridiculously talented and has a crafty DIY and design blog! {A girl after my own heart!}
Ruth is a brand new buddy- I luv her blog story- she writes a fab food blog and it's named after her grandmother's cooking TV show from the 60's, with the same title. Too cool!

Mary from Casey~Mary~Gerret, Marissa from Raegun Ramblings  &
Elisabeth from La Vita Bella
Mary is totally funny and a super cute local blogger and a close friend of mine- we went to church together and worked in the nursery. If that's not a bonding experience, I do NOT know what is!!. She writes a family and lifestyle blog.
Marissa is a sweetheart- she is totally outgoing and a great networker! I've linked up at her Wednesday party for months now. Her blog is full of great sewing ideas and recipes. I may have to take her up on the offer she made to teach me to sew-- but see what I mean? She's so nice to offer!
Elisabeth is also a new friend- but she is so sweet and a friendly, outgoing person. She is fantastic at making contacts and making people comfortable. She writes a fun and quirky lifestyle blog.

Aimee from Granite Gurus and Vintage Radness &
Tonii from Blue Skies Above
Aimee is actually a friend of mine from Boston/childhood- though she moved away in high school and we both happened to end up in Utah of all places. She writes a couple of blogs- one about kitchens and then a fun and cheeky blog about vintage items.
Tonii runs a fantastic blog with great ideas for families- like family night activities, games and events for kids and recipes. She is adorable and her blog is so super cute- if you have kids you need to check it out!

{from left to right} Ruthie, Aimee, Tonii,
& Debra from Housewife Eclectic
Debra is a brand new resident of Utah. I know she just rolled in to town 4 days prior and we were stoked she made the effort to come! Too bad she had her camera on her all night, I guess she didn't pose for any other pics. Her blog is filled with cute crafts tutorials, photography and book reviews.

The round up...

Amanda ● Elisabeth ● Ruthie ● Aimee ● Tonii ● Debra ● Marissa● Lindsay ● Me ●Erin ● Beth ● Mary

Now, check out the line up of super rad sponsors! ☺

We were able to give away 6 {!!!} frames from Cut it Out- they are the cutest things ever and I adore the fun shapes. Krityn from Lil Luna was a doll to work with to get this set up- talk about friendly and helpful!

So in this dorky candid pic I was conducting the drawing for our winners!! Debra and Mary were the lucky winners!

I made up little gift bags to hand out the rest of the swag.

Check out the oh so generous giveaways! 

 

Honestly, I was a little so honored that companies would support our little dinner. I mean, yeah- we do have a bunch of subscribers, especially between all our blogs- but it was just lil ol Lindsay and I hoping to have a fun get together. So I feel touched they took the chance that people would show up!

I owe a BIG "thank you" to each of you!

I loved that we were able to share ideas- and tips. Like this impromptu camera lesson happening in the background. I learned a lot about blogging- had some questions answered. It was great to discuss sponsors and ad networks. Things that are difficult to figure out on your own.



Thanks again, to Lindsay, for all her help and for everyone who showed up.
I truly thought each person who came was a total sweetheart and I was super excited to get to know them beyond all our blog correspondances. It's funny how blogging only shows limited parts of someone's personality, you know? These gals are even better in person! Loved it! Even for someone like me, who's kinda shy, it was a blast!
 I am itching to do something like this again! In fact a company approached me about doing it at their venue. Who would want to come?

✥ "Cut It Out" Frame Giveaway ✥

Are you guys familiar with Cut It Out? It's a frame company that offers creative, stylish fun shapes of frame that can be finished however one would like. Perfect for a DIYer, right?!

Well, I am so excited to announce Cut It Out has decided they want to hook up one of you, with some of their super-rad frames! Yay!

Here's what some of our favorite blogs are doing with these frames.

Lolly Jane

Craft o Maniac

Tatertots & Jello

Lolly Jane

Southern Lovely

They are offering you guys one (1) 8x10 and two (2) 5x7 of any style- and there are tons to pick from!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The winner will be on Sunday, July  29th.
Good luck, everyone!

✥ Sponsors for Blogger's Night Out! {Woot! Woot!} ✥

Hey friends!

Just wanted to give you all an update on the wonderful sponsors we have lined up for our bloggers night out on Tuesday, July 10th. 

These lovely sponsors have been so generous & they are definitely going to hook some local Utah bloggers up!

 Cut it Out

My Vinyl Direct

 Sexy Modest Boutique

Jamberry Nails

Ginger Snap Crafts  It's going to be so much fun!  I hope to see some of you there!If you want to be there, send myself or Becca an email for the details! 

southernlovelyblog@gmail.com

berger.becca@gmail.com

&

✥ Giveaway: Ramsign Lettered Sign! ✥

Instead of a Reader Feature this week I thought we'd do a little GIVEAWAY instead!

Ramsign sells porcelain enamel signs and today they're giving away a sign!!

You could totally use them for your home address, but my favorites are the one and two numbered round signs. They feel vintage and cool- I'm especially crushing on the circle plaques.  Wouldn't they be the perfect accent to a boy's room or maybe on a bookshelf?

You can customize the color, the design style, the shape of the sign, the font, and the trim! Dude, that's a lot of options! 

This is a serious deal- 4 number signs cost $99 and our winner gets up to 5 letters for free!

✥ My Stenciled Curtains & a Cutting Edge Stencils GIVEAWAY!! ✥

UPDATE: THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED
Here's the curtain tutorial- if that's what you're looking for!! 
Oh, and here's the tutorial for the curtain rods, including the bay window!

Hello ladies! I've have been painting like crazy over the last few weeks. Not because the project was huge, but because of the holidays- I had to start and stop a million times. But I love what I ended up with-  6 custom curtain panels for under 100 bucks! {serious!}

Not only do I love my end product, but  I am so ridiculously stoked to tell you guys Cutting Edge Stencils has agreed to give one of my readers a Free Stencil { $50 value + free shipping!}

Cutting Edge Stencil has an awesome reputation for making both trendy and classic designs.  Most of us have seen a stenciled wall or pillow, but check out these ideas-(all gathered from Cutting Edge on FB)

 Those aren't slip covers, they're not even fabric! Did you know you could paint and stencil leather? This was done with the Marrakech Trellis Allover Stencil {and I die for that kitchen!}

 Floor Stenciling, DIY RUG using Ikat Samarkand stencil?!! Oh my completely gorgeous-ness!

The ceiling! 

The ceiling, I love it. 

This is the Allover Trellis. 

There's also some great ideas on the page, for stenciling an entryway or even a coiffured ceiling!

And a different bathroom idea, who would've thought, stencil a shower door! Seriously great idea done with the Zamira stencil!

Here's one of their newest stencils, Athena Allover.

Doesn't it look a lot like my DIY Greek Key stencil for the the drum shade fabric I made?!

Basically, I love this brand of stencil!

 

Because [1] they have stencils that look like almost any fabric you are in love with- so you can copy the look!

 [2] they go above and beyond to make sure us DIY-ers have awesome results by providing free instructional videos and a channel we can turn to for tips, tuts, and techniques.

I like Cutting Edge Stencils on FB because that way I can find out about all their new products, sales, and giveaways. Not to mention see all the great projects others are doing and share your own projects! {more blog exposure!!}

To WIN a $50 Credit to purchase your own Cutting Edge Stencil plus Free Shipping  {followers only please ☺}

☛ Check out Cutting Edge Wall Stencils and come back to tell me what pattern you {love!}

Additional Entry

☛ "Like" Cutting Edge Stencils on their Facebook page, come on back and let me know you did so!

Don't forget to leave your email address on each entry.

Giveaway is open to USA residents only and is open until December 14th @midnight.Winner will be chosen by random.org, I will contact them by via email and they have 2 days to write me back!

I am so excited to pick a winner! Hope you guys liked all the stencil ideas, it makes me want to start creating! 
I'll be back in a day or so with a tutorial for painting curtains!

✥ UPrinting.com Winner ✥

 I am super, duper excited to announce the very first winner of my very first giveaway!

The winner, #3, is

RILEKAT said... 

 

I tweeted http://twitter.com/rilekat/status/104334832133341184 rilekat@gmail.com

{On a side note, I am pretty positive I've never been tweeted about. Nor has anything I've ever done been tweeted about. Is it weird that I think that's cool and strange?}

Back to our winner- Miss Rilekat, you are the winner of some serious amounts of stationary, courtesy of UPrinting.com!!

Claim your prize girl!

With any luck more people will want to give you guys more free stuff  and don't worry- I've been brainstorming about it myself!

✥ UPrinting.com Giveaway ✥

You guys have been so awesome! I couldn't ask for better readers!

You follow my little blog, you make me feel amazing from all your positive feedback, and you do it all without a single free item! How can I thank you? 

How about a giveaway?!

I guess UPrinting has heard how much you all ROCK, cause they want to give 1 person a letterhead package!

Have you guys checked out their products?

They have awesome personal or business supplies that are completely customizable. 

Here's a few of their great products to get you started...

Letterhead Design

Letterhead Printing

 

 Envelope Printing

All right, here's the DETAILS.

UPrinting wants to offer 1 (one) person the chance to win a: 

500 piece Letterhead Package

5.5' x 8.5'

70 lbs Offset

Font Only Printing

4 Business Days Print Turnaround Time

*Free Shipping

 {Here's HOW TO ENTER}

Please leave an email address with each entry, cause you want me to contact you, right?

Please leave a separate comment for each entry.

Mandatory

☛You have to be a follower {but you want to anyway, right? ; D  }

Extra Entries

☛Visit UPrinting.com, then come back and tell me how you'd design your new letterhead!

☛Spread the good news about the giveaway. Tweet, Facebook or blog about it and get an entry for each one! Just come back and leave me a comment with your FB, link, or Tweet.

☛Like UPrinting here on Facebook, then leave me a comment to let me know.

That's 5 chances to win!

Winner will be announced Tuesday, August 23rd!

{Winner has 3 days to contact me after they're announced.}

Restrictions: -Limited to *US residents 18 years old and above only -

You are  ineligible to win if you have won a giveaway from UPrinting.com in the last 6 months {sorry}

Disclaimer: This giveaway is sponsored by UPrinting, no monetary compensation was given for hosting. 

Letterhead design inspiration and envelope printing is also available. Please visit UPrinting.com for more details.