Winner

Congratulations, Andrea!  Please email me your complete name and postal address so I can ship the fabric to you. (By the way, I recently found a brown fat quarter in my stash suitable to use for the wallet lining, so I will be sending that to you as well.) I will also email you the Travel Wallet eBook as soon as I hear from you, ok?  Have fun with the pattern!

Thank you to everyone who participated.  Hope you all get to your dream destinations very soon!

It's GIVEAWAY time!

Yes!!! The "How to Make a Travel Wallet/Organizer" eBook has been finalized and is now available here and here.  This is, I think, the most well-written set of instructions I have ever made.  The eBook is 38 pages in total and when I say, "step-by-step", I really do mean it!

Once again, I would like to thank the two ladies who so kindly offered to test out the pattern for me and whose valuable comments and suggestions are most appreciated. Here are their versions of the travel wallet.

Catherine's

Mimi's

They did a great job, didn't they?

Because I am so glad this eBook is finally completed, I am giving you, my dear readers, a chance to win a FREE copy!  Aside from the eBook, I am also sending the lucky winner a fat quarter of this travel-themed fabric from David Textiles so she (or he) can get to work on her (or his) wallet straightaway.

Interested much?  To join, please share with me (in the comments section) which place you would most want to visit and why.  Maybe you will even give me travel ideas in the process.  Me?  I would love to go to the Holy Land.  I know it will be a deep spiritual experience for me.  My daughter has promised me she will take me when she's older (and when she has the money).  Hopefully, I would still be strong enough to travel when the time comes! 

You have until next Sunday, the 26th.  And yeah, don't forget to leave your name and email address, of course.  (Any 'Anonymous' comments left will not be considered, sorry!)  I will use the random number generator to determine the winner.  Please, please, please join!  It's no fun when there are only a handful of people to choose from...

Ok, before I go, let me just show off some of my baked goodies of the past week.  Here are the Lalaloopsy-inspired vanilla cupcakes I mentioned in my previous post.

Have never really heard of Lalaloopsies till I was asked to make these decorations.  I think these characters are cute...but at the same time, quite creepy-looking?!  They remind me so much of the movie, Coraline.  You know, the button eyes?

And here's another one....a unicorn cake!  I really had great fun making the topper. I just love a good challenge.

So that's it for now.  Have a great week ahead.  And please don't forget about the giveaway.  Hope to hear from all of you soon!

Giveaway day winner

The response to Giveaway Day was overwhelming!  My iPhone's Wi-fi actually broke down and I believe it was because of the tremendous amount of email notifications (for every comment posted) that were being pushed from the server to the phone!  Anyhow, a big thank you for taking time to participate.  Hopping from one blog to another was quite fun, wasn't it? 

Thank you, too, for sharing with me your personal Christmas wishes.  I love the fact that many of you weren't asking for anything material.

It's been a tough past few days for me, having to finish several cake orders over the weekend and also having to deal with my youngest son being sick since Friday.  He's been feverish due to a throat infection and has also been vomiting.  As he is always the life of our home, seeing him weak, in pain, and very quiet just breaks my heart. 

In a big way, my son's sickness is helping me see this Christmas for its true meaning.  I have momentarily forgotten about the presents and have been concentrating on nursing my child back to good health and assuring him that he will be well real soon.  Having a healthy and happy family (as some of you expressed in your comment) is definitely greater than any material thing anyone can offer!

So now, going back to the giveaway, I am happy to announce the lucky new owner of my patchwork pouch, as determined by the random number integer...



And comment #54 was...

Congratulations, Stefanie!  I will be getting in touch with you shortly.  I do hope your Christmas wish comes true!

Before I go, let me just share with you this one cake I made this past weekend...a Lightning McQueen cake! It was for a 2-year old boy's birthday.

I actually received this cake order way back in early November, so it really seems I have been thinking about it forever.  I had several ideas in mind but in the end, I opted for simple gumpaste decorations...a round base with a black and white checkered pattern, flags with letters spelling out the birthday boy's name, and a trophy candle holder.

As usual, making the decorations were pretty much a trial and error thing for me.   I knew my skills would not be able to handle making a gumpaste Lightning McQueen so I played it safe and used a real toy instead (which the birthday boy got to keep afterwards). I really liked making the Piston Cup candle holder.  It was my first time painting over gumpaste and the gold colour turned out pretty neat.

So, there you go.  Another Giveaway Day over.  Another crafting year to look forward to.  Till then, I've still got some more cakes to bake for Christmas.

Enjoy your week!  And just in case I don't get to do another post before Saturday, I want to wish you now a very Merry Christmas! Peace, love and joy to you all!

Giveaway Day 2010

It's that time of the year again.  I've actually been anticipating this day for the past couple of months now but when I finally found out at Sew Mama Sew! when it was actually going to be, I caught myself unprepared.

I've been so busy baking cakes lately that I have not found time to do anything specifically for this purpose.  If only I could ship you one of my cakes, I would.....but Giveaway Day must go on and so, for this year, I am sharing something I have made and showed you in the past instead.  I am pretty sure many of you will be interested in this one...

I blogged about this pretty patchwork pouch sometime ago here.  I couldn't decide if I wanted to sell it or keep it for myself, but here it is now, up for grabs!

To have a chance to win this, just leave your name in the comments section and please don't forget to include any form of contact information (blog URL, email address) so I can easily reach you in the event that you win.   While at it, why don't you share with me what present you guys wish to receive this Christmas?  As for me, anything I can use for my baking/cake decorating or sewing would be most appreciated!

Giveaway starts on the 13th and will run until Sunday, the 19th.  Everyone and anyone can join...I am willing to ship to anywhere worldwide! Winner will be determined through random number generator next Monday and will be posted here shortly after.

Have fun and join as many giveaways as you can!  For a complete list of all Giveaway Day participants, click here. Hope you all win something!



P.S. While you're here, you might also want to sign up to be a Heart of Mary follower (if you aren't already).  Browse around a little longer...you just might find something of interest to you!

ENTRIES NOW CLOSED. WINNER TO BE ANNOUNCED SHORTLY, THANKS.

Giveaway Winner(s)

It's a brand new day and things certainly started so much better for me.  Remember the girl who left that comment on my messenger bag tutorial?  She emailed me early this morning to humbly apologize. She sincerely accepted her mistake.  According to her, her guilt feelings led her to check back on this blog and then she saw my post yesterday and read how her action had affected me as well as the responses you had left.  It turns out, all that reading and writing you did not only helped me, but her too.  Doesn't that make you feel good for speaking up?  What else can I say but a big thank you for all your loving support! And you might want to know too that she actually finished her bag, is happy with it, and has now left a positive comment on the tutorial!

As for the other lady...sadly, I cannot say the same.  I got another bashing from her last night.  I could sense she knew she had made an error but was too proud to admit it.  So instead of focusing on the eBay transaction itself,  she just continued to call me a blasphemer and an unfair Christian!  Wow.  I am not letting her bother me anymore. 

Anyway, I believe the only way to "fight" acts of unkindess is through acts of goodness.  And so, for my giveway, since there are only 13 who participated, I have decided to give a free copy of my new eBook to all 13!  If you had left your email address along with your comment, I will be sending the link to the downloadable file to you shortly.  For the others who left links to their blogs instead,  please, please email me directly so I can simply reply to you (the email link is located above the clock on the right hand side of this blog).  The sooner you do so, the sooner you'll receive your prize.

Well, that's it for now.  Enjoy the rest of your day (or night)!

When people are just rude

I am feeling quite low today, having received two rather shocking emails so early in the morning.  The first one was actually a comment made on my Messenger Bag tutorial post.  I had deleted it because I felt it had a toxic effect, but just for the purpose of discussion, here it is:

I would have preferred to contact this person personally but she had left no means of getting in touch with her.  I would have asked her what problems she encountered in her sewing.  That particular tutorial is the most accessed out of all my free tutorials in this site.  I have received a whole lot of emails from people who have successfully made their bags using the instructions.  The problem with some people is that they do not bother to read through the whole procedure before they start sewing.  I particularly stated in the beginning of that tutorial that "as a prerequisite to this project, you need to know how to install magnetic snaps and make zippered pockets".  I deliberately omitted these parts because explaining them would make the whole thing too long.  To compensate, I did include links to other tutorials tackling the things I skipped. If anything else was missing or unclear, all she had to do was ask and I would have helped.  Am I to blame then that her expensive fabric went to waste?

The messenger bag tutorial was one of the very first I ever made (more than two years ago).  I was not an expert sewer then and still, am not an expert sewer now.  My assumption has always been that, if I can do it, you can too.  Ultimately though, you are the best judge of your own skill level. 

The second blow I got today was from an eBay seller from the US.  Yesterday, I excitedly received my auction win in the mail.

According to the eBay listing, this cake pan set was supposedly made in the USA by CM Products, Illinois.  I inspected and inspected the box and the contents but nowhere was it marked as such.  What I found instead was this small sticker...

Made in Taiwan, ROC.  Not that I had any problem with that...the pans seemed of good quality anyway.  I felt though that I had to let the seller know.  I gave her a neutral rating with a feedback saying: "Item very well packed and received quickly, however, description was inaccurate".  Was that unfair?  Should I have just given her a positive rating despite? Maybe I shouldn't have left any feedback at all.

I immediately sent the seller an email to explain why I gave her the neutral rating.

"Just wanted to explain why I gave you a neutral feedback rating. The cake pan set is not made by CM Products, Illinois, as indicated in the listing. Nowhere in the box does it say that. There's a small sticker on the divider that says Made in Taiwan, which explains why the writing on the box had a lot of grammatical errors and wrong spelling! It does make a difference to me if it were made in the USA.

The cake pan set seems good quality anyhow and would hopefully withstand years of baking. Thanks for shipping quickly."

- heartofmary

Did that in any way sound offensive to you? Because I didn't mean to be at all. To tell you the truth, I wasn't prepared for the reply I got...

"The Immaculate Heart of Mary is very dear to my heart and my family ....

I am upset that you actually use her name and then make up lies about my product .... You received the item EXACTLY as pictured ... at a very REASONABLE price ... PACKAGED and SHIPPED PROPERLY .... I did not make up the words CM ENTERPRISES ... this is the information provided on either the product or the box ...

Your words are BLASPHEMY because you purchased it using the name of our LADY ....

You LIED for everyone to see and did not give me a chance to respond to your problem.... I would have refunded you 100% and let you keep the pan....... Honest sellers in this new age of eBay are at the mercy of buyers .....

I ship at least one item a week Down Under and have NEVER EVER been so disrespected from any of your countryman .....

My husband is a U.S. MARINE and spent some time in you beautiful country on his way HOME from combat in Viet Nam .....

I can not express how hurt I am that you could not have been up front with your problem on something that is as simple as a cake pan ....

We are 71 years old .... the money we make supplements my husbands retirement pay from the U.S.MARINE CORPS .....

GO BACK and look at my listing .... does it in anyway say that I was dishonest or trying to trick you ???

God Bless You and I pray you be more upfront with folks who are honest Sellers on eBay ..."

I could not imagine that a 71-year old would speak to me that way.  First of all, my eBay username "heartofmary" (as is the title of this blog), has absolutely no reference to the Virgin Mary.  My real name is Maria Corazon, which are Spanish for "Mary" and "Heart".  Secondly, never did I accuse her of being a liar, of being dishonest or trying to trick people.  Yes, the item was as pictured.  Yes, I won it at a reasonable price. And yes, it was properly packaged and shipped.  What I only pointed out was the inaccuracy in the description.  Why would I lie about those things?  What for?  Except for the sticker, there truly wasn't any indication of any manufacturer's name on the box or on the cake pans.  I will never ask for a refund because as I said, the pans seem of good quality (regardless of where it's made) and I will bake with them all I want!  

So sorry I had to bombard you with all that.  I had to let my feelings out and there's no one here to talk to at the moment.  All of a sudden, I am missing my family back home...and my mom...and am just getting all teary-eyed.  Tell me, why can people be so rude?

PS.  Last day to enter the GIVEAWAY!

Cookies and Cream (plus GIVEAWAY extended)

Today is Federal Election day here in Australia.  I'm up early, hoping to cast my vote as soon as the polling place opens this morning.  But before I do that, let me just share a few things with you!

I finally got my own copy of The Cake Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum from Amazon and am having a blast reading through it. Although I've read conflicting reviews about this book, it does seem to be a must-have for any baking enthusiast.  I've been purchasing a lot of cake and cupcake books the past year and have already learned a lot but I'm sure there's still so much more to gain.  I do think my self-studying have done my cake baking and decorating a whole lot of good.  When I see pictures of cakes I have made for my kids' birthdays years ago, it just makes me smile to think how things have improved!

I admit that it's not just been books that I've been buying a lot of.  I have heaps of caking tools now which I, of course, think are valuable to making beautiful cakes.  I also have loads of these...

I did some cleaning up yesterday and surprisingly found out how much baking cups I already have.  It filled the whole 6-liter container!  I reckon this will last me a lifetime!

The other night, I made a Cookies and Cream Cake, an order I got from my husband's workmate.  Was really very pleased with how it turned out...too bad I couldn't even get a slice of it! 

It was a good thing the Oreo cookies were on sale at the supermarket this week because I had to use a whole box!

To use up the leftover frosting, I baked some chocolate cupcakes yesterday.  I had some mini Oreos in the pantry to go with them as well.  Instant cookies and cream cupcakes for us!

Well, I better start making breakfast now so I can head on off to vote.  Before I end, let me just remind you about the GIVEAWAY from my last post.  The participation thus far has been dismal.  Makes me think that maybe no one is really interested in my Toilet Paper Roll Cozy pattern (?).  Where have my readers gone?  Come on, just join in!  There's nothing to lose! (Do I sound desperate?) Anyway, I've extended the giveway till middle of next week.  Hopefully, I will get more comments in.

Thanks and have a lovely day!

New eBook and GIVEAWAY!

Yes...I made another one of my pretty toilet paper roll cozies. This is very similar to the first one but I would say, is a much improved version. The size is more exact and also, it is sturdier because I had lined it with cotton batting. This way, it would hold its shape and won't collapse as the toilet paper is being used up.

I took pictures as I sewed. For whatever it's worth, I went ahead, laboured, and made the pattern and instructions for it. I personally think the cozy is a pretty neat idea, though I am unsure if many people will be interested in making one for themselves. It is really just one of those simple, functional things that I love creating.

To come up with one standard size for the cozy, I had to look at the different brands available in our local supermarket. I found that as far as sheet size is concerned, the Australian standard appears to be 11 cm by 10 cm (about 4.3" by 3.9"). However, different brands had various number of sheets per roll and also there's one-ply, two-ply and even three-ply. The main difference, I think though, lies on the thickness of the paper because this ultimately determines the total volume of the whole roll. For instance, the inexpensive supermarket brand with 210 sheets and thin paper had less volume than the more expensive kind with extra thick paper and only 180 sheets.

In the end, I decided to settle with the Kleenex brand. I figured, this was a brand that most likely existed worldwide. Its size and volume is also comparable to most of the other good-quality brands I saw. Having said that, I am quite certain the cozy will fit any regular, standard-sized toilet paper roll out there, whether it's Kleenex or not.

The eBook is finished and is now listed in my shops, here and here.

For a chance to win a FREE copy of this new eBook, just leave a comment below. Sign up to be a follower if you aren't one yet. And please do not forget to include your name, as well as a way to contact you (email, blog, etc) in case you win. Entries close on Sunday, the 22nd Wednesday, the 25th. Winner will be announced the following day, Monday, the 23rd Thursday, the 26th. Hope you can all join, thanks!

Here's the Lucky One!

Just a quick post to say a huge 'Thank you!" to all of you who participated in this year's Giveaway Day.  Did you have fun?  I certainly did!

Of course...I am here to announce the winner!  The lucky number randomly generated is...

Comment #29 was made by Katie of The Caped Cow.

Congratulations!  I'll get in touch with you shortly.  I'm super excited to have the bag shipped out to you! Hope you'll like it.

To all those who signed up to be Heart of Mary followers just for this giveaway...I hope you'll stick around and keep on reading my little blog.  I promise you more interesting projects for the coming new year!

Again, thank you all!

Giveaway Day 2009

ADDITIONAL ENTRIES TO GIVEAWAY NO LONGER ACCEPTED.  WINNER TO BE ANNOUNCED SHORTLY!


Welcome to Giveaway Day 2009! 

Well...the fact that you're here most probably means that you already know all about this wonderful day in crafting blogland...so let's get straight to it, shall we?

This year, I am giving you the chance to win this gorgeous shopping tote!

(one side view)

(the other side)

You've probably seen this sometime ago in a previous post. Anyway, for the benefit of those who haven't seen this or don't remember...this is the Market bag, the pattern of which came from an issue of the Better Homes and Gardens Creative Collection magazine.  I don't know why they chose to call the bag such as I personally think it is too pretty to take to the market. 

This particular Market bag was made using 'Fig & Plum' 5" squares from Moda.  It is very nicely sewn up, if I may say so myself.  The bag is very roomy, about 17 1/2" by 13 1/2" by 4" in size.  Not only will this make a perfect shopping companion, it can also be a great overnight tote!

Well...you interested?  Here are the mechanics:

1. If you haven't done so already, SIGN UP to be a Heart of Mary follower. You don't need to have a blog to do so.  By being a follower, you will not only be regularly updated on what's going on here, but you will also get the opportunity to connect with others in the blog community, especially with those with the same interests as yours.  As for me, I like clicking on those little thumbnail images and learning about you (or your blog, if you have one) as well.

To be a follower, just click on the Follow button located on the side bar where all the tiny pictures of all the current members are.

2.  I am willing to ship to anywhere worldwide BUT please be sure that the postal system in your country is reliable.  It would be such a pity if the bag doesn't reach you and just gets lost somewhere!

3.  Leave your name and email address in the comments section below.  Without this information, your entry will be invalid.  Don't worry...I will not spam you ever! 

4.  You will have until the end of the day of the 6th of December to join. The Giveaway Day winner will be determined by Random Number Generator on the 7th and will be posted here shortly after.  Winner will also be notified by email.

Simple enough?  Good...wait...there's more...

In the navigation bar at the top, you will find a link to my eBook Shop, Simple Things.  (Please take note that this is not the same as my Etsy Shop although all the items for sale are the same.) Purchasing any eBook from the 2nd to the 6th of December will entitle you to a second eBook, of equal or lesser value, for FREE!  If that sounds good to you, go to the shop right now and browse around. You might just find something you'd like to make and give away this Christmas. 

If you do decide to make a purchase, don't forget this most important thing. When you head on to Paypal to make your payment, tell me in the 'Instructions to Merchant' section which second eBook you would like to receive.  Your PDFs will be sent to you promptly to the email address associated with your Paypal account, unless you specify otherwise.  Limit one freebie only per customer.

Well, that's about it!  I hope you all can join in the fun!  To go to the master list of all participating blogs and view all the other awesome giveaways, just click on the Season of Giving button below.  Good luck!

As picked by the Random Integer Generator...

The winner is...

Congratulations to you, Kerry! Please get in touch with me as soon as you can (view my complete profile on the side bar, then choose 'Email'). I need your full name and postal address. I do hope you'll be able to use the wristlet.

I've been trying to perfect that zipper thingy on this pattern. It's quite tricky...not as simple as it seems. I am even tempted to go back to my old method...

I stitched up a smaller version but lessened the recommended seam allowances so in the end, the new wristlet was still a bit big than what I wanted. That's what I get for not following instructions!

Tried a third time...this time I followed the pattern to the letter. That's how I made this wonderfully constructed, 'just the right size for me' wristlet.

Recognize the fabrics from a previous project?

Oh well, that's it for now. Thank you very much to all who participated in the giveaway. I appreciate your joining! And congratulations again to you, Kerry!