Stella and Dot-Blogiversary Giveaway 3 ENDED

Our friend, Jennifer, has recently joined the Stella and Dot team as an independent stylist.

Stella and Dot, currently #7 on Inc. 500 Fastest-Growing Companies, is a San Francisco based social selling company that creates flexible entrepreneurial opportunities for women. Our boutique-style jewelry and accessories line is available exclusively through in-home Trunk Shows by Independent Stylists and online.
Designed in New York and San Francisco by award winning trend-setters who also create jewelry for Marc Jacobs, Prada, Chanel, Kate Spade, Banana Republic, Neiman Marcus and Fred Segal. Our boutique style jewelry has been featured in top fashion magazines like InStyle, Lucky Magazine and even Ladies Home Journal. It is also worn by celebrities like Kelly Ripa, Oprah, Penelope Cruz and many others.

The pieces arrive at your door within 3-5 days in gorgeous boxes that are perfect for gift giving. Leave a personal wish list with me, and I’ll be happy to pass along some gift giving ideas to your special someone!
With 50% of the line under $50, many pieces are as affordable as they are irresistible!
Sella & Dot is simply fun, fashionable jewelry and accessories. Our Trunk Shows are a great way to mingle with friends in a cocktail party type atmosphere while shopping together……NO sales pitch, NO presentation and NO games…….just jewelry, accessories, girlfriends and fun!!

Check out the Holiday Collection Stella & Dot just released. I LOVE the new Rose Gold trend….it is so delicate yet dramatic. Third Time’s A Charm Necklace, like many Stella & Dot pieces, has a nice mix of different metals, you can truly wear it with anything.

Click on the link to see how much fun a Trunk Show really is!!
http://stylewatch.stelladot.com/content/videos/trunk-show/

Let me know how I can meet your needs!
Jennifer Allred
Stella and Dot, Independent StylistJennifer has generously donated a $30 gift certifcate, for one of our followers.

This is one of my favorite pieces!

The Avery Necklace-isn't it beautiful?

Visit Jennifer's Website and leave us a comment telling us your favorite Stella and Dot piece.
Like Jennifer's Stella and Dot facebook page and leave a comment telling us you do.
Like Our Seven Dwarfs on facebook and leave a comment telling us you do.

You have until December 4th to leave your comments.  Using random.org, we'll choose and announce the winner on December 5th.  Good luck to you all.
　　　

A Couple More Fantastic Thanksgiving Decorations

This is another repost from last year.  From what I understand, makia creations no longer exists; however, you can still easily create these great projects!  I hope you are as inspired as I was!

One of my favorite crafty blogs is http://howdoesshe.com/ I must admit, I am a follower of this one.  I have been inspired by their ideas, so many times! Two of the girls that created the blog have started a business, selling craft kits for their projects.  This is a fabulous idea!

For one of their projects, I ran to a dozen stores looking for the necessary materials.  It was at the beginning of my crafting frenzy and I didn't realize that it was okay to substitute.  Save yourself the trouble.  Substitute when necessary! Anyway, their site was my inspiration for the "Turkey Feather Photo Stand" and "Truly Thankful" board I copycatted.  http://www.makiacreations.com/thanksgiving_kits Because they are selling the kits, they don't offer tutorials.  Because it's a copycat craft, I didn't set up a tutorial either; however, it's pretty simple.

    I free handed the turkey body and turkey head on mdf.  My lovely husband cut them out with his jigsaw.  He also made little triangles for the waddle part.  I used his belt sander to smooth all the edges. (Have I mentioned how wonderful it is having a supportive husband with all the right tools?) I picked out the perfect papers (this is a time consuming task for me).  I mod podged them on.  When they were dry, I re-sanded to blend in the edges.  I stained the edges to better blend. I wood glued them all together with that wonderful Elmer's wood glue. After it was dry, I drilled 9 holes to the top of each turkey.  I cut 9 pieces of six inch wire for each turkey.  I bent the top of each wire with pliers so they would act as photo holders.  I then wood glued the tips into the holes I drilled. I probably didn't need to wood glue them because they fit pretty tightly; but, decided to anyway to keep from losing them when I pack the Thanksgiving stuff away each year.  I made two different turkeys.  One for me, and one for my mom.  Now, I just need to take some pictures to put in these little guys.

  Now for the "Truly Thankful" boards.  I made two different ones that are very much alike! That darling husband of mine cut scrap wood into 11x16 pieces for me.  The wood was already eleven inches wide, so we went with that. I chose 16 inches because I like the torn paper look on the edge of the board and I think it makes a great wall hanging size.  I sanded the wood and rounded the corners, using that belt sander. I selected my paper (another tedious task!). I had to use two sheets since the paper comes in 12 inch squares and I needed 16 inches.  I tore the second piece to give it that rugged finish. I mod podged it and let it dry.  I re-sanded it and stained it to blend in the edges. (Do you see the mod podging pattern?) I drilled the holes on top for hanging.  I decided on cranberry vinyl to give it a punch of color.  I spent forever picking out what I thought were the perfect fonts.  I cut the words on my Silhouette SD.  Jill and I both have a Silhouette so you'll notice we use them on many of our projects.  They are HUGE time savers!  I applied the vinyl using transfer tape.  I added the ribbon around the wood and through the holes to add a little girly touch.  I then attached handles for hanging.  You will notice that each frame hangs differently.  Lesli got a steal of a deal on the hanger style one and picked it up for me.  I only had one.  So, I improvised on the second hanging (again for my mom) and used a piece of the wire I used for the photo feathers.  I twisted the edges around a pencil to give it the spiral look and worked the ribbon around it. I think it turned out nicely too. Voila!  Two more copycat crafts completed!