My 500th Post!

I can't believe it!  This is my 500th Post!

When I started blogging back in December of 2008, I really didn't know where it would take me!  I started because I wanted to support my new fledgling online business and I was told that blogging was one way to do it! 

So, where has it taken me?  What have I accomplished?  Do I want to continue? 

It truly has been an adventure!  I have learned A LOT!!!!  Tags, and SEO; advertising, and content; link parties, and blog rolls--to name a few!  HTML is still a mystery! Wow!  Tons of education about Internet blogging.  And because of the need for blog content, blogging has forced me to do more online research, not a skill that I used much before I became a blogger!

I have made new friends everywhere--Other bloggers, Etsy team members, customers.  I read other blogs now, never did before.  Enjoy interaction with friends online. Thanks to all my wonderful readers!

Do I want to continue!  Yes!  Even though my regular readers are not so many as I would like, I find that I enjoy writing!  I will do it for me! (and you, of course!)  I am also thinking about having my blog posts made into a book for posterity's sake.  There are many online sites that can help with this task. I will list a few:

blog2print.com
blurb.com
bookemon.com
familyheritagepublishers.com

I'm not recommending any of these, just did my research and want to pass along the possibilities.  Isn't that want blogging is all about?  Sharing!!!

See you tomorrow!

Winners and a Birthday!

Today is my second granddaughter's 21st birthday!  Maybe i will share some birthday pictures next week!  I thought you might enjoy seeing a picture of her when she was young.  Here she is a cute 6 1/2 years old.  Happy Birthday Kelsie!!!!

Now . . . It's that time!  Time to announce the winners of my latest giveaway, celebrating  the re-opening of my Etsy Design shop! Thanks so much for all your entries!  Thanks for tweeting, commenting and connecting to my blog and facebook page.  I appreciate all of you who visit and read my blog!!! Now for the winners!


Necklace Winner is Daph!



Earring Winner is Cynthia R.



I will contact both of these winners by email. 

Congratulations! 

And according to your comments, these earrings were the favorite:



Terra Cotta Earrings by PruittDesign

 Again!  Thanks to everyone who participated!  Have a great Thursday!!!!! 

WW Purple Tomato Leaf

Like this?  You'll like this too--A giveaway.  Check out the link!

Sale and GIVEAWAY!

It's that time again!  Halloween! Time to decorate for the holidays!

So I decided to celebrate!  I'm having a GIVEaway!  And a SALE! 



Wizard of Oz pillow



Everything in my 'holiday section' of my handcrafts shop is on sale!  This includes my halloween items and my Christmas items!  Check it out!

Christmas Paper Bag Art



Right after the sale--- to help you get started with your gift shopping--- I am giving away

this Happy Pockets half Apron  (wouldn't it be a great Christmas gift for someone in your family????? ) . . . . AND . . .  one set of fabric coasters of your choice (check out the entire coaster set inventory in my shop)!

How do you enter?  Visit my shop, check out the holiday sale section, then visit my Facebook page and leave a comment about which is your favorite sale item.  Or you could leave a comment about your favorite set of coasters.  (If you choose to "like" my page in the process, I would appreciate it!!!!) Winner will not be based on the 'like' process, but will come from the comments that are left on my page.

Here's my facebook page:

http://facebook.com/PruittCreations 

On the 27th, I will randomly choose a winner and notify the winner thru facebook!  Or you could check back here on my blog on that day, to see who won! 

Good luck!  

WINNER!

WINNER!
WE have a WINNER in my summer clearance and giveaway!  See post

Dolly Madison has won  a $15 gift certificate to be used in any of my three shops!  Congratulations Dolly!   Visit her lovely shop!


My summer discount sale is over, but there are still many, many items in my shop that are clearance priced.  Clearing out the shop to be ready for the fall line.

Summer CLEARANCE Sale and a GIVEAWAY!

SUMMER CLEARANCE SALE!
Keep reading, you'll get to the giveaway part! :-)

I spent the evening, yesterday, cleaning up all the listings in my shop.  Time passes and things in your shop don't change unless you change them!  There were tags left over from Black Friday . . .sheeech!  Prices that were inconsistent on similar items. . . . I lowered some prices. I changed some of the shop sections to be more consistent with my products.  I also added some INACTIVE items to my CLEARANCE section.  You owe it to yourself to check out some of the items.  Here's a few CLEARANCE items GREAT for gift giving:


d

Set of four coasters, discontinued style $3.00



Set of four handmade THANK YOU cards



Set of simple tissue stamped Gift Tags $1.50

 Everything else in my Handcrafts shop will be 15% OFF through July 4th.  Everything!  Use the coupon code provided in the shop announcement.  (Coupon code is not good on Clearance items, since they are already marked down.  Thanks!)

4" Embroidered Hoop - 15% OFF!

GIVEAWAY:

Now for the Giveaway!  It has be quite some time, since I have hosted a giveaway.  I will be giving away a $15 gift certificate to be used in any one of my three shops. I will also be giving a 'grab bag' prize--my choice--worth approx. $10, as a second prize.  Winners will be chosen by a random generator. 

How to enter?
1-- I appreciate my customers!  Any single item purchased from my Pruitthandcrafts Etsy Shop between now and July 4th will get three (3) entries each. 
2--  A comment left here, on my blog,  listing one of your favorite items in my shop or what you would spend the gift certificate for, will get you one (2) entries.
3-- Tweet or FaceBook about the giveaway and get one (1) entry each.  Make sure you come back here and let me know about your tweet or FB entry.
4--  Follow me on this blog, FB or Twitter and get another (1) entry each.  Again, come back here and comment letting me know.
5-- List the giveaway in your teams thread and get another (1) entry. Make sure you list it here in the comments.

Winner will be drawn and announced on Tuesday July 5th.  Announcement will be here on my blog. Please make sure you can be reached from the link of your comments and/or leave your email address so I can contact you.  Thanks in advance for spreading the word about the sale and giveaway!

BEST OF LUCK!     --Linda

The Winners are . . .

February 1st is my grandsons 7th birthday. I had asked him to pick a winner for my giveaway and he was only too happy to participate! So, he came over in the evening and picked the winner from all of your entries in one of my handpainted angel bags.

And the winner of a $25 certificate, good in either of my shops, is:

Audrey Friesen! Congratulations Audrey!


Audrey sells on Etsy as Audrey's Country Crafts.


I also decided to give the angel bag away,
so I picked a winner:

Sheila C.
Sheila has a wonderful blog. It has a great name: My empty nest is full of cat hair! Check it out!


And as I promised I chose a winner with the most interesting comments. So many of you had wonderful comments. I loved reading them and getting to know you while you got to know Abby! But I had to chose one!

I chose Edi of 'memories for life scrap books.' She has a blog and an Etsy shop. She's won a zipper pull of her choice from my Design shop (or an $8 gift certificate if she prefers.)



BTW- this is Padraic, we call him "Paddy."

Commenters Giveaway and . . . an Award!

I want to thank everyone for participating in my giveaway. Thanks to all of you new followers this month! So many great comments this month. I hope you truly enjoyed reading about Abby and her life. I will still be writing from Abby's point of view, but not everyday. She has a few new adventures for you, keep tuned in!!!

Later this afternoon, my "birthday-boy" grandson, Padraic age 7, will come over to pick a winner to my contest. He will draw a name from the "hat." I will post his picture and announce the winners tomorrow, Tuesday.

. . . . in the meantime, I have won an award!!!

MysticWind and Liz's Wares have given me an award! Wow! What an honor! The Sunshine Award is awarded to bloggers whose positivity & creativity inspires others in the blog world. The rules for accepting these award:

1) Put the logo on your blog or within your post.
2) Pass the award onto 12 bloggers.
3) Link the nominees within your post.
4) Let the nominees know they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
5) Share the love and link to the person from whom you received this award.

I agree with Karen of MysticWind, that this award should not be a chore, but an honor; so I too would like this to be optional for the acceptance part. I have chosen 12 blogs that I really enjoy. Hope you do too! Here are my picks:

Marlene's Musings

Laura Trevey

SquirrelQueen

NICO Designs


Sunshine Daydreamz


Boutiqueaholic


Country Dreaming

Story Beader

Splendid Little Stars

Musings

TulipsTalking

CoffeePotPeople

There are so many really good blogs out there, visit these and in the process, you might find a few that you like too!

Another giveaway!

Abby was kinda tired today, so no story about resting or napping . . . . but the writer, me-Linda, noticed that I have 86 followers! So, this is it . . . . I will send a free pair of earrings of my choice and a cute handpainted Angel gift bag, to my 100th follower!!!! Be sure to leave your email or someway to get hold of you!!!!

I'll be watching the followers! Thanks!~!

I won a giveaway!

I diverge from the Abigail story today. I have neglected to give acknowledgement to a blogger friend, Marlene. I entered her blog giveaway back in December and won! With all the Christmas craziness, I forgot to acknowledge her wonderful artistic talent! She has art, jewelry and vintage items in her lovely shop!






I actually won a Christmas candle ACEO and a pair of earrings. I promptly gave the beautiful earrings to one of my granddaughters, and to my surprise the ACEO fit perfectly in my tea light candle lantern! It's inside the glass and I can enjoy it without having to light a candle! I put it right next to a Santa figurine for the Christmas season and it was beautiful! Thanks Marlene.

Please visit her shop to view her other ACEO's and products! Thanks!

Honoring My Readers

I am so excited about this new format and ongoing dialog that I am writing! It's helping me with my creative process! I have come up with several new ideas--not to be shared yet--but you will love them, I am sure!!!! First . . .

WHAT?

I'm doing a giveaway.


WHO is it for?

It's for those of you who follow and comment.


WHEN?

Winner will be picked from a bag full of entries, by my little grandson, Padraic, on February 1st (his 7th birthday!)


HOW to participate:

1) If you have ever commented on my blog, you automatically have one entry! That's for the whole of last year!

2) Each comment to my blog from January 1st to the 31st will be entered into the drawing!

3) Each new blog follower will get another chance just for being a new participant!

4) If you recommend my blog to someone who becomes a new follower, I will give you two new chances to win. Please make sure your friend lists your name in the comment so I can give you credit.

All these entries will be put in a hat (actually a paper gift bag) and a winner will be drawn!

Winner will receive a 25$ gift certificate good in either of my shops! I will pay for the shipping of the item or items!

BONUS WINNER will be for the best 2010 comment of my choosing. Bonus winner will win a zipper pull of your choice or $8 toward any purchase in my Design shop.



WHY?

Why? Because I love you! I love to get comments, most bloggers love feedback! And because I have had a blog for over a year now and haven't thanked my supporters, my readers! This one is for you!

Bye for now,
Abby . . . er . . . Linda!