Stephanie Howell

Spotlight + Giveaway | Young Living

Today I'm bringing you something fun from my friend Jill. A while back I was sharing Cate's asthma struggles and Jill told me that she'd been using essential oils to try to combant constant sickies in the fall/winter months.

I've been using the oils (I purchased the starter kit pictured below) for a few months now and I'm really interested in different ways to use them.

When Jill reached out asking if she could do a giveaway on my blog I thought it would be a great opportunity for those of you who are curious to get a chance to try the oils.

Essential oils can be used for so many issues: from headaches to anxiety, sore throats, sleep, stress, cold sores, toothaches, congestion, cough, PMS, indigestion, scars and wrinkles - even smelly laundry and cleaning!

 

Here's a great video that explain more about how essential oils work in the body.

 

 

 

 

 

 

How do I use oils in my house? Well, let me be honest about a couple of things. I don't know that much about the uses. I have a great book that Jill sent me, and the Internet is full of information (I've pinned SO many ideas), but I just haven't had time to really research this. I have just learned the tip of a very large iceberg!

I diffuse the allergy trio (what we are giving away below!!) in Cate and Lucy's room every night. It smells SO good. I rub Cedarwood onto the girls when they are having sleep problems. I use RC with Grapeseed Oil on Cate. We diffuse Thieves oil quite often.

It is to be determined if these help. It seems like they do! But I figure they can't hurt. I don't want to have another year full of ER visits and steroids. I'm using the oils in conjunction with a medical regimen from Cate's pediatrician (Flovent,Cingulair,etc). The coughing in my house is way better. The girls love to help me select the oils and apply them. The ritual, in itself, is so relaxing.

And the oils smell heavenly. And they are all natural. I have a friend that has been swearing by these for YEARS. Way before they became popular. I just think the whole concept is so interesting!

 

Young Living has a premium starter kit that includes 11 different essential oils, some sample packets plus a diffuser. There are several ways to use essential oils: aromatically (diffuser or inhaling), topically (rubbing into the feet or parts of the body) and some use oils that generally regarded as food safe internally (examples: citrus oils like Lemon, Lime, Orange and Peppermint). When you purchase a starter kit, you become a wholesale member and can purchase oils/products at 24%. For more info, click HERE.

 

 

Jill Cornell is hosting an online Essential Oils 101 class with her team on Thursday, December 11th at 8:00 p.m. CST. If you would like to learn more information in a fun, no-pressure way please email her at [email protected] and she will get you invited to the class on Facebook.

 

 

Today, we're giving away three 5 ml bottles of essential oils - Lemon, Lavender and Peppermint. These oils used together can make a difference for allergy sufferers and alone, they have so many different uses - stress, bloating, dry skin, cuts, fevers, sunburn, bloating, cleaning, energy, stomach upset, colds, etc.

 

Please leave a comment (international entries welcome) and we'll choose a random winner next Friday, December 12th.

 

For a second chance to win, Jill is also giving a 5 ml bottle of Thieves on her blog if you would like to stop by to enter!

 

TGIF Y'all!

xoxo

S

Sponsor/Small Business Spotlight +GIVEAWAY | Stuck on You

First- um...DUH!

I never announced a winner for the Amazon Gift Card giveaway. Sigh. So sorry. Here you go-

Jen Boumis said... Their products are fantastic! Thank you for the chance :)Reply March 29, 2014 at 06:02 AM

 

Congrats Jen! Please email harpersmama8(at)gmail(dot)com!

△△△△△△

 

 

Now for this week's spotlight...Stuck On You!

In 1995, as a busy mom of 3 boys, Carrie Felton discovered the need for gorgeous name and clothing labels for children and founded Stuck on You -  little did she know, it would grow to be one of the worlds favorite children's labeling companies.

Stuck on You now sends personalized labels and gifts to over 120 countries with tens of millions of labels sold every year! With a huge range of personalized products, from labels and tags to wooden puzzles and stationery, it seems their creative spirit will ensure Stuck on You continues to be "Trusted by Moms and loved by kids.”

You can follow Stuck on You on:

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

Pinterest

If you've read my blog for a while...you know I'm a big fan of this company. I order all of our labels through them and have since Harper was a baby. They are durable and cute and dependable. And I love that.

Here's what they sent me to share with you guys for this review-

1. Junior Messenger Bag:

The big girls LOVE their personalized bags and have carried them all over Italy.

They are the perfect size and they are durable which is a must for us. They can hold books, notebooks, colors, and a toy or two...not to mention a few snacks.

When I unpacked these bags I was nervous that they weren't big enough...but the size is deceiving. They can hold a ton.

And they are darn cute. Which doesn't hurt!

 

 

2. Winter Personalized PJ Set:

These are a huge hit. In fact...I have a hard time getting Cate and Lucy out of them to leave the house. I don't blame them. They are so so soft. The little pink striped drawstring pants are adorable too.

A word of caution: in my opinion SOU clothing tends to be a little big. So if your kiddo is in between two sizes, you might want to size down!

Sorry for the overload...but I had a hard time choosing my favorite photo. They are in the CUTEST stage right now! ♡♡

Now for the FUN (and super generous) part!!!

Stuck on You is giving away SIX $25 gift vouchers. Anyone may enter, internationals more than welcome.

Leave a comment today to be entered for your chance to win. I will announce a winner next Tuesday.

Buona Fortuna!!!

xo

S

 

Disclosure: Stuck on You sent me these items free of charge and in exchange for an honest review. All opinions, thoughts, and weirdness are (as always) solo mia.

Sponsor/Small Business Spotlight + Amazon Gift Card GIVEAWAY | Craft Storage Ideas

Last week I introduced y'all to an awesome website...Craft Storage Ideas. If you didn't get a chance to read the post, go check it out. The inspiration is endless.

Today CSI is giving away a fabulous prize.

Comment below for a chance to win a $25 Amazon Gift Certificate to spend on your organizational item of choice!

Who doesn't LOVE Amazon? I don't know about y'all, but Amazon Prime has been my lifeline the past 4 years!

Thanks so much for your generosity, CSI! Please pop over to Facebook to like Craft Storage Ideas and give them a big THANK YOU!

Leave a comment below and I will draw a winner next week. GOOD LUCK!
xo

 

Sponsor Spotlight. Giveaway + Discount Code | Scrapbook Circle

ABOUT // We are passionate about preserving our family memories. We love sharing daily inspiration and connecting with others who also love to create. We have been creating monthly scrapbook kits for over seven years. Each of our kits includes a custom printable and we have now expanded our shop to included coordinating digital files. We strive to provide you with fresh products every month that inspire you to create.

Blog
Shop
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Pinterest

SPECIAL PROMOTION //  Use code stephanie20 to receive 20% off your new order.

GIVEAWAY // I am giving a $30.00 shop credit! Leave a comment below to be entered for a chance.

 

I also wanted to share a few projects I made using the January kit! It is sold out now...but the February kit is available for purchase!

 

 

Good luck and see y'all soon!

xo

S

Sponsor/Small Business Spotlight | Freckled Fawn

Giveaway | Freckled Fawn is pleased to give a November OHDEERME Embellishment Kit to one of my readers! Just leave a comment here telling them your favorite Freckled Fawn embellishment.

 

 

Special Promotion | All Stephanie Howell readers can enjoy a special discount at FreckledFawn.com. Simply enter the code "HowellPromo" at checkout and SAVE 15% on your order. The code is active until November 22.

 

About | Freckled Fawn specializes in the design and manufacturing of scrapbook embellishments. They recently debuted their monthly OHDEERME Embellishment Kit Club.

 

Connect | Shop | Kit Club | Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram

 

I have been having a blast using the embellishment kits on my Project Life layouts. They are perfect for adding an "extra something" after I'm done with my basic design. And I am even using the embellishments that I thought weren't perfectly "me"...which is surprising!

 

For example...Harper was a fox for Halloween and I love that I was able to use the crazy cute fox flair! All of the embellishments are made especially just for the kits which is super fun, too.

 

Leave a comment using the giveaway criteria above and I will draw a winner next week. Good luck!

 

xo

S

Project Italy and a Simple Stories Giveaway!

Bongiorno Amici!

Today I wanted to do a little Project Life (or Project Italy as I call it) post. Nothing earth-shattering, just how I make it work for me.

Now...if the mere mention of PL causes your eyes to glaze over (I used to be like that before I fell in love with pocket scrapbooking) then today's post isn't for you.

Y'all. I still glaze over sometimes when I see PL stuff. The only interesting PL to me is mine. Because it's about my family and my special memories. So I TOTALLY get if this is not your thing.

Even when I am doing PL (I'm back and forth like a yo yo depending on my mood and the amount of time I have) I don't share it often. I just don't feel like there's anything for me to share, if that makes sense. A PL album is a PL album is a PL album.

But today I want to share the album I've chosen for my Project Italy undertaking. If you stick around to the end there's a giveaway!

I'm also going to share how I make this system work for me as well as some of my favorite products for pocket scrapbooking.

If you've been reading my blog for a while you know that my crafting mantra is keep it fun.

If it gets stressful, or competitive...or if I'm beating myself up about it then I STOP it.

That same concept applies to Project Italy.

Here's how my craft room usually looks when I'm catching up. On the subject of "catching up"...usually I don't. I just do it when I feel like doing it. But this year I really want to not miss a month.

Here's how each week's spread starts off. I use Momento and iPhoto to plan what I want to share. I then use small post-its to label each pocket in the spread.
I print all of my photos at home using either my  Canon Selphy or my HP Photosmart. I like to use the Pages program to resize and print all my PL photos on a couple of 8 1/2 by 11 sheets of Photo paper.

Lately I've been back and forth between wanting to do really simple pages and wanting to do more complicated pages. You see, PL is pretty much my only creative outlet right now. I'm not doing many traditional SB pages.

Some weeks I just want to make my pages fancy. So I usually do a few simple/quick/easy weeks and then a more complicated week.

This satisfies all of my creative and memory keeping needs.

Here are a few examples of some easy PL spreads. Washi and cards and a couple stickers. That's about it.

Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

In one of the pockets on this page, I actually cut up a tourist map from an town we went to and used a geotag to label the exact area we visited.

I buy a cheap postcard every time we visit a new town. I love using postcards in my PL.

Now here is an example of a more "complicated" PL spread. It took a lot longer to make and has a lot more dimension.

It felt really good to take my time and almost treat each pocket as a mini scrapbook page!

Yes. I did an entire card dedicated to this skit. I had to. We quote it a dozen times a day! #thatshowwedo #lololololololololol

Another fun card is the currently watching card. I never know what to do with geotags so I'm glad I found a way to use them!

And I won't even tell you how often Breaking Bad has appeared in my album lately.

As far as the album goes, I'm using a new Simple Stories Sn@p 12x12 leather album.

The Simple Stories albums come in high quality construction, sturdy, faux leather, 6 popular colors (red, teal, black, brown, green, pink),  2 sizes (12x12 & 6x8), unique size (6x8), non-slip, interlocking D-ring binding, stylish contrasting stitch detail, metal corner accents, custom metal spine bookplate in a fun shape. 

Simple Stories asked if they could send me this album to review and I was super excited for the opportunity.

The album is sturdy and great quality. It looks chic on my shelf and I love that.

None of the pockets have ripped and I've put a lot inside. I had a problem recently with other page protectors ripping, but these are awesome quality. 100 percent happy with this album.

Whew. Now that was a MONSTER post.

You still there?

Let me share some of my favorite products for Project Italy.

Gossamer Blue Life Pages Kits (I get these every month)

Studio Calico PL kits (I order these every now and again)

MME pocket cards, decorative tapes, brads, enamel dots, labels, and tiny word stickers

Freckled Fawn tapes, badges and veneers

These small doilies (I buy these in bulk and have used them for years).

If you see something you are curious about, make sure to ask in the comments and I'll let you know!

Now for the good part.

Would you like to win a Sn@p leather album and your choice of page protectors?

Leave a comment on this post and I'll draw a winner next Thursday.

Good Luck! Ciao Bella!

xo

S

Sponsor/Small Business Spotlight | Freckled Fawn + Process with Catherine Davis

Hey sweet readers! First and foremost- Let me share the Elle's studio winners from a couple of weeks ago!

1.Roxanne said...What a fun looking kit! Reply September 10, 2013 at 09:00 PM

2.Bethany Becker said...What a gorgeous kit. Thanks for the chance to win Reply September 11, 2013 at 08:55 PM

Please email me at harpersmama8(at)gmail(dot)com!

 

Moving on- I have two awesome giveaways for you guys today.

Up first- one of my favorite small businesses around. Freckled Fawn.

The monthly OHDEERME Embellishment Kit is an exciting new concept in the scrapbooking world. Each month, Freckled Fawn designs and manufactures a collection of coordinating embellishments. You will receive a tin filled with enough embellishments to inspire you as you create dozens of lovely projects!

With the OHDEERME embellishments in hand, browsing your personal paper stash each month will become an exciting endeavor as you preserve your memories, fashion a card for just the right occasion, or add flair to a gift for a special person. You can start your kit subscription [ HERE ].

Note from Doe:
On a personal level, this kit actually works perfectly for me as a scrapper. I tend to have a lot of guilt when I look at my mountain of scrapbook paper but I always feel like I don't have enough embellishments to really work with and use up all my paper goods. So working with a coordinated collection of embellishments each month will really inspire me to pull out my paper stash and preserve my memories!

It is exciting to know that each month I'll get to play with new embellishments that can't be purchase anywhere else, no more of the "same ole, same ole" repetition that can easily stagnate my creativity. I hope this kit club works for you as well and I am just GIDDY with excitement because I have such fun, FUN embellishments planned each month.

Freckled Fawn is giving away one September kit (see above). International entrants are welcome.

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Next today? A fun new class by my friend (and creative inspiration) Catherine Davis.

PROCESS with Catherine Davis
Design Editor Takes You from Lightbulb to Layout

Starts 10/31/2013 $45

Class Description: Looking to breathe new life into your scrapbook pages or Project Life layouts? The beauty is in the process. Interested in scrapbooking smarter, better, simpler, or with greater intention? PROCESS is the key.

Yes, we're talking about your personal creative process, that series of choices you must make to get from a lightbulb moment to a layout you adore. We're also talking about PROCESS, a new 4-week workshop from "Design Editor" Catherine Davis.

Catherine is a visual journalist who has designed pages at one of the nation's top newspapers. She's also a scrapbooker who blogs at designeditor.typepad.com and designs scrapbook layouts for both the Studio Calico and Becky Higgins' Project Life creative teams.

She's here to share how she applies her years of professional design experience to scrapbooking. She'll teach you to apply design fundamentals to your projects, no matter what your style. She'll share her favorite memory-keeping techniques, design tricks, and inspiration sources. And she'll do it all in her signature, highly visual teaching style.

All you have to do is show up, read, watch, absorb, and create. As you accept and apply Catherine's weekly challenges, you'll find yourself opening up to a new world of insights—and refining your personal creative process so it works for you, instead of the other way around.

read rest of description and register here

New to Big Picture Classes? Learn more here




One spot in Catherine's Process class.

Fun, no? Leave a comment here if you'd like the Freckled Fawn kit or the class spot. If you have a preference, please let me know.

Good luck!

 

Sponsor/Small Business Spotlight and Giveaway | Elle's Studio

Elle’s Studio is excited to now be offering a monthly kit that is full of exclusive and limited edition tags! The best part is that this kit will work for you, no matter what you enjoy making!

Each kit will include tags that you can use for layouts, mini books, cards, and of course, Project Life! Each month a new kit goes up for sale on the 10th, for a launch day special price of $9.99 (at midnight the price goes up to $11.99), and can ship via first class mail. The September kit is now available while supplies last!

Elle is giving away Two September Kits. International readers are welcome to enter!

Leave a comment here and I'll announce a winner with next week's sponsor spotlight!

xo

Sponsor/Small Business Spotlight and Giveaway | 2 Peas Scrapbooking from the Soul Workshop + Aimee Asher Boutique

Happy Wednesday y'all!

I hope you are all having a wonderful week. We signed our lease this week which means we will be moving into our apartment next week.

I am so excited and so ready.

Another exciting thing? I'm headed to check my mail where I'm HOPING I will find some Project Life items I ordered and some photos from PostalPix. I'm ready to SCRAP!

What are you up to today?

I have some fun giveaways to share with you, so I hope you are in the mood for some eye candy!

Spotlight and Giveaway #1-

I'm so honored to be a part of my friend Jill's new class at Two Peas in a Bucket.

It's called Scrapbooking from the Soul. Here's a little blurb:

As scrapbookers, we do not document life as passive observers -- we have the power to make meaning, sharing what matters in ways that matter. Join Garden Girl Jill Sprott for Scrapbooking from the Soul, a workshop that explores ways to embrace the “soul scrapper” within and infuse pages with layers of meaning.

In this workshop, Jill shares a variety of approaches and strategies for how to become more invested in creating layouts that feel authentic to you as well as authentically you. The workshop emphasizes in particular the role that journaling plays in enhancing meaning and contributing to a sense of unity.

If you'd like to win a free spot in this class, leave a comment here and I will announce a winner with my next Sponsor Giveaway on August 13.

 

Spotlight and Giveaway #2-

Aimee Asher Boutique is an online store that sells downloadable products for crafters, scrapbookers, cardmakers and the like. We provide topnotch products from wonderful artists and designers that include clipart, backgrounds and hand painted graphics to printable products such as greeting cards, gift boxes, bags and many other items including scrapbooking.

We recognize the need of crafters that want to create products that allow them to achieve a professional looking product with the ability to add their own special touches to their creations. We help crafters achieve this through digital, downloadable items.

The store often has free items available for crafters to download...this allows them to try out different artists and designers products as well as try out new or different techniques. Should the customer want their product delivered by CD, we offer that service as well. We also have many teacher resources!

We pride ourselves on our customer service. The customer is always first. We strive to answer your questions within 24 to 48 hours.
No matter what...Aimee Asher Boutique will do it's very best for you!

One lucky reader will win any one item in the shop. The choice is yours!

If you would like to win either of these giveaways, leave a comment here. The winners will be announced with my next Sponsor Spotlight on August 13.

Good luck!

xo

S

Sponsor/Small Business Spotlight and Giveaway | Baers Garten Designs

First- Here is the Travel Turtle winner from last week:

Natalie (QSOgirl) said...LOVE that photo!! Yummmmm gelato (even though I've never had it *in* Italy...yet!!) :)I'm always intimidated to travel with my daughter (~20 mo) because I don't know what to expect... but then she always, always surprises us and is such a trooper! She is a ton of fun to travel with-- I just need to remember it.

Especially because we have a flight from the East Coast to the Midwest coming up... and then an 8-hour car ride to the beach a week after that...

Reply July 17, 2013 at 11:47 AM

Please email Harpersmama8(AT)gmail(DOT)com to claim your prize!

Baers Garten Designs is a one woman business offering handcrafted scrapbooking goodies, Project life cards, digital scrapbooking kits and party printables from her home studio in Germany.

All of the items are only available in limited quantities and she ships them within 24 hours of purchase.

Be sure to check Iara's blog and become a Facebook fan of Baers Garten Designs, There is a freebie ready for grabs there! ;)

Do not hesitate to contact  Iara if you are interest in a custom order.

Baers Garten Designs is having a huge sale on her Etsy store right now. Some of the products will be discontinued after thesummer break and are deeply discounted!

Iara is giving one of my lucky blog readers a complete set of printable journaling cards for Project life and other scrapbooking projects. There are 35 sets in all!

Y'all this is a seriously great giveaway. Is it kosher if I enter it myself? Hahahah!

Have a beautiful and blessed Tuesday!

xo

S