Find a Friend Friday...Give Aways and Blog Hops Too!!!

Hello to all my wonderful friends out there. It's Friday and the start of another week of linking. Today is also the start to DOUBLE linking Friday and I am so excited.

The first section is still Find a Friend...where you link up your whole blog so new friends can stop by your blog for a visit.

The second section is for anyone having a blog give away or a blog hop. I don't have a clever name for that...too long to say "Find a Give Away and Blog Hop Friday". Maybe "Find Some Fun Friday".

So, here it is...2 sections. Link up to one or the other or both. You can also just stop by for a visit and not link up at all!!

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SECTION 1...LINK YOUR BLOG

If you are new to Find a Friend Friday (FaFF), you are in for a treat! It's a simple linking party to add a link to your blog so friends, old and new, can stop by and visit.

It's great to share your blog with everyone, but it's also fun just to look around. Even if you don't have a blog, you can find a wealth of great people willing to share their talents. and another great blog to follow.

This is an easy one to participate in...you are just linking to your own blog. No projects to sew, no furniture to paint, no cookies to bake or pictures to take. You are just sharing your blog and then friends will stop by for a looksy.

• click on the blue "click here to enter" link in THIS section
• copy and paste or just type in your blog address...example: http://sewmanyways.blogspot.com
• enter title of link...your blog name or phrase to grab attention
• add a photo of you, your profile picture or your blog button or whatever you think will grab some one's attention...(I'm thinking a picture of a big piece of chocolate cake, but that just me LOL)

SECTION 2...LINK GIVE AWAY OR BLOG HOP

This section is perfect for anyone having a blog give away or a blog hop. We all love having friends enter give aways and participate in blog hops, but sometimes it's hard to get the flow of people to those blogs. What better way to share all that info than to have them advertised all in one place.

Same steps to enter as above EXCEPT you need to enter the URL address of your give away or hop...NOT your whole blog. It makes it easier for everyone to find that particular post.

To find the URL of a particular post, just click on the post title and then paste that address in the linking party section.

So in a nut shell...

• click on the blue "click here to enter" button under THIS section
• copy and paste URL address for the particular post of the give away or hop
• enter title to grab their attention 
• add photo of give away items or blog button for give away or blog hop

That's it...super easy. Just think of the possibilities of finding all those wonderful blogs, give aways and hops out there.

Thanks for participating,

~Karen~

Thoughts on Thursday...

Am I the only one who tries to pump gasoline to an exact, even dollar amount? Why do I do this? Why does it have to be $62.00 or $63.00?

Well, yesterday I revolted against myself and I pumped $62.48. Woo Hoo!!

Then the woo hoo turned to boo hoo, because I just spent $62.48 on gas.  I'm sick every time I fill my tank.

I love this picture...take a look at the price...amazing. Lol

Do you pump to an even dollar amount too? How's the price of gas in your part of the world?

Happy Thursday,
~Karen~

I Wanted to Share a Fun Blog Hop With You...

Hi everyone...Beth from the blog Plum and June emailed me with a link to a Blog Hop she's having. It's such a wonderful idea, I wanted to share it with you.

The Blog Hop participants are NEW bloggers who starting blogging in 2011-2012 with a primary focus on quilting!! Each day, the participants, who are assigned a special day, will post a wonderful project.

The best part is each day we can "hop" over for a visit and enjoy all these great tutorials. The hop started May 22nd and the tutorials so far are amazing!! The schedule is booked into October, so it looks like a fun hop into Autumn too.

If you are a new blogger, love to quilt and want to participate contact Beth or Click HERE to a link for more info. Scroll down a bit for the Hop Details.

If you've been blogging for a while and just need some fabulous inspiration, bookmark the Blog Hop or "Follow" along by clicking here to visit Plum and June.

As a side note...

The ideas are turning in my head again. To think...there are Blog Hops and Give Aways out there in blogland that aren't getting the attention they need has me thinking.

I am going to add another linking party on the SAME post as Find a Friend Friday. Each Friday, I will have 2 parties...one for sharing your blog to find new friends and the second to spread the word about Blog Hops and Give Aways. If you're having a give away or blog hop, YOU can easy link up at the party to share the fun! That way, we can have all that great information all in ONE place.

Look for it this Friday if you have a give away or blog hop you want to share with everyone!!

Thanks for stopping by here and "HOP" over to Beth's...you won't be disappointed.

Have a great day,
~Karen~

Tool Time Tuesday...Sheet Magnets

Happy Tuesday everyone! I hope you had a wonderful weekend. You know I love sharing thoughts, ideas and great finds on Sew Many Ways. Sharing is pretty much the reason why I blog.

Well, today I want to share something with you that someone shared with me! 

At the end of March, I received an email from Dinah...a teacher in Indiana. She found a fabulous product in the hardware store that she uses in her classroom and wanted to share it with me. Dinah doesn't have a blog and has given me permission to share her tip with you!!

You know I love magnets and here is the best deal out there...

Vent Covers. Magnetic Vent Covers that is.

Magnetic vent covers are used to close off heating or a/c vents when you don't want the flow of air through that vent any more.

Vents are usually made of metal, so the magnetic sheets work great to seal it off.

What works great for me is that the magnetic sheets are BIG...8 inches x 15 inches and there are 3 of them in a package.

The BEST part is the package is about $4.50!!! You can find it in the heating section where they sell the air filters and vents.

See...3 big sheets just waiting for you to craft away.

The possibilities are endless with these sheets...sewing to hold you pins and needles, magnets for the refrigerator (Dinah used puzzles pieces glued to the magnetic sheets) and these would also work great to make magnetic games for kids in the car. They'll never lose the game pieces. Car bingo, matching games, checkers, tic tac toe etc. The best part is you can design and create the games yourself with your children.

Maybe you can add some of your ideas in the comments section too!!

Thank you so much, Dinah, for taking the time to email me with this wonderful idea...very much appreciated. Something from the hardware store turned crafty...Tool Time at it's best!!

Have a great Tuesday,
~Karen~

Heavenly Hash or Ambrosia Recipe...

I want to wish all of you a safe and relaxing Memorial Day. Here in the states, Memorial Day honors all those who have made the greatest sacrifice for their country and all those still serving to keep our country free. Thank you to the men and woman who are serving at home and abroad and to their families who sacrifice so much.

Memorial Day is a day for family, friends and food, so I wanted to share a great picnic recipe we always have at any function. We call it Heavenly Hash, but some call it Ambrosia. No matter what the name is...it is delicious.

Heavenly Hash Recipe

One 15 ounce can Mandarin Oranges...drained
One 20 ounce can Pineapple chunks...drained
One 30 ounce can Fruit Cocktail...drained
One 10-14 ounce bag Sweetened Coconut
One 10 ounce bag Mini Marshmallows
One 16 ounce container Sour Cream

The measurements of the fruits don't have to be exact...just whatever can size you have on hand or which fruit you like more of!

In a large bowl, mix all drained fruit with coconut, mini marshmallows and sour cream. Store in refrigerator until ready to serve. Make a few hours before or the day before you need it to incorporate the flavors.

Enjoy!!

Have a great day,
~Karen~

Sew Darn Craft...Week 67

Sunday has arrived again and that starts another glorious week of Sew Darn Crafty. We all love to craft, cook, sew or spend time with our families. We also love to blog about it and share what we do with people. Sharing really is the backbone to blogging.

Sew Darn Crafty Linking party is another place to share what you do during the week on your blog. Link up all week long...whatever you'd like, as much as you'd like...because we LOVE to see what you've been up to!!

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If you're NEW to Sew Darn Crafty, then grab a cup of something tasty, sit back and join in on the fun (starts Sunday and lasts all week long here at Sew Many Ways).

If you want to add the button to your blog's side bar or your list of parties that you're in each week...Click HERE for a tutorial for adding a button

WHAT IS A LINKING PARTY...

I subscribe to a linking service, which provides the ability to link thumbnail pictures on my blog. The picture is a link that other bloggers provide to share their projects.

Two things can happen at a linking party...looking and/or linking

• you can be greatly inspired by wonderful projects, ideas or vacation pictures (looking) and/or
• you can share what you've been up to (linking)

If you want to be inspired by all the great ideas...just click on a picture and it will take you to that post from a wonderful blogger who was willing to share her thoughts and ideas.

HOW AND WHAT TO LINK TO THE PARTY...

Sew Darn Crafty is all about YOU!! Show off your projects, share a tutorial, show us your vacation pictures, share a family favorite recipe...share anything. Not only does linking inspire us all, it also brings lots of new people to your blog for a visit. Click here for past parties and lots of inspiration

Easy steps to join in on the fun...

• link up to the specific project post, not your whole blog. Makes it easier to link right to that post and not  search through all your entire blog. To find the http address to a specific post, just click on the Title of your post. Copy and paste the address that's at the top of your computer into the linky steps.
• link as many projects as you'd like...old or new
• anything goes...cooking, sewing, knitting, crafts, organizing, remodeling projects, vacations, parties etc...
• visit other links to share some blogging love! You know we all love comments!
• linking is open til Saturday night, so plenty of time to join in
• just click the blue "click here to enter" button below and follow the easy steps

Have fun linking up! Don't forget to come back and take a look at all the great projects during the week

~Karen~

Sew, Sew, Saturday...Fixing Waistband Gap

Welcome to another Sew, Sew Saturday. Each Saturday I've tried to make an "appointment" with myself to get a little sewing in, especially if I couldn't squeeze any in during a busy work week.

You know I always extend an invitation for you to join me every week, so you can have a Sew Sew Saturday too.

Today, I thought I would share with you some of the "mending" I did last weekend. You know that pile of clothes that needs to be hemmed, button sewn on, taken in or let out. Well, I worked on a couple things last Sew Sew Saturday.

Here's a quick fix I wanted to share for that dreaded gap in women's jeans. You know the gap...that space that doesn't lay flat against your waist or hip. It kind of just flaps away from your body. My waistbands have to be big enough to fit over my hips, but once the pants are up, zipped and button there is that little "gap"

The first picture is the finished waistband...

See the 2 seams where I took a little tuck?

Close-up of the outside seam.

Close-up of inside seam.

Here's how you do it...

Fold over waistband, right sides together.

I used chalk to show you the direction of the seam. About a 1/4 inch wide at the top and then narrows down at an angle to the bottom. I think it's better to take a few "little" tucks verses one big one. I also took 2 small ones in the front too.

Don't you love my camera skills...looks like I focused in on the chalk instead of the jeans...what the heck! It's after midnight and I have these jeans on right now, so I don't have the stamina to take them off and take another picture... Lol !!! Chalk looks nice and clear though!

All sewn up.

I put 2 pins in the seam so you can see them. The seams disappear under a belt or shirt.

Easy, quick fix for all pants not just jeans. This works even if you don't have the gap and just want to take in the waistband. .

Have a great Sew Sew Saturday,
~Karen~

Find a Friend Friday...

Hi everyone! Thanks again for stopping by Find a Friend Friday. According to my stats each week, more and more wonderful friends are stopping by Sew Many Ways, so what a great place to link up your blog.

Not only will you find new and exciting blogs...friends will find your blog too!! There are millions of blogs out there, so let's start finding them.

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If you are new to Find a Friend Friday (FaFF), you are in for a treat! It's a simple linking party to add a link to your blog so friends, old and new, can stop by and visit.

It's great to share your blog with everyone, but it's also fun just to look around. Even if you don't have a blog, you can find a wealth of great people willing to share their talents. and another great blog to follow.

Tell your blogging friends about the linking party too and more will join in with us!

This is an easy one to participate in...you are just linking to your own blog. No projects to sew, no furniture to paint, no cookies to bake or pictures to take. You are just sharing your blog and then friends will stop by for a looksy.

• click on the blue "click here to enter" link below
• copy and paste or just type in your blog address...example: http://sewmanyways.blogspot.com
• enter title of link...your blog name or phrase to grab attention
• add a photo of you, your profile picture or your blog button or whatever you think will grab some one's attention...(I'm thinking a picture of a big piece of chocolate cake, but that just me LOL)

That's it...super easy. Just think of the possibilities of finding some wonderful blogs.

Thanks for participating,

~Karen~

Thoughts on Thursday...

Let's take another stroll down memory lane... 

My daughter Kelsie and I were watching a repeat episode of Mad Men and someone on the show sang "Hello My Baby..." Come on, sing it out loud in that voice. Hello my baby, hello my honey, hello my ragtime gal...

I told Kelsie that song was on a cartoon I watched when I was little. It was about a singing and dancing frog who only sang for one person. The man attempted to make money on the talented frog, but he only sang for him.

Do you remember that cartoon? If not, Click HERE for the link to the you tube video for a blast from the past.

What was your favorite cartoon when you were little?

Happy Thoughts,
~Karen~

No Reply...We All Might Be One

Hello all my wonderful friends. I know what you're thinking...please, not another "No Reply" post. Sorry, but it is. You know it's one of my blogging missions to free the world of "No Replies" Lol !!

Some of you who are new to blogging may be asking what is "No Reply". Well, here it is in a nut shell.

• you leave a comment on someone's blog
• that blogger has her comments sent to her email inbox
• she reads your comment in her email
• she clicks the reply button to reply back to you, but...
• in the email address section it says the dreaded...No Reply-comment instead of your email address
• no blogging connection made

Over the years, I have had several posts showing how to change your "No Reply" status, but what does Blogger do...change their interface and dashboard.

Recently, I have had so many bloggers email me saying they have NEVER been a "No Reply" before, but since switching to the new dashboard, they are now.

It doesn't seem to be everyone, but I wanted to send out a little friendly reminder to check your profile settings.

Here is a picture tutorial on how to check, because it's in a different place on the new dashboard. Click picture to enlarge.

Go to your dashboard. In the upper right hand corner is your blog name and your profile picture or blog icon. CLICK the DOWN ARROW.

A pop up window will appear. Click BLOGGER PROFILE.

A new pop up window will appear. In the upper right corner, click EDIT PROFILE.

Then the old Privacy section will show up.

You MUST have a check mark in the box that says "Show my email address". You MUST click SAVE at the bottom when you're done.

That's it...easy!

PART 2 of this post...

I wanted to mention the new Google Plus. It's Google social networking version of Facebook. However, people are leaving comments with this platform and most seem to be "No Reply"

I am not on Google +, so I have no idea how to change that setting. If you are using Google + to leave comments, you may want to look into your profile setting for your email address.

 and Part 3...

The comment section on blogger now has a Reply button under each comment that's been left. Here's how it works.

• someone leaves a comment
• another reader wants to comment to that "specific" comment and clicks the reply button
• she leaves her comment and it is posted just under the first, indented just a little.

here's an example (below) of one if you haven't seen it before.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I wanted to make sure everyone knew that the "reply" doesn't go to the person leaving the original comment. It's just posted there for future readers to see.

I've also seen this when the blog owner replies to the comment in that section. It's great when you leave the comment and it's there for all future readers to view, but I don't think it goes directly to the commentor herself.

The only way the commentor can see the replies is if she "subscribes" to that post. See that circled item in the picture below? If you click that, you are now subscribed to all the comments on THAT particular post and that post only.

Meaning, every comment that is left on that post will be sent to your email. Great if you want to read what everyone is chatting about on that particular topic.

When you click the SUBSCRIBE BY EMAIL button...

It will say..."follow-up comments will be sent to (then your blogger email address shows up)

If you don't want to follow that specific post any more, just go back and click UNSUBSCRIBE.

Hope this helps all bloggers new and old.

My next mission is to figure out the fix between Blogger and all the Typepad and Wordpress bloggers, because they always show up as No Reply.

The solution would be for Blogger to create a comment form like Typepad where you just put your email address and blog URL in to leave a comment. That way EVERYONE can leave a comment whether you have a blog or not and it would eliminate "no replies". The option to have an email address show up would be for the person to decide.

Blogger can you hear us? Can you please fix this comment issue?

Have a great day,
~Karen~

Tool Time Tuesday...Eyelet Tool For Gift Tags

I was roaming through a craft store the other day...funny it wasn't a hardware store, but I love craft stores too. I found a package of eyelets in the clearance section. Woo, a new thing for me. Had to get it!!

I swear I will go broke on the money I "save" in the clearance section. The eyelets were on sale, but the tool that you need to go with it wasn't!! Lol I think the eyelets were 49 cents and the tool was maybe $6.00.

Oh well, I love it any way. I'm not sure what you use them for, but I've made some gift tags I wanted to share with you...paper and fabric.

Here's the fabric tag...cute, cute!

The tools you will need are...

• the eyelets
• eyelet tool or setter, which runs from $3.00 on up
• hole punch
• hammer
• piece of scrap wood to hammer on

Eyelets...

They come in different colors and sizes. These are 1/8 " or 3.1 mm. It is a one part system. There isn't a front and back piece.

Red and silver...100 per box for 49 cents. How could I pass this up? Tell me...HOW? Help me out ladies...I need to justify the need to collect every color they make...Lol

Here is the setter. It comes with three sizes and a hole maker.

This "sets" the eyelet.

Here is a little hang tag I made in 2 seconds...so easy. Used a paper punch and set the eyelet.

The steps are easy...

Use a hole punch the same size as your eyelet...this a 1/8 " hole punch.

Put the finished side of the eyelet on the front of the tag.

Turn it over on the scrap wood.

Use the correct size setter

Use a hammer and tap the setter one or two times.

It bends back the edges to secure the eyelet.

Cute on a gift bag or package.

Now you know I couldn't just do paper with a ton of fabric in my sewing room.

You will need fabric and Heat and Bond paper.

Iron the Heat and Bond to the wrong side of the fabric according to the package directions.

Type up a gift tag greeting on the computer or write one yourself.

Peel the Heat and Bond paper backing off the fabric.

Place your greeting message on the shiny Heat and Bond side.

 
Iron to set the two together.

Now it is one piece fused together.

Cut it out in any shape and punch a little hole at the top.

Set the eyelet the same way as the above directions.

Front eyelet...

Back eyelet...

Easy fabric gift tag.

This idea is perfect to make for any gift giving or holiday. You can customize to match anything. Great for quilting or sewing friends.

The tags are also great it you sell items. Print your logo or store name for the tags and the eyelet makes it look professional.

I think I "need" to go back and save some more money and see what other colors they have!!

Happy Tuesday,
~Karen~