Arkansas Women Bloggers has been at its new home for three weeks and what a whirlwind it has been. We have been giving prizes and hoping to entice the 400+ members of our old site to head on over and join us here. If you have not taken the time to join us yet, we hope you will soon! There is power in numbers and we have several deals in the works that will be sweeter, the more members we have. If you have joined us, THANK YOU! We hope you will continue to encourage all your bloggy friends to join us as well.
We want to take a moment to congratulate all of our recent winners and to sincerely thank all of the sponsors of the great giveaways that we have had so far. We will be having many more giveaways and exciting events in the near future.
Recent Winners on ARWB
Jackie W. won the Cooks Illustrated – Best Make-Ahead Recipe from Lyndi of NWA Foodie.
The Pinterest Challenge Wreath Giveaway, sponsored by Gina of Desperately Seeking {Gina}, is still in progress. Please click here for more information on how you can enter to win.
Please help us to show appreciation to our sponsors by taking a moment to visit their websites and follow them on Facebook, Twitter and other social media.
Thank you to the ladies of AWB for inviting me to share one of my favorite Pinterest Projects thus far!
I’m not sure what it is about this site that is so interesting and addictive. Maybe it’s the pretty picture overload? Or the insane amount of talented, creative people sharing ideas, tips, and tutorials? Whatever it is, I’m enjoying looking and doing!
At first glance, it may be difficult to understand what Pinterest is all about. It can be overwhelming for first-time pinners-pretty picture overload for sure. But, at the heart of this newest social networking craze, Pinterest provides a unique outlet for crafters, photographers, aspiring cooks, and artists of all kinds. Pinterest is a visual pinboard. It’s a place to bring out all those sites we have saved in the deep depths of our browser bookmarks and store them in picture form instead of words. It is a place to inspire {artists, crafters, cooks sharing their creations} and to be inspired {spinning those pins and making them our own}.
Finding inspiring Pinners is as easy as following your favorite bloggers-who-pin. Many of the bloggers here on Arkansas Women Bloggers pin and you can often find links on their websites. Additionally, one Pinner leads to other like-minded Pinners creating a communtity of fun, interesting, and inspiring projects. It is a place to gather ideas for everything from deciding what to have for dinner to painting techniques for that old dresser you hope to refurbish. Pinterest is a place to grow our blog-reader lists and circle of blog friends around the world. And, most importantly, Pinterest is a place to connect with those friends and artists.
Gather, grow, connect- exactly what the creators of Arkansas Women Bloggers hope to accomplish here in this forum! Pinterest just provides another chance for you to get to know the great ladies here on Arkansas Women Bloggers.
The key to this project, for me, was gathering and prepping the supplies over a three or four day period. Having the supplies at-the-ready
was a hurdle well cleared when it came time for this challenge.
For this project you’ll need to gather:
-3 yards of burlap (Note: You can buy burlap cheaper at hardware stores like Lowes and HomeDepot than at fabric stores!)
-scrap fabrics
-scrap booking brads or buttons
-hot glue gun and glue sticks
-14 inch wreath form
-twine
-paper
-stamp pad
-assorted scraps and yarn to hang wreath
-circle cookie cutters {to trace onto fabrics}
-fabric marker
-a good pair of fabric shears
Begin by cutting a four inch section down the length of the burlap and set aside. This will be used to wrap the wreath form a little later.
Using your cookie cutter {or a cup} draw one 3-inch circle, and one 2-inch circle on the burlap and cut out. Use this template to cut remaining circles.
You’ll need:
Burlap : 50 – 3 inch circles
25 – 2 inch circles
Fabric 25 – 3 inch circles
25- 2 inch circles
Combine layers of circles that are pleasing to you, forming flowers of burlap and fabric. Secure in the center by pushing a brad through and fastening on the backside. Lay out flowers as you go.
Tip: layer more burlap-on-burlap flowers than you think you need. Layer 2 to 3 circles each.
You’ll need a total of 120 – 150 finished flowers.
Lets put it all together:
Take the 4 inch section of burlap you cut earlier and secure one end of the burlap to the wreath form with a beaded line of hot glue and gently {and CAREFULLY} press the fabric into the glue until secure. Begin wrapping the form tightly, overlapping as you go.
Time now, to begin hot glueing your fabric circles to the wreath form. A small bead of hot glue on the back of each circle will be enough to attach your flowers.
Start by laying out 3 fabric flowers symmetrically around the form.
Fill in with remaining circles adding pops of color with your fabric flowers.
Next, flip the wreath over and attach twine with a small dot of hot glue on each side of the wreath.
Flip back over and attach your message to the twine with tiny paperclips or tiny clothespins. I originally typed and printed a message onto paper, cut out, and inked the edges. However, during my search for clothespins I came across a little letter “g” and covered it with leftover fabric scrap from this project. I attached it with a paperclip from my scrap booking stash.
Finish by looping scraps of fabric, yarn, or leather {such as shoelaces!} to the top of the wreath from which to hang your finished wreath. Hang and Enjoy!
Gina has graciously agreed to giveaway one of these beautiful wreaths! You have several chances to win and we will be using Rafflecopter to help us keep track of your entries. Entries will be open through December 16th. Good Luck!
(For info on how to win – please click the “continue” button below!)
Stephanie, Fawn, Beth and myself are all pretty fond on Arkansas Women Bloggers and we think you are too! Well it turns out that we have another fan, a pretty famous fan! Ree Drummond (yes, thePioneer Woman) thinks what we are doing is pretty cool and has offered two autographed copies of her books to two lucky members of Arkansas Women Bloggers! Pretty cool, huh? We think so!
We will be giving the autographed copy of Ree’s cookbook, The Pioneer Women Cooks, to the member of Arkansas Women Bloggers who refers the most new members between 7am TODAY through 7pm on Sunday, December 4th.
We will be giving the autographed copy of Ree’s love story, Black Heels to Tractor Wheels, to the member of Arkansas Women Bloggers who refers the most new members between 7am Monday, December 5th through 7pm on Wednesday, December 7th.
It’s that simple! We have added a ‘Referred By’ field to the registration form to make it easy for us to keep track. All you have to do is ask your local women blogger friends to list your first and last name or the name of your blog in the ‘Referred By’ field!
Here are four suggestions to help you drum up some referrals:
1. Tell Your Friends
When you are chatting in person, through email, on the phone, or via IM to your gal-pals tell them about Arkansas Women Bloggers and invite them to join. Make sure to tell them to put your name in the ‘Referred By’ field.
2. Blog About Us
Chances are there are at least a few local bloggers lurking around on your blog. We would love for them to find out about us and reading about us on your blog is a great way for that to happen. Please urge your readers to check out our site http://arkansaswomenbloggers.com and to join us by filling out the registration form on our join us page(http://arkansaswomenbloggers.com/join-us/). Make sure to tell them to put your name or blog name in the ‘Referred By’ field.
3. Facbook About Us
Here is a sample status update:
Arkansas Women Bloggers is a great place for women bloggers to Gather, Grow and Connect. I’ve joined them and think you should too! Sign up with them and tell them (insert your name or blog name) sent you! http://arkansaswomenbloggers.com/join-us/
4. Tweet About Us
Here is a sample tweet:
I joined @ARWomenBloggers & think u should 2! Tell them (name or blog name) sent you! http://bit.ly/u1AE1V
And of course there must be rules!
You will be awarded ONE referral point for each person you refer to Arkansas Women Bloggers regardless of the number of individual blogs they register. You must be a registered member at the new Arkansas Women Bloggers website to win. If you haven’t registered yet, you may refer yourself for one referral point. All currently registered members will automatically be awarded one referral point. You will only be eligable for referral points for registration entries AFTER you have registered. Since we are trying to grow our Arkansas based membership you will only recieve referral points for registration entries within the state of Arkansas. All registrants must have vaild blogs. In the event of a tie for the most referrals, the referrer with the first valid referral point that was not themself will be declared the winner. Each contest will be seperate and only entries recieved during the times indicated above will be valid. Prizes will be mailed to the address provided by the winner on the registration form.
