For the month of April 2013, you can enter to win this new knitting book by Ruth Cross. It’s called The Knitted Home: Creative and Contemporary Projects for Interiors and is published by the Aurum Publishing Group. Here is a description from the publisher:

This exciting new book is a creative collection of over 20 knitted interiors projects by one of the UK’s most exciting textile designers. In The Knitted Home author Ruth Cross draws on her own experience of designing organic and freeform collections to guide you through the process of making and creating your own items. She creates desirable projects that can adorn many different items around the home including wonderfully textural cushion covers, cosy blankets and throws, fitted covers for chairs and footstools, stylish table runners and mats, seriously desirable wall hangings and smart floor rugs.

In addition to giveaway away a copy of this new book, the publisher is also offering a discount for my readers. Here is how that works:

To order The Knitted Home (9781906417727) for £16.00 including p&p*, telephone 01903 828503 and quote offer code JS195. Or send a cheque made payable to: Littlehampton Book Services Mail Order Department, Littlehampton Book Services, PO Box 4264, Worthing, West Sussex BN13 3TG. Please quote the offer code JS195 and include your name and address details. *UK ONLY - Please add £2.50 if ordering from overseas.

This giveaway is available to all readers no matter where you live. To get a chance to win a copy of The Knitted Home answer the questions below in the comments:

Have you ever knitted an item for your home? If so, what was it?

Post your comment only once in this blog entry and you will get a chance to win. The deadline for entry is April 30, 2013 midnight ET. Then during the first few days of the next month, I will randomly pick one winner. Make sure to include your email address when commenting. I will email the winner who will have 3 days after the drawing to reply back with a mailing address. Anyone who does not reply after 3 days will no longer be eligible to win, and I will draw a new winner. The book will be mailed by the publisher, so the winner will need to make sure to allow time for shipping, especially if you are not located in the UK.

ETA: Congrats to #25!

I have to admit to a problem I have. I’m addicted to bags. Totes, purses, sacks, small, medium, large, I cannot get enough of them. And, seriously, I do use them. So when a friend of mine showed me some products from a company called Thirty-One Gifts, well, I fell down the rabbit hole! I am now an official Thirty-One independent consultant, and I plan to talk about my new experiences as a “bag lady” now and then on this blog.

After signing up, one of the first thoughts that came to mind (other than I really want the Cindy Tote) was that I have to do a giveaway….now!

Why now? Why not wait until next month and start it at the beginning of the month like I normally do with my giveaways? Because now through April 1st, Thirty-One Gifts is having a wonderful special. If you spend $31, you can purchase a selected tote for 1/2 off. This just seems too perfect because you can buy a gift for someone and then also buy a gift for yourself.

All that said, you do not have to purchase anything from my independent consultant Thirty-One web site to enter the giveaway, but if you do, you get more chances to win. This is how this giveaway will work:

• To receive one chance to win, go over to my independent consultant Thirty-One web site, browse the catalog, and then come back and post a comment telling me the name of a product you like, and if you feel chatty, tell me why you think it looks interesting. Do not post more than one comment.
• To receive two additional chances to win, order at least one item from my independent consultant Thirty-One web site. For each item you order, you’ll receive two chances to win.
• So if you post a comment and order one item, your name would go in the pot three times. If you post a comment and order two items, your name would go in the pot five times.

Okay, so what am I giving away? You can get a chance to win a Cinch Sac (pictured above), which normally retails for $20. This drawstring bag is a perfect knitting or crochet project bag, but it really has an infinite number of uses. It is about 18 1/2 inches high and 14 1/2 inches wide. It also has a zipper pocket on the front, so you can put notions in there.

Now here is some more info and disclaimer stuff:

• I am an independent Thirty-One Consultant and the views expressed on this blog are mine alone and don’t represent the company’s views.
• This is open to Continental US residents only. (I’m sorry, but shipping is way to high otherwise.)
• Purchases of Thirty-One products from other consultant’s web sites or any place other than my own will not count towards entries.
• Do not order through any parties I have set up because they are local to me, and more than likely you are too far away for me to deliver your products. If you want to find out about hosting a virtual or catalog party, contact me at tammypowley @ yahoo dot com.
• The deadline for entry is April 19th, 2013 midnight ET. (Note that the 1/2 off deal from Thirty-One ends April 1st.)
• During the few days after the deadline, I will randomly pick one winner. Make sure to include your email address when commenting. I will email the winner who will have two days after the drawing to reply back with a mailing address. Anyone who does not reply after two days will no longer be eligible to win, and I will draw a new winner.

For a look at the totes on special, I found an awesome YoutTube video here.

March is National Crochet Month, so of course, that means I have to do a crochet-related giveaway. Voila, stitch markers - made by me. The lampwork beads were made by DD Hess, and then I used a few extra beads, some head pins, and lobster claw clasps to turn them into stitch markers.

Though these can also be used for knitting, since it is the month to celebrate crochet, I’m going to ask crochet related questions. This giveaway is available to anyone living in the continental US. To get a chance to win these stitch markers answer one of the questions below in the comments:

If you already crochet, why do you enjoy it? If you do not crochet, what has prevented you from picking up the hook?

Post your comment only once in this blog entry and you will get a chance to win. The deadline for entry is March 31, 2013 midnight ET. Then during the first few days of the next month, I will randomly pick one winner. Make sure to include your email address when commenting. I will email the winner who will have 5 days after the drawing to reply back with a mailing address. Anyone who does not reply after 5 days will no longer be eligible to win, and I will draw a new winner.

For the month of February (2013), I’m thrilled to announce that I have a sponsor! Talented glass artist DD Hess will send the winner of this giveaway the beautiful lampwork beads pictured above. She is well-known for her heart beads and also her flower patterns, and you can see more of her lampwork goodness in her Artfire shop.

This giveaway is available to anyone living in the continental US. To get a chance to win these amazing lampwork beads answer the question below in the comments:

What do you imagine you could make with these beads if you won them? Share some design ideas.

Post your comment only once in this blog entry and you will get a chance to win. The deadline for entry is February 28, 2013 midnight ET. Then during the first few days of the next month, I will randomly pick one winner. Make sure to include your email address when commenting. I will email the winner who will have 5 days after the drawing to reply back with a mailing address. Anyone who does not reply after 5 days will no longer be eligible to win, and I will draw a new winner.

Michael’s is having a big contest this month for a chance to win your dream craft closet. The deadline is January 28th, 2013, and 4 winners will receive a $1,000 Michael’s gift card, a personal shopping appointment at Michael’s, and professional advice from Jo Pearson about how to build the perfect craft closet. You can enter through the company’s Facebook page. Good Luck!

For January 2013, you get a chance to win a wonderful new book that focuses on a specific bead weaving stitch. It’s called I Can Herringbone and is written by Melissa Grakowsky. I reviewed it over on About.com, so you can read details about what is in the book here.

This giveaway is available to anyone living in the continental US. To get a chance to win a copy of this book, just answer the question below in the comments:

What is it about bead weaving that appeals to you?

Post your comment only once in this blog entry and you will get a chance to win. The deadline for entry is January 31, 2013 midnight ET. Then during the first few days of the next month, I will randomly pick one winner. Make sure to include your email address when commenting. I will email the winner who will have 5 days after the drawing to reply back with a mailing address. Anyone who does not reply after 5 days will no longer be eligible to win, and I will draw a new winner.

Congratulations to Emily! She is the winner of the Crafty Princess Diaries December Giveaway, which includes a free copy of the e-book The Fine Art of Shameless Self-Promotion written by Margot Potter.

Look for news about January’s giveaway, and hey, if there are any vendors or designer out there interested in participating in my monthly giveaways, feel free to contact me.

We have another awesome giveaway! For December 2012, you get a chance to win The Fine Art of Shameless Self-Promotion, an e-book recently written and published by Margot Potter, TV/Web personality, author of seven jewelry books, and Swarovski ambassador. You can read all about her new marketing e-book at this page on her website, but the nut-shell version is that she has researched and reflected on her own experience in self-promotion when it comes to her crafting career and recorded all of it in her new book.

The hardest part of any business - no matter if it is craft related or not - is marketing. You can’t sell your goods or skills if no one knows you exist. However, trying to figure out how exactly to promote yourself can be confusing and frustrating. On that note, here is the question you need to answer in the comments in order to get a chance to win:

What do you find to be the most frustrating when you attempt to market your yourself and/or your business?

Post your comment only once in this blog entry and you will get a chance to win. The deadline for entry is December 31th midnight ET. Then during the first few days of the next month, I will randomly pick one winner. Make sure to include your email address when commenting. I will email the winner who will have 5 days after the drawing to reply back with a mailing address. Anyone who does not reply after 5 days will no longer be eligible to win, and I will draw a new winner.

I am thrilled to announce another great giveaway here on the Crafty Princess Diaries. For the rest of November 2012, you have a chance to win a one year subscription to Pick-A-Stitch, which normally retails for $33.90 US.

Here is some information sent to me about how Pick-A-Stitch works:

Pick-A-Stitch™ is the first, and currently only, knitting stitch library you store on your computer.  The easy to use software consists of over 130 knitting stitch patterns in a wide variety of styles; cables, lace, textured, bobbles, reversible, edgings and more.  Each stitch has a full-color photograph and a color change feature so you can see the stitch in your favorite color.  Printable written and charted instructions are included for every stitch, plus you can bookmark your favorites.

The most unique feature of the program is that it is expandable (think iTunes for knitters).  New stitches can be added to your library via our stitch subscription program.  Six or twelve month subscriptions and back issues are available for purchase.  Our subscribers recently received two new categories, Estonian Lace and Estonian Lace Edgings.  We plan on adding a Japanese Stitches category in the near future along with pictorials for Japanese knitting techniques that may be unfamiliar to American knitters.

Each month subscribers receive an automatic email with their download code once an issue is released.  We have a short video on our website that explains the program features and how the subscription service works.  You can find it at www.pick-a-stitch.com

The Pick-A-Stitch™ program retails for $17.95 and is available for immediate download from our website.  Back issues are $2.00, six month subscriptions are $8.95 and twelve months are $15.95.  Each issue contains 13 to 16 new stitches every month.

To participate, simply answer this questions in the comments below:

What do you enjoy about working with fiber (knitting, crochet, sewing, whatever)?

Post your comment only once in this blog entry and you will get a chance to win. The deadline for entry is November 30th midnight ET. Then during the first few days in December 2012, I will randomly pick one winner. Make sure to include your email address when commenting. I will email the winner who will have 5 days after the drawing to reply back with a mailing address. Anyone who does not reply after 5 days will no longer be eligible to win, and I will draw a new winner.

Quayside Publishing Group sent me a copy of a new book published in October 2012 called Extreme Origami: Transforming Dollar Bills into Priceless Works of Art by Won Park. This is a hard cover book with 144 pages and over 1,000 illustrations. It retails for $25 US; $28 CAN; and L16.99 UK. I think the word “extreme” describes this book perfectly because this is not for your casual paper crafter in any way.

The projects are fairly involved though all of them are basically built around the idea of folding US paper money into amazing shapes using various folding techniques. The author suggests that you first try with larger pieces of paper that are the same scale as the money because it is easier to learn the folds that way, and there are a few important folds you need to master before jumping into the projects as well. Along with written instructions, there are illustrations to go with each one. For example, the butterfly requires a total of 27 steps. From pigs to tanks to toilets, you can fold paper money into just about any form it seems.

This is one of a number of books I’ve received recently to review, and I had a feeling my husband would find it interesting. I was right. He is fascinated with the intricate folding techniques used in the book. I also appreciate them, of course, but he is determined now to attempt some of them. Maybe it is a “guy” thing, but he loves this book. Take note for anyone looking for a guy-friendly craft-related gift.

Is this a book for your library or the perfect gift for a friend? To help you determine that, the publisher has let me load up some sample pages from Extreme Origami. Feel free to download them and enjoy.