And The winner is...

So I had all my girls together today for Jess's birthday party and we drew the winners for the contest. Because Jess was the birthday girl she got to draw the big winner and it is (drum roll please) Mariposa Farm Alpacas! She actually completed all 5 steps of the contest and won with her 9th entry. I'm really excited that a fellow St. Louisian and fiber friend won. I have never met her in real life but have "known" her from her blog for a little while.

The two overachiever gift certificates go to Valerie2350 from Sweeps4Bloggers. She is a giveaway pro and if you want to learn a thing or two about contests you should totally check out her blogs. And the 2nd winner is Donna of Donna's World. She was the very last entry into the contest and walked away with a prize! I'll be e-mailing directions for how to redeem the gift certificates.

I also wanted to post a few more pictures of the girls and their finger knitting exploits. I think they may have recruited another set of hands to their project today. This is the first time that they really got to hang out with Anh since she is on my husband's side but they became quick partners in industry. I brought them some more yarn to keep them occupied for awhile.

The last one is of Savannah with her cheesy grin. She's probably about to get her sticky fingers all over her sister's new headband.

Overachiever Awards

So I didn't win the custom bag prize from Solsisters Studio, but I did win the second best thing. A $10 gift certificate and free shipping for being an overachiever in her contest. I used it towards buying the gorgeous bag above, which will be perfect for Spring. I liked her idea so much that I stole it, with her permission of course.

Anyone who has at least 5 out of 9 entries in my contest will go into a second drawing. I will draw 2 names to win a $10 gift certificate to my shop and free shipping! There are many items in my shop that are under $10 or close to it, or you can use it towards a scarf for next year. I will also be adding a number of spring items this week that you can wait to check out.

If you have already entered the contest but have under 5 entries you can still complete one more of the steps to get into this second drawing. As a reminder these are the ways to qualify:


1. For one easy entry just visit my Etsy shop, Lenox Knits, and tell me what your favorite item is.
2. For another easy entry follow me on Twitter and Tweet to all your followers about the Beating the Blues Contest.
3. Because it involves more effort on your part I will give you 2 entries for blogging about this Contest.
4. If you add my lovely new blog widget to your blog or myspace page, there is code for each, you will get an additional 2 entries.
5. And finally I would be thrilled if you signed up for my new newsletter and will give 3 entries for following through with the steps to submit your e-mail address. I promise not to spam you and you can unsubscribe any time. I will be e-mailing specials and deals seasonally.



Just let me know when you comment how many entries you had before. I'm going to extend the contest until 12:00 Sunday afternoon, Central time, March 8th. I counted up my totals so far and as of this afternoon I had 181 entries and there were 14 people qualified for the overachievers prizes. They are:

1. Sherry
2. Joy
3. Kristin at My Art and the Mom in Me
4. CB
5. Mariposa Farm Alpacas
6. LadyErlynne
7. Jo Hoffacker
8. Debbie
9. Charlene S Noto
10. TiLT
11. cdziuba
    
12. Cheryl F. (The Lucky Ladybug)
13. valerie2350
14. Christa
    

If you think you qualify and I missed you please let me know.

I also wanted to share my other winning from this week. I won this gorgeous button pendant from Alterity! It is absolutely stunning in person and I love how she sets the mood in her photos. She does amazing things with vintage buttons and I'm thrilled to have one of her creations for myself.

Lose The Winter Blues Treasury

I totally stalked the treasuries today and managed to snag the first one I've had in months. I, of course, named it in honor of the contest and included all the people who've entered that I could easily find their Etsy shop. If I missed anyone please let me know so I can rotate you in. Be sure to give it some clicks if you have time. Here it is, I tried to get it to copy with the alternates but it wouldn't let me. I used a great new site I just discovered called thumbalizr to capture the entire page:

Things That Made Me Smile

We've been having construction going on in our offices this week so there has been constant drilling, banging, and dust in the air, which is really great for my allergies. So I decided to talk about the things that have made me smile this week to take my mind off what has made me feel like poking my eyes out.

I am coming close to 100 comments in my contest. I know there is actually more entries than that once it comes time to print them up. I want to talk about all the features in the different blogs who have promoted my contest. Here is a list of the sites that I know of at this point:

1. Feel Chic Boutique, seen above, is the one that gave me the biggest smile. She bought one of the custom headbands I blogged about a few weeks ago here. She posted a few lovely pictures of herself modeling her earwarmer and showing how warm and comfy it looks on her.

2.Char's Craft Room entered early and completed all 5 steps in the contest, giving her 9 entries. She has a new etsy shop called stitchary with some amazing pillows in the Arts and Craft style like this one, which would look perfect in my living room.

3. The Lucky Ladybug has a great blog for giveaway junkies. She posts just about every kind of contest you can imagine.

4. Valerie posted on not one but 2 of her blogs about the contest. This is a woman who knows her contests! She has Sweeps4Bloggers and Sweeps4California.

5. Sherry has a great blog called iLUVcontest and I actually advertised on her entrecard widget this week to promote the contest.

6. Joy to the blog has a vintage and crafty blog that is really easy on the eyes. She added me to her list of giveaways and I have a feeling she may become a favorite read of mine.

7. Sweepstakes Advantage dropped in to tell me the contest had been added to their very comprehensive list.

8. I submitted the contest to Etsy Giveaways and it was quickly added. This a great resource for looking for handmade items up for grabs.

9. I was also on the list of hot links at An Island Review.

I think that is all of them! I'm very happy for all of the blog love. I currently have 15 signed up for the newsletter and another 7 pending e-mail confirmation by the subscriber. This a great start for my subscriber list.

Another thing that made me smile this week was a new ring. I buy lots of pendants and necklaces but I very rarely buy myself a new ring. I just couldn't pass up this hammered copper and sterling silver spinner ring from Bonhomie Jewelry. I thought I had conquered my nail biting habit but it has been creeping back the last year. I had a spinner ring before and it was a good tool for distracting me from biting my nails. I was happy to be her first sale on 1000 Markets. She has a great blog were she talks about her adventures in jewelry making and is a great promoter of buying handmade.

Where in the World Are You?

Get Your Own Real Time Visitor Map!

I have to be honest. I actually considered limiting the contest to just U.S. and Canada in order to keep the cost of shipping down. But then I thought about all the great blogs that I visit every day from all around the world and the bloggers that drop in here as well. So I opened it up to everyone and I'm glad I did. It also inspired me to finally get my worldwide shipping set up in the shop. I had originally just shipped to U.S., Canada, and a few other countries I had checked out the rates on at the post office.

I have shipped to Canada a number of times now and have found it to be not much more than shipping here. I've unfortunately never had an overseas sale, and I'm hoping the changes in my shipping on Etsy will change that. I now have U.S. and Canada listed separately and then Everywhere Else set. This way people do not have to stop and contact me to find out what the shipping rates to their country would be. I am the queen of impulse purchases so I know that extra step probably killed a number of international buyer's shopping experience in my shop.

My Google Analytics statistics say that I've had visitors from 53 countries in the last 30 days. My top ten are here:

1.	United States	4,693
2.	Philippines	423
3.	Canada	328
4.	United Kingdom	277
5.	Malaysia	153
6.	Germany	105
7.	Netherlands	103
8.	Indonesia	96
9.	Australia	59
10.	India	46

The only one that really surprises me is the Netherlands. I'm not really aware of any regular visitors from there. The Philippines being my number 2 is certainly no surprise. There are an amazing number of Filipinos that are a part of the Entrecard community. I've gotten to know many of them through my daily drops like Lainy from Lainy's Musing. She has not one but 4 blogs that she updates regularly with original and interesting content. My favorite of her work is in The Certified Fashionable Chic where she discusses fashion from around the world.

I would love to hear from some of my global buddies. How did you come across my blog and have you entered the contest yet? I know that it may not be winter where you are so you may not need to lose the winter blues but I'm sure that everyone could use a freebie to lift their spirits.

Lose The Winter Blues with Lenox Knits Giveaway!

I'm excited to be having my very first blog contest. I am giving away the year round set of knitted accessories worth $50 in the above picture. It includes the following:

1. A lace knitted scarf in a blue hemp/cotton blend yarn with clay beads, worth $18.
2. A knitted pouch in the blue hemp/cotton yarn with the same beads. It has a draw string closing with a long paper bead, worth $12.
3. A matching headband in lace, worth, $7.
4. A knitted wire wrist cuff with matching clay beads and some fun paper mache beads in matching colors, worth $11.

There will be one contest winner and there is free worldwide shipping! Contest closes on March 7, 2009.

Contest Rules:

1. For one easy entry just visit my Etsy shop, Lenox Knits, and tell me what your favorite item is.
2. For another easy entry follow me on Twitter and Tweet to all your followers about the Beating the Blues Contest.
3. Because it involves more effort on your part I will give you 2 entries for blogging about this Contest.
4. If you add my lovely new blog widget to your blog or myspace page, there is code for each, you will get an additional 2 entries.
5. And finally I would be thrilled if you signed up for my new newsletter and will give 3 entries for following through with the steps to submit your e-mail address. I promise not to spam you and you can unsubscribe any time. I will be e-mailing specials and deals seasonally.




Please leave a comment on this post for each step you complete. There are a total of 9 possible entries per person. I will print each eligible entry and put them in a basket, most likely wicker, and have my niece draw a name on March 7th in a secure location, probably my living room. The contest is open to everyone, even non-bloggers. If you don't have an active blog please leave me an e-mail address to contact you. If you have a blog you will be contacted directly through your blog.