Let's Get Social @ Sew Crafty Angel Social Media Mixer

Welcome to the 18th week of the Social Media Mixer!

Thank you to everyone who joined us for Week 17 - we had 126 blogs and numerous social media link-ups!

The Social Media Mixer is all about networking and making connections. Also, you can gain exposure and increase your social media following! Link up your blog posts and social media accounts and mix it up with some of the other linkers. Each week, the Weekday Mixer will start on Saturday nights at 8:00pm and go on until Wednesday nights at 11:59pm. A blog post will be chosen each week by each of the hosts and guest hosts and featured in the following week’s link-up! If chosen, a brief summary about yourself and your blog/website and all of your social media accounts will be featured. It’s a great way to stand out among the crowd!  One blogger will be chosen for 2 weeks of free ad space on Epic Mommy Adventures!

Welcome your hosts!

 Natasha from Epic Mommy Adventures | Angel from Sew Crafty Angel | Cathy from A Peek Into My Paradise | Julia from Minivan Dreams | | Liz from Look by Liz Lewis | Kaitlyn from Three Sisters and Us | Shana from Technotini | Anni from Grapefruit Princess | Tiffany from Mrs Tee Love Life Laughter | Ce Ce from A Chicago Mom |  Jillian from Baby Doodah | Holly from Southern Mom Loves

And welcome your guest hosts for September!

Avie from All Things Avie | Cyndi from The Decorating Chica | Danielle from Dancing with my Daughter | Emily from The Unextreme | Jennifer from Mommy Life After Ph.D. | Lauren from Life in the Wilde | Lori from Lori's Culinary Creations | Mila from Mila's Little Things | Silvie from My Silly Little Gang | Soro from Mom Swaddles All | Tara from Anything & Everything | Melissa from The Coupon Chronicles

And here are the Featured bloggers from last week's Social Media Mixer...

Holly chose...

Slow Cooker Beef Chile Verde Nachos from Lou Lou Girls

My cute hubby called me from work and told me that he had just signed up to bring a main dish for the company pot luck dinner. Main dishes can be so hard because you have to get the dish to the party without falling apart and then finding something that will feed so many people! I love challenges! We decided on these incredible nachos. They were a big hit at the party! Mike told me that everyone was trying to get the last piece of meat out of the slow cooker because the meat was so tender. The great thing about nachos are that everyone can make their own the way they like.

Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Google+

 

Cathy and Avie chose...

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon-Brown Sugar Icing from Mayhem in the Kitchen!

Last year I bought the Costco pack of organic pumpkin puree, and based on how September has gone thus far, I’m going to need to stock up again this year. I know a lot of folks think this whole pumpkin spice thing is overrated, overdone, overblown, but I just can’t help myself. As soon as the air gets crisp and the leaves start to crunch, the pumpkin obsession stirs within me and there’s nothing I can do about it. …OK maybe it’s not quite that bad. But it’s close. I knew I was ready for fall when I went through and sniffed the entire autumn themed line of wax melt air fresheners at the hardware store. Twice. Three times on the Pumpkin Pie and Spiced Cider varieties. Lucky for me, one of my coworkers shares my pumpkin love, and requested a pumpkin spice treat for her birthday, so I didn’t even have to think of an excuse to make these.

Blog | Google+ | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter| Pinterest | Foursquare

Mila chose...

Therapeutic Blogging from The Realist Optimist

Our culture revolves around the idea of self-sufficiency and independence. We don’t want our survival to be dependent on anyone besides ourselves. But I’m pretty sure our culture has it wrong. Community is important. It always has ben and it always will be. We’re born into families, we play on teams, and we’re assigned to work in groups. We’re designed and engineered to function not in isolation, but in relationship with other humans. Even us introverts. After writing my most recent post on physical, emotional, and spiritual therapy, I realized that something was missing. I threw out a whole lot of information about the various forms of therapy and I neglected to talk about one of the best forms of therapy I have ever found: BLOGGING! I realize that some of you might not believe this fact, so I decided to make a list of the…5 Reasons Blogging Counts as Therapy

Blog | Facebook | Pinterest | Twitter | Google+ | Instagram

Cyndi chose...

Project: Pallet Shed- Finishing touches! from Scrapality

It’s been a long journey and a learning lesson from the first pallet to the last. My pallet shed is finally complete and I am very pleased how it turned out.

Blog | Google+ | Twitter | Pinterest | Facebook | LinkedIn | Instagram

Ce Ce chose...

Crockpot Lasagna from 4 Sons 'R' Us

On top of it being an all-out yummy classic comfort food, lasagna is a busy mom’s secret dinner weapon. It’s such a great option, especially when we’re talking about a crockpot, not oven, version because it’s so easy to throw together and it’s really filling, so a little goes a long way. Plus, this recipe usually makes enough for leftovers, which is a bonus because lasagna is one of those foods that almost always tastes even better the next day.

Blog | Bloglovin | Facebook | Twitter

Natasha and Silvie chose...

10 Reasons Why I Am No Better Than My Kids. from Domain of the Mad Mommy

Am I supposed to hold myself to a higher standard? I mean, I am their mother after all. Yet, somehow, I am no better than my kids.

Blog | Bloglovin | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram

Lori chose...

The Latest in Cat Pumpkins and More from Oh My Heartsie Girl

Welcome To Weekend Fun Party Halloween Pumpkin Preview I could not wait to start sharing these cute creations I found while searching on All You and Good Housekeeping websites.

Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Bloglovin | Google+ | Pinterest

Jillian chose...

Fall Handbag Essentials with U by Kotex from Warrior Queen

It's the first day of fall and California spent the morning pretending it was going to actually have cold weather for once. It's quickly thrown a JK in our faces, but I took advantage and wore my favorite Sevenly sweatshirt as I dashed to Walmart to get the best deal ever...which totally inspired today's post. It does help that my mom's best friend gave me a Kate Spade handbag this past week...Paulina's so proud of me!

Blog | Facebook | Bloglovin | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest | Etsy | YouTube

Tiffany chose...

The Phone Call That Left Us Speechless from How Do the Jones Do It?

It was a school night and we were just getting ready to crawl in bed when the phone call came. ‘Jenny and her young daughter, Grace, don’t have a place to stay tonight. The hotel won’t take credit over the phone … can you go to the hotel in the next town over and pay for two nights?’

Blog | Pinterest | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Google+

And the winner is...

Therapeutic Blogging from The Realist Optimist

Congratulations!! You have won 2 weeks of free ad space on Epic Mommy Adventures! Please e-mail Natasha at 1EpicMommy@gmail.com for more information on your free ad space.

Stop by and follow our featured bloggers! We're sure you'll love them as much as we do!

If you were featured above, feel free to share the badge below with pride on your blog or website!

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Are you ready to start mixing it up?? Then, let's go!

Make sure to add the button below to your sidebar to invite even more people to join the fun!

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An InLinkz Link-up

CLIMB Cohosts WANTED for November & December!

Tweet #ChainLinkyCLIMB
<a href="http://www.godsgrowinggarden.com/p/chain-linky-climb.html" rel="”nofollow”" target="_blank"><img alt="God’s Growing Garden" src="http://i1145.photobucket.com/albums/o501/AngieOuelletteTower/Sponsors/Climb200_zps6c2cafff.jpg" /></a>

CLIMB Cohosts WANTED for November & December!

Cohosts also have the option of participating in the CLIMB Giveaway the month after cohosting!!  It's 2 months of blog growing fun!

Remember - If you co-host you will receive a free Weekly Sidebar Ad and your blog button will appear on both Angie's blog & Angel's blog!! (The Ad will run live a few weeks after you have co-hosted)

Sign up to receive emails about the CLIMB

A Mother's Shadow - Win a Signed Copy @ Sew Crafty Angel

 My book is out for all the world to see.….and yes, I’m kinda freaked out. What if no one buys it, what if peo­ple don’t like it, what if.…oh, the list goes for miles, how­ever I won’t bore you any longer with my anx­i­ety attack.

     So why did I write this book? I’m glad you asked, heehee.

About the time my youngest kid reached junior high school, I real­ized that my ‘job’ as a stay at home mom would change. I will always be a ‘mom’ to my five kids, but they were reach­ing the point of being more inde­pen­dent and I felt it time to explore options of my own.

There were a few of us gals in the neigh­bor­hood who were at the same point and iron­i­cally, they all felt to go to col­lege, and most became teach­ers. I on the other hand was needed to help with ser­vice, fam­ily needs, some seri­ous med­ical issues came up for me, Stan, and well, life hap­pened basi­cally.
Mean­while, I con­tin­ued to pray for guid­ance and dur­ing this same time frame to know what direc­tion I would be most help­ful with, as well as ful­filled.  I felt impressed to write a book. A what I asked? A book. The End of the con­ver­sa­tion of the what He would have me do.

Though I enjoy read­ing, time con­straints from fam­ily, church, etc., squeezed out much of my ‘leisure time’ (you know how you put what you love the most on the back burner?).  The ques­tion then was: what in the world should I write about? I knew I wanted it uplift­ing, worth someone’s time to read it, mem­o­rable in a pos­i­tive way, and useful.

So the decade long odyssey began. I would write and delete, write have Stan read it and delete; with this going on for a few years.  I con­tin­ued to give it my very best effort, pray­ing and ask­ing for guid­ance and finally it hap­pened! The name ‘A Mother’s Shadow’ came to me and the basis of the story. After another length of time, the idea for mus­ings with each chap­ter evolved, the names of the main char­ac­ters, the time period and setting.

I have had pro­fes­sional edi­tors, fam­ily and friends who have been so incred­i­bly gra­cious and kind to read my book, some even a few times, as I have given every effort to make it as ‘per­fect’ as pos­si­ble.   There was one funny sit­u­a­tion I’ll share while work­ing with Elana my last edi­tor. At one point of the book I have a main char­ac­ter very preg­nant and going into labor.

I the char­ac­ter say­ing some­thing like, “Harry, we are going to have a baby.”

My lovely Elana emailed back (it will be my remem­brance and word­ing of our cor­re­spon­dence from here on): what in the world does that mean?

I wrote back, Emily is going to have a baby of course.

Elana: no duh, but why would you write, ‘we are going to have a baby’? Where’s the descrip­tion, the antic­i­pa­tion, the emotion?

Me: It’s there in ‘we are going to have a baby’.

Elana: Who says that?!

Me: Me

Elana: When?

Me: When I have babies.

Elana: What are you talk­ing about?

Me: I have had 5 babies and all of them c-section. Not with even one of them did the baby drop, nor I go into labor; not even a Brax­ton Hick. So, when the doc­tor wasn’t golf­ing and the baby seemed large enough, he said it was time. I would call Stan and my mom and say, “We are hav­ing a baby”.

I could almost see Elana shak­ing her head in dis­be­lief. Being the awe­some edi­tor she is, she sent me a few ideas of how to describe it and what to include to make the scene much more appeal­ing and to involve the audi­ence. I think it’s pretty good now — if I do say so myself, lol.

Why the name A Mother’s Shadow?

Remem­ber when you were a child and afraid of the dark?  The imag­ined mon­sters and scary things loom­ing in the clos­ets and under the bed? The fear of the shad­ows make it dif­fi­cult to see clearly what is real, what is not, what to fear, what direc­tion is cor­rect and how to be on the right path, at that moment as well as in life.

Now con­sider the intense heat of the beat­ing sun on your skin, seem­ingly to pen­e­trate clear to the bone. We all have hard­ships in life that weigh us down, even to think­ing that one more step is almost impos­si­ble. Com­pare demand­ing and gru­el­ing times in your life as walk­ing in the desert, with­out direc­tion and only mirages to chase.

We have two choices to leave as a legacy:

1– A her­itage for fam­ily and friends to remem­ber us with fear, con­fu­sion and hopelessness.

OR

2– A her­itage of opti­mism,  joy, clear direc­tion to over­come life’s chal­lenges with dig­nity, faith and courage.  To offer shel­ter from the heat of life’s tri­als, to be a place of refuge for cor­rect prin­ci­ples and a trusted source of goodness.

That is what A Mother’s Shadow is about.  Help­ing us real­ize the shadow/influence  which we will, with­out ques­tion, cast on gen­er­a­tions to come; whether it be neg­a­tive or pos­i­tive, will affect count­less num­bers of our pos­ter­ity, as well as our own life and loved ones now.

I hope you will enjoy my book; find it will be inspi­ra­tional, thought pro­vok­ing and a delight to read.

As always, Rec­og­nize a bless­ing and be a bless­ing today.

Your friend, Carrie

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

Click HERE for a chance to win a signed copy of my book. Available on Amazon for purchase for Kindle and in paperback Here’s for the contest If you live outside of the USA, you can still win, however it may be shipped directly from Amazon/Createspace, without my signature. There will be TWO winners!


  Available for purchase on Amazon for Kindle or in Paperback

Tiny Treats Bags from Fat Quarters

This is just to cute and easy so I wanted to share my find with you all.  It's from All People Quilt which is filled with all sorts of adorable sewing treasures.  

Turn Halloween-theme fat quarters and store-bought ribbon into pint-size goody bags to fill with yummy favors from this adorable little pattern found on All People Quilt

Materials for Four Bags
This project results in two sets of two contrasting bags (for example, two light bags with dark bottoms and two dark bags with light bottoms) 


•    18×22" piece (fat quarter) each of light and dark novelty prints (bags, linings)

•    4—12"-long pieces 3⁄8"-wide grosgrain ribbon: orange, black


Finished bag: 4×4×2"


Yardages and cutting instructions are based on 42" of usable fabric width. 

Measurements include 1⁄4" seam allowances. Sew with right sides together unless otherwise stated.

Cut Fabrics

Cut pieces in the following order. 

See Cutting Diagram to get the most pieces from each fat quarter. To save time, layer two fat quarters and rotary-cut through both layers.

From each light and dark novelty print, refer to Cutting Diagram and cut:

•    4—5-1⁄2×6-1⁄2" rectangles

•    4—3-1⁄2×6-1⁄2" rectangles

•    4—2-1⁄2×6-1⁄2" rectangles 

Pages

Pattern from 

All People 

Quilt 

Assemble Bags

1.    For one light bag you will need two dark print 5-1⁄2×6-1⁄2" rectangles, two darkprint 2-1⁄2×6-1⁄2" rectangles, and two light print 3-1⁄2×6-1⁄2" rectangles. 

2.    Referring to Diagram 1, join one light print 3-1⁄2×6-1⁄2" rectangle and one dark print 2-1⁄2×6-1⁄2" rectangle along one long edge to make bag piece. 

3.    Cut one 12"-long piece of ribbon into two 6"-long pieces. Referring to Diagram 2, pin ribbon ends to right side of bag piece, 2" from side edges. (If you are using a printed ribbon, place right side of ribbon toward right side of bag piece.) 

4.    Referring to Diagram 3, layer a dark print 5-1⁄2×6-1⁄2" rectangle (lining) and bag piece, right sides together. Sew together along one long edge to make a bag unit. 

5.    Repeat steps 2–4 to make a second bag unit.

6.    With right sides together, layer bag units; pin. Join units around all edges, leaving a 3" opening along lining edge for turning (Diagram 4). Press seams open.

7.    To shape flat bottom for bag, at one corner match bottom seam line to side seam line, creating a flattened triangle (Diagram 5). Measuring 1" from point of triangle, draw a 2"-long line across triangle. Sew on drawn line. Trim excess fabric, leaving 1⁄4" seam allowance. Repeat with remaining bottom corner of bag and both corners of lining.

8.    Turn bag right side out through opening and finger-press seams. Slip-stitch lining opening closed. Insert lining into bag to complete a light bag. Press along top edge.

9.    Repeat steps 1–8 to make two light bags and two dark bags, reversing fabric placement for dark bags.

Wake Up Wednesday "Linky" Party #35

Tweet #wakeupwednesdaylinky

               Welcome to the 35th week of 

 Wake Up Wednesday "Linky" 

25 Blogs  -  1 Party

& 

 Giveaway

We are so excited to have you all party with us.

Thank you so much to all those who participate in our party.

Last week we had  342 awesome linkups!   

 Wake Up and be happy, get excited and have fun with us! 

We want to be inspired, entertained, laugh and have a good time!

 The hop is hosted and posted on these different blogs! 

Your link will appear on the blogs of

 Sew Crafty Angel, Cuddlebug Cuties, 

God's Growing Garden,   A Peek Into My Paradise,

 Epic Mommy Adventures,  Natalie Loves Beauty,  Three Kids and a Fish, 

  A Kitchen Hoor,   Crafty Brooklyn Army Wife,   Row House Blog  

   Heidi's Wanderings, To Work With My Hands,   The Organized Dream,

 Far From Normal,   Mice in the Kitchen,   Relaxed Thairapy,   

The Kitchen Wife,  Teach Inspire Love Raise,   

 Organized Chaos,    Grow It Girl,    Grace and Gravy

Oh My Heartsie Girl,     Tanya - Kreative Corner

Vikki - Sailing Pineapple

  Shaina - Take A Bite Out Of Boca

Interested in Co-Hosting Wake Up Wednesday?

Fill out this form and Angel will be in touch with you?

This weeks 

Featured Bloggers

A Fun New Diaper Bag! from Crystelle Boutique

 Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies from The Paisley 

A Bridal Shower With a Retro Desperate Housewives Theme 

from Rose Vignettes

How to Make Money with Your Recipes

from MBA SAHM

10 Tips for Epcot’s International Food and Wine Festival

from My Big Fat Happy Life

Mickey Mouse Mug Rug Set

from Navy Wifey Peters Aboard the USS Crafty

3 Practical Tools to Help you Change the way you Think

from No Small Life She Said...

No Bake Cookies & Cream Mummy Pops

from Life With The Crust Off

Creamy Sriracha Dip

from Lambert's Lately

A rail journey

from doodles 'n' daydreams

Dollar Store Fall Owl from My Pinterventures

I love a cold and rainy fall day!

from Life As I Know It 

Planter Box + Bird Feeder from Garden Up Green

Mooseburger Pie

from Run N' Stitch

Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes

from Sunshine & Hurricanes

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Link up your funny stories, DIY posts, crafts, decorating, fashion, makeup, health & fitness, recipes, mommy moments -- anything at all, as long as it is family-friendly.


Please visit some other bloggers and make some new friends and say hello to old friends..

• Please leave me a comment , I love to hear from you.
• Please Link to your family friendly post 
• I'd love for you to grab my party button for your blog party site but it's totally optional
• Please No adult content blogs
• Please do not add links to shops or selling websites (they will be deleted from the party)
• Giveaways are always welcome.. Add your giveaways to Sew Crafty Angel's Pinterest Community Giveaway Board too.  

Adding your link to this blog hop gives Sew Crafty Angel permission to share your posts and pictures via social media and as features on Sew Crafty Angel And Co-Hosts.  Note- All features on Sew Crafty Angel And Co-Hosts will be linked back to the original source .Social media features are linked back to the linky party.

Angel

An InLinkz Link-up