I love getting goodies in the post!

Anyone who has been following the blog will know that I took part in the SewMamaSew Giveaway day a few weeks ago. Talia was sent over the ocean and has been welcomed into her new home in New Zealand. I received a lovely email from Talia's new owner:


Hi Sam,

Just a quick not to say thank you so so much for Talia. She arrived in the post today and is beautiful! I have not yet given her to my daughter, I'm waiting for the right moment, but I can't wait to see her face when she receives her. 

Dolls like Talia, made with love and care are so much nicer than mass produced plastic dolls and I can promise you that she will be loved and played with as she deserves.

Thanks again,
Juliet x


Thank you so much for your lovely words Juliet! (Juliet's blog is Tartankiwi - go check it out!)

I was also extremely lucky to win not one but two awesome prizes during the giveaway and they have both made their way to my doorstep. First, this fabulous fabric pack from Lisa at modern balabusta. 

Not sure what I am going to make out of them yet, but I'm think maybe a cute clutch purse (something for me for once!)

And my second prize was... these fantastic patterns from Figgy's Patterns, via Rachael from Imagine gnats:

Can't wait to try these out! The Romper is gorgeous and that dress will be so cute for summer!

Aren't I lucky????

xxx

Winners!!!

Thanks to everyone who entered the 1500 liker giveaway (and yay, we reached 1600 now!) I loved reading all of your comments and how you spend time with your little monkeys - a lot of crafting, baking and dancing going on!

Mr Random.org has decided the winners are:-

First prize goes to comment number 16 - Kristie Corr! Congratulations Kristie! 

Second prize goes to comment number 21 - Rebecca Nash! Congratulations Rebecca!

and.... 

Third prize goes to comment number 24 - Jade Pages! Congratulations Jade!

If all winners could please send me a message via the facebok page or by email to monkeyhugssnugglebugs@gmail.com we can sort out your prizes! 

I hope you can all make it back for games night next Monday night! (18 June)

xxx

1500 likers - It's giveaway time time!

Who's ready for a giveaway? I'll make this post short and sweet, since it's my gorgeous little monkey's 3rd birthday today and we're watching Toy Story while waiting for the cake to finish cooking (cupcakes are already out and cooling).

To enter the giveaway you need to go to my facebook page Monkey Hugs and find this picture which is in one of my photo albums.
To make things a little more interesting for me when I am reading your comments, I would love to know something you love doing with your kids (or if you don't have kids - brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, grandkids, etc)

The winners will be drawn by random.org on Monday night (11 June) and will be announced here on the blog and then on facebook.

The prizes: -

1st prize - One of my new Kokeshi softies (I'll put a photo up when I announce the winner - haven't had a chance yet!) - postage included
2nd prize - Your choice of appliqued TShirt from those available in my hand-made.com.au store found HERE (postage included) and...
3rd prize - $10 Monkey Hugs and Snugglebugs voucher

So get finding, get commenting and feel free to share with your friends!

Sam xxx

This giveaway is in no way connected with, sponsored or endorsed by facebook 

Is it time to party?

1500 likers on facebook. That's a milestone, right? With all of the new facebook changes, failing to show up in news feeds and now having to promote posts, I'm really not sure any more. I want it to be a milestone because  I've kind of been looking forward to it for a while, but is it? Should I be concentrating more on how many likes individual posts get or should I work out when I have sold my 500th doll or something? There is probably some complex mathematical formula I could use to figure it all out, but unfortunately my job titles have included "lawyer", "mother", "dollmaker" and even "bakery assistant", but not "mathematician", so I'm stuck with those easily quantifiable figures to use as my guide.

I'm generally not a "liker-counter", but 1500 seemed like an important one to me, so lately I have been keeping my eye on that magic number which seems to go up and down like the tides. I hit the 1500 mark sometime during the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day, which also coincided with the Tout Mon Amour Auction and giveaway and while it went up and down a few times, it's currently at 1540, so I am somewhat confident that it will stay above 1500, at least for long enough to celebrate!

Now, along with the 1500 likers, there are a couple of special dates coming up this month, so I thought instead of just one day, or even one week, I would have a little 1500 liker celebration extravaganza (try saying that 3 times fast!). There'll be specials, prizes and games throughout the extravaganza and due to the whole facebook not allowing that kind of thing, most of them will be conducted right here, so make sure you stay tuned!

To start with, my hand-made store is in sale mode. 1500 likers = 15% off storewide. The sale commences at 10am today (June 4) and ends at midnight on June 19. Why June 19 I hear you say? Well, because that's one of the "special days" - my birthday! The 15% off counts on all items currently in store and anything I add between now and the end of the sale will go on sale as well, so favourite the shop, subscribe to the blog, like me on facebook, or tie a piece of string around your finger to remind you to keep checking!

https://www.hand-made.com.au/people/MonkeyHugs

In addition to the sale, I'll be having a giveaway which I will let you know more about this Saturday, June 9, which also happens to be my gorgeous little monkey, Maia's 3rd birthday, another "special day". Isn't she cute?

And... a games night with prizes - date to be advised! So.... who's in? :)

xxx

What I've been creating this week!

I've had a bit of a "finishing" week this week. There has been one doll in particular that I have been working on for... well... let's just say, "a long time". I finally finished her this week and I am soooo happy with how she turned out. She's a pattern that I have been working on for months. I have had quite a few trials that haven't been up to scratch, so have not seen completion, but finally I think Miss Georgette is perfect so she has been finished, photographed and now listed in my hand-made.com.au store Monkey Hugs. Anyone who follows me on instagram would have seen a photo of her a couple of days ago, but for those who don't, without further ado, meet the delightful Miss Georgette!

Now, before I finished Miss Georgette, I was working on my little girl's birthday presents - Maia turns 3 on June 9 and I bought her a cute little doll bed (from Ikea) but the bedding that came with it was far from cute (not at all girly and a bit lacking on all counts) so I had to make a new mattress and quilt (still working on the pillow). So here is the before and after: 

And I had to make her a number "3" Tshirt, which I still haven't finished, but I'm getting there: 

And before all of that, I finished the gorgeous Ruthie Bear, made from a retromama pattern. 

This is the first time I have made one of these and the first retro mama pattern I have tried. I have a tendency not to follow the instructions in a pattern, so mine is a little different in terms of how it was put together, but I think she turned out quite cute and the pattern is very easy to use! Ruthie is also available in my hand-made store now :) Ruthie Bear on hand-made.com.au

Oh, and I have also been working on a kokeshi doll softie, but she's not quite done yet, so no photos to show yet! 

What have you all been creating this week? 

Sam xxx