Friday, December 31, 2010

{Fabulous Friday Giveaway} WIN a momAgenda Desktop Day Planner!

UPDATE!!

We have a winner!

COMMENT #424 - KRISTI
She said, "I would love the green crocodile one!"

Your wish is our command Kristi.  Please contact me at toni@thetomkatstudio.com to arrange for your wonderful prize!



Can you believe today is the LAST DAY of 2010? Is it just me, or did this year just fly by? We hope you have had an amazing year!

It goes without saying that today is the last giveaway for 2010, and we are giving away something that will help you start 2011 off on the right foot! We are giving away a 2011 MomAgenda Day Planner! Kim got one last year and loves it! {enough to buy them for Andrea & I, as well!} This planner is set up for women, in its look and that way it keeps you organized. It's fabulous and you must have one! What a perfect way to start the new year!

Right now, momAgenda Desktop Planners are ON SALE for 35% off!
Ready to enter to the GIVEAWAY? Here's how:{please leave a separate comment for each}

1) Go to MomAgenda, and let us know which color desktop planner you would choose if you win!
2) Become a Fan of MomAgenda on Facebook.
3) If you are not a Fan of The TomKat Studio on Facebook, become one!
If you already are, let us know!

Winner will be chosen on Wednesday, January 5, 2011 at 11:00pm (MST). Any entries received after this time will not be considered. Open to US residents only. Winner will be chosen using random.org.


Here's to a fabulous, organized 2011!
Happy New Year!

{TomKat Studio Shop} SALE Ends Today!



In case you haven't heard, we featured a discount code for The TomKat Studio Etsy Shop in our Holiday Gift Guide! The 25% DISCOUNT ends today, so think ahead for your upcoming parties in 2011 and get your order in! Once paid, you can hold your order for up to six months when you finalize the details! Worried about changing your mind about a theme? No problem, we are happy to work with you if you decide on a different theme at a later date! We're cool like that!

SHOP NOW
and enter code GIFTGUIDE25 at checkout!

A big thank you to all of the contributors and vendors that participated in our Holiday Gift Guide! With over 107,000 readers and over 1.3 million page views, it was such a success and the feedback has been incredible!

Thursday, December 30, 2010

{Sweets} Holiday Sweets Cookbook

Kim was recently asked to submit her favorite Scotcheroos recipe for a special purpose.  And that purpose became A Special Collection of Holiday Sweets.  This cookbook has been put together by Carrie from The Sweet Spot Candy Bar and Melissa from Truly Chic Inspirations to raise money for St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital.  100% of the proceeds from the sale of this book will go to this great cause.  As party ladies, we are blessed each year to design/plan parties for beautiful, healthy children. At this time of year, we'd like to take a moment and help out the children who have not been so fortunate, and need our help the most.



Carrie & Melissa have gathered together some of your favorite party ladies from across the country, who have generously donated recipes that are near and dear to their hearts. These recipes have been compiled into one downloadable cookbook, so that you too, can enjoy some of these tasty treats. Each page is done in a way that you can print out the recipe and add it to your recipe box, OR attach it to a gift of baked goods! Some of our contributors chose to share recipe cards of their own design, while others simply submitted recipes. Both ways definitely made for a lovely cookbook!
We hope that you will consider supporting this cause and with that, you will expand your recipe collection!  And I'm sure that there are some fabulous recipes in there that will be perfect for your New Years' Eve celebrations this week!

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

{Real Parties} Amelia's First Birthday


Nicki from Vitalic Photo just shared this lovely party she threw for her daughter Amelia's First Birthday.  Nicki is quite the talent when designing a party...as well as being an amazing photographer!  You may remember this adorable Blue & Orange Baby Shower we featured a while back.  We love the soft colors of this birthday party, and all of the details.  Wonderful job Nicki!  Thank you for sharing!













Tuesday, December 28, 2010

{Tutorial} Giant Quilled Snowflakes from the Sugar Plum Fairy Party

The response to the Sugar Plum Fairy Party we recently featured was outstanding!  And the question we got asked the most was how to make the giant snowflakes!  Nicole, the party designer, has offered us a tutorial on how to make these beauties.  Here are her instructions:

Large-scale Quilled Snowflakes Tutorial

Materials:

One package of large construction paper (approximately 10x15), available at any major craft store.

school glue

scissors

paperclips




1) Cut the construction paper into long, 1" wide strips.

2) Roll up each strip into a tight coil. Let uncoil slightly, and glue into a coiled circle shape using a small dab of Elmer's school glue. If necessary, use a paperclip to hold the glued end in place for a few minutes until the glue dries slightly.


3) Make a lot of these coils (many of my snowflakes had more than 20 coils). Turn some into teardrop shapes by pinching one side of the coiled circle. Turn into eye shapes (kind of oval, but pointed on both ends) by pinching the coiled circle on opposite sides. These are your basic shapes. There are other, more complicated ways to shape paper for quilling, but these three basic shapes will let you make many, many beautiful snowflake designs. Create extra variety while still using just these shapes by coiling some shapes tighter or looser to make smaller and larger shapes. Cut your strips in half to make very small circles (especially nice toward the outer edges of the snowflake, where you want a more delicate appearance.)  Here's a nice little resource I found on some other basic shapes: http://www.quilledcreations.com/QuillingBasics-Shapes.asp


4) Once you've made a bunch of the coiled shapes, start playing around, arranging them until you find a design you like. Glue together using the school glue. Don't use too much, though, or it will drip down and glue your snowflake to your work surface! You really don't need much to create a strong bond. I usually start with six of the same shape glued in a circle as the center of the snowflake, then start building outward. I suppose you could use a hot glue gun on snowflakes this scale. It's not something you'd use on typical quilling projects (there would be more hot glue than paper on those tiny snowflakes!) and I didn't think of the possibility until just now! But I think it would definitely work, and could really speed up the process if you're making quite a few of these large pieces.



One of the most lovely things about these snowflakes (and something I didn't actually expect until they were hanging in place) is that the lacy shadows of the snowflakes are just as lovely as the snowflakes themselves. What a happy accident gracing the walls!


I hung the snowflakes in place by first drilling holes into the studs and screwing C hooks into the walls. I strung silver wire between the hooks, and suspended the snowflakes at varying heights from the wire using mono-filament. You could barely tell that the wire and mono-filament were there, creating exactly the magical indoor flurry of snowflakes I had imagined.

Thank you Nicole for sharing your creativity with us!!

Monday, December 27, 2010

{Cupcake Monday} Tweet Holiday Collection

Happy Cupcake Monday!  We hope you all had a fabulous Holiday weekend.  Take a look at these yummy cupcakes that one of our readers shared with us.


She made White Chocolate and Raspberry Mudcake with White Chocolate Italian Meringue Buttercream and Chocolate Mudcake with Dark Chocolate Italian Meringue Buttercream.  Can you say delicious??  And she said the Holiday Tweet Collection finished them off perfectly.  We agree.  Thank you for sharing Linda!

It's hard to believe it's the end of the year already!  How are you spending your last week of 2010?

Friday, December 24, 2010

Happy Holidays from The TomKat Studio!



{Real Parties} Emma's Sweet Snowflake Birthday Party


We were so excited when our reader, Stephanie, submitted this adorable party thrown in honor of her daughter, Emma's 2nd birthday. She used our Sweet Snowflake Collection throughout, and also reached out to some of our favorite vendors, like Sweeties by Kim, PomLove and Modern Frills. I'm sure you will recognize some of their work! Enjoy!








Photos courtesy of Johse Parker Photography

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

{TomKat Studio Holiday Gift Guide} Gifts for Sweet Little Girls & Good Little Boys!

We asked charming party planner, Kate Landers to help us compile great "Gifts for Sweet Little Girls" for our Holiday Gift Guide! She shared fabulous gifts for all of the little girls in your life! I especially love the "Bakery" play stand from Pottery Barn Kids! I've been eyeing that for my own little Kate!

Shelley from the popular crafty blog, How Does She shared fantastic gift ideas for "Good Little Boys" with us! My 5-year old would love ALL of these gifts!




Thank you so much for being a part of our Holiday Gift Guide, ladies!
Your finds are fabulous!
View our full Holiday Gift Guide here:

{Free Printables} Reindeer Food Tags!


My friend, Lisa asked me to customize our Vintage Rudolph Fancy Labels with this adorable poem for Reindeer Food! Have you heard of this fun idea? I am definitely doing this one with the kids on Christmas Eve! I know they will LOVE it!

Here's what you need:
Baggies
Oats
Sprinkles
Glitter
...and anything else you might want to add!

Tie with ribbon and our FREE printable labels!

DOWNLOAD HERE!

Sunday, December 19, 2010

{Cupcake Monday} Pretty Little Red Velvet Cupcake from The Coffee Shop!


I met my friend Jami at The Coffee Shop {Gilbert, AZ} last week for lunch and a cupcake, of course! This pretty delight was a holiday red velvet with cream cheese frosting! Naturally, I had to snap a photo before I devoured it! Yum!
The Coffee Shop won the Food Network series, Cupcake Wars last season!
Very cool to have a FAMOUS local shop!

{TomKat Studio Gift Guide} Fabulous Gifts for Your Best Girlfriend!



Andrea Alley, our wonderful design assistant compiled these fabulous gift ideas for girlfriends! She came up with relaxing, luxurious gift items for any lady on your list! Create a spa day at home with a fluffy robe, a good book, music, the best magazine (Martha!), a fragrant candle and yummy lotion! Love it all!


Check out our full Holiday Gift Guide here:

Saturday, December 18, 2010

{TomKat Studio Gift Guide} Gifts for Beauty Queens


Becki from Whippy Cake is one stylish momma! She creates the fancy, fun hair accessories that we absolutely adore! We asked her to compile "Gifts for Beauty Queens" for our Holiday Gift Guide! She came up with some great gift ideas for all of the glamour girls in your life!


View our full 2010 Holiday Gift Guide here:

Friday, December 17, 2010

{Fabulous Friday Giveaway} Win a Gorgeous Camera Bag from Jo Totes!

UPDATE!!
We have a winner!!!! 

COMMENT #773 - Kelly Tillotson
She said "The Rose Clementine is my favorite!"

Kelly, you are a lucky, lucky girl! 
 I'll be sending you a quick email so we can get your camera bag to you!


{photo courtesy of vicki lynn photography}

As you may know, we are in love...with Jo Totes that is! Each of us TomKat girls has one (well, Kim has two now!) and they are simply fabulous! We figured what great way to finish up the year, with one of our favorite products!

These totes are so great. Completely stylish. And, what a fabulous way to carry around your camera! Each tote comes with padded dividers that you can insert to make smaller compartments to carry your camera, your lens, your cell phone, your wallet....the list goes on and on! I love mine so much that I use it as a purse more than a camera bag!
These will be perfect for our trip to NYC next month!



You may have seen them featured in our Holiday Gift Guide, as well! The Rose in Marigold was featured in our "Gifts for Budding Photographers" page compiled by Vicki of Vicki Lynn Photography! They were also a fabulous sponsor of the guide!
Here's how you can win you choice of a camera bag from Jo Totes:
(please leave a separate comment for each item completed)

1) Go to Jo Totes, check out the fabulous bags and comment here with your favorite.

2) Become a fan of Jo Totes on Facebook, come back and leave a comment letting us know that you are!

3) Are you a fan of The TomKat Studio on Facebook? Great! Now go spread the word to your Facebook friends that they should fans, too! Let us know that you did!

Winner will be chosen on Wednesday, December 22, 2010 at 11:00pm (MST). Any entries received after this time will not be considered. Open to US residents only. Winner will be chosen using random.org


Winner will be chosen on Wednesday, December 22, 2010 at 11:00pm (MST). Any entries received after this time will not be considered. Open to US residents only. Winner will be chosen using random.org. This is a sponsored post and The TomKat Studio may have received compensation and/or products in exchange for promoting featured brand.

Thursday, December 16, 2010

{TomKat Studio Gift Guide} Fabulous Gifts for Ladies Who Love to Entertain!



Today, we are highlighting the fabulous collage, "Gifts for Ladies Who Love to Entertain" compiled by the Hostess with the Mostess herself, Jenn Sbranti! We were so excited to have Jenn share these fabulous gift ideas with us for our Holiday Gift Guide!

Cake Pops by Bakerella


View our complete 2010 Holiday Gift Guide, by clicking below:


Wednesday, December 15, 2010

{Great Gift Idea} Adorable Fabric Rosette Rings on Sale Today Only!

My friend, Shelley at How Does She just shared a great deal with me! She knew I would love these adorable Petite Rosette statement rings that are on sale today for only $4 on groopdealz!

This chic petite ring is a great way to accent your outfit, and add a pop of color!
And, they're adjustable! One size fits all!



TODAY ONLY: You can snag a rosette ring of your own for only $4!! ($7 regular!)

These little cuties will be shipped out to you by Dec. 17th, which means you should get them before CHRISTMAS!

Shipping is only $2 no matter how many you order! You can buy 1 or 20, and you will only pay the one-time $2 shipping charge!

This deal is offered in five lovely colors you can choose from at checkout.



Grey, Floral, Ivory, Tiffany Blue and PINK



Remember, this deal is only good for today only through GroopDealz, so go now!

Thank you for sharing, Shelley!
You always find the greatest deals!

This post is sponsored by groupdeelz.