Winner Winner!

I won't drag it out.....

The winner of this little beauty....

is Tabitha Mahoney!!

Congrats, Tabitha! Please email me at lifedesigncraft@live.com so we can get you your personalized necklace from A Gracious Plenty!

Thanks for entering everyone and a special thanks again to A Gracious Plenty for this generous giveaway!

Valentine's Day Gifts for YOUR Valentine!

I've got openings to personalize a few more kits before Valentine's Day...
order now!
You can get all the details HERE!

Digital Scrapbooking Software Giveaway!

If you are looking to get into digital scrapbooking or in need of new software....to scrap all those fun memories of your family, I've got a giveaway of the FULL VERSION of My Memories Suite Software going on over at Life. Design. and the Pursuit of Craftiness.

Come check it out HERE!

If you missed it, there's another giveaway here on Love Actually, too! The Love and Wisdom Monogrammed Necklace from A Gracious Plenty. Come get entered here.

{A Gracious Plenty} Giveaway

Okay all you lovers... I know some of you are still searching for that special Valentine's Day gift for your love. Hopefully your searching ends today.

I'm excited to introduce you to the newest sponsor of Love Actually:

Michelle with A Gracious Plenty

A Gracious Plenty has a HUGE variety of personalized jewelry, stationary, and gifts... I'm in love with this personalized stamp for couples. How nice would that be rather than writing out our return address on every envelope?!

Michelle is also offering a great giveaway for Love Actually followers! It's the Love and Wisdom Monogrammed Necklace

She engraves it with a monogram on the front and can engrave a brief message of love on the back. It makes a FABULOUS Valentine’s gift! (It also makes an awesome Mother’s Day gift – she can engrave the back with children’s names…or with meaningful/inspirational words.)
So, ladies, maybe you can nudge your hubbies to come over and get entered for the giveaway as well...double your chances, ya know?

To enter the giveaway:

1. Be a follower of Love Actually ---->
2. Browse AGP and comment with your favorite item!
(Be sure to include your email address!)

Bonus Entries:
1. Facebook: Status update with link for this giveaway.
2. Pinterest: Pin any date/romance idea from this blog onto one of your boards.
(comment for each separately)

Giveaway will run through Sunday, January 29th at midnight EST.

Good Luck!

Giveaway!!

Just poppin' over to let you know about a fun giveaway over on my new blog!

{A set of Personalized Love Checks}

Come check it out over HERE!!

Date of the Month Club - Valentine's Day Version

Hey all!

Thanks to those of you who have joined me over at my new blog, Life. Design. and the Pursuit of Craftiness. I'm having fun blogging about my other love interests over there, but haven't entirely forgotten about Love Actually!

In fact, I still get a lot of requests to design and personalize digital kits for my followers and after completing the kits for Christmas, I decided it was time for a new and improved design of my Date of the Month Club Kit....just in time for Valentine's Day!

It's a perfect gift for your husband, wife, boyfriend, girlfriend, fiance... you get the idea!

Check out the new design!

I designed this kit to fit inside a small box (mine is a Godiva Chocolate box). (When you purchase the kit, I will send you the JPEG files so you can size the kit pieces larger or smaller depending on the size of your box.)

Here's an upclose look at each part of the kit, which could be customized for YOUR valentine, of course!

First, the tag for the box:

then.... The Membership Enrollment Card:

then....

Explanation: (You'll give your Valentine a list of 12+ dates on this card. A few more than 12 would be nice. Keep in mind, these don't all have to be fancy dates from my blog. Guys like simple dates, too...like, throwing a frisbee at the park. Put some of his interests in there as dates with you. Then, he will choose which date he wants for which month. Then, it's up to you keep that card and plan those dates each month (Hence, "date of the month club")

then...

Explanation: Give at least 2 vacation cards, but only give as many as you can handle having to plan throughout the year! (remember--these don't have to be REAL vacations...they can be "homestyle vacations" or recreations like mine).

then....

Explanation: These are "love coupons" of sorts...the trick is actually honoring them when he/she decides to use them throughout the year--no backing out! And, make sure you really personalize them.

Finally, add your Hershey Kisses, (each redeemable for the real thing...a kiss!) along with this bag tag.

And there you have it! A year's worth of romance and fun....all tied up with a bow for Valentine's Day!

You can have a fully customized version of this kit for
$19.99!

Custom options include:
- Specific names on the To: and From: lines on the box tag

- Adding a name after "Congratulations" on the Membership Enrollment Card

- Your choice of 2 different Vacation Cards and related image (you can use the ones I gave for examples or your own!) Colors of text customizable. (each additional @ $2 each)
- 5 different Tickets with wording of your choice (each additional @ $1 each)
- the Kisses bag tag will be as shown

If you would like further customization, I'd be happy to let you know if it's included with the package or if it will be an additional cost.

How to Order:
Email lifedesigncraft@live.com

I'll send you instructions for getting started..it's a simple process!

How fun would it be handing over this unique, personalized gift for Valentine's Day? And the best part is all the fun to come out of it! Email me and we'll get started!

-------------

Below are examples of wording for the vacation cards and tickets to get your mind thinking of what you'd like included in your kit. PLEASE remember that the vacation cards were designed using a previous template. Yours will have the updated look as you saw in the post above!

Don't forget that I have other fun digital kits for Valentine's Day including:

Love Checks
Valentine's Day Countdown Calendar/Advent
Spa Night Package

Life. Design. and the Pursuit of Craftiness

Well, HELLO, my friends! My, my...it has been a while. ...sorry about that.

I've been super busy, but I had to pop in and tell you about my latest ventures...oh, and to let you know that.....

my husband and I are still married!! (and still very much happily married). It might seem silly to some that I had to post that, but you'd be surprised with how many emails I've received from concerned readers wondering where I went? if I'm okay? if my marriage is okay? if I want help posting? the list goes on.

haha.

So, to you concerned readers, a sincere Thank you! Your concern was really thoughtful and touching.

I kinda had to just up and leave the blog for a while with so many things going on in my life...I didn't want to do a "goodbye" post because... honestly, I HATE goodbyes... AND I wasn't ever sure I was really done for good. So, by leaving it open, the possibility was still there.

With that said, it's no secret that Love Actually is more an archive of ideas than an active posting site these days... I intend to keep it that way for now. (until I decide to come back and make something more of it!) The ideas are still free for you to use for personal use, unless written permission is given from me.

If you still want to follow along with me and be first in line when I post new romance or date ideas, plus lots of other good stuff (non-love related), I'd LOVE to have you join me over at my new place....

http://lifedesigncraft.blogspot.com/

I'm expanding my blogging vision to include a little more of what I'm pursuing besides just the lovey-dovey stuff!

But, you'll be glad to know that I just put up two fun ideas (under the Date Night & Romance Label) over there that you'll enjoy:

....one for date night!
....one for a fun Anniversary Date/Gift idea!

Here's a sneak peak:

....so c'mon over and check it out...

Love Always,

Cher

"The Bachelor" Finale Party

So, the Bachelor proposed last night...did anyone watch?! eeee. (that was a squeal, by the way.)

You shoulda heard the screaming in my house the moment that Chantal's limo pulled up first. We all knew that meant that she'd be the first to go...and that left Emily there with Brad. She was the one. Bittersweet moment, really. Chantal seemed to really have her heart set on Brad and as great as she was, Emily was just, well, Emily. That's hard to top.

THEN..... the "after the rose" special was heart-breaking! They are finding out that love isn't as easy as receiving the Final Rose. I guess it's a good lesson to learn, but I hope they can keep it together!

A few girlfriends and I have rotated houses most every Monday this Bachelor season.. I thought we'd end it with a big affair.

I'm sharing my party details mainly because I searched the internet high and low for "The Bachelor" themed parties and found nothing! So, here it is for you to adapt for future Bachelor seasons.

It started with invites to the ladies....

(PS...the word "suite" reads like "sweet".... I know, if I had to explain it's just not as cool. oh well.)

*also, if you'd like the Photoshop file of this invite, feel free to leave a comment with your email and I'll get it to you!

...That was shortly followed by 2 favors asked of the husbands (without the wives knowing!)

1. To plan a date for their wives in the near future and tell me what he's planning (so I could make a "date card" for each girl).

2. To show up that night in a suit right before the Final Rose Ceremony to give his wife a rose.

If you'd like an example of my email/letter to each husband, you can download it HERE.

Our guys were such good sports and the night was so fun because of them!

Decor/Food

The girls brought the "suites" and I had chips, salsa, and dip along with punch.

You can download the food table label/photo for the

Cocktail Party Punch HERE

Fantasy "suites" HERE

Game

Prior to the Finale starting, I had the girls split into teams and each team had strips of paper which had facts about both Chantal and Emily. They had to determine which fact belonged to each girl. The team with the most correct won. (I found these facts from just google searching each contestant).

...and the prize?

Yup. {seriously} They are about that big, too. I found these ginormous rings at the Christmas Tree Shops for 3 bucks a pop! ....(they are actually napkin ring holders, but just for that night they played the part of giant diamond rings).

Commercial Breaks

I quizzed the group with trivia about The Bachelor and the contestants, but the funnest part of our commercial breaks were "knocks" at my door when a DATE CARD arrived for each girl. (They came at random times all throughout the night. By "came" I mean, I tried to sneakily set them by the door and then I'd pretend to hear a knock)

Some of my favorite lines during the reading of our date cards that night:

"My card doesn't say anything about LOVE!" (quoting Michelle from this season)
"I hope I don't get on a group date...I'm not here to make friends." (quoting Michelle again)
"There's a date card, girls...eeeee! I hope it's me!" (quoting every girl in Bachelor history)

These were dates the husbands actually had planned for their wives!

And then, the time came for the Final Rose Ceremony. During the final commercial break, in came our Bachelors with roses. The girls were surprised and so excited to their suited "bachelors"!

We all graciously accepted our roses...especially considering that we were the ONLY ones getting a rose from OUR man. :)

I sent each couple home with this little item from my table decor... (found these at the Dollar Tree 10/$1) that had 2 Ring Pops (heart-shaped, in fact) in them.

We are missing a few Bachelors in this shot, but all of them were there!

What a fun night! We got two for one.... a Girls Night turned Group Date. Who's ready for next season?! (The Bachelorette premiers in May with Ashley H...)

Oh. PS. I went searching to see if anyone else had done a Finale party last night, and found this...free printables from Emilie Handmade! sweet...wish I had found them sooner!

Lucky Hubby Card *free printable!

The Happy Home Fairy

presents

...a great little idea to celebrate St. Pat's Day with your lucky man!

Click HERE to go to her site to download the image!

An a-MAZE-ing Valentine's Day

You may have noticed that I don't share a lot of the personal day-to-day details with you of my life. This isn't a personal blog (although it can get a little "personal" at times!). I think my biggest reason for choosing to write this way is to eliminate one other person that you need to keep track of or have to read about. I try to leave me and hubs out of the imagery of my posts as much as possible so that YOU, my lovely readers, can imagine you and yours in the date and romantic ideas I have created.

By not filling you in on my day-to-day marriage experiences, however, it has occurred to me that many of you think that my marriage is lovey-dovey 24/7.

Despite anyone's perception, our life is not the stage play of this blog. We have our struggles like any other couple. We have great moments and other moments we can't stand to be in the same room with one another. Our marriage is no where near perfect.

I really wanted you to know that. In times when you struggle and wish for something different, or as you read this blog and think I might have the perfect marriage or even when you wonder how your neighbors across the street really have it together.... just know this. The grass isn't always greener in someone else's marriage. You don't know what goes on behind closed doors... (and thank goodness for that!) They might actually have a great marriage...but I'll bet you anything that it isn't perfect. And even if it is great, there was something which brought it to greatness.

What's important is that you focus on making YOUR marriage the best it can be and

remember that it takes work. Really. Hard. Work. I think it's probably the hardest work in the world.

On that note, I thought I'd allow you a glimpse into my marriage...just for today. Hubs and I have been at odds for the past little while (nothing serious...but little stresses from school and work have seem to put us at odds!). I didn't want Valentine's Day to pass by without showing him how much I still loved him and still wanted to be with him!

So this is what I did.

I related our "being at odds" to being in a maze of sorts (so I put a lovey-dovey spin on a "maze" theme to introduce our Valentine's Day plans.)

(PS: The cute paper design for the back of my card is from the "Dance with Me" kit, FREE at Summertime Designs.)

I'm embarrassed to admit how corny I am, but I had "Amazed" by Lonestar playing as he read his card. (That was our wedding song...so it worked for us.)

Then, after that lovey-dovey mush, I'm sure hubs was delighted to solve this maze.

(of course, the bottom portion was covered up....)

And then, our Valentine's Day plans were revealed at last... A weekend getaway to Cape Cod!

I promise I'm not turning into the TripAdvisor Review website, but if you live in the New England area or plan to travel to Cape Cod, this is a must-stay!! I'll tell you why:

We stayed at the lovely and romantic bed and breakfast, Ashley Manor in Barnstable. What a perfect choice! We had an amazing suite complete with a 2-person jacuzzi tub and fireplace. We felt at home instantly as our innkeepers greeted us at the door. They served a 3 course breakfast each morning (my favorite menu item was a baked pear with a dab of vanilla bean ice cream and drizzled with the best caramel sauce ever. {de.li.cious.} Luckily, Vince filled me in on his caramel "recipe".

The whole stay was just perfect. They had taken care of even the smallest details for us, right down to the bottle opener which I had forgotten. A small detail...but without it, there would have been no sparkling cider as we cuddled up next to the fireplace!

Because of that, I was inspired to never again forget such a detail, and to help you {not} do the same. How?

Many thanks to Karen's Scraps and Graphics for allowing me to use elements from her Valentine Room freebie kit!

You can download the checklist HERE!

Here's an example of how to put your romance package portion of the checklist to work. Just look at these romantic little additions that made our suite complete at Ashley Manor...

Lovely. Now, back to us. :)

We did have an aMAZEing Valentine's which just allowed us to leave the little stresses that were bringing us down behind us! Everyone needs that every once in a while. We hope that you all got to spend a little quality time with your spouse and that those loving feelings will continue all throughout the year. And when they get interrupted, keep working and keep loving! You'll be aMAZEd at the results!

Valentine for Hubby - Can't go wrong with food!

It's almost time...
Do you have your Vday plans in order yet? If not, here's a fun little {saucy} idea to your rescue from Nap Time Journal.

PLUS, she'll send you the card if you'd like it for FREE. Just leave her a comment with your email HERE

Vday Winner Times 3

I'm here with the winner results of the giveaway of these super cute "Love Quote Notes" from My Computer Is My Canvas

Winner #1

Winner #2

Winner #3

You should see your cute little prize in your email box SOON (be sure to check your junk mail). They will be coming from Collette with My Computer is My Canvas.

Inspiring Creations: Valentine Crafts

I am so excited to be blog swapping with Cher today!!

My name is Lindsey and I blog over at Inspiring Creations. I am a wife, mother, and student. I love creating and inspiring others to create too!

When Cher asked me to do a blog swap I was so excited to share some of my love crafts and ideas with you. I love celebrating Valentine's Day! Which is funny because I'm not a very romantic person---but my husband is VERY romantic! I think that's why I like it so much, because I know he always has something fun and romantic planned for me each year!

Right now we are "poor college students" :) and we can't always afford to go all out like we used to for Valentine's Day. So I came up with a solution this year. I am making my hubby these love coupons!

Aren't they fun? I can't wait to use them! You can be as romantic as you want or you can just have fun with them! I thought I would make them into a PDF so that anyone that wants to use these can for free. You can print them here.

If you are looking to make your sweet someone something personal to put your love coupons in my next idea would be perfect. I made this album for my hubby's birthday last year and he LOVED it!

For the second page, I made a pocket that holds "love coupons"

On every page I tried to put a love quote on it and I tried to keep it simple.

If you want a fun craft to make for Valentine's Day I have a ton of great and inexpensive crafts that will make your home look so fun and festive for Valentine's Day! You can check out all of them here.

I love conversation hearts, they are a must for Valentine's day. I made my own version of the popular candy, but mine are not edible! :) You can find the tutorial here.

Every Valentine's Day we make sugar cookies in our house. These are not just any sugar cookie, these are the BEST sugar cookies EVER! :) You will be surprised to find out that these are Wheat Sugar Cookies...but they are extremely soft and super yummy.

This is a great way to spend time with your kids and a great way to celebrate Valentine's Day. You can find the recipe here.

I hope you found some fun ideas you can use for this Valentine's Day! If you ever need some crafting or cooking inspiration, head on over to my blog! Inspiring Creations

Thanks Cher for letting me take over your blog today! :)