b5media

December 5th,2007

At Home for the Holidays with b5media Lifestyles Channel

By Gayla

What better place to be, than home for the holidays? Everyone in the Lifestyles channel knows this and is doing a wonderful job of serving up tips, ideas and more to fill your thoughts and planning. Sugar plums dancing in your head are SO last year!

Allow me to shine a little light on some of the special happenings from around the channel with you…

It Is The Season of Giving:

The Lifestyles channel is speckled with contests that are awarding a wide range of prizes. Here are a few to get you started:

Tangled Thread is having a Winter Wonderland Contest and giving away two beautiful, handcrafted fiber art tags. Stop over and take a looksie, these pieces are absolutely gorgeous:

Holiday contest on Hankering for Yarn and giving away a really cute and unique holiday item - take a peek to learn more be sure to visit and enter.

Offbeat Homes is having a reader appreciation contest. Earn point throughout December for posting comments. Watch for special ways to earn bonus points. If you are on of the top three point gatherers as of December 31st then you’ll win one of three cool prizes (your choice). Contest currently running and ends the evening of December 31st.

Maricar at Keeping The Castle is hosting a Cookie Swap Kit Giveaway - what a fun and ideal way to get together with friends and family.

Heather is also running a contest at the Food Bowl this month to win a copy of Groovitude, A Get Fuzzy Treasury

Featured Bloggers

This month our featured bloggers are Mary Emma of Quilting and Patchwork and - and Heather of Chocolate Bytes and The Food Bowl.

First let’s get to know Mary Emma a bit better:

Since joining b5media, what has been the one most memorable moment you’ve experienced because of blogging in a network?

When I realized I could earn money by blogging on topics I enjoyed! I began blogging about quilting at Aboutweblogs, which joined b5media in the early days. I had started writing just for fun and because it was a topic I knew. Other bloggers talked of eventually earning an income from blogging. Once I began earning, I realized I could earn more by developing my blog more and writing more on a topic that excited me.

You write for Quilting and Patchwork - Quilting seems to be a forgotten art. How and when did you take an interest? And what would you say to others to inspire them to pick up the thread and needle?

I began quilting with my grandmother when I was 8-years old. I still have that quilt we made by hand. During the Bicentennial Years of 1975-1976, I became involved in quiltmaking again, and sewing quilts to sell. I’ve since taught quiltmaking, written for magazines and newspapers about the topic, authored The Magic of Patchwork, and now encourage my daughter Beth who has become an accomplished quiltmaker and fabric artist.

To inspire others? Quiltmaking has evolved into fabric and mixed media art, as well as retaining the aura of the traditional art. So there’s something for everyone, no matter who you are. You don’t need expert sewing skills. Simply pick up fabric, needle and thread, throw in some buttons and beads, perhaps some fiber and you can develop all types of creations. There are the traditional bed quilts with precise stitching, to art you hang on the wall and everything in between.

What has been your favorite project? Do you have a photo you’d like to share with our readers?

The project with the most memories is the quilt I made with Grandmother. However, nowadays, I enjoy creating fabric art postcards. They’re popular, small projects I can make quickly and work on when I travel. I actually don’t have a photo of a postcard I’ve made. To give everyone an idea of what they’re like, this is one my daughter created. It’s a favorite of mine because I like the colors and the seeming simplicity of the design. Yet it has a more complex dimension as you study it.

Next meet Heather. Heather writes about two of my favorite topics, pets and chocolate - who doesn’t love chocolate, right?

Since joining b5media, Heather, what has been the one most memorable moment you’ve experienced?

Answering the door a few weeks ago to find a big box of chocolate I’d been sent to review. I knew at that moment that I had truly found my calling.

You write for Chocolate Bytes and recently posted about trucks that run on Chocolate, what are some other really bizarre things you’ve discovered chocolate being used for?

I’ve got a list of 50 things you can do with chocolate that points to a lot of interesting uses. I also wrote about a contest last month where people had to lick chocolate off the grill of a Jeep so they could enter to win the Jeep. And I wouldn’t turn down a chocolate bath at a spa resort!

Writing for The Food Bowl has to be so much fun. Can you share with our readers, your single most favorite photo from that blog?

Probably this picture from October - half my personal pet population

Lifestyles Channel News:

The b5media Lifestyles channel recently said goodbye to our blogging friend Tammy at Jewelry & Beading, but have no fear, Cyndi stepped up and is bringing a bit of her crafty expertise to a new venue. Some will know her from Layers Upon Layers and in the same tradition of themes, Cyndi is introducing themed days on Jewelry and Beading such as Make Art Mondays, Technique Tuesdays, and What’s Up Wednesdays, just to name a few. Here’s the link to the Technique Tuesday tutorial to get you started.

Karen from Thrifty Mommy has become quite the regular on the popular radio talk show, The Cooper Lawrence Show - in her most recent on air discussion, Karen discussed 30 Ways to Save Money on Christmas. Karen and Kelly are always hard at work, searching for or developing very cool ways to help save all of us money.

Kate at Babylune is reaching out to our more generous, charitable sides with a group writing project that focuses on the favorite charities of fellow b5 bloggers and Babylune readers - surely there’s a charity that could use your mention.

Our very own Lifestyles Channel list girl has created an awesome list of 50 things you can make yourself for those of you care enough to make the very best…

This month we introduced three new blogs into our channel - All Holiday Cafe, She Knows Parties and Kettle and Cup and while those were being introduces, Mama has sent Supernanny a packin’ - it’s time to get serious and while Supernanny may rule, Mom reigns! Be sure to stop over, say hello.

To make sure you don’t miss out on any of the happenings around the new Lifestyles Channel, don’t forget to subscribe to our channel feed. Visit the rest of the Lifestyles blogs while you’re at it.

Wishing everyone a safe and happy holiday season

from all of us on the b5media Lifestyles Channel.