Giveaway WINNERS

Drumroll please....

The winner of the CoffeeSock is:
 #12 - Valerie Taylor Mabrey

And the winner of the Righteous Bros. Coffee cold brew goes to:
#13 - Jessica Cnossen

Congrats to both winners!
Please email me with your mailing addresses so the prizes can be shipped.

Righteous Bros. Cold Brew GIVEAWAY!

Thanks for joining us today, after the cold brew coffee tutorial, for this great opportunity for you to win your very own cold brew by Righteous Bros. Coffee Roasters!

[photo source]

Righteous Bros. Coffee Roasters are based in Houston, Texas. They roast their own beans and make one mean batch of cold brew coffee. Lucky for you all, today you have a chance to win 2 free bottles of their amazing cold brew coffee concentrate!

"We visualize coffee through the lens of the letter "C". Conversation, Craft, and Culinary. Each facet represents the heart of the human spirit and is at the core of who we are as a company." - Righteous Bros Coffee Roasters

If you'd like a chance to win 2 free bottles of Righteous Bros. Coffee cold brew, all you have to do is leave a comment below about your favorite type of coffee! [*note: this giveaway is for US mailing addresses only*]

Rules for the Giveaway are as follows:

-One comment per person, please [duplicate comments will be deleted]

-The giveaway will close 12:00 AM  3:00 PM, Friday August 15, 2014 [Pacific time]

-The winner will be announced Saturday, August 16 at 7:00 AM.

-Be sure to link back to your blog/email so I can contact you if you win!

*I have not been paid to promote Righteous Bros. Coffee Roasters. All opinions are my own.

CoffeeSock GIVEAWAY!

You guys! The day is here - the first of two amazingly-awesome-coffee-themed giveaways! Thanks for joining in yesterday for the cold brew tutorial, and welcome back for the first giveaway!

Today you have the lucky chance of winning your very own CoffeeSock! I've been using mine since I got it and love it! CoffeeSock is a family owned and operated business, based in Austin, Texas. They make reusable filters out of organically grown, untreated cotton in all sorts of sizes for various machine types. Be sure to check out their website for more details, pictures, and reviews!

If you'd like a chance to win a free, reusable CoffeeSock of your choice, all you have to do is leave a comment below about your favorite type of coffee! And be sure to check back  on Wednesday for your chance to win 2 free bottles of cold brew concentrate!

Rules for the Giveaway are as follows:

-One comment per person, please [duplicate comments will be deleted]

-The giveaway will close 12:00 AM  3:00 PM, Friday August 15, 2014 [Pacific time]

-The winner will be announced Saturday, August 16 at 7:00 AM.

-Be sure to include or link back to your blog/email so I can contact you if you win!

*I have not been paid to promote CoffeeSock. All opinions are my own.
This post has been linked to ContestHeat

Easy Cold Brew Cardamom Coffee + 2 GIVEAWAYS!

You guys are in for a treat. I have 2 very special giveaway items this week! And both of them are coffee-related. What could be better than that!? CoffeeSock and Righteous Bros. Coffee both are generously giving away items just for you guys! Check back tomorrow for your chance to win a CoffeSock, and Wednesday to win 2 bottles of some Righteous Bros. cold brew! 

So, are you on the cold brew coffee wagon yet? If you're not, hop on, because this stuff is delicious and couldn't be easier to make! Not to mention, it's way more fun to drink an ice cold coffee drink in the dead of summer than a steamy hot cup of coffee, especially when you're waking up sweating from the summer heat.

If you're not familiar with cold brew coffee, here's the deal: It is less acidic than its hot brewed counterpart, and even tastes less bitter than your traditional cup of hot joe. Why, you ask? Well, because the coffee bean isn't actually being "cooked," it doesn't release as much acid, which can result in a bitter-tasting brew. By cold brewing, you're essentially just letting the water take on the flavor of the beans. When left to steep for 12-24 hours, what's left is concentrated, delicious coffee!

Ok, let's get caffeinated!

I use approximately 4-5 tablespoons of coffee per 1 cup of water. If you don't like cardamom, just leave it out [or use cinnamon!]. For my french press, I add 1.5 tablespoons of cardamom, approx 3/4 cup medium ground coffee [good quality], and 3.5 cups of water.

Pour the water over the grounds and cardamom.

Stir it up!

Ah. Just look at the frothy, coffee goodness!

Let steep for 12 - 24 hours. I usually make a batch in the evening and let it just sit out overnight, with the lid on, of course.

After your brew has steeped for a solid 12 hours (at least), slowly begin to push your plunger down until it reaches the bottom. If you press too quickly, some of the grounds will sneakily escape into your brew. If you don't have a French press, just pour your mixture through a coffee filter (or better yet, CoffeeSock!).

Once filtered, pour your cold brew into a bottle/jar and keep in the refrigerator for up to 4-7 days. When you're ready for a nice coffee drink, put a few ice cubes in a glass and add some of your cold brew with a splash of milk and homemade cinnamon syrup, if you so choose. 

Bottoms up!

And huge thanks to Ryan, for volunteering as the official taste tester for my many food adventures. He's a keeper.

Drum-roll please...

The day is here! It's time to select the 2 winners for the washi tape! Thank you to everyone who entered, I was shocked at the turnout! I used random.org to choose the 2 numbers. And the winners are...

#38: L said...What lovely items! Thanks!

#15: Molly said...These are so cool! Can't wait to deck out all my as-yet-un-snazzy objects in tape if I win!

Molly, please contact me, your blogger profile isn't public and I can't reach you. Please respond to me by Nov. 9 (Japan time, Nov. 8 US/Canada) or I will have to pick a new winner. :(

Congratulations you two, I'll be contacting you soon to send off your prizes. I can't wait to see how you decide to use the washi tape!

Thanks to all who participated and you can still buy your own here and here!

Pleated Purse

There was a typhoon here yesterday. Which means today everything is all wet, muddy and in disarray. Which is why I decided to lay low and stay in today. I tried to think of crafts I could do without making a run to the store. As most of you all know, I have accumulated quite a bit of fabric while I've been here. So I got to rummaging and came across this navy floral print I completely forgot about!

And since I'm making a purse for someone's Christmas present this year, I decided to do a trial run with this fabric. Plus, I may or may not have wanted another purse for the Fall. . .

I used this tutorial for a pleated purse. Overall, it was a pretty decent tutorial and I'm loving the purse so far. I made the mistake of linen-like fabric which made it tricky to do the pleats. I also wish I choose to make the handles all one fabric. I didn't think of it until after I had cut everything. Last, the lining I used was stuff I had laying around and it doesn't completely match, but oh well. Yay for new bags!

If you haven't already, there's still time to enter my Japanese Washi Tape Giveaway!

I've linked this post to Just Something I Whipped Up.

Washi Tape Madness! (+ my 1st GIVEAWAY!)

Japanese washi tape, or masking tape, is all the rage here (Japan). It's fair to say I've been a little obsessed with it recently. So much so that I want to share the love.

In case you're wondering, "Well, what can I actually do with it?" Here are just a few of the many things washi tape is capable of.

You can make these darling little flags out of toothpicks and the tape! I didn't have any cupcakes laying around to demonstrate what you could use the flags for, but you get the idea. :)

These precious name blocks are decorated with washi tape, can you believe the cuteness!?

Find the details over at Tinted Mint.

It's a scrap-booker's dream. And you can even make homemade cards with it, check out what this blog called Scrap Time whipped up.

These adorable vases and eggs are from To Be Charmed.

Now you're probably asking yourself, "What do I need to do to get my hands on some of that stuff for FREE?!" Well, it's too easy. All you have to do is:

1. Leave a comment on this entry.

2. Wait.

Yup, that's it. On Sunday, November 7 (Japan time, so really Nov. 6 in the States/Canada...), I will be selecting the lucky winners! Please make sure to either leave a link back to your blog or your email address in your comment so I can contact you if you win. It would be a shame if you won but I couldn't get a hold of you. That would make me sad, so pretty please don't forget to leave your contact info. Ok? Thanks.

I'll be picking 2 winners who will each win 2 of these rolls (the ones on the right look funky b/c they're wrapped in plastic):

Want to get some even if you don't win? Here's an etsy shop that sells internationally for reasonable prices. And you can also buy it online here and here .

Let the washi tape crafting begin!

Update: The giveaway is now closed. Thank you!