The winner of the Reader Appreciation contest is JOLENE, who posted the following on May 15th:

“Give the Bulls a rest….. I’ve been dying to hear your comments on the last American Idol show or two!
Don’t leave us hanging, twisting slowly, slowly in the wind, waiting for your normally witty comments!
Sorry Danny got bumped out. But didn’t Simon say he’d give him a contract even if he lost? or did I just dream that?”

Thank you to everyone who stopped by to read or comment, and please come back!

I appreciate all of you who stop by each day to see what is new in the House of Stirfry and I really, really appreciate all of you who are kind enough to click on the Google ad while you are here. Every time you click you are helping to support this site. It is a slow process, sometimes a fraction of a cent at a time, but it really does help. I’ve recently reached another pay out level and since it is providing me with a little more than my current web hosting expenses, I’ve decided to share the wealth by declaring May “Reader Appreciation Month”, and having a contest! That nifty tote bag you see at the top of this post is the prize.

The tote is made from 100% cotton and is approximately 11.75 inches by 14 inches, with 22 inch straps. It was handmade by Anodyne Design.

Entering is easy, all you need to do is leave a comment on one of the posts this month. Enter as often as you would like. Every time someone comments between now and midnight (pacific time) on May 31st 2009, I’ll toss their name into a bag. At the end of the contest pull one name from the bag and award them the prize. The contest is open to anyone who stops by the blog, but if you live outside the U.S. you will be responsible for any customs fees or duties.

Thank you again for all of your support. I wouldn’t be here without you.

Today I had a play day with my friends Billie, Chris and Arlynne. We tried another technique from Artist Trading Card Workshop by Bernie Berlin. In this technique you build a textured background with tissue paper and paint. I used a metallic paint so my backgrounds all looked like recycled candy wrappers. I finished these two cards with printed images I found online and words cut from a magazine.

The following three cards are not yet finished. I’m trying to think of words or sayings to use with them. The ladies all look like they need a cartoonists thought bubble with some really clever comments in it.

Let’s play a little game. Leave me your suggestions for captions on any of these three cards and I’ll enter you in a drawing for a package of Inkssentials 1/8″ thick circle Pop it! shapes. I’ll draw a name on Tuesday (6/3/08) and announce the winner.

There are 2003 ATC blanks and that means Charlotte is our winner. Way to go Charlotte! You are quite a math whiz, or a deep thinker, or something. Send me your mailing address and I’ll get the mini misters on their way to you.

It’s my Lifetime Supply of ATC blanks. Do you have any idea how many cards that is? It’s a lot, I know, but do you think you know exactly how many? If you do you might just win a prize.

I’ll run this contest until 8pm (Pacific Time) on Monday, April 21, 2008. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment telling me how many cards you think there are. Whoever is closest to the actual number  will win the prize. If there is a tie I’ll toss the winner’s names into a bag and draw a winner.

Here is what you could win:

Mini Misters are fantastic. They have a very fine mist and are perfect for spraying water, inks and watered down paints. You get a nice even coverage without the heavy splatters that a lot of sprayers give you.

So start guessing.  (Here’s a couple hints to help get you started: There are NOT 4,765 ATC blanks in that photo! The three rows of cards are in a gallon sized food storage bag.)

The lucky winner of the super fantastic prize is #2! Trish D, send me an email with your mailing address and I’ll get these babies out to you ASAP! Congratulations!

Would you like to win a package of Pop it! shapes? Of course you would! Just leave a comment on this post by 8am, March 11, 2008. That’s right.. only 24 hours to play, so what are you waiting for? I’ll use a random number generator to select one lucky winner.

Tomorrow I’ll show you what became of my box full of scrap paper. I know you’re dying to see what a lifetime supply of ATC blanks looks like!

I don’t know when the next contest will be but I’ve already got the prize picked out. It’s going to be a good one….