Saturday, July 21, 2012

Welcome to the CHRISTMAS IN JULY SCAVENGER HUNT!

 CHRISTMAS IN JULY SCAVENGER HUNT!






Click Here to get to the Starting Point

  Welcome to the CHRISTMAS IN JULY SCAVENGER HUNT!
 Over $360 in prizes to be won! 

The contest will begin at 9:00am EST on July 21st,
 and will run until midnight July 31st


There are 34 participating shops, and all will have a hidden picture,
 in one of their listings, that you will have to "hunt" to find! 

Each of these shops has donated a prize worth at least $10; 
that is a minimum of $360 in prizes!!! 

There are 7 prize packs available to be won,
 each worth a minimum of $50. 

Winners will be chosen at random by random.org, 
based upon the number of complete entries received. 


 HOW TO ENTER 


First go to: pcfteam.blogspot.ca and look for the link for the starting shop. 

Find the candle image in one of the listings and then
 follow the link to the next shop on the scavenger hunt list!

 Every time you find the hidden picture, 
that item description will give you a link to the next shop. 

As you go through the shops, 
make a list of all shops in the order that you are given them. 

At the very last shop, you will be given an email address;
 you will send your completed list to this address.
 If anything is incorrect, you will be notified,
 and given a chance to re-do the hunt again to get it right!


 WANT MORE CHANCES TO WIN? 
 
Everyone who sends a complete shop list, in the correct order,
 will receive one entry to win a prize pack. 

If you "FAV" all the shops in the hunt, you get another entry.

If you "FAV" one item from each of the shops in the hunt, you will get a third entry.

If you promote the event on your Blog, on Facebook, Twitter, etc, 
and send Nichole (kidd.robin [!at] ymail.com) a link to the promotion, 
you will get 5 extra entries!


.SUPER DUPER PRIZE PACK DETAILS- MINIMUM $360 VALUE  


In addition, all the participating shops have donated second prize! 
All 36 prizes have been combined into one HUGE prize pack.
 
This pack is valued at a minimum of $360!!! 

The winner of this super duper prize pack will be drawn 
from entries made by shopping at 
PCF Team (Promoting Creative Friends Team) shops
 during this event. 

Each dollar spent at a PCF Team shop during this event 
will earn you one entry...

each dollar spent at one of the 36 shops in the hunt will earn you 2 entries.
 
The more you shop, and the more you shop the more chances you have to win!

 Please send transaction links of all purchases to Nichole at kidd.robin [!at] ymail.com. Please include the transaction links, dollar amounts for each purchase,
 and the shop name you purchased from.


Winners will be chosen on Aug 3rd :) They will be announced on Nichole's blog at: ciaraandcompanybowtique.blogspot.com/, 

on the PCF Team blog at:http://pcfteam.blogspot.ca/ 

and on the PCF Team Facebook page at www.facebook.com/#!/pcfteam, 

and will also be notified via email. 

Good luck and have a very Merry Christmas in July!


all entries and PCF shop purchases must be submitted by midnight July 31st

  NO entries will be accepted after this time


Thursday, July 19, 2012

PCFTeam Christmas in July Scavenger Hunt

PCF Team Christmas in July 

Scavenger Hunt






   Over $360 in prizes to be won! 

The contest will begin at 9:00am EST on July 21st, 
and will run until midnight July 31st

There are 36 participating shops, and all will have a hidden picture,
 in one of their listings, that you will have to "hunt" to find! 

Each of these shops has donated a prize worth at least $10; 
that is a minimum of $360 in prizes!!! 

There are 7 prize packs available to be won,
 each worth a minimum of $50. 
Winners will be chosen at random by random.org,
 based upon the number of complete entries received. 





 HOW TO ENTER 



This will give you all the details  


From there, you follow the links to the shops on the scavenger hunt list!
 Every time you find the hidden picture, that item description 
will give you a link to the next shop. 

As you go through the shops, make a list of all shops 
in the order that you are given them.

 At the very last shop, you will be given an email address;
 you will send your completed list to this address.

 If anything is incorrect, you will be notified, 
and given a chance to re-do the hunt again to get it right!

Stay tunned, the next post will tell you
 more ways to win and details.



Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Why some people is so mean?



This morning I found a comment that made me think
Why some people is so mean?



I found this interesting article by CNN contributor Amanda Enayati
I know is long but I loved it.





Not that long ago I was crossing the street with my daughter when a speeding car almost plowed us down.
“Hey! This is a crosswalk!” I yelled through the passing car’s open window.
“I don’t care!” The driver shot back.



 Mean people, like vermin, have been around forever. But for some reason - maybe it’s the economic trials of these past few years - there seem to be more of them than there used to be.  A 2010 National Civility Survey found that two out of three Americans believe civility is a major issue, and three in four believe the negative tenor in our country has grown worse over the past few years.
“When we talk about civility and good manners, we are not talking about which forks to use for salad - that’s etiquette,” says Dr. Pier Forni, director of The Civility Initiative at Johns Hopkins and author of "The Civility Solution: What to Do When People Are Rude."
“Civility is about how we treat one another in everyday life and is closely related to ethics. The principle of respect for the person holds that we ought to treat others as an end in themselves, rather than as a means for the satisfaction of our own immediate needs and desires.”
I find myself nodding in agreement with Dr. Forni, but then I try to imagine repeating his words to the dude who almost ran us down in the crosswalk. I’m thinking that guy may not be convinced with an argument about the interplay between ethics and civility.
So why should we be nice if we don’t have to be?
The health benefits, for one. According to Forni, “Science tells us that when we engage in acts of civility and kindness, both the person on the giving end and the one on the receiving end benefit; it’s known as ‘helper’s high.’ Cascades of hormones and neurotransmitters activate when we are giving a token of our civility.”
Indeed, a slew of studies confirm that kinder people tend to live longer and lead healthier lives; volunteers have fewer aches and pains; and compassionate people are more likely to be healthier and successful.
Widespread incivility, on the other hand, can wreak havoc. Mean people, writes Stanford professor Robert Sutton, have “devastating effects, partly because nasty interactions have a far bigger impact on our moods than positive interactions - five times the punch.”
Says Sutton: “You have to overwhelm the negative with so much positive, it’s ridiculous!”
Moreover, due to a process called emotional contagion, the ripple effects of demeaning acts adversely affect coworkers, family members and friends who watch - or even just hear about - ugly incidents.
Sutton has written widely about the economic and social benefits of rooting out jerks from the workplace (except Dr. Sutton doesn’t call them jerks). His bestselling book is called "The No A**hole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn’t."
Sutton distinguishes between occasional rudeness - of which everyone is more or less guilty - and certified jerks. His “Dirty Dozen” of common everyday actions that out a certified nasty person include: personal insults, invading one’s personal territory, uninvited physical contact, threats and intimidation (both verbal and nonverbal), sarcastic jokes and teasing used as insult delivery systems, withering email flames, status slaps intended to humiliate their victims, public shaming or status degradation rituals, rude interruptions, two-faced attacks, dirty looks, and treating people as if they are invisible.
Certified jerks display persistent patterns of these bad behaviors and have a long trail of victims. (Sutton has also developed a self-test called the ARSE, but I took it and I’m pretty sure it can be gamed.)
But why are people mean? Forni suggests a handful of root causes that may cover the entire spectrum of uncivilized behavior: lack of restraint; stress, illness or depression; anonymity; insecurity; lack of time; or a sense of entitlement.
“All of these factors can work together,” says Forni. “In traffic, for example, anonymity and stress work together. The first driver cuts off the second driver. Perhaps both are late and therefore anxious. They don’t think they know one another. And so they engage in some finger puppetry. But say one of the drivers suddenly recognizes the other as the pastor of his church. You will have an immediate effort to minimize what happened.”
According to Forni, anonymity also plays into uncivil behavior online: “You have this wonderful technological marvel that can improve our lives and yet it has become a dismal collector of the moral toxins of our society.” (Imagine Forni’s elegant turns of phrase spoken with a fabulous Italian accent.)
Ultimately, civility is about power - and character. “The difference between how a person treats the powerless versus the powerful is as good a measure of human character as I know,” writes Sutton.
Since nasty people are unavoidable in daily life, Sutton offers a few tips how to deal with them - and perhaps rebound more quickly from run-ins:
Stand up or develop indifference.
Sutton says that if you find yourself the victim of bad behavior, do a power analysis: “You can either address the problem directly, or you can exercise the fine art of emotional detachment. Can you take a picture of the jerk’s license plate and report him to the police? Is there a number on the side of his car you can call? If yes, fine. If not, then try to forget the incident as quickly as possible. There are times when things are beyond your control and the best thing for your mental health is not to give a damn. In those circumstances, find ways to engage in short-term denial.”
Reframe and change how you see things.
Attempt to reframe a run-in with a jerk in way that is less upsetting. “This is a kind of mini cognitive therapy,” says Sutton. If you can’t escape a stressor, you can reduce the damage by changing your mind-set about what’s happening.
“Develop a coping mechanism, if you must. Sometimes we are able to find delusions that serve us.”
Sutton offers a reframing example from a recent holiday meal, where a relative did something rude.
"Afterwards I was complaining to my wife and she turned to me and said: ‘I don’t want to hear it. I don’t want the 1% that was bad to ruin the 99% that was good.’ And then she left the room. It was surprisingly effective.”
Sutton cautions, however, that if you’re in a long-term situation that is bad every time, reframing will not make it go away.
Limit your exposure.
Avoid if you need to. For example, if you shop at the same place frequently, go out of your way to avoid the mean clerks. By limiting how often and intensely you face jerks, you create a buffer against their demeaning behavior.
In a work context, Sutton offers additional strategies, like building pockets of safety, support and sanity; and seeking and fighting battles that you have a good chance of winning.
Later, reflecting on Sutton’s strategies - stand your ground, detach, reframe and avoid - I am reminded of the oft-repeated meditation for “the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.”
And I add a little prayer of my own: “Please God, next time grant me a baseball bat for the car that almost ran my kid over.”
 by: Amanda Enayati -- Special to CNN 

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Handmade Circle Christmas in July



Many great shops from 



  are participating in this month long event. 

All of them are offering handmade items that are unique, 
one of a kind, not massed produced.

 The shop owners  give great Customer Service!

Discounts ranging from 10%-35% off!!

In addition you will be getting great prices from these shops,
   

Please check out these wonderful shops.

Don't miss your chance to get that perfect item at a great price! 

Have a Handmade Holiday!!!!!






 A COTTAGE HEARTH

A MOMENT IN PARADISE


ABUNDANT EARTH WORKS
ARTFORCOMFORT


ARTISTIC FUNK


ARTISTICSOUL DESIGNS


ASTRABELLA SINSATIONS


AUGIE AND LOLA BABY BOUTIQUE


BAGS BY HAGS


BEAUTIFUL SWAG


BLUE RIDGE ORIGAMI


BMAJA


BRENNY'S BIBBIES


CAMERMAIDJEWELRY


CHAKRA DREAMS


CHINQUAPINRIDGE


CHUMAKA
DEEDEE'S DETAILS


EMBELLISH BY ANDREA


FIBER GIG


FLOWERTOWN ORIGINALS


GO GREEN WITH RED


GRANDMA'S CROCHET COTTAGE


GRANNIES RAGGEDY BAGS
GRATEFUL BEADS
GYPSY THAT I WAS


HANDMADEEXCLUSIVES
HANNAH MIA


HEARTOFTHEOAK


HICKOWREATHS


HOLLY'S HOMEMADE GOODIES


IFROGCRAFTS


ISEWMUCHTIME


JEWELS BY TRISH


KIKI'S CLOSET


KITTY'S KORNER


KYSAM


LITTLE MOMMA BOUTIQUE


LOIS' CRAFTY CORNER

LUCARY


MAKIN' IT MAMA


MAMMA MADE GIFTS


MAREES TREASURES


MARGALITA MOSAIC ART


MONDAY'S CHILD PRIMITAVES


PAPER PASTICHE


PEACHY CREATIONS


PIECES OF HOME


PINK CUPCAKE'S JEWEL CRAFTING


POLLYWOG PATTERNS


QUILTIN WAYNE


SAYURI GLASS


SERENITY LANE DESIGNS


SOPHIES HATS


STARFALL


STAR JEWELS


THE CRAFTY PANDA GIRL


THE PRETTY DO GOOD

              







PLUS: If you buy more than $50.00 from ToppyToppy
you will receive a free gift:
 a Free Faux Leather Flap Wristlet  
in  Black or Brown






COUPONS AND DIRECT CHECKOUT ARE NOT ACCEPTED FOR CUSTOM ORDERS!!! 





Happy Christmas in July!!!