My Blogaversary AND A HUGE Giveaway!!!

Howdy all!

Can you believe i've been doing this for a WHOLE year!!??

(actually 2 days ago was a year, but I wanted to wait for this cool giveaway)

CRAZY!!

Time has just flown by.....and I've had fun the whole way and met TONS of new friends!!

And I LOVE all my peeps (yes, that means YOU)

Anyhoo, Lisa Leonard of Lisa Leonard Designs is offering one of my LUCKY readers to win one of her AWSOME necklaces!!

She has the coolest stuff.....and I, myself have been hinting to hubby for awhile that I want something from her shop (I'm sure you all know how LONG it takes hubby's to get our hints :)

Their handmade jewelry is meaningful, unique and perfect for everyday.......even with jeans! Each piece is hand-cut, hammered, antiqued and polished sterling silver.

They've even been featured in many major magazines and blogs and some cool celebrities have been seen wearing their beautiful jewelry!!!

Well, she's letting the winner PICK between their "From Up Here" necklace or......

"Sparkle" necklace!

All you have to do to enter is:

1. Visit her site and tell me what your favorite is

2. Follow Lisa on Twitter (twitter.com/lisaleonard)

3. (Be)come my follower

4. Blog about this giveaway on your blog

5. Tell me a funny joke or story (I need to laugh today)

AND

6. Send me a present for my blogaversary (hahahaha!)

The contest will go through next Wed. night and I will announce the winner on Thurs. or Fri.

And don't foget some nice jewelry would be GREAT for Mother's Day (hint, hint, hubby)

Good luck and

Have fun!!

Adorable Spring Blocks + More

Well, Spring is here, and the weather is getting warm (here anyway).

I have put out what little Spring decor I have and was sad to find that I don't have much :(

 So, I decided that I need some MORE.

And I wanted to cute~n up my mantle.

So, I thought I would make some Spring blocks!

I looked through my VAST supply of scrapbook paper (even though I haven't scrapbooked in forever......I can't stop buying paper :) and found this cute stuff and I KNEW I had some chipboard letters that would be perfect!

My letters are around 5"x 2.5", so I cut my wood 5.5"x 3.25" and it's 1" thick.

Just slap on some paint.......you don't need to be too careful about the front, since it will be covered (but I'm a little OCD)

Then, I cut 6 pieces of paper the same size as the blocks and Mod-Podged them on...... 

AND then inked the edges. Then, put another layer of Mod Podge on to seal them.

I took some white paper and adhered it to the front of the letters and then stuck those on the front of the blocks.

(I also inked them and added a layer of Mod Podge to protect them)

Ta~Da!

I LOVE how the chipboard adds dimension!

I also made got some purple tulips for 50% off at Michaels and put them in a vase with ribbon around it to sit next my little birdie (also 50% off at Michaels last week).

My older girls put together this cute banner from a kit I had gotten on clearance last Spring (says" Happy Spring"), so we hung that up as well. They had fun and it was the perfect skill level for them since everything was included and all they had to do was assemble it like the picture.

Now I just need to decorate the rest of the house........

Have Fun!

New Sponsor ~Jen Gagliardi Photography

Hey there everyone, have I got some EYE CANDY for you!!!!

Last weekend we met with AWESOME photographer, Jen Gagliardi based here in So Cal.

We were LONG overdue for some new family pics, and since we FINALLY brought little Kira home.....we thought it was about time :)

So we went to a nice park over in Redlands and she went right to work.

This one is my FAVORITE so far.......see how Maddie is crackin' up and Aislyn is not even looking?

Look how innocent Aislyn looks in this one........faker!

And my friend Jessica made all the girls these adorable tutus that we used in the shoot. They worked out SO well. Thanks Jess!!!!

Look at those CUTE faces!!! I could just eat them up!!

How cute are daddy and Kira? Although she didn't smile the WHOLE time we were out there :)

You can check Jen's site here

AND

If you mention that you read about her on this post, she will give you a $50 print credit towards your print order!!!

So run on over and check her out.....

Have fun!

We Interrupt This Regularly Scheduled Programming.......

So sorry, but Freecycle Friday will return next week........I have something cool I want to show off, but have had a bad migraine most of yesterday and today......

BUT

I can take this opportunity to show you all some spiffy ideas for upcoming April Fool's Day!!

(Our 3 year-old, Aislyn, started to be born on April 1st, but that was her joke on us since she didn't make her entrance till the next day!)

I LOVE April Fool's.......it's so fun now that my kiddos are old enough to enjoy and understand it too.

So, I think I might try my hand at making some tricky food that day like:

This deceiving grilled cheese sandwich from Family Fun (love that mag!)

This really yummy baked potato sundae from Martha

You can fake this big mess from FF and trick your kiddos into thinking that they are in trouble

Serve up some french fries for dinner with red-tinted frosting from Parenting

For your older kiddos, you can mess with their lunch a little, so they will get a surprise when they sit down to eat :)

Don't forget to solidify their milk too!

Hope this gives you some fun ideas for next thursday.....

Have fun!!

Springtime Stars

So! It's springtime again and I'm ready to freshen thing up around here.

AND 

I had found these stars on super-clearance after Christmas and though they would look SO cute with some cute Spring paper on them (not fond of the bright GOLD)

I had seen Char do it here and  Jen do it here and they looked fabulous!! So, I was keeping my eye out for a few of my own to re-do (that didn't cost $20 each....like these ones did originally!)

So, you start by picking out your cute paper. I used a coordinating paper pack (linen closet from DCWV) and picked one piece for each point of the star.

I took some parchment paper and folded it in half and then put it over one point and traced with my finger nail to make an outline.

Then, cut it out and you have your pattern!

(I went ahead and traced that onto some scrap blue cardstock since the parchment kept trying to curl up and....let's face it, I needed to trace 15 panels.)

 Trace all your pieces, cut them out, and ink all the edges (you know how I like inked edges!).

Then I scored them all down the middle to make them easier to decoupage.

Now decoupage them all onto your star(s)!!

ALL DONE and beautiful!!!

I hung them on a wall I've been needing to re-decorate for awhile.....and I LOVE it!!

Freshens up the whole room since these stars are nice and LARGE.

Have fun!

New Sponsor........Girly Girl Essentials

Hey all! I have an awesome brand new sponsor!!!

Do you LOVE A-dorable hair bling for your little girls, but hate spending all that $$$$$?

Well, look no farther than Girly Girl Essentials!

She is one frugal mama to some ca-ute little girls......but a girl's gotta have some bling and that can add up!

So she started Girly Girl Essentials so she can pass the savings onto us other frugal moms.

Check out this fantastic crystal peony clip in her daughter's hair! (I wish I could do hair like that :)

All the clips even have felt on the inside to help them stay in place.......since we all know how FUN it is to have to be constantly running after your little ones to put their clips back in.

And how easy it is to dress up one of her cute crocheted headbands with a big beautiful crystal Gerber daisy!

This little one can't seem to get enough!! She wants it ALL :) Just watch out when she becomes a teenager!!

You can even dress up a simple beanie with total cuteness!!

She carries a huge variety........including Little Crystal Daisies, Marabou Daisy Clips, Crystal Gerber Daisies,  Crystal Tropical Flowers, Crystal Peony Clips, Dragonfly Clips (My 2 older girls' favs), Butterfly Clips, Pearl Rose Bow Hairclips, Little Bows (2.5" grosgrain), Chunky Bows (4.5" grosgrain), Crocheted Headbands in 2 sizes, Skinny Bow Headband, Pearl Rose Bow Headband, and Cute Crocheted Beanies!

So run on over and check out these out.......and stock up!!!

AND

For my readers.......she will even throw in a free Little Crystal Daisy for your first order over $5!!
 (don't we all like free stuff?)

Have fun!