Linky Party Features!!

Yay for the weekend! I don't know about you guys, but I like to lay in bed in the morning and read blogs. I do it every day before the sun is even up. {or more importantly, before the baby is up!} There are just never very many on Saturday & Sunday and I'm always sad about that. So here we are! Ready to fill your weekend with prettiness and usefulness! ;)

Great party this week!! I think Spring is inspiring everyone to do amazing things, I seriously had a tough time choosing this week. I think I say that every week though, haha!

Go check out Carrie's DIY Swiffer Pads over @ Dittle Dattle!! 

I don't know about you guys, but I DREAD running out of these things because they are so expensive. But, I refuse to use a "real" mop, so where does that leave me? 

In Carrie's hands, haha! What a great idea!

What a lovely cabinet, right? It's not the cabinet that's caught my eye though... look down below. See the kitty cutout in the middle door? It's a cute and cleverly disguised cat box cabinet over @ Sugar & Spice in the land of Balls & Sticks. If you've ever had cats in your house you know "the box" is the worst part. Awesome idea for making something yucky disappear! {and looking cute while doing it!}

"Bling-ed out" friends blocks @ A lil' Bit of This - A lil' Bit of That

These are so cute! I just love all the extra "bling" on each one, and they're so colorful too! 

These were made by Kailee, the newest daughter member of an awesomely cute and fun 

mother-daughter blog team. {there's three of them!} How fun is that? 

I am really looking forward to seeing what else Kailee makes for us! 

What else says summer like the beach? Maybe this Beachy Felt Wreath over @ Blissful Meandering! 

I love it! Of course, you know my and my complete inability for rosettes, I could never make this. 

But it is oh-so-lovely!!

This is a recipe for Lavender Sleepy Oil @ Musings of a Glamourpuss, and can I just say I would totally jump into a vat of this stuff if given the chance!! And, it goes GREAT with my Mommy Mask! She's even posted alternate recipes for body scrub as well as this cute printable label in case you want to make some to give as gifts. Mmmmmm!

And last but not least... the YUM factor for this week:

Check out this totally AMAZING Ocean Cake over @ The Starter Home. 

Is that not the most beautiful thing?

 Be sure to go take a look at her other photos, it's amazing from every angle! 

Her hubby requested a cake like this for his birthday... what an awesome wife!

Feel free to grab a button if you were featured!

<a href="http://www.littlebirdiebaby.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPRzE7u-VGuuFc2UO9siEks11qeylbBfD2oMWmhJU0scRtcVMGVirmClVe_VcXxGiVBaO-5gvmdJLMv81UraGlajlnxbGDhO1p_L6vp2Ap_rtEjqyBhJcIBWSGBO9SihqJmah2muYYddzC/s800/LBB%20Feature%20Button.png" height="150" width="150" /></a>

Thanks again to EVERYONE who linked up! 

I really enjoy checking out the projects, as well as all of your blogs! 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!!

XOXO

Tutorial Tuesday & Linky Party - Bamboo Silk Spring Wreath

Goooooooooood morning bloggers! It is a crisp, cool, BEAUTIFUL morning here in Texas, and I am fully enjoying the sun streaming in the windows as I write this. :)

I am so excited to finally share this one with you all. About a week ago I finally took down my Valentine's Day wreath {yeah... I know...} and replaced it with my new Spring Wreath!! What do you think?

I LOVE it! I had been rolling around several ideas in my head about what my spring wreath was going to look like for awhile, but nothing was really calling to me. I'm not a big fan of the egg-inspired style, as I'm not planning on taking this one down for awhile, and also not really a huge fan of silk flowers and greenery etc. just... because. Haha!

So here we have landed on a little more "modern" look to a fresh, bright spring wreath, and I couldn't be happier about it! It makes my front door look so friendly! And guess what? It was super easy to make...

Here's what you need:

Foam wreath form 

{any size will do}

Choice of yarn 

{or even twine!} 

I used Paton's Silk Bamboo... mostly because I'm in love with bamboo products right now, but also because the texture is oh, so yummy, and the color is perfect for spring. And I had it in my stash, haha!

Scissors

Glue Gun

Straight Pins 

{preferably with colored heads, as you can see, mine are metallic}

aaaaaaand... the secret ingredient: 

a TOILET PAPER ROLL!

YAY for working with fun, new mediums! Now, let's get started...

First, wrap your foam form completely with your yarn or twine. 

{don't you just love the sheen of the bamboo silk?? yum!}

I cut strips of yarn to make wrapping the form easier. 

Just be sure to wrap it tightly so it stays put, and overlaps the end pieces completely. 

Next, we're going to make the flowers using our TP roll.

Flatten your roll for easier cutting. Cut 12 pieces each about 1/2" wide {keeping the circle intact}. 

I used my crappy scissors since we're cutting cardboard here.

For the large flower, we'll glue 5 flattened circles together using a dot of glue between each.

I used an extra cut circle, rolled very tightly, and wedged in the center to make it look more substantial.

Then take your remaining circles, fold flat in half, and glue together to make the small flowers.

The flatter they are to start with, the easier they are to work with. You can always "fluff" them later.

Put a little dot of glue in the fold to help them hold their "petal" shape.

Put a tiny dot of glue between each folded set to hold it all together.

Now it's time to paint!!

In hindsight, I would not use "Fusion"... takes quite a few coats to work on cardboard.

But... I didn't have any other spray paint that would work, so I made do with what I had.

Antique White Krylon Fusion.

Once your paint is dry, grab your wrapped foam, your straight pins, and get ready for the next step.

Use your pins to attach your flowers to the foam. The longer your pins, the better!

I used the purple metallic straight pins, because hey- I love purple! 

Plus it makes a pretty perfect pairing with the spring-y green of the yarn.

I used 4 for each small flower, and 6 for the large one. 

You could probably get away with only using one per flower, but I wanted a noticeable pop of color.

Once my flowers were in place, I decided I needed more purple. 

{Can you ever really have too much purple?}

So I added some purple satin ribbon that just happened to match my pins almost perfectly!

TA-DA!

Now I am finally and completely finished with my Spring decor, and have to say I am pretty proud of myself. It's good to have goals, haha! ;)

Now it's time for YOU to link up!

But first...

Have you entered this week's giveaway?

If not, go NOW!

OceanBelle Etsy Shop is giving away a beautiful Tree of Hope made with the most spectacular natural stones, and brilliant Swarovski crystals. It's okay, I'll wait while you go check it out...

There's about a bajillion ways you can win, so go enter! 

Be sure to check out the rest of her amazing shop while you're at it!

Ok! If you're linking up, grab a button! I can't wait to see what you've been working on!

<a href="http://www.littlebirdiebaby.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjybpWehEcQYkr_bcTNwQtjMs-pSV-lbAnKMq0wQAbpkfm8Vn6I1fmUjYtVvzwqfTuazi67qG1Z7SWKRWPfgV3kkRVaYGnhKP7LJ0txiH6AQQj2x8KUcYdEuPtOudXo4oDmxEdFyxqjJ7RO/s800/Tute%20Tues%20LB.png" height="150" width="150" /></a>

XOXO

Thankful Thursday - 3/31/11 or, er, Friday...

Guys, I am SO sorry. I have been running around like a chicken with my head cut off this week, and add an always fun surprise visit from my Aunt F, and it's been a heckofa week. I thought all day Wednesday that it was Thursday and all day Thursday that it was Friday. So I mucked it up this week. Forgive me? I'm here bright and early today to make up for it!

Despite the craziness this week, I feel like I've gotten a ton accomplished, so I'm pretty happy with where I'm sitting today facing the weekend and I have lots to be thankful for!

1. I finally finished my Spring wreath! {pictures and tutorial coming Tuesday!}
2. Did a little wall-photo rearranging, and played with my Silhouette to create a fun little vinyl project that I love. Little by little, I WILL get better at working that thing! haha!

{terribly dark hall makes for terrible photos, but you get the idea ;) }

3. Got a box in the mail... full of FABRIC!! YAY!!
4. Got my Valspar pack in the mail! YAY again! {visit the Valspar Facebook page to sign up for your free stuff!}

Free paint sample in your choice of colors

Free packet of coordinating color swatches

Free mini-roller with replacement head and roller tray

$5 off coupon for your next gallon!

No foolin'! Go check it out. Who doesn't love free stuff?

5. And last but certainly not least, after two weekends in a row of hubby working on his truck, he's finally finished! I have never been so amazed by this man, and I am amazed alot, let me tell you. He did an entire engine replacement, start to finish all by himself. What a ROCKSTAR! I am so thankful to have a man who can do anything. Seriously. I have yet to find something he can't do. Here are some of my favorite pics from his project.

Which means... FAMILY WEEKEND! Just me, the hubbs, and our little dumpling enjoying every minute of the next 3 days. Thank you Lord! :)

I hope you all have an amazing weekend and are thankful for all the blessings in your life!!

XOXO

Tutorial Tuesday - Valentine's Burlap Wreath

Just like everyone else in blogland these days, I am having a love affair with burlap! It comes in so many fun colors, and the possibilities for what you can do with it seem endless. I found the cutest tutorial from Life on the Ridge Side for a burlap wreath around Christmas time, but unfortunately I already had waaaaay too many wreaths, and not enough places to hang them, haha!

Sooo... I decided to go with the red burlap and added a sweet little felt flower for a simple and easy-to-make Valentine's Day door decoration!

Um... excuse my ugly, ugly door... we rent, but I may just refinish it anyway!! ;)

It's hard to tell from the photo, but I used the sparkly white felt for the flower just to give it a little extra pizzaz! I mean, really can you ever have too much sparkle?? :)

One thing I would suggest to further your success with this project is: Don't be shy with the burlap. Especially if you live in a humid or rainy climate {like me}. After about the first week, and 2-3 days of hard rain, my pretty wreath was drooping to the bottom and I had to add about another yard of burlap to fill things back in. Apparently burlap relaxes!! LOL

Go to Life on the Ridge Side for the complete tutorial, 

and to see her pretty wreath too!!

XOXO