Today's Creative Blog: August 2009

Monday, August 31, 2009

Get Your Craft On -TEST RUN

Get YOUR Craft on! Grab this image for your post!
It’s time to shake things up, it’s time to get crafty, creative, and inspired.

Show me and others what you’ve done to be crafty, creative or inspired. Just add your link and we’ll all check it out. Don't forget to grab a button for your blog post today. You're probably smarter than me, but it has to be entered under your HTML section.

We’ll be doing this on Tuesdays I think, but I was so excited to try out this Mcklinky thing.

Sponsoring my Venti Shaken Green Teas with 3 splenda this week are…

Whimsical Expressions

LuShae Jewelry contest

Sunday, August 30, 2009

And the Winner is……?

Christel from Simply Us! My son chose number 68. How exciting, Christel is from my neck of the woods. Thanks everyone for entering and don’t worry if you didn’t win. I’ll be doing another giveaway next Friday….and the Friday after that……and so on. Margie,who donated the kit has a new kit monthly, check it out. The Girls Loft.

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Thank you to my wonderful sponsors that make me feel less guilty for being on the computer.

Whimsical Expressions LuShae Jewelry mail.google.com

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Have you joined our Chic Chick Media widget yet? Have you become a part of our flock? Chic Chick is a group of four women who all became friends through this crazy blog journey. Laurie with Tip Junkie, Cindy with Skip to my Lou, Tiffany and Heather with Secrets in the Sauce and well…….me, Kim. We all have a passion for supporting women and have found a way to help you and your site gain more exposure without breaking the bank. By joining our flock, your blog link rotates amongst 100s of blogs.

Tanna Clark with Complete Organizing Solutions has been a member since April and has received over 1000 hits!

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So if you’re looking for an inexpensive way to gain exposure for your blog……this is the ticket.

It’s easy, it works and what I love about it………are all the amazing blogs I have learned about. This is a new way for me to find my features!

Join in the month of September and you will be entered into drawing for a $25 gift card to Amazon.com

Be sure to check back later for the winner for Fabulous Friday Giveaways. 5pm pacific time.

Friday, August 28, 2009

Fabulous Friday Giveaway!

This giveaway is closed Oh my GOSH! Another Friday! Another giveaway! And I even have a button now…….Shannon has done such a good job with my design…..don’t you think?

Today’s giveaway comes from my friend Margie……you know her….everybody knows Margie. Kiss Kiss Margie. Margie that teaches scrapbooking class, larger than life Margie……Margie that I was supposed to meet up with during my stay in Utah……That Margie! ……..see? I knew you knew her.

Margie has a few tricks up her sleeve in the scrapbooking world. She has started a new website /business with her daughters that offer a monthly kit club full of scrapbooking supplies…..so you can get your craft on.

theGirls loft is to share our passion for things that are beautiful to create with. Or visit their blog.

So who wants to win this kit? This is the August kit!

If you’re a crazed scrapbooker……..a paper crafter……….then you may have also heard of the fab four that started SPARK An event you don’t want to miss…….especially if you’re in the Salt Lake area. Hmmmmm……I could visit my sis…stay her her house and spend my days with these fab four….hmmmm?

This kit is full of stuff…….I can just smell it. Can’t you?

Do you want it? Leave me a comment by Sunday 5pm pacific time and you may be the winner!

Thanks Margie!

Don’t forget to scroll down and see yesterdays feature. I got it out late.

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This post is sponsored by things that sparkle!

LuShae Jewelry

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Centsational

Before I blab on endlessly, I wanted to direct you to one of my Chic Chick Media partners who is have a blogging conference in Oct. Sitscation…..Go check it out. Their having a contest for a free trip to their convention! fabulousFridayGiveaways Also…….tomorrow is my Fabulous Friday Giveaways.

If you’ve been reading my blog lately, then you know I am a bargain hunter and proud! I can’t wait to tell someone how much I paid. Tacky? I suppose to some people………but not to junkers…….not people like me who thrive on finding that bargain. It’s a creative journey to find something, re-purpose it into something that makes your home that much more homey.

So you can image how excited I was to find a blog committed to saving cents through re-purposing, painting, etc….. Bliss.

Centsational, fabulous for less

A good place to start is keeping that inspiration journal…..when you see something you love, tear it out…..then get hunting. She loved this mirror wall seen in Ballard Designs. She then found this old mirror at a thrift store…….she had a vision. mirror before_thumb[2] And here it is…..Pretty nice huh? And much less expensive than ordering the fancy ones. You know what else? No one……NO ONE will have the same thing. Need a new and original coat rack? Hmmm, I’m thinking this may be a good idea for that “mud room” I’m trying to design for my garage. before and after_thumb[1] headboard on wall_thumb[1]

If you frequent your local Goodwill or neighborhood yard sales……you have probably seen some old stuff like this…..and probably kept on walking. The vision is sometimes hard to grasp….But with a bit of spray paint…..WaLaa!

All fresh, clean and perfect. This looks so inviting…….great job!

white table final_thumb[1]

I have never thought of this with spray paint. She sprayed a bit of brown on those brass candle holders first, let it dry….. first layer of brown_thumb[1] then used the ivory and rubbed a bit off for a distressed look. She of course has more photos showing her TUTORIAL!

second layer of white_thumb[1] She recently had new cabinets put in her kitchen and most people would salvage the old ones….not her. She has made several projects using the old cabinet doors. This is just one of them. On her site she shows a head board! So when my husband thinks I’m crazy for wanting an old door on my wall……I can show him all the things she’s made with old cupboard doors.

One of the real reasons I am featuring her, is because of this room. I know she copied me……well probably not…..but I love it when I see something I’ve done as well. You see I made my son’s room an explorer theme. I used old maps to cover my letters…..Hers is much more elegant, but you can see my letters here….and the treasure map I painted. Don’t laugh.

I remember looking at this exact map. It was a bit too big for my son’s wall……so I have a smaller one. Love how she made it look like a large art piece. She just stapled it to the wall, added molding and called it good. This looks like a shot out of a magazine.

You can’t see it here, but in that same room she made a compass. Once again, I wouldn’t have ever thought of this. Using a round iron decor piece, and letters. Guess what my son will have on his wall soon? Yep….a compass.

This blog proves that you don’t have to have or spend a ton of $$$ to create a creative original home. Just open your mind, grab some paint and get busy.

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Sponsoring me this week so I can feel less guilty about going to starbucks. Grab a badge and win $200 with LuShae Jewelry

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Crap I’ve Made

Thumbing through my FFF this morning waiting for something to bite me……….inspire me….make me pee my pants.

That’s exactly what this gals blog is doing…….making me laugh so hard……. especially at this post……

She is a busy mom of lots of kids…….and God love her, she has the right sense of humor to get through it all. Maybe that’s why she named her blog Crap I’ve Made. Love her already.

If her funny stories didn’t hook me……….you know this would have. Painting a piano? YES! She certainly has my respect! I think she just broke the biggest “never paint wood” rule ever! What a rebel! I love her. I am just giddy looking at that painted piano! Stunning isn’t it?

She also just re-did the children’s bathroom. Dr. Seuss theme.

Hello……..Do you like my faucets? I do…….I do like your faucets. Good Bye…….

Isn’t she brilliant? Using water spickets as towel hooks! SHUT UP!

About then I was wondering if she was also LDS…..she had to be…....so dang crafty and creative….they love to flaunt it……….then I saw the apron tutorials and I just knew it………plus all those kids……..

I love this fabric…….both of them actually.

And it’s all those kids she writes really really funny stuff about! Seriously, she has me in stitches today. Like this……this is creative sibling rivalry…….don’t you think? She said that one of these kids was more upset about the marker fight. LOL I can’t look at his back with out snickering. When you only have one child like myself, you miss all the sibling drama……..

Now if you looked at her living room…….it doesn’t look like 14 children live there. Love the book shelving…….and denim couches……I used to have one…….but….but….can you see her ~~coffee~~ cocoa table? A galvanized water trough! Oh my GOSH! What a unique simple inexpensive idea. Love it.

Because she’s thrifty, she has figured out a way to get that stamped jewelry look on a budget. She bought her stamping tools from Harbor Freight ($8.99) and simple washers. They’re not sterling silver, but what a great idea for kids eh?

Simple tutorial on making lipgloss…..containers from the Dollar Store and she used Koolaid. She is breaking all the rules……love it.

If you’ve read my blog for any amount of time, then you know I have a soft spot for decorated onesies. So cute. She also has a tutorial on applying the fabric as well as a template. And the birthday hat? She shows you how to make a fabric birthday hat out of a regular paper one. No pushing girls………

Love the tie….

Well I won’t keep you any longer with my jibber jabber…..I know you’re busy. Just one last thing before you move on……..I’m watching……..I’m hoping …..actually begging that you’ll leave her a wonderful comment letting her know how you found her.

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Thank you to my sponsors who value us crazy bloggers! You could win these beauties. Details here at LuShae Jewelry

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Fabulous Friday WINNER! ALVN

Thank you to all of you that entered! I always feel badly that only one person gets to win. But the good news is, there will be another giveaway next Friday….hmmm, I wonder what it will be? Also I want to thank Gina at Feather your Nest for such a wonderful giveaway. She sells all that stuff in her boutique…….I guess I could have just said online store, but I saw Julie & Julia last night and I think Julia would have said Boutique.

On to the winner!

This gal LOVES vintage. She LOVES junk! So it’s only appropriate that she ended up winning this contest. She has two blogs. Both full of eye candy. Whisper Wood Cottage and junkologie.

She has wonderful photos of places like this……….a yard sale……..I could just do a cartwheel down that drive way.

Cool shots of junk. She makes it all look so good.

It’s all about your using your imagination on how to use old junk. A bowl of type writer keys? Love it.

She’s nice to show us her junk loot from time to time. See that heater vent looking thing? I wouldn’t know what to do with it……..

Hmmmm………what did she figure out? Oooh, I like the pretty lights…….what is it?

She has turned it into a bedside table lamp. Is she the smartest junker around?

It’s people like her that makes me hunt blogs. Seeing other ideas that I wouldn’t have thought of in a million years………or if I did, I may have thought it looked goofy. Like, I would have NEVER thought to use old 45s as table decor. If this is old hat to you……sorry, but I have NEVER seen this. I am already trying to figure out if I can get away with something like this for Thanksgiving. Probably not……but another time for sure. She has a wonderful before and after for her bedroom. This is obviously the before.

After! She shows you the whole process…….she used an inspiration notebook…….you know the kind where you tear out magazine photos of places you like and keep it in a notebook?

HEY! I have that Character plaque in my home. It’s the last thing you see before heading out the front door………just like this one is the last photo on my post.

Thank you all again for entering. More giveaways every Friday.

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Because of these nice folks, I can sit on my bum and write blog posts!

Win $200 from LuShae Jewelry

Simple Expressions