Love Blog Award -A blog hop of sorts, to show some Luv!

A new blogging friend, Monica, has passed on a Love Blog award! Thank you! :)

The four blogs I will award are.... drum roll please...

Valita,Valita's Designs & Fresh Folds, She hails from Australia and has the most amazing video tutorials on card-making techniques. You must check her out on YouTube.

Cheryl, Sew Can Do, She has many fun and practical sewing projects. Her blog is a great source to find inspiration.

Jess, Frugal with a Flourish. Jess is always sprucing up her home, with a lot of DIY. She shares her ideas and research on the latest home decor ideas. Lots of fun

Jen, Simply Living, is seems to be a fairly new blogger... I found her today via the Liebster Blog {Award} -her latest post is about tiling a table top, with some money saving tips. Something I have always wanted to try.

Lisa, Her Beautiful Mess, And if you ever wanted to learn how to build our own lamp, take a look. Also found via the Liebster Blog hopping around.


There are a couple of conditions for the award :
The aim of this award is that we bring unknown, good blogs to light, so I would ask you not to blog fellow bloggers that already have 3,000 followers.

Have you been TAGGED and want to participate?

To play along, create a post where you use the 'LOVE BLOG' image. Include the persons link that gave you the award and inform her/him that you accept the award.

Then choose and link to, 3 - 5 favorite blogs. Each blogger can then link back to you if they choose to participate. :)

And, most importantly... It is okay if you are too busy to accept this award, Bloggers understand!
Note: Not sure why, but the "You might also like:" photos are not showing up in the post.... only the words. Anyone know why? (Feature is still working for other posts.)

Show Off Your Fur Babies Linky Party!

For those of you who are fellow animal enthusiasts... Debbie at Debbiedoos is having a pet party. Started off by her Lovely Lucy! Last spring, we had just lost our beloved Rosie, and we were very sad. :( Then Staxie came into our lives to help cheer us up! This is Staxie Blossom Cuttle-Bear.We do not have too many pics yet.. well let me clarify -picures where you can actually see her face! Her fur is so black, it usually looks like a shadow. :)

And of course she came along to keep our Peanut company as well. Here he is on a friend's dock on the lake, very proud of himself that he went for a swim.


And in memory of Rosie, how she was that same day on the lake, having a bit of a "surf." {sniff}

And, here is Tigger, but he seems to be hiding behind the curtain....


To see more of Peanut, and how he would look if he were an owl.... go here. Thank you Debbie for the partay!!

If Peanut Were An Owl...

Some of you may have noticed Peanut having a tea party with Rosie at the top of my blog. Just so you know, this was not his first photo-shoot. Peanut was previously made famous due to a volunteer photo-shoot with freelance photographers, Sharon Eide & Elizabeth Flynn. He was featured in 3 different calendars from Browntrout Publishers. The calendars were from 2006 and 2008. Peanut's "fee" was a free calendar for his family!!! And of course, we had to buy a few extras for our extended family! LOL!

Here he is driving around town with me as my partner-in-crime.


I was viewing images today, thinking about a project I want to attempt and I came across this picture. And I thought, "If Peanut were an owl, he would look like this!"


Do you see the resemblance? Does your family's furry companion have a double?

Falling Hearts blog enhancement!

February is just around the corner, you know!!! If you would like to add some falling hearts, head over HERE for the code! :)
Have fun~










Image from Karen's Whimsy, found here.

A little Off-Topic, How to Fold a Fitted Sheet!

I found this video by accident, and I am so glad! (Link to video is in this title.) I always fold my sheets and place them inside the pillow case which makes it easy to grab a set and quickly make a bed. However, I must admit... the fitted sheet is quite bulky and causes problems! This is a great way to smooth things out~

The video comes from the site LivingOnADime.com. I haven't had a chance to thoroughly look at the site ~Their categories are: Frugal Living; Recipes; Housekeeping; Freebies; Chit Chat and Coupons.

UPDATE: Here is another video -I actually like the details he provides. He goes a little slower too! :) I do not know his name, but the comments say that everyone is in love with him. He is wearing a wedding ring, and the speculation is that his wife is one lucky woman! Link: Fitted Sheet Folding video by "He"

Remaining on the subject of sheets... To keep organized, I always place sheet sets in their pillow case. Queen size has the top & bottom sheet, plus 1 pillow case INSIDE the 2nd pillow case. Twin size keeps the top & bottom sheet inside the matching pillow case. And of course there are strays... which I keep together by size. :)

Altered Christmas Card -Quick Changes to Personalize Your Cards

Do not have enough time to make your own Christmas cards? How about adding some personal touches to store-bought cards. Here’s a quick easy way to make a few changes and fancy things up! Start out with this plain card.....

**[Disclaimer! I know it is already late into December..., but this post is very appropiate for me because I am still writing our Christmas cards. There must be someone out there on my schedule? :) Wish the pictures were a little better too. :)





You will need:
Simple store-bought cards
corner rounder
embossing folder –border type (polka dots) {Oops, not pictured}
white Enamel Accents, dimensional faux enamel

I chose the border embossing folder because I wanted to be able to write on both sides inside the card. After embossing the card, I added accent dots with the white Enamel Accents and rounded the top corners only, with the ½ inch size.
Quick and easy!




Close-up of the bottom front, embossed with the polka dots and white accents.


To jazz up the envelope, I ran it through a different style border embossing folder. Sorry, not a great pic. (Wondering what the circle is? Just covering up our address!)






And now you have a completed Work of Art! That's what it feels like, anyway. :)

Linking to:
Naturally Me Creations: Who Made What?
It's a Hodge Podge Life

Painted Glass Ornaments and Faux Mercury Glass

A quick and fun way to spruce up your ornament collection! Above are small ornaments only. I made a few of the larger ornaments as well, individual pics follow. You get to be as creative and daring as you want! All you need for adding your color is water and spray paint. Just spray the paint directly into the bulb by holding the nozzle almost touching, and then hold a finger over the hole and shake it around a bit. I found the clear glass ornaments at Joann's Fabrics at 60% off, and used spray paint that I already had. Well, I fib..... I did buy 2 new colors. :)

Inspiration for this project came from Birgit Kerr at Scrapalicious Bytes. She uses Krylon Looking Glass Mirror-Like Paint to create her Mercury Glass. Her post shares 3 different awesome tutorials full of pictures, ideas, details and humor. Thank you, Birgit!


An example of the Mercury Glass look~



Same ornament, different angle~



You start out by adding water to the inside of the bulb, and pouring most of the water out. (Trial and error here as to the look you want.) For this red and gold one I experimented with acrylic paint too. If you use too much of the acrylic, it can take over -I know, this happened to me! Not to worry, add a bit more water and "rinse" out the extra. Below are 3 examples of what a first layer may look like.



First layer of green...



First layer of black...




First layer of blue...



A layer of blue, then I let the paint dry for awhile. Added a dash of water and sprayed in some white.




These bulbs are in "Stage I" of my drying system!



Stage II~ After they are dry, you can decide if you want to add more color, or a different color. Most of mine are only 2 colors.



This bulb is the exception ~3 colors (blue, white & gold) give it that "globe" look. :) I sprayed in quite a bit of the gold and swirled it all around so that it would show through enough.



Another Mercury style~



This is one of my favorites! Black first, then gold~




An nothing is complete until you get some help from a furry friend! Tigger is happy to oblige~

Linking to:
The Shabby Chic Cottage
Savvy Southern Style
A Glimpse Inside
Poppies At Play

UPDATE: I came across another method of creating Mercury Glass using silver leaf, adhesive and umber glaze. Bethany at Remodel This House shares with you her trial and error and has even posted a video. She has great results!