I've almost got the guest room ready. Somehow it cam together more quickly than the others in terms of unpacking and decorating. Did you see the DIY Botanical Prints I made for it? They look awesome in the room. I can't wait to show you!

So yeah, I'm beat. How about you all? Everyone getting ready for summer? Tilling the gardens and what-not? (You see, I'm a home owner now, so I  have gardens and what-not. ;D  )

Show me what you've been up to!!

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The party is after the features!!

Sweet Sharing Monday Most Clicked:

Favorite Blogging Resources

Pinned! I think as a blogger, a lot of us struggle from time to time. We need inspiration, direction, and to know there are others in the same boat. These resources are a great compilation- Thanks Maria!!

And my Personal Favorite:

DIY Wood Letter Canvas

I'm totally with Krysta on this one. I love the way these pieces look! I've never thought of gifting one, but that's a great idea too! I could totally see this going in our living room, where I'm looking for a pop of orange. Hrmm....

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Enough! Let's do some Sweet Sharing!

Don't forget to Check back on Thursday to see which link was the most viewed!



To link back to the party- just copy & paste this code onto your blog! <center><a href="http://bit.ly/sweetsharingbutton" title="Sweet Anne Designs"><img src="http://saynotsweetanne.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/SweetSharingMonday.png" alt="Sweet Anne Designs - Sweet Sharing Monday" style="border:none;" /></a></center>

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Squeee! This weekend we move into our house! Ugh, its been WEEKS, and every day I come up with new projects to do for the place. Like these prints that I originally shared on Making The World Cuter. I haven't let the fact that I'm not IN THE HOUSE yet slow me down. Oh no! I've been cranking out homey crafts like there's no tomorrow!

I've been sketching, pinning and thrifting my little heart out, piling up mounds of new decor and plans for bed sheets, paint colors, furniture and more.  I've got a plan for almost every room in the house. Check out my pinboard for the Guest Room! Its going to be a rustic, unfinished barnwood kinda place, with splashes of white wainscoting, sage green walls... and botanical prints.

Now, I found some botanical prints online, but they were upwards of $8 each, and I knew I wanted 3. That's $24 not even including the frame! So, I did a little research and came up with these prints for $3 total.

I gathered these images out of my secret stash, cleaned them up a bit and brightened the colors. I scanned in a background image and resized everything so they would print to fit in an 8x10 frame. Add in 3 dollar store frames coated in some crackle paint and voila!

And of course, you know I'm sharing the prints with you! I've got 4 varieties, so download and use as you please!

What You Need:

• Printer
• Paper
• 8x10 frame

How To Make It:

1. To download, click on the image you want (careful not to click the Pin It button) to bring up a larger picture. Then, right click >save image as, and choose where to save the file.
   
2. Navigate to the image where you saved it and double-click to open it. (This will open in your default image editing program)
3. In whatever program  you use, click print. Trim the white edges to the image area, making it 8x10.
4. Drop the print in an 8x10 frame and voila! You're done!

The post DIY Botanical Print [Free Printable] appeared first on Sweet Anne Handcrafted Designs.

How about you? Have you gotten anything done this weekend?

Also, if you want a reminder email when the party goes up - sign up on the right side bar!

The party is after the features!!

Sweet Sharing Monday Most Clicked:

Limited Space Organizing

We all want an organized house. I know that because this link broke a Sweet Sharing record with the amount of clicks it got! Sarah has a lot of great ideas, you should check it out!

And my Personal Favorite:

My pretty Lilacs

Guys, I had to. My mom is OBSESSED with lilacs! She's got a few growing in her yard, but she will steal them from banks after hours, the side of the road, cemeteries  buildings for sale, you name it! I'm well accustomed to the "quick go pick some" dash- getting out of the car, grabbing a handful and jumping back in before anyone has time to shake their fists at us. So, this one is my favorite- for the pictures alone. =D

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Enough! Let's do some Sweet Sharing!

Don't forget to Check back on Thursday to see which link was the most viewed!



To link back to the party- just copy & paste this code onto your blog! <center><a href="http://bit.ly/sweetsharingbutton" title="Sweet Anne Designs"><img src="http://saynotsweetanne.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/SweetSharingMonday.png" alt="Sweet Anne Designs - Sweet Sharing Monday" style="border:none;" /></a></center>

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 "& Friends"

 Enter to Win

The raffle will stay open until Friday at Midnight, and a winner will be drawn on Saturday!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Well, good luck to all my favorite readers (that means you. Yes you. Even if this is the first time you're visiting. I mean you!) what will you do with all that Amazon cash?

The post $250 Amazon Giveaway! appeared first on Sweet Anne Handcrafted Designs.

Anyhoo, how about you!? What have you been up to this week?

Also, if you want a reminder email when the party goes up - sign up on the right side bar!

The party is after the features!!

Sweet Sharing Monday Most Clicked:

Frosted Vinyl Round-Up

As if I didn't need more reasons to love my Sillhouette Cameo! You've got to take a peek at all the neato things you can do with frosted vinyl and a cutting machine! There's still time before Mother's Day- get cracking!

And my Personal Favorite:

DIY Cement Garden Balls

How cool are these!? Ellen figured out an ingenious way to make these for almost no investment. I personally LOVE the textured ones. And you'll never guess how she did it! I'll give you a hint: THRIFT STORES/ RUMMAGE SALES.

If you were featured don't forget to grab a button!

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Enough! Let's do some Sweet Sharing!

Don't forget to Check back on Thursday to see which link was the most viewed!

To link back to the party- just copy & paste this code onto your blog! <center><a href="http://bit.ly/sweetsharingbutton" title="Sweet Anne Designs"><img src="http://saynotsweetanne.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/SweetSharingMonday.png" alt="Sweet Anne Designs - Sweet Sharing Monday" style="border:none;" /></a></center>

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I have a weakness for weekend breakfast. I don't eat eggs, so that tends to scratch out most of the savory options (except hashbrowns and bacon, and boy do I love the bacon). What's left is sweet confectionery breadlike products. Crepes, pancakes, buns, rolls and french toast.

In fact, through most of my college years I lived off of Burger King dollar menu french toast sticks and Mocha Joe. If you've never had the french toast sticks, they are crispy on the outside, soft and bready on the inside, and they come with syrup to dip them in.

Surprisingly, after college I began to crave that sort of crispy and soft french toast. Most of the french toast that I make at home is soft and gooey, lacking that crispy crust. That is, until now. The secret is in the sugar dusting. The sugar caramelizes on the outside and give a great crunch to the toast no matter how long it sits in syrup. Add a little chai spice and its a breakfast made in heaven! I call it Candied Chai French Toast!

Ingredients:

• Day old bread. I used a sourdough I had around.
  
• Cinnamon sugar- about 3/4 cup. It uses more than it looks.
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup milk.
• 1 tbs Chai Spice (from the Acorn Squash and Chai Ice Cream recipe)

Directions:

1. Slice your bread and let it sit out to get nice and dry. I tend to bake mine at 200 degrees on the rack of my convection oven for about 3 minutes because I'm impatient.
2. Mix the egg, milk and chai spice in a dish large enough to soak the bread in.
   
3. In another dish large enough to fit the bread, put about 1/2 of the cinnamon sugar mixture. This way, if you don't use it all you can save it. Add more to the dish as needed.
4. Heat a lightly greased pan to about medium high. Dip the dry break in the egg and milk mixture, letting it absorb as much as it can. Let it drip off a few seconds and then coat it in the sugar on both sides.
   
   
5. Plop the bread into the pan and cook until brown and crisp, about 2 minutes on each side.
   
   

I like to serve mine with just whipped cream, as the chai and sugar really give the chai french toast enough sweetness and flavor to stand without syrup. Its perfect with some bacon and hot coffee!

The post Candied Chai French Toast [Recipe] appeared first on Sweet Anne Handcrafted Designs.

Anyhoo, how about you!? What have you been up to this week?

Also, if you want a reminder email when the party goes up - sign up on the right side bar!

The party is after the features!!

Sweet Sharing Monday Most Clicked:

How to Make 20 Different Paper Flowers

I LOVE some of the amazing things you can do with paper. These flowers are everything from whimsical to classy and I am so pinning this page to make some of these! For a while I've thought about using paper flowers for present toppers- I might just try it!!

And my Personal Favorite:

25 Homemade Pizza Recipes

I am SO into homemade pizza right not its not even funny. Hubby makes an amazing crust, and then we freeze individual sized pizzas that I have for lunch all. week. long. But, I can only eat so many pepperoni, veggie or BBQ chicken pizzas. There are some awesome ideas on this list and I can't wait to try them! If I could put a few more varieties in the rotation, I might never have to eat anything but pizza again!

If you were featured don't forget to grab a button!

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Enough! Let's do some Sweet Sharing!

Don't forget to Check back on Thursday to see which link was the most viewed!

To link back to the party- just copy & paste this code onto your blog! <center><a href="http://bit.ly/sweetsharingbutton" title="Sweet Anne Designs"><img src="http://saynotsweetanne.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/SweetSharingMonday.png" alt="Sweet Anne Designs - Sweet Sharing Monday" style="border:none;" /></a></center>

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At the beginning of this year I set out to make a blog planner for myself. I'm so proud and happy to say that The Ultimate Blogging Planner has been a huge success!! I'm so happy to share it with all of the marvelous bloggers out there!!

Now that graduation time is rounding the corner, I've started to think about student planners. Something that starts and ends in June- so to make it through the school year. Something with a spot for homework and to-do lists. Something with plenty of room to write appointments, class info, usernames and passwords. Out of that thought came this! My June to June Student Planner! Oh and YOU KNOW I'm sharing it with you!

This is my first ever planner with a weekly view and it has been tricky! But, as a graphic designer I can say I honestly love that sort of challenge. And I am SO HAPPY with how this planner turned out!!

I wish I had something like this when I was in college or high school. I truly believe that students are more likely to use something that feels attractive or interesting- not the boring plain Jane ones you see in stores. Also, its important to have something meant for your purpose. I can't STAND fill in the blank planners, or the kind that are so small you can't fit anything!

I know some kids are going digital, but the few that I surveyed still use paper planners. I know for me there is just something about writing it down. Studies have shown that writing helps memory retention too- so that's a bonus!

Since I was thinking of this planner as a graduation gift, I've got two  black and white versions, because those are cheaper to print. I did one without a background because my hubby and I decided that's the manliest way to go. =D I plan on adding more colors if people want them, so feel free to comment if you'd like a color you don't see here!!

Download The Planner

For really time consuming downloads like this, I put the files on FB to download. The reason is that 1) FB has a secure server that requires you to login before downloading. I can't provide that security for my files here. 2) Requiring an account to "like" before downloading forces them to login (using the secure server) before they can download. This keeps away bots, content thieves and hopefully any other meanies away.

This planner goes together exactly like the Ultimate Blogging Planner so, some of you out there are old pros!

What You Need:

• Printable File Here. (For security purposes I put it on FB, and only people with a FB account can download it. Hopefully most thieves don't have FB!)
• Printer
• Cover and Backing (The shop I went to had clear portfolio covers and solid backs as part of the binding options. You could easily use transparency paper or chipboard or even steal the cover from an old planner!)
• Avery 16281 Multi Colored printable tabs. They come with a bunch of colors, I just used the purple.
• Copy Shop

How To Make It:

The post June to June Student Planner [Free Printable] appeared first on Sweet Anne Handcrafted Designs.

So, I'm a little preoccupied but I think the worst is over. Now just waiting for the water to recede. How about you- what you are up to?

Also, if you want a reminder email when the party goes up - sign up on the right side bar!

The party is after the features!!

Sweet Sharing Monday Most Clicked:

How to Organize Basement Storage

You know, sometimes you just need to see someone else succeed at something to give you that extra motivation. Nothing Krysta did in her basement was new (labels for totes, planning where things will go, etc). But the fact is SHE DID IT! While many of us keep putting that sort of thing off. What an inspiration!!

And my Personal Favorite:

The Italian Job Crate/Shelf

You know we're going to be in our New House soon. (I've created a new category just for house based projects) and one of the rooms I have planned is kinda rustic. I saw this thumbnail in the linky and HAD to see how she did it! She's got a lot of little details in the tutorial and the end result is amazing! Way to go Donna!

If you were featured don't forget to grab a button!

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Enough! Let's do some Sweet Sharing!

Don't forget to Check back on Thursday to see which link was the most viewed!

To link back to the party- just copy & paste this code onto your blog! <center><a href="http://bit.ly/sweetsharingbutton" title="Sweet Anne Designs"><img src="http://saynotsweetanne.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/SweetSharingMonday.png" alt="Sweet Anne Designs - Sweet Sharing Monday" style="border:none;" /></a></center>

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