Shaped By Grace

Kindness Wins

2013-05-17T23:21:00.001-07:00

“It seems we can’t go ANYWHERE” one of my friends recently stated.

First we were all afraid to fly.

Then we couldn’t go to the movies.

Even worse, we couldn’t even send our kids to school without worry.

And now, we can’t run marathons or cheer from the sidelines.

Where did goodness go?

I look at all the tragedy, the hurt, the pain and I think,

what tragic and hurt and painful life is hiding inside the evil of the offenders?

It makes me angry and it makes me sad.

Angry that the world is this way. Angry that evil’s broad hand has such a cruel reach.

Sad at the heart that is being cultivated in our nations right now.

Sad that my kids are growing up with these realities.

Sad that it gets more and more difficult to shield them from these events with all the social media and propaganda.

We don’t watch TV, I would stay off Facebook, but the media gets in.

And so, I change my strategy.

I search

“Positive stories from _________” {the sad event.}

And somewhere in all the mess,

I find goodness.

I find heroic and kind people.

{photo credit}

I find hope in people.

{photo credit}

And decide not to give up on the world.

That for every bad person in the world, there are thousands of GOOD.

That I will add to the good

and do my best to raise my boys in faith,

confidence,

love

and goodness.

And to intentionally seek out the kindness in the world ourselves.

Because, after all, kindness wins.

{photo source}

"Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people" (Galations 6:10)

When was the last time you saw someone doing something good? What acts of kindness have you witnessed lately?

Share more acts of kindness on Facebook and Instagram #kindnesswins

Sharing this post here.

Dear Mommas

2013-05-12T10:07:00.000-07:00

Dear Mommas,

It will take more than one well planned day or one well planned post to tell you how special you are. Because, you are more than a mom.

Way more.

You are a teacher. Guiding little hands and feet along the right path, helping with homework and sharing life’s lessons.

You are encouragement. Your child’s first cheerleader, building up their confidence and their character. Showing how to lose gracefully and win even more gracefully.

You are honesty. An example of truth, trust and reality wrapped in love that shelters their young minds and gives them room to grow.

You are vulnerability. Your children see you at your best and at your worst. They view the faults and cracks in the surface and see right through the façade of perfection to who you really are. And still love you with all their hearts.

You are kindness. Modeling manners, social graces and reactions to difficult situations. When the world can be tough and cruel, you offer love.

You are broken. Don’t hide it. Embrace it. You are human, you throw momtrums, you make mistakes and your children will know that it is okay to make mistakes too.

You are craziness. Let it in. It is the silly and crazy that often bonds our families into tight knit units of inside jokes, humor and acceptance.

You are a nurse, chef, organizer, personal shopper, assistant, disciplinarian, maid, stylist, chauffer, mediator, fighter and pacifist.

You are a hero. To them. To your children you are their first friend, their best friend, and despite all our faults and brokenness and vulnerability, or perhaps because of them, you are irreplaceably and unconditionally loved.

You are unique. You may feel you are none of these things, one of these things or all of these things. And no amount of advice, books or blog posts {wink} can tell you what kind of mom you will need to be on any given day. God gave you your specific children for a purpose; because you have a unique skill set that only you can share with them.

Own it.

You are real.

And if you are reading this as a first time momma, single mama, a one day momma, a seasoned momma or reading this thinking of YOUR momma; I want you to know,

you are loved.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Keep your love for one another at full strength, because love covers a multitude of sins. ~I Peter 4:8

Medal Display

2013-05-11T01:11:00.000-07:00

Something my kids and I like to do together is run. I'll admit that sometimes running isn't fun - in fact, some days it hurts. But the family bonding time we get from it is worth every pound on the pavement. So, ever since my oldest son was about 7 years old, we've been running races together. Their first race was a one mile kids race, and when they figured out they got a MEDAL at the end - it was ON! They both now run 5k's and my eldest is even contemplating running a half marathon!

Well, when you run a lot of races, you accumulate a lot of medals, so the quest was on for a creative way to display all our bling! Last year, my friend gave me her daughter's old crib rail. My initial thought was that I'd paint it a fun color and use it to hold craft fabric. I held that thought until I saw this photo on Pinterest. KariAnne used an herb rack for her medal display, but the crib rail was equally up for the task. So, I painted the light oak wood a stainless steel and the result was this unique medal display:

These are just my medals right now. (My boys' medals are waiting patiently on corkboards in their bedroom.) I have a few more medals in a box somewhere... but no more excuses on not hanging them up now that they have an official display!!

You can see a couple special medals above, but my favorites are by far the ones we earned together.

{Their first 5k medal!}

This medal will get a special spot on the display. xo

How about you? What activities do you enjoy with your family? Would you use this idea to display sports medals? Team medals? What other ideas do you have to repurpose a crib rail? I'd love to read your comments!

Teacher Appreciation Gift Ideas

2013-05-02T22:14:00.000-07:00

Last year for teacher's appreciation week my son's school had a theme for each day. {You can see the ideas I shared for each day here.} This year, it is more simple. I will be using some of the same ideas I used last year, plus a couple more.

For example, this year, instead of a little bag of candy -- how about putting the treat in a mason jar with some twine and a cute tag?

I found these mini jelly jars and they were the perfect size for a teacher treat! Plus, I like that they get to use the jar after they eat the candy! {It's the perfect size for a tealight or refilling with treats.} I also used this idea for Administrators Professional Day and it was a huge hit!

I was searching around for more ideas and found this printable from Capital B. Isn't it sweet? I love the poem and my son's teacher is always asking for school supplies!

And finally - Love the Day always has AMAZING ideas! I am in love with this little Owl!! I usually say us teachers have enough mugs - but I'd make an exception for this adorable Owl mug!

You can see more of this mug and download your FREE printable here.

And I would be BESIDE MYSELF if a student gave me this berry basket filled with all these goodies!!! {Hint, hint if any of my students see this.} Also from Love the Day! Check it out here!

Has your school had Teacher Appreciation Week yet? What did you do? What other ideas have you seen? I'd love to hear them!

Sharing this post here, The CSI Project and tatertots and jello.

Garage Organization ~ Sports Equipment

2013-05-02T19:15:00.000-07:00

One of my goals this year is to be more organized. (I know - it seems like this is a goal EVERY year - doesn't it?) But this year, I REALLY mean it! Starting with my garage. I have two very active boys. They love to play sports (Organized and just for fun!) and as they get bigger, their stuff seems to get bigger too!! So this year, I am reigning in the clutter, getting rid of A LOT of old equipment they've outgrown and creating organized spaces for the things we want to keep.

So, the first step was creating a space for some of their gear. Pegboard is a popular garage storage item and I actually scored three whole sheets for $2 at a garage sale a while back! Yes, you read that right!$2! I only used one piece for this project -- I still have two more LARGE sheets! I cleaned and painted the pegboard a nuetral gray for the background and then, to give my boys no excuses for putting their things away {wink}, I painted the silhouette of each item on the board in white. Here is the result -- can you guess what goes in each spot?

I think the first one is kind of easy... from left to right... the first item is a lacrosse stick, then their baseball bag, their flag football game bag and the last two are for pool sticks. {About 2 feet away fron this board is our convertable foosball/air hockey/pool table.}

What do you think? I had seen people use the silhouette method for storing tools, and thought it would be a fun way to store our sports equipment. How did I do it? I took each item and traced it lightly with pencil on the pegboard. I then took a small paint brush and outlined the item in white paint. The rest I free hand painted - very slowly and carefully. The baseball bag and pool sticks were fine of course; the lacrosse stick and football bag however.... let's just say I'm glad I didn't have to do any redos! {For once!}

And now when my boys need to clean up - they will know where everything goes!

Here is what the board looks like with all the equipment on it:

{Hooks used to hang each item}

Garage sports organization: Check!! One project down, ~~only a few~~ {Too many to count!!} to go!! I will show you the rest of the garage as we go. {There's a reason you're not seeing the the rest! lol} But what's next, you ask? A craft space {yay!} and a mini man cave for my little men! More on that soon - I hope!

How about you? Have you started spring cleaning yet? What area would you like to get more organized?

This post is MAN APPROVED! ;)

Join me on Facebook for more conversations and ideas!

Linking up here, man up link up and tatertots and jello.

Spring Twig Wreath

2013-04-09T22:37:00.000-07:00

Is it spring weather where you are? It has been beautiful over here - in fact, more like summer at times, and I am soaking in all the spring break joy and outdoor fun with my boys!

As we were playing outside, I noticed the wind had scattered a bunch of tiny branches from the trees all over the grass. My crafty wheels turned and it didn't take long before I was collecting branches!

And thus my little twig wreath was born! I love bringing the outdoors IN! What's even better, is she was absolutely FREE since I used supplies I already had on hand!

I love her spindled arms and how the softness of the rosettes compliments the branches. Here is how you can make your own twig wreath!

Supplies:

~Twigs (Gathered from outside)
~Round cardboard circle (cut from the back of a chex mix box! I ended up recutting a smaller circle than was shown. It was approximately 6" in diameter, measuring from the outside.)
~Glue gun
~Twine to hang your wreath
~Any embellishments you would like

First, I sorted the twigs, took off any odd angles and arranged them in a circle. Once I found an arrangement I liked, I glued them on top of my cardboard circle.

{The 6" circle is above. I was spacing the sticks here in this picture. I glued the sticks on top of the circle shown.}

Once all the twigs were hot glued on, I added the rosettes. I have always wanted to make book page rosettes! After throwing my book club party I had an old book that I could still craft with. (As an English teacher, I'm a bit squeamish about tearing apart books - even in the name of crafting, so I am going to get FULL use out of that book!) lol
I actually used the video tutorial here to learn how to make the rosettes. They were easy to make - they just took TIME! I give major props to anyone who has made one of those rosette wreaths! They must have been rolling flowers for hours! If that is you - give yourself a high five! :o)
But I do love how they soften the wreath!

Overall, I am very happy with my little Twig Wreath!

Even though she is hanging on my front door right now, I think I am going to use her to decorate my craft space. Would you make a twig wreath? Where would you hang her? Do you like bringing the outdoors in with your crafting?

Happy Spring!

Linking up here, nap-time creations, The 36th Avenue, tatertots and jello, and It's Overflowing

What I Wore: Perseverance

2013-03-27T00:26:00.000-07:00

I started a project.

In fact, I started it three weeks ago and thought for sure I would be blogging about it two weeks ago. And here I sit. One more week away from finishing it.

Probably.

It’s pretty awesome, if I do say so myself. Can I say that? And only because my kids are already trying it out, and it may be one of the coolest things I’ve ever done for them.

A labor of love.

And it should have been easy.

Like most things in life always start out.

But then one thing leads to another and you are still one

or two

weeks away from your goal.

But I won’t give up on it. Oh, no. It will be worth the wait!

Just like all good things in life are.

And so I persevere.

Other things in life have taken the front seat.

My son started his first season in lacrosse – and went all the way to the championship game!

My younger son wanted to get baptized! So we went to baptism class, said the prayer and planned the day.

We spent family time in Big Bear.

I added 150 plus grades for the end of the quarter

And am now counting the days before I start my Masters degree.

Persevere.

These are not tough times. They are good times – but they all take time.

And, as I learned in church recently: you only have enough time to do God’s will.

Truth.

And if I ever get overwhelmed with time, I remind myself of that.

And in that time -- did I mention

that I had to make time to put a couch together? Yep!

Talk about perseverance!

It was…

Not fun.

But we did it!

Before...

After...

And seriously, after that, I’m ready to take on another day!

Right now, my life is encompassed with books, and kids, lacrosse and family – and a project.

So, what did I wear this week?

A French manicure, a little drywall... (those go together right?)

And a can-do attitude!!

Sweater: Target

Necklace: The Road Closet

Has that ever happened to you with a project? What is life keeping you busy with right now? What are you persevering through this week?

“The key question to keep asking is, Are you spending your time on the right things? Because time is all you have. ” ― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

"And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up." ~Gal. 6:9

St. Patrick's Day Shenanigans

2013-03-18T00:48:00.001-07:00

Sometimes I decorate my house and front door for St. Patrick's Day and sometimes (okay, a lot of times) we wear green, but always on special days I decorate the table and make my boys a fun breakfast! I love surprising them when they wake up in the morning! (Although, after 12 years of breakfasts, it's hardly a surprise anymore! lol)

This year I used the 'Top O' the Morning' printables from My Sister's Suitcase. I actually wasn't sure what I was going to use this year, but then I got mailed my local neighborhood magazine and inside came ALL the 'Top O' the Morning' printables, in color, ready to be cut out and used! How could I refuse? So, I didn't! lol

Here are some photos from our morning:

I also made them personalized fortune cookies. I took out the original fortune and put in my own message. {Tutorial here}

I'm pretty sure they liked it, because my little one made this on his plate with his chocolate gold coins:

And then we ate!

After breakfast my kids said they were happy and FULL. Two things important in their little lives right now! I think of their needs often - and when I am behind in my blog posts, Facebook updates or unable to comment on my favorite blogs, I feel bad, but I never regret it. I never regret spending my time and energy on my boys. They deserve the first of my time, not the leftovers of my time and it is so encouraging to read some of your posts knowing you feel the same. You get it. And I know you get me too. :)

I feel so ~~lucky~~ blessed to be their mom and to have you here reading our ramblings.

I leave you with one of my favorite parts of our breakfast...

Yes, this is a green clover pancake! {Quick tutorial here} Did you get creative with food this St. Patrick's Day? Decorate with green? Cause some shenanegans? Where do you feel blessed in your life right now?

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to [his] purpose." ~Romans 8:28

St. Patrick's Day ~ Clover Pancake

2013-03-18T00:47:00.001-07:00

I've seen lots of clover pancake versions around the web recently, but none, *I think* have been made this way before.

I was going through my cupboards gettin all my St. Patrick's Day 'stuff' out of the pantry when I came across my flexible heart ice cube mold:

Originally, this tray made fun heart shaped ice cubes:

But as I looked at it, I thought it also had the potential to make a really cool clover pancake. So, operation pancake experiment began. I filled the ice tray with pancake mix:

I let them set overnight in the freezer and then popped them out for breakfast in the morning. I placed the frozen hearts (in the preheated pan) in the shape of a clover:

Frozen batter makes pancakes just as well as fresh batter, it just takes a minute or two more on each side. (Depending on your oven.) The nice thing about the batter being frozen is that I didn't have to worry about the shape changing as I poured and I could be very specific in placement. As the batter heats and cooks, the hearts molded into an adorably festive clover! My kids and I were very happy with the result!

I now want to mold pancakes into every imagineable shape! And since there are all kinds of ice shaped molds - the possibilities are endless! Have you tried this technique before? What shapes do you think would make fun pancakes?

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

{What I Love} by Love Our Disney

2013-02-28T07:55:00.001-08:00

I'm so thrilled to introduce you to our last 'What I Love' guest! Becca and I bonded immediately over our love of one thing: DISNEYLAND!! If you have ever been to Disneyland or have ever wanted to go, Becca's blog is the place to be!!! (Other than Disneyland of course.) :)

SO, let's meet Becca!!

Becca was born, raised, and resides in Boise, Idaho. She is a wife, mother, photographer, full time student, and the owner and creator of Love Our Disney. She blogs about all things Disney. From craft tutorials to save money tips- if it has to do with Disney, she does it. She enjoys travel, crafting, camping, and of course- Disney!
Name your favorite...

-Restaurant: Oh goodness, I would have to say PF Changs right now

-Vacation Spot:Disneyland of course!

-Favorite thing about where you live: There is so much beautiful nature so close by.

-Book: I just started reading The Fever Series and I love it!

-Love song: “Love Like Crazy” by Lee Brice

-Movie: I am a Disney nerd- current favorite is a tie between Tangled and Brave

-Food:Honestly- I don't have one!

-Color: Eggplant Purple

-Color/pattern to craft with: Disney colors and patterns

-favorite medium to craft with: Fabric

-accessory: I hardly ever wear accessories! I am a minimalist. I don’t even have pierced ears. I don't carry a purse either!

-clothing item: My yoga pants. I could live in them 24/7

-Valentine’s Day treat: A good box of chocolates!

-Valentine’s Day movie:I don’t watch a lot of lovey-dovey movies. But I love Sweet Home Alabama and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days- Does that count?

3. What is the best date you’ve ever been on? I married young- so most of my dates were with my husband, and they mostly consist of movies or football games, but one time he surprised me with a trip out of town for the weekend to the Oregon Coast.

4. Who is your current Blog Crush? Oh, I have so many. If I have to choose I would say “Create. Craft. Love.”

5. What is the all-time favorite post you’ve written and why? Probably my favorite post I have done would have to be my Disney Autograph Book Tutorial. I just love creating personal items for park visits that are of great quality. My Disney onthe Cheap posts are a very close second.

6. What is your favorite Valentine’s Day post? Well, since this is my first Valentine’s Day with my blog and I just shared 1 printable, I would have to say I love One Artsy Mama’s Valentines Blocks post. It is so funny and the project turned out SO ADORABLE!

7. What are you looking forward to in 2013? I am looking forward to my Blogiversary, getting to know other wonderful bloggers, lots of Disney fun, and so much more!

See what I mean? Isn't she awesome? And let me tell you, she has posts about Disneyland rides, navigating the park with kids and Disney on the cheap!! Love it! Be sure to check her out at the links below! Thanks for joining in on the 'What I Love' series everyone!!!

Love Our Disney can be found on facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest as well as at www.loveourdisney.com

{What I Love} by Kate from Life As I Know It

2013-02-14T01:17:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day!!

I thought it fitting to share this lovely blogger today because this week is her birthday!! (Yesterday to be exact!) So let's all welcome Kate from Life as I know it!

I’m Kate. I’m a wife and mommy of three. I love Jesus, my family, crafts, DIY projects, reading, coffee and anything Harry Potter.

KATE'S FAVORITE...

- Restaurant is Chevy’s (sad that they are becoming hard to find!)

- Book is actually the entire Harry Potter series. Love those books!

- Song is (Can’t help) Falling in Love- Elvis

- Food is Mexican/ Enchiladas

- Color is Red

- Color to craft with is I love reds, pinks and purples. They turn up in a lot of my projects lately

- Medium to craft with: paper/scrapbooking!

- Accessory is (these days it’s) my water bottle

- Clothing item is Flip flops

- Valentine’s Day treat is Chocolate covered strawberries.

- Valentine’s day movie is Sleepless in Seattle

Best Date I’ve ever been on- My first date with my husband. We only went to dinner but I knew it was the first of many and that I wanted to be with him forever.

My current blog crush- Ashley over at Better Together. Love her and her cute little family. I try not to comment too often because I don't want her to think I'm a crazy stalker!

Favorite post I’ve written and why- This post about the DIY Pom poms is one of my favorites. Mainly because they took me quite a while to make since I was just doing them here and there and I was so happy with the final result! I love how they look up in my little guys bedroom!

Favorite Valentine’s Day post- Valentine’s Day Felt HeartDIY

Looking forward to in 2013- Playing with my munchkins in the grass on a hot Summer day and taking a family trip to the ocean and zoo.

Oh my goodness! I could have written half those favorites myself! Harry Potter? YES PLEASE!! Red (favorite color) and Mexican food! I think Kate and I would get along just fine eating some taquitois and having a Harry Potter marathon!! lol

To learn even more about Kate (and wish her a happy birthday!) ;-) follow along here:

Life as I know it (blog)
Facebook

For more "What I Love" guest posts, click here!

Kate
Life as I know it

{What I Love} by Sharon from Shay Designs

2013-02-12T23:37:00.001-08:00

I'm so excited to introduce Sharon to you today! I first met Sharon when she shared her beautiful jewelry with me. She owns Shay Designs Jewelry and coincidentally had a "Shaped by Grace" necklace that was, well, meant to be - for me! {I LOVE it and wear it all the time!}

So, without further ado, here is the lovely Sharon:

I am a mom of three wonderful kids and blessed with a wonderful and supporting husband. I love spending time with my family in any way possible, but mostly we love to be on the water doing water sports. Being creative is a way of expression and relaxation for me. My greatest joy is seeing my creation of my stamped jewelry bring a smile to others... truly. Whenever possible I also love to use my passion for creativity to help fundraise for causes of others in need. I love all things Shabby Chic, pastels, and girly. My faith is my stronghold and force that drives me to live a purposeful life, the way I was created, to passionately create all things Cute!!

What is your favorite...

-Restaurant - Georges Greek Cafe

-Vacation Spot - Bass Lake in California

-Favorite thing about where you live - The weather!

-Book - Redeeming Love

-Love song - Through the Years by Kenny Rogers (it is the song for me and my hubby since we have been together since high school.

-Movie - Grease

-Food - Chocolate

-Color - Pink

-Color/pattern to craft with - pink & aqua

-favorite medium to craft with - metals

-accessory - stamped necklaces

-clothing item - comfy jeans

-Valentine’s Day treat - Chocolate, of course, but would also love a bouquet of light pink Peonies if they were in season.

-Valentine’s Day movie - Hmmmm, can't think of one in particular. Love the Notebook though!

3. What is the best date you’ve ever been on? - Dinner at the beach

4. Who is your current Blog Crush? No crushes yet :)

5. What is the all-time favorite post you’ve written and why? I am new to blogging and haven't written many posts yet, but my favorite would have to be the one I wrote on my friend and her connection with Project Hopeful... advocating for AIDS awareness.

6. What are you looking forward to in 2013? Learning and growing in my business... Seeing what God has in store for me and my family in our walk with Him.

Sharon

Shay Designs Jewelry & Accessories

shaydesigns.com

See - Isn't she sweet? Being a California girl as well, I agree with her that the weather is one of my favorite things about where we live too! I hope you check out her jewelry shop! She has tons of beautiful hand stamped jewelry available!! This necklace is one of my favorites. ;-)

Thanks again Sharon for sharing more about yourself and your shop!

For more "What I Love" guest posts, click here.

{What I Love} by Jourdan at Two Million Miles

2013-02-10T23:18:00.000-08:00

What I Love ~ Today I am sharing the super creative Jourdan from Two Million Miles. This girl is TAL-EN-TED! I will let her tell you all about herself - and then be sure to check out all her fabulous sites and say hello!!

Meet Jourdan:

I am a mom, entrepreneur, DIY/crafter, and a blogger! I have three of my own businesses. 1 - Jourdan's Jewels 2 - Jourdan's {Handmade} Jewels 3 - Perfectly Posh with Jourdan. My blog is a lifestyle blog where I post about anything I can think of.. Recipes, crafts, stories of my family, business, etc.

WHAT JOURDAN LOVES:

What's your favorite...

-Restaurant I love Chuck-a-Rama, but if you don't count that as a restaurant, I would say Chili's!
-Vacation Spot Anywhere warm and beachy!
-Favorite thing about where you live I love that my family is so close.
-Book That's a hard one! I love anything that Ellen Hopkins and Brenda Novak writes!
-Love song My current favorite love song is "Til My Last Day" by Justin Moore.
-Movie Definitely Where the Heart Is!
-Food Salad and rolls
-Color Yellow
-Color/pattern to craft with I'm loving Chevron right now!
-favorite medium to craft with Any kind of mod podge!
-accessory Earrings
-clothing item Blinged out pants!
-Valentine’s Day treat Chocolate Covered Strawberries - white chocolate, of course!
-Valentine’s Day movie I love Sweet Home Alabama, too. Does that count?! (Yes! It does in my book, Jordan!) ;-)

3. What is the best date you’ve ever been on?
We went to the Daughtry concert a few years ago for Valentine's. It was so much fun!

4. Who is your current Blog Crush?
I love Jen over at COM!

5. What is the all-time favorite post you’ve written and why?
That's a tough one! One of my favorites was Pinto {Part 4} about my dog's death. It was one of the worst days ever and I hate reliving it, but it's a very raw and honest post. I loved that dog more than anything!

6. What is your favorite Valentine’s Day post.
The only Valentine's post I've written was a list of 14 Valentine's Gifts for Your Man

7. What are you looking forward to in 2013?
In 2013, I am SO looking forward to finish building our house and moving in, then of course, all of the decorating!!!!

*Jourdan

Shop Jourdan's Jewels

Facebook: Jourdan's Jewels

Shop Jourdan's {Handmade} Jewels

Facebook: Jourdan's {Handmade} Jewels

Shop Perfectly Posh

Facebook: Perfectly Posh with Jourdan

Blog

See what I mean? This girl's got talent! I personally enjoyed reading her January Recap and Bucket List!! Do you have a bucket list? I do - and Jourdan's post totally made me want to write it down and make it happen! Well, it was so fun learning about Jordan and finding out what she loves -- now go on and show HER some love at the links above! xo

Thanks friends! Read more "what I love" posts here! xoxo

DIY Washer Pendants

2013-02-08T16:57:00.003-08:00

I love jewelry! Since I only have boys, I find that I don't craft and blog a ton about it. But, since I also love Valentine's Day -- I thought it would be fun to do a girly jewelry craft using some washers I had!

So, I made some Valentine's Day - and any day - washer pendants! This would make a great craft for kids too!

Here is what you'll need:

Yep -- that's right!! You'll need nail polish! I used a variety of colors (a light blue as well - not shown.)

I also used:
-fishing line (or clear elastic line - to tie the washers together)
-random chains and cords I had to hang the pendants.

First I "painted" my washers in a variety of patterns just for fun! Painting with nail polish is a lot like real paint:

- higher quality polish means less coats!
- I used white as a base and primer in some cases. lol

THE PLUS SIDE:
Nail polish dries soooo much faster than paint AND comes with it's own brush! (And lots of fun inexpensive colors!)

Here are some of the fun patterns I played with:

Once everything was completely dry, I used fishing line to tie the red washers and hearts together in a row and the red string as the chain!

For individual pendants, I just tied a chain or cord to the top.
All of these pendents were created free hand. I learned that I am not so good at making chevron patterns.... (although I do love how the yellow pops and that chain!)

And that I should probably stick to painting straight lines. ;o) I LOVE the beachy look of this light blue pendant (only two thin coats!) with this brown cord I stole from another necklace:

I'll be sporting this girl all summer long!!

As for next week, you will see me in hearts!

Have you painted with nail polish before? What about crafting with washers? You should really give it a try! It was a lot of fun!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Sharing the love at tatertots and jello this week!

What I Love: By Mark Montano

2013-02-07T22:33:00.001-08:00

This month I am throwing a "What I Love" party! Some special guests will be sharing what they love about crafting, blogging and life!

To kick off this series I have a VERY special guest!! You may remember him from the So Cal blog Social or for giving away a copy his "Big Ass Book of Bling" recently, or maybe even as the host of TLC's "While You Were Out!" That's right! Mark Montano is back and sharing some of the things he loves with all of you!

Let's learn more about Mark and what he loves:

1. How did you get started in the crafting business?

I have been crafting my entire life. I become a fashion designer and had my own collection for MANY years and then I started writing a column for Cosmo Girl! magazine called Cool Room which I turned in to my first book, Super Suite. I showed teen girls how to makeover their rooms with home decor craft projects and that part of my career really took off.

2. I remember you said that you had a lot of parent support at an early age. How did your parents support and encourage your crafting skills?

They would buy me tons of craft supplies and encourage me to be creative. My mom got me a sewing machine when I was first learning and my dad would buy me fabrics and whatever I needed. They were/are awesome parents.

3. You are gifted in so many areas- home decor, fashion, bling, crafting... which is your favorite?

Fashion for sure. It's such a part of my life and seeing how people dress is always exciting to me.

4. What current medium do you love to craft with and why?

I think fabric is probably my favorite medium and sewing is my favorite area. I find it so relaxing. I know a lot of people get frustrated with it but I think it's like a wonderful puzzle. When you're done you have something amazing and useful to show for it.

5. What is your favorite project you have made so far? Why?

That's hard. I have these garden sculptures that are in my house. I switched heads on birds and women so that they look like mythical creatures. They are wonderful.

6. I love watching your You Tube channel! What is your favorite video tutorial that you’ve posted?

Hm...I think my owl shoes video is pretty cute. It was the video that helped me start getting my groove with Youtube.

7. Things Mark loves!

Favorite…

Restaurant: Chez Josephine in New York City

Vacation Spot: British West Indies

Thing about where you live: My craft house

Activity: gluing things together

Pet: I don't have a pet right now :(

Book: The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas or Tell Me How Long the Trains Been Gone by James Baldwin

Song: Levon by Elton John

Movie: Willy Wonka (the original)

Food: Way too many to choose from

Dessert: Peach cobbler for sure

Accessory: My 3 diamond eternity bands. The diamonds are small and still masculine (enough)

Clothing item: Blue gingham shirts. They are my favorite and I have no idea why.

Color (or pattern) to design with: Green for all time, Red because it's alive.

8. Who is your current Crafter Crush (or blog crush)?

Seriously? I have so many! I love Jaderbomb and Margot Potter. They'll have to share me.

9. What is your favorite Valentine’s day treat?

Russel Stover chocolates in a box. Actually I buy them all year round.

10. What favorite Valentine’s craft have you created?

My Valentine's Day Rockabilly pumps.

11. What advice would you give to a beginning craft blogger?

Do it because you love it and be consistent and remember that you cannot do this alone. You need the love and support of your peers. There is no room for bitchy on the web!

12. What are you looking forward to in 2013?

My new show!

That's awesome advice Mark! I can't wait to hear more about your new show -- and I seriously adore those Valentine's Day pumps!! Thanks again for taking the time to participate in my "What I Love" series! xo

Come follow Mark here: Facebook|Twitter|YouTube|Website for more creative ideas!

Valentine's Day Feather Wreath

2013-01-18T17:03:00.000-08:00

This year I wanted something fun and soft to add to my Valentine's Day decor - and I think I found it in this feather wreath!

I actually love that the wreath is furry! It adds some whimsy to my Valentine's mini mantel display and would be a fun addition to any door! Here is how I made it:

SUPPLIES:
-wreath form
-feathers (I bought 3 bags at Michaels)
-felt (or spray paint - I liked the soft felt - it made the feathers stick easily!)
-glue
-ribbon
-embelishments

First, I hot glued and wrapped the wreath with felt, because that's what I had. But you could easily spray paint the wreath whatever color you like.

After the wreath was covered in felt I started gluing on the feathers. I'm pretty sure I overthought this part, but I layed the feathers out first to make sure I got decent covereage and that they layed nicely around each other.

Yes, I even overthought my feather choices...

No broken feathers for this wreath! Only nice fluffy ones! Who knew there were so many choices with feathers? It only takes one bag to cover the wreath, but I used all 3 because I only used the fullest feathers from each bag. (Why, yes, that does make for a lot of extra feathers left over. In case you were wondering.)

Here is the final result! It was worth ruffling all those feathers to get this fun and whimsical wreath!!

Now... what to do with all those extra feathers!! Any ideas??

And, I know you have ALL been waiting to hear the announcement of the Mark Montano book giveaway!! The lucky winner is:

Donna Ingalls

For following Shaped by Grace's blog!

Congratulations Donna!!! Please email me at reannahelizabeth {at} gmail {dot} com with 48 hours to claim your prize!!

Don't forget you have another winning opportunity with the Love Our Disney giveaway going on right now!! Click here to enter!! Good Luck!!

I'm sharing this wreath here! Thanks for stopping by!

{Guest Post} Love our Disney and a Disney themed Giveaway!!

2013-01-15T07:25:00.002-08:00

I'm so excited today to share one of my new favorite blogs and blog friends! I am a HUGE Disney fan and when I saw Becca's blog "Love Our Disney" I was an immediate fan -- and I know you will be too! Today Becca is sharing a fun Disney craft AND a giveaway! Isn't she awesome? Thanks Becca!

Thank you so much to Reannah for letting me come share this fun craft!
My
family is a bunch of Disney fanatics, and we have been taking trips
twice a year for the last two years. My son, The Goof, has been talking

about our October trip non-stop since we returned. Not a day goes by
that he doesn’t bring it up. So, I wanted to make him something special
for his room to commemorate the trip.

For this craft you will need

• a wood plaque (range from $1-$3 at Hobby Lobby)

• Wood Letters

• Paint (I used red, yellow, and a little black)

• Paint Brushes

• Mod Podge (I fell in love with the spray kind for this project)

• Picture

First, print your picture (or print it at your local store’s photo lab) in the size needed to fit on your plaque.

TIP:
If you are planning a trip to Disney I strongly suggest you take a
picture of your child ALONE with their favorite character. Luckily, I
have photo editing experience, but it took 3 hours to fix this mistake
that could have been avoided if I would have caught a picture of The
Goof and Mickey alone while at the park.

Once
you have your picture- paint your plaque. Choose a color that is in the
picture, but not the main focus. I chose red to match Mickey’s pants.
Paint the wood letters as well. For those I chose yellow to match
Mickey’s bow tie.

When I was painting, I had what I thought was an awesome idea…paint the
edges black. Well, I got paint on the front of the plaque. So then I
thought “I will distress the edges of the front.” Sounds cute right?
NOPE! It looked awful. I was in such a hurry to fix my mistake I forgot
to get a picture of how horrid it looked. Oh well! So it took 3 coats to
cover up the black and make the red look good, but my mistake did add a
nice grain to the plaque that you can see a bit of in the picture
above.

Once
all the paint is dry, take your letters and pictures and lay them out
to make sure you know where everything needs to be placed. Trim your
photo if needed.

Take the plaque (without the letters/photo on it) and use mod podge to coat it, and then attach the photo. Let it dry.

Now go find something to entertain yourself. You know the saying a watched pot never boils? Well, watched mod podge never dries. So find something to do while you wait for it to dry.

Once the mod podge is dry, go over the top of the photo and plaque with a second coat of mod podge.
I personally always screw up this part. No matter how dry my first coat
is, when I put on the second coat, my photo bubbles. Enter- Mod Podge Spray!!!! This saved me. I simply sprayed on a light coat and no bubbling!!!!!

Now,
it is time to attach the letters. I used my handy dandy E 6000 glue. It
worked great! Wood glue would probably be another great option. Be sure
to lay out all the letters to make sure they are how you want them,
then pick them up one by one and glue them on and put them back in
place.

To finish it off, I used some seal coat spray that I had and put 3 light coats on.

Walla! Now you have a cute wall hanging to remember your trip or special memory!

Thanks to Reannah for letting me share this, and for being part of the special event we have this month on my site, Love Our Disney. For Reannah’s (and other participants readers)
I am excited to have this giveaway! Enter below to win a first place
prize of a $50 Visa Gift Card, 2 Mickey or Minnie Mouse t-shirts (made
by me-like the ones the adults are wearing in the original Mickey
picture) in the sizes of your choice, and a Disney Greatest hits CD. If
you don’t win that, maybe you will win the second place prize of a
Disney Greatest Hits CD and a $25 Disney Gift Card.

(Winner will have 1 week to claim their prize or a new winner will be chosen. See terms and conditions for restrictions)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Personalized Valentine's Day Fortune Cookies

2013-01-03T11:55:00.004-08:00

Is it really time to think about Valentine's Day already? I'm still enjoying the aftermath of Christmas - and enjoying our last few days of vacation before school starts! How about you?

Today, I am sharing a creative Valentine's food activity I thought would be a perfect little treat for you to surprise your kids or someone special! (I shared this last Valentine's Day on Mess for Less, so I'm excited to share it here now too!)

Just a hint -- there is more to these fortune cookies than meets the eye… {wink!}

I love making special treats for my kids around the holidays and this easy snack is one of my favorites! So first, I set the stage for what looked like just a simple Valentine's day treat -- Strawberry milk and fortune cookies.

Then I let my boys open up their surprise fortune cookies:

What was the secret inside? Their own personalized fortune!

To make this whole treat, you will need:
-STRAWBERRY MILK: 8oz. Milk + 1 Tbs Strawberry Mix = Pink Strawberry milk!!

-FORTUNE COOKIES:
-1 package of Fortune Cookies
- paper towels
- notes (pre printed or hand written!)

Personalized Fortune Cookies step-by-step:

1. Wrap one fortune cookie in a WET paper towel and microwave for 30 seconds.

2. IMMEDIATELY take the fortune cookie out of the microwave, unwrap from the paper towel,{Usually after 30 seconds things aren’t too hot, but be careful if you do this multiple times!} and GENTLY open up the fortune cookie just enough to pull out the original fortune.

3. Take out the old fortune and put in YOUR personalized fortune!

4. Fold the fortune cookie carefully back into it’s original shape and hold while it cools and re-hardens. {They literally take SECONDS to cool which is perfect if little hands want to help! As soon as you remove things from the microwave your kids can help shape and hold the cookie – unless you’re surprising them like I did!} :) FYI: Since they cool so fast, so I started out microwaving one cookie at a time. I got up to 3 cookies at a time once I got in the routine. You could make more if you had help! :)

Can you see my brand new fortune peeking through?

Because they cool so quickly, as soon as you are done making all your fortunes, you can enjoy your treat! To make this snack more festive I wrapped glass bottles with some cute Valentine printables…

…poured in the strawberry milk, and voilà! An instant Valentine’s snack that literally took just a few minutes to make!

To save you even more time, I’ve added the bottle wrappers and some premade fortunes here for you – for free! Just right click on the image below to save, print and enjoy!

Are you ready to make your own? Have fun and thanks so much for reading! With this treat you are sure to have one fortunate little Valentine! xoxo

One fortunate reader will also win one copy of Mark Montano's new book of bling! Click here to enter!

Mark Montano Book Giveaway!!

2013-01-02T16:46:00.000-08:00

Woohoo! Let's start the new year off right with a giveaway!

I'm so, so, SO excited to offer you this giveaway today!

Some of you may remember when I went to the So Cal Blog Social. It was there that I got to hang out with some old and new blog friends and we all got to meet and hear Mark Montano speak! He was lots of fun, shared about himself and growing as a craft guru and was an all around nice guy. He was even kind enough to see my friends and I eating lunch and sit and chat with us for a while!

As you can see - I was super excited to meet him! And I was even more excited to get a (SIGNED) copy of his book! So, when the opportunity came up to give away one of his books -- I jumped at the chance! I'm so thankful that Mark chose my blog as one of the blogs who got to give away his book. And not just any book! His NEW book -- "The Big Ass Book of Bling" - full of some amazing crafts!!

Here are just a few pictures of all the awesome projects found inside his book of BLING:

I LOVE that shrug with ruffles (the shruffle) and the pearl cuff! There are so many great project ideas in his book that it was hard to choose only a couple to highlight here!

But, that's no surprise -- when you meet someone this fun - you know their book is going to be a lot of fun too!!

Thank you again to Mark for allowing me this opportunity to give away his book on my blog and for sharing his gift of crafting with my readers!! Good luck everyone!!

So let's get started! One lucky winner will get your very own copy of the "Big Ass Book of Bling!"

Ready, set, go!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Christmas Recap!

2012-12-28T00:29:00.001-08:00

Dear friends,
Thank you so much for following along with Shaped by Grace and my family this year! Blogging has been such a blessing and encouragement in our lives! Thank you!
This past couple weeks I haven’t spent much time writing posts, but I HAVE spent much time with my boys. What have we been up to? Well, I’m so glad you asked! ;o)
First we got our photos taken by a good friend that is also a freelance photographer! I haven’t had real family photos taken of us in a couple years and I’m so glad we did them this year! The photographer was David from David Vevia Photography – he did a wonderful job!! Below are just a few fun shots from our day!

All these photos ended up on our Christmas card (which I posted on Facebook.)
We also enjoyed Christmas parties, looking at Christmas lights around our neighborhood and even a snow play area at our church! (A fun treat for this southern CA family!)

And then - it was Christmas!! (With school break starting on December 22nd – it seems like Christmas came REALLY fast this year! Did it seem that way to you?)

We had a very relaxing and fun day, as can be seen by my sweet boys’ smiles. xo

We have a few traditions we look forward to as well – including reading the Christmas story, opening ONE gift on Christmas Eve and then watching a Christmas movie! (Usually it’s “A Christmas Carol” but this year it was “The Holiday.” Maybe that’s because after the kids were in bed it was just us girls watching the movie!)
Christmas morning, one of the coolest gifts was this vintage viewfinder! Do you remember those toys when you were a kid? This one had words for my boys to read on the little cards and then it lit up on the inside to view the pictures! It was pretty cool – and in addition to entertaining them for quite a while, it was a very special gift from their grandpa.

And every year, the ‘best’ or most special gift to my boys comes in this box:

The gift is always something for them to share. The first year this box held a puppy! It’s hard to top a puppy, but over the years it has held a variety of special gifts and this year – it contained a coveted video game. (My how times have changed!) I wonder what it will hide next year… How about you – do you have any special traditions like this for Christmas?

Thanks so much for reading! I hope your family enjoyed the holiday as much as we did! God bless!

{Printable from Nest of Posies}

{WIWW} #momfails

2012-12-11T23:29:00.000-08:00

#momfail: (verb) the act of being unsuccessful in achieving one's goals as a mom.

Here are some examples.
These may or may not be from my own life experiences. #cough

GOAL:
My child's first taste of sugar will be of his 1st birthday cake. Sugar will only be on special occasions/holidays after that.

REALITY:
Child #1 - success!!
#Ishouldhavestoppedthere
Child #2 is born.:
#1 son: "Mom can I have a piece of this cake?"
ME (I mean random mom): "Sure, but give a piece to your brother too or he'll cry."
#momfail

GOAL:
My child will only eat homemade food, no fast food.

REALITY:
Mom: "You only have 30 minutes between school and practice. If we drive thru and you eat in the car, we'll make it!"
#momfail
(or is it?) The child got fed AND made it to practice.... hmmm, may have to rethink this one...

GOAL:
My children will be intelligent hard workers in school. They will work diligently and without complaint.

REALITY:
Teacher: "You're lucky your child is so cute and charming, because they just CANNOT sit still."
#momfail

GOAL:
I will have valuable, deep, meaningful conversations with my children daily. I will make every moment a teachable moment and teach them to grow their minds by asking challenging questions.

REALITY:
This one's a work in progress...

Trev: What is that on your head, mom?
ME: It's a scarf.
Trev: Oh, it looks like a bird's nest with your head poking through it.
ME: Um, thanks...
#momshoppingfail

Me: It's actually an infinity scarf.
Trev: What's an infinity?
ME: It means it has no end. It just keeps going and going!
Trev: Oh.

Crocheted Infinity Scarf: Target

Trev: I love you.
Me: I love you more.
Trev: I love you a google!
Me: I love you INFINITY!
Trev: I love you a google TIMES infinity...

That one ended in a tie.

#momsuccess

Mason Jar Candy Dispenser

2012-12-09T21:16:00.000-08:00

Have you ever had one of those projects that you really wanted to try, that once you started was more of a challenge than you thought and you weren’t sure you could pull it off? Well, that’s what this project was for me!
I hope that when you DID try it and it WORKED you just jumped for joy and did a happy dance around your house – because that’s also what I did!! This whole week I have had wood parts, mason jars, a craft saw and sandpaper all over my house and my boys kept asking – WHAT was I making? I kept it a surprise until I finished it {and got it to work} before I finally revealed to them that it was a candy dispenser! And here she is:

The story behind this project:

I went to a friend’s house and saw this super cool candy dispenser made from a mason jar. You pulled the knob and candy slid down the ramp from the mason jar! She said it was her roommates and she didn’t know where she got it. It looked homemade. I took one look at it and said ‘I HAVE TO MAKE THIS!’ and then took about a bazillion pictures. I thought it would be such a fun gift to make for my boys and would be something cool and unique to have around my house. After one day, I can tell you- it already is! I'm so glad I took the time to make it!
The directions to make this project are somewhat extensive, so I’ll share them in a future post. For now, I thought you’d like to get a glimpse of how it works:

My boys are already enjoying the benefits of this project! {hee hee}

The jar and dispenser is perfect for m&m’s, skittles and other such small treats. Holiday candy will never be in an open dish in our house again! What do you think? What candy would YOU put in your mason jar candy dispenser?

I'm sharing this project at some of my favorite places!

S’mores Fudge

2012-12-03T21:27:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays!
THREE exciting things are happening RIGHT NOW!
1. The winner of the Thankful for YOU giveaway is announced – read to the end of this post to find out if it’s you! {Yay!}
2. There’s still time to enter the giveaway going on at Delightful Deets with TONS of awesome prize packages! and
3. Remember yesterday how I shared my White Chocolate Peppermint Fudge? Well we saved the best fudge for last!! I promised to share my boys’ favorite fudge recipe – and this is IT!

To make S’mores Fudge you will need:

one bag of chocolate chips
10 oz. container of chocolate frosting
Enough graham crackers to line the bottom of your fudge pan. Between 4-8 {I wanted really thick fudge, so I used a 6x9 inch – approx.- pan and about 3 whole graham crackers.}
Marshmallows on top – to taste

First, line the bottom of your pan with foil or butter. {mostly on the sides, since the graham crackers won’t stick to the bottom of your pan!}

2. Then, pour the fudge mix on top of the graham crackers. For the full recipe on how to make the fudge click here. Remember to substitute chocolate chips and chocolate frosting!
3. Top with lots of marshmallows!! The more the merrier!

4. Then place in the refrigerator for about an hour until the fudge is set.

~Another option is to mix the marshmallows in with the fudge

and even crumble graham crackers in the mix! Yum! ~

Either way, you’re sure to have success! Get ready to wrap this tasty treat up as gifts and share with family or friends! Although, I know it’s pretty tempting to want to eat it all yourself {cough not that I would know anything about that} so I highly recommend making TWO batches!! Enjoy!

Have you made fudge this season? Which combination is your favorite?

And of course – our lucky winner of a Jute Growth Chart AND $10 iTunes gift card is…

{drum roll please}…

CHELSEA THOM

Congrats Chelsea! I’ve sent you an email with all the details!! Woo hoo! Happy Holidays!

I'm sharing this recipe at Tip Junkie and some of my favorite places!

White Chocolate Peppermint Fudge

2012-12-02T23:29:00.001-08:00

Christmas season is officially under way and one of my favorite things to do over the holidays is bake! I love seeing all YOUR creative recipes, re-making family favorites and trying new recipes for family and friends. This year I have been experimenting with fudge!

I used a new version of an old recipe and the result was this White Chocolate Peppermint Fudge! {Just the title had me drooling!}

This recipe is so easy I know you’ll want to make every possible version! And to make it EVEN easier to save, I made this recipe card: just right click on the image, save and print!

What also makes this recipe so cool is it's endless variations:

You can use ANY can of cake frosting flavor you like and ANY flavor of chocolate chips! One of our family favorites: chocolate frosting with peanut butter chips! YUM! (PS: I’ve heard that using caramel chips don’t set/harden the fudge, but I’ve never tried that version myself.) This year we finally branched out and tried white chips and cream cheese frosting! I'm so glad I had some friends willing to taste test for me,{tough job, I know} and so far this fudge has been a big hit!

Oh – and if you need something to cross off your Christmas list, these wrap up into perfect little gifts. (I got the treat bags at Target!)

I’ll be packing up fudge this year for co-workers, neighbors, friends and family!

All of the fudge versions are delicious, but there is something about the white chocolate peppermint fudge that is so festive! I hope you get a chance to make it!

Tomorrow, come back to see the fudge recipe my kids deem as THEIR absolute favorite! Are you trying new recipes this year or sticking to tried and true family favorites?

Giveaway Packages from Delightful Deets!

2012-11-21T09:18:00.000-08:00

I'm so excited today to be able to share with you this AWESOME giveaway going on over at my friend Jen's blog Delightful Deets! She is just as sweet in real life as she appears on her blog and when she hit 1000 fans {woo hoo!} I jumped at the chance to be a part of her celebration! Here is her post and all the ways to enter are below!! So, without further ado --- here's Delightful Deets!
Take it away Jen.....

I don't want to get super sappy on you, but just want to say a huge THANK YOU to my sweet followers and to the amazing friends I've met through this journey! Your nice comments make my day. I love my little space in blogland and to express my thanks I have found some incredibly generous people to participate in my celebration of reaching 1000 followers on this blog and on facebook!

Seriously, you need to visit each and every one of them!

Over $575 in prizes, 5 packages means 5 winners!
Good luck, bring on the party!
Open to the US and Canada

Package 1

Kimmie-Sugar and Dots $50 Ad Space

Reannah-Shaped By Grace Medium Ad Space

Chelsea-Yours Truly Custom Post Signature

Tiffany-Grace for Grace $25 Shop Credit

Rachel-Polka Dots and Lemonade $15 Starbucks Gift Card

Kristen Duke-Saying NO to Auto & Get Focused e-books

Deann & Kathy-Christmas Gift Tags & Gingerbread Sprinkles

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Package 2

Nichole-Yeung Mother Hubbard Give Thanks Sign

Madison Design Studio-$50 Credit towards Love Letters

Lauren-$25 Shop Credit to Stella & Dot

Christine-The DIY Dreamer 2 months Medium Ad Space

Scentos-Holiday Markers

Miah Rhodes-The Camille Headband

Kristine-The Foley Fam Medium Ad Space

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Package 3

Melissa-Brag About It Personalized Initial Jewelry (up to 5 initials)

Tabetha-A Closet Intellectual Choice of an owl or fox pillow

Jen-The Creative Cubby Set of 10 Handstitched Blue Snowflake Christmas Cards

Pamela's Heavenly Treats-Mini Cupcake Ad & $5 Credit to her shop

Trisha-3 Four and Under Large Ad Space & $20 HomeGoods Gift Card

Tess-The Framed Lady Large Ad Space

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Package 4

Taush O.-Life After I Do Any Custom or Pre-made Banner

Kayla-Inspired Kreations Bundle of Christmas Cards

Jen-My Adventures Through Mommyhood $20 Target Gift Card

Leslie-xo leslieanne Winner's Choice of a Hat

Kelley-Miss Information Large Ad Space & $15 Starbucks Gift Card

Jen-Rushing for Bagels Large Ad Space

a Rafflecopter giveaway

A good friend of mine, Lora Knight, recently opened up her own studio! I'm so proud of her and am excited for her! If you live in the LA area, or are in Southern California and are willing to drive up, enter for this prize!

Receive a free headshot/mini session

a Rafflecopter giveaway

See, told you total awesomeness!

Want more freebies? Then pop over quick to enter to win a Jute Growth Chart AND a $10 iTunes gift card right here on my blog! Entering is easy -- especially if you already entered above!!! Lots of fun here this week! Good luck!!