Fun Family Photo Idea!



 

OMG!!  I am so excited to finally share my awesome family photo idea with you!

 

We took these FAMILY TEAM JERSEY photos last fall to use on our Christmas cards, but I didn't want to blog about it until after the Christmas so I wouldn't ruin the surprise for those of you on my list, and then it seemed out of season.  Ugh!  Needless to say, I've been sitting on these babies FOR-EVAH it seems!

 

 

And it's been really hard to wait because they came out even better than I had imagined!  Don't 'cha just love it when an idea works out!

 

 

It's funny - I don't even remember what gave me the idea for the jerseys now, but I know that KerryAnne at Kablam Promotions gave me an great price on the 'Team Rollins' jerseys and gets high marks for friendly, fast customer service as well!

 

 

And with so many kids to keep up with, who couldn't use a number system for them anyway?!

 

 

"Hey!  One!  Can you take 4 and go get diapers for 5 while I start dinner?"

 

Or how about?

Me:  Hi honey!  How was your day?

Speed:  Pretty good.  Where is everyone?

Me:  1 and 2 are working until 6.  3 needs you to call him about his car. 4 is at a friend's until supper and 5 is still napping.

 

See how easy that is!

We've actually started making them where their jerseys all the time now - ha!

 

 

Now you know that there was a collective groan from the varsity squad (especially the boys) when I told them that we going to be wearing matching shirts for our Christmas cards.  But when picture day arrived, they were pleasantly surprised by the 'lack of dorkiness'.  So there!  Sometimes mama does know what she's doin'!

 

 

And Captured by Nicole did an awesome job on the photos too!  If you're in my neck of the woods and are looking for a great photographer - Nicole is your gal!

 

 

I mean seriously!  Could they get any cuter?  And she did such a great job capturing the relationships between them.

 

 

Such sweet siblings, I could not have wished for more for our 'blended' family.  Though after more than a decade together, it seems like it's always been this way now.  I love it!

 

 

In keeping with my football theme, we took pictures beneath the high school stadium as well.

 

 

We were trying hard to get a picture where you could easily read the 2012 on mine and Speed's jerseys - that's the year BTW.  Just sayin' cause a few of our Christmas card recipients 'didn't get it'.  Sometimes I am too clever for my own good I guess!

 

I love that Snacks is doing his own thing in this one!  That's #5 for ya!

 

 

We ended up with this one at the center of our Christmas Card collage.

 

 

But there were so many good ones, it was almost impossible to decide!  So, if you're thinking about Christmas cards (I know I am already) or just something fun to do for family photos this fall - here's a great idea!

  

Sharing this sassy story at some or all of these great parties: Under the Table and Dreaming, Totally Overflowing with Creativity, Three Mango Seeds, Classy Cutter, Serenity You, House of Hepworth, Skip to my Lou, LadyBug Blessings, Nap Time Creations, The Style Sisters, Polkadots on Pararde, Rae Gun Ramblings,Costal Charm, Not Just a Housewife, Domestically Speaking, The Shabby Creek Cottage, Sumos Sweet Stuff, The Gunny Sack, Gingersnap Crafts, Southern Lovely, Lil Luna, Someday Crafts, The NY Melrose Family, The DIY Dreamer, The Blackberry Vine, Homeworks, The Rustic Pig, Cornerstone Confessions, Kathe with an E, House on the Way, PJH Desgin, Glued to my Crafts, The Crafty Blog Stalker, Seven Alive, Made in a Day, Live Laugh and Love, A Creative Place, Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson, Home and Gardens, It Happens In a Blink, I Gotta Create, Domestic Super Hero, All Pretty Things, Katie's Nesting Spot, 52 Mantels, Truly Lovely, Twinkle in the Eye, Happy Hour Projects, Six Sisters Stuff, Tutus and Tea Parties, Mop It Up Monday, Saturday Show and Tell, Moonlight and Mason Jars, The Scoop, Wow Us Wednesdays, Take-A-Look Tuesday 

New (School) Year's Resolutions 2013

It's hard to believe, but we've already been 'back-to-school' for two weeks!  And while I should (at least theoretically, right?) be getting TONS of stuff done now that I have an uninterrupted block of time each day, I already feel like I am falling behind.

 

 

Ugh!

Fall is such a fun/busy time of year for us, as I'm sure it is for everyone with school-aged kiddos.  But those weeks leading up to class are always a time of reflection and preparation for me.  So last year I decided to take some time to write down a few of my New (School) Year's Resolutions to make me more accountable and help keep me on track.  Like most resolutions though, I found myself having to look back at my post to even remember what they were.  {Sigh.}

Well, I nailed 1 and 5 - not a single tardy in 2nd grade and I did NOT sign up for any more volunteer activities - so there!  I was at least averaging 50% on 2, 3 and 6, so there's definitely some room for improvement - but at least I was moving in the right direction.

Sadly, 4 and 7 were total fails last year.  And of course in retrospect they do seem to be the most important (after the tardies - ha!).  Physical and spiritual well being for myself and my family deserve to be a priority, so consistent prayer and exercise will be returning to the list this year.  Hopefully I can build on my success from last year and move closer to the balanced life I, really we, are all striving for as moms.

So hear goes:

1.  I will exercise at least three of the 4 days each week that both littles are out of the house.  Exercise will resume its place of prominence in my life.  It is good for me and for everyone around me.  Like they say, 'When mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy!'  To that end, I did carve out some time to reintroduce myself to our gym (ugh) today.  We'll probably never be BFFs, but at least we're back on track for a working relationship this school year!

2.  More than a blessing at breakfast continues to be hard for us, but it shouldn't mean that I don't spend some time with the Lord in the morning, even if (and perhaps better if) it's by myself.  I have been shopping posts about prayer journals recently and I think that's the way to go for me.  Since coming to this conclusion, almost every day I have been faced with a situation that I can do nothing about  . . . other than pray.  Such a humbling reminder of God's grace and the power of prayer.  I bought a notebook on Sunday.  It turned out to be a planner rather than a journal, but I will not be deterred so I am grabbing an old journal and getting started.  Who knows, I could be praying for you by the end of the (school) year!

3.  I will devote more time to sewing for my daughter while she still appreciates it.  I have more patterns and fabric than I could possibly ever use and will need grandchildren for some of them now (too many, maybe next years I'm afraid), but sewing has always been a pleasure of mine and I want to do it while I can.  And so I will.

4.  I will do more to prep for my volunteer activities and my evening meals in advance.  Enough said.

I would like to add something related to my bloggy life, like I will commit to two blog posts each week, but my heart is telling me that blogging may not top the list this year.  So, despite wanting to grow my readership, jazz up my layout and otherwise become a bloggess extraordinaire ( I mean who doesn't want that title?!), blogging may have to remain my musings for a while longer because I am 'busy' enough.  A friend of mine shared with me the definition of BUSY - have you heard it before?  BUSY stands for Being Under Satan's Yoke - that's pretty powerful stuff and something to think about this year.

I hope everyone has a great back-to school!  Slow down in those school zones and try not to get too busy!

Sharing this sassy story at some or all of these great parties: Under the Table and Dreaming, Totally Overflowing with Creativity, Three Mango Seeds, Classy Cutter, Serenity You, House of Hepworth, Skip to my Lou, LadyBug Blessings, Nap Time Creations, The Style Sisters, Polkadots on Pararde, Rae Gun Ramblings,Costal Charm, Not Just a Housewife, Domestically Speaking, The Shabby Creek Cottage, Sumos Sweet Stuff, The Gunny Sack, Gingersnap Crafts, Southern Lovely, Lil Luna, Someday Crafts, The NY Melrose Family, The DIY Dreamer, The Blackberry Vine, Homeworks, The Rustic Pig, Cornerstone Confessions, Kathe with an E, House on the Way, PJH Desgin, Glued to my Crafts, The Crafty Blog Stalker, Seven Alive, Made in a Day, Live Laugh and Love, A Creative Place, Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson, Home and Gardens, It Happens In a Blink, I Gotta Create, Domestic Super Hero, All Pretty Things, Katie's Nesting Spot, 52 Mantels, Truly Lovely, Twinkle in the Eye, Happy Hour Projects, Six Sisters Stuff, Tutus and Tea Parties, Mop It Up Monday, Saturday Show and Tell, Moonlight and Mason Jars, The Scoop, Wow Us Wednesdays, Take-A-Look Tuesday

Biscuit Beignets!

Are you ready for back-to-school?

These tasty treats are our favorite way to celebrate.

And once you try them you will be hooked!

Biscuit beignets (or donuts as we call them in our house) have been a family tradition since I was a little girl myself, so regardless of how sinful these bitty bites of heaven might be, they are really nothing more than pure comfort food!

Growing up we loved cooking biscuit beignets with mom and they really are fun to make.

Messy . . . but FUN!  So let's get started!

You will need:

1 can of 'exploding biscuits'

powdered sugar

cooking oil

1.  Grab your assistants and open your can of biscuits.  We prefer buttermilk or butter tastin' but not the flaky layers kind.  They don't seem to work as well, but will certainly do in a pinch!  My assistant is so stinking cute this morning with his little bed head - mmmwah!

2.  Cut your biscuits into thirds and poke a hole through the middle of your slices.   Kids can help with this part.

3.  Meanwhile, heat 1-2" of cooking oil (I use canola) in a pan.  Make sure it's good and hot when you place the donuts in to fry.  They should bubble and rise to the top immediately when you drop them in.  Like all recipes that include frying, don't overcrowd your oil to keep the temperature constant.  I fry mine on a medium-medium low heat, but you will soon figure out what works for you.  Often, this depends on how many helpers you have for the next steps - ha!  Since I don't use a deep fryer, you need to flip 'em to cook both sides!

4.  Remove from the oil when they are golden brown and let drain/cool on paper towels.  They look wonderful already, don't they?

5.  Drop into a bag of powdered sugar and Shake! Shake! Shake!  This is another great step for kids to help with - see?!

6.  Remove from powdered sugar and place in your serving bowl . . .

Aa-Aa-Aa!

There is always a HUGE problem with my sous chefs eating the beignets as soon as they come out of the bag - so watch out!  One can of biscuits should make 36 beignets, but that many never, ever make it to the table.  So if you're feeding a crowd at breakfast, you might want to go ahead and grab another can.

7.  And a toast to back-to-school or whatever the occasion may be!  Enjoy!!

Spend a Day with Chickadoo Suz!

 

Well summer is almost 'officially' over around here (though no one's told the weather -whew it's been HOT) and some kids have already started back, so we spent last week trying to squeeze in a few more adventures and make a few more memories before the first bell rings.

Which led us out to Manvel with some friends for a visit with Chickadoo Suz, owner and operator of My Chicken Diaries, and you can read all about her and how she became 'Chickadoo Suz' by heading here!

 Our adventure began with a greeting from Chickadoo Suz, who was dressed the part with her feathered headpiece and bedazzled boots!  Before we could go any further, everyone was asked to scrub their shoes to help keep germs out of the chicken coop!  Then we stepped into her garage-turned-classroom for an introduction to the rules on the farm - Safety, Respect, Choice and FUN!  We also spent time in the classroom learning about chickens and where they come from.

Then we headed out to see for ourselves what My Chicken Diaries is all about!

Turns out Chickadoo Suz could be keeping diaries on more than just chickens, because there were geese, ducks, turkeys and guineas too!  She's even got a donkey and a goat, though 'Billy' was making himself scarce during our visit.

We did get to meet Lenny though!  In fact, ALL the animals on the farm have names and somehow Suz keeps track of them all!

Sheep and Snacks both (hesitantly) held a young chicken, but they really enjoyed visiting and holding the newborn chicks!

This little fella was only one day old - so new that he didn't even have a name until we came along - now he goes by 'Maverick' because he seemed to have an independent, adventurous spirit already . . . not unlike the the little fella holding him as well!

We we lucky enough to have some cloud cover that morning, but toward the end of the tour, things had started really heating up, so we stopped in a shady spot for a swing . . .

 . . . and a chance to feed the chickens!

Suz has learned a lot about chickens since she moved out to Manvel and started My Chicken Diaries, and she was an expert at sharing her knowledge (and love) of the animals in an educational and entertaining way!  The kids and I had lots of questions and she patiently answered every. single. one. {Smile}  Accounting may have been her career, but teaching is definitely her vocation!

Then we headed back for some (bring your own) snacks and water before starting on a craft!  Chickadoo Suz has a wall FULL of recycled materials and donated supplies for making bookmarks, headbands and your very own chicken.  Sheep thought about a bookmark until Suz mentioned that everyone was welcome to make up a story about their very own chicken and tell it to the rest of the group.  Well, that got my little storyteller's attention and soon everybody wanted to make chickens.

After all, it is a chicken farm!

I didn't get a picture of Sheep telling her story because I had switched to video (duh!) by then, but they were both wonderful and I was one proud mama hen!

Sheep was even able to earn a Girl Scout 'Egg-ceptional Observations' Patch for her visit to the farm.  If you're interested in earning this patch for your scout or your troop, here's a link to the GSSJC requirements!

While we settled up, the kids relaxed in the shade on the swings.

Ahhh . . . Summer!

There is just no substitute for experiential learning in my opinion, and it seems to be in short supply in public school these days.  So if you're looking for something fun and educational to do with your kids, your class or your troop, check out My Chicken Diaries and say hello to Chickadoo Suz.

You'll be glad you did!

Sharing this sassy summer at some or all of these great parties: Under the Table and Dreaming, Totally Overflowing with Creativity, Three Mango Seeds, Classy Cutter, Serenity You, House of Hepworth, Skip to my Lou, LadyBug Blessings, Nap Time Creations, The Style Sisters, Polkadots on Pararde, Rae Gun Ramblings,Costal Charm, Not Just a Housewife, Domestically Speaking, The Shabby Creek Cottage, Sumos Sweet Stuff, The Gunny Sack, Gingersnap Crafts, Southern Lovely, Lil Luna, Someday Crafts, The NY Melrose Family, The DIY Dreamer, The Blackberry Vine, Homeworks, The Rustic Pig, Cornerstone Confessions, Kathe with an E, House on the Way, PJH Desgin, Glued to my Crafts, The Crafty Blog Stalker, Seven Alive, Made in a Day, Live Laugh and Love, A Creative Place, Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson, Home and Gardens, It Happens In a Blink, I Gotta Create, Domestic Super Hero, All Pretty Things, Katie's Nesting Spot, 52 Mantels, Truly Lovely, Twinkle in the Eye, Happy Hour Projects, Six Sisters Stuff, Tutus and Tea Parties, Mop It Up Monday, Saturday Show and Tell, Moonlight and Mason Jars, The Scoop, Wow Us Wednesdays, Take-A-Look Tuesday

Lemonade Cupcakes!

 

Are you ready for a taste of summer?

 

Well these tasty treats will certainly do the trick!

 

Friday was our last day of school {hooray!} and to celebrate we invited the whole class over for an end-of-year pool party!  It was two hours of total chaos FUN!  In addition to watermelon and lemonade, we needed something sweet, and cupcakes have been my go-to crowd-pleaser for a while.

 

The hands-down bestest cupcake recipe ever can be found at Recipegirl and I simply made a couple of changes to turn her White Wedding Cake Cupcakes into lemonade delights.  First, I omitted the vanilla.  Second, I substituted frozen lemonade concentrate for the water in the cupcake recipe and for part of the milk in the buttercream frosting.  I was able to use one 12-ounce can of Minute Maid for both.  Third, I added a few drops of yellow food coloring to both the batter and the icing just to jazz up the color a bit more.

 

 

After Frosting with a large star piping tip, we 'tarted up' our lemonade cupcakes with sprinkled yellow sanding sugar on top and a section of striped paper straw for decoration!  Incidentally, Target is now carrying these cute paper straws in their party section and I was able to cut them into thirds for the cupcakes - darling!

 

And delicious!

 

The best part about this recipe is that it makes 3 dozen cupcakes, so it really is fit for a crowd.  And everyone liked them so much that we will no doubt be making them again, all summer long!

 

 

Sharing this sassy sweet at some or all of these great parties:  Under the Table and Dreaming, Totally Overflowing with Creativity, Three Mango Seeds, Classy Cutter, Serenity You, House of Hepworth, Skip to my Lou, LadyBug Blessings, Nap Time Creations, The Style Sisters, Polkadots on Pararde, Rae Gun Ramblings,Costal Charm, Not Just a Housewife, Domestically Speaking, The Shabby Creek Cottage, Sumos Sweet Stuff, The Gunny Sack, Gingersnap Crafts, Southern Lovely, Lil Luna, Someday Crafts, The NY Melrose Family, The DIY Dreamer, The Blackberry Vine, Homeworks, The Rustic Pig, Cornerstone Confessions, Kathe with an E, House on the Way, PJH Desgin, Glued to my Crafts, The Crafty Blog Stalker, Seven Alive, Made in a Day, Live Laugh and Love, A Creative Place, Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson, Home and Gardens, It Happens In a Blink, I Gotta Create, Domestic Super Hero, All Pretty Things, Katie's Nesting Spot, 52 Mantels, Truly Lovely, Twinkle in the Eye, Happy Hour Projects, Six Sisters Stuff, Tutus and Tea Parties, Mop It Up Monday, Saturday Show and Tell, Moonlight and Mason Jars, The Scoop, Wow Us Wednesdays, Take-A-Look Tuesday

  

Fun Photoshoot!

 

What a fun way to spend a Sunday afternoon!

 

A few weeks ago, Sheep was asked by our local photographer and friend Trish over at Imaging Studios if she would like to try our for a commercial they were going to be shooting for a nearby restaurant and boutique children's clothing store.  You've seen her fabulous work before when she photographed Sheep in my wedding dress last year.  But Sheep is not one to care about what she wears and is downright ANTI-hairdo, so I didn't think this would really be up her alley, but surprisingly, she said yes.  So we showed up at the casting call and voila - she was picked!

 

 

So we showed up at the cutest children's boutique called Little Closets, that specialized in all things ruffled, sequined and otherwise just plain adorable, to find the perfect party dress for my little princess!  And even though she has told me more than once, "I'm not one of those diva girls mom!" Sheep seemed to really enjoy trying on all the frilly frocks until she found just the right one!  I added some bling to one of her bows and we were set for Sunday!

 

 

Ooh La La Crepes is a petite bistro in Alvin serving delicious, French-inspired fare, including crepes both savory and sweet!  This day they were throwing a birthday party for for my pretty partygoer (and about nine other girls between the ages of 6 and 10) while the papparazzi snapped away!!  It included decorating their own biscotti and making their own dessert crepe!  They also got to dig through a treasure chest of tiaras, hats, beads and boas - so much fun!

 

 

And though the moms were kindly asked to sit on the other side of the restaurant during the shoot, we were treated to discounted menu items and mimosas courtesy of another mom at the shoot!  I drug my mom along and made it a girls' day out for everyone!

 

These local businesses went over and above to make sure the girls and their families enjoyed the afternoon and I know they will do the same for you.  So if you've got a birthday or other special occassion , why not celebrate at Ooh La La Crepes in a special something from Little Closets boutique?!  You'll be glad you did!

 



The Belles and Beaus Ball!

Does your Girl Scout troop or service unit participate or host any annual events?

The annual father-daughter dance has been a tradition in our Girl Scout Service Unit for 25 years, and what AMAZING fun we had this pulling it together this year!  In year's past, the party has always rotated between 4 basic themes: princess, country, disco and luau, but our committee decided to mix it up a bit this year, with an 'Old South' twist on the princess theme by hosting a 'Belles and Beaus Ball" for our dads and daughters instead.  When we chose the theme, we were very excited about it, but found there really wasn't much out there on Pinterest in idea-land to copy inspire us, so planning this Southern soiree turned out to be a real challenge!

 

So today I am sharing all our party planning secrets with you, in hopes that your next Southern-themed event will come together that much more easily!  And her's a quick pic of the night's hostesses with the mostesses - my co-leader, committee co-chair, partner-in-crime and amazing friend, along with our mini-me's at the ball!

The founder of Girl Scouts Juliette Gordon Lowe was born in Savannah, GA in the 1800's and lived at the Wayne-Gordon mansion as a child, so what better place to host a Belles and Beaus Ball than at the mansion itself?  I wish I could take credit for this brilliant idea, but it was one of our committee members who came up with this stroke of genius.  I just ran with it (wink, wink)!

For the focal point of our venue, we contacted the Juliette Gordon Low birthplace for high resolution images of the house and it's most famous resident, which they were only too happy to provide - for FREE!  And you girl scout moms out there know how we girl scouts like/need to hear that word!  From there, we created a focal point for our venue by having the image of the Wayne-Gordon House printed on four 3' by 10' panels of plain white copy paper, that we pieced carefully together and hung with Scotch brand removable mounting dots, since we weren't allowed to fasten anything to the walls.  I was really worried that they may not last the night, but I give them a resounding two-thumbs up!  We also made sure to arrange the tables so that nothing was blocking the poster and it could double as a photo op too!

  Although the picture was in color, the black and white copy was by far the least expensive printing option available for the scale of the print and gave it a real vintage feel as well.  The label across the top we simply cut from some donated (FREE!) poster paper and lettered using a Cricut and some clearance scrapbook paper.

 Scarlet?  Melanie?  Is that y'all!!

 We also printed out a picture of Juliette Gordon Low and placed it on an easel next to the registration table so she could 'welcome' guests to the ball!

 

 Fortunately, we received a couple of cash donations from local businesses, including Rhea Lana South Houston and Dentistry 4 Children, for the event (message me if you would like more information about how to do that), so we were able to purchase white (plastic) table cloths for the foundation of our tablescapes.  Then we layered borrowed (FREE!) burlap runners over the tablecloths and topped them with cut magnolia leaf clusters.  These were 8' tables and it took about 5 leaf clusters to make the arrangements.  We had borrowed (FREE!) mason jars and donated (FREE!) tea lights nestled into the leaves and then added crepe paper magnolias that we made ourselves for a fraction of cost of silk or other bought flowers! 

 

The paper magnolias were a Martha Stewart craft, but with a few modifications to her technique, we were able to whip out 98 magnolias - enough for 26 tables, the dessert table and the stage decorations as well.  Best of all, they turned out to be very durable paper flowers too, so I was able to incorporate them into another craft after the dance too!  I shared my 'Martha's Modified Magnolias' technique in another post, so check it out!

 

The cake table and registration tables were topped with quilts from home to bring some color into the room since we our centerpieces were neutral.  The colors in the quilts looked great against the taupe-colored walls and really brightened things up!   On the dessert table, which had been filled with donated deliciousness courtesy of Nothing Bundt Cakes,  we used a collection of borrowed (FREE!) hat boxes, serving trays, even a small wrought iron dress form to amp up the vintage feel!

Our last big 'project' for the event was a set of 4' white columns we managed to make for under $10 a piece.  We actually had all the materials for the columns donated (there's that word again - FREE!) by the awesome folks at Home Depot, who love supporting local children's organizations such as scouting!  Look for more on the inspiration and technique used to construct these columns in a revealing, 'tell-all' post coming to a sassy blog near you soon!

 

 The DJ was set-up on stage during the dance, which was part of the reason we chose to hang the house picture on another wall instead.  However, we did use the Cricut to letter a welcome banner for the back wall since it faced the entrance and was the first thing you see when you walk into the venue.  It also served as the stage for the dance instructor during a short dance lesson donated to our dads and daughters by Tanya Morland of the National League of Junior Cotillions!  She was an amazing instructor and the girls and their dads really enjoyed learning how to dance together!

In addition to the dance instruction, we offered portraits for our dads and daughters, courtesy of a girl scout mom!  I LOVE girl scout moms - what an amazing collection of talent and generosity!  This year's portraits were set up outside, using an antique chair and the park for the backdrop.  Beautiful spring weather made it a pleasant place to wait for pictures too!

My Rhett and our Bonnie Blue Butler!

The dance was a HUGE success, with lots of rave reviews from both daughters and dads, some  commenting that it even topped last year's dance! Now that's saying something, because last year was super-duper fun!  We even got a write-up in our local paper!  We also managed to raise money on this event (though that wasn't our goal), which has us considering changing the event to a fundraiser and maybe getting an older scout troop involved as the hostesses.  At any rate, it's an event with lots of possibilities and so much fun to be a part of that if your organization doesn't already have something like it, perhaps you could start one!

And I promise to post tutorials for the paper flowers and the columns soon - scout's  honor!

Sharing this sassy soiree at Under the Table and Dreaming, Totally Overflowing with Creativity, Three Mango Seeds, Classy Cutter, Serenity You, House of Hepworth, Skip to my Lou, LadyBug Blessings, Nap Time Creations, The Style Sisters, Polkadots on Pararde, Rae Gun Ramblings,Costal Charm, Not Just a Housewife, Domestically Speaking, The Shabby Creek Cottage, Sumos Sweet Stuff, The Gunny Sack, Gingersnap Crafts, Southern Lovely, Lil Luna, Someday Crafts, The NY Melrose Family, The DIY Dreamer, The Blackberry Vine, Homeworks, The Rustic Pig, Cornerstone Confessions, Kathe with an E, House on the Way, PJH Desgin, Glued to my Crafts, The Crafty Blog Stalker, Seven Alive, Made in a Day, Live Laugh and Love, A Creative Place, Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson, Home and Gardens, It Happens In a Blink, I Gotta Create, Domestic Super Hero, All Pretty Things, Katie's Nesting Spot, 52 Mantels, Truly Lovely, Twinkle in the Eye, Happy Hour Projects, Six Sisters Stuff, Tutus and Tea Parties, Mop It Up Monday, Saturday Show and Tell, Moonlight and Mason Jars, The Scoop, Wow Us Wednesdays, Take-A-Look Tuesday