My Memories Giveaway!!

This is my first giveaway and of course the last two weeks have been crazy and I know I am not promoting it like I should be. I need ya'll to sign up and win this!! LOL I hate the thought of failing my first giveaway, not a good way to start. So please check out My Memories Giveaway and leave me a comment for your chance to win!! Thanks for any help you can give me..tell your friends, your family..tell everyone!

Plant shopping and Reminder about My Memories Giveaway

Mr. C and I went plant shopping today, as you can see from the first two pic's our plants are blooming. So we were in the mood to shop!

 I love this, I do not believe I have ever seen anything like it.

 Fell in love with all the colors. So this was just a quick peek into what we will be woring with over the next few weekends! Don't forget to check out my post on the My memories giveaway.  Have a great and colorful weekend!!

Puppy Love!!

This is my Sam all grown up..I have had so many comments on his puppy pic on my profile I had to show you just how beautiful and spoiled he has become!!

My Memories Suite Review, Giveaway, & Discount Code

I have been given the great opportunity to test out and review this great Scrapbooking software. I have to be honest, I had a little hesitancy to do so because I am not real computer savvy as you can tell from my "basic" blog. lol But I decided to try it out and was wonderfully surprised at how easy it was to use.

I decided to make an invitation to a dinner party first. Took all of 5 minutes. I had found the images earlier and had planned on trying to add one of them to my invite..but "my memories" made it simple and I was able to use them all!

Next I made an invite for our Spring dinner party..so simple and again..under 5 minutes!

Feeling confident I started a memory book for my daughter, here I added a page of her senior and prom photos. You just pick the photo and drop it in the photo box on the page.

I also made a neighborhood invite to a Sip & Stroll..so very easy.

With My Memories Suite digital scrapbooking is a breeze. From scrapbooks, invitations, cards, calendars and even videos. This software makes it simple for even a novice like me!! MyMemories Suite provides you with many professionally designed scrapbook templates, a large collection of embellishments and paper all at your fingertips so you can create beautiful and unique pages for your projects. You can even save and share your scrapbook creations.

MyMemories Suite have offered a GREAT coupon code. You can get a $10 discount off the purchase of the My Memories Suite Scrapbook software and a $10 coupon for the MyMemories.com store - $20 value! All you need to do is go to MyMemories Suite and use the coupon code STMMMS60499 ( best to copy and paste). Its easy as that and you can get started making, your own memories come to life and share.

ONLY good for MyMemories Suite version 3

But if you want to win a free copy My Memories has offered a chance for you to win this great software to all my readers! How great is that!!!!!! So here is how you can enter to win..no purchase necessary.

Giveaway is open until 3/24/12 at midnight CST. Winner will be selected randomly and announced on this post. PLEASE leave an email in the comment if your email is not linked to your profile.

Leave a separate comment for each entry.

Entry #1 (MANDATORY) Visit the My Memories site choose your favorite digital scrapbook kit then leave me a comment telling me which one you like.

Extra Entries (ALL below are optional): Please remember to leave a comment with each extra entry you do!

Entry #2 Follow the My Memories Blog

Entry #3 Like My Memories on Facebook

Entry #4 Follow My Memories on Twitter.

Entry #5 Follow my Blog

Entry #6 Refer a friend who starts following my blog ( make sure they leave a comment letting me know you referred them to me.)

Disclosure: The My Memories Suite was provided to me free of charge for review and one giveaway

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Someday crafts

Bucket Herb Garden!

This is my reproduction of a project I saw on Pinterest..my guilty obsession! I have to grow my herbs in a planter because otherwise my dogs would destroy them! I love the idea of the stacked pots, so when I saw this I knew I had to do it.

Here it is on Pinterest.

And here is mine. I went to the local tractor supply store and bought the two bigger buckets, the smaller one was from Targets One Stop..love that place! I just planted them (notice the bag of soil) and we also just had 4 days of rain so everything is a tad beaten down and dirty looking. lol. I so look forward to seeing how this does in a month or so.

Thanks for stopping by and check back later this week for a great giveaway I will be doing!

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Copy cat challenge

Diamonds, Diamonds and More Diamonds!!

I spent lots of time this summer redoing furniture for my daughters college apartment. We had this table in the attic for years. It was one of the first purchases of decent furniture Mr. C and I made when we were first married.

I swore to myself I would never freehand diamonds again after the side table I did for my daughter. But when I started her coffee table something spoke to me. I think it was a voice from the crazy side, but I entertained the idea.

I first sanded the matchbox race track my dear son engraved in my table when he was 4.

Added a coat of primer.
I painted two coats of white paint to the areas that were going to be white and several coats of black paint to the rest. The diamonds were measured and remeasured..and measured again. My back was killing me by the time the diamonds were finally done. I still was not happy with it, so I did the little checks around the edge and painted the legs. I stepped back and still was not happy, but I turned off the lights and decided to sleep on it!



Scrapbook paper came to mind and around all the lower faces of the table I decoupaged this checkered paper. Once it was all dry I applied several coats of poly and this little girl was all grown up and done. I am thrilled to say she loves her new home in the living room of my daughters apartment and has held up to books, notebooks and laptops making their home there. She is functional and a sexy lady..best of both worlds!



Thanks for stopping by and be sure to check back later this week as I will be posting about a WONDERFUL and my first Giveaway!


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Monday

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Mosaic Monday
Metamorphosis Monday @ Between Naps On The Porch
Show off your cottage Monday

Motivated Monday

                                                       Keeping it Simple
                                                    Made by you Monday

Tuesday

                                     Nifty Thrifty Tuesday @ Coastal Charm

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Jillify It

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Be Inspired @ Elizabeth & Co

Tuesday Talent Show

                                                      Home Stories A2Z

Wednesday:

Piece Of Work Wednesday @ Primitive And Proper

                                                  Very Merry Vintage Style

Primp Your Stuff Wednesday @ {Primp}

 Wow Us Wednesday @ Savvy Southern Style

Chatty Chics
Uncommonly Yours

Thursday:
Open House Party @ No Minimalist Here
Creative Inspirations
Transformation Thursday @ The Shabby Creek Cottage
Strut Your Stuff Thursday @ Somewhat Simple
Under $100 Linky Party @ Beyond The Picket Fence

Friday:

Feathered Nest Friday @ French Country Cottage
Show and Tell Friday
Feature Friday Free For All @ Five Days Five Ways
Furniture Feature Friday @ Miss Mustard Seed
Frugal Friday @ Shabby Nest
Remodelaholic Friday @ Remodelaholic

Make your home show like a Million Bucks!

I recently had the opportunity to walk through this wonderful home worth $2.2 million. It's a beautiful home, and as I walked through it I realized I might not live in a million dollar home but I can bring aspects to my home that were in this home so I thought I would share. First let's talk curb appeal, this home is very inviting and anyone can spruce up your front yard..a few well placed shrubs, trees and a splash of color .

As you approach the front door, you notice the potted urns, that's right girls..grab a urn and pot it full of pretty plants! This front door is over the top gorgeous, but we all can't afford a new lead glass and iron door, so pretty up what you have with a good cleaning and maybe new paint.

OK..this entry was a show stopper for me, I just wanted to lay on the floor and stare at the ceiling! WOW!! But they do say the entry not only welcomes guests but tells them what to expect. And this entry was telling the truth! Now we all cannot have a bronze vaulted barrel ceiling, but we can add wonderful crown molding and if space permits a nice mirror, rug and chest.


To the left you see a peek of the dining room..lets go there.

Another wonderful ceiling and chandy. Once again we can achieve a great look with molding, paint, a nice large rug and decor accents.

As we make our way to the living room, I love how bright it is. Lots of windows, so what windows you have, open them up and let the light in. Here you notice they took one large room and made two areas. So many of us have larger rooms and this is a great idea instead of one big sitting area.

Need some extra seating? Check out the bench in front of the fireplace. You can get a bench for under $20, paint it and add fabric that goes with your living room and BAM..extra seating.

Now the kitchen..this is a dream kitchen so don't pinch me as I want to keep dreaming about this one.

So what can we do to bring some of this million dollar bling into our homes? How about the decorative moldings? Yes..yes ladies we can. In fact we took a wood rope molding and put it around our dishwasher and it really added alot of style. Have an island? How about adding some corbels. What about a nice rug under foot? Add a unique tile back splash behind the stove. Ladies do you see where I am going with this?

And now the den off the kitchen..love the ceiling! I am a beam girl..lol

Do you notice the TV? Not really..and that's the way it should be. A beautiful room that does not scream TV!

This is the breakfast room..love the tile over the buffet. Not a lot of 'stuff" but what is here is well thought out.

Onward to the Master Suite! Here they did the focal wall with wallpaper, not really a fan of one wall applications but here it works. Loved the art framing the bed. Wouldn't this be great with your children's photos in them? What about that seating area, maybe you don't have room for two club chairs..how about one or maybe just the bench at the end of the bed. Lots of pillows add glam to this bed and pillows don't have to be expensive. Buy that cheap ugly pillow and cover it.

The master bathroom is beautiful and HUGE! Great ceiling again! What I love here is the use of the large candlesticks, buffet lamps and rugs. Not those normal bath rugs but rugs and runners you could use anywhere in the house.

Check out the closet! yes it was a room within itself. I think here we can all take away that organization is the key even if we have a shoebox closet.

This is the private study, what I love about this space is that it does not scream study. your study does not have to look like an office space. Furniture hides files, printers, scanners and yes..even a TV.

they even have a nook for a bar in the study. What I love about this is the wall treatment. I can so see it in a bathroom!

One of the secondary bedrooms, love that they painted the crown molding dark.

Bath attached, you can see the carried on the painted molding and once again included a lamp.

Another secondary bedroom..I like the idea of the mirrors over the side tables.

This is in an area of a hallway, just enough room for the chairs and a table. Do you have a nook like this? If so..add a nice little reading area.

I think I heard angels sing when I found the laundry room. Can you hear them? Lots of storage space..and a chandy!! I know we all can't have this kind of area for our laundry room, but what can we do to make it feel beautiful. Maybe a small chandy or really beautiful light fixture? A ceiling treatment? This was grass cloth.

Outside they have an outdoor kitchen looking out onto lush landscaping and view of the lake.

Make your backyard your own paradise with a seating area and some nice plants.

I hope you have enjoyed the tour and I hope you start looking at homes in a different light. I think we need to really pick apart homes we love and see how we can bring some of that into our homes. We all can do it and we don't have to live in a million dollar home to do so!

I was featured!!

WOW!! I am very excited to say my Bench Redo was featured on Share the Love Wednesday at Very Merry Vintage Style! Just wanted to send a shout out and thank you to Mary!!

Updated $5 Table

My daughter moved into her first unfurnished apartment this year so we spent lots of time revamping furniture. I wish I had my before pic but I did not even think about it. This was a 5.00 find at a local yard sale. She was curvy and sexy but she needed help. She had been scuffed and had water rings and just looked tired. So I gave this gal a new look. Something fresh for life with a college student. First I was just going to paint her white and antique but than I decided on the diamonds (my daughter is an ADPi and a diamond is their symbol) The blue is also their color and we were doing my daughters bedroom in black and white with blue accents.

I think I measured and remeasured a million times..I swore I would never so this patterns again..but as you will see next week as soon as I was done with this one I did another project with diamonds. LOL

We also found a cute pull at Hobby Lobby, but when I took this pic, we had not put it on yet..I also lined the drawer with scrapbook paper.

And here she is in her new home..






Thanks for stopping by!




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Jillify It

Tuesday's Treasures @ My Uncommon Slice Of Suburbia

Wednesday:

Piece Of Work Wednesday @ Primitive And Proper

Primp Your Stuff Wednesday @ {Primp}
Very Merry Vintage Style

Wow Us Wednesday @ Savvy Southern Style

Thursday:

Transformation Thursday @ The Shabby Creek CottageStrut Your Stuff Thursday @ Somewhat Simple

Under $100 Linky Party @ Beyond The Picket Fence

Open House Party @ No Minimalist Here

Friday:

Feathered Nest Friday @ French Country Cottage
Show and Tell Friday
Furniture Feature Friday @ Miss Mustard Seed

Feature Friday Free For All @ Five Days Five Ways

Frugal Friday @ Shabby Nest
Remodelaholic Friday @ Remodelaholic

Weekend Wrap Up Party @ Tater Tots And Jello