BOGO SALE and Shutterfly Giveaway WINNER

To show my Thanks to all of my readers, fans and friends, I wanted to participate in the Black Friday Maddness and offer a special discount for the next few days at the bunch's Etsy Shop.

After you've added two items to your shopping cart in the bunch shop, on the checkout screen enter the code THANKFUL2013 and the discount will be applied!  This offer is good until December 4th!

We hope you had a blessed Thanksgiving with friends and family and good food.  My little family decided to do a very non-traditional Thanksgiving together just the 4 of us [Buddy too=)].  We had a yummy breakfast and headed up tot he mountains to find and cut our own Christmas Tree in the Mt. Baker National Forest.  The one we chose was WAY larger once we got it home and in the house, than it seemed in the Wilderness.  But its beautiful.  We snacked on home made Artichoke Spinach Dip, Shrimp and Crab, watched Christmas movies and listened to Christmas music and decorated the house for Christmas!  It was a day we will never forget!  

Here's my little turkey and handsome husband:

It was such a beautiful drive:

The Christmas Tree we chose in it's natural habitat:

Our first hint, it might have been a LITTLE LARGE:

All lit up:

For those of you anxiously awaiting the announcement of the winner of the Shutterfly Challenge Giveaway- CONGRATULATIONS to Jessica Warfield!

Enjoy this start to the Holiday Season!  Many thanks, again to my loyal fans, readers and friends!

My First Curated Collection

I am a Looksi Square Curator.  That means, once a quarter I get to put together a collection of what I consider to be the finest of ANYTHING.  I've been loving the idea of chillin' in the evenings this autumn in the back yard, by the fire, with yummy food, drink and a beautiful atmosphere so I decided to use that as a theme for my first Curated Collection:

The look, feel, and taste of this setting is what I will be creating with this collection of other blogger's DIY posts, stay tuned until Friday!

p.s.  Our little family is in the process of a BIG move- my apologies for being more absent than I'd like for the last little bit and through the end of this month.  Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers that we can get everything done!

[Cars and Trucks] Drawer Pulls- FREE SILHOUETTE CUT FILES

One of Madisyn's best friends, Hunter is a few weeks older than her.  He celebrated his 2nd birthday last weekend!  Time has flown since our babies were born, where did our little babies go?!
I try really hard to gift personal, thoughtful gifts for close friends.  I wanted to make something for Hunter and his Mom told me that she had yet to order drawer pulls for his new big boy "Car and Truck" bedroom.  I asked her if I could make them for him, and she said YES!

We bought 6, high quality metal drawer pulls from Home Depot that had a large, flat surface to apply some car and truck vinyl.

I created 6 different Silhouette files for cars and trucks to cut my 1.5 inch wide shapes out of primary colored permanent vinyl.  Some of them proved to be more difficult than others due to very small cut lines and removing the pieces necessary to create negative space.  {My trick for this is to use a very sharp dental pick... shhhh... don't tell anyone.}

Kyle quickly drilled some holes in a scrap piece of stained wood we had, that presented the pulls very nicely as a gift.  

The pulls came out exactly how I envisioned them and Hunter and Mommy Candace LOVED them!  Success!

I wasn't able to host the Silhouette Files on my webpage to download for some strange reason.  So, please leave a comment with your email address and I will send them to you!  I'd LOVE to see what you make with them!

Linking Up at these fabulous Parties:

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My tips and tricks- WORKING WITH BURLAP and a bonus project idea

Kyle and I have some really special friends named Andrew and Ashley.  Oddly, Kyle actually met Andrew online in one of those really manly "diesel truck forums".  They've turned out to be true blue friends- that time and time again always are there for each other when they need something.  Kyle and I have really valued their friendship.
Recently, Andrew and Ashley joined one of two of the best clubs on earth- MARRIAGE (the other is parenthood).  I was honored to get to help Ashley with some of the planning of her wedding decor.  And I had so much fun keeping my eyes peeled for "lavender and rustic" themed details.
When Ashley came across the concept of a burlap and wood ring bearer pillow, I jumped at the opportunity to make one for her ceremony.
It turned out so cute, I wanted to share it with  you and a few tips to working with burlap.

Tip #1

Burlap stinks, is messy and itchy.  I've learned a trick to helping with these three issues. The first is ALWAYS WASH AND DRY IT BEFORE DOING ANYTHING!!!  I stand by this piece of advise for almost all fabric, but in the case of burlap it is especially important.  By washing and drying it-most of the stink, stiffness and excess fibers and dust are removed.  It will leave less of a mess on your work surface and be much more pleasant to work with- after being washed.  You can even wash and dry it a couple of times if you'd like it to be even more pleasant!

Tip #2

SHAKE, SHAKE, SHAKE.  After I wash and dry my burlap, I always take it outside and shake it as hard as I can to remove any of the residual dust.  I have TERRIBLE allergies, and as strange as it sounds, burlap makes me sneeze, my nose drip and my eyes itch.  So the more I can do to make it pleasurable to work with, the better!

Tip #3

Cutting burlap can be a challenge- it can be super frustrating to measure out the piece you need, use a hard edge to cut and then end up with 18 frayed edges that seem to pull all apart when you start to work with it.  I'll illustrate my solution to this problem using photos I took while creating my gift for Andrew and Ashley.

I started with a strip of scrap burlap, about six inches wide.  So then, to make a square for the pillow, I needed two pieces that were 6 inch square.

To create the straight line at 6 inches, find 1 strand of jute that looks to be right about 6 inches and give it a little tug.

Because this was a thin piece of fabric I was working with, I was able to pull the whole string through at ease.  If you are working with a wider piece of fabric, you may need to use a tool to pull the string up in the middle of the fabric, cut it and then pull on the two strings you've created out through the middle.  

You can see at the left of the fabric, that the void that is being created by the 1 piece of jute being pulled out, is enough to follow with scissors to cut a straight line.  That is EXACTLY what we are going for!

Now, you can use this void to cut along and have a perfectly straight edge!

Now, in this case, I wanted to have slightly frayed edges.  But at least I had a straight edge to begin with to pull some jute strings out to create the fray!  

That concludes my tips to working with burlap- I hope you learned something, try it out and find it useful!  

Below are photos of my finished project- a gift to our dear friends on their wedding day.  

Love it, have to have it and don't want to make it?!  No problem- I'd LOVE to make one for you!  Find the listing in my Etsy Shop here.

Do you have any other tricks or tips to working with burlap?  I'd love to hear about them, please comment below!

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Made by you Monday- Skip to my Lou

Craft O Maniac

Get Your Craft On

Bubbly Nature Creations

Stone Gable

*Shutterfly and Looksi* Photo Storage and Display Cabinet Update

The Power of 3

We have had 3 sessions working on the photo cabinet so far, and I think it'll only take 3 more!  I wanted to give a little sneak peak, because I LOVE the way its coming together.
Having three Capable and Creative Minds working together on this project has definitely been a benefit.  My dear friend Serena, and the Hubby and I have combined inspiration from the following 3 sources:

Beautiful Yellow Cabinet

I was not able to find an original source for this photo- but this is the style and design we decided would look best to incorporate the vintage window for the door.

Ana White Plans

Because of the size of the windows we are using for the doors, we decided for this project, to make it a one door cabinet.  Otherwise it would have been a very large price of furniture, and that is not the intent.  The goal for our finished piece is for it to house 12x12 scrapbook albums, regular photo albums, two storage bins and some mini books.  We don't need a two door cabinet for this.  SO, we modeled our design after the cabinet above, but made A LOT of modifications, specifically for height, and to work around the window.

After completing our design and getting most of our wood cut in the first session with the three of us, I got the frame complete in the second, short session and tonight, Kyle and I got to the point where we were able to decide on a finish.

Two-Toned

I came up with the idea of having a stained wood top to the cabinet in our first session, but with all the beautiful wood we've used, I wanted to showcase it more throughout the piece.  The solution I've talked Kyle into= stained side panels, top, and interior shelves with a painted frame!  When I first thought of it, I wasn't sure it would look good, so I did a quick search for "two-toned cabinet- paint and stain" and came up with this BEAUTIFUL chest of drawers created by The Golden Sycamore.

So, it is settled.  The frame will be a beautiful "slate blue" and the rest will be stained dark.  Check out our progress!!!!

What do you think?

My final result for the Shutterfly and Looksi Sponsored Project will be posted no later than June 17th!  Can't wait to share!  A Big thanks to Serena and Kyle for all their help!  Its much more fun with 3!

It's Never too Early to Plan Ahead- My Top 10 Father's Day Pins

I just scheduled my Father's Day Pinterest Party- and I got excited- and started searching for Pins.  I added some really fun ones that I had not seen last year to my Father's Day Pinterest Board, and had to share some with you.  Below, you will find my-

Neck Tie Wreath

My Husband ALMOST NEVER wears ties, but I cannot resist this adorable Tie Wreath- we WILL need one on our front door!

Dad Garland

This would be a super cute mantel banner for Dad's Special Day.

Love You to Peices

Kyle loves Candy, this would be a easy win!

Daddy Subway Art

Again, a great addition to a Father's Day Mantel.

Nuts About Daddy

What Daddy doesn't love NUTS?!

Super Dad Party

It would be very fun to throw a Father's day party for all our friends!  And this is a very cute theme.

Tee-Rific Dad

Daddy Loves Golf!  A thoughtful, inexpensive way to honor Dad.

Photo Art Gift

SOOOOO sweet!

Hero & Love

Once we have two, Dad will need this!

Candy Caddy

More Candy, a surefire way into Daddy's Heart!

It's never too early to get some ideas!  Enjoy!

Hunting Themed Birthday Party

This past weekend my husband turned 30.  He has been really interested in hunting lately.  In the past 3 months he's passed a hunter's education course online, purchased a rifle, rebuilt his grandfather's rifle, wrote out plans to build his own wood gun cleaning box, and passed his in-person Washington State Hunter's Course.  Kyle has spent a lot of time on this and I am proud of him.  I am also very excited for the potential meat we'll have in our freezer this next fall and winter!  

With him being so enthusiastic about this new hobby, and his birthday coming up, I thought what better theme to plan his party by.

Inspiration

To gather inspiration I, of course, created a Pinterest Board, and was pleased to find some great ideas.  Since Madisyn is not the most fun to take running around to 8 different stores to find all the supplies I wanted to gather, I decided to bite the bullet (he he, no pun intended) and just purchase everything on Amazon.  Find my shopping list below, and see my photos for details on how the supplies were used.

• Mossy Oak Camo Burlap
• Hunter's Party Balloons
• Summit Backyard Safari Camo
• Hunter's Camo Plates and Napkins
• Party Rings

Decor

I used the Camo Burlap as a table cloth (after I gifted the burlap to Kyle for future use camouflaging himself in action).  The Balloons were scattered in threes around the house and three out at the mailbox to help friends find the house.  (Madisyn thought it was her birthday when she got to ride in the truck with 15 balloons in her face!)  The Safari Camo was the perfect length for a window treatment and looked adorable.

handcrafted. stylishly

As for the handcrafted touches.... 

• Happy Birthday Banner
• "30" signs
• Tree Branch Candle Holders
• Moose and Deer Head Silhouette Glass Candle Holders
• Two Photo Holders,
• Fabulous Faux Bear Head and Antler Sticks

All this teamed up with some vintage oil lamps from Kyle's Grandma Nadine and a beautiful vintage kettle, made for a festive birthday mantle.  

I used my beloved Silhouette Cameo to cut "Happy 30th Birthday" letters and two moose and deer heads for the banner.  Camouflage printed scrapbook paper from Joann's and card-stock layers were all glued together.  To give a unique finishing touch, I machine stitched the edges of each square with a Hunter Orange zigzag stitch. 

Jute string ties each square to another through punched holes. I also made Two 3x4 inch signs and two 12x12 inch signs with the same design that just said "30".  I attached ribbon to the back of the large signs so that they could be hung- one on the front door, and one on the window behind the food table.

I also used my Silhouette to cut the same animal heads out of brown vinyl and applied them to some Votive Holders- they turned out SO CUTE!

The awesome mounted bear head and antler sticks are creations of my sister.  Emily is the owner of and designer behind Lola Floral.  Lola does floral and decor for weddings and events and has become quite the sensation in the Seattle Area!  Yeah, Emily!  I am so proud of her.   The bear and the antlers were created for a recent event Lola participated in- to view some breathtaking photos, visit Lola's flower brained blog.

I could not pass up the opportunity to make a "beer cake" as I found on pinterest.  It was fun to make and I used one of my little "30" signs with a rustic fabric bow as a topper!

Food

With everything looking so pretty (in a very manly way), its time we discuss food.  So, Kyle's birthday is February 3rd.  Which, does happen to fall on Superbowl Sunday every 7 or so years.  This, his 30th birthday, just happened to be on Super Bowl Sunday.  With that being said, this was a Hunting themed Super Bowl Party.  So our food was snacky- in traditional Super Bowl Fashion.  

I prepared Pulled Pork for Pulled Pork Sliders, and Crock Pot Mac and Cheese.  I also successfully made 3 of the 4 food pins from my inspiration board (Buffalo Chicken Bites, Milky Way Muddy Buddies and Peanut Butter Cup Brownies) and they were all delicious. I also saw a pin to put veggie sticks in a cup with hummus or ranch dip at the bottom- I thought this was a great way for people to have a self contained snack!

Thank goodness for good friends, Heather and Candace brought two items I couldn't pull off myself.  Heather made yummy Corn Dog Bites (Kyle LOVES corn dogs).  
Candace has made BEAUTIFUL cakes for parties we've attended in the past- and I knew when I saw the idea for the camouflage cupcakes that she could pull them off for me, and boy did she do a GREAT JOB!!!  She even topped them with shot gun shells and the cute hunting themed rings from the shopping list above.  The tutorial she followed can be found HERE. 

This was such a fun theme to explore, especially since there wasn't much out there already on the internet!  I hope you've enjoyed seeing all the details and found some inspiration to plan a party outside of the traditional themes!

Love this theme and don't want to reinvent the wheel?  Well, you are in luck- I've listed a Decor Set on my Etsy site HERE, enjoy!