365 days 365 Do It Yourself projects (No money spend): GIVEAWAY - Lucky Number 7

Don't forget about going on Giveaway!

365 days 365 Do It Yourself projects (No money spend): GIVEAWAY - Lucky Number 7

Mirror Mirror On the Wall

Thursday Morning

My daughter is having fun with mirror and her blue flower barrettes. Similar flower is part of my ongoing Giveaway.

Have a great day,

GIVEAWAY - Lucky Number 7

GIVEAWAY is here! It happens sooner than I expected. Everything came together at once and here it is!

When I started my Blog back in April, I had no idea where will it take me. My main goal was to stay busy in bad economy and challenge myself to 365 days 365 D.I.Y projects. I had neither agenda no written plan but what I truly had was the urge to create. "No Money Spend" rule made me look around and rethink my lifestyle. It was hard in the beginning not to rush to my favorite craft store to get a thing or two (God knows how much I love those places). I had to put myself in the box in order to start thinking outside of it. Then I came across Theodor Roosevelt's phrase "Do what you can with what you have where you are" and it instantly became my motto.

I change my habits and as a result I started to change as well. My Blog became my journey to self-discovery. I was able to awake my hidden skills that I had but never had a chance to use and now 70 posts later (which is still a baby age for any Blog) I started to see better where I want to be.

Well, my first GIVEAWAY is my way of saying "Thank you" to all of you. I called it "Lucky Number 7" Why? Because I have 70 posts, I am starting this GIVEAWAY on August 25 (2+5=7) at 7 PM (Mountain Time) and it will end on September 7 at 7 PM. You will have a chance to get 7 entries and I am giving away 7 items. Here they are

2 strings of seashells (36" long each)

1 white flower Brooch (4" )

(this brooch look great clipped to the seashell strings listed above)

1 Blue Flower Barrette (4 ")

1 Pink Flower Barrette (4")

1 Seashell Whistle

(because Bloggers are not afraid to toot their horns)

1 Big (3 oz) Lolly Pop which my daughter decorated with smiley faces

(just because it is something sweet)

Rules to Enter:

Follow my Blog - 2 entries (if you are already on a list of my friends - that's great)

Blog about this GIVEAWAY - 1 entry

Twit about this GIVEAWAY - 1 entry

Tell me, which of the projects on my Blog you like the most and why - 1 entry

Tell me about your "No Money Spend" projects that you find interesting - 2 entries

You have a chance of 7 entries!

The drawer will take place on September 7th at 7 PM. I've decided to do it in old fashion way:

My husband holding a hat full of names and my 3 year old pulling a lucky winner.

Thank you all very much and Good Luck!

Sincerely,

Discovering New Blogs - Reviews Part 2

Here are few more Blogs that I was able to visit. I wish I could have 48 hours in a day, because 24 is not working for me anymore.

“ElizebethMD” by Elizabeth. What a gem! Literally, I mean it. She is a very talented jewelry designer and Blogger. After you are done reading her Blog, don’t miss an opportunity to stop by her Etsy Store – I bet you can find something for yourself, or get a great gift for someone special.

“It’s gonna be a lovely day” by Faiza. This is a Blog of happy person who wants to spread her joy. She has lots of interests in life but one thing amazed me the most – her knowledge of a baseball game. You want to have her around when you are betting on baseball in Vegas.

“Ichigo Shortcake” by Mimi. Originally from Thailand she is a fashion student in London. If you want to get a glimpse of the latest and the greatest in fashion, make-up and Mimi’s life pay her a visit and you may become one of her strawberries (??? Find out for yourself what it means)

“Hanging off the wire” by Hayley. Great family of 4 Bears: Papa Bear, Mama Bear and 2 adorable kids. They are trying to Potty Train the oldest Little Bear and have trouble with it (Don’t we all?!) If you know a secret, please share it with Hayley, I know how stressful that time is and it is twice more stressful if you have another 10 month old Little Bear. By the way, she is doing 30 day challenge, which is on my To-Do list for September. Stop by her Blog to learn more.

“Saturday Mornings” by Dana. Listen to her Blog description: “Creations, revamps, handmade gifts on a dime!” Doesn’t it sound familiar? Yes! I found my Sister Blog. Same idea, but this gal thinks big. I have to learn from her, because sometimes my little inner voice is stopping me from taking on something huge, but not anymore. Thanks to Dana. Stop by her Blog to see the amazing results of her revamping.

Have a happy Blog discovering day,

Discovering New Blogs - Reviews Part 1

I was so naïve, when in my previous post, I said that I set aside an afternoon to indulge new Blogs assigned to me by Swap-bot.com “Blog me up, Baby”. Boy, was I wrong.

All new participants are so amazing and talented that you don’t want to leave their Blogs until you finished reading their last post. Some Blogs are brand new but nevertheless, they all have a message.

So far, I was able to visit half of my Blogs and the remaining half is on my To-do list.

These are the first five Blogs that I visited and was able to summarize

“Ladies Lunch” a girly girl Magdalena invites you in her fun world to experience things that Ladies like to talk about during their Lunch, you may also find a list of Interesting Blogs or listen to a music mix. Have fun visiting her Blog

“Goody Goody Gumdrops” by Simone showcase her fabulous handmade cards, after reading few posts you feel that you want to start making cards yourself. I absolutely adore one of her cards – It’s a Birthday Card with green turtle. I think it will be great for a Belated Birthday Wish (not that I ever miss someone’s Birthday!)

“The Neat Get Neatter” by Beth, self-admitted “neat freak” and by visiting her Blog you may get few great ideas on how to clean a thing or two, but that’s not it! She is having a GIVEAWAY – to give you a clue-it is something that helps you clean! Hurry! Giveaway ends soon.

“Paint Myself Pretty” by Cameron swept me off my feet – she is amazingly talented and her Blog is an open door to her art studio. Pay her a visit – there will be no disappointment.

“Adventures with Mrs. W” by Mrs.Whiffin. What can I tell you – writing is her natural talent, add a great sense of humor and you have a recipe for success. She is that girlfriend that you want to meet for a cup of coffee and share few good laughs with. By the way, she is a coordinator for this swap-bot adventure that some of us sharing – many thanks to her.

Sincerely,

P.S. I am working on my first giveaway - it will take place in a day or so. I am a little bit nervous…..

Peace Through Art

I follow on Reader a great Blog called "Artful Parent". Today they have a very interesting guest speaker featured in a new post called "Peace through art?". Please, follow this link to learn more about it.

I love the approach and philosophy of this fabulous organization and hope you will as well. You can read more about International Child Art Foundation here

Look at this work of a young artist from Philippines, Bhea Vacio, age 11

I am saying "Yes" to Peace through Art

Have a great day!

Stickers into Paper Dolls -DYI

What do you do with an old book of stickers?

This book served us well during our trip to Monterey, my daughter loves horses and this book was godsend: great stickers of ponies and pages of beautiful sceneries in amazing quality. It kept her busy for hours but now all blank spaces are filled with right images, and there is nothing else to do...

Well, I've decided to extend the life of this book, well at least some parts and pieces will serve us for a bit longer.

I've got some stickers and put them on a cardboard (I've used a sturdy, thick cardboard from a recent packaging that we received, because you may know how kids are playing)

Then, I cut up all the images

and on the back of each cut out shape glued a piece of magnet

(I have a bowl full of mismatch pieces that we received from one of my friends - recycling:)

Because cardboard is very light, I set all ponies on a magnetic board to dry overnight

and in the morning, as soon my daughter got up, our ponies got really busy

They started on a magnetic side of her easel

then they run to the fridge...

Soon after, they've discovered a wonderful meadow (this is a page from the same book,

that I put on a metal message board and used as a background)

where they all played until lunch time.

Something tells me, that tomorrow morning ponies will be very busy again

Sincerely,