BTW

I'm still alive!! I start to move into the new place tomorrow so I've been running around like a crazy lady!! I have TONS of new projects and ideas to share with you, I just want to wait until I'm all settled in so I can take lovely staged pictures. Rather than the nasty skanky ones in the garage, with boxes everywhere and a mostly half naked little 2 year old  running around ;) You know what pictures I'm talking about right? I mean seriously :)

Also, the hubs comes home in 12 FREAKIN' DAYS!!! Can I get an Amen and a Woot-Woot??!!!!

THE COOLEST THING IN MY KITCHEN!!!!

Do you love using fresh herbs? Do you hate how expensive they are? Do you hate how it seems that you can never use them fast enough before they shrivel up and die? Do you enjoy gardening but hate the hassle? Do you wish you could garden but live in an apartment??

If you answered yes to ANY of those questions then this is the PERFECT thing for you!!! Seriously, I've drooled over these little machines for years and I FINALLY have one!!!

Check out this freakin JUNGLE-O-HERBS!!! Seriously, these puppies grow soooooooo fast and will last for months and months and months!!! You just snip off what you want and use it, simple as that!!! There is no dirt, no bugs, no weeds and no back breaking work in the sweltering sun. These gardens are so easy to grow, you can have a 'black thumb' and still be a success!! All you do is add water and nutrients whenever the MACHINE TELLS YOU TO!!! Can you believe that??!! It freaking tells you what it needs and when it needs it!! I have it sitting on the kitchen counter and I love the look of it and the Fabulous smell it emits!!

Cilantro, dill, basil, lemon basil, parsley, oregano, thyme and chives!!!

And . . . it doesn't just grow herbs!!!

Shabby Apple Dress Winner!!!!

To all of you that entered, thank you so much!! This was my first big giveaway and I am so grateful to each of you for helping to make it a success!!! Now, for the winner . . .

Number 47!!! And #47 is . . . . 

kluckingbear said...

I like Shabby Apple on FB as Tabitha Swain Klucking.

April 22, 2011 9:24 AM

YAY!!! Kluckingbear you are the winner of the Amethyst dress from Shabby Apple, I'm so JEALOUS!!!! Please shoot me an email at: meandmybucket@gmail.com with the following info:

1. Name

2. Address

3. Phone number

4. Dress size

and

5. Email address

*** YOU HAVE 48 HOURS TO CLAIM YOUR PRIZE :) IF I DON'T HEAR FROM YOU BY 10:30 AM MTN TIME TUESDAY 4/26 I WILL CHOOSE ANOTHER WINNER. ***

Jacket ReFashion

My Grandma gave me this jacket . . . As you can see from the pic it is most definitely a bit dated (MAJOR SHOULDER PAD-AGE) and the sleeves are too short and overall in desperate need of a reincarnation!!! She gave the jacket to my Aunt to give to me but I didn't actually get it until after my Grandma passed in February. I knew that if I didn't give it a makeover it would just sit in my closet until the end of time. And I wanted to do something that Grandma would be proud of and something that I can treasure and think of her whenever I look at it.

The first thing I thought to do was turn it into pillows!!! I knew that I could keep them forever and everyday when I make my bed, yeah right, I can see them :)

I don't have a step by step because I didn't have a set plan, I just went at it.

Shabby Apple Women's Dress GIVEAWAY!!!!!!!!!!

*** GIVEAWAY CLOSED ***

Shabby Apple, seller of FABULOUS Women's, little girl AND maternity dresses, contacted me and asked if I would be interested in partnering with them for a GIVEAWAY. "Uhhhh, come again? You want little 'ole me to giveaway one of your AH-MA-ZING dresses??!!  Well, of course I said yes and jumped into action!!

I first started out by browsing their amazing selection of Women's dresses. Seriously, have you ever been over there to check them out??!! The selection is to DIE FOR!!! I spent over an hour pouring over EVERY.SINGLE.THING. Get a bucket out to put under your mouth cuz you are about to drool!! Seriously, let me introduce you to some of my favs!!

Anne and Andy

 The Anne and Andy comes in 12 different colors!!!

I was a little rusty but . . .

**** DON'T FORGET TO ENTER MY SHABBY APPLE DRESS GIVEAWAY !!!! ****

 I made this Birthday cake for my mom's boss's 50th B-day surprise party this last weekend.  I hadn't made a cake of this magnitude, or any magnitude for that matter, in over 3 years. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to pull it off, but I guess it was like riding a bike.  I was a little slow at first, but in the end I was a "pro".

It turned out pretty good, didn't it? Everyone at the party loved it and I really enjoyed making it. In the past when I've made a wedding cake I almost loathed it by the end. I think part of that was because I felt more pressure to perform well, considering it was for someones wedding, the BIGGEST day of their life!!

Anyway, I hope you all enter my dress giveaway, I'm really excited about it and would hate to only have 6 people enter :(

These past few months have been rough for me. My grandmother passed away unexpectedly in February and with Phil being gone til June I just sort of found myself in an all around funk. And to top it off, we are FINALLY moving out of my parents house into a brand new townhouse and I've been busy preparing for that.  We've been at my parents for 3 years and as a result have absolutely NO furniture other than beds. So, I've been thrifting and shopping like a crazy lady. It's been a lot of fun, but a lot of stress too!!

 I'm working on my new project posts, in my hiatus, I seemed to have forgot how time consuming writing a post is!! ANYHOO, I just wanted to show you my cake creation and pump you up for some fun projects. Also, I'm thinking about biting the bullet, paying for an inlinkz subscription and bringing "Show us what you're workin' with Wednesday" back . . . what do you think?

Hold on to your hats!!!

I have THREE projects to show you and a Shabby Apple dress GIVEAWAY!!!! Now, I just have to upload all the pics and get to gettin!!! Check back later today!!!!!!!!

Have you heard of this fun new site??!!

No More Rack is a fun new site that has AH-MAH-ZING daily deals at even more AH-MAH-ZING prices!! Seriously, and it's not just chintzy stuff nobody wants. Smashbox makeup, Ralph Lauren, MAC, Lancome, Crayolal (for the kiddies) and all sorts of other good stuff!! And the shipping is ALWAYS only $2 an item!!!! They are running a free makeup promotion right now that's pretty cool. Click on my special referral link below and sign up, then you will get your very own referral link, then you can blog, tweet, FB, email all your friends about it too!! The more that sign up, the more rewards you get!! Some of the free makeup brands are: MAC, YSL, Stila, Lancome, Sephora, Lip Fusion and OPI. So, click on this link:

                                 CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP AND EARN SOME FREE MAKEUP!!!!

and get signed up so you can get some free makeup!!!! I mean, who doesn't love FREE??!!

WYWW!!!

Time for another party!!! Umm . . . anyone seen my camera????!!! YEP, I have no idea where it is!! I wanted to show you guys Bucky's finished playhouse. It turned out soo cute and it's fun to watch him play in it. Well, I know the camera is around here somewhere. The kid likes taking pictures, so I'm sure I will find it somewhere totally random!! Wish me luck, until then, let's see what you're workin' with!!!

Show Us What You're Workin' With!!

*** SOME OF YOU HAVE ALREADY LINKED UP, BUT I SET THE LINKY UP WRONG AND DID TEXT ONLY, SO PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE RELINK. ***

WOO-HOO!!! I was so excited to show you my newest project and this morning when I went to check on it, something went TERRIBLY wrong with the poly gloss coat and it totally bubbled!! So, I had to sand it down and start over, so TOMORROW you will see it. For now, we will still have the party. I've been gone too long and can't wait to see what you link up. Now, I just have to hope that you actually show up, it's been so long :(

White Box for blog pics

***I'M WORKING ON UPDATING THE LOOK OF THIS LITTLE BLOG, SO DON'T JUDGE IT'S RANDOMNESS!!! THANKS :) HAHA ***

My AWESOME dad bought me the most AWESOME gift for Christmas!! Wanna see???


It's a fabulous little desktop light box PERFECT for those finished project pics!!! I've been dying to set it up and see how fabulous it is and I finally did it. Yeah, I set it up on the carpet, but that's only because my craft is room is a D-I-S-A-S-T-E-R and I'm afraid that it would get lost in there, seriously :)

This fabulous little set came with the 2 lights and the diffusers for each light. The white box, 4 clips to allow me to change the background, the green and blue background cloths pictured, and a white and a black one!!!


I need to work on my picture tacking techniques, and to edit the background so it looks smooth, but that will come with practice. Do you love my subject in this picture? Bucky INSISTED that I take a picture of his dump truck. If you think that is funny, wait until you see the collage at the end of the post!!


This is more realistic of the types of items I will be photographing :) Once again, I need to work on the lighting position to eliminate the glare on the glass, but I'm excited to practice!!!

In the past I've always taken my pictures outside and on white foam board but now I don't have to anymore!! YAY!! Didn't my dad do an awesome job??!!

Ok, here is the collage I was telling you about . . .

He climbed right up in there and thought it was a little playhouse for him!! Seriously, I couldn't get him out of it. He just kept sitting there and saying cheese :) Of course I had to document the silliness, but DON'T JUDGE his Whiskey Tango-ness . . . seriously, the crusty nose and cookie crumbs, and "just got out of the shower" hairdo. I PROMISE that I didn't realize how bad it looked while I was taking the pics!! LOL!!!

He is so funny, oh and that one pic with the front of the box zipped up, uhh yeah he was still in there!!!

Monogram Wall Light

I know, it's a FREAKING miracle!!! I've been jonesin' for a craft fix for a while now and thanks to Jeromina over at Paper, Plate and Plane I FINALLY satisfied that craving!!! She made this beauty . . .

DON'T kill me, but . . . I'm not really into Valentine Decorating, not sure why really, just never cared much about it :(

Jeromina used foam core and I loved how simple and inexpensive it was. I wanted something sturdier and something for Bucket's room. Here is what I came up with . . .

Cute right?? I used orange lights, although you can't tell in the picture. And, of course I forgot to take a pic with the lights turned off. This light was RIDICULOUSLY easy to make once I got all the measurements done.

So, let's get down to it . . .


I had this scrap piece of pressed wood leftover from the closet redo and it worked PERFECTLY!! I used my Mickey Mouse Font Cricut Cartridge that I just got from Paper Crafting Pro, such FABULOUS deals on cartridges over there, go check it out!!

Anyway, I cut out a "B" at 11 inches and headed out to the garage. My wood was already a 15.5" square so I didn't have to cut anything, which was a plus. I traced the B onto the wood with a sharpie and then used my sewing tape measure to measure around and get the length. Then I figured the spacing for each hole, just making sure that I wouldn't end up with too little space for the holes to be even at the end. DOES THAT MAKE SENSE?? In my case I marked every .75" with the sharpie. Then, using my drill I drilled all the holes.


I would LOVE to say that I used my drill press for this job, since it would have been a ZILLION times quicker, but it's still in the box and it was FREEZING outside this morning and I wasn't about to figure out how to assemble him. WOW, talk about a run-on sentence!!!

Doesn't it look so fabulous with all those little evenly spaced holes?? Oh I love it!!! BTW, depending on the type of lights you use, you'll want to make sure that you use a drill bit that will allow for you to get the lights through each hole. Or if you use the fancy LED lights you may have to take the bulbs out, stick the socket through the back, and insert the light through the front. That way the socket fits tight in the hole :)

I gave it a good sanding with my palm sander and now its time to make the bracket box for the back.

I used a 1 x 3 since it's what I had on hand, but you could use anything that you have. Just make sure that with the thickness of the plank and the size of the initial or whatever else you make, that you cut the wood for the box that it clears the holes and still gives you room on the edges. Easy enough, right?

I should say though, I didn't actually make a box since I didn't have enough 1 x 3, so there are gaps in the corners. I marked the center of the board and the center of each 1 x3 and lined them up 1.25" in from the edges. That measurement will determine how close your shape is to the edge of your board :)


Using the nail gun I shot a few nails in from the underside. Yes, I do my projects on the freezer, don't judge how dirty it is . . . it's rather old!! Once I did a quick attach of all 4 pieces I flipped it over and shot more nails through from the front to make sure everything was nice and secure.


These are my gaps, it doesn't really make a difference to me since you can't see them once the light is on the wall.


Take the palm sander to the nail holes and then used some wood putty to fill in the marks. Let the putty dry and then sand again. By the time I sanded the putty I had almost completely got rid of all the sharpie marks, which eliminated the need for priming :)


I used some aqua-teal-bluish oops paint and gave it a good once over, using a q-tip to paint the holes and get rid of any drips. I let it dry, then applied a second coat and took the q-tip to it again. Rather tedious, but necessary, otherwise my lights might not fit in the holes.

Once it was dry I took the sander to it again to give it a distressed look. I originally thought I would use a high gloss clear coat, but I liked the way the distressed look coordinated with his existing room decor.

Now it's time to put the lights in. I didn't take a picture of this step, but it's quite simple. Ideally I would like to glue the lights in, but we all know that twinkle lights aren't known for their long lives, so that wasn't an option. I just used a lot of pressure and twisted them into the holes. I had 69 holes and the strand had 100 lights so I just shoved the extra lights in the back. I used an extension cord to plug in the lights, rather than having lights running down the wall. I still don't love the extension cord, but since I'm not an electrician and don't know how to wire an outlet wherever I want . . . I didn't have many options :)


I turned it on and showed Bucky and he said "COOL" which means that I did a good job!!! He is currently obsessed with all things Mickey Mouse, hence the usage of the Mickey font, and I am DYING to make one with an outline of Mickey's head and either white or red lights. I think that once he is in a big boy bed I will do his room in Mickey colors . . . oooo now I'm excited for him to upgrade to the big boy bed!!!

Oh also . . . I jumped on the rain gutter bookshelf bandwagon . . .
and
BUCKY LOVES IT!!!!

I didn't even follow a tutorial, that's how simple they were, but just Google "rain gutter bookshelf tutorial" if you would like a tutorial. OR, you could shoot me an email at meandmybucket {at} gmail {dot} com

P.S. "Show Us What You're Workin' With" will be back on Wednesday January 26th!!! WOOT!!!!

I'm linking up to these parties:

Shutter Love @ The Trendy Treehouse

I'm not going to say anything about being MIA for so freaking long . . . just that I REALLY want to make a comeback, hopefully it's in the near future!!

The Trendy Treehouse hosts a "shutter love" party where you link up a picture that goes with the theme. Well, this week is bubbles and when I saw the theme I knew that I have the PERFECT picture!! This was taken last spring and Bucket is sooo flipping cute!!! So, if you can, go over there and vote for this little Turkey!!



Click Here to Vote

Love Stiched Silhouette-SD GIVEAWAY!!!

Brittany, over at Love Stitched is hosting a Silhouette-SD GIVEAWAY!!! Totally awesome!! The Silhouette machine plugs into your computer and you can visit the online store and download all sorts of fun images and projects!!


I love the idea of the online store rather than having to search all over the internet for images like you have to with a cricut and the SCAL software :) Click HERE to check it out and enter!! HURRY because it ends tonight a

WYWW

Oh boy . . . I think, actually I know I'm getting super burned out on blogging!! SAD, right?? It use to be so much fun and lately it's just been such a chore :( I haven't had much time for crafting lately, other than ETSY orders (it's not as fun when you HAVE to do it). I just don't have any motivation!! This is the first time I've even looked at this blog since last week. And I can only imagine that it means that nobody else is looking at it either. Eh . . . I am hoping to have some umph in my umph soon . . . but there will be a party tonight!!!

50 FREE HOLIDAY CARDS FROM SHUTTERFLY!!!!

OH MY HECK!!! Shutterfly has some of the CUTEST Holiday cards and invitations!!!

*** AND THEY ARE GIVING AWAY 50 FREE CARDS TO BLOGGERS!!! ****

Read this post and then follow the instructions on the bottom to get your free cards!!!

Have you gone over there and checked out the awesome selection?? There are tons to choose from, and it's gonna be a tough one to pick just one!!


They have folded photo cards, flat photo cards, FABULOUS invitations, personalized mugs, etc!! The possibilities are endless!! Let me show you some of my fav's!!! Click on each picture to check out all the different choices they are offering!!

LOVE this Christmas party invitation!! If only we were cool enough to actual throw a party :)

I totally DIG the simplicity of this card, and it's folded so there is space inside for a personalized message.

LOVE LOVE LOVE the glittery joy!!!! This is my absolute favorite and I have the PERFECT picture in mind for it :)

Ok, and just because I can . . . here are some more for your viewing pleasure!!!



The blue, red and green is so cute!!!

How cute is this with the Santa belt??? OOOO and the toothless smile is DARLING!!!

ok, one more . . . I PROMISE!!!


*** CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR FREE CARDS!!! ***

Christmas Table-Scape

So . . . I told you I would show you the Christmas tablescape today, and I worked hard to make sure that I held true to that :)

My husband really likes red and lime green for Christmas so I decided to use the colors for this years table setting.

Here is a view of the the entire table . . . LOVE IT!!!! I know it may seem like a lot to some people, but I guess that I have a disease and I say the more layers the better!!!

I used a basic white square table cloth and layered over that a square of green and white polka dot fabric. The green fabric wasn't as big as the table, so I put it on the diagonal. It looks cuter that way anyway :)


Closeup of the place settings. I still want to add a clear bowl on top of the salad plates, but I won't have them 'til Saturday. ;) I used the same green and white fabric to wrap some dollar store napkin rings. The silver chargers I've had for years, but you can get a set of 4 for $5 at Target. The white plates are just plain square plates from $Tree, I set them on the charger at an angle to mimic the layout of the polka dot fabric.

The round red piece beneath the silver charger is a felt decoration from $Tree. They have red and green. As soon as I saw them I bought up all 8 that they had left and knew that they would be perfect as placemats!! What do you think? Not too shabby for $1!! The red ones are made to look like a snowflake ornament and the green ones have a Christmas tree in the center. You will fall in love with them when you see them in the store!!! I actually had a lady stop me in the store and ask where they were . . . it broke my heart to tell her they were all in my cart :) oops!!

I always like the look of two glass at each setting. I used a water goblet from Pier 1 and then a wine-ish glass from $Tree. I like the chunkiness of the wine glass because it adds some weight.


"Aerial view" The large candy canes in the vase are also from $Tree and they are almost 3 feet tall. They also would look great in the top of the Christmas tree or even tied to the spindles of a stair railing!!!

I used a square mirror that I got from D.I. and spray painted the frame silver and used it as the base of the centerpiece. The little elves I got at Michael a few years ago. I used round mirror candle holders from $Tree and put my Pier 1 snowflake place card holders on top of them. The silver tinsel tree is also from $Tree, as well as the taper candles and the taper holders. The red tapers are in nutcracker taper holders that I got from the thrift store earlier this year. I also used some of my subway art luminaries for more layering!!


These large silver stars are ornaments from $Tree, so is the ribbon :) I just wrapped some ribbon around the chair and hot glued the star to the ribbon. I love the sparkle it adds to the chair!!

One last pic . . . I PROMISE!!!

This is a pic with everything lit, and I just LOVE LOVE LOVE the way it all turned out. You know what's funny? I totally just realized that the curtains and the accent wall TOTALLY match the table!! The wall is more of a sage color but it looks brighter in the pics!!!

I think overall I spent a little more than $20 and everything else I already had on hand. Not too bad considering how much I was able to buy . . . I love $Tree!! They have some great deals right now!!

Anyway, what do you think? I was thinking it would be fun to have a link party where you could link up your holiday table-scapes. That would be fun, right? I think I will set it up right now and you can link up whenever you have yours ready. You can show us Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or whatever else you like!!!

Show Us What You're Workin' With!!

I promised I would be here this week and here I am!! I don't have anything fun to show you . .. YET!!! But, I did bust out the Christmas Decorations today and I will post pics of the dining tablescape tomorrow!!!

I hope you all are well, and are getting into the Holiday spirit!! I sure am!! It's funny, one would think that this would be a year that I wouldn't be so excited for the holidays (due to all the financial and physical setbacks as of late). Yet, I think it's because of those setbacks that I'm stoked!!! I've realized that it's not about money and gifts but of charity of love. I was at the Dollar Store today and I could overhear the checkers asking each customer if they would be willing to buy a toy to donate to military families. I was shocked/apalled by how many people said "no"!!! I mean, come on . . .it's $1 and it's for the kids/families of the men and women that risk their lives for you on a daily basis!!! Maybe I'm extra sensitive about it because I'm part of a military family. But, it saddens me how we've got so caught up in ourselves and our own lives that we have forgotten what this time of year really is about . . .

Enough of the rant!!! let's see what you are workin' with!!!

Holiday Table Scape Extravaganza!!

UGH!!!

Holy Crap!! Today is Sunday, and I TOTALLY spaced this weeks party!! All I'm going to say about that is this: the hubs ruptured his ear drum, suffers from vertigo as a result and complete hearing loss. Dr. said he can't work until everything is back to normal, so now we have to figure out just exactly how we are going to pay the bills!! He spent 5 days in bed so it was like I had 2 babies to take care off, only the hubs was WAY more demanding than bucket!! needless to say, I am pooped and the lass thing on my mind was my blog . . . SORRY!! The party is on for tomorrow though, PROMISE!!