Spring'tacular Craft Link Party Parade!

I am so excited to be hosting this part of the Great Spring'tacular Link Party Parade!  I can't believe the day is finally here....today is my Craft Party!  It is an honor to have you join me!

I have made so many different crafts over the past few weeks, I had a hard time picking which one I wanted to share with you today.

I decided on an Easter wreath I made.

First, I gathered a few supplies...like a wire wreath & burlap.

I cut the burlap into strips, about 1 inch by 8 inches long.  No, the strips don't need to be perfect.  Take each strip and tie them on the wreath form.

Keep tying strips onto the wreath.  It'll start looking this this:

You want it to look nice & full when it's done, so you can really tie as many strips as you can fit.  I would say I used a good yard & half of burlap.  

I kind of liked the wreath in this plain form, but because this is a Spring/Easter party, adding a little of the season was the way to go.   I bought a square pail from Michaels & filled it with some Spring blooms.  I then tied the whole thing to the wreath with yellow gingham ribbon.

There she is....my Burlap Rag Easter Wreath!

Cute, huh? 

Oh yeah, it would be rude of me if I don't warn you.  This is a messy project.  The burlap fibers make quite a mess.  Nothing that a vacuum or a good sweeping can't cure, but I thought I should let you know beforehand. 

Now I am ready to get this party started!

***Please link up your Spring/Easter craft projects.
***Please be sure to add my link to your post so that others can party with us.

I so look forward to seeing what you've created and I really appreciate your joining me today for my very first party! 

Let's go!

Linking to:

Open House Party at No Minimalist Here
Time Travel Thursday at The Brambleberry Cottage
Thursdays are Your Days at 52 Mantels
Potpourri Friday at 2805
Party with My Peeps at How to Nest for Less

Spring/Easter Mantel 2012

I know that I teased you a few weeks ago about my Spring mantel, but today I'm going to share it with you because today we continue our Great Spring'tacular Link Party Parade!

My friend, Shannon of Fox Hollow Cottage, is hosting the Mantel Party today and it's always a blast when she's around!   

And we're off...............

I had an epiphany.  The wall above my mantel is just so big and the mantel is just so big, I had had enough of always trying to find something to fill the wall for each season.  Enter the epiphany mirror. 

This is what the mirror looked like when I bought it at Hobby Lobby.

Nothing some white paint couldn't cure! 

I bought these pink mercury glass hurricanes from Michaels, a year or two ago.

Another Michael's purchase, this year.  I just love the soft pink color of this watering can. 

A "foil" wrapped bunny that I bought last year.  I think he's fun because he reminds me of the foil wrapped chocolate bunnies from when I was a kid.   I don't think they make them like that any more, do they?

This glittery church came from Home Goods last year.  I love these glittery type houses/churches.  Add a bottle brush tree or two and I'm sold! 

This lattice box was a purchase some 3 years ago at a local florist shop.  I fell in love with it, bought it, and  haven't been able to do anything with it for the past 3 years.  No matter what I tried, I couldn't make it look good, so its been sitting in the basement waiting for the light bulb to go on in my head.  Here, I just turned it upside down as a base for my bunny.  Not the most creative idea, but at least its out of the basement!  LOL

Here's a close up of the book covered bunny.  Another Home Goods purchase, this year. 

 
I love how simple, light and airy my mantel feels this year. 

If you've got a mantel you'd like to share, please head on over to Fox Hollow Cottage and link up with me right here.  If not, come take a look at all the inspiring mantels other bloggers have linked up.  It may start a spark for you!

Also linking to:

Thursdays are Your Days at 52 Mantels
Your Cozy Home Party at Cozy Home Scenes
Spring Mantel Party at The Lettered Cottage

The Great Spring'tacular Copy Cat

Today, everyone's favorite girl, Debbie of Debbiedoos, kicks off

The Great Spring'tacular Link Party Parade
with her
Magazine Copycat Party!

My copycat challenge came from a 2011 Flea Market Style magazine, below.

I wanted to have a little fun with rulers too, but wanted to make it my own.

How did I do? 

 I added some color with the dish & flatware since my rulers weren't as
colorful as the ones used in the magazine. 

See that pretty little heart? 

That was made by my friend, Ana, from  A Petite Cottage.  Ana is truly one of
the sweetest bloggers around, and she's very creative!

Please join me by linking your copycat challenge to Debbiedoos.  I hope to see
you all again tomorrow for Shannon's Spring Mantel party!   

Circle of Kindness Tablescape

I have wanted to use my Circle of Kindness dishes for a while now. I finally got the chance to use them this week. 

Since this scape is heavy on the green, I'm hoping that this will qualify for Kathleen of Cuisine Kathleen's St. Patrick's Day blog crawl.  When I told Kathleen I didn't own a single St. Patrick's Day item, she encouraged me to use green anyway. See Kathleen? This is just for you!

Now I realize Kathleen's party is not until March 13th, but we have the Great Spring'tacular Link Party Parade set to roll from Monday through Thursday next week, so I wanted to make sure I could participate at Kathleen's party as well.

Anyway, let's get to the table!

Let's see here...

I used a matelasse as a table cover.
Purple dinner plates from Better Homes & Gardens/Walmart a few years ago.
Green salad plates from Pier 1.  They were even cheaper than the clearance sticker stated...I paid $1.18 each!
Circle of Kindness plates from Pfaltzgraff.
Green flatware is Cambridge from Home Goods.
Napkins, another steal, from Bed, Bath & Beyond. 
Napkins rings made by me, see my Pom Pom flower tutorial here.
Green bubble goblets from Target, quite a few years ago.

Want to see something silly about the Circle of Kindness plates?  These were called Topsy Turvy because when you turn them upside down, they display a different character. 

See what I mean?  Same plate, upside down, different character! 

Here are the rest of the plates...I didn't turn these upside down for you.  Go ahead & use your imagination.

Silly looking characters, aren't they? 

***edited to add...the box tells me that these characters have names, topsy turvy names....they are Lord & Lady Entwistle, Connor O'Riley & Riley O'Connor,  Dolly & Molly Periwinkle and Patrick Shannon & Shannon Patrick. 



For the center, a vase of purple tulips.



This sweet little house canister was a companion piece to the set, along with the mushroom salt & pepper shakers and the cow butter dish.

Something about this set just makes me smile.

Thank you for taking the time to visit me today.  I really appreciate it.  It may sound silly but blogland is sort of like a Circle of Kindness, isn't it?

Linking to:

Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch

Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage

St. Patrick's Day Blog Crawl at Cuisine Kathleen



Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake

Hello everyone!

I've been doing a little baking recently. With the weather still chilly, I love to have something warm & sweet from the oven.

This cake has the cinnamon goodness of a coffee cake, but with the addition of chocolate chips. Yum!

Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake

1 cup butter, softened
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar, divided
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup milk
1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

In a mixing bowl, cream the butter, cream cheese, and 1 1/4 cups of sugar. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour into a greased 9 inch springform pan. Combine the pecans, cinnamon and remaining 1/4 cup sugar; sprinkle over batter.
Bake at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen. Remove sides of pan. Cool completely before cutting.

Now go ahead and devour it!

Please don't forget about The Great Spring'tacular Link Party Parade beginning Monday, March 12.

See you soon!

Thoughtful Bloggers

Many times I come across giveaways throughout blogland and I don't enter.  I think, I never win, so why bother entering?

I've already done a post of two great giveaways that I've won this year.  Shockingly, I've got a few more to share with you.  

I won this fantastic giveaway from Linda at A La Carte.

Linda's package was full of goodies, I felt like a kid at Christmas opening each one! Everything is so bright & colorful & matches my kitchen so nicely.  I love it all!

My next win was from Creative Carmelina.   Before I show you what I won, would it be weird if I shared the hand made envelope it arrived in? 

Pretty amazing for an envelope, right?  I thought it best to smudge addresses.  Here is what I won:

These Pride & Prejudice buttons were drawn by hand by Carmelina.  She is incredibly talented.  I'm a big Jane Austen fan, so I couldn't be happier.  Who doesn't love Mr. Darcy? 

Next up, Leslie at A Spoonful of...Everything had a sweet giveaway.

Her giveaway was for a pair of earrings.  She also included this sweet little ornament.  Perfect for my feather Easter tree.

Here's a close up of the earrings so you can read them better. 

Adorable or what?   I think they pretty much sum up how most of us feel about this little community we're a part of. 

I just wanted to share all of these with you and send a shout out to Linda, Carmelina and Leslie.  Thank you all so much!  I appreciate your thoughtfulness.  Blogland is filled with the most generous and kind people, truly it is.  If you aren't familiar with these blogs, go on over & take a look.  I don't think you'll be disappointed. 

I think it may be getting time for me to have a giveaway of my own so that I can pay all this forward.  What do you think?

In Like A Lion

You know the saying,

March comes in like a lion, goes out like a lamb?

March has indeed come in like a lion around here.  It started snowing yesterday, alhthough we didn't get alot of snow.  It has however, turned into freezing rain earlier this morning, and as a result,

SNOW DAY!  NO SCHOOL!  Yipppeeee!

First snow day of the school year!  Anyway, just because the weather is not cooperating with me, please don't forgot that our Great Spring'tacular Link Party Parade is coming up soon!    



I've been busy crafting and getting ready to host my portion of the party.  I really hope you'll join me!

Have a pleasant first day of March and I honestly hope your day was not ushered in by a lion!