Begin Again and Again and Again...

Hi all!! So, the drawing has been done. Via a very scientific method, I might add. I tallied up the number of entries each person had, and wrote their name on that many slips of paper. My lovely assistants Mackenzie and Katie then drew the names. With out further ado, the winners are: Mia ~ mini magnet set Salad for Breakfast ~ bracelet Minishoes1 ~ ring Congrats!! The winners will be notified via email or blog shortly. They will have 48 hours to respond with their address, or another winner will be drawn!! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! to everyone who entered. I am hoping to visit each and everyone of your blogs this week sometime if I haven't already. Your recipes are wonderful and have given me some great ideas for yummy eats and drinks ;) And I have been lucky enough to win this gorgeous bracelet from the very sweet Lori at Morning Glories and Moonflowers and her Etsy shop too silly sisters . Lori makes the cutest button bracelets and very cool necklaces. Check her out and...

Recently I had the pleasure of reviewing this soap from Nothing but Soap . And I love it! As soon as I opened the package, I smelled the wonderful scent. The scent lasted the entire bar. The other thing I noticed, because, well, you know, I had to try it right away ;) was the lather. As soon as I put the soap in water and began to soap my hands, I had lather. Nice sudsy, soapy lather! The peppermint leaves add not only an awesome scent, but also a nice, gentle exfoliation. I highly recommend this soap. Nothing but Soap offers a great selection. Very fair shipping rates and a bonus with a $15 or $30 purchase! So, head on over to this shop and Soap On!! :) Trish

Be forwarned this is wordy! Sorry . All righty, here is the long promised tutorial. Although, I am sure by now you all have figured out how to do it. What took so long, you say? The pics. I haven't had time to take and download the pictures. The project itself is easy. Here goes. You will need two terra cotta pots, of equal size, two terra cotta saucers, one at least two inches bigger than the pots. The second saucer can be the same size or larger, de pending on the look you are going for. I recommend at least a couple inches bigger than the other saucer . I used four inch "rose" pots, a six inch saucer and an eight inch saucer. You will also need some adhesive. If you will be placing this outside, make sure your adhesive can handle it. I used E6000 . You will also need spray paint or terra cotta paint and than whatever goodies you want to use to embellish your bird bath. First, turn the smallest saucer over, so that the "bowl" part is underneath. Place adhesive...

First things first. Tutorial postponed. I still didn't feel all that great yesterday and today was spent at the pool with friends. Sometime this weekend however, I will post the how to!! Pinky swear... Now, on to the more important piece of business ;) It's GIVEAWAY time!! I had planned on just giving away one thing, but I have decided to giveaway two. Nah, let's make it THREE since I'm so late with my promised tutorial. (see I know you all wait with baited breath for it :) Okay, here are the rules: One : leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite summer activity. This will earn you one entry. Two : For an extra entry, visit my Etsy shop and tell me your favorite item. Leave another comment with this answer. This earns you one more entry. Three : Post about this giveaway on your blog and send me the link. This will earn you an extra two entries!! Lastly, if you leave me a comment with your favorite summer recipe I will give you two extra entries!! If you ...

Ugh. Wednesday. Boooring. I have the middle of the week blues people. Seriously. I've been fighting a headache since I woke up. I tried a nap. Woke up. Headache is still here. I mean, come on. I think I'm just going to go to bed and hope for the best. Tomorrow is Thursday after all! I will be posting my "tutorial" on how to make a cute and inexpensive bird bath tomorrow or Friday. (depends if the vice squeezing my head loosens.) And stay tuned. I'll be posting a giveaway on Friday!! Peace, Trish

Kimba at A Soft Place to Land is hosting a garden party! I thought, hmmm... I have a garden ;) So, here are some pics of my various gardens and one that is in need of some TLC (read professional) help! tomatoes, lettuce and a strawberry soon to ripen (the trick is getting to them before the birds!). Lavender is a favorite of mine, unfortunately it is only an annual here in Wisconsin, dragonflies watching over my garden and a pretty purple Iris. My little garden gnome to welcome you to my garden. In hindsight, he should have been first instead of here in the middle. Oh well... Some herbs, hydrangea planted this spring, cool thrift find, heart shaped rock (I'm always finding these. Ok, at least I think it looks like a heart!) And here is the space that really needs help. Overgrown and out of control. As you can see by the wheelbarrow, I've sorta got a plan. I just feel terrible cutting down the trees ... or whatever they are. So, if you have any thoughts, feel free to shout ...

artnest: Art Nest Goodies GIVEAWAY - design your own ring and needle nest!!!

Go here to experience a delicious blog and to enter Katie's 100th post giveaway!! She is giving away a shopping spree to Lola B's Boutique and if you become a follower, you could win one of her awesome pillows!! I want this one: :) I love finding new blogs that rock and then discovering that they are having a giveaway!! It feels like my birthday! Trish

I just found out about this. Burt's Bee's, one of my favs is giving away 25 Beeswax Lip Balms in 25 days to celebrate their "burtday"!!

In the last few days, I've added some new goodies to my Etsy shop . Check it out, tell me what you think. I love vintage earrings and buttons, so you will see them more and more in my work. Over the next couple of weeks, I'll be sharing more of my projects. I work with many different mediums and can't wait to share!! (I've decided it's time! ) Hope you're having a great weekend! Trish

Trish

I don't know about you, but I am kind of a freak about my soap. I prefer homemade. Geesh, there, I said it. I'm not sure exactly what it is. Maybe the amazing variety of fragrances; maybe the fact my skin doesn't feel drier than it already is (Wisconsin, ya know); maybe it's because I love buying handmade when I can; maybe I just like it, okay. Enough said about that. So, if you have never tried homemade soap, or you are like me and love to try as many as you can, I have an offer for you! Go here and check out "soap swap" on the right hand menu. I am anxiously awaiting my sample from Nothing but Soap ! I'll let you know in a few weeks what I think. :) Now, amusing little story (I think) that kinda shows what a small world this blog/Etsy community is. I am preparing for my garage sale and decided to cruise some new blogs while I take a break for lunch. You know what I mean... I typed "blog" into the main search page on Etsy (because I love readin...

:) Okay, I thought about changing the title of this post. But, come on... I mean I just couldn't! Anyhoo, looky what I made!!!! I used Amy Butler's Gum Drop Pillow pattern and various fat quarters to make the 18 inch pillow. Because my fabric was not long enough, I had to sew the panel halves together, rather than a seamless panel. But, hey, I LOVE it!! Kenzie uses it as a "beanbag" chair. Glad she likes it. I made it, but had no clue what I would do with it ;) By the way, sewer ??? What is the correct terminology?? Trish

I think that the new decals are the greatest thing since sliced bread ;) What an easy and unique way to freshen up a room! Lewa's Designs has wonderful wall designs to suit every taste and... LAPTOP decals!! Super c ute! So, head on over to http://www.lewasdesigns.com/ and snag yourself a couple. While you're at it, check out their blog ! You can even check them out on Etsy ! And for a limited time, if you blog about this very cool shop, they are being very cool and will send you your very own decal!! Check out the details on their blog . Trish

My Grandma turned 80 last weekend!! She is amazing. I love her with all my heart. We had a party for her and the day was perfect!! There was a threat of rain, but Saturday dawned clear as a bell, not a cloud in the sky!! Aren't we lucky to have such a gorgeous grandma! (a bunch of my cousins are missing). All of her great granchildren, minus one who couldn't be at her party. Happy Birthday to my Grandma, my mom, Katie, and Kenzie!!! All in May :)