Saturday Shout Outs: {RUFFLY} Edition

Just a little late today - sorry!

I'm still trying to recover from my
12 hour drive with two crazies.

We started off terribly,
(I drove the wrong way for 15 minutes &
Isabella insisted she wanted out of her car seat)
but ended on a high note with lunch at Bajio,
treats from Sweet Tooth Fairy,
and a family sing along during the last hour
to road trip favorites.
(ie Bono, Karen Carpenter, Diamond Rio - eclectic right?)
HOLLA!

Here are my ruffly faves from this week-

{Summer Tote Tutorial @ Creation Corner}

{Shabby Giraffe @ Peanut to Princess}


{Ruffle Easter Dress @ Beneath the Rowan Tree}


{Bustle Backpack @ Me Sew Crazy}


{Fluffy Poodle Lamp @ House of Hepworths}


{Ruffle Bracelet @ Reenie Jae Creations}

I am super excited about:

{Handmade Market}
Friday, May 6th & Saturday May 7th
Del Mar Hilton
15575 Jimmy Durante Blvd Del Mar, CA

Did you see the announcement this week about the new creative conference Snap!??
It's a 3 day conference put on by the DREAM TEAM of creativity
April 19-21, 2012 in Salt Lake City, UT
Yippeeee!!!!!!

Funky Friday Feature: Giggles, Glitz & Glam

Hi everyone at Funky PolkaDot Giraffe! My name is Jana and I blog over at Giggles, Glitz & Glam as well as Thirty-One:10! I am so excited to share with you a really simple tutorial for a distressed monogram letter for your own home or to gift to someone else!


What You'll Need:

A wood cut out of the letter you want to make (I got mine for under $2 at Hobby Lobby)
A can of spray paint (mine was the cheapest one I think)
Sand paper (I used 120-grit)

I do my spray painting in the garage on an old box that I've flattened out. I always try to at least crack the garage for some fresh air.

Spray paint on a nice thick coat, I used black for this one. Be sure you get all the edges & wedges. Then you will have to let it dry for an hour or so before you flip it over.

Flip it over and spray paint the other side. Then let it dry for a couple hours to make sure everything is set in.

To finish it off, take your sand paper and rub off the edges of the letter to give it a rough distressed finished. (As seen below)

Cheap, yet cute way to decorate a monogrammed letter for your home or to use as a gift for a wedding or even a baby gift!

Did I mention I love spray paint?? I do & craft with it often so be sure to stop by my blog, Giggles, Glitz & Glam, to check it out!

What Have You Bookmarked from Blogland? Linky Party

Hooray!

I'm so glad you took the challenge to make something
you've bookmarked from Blogland.

We all do it.
Find awesome stuff around Blogland and bookmark them.
I currently have hundreds of ideas bookmarked.
I've actually made a handful of them.

This week it felt good to actually make one of them,
instead of just adding it to my bookmarks lists - never to be seen again.

My inspiration bookmark were the Resurrection Rolls
posted by Feathers From My Nest.
(I can't seem to find a way to link directly to her post.)



Here are mine!

They were so fun and the kids (and adults) loved them.

Lesson I learned - make enough for each person to have at least three.
True story.



Ok, let's see what you made over last two weeks!
Rules:

• Must be made by you and you must link to the inspiration for your project in your post.
  
• Link up to the specific post - not your main blog.
• Please post the button or link back here so more people can join in the fun.
• Visit some of the other participants and leave them some LOVE!
  

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What I Got Wednesday!

I'm taking a week or so off from Want it? Win it! Wednesday,
but I wanted to share this darling Easter surprise
that I got in the mail this week.



I joined in on the Rabbit Romp Easter Basket Exchange
that Wendy hosted over at Craft Goodies.

I lucked out and got Wendy as my exchange partner!
I was so excited to see what she would make me!

The only rules were that it had to have a basket and a rabbit.
I'm so bummed that I forgot to snap a picture of the basket I sent to Wendy,
but maybe she got one and if she posts I'll share it here.
I found a super cute little metal Easter basket
and of course - I included a bunny hair clip as my rabbit requirement :)

I was so super excited to open up the box and see THIS!


How cute is it????
Wendy is so super talented and such attention to detail.
Look at this little poofy tail!

She included darling bunny candy bars . . .

and jelly bean carrots . . . so darling.

My mom is trying to keep this for herself.

No way!

Thanks, Wendy!
It is awesome.
I'll be your gift exchange partner any day!

Don't forget to come back tomorrow
for our special edition link up party!
To play along you need to write a post about
what you've made that you bookmarked from blogland
and in your post link us up to your inspiration.

Stuff

Stix n Brix
Clayton, NC

We had a visitor Monday afternoon.  A hummingbird hovered at our big window at the breakfast nook.  I think she was trying to tell us something because I hadn't put the feeder out.  Is it possible that she remembered the feeder from last year?  Needless to say, I stopped what I was doing and got the feeder ready.

We've been a little busy the past couple of days getting some things ready for Saturday's yard sale.  We even gathered up two big bags of "stuff" to throw away.  It's a nice feeling to make progress even if it's just small steps.  Gin has also put our waverunners on Craigslist.  I hope whoever buys them enjoys them as much as we did.  It's a good time of year to sell them so wish us luck.

While gathering up some junk to throw out, I found a few fortunes from fortune cookies.  Let me share them.  "Prosperity is a way of living and thinking, and not just having money or things."  "The most important things in life aren't things."  And the one that we really need to remember during the next few months, "All the effort you are making will ultimately pay off."

I want to welcome two recent additions to the list of followers.  Ruth who was at the rally and David & Maxine who were also at the RV-Dreams rally.  That was a great time in the Smokies and we are looking forward to going to another one.

Thanks for dropping by, and enjoy each day of your life's journey by finding beauty in the ordinary.

TOO Cute Tuesday: Linky Par-Tay! #28

Did you hear the Queen Bee Market is coming up??
It's May 6th (4-9pm) and 7th (9-4pm).
I am so there.
Since I missed out on Creative Estates due to the funeral,
and I decided to miss BYU Women's Conference
this week because I am ready TO BE HOME!
I have resolved to be at QBM no matter what!
I'm hoping to load up a van of OC peeps and drive
down to Del Mar and enjoy some retail therapy.

I'm excited to see:
Allora Handmade
Cinnamon Sticks
Flawed Perfection
Funky Vintage Lovely
Little Penelope Lane
lollipops
No. 17 Cherry Tree Lane
Olive Blue
the Pleated Poppy
Rock-a-Bow
Whippy Cake

and so many more!!!!

What did you make this week that is TOO Cute??

Come link up!

Rules:

• Must be made by you.
• Link up to the specific post - not your main blog.
• No Etsy shops or giveaways please :)
  
• Please post the button or link back here so more people can join in the fun.
• Visit some of the other participants and leave them some LOVE!

TOO Cute Tuesday will be open Tuesday-Friday.
On Saturday I'll highlight some of my favorites
and then we'll start over on Tuesday!


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This post brought to you by:

Hooray!

I was so excited that some of the famous bloggers that I stalk love,
agreed to meet me for lunch while I was up in Utah.

Of course, it was a crazy Spring break day at Chick Fil A,
so the surroundings were wild,
but it was fun.

My cousin and my sister-in-law came for moral support.
I was so nervous - because I am crazy.

Cousin * Sister-in-law * Nikki (Salty Pineapple)

It was so fun to see some of the creative ladies I was hoping to meet at Creative Estates.
And super awesome Tauni - who is a co-founder of Creative Estates -
brought me a little gift from the conference.


Nikki {Salty Pineapple} * Becca {BCD} * Tauni {It's a Tradition} *
Char {Crap I've Made} * Lara {Less Cake More Frosting}

It was all done last minute - like within 24 hours -
so I was thrilled that these five awesome ladies could come.
Thanks ladies!!!
It was awesome to meet you all.
Here's to SLC in 2012!!!!
Holla!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter my friends!

Happy Easter!

Wishing you all a very Happy Easter!
xoxo Jenny & Aaron

Doughnuts!!

For years we've been dying to paint doughnuts but for one reason or another the project kept falling to the wayside. We've got countless sketches, doodles, mock ups on napkins...but something else always came along and stole us away from our doughnut painting.
Well yesterday we vowed to finally do it. After hours of poring over doughnut pics on Flickr and Pinterest the inspiration was well ingrained in our souls. It's actually a lil bit disturbing when you look back and realize that you've been searching for and staring at doughnut photos for more then half the day...just to get in the mood.


We wanted to represent doughnuts in a finer way...with a hand painted backdrop of vintage wallpaper and some fab lil striped flags. We also made a die cut version which you can see if you scroll down...and below that are some new tiered cake die cuts and our pink stand mixer. Everything is in our shop now.



But back to doughnuts...I guess my obsession was rekindled around the holidays when I saw a doughnut maker on the shelf in Target...(right next to a cupcake maker. But the doughnut maker was Homer Simpson yellow and would totally clash with my kitchen aesthetic.) I spotted a white version at Urban Outfitters...but are all doughnut makers created equal? I'd hate to buy something simply based on color. Well that last sentence was a white lie because I'll buy a single old beat up rollerskate if it's the right shade of aqua...but you know what I mean.
When the weather gets a little nicer me and Aaron will start going back into NYC more often...and this time not for cupcakes...but for DOUGHNUTS! Doughnut Plant is the bestiest, and they even opened a new location inside the Chelsea Hotel which is in a great part of town that is quick and east to get to. Also dying to check out this doughnut place simply named Dough.
The independent places are where it's at but if you're gonna go for name brand...I don't think there's anything better than Krispy Kreme. We had a location sorta near us a few years back and we'd walk in the door and just see the conveyor belt full of hot doughnuts...and then they pass through a "wall of glaze" and emerged enrobed in translucent sugary heaven...and while you're waiting to place your order one of the doughnut making gals behind the counter hand you a free and fresh off the line hot glazed doughnut...I guess in case you start having second thoughts...they wanna get ya hooked.
Anyway, can you tell it's a rainy day here in Jersey? I think on weather maps, instead of rain clouds there should be graphics of carbs...because who in their right might doesn't want to binge on carbs when it's raining?
Ok, oink oink...I love doughnuts. But seriously...it's a visual thing...I'm an artiste...right?!
On that note...til next time...be back soon! xoxo Jenny