July 4th Plans

Do you enjoy celebrating the 4th of July as much as I do? Hard to believe anyone wouldn't enjoy the warm weather, good food, and all the fun activities with family and friends this day brings.


Our family is quite small, but we always enjoy being together on the 4th. My brother always comes in for the holiday, so we celebrate his birthday during this time. His real birthday is the following week

How To Make An Americana House

Hi everyone! I hope you had a great weekend. As I mentioned on Friday, I'll be doing a couple of 4th of July projects this week. How the time slipped up on me, I'm not quite sure, but this little house can  be completed quickly and can be enjoyed for the 4th, Labor Day, Memorial Day, or just for every day for a home with country or Americana decor.

I really love decorating these little houses

Friday Feature: 4th Of July Projects

Have you made anything for the 4th of July yet? The holiday seemed to slip up on me, but I have a project listed below and a craft project I'll share on Monday.

In addition to my project, I thought we could all use some inspiration for quick and easy ideas for the 4th, so here are some of my favorite ideas from around the web.
All photos belong to the bloggers mentioned and have been used with

Cute Bunny Planter

I found this cute bunny planter at a local greenhouse where I used to sell crafts. I still love to shop there because they have such a good selection of unusual garden and home accessories. Although I loved the adorable tree and bunny, I really wasn't crazy about the terra cotta color, so my Mom painted it for me since I haven't had time to do it recently.



Bunny planter as purchased.



Isn't

A Project And A Winner

Happy Wednesday everyone! Hard to believe it's already the halfway mark of the week.

I mentioned a few days ago that I'm designing projects for Bowdabra. Did you notice the garden hat hanging on my parents cottage style porch? Well, here is a detailed picture of it:


If you would like to make your own garden hat, the instructions with step by step pictures are here on the Bowdabra Blog!

In

Gluten Free Coconut Lime Cake

Since I try to eat gluten free and my family doesn't, I'm always trying to find gluten free recipes that taste "normal" so both my family and I can enjoy them. One thing that they like the same as I do are Betty Crocker gluten free cake mixes. Therefore, we've experimented with different recipes to make a plain yellow or chocolate cake be a special dessert.

The recipe I'm sharing today combines

Giveaway Deadline Reminder and Thanks!

Don't forget that today is the LAST DAY to enter my Craft and DIY with Elmer's Giveaway. Please don't ask to be entered on this post.....only entries on the official entry form count. This contest has a rather low entry number, so you still have a good chance of winning some great Elmer's products including letter and number stencils, glues and adhesive, markers, and more. You have until 11:59pm 

How To Make Bows

Learn how to make bows for projects like my Decorative Box Tutorial.
There are a lot of people who avoid certain crafts that require a bow because they don't know how to make one. Don't be intimidated because there is an easy and quick way to make beautiful bows. I'll share my tricks with you.

When attempting bows for the first time, my recommendation is to start with wire edged ribbon. It is

Cottage Style Porch Tour

Welcome to our porch tour! Last week I told you I would take you on a tour of the little porch off my parents' bedroom, and thankfully I found the perfect rug for the space on Wednesday, so the decorating is complete. I wasn't sure how the pictures would turn out since Mother Nature gave us storms yesterday, and we were supposed to get more today. However, I went out early this morning when the

Pretty Thrifty Finds

Recently, I've been doing a lot of thrifting, therefore, I'm sharing a few of my finds today. When I read other blogs, you girls always talk about getting things dirt cheap at the thrift store, but I never find those great bargains in our area.  Most of the thrift shops where I live sell a lot of chipped or broken things at inflated prices. However, I've managed to find a few places that have a

Easy Vintage Inspired Artwork

Today's project is a very quick and easy way to reuse old picture frames to make artwork for your home. Don't worry if you aren't an artist, because this is a simple project that anyone can do, and you can adjust this art to work with any size frame.

This is a very economical project, and more than likely you have all or most of the supplies already. The only thing I had to buy was a picture

Craft and DIY with Elmer's Giveaway

When I was a little girl, I used to be excited when my parents or someone I knew gifted me with new craft supplies. Many times I made construction paper crafts using Elmer's glue, so this is a brand that I have known and trusted since my childhood. Once I started wood crafting and doing DIY repairs on our house as an adult, I realized Elmer's offers more than just kids' craft glue.

Adhesives

My First Painted Rose

Happy Friday everyone! So sorry I did not do my porch reveal as promised yesterday. I decided to buy a rug to go on the porch, but haven't found one I like that fits and is also affordable. The rug is on the top of my "to buy" list, so I really will share the reveal next Thursday whether I find the rug or not.

However, I will share another sneak peek! Every good resting spot needs a place to

How To Make A Tassel

Learn how to make a basic tassel.

Tassels are so pretty for home decor or crafts, but they are usually very expensive when buying one at the store. Today, I thought I'd show you how to make you own because they are easy and cheap to assemble with whatever materials you have on hand. You can use yarn as I have for my tassel, but embroidery thread, twine, strips of fabric, or strands of beads

Cheesy Sausage Pinwheels

For breakfast on the run, as snacks, or served as a party appetizer, these pinwheels hit the mark!  They are substantial enough for breakfast, but just right for a quick snack. Serve with pizza sauce or honey mustard, and they are wonderful for a party. Best of all, these cheesy sausage pinwheels can be made ahead and reheated whenever you are ready to serve them.

Cheesy Sausage Pinwheels
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Giveaway Reminders

I hope you are having a great weekend! This is just a quick reminder to let you know this is the LAST weekend to enter either of my current contests.

Entries must be made on the official  giveaway posts to count and NOT this post.

For my Cupcake Love contest to win cupcake baking supplies, here is the official entry form.

If you want to win some Betty Crocker Gluten Free Mixes, go here to

Thank You!

Because of the blogger mess, I didn't get to properly thank everyone who has featured my stuff in the last couple of weeks, so I wanted to take the time to do that now! It means a lot to me that you've enjoyed my posts enough to share them with others.



My chicken salad pockets apparently were very popular. Thanks to the following people for sharing them:
Carrie of Dittle Dattle featured them

Progress On My Porch

A couple of weeks ago, I shared some design inspirations for a tiny porch just off my parents' master bedroom. If you are a long time reader, you know that due to some unforeseen circumstances, I live with my parents.

Anyone else probably would have had this porch finished by now, but we were delayed by several mishaps involving painting some old furniture  Therefore, today, I am giving you a

Tangy Pasta Salad

In the warm weather months, it's nice to have something to serve that is easy to prepare and cool to eat. Almost everyone has a pasta salad that they like, but this is the one my family enjoys the most because it is made with simple ingredients that you may already have in your pantry or fridge. The recipe for today is a basic recipe that can be changed easily with your choice of dressings,