Shine On Fridays Link Party! I'm Co-hosting!

It's Party Time!!

 
This week's Featured Link:
 One of the two most viewed links from last week's party is:

Teacher Appreciation Printable Tags - Tote-lly Terrific! by Uncommon Designs

{Visit Amy over at One Artsy Mama to see other featured links}

This week's co-host is Christina from The Scrappy Housewife.

Meet Christina:

Hey y'all! I'm Christina, also known around the blog world as The Scrappy Housewife.  I'm a housewife to a wonderful hubby and a dog mama to our five pound chihuahua!  I love all things scrapbooking, crafting, embroidery, gardening, and anything vintage.  You could say I aspire to be a 1950's homemaker with a new millennium flare all while making our first house a home.  I hope you'll stop by my blog and check out the fun!

Christina is giving away a $10 Starbucks gift card!! 

Enter using Rafflecopter below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Now it's your time to SHINE!

 
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Show off your fabulous creations with us and be inspired by what others have created!

• Please link up crafts, recipes, home decor, etc.
• I would love for you to follow me and my lovely co-host One Artsy Mama
• Grab a button and post it on your blog to help spread the word
• Have fun and visit other links. Remember we all love comments:)

Can't wait to see your submissions! Now Go Link Up! 

Project Life Giveaway

Here's the thing guys. You know I love scrapbooking and you know my life is kind of crazy busy and sometimes, with the depression, my motivation to sit and do anything for a long period of time is just not there.

Enter Becky Higgins and Project Life. It is quite literally the simplest scrapbooking I've ever done and it allows me to capture even the silly everyday things that I so often miss. It's scrapping for busy people. It's scrapping for people who don't scrap. It. Is. Awesome. 

With one core kit, an album and a pen, you can scrap an entire year's worth of pictures. That's doing a layout each week. If you choose to do it monthly that's five year's worth. Yeah. Crazy good.

So, what's the best part? A couple of week's ago, Project Life had it's TV debut on HSN at an insane, crazy price and I bought an extra Blush Today's Special for one of you! 

Here's a peek at what one of you is getting: 

CLICK HERE FOR HSN PREVIEW OF BLUSH KIT

So, who wants to win?

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer:

Giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 and older. I am not, in any way, affiliated with HSN, Becky Higgins or Project Life at the time of this giveaway. All items were purchased by me to give away on my blog.

Guest Bathroom Makeover Part 1: The Blah Beginning

Hey guys! If you follow me on Facebook you know that hubby and I have been hard at work renovating out basement mostly by ourselves (we've hired out for the flooring). Progress has been slow, but we're finally making some headway and I thought I would take some time to share with you my main project, our guest bathroom.

Aside from being very outdated and all white "blah", it's a nice size and still very functional. We opted not to go all out and demo it (for now anyway) and instead chose to update it on a budget because we are trying very hard not to finance anything in the basement remodel.

Today let's take a look at some "before" pictures and later this week I'll update you with pictures of the progress I've made so far.

The "business end" of the bathroom if you will. You can see it's been a little lived in. When hubby had norovirus, I stayed in the basement so I wouldn't catch it too. I didn't bother to clean up before the photos...just keepin' it real. ;) Also, that toilet had a clear resin butterfly toilet seat on it when we moved in. So classy.

GIGANTIC medicine cabinet left by the former owner. It served it's purpose as a towel bar but not much else.  Oh and those white basins below are my scarves being hand washed. Sorry about that.

 

Ah my (least) favorite part. The wall behind the toilet and above the sink is pretty much all mirror. It goes from one side of the room to the other. So if you're a guy...and you need to use my guest bath...you're going to have an awkward time of it. I'm still working out a solution for that. We'll see how it goes.

Luckily this is the last time you'll see the bathroom looking like this. I can't wait to show you my progress!

Target and Michaels Scrapbooking Haul!

Hey y'all! It's time for another edition of Saturday Scraps and it's another haul post! As I mentioned earlier in the week, I left the house last Saturday and embarked on some retail therapy all by myself. It was lovely. I thought I'd share with you the fun stuff I found while I was out.

First up, Michaels:

These glittery photo corners were on clearance.
I already had some of the silver ones and love them so I couldn't pass this up!

Still working on my albums from when I was teaching. I thought these diecuts would make fun embellishments.
They go all the way through the alphabet.

These were another clearance find. There are two adhesive lace frames in the package. So pretty!

And now Target:

I love my SMASH book and when I found these cute inkers in their scrapbooking section, I had to have them.
There are three colors in each stick. They pull apart.

Along with my SMASH book, I *love* Project Life. While this decorative tape (please note - it's not traditional washi tape, it's a different material) is meant for the SMASH book, I thought some of the individual sections would be cute on some of the smaller PL journal cards.

While I was there, I stumbled on to the We R Memory Keepers version of Project Life. I bought three different packs of these 4 x 6 journal cards. Each one is double sided and would be perfect for my PL and We R plastics. (I branched out to try the We R plastics this year for more variety.) A couple of samples from these pads to follow.

They also had 6x6 pads of the journal cards. These should work perfectly with the Becky Higgins Design E plastics. (The ones I never know what to do with!)

A quick look at the journaling sheet that convinced me to pick up the 6 x 6 for my PL stash. So cute!

Are any of you on the Project Life bandwagon with me? Let me know!

Happy Saturday you guys!

One Chore, One Room Update

Hey guys! So, earlier this week I shared with you my new strategy of One Chore, One Room to help me conquer being overwhelmed. Basically, each day I tackle one major chore (like laundry as you'll see) and dedicate time to really working on one room in the house.

With the new house I've struggled a lot with getting it all done. In the apartment, I could easily clean up the entire space by blocking certain chores on certain days. With a house now about two and a half times the size of the apartment (and three floors) it's not so simple so I'm really working to find a new routine that fits.

Anywho, I thought you might like an update on my progress. Here are some before and after shots.

Tuesday -

Chore: Laundry
Room: Home Office

Wednesday - 

Chore: More Laundry (I was that behind)

Room: Living Room/Dining Room

So here are my thoughts on this process so far. I think it works to an extent. Last week was so overwhelming that not much got done and so it's going to take awhile for me to really get back in a groove. BUT, I'm going to stick with this plan for awhile. It's really helped me to focus on just two things and it's given me motivation to do more when I feel like it. 

So far, so good. 

I feel like the pictures don't necessarily accurately reflect my progress, though.

A) The home office was one of three rooms that's never fully been unpacked so I was starting off with a mountain of "to organize/to do". I actually did a lot more than what the picture shows but I didn't want the post to be picture heavy and I'm saving the closet for it's own post so stay tuned. There's still quite a bit I want to get done in there, but until we finish the basement some of that stuff (books) can't be moved. I'm OK with that.

B) The missing laundry hamper in the "After" photo is sitting empty in the laundry area - pinky swear. I just haven't brought it back upstairs to our bedroom. I feel pretty good about where I'm at with that, but of course, I'd like to be moving more quickly through it. I'm impatient. ;)

C) The living room/dining room is another one of those rooms that just isn't "settled" yet. There are boxes waiting to go to the basement, but since our basement is chaos right now due to the renovations, nothing can be moved. I'm trying to be patient on that count too. Also? There are dishes and such on the table that can't be moved back into the kitchen because one of our many issues last week was finding out we have a mouse friend who has invaded our kitchen. Awesome. As soon as we get the all clear from the exterminator (hopefully tomorrow) we'll give the kitchen one more deep clean and move those items back to their homes. (Mice give me the heebie jeebies.)

Overall, things are going well and I have momentum to keep moving in the right direction. That three page to do list was killing me!

When Life Gets Overwhelming

Why yes, I *do* have to remind myself to take care of me. Sad, but true. I will put myself last on any list.

Hey y'all. I'm working on a post to tell you every last detail about what the heck has been going on over here for the last month or so, but it's taking some time. Let's just say things have been crazy with a capital K and last week I reached my limit.

What did I do? I handed the dog over to my husband along with a bottle of bleach spray (not for the dog) and I said I was outta here. I literally left the house Saturday morning, ran through Burger King for a large Diet and some Cinnabon and then went to Target and the Michaels. I felt guilty leaving my husband to deal with all of the craziness, but I was so completely overwhelmed I just couldn't face it.

When I got home I felt much better, but I recognize that I can't do that all the time. It's not fair to my husband or our house. So what's a girl to do?

Well, I decided that my three page to do list (pictured above) is too overwhelming. It's part of the reason nothing gets done. So today I've decided each day just to focus on one chore and one room a day for the time being. To keep me accountable I'll post pictures of my progress regularly on The Scrappy Housewife Facebook page (my phone is a dinosaur that doesn't allow Instagram - can you believe that?).

So, the plan for today?

Chore: Laundry
Room: Home office (I started to finish this room several weeks ago and then life happened. I'd like to at least get it functioning.)

Sometimes it's just important to step back and pare down the list. If I get these things done and want to do more, then great. But if not? I'm still moving forward and can feel like I accomplished something at the end of my crazy, stressed out day.

Moment by moment.

How About a Silhouette Giveaway?

Yep. You read that right! My good friend Amy over at One Artsy Mama is celebrating her second blog anniversary today and a bunch of us got together with Amy to celebrate in a big, big way! We're giving away a Silhouette Cameo to one lucky winner! 

Y'all I don't even have one myself so I am going to be super jealous of the winner! Seriously, if it's one of you, you'll share right? ;) Kidding! Enjoy in good health and stop by and wish Amy a happy bloggiversary would ya?

Here's how to enter:

a Rafflecopter giveaway Good Luck! And be sure to check the rules below prior to entering.

Giveaway is open to US residents ages 18 and over (sorry international friends!) and ends at 11:59pm EST on March 24, 2013. Approximate retail value $299.99. Number of entries received determines the odds of winning. One winner will be selected. This is a giveaway sponsored as a group buy, which means the bloggers pooled their money together to purchase this product for you. All liabilities and responsibilities with the product itself is directly responsible by Silhouette America. Winner will drawn by random.org from all verified entries, contacted by the email provided when entering, and announced on this page at the end of the contest. Winner has 48 hours to respond or prize will be redrawn. Entrant is responsible for the email address they provide, whether through typing it directly or through the Facebook entry method. {Your blog name} and One Artsy Mama are not responsible for lost, misdirected, or undeliverable emails. All prizes will be awarded, no prize substitutions allowed. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed, administered by, or associated with Facebook and we hereby release Facebook of any liability. Information is provided to One Artsy Mama, not to Facebook, and your information is never sold or shared. Facebook and Silhouette America are not a sponsor of this giveaway. Prize is mailed or emailed directly by Amy of One Artsy Mama. Protected tweets do not count as an entry method for tweeting; tweets must come from a public account. Bloggers in this group giveaway and their immediate family members in their household cannot enter or win the giveaway. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited by law.