Shine on Fridays #81

Guess what, friends!  It's party time again!

While you're here, don't miss out on some big things that are happening!

I'm celebrating 4000+ Facebook friends with a HUGE Winner's Choice giveaway!  Don't miss out; enter now!

Also, if you've been wanting a Silhouette Cameo or Portrait, now's a great time to buy and take advantage of a huge sale that's going on right now!  More details here, and don't forget to use ARTSY at checkoust!

Now, take a look at some of my favorite projects you all linked up last week!

1. Homemade Cracker Jack: The Benson St.
2. Tissue Paper Flowerpots: Artsy VaVa
3. Painted Illusions Using Hands: Atop Serenity Hill
4. Half Pallet Herb Garden: Eyes on the Source
5. Sparkling Strawberry Lemonade: Melissa's Cuisine
6. DIY Hanging Mobile: She Turned Her Dreams Into Plans
7. Mosaic Tile Stepping Stone: Wait 'Til Your Father Gets Home
8. King's Hawaiian Rolls Copycat Recipe: Cheerios & Lattes
9. Glass Vase Cover: Or So She Says

Before we continue on with the party, I want to take a few minutes to introduce you to one of our brand new co-hostesses {and an awesome personal friend of mine}, Kirsten!  Here she is to tell you about her blog:

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One Tough Mother is a place where one over-committed and partially insane mom & wife spills her guts about her own shortcomings in the hopes of making you feel better about yourself.

I'm Kirsten, the slightly nuts woman who lives here.  This is my world - full of half-finished crafts, empty scrapbook pages, burnt dinners, dirty dishes, and slobbering dogs.  Stop by One Tough Mother some time, where I share craft projects & organization tips, and where I always keep it real. Some of my favorite posts are:

{1} Family Command Center

{2} Mini Travel Albums

{3} How to Simplify Meal Planning

You can also connect with me here:

      

So glad you're part of our party, Kirsten!!

This week, Kirsten, Hannah, Kara, and I are combining forces to offer you a $40 Target Gift Card Giveaway!  Yay!

Rafflecopter will walk you through the entry process; good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Now, onto the party!

Show off your fabulous creations with us and be inspired by what others have created!  Please link up crafts, recipes, home decor, etc.  We can't wait to see what you've been up to lately!!

If you're going to play along with us, pretty please: - follow the co-hosts

- grab a party button and put it somewhere on your blog

- have fun and visit some other friends

- no commercial sites

- send us Starbucks gift cards {just kidding...kind of!}

Linking up your photos gives us permission to use them in features on our blogs and Facebook pages.

Beach Ball Pillow and a Silhouette Promotion!

Little Crafter and I share a few important mutual loves, namely Starbucks, art projects, and the beach!!  Now that the weather is warm and summer is headed our way, we're both getting impatient for our Myrtle Beach vacation.  To help us think beach-y thoughts while we're still here at home, I thought it would be fun to surprise him with a beach ball throw pillow.  {It worked!}  Here's how I made it, with the help of "Cammie" and some sewable fabric interfacing I received from Silhouette.

BEACH BALL APPLIQUÉ PILLOW COVER

Materials:

- Assorted fabric {I used blue, white, red, and yellow}

- Sewable fabric interfacing

- Scissors

- Tape Measure

- Sewing machine, pins, thread

- Iron

- Silhouette cutting machine, cutting mat, and software

STEP 1: Cut pillow cover fabric.

I decided to make it "envelope" style, so here's what I needed.  My pillow form was 12x12, so I needed to cut one piece that was an inch larger all around, {13x13} and one piece that was the same length on one side and four extra inches on the other {13x17}.  Then, I cut the 13x17 piece in half.  The square piece becomes the front, and the other two will become the envelope flaps in the back {you'll see}!

STEP 2: Attach interfacing and cut decorative fabric.

My design was a beach ball from the Silhouette online store.  In my software, I ungrouped the pieces and decided what colors to cut each one.  I followed the package directions to iron the interfacing to each piece of fabric, place it on the cutting mat, and have Cammie cut out the various parts of the ball for me.

Here, she's getting ready to cut the large white circle that forms the base of the ball.

Then, she cut the red piece, followed by the yellow, purple, and finally the small blue circle.

STEP 3: Iron pieces in place on the pillow cover front.

I assembled all the cut pieces to make the completed beach ball and ironed them onto the 13x13 square {and each other} according to the directions to hold them in place.

STEP 4: Sew around edges.

If you have a fancy Serger machine, you can obviously use that; I don't, so I used a zig zag stitch.  I sewed carefully around every exposed edge of my appliquéd fabric.  This prevents the edges from fraying and also helps to keep the design firmly & permanently secured.  I didn't have any trouble at all sewing through the interfacing, even when there were several layers of fabric on top of each other.

STEP 5: Turn the 13" edge of each back flap piece down 1" and iron.  Turn down another 1" and iron, then sew close to the edge to make a finished edge.

STEP 6: Overlap the short sides with the finished edges together on top of the pillow front, right sides together.  Sew all the way around with 1/4" - 1/2" seam.

STEP 7: Turn and insert pillow form!

I am absolutely thrilled with how the finished product turned out, and it seems I'm not the only one...

Want to make one of your own?  I've got some great news!

Silhouette is offering a special promotion now through May 31 on their cutting machines and fabric interfacing!

If you already have your own "Cammie" or "Portia," you can get the Fabric Interfacing Bundle, which includes the two kinds of interfacing {one that you sew, like I did, and the other that's no sewing required}, PLUS a fabric cutting blade and a $25 download card, all for just $29.99!  If you've been wanting a cutting machine, now's the perfect time; you can get the machine plus the interfacing, the fabric blade, and either a download card or cutting mat for a special promotional price.  The Portrait bundle is just $129.99, and the Cameo bundle is just $269.99!  

To take advantage of these special prices while they last, visit the promo page and enter the code

ARTSY at checkout!

Hugs & Glitter,

Winner's Choice Giveaway!

Ooooh, boy, friends, do I have some exciting news for you!!  Yesterday afternoon, I logged into the One Artsy Mama Facebook page and saw a beautiful thing...4000 friends!   I am so thrilled that each one of you has decided to be a part of the One Artsy Mama community, and I want to celebrate it by giving away a fabulous present!

One lucky winner will win her choice of the following prizes:  A Silhouette Portrait {which will come with a fabric blade, 2 types of fabric interfacing, and a $25 download card}, a $200 Amazon Gift Card, OR a $200 Target Gift Card!  Hopefully there's something everyone will love!

I have to send a special and very big THANK YOU to some of my favorite bloggy buddies who are generously helping me to pull off a giveaway of this size.  Be sure to stop by and like them, thank them, and tell them how awesome they are!  

Rafflecopter will walk you through the entry process; good luck, and thanks again for being here!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway is open to entrants ages 18 and over and ends at 12:00am EST on May 30, 2013. Approximate retail value $200.00. 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. One Artsy Mama is 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, Target, Amazon, 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. International entrants are not eligible to receive the Silhouette Portrait unless they provide a valid US Shipping address.  No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited by law.

Hugs & Glitter,

Mikarose Review and Giveaway

Hey, friends!  How many of you love fashion?  How many of you like finding cute spring & summer styles that don't cost way too much money or show way too much skin?  Today, I'm excited to show you a few of my favorite dresses from the Mikarose Spring line.  There are so many options to choose from that I had a hard time deciding which one I wanted to review.  I finally chose the Ellie dress because it looked lightweight, comfortable, and the ruffle would be a fun touch if I wore it while dancing!

Here it is on the model.  I really wanted the Coral Rose version, but it was out of stock, so I got the pretty Egyptian Blue instead.

The Ellie

Planning Meals with Martin's {and free recipe card printables}!

Hey, friends!  Today, let's talk about food!  More specifically, dinner.  I don't know about you, but I love to eat and so do the men in my family.  Every day, we eat dinner together as a family and I try to plan ahead for great meals we can all enjoy.  But sometimes I feel like we're stuck in a rut.  Particularly when Little Crafter gets involved in making the menu.  If it were up to him, every week would look the same: Spaghetti, tacos, BBQ, leftover spaghetti, leftover BBQ, pizza...or some combination thereof.  It's a challenge to find recipes hubby can eat, though, since he's lactose intolerant and can't have cream, milk, or cheese.  

One Crafty Contest: Round 2 Material!

Did you all enjoy that paint round as much as I did?!  Wow!  What a fantastic group of projects!  Now it's time to move on and see what our Top 15 will do with the material for Round 2!

WASHI TAPE!

Paint Round Results and our Top 15!

Hey, friends!  Thanks so much for voting and helping to determine which projects are moving on in the competition!  Weren't the paint projects fantastic?  Many of the contestants are planning to blog about their projects and give you tutorials and/or a more in-depth look at how they came up with their ideas.  As they are posted, I'll be linking to them from this page, so be sure to stop back in the next few days and see if your favorites have a link to click!

Our first place winner and recipient of the Cutting Edge Stencil prize is:

ILONA: Stenciled Tray