Why I'm Inspired and An Inspired Giveaway

Back in the beginning of March, I caught a bug. I was in the mood to...craft. To create something. This had never happened to me before and I was rather taken aback by it. I didn't know how to handle it or even where to start, so I googled. I clicked. I searched. After clicking and backspacing for awhile, I came across a sweet little blog.

 It's called:

  .

Of course, the girl had tutorials out the yin yang. Easy to follow tutorials for novices such as myself. Not only were her tutorials bangin' she was also highly relate-able, funny and honest. I liked her instantly. I wrote an exultant blog about her, running the risk of sounding like a weird fan girl. The icing on the cake was when she commented on my blog. No big blogger has ever done that! Never.

That being said, not only did her tutorials inspire me, she herself inspired me by commenting. It flipped a switch in me and made me think that maybe I could expand my blog a bit; grow it and share with others. Since then, that's what I've done. I'm really proud of the little blog and realize I still have a lot more to learn.

I've been working through some of LMM's tutorials; want to see what I've done so far? Sure you do!

When I saw this I knew I could do it easily; basically, all you do is paint a board, carefully stick a vinyl on it and sand the edges. A little hint for ya: there is no such thing as sanding too much; it just depends how distressed you want it to look. Want to do this tutorial? Click here.

This head band made it to my Top Ten Tutorials I Will Conquer post. Guess what? I conquered it! I love wearing this headband. I changed LMM's original a little; stretchy headbands never stay on so I used a plain plastic one. Do you want a pretty headband too? Click here.

You know how some crafts you need to do more than once to get just right? Well, that's how this one went. It started off well enough:

But I quickly realized that I didn't pay enough attention to LMM's instructions and made all the flowers the same size and that size was too big. The necklace turned out looking like maybe it belonged to a fashionable clown.

 Craft fail.

I tried it again, this time with different lace and the correct sizing. I also gently folded down the top of the lace as it circled around to add some definition. Then I added a few extra pearls to accent it. Perfect.

What? You want to make this lovely necklace too? Click here for the tutorial.

I got to thinking though. I couldn't keep this lovely necklace for myself; I wanted to share it with you; the people who read my words and respond to my weird little peccadilloes. I want to say thank you; I'm over 100 followers and 100 followers on Twitter; that's a big deal! So, I'm giving this necklace away to one lucky reader. My intent is to tie together my newfound love of crafting to my inspiration; and then to share it with you guys.

You want that necklace, don't you? It makes a statement, so you could pair it with just about any top to make it pop. It works with my navy blue blouse and with LMM's lime green frock.

Here's how you can win it:

Mandatory:

Comment and tell me what your favorite tutorial ever is.
-and-

Follow me on GFC.

{Leave a separate comment for each.}

Additional entries:

Follow me on Twitter.

Like my Facebook page.

Comment and tell me what inspires you.

{Leave a separate comment for each.}

Giveaway will end Monday, June 6th.

I love you guys, really. We're bloggy BFF's for sure.

A Little Inspiration: Tutorial Tuesday

ugh.

our AC is out.

we live in south texas.

today was the hottest day of the year here; a whopping 97 degrees.

my baby is sweating in his crib.

16 and Pregnant is playing in the background; and since I really can't stand that show, it's adding to my irritation.

i need an attitude adjustment; here's some new inspiration for us.



i want to make, like, everything on this site.

but here are a couple of my favorites:

custom frame for the builder grade mirror!

i've been wanting to do something to our bathroom, but ripping out the mirror and buying custom sounds so formidable and time consuming.  this is do-able with results that you can see after a day or two.

framing favorite quotes in a panoramic frame on pretty craft paper.

stephanie made this on her $0 budget series; amazing, right?  i'm going a'hunting for new craft paper this weekend and i already have the panoramic frames. 
a project like this makes me want to ask:
what are your favorite quotes or scriptures?

toilet paper roll art

this is another one of the $0 project series.

i'm in the process of squirreling away my toilet paper rolls to make a rather substantial one that will hang in our stairwell.

i've got a couple more projects in the works that I'm excited to share with you...
including one from this girl
(can you guess which one it is?)

as soon as our air is back.
(our main computer with all the pictures is in a hot room with an uncomfortable chair and it makes me itch and sweat.)

and tune in tomorrow, where I will feature a gem I found last week and have also been stalking...

PS

stephanie,

topher's mama concurs that you are indeed full of good ideas.

in fact, you are awesome.

so please, grab a button:

<a href="http://www.ginkelsey.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img alt="Life as Topher's Mama" src="http://i1178.photobucket.com/albums/x369/virginiajeanne/button3.jpg" /></a>

Cause Babies Don't Keep

“Cleaning and dusting can wait ‘til tomorrow
For babies grow up, we learn to our sorrow
So cobwebs be quiet, and dust go to sleep
I’m rocking my baby, cause babies don’t keep!”

Repeating this poem in my head over and over as I leave for work this morning with a dirty house, and papers that still need to be graded.  I had a good weekend with my guys...but two days just isn't quite enough.  

Thanks, TheKelSmith!