shameless plug post.

yes, this post is a shameless, selfish, total attention-whore plug for my shop.

but i am having a sale. a spring cleaning weekend sale! (even if it IS freeeeeezing in jersey today)....

BUY ANY 3 ITEMS, GET A 4TH FREE! thats right folks, ANYTHING in the shop is up for sale!

buy 3 sets of clips, get another free. buy 3 headbands, get another free. buy a set of cards, a set of clips, and a headband, get a 4th item free! the possibilities are ENDLESS!!!!!

heres some fine print [said in a fast voice...]: 4th item's price refunded via paypal, not applicable to shipping,  reunded via paypal, not to be combined with other discounts or codes

go forth, and shop.

http://www.bellamiabowsnthings.etsy.com/

2 posts in one day....

i realize i posted this morning...after like a month...and now i'm posting again...after like 6 hours...

but I AM ON THE FRONT PAGE OF ETSY RIGHT NOW!!!

so for those who dont do etsy...people make up treasuries. within each treasury is a collection of pretty items the curator (creator of treasury) wants to put together..whether its a color, a mood, or just because. treasuries can be hard to come by bc there is only a limited amount and you have to wait for older ones to expire to get one. lots of times you have to stalk the treasuries (or use tools like http://www.craftopolis.com/ 's treasury countdown) before you get one of your own.

once you make a treasury, it is active for between 2-3 days. in that time, people view treasuries and its a good way to get people to see your shop. but...every now and then a treasury will make it to the front page! this means that etsy picked the treasury bc they liked the way it looked and the items in it, and they put it on the FP for about an hour or so. in that time, the traffic to the shops featured is INSANE!

...and i'm there, RIGHT NOW.

a friend of mine, a fellow member of the Knotties and Nesties on Etsy team (Laurel from http://www.etsy.com/shop/goagainstthegrain ), included one of my headbands in her treasury, and the treasury was picked to be on the front page.

thankfully, another friend of mine,Monica, also from the KNETEAM, (http://www.etsy.com/shop/damaskdiva) taught me how to do a screen shot and here it is!

i had to do it in 2 screen shots bc it wouldnt fit in one.

yay! so thats that....so excited!

hello again...today i bring you SPRING!

so march brings us the idea of spring time...and quite frankly, after all the snow we had, i am totally looking forward to it! i am not really an outdoorsy person at all...and if i am being honest, would much the day inside doing house things than frolicking outside. BUT, i do enjoy staying inside with the windows open, the wind blowing through the screens, birds chirping outside while i take a  nap on the couch....and you need springy weather for that! =)

but also with the springy weather, springy decor is a way to brighten up inside, even during those rainy days of march.

this year i decided to do a little easter/spring decorating....and i figured after my epic fail decorating for valentines day from the dollar store, i would try to redeem myself with easter. so i perused a few blogs and got a few ideas, ran to the dollar store with $20 and a confidence that i would be a success this time around!

and this is what i got:

This is my easter scape...made from all things dollar store (except the mikasa candlesticks--tho the candles are from the dollar store =)

here are a few close ups:

Plastic eggs i sanded and painted robins egg blue and then speckled with black paint. the moss also from the $1-store. i saw this on a blog..i *think* i found it first here: http://dollarstorecrafts.com/2010/02/robins-egg-vase/  it would have been easier if i had been able to find the craft eggs, but my store didnt have them, so i had to take the extra step of sanding before painting. the foam eggs would have been lots easier.

(the vase is made from a metal candle-holder base that was black and i painted white. then i glued it to the glass bowl on top. voila-a $2 vase)

i got 3 of these frames ($1 each)...they were red (i left the edges) and then i painted them in the colors that matched and then white washed the tops. when i sprayed the acrylic sealer, the red bled thru a bit, but i kinda liked it, so i left it.

another frame, a dollar store vase with dollar store flowers. the pink arrangement i used from my daughters first bday. the pots were terracotta from michael's (.89 ea.) and i painted them with watered down pink acrylic, added some dollar store ribbon, and some more dollar store flowers.

more egg-y vases. i made 2 of these (see first pic). and i just used an ice-cream tall glass and turned it upside down for the base and then glued the bowl to the top. added moss and egg. another $2 vase.

these i think, are my faves. i bought 2 birds from the dollar store...which were originally a stone color. they have a sandy texture to them which i love so i left it, and i painted them a pastelly, yet bright, yellow. they are sooo cute!

i do have to iron the runner...but i actually just sewed 3 placemats together...each was "off" a bit size-wise, but i just lined up the fronts..the backs are totally uneven, but you cant tell. lol. for a 3 dollar runner, i'll totally take it. =)

so--i didnt take before pics...but i was too excited to come home and try it out.

in total, this easter scape cost me roughly $18  ($4 more if you include the pink pots i had already--and i had the paint so i wont count that either)

the runner i was looking at at target was like $17 by itself...so i think i did pretty well and manged to make a pretty easter scape for essentially less than one piece i was looking at prior to my dollar store epiphany. 

the only thing that didnt come out the way i wanted it to bc i got lazy was the wreath i had started. i wont even put pics up bc i'm slightly embarrassed by it. LOL. i was TRYING to put plastic eggs around a foam wreath covered in ribbon....but i got too lazy to sand and paint the eggs, so i glued them as is...and well, it looks like plastic eggs glued to a wreath--so i've ditched it. and will not show you bc i think you all would just point and laugh at me....so i'll just leave you with the successes so you will think i am uber-crafty and cool =)

and i gotta tell you....the feeling i get when i walk into the dining room and see my pretty spring-time project is just awesome. it always makes me smile--i think its the yellow birds (and the cheap-o in me that knows i did it on a dollar store budget). even on a gloomy day like today...i have a little spring in my house.

now---if only i could open the windows and take a nap on the couch....tho really, with a 2 year old, who can take a nap? except, maybe her. so my yellow birdies and the happiness they bring me will have to do, for now.