Archives for January 2012

Wednesday’s Wowzers {5}

January 31, 2012 22 Comments

Hello again! If you haven't already, be sure to check out the amazing Creative Carousel projects I posted about earlier today. You will find tons of inspiration for your upcoming Love Day! I am now switching gears from V-Day to full steam ahead on planning a Mickey Mouse birthday party. Time is running out before the big day!

Now it's time to par-tay! I stayed up late last night reviewing all of the links from last week's party. Wowzers, you people are talented!

Today's party is brought to you by e-mealz. Especially right now, as we are saving for a house, I believe that e-mealz is a powerful way to save money on meals! E-mealz plans delicious meals for the week and even offers a cheap, quick grocery list to print out on your way to the store. It's a genius way to save time and money!

Now let me show off some of my favorite links from last week's party. Y'all are making it way too difficult for me to narrow down my favorites! There is so much to pin here! Check it out...

The most viewed link was How Does She?'s 10 Things I Love About You:

Those ladies at How Does She? always have the best ideas! This is something I would LOVE to do for my hubby.

Here are a few of my other favorites:

Some fabulous printables!

1 - Snowman: Some Assembly Required printable @ Funky Polkadot Giraffe

2 - A Bushel and a Peck printable @ Tattered and Inked

3 - The ABC's of Us @ The Dating Divas

"Pretty Stuff"

4 - Baby boy nursery tour @ Positively Splendid

5 - Bow Tie Not Optional Necklace @ Flamingo Toes

6 - Ruffled lamp shade @ Putting Down Roots

7 - Embossed music note wreath @ Mockingbird Cottage

8 - Circus Party @ vixenMade

Valentine's Day goodies!

9 - Valentine M&M Samoa Blondies @ Six Sisters Stuff

10 - Peanut Butter Blossoms @ Sugar Bean Bakers

11 - Pink mini donuts @ The Diary of Dave's Wife

LOVE inspiration

12 - Love is All You Need @ The Happy Scraps

13 - Pottery Barn Knockoff Love Wall Art @ Uncommon Designs

Now let's get this party started!!

Just a reminder that this is a party! Be sure to stop by someone's blog and tell them hello. I am a firm believer in the power of positive commenting.

Grab a button so you can play along.

<div align="center"><a href="http://www.oopseydaisyblog.com/" title="Oopsey Daisy"><img src="http://i987.photobucket.com/albums/ae356/alpal917/Wowzers_good.jpg" alt="Oopsey Daisy" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

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Filed Under: wowzers Tagged With: link party

Valentine Chair Pouch {Creative Carousel}

January 31, 2012 12 Comments

The Creative Carousel is back!

I am so excited to share some Valentine's Day-themed inspiration today!!

I love the Creative Carousel because it's my opportunity to join forces with some truly talented ladies. After assigning a theme, we all set to work on a project. It's so fun to see everyone'e individual creativity shine. After taking a look at my project, I hope you'll stop by to take a look at the other fabulous tutorials also! Here is my contribution to the Creative Carousel:

As you know, I adore felt and have plenty left over from my quiet book and countless other projects! Well, it's making another appearance today! I first spotted similar chair pouches at Sheek Shindigs, and knew I wanted to create my own! These will be our own little Valentine's Day mailboxes.

These were really quite simple to put together! I sewed all 3 pouches for our family in an afternoon. So let's get started!

For this project, you will need:

-- Felt (I used red and white)

-- Jumbo ricrac

-- Sewing velcro

-- Flocked heat adhesive vinyl from Silhouette (optional)

-- Ribbon or other embellishing supplies

-- Sewing supplies

To start, I created a heart pattern from freezer paper. If you would like to use the same pattern, just click here to download mine. I did resize the pattern so it would fit a 12x12 sheet of paper. After creating the heart, I pinned it to white felt and just cut out the scalloped heart (the back) by hand.

I also cut out a second red heart and chopped off the top to create the pouch. To hang the pouch on the chair, I cut a long strip of felt about 19 inches long, but this was custom for our individual kitchen chairs.

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Filed Under: Creative Carousel, felt, holidays, sewing, Valentine's Day Tagged With: felt, pocket, pouch, ricrac, sewing, Valentine's Day

Burlap Love Banner {Pinterest Club!}

January 30, 2012 15 Comments

I am on a roll with Valentine's Day crafts. All of this red and pink is really brightening up my winter!

I am very lucky that I have friends who love to craft, too. It's always more fun to create with a friend, right?? So some of my friends and neighbors created a little "Pinterest Club." Basically, we find a craft (usually from Pinterest!) and attempt to recreate it. It's a perfect time to get our kiddos together to play so we can play, too!

On Friday, we got together to recreate this burlap love banner that my friend Sara spotted on Groopdealz. It was originally created by Auntie Lolo Crafts.

It had been a while since I dug into my burlap stash, but I "love" how this turned out!

And guess what?! It took less than an hour to put together. I love a quick and easy craft.

Start out by cutting 6 pennant/triangle shapes from burlap. Or try out another fabric if burlap isn't your thing!

I cut out some freezer paper stencils using my Cricut, and then ironed them onto the pennants. I also ironed on a scrap piece of freezer paper to the back of each one to be sure the paint wouldn't bleed through.

Using a foam brush, I painted the letters black and the hearts red. I love that it took no time at all for the paint to dry. Like I said, a quick-and-easy craft was perfect for us today! Especially with whining kiddos. Yes, I'm afraid Little Man wasn't on his best behavior.

I strung all of the pennants together using thick twine. I just separated the threads a bit to create a hole and strung the twine through.

Because I have already decorated my un-mantle, I added this banner to our dresser mirror instead.

And yes, that's me in the mirror!

So just in case you still need to decorate for Love Day OR if you just want to make something fun with friends, this is the perfect craft!

I can't wait for our next craft together!

Have a great week, friends!

Filed Under: banner, burlap, craft, holidays, Valentine's Day Tagged With: banner, burlap, love, Valentine's Day

Sunday’s Snippets: Prayers

January 29, 2012 7 Comments

For me, Sundays are a nice break from the usual routine to enjoy a day with family! Here on the ol' blog, I use Sundays to give you glimpses into everyday life. Because even though vinyl and mod podge are a lot of fun... believe it or not, most days we are just eating PB&J and working on getting the laundry done!

This week was all about prayer. Lots of prayers were given, and lots of prayers were answered. It was rollercoaster ride with plenty of ups and downs. But it was just a few days ago--Monday, to be precise--that Little Man enjoyed an entire morning of fun with his cousins and everything seemed just fine. We visited the Denver Firehouse Museum. The boys had the chance to dress up head to toe in fireman gear.

Fireman hats, coats, boots, even gloves!!

They even had the chance to drive a fire truck!

Yes, it was a dream come true for these boys!!

But little did we know that this sweet guy (Little Man's youngest cousin) was very, very sick.

Since our field trip, my sweet 20-month-old nephew endured more than any little guy should have to endure. Tests and more tests. Trips to the pediatrician's office. Then the specialist. Then the hospital. Each day, the results seemed a bit more grim. But after a week full of tension and waiting, good news has finally arrived! And never has the word "negative" sounded so sweet. So while the most terrifying possibility has been eliminated, we continue to pray for answers about the cause of it all.

Times like this put everything into perspective. Somehow my overflowing inbox isn't bothering me right now. And yes, the dishes in the sink are being ignored. Because right now knowing that everything will be alright is all that matters. Prayers are answered, my friends.

Get ready for another exciting week at Oopsey Daisy! You can look forward to...

-- The return of the Creative Carousel, Valentine's Day style!

-- A sewing project {still learning my new machine!}

-- Another incredible wowzers linky party. You never cease to blow me away!

-- An easy peasy valentine

What were the best parts of your week?

"See" you tomorrow!

Filed Under: snippets

Cowl Review {Avery’s Loft}

January 28, 2012 7 Comments

I hope you're enjoying a lovely weekend! I am feeling so blessed today! I woke up this morning knowing once again that prayers are answered. The sun is shining a little brighter for our family today.

What are you up to this weekend? My day is full with many busy comings and goings, but I wanted to pause to give a huge shout-out to Avery's Loft and its incredible owner, Amy.

Avery's Loft is absolutely brimming with swoon-worthy crochet products. There is lots to love from earrings to scarves; from camera strap covers to boot cuffs! Recently, Amy generously offered me the opportunity to try out her gorgeous ribbed cowl. This cowl is the perfect addition to my wardrobe considering our crazy Colorado weather. If you can believe it, we had snow yesterday morning. But the sun was shining by afternoon. This cowl kept me "cozy" (Little Man's new favorite word!) all day long!

I am simply impressed with Amy's craftsmanship! Let me tell you what I love about this cowl...

* The quality. There is just something about wearing handmade and knowing that I am wearing a one-of-a-kind product!

* I love the butterscotch color of my cowl! And there are plenty of colors to choose from. Amy makes these custom!

* Don't you love the button detail?! I do!!

* There are lots of ways to wear this! It's very versatile--wear it around your shoulders like I did or around your neck like a scarf.

Now the exciting news: This week, Amy is generously offering 15% off everything in her shop using the code OOPSEYDAISY. This code will be valid for the next week... so get ready to go shopping!

Don't you think my hubby is becoming a fantastic photographer? {Insert round of applause}

The things he puts up with being married to a blogger...

Happy weekend!

Avery's Loft provided me with free product for this review. All opinions are 100% my own, as described in my Disclosure statement.

Filed Under: review Tagged With: Avery's Loft, cowl, crochet

ABC Valentine {Easy Peasy Valentine}

January 27, 2012 89 Comments

Hooray for Friday!

So much has happened this week {exciting and heartbreaking!} and I'm looking forward to having a few days to relax and have some fun! I'm glad you're here with me today because I have another easy peasy valentine to share with you!

I get a touch of crafting ADD at times. I created this fun alphabet valentine, and I found that it was quite versatile. Before sharing the download links, I am going to show how I used this printable 3 different ways.

So I created this ABC Valentine image in Photoshop. I just typed up the alphabet, but inserted a heart shape for the "O." I tried out all sorts of different backgrounds and text colors!

Option #1: I thought this would be a fun valentine for Little Man to give his friends. So we just glued a heart candy after printing out the image on neutral cardstock. And of course a little ribbon embellishment doesn't hurt!

Hmmm loving this option. Especially for school.

Option #2: I resized this image a bit smaller, printed it out on cardstock, and turned it into a card!

Love the aqua and red!

But the pink chevron is delightfully cheery too. I'm very indecisive. One of each please! 🙂

Option #3: I printed out the image at Costco and framed it!

Are you ready to download your own?

There are plenty of options here!

All images are 8x10.

Please remember that these images are for personal use only! Please do not sell anything you create with these images. And link back to oopsey daisy to give credit!

Click below to download the image of your choice:

So which one is your favorite? I still can't decide.

Have a fantastic weekend!

Linking up to TIdy Mom, 30 Days, Creation Corner, Whipperberry, Flamingo Toes

Filed Under: download, easy peasy valentine, holidays, Valentine's Day

Red Envelope Giveaway from P.F. Chang’s {15 Winners} – CLOSED

January 26, 2012 262 Comments

This giveaway is now closed.

As you may know, Monday was the start of the Chinese New Year!

2012 is the Year of the Dragon.

Today's fabulous giveaway is brought to you by the very delicious P.F. Chang's!

To kick off our celebration of the Chinese New Year, my family visited P.F. Chang's on Monday evening. P.F. Chang's has always been a bit sentimental to us because this is where my hubby took me on our first date! Yes, after four-wheeling and hiking, he took me to P.F. Chang's in my dirty, dusty jeans and sweatshirt!

And yes, the food was delicious as always. Chinese food is one of my many weak spots.

The Red Envelope represents a significant tradition in Chinese culture. Red Envelopes, filled with gifts, are presented to family and friends during the Chinese New Year. The color red symbolizes good luck. I am wishing you lots of good luck today because P.F. Chang's is generously giving away 15 Red Envelope prizes to Oopsey Daisy readers!

Yes indeed--15 winners! There will be one grand prize winner and 14 other Red Envelope prize winners.

Here is some more information about what is included with each prize:

Here is how you can enter to win one of the 15 fabulous prizes from P.F. Chang's:

REQUIRED

1. Nominate a dragon in your life - someone who embodies characteristics like confidence, generosity, honesty, etc. Tell me about that person in your comment! I look forward to reading these!

EXTRA

2. Blog, facebook, or tweet about this giveaway. If you're tweeting, feel free to copy and paste this tweet and leave a comment to let me know:

Celebrate Chinese New Year with your favorite dragon & @PFChangs! 15 winners at this fab #giveaway at @OopseyDaisy917 http://bit.ly/wjq0sl

3. Follow Oopsey Daisy on Pinterest! Please let me know in a comment.

This giveaway will remain open until Wednesday, February 1st at midnight.As always, all winners will be announced via Facebook/Twitter and e-mailed directly. And yes, there will be lots of winners, so check your e-mail next Wednesday night!

There are some fun things going on the P.F. Chang's Facebook page, too. During the Chinese New Year, you can dine at P.F. Chang's and request your very own Red Envelope to receive a discount on your meal. Fun!

Good luck, and Happy Chinese New Year!

P.F. Chang's provided me with a gift card free product for this giveaway. As always, all opinions are my own. You can read my disclosure statement here.

Filed Under: giveaway Tagged With: Chinese New Year, P.F. Chang's, red envelope

Wednesday’s Wowzers {4}

January 24, 2012 21 Comments

Hello, hello! I'm back and ready to party! I love stopping by your incredible blogs to say hello and seeing what you are making. Thanks for being here today!

What are you up to this week? I am enjoying having my hubby home this week--you have no idea what a rare occasion this is! I almost don't know what to do with myself. Last night we celebrated the start of the Chinese New Year with dinner at P.F. Chang's!

Today's Wednesday's Wowzers party is brought to you by Avery's Loft. Definitely check out Amy's incredible crochet products... because this weekend there will be a promo code available for Oopsey Daisy readers! Awesome.

Now on to some fabulous features:

YUM. That's all I have to say about this Oreo pudding poke cake. I've got to try out this recipe from Lil' Luna!

Little Lucy Lu created this sweet burlap and hearts project. I just love Bec's style!!

Don't you love this nightstand kitchen makeover from Happily Ever After? I love the color, and this was a $25 Craigslist find. Impressive!

You know I love a good pillow project! And I adore Sweet Rose Studio's pretty polka dot Valentine pillow. That heart is just too cute!

These would be fun for kids to make: Heart bird feeders from Mommyapolis.

Days of Chalk and Chocolate has really blown me away. First her love note pillows, now this lovely ottoman slip cover--made from a dropcloth!

The most viewed link was Craftionary's round-up of 75 free Valentine's Day printables. If you haven't seen this list, go stop by and select your favorite! Congratulations, Hani!

Let's get this party started!!

So here are a few reminders....

Don't forget to make this a REAL party by stopping by as many links as you can. Find something that inspires you!

Grab a button so you can play along.

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Happy linking!

And thanks for inspiring ME with your great ideas!

Filed Under: wowzers

Photo Thank You Postcards

January 24, 2012 11 Comments

Admittedly, this tutorial is very late. Can you believe that I am just now sending out thank you notes for Christmas gifts?! Pathetic, I know! But part of the problem was that my little idea took a bit longer than planned.

This year, I decided to create photo thank you postcards to send out our thanks for the many generous gifts that Little Man received! What better way to say "thank you" than through photos?! Although these are the postcards we used for Christmas gifts, I am considering doing our birthday thank you notes the very same way.

You probably know by now that I love a great photo project! Many of our aunts, uncles, and grandparents live far away. And honestly, all I need is some cute photos in my arsenal to keep them happy across the miles!

You may remember that last year I created photo thank you cards--just printed them right off my computer and jotted down our thanks inside the card. But this year, I thought it would be fun to send out a postcard instead!

We're hoping that our family will love getting this little note of thanks in the mail.

So here is what I did:

-- I took photos of Little Man with his new Christmas gifts. Wearing a new shirt, playing with a toy, etc.!

-- In Photoshop, I created a 5x7 image.

-- I used the shape tool to draw a speech bubble on each photo and added a "thank you" using the text tool.

-- I added a black border to each of my pictures. Because I anticipated that Costco would slightly cut off the edges, I also added a chevron background to offset that a bit.

-- I uploaded each photo to Costco and used them to design the postcards in Photoshop. On their site, you can type in your addresses, message, etc.!

-- Because Costco ships these instead of printing them in store, it takes some time to get them back. (See why I'm so late??). Add a stamp and send in the mail!

We were so excited to get these in the mail--and then to ship them out!

Even if they're a {little} late!

Come back tonight at 5:00 for a little Wednesday's Wowzers!!

Filed Under: craft, Photoshop Tagged With: post card, thank you

Felt Heart Garland

January 23, 2012 57 Comments

Hello, my friends!

I needed something cheery to get me started this week! Over the weekend, I worked hard on my Valentine's Day mantle. I needed a garland of sorts. During the fall, I saw all sorts of felt leaf garlands on Pinterest. To me, there is nothing more "homey" than felt. So over the weekend, I sat down and created something to help spice up my Valentine's Day decor.

This was the perfect project to work on while Mr. Oopsey Daisy was out of town. I watched a couple of chick flicks, and hand stitched these hearts together.

You can make your own with some scraps on hand!

Let's get started!

I started with the felt. I secretly wanted to use all wool felt, but my frugal conscience got the best of me. So I purchased the red and mustard wool felt, and I had the other colors on hand. I LOVE the color scheme! The mustard and turquoise were fun and unexpected pops of color.

Then I sat down and just started cutting out a whole lot of hearts! I didn't use a pattern--just used the old traditional method of folding the fabric over to achieve a symmetrical heart. I think I cut out about 90 hearts total.

It was 12:30 AM, and I couldn't thread the yearn through the needle for the life of me. Finally I tried this trick of taping the end with masking tape. Duh! It worked perfectly.

I knotted the end of the yarn to prevent fraying and then started stitching!

I made sure that I had plenty of excess yarn so I could sew as long of a garland as possible. (I didn't want to have to thread that needle any more times than completely necessary!)

I wanted to be unpredictable, so I didn't repeat the colors in any certain pattern. Crazy, I know!!

I just knotted the very end of the yarn, and started draping!

So what do you think?

Do you want to know something silly?

I really don't have a mantle--just this built-in area for our TV. I avoid showing pictures of this area for some reason. This might be its very first reveal on Oopsey Daisy. I am never sure how to decorate this little spot especially with the distraction of the television. But one of my goals for 2012 is to be more real. So this is us!

And I love how this little garland make our home so cheery and homey!

Thanks for reading!

Filed Under: banner, felt, holidays, sewing, Valentine's Day Tagged With: garland, heart, Valentine's Day, yarn