{GIVEAWAY} Win a Sweet Lalaloopsy Holly Sleighbells Mini!

Are you busy Christmasing? I am! I thought I'd spread some holiday cheer with a fun little Facebook fan giveaway. Win this Lalaloopsy Mini Holly Sleighbells! Super easy peasy, I promise.


I've also been busy keeping my Etsy shop full of fun stocking stuffer-type goodies...



Find this pretty penguin clippie here.

 Stay merry!

OKTOBERFEST {Giveaway}! Or, why you should be an EFP fan on Facebook.

Guten tag! Did you know I used to live in Germany? Celebrate by referring your friends to my Facebook page. Have them post that YOU sent them here. The fan with the most referrals wins this clippie trio (and maybe some more treats, too)!




 *Contest ends 10/19 @ 9pm EST

Now. Wo ist die flughafen? Ich mochte bestellen.
Now you know all the german I do.

Have a happy day!

Minor Confession.

Whenever I got Rickrolled, I watched the whole video. Hey, I'm not too cool to admit that Rick Astley is still cute, in that kind of guy I liked in 8th grade sort of way. Hair was muy importante.

(My husband is bald. Shhhhh.)



Besides...


(In the form of a t-shirt here.)

That song is going to be in your head all weekend. You're welcome!

xoxo,

I've Been Busy Watching TV.

Last night my dear husband asked me, "Did you quit blogging?". Ohhhh, knife to the heart! Bloggers don't quit, silly... sometimes we just like to space our posts out. Like once every three weeks. I can't be putting all of my EFP delight out there at once. The blogosphere would combust.

Or something like that.

Since I'm mainly a share-your-project type blogger, I should say that I have hit a crafting wall. I have two pieces of furniture that I cannot decide on a paint color for, a front porch that is crying out for some fall pillows that I can't locate fabric for (Seriously. The fabric that I want is lost in my closet somewhere.), and it's OCTOBER... so ohmygosh, I had better get some pumpkins and probably some mums out, too! But I am just not there.

Oh, wait. Wait. I did, in fact, make a quick wreath for my front door. That really is a must.



But, I haven't yet taken a picture of it on my door. Because my front porch isn't properly fallified, duh.

However, I have been keeping up on television (I know, you're impressed!). Is it just me, or did about 100 new shows just begin over the last month? Some I really enjoy: New Girl, Free Agents, Whitney. Some I wanted to enjoy, but were bad: Pan Am, The Playboy Club (Yes, I do enjoy the 60's, but Mad Men these shows were not.). Others I thought I'd hate, but like: Prime Suspect.

All these shows and I still feel like I haven't seen all the good, new ones. What do you like?

So, maybe I should dig out that pillow fabric...

xoxo,

{SALE} Making it a good week!

Sometimes you realize having a "good" day or a "bad" day is about eighty percent state of mind.
Here's something to help with that other twenty percent.


Big, fat coupon code for 40% off everything in my shop:
MONDAYBLISS

Valid until 5pm PST 9/13/11

She's not Bad, She's Misunderstood.

We have kind of a bad dog. She is one year old and her name is Khloe Donut (She may thank our 6 year old for her middle name.) and we got her from a great local no-kill shelter a few weeks ago. She's small, playful, a HUGE snuggly lovebug, is very good about knowing her place with our older dog, and...

Photobucket

She's as dumb as rocks.

Photobucket


She is still not 100% housebroken, partly because she doesn't like to walk on grass that is over one half of an inch long, she is borderline hyper, but what is really bad is that she chews. Mainly the kids' beloved plastic toys. While this is decreasing the amount of "junk" toys in the house (yay!), it's also upsetting to the kids when something they really like (but failed to protect! Ahem!) is found in chewed up bits and pieces on the floor. This is where pet experts will point out that her less than choice behavior is somehow MY fault, but whatever.

But what is actually most concerning to me is that she is kind of eating these plastic bits. I know because, well... I see her poop. My gosh, you'd think pooping chewed up pieces of Pokemon figures would make you think twice about eating something like it again!

I actually took a picture of some really plastic-filled poop, but I decided it wouldn't be polite to post it. You're welcome.

So, my concern as a caring pet parent is that she's going to injure something on the inside. I don't know what to do... I've given her an assortment of dog-friendly chew things. She goes for a walk or a run almost every day. Any ideas, anyone?

Photobucket

xoxo,


{GIVEAWAY} Get some EFP for FREE!

Dear, darling Tracy of Creme de la Gems is hosting a giveaway for a $50 credit to my shop! Go check it out!




And if you're not familiar with her work, do take a look around her shop. She is THE clay queen in my book. It's practically (but not really!) edible.

Have a great weekend!


I Got Around to It.

Well, I can say I did at least one creative thing this week. (Did YOU?)
I won some cute vinyl from an Uppercase Living party several weeks ago. Woot! Plus, the hostess so kindly gave me a great little cabinet door from a repurpose store. Double woot! The project practically had itself made.

Um, it didn't make me get around to it any faster.

But, with the kids in school one day I braved the 112 degree heat outside and spray painted that cabinet door. (I believe it dried in a millisecond.) I used the same (leftover) paint that I used for my beloved coffee table. I applied the vinyl (So easy) and dolled it up with a few rosettes.

Family plaque

Then I let it sit on my kitchen counter for about a week.

Eventually...yesterday...I found the perfect place for my new little pretty: paired with our family photo canvas. Looking at it now, I'd say it was much needed.


Photo cavas and plaque
{Photography by Elle J Photography. Love.}

(I've learned after almost 2 years in this house that large rooms/high ceilings call for large pieces.)

So, I got to cross one project off of my list. AND I also blogged about it. I am on. fire.



xoxo,




*Insert Chirping Crickets Sound Here*

Why, hello there. Remember me? Yeah, I'm that bad blogger who has trouble focusing on more than one thing at a time. I literally forgot where to go to get to my blog to post. (Pssst.... it's blogger.com. Brilliant!)

Anyway, I got really sucked into back to school time stuff and the creative business end of Extra Frosting Please. I was on Heartsy! I was going to let you know about the super deep discount voucher to my shop I was offering, but they were gone, Poof! before I knew it. It was quite thrilling, really, but I was about one and a half inches from being in over my head. Even though I thought I came prepared. I would do some things differently if I were to do it again.

So, another week has already gone by. To make up for my absence (har har), I offer you these tidbits:

freeshipweekend

Use coupon code FREEFRIDAY for free domestic shipping in my Etsy shop. Valid until Monday. Tell your friends!

And also, I present That's My Jam! Friday. I have a little George Michael this week... because when I was 14 I was absolutely fascinated with THE Supermodels.


Until next time! (Fingers crossed for next week, ok?)






OMG. Summer's Almost Over.

SUMMER sum·mer 1 n.
1. The usually warmest season of the year, occurring between spring and autumn and constituting June, July, and August in the Northern Hemisphere
2. The time when Heather has too many people buzzing around her like fruit flies to get any work done.

My head is spinning. (Not literally, of course. Har. Har.) I thought there were four weeks left of summer vacation, but I looked at a calendar yesterday and it turns out the kids go back to school in just two and one half weeks!



Wowee! So, I am feeling what... relief that my afternoons will be my own once again? Panic that I have barely even mentally planned for back to school shopping? Confusion over where exactly the summer went? Anxiety over the realization that the older you get, the more time seems to pass in the blink of an eye and one moment you're taking your daughter to preschool with another toddler in tow and another baby in your belly and a blink or two later you're preparing now 5th, 3rd and 1st graders for school?

Yes. All of the above.

I am taking the former preschooler back to school shopping today. I used to put big, crazy bows in her hair that matched her outfit. Lately, she's declared herself a tomboy. She will not wear a dress or a skirt, only graphic t-shirts and bermuda shorts. No glittery shoes; only Converse or Vans skate shoes are permissable. Hair accessories? Fuggidaboudit.

She is my only daughter and I like GIRL THINGS. I am still stifiling the urge to buy her Barbies (which she never liked). *sigh*

I will take the fellas on their BTS shopping trips seperately this weekend. The first will be easy peasy. He's not concerned with a sense of style. He likes what he likes and doesn't give it any thought beyond that.  Hey, that shirt is funny or has a cartoon character that I like on it or is a color I enjoy. Buy it. Done. He is still wearing Super Mario pajamas that are snug highwaters because he "still likes them". Honestly, I admire his complete comfort in himself. WTG.

The second boy... the 1st grader. Well, he has a Justin Bieber complex. His style is much more (self) defined. I am still scarred by the memories of getting him dressed for school last year because most days ended up with at least one of us in tears because most of his skinny jeans were not skinny enough. He will not wear those that you bought four pairs of, Mom, only these two particular pairs. The ones that are usually dirty. And he loves himself a hoodie, too. He's probably planning a first day of school outfit that involves (skinny) jeans and a hoodie. It will probably be about 108 degrees and he will fight with me about it -loudly- because he will, of course, be perfectly comfortable -he swears- and I don't know anything. End scene.

So, uh... wish me luck!

xoxo,

Just For Fun Friday- Product Junkie Faves


I am a beauty product junkie. It's true. I once emptied out my purse to find no less than 8 lip glosses. I have friends to attest that I could live happily inside a Sephora store. I have a husband who will (angrily) tell you about all the beauty products I've bought from QVC and put on easy pay. I may be very vain... or just very curious. Definitely a little irresponsible with the credit card. Either way, I love the stuff.

Here are some of my current favorites:



Stila One Step makeup. I kind of struggle with foundation. I was a Bare Escentuals girl until recently. Too many years in a very sunny climate has left me needing a little more coverage. I am loving this right now. It's silky (not greasy!) and feels light and fabulous. I am very concerned that this is on clearance... I fear it's being discontinued. Must. Buy. More.




Speaking of Stila, I love, love, love their lip glaze. Love. My current fave (also on clearance) is Honeydew. Sheer, shimmery, hint of melon. A really good glossy neutral. Kitten is great, too.


Along with lip gloss, I fear that I am a little bit of a mascara whore, too. (Well, it's true!) I've tried so, so, so many. A few months ago I noticed my lashes had been looking pretty wimpy and I wasn't satisfied with any mascara. I was considering eyelash extensions, which seem to be the thing around here. Then I found RevitaLash Mascara at my salon. It is fantastic. To be honest, I'm not sure if it has anything lash-building in the formula (I've just been using the mascara, not the primer or conditioner), but it's definitely making my lashes look fuller and longer. And not in a clumpy spider legs sort of way. If you're Phoenix local, I get mine at Dolce.




There is is: My hair savior. Fekkai Glossing Cream. I honestly am lost without it. I just run it through my (often somewhat straw-like) hair after blow drying, before the flat iron, and it works like magic. It's the only way my tough to manage hair has the appearance of something soft and shiny. I buy it at Target. Sometimes if I need to be less spendy, I buy the smaller tube at Ulta, which is nine bucks.




Finally, one more local thing that I love: The Summer Shaving Soap Bar from Pink Bow Bath Boutique. Not only does it smell delicious- like summer- (I kind of want to eat it.) but my legs have not been so smooth since I was a baby! And it's only 5 bucks.

For the record, I don't use a credit card anymore. :)

xoxo,


Hoarder in Training

The Kiddos and I have a guilty pleasure: Hoarders. And Hoarding: Buried Alive (Can you believe there are enough people with this issue to have TWO shows?!). There's simply something fascinating about seeing people- many seemingly perfectly normal on the outside world- living amongst stacks, piles, and containers crammed with stuff. And garbage.

Enter Kiddo #3: Elliot, age 6. This boy is literally the messiest child I have ever known. He doesn't play with toys as much as he destroys them. I like to think of him as imaginative. Every toy becomes something other than it was intended to be. Plastic storage bins become drums. My craft dowels are drumsticks. Stickers become tape. Pillows and blankets appear in a corner of his closet and become a "bed" in which he wants to sleep at night. These are non-messy examples.



His bedroom is the eye of his, um, creative storm. Now, beyond the "creative" destroying, he really is just kind of a slob, too. Wet towels and swimsuits are on the floor, accompanied by papers, books, tissues, random socks, clothes he wore, clothes he got out and decided not to wear, bottles of water, other containers filled with water, or sand, or rocks, bits of paper either torn or cut, pencils, broken crayons, dried out markers, paper bags, backpacks and totes stuffed with more things, granola bar wrappers, popsicle sticks, and about two dozen stuffed dogs. He loves dogs.

I found a framed art print-of a dog- that was once on his wall, under his bed with the glass broken. Thank heavens it didn't occur to him to use it as ice for ice skating, or something! Have mercy.



Yesterday was the day. We decided to clean the room. Under the bed, in the closet, clean out all the bins... The works. It was mostly as you see on an episode of Hoarders: junk galore was put into trash bags, with a few things being decent enough to donate. He really was down with most of it, but occasionally there was a little outburst of,

"I have to keep that! It's filled with memories!" (Broken plastic firefighter helmet)
"You're getting rid of THAT? But it's special to Grammy!" (Broken game, pieces long gone missing)

But all in all, once the room started to clear and he realized how wonderful a clean room with space to play can be, he was very, very pleased. So, his room is clean. Organized. Devoid of junk.

We'll see how long it lasts. Fingers crossed.


Also... Veronica at Life in the Thrifty Lane is having a giveaway week, and today is Extra Frosting, Please day! Go check it out and enter to win a $25 credit to my shop!


 


xoxo

Key to a Simple Project

keys2

This little project started -like oh so many of them do- with a trip to my favorite Goodwill. Half off Saturday with my fellow thrifter-crafter-all 'round awesome chick-friend Jen. I somehow found this great frame before she did...

keysframe

I was so excited! I loved the mat with it's linen-y texture and three oval cutouts. At first I thought it was PERFECT because I have three children. And it was only a buck fiddy.

keysframe2

Then I decided I really don't need more pictures of The Kiddos on display. I really see their faces quite enough. (Summer vacation. ahem.) I knew just the thing I wanted to do. I had purchased a couple of sets of antique-looking keys from Pick Your Plum. Please tell me you're familiar. They have great stuff. Craft stuff and other pretties. Cheap! I adore.

keys4

I decided to just mount them with glue on some Amy Butler scrapbook paper...
But first, I removed the glass and I hit up that lame frame with my favorite of the moment spray paint- Rustoleum Lagoon- a really fabulous deep teal. Once it was pretty and dry, I slid the mat back in with the scrapbook paper behind it and glued on the keys.

keys3

So. Easy! And it makes me smile every time I walk by it.

xoxo


Doing the linkdy-link with:

Lovin' the USA and a {COUPON CODE}


The 4th of July is coming up fast! I've been busy switching things over to the Extra Frosting Please etsy shop. I'm so excited to have the blog and business under one name.

So I'm sharing a coupon code for FREE SHIPPING!
Use code: 4JULY


I almost feel tardy, but I did do a little patriotic dolling up around the house...



The super cute print is a free download from Anything But Perfect. Love, love, LOVE her graphics!



I Make Stuff!

Did you know I make stuff... and not just stuff that involves spray paint?

It has been brought to my attention that my blog readers might not know I have a (small, very small) business. And my customers might not know I also have a delightful (Shush, you know it is. You're reading it.) blog.



So, here's the truth: I have been in the hair accessory business since 2003. I did eBay for years, along with a couple other online venues, wholesaled and drop-shipped to boutiques, even had my own website. It was fun. And draining.

But in an effort to actually live my life away from the glue gun and post office, I made the decision to downsize when we moved here from California about a year and a half ago.

So now? Now I have my little Etsy shop and local handmade markets (which I love)... and I'm beginning to feel the itch to expand a little more again. We'll see.



Visit my other thing... Little e Designs now Extra Frosting Please on Etsy.



Where am I? What Day is it?

The Kiddos are having sack races and sliding down the stairs in their pillowcases as I write this. Come on, it's fun! I'm not exactly sure if my parents let my brothers and I do this, or if we just did it when they weren't looking...
This is summer vacation at my house.

The Husband is always bellowing, "Stop playing on the stairs!".

As long as I hear laughter and not crying or kid curses (such as Poo poo head or Pee face or I wish you were never born), it doesn't bother me. I'm either a cool mom or slightly neglectful.

The close of the school year happened in a snap. What was that?! I swear I was just shopping for Valentine's Day cards with them and the next day I am picking them up from their last day of school and crying because my baby isn't a kindergartener anymore.

A couple days later (literally) came the Family Vacation. Then came the recovery period. And now? Well, now I don't know what we're doing. Other than spending our day in our jammies until lunchtime.

"No lunch until you are dressed and your teeth are brushed."
"Yes, I know Mommy is still in her jammies. Just do as you're told!"


This is not happening at our house.

The thing is... I don't like it! I am wandering aimlessly, albeit comfortably in my jammies. Routine? Gone. Schedule? Missing in action.

I need my routine back. If you find it- or perhaps you might have taken it by accident- please return it to me. There will be no questions asked. I just want its safe return.

Back to regularly unscheduled programming...


{MAKE} a Fabric- Covered Window Cornice!

So, I've been working on prettying up the master bedroom for... the past 6 months. (It's last on everybody's list, isn't it?) It's larger than our previous bedrooms, has a higher ceiling, and has just one large window that I kind of hate. It also has vertical blinds that I definitely, definitely hate. But those have to stay for now. They're ugly and their presence really frustrates me, but the best I can do is work around them.

Four different pairs of window panels later, I decided to make a fabric cornice.

window2

There are several DIY instructions on the web, including this one using plywood, but I don't do wood. The Husband and I are not saw people. I'm pretty sure it's for the best. I remembered seeing or reading somewhere about putting one together using foam insulation. It's easy to cut, super lightweight, and probably easy to install.

window7

I chose this one at Lowe's for about 10 bucks. Unfortunately since I was dealing with a large window, I had to buy an eight foot long piece and I'm sure seeing me find a way to fit it into my van on a windy day provided any parking lot onlookers some great comedy. (Yes, I saw you sitting in your car watching me and not offering me any help!)

So. To figure out the dimensions I needed, I measured my ginormous window and added about four inches to the length. I just eyeballed the height and decided on about 14 inches. (And I really mean to use the "abouts". I was not very precise.)

window4

Using masking tape, I taped off marks for where I wanted to cut. I used a little hand saw (I swear to you it is the only saw we have.), but you could use a long kitchen knife if you needed to.

Once the front was cut, I cut two three inch wide pieces for the sides. I attached them using hot glue (yep!) and secured with masking tape.


window6


Oh, did you know that this type of foam insulation is really, really messy? When I was done, my work area reminded me of the time my son emptied a bean bag pillow all over his room. In retrospect, I probably should have gone with a polystyrene foam board instead of just grabbing and running with the first insulation board I saw.

You probably noticed how uneven the top of my board was at that point. The smaller my board got (remember, it was eight feet across), the easier it became to cut. So I trimmed and evened it out as I went along.

To secure joints and stabilize the board as a whole, I taped all the edges as well as all the way across, every few inches.

window3

Then came the fun part: actually making it look pretty. And totally easy! I simply laid the cornice on top of my fabric, folded it over the edges and pinned it on. If I ever get sick of this fabric, I can pretty easily switch it out for another.

window8

Initially, I tried thumb tacks...but duh. They popped right out of that darn foam. Straight pins work much better.

Now, hanging. After a few different attempts, I decided the best way to hang mine was also the simplest: I screwed two inch screws into the wall and poked the foam board right onto it at each end. That's it! If you're doing a smaller window, another (possibly more secure way) to hang the cornice is to duct tape a cheapie curtain rod to the back and hang it on brackets. The board is so light, though, it really doesn't require anything heavy duty.

window


And there you have it. I love the warmth and color it adds to the room and I love the large scale. Now to make a few pillows with the leftover fabric...




Linking up to these great blogs:

AddThis