Sugar Bee Crafts: April 2011

April 30, 2011

Photo Glimpses - athlete?

Remember, I'm posting non-crafty pics each week so you can get to know me a little more....

Don't be fooled by this picture - I am not athletic - at all! A couple of years ago Kate convinced me to do a triathlon - then she bailed! Turned out to be a tough one, according to other people who actually do this sort of thing on a regular basis.

Anyways, you can read all about it HERE, back when I did a much better job of family blogging (it's a pretty good post - I scanned it when I went to grab the picture).

So why am I bringing this up, 2 years after the fact?? Because I must have forgotten that I'm not an athlete - Today I'll be running in my first-ever 5k - I don't even like running - why am I doing this!! I haven't trained - well actually, a couple of weeks ago when it was warm I ran the circle around our neighborhood, 0.9 miles, and had to stop several times to walk. I've probably done that 5 times - does that count as training??

My goal - to beat my mom - it's her first 5k also and she doesn't run - but she has a killer speed-walk thing going for her.....who will prevail?.......

OneMonthToWinIt

Season 3 of One Month To Win It is about to kick off - - I {love} craft competitions!

Please visit the sponsors below for Season 3! Without them we could not offer such great prizes to the winners of OMTWI!

Season 3 starts Monday! Are you all ready to vote?

New Pan

Check out my new lasagna pan - love it!! Love the green - perfect for my kitchen! I was able to review this pan for CSN - it's a Rachel Ray Lasagna Pan. I think it worked just as well as any other pan, but it looked much more fabulous!! It's pretty heavy-duty and I expect it to last for a lifetime. It was easy to clean, etc. Did I mention that it matches my kitchen :)

I use the super-easy recipe from Kraft Foods when I make lasagna - you don't even have to precook the noodles - just layer it all and bake.

April 29, 2011

Sponsor Spot Winner

Since no post is complete without a picture, I just have to show you how Trevor is so great - - just snapped this picture of what he's doing while I'm inside writing this blog post:

Anyways, on to who won the button swap - -

A Jennuine Life said...11

The timing would be amazing if I won - I'm hosting my first competition on my little blog right now! A Jennuine Life

APRIL 28, 2011 8:04 PM

cONGRATS!!

Coming along...

If you're a Sugar Bee Crafts fan on facebook, you already know this, but my very first quilt is coming along.....(what is with kids and cats?!? - always have to be right in the middle of any project you're trying to do!)

Tell me again, why did I make one so BIG?!? I should have made a mini-baby blanket as my first quilt - oh well, no turning back now!

Bed Tutu

Why make a boring bedskirt when you can make the bed it's very own tutu :)

I saw something similar to this somewhere in blogland, so if it was you, let me know so you can get a proper shout-out. UPDATE: I saw it on OneTwoTwo&Co. I'm in a "use-your-stash" competition where the challenge is to use lots of yardage each week - I thought this was a good project (but I only used 7 yards and someone else in the competition used 25 yards - wow!)

My girls had fun helping me with it. And a sign that blogging affects everything I do - my kindergartener said "hey, we should take picture of how to do this so we can show everyone" - right you are!

Here's a tutorial on how to make a bed tutu bedskirt:
First cut a gazillion strips of tulle - we used plain and sparkle. Fold a strip in half and poke the folded end down and open up the "loop":

Take the other end and put it through the loop (side note - do you like that face she has drawn on her hand so she can make it into a person - classic!)

Pull it through:

And pull down to tighten:

After they were all tied on, I went back and trimmed them to length, just above the floor. You can see the ones on the right side have been trimmed and the ones on the left side are long.

And here's a quick before and after - amazing how adding a bedskirt miraculously cleans up the whole room:

April 28, 2011

Sponsor Spot Giveaway and Birdnest Pendant

Want to win a sponsor spot on my sidebar?? Keep reading.....

I just have to show this off to you - - remember I told you about WhoopdWhoop - it's kind of like Etsy, but you trade for points so you don't use money. You can get points just for listing items, etc - - once you earn enough, you can "buy" things. Anyways, look at this cute cute cute Bird's Nest Pendant I got - I LOVE it!

Grace makes these for only 2 whoops - that's a steal! Plus she was very accommodating and made mine with 4 eggs (for my 4 kids) instead of the standard 3. The item link is here. Anyways, go HERE to start an account and get in on all the fun (so far I've gotten this pendant, a bracelet, earrings, hairties, a broach, a crocheted owl hat, etc....)

In other news, a grand shout-out to those who comment the most on my blog - - I love hearing from everyone!!

TOP COMMMENTORS

And, since it's the end of the month, let's do a giveaway for a Sponsor Spot Swap for the month of May - I put your button on my sidebar, you put my button on yours. It'll be a quick giveaway - I'll draw a winner tomorrow evening sometime.... just leave a comment to enter - good luck!!

Painted Rug

This month's project over on UCreate is a Painted Rug - plus I recently saw a chevron rug over on Tatertots and Jello, so it was on my mind. When I saw this rug at a garage sale for $0.50, I new it was the perfect opportunity to give rug painting a try.

Here's the before - it's kind of a dirty dark brown color:

I thought it'd look good to have half the stripes a light brown, so I soaked the rug in bleach - but all it did was take out some of the color, and leave orange - doh!

So instead of a light brown for the base color, I painted the whole rug yellow:

I used a piece of posterboard to make a zig zag, aka chevron, stencil. You can click on the picture to make it larger and see my measurements:

I think it gives the corner of my kitchen a pop of color - and look at the before and after - it miraculously made it look so much cleaner!

Cute right? Worth my fifty cents and the fun of making it - -

Next, I think I want to try THIS PATTERN on my basement rug....

April 27, 2011

Showing Off

Awesome link-up, as always - - here's some features, and others are already rolling on my Facebook Page.

But first a quick heads-up - the rhinestone deal at Silhouette has been extended a day - wahoo! You can get a kit for $35 (usually $55) with the code "SUGARBEE" and make fun things like this:

Love these DIY business cards from CRAFT - I need a stamp!

Need milk-free treats?? Try these cupcakes from Life in a Nutshell:

I bought a big floppy hat at a thrift store awhile back, and I plan to spruce it up a bit - - kind of like these two:

Felt So Cute:

Of Pinks and Fairytales:

My ribbon drawer desperately needs a makeover. I love this easy idea from Choose to Thrive:

I keep seeing wheat grass everywhere and really want to give it a try - - here's some from Nothing But Country:

Fun idea for a unique valance can be found over at Crissy's Crafts:

These look so yummy!! I love white choc.... from Landee See Landee Do:

My master bathroom needs a facelift, so I'm drawn to this post by Thrifty Like Me - great job!

Obessessed?? Angry Birds taking over your life? Embrace it with some hairbows....
from Hello My Name is Momma:

I think this is the second beadboard headboard thing I've featured - I need something like this (remember, my bedroom is awful!) - great job Seven Thirty Three:

Ribbon Wreath's are so cute!! Here's a great one from Pink Ink Doodle:

So many pretty Easter dresses out there in blogland this week. I especially love this one from Bolo Heads:

AliLilly has been busy with all these cute paper flower rosettes:

Most viewed link.....already featured on the Sugar Bee Crafts Facebook Page....

Fingerprint Art by California Callahans! We're all hoping Leah will post a tutorial :)

Thanks for linking everyone!! If you were featured feel free to grab the button:
(oh, and if you were featured on FB, you're included - grab away!!)