Spotlight Award: Crissy's Crafts Gift Boxes

Today I am excited to award the Spotlight Award to Cris 

from Crissy's Crafts with her genius Gift boxes! 

Chances are that you already have most of the tools to make them! 

Here's what she has to say:

Hi! I am Cris from Crissy's Crafts.  I love crafts!! EASY CRAFTS!! Crafts that just by looking at it you can figure it out how to make it!!  I try to make my crafts easy and affordable! Most of the time my crafts are made from recycled materials!
Some random facts about me:
1. I am a stay home mom to 3 wonderful children! The 3rd was a BIG surprise!! :) He was born in Brazil!
2. Moved to AZ recently
3. I am from Brazil.
4. Met Condoleezza Rice(have a picture to prove it!:))  while working at the US Embassy in Brazil in 2008.
5. LOVE Bruce Springsteen
6. Love summer and backyard barbecues.
7. This week my blog is turning 2 months old! :)

Now let's talk about the "Teacher Appreciation Day" Craft!

This craft is so simple but it looks so good! Its a little gift box made out of a toilet tissue paper roll! You can add candy or a small gift. 

I was at the supermarket a couple of weeks ago when I spotted the Hershey's Bliss Chocolate and my mind just started to work! I did the Hugs and Kisses chocolate before but this is year  I wanted to do something different. I came up with this saying: "Thank you for a BLISS school year!" You can download the label for free or you can use any kind of tag. 

Hope you enjoy!

Go HERE to Cris's original post.

And I love that she used this same idea for some thank you gift boxes to give out at her son's birthday. So cute! 

Thanks Cris for sharing this easy amazing craft!

Creative Spotlight: Becky's Onesie Extender

So...maybe we're all a bit Baby-Hungry at This & That Creative this week??  Here's my spotlight.  Apparently all bodies (even babies) aren't necessarily "created equal."  Having ridiculously long legs myself and having a sister with a ridiculously long torso (neither of us over 5 1/2 ft.) made for some interesting fashion challenges for our mother growing up (and even now as adults!).  My friend, Becky, over at good times :) came up with this great idea for her long-torsoed little one.


Hi!  I'm Becky and I truly am one of  the plainest janes out there.   I love being organized and clutter-free.   I enjoy being green.  I also love to create.  I love new ideas which is why I love sites like this.  I am not the type of person who can think of ideas on my own; I pretty much always see things and then come up with how I want to make it.  So here I am sharing one of my projects:

I have a long child.

As a result, many onesies don't fit her. See below.

(yes, I let my child play with garbage.) (often, in fact.)

So I created a ONESIE EXTENDER! (insert trumpet sounds here!)

I made it from a onesie that was pretty badly stained up the back so I didn't feel bad cutting it up. :) It is DEFINITELY not the prettiest thing and I was actually quite amazed at its ugliness, but it works and it doesn't show once she's fully dressed so it is just perfect!

Hooray for no scrunched body!!!

And here she is. All dressed and pressed and ready to go. (can any of you name where that is from?)

And one last pic of her goofy mouth! She is constantly playing with her mouth and tongue!

Becky's original post can be found here:

http://dontblink18.blogspot.com/2011/02/project-onesie-extender.html

Creative Spotlight: Baby Girl Nursery

My best friend Amber is an amazing Interior Designer.

She blogs some of her projects at Decor Chicks

(which is currently under

construction but will be back soon!)

You can check out their Facebook page here.

She designed a beautiful nursery for her

beautiful baby girl last year.

Pink. Gray. Girly.

She made the pom pom flowers,

the AMAZING ruffled crib skirt,

and added cute ties to a white crib bumper.

Painted picture frames, and a DIY pillow

add splashes of color to the room.

Amber and her husband also refinished those

GORGEOUS hardwood floors themselves.

It's clean, simple, but fun and girly at the

same time. I love her eye for design.

Don't you agree?

Creative Spotlight Award: Settee by Frou-FruGal

I am excited to feature Suesan from Frou-FruGal today with her amazing settee. 

I can't help but absolutely love it! She totally transformed a regular settee into one with a map

that represents where her ancestors are from!

Here's what Suesan has to say about it:

(Check out the links for more in-depth how-tos)

I picked up the settee from my neighbor's garage sale last summer. I bought it for $20 and knew that it needed some love. 

I started by De-Upholstering and reinforcing the innards of the settee.

My next step was to strip off the old varnish and restore the wood finish .

Next, I drew on the map and painted the drop cloth I wanted to use as the upholstery.

Finally, I added some extra padding and re-upholstered the settee.

I started the project in January. Due to the plague visiting our house and other setbacks, it took me until mid-March to finish it. I didn't work on it non-stop, but kept at it. 

I'm glad people are enjoying the final results. I think that taking a risk and daring to find something that speaks to you will make all the hard work worth it in the end.

Creative Spotlight: Tiffany and her "Daily Docket"

Hello there!

I'm Tiffany over from A Day In My Life, where I write about my life with two boys: an amazing (and handsome) hubby, and a rambunctious 2-year-old. I spend most of my little one's naptimes concocting some craft or another, and it makes me happy to share my little ideas with others. 

I'm especially partial to all things organization, which is why I'm thrilled to be able to share the heart of my day-to-day management. Really. It's the main thing that helps me keep my life together. I hope it can help you (or inspire you) as well!


Here is Tiffany's Post!


About a year ago, I stumbled across the amazing concept of a daily docket on SimpleMom.net. At first, I started implementing her system, but it has evolved over time. (If you want to see the actual printouts SimpleMom uses, check out her Downloads section.)

First off, I didn't like having to print an entire page out every day. I felt that it was a little wasteful. I wanted something smaller that I could reuse over and over. Plus, I really liked her weekly checklist, but realistically, there was no way I could get all of that done in just one week.  Here's how I solved those problems:

I divided it up. I made up a monthly checklist:

Of everything that needs to "get done" around here at least once per month. I laminated it, and taped it to the outside of one of my kitchen cabinets.


I also made a weekly checklist with the things that need to be done more often:

And a daily one, with a very flexible "schedule" (with only 5 spots, because I really don't have more than that each day), and with lots of to-do spaces. I like to add things as I think of them, but don't really expect myself to accomplish all 15 in one day:

I put those two back-to-back and laminated them as well.


I started out using a dry erase marker, but a dry erase marker doesn't like filling in the bubbles. It starts to erase itself when you go over the same spot twice. Plus I would accidentally bump it and it would erase something important.


So then I moved on to a wet erase marker. And it proved to be much more "temporarily" permanent. But if I had it in the kitchen and it got wet, or Harvey drooled on it, or I didn't dry my hands all the way after washing.... it would smear all over the place. And when I would spray it down and wipe it off at the end of the day, inevitably it would get on my hands and take a few washes before it would come off.


Then my sister-in-law told me I could use a permanent marker, and it would come off with Expo Dry Erase Cleaner. It is the perfect solution. I use a fine tip Sharpie, and all my information stays put. Plus, I tried plain 'ol rubbing alcohol to remove it , and it works great too.


My lists are kind of specific to me, but if there's enough interest in a more generalized version I could make one up for download. Leave a comment!


I've now made up a .pdf with the more specific-to-me-items omitted. Check out the preview, or just leave a comment with your e-mail address and I'll send it to you!


What do you do to stay organized day-to-day?

Creative Spotlight: Danielle Oakey Interiors

Today we are spotlighting a great DIY post from Danielle

at Danielle Oakey Interiors.

Danielle knows how to design an amazing space

on a small budget and shows the steps along the way!

Hi, I am Danielle from Danielle Oakey Interiors.

I am so happy to be here today sharing one of my favorite DIY projects, my sunburst mirror.

Before I started this project I had been eyeing sunburst mirrors but couldn't swallow the hefty price tags.

This one does the trick and it only costs $19.00!

What do you think?

Here is how it came to be:

step 1: Purchase flat wood sticks, mirror, embroidery hoops, and paint from Micheals.

step 2: Break sticks into the desired length

step 3: Create design

step 4: Paint sticks ( I mixed two colors together, metallic gold & splendid bold)

step 5: Let sticks dry

step 6: Lay sticks out

step 7: Glue sticks on the back of the mirror

step 8: Turn mirror over

step 9: Paint embroidery hoop

step 10: Glue embroidery hoop on top of mirror

step 11: Glue hanging mechanism on back of mirror

And you're finished!

Total cost $19.00

I love it when a DIY projects turns out as planned.

Thanks so much for having me today!

It was fun :)

Thanks Danielle for sharing your awesome mirror with us!

I highly recommend checking out Danielle's blog everyday to

be inspired! She also provides online design services if you are

in need of a little guidance and inspiration for a room in your home!

Spotlight Winner

I know I'm obsessed with all things baby these days, but I'm due in a few weeks, so I guess that makes sense.

Lelanie from To Sew With Love shows how to make a handy diaper and wipes organizer. The diapers are stored in the main portion of the zippered pouch. A second zippered pocket is on one side of the pouch, while the wipes are easily dispensed through an opening on the other side of the pouch. Get the tutorial.

I am all about things that make organization easier. Thanks Lelanie!

Spotlight Award: Jeep Sandbox from Painted Fresh

I really wanted to pick something amazing for my first pick for a Spotlight Award. I had my eye on a few blog posts and kept debating over a them for what seemed like forever. When I saw a Jeep Sandbox post from Donna over at Painted Fresh , I knew I had found my winner! But first, here's a little about Donna:


"Hi! my name is Donna and I am an Alabama girl and pretty doggone southern, I'll admit) but I am savvy to! :)  I am a Christian, wife to a super supportive, patient, helpful and mighty handsome hubby, stay/work at home mom to Hudson the most awesome, sweetest, cutest, compassionate, well mannered 3 year old little rock'n'roller guy in the universe!  Seriously, this kid must have read an etiquette book! errr, or had one read to him, I mean he doesn't read - yet.  I am super proud though - if it isn't obvious, and I know that God blessed me (and continues to) with him.  By far Hudson is my greatest accomplishment and the most joy and peace I have ever experienced. 

'Nuff 'bout that - you want to know about creative/DIY/blog stuff.  Well let me admit right off the bat, that I am GREEN at this blogging, no experience at all.  (Oh, and that's my fav color too!) :)  Be patient with me!  If I don't grab your button immediately, I have probably lost my cheat sheet telling me how to grab it and where to place it!  I do not get "html" speak, ( I mean, I thought "html" was short for hard time making lists!) and I get lost on my own blog sometimes.  Uhhh, are you laughing at me? that IS a snicker! Fine! I know I am fruit loop when it comes to computer stuff - but just take a look at some of my furniture/art/projects; I do know what I am doing there! (well, most of the time!)  Even though I have been doing creative stuff for as long as I can remember, I never really documented it.  I am gradually learning how to write about what I am doing now (and in the recent past) on Painted Fresh; and trying very hard to take lots of before, during, after pics to share.  I sort of think this blogging may help me be more organized and get more projects done...we'll see!  I am all about helping someone - I really get a kick out of seeing/making others happy!  So I want you to copy something I have done, if you see something you like, and I will help you get there if you ask.  Heck I'll just help you anyway with whatever - I'm just like that.  Gotta always have something going' on!  While mostly running on empty all the time, 

I love a bargain, love junkin' around at fleas, estate sales, and yard sales.  Mostly I do a lot of furniture now and sell it in two different stores here locally.  And I do custom furniture painting for private clients also and once in a while I do small piece art for someone.  All my shenanigans are done in our garage.  (thanks honey!)

Here are a few totally random things about me:

1.  I have owned two Harley's and loved riding them! (usually people do not believe that, because I am  5'5" and weigh about 110 - a Harley weighs over 600 pounds)

2.  I once had the crazy thought of getting my general contractor's license

3.  I have a weakness for beautiful clothes (classic w/a little edge) and shoes, the higher the heels the better! 

4.  I have dated a famous person (or 2) (my hubs could not care less)

5.  I could eat Duke's mayo on just about anything! (peanut butter, banana and Duke's, oh yeah baby!)

6.  I am fun, silly, sarcastic, do not act my age, and love passionately

7.  I do not eat fast food or drink soda

8.  I hoard magazines, oh, goodness do I have the mags!  shhhhh, don't tell hubby

9.  I have been a passenger in a stunt plane at an air show

10. I am simply complicated!

this is me...

bad pic and I reeeeeeally do not like cold weather

my little rock 'n roller

 how I feel most of the time!

 sometimes you see this in Bama :)"

Now here's her Jeep Sandbox! She schemed this up in the middle of the night, just a few days before her little boy's 2nd birthday--and of course it had to be done before the birthday party! She knew all the little details already in her head. She totally marched right into Home Depot with a mission, and this is what she had when she was done:

I love that she added so many fun details, like the 4x4 and rearview mirror and such!

And one of my favorite features is this awesome compartment!

Thanks Donna for sharing this awesome project! Congrats on your Spotlight Award! Now, I just gotta talk my husband into helping me making one for our little guy (he turns two in May)!

Go check out Painted Fresh Blog to be updated on all of her awesome projects!

Spotlight Week is Coming: Nominate a Blog!

Our first Creative Spotlight Week is coming up! It will be February 28th-March 4th. Each of our contributors will be selecting a blog or blog post that stands out from the crowd to receive our Spotlight Award and will be featuring it on their day of the week.

Each selection for this award will documented in our Spotlight Award Archive (coming soon!) with a link back to their blog/blog post as well as be directed where they can grab a button to display on their blog that they have received this award.

If you know of a blog or blog post that deserves some recognition, let us know! Just click on the button in our sidebar to the right and it will take you to a page where you can anonymously enter in the blog's address for us to consider as a candidate for this award! It's as easy as that! There is no guarantee that your nomination will be selected, but we'd love your input!