My Creative Blog:
Giveaway

Oh man, we love a good giveaway. I mean, really, who doesn't like to win free things?! We've talked about our friend Stacy multiple times because we can't get enough of her photography. Just recently Salvatori Photography did an awesome story session of Monica and her family. Basically, she followed their family around one Saturday morning to capture their everyday moments and they turned out fabulous…
(This is one of Monica's favorites from the session)

Last year, she captured our entire families and as a result, we have photos we will love for a lifetime.

One of her photos even graces my walls in an almost life-sized way- remember my huge shaped frame? And this picture of my kiddos (they were so little!) is just priceless.

And, well, it's pretty nice to have a great photo of me and my best friend.

For Mother's Day, we are so excited to be able to give away a photography session with Salvatori Photography!

Here are the prize details you need to know:

~ 1 hour Session in one location ~ Up to 5 people ~ Over a $300 Value ~ Must live within 25 miles of Perkasie PA ~ Can't not be redeemed for cash value -Must be redeemed by August 1, 2013
Isn't this AWESOME?!! Just think, one of you could surprise your mom, sister, grandma or wife with a photography session for Mother's Day! I would be over the moon with a gift like that (*hint hint, hubby!).
**Please make sure you click to LIKE Salvatori Photography- don't just click I'm a fan, unless you already are. Thanks!**
a Rafflecopter giveaway

We'll announce the lucky winner next Friday, April 19th! Good luck!: )

P.S, We're the ones in a contest now and if we win, we get to give $5000 to a charity we love- Worthwhile Wear. We need your help, though- you can learn more about our project and the charity we chose here, or go vote for us every day for the next two weeks right here. Thanks!!

This giveaway is closed. Well, you'd think that with Creating with the Stars coming right around the corner, and the loads of amazing prizes that will be awarded, we wouldn't have anything else to give away! Not so! I was browsing Etsy one night (one of my very favorite things to do if I have time) and came across the fabulous shop, Design Atelier Article.

I immediately fell in love with their quirky, fun and awesome items and emailed them to ask if they would like to give something away to our amazing readers. They were game, and so this giveaway was born! You guys seriously need to check out the entire shop, but here are a few of our ultimate favs.

Vintage Clock in Paris Blue

Mustache Candleholder

Scandinavian Dala Wooden Horse

Butting Deer Bookends

One lucky winner will win these adorable Bicycle Bookends ! The giveaway will be open until midnight on Wednesday, February 27th. The winner will be revealed on Thursday, February 28th. To enter:
1."Like" us on facebook! 2."Like" Design Atelier Article on Facebook 3.Leave a comment telling us what item you've fallen in love with! a Rafflecopter giveaway

I know, such cute stuff, right? If you love their shop, spread the word! Good luck.; )   

It feels like I haven't blogged in forever! It's nice to be back… well, honestly if you told me I could jump on a plane now, I'd grab my suit and be gone in an instant. Mexico was insanely awesome. I'm going to do a whole post on it next Monday!
So we're supposed to be giving interesting statistics this week… I've got a good one for ya!

The Disappearing Giveaway.. If you've followed us since the very beginning you might remember a post about our Design Challeng{ed} contest… Or maybe you don't remember because not one single person entered. Ha! We'd only been blogging about two months and it was a major flop! It sure makes us laugh though!

Famous Angelina… Jess wrote a cute post about Cam's 3rd birthday party last year. It was a cute Angelina Ballerina theme. The post is fine, but nothing over the top. We didn't have great lighting and all the pictures are so-so… however, thanks to the post's title it was in our top 15 posts for landing pages! So many people have Googled Angelina Ballerina and found us! Ha!

So maybe we laugh a lot and blush a little over these silly posts, but it reminds us of the amazing road this blog has taken. We can't wait to look back next year and see what 2012 had for us!
Now, get ready for some stinkin' awesome giveaways! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We have three awesome giveaways for you today! The giveaways are separate entities (in other words, if you win, you don't win them all, but you can enter all three!) Please let us know which giveaways you're gunning for in your comments.
My Best Friend's Hair Giveaway My Best Friend's Hair is our most recent sponsor and it's the coolest concept! Their site can help you find the best stylists all over the country and get ratings and reviews. Want to find the best stylist in your area that can deal with insanely thick, unruly hair (that would be my wish)? They can help you with that! They also have tons of info about the hottest cuts and styles- so fun! Today they're giving away a Neuma Beauty Hair Products gift set. I don't know about you, but I love using high quality hair products, and getting them for free is even better!

To enter: (This giveaway is now closed)
1-Like My Best Friend's Hair Facebook Page and leave us a comment letting us know.
2-For an additional chance to win, head over to the My Best Friend's Hair website and either search for a stylist in your area or leave a review of your stylist and then leave a comment letting us know you did.

Scentsy Giveaway I must have been living under a rock for a while, because I had never tried Scentsy until Breanne joined our blog last fall. Honestly, I wake up, walk down stairs, and turn my warmer on immediately, my kids take turns picking out the scents we should use. It's awesome! Breanne is giving away one warmer and scentsy bar of your choice!

To enter: (This giveaway is now closed)
1- Go to Breanne's Scentsy website and then tell us in a comment what scent you'd love to try.
2-For an additional chance to win Follow RHBC on Twitter and leave us a comment letting us know.

Kotton Pickin' Kute Hat My poor kids were all born well before the world thought to make amazingly cute hats- boo! I honestly don't think there's anything cuter than a baby with a sock monkey hat! Krista hand knits all of her hats and lucky for us, she's giving one away! Don't have an itty bitty baby? No worries, she can make them in child and even adult sizes. I just might buy the hubs a sock monkey hat… actually, I won't because I could possibly die of laughter.

To enter: (This giveaway is now closed)
1- Go to Kotton Pickin Kute's Etsy Store and then tell us in a comment what hat you love!
2-For an additional chance to win like Kotton Pickin' Kute on Facebookand leave us a comment letting us know.

Giving things away is so darn fun! I can't wait to announce the winners tomorrow! Hope you're enjoying our week of giveaways just as much as we are!

AND NOW FOR THE WINNERS FROM YESTERDAY!

The winner of the Thirty-one Gifts giveaway is: Dwell Wool Knits! Congratulations!

The winner of the Dream Dinners meals is: Whitney! (and I promise I didn't cheat just because she's having her first baby! Congrats Whitney!)

(email us your address so we can get you your prizes!)

Are you looking for the link party for your Creating with the Stars submission? Yay! We're thrilled to have you! Click here or use the button below to link up. Submissions are now open until February 21st. If you want to read more about the contest and all that it entails, click here.

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*THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED*
Wow, two awesome giveaways in one week! We love it when that happens! A while ago I posted about my Instagram frame and a few other options to display your favorite IG photos. Nate emailed me shortly after asking me if I had ever heard of InstaThis, a brand new company that takes your Instagram photos and prints them directly onto wood or acrylic for a really unique piece of art. We checked it out immediately and thought it was so cool. What better way to introduce you to a new awesome company than to do a giveaway?!!

Of course, we never like to do giveaways unless we personally have tried the product so that we know we're promoting good stuff to you guys. It's important to us that the products we introduce to you are quality, and let me tell you I was thrilled with this one.

I ordered one of my fav pics of the hubs and me and decided on the wood option and it turned out beautifully. The photo is printed directly onto the birch wood so that you can still see the grain of the wood. It creates a really awesome effect that looks much more like a piece of art, instead of just a plain old picture.

It also comes with all the mounting hardware you need and a custom slot in the back that allows for easy adjusting and hanging. I love that feature.

I'm super happy with my print and love that it gives me just one more way to use my instagram photos in my home. I haven't decided where I'm going to hang it but for now, it's sitting pretty in my dining room.

One lucky reader will win (one) 12x12 print from InstaThis!
The giveaway will be open until midnight on Monday, February 11th. The winner will be revealed on Tuesday, February 12th. To enter:
1."Like" us on facebook! 2."Like" InstaThis on Facebook 3.Leave a comment telling us what photo you would print and why!
All three of these are mandatory. Thanks!

*THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED* Use the code ECC15 for 15% off your order! Offer is valid until March 1, 2013 And oh yeah, we'd LOVE for you to follow along on our Instagram journeys, Eastcoastcreative and Jess_EC2blog. We promise, it's pretty darn fun.; )

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One last thing! Thanks to everyone who entered the In or Out Media giveaway earlier this week! We have a winner.: )

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This post was sponsored by InstaThis , who provided us with our wooden prints and whose concept and mission we love. All thoughts and opinions were our own and we'd like to thanks InstaThis for providing a special discount code for our EC2 readers!

Every once in a while, one of our readers sends us an email saying"Hey! I have this cool Etsy shop, and I think you guys might like it." We love it when readers do that. Discovering fun, unique and creative people and shops is one of our favorite things…and of course, we always want to share them with you! When Julia, from In or Out Media, asked us if we would take a peek at her shop and consider doing a giveaway on our blog, we did a little happy dance. (Haven't seen our happy dance? Check it out here)

In or Out Media offers professionally printed Wedding Invitations, Save the Dates, Stationery, Notecards, Holiday Cards, Birth Announcements, Birthday Invitations, and more. Julia also designs and prints typography quote posters, wall art, and offers logo design, both premade and custom. This girl is not messing around, folks. Her stuff is so stinkin' cute that we had trouble picking our favorites. I decided to go with a classy, nautical 2013 calendar print that I can't wait to put on the wall in my new office space under the stairs!

Monica decided to order a personalized state print for her brand new baby niece. The print is adorable and Rylie isn't too bad either!; ) (BTW-that's the big brother, Jax, holding the print on the left- too cute!)

Just take a look at all this cuteness in her shop!

In honor of the big day of love quickly approaching we just had to include these fun Valentines (order by February 7th for classroom valentines!)

Now for the fun part!: ) One lucky reader will win a $30 Gift Card to In or Out Media! The giveaway will be open until midnight on Thursday, February 7th. The winner will be revealed on Friday, February 8th. To enter: 1."Like" us on facebook! 2."Like" In or Out Media on Facebook 3.Leave a comment telling us what you would spend your gift card on!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

And if you just can't wait to get your hands on those cute valentines or anything else in her shop, use the code CREATIVE to get 10% off your order!

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Also, don't forget that TOMORROW is the day you can begin entering your best project in our Creating with the Stars contest. Eeeeek, we can't wait to see what you guys come up with! If you need more information, want to check out the guidelines or take a peek at the awesome prizes, click here.

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Good luck!

We're super excited to announce the winners of the 2 prints from Fancy That Design House & Company! We won't keep you waiting…

Please email us to claim your prize, ladies.: ) Thanks to EVERYONE who entered. And don't forget, if you didn't win, you can still score your own print for 15% off! Just use the code ECC15. Happy Shopping and Happy weekend!

Oh boy. I'm so excited to introduce you guys to one of the coolest Etsy shops we've seen, Fancy That Design House & Company. I came across her work through Emily at Jones Design Company and immediately fell in love with absolutely everything Stephanie creates. It's so important to put things in my home that mean something to me and, in my opinion, there's nothing more valuable to hang on my walls than scripture. I don't know if you've noticed, but most art including passages of scripture are accompanied by lambs or a crown of thorns (not that there is anything wrong with that), but that just doesn't jive with the style in my home. Well, Fancy That Designs solves that dilemma. But, enough chatter from me, take a look for yourselves:

East from West print

Mighty to Save print

Fruit of the Spirit print
She also offers some super fabulous graphic art prints:

Chevron Repeat print  …and letterpress greeting cards. (I seriously need to invest in several sets of these particular cards)

"I forgot" Elephant cards
And guess what? Stephanie is generously giving away two of her prints to two of our lucky readers! One winner will receive this awesome Holly, Jolly, Merry & Bright print (our current favorite!), and one winner will receive a print of their choice. Woohoo!

To enter, all you have to do is go to Fancy That Design House & Co. and then leave us a comment telling us which print you'd choose and why. For extra entries, just"like" us and Fancy That Design House & Co. on facebook. The contest ends on Thursday, November 8th at midnight and the winner will be announced Friday, Now, hurry! Go enter.: )  a Rafflecopter giveaway

This week's fab find is pretty special to me.

Two weeks ago, Eric and I (Monica) had a chance to attend a benefit dinner for Liberty Ministries. It's a prison ministry aimed at transforming the lives of offenders and recently released ex-offenders. It was a really awesome night and it was amazing to hear the stories of the men whose lives have been changed through the ministry.

Liberty Ministries runs 5 thrift stores in Bucks and Montgomery counties. The money goes towards the operational costs of the ministry. You know that Jess and I love a good thrift store find, so we're thrilled to share these stores with you. Look at all those tables just waiting to be painted… or the chairs begging to be part of the 2011's decor!

This weekend is the GRAND OPENING of the new Quakertown Location and to celebrate, they're offering 50% off of EVERYTHING at that location.

I know that I'll be going Sat. to get some awesome items to DIY, but just to convince you to come too… We're giving away TWO $10 giftcards that can be used at any of the five locations anytime in the next year. Since the Grand Opening is tomorrow, this is a quick giveaway. We'll be choosing a winner at 11pm tonight and the giftcards will be waiting for you at the Quakertown location (unless you want it mailed to you).
Even if you don't win, check out one of the stores and if you want more information about this ministry, head over to their website here. Thanks for letting us share this with you, now come on local readers… Here's how to enter: 1. Leave a Comment on this post (1 entry) 2. Like Liberty Thift Stores on Facebook Here (1 extra entry)
Good Luck and Happy Thrifting this Weekend!

P.S. Jess and I are super excited to finish taping our Nate Show segment this weekend! We can't wait to share all the details with you soon! Also, if you're in the NYC area, we're taping our live show this coming Thursday, so you should try and get tickets to the taping. It would be awesome to have a little RHBC posse!

It's the weekend, everyone! Woohoo! We have a fun giveaway for you today to start your weekend off right. Remember our bloggy friend, Denise, from The Painted Home? Well. she's throwing this awesome party called Dine & Design on November 17th.

This sounds like so much fun (espcially for us design-obsessed craftaholics who LOVE to eat, but we've been assured that you don't have to be crafty to enjoy this evening!). Flowers are the"it" accessory these days, so you'll be right on trend and can learn how to make them just in time for holiday gift-giving. Denise, the generous gal that she is, is giving away two tickets to this fab event to one of our lucky readers. And guess what? We'll be there too, and we can't wait to meet you IRL (in real life)! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Here's how you can enter: 1. Leave us a comment telling us why you want to win. (Mandatory) 2. Become a follower of RHBC and leave us a comment telling us you did. (Optional for an extra entry) 3."Like" us here on facebook and leave us a comment telling us you did. (Optional for an extra entry). -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you just HAVE to be there and can't wait to see if you've won, you can order your tickets here. You don't want to miss this!
Ok, enough of my rambling, go enter! We'll pick a winner and announce him/her on Monday, October 31st.
Good luck!

*Oh yeah, one more thing! We'd love it if you'd head on over to the awesome blog,
Craftaholics Anonymous. Our celebrity for Crafting with the Stars, Linda, invited us to guest post today! Thanks, Linda.: )

One of the many things we love about this blog is that we can share not only the fun projects we are working on, but also things that are important to us as well. One of those things is an organization called Worthwhile Wear that was started by our close friends, Dan and Steph.

Worthwhile Wear's mission is to rescue young girls from forced prostitution and more importantly, prevent it from ever happening at all. They target the root issues of trafficking: poverty and lack of education, by teaching these girls a trade (making jewelry, bags, scarves etc) and offering them free education and a safe place to stay. For the past year, they've been focusing their efforts in India where they've been working to create vocational centers.

This year Worthwhile Wear is shifting its focus from overseas to something closer to home. In the final part of 2013 Worthwhile Wear will launch a new program called “The Well.” This is a long-term aftercare and housing program for women who have been sexually exploited or trafficked in and around the greater Philadelphia area.

Why is this so important to us? These are our daughters, Kira and Campbell, and we can't even imagine how horrific it is for young girls like them to have to go through what they do as a result of trafficking. To know that it happens here, right where we live, is a sobering thought and we want to be a part of stopping it before it starts.

So, all that to say that Worthwhile Wear is having a party! It's 2nd Annual Worthwhile Evening and we've agreed to help out with decor for the event again. We had so much fun last year with the"Taste of India" theme and want to make this year's party just as awesome! You can read about last year's event here and here, but we pretty much transformed a big, blank room into a fabulous backdrop for the event!

The centerpieces showcased the amazing jewelry made by women who have been rescued from trafficking.

This year's theme is all about water (get it? The Well…), and the decorating committee has some pretty fun ideas up their sleeves.

1. Unknown (anyone know?) 2. The Yummy Life 3. Amazon 4. Weddbook
We want you to come hang out with us at the event! There will be delicious food, good music, beautiful art, a silent auction and a chance to hear from Shandra Woworuntu, a woman who escaped forced prostitution. Here are the deets you need to know: When: Saturday, November 9th from 7-9 PM Where: Calvary Church, 820 Rt. 113, Souderton, Pa 18964 Cost: $35 per ticket, or $30 for groups of 10 or more Purchase tickets here.
Here's the fun part, we're giving away 2 tickets to the event! We would love to have as many of you come to learn more about Worthwhile Wear and be a part of this awesome event, so we wanted to give away two tickets to make that happen for someone! We'll announce the winner next Friday, October 18th. We'd be thrilled if you would share this post with your friends so that we can help Worthwhile Wear change the lives as many girls as possible! Enter below for your chance to win: a Rafflecopter giveaway

If you can't make the event, then go ahead and start your Christmas shopping on their website! Don't want to come to the event or shop, but still want to help? Donate here to help save young girls and give them the hope for a future.
Have a great weekend, everyone!

 I have been living in the dark ages. It may not seem like a big deal to you, but trust me when I say that blogging without a smartphone is not easy! So when AT&T wrote to us asking if we would be willing to try out their brand new HTC OneX smartphone to see how it could help simplify doing projects and blogging, I didn't even give Monica a chance to say yes. I jumped all over it so fast, she didn't know what happened (Sorry Mo!) I've been moaning and complaining that blogging without a smartphone is difficult because you can't connect with your readers on Facebook, Twitter or through emails unless you're physically at the computer, which for me doesn't happen often. I mean, who wants to sit at a computer all day instead of playing and interacting with their kids?! Not me. Anyway, let's just say that when I received this package in the mail, I literally jumped up and down, clapping. 

Not only did they send this awesome phone, they included a gift card to use for a project to demonstrate how much this phone can help you get things done. Ummmm, yes, count me in, please. I can't wait to show you what project I did tomorrow and how this phone helped me along the way! AT&T's mottos is"It's what you do with what we do", and I can't even tell you how much I've been doing with what they do. However, I'll be honest, I don't know much about smartphones or technology in general, so I'd never heard of the HTC OneX, but I figured that I would take anything over my old-school cell.

This phone far exceeded my expectations! It is so sleek, has a huge screen (4.7 inches) and is easy to use. The only problem I've had so far, is that when I'm texting, the phone autocorrects in Spanish, which is pretty darn funny. Just ask Monica. By far, my favorite feature of the phone is the camera- it's 8MP (same as the iphone) so the pictures are clear, even in low light (which happens all the time when you do all your projects at night). Here's the proof:

Of course, I've put the camera to good use documenting projects and showcasing amazing stuff we found at Clover Market.

I can't even tell you how valuable the camera is to me, though, because of the amazing pictures I can take of my kids at a moment's notice. I mean, seriously, I would-and probably will!- hang these on my walls.

The camera is just one feature of the many things I love about this phone. It takes HD video, my kids love watching Veggie Tales on youtube on the big screen, and the Beats audio is incredible. I'm telling you, this phone is no joke. And want to know something cool? AT&T gave us an extra HTC One X smartphone to give away to one of you!

Yay! That's right. All you need to do to enter is leave us a comment telling us how technology helps you get stuff done. For extra entries, like us on facebook and twitter.: ) a Rafflecopter giveaway  This giveaway will be open until Sunday, September 30th, so make sure you tell all your friends! The winner will be announced Monday, October 1st. And don't forget to come on back tomorrow for a tutorial on one of my most favorite projects I've done to date! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- And don't forget that we're in the running to be the New Face of Proctor & Gamble Home! Please head over and vote for Monica. You can vote once a day, now through October 3rd. We SO APPRECIATE you taking the time to vote each day! 

So, those of us in Bucks County know that we're going to be getting a visit from Hurricane Irene this weekend. Did you know that earlier in the week, we actually could feel a bit of the VA earthquake as well? Crazy times here in PA. Anyhow… today's fab find was going to be lots of fun ideas for going out and having a last hurrah before summer comes to a close (PA schools mainly head back to school this coming Monday)… but, since lil' old Irene decided to cross our path, I kind of changed my plans, because I don't want to be responsible for hundreds of people heading to the beach or something! So, here's the revised version!
Back to School Family Movie Night Let's start off the right way… how about a giveaway? Free 1 Night Redbox Rental Use the code: DVDONME

Did you know you can go online and reserve your Redbox ahead of time? I'm a big fan of this because the hubs and I can pick the movie together, rather than it being a total surprise for one of us (which only works out about 50% of the time!). There's one catch… you can't use a promo code online, so I just go online to see what's available, then send Eric to the kiosk with the code in hand. So, get online and pick a fun movie that the whole family will enjoy!
A Movie Night needs snacks right?
Well, how cool would you be if you let the kiddos help you make lots of fun varieties of popcorn? Remember the old school tins of popcorn that you used to get as a kid around Christmas? My brother always loved having a variety flavors and I always thought the popcorn tasted like cardboard! I promise these recipes will be much yummier! (Click on the picture below for the recipes)

Source: chickabug.com via The Real Housewives on Pinterest
You can keep this Movie Night simple or go all out with tickets, candy, props etc…

Source: partiesandholidays.blogspot.com via The Real Housewives on Pinterest
Either way, I'm sure your kids will love it and if Irene is crossing your path, hopefully everyone will be safe and have some fun memories of their Back to School Movie Night celebration!

P.S. Don't forget to VOTE for the CBS Blog of the Year Today!

A little over two weeks ago we announced the Shout it from the Rooftops Giveaway. The prize was 2 tickets to the The Nate Berkus Show for our live taping on September 1st.

We are so grateful to all of you who entered and shared your love for our blog with your friends and family, and sometimes, even strangers. But, we have a clear winner. It's so great, actually, that we thought it deserved it's own post (the one you're reading now, in case you were wondering).
The winners are…
Dave & Adrienne R. I don't want to waste any more words, so just check out their awesome job for yourself:

. Here's what Dave had to say about his submission: "We wore our shirts around as much as possible in public for roughly 15 days and this is our fun way of putting it all together. It was kind of a Messiah College stinky pants meets flat stanley kind of thing."

Thank you SO much, Dave and Adrienne, for all the hard work you did promoting our blog. We can't wait to see you in NYC!

*Filmed by Nick Orachietti of West Chester Media
*Song called"Something" by Two Door Cinema Club

Ok, you moms know how difficult it is to take good pics of your little ones and their squirmy, high-energy selves, right? Well, we are thrilled to have Stacy from Salvatori Photography guest posting for us today! We met her at a boot camp we were both attending, and one thing led to another, and here she is today sharing her top tips for taking great pictures of kids! Stacy is truly a talent. She captures everything from the excitement of a bride waiting to see her groom, to a family having a total blast together. Head on over to her website to check out her amazing work. But for now, stay here and read on.: ) You won't be disappointed.
“Momographer” Tips From Stacy Salvatori
1. Change your perspective. Sometimes as Moms we get locked into patterns, this is not a bad thing all. But when it comes to capturing some fun images of your Little Ones it never hurts to get out of the ‘norm’ and change up your perspective a little. Often times we pull out the camera and do the same old face shot from 3 feet away. Ever thought about lying on the floor and looking up at them? Maybe climbing up on the swing set? Switch it up a little. You might be pleasantly surprised to see something new!

2. Play. Everyone has a different opinion and everyone has a different vision of what they may want their pictures to turn out like. I personally love, love, love when I get candid’s of my children laughing and playing and enjoying life! It’s those little in-between moments that tend to move my heartstrings. A Daddy, Aunt, or Grandma also comes in handy for this one! Get them running, swinging, playing and best off all laughing their little hearts out!

3. Wait. Often we like to pose our kids, and tell them sit just ‘like this’ or ‘move over here’ like that. I’ve found that their patience level runs low when I do that, and they tend to look a lot less ‘real’ and at ease. More times than not, just waiting and watching is the best trick. I can be lounging in my lawn chair watching them play or draw with chalk on the sidewalk… and then BAM! I see the perfect opportunity!

4. Set up different scenarios. One of the most fun things you can do is set up new and fun situations that might produce super original and creative pictures! So, for instance, rather than just tossing them in the back yard and hoping for something to happen… create a new scenario! Get out the bubble machine and capture them running through the bubbles. Turn on the sprinkler. Get out colorful paint or shaving cream… and let ‘em at it!! Play dress up. Get your daughter dolled up like a ballerina, or maybe your son is really into being a Pirate or a Fireman! Just have fun with it!

Wow, Stacy, those pictures are inspiring! I can't wait to get out there and if give those tips a try on my two little loves. Thanks so much for being here!
And because Stacy is AWESOME, she is giving away a ONE HOUR TUTORIAL PHOTO SHOOT
WITH YOUR KIDS
(including 10 awesome images from that session!)* WOW!

Here's how you enter to win:
1."Like" Salvatori Photography on facebook HERE.
2. Leave us a comment telling us that you became a fan, and why you desperately need this photo shoot tutorial.
3. For an extra entry:"Like" The Real Housewives of Bucks County on facebook HERE, and leave us a separate comment telling us you did it.
4. For another extra entry: Become a Follower of The Real Housewives of Bucks County Blog. Use the button on our sidebar and then leave us a separate comment telling us you did. **That's 4 entries for you! Yippee!** Ok, now go and enter!

*Photo shoot tutorial is good for use in Eastern PA, unless you want to pay for travel.: ) Which, by the way, would totally be worth it.

We made it to Friday! Phew… it was a crazy one in my world! It was actually my last full week off before heading back to school. Boo! Since it was my last week off, I spent lots of time in the evenings catching up on some of my favorite blogs. Today, I'm sharing one with you.

This super-cool blogger has a style very similar to my own and I wanted to share one amazing room re-do she recently did as part of a contest. Before

Amazing After

Awesome isn't it? Head on over to Mandi's blog to see more pictures and get all the details. Also, be sure to check out her cool Anthropologie inspired acid mirrors. They're fabulously cool!
Ok, I'm off to enjoy my last few days of"teacher summer vacation." Have a great weekend and don't forget to enter our Meet Nate Contest!

(For Monica and Jess!)

Well, this is really exciting.

Source
The wonderful people at the Nate Berkus Show have given us TWO EXTRA TICKETS to the show we'll be taping on September 1st in New York City!

Source That could be YOU sitting in the audience within an arm's reach of Mr. Cutiepie himself! (And note to self: do not wear super low-cut top, ie: woman in white shirt below Nate. Who knows what might hang out that you don't want seen on tv?)
Shout it From the Rooftops Contest This is a spread-the-word contest. We want to see what creative ways you can tell the world about The Nate Show and our Debut! This is a totally subjective contest… no Random.org involved! We're picking the winner based on pure awesomeness!!
Interested? Here's what you need to do to score these tickets:
Creatively Spread the word about The Real Housewives of BC being on The Nate Show. (Ex: Rent a highway bilboard, Make us your Facebook status for 15 days straight, Get a tattoo announcing the big news and head to the beach, you get the idea…)

You have 15 days to be as creative as you can and to reach as many people as possible. We're looking for quality and quantity and we're sure we'll get a few laughs in there too! We have a tentative date for the tv airing of the episode, but it's not concrete, so you need to direct people to the blog and facebook to find out when. We'll let you work out the details on your own. We told The Nate Show producers that our readers would do an insane job promoting this upcoming episode of their show, so make us proud, and we'll thank you in person in NYC!!
To Enter: you need to email us and let us know what you've done to spread the word (therealhousewivesofbc@gmail.com ) We'd also LOVE to see a picture of what you've done. The Nate Show wants to see it too! Who knows, maybe you'll be their next guests??!!?? All entries must be recieved by August 15th. We'll be looking over all the entries and annoucing the winner on Wednesday, August 17th!
The Prize: The Winner will get TWO tickets to the September 1st live taping of The Nate Show! We'll both be there and will be so excited to meet you!! (If for some reason you can't make the 9/1 show, let us know a date that works and we'll get you tickets for that show instead). Sorry we can't fly you there or anything fancy-schmancy, but we would if we could!
So, Who's going to win? Who's coming to NYC with us?? Leave us some comment love and let us know if you're ready to WIN!

Source: etsyfix.blogspot.com via Jessica on Pinterest

This is a GREAT blog. I actually stumbled upon it as I was searching for great giveaways in blogland to share with you. As soon as I found A Little Etsy Love, I immediately stopped, dropped and rolled. (Ok, I didn't roll, just stopped searching and dropped everything I was doing. Made for a good visual, though, didn't it?) The entire purpose of this blog is to feature amazing Etsy vendors and give away their stuff. Just look at some of the recent products they've given away: 

Source: etsyfix.blogspot.com via Jessica on Pinterest

Source: etsyfix.blogspot.com via Jessica on Pinterest

Source: etsyfix.blogspot.com via Jessica on Pinterest

They have some seriously great giveaways, with a couple of them going on RIGHT NOW. Also, if you have an Etsy shop, email them with the details, and they just might pick you to be featured!

Go enter, and Good Luck!

Remember, way back when, we posted about all kinds of pallet possibilities? Ever since then, I've been daydreaming about how I could incorporate pallets into my home decor. A few weeks ago, I stumbled across this shelf made from a pallet on Pinterest:

Source: diefrauimhaus.com via Jessica on Pinterest
I mean, honestly, this is an EASY project. There were no written directions, but I knew hubs and I could tackle this, no problem. And need I remind you that pallets are FREE? We got a few pallets on the side of the road right next to a dumpster. If you're looking for cheap projects, I'm your girl.; )

Not much to look at, eh?

We actually made this project a little bit harder than it had to be, but the bottom piece was pretty beat up. Hubs took it off using a crowbar and we later added a nicer looking piece in its place. This step is not necessary if your pallet is in decent condition.

We used a palm sander to lightly sand the wood. This pallet was banged up, but I still loved the grayish, old look it had. We wanted to preserve that at all costs, so a light sanding was all that was called for.

Hubs cut the bottom two slats away from the rest of the pallet, including the"framing", because that's all we were using.

We added the other piece of wood (from the same pallet) to the front.

Another piece of pallet wood was added to make the bottom of the shelf.

And here she is looking gorgeous. In case I haven't made it clear, I LOVE aged wood. It's beautiful and has so much character. We did add a water-based polyurethane that deepened the color a bit and gave it a more finished look.

Finshed + Decor = LOVE

So let's see if I can fill you in on the random stuff I put on the shelf. First we have a vintage coffee sign that, believe it or not, I got in Ocean City, NJ at a vintage sign shop. The lobster plate and silver lobster crackers (I am absolutey positive that is not the correct term for them) are from a gift I gave my hubs which also included a big lobster dinner I cooked for him.

The right side holds a fish and seafood recipe book that Monica gave me, a Nicholas Sparks book that I don't care about it but had the right color scheme: ), an old olive oil bottle from Trader Joes and a wine bottle from my favorite place in the whole world: Tabora Farm & Orchard.

My original idea was to put it on the wall behind the bar. So, that's what we did.
BUT…

It's totally not the right scale at all for that space. Boo.: ( So, we'll be taking that pretty little shelf down and finding a new home for it. However, I think I know what I'm going to do on that wall, and it includes pallets. Ha!
And now, what you've all been waiting for! The Kotton Pick'n Kute Giveaway Winner is: Elaine

Congratulations, Elaine, both on the baby and winning the hat! Send us an email at therealhousewivesofbc@gmail.com and we'll hook you up!
Happy Monday, everyone!

Linking up to: Tutorials & Tips Tuesday, Tip Me Tuesday, Pinterest Challenge, How To Tuesday

Gooooood morning, friends!We’ve got a special surprise for you today… who doesn’t love a little friendly competition and GIVEAWAY?!?! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The premise of this contest stems from the fact that all of us are guilty of Pinning an idea without ever checking the source… guilty as charged! But there are likely pins on your boards that are from your favorite bloggers, and you don’t even know it! (Are we right? C'mon, admit it.) And that’s where the contest comes in:

Here’s the line-up! Such an amazing group of bloggers that we wrangled!!

And below are projects from each blogger (including us!) that you’ve likely seen viral all over Pinterest!

Before we get to the rules, can we talk about how RYOBI is giving away $800 worth of POWER TOOLS? Just in time for Father’s Day!

Perfect timing if you ask us.

$400 RYOBI Giftcard goes to our randomly selected winner, and $400 RYOBI Giftcard goes to the first person to correctly match up all 16 bloggers with the correct projects! (there will be a randomly drawn winner in addition to the winner of the contest, so you should enter both ways!)
When you click on the Contest Form (at the bottom of this post), it will direct you to a page that will show you an image of the project, and a drop-down menu of bloggers. You just go down the line and select away! Some projects you probably know already, but some you may need to snoop around blog-land to find!We call this blog-hopping, and it’s highly encouraged in the blogging world.

Here’s the links to the home page of each blog (in no particular order). Now get busy!

1. Sawdust and Embryos
2. All Things Thrifty
3. Interiors by Kenz
4. Whatever Blog
5. Home Stories A to Z
6. Sarah M. Dorsey Designs
7. Twist Me Pretty
8. The Idea Room
9. DIY Village
10. Pretty Handy Girl
11. Domestic Imperfection
12. One Good Thing
13. Kara Paslay Designs
14. Nine Red
15. Vintage Revivals
16. East Coast Creative

a Rafflecopter giveaway

• One entry per person, per entry method.
• Winner of matching contest will be emailed, and publicly announced on Facebook.
• Winner of random-drawing giveaway will be announced on Father’s Day here on the blog, as well as Facebook.
• Be sure to hop over to RYOBI Nation and check out some amazing inspirational projects!
• Be AWESOME today!! (that’s a given)

This contest/giveaway is in NO WAY affiliated with Pinterest or Facebook, and we hereby release them of any liability related to this promotion, the receipt of prize winnings, etc. The giveaway prize has been generously provided by RYOBI Nation. All prizes will be mailed by the sponsor and all participating blog owners are not held responsible if the prize is not fulfilled. Giveaway starts Monday 6/10/13 at 5am est and ends at midnight on Saturday 6/15/13. Alternate entry available by sending your entry via email to wehopeyouwin@gmail.com. Winner will be announced on Sunday 6/16/13 and will need to respond within 48 hours to claim their prize, or another winner will be chosen.Winner must be 18 years of age or older and a US citizen in order to win. May the force be with you.
Good Luck, guys!! Thanks for playing along!

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED!

Oh baby, do we ever have a great giveaway for you today! We've had a crush on Shabby Apple since we first heard about them on Beth's blog. I can assure you that you will too, after you take a look at all they have to offer. From dresses to skirts to bathing suits to jewelry to home decor- they have some amazing stuff! And we're so excited to pass on the Shabby Apple love to you in the form of a $50 gift card! Yay!: )
I love what Shabby Apple has to say about their company: We started Shabby Apple because we saw a need in women’s fashion that was not being met. A need to make women feel feminine and beautiful for what they wear, not what they bare. We offer flirty, stylish dresses a woman can wear just as comfortably in the office, at a family dinner, or on a date. Shabby Apple is a fashion company for women, by women, and of women

. Just take a peek at some of their awesomeness:

Costa Bathing Suit

Crush On You Swim Cover-up Skirt

The Headliner Dress

Puca Pucara Dress

Walk the Plank Dress

 Dagny Necklace
Here's how to Enter: 1."Like" Shabby Apple on Facebook and leave us a comment letting us know you did. 2. For an extra entry: Go to Shabby Apple, pick your favorite and then leave us comment 3. For an extra entry:"Like" East Coast Creative on FB and let us know you did!
And, don't worry, if you don't happen to win, we've got you covered! Just enter EASTCOAST10OFF at checkout for 10% off! Now, don't waste another minute: head over to Shabby Appleto pick your fav!