My Creative Blog [Search results for Black Friday] 

You know what make us thankful? Besides our families, good friends, this blog and each other (of course!), it's Black Friday! So, while Monica is living it up in London and Paris this week, I'll be doing some die-hard shopping with my hubs. Love that man and his passion for finding good deals. (Would you believe he is MORE into Black Friday than I am?!) However, some of the best things you just can't find in brick and mortar stores, and that's what I'm bringing to you today. I've rounded up some red and green favorites from our awesome sponsors. Without them, this blog would not be, so show them some love and snag some good deals this weekend at their shops.

1. Kelly Green Crocheted Scarflette from Twysted Yarn. I am all about scarves this time of year, and this one is too cute! Order by December 6th for Christmas delivery. Use the code ECCFAN to get 10% off your order! 2. Last year, I purchased 12 Christmas books at Liberty Thrift store, and did a 12 days of Christmas countdown. Each day we read a different Christmas story. I LOVE this tradition, and Liberty Thrift makes it possible to do it inexpensively (Photo credit: Katherine Maries.com) 3. This Joy to the Lord Print from Red Letter Words is so beautiful and would make a great gift or a perfect accessory for your own walls. Plus, you just can't beat that message. Get 20% off all Black Friday weekend! (No coupon code necessary.) 4. I adore this Ikat Decorative Pillow Cover from our newest sponsor, Chic Decor Pillows. It's so stylish, but totally ties in with traditional Christmas colors. You HAVE to see the tons of pillow covers in their shop. Gorgeous stuff, folks! Beginning at midnight on 11/23, everything in the store will be 15% off!

5. You better believe that I'll be doing a few Christmas printables this year using this Gem Christmas Digital Scrapbooking Paper from Moo & Puppy. I'm telling you, the possibilities are endless! Use the code EC215 for 15% off your order. 6. I can't get enough of this Red/Orange Paisley Headband from Henle. I'll be buying a few of these for my sister and girlfriends this year (shhhhh…don't tell!) 7. Isn't this Pendant Light with Red Enamel Shade from Lucent Lampworks so much fun? Love the pop of color in this industrial style light fixture. I can't WAIT to show you what Brad designed for my dining room. Ummmm…let's just say, it completes me. Oh wait, I mean, the room. Use the code EC2tenoff for 10% off your order!

8. I know this isn't all that Christmasy, but my goodness, I adore this Herringbone Pattern Wall Stencil from Royal Design Studio. I'm running out of wall space, but I'm determined to incorporate this somewhere-anywhere- in my house. All stencils shown in black and white will be 30% off on Black Friday (go here for the sale!) 9.Buy a few of theseQuilted Jar Candles in Spiced Pear from CJS EcoChic for a quick and easy neighbor, hostess or teacher gift. You can never go wrong with candle, especially soy ones that last forever! 10. I'm thinking another awesome gift for a teacher would be this Medium Utility Tote in Red Parisian Pop from Thirty-One Gifts filled with fun books for the classroom, survival items (chocolate and coffee, anyone?) or extra supplies.
Where's your favorite place to shop on Black Friday? Do you have a plan of attack, or do you go at it all crazy-like?

Can you guys believe Thanksgiving is NEXT WEEK! Holy Cow, I seriously can't believe it! You might know this already, but Eric and I are headed to Europe (just the two of us!) for 8 days over Thanksgiving. I am beyond excited, but one little thing has me a bit sad… I'm going to miss Black Friday and Cyber Monday! If you know me well, you know this is a major bummer- I'm fairly hard core about it.
So, when Consumer Crafts offered to send us some products to help promote their amazing Cyber Monday deals- we were completely on board. It was kind of like replacement Black Friday for me. Here's how it all went down… (click on the little gear and change the quality to HD before you watch!)
You shouldn't be surprised by anything in that video- you already knew we're total nerd-balls! Anyhow, we're super excited about all the products we got and we have some fun projects planned for this Holiday Season! If your planning on some fun crafting and DIYs you've got to get in on Consumer Crafts Cyber Monday Deal!

They also have some doorbuster deals starting Black Friday and continuing through the weekend (while supplies last). This was our first time using Consumer Crafts and we'll definitely be using it again- they have the products we love, awesome prices, crazy low shipping and let's be honest… we could all use more"Little Tiny Canvases" in our lives! Ha!

Visit Consumer Crafts here:


Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ConsumerCrafts

Twitter: http://twitter.com/consumer_crafts


Crafts Unleashed blog (for inspiration): http://www.craftsunleashed.com
Disclosure

So we've spent the month sharing all kinds of Christmas themed decor, projects, and ideas. We even had 12 full days of Christmas DIYs. We love all that stuff and everything about the Christmas season, but we wouldn't be keeping our promise of being Real with you if we just left it at that. See, there's one thing that we could never DIY and that's what Christmas is all about.
We believe that the Christmas story is just the beginning. You know that DIY I mentioned? Well, what we can't do ourselves is take care of the fact that we're not perfect…nope, not even close. Christmas is the start of God's relentless pursuit of us. He loves us so much that he was willing to send his perfect son to earth to forgive us from our sin. Yikes, did she just say"sin" on a light, fun DIY blog? You heard it… let's be Real. I sin… Jess sins… I'm willing to take a guess that you might too? It's so sweet and comforting to think of little baby Jesus and get the warm fuzzies, and don't get me wrong, I'm so dang thankful that Jesus came as a baby, but Christmas doesn't end in that manger scene. Christmas, the true reason for Jesus coming, ended on a cross, and ultimately with an empty tomb. It might not make for as cute of a piece of wall art, or printable, but it's the best gift we'll ever receive. Jesus not only came, but he died for us, taking our sins upon himself. You know what would totally bum me out on Christmas morning? If my kids didn't want the gifts I'd gotten them (especially the ones I got at 3am on Black Friday!) Parents want their children to accept their gifts, and it's exactly the same with God. We didn't deserve for Jesus to come for us, but He did and all we need to do is acknowledge that we can't do it on our own and accept His gift of salvation. If you haven't really thought beyond the manger scene before, I encourage you to do so this year. God's gift to you will be the last gift you ever need and man, I guarantee it will be a Christmas you'll never forget. We sincerely wish you a Merry Christmas, but more than being merry, we wish that this Christmas will be life changing and focused on God's gift for us (because seriously, what does being merry even look like? I picture cheesy sweaters and really big smiles). So, that's what Christmas means to these Real Housewives. Thanks for letting us share with you.

PS-If you want to know more about this whole God thing, email us any time. There's nothing more we'd rather talk about with you! PSS- Here's the info about our Christmas church services if you're looking for a place to attend.

Monica's Church- Calvary Church of Souderton

Christmas Celebration 2011 Services Friday, December 23, 6:00 & 7:30pm* Saturday, December 24, 3:00, 4:30 & 6:00pm *Deaf interpretation offered at the 7:30pm service Childcare birth thru pre-k offered during all services

Jess' Church- Hiltown Baptist
Christmas Eve Candelight Service
"Lessons and Carols"
Saturday, December 24, 6:30pm
Childcare provided through age 3

We've dedicated an entire week to expressing our adoration for the Fall season. Click here to see Day one of our Fall Lovers Series- the Anti-Wreath.

My favorite place to accessorize is my mantle (or is it mantel? Everywhere I look people spell it differently! For the record, I'm going with mantle today). I'm not kidding when I say I tweak it almost daily. So, while, for now, I am happy with my fall mantle, it probably won't stay this way for long. Ha!

See those bronze-colored vases on the right? I got those bad boys on clearance for $2.50 and $1.50 respectively, at Michaels. I wish you could have seen my happy dance when I heard what the final marked-down price was.

I battle my incessant need for symmetry every time I style my mantle, but I think I finally came up with something that is somewhat symmetrical but not exactly the same on either side of the mirror.
I threw some fall-looking foliage that I've literally had for 5 years, at least, in the round vase and added a few dried gourds to complete the right side. I toyed around with a whole bunch of things (I need to remember to take a picture of all the stuff I dragged into the living room to play around with- it's like a decor bomb went off. Wouldn't that be cool, though? A decor bomb…hmmm.) Where the heck was I? Oh yes, the mantle.

I think my favorite part of the mantle is this little stack of old books and a the simple orange pumpkin (also from Michael's years ago). I love the pop of orange against my blue/gray walls.

The old lantern was my grandmother's and has seen it's fair share of rooms in my home. I love that thing. Overall, I think I'm happy with the mantle. For now.
Here are a few other fabulous mantle pics to inspire you:

Source: bhg.com via Jessica on Pinterest
You had to know that I would include an all-white mantle, didn't you? Don't you love the bits of autumn color in there? Beautiful!

Source: athoughtfulplaceblog.com via Jessica on Pinterest
I thought twice about including this picture, since Monica declared her disgust with wreaths of all kind. But I like this leafy one. Deal with it, Mo.

Source: marthastewart.com via Jessica on Pinterest
You certainly can't go wrong with pumpkins.

Source: thenester.com via Jessica on Pinterest
I love these two non-traditional Fall mantles. The Nester used a few big gourds that matched her color scheme, and while not over-the-top fall-ish, it still hints at the autumn feeling. And this one:

Source: homestoriesatoz.com via Jessica on Pinterest  …is absolutely gorgeous. I'm going to remember this one for next year's mantle. show it to my husband so he can remind me of it since I have the worst memory known to man
But wait…what if you don't have a mantle?.Never fear! Just pick a shelf, table, countertop (whatever!) and decorate away! I used this shelf in my kitchen to add another touch of Fall into my home.

I {heart} this so much. I used leftover frames from our Nate Show makeover, and added the letters F-A-L-L which I printed on heavy cardstock in different fonts. I actually already had the metal lowercase L (my hubs and I couldn't resist the $2 grab bag at Michael's last Black Friday and ended up with whole bunch of random metal letters), and used scrapbook paper to make the last L. I threw in a couple burnt orange items and voila! Pretty fall kitchen shelf.

So, now you have no excuses. Go ahead and Fall-ify your mantle!

*Bonus Challenge: Count how many times I wrote mantle in this post. That should keep you busy while you're bored at work. You're welcome.
Linking up to: Home Stories of A to Z

I know, I know, you haven't even stuffed yourself with turkey and stuffing, or gone Black Friday shopping yet, and here I am talking about beginning a Christmas countdown. But let's be honest, once Thanksgiving is over, December is pretty much here and it's time to bring out the ol' Advent calendar. Our family had an advent calendar growing up, and I remember running downstairs and arguing with my sisters about whose turn it was to move the mouse from it's current pocket to the next day's pocket. Ahhh memories.

Last year was the first year I thought about doing our own Advent calendar because my daughter was at the perfect age, but I literally pulled the whole thing together at midnight on November 30th, so it wasn't perfect by any means. We ended up stringing it up on the curtain rod above our slider door, which was SO not convenient since we open those curtains every day. I did love the numbers, (which I downloaded for free but can't remember where-sorry!) and the little bags, so I wanted to reuse them this year. You can easily create your own numbered circles on Picnik using this tutorial. So here's what I came up with for this year:

It love the simplicity of this Advent calendar, and how easy it was to make!
DIY Advent Calendar I started with an empty frame, some jute twine, mini-clothespins, and my trusty hot-glue gun:

I laid out the bags in five rows in the frame to figure out the placement of the jute rope.

Next, I measured the opening of the frame so that I could space the rows evenly. For this frame, I placed the jute every 4:5 inches apart.

(Ignore the pen pointing to 7 inches! I wasn't thinking when I took this pic!)
As usual, I used my hot glue gun to adhere the jute rope to the frame. You could also do this with a staple gun.

I clipped my cute little bags to the rope…

And added fun activities to do as a family and leftover Halloween candy to the bags!

Finally, I hung it in our entry hallway for a touch of Christmas! It will also be the one of the first things my kids see when they come downstairs and head into the kitchen.

I love that you can see our Advent calendar as soon as you open our front door! (And no, my house is not decorated for Christmas yet, I just have a winter wreath on my door from our last Nate Show project- more on that later this week!)

My daughter can hardly wait to get started counting down the days until Christmas! I also scoured Pinterest for other fun DIY Advent ideas and found these for your viewing pleasure (click on the link to go to the tutorial):

Source: blogs.babble.com via Jessica on Pinterest

Source: davidandcarolineparker.blogspot.com via Jessica on Pinterest

Source: modpodgerocksblog.com via Jessica on Pinterest

Source: flickr.com via Jessica on Pinterest

Source: budgetwisehome.com via Jessica on Pinterest
I'm totally doing that last one: wrap a Christmas book to open and read each day. However, I'm doing the 12 days of Christmas books so I don't have to spend a fortune on books! (Tip: Your local thrift store probably has LOADS of Christmas books for sale)
What do you do to count down the days until Christmas?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Welcome to our newest sponsors, Scout & Nimble and CJS Eco Chic! Check out these fabulous ladies and tell them we sent you!

Phew! The contestants and their Star partners really set the bar high this week with their Round 1 projects. Almost every one of you commented about how hard it was to choose only three favorites and we felt that pain right along with you! We know that you're not really here to read lots of mumbo jumbo from us, so let's get to those results, shall we?
And the Winner of Round 1 is…

1. Karianne {Thistlewood Farms} & Whitney and Ashley {Shanty 2 Chic}
Bicycle Wheel Clock

We loved this project and think it was executed so well! Nice work Karianne!! Can't wait to see what you'll come up with for Round 2.
Let's see who else made it to Round 2…
2. Sarah {While They Snooze} & Sarah {Thrifty Decor Chick}
Trash Pile Made Trendy Table

3. Sarah {Sarah M. Dorsey Designs} & Brooke {All Things Thrifty}
Statement Piece Light Fixture

4. Amanda {Love and Renovations} and Beckie {Infarrantly Creative}
Televison Stand Upcycled to a Bar

5. Jane {Life, Crafts & Whatever} & Jamielyn {I Heart Naptime}
Tin Tile Mirror

6. Melissa {5 foot 12 Creations} & Sherry {Young House Love}
Lab Station Turned Dining Room Buffet

7. Nancy {Owen's Olivia} & Kari {Ucreate}
Dresser Turned Modern Sandbox

8. Ann Marie {White House, Black Shutters} & Shaunna {Perfectly Imperfect}
Floor Board Kitchen Island

9. Janel {Nellie Bellie} & Brittany {Pretty Handy Girl}
Frumpy to On Fire, Fireplace

We're so sorry to say goodbye to the following three contestants! Boo, we hate this part. Thanks for all your hard work and excellent projects this week, girls!
10. Jourdan and Ashley {Little Yellow Barn} & Beth {Home Stories A to Z}
Man Chairs

11. Jessica {Mad in Crafts} & Mandi {Vintage Revivals}
Vertical Blinds Headboard

12. Nat and Holly {My Sisters Suitcase} and Jane {Tatertots & Jello}
Little League Lounger

To keep things legit, here are the official results!

I'm sure she doesn't need a reminder, but here's what Karianne won this week!
Round 1 Prize Package: $50 worth of 31 Gifts products $60 worth of Twysted Yarn products $70 of Henle Headbands products $100 Blog Re-design from 733 Design (who designed all the CWTS logos!) Project featured by HomeTalk We also want to thank Homes.com for being the Official Grand Sponsor of Creating with the Stars!

Congratulations to the nine moving on! You have your work cut out for you, for sure! Next week's theme is KNOCKOFF!

The winner of Round 2 will win the following AWESOME prizes: (to see the entire prize package, click here)
The Week 2 Winner will receive: $100 Gift Card to Royal Design Studio A pair of $120 Robert Allen pillows from Chic Decor Pillows Project featured by HomeTalk

Voting for Round 2 will begin on Monday, March 18th at 12 AM EST. Don't forget that you can link up your favorite upcycle through this Friday at 10 PM EST right here for the chance to win prizes and be featured here on EC2!
Finally, we're super excited because: 1. Tomorrow we'll be sharing Karianne's tutorial for her awesome bike clock. 2. On Friday you'll get to see how Sarah put together that amazing trendy tire table and, 3. Saturday, Sarah will be giving us the step-by-step process behind that insane light fixture!
Be sure to come on back for loads of inspiration starting tomorrow!!

Did you know we have some amazing sponsors that help make our little old blog possible? Yup, they're amazing and I (Monica) wanted to tell you why…
********************************* Stuff See that funky, fun header at the top of our blog? Well, that takes you to the website of one rockin' furniture and accessory store. One of our blog readers checked it out this month and thought it was pretty awesome too! With the holidays approaching, head over and get something fun for your house before company comes! (My personal favorites are the farm house tables and cool accent chairs)

RT. 309 | 927 Bethlehem Pike (3 Miles North of Montgomery Mall) Colmar, PA 18915 Tel: 215.716.3325Fax: 215.716.3431 Email: info@stuffcloseouts.comstuff Open Friday, Saturday & Sunday
********************************* Jet Upholstery So one DIY that I pretty much don't ever plan to attempt is reupholstering furniture. Way outta my league! Thankfully, I have Jet Upholstery right around the corner in Bucks County. Their work is amazing. Today, I hit a thrift store on the hunt for a cool chair to have Jet refinish for me! I'm still looking, but I know that when I find it, they're going to make it amazing! They also have an amazing selection of designer fabrics and can get just about anything you want. I just found this chair on Craigslist… and I've been drooling over this fabric…

So, give Jet Upholsty a call or check out their website. Go find an ugly chair for pennies and let them make it fabulous for you! JET Upholstery3102 Bedminster Road Bedminster, PA 18910 215-795-0881 215-220-3443 fax Store Hours: Mon-Thurs. 9-5 Friday 9-4 / Sat 9-12
********************************* Mandy Hajel, 31 Gifts

So, you probably know about 31 Gifts and how it's taking the world by storm. If not, stop right now and go check out Mandy's site. Really… GO! There are so many reasons to love 31… adorable fabric options, super cute bags, really fun parties, and it's a business that is based off of the Proverbs 31 woman. Rather than going on about the products, let me tell you a bit about Mandy (she's one of my bffs!). You see, Mandy and I used to teach English together… that is before she joined 31. She's been with the company for 1 year and in that time has made enough money to replace (and more) her teacher's salary, she's earned a family vacation to Disney World, a romantic trip for two to Mexico, a Dell laptop, an Ipad 2, a huge Best Buy giftcard, an XBox, and more. Do you think I earned all that as a teacher?? Umm, Nope. So, if you're looking to make a little side money before the holidays, give Mandy a call, she'll hook you up and teach you her secrets to success! Amanda Hajel Phone: (301) 791-3579 Email: hajelfamily@yahoo.com Website: http://www.mythirtyone.com/hajel/ ********************************* Blossom Bands So, what are your kids wearing for Thanksgiving and Christmas? Ok, maybe it's a tad early to know 100%, but you need to get thinking! The only thing you need to be sure of is to include a Blossom Band for your little ladies. I bought a Halloween one this month for Kira and she loved it! Bethany has tons of ready to sell items as well as custom pieces to match whatever outfits you're planning. You know how in decorating it's all in the details?? Well, a Blossom Band is the perfect detail to make your holiday outfits fabulous!

Bethany Lander Etsy: Bands Etsy Store Email: Bethany@BlossomBands.com Website: http://www.blossombands.com/
********************************* Jennifer Black, The Pampered Chef

If you read Jess' post on her amazing Apple dessert, then you know that we LOVE Pampered Chef products. Did you know that I only use stoneware to do all my cooking? Really, I have almost every stone they sell. It's definitely one of my favorite things. With thanksgiving coming, you should peruse their catalog and see what you need before cooking for the masses. I actually never buy something without hosting a party because the benefits are insane. I'm a huge fan of the catalog show because # 1- I don't have to find a date in my crazy schedule and # 2 Did I mention the amazing incentives and FREE products? So, call Jane, host a catalog party, and get a bunch of free stuff! Ok, even if you don't do the party thing, you must own at least one piece of stoneware and Jess recommends the apple corer slicer! Jennifer BlackPhone: (410) 952-1179
Email: Janeniferjblack@comcast.net
Website: http://www.pamperedchef.biz/jenniferblack
********************************* The Land of Nod I've loved Crate & Barrel forever (we actually registered there for our wedding) so of course I LOVE their sister store, The Land of Nod! You'll definitely want to check them out for holiday decor and Christmas presents.

Here is one Must Have item if you have elementary aged kids.

It's the BEST doodle book ever! Taro Gomi draws the coolest Japanese doodles to get your kiddos thinking. Each page usually has a picture and a prompting question. Ex: An empty plate and the question… The Queen's coming for dinner, what do we feed her? My kids ADORE this book and fought over the pages enough that I finally bought a few more! The Land of Nod has offered our readers FREE shipping on most Holiday Toys, so click the pic below to take advantage of it! LMK if you buy a fun doodle book!

*********************************

Did Jess and I mention that life has been a wee bit crazy lately? Each week we keep saying that"it should slow down next week", but so far it just keeps on being awesome and crazy! Dream Dinners has been a total savior in this area! The other night I was over and asked Jess what they were going to do for dinner (because I had nothing planned for my family) and she just pointed to an amazing looking Dream Dinner thawing and ready to pop in the oven. Even if you love to cook, it's so wonderful to have some DDs on hand for the unexpected busy day. Give Kris a call and bring your friends- it's so fun to make meals together!
Kris Petrich, Owner 309 at Advance Ln 262 Bethlehem Pike, Ste 101 Colmar, PA 18915 Tel: 215-822-4055 Email: 309advanceLNPA@dreamdinners.com Website: http://www.dreamdinners.com/
A BIG Thanks to all of our sponsors! Thanks for taking this crazy journey with us! Now, go show them some RHBC love!
If you have a business or a product that you think our readers would love, contact us to talk about becoming a blog sponsor. Thanks!

It's no secret that I LOVE photos… I actually need to make a conscious effort to decorate with anything other than pictures of my family. Jess and I thought we'd share our gallery walls today and then some amazing ones we've found along the way.

These are OLD pictures from my very first gallery wall in our last house. I ran to Walmart, bought oodles of frames and just started nailing and measuring. This is not how I would recommend putting up a gallery wall. I was crazy lucky that this worked out and I didn't make one wrong nail hole. I'm still not quite sure how that happened!

Sorry, these weren't taken as"blog worthy" pics!
In the new house, I knew that a top priority was to create another gallery wall. I had it up on the wall within three weeks of moving in. Score! BUT… I've yet to switch out any of the pictures, so they're all facing the wrong directions! It's amazing how long you can live with some things without fixing them.

I added a few larger frames and still went with a fairly linear layout. What do you think of the one yellow frame? It's just a fun little play off of the little bird on the table and on the fabric on the chair. (Please ignore the crooked red frame… life with 4 kids!)

Please notice the sideways pictures, the mats that should be removed, and the crooked frames. I'm keeping it real and showing you what it really looks like most days. One day in the next few months very soon I'll get new pictures printed. For now, the kids just think it's funny.

Even though Jess is on vacation in Maine this week, I got her to share a little bit about her gallery wall…
~~~~~
My gallery wall is in process, but here's what I have so far! Things to do: 1. Paint frames so they're all the same color, 2. Change out mat and picture in the large frame, 3. Put something in empty frame at top.

My favorite picture from the gallery wall- a recent gift from my husband! ~~~~~~
There are so many amazing gallery wall ideas out there in blogland… Here are a few that I really love.
House of Smith's awesome colorful wall

Source: thehouseofsmiths.com via Monica on Pinterest
This wall is SO ME! Grey walls, clean lines, black & white pictures (and man, that's one looong hallway)
Source: laurawinslowphotography.com via Monica on Pinterest

Source: houzz.com via Monica on Pinterest
I love the accent lighting and the combination of sizes in this arrangement (Jess would love the baskets and bench)

Source: theinspiredroom.net via Monica on Pinterest
We love The Lettered Cottage, and we love their gallery wall too!

Source: theletteredcottage.net via Monica on Pinterest
This isn't my style, but I like how they used frames in unique ways and incorporated other items.

Source: thenester.com via Monica on Pinterest
This is fun and whimsical. I love the use of paint to frame out the layout

Source: parlourhomeblog.com via Monica on Pinterest
So, do tell… do you have a gallery wall? do you want one?
I'm planning to add another gallery over our piano, so stay tuned for some DIY tips and a step-by-step post coming soon!

P.S. Don't forget that you can still enter to win a Blosoom Band! Check out yesterday's post for all the details! The winner will be announced Friday morning!

We thought Round 1 was pretty impressive, but Round 2 officially blew us away. Apparently all of blogland was pretty excited too, because we had a bajillion of votes over the last two days (yes, that's the official number, FYI). This round was the closest one yet, with 1st and 2nd place only separated by around 20 votes the entire time! Let's see who ended up on top!

The Winner of Round 2 {Knockoff} is…
1. Amanda { Love and Renovations } and Beckie { Infarrantly Creative }
West Elm-inspired Wood Tile Dresser

We thought this project was amazing and it's actually been on our list of"Knockoffs to Try" for a while now! Thanks, Amanda, for showing us how it's done! Congratulations on the Round 2 Win!
Who else made it to Round 3, you ask?
2. Sarah { While They Snooze } & Sarah { Thrifty Decor Chick }
Anthropologie-inspired Sharpie Plate Art

We want to give Sarah a shout out for her project too. It was incredible and so many of you loved it and voted for it, too! Congrats Sarah!
3. Melissa { 5 foot 12 Creations } & Sherry { Young House Love }
Anthro-inspired Ikat Console

4. Sarah { Sarah M. Dorsey Designs } & Brooke { All Things Thrifty } Schumacher Zimba-inspired Drapes, Anthro-inspired Bench, Custom Cornice

5. Janel { Nellie Bellie } & Brittany { Pretty Handy Girl } Anthro-inspired Wall Lamp

6. Nancy { Owen's Olivia } & Kari { Ucreate } Restoration Hardware-inspired Lighted Sign

Ok, so now we totally know how Len, Carrie-Ann Inaba and Bruno feel on Dancing with the Stars each week…saying goodbye to talented people is HARD!! We're sorry to let the next three incredible DIYer's go, but wish them tons of success with their blogs. We've loved having them! 7. Jane { Life, Crafts & Whatever } & Jamielyn { I Heart Naptime } Horchow-inspired Mirrors

8. Ann Marie { White House, Black Shutters } & Shaunna { Perfectly Imperfect } Anthro-inspired Duvet

9. Karianne { Thistlewood Farms } & Whitney and Ashley { Shanty 2 Chic } Faux Chair Slipcover

Once again, to keep things legit, here are the official results…

And here's a reminder of the awesome prize package that Amanda won from this round…

$100 Gift Card to Royal Design Studio A pair of $120 Robert Allen pillows from Chic Decor Pillows Project featured by HomeTalk

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Congratulations to the 6 contestants moving on! Are you ready to get your paint on? We hope so, because Round 3's theme is Paint!

Round 3 is our Semi-Finals Round, so this is when things really get serious! This week both the Contestant and their Star partner are in it to win it!
The Semi-Finals Winner will receive:
$500 Gift Card to Home Depot (Contestant & Blog Star!!)
$100 worth of Martha Stewart supplies from Plaid Crafts
$125 Gift Card to Lucent Lampworks
Project featured by HomeTalk

Voting for Round 3 will begin on Monday March 25th at 12AM EST. Don't forget that you can link up your own Knockoffs through this Friday at 10PM EST…the winner will get an awesome prize pack and have their tutorial featured here on EC2 this weekend. Click here to link up!
Make sure you check back throughout the week! Thurs, Fri, and Sat we'll have the full tutorials for the top three projects and Sunday we'll share the Link Up winner's tutorial!
Thanks so much for making this contest awesome so far!

If you thought Round 1 was impressive, what do you think of these Round 2 Knockoffs? If you haven't already, stop everything and click here to vote for your favorite 3 knockoffs! We aren't exaggerating when we say we were blown away this round. And… lucky me, I get to share my knockoff today… no pressure right! Ha!

Before I share mine, let's enjoy a Blast from the Past and look at the Knockoff that won us Round 2 of Creating with the Stars in 2012. It appears that Anthro is DIYers favorite store to knockoff. Last year we tackled their Ordinal Dresser (you can see the full tutorial here)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now, onto my little ol' knockoff project…

I really wanted Anthro's Woodcut Print, but at ahem $1600… are you kidding me?? At that price, it had better grow into a money tree!! I'll take my $6.99 version thank you very much.

Here's how I made mine… it took about 5 minutes. I searched Google images for a woodcut picture I liked. It was black and white, but I wanted a red tone similar to the original. I brought it into PicMonkey (love that site) and used the tint effect to choose a new color. The options are endless as you can see from my screen shot below.

If I wanted a smaller size this project would have been FREE, but I needed a 12x12, so I printed it at Staples for $6.99. It's not an earth shattering knockoff, but I saved $1593.01- Woohoo! Jess and I love getting a high end look for less… Why pay full price, when you can just Knock-it-Off?
The woodcut art is part of my new Kid Friendly Gallery Wall! Every single item on this wall is plastic, wood, or just plain paper. With 4 kids, and after about 7 broken frames I knew I needed a plan B!

I'll be posting more about this wall after CWTS, but here are a few pics for you to enjoy…

And yes, those prints are just paper, framed in washi tape. Break proof!

That metal print is SO us! Eric and I might be a wee bit sarcastic… It says,"National Sarcasm Society… Like we need your support"

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alright, enough about me, let's talk about you! Are you ready to link up your favorite Knockoff project?

The winner of Round 2's link up will receive an awesome prize package from Belmonili and Perfectly Imperfect Shop, and we promise you're going to love it!

This link party will be open until Friday, March 22nd at 10 PM EST. Jess and I are going to be choosing our absolute favorite knockoff project and revealing the tutorial for it on Sunday! If you win this week, we'll be contacting you sometime on Saturday for the tutorial, so be ready!
Please remember a few things before linking up: 1. Before linking, please LIKE us on Facebook (Thanks!)

2. Make sure you link back to us in your post. Only those linking back will be eligible for the prize! 3. Only one submission per person. 4. Choose a project that you've done in the last 12 months.
Want to see all the amazing Upcycle projects that were linked up last week? Click here! The Round 1 Link Up Winner was this awesome light fixture!