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This giveaway has now ended...
Thanks to everyone who entered!
Happy Monday, everyone! I am so excited to announce that my friend Monika of Splendid Willow and I have teamed up to offer you
a Perfect & Splendid Giveaway!
This is my very first giveaway here, and I am so thrilled...
You all know Monika,

for her creativity, originality, and for her beautiful home.

As a native Swede now living in Seattle, Washington, Monika draws from her Scandinavian roots for inspiration and design ideas. Not only is Monika a talented decor enthusiast; her eye for style extends to fashion as well. If you haven't already, take a look at Monika's newest venture...

Splendid Willow Avenue , an on-line boutique, carries the high quality and fashionable rain and lifestyle gear of Danish designer Ilse Jacobsen.

And from this fashionable line, Monika has very generously offered a pair of Ilse Jacobsen rubber boots, considered design icons in Scandinavia!
These high-end boots are handmade in Europe and are just starting to get into the U.S. market in a serious way. They are stylish, warm (lined with cotton fleece) and designed for long hours of walking in rain and cold weather.

the 'perfect gray' boot?
This Perfect & Splendid Giveaway is for a pair of Ilse Jacobsen's stylish rubber boots, any model, size and color! (The tall boots retail for $179 + tax.)

three different models to choose from tall, mid, and short
The giveaway is open to U.S. and Canadian residents only.
To enter:
1) Become a follower of A Perfect Gray
2) Go to Splendid Willow Avenue and have fun looking at the boots (and the rest of the gear)!
3) Leave a comment to this post telling us which color you pick. (You can get all models in all colors.) Please make sure you leave your name and e-mail address, especially if your comment does not link to a blog.
For additional entries (please, make sure to comment for each entry):
a) Tweet about the Perfect & Splendid Giveaway
(1 additional entry).
b) 'Like' Splendid Willow's Facebook page.
(1 additional entry).
c) Mention it on your blog (2 additional entries).
There is a maximum of five entries per person.
This Perfect & Splendid Giveaway ends on Monday, March 14th at midnight, Eastern Standard Time.
Our winner will be chosen using Random.org and will be announced on Tuesday, March 15th.

Well, looky here....we caught the lovely Paula of Two Ellie sporting her camel Ilse Jacobsen boots!
Please join me in thanking Monika for...

Good luck, everyone!

I'm a mom of 4 kids… do you know what that means??
Lots and Lots and Lots of kids' artwork and school papers!

I love seeing all of their cute drawings and journal entries. I especially love seeing how much they grow and change within a school year. What I don't love… piles. I have piles of school papers everywhere! A few years ago I considered starting a little business… in my head I called it"Pint Sized Picasso" I never pursued it as a business, but I did start making books for my family. Rather than having a million boxes of papers, I make artwork photobooks!

At first it was hard to part with the piles of papers, but honestly, we adore these books! The kids love looking through their books and showing their Grandparents when they come over.
Here's my method: 1. Create a massive pile for the month. As homework and papers come home they all just go into one massive mess of a pile. (My hubs loves this part!)
2. At the end of each month (approximately) I sort through the pile and toss the generic work sheets. I hide them in the garage trash can because my middle son takes personal affront to my throwing away any of his papers.
3. At the end of school year I have a massive sort party! I make a pile for each kid and then determine which items to scan and which to take pictures of (the big, bulky ones)
4. Scan and Photograph (pretty self-explanatory) I don't have a fancy scanner, but it does the trick. It's pretty time consuming, but so worth it in the end.
5. I use Blurb to make my books. They make the best books and are so reasonably priced! Remember when my handsome hubs guest posted about Blurb in this post? (There's a link on our sidebar for 20% off of a Blurb book!)
Ok, so now take a look at how adorable these are…
I add an"About the Artist" page with the school pic from the year and a little about what was"cool" that year.

Goodness, I could look at these over and over. They make me smile so much!

Scanning the pics preserves all the details! I love that these pictures won't be getting all crumbled and old. I have them forever!

I even put a few non-school papers in… the note on the left was one my daughter wrote when she was grounded one afternoon.

The note is too funny not to share…

One other thing I add is journal entries. I scanned lots of pages from her daily journal once it was sent home and I love reading all the cute entries. Since it's almost Halloween, I'll share a fall entry…

If you want to preview my whole book, you can check it out here. So, what do you think?
Can you part from the papers and create a photo book?

**Don't forget to use the coupon on the sidebar if you make a book!
************************************************************************* Did you hear about our Design it Forward challenge? We still need donations and helpers! Check out our post HERE and be a part of this awesome project!
************************************************************************** Also, don't forget to VOTE for Crafting with the Stars! Today's the last day for Round 3! Vote HERE

Well, after all the hoopla with the Nate Show, you'd think Monica and I would be ready to take a break and relax for a while, but because we're completely crazy we love a good challenge, we're jumping in head first to our next big thing. And that big thing is…

That's right, Crafting with the Stars!. We entered the Barnwood Artwork into the contest last week and were chosen in the top 12 out of 200 entries to compete in this season's Crafting with the Stars. It's a really fun DIY/home decor competition where we'll be paired up with a blog celebrity and will have to compete in several different categories. We just found out today that we've been paired up with Linda, from Craftaholics Anonymous! Woohoo- this is going to be awesome!

There are 4 rounds and the first one is Knockoffs.

We are super excited, and feel totally honored that we were chosen. You can check out our fabulous competition and their entries here. Of course, we'll keep you posted along the way with all the fun details! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And, just in case you missed our segments on The Nate Show yesterday, take a peek:
(We're not mean people, Mon just appears to be scowling!)
{How Nate used the same items in the crate.}

To see the in-process renovations, check out our Nate's Crate Challenge Here, and to see the Big Reveals, click here. To see the before and after photos of both spaces and also more pics of our fun projects, click here. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thank you so much for ALL of your kind words about our TV debut, and for your support along the way! We appreciate each and every one of you and have loved sharing the journey with you.

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!

The day is finally here! Submissions for Creating with the Stars are Open! We are so excited to see all of your submission projects!

This group of blog stars is pretty epic! One of them could be your new partner in crime! 1- Sherry from Young House Love 2- Whitney & Ashley from Shanty 2 Chic
3- Brooke from All Things Thrifty 4- Jane from Tatertots and Jello
5- Sarah from Thrifty Decor Chick 6- Beckie from Infarrantly Creative
7- Mandi from Vintage Revivials 8- Jamielyn from I Heart Naptime
9- Shaunna from Perfectly Imperfect 10- Beth from Home Stories A to Z
11- Kari from U Create 12- Brittany from Pretty Handy Girl------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Let's just recap CWTS a bit and then we'll get onto the How To details! If you missed the announcement post with ALL the details, click hereYou can submit one project that shows everyone your best stuff into the linky party below. Projects must have been made October 1, 2011 or laterand must be your own work. You have until February 21st to enter your submission. From those entries, 11 will be chosen by the blog stars and us as contestants and will be randomly paired up to work one-on-one with a Blog Star, to duke it out in a four-week competition to see who's the most creative. The Star will give suggestions, ideas, encouragement, and help so you can come up with the best project possible. Each round will have a theme and the bottom three will be eliminated based on reader votes. Once the contest is started, weekly projects are anonymous, so big blogger or rookie, everyone's on the same, even playing field! Find your favorite project to link up and be prepared to put your best foot forward if you want to survive!---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- How to Enter CWTS: 1. Link Up your Project. Use the Linky below to submit your project entry *Reminder: Be sure to link to the actual project page, and not just your homepage. 2. Grab a Button. You need to add a link back to EC2 in your submission post. Even if it's an old post, just grab the button code below and paste it into the post.

</figure><figure><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj94gFCdkl5XvfYfY0cmc6bAe7QBJMLiECl-2TRMqt4zNyp-App9z1rXNO1gQXFI1Re3zJ4trv2YJiIwsAEnpzzwhi4X5BtSd7XKOcfQ5H864evyCgGXOy0V6z4GaAbt3dfmA4_B8Z3ML-y/s1333/CWTS+button+grab.jpg" alt="Creating with the Stars" /></figure><p><!--end button code box-->
3. Follow EC2 on Facebook. Make sure you LIKE East Coast Creative so you get all the updates and info we'll be sharing there as well. (This step is a requirement to your entry- sorry to be big, bad, rule enforcers- We promise we aren't mean!)

4. Start Spreading the Word! The first 11 contestants will be chosen by the Blog Stars and East Coast Creative, but #12 will be chosen by popularity in the link party. Get your readers to come over and give your thumbnail a click- yours could be the most viewed!! (Just don't act like some weird robot and click on your own entry a million times, that's lame-o!)

And, as if you need any more motivation to enter, we have the BEST.SPONSORS.EVER!! The 2013 CWTS Prize packages Total over $4100!!
A special thanks to Homes.com, HomeGoods, HomeTalk, and Home Depot for their generous sponsorship of CWTS.nWe're so honored to have them!
The Grand Prize Winners (Contestant and Blog Star) will each receive:
$500 from Homes.Com
$500 Gift Card to HomeGoods
Project featured by HomeTalk

All contestants that make it to Week 4 will be given a $100 Giftcard to HomeGoods to use during the week 4 home decor challenge!
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

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

The Week 1 Winner will receive:
$50 worth of 31 Gifts products
$60 worth of Twtsted Yarn products
$70 of Henle Headbands products
$100 Blog Re-design from 733 Design
Project featured by HomeTalk

Okay, enough talking, let's get submitting! We're so excited to have each and every one of you!! Good Luck and May the Odds be ever in your Favor (sorry, two Hunger Games lovers here!)

I've gotta start off by thanking so many of you for giving awesome feedback on my Powder Room Pick Me Up. Sometimes, when I do a FREE (well almost free) room in my house that's not a full makeover, I tend to think it's a little ho-hum. You guys helped me not feel that way for long! So Thanks! If you missed it, you can check it out HERE.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Today, you're going to have to make one more click to read my REAL post, and trust me you won't regret it… you'll get to see lots of awful pics of me and the hubs from a decade ago (dang that I can even use that phrase… I'm getting old!)

Our gal pal Beth over at Free Stylin' Beth has a super fun series going on and she asked both of us to be a part (you can link to Jess' post through mine too!)

So if you're into juicy details like how Eric and I met, how Jess fits into the whole picture, and what our wedding was like, then head on over! Click Here for all the passion!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Finally, before you head over to ready my little ole love story… have you seen the 161 entries for Creating with the Stars?? There are some amazing projects, but we know there are even more of you just waiting to enter! We'd be 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.

And don't forget that we have the best sponsors and partners ever! Over $4100 in prizes and the chance to be featured on HomeTalk and Homes.com! Woot Woot!

A special thanks to Homes.com, HomeGoods, HomeTalk, and Home Depot for their generous sponsorship of CWTS. We're so honored to have them!

The Grand Prize Winners (Contestant and Blog Star) will each receive:
$500 from Homes.Com $500 Gift Card to HomeGoods Project featured by HomeTalk

All contestants that make it to Week 4 will be given a $100 Giftcard to HomeGoods to use during the week 4 home decor challenge!
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

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

The Week 1 Winner will receive: $50 worth of 31 Gifts products $60 worth of Twtsted Yarn products $70 of Henle Headbands products $100 Blog Re-design from 733 Design Project featured by HomeTalk

Have an awesome day and don't forget to head over and show Beth some EC2 Love!

YOU GUYS, the countdown is officially on. Yup, that's right. You have only a few days to enter your best project for the chance of a lifetime to work with your favorite blogger and earn awesome prizes. Just to prove it to you, (and because we love some crunch-time project drama) here's the official countdown:

Did you know that we waited until literally the last hour to submit our project? We had done this piece of barnwood art for one of our Nate Show episodes, and weren't technically allowed to post about it yet, but we were dying to be a part of the contest so we slipped it in just under the wire.

So, we totally get it if you're major procrastinators like us. Or, if you need some additional encouragement because you're a little nervous or afraid your stuff isn't good enough, here it is: JUST DO IT! This contest could be a major boost to your blogging career! Just trust us about this. After we won this contest, we got a whole lot more traffic and made a name for ourselves. And you know the awesome Mandi, from Vintage Revivals? She won this contest too, and we all know how incredible her blog is now. Don't waste anymore time. Enter your project here right now!

Also, I bet you might not have known that, YOU (our awesome readers), have the power to select the 12th contestant in this contest! How, you ask? Take a peek at all the fabulous entries and click through for the tutorials.

I know! Isn't that so fun? So, go ahead and tell all your friends to come vote for your project. I mean, really, who wouldn't want to be Miss Popular?? We are so excited about this contest, and already have a few favorites as we click through to see them all!!
We'll be keeping you updated on all the last minute CWTS excitement on Facebook, so make sure you've liked our page or do it right here… we double dog dare you!

Tell us: which project is YOUR fav so far, and which STAR would you most like to work with if you get the chance?

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.

 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! 

No… I'm not getting all creepo on you… this is a PG blog-Our moms read it! What I'm talking about it this adorable ball of fur that's now a part of the Mangin family…

I'm seriously head-over-heels in love with her! She's a Bernese Mountain Dog that will be eight weeks old today and she has the sweetest disposition ever! Jess came over to meet her the other day and was surprised at how smitten I am, so she said,"I didn't think you were a dog person?" to which I replied,"I'm not! I just like my dog!" Ha! What can I say? It's true!
So in honor of Miss Pennlyn (AKA Penn) I'm sharing some Doggy Style projects…
Four Post Bed… Puppy Luxury! I first saw this bed a few years ago in a Lowe's Creative Ideas magazine, and immediately loved it. I don't think the size will work for Penn, but I love the look and idea of it.

Source: lowescreativeideas.com via The Real Housewives on Pinterest
You could also just find a coffee or end table, flip it over and get your DIY on, turning it into a bed. And of course, I'm loving the yellow!
Crate Bed Since Pennlyn will be a pretty big dog, I'm thinking this style bed is a bit more her speed. I'm loving this DIY bed made by Home Frosting and I can't wait to make one. She used leftover 1x4s, but I think I might use some free pallets. The finish she created is fabulous!

Source: home-frosting.blogspot.com via The Real Housewives on Pinterest
DIY Pet Tags Leave it to Martha to come up with these adorable tags.

Source: marthastewart.com via The Real Housewives on Pinterest
I was about to order a generic tag from the pet store, but I plan to try this DIY this week before going the generic route. I just need to make sure it's heavy duty enough. I'll let you know how it goes!
Pet Art I'm not really a huge fan of having pet pics all over the place (remember… not a"dog person") but I do think some pet art might be cool in the kids' playroom.

This took me about 30 seconds to create on Picnik. I used the"Posterize" effect and voila… Pet Art! I think I'll order it as a canvas this week.
Hungry Puppy? Since we've only had Penn for 5 days, her food is just in the bag, but I do have ambitious plans to create some kind of cool looking container. The hubs thinks I'm insane and wants to know why the dog food container needs to be cute, but he knows who he's married to, so he's cool with it. Here's one fun idea…

Source: tidymom.net via The Real Housewives on Pinterest
The style isn't mine, but I think I could add some of my own modern flair to it. I sorta had something wooden and rustic in mind, so we'll see…
Custom Stuffies These are the funniest things ever! I think they'd make such an awesome gift! This seller on etsy makes custom stuffies for your pet. Just send a picture of your pooch and you'll get a look-a-like stuffie in a few weeks! I've contacted the seller, because she doesn't have this as an active listing right now, but I'm hoping she'll be back at it soon! Pennlyn definitely needs a mini-me stuffie!
WAIT! Hold the press! Shevon contacted me and you can now buy a custom stuffie!
Here's the link: Custom Stuffies (Soooo stinkin' Cool!)

Source: etsy.com via The Real Housewives on Pinterest

So, it looks like I have a lot of projects to get working on! Although, before I get working on my puppy projects I think I need to get Penn house-broken and doing fancy tricks (can I teach her how to go get my laptop for me?) I'll keep you posted on Miss Pennlyn and any cool projects we make for her!
Oh, one last thing… She WILL NOT be owning one of these… Thundervest…No Comment!

Source: thundershirt.com via The Real Housewives on Pinterest
Thanks for letting me introduce my little lady to you!

WAIT! Don't stop reading! The voting for Crafting with the Stars is now open! We've entered our first project and we need your votes. We obviously can't tell you which project is ours, but we can give you a hint… look for the coolest one… that'll be ours! Nah, we really do have some stiff competition, so head over and vote for your favorite 3 projects. The winners will be announced Wednesday. Thanks! Click HERE to see the entries and vote!

**Update: Submissions are NOW open! Click here to enter! You'd better be sitting down ladies and gents, because we're thrilled to announce that we are hosting the BEST, MOST AWESOME contest in all of blogland!! Remember that contest we won last year? Crafting with the Stars? Well, not only did we win it, but we also bought it! Tam, from Sew Dang Cute, took a leave from blogging and we jumped at the chance to run the contest that helped jump-start our blogging careers. We're hoping that we can help one of YOU jump start or boost your blogging career, too! Welcome to the new home of Creating with the Stars! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ We're super excited because it's bigger, badder and better than it has ever been. In case you didn't notice, we've renamed it Creating with the Stars, which means no limits to the incredible stuff you can create. It's not just crafts anymore, people.

What the heck is Creating with the Stars, you ask? CWTS is the ultimate creative DIY competition that pairs 12 contestants with 12 of blogland's biggest stars to duke it out over 4 weeks. Only one team will make it to the end to claim the Grand Prize. The best part? You, the readers, choose the winners!
Here's a peek into our projects from the 2012 season…

One of our favorite parts of this competition is that contestants are paired with a super famous, awesome Blog Star! We've rounded up the best of the best and we know you all would LOVE a chance to work 1:1 with any of these bloggers!

Introducing the 2013 Creating with the Stars Blog Stars!

1- Sherry from Young House Love
2- Whitney & Ashley from Shanty 2 Chic
3- Brooke from All Things Thrifty
4- Jane from Tatertots and Jello
5- Sarah from Thrifty Decor Chick
6- Beckie from Infarrantly Creative
7- Mandi from Vintage Revivials
8- Jamielyn from I Heart Naptime
9- Shaunna from Perfectly Imperfect
10- Beth from Home Stories A to Z
11- Kari from U Create
12- Brittany from Pretty Handy Girl
That's some serious talent all in one place! And let me tell you, some of these bloggers are in it to win it-they're all about the competition!! Wouldn't it be so awesome to be paired up with one of them?!?

We also have some ridiculously awesome sponsors, who are chomping at the bit to give you some great prizes!
The 2013 CWTS Prize packages Total over $4100!!
A special thanks to Homes.com, HomeGoods, and Home Depot for their generous sponsorship of CWTS! We're so honored to have them!
The Grand Prize Winners (Contestant and Blog Star) will each receive:
$500 from Homes.Com
$500 Gift Card to HomeGoods
Project featured by HomeTalk

All contestants that make it to Week 4 will be given a $100 Giftcard to HomeGoods to use during the week 4 home decor challenge!
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

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

The Week 1 Winner will receive:
$50 worth of 31 Gifts products
$60 worth of Twtsted Yarn products
$70 of Henle Headbands products
$100 Blog Re-design from 733 Design
Project featured by HomeTalk

Here's how it all works:
Submit one project that shows everyone your best stuff into the linky party here on East Coast Creative that will begin on February 5th. Projects must have been made October 1, 2011 or laterand must be your own work. You have until February 21st to enter. From those entries, 12 of you will be chosen by the blog stars and us as contestants and will be randomly paired up to work one-on-one with a Blog Star, to duke it out in a four-week competition to see who's the most creative. The Star will give suggestions, ideas, encouragement, and help so you can come up with the best project possible. Each round will have a theme and the bottom three will be eliminated based on reader votes. Once the contest is started, weekly projects are anonymous, so big blogger or rookie, everyone's on the same, even playing field! Find your favorite project to link up and be prepared to put your best foot forward if you want to survive!

What to do Now!
Submissions are NOW open! Click here to enter!
Be sure to Like East Coast Creative on Facebook. We're going to be messaging reminders, sneak peeks, and lots of contest info via Facebook, so you don't want to miss out! Also, start deciding what one project you want to submit for your chance to be a contestant! The sky is the limit and we're so excited to see all the amazing project submissions! Anytime you tweet about the contest, make sure you use #cwts2013 to stay in the loop and see what everyone else is saying about the contest!

If you have any questions about the contest, please email us at
CWTScontest{at}gmail.com

We're so excited about our 1st season hosting CWTS and we hope you are too!! Spread the word, because it's going to be one awesome ride!

We've been so fortunate to have been featured on some pretty great blogs and websites, but there are a few totally awesome blogs/bloggers who have been major players in our continuing growth.

We've shared our love of Pinterest on more than one occasion and Monica even created a how-to video about it, but now we love it even more. U-Create, Vintage Revivals and Home Stories of A to Z were so good to us rookie bloggers. We hope we can pass the blog love forward to other small blogs just trying to grow in the same way they've helped us. And you already know how we feel about The Nate Show. So, from the bottom of our hearts, thanks blogging friends! We appreciate you.: ) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Now, to cap off our Giveaways Galore Week, we have an unbelieveable giveaway for you!

We both have been thrilled with our stencils from Royal Design Studio (you can see my kitchen here, and Monica's wall panels here), but there are endless possibilities and choices for you at
Royal Design Studio. Just check out these beauties:

{Swoon} Ok, time for the details on how to win:
The Prize is a $75 Shopping Spree on Royal Design Studio. (Includes free shipping within the continental U.S.) All entries must be submitted by 11:59pm on February 26, 2012. Winner will be announced on February 27, 2012.
1. To enter, go to the Royal Design Studio website, pick your favorite stencil and comment with your pick.
2. Extra chances to enter by"liking" the RDS Facebook fan page and/or following them on Twitter and/or following them on Pinterest and commenting so on this post.
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And finally, the winners from yesterday's giveaways:
Scentsy

My Best Friend's Hair

Kotton Pickin' Kute

Congratulations! Email us to claim your prizes, girls! Thanks for celebrating our one year blogiversary with us this week. It's been fun.: )

We're pulling a Young House Love and are double-posting today. It's kind of fitting since Melissa is Sherry's partner!. If you missed the Round 2 projects, you can see all of them right here. To see the bloggers you chose to move on to Round 3, . We're sure these girls are already working hard on their Paint challenge this week- ack! We're loving the suspense.: )

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If any knockoff was a bear to tackle, this one is it! All that detail-oriented stenciling makes us tired just looking at it. We love that Melissa took the design and changed it up so that it is unique and matches her home. Take it away, Melissa!

Anthropologie is my very favorite store. I love all the colors, the design, the textures, the ambience and inspiration that I always find there. When I saw this gorgeous ikat hand painted console, I knew it was the perfect piece of inspiration for CWTS Project #2: Knock Off. (and at $1698--it's a great piece to knock off; )

1. I bought a similar looking cabinet base from IKEA. In looking for the right piece of furniture to use for this project, the most important thing was to have flat doors with plenty of space for the ikat stencil design.

2. In order to achieve a wood-like look similar to the anthro console, I did some research on painting IKEA furniture. Leaving the cabinet in pieces, I spray-painted them with three coats of Zinsser BIN shellac-based primer. In between each coat of primer, I sanded very lightly. This stuff is amazing and allowed me to paint right over it with no problems. After letting the primer dry, I painted the cabinet pieces with two coats of paint which I had left over from other projects. I painted all pieces with BM Wheeling Neutral, with the exception of the cabinet doors, which I painted BM Linen White.

3. The next step included a bit of experimenting, but ended up turning out great. On top of the painted cabinet pieces, I used a soft dry cloth and applied a light layer of Annie Sloan Dark Wax. I wasn't sure how this wax would take to the paint, but it worked wonderfully and gave the piece a great look. In the second picture below, you can see the difference between the boards (before wax on the left and waxed on the right). After all the pieces of the cabinet were waxed and dry, I put the cabinet together, minus the front doors.

4. I ordered the ikat stencil ("ikat pattern #1 repeating stencil") online from Olive Leaf Stencils. Next up was choosing paint colors. I went to the paint store and pulled paint chips to match the anthropologie console. I knew their color palette worked well but I wanted to create a similar palette that would work better in my own home. I played around with paint chips in my hand to create my palette. Then I took the paint chips to the craft store and matched them to acrylic craft paint. (While at the craft store, I also purchased Elmer's Spray Adhesive to help keep the stencil in place while I painted.)

5. I put the cabinet doors on top of the kitchen counter and put the six different paint colors onto paper plates. I measured and marked the various spots where I would need to line up the stencil. Next, I sprayed the back of the stencil with the Elmer's Spray Adhesive and let it sit for about 2 minutes before placing it on the cabinet door. (Waiting the 1-2 minutes helps the spray to be more temporary, and easier to remove. I did not have any problems removing the stencil-and the paint on the doors did not peel off at all.)

6. After I had my stencil in place, I began painting. You really only need to use a small amount of paint for stenciling, this helps to prevent bleeding of the paint. I used a soft jabbing motion to get the effect I was wanting and found that a small firm paint brush worked well. I had sketched the stencil out on cardboard and planned which colors were going where…this was especially helpful. It took me about three hours to stencil the cabinet doors.

7. I let the doors dry overnight and in the morning I used a very small brush and linen white paint to touch up the few spots where little bits of paint had bled.

8. Last, I applied a layer of Annie Sloan Clear Wax over the top of each door, which darkened the colors very slightly and gave it a nice smooth finish.

9. After the wax was dry, I put the doors onto the cabinet base. I styled the console using some of my"real" anthropologie treasures: ) in addition to two old flea market wooden spools with candles, some favorite books and beautiful orange tulips.

It's such an amazing piece and it's going to be a conversation starter, for sure! We snooped around Melissa's blog and found this adorable Secretary makeover. Love that color blue!

You know we love us some reclaimed wood and this barnwood jewelry display is super cute!

Check back tomorrow for our favorite knockoff from the link party this week! There were some great entries, and you all are NOT making our jobs easy.: ) And don't forget that you can begin voting for Round 3 midnight on Monday!

YOU GUYS, the countdown is officially on. Yup, that's right. You have only a few days to enter your best project for the chance of a lifetime to work with your favorite blogger and earn awesome prizes. Just to prove it to you, (and because we love some crunch-time project drama) here's the official countdown:

Did you know that we waited until literally the last hour to submit our project? We had done this piece of barnwood art for one of our Nate Show episodes, and weren't technically allowed to post about it yet, but we were dying to be a part of the contest so we slipped it in just under the wire.

So, we totally get it if you're major procrastinators like us. Or, if you need some additional encouragement because you're a little nervous or afraid your stuff isn't good enough, here it is: JUST DO IT! This contest could be a major boost to your blogging career! Just trust us about this. After we won this contest, we got a whole lot more traffic and made a name for ourselves. And you know the awesome Mandi, from Vintage Revivals? She won this contest too, and we all know how incredible her blog is now. Don't waste anymore time. Enter your project here right now!

Also, I bet you might not have known that, YOU (our awesome readers), have the power to select the 12th contestant in this contest! How, you ask? Take a peek at all the fabulous entries and click through for the tutorials.

I know! Isn't that so fun? So, go ahead and tell all your friends to come vote for your project. I mean, really, who wouldn't want to be Miss Popular?? We are so excited about this contest, and already have a few favorites as we click through to see them all!!
We'll be keeping you updated on all the last minute CWTS excitement on Facebook, so make sure you've liked our page or do it right here… we double dog dare you!

Tell us: which project is YOUR fav so far, and which STAR would you most like to work with if you get the chance?

Before we get into today's dining room post, there's some CWTS Biz to take care of… Umm 361 Entries is Amazing!! My goal (which Jess thought was a little nuts was 300!) Thanks so much to everyone that entered. So what happens now?? Submissions have closed and the Blog Stars are working on choosing their top projects. But lest you think it's all in the hands of those ladies, don't forget about the 12th Spot!

Starting TODAY (to give everyone a fair chance) the entry with the most views will be awarded the 12th spot! (Remember, don't be a lameo and click on it 34572 times yourself-lol) This means that now's the time to get YOUR blog readers over looking at your submission. Tell them your number and tell them to check it out! You have until Wednesday, February 27th @ Noon for your clicks to count. Be creative and show the world that YOU want to be a CWTS Contestant!
Speaking of Dates, here are some important ones to remember…

We can't wait to get this party started!

Now back to your regularly scheduled programming… ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I don't often refer to myself as the"Original Funkmaster", but it was the first thing that popped into my mind when I saw HGTV's recent pic on Instagram.

What the What! That looks like my house! Now, I don't actually think that I'm the first person in the world to do this, but in my own little world at least, I'm the Frames Wallpaper Original Funkmaster! Check out my dining room wall.

While no idea is ever truly original, I can proudly stake claim on this room for the past year and a half.

I realized when I saw HGTV's pic that I'd never actually shared a full dining room reveal of sorts. Today is that day peeps!
You know how for many people, their dining room is the most underused room in their entire home? That is SO NOT the case in the Mangin family. We use it all the time and so we wanted to be sure it was a space we loved! Remember this crazy crew that we have over for dinner every single Tuesday night for what we've creatively named,"Tuesday Night Dinner." This was during cookie decorating night… (no, it's not usually this nutso… we typically put the kids in the other room to eat)

So back to the wallpaper… It's Graham & Brown Frames wallpaper and I first posted about it in my very first post on this here blog. I had seen it used for many kids spaces, but I hadn't seen it in any"grown up" spaces… I decided my dining room was the perfect place to try!

We lived with it plain for a while before I added the pictures, and the second I added them (literally the second) I was head over heels in love! The pop of color and the personality was SO ME! (I actually used a purple Elmer's Glue Stick to attach the pics. It's permanent, but even Command strips would have torn the paper bc it's completely matte)

I thought for about 2.1 seconds about using like artsy pictures or something"cool," but then I remembered that I'm not actually cool and that pics of our friends, family, and even pets would be so much higher on the awesomeness scale! Forgive the heavy load of pictures, but I've gotta show you some of my favs…
First day of Pre-school… refused to smile until we did this!

From London… could have taken pics of Big Ben, but instead played Mary Poppins with the pigeons! FYI They're creepy!

Top left pic is of my parents… Seriously, when your parents are this cool wearing 3D glasses, you've just gotta put them on your walls!

Friends & Family rank high on our list, so of course we needed silly pics of the families we love! These are the people surrounded by these walls each week!

This pic is what got us into the finals for the Parents of the Year Award. Yup, sprinkler to the face gets me laughing every time!

And I'd be remiss, if I didn't include some of the Mangin Menagerie on the walls. This is Kenzie's duck Chase. (He attacks me and I loathe him!)

So you're getting the idea… this space is my favorite and makes me smile so much. Toss in some peacock feathers, some really bright furniture, and a Massive DIY Farmtable and you've got just the room for me!

Is it going to end up on HGTV… probably not (umm…HGTV, if you're reading, I would totally be into that though!) but that's okay because it's perfect for us!

If you want to check out any of the other projects in the room, here are a few fan favorites! The DIY farmhouse table is still one of my personal favs.

click here click here

click here So, no pressure to call me the Funkmaster anytime soon, but at least now I've shared my room and you see that the looks that you see on HGTV etc. can work in real life too!
Linking Up to: Home Stories A to Z

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