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!!
Today we're super excited to have Bethany from Blossom Bands guest blogging for us. We asked her to share her story of how she turned a hobby into an awesomely successful, work-from-home business. She's a super cool example of what moms can do! We know you'll love her story and her fabulous products as well (you just might win some)!!
Hi! My name is
Bethany and I am the owner of Blossom Bands! What started off as a hobby has truly become a great adventure that has introduced me into a whole new world of homemade goodies!
It feels like yesterday that I found out I was having a girl, and that was the very beginning of my little girl accessory obsession! I remember the ultrasound tech said “It’s a girl” and do you know the first thing I said was, “Thank God I don’t have to worry about a circumcision!” Ha, who says that!? Well, I guess, I do! Then, the thought settled in, a girl, a beautiful, perfect girl! I nstantly, I was beyond excited to fill her closet and drawers with everything girlie I could get my hands on …and so it started! The first thing I ever made for Calia was a navy blue organza blossom for Thanksgiving. It matched her dress perfectly! I knew it was cute, I was excited to make her more, but when people started commenting on how great it was, the real excitement grew! Before I knew it I was researching ideas, self teaching myself how to make everything I make now! I started dying bands myself, cutting everything by hand, and suffering many needle pricks and glue gun burns! I’m proud that I do everything on my own, I’m proud that I taught myself, and I’m proud of how far I’ve come since November 2010!
In January my website-savvy husband launched http://www.blossombands.com/ and we worked on setting up our Facebook account right after that. I worked and worked on inventory, creating close to 200 products ready to sell! They’re all long gone now, and everything is made to order. I’ve tried to add new items since then, introducing tutu’s and new designs and styles regularly.
I don’t know when I really noticed how successful my little venture was becoming, it seemed to happen overnight! I have people contact me frequently to carry Blossom Bands on their websites or in their stores. I’m in awe of the amazing photographers I’ve been blessed to have photograph my work, like Heidi Hope Photography or Melissa DeCastro Photography who were the first I reached out to. The day I got an email from Piggy Toes Photography to swap a free photo session for Blossom Band props I really got excited! Blossom Bands has grown so fast so quickly, and Facebook has played a huge part in that! Networking, who knew!? I didn’t!
I did this for Calia, because I wanted to make her fun accessories. My children are my world, and have been since I had my son in February of ’07. The one thing I find myself struggling with is time! I am not a sit around and watch TV all day Mom! I’m an “everybody up, everybody get dressed, everybody in the car” kind of Mom. I go places with them; the beach, the zoo, the park, picnics, sandbox adventures, and playdates weekly. It’s hard finding a balance between a business that now demands a lot of time, and being a stay at home Mom. When do I work?!? Nap time & bed time! It works for now! And I know that there is a chance of a third baby in my future which might slow me down a bit, but my number one priority is my family…and then I think, can you imagine how amazing Blossom Bands will be when they’re all in school!? It’s going to be huge, and I hope you stick around to watch Blossom Bands blossom, Ha! So, thanks for letting me share a little bit of my story with you. And, as I finish writing this, I look up to see my son wearing half his clothes and fairy wings and my daughter stomping blueberries into my white rug, and still I know, it’s going to be a good day! Because Bethany Rocks,she's giving away a Custom Blossom Band to one of our readers!! To enter to win,"Like" The Real Housewives of Bucks County and Blossom Bands on Facebook by clicking HEREand HERE. Then, leave a comment here on the blog letting us know you did! The winner will be announced Friday morning, with our Fab Find! Good Luck!
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 fromSalvatori 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 herwebsiteto 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.
HGTV Magazine is one of my very favorite things to read- I get so much inspiration in each issue… and now… wait for it… My freakin' piano is featured!! AHHHH!!! Who knew painting my piano green would be our golden ticket to the HGTV train?!?
If you haven't picked up the October issue, you really should. Then you should frame page 54… and then maybe put it above your bed. Hmm, too much?
The editors at HGTV Mag called and asked me all about my color choice for the piano. I love that they included my quote about"spunk"… In 7th grade I was given the nickname"Spunky" from one of my teachers. I guess it hasn't gone away!!
If you missed all the fun details of my piano makeover and DIY Wood Shim Wall Art, click HERE for the full post with all the info!
Okay, now I have to mention the light sconce. Our blog sponsor Brad from Lucent Lampworks custom made it for me! I explained my vision and then the two of us built it together (I kind just smiled and Brad did all the work)
Brad is so creative and amazing at his craft! If you want lights that go far beyond the run of the mill, in-stock options check out Lucent!
I also have to thank our friend Stacy from Salvatori Photography. She came over to help me take pictures of my piano- and man that lady takes awesome pics! If you're in the PA area give her a call! Salvatori Photography
Alright, I've got to go run around the block or do something to burn off all this excited energy!! (If you know me well, you know there's about a 2.7% chance of me running-ha!) We're so excited and thankful for this awesome feature and are just feelin' pretty darn blessed by all of you and your support! Thanks a million guys!!
Before we get into today's post, we want to announce the winner of the Mother's Day Giveaway from Salvatori Photography…
Congrats Holly! We know your session pics are going to be amazing! If you missed it, Wednesday I shared the awesome story session pics Salvatori Photography did for my family. Check it out here. Even if you didn't win, Stacy would love to take pics for you! Contact her before her schedule for late spring/summer is full! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I don't play the piano… well, that's not entirely true, I took lessons for about two years, so there are about 3 songs I can pluck out- Ode to Joy, Hey Jude (talk about random!), and one nameless song that is kind of my signature song. Long story short, I stink! Eric however, is an amazing pianist. I absolutely love listening to him play. Our kids have names for all the different songs,"The Angry Song" is a fast song and the kids run around our house like crazy people when he plays it. I love watching him play and it reminds me how crazy talented (in so many areas) my hubs is. As much as I love the sound, I have never been a fan of the look of the oak piano. It's just so dated and not me…
Because the piano was so blah, I let two years go by with our front living room looking pretty much like this… no style, Eric's choice of colonial blue on the walls, and just an overall hot mess.
My living room is attached to my dining room, so the difference between the two rooms was pretty stark…
We finally decided to take the plunge and paint the piano! I knew I was going to for ages, but I didn't know what color, so I wanted until I was positive!
I decided on Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Antibes Green. I'm sure you know all about ASCP, but if you don't it's one of the coolest paint products out there! It is a chalk paint, but not chalkboard paint. Basically it adheres to all kinds of surfaces and wait for it… you don't have to sand!! Boyah!
Since I didn't have to waste time sanding, I got right to taping. I needed to make sure that I was super careful and no paint would damage the piano since the hubs actually uses it.
The prep work took me about 5 minutes and then it was time to paint. Eric was working on painting stripes on the ceiling for me (post coming on those soon) and we just put"Hit List" on Fios and got our painting groove on.
Yeah, I don't look too thrilled, but I promise I was…
How's that for a comparison… bye bye nasty oak!
I did two coats, but after the first I knew I was in love!
Chalk paint looks really uneven when it's drying, but have no fear- it looks nice and smooth once it's fully dry.
I used Annie Sloan dark wax to seal the piano and give it the darker, rich color I wanted. I'm not going to give you any tips on that part because I completely did it wrong! Apparently I was supposed to wax with clear wax and then dark… I just tell people, I was going for a more imperfect look! Ha!
The bench got ASCP on the legs, but to add a little awesomeness, I upholstered it with this fabric from Spoonflower.
Ahh! I love the fabric with the green!
So what do you think of the before and after? I hear so many people say,"but you can't paint it- it's REAL wood!" and I want to go on the record saying,"It can be REAL wood and still be REALLY ugly!" Don't be afraid to paint!!
And now for an onslaught of after pictures… I'm so happy to finally have a living room that I love!
And don't forget… We're the ones in a contest now and if we win, we get to give $5000 to the charity of our choice! 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 (like their page and then click on the Crafting for Charity button on their FB page). Thank you!
And just because this absolutely made my night… look at the picture I found on my computer! I recently taught Kaden how to use PicMonkey and apparently he's having a good old time with it! I actually might frame this pic I love it so much…"ther is monsters"
Have a great weekend and watch out for those darn monsters!
Source: ikea.com via Ashley on Pinterest I honestly think about 90% of people have had an IKEA bookshelf in their home at some point. I'm pretty sure you can find four in mine right now. The problem I have with the Billy bookshelves is that they don't have anything unique or cool about them. They're just functional. So, I decided to"Pimp my Billy" and bring on the DIY. I didn't go too crazy, but fabric was a definite must! I did this pre-blog, so I don't have step-by-step pictures, but here's the after shot.
The fabric totally works with the accent chairs in the room…
but, try as I may to like it… I don't!
I reluctantly let was thrilled to have the hubs pick out the paint color in this room and I think it's way too dark enjoy the challenges this color brings!: ) The fabric however is just blah and doesn't pop at all.
So, here's the new fabric…
I think It's gonna do the trick! This week I have to go away on a work trip, but it's the first project I plan to tackle when I get home! Once we heard about The Nate Show coming to our house to tape, I went into high speed to get the house semi-ready. One area that was pretty weak-sauce were these bookshelves. I feel like I threw random books and stuff on and went"Ta-da!" So, this week I went on a hunt for new accessories and armed myself with oodles of spray paint!
I honestly adore my little Mr. and Mrs, but I love them even more in their new colors. Check back tomorrow to see what fun you can have with just a little paint!
**PS. Today is your LAST chance to enter our giveaway to win two tickets to see our live Nate Berkus Show taping in NYC on September 1st. Click here for all the details.
**PSS. If you missedFriday's awesome post by our guest blogger, Stacy, ofSalvatori Photography, and her AMAZING giveaway (1 hour photography lesson plus 10 of her best photos of your kids), today is your lucky day. We're extending the giveaway until Thursday and will announce the winner on Friday. GO ENTER NOW!
Today, those of us in PA enjoyed an early taste of summer! So, in honor of the beautiful weather, we're going to talk gardening! Ok, don't tune out on me yet… there are some cool things about gardening even if you're not"into it"…
Longwood Gardens My mother in law has an amazing green thumb, so anything I've learned is from her. I don't have extensive knowledge, but I've found plants that work for me and that I can manage… all that translates to "plants that are very hard to kill and can deal with being ignored!" Before I share some of my favorites and some recommendations, we need a little primer on plants. Annuals are plants that don't come back year after year… you have to buy them annually. Perennials come back year after year (AKA plants that Eric thinks are nice and practical!) Yes, that seems a little basic, but come on, most people confuse the two all the time! Now for my favorites…Grasses- these perennials are wonderful as space fillers. They're inexpensive, indestructible, and grow like crazy. My favorite type is Maidenhair Grass (Miscanthus). They come in a variety of sizes and are nice and green all spring and summer.
In the fall they get these pretty wispy thingies (again, not very exact with my names!)
They also come in a variety of colors. I've bought this deep red before and it looks great in the fall.
Vinca- These annuals are my #1 favorite flower and my go-to flower for most beds and here's why… These flowers don't need a thing from me! They love full-sun, and thrive during a drought and heat wave. That's essential for me because, I spend full-sun, heatwave days by the pool, not watering my flowers!
They totally spread and fill out an area so nicely. Vinca = instant garden!
They're awesome for hanging baskets and again need little to no water. I rarely, if ever, water ones in the ground, but might water my baskets weekly or every ten days.
Now most people use Impatiens (which btw I thought were impatience until about 2 minutes ago!) but, the reason I prefer vinca is that impatiens need TLC. They need a lot of water throughout a drought and can stand the heat, but only with care. The two look so similar, that the easy peasy flower gets my vote for sure! These are impatiens- can you tell much of a difference?
Sunflowers- who doesn't love a sunflower? We go a little crazy with our sunflowers and try out tons of different varieties. My kiddos' favorite is the Mammoth Sunflower because it's enormous! Look at this random, adorable couple and their sunflower. They really do get this big!
Sunflowers don't have a super long bloom time, but if you stager your planting- plant a handful in the same area each week- you'll have a longer bloom season. This was the border of our backyard at the old house prior to full bloom.
Did you know they come in oodles of colors and so many of them have awesome fall tones? They bloom towards the end of the summer and get me all excited for my favorite season! This little fella was from our 2009 gardening.
Final note on sunflowers- they're super easy to plant and a great one to have the kids help you with! Can't mess it up! New Favorite: Wildflowers- Thanks to Laura from Piggy Toes Photography in Norton, MA I'm hooked on wildflowers. I'm more of a clean lines, symetrical decorator and gardener, but was totally inspired by some of her pictures to enter the world of wildflowers. Who wouldn't want this amazing backdrop for photos right in their own yard! It was this picture of her son Atticus that made me contact her and find out more about these awesome flowers. Seriously Adorable!
These are super cute and will be making an appearance in our new yard. The company Laura suggested was American Meadows and I've already ordered three bags to plant in the next few weeks.
Although I'm partial to the cutie in the diaper, they're also great for more formal shots like this one from an engagement session. If you're in the MA area, make sure you check out Laura's website for great photography at excellent prices.
I can't wait to share pics of my kiddos in our wildflowers this summer! Cosmos- While cosmos kind of fall under the"wildflowers" category, I've been using them for years. They're a bit more"wild" looking and unrully than I'd prefer, but they're awesome for cutting and really are pretty.
They come in so many colors and they also come in a variety of heights (learned the hard way when I had mammoth plants that all needed to be staked and still looked a bit sad.)
They're just so pretty and make beautiful arrangements that last for a while.
If you think you recognize them from somewhere… it could be from the AC Expressway in New Jersey. They're planted for miles between the highway and they're so pretty all summer on our drives to the beach!
So, I don't have any really amazing gardening tips for you, other than to find something that works for you and that you actually enjoy. If I planted things that needed daily attention it wouldn't be fun for me and they'd all end up dead! So in honor of spring weather, and of the fact my husband sent me to Lowes tonight to buy this (my first ever John Deer purchase- I was a fish out of water) enjoy the warm weather and start thinking about what you might create outside this year.
You guys get to see my home all the time in projects, you get to read my ramblings here on the blog daily, but today I'm sharing something a little more personal… my family and my life behind the scenes. Our photographer Stacy of Stacy Salvatori Photography spent a Saturday with our family capturing pictures of our real life. No coordinated outfits, no posing, just capturing how we roll. I can't tell you how much I love the pictures and I can't wait to make a big ol' display with them! (Don't forget that Stacy is giving away a FREE Session for Mother's Day and you can enter until Midnight tonight! Click here to enter!)
Here's how Stacy describes these awesome story sessions… I wanted to try something new. Something real. I’ve seen a few photographers that I admire and whose work I simply love, start a new journey. One of capturing people’s stories… their real life moments. And I kind of dig it. I like the notion of no posing, no planned outfits, and location? Well, how about your own home. The place you feel most you. I still love doing Family Portrait Sessions, and I always will. But there’s something unique, and something raw about snapping those in-between moments of life. The moments that truly define who we are, and that when we look back on, well, they will help us feel what we did all over again. I had the joy of capturing the Mangin Family’s ‘Story’. Them in their beautiful home, laughing, fighting, playing, and crying… living their life in front of the lens. Here’s a few snapshots of their life. What’s your story? I hope you enjoy this peek into my life… If you would have told me ten years ago that I'd have 4 kids, own a dog, cat, and two ducks, I'd have laughed hard enough to possibly pee my pants. God has some crazy plans up his sleeve and I'm so thankful for this crazy life that's ours.
One of my very favorite pictures!
Hard to see, but if you look closely you can see my crazy hubs was throwing an ax up in the air and catching it while it was spinning. Did I mention our life is a tad crazy?
I hope you've enjoyed peeking into my world. If you're local, you should definitely call Stacy about setting up a story session. Tell her EC2 sent you and she'll give you the VIP treatment! (I completely made that up, but she's always super nice, so we can pretend it's VIP just for you!) Later this week I'll be sharing more projects from the Wood Shim Wall Art projects!
P.S. We're the ones in a contest now and if we win, we get to give $5000 to the charity of our choice! 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 (click on the Crafting for Charity button on their FB page). Thank you!
Want to hear a sad story? Jess and I were supposed to be in NYC this afternoon having lunch with the fabulous Mandy from Vintage Revivals and Emily, one of our favorite Nate Show producers, BUT… my oldest is really, really sick. I fear it might have turned into pneumonia, so we're headed to the pediatrician instead of the Big Apple. Boo! I'm bummed about our trip, but even more so I just want my little lady to feel better!
(Pic courtesy of Salvatori Photography) Anyhow… Can you believe today marks the final weekend before Christmas? I seriously can't! I still have a few gifts to buy, some serious wrapping to do, and lots of fun holiday festivities to partake in! I guess we should get on with it shouldn't we? Today the girl that can barely sew a button is going to blog about pillows. Oh boy, this should be fun! I saw this Pottery Barn Pillow and thought it was pretty adorable. I have no idea why it popped into my head during the challenge, but it did and I figured that I could DIY it without any sewing.
To be completely honest it was one of my LEAST favorite projects in the room and then good old Mr. Berkus had to talk on air about how much he liked it and how he wished he could buy one. All the while I'm thinking, Oh my word. It's a Pottery Barn knock off, just go to the mall, but I can't say that because we have to be super careful about using brand names! I was sweating it big time! They even asked me to write a tutorial for their website, so if you want the directions you can head over to Nate's site for the steps. Here's my finished product, but don't look at it too long or you'll see some of the effects of only having a few hours to do a whole room (and yes, I know my stockings look more like hockey sticks!)
Ugh! It pains me to show you this! Ha! It's good to keep away the pride I guess! Since it's Friday, I also have a Fab Find for you! Woohoo!
Fab Find Friday- Journey through Bethlehem
Living Hope Church in Dublin, PA hosts an amazing semi-annual event and it's this weekend! A huge field is transformed into the town of Bethlehem. It's an incredible experience for your whole family. 2 Christmases ago my kids went with their grandparents and they talked about it for weeks! It's an amazing way to remind ourselves about the true reason for Christmas. Here's the info directly from Living Hope's website
Come. Experience. A Journey through Bethlehem. Follow the path that Joseph & Mary walked in a dramatic outdoor presentation of the original Christmas Story. Show start promptly* Fri, Dec 16 5 6:30 8pm Sat, Dec 17 5 6:30 8pm Sun, Dec 18 5 6:30pm *Dress appropriately for the weather. It is an outdoor 45 minute presentation.
Jess and I will be there with our families and friends on Sunday at 6:30pm. We hope to see you there!
Good morning, everyone! Before we get into today's post, stop everything and GO VOTE if you haven't already! The ladies did not disappoint with their Round 1 Projects. You just have to see the creative upcycle projects they came up with. These contestants and their stars are gunning for amazing prizes and they need your help to get there! Upcycling is kind of one of our favorite things to do. Last year for the contest, we turned an ugly, beat-up antique table into this:
Now that that's out of the way, it's time to check out our upcycle project this week. We have to say that it feels quite lovely to get to do the projects without all that extra pressure. We just get to do projects that we've been wanting to do in our homes! So, here we go!
Isn't that so fun? Unfortunately, the lighting in our basement is atrocious and my limited photography skills don't do this space justice. It's so cute and fits right in with the nautical basement makeover Monica gave me during our first Nate Show episode. We were originally going to use this door as a headboard in our Superfab Guestroom Makeover, but it just didn't work in the space.This door is over a hundred years old and has a beautiful, chippy, blue-green patina. It's been sitting in my garage waiting for it's new home and it finally found it! I could not believe that this door fit so perfectly in the nook under the stairs. It was most definitely meant to be!
This was a super-simple upcycle. We already had one filing cabinet on hand, and purchased another at Walmart for only $30. My hubs and I painted both with Valspar Paint + Primer in Beach Glass (a Benjamin Moore color we had color-matched).
The new filing cabinet was an inch shorter than our existing cabinet so Kevin built a base for it using leftover wood from our stash.
Once the filing cabinet was placed on the base, you don't even notice the difference!
We placed the door on top of the filing cabinets and might eventually *wink* actually screw it in to the cabinets, but for now it rests securely right on top. I couldn't stand the thought of making any holes in that gorgeous door.
I love that it blends so perfectly with the nautical lounge behind it!
Let's take a peek at the dramatic before and after, shall we?
Woohoo! That's quite the difference and I'm really happy with it.: ) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Now it's YOUR turn! We are so excited to see what you guys have come up with!
The winner 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 15th at 10 PM EST. Monica and I are going to be choosing our absolute favorite upcycle project and revealing the tutorial for it on Sunday! If you win this week, we'll be contacting you sometime on Friday for the tutorial, so be ready! Please remember a few things before linking up: 1. Like us on facebook!
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. Ok, let's see what you've got!
Well, it's been two awesome (and far too quick) weeks since our little man arrived, so I thought I would give you a glimpse of the tiny person who has stolen our hearts. He surprised us by making his appearance almost four weeks early, but he's healthy and growing like a weed! You might remember that when I announced this pregnancy, I had mixed emotions. But those days seem long gone because I can't imagine life with out our new addition. This is Bennett:
Of course, I had to call in my friend Stacy from Salvatori Photography to snap some pictures of my baby before he grew out of that fleeting newborn phase. Stacy is also the one who set up an awesome gender reveal photo shoot for us.
This girl does not disappoint! Photographing newborns is no joke- it involves a lot of patient waiting, a space heater, and four adults trying to position a floppy head. I gotta say, though, she had a pretty cute subject to work with!
I seriously can't get enough of these pictures! If you need ANY kind of special event photographed and are in the area, you need to call Stacy. You won't regret it! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Since Bennett came so early, I didn't have the chance to finish his nursery, but in the last few weeks we've made some progress. I should be able to reveal it to you later this week, but here's a sneak peek of what we have going on…
Can't wait! A big thank you to all of you who have wished us well and congratulated us on our new baby- we are so grateful and feel so loved. This blogging community is seriously the best. <3
Believe it or not, my kids are pretty rough on our house… We're pretty laid back parents and our kids do a lot of ball playing, wrestling, and just being kids in our house. I love this pic that Salvatori Photography took for us- this is SO our life!
The one problem I was having was that they kept breaking everything on my family room gallery. Frames would fall and break, glass was cracked a few times from footballs- it was getting old! So, I decided to create a Kid-Friendly Gallery Wall!
Everything on the wall is either plastic, paper, or wood and there's NO glass on anything! I'm writing this post a while after completing this project, so I can tell you that we've made it over 3 months without one break!! Woohoo! You might remember seeing a peek of this wall during Creating with the Stars- my knock-off round project was in the gallery… You can check out that tutorial here.
Here are a few more pics of the gallery and then I'll show you how I made the awesome vintage camera prints!
Now let's chat about the vintage camera prints- I love them SO much! I think they have just the right blend of vintage appeal and classy style. I got the FREE download here- gotta love an awesome, free printable! Thanks Design Editor!
I headed to staples and had them printed as 2"x3" engineer prints. They cost me about $5 bucks each. Since I knew I didn't want to frame them with a glass frame, I thought about just taping them right up on the wall… my hubs mentioned he thought it might look a tad cheapo, so I kept thinking… then it hit me- Washi Tape! I had ordered some from Consumer Crafts a while back (they have a great selection and super cheap prices).
I simply used one long piece for each side, stayed right at the edge, and folded the excess onto the back. It took me about 5 minutes max!
I think it was the perfect touch to give the paper is more finished look!
I used command strips to hang them on the wall- it was perhaps the easiest and cheapest DIY with an awesome impact on the family room!
Later this week I'm going to share how I go about creating a gallery wall- I think some people feel it can be a tad overwhelming if you let it, so I'll kind of show you how it all went down here at the Mangin pad! What do you think of my huge, almost-free pics? And am I the only one whose kids rough up their home decor?
Yesterday, Jess posted about her fun gender reveal photoshoot with Stacy Salvatori Photography- if you don't know what she's having yet, head HERE to find out! I was the lucky one tasked with preparing for the gender reveal photoshoot, which means I was the ONLY one to know what they were having! Mwahaha! I knew Jess wanted to do the whole balloons in a box reveal, so I set out to create one cute gender reveal box! I'd seen some on pinterest, but usually it was just a cardboard box with some pink and blue or a little question mark or something…
Source I decided right away that we needed a box that had some style!
How to Make a Stylin' Gender Reveal Box 1- Visit your local Lowes or Home Depot and sweetly ask if they have an appliance box you could have (aka free!). They also sell wardrobe boxes at HD that would work, but I much prefer the price of free! I brought along a little friend to help with the sweet-talkin' (sidenote- kids go through such weird smiling phases! It cracks me up!)
A word to the wise, make sure you plan ahead vehicle wise… Appliance boxes are BIG and luckily I had all the seats down in my van. We got our big ole box home and it was time to decorate it!
2- Decorate the Box- Did you know HomeGoods has the coolest wrapping paper ever? Yup, my favorites are the peacock feather paper and the faux bois paper!
For this project, we wanted something fun, yet classy to fit in with the pictures. It would be sad to have an adorable family, with cute outfits, and then this big old brown box (and yes, I'm aware that sentence sounds slightly dramatic- it's hyperbole people! lol) I simply wrapped 3 sides of the box with Homegoods navy, chevron wrapping paper (knowing you'd never see the 4th side). I also made sure that if you were looking at the box straight on, that the back inside wall was covered.
I also didn't want just the navy chevron, or people would assume boy, so I added a band of yellow fabric so it screamed classy and neutral, not baby boy! (Sorry, I hadn't ironed the fabric yet in the pic above- bad blogger!) #3- Buy lots and lots of balloons! Jess wanted both pink and blue for some of the family shots, but I definitely bought more of the color I needed. I think I got about 30 balloons in all- better to be prepared!
It took me about 30 minutes to go from boring and blah to stylin' and ready for the big reveal!
Now, not all of you know me personally, but I'm assuming you can tell from the blog, that I have a bit of sass in me and I like to give Jess a hard time. For weeks leading up to the reveal I joked that I was going to put the wrong colors in the box, get all green and yellow etc… Since we'd joked about those things, they were out of the question, but then an idea came to me…
I noticed that the box was big enough to hold a person… and that person should be me! Here's how it went down… I called Jess on the way and told her that with the crazy schedule we'd had filming for Knock It Off that week, that I wanted to prep the photoshoot and head home to have dinner with my fam, rather than stick around for the pics. She was fine with that, and I got there, got everything prepped while they waited inside, and then drove my car out of the driveway and parked it out of site… Then, with the help of Stacy (the photographer) I climbed into the box…
I hadn't fully thought about how long I'd need to squat in there… it ended up being about ten minutes and let me tell you, I could feel the burn! I was in there waiting as the whole family came down for the big reveal…
Look at this cute, unsuspecting family… yup, I'm in the box for this pic…
I snapped this selfie while crouched inside, waiting for the surprise!
Finally, it was time!! With excited anticipation they took off the lid…
And found out they were having… A MONICA!!!
I SO badly wish you could have seen the look on Jess' face! I scared her to death and it was awesome! I love how Cam and Charlie are looking up like,"Umm what's going on" My legs were sore for about two days, but it was well worth it for the laughs we all had!
After the fun, I re-prepped the box with the real gender reveal and then we got to celebrate this new little baby! So just a word to the wise… choose wisely who your Best Friends are… you never know when one will be creepin' inside your gender reveal box!
A few weeks ago, I announced that I'm expecting baby #3 ) early this Fall (it's a pretty funny story actually, if you're int he mood for a laugh)! It came as quite a surprise to us but we're looking forward to meeting this new little one that God has chosen to give us in His perfect timing. With my first two kids, we chose not to find out the gender and waited until they were born. However, with this baby, I really felt like finding out ahead of time would help me connect with him/her and plan appropriately. And so, without further ado, our new baby is a…
Woohoo! I can't believe I'll be holding another baby boy in my arms in a few months. Crazy!! I did NOT want to find out the gender in a doctor's office with no excitement or hoopla, so I called my go-to photographer friend, Stacy, and asked her if we could come up with a way to capture this special moment for our family. Of course, with the help of Monica who was the ONLY person who knew what the gender was, she delivered big time. Take a look at what we did…
Monica created this awesome huge box and dressed it up really cute. Check back tomorrow for how she went about setting this whole thing up. She's awesome.: )
And then we opened it up and…
My parents couldn't be there, so my sister face-timed them in. It was so fun for them to"be there" and I'm so glad Stacy captured that moment. Thank goodness for technology!!
Stacy does an amazing job getting great family pictures. I'm in love with so many of them!
The boys are pretty psyched about adding another boy to the family. Uh-oh, Campbell and I are outnumbered.
Campbell isn't so sure about it…
Isn't that backdrop adorable? Stacy and Monica set it all up and it looked so cute. It helps that my parent's have a gorgeous property they allowed us to use for all these photos, too!; )
BLUE!
Two blue balloons and one pink.I'm still not quite believing that I'll be mom to three kiddos.
I HIGHLY recommend Stacy of Salvortori Photography for all your family pictures! Remember Monica's day-in-the-life photo session? That was downright awesome too, so no matter what your"theme" or event, Stacy is your girl. Thanks so much for capturing this exciting time for us, Stacy! I want to know: are you a fan of finding out the gender before the baby is born, or do you like to wait until the delivery? Do tell!
Jess and I are super excited to share today's post! Back in the fall, we had a fun double photo shoot with both of our families. Choosing a photographer is a big decision. It's an investment and you want to be sure that whoever is taking the pictures will really capture your family as they truly are. This is where Stacy comes in. I might have broken some laws, but I used my snipping tool to steal her picture from her website! Stacy is crazy talented, I'm a snooper and so I kept looking at her pictures SOOC (straight out of the camera) and they looked amazing. I'm jealous of her skills, but thankfully have her around to take pictures of my family!
Stacy is super laid back, which is a must for someone with kids. Her fun approach to a session made it really enjoyable and not like my JCPenney torture experiences of the past. My kids played in the leaves, ran around the park, climbed fences, and lived life just as we would on any old day (although dressed in semi-coordinating outfits-ha!) Now for a peek at her incredible work with one of the cutest families I know. The Jackson Family… Since I'm writing this post, I get to add comments, in where I want, so I have to tell you a funny story. See the picture on the left? Jess used one really similar to it for her Christmas card… well, about half the world, saw the"waiting room" and thought she was prego! HA! I was loving it. They were really at a train station, but apparently"waiting room" is code for"we're announcing we're pregnant!"
Miss Campbell has the most amazing eyes ever.
Charlie or Charlie-man as we always call him is beyond adorable.
cute couple alert!
The Mangin Clan… Apparently a family of 6 is a clan in my mind… Eric and I had never had family pictures taken. Can you believe that? 10 years and this was our first full family session.
Boys vs. Girls
I totally snagged this idea from my blogger pal Beth. It could be one of my favorite pics ever! E and I aren't touchy feely people, so this pic is just perfect!
I'm a sucker for a good shoe pic. I'm thinking this is going to be blown up very, very large and put in my bedroom. I have to tell you that Kira (far left) calls those shoes her"Pumped up Kicks" My kids make me laugh.
Thank you Stacy for this picture. It's worth so much more than I can explain!
Of course we had to have some blogger pics… Did we mention we're total dorks? And how did I end up on the bottom!
Jess and I never had pictures of us together before this blog came along. I'm so glad we do now.
I'm now a huge believer in family pictures and I will be calling Stacy this summer for another session! If you want someone that's talented, great with your family, and reasonably priced Stacy is your girl! Go check out her website and then contact her to get some pics done! Make sure you let her know we sent you, then she'll know to take extra good care of you! Have an awesome weekend!
Outside my window, the landlord has started project spring cleanup. I enjoy standing by the kitchen window and look at how pretty it gets. Although the sun isn't shining quite as much as wished and the temperature is climbing a bit too slowly, it is spring. No doubt about it. And. It. Feels. So. Good.
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