A Pinteresting {Linky} Party - Week Nine

Wow, we had 24 link ups for week eight! How exciting! Thank you all for linking up and please spread the word about this Pinteresting Party! :)

{source}

See what I find Pinteresting here.


If you need an invitation to Pinterest.com or have any questions about it please comment here or convo me. I'd be happy to help if I can.

If you do not know what Pinterest is or don't have an account, here is a little about it:
Pinterest is kind of like an online, public bookmarking site. You find something online you like, or want to try and "pin" it. It gets stored to a board {or category, i.e. tutorials, recipes...} for your followers & other Pinterest users to see. These "pins" {or bookmarks} can be repined by others, spreading YOUR blog post all over the Pinterest world! How cool is that?!

Now that you know more about Pinterest and how it helps promote your blog for free, look below & link up you blog posts! 

My faves from last week:

A Mommy's Life...With a Touch of Yellow shared a tutorial on making Halloween Hurricane Jars

Blueberry Craft and Hobby Time shared a Blueberry Cake recipe. Tell me your mouth isn't watering looking at this!

Dandelions and Lace showed us how to make a soap dispenser from a Mason jar. I love this look!

Stop on over to these links and show them some love and if you pinned them, you can let them know. :)

Here are the "rules":

• Add a direct link to a blog post along with it's title {not the title of your blog}.
• You can link up to two posts from one blog. {no shops or giveaways please}
• Visit at least 2 other links and pin their post.
• Not required, but I'd love for you to spread the word and post my Pinteresting Party Button on your blog. {& be sure to follow my blog to see when the next party is & if you were featured the following week} :)
• By linking up you give me full permission to use one photo from your post if you are featured the following link.

<a border="0" href="http://tutusandteaparties.blogspot.com/search/label/Link%20Party" target="_blank"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6157/6242128133_b80de87f61_m.jpg" width="140" height="140" alt="Button" /></a> 

Want to know how to check if you were pinned? 
Copy this link into your browser and add your blog URL {does not work for Etsy shops}:
http://pinterest.com/source/YOURURLHERE
for example, mine would be http://pinterest.com/source/tutusandteaparties.blogspot.com
 

How to link up:

Click the button below that says "add your link" and type in the following info-

Name:: use the name of your post here

URL:: use your post URL, not your blog URL

Email:: this info will not be published




Please visit my sponsors.  They are the reason I can have this lovely thumbnail link party!

{Freebie Friday} Win a $25.00 Shop Credit to Vivy's Closet

Giveaway Closed.

Happy Freebie Friday! This week flew by for me. I am happy to introduce you all to Mary, shop owner of Vivy's Closet. There are so many cute things I'd love to dress Bug in from this shop! Have a look around, you'll be happy you did.

We are grandparents that started off just making clothing and furniture for our grandchildren. I was working at a job I hated and wanted to find a way to go into business for myself. I set up my Etsy shop with some of the clothing items I had made for my granddaughter Vivy. I wanted to make colorful and durable outfits for her and have her model them for me to photograph and list in my shop to sell copies. It was originally going to be clothing that was copies of the clothing in her closet. Then I was invited to share a booth at a craft show and I got hooked on selling face to face with customers. Now I sell more at craft shows than online, and I quit my job, and sew full time now. 

My husband had painted a rocking chair for our first grandson's first birthday and it was a big hit. So he did another one for our second grandson's birthday. By that time I was selling at craft shows, so he did two for my next show and we sold those. We decided to add them to our Etsy shop and we now also have picnic tables and adirondack chairs. He loves to do custom orders and personalizing on the chairs and picnic tables.

I took one of the bedrooms in my house and turned it into a sewing room. It is crammed full of fabric and finished outfits. My husband has to paint in the garage and the details he paints in the living room on a drop cloth. He still worked a regular job that is an hour drive away, so he doesn't have as much time to devote to the chairs and tables as he would like.

I love to mix fabrics and I never buy just one print. I always try to find another that will coordinate, and add that little pop of interest. I only use cotton fabric because it washes so well and is easy to wear. Children don't want clothing that scratches and binds them. I try to make clothing that they can run and play and look great. Most of my patterns will allow extra room to grow. We have all bought clothing for our children and then they have a growth spurt and they can't wear it anymore. I try to allow for that in adding leggings to my skirts and using elastic waistlines. I also wash every piece of fabric before I sew it to make sure it won't shrink or fade. I want my clothing to last, so each seam if double sewn and finished with a zig zag stitch so it will not come out when they are wear the outfit.

We have been in business for about three years and a lot of things have changed. My model, Vivy, moved three hours away and I don't get to use her to show my clothing very much any more. But I have started using a studio to make some photos when Vivy visits me, and the newer pictures are looking so much better.

I also just started sewing a few boys items. I had added some shorts and shirts sets for the summer and I plan to do a lot more for the boys this fall. 

I love what I am doing and it is so fulfilling to see a child wearing my clothing and knowing that they love the outfit, or to have a customer tell us how much their child loves the rocking chair or table. There is nothing in this world as precious as a child and I hope that we can bring a little color and happiness to our customer's children.

My shop is www.etsy.com/shop/vivyscloset

My facebook is: www.facebook.com/vivyscloset

 Today you have a chance to win a $25.00 shop credit to Vivy's Closet!

{if you just can't wait for the winner to be announced Mary has given you all a

10% off code: VC10P}

Mandatory Entry:

{please do this first before any other entries}

Visit  Vivy's Closet and comment 

your favorite item in her shop.

Extra Entries:

1} Heart Vivy's Closet on Etsy.

2} Add Vivy's Closet to your Etsy Circle.

3} Pin one of Vivy's Closets items on Pinterest {leave the link where we can see it}

4} "Like" Vivy's Closet on Facebook.

5} Become a follower of this blog {or let me know if you already are}

6} Enter in another giveaway on this blog and let me know which you entered.

7} Blog (with a link to this giveaway), tweet (please tag using @tutusandteaparties), or post on Facebook (please tag using @Tutus & Tea Parties) and leave a link where we can see it if you blogged or did not use the tags. 

Be sure to leave your email address with each entry.

Contest closes at 11:59 p.m. on Friday, October 28, 2011. Sunday, October 30, 2011 a winner will be randomly drawn from eligible entrants and notified by e-mail, and the winner's name will also be posted here. If no email is listed I will choose another winner. Winner has one week to respond to my email to claim his/her prize after initial contact.  I am not responsible for the shipping of this prize.

Contest open to US & Canada

{Tutorial} Necklace Top Onesie

These are pretty popular around the holidays in my Etsy shop. Today I am going to show you how I make them! How exciting! It's really not that difficult, but it dose take some practice to get them pretty consistent like I need for my shop. If you're only making a few for friends & family, then they can be as different as you'd like!

Onto the tutorial:

::You will need::

• a onesie or top {I prefer white since all paint colors show well with one coat on it}
• an iron
• fabric paint {or acrylic paint works too - it's cheaper and has more colors, but you need an extra step at the end to set it}
• a pencil with an eraser
• a small paint brush
• cardboard {or an old card that will cover the area}
• cardstock or other heavy-ish paper
• a plate or something flat to put your paint on

::Here goes::

Pre-wash your clothing before painting on it. This will prevent the paint from getting all wierd if the onesie/top shrinks a little.

Iron your onesie, then fold it in half and iron to form a crease {this will help you keep it centered}

Put a piece of cardboard between the onesie/shirt so the paint won't bleed through.{I used an old card} I've said a few words before for forgetting this step!

First we will paint the longest chain on the onesie. You can make it the fat or skinny dots, but I always do the fat dots on the bottom. The eraser will be your "stamper" for the fat dots. You don't want to use too much paint or too little. When you stamp it on the onesie, you want it to leave a full paint dot without leaving a point from too much paint. You may want to take some scrap fabric and try it out a few times to see what the right amount is.

I used a piece of cardstock to make sort of an outline of the bottom curve of the necklace. I freehanded it depending on the size of the shirt.

I start at the middle where the crease is and work a few on each side all the way up.

Next it's on to the skinny dots right above this chain we just made. I use the tip of the small paintbrush for these and kind of eyeball where to make them. Just remember at the top of each shoulder you want them to meet.

Continue again with the fat, then skinny dots to make four chains. {you don't have to though, you can make as many or as little as you want}

 

I like to put an accent color on the beads sometimes and for that I use the skinny paint brush tip on the bottom fat dots only. {do what you want with it for yourself}

Once you are done painting, let it dry overnight{or read the instructions on your paint bottle for drying time}. Once dry you have two options:: 1} place a cloth over the painted area and iron over it to heat set it or 2} throw it in the dryer to heat set it. I do both to be on the safe side! {if using fabric paint you may not have to do this - read the instructions - I do it anyway}

Add a flower pin to it and you're done! {you can certainly skip the flower if you want} I make it as a pin so it is easy to throw in the wash. Speaking of washing it, make sure you wash it inside out. I have put it in the dryer and they held up pretty darn well if you ask me. I advise a low heat setting though.

Now you have a unique necklace onesie or top! Not too bad once you get the hang of it. These make great gifts and are cute for holidays and birthdays! I have made one for just about every holiday for Bug!

4th of July

St. Patrick's Day

If you have trouble...or don't want to take the time to make one you can always purchase one from my shop! ;-) 

Click here to view listing.

For the tutorial on how to make the satin flower pin click here.

{Heart Therapy} Dear Lauren,

I recently stumbled upon Eisy Morgan's blog and fell in love! She is starting this new "group bloggy therapy" which I would love to take part in. Hopefully I can keep up and be as open as she is. I'd love for you to go on over and see what it's all about.

 

This week's prompt was to think of yourself old, at the end of your life, and what advice you will give yourself now with what you are going through, looking back. 

Dear Lauren,

Things have a way of working out if you put your trust in God. He knows what He is doing! Stop sweating the small stuff. Life will go on and as long as you have faith & love in your life you will overcome whatever struggles you are facing. Don't let it keep you up at night. 

{source}

You are going through some tough situations right now. Take control of your life. Whatever you are unhappy with, take control of what you can & pray for strength and wisdom.

Pray...a lot...about everything. Thank God for all you have & ask for help with what you are struggling with. 

{source}

You are not perfect...no one is...accept it & love yourself. Be honest. Fight for what you believe in. Don't let others thoughts blur your own. Ask for forgiveness from others when you make a mistake & forgive those who have wronged you. 

All of this will give you peace in your life. 

Love,

Me

{Toddler Tuesdays} Rain Art

Not too long ago we had about 2 weeks of rainy days. It got pretty boring doing everything inside and I happened to come across this Rain Art on Pinterest and thought it was the perfect activity to do on a rainy day!

We didn't have card stock on hand, but we made due with regular art paper. 

Bug used washable markers and drew a picture.

Bug's art work.

 We set it outside in the rain {a drizzle kind of}and watched as it turned the marker drawing into a watercolor looking picture!

Bug's Rain Art!

I also later came across Rain Art using Kool-Aid and Rain Art using Food Coloring which I like a lot better. 

{Mmm, Mmm, Mondays} Bacon & Egg Cups

We were Bug-less on Sunday morning so hubby and I got to have a nice, peaceful breakfast together. You can certainly follow these instructions and leave the bacon out for the kiddos...but hubby looooves his bacon, so I made these Bacon & Egg Cups! The great thing is, you can just make a whole batch of them and throw them in the freezer to have on hand.

Ingredients:

1 strip of bacon for each cup {optional}

1 egg for each cup {or one less if you add in veggies}

Cheese & anything else you like to have in an omelet. 

A greased muffin tin. {I used the Crisco spray}

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut each slice of bacon in half. Cook bacon following package instructions until brown but still flexible.

Place one half lengthwise into the muffin tin and the other the opposite way {to form an X}.

Crack your eggs into a bowl and scramble. Add in your cheese & veggies if using them. The veggies will give you about one extra cup to be made so if making more than a couple, you can use one less egg. 

Fill muffin tin 3/4 full with egg mixture.{you might want to put the muffin tin on a cookie sheet in case of any spills}

Cook in oven for 15 minutes or until eggs look fully cooked on top.

Let cool before taking them out of the tin.

These would be a nice thing to make if you have company for breakfast or are hosting a brunch! Yumm!

By the way, I thought I was a genius when I made the bacon as a "cup" but apparently it has been done...by lots. Ahh well. 

Enjoy!

Inspiring Sundays & OOAK Headband Winner

No matter what you are struggling with there is always something a million things to be thankful for. For me, a great reminder of this is from the brilliant Dr. Seuss and the book "Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are?" I actually painted a picture of the cover and have it near my desk as a daily reminder.

Giveaway Winner:

Thank you all for entering in the  NikkiInStitches One of a Kind Headband Giveaway! I have chosen a winner using random.org and the winning comment is #54, Bee W Bedard!

Bee W Bedard said... 

Hearted NikkiInStitches on Etsy

I also have not heard from the winner of the free pattern:

Congrats!

Look out for an email from me {totshop728@yahoo.com}. Please check your spam folder too.