Winners - Beeper Bebe

Yay!  I get to announce 5 winners of the Spring Variations Pattern Set from Beeper Bebe!  Remember that this totally adorable pattern set comes with patterns & instructions for 15 projects & only costs $8.00!  It would be great to have around for last minute gifts & such.  Anyway, on to the winners...

Congratulations ladies!  Watch your e-mail to receive your very own Spring Variations Pattern Set. 

Big thanks to the awesome Beeper Bebe shop for the sweet giveaway.  So fun!!

Winner - Eight Baby Legs

The winner of the $30 shop credit to Eight Baby Legs is Sophia's Mommy.  Congratulations!

A big thanks to Eight Baby Legs for generously offering the prize!  I just love the three little whales onesie.  Waiting to find out if we are having a boy or a girl so I can do some shopping!!

A Tea Party For Claire

This weekend my sweet little Claire turned 4 years old!  We celebrated with a dress up tea party with her cousins & a few friends.

Throwing birthday parties really kinda stresses me out.  So we tried to keep it easy & low key.  I purchased some real china tea cups & saucers from the thrift store.  We decorated the table with a few flowers that we purchased from the grocery store & I hung a few flag garlands from my shop.

The food was all displayed on adorable cake stands that my sister made.  We served tiny turkey or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, strawberries, cantaloupe, crackers & cheese, veggies & ranch dip, and chex mix.  Our tea was a delicious fruity punch.

The kids were all such good eaters & were so polite.  I think the fancy table setting & dishes had something to do with that.  :)

We played a few games.  The kids went on a treasure hunt in the yard & each found their own sheet of stickers.  Then we did a prize walk.  Kinda like a cake walk, but instead of winning a cake when we called out their number, they won a prize.

Finally we sang to the birthday girl & she crossed her eyes when she blew out the candles & thought it was hilarious.

I couldn't love her more.

Upcycled Kitchen Rug

Happy Earth Day!  I just love Earth Day & so I whipped up a little project in honor of the day. 

I haven't had a dishwasher for 4 years.  You think after all this time I'd learn to appreciate hand washing dishes, but I haven't.  I just hate doing dishes.  But that's beside the point.  The point is, I spend a lot of time standing at the kitchen sink.  Lately my feet have been hurting from standing there on the hard tile floor.  Perhaps this has to do with my pregnancy weight gain.  So... I decided to make myself a little rug to act as some cushion for my feet!

This cute little rug is made entirely from repurposed materials.  Remember the solid colored bed sheets that I purchased at the thrift store earlier this month?  i just knew from the moment I bought them that that grey & mustard yellow needed to be used in a project together.  So all of the solid fabrics are from thrift store bed sheets & I backed the rug with an old towel that I was planning to get rid of.

It's not perfect.  A little wonky.  But I love it.  It looks great in the kitchen & my feet will thank me for making it!

Also, I love stripes.  :)

Giveaway - Beeper Bebe

Beeper Bebe is one of my very favorite etsy shops.  I just adore every single clever & fun creation that the owner, Holly makes.  Her designs are appealing to both kids & adults and are just plain adorable.

Well, Holly has just released a set of Spring Variations patterns.  It comes with 15 darling patterns & projects!  Holly says that most of the projects are simple to make & can be made in 30-90 minutes for some quick crafting satisfaction or when you want to whip up a little something handmade for a gift without a lot of planning.

I just can't stand the adorableness!  Beeper Bebe is generously offering a Spring Variations Pattern Set to 5 lucky Sparkle Power readers!

Here's how to enter:

1.  Visit the Beeper Bebe & leave a comment telling me which pattern or project from the Spring Variations Pattern Set you'd work on first.  Please be sure to leave your e-mail address!

2.  Leave one additional comment if you follow the Sparkle Power blog.

3.  Leave one additional comment if you follow Sparkle Power on facebook.

You have until Tuesday, April 26th to get your entry in.  Good luck!!

 

 

 

Need more Beeper Bebe?  Check out the blog & flickr page.

April Sponsors

Please take a moment to check out the fine shops that are sponsoring the Sparkle Power blog this month!

Daffodils and Daisies

Feathermar

Just Be

Blobby Farm

Oneword Designs

Thank you to these fine sponsors & to all of you that continue to visit this space each day.  :)

Remember that there is still time to get your name in the drawing to with the $30 Eight Baby Legs shop credit.

Also, I appreciate your votes on Circle of Moms Top Mom Shops.  You can continue to vote once a day until the 25th.  Thanks.  :)

Shopping Trip

Sadie is on spring break from school this week.  I rarely have both girls at the grocery store with me anymore.  This was a special treat.  Actually it was a bit nerve wracking at times since the toy baby strollers had to come along with us.  The other shoppers were pretty cool with us, though.  I love that Sadie is using her hand as a phone.  Funny.

Gosh, seems like a far cry from these days.  Glad I had my camera with me today.  :) 

Giveaway - Eight Baby Legs

I'm not sure if you're going to be able to handle the cuteness of today's giveaway.  Eight Baby Legs is an adorable etsy shop stocked full of the cutest hand dyed & embellished onesies & t-shirts for babies & children.

Eight Baby Legs is offering a $30 shop credit to one lucky Sparkle Power reader.  I know that I would have no trouble picking out a few goodies with that shop credit! 

Here's how to enter:

1.  Visit the Eight Baby Legs etsy shop & leave a comment on this post telling me what catches your eye.  Please be sure to leave your e-mail address!

2.  Leave one additional comment if you follow the Sparkle Power blog.

3.  Leave one additional comment if you follow Sparkle Power on facebook.

You have until Saturday, April 23rd to get your entry in.  Good luck!!

 

 

 

Need more Eight Baby Legs?  Check out the blog & facebook page.

DIY Magnetic Tray - Take 2

Here's another take on the DIY Magnetic Tray.  See my first version decorated with vintage floral fabric right here.  Once again I started with a metal serving tray that I found at the thrift store for a buck or two.  This time I spray painted the tray blue & then with a brush painted a design on the bottom, which I totally copied from Rachel's awesome toy box. 

I am totally embarrassed of my freehand painting job.  I am not a painter & so it looks a bit like a child did it.  However, I'm pleased with the overall look.

This tray is intended for use in the office or studio & so I attached a magnetic bulldog clip.  Can I tell you how much I love bulldog clips?  Tons.  I think they're cool looking.  :)  Anyway, this tray with it's magnetic clip can hold a calendar, a to-do list, notes, pattern pieces, swatches, etc.  I think it's a pretty addition to the office or studio & it's an easy way to add a pop of color.

TYV - Crafting With Kids Book Winner

The random number generator chose Leigh as the winner of the Teach Yourself VISUALLY Crafting With Kids Book!

Congratulations, Leigh!  Check your inbox for an e-mail from me.  :)

Remember to check out the remaining stops on the blog tour for more chances to win a singed copy of this awesome book!

Friday, April 15 - Smile and Wave

Monday, April 18 -  Elsie Marley

Wednesday, April 20 - Maya*Made

Friday, April 22 - Stitches in Play

Tuesday, April 26 - Aesthetic Outburst

Thursday, April 28 - Artsy Crafty Babe

Cleaning Your Serger

I'd been having issues with my serger & after getting super frustrated with it, I let it sit on the shelf for a few months.  I didn't know how to fix it, but I wanted it back!  So I finally gave in & took it in for a service.   The repair man noticed immediately that the timing was off.  This was due to a dull blade.  So he replaced my blades, serviced & cleaned the whole machine & I'm so happy to have her back in tip top shape.

The guy that repaired it was so cute.  He mentioned that he was super, super familiar with this Singer model & went on to tell me that it is a really great machine.  Then he went on a rant about modern day Singer machines & how people are bringing "those plastic things" into him for repairs shortly after buying them.  It made me giggle, but also made me happy that I was gifted such a nice, sturdy, old machine.

He also gave me a few tips for keeping the machine in good shape at home.  He suggested that I spray the machine out with a can of pressurized air after each use.  So if you are a dummy like me & didn't know that the machine should be cleaned after each use, go to the store & get yourself a can of air.  :)

You open up the bottom part & spray out all the fuzz & fibers & such that gather there.

Then you also spray out the tension knobs at the top.  And that's it!  Easy, right?

Finally, it helps to have a super cute cover made by a super cute friend.  This one was a Christmas gift from Maria of Blobby Farm fame.  :)

Now if I just didn't feel like falling asleep at 7:30 every night, I could get some sewing done!

This also makes me think that it's that time again for me to spring clean my sewing machine as well.

Top 25 Mom-Shops

I was surpirsed to receive an e-mail from Circle of Moms Top 25 Mom-Shops yesterday letting me know that Sparkle Power had been nominated to the top 25 Mom-Shops list.  This is pretty exciting as it will hopefully help expose this little blog to new people.

Would you most awesome people be kind enough to go over & vote for me?  Please.  :)  Or any other blog for that!  There are some really great ones on the list.  You can vote once a day until April 25th.

Thank you, thank you my sweets.  :)

Saturday Song

A pretty song for a pretty day.

Have a great weekend, my friends.  :)

Thrifting Report

A sure sign that my morning sickness has eased up...I went to a thrift store!  I just couldn't help myself a few days ago & stopped in at Salvation Army.  Check out my finds:

I found two solid bed sheets to use as sewing fabric.  I've started shopping for solids in sheets because I can often find better colors than my local craft store offers.  These two are in great condition, are a nice sturdy weight & you just can't beat the price per yard that it works out to be.

I also found this pretty vintage sheet with two matching pillowcases.  I love the large scale print & think it would work perfectly in a whole cloth summer picnic blanket or quilt.

Two pretty vintage Pyrex plates.  Nice.

And four vintage Mikasa mugs.  They are such a gorgeous color of blue inside.  Love them.  A few years back I found a creamer in the yellow color.  I just love this Mikasa design.  Feels old & special but so modern at the same time.

In all they're a great group of finds & I only paid $10!  Plus the color combination of everything together makes me happy.

Have you had any thrifting luck lately?