Shopping Spree CASH giveaway!

Spring is in full bloom and that means summer is right around the corner bringing with it sundresses, sandals, shorts, and swimsuits!!!

Are you ready for the heat?

Maybe a better question would be is your budget ready for it??

We want you to have the

BEST. SUMMER. EVER.

and so we teamed up with some of the most AMAZING blogs out there to giveaway crisp, cool, cash!! {Squeal!}

 

We have $500 for our first prize winner AND just because we were all feeling super generous we also have $250 for our fabulous runner-up!!

What will you do with all that money?

Pick out a whole new wardrobe? Splurge on weekend away with your spouse? Use it on a spa day, new fragrance, and fresh make-up?

The possibilities are endless, so start dreaming big!!

You know we love ALL our awesome readers but this contest is open only to followers of our Google+ pages.

Not sure if you are following all these awesome blogs on Google+? It is so easy to be a follower, just check out this post here for the scoop.

Check out all the Google+ Pages of these FABULOUS blogs below by clicking each picture and make sure you are following them all to stay up on all the amazing things we are all up to!

Here are all the fabulous sites who have contributed to this amazing giveaway!


Be sure to add ALL these great sites to your circles and keep up with their great stuff!

Entering this contest may be the easiest thing you have done all day!

Now...just enter in your basic info, and then answer a SUPER FUN QUESTION :)

Yes, you totally read that right- so what are you waiting for? Get your entry in :)

Giveaway starts Thursday, May 23rd at 5:00 am PST and ends Monday, June 3rd at midnight PST. Once the giveaway ends, the lucky winner will be chosen using Random.org and contacted within 24 hours by email. This post will be updated with winner’s name once we’ve heard back. Winner will need to respond within 48 hours to claim their prize or another winner will be chosen. Open to U.S. residents only. *This promotion is sponsored by the above specified bloggers and is in no way affiliated with Google. We hereby release Google of any liability related to this promotion, the receipt of prize winnings, etc. Winners must be of full legal age in the jurisdiction in which they live. This group of bloggers are only responsible for sending out the prize. Participants will be responsible for any taxes, tariffs duties, etc. due upon delivery of the prize.

40 tips for creating your wardrobe

 

I love when you ask me questions! Especially when they relate to shopping (fun! fun! fun!). You know I'm thrifty, love to refashion and love easy doable style - well....I recently came across Jordan's video (from FunCheaporFree.com) about creating your wardrobe for CHEAP and I counted 25 tips in there. Some of them I already do, some of them I know and some of them where NEW to me! There's no need to reinvent the wheel in answering some of your same shopping/wardrobe questions so I've teamed up with the FunCheaporFree QUEEN to bring you 40 tips!

Here's the first 25 tips and if you want to know more pop over to FunCheaporFree.com

Doesn't that make you want to go out and shop the sales, clearance and go yard saleing? I DO!!! Thanks Jordan for the great info!

Ready for more? If you follow my Refashion your Life video series you already now these 12 tips for dressing up your basic tee - and they are EASY! 

Are you doing the math? Jordan gave us 25 to start off...I followed up with 12 that leaves 3 more tips to make an even 40! And here they are

Tip #38 - When cleaning out your closet use the rule of 3's
I recently discovered this rule on a segment from Studio 5. There are lots of tips in that segment but I loved the rule of 3s. Basically if you pick it up and put it back or pass over it 3 times it's time to ditch it and make room for something else that you wear or will wear more often. We all have items in our closet that we save for when that"someday" perfect event will come along....I took the challenge from Studio 5 and ditched some clothes!

(here's my photo shout out to Studio 5 on instagram)

Tip #39 - Have a clothing/accessory swap party with friends! 

Trade out your old stuff for new stuff and it doesn't cost anyone a dime! You can snag all the details of this clothing swap here!

and lastly - Tip #40 - You can almost always REFASHION your items! 

- I've got lots of tutorials listed here on my site

- You can catch 2 seasons (24 episodes) of my Refashion IT show on My Craft Channel

- or browse through my Refashion/DIY/sewing Pinterest boards too!

Now who's ready to go shopping and thrifting? :) 

YOUR letter of recommendation - Refashion your life - wk 19

Hello hello! We are so glad you are here. Today's video message is short and sweet but might start off in a "rough" way. ha ha ha....Chalyce has a bone to pick with you! find out what THAT is and how we can turn it around with a simple "old fashioned" idea.....(wink!)

Did you catch the challenge? Write up a letter of recommendation to yourself AND/or family members, friends, neighbors, etc. 

Have you heard about Dove's recent Real Beauty Sketches campaign? It's brilliant and illustrates our point exactly!See how differently the women see themselves as opposed to how others see them. You HAVE to take a few minutes to watch the Dove video!

Here's a few pinnable images! I love a little reminder!

So take a look at your REAL beauty and recognize all the GOOD that you already possess! Recognize it in other people and let them know too! Spread the good around....

Change - my 2013 word for the year

If you are stopping by and thinking to yourself, "huh?...why is she posting this now?" Well, it's because I hadn't settled on a word for my year until around the end of February. By then I felt it was too late to post. Well May is even LATER than that but I just wanted to share a few things on a more personal level. If you want to stick around I'll tell you the story...

Many bloggers do it. You pick one word to guide your whole year. To be your focus. To mold and shape what you do. I started thinking about my word in December so come January 1st could kick off the New Year with my word and join in the blogger fun. Last year my word was Adventure! And last year truly was! It really did shape and mold how I approached things. It bought new adventures into my life that weren't even on my radar. I loved my "adventurous" year.

So I felt that I had settled on a word by January after about 3 weeks of tossing it around....Then come January I felt a strong pull towards another word. That one just felt right!!! So I mulled it around for a few weeks and another really GREAT word just stuck with me. Oh this is the one I thought! ....Well, you get my point here right? I stepped back and looked at what 2013 had already brought me, what I was involved with, what we could see coming on the horizon/working towards and the words I had shuffled through. I just kept changing my mind! um....HELLO!!! CHANGE!!! maybe that was my word!!! Maybe all the other words trying to be my attention were telling me, "your word is CHANGE!"

I have felt in constant change since the year turned over. Good changes, hard changes, exciting changes, confusing changes and just the minor everyday changes or twists and turns in my journey. I don't mind change. Well, let me rephrase that. I don't mind change if I don't mind it. LOL.....change isn't always easy. Change isn't always fun. What types of change I like - you may not. Some types of change that bother me, you make take in stride and not think much of it. I like the type of change that moves me forward in life. Or better said, moves me in a positive direction down my journey. I don't like staying still. I'm not one to just sit around on my "path" waiting for something AMAZING to come along. I like the feeling of moving onward and upward and to do that or obtain that feeling I've got to change and move. No sitting on the sidelines of my own life or sinking in the "quick sand" (wow am I getting a little "deep" here? are you still following all this babble?) .

 My point in sharing all of this is sometimes you just need to say "it" out loud. Sometimes your own thoughts can help someone else. Or can give you clarity on something that's been bouncing around in your head. The hardest thing about change can be the feeling of "loosing your footing". Have you ever felt that? There's so much change or the change is so severe that you feel like you've lost yourself or part of yourself..? Then there's fear attached to that because how will you find those pieces? Will you come out the other side of this change the same person? Will you be better or worse? Will you make it through at all?

So CHANGE it is! (big smile on my face). There are things in the works I hope to be able to continue to share little bits about with you as I can.

Did you pick a word this year? 
What is it and how is it going now that we are almost halfway through the year!?

DIY Teacher Thank you gift - BIG APPLE

I recently found The BIG APPLE fabric line. It is bright, fun and has so many options for use! I decided on an "apple for the teacher" approach! It's a great way to say THANK YOU at the end of the year or HELLO at the beginning of the year!

1) Container:
Supplies: 
Paper Mache/cardboard book container
fabric - The Big Apple fabric line
scissors
fabric marker
mod podge
sponge brush

Lay your fabric flat with the wrong side up, trace around the book with your fabric marker and cut out fabric to cover the outside of the book.

Apply a layer of Mod Podge in a small section and place your fabric over the top. Repeat on all the outside surfaces of the book until it is covered. Then apply a layer of Mod Podge on top of the fabric to seal it all together.

Let dry and it's ready to be filled!

You could fill it with small cookies, candies, etc or make up some fun useful gadgets for the teacher to use.
Like making some coordinating magnets!

2) Magnets
Supplies:
Large clear crafting bubbles
magnets
E6000 glue
scissors

Place the craft bubbles on top of the fabric. Trace around them and cut out. Cover the back of the craft bubbles with E6000 glue and place the fabric on the underside right side up. Use the glue to attach the magnet to the back. Let dry.

3) Apple hot/cold pack
Supplies:
The Big Apple fabric line - 1/4 yard 
scissors
sewing machine
rice/wheat (raw & uncooked)
straight pins

Fold your fabric lengthwise in half about 5 inches wide. Cut a half shape of an apple on the fold. Think about cutting a heart shape but with more of a flat bottom to it. If you want to draw it out use a fabric marker. Open it up to see if you like the shape. Then fold, trace and cut another apple out using the one you just cut as a template.

Using a coordinating fabric cut 2 hexagon shaped pieces (or just 2 rectangles) to use as a stem for the apple.

Sew the sides and top of the stem piece. The bottom edge will be inside the apple piece so you don't need to sew it. Place the 2 apple pieces on top of each other, wrong sides together. Tuck the stem piece in the top, pin into place, and sew around all the edges leaving a 2-3" opening one 1 side so you can fill the apple.

Need a cute poem to go along with the Apple? There's one on my blog HERE!

Getting skin Summer Ready - #NaturalBeauty

This post brought to you by Tree Hut. All opinions are 100% mine.

Fashion, style, self esteem. Those are all topics I talk a lot about here. Feeling good about the way you look affects how you feel about yourself. It's a process right? One thing I have always "struggled" with is Natural Beauty. Some women just have that look! I'm not one of those! LOL....I can't get up in the morning and have the perfect bedhead look. My face doesn't glow or have cute freckles. 

BUT just because I don't consider myself an overall Natural Beauty by the standards in my head....doesn't mean I can't love smaller portions of myself that are or could be considered Natural beauties. And one of those areas can be your skin! Now don't just limit that to your face. Often as women that's right what we think about. What about your hands, your feets, your calves or maybe your shoulders? Summertime brings about the showing of more "skin" so find that Natural Beauty "part" of your skin you LOVE and nuture it to shine even more! 

My feet and legs are always more exposed in the Summer. And my hands always take a "beating" year round. Those babies can always used moisturized and pampered. In treating myself and wanting to enhance some Natural Beauty I tried some Tree Hut products. 

Now I'm a girl of convience you know. My time is limited and I usually have my little 4 year in tow so browsing isn't always an option. Luckily you can find Tree Hut products at Walmart in the lotion and self pampering/bath products section. That aisle just makes you want to stop and sigh for a minute. It's calling out for relaxation. 

I tried the Renewing hand cream. My hands are always on the go like most of us! And when I meet someone or shake someone's hand or am taking pictures for a tutorial I want my hands to be soft and not dry. I don't want to someone to remember my handshake because my hands were dry! LOL! 

Oh and feet! The Summer struggle of overly dry skin on my feet. Do you get that too? They can get rough and dried out. A little Tree Hut foot scrub a few times a week (love peppermint?! The foot scrub smells divine!) followed up with some Tree Hut foot cream and I can more confidently bare them with less worry. They have certainly stayed more moisturized through the day than before. 

So now that my skin is "feeling the love" I can dress myself to show off my Natural Beauty and confidently be me! It's the little things right!?

GIVEAWAY!!!!
 
And it's a PIN - it to WIN - it giveaway! Tree Hut wants you to bring out your Natural Beauty too and give youself some everyday pampering. Create a look (via Polyvore.com or another site) of what you would wear to enhance your Natural Beauty just like I did above. Include #NaturalBeauty in the description and then leave your PIN link in the comments! 

Tree Hut wants to give you the same Tree Hut hand cream, foot cream and scrub that I have used. like Tree Hut on Facebook? You can find out about giveaways, new products, coupons and more! You can find Tree Hut on Twitter too!