Guest Blogger #2: Jenny @ An Apple For The Crafter

Hi all! It's Jenny from An Apple for the Crafter. 

I'm thrilled to be guest posting here today, because I recently had a huge victory organizing my purse and I couldn't wait to share it with the world. I do feel a little guilty, however, because no glue guns were used in this project. :)

So, about a year ago I got tired of all the stupid Member Cards and Club Cards that I had to keep on hand to get discounts. I felt like they were taking over my purse and, worst of all, that I could never actually find the one I wanted. Then I had a thought..."I wonder if these cards would fit into my Altoids container?"

I dumped out the mints and started dropping my cards in. Because of the lip on the tin they had to be finagled in but they fit. I was thoroughly pleased with myself. 

Then, a month or two ago I got a new purse and I realized I had a similar problem but with new items. I literally planned on going to the store and buying a bunch of Altoids to make new packages. I saw an idea at Running with Glitter where she decorated the tin.  I planned to use that to differentiate between the three tins. 

I got to the store and, on a whim, looked at the travel size items and I found a very small first aid kit and a travel box of Q-Tips. Oh my goodness. Yes, Please! The Q-Tip containers came in different colors too, so that made my job easier. 

I am using the First Aid kit as it was intended but with a few adjustments. Using a contact lens case, I created storage for pain medication.

I added a spare contact lens, special Band-Aids for blisters, safty pins, and a Midol...cause you know, I'm crazy sometimes!

I started storing all my stupid member savings card things in one of the Q-Tip containers. I'm storing all my gift cards in the other one.

That left me with an empty Altoids Tin. I lined it with some thin padding material. I had intended to use moleskin but Chance placed an order for some photo prints and they were packaged with a thin sheet of padding that I thought was perfect. I cut it and used double sided tape to stick it in the container. Now, my unassuming Altoids tin is the perfect storage container for...

you'll never believe it...

it's brilliant (if I do say so myself)

my iPod and ear buds!

Yeah!

Now my purse has four small containers instead of tons of random crap!

Jenny @ An Apple For The Crafter

Guest Blogger #1: Natalia @ Ma Nouvelle Mode

Hello I Heart my Glue Gun Readers!  I am happy to be here today!  Let me give you a quick intro.  My name is Natalia and I blog over at Ma Nouvelle Mode (it means 'my new style' in French).  I live in France, in case you were wondering where the name came from, and finally found a craft store this year! 

 I am going to share with you a practical project I created a bit ago.  Super easy, too!  Grab those glue guns!

I started with a frame from Ikea, not the cheapest, I am sure most of you would be able to find some cheaper at a yard sale or good will or something.  We don't have those here, so Ikea it is. 

Supplies:

Frame

Something for backing (i.e. burlap, scrapbook paper, some other material)

Letters or stencils

Glue/gluegun

Razor for cutting straight lines

Cup of tea or coffee!  :)

 Start by gluing the backing of your choice to the back of the frame.  As you can see here, I chose to use a different backing for the top where 'MENU' is displayed.  I liked the feel it gave.   

Then go ahead and measure out or eye it (like I do, shhh don't tell!) and glue on MENU letters. Like I said, you could use a stencil as well, or if you have a cricut or a silhouette, those would be great too.

Et voila! I added the letters for the days, a little rope on the top for hanging, and I already had the hook. I have dry erase markers from my son's easel and there were two black markers, so one is going toward the menu board! You just erase it with a paper towel or tissue. Super easy.

please ignore the dishes in the sink... I hate doing the dishes.

 Finished project. Super easy, cute, and practical! Of course my husband still isn't too convinced I will be using it. I will have to prove him wrong!

Thank you so much for reading along with me!  I would love for you to stop by 'my place' any time!

BBQ Anyone?

 Happy Father's Mother's Day!

 Oh, does it appear that I might think it's Father's Day?

 Well that's because my dear sweet Husband convinced me that in order for us to have a delightful Mother's Day tomorrow, we needed to barbecue. But, we have no barbecue. So what does that mean?

 We needed to buy one!

 That's right, we bought a barbecue so that I could have a barbecued meal on Mother's Day.

 Really though, we needed one. And it's so PRETTY!! Oh YEAH! We enjoy summer nights so it's only fitting that we grill on those nice nights that we'll be enjoying our backyard! And yes, I'm aware that my fence is a horrendous eyesore that needs to be tore down. In due time, my readers. In due time. Our backyard is definitely a work in progress :)

Don't forget about the Blog Swap Party going on this week! I have some lovely bloggers lined up to share some of their stuff with you! 

 Happy Mother's Day, all!

LAST Friday's Fun Facts

1. Decorating doesn't come NATURALLY  to me. I have to be inspired, and then I branch off of that.

2. I cut this down with a reciprocating saw the other day. I was tired of it, I think it's ugly and no one wanted to come dig it out-so I got rid of it. 

3.  I never went to prom. How sad. Or is it?

4. My favorite animal is a zebra! Everytime I see them and their cute stripes at the zoo, I squeal.

5. I've always wanted to go to Israel. More so now that my Husband's dear friend is living there instead of here. He misses him, and we want to visit him.

Now if we could only come up with the thousands of dollars it would cost to fly ALL of us over there....

 There you have it, my LAST Friday's Fun Facts! I think I've officially run out of things to say about myself.

Make sure to come back here all next week for my first ever BLOG SWAP PARTY! 

So excited!

 HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!

Blog Swap

Anyone want to do a Blog Swap for a day? It would be FREE advertising both ways!

 Email me and we'll talk!

janet@iheartmygluegun.com

Watermelon Pink!

I'm sure you agree, when you think of watermelon, there's TONS of different things associated with it. Watermelon slices, watermelon bubble gum, watermelon jolly ranchers, watermelon lip balm, watermelon body lotion....the list goes on and on!

But today, I'm gonna show you Krylon's Watermelon in ACTION!

I've been working on the girls room for a few weeks now, but there's so much to be done that I can't keep myself motivated! I will get it done, one day. And the reward will be so sweet!

 ANYway. I've been collecting little things for the room here and there, and today I finished two little projects I've been working on.

 First up, is this little chair I picked up at a thrift store for $3. Nothing to write home about, but I saw its potential.

 After some primer and a couple coats of Krylon's Watermelon, I ended up with this!

 CAH-UTE!

 Then I took this $0.99 lamp I found in Ventura on our little getaway.........

And transformed it.....

 LOVIN' IT!

Hopefully I can get motivated to finish their room now with these little cuties to put in it! 

Linked up at-

Things that make me go OOOH!!

What.a.weekend! 


The conference was incredible, John Piper is such an amazing preacher! If you ever get a chance to hear him preach, jump on it!

 We had awesome fellowship with old (but dear!) friends, which was much needed.

 But alas, it's Monday and back to normal things. So I thought I would share some things
I love and wouldn't mind having!

Love this cute little necklace!

This bathing suit is so super cute! However, I'm worried about 

the back being unflattering. So I'm still sittin' on this one!

I know, I know, EVERYONE has Tom's. But I'm getting into them! I like these ones :)

How'd this sneak in here?!

 It's slightly WAY out of my budget, but the Odyssey is my dream minivan!

So thankful to the Lord for my paid off Caravan, but Oh, how I LOVE Hondas! They're so stinkin' reliable!

And this little beaut I already OWN! Love her, but I will be painting her soon!

So keep an eye out for a bike painting tutorial!

 Hope you all are having a fantastic Monday! 

Only 4.5 more days till the weekend! 

WOOHOO!!

Giveaway Winner!!

 WOOHOOOO!!! Today is the day to announce the winner of the Purdy Brush Giveaway!

Using Random.org, the winner was selected and it is-

 Congratulations!!!! 

You are going to receive BOTH brushes above!! *tries not to be jealous* LOL!

 Email me your address at janet@iheartmygluegun.com within 48 hours or I'll have to select another winner!

HAPPY FRIDAY EVERYONE!!!

Friday's Fun Facts

 Ok! So today I only have 7 facts, because it's HARD to think of new things about you every week! I think I'm gonna have to change this up a bit!

 Also, I have been awarded the Versatile Blogger Award by OrangeHeroMama! How sweet!

 So here are my 7 Fun Facts about me:

1. I have a strange infatuation with undisturbed butter in a butter tub. Something about it looks so pretty....WEIRD, I know.

2. I buy most of our clothes from thrift stores. I have found baby gap skinny jeans, mossimo jeans, and tons of other nice brands there! LOVE thrift store shopping!

3. I once worked at an oil changing company as a cashier. However, I would go down in the work area and change oil from time to time! At 15! It was a good trade to learn :)

4. I love to mow my lawn. It would be much easier if I had the self-propelled mower, especially on the sloped part of my front yard, but I enjoy mowing. It burns calories for sure!

5. I am a junk food ADDICT. I love candy, cakes, brownies, pies, icecream...ANYTHING sweet. It's definitely a downfall.

6.I'm not crazy about animals. I hate how cats hiss, and the constant barking of SOME dogs. I think yorkies are super cute, but then I remember that I would need to potty train...NOPE. I have two babies in diapers, that's enough for me!

7. My FAVE color is LIME GREEN! So pretty!

 There you have it! 

 We will be gone until Sat. night, we are attending the
2011 Desiring God Regional Conference!!

 So stinkin' excited! I just SO need to hear from God this weekend, I have had a super trying week.

 Happy weekend, everyone!!

LAST DAY TO ENTER GIVEAWAY!!

 Hi friends! 

Just a reminder that today is the last day to enter the Purdy Brush Giveaway!!! These brushes are super expensive in home improvement stores, so winning them would be AWESOME for YOU! Plus, they are worth EVERY penny-these brushes are ridiculously AMAZING!

 Go HERE to enter!!! GOOD LUCK!!!

Wordless Wednesday

(click pic for a closer look!)

 It's sad that I have to tag her, but she's ALL MINE and I won't let anyone else claim her!

 She's breathtaking huh? No words.

Vinyl Love

 If you have NOT entered my Purdy Brush Giveaway, you need to! Go HERE to enter!!!

I hope you all had a blessed Easter! We went over to my folks house and spent the day with them after church. Great food, wonderful fellowship and the love of Jesus in our hearts.

 So it's no secret, I am LOVING vinyl. I spent almost a full day cutting and doing vinyl crafts. There's endless possibilities for home decor with vinyl!

 For instance, I LOVE skeleton keys but I have yet to see any around here. So what did I do? I made some vinyl Skeleton Keys! I picked up some frames at the Dollar Tree, and made four skeleton key frames!

 I love the shadows cast behind the keys when the lights are on, or the sun is setting :)

As you can see, my UNtouched buffet is coming along! I have not done anything to it yet, still have 23857345987230498 projects that need to be done before my buffet. But I have put little pieces on it here and there, and I'm loving this area!

 I also made this sweet little gift for my good friend. I treasure her friendship and wanted to show her besides just TELLING her! I love it, and can't wait to make other personalized gifts for friends and family like these :)

No Friday's Fun Facts

 Today it's all about the cross.

 Have a great weekend, and Happy Easter!

DIY Subway Art

 Would you believe me if I told you this craft cost LESS than a dollar???

 Well you better, because it's true! 

Supplies:

  White self adhesive vinyl con-tact paper roll $0.99

  24x48 MDF board from Home Depot cut down to 12x12 in. squares $4.91

  Black paint

 I used my beloved Cricut to cut out the words and numbers on the con-tact paper (be warned, it's pretty thin but it still did the trick!), painted my board and stuck the words on-VOILA! DIY Subway art that cost LESS THAN A DOLLAR per board! By far the cheapest project I've done yet, and would make a super AMAZING GIFT!!!

I LOVE the way it turned out :) 

 Do you?

Where have I been?!

I know, I know, I have been so quiet. You wouldn't BELIEVE what we just went through!

All six of us have had the stomach flu in the past 96 hours. Every one of us! UGH!

 It started with our 7 year old early friday morning-violent throwing up. Then Saturday afternoon, our 11 year old started violently throwing up. By 8pm, both our 20 month old AND our 8 month old were projectile vomiting wherever they sat. It was awful-one would throw up, and then the other about a minute later. Until 5am Sunday. Exhaustion is an understatement of what this weekend was.

 Sunday and Monday, my turn. Today, My Husband's turn.

 Ok, TMI. Sorry for that, but I had good reason to not update for days!

In other news, our 11 year old won 1st place in the Awana Grand Prix! WOOHOO! Second year in a row. However, our 7 year old didn't win a trophy-and he was DEVASTATED. So it was obvious that God was teaching our sweet boys an important lesson-how to win gracefully, and how to lose gracefully. It's so hard though!

Also, I have been using my handy dandy Cricut ALL DAY! I bought the Cricut Create off of Craigslist Friday for $85. It is in GREAT condition and came with two brand new mats. However, it smells heavily of MARIJUANA. Apparently the inside was used to store the marijuana because when you open it, it reeks. I have been trying different cleaning techniques and the smell is slowly but surely going away. So stinky! I didn't take it out of the box when checking it during the purchase, so I had no idea until I got home. My poor, poor Cricut. Its life has been filled with illegal drug use and abuse!

But now it has a new home, and it will most definitely live a sober life from here on out! HA!

So stay tuned, tomorrow I will have SEVERAL projects to share since I spent hours cutting today! So excited!!!