Paisley Passions

Taking a Break. . .

2011-08-14T20:44:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,

I am sure you have noticed that I am not posting as much as I used to. I have missed some of my parties, and I haven't made anything in AGES to share with you. Let me explain why. I have been in college pursuing my ELED degree and this year is my first year teaching. I am super excited to finally be to a point where I can begin my career. That said, my career and my family need to be my focus right now. So, I am taking a break from Paisley Passions.

Don't worry. I am not gone forever, just until I feel like I can find some kind of balance in my life. I knew that being a first year teacher would be time consuming. . .I just had NO IDEA how much of my life it would consume!!! It seems as though every waking minute is spent trying to figure out lesson plans and making preparations in order to have the best year possible. So, when you drop your kids off at school this year, make sure and give the teacher a BIG thanks for all of their hard work :)

Taking a break from my blog was not an easy decision. It is something that I have wrestled with for a while now. But, I finally came to the conclusion that taking a break is the right decision.

I hope you all understand and will all be ready to come back and follow me again once I get back to posting.

Thanks for all your kind comments and for being such supportive followers!

I hope to be back sooner rather than later!!!

Lori

Thrilling Thursday Linky Party!

2011-08-03T20:45:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Thrilling Thursday!!! It's always one of my favorite days of the week!! :)

Let's see what you have made this week!!! :) Link up and most of all HAVE FUN!!!!

Wandering Wednesday Blog Hop!

2011-08-03T05:56:00.000-07:00

Let's link up to Wandering Wednesday! :)

On Vacation.

2011-07-28T13:10:00.000-07:00

I'm on vacation. Taking a MUCH needed break! Sorry that I didn't have time to get my parties pre-scheduled so that they could post while I am away. See you soon.

Fun w/ Food Friday Linky Party

2011-07-22T02:00:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all of you who link up and link back to help make this linky party a success!

Remember FOOD RELATED posts only please. If you want to link up a craft, DIY, or other creations, scroll down to Thrilling Thursday and link up :) Thrilling Thursday linky is open every week from Thursday-Sunday @ midnight.

Wanna link up to Fun w/Food Friday? Here's all you have to do:

1. Become a Paisley Passions follower.

2. Link back to the party in some way.

3. Have fun! Visit some of the other links and leave them a comment or two! We all love comments!

Thrilling Thursday Linky Party!

2011-07-20T20:56:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Thrilling Thursday!!! It's always one of my favorite days of the week!! :)

Let's see what you have made this week!!! :) Link up and most of all HAVE FUN!!!!

Wandering Wednesday Blog Hop!

2011-07-19T21:56:00.000-07:00

Let's link up to Wandering Wednesday! :)

Fun w/ Food Friday Linky Party

2011-07-15T01:36:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all of you who link up and link back to help make this linky party a success!

Wanna link up to Fun w/Food Friday? Here's all you have to do:

1. Become a Paisley Passions follower.

2. Link back to the party in some way.

3. Have fun! Visit some of the other links and leave them a comment or two! We all love comments!

Thrilling Thursday Linky Party!

2011-07-13T21:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Thrilling Thursday!!! It's always one of my favorite days of the week!! :)

Let's see what you have made this week!!! :) Link up and most of all HAVE FUN!!!!

Wandering Wednesday Blog Hop!

2011-07-13T09:32:00.000-07:00

Let's link up to Wandering Wednesday! :)

Fun w/ Food Friday Linky Party

2011-07-08T01:03:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all of you who link up and link back to help make this linky party a success!

Wanna link up to Fun w/Food Friday? Here's all you have to do:

1. Become a Paisley Passions follower.

2. Link back to the party in some way.

3. Have fun! Visit some of the other links and leave them a comment or two! We all love comments!

Thrilling Thursday Linky Party!

2011-07-06T18:56:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Thrilling Thursday!!! It's always one of my favorite days of the week!! :)

Let's see what you have made this week!!! :) Link up and most of all HAVE FUN!!!!

Wandering Wednesday Blog Hop!

2011-07-06T05:50:00.000-07:00

Let's link up to Wandering Wednesday! :)

Fun w/ Food Friday Linky Party

2011-07-01T01:56:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all of you who link up and link back to help make this linky party a success!

Wanna link up to Fun w/Food Friday? Here's all you have to do:

1. Become a Paisley Passions follower.

2. Link back to the party in some way.

3. Have fun! Visit some of the other links and leave them a comment or two! We all love comments!

Thrilling Thursday Linky Party!

2011-06-30T05:53:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Thrilling Thursday!!! It's always one of my favorite days of the week!! :)Let's see what you have made this week!!! :) Link up and most of all HAVE FUN!!!!

Wandering Wednesday Blog Hop!

2011-06-30T05:50:00.000-07:00

Where did it go? I had Wandering Wednesday scheduled to post and it never posted! SO sorry about that! Here it is a day late (better late than never, right?), just in case anyone still wants to link up!!! I will do a better job next week making sure it is up and going :)Let's link up to Wandering Wednesday! :)

Fun w/ Food Friday Linky Party

2011-06-24T01:00:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all of you who link up and link back to help make this linky party a success!

Wanna link up to Fun w/Food Friday? Here's all you have to do:

1. Become a Paisley Passions follower.

2. Link back to the party in some way.

3. Have fun! Visit some of the other links and leave them a comment or two! We all love comments!

Linky party will be open until Monday at midnight :)

Thrilling Thursday Linky Party!

2011-06-22T19:30:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Thrilling Thursday!!! It's always one of my favorite days of the week!! :)Let's see what you have made this week!!! :) Link up and most of all HAVE FUN!!!!

Wandering Wednesday Blog Hop!

2011-06-22T08:01:00.000-07:00

Let's link up to Wandering Wednesday! :)

Fun w/Food Friday Linky Party!

2011-06-17T01:07:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all of you who link up and link back to help make this linky party a success!

Wanna link up to Fun w/Food Friday? Here's all you have to do:

1. Become a Paisley Passions follower.

2. Link back to the party in some way.

3. Have fun! Visit some of the other links and leave them a comment or two! We all love comments!

Linky party will be open until Monday at midnight :)

Thrilling Thursday Linky Party!

2011-06-15T20:57:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Thrilling Thursday!!! Your creativity always amazes me!! :)Let's see what you have made this week!!! :) Link up and most of all HAVE FUN!!!!

2011-06-14T21:26:00.000-07:00

Wednesday already? WOW!Let's link up to Wandering Wednesday! :)

Fun w/Food Friday Linky Party!

2011-06-10T01:25:00.000-07:00

I'm back and couldn't be more happy! As many of you know, I was unable to login to my Blogger account for about 4 days last week. Some kind of Blogger glitch. I wasn't happy! I had so many emails asking where my parties were. I really did try hard to get them up, but as you know, when you have a Blogger glitch, it takes a while to work it out. My blog still isn't running 100% normal on my end, but at least I am on and can post. Much better than last week :)

Welcome to Fun w/ Food Friday!!!

Thanks to all of you who link up and link back to help make this linky party a success!

Wanna link up to Fun w/Food Friday? Here's all you have to do:

1. Become a Paisley Passions follower.

2. Link back to the party in some way.

3. Have fun! Visit some of the other links and leave them a comment or two! We all love comments!

Linky party will be open until Monday at midnight :)

Thrilling Thursday Linky Party!

2011-06-08T20:45:00.000-07:00

SO SORRY about last weeks party! I was SO FRUSTRATED with Blogger that I could have screamed. Actually I did scream a few times. I was unable to get logged on to my Paisley Passions account for about 4 days last week. GRRRRR! I am sure you had some FANTASTIC stuff to share! If you want, feel free to share last weeks creation and this weeks creation this week. I LOVE visiting your sites and seeing all the GREAT ideas you come up with :)Let's see what you have made this week!!! :) Link up and most of all HAVE FUN!!!!

Wandering Wednesday Blog Hop!!!

2011-06-08T08:00:00.000-07:00

HIP HIP HURRAY! I was actually able to log on to my blog today!!! That means I can post Wandering Wednesday :) Here's hoping I can post Thrilling Thursday and Fun w/Food Friday this week as well :) That would make me VERY happy!!!

Let's link up to Wandering Wednesday! :)

SOOOOOO FRUSTRATED!!!

2011-06-05T17:58:00.000-07:00

I am not sure what is going on with my Paisley Passions account. It seems that the past two months have not been kind to me!

My account got hacked and so I was locked out of it for a week until Google/Blogger got it worked out. Stupid hackers.

In case you hadn't noticed, I didn't post Thrilling Thursday or Fun w/Food Friday this week. Well, it wasn't for a lack of trying!!! It has taken me FOUR days to try and get my account to let me login. I am not sure what is going on. . .it takes FOREVER and a day to get answers from Blogger, so they haven't been much help.

I have a question for you readers (if there are any of you left after all of this!) I am SERIOUSLY thinking of switching over to WordPress. What do YOU think? Have any of you done the same??? Pros? Cons? Leave a comment and let me know :)

Hopefully I will be able to log on this week and get all my parties up and running!

Wandering Wednesday Blog Hop!

2011-06-01T13:20:00.000-07:00

Let's link up to Wandering Wednesday! :)

Fun w/ Food Friday Linky Party

2011-05-27T06:33:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Fun w/ Food Friday!!!

Thanks to all of you who link up and link back to help make this linky party a success!

Wanna link up to Fun w/Food Friday? Here's all you have to do:

1. Become a Paisley Passions follower.

2. Link back to the party in some way.

3. Have fun! Visit some of the other links and leave them a comment or two! We all love comments!

Linky party will be open until Monday at midnight :)

Thrilling Thursday Linky Party!

2011-05-25T18:46:00.000-07:00

Let's see what you have made this week!!! :) Link up and most of all HAVE FUN!!!!

Wandering Wednesday Blog Hop!

2011-05-25T06:17:00.000-07:00

Let's link up to Wandering Wednesday! :)

Fun w/ Food Friday Linky Party

2011-05-20T06:43:00.000-07:00

Sorry about last week! Blogger was having issues and my party disappeared! Hope things go better with the party this week :)

Welcome to Fun w/ Food Friday!!!

Thanks to all of you who link up and link back to help make this linky party a success!

Remember FOOD RELATED posts only please. If you want to link up a craft, DIY, or other creation, scroll down to Thrilling Thursday and link up :) Thrilling Thursday linky is open every week from Thursday-Sunday @ midnight.

Wanna link up? Here's all you have to do:

1. Become a Paisley Passions follower.

2. Link back to the party in some way.

3. Have fun! Visit some of the other links and leave them a comment or two! We all love comments!

Linky party will be open until Monday at midnight :)

Thrilling Thursday Linky Party!

2011-05-18T18:39:00.000-07:00

Hopefully Blogger has all of their issues figured out and Thrilling Thursday won't disappear this week!

Let's see what you have made this week!!! :) Link up and most of all HAVE FUN!!!!

Wandering Wednesday Blog Hop!

2011-05-18T07:44:00.001-07:00

Let's link up to Wandering Wednesday! :)

Strange Things. . .

2011-05-15T06:02:00.000-07:00

I have NO IDEA what is going on with my blog. On Thursday, I got up bright and early, and posted Thrilling Thursday. It was up and running and all was well. . .on Friday I got up bright and early and posted Fun w/Food Friday. It was up and running and all was well. On Saturday, I got up and popped over to check my blog, Thrilling Thursday AND Fun w/Food Friday were GONE! Completely missing. Not showing in my past posts AT ALL!

Remember me telling you when I was "locked out" of my Google account because it had suspicious activity and they later told me that my account was hacked??? Well, ever since then my account has not been the same. . .

Google has suggested that I completely change the email associated with my blog to try and resolve this problem. So, I guess that is what I will do.

I am hoping that this week all my posts will actually post and not disappear into thin air!

SORRY for all the issues! I hope you will be back to my parties soon :) :) :)

Wandering Wednesday Blog Hop!

2011-05-11T07:33:00.001-07:00

Let's link up to Wandering Wednesday! :)

Fun w/ Food Friday Linky Party

2011-05-06T06:22:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Fun w/ Food Friday!!!

Thanks to all of you who link up and link back to help make this linky party a success!

Wanna link up? Here's all you have to do:

1. Become a Paisley Passions follower.

2. Link back to the party in some way.

3. Have fun! Visit some of the other links and leave them a comment or two! We all love comments!

Linky party will be open until Monday at midnight :)

Thrilling Thursday Linky Party!

2011-05-04T22:12:00.000-07:00

Let's see what you have made this week!!! :) Link up and most of all HAVE FUN!!!!

Wandering Wednesday Blog Hop!

2011-05-03T19:32:00.000-07:00

I've almost survived FINALS WEEK! I have two more finals tomorrow and then I will have 6 out of 6 finals COMPLETE! I can hardly wait!!!

Let's link up to Wandering Wednesday! :)

Fun w/ Food Friday Linky Party

2011-04-29T05:26:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Fun w/ Food Friday!!!

Did you miss me last week??? So, sorry about that! My Google account was hacked into last week and so Google froze my account until we could get things taken care of. So, I couldn't get on my blog to post because I was locked out of it :(

Thanks to all of you who link up and link back to help make this linky party a success!

Wanna link up? Here's all you have to do:

1. Become a Paisley Passions follower.

2. Link back to the party in some way.

3. Have fun! Visit some of the other links and leave them a comment or two! We all love comments!

Linky party will be open until Monday at midnight :)

Thrilling Thursday Linky Party!

2011-04-27T21:45:00.000-07:00

HELLO EVERYONE! How has your week been so far? Well, I hope! :) Things are still not 100% back together here. Actually it has been a bit CRAZY! My Google account was hacked into and so my account was froze up until we could get everything worked out. NOT FUN! So, if you were looking for Fun w/Food Friday last week and couldn't find it, that is why! I had NO access to my account :(

I have had MANY MANY emails asking me if I am going to get my Linky Library up and working. The answer is YES, YES, YES! :) So, PLEASE be patient with me. I have 6 finals I am preparing for next week. After I survive those, I hoping to spend as much time as I need to in order to get my blog back to 100% WITH the Linky Library.

Let's see what you have made this week!!! :) Link up and most of all HAVE FUN!!!!

**THANKS for hanging in there with the changes going on to my blog! I know it has been crazy and my Linky Library and some other things still aren't working. Hopefully within the next few weeks ALL will be better than normal! :) **

Wandering Wednesday Blog Hop!

2011-04-27T15:06:00.000-07:00

Life is CRAZY right now!!! My poor blog is suffering because of it too! I am in the process of getting ready for finals week (next week!) and my school schedule has been INSANE! On top of that, my email that is attached to Paisley Passions got hacked into. UGH! So, it has put a hold on me finishing up my blog changes and messed up my posts that were scheduled for Friday/Saturday last week. Did you notice that Fun w/Food Friday never happened? Thank the hackers and the fact that I got locked out of my blog because of it! (Insert major sigh of frustration here).

I am hoping that after I survive finals week that I will be able to finish up ALL blog changes (missing links, etc) and be back to normal.

Enough stressing!!! :)

Let's link up to Wandering Wednesday! :)

WINNER ANNOUCED!

2011-04-25T08:11:00.000-07:00

First of all, a BIG THANKS to Andrea at Signs By Andrea for letting me host a giveaway on Paisley Passions for her SPECTACULAR signs! If you haven't checked them out, you REALLY should. They are absolutely GORGEOUS! I love my sign and my friends always make comments about how much they like it when they come over to my house.

The uber lucky winner chosen by Random.org number generator is:

Comment #28- Courtney B.

CONGRATS, Courtney!!! Andrea will be contacting you SOON with details on your prize :) I hope you enjoy your sign as much as I enjoy mine!

Just in case you missed the giveaway, pop on over to Andrea's blog and check out her signs. You will be GLAD you did!!! :)

Sample of Signs By Andrea

Thrilling Thursday Linky Party!

2011-04-20T21:40:00.000-07:00

Before we start THRILLING THURSDAY. . .have you entered to win a GORGEOUS one of a kind home decor sign from Signs By Andrea? If not, CLICK HERE and enter. You'll be GLAD you did!!!

Link up and have FUN!

Can't wait to see everything you have made this week :)

Wandering Wednesday Blog Hop and a FANTASTIC Giveaway!

2011-04-19T22:06:00.000-07:00

HAPPY WEDNESDAY EVERYONE! I hope that this week is treating you well. Are you ready for another Wandering Wednesday? Well, before we get started, how about an AWESOME giveaway????

If you haven't checked out Signs By Andrea . .I don't know what you are waiting for! You really need to! They are simply amazing!!! With Mother's Day just around the corner, one of her signs would be the PERFECT gift!!!

Her signs are painted on weathered wood, each knot, imperfection and blemish enhances the vintage look ensuring no two signs are alike. These signs look fabulous hung above doorways and archways or even set on a fireplace mantel. All signs include attached hardware for hanging.

When I ordered mine, I couldn't believe how fast it came and when it arrived, I have to say I was MORE THAN impressed with the workmanship and quality of the sign.

Wanna see some of her designs???

Aren't they fantastic? The best part is she will customize them to fit your needs! Do you want one of your own??? Well, then I have some GREAT news for you! Andrea is giving one UBER LUCKY Paisley Passions reader their very own customized sign! Yep. That's right!

How do you enter???

1. Visit Andrea's site and check out her stuff. Then come back here and leave a comment telling me which sign you would want if you win. (1 entry)

2. Visit Andrea's FB page and "like" her. Then come back here and leave a comment telling me you did. (1 entry)

3. Follow Paisley Passions. Leave me a comment letting me know you already follow or that you are a new follower. (1 entry)

4. Still want more entries? Okay, then :) If you blog about the giveaway and then come back here and let me know you did, you will get THREE MORE entries. Just leave 3 separate comments letting me know you blogged about the giveaway and where. (3 entries)

THAT IS SIX chances to win!!!! GOOD LUCK! The winner will be announced on Sunday night. Entries will be taken until Sunday at 9 PM.

Need a sign ASAP?? Well, then just enter PAISLEY5 on the comments section of you order and Andrea will take $5 off each sign you order! How great is that? This offer expires on April 30th, so HURRY on over to Signs by Andrea and get yours ordered.

Now let's link up to Wandering Wednesday! :)

Fun w/ Food Friday Linky Party

2011-04-15T09:43:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Fun w/ Food Friday!!!

Thanks to all of you who link up and link back to help make this linky party a success!

Wanna link up? Here's all you have to do:

1. Become a Paisley Passions follower.

2. Link back to the party in some way.

3. Have fun! Visit some of the other links and leave them a comment or two! We all love comments!

Linky party will be open until Monday at midnight :)

***PS- If things are looking a little strange around here (broken links, missing pages, etc.) please be patient. . .I am having some changes made around here. Hopefully it will all be BETTER than normal by the end of next week :)***

Thrilling Thursday Linky Party!

2011-04-14T05:01:00.000-07:00

Link up and have FUN!

Can't wait to see everything you have made this week :)

**THANKS for hanging in there with the changes going on to my blog! I know it has been crazy and my Linky Library and some other things still aren't working. Hopefully by next week ALL will be better than normal! :) **

Wandering Wednesday Blog Hop!

2011-04-12T17:09:00.000-07:00

WANDERING WEDNESDAY is up and REALLY early too!!! Thanks for hanging in there with the changes going on here on my blog. Hopefully by the first of next week everything will be finished and back to even better than normal :)

Welcome to the Wandering Wednesday Blog Hop I co-host with Jessica @ Inspiring You to Save.

We hope that you will join in on the fun of meeting new people through the blog hop :)

Want to join in on the fun? Here's all you have to do:

1. Become a follower of Paisley Passions AND Inspiring You to Save

2. Add our Wandering Wednesday button on your blog somewhere or link back in some way :)

3. Link up. Have fun. Visit other blogs. Make new friends.

As easy as 1, 2, 3!

STILL Under Construction!

2011-04-11T07:49:00.000-07:00

Yep. Still working on stuff around here. Well, actually, not so much working, as trying to find time to finish what I started :)

I know that many of you know that I am in school full-time. Right now it is KICKING MY BUTT! I have finals in a couple of weeks, and the workload for what is due before then is crazy. Part of me wishes I hadn't started any changes on my blog until after finals. Oh, well, a little too late for that ;)

Anyway, hang in there! I promise that I will get all the links back up and everything BETTER than normal as soon as I can.

All my parties will still be live this week. So, check back for those.

Wednesday: Wandering Wednesday Blog Hop

Thursday: Thrilling Thursday Linky Party

Friday: Fun w/Food Friday Linky Party

Thanks for stopping by and for putting up with my craziness around here :D

Fun w/ Food Friday Linky Party

2011-04-08T06:29:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Fun w/ Food Friday!!!

Thanks to all of you who link up and link back to help make this linky party a success!

Wanna link up? Here's all you have to do:

1. Become a Paisley Passions follower.

2. Link back to the party in some way.

3. Have fun! Visit some of the other links and leave them a comment or two! We all love comments!

Linky party will be open until Monday at midnight :)

Thrilling Thursday Linky Party!

2011-04-06T21:30:00.000-07:00

Link up and have FUN!

Can't wait to see everything you have made this week :)

Wandering Wednesday Blog Hop!

2011-04-05T22:08:00.000-07:00

WANDERING WEDNESDAY is up! Thanks for hanging in there with the changes going on here on my blog. Hopefully by the first of next week everything will be finished and back to even better than normal :)

Welcome to the Wandering Wednesday Blog Hop I co-host with Jessica @ Inspiring You to Save.

We hope that you will join in on the fun of meeting new people through the blog hop :)

Want to join in on the fun? Here's all you have to do:

1. Become a follower of Paisley Passions AND Inspiring You to Save

2. Add our Wandering Wednesday button on your blog somewhere or link back in some way :)

3. Link up. Have fun. Visit other blogs. Make new friends.

As easy as 1, 2, 3!

UNDER CONSTRUCTION!

2011-04-02T15:24:00.000-07:00

If things are looking a little bit crazy, don't worry! I have some changes going on with the layout of my blog. Please be patient :) Hopefully everything will be back to normal in a day or two.

Thanks!!!

What's In a Name?

2011-04-02T07:59:00.000-07:00

Hello all of you who happen to be stopping by my blog today :) I hope that you are having a FANTASTIC weekend!

I have been giving A LOT of thought to purchasing my domain for my blog. In other words, no more .blogspot. Which would be WONDERFUL! Right? The problem is that I am wondering, do I keep Paisley Passions for my name? Hmmmmmmm. I am perplexed!

When I started my blog the last week of July 2010, I had NO IDEA that it would take off and be liked by anyone. It was just a place for me to share my creations. A creative outlet of sorts. Anyway, I didn't give much thought to the name because I never thought anyone would care about what I had to say, or what I created.

The problem now is, if I change the name, what name would I choose to call this little 'ol blog of mine?

I have even thought about turning it into a contest. A "Name My Blog" contest, with a prize for the winner.

I don't know. I am just rambling here. So, what do you think? Do I change my blog name before I buy my domain? Do I make renaming my blog a contest? What to do? What to do?

Help me out :) Leave a comment and let me know what YOU think.

PS- If you are looking for Thrilling Thursday or Fun w/Food Friday, the parties are still open. Scroll down and join in :)

Fun w/ Food Friday Linky Party

2011-04-01T07:06:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Fun w/ Food Friday!!!

Thanks to all of you who link up and link back to help make this linky party a success!

Linky party will be open until Monday at midnight :)

Thrilling Thursday Linky Party!

2011-03-30T22:02:00.000-07:00

Link up and have FUN!

Can't wait to see everything you have made this week :)

Wandering Wednesday Blog Hop!

2011-03-30T05:35:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Wandering Wednesday Blog Hop I co-host with Jessica @ Inspiring You to Save.

We hope that you will join in on the fun of meeting new people through the blog hop :)

Want to join in on the fun? Here's all you have to do:

1. Become a follower of Paisley Passions AND Inspiring You to Save

2. Add our Wandering Wednesday button on your blog somewhere or link back in some way :)

3. Link up. Have fun. Visit other blogs. Make new friends.

As easy as 1, 2, 3!

Peeps Wreath

2011-03-28T11:59:00.000-07:00

MADE BY ME FOR MONDAY!!!

Wow! I can't believe it is almost 1:00 PM and I am just now getting around to posting! It has been a CRAZY morning! I am a little behind on life because I spent the weekend with my gal pals at a Scrapbook Expo. It was a WONDERFUL weekend of good times, but now I am back to reality and trying to catch up on life!!!

This week I am going to share my April wreath. Remember how I said I wanted to do a new wreath every month? Well, so far, so good. Want to see my other wreaths so far this year? JANUARY WREATH, FEBRUARY WREATH, MARCH WREATH. Click on the months you want to see and it will link you over to the posts :) Which one is your favorite???

Ready to see my April wreath???

Hanging with my Peeps ;)

I started out by buying 3 boxes of Peeps. I let them sit on the tray for a few days to get hard. Then at the Dollar Store, I found the three wreaths. The total cost for this wreath was under $5. LOVE THAT!!!

I don't know why, but I found this a bit disturbing. . .I could actually add hot glue to the back of the hard Peeps, and it didn't melt them. The whole time I was thinking, "And I actually eat these? They don't even melt with HOT glue! How does my body digest them?" :)


VOILA! My finished Peeps wreath!

I will be PARTYING HERE this week! Come back and join my parties too! Wandering Wednesday Blog Hop, Thrilling Thursday Linky Party, and Fun w/Food Friday Linky Party.

Fun w/ Food Friday Linky Party

2011-03-25T06:47:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Fun w/ Food Friday!!!

Thanks to all of you who link up and link back to help make this linky party a success!

Linky party will be open until Monday at midnight :)

Thrilling Thursday Linky Party!

2011-03-23T20:16:00.000-07:00

TIME FOR ANOTHER THRILLING THURSDAY!!! Here are the FEATURES from last week :) For those of you featured, thanks SO MUCH for linking up and linking back to my party! YOU ROCK!!!! Feel free to grab an "I Thrilled" featured button from my sidebar :)

DARLING PILLOWS @ Perfect Chance Memories

GORGEOUS Sunburst Mirror Tutorial @ Delicate Construction

SUPER FUN Dr. Suess Book Clock @ Crafting in the Dojo

LET'S PARTY!!!

Want to join in on Thrilling Thursday? Well, it's super easy!

1. Become a follower of Paisley Passions.

2. Link back to the party in some way (with my button, a link, a mention on your sidebar, etc)

3. Link up. Have fun. Visit some other links and let them know you found them @ Paisley Passions :)

Remember this party is for: DIY, Photography, Recipes, Sewing Projects, Crafts, Thrifty Finds, Graphic Designs, Scrapbooking, Cards, Paper Crafts, etc. Basically, if YOU have made it, link it up! :)

Linky will be up until Sunday @ Midnight. Have fun!

Wandering Wednesday Blog Hop!

2011-03-23T14:23:00.000-07:00

Photo Shelf

2011-03-21T08:03:00.000-07:00

Made By Me for Monday!!!

Hello everyone!!! I hope you all had a fantastic weekend and are looking forward to a wonderful week! Did you do anything creative this weekend??? We had some super gorgeous Spring sunshine to enjoy. It was wonderful!

Just a quick note, I have had BUNCHES of emails about my craft room since I posted it last week. Did you miss the post? No worries! CLICK HERE to see it :) Anyway, I have decided that in the next week or two, I will do a part II Craft Room post. Maybe that will help answer some of the questions. Oh, and THANKS BUNCHES for the oh, so, kind comments about my creative space. You all made me smile!

Onto this week's creation!!! First of all, you are going to have to excuse the fact that I forgot to take a before picture! OOPS! Sometimes I just get so ExcItEd to get started on a creation that I forget to take a before picture! But, we all know what an unfinished shelf looks like right??? SO, all you need to do is picture the shelf in an unfinished state :) Okay, got it pictured?

Well, here is what it looks like now:

My paint color is Mississippi Mud. I use it a lot because it matches my home decor so well.

I LOVED this shelf because of the picture openings. Anything that lets me display pictures makes me happy! I added strips of scrapbook paper around the "frames" with mod podge to make the photos stand out even more :)

This is the top of the shelf. I mod podged scrapbook paper to it. The paper has just a slight glittery look to it which I absolutely LOVE! Oh, and it matches my bedroom perfectly (which BTW is where I am hanging the shelf).

I inked the edges of the shelf lightly before I mod podged it.


Here it is all finished. I added my boys names in vinyl on top of their pictures. I used my handy dandy Cricut Machine to cut those. Couldn't live without it!!!

I will be linking up at some of these parties HERE this week. Show them some love! It is a lot of work to host linky parties each week!

I hope you will come back and join in on my linky parties too!

Wednesday: Wandering Wednesday Blog Hop

Thursday: Thrilling Thursday Linky Party

Friday: Fun w/Food Friday Linky Party

See YOU there!!!

Fun w/ Food Friday Linky Party

2011-03-17T20:31:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Fun w/ Food Friday!!!

Thanks to all of you who link up and link back to help make this linky party a success!

Linky party will be open until Monday at midnight :)

Thrilling Thursday Linky Party!

2011-03-16T21:31:00.000-07:00

THURSDAY? ALREADY??? NOOOOOOOOOOO!!! I have been enjoying the week off from school and I REALLY don't want it to end!!! We are on Spring Break here and the weather has been FABULOUS! Lovin' every minute of it!

No features this week. I am only on here for a quick minute to get this post up, and then I will be off having some more fun with the family :) Features will be back next week! Thanks to everyone who linked up last week. I was able to visit MANY of the links. Some pretty fantastic stuff was linked up! Can't wait to see what you have ready to link up this week.

Don't forget, Friday is my NEW Fun w/Food Friday linky party. Last week was GREAT! Thanks to all of those who participated. I hope that even more of you will come by and link up your food related posts this week. Even if you link up a food related post to Thrilling Thursday, feel free to stop by on Friday and link it up there as well :)

Now on to THRILLING THURSDAY!!!

Wandering Wednesday Blog Hop!

2011-03-16T07:08:00.000-07:00

Ad Space Winners!

2011-03-15T07:13:00.000-07:00

The winners chosen by Random.org for my 3 Month Ad Space Giveaway are:

Comment # 10: Girl In Air

Comment # 59: Petite Hermine

Comment #72: Sarahndipities

CONGRATS! You will have an ad space on Paisley Passions until June 30, 2011. I will get your 125X125 ad posted as soon as you send me your button :) Thanks for entering!!!

Craft Room.

2011-03-14T07:26:00.000-07:00

Craft Room- AKA: My Office, Where I get my "craft" on, Where my mojo flows, My Design Studio, My Spa, My Getaway Space, My Sanity Saving Spot, My Creative Space, My FAVORITE Room in the House!

I am not going to lie. . .I am a messy crafter. When my mojo starts flowing, I just want to create. I don't want to clean up until my project is complete. SO, unfortunately, that means that my creative space eventually ends up looking like this:

Before

SEE I TOLD YOU I AM MESSY!!! Sometimes it gets so bad that I can't even go in there. Then I end up doing my creations out on my kitchen table. When this happens, I know my hubby is thinking, "Why, oh why, does she have a craft room, if she is just going to sit out here and do her crafts?" Haha!

Last week I decided to get back into my craft room and get organized. Sometime soon I plan on painting and pulling out the carpet and putting in laminate floors. That hasn't happened as of yet, but you can still see what my space looks like. . .at least for now :)

Ahhh, so nice and clean! Wonder how long it will stay that way?

Wanna go on a tour of my creative space? (WARNING! MANY PICTURES TO FOLLOW!)

Wall of cabinets

Closet Wall

Behind My Desk

Button Shelf

Inside of Closet Door

Inside my Closet

Labeled Drawers (Inside My Closet)

Labeled Alpha Drawers (Inside My Closet)

More Labeled Drawers

Cardstock Stash

Pegboard

Flower Shelf

Paint Storage

Window Seat

A view from the doorway

You can click on any of the pictures for a larger view. I just didn't want to put them all in this post really large, or it would have taken up pages and pages on my blog :)

I actually found some REALLY SUPER DUPER UBER CUTE paisley print black and white material that I will be recovering my bench seat with. So, watch for that in an upcoming post!

I hope you enjoyed my space! Where do you get creative???

I will be linking up to some of THESE FABULOUS PARTIES this week.

Hope you can stop by here at Paisley Passions on

Wednesday for Wandering Wednesday Blog Hop,

Thursday for Thrilling Thursday Linky Party, and on

Friday for Fun w/Food Friday Linky Party :)

Fun w/ Food Friday

2011-03-11T06:00:00.000-08:00

***FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE ASKED, I HAVE CHANGED THE DATE ON MY AD SPACE GIVEAWAY TO BE ANNOUNCED MARCH 13th. SO YOU STILL HAVE TIME TO ENTER! CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS***

Welcome to Fun w/ Food Friday!!! I have had a couple of questions about this linky. People want to know if it has to be a recipe in order to link up. NOPE! Recipes are GREAT and I love them (so keep them coming please!!!), but as long as it is a food RELATED post feel free to link it up.

Thanks to all of you who link up and link back to help make this linky party a success!

Linky party will be open until Monday at midnight :)

Thrilling Thursday Linky Party!

2011-03-09T20:06:00.000-08:00

I am not going to lie, I am getting kind of frustrated with my linky party host site. Last week I had issues galore! Some of the link pictures STILL aren't showing up!!! GRRRR! Anyway, please bear with me, if things don't go better this week, I will switch over to a different hosting site for next week.

Thanks to ALL of you who come back week after week and join in on the party! I really do LOVE visiting your sites and seeing all of your talent!!!

Here are the features that THRILLED last week:

Paper Roll Wall Decor @ Delicate Construction

Chalkboard Frames @ Ask Anna

Garden Gift @ The Tattered Tag

Thin Mint Cupcakes @ Ladybird Ln

Dollar Store Sewing Kit @ Bursts of Creativity

If you were featured, THANKS FOR LINKING UP AND LINKING BACK TO MY PARTY :) Feel free to grab an "I Thrilled" button off my side-bar if you would like :)

Don't forget, Friday is my NEW Fun w/Food Friday linky party. Last week was GREAT! Thanks to all of those who participated. I hope that even more of you will come by and link up your food related posts this week. Even if you link up a food related post to Thrilling Thursday, feel free to stop by on Friday and link it up there as well :)

Now on to THRILLING THURSDAY!!!

Wandering Wednesday Blog Hop!

2011-03-08T18:12:00.001-08:00

Blog Swap w/ Handy Man, Crafty Woman

2011-03-08T01:01:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone!  I am excited to be swapping with Laurie over at Handy Man, Crafty Woman today!  She has a great post to share with us!  I don't know about you, but I was without internet access all day yesterday.  We had a winter storm pass through and it messed up my internet connection.  Now I feel like I am playing "catch-up" on my blog, emails, and such!  Anyway, enough about my life!  Let's see what Laurie has to share with us :)

Hi, I'm Laurie from Handy Man, Crafty Woman. Thanks so much to Lori for having us guest post on her great blog! Lori does the best renovation, craft and decorating projects. I am just loving her new kitchen back splash. Paisley Passions is one of the first home blogs I discovered when I first started writing our blog.

My husband Rob and I started our blog in 2009. We have one son, and we live in New England.

We've been married for 13 years, and the house we live in now is the third house we've renovated.

One of our favorite projects in our current home was renovating our stairway. We tore out walls, ripped up carpet, and rebuilt the whole thing! It was a lot of work, but we're not afraid of hard work.

Our first house was built in the 1830s; our second house was built in the 1860s. We pretty much gutted and renovated those two houses inside and out. We tore down plaster, sanded floors, put up new trim, and painted, painted, and painted some more. It's a good thing I have a "Handy Man". Our current house was built in the 1990s. Yes, this time we have a "new" house! However, it was quite a fixer-upper and a challenge.

The yard needed a lot of work, too. Over the summer, we put in a new stone pathway.

Handy Man also built a shed to store some of his tools and yard equipment.

We also renovated our kitchen. We put in new flooring, a new sink, new counters and painted the cabinets.

Yes, that is a "during" picture of our kitchen construction. It was a huge project. You can see more kitchen photos HERE.

I love to scrapbook. Rob refinished a kitchen island as a scrapbook table for me.

There is always something to organize around the house, like our pantry.

We also like to share recipes on our blog, like this salad with spiced walnuts. I made this salad, but Handy Man actually does a lot of the cooking.

Thanks so much, Lori, for having me guest post on your blog. I really enjoy reading your blog.

WOW! What a FUN post! Thanks, Handy Man, Crafty Woman, for sharing with us today!!!

REMEMBER!!! Tomorrow is Wandering Wednesday.

Thursday is Thrilling Thursday.

Friday is Fun w/Food Friday.

Come join in on the fun!!!

My Journey Album

2011-03-07T08:44:00.000-08:00

Welcome to MADE BY ME FOR MONDAY!!!

The item I am featuring today is actually one that I made for my hubby for Fathers Day a while back. It was a really fun project!

The way the entire thing got started was one day when I was in K-Mart. I had gone in there to grab something and I noticed there was a clearance rack out in the middle of the aisle. Well, I don't know about you, but, when I see CLEARANCE in big, bold, red letters, I can't help myself! I HAVE to go and see what is in the basket!

I noticed that there was an old check register binder. It was black and had several check register pages in it. It was on CLeaRaNCe for (are you ready for this?) $1.00. Yep. $1.00. I loved the shape of it, and since it was a ring style, I knew I could add as many pages to it as I wanted. So, I made my big $1.00 purchase and brought it home. Still not sure what I was going to make with it.

Fathers Day was just around the corner, and I had this idea to turn the check register binder into a book for my hubby. I decided to do the book based on all of the "toys" he has had throughout his life. The theme fit so well with Dr. Seuss "Oh, The Places You'll Go!" so I used the words from that book to inspire my pages.

Here is how it turned out:

Front Cover

This view shows the pages and the tabs I made.

I used the tape used when you sheet rock on the corner of the album (that is the "net" looking stuff) and then added textured paint on top.

If you want to see inside the album, you can watch the slide show :)

I don't normally do slide shows on my blog, but this had too many pictures to post!

I didn't share the last several pages of the book on the slide show (because they are a little too personal) but, the last several pages, I had each of my kiddos do a 10 Reasons Why I Love You page for their dad. It brought tears to his eyes! He loved it!

**I will be linking up to SOME OF THESE FABULOUS PARTIES HERE this week!**

I hope you come back and join in on my parties too!

Wednesday: Wandering Wednesday Blog Hop

Thursday: Thrilling Thursday Linky Party

Friday: Fun w/Food Friday Linky Party

Fun w/ Food Friday Linky Party

2011-03-04T01:00:00.000-08:00

***McLinky has been having some issues. I hope the party goes off without any problems. I had some issues with Thrilling Thursday yesterday. Here's hoping today's party goes well!!!***

Linky party will be open until Monday at midnight :)

Thrilling Thursday Linky Party!

2011-03-02T20:16:00.000-08:00

WOW! This week has FLOWN by! I cannot believe that it is time for another Thrilling Thursday! Last week we broke the 300 mark. I was SO excited by all of the links. I visited as many of them as I could and found some FABULOUS STUFF! Seriously fabulous!

Here are the five features this week :)

License Plate Wine Rack @ Craving Color

Burlap Wreath @ Peace, Love, 2 Sisters

Butterfly Tag @ Bursts of Creativity

Fridge Frames @Smile Monsters

Harlequin Dresser @ Chrissie's Collections

If you were featured, THANKS FOR LINKING UP AND LINKING BACK TO MY PARTY :) Feel free to grab an "I Thrilled" button off my side-bar if you would like :)

Now on to THRILLING THURSDAY!!!

Wandering Wednesday Blog Hop & SkinMD Review!

2011-03-01T20:46:00.000-08:00

Before we get started with Wandering Wednesday, let me tell you about a product that was sent to me to review. I absolutely can't say enough good about it!!!

Have you ever heard of SkinMD Lotion??? I hadn't until they contacted me. I have to say that I am SO impressed with their product!

I have really cracked heels (probably because I LIVE in flip flops!). Well, I started using SkinMD on my heels, and I cannot believe the improvement!!! It is like night and day from what my heels looked like before to what they look like now.

After I had such a great success with my heels, I decided to give the lotion a try for my face. I have dry skin, and I had read how great SkinMD is for all areas of the body. Since the lotion is not greasy at all, I figured it would be great for a facial lotion. You know what? I was right! It is wonderful! Being that it is non-greasy, it is also PERFECT for a crafter, like myself. I can use it on my hands and not worry about getting my papers or crafts greasy. I love it!

DO YOU WANT A FREE SAMPLE to try for yourself??? Then pop on over to SkinMD by clicking HERE and order your free sample today. If you scroll down a little ways on their page, the link for a free sample is on the right side of the page about 1/2 way down. You will be SO glad you did!!!

ALSO, do you want a chance to win an entire bottle of SkinMD???? SkinMD is giving away an entire bottle FREE to one lucky Paisley Passions reader!!! Want to win???

FOR A CHANCE TO WIN YOUR OWN BOTTLE OF SkinMD, just click on over to SkinMD and read all about them. Then come back here and leave me a comment letting me know why you would like to give it a try! That's it! I will take entries until Tuesday March 8th at midnight. The winner will be chosen by a random number generator and announced next Wednesday! GOOD LUCK!!!

PS! Did YOU enter for a chance to win THREE MONTHS of free Ad Space on Paisley Passions?

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO!!!

Now onto Wandering Wednesday!!! :)

Blog Swap w/ Giggles, Glitz, and Glam

2011-03-01T01:00:00.000-08:00

Time for another Blog Swap! Today we have a special guest post from Jana at Giggles, Glitz, and Glam.

Take it away, Jana!!!

Hello to everyone here at Paisley Passions! Hi, my name is Jana and I am the author of Giggles, Glitz & Glam. I am a 27-year-old, newlywed, who recently discovered the joy of blogging about crafting! I should go ahead and clarify that the adorable baby on my header is my beautiful niece, we look forward to our own baby but waiting on God's perfect timing!
Random fact, I modeled for the below photo for a photographers conference. Totally out of my element, but I had a blast!

I celebrated a year of marriage in November and work full-time as an Orphan Coordinator for a non-profit organization called Christian Life Ministries. In the spring, we started making Pillowcase dresses for the near 400 girls living in our orphan village in Kampala, Uganda and this is when I discovered the plethora of crafty blogs out there.

I grew to love making the dresses and embellishments as well as viewing all the blogs, so I decided I wanted to dive right into it myself. It started off slow until I discovered how much I really loved crafts and blogging. It first started with wanting to share with people my tutus and then grew to a love of all things crafts! Hopefully in 2011, I will craft a lot more and learn how to make different things.

Here’s some of the stuff I’ve created & blogged about!

As I've already said, I started this because of my tutus so here are a few.

Fun Christmas crafts!

Come check out the fun things I will be making this year especially since I got a new sewing machine for Christmas!!

Would love for you to join me on Tuesday for my linky party, Glam Party!

Thanks for having me Lori!

Thanks for blog swapping with me today, Jana! :)

March Wreath.

2011-02-28T06:58:00.000-08:00

Welcome to another Made By Me for Monday! Before I share what I made this weekend, have YOU entered for a FREE 3 Month Ad Space on Paisley Passions??? YOU SHOULD! CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS! Good Luck!!!

Made By Me for Monday!!!

This year I decided that I am going to make a new wreath for every month of the year. In January, I made my WINTER WREATH. In February I made my BLACK AND WHITE POLKA DOT WREATH. Today, I am going to share my March wreath :)

Since March is when we celebrate St. Patty's Day, I knew I wanted a wreath that reflected the "feeling" of St. Patty's Day, without all the well, er, how do I say it? Um, without all the tackiness of it. Sorry, I don't want to offend anyone! It's just that sometimes St. Patty's decor can get a little bit gaudy. Which can be super fun for a party, just not what I wanted on my front door! :)

So here is what I came up with for my version of a March wreath:

Supplies I started with: foam wreath, zippers, ric rac, material

I tore the material into strips and wrapped it around the wreath leaving the torn edges exposed.

Next, I took the zippers and made them into rosettes using my glue gun. I didn't do a tutorial on the flowers because it seems like EVERYONE is making them. They are pretty easy to make :) I added the flowers to the wreath with my glue gun and then looped a piece of zipper around the top of the wreath to give me something to hang it with.

There you have it! My version of a wreath for March. What do you think???

After hanging it on my front door, I just kept thinking that it didn't look quite big enough. I have a really tall door and the wreath was being swallowed up by it! Then I remembered that I had a frame in my storage closet that I kept meaning to do something with! :) Oh HAPPY day!!!

Frame from my storage closet :)

I glued some felt strips on the back of the frame with my glue gun so that it won't scratch my door.

Then I took some more strips of fabric and used them to hang the wreath in the center. I added a bow on the top and hung it on the door. VOILA! No more wreath being swallowed up by the size of my door. Now it looks just right :)

I will be joining in some of these wonderful LINKY PARTIES HERE this week!

I hope you come back and join in my parties too!

Wandering Wednesday Blog Hop

Thrilling Thursday Linky Party

Fun w/Food Friday Linky Party.

Ad Space Giveaway!!!

2011-02-25T20:53:00.000-08:00

To celebrate all of you fabulous Paisley Passions readers, I have decided that I am going to giveaway THREE FREE ad spaces on my sidebar. You can use them to boost your blog hits, advertise your Etsy store, advertise other stuff you sell, or just to get the word out about your blog.

PAISLEY PASSIONS Ad Space Giveaway!

Do you have your own etsy shop? Do you have product and you need more traffic on your website to promote? Or do you have a great blog that you want others to check out?

How would YOU like to get 3 months worth of FREE advertising for your site??

I'm offering 3 lucky winners a chance to advertise for FREE on my blog. If you win, for 3 months your button will be featured on my sidebar listed under my Spectacular Sponsors. After 3 months you have the option to sign on as a sponsor, or just take advantage of the free 3 months. Either way it will help promote both of our blogs and be a win-win for everyone.

Here's how to enter:

1. 1. Mandatory entry: (1 entry) become a public follower of Paisley Passions. (Leave a comment letting me know you are following)

2. 2. 1 additional entry: become a Paisley Passions fan on Facebook. (Come back and leave a comment letting me know you are a FB follower).

3. 3. 1 more entry: follow Paisley Passions on Twitter. (Come back and leave a comment letting me know you are a Twitter follower).

4. 4. 2 extra entries: Blog about this giveaway. (Come back and leave a comment letting me know you blogged about it, then leave a second comment with a link to your post).

That is FIVE ways you can enter! FIVE chances to win!!! Good luck!

Please leave a separate comment for each entry. I will be using the Random Number Generator to determine the winners :)

***If you are already a sponsor, you can still enter. If you win, I will extend your sponsorship by THREE months for FREE!!!***

ENTRIES TAKEN UNTIL March 12th @ MIDNIGHT. WINNERS ANNOUNCED ON SUNDAY March 13, 2011. GOOD LUCK!!!!

Fun w/ Food Friday Linky Party

2011-02-25T06:11:00.000-08:00

Linky party will be open until Monday at midnight :)

Thrilling Thursday Linky Party!

2011-02-23T18:32:00.000-08:00

Welcome to THRILLING THURSDAY LINKY PARTY!!!

No features this week. SORRY! I am bogged down with midterms and figured you would probably rather have Thrilling Thursday without features rather than not having it at all!!! Don't worry, features will be back next week when I am done with all my midterms :)

Don't forget, Friday is my NEW Fun w/Food Friday linky party. Last week was GREAT! Thanks to all of those who participated. I hope that even more of you will come by and link up your food related posts this week. Even if you link up a food related post to Thrilling Thursday, feel free to stop by on Friday and link it up there as well :)

Now on to THRILLING THURSDAY!!!

Wandering Wednesday Blog Hop!

2011-02-22T22:29:00.000-08:00

Kitchen Spruce Up!

2011-02-20T16:20:00.000-08:00

Made by Me for Monday!

I am happy to share my kitchen spruce up this week. I finished it a few weeks ago, but have been saving the makeover to post until today.

We moved into our new home about 11 months ago. Ever since we moved in I have been wanting to do the kitchen back splash. My hubby didn't think we needed one. I will admit, I think the kitchen looked just fine before, but to me, the back splash is kind of like the crowning jewel on a kitchen. I was SO excited when I finally found the tile that I wanted. Oh, and of course I needed to add a new coat of paint to add a little something-something to the tile as well!

Here is what my kitchen looked like before:


Kitchen Before

See, it doesn't look too bad. Did you notice my MENU BOARD hanging on my pantry door? I shared the tutorial for that last week :)

Here is the tile I chose:

Tile before grouting

After


After: New coat of paint and a new tile back splash!

Did you notice my CHALKBOARD TABLE? Yep, we are still LOVING it! I shared that tutorial last summer. Oh, and just in case you were wondering. . .my hubby agrees that the back splash was a big improvement too! :)

I LOVE tiling! Seriously, super easy to do. I did this entire project from paint to tile by myself. I LOVE doing home improvement projects and having the satisfaction of knowing that I am the one who made my house feel all that much more like a home :)

I will be partying HERE this week.
Check them out and see all the creative people out in blogland!

Fun w/ Food Friday Linky Party

2011-02-18T05:26:00.000-08:00

Linky party will be open until Monday at midnight :)

Thrilling Thursday Linky Party!

2011-02-16T17:37:00.000-08:00

Ready for another THRILLING THURSDAY??? Where did this week go? WOW! I can't believe it is time for Thrilling Thursday already!

Here are the five THRILLING Features from last week :)

Laundry Room Makeover @ The Exchange

Flowers and Upcycled Flower Storage @ Cherished Treasures

Before and After Sconces @ The Speckled Dog

DIY Wainscoting @ The Sweet Survival

Interior of the Craft Shed @ Backwoods Cottage

If you were featured, THANKS FOR LINKING UP AND LINKING BACK TO MY PARTY :) Feel free to grab an "I Thrilled" button off my side-bar if you would like :)

Don't forget, Friday is my NEW Fun w/Food Friday linky party. Last week was GREAT! Thanks to all of those who participated. I hope that even more of you will come by and link up your food related posts this week. Even if you link up a food related post to Thrilling Thursday, feel free to stop by on Friday and link it up there as well :)

Now on to THRILLING THURSDAY!!!

Wandering Wednesday Blog Hop!

2011-02-15T19:17:00.000-08:00

This is week #21 of the Wandering Wednesday Blog Hop I co-host with Jessica @ Inspiring You to Save.

We hope that you will join in on the fun of meeting new people through the blog hop :)

Want to join in on the fun? Here's all you have to do:

1. Become a follower of Paisley Passions AND Inspiring You to Save

2. Add our Wandering Wednesday button on your blog somewhere or link back in some way :)

3. Link up. Have fun. Visit other blogs. Make new friends.

As easy as 1, 2, 3!

Blog Swap w/ Learn and Go!

2011-02-15T01:13:00.000-08:00

Tuesday, which means another fun Blog Swap :)  Today I am swapping with Polly over at Learn and Go.  I am sure you are going to LOVE her :)

Take it away, Polly. . .

Hey there fellow bloggers!

I'm excited to blog swap with Paisley Passions!
My name is Polly. I'm from Mid-Missouri and I'm excited to share with you a few things I've been up to.

I love to craft, sew, paint, create and make things drab to fab. I document almost all of it on Learn and Go.

Feel free to take a browse on what I've been up to recently! Here's a taste of some of my projects:
Glider Makeover

Owl Banner

Lilly Pad Pillow

Bookshelf makeover.

My $8.00 Chair Face Lift

Thanks for stopping by. Feel free to stop by Learn and Go and check out all the other projects I've been up to!

Thanks, Polly for swapping with me today!!!

Menu Board

2011-02-13T16:09:00.000-08:00

Made By Me for Monday!!!

Welcome to another Monday. Monday is the day where I share my project for the week!!! This one was kind of fun. My inspiration? Well, you see, we have been spending far too much money on eating out. It usually isn't healthy, and it certainly costs more money than eating at home! So, I decided that I needed to come up with a way to be a little more organized with my dinner preparations.

I have been using this menu board for about a month now, and I have to say, IT IS WORKING! YAY! Want to see how I made it???

I went to the local Thrift Store, and I found this frame for $3.00. This is how it looked. When I bought it, I actually didn't know what I was going to use it for. Then I had the idea for a menu board.

BEFORE $3.00 Thrift Store Frame

I painted the frame with a new coat of a metallic green color. It actually looks a lot brighter green in these pictures than it looks in real life.

Metallic Green Paint

I took the back off of the frame, and covered it with some PAISLEY scrapbook paper :) Then I took my handy dandy Crop-A-Dile and punched holes in the sides. I threaded some leather cord through the holes and tied it at the ends.


Covered with paper and leather cording.

Then I put the back onto the frame and stapled it so it would be tight. I made some cards that I stamped the days of the week on and laminated. This way I can write what we are having for dinner on the cards and then erase them and write a new week of dinners the next week. No hassle. No mess!

Finished!

Laminated days of the week

Small clothes pins that I added a strip of paper to with Mod Podge and topped off w/some bling!

I added "Menu" at the top with vinyl lettering

Then I hung them in order by day of the week.

A coat of paint and a little imagination, and VOILA! a brand new menu board!!!

LINKING UP HERE this week :)

***Don't forget to come and join in on my Wandering Wednesday Blog Hop, Thrilling Thursday Linky Party, and Fun w/Food Friday Linky Party this week!***

Fun w/ Food Friday

2011-02-10T21:23:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Fun w/ Food Friday!!! I have had a couple of questions about this linky. People want to know if it has to be a recipe in order to link up. NOPE! Recipes are GREAT and I love them (so keep them coming please!!!), but as long as it is a food RELATED post feel free to link it up.

You should see the list of yummy goodness I have made. There are SO MANY recipes that have been linked up that I want to try! I am LOVING this new linky party :) Thanks to all of you who link up and link back to help make it a success!

Remember FOOD RELATED posts only please. If you want to link up a craft, DIY, or other creation, scroll down to Thrilling Thursday and link up :)

Linky party will be open until Monday at midnight :)

Thrilling Thursday Linky Party!

2011-02-09T18:53:00.000-08:00

Can I just say, WOW!!! Seriously, WOW! I was SO THRILLED with last weeks Thrilling Thursday. The talent and the number of links blew me away! I don't have time to always leave a comment, but I do try and pop by and visit as many of the link ups as I can. I am always blown away!

Last week was amazing. It was REALLY hard to only choose 5 features this week, but here they are:

Carrot Cake Pancakes @ Frame Fanatic

Curbside Find @ Pink Calaveras

Altered Frame @ Altered Artworks

Be Mine Banner @ Craft, Interrupted

Baby Booties @ The Quick Unpick

Now on to THRILLING THURSDAY!!!

Wandering Wednesday Blog Hop!

2011-02-09T05:08:00.000-08:00

This is week #20 of the Wandering Wednesday Blog Hop I co-host with Jessica @ Inspiring You to Save.

We hope that you will join in on the fun of meeting new people through the blog hop :)

Want to join in on the fun? Here's all you have to do:

1. Become a follower of Paisley Passions AND Inspiring You to Save

2. Add our Wandering Wednesday button on your blog somewhere or link back in some way :)

3. Link up. Have fun. Visit other blogs. Make new friends.

As easy as 1, 2, 3!

**IMPORTANT** If you would like me to follow you back, PLEASE leave a comment letting me know you are following Paisley Passions. THANKS!***

Blog Swap with Boy! Oh Boy! Oh Boy!

2011-02-08T10:58:00.000-08:00

SOOOOO happy to have Stacey from Boy, Oh Boy, Oh Boy! Crafts today! Man, does she have some SUPER cute stuff to share!!!

Take it away, Stacey!!!!!!

Helloooooo there! I'm Stacey and I blog over at Boy, Oh Boy, Oh Boy! Crafts.

I'm so thrilled to be swapping blogs with Lori today. I love stopping by Paisley Passions to see what creative, new things she's up to. Her Thrilling Thursday's Linky Party is just that--thrilling. I'm so inspired by what I see there each week. Which leaves me a bit nervous for this swap because I know all of you, creative people, are linking up there each week.

So. About me? I was an Elementary school teacher for 8 years and hope to be again in the near future. I met and fell in love with Mr. Boy in our freshman year of college. We now live overseas, moving every 2 years or so. I never imagined when we were dating that our life would be this exciting. I like to sew and craft. And, oh, yes, I think I forgot to mention . . . I'm mom to three boys, ages 5, 2, and 7 months. Which means no matter where we're living, my life is full of spice. And noise. And dirt. My blog started, just over a year ago, as a creative outlet and motivation to get me away from the TV (not so relaxing when you have to translate everything that's being said) and doing something productive after the kids are out for the night. It now has me waking in the middle of the night (hmmmm, or could just be the nursing infant) in order to write down an idea before it slips away. What types of posts can you find at Boy, Oh Boy, Oh Boy?

Things I make for my boys.

Handmade gift ideas. This year was heavy on the new baby gifts and since it was the summer of the boys, baby boy gifts were a plenty.

I enjoy planning parties, making seasonal decorations for our house, and getting crafty with the kids.
And, um, apparently I have a pillow obsession because the number of pillow posts is staggering.

I also adore all things I-Spy, so you'll see a bit of that as well. I'm currently sitting among heaps of I-Spy squares waiting to be mailed back to my swap participants which means more I-Spy projects to come.

I also post weekly for Wednesday's Wickedly Awesome. I feature one blog each week from the best of blogland. Well, from the point of view of a mother of boys, anyway. I'll admit that my bloggy attention is usually grabbed by things to make for my boys and our home. There are so many amazingly talented people out there that I'm constantly adding new friends to my blog roll.

Thanks for letting me stop by and introduce myself today! I'd love to see you again around my neck of the woods.

Valentine Wreath

2011-02-06T21:45:00.000-08:00

MADE BY ME FOR MONDAY!

I SO needed some craft-therapy last week! It was a killer week for me at school. Life in general was busy even without adding school on top of it.

After my last class of the week, I headed over to the local craft store. I have been wanting to make a Valentine Wreath for several weeks now. So, I went and grabbed some stuff from the craft store to get me inspired to create one.

Here is what I bought for my inspiration pieces:

My first thought was to wrap the styrofoam wreath with the boa. Which, by the way, would have looked FABULOUS! I started and realized it would take about 4-5 of those boas to fill the entire wreath. Well, that is all fine and dandy, except for the fact that I didn't want to pay the $$$ for four more of those boas! So, on to plan B.

I didn't end up using the wood heart and I added some black and white polka dot ribbon I had in my craft room. Here is what my final project looks like. . .

I LOVE how it turned out. My favorite part? The way the boa looks blowing in the breeze as it hangs on my door. LOVE IT! Another favorite? Red, black, and white were my wedding colors. February is also my anniversary, so this wreath reminds me of my wedding day :)

I LINK UP to THESE fabulous parties and THESE fantastic blog hops! Check them out! There is a plethora of ideas to be found on these parties!!!

GIVEAWAY WINNER!

2011-02-06T20:11:00.000-08:00

The LUCKY winner is #6!!!! Donnelle @ Sew Me Mine!!! CONGRATS! I will have Randi contact you via email for you to claim your prize! Hope you enjoy your prints! :)

Fun w/ Food Friday

2011-02-04T06:49:00.000-08:00

Welcome to FUN w/ FOOD FRIDAY! I meant to get this post up last night. OOOPS! Oh well, better late than never, right???

Before we start the party. . .have YOU entered my giveaway??? You have until midnight on Saturday to enter. What is it? Well, POP ON OVER HERE and check it out. You will be GLAD you did!!! :)

Now, let's PARTY!!!

Remember FOOD RELATED posts only please. If you want to link up a craft, DIY, or other creation, scroll down to Thrilling Thursday and link up :)

Linky party will be open until Monday at midnight :)

Thrilling Thursday Linky Party!

2011-02-02T18:43:00.000-08:00

Welcome to THRILLING THURSDAY!!!! Here are the five features this week :)

Craft Cottage @ Backwoods Cottage

Altered Frames @ Tattered Bliss

Altered Lunch Bags @ It Is What It Is

Vintage Round Table Makeover @ DeJa Renew


Burlap Wreath @ The Hendersons

Now on to THRILLING THURSDAY!!!

Wandering Wednesday Blog Hop!

2011-02-01T22:35:00.000-08:00

Are you ready for the BLOG HOP? Have you entered my GIVEAWAY YET??? POP OVER and enter. You will be SO glad you did!!!

This is week #19 of the Wandering Wednesday Blog Hop I co-host with Jessica @ Inspiring You to Save.

We hope that you will join in on the fun of meeting new people through the blog hop :)

Want to join in on the fun? Here's all you have to do:

1. Become a follower of Paisley Passions AND Inspiring You to Save

2. Add our Wandering Wednesday button on your blog somewhere or link back in some way :)

3. Link up. Have fun. Visit other blogs. Make new friends.

As easy as 1, 2, 3!

**IMPORTANT** If you would like me to follow you back, PLEASE leave a comment letting me know you are following Paisley Passions. THANKS!***

Blog Swap with A Little Knick Knack.

2011-02-01T01:05:00.000-08:00

I am SO happy to FINALLY get Meg from A Little Knick Knack over here on my blog to swap! She has had to put up with A LOT from me to finally get this post on here! First of all, I had a computer crash, so I didn't reply to her for AGES! Then, we finally got the swap scheduled and her HTML went to my spam box, so I didn't think she sent it. SHEESH!

Thanks, Meg, for hanging in there and swapping with me today!

You are all going to LOVE her blog!!! Show her some love and check her out.

Here's what Meg has to share with us today :

Hi all! I'm thrilled to be here at Lori's blog! She is so kind and creative. I love checking out her site everyday. My name is Meg and I'm A Little Knick Knack! I love to offer you guys fun ideas, reviews and giveaways. I'm having TWO this week, so I hope you can come check them out. And, I host a weekly link party on Fridays called, Everything but the Kitchen Sink, where the rules are---there are no rules! I'd love for you to join!

Want a fun Valentine's Day idea? Well, I don't usually make a fuss over V-day, but I thought my girls would get a kick out of doing a little tea party with their friends. Then, I could wash my hands of the whole thing and call it good. So, we invited a few friends over for some festivities. We decorated paper hearts, played dress up, and ate a yummy lunch. It was lots of fun and I think the girls had a great time!

Our friend came all decked out in a beautiful dress and....

...some 'prom' hair! She looked very cute, so we had a photo shoot.

Then we moved on to decorating our paper hearts. The girls really got into it and came up with some fun little designs!

The dining room was super fun to decorate. I went nuts at the $1 Store and I think it shows!

After the girls finished their heart decorating, it was time for the tea party! I found these little sticks with foam hearts on the top and the girls used them as their magic wands! They got to take home their plastic cups covered in hearts and each paper plate rested on a lovely heart-shaped doily!

On the menu was heart shaped PB&J, heart shaped cheese slices and heart shaped strawberry slices! And for dessert, Little Debbie heart snack cakes! (I don't know who had more fun with this, the kids or me....I apologize for the pics...this was when I had never heard of good cameras or learned how to take better pics!)
All in all, it was a very successful tea party and we all had a great time!

I hope you had fun at our "tea party!" Stop by soon at A Little Knick Knack to say hello!

Thanks, Meg, for swapping with me today!!!!

Hey Jude! Subway Art.

2011-01-31T17:05:00.000-08:00

I am a little bit late getting this posted today! For whatever reason, this week and last week have kicked my butt with homework. All a day in the life of a returning college student/mom, I guess :)

WELCOME TO MADE BY ME FOR MONDAY!!!

This week I am sharing a project I made for a friend of mine. She had a baby a while back and she named him, Jude. Super cute, right? Well, who can help but have The Beatles, "Hey Jude" song in their head when they hear that name :)

I found this frame and it reminded me of a record (Um, yes, I am old enough to know what a record is. I know some of you aren't though!). The shape seemed PERFECT since his name goes along with an old Beatles song.

This is what it looked like when I bought it:

Step ONE: Paint the frame with linen paint.

Step TWO: Add stain to the linen paint. This is what will peek through the crackle.

Step THREE: Add a layer of Elmers glue to get the crackle finish.


Step FOUR: Add a layer of white paint on top of the Elmers. Make sure the Elmers is tacky, but not dry.

Step FIVE: Create the "Subway Art" on my Cricut Design Studio.

These are the fonts I used.

Step SIX: Cut the Subway Art out. It doesn't matter what color because they are just being used as a mask.

Step SEVEN: Add the letters on top of the dry crackled paint.

Step EIGHT: Paint over the top of the entire frame with black paint.

Step NINE: Remove the vinyl letters and then distress the edges with sandpaper.

See the "Crackle" showing through. I LOVE that it looks aged!

FINISHED! I hope she likes it! Won't it look cute with a picture of Jude in the center of it???

I am going to PARTY HERE and BLOG HOP HERE as much as possible this week. Stop by and show them some LOVE :)

PS- ENTER my GIVEAWAY if you haven't yet! You will be glad you did!!!

GIVEAWAY!!!

2011-01-29T17:04:00.000-08:00

Are your walls lacking a little "something-something"? Do you wish that you could have a SPECTACULAR work of art to hang on your walls? I have a TREAT for you!!! Randi at r.gardner photographs is letting me host a giveaway for her.

Randi Gardner is a professional photographer with TONS of talent! I just know you are going to LOVE her work!!! She is giving away TWO 4X6 matted prints to one lucky Paisley Passions follower!

The winner will get to choose TWO matted prints from any of the prints offered on Randi's blog. They will look ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS when framed and hanging on your walls!

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE GORGEOUS PRINTS AVAILABLE!

Want to enter??? Here's how:

1. Follow Paisley Passions. (Leave a comment letting me know you follow)

2. Follow r.gardener photographs @ Eye See. (Leave a comment letting me know you follow)

3. Visit Randi's blog r.gardener photographs and see the prints available. (Leave a comment here letting me know which two matted prints you want if you win).

If you want MORE entries for MORE chances to win:

4. Follow Paisley Passions on Twitter. (Leave a comment letting me know you follow)

5. Follow Paisley Passions on Facebook. (Leave a comment letting me know you follow)

6. Blog about the giveaway with a link back to this post. (Leave a comment and link to the post letting me know you blogged about it)

That gives you SIX chances to win TWO original works of art for your home!!! :) What more could you ask for???

This giveaway will be open until midnight on Saturday February 5, 2011. The LUCKY winner will be announced on Sunday. Winner will be chosen using Random.org a random number generator.

GOOD LUCK!!!!

Fun w/ Food Friday

2011-01-28T06:11:00.000-08:00

Welcome to week #4 of Fun w/ Food Friday! So happy with how many of you linked up last week :) Thanks for participating!

Before we get started, I have a special guest post from Judee @ Gluten Free w/ Judee . She is going to share with us how to make GLUTEN FREE pizza! It looks ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS TOO!

HERE IS JUDEE's POST :) Take it away, Judee!!!

Judee @ Gluten Free w/ Judee

I am delighted to be a guest blogger this week on Paisley Passion's "Fun With Food Friday".
My blog features healthy delicious recipes that aim to please everyone, but the recipes are vegetarian and gluten free. To stick to the " FUN" theme, I tried to think of a food that I associate with fun..
Pizza came to mind!


Gluten free pizza

I love pizza, but I try to stay away from eating even gluten free pizza crust because it fattening and just packs on the pounds.
The pizza recipe I am sharing this week tastes great and is gluten free and can be made very low calorie or very low carb.
It is a dieter's dreams come true.

The crust is made with a secret ingredient that is very healthy and tasty.
Instead of using flour to make a pizza crust, this low carbohydrate ( or low calorie version) uses cauliflower. Yes, frozen or fresh!

Even if you are not a cauliflower lover, don't stop reading. You will love this crust and not even know the cauliflower is in there! It's a great way to sneak in extra vegetables for the family and a great way to reduce the amount of calories and carbohydrates in your meal.

Ingredients
1 pkg. frozen cauliflower, steamed and drained
1/3 cup vegetable style egg beaters ( or 1 egg, beaten)
1 cup grated pizza cheese ( fat free or regular)
a few shakes of Trader Joe's 21 Salute Seasoning or
1 tsp. oregano
Topping:
Marinara Sauce
1/2 cup grated pizza cheese
sautéed mushrooms or other sautéed vegetables

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees
Drain water ( squeeze out) from steamed cauliflower.
Grate cauliflower in food processor ( like you would grated carrots for coleslaw)
Place in bowl and try to press out any liquid.
Mix eggbeaters, grated cheese and seasoning with the grated cauliflower. Mix well
Spread batter in a oiled 8X8 metal baking pan
Bake for 15 minutes
Remove from oven.
Spread with marinara sauce, grated pizza cheese, and any sauteed vegetables of choice

Put back in oven at 500 degrees for 5 minutes until cheese melts.

Steam Cauliflower

Grate Cauliflower

Mix with egg beaters, grated cheese, and seasonings

Spread mixture in pan

Remove from pan before adding toppings

Add toppings. Bake @ 500 degrees for 5 min. DELICIOUS!

WOW! What a healthy way to make pizza! I think I may just have to give this a try and see what my kiddos think of it :) Thanks, Judee for sharing here on Paisley Passions today!

Should we get this party started? I can't wait to see what gets linked up!

Remember FOOD RELATED posts only please. If you want to link up a craft, DIY, or other creation, scroll down to Thrilling Thursday and link up :)

Linky party will be open until Monday at midnight :)

Thrilling Thursday Linky Party!

2011-01-26T20:18:00.000-08:00

WELCOME TO THRILLING THURSDAY!!! Features are back this week!!! Here they are in no particular order. . .

Valentine Decor @ Little Eme

Valentine Love Rocks @ The Sweet Spot

Dresser Make-over @Craptastic

Art Wall Gallery @My Decorating Addiction


FREE PRINTABLE Valentine Banner @ My Computer is My Canvas

If you were featured, THANKS FOR LINKING UP AND LINKING BACK TO MY PARTY :) Feel free to grab an "I Thrilled" button off my side-bar if you would like :)

Can't wait to see what gets linked up this week! Last week I had a RECORD NUMBER of link ups to my party :) YAY!!! Thanks to all of you faithful followers who link up each and every week. I really do notice. There is SO much talent out there. Each of you inspire me everyday!

Don't forget, Friday is my NEW Fun w/Food Friday linky party. Last week was GREAT! Thanks to all of those who participated. I hope that even more of you will come by and link up your food related posts this week. Even if you link up a food related post to Thrilling Thursday, feel free to stop by on Friday and link it up there as well :)

Now on to THRILLING THURSDAY!!!