Ready for Snowmageddon?

V has strep. I'm still in my PJs. Getting ready to be snowbound here in MI tomorrow. I have no energy. What the heck is wrong with me? Just realized I never posted a winner from the last contest. EMILY ANNE, since you were the only person in the U.S. to enter, YOU WIN! :) I don't have your email though and I can't get on your Blogger profile, so get me your mailing addy!

I have done a few tiny crafty things in the last few days. I've had these God awful looking ice cream parlor chairs for like 10 years. I covered them in this God awful looking sage toile circa 2001, and they are all dirty and faded, so I decided to recover them since I've been HGTV-obsessed lately what with getting our house ready to be put on the market and all.


Took me the longest to pry out the industrial staples I used when I recovered before. Bought some upholstery-weight crisp-looking gray and lemon modish dot at Joann's for cheap. I think I bought 2.5 yards, but I could have gotten away with 1.75 easily.


So here's what it looked like after I pulled the fabric off-- basically plywood with a foam cushion:


I placed the whole thing on the fabric and freehand cut a circle about 2" larger than the base:


Stretched and stapled as I went:



And voila! New chairs!



Probably could have used a new coat of spraypaint, but I like the distressed cream, and I don't do spraypaint in the winter.

Here's what we're doing for Valentines this year. For V who is pretty much the only girl in her daycare classroom, we're using this idea from Design Mom:



The jungle animals came from Michaels and were under $4 after my 40% off coupon (for 12). I had the cello bags, and I printed Design Mom's .pdf at 130% to have it fit the cello bags. My mother and I went back and forth with some good ones for the crocodile and camel (think 'You're a crock of sh&t Valentine!" and something about humping for the camel). Niiiiiice, right?

Here's Q's which came from Alissa of 24*7*365:


Cute, right? Beats the cruddy selection of boxed valentines anyway.

Hope you all get snowed in somewhere good as opposed to bad! xo

Jean Louise Finch & CONTEST

I have three favorite movies, two of which go together-- one of which does not: 28 Days Later (zombies), To Kill a Mockingbird & Patch of Blue. My favorite books are To Kill a Mockingbird, Geek Love (circus freaks) and The Help. I see a pattern here.

Mary Badham, who played Scout in the 1962 film, appeared last weekend at an old theater in Detroit-- the Redford Theatre. I was SO EXCITED to be able to meet her and get my book signed! Then Ryan and I watched the movie on the big screen which was incredible.


I tried to not get too emotional. I admit I had to choke back some tears when I talked to her. The book has been a favorite of mine, my mother's and my grandmother's for as long as I can remember. I remember watching the movie with my mom as a kid. I received my book copy when I was 15 years old. I cannot watch the movie without crying-- no matter how many times I see it. Needless to say, it will be an experience I will always remember.

A nice lead-in to MLK Day, I must say. I had to laugh when Q brought this home last week.

Isn't it awesome? And who thinks up this stuff? "Let's do a connect the dot that creates Martin Luther King's head!" She did a great job though. Although she said someone had the red crayon, so she had to color his lips purple.

Last but not least, I am cleaning, decluttering, and trashing a TON of stuff in my house getting ready for it to go on the market February 1. Did any of you put a comment in to win Grosgrain's Little Red Riding Hood jacket back in '08? Well, it's up for grabs again! Q wore it once or twice, I think. I think it's about a 3T-4T. I don't know if V will ever wear it, so I will choose a number at random on Friday night.

{photo courtesy of Grosgrain}

So cute, right?? Here's how to win (each method gives you one chance):

• Leave a comment here saying who will wear the jacket.
• Blog about it and leave another comment with a link to the post
• Tweet a link to this post; comment here and give me a link to your Twitter
  
• Become a public follower; comment here and tell me you did

Please only comment if you are within the Continental U.S. Be sure that you either leave an email or that any profile I can link on has your email in it so I can contact you if you win. Happy commenting! :)

Contest Winner

So continuing with the lazy tradition, I told Ryan to pick a number 1-8. He chose 7 which was the loverly KAT! So Kat, get a-shoppin', and I will get the goods out tout de suite. And don't forget-- if you come in under $20, I will add some myyyyysteryy prizes. Yay, and thanks everyone! I loved all your ideas. They all seemed to center around shopping, massages, and tropical weather. Ahhhhh. I particularly loved the cabana boy idea tho.

Thanks for playing!!! xo

P.S. I would have had my summer playlist up, but ilike is giving me a hard time and not allowing me to embed the whole thing. Drat!

400 Posts??? I Mean...400 Posts!!!

Contest time! Lazy contest time actually! I'm too lazy to figure out a prize, so we'll do Girl Land bucks for $20 dolla. Wanna win Girl Land bucks??? Enter! Lots of fun stuff to choose from in ye olde shop. If you total less than $20, I will throw in some lil' surprises to make up the difference.

To enter, all you gots to do is comment below. Tell me how you would be lazy if you had a whole 24 hours to yourself annnnnd unlimited moolah. I got to experience this last weekend (well, besides the unlimited moolah), and I got a massage, took a 3 hour nap, shopped, watched massive amounts of TV and ate ice cream (this was after the 2.2 lb gain-- I was in a downward shame spiral).

And link to me from your blog, and you'll get 2 extra chances to win (3 total, yay!). Just be sure to let me know you blogged 'bout me. I'll pick a number old school style (out of a hat) on Monday, June 22. Tell your friends!

Thanks for being my bloggy friends!!! Here's to 400 more posts!!! Ugh, that sounds exhausting! xo

Giveaway Gifties...

...have been given or are on their way. Thanks for playing, everyone!

Giveaway Winner!

We have winners! First, my Facebook friend winner:

Luckily, I am seeing Val tomorrow at the Craft Revival, so I can hand deliver her goodies-- some of which I still have to make tonight.

Second, my bloggy friend winner:

Renee! Yayyyyyyyy. Renee, if you could email me your mailing address, I'll get you some shtuff soon.

And don't forget you can still get 10% off for being a bloggy friend until the end of the month. Just type "bloggy BFF" in the message to seller and wait for a revised Paypal update!

One last minute plug...I'll be shopping here tomorrow afternoon:

The Dionne Quints

I had been hemming and hawing about buying this picture for my craftroom. But when Michelle added the background of the pic to her Etsy listing, I knew I had to have it (photo courtesy of MyWagonette).



The Dionne quintuplets were born in Canada in 1934 and were the first known quintuplets in the world. They were taken away from their parents and raised in a hospital and became Canada's second largest tourist attraction (next to Niagra Falls). Apparently, two of the sisters are still alive today. Apparently, the Canadian government made over $500 million at their expense. Unsure as to how much the ladies actually saw of that (probably none).


The dolls in the picture were produced by Madam Alexander in 1938 and are now worth a pretty penny (even the reproduction dolls are expensive). I would love to own the whole set, but I will settle for the picture. Sigh...what a tragic story.


On another note, don't forget to become a Girl Land fan on Facebook AND/OR leave a comment to my post from last week! You have until Friday. Tell your friends. Whoot.

Become A Girl Land Fan + Spring Giveaway Bonanza!

I need some morrrrrre Facebook Fans. If you become a Girl Land fan between now and next Friday, April 17 (or are already a fan), I will FB message you with a discount code for 20% off your total purchase (before s&h) AND you will be entered into a Spring-licious Giveaway! Think button candies, magnets, and some kawaii goodness with spring flair. You can either click the link along my left sidebar, or go to my FB Girl Land page here.

Don’t have a Crackbook account? Is it a bit too “big brother” for you? Don’t fret. I’ll still give you a 10% discount for being my bloggy friend.


Just enter the above code in the “message to seller” and wait to pay—I will send you a revised invoice.

In addition, it has been entirely way too long since I’ve done a giveaway on this blog. So if you comment on this post with something you’re looking forward to this Spring (be it flowers in your garden, a trip, a Springy craft project, upcoming movie, etc.), I will enter you in a second giveaway. And, as always, if you link to this post on your blog, let me know about it, and you will get THREE entries! One person is eligible to win both contests.

Phew! I’m spent. xo

Squirelly Cozy GIVEAWAY

Yayyyyyyy!!! Girl Land loves giveaways!!!!!!!!!!

One of the awesome Etsyers that I featured in my post yesterday is having a giveaway. You can win the adorable coffee cozy!!!

Check out her giveaway here!

Bake It Pretty

I am on an unofficial posting hiatus as of late. I still need to get with the program and write up a DUCF wrap-up (sorry), but in the meantime, isn't Amanda's new shop simply adorable??? You can enter a contest for a Bake It Pretty gift certificate too. Above is a beautiful pic from Amanda's blog.

Don’t Hate Me

I got to meet Robert Pattinson while he was shooting Little Ashes. NO! I’m just kidding (it was filmed in Spain anyway). Seriously, I won Grosgrain Fabulous’ Little Red Riding Hood jacket!!!!!!!

I held off entering on a regular basis since Viv won her Popcorn outfit, but I couldn’t resist since Quinn is LRRH for Halloween and I am fixated on LRRH as well. AHHHHHHH, good stuff. Makes up for the fact that I’ve had a not-so-fun day at work. Let’s just say that when da boss ain’t happy, no one is happy (which is the nice way of saying that when your boss has a burr up his arse, he's a total turd).

Another lovely little warm and fuzzy making me happy today is Amy’s post. You may remember the giveaway I had a while ago. Last minute, I threw in some vintage embroidered linen napkins that had been sitting around for eons. Lo and behold, she upcycled them in a lovely way. Look how beautiful!

And she just told me we made it into Craft Magazine's blog too!!!! I'm riding her coattails. :)

Other things making me smile today:

+Cheeky song lyrics by Outkast on the radio that I have always loved: “Lend me some sugar, I AM your neighbor!” (just as cheeky, “Shake it like a Polaroid picture”). Gotta loves the Andre 3000.

+Uber cute girl’s clothing at Target that my almost 3 year old can now fit into (she can wear a girl’s XS which is a 4/5!!!!) She’s so tall!!!)

+Organizing my swap stuff for Holly. Alllllllmost done. Here is another little sneak peek.

+This article about McCain student supporters at Penn State. I don’t know WHY, but the part about the robot made Ryan and me HOWL with laughter. Maybe we were just punchy. Is this funny to anyone else????

Contest #3 Winner

Sorry I'm behind in this. Winner #3 is julieua! She says:

"Love, love the s&p shakers and of course that quilt. So cool of you to have these give-aways!"

No problem! I owe you all a small something for the love you've shown me. So thanks again. That was fun! xoxo

Winner for Contest #2!

....Isssssss my newest Facebook comrade, Amy of Early Bird Special!


She said,

"OMG! How cute is that loot?? I'm keeping my fingers crossed. <3"


The crossing of the fingers seemed to work. Well, that and showing me linky love for 2 extra chances. ;)


Thanks, all, for playing! In the next few days here, I will be listing lots of new vintage goodies. I hit a great antique store in Kalamazoo while I was there for my conference, and, of course, have buyer's remorse. I got some uber cute stuff. Here's a taste-- a graphic my friend, Katie, found for me in the store...not sure what I'm going to do with it yet, but I want to make something.



Also, I am OBSESSED...like totally OBSESSED with the Twilight books. I read Twilight in like 24 hours, and I'm 2/3 of the way through New Moon. I am so hating Jacob. WTF? And, like, how could she not see through Edward when he left??? So between my True Blood hang-up (PAM!), and my Twilight book fixation (thanks to Cristin and Kate and my bro too), I am officially a vampire addict. Ack. Can't wait for the movie to come out.


OSB Update: I weighed in after my conference, and I'm down another 1.2. Go me! It's only 6.4 lbs, but it's coming off slowly but surely. I did lots of walking. Which must of negated all the drinking (oy)-- at night...not during the day. I have a new favorite flavored martini, by the by. I'm thinking they are like 5 pts each. Gads.


Hawaiian Wedding Cake Martini-- I think it's just Stoli vanilla, Malibu Pineapple (I don't think it was juice because it wasn't super sweet, believe it or not), and cherry grenadine shaken with ice. If anyone has heard of this, let me know!

Contest #1 Winner

The lucky winner is..........(drumroll, please!)......

Julie Andrea who said (and I agree),
"Oh, those piggies are so cute, I don't think I can eat bacon for the rest of the week now. :-(Julie "

Yay, thanks everyone. I will announce the next winner for Contest #2 on Monday. Julie, I'll be emailing ya!

Contest #3

Since I'm out and about, this will be short and sweet. The final giveaway will consist of this cute painted vintage quilt:

These salt & pepper shakers:

And this windmill apron that I've been hoarding for tooooooo long. I shall set it free (sorry for the crap pic-- I'm rushed, so I used an oldie).

Leave a comment on this post by Tuesday, October 7. Don't forget to leave me a link to your email or your email addy in the post. Link to the post on your blog and you get 2 extra chances to win. And don't forget to enter Contest #1 for some Girl Land Bucks and Contest #2 for a Vintage Craft Pack. Enter all three! Equal shots of winning each.

Thanks again, all, for humoring me and letting me be creative in such a wonderfully friendly and crafty environment. You're the best!

I'm on a bad movie streak. Help! I need to break it. The last three movies I saw were Definitely, Maybe (worst), Sex and the City (should've left it alone after the series finale), and Forgetting Sarah Marshall which I've been waiting FOREVER to see. Parts were funny. I love my Judd Apatow and Jason Segel (that guy is like 90% wiener), but it just didn't cut the mustard. What bad movies have you seen lately???

Pale September & Contest #2

Can you believe it’s over (September, that is)? I love the fall, but it’s been overcast, sleepy and still outside. The colors are muddled instead of popping as they usually do at this time of year. It reminds me of a song that I love by Fiona Apple:

Pale September, I wore the time like a dress that year

The autumn days swung soft around me, like cotton on my skin

But as the embers of the summer lost their breath and disappeared

My heart went cold and only hollow rhythms resounded from within

Isn’t it lovely? Definitely reads like a poem which is atypical these days with modern music. I sound like an old lady, don't I??? "These kids and their darn hippity hop music!!!"

Here’s some nice Flickr pics reflecting my mood:

And……..Contest #2! I’m offering a vintage craft pack, if you will. Vintage trim, decals, ephemera, cupcake toppers, a bluebird diecut, vintage children's books, some sweet vintage table runners and pillow cases partially embroidered, old metal hoop and embroidery floss!

Just to repeat the “rules”—leave me a comment on this post. Be sure to either leave your email in the comments or be sure the “Show my e-mail address” box is checked under your Blogger user profile. If you link to this post from YOUR blog, you’ll get two extra chances to win. Comments will be accepted until Sunday night, October 5.

Don't forget to enter Contest #1, and be on the lookout for the final (and best, in my opinion) contest in the next couple days. I'm off to a Planning Conference in Kalamazoo for the rest of the week, but I will try to remember to set up an automatic post before I leave. If it doesn't work, I'll do it Sunday or Monday. :)

Sorry and Contest #1!

Hi all! Sorry I've been gone. Finally got my camera back today. I've been a wreck without it, but my new iphone camera works amazingly well (for a phone camera), so I've gotten a few shots of stuff.

I went to a work conference last Thursday at a farm about 1/2 hour away. It made such an impression that we are going to take Q and V tomorrow. They have pony rides, a magician, and other fun stuff all autumn long. Plus you are THISCLOSE to all the animals-- and they have now week-old piglets that Q can't wait to get her hands on! Here are some pics from the conference day:

Yes, a goat in the rafters! Just before he goat dropped a turd on the opening speaker, in fact:



A brief scenic stop on our hayride around the farm just before a little talk on environmental stewardship:





The tiny piggies (Babe!):

Some more good stuff this week:

+The Paci Fairy made a visit to an almost-3-year-old last night. We decorated this bag for her, put all the pacis inside, and lo and behold, Q woke up to find a new digital camera (you know, the cheapy kid's ones) inside! Q tracked exactly how she got in too-- she found a fairy dust trail at the windowsill leading to the bag. Damn, that fairy dust is messy!

+These uber-cute matching Halloween shirts for the girls! Jennifer did a great job. I was going to applique or iron-on some shirts, but I loved the personalization, and I couldn't have done them myself for that cheap.

+And..................this is my 300th post! As I said before, let's have THREE contests. And the rules are as they were before-- leave me a comment on this post (and/or the next two), you get one entry for each. Link to my posts, and you get an extra TWO chances for EACH contest you link to. Plus, winning one of the three does not make you ineligible for the other two, so enter them all!

Today's contest will be for some Girl Land merchandise-- $20 worth of anything in my shop, vintage or handmade. I spent HOURS making this little Girl Land Bucks gift certy on Photoshop. I am a moron. Heather, look! I followed your tutorial! I really need lessons on this damn thing.

Anywho, stay tuned...Contests #2 & 3 will be over the course of this week-- and a big vintage stash will be the finale. For the Girl Land Bucks, please leave your comment between now and next Friday, October 3.

Thank you, all, for indulging me and reading what I have to say and for checking up on me now and again as well. I never imagined when I started doing this that I'd find such a wonderful, kind and inspirational blogosphere out there! Sigh. Love you. xoxoxo

I WON!!!! I WON!!! I WON!!!

I won Grosgrain Fabulous' Popcorn Bloomers and Blouse. I feel like I won the lottery!!!! That Kathleen. Well, I have mixed emotions because I am soooo excited, but now I will feel like a Greedy Gus if I enter any more. Sigh.

Vivian will look sooo cute. It will probably have to wait until next summer which will be good because she has hardly any hair anyways now (I won the barrettes too!).

Oh How I Love Dotted Swiss

Don't you love dotted swiss? I love anything made from it. Especially those cute little strawberries.

And yellow always reminds me of my Madame Alexander doll Amy from Little Women. My cousins had Jo and Marmie. We used to play with them up in the old nursery at my grandma's house. I still have her!

And now Kathleen's super cute dotted swiss dress. Maybe I'll win someday. Until then, go ahead and enter her Fields of Gold Frock GIVEAWAY!!!!