Stay At Home Nation...: Posts of Firsts

Showing posts with label Posts of Firsts. Show all posts

Monday, March 19, 2012

1 Year Blogging Anniversary Giveaway Bash {Part 1} NOW CLOSED

This giveaway is NOW CLOSED. Congratulations to #12 - Katy~The Country Blossom!
Thank you for all who entered & be sure to enter the Giveaway Part 2 & Part 3 as well!
XOXO

Good Monday afternoon to all of my lovely friends. I hope you had a beautiful weekend

& a Happy St Patty's Day. Oh my goodness the weather has been absolutely perfect these last

few days. The other night I ran to the Dollar Tree for some glow in the dark stuff

& we took the kiddies to the park after dinner.

It felt awesome outside & we had a blast, for only $3!

Anyways, I'm sure you are wondering what this giveaway bash is all about?

Well yes my dear friends a year has passed since my first post & I wanted to celebrate!

I know you are not supposed to throw your own party, but if I don't do it, then who will,

right? I mean it is my blog & all ;)

To celebrate my first year of blogging, I wanted to say thank you to all of my readers old & new,

to anyone who has posted a comment(except for the ones who have posted spam-no bueno),

anyone who has linked up to a party, or sent me a friendly email, or invited me to their party, & to anyone

who has featured any of my posts, or entered a giveaway, or helped spread the word about

Stay At Home Nation,

Thank You!

~To Enter ~

Follow me via gfc and/or linky(both are located on my sidebar)

then leave a comment below letting me know you do=1 entry

*******************************

Additional ways to enter (leave a comment for each entry)

Follow me on twitter @StayAtHomeIffy =1 entry

Follow me on Pinterest here =1 entry

Post my button on the sidebar of your blog (located at the top of my sidebar) =2 entries

Blog about this giveaway =1 entry

Tweet or @mention about this giveaway =1 entry(each day you do)

Post a comment on your facebook about this giveaway =1 entry

Now on to the Bash details. One of my very lucky readers will be chosen

at random to win(everything below)......
1 Giani Granite Countertop Paint Kit (color of your choice) ~$69.99

You can read my review Here ~in case you missed it

Additional entries

(sorry but additional entries will not count if you do not follow my blog)

"Like" Giani on Facebook here =1 entry

Follow Giani on twitter here =1 entry

Be sure to check out Giani on blogger here too!

1 pair of Divine, aquamarine swarovski cube earrings from

Sesame Bijoux ~ $14.50

Additional entries

Check her etsy shop out Here & heart her or add her = 1entry.

1 Personalized Photo Art, up to 8 letters (any name or word) from

Life Happens Photography ~ $25.00

Additional entries

"Like" her fb page Here =1 entry

1 Chic Sac from Isn't This Clever ~$7.99

Use discount code THNX5 to receive $5 off any order on their site Here(they have a ton of neat items!)

(You can check out my review for another item from them for the Cushy Closer Here)

Additional entries

"Like" Isn't This Clever on Fb Here = 1 entry

Follow them on Twitter Here = 1 entry

So you see, several additional ways to enter but only the first one is mandatory.

ONE lucky reader will win all of these great items!!

Total giveaway value this week is $117.48

This is a 3 part giveaway, which means I will have more items

to giveaway for the next 2 Mondays.

Without you, I wouldn't be encouraged to continue blogging~especially with everything

I have been dealing with lately with my health & crazy ex.

Be sure to leave a separate comment for each entry(as each comment will count as an entry). This giveaway is open to U.S. residents and will close on Tuesday, March 27th. The winner will be contacted on Wednesday,March 28^st, so make sure I have your email address so that I can contact you, if you’re the WINNER.

Much Love
& Good Luck!

~Iffy~

Saturday, December 31, 2011

New Year's Eve 2011 ~ Fun Ideas For Staying At Home Tonight

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Since this is my first New Year's Eve with you all, I wanted to share

some fun ideas with those of you who are like me

& like to stay in on New Year's Eve.

I cannot remember going out on New Year's Eve ever....well perhaps

once. But I'm pretty sure the sheer craziness of the night & people

is what geared me to stay at home all the NYE since.

That and the fact that ever since my oldest, Jackson, was born I like

to give my children a kiss on the head at midnight on NYE.

Here are some really neat ideas to keep you all entertained

and sane for this long evening. Well this is my plan at least =D

Countdown Goodie Bags from Hoosier Homemade-I am so excited to make these for the kiddos

& I may even make some for Geoffrey & I too.

And Kellicrowe has a tutorial on keeping a time capsule throughout the year~ fabulous! I

think we will start one tonight for 2012!

And for hour by hour fun how does she shares this cute idea.

Six in the Suburbs has an easy diy party popper favor.

Now what's a party without some food, so here's what I will be making

Ham & Cheese Crescent Roll Ups -easy for the kids

Baked Potato Skins anyone?

& Chili (like at Wendy's) I will post my altered recipe after I make a batch today

but you can find the base recipe here

Homemade Cinnamon Chips with Fruit Salsa are always a hit

as is Cowboy Caviar

and a few sweets too

like fudge, mmm you can find a flawless recipe here

or if you like rice pudding

These Chocolate Crinkles look yummy too.

OK so that's all I have for now. I hope you all have a

Happy New Year

Be safe! ;)

Much Love

~Iffy~

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Crafting Kiddies Summer #3~ Cool Corner Bookmarks & My Favorite Things Party #4

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I am all about having fun with my kiddies, but everyone needs some quiet time right?

And what's better than making your very own corner bookmarks to encourage reading?

I first saw these over at I Could Make That and thought these are so cute & the kids would love this.

So we made some. Perfect for the summer reading they are going to be doing......soon.
They are so great because they can be personalized to whatever your child likes.
(color, print, animal, team colors-get creative)

We added all sorts of crazy teeth & I think they turned out pretty cute.
So be sure to check out Tally's detailed tutorial here

So now I would like to highlight a few of My Favorite Things from my party last week
(each Friday I will feature my Favorite 3 from the week prior)

Made on Fifth Street has given me the courage to attempt quilting
with this amazing quilt made of scraps

and Jami over at freckled laundry has many beautiful Lavender items
on her blog like this Lavender Window

And last but certainly not least is
this adorable baby book over at SewHappiness

Thank you for all your beautiful, crafty, creative, & yummy posts!
If you've been featured please grab my button (below or at the top of my sidebar) & post it proudly because you are in the Stay At Home Nation Spotlight

And Now it's time for another My Favorite Things Party so be sure to link up!
A new party will begin every Friday
(& run until Thursday night)

Rules to my Party:

1-Show off your favorites(crafts, recipes, DIY, anything you have posted on your blog that you love.

& Link up (2 entries allowed)

2- Paste my button (located above or at the top of my sidebar) into your entry post(Mandatory)

3-Follow Me if you like my blog-not required but it would be nice =D

Post a comment below letting me know & I will follow you back!

4-Leave me a quick comment just to say hi so I know who's partying with me this week

(again not required, I just like to get to know you guys)

5-Check out at least 1 other entry & comment on their post & let them know you saw them at my party.

Entries will list in reverse order-giving everyone a chance to shine at #1.

Much love

~Iffy~

Linking Up With

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Giveaway #1~ f2images ~ NOW CLOSED

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(Giveaway is now closed)

OK, so this is my very first giveaway & I'm super excited!

Todays giveaway is from

I'm thinking Father's Day........ but before I show you what you will win,

first let me share a few other pretties with you.

My new friend Emiko from

f2images sent me a set of the

Peonies Postcard Set

Aren't these so pretty?

It's a set of four 4" x 6" postcards, each with a pretty little peony in it.

I can see these in simple white frames & leave the photos to do the talking.

(Just as soon as I get my bathroom painted)

Take a look at these other prints available and tell me you don't absolutely love them!!

: )

They really have something for everyone,

with flowers to vintage

and everything in between

What do you think?

Are you ready to see what I've got for you today???

I think this would be a perfect Father's Day gift for your man

because it really serves 2 purposes.

It's masculine & perfect if he plays cards

(or has a "Man Cave")

Plus the title Two Hearts makes it a sweet reminder of your love ; )

It's a 4" x 6" print with a border on German Etching Paper. It has a wonderful distressed look &

comes unmatted & unframed.

You can enter to win this giveaway several ways

1-Follow Me (Mandatory) and leave a comment below telling me you do

2-Hop over to f2images and leave me a comment below telling me your favorite print

3-Spread the word about my giveaway either in a post on your blog, facebook, or twitter(get an entry for each one, each day you do as long as you post the link in my comments below)

4-Put my button(located at the top of my sidebar) on your sidebar telling about the giveaway.

There are so many easy ways to enter so come on,

what are you waiting for?

This giveaway is open for U.S. residents only, & will close at midnight on Sunday.

It will be a completely random drawing so the more entries you have, the better your chances.

I will contact the winner Monday so please make sure I have your email address

so I can mail it out to you asap.

Thank you

Good Luck!

~Iffy~

Linked Up with:

Thank you for those who entered. The Giveaway closed at midnight on 6/5/2011 so any entry comments left after midnight were not eligible. Sorry, but the rules were listed.

OK so on to the winner chosen by Randon.org

Congratulations Danielle!!
#4 the result didn't show up in my post but that was the number that came up.
I will be contacting you today so I can ship out your prize.

Thank you again to f2images !!

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Lovely House Rules on A Canvas ~ My Favorite Things Link PARTY

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Here is my latest creation

This was so simple to do and I absolutely adore how it turned out.
I know I'm a little late jumping on the subway art bandwagon,
but that's OK because I do things on my own time.
More so when I want to, not because everyone else is doing it. I had ordered a picture on canvas about 2 years ago, but when I received it, there was a bunched up area of protective coating. They replaced it with a perfect photo canvas & told me to keep the messed up one.
Since I knew I was not going to use the image that was on it, as I had a replacement & since this one was damaged.

I held onto it thinking maybe one day I could do something with it.

So today was that day.

First I carefully peeled the protective coating off of the canvas. This in turn lifted the photo along with the coating.

I then painted the whole canvas with 2 coats of white acrylic craft
paint,

letting it dry 3 hours between coats for good measure.

While the paint was drying, I typed up our house rules using different fonts and sizes for each.

I even put a few words in different colors to make them stand out.

I was inspired to do a subway art "rules" canvas by Stephanie over at Full of Great Ideas .
I printed my house rules directly onto
tissue paper(thanks Stephanie!).

I cut the tissue paper just shy of a piece
of 8.5" x 11" printer paper so it wouldn't
jam in the printer.
I folded the tissue paper over & taped it to
the back with a piece of
clear packing tape.

I then cut out my rules and paired them up as to
how I wanted them to read.

Next I arranged them on the canvas to get an idea of where
I wanted them placed.

I poured some Mod Podge into a small bowl and with a foam brush,

I painted a light layer of it onto my canvas working a section at a time.

Little by little I painted a row of Mod Podge, then (while still wet) I laid the first row of rules down.

I continued this until my canvas was covered in rules.
(Be sure to smooth the tissue paper down as you go)

I let this dry for about 20 minutes and then painted the canvas with

two top layers of Mod Podge
(letting it dry 30 minutes between each).

This helps protect your canvas from peeling up.

Be careful not to brush over the tissue paper too much, as it is delicate

and could tear & smear.....like mine.

Which I'm totally fine with as it adds a distressed look.

After the canvas was dry, I decided to add some ribbon around the edges.

I really love this sweet, romantic print on the ribbon.

I started at the bottom of the canvas, and glued the ribbon around the trim with my hot glue gun.

I glued a little at a time and laid the ribbon down then gently rubbed the ribbon to smooth it out.

I continued this until I made it back around to where I started.

Then I cut the ribbon and glued that down too.

I wanted to add a little something to the front of my canvas as it felt a little boring to me.

So, I cut some ribbon the width of my canvas, & added a bow to that.

I had never made a bow before so I just improvised (please don't critique my bow as I just made it on the spot & had no idea what I was doing)

It's not perfect but I like how it turned out, so I'm happy.

You can check out my tutorial on how I made the bow here..

So I then glued the bow to my ribbon with
hot glue and

then hot glued the ribbon across
the front of the canvas.

You could do this step first(before the ribbon along the trim)
to avoid the edges from being frayed.

Isn't it a nice little touch?

I also had some small white artificial flowers that have been sitting in my craft drawer,
so I cut off 3

& then hot glued them down onto my canvas.

I found that the closer you cut them to the base of the flower, the flatter they sit....I know common sense right? I thought I had cut them short enough until I stuck the first flower into the hot glue. See the one on the left is a little tipped?

I think the flowers add even more of a feminine feel to it.

With all the little imperfections from the wrinkles in the tissue paper,
to the fray of the ribbon,
I love it because it's one of a kind just like my family.

Just lovely, isn't it?

So now it's your turn, link up to My Favorite Things Party

Grab my button code below:

<a <span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">href</span> ="http://<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">stayathomenation</span>.<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">blogspot</span>.com/"   target="_blank"><<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">br</span> /> <<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">img</span> <span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">src</span>="https://lh5.<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">googleusercontent</span>.com/_s6_<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">yhANkOsU</span>/<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">TdlASWLyXEI</span>/<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">AAAAAAAAAyA</span>/<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">dIViXRVEoGg</span>/button.<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">jpg</span>" alt="Stay at Home   Nation"/><<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">br</span> /> </a>

How to Join My Party:
1-Grab the code to my button above & paste it into your entry post
2-Show off your favorite things(crafts, recipes, DIY, anything you have posted on your blog-But
Keep It Clean!)
& Link up below (2 entries allowed)
3-Follow Me if you like my blog-not required but it would be nice =D
4-Leave me a quick comment just to say hi so I know who's partying with me this week
5-Check out at least 1 other entry & comment on their post & let them know you saw them at my party.
Entries will list in reverse order-
giving everyone a chance to shine at the #1 spot.

My party will be open all week, so tell your friends~
because the more the merrier!
Please help me spread the word about my blog as I will have some really great giveaways once a month, beginning in June, so be sure to check back often!
Thanks for stopping by!

~Iffy~

Partying with