Wildflowers & Whimsy: January 2011

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Shoe Love Linky Party!

So I stopped by Cato...I have no clue why because I never shop there...I just don't think about it, I guess. I went in and saw a cute little pair of shoes and wanted to try them on with no intention of buying them until I turned them over to see the size and saw that they were $3! So long story short, I ended up with four fabulous pairs of shoes for $30! I am sooooo excited! I just want to wear them all day! But I don't think my heels would go with the pjs I 'm sportin' right now! lol Don't know if you know this but I am a bit of a shoe fanatic. My mom says I have a sickness....this is while she's purchasing 4 pairs herself...lol! So I figured it might be fun to share our favorite shoes! So I am opening up a little linky party dedicatied to your favorite shoes! Post about your favorite shoes then come link it up here! You can show me one or show me every pair in your closet! I want to see them all! I will leave the party open until valentine's day and I will post more of my shoes periodically....cause I love showing off my shoes! I can't wait to see yours!

Here are some close ups of mine:

I will chose some of my faves in the end and feature you, your shoes, and your blog so please add this button to your post or sidebar if you would like to be featured!

Friday, January 28, 2011

Sew Crafty Saturday & Agape Love Boutique Giveaway Winner!

Random.org chose comment #31 as the winner of the Agape Love Boutique Giveaway!

Comment #31 was from Bella of Bella Before & After.

Congratulations Bella!

The Rules:

1. Please only link to projects you have worked on. They can be sewing, crafts, cooking, home decorating, even photography you want to share...please no shops, giveaways, parties, etc...if your post includes both that's fine. And you are free to link up to as many of your projects old or new as you would like, as long as you have not linked it here before.

2. Please link directly to your post, not your blog's home page. If you need help linking up let me know, and I'll give you a hand.

3. Please grab one of my party buttons and add it to your post. I know it takes a little extra effort but my party is new and I really want to get the word out, so I would really apprieciate it. If you would like to be featured on my Friday's Feature post you will need to do this (your sidebar is okay but linky pages do not count if you would like to be featured. I sincerly apprieciate you adding me to you linky list but in order to be featured you will need to include the button on your post or side bar)

4. Please visit and comment on the other links...everyone loves comments!

Friday Features & New Adventure Date Winner!

I never heard back from the original winner of the Adventure Date Giveaway, so I randomly chose a new one. The new winner is #21:

Chris said...

I like While He is Napping on FB:)

http://www.poppiesandpoetry.blogspot.com/

And now for last weeks features:

Ami @ Ali Lilly always makes the prettiest rolled rosettes, but I really love this ribbon one she shared last week! And she has a tutorial here!

And I love this burlap Valentine's wreath from Celebrate the Journey! I have been dying to make one all week but I keep forgeting to get a wreath when I go to the stored! Maybe today....

And here is another pretty Valentine's wreath from Fast Daze!

And this Jar of Love idea from City Girl Gone Coastal is so sweet! She made it for her hubby but I am thinking me and the kiddos could make one for my great grandmother who we don't get to see very often.

Thanks so much to all of you who linked up last weekend! I cannot wait to see what you have all been working on this week!

Here's a button for those of you who were featured:

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Window Shoppin' Wednesday & Giveaway @ Bella Boo Bowtique

I am sure most of you remember Brooke of Girl Boy Girl Inspired from her guest post last week. She shared a tutorial for this adorable love applique shirt.

Today we are visiting her fabulous etsy shop, Bella Boo's Bowtique. It's the perfect place to dress up your lil princess or prince and to make your photographs unique and special memories that will last forever!

These are some of my favorites from here shop:

Tutu, Tank, and Hair Accesory Set

Pink Flower Tutu Dress

Bug Tie Applique Shirt

Maternity Photo Prop

Teal & Brown Cocoon Photo Prop

Tutu, Headband, Puff Clip Set

And she is giving away one of her adorable flower clips with a crochet headband to one of my readers!

Mandatory Entries:

Visit Bella Boo's Bowtique and come back here and tell me what your favorite item is in her shop. (one entry)

Follow the Girl Boy Girl Inspired Blog. (one entry)

Additional Entries:

Favorite her Etsy shop. (one entry)

Like Bella Boo Bowtique's FB page. (one entry)

Follow Wildflowers & Whimsy. (one entry)

Like Wildflowers & Whimsy's FB page. (one entry)

Tweet and/or FB about this giveaway. (one entry for each)

*Please leave separate comments for each entry & make sure I can contact you*

The giveaway will close at 6pm CST Tuesday, February 1, 2011. And the winner will be announced at the next Window Shoppin' Wednesday.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Everyday Art

Today I want to introduce you to Emily and Jaime from Everyday Art. They have a really fun blog and lots of great ideas and recipes!

Hi Everyone! We're happy to be here at Wildflowers and Whimsy. We're Emily and Jaime from Everyday Art. We're two sister-in-laws (Jaime married Emily's handsome older brother) who believe that everyday can be filled with creative outlets, and we love to explore them.

It's so fun to have a sister-in-law that you want to find excuses to talk to each other--it's great! We started a blog a few months ago because we used to live next to each other (literally a few doors down) and now that we are states away from one another we needed a way to bounce ideas off one another, show each other our projects, share recipes, etc.

Here's what we've been working on lately.

Alphabet Magnets

These little magnets are so easy to make and so fun for the kids. The possibilities are endless.

Pasta with Roasted Butternut Squash

This dish really is as good as it looks. Emily first discovered it, but (because we love to share) it's been adopted by both households whole-heartedly

Berry Cobbler This is so yummy! And so easy--it cooks while you eat dinner.

First Birthday Ideas

Jaime's youngest is turning one next month, so she searched high and low for the best party themes!

Here's the example of a rainbow-themed party from our post of many ideas.

And the list goes on and on! We also love to crochet and knit and have recently started sharing a weekly menu every Sunday evening called "What's for Dinner?" (who doesn't want help planning meals?) We have all sorts of fun posts coming up--fun winter keep-your-kids-busy creative crafts, hooded towel tutorial, and a complete romantic dinner-for-two menu and tutorials (shrimp scampi and molten chocolate cake anyone?)

Thanks for allowing us to introduce ourselves!

Lots of love,

I love those alphabet magnets! And that berry cobbler looks awesome! I can't wait to see more from them! Make sure you stop by there blog and check out all the other great ideas they have!♥

Monday, January 24, 2011

Drunk Monkey Cupcakes

Hey guys! April from Apple Loves Orange is participating in a cupcake contest. Please drop by and vote for her Drunk Monkey Cupcakes! And if you haven't checked out her blog, you must stop by! She is seriously awesome!

Sunday, January 23, 2011

I'm Out :(

Thanks so much Mandy for featuring my dress! I am so excited!

So the polls are closed and I am out of Project Toddler Runway. I am a little disappointed because I mean, of course, it would be awesome to win, but it has really been more time consuming for me than I had anticipated and I am very happy with the projects I did for the competion...especially, this week's so I'm am okay with it. At least I know I did my best. Not to mention all the ladies in the competition were amazingly talented so I am glad to have made it this far! Good luck to all you ladies in the future! I can't wait to see what else you guys come up with! I know the next weeks will be awesome! So now I can finally share my pics with you! I have been dying to share them since I took them. I absolutly love the way they turned out, and I fall more in love with the dress everytime I look at the pics. I called it Sweet Grace because it made me think of Grace Kelly. I will share a tutorial on how to make the feather skirt shortly, but I didn't have time to make one and it was pretty hard to photograph so, I will have to get my sisters to take some for me because although I thought I would never have another reason to make a feather skirt, I am officially hooked! I mean think about who really needs a tutu? No one but they make you feel fabulous! Well, this is even better if that's possible! Okay so enough rambling! Here are the pics!

I am still learning my new camera so the color isn't great in some of these because I can't figure how to change the shutter speed when I turn off my flash in low light...I think that is how you would fix the problem right?...Any tips? I finally figured how to change the modes so I don't get blurry pics of moving kids, but I wish I wouldn't have had to use flash because it really ruins the pics but I still think she looks so beautiful in these!