What I Whipped Up Wednesday

I wanted to open this up at midnight, but if you follow me on Instagram, you know that my husband and I spent the night eating a cake he made me.

Pregnancy craving fulfilled.

10,000 adorable points earned by Sedric.

:)

Last week...

Kimberly from A Night Owl Blog made this Memorial Day tulle wreath (perfect for July, too!):

Michelle from Delicate Construction put together this tape stenciled ombre door mat:

The Crafted Sparrow created these end-of-the-year gifts for classmates (with a printable!):

Angie from Burton Avenue showed you how to make this wooden sign:

And Lady Behind the Curtain whipped up these handheld apple pies:

Thank you to everyone who linked up!

Be sure to click on the "buttons" link on my sidebar to snag a featured button!

Ready to link up?

I can't wait to see what you've been working on!

Happy Wednesday!

xo

Living room makeover

When we moved in almost a year and a half ago, I didn't know how I wanted to set up the living room.

The space is a bit awkward due to almost no natural light being available.

With the playroom being right off of the living room, I spent a long time making the playroom look the way I wanted it to, and then finally decided to remove the curtains that separated the rooms.

We are saving a fortune on our electricity bill, too.

I didn't really have the electricity bill in mind when we first moved in. 

Ha.

You can see the full "before" post HERE.

Here's a little snippet of what the room used to look like:

And here is the "after":

Having natural light in this space makes all the difference!

Oh how I love you, sunshine.
A bit of paint and some furniture rearranging was really all this space needed.

The living room is right behind the kitchen, and the kitchen is the first room you see to the left when you walk in our front door.

There is a little cut-out in the kitchen where the living room peeks through.

You can see the full kitchen post HERE.

I always thought that you had to have curtains in a living room.

Changing my views has changed this space so much!

What do you think?!

(Be sure to check out the "before" post to get the full effect of this makeover.)

Happy Tuesday!

xo

Sweet Shoppe Saturday

Welcome to the first edition of Sweet Shoppe Saturday!

I am so excited to share these shops with you!

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Michele is the genius behind Diesel and Juice. 

Her creativity is profound, and her artwork is lovely.

I asked her to create a piece of art for my husband of his beloved German Shepherd, and she went above and beyond my request.

He is printed out in cartoon form, with every detail precise.

I love her work so much!

Her shop is full of all kinds of artwork; I can assure you that you will find something there that you love!

Here's some more information about Diesel and Juice, from the words of Michele herself:

Diesel + Juice is an illustration project that was inspired by my love for my English Bulldog Diesel and feisty feline, Juice. I offer both custom and pre-made prints of the most adorable pets, creatures, and objects.  All illustrations are drawn using Adobe Illustrator and printed in house with UltraChrome archival inks on premium archival paper. All produced and shipped entirely with love, by me, Michele.

 Diesel is our four year old English Bulldog… She’s 29 pounds and everything the name Diesel implies – except she’s female. She burps, farts, snorts, snores, and even throws up in her mouth and eats it. She is constantly making you laugh one way or another and is quite possibly, the cutest dog ever to exist.

Juice is a 20 pound cat. We have tried to get her to lose weight but thus far, have had no luck. She is like most cats and has her own rules. Her two most important rules are as follows:

1. Do not pet me unless you feel like getting bitten or have food to give me.
2. Feed me at least 3 times a day or I’ll do whatever it takes to irritate you, including but not limited to: chewing on anything plastic, scratching on large loud objects, pawing at the items on your nightstand to make a clanking sound, sitting next to your face while you sleep purring, etc.

You can visit her blog HERE and you can visit her shop HERE.

Be sure to visit her on Facebook HERE.

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Katie is the cutie pie behind Paper from Heaven.

Her ability to make me laugh in her blog posts is effortless, and her handmade shop is full of high quality pieces that I swoon over.

My kids are addicted to their crayon rolls that she made them.

Really, there would be major temper tantrums if I didn't have those crayon rolls in the car at all times!

I am forever grateful for her perfect stitches in her work.

Katie's shop is called Paper from Heaven, and her blog is called Raising Oranges.

Here is some more information about Katie and her life as a blogger and shop owner from the words of Katie herself:

"I'm a stay at home mom with a Bachelor's Degree in Mathematics. I like math, but really only chose that major because it required the least writing and reading. I know you think I'm crazy!

I married my best friend in May 2004, and since then God has blessed us with 3 loud, crazy, energetic boys. The road has been rough but well worth it. When we were pregnant with our first child, my husband told me "If we have a boy, I'm going to dress him in orange so I can't lose him." Three boys later, we dress them all in orange...often."

You can visit her blog HERE and her shop HERE.

Be sure to visit her on Facebook HERE. 

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Beth is the sweetheart behind Through The Eyes of the Mrs.

Her blog is bright and fun, and her new shop is overflowing with handmade pieces that make you feel pretty.

I am a huge fan of her tote bag, and wear my headband often.

I am so glad that she decided to open up a new shop; she is so very talented, and the perfect shop owner to make transactions with!

 You will fall in love with her writing just as quickly as you will fall in love with her shop items!

Here is a little bit more about Beth from the words of Beth herself:

"I'm a vintage lover, thrifter, list maker, and crafter.
I have a thing for peach roses and sunshine.
I love to laugh and write from my heart.

I'm a mother to three and wife.

I am a daydreamer and believer in all things good.

I love to be inspired by things around me.
I love creating and finding new purpose for things.

 I love many things but first come my little ones and the Mr.

They make me want to be better everyday." 

 

 

 You can visit her blog HERE and her shop HERE.

Be sure to visit her on Facebook HERE.

 

 

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Happy Saturday!

xo

New ad sizes and prices for Summer 2012!

Since I will be displaying a new blog look in June, it only makes sense to change around the look of sponsors on my sidebar.

I have switched to having only one sidebar, so sponsorship sizes have changed.

The new sizes and prices are as follows:

(actual pixels shown)

Premium Ad Space gets you the top button placement on my sidebar, as well as a solo post about your blog/shop. Your blog/shop will also be mentioned at the end of every post that I write during the month.

Large Ad Space and Small Ad Space are generated randomly. Each page load gets your ad to place in a new position on my sidebar.

All ad spaces will be mentioned in a group shout-out post, and any size gets you a group giveaway and/or guest post.

If you'd like to guest post or offer a giveaway, simply tell me so, and your post will go up!

Solo giveaways are limited to Premium Ad Space only.

The June Premium Ad is already taken- please contact me ASAP to get in on the July/August price!

 If you are a returning sponsor from any month/size, take $2 off the price! Be sure to let me know that you are returning!

Also, as readership has grown, I will be removing all "trades" from my sidebar.

I love swapping with like-minded bloggers, but feel that promoting only paid sponsorships is best at this time.

 

For those of you who are only able to commit to the previous $5.00 ads I was running, I have something new for you:

For $5.00, I will mention your shop once in a group posting (depending on how many shops sign up for the month). 

For example, if 15 shops contact me about the $5.00 shout-out for the month of June, I will run a feature on 3 shops per Saturday until everyone has been mentioned.

This type of ad gets you mentioned one time, with a link to your shop and a photo or two of your items for sale and/or yourself. 

This type of sponsorship does not get you ad space on my sidebar.

For those of you without shops and without cash, I will be hosting a monthly linky party on the 15th of every month. This linky will allow you to link up to your blog's URL- not just a specific post. Everyone (including paid sponsors) is invited to attend this monthly Free Sponsor Day!

I have several requests for ad space for June already. If you are interested, please send an email to SugarAndDots@gmail.com with the subject "Ad Space". Please attach a button sized the appropriate size, and include your PayPal email address for invoicing purposes.

If you have any questions about anything you've read, please email me.

I look forward to promoting you on my new layout this Summer!

xo