Mother's Day Gift Ideas + Giveaway

Can you believe it's almost Mother's Day?

Maybe I struggle with the thought because I just unpacked all of our Christmas wrapping paper and currently have a box of ornaments under my feet as a foot rest.

Yes, maybe that's it.

For the rest of you who are ready to gift your family members and friends, I have a sweet giveaway that any mom would love.

Two fabulous pairs of any in-stock Modern Vintage Petite Rose Earrings by the very talented Heather of Angel Face Designs.

One full-size bottle of Lemi Shine and one full size bottle of Lemi Shine Rinse.

{For those of you completely addicted to this product like I am, you all know this set alone would be the ultimate gift.}

One Jagged Bloom Pin in a sultry gray blue that works in any season. (Approximately 2.5"x2.5")

And one custom 8x10 Family Tree PDF personalized with up to 26 names.

{without blog name on tree trunk, obvs}

Want some other gift ideas?

Jen from Tatertots and Jello teaches you how to make adorable heart necklaces.

Jamie from Easily Dunn shows you how to make candles.

Mandy from Life in the Fashion Lane gives tips on fashion every week. She posts about her great finds and shares with you where to find them. She's pretty much an online shopping guide. {swoon}

Dustin and his buddies have awesome photography advice, tips, and tricks. For only $5.00 you can gift a membership to a website full of everything you need to know if you own a camera.

Rachelle from Fingerprints on the Fridge also has a shop filled with adorable goodies for the mama in your life:

Kristen from Rock A Bow sells such unique pieces in her shop. While she preps for The Queen Bee Market, her shop will be closed, but her shop is the perfect place to shop if you'd like to give a belated gift!

Mandie from Mandie's Mumblings and Moxie Mandie is offering you free shipping through May 2nd with the code BRINGSPRING at checkout!

Morgan from Mama Loves Papa has all kinds of style tips for the fashionista mom. She also sells beautiful vintage pieces in her shop.

Kassi from Truly Lovely sells Scentsy products and is offering you all a Baby's Breath Warmer and Flutter scent items at 10% off until May!

Ange from The Blooming Hydrangea shows you how to bake delicious treats like Yummy Bars:

Meagan from Fairly Fabulous has adorable home decor in her shop:

Myra from The Casabella Project shows you how to create beautiful vases, like this one:

Kelly from Kelly Joy Boutique has yummy accessories that would make any mother feel gorgeous:

Hayley from Goose and Lovie has delicious recipes like Chocolate Chip Cookies:

Gina from Dang Gina Gives has all kinds of freebies, offers, and advice about local businesses and handmade shops all over the world.

Jenni from Carlisle Clan Conversation has the perfect gift for $5.00. (I know this because I have the key fob pictured below and it has been a lifesaver!) She has lots of other lovelies in her shop.

If you end up avoiding all of these amazing ideas, recipes, and products, there's no need to hang your head in shame. Simply follow Dustin Bryson's Guide to Becoming a Master of Disguise.

:)

To enter the giveaway (Two pairs of earrings, brooch, Lemi Shine, Lemi Shine Rinse, and personalized Family Tree PDF) you can do one or all of the following:

1. Leave me a comment telling me what you'd like for Mother's Day.

2. Tweet about it and leave me a comment to tell me that you did.

3. Mention the giveaway on Facebook and leave me a comment telling me that you did.
4. Become a follower via Google Friend Connect or let me know if you already are.

Giveaway winner will be announced during next weeks' What I Whipped Up Wednesday!

If you really want a personalized Family Tree PDF in addition to the original giveaway bundle above, simply subscribe to/follow/like EVERY person mentioned in this post.

(There are eighteen people mentioned.)

If you do this, leave me a comment letting me know that you did, and be sure to leave your email address in that comment.

(I will double-check...sorry, sneakies.)

I will then contact you to get your Family Tree started.

There are lots of ways to gift yourself or several moms with something fancy!

Good luck!

What I Whipped Up Wednesday- Week 26

Please excuse this post.

I just finished watching Black Swan for the first time, and the only thing on my mind is ALL SORTS OF CRAZY.

I have some really fab features to show you, but I fear my brain isn't capable of expressing how truly talented they are without referencing ballet shoes and nightmares.

So, with that, get ready for next week's totally sane What I Whipped Up Wednesday double feature!
(Link up as many links as you'd like...next week is going to be huge.)

Oh, and I finally created a "featured" button.

If you've ever had your name in lights here at Sugar and Dots, be sure to grab a button off of my sidebar.

I have HTML codes for you this week, too.

Thank goodness I saved HTML as a "draft" before we started the movie.

;)

<br /> <a border="0" href="http://www.sugaranddots.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y135/g00dy2sh0es/linky-1.jpg"/></a><br />  

 

<br /> <a border="0" href="http://www.sugaranddots.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y135/g00dy2sh0es/linky2.jpg"/></a><br />

And now it's your turn...

Ready to link up?

1. Must be your post- any idea, recipe, project, craft, tutorial, or makeover you'd like to share.

2. Must be linked to the specific post; not just your blog's URL.

3. Grabbing a button or linking to the party is appreciated but not required.

4. Commenting on the link before you and/or after you makes you radtastic.

Linky is open NOW and will close on Saturday at 11:59 PM.

I can't wait to see your posts!

Happy Wednesday.

xo

Paint Chip Paper Bunting

When we moved in, there was a massive stack of paint color samples left in one of the closets.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't ecstatic over the discovery.

For reals.

There are tons of amazing bunting flags out there.

You've seen them.

Thankfully, when browsing fabric for a bunting project I was planning, I remembered the huge stack of paint chips.

With a little bit of ribbon, hot glue, and paper paint samples, I made this:

(Hammer and scissors in the playroom? On the bookshelf? You can totally judge me for that one.)

Supplies:

Wide paint samples (mine have three colors per card).

Ribbon.

Pinking shears/scissors.

Hot glue and glue gun.



Cut paint samples into triangles.

I used pinking shears, but scissors work fine.

After you've cut your paint chips, measure your ribbon to your desired length, and lie it on a flat surface.

Without using glue, place your triangles one by one along the ribbon to determine how many triangles fit, and to center the paint chips so that the ribbon ends are equal in length.

When they are positioned where you want them, simply start with the first triangle and add a line of hot glue along the top.

Press the triangle firmly onto the ribbon.

Continue until everything is glued down.

Eventually, you'll end up with something like this:

I made four buntings and will show you all of them next week when I reveal the playroom.

{happy dance}

This happy little project was easy peasy, adorable, and practically free.

It doesn't get much better.

:)

xo

Caramel Apple Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting {in Mason Jars}

I was in charge of dessert for Easter this year.

I attempted Tiramisu Cheesecake.

FAIL.

So, I had to quickly rely on something easy.

In my head, I envisioned this:

Enter store bought and delicious, with a touch of homemade:



Everything above was purchased at Walmart.

I stood in line for 33 minutes.

Impatiently.

With the rest of Orange County.

Thankfully, after leaving the most crowded parking lot ever, my dessert didn't take long to make.

The shopping list:

Canning jars with lids.

Duncan Hines Apple Caramel cake mix. (I bought two, but only used one to serve ten people.)

Cream cheese frosting. (I bought four, photographed one, and used two.)

{You're welcome for the awesome photo that shows you false advertising.}

Kraft Caramel Bits.

On the back of the cake box at the bottom, there is a recipe for Caramel Apple Cupcakes with a Caramel Centers.

Follow that recipe.

While your cupcakes are baking, fill your jars with a layer of frosting.

When your cupcakes are finished baking and have cooled, remove the wrappers.

Layer cupcakes and frosting until you've either run out of cupcakes or are satisfied with your jars.

Top with Caramel Bits.

I decided to add fabric to the top rather than the canning cover.

I recently found a tee shirt on clearance and bought it to use as fabric.

After a few snips with some pinking shears, I created these:

The best part?

They were easy to transport in the original box, and a couple guests couldn't stay for dessert so they took theirs to go.

Easy peasy.

Happy Monday, friends!

xo

What I Whipped Up Wednesday- Week 25

Do you know what last week was?

It was the biggest link-up I've ever had- that's what.

{happy dance}

You guys are so creative and so inspiring!

I adore browsing through all of your links and then getting totally side-tracked and stalking your entire blogs.

;)

Last week...

Kristen made these adorbs pillows (and her blog's tagline made me LOL):

Barb turned an old formal chair into fresh, beachy eye candy:

Chelsea whipped up a batch of buttery cream cheese bars. {swoon}:

Missy Polyclay made some plastic eggs into fab decor:

Jessa made a Chevron style table runner. Love me some Chevron!

April made a grown up pillowcase dress that I would love to make for The Girl:

This earthy frame has me in lovity love:

And now it's your turn...

Ready to link up?

1. Must be your post- any idea, recipe, project, craft, tutorial, or makeover you'd like to share.

2. Must be linked to the specific post; not just your blog's URL.

3. Grabbing a button or linking to the party is appreciated but not required. ;)

New buttons are in the works, but here are a couple for now:

Linky is open NOW and will close on Saturday at 11:59 PM.

Next week there will be a new "I've been featured" button!

Oh, and next week you will see the completed playroom.

It only took me 81748710 days to complete.

;)

Happy Wednesday!

xo

You should know...

...that this girl rocks my socks.

...I literally have a panic attack if I ever run out of this.

...that this mom blogs with a hint of poetry, and the words are always lovely.

...that my friend and I are addicted to Cafe Rio.

...that this was really cool before the Silhouette SD came around.

...that my BFF is radtastic.

...that this guy makes me laugh out loud.

...this girl on Twitter if you like sweet tweets.

...that your camera is begging you to read this.

...the prettiest mail I've ever receieved was from her.

...that some of my favorite projects were created by this mama.

...blog design is only fun when you have radtastic customers like this one.

...there is just too much good stuff here.

...that this store is full of all things adorable.

...I have only heard kind words from her.

...my absolute favorite Etsy seller is this girl.

...I turn one of these on every morning when I wake up.

...this mama can rock a headband like no one's business.

...this site can keep you entertained for hours; maybe even days.

...I have a key fob from this shop that allows me to stop digging around my purse like an idiot in parking lots.

P.S.

Remember how I dyed my hair dark in September?

Well, I hadn't colored it since, and it had faded back to blonde over those 7 months.

I also rocked 7 months' worth of dark roots, causing me to crop my brain out of every photo. (See above)

So, on Tuesday I decided to color my hair blonde myself.

It turned bright orange.

Like, Cutie fruit style.

So, I tried toning it with purple shampoo.

The end result?

Orange roots and gray hair with grown out purple highlights.

Awesome.

After a quick fix from my neighbor/stylist, I am now sporting bright yellow hair.

It's almost blonde.

Thank goodness next week is Spring Break for us.

Hello, lemon juice + sunshine + praying to the hair gods.

So, if you're having a craptastic day, just know that your blogging friend in CA is walking around looking like a relative of Spongebob.

You should totally feel better now.

You're welcome.

xo

What I Whipped Up Wednesday- Week 24

Another fabulous week last week!

Want to see some of the fab?

This bathroom makeover seen over at Relatively Reagan makes me want to drop the ball on this playroom makeover of mine, and get started on our guest bath. For reals.



Lyndee whipped up an adorable new checkbook cover:

Tausha created a radtastic craft room:

This argyle designed changing table that Meg made is ahhhhmazing:

And now it's your turn...

Ready to link up?

1. Must be your post- any idea, recipe, project, craft, tutorial, or makeover you'd like to share.

2. Must be linked to the specific post; not just your blog's URL.

3. Grabbing a button or linking to the party is appreciated but not required. ;)

New buttons are in the works, but here are a couple for now:

Linky party is open NOW and will close at 11:59 PM on Saturday.

Oh, and last week I got an email from someone asking if they could link up their What I Wore post. The answer to that is YES! I would LOVE to get inspired to avoid the sweatpants and gain the confidence to post my wardrobe without getting attacked by an anonymous commenter again! Each and every link is inspiring me, so please don't hesitate to show off!

:)

Happy Wednesday!

xo