Happy Fourth of July and Finally a Project to Share!

I am sorry for disappearing without a trace for a week! I got warm fuzzies to find out that some of ya’ll missed me!!! :-) Everything is fine, just very busy and one day led into another with me thinking…I’ll post that tonight” which led to “I’ll post that in the morning”…ever have times like that???

I have been working on some things behind the scenes though! I wanted to have this done waaayyy earlier, but hey, it’s done in time for the Fourth!

It’s a solar-powered patriotic center piece!

It is supposed to hold candles! When I found it at the thrift store it looked like this:

I’ve been seeing everything in solar lately and I wondered how this would look “solarfied”. Candles are give a wonderful, mood-setting glow, but around here they get wet, knocked over ( kids and dogs) and there are never any matches to be found! Solar lights are just my style… “set it and forget it” …no wait, that’s the George Foreman. Oh well, you get the picture! I can do solar lights ONCE and then walk away knowing that they will come on when needed! I have several solar projects going, but wanted to get this one done first because it’s patriotic! This is what I did.

I took the black metal star-shaped candleholder from above and painted it primer gray. Then I went over the stare with gloss white. Next, I taped newspaper all around the star to keep it white.

I spray painted the alternate stars red and blue and the top red.

While it was drying, I took apart some Walmart  solar lights. They are on sale now for $2.50! I purchased some cheaper ones and they do not hold up to bumping very well. I’ve had 2 casualties already! :-( I took everything off except the “cap” . I put a piece of painter’s tape over the solar window and sprayed the lid of the light to match the star that it would be fitting into.

For the top light I wanted something different, so I purchased a set of 8 lights on sale at Walmart for $15. They have a bit more personality than the little ones. I took one of those apart and gave it the same treatment with the spray paint. When everything was dry, it got a coat of Gorilla Super glue to hold the lights in place!

 

The part of the plastic that sips down into the metal stake for the ground also slipped nicely into the candleholder! I had to cut that piece off of the top light because it was too wide. A hacksaw did the job.

The finished project;

I wanted to have my picnic table already to display this on, but it’s still covered in plants that need to go into the ground…maybe next week…

Here it is at night:

 

It’s much more fun in person! The 2 backlights are casualties, and I’ll be replacing them, so it’s not as bright as it should be either. Sometimes you do “get what you pay for”. ":-(

Wishing you a safe, happy and blessed Fourth of July!!

Final Giveaway Winners!!

Well it’s officially over***sniff, sniff***and here are the last of the giveaways…

The winner of this adorable frame from Embellished Bayou

is comment # 8 as generated by random.org.

Larissa said...

My favorite in her shop is the Handpainted Wood Frame Embellished with Scrolls, here: http://www.etsy.com/listing/25240133/handpainted-wood-frame-embellished-with
Love it!

Congrats Larissa!!!

The winner of this cute, hand painted garden sign from Ann of Make the Best of Things

is comment #7 as generated by random.org.

Untypically Jia said...

Adorable blog! I love it. Thanks for all the links, I've got a lot to check out now. I guess the laundry can wait.
New follower from New Friend Friday!
http://colormeuntypical.blogspot.com/

June 25, 2010 9:03 AM

Congratulations to Jia!

And one more before we turn out the lights…a special thank you to all of you who spread the word about the party and giveaways! From the 10 comments received at “I’m having a party” post. Random.org generated the #5! The 5th comment came from

Life in Rehab said...

Hi Sharon,
I just did a post about your party over on my blog. I hope you get a ton of participants!

June 21, 2010 9:00 AM

Thank you for sharing for me!  I have a goodie bag for you!

This has been so much fun! I really think I’ll do it again in the fall with a Fall Festival! Do you think if I start concentrating on fall that it will feel cooler here???

Have a great rest of the weekend and I’ll see you Monday, hopefully with a couple of “enlightening” projects that I’ve been working on!

 

Garden Party Giveaways Updates and Winners!

Wow! I am so tickled!!! There are 43 entries at the garden party, lots of sweet comments, some new friends and some prize winners! Who could ask for more?!?! Thank you to all who have linked up your ideas! I’ll be by to see them all up close…I’ve seen a few already. There are some very inspiring ideas!!

A very,very special “THANK-YOU!!! to my giveaway sponsors!! First to CSN stores, and Barb’s Heartstrokes Etsy shop. Their giveaways are closed. Barb has some exciting news, she’s started her bog! So take a minute and go  by barbsheartstrokes.blogspot.com and encourage a new blogger! 

Thank you also to Christy of Embellished Bayou and Ann of Make the Best of Things! Their giveaways for this adorable frame:

and this  cute, hand-painted garden sign

are  open until tomorrow night!!

You still have time to go by Garden Party Day 2 with MORE Giveaways! and Garden Party Friday Finale with More Giveaways!! to enter!!!

A very special thank you also to Miss Jenny of Miss Jenny’s Soap for sponsoring the “Thank you for linking up” soap giveaway!!

If you let others now of my party on your blog, etc., PLEASE tell me so HERE. I will do a drawing from those comments for a goodie package from me! Thank you to all of you for helping to make this party a success!

The Final Friday giveaway has been postponed until next Friday!! I think we all need a little time to catch our breath! :-)

So now for the news you’ve all been waiting for….the WINNERS!

The first giveaway was the $40 CSN gift certificate. Using Random.org and the numbers 1-24 from the comments left, the winner is: #12!!

Carolyn @ My Backyard Eden said...

Hi Sharon,
Thanks so much for inviting me to your Garden Party! Your button worked out fine for me!
If I won, I'd probably get some new outdoor pillows for my deck.
Thanks and have a great week!

Congratulations Carolyn! It looks like you’ll be getting some pillows for your deck!

Next is the “Thank you” gift from Miss Jenny’s soaps, for linking up! There were 43 entries and Random.org gave me the number 27, which belongs to “Dogsmom”. She shared some of her yard art with us! Congrats Dogsmom!! Please visit http://missjennyssoap.com/

and let me know which basic soap you would like!

And last, but not least is the winner of Barb’s Heartsrokes painting:

Using the numbers 1-12, random.org gave me….5 and the fifth comment was from Sue Ann!

slommler said...

Glacier Men and Merry Christmas...love them both. In fact, love all of her work!!!
Hugs
SueAnn

Well, SueAnn I’m glad you love Barb’s work, she is very talented and  you now own a Barb’s HeartStrokes original!

The other three winners will be announced tomorrow night!  

Thank you again to EVERYONE who was a part of my first garden party!!! You are all awesome!

I’m thinking of doing a “FAll Festival” in the fall, featuring fall ideas and projects, with some givewayas of course! :-) What do you think?

I’m tired, but it’s been fun, and at least there aren’t any dishes or vacuming to do! LOL

Good Night!

 

Garden Party Friday Finale with More Giveaways!!

Wow! It’s been an inspiring party so far! There are 34 awesome projects linked up on the Main Garden Party page. If you haven’t linked yours up, there’s still time! You have until nine o’clock tonight to get it done! :-)

Today we have another garden themed giveaway! It’s from Ann of Make the Best of Things. Ann is a lady of many talents; painting, jewelry making, crafting…just to tame a few! Ann is giving away this cute, hand painted garden sign!

I’d love to have this myself…right now my bloomers need some blessing! :-) Check out Ann’s  blog and etsy shop to see some of her amazing art! Come back here and let me know your favorite item and you’ll be entered to win! I love her other garden signs too. You can see them here. Thank you Ann!!!

The other giveaways are still going on as well! Here’s the list of links:

1.. This is the Main Garden Party Page for entering your projects, and the CSN Stores Giveaway. If you enter a project you are automatically entered for Miss Jenny’s Soap!

2.Wednesdays Giveaway from Barb’s Heartstrokes Etsy Store is still open HERE.

3. You can enter Thursday’s giveaway from Embellished Bayou Etsy leaving your comment on HERE.

4. Let’s step things up a bit! If you blog or have blogged or will Facebook, etc. about the garden party, leave a comment  HERE to be entered into a thank you drawing AND leave me another comment on any of the giveaways that you would like an extra entry on!!

Last, but definitely NOT least, check out  and leave  a note on some of the awesome ideas linked up on the Garden Party Page! 

Check back later for one final Friday Giveaway!!

Party…party….Party!

I’m going to spread the word to some new friends by linking up to these parties!

Garden Party Day 2 with MORE Giveaways!

There are some great projects already linked up at the Main Garden Party page. You can still link up your ideas and enter the CSN Stores Giveaway. (They have everything from Solar lights to indoor furniture and toys.)  on the link above.

I hope that all the different links haven’t been too confusing…I didn’t intend it to be. I guess too much of even a good thing can be confusing…and giveaways are GOOD! :-)

So, to try and keep things sorted out, I’m going to have a running list of links today and tomorrow to try and keep us all directed to the right place! If you get a little too warm from the sun and hopping around, have a glass of fresh raspberry lemonade.

It will cool you off and refresh you while you window shop and enter the giveaways!

Today’s Giveaway is from Christy of Embellished Bayou. I found Christy through a linky party and I really enjoy her very creative blog. She also has an Etsy shop with the cutest frames! She is sharing one of them with us! Isn’t it darling? Very girly girl!

This wood frame has been hand-painted hot pink. It is embellished with a yellow floral bow and a bright blue gerber daisy and further accented with sparkly blue butterflies. The frame is approximately 2.25" wide and measures 8"x8" overall. The opening is for a 3.5"x3.5” photo. Glass and backing are included. Frame must be displayed on a tabletop or you could add your own hanger to hang it on a wall.
Christy said she can personalize this frame with the winner's name, initial, monogram or short phrase if they so choose.
This would be an awesome gift! Please visit Embellished Bayou Etsy and come back here to leave a comment on your favorite item in her store!

Also, if you have entered an idea or project on the Main Garden Party Page, then this giveaway is for YOU!

Miss Jenny of Miss Jenny’s Soap is graciously sponsoring my “Thank you for linking up” gift! She will give you the basic soap of your choice just for linking up! She’s nice like that! :-) Miss Jenny is local, and a homeschooling mom…I know her in real life! Go check out her soaps here so that you are ready to let her know what you want when we draw your name!

I discovered these while browsing:

Shampoo Bar Peppermint and Rosemary
Our peppermint and rosemary soap/shampoo is
designed to be gentle, cleansing, and long lasting. It
has a nice mint-y aroma and lots of bubbles!

 

AND soap for pets!! It’s actually her Bug Repellant soap! I’ll be ordering some of each!

***Okay, to hopefully make it a little easier to keep the links straight, here’s a recap:

1. This is the Main Garden Party Page for entering your projects, and the CSN Stores Giveaway. If you enter a project you are automatically entered for Miss Jenny’s Soap!

2.Wednesdays Giveaway from Barb’s Heartstrokes Etsy Store is still open HERE.

3. You can enter today’s  giveaway from Embellished Bayou Etsy leaving your comment on THIS post.

4. Let’s step things up a bit! If you blog or have blogged or will Facebook, etc. about the garden party, leave a comment  HERE to be entered into a thank you drawing AND leave me another comment on any of the giveaways that you would like an extra entry on!!

Last, but definitely NOT least, check out some of the awesome ideas linked up on the Garden Party Page!

Party On!!

The Party is On…Wednesday’s Giveaway!

The Garden Party is up and running! To link up your project or to check out the awesome projects already there and enter the $40.00 CSN Giveaway, click here.

Today’s Garden Party Sponsor is Barb from Barb’s Heartstrokes Etsy shop. She has a folksy style of painting and has some beautiful patriotic, and seasonal paintings available. Barb isn’t blogging yet, but she’s working on it! She is a lady that lives and gives from her heart! In keeping with our gardening theme Barb would like to give away this “Springtime Flowers and Watermelon” painting.

It is a framed 7 X 9 inch springtime design by Renee Mullins and is hand painted on fiberglass black screen.
The frame color is a Royal Purple with a lighter Lavender color for the stenciled leaves and vines around the edges.
It has been sprayed with a matte finish. It has a saw tooth metal hanger on the back.
After you visit around the party Wednesday, visit Barb’s Etsy Shop and come back here and tell me what your favorite painting is in her shop, and you will be entered to win “Springtime Flowers and Watermelon”!!

Have fun!

It’s Time to Party!

Good Morning! It’s a lovely morning here in the North Georgia Mountains! A beautiful day for a garden party!! I’m glad you could make it. I’m very excited about this!! I love hostessing, but with a house under construction and living in our basement, I don’t have the opportunity to do it in real life! :-( 

I can’t wait to see all the fun projects that will be here! I’m afraid that I will be so inspired that my real garden will go neglected while I craft! :-) Please link up your summer, outdoor or garden ideas to share. Then mingle and chat by visiting each others projects and leave comments! Check out the daily giveaway and leave appropriate comments to be entered in the drawing for that door prize!

Door Prizes! aka Giveaways!

You can find all the sponsors for each day here. Each day I will reintroduce them and their door prize!

Our first sponsor for the party is CSN Stores.

They are giving away a $40.00 Gift Certificate! They have everything for your home and garden, from solar lights to home decor and toys! to enter this giveaway, go check them out and leave me a comment on this post about what you might use the GC on. I couldn’t make up my mind as I looked around! They have some awesome outdoor stuff!  This giveway is open all three days! The winner will be drawn by random.org,  Friday at 9:30pm est.

I will also have a drawing from the project links! So if you link up a project , you will have an opportunity for an extra door prize! I will announce that sponsor in another post! :-) The drawing will be Friday after the party closes.

If you have shared my garden party on your blog or Facebook, please leave a comment here letting me know that you have done so. I’m doing a drawing from those comments for a special thank you basket from me! It’s not too late to spread the word! I understand that the html in my button is not working correctly…not sure why, so just use the button with a link underneath, ok? This drawing will also be on Friday at 9:30.

I hope that I haven’t made this too confusing with all the different links for the giveaways, but I needed to keep them separate! Check back later today and each day for more giveaways!!!

***Wednesday’s Giveaway is UP! Click Here to enter Barb from Heartstrokes painting giveaway!***

Let’s get the party started!! Remember to mingle and chat! :-) I can’t wait to see what you have!