My Pattern Experience:Fallberry Mitts {knit pattern review}
Schwinn Windwood Women's Cruiser Bike Giveaway
Seriously, I love them. I love the feel of the wind on my face, the burn in my legs and the new and fun places that you can only get to by bike. That's why today, I'm so pleased to bring to you a giveaway for a new bike!!!!! Enter using the Rafflecopter below! Giveaway Runs from now until May 30th!
Schwinn Windwood Women's Cruiser Bike Giveaway
Sponsored by: Mom Blog Society | She Informed | My Dairy Free Gluten Free Life | Frantic Mommy
Co-Hosted by: Jackie's Reviews | Geeky Gamer Mom | Swank Savings
Preserve your Spring Memories with help from Best Buy!
Intex Family Size Round Metal Frame Pool Set Size: 12-Foot by 30-Inch Giveaway!
- Nobody builds a metal frame pool like Intex
- With our SUPER-TOUGH liners and our high quality, incredibly strong metal frames
- Filter Pump and instructional DVD included.
- Ready for water in 30 minutes
- Room for the whole family
- You will enjoy a pool that is easy to assemble, beautiful to look at, and certain to provide years of fun
Awesome DIY's, Staining Guide and Better Backyard Sweepstakes
It's the time of year in which I think of things that I can only work on outside to get done over the summer. This summer, I really want to work on a stained glass piece (can't do that inside because of the fumes), some sun printing and some staining. That's right, staining wood. Many people are afraid of staining, because it is possible to do it wrong, and then you have to try to fix it. Lets face it, folks, the more you mess with it, the more it turns into a train wreck.
Check out the Staining Made Simple widget on their website! It's really easy to use! Start with your project:
and then walk through their steps to find the perfect stain, quantity and store for you!
But wait, you say, I don't want to stain something that large, or do something that boring. No problem! I've found some awesome DIY staining projects that you can try that don't require a perfect stain.
First and foremost, are my two favorites, which are just gorgeous!


This gal takes the stain and uses it as a paint! She has applied the stain more heavily and let it set for longer on th areas that are darker and gently wiped off the lighter areas just a little bit at a time. Isn't it gorgeous?
These cabinets use a stencil, which instead of paint, you apply wood glue, and THEN stain, which will leave your stenciled wood glue in the negative. Awesome!
And for a little more help, make sure that you visit the Flood Better Backyard Sweepstakes, where you can win a $1500 gift card to help make your backyard better! Sweepstakes ends on 5/17/13, so enter today!
Flood Better Backyard Sweepstakes Disclosure:
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Legal residents of the 50 United States of America and (D.C.) 18 years and older. Ends 5/17/13. To enter and for Official Rules, including odds, and prize descriptions visit www.facebook.com/flood. Void in Puerto Rico and where restricted or prohibited. This Sweepstakes is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or asccociated with Facebook. You understand that you are providing your information to Sponsor and not to Facebook.
Lysol Touch of Foam

Get your "Gro" On!
This post brought to you by Miracle-Gro. All opinions are 100% mine.
If you're a dedicated reader, or know me personally, you'll know that I love gardening. I love the time of year in which I get out and get my hands dirty and make something pretty out of my yard. My favorite part is when I'm able to make it pretty AND get some vegetables out of it. This year, I have some pretty cool little gardening projects planned, like some new creative trellising for both containing my raspberries and supporting my tomatoes... but that is a story for another day.
Today I want to talk about some small simple projects that are quick, easy and good for children and families of all ages, along with some great gardening resources. This year with my daughter, we're going to try to make a fairy garden, in a raised pot, similar to this:
I found some inspiration from The Gro Project by Miracle Gro, with their Toyarium. I like the idea of using small toys as decorations within the little fairy garden and think it's a great way to repurpose old toys that are no longer played with.
Our plan for our garden is to take a large barrel pot like this:
We'll fill it with the Moisture Control Potting Mix by Miracle Grow, and start planning out where all the plants are going to go. I'm going to be using Chamomile, Basil, Thyme, Sage and try to eek out a small Bay leaf tree as my mini plants:
Once you have your plants (or seeds), mark out your fairy garden. You'll want to have pathways, perhaps a house, a chair, a reading nook, a pond, or many other different things! Think about old toys that you have to use, what you can build out of bark and twigs and what kind of mood you want your fairy garden to have. I know we want a little stone pathway running throught the garden, and I want to include several features, such as:
perhaps a table and chairs?
a wee little house?
an adorable mini wicker chair?
or maybe their own little garden set?
Anyway, the options are endless, and it really is just up to you. But after you have your items (or at least a general idea of their size and space needed, you can start sketching out your garden. If you're a planner, you can easily draw out a map of your fairy garden to work along side of you in the garden. I, however, am more of a fly by the seat of your pants gardener, and like to see where the plants "feel" right to me. I suggest marking out your garden plans either using small sticks:
or you can mark sections by using twine, yarn, rocks, or any other placeholder.
Once you have all of your sections marked off, start filling in your plants. Remember that you want the taller ones to be in the back and smaller ones up in the garden with the fairys. Get your kids involved, I know they'll have fun prepping the mini garden for their fairy guests! Once you're all done, sit back and wait for your new friends to arrive!!
If you need more ideas for your fairy garden, make sure that you visit The Gro Project. The Gro Project is a really cool resource that has other projects, like the Ukulele Garden, Origami Garden, or Thrown Down (a technique I've heard of before as Guerilla Gardening). The other cool feature they have is Sprout It, an app that allows you to track the growth of your plants.
You can also find cool projects on the Miracle Gro Pinterest page, where gardeners of all kinds come and share their fun garden projects. I reference the Miracle-Gro homepage a lot, I especially like their plant finder- where you can search for plants by different classifications, such as amount of light, flowers vs vegetables, and much more. Their library of videos and articles features many gardening tips to help keep a healthy and beautiful garden.
Of course, while you're on their website, make sure to check out the soil finder and their feeding systems. I use both Moisture Control Potting Mix and Shake’n Feed All Purpose Plant Food for my indoor plants and make sure to pretreat my outdoor gardens with the LiquaFeed All Purpose Plant Food Advance Starter Kit at the beginning of the season.