Your Whims Wednesday #160 {And Features}

Time for another Your Whims Wednesday Party!

Your Whims Wednesday
Here are some of my favorite from last week:

Chocolate Stuffed Red Velvet Nutella Frosting Cupcakes by This Silly Girl's Life
Chocolate Stuffed Red Velvet Cupcakes with Nutella Frosting, stuffed with a little Hershey's kiss and topped with buttercream flavored with nutella... woah!

DIY Mother's Day Necklace by Giselle Designs
Mother's Day Bronze Charm Necklace

Blooming Pom-Poms by Quinton Wench
quintonwench.com
 
DIY Newborn Sandals by Chesha in Motion
 
Thanks to all who linked up! Grab a button if you were featured :)
 
Featured on My Girlish Whims
 
Now... onto this weeks party!

I show off my girlish whims weekly on my blog, and now I want to see yours with 
Your Whims Wednesday!

Guidlines:
1. Link up as many projects as you would like: as long as it is one of your girly ways, you can link it! I'd love to see crafts, recipes, style posts, etc. Anything and everything feminine :)
2.Please add my button (code at the top of this post) to either your blog post or somewhere on your blog. 
3. Take a quick moment to comment on at least one other entry. We we all love comments!! 
4.I'd love if you would follow me as well :)


DIY Rhinestone Statement Necklace

This weekend I had an awesome time making pretty jewelry with some lovely supplies from Beadmixer! Weekends are my crafting time and nothing drives me more crazy than sitting around for an hour or more in my craft room on a Saturday trying to figure out what to bead next.  I had so many pretty rhinestone beads to craft with this weekend though that my creative juices kept flowing! It also helped that I woke up SUPER early both days this weekend unintentionally.  You can get so much done when you wake up early! By 10:30AM on Saturday and I had already finished a movie (I always watch TV while I bead!) which I though was pretty crazy. Here's what I spent those morning hours working on:


DIY Rhinestone Statement Necklace

I just love this new necklace so much! Honestly it is my new favorite. I liked it while I was crafting it but as soon as I tried it on with an actual outfit (I craft in comfy clothes!!!) I knew I liked it sooooo much more! It instantly transforms and outfit from nice  to yeahhhh baby.  Hah! Seriously though! The rhinestones will make any outfit instantly fancy and classic.

Want to learn how to make your own??? Here's how!

Supplies:

All of my beads are from beadmixer.co.uk which is an AWESOME resource for crystal/rhinestone beads. All extra findings are from Cousin Corp.

Steps:
First step is to place the rhinestone beads into their settings and secure. Each setting has four prongs to close around the rhinestone beads to secure in place. I used my traditional needle nose pliers to close each prong but BE CAREFUL not to slip and scratch the crystal! If you are worried about this happening you could dip your pliers into Tool Magic to give a protective layer to the pliers so they won't scratch the crystal.

Assemble all crystals into their settings like so:

Now for the fun part: time to make a necklace! Start to assemble the necklace like so: using the largest oval beads create a chain of 8 of them with three small jump rings in between.  Three is important to make sure the necklace lays properly. After the ovals are assembled use another small jump ring to attach the large teardrop bead to the center jump ring in each strand.

Here is how the first link should look when connected with the jump rings (if you need help with this step you can learn how to use jump rings)

Continue this pattern until you have a strand featuring 7 of the large teardrop beads.

Next, assemble a similar strand using the smaller teardrop beads and ovals.

Using another jump ring (slightly larger size) to attach the two different sized oval beads on the end of each side of the necklace to a piece of chain.

Attach a lobster claw clasp and jump ring to the end of the chain on either side to finish off the necklace.

That's all there is to it!!! All the jewelry knowledge you really need to know is how to use jump rings and how to place the crystals in the settings which is not hard.  This was my first time doing it actually! The necklace might look intimidating but the techniques are very basic.


It totally looks like I bought this necklace at some fancy department store - right??

I think I've been bitten by the rhinestone bug now.  I just want to keep on making pretty sparkely statement necklaces!!!! If you've got the bug now too be sure to check out Beadmixer for a great selection of rhinestone supplies and follow them on facebook for more creative ideas!

#CoffeeJourneys with Mr. Coffee® and Millstone® coffee: Drip Coffee Maker and Flavored Coffee GIVEAWAY!

I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper amplification for Collective Bias, Millstone® Coffee, and Mr. Coffee®

 
Most of my mornings involve coffee in some form or another.  I often enjoy my morning coffee brewed from home, but sometimes I'll grab an iced coffee or hot coffee from some coffee place on my way into work.  I try to brew more at home than out since buying coffee out can really add up in price.  Sometimes I just get lazy though and want yummy coffee quick and buy out. I guess one incentive to having more coffee at home would be having the best coffee maker to brew it with with huh??

Well I've been brewing a whole lot more coffee at home lately after heading to Walmart to purchase and try out the Mr. Coffee®10-cup Optimal Brew™ Thermal Coffee Maker! Check out that bad boy (first silver one on the left)! Also, notice there are only two boxes left on the shelf? Well I bought them both and have one to giveaway too so keep reading!

 I also bought some Millstone® coffee to try and giveaway as well - I got French Vanilla which is a lighter roast that's right up my alley!

 

I've always liked coffee but sometimes feel that others think I am not as "gung-ho" of a coffee drinker as some because I like my coffee with a lot of cream and a lot of sugar.  Really though, just because I don't drink my coffee black doesn't make me any less of a coffee lover or any less entitled to enjoy a good cup of coffee.

 

Even with a lot of cream and sugar a bad cup of coffee will still taste bad. For me, quality coffee PLUS cream and sugar equals one delicious cup!  Trying out the Mr. Coffee® Optimal Brew™ Coffee Maker and Millstone coffee® was a yummy coffee journey that showed me how quality coffee is made.  The coffee maker brews up to 10 cups in less than 7 minutes which is considered by coffee experts (yeah, those exist) to be the optimal time for extraction. The Mr. Coffee® Coffee Maker also includes a built in water filtration system to insure cleaner water is going into brewing you the perfect cup. The science of the coffee maker combined with the flavor of the Millstone coffee® brewed a whole pot of coffee which I could then enjoy in my favorite way:

 
As a nice little pick-me-up while crafting :) With the thermal coffee carafe I don't have to worry about my coffee getting cold while I craft: I just pour as much as I need out at a time and then refill with the coffee carafe as I need more.  No need to venture out of my craft room for anything!  ...Well. Except for when I have to pee from all the coffee I'm drinking!


My second favorite way to enjoy a good cup o' joe is curled up on the lounge section of my couch with a good book.  I think half of the fun of enjoying coffee is that feeling that is a treat and can make regular activities such as reading or crafting that much more special.

Ok now tell me straight: has reading all about yummy coffee have you jonesing for a cup? Well, I can't reach through the computer to give you a cup but I CAN giveaway a Mr. Coffee® Optimal Brew™ Coffee Maker and a bag of Millstone coffee® so you can make your own! I'd say that's a fair trade.  Enter in the widget below! Open to US Residents Only
 

Your Whims Wednesday #159 {And Features}

Time for another Your Whims Wednesday Party!

Your Whims Wednesday

Sorry for not getting this up last night...completely forgot about it! Better late than never though :) Here are some of my favorites from the last party!

DIY Ombre Chevron Skirt by Scattered Thoughts of a Crafty Mom
Make this DIY ombre chevron border fabric with chevron Shape Tape and fabric paint. #FrogTape
 
Strawberry Pretzel Bars by Life with the Crust Cut Off
Strawberry Pretzel Bars
 
Bachelorette Survival Kit by Life's Tidbits
BacheloretteSurvivalKit
 
Thanks to all who linked up! Grab a button if you were featured :)
 
Featured on My Girlish Whims
 
Now... onto this weeks party!

I show off my girlish whims weekly on my blog, and now I want to see yours with 
Your Whims Wednesday!

Guidlines:
1. Link up as many projects as you would like: as long as it is one of your girly ways, you can link it! I'd love to see crafts, recipes, style posts, etc. Anything and everything feminine :)
2.Please add my button (code at the top of this post) to either your blog post or somewhere on your blog. 
3. Take a quick moment to comment on at least one other entry. We we all love comments!! 
4.I'd love if you would follow me as well :)


Full Coverage by Kotex While Working Out

This shop is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group™ and U by Kotex but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #UbyKotex  http://my-disclosur.es/OBsstV

I have such a fun deal to share with you all today! I'm always such a sucker for freebie deals :) As ladies every month we get stuck buying pads and tampons.  Definitely not my favorite purchase to make every month!  Luckily though this month I was shopping at Walmart (a must for these necessities since they have the best prices) and found that while supplies last you can get a FREE set of Goody Hair Elastics with a U by Kotex Sleek Tampon and Cleanwear pads purchase! (The goody elastics will be attached to the box)


 I love the design of the Kotex tampons and pads.  There's not much else "exciting" about that time of the month so having some cheerful feminine products brings me at least a little joy ;)

 I buy the Kotex brand because having full coverage at the gym in my Zumba class is a MUST.  I always keep a spare in my gym bag in case I get caught off gaurd!!

There are a lot of really fun things about my Zumba class.  I burn 500-600 calories at every class, get to workout to fun dance songs, wear cute gym clothes (I just love this blue set I just bought!!), and I FINALLY made a friend in my class so I actually have someone to talk to before class instead of standing awkwardly by myself staring at my shoes.....

 There are also a lot of pretty funny/awkward situations at Zumba class.  First off, you are encouraged to shake whatchayo momma gave ya. I have quite perfected the booty shake and am pretty proud of myself for that. :) I decided NOT to share a video but here is an up close and personal sneak peak of my rear-end mid shake:

Hah! There is a lot of booty and booby shaking going on during our songs.  But however funny I feel shaking my butt in front of everyone there's always a grandmom who manages to do it better than me! Seriously.  There is this 65 year old woman in my Saturday class who could whoop me on the dance floor any day. Some of the moves in that class are also pretttttty suggestive which just makes it so much better because the grandmom rocks them all too. 

There is also always a TON of sweat happening in class.  I'm lucky because I mostly sweat from my head...er...wait did I just say lucky???... ok not really lucky because then my face turns bright red during class...but at least I don't sweat as much from...other areas which becomes quite prevalent at the end of class when everyone is bending over to stretch!!! There is always one guy who comes to my Monday class that always dresses so nicely in coordinating workout clothes but lord bless him his fancy little shorts have crack sweat ALL up and down his rear by the time he leaves. 

Every week without fail my Zumba friend also manages so sweat so bad she sweats off her mascara! I didn't even know that could happen!! She tries to fix it at the end of class but it just ends up smearing more.  The yoga people who come in after us must think we are a mess.  Sweaty cracks and raccoon eyes galore.

So, obviously there are a LOT of awkward situations in my Zumba class.  But you know what? Shaking your butt and sweating through your pants has just come to be expected in class. You know what isn't expected though? Having your period leak.  A lot of body shaking and moving and sweating can be forgiven during Zumba but having your period leak is just one awkward situation that is NOT expected and would be WAY too embarrassing if it happened. Luckily with the full coverage of Kotex the only thing I really have to worry about in class is if grandma is going to out-shake me AGAIN and what move is coming up next. 

 Whatever your workout routine may be: Zumba classes or Yoga classes or just working out in front of your TV in your living room, your period is never something you want to have to worry about while exercising.  Cover yourself with the full coverage of Kotex, and be sure to take advantage of the free Goody Hair Elastics available at select Walmarts!

Easter Weekend

In an effort to make my blog more personal this year, I figured I would share some more personal photos from weekend happenings and such! We had a lovely Easter weekend so I thought I would share a few photos quick.  A lot of these can also be found on my instagram if you want to follow along!

I hardly ever buy fresh flowers for our house but this weekend since we had friends coming over AND it was Easter and flowers were everywhere I bought a few.  I love how these pink flowers look in a collection of turquoise jars on our coffee table :)

We had two other couples over for dinner on Saturday night. I made these Chicken Caesar Flatbreads from Cassie Craves which are sooo yummy and perfect to make for company coming over as they are not very difficult to cook! I'm naughty and add a little bit of cream cheese onto the flatbread too ;)

It was fun to be able to see some friends, I feel like once spring time hits we all come out of hibernation and make more of an effort to hang out on the weekends. Hubby doesn't look too happy in this picture we took out getting fro-yo. It mightttt just be because he was the only completely sober person in this picture haha.  Hey! Friends over and wine in abundance just go hand in hand for me :) Unless you are the DD like hubby was. Then you just have to put up with us!!!

I got to spend some time crafting this weekend. I was quite productive and cranked out a bunch of new pretty earrings.  All of them are newly listed in my etsy shop and I'll have tutorial for two of them coming soon.

And of course we got to celebrate Easter this weekend. I love Easter for what it stands for: Jesus rising again and a reminder of the sacrifice he made for us, and also because it's one Sunday where you can really dress up for church and not look out of place :) I got this cute pink lace dress at Ross this weekend - it's so girly I love it!!

We had brunch with my family for our Easter meal.  My mother decided to do a "Caribbean Themed" Easter meal.  Yeah, try to come up with a Caribbean themed side dish to bring for Easter lunch and let me know how that works for you.  Um...should I bring some curried goat? Fried plantains?? In this type of situation I really wish we could have stuck to the traditional glazed ham and scalloped potatoes. In the end I brought a rice casserole as my side dish which kind of fit the Caribbean theme even though it was a Mexican recipe. Shhh don't tell :)

Hanging out with my cute niece!!!

We ended our Easter weekend with a family hike/walk/jog with our doggie Jefferson since it was so nice out. Hubby always likes to pack a full ruck for exercise when we go out. I think it's a little much :) But Jefferson looked so cute sitting next to it waiting to leave!

We  also just bought him a harness since I've been taking him out running on our local trail a lot more.  This little doggie has so much energy! He is always pulling on his collar so hard so we thought a harness would even out the strain for him.  Of course I let hubby pick it out though and he orders a freaking tactical harness for him.  Now Jefferson can even carry his own little pouches and everything on it it.  Pretty extreme if you ask me, but it did work well and tactical or not he does look pretty cute in it :)

So that's a brief overview of our Easter weekend.  I love the weekends now that it's getting a little warmer outside: I don't squirrel myself away inside all weekend trying to keep warm and actually go out and live a little more! 

What were you guys up to this weekend? Did you have a nice Easter with Family?

Your Whims Wednesday #158 {And Features}

Time for another Your Whims Wednesday Party!

Your Whims Wednesday

Here are some of my favorites from the last party!

Vintage Window Chalkboard by Atkinson Drive
Vintage Window Chalkboard | Atkinson Drive

Floral Stamped Earrings by My DIY Corner

Beaded Bowls by Etcetorize
beaded bowls, polymer clay bowl

Gold Fringe Earrings by Everyday Bijoux
 
Thanks to all who linked up! Grab a button if you were featured :)
 
Featured on My Girlish Whims
 
Now... onto this weeks party!

I show off my girlish whims weekly on my blog, and now I want to see yours with 
Your Whims Wednesday!

Guidlines:
1. Link up as many projects as you would like: as long as it is one of your girly ways, you can link it! I'd love to see crafts, recipes, style posts, etc. Anything and everything feminine :)
2.Please add my button (code at the top of this post) to either your blog post or somewhere on your blog. 
3. Take a quick moment to comment on at least one other entry. We we all love comments!! 
4.I'd love if you would follow me as well :)