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Happy Birthday Banner – Review and GIVEAWAY!

10 Jun

Welcome to Week TWO of our month of giveaways! I hope you’re enjoying perusing the shops of these crafty Mamas.

Speaking of crafty:

crafty schmitt logo border

Here is one super busy Mom who loves to create! I met Abbie Schmitt, owner and creator of Crafty Schmitt, about a year ago through a local Moms group. She has a cutie-patootie daughter (whom she clearly adores) and a supportive husband, along with the ability to design makes for a super business!

Construction Birthday Onesie

Construction Birthday Onesie

Construction Highchair Birthday Banner

Construction Highchair Birthday Banner

Crafty Schmitt Tutu

Crafty Schmitt Tutu

Crafty Schmitt can help with all your birthday party needs! Abbie designs everything from onesies and tutus to banners for walls and high chairs. If you have a theme in mind, Crafty Schmitt can provide for you. The possibilities are endless!

Dinosaur Onesie

Dinosaur Onesie

Welcome Santa Banner

Welcome Santa Banner

Welcome Baby Banner

Welcome Baby Banner

Finding Nemo Birthday Onesie

Finding Nemo Birthday Onesie

I’m excited to have a Crafty Schmitt laminated pennant banner as part of sweet whimsy designs’ shows (photos to come). Thanks for that, Abbie! Crafty Schmitt is fast and efficient, making your special celebration a sure hit.

Birthday Ensemble

Birthday Ensemble

Crafty Schmitt is giving one fortunate fan a Happy Birthday banner! (A $16 value!)

Happy Birthday Banner by Crafty Schmitt

Happy Birthday Banner by Crafty Schmitt

Every celebration needs a title, don’t you think?! Choose from endless designs or ask the Crafty Schmitt to come up with something for you! Perfect for your summer shindig, a Happy Birthday banner will for certain add something special to your little one’s birthday party.

crafty schmitt happy birthday banner 4crafty schmitt happy birthday banner 2crafty schmitt happy birthday banner 3

Enter to win a Happy Birthday Banner here.

Thanks, Crafty Schmitt, for bringing a little creativity and fun to little ones’ lives each day!

Good luck, everyone!

(Shameless plug: I should add that sweet whimsy designs’ lead artist, i.e. myself, created Crafty Schmitt’s logo design you see at top of this post.)

Full disclosure: I have not been compensated in any way to write this post or feature Crafty Schmitt in this post. It was completely my own doing, simply a collaboration, and I hope you never thought otherwise, even for a second :).

TERMS AND CONDITIONS: One lucky winner will receive one (1) “Happy Birthday Banner” from Crafty Schmitt. Contest begins June 10, 2013 at 12:00am and ends June 17, 2013 at 12:00am. Winner will be announced Monday, June 17, 2013. Prize will be shipped to any of the 48 contingent U.S. states within one week of winner announcement. Entries will be verified.

Subway Art Block – Review and GIVEAWAY!

2 Jun

It’s time to start this month off with a BANG! The Whimsical Sweet is pairing with some pretty neat local artisans/crafters to bring you a month of handmade goodness to include reviews and giveaways!

First up:

Busy B Boutique

I have some great friends.

Crafty friends. Smart friends.

It’s great when you get to meet someone who has the whole package, and my friend Bethany at Busy B Boutique has just that!

Busy B Boutique is a one-Mama show. Bethany runs her crafty business from home while she cares for her two little blonde beauties and supports her Army-strong hubby, all while they work and live life to the fullest. They’re busy, alright! Not quite sure how she finds the time to create everything she sells in her shop.

Busy B’s online boutique is eclectic and fun for everyone! She offers handmade items such as these whimsical mugs:

"Mustache Mugs"

Mustache Mugs

You’ll find some oh-so-hip stationery in the shop as well:

"Chevron Monogrammed Stationery"

Chevron Monogrammed Stationery

The shop really took off when she introduced home decor subway art blocks:

Patriotic Subway Art

Patriotic Subway Art

Busy B Grammy Subway Art

Personalized Rooster Block

Busy B Summer Subway art

Summer Time Subway Art

My personal favorite? Personalized pieces, like the Baby Subway Art:

Baby Subway Art

Baby Subway Art

When you place an order with Busy B Boutique, get ready to enjoy your creation soon – turnover time is short and she’ll get that art to you in no time! Busy B is willing to work with you to create whatever your heart desires, be it a personalized block (you choose the colors and size!) or that special set of mugs you’ve been eyeing to share the morning cup with your loved one. If you’re not sure what to choose, Bethany will work with you to design a custom listing just for you!

What will this shop give to me?

Home Decor Subway Art

Home Decor Subway Art

Busy B Boutique is giving away her Home Decor Subway Block to one lucky winner! Moving into a new home or know someone who is? This block makes a fantastic housewarming gift. It also adds a little reminder of the important things in life:

Dream big! Create! Make Memories!

I like the sound of that, don’t you?!

Please enter to win this giveaway here.

I probably shouldn’t mention that Busy B is creating a little piece of subway art for sweet whimsy designs’ tent! Oops! Did I just leak a little secret?? ;)

Full disclosure: I have not been compensated in any way to write this post or feature Busy B Boutique in this post. It was completely my own doing, simply a collaboration, and I hope you never thought otherwise, even for a second :).

TERMS AND CONDITIONS: One lucky winner will receive one (1) “Home Decor Subway Art Block” from Busy B Boutique. Contest begins June 3, 2013 at 12:00am and ends June 10, 2013 at 12:00am. Winner will be announced Monday, June 10, 2013. Prize will be shipped to any of the 48 contingent U.S. states within one week of winner announcement. Entries will be verified. See shop listing for details.

Wordless Wednesday

8 Aug

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A Moment In Time :: 07-26-12

27 Jul

20120727-144220.jpg

A fun day meeting new people.

Bowling for the first time.

Playing with cousins on the lake.

Dinner.

Boating.

Sunset.

Evening.

Three and three-quarter years old.

This moment.

This moment in time was captured last night by my super awesome husband on his phone. Unfiltered.

What We Ate: My (Not-So) Secret Dressing

17 Jul

In the summer, one of my least favorite thing to do is cook indoors. Although we love using fresh, local ingredients in our meals, it just plain sucks to cook in the heat. Instead, we grill out a lot and eat salads. Problem solved.

When I was a little girly girl, I loved to eat salad. My grandmother made the best homemade salad dressing composed simply of red wine vinegar, olive oil, garlic, salt (lots of salt) and pepper. I’ve tweaked that recipe a bit but still use that one from time to time. Here’s my favorite dressing. We save a lot of money making our own, surely, and preparing our own fresh salads right at home.

    Honey Balsamic Dressing

Equal parts extra virgin olive oil & balsamic vinegar (try 2 tbsp of each for a family-sized side salad)

Honey, around 1 tbsp, more or less to taste

Honey mustard or any mustard…about 2 tsps, more or less to taste

Salt pinch

Pepper pinch

Shake well & pour over salad. Yes, it’s that easy.

I have a plethora of vinegar varieties in my pantry. Red wine, balsamic, white balsamic, white peach balsamic, seasoned rice vinegar, apple cider vinegar…and always willing to try more! They all work fine. Also, I prefer tupelo honey or raw, organic honey for it’s health benefits but any honey will do, of course. :) Occasionally, I add fresh herbs, like cilantro or dill weed, or even dried herbs such as Herbes De Provence. Anything thrown in will be delectable.

Not-so secret, right?! Let me know how you like it. I can’t bring myself to ever have anything else. This dressing hits the spot every time.

Enjoy! And salúte!

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