Blog Crush: Gorgeous Shiny Things

How is it that I've never seen Goreous Shiny Things before? I saw this post and was hooked. Check these things out:

When they decide what to call these and start selling them, I'll be a customer for sure!

Amazing! Go check out Gorgeous Shiny Things...you'll be happy you did!

My First Giveaway!

Hello, all! What a week this has been! I'm finishing up my Craigslist dresser, searching for a mirror for my mini-redo of my bathroom and painting items for my office redo! Even with all that in the works, I decided it was time for my first giveaway.

I've told you before about Tastefully Simple products and how much I enjoy them. Well, I'm also a consultant so I figured what better to feature for my first giveaway than a few of my favorite Tastefully Simple items!

First, you'll get a Bountiful Beer Bread Mix. This has got to be their most popular item - I sell a ton of it...with good reason! All you do is mix 12 ounces of a carbonated beverage (doesn't have to be beer!), drizzle with some melted butter (totally optional) and bake. How easy is that? Even I can't screw it up :)

Next, you're getting my absolute favorite TS item...Garlic Garlic. I've mentioned a time or two how much I love garlic and I usually use fresh but I always have this on hand. I sprinkle a little in when I'm browning hamburger, I add a little to my Bountiful Beer Bread Mix sometimes, I add it and some shredded cheese to the top of french bread and broil it...but my favorite use for it is as a dip! You use two tablespoons of Garlic Garlic and 1/2 cup each of mayo and sour cream. That's it! It makes a killer dip - super addictive!

Third up, Spinach & Herb Dip Mix. This makes an excellent dip (again, using just 1/2 cup each of mayo and sour cream) but I rarely use it for that. I love it in my scrambled eggs, as a seasoning for meat or mixed with softened butter for a yummy spread.



Finally, you'll get a Classy Chocolate Pound Cake Mix. Mix 3/4 cups melted butter and 1 cup water and bake. This is the kind of dessert I like to make ;) To make this a little bit healthier, you can substitute applesauce or yogurt (I prefer raspberry!) for all or part of the butter.

That's over $30 in free products! I've got so many other products I love and it was really hard for me to pick just a few so I decided to stick with the basics. Next time I'll share some more favorites :)

Okay, here are the rules:

You get three chances to win. First, go check out my online store, come back and comment to tell me what sounds good to you and what Tastefully Simple product you'd like to try.  Second, become a follower and leave a comment on this post to tell me you are. For a third chance to win, "Like" me on Facebook and then come back and leave another comment to tell me you've done so.

That's it! The giveaway closes one week from today, Wednesday, June 15th at 6:30 CST and the winner will be randomly chosen. Good luck!

Faux Mercury Glass(ish) Lamp: Before and After

Hello, all and happy Monday! Okay, so I'm not a big believer in happy Mondays but I like to think that if I keep telling myself that it's happy, it will be :)

I love mercury glass. I love lamps. Therefore, I love mercury glass lamps. These lamps are everywhere these days too. Unfortunately, they're also very expensive. I decided to look for a hollow glass lamp to try transform. A while back I saw a tutorial posted on Martha Stewart's website so I decided to give it a shot. I've learned that no matter how hard I try, I'm no Martha.

I got this lamp at a thrift store for $5. It isn't a cool shape like I really wanted but it is good enough for a first try...and it was cheap! I dumped the potpourri it was filled with and gave the inside a good cleaning.

I disassembled it and gave the inside a light spray of water like Martha's tutorial directs.

I gave the inside a coat of Krylon's Looking Glass paint. I tipped it to let it dry (though I don't show you a picture of that).

I waited a few hours between coats. I didn't have the patience to wait 24 hours like the tutorial says to. Maybe that's part of my problem :(

I gave the base a light coat too. I didn't want it to be quite as brassy as it was but to still look sort of antiqued.

Well, it doesn't really look like mercury glass but I do like the effect. I'm happy with it for now. It seemed like the paint was really, really runny. It didn't stick to the sides much at all...and I didn't do a thick coat either.

I think it will be a nice addition to my husband's dresser. That isn't the shade I'll be using, I need one a size smaller but I do love drum shades! What do you think? Have you attempted faux mercury glass? I'm willing to give it a second shot - I've got lots of clear glass votive holders!

I also wanted to mention that I'm so happy with the reaction to my daughter's new reading bench. I've gotten so many sweet comments and emails - it really means so much! I've also collected several new followers this past week. I'm thinking that it is time for a giveaway. I'll be posting about that in a couple days :)

See you soon!