Archives for May 2012

Bloggie Bestie – Tiffany of Life with the Little Man

May 31, 2012 10 Comments

Happy Thursday dolls!!!

Today we’d like to introduce you to….

Tiffanie of Life with the Little Man!

Gotta love a girl that’s organized!!! She’s sharing a FABULOUS organization tool with you dolls today! Enjoy!
And don’t forget to leave her some bloggie lovin’ below… AND some at her place where I’m sharing today! 😉

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Hello! First I wanted to say THANK YOU to Kassi for asking me to be the Bloggie Bestie for the week!

I am sooooo excited to have the privilege to share my little blog with new people and I am excited to talk with you guys a little bit about my new bloggie love……… my Blog Binder…. sigh…….

I have a type A personality so it is important to me to keep my life in order. I thrive when someone asks me what I am doing on a date 2 months from now and I can pull out my life planner and be confident when I tell them that I am either free or available. With that being said, my life is CRAZY!!! I am always busy or feel like I always have something going on. I would go insane if I didn’t stay organized. My life planner is always jammed packed and there is barely room for extra things. (Here is a glimpse of my week last week… It was actually a good week and I wasn’t that busy)

With that being said, I love my life planner but it seemed like there was no room to add my blog stuff and I desperately needed room to keep track of my blog. Introducing…..drum roll please…..

MY BLOG BINDER

Isn’t it pretty?! Are you in love?…. Okay Okay… I may be getting ahead of myself here… perhaps you would like to know whats inside….

I have five different sections in my binder that are separated by tabs.

My Calendar: This is where I keep track of things going on with my blog. I write down when I will post certain things, when giveaways are ending, link ups that I want to participate in, and anything else that I want to be sure to do.

My To Do: I keep anything that needs to be done for my blog here. If I need to contact a company about a review, or if I needed to be sure to take pictures of something I would write it down here. Here is a link to the document that I use for my list.

My Reviews/Giveaways: This is where I keep notes about an upcoming giveaway or review I am doing for my blog. I write down the times I contact them, any important dates, and any notes about the giveaway. I love having my binder handy because when I get a product to review, I can keep all of my notes in one place so that when I go to write my review its a breeze. Here is a link to the document that I use.

My Advertising: Here I kept all of my advertising stuff. I kept track of what company had ads on my blog, the start and end times of their ads, and any other information that I needed to keep track of for my ads. Since making this binder I have recently feel in love with a site called Passionfruit and I no longer use this section. If you have never heard of them and you sell ad space on your blog…. you seriously need to check them out. Its a wonderful site that keeps track of everything for you. All you have to do it set up the ad sizes and info and paste the codes to your blog. They take care of the rest. I don’t have to worry about putting ads up on certain days or taking them down once they expire, Passionfruit takes care of it all for me! How can you argue with that? For anyone that wants to keep track of this through paper still or are just curious as to what I did, here is the link to the document that I used before switching.

My Ideas/Inspiration: Next to my calendar, this is my favorite section! I love coming here when an idea pops into my head that I don’t want to forget. I keep plain white computer paper in this section along with a clear sheet protector page. If a find a color swatch or anything that sparks my inspiration, I just stick it in the page protector so I have it whenever I want it!

I hope you have enjoyed my rambling on about my binder and I hope that this has inspired you all to create a blog binder of your own (Heck… you might already have one and are thinking that I am slow on the up take!) I would love to hear any suggestions that you have for keeping your blog stuff organized or if you are using a blog binder, I would love to hear what you do.

Thanks again to the lovely ladies at Truely Lovely for having me over!

I hope to hear from ya soon!

My Blog: Life With The Little Man

My Twitter:

My Facebook:

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THANKS so much to Tiffanie for sharing her Blog Binder idea with us today!
I really need to work at getting all my blog info that organized!!

Have a lovely day dolls! Happy organizing!!!

Filed Under: Bloggie Bestie, Blogging Tips, Organization

Secret Blogger Swap – What I Received!

May 30, 2012 16 Comments

Hey there lovelies! I love a good package swap! Don’t you?!?

Today’s post is about what I received in the Framed Frosting Secret Blogger Swap from the lovely Tiffany of Blabbering Thoughts. It just so happened that she was MY swap partner too, so you can click that link up there to see what I sent her.

Based on the information I shared about myself, I received the loveliest set of gifts from Tiffany!!! She even included a little sticky note to explain about each item!!

The frame – For being a newlywed!
Nail Polish – Something pink
Cute little dotted flower pot – Something turquoise
WASHI tape!!! – Something fun!

LOVE it ALL!!! I am so excited to try the paper tape… I’ve been meaning to order some (we don’t have a Target here), so I am thrilled she thought to include that!
Such a sweet and thoughtful gift!

THANKS TIFFANY!!! Excited to call you my new bloggie friend!!!

Interested in joining a package swap? Check out Cheers, Bethani’s Snail Mail Social.

Have a lovely rest of the week dolls!!!

Linking this to the Framed Frosting link up.

Filed Under: Friends, Gift Ideas Tagged With: Package Swap

Clever Snack Jar

May 29, 2012 12 Comments

Hey there lovelies!!!
Did you know that one of my favorite crafting supplies is vinyl!

You can add a touch of fun to just about anything with vinyl and a cutting machine or scissors!

For the project that I’m sharing today I decided to fancy up a snack jar to hold snacks at my office.
I thought and thought about a clever saying to use that would be fun but still appropriate enough to show off at work… Finally (with a little help from Kayli) I came up with this!

Funny right!?! At least I thought so… 😉
To make your own clever snack jar you’ll need a jar or other container of your choice.
Some vinyl, I used pink and turquoise for mine. And a cutting machine. I have a Silhouette SD.
If you are really talented you could trace and cut the words with scissors too!
OR even use alphabet stickers to spell out your saying! You know… just throwing a few options out there!

Since I have a Silhouette I designed my saying, “SNACKS! Hey, a Girl’s Gotta Eat!” on the computer then cut it out using my machine.

Then I used a little transfer paper to apply the vinyl onto my jar! Easy, peasy!

The last, but most important step for this craft… Filling your jar with yummy snacks!!

Hopefully yours are more creative than mine!
Maybe something like these dessert bars I made recently… 😉

Happy crafting lovelies!!!

Linking this here and here and .

P.S. We’d love if ! Thanks new friend!!

Filed Under: Crafts, Organization, Tutorials Tagged With: Office, Silhouette, Vinyl

JUNIEblake Giveaway and Fancy This Fridays #77

May 25, 2012 61 Comments

We have a TREAT for you dolls this lovely Friday!!!

Have you heard of JUNIEblake yet?

JUNIEblake is a modest clothing line designed by two sisters, Emma and Rachel, and their mother, Lynn.
We’re extra excited to share them with you lovelies today as this brand new clothing line is based out of Safford, AZ!
We are thrilled to be supporting these local lovelies!!!

*Click here to see their segment on Sonoran Living Live.

It all started with their clothing boutique, .
You might’ve heard the name in a few of my WIW posts… Like this one and this one.
They had trouble finding modest, but trendy clothing to sell in their store, so they decided to design their own line!

So exciting, right!?!

Today they are offering a $30 Gift Card to JUNIEblake for one of our lucky readers!!!
You can order from their website online, so no worries if you’re not local!

This beauty is one of my favorites!

Loving how this pretty mint top paired with the Kelly skirt makes a gorgeous outfit!!

Please use the Rafflecopter form below to enter and good luck!!
Giveaway closes on Friday June 1st!
THANKS to the ladies of JUNIEblake for offering this lovely giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

For an extra entry link up to Fancy This Fridays below, but be sure to tell me what number your link is in the Rafflecopter form above!

Have a lovely weekend friends!!!!

Filed Under: Fancy This Fridays, Giveaways Tagged With: Fashion, Shopping

May Sponsor Group Spotlight – Medium Ads

May 24, 2012 2 Comments

Hi friends! This month we are celebrating Mothers in our Sponsor Spotlight series!
We’ve asked each of our sponsors to share a photo of them with their babies or of them with their momma!
You can see the Small Ad Sponsor Spotlight here.

Today we’d love if you would take a second and meet (AND GREET!!) our medium ad sponsors…

Katherine of Irish Italian Blessings and Aleks of Aleks Handmade!!!

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We’ve been a fan of Katherine’s place, Irish Italian Blessings since it was AN Irish Italian Blessing! Now she’s got two darling kiddos and a slightly different blog name! 😉 We are so excited to help her announce that she has now opened up her blog to sponsorship! You can bet we are on her sidebar! 😉 You can be too! Use code, GRAD for $2.00 off!

Katherine JUST graduated from college by the way! Congrats girl! You ROCK!!!

Connect with Katherine:

Blog * * *

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Miss Aleks is getting closer and closer to becoming a Mrs! Her wedding is right around the corner and to celebrate she’s been sharing some AMAZING weddings in her Wedding Wednesdays series!
Over in her shop, Aleks Handmade, you’ll find pretty , , and !

Connect with Aleks:

* Blog * * * *

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While you’re here, check out this adorable personalized craft idea from this week’s Bloggie Bestie, Janine!
Enter our Printrunner Business Card Giveaway and come back tomorrow for an exciting giveaway from JUNIEblake!

Happy Thursday lovelies!!!

Filed Under: Sponsor Spotlight

Bloggie Bestie – Janine of 3 Wishes

May 24, 2012 12 Comments

Hello there lovelies! It’s time for another Bloggie Bestie Thursday!
Today Janine of 3 Wishes has a fun tutorial for you! You can see her first guest post on Truly Lovely here. We really enjoy this lovely lady and know you will too!
Take it away Janine!

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Hello Truly Lovely readers! I am so happy to be back as a Bestie today. Please hop over to 3 Wishes and show some love to Kassi as she is talking about being thankful. A topic near and dear to my heart!

I am thankful to Kassi and her sister Kayli for having me as their guest today!!Today I thought I would share a craft with you…I have two sweet friends having babies very soon, so I just finished up one of these precious name plaques and I will be creating the other one for you today.I have to admit, I am not the most crafty, but I sure love trying. I love receiving handmade gifts so I try to give things that I can make myself that are thoughtful.My dear friend Lori is having a baby and this is for her little one.You can hang these on the wall or on the child’s door. I have made quite a few of these as gifts.

Here are the supplies you will need. I found everything at Michael’s craft store.

A plaque. Michael’s sells different shapes and sizes and they are reasonable
Wood letters for the child’s name
Paint…I am using a pale blue and beige,with pale beige for polka dots
A glue gun
Coordinating ribbon, this is what you will use to hang the plaque, you can even glue buttons, or small toys on the plaque if you would like

First paint your plaque the color you would like.

Then paint your letters.

You will glue your letters on. I actually just use paint to glue them on.

I used a Q-tip to paint the polka dots.

Then you will hot glue the ribbon on the back, I found this sweet ribbon that says made with love.

As you can see it is not a difficult project, but it is adorable. Here are some others I have created.

For my one of my nephew’s, I found a toy skateboard and painted it, then glued it on.

Aren’t they adorbs. These would make great birthday gifts, shower gifts, even as a house warming gift for a child.
Thanks for reading along today. I hope you lovelies have a wonderful day.
Please remember to say hi to Kassi over at my place.

A big thank you to Kassi and Kayli for the hospitality. These girls are Truly Lovely!!!

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Kassi here… Now, how cute would that be for a baby shower gift!?! THANKS for the idea Janine! And thanks for swapping with me today!

Filed Under: Bloggie Bestie, Crafts Tagged With: Craft Paint, Tutorials, Wood Projects

Sponsor Spotlight – Kristine of The Foley Fam

May 23, 2012 3 Comments

Hey dolls! Remember we’ve been celebrating MOMMA this month!
Here’s another amazing Truly Lovely large ad sponsor with a Mom related guest post!

Say hello to Kristine of The Foley Fam!

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Hope all you Rockin Momma’s were spoiled this year, just like you deserve! Lucky for me I got to spend it with my Mom and my girls (and some Mexican food my fav!)!

My Mom.

She’s taught me so much, and is the mother and woman I strive to be. When I think of life lessons she has taught me that I will pass to M&M, the saying below is one of them.

It is a friendly reminder, not only to others but mostly to ourselves.

Please feel free to use this as you wish. If you post it on the web tho,
please reference back to my blog. I made it using a picture I took
during one of our morning walks, and the program Picasa to add the text.
So simple, and better yet free! I printed it out and framed it. It is
suited for a 4×6 frame. Just right click, save to your computer, and
have it printed like a normal photo. Enjoy!

I’m finding the saying above holds true in many aspects of our lives, including this blogging world. It’s easy to just assume something about someone, I’m guilty of it as well.

I don’t know what fuels people. I don’t know what’s happening in their
lives, their journey. Who am I to assume they’re just being a jackass
just to be a jackass? Maybe they really are just having a bad day? All I
can really do is make sure I am being the best me I can be, and hope that
positive light spreads to others so they spread some positive light out
too!!

It’s easy to get caught up in someone else’s life, how “perfect” it is. Or how perfect it may seem. The blogging world pretty much makes us question ourselves. Why can’t I be a supermom like her, why can’t I make pretty things like her, why can’t I bake like her? Really tho, WHY can’t you? Who says you can’t? Pity parties are definitely healthy, as long as they are short lived and you move on… to bigger and better. So I say we kick pity parties in the bum… hard!

Everyone has their own worries, their own stresses, whether they chose
to document and share them is up to them. If they are sharing them,
comment. Leave your wisdom, praise, whatever. Leave something positive.
If you think someone rocks let them know. Trust me, it makes a difference. Be kind (rewind, ha had to put that in there). It doesn’t take much effort to be kind, I promise.
Everyone has a bad day, but remember someone out there is having an
even worse day. Remember, people are just people. The more positivity
you shoot out there, the more it will circle, and better yet eventually
come barreling back to you!!

Whoa, on the deepness factor of this post (wink wink).

I swear to you I’m not always this preachy over at our place (ha!), we actually are all about having fun! So if you’re into that type of thing, come partay with us!!

P.S. We never need a reason to celebrate, but I do have my Blog-iversary celebration happening right now! Enter to win some FABULOUS swag from some of my best friends! Kassie and Kayli just might be giving something away the last Sunday in May too… just maybe

Have a happy day! XOXO

Hope you’ll pop over and leave Kristine some bloggie love at her place! AFTER leaving her a little love on this post of course! 😉 Let us say yet again, we are SO thankful for all of the Mom’s in our lives! Including you mommies that read our blog! THANK YOU! And thanks to all our amazing May sponsors!!!

Filed Under: Sponsor Spotlight Tagged With: Mom

WIW – Crochet Headband from Stitch Sense

May 23, 2012 10 Comments

Hi there friends… Has the shock worn off yet from yesterday’s confession? 😉
Or maybe you weren’t even shocked at all….
I’m sure I’ll be hearing about it all weekend regardless {family in town}… but that’s ok. haha.

So, you know our rocking sponsor, ?
Of course you do! Cause you know ALL of our lovely sponsors over there on the left, yes? Awesome!
She sent me a to review recently!
I’ll be honest, I’m not a big headband wearing girl…
Like I told Nadir, it’s not because I don’t like how they look, I’ve just never really had any!

I can honestly say I am so glad she sent me this little lovely to try! It goes perfect with several outfits! The pink/purple tones are great paired with almost anything!

I’ve worn it twice just this last week!
The first day, with curled hair, to a team roping with the hubs and some friends.
I got several comments on how cute it was! The hubs even liked it and he’s usually hesitant whenever I try something new “fashion-wise”. 😉

The second time I wore it to work with a more casual outfit and straight hair.
Having a cute headband really gives an everyday outfit more of a polished, ‘I actually tried’ look.

This headband specifically features three hand crocheted rosettes in light pink and purple colors. It’s available, among other choices, in the . Nadir will also gladly create a for you in the colors of your choice!
I’d love to have a few more in varying colors to create other fun looks!

My thanks to Nadir for the lovely headband!
As always all opinions and thoughts about products featured on Truly Lovely are strictly my own!

Linking to these fun parties by the way! Hope you’ll check them out!

Filed Under: Product Reviews, Shopping, What I Wore Tagged With: Hair Accessories, Sponsored

Archives for May 2012

Bloggie Bestie – Tiffany of Life with the Little Man

Tiffanie of Life with the Little Man!

Secret Blogger Swap – What I Received!

Clever Snack Jar

JUNIEblake Giveaway and Fancy This Fridays #77

Have you heard of JUNIEblake yet?

Bloggie Bestie – Janine of 3 Wishes

WIW – Crochet Headband from Stitch Sense

Get Truly Lovely in Your Inbox!

Truly Lovely Sponsors

Looking for something?

Truly Lovely Affiliates

My Blog Tribe

THANKS for your VOTE!!!

Truly Lovely Participation:

Truly Lovely: A History…

Our Lovely Bloggie Buddies!!

Fancy This Fridays is Powered by:

Follow Us on Twitter

Like Us On Facebook

Archives for May 2012

Bloggie Bestie – Tiffany of Life with the Little Man

Tiffanie of Life with the Little Man!

Secret Blogger Swap – What I Received!

Clever Snack Jar

Sponsor Spotlight – Creations by Sasha

Sasha of Creations by Sasha!!!

* Shop * * *

Sponsor Spotlight – Nadir of Stitch Sense Design

Nadir of Stitch Sense Design!

* Blog * * * *

JUNIEblake Giveaway and Fancy This Fridays #77

Have you heard of JUNIEblake yet?

May Sponsor Group Spotlight – Medium Ads

Katherine of Irish Italian Blessings and Aleks of Aleks Handmade!!!

Blog * * *

* Blog * * * *

Bloggie Bestie – Janine of 3 Wishes

Sponsor Spotlight – Kristine of The Foley Fam

Say hello to Kristine of The Foley Fam!

WIW – Crochet Headband from Stitch Sense

Get Truly Lovely in Your Inbox!

Truly Lovely Sponsors

Looking for something?

Truly Lovely Affiliates

My Blog Tribe

THANKS for your VOTE!!!

Truly Lovely Participation:

Truly Lovely: A History…

Our Lovely Bloggie Buddies!!

Fancy This Fridays is Powered by:

Follow Us on Twitter

Like Us On Facebook