Sunshine Award

I can not tell you how excited I am to receive this award. Not only have I brightened someones day, but this is my very first blog award. So thank you to Leslie over at Night Owl Crafting.
Now it is my turn to share The Sunshine Award to 12 other bloggers that have brought sunshine into my life. I need to pause right here for a minute and tell you that I did not even know where to begin, and this took me a few days.
So without further ado here are the 12 I narrowed it down to and I am awarding them The Sunshine Award. (in no particular order)

1. Creative Itch is one of my favorite blogs to follow. If it is not the crafts Misty shares it is the recipes. On of the posts I like most is her notebook/scripture covers. Now if I could just figure out how she gets that cute little flower to lock in place. hint hint Misty. Also hosted at the creative itch is the Sew Cute Tuesday link party.

2. Stephanie's Kitchen has the most amazing recipes. Now don't start drooling but take a look at these chocolate bowls. I haven't quite got the confidence to try them yet but they are going to happen soon.

3. Inspiring Creations is full of unique and fun crafts. Lindsey is definitely one of the most creative blogger out there. This is one of my favorite of her crafts, not to mention her Be Mine plaque.

4. Becky over at Beyond the Picket Fence also has some very unique ideas in store as well. Currently on my to-d0-list is her ruffled burlap pillow. She also hosts the Under $100 link party each week.

5. Punkin Seed Productions is where you will find Kristi and her amazing talent to create meaning out of wooden blocks. Here is one of her latest creations.

6. Life as Lori has an amazing fresh upbeat feel about it. If you have ever been over to Lori's site you know she has a love for topiaries. This one is one of my favorites. BTW Lori was my very first follower:). Lori is the host of Get your Craft on Thurday.

7. Courtney is the author of Red Heads Craft More Fun. This is a fairly new site that I follow. I became hooked when I saw her jute monogram idea.

8. The Tidy Nest is next. Alisa is also very talented. I can not tell you how many times I have made these flowers. They are absolutely the perfect finishing touch.

9. Now if you are into building things and like a good start from scratch project that has a fantastic tutorial Remodelaholic is for you. Cassity's blog is both inspiring and well just plain amazing. This headboard tutorial is another thing on my to-do-list.

10. Smashed Peas and Carrots is another of my favorite blogs to follow. Maggie has alot of fun crafts with great tutorials and recipes. But my favorite part about Maggie's blog is this picture, is her smile just not contagious. Thanks Maggie I needed that.

11. Bitty Bits and Pieces is probably the newest blog that I follow. I found Kim because of my love for Moda fabric, but I think her love is greater than mine.

12. Sumo's Sweet Stuff is another great crafting blog. I have been finding great ideas from Summer's blog long before I even joined the blogging world. Something I find funny is that because of the chocolate chip cookie dough truffle recipe that she posted awhile back, my family is now starting to look like "Sumo" wrestlers. They are so good, we just can't make them enough. Here is a picture from her tutorial. Also hosted in the Make it yourself Monday link party.

Alright ladies here are the rules for the Sunshine Award!

1. Put the logo on your blog or within your post.
2. Pass the award on to 12 other bloggers.
3. Link the nominees within your post.
4. Let the nominees know they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
5. Link back to the person from whom you received this award.

Winner Winner......First Ever Winner

Okay the first ever winner at Minutes to Spare is............
drum roll please.

Misty from the Creative Itch!! Congratulations, shoot me an e-mail at stephanie.thomas1@tx.rr.com with your mailing information.

I want to thank you all for participating, I had a lot of fun. I really enjoyed reading what type of craft is your favorite.

Child's Artwork Easel

Embellish an oversized clothespin, use as an easel for Mother's Day artwork. More kids crafts for Mother's Day found here.

Wild Flower Pin Cushion

After making lots of fun bags, I had a lot of left over scraps. Pin cushions are just the thing for scraps and they make great gifts. Here is the latest pattern I have found. And here is how it turned out. Bigger than I thought it would be, but still so cute.

Linked to:

Mother's Day Frame

Gearing up for Mother's Day. I found this cute frame idea. Something older kids could make on their own. Hmm... I wonder if cub scouts could do this? I am the Bear den leader you see.

Spring Flowers T-shirt Tutorial

Check out this great little tutorial for this darling little girls spring t-shirt. It's over at the Moda Bake shop.

Burlap Spring Wreath

I know April showers bring May flowers, but I couldn't wait until May. My version of the ever popular burlap wreath.

Close up of the little flowers. I can not take credit for their design, but I can not remember what blog I found them on and can not seem to find it again, my apologies. They are very simple. Just cut a 2" strip of fabric fold in half and gather along the cut edge. Once enough gathering is done to make the flower, tie it off and then snip around the edges. I added burlap and a little fabric cone to the centers.

I also wrapped my door hanger in jute so that I could simply hang the wreath on it. No ribbon or anything needed to hang, but you could still add it if you like.

Linked to:
The Girl Creative

First Ever Giveaway!

This is my first ever giveaway. I planned on doing this when I reach 50 followers, which I did a week back. I decided to make a bag since I received an overwhelming response to them when I posted about them earlier. Dimensions: 8Hx10Wx4D
It also has 6 pockets on the outside.

Inside view: 3 pockets and a tab to hook keys or whatever on.

So here is how the giveaway works.
-First entry; Become a follower and tell me that you have, or let me know if you already are.
-Second entry; Let me know what your favorite type of craft is so I can get to know you better. (painting, sewing, woodworking, mod podge :) ect.)
-Third entry; Let me know what your favorite craft of mine has been so far.

I will pick a winner on Friday April the 9th. And post the
winner later on that evening. Good Luck and thank
you all for visiting my blog.

Stephanie (yes, I still need a siggy)