Contributor Spotlight and ‘Your Great Idea’ Link Party

Contributor Spotlight and ‘Your Great Idea’ Link Party

ByMariel

Jessica is one of my newest contributors. I was first drawn to her craft blog because of how colorful and happy everything is. From felt creations, to family parties, to sewing projects, she has a knack for creating projects your kids will love. But, her skills go beyond the kid creations, as she has a whole bunch of unique craft projects for the home. She’s amazingly talented and creative, and I’m so lucky to have her here. I look forward to many more of her projects in the next year. Be sure to check out her blog, Cutesy Crafts, follow her on Facebook and Pinterest.

Here are a few of my favorite posts from Jessica’s blog…

Tin Roof Sundae Pie (she: Jana)
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Tin Roof Sundae Pie (she: Jana)

ByJana

“We’re Thankful for Pie Night!” It’s okay to be thankful for pie, right? It makes everything in the world good, right? At least that’s what I tell myself!

We celebrate Pie Night on Thanksgiving Eve (Wednesday night) because, honestly after a big nice Thanksgiving dinner who has any room left for pie? This way we can have all the pie we want & then will still be hungry for Thanksgiving dinner the next day. Win, win I tell ya! We have every family invited bring their favorite pie & then we go to town. If we’re not with family for Thanksgiving we have a nice Pie Night at our home with our friends. Such a great tradition!!

Felt Feather Headband (she: Anne)
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Felt Feather Headband (she: Anne)

ByAnne

Hello everyone. I’m Anne from Circus Berry. I am very excited and honored to be a part of the Or So She Says team, sharing some fun crafts and DIY with you each month!

I am a perpetual crafter, decorator, and inventor of reasons to have celebrations everyday. I live outside of Buffalo, NY with my husband, two kids, and dog. My professional career began as a Speech-Language Pathologist, but I have had a flair for DIY, decor, crafts, entertainment, food, and drink for as long as I can remember. After a few untimely layoffs in the past couple of years I took lemons and made lemonade, taking my other passions to the next level and starting my own party-styling and design business. The Circus Berry blog is my natural extension of that business, where I share inspiration for food, drink, party, DIY, home style, photography, and all around fun. Stop over to see the crazy, the creative, and the spark-tacular!

I have always enjoyed making hair pretties for my daughter…heck, for myself. With Thanksgiving coming and the very trendy feather being so popular right now, I crafted a quick felt feather headband that I am excited to be sharing today.

Blogger’s Favorite Things Giveaway!!
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Blogger’s Favorite Things Giveaway!!

ByMariel

After the smashing success of last year’s Favorite Things Giveaway, we are back for another round. That’s right-we have gathered up our favorite things to give away, and YOU have the opportunity to win them! Not only is this giveaway a fantastic way to drum up gift ideas for anyone and everyone on your list this year, it is a great Wish List Idea Generator for yourself as well. Every single giveaway basket is chock full of fabulous, tried-and-true, favorites and gift ideas. Even if it’s a treat, always fun to give to a friend with a note that says, “Enjoy one of my favorites” for Christmas, birthdays, or just because.

Come check out my Favorite Things Basket, enter to win it, AND enter to win baskets from all of my bloggy friends!

Everyone is Special ~ November 2013 Inspiration
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Everyone is Special ~ November 2013 Inspiration

ByMariel

Happy Sunday!!

I just finished reading a wonderful book to my kids. Have you heard of the book, Wonder by R.J. Palacio? I really had no idea what to expect from it, just that it must be good, with thousands of five-star reviews. Turns out, we loved it too! It’s the story of a young boy, with a serious facial deformity. He has avoided public schools, up until the 5th grade, when he hesitantly decides he’s ready to give it a shot. As expected, there are some rough moments for him, and some moments that are downright horrible. But, the book is filled with tender moments and great examples of love.

Contributor Spotlight and ‘Your Great Idea’ Link Party

Contributor Spotlight and ‘Your Great Idea’ Link Party

ByMariel

On Saturdays, I’m spotlighting the wonderful contributors I have here at ‘Or so she says…’. I really, really love my gals. They’re all super talented and great to work with, so it’s easy to brag about them.

Today, I want you to meet Jana. She cooks and blogs with her daughter, Kyla, and they make a fabulous team. Every once in a while you find a certain blogger that seems to have similar taste buds as you. Jana is one of them. Click ‘full article’ to read all about her, check out the great ideas from the link party, and share a few of your own!

Soft Pretzels www.oneshetwoshe.com
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Bonnie’s 4-Ingredient Soft Pretzels

ByMariel

So, I recently shared a recipe for Broccoli Cheese Soup and I promised that I would share the soft pretzel recipe that was in the picture. Today’s the day. I’ve already bragged about my sister-in-law, Bonnie, who is one of the many that supply me with delicious recipes, but this is another one of hers. (Other Bonnie recipes: Gingerbread Crumb Cake, Favorite Cinnamon Rolls, and Death by Special K) I first had these soft pretzels at a family gathering. She served them with a big pot of soup, and I had to have the recipe… along with everyone else. I love how there are only four ingredients and they’re all things I have on hand. Plus, the kids loved helping out on this one, shaping their own pretzel, painting on melted butter, salting…

Faux Zinc Planter Boxes ~ for a Dollar! (she: Jeanie)
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Faux Zinc Planter Boxes ~ for a Dollar! (she: Jeanie)

Byjeanie

As I was decorating my front porch for Fall, I realized that I had no containers, pots or planters for the mums. I’m not much of a gardener, flower or plant person. I mean, I love flowers and plants, but they don’t love me back. I have the brownest thumb ever. So therefore, I don’t have all the accessories, gadgets, pots, planters, etc. But what I do have are three mums (that are still alive – for the most part) for my front porch that need a home. Now I know I’ll plant them soon, hoping they’ll come back next fall, but they won’t. I plant three every year and only ONE has ever come back {sigh}. But in the meantime, I’d like to put them into something decorative for the front porch.

Have you priced the pretty urns, pots and planters lately? Holy moly! I especially like the Zinc ones that I saw at Restoration Hardware, starting at $205. I don’t think that’s in my budget. But, I came up with something that totally does… and, it’s just a dollar!

adoption tips

My 6 Tips for Finding the Right Adoption Agency (she: Brenda)

ByMariel

When we started to look at adoption as a way to build our family we sought out people we trusted. First, it was my friend who had just adopted her second child. She had been through the whole thing twice and I knew she could help Brad and I start this exciting journey the right way. She talked to us about the agency she went through. We felt comfortable with this agency and even more comfortable hearing her experiences so we began (this was in 1998). Not soon before we started the adoption process, an agency wide group was being formed to help support couples as they adopt.

Contributor Spotlight and ‘Your Great Idea’ Link Party

Contributor Spotlight and ‘Your Great Idea’ Link Party

ByMariel

For the next several Saturdays, I’m spotlighting the wonderful contributors I have here at ‘Or so she says…’.  I really, really love my gals.  They’re all super talented and great to work with, so it’s easy to brag about them. Previous Brags: Cathy of Lemon Tree Dwelling, Brooke from Blissful Roots, Lauren from The Thinking…

Grapevine Wire Pumpkins (she: Jessica)
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Grapevine Wire Pumpkins (she: Jessica)

ByJessica

Browsing around the floral section of the craft store, I came across some rustic grapevine floral wire. I used it to make some cute wire pumpkins for the house. They would look so great in a fall tablescape or mantle! I actually used this same technique to make these pipe cleaner and pony bead pumpkins with my kids. They look especially cute grouped with some burlap pumpkins that I made.

Come check them out… they’re simple, cute, and are perfect for both Halloween and Thanksgiving!