Marvelously Messy : June 2012

Sunday, June 24, 2012

A Marvelous Mess #68 and Features!!!

Some really fun crafts were linked up last week!! Some new faces cames to the party as well....that's so exciting!! I hope you all get a chance to visit at least a couple other blogs and leave nice comments. :-)

Here are my fave's from last week:

DIY Compact Backyard Bar from Turtles and Tails

And the post I'm going to feature on my sidebar for a week is....

Silver Necklace from Leslie Marquez. This is a really cool tutorial....and a craft I have never tried!!

Thanks so much for linking up to my party!! If I featured you in this post, feel free to grab this button:

Now, on to the party!!!

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Unjunk Your Junk Food Book Review

Now, here is a great book for those of us who love junk food but want to eat healthy as well!!! The creators of NaturallySavvy.com have come with the perfect book for healthy foodies to peruse. The point of this book is, essentially, to help people find alternatives to traditional snacks....a worthy cause indeed; traditional snacks are filled with high fructose corn syrup, artificial flavors, artificial colors, and trans fats.

Unjunk is organized by food genre; you'll find all of your favorites (chips and dips, frozen desserts, cookies, sodas, etc.) grouped together and for each "bad choice" listed they have got a good alternative option. Want some cool whip?? Try Truwhip. Some Sprite?? How about a Santa Cruz Lemon Lime. Not only do they give you the better option, they tell you in detail *why* it is better and what is in your favorite junk food that you should be avoiding.

I loved the intro chapters explaining the reasons why we need to eat healthy, even with snack food. It was great to get some explanations on the words used in labeling as well as descriptions of the "bad" ingredients and *why* they should be avoided, with lists of side-effects and everything.

I definitely found this book to be helpful. Just scanning through it inspired me to want to revamp my shopping list. I am sure you'll feel the same. And, it will definite benefit you in the long run!!!

You can find the book here:

Buy Now

Monday, June 18, 2012

Searching for new style....

It's time to revamp my style.

(No, that isn't Chloe)

I've become a little too lazy when it comes to clothes and this summer I want to rock it out, big time, when it comes to clothing. Some shopping was done last week and I've got new summery dresses and some new sandals as well....now it's time to find some new jewelry.

Now, I could go to a store that specializes in fancy jewelry, like Kranichs. They offer some fantastic looking pieces....I mean, seriously look at this Ritani princess engagement ring:

Okay, so I don't really need an engagement ring. :-) But, isn't that fantastic?? Or how about this Verragio Parisian:

FAAAANcy.

Okay, back to reality. What I have been thinking about (and doing, a little bit) is making my own jewelry. A while back I made some feather earrings. Then I made some twisted wire sea glass earrings. Haven't made any necklaces yet....bead work kind of intimidates me, to tell the truth. If I can come up with a successful product, I'll be sure to post a tutorial!! Do any of you have any tips for a beginner??

Gawd, I would love to be able to make something like this, wouldn't you?????

Photo by Maria Robledo

Necklace, c. 1943. Silver wire, string, ribbon. Loop: 15 3/4 inches; element length: 5 1/4 inches. Inscription: "Calder." Private Collection, New York.

Sunday, June 17, 2012

A Marvelous Mess #67 and Features!!!

Sorry for the late start on the party!! We just got back from a little mini vacation in Bar Harbor!! I'll be doing a post about our trip (and my recommendations) in a couple of days. For now, here's a fun picture to give you an idea:

Just gorgeous. And, the weather was incredible!!

We had another great party last week. A lot of fun summery ideas were linked up....make sure you visit other people in the party....you will find yourself inspired, I know it!!

Here are my fave's from last week:

6 Week Summer Reading Adventure from Inspired by Family Magazine. Such a wonderful way to get your kids more interested in reading....and summer is the perfect time to take the opportunity to read.

And, the post I'm going to feature on my sidebar for a week is....

DIY Lightbox from Snickety Things. What a great idea!! And, totally handy, especially if you're working towards selling products or just want to make your project photos a bit fancier!!

Thanks to all of you for linking up!! If I featured your project in this post, feel free to take this button and place it prominently!! :-)

Sunday, June 10, 2012

A Marvelous Mess #65 and Features!!

I've been working on making our yard more playfriendly and inspiring. Just a playset doesn't work....a sandbox is great too....but I've been looking for ways to add in some natural play. For instance, we took down a maple last fall and had this big trunk left over. So, I used it to make a "stump garden":

I buried the pieces about 6 inches into the ground to make them more stable. Kiddos love hoping from one to the other.

Then next thing I did was borrow some hardware from the playset that wasn't needed any more and attached it to a tree:

You see, we took off all the lower dried up branches on this fir tree and made a little cleared out spot for play. We used a cheap metal garden fence (found at the dollar store), added some chimes, and I few decorations, and on the front side of the tree we placed this rock climbing hardware so that kiddos could practice climbing and get some exercise.

More additions to come!!

So, my fave's from last weeks party are:

Light Box Magic from True Aim

And, the post that I'm going to feature on my sidebar for a week is....

Pallet Art by Tara Being Tara.

I love pallet art.

I love pallets!! There is so much you can make out of them!!

Thanks to all of you for linking up. For those of you I featured, please feel free to grab a button:

Now, on to the party!!

Monday, June 4, 2012

Add-A-Lock Review : Safe and Secure When You're Traveling

I went on vacation a couple of months ago and brought this handy little lock along with me to try it out. Because I have OCD and I am also on the overly cautious side anyway, I was really excited to use this product while traveling. I never feel very safe staying at a condo or hotel where we are not the only ones who have keys to our rooms. Add-a-lock is for just that....a feeling of extra security when you are feeling distrustful of a lock. It can be used on most doors that are hinged and swing inwards. Here is a video explaining it's uses:

I was SO very GLAD I brought this on vacation, because our bolt on our door actually broke and all we had for security was the lock on the knob itself. So, with a little tinkering, I put our Addalock onto the door and tested it's strength. It really did work well....and totally helped to diminish my stress over the bolt not working.

I would totally recommend this as a gift for a recent high school graduate to take with them to college or a new apartment!! And, as you can see it worked out perfectly for me on vacation. Then only issue I had with it was that I was a little unsure of how to put it all together and luckily I had internet access....so, I just watched the video above and figured it out quickly.

You can find Addalock online here:

Website

Facebook

I received product in return for an honest review. All opinions are my own and written in my own words.

Sunday, June 3, 2012

A Marvelous Mess #64 and Features!!!

Thanks for meeting up with me this week on this rainy (if you're in Maine) Sunday!! Boy, this is one of those days where I just *didn't* need it to be rainy....ya know? I need a lot more sunshine and a lot less rain. Here's hoping it's sunny where you are!!!