How To's for Linking Parties - BYOB (Bring Your Own Blog)

~ How to link your post to a party ~

#1. Create a url for your post.

A url or post address is the special code attributed to your post after it's published. You will need this url in order to link up to a party.

How to:

Draft up your post, then hit publish. View that specific post (not your home page) and the address shown is your new url you will need to take along with you to the party.

Sample:

(wrong) http://www.honestlydyea.blogspot.com/

(right) http://www.honestlydyea.blogspot.com/search/label/Crafts%20to%20do%20while%20sober

Note: If you're on a .com, wordpress, or blogger domain, your end extensions will be different. For Blogger, all posts end with html.

_______________________________________

#2. Copy and paste your url into the host's party link widget in his/her blog.

1. Copy YOUR url:

Select the text by clicking on it, and when it's highlighted, edit/copy or use the keyboard shortcut:

mac: hold command/select C

pc: hold ctrl/select C

2. Visit the link party desired and select the Add your link button.

_______________________________________

URL: paste in your blog post's url

To paste your url info, click in the URL space, then right click to edit/paste, or hold command/ctrl, select V

Name: describe your post (it really should read as Describe, not Name) so fellow party-goers can see at a glance what your link is about.

Email: add your email (if required)

_______________________________________

4. Click NEXT STEP

_______________________________________

5. Pick a picture.

6. Choose 'select' or 'crop'.

7. If you chose crop, select 'Crop the selected area'.

_______________________________________

And you're done!

8. RED X

If you see a little red x beside your thumbnail, your host has allowed you to delete your own link.

_______________________________________

~ How to link back to the party ~

Linking back to the host blog is good party etiquette. Your link will alert your readers to the party, which is the ultimate thank-you back to the party host. Some hosts want you to link back, while others don't mind if you don't. The majority of hosts prefer that you do though. So here's how!

How to link with HMTL buttons

1. Honestly, Dyea's buttons are located on the right side bar. Under Grab a Button.

_______________________________________

2. Choose the button of choice, and copy the url inside the scroll box.

3. Once you've composed your post, select Edit HTML. Top right of blog entry box.

4. Scroll down to the bottom of your post, and paste the button html into your html posting area.

(tip) scroll down to the bottom and enter it there so you don't break your posts's html - crucial! Unless you understand html of course.

_______________________________________

5. Select COMPOSE to view the button to make sure it works.

You can now move the button anywhere in your post as desired. I like to cut and paste myself but you can try moving it manually too.

tip: if you did the html wrong, your post will not save in draft mode. If that's the case, undo (ctrl or command Z) and try again. Make sure you post the html code at the very end of your post in the Edit HTML area.

If done wrong, you'll be able to publish your post but the button won't work so always test after you publish.

Just remember, if your post is already published and you select draft afterwards, you've removed it off the net, so make sure you republish!

_______________________________________

~ How to link to another blog with text or pictures ~

1.

Text: type it in.

Pic: load the pic.

2.

Text: Highlight by clicking and dragging, then select LINK.

Pic: select the pic, then select LINK. (this may require 2 tries... just make sure the pic has a highlight over it otherwise it did not catch)

_______________________________________

3.

In the 'To What URL Should this link go?'

Text: Add the party post url or the blog home page url.

Your call. I always use the direct blog post urls myself however either will work fine.

Pic: Add the party post url or the blog home page url.

Only diff is, you'll see a blank where it says Text to display.

4. Select OK.

_______________________________________

Text: Your linked text will now be in purple. You are linked up!

Tip: I like to also select BOLD ITALIC and UNDERLINE to the linked up text so you can actually SEE the link. On many blogs, a link looks the same as the rest of the text and is impossible to pick out unless you hover your arrow over it. And who does that?!? :)

Pic: your pic won't look any different so it's best to test the picture after publishing to ensure it works.

I would love to hear from you guys!  Need an invite to Pinterest?  Let me know... Wanna a referral to Birchbox?  I'm your girl!

Dyea@HonestlyDyea.com

If you are interested in advertising, submitting a guest post, hosting or having me host a giveaway, please, let me know.

I'm just starting out and need all the help I can get.  In return, I will help you anyway I can.  Let's take over the blogosphere and rule the world!!  Oh, sorry... too much.



$68 Anthropologie Shirt... Um, No...$5 DIY... Yes

Here’s a little project I made the other night. Do you have any Charlotte Russe stores near you? I was in ours and found some great, really basic tees for $4. I really liked the neckline and weight of the fabric. I brought them home and I had this picture of a Anthropologie “Tutu” shirt that I had printed off awhile ago to see if I could recreate.

I also had a Dollar Store Flour Sack Tea Towel that I bought thinking I would stencil something cute on it. So I did a little experimenting and created my own version of the Tutu Shirt. And for $5 — I couldn’t be more pleased!

If you would like to make one, here is what I did:

Supplies:
Round-neck Tee Shirt
Dollar Store Flour Sack Tea Cloth or some lightweight cotton material (28″ x 28″) — You may need 2 -depending on how big your shirt is and how many ruffles you need to make.
Sewing Machine (this is a beginning sewing project – if I can do it, so can you!)
Thread
Pins
Scissors
Instructions:

• Print off a copy of the “Tutu” shirt so you can really see what it looks like. The ruffles go around the neckline and down at an angle on the left side of the shirt. Plus, the top layer of ruffles are shorter than the other layers.

• Cut strips of your cloth or tea towel. The first ruffle I cut at 3.5 inches wide by 28 inches long – which is the length of the tea towel.
• Cut the rest of the strips 5 inches in width.
• You want to sew each of the edges of the strips so there is no fraying. Use a small stitch and fold the edges under about 1/4 inch. You can also iron the edges if you want to be very precise. I just eyeballed it and since you are ruffling the material, you don’t have to be perfectly precise – which is just the way I like it!!

• Once all the edges are folded under and sewed, you want to put a larger stitch down the top of one side of all of the strips so you can ruffle the material. I sewed this stitch right under the previous stitch at the top — do not backstitch this stitch because you want to be able to pull it.
• Now ruffle up your strips. Take the thread at one end of the stitch you just made, and pull on it. You should be able to push the material down and the thread will keep getting longer as the material gets shorter and the material ruffles.
• You can always adjust the length of the ruffles once you get them on your shirt.

• Start with the top ruffle around the neck. Start the ruffle up at the shoulder just like the picture. Run the ruffle around the neckline and angle it down to end just at the seam of the other side of the shirt about 1/3 of the way down the shirt. Pin the ruffle in place.
• Now do the same thing right under that ruffle. You can flip the upper ruffle out of the way. You want to make sure that the underneath ruffle covers the top of the bottom ruffle.

• Keep going until you get to the end of the shirt.
• At the very top of the left hand side are two layers of little ruffles. Use any leftover material to make these.

• When I was finished, the kind of stiff flour sack material was a little too poufy for me, so I tacked down each of the layers with my machine. I tacked each layer down about 4 times across each ruffle. This made me feel less like a confectionery. If you use thinner material that lays down better, you will not need to tack anything down.

Pin It

Once a Month Cooking... That Doesn't Mean Eating Out Every Night

I have been participating in the Once a Month Cooking program for awhile now.  What I didn't understand is that you don't cook a meal once a month and eat out the other 28/29/30 days.  Wow!  I was totally doing it wrong!  You spend one day cooking and freeze meals for the whole month! 

My church recently did this with three recipes.  My family has loved the food and I have LOVED just pulling already prepared meals out of the freezer.  I don't have to think.  I don't have to try to come up with different meal ideas.  Even the directions are printed on pretty little labels so you will know exactly how to cook your frozen bits of heaven.

Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Shells      Does the thought of making thirty meals in one day sound beyond impossible? Before you write off once-a-month-cooking as something only Martha Stewart wanna-bes can manage, let's break it down step-by-step so you can visualize the whole process. Once you see how easy it is, you will have your freezer filled with ready-to-serve meals in no time. The next time you panic because it is 6:00 and you have no idea what is for dinner, just remember the stack of meals you have in the freezer; your stress will melt like butter. Ask anyone who loves once a month cooking (a.k.a. OAMC or freezer cooking), and they will tell you it is the cure for the "what's for dinner" dilemma. Tip - If one big cooking day is too daunting, start with baby steps. Cook one week's worth of meals and call it once-a-week-cooking. The idea is to simplify your life, not complicate it. The secret to once-a-month-cooking is in the planning; the more you plan, the better prepared you will be. Planning includes planning your menu, your grocery list, and most importantly your time. Let's look at the basic steps: 1. Decide on a day. Choose your day carefully - it should be a day with minimal interruptions and commitments; this is not a day you can easily share with other activities. If possible, have things planned for the kids or have a friend take them for the day. If you are cooking in smaller batches (think once-a-week-cooking), consider cooking at night when your house is quiet. An entire day is best but not always possible. 2. Check what is on sale. When you check the local groceries stores for what is on sale, you are working towards saving money. Plan your meals around the things you can get the cheapest. Here are some general guidelines you can use for buying meat. If you search, chicken breasts can almost always be found for under $2.00 per pound; and whole chickens, drumsticks, and thighs can be found for under $1.00 per pound. For ground beef, try not to pay more than $1.50 per pound although it is getting harder and harder to buy good quality for that price. 3. Meal Planning. I bought, at an office supply store, a large dry erase refrigerator magnet that is a calendar. On this calendar I write down the meal we will be eating each day of the month. Other ideas are to use a calendar or a sheet of paper to plan your meals. Do you need recipes?  I love Once A Month Mom .  There is an enormous amount of information there.  She compiles the menu and grocery lists the first of each month.  You enter the number of family members and it calculates the amount of ingredients for you!  Tip - Does your family have a favorite recipe? Instead of making one batch - make 3! 4. Plan your Grocery List. Go through your recipes and list the ingredients and quantities you need to buy. Tip - Don't forget the freezer bags, freezer wrap and aluminum foil! 5. Grocery Shopping. Do your grocery shopping on a different day than your cooking day. Cooking day has enough going on without adding to it. Another plus, if you do your shopping on a different day, you'll have time to visit a variety of stores to get the best prices. 6. Cook Your Meals. Know your recipes: Before you start cooking, familiarize yourself with your recipes. Make sure you fully understand each one. Now is the time to settle any questions you may have. Establish Cooking Order: If you have a crock pot recipe, start that first. Do you have whole chickens to cook and de-bone? They should be started in the beginning as well. Combine Steps: You will save a great deal of time if you do like tasks together. For example, how much chopped onion do you need? Chop them all at once and divide them up. How many pounds of browned ground beef do you need? Save a pan and time by browning them together. Begin Cooking: Put on a comfy pair of shoes, your favorite tunes and start cooking. As you finish each meal, set it aside to fully cool. 7. Freeze your Meals. Once your meals are cool, you are ready to freeze them. Here are some common methods for freezing meals: Freezer Bags - This method is used primarily to freeze meals that have a lot of liquid. The bags spread out flat on the freezer shelves and they stack up nicely on top of each other. It is very efficient use of freezer space. Remember to remove as much air as possible from the bag to prevent freezer burn. Tip: Label all meals. Name of the meal, Cooking instructions, Date it was frozen. Foil and Plastic Wrap - This method is used to freeze dishes that are cooked in a particular pan such as meatloaf or lasagna. It is a brilliant method because you don't tie up all your baking dishes in the freezer and your food fits perfectly into the baking dish when it is time to cook. It is very important you wait until your meals have cooled down before wrapping. Begin by lining your pan with foil . Next put a layer of plastic wrap on top of the foil. Make sure that you use enough wrap to cover over the entire top of the dish. Place your food into the dish directly on top of the wrap. Seal all the foil and wrap securely; do not allow any air to get to the food. Place the food, in the dish, into the freezer. Leave it in there for a couple of hours - just until the food is frozen enough to hold the shape of the dish. Remove the dish from your freezer and leave the food in the freezer. When you are ready to cook, thaw the food slightly, remove the foil and plastic wrap and place the food back in the dish to finish thawing. Vacuum Sealer - These are great because they help to protect your food from freezer burn allowing the food to stay really fresh tasting. Any disposable, or reusable containers that are for the freezer.  Freezable Banana Bread My girlfriend, Lori, and I are planning to do this mid-March so I will keep you posted.  

Tools for a Good Foundation

The Tools For a Good Foundation

From sponges to brushes, fingertips to puffs, there’s a world of foundation tools out there. When it comes to choosing the right one, makeup artists agree on one thing: there’s no right or wrong way. We asked Emma Willis, Director of Artistry for Blushington, and Neil Scibelli, National Makeup Artist for Jouer, to break things down for us. Read on and start experimenting!

	HANDS	Coverage Level 1
	For when you’re rushing to get to work in the morning or just want a tiny bit of coverage. Use your fingertips to blend foundation, starting near the center of your face and working out.
	POWDER BRUSH	Coverage Level 1-2
	Use it when you need to mattify and set makeup. Willis’ method: “Apply a very light dusting of loose powder or pressed powder with a large powder brush onto the T-Zone area only!”
	SPONGE	Coverage Level 2
	Use it when you want an airbrushed, natural finish. “Wet the sponge, squeeze out the excess water, and then apply the foundation with it,” says Willis. “If someone has really problematic skin, I use a large foundation brush to apply, then blend and buff with a sponge.”
	FOUNDATION BRUSH	Coverage Level 3
	Use it when you need extra coverage and a seamless finish. Scibelli says, “I always use a foundation brush to ensure a more even finish. When women apply product with their fingers, they tend to smudge it around in a way that moves the product too much, which can cause streaking.”
	POWDER PUFF	Coverage Level 4
	Use it when you’re making your TV debut and need to look camera-ready. This is generally only needed for a photo or video shoot. Willis says, “If you really want that set look, a powder puff with a little powder, pressed into the foundation, will give maximum coverage.”

Do-It-Herself Raised Dog Bowl (CraftedNiche.com)

I loved this craft so much... I called it Do-It-Herself because it wasn't me.  It was this very talented lady named Dana.  Please check out her website by clicking the button but scroll down for a taste of the very Do-It-Herself Dana.

                 Michael's Clearance Stool                                                   Walmart Dog Food Bowl

Gettin’ Handy -

• I found a food container lid that seemed the right size for the hole and traced a circle on the top of the shelf.
• Using a spade bit, I drilled a “starter hole” in the top of my bench. Don’t quote me on these terms guys… I have no idea what I’m talking about!
• No photos of this part… my hands were busy! I used a jigsaw to cut a circle in the top of the stool. Go ahead and laugh… I’m not exactly proud of the ummmm exactness of the shape. It was my first time using a jigsaw though… learn as you go!

Like I said…. it wasn’t pretty! …but that’s where the wide rim on the dog bowl comes in handy. Wiggle room!

I gave it a quick sand with my random orbital sander and then slapped on a coat of grey egg-shell paint. I already had the paint on hand.

Fast forward a week…

Plain grey dog feeder with a stainless steel bowl. Functional? Yes. Fun? Not so much.

On Saturday I made another trip to Michaels in search of inspiration. My first thought was to stencil the top. All of the stencils I liked were $8, and that was WITH a 50% off coupon. I couldn’t justify spending more on the stencil than I did on everything else. Hmmm what else? Ding ding! Scrapbook paper! Couldn’t I just mod-podge some scrapbook paper on the top and then add several layers of mod-podge to help seal it? I don’t use it for a water dish… dry dog food only… so there wouldn’t be any moisture. Oh this just might work.

I picked out a scrapbook paper I liked. It was a splurge. $1. Yep… I spent an entire dollar on a single piece of paper. Seemed crazy when the stool was only $2, but I’ll let it slide. It was the perfect shade of grey and added some fun pops of color.

• I flipped the stool upside down and traced the outer edge and inner circle onto the paper.
• Cutting carefully, I trimmed the excess paper and then plopped it on top to check my fit. Good enough!
• Following the instructions on the bottle, I mod-podged the heck outta that paper. Layer, upon layer, upon layer.

Book Review By Kaylie

The Ark, the Reed and the Fire Cloud
By : Jenny L. Cote

Kaylie Gives It 5 Out of 5 Stars!!!!



Recommended for 3rd Grade and Up (per Kaylie)

A dog named Max hears a voice saying FOLLOW THE FIRE CLOUD.  Max follows the fire cloud and on the way he meets other animals like the cat Al who eats and eats but never gets full and the extremely gassy cow Isabella along the journey to Noah's Ark.  They are in the ark for 1 year.  They get out and there is trouble slithering around on land trying to find the one who knows his secrets.

I think anyone would enjoy this book.  The book has misgivings, hope and sad parts, but don't give up on their big, mysterious journey!

My Night With The Love Chef

The husband and I received a couples cooking class for our wedding last November (11/11/11).  Thanks, Bestie and Bestie hubby!  The class was booked two months in advance so we went last Friday and spent the evening with....wait for it....The Love Chef (and three other couples).

Yum!  Cilantro and brown sugar for the steak rub....

TaDaaaa!  We are wine-drinking, sauce-making,

onion-carmelizing fools!

If you are in the Chattanooga area, check out The Love Chef classes.  He also has a best seller full of recipies for those not in the immediate tri-state area.  Click on The Love Chef link below for more information on Chef Jernard Wells.

The Love Chef

Ribbon Wreath... I'm Totally Into Circles Lately

For this project you will need:    

• Styrofoam Wreath - Mine is 10-inches across      

• 45 Yards of Ribbon - I used 5 yards of 9 different ribbons.  You can use more or less ribbon depending on how full you want your wreath to be and what size styrofoam wreath you buy.      

• Straight Pins - I used about 360 pins      

• Ruler - not pictured   (if you don't know what this is, you shouldn't be near sharp objects anyway)

• Scissors  

Grab a cup of coffee... This takes about an hour or so (after the ribbon is cut). 

Cut your ribbon into pieces about 4 1/2-inches long. I used about 360 pieces of ribbon for my 10-inch styrofoam wreath. I had 9 different ribbons I wanted to use so I cut 40 pieces from each ribbon. You can use more or less ribbon depending on how full you want the wreath to look. The next step is to make the ribbon loops...

 

Form each piece of ribbon into a loop shape as shown in the picture. The ends should overlap about a 1/4" - 1/2". This does not have to be precise, just estimate each one. If your ribbon has a front and back side, make sure the front side is facing out, duh. Poke a straight pin centered through the ribbon to hold the ends together. Start at the inside of the ribbon so the pointed end is on the outside of your ribbon loop. Now you can attach the ribbon to the styrofoam wreath...

Simply poke the pins into the styrofoam, pushing them in all of the way. I found it was easier to work with one color of ribbon at a time so I could get them evenly spread out around the wreath. If you prefer you can completely fill in an area of the wreath as you go.

 You will want to place the ribbon loops close enough together so you cannot see any of the styrofoam between them. Continue poking pinned ribbon pieces into your styrofoam wreath until it is full.  

Once you have all of the ribbon loops in place, you can embellish your wreath if you like. You can use buttons, rhinestones, beads, BeDazzler or anything else you have on hand. I think I'll add a larger brown ribbon so I can add a bow to my wreath.

The cool thing is you can use any color ribbons you want depending on the season or holiday.  Use pink ribbons for a nursery and a curly-q initial in the middle...

  To hang my wreath, I simply put a nail in the wall and pushed the wreath onto the nail. If you like, you can attach another loop of ribbon to the back of the wreath and use it for hanging. Make sure you secure the ribbon and pin in place using a strong glue!