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Nursery and Kids Decor at Gypsy Lane Designs

February 18, 2011 3 Comments

I’m really happy to welcome back Gypsy Lane Designs as a sponsor to my blog.  If you’re new to my blog and aren’t familiar with this shop, let me tell you all about it.  It is owned by Rachel who is an artist and art teacher.

Gypsy Lane Designs features fresh, bright & beautiful artwork for Baby & Home.  If you’re looking for adorable, unique, and personalized items for your child’s room, you should definitely check out Gypsy Lane.  They have custom artwork, name paintings, and name blocks, which also make great birthday and shower gifts.
Gypsy Lane also specializes in custom paintings of pets. (We can’t forget to celebrate the furry little ones in our lives!)

I was intrigued by how Rachel came to develop her fabulous line of children’s artwork:

Gypsy Lane Designs began when I thought I would finally try my hand at creating paintings for the masses. My shop first housed mostly travel watercolors and custom pet portraits. As countless numbers of my friends have recently had babies, I began getting some requests for custom nursery work. My shop has organically grown into a haven of hand-painted and original designs for baby.

I have been having a blast creating personalized nursery designs for my Etsy customers. I love making my children’s designs beautiful, completely unique, whimsical and delicate. I find inspiration every day in my art classroom as I watch my student’s active imaginations. I absolutely love doing custom work and strive to make my custom artwork interactions as easy, fun and painless for you as possible.

From cars, planes, and  animals, to flowers, butterflies, and princesses, Gypsy Lane Designs can make the perfect custom wall art for your child’s room that creates an atmosphere of whimsy and wonder every time your child walks in!

Connect with Gypsy Lane Designs
Rachel’s Blog: Gypsy Lane Designs

Please join me in support of this lovely artist and fabulous etsy shop  and check out Gypsy Lane Designs today.

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Disclosure: Gypsy Lane Designs is a paid sponsor on my blog.  If you have a business and you’d like for me to advertise for you, please check out my PR page for details.

Filed Under: Baby, decorating, shopping, Sponsors

Uprinting Custom Poster Giveaway

February 18, 2011 29 Comments

Over the last two of years Uprinting has become my go-to place for poster printing  and online printing services, and I’m always excited when I get the chance to offer one of their fantastic print products to my readers.
Today I’m giving you the chance to win a custom 18” x 24” Poster.  You get a choice of Semi Gloss or High Gloss with one business day turn around.
There are so many things you can do with this prize.  Get a large print of your favorite family photo, create a cool poster for child’s room, or even create a poster for your business or organization.
Giveaway Closed. Congrats to Anash from Blog Contests 365!

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Disclosure: For hosting this giveaway, I will recieve a free product from Uprinting.  I was not otherwise compsenated.  The opinions are my own.

Filed Under: Giveaways

Friday Favorites – Week 51

February 17, 2011 19 Comments

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Even though the Valentine’s Day celebrations are over, I couldn’t resist featuring  more of your Valentine’s ideas.  Think of it as a Valentine’s Day after-party!

Before we get to this week’s features, I wanted to update you and let you know that I’ve got several great giveaways coming for the rest of this month, in celebration of reaching 1000 followers and in celebration of the one year anniversary of Friday Favorites. So be sure to come back and enter these! 
Also, be sure to check out my current giveaways.  I’m giving away a bottle of Simple Solution Stain Remover to two winners, and so far there’s only a few entries.  This is a great product, particularly if you like products that are safe to use around pets and kids, so please check it out.  And there’s also a fabulous dress giveaway  this week from Shabby Apple! 

Now sit back and enjoy this week’s features!

Lollipop Cover Tutorial & Freebie from Silly Precious Piggies
Valentine’s Day Strawberry Banana Sorbet from Miss Organic’s Kitchen

Valentine’s Day Party from The Farm Girl Recipes

Valentine Sugar Cookies from Frugal Christian Loving

Lots of Cute Button Ideas from Wendy’s Hat

I can’t wait to see what you’ve been working on this week!  Link your posts up below!

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Filed Under: Friday Favorites

Shabby Apple Giveaway

February 14, 2011 245 Comments
I’m really excited to tell you about Shabby Apple, an online vintage dress boutique.
Shabby Apple offers lovely dresses for women and teens as well as little girl’s dresses and.maternity dresses.  They also have a lovely collection of jewelry, shoes, and accessories.
I was very impressed by the variety of dresses I found at Shabby Apple.  They offer dresses for any occasion, and they have something for every body type and style.  It should be easy for you to find something you like.
For today’s post, I decided to share just a few dresses that I really liked.  I could definitely see myself wearing these!  Aren’t they lovely?  Wouldn’t they be great to wear this spring and summer?

And this post just barely scratches the surface! There is so much more!

Buy it!  Shop online at Shabby Apple for these lovely dresses and more!

Reader Discount:  Right now you can get 10% off your order at Shabby Apple just for being a reader of my blog.  Just use the coupon code: simplysweethome10off

Win it!  One Simply Sweet Home reader will win this lovely Cider dress (pictured above).
Giveaway Closed. Congrats to Courtney!

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Disclosure:  The prize from this giveaway is being provided by Shabby Apple.  I am a member of the Shabby Apple affiliate program but was not otherwise compensated for this post.  The opinions are my own.

Filed Under: fashion, Giveaways, shopping Tagged With: ,

Bean Soup

February 14, 2011 8 Comments

Come join Soup-a-Palooza with Tidy Mom and Dine and Dish sponsored by Bush Beans, Hip Hostess , Pillsbury, and Westminster Crackers.

For this event, I’m sharing my bean soup.  This is comfort food at its best, simply perfect for this time of year, and it’s extremely easy to make with only few ingredients.

Recipe for 15 Bean Soup

Ingredients:
1lb smoked sausage (or ham hocks)
1 bag 15 Bean Soup (I use Hurst’s brand)
Salt and pepper
water
Directions:
Before cooking, dump out beans on to a plate and sort, removing any stones and debri.  Pour into a strainer and rinse.

Traditional /Cooking Method Directions:
Soaking: Place beans in a large pot, cover with 2 quarts of water. Allow beans to soak overnight or at least 8 hours. After soaking, drain water, add 2 quarts of water and meat. Bring beans to boil, reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 2 1/2 hours to 3 hours. Add contents of ham packet (from your bean soup bag) and add salt and pepper to taste about 30 minutes before cooking is complete.
Quickcook Method Directions:
Place rinsed beans in a pot with 3 quarts of water.  Bring to a rapid boil. Reduce heat, cover and continue boiling 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking. About 30 minutes before cooking is completed add ham packet and salt and pepper to season.

Tips/Suggestions:

To spice this recipe up, the Hurst’s package recommends you add 1 cup of chopped onion, one 15 oz. can of diced or stewed tomatoes, 1 tsp chili powder, juice of one lemon, and a clove of minced garlic about 30 minutes before cooking is complete.  Growing up, we never had all that stuff in our bean soup, but I’m sure it’s quite tasty and flavorful.

And if you don’t have time to stand over the stove stirring and watching the soup cook, try making this in the crock pot.  Just cook for the same length of time as it takes for other beans.

Tidy Mom

I’m also linking up at these parties.

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Filed Under: casseroles and quick meals, Recipe of the Week

Friday Favorites – Week 50

February 10, 2011 11 Comments

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Good Day!  Welcome to our 50th week of Friday Favorites. Woohoo!  I can’t believe I’ve been hosting this party for almost a year!  Thank you so much for coming by each week to share your posts!
Hope you enjoy this week’s picks!

Blue Gate from Backwoods Cottage

Sweetheart Cake from Fancy Frugalista

Conversation Heart Cookies from HALLELUJAHS by Holly

Chocolate Eclair Cake from It’s a Keeper
Simple Scap Pillows from A Sweet .n. Simple Life

Party time! Link up your posts below! Please leave a link to the actual post you are sharing rather than your blog. And I’d love it you would help me spread the word about this party by posting my button or link somewhere on your site.

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Filed Under: Friday Favorites

Red Vignette and Valentine Garland

February 9, 2011 11 Comments
Today I’m sharing this cute display from my kitchen.  I’m in the process of doing a quasi-makeover in my kitchen.  For a while I’ve felt like my kitchen was having an identity crisis, and I decided that I’m going to make the predominate color in the room be red.
After Christmas I was taking down my decor, and trying to decide what to do with the top of this cabinet.  It’s very tall, and you can’t really see what’s on top of it very well, so it doesn’t need anything too showy, if you know what I mean. But it needed something.  Anyway, as I was putting my Christmas decorations away, I decided to place these red & white candles on top of this cabinet, and the vignette grew from there!

The above picture is how I had planned for it to look for most of the year. The candles are actually Christmas candles, but from the ground you can’t really tell.  Then I made the arrangement in the middle using some berry garland that I had.  And the cups were already on top of the cabinet.  I just filled them with red paper shreds so they would match.  And then I added the shiny red garland.  It’s actually Valentine garland, but again, from the ground you can’t really tell. 

And now for the finishing touch to make this vignette perfect for Valentine’s Day!  This adorable Valentine Heart garland was actually made by the super talented Liz of Hoosier Homemade.  Last year around this time, she had an assortment of giveaways. This garland was one of the prizes, and I was the lucky winner! 
Isn’t it the cutest! And you know how I said that you can’t see the top of the cabinet very well anyway, so it doesn’t really need too much stuff.  Well, now with all the red, it’s actually quite eye catching! Who knew!

So what do you think?

I’m linking up at these parties.

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Filed Under: decorating, Home/Garden, Valentine's Day

Simple Solution Stain + Odor Remover Review and Giveaway

February 8, 2011 20 Comments

As a cat mommy, I’m always interested to learn about cleaning products that are safe to use around my kitty babies. Simple Solution is a complete line of pet products from Training Pads and Diapers to Household cleaners.
For more than 30 years, trusted pet lovers have relied on the extensive Simple Solution product line to take care of their furriest family members.  In 2010 they introduced their Paw Safe™ Household Cleaners, a line of safe cleaners made without harmful chemicals.

Our family had the chance to try the Simple Solution Stain + Odor Remover.  This product is the only formula with both Pro-Bacteria & enzymes to totally eliminiate stains and odors, and like the other Simple Solution products, it is safe for use around pets and children.

This product is made to be used on carpets, upholstery, bedding, clothing, and any water-safe surface.  And it is so easy and convenient to use.  You just add a little cleaner to the soiled spot; wait 10 minutes for it to work in, then blot the excess moisture, and let dry.  Very easy!
You can also add this to your Carpet Cleaning Machines, or you can use it to pretreat your stained clothing before washing.
Our kitty cats were well trained as kittens by their cat-mom Molly, so we don’t ever have a problem with urine and feces.  The one problem that we do have occasionally is throw-up, usually due to hair balls.  And you never know when this may occur, so it’s good for me to have a product like this around for a quick and easy cleaning job.  IApart from the ease of use, I was very pleased with the pleasant and clean smell of the product.  And most of all, I love that it’s chemical free and safe to use around Rebel and Dixie.
And I think you’ll also be excited to learn more about the other products in this line, including their toy cleaner, multi-surface cleaner, carpet shampoo, and so much more!

Win it!  Two of my readers will win a bottle of the Simple Solution Stain + Odor Remover. 

Mandatory Entry:  You must be a follower of my blog. Then just visit the Simple Solution site. Then come back here and tell me a product that you’d like to try.

Deadline: Feb 25

Extra Entries: Leave a comment for each.
-2 if you follow @SimplySweetHome on Twitter.
-1 for subscribing to Simply Sweet Home via email.
-1 for “liking” Simply Sweet Home on facebook.
-1 for subscribing to my RSS feeds through Feedburner.
-1 for sharing this giveaway on Twitter or Facebook. 
(Sample Tweet:  I want to win Simple Solution Stain  + Odor Remover! Safe for pets and chemical free! http://bit.ly/h1CUAq @SimplySweetHome @Simple_Solution )  (Limit one tweet entry per day.)

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Disclosure: For hosting this giveaway, I recieved a bottle of Simple Solution Stain + Odor Remover.  I was not otherwise compensated for this post.  If you have a product and would like for me to write a review or host a giveaway, please contact me via email.

Filed Under: cleaning, Giveaways, Pets, product review

Strawberry Cookie Cups

February 6, 2011 9 Comments
I love taking recipes that we love and making them just a little different by adding or changing an ingredient, or even just changing the cooking method or overall presentation.  Last week I shared my strawberry cake mix cookies that I made for Valentine’s Day, and this week I’ve got some other sweet creations that I made using the same recipe: Strawberry Cookie Cups!
Recipe for Strawberry Cookie Cups:
Ingredients:
1 Strawberry Cake Mix (18.5 oz)
1 egg
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup oil
Directions: Mix ingredients together with spoon or electric mixer. Line a muffin tin with paper muffin cups. Use a cookie scoop to place a dough ball in each cup. (For mine, I used one scoop for each cup, but if you want them to rise to the top like cupcakes, use 2 scoops.  If using a mini tin, one scoop should do fine.  If you don’t have a cookie scoop, use a spoon or your hands to create a 2 inch balls for the large cupcakes.)
Bake for about 15 minutes. Then decorate as desired. For my cups, I left some plain, while others are topped with either sprinkles, coconut flakes, or a Hershey Kiss.  You could also frost these like cupcakes, even though they’re not exactly cake like.  Just wait for them to cool before frosting.

I’m linking up at these parties.

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Filed Under: cupcakes, desserts, Recipe of the Week, Valentine's Day

Friday Favorites – Week 49

February 3, 2011 9 Comments

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Hey everyone! Hope you had a great week!  I have to tell you, I’ve been a little bit frazzled this week.  I was taking care of a sick hubby last week and had to catch up on housework Monday (though truth be told, I’ve still got quite a mess).  Then we had to drive up to Vanderbilt on Wednesday to visit my uncle in the hospital.  So that’s all put me a little behind on answering your emails and following up on comments, among other things! But at least I managed to get my posts up!
 
And this afternoon I finally got around to checking out some of last week’s Friday Favorite links!  I’ve only gotten to comment on a few your posts from last week, but I can tell from the thumbnails that there are a lot of cute things, so hopefully tonight I’ll have a little extra time to do some visiting. 
 
And here are just a few things that stood out to me, our featured posts for this week:
 

Yarn Rosette Wreath Tutorial from Our Seven Dwarfs

Valentine Printable Party Kit from My Digital Creations

Valentine Marshmallow Ideas from Monster Mama

Pink & Brown Cupcakes from iBake Cakes

Valentine Frame from I’m a Mom Not a Professional
Also, if you need some cute Valentine party stuff, check out this post  that I put up on Tuesday, featuring a bunch of really cute and free printables for Valentine’s Day!
Now it’s time to share your posts from this week.  Please link up below!

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Filed Under: Friday Favorites
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