Jenny Garland

I love free paint.

Thank you Thrifty Decor Chick and Sarah for spreading the word about free paint! Glidden was having a promotion where they would send you a quart of paint in any color you wanted. For free people. No strings! However, looks like the demand was crazy high, and they stopped accepting orders for free quarts. Lame-O. However, Glidden is still offering a $5 rebate for any size or color. Click here to get your's!

Leave a comment and let me know which color you end up choosing and what you're going to use it for :) I'm nosy like that.

I ordered mine just in the nick of time before Glidden shut down the free quart giveaway. I chose Soft Suede. Maybe it will be a perfect overall wall color, like Tobacco Road. If not, no problem, it was free. I'll find something to do with it :)

Don't you love paint names? Warm Grey Flannel. Cranberry Zing. Sunbaked Orange. Softest Juniper. Whispering Wheat. Quiet Rain. I think I want to be a paint namer when I grow up.

This is the perfect chance to get some paint to update some old furniture, people :) A quart for $5 off is still a great deal!

Check out our new camera - it does awesome video too! Yay for Canon :)

My husband Brad just posted a video to his blog, but I have a feeling most of you who read my blog aren't necessarily following him (techy nerd stuff usually), so I thought I would post it here as well. Whoa. How was that for a run-on sentence??

Anywhoo... we have loved our Canon Rebel XTi that we bought in March 2007. It is super durable and takes great pictures without much effort. The only trouble we ever had was with low lighting. I'm sure there was/is a way around it by adjusting the ISO and fiddling with the manual mode but as it turns out, I'm much more of an automatic kinda girl. Point, click, and voila! Pretty picture. That's how I like it.

Moving on with the story (brevity has never been my strength)... we were happy with the camera but never could find a camcorder we really loved. Plus it's a pain to carry around a camera and a camcorder in an already 50 pound diaper bag, ya know? You know.

Enter the Canon Rebel T1i. Jackpot, baby! It takes even better pictures than our old Rebel and has a built in video camera! We just got it yesterday and I've been busy listing things on Craigslist (old Rebel, old camcorder, etc) so we can break even with the purchase. Here's a video Brad shot at my mom's house today while we were swimming. I am totally excited about the video quality :)

A day at the pool from Brad Garland on Vimeo.

And here is a still, unedited:

This Week's Food Co-Op Share

Sorry for the lack of posting this week! I've been doing a thousand things and not really getting anything finished. Do you ever have weeks like that?

Anyway, I took these two cuties with me this afternoon

to pick up organic produce from my co-op. I was excited to see I got some different stuff this time :)

In this week's batch I received:

- eggplants
- mangos
- zucchini
- oranges
- bananas
- cucumbers
- tomatoes
- raspberries
- avocados
- sweet peppers
- broccoli
- swiss chard
- lettuce
- peaches
- cantaloupe

Anyone have a recipe for swiss chard? I'm also on the hunt for a good eggplant recipe so if you've got one, please send it my way!

Aside from some sewing orders, I have been working on refinishing my dining room set that my parents bought in the 80s. I love the lines of the furniture but that glossy cherry color just doesn't do it for me. Nor those green cushions. So, I'm updating it. Don't have a heart attack, Mom! It's going to turn out super cute and stylish.

Here's the before and I'll have a big post once I finish :)

Tonight I'm going out to Chuy's (yum, Tex Mex!!) for dinner with two girlfriends from grad school. I can't wait!! One has been living in Sweden with her Swedish hubby for a few years and I can't wait to hear all sorts of Euro tales.

The People Spoke! Here's Kristi's Summer Pleated Clutch in Your Fabric!

78% of you voted on fabric choice number one for Kristi's Summer Pleated Clutch. Here is the end result:

You can buy Kristi's Summer Pleated Clutch for $26 right here in my Etsy shop!! I'm excited to announce that 15% of proceeds from each sale will be donated to A Glimmer of Hope Foundation. Check out their website because what they do is absolutely inspiring. A Glimmer of Hope provides humanitarian aid to Ethiopia in the form of:

* Water and Sanitation
* Education
* Health Care
* Income Creation
* Micro-Finance
* Micro-Irrigation
* Veterinary Clinics

Congratulations, Kristi and happy shopping!!!!!

Chalkboard Plates at Craft Club

Last week our craft club, McKinney Marthas, met up for some fun to paint plates with chalkboard paint. I hung mine in the kitchen and plan to write what's for supper each day. If you haven't seen a tutorial online yet, these plates are so easy to make! And pretty cute if I do say so myself.

You will need:
- a plate (duh!)
- chalkboard paint
- a sponge brush
- sandpaper (preferably medium grit)
- a piece of chalk

How to:
1. Sand the center of your plate to "rough it up."

2. Brush off dust.

3. Paint two thin coats (letting each dry thoroughly) in the center of your plate. We were in a time crunch and used a hairdryer to between coats. 

4. Wait three full days. Then rub a piece of chalk over the entire painted surface.

5. Wipe clean with a wet paper towel.

6. Start using your cute new plate! You can hang it like mine or set it on an easel. You could also use chalkboard paint for the top of a play table for your kiddos.

Here are some pics from our fun night :)

How on Earth is My Baby Three?

Happy Birthday, sweet girl!!! I treasure my days with you :)

* I made the skirt using Jona's Evelyn pattern. I highly recommend that pattern for newbies, by the way :) The instructions are very clear.

Time to Choose Fabric!

It's time to vote for which fabric combo you like best for Kristi's Pleated Clutch . I'll use the winning combo to make the clutch and offer it for sale on Etsy. Voting is open until Saturday, June 13 at noon CST. Thanks for partcipating!!

Here's the clutch:

Bet You Can't Guess What's In My Bin.

Bet you can't guess what's in here:

Give up yet? Nope, it's not a craft. It's organic produce from a local co-op. Check it out:

I get produce every two weeks. I'm really lucky because the pick up location is only 3 minutes from my house. Everything is grown by local somewhere farmers and fresh, fresh, fresh!

This is what I got in my batch today:

- bananas
- peaches
- plums
- green grapes
- cantaloupe
- beets
- carrots
- onions
- potatoes
- broccoli
- spinach
- cabbage
- lettuce
- tomatoes
- green peppers
- garlic
- rosemary

YUMMY! Now I need a good beet recipe :)

**Edited to add info about co-op. Here is the website. The cost is $50 per pick-up (pick-ups are every other week, so $100/month). If you are anywhere in North Texas, there are TONS of different delivery sites, not just McKinney. Also, it didn't take me long at all to "get in." I emailed Monica (the head honcho gal) and was able to schedule my first pick-up within two weeks. I highly recommend it!

We Have Ourselves a Winner for the Crafter's Challenge!!

Can you believe we had nearly 300 votes for the Crafter's Challenge?! Woo hoo! Thanks again to contestants Alison, Intaly, Jessica, Kathryn, and Kristi for submitting fantastic designs.

I'm so excited to announce the winner .... Kristi Kelly!!!  Her summer pleated clutch was voted your favorite summer accessory and will be available for purchase in the upcoming weeks. Kristi also receives  $100 for winning the contest! Way to go, Kristi :) Be sure to stop by Kristi's etsy shop! This week, I'll make another poll for you to select which fabrics Kristi's pleated clutch should be made with!! Stay tuned...

Sweet and Simple Quilt

Sometimes sweet and simple's the way to go...

 

... a quilt for baby Emmaline

*Be sure to check back tomorrow for the results of our Crafter's Challenge!