Okay, I said I wasn't going shopping on Black Friday, but I just couldn't resist the flannel sale at JoAnn! Check out what I picked up for less than $1 a yard! For that I will gladly drag my boys to a fabric store to wait in line for an hour and a half. So. Worth. It.

I did pick up a few things at Walmart.com at 2am, but what I've really been waiting for are the Cyber Monday deals. I've got new holiday tutorials this week, but in the mean time, here are a few crafty sales you should check out today. . .

If you missed my Black Friday sale on crochet patterns at Ravelry, it's back for Cyber Monday! Buy 3 patterns, get one free at my shop on Ravelry.com. With Ravelry you can instantly download patterns after you pay, so you don't have to wait for me to e-mail them to you. You can also find all my new patterns in my Etsy shop.



PickYourPlum.com is going to do something it's never done before for Cyber Monday. There are going to be 9 products available at one time at amazing prices! You know, the kinds of things you can use to make cute {and cheap} Christmas gifts! Items will be posted at 6 am (MST) and will include some of the fastest selling products they've ever had at super duper pricing!  Another great Cyber Monday deal--there will be one FLAT rate shipping on all products all day.  You can buy one or one hundred and it's the same price--$3.95.  Cool.

Flirty Aprons' Cyber Monday sale lets you save 40% off any purchase and free shipping with code CYBERFLIRTY. Sweet!


Tiny Prints Studio Basics Holiday Cards - Starting from just $.69 each!
I got my Christmas cards from Tiny Prints last year and was totally impressed. This year Tiny Prints is offering $5 off an order of $49 or more, $15 off an order of $99 or more, or $40 off an order of $199 or more for Cyber Monday. Get a jump on your holiday cards! Use code SALE40 at the checkout.


If you're planning a wedding, Cyber Monday is a great day to order save the date cards or invitations! Wedding Paper Divas if giving 15% off your order of $75 or more, or 20% off your order of $149 or more plus free economy shipping. Use code: CYBER20 at the checkout.

So after you've got all the shopping out of the way, come back for some fun Christmas tutorials this week--I'm talking a table runner, more ornaments, wreaths, and more. I've been busy! ;)

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I am super excited to show you the new trick I learned to turn regular old acrylic paint into spray paint! But first I have to tell you about not one but two places we're guest posting today. . .

ModernMom is kicking off a new section of their Web site called Wednesday Crafternoons, and we were their first project! Check out these pretty cupcake stands (similar to our cake platter). I love a quick and easy project like this! And while you're there, check out the rest of the ModernMom site--they've got something for every kind of mom. Very cool.

The other place we're being featured is one of our favorite crafty blogs EVER! Eighteen25 is hosting a September Spooktacular with fabulous Halloween projects every day this month. Go check out our Halloween Chandelier and say hi to my girls Jen, Jodie, and Jamie! Then come back here and see my secret for painting the embroidery hoops used in the project. You're going to freak!


Okay, now that you're back, let me tell you about two awesome new products from Martha Stewart Crafts that Plaid sent me to try (available in Michael's stores now!). I am jumping up and down about them! First, the new Martha acrylic paints work almost any surface, so you can use them on wood, fabric, glass, plastic, metal, you name it! And they are dishwasher and washing machine safe, too. Crazy, right? These ain't your mamma's acrylic paints. And of course the colors are gorgeous, and there are 160 of them. Eeee!

The next exciting product is even better. You know how when you want to spray paint something you have to buy a whole big can of spray paint, even if it's just a little bitty thing? And have you ever noticed how few cool, trendy colors spray paint comes in? Martha took care of that, too. Now you can turn any acrylic paint (as in one of the pretty colors from above) into spray paint! I tried their new Spray Paint Kit (there's one for satin finish and another for gloss/metallic finishes) to paint my embroidery hoops for the Halloween chandelier and a few other goodies.

Here's how easy it is. Gather your kit, paint color of your choice, and item to be painted.


Pour equal amounts of the spray paint medium and the acrylic paint into the mixing bottle (everything except the paint is included in the kit).

 Shake it up to mix the medium and the paint.


 Pop the sprayer on top of the paint container like so.


4. Spray! I did two easy coats and it looked great! 

Okay, so black spray paint is not hard to find and I do own a large bottle of it. But I couldn't wait to try it! Next I chose a color I could not find ANYWHERE in regular spray paint: coral. I'm loving it with turquoise and mustard yellow right now (another project in that palette coming soon!

I found this little lovely at an awesome thrift store in Minnesota (more on that soon, too). It looks like it's maybe a napkin holder? But I thought it would be perfect to hold cards or mail on my desk. It just needed a little character.

A couple of coats of coral acrylic paint sprayed on with my Martha spray paint kit. . .
And voila! The perfect card holder for my craft desk! (No, these cards still haven't been sent. I know, I'm horrible. But they sure look cute on my desk!).

I've still got quite a large collection of things to be spray painted from my thrifting spree--my spray paint kit is going to get a workout this weekend!

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Hellooooo! Yes, I'm still alive. And wow, what a journey. After 7 days, 2800 miles, 7 states, 4 national parks, 5 hotels, 100 hours of whining kids, and about $75,000 in gas, we finally made it to Iowa City! Woo hoo!

I am in love with this place already. It is so green, the sun is always shining, and the people are so friendly! We are just two houses from the elementary school, 2 blocks from the University hospital (where my husband works), and 2 miles from the mall and HOBBY LOBBY! Yippee! 

I love our house and am almost finished setting up my craft room. Here's a peak at my shelves that hold most of the stuff I was able to bring. 

I can't believe my whole craft room has been reduced to this lone shelf! It is forcing me to think outside the box and get pretty creative with what I have.

Can you believe I selected only this much paper from a whole closet full of it?

I love looking at all my fabric stacked up, ready for projects!

I had to display this card next to my ribbon stash:


And it's true! The dear friend that came to help me pack up my craft room helped me go from four large hangers full of ribbon spools (like this) and two large ribbon boxes, to this:

About 1/64th of my total ribbon collection  and two jars of buttons made the journey.

I'm actually amazed at how much I was able to cram in there thanks to her!

And here's the view from my crafting table--inspiring, right?

Now that I'm back on a normal schedule and into my second trimester (no more exhaustion and crafting aversion!), I am back on the crafting saddle. Soon I'll find out if I'll be making girlie headbands or more pee-pee teepees!

Until then, I already have several projects in the works, including a sweet quilting pattern that I'm putting together for Riley Blake Designs using their new line Sew Cherry by Lori Holt:
And new bedspreads for my boys using Sarah Jane's new line Children At Play by Michael Miller Fabrics:

Not to mention some fun papercrafting and back-to-school projects:


Anyway, I promise some fun tutorials soon! Thanks again for your patience and all your kind words of encouragement. It was so fun to read the survey responses and know that so many of you out there are still rooting for us! We hope you'll like some of the changes you'll see in the near future.

Speaking of our survey, thank you for helping us celebrate our 3rd birthday by entering our survey giveaway! There were over 500 of you that responded, but we only have one lucky winner. That winner will receive a box stuffed full of goodies from my craft closet and from our sponsors, including some finished projects I just couldn't take with me to Iowa! Okay, I've strung you along long enough. The winner of the Little Birdie Secrets Birthday Bash Giveaway is. . .



Congratulations!! We've already e-mailed you, Meghan, to let you know you're our winner, so reply asap and we'll get your prize on it's way! Thanks for entering, everyone else!

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One of our favorite affiliates, Flirty Aprons, is having a huge Mother's Day sale, and we are lucky enough to have two special coupon codes for our readers! First, for a limited time, get 60% off Marilyn Style Aprons with code MARILYN60. Hello! That is a fabulous deal for a really well-made, darling apron. In fact, I don't think I could make one that cheap. Here are examples of the Marilyn aprons--so sweet and frilly. Your mom would love one.


I got myself the "Sugar n' Spice" apron and I love it so much that I even use it to make mac n' cheese. Any excuse to wear it.


The other great coupon we have to share is 20% off all aprons with code 20M2011.
These are a few of my favorites in their new styles--so pretty and classy!





Plus they have the more fun and playful prints, like this one I got for my mother-in-law.


I believe these coupons only run through May 10, 2011, so here they are again:
Get 60% off Marilyn Style Aprons with code MARILYN60
Get 20% off all aprons with code 20M2011

And yes, you can get yourself your own Mother's Day gift. I always do. :)

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