Rose Art Sidewalk Chalk Contest

Sidewalk chalk is such a fun way to enjoy being outdoors with my kids.  They love to draw on the sidewalk {and occasionally on our mailbox} and they especially love it when I draw for them!  When Rose Art contacted me about participating in a sidewalk chalk contest, I readily signed up!

I was sent three different packs of  Surprise Inside Sidewalk Chalk and chose one to use for my entry.  We were challenged to create some sort of outside project so I've submitted mine in the contest.  We'll see just how good my artistic skills are with sidewalk chalk.

I started out with this pack of chalk:

Since today marks the first official day of spring, I decided to draw a picture representing our favorite things about spring.  The girls and I came up with a list:  the sunshine, flying kites, going on picnics, flowers, Easter baskets filled with eggs, and celebrating the real reason for Easter.  The girls watched while I drew and they helped me to pick out the colors for each thing.  

After I was finished I had them take part of the picture.  Isabella wanted to sit on the picnic blanket and Mallory chose to fly a kite.  

Inside the pack of chalk was a surprise little toy, and that was required to show up in our project as well.  Our little surprise toy was a cute purple ladybug.

She found her home on one of the tulips in our picture.

I was impressed with how far this chalk went.  Our picture was pretty large, and there was enough chalk left for the girls to color their own picture.

Rose Art will be judging each of the entries and I should find out next week if I was a winner.

If you were reading carefully, you noticed that they sent me 3 packs of sidewalk chalk.

  Two of those {the ones you see pictured above} are to giveaway to two of my readers!  If you'd like to be entered to win one of these extra packs of chalk, just leave a comment on this blog post stating what surprise toy you think should be in the new surprise inside sidewalk chalk.  

The fun doesn't end there, though!  Rose Art is also holding a contest for YOU!  You have the chance to win a $200 Visa gift card.  That's a pretty great prize!  Here are the rules:

1. Go out and purchase a pack of the surprise inside sidewalk chalk {You can find it at Target, K-Mart and Wal-Mart.  It costs about $3/pack}.
2.  Create your own sidewalk chalk art and email it to me:  onlyfromscratch at gmail.com
3.  I will submit your entry to Rose Art and they will choose their favorite one to win a $200 Visa gift card.
4. I MUST receive your entry by 4/8/2013, so you have a couple of weeks to work on this and submit it.

I can't wait to see what you come up with!

Ready, set, GO!!

I received a pack of sidewalk chalk to participate in this contest.  All opinions are mine.  

Book Giveaway in Honor of Mother's Day

There's a giveaway here on the blog this week, and just in time for Mother's Day!  No, it's not a gift that you will give to your mom, it's a gift that is simply in honor of Mother's Day, because it is a book for children.

The publisher for this book graciously sent me a copy to giveaway to one of you. Here's what they had to say about the book:

"Over 7 million people around the world have discovered their own love language through the best-selling series of books by Dr. Gary Chapman, The 5 Love Languages. But what about our children? Surely they too must have their own unique love language we can learn to speak and understand. Now, in his first-ever children’s book, Dr. Chapman, along with co-author, Rick Osborne, spins a delightfully imaginative story and parallel message to The 5 Love Languages in, A Perfect Pet For Peyton.

Helping parents teach their children these principles of love and allowing children the opportunity to discover their own primary love language, A Perfect Pet For Peyton, conveys principles adults will find meaningful, yet told in a simple, fun and interactive way children can easily understand and enjoy."

In order to be eligible to win this book, simply leave a comment on this post telling me which child you would like to read this book to.


For additional entries:

• Become a follower of Only From Scratch and leave a comment telling me you've done so.
• If you're already a follower, just leave a comment telling me you are.
• Post about this giveaway on Facebook and leave me a comment telling me you've done so.

Giveaway ends at 11:59PM, Friday, May 11th.  A winner will be chosen at random and announced on Mother's Day.  

Winner must have a US mailing address.

A Sponsor & Giveaway from The Blue Ladybug Boutique

I’m so excited to announce to you today a new sponsor, The Blue Ladybug, an online shop which sells handmade children’s clothing and accessories.  Here are some of the new items just released for the fall:

And, just a few of my favorites:

This is a limited edition item, and I love it!  There is also a matching pair of shorts to make it a brother/sister set.

Aren't these ruffle jeans adorable?!  Cute and versatile.

Fabric Ties for your little man, with a velcro strap: genius!

Big Boy Belt with velcro fastener and tons of fabric choices

Not only do they carry children’s items, but they have also started carrying special items for ladies.

Fabric Wristlet

Ruffled Scarf

Fabric Necklace

Two very talented ladies, Laura and Mary Beth, known as the Blue Ladybug Mamas, run this shop and I have to tell you that I’m constantly amazed at what they do.  Both are busy moms and yet they carve out time to have a business.  I first met Mary Beth, quite a few years ago, and it’s been fun to follow her as she got married, had her first child, opened this shop, and now to see how well their business has done.  She probably doesn’t know this, but I’ve been watching their business expand ever since they started and I’ve really enjoyed watching it grow!

The Blue Ladybug is giving away this gorgeous wristlet to one lucky Only From Scratch reader.

Here’s how you can enter to win:

Head on over to The Blue Ladybug, look around, come back and leave a comment telling me which item is your favorite.

For a second entry, go on over to Blue Ladybug Mamas, and become a follower of their blog. (Be sure to leave them a comment too!) Come back over here and comment that you’ve done so.

For a third entry, ‘like’ The Blue Ladybug on Facebook, come back and comment saying you’ve done so.

For a fourth entry, become a follower of Only From Scratch, either via email subscription or by Google Friend Connect, and leave a comment here saying you’ve done so.

For a fifth entry, ‘like’ Only From Scratch on Facebook, and leave a comment here saying you’ve done so.

Winner will be chosen at random on Wednesday, September 21.
(Limited to those with a US mailing address)

Happy Wednesday!

4th of July Wreath and a GIVEAWAY!

Being gone for a couple of weeks meant that some of my projects were put on hold, so I just hung my patriotic wreath last night, about 10 minutes before our company arrived!  Talk about last minute!  But, it's done and now I have one for next year all ready to go!

There are a billion burlap wreaths in the blog world, so this is nothing new, but I did something that I haven't seen before to attach my flowers.  Instead of using a hot glue gun to affix them on the wreath, I used safety pins.

Here are my three reasons why:

1. It's a bit more practical in that if I want a new wreath, all I need to do is undo the safety pins and add flowers with different fabric (or another accessory that strikes my fancy).  I don't want to keep buying wreath forms so this was the way to go on a tight budget.

2. Hot glue doesn't hold up so well in the heat.  When we came back from one of our recent trips, the new moss covered 'W' I had made for our front door was laying on the front stoop.  The ribbon that I had glued on had come undone!  I figured safety pins would be a bit more sturdy.

3. My husband recommended it and I like to make him happy.  My original plan was to attach the flowers with thread and tie it around the entire wreath, but when he suggested safety pins I thought that would be a perfect idea!  He's the best!

I'll be linking this interchangeable burlap wreath tip over at Home Stories A to Z.

GIVEAWAY:

2 YARDS OF BURLAP

To Enter: Become a follower of Only From Scratch 

and

 leave a comment on this post telling me you've done so.

(If you are already a follower, simply leave a comment on this post).
For a 2nd Entry, blog about this giveaway and leave a comment with a link to your post.

This is my way of encouraging you to 'get your craft on' as they say, for those who haven't.

And a way to help you crafty pros to keep at it!

All entries must be submitted by Thursday, July 7, 9PM.

I will announce the winner on Friday, July 8.
(Winner must have a US Mailing Address)

Here are some ideas to inspire you about what you can do with burlap:

Re-purpose Old Jewelry

via Tatertots and Jello

Erasable Menu Frame

via Under the Table and Dreaming by Stephanie Lynn

Burlap Table Runner

via Living with Lindsay

Ruffle Wreath

via Jones Design Company

Burlap Stocking

via Cozy Cottage Cute

Cover a Lampshade

via Living with Lindsay and Beneath my Heart

There are a million things you can do with burlap, so enter now!