Ok, it's summertime and Feature Friday is going to be on a little vacation. He might show his sweet little face from time to time this summer.

But for today I want to feature YOU!!!! If you have an Etsy shop, leave a comment here telling us about your lovely shop. What do you sell? What is your favorite item? How long have you been in business? Tell as much as you want. Offer a discount to Splendid Things readers. Whatever you want to do...this is your time to promote your shop.

If you don't have a shop, feel free to promote your blog, etc.

So comment away and be sure and read the other comments as well....and check out the other shops! Happy promoting!

PS I'll be back tommorow night to check out all the shops!

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Quote of the day~

Earth's crammed with Heaven,

and every common bush afire with God,

But only he who sees takes off his shoes;

The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries.

~ Elizabeth Barrett Browning

(From The Shack ... also see Exodus 3)

Congratulations~

Yanadesigns!  

You are the winner of the Chocolate Blooms Zip Pouch! 

 Thanks so much to JPATPURSES for the fantastic giveaway!  

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So, it was time again.

And I was kicking myself because I didn't bring my camera!

It looked something like this:

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Subtract the Asian child and bald head.

Add pasty white boy, lots of tears and slober and 2 hands stuck in the mouth at the same time.

The pink sucker didn't help.

The Food network on TV didn't help. (Didn't go to Cartoon Cuts this time).

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"Why were you so upset?" we asked later, wiping hair out of his mouth.

"Haircuts don't hurt."

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His reply:

"I wanted a red sucker, not a pink one."

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t-shirt to drawstring bag tutorial

This 10 minute project will turn an old or outgrown t-shirt into a drawstring bag.

It's as easy as pie (easier). And it's a great way to keep one of your child's special t-shirts around even after they have outgrown it. I made one a while back with one of Lucas' old shirts and now I keep some of my sewing notions in it. It's a great project for making a little snack bag to take to the beach, a little girl's purse, etc.

Get an old t-shirt or onesie. Be sure the top of the shirt has a standard sized ribbed casing....no snaps, no super thin casing, etc.

Turn the shirt inside out.

Line the top of the shirt to make the casing even. The straighter across you get it the better.

I should have made mine even straighter....straight across the top. You will do better. Sew straight down the side of the casing, down, across the bottom and back up the other side. I used brown thread to show you. Doesn't matter, since the thread won't show.

Cut around the new seam ...about 1/4 inch is fine.

Turn shirt (now a bag) right side out. Cut a little hole with scissors into the casing. BE SURE TO JUST CUT THROUGH THE TOP PART MAKING A TUNNEL...NOT ALL THE WAY THROUGH BOTH LAYERS! I used a yellow pin to show you where.

Thread a thin cord through. I used "rat tail." You can even use ribbon if you are good at threading.

And there you have it...a simple drawstring bag!

Still time to enter the giveaway, folks! Go down to the next post.

Feature Friday...

.....Meet JPATPURSES

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Here you will find all styles of bag loveliness!

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This shop has over 200 items to choose from.

With a wide variety of styles, colors and prices you are sure to find something you love!

Hop over to the shop and find your favorite item. Come back here and leave a comment with your favorite and a way to contact you. I will draw a name on Wednesday and the winner will win this fabulous little zip pouch in Chocolate Blooms.

For extra entries: (Leave a new comment for each one!)

* Blog about this giveaway or email 5 friends telling them about JPAT and the giveaway

* Purchase an item from JPAT. Come back here and let me know what you got!

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*Follow this blog

Thanks to JPATPURSES for sharing your lovely shop with us and providing this fantastic giveaway!

Happy Friday to all of you and good luck!

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Congratulations.....

Jennifer!

You are the winner of the soap

gift set from Intentions!

Let me know your address

so you can start enjoying this wonderful gift!

Thanks so much, Carol for this lovely giveaway

and for sharing your shop with us!

Campfire Cookies (S'mores Cookies)

This is an yummy cookie that is easy to put together. If you are in The Woodlands and don't want to take the time to make them, go here and I'll make them for you. I'll even deliver them to your doorstep along with a pint of cold milk! :)

Campfire Cookies~

2 cups all purpose flour

2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup butter, melted

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips

For topping:

mini marshmallows

1/2 cup melted chocolate chips

graham cracker crumbs and small chunks

Preheat oven to 350. Combine flour, cocoa, soda and salt. Set aside. Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (several minutes). Add eggs one at a time and vanilla. Stir in flour mixture. Fold in chips. Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet (I prefer to use ungreased parchment paper). Bake 8-10 minutes.

Note: (You will need to watch the cookies and take them out when they are still soft, but not mushy. My oven is very lazy and would rather make cracking and hissing noises that heat up, so I actually baked mine for about 11 minutes. I ALWAYS take cookies out of the oven early, when they are still soft, letting them remain on the hot pan for 1 minute to "set". Then remove them to a plate to cool. )

Remove the cookies from the oven and place 3-4 marshmallows on each cookie, slightly pressing them into the cookie. Place them back in the oven for 1 more minute to soften the marshmallows. Then take them out and top each cookie with graham cracker crumbs and chunks. Drizzle melted chocolate on each cookie. ( I use a ziplock bag with the corner cut away). Place the cookies in the freezer for about 10 minutes for the chocolate to harden.

Yield: about 3 dozen

Enjoy!

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We headed out to the backyard this weekend for a game of catch.

Of course, we drowned ourselves in mosquito spray 1st.

Yes, we live in Houston.

(Let me take this moment to say, if you are considering moving to Houston....

reconsider.)

It was all fun and games until someone took a softball to the face.

(He was fine) :)

Still time to enter the giveaway!

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New Featured Shop~

I found Intentions when I saw this gorgeous soap featured on the front page of Etsy~

So I contacted Carol right away to see if I could feature her shop.

Her soaps are stunning.

Honestly, I want to eat them.

I have enlarged the images over and over on my screen to try to figure out how she got her company name imprinted on the bars. Don't know how she did that, but it is fabulous!

In her shop you will also find lotion bars, body butter, products specifically for men and gift sets. Be sure to check out her past sales section for a gallery of her beautiful work!

Carol has generously offered one of you lucky readers a gorgeous gift set!

It comes with a bar of soap, a lotion bar and a soap dish...all packaged in a reusable gift bag!

To enter the giveaway, visit Intentions.

Come back here and tell me your favorite item in the shop (and be sure I know how to contact you in case you are the winner).

For extra entries:

* Blog about this giveaway or email 5 of your friends telling them about Intentions and the giveaway. Leave a new comment here telling me you did.

*Make a purchase from Intentions. For this you will receive 5 extra entries! Comment here telling me the transaction #.

*Follow this blog. Comment telling me you did (or already do)

In addition to this great giveaway, Carol has offered 15% off any order during the duration of this feature. Just put "Splendid Things" in the message to seller section at checkout.

Winner will be drawn this coming Wednesday! Good luck!

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New in the shop.....

.... I fell in love with this Heather Bailey fabric!

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Congrats, LittlePinkPlum! You are the birdie winner! Remember to add homesweetwalls to your fav!

Check back Friday for another featured seller and giveaway!

What's Your Most Embarrassing Moment?

Last night as I was reading Rachael Ray's magazine, Everyday, I came across what she says are her most embarrassing moments.

"I was in the studio elevator with Ted Danson and didn't even recognize him" and

"I called Brad Garrett Ray Romano"

to name a few.

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Really?

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These are the kind of things I do every hour or every day (with non-famous people of course!)

No offense to Rachael...absolutely love her....

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So I got to thinking about some of the embarrassing things that have happened to me.

I've already told you about one. Sometime I'll have to mention a few of the others.

Now I am wondering what is your most embarassing moment?

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All my good deeds have been tainted by John Quinones....

I don't know if I am really being nice or if I am just scared that he is going to emerge after an annoying social encounter with a camera crew close behind.

So a few days ago I was in the grocery store.

I already had my groceries on the conveyor belt and was ready to get out of there.

And there she was.....a few customers back in the line asking if she could move ahead because all she had was a gallon of milk.

The lady behind me grunted and informed her that the express lane was open and there was no line there. (Which was true...and it was only 2 lanes away from where we were standing)

She wasn't interested in the express lane.

So the woman behind me finally waved her ahead. Now it was my turn. What would I do? Would I allow her to go ahead or tell her we were all in a hurry and she would just have to wait.

Let me point out here that I think it is terribly rude to ask to cut in line at the store. IMO, unless your water is breaking, there in no excuse for it.

Of course, I let her cut. Because I am nice?

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Perhaps beacuse I fully expected John to jump from behind the toilet paper display and stick a microphone in my face asking me why I made that particular choice.

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For my 1st television debut, I want to be known as the "nice, helpful and kindhearted" lady.

Not the "If you don't make my face foggy and disguise my voice I will sue you" lady.

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Now (in a nice voice with a smiling face) I am inviting all of you to scroll down 2 posts and enter the giveaway. Tomorrow night I'll draw a winners name.

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A Cup of Mother's Day Love

Still time to enter the giveaway....scroll down to next post....

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I am so blessed with a precious family!

This Mother's Day I have been showered with cards, handmade notes, dinner at Cheesecake Factory and a new ironing board ....(which I LOVE! My old one kept falling and I have been know to iron at almost knee level!)

My favorite of all the gifts?

This little poem that Zachary made up himself....

"On Mother's Day, there is a cup of love deep inside your heart. Happy Mother's Day. I love you."

A cup of love to all mothers and mothers in waiting today! Blessings to all of you!

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Feature Friday...We're Back!

I am so happy to introduce Home Sweet Walls to you! This shop is FULL of fantastic decals. I wanted to share all of them with you, but since I am limited on space, here is just a sampling:

This lovely Etsy shop is full of the most wonderful treats for your home!

In my opinion, this shop has the most unique vinyls of any shop I have come across.

They are very affordable and most come in the color of your choosing. There are even vehicle decals!

Tricia of Home Sweet Walls has been so kind to offer one of you lucky winners an adorable set of birdie decals!

Visit Home Sweet Walls. Come back here and leave your name and your favorite item from the shop as well as a way to contact you.

For a bonus entry, blog about this giveaway and leave me the link to your blog. (If you don't have a blog you can email 5 friends letting them know about the giveaway and leave a comment telling me you opted to email instead of blog.)

I'll draw a name on Wednesday! Thanks to Tricia for sharing her great shop with us!

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So there it was.

Clearly visible even at 75 mph.

And the inevitable question came from the backseat.

Zachary: "Can we go there sometime?"

Me: "Well, I don't know. We'll see. Probably. We'll just have to think about it.... You know, it doesn't even open until summertime."

(Long pause)

Zachary: "You're just saying that because you don't want to go."

You've got that right.

There is nothing in me, and I mean nothing, that wants to traipse around a hot waterpark all day long in a swimsuit. And even less do I want to swim in a sea of bodily fluid commonly referred to as "pool water".

No thanks.

Perhaps daddy would like to take them.

Me? I'd rather spend my summer with these 2 characters in the backyard kiddy pool.

At least they don't care how much cottage cheese I wear on my thighs.

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Meet My Little Gentleman

I'm never low on flower "bouquets" around here.

Both of my little guys keep me well stocked.

They learned this from my big guy.

Today Lucas brought me these purple beauties.

Not sure if these are really flowers or if they are just flowering weeds.

As you can see from the background, my post-flooded backyard is no flower garden.

But no matter what they actually are, they are pure love to me!

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Feature Friday....

....is on vacation this week. There are a few huge features and giveaways going on on other blogs this week, so we will take a one week break here and come back next Friday with a big feature and giveaway of our own. You won't want to miss next week's featured shop and prize. Hint, hint, a little "bird" told me it is going to be good.

Sometime this week check out the features on these great blogs:

Both of these blogs have teamed up May 3-9 to offer a "It's in the Bag" Giveaway Bash: theshoppingmama.com and

etsyitup.blogspot.com

Each day both blogs will feature a shop and giveaway and yours truly will be featured on one of the blogs during that week. I will be giving away the winner's choice of "feeding on the go" sets from my shop.

Also, check out the Nesting Place.

This is a fantastic blog filled with ideas and tips on home decorating. This week they are giving away one of DaySpring's "Life to the full" platters. They are gorgeous!

Good luck to all of you!

Now I'll leave you with a rare image: my kids getting along (though Lucas wasn't thrilled about having Zachary that close).

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