Birthday Present

Today is my 34th birthday! I love celebrating and try to extend the birthday love as long as possible. I used to count down from January 1! I think it comes from sharing my birthday with my sister who is 4 years younger. We both enjoy sharing a birthday more now than as kids. Four years is just a little too far apart to have a joint party. I have one big birthday wish- 100 followers! Can you help? If you read the blog and aren't a follower, just press the follow me button on the left column and help me make my birthday wish come true! If I hit 100 before April 1, I'll have a treat in store for my followers!

Thank you, Pioneer Woman!

My new recipe to try out this grocery store cycle, was the Apple Dumplings from Pioneer Woman. Once again, she did not disappoint.

These were simple ingredients, easy directions and the results look and taste much fancier than they really are! Kids would love helping to make these- wrapping crescent rolls around the apples and pouring in the secret ingredient! Photo from PW also!

Free Custom Easter Cards for All

I love digital scrap booking and created 3 Easter cards just for Your Little Birdie readers! Just email me @ annajenk@yahoo.com with your card choice, the name for the card and a picture!

If you'd like a card for your friends or family, they are 4x6 and can be printed as normal photos would be at your local grocery or drugstore. Or, as a JPEG file, you can just post it on your blog on Easter morning to send blessings to your friends and family.

One simple request, for your free card, just give the blog a little love- add Your Little Birdie to your blog roll, blog about this giveaway, add yourself as a follower, or tweet about it! Easy!

Card #1- Eggcellent

#2- Chocolate Bunny

#3- Chickadee

Once I have your order, I'll be sure to return your card in a just a few days!

Commander in Chic

Love this new grey brown purple color from Sally Hansen! I read that grey brown shades of polish are the color for this season along with navy blue. I am wearing it now and honestly love it! I am pale and freckly, so I don't normally do dark polish, but made an exception. With three thin coats, it looks great. No basecoat or topcoat needed. Here is a full review and the new color line from a stylish blogger. I want to try PLUM LUCK next!

Advanced Steam A Seam

This past weekend my Mom and I took my Steam-a-Seam addiction to a whole new level- mixing fabrics, using various threads, adding buttons and ric rac. My daughter Abby Lu has some cute new onesies for Spring and Summer!

This is Foofa from Yo Gabba Gabba which Abby loves. She saw this shirt for the first time, smiled real big and gave Foofa a kiss. I saw this on etsy and decided to make my own. She ended up being our favorite! This flower is lots of fun and will match Abby's lime green leggings. Pair it with hot pink jellies and we have one CUTE girl on our hands!
I found this ric-rac at Jo Ann Fabrics. It is iron on and made with stitching around the edges to look sewn on. Since my Mom and her sewing machine were visiting, we added the middle stitch for good measure!

I love little birdies/chicks and this one will be great with her turquoise pettiskirt for Easter weekend. So stinkin' cute in Amy Butler's fabrics.


Our last onesie spelled her name! I love butter yellow fabrics!

And, last but not least, we cut off a onesie and made a dress for Abby. I love these little dresses and trying something new each time we make them. We added the little bib detail and lace trim. This will be sweet in photos!

If you search applique onesie on etsy, you'll find lots of inspiration to make your own onesies and dresses. Don't worry if you don't have a sewing machine, you can make these without that extra step!

Silhouette Art

I was inspired by Lindsay's DIY Silhouettes to do some art of my darling daughter's profile. When I saw her profile on my sonogram, I fell in love. So, this art reminds me of the immediate love a mother feels for her unborn child. This was SUPER easy to do and cost me $4. I had everything I needed except my canvas which was $7.99 and on sale for half price. I purchased the 7x9 size.
I painted my canvas green and while it was drying, printed Abby Lu's picture as a 5x7 on simple copy paper in black and white. The hardest part of the project was getting a good profile picture!

I then traced the cut out on the back side of my scrapbook paper and cut it out again. You could easily use fabric if you'd prefer!

Once my canvas was dry (the blow dryer really helped!), I used my favorite Color Box ink pads to age the edges in black. You could skip this step if you like "cleaner" art.

Next, I cut out the lines from an old hymnal that I wanted to use and aged the paper with another Color Box ink pad. Dune is a great color for aging.

I then used ribbon and modge podge to give my art a border. The white stapled canvas edges would have killed my look!

Now it was time to use my Modge Podge and attach everything. It is like school glue- just glue your items down. It can also go across the top and dries clear. No need to be extra careful.

I used a ribbon slide and more of the checkered ribbon to embellish the bottom. I don't want to forget the rewards of having faith.

I also used glue dots to add a flower to Abby's Lu's hair and gave it a button center.

I'm in love.... with the art and her!

The entire project took me about 1 hour. How great is that! If you make a silhouette, please let me know. I'd love to see the other options for colors and embellishments! And again, thank you Lindsay for the inspiration!

Eggcellent!

I told my husband the Easter bunny would throw up Easter on Friday and he needed to be ready. With a baby girl in the house, I just want everything to be fun and festive for her! Here is a look at my new and old Easter decor that threw up everywhere! ha!

I love these fuzzy chicks. Poor little guy on the left needs a bow to tame his wild hair. He can't see- there are little eyes under there somewhere! I bought this egg at TJ Maxx for like $7. It is large and sturdy!
This wooden bunny greeters visitors in my powder room. He goes well with the existing brown and cream decor. I really want to paint this bathroom. In my old home, the powder room was bright green. I think a bright powder room makes the whites of the toilet and sink just pop!

My E-A-S-T-E-R blocks sitting on the ledge. I posted this project earlier in the week. They are perfect for my entryway ledge. The bunny is from Baby Gap and will return to my daughter's room after the holiday. Gotta use what I can!

These carrots are so much fun- they were 1/2 price at Hobby Lobby and are about 3 feet tall.

I hadn't used my Southern Living plate in ages! Didn't we all just have to buy this plate at our first SL party? I paired it with some eggs and my fuzzy Easter tree.

These little guys and their bucket friends are on my breakfast table. I love their personality and the bright colors they bring to the area.

They are from an antique shop in our area.

Finally, in my formal dining room, I went with a more Peter Rabbit theme or subdued colors, rabbits and carrots!

Pardon the lighting on this one!

I bought this decor at JoAnn Fabrics, Pottery Barn Kids, Hobby Lobby and the carrots are from etsy.

On the dining room table, I added my Southern Living and Hobby Lobby birdhouses and two more of the carrots from Etsy. These carrots are so realistic!

I love that Spring is coming and Easter is around the corner! I can't wait to see how a 15 month old handles Easter eggs, a picture with a big stuffed bunny, and candy! This is going to be fun!

She's a Sham Rocker

Happy St. Patrick's Day from my favorite SHAM ROCKER in all the world!

E-A-S-T-E-R Blocks

I was in desperate need of some new Easter decorations and found these wooden letters at Hobby Lobby. They were sold as a set for $9.99 and were 50% off. I snagged them without hesitation knowing just what to do to them! I painted each letter in shades of pink and green and rubbed brown ink on the ages. I love a good aging technique! I then scoured my stash of extra scrapbook paper and found these stripes, bunnies and polka dots. I traced the letter on the back of the paper and then cut out my letters.
I attached the paper with modge podge and then used spray glitter to give it all a little shine. Finally I raided my spare parts and found ribbon, buttons, flowers, a ribbon slide to make my letters detailed.

This was an easy and super inexpensive project! I'm hoping Hobby Lobby carries a 4th of July letter set- I'm ready!

Get Your Piggies Ready...

It has been in the 70s this week and my piggies need a pedicure! I'll be sporting pretty toes this time tomorrow and will break out the sandals! I love shoes, but I really love flip flops. I have an area in my closet devoted to them and an ottoman full of them at the foot of my bed. I have cheap one, leather ones, plastic ones, and all time favorite ones!

Here are some of my recommendations for this year!

White sandals are hard for me. I know white is big this time of year and the floral dresses all have a white element to them, but white shoes are hard to pull off. I like these white patent sandals from Clarks. The brown leather base really offset the stark crisp white color and don't draw too much attention to your big ol' feet. I do own these in other colors and they are somewhat padded on the bottom- more comfortable than they look!

J. Crew is not a place I normally shop. They like little bitty tall girls. I am not little bitty. I am not tall. But, I put on my best skinny outfit and proudly walk into their store this time of year for shoes! They will have every color, plaid, polka dotted and printed flip flop my heart can imagine each Spring. Plus, they are less than $20. Just my price! Look at these BEAUTIFUL pink ones! I'd have to get a perfectly pink pedi to wear these!

I think a metallic sandal is a must for this Spring and Summer. These are from the Gap and less than $40. With the stone detail, you can mix with silver or gold. I love the pinky-peach addition. I can see so many uses with these sandals- work, church, and play!

Bernardo is my favorite brand of dressy sandals. They are expensive, so I buy one pair each summer. I own 3 pair and they all still look brand new. I have a somewhat wide foot and a big pet peeve of toes hanging off flip flops. These have a really wide base where your foot is the widest. They are all leather! I wear these shoes to church with dresses, to work with slacks, and even with jeans. They are super versatile!

I own three pair of these flip flops and they are by far the most comfortable shoes I own. I wear them around the house, with capri pants or even at the pool. The bottoms are squishy, they have arch support and come in lots of great colors! At only $25, I could not recommend them more.

Another great poolside option from Footpetals. These look more substantial than your Old Navy flip flop and are only $20. Love the metallic!
Happy Spring!

Paint and Peel is Genius!

I purchased this Paint and Peel polish from SULA over the weekend and decided to be trendy and pretend to be 20 when I painted my nails Azure.

It goes one nicely and the first nail is dry by the fifth nail. You can't touch hot water for 4 hours and then the polish is set. When you are ready to remove it, it peels off like a sticker. I painted one finger and then peeled it after a few hours to make sure my nail wasn't weird or the polish didn't come off. It was easy easy!

I bought the polish at Anthropologie, but it doesn't appear to be online. It is sold at Ulta. Hopefully you'll find it at a store near you.

One problem, it peeled off 3 fingers after I showered the next day. I think it was digging my fingers into my towel to dry my hair. Shoot- maybe it'll work better on toes!

New Spring Purses

A friend of mine recently asked me to give her recommendations for a new Spring purse. She wanted something around $100 in the pink/red/coral family. I did some looking around and here are my recommendations......

Love this Watermelon color by Dooney & Bourke

Vera Bradley Loves Me ruffle bag= so cute! This Amy Butler Hobo has two of my favs- orange and turquoise!

Amy Butler pleated bag on etsy

Roxy Ruffled Up in tomato

Gingham shopper by Fred Perry

Fossil Glitzy Shopper in pink or red

Steve Madden ruffle bag in Raspberry

Harvey's Seatbelt Bag in red Kate Spade Jubilee

this one is not for Alison as it is pricey, but I love love it and thought someone else out there might too!


Good luck finding a new Spring bag! I will be wearing this bag from last year and this one, a recent purchase this Spring.