Michelle Barneck - 82/264 - A Little Tipsy

Outdoor Oasis

July 3, 2012 By Michelle Barneck Leave a Comment

This Spring we took a trip to Maui and I wished so much that we could take some of the island spirit home and make a little oasis of our own. Lucky for me summer begins with Mother’s Day and my birthday so as gifts, I filled my yard with color, relaxation, and fun.

I started by updating a garage sale urn with a little spray paint and some bright flowers for the deck. Then of course came the hammock. This was one of my favorite activities from Hawaii, just lounging lazily in the hammock. I added some fun outdoor pillows to continue with the pops of color.

Every time I lay in the hammock I am usually joined by one of my boys to snuggle. My oldest loves to push me in it, which is fantastic. Hammock + pinterest app + raspberry lemonade = perfection.

Now see that item in the upper right corner of the last hammock picture? That is the other key to a fun and relaxing summer in our outdoor space, a swing set for the boys within eye shot of the hammock. The swing set is complete with the outdoor chair pad attached at the base of the slide so my 20 month old doesn’t get a jolt when he gets to the end. We learned that one quickly.

I love how these items make our yard feel like another living space; our own little family oasis with a taste of color, relaxation, and fun!

Now that I have shared what turns my backyard into my perfect summer oasis, I want to know what you’ve done to transform your backyard into your oasis. One of my lucky readers will win a $25 Sears gift card!

Need help finding your own pieces for your backyard? Sears is bringing the ease of searching for those perfect pieces with their recently launched iPad digital catalog. On your computer? Don’t fear, Sears has an amazing digital catalog built just for you.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Sears. The opinions and text are all mine. Official Sweepstakes Rules.

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Letter of the Week {B}

June 25, 2012 By Michelle Barneck 4 Comments

Summer is here and the first year of preschool over! We need some fun activities too keep us entertained, but with some intellectual value. This summer we’re going with letter themes. It’s perfect to help my youngest who is learning to talk and my preschooler who is learning to read and write.

Here are the Letter of the Week {A} activities if you missed them.

Now on to B!

I have two boys, so naturally we went with Bugs and Balls!

Make fun summer Bugs (from Mommyness Adventures) by painting cans and adding pipe cleaner wings.
Go on a Bug hunt. (kit from Dollar Tree)

Write all the B words for the activities, foods, etc.
Wear a fun Bug shirt or something Blue.
Watch a Bug through a jar. We had a cocoon we found in the garden in a jar and the Bug inside just happened to hatch on B week! It was a pretty orange moth. Rolly poleys are great for this too!
Little brother used the tweezers from the bug kit for a hunt for another B word. 😉

Make a Ball pit in a Big Box.
Dump them all out and collect the Balls with a Basket counting them as you go.

Photo credits: Broccoli, Beef, Bananas, Berries, Bread, Baked Beans

Eat foods that begin with B.

All in all, B was a pretty rockin’ letter of the week! We had a ton of fun!

What fun B activities can you think of?

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Real.Life.Photography {GIVEAWAY}

June 21, 2012 By Michelle Barneck 46 Comments

If you’re familiar with Rebecca Cooper’s gorgeous blog Simple As That then you already know that she is super talented. She has adorable party and project ideas and her photos are pretty much to die for.

I am so excited to be part of the welcoming committee to share with you Rebecca’s newest book (ya, it’s her third, she’s that amazing) Real.Life.Photography.

I had the chance to enjoy the book already and it is fabulous; packed with tips, techniques and photo editing tricks. Also, Christy from Addy Lane created a fun set of actions called the Simple Fixes Action Set that are the perfect to go along with her book. I had a chance to test those out too and they are great!

The book has 6 chapters full of useful advice and of course is full of awe inspiring images. Wanna take a peek?

I love that she shares “HOW I GOT THE SHOTS” notations to detail techniques used for the images. I seriously had multiple ah-ha moments while reading. Her tips are simple, but were totally eye opening for me.

I am a total list girl so I also love that she gives a list of suggested photos to capture from everyday life. I feel like in the long run these are the photos of the moments we will cherish.

image source

So, now that I have shown you how jealous I am of her skills and how I love that her book gives me a chance at improving mine, it’s time for the good part where you have the chance at your own!

One lucky Tipsy reader gets a copy of Real. Life.Photo graphy and a set of Simple Fixes Action Set (PSE or PS version, your choice!)

For those of you who want to get your hands on either of these items now, you can purchase them for the early bird price of $9.99 each (the regular price will be $12.99). If you purchase both the book and the actions together, you can get 20% off by using the promo code PHOTOFIX at checkout.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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American Stars and Stripes Pillow

June 19, 2012 By Michelle Barneck 7 Comments

I love our flag. The colors are awesome. It’s clean and crisp and represents so much! I love decorating with it. I also love things that look like they took a lot of work when they were SUPER easy! Thus, I was thrilled to find this American flag placemat for like $3 that would so easily translate in to a faux quilted throw pillow.

American Stars and Stripes Placemat Pillow

SUPPLIES:

Placemat (from ShopKo)

Seam Ripper

Polyfil

Binder clips

Needle

Thread

DIRECTIONS:

Use the seam ripper to make an opening about half the width of the side of the placemat.

Stuff tight with Polyfil. Hold opening closed with binder clips and stitch closed using the existing holes from the original thread. Slide the binder clips along as you need more space to stitch.