Left to right, top to bottom: Lolly Jane Twins, Jen from Craft-O-maniac, Linda from Craftaholics Anonymous, Laurie from Tip Junkie, Sachiko & The Dating Divas, Sachiko from Tea Rose Home

2. Connecting with sponsors…


It was great to see big national brands like Disneyland, McDonald’s and Lowe’s and also local companies like Provo Craft there to connect with bloggers. Lowe’s hosted a hands on workshop involving a blogger challenge. We were given a bucket of random supplies and 1.5 hours to create something great. It was like the best version of Craft Wars ever!

• The SEO class with Dennis from The Next Corner seriously blew my mind. He is like an unending wealth of knowlege. I’ve learned I may have to become friends with Google Plus.
• I loved how Allison from No Time for Flash Cards stressed that “Bloggers are your community, not your competition.” It’s true. There is enough traffic for everyone and we are here to support each other!
• I had an epiphany about my negotiating skills in the class with Kevin from Webgrrls. He had so many great pointers to offer. Like “don’t fear the silence” and “the first rule of negotiating is to ask.”

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Hey Friends. I know things have been a little sparse around here, but I have not forgotten about you. I have something BIG in the works and it’s been taking up all of my project/blog time. I am moving things back in and finalizing details which in reality might take another week or two.

No worries, in the meantime I have a delightful healthyish fudgesicle recipe to share over on Kiki & Company for her fun in the sun series. So kick back, enjoy the summer and have a cool sweet treat and we’ll be happy to share a room makeover I think you’ll enjoy soon!

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Hi All! We’ve taken a little road trip over to Brown Paper Packages today to share a little project to enjoy a little of Disney’s Cars Land at home!

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So, at the SNAP conference I was totally inspired by Ana and Stacy and Brittany and decided it was high time I learned to use some tools. I am pretty girly and sometimes if I am quite honest tools scare me a little. I have used them here and there, but usually just call in the big guns when I need something done and have the hubs do it. But, with him in a Master’s program I decided no more waiting I needed some basic training.

I had the perfect project to start on. My office door frame was broken and so there was no way to keep my toddler son out. Even if it was locked it would push right open. Disaster! He would go in every five minutes since the door to the office is off the playroom. Last week was the final straw. Once he had 10 bottles of paint with three open by the time I got down the stairs and the next time was bottles of mod podge and adhesives. It was time.

I talked to the Mr. and he was totally awesome to run right to the hardware store with me for one of those big door plates. I wanted a quick fix that could be done that night until we had time for the whole frame to be replaced. I was so thrilled until we got it home and realized that the frame was so broken that there was nothing for the plate to screw in to. Boo.

Thank goodness the hubs is pretty darn handy and figured out how we could cut out a rectangle and use a piece of wood from the garage to fill the gap and be able to install the plate. A set of chisels probably would have been helpful in that situation. I won’t tell you how we did it because it is so wrong it is not to be admitted.

So, why the long story? Well, I am so proud to say that I used a drill (even changed the bit), screwdriver, nail gun, air compressor, nail set (the little tool that lets you pound in a finishing nail) and hammer. Baby steps people. The hubs laughed at me because every time he picked up a new tool I would say “let me do it” and proceed to make him instruct me. I had used a lot of these previously, but in supervised settings. 😉 Now, I feel like I could use them on my own which makes me embarrassingly giddy.

I even wandered around Harbor Freight Tools looking around for Father’s Day, but coming out with some ideas for myself. My birthday is Saturday and I can tell you it is going to include something loud with a plug. 🙂

Are you a tool pro or does using a saw make you want to close your eyes and hope for the best too? (Of course please never do that. And wear safety goggles.)

This post was sponsored by Harbor Freight, but my stories are my own and I really did wish I had a set of chisels. 😉

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