Signs of Spring: Favorites from the Spring Craft Blog Hop III, week 6

April is almost over, does it feel like springtime yet? We're in the sixth week of the current Spring Craft Blog Hop, and each week new projects are being added! You guys have been busy creating beautiful crafts exemplifying the signs of spring. If only I could showcase them all! I've picked five of my favorites to show to you. This week, I found projects ranging from spring wreaths to planter ideas and even a free printable. Be sure to visit these bloggers and let them know how lovely their projects are!

We're into our third edition of the Spring Craft Blog Hop, our biggest and longest hop of the series. Each week, I will highlight five of the crafts linked up from bloggers around the interwebs. Be sure to stop by the party each week to see all the new crafts that have been linked up, and add your own as well!
 

What does spring look like where you are at? For us, it means plentiful sunshine, spring blooms, and lots of ladybugs. S-bug lives up to his nickname, on more than one occasion I've had a ladybug or two inside the house. The seasonal Farmer's Markets are all opening, and its picnic brunch weather. Speaking of picnic brunches, Mother's Day is coming up around the corner. Do you have a May Day or Mother's Day craft that you would like to share? Link it up at the hop now through May 25.

Signs of Spring: Favorites from the Spring Craft Blog Hop III, week 5

I hope you didn't miss my Friday Favorites too much last week. The kids were on Spring Break and we ended up being out and about for most of the week. The Spring Craft Blog Hop is still going strong, and now that Easter has passed, let's see some more Earth Day and Mother's Day crafts! Did you see my dip-dyed canvas bags I shared earlier in the week? Made with 100% recycled cotton, they are perfect for saving the planet, one shopping bag at a time.



We're into our third edition of the Spring Craft Blog Hop, our biggest and longest hop of the series. Each week, I will highlight five of the crafts linked up from bloggers around the interwebs. Be sure to stop by the party each week to see all the new crafts that have been linked up, and add your own as well!

 

Since Earth Day is coming up on Tuesday, I thought it would be fun to share some of the recycled crafts that have been linked up to the Spring Craft Blog Hop so far. Have a recycled craft of your own you that you would like to have more exposure? You can link it up at the hop now through May 25.

Signs of Spring: Favorites from the Spring Craft Blog Hop III, week 3

Easter is this Sunday, hooray! I'm bringing you more featured crafts from the Spring Craft Blog Hop, just in time for Easter. I've shopped for Easter basket goodies, and today we are dying eggs and getting our final touches for Easter Sunday. If you still need some last minute Easter Egg ideas, my friend Christie put together a fabulous round-up of egg projects!
 

  

We're into our third edition of the Spring Craft Blog Hop, our biggest and longest hop of the series. Each week, I will highlight five of the crafts linked up from bloggers around the interwebs. Be sure to stop by the party each week to see all the new crafts that have been linked up, and add your own as well!

Because Easter is this weekend, I decided to share these fun crafts with you, just in time! I know I've mentioned before how much I love link-ups for the chance to meet new bloggers, so this week I'm sharing 4 crafts from bloggers never featured at Creative Mama Messy House before, and some awesome entertaining tips from one of the co-hosts of the Spring Craft Blog Hop.

Spring Green Vegetable Pasta Primavera

Springtime is the perfect time to go back to nature and start eating fresher. In many cities, Farmer's Markets are opening as the weather warms and early spring produce is abundant. To celebrate the season, I created a verdant pasta primavera with all things green and in season right now. I chose a combination of vegetables that I knew my family is willing to eat (kale and snap peas). I also added a vegetable that always gets mixed reviews (cauliflower) and introduced a new vegetable to all (fava beans). Pairing this quartet of green vegetables with something I know everyone in my family will eat (pasta) guaranteed no one would turn their nose up and whine about not wanting to eat.

 

 

I'll admit that my children can be picky. When I first met my older kids 5 years ago, they would not touch zucchini, or bell peppers, or a number of other vegetables that they readily will eat today. Did you know that it can take up to 10 times of a child trying one new food to adjust to a new taste or texture? Children's palettes are constantly adjusting, and its not always a flavor or texture thing, sometimes they are in an uncooperative mood, there is an even number of peas on their plate, the clouds are covering the sun, etc.

As a parent, I used to take their defiance for not eating vegetables personally. I knew that I had cooked them properly, seasoned them well, used my culinary knowledge to make the food palatable, and still they wouldn't eat it. The more I fought back, the less they would eat. So instead of forcing or demanding that foods be eaten, I just keep serving them. Not all the time, and not always the same ones over and over again. The more they are exposed to a certain vegetable, the more likely they are to try it, and sometimes, they might actually like it!

Blogging Goals Redefined, and an Updated Spring Chalkboard

Today, I'm bringing you a quick update of an upcycled craft. Part of my goals from my Blogging Staycation was to update and revive some of my old content along with adding in some new content. What us a Blog Staycation you might ask? Bloggers Jen of JENerally Informed, Trish of The Trish List, and Julie of Girl on the Move brought a group of bloggers together with a common goal of moving their blogs to the next level. They created a Facebook group, hosted chats on Twitter and Facebook using the hashtag #BlogStaycation, and sent out informative newsletters each day of the Staycation.

Because of the Staycation, I was able to connect with new bloggers and moms, and make a few new virtual friendships. With the help of tutorials from Kristie from Blog Ambitions, I was able to set up Google Analytics properly to finally track my numbers correctly.

Here's a few of my blogging goals to accomplish for the remainder of 2015:

• Update and revive old content
• Incorporating more guest posts
• Incorporate more lifestyle posts
• Utilizing my editorial calendar to its fullest and creating content to get ahead.
• Monetizing: signing up for a campaign
• Getting my newsletter set up and gaining subscribers
• Moving from Blogger to a self-hosted site

 

You may remember my Spring Chalkboard that I created last year using some upcycled materials and a bit of chalkboard paint. It happens to be one of my most viewed posts, and I love it. It matches the décor in my kitchen, so I put it up each year. I wanted to freshen it up this year, making it bolder and a few sparkles. Everything is better with sparkles!

To track back, here was the finished project, originally:

It all started with this harmless, old wooden frame with a mirror in the middle. Simple, and functional.

But it had absolutely no way to hang it, so I came up with a solution:

Signs of Spring: Favorites from the Spring Craft Blog Hop III, week 2

Its finally Friday! I'm having a working weekend on a blogging "staycation", I guess you can consider it Spring Cleaning for the blog. I've learned so much about blogging since I first started, and even more so since I returned to blogging in January, that I think it's finally time to clean and update some of my old content, to help streamline everything. But before I dive into that, I couldn't forget to bring you my Friday Favorites from the Spring Craft Blog Hop.



We're into our third edition of the Spring Craft Blog Hop, our biggest and longest hop of the series. Each week, I will highlight five of the crafts linked up from bloggers around the interwebs. Be sure to stop by the party each week to see all the new crafts that have been linked up, and add your own as well!
 

Easter is near, and each of these projects have reflect Easter in them. From bright colored Easter Eggs to bunnies and tulips - these are the signs that Easter is almost here. I hope these crafts inspire your Easter décor, as well as make you smile, like I did.

Signs of Spring: Favorites from the Spring Craft Blog Hop III, week 1

Happy Spring! I hope you have been enjoying all the spring crafts that have been linked up to this edition of the Spring Craft Blog Hop. We're into our third edition of the Hop, our biggest and longest hop of the series. Each week, I will highlight five of the crafts from bloggers around the interwebs. Be sure to stop by the party each week to see all the new crafts that have been linked up, and add your own as well!

This week, I chose an assortment of unique crafts that celebrates the warmer weather that spring will be bringing, along with all its greenery and bright colors. I made sure to add an Easter craft in there too, since Easter is only a few weeks away (Easter this year is on April 5th). The best thing about link parties is that everyone brings their unique sense of style, and you get to "meet" new bloggers and be introduced to blogs new and old!

Spring Craft Blog Hop - Easter, Mother's Day, and Spring

Welcome to the third in a four-part spring craft blog hop challenge for the spring season! This hop will run from March 18th - May 25th and will be the longest and biggest of the hops. We're challenging you to create a craft project that reflects Easter, recycled crafts, Earth Day, Mother's Day, Teacher's Day, May Day, Cinco De Mayo or a General Spring theme. Please join us in this challenge and link-up your crafty creation at the bottom of this post and have it shared on 19 blogs!

I'm so happy to be a part of the Spring Craft Blog Hop, be sure to check out my Patchwork Polka Dot Easter Eggs below for a quick and easy craft to get you in the spirit of Easter. Be sure to visit all of my fabulous co-hosts to see how they shook out the last of winter and welcomed spring!

 

Meet all 19 hosts!

Each host will be sharing their own craft to kick off the Spring Craft Blog Hop challenge, so make you visit each host to see their fabulous creations!

Patchwork Polka Dot Easter Eggs

If you are stopping over from the Spring Craft Blog Hop, hello and welcome! What's more fun for Easter than pastels, polka dots, and Easter eggs? I'm kicking off my Easter decorating right now, starting with these Patchwork Polka Dot Easter Eggs. Let's shift from green and shamrocks of St. Patrick's Day to patchwork and polka dots as the Spring officially starts Friday.

 As always, this craft is fast, inexpensive, and super fun! I covered Easter eggs with squares of polka dot cotton fabric to create a patchwork of colors, perfect for decorating with. I picked up a large container of plastic eggs (the kind you stick candy in) for under $5, and got plenty to fill Easter baskets and do a few crafts and activities with. The fabric quarters I picked up at Jo-Ann's Fabrics, so I had them in my stash.

Signs of Spring from the #SCBH2015, Favorites from week 2

I have the pleasure of co-hosting the 2015 Spring Craft Blog Hop with an awesome group of bloggers. This round-up features entries that caught my eye that are linked up to the current hop (St. Patrick's Day and Spring), running through March 17th. Be sure to link up your relevant projects anytime for a chance to be featured in future round-ups!

We are another week closer to spring, and the projects keep rolling in! I hope this week felt a little more spring-like for the rest of you that don't live in California or Florida. We've had nothing but sunshine, and my sweaters are getting jealous of my t-shirts. I haven't hardly been outside to enjoy it this week though (the toddler and I have been feeling under the weather), but you can bet this weekend I plan to get out there!

Fabulous Friends and Finds Friday: Signs of Spring from the #SCBH2015, week 1

I'm back with another Fabulous Friends and Finds Friday! I have the pleasure of co-hosting the 2015 Spring Craft Blog Hop with an awesome group of bloggers. This round-up features entries that caught my eye that are linked up to the current hop (St. Patrick's Day and Spring), running through March 17th. Be sure to link up your relevant projects anytime for a chance to be featured in future round-ups!



Spring Craft Blog Hop - St. Patrick's Day and Spring

I'm so excited to be a host of the Spring Craft Blog Hop 2015! A huge thank you to Erlene over at My Pinterventures for arranging this whole hop and keeping us all organized! I hope you all enjoyed the first installment of the hop. Now that Valentine's Day is over, we're moving right along through to March for the second installment of the hop. Bring your green for St. Patrick's Day, Palm Sunday, and other Spring themed crafts!

Welcome to the second in a four-part spring craft blog hop challenge for the spring season! This hop will run from February 18 - March 17 and we're challenging you to create a craft project that reflects St. Patrick's Day, Palm Sunday, or a General Spring theme. Please join us in this challenge and link-up your crafty creation at the bottom of this post to be seen on 18 blogs!

Meet all 20 hosts!

Each host will be sharing their own craft to kick off the Spring Craft Blog Hop challenge, so make you visit each host to see their fabulous creations!