Last week, Jaime introduced you to our exciting Summer project. Each of us are giving a social space in our home a makeover using gifted American Express Membership Rewards Points. Lucky!!! Jaime chose her back patio and I chose my front-entry courtyard-type space. It’s one of my favorite spots in the house but also one of the most neglected. It has so much potential but I just haven’t done anything with it. Let me take you for a little tour and tell you what I have in mind. I could really use your advice and ideas! Thanks Prudent mamas! Oh, and I should mention that all the kiddo stuff and grill is in the backyard so this is really a space for beauty and adult relaxation ie. drinking sangria with my girlfriends. Where were we? Back to the tour…
This is the path to my front door. So far, so good. Then you walk in the gate and see…
Cement. Lots of cement. So what do we do?…
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Link Love
I want a necklace justlikethat.
Easy and adorable wreath DIY at Fiskars. So simple. I love rainbows, don’t you? So happy.
Artist Juliana Santacruz Herrera has been filling the potholes of Paris with brightly colored.. something… fabric? wool? Not sure, but it’s amazing isn’t it? Check out a bunch more pics here.
You know how like once a week on our Prudent Baby facebook group I post a picture of some insane-delicious morsel I am all droolfully wanting to eat? Yesterday it was -no lie- a Pretzel Croissant with Gruyere and Bacon. I mean, how could you not? 99% of the time i am posting from this place by my house. If you live in LA you already know about it, but if not, and you ever come for a visit, go there. I’ll totally meet you and steal tidbits right off your plate.
And more…
We are obsessed with Grosgrain Fabulous and her current series of posts knowns as free pattern month. We were so honored to be featured last week, then Blogger melted down and we never got all of our posts back and never told you about it. So i’m telling you about it now, and the good news it it’s not too late for the rest of free pattern month!
Oh, I guess I haven’t mentioned this yet, but I’m going all tv-like on y’all. You can catch me contributing to the new online talk show HerSay, starring Soleil Moon Frye (who also kindly hosted my book launch party at her amazing store last year) and airing on MSN and hersay.com. I’ll be sharing some video DIYs and my hot picks for style, kids, and moms. Which means I have to like, wash my hair and worry about sitting up straight. If you wanna check out my first appearance head on over to HerSay, I show up towards the end of this episode. Oh geez.
Netflix tip: This movie is amazing, directed by the husband of an old friend. I’m not just plugging it for that reason though – this film got a 100% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, how often does that happen? Marwencol. Watch it.
Also have to give our PB two thumbs up to Bridesmaids, which Jacinda and I went to see on Saturday night in Utah. It was a super romantic date. I’m not even kidding, it was probably the most romantic date I’ve been on in… let’s see… three years? she even bought me popcorn and my very own gallon of soda. that’s true love.
Lots of cute machine embroidery patterns starting at just $1.99 at embroodles, including these adorable applique popsicles.
Hand stitched place cards – great & unique idea for the Use Your Words Embroidery Contest to win a fancy new embroidery machine!
Adorbs crochet pattern for the cutest baby sandals ever.
Three fun projects with washi tape. Dear washi tape, why are you so addictive? You are only tape, and yet I love you so.
What a wonderful and creative project for a gift.
Probably not the most efficient use of time, but I would love to replace all of my thread spools with these DIY ones made of branches from the yard.
I am reading this book
(but on my beloved kindle
). Have any of you read it? I know I am like 12 years late to the game, but I had to share because I can’t put it down!
This week, Scarlet can’t put this book
down. But it’s so cute I don’t mind reading it twelve times a day.
That’s all I got. What are you guys clicking on this week?
Quilt Market – Embroidery is EVERYWHERE!
Since we have embroidery on the brain, Jaime and I couldn’t help but notice all of the GORGEOUS examples on display at Quilt Market. Maybe they will inspire your entry for the “Use Your Words” Contest. Are you ready to see all of the pretty embroidered eye-candy? 
First we have the lovely Amy Butler. Aren’t these critters made from her corduroy (coming soon!) super cute? The little hand-stitched elements make me (and them) smile. Does this count as embroidery? It does to us! Come, follow me…
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GIVEAWAY WINNERS: Say Mmm Premium Membership
Say Mmm has taken the concept of meal planning to the next level and now four of you will be meal planning is style with a 6 month subscription to premium service, Say Mmm Plus which includes features like price tracking, calorie counting, and unlimited recipe organization in addition to the meal planning, shopping list and recipe organization features found in the free version.
And the winners are:
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WINNER: Bake it Pretty Party Supplies
The winner of last week’s Friday Surprise Prize (a giant balloon and paper straws, as seen in Quinn’s Animal Party) from Bake It Pretty is:
Emily who said…
Happy birthday Quinn! Love the elephant tablecloth and the fun colors. When I read “animal style”, I immediately thought of In-n-Out. Too bad I live too far away to have one right now.
Emily, you caught my In-n-Out reference. Takes me back to my LA days with Jaime. They just opened their first locations here in Dallas last week. Yuuuum!!!
Emily, you have 5 days to contact us to claim your prize!
And Stay tuned this Friday when we announce an exciting new weekly giveaway that we schemed up with Fabricworm at Quilt Market this past weekend. See? We did work. IT’S GOING TO BE A-MAZINGGGG!!
DIY Birthday In A Suitcase
Check out this super creative birthday idea I spotted at beautiful blog Funkytime. What kid (or adult for that matter) wouldn’t love a birthday-in-a-suitcase? I asked creator Sybille to share her tutorial with us and she kindly agreed. Take it away Sybille!
Thank you so much girls for having me today! 4 weeks ago I bought an old suitcase at the flea market. First I didn’t know what to do with it, but hey, it’s vintage, it’s a suitcase and it was $15! I knew there was another way of using this beauty besides painting it white and stacking it next to my bed as a bedside table! Since my hubby’s birthday was coming up too, I decided to transform it into a ‘birthday in a suitcase’. It really is a birthday-picnic in a suitcase. But before it looked like this, it had to come a long way!
Get the full tutorial on how to make your own birthday in a suitcase after the jump…
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How to Sew Sequins
Sequins, sparkles, shiny things – they’re all around me now! I thought this princess/dress-up silliness would be one of my least-favorite parts of parenting a daughter, but I was SO WRONG. I adore watching my daughter dress up in a sparkly costume then run around playing with bugs in the yard. 
When else in her life will she be able to live such a fantasy existence? And the look on her face when I hand her a sparkly homemade treat is pretty much the greatest gift I could ever hope for. So to that end, I have been sewing a lot of sequins lately. 
I thought I’d take a minute and show you how. It’s quite easy, it just takes a little patience. But you know it will be worth it. And don’t try to tell me sequins are only for girls, I can totally see a sequin pirate patch or mustache on little gordon, no?
Learn How to Sew On A Sequin after the jump…
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Help! How Do I Turn My Deck Into a Place of Relaxation and Beauty?
Jacinda and I are on a mission this summer. We’ve both lived in our homes for about two years and we want to finally get around to creating beautiful (yet prudent) outdoor spaces, but we need your help. So I’m gonna go first and ask (beg?) for your thoughts. Y’all know I like to wax poetic about my garden (like when I’ve shared with you our Backyard Farm projects from last year and this year), but I have a secret… The kind of secret moms of young children everywhere try to hide away… My shots have been carefully calculated to avoid revealing the reality of what my deck and patio have devolved into:
Can any of you relate (please say yes)? If you’ve been following us on facebook you have seen this disaster zone of toys and assorted folding chairs and empty sippy cups and know that a few weeks ago I managed to sweep off the bird seed and discard the melted crayon heaps, and that it was a soul-cleansing experience. But, well, this is the progress I’ve made. This pic is from the day we moved in to our lovely little home over two years ago:
And this is last week:
So, umm, that took two years. Now in the next few weeks I want to fix it up. I’d like, hmm, I don’t know, someplace to sit. Or maybe someplace to sleep? Or plant? Or store toys? Or drink tangerine mimosas at 11 am (it’s after 12 in dallas, so if I call Jacinda while I’m doing it that counts, right?). Your advice for the Craft Room Redesign Project has been insightful and indispensable so I must call upon you again: Please help! Let me show you some before pictures and tell you all about it and ask ten million questions after the jump…
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