FRIENDS – A Glimpse Inside

$100 Target Giftcard Giveaway!

I know I have been MIA lately and I’m sorry!

I totally hate it and totally wish that I had a ton of time to sit down to craft to share with all of you but we, more like I, have been packing and cleaning our house like crazy prepping to put it on the market next week. But I am REALLY hoping that once it is on the market that I will be able to sit down and craft for a little while. Fingers crossed!!

ANYWAYS, my friend Amber from Crazy Little Projects is celebrating her blog anniversary this week and I celebrating with her by teaming up with her and some of our other friends to give away a $100 Target giftcard.

YAY!! I know I would definitely love to win this because Target is my favorite!

Here are the lovely ladies that are bringing you this giveaway.

If you don’t know them, I highly recommend you check them out. They are all pretty rad! 🙂

To enter the giveaway, use the Rafflecopter widget below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

GOOD LUCK!!

allison

March 25, 2015 By Allison

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How to Throw a Pinterest Craft Party

I have been meaning to share this post FOREVER now!

November 2012 I decided to throw a Pinterest Craft Party and it was so much fun. I never got around to sharing my party with all of you since Travis came home shortly after and am just now getting around to doing it.

It was a fun time with some fellow military wives and I know some of you would have a fabulous time having a party with some of your friends as well so I want to share how I threw this party.

For this party, we were going to be making Christmas crafts but you could throw this at any time of year and make Valentine’s Day, Halloween, Easter projects, or just whatever you like.

To start, I browsed Pinterest and found five Christmas projects that I thought would make good projects to make. I then emailed the images to all the ladies that would be attending and had them pick 3 of the projects that they wanted to create. The 3 top voted for projects would be the ones we would be making.

I was the one that would purchase all the supplies so once it was deteremined which projects would be created, I figured out how much it would cost for the supplies and had each lady pay me $25.

Now onto the party!

I decided to do a pot luck for the food so each person was suppose to find a recipe on Pinterest to make and bring with them.

There were only going to be 4 of us at this party so I set up two long folding tables in front of each other in our living room so we could use the dining room table and other surfaces.

I placed all the supplies on my dining room table and the items for each project together.

I also set my Silhouette machine up because I would have to use it for one of the projects.

To help spread things out, I placed the paint, brushes, and glue guns on my console table.

I also made little goodie bags for the ladies that attended.

Here are the three projects we created. These are my projects.

We made the Noel sign, a little Christmas plaque, and the Yarn trees.

We started by making the Noel sign since that would take the longest to dry.

Then made the plaques, and finished with the yarn trees.

Before the party, I checked out all the blogs that I found these projects on so I knew exactly how to make them. They were rather simple projects but still wanted to double check to make sure I had all the supplies and didn’t miss a step.

At the party, I explained to the ladies how to make the projects and then away we went.

If someone finished a project before the others, they were able to move on to the next project.

We had a great time being crafty and chatting about how excited we were for our guys to come home from their deployment.

Here is a picture of the projects one of the ladies created.

Again, we had a great time together and this would be so fun to do for any holiday or season!

It is always fabulous to get together with friends, eat, talk, laugh, and end with some fun new craft projects to display!!

I hope some of you have a Pinterest Craft Party with your friends!

If you do, I’ll love to hear about it! 🙂

January 21, 2014 By Allison

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St. Augustine Trip

I snuck away Wednesday off to St. Augustine, FL to visit my best friend Megan.

She was graduating from the University of St. Augustine with a degree in Physical Therapy.

So I went down to visit and of course, see her graduate.

While I was down there, I hung out with her friends and family, helped her pack up her apartment and of course hit up the beach a little too.

And watched her graduate as a Doctor.

Getting her hood.

With the new Dr. Megan Dempsey! Yeah!

Friends with the graduate.

So if anyone needs a good physical therapist, I know one! 🙂

Congrats Best Friend!

Love you!

August 15, 2011 By Allison

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A Baby Shower for Mandipity!

My bloggy friend Mandy from Mandipity, is expecting her first baby, Abigail VERY soon!

So, Gina from Hiya Luv and Rachel from The Chatty Mommy teamed up to throw her a virtual baby shower and I am participating!

You can participate as well if you would like. Check out Gina’s blog, Hiya Luv for all the details and to link up your post to the baby shower party.

I decided to find some adorable items on Etsy that would be perfect for baby Abigail.
Abigail’s room is decorated with little deer so I thought I would find some cute deer items to match her room and then just a few other things I thought were too cute not to share.

First up, what’s a baby shower without a diaper cake?
This is an adorable deer one from Skidly Bop.

Babies are messy when they eat so why not cover them up with this super cute bib from Babiease.

I just loved this Deer art by J. Austin Ryan and I thought Mandy would love it as well.

How about a cute burp cloth to try to keep the babies, and you, less messy as well?
This one from JP Pink Daisy will work just fine.

Love this monogram art, in an A of course, from Sugar Fresh.

This art is so precious by Sugar Fresh as well.

Could always do a fun wall decal as well. This one is too cute from Decor Designs.

This matches Abigail’s room exactly. And what little girl doesn’t like their name on the door?
This is from the shop Personalized by Diane.

This would be for when Abigail is just a little older but it was too cute to pass up. It is from the shop JeabMade.

Mandy, one of these items might be coming your way VERY soon so I hope you liked all them. 🙂
And best wishes for Abigail’s arrival!

July 27, 2011 By Allison

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Creative Estates Adventure

So do you guys REALLY want to know how fun and awesome Creative Estates was?
No? Well, you are gonna hear about it anyways! 🙂
(Warning: this is picture HEAVY!)

First off, I HAVE to share with you the FABULOUS bag that I got to take to Creative Estates.
Kellie from the Blog, This Blessed Nest, has an etsy shop Bag Full of Posies and she makes the most adorable bags. So I had to get one with my blog name on it to sport it at a blog conference. And everyone LOVED it just as much as I do.

Thursday I flew in and was lucky enough to fly the whole way with Kristen from Ladybug Blessings. I was so thrilled to fly with someone there that way I wasn’t completely alone, letting my nerves calm down.

I’m a pretty shy girl until I get to know people so flying with Kristen REALLY helped!

Once we arrived in Phoenix, Kristen and I went our separate ways and I met up with my awesome roommate, Gina from Hiya Luv.

Both our flights were delayed so we were late to the Cupcakes and Cocktails Social. We were both so nervous walking in late but it was great.

photo courtesy: Oopsey Daisy
Me with Alison from Oopsey Daisy and Lauren from The Elephant’s Trunk at the Cupcake and Cocktail Social.

Day 1:

It was amazing being in a room filled with 170+ Creative Bloggers and Handmade Business Owners.

I sat with some FABULOUS ladies on day one.
From left to right: Becca (Blue Cricket Designs), Gina (Hiya Luv), Lauren (The Elephant’s Trunk), Lauren’s mom, Trish, Chrissy, (Hoot Designs), Alison (Oopsey Daisy), Jennifer (Scissors and Spatulas), and me.

There were a few sessions we could pick from and I choose to go to the session about Blogging Tips with the awesome panel made up of Amy (The Idea Room), Jen (Tatertots and Jello), Cindy (Skip to my Lou), and Kim (Today’s Creative Blog).
They shared some excellent tips.

photo courtesy of Oopsey Daisy
I truly LOVED meeting these two ladies, Alison (Oopsey Daisy) and Bev (Flamingo Toes).
They both are the sweetest!

Friday Night, some of the lovely AZ ladies had a Girl’s Night Out at the Old Spaghetti Factory.

Here are some of the awesome details that Kristen (Lil’ Luna) put together.
The cupcakes were delicious! And the name tags, table settings, and menu cards were so cute!

This was my favorite cupcake topper! 🙂

Photo courtesy: Jamie Lynn Photography
This was my end of the table at dinner.
Jenni (Carlisle Clan Conversation), Melissa (Melissa Stuff), Alison (Oopsey Daisy), me, Gina (Hiya Luv)

Day 2:
To start Day 2, April (Funky Vintage Lovely), Shelley (House of Smith’s), and I all wore yellow so we had a little goofy photo shoot.

photo courtesy: Oopsey Daisy
I again sat with some awesome ladies!
Kendra (My Insanity), Alison (Oopsey Daisy), and Amy (Positively Splendid).

Becky Higgins, Megan (Brassy Apple), Melanie (Above All Fabrics) and Becki (Whippy Cake) discussed managing a business and motherhood.

I then sat through a session about bringing your personality out through your blog with Char (Crap I’ve Made), Shelley (House of Smith’s), and Stephanie (The Daily Blarb) and they were HIL-AR-IOUS!!! It was so fabulous!

I got to meet so many of my favorite bloggers while attending this conference. It was AWESOME!
Top Row: Alison (Oopsey Daisy), Lara (Less Cake, More Frosting), Shelley (House of Smith’s)
Middle Row: Char (Crap I’ve Made), April (Funky Vintage Lovely), Amy (Positively Splendid)
Bottom Row: Katie (Food, Wine, and Mod Podge), Jen (Tatertots and Jello), Michelle (A Little Tipsy)

Saturday afternoon Jen from Tatertots and Jello put on a little painting class. This is what I created. Not my best work but it was the best I could do with the time allotted.

Saturday Night a few of us snuck out to do dinner on our our and celebrate Chrissy’s Birthday.
Photo Courtesy: Oopsey Daisy
Ali (aPearantly Sew), Me, Alison (Oopsey Daisy), Trish, Chrissy (Hoot Designs), Gina (Hiya Luv), and Lauren (The Elephant’s Trunk).

Photo Courtesy: Oopsey Daisy
It was so fun meeting other Allison/Alison’s. 🙂

After dinner, we headed back for the block party.
This was the creative cupcake display. It was so cool!

I loved meeting everyone IRL but I still didn’t meet everyone that I wanted too. All well- maybe next year! But it was so cool to see if everyone was the way they seemed on their blogs and with everyone I encountered, it seemed that way.
I know I am missing stuff. It was a whirl wind weekend.

I got LOTS of fun goodies in the swag bags and won 3 giveaways! 🙂
And one of those wins was something AWESOME!
I will have to write up a post just dedicated to all the swag and wins itself.

But if you didn’t get to go to Creative Estates this year, here is some fun news for you.
Creative Estates 2012 will in in Salt Lake City, Utah next April!

April 14, 2011 By Allison

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I Grew Up in the South…

…Enough said!
I grew up in Columbia, TN. A small town about an hour south of Nashville.
Every year there is a huge event called Mule Day.

What? You never heard of Mule Day! Have you been living under a rock? It has only been going on since the 1800s and is apparently on the top 10 list of events to watch by Homeland Security.

Well, if you haven’t heard about Mule Day before, I totally forgive you.
Truthfully, I am not that into it. But MANY, and I mean MANY, people from Columbia and all around the United States LOVE this event.

People come from all over just to show off their Mules. They buy and sell them, there is a big parade on Saturday, a Liar’s contest, and many more events packed into a few days.

I haven’t been to Mule Day in YEARS! I seriously, cannot remember that last time I went to Mule Day so I thought I would go this year while I was still close to TN.

I thought you guys would like to see some pictures of the parade just so you could experience it for yourself.

Welcome to Mule Day 2011!

I met up with two of my good friends, Megan and Mattie, to watch the parade with.

Here is the start of the parade.

The theme for Mule Day this year was “Southern Comfort: Ride a Mule”
Gotta love it! lol

There is even a Mule Day Queen.

But there are MANY real mules pulling wagons and being ridden that are all deck out with nice gear.

And you may even find a man Dressed as a Mule.

How about a Hillbilly Repo float?

Men dressed up like Davey Crocket.

There are even adorable Miniature Mules to look at! So tiny and so cute!

Let’s go back to the old south and get dressed up in Civil War and Antebellum garb.

Have to show you Tennessee Pride.

And there is wagon, after wagon, after wagon.
This is actually known as the Wagon Train.

And you’ll find All sorts of Means of Transportation in the parade.
Firetruck, Old cop car, Mules pulling wagons, Train Engines and yes, even boats.

That’s the parade in a nutshell! There were many other unique things in the parade- I just didn’t get good pictures of!

Later that night, friends that I graduated with, got together and had a bon fire and caught up and talked about old times.

It was great to see everyone again!

So if you are ever in TN the first week of April, make your way down to Columbia for Mule Day festivities! Trust me, it’s interesting! 😉

April 4, 2011 By Allison

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GIVEAWAY! Hiya Luv Handmade

GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED!

Happy Monday everyone!
Hope you all had a fabulous weekend!

What’s a better way to start off the week than a giveaway?!
I don’t know either!

So today, the FABULOUS Gina from Hiya Luv (who is also my roommate for Creative Estates. WOOT, WOOT!) has offered you all lovelies $25 shop credit to her esty shop, Hiya Luv Handmade.

Here’s a little information about Gina so you all can get to know her as well.

About Hiya Luv Handmade:
Be stylish. Be confident. Be you. Style is all about confidence and being comfortable and happy in your own skin. Hiya Luv Handmade is a little shop full of stylish wares; handmade from gorgeous fabrics and created into wearable fashions especially for you! I am also a social media junkie and love to tweet! In fact, I host a weekly twitter chat on setting up your very own handmade shop!
The chat has been fantastic at networking others, sharing tips and ideas, and even critiquing each other’s handmade shops (in a friendly useful way of course!) and it has really been a lot of fun!

What’s in a Name?
While in college I spent 6 months studying abroad at the University of Reading outside of London. I had a great time and traveled to many places and experienced many things in Europe and the United Kingdom. It was during my time in the UK that I fell in love with the moniker that many gentlemen {or blokes} use towards ladies, “Hiya Luv” and have since used it as my AIM, Yahoo Messenger name, emails; or for anything and everything.

What inspires you to make handmade items?
I love to sew and find it so motivating and fulfilling to take a gorgeous piece of fabric and mold it into something with feminine flair and functionality.
– What is your favorite material to use? I love cotton. It is so versatile for many projects and comes in so many colors and patterns. And it is soft:)

What are some fun facts about yourself?
I love to sew, read, hang out with my fiance and pup, and I facilitate a shop for handmade business owners called #SetUpShop on Monday nights at 8pm eastern on twitter. It is so much fun and gives you an opportunity to meet people from all over. The more the merrier; join us this Monday! I hope to “see” you there!

Gina has some super cute items in her shop.
Here are a few for you to admire.

Mini Luv Pleated Zipper Pouch in Lilian Michael Miller

Free As a Bird Kindle EReader Zippered Cover Case Pouch

Pink Lemonade Damask Zipper Clutch Wristlet

Fleur Damask Luv Blossom Duo Pin Set

CUTE, right?!
Gina commented below that she will be adding new listings this week so be sure to check those out!

Want to know how to win $25 shop credit?!
OF COURSE YOU DO!

To Enter:

MANDATORY: Head on over to Gina’s Etsy shop, Hiya Luv Handmade, and come back with your favorite item.

Additional Entries:
1.) Head to Gina’s blog, Hiya Luv and become a follower
2.) Heart her etsy shop
3.) “Like” Hiya Luv on Facebook
4.) Follow Hiya Luv on Twitter
5.) Follow A Glimpse Inside
6.) Tweet, Facebook, or blog about this giveaway.
If you tweet make sure to include @hiyaluv and @aglimpseinside

LEAVE A SEPARATE COMMENT FOR EACH ENTRY!!

And if you can’t wait for the giveaway, Gina has graciously offered a discount code.
Type: AGLIMPSE20 at checkout to receive 20% off your purchase.

Giveaway ends Friday the 18th at noon.
Winner will be announced Friday night.

GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED!!

March 14, 2011 By Allison

Uncategorized

Will You Help?

Hi all!

I hope you had a wonderful weekend.

I just wanted to ask you all for a little help.

One of my Delta Gamma Sorority sisters, Leslie Luttrell, is trying to raise money for a March of Dimes team in honor of her two daughters.
I know you don’t know her but maybe you knew of someone else that has had a premature baby or you, yourself, has had one and would be willing to help her raise money.
I’m sure any amount would be truly appreciated.

Here is her story:

Leslie, with her husband John

I am a mother of two precious girls, Lillian Kate, born January 14, 2009 and Cecilia Hope, born March 8, 2010. Unfortunately, my pregnancies did not have the happy ending that most parents experience. Both passed away within minutes of birth, due to a fatal condition, thanatophoric dysplasia, which is the most common form of lethal dwarfism. TD is lethal because there is no room in the chest cavity for the baby’s lungs to develop and function properly. My daughters were alive because I was breathing for them.

Like most pregnant women, I enjoyed being pregnant. Everything was always perfect with my appointments, bloodwork was normal and I felt great. It was during my second trimester my husband and I were given the devastating news of both pregnancies. We were completely shocked that this was happening to us (not only the first time, but the second). See, after we delivered my first daughter, Lillian, the doctor’s explained that the risk of having another child with TD is like being struck by lightening two times-slim to none. They also explained that there are no findings of this condition ever happening to the same couple twice. We were a first and we felt alone.

The past two years have been an up and down battle. I miss my girls more than words can say. When you lose a baby, you also lose all the hopes and dreams you visioned for your future. Luckily, John and I have had the much needed support of family, friends and medical professionals. They’ve encouraged us to not give up on those hopes and dreams.

Sometimes unpleasant obstacles in life are often God-ordained opportunities to make a difference. Through our situation, my family and I have decided to team up with the March of Dimes. My daughters are 2 of 120,000 babies born each year with a birth defect, which is the leading cause of infant death. Babies should not have to fight for their lives. That’s why I’m asking you to join us. With your help, the March of Dimes will develop new ways to prevent and treat birth defects. Give to the March of Dimes. With your support, you will be giving moms and babies a chance at a healthy start in life.

The mission of March of Dimes is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality.

So will you help the March of Dimes and Leslie?

You can donate at their March of Dimes Team Page, Team Luttrell.
Again, any amount would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

February 28, 2011 By Allison

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Guest Post: Katie @ Food, Wine, & Mod Podge

I’m excited to introduce you all to Katie from Food, Wine, & Mod Podge.
I’ve “known” Katie for quite some time and she is one sweet, talented lady!
I’ll let Katie take it from here.

Well hello there!

I’m so excited to be blog swappin’ with Allison today.

I’m Katie P, from Food, Wine, & Mod Podge. It’s a pleasure to meet you!

I live in the best city in the world, Chicago, with my wonderful husband…

…and our overly friendly cat (who thinks he’s a dog), Simon.

If you haven’t guessed by now, I have three loves (aside from the men in my life): Food, Wine, & Mod Podge.

My husband and I just love to cook together. We rarely follow a recipe word-for-word, and sometimes just create new dishes out of the blue!

Of course, wine is a big part of our lives too. Though my husband is the sommelier of the family, I really enjoy learning more about it and even making crafts out of the remnants!

And last but certainly not least, I just love making crafts of all sorts. Though Mod Podge has a special place in my heart and often creeps up in my projects, I still use plenty of other crafty mediums!

Feel free to stop by, I’d love to have you poke around my site! I’m sure you’ll find something to tickle your fancy!

And a big thanks to Allison for having me over to your blog today!

Isn’t Katie just adorable?!
Thanks so much for guest posting today Katie!

Please go visit Katie’s blog, Food, Wine, and Mod Podge and say Hi.
I’m sure she’d love for you to stick around a while too.

February 23, 2011 By Allison

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Happy 2011!

Happy New Year Everyone!

I can’t believe it is 2011! Last year FLEW by!
I want to wish you all a very happy, healthy New Year!

How did you ring in 2011?

We got all dressed up and headed down to Nashville for the night.

And spent the night with my fabulous best friend, Megan, and her boyfriend.
Her birthday is New Year’s Day so we helped her celebrate that too.

We stayed at the Sheraton downtown and walked down to Broadway to watch the Guitar drop at midnight. Luckily, the rain held off long enough and when it did start raining, it wasn’t too bad.

But we had a great night hanging out and bringing 2011 in with a bang.

Literally!

But did you all make any resolutions?!
I normally don’t and if I do, I don’t like to call them resolutions. More like… Hopes/Wishes.

Such as:
1.) My number one HOPE/WISH again this year is that we finally have a baby. It has been a 2+ year battle trying to get pregnant and I just hope it finally happens this year.

2.) I HOPE/WISH that I can get back into my Etsy shop and make it a greater success. I’ve slacked with it for quite some time now and I really need to do something with it or consider closing it.

3.) I HOPE/WISH that I can continue having a great time blogging. I hope to continue to inspire you all and make fabulous new friends along the way. And I hope my creativity continues with little roadblocks.

4.) I HOPE/WISH to get into better shape. (Isn’t this on every one’s list every year?)

5.) I HOPE/WISH to make leaps and bounds paying off what debt we do have, especially now that we just added a new car payment.

I hope that each of you have a FABULOUS 2011 thriving to achieve any of your goals that you have set for yourself!

January 2, 2011 By Allison

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