I am SERIOUSLY SOOOOO excited to have my amazing blog friend Taryn here today to share a simply sweet and perfect project with us…. Isn’t it great to have blog friends that are willing to cover for you when you can’t seem to make the time to craft and share?!  … in my case I am spending ALL of my spare time on my house projects  🙂  I am one lucky gal!!!!  Anyways…. seriously if you don’t know Taryn’s blog Design, Dining + Diapers—-go over to her place and get to know her…. she inspires me with each and every one of her projects!!!!  Now take it away Taryn!

Hello new friends! I am so excited to be here today at Crafty Scrappy Happy! Jaime is one of the sweetest bloggers I know and I feel so honored to call her a friend. I don’t know about you but I am DYING to see what she does with her new home. She is one talented lady and I can’t wait to see what she comes up with. I know it’s going to be nothing short of amazing.

In case we’ve never met before, I’m Taryn from Design, Dining + Diapers. I live in the Pacific Northwest with my husband, 14 month old baby girl and our spunky Golden Retriever. When I’m not busy being a mom or part-time freelancer, you can find me blogging about DIY home decor, crafts, sewing projects, and allergy friendly foods!

Today, I’m sharing an inexpensive yet personalized gift I made for Mother’s Day this year. I know the day has already come and gone but this gift can easily be adapted for teachers, friends or just because!

Thinking of making these great items but don’t know where to sell them?  Read about Where to Sell Your Craft Products.

Would you have guessed these started out as mix-matched flower pots from the dollar store? I customized each flower pot to match the personality and decor style of my mother, mother-in-law and grandma. If these were going in my home, I would have painted them white (because everything is turning white in my house these days), but I wanted them to match their current decor.

I started out with these simple flower pots from the dollar store and gave them two coats of black spray paint. Super simple. Next, I personalized each pot by adding embellishments special to each recipient. The possibilities are truly endless!

(Left) Decorated with red binding tape and white ric-rac (Middle) Decorated with white and hot pink satin ribbon and a pretty ribbon flower (Right) Decorating with cream satin ribbon and rust ribbon.

Next, using my Silhouette Cameo, I whipped up these customized tags that coordinated with each flower pot. The saying reads “A Garden of Love Grows in a Grandma’s Heart” (and for the record, I did not come up with the quote but I have yet to discover who the original author is). This is where you can personalize the tags to fit any occasion, ie. “A Garden of Love Grows in a Mother’s/Teacher’s/Friend’s Heart”. BUT if you like the quote you can still use it for National Grandparent’s Day coming up in September

Here is the pink themed flower pot for my mother-in-law.

Red and cream for my grandma (who just turned 90!).

And rust and black for my momma.

Thanks for letting me visit with you today! Here are a few other projects you can find on my little ole blog:

If you like what you see come visit me on my blog, Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest! I would love to meet you!

A HUGE thank you to Jaime for letting me visit with all of you today. It’s truly an honor!

I love words, I love quotes and I love book pages….. soooo yes my little project is more WORDY than ever.

Book page used for a Quote—YES—this is a great combination… or at least I think so!

And this particular quote kind of makes me excited for my new house….

 9 days and counting.

{just in case you were wondering}

Yessss and in 9 days I will be reminding myself that I was WISHING for a place to make beautiful.

And please as good blog friends feel free to remind me of that when I am tired of DIY and Re-modeling and crying because I think it might not be worth it….

 that I wanted this!!!!!

…mmmmkay?!

Happy Tuesday my friends!  You are all truly the best!

Want to know How Much Money Can you Make with a Craft Business?  Check out my article!

Are you SHOCKED that I am finding time to craft in the midst of my moving?!  Me too!

But since I took on the idea that if I don’t LOVE “it” then I have to get rid of it…. I am forced to make some decisions….

andddd sometimes decisions can’t be made without some up-cycling!

Can you believe this watering can was sitting in my “Donate” pile…. it made it as far as the back of the car and was rescued at the last moment….

Ugghhhh have I ever mentioned that crafting makes me a hoarder?!  Because really, truly, it does!

 I guess when you have nothing to lose, it is kind of fun to throw some paint on it and see what happens…

which is exactly what I did here.

Ohhh I know… some of you are rolling your eyes right now and are starting to stage a long overdue intervention for me and my “dollar-section-stamps” that I can’t seem to stop using in each and every craft lately….

{eeeehhhmmm you know who YOU are Linda from It Started With Paint I PROMISE once I can get into my new house I will put away my stamps and get out the “big girl” tools!!!}

Butttt hey…. I like the look…

it makes me happy

Anddddd if you are truly sick of these crafts you might NOT want to check back for a few days…. because… well I can’t stop.

I just love quotes too much, and I can’t think of a better way to incorporate them into my decor at the moment.

I remember almost exactly one year ago I was in a similar “life” situation and my good blog friendCarmella from Creative Carmella shared this quote with me….  Grow where you are planted.  And I find myself thinking about the importance of this quote once again with this move!

I am sick of worrying and dreading worrying and stressing change…

I am going to just “grow where I am planted”

And in case you were wondering…. I “distressed” my watering can with my dark and light paints by just dry brushing them into the grooves and details of the can.  I smudged and had some fun and I think it made the look complete.

And that is it…. sweet and simple… hummmm I might even have to find a few more of these…. I am thinking Mother’s Day?

I am excited and a little nervous to announce a new {series} here at Crafty Scrappy Happy…

A series where I let you in on the Real Life part of my world…a time for me to show you a few photos of my real life…. un-staged and imperfect.  But real.

It will not be earth shattering or super important…. it will just be real, whatever is going on… and that’s it.

I have never realized how hard it actually is to share the real me, but I think it is important.  I want my blog to be more than just a few scattered project…. just a few staged photos a week…I want to be more real with you…. my life is NOT perfect at all….and I do worry… my question is, will you like me anyways?

With that said,

Will you join me for the good the bad and the ugly?

Lets start this series with a confession…. I HATE organizing.

And I am a mess at packing.

Yes, this week, this is the view from here.

My home is a huge, HUGE mess of boxes and random piles of “stuff”.  Ohhh how I am looking forward to this being the last move for awhile.  Let me tell you something…. I have moved 8 times in the last 9 years….

Yessss, I know, I should be a professional at moving….

but yet, here I am struggling…

There is something so darn hard about living in such a state of disorder and confusion.

The time seems to be dragging on…. these last few weeks of what I am now referring to as moving “purgatory” could not being going any slower.  I obessivly think about the new place and all of the projects and cannot come to terms with the fact that I first have to pack and organize my existing life.

My current state of life seems to exist of…

never ending hidden spaces, cubbies and drawers that need sorting, organizing and packing.

And there is always a quesion of…

Do I REALLY need this?!?

Ugggsss I am ready for this to be over….

Only 11 days!

Alright guys, are you ready to continue our tour?!

Soooooo here are some more photos from my new house!

These are photos with the sellers belongings—I have a lot of stuff… buttt not quite thattt much!

And it should be noted that the photo quality is NOT so good…. but this is what you get for me trying to be cool while the boys were doing the home inspection!

Okay, here we are back in the kitchen area…. just picture, someday this entire room will be my dream kitchen!

But for now… it is just fine in its sweet and simple way!

And back to the living room where you will head up the stairs—to the second floor.

Ahhhh and you will find our SOMEDAY master bedroom and bathroom suite!

Lots of space and potential here, and there is that lake view that I adore!

And this is the second floor bathroom.

Yes my friends… you can offically be jealous….

I have my own hand dryer in my upstairs bathroom!

Seriously, all I can see is potential!

And here is bedroom number one up-stairs and the bedroom that will be our temporary bedroom until the master is ready!

That wall paper will be coming down as soon as they hand me those keys!  I just know some paint and a little hard work and this room will be great!

Here is the second up-stairs bedroom… I can just picture this being a perfect room for kiddos someday!

{and noooo I am not talking about my furry children…. come on, they could never have their own room…. they need to be close to me at all times!}

annddd you may be asking your self once again with this final half of my tour…. WHY would you EVER want to dive into a home like this one….

buttttt you have to remember what is right outside of my house….

the lake….

my lake….

my heaven….

and in just 15 short days I will OWN 92 feet of frontage!!!

ahhhhhh

**sigh**

Happy Thursday aka Link Party day!  I can’t wait to see what each of you has been up to this week!

So, let’s get Inspiring!

As always, there are 3 hosts for this party, and when you link up at one of our blogs your post will be visible at each hosts blog!!!

But before we get to sharing your projects, lets see what the party hosts have been up to this week, starting here at Crafty Scrappy Happy!

Well, if you have been following me in instagram, then you may have seen my week in photos… so although the week has been quite on my blog, I got to celebrate my hubs birthday (by picking out his gift of choice–binoculars), and I enjoyed the lake turning 100% back into water!!  No more ice in sight and I LOVE it!  I also shared my fortune cookie fortune, telling me my luck is going to change.  Because if I am really really honest with you, this week has been really really hard.  I am feeling like I am at a breaking point with my renovations and all we have really accomplished is demolition.  We have had more bad news last week and this week than I thought was even possible.  But, I am choosing to keep my chin up.  This will not break me… it will just let me enjoy the final product that much more… right?!

Connect Me Via: Scrappy, Crafty, Happy, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter & Google

Taryn had a wonderful week on her blog, she shared the sweetest front door basket I have seen around the blog world!  She also shared a BUMP picture of her taking a mommy time out with Keurig!  She is SO darn cute!  And she also shared a Helzberg Jewelry giveaway and showed us how to install a kitchen faucet!  What a gal!

Connect with Taryn Via: Design, Dining + Diapers, Facebook, Pinterest & Twitter

This week was beautiful at Lucy’s blog!  I adore her purple glass DIY, seriously so so spring like!  And her kale mango smoothie looks AMAZINGLY great!  She also shared some exciting news about amagazine release that she happens to be featured in!

Connect with Lucy Via: Craftberry Bush, Facebook & Pintrest

I know I say this every week, but I am SO blessed to work with such talented girls. Seriously, could their weekly projects be more amazing??!!

And now that we have shared our blog adventures for the week, it is your turn!

Just check out the party suggestions and then go on and get yourself linked up!

Happy Weekend sweet friends!  I hope you have all had a chance to share your projects over at this weeks Inspiration Gallery going on right now!  If you are wanting some weekend inspiration it is the place to be!

DIY Log Slice Vase via Ashbee Design

Painted Upper Kitchen Cabinets via A Thrifted Market

5 Minute Clutch via Nalle’s House

Boys Room Reveal via Just the Bees Knees

Creamy Vanilla Fruit Dip Fruit Kabobs via Love Pomegranate House

Invisible Speakers via Nalle’s House

DIY Mystery Braid Bracelets via A Pumpkin and a Princess

 Milk Crate Dog Bed via Crafted Niche

Easy Rosette Bib Necklace via Create Craft Love

Okay, so you might think I am crazy. You might not understand. But I find my happiness on the water. I have decided that much like “dog people” “water people” just understand. So I understand that some of you may not understand that my heart just pitter patters and jumps with joy at the idea of my favorite word. Lake. Ohhhh yes that is my word. That is where I find my complete and utter happiness. Now I want you to know that my favorite word has made my house shopping quite complicated. Because you see, house shopping on “water” is different…. you are limited…. I have started debating things like lake water quality more than ever before.   And water quality determines one {maybe} two lakes in your area if you are really lucky like my husband and I were.  And once you decide which lake you would like to live on, if you are like me, you find out that lake homes are priced WELL above normal homes.  Perhaps you could afford a “nice” house off of the water, but on the water…. well WATCH OUT!  because you can be sure the quality of home in your price range is NOT going to be even close to the same quality… butttt if you are like me again, then you will try to picture your perfect house NOT on the water and then the imperfect house on the water and not even have to debate which to choose, because the water is where you would want to be….

no thinking, no debating, no choice in the matter, give me a lake view and I will choose a fix-er upper at a mid range price over a palace anywhere else…. soooo this gives you a GREAT idea of where my husband and I ended up with our home shopping.

I am excited and a little nervous to show you the before BEFORE photos….

These are the photos of THE HOUSE, as we saw it during our tours.

{yes we were those buyers—I think we spent 3 separate nights just walking through this place}

 This is the house as I picture it NOW, the move in date is May 11th and until then I stare at these photos and dream of what I would like to do.  The DIY-er in me is SCREAMING in excitement with the ideas….oooohhhh the ideas and potential that I see in this home!!!  I KNOW this house is going to be my dream house…. just give me a few months….or maybe more realistically years?!?!  I will have it JUST like I would like it and in the mean time I will wake up each morning and enjoy the sunrise while drinking my coffee and think…. this is it… this is my word, this is my happy, this is my love…. lake living makes it worth it…. and the DIY-er in me makes me excited and happy to take on the challenge….

So here is the question–

won’t you join me and read How to Start a Craft Business?

Because EACH and EVERY room of this house needs to be RE-DONE with a crafty scrappy happy touch…. and oooohhhh will it happen.  Andddd WOWOOOWW will this fix-er upper become my dream first home!!!  I just know it!

{project numero uno…. the ONLY functional bathroom in the house {as of right now}…needs a facelift and fast!!!  Yessss this is project numero uno for me}

Project number TWO— kitchen, yes, the kitchen will get a TEMPORARY Re-VAMP until I save up and can afford a ROOM takeover makeover to get my dream kitchen…. but the good news?!  The space is THERE….. and the space is perfect…. soooo all I need to do is dream and save… and ooohhh I can do that!

Living room…. lets get rid of those walls… shall we?!  Ohhh yes that will be happening… {hopefullly} even before we move in…. (famous last words right?!?!) buttttt we will try…. we have a 2 and 1/2 week window to “work” on the house prior to moving in… and the walls are coming down if I have anything to say about it!!!

Which will be quickly followed by a REAL fireplace renovation!  Ohhh but my husband thinks he will enjoy the wood burner until it is gone…. (I say fine as long as he doesn’t get too attached!!!)

and this is my future first floor bedroom craft room….

{ugghhh there is wall paper under those red walls that needs to be taken down NOW}

Ohhh and then there is this perfect laundry room just waiting for a makeover…. ooohhhh this one will be so so simple…!!!  I can picture it all perfectly and I can hardly wait!!!

Lets see and did I mention that there is wall paper under almost every painted wall…. I am seriously considering just putting up new walls and skipping the whole wallpaper peeling part of things…Let me know if you have any other ideas!!!

Anddddd this is where I will end the tour tonight—-this is ONLY the first floor…. there is still a whole other floor full of projects and work that I will show you later

AND a potentially dreamy 3 seasons porch….. that will come in a following post too!

Sooooo what do you think?  Are you overwhelmed yet?  Do you see the potential?

Hope you are having a great week so far!  I am excited to share a few NEW house pictures {pre-move in} tomorrow so be sure to check back!  But for tonight are you ready to be inspired?!  Because WOW are you guys talented!

Here are a few features from last week!

Pantry update by The Space Between

Washi tape chipboard decor by Live. Laugh. Rowe.

Pup printable by A Step in the Journey

Faux floating buoya by Craftberry Bush

DIY flower pillows by twigg studio

How to color glass by Delightfully Noted

Spring sun room in aqua, white and lime by Fox Hollow Cottage

Anddddd get ready to link up your projects!!!

No huge rules, just a few suggestions—–

Link up anything Crafty, Scrappy and/or Happy.

{no giveaways or etsy shops please}

And I would LOVE for you to post a party button somewhere on your blog or post!

PS are you following via facebook???  Because if you aren’t I would LOVE for you to “like” Crafty Scrappy Happy!!!