Happy Blogiversary to me! :)

Wow. There you go. My one-year blogiversary was this past Saturday. Kind of hard to believe that it was a year ago that I posted THIS - my first blog post. Kind of funny to go back and read that first post, because, the thing is... it is just as true now as it was then... I really don't have time for this. LOL.  Because, as you've surely noticed if you've been following me, I tend to go about a week at a time in between posts. Sometimes it's even longer! Between the hubby, the house, 2 pre-schoolers and, oh yeah, that annoying thing called WORK {grrrr} I don't have all that much time to do fun projects, let alone blog about them! But, I like doing projects when I can, and it is so fun to blog about them. Even if I'm not one of the most frequent posters.

And I give you folks credit... you stick around anyway. Regardless of how often I post (or not)! And I know I've said this before, but I'll say it again... I am eternally grateful for that. It warms my heart (and feeds my ego ;) to know a few people out there really like hearing reading about my latest project/craft/babble.

So let's take a look back over this past year...

The first project I ever blogged about was my Master Bath Makeover [HERE]. I had actually done this project pre-blogdom so I didn't have any pics of the "before" or even the "during", but the "after" post was pretty successful being featured on a few other blogs. I remember being so proud of myself!  (And, no, not only for the features, but just for doing such a great transformation on the room). :)



Master Bath Makeover



Now, if you've learned anything about me over the past year, you know that I am very cheap frugal. So one of my next projects was to jump on the "Dollar Tree Hurricane" bandwagon. In THIS POST, I showed you how to make a pretty and versatile glass hurricane for only $2! I really love this hurricane and have dressed it up for so many different holidays and parties.



Dollar Store Hurricanes



Another one of my early (but favorite) projects was my DIY Canvas Art [HERE]. These continue to hang over our bed, and I still love them just as much today as I did back then.



DIY Wall Canvas Art



In October, I posted a few Halloween projects including my Dollar Tree Trick-or-Treat bucket, some spooky specimen art, and these no-sew DIY Jessie Costumes (which happens to be the post with the 2nd most hits over the past year - almost 8,000 pageviews!)



DIY No-Sew Jessie Costume



Another thing you may have learned about me is that I like love to organize things and one of the tips I've shared was about how I tidied up our playroom using fabric bins. The 'piece de resistance' were the photos of the toys I added to the bins to make them more user-friendly for my non-reading little ones. See full post HERE.



Organize Toys with Photos



Obviously, my 2 kids are the center of my life - they are amazing girls and bring so much joy to our lives. SweetPea and Boogey are only 15 months apart and currently both in pre-school. Needless to say, we get invited to alot of birthday parties. Many of those parties are at locations like ChuckECheese or those activity gym places. But I've always thrown my girls' parties at our house doing all the decorations myself. SweetPea had a Superhero Academy/Batman-themed birthday when she turned 4 in November. It was so much fun! You can see details HERE.



Superhero / Batman Birthday Party



And when Boogey turned 3 in February, I organized a Pink Mod Monkey Party [see details HERE]



Pink Mod Monkey Birthday Party



In the spring, I made some Growth Charts for my girls [seen HERE]. The great thing about these is that they are portable so you can take them when you move or just give you the option to relocate them in the house - so nice! These were another cheap frugal project and so easy to make!




DIY Growth Chart

 

My "biggest" project over the past year was probably adding the mock wainscoting in our main hallway. I am so thrilled with how this turned out and my friends have been impressed that I did it myself! Read about the Boxes on my Walls HERE.



DIY (mock) Wainscoting



I've also shared a few recipes with you as I spend so much time cooking meals for our family every night as well as for all of those birthday parties and other family gatherings. Some of my favorites were my Rainbow Pudding Pops [HERE] (my most-viewed post with close to 10,000 hits! wow!), my Cake Mix Cookies [HERE] (currently my 3rd most-viewed post of all time) and my Mini Marshmallow Flower Cupcakes [HERE].




Rainbow Pudding Pops

 


Cake Mix Cookies - 4th of July style

 



Mini Marshmallow Flowers

 

The post with the most comments over the past year was for my Snowflake Specimen Art. This was another VERY inexpensive, but so easy to do and such a fun, decorative piece. You'll never guess what this was made with! See answer HERE.



Easy Snowflake Specimen Art



Wow - it's been quite a year! And quite a journey. I never would have imagined I could tackle something like that Wainscoting if it hadn't been for the blog world. Seriously. It would NEVER have entered my mind that I could do something like that myself. I am indebted to all of the other fabulous blogs out there which have inspired me with all of the wonderful creativity. Thank you. All of you - big or small. I admire your talent and appreciate your generosity to share your ideas with me (and the rest of the blog world! :).

In honor of my blogiversary AND reaching over 250 followers AND my upcoming birthday (only 2 weeks away) I'm going to be hosting a GIVEAWAY! Yes, I've been saying this for a while, but this time I mean it! :)  Stay tuned for the details later this week and be sure to come back and sign up for a chance to win! 

Lastly, thank you for following my humble little blog this past year. Whether you've been around from the beginning or are new to my world, I appreciate you traveling along with me. I hope you enjoy the ride! :)

Thank you!!