Highlighted Weekend Links--Share Your Best Post!

Happy Saturday! Please pop in to link up YOUR best post of the week at my Weekend Bloggy Reading link party. More Features on the way tomorrow! And don't forget to enter this week's Giveaway (a $100 Prize Package).

All kinds of posts are welcome here: We have recipes, party ideas, room makeovers, crafts, tips and tricks, home decor, fashion advice, and more! The code for the button is near the end of this post, or you can add a text link back to me within your post.

Keep reading to see just a few of the posts that caught my eye so far.

~Dining Room Makeover via Decorating Hemlock

~Recycled Paper Pumpkins via Revolutionaries

~Chocolate Chip Crinkle Cookies via Home Everyday

Stop and Shop (Sponsor Highlights)

Are you here for the Weekend Bloggy Reading link party? Stop by to link up your best post of the week! I'll be back later today with some highlights from the party, which is open until 10 pm (ET) on Sunday. More features are on the way for tomorrow too!

*Don't forget this week's Giveaway ($100 Prize Package).

I thought I'd share a few quick shop highlights from my Sponsors, who always have something neat going on. Check out what they have in store for you this month! Here are a few of my favorites:

::Weekend Bloggy Reading:: Link Up!

Welcome to my Weekend Bloggy Reading link party. I hope you'll link up your best post of the week today. If you're new here, don't forget to "Follow" or subscribe so you don't miss future parties and projects! Please be sure to read my guidelines before you add a link.

*Don't forget to enter this week's Giveaway, a $100 Prize Package!*

This party is a great place to showcase your very best post of the week (home decor, crafts, party ideas, recipes, DIY, etc.) but please do not link to Etsy shops, businesses, items for sale, etc. (I have a Sponsors section, if you'd like to Advertise with me.)

Here are a few of my faves from this week:

sources listed below

~Bicycle Wheel Memo via Dimples and Tangles

~Salvaged Door Table via Sawdust and Paint

~Modern Chair Makeover via Pillow Love

~Magazine Features and Getting Published (advice for creative bloggers) via Living Locurto

~And Me? This week featured:

• Halloween Sparkle Sign
• Halloween Mantel
• Thrift Store Shopping (Home Decor Inspiration)
• GIVEAWAY ($100 Prize Package-- Spa Finder Card, Hobby Lobby Card, and Fall Wreath)

Time to link up your best post of the week!

Meet "Pinner Takes All!" (and Giveaway)

Have you ever Pinned a craft, home decor idea, or recipe, and wondered if the project will really turn out if you try it on your own? Crafty, homey readers and Pinterest fans are going to love Pinner Takes All, my newest sponsor. Kathy uses Pinterest to catalog all the wonderful ideas she finds online...and she uses her blog to share how those ideas pan out in real life. With Pinner Takes All, Kathy aims to encourage readers to tap into their creativity. In her own words, "creating is about the journey, not the final product."

To celebrate her introduction here on the blog, Kathy is offering a Giveaway package to one luck reader, worth approximately $100!

Keep reading for details and to enter.

Here's what Kathy had to say when I interviewed her recently:

1. When did you start blogging, and why did you decide to start a blog? 
I started blogging in June, 2012, to find a creative outlet beyond spelling words out in Cheerios. Being a mother is the best thing that ever happened to me, and being at home with my children is such a blessing; but I do miss the sense of accomplishment and something that is "mine" that came with a more traditional career.

 2. Tell me about how you chose the title of your blog. 
I chose the name "Pinner Takes All" as a take on "Winner Takes All" with a Pinterest twist, but beyond that it means anyone can use Pinterest (or any inspiration) to tap into their creativity.

 3. What's your favorite topic to write about? 
I have always been a bit of a writer and enjoy different topics for different reasons. I like crafts and recipes equally well, but my guest posts doing crafts with my kiddos have a special place in my heart.

 4. How would you describe your style to a new reader? 
My signature style in crafts is easy DIY and in my food I aim for healthy versions of comfort food. My writing style I like to think of as friendly, with a sense of humor, and not taking myself too seriously.

 5. Which post are you most proud of? 
Either my Fall Bottle Craft, the DIY S'mores Jars, or the Meatloaf Recipe.

 6. When your family has time together, what are some special activities and/or meals you share together?
I have a baby and a toddler, so that keeps us pretty busy getting through the day, but our family loves to go to the beach or take small road trips or outings to the zoo or park. Most of what I cook is on my blog, but another favorite family dish is my husband's steak pie that is a UK specialty- a bit of the homeland for him and yumminess for me.

 7. Anything else you'd like readers to know about you, or your blog? 
I would just like readers to know how much I appreciate them taking the time to read my little corner of the internet about my crafting and cooking adventures (sometimes misadventures) and I am just so grateful for their comments.

I hope you'll take a moment to pop over and encourage this new blogger at Pinner Takes All! You can also find Kathy on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and (of course!) Pinterest.

Kathy has a fabulous Giveaway package (worth $100) for one lucky reader:

• 1 $25 Spa Finder Gift Card
• 1 $25 Hobby Lobby Gift Card
• 1 Fall Wreath from KB Wreaths (pictured below)

-UPDATE: GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED-

Please use the Rafflecopter system embedded below to enter (you'll have to click over if you're viewing this in a reader or email)!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Get your party hats on! My Weekend Bloggy Reading link party is scheduled as usual for tomorrow morning (8 am ET), so be sure to swing by with your best post of the week.

Here's the button code for the party if you want to get a head start! Recipes, crafts, home decor, party ideas, tips and tricks, you name it. Come prepared to showcase your blog and find some great weekend reads.

<a href=" http://www.serenitynowblog.com/ " target="_blank"><img src="http://i985.photobucket.com/albums/ae332/Amanda_SerenityNow/Blog%20Party%20Buttons/WeekendBloggyReading.png" border="0" alt="Weekend Bloggy Reading"></a>

Thrift Store Shopping Inspiration (Home Decor Ideas)

One of the most frustrating things about living in a smallish 1970s Colonial home is that we have no basement or garage for me to hoard store thrift store furniture and accessories to make over. I'd love to have more space to display repurposed items, but it's not in the cards right now. But that doesn't mean I can't window shop thrift stores and dream up a new life for the pieces I spot. Our local Salvation Army is one of my favorite thrift stores to hunt for used furniture and accessories. Won't you window shop with me today?

I may have gasped a bit when I saw this sideboard buffet. The lines on this piece are so lovely. The top was a little beat up in places. With the exception of some repairs, I'd leave this one as-is!

This etagere needs some love. Sanded and painted a bold black, perhaps? It could showcase a collection of milkglass or brightly painted ceramics.

Here's a pretty, classic side table. Love a drop-leaf!

This piece would be awesome in a craft room with someone's yarn stash in the slanted storage area and a basket or bin of craft supplies on the bottom shelf. Or you could store kids' DVDs in the slanted area and use it as a media piece in a playroom.

I couldn't get this trunk to open, but holy storage space, Batman! What a fantastic find to hold Legos, bins of superhero stuff, or GI Joes in a boy's room. Great for blankets, linens, etc, elsewhere.

Here's someone who is begging to be transformed into a media console. Not a fan of the oddly textured fabricy stuff behind the panels, but that could be fixed. Would be so pretty in a light gray.

I spotted a bunch of cabinets and armoires that are orphans waiting for someone to adopt them and dress them up in pretty colors.

I think I'd refinish this guy rather than painting...such a pretty antique!

And I can see these chairs being recovered to give this dining set a completely updated new look:

Isn't it fun to imagine the possibilities? I think you can really grow your creative skills when you have to envision new ways to use or transform secondhand pieces vs. just buying from a showroom and placing it in your home.

Which piece was your favorite?

If you enjoyed this post or found it helpful, I hope you'll click your "Pin It" button to add this post to Pinterest, or a +1 for Google+. 

My Halloween Mantel (Fake Mantel)

Yesterday, I showed you my cabinet door turned Halloween Sparkle Sign, so today I'll show you a few shots of my TV armoire top, all decked out for Halloween. We don't do a whole lot for Halloween...I'm not into spooky-scary stuff. I'd rather save my celebrating for Thanksgiving and Christmas. But I do put out some fun pumpkins, and the girls spend the whole month dreaming of trick or treat candy and their costumes. Here's my fake Halloween Mantel. 

If you're a long-time reader, you probably recognize the pumpkins. I didn't spend anything on my vignette this time. I decorated the monogrammed and polka dots pumpkins a few years back, and they still look cute...so I still use them. I'd love to be able to purchase new decor every season, but we don't have any seasonal decor storage space left in our attic. And half the fun is using what you have and changing it up!

As usual, Emma the Pomeranian followed me into the family room. How could I not include her?

The black tinsel cat is a favorite of Natalie and Michaela Byrd's. I gave him a bow to match the ribbon on my Halloween Sign. 

The "trick or treat" candy corn sign was a clearance find a few years back, and the Target Dollar Spot bucket is filled with mini pumpkins. Tip: stuff the bottom of the container with newspaper or a plastic bag and you don't have to add as many pumpkins!

I used the little white chair to hold their homemade trick or treat bags, but may move them to the knob on the sparkle sign:

I think Emma will wait here all month until those bags are filled...

Do you decorate for Halloween?

If you enjoyed this post or found it helpful, I hope you'll click your "Pin It" button to add this post to Pinterest, or a +1 for Google+. 

Halloween Sparkle Sign (with Mod Podge)

Happy October! It is officially (for me) time to break out the pumpkins and gear up for a few months of crafty and homey fun. Today brings a craft tutorial...I'll show you how to make a Halloween Sparkle Sign with Mod Podge. My girls are absolutely thrilled with it. Since we can't have a real cat (darn T and his allergies), a paper cat covered in sparkles and shine is just as nice. The best part? I made it with a cabinet door!

I wanted to keep costs down for this craft. I spotted the cabinet door base at the local ReStore for just $2.00!

In addition to a board, cabinet door, or similar flat surface, here's what you'll need to try this at home:

-Sparkle Mod Podge
-"Original" Matte Mod Podge (not pictured)
-Wrapping paper or scrapbook paper for base
-Scrapbook paper for your silhouette shape
-Scissors
-Foam brush or Mod Podge applicators
(I used a 4 inch brush applicator, the "professional tool set," and a roller top with a 2 oz. bottle)
-3D foam adhesive mounts
-Paper plate and plastic knife or popsicle stick for stirring
-Ribbon (optional)

How to Make a Sparkle Sign:

1. If you're using a cabinet door like me, remove any hardware.

2. Sand your base. I didn't go all the way down to the grain...just enough to rough it up a bit.

3. Spray paint. I used a dual paint and primer spray paint that dried quickly. Two coats.

4. Measure and cut a piece of paper to fit in the center of your sign. I used printed wrapping paper from Target's Dollar Spot.

5. Use a large brush (or foam brush) to apply the original matte formula Mod Podge to the surface.

6. Cover the entire area generously.

7. Apply more Mod Podge to the back of your paper and carefully press onto the flat surface.

8. Use the brayer to smooth out any wrinkles or bubbles. (This was hard to do with thin wrapping paper)

9. Let the Mod Podged area dry for 15 to 20 minutes.

10. Use a popsicle stick or plastic knife to stir your Sparkle Mod Podge and pour it onto a paper plate or into a roller top bottle.

11. Use a foam brush or roller top bottle to spread the sparkle MP on top of the paper. Let dry completely.

12. I had planned to use my Silhouette machine to cut a cat silhouette, but had to hand cut them because my mat wasn't sticky enough. I cut one smaller than the other and layered them.

13. I used the adhesive 3D mounts to stick my cat silhouette to the Mod Podged surface.

14. I loved how the mounts gave the piece some depth, so I hand cut some Halloweeny stars and used the mounts for those too.

I chose to keep the knob on my cabinet door, and I used it to hang some wooden "BOO" letters from Target's Dollar Spot with some sparkle ribbon:

My Sparkle Sign has a new home next to my TV armoire, which is all decked out for Halloween. I'll show you the whole view later on, but here's another shot of the sign for today.

Love my Mod Podge!

Have you done any Halloween crafting lately?

Linking to Positively Splendid, Home Stories A to Z, Thrifty Decor Chick

Disclosure: I wrote this post as part of a paid campaign with Mod Podge and Blueprint Social. The opinions in this post are my own.

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