Frankly fatherhood

Take 2 (sorry this is so late).

Last week for "featured father's Friday" I helped the guys out. This week I am going to flip things around, and help out the ladies. I don't know if you know it but football season is a week away. Now you may be thinking that you are about to lose you man every weekend fro now until February; but it doesn't have to be that way. Here are a few ways to spend your Saturdays, Sundays or even Mondays together during football season. 1. Show interest. even if you don't really have any. When you walk in to the living room, ask "which game are you watching?" or "who's winning?". Avoid something sarcastic like "oh great! football" or "Alright, another game is on!".

2. Remember it's okay to ask questions, we don't expect you to know what's going on or to understand what the announcer or referee is always talking about. Most men don't mind explaining it, I love to do it myself. Just avoid asking "what just happened?" or "why did he/they just do that?" after every single play. This is what annoys most guys.

3. Find out who his favorite team it. If it is college ball, it's probably his Alma mater or a university from his home state. If it is pro football, you will probably have to ask. Once you have figured out which team he loves, try to make that team your team also. When Miranda and I first got together, she wasn't big in to football but we both went to WVU (west Virginia university) and I was able to convert her into a Patriots fan.
Or you can go in the other direction and become a fan of his team's rival.

4. And of course there's the old, do your own things together trick. Just like I told the guys last week, ladies you can bring crafts or projects, or just about anything in to the living room and work while he is watching a game. Who knows, you may not be interested until it's double overtime , the team is down by a touchdown and it's fourth and goal from the two yard line (don't worry if it doesn't make sense yet, refer to #2)

Follow these steps and hopefully both you and your significant other will be able to enjoy the weekends together, all season.

If you want to impress your man, and go a little more in depth try this site

Bedroom Makeover Part 1

I picked up some adorable curtain valances the other day at 50% at the thrift store ($2.50 for a set).

They are a chocolate brown and silver damask reversible pattern. I've never liked Damask much but I loved these.

So I have been scowering the online market for a chocolate brown damask bedding set to go with them, and much to my dismay most of the sets were well into the $200-$400 range (not for me)

So I searched on Amazon.com today and looky what I found

this is a queen set which comes with:
1 - comforter
1- bed skirt
2 - pillow shams
2 18x18" throw pillows
1 - neck pillow
All for $44.99!!!! (I think yes!!)

Mindless Weekend/Marketing Monday

I have been so mindless this weekend I have literally had nothing to blog about.

The family and I went yard saling Saturday and I discovered a lovely footstool with storage compartment for $5. I also found a cute crayon roll tutorial online and spent so much more money than I should have this weekend.

in the following week you should expect to see:
-recipe for easy peasy shrimp "stir fry"
-crayon roll tutorial and my outcome
-the start of the footstool makeover
-edition 2 of "Featured Fathers Friday" of "fatherhood friday" or maybe "Frankly Fatherhood"
-Wordless Wednesday
and maybe more!!!

Keep watching!

PS frugal deal of the day: 2 Glade scented oil twin packs, and a scented oil holder (with two oils included) for $5!!!

PPS as an add on we will try The Trendy Treehouse's Marketing Monday!!

~Featured Fathers Friday~

via Nathan, my Husband:

Crafting for the not so Crafty Husband

If your husband/boyfriend is anything like me he is not the craftiest man on the planet. He may wonder why you do things like scrapbook, knit, quilt, sew, build tutus, etc. It’s pretty much the same as when you wonder how we can spend all day watching sports, working on our car, playing video games, etc. But I have found a few ways to be involved with my wife’s crafting without actually having to be crafty. Here is a small list that you can share with your husband/boyfriend if he isn’t doing them already.

1. Watch the baby/child: Take the kid(s) for a car ride or a walk. Take them to the park to play on the swings or the slide. Or just simply take them to the living room

away from where the crafting is taking place. This is especially important if the child is at home all day with mom and hasn’t given her any time to breathe let alone relax. Give her some time alone to relax and craft while you play and talk with your child.

2. If asked a question or for your opinion give an honest answer…the real honest answer: If you are asked about a fabric or color choice, tell her what you think. She may laugh at you or even ignore your opinions from time to time but don’t get mad, she asked for your opinion because she wants you to get involved. More than likely, if she is like my wife, she will go with her own choice in the end anyway, because she feels she

is “better at this stuff”.

man's choice

Women's choice

LADIES: if you ask and don’t like the honest answer we give you, i.e. what looks good in our eyes, don’t get angry with us; remember you asked for an honest answer, and that’s what you got.

3. If she has to go out and get materials for her crafts, go with her. I know, I know, craft stores like Michael’s, A.C. Moore, and JoAnn’s are not exactly the places we like to go just for fun. But it gives you

a chance to spend more time with her and talk about anything and everything, crafts or otherwise. Not to mention it’s a chance to figure out exactly what it is she is

making with all that stuff she’s buying, and hoarding in every free corner of your home.

4. And finally, do your own things…together. One of the things I do is play my video games in the bedroom while my wife is doing her craft projects at her desk, all after our son has gone to sleep. This way we can both be doing something we enjoy, even if it’s not the same thing. This allows us to be in the same place, spending time together.

So there is my list of ways to help the non-crafty man craft with his wife/girlfriend. Hope it helps!

Featured Fathers Friday

This is my first attempt at a link Party, and it's a new concept from what I've seen around the blogosphere. Every Friday I am going to get my Husband to become a guest writer for Hart of Stone. He will bring all of you readers a male point of view on all the crazy stuff that us women do.

I would highly encourage everyone to give this a try and maybe we can get a new trend started!!!! (and my apologies if this is already a big thing and I missed the boat)

RULES
1. get your man involved
2 if other women do this, why not join their blogging network? Not required but it's always nice to see a new face.
3. LINK UP!!

We're being found!

so far Hart of Stone has been feature in two treasuries. These treasuries were created by users on the site and feature items of their picking based on their chosen categories.

Please check us out on
ThePeachTree

and also on
OriginalsbyLaurenToo

Wordless Wednesday

DIY Redo for Bargain brag

Some of you may know I have found a new passion in revamping old stuff. Thrift store, garage sale, and flea market finds are quickly becoming my favorite things.

Thanks to Kate at Centsational Girl I have learned so many techniques on how to change furniture from drab to fab.

This is my first attempt at furniture change, let me know what you all think!!!

I started with a lovely little yellow vanity, which I picked up at a really random yard sale for $10 (yeah I know). It's made out of just about every type of wood you can imagine (more than likely a DIY project itself). It also came with a wicker mirror (eww wicker).

On Kate's blog she has an entry debating which stripper was better. Citristrip, or Klean-Strip. Her winner was Cirtristrip. I had spent the weekend before working with the Klean Strip and it is a harsh product. We wore gloves and goggle and still managed to burn ourselves. The chemical smell is so harsh and it burns sooooo bad.

Citristrip however has a rather pleasant smell. It is meant to be less toxic and can even be used indoors (though if you need as much as I did I wouldn't recommend that). It's easier to apply, and it appears to work much more evenly and efficiently. It does take longer to reach it's final strength but it's worth the extra wait.

This is what the paint looked like after 1 hour with the citristrip
It took two applications of citristrip and about 4 hours of manual labor to get all the paint off but we finally did it (no pictures of that step.. sorry). Then, after debating colors (originally had a bright green) we decided to go with the antique white, which gave it a clean and simple look. two coats of paint and two coats of poly later and here is the result!!
But what about the mirror Miranda? Well I totally dislike wicker but I had recently inherited a wicker chair to give to my son which I spray painted in a deep red. I immediately thought the mirror would be a great accent in his new baseball (sports) room so I gave that a few coats of spray paint as well and whalah, an awesome new set for my baby!I can honestly say I was petrified to get this project underway, what if it looked awful or it couldn't be saved. But I think for my first time and all it came out splendidly!

also check out Kate's site, for so many inspiring DIY projects

Also Check out Wallet Friendly Wednesday

Hart of Stone Etsy Store Now Open!

Thank you to everyone who has joined the blog so far. I am so excited to share with you all that I have finally opened my Etsy store.
Hart of Stone Crafts is a jumble of so many crafting ideas. I have hand made tutus, felt moustaches, coffee mugs with moustaches painted on, some wedding decor from my DIY wedding, and there will be so much more.
I plan to add sewing projects, children's toys and accessories, candles, and some vintage finds from flea markets and garage sales.

We have already been added to someone's treasury finds. Check her Treasury out Here

CVA goodness saved 93%

so another strong venture in to CVS for me and the baby today (my first solo trip) and I was more than prepared.

Coupons in one hand, ad in the other hand and CVS card in my pocket I was ready to brave the elements.
This is a photo of my finds (from top left to bottom right)
-Tylenol Precise Patch
-Garnier Herbashine hair dye
-Garnier Nutrisse hair dye
-Airwick I motion mini
-Schick 3 hydro razor
-Dulcolax
-Schick shave gel
-Large Garnier Fructis shampoo
-Skintimate shave gel
-Visine tears
-Suave deoderant

Here's the break down:
Transaction 1: Dulcolax $9.99 (saved $3.00)
coupon for $4.00 off
used 5.99 worth of ECB's
Total: FREE and I got $9.99 back in ECBs

Transaction 2: Hydro 3 razor $8.97 (saved $0.02)
Tylenol Precision $7.99
coupon for $5.00 off razor
coupon for $2.00 off tylenol
used $9.96 in ECBs
Total: FREE and I got 4 ECBs for the razor and 3 ECBs for the tylenol = 7

Transaction 3: Fructis shampoo $5.00 (same price as smaller bottle) (saved $2.79)
Nutrisse Hair Dye $6.00 (saved $2.49)
Herbashine Hair Dye $6.00 (saved $2.49)
Schick shave gel $3.99
(deal was spend $15 on garnier and get $5.00 ECB)
coupon for $2.00 off HerbaShine hair dye
coupon for $2.00 off nutrisse hair dye
coupon for $1.00 off Garnier Fructis shampoo
coupon for free shave gel (from the package for the razor in Trans 2)
used $7.00 ECBs
Total: $5.30 and I got $5.00 back

Transaction 4: Visine tears $3.99 (saves $2.80)
Skintimate shave gel $1.99 (saves $1.20)
Airwick mini $4.99 (saved $5.00)
Suave deoderant $0.99 (saved $0.40)
coupon for $2.00 off any visine
coupon for $1.00 off skintimate shave gel
coupon for $4.00 off airwick mini/refills
used $4.96 ECBs
Total: FREE

I got $80.09 worth of product for $5.30 which = a 93% savings (assuming my math is right)

BOOOYAHHH

We Need Help!!

In high school I was honored to be a part of the Victor Marching Blue Devils. I was part of the colorguard and I loved every minute of it!!

Now my sister is a senior in the colorguard (been in it for 6 years!!), and we need your help. I know I don't have a lot of followers but if you can do this for me and then tell your friends who might have a free second to do this also we would greatly appreciate.

every year the band travels to a national level championship in a different area of the country. This year they are competing in annapolis Maryland at the Naval academy. The band consists of 105 members and at that number the cost of these trips is insane.

They have entered a contest/giveaway for $2,500 and free contacts for the entire band. They submitted their story and need your votes. You can vote daily up til the deadline which is september 6.

CONTEST ENTRY
-this is their story and entry video (made by my dad). PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!!

Quick Tip Thursday

Today was overall a success, did a lot of thrifting and yard saling and loved it.

But on to the quick tip....

In Better Homes and Gardens there is a quick tip on soothing sunburne.
-Dilute skim milk with water (1:1 ration)
-Apply to skin
---my sister has had band camp all week and this is working well for her sunburne, it is very messy however, and we aren't sure what to do after the application. She leaves it on until it dries and then it becomes sticky, but it does work.

ALSO

-use hydrocortisone cream which has been left in the fridge to help soothe itching and burning!!!!!

Wordless Wednesday

Floor Cushion - I Did It!

If you haven't been over to "The Crafty Charlestonian" blog yet, stop reading and sprint on over (or click). She has amazing blogs about every topic imaginable. One of these blogs was "a land of Nod inspired floor Cushion". The idea came from another blogger who is also a must follow, "Living With Punks".



The tutorial for these cushions can be found HERE


I have never used a sewing machine outside of a small pillow project in Home and Careers, and even when I attempted sewing a scrap piece of material to test out my new sewing machine it was a bust. never-the-less they said this was an easy strep by step tutorial and even a novice could do it, so I decided to try.



What I used:

-1 yard of upholstery fabric (finding a boy pattern was hard) - on sale for $6.99

-2 packages of pre-made piping (i had to buy twice because I had no idea what to find... what you want is the bias tape with maxi piping (usually near zippers). Joann carries Wrights brand and it's around $2 a package

-thread (it's good to have a contrasting color from your material and a matching color (to finish)

-16-24 ox fiberfill (wal-mart/joann). The 16 ox bags are like $4 but I like a lot of stuffing (luckily I had a ton lying around from my wedding)

---total cost ~$20 for everything



go HERE and read the tutorial, and here's what i made!!!!

it's roughly 17" across and 9" high. I'm not near my normal computer so there aren't more photos to show you (long story) but this came out so adorable. Of course I stuffed mine to the brim with fiberfill but you can leave yours a little more pliable.

I also didn't leave the handle as slack as I should have in order to carry but it still works.

I will make one small adjustment. When you cut the big strip to go around, I would sew the handle on first, instead of later as you will notice in the tutorial, especially if you are short on room and/or talent like me.

ENJOY, and if any of you make one please share it with me!!!