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A little back story on this weeks giveaway… I have been madly in LOVE with Lisa Leonard for years! I found her online shop Lisa Leonard Designs years ago and followed her blog not too long after that. This gal has STYLE! 

Every birthday, anniversary, Christmas… you name it, I would send an email to my husband with my Lisa Leonard wish list for the holiday and he, in grand style… WOULD TOTALLY IGNORE IT! What does a girl need to do? I just couldn't buy one of her fantastic necklaces for myself, so I did the next best thing and bought one of her pennant banners for a spring wreath that I made last year...

whipperberry spring wreath /// lisa leonard designs pennant banner

Finally, Lisa contacted me herself and asked if I would like to host a Lisa Leonard Designs giveaway {and of course I needed to take a necklace for a test drive as well.} Ummmmmm, YES!!!!  Finally, finally I have a Lisa Leonard creation of my very own to wear everyday!!

Here is the necklace that I selected to test out…

It's the Hand Stamped Sterling Single Tag Necklace. I've been a fan of this necklace for sometime and loved the idea of coming up with a word or saying for this handmade necklace.  I decided on GRAND REVE for my necklace which is French for Grand Dream.  I love that it isn't something that people can easily read so it's a hidden treasure close to my heart. The quality of the necklace is phenomenal. You can tell that Lisa and her crew use only the best materials for their creations and have a real attention to detail.  It is truly a piece that I will love for years to come. It's simple. It's classic. It's beautiful.

Here are some more necklaces from Lisa Leonard Designs…

ampersand necklace /// love proclaimed necklace /// you are loved necklace /// tiny twig necklace

Here are some of the bracelets in Lisa's Shop…

love is my anchor /// molded heart /// thin sterling cuff

And then there are the fun little odds and ends that I just ADORE!! I especially love the cake toppers that Lisa hand makes…

happy birthday /// celebrate /// mr. & mrs.

You also have to stop by Lisa's blog… she shares her amazing style, her love of family, and her love of photography and travel.  I ADORE it!!

Lisa has generously offered a $60 credit to Lisa Leonard Designs for one of you… my favorite friends!! All you have to do is follow the steps in the Rafflecopter widget to enter the giveaway. {This is open to anyone with a shipping address within the United States.}

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I can't wait to see what you guys fall in love with in Lisa's shop!!

When I was growing up my parents had the best backyard with the perfect porch for family gatherings. During the summer we spent all of our time out there. We ate every meal out on the covered porch and spent hours just sitting in the cool summer nights enjoying the crisp summer nights in Colorado. In fact, my husband and I came to realize that we were going to get married out on that porch one spring night twelve years ago. That porch has so much history and is a magical place in my life.

Now that I'm the Mom, I want to create that magical oasis in my backyard for my kiddos. A place where they feel comfortable bringing their friends over, a place where we can gather as a family and just enjoy being together outside away from the plugged in world we live in. I have yet to create that place in my backyard. Living in Las Vegas, nice backyard living doesn't come as naturally. Our yards are typically surrounded by ugly cinder block walls with very small patches of grass surrounded by a sea of rock. Not exactly an ideal oasis like these…

img source | the style files

img source | little french garden house

img source | brabourne farm

A girl can dream right? I've been shopping around trying to find the perfect patio furniture for my magical oasis for my family and I've found some fun items that I would like to use as the base element for my yard…

img source | sears simply outdoor living

Img source | sears simply outdoor living

I can just picture either of these pieces as a good start to my backyard living space for the family. I love the clean white and it would be so much fun to dress up with my own personal elements. I can just picture all of the fun that we can have out in our summer oaisis. Barbeques, slip-n-slide dates with friends, late nights under the stars with my sweetheart… I can't wait to get started!!

Now that I have shared what would turn my backyard into my perfect summer oasis, I want to know what you’ve done to transform your backyard into your oasis. One of my lucky readers will win a $25 Sears gift card!

Need help finding your own pieces for your backyard? Sears is bringing the ease of searching for those perfect pieces with their recently launched iPad digital catalog. On your computer? Don't fear, Sears has an amazing digital catalog built just for you.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Sears. The opinions and text are all mine. Official Sweepstakes Rules.

I've been a crafter for some time and have tried many, many different products.  This new paint from DecoArt called Ink Effects has blown me away!!

Seriously, BLOWN ME AWAY!!! I was a little nervous when asked to review this product. They actually had to twist my arm a bit.  I'm not really a painter.  I'm all over spray paint and simple stuff, but the idea about this product is that you free hand some great design and then magically transfer it onto fabric. I really didn't think I was a good fit for this one. I can't free hand anything! I reluctantly agreed and I'm so glad I did.

So here's the skinny… Ink Effects is a paint that you paint onto a piece of paper, let it dry and then flip it over and transfer the image onto fabric with a hot iron. Crazy, huh? It's actually really cool.  Once I got over my painting paranoia and tweaked it to fit my skill level I was just fine.  Here is what Ink Effect looks like.

It comes in several fun colors that are up to date with the current color trends.  Now keep in mind, this isn't traditional paint so the color of the bottle doesn't totally represent the color of the ink.  You have to look at the color sample on the top of the bottle to see what the color will look like.

I decided to add a fun graphic to a basic white cotton blanket for my friend Sarah who I threw a fun Little Bug baby shower for a few weeks ago. She is having two girls so I thought I would make a blanket with both the girl's names on it with a fun design that she won't be able to find anywhere else.  You know not all moms are into elephants and butterflies. I personally like them but I also like to be different as well. Here are my color choices and the design I was going to work from.

I created the design in Photoshop Elements and then printed it out to make sure the scale and everything was right. Now, remember I'm not much of a free hand painter? I couldn't be a surgeon either, my hands are just not that steady. It's not an issue.  I took my graphic and then created a mirror image and just painted right on top of the image!!!

Yea, it's kind of like Painting for Dummies… I'm sure all of you can paint something amazing with just a flick of your brush.  Alas, I can not. If you look at my paint lines on top of the image you can see that they aren't perfect, but just you wait! I waited for 30 minutes for the Ink Effects to dry. While I was waiting I prepared my fabric.

The blanket that I was using was 100% cotton, so it needed to be prepped with the DecoArt Ink Effects Cotton Spray.

If you are using a cotton blend with less than 30% cotton you don't have to worry about this part.  I just sprayed the fabric and then let it dry.  Once it was finished drying I place my image, paint side down on the blanket and ironed it for roughly about 30 seconds.  I did move the iron around so it may have been a little more or a little less.

Then I said a little prayer, and started to pull the paper back… I couldn't believe what I saw…

The color transferred beautifully, my horrible lines that I painted looked amazing, the colors were vibrant… I was thrilled!!

I love the way it looks more like a pigment transfer or a water color really. I LOVE that look.  Now we can do that on fabric, can you believe it? It's so forgiving, you don't have to be a professional painter to make something look amazing. You can paint right on a printed image and it will look fabulous.

I don't know if you can tell from the picture, but the fabric is still very pliable and soft. it's not like painting with regular paint onto fabric.  Another positive in my book.  Really, I'm struggling to find a negative.  I have since washed and dried the blanket and it still looks great. It fades just a smidge but really, not a lot at all.

I give DecoArts Ink Effects paint TWO thumbs up. It made me feel like I really could be a rock star artist, or at least make it look like I am. You can purchase Ink Effects currently online through DecoArt or it will be available soon at JoAnn stores across the country.  I can't wait to see what you guys think of it too!!

This post was a paid campaign for DecoArt Ink Effects via Blue Print Social. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

For more great Ink Effects idea, check this out…