#CB2NovogratzBrasilSweepstakes

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of CB2 for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.
You've heard of the Novogratz' right?  Bob and Courtney are known for their quirky and fun style and can be seen on popular TV design shows.
CB2 and Novogratz Collection
Well, they've teamed up with CB2 to design a collection based on their vacation home in Brazil.  It features pops of bright colors contrasted by warm woods.

How fun is this Tudo Bem neon light?  It means "How are you?" or "I am good" in Portuguese, the native language of Brazil.

And the contrast of this hot pink coffee table against the rustic wood planks is so fresh and interesting.

CB2 and Novogratz Brasil Sweepstakes

That's not cool enough on its own?  How 'bout a sweepstakes where you + 3 friends could win a fabulous 1 week getaway to stay at the Novogratz' Brazilian getaway?  It's in Trancoso, Brazil along the coast.  I've visited a different coastal city in Brazil and let me tell you, the sound of the surf and the breeze coming off the ocean are to. die. for!

Another ten winners will receive a $100 CB2 gift card and a personally signed copy of the book "Home by Novogratz".

All you have to do to enter is visit cb2.com/giveways between May 2 and June 3.  (I already entered - fingers crossed!)

If you want to keep up the the latest from CB2 you can follow them on Twitter: @CB2Tweets, Pinterest: CB2, or Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cb2

Sorry, No Thrifty to Nifty Thursdays this Week

We're getting ready for Arden's big dance recital this weekend, and then we're prepping for vacation, and...

The Lost Arts of Sewing Series will be kicking off on the 20th.  I cannot wait to see what everyone is going to show us.  If you haven't already begun following these great ladies, here is the list of participants and links to their sites:

Michelle from Falafel and the Bee

Hayley from Welcome to the Mouse House

An from StraightGrain

Karen from Butterflies and Faeries

Liz and Elizabeth from Simple Simon & Co.

Al, Jo, and Scary from Shaffer Sisters

Heidi from Greendoodle

Lisa from Mommy's Apron Strings

Ashley and Emily from FrancesSuzanne

Vanessa from Designs by Sessa

April from Wildflowers + Whimsey

Watch for one more post with a link to a Flickr group to upload your projects, and I'll also be opening a Lost Arts linky as part of the series.

DIY "POP" Beverage Holster - Contributor at Growing Up Gabel

I've received the fabulous opportunity to be a crafts contributor at Growing Up Gabel where Camille writes about trying to build an organic and self-sufficient lifestyle for her family.

With Father's Day on the horizon, I'm sharing a simple sewing tutorial to make a DIY "POP" Beverage Holster.  Go check it out and the rest of Camille's great posts.

Lil Blue Boo's Dress of the Month

How cute is this knit watermelon dress from Lil Blue Boo?!!  Ashley had yet another brilliant idea and is now offering a dress of the month with a different themed dress each month.  As if that isn't enough, there are all sorts of goodies included - a gift and two double sided trading cards.  That watermelon purse is so stinkin' adorable!  Click on the image for a link to the Lil Blue Boo shop - this is an affiliate link so I'll get a little somethin' if you click and decide to get one.

Thrifty to Nifty Features #19

Thanks for linking up your thrifty goodies this week!  Feel free to snag a button below if you were featured:

<a href="http://www.ajennuinelife.com" target="_blank"><img alt="A Jennuine Life Thrifty to Nifty Thursdays Feature" src="http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/aa423/jldeshazer/AJennuineLifeButton-ThriftytoNiftyThursdaysFeature_zps0d3922d6.jpg" /></a>


Sheryl at The Wilderness Wife brings us her zipper pathway reveal.  So cool!


Jeanne at I Dream of Jeanne Designs shows us this amazing floor - can you believe it's painted subfloor?

Heidi at Greendoodle made these super cute sandals out of duct tape!  I'm not the only one who thought they were  nifty - she won round six of SYTYC with this project.

I'm always on the lookout for a great vegetarian meal recipe, and this one from Amy at Nourishing Bites looks perfect!

Rita at Suburbs Mama transformed her front porch for spring with flowers, mulch and a bistro table she pulled out of storage.  I can totally see myself sitting there with a cup of coffee in the morning.  While you're there, check out her recipe and instructions for making Russian Pelmeni - I'd never heard of it, but it sounds delish!


Mindi at My Love 2 Create owes the former homeowner a big thank you for thoroughly diagramming the breaker box.  We owe her a big thank you for sharing it with us!


Erica at Craftivity Designs made over an already cute IKEA cabinet into an ADORABLE storage solution in her bedroom with some shelf liner and organizing baskets.

Thanks for stopping by - I can't wait to see what you've come up with at the next Thrifty to Nifty Thursdays!

Just Sew Series at Mama Says Sew: Curved Seam Piecing

Remember this dress?  

When I posted it I said I would do a little tutorial for how to get nice flat seams when piecing curves?  It fell by the wayside, but I got the perfect kick in the rear when Terra from Mama Says Sew asked me to participate in her awesome Just Sew Series.  Go check out the tutorial - I hope it helps for any curved piecing you may have, or even inspire you to create your own version of a rainbow dress.

I'm also showing a trick for how to match the pattern across a seam!  While you're there, check out Terra's amazing blog and the rest of the contributors for the Just Sew Series.

Mothers

Source

I love this!  Happy Mother's Day, everyone!

Morgan Loves mombo™

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Comfort and Harmony for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

I nursed both of my daughters for over a year each.  I was always envious of mothers who made breastfeeding look so easy - some even walking around while baby was latched!  That was not me at all.  I had to be in the right kind of chair with my nursing pillow and a burp cloth under baby's head just so.  Even after all that my first daughter often would cut a feeding session short.



It turns out all I needed was a mombo™ from Comfort & Harmony.  Since I'm no longer breastfeeding, I asked my friend Jennifer if she wanted to receive a mombo™ and give her opinion.  Happily she agreed and I got a wonderful excuse to meet her sweet 15 week old baby girl, Morgan Mae.  As soon as she lay her on the pillow to nurse her she said she could tell that she liked it and seemed calm and happy while she ate.  The Firm2Soft™ two sided design has a firm side for nursing, and Jennifer said it made it much easier to nurse without supporting Morgan's head.



After Morgan had her fill, we went into her nursery for a bit of playtime.  She loved the soothing vibrator you can slide inside the mombo™ and the cushy soft side for lounging.  If you can look past how cute Morgan is for just a second you can see the adorable elephant design on the cover - the reverse side is a soft plush fabric.

nursing pillow
mombo™ nursing pillows are available at Babies R Us.  

Comfort & Harmony on Facebook
I've "liked" Comfort & Harmony of Facebook - it's a great page with wonderful resources for parents.  Go check it out and "like" them too!

Comfort & Harmony on Twitter
You can also find Comfort & Harmony on Twitter @ComfortHarmony.  
Jennifer and Morgan give their mombo™ two enthusiastic thumbs up - Jennifer said "It puts the [other nursing pillow] to shame!".  Head to Babies R Us and pick one up for yourself or as a wonderful gift for a new mom!

Fifteen Dancing Dollies

Yay!  I'm finally finished with the notorious Dancing Dollies!!!  I handed off all the dolls to their little dancing girls during class this week.  One little girl in particular pretty much made every fleece ballet shoe, tiny arm, or hand stitched eye worth it.  She just stood in front of my holding her doll and looking at me with wide eyes and then she turned her doll around and gave her a giant hug.  Heart officially melted!

I ended up making sixteen dancing dollies because one of the girls in Arden's class is a twin and her sister had stopped coming to class in the early weeks and then decided to return just in time to be included in the recital.  No big deal except I had to piece the back to get one more body out of the fabric I had remaining and I was pretty much out of the linen for the arms and face.  I found a different but closely matching linen and made it work.

They'll get cute little sequin-edged tutus from the same company who made the girls' dance costumes.  Next weekend is the big recital, and when I say big - I mean BIG!!  They rent out a local theatre and there are four shows over Saturday and Sunday.  The little girls only dance in two shows - phew!  The dress rehearsal is on Friday and Hadley will go to daycare so Arden and I can have a day to ourselves.

I'll be linking up with many of these great parties:

Mondays Making the World Cuter Monday – Making the World Cuter Made By You Monday – Skip to My Lou Craftastic Monday – Sew Can Do FUNday Mondays – C.R.A.F.T. et al. Market Yourself Monday – Sumo’s Sweet Stuff Creative Me Monday - The Southern Institute Tuesdays I Made It Without My Hubby – Shanty 2 Chic Sew Cute Tuesdays – Better Off Thread Take a Look Tuesdays - Sugar Bee Craft Edition Shwin&Shwin Nap Time Creations How To Tuesday - Housewife How To's  Fluster's Creative Muster Party Wednesdays We Did It Wednesdays – Sew Much Ado Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice - Seven Thirty Three Show & Tell – Blue Cricket Design Show Me What Ya Got - Not Just a Housewife Your Whims Wednesdays - My Girlish Whims Thursdays Strut-Your-Stuff – Somewhat Simple Make It, Wear It – The Train to Crazy It’s Stinkin’ Cute – Sew Stinkin’ Cute Show Off Your Stuff – Fireflies and Jellybeans Making It With Allie - What Allie's Making Now Pinspirational Thursdays - The ArtsyGirl Connection All Things Thursday - All Things With Purpose Fridays Furniture Feature Friday - Miss Mustard Seed Weekend Wrap Up Party – Tatertots and Jello Feature Yourself Friday – Fingerprints on the Fridge Friday Fun Finds – KojoDesigns Weekends Check Me Out Saturday – A Vision to Remember Show and Tell Saturday – Be Different Act Normal Sunday Scoop – I Heart Naptime Sunday Showcase Party – Under the Table and Dreaming A Pinteresting Party - Tutus & Tea Parties Sunday Roundup - A Rosie Sweet Home Just Something I Whipped Up - Project Inspire

Thrifty to Nifty Thursdays #19

Get your link on ladies!  Not that gents can't link, but this arena seems to be female-centric.

This week I made this super quick Necktie Wine Tote to share at The Girl Creative.  Seriously - it took less than ten minutes and that included photographing for the post!

Are you taking thrift store finds or items you've had laying about the house and remaking them into something.. more?  Bring on your curbside finds, organizational tools, heck even if you scrubbed up or painted something stained or ugly and made it all pretty and new again.  Whatever it is, link it up and share!

Guidelines:

• Link up a recent thrifty to nifty project - be sure to link to the specific post, not your main page.
• Don't link a project you've shared here previously - I will delete it and that makes me feel bad.
• Visit a couple of other links and leave a nice comment - we all love thoughtful comments!
• Please link back - buttons are in my buttons page or a text link is fine.
• Follow A Jennuine Life - then you'll be sure to see if you've been featured!