such sweet tierney {samples & birthday bash giveaway!}

One of our favorite papercrafting designers gave me the chance to play with one of her new lines recently. I was in heaven! I am always in love with the girly scrapbooking supplies out there, but finding really cool 'boy' themed lines to scrapbook my boys can be more difficult. My friend London from Such Sweet Tierney has a cool, edgy style that I love but don't know quite how to duplicate. Enter London's new lines, including her signature chipboard buttons (you've seen me use them here on the pink card), journaling tags, packaging tags, and labels. The colors are awesome and so are the little details, like paint splatters, and en vogue elements, like houndstooth. She also has the yummiest colors of cotton baker's twine. How many spools of each color do you think I need? Don't answer that.

Here's what I did with the you rock collection. I LOVE the little boom boxes and cassette tapes!











Here are some peeks at the other collections. Check out her design team for awe-inspiring work using her products. My mind cannot even conceive of the things these ladies are creating (that's why I have to copy!).


simply sweet collection





woodland collection





Oh, I almost forgot! Her new line of printable wedding inviations is to-die-for. So different and so cool. 













Okay, now for the part you've been waiting for. To help us celebrate our 3rd birthday, Such Sweet Tierney is offering one of our readers a $25 gift certificate to put toward whatever they want from her shop! She really is sweet! To enter, just visit the shop, then leave us a comment with what item(s) you'd pick if you were our sweet winner. Do it by Thursday, Aug. 4 at 11:59pm PT or you'll miss out on the chance to win this awesome giveaway!

spray painted wooden bead necklace tutorial {birthday bash guest post}

I'm living in the jungle. At least that's what it feels like at night here in beautiful Iowa City. The hot, steamy air sings, alive with insects and birds. I look around and think yes, this looks like a quiet, tree-lined street somewhere in America's heartland, but it feels like the Amazon. Even so, each night I go sit on the patio and soak in the warmth and watch my boys catch and release fireflies. Although the move was a pain in the you-know-what, I am so happy to be here!

My cute friend Vanessa from V and Co. is on her way here right now. That's right--she's moving to Iowa, too, just 20 minutes up the road! She'll be here this week to experience the Amazon along with me, and hopefully we'll have a few field trips to quilt shops and antique stores in the area (yeah!). She also volunteered (in the middle of her move!) to guest post for our birthday bash. I just love this girl! If you don't know her already, go check out her blog and her shop. Everything she makes is just gorgeous--I love her style. Until then, enjoy this awesome spray painting tutorial for making this darling wooden bead necklace!


tutorial: that lime green necklace
i kept getting comments and emails over this necklace and weather or not i was going to show you how i did it. okay well it's not that complicated i think you can figure out that i strung wooden beads. so this tutorial will be for how i got an even coat over my beads with spray paint.
*i used a styrofoam half sphere (in the flower section in the craft store, or walmart.)
*i then got tooth picks.
*because the holes in the beads were wider than the tooth picks i put a little piece of tin foil at the tips of the toothpicks.
*i also used my left over spraypaint "ivy leaf" by krylon. (IN.LOVE.WITH.THAT.COLOR)

*i placed the styrofoam inside a box ( it's too cold to do it out in the back yard, and now i either have to do it indoors or in the garage).
*i then LIGHTLY sprayed the beads. let them sit for a little (like 5 minutes) and then repeated.
*let them dry completely
then i flipped them over and did the same step as i did on the other side.
let them dry, flip them over AGAIN, repeat steps till you get it completely covered with paint and you are happy with it.
i did 3 "flips" because i wanted the paint to be really solid. no wood showing through.

i love the combo of brown and lime green so i chose brown ribbon for the necklace.
i made sure i had enough ribbon at my "ends" that it would be easy to tie my necklace around my neck.
* then i made a knot.
i then stranded my beads. i wanted a few off centered big beads so i placed them accordingly.
tie off your other end and make sure you put Fray Check on your ends of your ribbon so the ribbon stays intact.
and there you have it.
;)

how to distress a picture frame {birthday bash guest tutorial}

Can you believe our "bird-day" bash is coming to an end? Are you loving all these amazing guest tutorials? Me too! I'm all moved into my new home in Iowa City, and today I unpacked my craft room, so I'll be back in business soon. Lots of love to Vanessa of Lella Boutique for another fabulous post today--it even features a birdie! You will flip over this tutorial on how to distress a picture frame for an antiqued or shabby chic look. And if you love the birdie in the middle like I do, check out her baby bird stitcherie tutorial, too! Thanks, Vanessa!

Frame in Distress


I totally adore the look of a crusty, old frame with its paint worn away. (And let's not forget my new obsession with oval frames...) The question is, what color to use?
The first thing you'll need is a frame to paint.  I found a few on sale at the craft store, but you could use one you already have to give it a new look (or find a real treasure from a thrift shop).


You'll need to set up a work surface in an area that is well-ventilated.  (I love my screened-in porch area.)  For my work surface, I set a cardboard box atop a canvas drop-cloth.

Unwrap the frame and remove all parts you don't want painted (i.e. the glass, the back insert, etc.).  Lay the frame onto the work surface.

Prime the frame. I generally use Krylon-brand spray (white). Spray a light coat of the primer onto the frame and let it dry 10-15 minutes before adding another coat.

After 5-6 coats of primer, the frame will be solid-white and ready for some color!

Occasionally, I will paint the frames a neutral color like white or cream, but I much prefer a bold color like the cherry-red I used below (Krylon-brand).  Apply one coat of paint, wait 10 minutes, and repeat.  After 3-4 coats, let the frame dry for several hours to overnight.





Aging with sandpaper is a great way to add character to the frame.   Just lightly scrub over the frame using an all-purpose sandpaper to wear away the paint.

Just look at those delicious layers!  Keep scrubbing away!


Another way to "dirty up" the frame is to use the fabulous tinted-glaze method from Mandi at Vintage Revivals.
For this, you will need gloves, a paintbrush, an old rag or t-shirt (damp), and some tinted glaze (from a home improvement store).  Mandi recommends the Ralph Lauren Faux Glaze, so that's what I bought.  It was on sale (yay) because they are discontinuing it (sad).  I had them tint it black for me.

Put on your gloves and brush some of the tinted glaze onto a section of the frame.  Your goal is to get the glaze down in all those lovely ridges and crevices.

Wipe away the glaze (in one direction) with the damp rag.  (The gloss will remain in all those cracks and crevices.)

Repeat this process on another section of the frame.  Work your way around until the entire frame is glazed.  Let it dry several hours or overnight.


Whether you settle on the sandpaper or tinted-glaze method, your frame will be much more weathered than before.  (I totally recommend using both for the ultimate grit.) But whatever you decide to do, protect the finish by spraying a clear-coat sealer over the frame and letting it dry.  Pretty dang awesome, right?

diy outdoor twister game tutorial {birthday bash guest post}

Today's guest blogger helping us celebrate our 3rd birthday is Tausha from Sassy Style Redesign. She been here before, so I know you already love her! Plus, if you live in Utah you might know her from craft segments of KSL's Studio 5 (I watch them online!). Not only is she utterly talented, she is hi-larious! Even though I haven't met her I feel like I know her, just from the way she writes. Enjoy some summer fun from Tausha!


Hey Birdie Readers! I am so excited to be here again!

I know that all of you love Little Birdie Secrets because of the fantastically talented chica's that run this blog and all of their ideas. So, I was flattered when they asked me to share a bit of crafty craziness!


Let me introduce myself.. My name is Tausha and I have the blog Sassy Style Redesign. This is where I post about my obsessions with using my glue gun, spray painting anything that doesn’t move, & my constant need to decorate then re-decorate.





I am a mom to 3 chickadees. My lovely little drama queens keep me on my toes and always stocked with hairspray and bobby pins.


My husband is wonderful and supportive of my NEED to create. He almost always does whatever crazy thing I ask him to do. (ha, you so know that I'm lying right?)
 No, he really is wonderful and I love him a LOT!



I love to decorate and redecorate my house AND other people's houses too. I had to branch out to other people's houses because I have run out of room, and I still have to feed my 
addiction to before and after process.


So, I started a business, so I could do just that. My mom and I work together as "re-decorator's" for our business Sassy Style. We specialize in coming into your home and redoing with what you have.We strive to give that cozy, homey, familiar feeling without breaking the bank.


When I am not redoing other people's homes, I am trying to redo my own.
(trying is the key word here..I change my mind a lot!)

I started with my $300 kitchen makeover

(if only it was this clean all the time)

I spruced up my Master with some fabulous damask stencils



 then I tackled my Craft Room. This room makes me happy and all of us should have a room that makes us happy..right?!



I also have an obsession with redoing furniture-it's bad, bad, bad!


My garage is looking more and more like the worst episode of Hoarders-minus the mice and nasty stuff.


Basically I am obsessed with more things than I am sure is healthy. I am sounding more and more like a total nut! Hope that wont deter you from coming and visiting me .


So, one day when I was spray painting, I thought that it would be totally rad if I made a Twister game on my grass with my trusty, rusty spray paint.


Yep-you read that right!


You can make your own huge, homemade, outdoor, Twister game!
(try saying that fast 3x)


This would be so fun for a family reunion, block party, school carnival-whatever really.



I talked about my opinions on spray painting .
You are all super smart now-when it comes to painting.
I know, you are so excited!


You can thank me later..


BUT..If you still are wanting to know some of my favorite tips and tricks and a couple more ideas on what else you can spray paint..check out Spray Paint 101!


Supplies needed to make Outdoor Twister:



A pizza box-or other piece of cardboard
Craft Knife
Large Mixing bowl-or something else that is round
Pen (I know, this is probably assumed-just trying to be thorough)
Red, blue, yellow and white spray paint
1 piece of paper
Scissors
Container of some sort to hold the slips of paper.


OK-first thing you need to do-trace a circle (mixing bowl) on a lid of a pizza box or some other piece of cardboard.


Use your handy dandy craft knife/box cutter to cut it out.


Throw the circle away-now you are left with your circle stencil.


(I would have taken pics of this part-but...
I am pretty sure that you all know how to trace a circle and cut it out)


Now you are ready to paint.
My favorite part.


Disclaimer:


You really SHOULD use the Rustoleum 2x coverage paint for this project. The other brands did not cover as well.



I made my board in my back yard, but you can make it anywhere that 
you have a large enough piece of grass.


Let it be know that I am NOT a perfectionist.
I did NOT measure out my game board, or line up my circle in a perfectly straight line.
If you are one of those people who like super straight lines, you might want to measure.
If you are not one of those type of people-just go with the flow.



When you make your board-you need 4 columns. One column in each color.
You need to have 6 circles of each color.
Your game board will look like this.


Now you get to paint.
I just sprayed a circle, picked up the stencil and looked to see if it was straight.
(again, I am not a perfectionist-so "looking straight" was totally cool with me.
I did this with each color until I had 6 circles.



I did not have a twister twirly thing and I refused to pay $13 for a twister game.
So, my genius friend Bonnie suggested that I just use slips of paper.
I know, super smart right?


The kids made slips of paper that said: Head, Rt. Foot, Rt. Hand, Left. Foot, Left hand
They also made color slips- red, blue, yellow and white.
I put each set of strips in their own jar.
 
When it was time to play-the caller person, or whatever you want their title to be-pulled one slip out of each jar.


IE- Left Hand, Red


This was much easier than trying to make my own spinner or spending $13 on a new one.
I so love my smart friends!



Now-you will have a rockin back yard!
This could be a good or bad thing....
I had kids of all ages in my back yard.
 
Super fun!



Look at those young, spry, 15 yr, old boys. I so wish that my body would bend like that.
No, wait, I am totally OK with it not bending that way.



Your twister board will grow out in about 1 to 2 weeks.
The paint will NOT hurt your grass.
Repeat-the paint will not hurt your grass.


If you do this and your husband freaks out, he can totally call my husband. While they are talking about the fact that the paint will NOT ruin your lawn, they can discuss how totally crazy their wives are for spray painting a giant twister board in their yard.


Consider it male bonding time.
 

If you really want to have a good time-invite some friends over and you can all play twister.
Lets just say that I am not as bendy as I used to be.
Although, it was fun to watch people fall on their butts when they were reaching their left leg for white.


Think of it..


Funny, right?


I made all kinds of random, fun things with spray paint for the TV segment. 
Stay tuned to see what other randomness I came up with.