Blissdom 2013 Recap

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BlissDom or Bust

Leaving the family for a few days to head to a blogging conference was a new experience. I wasn't sure what to expect.

The BlissDom conference ran Thursday thru Saturday night and was held at the Gaylord Texan, right here in Grapevine. Each day started with a keynote speaker and ended with fun entertainment. The session schedule was organized around four tracks: Writing, Business, Photography, and Life Development. You could pick and choose which topics were the most appealing to you.

Craft It: Personalized Chevron Tote Bag

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After an amazing weekend at BlissDom, I am finally getting a chance to sit down and write. BlissDom was  my first blog conference and who would have guessed-- I was so busy attending sessions and networking that I scarcely had time to blog! I am sharing a post later this week about what I learned from the conference, but today I wanted to show you something fun I made for the conference!

Now this tutorial isn't just for those of you heading to a blog conference, it's for anyone who likes a cute bag. I think this would be perfect for toting towels to the pool, transporting dance gear to class, or to use as a purse. You all are crafty bunch--I bet you can think of a million ways how you would use this Personalized Chevron Tote Bag!

The Scoop #58 with The Crafted Sparrow

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Welcome back to The Scoop, 
the weekly link party 
that features the scoop 
on the best posts from around the web!

Stop by every Tuesday to link up and browse through the posts. 
You’ll always find great inspiration for projects and discover some new blog friends, too (: 
Add your link to our blog and it automatically shows up on 5 amazing blogs. 
 More exposure + less time = win win!

Linsey from Farmhouse Porch 
Anita from Cedar Hill Ranch, 
Samantha from Crafty Texas Girls 
Kelli & Kristi from Lolly Jane. 

Each week we highlight one of our favorite bloggers as a special guest host. 

This week, please welcome Rebecca from The Crafted Sparrow:

Hi, I'm Rebecca the mom of two crazy cute boys and I live in sunny Arizona. When I'm not busy chasing my crazy cute boys you can find me over at The Crafted Sparrow. That's where you can see my passion for crafting, diy projects, home decor, home entertaining, and the occasional recipe. I am also a contributor for the popular blogs SNAP! Creativity at Your Fingertips and Lil' Luna. Not only do I have a passion for all things crafty, I love finding new ways to create on a budget. I hope you will head over to my blog and say hello, and while you're there I hope I can inspire you to create!

Polymer Clay Feather Necklace:

Blissdom So Far

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Well it's awesome! I have to be honest, at first I kind of felt like a kid being dropped off at camp. Except I drove myself here :). I didn't know anyone and I had to push myself a bit. (You know walk up to strangers, introduce yourself, and tell them how you are living your creative dream through your craft blog-- no big deal right??)

Being a stay at home mom, you get used to talking to the same people day in and day out. Then to make matters even more crazy, my sweet roommate was unable to come due to the flu. So I literally had 'no one'!! That's when I decided to put on my 'best big Texas smile' and make some new friends.

Craft It: Easter Decor for the Front Door

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Inspired by my mantle, I decided to take my Easter decor out to the front door. I wanted to repeat the same theme that I used inside: burlap, white, light blue, and some chevron.

The Scoop Link Party #58

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Welcome Back to The Scoop! 

The weekly link party, that features the scoop on the best posts from around the web. 

Stop by every Tuesday, link up and browse through the posts. 

You'll always find great inspiration for projects and discover some new blog friends too. 

As always, add your link right here to my blog and  it automatically shows up on 5 amazing blogs! More exposure, less time.

We are...

Linsey Farmhouse Porch

Kelli and Kristi LollyJane

Anita Cedar Hill Ranch

Samantha Crafty Texas Girls

Each week we highlight one of our favorite bloggers as a special Guest Host.

Our Guest Host this week is Marty from A Stroll Through Life.

A Wee Bit Irish: Green Pancakes & Rainbow Socks

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A little Leprechaun came to our house early this morning. He woke up when it was dark and after a quick trip to the "Leprechaun Walmart", he visited our home. Truth be told, the little Leprechaun was hesitant to celebrate such a silly holiday. My goodness! St. Patrick's Day gifts?!

But something softened that hard little green heart. And he ended up leaving a trail of green, glittery shamrocks from the girls rooms all the way downstairs. The girls followed them to a crudely drawn rainbow, where underneath was a treasure. A green sack for each girl, filled with rainbow tic-tacs, rainbow socks, stickers, markers, and a rainbow dress.

Crafty How To: "New Easy" Grass Easter Eggs

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The past few years, we made our own "Grassy Eggs". We emptied out a dozen eggs (baked a bunch of cookies with the eggs!) and then filled the shells with soil, grass seed, and added some water. In a few weeks, the eggs would sprout up bright green grass.

Crafty How To: Easter Mantle with Chevron Wreath

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Before blogging, I never changed out my mantle. Well maybe except for Christmas. Other than that I kept it the same because it was easier. I was afraid if I moved things around for a holiday like Easter then I wouldn't remember where everything was 'supposed to go' when the holiday was over. And then I would have try to decorate again and maybe it wouldn't look good.

But you know what, there really is no place that everything is 'supposed to go'. And it's just a mantle! So rearrange, switch things up, and try something new. There is so much beautiful holiday decor inspiration to be found on Pinterest. Take a chance, you might be surprised at what you can do with the items in your own home.

Crafty How-To: Twine Easter Eggs

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Twine Easter Eggs
After making the "Crafty Eggs" last week, I got in the mood to do the rest of my Easter decorating. I wanted to work with the paper mache eggs again but this time, keep their natural brown color. In order to keep them from looking like 'baked potatoes' :) I decided to add some texture with a bit of twine. The result is a modern-shabby chic Easter egg! 

"The Scoop" Link Party #57

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Welcome Back to The Scoop! 

The weekly link party, that features the scoop on the best posts from around the web. 

Stop by every Tuesday, link up and browse through the posts. 

You'll always find great inspiration for projects and discover some new blog friends too. 

As always, add your link right here to my blog and
 it automatically shows up on 5 amazing blogs!
More exposure, less time.

Anita Cedar Hill Ranch

Samantha Crafty Texas Girls

Linsey Farmhouse Porch

Kelli and Kristi LollyJane

Each week we highlight one of our favorite bloggers as a special Guest Host.

Our Guest Host this week is Mindy Cone from "Creative Juice"

Craft It: Crafty Easter Eggs

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Although I do love St.Patrick's Day, I am thinking I might just skip the decor part of that holiday and move right on in to Easter. With Easter being so early this year, it just makes more sense to me!

My Design is in a Catalog! {Plus a Sample Sale}

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If you have been following along, then you know that last season was my first for apparel. Since my first daughter was born I have always made hair accessories. Last year I began selling them on Etsy and wholesale through a showroom at the Dallas Market. And then in August of 2012, I debuted my girls apparel line under the same name, "Samantha Conner Designs".

Photos Courtesy of Kristie Mills Photography

The world of girls apparel is super competitive and then throw in the fact that I don't have much experience, or a company or actual employees (it's just me!)-- well it has been challenging to say the least. But despite all that, one of my outfits was picked up by the well-known children's catalog "CWDKIDS". You can imagine my excitement when the Spring 2013 catalog arrived- with my outfit in it!!

New Party Name: "Cowgirl Up" is now "The Scoop"

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Big, big announcement today!! 

Amanda has retired from blogging (insert sad face here.)  But we have completely revamped this rockin' party (insert happy face here).  We decided to roll out a free new look for Cowgirl Up, and in the end decided to change the name of the party. 

I want to introduce you to our new, revamped party 

T H E     S C O O P !

What do you think? It's more modern, clean and fresh.  Here's our new banner.  It's the same party, but with a new look and a new host.

As you can see we have added a new face, well technically 2 to our team.   

Anita Cedar Hill Ranch

Samantha Crafty Texas Girls

Linsey Farmhouse Porch

Kelli and Kristi LollyJane

Reveal of a "Secret Talent"

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Do you have a 'secret talent'? 

Image Credit Found Here

I don't have too many secrets :) Between this site, facebook, instagram, vine, twitter... well there are very few things don't end up getting shared somewhere. Can you relate? Do you feel like me--- if the moment is not documented, it will somehow slip away? I think that need to document and chronicle my life has something to do with one of my 'secret talents'.

So, since it is Sunday and I am in the mood to gab, would you like to know about my 'secret talent'? It is one of the reasons I blog, write, photograph everything. And it is this 'secret talent' that actually earned me a high school letter jacket.

Decor Crush: 9 Nautical Ideas + A Winner

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Sometimes inspiration sneaks up on you. You might just be minding your own business, browsing through Instagram when you see something that catches your eye. Then you pop on over to Pinterest and something else, something similar to the first look, makes you pause. Then you read the blog of a close friend, and you spot it again. That look, that style...