May Giveaway Winner & BOGO at My Shop!

The winner of the Cottage Charm May Giveaway is:

Congrats Mary Ellen!
I need your email address to contact you about the prizes.  Please leave it in a comment on this post or email me at marlashep(at)aol(dot)com within a week.

Thanks to everyone who entered!
AND...
Today everyone can be a winner, because I'm offering Buy One Get One Free at my etsy shop for a week! (Sale ends Friday, June 4)  Buy one photo, and then in the buyer's comments, let me know which photo you want to receive for free.  That easy!

Marla, Plain & Small etsy shop

A Reminder for Today

****The May Giveaway is ending soon!  A winner will be announced tomorrow!  Click HERE to enter!****

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"Neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Neither Height Nor Depth digital photo

Inspiring Curtains and Delish Plates

****Looking for the May Giveaway?  Click HERE!****

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I just back from the beach and am inspired by these curtains from West Elm.  I'm thinking they could easily be made with some pre-bought sheers and some beachy trim.  I love how airy they feel.

I'm also feeling fun in the sun with these appetizer plates from CB2.

And this set from CB2 is almost too cute to be true!

Beach Blues & Giveaway Details

I was at the beach all last week, and now I'm missing the sun and water.  I'm definitely a beach babe at heart.  I was in serious need of a break and came back a little more refreshed and even inspired.  I'll be trying a few new projects, and even thought of a tutorial that I'll share soon!

The May Giveaway ends this week!

You need to get in all your entries by this weekend.  I've read through the comments and appreciate everyone who has entered.  I'll be going through the comments because a winner is drawn.  I want each of you to know how this will work.  I will be deleting comments that don't meet the rules.  That may mean that you said you were going to blog about the post, but you didn't leave a link to the blog entry.  You can correct that by just leaving another comment with the link.  I'll also be deleting any entries that were snuck in to get more chances that didn't meet the rules.  Don't worry-- I won't disqualify you; I'll delete just the comments that don't meet the rules.  Everyone deserves a fair chance!

Click here to go to the Giveaway entry post!

A winner will be chosen May 29 through a random generator.

Review: Starch Alternative

****Looking for the May Giveaway?  Click HERE!****

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I've seen this starch at Hancock Fabrics for awhile and kept hearing ladies talk about how great it was.  I finally took the plunge and got it.

(P.S. I love my iron, but we'll save that for another day!)

My only reservation was the lavender scent, especially since I knew my husband would be using it.  I had my husband take a whiff and asked him what it smelled like.  He said, "clean!"  No hint of lavender!  So the smell was a success!

Okay it smells good, but does it work?  The answer to that is also...yes!  This does a great job of freshening fabrics and helping to get those tough shirts and pants easily ironed.  My hubby loves it!  The best part is that it doesn't stiffen the fabric like the traditional starch that I remember my parents using.

I've also found that it's great for sewing projects.  I spray the fabric and then iron it and it helps to get a better cut.  It really help with folding a hem-- just starch, fold, iron, starch again, fold again, iron again-- and ta da!

We're going through the bottle pretty fast because of how much we use it.  We'll be buying again!

Sick Day & Mod Podge Dimensional Magic

****Looking for the May Giveaway?  Click HERE!****

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My honey and I are each having a sick day at home.  We went to the doctor this morning and got meds to try to get us back to normal.  The high pollen count this year is really taking its toll on us.

While I'll be mostly napping today, I might find a craft project to tackle.  I made a skirt last night and will blog about that later.

I won some Mod Podge Dimensional Magic from Mod Podge Rocks.  Have any of you used it yet?  What projects does it work great on?  Suggestions, please!

Okay, nap time!

Stamps for Pets

****Looking for the May Giveaway?  Click HERE!****

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Buy stamps to help feed shelter pets.  

I bought mine!

Get them at your local post office or at USPS Stamps to the Rescue.

Shirt + Material = Dress

****Looking for the May Giveaway?  Click HERE!****

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tank

plus

material

equals

dress

(Sorry for the poor photo quality...my hubby and I are working on bettering the modeling sessions :) )

(I wore the dress the next day to my sister-in-law's college graduation.)

I got the tank for $4 at Wal-Mart and the material for $1/yard at Wal-Mart.  I used the extra material I cut from the tank to make the ruffles on the neck.  The ruffles added a little pizzazz and raised the neckline.

The instructions for the dress are from Little Red Roost.  I'm so glad I found the site, because this was a great idea!  I had to alter the instructions a bit to fit my body.  I didn't need as much fabric as I thought.  Personally, enough fabric to go around me twice was way too much.  I also kept trying to sew the sash on but then I couldn't get the dress on.  That's when I realized the sash probably wasn't supposed to be sewn on (I'm learning!), so I tied it on and knotted it in the back, which looked better than a bow.

I made this dress in an afternoon.  This is fun and simple to make-- just remember that a seam ripper is your friend and have a little patience along the way :).  Everyone thought I had bought the dress at a boutique, so it was a hit!

How-To: Clean Makeup Brushes

****Looking for the May Giveaway?  Click HERE!****
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How often do you clean your makeup brushes?
Confession time: I have never (eek!) cleaned my makeup brushes!  Now, let me clarify...I have cleaned my sponges, and I do that on a regular basis in the washing machine.  But I haven't cleaned my brushes since I got them several (yes, several) years ago.  Bad, I know!

Apparently not washing your brushes about once a month is terrible for your skin.  They can carry dirt and germies :( ick!

Let's get those brushes clean!  Here's to a healthy complexion!

*I saw this tip on Rachael Ray, so I can't take any of the credit!

Materials:
Baby shampoo
Baby conditioner
I went to Target and bought these just for this project.  I spent maybe $1 on each bottle.  I bought the Target brand because it was cheaper, but I'm sure any brand would work.

Use baby soap to lather up your brushes, one at a time.  The baby soap is gentle and won't ruin the brush, but strong enough to cleanse.  Get in there and rub rub rub out the mess!  Rinse and repeat later until no mess (like colored eye shawdow!) comes out of the brush.

You're supposed to also use baby conditioner to condition (duh!) the brushes after they're washed (do this right after you wash them).  I bought baby spray-on conditioner, because I thought I'd actually use it for my own hair this way.  I sprayed each of the brushes on one side, then flipped and sprayed the other side.  I used leave-in conditioner, so I didn't have to rinse.  If you use regular baby conditioner, be sure to rinse it out.

Lay your brushes to dry.  Be sure to have the brushes tilted so that the water runs out of the brush instead of down into the brush-- very important step!

I let the brushes dry overnight.  They were clean, smelled fresh, and were soft!  I definitely saw a difference in how it applied my makeup!

Now let's see if I can keep up the routine!

May Giveaway Begins (A Cottage Charm Giveaway)

Marla, Plain & Small is participating in The Twice Remembered Cottage May Giveaway.  You can check out all the Cottage Charm participants here.

So what's to WIN on this blog?!

1) Set of 4 fabric coasters

2) Digital print of your choice from my etsy

3) 50% off an additional digital print for you or a friend from my etsy

3) Handbag (it's really more of a clutch wallet)

4) 2 Large Buttons

5) Purple marble necklace charm (chain not included)

ALL made by ME :)

(click image to enlarge...digital photos not pictured because you pick what you want!)

How to Enter

1) You MUST follow this blog.  Just click the "Follow" button to the right

2) You MUST leave ONE comment on this post and include your email address

*If you forget either of these steps, you will be disqualified...sorry :(

Bonus Entries:

3) Tweet about this giveaway and include the link marlagrace.blogspot.com in the tweet.  Come back and leave a comment with the link to your tweet.

4) Facebook about this giveaway and include the link marlagrace.blogspot.com.  Come back and leave a comment with the link to your post.

5) Blog about this giveaway and include the link marlagrace.blogspot.com.  Come back and leave a comment with the link to your blog post.

*Please leave a separate comment for each bonus entry.  That's the only way you'll get extra entries!

*If you do not follow the steps exactly, I reserve the right to delete your comment.  Let's play fair and not just post "extra" comments to win!

Who Can Enter?

Anyone who lives in the continental United States and Canada.  I will be shipping the winning items to you at my cost!

How Will a Winner Be Picked?  And When?

I'll use a random generator to pick the winner.  The more entries you have, the better chance of winning!

The drawing will end May 29!

Good Luck!

Prizes pictured one by one:

AND digital pictures from here!