Swanky Sweepin' Volume 71

Sweepstakes of the week:

Daily:

Trip to Italy  Ends 3/26

Trip to New Orleans  and other instant prizes, ends 4/1


Single:

A year of JustFab shoes  Ends 3/11

$500 Apple gift card  50 winners, ends 2/28

A skinny mirror  yes... a mirror that makes you skinnier. I want. Ends 2/26

Make your own Coloring Book

Making your own coloring book is a great for kids and adults alike. You would think since I'm the "mom" of the group that I stumbled upon this because I was making a coloring book for my 3 year old...nope.

What triggered this was me shopping for the un-shoppable person in my life (you know who you are). I was at Urban Outfitters looking for something cheeky, quirky, and sexy and stumbled upon this Ryan Gosling coloring book. The idea was great, but the price tag of $14 was not! But I was now hooked on this idea of a grown-up sexy man coloring book, so I ventured into making my own! I mean seriously, who doesn't want a book full of this ?

Anyways, there are a few ways to make your own coloring books. The easiest way is to have someone else do it for you, for FREE. Here are the two websites I found that will take almost any picture and turn it into a "coloring book page".

PhotoJoJo

FotoSketcher

Crayola

 Coloring Page Creator

I tried a few of these out and my favorite one was Coloring Page Creator. Here is the book I made...all of awesome men, Oliver "THE Boston Terrier"....oh, and a hot dog. Enjoy!



Swanky Sweepin' Volume 70

Sweepstakes of the week:

Daily:

Nail stuff  100 winners, ends 3/1

And more nail stuff  100 winners, ends 3/1

Single:

Trip to Italy  Pinterest contest, ends 3/31

Trip to NYC  and $1,000 shopping spree and photoshoot with W magazine. Ends 3/8

$5,000 Neiman Marcus shopping spree  Ends 4/15

Stuff from Anthropologie  3 winners, Pinterest contest. Ends 2/28

$1,000 Etsy gift card  Pinterest contest, ends 2/25

$5,000 Horchow shopping spree  Ends 7/27

DIY: Water Bottle Labels

My daughter's birthday just passed I really wanted her party to be memorable. I wanted people to be able to take something home from her party or see something that stands out! I've seen  personalized water bottle labels at many parties and thought that one day I will do them. Well ,today is that day!

You can buy pre-made templates from sites like Online Labels, or  personalized labels &/or templates from sites like Etsy, but I'm going to do this the cheapest way possible!

DIY: Water Bottle Labels

What you will need:

*Strips of paper 1 3/4″ tall x 8 1/2″ wide. It can have a custom design from your computer, or you could even use decorative/scrap booking paper.

*Clear 2" Packing tape

*Bottled water, the smoother the bottle, the better.

Instructions:

1. Remove original labels from water bottles.

2. Lay your pre-measured and cut label out on a flat stable surface. Next pull out a piece of  tape just slightly longer than your paper. If done correctly, you should have just a little bit of tape above and below your paper to help adhere the label to the bottle; and a little bit on each end for extra security.

3.Press the tape as smooth as possible onto the paper, careful not to move the label or get air pockets in the tape if at all possible.

4.Pick up your label and line it up as straight as possible along the side of the bottle where the original label was and apply slowly.

I would like to mention that I have yet to test the "waterproof-ness" of these labels.  I recommend just keeping them chilled in the refrigerator as I haven't experienced any problem with basic condensation but I have not yet tried  throwing them in a cooler or bucket of ice. If you try it, let us know how it works!

Here is my finished product!

and don't forget,

Valentine's Day Looks

Valentine's Day means different things to all of us. For some it might inspire a hearty, "F U!", for others it's all romantical boner city. Whether you've got a hot date with a sexy significant other, or you're just going to eat an entire box of Choco Tacos alone, you might want to throw on something cute. We thought it might be fun to get a few of us ladies to put together their dream Valentine outfits to share. And because I love all of you, I'm going to include the notes I wrote when I started writing this blog... enjoy.

Hearts, hearts, hearts, F U, blah, blah, blah. Tom Hardy lady boner, and Alexander Skarsgard dong dance. 

DIY: Candy Wrapper Labels

These labels are fun for any occasion and would even be perfect for the quickly approaching Valentine's day! I happen to have made them for my daughter's Disney "Brave" ("If ye had the chance tah change yer feht, woodjhur?") themed party. Has anyone else seen this movie? I had to watch it 2-3 times to understand most of what they were saying...I get it, you're Scottish. 

Anyways, I found templates online that you could buy, or very specific free printable templates, but no instructions on how to make your own.

Here are some basic instructions so you can make them yourself :

1.Using Microsoft Word, make a rectangle approximately roughly 5.25 x 5.5.
This will be cover a standard 1.55oz candy bar.

2. Using Word Art , clip art, pictures, and additional text boxes, personalize your wrapper for the occasion.

3. Once printed, cut around the solid lines of your rectangle, this will be your wrapper.

4. Fold the wrapper over the candy bar. You can fold it over the original wrapper, or do like I did, (like a nut), wrap the already wrapped candy in foil for a sleeker look, and apply
your label over that. 

5. You can use scotch tape, double sided tape, or glue to adhere the label.

Pictured above is my candy wrapper label and a personalized water bottle label I made as well.

  

Cheap Gardening: What to Plant and When

Are you ready to get your hands dirty for the best tasting produce you've ever had? I sure am. I've been craving old-fashioned tomatoes, berries, cucumbers, peppers, and lots and lots of basil for a few months now.

I have written in the past about getting cheap planters and soil and how to find seeds for cheap or even free, now it's time to figure out when to plant your seeds and what is best for your area.

First, you'll want to figure out what zone you're in. Here's a nice map that allows you to search by your zip code. I am lucky enough to live in Southern California, where we have less "bad weather" even though we complain if it drizzles or drops below 60 degrees. Spoiled people problems.

Next, you can look at charts (or the back of your seed packet if you already have some) to figure out the best time to plant for your zone. Here's a nice basic chart, another that let's you search by zone, or you can get a lil fancy and sign up for this one and order seeds at the same time. If you want to grow anything unusual or heirloom I suggest you just obtain seeds on your own. If you're looking to be more modern, there's even this plant app for $2.

Swanky Sweepin' Volume 69

Sweepstake picks of the week:

Daily:

$2,500 Lord and Taylor shopping spree  Ends 4/25

A lifetime supply of toilet paper  Ends 2/28


Single:

$1,000 at both Rue La La and Madewell  Pinterest contest, ends 2/13

$2,500 Nordstrom shopping spree  Ends 2/22

$1,000 Gilt shopping spree  Ends 2/15

Trip to Fashion Week and a $1,000 Bloomingdale's gift card  Ends 2/14

Composting toilet to go with your lifetime supply of TP  GAG ME WITH A SPOON. Ends 3/26

Swanky Sweepin' Volume 68

Sweepstakes of the week:

Daily:

Teen Vogue  sweepstake is still going on

Trip to the Game of Thrones Premiere party in LA  and other prizes (must be a DISH customer for grand prize), ends 2/21

$500  20 winners, 200 winners of $50, ends 4/30

Weekly:

$$$ for watching Project Runway  Weekly winner of $1,000, grand prize is $10,000, ends 5/2

Single:

$500 SpaFinder gift card  Pinterest contest, ends 2/11

Lancome serums  5 winners, ends 2/6

$5,000 Bergdorf Goodman shopping spree  Ends 2/18 

$1,000 Barneys gift card  Ends 2/26

DDF Revolve 400X Micro-Polishing System  50 winners, ends 2/28 


photo: "Game of Thrones," HBO. Daenerys Targaryen is my current hair role model.