Sunday, May 19, 2013

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Give Me The Goods Features #8

It's features time!!!




We had another fantastic turn out for our party last week!  We had a record number of party-goers, 207 links!  You guys rock!!

Okay, let's get on with the features...




1.  Thrifty Rebel - DIY Beach Mat Blinds
2. Vintage Finds - Mirror Turned Chalkboard





1. The Woodgrain Cottage - Linen Lined Rope Basket
2. Homeroad - First Aid Locker




1.  Cuckoo 4 Design - Midcentury Modern Dresser Makeover
2. Burlap and Lace - DIY TV Gallery Wall



1. Pneumatic Addict - Tufted Headboard
2. Inspire Me Heather - Painted Shingles


***

Remember to join "Give Me The Goods" on Monday!

All the features will be on our joint Pinterest board!  {see below}

If you were featured, be sure to grab our button!

I Brought The Goods Monday


Jenna from Rain on a Tin Roof














Saturday, May 18, 2013

Basement - Before & After

This post is going to knock your socks off!  The before photo is crazy.  Ready?


See?  Shocking!  Well, I'm sure there are many basements out there that look like this 

before photo and the uglier they are the more dramatic the 'after' is!

Technically our basement is a crawlspace.  Check this out:



See...that's me.  And I'm not very tall.  Really tall people will not fit in our basement.

  That's why it's a kids play room!  Kids love forts and tents and unusual spaces so my 

hubby thought it would be a great idea for a playroom.  I was really skeptical.  Especially

 since that 'crawlspace' was my painting and sanding studio.  



There was a lot of work to do before this space could become like this.  Our water 

heater, heating system, and ductwork all had to be moved to the other half of our 

crawlspace {yup, this is only HALF of our crawlspace}.  But the other half has many more 

pipes to navigate through so it's our Christmas and summer storage area and new home to 

our new heating/cooling system.  



Okay, enough about that.  Let's see some more photos!  



Here's the seating area.  I made these cute letters for my kids.  I'll show you this week 

how I made them. 



Reading area.  My daughter LOVES books.  She has many more books upstairs. 




I painted on a little chalkboard paint to look like a cute sign.




The back area is often used a stage!  And everyone loves the circus tent. 




The light fixtures are all kid-friendly.  They are cool to touch.




We stick our old Halloween costumes in this trunk for dress-up time!  And there's a little

 mirror to check your cute self out ;)




Tons of storage for blocks, musical instruments, cars, and trucks.




My kids and all their friends LOVE spending time in this playroom.  It's definitely not a

 grungy old basement anymore!  




It's so bright and welcoming!  Want to come over for a playdate?  




Again, another before and after:



Check out my upcoming posts about this playroom with more details...like how this 

playroom turns into a man cave?!?

Now that's scary!







Linking up to these parties:



Friday, May 17, 2013

How to Start Your Own Link Party



Have you ever wanted to start your own link party but didn't know where to start?  Or if you'd even have the time?  Want to find out how to do it?



The pros are obvious:



1.  You get lots of traffic to your blog
2.  You get to connect with a lot of great people and see blogs you didn't know were out there
3.  Freedom to make your own party choices

I would say there is only one con:


1. Time - generally it is more time consuming but once you're in the swing of things, it's not that bad!


Where to begin?  Consider these points.


Will you do it on your own or have co-hosts?


First, you have to decide if you want to start one on your own or invite others to join you.  There is more freedom, of course, with doing your own party but more time involved.  Perhaps you have a little known blog and would like more traffic.  If you invite others to join you on this venture then you get traffic from their blog as well and your party will grow much faster.  With a group comes less freedom of choice but more help with handling the tasks.  

Name & Theme of Your Party


You might consider having a theme for your party or it could just be a general link-up where anything goes.  The more general it is, the more people will participate so think about it carefully before you choose one.  Also, will the party be weekly or monthly?

Once you choose your theme, you'll have to make a party button and a featured button so party-goers can add them to their blogs.  The logo and the buttons can be made through Picmonkey.  Upload a blank piece of paper by scanning it through your printer at home and the possibilities are endless!!

Link Up Manager


Once you've established these necessary things, you'll need to sign yourself up with a host for the link party.  Inlinkz and Linky Tools are the most popular.  There is usually a small monthly charge for this.  Decide on who has access to this account and take turns splitting the cost.

Jobs


If you have co-hosts, decide who will do what tasks.  Will you take turns doing the weekly post?  Will you have a separate features post?  Who will be thanking all the guests for linking up?

Rules


Some rules to consider adding to your party:

- visit other links to spread the love {everyone loves comments!}

- decide on the number of posts a party-goer can add

- if you don't want people adding their Etsy shops or giveaways etc., then add it as a rule

It's good to have a few rules but you don't want too many to distract from people coming to your party.  

Link parties are definitely fun and add a lot of traffic to your blog.  Just remember you'll need to keep that commitment you made {whether you decided a weekly or monthly party was right for you} as everyone will be depending on you to host a great party.  The more consistent you are, the more party-goers you'll have.


This was a paid post through Sverve.  You can see the original post here.