Salt Lake City Girls Night Out

Hello fellow blogger! I'm not sure how many of you reside in the good ole state of Utah but I wanted to let you know of a fun Blog Meet-Up taking place TONIGHT!

Mandie over at Vintage Revivals and Jessica over at My World made by Hand are hosting and I can't wait to meet up with these awesome bloggers!



Gathered & Sown Giveaway

***********GIVEAWAY CLOSED****************

Good morning folks! It's bright and early here in the SLC (ya I'm that cool) and I realized when I got up this morning that I promised y'all another giveaway and I didn't deliver.

To be honest I was in shock by how much my numbers jumped because sweet Jen over at Tatertots and Jello gave my new link party a shout out to all her Facebook/Twitter friend! So welcome to all my new FOLLOWERS!!

Now time for our giveaway! If you're not sure who Gathered and Sown is-just click on the link and it will take you to my Sponsor Spotlight.

Angie over at Gathered and Sown is one of my newest friends. She is such an adorable girl and so talented. She knew how much I loved her Vintage Yellow Bag

So she was sweet enough to make a mini version for me and for one of you! Here are a few pictures of the bag she sent me-she even included the sweetest note to go along with it. 

I've already used this bag almost everyday since I got it in the mall. I took it to a friends wedding on Friday night-the a BBQ on Saturday-and to my families belated Father's Day Celebration on Sunday!

So want to know how you can have one too?

Mandatory Entry:


1-Head on over to Gathered and Sown's Etsy Shop then come back and tell me which of her adorable bags you'd love to be seen sporting around town.

Extra Entries:
2-Check out and follow Angie's Blog

3-Like Angie on Facebook

4-Follow Newlyweds on a Budget

5-Like Newlyweds on a Budget on Facebook or Twitter

6-Share this giveaway on your Blog, Facebook, or Twitter (3 entries)

That means you can have up to 9 entries!

Be sure to leave a separate comment for EACH entry. The giveaway will end on Tuesday 07/06 at 8:00 pm MST.

GOOD LUCK!

Tutorial Tuesday #12

Thanks to those of you who linked up last week! To be completely honest I wasn't expecting ANYONE to link up-and yet I got 8 people!! Wahoo-let's try for even more this week.

These were my favorite four last week. Thanks to all who linked up-all your crafts were absolutely amazing. I can't wait to see what you guys have been up to this week.

Ellise over at Charles Whyte redid her ottoman-I love that such a small change made such a huge difference. And I'm glad to know that other people have to put their crafts off for real life as well!

La-Dee-Da Creations has been running a watermelon theme going on over at her house. This time she's come with a great sign for her front porch and she even used freezer paper-I haven't gotten up the nerve to do that yet but I'm feeling inspired after seeing her board. 

My friend Jessa (an awesome girl) over at Jessa Jill made this great and easy on the budget monogrammed frame. It's a great way to add some decoration without having to break the bank. 

And Daphne over at Life's A Project made this delicious (I'm salivating right now-just in case you were wondering) pasta salad. I have a weakness for pasta salad-and this is going on the to-do list for my summer recipes. 

Thanks again to all of you who linked up last week! If you were featured this week be sure to grab your button and display it with pride!

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Now it's time for the party! Remember there are no rules-because well rules make me all nervous and sweaty and really uncomfortable. So party away-and be sure to check out the other crafters that link up-you're all so creative!

I can't breathe but what do you care-there's a Winner today

I'm not sure how the rest of you are faring throughout the world but I haven't been able to breathe properly for the last few weeks. Here in Utah the pollen, grass, flowers, etc. have been growing like crazy because of all the rain we've had and it means torture for me.

Tissues, Bendryl, and a breath right strips have become my best friends. Don't you wish you saw how I looked each morning waking up with one of those sexy nose strips on? Baby oh Baby

Poor Mojo has done all he can to help me feel better but unfortunately until the heat wave hits us and the tress stop pollinating I'll continue to be miserable.

But of course you guys don't care about how I feel-you're here to find out who the awesome Shepherd of the Sea giveaway winner is.

We didn't have a lot of entries for this giveaway which is to bad because I thought the headband was absolutely adorable and I had a selfish moment where I wished I could keep it for myself.

But with the help of random.org the lucky winner was Elizabeth over at Making it Fun

Congratulations Elizabeth! I've emailed you at the email linked to your blogger profile-be sure to email me with 48 hours with your information.

For those of who didn't get the chance to enter this giveaway-never fear. Remember my Sponsor Spotlight post on Gathered and Sown? Well cute Angie has hooked us up with another giveaway that I'll be posting to go along with Tutorial Tuesday tomorrow!

Hope you have a great Monday and I can't wait to show you my favorites from last week's Tutorial Tuesday link party!

One Way My Way Updo

My dear sweet mother (who unfortunately doesn't read this blog and who I'm pretty sure she doesn't even know what a blog is...) gave me this magnet board for Christmas. While I think the saying is absolutely perfect- the color wasn't something I could for see hanging in my house.

So I decided to change it up a bit-after many tried (and failed) attempts at making it look better I finally decided to make it a magnet/picture board.

To start off you'll need a magnet board/sheet. I obviously re-did mine but if my memory serves me correctly they don't cost that much at your local craft store. Actually if I were you I would check out the local goodwill store first-then head to the craft store.

You'll also need Modge Podge, pictures, and ribbon.

My first idea was to make this into an adorable chalkboard calendar. 

No matter what I did the paint wouldn't stay on. I put this on the back burner for weeks and finally decided that it was just taking up space and I needed to do something with it.

I had all these pictures left over from the wedding so I decided they needed to be put to good use as well.

So I arranged my collection of pictures how I wanted them. Then I took my brush and did a nice THICK layer of Modge Podge. After which I placed my pictures holding each down for a few seconds so that I know they're on. I didn't want them going anywhere.

Next I took some Bed, Bath, and Beyond purple ribbon-that I have lots of from my wedding and put it to good use framing my pictures.

Then I took some cute orange and purple ribbon I got on sale and tied it to the hook on the back. It's now hanging from the office door closest to our kitchen. I think I'll eventually get around to actually hanging it on the wall but for now it's home is the door. And I love it-it's cute and practical. 

Mojo and I try our darndest to stay on budget and we've needed a place to put our recipts for the day before we balance the books at night. I think this is the perfect place to put them.

We still have really low entries for our {giveaway} that's going on now-it ends Sunday at 6:00 MST. 

Have a fantastic Friday everyone!

Not so white trash anymore!

Today we have graduated and taken things up a notch. We have moved from embarrassment to awe and wonder. We have stepped up from white-trash to sophisticated-and it's all because of two bathtub curtains.

Why Kari-how did you accomplish such a feat? You say-well let me show you...

When you first walk into my apartment (before) tonight-you were greeted with this....

Why yes-that is indeed my entire pantry-along with the microwave (which we got for free because our crappy  awesome apartment didn't come with one). Sitting in plain site for all the see. 

Every time I walked in I would cringe because to be completely honest it seemed so-white trash to me. I knew something needed to change but had no idea what to do.

I consulted with my super crafty sister and she gave me the idea of using fabric to cover it up-great! But then there was the problem of getting the fabric to stay-I could glue it but I knew at one point in the future we'd want to store these in the garage and having fabric glued to them might make it a little harder.

So Tuesday night as I was enjoying the weather outside with some of my new (and awesome) neighbors I found out that one of the girls that lives in my court went to school for interior design and that's she super crafty!

Awesome-she agreed to come look at my apartment and help give me some ideas to help the place out a bit and when I told her my pantry problem she suggested using a shower curtain to cover it. 

Genius!! Genius I tell you! Why didn't I think of that?

So that's exactly what we did. We headed to Bed, Bath and Beyond because we had a plethora of gift cards came home-put it all together and came up with this...

(note by the time I got around to taking pictures it was dark outside and the light just happens to be right next to the pantry so the pictures are dark-also note, I (once again) couldn't find my camera so all these pictures are from my phone)

Here's a closer picture of the hooks we used and the pattern:

We bought two cloth shower curtains and were planning on covering both the "pantry" and the dishes but it looked weird when both were covered so for now-just the pantry will stay covered.

Mojo and I both love it-and he's commented a number of times how much more open the apartment feels now-score!

I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out and it makes me happy to know that I will no longer be judge on the openess of my pantry.

Sorry for the lack of post yesterday-we were having to much fun getting to know our neighbors that by the time we came inside I was just to tired. But this weeks linky party is still going on and don't forget to enter the Shepard of the Sea Giveaway which goes till Sunday. There are still low entries which means a higher chance for you to win!

Tutorial Tuesday #11 and a link up!

Hey folks-whew, we made it through Monday! My job has been INSANLY busy the last couple of weeks and yesterday was no different. I'm really hoping things calm down soon because in 3 weeks we'll be having our newest doctor joining the practice full time and then it will be even more crazy!

This weeks tutorials were all found at The Girl Creative's Just Something I Whipped Up party.

Check out this adorable Fancy Nancy themed party. What little girl wouldn't want this for their birthday party-as a matter of fact what big girl wouldn't want this? Amanda over at Sparklers has some fantastic ideas for parties.

Ok how cute are these reusable sandwhich bags? It would be great for any Picnic/BBQ/Boating trip/Camping trip/anything else you can think of kind of trip that you might go on this summer. It's such an ingenious idea and thanks so much to Craft Buds for coming up with it!

These Ballard inspired Triptych Landscape paintings are gorgeous. And I love that Chris over at Pick-up some Creativity is like me in that she finds inspiration throughout the blog-o-sphere and makes it her own. Although, her painting skill is far above mine!

And if I had a home I think this last one would be perfect. I love that she used everyday jars to make such beautiful lighting to go around her house-and the fact that their solar powered makes them even better! Go check out Dawn at the  Creative Cain Cabin for her awesome tutorial.

Thanks for the awesome tutorials and big thanks to The Girl Creative for hosting such a great linky party. If you've been featured today be sure to grab a button and keep creating such amazing stuff!

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Alright folks-it's time to premier our weekly link-up Tutorial Tuesday! I had a little poll on my blog last week asking if you guys would be interested in a weekly link-up and you said yes, so here it is!

Here's the rules:

Oh wait-there aren't any! I want this to be a fun experience for all and rules just make things sticky. So link up crafts, recipes, anything your little heart desires. If you want to make me feel super loved and help spread the word go ahead and grab our button:

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Or a link back to us is great too!

I'm excited to see what you guys come up with and can't wait to feature you next week on Tutorial Tuesday!

Night Stand Re-do

I found this little beauty at the Grand Opening of a new DI (a.k.a. goodwill) about 10 minutes away from us. The minute I saw it I knew I had to have-and for only $18 I was pretty happy with the price.

The guy standing next to me did not see the same potential I did. While Mojo was getting a cart he was nice enough to point out all the flaws for me. I just smiled and nodded all the while thinking, "you have no idea what your talking about."

We got it back to my in-laws who graciously offered their back patio to me as a place to sand and paint to my hearts content. They are such amazing people and they know how much I love doing stuff like this-I so appreciate them being so willing to put up with my whims.

This was it's original form

Do you see the potential I did? Well of course you do!

I got to work sanding (and sneezing-thank you allergies) my way through Saturday morning. And a little while later I had this.

This was all done with my FIL's electric sander-thank you Jim! If I had had to do the whole thing by hand it would have taken FOREVER! Lucky I did the big stuff with the electric sander-and then after I took these pictures I went to town on all the crevices and funky places with a hand sander.

Next came the primer-I used 2 coats, letting it dry about 20-40 minutes between each coat.

Then it was time to paint. I decided to go with a grey body, black top, and black hardware. I had bought other hardware I wanted to use but they didn't match up with the existing holes as much as I thought they would-so I just spray painted the old hardware and they actually turned out really nice.

So here's your before (minus the drawers) and after:

I wanted to show you where it's at in my house. But to be honest-I'm embarrassed about what our bedroom looks like right now. And even though it is super cute-the faux wood closet doors and tile carpet in our apartment is not. So at the moment-I'm embarrassed-that may change but for now just enjoy it in all it's glory. Outside.

If you haven't yet be sure to enter the {giveaway} I'm hosting for having such awesome followers!

And check out all the awesome parties I'm linking this up to!

100+ Follower Giveaway

Hey all! Thanks to all of you I reached 105 GFF, 91 RSS followers, 207 Twittter followers, and 38 likes on Facebook. You are all AWESOME!

Because I have such awesome people reading this I decided I needed a pretty sweet and unique giveaway to celebrate YOU!

Let me introduce you to Michelle-she owns a little Etsy shop called Shepherd by the Sea that makes me wish I lived closer to the sea. In Utah the closet thing we have to the ocean is the Great Salt Lake which is 100 times smaller, 100 times saltier, and a hole lot stinkier! (is that even a word)

Anywho, Michelle is lucky enough to live by the ocean and that's where the inspiration comes for her shop. She makes the most unique items and when I saw them I knew they would be perfect for this giveaway. Because I want you guys to get to know how sweet Michelle is here's what she has to say about herself and her shop-

I love all things beachy & I'm super blessed to live near the ocean in California. There's nowhere I'd rather be than walking along the beach, enjoying the beauty...becoming renewed & having fun. When my three crazy boys aren't busy breaking bones or skateboarding you'll find us at our favorite beach, catchin some waves.

I love to create fun, unique items; I've done this for years...for myself & friends. With a bit (ok, a lot!) of prodding from my husband, I've finally taken the leap to etsy.

I won't sell anything I don't believe in 100%. Everything I offer is something I either wear myself or have in my home. 

I promise to give you my personal attention & add a special touch to make your experience enjoyable. I'm a perfectionist...if you're not happy, I'm miserable. So lets both be happy!

If there's something I offer that you really love & can't afford, please message me. I'd hate for cost to prevent you from having something you really adore.

Isn't she fantastic?! Okay-now lets get to the good stuff shall we?

Michelle has generously offered to give one of these adorable hand crocheted headband to ONE lucky winner!

Isn't it so cute?! So, want to find how to win this and look fabulous in it?

Mandatory Entry:

1-Go visit Michelle's Etsy Shop Shepherd of the Sea-then come back and tell me which of her lovely items you would like to have.

Extra Entries:

After you've done the mandatory entry you can also do these which will give you more chances to win!

1-Become a follower of Newlyweds on a Budget via GFC, RSS, or email and let me know (if your already a follower just leave me a comment letting me know

2-Follow Newlyweds on a Budget on Twitter

3-LIKE Newlyweds on a Budget on Facebook

4-Tweet, Blog, or Facebook about this giveaway (leave a separate comment for each)

The giveaway will end next Sunday June 26 at 6:00 pm MST and a  winner will be chosen by Random.org. Be sure to include your email to your comments if it's not connected to your profile so I have a way of getting a hold of you!

Good luck!

Summer Initials

I decided it was time to retire my Make Shift Crepe Paper Wreath that I've had on the door since we moved in. It was a great way to bring some color to our drab door but I decided I wanted to do something different.

We had used these initials at our wedding and I'm all for re-using things in my crafts. I got this adorable lilac purple and sun yellow paint at Michael's for .50 each. We all know how much I LOVE yellow! It's such a beautiful color and it makes me so happy just looking at it!

Start off with your letter-you can tell this has seen better days. Things kind of got thrown around after the wedding and in the moving process-this was one of those things. It definitely needed a face-lift. 

I forgot to take a "before" of the smaller M and K letters-but they were painted grey. 

I used some white paint I had to prim the R because it was so dark and then put 2 coats of the lilac purple. Because the grey was super light I didn't feel like I would need primer on the smaller M and K letters-and did 2 coats of the yellow paint as well.

After they were done drying (and about 3 days after I started this process) I glued the 3 letters together with my trusty glue gun. After the glue had hardened I used glued some white ribbon on the back of the R.

And-your done. Pretty easy right? I think it's a great pop of color on my very ugly unique door.

Unfortunately-I don't have any control over my drab door-but I can control what I put on it!

I'm pretty happy with it-that is until I come up with another great idea to change it! 

I hope you all have an amazing Saturday-I'm headed over to the in-laws to finish up my nightstand redo. I'm hoping I can get it finished today and show you the big reveal!

Check out all the awesome parties I'm linking up to!