Scout by Bungalow Giveaway

A few weeks ago the nice people at Scout by Bungalow contacted me to ask if I'd like to host a giveaway on this here blog. Truth be told, I hadn't heard about Scout until that nice lady reached out to me, but once I looked them up and viewed their site, I was instantly smitten. Functional and cute design rolled into one? Yes, please!

They let me choose an item to try out and I chose the Original Deano because of it's robust size, knowing that it could hold just about anything I could throw its way.  Added bonus was that it's made of a water resistant polywoven fabric that I just rinse out when I get home from the beach.  We had a salsa mishap in it the other day and a quick hose down and my Deano was as good as new.  In its short time in my possession, my Deano has already seen a couple of trips to the beach, park and a bonfire.  It gets around ;)

And the good news is that the generous folks at Scoout are letting you choose your own Deano too!  Just pick a color/design and you'll be on your way to carrying your goods in casual, functional style.  Entering is easy, just see below and click on the little buttons to getcha started.  I just started using Rafflecopter and it seems a wee bit intimidating at first, but it is super easy!  Way better than leaving 5 comments for each back flip you do :)  Open to US residents only please.  Good luck!    

a Rafflecopter giveaway

B3 Countdown - 32 Weeks

I turned 32 weeks yesterday and now, the countdown is on.  I can't believe how fast it's going.  Someone said to me yesterday in response to how much farther I have to go, "Oh wow!  That's no time at all!"  I quickly replied back, "yes, it is!  I still have a ways to go."  Denial much??

As we near the home stretch, my latest pregnancy symptom has hit me: snoring.  I am not a snorer, never have been before anyhow.  But the last few days apparently I've been snoring so loud that I'm shaking the bead, according to Art.  He's slept out on the couch this whole week.  Other than that, my sleep has been crap, having odd wake and sleep times.  Last night for instance I feel asleep at 9 pm, then was up from 10:30-midnight, then up again at 5:45 am.  My body can't make heads or tails of what's going on and not getting a solid 6-7 hour stretch of sleep in a row has been hard, but I'm surviving.  Considering that others ahve it much worse all throughout pregnancy, I'll take what I have and tyr not to complain too much about it ;)

With 8 weeks to go I'm starting to try and get things in order because time really does fly, especially when the kids only have a short summer break (they go back August 8th), and 8 weeks could turn out to be 6 weeks.  I thought I'd post a weekly countdown for the remainder of my pregnancy, accompanied by my to-do list as a way to sort of freak me out and hold myself accountable.  Double indemnity is what they call that right?  So this next week, here's what I'd like to get accomplished as the B3 Countdown begins:

• Start construction on babies room (I really won't be doing this, the construction crews will, but you know, it takes a village)
• Meet with cabinet guy/finalize cabinet design
• Order baby quilt from Etsy, lamp, rocker and prints (see my choices here).  My sister told me the other day to stay away from the baby monkey print because it looked like a deranged monkey escaped from the lab, and she's kinda right.  Leave it to sisters to tell you the truth.
• Call doula to talk about placenta encapsulation (I'm going for it)
• Review baby registry list after my shower on Sunday and assess the holes and what needs to be purchased still
• Clean out kids rooms while they're away at camp

The list seems ambitious, but it's the only week I have both kids at a summer camp for 6 hours and I have to try to make the most of it.  Wish me luck that I get through at least half the list.

You may have noticed the cute countdown tee I'm wearing in this picture.  My friend Miranda sent it to me a few weeks after I announced my pregnancy and it is so comfortable and has helped my forgetful brain remember which week I'm in ;)  Today she's giving one away to one of you!  Save it for yourself or give it to a pregnant girlfriend.  Here's what Miranda says about the Project Countdown tee she created:

I created this maternity calendar when I was pregnant with my second little boy and took photos documenting the growing baby bump. I called the series Project Baby , and thus the shirt was born.

This grey and white striped American Apparel tunic is soft, comfy, and stretchy! Order your pre-pregnancy size (or one up if you're worried) and it will grow with you. See size chart here and Miranda's shop here.  The black numbers are hand screen-printed so there may be slight variations in ink and alignment.  The shirt also comes complete with a red fabric pen for crossing off those weeks as they fly by.

Miranda is giving away one Project Baby tee in any size to one reader.  To enter please leave a comment telling us your craziest/worst/weirdest pregnancy symptom you ever had.  Additional entries may be achieved by liking Miranda's Facebook page, and by liking the Four Flights of Fancy facebook page. 

Mod Podge Gift Bundle & Book Giveaway

*If you're new to Mod Podge, and I see that some of you are, then check out my latest project using Mod Podge to get some ideas and creative inspiration - Personalized Summer Notebooks!

Are you ready for a little Mod Podge awesomeness?  Oh Yeah!!

Ready to Mod Podge till your heart's content?  Well here's some goodies to get you started and going well into Christmas time!  The folks at Plaid Crafts were kind enough to send me a box full of the newest Mod Podge goodies, and because I can't possibly use these all myself, I'm sharing many of them with you.  Here's a shot of all the goods to be had by one lucky winner...

And in addition to the supplies, I'm also giving away a copy of Mod Podge Queen Amy Anderson's new book Mod Podge Rocks, penned after her awesome blog. 

There's over 40 projects inside, categorized by holidays, decor ideas, just for fun, etc.

I love Mod Podge and am so excited and honored to be giving away this much awesomeness!  If you need some 4th of July inspiration on how to use Mod Podge, don't forget about my Patriotic Mason Jar luminaries.

To enter to win this gift bundle, leave your name and what you love most about Mod Podge in the comments section.  If you'd like additional entries, follow my Facebook page, and follow my blog via RSS or GFC.  3 chances to win.  Winners will be announced next week and giveaway closes on Friday 6/29 at 11:50 PST.

Premier Designs Jewelry Giveaway

There's nothing better than simple, classic, well made jewelry, especially for an accessory dunce like me.  While I can easily pull together an outfit in 10 seconds flat, layering on the accessories is always more challenging for me.  Maybe that's why I started making some of my own accessories, to get better practice?  At any rate, I have a lovely giveaway for you today, hosted by one of my sweet sponsors Denise of Premier Designs Jewelry.

Denise is giving away all 3 of these pretty pieces to one reader.  I had fun styling these pieces, mainly because they were so easy to pair with just about anything.  You can see my outfit post here, where I wore the bangles and the necklace.  From feeling each piece with my own hands, and wearing them over the last week, I can tell you that each piece is very well made and will last you a long time. 

The giveaway includes this sweet pin that also has a magnetic clasp so you can attach it to a necklace.  

The bangle set has a slightly hammered finish with pretty gems inset.

And the 40" coin necklace can be worn as a long single strand, or doubled up for a layered look.

To enter to win all 3 pieces, please head on over to Denise's Facebook page and like it.  Additional entries may be earned by subscribing to Four Flights of Fancy's blog via GFC or RSS feeds, and for liking the Four Flights of Fancy Facebook page.   Giveaway closes on Sunday June 17th at 11:59 pst.  Good luck!

Lisa Leonard Designs Giveaway!

Raise your hand if you were terribly sad to see the weekend go away. Hand raised high right here. This was the first weekend where we were not working in one form or another; either working on that blasted garage or working on throwing a party. We've waved our white flag and have decided to have someone come and paint the garage for us so Art was able to take the weekend off and it was much needed and deserved. For the first time in a while we spent time together just moseying around, not having to rush from place to place.  It was glorious, which is why I was so sad to see the weekend go away.  BUT!  There's always a bright spot right?  I'm excited to be hosting a Lisa Leonard giveaway today for a $50 shop credit to her beautiful store.  

I personally can't get enough of my teenie tiny initials necklace and have been wearing it pretty much everyday.  On the days I'm not wearing the initial necklace I'm wearing the tiny twig necklace below.  I admire Lisa and her collection so much.  Great business woman, beautiful and simple designs and fantastic quality.  You really can't go wrong with anything in her shop.  Here are a few of my favorites. 

left to right top to bottom: tiny twig necklace, we love dad key chain, through my lens necklace, thin sterling cuff, leaf earrings, high in the sky necklace

To enter this giveaway, please visit the Lisa Leonard Designs site and leave a comment letting us know which item you'd order with your $50 shop credit.  For additional entries sign up for her newsletter and Like the Four Flights of Fancy Facebook page.  That's a total of 3 entries.  Giveaway will close on Saturday June 2nd at 11:59 pm PST.  Good luck!

Also, I'll announce the Rags to Stitches giveaway winner tomorrow!

Gussy Sews Giveaway

Maggie of Gussy Sews is an indie biz entrepreneuer that I truly admire.  You all know her story, of being laid off from a job, moving to a new city and starting her own online bag business.  Well just a couple of short years later she is one of the most well known and influential small handmade business owners around.  Today she's been generous enough to offer you guys a $30 shop credit to her store!  What could you do with a $30 Gussy Sews credit?  Well, a lot actually!

 You could get your Kindle a pretty cover, because it's getting scratched to pieces being left naked!

 You could put that credit towards these cute and functional Nesting Trio of zipper pouches.

 You could get yourself 1 1/2 of these sweet zip pouches.

 How about a wristlet to carry a bunch of odds and ends?  

You know you have odds and ends in that purse!

I don't have an iPad, but if I did it would be dressed in this cute case.

Maggie is currently in Tanzania with Compassion International and blogging while there.  Her first days story was wonderful to read and you can follow along with the rest of her journey on her blog.  Maggie also writes a newsletter and hosts an Inspiration Workshop to inspire you, whether you're a business owner or now.  She's truly an inspiration and I couldn't be prouder to host a giveaway from her shop.  

To enter, please leave a comment telling us what you'd order from her shop!  Another entry for following the Gussy Sews Blog, and a third entry for liking Four Flights of Fancy's Facebook page.  Total of 3 entries can be earned.  Leave a separate comment for each entry please!  The giveaway closes Friday May 11th at 11:59 PST.  Winner will be announced Sunday May 13th. 

A Giveway - Neon Rhinestone Bangles

Because I'm not a total jerk, I didn't want to hijack my daughter's birthday post to tell you this news, so apologies for the multiple posts in a row.  But I did want to share with you that I'm giving away a set of my neon rhinestone bangles!  Aren't they pretty?  Perfect way to add some neon into your life for spring!  All you've got to do is like For the Love Of's Facebook page (sorry for the 'catch', did you think I'd do this out of the kindness of my heart?) XO

Details here.  Go straight over and like the darn page here.  Thanks guys!

Visit Me Here & Winners Announced

Happy Monday!  Who has big plans for the week?  We don't and that makes me very happy.  I'm guest posting over on my friend Miranda's photography blog today, giving some tips on pulling together outfits for a family photo shoot.  Tis the season and I know a lot of us are getting ready to shoot our holiday cards, so if you get a chance head on over and see what I've learned about dressing our family along the way.  If you do stop by, please say hi so we know you visited, and if you're local and in need of a great photographer, Miranda's your girl.  She's currently booking sessions and filling up fast.

Anyhow, thanks so much to all those that entered the giveaways last week, and for those that are new subscribers here.  I am truly grateful for every single one of my readers.  And of course thank you to all the sponsors that generously donated to the giveaways!  I have a cute outfit post lined up for tomorrow and a fun DIY involving leather and rhinestones, for later in the week.  But for now, here are all the winners for the giveaways.  Please contact me by the end of the week so I can send you your winnings (or discount code if you won a shop credit).  And remember, you still have until tonight to enter the Cents of Style giveaway.

p.s. thank you also for the awesome support on this post I wrote on Saturday. There's a lot of thank yous in this post :)

The winner of gift bundle 3, which included a Rags to Stitches shop credit, Just Lovely Things shop credit and prints from Daylight Designs is:

The winner of gift bundle 2, which included a leather pouch from me, a Knitty Bitties camera strap cover and a Style Bandit shop credit is:

The winner of gift bundle 1, which included treats from Baby Boy Bakery, the Aspen Bay Candle & The Pleated Poppy shop credit is:

Congratulations to everyone!

Cord & Chain Friendship Bracelets DIY Tutorial Plus a Giveaway

While it may have took a bit of nudging for me to jump on the rhinestone bangle train, when friendship bracelets started making a comeback a few months ago, I was fully on board.  Friendship bracelets are one 80's and 90's trend that I can fully support and embrace, eliciting so many fond memories of weaving bracelet after bracelet, trading them back and forth, building a collection so large it went up half my arm.  Oh all the colors and patterns I had!

While the ones I wore as a kid were the kind you knotted onto your arm for dear life, only to be taken off by wielding a pair of scissors, these little bracelets here easily come on and off, and with the pretty gunmetal chain detail, amp up the sophistication just a bit for a more grown up feel.  They're inspired by a couple of bracelets I picked up at Forever 21.  Here's what you'll need:

I found the braiding cord at a local and thrifty fabric store for $2, but I also saw it at Michael's for just a bit more.  The linked chain is in gunmetal, but can be found in gold & silver as well at Michael's for $3.99, less your 40% off coupon :)  The chain comes in a 24" strip, and using a pair of dikes I cut off a 6" section.  You will also need a pair of scissors and a match.

You begin by cutting 4 sections of cording, 2 longer and 2 shorter pieces.  I cut my cord 18" & 24" long just to give me plenty of wiggle room to work with.  In the picture below you will see a tiny little ring called a jump ring added to the chain.  I added one because I have plenty on hand, and it just made it a bit more of a cleaner look, but this is not a necessary step.  You could just tie the knot directly onto the chain if you don't want to have to buy another supply.  At any rate, make a nice secure knot at the top of the chain, leaving at least 1.5"-2" of cording at the end. 

Your shorter piece of cording is just going to run straight down the edge of the entire length of chain, and the longer piece is what you'll use to make the loops.  The shorter piece lays on top of the first chain link, while you thread the longer piece under the first chain link, and then over the next chain link, making sure to cross over the shorter piece of cord.

 Here's a closer example.  While the shorter piece lies straight, right next to the chain, the longer piece loops under both the chain link and the shorter piece of cord.

 And then it loops over the shorter piece of cord and then back through the chain link.

Pulling the cording taught as you make your way down.

Repeating all the way down the other side as well

 Once complete, pull nice and taught and work out any twists that may have occured

At the starting point, make a loop and tie off with a double knot, allowing enough room for another double knot at the opposite end to loop through.  In essence, we're making a toggle closure here.

 At the bottom end, make a nice and secure double knot

 Trim excess cording at both ends with a sharp pair of scissors

And very carefully singe the ends of the cut off cording to secure the knot.  Do not fear, any black residue will brush off shortly.

Loop around your wrist and you're ready to go!  

I love the stacked look, but it sure looks pretty sitting all by itself too :)

Want me to send you a pair of your own?  Leave a comment telling me your favorite trend from childhood's past and you'll automatically be entered.  Extra entries if you like my Facebook page and if you Follow my blog either through a Reader or Google Friend Connect.  Make sure to leave a separate comment for each entry.  I'll send one reader a set of friendship bracelets in two glam colors.  Giveaway ends Friday June 17th at midnight PST. 

Good luck!  But remember, if you don't win, it's pretty darn easy, and affordable to make your own!
I'm linking up to Heather's Life Made Lovely Monday and
Today's Creative Blog Get Your Craft On Tuesday
and Sweet Floweret 20 Minute Tuesday 

Winner, Winner Chicken Dinner!!

The winner of the Knitty Bitties camera strap cover is:

Thanks to everyone who entered.  Over 75 of you entered, that's the best reaction I've ever had to a giveaway!  Andrea recently added some new colorways to her shop, so even if you didn't win, please go on over and check it out!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Oh, and don't forget, you can still head on over to Cherry Tree Lane to enter a giveaway that I'm hosting.

You've Got Questions, I've Got Answers Part 1

 Thanks for all the questions everyone!  Fun, interesting and thoughtful questions that I thank each of you for taking the time to ask.  You guys are the best.  If you have a blog I'm linking back to you, and if you all get a chance, stop by and say hi to each other.  There's been a lot of blog love lately in the blogosphere, maybe because it's love week, and it gives me the warm and fuzzies!  Let's lift each other up and support each other, even if its just with a simple "hi!".

So that I don't bore your socks off, how about I break it up into 2 posts over the course of the next couple of days?

Allessandra asked:

What would be the first thing you'd do if you had 24 hours to dedicate to yourself?

The very first thing, or just in general the first thing?  If I hadn't had a manicure/pedicure lately, I'd go get one of those because I love freshly painted nails.  Then I would go get coffee and read a book or magazine in my home all by myself.  I love being at home and I especially love having my home to myself sometimes.  Anyone else love to have the house to yourself and relish in the silence?

Jen asked:
What is your favorite go-to accessory?
How many white t-shirts do you own? Mine are out of control.

My favorite go-to accessory is a belt.  It can dress up a pair of jeans, and make a sloppy shirt look more refined.  It can accentuate your waists and hold your pants up!  I love belts, but I only have 3-4 that I wear on a consistent basis so don't feel like it's a pair of earrings and you have to own 20.  A casual black and brown one for pants and jeans, and a dressier thin or thick (whatever your preference) black or some sort of metallic colored belt will do just fine!

And you would think I would own 20 t-shirts since I work for a t-shirt company, but I don't.  I own 3 short sleeve and 2 long sleeved, and I think 4 white tank tops.  I am not counting the old ones though that I now wear around the house and as pj's because they are stained or dingy.  I have about 5 of those maybe?

Laura asked:

#1 I'd love to know more about your job. 

I'm always inspired by women that have creative and unique jobs.

Wow, this was the most asked question.  Let's see, where do I start?  Basically, I work in the Sales department of a fairly large, but still very small, clothing company that is best known as a T-shirt brand.  I'm an Account Executive for the brand, which means I am assigned a group of accounts and my job is to manage every aspect of their business.  My accounts are Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdale's, Neiman Marcus, Barney's and Nordstrom.  Yes, we have some pretty good customers :).  

So it starts with the "Market" process, this is where the traveling comes in, and also the fun part (the market part is fun, not necessarily the traveling part).  I go to NY and Dallas on occasion to see Neiman Marcus at their headquarters, and sell the buyers our latest collection in our showroom in NY.  This happens each time we have a new collection, at least 6 times a year. Why NY?  Well, while there are many showrooms here in LA, NY is still very much the hub of it all and I can see all my buyers at the same time.  I get up and present the line and try to steer them towards certain styles that I think will sell well for them or that our Design team think are important.  

Once we've chosen their "buy", I come home and work on maintaining the account.   This is the unglamorous, not so fun part.  I work with production to make sure we ship product to our accounts on time so the shelves and racks stay stocked.  Sometimes we do, sometimes we don't.  When product is late, the buyers don't call up production and yell at them, they call up me and yell at me!  I also look at how well things are selling or not selling.  If something is selling well, I try to get them to reorder more of that style.  Last week I brought in 2 pretty large reorders so yay for me!  When things don't sell well, the buyers call me up and yell at me for selling them sucky product.  I also occasionally visit stores to see how our product is represented.  If it looks horrendous, I get to call up my buyer and yell at them!  :)  Bloomingdale's wants to move our space in a bunch of their local LA stores, so for the next 2 days I'll be visiting stores to check out the new homes and report back to corporate if they're acceptable or not.

And that's about it.  In between there's a lot of spreadsheets, phone conversations and emailing back and forth just like any other job.  The subject matter in mine just happens to be clothes, which is fun.  I love my job and I hate it sometimes too.  At the end of the day though I feel lucky to have found a niche that is interesting and relatively 'fun', but when tempers start to flare and people start getting pissy and all worked up, my favorite saying is "Simmer down everyone, it's just clothes.  We're not saving lives or anything."

#2 Are you a California native? If you could live anywhere else where would you choose?

Yes, I am a California native, born and bred here.  I loved it for most of my life, but in the last couple of years the love affair with California started to fade.  I started to feel congested by the small yards, and it bums me out that homes are so expensive and the general cost of living is so high.  The traffic sucks too.  I can really see myself back East somewhere on a smallish farm living rather simply where I can experience true seasons.  Maybe Connecticut or Vermont?  Sounds bizarre, but I really crave simplicity and a much more stress free life so badly.  But this is where God has placed me and my family for now so I will make the best of it.  We have friends and every single family member here in Southern California.  All of my siblings and both sets of parents, aunts and uncles are within 45 minutes of each other.  The kids love having their cousins all so close too (there's a total of 9 under 7). 

Oh my goodness I've been yammering a lot here.  I promise in Part 2 I won't be so verbose and will keep the answers short and sweet.  The job one took up a lot of space :)  Speaking of that job, I better get to it!

Thanks for reading, and Part deux tomorrow!  Oh, and the Knitty Bitties camera strap cover giveaway ends today at midnight.  Go enter now you crazy kids!  I will announce the winner tomorrow!

In Honor of Valentine's Day, a Giveaway From Knitty Bitties!

I've been planning this takeover for quite some time, a year at least.  I have been carefully plotting and thoughtfully training so that eventually, I could be, would be, known as the family photographer.  You see for years, years I tell you, Art has been the camera guy, the guru of all things technical, the master of digital in this family.  He did, after all get his degree in Film and spent many years learning the technical art of lighting, f-stop, ISO, blah, blah, blah.  I watched him fiddle with the dials on our digital cameras to adjust lighting and film speed and I let it intimidate me.  So I let him continue to be the photographer of the family.  Everyone referred to our digital camera as "Art's camera" and I got stuck with the tiny point and shoot.

But as I started to blog, I realized that I too could become the photographer of the family.  Actually I realized that if I wanted to get a post written and published before the next ice age, I would have to become a photographer.  Not necessarily ideal to wait for the hubs to get home every day to take blog photos, you know.  So I slowly started picking up that bad boy of a camera and began playing around with it.  I asked questions, read tutorials, studied what I liked about others photographs, until I started to feel comfortable and slowly but surely, that camera is now as much mine as it is his.

We recently upgraded lenses, making the camera a couple of pounds heavier and the strap quite a bit more uncomfortable.  I'd been on the lookout for a sweet camera strap cover to add some padding and style to the boring black strap that is standard with all digital cameras.  And what do you know, Andrea from Knitty Bitties hooked me up!  I can't tell you how excited I was to dress up that boring strap with the pretty little cover.  And you know what?  Soon after the camera got a makeover, the kids started referring to it as "Mommy's camera."  Aha, camera domination had taken place by the woman of the house.  Finally!

Andrea started her own Etsy shop over 2 years ago to share her passion for sewing.  She is a wife,  a mother, a runner, a reader, a baker, a blogger, and a crazy skilled seamstress.  Her work is as flawless as her taste in fabrics and design.  I love her use of color and the way she mixes patterns in an unexpected way. 

 {iPad soft cover}

 {coffee coat on left and kindle soft cover on right}

 {oh snap mini wallet}

 Today, in honor of Valentine's Day, Andrea is giving away one camera strap cover of your choice to one lucky reader!

To enter, please go visit Andrea's shop and leave a comment here telling us what your favorite item is.   Extra entries for "liking" Knitty Bitties Facebook fan page, and for following Andrea's blog, and by following my blog (the other Andrea).  And heck, if you tweet about it I guess that deserves an entry too!  Make sure to leave a comment here for every entry so they all get counted.  I will leave the giveaway open until Thursday 2/17/2011 11:59 PST and I will announce the winner on Friday 2/18/2011.  


Happy Valentine's Day Friends!  I hope that no matter what your plans are, your day is filled with love.