Five on Friday: Spark of loves this week

It's FRIDAY!  YAY!  After a "bit" of snow here in the Willamette Valley, we are finally able to see the ground for once.  We got about two feet of snow here, and about three feet closer to the edge of the Cascade mountains.  And to top things off, we got about two-inches of ice on top of that.  Fun, fun!  But it's all melting off now and the green grass is slowly peaking its head out from the melted patches.

So with the snow being one thing that made my week amazing, here are the other five things that really gave me a smile this week.

I have participated in the Five on Friday through Carolina Charm for some time now, and I have loved being able to share the things that make my heart happy, along with many other blogger-types, just like me.  Today is a special Five on Friday and Christina from Carolina Charm has asked everyone participating in the Five on Friday today to share a family's story with all of YOU, that read my blog.  The first photo in my Five on Friday is the story of Teddy.

Team Teddy

You can read Teddy's story HERE.  My heart pours out for this dear family so much. Jeff and I were so blessed to have a baby without any issues, and my heart just breaks that there are others not so lucky. I can not imagine the pain and suffering this family is enduring presently.  I hope just the thought of others thinking of them helps even just a little. Please get behind the backing of this sweet family and help spread the word of how much they really do mean to everyone (even strangers on the other side U.S.) #TeamTeddy

1.  This Tree.

I was so in love with our Christmas tree this year that I had a hard time letting go.  Jeff came up with a solution on how I could hang onto the tree just a bit longer. His idea was to cut the top off of it and keep it on the table as a smaller tree.  Well, this week we had to say goodbye to out little table-top tree too. :(

2.  This Kit.

I really can't brag enough about touch screen gloves!  This kit has been so fun for me, and for everyone I got them for at Christmas.  I bought about four extra sets just so I could play around with them, and man I have had so much fun!  You can snag you a kit here from 6 Stitch Kit.  

3.  This Calendar.

I just love all of the wonderful calendar display printouts you can find (for free) on most sites anymore.  I have particularly taken a liking to the monthly printout calendars that The Neighborhood has to offer.  They are on a cities theme this year and I am so excited to see what city they will pick for March.  You can snag you one of these February calendars HERE!

4.  This Picture.

Because it now hangs in my living room and is in honor of my Nana.  Her name was Wanda, but everyone playfully called her Wander.  It's a nice reminder of her that I can see everyday.  

5.  Valentine's Day!

I woke up to a VERY nice surprise on my desk this morning.  Valentine's Day is more than just a day in our house to express love, it's also our anniversary day.  I LOVE surprises and this was definitely a great surprise for me.  

Also sticking with the theme of "Love" you can snag you a burlap heart frame now in my shop: The Peppermint Bee, on Etsy.  These frames are 8x6, hand-painted, and ready to hang.  You can grab one HERE for $12.  Keep in mind, from today until Sunday, there is free shipping on all items in my shop.  Just a little way to show my love.

My Valentine's card from Brit+Co!  So awesome!  See other Valentine's ideas here!

What happened this time last year? 

Five on Friday: Spark of Loves this Week

It's another Friday here in the Willamette Valley, and that means another Five on Friday hosted by Carolina Charm!  This week as been rather foggy here in the Valley, but cleared out by Thursday, and the sun came out!  YAY!  Today it is sunny and even the birds are happy about that!  So here are my Five on Friday for this week.

1.  This Hook.

Because I wanted something to hold the dog leases and these birdies fit the job perfectly. Pick up one similar HERE!

2.  These Birds.

For landing in our yard and taking off ever so gracefully.

3.  This DIY.

Because it was part of the Brit Kit Co-Op and you it was a blast!  Read more HERE!

4.  This Soap.

Because I made it by hand and it's the best soap I have ever used.  No bias there, right?  Well, you can grab you a bar of this wonderful soap from my Etsy shop HERE!

5.  This License Plate.

Because it is now being represented on my car currently.  Looks wonderful.  Learn more about the Wine Country license plate HERE!

What happened this time last year?

What's new with Brit Kits (December Brit+Co Co-Op Party)

Brit+Co has changed my life, and if you are a regular reader of South North South, you have indeed seen many photos of the Brit Kits.  This past spring and fall I participated in the Brit Kit Co-Op and had small DIY parties.  At the DIY parties we were each given a Brit Kit to make and share with the Brit+Co team and give feedback on whether we loved the kit, which every kit we loved!  Recently I have received other Brit Kits throughout the last few months to work with and here is a recap of those kits.

The Rhinestone Wrap Bracelets were a BLAST!  The Brit Kit came with a gold chain, rhinestone chain, and gunmetal chain.  With that you were to thread the chains together with the rhinestones and finish it off with a clasp and jump ring.  The kit came with everything you would need to create this one-of-a-kind bracelet, even the needle-nose pliers!  You can get this kit for $24.99 at the Brit+Co site now!

Another kit is the State-Shaped Memo Board.  With this Brit Kit you receive Cork Boards, an X-acto Knife, Paint, Painter's Tape, and also a free download of the state templates here.  You get everything you need to create a unique and personal memo board to use at home, or at the office.  I ended up making Arkansas and Oregon, and using the three cork board to make a plus sign.  You can get this kit now at the Brit+Co site for under $25.

Then there was the Paint Splattered Travel Case DIY Party.

Unfortunately, we had a power-outage here in the Willamette Valley the night I was set to have my Brit-Kit Co-Op party, so plans took a different turn.  I had everyone take their kits home and then send me photos of their finished projects.

Source

Velcro Brand® also supplied the Velcro needed to make the travel cases.
So thank you Velcro!

And the gold nail polish that comes in the kit was a big hit too!  What else to do in a power-outage?  Paint your nails, of course!

You can get this kit of under $25 at Brit.co.

Another kit was the Air Plant String Art kit.  This kit came with a wooden board, hemp twine, nails, and three air plants.  The key was to nail the nails into a fun design and add the string to make it fun.  Once the string was attached to the nails, you simply place the air plants around the board between the string.  

Air plants are easy to keep alive, and string art is one of the fastest growing DIYs out there right now.  I have my finished piece hanging in my shower.  It's so fun to look at everyday.

October's kit was a good one too!  The Clay Candle Holders kit was such a fun DIY to do right before Halloween.  I love working with polymer clay, so this kit was perfect!  The kit comes with three different colors of polymer clay, three glass tea light holders, sucker sticks, and the tea light candles to place in the finished product.  Such a fun kit to do, and it brightest up any room.  

You can get this kit right now on the Brit+Co site for $20.

November brought about Oreo Turkey Pops!  How cute are these?

Source

The kit came with everything you need, and then some, to make these fun Turkeys.  This kit was such a blast for my son to help make too!  The kit came with Wilton Candy Melts in chocolate, Oreo's, Caramels, Candy Eyeballs, Fruit Slices, Piping Bag, Sucker Sticks, Small Orange Sprinkles, Red Heart-Shaped Sprinkles, and a Decorating tip.

By smashing the fruit slices together to create the tail and stacking the rest on top of each other, these Turkey Pops were so easy to make.  And eating them was so fun too!  It's such a great kit for kids!  You can get this kit, that makes six pops, on the Brit + Co site for under $25.

And finally December's kit.  This Brit Kit came in the form of a Brit Kit Co-Op party and boy was it a blast!   Everything came for each party-goer to make their very own Giant Decorative Ornament.

Food was set for a night of fun and DIY!  Even the Grinch grapes were ready!

Everyone had fun coming up with different designs to add to their Giant Ornament.

Some serious concentration here.

Such a wonderful and fun company that provides so many wonderful DIY kits for any one's interest.  You can subscribe to the Brit Kits in the form of a month, three months, or longer.  Check them out here!

What happened this time last year?