Kids doing chores ~ & CAKE DECORATING TUTORIAL ~

KIDS CHORES

If you have a little man like I do, then even 4 year old little boys can wash the dishes, he he. 

Ever since I started giving him money (in the form of writing in a check book, 2 days ago) he is all over working hard at anything, so he can make money. It's the CUTEST thing ever. My other two, well, lets just say they are MUCH less enthusiastic about the whole thing, lol. 

It helps that the dishes we use are stainless steel, therefor unbreakable. Otherwise I'd think twice about allowing him to do it. I just had to share these pics with al of you, he made my heart melt, he was sooooo cute, and he always sticks his little tongue out when he concentrates on something, it is the best.

So the next time you wonder when you can start your kids doing dishes, the answer is when you start paying them money, he he. Shoot, had I tried this a couple years ago, I wouldn't even have had to get a new dishwasher, jk.....

Love you little man, my Dino D!!!

Oh and today I'm over at my best friends blog:

I'm sharing a great tutorial on how to turn an invitation into a design for a cake. 

You might wanna go check it out, it's really cute.

Remember this cake, does it look familiar?

Come see how I did it, step by step!

PREGNANT BELLY CAKE TUTORIAL

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GARDENING ~ Outdoor spaces ~

Today I wanted to share with you a couple posts I did on my garden A LONG time ago. When we moved in this house there was NO garden, no flower bed, no flowers. Only bushes, shrubs, and some beautiful azaleas, which I removed, because I didn't know how pretty they are when they are in bloom, (sad face).
Oh well, you learn as you go along, and I used to love being out in my garden, but  SADLY the past two summers have left me with little to no motivation to get out there in the HOT sun, with 3 kids, one of which has been up to now extremely clingy, and try to garden. So I've been left with a mess out there.
Hopefully I can get some things done this weekend, and coming up week. I don't think I'm going to bother with buying TOO many flowers, especially wince summer is nearly over, and before I know it, fall rolls in,  and so do the mums. I also am going to forget about any veggie garden I had been dreaming of, better luck next year. 
Anyway, until I get some pics of my work in progress, I will share 2 posts I already did on my garden. If you are new, maybe you haven't seen them, and if you already have, pretend like you didn't and tell me what you think OK, hehe. 
MY GARDEN "BEFORE" PICTURESWORK IN PROGRESSTRYING TO DESIGN ON THE COMPUTEROF COURSE TO SEE THE REST, INCLUDING THE LOVELY AFTERclick the link below MAKING A BED FOR YOUR FLOWERS
Oh and ONE MORE thing. DO NOT EVER LET WEEDS GROW OUT OF CONTROL, or you will be spending the whole day trying to pull them, like I did in this post, click link below.MONSTER WEEDS GO WILD
NOW for some PRETTY outdoor spaces, check out STACY's weekend party@NOT JUST A HOUSEWIFE

Sure to find some great ideas there, and then come back to see what I've managed to do. Hopefully I can accomplish a few things, lets see!!

Promise this is the LAST thing I have to say!

Don't forget to LINK up to my parties:


To link up all your DIY projects, tutorials, and anything else FUN and exciting:
CLICK HERE

To link up all your PARTY planning ideas, recipes, decorations, and helpful tips:
CLICK HERE

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PART TWO with the TIP JUNKIE - WOO HOO

DUDE, can I just tell you that I have a big smile on my face again, thanks to my awesome friend LAURIE - THE TIP JUNKIE

If you missed PART ONE of the wonderful tips, read HERE.

I was browsing my emails just now, and since organizing my gmail account, I didn't even notice this email come in, until now. It was in my twitter folder, lol. So glad I took a peak in there, YAY!!

So I wrote her back, thanking her a million times over, and have come to the conclusion that I will now call her my BLOGGY FRIEND, dare I say BFF, ok, I love her so much, so WHY NOT. Seriously, you can't even imagine how sweet is is to know that she took time out of her busy day, to write me a part TWO email, and with no further begging on my part. This was all her, just because she's sweet like that. Honestly people, take note, if she can find time to reply to someone like me, then what's your excuse when you hardly have any followers, and your blog is still small. (I've actually emailed other blogs, tried to connect, or ask questions NEVER to hear from them EVER) It's kinda sad!!

I say we ALL try a little harder to help out other bloggers, write them back, answer their questions if you can, and at the very least try to make them feel special. I am one very happy, and LUCKY gal, who is incredibly thankful for the time Laurie has taken to help me out, in turn helping all of you out as well. I  LOVE that, and THANK YOU LAURIE, I could just (knuckle bumps) and hug you right now!!

Here is what she had to say:

Hey Bella,

That’s a great question.  {snicker}  I think it’s more about determination than anything else.  I have a clear vision of what I want Tip Junkie to become and therefore I’ve been educating myself, networking, collaborating, and building in anticipation for that end result.

After 3 1/2 years of blogging, I hired my first part-time editor and a little while after that I hired a marketing director to lighten the work load.  However, now I find myself to be busier than ever. 

To answer your questions:

1.       When I started Tip Junkie 4 years ago, yes I commented on like 200 blogs a week.  I left warm and relevant comments on posts and made a lot of friends. Now I don’t comment at all. 

Back then that was the only thing you could do.  HA!  It wasn’t like it is today with hundreds of linky parties, people didn’t feature other bloggers like they do now, and there weren’t aggregated sites like Tip Junkie.  When I started Kim {from Today’s Creative Blog} and I were the only ones featuring other bloggers.  Well, that I knew about anyway.  
Now there are blog conferences every month that you can attend, people posting about what they are learning, and a lot of collaborations that are easy to be involved in.  None of those existed when I first started out. 

2.       Right now, I don’t tell people when I feature them.  I just hope that enough traffic is send their way that they notice a difference and it makes them feel special.  I used to e-mail each individual person when I featured them, but sadly I gave that up about a year ago.  Right now I feature 30-50 people a day so it’s not possible.  But if you can still do it, I would.  That’s going to help you maintain great relationships with people and allow you to start collaborating more.  It’s an important step to keep if you can manage it.


3.       I think I’ve always kind of been the ultimate tip junkie. :)  It’s really a passion of mine to promote women and tell people about cool things.  So I fell into this pretty naturally.  My goals are to solve peoples problems and organize things online so they are easier to find.  Therefore everything I create is to fulfill those 2 goals. 

Thank you for reaching out to me and you can read more blogging tips here:  http://www.tipjunkie.com/category/blogging-tips

Laurie Turk

Founder/Managing Editor

Tip Junkie.com - DIY projects, Printables, Homemade Gifts, Holiday Crafts, and more!

Twitter: @TipJunkie

Follow on Facebook

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Amaze me August #46

Welcome to the 46th edition of

I think I'm going to stop apologizing about getting this up late, my gosh. This is crazy!! Yesterday was a hard day for me, and I was just feeling sad all day, helpless, and wanted to spend time with my family, even more than usual. 

Please READ about WHY I was SAD, and What you can do to HELP.

I really hope you all are having a great day today. 

SMILE, be happy and LOVE!

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I HATE CANCER ~ and NEED YOUR HELP

My friend Stephanie from Luxe Blvd, sent me this email yesterday. After crying my eyes out, and being mad as hell, about how much I HATE cancer, I knew that I had to share it with everyone, and then you will do the same, and somehow, we will all make a difference for this sweet little princess. 

Last year, I became very attached to several children with cancer. After reading a forwarded facebook message about a little boy named Noah, who also wanted as many Christmas cards to open as possible. He just loved getting mail, and his mother knowing her son would not make it until December, also did Christmas early for him. 

Within a couple weeks, the message spread literally all over the world, and they ended up getting MILLIONS of cards. Needless to say the power of networking is unmatched, and I really hope we can make this little girls (possible) last Christmas with her family, as special as can be. 

She is a girly girl, princess, LETS make her feel like a REAL LIFE princess. Will you all help, and spread the word, so others can join in too. 

LOVE to all of you, squeeze your little ones TIGHT, and hug them extra long. 

You can read more about Arianna HERE, and also make a donation.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Stephanie McDonnell
Date: Sun, Jul 17, 2011 at 9:26 PM
Subject: Help for Arianna



Hey all!
I'm coming to every one of you with my heart in my stomach and my eyes full of tears. I'm reaching out to all of my favorite artisans, asking if you would be willing to donate a little something special for Arianna Rae Ramirez.
Arianna, an amazing five-year-old little girl, and her family have just found out that she has relapsed from cancer. (A five-year-old with brain cancer ... my mind can hardly wrap itself around the idea.) The Ramirez family is VERY close friends with my best friend, their daughters BFF's! Candace (my bff) is trying to make the days the Ramirez family has left together wonderful and memorable, setting up this surprise for them.
In July 2009, Arianna was diagnosed with Atypical Teratoid Tumor, aka AT/RT. It is the rarest form of cancer, accounting for the 1-2% of children who get brain cancer. It is very aggressive, and as of right now, doctors are telling the family it is time to start making as many memories with Arianna as possible. (It is words like that that send chills down my arms and make me want to grasp my babies as tight as I can.)
In November 2009, the Today Show ran a segment on Arianna, telling her story, talking about AT/RT, and St. Judes. You can view the video here:
http://www.azwebscapes.com/Today_Show.html
The segment was taped while Arianna finished radiation treatment, just before starting chemo therapy. Doctors had declared her to be in remission in April 2010. The Ramirez family took Arianna to St. Judes the week of July 11, 2011 for days worth of testing. The tragic news came back on Thursday, July 14.
Arianna's favorite holiday is Christmas, so they are trying to surprise the Ramirez family with a Christmas in July. If you do not have time to make something, there are two registries open (which I did since I don't have my stitches out yet; I took my daughter and we picked out a fun Barbie toy!), one at Target and one at Toys 'R Us under the name "Christmas July" (first and last accordingly; it says the list was made for Arianna).
Arianna was dubbed "St. Judes Little Princess," has a love for anything frilly, princess-y, or just plain girly. Her and her three-year-old little sister are two peas in a pod, and love to do everything together!
Santa will be making a special delivery to the Ramirez family on Friday, July 22 at 6:30. I know this is very sudden. But the sad truth is, Arianna could be here today and gone tomorrow. Days are precious.
If you would like to send Arianna a little something, email me and I will get you the addresses where they can be sent.
Also, Candace really wants to be able to surprise the Ramirez family with a family vacation to Disneyland, so if you know of any flight attendants, pilots, or anyone who works for an airline and can provide stand-by tickets, please let me know so I can forward you over to her. She is also looking for donated tickets to the Disneyland theme park (2 adults & 2 children), and hotel stay. Anything at all would be a blessing. We really just want Arianna to have days full of smiles and pretty rainbows.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. God bless each and every one of you, truly, from the bottom of my heart.

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Small Update you should know.

I'm still ALIVE, yes I am. I know I've not posted anything since Wednesday, I'm sorry. Summer if just getting the best of me, I guess. So wishing I was back in California right now. This is a picture from Yosemite. My grandma went with us. I miss her. She lives in California with my aunt, and cousins from my fathers side. They are pretty much the only family we have left in California.
I've also been spending a lot of time doing research for my upcoming ETSY shop. 
Yup, I'm taking the plunge, and opening up shop. Any guesses what I will be selling? I think it will be great seeing what you think I will be doing? A couple of you already know, so don't ruin it for the rest, by telling anyone, NOT yet that is. 
I really hate being gone, and not blogging, BUT I am also trying to change a few things about my blog altogether. I really NEED, more than anything to get a schedule going for real. 
I tried this before, BUT it didn't work to well, It was just too much. I need to go simple, and realistic with my goals. 
I also haven't been to the gym in several weeks, BUT have started TAE KWON DO, so I guess that counts, but now I really need to work my butt of, because I feel so silly being the only one in class who can't do 30 situps, lol. 
So my dears, for those of you who are missing me, I will be back really soon. I promise!! I am loving everything you have been lining up, you guys are amazing, so please keep it coming. I've also been lucky enough to come across some new AMAZING blogs the past couple days, and I'm so excited about that, oh and I've done a tad bit too much PINNING also. Just can't help it, that place is beyond addicting. 
So to recap, you can be on the look out for the following new labels, or categories I will be blogging about soon.
ETSY SHOPI am beyond excited, but so SCARED to start this venture. MAKING CAKES, is normal to me, I've been doing that my whole life, but this will kind of be MY little venture, and I'm scared nobody will like it, erghhh. I know that's bad, but I can't help it.Menu Plan Mondays I used to menu plan a lot, and need to start again, there is no other way to get in shape and keep track of what I eat.FITNESSFor real documenting my journey to be healthy. Being accountable for working out, and creating simple fitness goals we can all strive for. I'm not looking to be skinny, I want to be HEALTHY.RECYLE, REUSE, REPURPOSEI love all things repurposed, and am always on the lookout for great ways to reuse something nobody wants, or to use up what would otherwise go in the trash. Now I actually want to start doing these projects. My junk piles are getting too big.What I  Wore WednesdaysI've done this a couple times, and both times got the sweetest compliments, and that made me feel good. Seriously at least ONCE a week I think I can GET DRESSED, and look nice. Home DIYYou wouldn't even believe the crazy list of things I need to do around my house, (even though we are on the lookout to possibly buy a new home YAY). Things need to get fixed, on the CHEAP, and with my two hands if possible. This should be fun.FOODLike seriously, I will still be blogging about all the yummy food, recipes, and desserts I eat, and make. Only hopefully I will also start taking better pictures of it (once I get a battery and charger for my fancy shmanzy camera).
AMAZE ME AUGUSTStill going strong, I enjoy hosting my parties so much. I LOVE the support I get, and I am always finding new blogs because someone took the time to link up with me. I love that!!
OH and ONE more thing. DID you know that my blog is turning ONE on August 3rd?Yup it is, and I am planning a HUGE party for all of you. Only it won't take place until sometime in SEPTEMBER. 
SOOOOOO if you have something you'd like to contribute to the celebration, please let me know. I will be so grateful for your help and support.
Well that's about it for now. Just wanted to say HI, I miss you all, and I'm off to the park, to grill something, and play with the kids. 

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AMAZING FEATURES week #43 & #44

Amaze me August

TOP 10 FEATURES

<a border="0" href="http://bellabeforeandafter.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i939.photobucket.com/albums/ad234/bellabeforeandafter/bbafeaturedbuttonblue.png" /></a>


We have a lot of features this week, since I didn't do any features last week, again, sorry about that. So take a few moments to see my TOP 10 for the past two weeks. As usual I love seeing new people join the party, you know who you are :) Thank you so much, and I also want to thank everyone who is kind enough to add my button, or link back to my blog. Almost every single blog I visited, did this, so I just want you to know I APPRECIATE it so much. 
P.S. Sorry about the photobucket notices all over my blog today, first thing this morning I noticed it and immediately payed my dues, BUT it seems they still are updating, erghh. I wish they cold send an email or something before just cutting you off, that sucks!!
Thanks again to everyone who helps make this party awesome. Don't forget about my new party. Even if you link up here, you can always go there to link up as well. Especially if it's party related, I actually PREFER you join the party there first. I need all your help in spreading the word about this party, and soon I just know it will be an awesome resource for us all. PARTY PLANNING TUESDAYS
Now check out these amazing features!!

Connie @ SALVAGE SAVVY created a really awesome organizational center. She made a bulletin board and chalkboard, all custom, and so pretty!
Marissa @ RAE GUN RAMBLINGS made me so happy with her pillows, they are just fantastic. I love the fabric, the colors, the simplicity and of course her wonderful tutorial. So awesome!!

Michelle @ DREAM HOME DIY turned a ugly brass lamp, into a hot pink beauty, and then did a switcheroo and repainted it navy, so now even the hubs is happy, he he. What a difference either way, way better than before.

Pattie @ ON HOLLYHOCK FARM made me drool like crazy over her mini moss garden. It is so adorable, and so pretty. If you have a little princess, how magical it would be to make this a fairy garden, oh my so sweet!!

Ami @ ALILILLY created another awesome paint chip banner. I mean seriously this is so awesome, and oh my gosh, how awesome that it's FREE, can't beat that!!

Erin @ HECK FRIDAYS made an awesome bird feeder, using up recycled items from her home. I LOVE this, so easy, so practical, and so GREEN!

Coley @ COLEYS CORNER redid her regular flip flops, to something really awesome, and as if adding a pretty ribbon and flower wasn't enough, she made everything interchangeable. How brilliant is that, so now she can switch the style everyday!!

Jaclyn @ J DESIGNS made her brother the most AWESOME cake ever, a Michael Jackson cake, oh my gosh, I love Michael, LOVE HIM, and this cake just made me super happy!!

Laina @ VIBRANT SERENITY made the most awesome sounding, and looking burgers ever. THE ZUCCHINI CHICKEN burger, YummY!!! I simply can't wait to try this out, I can only imagine how moist and delicious it will be.

Kristina @ KRISTINA J did an amazing Anthropology Bold Boutonniere Dress knock off, she is an amazing designer, and so darn pretty too. I lover her pictures, as much as her designs.

Melody @ CRAFTY BUTT made her own DIY potting bench, umm YES please, I need one of those. How awesome, I love when girls, make their own stuff, with tools and all, he he.

Jennifer @ LIFE CRAFTS AND WHATEVER made an really pretty necklace frame organizer. I love the way it looks like art, and that hot pink is just awesome. She used the new Krylon Dual Paint, me likey!!

Khadija @ CREATIVE MIND showed us some of her beautiful Henna, or Mehndi designs. I love mehndi, and it's so fun to do with the girls. My designs never look as pretty though, she's really good!!

Michelle @ DREAM HOME DIYis getting featured TWICE because well, this HIS and HERS key holder, is just awesome. I LOVE the king and queen crowns, how awesome, way to go Michelle.

Jamie @ WAYWARD GIRLS CRAFTS had the adorable Alissa from WILL RUN FOR STAMPS guest post on how to COLOR. Yes, with crayons, or in this case colored pencils. I highly recommend you check out this tutorial, it's really awesome, and it brings back happy memories, or simpler times when I was a kid. I want to go color now, YAY!!

Carmen @ ROCA and COMAPNY showed us how to create a pretty lemony zebra shirt. I LOVE her tutorial, it is SO simple, who knew. Plus her blog is FULL of posts on how to refashion clothes. Total jackpot for the diy sewer wannabe like me!

Crystal @ A PUMPKIN AND A PRINCESS showed us how to make the cutest little STAR pie bites. Yummy, they look so cute, and totally tasty I can only imagine.

Ami @ ALILILLY had he lovely Rachel with LOVELY CRAFTY HOME stop by to guest post and show us how to make a really cute beach tote. Love it!!

Ami @ ALILILLY showed off her amazing skills on how to macrame. Her hemp necklaces are awesome. She is super talented, love her!!

Ami @ ALILILLY had another fabulous guest blogger, Greta from JUST ANOTHER THOUGH ONLINE stop by and show us how to make our own BATH BOMBS, and I can't wait to try this out, sounds soooo awesome.


PARTY PLANNING TUESDAYS

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