{Blog How To} Photo challenge @ SITS

Hello my fellow bloggers, I am thrilled to be participating in the SITS photo challenge over the next two weeks. It will be two weeks of photo how-to for your blog, along with daily photo homework challenges. I don't know about you, but I would love to take better photos for a better blog. I will be posting my progress and tips here, but if you want to participate, you can click here for more information and to sign up for SITS.
Check out my post on new blogger features here and see where I'm guest posting today click here. I also updated my About me page and added a Best of page.

Guest blogging at 504 Main

Hey everyone, today I am guest blogging over at Holly's 504 Main. Holly has a great blog full of inspiration, and she is one of the first bloggers I met when I started out. I'm sharing a tutorial on an Anthro inspired bib necklace! Hop on over!

I'm also guest hosting a blog hop over at All About Being Inspired. They have a Thursday blog hop called "Mingle with us". Hop on over there, too.

Don't miss out tomorrow when my Easter giveaway goes up!

Cheers,

Blogger Buzz: Fresh new perspectives for your blog

Blogger Buzz: Fresh new perspectives for your blog Right now I am ecstatic-blogger has great new features in the making. Click on the above link to read more. In a nut shell, they are working on new settings and views, that will make your blog more customizeable. For a sneak peek on the new views, click my link here. You will see my blog in the new settings, you can choose from five different ones. I love it. Let me know what you think!

{Outdoors & Scenic} 1st swim of the season

It was so humid and muggy out this morning that we skipped the usual trail walk and took the dogs to the lake instead. First real swim of this season! They had a blast.

Bella likes to rough play in the water while Feger likes to chase sticks.

Once she retrieves the stick she carries it along the beach and chews on it.

The wood ducks were out and about as well. We also saw plenty of birds and squirrel. I'm so glad we have water dogs~! For more dog outings visit here and here. Still accepting guest bloggers for April, read here for information. I'm linking to these memes here. Like it-follow me! Cheers,

Hey, today I'm guest blogging over at Meg's blog 'A Little Knick Knack'. She has a fun blog with lot's of inspiration and a weekly linky party. Hop on over!

{Food} Breakfast in Italy

The days are getting warmer and the night of the Super moon last week we got up early to catch the sunrise. Warm days like this remind me of my time in Tuscany, Italy. It was time for an Italian breakfast consisting of  fruit, a pastry, and Cafe Latte.

Melon, Kiwi, and trail mix. Very refreshing. And how about those Lobster dishes?

As you can see I managed to sneak sea shells in the form of a napkin in.

My MIL gifted me those dishes when we were on vacation at the shore a few years ago.

Some Florida strawberries.

And now on to the most important thing about my breakfast-the coffee. You can forget me if I don't have a good cup of coffee first thing in the morning. I like Italian coffe-Latte's and Machiatto's. I'm happy they sell Italian coffee most places now.

Here is my little espresso maker a la Italy. You fill the bottom with water, then pack espresso into the compartment above it, screw it all together, turn on the stove and the magic happens. For the latte you poor the espresso into a glass (yes, they use glasses) and start pouring warm milk from a pitcher into it until it has the creamy color (=strength) you desire. I use cups, because I like them better. For the machiatto's the process is a little more involved, but they are sooo good!

Buen appetito!

We are still looking for guest bloggers for April, read more here. I'm linking to these parties here.

{Crafts) Vintage pillows with rosettes& giveaway winner

It appaers as if spring and makeing new pillows go hand in hand in bloggerland. I caught the bug and made some new pillows with vintage materials and supplies I had on hand. The little heart pillows has cross stiching on the front depicting a Bavarian dance scene. The larger white pillow is made from an old pillow that I covered in vintage linen and added some rosettes. Same concept of the smaller pillow, but it is stuffed.

I cut the flower rosettes from different fabrics I had in the house and added a button. I think it is very springy.

This pillow is made of an old pillow and two vintage handkerchiefs. The lace in the middle of the pillow is from a doily that had some holes on the edges, so I simply cut out the center part to give this pillow some more charm. I made some more pillows, but that is for a future post. I'm not sure where I will put them yet, but I have something in mind. Do you love them? Now on to the winner of the CSN giveaway.

 The winner of the CSN gift card giveaway is Sandy. Please contact me to claim your prize. Congratulations.

True Random Number Generator Min: Max: Result: 4 Powered by RANDOM.ORG

I would like to thank everyone who participated!

For more crafts visit here and for some spring photos visit here. We are still accepting guest bloggers for April, read more here. Like it? Follow me now via email.
I'm linking to these meme's here.

{Outdoors & Scenic} Little river walk

This is the morning walk we do right now. We go on the trail and walk down to a little river with nice cool water for the dogs. It is just deep enough for Bella to lay down in and cool off and for Feger to chase a nice stick.

And there is Bella getting ready to drink water. The trail goes on for another mile, and then you have the option to turn around and come back or a total of 3 miles, or catch another trail and go the long way for a guesstimated total of at least 5 miles.

And there is the old dog-14 years and still kicking.

This isn't the trail, of course, it is our back yard and Chloe is using my Adirondack chair.

For more dog walks visit here and for more Chloe the cat adventures visit here.

Like it-follow me.

Guest bloggers wanted

Hello fellow blogging friends! April is going to be Follower month at Doberman's by the Sea. I would like to give my followers and subscribers a chance to be featured here. This also gives me and my fellow bloggers and followers a chance to get to know them better. You will get a chance to expose your blog to new readers.

Do you have a craft, project, tutorial, recipe or great photo to share? Would you like to introduce your blog, business, or store to the world? Here is your chance. Email me here with an idea of what you want to post and we'll get you scheduled.

Don't be shy!

To see were I have guest posted click here.

Cheers,

{Crafts} No-sew vintage apron

I'm sharing my no-sew apron today. I have been wanting an apron for many months now, and finally decided to use some fabric I had around the house to make my own. I also wanted to try out a product called 'Fabri Tac'. The materials used were some vintage linen and some stain and water repellant fabric I had for the kitchen, and never used. I also had some lace scraps and ribbon around.

I started by laying the linen on a table, that would be my base. I then measured the coordinating fabric to fit me and used Fabri Tac to glue it in place. Then I measured more fabric for the top part and glued it onto the bottom. I had previously measured and marked the arm holes, which I then cut out.

I attached ribbon to the sides and to the top of the apron. I used some lace to put around the seams of the top.

I cut out some lace hearts and attached them to the lower parts of the apron to give it a vintage feel.

I let the apron dry for 24 hours and here it is ready to wear:

What do you think? I'm happy to have something to wipe my hands on while cooking and to not always haveing to reach for a dish towel. It will also save my shirts from splatters. I'm real happy with the Fabri tac, too. If you work outside there are no fumes as with glue. Inside you can smell it a little, but nothing like glue. It also peels right off your hands if you get it on them. The Fabri Tac dries fast, so you have to work fast and do section by section. You need very little product, and a little bottle goes a long way. I purchased mine at Amazon.  I also used it to glue a wooden sign together and to repair a leather shoe strap.

Enjoy your spring and click here to look at some pretty spring flowers.

We still have some open spots for April guest bloggers, view here for information.

{Outdoors & Scenic} Happy Spring!

Spring is officially here, so today I'm showing you the flowers in the back of the house. I adore the purple shades in the first picture.

More beautiful spring colors. I can't believe it is mid-March and we had record highs 29C/86F. It is like we skipped spring and went straight into summer. If we were in Germany, that is. Here in LA this is just warming up for the hot and sticky days of summer. But wait, the yellow pollen is here, so we must still be in spring.

The flowers below are what we call Lions tooth. I used to like them as a child and feed them to my pet rabbit.

We had a hummingbird come by the feeder twice. Chloe and Bella love this weather, they are in the yard all day long. For more spring flowers visit here, to enter my giveaway click here, and don't miss the new follow me via email option at the top left corner. Also enjoy the spring edition of The party dress magazine in my sidebar. Cheers.

{Decorating} Spring flower cloche

TodayI'm sharing my spring flower cloche. I wanted a springy centerpiece for my kitchen island, so I clipped some flowers from the front yard. I added some sand to the bottom of a glass, some shells, the flowers, and water. Et Voila-instant beachy spring.

I can't believe how clear the water is.

Here is another angle. This will hold me over until I decorate for Easter. It is already 86F/29C here. That is like hot summer day back home.

And here are some lovely wild flowers that the kids dogs got for me. They are very fragrant!

To see more spring photos visit here, and don't miss my current giveaway here.

To view the current online issue of The Party dress, a decorating magazine-go to top right corner.

Like it-follow me now via email!

{Blog How To} Follow via email

Blogger just introduced a new feature called 'Follow by Email'. This is a great way for your friends and family to get daily updates about your blog delivered right to their inbox-no blog needed.

The email will be sent out daily if new content is published and will include links to the posts. Follow by email will also track your subscribers and daily views. To view your stats log into your Feedburner account.

This is what the new gadget will look like on your blog:



To get this new gadget, go to Design-Page Elements-Add gadget, then select the Follow by Email gadget which should be at the top of the list. Once you add the gadget, readers visiting your blog can then just enter their email address and click Submit.

To get the latest blogger buzz visit here.  To follow me along via email find the gadget on the top left column.

This is the first post of a new series I'm introducing about Blogging How to's. If you have any specific issues or questions about how to make your blog better, leave them in the comment form. I'd also appreciate your feedback on this new series-do you think it will be useful.
Don't miss my current give away going on here! Cheers,