Fourth of July Firecrackers...and a giveaway!

{Be sure to read until the bottom!}

Do you know about Pick Your Plum and GroopDealz??  They are awesome discounted crafts, jewelry, vinyl deals.....they come daily to your inbox and are greatly discounted, but only for the day!


So when this came into my inbox, my mind starting spinning.......

First you need some background..... 

In our family, we fight over who gets to mow the grass.....I have actually withheld the mowing from my almost 12-year old because that means we would have to split the mowing 3 ways instead of 2....yes, I know that I am weird!

The only thing that I don't like is all the stuff that is laying around the yard in the way of the mower....namely, garden stakes that my hubby uses for his grapes.  We take turns throwing them in each other's way...

What can I say....I'm lazy, I don't want to get off the mower!  But they have been driving me crazy!!

{outlines of their yard imprint!!}

I've been looking for ways to get rid of them, so when I saw that email in my inbox, I knew exactly what I was going to do!!  CHOP THEM UP!!  

The only problem is that I am slightly terrified of the saw.....so I had to beg for the hubby's help!

We cut the garden stakes into 3 different sizes....no measuring, just eye-balling!  I grabbed some supplies and got to work!

I painted the wood....

....and sanded it to distress it.

I also took some distressing ink on a cotton ball and rubbed it all over the wood to make it look more aged.

Cutting a star out of wood is beyond my skill level with a saw and it's 40 miles round trip to Michaels, so I improvised!!  

I painted a piece of cardstock gray, free-handed a star, traced it on the cardstock and cut it out!  At some point, I'll replace it with the real thing, but until then, you can't even tell!!

I ran out to my clothesline and snipped three little pieces off the end and tapped them into the top of the wood with nails.

Voila....my own FREE version of Fourth of July firecrackers!!

Are you ready for the BEST part???  I made TWO sets and I want to give one away!!

So to enter.....become a Google Follower and leave me a comment telling me that you are a new follower.

(If you already follow, just tell me!)

For a SECOND entry, follow me on FB and leave me a comment!

For a THIRD entry, follow me on Twitter and leave me a comment!

(And if you are already following those places...just tell me!)

I'll be giving these away Thursday night!!

Places I party....