Ladies,  I am sure many of you have seen Allison’s projects around blogland.  She is quite the creative gal and I am honored to be her first blog swap. I am doing a tutorial at her place today.  You will never believe what I did with this ugly old floral vase, you will need to pop on over to House of Hepworthsto see it. It has been wonderful getting to know Allison, and you gals know how I like to chat and get to know new people.

I look forward to doing lots of fun things with Allison.

Before I turn the floor over I will be posting another awesome give-a-way and the winner of the last give-a-way.

So take it away  Allison……

Hi gals from It’s So Very Cheri! I’m so thrilled to be able to swap blogs with Cheri today. She is so much fun and it has been a treat getting to know her better the past few weeks!

I’m Allison from House of Hepworths!

I LOVE making things cute! I blog constantly about anything Crafty and Thrifty (my two favorite words!). I also love Decorating, Renovating, and Baking (sometimes).

I’m so thrilled that Cheri wanted little ol’ me to post on her awesome blog! She’s given me several questions to answer, so I’ll sprinkle those throughout this post.

If you like what you see, come over to House of Hepworths and poke around a bit.

At House of Hepworths, I not only show you cute stuff I’ve made, but I tell you exactly how to do it so that you can replicate it and have one of your very own!

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(Cheri) What is your all-time favorite project?

(Allison) I’d say so far it’s a tie between my cloche and my soap pump and knife block duo.

Aren’t these fabulous? I think these are the all-time most copied and featured items I’ve posted on my blog. I just lurve them!

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(Cheri) What is your favorite craft tool?

(Allison) This is a tough one. Either my glue gun or ORB (oil rubbed bronze) spray paint. You can actually see a post with all my favorite items here!

Another project I enjoyed working on was updating an old plant container.

Can you believe how great this looks after just a little spray paint?

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(Cheri) When you decorate, what colors do you tend to go with?

(Allison) Black and Brown. I have been trying to branch out lately and add more color, but I’m definitely a black and brown type of decorator.

(Cheri) Do you go for those same colors in your clothing?

(Allison) Guilty as charged! Most days you will see me wearing brown or black. I like those colors because I can match them with anything!

I love to craft using inexpensive items. I want a beautiful home, but I don’t have a large budget. Would you believe me if I told you I made this awesome decor ball using a floor mat and a basketball from the Dollar Store?

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(Cheri) What is your Favorite Holiday?

(Allison) Definitely Christmas. My family puts such a huge emphasis on ‘family’ during the holiday season and I just love it! The lights, the smells, the baking, spending time with my family, and of course making Christmas crafts! I’ve been known on more than one occasion to give everyone in my family something handmade.

Did you know that you can spray paint plastic? It’s so easy!! At HoH I’ll teach you how to spray paint plastic items so they don’t chip.

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(Cheri) Favorite Vacation Spot?

(Allison) I’ve had such an amazing opportunity to travel across the entire United States over the past four years with my husband’s job. I’ve lived on each coast (New Jersey and California) and have seen almost everything in between. Californians, don’t hate, but I have to admit I LOVE New York City the best. Love it. But as far as a vacation? I think of relaxing while on vacation, so I’d have to say any resort with a beach and a pool.

*I’ll show you how to update a gumball machine*

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I like to do a little baking on occasion as well. Check out a few things I’ve baked lately:

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(Cheri) Favorite toy as a child?

(Allison) Hand’s down, Cabbage Patch Kids. I LOVED my baby dolls. I also loved barbies though. My sisters and I would play babies and barbies forever! As I got older I started to prefer crafting over anything else though. I drove my mom crazy when I was a teenager because I was always painting or crafting in my room and paid no attention to weather it got on the carpet or not.

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I’m also pretty good with a hammer. Check out these room renovations I did!

*My living room – goodbye wood paneling*

*My master bathroom – take a look. Need I say more?*

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(Cheri) What have you done that has helped your blog be so successful, so quickly?

(Allison) Oh geeze, this is a long answer! I could make an entire series on what to do to make your blog successful. But if I had to make a quick reply, I’d say:

a) Content. Your blog is nothing without good content – through what you say as well as your projects.

b) Be yourself. Don’t try to be someone you are not. I’m not into shabby chic, rustic looking things, or country. I like clean lines. I don’t try to do crafts that don’t fit my style. The more authentic you are the more people will gravitate towards you. Also, I’m very sarcastic in real life and I try to portray that same personality on my site. If people don’t like it, than they probably wouldn’t like me in real life either.

c) I post to Link Parties daily. I try to post 3-4 links to each party as soon as they post. It’s very important to not only get on the link party, but to get a top spot on the link party. I’d say the top 20-30 are where you want to be. I diligently post to parties daily. When I find a new party, I bookmark it and add it to my list.

d) Be friendly. I try to reply to as many comments as I can – especially the ones with questions. I also reply to lots of other bloggers posts – a sincere reply, not a generic one. I’ve had people be rude to me, but I try to “kill with kindness” as my mom would say. Create an environment where other bloggers feel like you care about them as well.

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If you like what you see, come check out my site @ House of Hepworths for many more revamps, renovations, and remodels!

You can find me by clicking my header or any hyper-link.

Also, I’m currently hosting a give-away! Two lucky readers will each win one large decor ball!!!

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I’d also love it if you became my friend with Google Friend Connect!

If you’d like continuous post updates so you never miss any fun craft ideas, subscribe to House of Hepworths by clicking the orange square.

Thanks for reading House of Hepworths! I hope you like what you see and come stop by and say hi!

Also, I’d like to thank Cheri for having a blog swap with me. This was great fun!! I hope you enjoyed what you saw and got your creative wheels turning.