Ramblings from the Sunshine State

Valentine's Round Up

2012-02-12T06:00:00.001-05:00

I've seen a lot of people posting round-ups of their previous Valentine's Day posts, so I thought I'd do the same. I haven't done too many in the past, but here they are.

First up, my Valentine's decorations for this year.

My most recent project, the love yarn wreath.

Juice Pouch Valentine's make a nice alternative to all that candy.

This little hair clip was quick and easy. It would be great as a pin, too.

This banner was very inexpensive and easy to make.

Linked to: Market Yourself Monday at Sumo's Sweet Stuff

Valentine's Decor 2012

2012-02-11T09:38:00.025-05:00

It's almost Valentine's day, and I don't see myself making anything else this year, so I'm going to go ahead and share our Valentine's decorations for this year. Of course we have the wreath that I just posted about. It's hanging on our front door.

I have an old window hanging in our hallway, so I hung up a small bunting I won in a giveaway a few years ago.

I apologize for the lighting in these pictures, it's really hard to get good light in there. I stuck some of those gel clings to the mirrors in the hall.

In the living room I added a heart card I got free from Tiny Prints a couple years ago.

This is a shelf in our living room. I made this heart banner a few years ago from pages out of magazines.

Another free card. This time from Cardstore.com.

I made these wooden glitter hearts previously but couldn't find a branch, so I hung them from the embroidery hoops in the living room.

This is on top of the tv.

More glitter hearts.

And a leftover Lego snowman! (He's not for V-Day, not sure why my daughter stuck him there!)

But I did add this Lego heart a few days ago.

And this little guy came from Hallmark. There is also a pink dragon and they both sing. Morgan loves them!

Linked to: Think Pink Sundays at Flamingo Toes, Sundae Scoop at I ♥ Naptime, Sunday Showcase Party at Under the Table & Dreaming, Creative Bloggers Party & Hop at Homemaker on a Dime, Market Yourself Monday at Sumo's Sweet Stuff

Purex UltraPacks Giveaway & FREE Sample

2012-02-08T22:42:00.006-05:00

Recently I was given the opportunity to review the new Purex UltraPacks. And I loved them! We do a ton of laundry and these made it so easy. No messy measuring. Just toss one in and done. And our clothes came out fresh & clean. So now it's your turn! Two lucky winners will receive a coupon for a FREE bag of Purex UltraPacks!

TO ENTER:
1. Tell me - What's your least favorite household chore? (MANDATORY - one comment)
2. Follow me via GFC or Linky Tools, or let me know you already do! (optional - separate comment)

Just PLEASE make sure I have a way to contact you if you win. Either leave your email address in your comment, or make sure I can get to your email through your profile. Giveaway will remain open until 2/17/12.

While you're waiting - click on the button above to score yourself a FREE sample of Purex Triple Action! Please note that you can only request one sample per household, per year. There will be samples available soon for the UltraPacks, so if you'd rather try them, don't request this one.

Linked to Giveaway Directory at Someday Crafts

Valentine's Yarn Wreath

2012-02-07T07:00:00.013-05:00

I never used to decorate for Valentine's Day at all - but seeing all the cute projects everyone has inspired me to start. So this year I'm adding to my decor with a yarn wreath. I needed something new on the door anyway!

I started with a foam heart form that I found at the thrift, some batting and some chunky red yarn.

I cut strips of the batting and wrapped the form with it. I glued it using tacky glue, but hot glue would have worked, too. However, I now kind of wish I had either not used the batting, or not used such a chunky yarn.

And then start wrapping. And wrapping. And keep wrapping till it's all covered. As I mentioned previously, the points on this thing were a lot harder than I thought they'd be. Then again, I think that also has something to do with the combo of batting and thick yarn.

Eventually the entire form will be covered, and you will have something like this. Looks a little wonky to be, but I decided to keep going.

I gathered up some sheets of felt. I knew I wanted to include some turquoise, but that's really all I had planned at this point. It's hard for me to take pictures of making the flowers, etc, because I didn't have a specific plan. I just kind of play with it until I get something I like.

For this little bunting I used some red & white bakers twine, white felt, some very old Making Memories letters and some turquoise brads.

I thought it needed something on the side, so instead of flowers I did this little banner.

And of course, felt flowers. It was my first time making the ones with the little petals. Super fun & easy!

And here it is! This is outside so I could get the best light.

And here it is on our ugly door. It's not crooked - it's meant to hang at an angle. I really was unsure of this thing when it was just wrapped in yarn, but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. Maybe I'll do a St. Patty's Day one next!

Linked to: Too Cute Tuesday at Funky Polkadot Giraffe, Show Me What Ya Got at Not Just a Housewife, Talent Tuesday at Vintage Wanna Bee, Home Decor & Organizing Linky Party at Organize & Decorate Everything, Show & Tell at Blue Cricket Design, Whatever Goes Wednesday at Someday Crafts, What's Up Wednesday at Sew Woodsy, Look What I Made at Creations by Kara, Hookin Up with HoH at House of Hepworths, Transformation Thursday at The Shabby Creek Cottage, Friday Favorites at Simply Sweet Home, Catch-as- Catch-Can at My Repurposed Life, Frugal Friday at The Shabby Nest, Delicately Constructed Friday at delicateCONSTRUCTION, Weekend Bloggy Reading at Serenity Now, Friday Favs at Naptime Crafters, Watcha Got Weekend at Lolly Jane Boutique, Weekend Wrap Up Party at Tatertots & Jello, Saturday Nite Special at Funky Junk Interiors, Think Pink Sundays at Flamingo Toes, Sundae Scoop at I ♥ Naptime, Sunday Showcase Party at Under the Table & Dreaming, Creative Bloggers Party & Hop at Homemaker on a Dime

Clorox Green Works Review

2012-02-06T10:05:00.002-05:00

January is always "spring cleaning" time for me. Taking the Christmas decorations down gets me in the mood to clean everything. It's always when we go through & reorganize the house and get rid of things we no longer need or want. So when I got the chance to try out some products from Clorox Green Works, the timing was perfect.

First up, the laundry detergent. We do a ton of laundry with five people in the family! The first thing I noticed was the amazing scent - nice and citrus-y. A little goes a long way, and our clothes came out fresh and clean. Very pleased! And did you know that the formula is dermatologist tested AND safe for both stand and high efficiency washers?

The bathroom cleaner worked great, too. It also smelled great and left my bathroom sparkling. It's non-toxic as well and is great on soap scum, hard water stains and more.

My favorite was probably the all-purpose cleaner. I use this type of cleaner more than anything else, and I love that it has a fresh and mild scent. Some of these types of products have such a strong chemical smell I can hardly use them. But not this. And it's safe for multiple surfaces and appliances.

Last but not least, the cleaning wipes. These are great for those nasty messes that you'd rather just clean and toss. My favorite place to use these is the bathroom around the toilet. Especially with a boy in the house, if you know what I mean! The great thing about these is that they are 100% compostable!

The next time you're at the store shopping for cleaning supplies, check out Green Works. They are high quality and environmentally friendly. If you sign up for their monthly newsletter, you receive an instant $1.00 coupon. And don't forget to like them on Facebook!

I was compensated with products to review, but thoughts and opinions are 100% my own.

Football Birthday Party - Last Minute Superbowl Ideas

2012-02-04T19:45:00.006-05:00

Are you ready for the Superbowl? I know it's tomorrow, so there isn't much time left, but I thought I'd do a quick repost of Blake's football birthday. Just incase you need some last minute, football themed ideas!

We celebrated Blake's 10th birthday on 9/25. The boys had a blast! He chose a football theme again this year, but instead of one team like last year, he wanted all teams. They do sell team specific party supplies, but that would have been way too expensive, so we chose brown & green for the colors.

Thankfully his birthday matches up with the start of football season, because we found several types of football themed food. Like these football Ritz crackers. I picked up the football plate on clearance for $.50 at Joann's awhile back.

I found these brown & white candy sticks at Party City. But we could have skipped these, none of the kids ate any.

A couple of bags of football Oreos turned in to chocolate covered football Oreos. My piping is far from perfect, but everyone loved these!

I also made little chocolate footballs. These went pretty fast too.

I found a big tub of football pretzels at Walmart.

And of course we had chips to snack on. I found these bowls at the Dollar Tree.

Mike and Blake made these goal posts on the table. They are made from PVC and Blake got to do the spray painting. Thankfully we had that bright yellow left over from Layla's birthday.

We thought about doing a football field for the cake, but in the end I decided on cupcakes instead. I figured it would be easier and a better way to get more teams represented. The images I used on the cupcake toppers came from Designer Graphics and the brown cupcake liners came from Caroline92101.

I found the fringed streamer on clearance for $.25 at Party City. This table was for the pizza when it arrived.

I found the two small footballs at the thrift store for $.25 each. I never thought I'd actually buy can koozies! The big football in the middle is a bank, I just took the end off. The green & white straws came from Big Al's Collectibles & More. I thought about paper straws, but these were way cheaper & the boys don't care anyway!

We made this chip stadium out of cardboard & aluminum foil. It was inspired by something I saw on Pinterest. Yea, theirs is better, but also huge and I'm happy with ours.

This didn't get used, but I'm showing it anyway. Most of the boys play football together, so we set up what equipment we had in an obstacle course, much like they use sometimes at practice or camp. We had the cones (not shown) and a ladder...

Hurdles...

And even a tackling dummy.

But the reason those ended up not being used was Mike painted a football field! The boys were literally out there all day. We had to drag them back in for cake & presents.

But it started storming so that helped get them in! We used that time to open presents. It was quite chaotic. Thankfully the screen porch kept them out of my house.

It let up some and they were back to football.

But then we had to drag them back for cake.

While it was raining, Blakes' Playstation was brought out to help keep them busy. As you can see he could hardly take his eyes off his new Madden game. The black & white candles were leftover from his Totally Gross party, and they reminded me of the referee's shirts.

Here's a closeup of the cupcakes. I'm really happy with how they turned out, even though frosting all that grass was a pain in the hand!

And since I love brightly colored cake so much, I decided on a neat surprise inside the cupcakes. The inside of the cupcakes match the team colors on the topper! Like the Dolphins one above - it's teal & orange inside!

And this Steeler's cupcake is black & yellow.

Instead of pre-scooping the ice cream, I let it melt a little & them molded it into a football shaped silicone pan. We had chocolate & vanilla.

And we can't forget the party favors.

The rest of the afternoon was spent playing football in the rain. And sliding into a giant mud puddle!

I love this group shot of the boys. It took a few tries though!

Linked to: Saturday Night Special at Funky Junk Interiors, Watcha Got Weekend at Lollyjane Boutique, Sundae Scoop at I ♥ Naptime, Think Pink Sunday at Flamingo Toes

Possible Craft Fail?

2012-02-01T12:41:00.012-05:00

I have been wanting to make a wreath for Valentine's Day, and I had this heart form already, and the red yarn. So yesterday I got to work on it. And the yarn wrapping is done. But I'm not sure I'm in love with it. I used batting like I did on the rainbow wreath, and I'm thinking now maybe I shouldn't have. What do you think?

And I underestimated how difficult wrapping this shape would be. The bottom drives me nuts. I do plan on adding felt flowers however. That could possibly cover some of this.

And the top isn't as bad, but it doesn't dip down very much. So - be honest. How does it look? Should I rip everything off and start over? Or continue with the felt flowers?

Linked to: What's Up Wednesday at Sew Woodsy, Hookin Up With HoH at House of Hepworths, Catch-As-Catch-Can at My Repurposed Life, Project Party Weekend at Bubbly Nature Creations, Friday Favs at Naptime Crafters, Delicately Constructed Friday at delicateCONSTRUCTION, Weekend Wrap Up Party at Tatertots & Jello

North Carolina Vacation - Day 3 (part 2)

2012-01-31T09:45:00.000-05:00

Now for the rest of our vacation, day 3. We made it across the mountains and headed down the very long road to Cade's Cove. This river followed the road the entire way and even though it was pretty cold, we saw these people kayaking.

After driving for awhile, we finally made it into Cade's Cove. It's a driving tour. It was pretty long because of the distance itself, and the fact that you have to go very slow. But it was well worth it.

There are quite a few historic buildings here, and I believe they are all in their original spot. This one is John Oliver Place (circa 1820) - the oldest in the park.

It was interesting to see just how tiny these houses are. What kills me is that people have written on and carved their names in the walls of these places. So destructive and so sad.

But look at this view.

After that house, there were three churches. This grave was outside of the Primitive Baptist Church (1887). Note that it says he was murdered by North Carolina Rebels.

Here's another section of the same graveyard.

This is the Methodist Church (1902). We read that it had two doors because men & women entered through separate doors, and sat on opposite sides of the church, but that they didn't follow this. They just copied the plans from another church.

This is the LeQuire Cantilever Barn.

And the Cable Mill (1870).

Another unique barn.

I believe that this is a corn crib.

And yet another unique barn.

Now the main reason we didn't get more photos on our way to Cade's Cove, was that we figured we could take more time coming back home, and we'd stop then. So we left Cade's Cove and headed out. We finally made it to the end of the road, expecting to turn right, and take 441 back towards Cherokee, NC. Except the road (Newfound Gap) was closed. For snow & ice. Oh my god. We pulled in to the visitor's center, only to find it was also closed. I didn't panic, but definitely got kind of worried. We were in Tennessee. We needed to get back to North Carolina. So we headed the only way we could.

And that was Gatlinburg. We had a GPS but it was worthless. It kept trying to have us do a u-turn. Thankfully we had an atlas with it. We had to make a huge circle out of the way to get back home. It took about 4 hours, but we made it! It was quite the adventure. I kind of wish now that we had just found a hotel room in Gatlinburg, and spent the next day coming back across the Smokys, but we were afraid that Newfound Gap would be closed again, and we'd be stuck. It was a long day, but we had a great time.

Art Journaling

2012-01-28T22:10:00.023-05:00

Lately I've been admiring some of the art journal pages I come across on Pinterest. I have always loved doodling and art, and I used to draw all the time. But it's been a long time! I thought about it for awhile, but finally decided I'd buy a book and try my hand at art journaling. Here are a couple of pages I stumbled across that I really like.

Source

I got this notebook at Michael's. The pages are thicker than regular drawing paper. I really wanted watercolor paper instead, but I couldn't find any notebooks, only pads. So I went with this. And Staples recently had 12 packs of Sharpies on sale for $3, so I helped myself to a few.

I wasn't really sure where to start, but I just started doodling.

I misjudged my spacing, so I ended up with space at the bottom. I didn't want to start the rainbow over, or have a huge chunk of purple, so I wrote "just begin" which is what I'm doing. I thought it fit well. Quit thinking about what to do and just do it, ya know?

When I bought my journal, they were buy one, get one free, so I decided to get Layla one as well. She has a horrible habit of drawing on everything (paper, walls, beds, furniture... she's 7, we should be past this stage!). I'm hoping maybe this will help direct her creativity to paper, not my freaking walls. I guess she was inspired by my page, this is her first page.

I was showing her some other pages I had saved to Pinterest, and she wanted to make one like this. (source).

Here's her version. I did the lettering on top and the boxes.

Have you done any art journaling? I've only done that one page so far, but I'm ready to do more. Do you have any favorite online places for inspiration?

Linked to: Sundae Scoop at I ♥ Naptime, Think Pink Sundays at Flamingo Toes, Creative Bloggers Party & Hop at Homemaker On a Dime, Market Yourself Monday at Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Sunday Showcase Party at Under the Table & Dreaming, Get Your Craft On at Today's Creative Blog, Talent Tuesday at Vintage Wanna Bee, Too Cute Tuesday at Funky Polkadot Giraffe, Show Me What Ya Got at Not Just a Housewife, Show & Tell at Blue Cricket Design, Look What I Made at Creations by Kara, Whatever Goes Wednesday at Someday Crafts, What's Up Wednesday at Sew Woodsy, Project Party Weekend at Bubbly Nature Creations, Friday Favs at Naptime Crafters, Weekend Bloggy Reading at Serenity Now, Delicately Constructed Friday at delicateCONSTRUCTION, Weekend Wrap Up Party at Tatertots & Jello

North Carolina Vacation - Day 3 (Part 1)

2012-01-25T14:10:00.020-05:00

For day three of our vacation, we decided to head to Tennessee to see Cade's Cove. The pass has been closed the day before, so I was excited when I found out it was open that morning. And even more excited when not too far out of Franklin, we saw snow! Not a lot, but still, snow.

I could kick myself for not getting a photo when we entered Great Smoky Mountains National Park. But we figured we'd have a chance later. More on that to come. But the drive was so pretty. The roads were really nice and there was a stream/river running along most of the way. It didn't take long before we found snow. This sidewalk was completely coated in ice.

Of course, once it thickened up a little, we had to stop and play for a minute. Morgan was sleeping.

As we slowly climbed higher, the snow started to thicken. There was some ice on the roads, but they had laid sand on the road to help with traction.

Of course the kids had to make snowballs.

Layla throwing a snowball at a tree.

After a bit of driving, the snow was getting pretty thick. There were people pulled off everywhere, having snowball fights and sledding. I regret not bringing a sled. Or getting more pictures. But we thought we'd have more time coming back across, and were in a hurry to get to Cade's Cove. This is my first snowball!

This photo does not do the view justice AT ALL. It was amazing.

This is Layla's version of a snowman!

Blake snatched my snowball!

This was such a gorgeous drive. Not near as scary as the trip by the waterfall, even though we were much higher. We crossed the Tennessee border up here, but at the time I didn't realize where it had happened. It was at Newfound Gap, near Clingman's Dome, which is the highest point in Tennessee. It was closed for the season or we would have went up. No pictures of course.

Here we were coming back down the mountains, heading towards Cade's Cove. Since there were so many pictures, I decided to split day three into two posts. Check back soon for part two!

Juice Pouch Valentine's

2012-01-21T20:30:00.013-05:00

I posted about these last year, but it was very last minute, so I'm reposting this year! I was trying to think of something different than the crayons I had been doing, and I remembered we had a fridge full of Capri Sun drinks. And then I had an idea! I started by printing "love juice". I could have made it more intricate, but I don't have any fancy programs & was short on time.

I punched each one out using a large round punch.

And I also used a large scallop punch to punch circles out of red cardstock.

I could have skipped adding extra Valentine's, but I had purchased these previously for 90% off, and the kids wanted to use them. So I punched a hole in the corner of each one.

And a hole in each tag.

Add 33 Capri Sun pouches.

And punch a hole in the top of each one. Just make sure you don't go below that line, or you will have leaky pouches!

Then just take a piece of curling ribbon, and string them all together. Cute, huh? This one is for Blake's class, and the boys in Layla's class.

And this one is for the girls in Layla's class.

I think they turned out really cute and are a nice alternative to all that candy.

Linked to: Sundae Scoop at I ♥ Naptime, Think Pink Sunday at Flamingo Toes, Creative Bloggers Party & Hop at Homemaker On a Dime, Market Yourself Monday at Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Get Your Craft On at Today's Creative Blog, Talent Tuesday at Vintage Wanna Bee, Show Me What Ya Got at Not Just a Housewife, Too Cute Tuesday at Funky Polkadot Giraffe, Show & Tell at Blue Cricket Design, What's Up Wednesday at Sew Woodsy, Look What I Made at Creations by Kara, Whatever Goes Wednesday at Someday Crafts, Transformation Thursday at The Shabby Creek Cottage, Catch-as-Catch-Can at My Repurposed Life, Hookin Up with HoH at House of Hepworths, Delicately Constructed Friday at delicateCONSTRUCTION, Valentine's Categorically Crafting at Someday Crafts, Friday Favs Party at Naptime Crafters, Weekend Bloggy Reading at Serenity Now, Valentine's Week Linky Party at The Shabby Creek Cottage, Watcha Got Weekend at Jolly Jane Boutique, Weekend Wrap Up Party at Tatertots & Jello

Candy Cane Bark

2012-01-18T21:57:00.015-05:00

Do you still have a bunch of candy canes laying around from Christmas? I finally tossed ours, but we usually have so many left over. Why not do something with them and make some candy cane bark? I would say peppermint (like I made here), but I bet some of the other flavors (like strawberry or blueberry) would be good, too. Start with some candy canes. Unwrap and break into a few pieces.

Normally I would have used a zipper bag, but we were out, so I improvised with wax paper. Place your candy canes inside the bag and seal.

Now let the kids help with this part - using a rolling pin or a can, pound the heck out of the candy canes until they are all broken up.

I used Wilton candy melts, but regular white chocolate chips will work just as well. Pour them into a microwave safe bowl and make sure it's totally dry.

Melt according to package directions until smooth.

Next, line a cookie sheet with wax or parchment paper.

And pour in your broken candy bits.

Stir until blended well!

This looks kind of weird, but pour the candy mixture out onto your paper lined pan.

Using a scraper, smooth the mixture out until it's somewhat uniform in thickness.

Now just let it dry. I like to put it in the fridge to speed it along.

Break apart and enjoy! Have you ever tried this with any flavor other than peppermint?

North Carolina Vacation - Day 2

2012-01-16T11:08:00.016-05:00

This is what we woke up to Wednesday morning! COLD! But it's better than the 80° weather we had in Florida. To me at least!

When we were driving in to North Carolina Monday night, we noticed signs for Black Rock Mountain State Park in Georgia. So we decided to head back down to Georgia to do some exploring. Turns out the mountain was closed seasonally, but we decided to keep going anyway. As we were driving along, climbing higher, I looked down and noticed white! There was snow on the ground! Not much you can see, but still - snow! Our first time (mine & the kids anway) seeing snow! We were so excited.

We had also noticed a sign mentioning a museum called Foxfire, so we thought we'd give that a try. We started to question that idea as we went down the road. And climbed higher and higher.

But we finally found it! It's called the Foxfire Museum & Heritage Center. It's a self-guided walking tour with a collection of old homes, buildings, tools, wagons and more - all preserved and collected by students.

Here's just one of the old houses. They aren't in their original places, but I love that people cared enough about the past and these old buildings to save them and move them here. The kids really enjoyed getting to see them and go inside.

And they couldn't resist touching the snow when they found piles of it.

While on the mountain we passed the Eastern Continental Divide. Pretty cool!

After we came down the mountain, we decided to do a little more exploring in the area. We were driving along and saw a sign about an old mill. Unfortunately, the road was closed, but we pulled over to try and get a photo. This was the best we could do.

But some snow on the ground called for an impromptu snowball fight!

The kids loved it! I was too busy taking photos to make a snowball. Oops!

We finished our adventures in Georgia and spent the rest of the evening riding the four wheeler...

and doing some reading by the fire.

Purex UltraPacks Review

2012-01-11T15:14:00.006-05:00

As I mentioned in my last post, we just got back from a vacation to North Carolina - which of course means we were coming back home to a mountain of laundry. So I was very happy to see a lovely box from Purex sitting on my kitchen table waiting for me. Inside was the new Purex UltraPacks! How cool are these?

They remind me of dishwashing packs. But these are for laundry! So quick and easy. No measuring, no spilling. Just pop one in and you are done. Our clothes came out smelling fresh and spotless. And while I don't have a front-loader, these ARE safe for them as well. I will definitely be buying more of these guys in the future!

Keep your eyes open at the stores, these should be available some time in February. And check back here because I will be giving away some coupons for them too!

I was provided with product to review, however, thoughts and opinions are 100% my own.

North Carolina Vacation - Day 1

2012-01-10T23:16:00.014-05:00

I didn't mention it previously (something about announcing to the world we won't be in our house I guess), but we spent the last week of 2011 in North Carolina. We had been wanting to go for some time now and we finally got around to it. I think we were all ready for a vacation! This is really day two, it was pretty late when we got there Monday night. Here is Morgan, Layla and Blake on top of the hill behind where we stayed.

From the house looking down. Isn't it pretty?

There's a tiny little creek that runs between to two hills. I've always wanted a creek in my backyard!

Our first full day there was spent unpacking and getting groceries. Then we decided to go for a drive. Before long, this was our view. Holy cow! Notice how little space there is between the road and the rock wall and the road and the guard rail. At this point the ground was pretty far away.

Then suddenly, we saw a waterfall! We had no idea this was here. There were a few cars stopped in the tiny pull off area, so we kept going.

A little farther ahead there was a larger pull off, so we stopped here. It was a "good" spot to turn around, too.

Here's a shot of the view coming back down.

And a better shot of the falls. There is barely room to pull off here. This road was kind of scary for me. Lots of traffic and big trucks. They are used to this stuff - I am used to flat Florida! But it's gorgeous. I later found out this is Cullasaja Falls. The falls descend 250 feet. I'm not sure of our elevation here, but this is the last waterfall coming down and the town above is around 4,100 feet.

Heading back down the mountain. Note the sharp curve!

And again with the rock walls. Not much room for error here.

And another sharp curve! Kind of a scary drive, but it was so pretty! I wish we had known there were more falls if we had kept driving. Maybe next time! Check back for day two!

8th Continent & MyMemories Winners

2011-12-23T09:03:00.003-05:00

I have a few winners to announce from my recent giveaways. First up is the MyMemories software winner - Cherished Bliss! And since I only had 4 entries for the 8th Continent giveaway - you're all winners! Christy, alw6ys, Yowser & Crzyquilter! Congrats everyone!

8th Continent Soymilk Review & Quick Giveaway

2011-12-20T21:04:00.005-05:00

Have you ever tried soy milk? I hadn't. I have purchased it in the past because Morgan loves it, but I had never really tried it. But recently I got the opportunity to try 8th Continent Soymilk and I really liked it! It was creamy and had a great flavor. I will definitely be buying it again!

Don't forget to follow 8th Continent on Twitter and on Facebook!

Now for the giveaway - 5 lucky readers will win two coupons for a FREE half gallon of 8th Continent soy milk! The coupons expire 12/31/11, so this has to be quick. Just leave me a comment with your favorite way to enjoy soy milk! I will pick the winners on 12/22!

Melted Crayon Art

2011-12-10T08:48:00.023-05:00

This project is not anything new, it's been all over Pinterest. But ever since I first saw it, I knew I wanted to do it. We need more color in our house and I've always loved Crayola crayons. So I bought the 96 count box of Crayolas when they were buy 1, get 2 free at Toys R Us, and a canvas with a 40% off coupon from Michael's.

I swore I had photos of the next step, but I can only find the one I took with my cell phone. First I pulled out all of the shades of the colors I wanted to use. I laid the canvas on the table and started lining the crayons up along the edge, so I could see how many I'd actually need. My line of crayons was longer than the canvas, so I pulled out some until I saw that they would fit. Then I glued them on using tacky glue. I thought about hot glue, but since I planned on using my heat gun, I was afraid the high temperature might melt the hot glue.

Here they are all lined up and attached.

Sadly, I don't have any photos of them melting. I was using a heat gun that gets very hot, and the kids wanted to help. I've read that others used a hair dryer, but the heat gun worked pretty fast.

We just let them drip until we liked the way it looked. I liked it with the white between the colors and not all the way down, but you can do whatever you like!

It was really fun to do and the kids loved it! I think I'm going to get them some smaller canvases and let them choose their own colors. Then they can hang them in their bedrooms. I have this one in our living room.

Linked to: Get Your Craft On at Today's Creative Blog, Talent Tuesday at Vintage Wanna Bee, Show Me What Ya Got at Not Just a Housewife, Too Cute Tuesday at Funky Polkadot Giraffe, Inspired By You Wednesday at Eisy Morgan, Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style, Whatever Goes Wednesday at Someday Crafts, What's Up Wednesday at Sew Woodsy, Home Decor & Organizing Party #31 at Organize & Decorate Everything, Show & Tell at Blue Cricket Design, Look What I Made at Creations by Kara, Friday Favorites at Simply Sweet Home, Weekend Bloggy Reading at Serenity Now, Project Party Weekend at Bubbly Nature Creations, Friday Favs at Naptime Crafters, Delicately Constructed Friday at delicateCONSTRUCTION, Weekend Wrap Up Party at Tatertots & Jello, Think Pink Sundays at Flamingo Toes, Sundae Scoop at I ♥ Naptime

Still Trying

2011-12-10T08:14:00.002-05:00

Just a quick post to say that I am trying to get back into the swing of things! I have one more college class left this semester, so hopefully that will help some! And I've begun baking, so that's a start. I'm hoping to do a couple of recipe posts, and maybe a craft or two. I haven't crafted in awhile! I still have pictures from our trip to Legoland in October that I'd like to share. In the meantime, here's Morgan meeting Buddy!

Hartstrings Clothing Review

2011-11-30T21:09:00.005-05:00

As if Morgan didn't already have a ton of clothes, I recently got the opportunity to pick out some adorable Hartstrings clothing for for her. They had such cute things, it was hard to choose what to get! But the timing was perfect, because we needed a Christmas-y outfit.

The first outfit I chose was this adorable pink skirt. I love the dots and who doesn't like ruffles? A cute white top with a puppy & a girl finished this look off.

Now, I tried and tried to get better pictures of the Christmas outfit. She has been very hyper the past few days and would not cooperate at all! But you can still see how cute her outfit is.

I loved this black velvet skort, and since it isn't really Christmas themed or colored, it can be used for awhile. It has cute little bows across the front with rhinestones sewed on. And I thought the candy cane shirt was so sweet. The candy cane is sewed on, as well as the bow.

I am really happy with the quality of Hartstrings clothing. I can definitely see myself ordering from them in the future. And right now they have a clearance section with up to 75% off. Check it out here.

I was provided the products to review, however, all thoughts and opinions are 100% my own.

Glittery Christmas Art

2011-11-29T12:35:00.003-05:00

I blogged about this last year, but I'm going to share it again. Hopefully it inspires me to start crafting again! I miss blogging!

This is a pretty easy project, but I think it's pretty cute! Especially if you love glitter, like I do. First you need frames. I went with those ugly, gold metal frames you see at every thrift store or yardsale. Even the thrift doesn't want these, they are always in a box outside with the other "junk" like McDonalds toys. You can see they were only $.25. Ignore the lovely 1990 goose art!

Next you need chipboard. Wood shapes would work, too.

And the good stuff. Martha Stewart glitter! I started to use the glass glitter pictured, but ended up grabbing my blue Martha glitter.

Glitter your chipboard! I ended up having to do two coats of glitter because I didnt like how sparse it looked with one. Painting the chipboard a matching color would probably help with that.

Purty!!

I don't have a photo for every step of this, but you just take the insert out of the frame (not the piece that has the "leg"). I used the glass to trace the size needed onto a piece of white felt. Then I glued the felt onto that insert.

After you put it back in the frame, this is what it will look like. I added the chipboard after putting it together, but it's probably better to add it before. I was in a hurry to see how they would look! Oh, and I used tacky glue but hot glue would be fine, too!

And here they are all together!

I don't have red spray paint or glitter, or I would have done some red, too!

Versona Accessories

2011-11-17T20:57:00.013-05:00

I was recently invited to the grand opening of a new shop here in Lakeland called Versona Accessories. Today was the day! It would have been nice to grab a girlfriend and hit the shop and maybe some Starbucks BOGO, but it was just me and Morgan. She made it a little hard to browse and especially take good pictures, but I did manage to get some (photos that is, not sure how good they are).

I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was very pleased when I walked in. They had tons of stuff! Everything from jewelry to clothing to shoes and more. As you can see, everything is arranged by color.

I loved this blue necklace in the back left. It's one of my favorite colors and it was so sparkly! But it's not something I'd normally wear so I passed on it today. I was very tempted though!

Here's a lovely display of purples and plums.

They had lot's of cute flats and they were very affordable, too! These were $13.99. The ones on the far right were glittery! I really liked the orange ones, too.

Lots and lots of metallics.

This bowl of sparkly bracelets was really pretty, too. My camera couldn't quite capture she sparkle.

More blues, whites and silvers. Can you tell I'm partial to these colors?

Here's my little cutie waiting for the dressing room. She looks so grown in this picture, much older than two!

So he's what I ended up with. I've been looking for a green t-shirt and I loved this one! And it was only $13.99. And I couldn't pass up this sparkly black necklace.

So if you are in the area, stop by Versona Accessories in Lakeside Village. I will definitely be back! And if you aren't in this area, check our their website and see if you have one near you.

My Memories Suite Software Giveaway!

2011-11-14T11:11:00.004-05:00

I've never been into digital scrapbooking (honestly, I hardly ever scrapbook with paper anymore either!), so when I got the chance to try out the My Memories Suite software, I wasn't sure what I would make. It's just digital scrapbooking software, right? WRONG! You can make anything from cards (Christmas is coming fast!) to art for your walls - or even things for your blog. I am a total beginner, but look at this cute banner I made for my blog:

It was quick and easy and there are tons of adorable options available. If this looks like something you'd love to play around with, it's your lucky day. Right now you can save $20! Visit My Memories and by entering coupon code STMMMS968 at checkout you can take $10 off the My Memories Suite software download and $10 to use on digital designs and papers!

And even better, how would you like the chance to WIN the software? One lucky reader will win a free download of the My Memories Software Suite.

Here's how to enter. Please make sure you leave a seperate comment for each!
1. (MANDATORY) Visit My Memories and let me know the name of your favorite kit.
2. Become a follower of my blog, or let me know that you already are.
3. Follow My Memories on Twitter.

Giveaway will remain open until 11/21/11. Good luck!!

Get a Melissa & Doug 25% Off Coupon When You Take the North "Poll"

2011-11-10T18:21:00.008-05:00

We love Melissa & Doug toys! My girls especially love the play food. Morgan has been playing with their pizza set non-stop lately. And with Christmas coming up, how would you like to earn a 25% off coupon so you can get some of these awesome toys for your kids?

Melissa & Doug want you to tell them which of their educational toys you think is the best! Just click on the image below to place your vote in the North "Poll!" You'll Get a Melissa & Doug 25% Off Coupon** to use at MelissaAndDoug.com just for voting!

Blake's Football Party

2011-10-17T13:14:00.044-04:00

Finally! I'm posting about Blake's birthday! I didn't expect it to be this hard to juggle working part time, blogging, taking two classes and home life - but it is! Sorry for my lag in posts.

I found these brown & white candy sticks at Party City. But we could have skipped these, none of the kids ate any.

A couple of bags of football Oreos turned in to chocolate covered football Oreos. My piping is far from perfect, but everyone loved these!

I also made little chocolate footballs. These went pretty fast too.

I found a big tub of football pretzels at Walmart.

And of course we had chips to snack on. I found these bowls at the Dollar Tree.

Mike and Blake made these goal posts on the table. They are made from PVC and Blake got to do the spray painting. Thankfully we had that bright yellow left over from Layla's birthday.

I found the fringed streamer on clearance for $.25 at Party City. This table was for the pizza when it arrived.

We made this chip stadium out of cardboard & aluminum foil. It was inspired by something I saw on Pinterest. Yea, theirs is better, but also huge and I'm happy with ours.

Hurdles...

And even a tackling dummy.

But the reason those ended up not being used was Mike painted a football field! The boys were literally out there all day. We had to drag them back in for cake & presents.

But it started storming so that helped get them in! We used that time to open presents. It was quite chaotic. Thankfully the screen porch kept them out of my house.

It let up some and they were back to football.

But then we had to drag them back for cake.

Here's a closeup of the cupcakes. I'm really happy with how they turned out, even though frosting all that grass was a pain in the hand!

And this Steeler's cupcake is black & yellow.

Instead of pre-scooping the ice cream, I let it melt a little & them molded it into a football shaped silicone pan. We had chocolate & vanilla.

And we can't forget the party favors.

The rest of the afternoon was spent playing football in the rain. And sliding into a giant mud puddle!

I love this group shot of the boys. It took a few tries though!

Linked to:
Tailgate Throwdown 2011, Look What I Made at Creations by Kara, Weekend Bloggy Reading at Serenity Now, Friday Favs at Naptime Crafters, Delicately Constructed Friday at delicateCONSTRUCTION, Show & Share Day at Just a Girl, Market Yourself Monday at Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Talent Tuesday at Vintage Wanna Bee, Too Cute Tuesday at Funky Polkadot Giraffe, Whatever Goes Wednesday at Someday Crafts, Hookin Up with HoH at House of Hepworths, 4th Annual Party Party at My Insanity

Football Party Favors

2011-10-09T11:02:00.009-04:00

Blake's birthday was a big success! I will have that post up soon, but for now I'm going to share what I did for his favors. I wasn't sure how many kids were coming, but a lot were invited so I didn't want to do anything that would end up too expensive. So we went to Party City and checked out the 15 for $1 candy bins.

We picked out several types of green candy and one brown. There wasn't much that sounded good for brown candies!

I picked up some clear baggies from the jewelry making section at Walmart.

I still wasn't sure what I was going to do at this point, and then I happened to stop in Target when the school supplies were 75% off. I picked up these green notebooks for $.05 each! I wrapped each one with some brown yard, added the candies and a tag that said "thank you" and that was it!

Felt Color Book

2011-09-21T00:37:00.024-04:00

I'm so excited to have finally finished this book! I got the idea to make it for Morgan, because she couldn't stop looking at a color book I had made for Blake years ago. Problem was, it was paper, and she wasn't being very easy on it.

I thought I had pictures of steps prior to this, but it's pretty basic. I just decided on a size and cut rectangles out of some felt I had. Then I dug through my fabric stash & picked out some of each color.

I cut different sizes and shapes, decided on placement (leaving room for color names) and stitched them on.

Then I dug out the embroidery thread and got busy with the lettering.

I did the lettering freehand so it isn't perfect, but that's ok.

(Morgan got a hold of the scissors.)

When that was finishes I laid them out in order, back to back, and stitched them together.

I poked a hole in the corner of each with a needle & a knitting needle, and ran a binder ring through to connect them.

And there you have it!

Linked to:
Show & Tell at Blue Cricket Design, Inspired By You Wednesday at Eisy Morgan, Whatever Goes Wednesday at Someday Crafts, Transformation Thursday at The Shabby Creek Cottage, Hookin Up With HoH at House of Hepworths, Whats Up Wednesday at Sew Woodsy

Happy Birthday Blake!

2011-09-19T13:48:00.005-04:00

Somehow my oldest turned 10 today! How is that possible?

Shoudln't he still be a baby?

Happy Birthday Blake!!

Carmex Winner!

2011-09-18T20:02:00.001-04:00

Sorry for the delay - the winner of the Carmex giveaway is #14 - Julie! Congrats!!

Football Invitations

2011-09-15T10:03:00.008-04:00

Blake's 10th birthday is coming up and this year he chose a football theme. How surprising. I was kind of hoping he'd find a printable on Etsy that he liked, but no, he wanted me to make them myself. So I got busy paper piecing 30 invitations.

Somehow I forgot to take any pictures before this step, but basically I just did a Google search for a football coloring page. Once I found one that would work, I resized it in Paint and printed it out. I used the whole football as a pattern to cut the balls out of brown cardstock. Then I cut off one white strip at a time and did the same.

I used the leftover piece above as a guide for gluing the white strips down.

And then I went back and trimmed off the excess.

I used a white paint pen to draw on the stitches. Much easier than cutting all those little pieces!

I typed up the wording in Microsoft Works, printed it out and glued them to the back of the footballs. My edges aren't perfect, but that's what happens when you do everything by hand. I need a craft cutter!

He likes them, so I'm happy. More party posts coming soon!

Linked to:
Catch As Catch Can at My Repurposed Life, Friday Favorites at Simply Sweet Home, Friday Favs at Naptime Crafters, Weekend Bloggy Reading at Serenity Now, Delicately Constructed Friday at delicateCONSTRUCTION, Watcha Got Weekend at Lollyjane Boutique, Weekend Wrap Up Party at Tatertots & Jello, Sunday Showcase Party at Under the Table & Dreaming, Sundae Scoop at I ♥ Naptime, College Football Saturday Tailgate Party at Mom Endeavors, Creative Bloggers Party & Hop at Homemaker on a Dime

Dimple Prints Halloween Party

2011-09-12T09:49:00.029-04:00

I recently had the opportunity to set up a party display for Dimple Prints. I was really excited because I love Halloween and planning parties! Not to mention the awesome products that Dimple Prints has. I used her invitations for Layla's Ice Cream party.

You get SO much in this set. I was surprised by just how much you get! (haha, didn't mean for that to rhyme!)

Since I wasn't having an actual party, I just did a table display. But I am dying to have a Halloween party one day, and I will definitely be using these again when I do.

You get several banners and spacers.

(I love those owls!)

Lots of cupcake toppers/party circles, too. Everything from pumpkins, to cats to haunted houses.

Can't forget to say thank you.

And lot's of signs! Wouldn't this one be cute next to a hat rack covered in witch's hats? I wanted to display it that way but I couldn't find out hats. (I'm sure if I hadn't been so afraid to run into a spider, and dug more, I would have found them).

If you've got hats, you can't forget about the brooms. (Thankfully those were easy to find).

A party isn't complete without some treats!

I made those bottle brush trees a few years ago. Aren't they cute?

And Halloween isn't complete without some tricks! Aren't those eyeballs & fingers amazing? A former coworker made them out of clay.

Buntings are everywhere these days and I love this one!

There is so much in this set that I couldn't include everything. And this set is an amazing deal being priced at only $5.00! It's available for purchase here. And don't forget to check out the Dimple Prints blog!

Linked to:
Fall Frenzy at Craftaholics Anonymous, Market Yourself Monday at Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Get Your Craft On at Today's Creative Blog, Too Cute Tuesday at Funky Polkadot Giraffe, Talent Tuesday at Vintage Wanna Bee, Show & Tell at Blue Cricket Design, Whatever Goes Wednesday at Someday Crafts, Link Party #69 at Tea Rose Home, Idea Sharing Wednesday at Women Who Do It All, What's Up Wednesday at Sew Woodsy, Inspired By You Wednesday at Eisy Morgan, Hookin Up With HoH at House of Hepworths

Carmex Review & Giveaway!

2011-09-11T10:24:00.003-04:00

If you're anything like me, you constantly have to have lip balm on hand. I've never a lipstick, or even a lip gloss person, but I always have lip balm. And Carmex is one of my favorites, so I was very excited to be able to try out the new Vanilla & Lime Twist flavors! I wasn't surprised to find that I love them. They are the same, high quality you'd expect from Carmex, and the flavors smell great. Plus, they are SPF 15. You can find them at Walgreens, Walmart and CVS. So how would you like to win the set you see above? Two Carmex lip balms in Vanilla and Lime Twist, and a picnic blanket?

To enter:
1. MANDATORY: What's your favorite food to have at a picnic?
2. OPTIONAL: Be a public follower or let me know that you already are.

Giveaway will remain open until 9/16/11.

I was provided with products to review by the makers of Carmex, but ideas & opinions are 100% my own.

Oozy Cauldron

2011-09-08T10:14:00.003-04:00

Several years ago, we made these oozing cauldrons for Halloween decorations. I love how they turned out! But they do take some maintenance when you get them back out each year. I think that's why I never really blogged a real tutorial? I did a quick post on them here. But would you guys want a full photo tutorial on these?

Project Sneak Peek

2011-09-05T08:53:00.002-04:00

I really am trying to get back into the swing of things! I have a few things I need to finish before I can share, like the photo above. I also have at least one giveaway coming up. I'm trying to adjust to the kids being back in school, ME being back in school and juggling those with football & gymnastics practice. I think I'm getting there though! If you'd be interested in guest posting or sponsoring a giveaway - please let me know!

Butterfly Art

2011-08-26T19:45:00.032-04:00

One of my favorite blogs is Whatever. If you haven't visited Meg's blog, you totally should! When she posted her butterfly project, I knew it was something I wanted to try one day. And I knew Layla would love it! She is quite the crafty girl herself. Always drawing or trying to make something. So I dug out some old canvases I was saving. As you can see they were previously used!

I painted them white (took several coats!) then Layla chose what color she wanted to use & got busy. I decided I'd make one for Morgan, I kept hers white.

Next we got out the watercolors and got busy painting. As you can see, Morgan wanted to help.

Sorry for the quality of the photos, it's usually in the evening when we craft.

After our papers were dry, I got busy punching out butterflies. Lots of butterflies!

And then we started arranging them. I tried a glue pen so she could do it herself, but it wasn't drying fast enough, so I got out the hot glue gun. I don't have a low-temp one, so I helped her out with the gluing.

And here they are! Morgan's (the one I made) is the white one, and Layla's is the blue one.

I love how colorful they are! Now I just need to figure out where to hang them.

Linked to:
Watcha Got Weekend at Lolly Jane Boutique, Sundae Scoop at I ♥ Naptime, Think Pink Sundays at Flamingo Toes, Sunday Showcase Party at Under the Table & Dreaming, Made by Little Hands Monday at delicateCONSTRUCTION, Creative Bloggers Party & Hop at Homemaker On a Dime, Market Yourself Monday at Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Show Me What Ya Got at Not Just a Housewife, Too Cute Tuesday at Funky Polkadot Giraffe, Get Your Craft On at Today's Creative Blog, Show & Tell at Blue Cricket Design, Whatever Goes Wednesday at Someday Craftss, What's Up Wednesday at Sew Woodsy, Link Party #67 at Tea Rose Home, Idea Sharing Wednesday at Women Who Do It All, Weekend Bloggy Reading at Serenity Now, Delicately Constructed Friday at delicateCONSTRUCTION, Friday Favorites at Simply Sweet Home, Frugal Friday at The Shabby Nest, Catch-as-Catch-Can at My Repurposed Life

Upromise - Dare to Dream

2011-08-24T10:02:00.001-04:00

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of UPromise for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Have you joined Upromise yet? If not, you definitely should. Not only can you earn money for college just by doing your regular shopping (online and in store!), but right now, you could win $10,000! Wouldn't that be nice?

Upromise is celebrating their 10th anniversary by having a contest at www.upromisetodream.com. Their members have already earned more then $600 million in college savings through their awesome program, but now they want to give back even more. You could win $1,000 or even $10,000 right now! Just by submitting a story of how you are supporting your childs dreams. Ten lucky winners will receive $1,000 and one really lucky winner will when $10,000! That would definitely help fulfill some dreams.

To enter, head on over to the Dream Wall and submit your dream. After submitting your dream, you can "like" other dreams, and encourage your friends and family to "like" your dreams. There will be weekly drawings for the $1,000 and the entry with the most votes by September 29 will win the $10,000. For official rules, visit here: k dream wall official rules.

I have already entered, maybe I'll get lucky! My dream talks about wanting my kids to have happy childhoods and to finish college before they have families of their own! It's definitely something I wish I had done. I can only hope for things to be better for them. I also hope they are able to fulfill their personal dreams, whether it's playing college or pro football, or traveling the world. I want my kids to have happy, successful lives, much like anyone else, I'm sure!

So what are you waiting for? Hurry up and enter today! And let me know in the comments, what kinds of dreams do you have for your kids?

A Glowing Mess

2011-07-30T11:36:00.018-04:00

I'm almost embarrassed to admit how long we've had this Crayola Glow Explosion Sand sitting around (they got it for Easter!), but we finally drug it out and put it to use. It was pretty easy to set up - you had to mix the sand & some activator together. The kit we had came with 3 containers to fill with the sand. You can see above what the sand looked like after we mixed it.

Like anything artsy & fun - it was messy! This is my table after we finished.

This is the floor. Kind of looks like stars, huh?

Here is Blake's creation.

And Layla's.

And Morgan's.

This stuff was a lot of fun! The kids really enjoyed it. The glow only lasted about 4 hours, but they glow pretty bright. I had to keep the lights off so I could vacuum up the mess!

Linked To:
Think Pink Sunday at Flamingo Toes, Sunday Showcase Party at Under the Table & Dreaming, Sundae Scoop at Under the Table & Dreaming, Market Yourself Monday at Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Creative Bloggers Party & Hop at Homemaker on a Dime, Show & Tell at Blue Cricket Design

It's a Shark-Er-Melon!

2011-07-26T19:29:00.017-04:00

I've been debating posting this since I did it, mostly because another blogger posted it first. Apparently we both made this Memorial Day weekend! (that's how long I've been debating, lol!). I ended up posting my watermelon cake first. But I went through the trouble of photographing the steps, so I'm going to go ahead and post.

Start with a long, oval shaped watermelon. Wash it and dry it. And then lop off one end, at an angle.

Then cut away an open mouth shape. I went over this first with a little paring knife, then did the actual cutting with a bigger, sharper knife. Make sure you save the good fruit from this and the chunk you cut off first.

Using a scoop or a spoon, carefully scrape out the inside of the melon. Keep this fruit too!

This was probably the trickiest part for me. You need to remove the dark green flesh from about 1 inch or so, all the way around the mouth. I used the paring knife at first, then tried a veggie peeler. The peeler was much easier!

You can see mine isn't quite perfect! But that's ok.

Next, using a sharp knife, begin cutting the teeth. Mine aren't very uniform, but I still think they turned out pretty good.

Using some of the previously cut away rind, cut the shape of a fin. Then, using toothpicks, insert the fin into the back of the shark.

Cut your previously set aside fruit into cubes, and fill the sharks mouth.

For the eye, I used a melon baller to dig out a circle, then I filled it with a brown peanut M&M. Be careful with this part, you don't want to crack your shark!

And there you have it! It was fairly easy - easier than I thought it would be!

Linked to:
Inspired By You Wednesday at Eisy Morgan, Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style, Whatever Goes Wednesday at Someday Crafts, Show & Tell at Blue Cricket Design, What's Up Wednesday at Sew Woodsy, Idea Sharin Wednesday at Women Who Do It All, Weekend Bloggy Reading at Serenity Now, Delicately Constructed Friday at delicateCONSTRUCTION

4th of July Recap

2011-07-19T11:29:00.022-04:00

First I want to say that I'm sorry for the lack of posting! I know you "aren't supposed to" apologize for not blogging, but I am anyway! I didn't mean to "disappear", I guess it just happened. I'm hoping to get back into the swing of things & start posting again. And I'm going to start with the 4th of July. Oh, and they are in kind of random order, sorry! I am posting them in the order they were taken.

Sorry for the bad lighting, but it's next to impossible to get a good shot of this. The sun was just too bright. That is the bunting I made last year along with some paper decorations I found at the Dollar Tree.

These red, white & blue strawberries are all over the internet, and I've been wanting to make them. They were a big hit!

I had some leftover chocolate & blueberries, so I drizzled some chocolate on them. It was pretty good!

I took some milk glass I had and tied red & blue bakers twine around each one. Simple, but cute.

My niece make these cupcakes.

In addition to the 4th of July, I was also lucky enough to be selected to host a Budweiser Ultimate Backyard BBQ House Party!

My "famous" Snickers Cake. This is always a big hit!

We finished off the evening with some at-home fireworks. How was your holiday?

$5 for $30 in Credit to Totsy!

2011-07-12T18:50:00.005-04:00

This won't last long, so hurry if you're interested!! Right now you can score a $30 credit to Totsy for as low as $5 on Plum District! If you havent joined Plum District, you can sign up here. Then after you sign up, you should see that you received a $5 credit to your account. Then click BUY on the deal page. You should see a box for a promo code. Enter "plumbzz5" to take an additional $5 off, making your out of pocket only $5! But hurry, before they sell out!

Old Navy Summer Shorts Party

2011-06-28T10:34:00.005-04:00

Have you ever heard of Crowdtap? I recently discovered it and I'm so glad I did! You can earn money for yourself & charity, and even get sponsored events! Head on over here to join Crowdtap and start earning. It's very easy. They have something called "quick hits". They are questions and by answering them, you earn points. As you level up, you get the opportunity to possibly get sample events. So far I've seen them for jeans, accessories, dresses, workout clothes & shorts, all from Old Navy!

I was lucky enough to get selected for the Old Navy Summer Shorts party. I was SO excited when I got the email!! Myself and three friends got to hang out in Old Navy, trying on all the cute clothes! We each got a pair of shorts, a top and an accessory of our choice. Aren't these shorts cute? My friend chose the plaid ones on top.

I thought these shirts were very cute too. And the shorts as well!

And I cannot believe I'm posting this, I hate photos of myself! But this is the shirt I ended up with. Not the shorts. The shirt isn't something I'd normally pick, but I thought it was cute, and so did my friends that came along. It looks much better in person! Thank you Old Navy & Crowdtap for this opportunity!

Been Busy!

2011-06-27T14:12:00.013-04:00

Sorry for not being around much. It was my intention to stay up with my blogging since Christmas, and I've been doing pretty good until lately. It's been a busy few weeks. Last weekend, Blake went to a football camp put on by Max Starks from the Pittsburg Steelers. A whole group of us went so we decided to stay in Orlando for the night, even though it's only 45 minutes or so away.

Mainly because we wanted to stay at Coco Key! Photos of that in a second.

But first, check this out. We had two beds in our room, yet look where the kids ended up. Yep. In my bed!

This is one of the three pools at Coco Key. This one is more for the little kids. It's only 3 feet deep in the deep end. Then there is another (no photo) that is 5 feet deep with a bigger slide. Both of them are covered by a roof. Plus there is another pool & a hot tub in a seperate area with no roof.

The kids, especially Morgan, loved this area! There are several slides here, including some for the really little ones. The water is ankle depth and it's dripping & pouring from everywhere!

Then you have the 3 large slides. We went on all of them, but I didn't much care for the red one in the center there! Very scary! Layla loved the yellow & the blue/orange one. The red one freaked her out a little, too. And it turns out she wasn't even supposed to be on it due to her height. But she survived.

Here is my nephew & a friend chilling in water. Waiting for something...

This!! A huge bucket at the top dumps out a ton of water! The kids love it.

Here's Layla going down one of the slides in the 3 foot pool.

And Blake coming down one of the slides.

We ended our trip by visiting the World's Largest McDonalds.

It was a great weekend! And I hope to get back in to some crafting & blogging. What have you been up to lately?

Art Party Goody Bags

2011-06-22T20:08:00.011-04:00

I know it's been awhile since I shared anything about the art party, but I still have a few things I wanted to blog about. So next up are the goody bags. I started with white glassine bags.

The goodies included a painted pencil, a glitter glue pen, a mini chalkboard, some white chalk, a piece of sidewalk chalk, a lollipop, a piece of Painterz gum, a stamp and some fun dough.

I found these little chalkboards at Michael's. They are adhesive backed, so they can be used as stickers, but I decided to punch holes in them and string them from some yarn. I wrote "thanks for coming" on each one before putting them in the bags.

Since the white bags are pretty plain, I decided to add some color with paint chips from Walmart.

I chopped off the more pastel colors, so they would be more vibrant and also so they would fit the bags better.

And in the corner of each paint chip, I used a punch to create a decorative "splat".

I didn't want the leftover paint chips to go to waste, so I dug out a round punch and created some confetti for the tables.

To close them all up I folded the tops over and attached the paint chips with some hot glue.

And there you have it! I think they turned out really cute. I like how they're colorful and match the theme, but are still simple.

Linked to: Friday Favs at Naptime Crafters, Weekend Bloggy Reading at Serenity Now, Delicately Constructed Friday at delicateCONSTRUCTION, Friday Favorites at Inspiring Creations, Show & Share Day at Just a Girl, Catch-as-Catch-Can at My Repurposed Life, Friday Favorites at Simply Sweet Home

Teacher Gifts

2011-06-09T20:29:00.025-04:00

Today was the last day of school! This year went by so fast. I can't believe I'm going to have a 4th grader & a 2nd grader! I took them to Rita's Italian Ice after school and we started planning a summer list. I'll post about that later. First up is teacher's gifts. I've seen these around the 'net and decided we'd give it a go.

I'm sorry for the bluriness of this photo, but it's the only one I have. I found these guys at Michael's with the dollar toys. Layla's teacher likes tigers, so we went with a lion. Close enough. Blake wouldn't pick so I chose a dinosaur.

Using a sharpie I drew an oval for where I would cut.

Then using a razor knife, I cut along the lines. The cutting was definitely the hardest part!

After cutting I gave them a coat of primer.

And finally spray paint. Layla's teacher likes green, and I let Blake choose from our spray paint stash.

Then we headed to Lowe's to find some succulents. I think these were $2.98 each.

And then just stuff the plant in. This was kind of tricky too, only because the space is so small. But I got them in. I did add a few small pebbles first to help with drainage.

I think they turned out pretty cute!

Of course we also had to have a card. And thankfully, Tiny Prints had a promo code that gave you 5 free cards & free shipping, so that took care of both teachers & Father's Day. The one above was for Blake's teacher.

And this was for Layla's.

To make it easy for the kids to carry to school, I picked up to plastic bins from the dollar spot at Target. Added some colored tissue paper & they were done.

What did you do for your kids teachers?

Linked to: Sunday Showcase Party at Under the Table & Dreaming, Sundae Scoop at I ♥ Naptime, Market Yourself Monday at Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Get Your Craft On at Today's Creative Blog, Monday Link Up at Dimple Prints, Too Cute Tuesday at Funky Polkadot Giraffe, Talent Tuesday at Vintage Wanna Bee, Friday Favs at Naptime Crafters, Friday Favorites at Inspiring Creations, Weekend Bloggy Reading at Serenity Now

Firecracker Slush

2011-06-04T12:56:00.024-04:00

With summer pretty much here, I've started thinking about the 4th of July. I never really decorate too much, but I always do something food related. Every year I make a Snicker's Cake, and last year I also did one that looked like a flag inside when you cut it. Even though it's not the 4th yet, I decided to give something new a try. Something inspired by the Rainbow Slush.

You need the same ingredients. Frozen ice pops (something with white), dishes to put them in (these are single serving size), a bowl & a fork.

Freeze the pops, then seperate your red, white & blue colors.

I forgot a picture of just the blue, but crush your pop in the bowl and then add the blue to your dishes. Then repeat with white and red. If you pops are soft enough, you may be able to just pour them straight into the dish. But then you also run the chance of the colors blending.

Here is it after the addition of the red. Isn't it cute?

Then if you like, you can add your choice of garnish. Here I used a lollipop stick & a pompom.

Now kick back & enjoy! (I wonder if the adults could add vodka to these? LOL!)

Do you have any projects or recipes planned for the 4th?

Linked to: Creative Bloggers Party at Homemaker On a Dime, Sunday Showcase Party at Under the Table & Dreaming, Sundae Scoop at I ♥ Naptime, Market Yourself Monday at Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Monday Linky Party at Dimple Prints, Get Your Craft On at Today's Creative Blog, Tasty Tuesday at 33 Shades of Green, Show Me What Ya Got at Not Just a Housewife, Too Cute Tuesday at Funky Polkadot Giraffe, Idea Sharing Wednesday at Women Who Do It All, Whatever Goes Wednesday at Someday Crafts, Show & Tell at Blue Cricket Design, Inspired By You Wednesday at Eisy Morgan, Hookin Up With HoH at House of Hepworths, Transformation Thursday at The Shabby Chic Cottage, Weekend Bloggy Reading at Serenity Now, I'm Crafty Party at So You Think You're Crafty, Catch-As-Catch-Can at My Repurposed Life, Delicately Constructed Friday at delicateCONSTRUCTION, Weekend Wrap Up Party at Tatertots & Jello, Show & Share Day at Just a Girl

Watermelon Cake

2011-05-30T19:32:00.013-04:00

For our Memorial Day celebration, I was in charge of the sweets. And what says summer better than watermelon? I've seen the Betty Crocker watermelon cake, and it was my inspiration, but I did not use their recipe.

You will need:
white cake mix

oil, eggs & water per cake mix instructions

a round pan (I used a Wilton soccer ball pan)

food coloring

chocolate jimmies

frosting (I prefer to make my own but I was going for fast & easy)

Mix the cake according to directions. Then add coloring until you reach your desired shade. Then add chocolate jimmies & stir.

Bake according to your pans directions, let cool & frost. And that's it! You can see my attempts to copy the stripes of a watermelon. I just dyed my frosting a lighter shade of green, frosted it and then dyed the rest a darker green. I used a spatula to add the dark green & drag the stripes. It probably would have looked better if I had used homemade frosting.

And there you have it, Watermelon Cake! You can see that the jimmies resemble the black seeds.

I hope you had a good Memorial Day! How did you celebrate?

Linked to:

Show Me What Ya Got at Not Just a Housewife, Too Cute Tuesday at Funky Polkadot Giraffe, Talent Tuesday at Vintage Wanna Bee, Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style, Show & Tell at Blue Cricket Design, This Weeks Cravings at Moms Crazy Cooking, Friday Favorites at Simply Sweet Home, Weekend Bloggy Reading at Serenity Now, Show & Share Day at Just a Girl, Catch-As-Catch-Can at My Repurposed Life, Friday Favorites at Inspiring Creations

Shortcake Party Picks Winner!

2011-05-27T09:51:00.002-04:00

The lucky winner of their choice of item from Shortcake Party Picks is....

comment #1 (I can't believe it picked 1!), Kitty! Congratulations!!