All That Scrap

What To Do Wednesday: Old Picture frame Upcycle

Kristin — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 16:21:11 +0000

I have so many picture frames around my house that are just stored in boxes… it is a shame really. One thing I also have is lots of piles of little pieces of paper and photos I would easily like to display. So, how to combine the two…

I started with some supplies: A picture frame and some cork board material.

To start, you will not need your glass front, so take that out. You know me though, I will save it for another project down the line.

I did not have an old cork board laying around, so I did have to purchase a roll of cork board. It is expensive… but you get a lot, so that is a plus.

I took the backing from my frame and lay it onto my cork and simply took an exacto knife and cut to fit.

Fit your cut cork into your frame and secure the back.

Start tacking some photos and things to your new cork board frame!

I chose to put a picture of my favorite Breast Cancer Walking gals as an example!

Top Ten Tuesday: Don’t Worry! Be HAPPY!

Kristin — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 05:40:14 +0000

Ok, first let me say that I know that 90% of the things that people worry about NEVER happen.

I should just not worry about things and just be happy with life, and for the most part I am a happy, positive person. As a mother and someone who has a kind heart, I cannot help but think of some of these things. These are BIG things… I do worry about small stuff too, like falling through the floor while taking a shower, but this is the real deal!

So, my Top Ten list of things that I worry about that will hopefully never happen.

~1~

My biggest worry is that my children will not follow Christ. I know that will not happen, because I have the most loving, kind and merciful children on the planet, but life happens my friends. I walked away from my Lord during my teenage years… and thankfully God kept that conviction on my heart all that time.

~2~

I worry that I will bury one of my kids one day. This is a thought that tears at my heart and my soul. I have known many families that have had the heartbreak of a child’s loss. I do not want to be one of those people.

And while I do not want my kids to have to deal with my passing one day, I am glad that I have told them that I will simply be waiting for them to join me, and watching them grow when the time comes that I do pass.

~3~

Living so close to Lake Huron, I worry that the banks will over flow and my home will be consumed with water. Even being half a block away, stranger things have happened.

~4~

I worry that our government officials are so out of touch with the reality of my life and others like me that it will cause a major uprising of our nation that will end in complete anarchy.

~5~

I worry that my grandfather’s house will never sell. I think of it daily. It really is a beautiful home, and one that I wish my sisters and I could go in on and purchase ourselves… who knows, one day!

~6~

I worry that my little home church will wither and die. This is a worry I have for not only my church, but for many churches all across the country. Young people are just not coming to church… we need to give them hope and love.

~7~

I worry that our country will evolve into the movie Idiocracy.

It seems like as a people we are getting lazy about things. Children are more apt to sit and play video games all day rather than go out and play in the great outdoors, or go out of their way to help their fellow man.

~8~

Another thing that worries me is that many Americans are starving. We are not a third world country here my friends. We should not live in a country that has children going hungry, but it happens every day.

~9~

I worry that I will not have left an impact on those around me. Often times I think of a quote (not sure who it is by) that says: My goal is not to live forever, it is to create something that will.

~10~

I worry that our Educational system is going to fail. That smart kids will not be able to attend colleges and further their knowledge and learning because there will be no funding or importance put on our educational system. That would be VERY sad indeed.

A HUGE thanks to Amanda over at OhAmanda.com for letting me link up to her blog today. I will miss the Top Ten Tuesday at your site, but I am so excited to be able to be seeing it over at Many Little Blessings. THANK YOU for all the work you have done! YOU are appreciated!

Monday Munchies: CROCK POT Triple Chocolate Mess Cake!

Kristin — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 17:05:18 +0000

Oh yes you did read that right!

What are you waiting on?? Go get your crock pot ready!!

1 package chocolate cake mix

1 pint sour cream

1 package instant chocolate pudding mix (any size!)

6 oz. bag of chocolate chips

3/4 cup vegetable oil

4 eggs

1 cup water

Spray your crock pot with some non-stick cooking spray.

Mix all ingredients together in your crock until well blended. Cook, covered, on low for 6-8 hours.

Now…. I know you are going to want to take a peek, but really… try to keep the lid on it!

Serve with ice cream!
YUMMY!

Weekly To Do List: February 19, 2012

Kristin — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 14:13:38 +0000

Looking like a not so crazy week! YEAH!

~~Church~~

~~Levi’s birthday party~~

~~Clean up office~~

Work on Canvas

Work on headbands

Work on comp notebooks

Work on jewelry boxes

~~order supplies~~

~~print up examples of crafts for studio~~

~~Call Naomi~~

~~Call the gal at clothing store~~

~~Order some tool caddys~~

~~Grocery store run~~

~~Set up events on Facebook for Tastefully simple and Pampered Chef parties~~

~~Take down Valentines decorations outside~~

~~Take down icicle lights~~

Work on fun project for new friend

Decide which day to take campus tour

~~Get Etsy packages read to mail~~

~~post office run~~

~~Monday prize cart – with announcement for Rhys who hit 200 points!~~

~~Scouts at 4:30 Monday~~

~~Schedule Monday munchies on blog~~

~~Schedule TTT on blog~~

Schedule WTDW on blog

update facebook pages

~~Help pick up food bank goods for church at noon Tuesday~~

~~Deliver some packages around town~~

~~pack supplies for class on Wednesday~~

3pm Crayon Canvas class on Wednesday

PJ Party at School @ 6:30 Friday night

College campus tour on Saturday??

Dinner and a movie at church on Saturday

Stephanie’s 50^th birthday party on Saturday night!!

Water plants

Clean living room/ dining room

Clean bathrooms

Laundry

7 Quick Takes: February 17, 2012 (Vol. 68)

Kristin — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 13:43:14 +0000

~1~

This week has gone by so quickly that I failed to remember to do the 12 of 12 feature on the 12th of February… That stinks!

~2~

After switching times to accommodate some of my cub scouts who are also in hockey at this time of year, I have come to the conclusion that the only person this inconveniences is me! I knew that switching from 6pm to 4:30pm would cut my husband out of the loop as a co-leader, and I am thankful that one of the mom’s has been able to step up to fill his shoes, but pretty consistently, those boys who were switched meeting times for never show up. Hate to punish the one who does show up, so we will continue with scouts at 4:30 until hockey is over, but grrr.. it grinds me.

On a good note, we are SO CLOSE to earning our patch, even with several snow days in the mix… yeah!

~3~

My Wednesday card class was so much fun! Yes, it was just me and one other woman, but we chatted a lot, and went well over our hour together! Thankfully no classes were scheduled after mine that day, so it was a nice relaxing time together.

~4~

I met with the studio head to discuss the upcoming 2nd session. I get to teach just one class this session, RIGHT after school on Wednesdays. And when I say right after, I am not kidding… my child will not even be off the bus yet for at least half an hour into my class…. maybe I will have to start picking him up from school if he wants to join me.

In another turn of class events, I have been asked to teach a few classes out and about! We have to set a schedule on this yet, but I am also excited about it!

~5~

For the first time in a long time I am taking advantage of our upcoming Church Food Bank. God is so good I cannot even believe it some days. I prayed that some families would come to my attention, and within a day He had given me access to two families in crisis who can use our churches help!

One night my oldest son was off to help a friend study. I asked him if he would be eating dinner with us first, and he said he was just going to heat up some soup quick. As he was leaving, I noticed he had two cans of soup in his pockets. I said, “You are taking your food on the go? How come you aren’t eating here?” He gave me this look….. I knew then, without him saying another word that his study friend was in need. That is just how God works!

~6~

I completed several new items for my Etsy shop this week! A few custom orders for some pretty excited individuals, which got me excited of course! I do have a few more custom pieces to work on, but it was a productive week for sure!

I was also able to donate a few things to a friend who is doing a fund raiser in another town south of ours… LOVE being able to help out!

~7~

My father made me crazy this week. Imagine that right?!

He has had NO motivation, and watching him sit and sleep in a chair all week drains my motivation. I cannot remember what I said, but his reply was “I am not saying anything.” To which I replied, “Yes, and you aren’t doing anything either… stop draining my mojo!”

I think the thing that made me the most upset was when I was sweeping and cleaning the house around him and he asked if we were going to be having company… as if I only clean when people are coming over. Why that made me so mad I do not know, but whoa! I unleashed! Here I have several

Don’t get me wrong, I love the man to pieces, but depression is a tough thing to deal with ~ I know, I have been there myself.

What To Do Wednesday: Spring Grapevine Wreath

Kristin — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 21:39:25 +0000

I MUST give a huge shout out to my sister Allison for this idea… I received one of her beautiful creations for a Christmas gift this last year and loved it so much, I wanted to try one myself!

One thing I happen to see at a lot of garage sales in the Spring and Summer are those Grapevine Wreaths. While you can pick them up for a song at a good yard sale, you can also find them at craft shops too. I have found the Walmart has the best prices on the wreaths if you need to actually purchase one. (Under $4 last time I checked!)

So, because I have LOTS of fabric laying around, I took some remnants of fabric and cut them into strips of about 2-3 inches wide and the length of the yard piece ( or there abouts ).

After cutting the strips of some fun Spring like colors, I gathered my supplies: Wreath, fabric, scissors, felt and a hot glue gun.

First thing I did was to lay down a roll of ribbon as a template to trace some circles onto my piece of felt.

From here I cut the circles out and got them ready to hot glue the fabric strips onto. To get started on your Spring flowers, tie a knot on one end of your fabric strip and hot glue that to the center of your felt circle. Slowly twist the fabric while hot gluing around the center in a spiral design.

Keep going all around your felt piece until your fabric fills your felt circle.

Keep going with each flower until you have the desired amount of flowers you wish to use on your wreath. (I made just 5)

You may want to lay your flowers on your grapevine wreath to see what placement you desire. Once you figure out how you want them to appear, start gluing the back of your flower and press it onto your wreath.

Do this with all your flowers.

You will want to take a thicker strip of a matching fabric (about 4 inches wide by 24 inches long) and loop it onto your wreath.

Tie your fabric into a knot at the top of the two fabric pieces and hang your wreath!

Spring wreath

Enjoy!

Thanks to Tip Junkie for letting me link up to her Tip Me Tuesday Blog Feature!

Top Ten Tuesday: Husband LOVE

Kristin — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 18:09:29 +0000

Hosted by OhAmanda.com

Naturally Valentine’s Day reminds us about those we love, so today, I wanted to share what an awesome fella I have!

~1~

Dareck works some pretty long hours in the oil fields. Because he does this for us, it free’s me up to do things that I would like to do.

Because I don’t need to have a full time job, I can help at the school whenever I want. I can teach art classes, run around, thrift shop, volunteer around town and help at my church. I know that if I had to have a full time job, many of these things would not be a part of my daily life. Dareck is my hero for working so hard to make sure we are provided for.

~2~

It is a little thing, but one of the most loving things that he does for me that really starts each day off in a positive way. Dareck leaves me a full pot of coffee, and even pulls out my favorite coffee cup and sets it next to the coffee maker! I cannot remember when this started happening, but I love that he does this for me.

~3~

Because my hubby gets up so early, he is sweet enough to watch the news on TV on MUTE so that he doesn’t wake any of us up before we want to be up!

~4~

Dareck loves to laugh! He loves to joke around, and he loves to have fun. He makes me smile every day!

~5~

He lets me joke back with him. My hubby has a bum eyeball. He has had two cornea transplants, which both have rejected so he cannot see out of one of his eyeballs. And yet, he does not get mad at me when I sing, “You’re the ONE EYE, ONE EYE, ONE EYE, ONE EYE LOVE!!” Hehehe.

~6~

Dareck loves hanging out with the boys. Often times if he is off for a weekend, he is asking to take the boys out of town for a boys weekend away.

~7~

Even after working super long hours, he will still sit down and read a book with a special little boy… that melts my heart!

~8~

He often says that he would be willing to die or go to jail to defend me or the kids. Having dealt with one ex who I have to struggle to get to do anything… here is a man who is willing to give everything. I love him so!

~9~

Dareck loves and respects me implicitly. We have learned the fine art of true communication, and many times enjoy sitting out on the front porch just chatting away. I cannot wait to grow old(er) with this man of mine!

~10~

Because I respect his hard work and time, and he respects my taking care of the kids and the household chores, we have come to understand that we each NEED some time away every once in a while. While other wives may balk at “letting” their husbands go running with their friends for a weekend away, I know that my man works hard, and deserves to release some steam. I love that he feels bad for asking if it is OK if he takes off for the weekend… it makes me smile that he feels bad for not bringing the boys on those occassional weekends. I love Dareck. I trust him. I respect him, and I do not want him to feel like he is missing out on any aspect of his life. Friends are important too, and while some of his friends are a bit on the wild side.. they are his friends. He would never keep me from spending much needed time with the gals, so why should I treat him any differently??

So there ya go… my gushy, mushy love of my hubby!

Valentine’s LOVE: Etsy shop sale!!

Kristin — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 14:25:54 +0000

LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE

Twenty percent off your purchase at my Etsy Shop today!! Just click that link, and it will take you where you need to go.

Once you check out, be sure to use coupon code: VALENTINESLOVE to get your 20% discount!!

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!!

Monday Munchies: Chicken Vegetable Alfredo Soup

Kristin — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 17:36:02 +0000

I am sure I have shared this with you all before, but OH MY! It is one of my favorite soup recipes… so I am sharing it again!

Ingredients:

1 bunch of broccoli

1 carrot

1 medium onion

1 red pepper

2 garlic cloves

2 (16 oz.) jars of Alfredo sauce

2 (14 oz) cans of chicken broth

4 chicken breasts

Olive oil

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cut chicken breasts into 1″ cubes. Heat 1 Tbsp. Olive oil in a 3 quart pan. Add cubed chicken and pressed garlic cloves. Saute’ until chicken is done.

Chop broccoli and onion. Cut carrot into slices. Cut Red pepper into small pieces. Add to pan with chicken.

Open chicken broth and add to pan. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat, simmering for about 5 minutes. Uncover and add Alfredo sauce. Stir and simmer for another 5 minutes and serve.

Top with grated Parmesan cheese if desired.

Weekly To Do List: February 12, 2012

Kristin — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 17:10:16 +0000

Feeling like a slacker this week! LOL! Am finally getting to relax a bit this week, so I am pretty thankful for that. Hoping to be super creative this week while I have some extra time! What is everyone else up to this week??

~~Fill out Tastefully Simple Invites~~

Work on Comp Notebooks

Work on Luggage

~~Work on canvas~~

~~Work on custom orders~~

~~Laundry~~

~~Water plants~~

~~Take pics and upload items to Etsy shop~~

~~Upload photos to WM.com~~

~~Pack up Flat Stanley and his goodies~~

~~Monday Prize Cart~~

~~Monday Scout meeting~~

~~Call Susan to cancel drum lesson this week~~

~~Work on Blog features~~

~~Work on Facebook pages~~

~~Wednesday Card Class~~

~~Shop for birthday presents (Levi and Clinton)~~

~~Bring Xyron machine to Studio~~

~~Clip and store coupons~~

~~Clean up office~~

~~Clean living room/dining room~~

~~Clean bathrooms~~

~~Sweep and dust~~

Catch up on WTDW and TTT features

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