My 3 Monsters

Pride & Prejudice Plates {Free Downloads!}

noreply@blogger.com (amyg @ My 3 Monsters) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 21:10:00 +0000

I'm a HUGE Jane Austen fan. HUGE. The Collected Works of Jane Austen is my go-to source for literary pleasure. It never, ever disappoints. I've read all of her novels over and over again, but Pride and Prejudice is my favorite. Who doesn't love Mr. Darcy?! Anyway, I had this grand idea a while back to make a set of dishes with my favorite quotes from the book around the edges of the dinner plates and silhouettes on the salad plates. I picked up some fun, mismatched white dishes at Goodwill and bought a ceramic paint pen and set to work.

And it was truly awful. I think I have nice handwriting, but I just couldn't free-hand the quotes and make it look "professional" and I wasn't getting the detail I wanted in the silhouettes. Luckily, ceramic paints can be washed off until you bake them on so I was able to salvage the dishes. I was still determined to see this project through, I just needed to put it away for a few {six} months and let the idea percolate in my subconscious for a little while.

Then, out of the blue the other day the solution hit me. WATER SLIDE DECALS!!! Have you seen them? You buy the special paper, print your design on it, then soak it in water and a thin layer of film slides off the top of the paper and onto pretty much any non-porous surface. So easy! I bought my decal paper on Ebay. There are several different brands available if you look around. I chose Incal because the reviews I read said it was a thicker, higher quality paper AND it can be heat set to make it permanent. Some decals can't be washed, which would mean the dishes would be purely decorative. That's fine, but I kinda' like the idea of actually using them. Make sure you get the right kind of paper for your printer {ink jet or laser} and choose white or clear background. I got the ink jet clear paper.

I designed all my images in Gimp and printed them out onto the decal paper. Set your printer to Best Quality and Photo Glossy paper. Then you need to spray the paper to set the ink so it doesn't run when it gets wet. I used Rust-oleum Crystal Clear Enamel in a glossy finish. Any kind of clear acrylic spray would do the job. Spray two or three coats and let it dry for about an hour. Trim off the extra paper around the edges of your design.

Wash the plate you want to use to make sure it's really clean. Then get a shallow pan of warm water and completely immerse your decal. The edges of the film will start to curl up away from the paper backing. That is good. Once the entire design is loose and slips around on top of the paper backing pretty easily, VERY CAREFULLY slide the design onto your plate. I'm not gonna' lie, this is difficult because these designs are so large. I think it would be much easier with a smaller design, but I want what I want so big it is! Use a soft, dry cloth to gently smooth the decal film onto your plate and remove air bubbles. Make sure the edges are sealed down. Be sure to be gentle with it because the decal film will stretch and crease if you're not.

Once your decal is firmly in place with no air bubbles, stick it in the oven at 200* for an hour or so. Easy cheesy. I love how it turned out! Unless the light hits it just right, you can't even tell it's a decal. I'm in the process of redoing my plate wall in the dining room. I got a pewter tray at Goodwill a while ago for $5 that I want to hang along with a few more of my Pride & Prejudice plates. I just couldn't wait to see this one hanging up, though.

This technique is so quick and easy and professional looking. I may have to make plates for every season and change them out. Here is the full set of my Pride & Prejudice designs if you'd like to use them:

Just click on the pictures to enlarge to full size, right click and save to your computer. I'll also be offering plates and digital prints in my etsy shop, if you would rather just purchase the finished product! Have a great weekend!

Girls Cruise!

noreply@blogger.com (amyg @ My 3 Monsters) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 21:07:00 +0000

Just a little weekend getaway with 30ish friends . . . no big. Actually, I only knew eleven of these ladies before we left -- the others are sisters, friends, cousins, etc. of my friends. It was so much fun. We ate too much and laughed a lot. It was just what the doctor ordered. Now, if my head would stop spinning I'd be thrilled. I've felt dizzy ever since we got off the boat. Small price to pay, I guess. I'm ready to go back again this weekend!

Ruffled Collar Cardigan Refashion

noreply@blogger.com (amyg @ My 3 Monsters) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 03:18:00 +0000

Phew! I got the other project done with time to spare. I've had this really cute J Crew cardigan pinned for a while now as an inspiration piece. I love the ruffly collar especially. {Ruffles are my favorite! I'm so glad they've come back into fashion lately.}

I just so happened to have a green v-neck cardigan in my stash and some green taffeta-ish fabric that was almost a perfect match. Here is my knock-off:

It was a really easy project. I started by cutting two long strips of fabric about 7" wide by 45" long {just the entire width of the fabric from selvage to selvage}. Sew the two strips together on one end so you end up with a strip that is 7" wide by about 89" long. Fold the fabric in half the long way with right sides together. Sew a curved line to round out the corner on each end. See in the picture how the edge of the ruffle is a little curved on each end where it buttons together? That's what you're doing here. Trim off the excess fabric and turn right side out. Press the entire strip along the long edge to make a sharp crease.

Now sew along the open edge of your strip to gather it and create your ruffle. Start pinning your ruffle to the inside of the collar edge by matching up the center of the ruffle and the center back of the sweater. It will look ridiculous at this point because your ruffle will be standing straight up from the collar of your sweater. That's OK. We'll fold it over and press it a little later. Sew around the collar edge with a straight stitch to attach the collar to the sweater. Then sew around the rough edge of the collar again with a zig-zag stitch to hold the edge down inside your sweater and keep the raw edge from fraying.

At this point you'll fold your collar over to the right side of the sweater and press the heck out of it to make it lay flat and stay in place.

If you use a light-weight fabric, like a cotton or chiffon, that might be enough to keep the collar in place. Mine was a heavier taffeta-like fabric so it needed a little help to stay laying flat. I took a needle and thread and tacked the collar down to the sweater every inch or so all the way around. Be careful to not sew through the top layer of the collar as you tack it so that your stitches will remain hidden. At this point I pressed it again for good measure, but that's about all you have to do. I plan to wash the sweater on gentle cycle and lay flat to dry to keep the collar in good shape. I love it. It's going to look so good with jeans and a little floral top underneath it. Yee haw! Cruise on Friday. Can't wait!

{P.S. My husband got a job today so it has been a great day all around!! Thanks for all your well-wishes these past few months. It has meant a lot to us.}

Super Simple Tee Shirt Makeover

noreply@blogger.com (amyg @ My 3 Monsters) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 05:07:00 +0000

I found the most awesome blog while I was skulking around Pinterest the other night. Trash to Couture has some of the most creative, inspirational clothing makeovers I have ever seen. I mean, hello! That white tweed dress with the bows and chains on the home page right now?! If it were several inches {feet} longer and I were several sizes smaller ..... I'm totally going to recreate that dress sometime when I have a minute. But what got me to click over to Trash to Couture from Pinterest was this tutorial for turning an overlarge men's tee shirt into a super stylin' dolman sleeve tee shirt. As we all know, I am still desperate for some cute things to wear on the cruise this weekend and as soon as I saw this I knew I had to make one. I've got a small stash of XXL men's tee shirts that I have picked up at thrift stores ever since I made my boys' pillowcases that I knew would be perfect for this project. Here's my finished product:

I was determined to put a photo of myself wearing the shirt in this post because it is sooooooo much cuter on than it is laying on the floor like that, but when push came to shove I just couldn't do it. I don't like to look at myself. Besides the pics I took of myself were all blurry anyway. Whatever. Pretend I look as cute as Laura does on her blog. I actually really like her off the shoulder look. I think it gives it a little nod to the 80's or something. I cut my neckline a little smaller for modesty's sake, which is still cute. It's just wide enough that I can wear a contrasting tank top underneath and have the straps show.

Here's my advice if you want to attempt a tee shirt makeover like this: First, make sure your shirt is big enough. The tutorial used an XL men's shirt. Since I wear a men's L shirt at camp every year, I decided to use XXL. I kind of wish I had gone with 3X so I could get more of an angle on the sleeve to emphasize the "dolman sleeve" effect. Second, make sure your original shirt is big and boxy to begin with. The shirt I used was from Banana Republic {via Goodwill} so it had a more "stylish" cut -- the sleeves were a little shorter and a bit more fitted. A plain old Hanes tee shirt {or something similar} would give you more room in the sleeve to get the cool dolman look.

This whole project took me maybe 15 minutes to complete. 5 of those minutes were setting up my sewing machine and gathering supplies. I liked it so much I made a second one in gray while I had everything out. The ruched waistline makes it super flattering {even if you're not as skinny and model-like as Laura} and it couldn't be any more comfortable. It's like getting all the comfort of wearing your husband's baggy old shirt and mega style points all at the same time! Now it's 4 days until the cruise {really more like 3} and I have one more project I'd like to finish. We'll see about that.

Also, I'm so serious about that white tweed dress. I'm making it . . . someday.

The French Knot Cardigan Refashion

noreply@blogger.com (amyg @ My 3 Monsters) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 07:45:00 +0000

I'm going on a Girl's Cruise to Mexico next weekend with a few of my besties and I am so excited. I know it seems like odd timing what with my husbands lack of employment, but it was a surprise gift from my friends and, I'm not gonna' lie, I could use a break from real life right now. I have been mentally preparing my wardrobe and lamenting the fact that I can't go out and buy a bunch of cute new outfits to take. It's fine, really. I don't need any new clothes. But then I had a stroke of inspiration the other day.

Y'all know I love a good thrift-store sweater makeover, right? I troll the local Goodwills on Thursdays {dollar days -- holla!} looking for boring old sweaters and I have amassed quite a stash. I had actually started working on this one during our trip to Las Vegas for Thanksgiving, but had grown weary of it and put it to the back of the craft closet -- I'll show you why. I found this sweater refashion on Pinterest a while back and fell hopelessly in love with it:

Source: mytwobutterflies.blogspot.com via Amy on Pinterest

I adore the scattering of French knots around the neckline. Uh-dore! So I set out to loosely recreate this sweater on one from my stash:

It's easy enough, sure. French knots are not that hard to do. {Here is a really great tutorial on The Purl Bee.} There are just sooooo many of them. My fingers got sore and I ran out of embroidery floss about halfway through one side, at which point I jumped ship and abandoned the project. But my desperation for new cruise clothing inspired me to pull it back out and finish that bad boy. I'm so glad that I did because I absolutely love it.

Like I said, this is really an easy project. I started by ironing lightweight fusible interfacing onto the inside of my sweater in the general area where I wanted my design. I thought maybe that would keep my sweater from stretching as I sewed and keep the knots from slipping through the weave of my sweater. It was really helpful. Next I laid my sweater out flat and used a piece of white chalk to sketch out my rough design on the front. I just drew a line straight across to mark the lowest point I wanted the knots and a curved line on each side about an inch and a half from the finished neck edge as a guide for my transition from the really-close-together knots and the just-kind-of-close together knots. After that all you have to do is make half a billion french knots while you watch three or four movies and voila! You're done.

The hardest part was getting the two sides to match. I had to lay it out flat every once in a while as I working and look at it from a distance to be sure. Even so, I ended up with a lot more knots on the second side. I had to go back to the first side and fill in some empty spots, but then that side looked too crowded so I had to go back to the other side and add a few more. I finally just had to walk away from it and I think it looks fine. And now I'm excited about having a new sweater to take on my vacation that didn't cost me anything. {OK, $1, but I paid that so long ago it's like it was free.}

I'm going to try to get another sweater done before we go, which I will share here, of course. Have a good one, folks!

Can We "Guac"?

noreply@blogger.com (amyg @ My 3 Monsters) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 22:00:00 +0000

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

Ha ha! Get it?! Guac instead of talk? I am just soooo funny. But seriously. Let's have a little chat about guacamole, shall we. I wrote a post a little while back where I told you all my {and my dog's} love for guacamole. It's still true, every word. I could eat guacamole every single day. Guacamole is the perfect party food and, guess what! It's football party season! I was thrilled to hear that Avocados from Mexico is hosting a Guac-Off recipe contest on their Facebook page. Not because I have such a revolutionary recipe, but because I'm always looking for new and more wonderful ways to enjoy my beloved guacamole. Head on over to Avocados from Mexico on Facebook between January 5th and 15th..

Once you "like" their page you can enter the Avocados from Mexico Guac Off Recipe Contest for a chance to win some pretty awesome prizes: Three lucky winners will receive an iPad 2 and autographed cookbook by Celebrity Chef Roberto Santibañez and 7 runners-up will receive a $200 grocery gift card and autographed cookbook by Celebrity Chef Roberto Santibañez. Plus, just for playing, all entrants are automatically entered into a separate sweepstakes for a chance to win a $100 grocery gift card. Ten winners will be selected. The contest runs 1/2/2012 - 1/20/2012.

How can you "Get in the Game"?

First Down:
Submit your favorite guacamole recipe using your most valuable player- Avocados from Mexico- along with one photo of the recipe.

Second Down:
Avocados from Mexico will select the top 10 qualified players to be posted on the Avocados from Mexico Facebook Page.

Third Down:
There will be a grand prize winner in the following three categories: Most Popular, Best Recipe and Most Creative. Avocados from Mexico will choose the Most Creative recipe, Chef Roberto Santibañez will choose the Best Recipe, and Most Popular will be chosen by the Facebook voters. Touch Down!

Huddle all your teammates- friends, family and coworkers- to vote for your recipe and win the Most Popular category!

I thought I'd share a recipe with y'all today to get your creative juices flowing and inspire you to enter the contest. This is on oldie, but a goodie -- trust me!

Cowboy Caviar {Chunky Guac}

Ingredients

2 cans (15 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (17 oz) can whole kernel corn, drained
2 large tomatoes, chopped
1 or 2 large avocados, peeled and diced
1/2 red onion, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Dressing

1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
3-4 Tbsp. lime juice
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Cover and chill. Garnish, if desired with additional avocado slices or cilantro sprigs, and serve with tortilla chips. {Or inside a shredded beef burrito, which I will be enjoying for dinner tonight!}

I even entered the contest, just for funsies. See:

It couldn't be any easier! If your looking for more avocado inspiration, here are more Avocados from Mexico recipes! Now get out there and make me proud, fellow guacamole fans! Wouldn't it be fun if one of us actually won?! Have a great day!

Meal Planning Printables

noreply@blogger.com (amyg @ My 3 Monsters) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 22:57:00 +0000

Pinterest never ceases to amaze me. I'm sure many of you are here because you came across one of my printables on Pinterest. In fact, I think my post on housekeeping last year has more page views than every other page on my blog combined, due to Pinterest. That's a tiny little bit embarrassing to me because now THOUSANDS of people know that I sit around in my jammies watching junky tv shoes and drinking Coke instead of cleaning my house. Whatever -- I believe in keeping it real. I'm over it.

I got an email a few days ago from a sweet reader, Kristen, who was wondering if I had a meal planning chart that matched my chore charts. I immediately thought, "What a great idea"! So I set about creating one -- because if we're being really honest here, I'm not good at cooking dinner either usually. I do well if I have a plan, though, and a plan is easier to follow if it's cute, so this should help me immensely. This is the one I will probably use:

I am going to laminate it so I can write my meal plan for each week on the one side and the groceries I need to get for those meals {or things I need in general} on the other side. I created a few other versions, too, including a blank meal list and a blank grocery list that you can customize to meet your own needs.

As always, to download just click on the image to enlarge it. {That will usually bring it up full-screen.} Then you need to right click and choose "Save As" and save it to your computer. The images can be edited {to add text}in Photoshop or any other photo editing program. If you don't have a photo-editing program, you can upload the image to a site like Picnik and add your text.

Hope that helps. Have a great day, guys!

In Which I Learn When to Specify and When to Not and I Share Some Yummy Recipes

noreply@blogger.com (amyg @ My 3 Monsters) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 20:59:00 +0000

Obviously I didn't get my act together and post those yummy New Years Eve treat recipes. This mommy had a little melt-down over the weekend, fueled equally by too little down time {mommy needs to be left alone once in a while}, the stress of unemployment {finally catching up}, insomnia, being sick, and forgetting to take her anxiety medication for over a week. Probably it was mostly due to the lack of medication, because that seems to make all those other things waaaaayyyyy more tolerable. So, on New Years Eve I'm sitting at the computer working on Year-in-Review card orders when I realize it's 8:00 p.m. and no one has made the food to take to the party at 8:30. I don't know who I thought was going to be making the food. My mom, maybe? She always has her act together. Alas, she is in Houston, not my kitchen. The only assignments I gave out were to Riley to make cupcakes and Brent to put the Lil' Smokies in the crock pot with some BBQ sauce. I rushed into the kitchen and lost it when I found the tiny crock pot with what couldn't have been more than 20 mini-sausages in it and every contertop covered in dirty dishes from the cupcake making process. {And maybe some of them were from dinner the night before, but, ahem! I've. Been. Sick! Don't you judge me.}

Now that I'm calmer, and a little more medicated, I can see that it wasn't such a big deal. To be fair, I hadn't specified how many of the Lil' Smokies needed to be heated up and I only told my son to make cupcakes, not clean up. I wasn't mad at the guys, I was mad at the kitchen for being so small and messy. I might not have been completely rational at the time. I was a wreck, sobbing and slamming cabinet doors {punishing that darn kitchen for offending me so} as I rushed to put together a cool ranch veggie pizza and some of my brother-in-law Josh's famous beef dip. The beef dip never materialized since there was no can of roast beef in the back of the pantry like I thought and the "cool" ranch pizza was more of a "room temperature" ranch pizza, and we were late for the party, but in the end it was alright. Our friends don't care about stuff like that and we had food enough to feed an army. {There were 13 of us present.} I know that now. I actually knew that then, too, but I was too busy melting down to think it through.

We ended up having a lovely evening playing a new Ticket to Ride game{Asia!}with our friends while the kids played on the new trampoline in the back yard {one of the many great things about Arizona}. And now I know that I should specify exactly what needs to be done at home and not specify when or what I will be posting here on the blog. Four days into the new year and I'm already wiser!

Now for the Recipes:

Cool Ranch Veggie Pizza

{source: Pampered Chef, I think. I've just made it from memory for years.}

Ingredients
2 (8 oz) packages crescent rolls -- Pillsbury now makes those crescent sheets that are awesome!
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1 package dry ranch seasoning
2 cups vegetables, cut into bite size pieces {we usually do broccoli, carrots, red peppers, green onions, and olives if I have them on hand}
1 cup shredded cheese

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Unroll crescent dough sheets onto a large non-sick baking pan to completely cover the pan. Press the your fingers over the dough to seal the seems. Bake 12-15 minutes, or until the top is lightly browned. Set aside to cool.
2. Mix together the cream cheese and ranch. Set aside.
3. Once the crust is completely cooled, evenly spread the cream cheese mixture over it. Top with the vegetables and cheese of your choice. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Uncle Josh's Jalapeno Beef Dip

{source: my brother-in-law Josh Colin -- my kids just call him Uncle Josh}

Ingredients

2 (8oz.) bricks cream cheese, softened -- {did you know they sell a loaf of cream cheese at Costco?! That was heaven-sent this Christmas with all my baking and pepper jelly cravings!}

16 oz. carton sour cream

1 can roast beef chunks -- that sounds disgusting, but hang in there with me! {These are cheapest at Costco, too.}

1-2 small cans diced jalapeños, depending on how spicy you like it {you could also used diced green chiles to make it really mild}

Fritos Scoops -- you're gonna' want the Scoops, trust me.

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients in a mixer -- except for the Fritos -- don't mix in those.

2. Dip Fritos in and enjoy! That's why you wanna' get the Scoops. They hold more delicious dip.

Happy New Year {a little late} blog friends!

Tithing & Blessings

noreply@blogger.com (amyg @ My 3 Monsters) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 11:30:00 +0000

I've had this post swimming around in my head for several weeks now, but I have hesitated to write it. I'm not sure why. I guess maybe because this blog has turned into more of a crafty/ creative outlet and less of a bare-your-soul kind of outlet lately. Maybe because these experiences have been a little too close to my heart. It's far easier to write about recipes and sewing projects than things that actually mean something to me, but may be a huge joke to someone else. I've never really been one to "stir the pot" either by bringing up potentially controversial topics like politics or religion. {Or housekeeping, apparently.} But I just keep thinking about it -- even at 2:30 in the morning when I really wish I was sleeping. So, just know that you can take this post with a grain of salt. Or click away if you would rather not dabble in spirituality for today. I'll be back tomorrow with some fun New Years Eve snack recipes, if I get my act together.

Many of you may know that we are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, or Mormons. My husband and I have both been members all our lives and we are raising our children the same. One of the many "weird" things that Mormons do is pay tithing. For anyone who is unfamiliar with the concept, tithing is the practice of returning a portion of your wealth {usually 10%} back to the spiritual source from whence those blessings come. We believe that everything we have has been given to us by our Heavenly Father {or God} and that by giving a small portion back to Him we show our gratitude and recognize our dependence on Him as the source of all our blessings. Tithing is an ancient spiritual tradition that has been practiced by many of the great civilizations in history. The practice is referenced in both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. One of my favorite scriptures referencing tithing is Malachi 3:10, "Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it."

Years ago I read Simple Abundance by Sarah Ban Breathnatch, and she talked about tithing as a metaphysical law of prosperity. She said, " Spiritual law, no matter which path, tells us as we give, so shall we receive. We realize that money is a form of energy. Energy does not increase if it is hoarded. Energy must circulate freely for power to be released. When we receive an increase of money in our lives, giving away a portion of that money keeps the channels of abundance circulating freely, as Spirit intended. On a practical level, tithing allows us to express our thanksgiving with action. Returning some of the material good we receive is a tangible demonstration of trust." She goes on to say, " My experience with tithing on the Simple Abundance path has been erratic but amazing. When I tithe, I experience more financial serenity than when I don't. The money seems to stretch further or my expenses diminish. When I tithe I am able to save more with ease, and new moneymaking opportunities arrive, often unsolicited. The floodgates of heaven do shower me with blessings, although I've not yet reached the point at which I can't find room for more. When I don't tithe, I'm not struck down, but I do start to worry about money. There seem to be longer stretches between bank deposits and more unexpected expenses, which always end up costing more than the amount my tithe would have been. So I know it's time to write a check. Wait and watch what happens. Very quickly, the ebb recedes and the flow begins again. Coincidence?"

I've heard stories like that my entire life, and I have always paid tithing even though that has not been my personal experience. I think there's a lot to be said for doing what you feel to be right without needing a personal reward for your actions. Paying tithing has increased my faith exponentially, which is as good a blessing as I could ever hope for. I've mentioned in passing that my husband is out of work right now. It's fine, really. That's what we keep telling ourselves. I mean, except for the no income thing it has been really great having him home. He lost his job on November 19th, without any form of severance pay. So there we were, right before the holidays with no job and no insurance. No way to pay for Christmas and three fantastic kids who were definitely on the nice list and hoping to be rewarded accordingly. {I'm not begging for sympathy here. Just setting the stage...} It was at that point that we were faced with one of the most difficult dilemmas of our adult life. We had Brent's final paycheck. I had paid the bills that were most pressing and had about $800 left over, which was all we had to our name. We knew we still needed to pay tithing on that paycheck. Doing so would take more than half of what we had left, but we felt strongly about it so we turned in a check the following Sunday. We prayed our hearts out and we were prepared for any possible outcome. I mean, who were we to say that losing everything wasn't just the experience we needed right now?! We didn't know, but we were ready to go with the flow, having faith in our Father in Heaven.

Our experiences the past few weeks have been nothing short of miraculous. I get a little teary-eyed just thinking about it. The very next day I started getting orders to make Christmas cards -- almost more than I could handle. I doubled the lifetime sales in my etsy shop in two weeks. Within a week cards started to come in the mail from extended family and friends with checks tucked in them. Everyone said they just felt like they needed to help us out. We were able to pay our mortgage and the rest of our bills. A large box of gifts and some cash were mysteriously left on our doorstep. {Thanks to whoever left it!} We found unbelievable deals on the things our kids wanted for Christmas and had as good a holiday as ever. We have money in our account to pay our mortgage again next week. Truly the windows of heaven have been open the past several weeks and we have been blessed abundantly.

We have discovered that we are far more comfortable being on the giving end of such kindness, but we are learning a tremendous lesson in humility. We feel so very grateful for the friends and family who have helped us in so many ways and we pray that the Lord will repay your kindness a thousand times over. I suppose that's why I needed to write this. So that each of you who helped out will know what a difference you made to us. We thank you for being instruments in the Lord's hands and being the answer to our prayers.

For more information on Mormons and tithing, click here.

Have You Heard of This?!

noreply@blogger.com (amyg @ My 3 Monsters) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 06:01:00 +0000

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

Sorry I've been MIA on the blog front for the past few days. Brent's parents have been here and we were enjoying the holidays together. Our kids were spoiled rotten this year. We all received gift cards aplenty, which the kiddos are chomping at the bit to redeem. So, here's a pretty great reason to hold onto those gift cards just a little bit longer: Gift Card Weekend!

Am I the last one to find out about Gift Card Weekend, or what?! Gift Card Weekend is a once-a-year event where participating retail partners give featured offers for gift cards purchased during the Holiday season and redeemed from January 6 - January 8, 2012. Which means you'll get more bang for your gift card buck!!

Gift Card Weekend participating retailers include Lowe's, JCPenny, Sephora, Regal Cinema, Subway, Applebee's, Bass Pro Shops, Adidas, Buca di Beppo, Spa Finder, Marriot and Giant Eagle. So if you received a gift card from one of these retailers you're in luck!

'Gilbert the Gift Card Machine' is giving away more than 100 gift cards a week leading up to Gift Card Weekend. Right now they're giving $10 Subway gift cards away daily to Facebook fans from December 23-31. {Wouldn't it be awesome to win a free lunch to keep up your post-holiday sale shopping stamina?}

All you need to do is like Gift Card Weekend on Facebook. Share with your Facebook friends and you can receive an extra chance to win for every 'like' you influence. Then stick around through the month for more giveaways!

After you’ve ‘liked’ Gift Card Weekend on Facebook take a chance to familiarize yourself with them. Head over to the Gift Card Weekend site to get a preview of some of the special offers available to lucky gift card holders. Y'all know I love a bargain so this is right up my alley. Go check it out and thank me later!!

Sicky Sick {A Delicious Home Remedy}

noreply@blogger.com (amyg @ My 3 Monsters) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 03:25:00 +0000

It was bound to happen, really. It's winter and I've been burning the candle at both ends for months. Last Wednesday night I started feeling a cold coming on. I thought maybe I could just plow through and will it away. No such luck. Here I sit a week later, ears aching, head pounding ... officially sick. I'm not whining to garner your sympathy. {Well, not entirely.} I'm just wishing I had used a home remedy I had seen on Pinterest a while back.

Source: healthhomehappy.com via Amy on Pinterest

You just eat 1tsp. honey {preferably raw, which is available at most healthy-type stores like Whole Foods} mixed with 1/4 tsp. cinnamon twice a day for three days, beginning at the earliest sign of a cold. The honey and cinnamon are both said to have antibacterial, antiviral, and anti-fungal properties. I used this remedy back in November with great results. I mixed the honey and cinnamon and spread it on toast, which is delicious, but you can just eat it straight, too. I've read that you shouldn't mix it into hot drinks because the heat kills the positive effects, but I'm no expert here. And I don't drink tea, so ... you know ... {I highly recommend the toast version!!}

I wish it had not escaped my feeble memory this time around. I always figure it can't hurt to try a home remedy for a day or so before rushing to the doctor's office if the symptoms are mild. And cinnamon honey toast is delicious. I may start eating it just because it's tasty and never get sick again. Hope that helps somebody!

Neighbor Gifts & My Giftwrap "Tradition"

noreply@blogger.com (amyg @ My 3 Monsters) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 22:14:00 +0000

For years now we have made the same old white chocolate candy cane popcorn to our friends and neighbors. Don't get me wrong, it is delightful {and I may just have to whip up a batch or two now that I'm thinking about it}, but I wanted to try something new this year. I've been craving something sweet and spicy lately. And cream cheesy. Jalapeños and cream cheese. That's what I want all the time. We had jalapeño popper grilled cheese sandwiches the other night {dipped in strawberry jam - mmmmm - don't knock it til you try it} and that only fueled the fire. So I decided to make hot pepper jelly. You know the stuff that you pour over cream cheese and eat with crackers? Oh. My. Yummy! I found this recipe via Pinterest and it was sooooo easy. Just be sure and read the comments on the recipe if you decide to make it -- I guess it doesn't set up real well if you're not careful. I used one pack of pectin and boiled for 2 minutes and mine turned out perfectly. Not that I'm bragging -- Whatever. So this is what we'll be taking around this evening to all our friends. I hope they're ready to go on this culinary adventure with us.

Now for an awkward transition: Brent and I were at a "Fugly Christmas Sweater Party" the other night -- and before I go on with the story I have to show you this:

The line for a piece of that man candy forms behind me, ladies! So, we were at the party and a friend asked me if I was still carrying on my gift-wrapping tradition. I asked if she was referring to my obsessive compulsive need for all my Christmas presents to match. Because that is still very much happening around here. Another friend, who didn't yet know how crazy I can be, requested that I post pictures of this year's wrapping motif here on the blog. Asae, this is for you:

It's not really anything special, but it looks kinda' pretty, I think. I used my 1/4 inch metal stamps to stamp the cardstock tags to make them a little bit unique. We are trying a new thing with our kids' gifts this year -- they are each getting 4 small gifts from me and Brent: something they want, something they need, something to wear, and something to read. That's why the tags are labeled the way they are, lest you think I've lost my everloving mind. The kids are super excited about it and it was nice to have a focus as we shopped this year. I love to have guidelines. Anyway . . . We're getting really excited about Christmas over here. I hope you are too!

A Gift for the Kids' Friends

noreply@blogger.com (amyg @ My 3 Monsters) — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 18:20:00 +0000

We're not breaking any new crafting ground here {we rarely do}, but my kids wanted something to take to their friends at school today. I've seen these reindeer rootbeer bottles a lot and I think they're just really, really cute. And kids love IBC rootbeer, so, you know, win/win. Lots of people must have had a similar idea because Walmart was out of brown pipe cleaners yesterday. Our reindeer are a little bit glitzy. I would have just done the antlers, googly eyes and noses and tied a ribbon bow around the neck of the bottle, but the kiddos got a little jiggy wit' it. They were crafting up all kinds of accessories for their reindeer. I also made these cute little tags for them to attach:
To a DEER Friend
And D gave his reindeer pipe cleaner arms to hold the tags. See? Jiggy. Easy, cheesy. You can't beat friend gifts for 50 cents each! {I'm so excited about this being the last day of school. Hello, sleeping in!}

A Gift for the Friend and/or Neighbor

noreply@blogger.com (amyg @ My 3 Monsters) — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 01:13:00 +0000

Alright, it took me longer than I had hoped to get my act together with this post. I've been seeing cute mason jar soap dispensers all over blogland lately and just desperately wanted some for my house. There are lots of tutorials out there, but this one was my favorite:

Source: theblissfullycontentlife.blogspot.com via Carla on Pinterest

I loved the vintage zinc lids so I found some on ebay that were really affordable. I think I got a lot of 12 old lids for about $6, which is worth it to me to get a much cooler finished product. I've also seen people spray paint the lids and rings they have on hand a bright, fun color which is really cute, too, if you don't want to bother tracking down the old zinc lids. Instead of using hot glue to secure the pump in place as the tutorial suggests, I bought a tube of waterproof tub and tile caulk. I LOVE the way they turned out! THEN I started seeing this recipe for making your own liquid hand soap out of a bar of "fancy soap" {Mrs. Meyers is fancy to me. Whatever.} all over Pinterest.

Source: familyoffarmers.blogspot.com via Amy on Pinterest

This I desperately wanted to try as well. And so I did. I was too cheap to pay shipping for the Mrs. Meyers bar soap {it would have been like $20 for two bars of soap -- dumb} so I bought Dr Bronner's Peppermint soap at Target. Those are smaller bars so you need to get two for the recipe, but it smells all Christmas-y and fun. Later I got some Mrs. Myers, basil soap, too when they had a cyber-monday special with free shipping. That smells delightful, too. And then I thought, "This would make a really cute gift for {some un-named people on my Christmas list}." I mean, I had twelve zinc lids after all. I'm thinking you could just give the cute soap dispenser full of your homemade soap with a little tag that says, "Wishing you a holiday full of Peace, Joy, & ~~Hope~~ SOAP!" But if you really like someone you could also give them a set of cute dishcloths or handtowels. I already had the hand towels in my bathroom so I made this cute little printable sign to frame and set on the counter next to it. {We sometimes need a reminder around these parts . . }

That would be a cute little addition to your soapy gift as well. I couldn't decide what color I liked so I made several options:

You can download these images by clicking on the image to make it full size then right clicking and saving to your computer. Just print it and pop it in a 5x7 dollar-store frame and you're good to go. I chose the burlap option because it matches my butterfly specimen art that hangs in there, too. I've also made a tag you can use on your soap dispensers. Just download the pdf file below and print onto cardstock.
Peace, Joy & Soap
Happy Holidays everyone!

Trees for the Kiddos

noreply@blogger.com (amyg @ My 3 Monsters) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 19:27:00 +0000

I've always had this fantasy about decorating my entire home for Christmas. I know lots of people do that. I've read their blogs and I feel a teensy little bit envious of them and their stinkin' perfect homes. {Have you seen Dear Lillie lately?!} I'm feeling lucky just to have a tree up in the living room this year, but I'm really trying to get the rest done. Being the bargain-loving girl that I am, I have picked up small trees on Clearance after Christmas for my kids' rooms. I've had big plans, but for the past couple of years my kids have just taken the cast-off ornaments from our big tree and done the best they could decorating their little trees on their own. And that was kind-of the point in the beginning -- that they would have little trees to decorate themselves so they wouldn't try to "help" mommy with the big one. But now ~~they~~ I want their trees to have a little more style. I finally got to work while Brent and I watched movies this weekend and crafted up some cuteness for the kids' trees. I pinned these great cereal box stars on Pinterest months ago and decided to make some out of printed cardstock. They couldn't really be any easier and the price is right if you have a stash of scrapbook paper. So here they are:

For the boys I made the stars and then folded a bunch of paper airplanes out of coordinating printed cardstock. I also had some silver and white ball ornaments that I hung up with teal polka-dot ribbon. I love the whimsical vintage-y vibe that it has with the old map paper and polka-dots. It's not super Christmas-y, but it feels festive and fun and my boys LOVE it.

For Sis I wanted to make something really, really girly. She has a sparkly pink tree {I know! Who buys those, right?! I had a vision.} and her bedroom is pink so I just really went for it and smothered the thing in pink and silver ornaments.

I made some more of my favorite stars out of pink and white print papers and hung some silver/white and shiny pink ball ornaments with cute girly ribbon. But the pièce de resistance are these cuppy-cake ornaments inspired by some that I saw on Pinterest a while ago.

Aren't they great?! So that's what I've been up to. That and making a kajillion Years in Review for my fun blog friends. I had no idea people would respond to that so favorably. It has been really fun "getting to know" some of you as I've made your cards. You have no idea what a blessing those little jobs have been for my family since my husband is out of work right now. It's not too late to get one done if you're still considering it. Just leave me a comment with your e-mail and I'll get right back to you. Tomorrow I'll be back with a super easy, inexpensive gift you can give to girlfriends, neighbors and/ or coworkers. Happy Holidays!

Holiday Weight Loss?! Can it Be Done?

noreply@blogger.com (amyg @ My 3 Monsters) — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 23:00:00 +0000

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

Phew! The holidays can get so crazy, right? What a busy week! I've had three parties to attend this week, my good friend's birthday, and a million orders to fill in my etsy shop. Busy weeks usually equate to lots of fast food around these parts. Lots and lots of burgers and tacos. Dollar menu galore. It's not super pretty. But I'm trying to do better. I really am.

I've vented here before about my struggles with my weight. It has been an ongoing issue for me. In high school I weighed all of 115 pounds and thought I was fat because my older sister weighed 95 on a good day. That was silly. I know that NOW. I gained 15 ponds or so when I got married and then again after each of my three children. I'm not one to really fret about things like that, but 5 or 6 years ago I took the bull by the horns and decided to get into shape. I took up running and trained for a half marathon, which I ran in a little over two hours. I got almost back to the size I was before kids. That was awesome. But it was 5 years ago. Since then I've gained and lost the same 10 pounds 50 times. And then I started taking some medication that caused me to gain weight -- pretty quickly and significantly. I still don't fret over it, really. I am who I am whether I weigh 115 pounds or a little {or a lot} more. Here's the thing: I'm going on a Girl's Cruise with several of my besties in January. I wasn't going to go, but they gave it to me for my birthday. Whatever. I have the best friends in the world. So, I'm super excited about this cruise and would love to lose a few pounds before we go so I look better in my favorite dress for formal night.

I was thrilled when I was contacted by Slim-Fast to try out their new & improved shakes during this busy time. I tried out the Strawberries n' Cream, but they also come in Creamy Milk Chocolate, Rich Chocolate Royale, French Vanilla and Cappuccino Delight. It was like drinking a nice, cold glass of strawberry milk, which is awesome. Even better, though, is that it kept me feeling full until lunch time -- up to four hours. The shakes contain 10 grams of protein, 5 grams of fiber and 24 vitamins and minerals. What's not to like about that?! I've used Slim-Fast in the past and I've always been a fan, but the new plastic bottles beat the old cans hands-down.

My favorite part about Slim-Fast is the convenience. I'm never in the mood to make {or eat} breakfast, so I love being able to grab a shake and get on with my day. The Slim-Fast 3-2-1 plan seems easy enough to follow: 3 snacks a day {these can be Slim-Fast 100 calorie snack bars, or fruits, nuts, and vegetables}, 2 meal-replacement shakes or bars {there are tons of delicious options}, and 1 balanced 500 calorie meal a day that you prepare yourself. As a general rule, they recommend filling half your plate with veggies, one quarter with lean protein and one quarter with whole grains. That doesn't sound like they could make it any easier! And you can purchase Slim-Fast right in the grocery store's pharmacy section when you do the rest of your shopping. Sweet!

I know the Holiday season is a difficult time to be trying to drop a few pounds. We're all super busy and we're surrounded by deliciously tempting sweets and treats. The Slim-Fast 3-2-1 Plan seems like a great help in the process. If I can grab a shake for breakfast while I'm getting ready and then throw a snack and another shake in my bag when I go out to run errands I may just be able to skip a few fast food drive-thru runs and save myself the caloric burden. And I'll be glad I did it when I'm lookin' all sassy in my silver dress on the cruise.

Like Slim-Fast on Facebook and check out the Slim-Fast website to learn more about their products and the 3-2-1 Plan. Happy Holidays!

Yeah, We're Movin' On Uuup -- To the Top!

noreply@blogger.com (amyg @ My 3 Monsters) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 10:01:00 +0000

The Jeffersons, anyone? Anyone? I'm so excited about something today I'm about to burst! Take a look around. Do you notice anything new? Probably not, but doesn't the place just feel a little more . . . legit today? Isn't there just a more sophisticated ambiance on this site today? OK, I'm a total geek. You'll never notice the difference. My 3 Monsters is no longer a dot blogspot dot com site -- it's a full-on dot com. It's its own thing. I bought the domain a while back and have been pondering what I wanted to do with it. Here's the thing: it's like before you have kids and you fall in love with a name so then you have to "call" that name so no one else in the family can use it before you get a chance to. This little blog is my sweet little baby whom I dote upon daily. Years ago when I registered with blogger I just used my own name, which seemed logical at the time. {I didn't know much about the internet back then, really.} I only dared hope that my family would stop in once in a while to read what I was rambling on about, so using my name seemed like the easiest way to get people to come here. I could scarcely have imagined that this little baby of a blog would make so many friends -- friends who knew its name, but not mine. I never predicted it would one day have its own legs to stand on and would need its own identity. For a while now it has bugged me that the name of my blog and the web address didn't match. It's a dumb thing to waste time worrying about, but sometimes I obsess like that. I went over to Go Daddy a couple of months ago just to have a peek and see if My3Monsters happened to still be available as a domain. Lo and behold it was, and it was a mere $15 to secure it for my very own for two whole years. And so I did. I couldn't help it. I just did it. And then I didn't tell anyone but my husband because it seemed a little silly, a girl like me owning a web domain. I looked into what it would take to move this baby over to Wordpress and it just seemed like a super troublesome and expensive undertaking. Besides that, I really like Blogger. Maybe that's not cool to say, but I do. So I decided to stay put. I was perfectly happy to pay my $15 just to "call" my favorite name in case I needed it one day. But then last night as I was searching for something entirely else on Google I happened upon an article about switching to a unique domain with Blogger and it was SO EASY! So, that's my long way of saying that absolutely nothing is going to change for you. If you are bookmarked or linked in anyway to to my blogspot address, you will automatically be redirected here. Nothing changes for me because I get to keep using Blogger and we can all get on with life. Except I'm gonna' spend a few more minutes geeking out about being a dot com. You may pat me on the head and walk away now.

Let it Glow, Let it Glow, Let it Glow!

noreply@blogger.com (amyg @ My 3 Monsters) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 23:00:00 +0000

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of PartyLite Simple Pleasures Holiday Sweepstakes for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Because it doesn't snow here in Arizona, I find we have to really go the extra mile to get that Christmas-y feeling in our home. One of my favorite ways to make my house feel {and smell!} a little bit special is to burn candles. I know it's a little bit of a clichè, girls liking candles. We joked about it on Thanksgiving day as we perused the Black Friday ads. Girls love to give each other candles, but no one ever burns them. Whatever. I LOVE candles. I have burned every candle I have ever received down to a nub. Especially at Christmastime.

Have you ever been invited to a PartyLite party? If you have, I hope you attended. Then you'll understand and you can back me up when I rave for a minute about these products. PartyLite is the world's #1 direct seller of premium candles and home-fragrance products. Their products are sold through direct sales – that is, at home parties – and on-line in every state in the U.S. and in 17 other countries. There’s a PartyLite party going on somewhere in the world every 18 seconds! PartyLite parties are known as fun parties that can bring together friends and associates, but that's not why people buy PartyLite candles. People buy PartyLite candles because they love the way they look, smell and the way they burn. PartyLite has always offered customers Platinum Quality – the very best candles you can buy anywhere! I think PartyLite has some of the prettiest candle accessories and home decor items on the market. I mean, check these out:

{from the Amaretto Swirl Collection}

{from the Clearly Creative Collection}

{from the Enchanted Collection}

Aren't they beautiful, and so unique? When you host a PartyLite party there are tons of perks. Not only do you get to gather your friends, coworkers and neighbors for a little fun socializing, you get to introduce them to some great products and earn FREE products for yourself! PartyLite products are a great way to "redecorate and refresh" every season for little or no cost.

If you head on over and Like the PartyLite Facebook page, you will get the ins on special monthly offers online for party hosts and guests. Also, the new PartyLite Winter/Spring 2012 Catalog launches on Dec. 16. You don't want to miss it. Here's the really cool part: they have a really cool sweepstakes going on right now. Enter the PartyLite Simple Pleasures Holiday Sweepstakes for a chance to win one of five $500 PartyLite gift certificates. Do you know how much great stuff you could get with that?! I'm giddy thinking about it!

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go light up a candle and finish my Christmas decorating. Happy Holidays!

Year in Review Template

noreply@blogger.com (amyg @ My 3 Monsters) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 21:02:00 +0000

I've received several requests for a template for my Year in Review project and you know I always aim to please. As always I created this project in Gimp so I'm not sure how that correlates with other photo editing programs as far as file types, etc... In Gimp .xcf files are workable files with layers still in tact so you can move things around, add and delete elements -- unless your family is exactly like mine {two boys, a girl and a dog}, change the background color and add text to your heart's content. Download the .xcf file here. {I've received a request for .psd file for Photoshop. You can download the .psd file here, but I don't have Photoshop so I can't check to make sure it works. I'd love it if someone would let me know in the comments if the conversion was successful!} Let me know if you need another file format and I'll do my best to oblige. Oorrrr . . . if you're just too busy this time of year to mess with it, I will will create a custom year in review for you for a mere $10. If you're interested, leave me a comment with your e-mail address and I'll get in touch with you right away to get all your info and set up a custom listing in my etsy shop.

I hope this helps some of you out there! Have a great day!

Edited to add: I've heard from some of you that you are having issues with File Factory. If you follow the link from this page to that page and scroll down a little you will see two speedometer images. Click on the one that says "slow download" and enter the word verification codes. You'll have to wait for 30 seconds and then click the download button again. That should work. If it doesn't, please leave a comment with your email address and which format you need {xcf or psd} and I'll send it to you. Sorry!

Christmas Printables {Freebies!}

noreply@blogger.com (amyg @ My 3 Monsters) — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 16:28:00 +0000

I have a little 5x7 frame that sits on the corner of my desk that I decided to use to frame up my favorite quotes or sayings for every season. I found a couple of quotes about Christmas that I absolutely fell in love with so I made a couple of printables I thought I'd share with you, my blog friends, it being the season of giving and all. I can't decide which one to put in the frame:

I'm leaning toward the very first one, but the last one is really in the running, too. I'm loving turquoise and red this Christmas. Gah! I just don't know which to choose. Maybe I'll just have to get another frame at the dollar store so I can do both. Merry Christmas, friends!

A Gift for the Golf Afficionado

noreply@blogger.com (amyg @ My 3 Monsters) — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 23:43:00 +0000

If you are a member of my family you'll probably quickly guess who I may have had in mind when creating this project. I'm pretty sure he doesn't stop by here often unless his wife makes a point of telling him to, which I hope she will not today, thank you very much. Do you have someone on your list who is difficult to shop for because they just buy everything they want and need? So you really have to try hard to think of something they might not have known that they wanted? The process is pretty hit and miss, but we're always trying to think of that gift that will make this person say, "Hello, lovely. Where have you been all my life?" {This person doesn't really talk like that, because that would be ridiculous, but that's the feeling we're going for.}

Back in the spring I remember seeing a series of framed vintage-style prints of famous golfers at Target. Each had a great quote from the featured golfer. They were really cool. They were also overpriced. And no longer available. But it seemed like a fun idea to try and recreate for someone who may or may not have a collection of golf memorabilia.

Here is what I came up with:

That really is a picture of Arnold Palmer. Cool, huh? Costco will print the 8x10 for about $1.50 {I'm sure most places are about the same} or you could spring for a cool canvas print -- Canvas People is my favorite and they often run a free 8x10 special so you only have to pay shipping. Just pop the print into a cool frame and you're all set. I was inclined to embellish the frame a bit, but restrained myself since I think the recipient would prefer the simplicity of a clean black frame. For a total cost of less than $10 you can't really go wrong. And it's the thought that counts, not the price, right? Remember that, dear family. The dollar value of your gifts does not represent your value in our lives and in our hearts.

Thanks for checking in today. Happy Holiday crafting!

Big Savings for the Holidays at Big Crumbs

noreply@blogger.com (amyg @ My 3 Monsters) — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 08:00:00 +0000

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of BigCrumbs for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.
I know I have recently declared my intention to have a handmade holiday this year, but there are a few things on my children's wish lists that simply must be purchased in stores. It's unavoidable. Because I don't know how to craft up a bike. Or a camera. Just . . . no. Naturally, I'm looking for a way to get the most for my money on those "big ticket" items. I was super excited to learn about BigCrumbs.com. Big Crumbs is one of the highest-paying cash back rewards sites around where you'll find over 1200 top online stores - like Target, Walmart, Best Buy and Macys. With Big Crumbs, you can shop online and earn cash back on every purchase you make. How awesome is that?! Because nothing dampens my Christmas spirit more than crowded retail establishments. Why are people so grumpy during the happiest season of the year? Why?! Here's what's even awesome-er: It's free to join! All you have to do is log into your Big Crumbs.com account and shop at your favorite stores. There are tons of sweet deals online right now and you can sweeten 'em a little bit more with your cash back from Big Crumbs.
I'm sharing this site with y'all because I know that we're all super busy, especially this time of year. If you have some other busy friends who are looking to save a little money on their holiday shopping, you can make some extra cash by referring them to BigCrumbs.com. You'll get cash back when they shop, too. Win-win! {If you wanna use my referral link, here it is: http://home.bigcrumbs.com/amygregson-- but don't feel like you have to. The savings are fantastic either way!}
Head on over to Big Crumbs and start saving today! Or don't, but then don't get all pouty when the rest of us have a little extra cash for a holiday pedicure and you don't. Just sayin'.

Secrets Be Spillin' Now

noreply@blogger.com (amyg @ My 3 Monsters) — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 00:07:00 +0000

So, I'm over me dilemma. I'm sharing my projects. Family, friends, be warned. But I'm going to do my very, very best to make it as un-obvious who's getting what as possible. {Did you follow that grammatical monstrosity?} Today here's a sneak peek at our family Christmas letter -- no one really cares about having that "treat" spoiled. do you? I fell in love with this creative design from Amanda Jones on Pinterest the other night. Ours is an homage to that lovely greeting:

That's kind of fun, huh? I hate writing Christmas letters so I was really excited to just highlight a few snippets of our life. Everyone just wants the basics anyway, right? For the front side I used the Scroll Tree template that I posted a few weeks ago and added a green background and a Christmas greeting. I was surprised that my family chose that one out of all the different options I gave them this year. Go figure! Check back for more fun holiday ideas soon. Have a great weekend!

EDITED TO ADD: I've posted a template here: http://www.my3monsters.com/2011/12/year-in-review-template.html
Have fun creating your own versions!

I'll be linking up here:

PS: The ads on the side bar is a new thing I'm trying. Let me know if they're just super annoying. I'm on the fence right now . . .

My Holiday Dilemma

noreply@blogger.com (amyg @ My 3 Monsters) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 18:08:00 +0000

We're entering a tricky time of year for me and this little blog o' mine. I don't like being sneaky or having secrets. My life is pretty much an open book and this blog is my BFF I can tell everything to. I like it that way. Christmas kills me. I think I would prefer to know what is inside all those sparkly little packages. Not just the ones with my name on them -- ALL of them. I think that, but one year I did know just about everything and it made me sad. I knew I had no surprises under the tree, but I found myself hoping beyond hope in my heart of hearts that my husband had snuck something really cool in there for me. He hadn't. And why would he?! I told him in no uncertain terms that I wanted to know everything. But knowing everything at Christmas kind of stinks. Remember back when you were a kid, before you "knew everything" {you know what I'm talkin' about}. Wasn't Christmas just a little bit more magical back then? That may have been, in part, because you weren't the one footing the bill, which does tend to take a little bit of the shine off of things. Just sayin'.

Aaaaanyway, surprises are what Christmas is all about. Here's my dilemma this year, and every year since I started my blog, really -- I spent all last week making some really cool stuff for my family for Christmas {so I could hand deliver them in Vegas and save on shipping -- ever being economical} but I can't really share those projects here as I am wont to do because it would ruin the surprise. Aaaak! I've decided to do a completely hand-made Christmas this year. I think about it every year, but usually give in to peer pressure {or laziness} and just buy people the gift cards they ask for. Not this year! My husband losing his job last week may or may not have swayed that decision a bit, but that is neither here nor there. I'm making everything. Santa has my permission to purchase gifts as he sees fit, but as for me it's homemade all the way. Now wouldn't that make for some fun blog posts? Easy, inexpensive gift ideas. It's what I'm looking all over the craft blog world for right now. I'd love to share some of the goodies I'm making. Would it be too rude to ask my family to NOT read my blog for the next few weeks? Or read at your own risk at the very least? I'm fairly certain that, even though I've set my blog as our browser's home page, no one in this house pays it any attention. I could get away with posting some of my secrets here, surely. I'll ponder it while we set up our tree this afternoon. Enjoy the holiday season everyone!!

How To Install New Fonts on Your Computer

noreply@blogger.com (amyg @ My 3 Monsters) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 05:31:00 +0000

The internet is a funny thing to me. Thanks in equal part to search engines and bookmarking sites like Pinterest {which I adore} some blog posts unexpectedly take on a life of their own. It's nearly impossible for a casual blogger like me to predict which posts will become "superstars" and which will live out their days in anonymity, buried in the archive. I have been totally shocked at the attention my cleaning schedule has received and the strong feelings it arouses in people, both positive and negative. I never would have guessed years ago, when sharing this anecdote about my husband, that "Baby Brent" would become one of the most common search phrases driving traffic to my blog. Nor was I expecting to come home from my Thanksgiving travels to find that my Favorite Fonts post has been receiving thousands of hits a day. It's surreal. I feel a little like a parent who comes home from a trip to find that her teenage daughter has thrown the party of the century in her absence. {Don't be gettin' any big ideas Sissy!}

So, if you came for the fonts and stuck around, thanks ever-so much! I'm sure we'll be fast friends. Now, in finally reaching the point of this post, I wish to address a few concerns raised in the comments of that post. First, It was brought to my attention {in the nicest way -- thanks to an Anonymous commenter} that the link to Feel Script was a bootlegged copy of a pretty expensive font. I feel really bad about that. I removed the link in the original post so as to avoid any trouble {in a legal sense}. If you still want the free download it is easy enough to find out there. I'm no evil genius and I got it. Or you can save up the $99 and buy it all legit-like.

Second, it seems several of you would like some info about what to do with the font files after you download them. Often when you buy a font it will come in a file with it's own installer. You just open the file and it magically appears on your computer ready to use. Kind of. When you download a file for free {from a legit free site Ü }you usually have to unzip it and install it yourself. It's not hard, you just have to do it. I'm going to assume you all know how to unzip a zipped file -- on my computer when I double click a zipped file it automatically starts the Microsoft Extraction Wizard and walks me through the process. Since my computer is old and technology seems to be becoming increasingly intuitive, I'm guessing it's even easier for most of you. Just make sure you know where you save the unzipped font file so you can find it again. Good? Good.

On your PC click the Start button in the lower left corner then click on My Computer. Choose the Local Disk {C:}. Find the Windows folder and double click to open it up. Now find the Fonts folder and open that up. Click on File in the upper left corner of the window and click on Install New Font in the drop-down menu.

A new window will open up at this point. In the bottom left corner, find the folder in which you saved the unzipped font file. Click to open it when you find it. When you click on the correct folder, the name of the font file will appear in the "List of Fonts" box in the upper left corner. Make sure the "Copy fonts to Fonts folder" box is checked, then click Select All. When you click OK you should see a status bar pop up to let you know that your font installation has been successful.

You'll have to repeat this process for each new font you want to install. Then, since I've copied the font file into the Fonts folder, I usually go back and delete the original files I downloaded so I don't waste space on duplicate files. I hope that helps some of you to begin using and enjoying your new fonts. If you still have questions feel free to e-mail me or leave a comment.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! My whole family got together for the first time in years in Las Vegas for the holiday. It was awesome staying up late laughing and playing cards with my siblings and parents while my kids ran around with their cousins. We couldn't have asked for a better time. More on that to come . . .