Pops and Podge

Fall Craft Night 2017

noreply@blogger.com (Claudia) — Fri, 06 Oct 2017 06:18:00 +0000

Hola friends!

Life is so crazy, and we're about to make it even crazier with a craft night! Should we call it CRAFTING WITH THE CRAZIES?! Ha ha... Don't answer that. ;)

We've done smaller craft nights here and there, but since October and November are such fun months to decorate for, we wanted to offer a few different things this time around!

Below are listed all the pictures and prices of each craft. At the bottom of the post, you'll see a form that you can fill out for what you'd like.

Craft night will be on Saturday, Oct. 21st from 4-10 pm at Christie's house. We love to keep it open-house style which means you can come any time you want and leave whenever! About a week before craft night, we will email you the address and will invoice you around that time as well!

Halloween Trio

$18

*Includes all 3 boards

Halloween Candy Wreath

$25

Halloween Mummy Wreath

$22

Halloween Garland

$15

Out of Treats Sign

$10

Count Your Blessings

$12

Tassel Fall Bunting

$12

Country Fall Flannel Wreath

$25

Falling Leaves Wreath

$18

State Love Sign

$10

*These make phenomenal Christmas presents. Just sayin'.

Here is the form to sign up! We need all orders to be placed by Oct. 12th! Feel free to email us or FB us with any questions!

December Craft Night 2016

noreply@blogger.com (Claudia) — Fri, 11 Nov 2016 06:39:00 +0000

Alright friends, I'm gonna make this quick and dirty because I finally got the twins to sleep and I've got 45 minutes before their next feeding and all I want to do is stuff my face with some Ruffles and watch an episode of Fixer Upper. IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK?

I think not.

So, onto craft night. It's been f.o.r.e.v.e.r. since we've done one! Mainly because I was busy this summer growing a couple of humans inside me and it literally sucked everything out of me. But now they're here, and life is busy taking care of 2 babies!

But now that I finally feel better and Christie told me all she wants for Christmas is a craft night! We just can't stay away #cantstopwontstop! We have a couple of new ones and are doing some repeats...

Here are the details:

Date: Dec. 10th

Time: 5-10 pm

Where: La Casa de Christie. We will send you the address later. Don't worry.

CRAFTS

JOY BOARD

Approx. 8x10

$15

HOLLY JOLLY BOARD

Approx 12x14. Size may vary.

$15

REVERSIBLE BLOCKS

$22

CHRISTMAS WREATH

$25

FELT HOLLY BERRY GARLAND

STATE LOVE BOARD - Makes a great Christmas gift!

Approx. 12x14

Can be stained or not. Choose any state you love or the USA!

$10

HAVE COURAGE, BE KIND, EXPLORE

8x10 signs (3)

$20

Girls

Boys

GLASS ETCHED DISH SOAP DISPENSER

Choose from the fonts listed below.

$12

To sign-up register HERE

Please email us at ccash@popsandpodge.com if you have any questions.

We will accept orders through

Dec. 2nd. Anything after that we may or may not be able to make. You can leave us your PayPal address in the email and we will send you an invoice. If you'd rather pay by cash or check, please let us know! We're flexible like that, yo.

We are super excited! And now I have to go cause a baby is crying and needs her mama!

xoxoxo

Claudia and Christie

2016 Val-Pat-East-Home Edition

noreply@blogger.com (Claudia) — Fri, 08 Jan 2016 04:01:00 +0000

Like how I combined all the holidays into 1 hyphenated word? I'm cool like that.

Let me tell you a story about perseverance.

Once upon a time there was a lovely lady named Christie. She was a dedicated crafter. Some may call her an expert crafter. She had a fun friend named Claudia and they loved to craft together. They even loved to spread the magic of crafting by hosting craft nights. One day, Christie got a terrible ear infection. It was miserable for her poor little soul, but she was in the middle of working hard to get craft night done for her friends in the kingdom. What did she did she do? She persevered and crafted on for 3 straight days all while her ear was muffled and aching. That is how dedicated she was to this craft night. Soon, her ear healed and she was able to enjoy all the lovely ladies who came to craft night.

The end.

Now that, my dear friends is a true story! We have worked hard over the past 3 days to make these crafts, and it was a struggle. We started on Monday, and things were a total joke. We were uninspired, making mistakes right and left, and had all our kids with us because school was cancelled for a snow day. I think at one point we just looked at each other and said, "What in the heck are we doing?! Argh!"

When life gets to this point, you just need to take a break. So, we regrouped and finished all the crafts on Tuesday and Wednesday. Whew. Who knew crafting could be so taxing?

But when all was said and done, it was worth it. We love the way the crafts turned out and can't wait to decorate our homes with them. :)

So here are the details for craft night...

When? Saturday, January 30th
Time? 5:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Where? Christie's house. We'll send an email with the address.

Crafts?
Oh yes... the crafts.

Felt Tree Hoop

$10

Takes about 1.5 hours to complete. (But it's worth it!)

LOVE Board

$10

Board is approx. 8x10 (size may vary a little)

Takes about 30-45 minutes to complete.

Valentine's Day Wreath

$25

12 in wreath

Example is wrapped in yarn (but that takes f.o.r.e.v.e.r.) so your wreath

will be wrapped in white muslin cause it's a lot easier!

Takes about 1 hour to complete.

St. Patrick's Day Paint Chip Board

I've been wanting to do this for about 3 years now, have had the board for 2 years now

and am so dang excited to finally have it finished!

$15

Board is about 18 in x 24 in.

It will be made of MDF so it'll be pretty lightweight.

Takes about 1.5 hours to complete.

St. Patrick's Felt Pinwheel Banner

Quite possibly the easiest craft of all time.

$10

Takes about 2-30 minutes to complete.

St. Patty's Day Wreath

$25

Another super easy craft.

Takes about 30 minutes to complete.

He is Risen Board

$12

Board measures approx. 12x14.

Please note in the sign up sheet if you would like it pre-stained or if you would like

to paint your board a different color.

We can drill holes for you to hang the board with ribbon.

Bunny Crossing Post

$18

This board can be stuck in your garden or on your porch (or inside!).

Measures about 2.5 ft tall.

Takes about 45 minutes to complete.

Family Home Evening Board

$20

Measures approx. 10 in x 14 in

Takes about 30-45 minutes to complete.

It's Your Special Day Plate/Celebrate Plate

$10

Takes approx. 1 hr 15 min to complete. HOWEVER an hour of that is letting it dry

and then baking it, so you can do other crafts in the meantime.

Marker colors: Black, gold, pink, purple, blue, green, orange (turns to a rust color after baked).

WE SOLD OUT OF CRAFTING SPOTS! REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED.

But, if you still have questions or suggestions, you can email us at ccash@popsandpodge.com!

Adios friends!

Halloween. Thanksgiving. Christmas. Misc. Crafts All Rolled Into One Craft NIght.

noreply@blogger.com (Claudia) — Sat, 12 Sep 2015 04:05:00 +0000

Before we start this post we are gonna put a disclaimer out there: We. Are. Not. Professional. Photo. Stylists. Period. The End.

Glad we got that out of the way. And if you're still reading... congratulations to you! We love you.

We feel really horrible about cancelling last craft night, but life gets in the way.

We have spent the last 3 days crafting our little brains out to bring you all these glorious goodies. All in the middle of working our normal jobs, school starting for our littles, in the middle of one of us doing a bathroom remodel and the other one just moved. Oi.

BUT it's all good because these crafts are epic. Like epically amazing. Like we are totes redeeming ourselves for cancelling the last craft night.

The whole time we were crafting we were just in awe of how cute every single one turned out. And you bet your beans we will be making #allthecrafts right along side you!

So.... let's get down to the deets.

When and where and what time will be on our Pops & Podge Crafty Nights Facebook page.

We just don't want to put that kind of info out on the internet anymore. Kinda creeps us out.

So, if you're not a member of our crafting group on FB, just search for us, and we will add you.

And for all the new peeps out there welcome, first off. And secondly, all crafts come prepped and ready to go. We cut the wood, sand it, cut the vinyl, and buy all the supplies. We have whatever you need to make these crafts. All you have to do is show up! Yay!

Now... onto the crafts. Love them. Want all of them.

Trick or Treat Blocks

$10

Biggest block is approx. 9x8 inches.

And yes, that's a dang cute little felt bat.

This is a super easy craft and should take approx. 20 minutes to complete.

Oh, by the way... all times are approximate and allow for a little eating/socializing/FB scrolling time.

Mummy Wreath

$18

It's a wreath. Wrapped in cheesecloth. Cute glitter ribbon. Felt bats (we're tiny obsessed with bats...)

Easy craft. Takes about 45 minutes to complete.

Feather Garland

$10

2 choices: White feathers or colored feathers (red, maroon, yellow, orange, and brown feathers. They come assorted, so those are the colors you get.)

You can spray them with glitter (which we h.i.g.h.l.y. recommend!) or leave them plain.

Super easy craft. Takes about 12-15 minutes to complete.

Wood Pumpkin (or Punkin in the words of Christie...) Patch Trio

Tallest pumpkin is 9 inches tall. About 2 inches wide.

Cute little buttons and leaves. Cute little sign. Cute little craft.

Pretty easy to make. Takes painting and gluing (yes, that's how you spell gluing. We Googled it.)

45 minutes to complete.

Gobble Gobble Gobble Sign

$16

Comes in 2 different sizes: 11x14 or 10x10. You choose what size you would like.

The letters are stenciled on... we did an ombre technique that we can teach you or you can do solid colors. Ombre does take more time... just FYI.

This is a pretty easy craft, but it can be harder if you ombre it. Just sayin'.

Wood comes all prepped. The pallets are premade.

Takes about 45 minutes.

Country Fall Wreath

$22

Move over chevron... plaid is where it's at!

We are head over heels in love with house this turned out! And it was seriously one of *the* easiest wreaths we have ever made. It takes about 45 minutes to complete.

Sharpie Santa Plates

Small plate (bread plate size) $5

Large plate (dinner plate size) $8

Add milk mug (red only) $4

More personalized options on the sign up sheet.

This craft is pretty easy. All you're doing is making dots. BUT it does take some time.

So, we're going to say about 20-30 minutes per plate.

Please note that you have to let this dry for an hour and then bake it for 30 minutes.

If you're wanting to do this one, please make sure you allow yourself enough time to make it, let it dry, and bake it. You can be completing other crafts while you're waiting for this one to finish.

Lighted All is Calm, All is Bright Canvas

$20

Painted canvas with stenciled letters. BUT this one has lights on it!

If you like then you should have put a light on it...

Sizes: 10x10 or 11x14.

Easy craft. Takes about 1 hour to complete.

Country Christmas Wreath

$22

Same as the country fall wreath.

Felt Holly Berry Garland

$5 for 5 feet.

Super easy. Just cutting and a little sewing. And if you're not comfortable sewing, we can help you out. No worries.

Takes about 30 minutes to complete.

Have Courage & Be Kind Trio

$20

8x10 signs

Painting and stenciling. Add some hardware on the back to hang. The end.

About 45 minutes - 60 minutes.

Explore Trio

$20

If you want it stained, please let us know and we'll stain it ahead of time.

State Love Board

$10

11x14

Yes, we are doing these again because they're so popular. Any state you want. Can even do USA if you want to!

Dark stain or light stain. You choose. But we need to know ahead of time.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP!

You must sign up by October 9th! We also only have a capacity of 28 people. First come first serve.

That's pretty much it! As always if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask! We're not scary people and will work with you!

June Crafty Night

noreply@blogger.com (Claudia) — Fri, 12 Jun 2015 03:37:00 +0000

Hello Crafters!

Craft night is once upon us. Cool beans, cool beans.

This isn't gonna be a long post cause Christie is out having fun, living it up with political celebrities for an award she won... in freaking sunny Florida.

And Claudia is... well, lazy. Just kidding! I'm preparing to move soon, which pretty much takes up all my energy.

But because we eat/sleep/drink/burp crafting, we slapped together a few projects for ya. You're welcome. :)

Here are the deets:

Craft Night. At Christie's house (we will email you the directions. Don't want her address on the web in case we might have a crazy crafter fan stalking her...) on June 27th from 4 - whenever. Maybe 10 pm? Since it's at her house, we're not really picky on when this ends. Just be sure to save the date.

It's now time to introduce our crafts to you... yes, you might recognize a couple. That's cause they're so dang cute, we wanted to offer them again!

State Love Board

12x14

Super popular...

Can be any state.

Please state whether you want a medium stain or dark stain.

$10

Have Courage & Be Kind Boards

Set of 3

Each board is 10x12

Please specify what colors you would like.

Colors shown are cream, mint, coral, and gold.

$20

Be Brave. Have Courage. Explore Boards

Set of 3

Each board is 10x12.

Specify if you want to paint these (and what color)

or if you want us to pre-stain it (dark or medium stain).

$20

**If you would like to mix and match the two sets of boards (ie have 4 boards in a set) just make a note, and we'll message you for additional pricing and deets. :)

Inital/Name Board

8x12

Please indicate what colors/inital/name you would like.

$10

I Pledge Board

Super cute...

Approx. 9x18 (yes, it's long!)

We will have vinyl for you to apply.

Vinyl can be one color, or two.

Please let us know what colors you would like.

$20

4th of July Banner

So dang adorbs.

2 styles...

Stripes or Floral.

Material can be sewn or glued on.

$12

4th of July Wreath

2 styles to choose from...

Blue/white chevorn (1st pic)

or Denim (2nd pic)

$22

Please sign up here.

Check us out on FB here for updates.

Email us at ccash@popsandpodge.com if you have any questions!

xoxox,

Claudia & Christie

Crafting with Pops & Podge: All Things Springy Edition

noreply@blogger.com (Claudia) — Mon, 16 Mar 2015 21:35:00 +0000

Hey all!! Time is flying like way too fast. I can't believe it's March already! Aaah! But, with another month means another craft night is underway! Woot! We have had a blast at our 2 last craft nights and are excited for what we're making this Springy Edition. So... I'll stop babbling and start 'splaining.

Date: Saturday, April, 18th.

Time: TBA. Probably from 4-9 pm
Registration Fee: $5
Where: Somewhere in Beaverton. :)

Where: Since this is the public internet, we won't tell you the exact location. #playingitsafe Instead, we will put it on Facebook as well as email it to you. So, please leave us your email when you sign up. M'kay?

Here are da crafts, yo.

Wreaths

And we have 2 lovely wreaths to make. We opted for just generic wreaths instead of a holiday/season themed wreath. Why? Cause we could all use a little more genericness in our lives, right? Ha ha.

Burlap Monogrammed Wreath

$20

Size: 12 inches.

2 Styles of burlap: Quatrefoil and Mint/White Lace

You'll need to let us know what type of burlap you want and what initial you want on your wreath.

Rosette Burlap Wreath

State Love Board

$10

12x14

Choose ANY state (but we'd really love it if you chose Oregon. Ha ha.)

Choose medium or dark stain.

We will have hardware so you can hang it if you choose.

Celebrate Board

$10

Have trouble remembering celebrations/birthdays?

Yeah, so do we.

That's why we made this! Ha ha.

Choose from either Celebrate or Birthday vinyl wording.

Approx. 4x6

Scrapwood Frame

5x7: $9

4.x6: $7

(Cute baby not included)

These would be a perfect give for Mother's Day (hint, hint...)

We will have the metal clippies or you can attach decorative clothespins

Sizes: Can frame 5x7 or 4x6 pictures. You'll make your choice.

(Picture shown is 5x7)

Succulent Planters

Succulents are such fun plants! Hardly any watering is required and they are totes adorbs.

We will have different sizes.

We will have different colors of rocks available.

Small Pot: $7 each

Large Pot: $8 each

These are the small planters. They're so cute!

You'll hand paint these...

This is the Large Pot...

Family Name

Approx 8x12

Please leave name and initial of your choice. :)

Glass Etched Dish Soap Dispenser

$10

This was my top seller on my Etsy shop. I use mine every day and love it!

Four font options. Super easy and fast craft.

Twine Carrots

$4 each or 3 for $10

These were soooo fun to make! We weren't sure how things were going to go, but once we started making them, we couldn't stop!

The size and shape will vary... why?

Cause you make them as big or as small or as fat or as skinny as you want them!

Click here to register!

We can't wait to craft with you!

xoxoxo,

Claudia and Christie

Crafting w/Pops & Podge: Lucky & Love Edition

noreply@blogger.com (Christie) — Fri, 09 Jan 2015 01:09:00 +0000

Hey ladies! Are we are so excited to be starting a new year! I am taking a break from eating my lettuce wraps and spin classes to post some cutie crafts heading your way on February 7th. Tag team, back again, to bring you a bigger and better craft night. We do the kits and you just come and do the crafting. Could not be easier! And the best part is the cool chicks you get to hang out with. Friends or strangers, either way we are all up for a good time and some crafting and to take our minds off of the world that evening. So sign-up today and before Tuesday, January 27th so we can get everything ready for you! PS if you want to get updates about our craft nights and join in on some crafting conversation, we have a FB group page. You can join it here.

Here are some more details:
Date: Saturday, February 7, 2015
Where: Arbor Crossing Clubhouse/Beaverton (We will give you the address after you sign up)
Time: 4pm-10pm
Cost: There is an admission fee of $5 (to cover the cost of the building and clean-up). This is just for entrance only. The cost of the crafts will be extra.

How Do I Pay? The easiest way would be via Paypal. You will register below and let us know which crafts you want and we'll send you an invoice. If you fill out the registration form early enough, you are more than welcome to mail a check or drop it off to one of our houses. Just shoot us a quick email if this is the route you want to go. If you want to pay by credit card over the phone or drop off a payment in Beaverton or Hillsboro, we can make arrangements with you! We could also SHIP kits if your interested!

Who Can Come? Um... anybody! You don't have to be super crafty to come! We will have examples and detailed instructions for you. And of course, we will be there in person to answer questions.

Do I Need To Bring Anything? Besides yourself... your mom or your neighbor or your sister. Don't worry about bringing anything unless you're super attached to that special pair of scissors that cut amazingly and you can't craft without them.

Are you reeeeaaaaaaady to ~~rumble~~ craft! Here they are....

Craft numero uno, let's start with Hello!

Hello SOLD OUT!

$13

Color Choices: You tell us and we will get it!

Word is approx 1 1/2 thick and 5" x 12"

Luck (SOLD OUT)

$19

Color Choices: All shades of green or white

Word is approx 1 1/2 thick and 16" x 14" when stacked and

8" x 25" when spelled horizontally

Stacking Shamrocks (SOLD OUT)

$12

Color Choices: All shades of green or white

Word is approx 1/2 thick and 6" x 6.5" when stacked

St. Patty Wreath - UNLIMITED QTY

$16

Color Choices: Shamrock or Green/Gold dot

12 inch wreath

Stacking Eggs (1 AVAILABLE)

$10

Color Choices: Easter/spring paper

Each egg is approx 1/2 thick and 6" x 6"

Love (6 avail)

$19

Color Choices: Red, Lt Pink, Dk Pink, White

Word is approx 1 1/2 thick and 16" x 13" when stacked and

8" x 27" when spelled horizontally

Arrow (SOLD OUT)

$10

Color Choices: Various

Arrow is approx 1 1/2 thick and 4" x 12"

XO ( SOLD OUT)

$25

Color Choices: Various paper + Gold/Red Glitter

is approx 1/2 thick and 23" x 14"

Banner - UNLIMITED QTY

$10

Hearts (2 avail)

$12

Color Choices: Various

Hearts is approx 1 1/2 thick and largest is 7.5" x 7.5"

But these hearts would be the three different sizes.

Boxwood Heart Wreath - UNLIMITED QTY

$13.50

Word is approx 12"

XOXO Board - UNLIMITED QTY

Color Choices: Various

Word is approx 1/2 thick and 8" x 10"

Bunny Board - UNLIMITED QTY

Color Choices: Various

Board is approx 1/2 thick and 8" x 10"

Scrabble Blocks - UNLIMITED QTY

Love or initials/heart

Tile Coasters - UNLIMITED QTY

$6 (additional coasters $1 each)

Set of 4 (we also have a stripe and heart one)

Birds (3 avail)

Set of 3 (Sm, Med, Lrg)

$12.00

Happy Crafting, we will see you Feb 7th!

Crafting with Pops and Podge - Christmas Edition

noreply@blogger.com (Claudia) — Tue, 18 Nov 2014 06:58:00 +0000

Hello Fellow Crafters!

This blog has kinda gone by the wayside...But it now has a new purpose! We have revived it! Hallelujah! (And I will now break into song and dance. Please excuse me for a minute)...

.... and now I'm back.

Christie and I are embarking on a new adventure. See, we have been known to host some pretty awesome craft nights. Craft nights are amazing cause we do all the prep work (the cutting of the boards, sanding them, cutting all the vinyl, shopping for all the crafty supplies) and then our friends come and sit down and start crafting away without having to do the back-breaking labor that goes on behind the scenes.

Well. There's been a problem with our craft nights. They've become a little too big to host in our little house anymore. Womp womp. So, what are two girls to do?

I'll tell ya... We decided to make our craft nights b.i.g.g.e.r.! We rented a space and are expanding our craft night to everyone! #mindblown

Now, I have to warn you cause the building isn't really anything to be desired. It's not super fancy or anything, but it'll do the trick. We are just over the moon excited to have a place big enough to hold more than 10 people!

Look at us! We just rented a crafting space! Yippee!

Here are the deets on the craft night (and please read it carefully! There will be a test! Ha ha, just kidding. No test. BUT, it does help to read all the info and ask questions later).

Date: Saturday, December 13th, 2014

Time: 2 p.m. - 10 p.m. - Come anytime. You can stay for a half hour or all 8 hours. Your call.

Where: Scholls Grange (not Kinton Grange)
16917 SW Hillsboro Hwy
Scholls, OR 97140
Just past the Smith Berry Farm!

Cost: There is an admission fee of $5 (to cover the cost of the building and clean-up). This is just for entrance only. The cost of the crafts will be extra.

How Do I Pay? The easiest way would be via Paypal. You will register below and let us know which crafts you want and we'll send you an invoice. If you fill out the registration form early enough, you are more than welcome to mail a check or drop it off to one of our houses. Just shoot us a quick email if this is the route you want to go. If you want to pay by credit card over the phone or drop off a payment in Beaverton or Hillsboro, we can make arrangements with you! We could also SHIP kits if your interested!

Who Can Come? Um... anybody! You don't have to be super crafty to come! This is the perfect night for you to get your craft on. There is a lot of work that goes into crafting, but we've figured out all the nitty gritty details, and you just get to have fun! We will have examples and detailed instructions for you. And of course, we will be there in person #it'syourluckyday to answer questions.

Do I Need To Bring Anything? Besides yourself... your mom or your neighbor or your sister. Don't worry about bringing anything unless you're super attached to that special pair of scissors that cut amazingly and you can't craft without them. :)

BONUS: Guess what? We've added a bonus feature for you! We are lucky to have Stephanie from Crafting in the Rain doing a demo from 4 pm - 8 pm on some amazing FROZEN ornaments (check it out here), which you can purchase for $8 (which has been added to the registration form) and Lauren from Lauren's Latest will be doing a demo at 6pm of some of her amazing (and yes, they are amazing... I've tasted it) mixes (cookie mix and chocolate cake mix). These are amazing (yes, I keep saying that word) because all YOU do is add the butter, eggs, and water, and you're good to go. You can put them together right there with her. Or if you were planning on attending earlier or later, we will have all of the supplies there for you with the instructions.

Now onto the crafts!

O Holy Night Board

$14

Color Choices: Red or Green

Board is approx 8" x 24"

Fa La La La La Board

$14

Color Choices: Red or Green

Board is approx. 8" x 24"

Glitter Reindeer

Limited quantity. If you want this one, sign up fast!

Glitter Choices: Gold, Red, or Silver

Christmas Trio Boards

Colors are as shown (we will have a variety of greens available).

$15 for the set

Large Board: approx 12" x 14"

Medium Board: approx 8" x 10"

Small Board: approx 4" x 6"

Christmas Advent Calendar

Color Choices: Red, gold, and white

or Green, gold, and white

(Or if you want just red and white, or green and white, let us know!)

$15

Board is approx 10" x 18"

It has chalkboard vinyl on it and will come with a piece of chalk

Rosette Grapevine Wreath

Felt Color Choices: Cream, white, green, mustard, red, or burgandy,

$15

Wreath is approx 14"

"Joy" Burlap Wreath

Red Only

$20

Wooden Christmas Nativity

Felt Poinsettia Tree Skirt

Color Options: Cream, white, red, or burgundy

$20

Glitter Letters

Word Options: JOY or NOEL

Glitter Options: Red, Gold, or Silver

$18

Frozen Ornaments

Set of 3 Ornaments: $8

Ornaments (without the vinyl) $1 each

Gifts in a Jar
2 for $12 or 1 for $7
Cookie Mix & Chocolate Cake Mix

And there ya have it, folks. Tons of crafts, demonstrations by some talented bloggers, and all around good old-fashioned fun. :)

If you think those crafts are awesome and you are feeling crafty, please register! And, don't forget to bring some extra cash to the craft day in case you want to purchase something else.

Fill out my online form.

Please contact us at ccash@popsandpodge.com if you have any questions!

We are like, super stoked to be doing this craft night and hope y'all will come and have a blast! And just as a super cool bonus we will have a raffle every few hours for something crafty. Excited to see you all there!

Craft Kits

noreply@blogger.com (Claudia) — Fri, 25 Apr 2014 00:24:00 +0000

Hello Pops and Podgers! Christie and I are so darn excited to start making craft kits! This has been something we have talked about doing for the past 3 years... but life and babies and kids and jobs and everything in between seemed to get in the way. But, we have put together our first kit, and it's up for sale on our Etsy shop!

Why craft kits??

Good question! Christie and I have a little craft group that we do every couple of months or so. We decide the crafts, put everything together for it, and then have our friends come over and we get - our - craft - on. They love it because they don't have to do any of the work behind getting the craft ready... they just get to show up and do the fun part!! How awesome sauce is that?

Just show up and craft instantly? It's pretty much a win-win scenario.

So, Christie and I thought it would be fun to share our craft kits with all y'all.

We decided to kick off our craft kits with a Glass Etching Kit. Etching glass is a fun and super quick way to personalize your glassware! A couple of years ago for Christmas, I went to the dollar store, bought some drinking glasses, and etched each family member's name into their own glass. I gave it to them with their favorite soda, favorite candy, a movie, and some popcorn. It was so fun to create, and it's a gift that can be used over and over again!

I've also etched all my glass pans with my last name. I can't tell you how necessary this is!! If you take food to some dinner, or reception, or whatever, there will be NO mistake which pan is yours!! And unlike that hideous masking tape some women have branded their pans with, you don't have to worry about your name coming off in the dishwasher!

So, we all know that glass etching is important. After I had decided to etch my pans a couple of years ago, I went to Michaels and looked into buying glass etching cream.... and I was SHOCKED with how expensive that goop was. Seriously! $25 for like a 10 oz bottle! What the heck? I certainly didn't need that much cream to etch 3 pans! And that price! I pretty much fainted in the middle of Michaels over that price.... but I bit the bullet and bought it. Now, almost 3 years later, I still have that same bottle sitting in my craft closet. Sure, I've used it a few more times, but it still makes me cringe thinking of how much I paid for that bottle.

Sometimes, the cost of crafting takes the fun out of it. It can take a lot of time and resources to get all the necessary supplies in order to complete a craft! And that's precisely why you should let Christie and I do the hard work for you. Just let us gather all the supplies, ship them to you, and you can party hardy while you craft!

What exactly comes in our Glass Etching Craft Kits? You will get the following:

*Small container of etching cream (enough to etch about 2 items, depending on the size)
*Foam brush to apply the cream
*Gloves (safety first!)
*Vinyl stencil for what you want to etch. You will be able to purchase one of our premade dish soap designs (if you want to etch a dish soap dispenser), or you can etch any word or phrase you would like (upon checkout, you will leave a note with what you want etched). We have 4 fonts available...

And of course, if you would like something custom made, you can always contact us and we are more than happy to work with you!

BUT what is even better... is Christie and I have put together a video on YouTube that gives you complete directions on how to glass etch! Yeah, that's right. You get to see all the nerdiness of us giving you directions on how to glass etch. It's beyond exciting, trust me. ;)

We have put together a video with instructions for each craft kit we put together. Pictures are great... but I am a visual learner. I can follow instructions 134% better if there is a video vs. pictures. I'm not bad mouthing pictures... I'm just telling you what works for me!

You can purchase a kit through our Etsy shop. Each kit costs $9.99 plus S&H. If you want to order more than 1, you can contact us for special pricing!

Now let's get crafting!

{Peanut Butter Dream Frosting}

noreply@blogger.com (Claudia) — Fri, 26 Jul 2013 13:27:00 +0000

Wow, summer sure has flown by. I can't believe that we are almost done with July.... grrrr.... I'm a little nervous for the summer to end. You see, my oldest daughter will be starting kindergarten and my middle daughter will be in preschool, which means I'm going to officially be a "School Mom", at least that's what I call it. You see, up until now, my life has revolved around whatever I have wanted it to. We wake up when we want, eat whenever, go wherever, and haven't had any limits set on our time. I realize this is going to change dramatically, so I've been soaking up these past few months before my life revolves around school. Know what I mean?

We haven't really done anything super spectacular this summer. I started running at the high school track a few days a week with some friends, and we pretty much go swimming every day. No big vacations are planned, but we do have lots of visitors coming next month. Woot woot!

However, here some things we've done...

I took pictures of my kids. Last year I bought my first DSLR camera because I was sick of paying people to take pictures of my kids... so I've been practicing my mad photography skills, and here's one of my favorite pictures from this year.

Ugh. Love that girl so much!

We celebrated the Fourth of July in style...

And celebrated 8 months of having this little one (who's not so little... 22 lbs is a lot of squishy, cuddly chub!) in our lives. Aw, she just melts my heart every time, and I do mean ever single time, I look at her!

And yes, I've even squeezed in some baking. Nom, nom, nom! I made these cupcakes for a baby shower a few weeks ago. I wasn't super impressed with how the actual cupcake turned out, but it didn't matter 'cause the frosting was simply dee-vine. Seriously. I can't describe how fluffy and light it was... you'll just have to make it for yourself and see what I'm talking about!

I used the same recipe I used here, but modified it a little. I added more powdered sugar and cream since I was making a bigger batch. Also, I have a problem with not really measuring things, so I just kept adding stuff until I got the results I wanted. I know, this may drive some of you crazy, but I just can't help it!

But just for good measure, I'll give you the recipe again...

Peanut Butter Dream Frosting

*1 c. powdered sugar

*1 c. creamy peanut butter

*5 TBSP unsalted butter, softened

*3/4 tsp. vanilla extract

*1/4 tsp. salt

*1/3 c. heavy cream

*In a bowl, mix together powdered sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and salt.

Mix until creamy, scraping the sides of the bowl if needed.

Add the heavy cream and mix on medium speed until light and smooth.

Ooo la la! Enjoy!

Claudia

DIY 4th of July + $200 Gift Card Giveaway!

noreply@blogger.com (Claudia) — Mon, 01 Jul 2013 07:01:00 +0000

I am sooooo excited to post today! Eeeee!!! I'm practically squealing like a little school girl! Why am I excited? Two reasons. 1.) I have a fabulous project tutorial to share with you and 2.) I have teamed up with some amazing bloggers as well as Coupons.com to give one lucky reader a $200 e-gift card to either Jo-Ann's or Home Depot. Keep reading for more info! But first, let's get started on this awesome project.

As you know, we love the 4th of July around here. Christie's husband is a Marine, and my brother is a Marine and I have another brother enlisting in the Navy, so we are pretty darn patriotic around here and have a deep love for this amazing country. To celebrate, we are always trying new recipes and creating new projects that channel those fabulous colors of red, white, and blue. Want to see more of what we've created? Just click here for some more simple treats you can make yourself!

Now that I have 3 kids, carrying all of their stuff makes me look like a one woman circus, if you know what I mean... and with those of you who have kids, you know what I mean... Instead of constantly looking like a crazy lady, I wisened up and started making my two older girls carry their own stuff. We have practically a bazillion dress up purses, so when we go to church, or swimming, or to the park, the girls each bring their own purses with their own little drinks in it or chapstick, or whatever Barbie they decide needs to tag along that day. And here's the thing... Every year on the 4th of July, we go to a parade, have a little BBQ, and go see some fireworks and since the 4th tends to A.) Be hot, which means we are carrying around extra drinks B.) Be a long day, which means we are carrying around extra snacks and toys to keep the kidlets happy C.) Involve parades, which means lots and lots and lots of candy and D.) Involve fireworks, which means my girls like to carry their own sparklers and pop-its around, I did not... let me repeat that... I DID NOT want to be the one carrying all that extra stuff... So, when I was contacted by Coupons.com to create a DIY 4th of July project from Jo-Ann's (want some awesome coupons? Click here), I knew I wanted to make something that was quick, fairly easy, and p.r.a.c.t.i.c.a.l. That's how this little tote was born...

I am not much of a seamstress, so this tote had to be on the easy side. I waivered back and forth between being super adventurous and making my own tote, or make things simple and use a canvas tote... you can cllleeeaaarrrrlllyyy see that the canvas tote is the big winner here.

I wanted the tote to be red, white, and blue (of course) and I wanted some sort of flag theme. So, I decided to purchase just a plain white medium tote, some red polka dot fabric (which I am in love with!) and some blue fabric to adorn the tote with. For once, this project turned out just how I envisioned... I love it when that happens! Woot! Holla like a rock star!

Want to make one (or two, or three) of your own? Here's what you'll need to complete each tote...

Step numero uno... Cut 5 or 6 red strips. One of my totes had 5 strips and the other one had 6 strips. That's just how it ended up.... I cut mine 1" wide and made them 13" long. My tote was 13.5" wide, but I didn't want the strips to reach all the way to the end, hence the 13". However, for the last strip, I cut it about 12" long because the bottom of the bag wasn't as wide.

I then fused them onto the tote using some Stitch Witchery. That stuff seriously saved my life! I'm so glad I fused it to the tote... you'll see why in a second. I didn't hem the strips because I knew I would be sewing them onto the tote later on, and after they were sewn, if they frayed a little, that's ok. That's the look I was going for. If your heart desires, you can hem the strips. Just cut a them a little wider. Here's what the tote should look like after the strips are fused onto the tote.

And here's what they look like after they were sewed onto the tote. Like I said before, I'm glad I fused them on first so that they stayed in place while I was sewing. I'm kind of an awkward seamstress because I'm pretty much making things up on my own, and I don't have a lot of sewing experience, so I didn't want to be bothered with tons of pins poking me everywhere! :)

Step #2. Cut two strips of blue fabric. Your measurements don't have to be exactly what mine are, but I wanted a fairly large flower, so these are my measurements... 3" x 9" for the smaller strip and 5" by 26.5" (can you tell I didn't really measure... classic.)

The smaller strip you will fold it in half and baste it. The larger strip I decided not to fold it in half (I wanted it to be kind of floppy) so I just basted it. I didn't hem the strips either because I wanted them to be a little frayed, but I didn't want them to fray completely, so the stitching helps with that.

See how lovely it looks all basted?

Step #3. After your strips are basted, cut scallops on them. Some people would probably make a template with scallops and trace around the template, but I really didn't want to do that, so I simply cut scallops. Flowers in nature aren't perfect, so why should this flower be absolutely perfect? Sometimes, beauty lies in the imperfections. Heh heh heh...

I cut smaller scallops for the smaller strip, and larger scallops for the larger strip.

Step #4. Sew around the scallops.

Step #5. Gather both strips to create some ruffles. I'm not very good at gathering material and ruffling, so this was probably the hardest part of the whole project. Remember I'm a little awkward at this kind of stuff? Well, if you're a whiz, then this whole step should be a breeze for ya.

Gather the strip until it makes a little circle. Make a little stitch by hand to fasten the circle together. My circle overlapped a little, and that's perfectly okay because it adds a little to the natural flower affect I was going for. Do this for both strips.

Step #6. Take a little break and enjoy some smiles from a sweet baby girl and and Diet Coke with lime.

Step #7. Place the smaller flower on top of the bigger one, and sew in place. I just did little stitches by hand at 12:00, 3:00, 6:00 and 9:00 positions to make sure it was on there securely.

Step # 8. Sew the flower securely onto your tote and add a little embellishment! My girls picked their embellishment out, and of course it had to be a little sparkly button! *Little side note: My flower was a little floppy, so I just dabbed some fabric glue here and there to adhere the petals to the tote. If you don't have fabric glue, I'm sure a hot glue gun would work!

Step #9. (Last one, I promise) Take pictures of your cute girls with their new totes and send it to me! If you have boys, you could easily make a star out of the blue fabric and if you happen make a tote for a boy, take a pic and send it to me! If you made one for yourself (like I am conteplating doing), take a pic and send it to me! My email is:

ccash{at}popsandpodge{dot}com!!

I would love to see all pictures of your totes and learn more about you! I may even do a post featuring your totes!

See, isn't that a fun project? Yippee!

Now, for some the other fun stuff!

I have teamed up with Coupons.com and seven other bloggers to host this giveaway and blog hop!
First off, who are our other bloggers who have designed their own DIY 4th of July projects? They are:

1. Natalie at Natalie's Sentiments

2. Katie at Made to be a Momma

3. Kristy at The Diary of Dave's Wife

4. Stephanie at Crafting in the Rain

5. Danielle at Blissful and Domestic

6. Emily at House and Hone

7. Lisa at Grey Luster Girl

Stop by and show them some lovin'! They are fabulous bloggers, and I have admired their talents from afar. They have been so amazing to work with!

Now you have the chance to win a $200 e-gift card to either Jo-Ann's or Home Depot! Your choice!

Whoa, that's awesome sauce. Seriously. $200? You get to choose between two awesome stores? You've got to enter this giveaway! Snap to it!

Now here's the details...

The giveaway runs from July 1st through midnight on July 7th. To enter the giveaway, simply tell us what DIY 4th of July project you would like to create, and "like" each of the blog hop hosts on Facebook. That's it! The winner will picked via Rafflecopter on the 8th and will be contacted via email. If you do not respond to the email within 48 hours, we will pick another winner.

That's it!

Now I'll stop gabbing and let you submit your entries!!

Happy Crafting!

Claudia

a Rafflecopter giveaway

{Peanut Butter Molasses Cookies}

noreply@blogger.com (Claudia) — Thu, 27 Jun 2013 12:21:00 +0000

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Growing up, Sundays were a special day. We would go to church and come home and spend time as a family. Once a month, this meant getting together with my aunts and uncles and cousins and having a fantastic dinner with a delicious dessert, but the other 3 weeks out of the month it was just my parents, my 3 brothers, and me. My mom would always bake some sort dessert. She always made it from scratch, and usually without a recipe. Yep, my mom is gifted like that. She can just throw ingredients together, and it will come out to be a gourmet meal. No recipe needed.

While enjoying our dessert, we would have great family discussions. We would talk about what we learned about in church, talk about our week and what we did, and one time we even discussed what makes a swear word a swear word. Yes, we had some deep discussions! Often times, we would have neighborhood kids stop by for the treats and to chat with us. It was always a lot of fun, and they are some of my most precious memories.

When I got married, my husband soon discovered our Sunday night treasures. Since he is the only in-law on my side (none of my brothers are married) she wanted to make sure he was spoiled rotten, and soon discovered what treats he liked. She would then make them to entice us over... and it worked like a charm.

For the past 2 years, we have lived far away from both of our families, and have sorely missed Sunday night dinners and treats. Yes, we Skype with both of our families, but it's just not the same. So, we have started baking our own treats each Sunday. Without fail, around 6 p.m., my husband starts to scour the internet for a delicious treat that we can bake. He does most of the baking, and enlists the help of our 2 girls while the baby and I sit on the couch and rest.

This past week, we decided to make some Peanut Butter Molasses cookies. We both love peanut butter and molasses cookies, so when we found a recipe that called for both, we knew that it was meant to be our Sunday treat! We made a couple of batches, one rolled in sugar, and one not rolled in sugar... and I'll just save you some headache and tell you to ALWAYS go with extra sugar. It just completes your cookie!

What I loved most about these cookies was how chewy they were. Mmmm how I love me a chewy cookie!
Biting into one, I didn't know what to expect, but you can taste a hint of peanut butter mixed with the spice of molasses. It was like a match made in cookie heaven.

Go ahead... make a batch and try them for yourself!

Happy Baking!
Claudia

{Peanut Butter Molasses Cookies}
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup white sugar (for rolling your cookies in... do not skip this!)

Directions
*Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
*In a large bowl, cream together the brown sugar, peanut butter, molasses, and egg.
*In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, ginger, cloves, and salt. Add this to the brown sugar/peanut butter mixture.
* Shape some dough (about a tablespoonful) into a ball and roll it around in the sugar. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet. When the sheet is all full, put it in the oven and bake for about 9-10 minutes.
*Transfer to a wire rack and let it cool down!

You may enjoy a glass of cold milk with these cookies. It's not required, but highly recommended. :)

Ramekins

noreply@blogger.com (Claudia) — Mon, 24 Jun 2013 12:46:00 +0000

So.... I have a confession.... actually, I'm sure I'll eventually end up confessing a lot of things on here, but let's start with, this one.

I bought my first pair of ramekins. (I'm pretty sure Christie is gagging right now, because she owns probably a million of them....)

This year, I am putting together a family cook book and giving it as a Christmas gifts to my in-laws. What about my family, you ask? Well, I will eventually do one for my extended family, but as for my immediate family, not anytime soon. Why? I have three brothers who are all bachelors, and they don't exactly have any recipes to give me.... Their menu consists of mainly Hooters (yes, Hooters.... don't ask) and McD's. So, I'm doing one for my husband's family. A.N.Y.W.A.Y.S...

I plan on gathering recipes from my husband's parents and siblings and making them and taking photos of them for the cook book. Photographing food is one of my favorite things to do, and I want to get better at it, so I figure this is a good place to start!

Since I will be photographing food and trying to make it look pro-fesh-ee-uh-nal, I decided to start stocking up on some pretty plates and things...

Up until now, I've been photographing my food on plates I bought from Wal-Mart about 11 years ago when I was headed off to college...

Lovely, right? Heh, heh, heh... I've been holding onto them because I'm pretty sure that one day, they will be considered vintage. :)

As much as I personally am in love with the delicate grapevine design, I don't think my in-laws would appreciate it as much as I do... so, I'm collecting other plates and dinnerware to photograph...

And, in case you can't tell that I'm being sarcastic, these plates need to go, and I'm slowly replacing them. :)

I've been eyeing ramekins at Target for awhile. I walk by them every time I'm in the store (which is quite frequent) and I just look at them.... and trying to justify spending the $2.39 on them... yes, I'm that much of a tight wad.

Finally, I took the plunge and bought a couple!

I know, exciting, right? I know you're all super thrilled and are probably wondering what I've baked in them.

And I just have to say that I haven't baked anything in them yet. This week has been so darn busy, that I haven't even had time to catch up on my TV shows...

So, as of right now, I use them to hold my mints.

Ah yes, these glorious mints from Costco. They are dee-lish. And not only are they delish, but I am in love with the color! I have them in a jar sitting on my entertainment center (yes, I still have one of those) for decoration.

Do you have any ramekins? If so, what's your favorite thing to bake in them?

Dinner Journals

noreply@blogger.com (Claudia) — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 13:50:00 +0000

It seems that dinnertime is a little stressful at my house.... or maybe my patience just runs out at 4:00 p.m. and anything that happens after that makes me stressed out. Is it just me? I sure hope not, cause then I would feel silly letting everything get to me.

It never fails that as soon as I start making dinner, my kids are immediately at my feet telling me that they're hungry, and they start opening the fridge, and the pantry, and trying to get cups down for a drink.... all while I'm trying to open a package of chicken and dump it into the frying pan without a) trying to touch any of the raw meat (gag) and b) trying to make sure the empty package makes it to the garbage pan without contaminating anything.... yeah, it's quite the scene. And not always a pretty one.

So, I came up with this idea of having a dinnertime journal. This little journal serves serves a few purposes. While I'm preparing dinner, it gives my girls something to do and therefore keep their mind occupy from their said hunger pains.... and it also helps them think about their day and remember what they've done. I am a firm believer in journal writing and I want to help my girls keep a little record of what they've done.

For these little journals, I didn't do anything super fancy.... I simply went to Target and bought the cheapest notebooks I could find and slapped their names on the front.

Then, while I'm trying to prepare a somewhat *cough cough* nutritious meal for my little brood, my girls draw pictures about their day. I love seeing what they come up with. They draw things that I would have never thought of.

These are drawings from my almost 4 year old... She mostly writes her name and her sister's name, or draws random smiley faces, like the one below.

I just love looking at all her drawings! They are so cute and funny! The other day, she drew me a random picture of a lemon and a bar. Not a lemonbar.... on one side of the paper was a lemon, and on the other side of the paper was a brown rectangle that she said was a bar. A bar of what? I don't know... just a bar!

My almost 6 year old is a little more advanced with her drawings......

I love that picture! We had gone to pick up a bucket of strawberries from a ladies house, and I was impressed that Ava had remembered that it was at the end of a circle. She drew the lady standing outside, and she drew our van.... love it!! It is pretty funny because her pictures are of the places we go.... and it seems like every day we are at a different store... Wal-Mart, Winco, Target, Bi-Mart, Goodwill.... sheesh! We go to a lot of different stores! Ha!

After dinner is fixed and we are all sitting down at the dinner table, we go over their journal entries. They each tell me what they drew and what they remember about their day, and I write a couple of sentences down for them.

As a family, we have also been trying to be a little better at reading our scriptures daily. Mornings are out because my husband leaves for work before we are even thinking about waking up, and nights are out because my husband is gone either doing church stuff or umpiring. Plus, at night time, I morph into some sort of monsterous beast.... All my patience is seriously gone at the end of the day, so all I want to do is hurry up and get my children in bed as soon as possible so I can just sit on the couch and play Candy Crush. :)

Ok, that makes me sound like a lazy and mean parent... which I try not to be... All I'm saying is that the end of the day is not my prime time for trying to have a spiritual moment with my girls.

So, we have started reading our scriptures at dinnertime! After our meal is finished, instead of jetting off to do whatever we do, we sit and read 5 verses and talk a little bit about those verses. Right now, our scripture time lasts all but 4 1/2 minutes, and it usually consists of me telling Halle to be quiet and listen to daddy read about 28 times. Are my kids getting anything out of it? I don't know, but at least we are trying.

I have ended up keeping their markers and our scriptures in a little basket on our table so that we all remember to write in our journals and read our scriptures.

What are some ways you keep your kids entertained while you're cooking dinner?

"Sweet" Friend - Free Printable!

noreply@blogger.com (Claudia) — Fri, 17 May 2013 13:13:00 +0000

Over the past few months, I have noticed what fabulous friends I have! I truly am blessed to know such great people, and to have an amazing support system, especially since I'm living out of state about 800 miles from my family. My friends have listened to my rants and strongly held opinions (and trust me.... I rant about a lot of things.... I'm a very opinionated person), have watched my kids, have given me clothes for my kids when they've bought too much for their own kids (you know who you are.... wink, wink) and have just been plain old awesome.

I have a friend who lives down the street from me (but not for long, boo!) and she has been so wonderful to live by. She is constantly bringing us treats, delicious dinners, and is always having my kids over to play which means I can catch up on laundry or even sneak in a nap here and there. I wanted to do a little something for her to show my appreciation... so I text her hubby to see what her favorite scent from Bath and Body Works was, and he told me it was Sweet Pea. Honestly, who doesn't love that scent?

So, I headed to the mall to not only stock up on my own soaps (they were having their 5 for $20 deal. Can't beat that!) and I bought her some hand lotion, and I also bought a couple of Sweet Pea hand sanitizers to keep on hand. I created this little printable and made several copies to go along with the little sanitizers just for those little occasions when you want to say "Thanks". Too often, I mean to say thank you, or I mean to take treats to someone, and it just doesn't happen because life gets in the way. But having these printables on hand and ready to go will hopefully (fingers crossed, folks) help me to show my appreciation.

I hope you will take a minute to tell someone how much you appreciate them. Even if they don't love the fabulous scent of Sweet Pea, you can always give them a little candy bar, a container of ice cream, some cookies, or even donuts with this printable. There are a few different awesome ways that you could use this printable...

So seriously... take a minute, download it right here for free!! I put it on an 8.5 x 11 inch document because I always go to Kinkos and print it on glossy cardstock.

Enjoy!

Linked up at Whipperberry

Pintrest Granola Bars... Hmmm...

noreply@blogger.com (Claudia) — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 21:35:00 +0000

Pinterest is a fantastic site. If you agree with me, raise your hand. Good. Glad we got that out of the way. :) Hee, hee. It's one of my favorite go-to sites for recipes and DIY projects, and sometimes I get a little pin-happy. I see something that sounds good, so I pin it. However, it gets lost in the couple thousand pins that I currently have (I am in the middle of downsizing). So lately, I've been a little pickier about pinning things. I now actually go to the site it was pinned from and check it out before I pin it, because let's face it... I'm probably not going to do everything I've pinned, so I want to make sure that I'm pinning things that I'll actually do. And in fact, I've done a little bit of Pinterest Purging.... I've been going through and deleting things that I probably won't ever do, or that I've lost interest in. Anyone else do this? If not, you should... it's quite liberating! :)

Moving on... These granola bars were one of my more popular pins. I took one look at the original picture, and they looked delicious! The bars looked absolutely perfect! And I was super excited to make them because they were "healthy", used up some stuff I had in storage, and inexpensive. So, I put the ingredients I didn't have on my shopping list, and went and got them. I set out to make them and followed the directions exactly..... and this was my end result...

Ahhh yes... They looked spectacular! I was so excited to taste them.... and then I picked them up. And they crumbled. Right in my hands. I was devastated! Why? What did I do wrong? These things tasted delicious.... but they fell apart right before my very eyes. I mean, the website I got the recipe from showed that her granola bars held their shape just fine, so why didn't mine? Hmmmm..... after racking my little brain trying to figure out how this could happen.... and the only thing I could think of was I didn't pack them tight enough.

Lesson learned.

What lesson? That not everything on Pinterest turns out the way it's supposed to. {Remember my chocolate bowl disaster?} Or perhaps that maybe I'm terrible at following directions.... hmmm....

:)

But that's not keeping me from trying new things on Pinterest. :)

Want to attempt these granola bars? I think you should! I bet you can follow directions better than I can! Ha!

Ingredients
1/2 c. honey
1/3 c. packed brown sugar
1/4 c. crunchy peanut butter
1/4 c. butter
4 c. quick oats (not rolled oats)
2 c. crispy rice cereal
3 tsp. vanilla

Directions
*In a large bowl, combine the oats and the crispy rice cereal.
*In a medium saucepan, melt together the honey, brown sugar, peanut butter, and butter. Over medium-high heat, bring to a boil then bring the temperature to low and simmer until the sugar disolves. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.
*Pour the hot mixture over the oats and cereal and stir until well combined.
*Press well onto a parchement paper lined cookie sheet.
*Now, pay seriously close attention to the next few directions..... Don't follow my example. I'm pretty sure this is where I went wrong....PACK the mixture as closely and as tightly together as humanly possible. Make it about 1/2 - 3/4 inch thick. Let it cool down, and you're ready to enjoy!

**If the mixture doesn't hold well together, you can refrigerate it.... that's what I had to do.... :)

Happy Spring! French Spring Soup

noreply@blogger.com (Christie) — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 07:17:00 +0000

Is anyone else seeing daffodils and tulips popping up, a little peek-a-boo of sunshine in the sky, and maybe the ability to leave your scarf and gloves in the closet. Folks I think Spring has hit! Actually today is officially spring. So in honor of more sunshiny days here in Portland, your fab friend Christie is posting today. Yep, I know you might have forgotten about me, but I am still here. It's been a doozy of a year, a new baby (love her), starting a new conference (a different baby), moved to a new home (projects coming soon to a blog near you) and just all around trying to figure out how to deal with this life. I don't know? We will see if I can actually get my groove back, jury is still out. Now moving on to soup, there is always room for soup.

OMG! This soup is amazing. Not kidding! Do you want to know what the best part is... my husband made it! He came home one day and said, "Honey! I had this soup today at the cafe near my work and it was amazing". He asked them the ingredients and then searched online for a similar recipe, it wasn't quite right so he made it up. Whatever he did...it is soooo good! And it is pretty dang healthy minus the cream part, but it is made with all veggies, so in my book this is healthy.

To make this soup you will need the following:

Yield 10 servings
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 pound leeks, chopped
• 1 onion (yellow), chopped
• 2 quarts water (add ½ quart extra for brown rice)
• 3 potatoes (red), chopped
• 2 large carrots, chopped
• 1 bunch fresh asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1/4 inch pieces
• 1/3 cup uncooked long-grain white rice (substitute brown if desire)
• 4 teaspoons sea salt
• 1/2 pound fresh spinach
• 1 cup heavy cream or ½ pint of half-and-half

Do you have a Vidalia Chopper? If you don't, go right now, run don't walk, run and go get one right now!! They are awesome. They cut most everything except carrots and potatoes. But everythng else! And fast! It cuts your prep work down by at least half the time.

To make the soup:

1. Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in the leeks (wash well) and onion, and cook until tender.
2. Pour water into the pot. Mix in potatoes, carrots, asparagus, and rice. Season with salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes, until vegetables and rice are tender.
3. Stir spinach and heavy cream into the soup mixture, and continue cooking about 5 minutes before serving.
4. For best results let stand over night. Key ingredients are the leeks & sea salt.

This is by far my favorite soup I have ever had. Who knew that my husband had it in him! He is seriously underestimated most of the time. But just in time for our 5 year anniversary he has made himself noticed. Love and SPRING are in the air. Enjoy!

Happy Spring,
Christie

Oreo Cupcakes

noreply@blogger.com (Claudia) — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 14:35:00 +0000

Well, well, well... another post that has something sweet in it. :) I've got to get all my sweets out of the way because tomorrow, I am starting a Biggest Loser competition. So, I've been getting my sugar fix in preparation for this little competition. (It's been said that I have a little sweet tooth...) I'm even giving up Diet Coke, which is saying A LOT! I am serious about losing this baby weight (and it's baby weight from my 1st and 2nd and 3rd babies that I need to lose!) and about creating healthier lifestyles for my family...

But I thought I would share one last little sweet thing with you... I've posted about these before, but these cupcakes are so yummy that I think they deserve a second post. That, and I really like these pictures a whole lot better than my old pictures. It's amazing how much I've learned about taking photos this past year. I'm not saying that my photography skills are extremely stellar, by any means! But I am saying that I've improved. Just a little bit. :)

So, if you need a good laugh and want to see the old photos, you can see them here.

But, if you want to get straight to baking these divine little things, then by all means, keep reading!!

First: start off with your favorite box of chocolate cake mix.

I used Duncan Hine's Devil's Food Cake because that's what I had on hand. But don't stress too much about what kind of cake mix it is. As long as it turns out somewhat chocolate-y, you are in good shape.

Mix the cake mix according to package directions.

Second: Pour a little batter into your cupcake liners. You don't want to fill the liners up the whole way because you don't want them to overflow once you've put the Oreo cookie in the middle.

Third: place a whole Oreo on top of the batter in each cupcake liner. Yes, a whole Oreo! Yum!

I used Double Stuff Oreo's because that's the only Oreo I will eat. On a little side note... One time my husband came home with a package of just regular Oreo's. I was just heartbroken. I mean, I don't eat them for the cookie part... it's all about the cream! I asked him what in the world prompted him to do such a thing, and his reasoning was you get more Oreo's in the package if they are single stuffed. Pfft. Whatever.

Moving on...

Fourth: Top each liner off with batter until the liner is 2/3 full.

Bake according to the cake mix package directions.

Once the cupcakes have completely cooled,

frost them with your favorite buttercream icing.

I used the Vanilla Buttercream Icing recipe from Brown Eyed Baker.

So delicious.

After I piped the frosting onto the cupcakes, I cut an Oreo in 1/4ths using my butcher knife,

and placed a quarter Oreo on each cupcake.

And when you are finished, you have a masterpiece of a cupcake! What a simple and fun way to present a cupcake, and you'll have everyone fooled into thinking you spent hours just making these!

I had a little batter left over, so I made some mini cupcakes for my girls. I tried practicing my piping skills, and tried to pipe a little rosette onto the cupcake. It's a little harder than it looks... Ok, it's a lot harder than it looks! I think I'll just stick with the swirly things.

Oh, and by the way... Happy Valentine's Day. All you need is love. And a little Oreo cupcake. :)

Happy Baking!
Claudia

{Totally Kool} Printable

noreply@blogger.com (Claudia) — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 14:44:00 +0000

For Christmas, my hubby bought me Photoshop Elements 11. It was 50% off, and I had been wanting it forever, so I told him to just get it and let it be my Christmas. So much for surprises, eh? Funny thing is, I have never used Photoshop.... so learned it has been a huge learning curve for me. But there is so many cool things that you can do with it!

My first project was designing our header, favicon, and button. Let me tell you... I entered into a whole new world. Pixels, cropping, feathering, layering, merging the layers, etc., etc., etc. My mind was spinning the first couple of days, but I started to get the hang of it. And guess what? It's so fun!! I love designing new things and finding new fonts to try out.... aaahhh! I think I'm going crazy!

Valentine's is fast around the corner, and my two little girls are going to a little Valentine's Day party that me and a couple of friends put together on a whim. It's a pretty low-key party, so the actual valentines didn't have to be anything spectacular, but I really wanted to make my own instead of buying them. I've pinned some valentine's ideas here and I had my oldest daughter pick out what valentine she wanted to give to her friends. (My 3 yr old daughter doesn't really care.... so she gets whatever her older sister picked.) And Ava picked to give out Kool-Aid. I've seen some pretty cute printables, but I really wanted to learn how to make my own.

And guess what?

I did! I made my very own valentine, and I am so excited that I want to share it with you!!!

To download it, just click here. It's free. Can it really get better than that? Nope. Don't think so! I hope you enjoy!

Happy Downloading!

Claudia

Marshmallow Brownies

noreply@blogger.com (Claudia) — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 13:58:00 +0000

Wow. Three posts this week? Who are we? Just kidding. Like I said, I feel like I am starting to get in the groove of things so I have a little time to bake here and there. That, and I have a family to feed, so I might as well share the recipes I make, right? I know I could always use some new recipes, so I might as well share them with you!
So, on Sunday there was a little game called the Super Bowl. Ever heard of it? Well, we were invited over to our friends house to watch the game, and of course I offered to bring something. As my friend and I were texting back and forth, I was assigned to bring the dessert because (according to my neighbor) I always make good desserts. Little does she know, I only share the success desserts... you know, the desserts that actually turn out.... not everything I make turns out.... so needless to say, I was just a little nervous to come up with a good dessert. GAME ON! (Ha, ha, ha....).

Saturday night came, and I was half tempted to just run to the store and pick up some rootbeer and ice cream and have rootbeer floats. Can't go wrong with that.... but I didn't want to seem like a slacker, especially since our friends were going to a lot of work to make some yummy food and since she was expecting a delicious dessert...

Soooooooo....

After much deliberation (ok, like 5 minutes....) I decided to make these brownies topped with marshmallows and a chocolate ganache. Come on, a brownie topped with marshmallows and chocolate? It didn't take much convincing for me to make these... And am I ever glad I did! But I have to tell you, I was literally on pins and needles waiting for them to cook (remember how my friend expected a good dessert? What if these didn't turn out? Aack! The suspense was too much to bear!).

But my little heart sang as I cut these up. Why? See for yourself...

I have never, I repeat... NEVER, had a brownie set up like this! It was UH. MAZE. ING!

Just looking at these pictures, I have to wipe the drool off my chin!

When we took these over to my neighbors, I was glad I decided against rootbeer floats. Especially after I saw how much food they had made! Boy was I glad that I put a little work into this dessert.

Yeah, still can't get over how good these are.

Just looking at these pictures makes me want another bite!

Nom, nom!

Enjoy!

Marshmallow Brownies

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1 tsp. baking soda

1 cup butter (2 sticks)

1 cup water

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 eggs

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

3 cups tiny marshmallows

Chocolate Drizzle (Make while brownies are baking...)

In a medium saucepan, combine a 12 oz package of semisweet chocolate chips with 1/2 cup whipping cream, and 1/4 cup of butter. Cook and stir on medium-low heat until the chocolate is melted.

*Preheat ovento 350 degrees. Line a 15x10x1-inch baking pan (or the biggest pan you've got) with foil, making sure that the foil extends over the edges of the pan. **On a little side note, my foil just went to the top of the pan, and it was fine. Grease the foil (I just used cooking spray) and set the pan aside. In a large bowl, stir the flour, sugar, and baking soda together. Set aside.

*In a medium saucepan, combine the butter, water, and cocoa powder. Heat over medium heat and bring just to boiling point, stirring constantly. Add to the flour mixture. Beat with mixer on medium until combined. Add the eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla and beat again. (The batter will be pretty thin... don't be alarmed! All is well!) Pour the batter into the baking pan.

*Bake for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick stuck in the middle comes out clean. Sprinkle with marshmallows right away. Then top with chocolate drizzle. Cool in the pan and use the foil to lift the brownies out of the pan. Cut them into bars and for heavens sake, ENJOY!

{Cinnamon Chex Mix}

noreply@blogger.com (Claudia) — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 13:40:00 +0000

Since having three children, I have discovered that it is virtually impossible to get a decent picture with all three of them co-operating. Anyone else have this problem? My first child loves to pose and pose and pose some more for the camera. I love it, but I am always desperately trying to get just a candid shot of her! My second child is a bundle of energy and really can't sit still for more than a nano second. Really... I'm not joking. Before I got a DSLR (greatest investment of my life!), every single picture I have of her is blurry. And even now, I still get blurry pictures from time to time. Then my third child is only 2 1/2 months old, so she really doesn't know what the heck is going on when it comes time to take pictures.
Last Sunday, all three of my girls were looking just darling in their Sunday outfits, and of course I wanted to capture that moment in time. So I sat all of them on the couch, and Ava (my oldest) insisted on holding Colbie (the youngest) and I was somehow supposed to have a Kodak moment. Yeeeeaaaaahhhhh.... that didn't happen. Instead, here's what I got...

Ahhhhh.... the memories that these pictures will forever hold. As much as I would love to someday have a decent photo of all 3 girls, I really do cherish these pictures because they capture just a small portion of what having 3 little kids is really like.

What makes these kids even crazier is when they are hopped up on some sugar! Yes, I am a terrible, rotten mother, and I feed my kids sugar... sometimes they have marshmallows for breakfast! Oh well... you're only a young mother once, and you're only a kid once. Marshmallows for breakfast once in awhile won't hurt anyone. When I made this Cinnamon Chex Mix, I caught my girls sneaking it a couple of times for breakfast, but who could blame them? This stuff is scrumptious! I loved how it turned out because it had the perfect amount of crunchy and chewy.... that's a hard balance to come by, wouldn't you agree?

I first tasted Cinnamon Chex Mix at our New Year's Eve party. A friend of mine brought it, and I couldn't stop munching. It satisfied my sweet tooth, which is unusual. Not because I don't have a big sweet tooth, but because it seems that only chocolate is the sweet tooth satisfier. :) I promise, you probably already have the ingredients to make this.... so why not give it a try?

Cinnamon Chex Mix

*1 1/4 cups brown sugar

*1 tsp cinnamon

*1/2 cup butter

*1/4 cup corn syrup

*1/2 tsp baking soda

*1 tsp vanilla

*1 box Rice Chex or Corn Chex

Directions:

Pour cereal into a very large mixing bowl and set aside. Combine brown sugar, cinnamon, butter, and corn syrup in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, and stir constantly. Remove from heat and stir in soda and vanilla. Pour over cereal and stir lightly until all pieces are coated. Spread onto a greased cookie sheet with sides (I poured mine into a greased 9x13 baking pan because my cookie sheet wasn't big enough, and I like the depth of the baking pan. The mix doesn't spill over the sides when I mix it while it's baking.)

Bake at 250° for about 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.

Pour onto waxed paper to cool. Once it's cooled, you can break it apart and enjoy the cinnamony goodness that is abundant in this delightful snack!

Ricotta Cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Claudia) — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 13:00:00 +0000

Little Colbie is now 10 weeks old. 10 WEEKS! I know every mother says this, but I'm going to say it too... I WANT TIME TO SLOW DOWN! I feel like time is just whizzing by, especially since she is my third child, but, at the same time, I am enjoying watching her grow. She has started to talk and interact a little, and she just couldn't be any darn cuter.

Plus...

She is finally able to fit into her little Michael Jordan outfit that we bought her...

Yeah, how cute is that? We live a couple of miles away from Nike World Headquarters, and while our friend was at the Nike Employee Store, he found this outfit and got it... for 1/2 off the retail price. Schaweet!

Oh, on a little side note... I will always remember the first time I saw Nike World Campus. I had lived here for about a week, and I was driving to Winco when I stopped at a red light (like every good driver should do...). I looked to the left of me and BAM! There it was! Nike World Campus! It is a sight to behold, and it also explains why I kept seeing joggers everywhere. :)

Back to the post...

Miss Colbie is growing like a weed, and I am just loving every minute with her!

And I finally feel like I am getting back into somewhat of a routine since she is sleeping longer at night.

Getting back into a routine, means that I am cooking and baking (and crafting) just a little bit more. Sure, there are nights when we have pb&j or just pull out a freezer meal, but I'm trying to make an effort to have a more consistent dinner routine.

Some easy dinners (at least for me) are Italian dinners, which include ricotta cheese.

But every time I cook an Italian dinner, I end up with extra ricotta cheese.

The leftover isn't enough to make another dinner out of, but it's just too much to throw away...

That's where these Ricotta Cookies are a perfect solution!

They use just a cup of ricotta, enough to finish off what I usually have leftover!

I love the consistency that the ricotta gives these scrumptious cookies...

and I also love that I don't have to waste anything!

Ricotta Cookies

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup ricota cheese
1 tsp. vanilla extract

*Heat oven to 350. Coat baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

*In another bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Add egg, ricotta, and vanilla. Continue to cream until well combined.

*Slowly add in flour mixture and beat until blended. Drop by tablespoon onto the baking sheet and bake for 12-14 minutes. Let it cool on the sheet for 3 minutes, remove, and cool completely on a wire rack.

Glaze

2 cups powdered sugar
3 TBSP milk
Optional: Add in some lemon zest or lemon juice for a little zing.

*Beat powdered sugar and milk together until well blended. If the glaze is too thick, add a tiny bit of milk. If the glaze is too runny, add in a little more powdered sugar. Drizzle onto cooled cookies and set aside until the glaze has hardened.

{3} Cake Pop Recipes

noreply@blogger.com (Claudia) — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 14:15:00 +0000

Well, the holidays have come and gone, folks. Yikes. 2013 is just beginning, and I have absolutely no idea how 2012 flew by me in the blink of an eye. Anyone else feel like that? Double yikes. I'm sure that none of you had a busy holiday season {wink, wink}. I'm sure none of you baked or stressed over neighbor gifts, or ran around like a mad woman the day before Christmas grabbing all those last minute little gifts.... I know I didn't do ANY of those things! Ha! Who am I kidding? I was almost a basket case this year. My whole family came up for Christmas (my parents live in Utah and my three brothers live in Boise, Idaho), so I wanted to make things special for them. Oh, did I mention that I have a newborn baby who still didn't have her sleep schedule figured out, so I was up all hours of the night this Christmas? Needless to say, I was not only a basket case, but I was a ZOMBIFIED basket case. :)

Through it all, neighbor gifts were something I really wanted to do this year. I didn't do much last year because I was still getting to know people in my area, and I just didn't get around to it. But throughout 2012, I got to know some neighbors better, and I gained some really good friends. I wanted to make them simple gifts that expressed my gratitude for them and for what they have meant to me this year. Not having family around is difficult, so these neighbors have become my family. The gifts I chose to make them were cake pops. Why? A.) I enjoy baking B.) Cake pops do take some effort and preparation to make. It took me a good 3 days to make all the cake pops! But through all the effort and time it took to make them, I was giving the gift of service. C.) Cake pops are fairly inexpensive to make. I love my neighbors, but we are on a fairly tight budget, so I needed something that wouldn't break the bank for those I loved.

     As I searched through some cake pops recipes, I wanted to stick with a holiday theme... so the first things that came to mind were candy canes and gingerbread! Yum! Who doesn't love candy canes and gingerbread? Well, there are some people who don't enjoy candy canes (ahem, my husband!! What the heck is wrong with him? Just kidding!).... but I decided to make them anyway. So, I made two holiday themed cake pops and I decided to make a chocolate cream cake pop to satisfy the chocolate sweet tooth.
     I love the way they turned out, and I especially love the way they tasted! They were absolutely delicious and I'm so glad they turned out! I loved them so much, I froze some for myself, and my husband and I just ate a few while I typed up this blog post!

     Throughout 2013, I encourage you to bake more for others. If you want to give something, but don't know what, I don't think you could ever go wrong with a homemade loaf of bread, some fresh jam or salsa, or cake pops. Baked gifts show that you put a lot of thought and effort into making something special for someone you love (or like a lot...). I know I want to bake more for others. What a better way to show someone that you've been thinking of them?

Happy Cake Popping!
Claudia

Want to make some? Go here for a detailed tutorial on how to make cake pops, and keep reading for 3 delicious cake pop recipes!

Candy Cane Cake Pops

1 box white cake mix
3/4 cup milk
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Mix all ingredients together. Pour into a 9x13 greased baking pan and bake at 350 for about 26 minutes. Don't overbake this mix, or you'll have some crusty pieces! Remove from the oven and cool completely. Crumble into small pieces in a large bowl.

Add

1 cup (or more..... or less...) of buttercream frosting. You can find an excellent recipe here.
1/2 cup crushed candy canes

** I found it a little difficult to shapes these into perfect balls because of the crushed candy canes. It make take a little more time than usual to make these, but I assure you that it's worth it!

Gingerbread Cookie Cake Pops

1 box spice cake mix (this was a little difficult for me to find. So, I bought a yellow cake mix and added some nutmeg, cinnamon, and allspice to the dry cake mix).
1/4 cup molasses
1 cup milk
3 eggs

Mix all ingredients together. Pour into a 9x13 greased baking pan and bake at 350 for about 26 minutes. Don't overbake this mix, or you'll have some crusty pieces! Remove from the oven and cool completely. Crumble into small pieces in a large bowl.

Add

1 cup buttercream icing mixed with 2 tsp. cinnamon

Chocolate Cream Cake Pops

1 box chocolate cake mix
3 eggs
1 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Mix all ingredients together. Pour into a 9x13 greased baking pan and bake at 350 for about 26 minutes. Don't overbake this mix, or you'll have some crusty pieces! Remove from the oven and cool completely. Crumble into small pieces in a large bowl.

Add

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup - 1 cup of buttercream icing mixed with about 3 TBSP cocoa powder

Staching Through the Snow

noreply@blogger.com (Claudia) — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 20:51:00 +0000

Wow. It's been three whole weeks since we've blogged.... we are just slightly slacking... but with good reason, mind you. Christie just finished planning an event and she was working insanely crazy hours and what about me? Oh yeah... I had a baby three weeks ago.

My sweet little Colbie Anne was born on Nov. 21st. She has just been pure joy and delight since the moment she arrived. She is the best baby ever and her other two sisters just love her!!! So, instead of cooking and crafting, doing laundry and cooking, I've just held this little baby and given her oodles of kisses and lots of cuddle time. :)

Before Colbie was born, I was invited to participate in a handmade ornament swap. The swap was on Dec. 1st, which was after Miss C was born, so I had to get cracking on making my ornaments before she was born. You may remember that I participated in it last year... and made this little beauty. tle Well, my ornaments last year were a little time consuming, so this year, I wanted something easy and inexpensive... and I also wanted something a little fun.

Since mustaches are all the rage right now, I thought it would be fun to make a mustache ornament.

I went to Home Depot and got some paint stirring sticks (you should have seen the face on the employee's face when I asked for 10 paint sticks.... it was priceless!).

I came home and cut each stick into 4 pieces. After I was done cutting all the ornaments, I sanded the edges and then drilled holes in them. The top part of the ornament got 4 holes drilled into it, and the bottom part only got 2 holes drilled...

I added a couple of coates of white paint, then did a coat of glitter paint (you can't see it in the picture. Bummer! But they were glittery!), let everything completely dry, added the black vinyl, and sealed everything in with a lovely little coat of Mod Podge. I then used floral wire to complete the little ornament.

I love how these turned out! What I love even more, was they virtually cost me nothing to make. The paint sticks were free... I already had the black vinyl, Mod Podge, and white paint on hand.... so all I had to buy was the wire and glitter paint... which I used my Michael's coupons on... yes, even though items are only $1.99, I still use a 40% off coupon. I am that cheap, and I'm not ashamed!!

If any of you have made ornaments, I would love to see them!!

Just link up your handmade ornaments below, and have fun browsing other handmade ornaments.

I'm not asking that you follow our blog, or like us on facebook or anything...

(it would be nice, though... just sayin')...

I just want y'all to get some good ideas and have fun!

Easy Book Banner

noreply@blogger.com (Christie) — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 08:04:00 +0000

Guess who is having her baby today? Our very own Claudia! Three years ago, I went in to be induced the day before Thanksgiving just like her. Hopefully she pops her little turkey out way before I did (5:15pm Thanksgiving day, we don't need to do the math there). Good luck Claudia, our prayers are with you that all goes well! Can't wait to meet her!

This was posted a little while ago over at A Glimpse Inside.

I met Allison at the SNAP Conference. We were the two pregnant ladies :) Both having girls, both due first week in June, both have military husbands (mine is a former Marine, her's a deployed Army Soldier).

Love her and love her blog!

A friend of mine asked me to help her out a little with her little girls two year old birthday party. She wanted a book theme. So I offered to make her a banner out of book pages. If you don't like the thought of ripping out book pages out of children's books...then stop reading! This book banner was one of the easier projects I have done lately.

You will need:

-A few books, make sure the colors coordinate or you could just use black and white.

-One package of extra wide double fold bias tape

-A sewing machine or glue gun would work

-A pattern (use shapes in word to make a long triangle), then print on card stock

Pick the pages out you want. Brace yourself and rip or cut the pages out. Trace the triangles using your pattern. Then cut them out.

Then glue or sew the bias tape on the pages. The paper will go right in between the tape. There is something super fun about sewing with paper.

Then hang, like so...

Easy as pie! And cute! Oh, and did I say easy?!

Happy Partying,

Christie