SavVy ChiC SisTers

Thanks For Visiting

2013-08-30T12:32:00.000-07:00

Thanks for visiting, this blog has been merged with McCord Family Blog. Please head on over to www.mccordfamilyblog.blogspot.com and follow there.

Big Color Little Money

2011-11-29T10:13:00.000-08:00

Well, believe it or not I found something else I wanted to make on Pinterest. I found all of the components for my project and then that thing called life happened and the project sat unfinished for oooh probably 2 months!!! That can never happen again!

My inspiration was this found here.

The only problem was that I could not, for the life of me, find letters anywhere that I liked so I scoured the internet and finally found some. There are tons of websites out there selling unfinished wood products. Mine were not as cheap as I would have liked and they came in way larger than I was expecting but I went with it. I purchased my canvas (which I used a 40% coupon on and it cost me $15 whoohoo), paint and glue from Hobby Lobby.

I did some measuring, used an all purpose glue to adhere the letters onto the canvas and then I was ready to paint. Simple enough? (Don't ask why this project took me almost 2 months). I decided to use teal paint instead of white to add some color to our bedroom. I believe the tutorial found through Pinterest used white spray paint but since I wanted teal and couldn't find the right color of spray paint, I hand painted mine. Obviously this took A LOT more time but I am SO pleased with the result. I then added a touch of grey paint around some of the edges and the letters to add a distressed look and this is my final product!

It added a lot of color for not a lot of money to our bedroom which will hopefully have a fresh coat of grey paint before to long!

~SCS~

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-23T07:12:00.000-08:00

We wanted to wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving!! We hope you are able to spend time with family and friends, and enjoy lots of yummy food.

Allison and I will be doing our Christmas decorating over the weekend so we will be back to share pictures of our trees and other fun things next week.

Have a Blessed Holiday!

~SCS~

4th Annual Summer Trace Holiday Bazaar

2011-11-18T11:39:00.000-08:00

If you are in the area please join us!!

Table Transformation Part 2

2011-11-16T05:35:00.000-08:00

After lots of sanding, priming and painting we have a "new" kitchen table. You can see my original post here; I was given this table by my friend and co-worker Mary and rather then sell it in a garage sale I decided to give it a make-over.

Original Table

The table itself was very nice, however the colors didn't go with our decor so I opted to give it a fresh coat of black paint. In order to paint, I first had the dreaded job of sanding. I despise sanding, it's so messy and your arm is left feeling like a limp, vibrating noodle an hour after you've finished.

Once I got the shiny top coat off and most of the old paint I was ready to prime. To save time I decided to use Rustoleum Spray Primer, it went on easy and covered well enough that only one bottle was necessary.

Rustoleum Ultra Cover Primer in black

Table after two coats of primer

Once I let the primer dry completely for 24 hours I got to work on the paint, I chose Rustoleum Painters Touch Latex Paint in black. I wanted that smooth, Pottery Barn finish so I decided to go with a flat paint instead of a semi-gloss. This is a little bit of a risk considering it's a kitchen table where stuff will definitely be spilled, so far no issues and everything has wiped off easily.

I used a brush and roller to apply the paint; I prefer a roller to get that smooth finish, however in some areas you have to use a brush to get in the nooks and crannies. The other key to getting a smooth finish is to let the paint dry completely between each coat of paint. It may take a little longer to finish your project but the end result will be well worth it.

I'm a fan of the Purdy paint products

After two coats of paint

After 3 coats of paint the table was transformed! I waited a full 48 hours before bringing the table inside, you always want to be sure your paint is fully cured and dry.

We love the way it turned out and have been enjoying our dinners at the new table, lucky for us our old chairs still match great and we didn't have to worry about replacing those.

Finished Table!!

If you look closely in the back ground you may be able to tell what my next project will be?!?!

So, do you have any paint projects you are working on right now?

~SCS~

SCS was in no way paid to endorse the Rustoleum or Purdy products, we just like them and want to share what products we prefer.

Table Transformation

2011-11-10T08:48:00.000-08:00

Before

I was given this table by Mary, a co-worker who I can also call a friend. Mary bought a new table and no longer had room for this one in her home. I originally planned to sell it in a garage sale I was having, once I saw the table I loved it and decided I needed to find a home for it in my house.

Stay tuned later in the week for my after pictures, I LOVE how it turned out!!

~SCS~

It's a DEAL!!

2011-11-07T05:49:00.000-08:00

It's a deal for you and we are excited about it!! It's about that time to get Christmas cards printed up, right? Well, you must check out Christa Barlow Designs, she has the cutest cards, invitations, announcements and other party supplies.

http://www.christabarlowdesigns.com/

Sooooo, what's the deal you ask?!?! 10% off your order! If you go to the above website and make a purchase, at checkout you will have the option to put in the code "savvy" in the coupon code box. Who doesn't love to save a little extra cash around the holidays? I know we do!!

Happy Shopping!
~SCS~

CHRISTMAS CARDS????

2011-11-04T08:48:00.000-07:00

Is it to early? December 1st is just around the corner so it's time to start thinking about it!

Stop back by SCS on Monday and we may just have a DEAL for you?!?!?! See you then and have a great weekend!

~SCS~

An Elf Tradition

2011-11-03T08:35:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of http://www.amazon.com/

I heard of the Elf on the Shelf a few years ago and thought it was a cute idea. Now that my daughter is a little older I decided this would be a great year to introduce this tradition to our family. If you are unfamiliar with The Elf on the Shelf you can check out the website.

The idea is that your family adopts an Elf, which you name, then your Elf watches over your household during the day and at nighttime comes to life and reports back to Santa. Here is where you can get creative and hide your Elf in new places every night so when the kiddos wake up in the morning they have to hunt for the Elf. I love the idea of having the Elf do different things to keep the kids excited and interested. I researched the Internet for some ideas and Allie and I came up with a few on our own as well.

Since the holidays tend to be extra busy I decided it would be great to share some of our Elf ideas with each other so we can have a game plan in place. Here are a few suggestions!

Elf on the Shelf Ideas:

Elf makes breakfast and the kids wake up to Snow Covered Donuts (powdered donuts)
Elf makes snow angels on your kitchen table using flour or sugar
Elf is found in the bathtub with new peppermint soap or bubbles
Elf bakes cookies
Elf wrapped presents and is found under the tree
Elf is found on the dashboard of the car and when the car starts Christmas music is playing
Elf is found in the freezer because he misses the North Pole
Elf is found on the back of the toilet, when they lift the lid there are snowflake sprinkles in the water
Elf is found in the refrigerator and the milk is green (food coloring)
Elf brings new Christmas pajamas
Elf is found playing a board game with a few other favorite fuzzy friends in the play room
Elf is found coloring on a new Christmas coloring book he brought back from the North Pole
Elf is found in the shoes and filled the shoes with Hershey Kisses
Elf is found in the Christmas Tree with a new ornament
Elf is found having a tea party with a few friends
Elf is found in kitchen where he hung candy canes from all the cabinet hardware
Elf is found with a few pictures of him playing out in the snow during the night
Elf is found watching a Christmas movie on the portable DVD player (if you can time it right)

We would love to hear any other ideas or suggestions you have and happy "Elfing"!!!

I have had a few people ask where I bought my Elf on the Shelf, I purchased ours at Delaney's. Oh and we named him Kringle, after Kristopher Kringle! Don't forget to go to the official Elf on the Shelf website and register your elf and print out your adoption certificate and letter from Santa.

~SCS~

Please Put Your Pencils Down

2011-11-02T05:40:00.000-07:00

Time's up!!! Pinterest Challenge time is over, and we can't wait to see what exciting, awesome, creative-why-didn't-we-think-of-that ideas everyone came up with.

We are already in Christmas mode over here at SCS and couldn't wait to start our first Christmas projects for this year and the Pinterest Challenge gave us the little boost we needed.

We love the ladies over at YHL and Bower Power for creating the Pinterest Challenge, it's such a good excuse to actually get some of those Pin's done! We went through our holiday appropriate Pin's and I (Allison) decided to put my own twist on this one...

I set out to Hobby Lobby and Michael's to purchase what I needed. I knew I didn't need the numbers on ours since you can't see the house from the road and I knew I wanted red flowers.

The wreath was $4.00
Ribbon $1
Flowers $8
"S" $.99
Paint for the "S" $2.00 (found this at Michael's)
Hot Glue Gun-Free (already owned)

I first wrapped the ribbon around where I wanted it, making sure that it covered enough area for me to put on my "S" later and secured it with hot glue. I cut the flowers off the stem and arranged them how I wanted around the ribbon. I then glued the flowers on making sure to put them close enough together so that you couldn't see the wreath underneath. I painted my "S" with Martha Stewart's Glitter Acrylic found at Michael's. Once it was dry I glued it onto the ribbon. I tied some ribbon around the top and done! I can't wait to leave it hanging on my door after Thanksgiving!

For $15.99 I am very happy with the way it turned out, I don't think I could have found a similar, personalized wreath for less.

What did you guys come up with? Any yummy new recipes to share, easy DIY projects or maybe something Holiday related?

Stay tuned later in the week to see what other DIY craft the SCS completed from Pinterest for the challenge!

~SCS

Ready, Set, GOOOO!!!!!

2011-10-27T07:18:00.000-07:00

You can see the original Pinterest Challenge here!

Allison and I both have a "healthy" addiction to Pinterest, but lets be real, you couldn't really make everything you "pin". I mean that would be way more then a full time job! So when we saw the opportunity to participate in the Pinterest Challenge, we figured what better way to motivate us to do something from our pin boards.

BUT...we want you to participate too!!!! So we are asking our fellow DIY'ers to get your thinking caps on and creative juices flowing. Here's the plan, pick an inspiration from Pinterest and re-create it with your own twist. Then, next Wednesday the 2nd we will have a show & tell party here and here. Just hop on over to YHL & Bower Power and share your love!

Allison and I are both on our way to Michaels today to pick up our goodies. We can't wait to see what everyone comes up with on the 2nd!

~SCS~

*We are not sponsored by Michaels and do not receive benefits from mentioning them in this post.*

A Bridal Shower Success Story

2011-10-24T12:18:00.000-07:00

So it seems that lately my life has been consumed with weddings, bridal showers and baby showers (which I can't say I'm upset about being an event planner and all). Just last week myself and a co worker of mine hosted a cooking themed shower for our co worker who is getting married next month. We hosted a cooking class where all of the guests were taught how to make their own pizza dough and then got to create their own pizzas. The shower was a huge hit, especially for the Bride-to-Be who is quite the foodie!

The favor that we created to give to all of the guests was a wooden spoon with a packet of spice. They were really easy to put together and we felt that it was something that peeople would actually use. We "spiced" it up a bit and put a cute tag on it with the ingredients listed as well (just incase anyone was allergic).

Our spice of choice was Paula Deen's House Seasoning (a personal favorite of mine).

This is definitely an idea I would use again and hope that you may tuck the idea away for that next bridal shower you get to host!

~SCS

Pumpkin...YUM!

2011-10-20T11:59:00.000-07:00

I LOVE anything pumpkin, which is part of the reason fall is my favorite time of year. Seriously, you could put pumpkin on about anything and I will eat it. I LOVE IT! So, when I saw a recipe the other day for Pumpkin Cream Cheese Cinnamon Rolls, I knew I would be making them in the near future. I did alter the recipe a bit to make it my own and highlight the fall flavors.

I decided to make them this week and try them out on my co-workers, they were a hit! Here is my recipe breakdown:

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Rolls

2 cans Pillsbury Crescent Rolls

4 oz cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup canned pumpkin

1/2 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Unroll crescent rolls leaving them in the 4 rectangles, you will then pinch the pre-cut seams together to keep the rolls in the rectangle from. Place the cream cheese, brown sugar, pumpkin, and spice together in mixer, beat until well combined. Spread mixture over crescents, leave a small border around the edges. Starting at the long end, roll up and cut into 1 inch pieces. Place in pan that is sprayed with cooking spray.

2. Bake for 25-28 minutes or until golden brown. Remove and let cool for 5-10 minutes. Frost the rolls when they are still warm to touch with the recipe below.

Frosting

4 oz cream cheese

3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon pumpkin

1. Mix all ingredients together until smooth, spread over warm rolls.

Sorry for the bad pictures, I took all of these with my phone and it was night time.

Pinch the seams together so you have one rectangle,
you should end up with 4 of these

Golden brown, let cool for a few mins before icing

Yummy goodness!!

So, what is your favorite fall, comfort food?

ENJOY!

~SCS~

Wall Gallery

2011-10-19T07:41:00.000-07:00

I finally get to start my Wall Gallery!! This is a huge accomplishment for the Sparks household. Let me give you a little bit of background on the living room, you see my husband is a hunter and my living room looked a little bit (a lot) like a hunting lodge, and we're not talking like Bass Pro Shop hunting lodge, we're talking 3 guys-used-to-live -here bachelor pad hunting lodge. So it took a little bit of persuasion and batting of the eyes to get the deer heads off of the walls (I spared you from the before pictures) in the living room.

Here is the look I am hoping for but maybe with a little bit more color.

Below is the start of my gallery, it's a SLOW start but atleast it's a start. I am contstantly looking for things to add and will hang stuff as I find it. For right now I have the lyrics to a song that was played at our wedding, the number 13 which is the day we were married and the letter "S" for our last name. The thing I love about the wall gallery is you can change out the items in the frames and get a whole new look anytime you want! I really didn't measure things out or do anything technical, I just hung the stuff up how I thought it looked best and will continue to add to it. (I'll keep you updated as I add stuff).

At least it's a start!

**UPDATE** Below is the picture I promised of the silverware art I did for our living room, I'm pretty pleased with the turnout.

Finished and framed silverware art!

Wine & Canvas

2011-10-17T10:33:00.000-07:00

Wine & Canvas = A TOTAL BLAST! I have wanted to attend a Wine & Canvas event for some time now but kept putting it off. Here is how they describe it on their website, "What could be better then drinks and a paintbrush! We supply the brushes, canvas, paints and the Artist; you take home a 16x20 masterpiece! --No experience or talent required"

My friend Sacha and I agreed on a painting from the website events calendar and unleashed our inner Picasso Saturday night. We had a great time, I can't wait to go again! If anyone is interested in going email me, I'm in!!

They have Cookies & Canvas too, can't wait until my kiddo is a little older!

The original painting- what mine was supposed to look like

Great environment

They even have a disco ball and play great music!

My blank canvas

Following instructions

Sacha and I

Progress

More progress

Sacha's Masterpiece

My Masterpiece
(if you can call it that)

I highly recommend Wine & Canvas for a fun night out, there were girlfriends, bachlorette parties, birthday parties, couples, mothers and daughters. The great part was that everyone ended up with a great painting!

~SCS~

First Reader Inquiry

2011-10-14T09:49:00.000-07:00

We are excited for our first reader inquiry!!! We love hearing from our supporters and blog readers so please know you can email us with questions, comments or feedback at savvychicsisters@gmail.com.

Our first inquiry comes from Kara:

"Ok Savvy Sisters- I need your DIY suggestions! Today I went to update one of my frames with Matthew's first professional picture and realized I had no idea what to do with the picture that was in there. We have all these professional pictures (3,6,9,12 months) of Benjamin that I don't dare dispose of, but I have no idea what to do with the pictures each time I update the frame. Normally I would just file the picture into an album but these particular frames are 8x10 so the pictures don't fit into the average album. Hoping you have some creative solutions for my pictures so they don't just end up in a drawer somewhere!

Loving the blog and look forward to each new entry!!!

Love to you both!

Kara"

Thanks for your email Kara, we're sure you're not the only mom that has run into this issue. We love our photos and of course want to display them whether they are new or old. We put our heads together and here are a few suggestions we came up with.

There are quite a few programs online where you can scan and download your pictures and design your own photo collage. The example we show is through Snapfish, you could take your current 8 x 10 photos and create one 11 x 12 or larger photo to hang. We think this would be very cool to see the changes from month to month on one photo.

http://www.snapfish.com/snapfish/collage

Our second idea is a Memory Box, I have one of these for my daughter that I stick keepsakes and photos in. These can be used for numerous things but if you decide to create a collage of the "old" photos you could tuck the original photos in a memory box for safe keeping. These boxes will be fun to look through over the years and a great gift to give your children once they are grown. You can find memory boxes everywhere these days, the one shown below is from Etsy and can be customized.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/artisticgifts4u?ref=top_trail

Our third idea is to create a photo wall in your house, this is a great way to display numerous photos new and old, and to add visual interest to a staircase, hallway or behind a couch. You can see some examples below. A few tips on creating a photo wall are to use a consistent colored frame and matting, this will help the pictures look cohesive. Don't be afraid to mix color photos with black and white! Once you have your photos picked out and framed, deciding where to hang them can be a bit overwhelming. A great tip is to cut out newspaper to the exact size of your frames, and then using painters tape you can tape the paper to the wall to create your collage. Once you are set on a layout you can replace the newspaper with your frames. Trust us, having to patch and repaint nail holes is no fun!

Photo courtesy of thebirdspapaya.com

Photo courtesy of alibaba.com

We hope you find our suggestions helpful. Best of luck and please fill us in on what you decide to do!

~SCS~

It's a Savvy Chic Birthday!

2011-10-12T17:15:00.000-07:00

I want to wish my sister a very "Happy Birthday" today!! I love you so much and couldn't ask for a better sister, thank you for always being there for me and entertaining my crazy ideas. I love you forever!!

Happy Birthday!

Love,
Sara

Pick Your Plum

2011-10-12T07:50:00.000-07:00

Heard of it? Heard of Groupon? Pick Your Plum is similar to Groupon but it's stuff for your home, decorating, stationary, you get the idea!

Check out today's deal below, but hurry because the deals go fast!!!

www.pickyourplum.com

2 Naked Magnet Board Kits for 50% Off!

Buttons & Bobby Pins

2011-10-11T05:09:00.000-07:00

So, I will be the first to admit "My name is Sara, and I'm a Pinterest addict". I resisted joining Pinterest for a while after my sister told me about it, I didn't think I needed another "site" to join. Well, I caved, and I'm so glad I did! I LOVE Pinterest!

Anyhow, the point of confessing my love for Pinterest is because I realize how many people think and have the same ideas that I do. Plus, I get so stalk other creative and talented people! The other day I came across an idea I thought was amazing and knew I had to do it.

I have had this tub of old buttons for years now, actually they were my mom's and I had been holding on to them. I have know idea what my mom had in mind when she bought them and I wasn't sure what I was going to do with them, but they were so beautiful I couldn't get rid of them. When I saw this idea the other day it was like a light went off, all thanks to Pinterest and this blog.

I grabbed my tub of buttons and picked my favorites, that was no easy task because I loved so many of them. I had the bobby pins already and of course my trusty hot glue gun. After I settled on my favorite buttons I was off to create my new favorite "Button Bobby's". Some of the buttons had large enough thread holes that I could just slip the bobby pin through the hole and then glue in place, the buttons that didn't have large openings I glued to the top of the bobby pin.

I have worn one in my hair everyday since, I love them!!!

Picking my favorite buttons was the hardest part

My final selection

Hot glued them in place

Love them!

~SCS~

You Art What You Eat

2011-10-07T05:19:00.000-07:00

I needed something to spice up our dining area. This area needs a lot of make over and updates, like the table and the lighting fixture for example. Those will hopefully be done soon but I decided to start small by adding something to the walls.

I took a canvas that I bought at Michaels Craft Store that was 50% off and covered it with fabric. I found a fabric at Jo-Ann Fabric that I love (wish I would have bought more). I used my staple gun to attach the fabric to the canvas. I did this by starting on one side and then stapling the opposite side so that I could pull the fabric taught. The corners can be tricky but just think of it as wrapping a present.

It should look like this when you are done!

I then took silverware that I bought at Goodwill for 10 cents each and hot glued them onto the canvas. This is where you can get creative, believe me Goodwill has some interesting silverware.

I am going to add frames around them but they weren't quite done yet, so I will give you an update when I get them hung.

The total cost for this project was $14.10

$10.00 for 2 canvas

$3.40 for fabric ( a 1/2 yard was the right amount for the size of canvas I bought)

.70 for silverware

Art for Where You Eat!

2011-10-05T07:14:00.000-07:00

Coming up next....

See how this old silverware can be turned into wall art in your kitchen/dining area.

Fall and Acorns

2011-10-04T07:42:00.000-07:00

I love fall, it's my favorite season of the year. I love the crisp cool air, the smell of the leaves, anything pumpkin and I love fall decorations!

As I was decorating my house for fall I realized I needed something for my coffee table and nothing felt quite right. As I was playing outside with my kiddo last week it hit me, LITERALLY! Acorns, falling from the sky…or the giant Oak tree in our front yard.

So with a little help from my two year old we collected a bag of them and I was set to create a fun piece for our coffee table.

My first step was to boil all of the acorns in a pot on the stove, this was to kill any critters that may be hiding away in there and it helped bring out the color.

Before we boiled them

Unfortunately, the tops of the acorns tend to pop off when they fall from the tree, so once they were dry I broke out the glue gun and started putting the little beauties back together again.

Making them whole again!

I had two glass pieces that I knew would be perfect for this project, the first was a larger square vase and the second was a candle holder. I thought the idea of a little candle light peeking through the acorns would be pretty, elegant and very fallish!

Candle holder inside the larger square vase

I LOVE the way it turned out and my favorite part is that it was FREE!!

Finished!

Happy fall, y’all!!

The Sky Is Falling

2011-09-28T05:18:00.000-07:00

Or, maybe it's just all the acorns falling from the Oak tree in my yard. Either way I have a fun fall centerpiece on the way using these babies. Stay Tuned!!!

Yes, I actually collected Acorns from my own yard!

Here's To Love, Laughter, and Happily Ever After!!
~SCS~

Sweet Cajun Pork Loin

2011-09-27T06:41:00.000-07:00

Last night I tried out a new recipe and it was a hit in the Sparks household so I thought I would share.

It's pretty simple and only involves 5 ingredients.

Pork loin
1 tbs Cajun Seasoning
3 tbs Honey
4 tbs Butter
1/4 cup water

Melt the butter and honey on the stovetop in an oven safe pan. Sprinkle the Cajun seasoning on the pork loin and then brown the pork loin, 10 minutes on each side. Transfer the pan to the oven and roast at 375 for 20 minutes. (The time in the oven will vary based on the size of your porkl oin). Roast in the oven until center is no longer pink.

Remove the pork loin from the pan and let it rest. Mix the remaining sauce in the pain with 1/4 cup water and simmer. Slice the pork loin and drizzle the sauce over the top and serve

Sweet Cajun Pork Loin

You can play witth the honey-Cajun seasoning ratio to find a flavor that is right for you. I will probably add a little more Cajun seasoning next time I make it.

Enjoy!

Mexican Fiesta

2011-09-23T05:41:00.000-07:00

It's Mexican Fiesta night at the McCord house...actually most nights are, it's our favorite thing to eat and my favorite thing to cook! My husband and I joke often that maybe we should pick up and move to Mexico.

Since we do eat quite a lot of Mexican food I am always looking for ways to mix it up a little. I decided this week to do shredded chicken tacos; this was so easy that I couldn't resist sharing it with you. If you’re anything like me, then you’re always looking for ways to speed up that dinner process after a long day at work. I mean who really wants to be a slave to the kitchen after you get home from an 8+ hour day, right?

The hardest part of this dinner was the chicken and it couldn't have been easier, I make my own guacamole as well but I will share that with you at a later date.

What you need:
3 Large Chicken Breasts
1 can of Rotel Tomatoes & Green Chilies
1 package of your favorite taco seasoning
Crock-pot

What you do:

Trim your chicken breasts
Lay them flat across the bottom of your Crock-pot
Sprinkle the package of seasoning all over the chicken
Pour the can of tomatoes & chilies all over the chicken
Turn the Crock-pot on low for 6-7 hours and walk away!
Once the chicken is cooked, take two forks and shred the chicken
That's it, you’re done!

Now just serve with tortillas and your favorite taco fixing’s, Enjoy! We did!

Shredded Chicken for Tacos