that gives me an idea

Green Giant Veggie Snacks

2013-04-12T22:19:00.001-05:00

Just received my free Veggie Snacks from bzzagent today. They were super yummy and they kids enjoyed passing out the extra samples and coupons.

Bee Mine

2012-01-29T20:36:00.000-06:00

My little guy is old enough this year to understand Valentine's Day so I am helping him make a few things for some of the people he loves. I saw cute jumbo heart crayons made by melting your old broken ones into a silicone mold. Rather than buy a new mold I decided to use one I already own. I happen to have a silicone mold for making cupcake bugs. This gave me the idea for the Valentines my son will be giving a few of his friends.

I chopped up crayons and my son filled the bee molds. We placed the mold in the oven until the crayons melted and then pulled them out to cool. Once they completely cooled, they popped right out of the molds and we had super cute bee shaped crayons. I let him stamp the "be mine" on to some extra scrapbook tags I had and tied them up with the basket wrap and heart ribbon. The only downside is the current condition of my cupcake mold. I don't know how I'm going to get it fit for food again.

Eye Art

2012-01-25T11:40:00.000-06:00

Peacock Eyes

My family is full of creative people with a variety of talents and hobbies. Most of us crochet and several are scrapbookers. Many of our households contain a sewing machine or two and a few of us draw and paint. My sisters would probably tell you she was one of the least artistic members of the family but I strongly believe otherwise. She chooses a different canvas but she is very talented and I would like to take the time to show off some of her work to thank her for all of the times she bragged about mine.

Bandanna Nails

Camo Eyes

Cheetah Eyes

Christmas Lights

Paw Nails

Mardi Gras

Grey/Black

The Child of an 80's Child

2012-01-23T17:44:00.000-06:00

Once upon a time I had gigantic permed hair and the poofiest bangs known to man. My wardrobe consisted of over-sized neon t-shirts, leggings, brightly colored miss-matched socks, keds and of course leg warmers. I loved my leg warmers so much and was unbelievably excited to see they are making a comeback just in time for my daughter to rock a pair of her own. As the child of an 80's child it is an absolute must that my daughter have a pair of leg warmers. I found a cute crochet pattern and I will definately have to give it a try soon but I am impatient and needed to find a fast no-sew solution. Here's my super fun idea.

This is so easy you won't even believe it. I cut the foot off of a pair of mens socks. I took the legs from the socks and used a lighter to burn around the edge where I had removed the feet to prevent fraying. That's it, that's all I had to do!

What do you want to be when you grow up?

2012-01-21T19:22:00.000-06:00

You get asked this question a million times as a kid. And it's this very question that has inspired my next photo project.

At three years old, my son already has at least a dozen scrapbooks. I love the books and I know that as he gets older I will be glad I archived his every move. Lately though, I have the urge to make a completely different type of book. After giving it some thought, i decided to try focusing on what could be rather than what is. I know you're dying to here what I've come up, so here's the plan for my next creation. I am going to take a picture of my kiddo in his everyday state and add the caption "what will I be when I grow up. Over the next year I will take photos of him dressed for/acting out any occupation I can manage to capture. Not only will this make cute photos, but it will also teach him about community and careers.

I would like to extend an invition to anyone reading this to take their own photos. If you're not into scrapbooking, the photos could be used to make an adorable gallery wall for your home. I am going to add a linky on my page for anyone that's interested to share their photo/ideas for this project.
How awesome would it be if you actually managed to capture your little ones future career. They would have an adorable picture of themselves as a child doing what they now do for a living.

Diy Scarecrow costume

2011-10-24T19:58:00.000-05:00

I am by no means a seamstress, although I often wish that was. I love Halloween and prefer a fun diy costume to a sad looking store bought disguises. For my son's first trick-or-treat adventure I turned him into the most adorable scarecrow ever.

I bought a pair of overalls and a onsie at a baby consignment store. I cut the patches from scrap fabric I had around the house and used felt as straw so that he wouldn't get itchy. Everything is loosely hand stitched so that it can easily be removed and the clothes can be worn afterward to get your money out of it. I made the hat out of stiff scrap fabric by cutting out the inner circle of a paper plate and then tracing both the inner circle and outer band onto the fabric. I cut the circles out and a strip that was the same circumference as the inner circle and four inches wide. I assembled it by hand stitching the pieces together and adding some patches. For the final touch I looses sewed a bandanna to his shirt rather than tie it so that he couldn't hurt himself. He was so cute even though he slept through it and has no memory of the night.

A visit from Peter Pan

2011-09-24T08:00:00.001-05:00

My kids are very into pirates right now. They can't get enough of Jake and the Never Land Pirates. I had a pirate party for my son's 2nd birthday and they have a ton of fun with all of the left over props. The other day my little guy was playing in the yard with his shovel when he walked up to me and just about broke my heart. He said to me in his saddest little voice, "Mommy, I've walked all over and I looked everywhere and I still don't find any treasure". I of course needed to remember this asap so I came up with an idea.

Peter Pan lost the feather from his hat
when he flew in the window

x marks the spot(I put this on the
cabinet door)

the treasure hidden inside
a cabinet

Peter brushed off a little of the pixie
dust that helped him fly here

the treasure map led us to clues
around the house

When the kids went down for their nap I arranged a visit from Peter Pan. He left a map that would lead them straight to the neverland treasure and pirate hats to wear along the way. When I woke them up I told them Peter Pan had stopped by a left them something and they were so excited. They clung to the little chest of gold coins for the rest of the evening, it even went with them when their grandma and grandpa took them out to eat.

A Weekend Walk In the Woods

2011-09-22T08:00:00.001-05:00

I love all things fall. The weather is perfect and there's so much you can do. It's the only time of year when it's not too hot, too cold or too rainy. What better way to spend time as a family than to get outside and enjoy mother nature.

When we go for out nature walks, I like to give the kids something to look for. They are still pretty small so each week I choose just one thing and they focus on that. This week they gathered leaves and used them for a few craft projects when we got home. We used the leaves and a paper plate to make this cute leaf wreath. They each picked their favorite leaf and glued to construction paper. We added the arms, legs and eyes to make leaf people. What fun things do you make with leaves?

A manly party

2011-09-20T08:00:00.002-05:00

For my husband's birthday he asked that it be kept simple. He didn't want a big party, just dinner with some friends. And sadly he said no to the over the top decorations I wanted and insisted that I tone it down(way down)! :(

When looking for ideas for his party, I saw these adorable birthday photo collages. In the interest of keeping it simple, I decided to use a tri-fold presentation board. I cut the letters from camo scrapbook paper on my cricut. When the party was over I just folded it up and put it in car, it doesn't get any more simple than that.

My husband (finally) made the cupcake stand I've been wanting and I was so excited to use it. I loved the way it looked with all of the camo cupcakes. I made manly cupcake toppers with bobbers and bullets. If you'd like the free printable, click HERE. I used photoshop to create my menus and invitations. I also made this super cute and inexpensive candle holders. To get more info on the rustic centerpieces, click HERE. Enjoy, I hope you found some ideas for your next rustic party!

Candy Apple Cupcakes

2011-09-18T08:00:00.001-05:00

My sister loves candy apples. She gets so excited each fall when the appear on the supermarket shelves. Naturally when I saw this recipe I thought of her and bookmarked it for her birthday. Yes, they are as yummy as they look!

This looks so cute and festive, it would be perfect to take along to any fall potluck. The best part is, its pretty easy.

mix up a batch of your favorite carrot cake(box or from scratch) and stir in two cups of peeled and chopped granny smith apples. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full and bake according to box/recipe directions. Ice cooled cupcakes with caramel apple dip and top with pecans or mini chips. For added cuteness add a popsicle stick, tie with a ribbon and display on a bed of fake fall leaves.

Oh Deer!

2011-09-16T08:00:00.002-05:00

I am so lucky that my kids enjoy having craft time. They really look forward to it and get excited when the art supplies come out. I asked my son what he would like to make and he said a deer. Most of the deer projects I have found are Christmas projects containing Rudolph but we won't let that stand in the way of our fun.
My idea here isn't super brilliant, just common sense. By removing the red nose, glitter and holiday ribbon Rudolph quickly becomes Bambi. We made the fun headbands and both kiddos had a blast.

It's a book. No, It's a purse! It's both?

2011-09-14T08:00:00.002-05:00

I love the fun, funky and unexpected. This cute purse i made for my sister's birthday is all three, and super easy to make. I thought this was the cutest idea and couldn't wait to try it out and put my own spin on it. Don't you just love how adorable this is?

Grab a flea market book, remove the pages and let your creative juices flow. Click HERE for a video tutorial on the book to purse transformation process, enjoy!

Lovely Letters

2011-09-12T15:27:00.000-05:00

I love pulling out my scrapbook supplies for fun off the page projects. When I was pregnant with each of my kids, as soon as I found out their gender I got busy decorating the letters of their name to display above the crib. I love the mod podge letters because they are so cute and easy to redo when you move from nursery to toddler room and they can be fun for older kids too. This set I was asked to make as a birthday gift and I love the purple and green together.

Bee-utiful

2011-09-07T08:00:00.000-05:00

My little guy loves craft projects and so I'm always looking for something fun and toddler friendly. He had a blast making this bee and all the supplies were things I already had at home.

You'll need

empty toilet paper roll
yellow paint
black marker for stripes
red maker(He thought it needed a mouth)
glue
coffee filter
rubber band
wiggley eyes
pipe cleaner

paint the tp roll and add the stripes and mouth
wrap a rubberband around middle of coffee filter
glue on eyes and wings
poke a hole in the top of the roll
twist pipe cleaner through for antenae

Mr. Sandman

2011-09-05T08:00:00.003-05:00

While strolling through Micheal's, my kids and I came across colored sand in the clearance section. I bought a couple of bottles to see if they were ready for sand art. My one year old daughter did okay(with some very close supervision) but she didn't really enjoy it. My three year old son however, enjoyed it so much that we had to get several more bottles before they sold out. I had an idea, with grandparent's day just around the corner(September 11th), I could decorate the sand filled bottles and give them as gifts.

For the grandparent bottles, I placed a picture on front and a poem on the back.

These are a few of the other bottle he made for gifts.

They made this for their Daddy's Birthday. My son did the blue and white and my daughter did the pink and white.

Picture This!

2011-09-03T08:00:00.001-05:00

I once recieved a dress-up dry erase plate as gift and I love it! You can change the ribbon for holidays or seasons or just whatever, but my favorite thing about it is that it doesn't look like a conventional message board. I was helping my mom pick out a present for my sister and we decided on a message board. I searched for ideas and settled on a picture frame because it functions as a dry-erase board and it's cute enough to be artwork.

It's super easy to make your own, here's what you need to do:

cut a piece of cardboard to fit your frame
hot glue a light colored fabric to the cardboard
arrange any decorative item you'd like on top of the fabric
place fabric in frame
decorate outside the frame a little
use your dry erase marker right on the glass

Frosting From Flour !?!

2011-09-01T13:45:00.000-05:00

I had a few cookbooks out trying to choose cupcakes for my husband and sister's birthdays which both fall in September. Without fail, everytime the kids see me plotting to bake they demand cupcakes immediately. Like all toddlers, mine have no patience to wait for a birthday to roll around and they are quite skilled at getting what they want. So I set out to make a treat using only what I had on hand. I was completely out of powdered sugar, but I had a better idea. What a perfect opportunity to try something different!

I had everything I needed for vanilla cupcakes, so that was no problem. I had come across a frosting recipe awhile back claiming it was the best ever, but it had a strange list of ingrediants. The end result was yummy and the kids enjoyed their snack. If you'd like to try something different, you can find the Best Frosting You've Ever Eaten HERE!

Hand/FootPrint Art

2011-08-27T05:00:00.001-05:00

My kids are really into making artwork with their hands, feet and fingers. They are having so much fun with their creations that I had to give you all a peek at some of the masterpieces they've made.

Spicy Chicken wrap.

2011-08-25T17:18:00.000-05:00

I made a salad for dinner that was so yummy I just couldn't throw it out. Left over lettuce isn't the greatest so I needed to spruce it up a bit. That gave me the idea to make a wrap.

Ingredients in this yummy concoction:

chicken baked with buffalo flavored shake n' bake

baby spinach

romaine lettuce

tortilla strips

hard boiled egg

celery

shredded cheese

tortilla

garlic Parmesan salad dressing

creamy jalapeno sauce(I buy the taco bell brand and it's super good)

Showered With Love

2011-08-19T19:32:00.000-05:00

I have mentioned in a previous post that I'm working on a scrapbook to give as a gift at a friend's baby shower. To motivate myself to getting it done and not wait until the last minute, I have been entering scrapbook challenges.

This challenge from http://stucksketches.blogspot.com provided the layout sketch and this is my finished page.

Mirror Mirror on the Wall

2011-08-17T20:42:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I shared with you my first layout for a scrapbook challenge. I had so much fun I decided to search for other contests. They are so motivating and I'm having a blast. I found a sketch contest at www.pencillines.com and decided to give it a try. They give you a sketch of a layout and you submit your interpretation.

This is my finished page. I love this picture of my daughter, she was so captivated by all the mirrors the children's museum. I am super excited about how it turned out and the progress I'm making on her book.

Lasting Memories Challenge #51

2011-08-16T23:26:00.001-05:00

I have decided to start entering weekly scrapbook challenges. I am hoping this will be the motivation I need to get some serious work done on my albumns. I always get so behind during the summer and then play catch up in the winter. Hopefully I can get inspired and create a ton of awesome pages and have a ton of free time to make projects with my kiddos this winter.

This weeks challenge is to try something new. I have been really wanting to learn to paper quill so I could add the skill to my bag of tricks but I was honestly a little intimidated. This challenge gave me the push I needed to go for it. It turned out to be so easy and so much fun, I will definately being quilling more in the future. I am making a book for a friends baby shower and really need to get started. This is the first page in the albumn. She can use the envelope for the sonogram pictures/dvd, shower invitation, birth anouncement or any other keepsake she has.

Hey, There's an Idea!

2011-08-15T08:56:00.000-05:00

A cupcake mission.

2011-08-12T13:13:00.000-05:00

I am in love! I have fallen for a beautiful handmade cupcake stand. I would make it mine but is comes with $200 pricetag. This is so much more than I feel I can reasonably spend on such a thing. So I have enlisted the help of my husband to make my own. So far the only thing that has materialized is each of our sketches on how we think we should proceed. I have faith though that we can put out heads together and come up with something amazing and cost efficiant. By next week I hope to be showing off my new stand with instructions for making your own. Wish us luck!

Rustic Centerpiece

2011-08-07T22:52:00.000-05:00

My husband is about to turn thirty and I'm throwing a him a party. We however have very different ideas about what makes a party. I want a theme and a ton of decorations and he wants good food and his closest friends. Like anything else when it comes to marriage, compromise is the key. I had to change my theme to something more manly and tone down the decorations. I was also asked to change to invitaions because I made it rhyme and he found that to be too childish. It's his birthday and I want him to enjoy himself so I'm working hard to come up with something simple enough for him and festive enough for me. I'm going with an outdoor theme and this is the first of my creations.

My husband cut the slices of wood for me and helped to sand them and seal them with a coat of poly. I used to differnt sized mason jars and empty cheese dip jars. I used my cricut to cut vinyl animals and attached one to each of the jars. I tied a piece of twine around the top and put a candle in each jar.