Keeping it Simple

Springtime Fun with Tyson Nuggets

noreply@blogger.com (Kaysi @ Keeping it Simple) — Wed, 22 May 2013 09:00:00 +0000

I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias and their client.

Dinner time can be a big hassle at our house. Whenever I cook a new meal, I know that it's going to be a hassle to get my kids to eat it or even try it. I'm sure you've all been there. Counting to three. Playing airplane to get the food into their mouth. Telling them that they have to go to bed hungry.

Sometimes it's fun to have a fun meal that I know that everyone will enjoy. Chicken nuggets are one of those meals. The only chicken nuggets that I will eat though (I'm picky when it comes to meat) are Tyson chicken nuggets. They actually use good white meat and they taste super good too. I am all for creativity and for my kids to use their imaginations and create things. Sometimes it good to play with our food. :) This is is what I created with my #SpringtimeNuggets.

I bought the chicken nuggets at Walmart in the freezer section. For my full shopping experience go here.

I had to get both kinds because I knew that my kids would love both of them!

I love how easy it is to make them. You can pop them in the microwave or bake them.

And what's makes them fun is all the things you can dip them in! My kids love ketchup. I prefer a special sauce, BBQ sauce and mayo mixed together and my husband likes ranch.

We made some homemade curly fries to go with our nuggets and then I let the kids just create. They really liked and had fun. Dinner time was a huge hassle and it was great being able to just sit and talk with the kids and have some great family time. I had fun decorating my nuggets too.

My oldest boys really enjoyed creating. One made a house with a dinosaur plant on top of it. And the other one made a ship that is getting hit by meteors (the ketchup on the plate).

Drawing faces on the dinosaurs was a hit and having them be in the yummy fry grass.

If you want them to have a little less messy time playing with their nuggets, check out Tyson's facebook page where they can decorate them over and over again.

I have a super yummy recipe that uses Tyson nuggets too! Sweet n Sour chicken.

1 1/2 pounds of Tyson chicken nuggets, cut into chunks

1 green pepper sliced

1 small onion, sliced

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 can 20 (oz) pineapple, save juice

3 Tbs vinegar

2 Tbs ketchup

2 Tbs soy sauce

3 Tbs cornstarch

1) Mix brown sugar and cornstarch in skillet.

2) Add enough water to the pineapple juice to make 2 1/4 cups

3) Stir liquids into skillet and cook until it boils

4) Stir in vegetables and pineapple and reduce heat

5) Add chicken, cover and simmer for 5 minutes.

Serve on rice.

To keep up with what's happening, make sure to follow and like Tyson on Twitter and Facebook.

I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias® and Tyson. #cbias #SocialFabric #SpringtimeNuggets All opinions and content are 100% my own.

Family Room Makeover

noreply@blogger.com (Kaysi @ Keeping it Simple) — Tue, 21 May 2013 10:30:00 +0000

Do you a dark room or a neglected room in your house? Mine was our family room. It’s in the basement, no one ever sees it really, so I put it off and didn’t do anything with it. Then one day I decided that it was time to spruce it up and make it look better and not be embarrassed to have people come down into it. So here it is!

Here are a few before pictures of it. I told you not very pretty. And not very clean… And very boring and plain. Not very colorful, that's for sure!

This is the room that we spend a lot of time in, so I had to make it kid friendly. Besides the kids’ bedrooms, this is really their room. So there is a chest for toys, the kids’ computer and some little chairs just for them.

Our entertainment center, just a little better than the before right?!

Couches with new slip covers because the kids had stained the couches so badly. And of course cute pillows.

A nice bright red wall, I love it!

Being in the basement, the room needed to be brightened up, literally. So I got a couple lamps from Better Homes and Garden. My little yellow table needed something, and this lamp was perfect for it!

Fun decorations on the tv stand, including a BHG wax warmer. I love how it looks and it’s has one of my favorite scents in it, cilantro pineapple.

The walls are big, so each wall has something big on it.

I normally make my own pillows, but I couldn’t resist these amazing pillows from BHG. The reds one would have taken forever to make and not look nearly as nice.

We had the one little chair but it was a constant fight on who got to sit in it, so we had to get another one. It even reclines too! This chest I got from a garage sale for $5, so it stores some bigger toys.

To help me spruce up my family, I headed to Walmart and Walmart dot com and got some Better Homes and Garden things. The selection was great and I was able to find things that matched my family room perfectly!

Right now BHG has a contest going on, a pin it to win it contest. Dream up your own makeover and enter it in the Room Refresh Sweepstakes.

Disclosure: I received compensation from Better Homes & Garden for my time and participation in the Better Homes & Garden Refresh Challenge. Although we have a material connection, any publicly stated opinions of Better Homes & Garden and their products remain our own.

I would love it if you followed along.

Relaxing in the Back Yard with TIKI Torch

noreply@blogger.com (Kaysi) — Mon, 20 May 2013 15:00:00 +0000

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of TIKI Brand® for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Now that it is getting warmer, we are spending more and more time outside. We are loving having a big back yard to let the kids go and play. I enjoy having a nice place to sit and relax, while the kids play.

Since we have wide open spaces in our backyard, we don't have a ton of decorations up yet. But we do have a table and chairs to sit and relax. And what better way to help set the mood of a relaxing evening than some TIKI torches. There is something that is calming about a fire. It's so nice to sit and watch.

The TIKI Brand Flame & Solar Torch is a great piece. Not only is it a torch but it also has a solar powered LED light.

You can use the light on the torch if you don't want the open flame or you can put the top on the table and use it as a table light while you enjoy the fire. I love that it's two things in one!

I absolutely loved the TIKI Brand Glowing Table Torch, that blue is just stunning! The best part about it is that it has a LED light in it that changes colors, from red, to green to blue. You can have it going with the flame or you have it going instead. Perfect for when you are enjoying a meal outside or when you're entertaing.

There is nothing like being outside and just enjoying the great outdoors. Here is a video I made of the peacefulness of my back yard. If you listen closely, you can hear the birds and coyotes in the background.

Another thing that is great about the TIKI Brand Glowing Torch is that the torch fuel has OFF!® mosquito repellent in it! Not only does it set the a nice tone for an evening, but it gets rid of the pesky bugs, woohoo! I'm super excited because we do a have a bug problem here.

There are so many great features about these torches. I think my favorite is that they both have the LED light option. We get quite a bit of wind here, so it's nice that I can still use them even when it's windy. What do you like about TIKI brand products?

The TIKI torches can be purchased at Walmart and Target. To keep up to date on what's new with TIKI, you should like TIKI Brand on Facebook.

Motivate Me Monday #174

noreply@blogger.com (Kaysi @ Keeping it Simple) — Mon, 20 May 2013 01:00:00 +0000

Hello everyone!! I hope that you had a wonderful weekend. We had rain the whole weekend, which is great because we in a major drought. This was the first week that we have been on our own, my parents left last week. It's been a long week trying to get adjusted and used to having 5 kids. Plus, school got out on Wednesday, so we are trying to get adjusted to the new schedule.

Just because I have a hard time posting without a picture, here is one from our lightning storms we had this weekend:

Thanks to everyone who linked up last week! Now it's time for another awesome party!

I would love it if you followed along.

Guest Post: Keep Moving Forward With Me

noreply@blogger.com (Kaysi @ Keeping it Simple) — Fri, 17 May 2013 10:30:00 +0000

Hello! My name is Tara and I am the writer, mama, and adventurer behind Keep Moving Forward With Me. As the mama of Lily (5), Cortland (3), and Kyler (1), I wear many different shoes. There are my laced-up tennies for cleaning, cooking, and all super-mom tasks, slippers for relaxing and enjoying my favorite BBC series, running shoes for 5K training, and heels for date night. My blog follows each and every footstep as I make progress in all areas of my life with my darling, little family! I’d love to have you join me on Pinterest or Facebook! Today I am whipping out my flip flops because summer is on its way. School is almost out and it is time to celebrate. My husband and I have started several family traditions to honor our children for all of their academic hard work. Here are some of our favorites:

1. Teacher Book Signing Last year, I ordered Oh the Places You'll Go! off of Amazon.com and had my daughter's preschool teacher sign it. Each year I am going to sneak it in to her teacher to have them leave a message for her. I am thinking that it will be an AWESOME graduation present by the time she is done with school! I love reading the sweet messages her teachers leave her, too.

2. Water Balloon Bash I borrowed this tradition from my fun sister-in-law. Nothing says summer like water balloons! My husband and little boys hid with a large bowl of water balloons to surprise my oldest when she got home from school. We set aside a stash for her as well to make it a fair fight. Perfect fun for the younger crowd, but I imagine that we may need to get more creative in our sneak attacks as the children get older. For even more fun, we added a bubble machine to the mix.

3. Make it a Banner Day My daughter was positively giddy when we pulled up to the house and she saw the pink streamers laced across the entrance to the back yard. Who doesn't love a victory run for their hard work, right? My advice to Utah residents - use thick tape. Two years in a row we have had a light wind and it is just enough to wreak havoc with the streamers. Taping each streamer line individually with a thick piece of packing tape worked much better than doing a continuous back and forth line. It would be just as fun to use butcher paper to make a sign to run through, too.

4. Favorite Places Photo Shoot at School Ask your child to show you all their favorite places and people at school. Makes for a fun photo shoot and it's a great way to communicate with your child about school. My daughter was so proud of all of her favorite places from her letter on the carpet to her best friends. You can take the pictures and turn them into a book for your child and let them add the captions. Preserve those precious memories in their own words! I hope this post helps to make your end of the school year memorable and fun. Traditions strengthen our families and keep our children close. A big thanks to Kaysi for letting me visit and share some of my favorite end of the school year traditions with you! I would love it if you popped on over to Keep Moving Forward With Me to say hi! What are your favorite family traditions? How do you celebrate the end of the school year?

Bentinck Furniture

noreply@blogger.com (Kaysi @ Keeping it Simple) — Fri, 17 May 2013 02:30:00 +0000

It is always fun to come across a new furniture company. I enjoy looking and seeing all of the things that the companies have to offer. Bentinck furniture is a furniture company based in the UK that has all kinds of furniture. There are some fun unique and traditional pieces.

They have a variety of pieces. I love the look of the glass furniture that they carry. The glass makes it look so classy and it goes so well with lots of different styles of design. That coffee table is awesome!

They have the traditional furniture. Bedroom, office, living room, dining room and more. Here are some fun pieces that I found for the living room.

They have kids furniture too. Aren't these beds so awesome?! I love all of them. Seriously how great would one of these beds be in a child's room. That fireplace would be perfect for a little boy. And that carriage would make a perfect princess room. What little girl wouldn't love that?

There is a lot more on the site too. You should go check it out!

Disclosure: This post was written in behalf of Bentinck Furniture. All opinions are of course 100% my own.

Guest Post: Brassy Apple

noreply@blogger.com (Kaysi @ Keeping it Simple) — Thu, 16 May 2013 10:11:00 +0000

Hey it's Megan from Brassy Apple here! Besides my love for fashion and REfashion I have a passion for Family! Each Friday I share a kids activity or family idea. Summer is a favorite time for memory making but it's not always easy for us as the MOM to remember all the details! That's why I created the SUMMER passport! Let your kids document their summer in their own words, handwriting and capture their art skills as well!

I could have shared it in pictures but video was a seamless way to explain it and show you how easy they are to create! Click play to watch it now or pin to watch it later! Summer fun where we come!!!

you can download the SUMMER fun or SUMMER food passports printables by just clicking on them!

Pop over to BrassyApple anytime!

Teacher gifts {free printable}

noreply@blogger.com (Kaysi @ Keeping it Simple) — Wed, 15 May 2013 17:00:00 +0000

Today is the last day of school for my boys. It hit me on Monday that I hadn’t done anything for their teachers. I felt like I needed to do something, so I went on my facebook page and asked what everyone was doing. A couple of people gave me these ideas and I loved them! So I made them up real quick last night.

For the S’mores, I cut a Capri sun box and then covered it with scrapbook paper and then added the tag and filled it with chocolate, graham crackers and marshmallows.

Go here for the free printable.

Who doesn’t just love cuties? I just put 3 in a little bag and then put the tag on it. I used a tape runner and glue it onto the bag and then added bakers twine. Super easy.

Go here for the free printable.

I would love it if you followed along.

Guest Post: Girl Loves Glam

noreply@blogger.com (Kaysi @ Keeping it Simple) — Wed, 15 May 2013 10:30:00 +0000

I am McKenzie from Girl Loves Glam and I am excited to be hanging out with you today!

My husband is a 6th grade teacher. It is always interesting to see what gifts he receives from students for the various holidays throughout the year. I have asked him several times what his favorite types of gifts are to receive from students. His answer? Gift cards! He loves getting gift cards because it is a way that he can treat himself to things he wouldn't normally get to treat himself to. I love it when they are also gift cards that involve me coming along for date night. One gift card he got for Christmas was for frozen yogurt at Orange Leaf. I think I was more excited about the gift card than he was! I love Orange Leaf!

With as many self serve frozen yogurt shops there are now, I thought that making a free printable tag to go along with a froyo gift card would be perfect! It would make a great gift for your teacher or anyone else who has worked hard and deserves a little treat for themselves (or their wife!).

Adding a printable to a gift card is a really simple way to really show that you care and are willing to go a little extra mile to make their day special.

To get the free printable, just go here.

Now go show your teachers that you appreciate them!

Thank you for letting me post here today Kaysi! Don't forget to come visit my blog for all of my tutorials and craziness of a DIY glam girl!

Guest Post: The Crafty Woman

noreply@blogger.com (Kaysi @ Keeping it Simple) — Tue, 14 May 2013 10:00:00 +0000

Hello folks!
I'm Christine of The Crafty Woman.
I'm excited to be here and sharing a fun activity you can do at home over and over this summer.

GLITTER TATTOOS.
These tattoos last 3-5 days and are waterproof!

Not to mention, dry instantly!
Oh, and did I mention they sparkle????

So....This is sort of a two in one post!

A fun activity-Glitter Tats
and

A safety guide-Body Art 101

So before going into my tutorial, I'd like to go over a few things to be cautious about with body art at festivals/at home.

*Please at least read the glitter part as it does with the tutorial!*

I have been a professional body artist for 7+ years.

I have worked the festival circuit for over 15 (various things).

Here is what YOU need to know as a parent before diving right into face paint, henna, or glitter tattoos.

1.Not all paint is created equal.

Paints used in face-painting are specially formulated to be used on the skin.

Paints found at the craft store (even acrylics) should never be used on the skin. Especially the face.

Ask your face painter what they use, safe brands are:

Snazaroo

Silly Farm

TAG

Ben Nye

Kryolan

Wolfe

and Mehron

Also, be sure to check how sanitary the set up is.

Many use sponges, which are fine if they mist with alcohol in between faces.

Brushes being dipped over and over in dirty water, no good.

Use your mommy/daddy/spidey sense on the sanitary!

2.Henna is NOT black

This is my expert field and have fought for years to get this out there.

The FDA has finally made an official statement in regards to henna vs. black henna.

True, natural henna is a dark green (almost black) paste.

When wiped of it starts out pumpkin orange and darkens over 24-36 hours to a deep red/brown color.

"Black Henna" smells bad, stains black instantly, and is dangerous.

It contains the chemical PPD commonly found in black hair dyes.

It is illegal for use on skin.

Many times, this paste is found in high tourist areas like Mexico, Las Vegas, South Beach, Caribbean, etc.

Henna itself is low risk for reactions, however, check with the artist and ask what is in their paste.

If they can't answer you, walk away.

Many premixed or ready to go cones of henna found online have "mystery" ingredients or dangerous additives.

The most basic henna (and safest) recipe should contain:

Henna Powder

Lemon juice

Sugar/fructose

Essential oils that are safe: lavender, cajput, eucalyptus, etc

Email me if you'd like a full list!

The store bought kits are usually a false henna or "neutral" henna meaning they are different plant and stain poorly.

Yes, henna is a plant!

The powder is the dried leaves finely ground.

Warning:*Henna can have a deadly reaction to those with G6PD.*

3. Glitter isn't always "just glitter".

Glitter tattoos (like in our tutorial) are great.

Sparkly, waterproof, fast.

However, there are still a couple cautions.

The glue.

A proper glitter tattoo should use an acrylic, water based glue.

Most are medical grade and latex free. (Like Prosaide Cream)

Here are some examples of the glue.

The glitter.

Glitter isn't a multi-purpose item sometimes.

Craft glitter is not suitable for tattoos.

It is too course and can cause irritation on the skin.

Cosmetic grade glitters are finely cut/ground and are extremely gently.

Mica powder (MAC shadows!) are also great for tattoos.

They come out shimmery and smooth!

You still may want to avoid around the eyes.

Glitter in the eyes can cause micro scratches and even imbedding that has to be removed surgically.

Now that we have covered some safety, on to the fun!

Click on a supply for example of where to purchase.

Supplies needed:

Glitter Tattoo Ste n cil
*This is specialized tape and vinyl for skin use, not like the average sign/craft vinyl.
Please do not use your at home vinyl cutter without the proper tape and vinyl needed!!!*

Body Art Quality Glue

Cosmetic grade glitter

Small brush (make up brush)

Credit card or "squeegy"

Alcohol swabs or liquid and cotton balls

Step 1

Thoroughly cleanse skin with alcohol.

Remove all lotions, sunscreens, etc.

Allow to dry completely.

Step 2

Prep stencil by gently rubbing down the front with credit card.

Peel off paper backing.

Step 3

Position stencil, hovering over skin.

Gently lay on skin and smooth down.

(If your subject moves it may wrinkle it!)

Step 4

Carefully peel back tape.

Stretching skin taught and pulling tape flat on itself works best.

Make sure the vinyl is staying on skin.

Step 5

Apply a thin layer of glue all over.

Let dry to clear, yet tacky.

Step 6

Dust or poof with glitter.

I prefer dropping a small amount on the center and pushing it around with my finger.

Use small brush to push glitter around and fill in little gaps.

Step 7

Peel off stencil!

Ta-da!

So sparkly. So fun.

I hope you get some of these babies cranked out and had a little more sparkle and shine to your summer!
~Christine~
doodleonyoo@gmail.com
The Crafty Woman

Motivate Me Monday #173

noreply@blogger.com (Kaysi @ Keeping it Simple) — Mon, 13 May 2013 01:00:00 +0000

Sponsor of the week: Spark Studio

Spark Studio is the fun, new, and exciting way to shop Walmart. Inspired by Walmart shoppers, you can find and select items crowd-sourced by Pinterest users. Find something you like? Pin it, or purchase the item through

Walmart [dot] com.

Hello everyone!! How was your weekend? We are finally getting spring weather, it's so nice to be able to send the kids outside and let them play and run out some energy! We had a busy weekend. We had a baptism for my oldest son on Saturday and then on Sunday we had my little baby's blessing. It was great to be surrounded by family for the weekend.

Our little branch building doesn't have a baptismal font. Usually we go to another church 45 minutes away for baptisms but not many of the branch members were going to be able to attend if we did it there. So we improvised and had it at our building, in a stock tank. Oh the joys of living on a ranch :)

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all of your Mothers out there!! I hope that you feel loved and appreciated today! And that you have been treated like a queen, because you deserve it!

Thanks to everyone who linked up last week. Here are a few that caught my eye.

Paint chip art by Real Home Love

Lamp makeover by DIY's

Confetti Glasses by The Crafty Scientist

Graduation Printables by Second Chance to Dream

And now for the party!!!

I would love it if you followed along.

Mail Order Lighting

noreply@blogger.com (Kaysi @ Keeping it Simple) — Sat, 11 May 2013 16:54:00 +0000

One of my favorite things to do around the house is go around and change up the lighting and update it. I know that I have said this before, several times actually. It is seriously one of the easiest things to do for home improvement. Plus it's a pretty inexpensive thing to do it. I even have a full tutorial on how to change a light fixture. I like lighting so much that I just love to go through the lighting aisles and just look at all of the fun designs of lights. I'm the same way for online stores too, I love to just browse and look around and oooooh and aaaaaah at the prettiness.

Mail Order Lighting is a great place for lighting.

I was just blown away by the selection of lighting they had. They are seriously amazing and so stunning.

Aren't they just so cool and awesome!? I love all the different styles that they have. I've never seen ones like these before. I especially love the chrome ones with the funky designs.

They also have a great selection of chandeliers, all different styles to fit your style.

I think my favorite thing about this company is that there is such a good variety. I love all the unique styles that they have.

Here is another site that has some super fun lighting too.

Modern Chandeliers by Brooklyn Lighting Shakúff

Isn't it just fun to go and look at all the different kinds and styles? I love it! If you're in the market for new lights or just need some great inspiration, go check out Mail Order Lighting.

Disclosure: This post was written in behalf of Mail Order Lighting. All opinions are of course, 100% my own.

Wittlebee Review

noreply@blogger.com (Kaysi @ Keeping it Simple) — Sat, 11 May 2013 10:00:00 +0000

Have you ever heard of Wittlebee?

It's a clothing club for kids where you get monthly custom boxes just for your kid or kids. Each box contains 6 pieces of clothing. You pick out 3 from the showroom and they pick out 3. You can have it be for one child or for more than one child. And then you get a monthly box and your kids get new clothes :). All of the the clothes are name brands too, like Tea, Calvin Klein or Petunia Pickle Bottom.

This is perfect for new babies because they grow like weeds the first year. Each month it seems like they are a different size. I got to review a box of clothes for my little guy.

I love the colors of clothes. And all of them are so nice and soft. Perfect for my baby.

Here is my sweet boy in his clothes.

So if you are looking for some great clothes for a great price, go check out Wittlebee.

Disclosure: I was given the box of clothes to review. All opinions are 100% my own.

Guest Post: My Very Educated Mother

noreply@blogger.com (Kaysi @ Keeping it Simple) — Fri, 10 May 2013 10:07:00 +0000

Hello Keeping it Simple readers! I’m Erin, the creative mind behind My Very Educated Mother. Most days you can find me there sharing crafts, recipes, kids’ projects, and other miscellany. Nothing beats spending as much time as possible soaking in the love of a new addition to the family and that’s why it makes me happy to be able to give Kaysi the day off by sharing this Teacher Appreciation Gift idea with you. So without further ado…

This Magnetic Desk Caddie is a great way for your favorite teacher to keep together, all the little things that keep her together. The can itself holds clothespin magnets on the outside and pens, pencils, and paperclips on the inside!

Supplies

tin can
clothespins
paperclips
washi tape
paint
magnetic roll
scissors

Directions
I’m sure most of you crafty folk can look at the pictures and figure out what I’ve done to create this caddie so I’m not going to insult you with too many details.

I started off by taking my can and sponging it with a coat of DecoArt’s Patio Paint.

Next I measured a piece of the magnet and placed it along the rim of the inside of the can. The second photo is a little blurry, it was hard to get a good picture inside the can.

From here on out it got fun and even easier! I used the washi tape to make both clothespin magnets and a couple of different styles of decorative paper clips.

With the first ones I just pulled the tape through the clip, folded it onto itself, and then cut the top with pinking shears. For the second clips I folded a four inch strip of washi onto itself lengthwise to make a kind of ribbon. Then I used the handy dandy magnus hitch to tie the washi to the clip. What’s a magnus hitch? It’s a knot I never knew the name of until I looked up, see here.

For the clothespins I taped a piece of washi along one side of the pin and magnet along the other. I did have a bit of trouble with the magnet being wider than the clip. So…I wrapped a couple more pieces of washi along the exposed sides of the magnet.

Minus drying time it took me less than 30 minutes to make this gift and it used supplies most of us have in our crafty stashes! I hope you like it!

I want to thank Kaysi again for letting me hangout with you guys and I invite you to visit me on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and Pinterest! Have a great weekend! Erin

5000 Likes on Facebook: Cricut Mini GIVEAWAY

noreply@blogger.com (Kaysi @ Keeping it Simple) — Thu, 09 May 2013 17:00:00 +0000

This week I hit 5,000 likes on my Facebook Page!!! I am seriously so excited about this! And to say thank you, I decided that I would do a giveaway to celebrate.

And what better way to celebrate than giving away an awesome Cricut Mini!

This little machine has a lot of awesome features, including cutting fabric, vinyl, card stock and more. And now there is the Cricut Craft Room, so it hooks up onto your computer and you design what you want to cut in the program and then the mini cuts it out. It's super easy to use!

I have made a ton with my Cricut. Here is just a few things I have done.

Personalized Casserole Dish

Vinyl in Laundry Room

Fabric covered canvases

Do you want to win this awesome machine??

Just enter the giveaway below. US residents only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I would love it if you followed along.

Guest Post: Ameroonie Designs

noreply@blogger.com (Kaysi @ Keeping it Simple) — Thu, 09 May 2013 10:30:00 +0000

Teachers definitely don't get paid enough for all that they do for our children. They spend hours outside of school, and money from their own pockets to create learning opportunities for the students they teach. So what better way to thank them than by giving them some money to spend on themselves?

And what would be better than a cute little coin purse to give them that money to spend? And if you wrap that cute little coin purse in a darling wrap card? Extra Credit!

Today I'm going to show you how to get to the head of the class with this sweet and simple wrap card. If you want to make your own coin purse- you can find the directions on my blog.

First, you will need to measure the dimensions of your coin purse. Mine is 3" tall by 5" wide, with a 1" gusset at the bottom.

To determine how long your card needs to be you need to add 1/4 inch to the height and depth of the purse then add enough for your fold over flap. In my case I need to add 3 1/4" (front of purse) + 1 1/4" (gusset- or depth of the purse) + 3 1/4" (back of purse) + 3 (flap) = 10 3/4"

Cut a strip of card stock or heavy scrapbook paper 1/4" wider than your coin purse and the length you just determined. In my example the paper would measure 10 3/4" X 5 1/4".

Using the picture above as a guide, score the strip from left to right at 3" (length of flap), 6 1/4" (height of purse+ 1/4" from score line) and 7 1/2" (depth of purse + 1/4" from previous score line). Fold at each of the scored lines. Embellish the flap as desired.

To create the twine closure, punch holes in the flap where you want the twine to tie. Fold the card as it will wrap around the purse. Using a piercing tool, punch holes in the card front that line up with the holes on the flap. Using a needle, thread the twine through the pierced holes on the card front. Use a piece of tape to hold the twine in place.

Thread the twine through the holes on the flap and tie into a bow. Add a gift card or cash to the coin purse and slide the coin purse into the wrap card. Now give it to the incredible person who dedicates their lives to teaching and helping children achieve their full potential and tell them Thank You!

Thanks Kaysi for letting me guest post over here today. I hope you're enjoying loving that new baby of yours. :) If you want to see more of my projects- I hope you'll come visit me at my blog Ameroonie Designs or follow along on my adventures on Facebook.

XOXO,

Put a SPARK into your shopping: Spark Studio

noreply@blogger.com (Kaysi @ Keeping it Simple) — Wed, 08 May 2013 17:00:00 +0000

I love online shopping. Like love it. When I'm bored sometimes I just go onto some website and start looking for things that I want to buy. One of my favorite stores to just browse and look around is Walmart. They have some amazing things and great prices. Well Walmart just got a whole lot better! They just launched a different division of their site and it's called Spark Studio.

What is Spark Studio you ask? Well I'll tell you. Spark Studio is the fun, new, and exciting way to shop Walmart. Inspired by Walmart shoppers, you can find and select items crowd-sourced by Pinterest users. Find something you like? Pin it, or purchase the item through

Walmart [dot] com.

With Spark Studio, you can browse and shop products by:

1) Inspirations- Items by Walmart shoppers on Pinterest

2) Fashion and Beauty- Discover must-haves from Walmart shoppers

3) For the home- Solutions and ideas from Walmart fans

4) Babies- Search the top picks from Pinterest moms

5) Pets- Find everything you will need for your pet

6) Playtime- A collection of items to entertain the whole family

You get to these categories by clicking on the arrows to navigate you to the different categories and then you use the drop down menu and you can search by brand, color or most popular on Pinterest.

I started a Pinterest board to help me keep track of the things that I loved. First I searched the site by color: green, yellow and gray. These are the fun things I found.

These two I found by searching a brand, Better Home and Gardens.

And these two I found by searching the popular Pinterest products. I'm obsessed with that bunk bed!

What is nice that about the products that have been pinned is that they are real people pinning this, not just the merchant. So you see what is popular among real people, real moms and not just people trying to sell something.

I had so much fun creating a Pinterest Board for all of the stuff I found on Spark Studio. You should create one too. If you do, leave a comment with the link to your board so I can check out all the cool stuff that you found on Spark Studio.

Disclosure: This post was written in behalf of Walmart Labs. All opinions are 100% my own.

I would love it if you followed along.

Guest Post: Rae Gun Ramblings

noreply@blogger.com (Kaysi @ Keeping it Simple) — Wed, 08 May 2013 10:30:00 +0000

I’m Marissa from Rae Gun Ramblings I post about all thing crafty, delicious, and bookish. I also run an Etsy shop where I sell handmade baby clothes and fan stuff for YA reader and I love helping people learn the ropes of Etsy. I am so trilled to be guest posting today.

Today I want to share a fun craft you can make with your kids Last month we throw my niece a mermaid birthday party. It was so much fun. But now that the she and her buddies are old enough for activities we wanted to have some thing more than just setting them loose in the play room. In addition to a fun game of pin the tail on the mermaids we helped the kids make these darling jellyfish finger puppets.

What you'll need:

felt
ribbon
googly eyes
double sided tape or glue

What to do:

Cut your felt into half circle shapes. For each puppet you'll need two half circles.
Have your kiddos pick out some ribbon. Cut to a few inches each.
Lay the ribbon along the straight edge of the one of the felt pieces and sew down. Now flip it over so the ribbon attachment is hidden i.e. the right side is facing up.
Lay on top of the other pieces of felt and sew the two along the curved edge.
Have your kiddos take or glue on the googly eyes.

And yes I may have whipped out my sewing machine right in the middle of the party on the table right next to the cake haha. But It was so fun I thought it sounded a lot better than dealing with messy glue that you'd have to make the kids wait to handle.

Thanks for having me! I hope you'll stop by and visit me at Rae Gun Ramblings. I'd also love to invite any of you with your own blogs to stop by and join my What We Wore, Read and Made Link Party.

Craft Room Containers

noreply@blogger.com (Kaysi @ Keeping it Simple) — Tue, 07 May 2013 10:00:00 +0000

I’m always trying to get more organized because I’m not very organized. When it came to my craft room, I knew that I had to be better about being organized. So I decided to make some containers to hold some of my craft supplies.

This is how I made them:

I took some laundry detergent containers.

I took off the lid and handle and spray painted them.

I painted them the three colors of my craft room. Then I put the handles and lids back on.

I added some flowers, ribbon and washi tape to them.

I cut out some vinyl and then labeled the containers.

Then I filled them up!

And now I know where things are!

And I love how they look on my shelf in my craft room!

I would love it if you followed along.

Mombo Nursing Pillow Review and GIVEAWAY {closed}

noreply@blogger.com (Kaysi) — Tue, 07 May 2013 07:00:00 +0000

Winner picked: #8 Playful Professional

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Comfort and Harmony for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

One of my favorite things about having a baby is being able to nurse them. I just love it! I love having that special connection with my baby. It's definitely not the easiest thing to do, it's a huge commitment, but totally worth it. This is my fifth baby and I have never used a nursing pillow, until now!

I got to try out the Comfort & Harmony Mombo. Man I was missing out not using one before, it's so nice to use it. It's so comfy to have around you and have the baby on while they eat. It's especially nice in the middle of the night. I fall asleep while nursing Koy all the time, the nursing pillow is nice because it keeps him in place and I don't have to worry about him falling off.

Not only is the nursing pillow good for feeding the baby, but it's great for them to play on and lay in, The pillow has two different sides, a firm side that is great for feeding. And a soft side, that is great for playing. And it's super cute! I love the monkeys on it :).

Even at the newborn stage, it's nice to Koy down on it and let him just look around.

He loved the soft side too, look at how relaxed he looks in it! And those little taggies are going to be so much fun for him in a couple months.

Another feature that I loved was that it has a little vibrator that you can insert into the pillow to comfort your baby. Plus you can slip off the cover and wash it, that's always really nice!

So far I have really enjoyed the mombo. I can't wait to use it more and for Koy to be able to use it as he gets older and older. I'm especially excited to use it when he starts to learn how to sit up, it will be nice to have something around him, just in case he falls.

Comfort & Harmony make lots of different kinds of products that you should go check out! For more information and to keep up with on the newest products, you can like Comfort & Harmony on Facebook and follow Comfort & Harmony on Twitter. The mombo is available at Toys R Us and Babies R Us.

And now for the fun part!

I was given a mombo to review and one to giveaway, woohoo! Would you like to win this awesome pillow?

Here is how to enter:

Go check out the mombo nursing pillow and leave a comment telling me why you like it. Please leave you email address also.

This giveaway will go until Tuesday, May 14th

Mother's Day Celebration GIVEAWAY

noreply@blogger.com (Kaysi @ Keeping it Simple) — Mon, 06 May 2013 13:17:00 +0000

***Motivate Me Monday is up today, just scroll down a couple posts :)***

Are you ready to hear about our amazing Mother's Day celebration?! I've teamed up with My Chic Bump and a group of fabulous bloggers to shower one lucky mom with everything from this year's Mother's Day Gift Guide! That's right! All 12 of our favorite items for you and baby! To enter, simply use the Rafflecopter below to complete all of the mandatory entries for your chance to win. The giveaway will run until Saturday, May 11th at Midnight. The winner will be announced on the morning of Mother's Day (May 12th) and gifts will be shipped shortly thereafter.

1. We are obsessed with the these sassy mugs from Ashley Brooke Designs! No, but really. My personal favorite it's the 'Everyday I'm Hustlin' = story of my life! hehe Check out all her cute designs here, .

2. Talk about neck candy! Swooning over the Ellandemm's Emmie necklace! Jenn's jewelry collection is both classy and chic. Head over to her site, we dare you not to fall in love!

3. Featured on Pregnancy & Newborn Mag, these trendy Solly Baby wraps help you get things done, while cozing up to baby! This is a great idea to begin with but with baby #2 it becomes an essential! Check out Mom's Hot Product winner here.

4. We love Livy Love Designs' fun and playful prints! Check out her cute Etsy shop to look for the one you love!

5. Featured on Time Magazine, Martha Stewart Living, and Food Network Mag, AHeirloom's state shaped cutting boards are a piece of art in any kitchen! The 'Heart' on the board is a custom feature that is placed on the city of your choice! I have my eye on the one of Peru! See more of her designs here.

6. We all know and love them! When the Six Sister Stuff's cookbook came out we were one of the first to check it out! We love their yummy recipes because they are easy to follow and great for family meals! More of their favorite family recipes here.

7. Being a mom never looked so good! Our friends over at Sassy Babies have teamed up with us to give one of you the Petunia Pickle Bottom 'sashay' satchel! Their online shop has the all essentials you'll need for you and baby. Check them out here.

8. Your little man had never looked cuter than with his Henry bow tie and other adorable items from Colin's Closet. Andrea is giving away 2 bow ties of the winners choice. Check out her Etsy shop here.

9. When we first discovered Fingers & Toes crib bedding designs it was love at first sight! Their custom crib bedding and cute fabrics makes them a must for every new mom! The winner will receive a custom hooded towel made from the fabric of their choice. Etsy shop here.

10. For the little one in your life, Little Nugget Noggins have made hats, headbands and leggings cuter than ever! The winner will receive 2 headbands OR 2 hats of their choice. Find your favorites here.

11. Give your mini me a set of 10 mini bloom flowers from our friends over at Bloomies Handmade! They have the cutest collection of girl's accessories! You have to check out their site here.

12. You don't want to miss the chance to win one of Juniper Wilde's hip, eco-friendly pillows! More of Nicole's hip, nursery designs and decor here.

All of these wonderful contributing vendors have great social media accounts with insider scoops, deals, and news so be sure to follow them!

Our Fabulous Group of Bloggers

My Chic Bump | Fun, Cheap or Free | Glam Hungry Mom

Mom's Best Network | Livy Love Designs | Keeping It Simple Crafts

The Freckled Fox | The Fashionable Hostess | Our Thrifty Ideas

Bird A La Mode | Eloise & Me | The Dime Diary

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I would love it if you followed along.

ZzzQuil

noreply@blogger.com (Kaysi) — Mon, 06 May 2013 08:01:00 +0000

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

I have a very active brain. I am constantly thinking. No matter what time of the day it is, it seems like it is going non stop. When I'm driving in the car I'm thinking about my next project or what I'm going to write in my new blog post. Sometimes I love having a very active brain, but when I can't turn it off in the middle of the night, it drives me crazy.

I have always had issues falling asleep my whole life. I remember just laying in bed awake when I was a child. The worse for me is when I get woken up around 3 or 4 in the morning by a kid, if there is something on my mind I cannot go back to sleep. And then I'm a zombie the next day.

I take sleeping aids pretty often. When I heard that the makers of NyQuil where coming out with product just for sleeping (and no other symptoms), I was pretty excited to try it out. I just need something for sleep, not for a cold or headache, just for sleep. It's called ZzzQuil and it comes in liquid or pill form.

P&G let me sample ZzzQuil and along with that gave me a robe and sleep mist to help me get nice and relaxed.

I was impressed with how it worked. The main thing for me is how fast it starts working, because the longer it takes to keep in, the less sleep I get. I got the liquid form because it would be faster. Within 15 minutes of taking it I could tell it was working. Another thing that I liked about the liquid is that I could take a half dose if I needed. Sometimes I just need to have it in my system but I don't need a lot. The taste wasn't bad at all. I had no problem taking it or it making me gag (like some other liquid medicines do). I guarantee that I am going to be taking ZzzQuil again and that it's going to be something in my medicine cabinet.

If you have problems sleeping, you should try out ZzzQuil and then tweet about your experience using hashtag #ZzzQuilNight. And to keep up on the latest, you should like ZzzQuil on Facebook.

Motivate Me Monday #172

noreply@blogger.com (Kaysi @ Keeping it Simple) — Mon, 06 May 2013 01:00:00 +0000

Hello everyone!!! I hope that you are having a wonderful Sunday/Monday! How was your weekend? We took our first shopping trip with the whole family this weekend and I'm realizing that things take a lot longer with a newborn. I had to stop shopping and find somewhere in the store to feed my baby. I'm definitely not taking all 5 kids to the store all by myself anytime soon.

A big THANKS to Whitney and Amy for helping out and guest posting this week for me!

If you missed it, I have two really big giveaways going on right now. One is for a Cricut Expression 2 plus a choice between a Canon Rebel or Kitchen Aid. Go enter it here. Next one is for a $100 Amazon Gift Card, go enter it here.

Thanks to everyone that linked up last week! I really appreciate that you take the time to come over and link up! It means a lot to me. Sorry that there won't be features this week, maybe that's what I should do in the middle of the night when I'm dealing with the baby ;).

The most viewed link last week was:

17 winning copycat recipes by Pretty Providence

Now it's time for the party!

I would love it if you followed along.

Sticky Chicken Recipe

noreply@blogger.com (Kaysi @ Keeping it Simple) — Fri, 03 May 2013 10:00:00 +0000

A couple of weeks ago I asked for some yummy crock pot recipes on my facebook page. I knew that with my baby coming, I would need some good recipes that are super yummy and super easy and quick. My sweet friend shared this one with me and I had to share it with you. My kids LOVED it and it was so good!

This is what you’ll need:

6-8 chicken breasts

8oz Catalina dressing

1 cup apricot jam

1 package onion soup mix

Place chicken in crock pot and then mix the remaining ingredients. Pour onto chicken and cook for 6-8 hours on low setting. Serve over rice.

My husband is obsessed with wraps, so he decided to put his in a tortilla with ranch, rice and avocadoes.

I would love it if you followed along.

Rag Car Seat Tent

noreply@blogger.com (Kaysi @ Keeping it Simple) — Thu, 02 May 2013 09:30:00 +0000

I posted this earlier on the Ribbon Retreat blog.

Most of you know that I just recently had my 4th little boy. With him being my fourth, I wanted to make sure that he got some new things because I really didn’t need anymore boy stuff. So I decided that I needed to make him a car seat tent. I didn’t want to do the traditional baby blue, so I went with reds, greys and black. I love how it turned out!

The Ribbon Retreat had just the right fabrics, exactly what I was looking for. I love their fabric selection. The chevron fabric are from the Moda line Mama Said Sew, the red is from Moda Dottie, the grey stripe is from Moda Jubilee and the grey and black dots are from the Riley Blake line Dots.

This is how I made it:

I cut each piece of fabric into 10x10 inch squares, four of them. So I had 20 squares all together.

Then I placed the squared on top of each other, with the back facing each other. This is opposite of what you usually do because the seam is on the outside. Make sure you are consistent with your seam, I sewed a 5/8” seam every time.

I did four squares per row.

Then I worked on sewing the rows together. Make sure to line up the seam of the squares and pinned them together. Place the backs together of one row to the next row and sew the 5/8” seam.

Here are all 5 rows sewn together.

Now for the rag part, cut slits into the seams about 1/2 inch apart.

Here is the whole thing all cut up.

Now for the straps. I originally planned on just having 2 straps but I placed them too far apart, so I had to improvise and make another for the middle. I cut them 3x10 but they would be better around 3x8 inches.

I placed the front sides together and sewed 3 of the sides.

Then I flipped it inside out and did a top stitched around all four sides. Then I sewed some Velcro onto the straps.

I placed the strap onto the tent, pinned it and then sewed a little rectangle directly onto the tent.

Once you are done with the straps, you will need to measure the whole thing. Mine was 36x45 inches, so I cut the back fabric to that size. I pinned the whole thing down onto the tent and then rounded the edges with a bowl and cut them.

I sewed all along the edge of the tent, leaving a little section open, so you can flipped it inside out.

Once it was flipped inside out, I did a top stitch all around the edge of the car seat tent. This closed the hole and makes it looks a ton better.

And here it is all finished!

And now my baby will be protected from the sun, wind and weather.

And here’s what the inside looks like, I think he’s going to like looking at it all the time!

I would love it if you followed along.