The Children's Nest

Craft Room (with most things thrifted)

2012-02-10T11:39:00.000-08:00

Hello! So today I thought I would share my craft room with all of you....... For many years my craft room was in my laundry room. It worked in there for me but I did feel a little squished!! When we found out we were expecting our 5th child we decided to add on to our home which has been sooooo fabulous!! Well because of the add-on I was fortunate enough to claim the front living room as my craft room which is approx 12'x14'! So I am going to share it with all of you today! I had to work with very little cash, let me tell you..... so everything in here is pretty much dirt cheap! So here goes..............

I had a little folding table I picked up at a yard sale for $8 and just threw some yellow $1/yd polka dot fabric over the top of it.........It hides my TO DO projects underneath it! The sheets you see hanging in the back hide all of my craft stuff. They were $3 bucks a piece from Wal Mart! Those sheets are hanging from a gigantically long wooden dowel! The cute little turquoise lamp you see hanging is from a thrift shop and did not look like this to begin with....Look here to see the transformation... And the curtains are from IKEA and were dirt cheap...like around $4!!

Here is my computer corner which has a desk that I found at a thrift shop for $30. It was hideous!!!!!! So I repainted it white and its needs a little touch up so dont look to closely (he he) The large black frame on the wall behind the desk was once a butter yellow with no glass ($3 at a yard sale). I turned it into a message board which is very handy!! The chair was free and it was UGLY so I recovered it in some adorable Amy Butler fabric I found at a thrift shop for $2 for 2 yards!!!!!!!! I had to add some cute color so I whipped out some Martha Stewart paper flowers! Oh and the thing you see hanging on the wall

Next is my "sewing center"... The desk you see was once in a bank office that I scored at a yard sale for $15. It was in good shape so all I did was throw on some white paint and then I spray painted the once brass drawer pulls a silver color which I love!! The chair was also a fun find at Habitat for Humanity for $12....again did a little quick paint job with pink spray paint! You've seen the embroidery hoop artwork everywhere I'm sure but I love that look! So I checked out my local thrift shops and sure enough that had a ton of them for like 25 cents! So I used my left over fabric scraps and put them inside the hoops and hung them with push pins! The filing cabinet was given to me by my precious mom in law... it will be painted white very shortly!

Here is my deal of a lifetime.... The turquoise piece was a piece of junk that I found at a yard sale for $10!!! So I came home and painted it with some really cool turquoise paint!

And here is all the STUFF I have hidden behind the sheets also in the photos below!!! Lets see, we have scrapbook stuff, fabric, wrapping paper, ribbon, big shot and dies, stamps and other misc..... If you are wondering about the shelves, they are tongue and groove pine that would typically be used for your ceiling! We had a friend that built these for his wife for their basement and they ended up moving and he sold them to us for what he paid for them which was around $150! LOVE THEM!!

Hopefully I have inspired some of you with finding deals in your area! Look around your house too, you never know what you will find that you can use in another spot!!

Hope you enjoyed the tour of my craft/sewing/computer room!!!

HAVE A GREAT DAY TODAY!!

I am linking up to:

Show and Tell Friday

Feature Friday

Creation Corner

A New Childrens Book Called The Humongous Fungus.........

2012-02-08T18:56:00.000-08:00

My sister has a friend that just published a new childrens book called "The Humongous Fungus". It looks like such a FUN book!! It is written by a mother-daughter team and they are Jennifer Youngblood and Sandra Poole. It is illustrated by Michele Anderson. Here is what this cute book is all about:

There’s something rotten in the town of Better-Than-Best,and it’s not your stinky socks!

Better-Than-Best is one of the prettiest, little townsyou ever could enter, with all of the houses facing the center, and then thehumongous fungus comes. It’s black and it’s thick, and it’ s making themsick! Ick! Some of it got on a hockey stick and all over poor CharlieTwoodle’s noodles. Who can they call? What can they do? Things go from bad toworse when they call in Bubblehead Bingham Blue, an expert from Timbuktu,who claims to have the cure in the bottom of his shoe.

Doesn't this sound like such a fun read for your kids??

If you would like to purchase a copy of this book go here!!!

Simple Valentine Ideas!

2012-02-06T21:27:00.000-08:00

Super Cute Valentine Ideas from Country Living.........

Nutella Ice Cream Pops!!!

2012-02-03T09:56:00.000-08:00

So I saved this recipe on my pinterest the other day because they looked so yummy!! I went groecery shopping last night and picked up some Nutella just so I could try these!!! I am just about to whip these out and CAN NOT WAIT!!! I had to share this simple recipe that came from here!

1 c. Nutella

6 bananas
THATS ALL!!

Blend in a blender til smooth and then pour them into popsicle molds! (it's not really ice cream but it supposedly tastes like it:)

Let me know if you try them!

Fun Cookbook for Kids!

2012-02-01T08:46:00.000-08:00

I was at my friends house awhile back and we were discussing kids and cooking.... she showed me this adorable cookbook she has for her boys and that they love cooking the recipes in it! Well of course what do I do??? I run home and get on AMAZON right away and order one for my "future chef" Turner for Christmas! He loves it! Well while the kids were at school yesterday my little Max and I got busy.... we whipped up some fruity oat bars bars from the cookbook and they were AMAZING!! (recipe below) The kids gobbled them up like there was no tomorrow!!

My sweet little helper, Max, playing with some whole wheat flour! He loved making little designs with his fingers... he he he

Here they are.... ready to be cut and devoured!

RECIPE FOR FRUITY OAT BARS:

1 c dried apricots

2 Tbl water

2 1/3 c whole wheat flour

1 c oats

1/2 tsp salt

1 3/4 sticks unsalted butter

3/4 c turbino sugar

2 Tbl light corn syrup

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease 8 inch baking pan. Add apricots and water to blender and process until they are a puree. Set aside. Put flour, oats, and salt in a bowl and stir utnil combined. Melt butter, sugar, and syrup over low heat until butter has melted. Pour this wet mixture into the dry mixture and mix until combined. Press half of this combined mixture into the pan then spread the apricot puree over that and then add the remaining half of the oat mixture and press it over the top of the puree. Bake for 25-30 mins or unitl oats are golden on top. Cut into squares and ENJOY!!!

Re-creating a shirt...

2012-01-31T08:00:00.000-08:00

So I LOVE Mini Boden kids clothes but I can't afford them! I was looking on their website the other day and I seriously just love their designs for little boys clothing! It is sooo cute and fun and very colorful! I saw this tractor shirt and fell in love with it and thought I bet I can re-create that and so instead of paying $25 for their shirt, I paid $4 for a Target L/S shirt and used some scaps of fabric that I had lying around, drew the tractor on paper, used fusible webbing and did this.....

Mini Boden's shirt

And my rendition.... not perfect, but I like it and it looks really cute on my little man!

Fun Idea for a Birthday Cake!

2012-01-30T13:56:00.000-08:00

So my #3 turned 11 yesterday! I asked him what he wanted on his birthday cake and he said Michael Jordan... I thought, oh gosh how am I going to draw Michael Jordan on a cake?? So I started thinking.... what if I could find a picture of Michael Jordan and and use my cricut to cut it out and use the "stencil"? (the part that is left on the mat once you peel off the actual cut piece) So that is what I did! I layed the stencil right on the cake and then sprinkled black sugar over the stencil and it came out pretty good and most importantly HE LOVED IT!!!!!

Sooooo if you own a cricut, you can do this too!!

A little facelift for a bedroom....

2012-01-28T14:41:00.000-08:00

Here is a REEEEELY cheap and fun idea to give your room a little facelift!

What started out as a boring taupe colored wall with nothing on it has turned into a fun bright eye-catching arrangement! All you need are cheap frames with no glass and some spray paint! I did find the mirror in the middle at our local Habitat for Humanity Home Store and it was an unattractive cream color that I spray painted turquoise. It was only $5!

I love how everything ties in together with my bedding! The bedding is Amy Butler that I happened to find on clearance at TJ Maxx! I made the Euro sized pillow cases out of Amy Butler fabric.

These colors have really lightened up the room sooo much! It is very cheery and fun!

Im linking up to Show and Tell Friday with My Romantic Home and Five Days Five Ways!

Valentines is just around the corner....

2012-01-27T12:36:00.000-08:00

Valentines is coming up fast!! Cant believe it!! Here are some fun things you can do for the big day!! The top picture is of some garland I made out of felt in the shape of hearts and hung over a mirror in my family room! Love the bright colors! All I did was sew continuously down the middle of the hearts.....SOOO SIMPLE!! The other 3 pics below are from my pinterest so go there and then you will find the links to all of these PRECIOUS Valentine ideas for your kids to give!!

Have you done your January organizing??

2012-01-26T11:09:00.000-08:00

A LITTLE ORGANIZATION EYE CANDY FOR ALL OF YOU................

So how many of you have been immersed in what I call THE NEW YEAR ORGANIZING OVERHAUL??

It seems like every new year I see all of these beautiful magazines on the racks that are filled with the BEST organizing ideas and tips and it makes me want to race home and dive right in!! Well I usually do... but find that when I am done I STILL HAVE A TON OF STUFF!!! Where does it come from????? I honestly go through rooms in my home several times a year decluttering and it feels SOOO good to get rid of stuff! I realize I am a sucker for yard sales and thrift stores but now I have to REALLY love something to bring it home. I think that has helped a little ;) My husband loves to come into my craft room and look around and say WOW you have so much stuff, I wish I had a room all to myself! I just smile at him and tell him thank you for allowing me to devote a room to create in! But hey, the computer is in there so technically there's a smidgen of room for him too! :)

Hope the above pics are inspiring to you!!!

Sooo back to blogging....

2012-01-24T12:46:00.000-08:00

So I have decided to get back to blogging! What is my deal with taking months and months off? Life, I guess.... :) So today I have been playing around with the design of the blog and can't decide if I like how it looks. I think I do but don't be surprised if there are more changes! I want to focus on children's things on this blog but I also want to touch on home projects and other fun things! So look forward to some good stuff coming!

Just want to say

THANK YOU to all of my followers out there! It is so fun to see that number grow!!

Popcorn on a stick!

2011-11-18T08:10:00.000-08:00

So I was asked to make some popcorn balls for my sons class for their "Hoedown". So I made some basic ones and sent them off with him... Then I thought ohhh these could be cute little neighbor gifts for Christmas if I add a lil something to them. So I decided to add some fun silver nonparils and chocolate sprinkles to them! Of course a little ribbon and a stick had to be added as well! What do you think? I think they are pretty fun and that the neighbors will like them! My name for them...........POPCORN ON A STICK!

(sorry for the 2 months without a post!!!!! SHEESH life has been crazy to say the least)

I Love to Sew!

2011-09-15T08:16:00.001-07:00

Oh I am a very happy girl today!!!!! Just stumbled across the most amazing blog ever!! "Think Liz" is the name......... That girl has taken some SERIOUS time to find tons and tons of free patterns out in the web world!! Oh my gosh.... TONS! I am so excited! Please go check out her blog and see for yourself!!

THANK YOU LIZ!!!

Here is another super quick and fast pillowcase I found from Fishsticksandfries!! Always looking for quick and fas gift ideas!

THANK YOU FISHSTICKSANDFRIES!!!

Do you know who Matthew Mead is?

2011-09-13T13:30:00.000-07:00

WOW is all I have to say!!! I have seen Matthew Mead's ideas for years in magazines and all I can say is HE IS ONE CREATIVE MAN!!! Love his ideas! I just ordered his Halloween Book from 2008 and I am dying over all the cuteness in it! Go HERE to check out his website and download some FREE SUPER CUTE Halloween templates to use for a party, school treats, home decor, etc...... I'm sure if you have never seen his ideas you are going to LOVE them when you do!

Just had to share this with you today!!! :)

Are you ready for fall???

2011-09-08T08:08:00.000-07:00

This year is truly flying by sooooo fast I can not believe it! I almost have a one year old!! It seems I was just posting about how he was soon to be born!!! My time has been spent with my 5 kiddos and I have not had much time for blogging! Even as I write this my little Max is at my feet playing with all my sewing stuff!! I thought I needed to post about FALL! I LOVE LOVE LOVE FALL!!!! It is my most favorite time of year!!! I love the cold crisp air, having hot chocolate ready for my kids when they get home from school, scarves, baking yummy things made with pumpkin and all other fun things associated with fall. I also love doing crafts for fall like the ones below....

How cute are these SQUASH SOFTIES??

Fun lawn bowling with SQUASH!!

Cute LEAF ALPHABET!!

Hope you are all ready for FALL!!!

Unbelievable CUPCAKES...even a little on the healthy side!!

2011-08-02T14:10:00.000-07:00

~CARROT CUPCAKES~

This seriously has to be mine and my daughter's favorite cupcake off all time!!!! She just barely made them and they truly are TO DIE FOR!!!!! She got the recipe out of the Petit Appetit Eat Drink and be Merry Cookbook

This cookbook is FABULOUS for cooking for little ones and big kids too!! I have not posted anything on my blog since before Easter ( how sad that life is soooo busy.....) and I felt like these cupcakes were worthy of a post! :) If you dont have this book.... think about it, it is worth it! You can get it on Amazon for as low as $3!

Just had to share this recipe with all of you! Hope you like it as much as my kiddos and I do!!

Super Cute and Easy Easter Ideas!

2011-04-14T19:50:00.000-07:00

HOW ADORABLE ARE THESE EGG CREATURES!!??

And do you love love love this simple idea??

Daffodil Candy Cups

And how about these simply precious little carrots!!

A fun giveaway my friend is doing!!!!

2011-03-03T21:45:00.000-08:00

Do you love fabric??? Well go to A Desert Quilter and enter to win her great giveaway today!!!! Isnt this fun? Think of the fun things you could make!!

What I have been doing lately.....

2011-02-16T13:04:00.000-08:00

Hello again!! How is it that time can go by so quickly!!!!! I feel like I just posted something on my blog a couple of days ago.... but no it has been almost a month, CRAZY!! Anyways, I have been a little busy lately with taking kids here and there (4 kids in 4 different schools), taking a trip to Provo to see BYU play against UNLV, doing R.S. 1st councilor stuff, having two very sick boys, going to thrift stores and my local Restore (love that place), decorating the high school for Sadie Hawkins with my cute daughter... but the most fun thing I have been doing is this.................

I have been making these really cute bears!!! I have an AMAZING friend named Wendy whom I adore... she just lost her precious husband to kidney cancer on January 8. He was such an amazing man who fought so hard!! He is missed sooo much but we know he is working hard on the other side!
I wanted to do something special for her. About a year ago a friend of Wendy's had come to her with some shirts that belonged to her father who had passed away and an adorable teddy bear pattern and asked her if she knew anyone who could sew these bears out of her dad's shirts. She wanted them for her daughters so they would have something that belonged to their grandpa. So Wendy approached me with the project! I was nervous to do it for fear I would ruin the shirts but I did it and they turned out so cute! Her friend cried when she received the bears! I thought it was such a beautiful idea! Well, after I learned of Donnie's passing I thought PERFECT, I know what I can do for Wendy! So she went through his clothes and gave me a large pile and I went to town and made 10 altogether !!! He was an AVID hunter so most of the clothes were hunting clothes and jeans. He also had a fluorescent orange hunting sweatshirt that I cut up and made the scarves around their necks! (I sewed a NIKE emblem, which came off one of his sweatshirts, on his daughter's bear because she is very into sports!) I was able to finish these and deliver them on Valentines Day!! It was so fun being able to this for someone that I just love so much!!

I am thinking of maybe starting a little business making these precious little bears for those who have lost loved ones... Would this be something any of you would be interested in? Let me know in your comments!

Cute Valentine Ideas!!

2011-01-25T06:49:00.001-08:00

Here are some really cute Valentines Day Ideas (from Martha... of course) that your kids will love!!!Homemade Heart Doilies

Lacy Votive Holder

Homemade Bookmark Valentines

If you want to see some really fun Valentines Clipart from Martha click here!

Love love love chalkboard paint....

2011-01-20T06:50:00.000-08:00

Chalkboard paint is truly one of the greatest inventions ever!!! I love it and have used it for many projects! We got this dresser from our friend for free and I am using it in the baby's room.... Well, I could not remember what I had in each drawer and so I thought CHALKBOARD PAINT!! All I did was put painters tape on each drawer to make a rectangle and then just painted inside the box! (The more coats the better) I really have to say that the tape is not my favorite thing to work with because paint always leaks through as you can see in the up-close pic but perfection is not what I am good at anyways so I think it just adds character to the dresser!! (So does the piece missing from the top of the bottom drawer ;) - to be fixed soon)

Do you love chalkboard paint too??

DIY fun cheap bird mobile

2011-01-19T08:49:00.000-08:00

So I needed to make my little Max a mobile..... he seems to love the bright colors so I used the felt that I posted about the other day and came up with this this little number (with help from some other bloggers out there) I loved this idea for the red beads!! I actually had some red wooden bead garland from Christmas about 3 years ago...so I just cut it and wrapped it very tightly around the embroidery hoop I had picked up from a thrift store. I think I am going to paint it red however... Then I just used red embroidery floss to attach it to curtain clips found at IKEA and then clipped those to the tops of the birds made from the felt. Found the pattern for the birds here!!!

Very simple but super bright and fun!

TOTAL COST: About 5 bucks!!

Cute Cheap Valentine Decor!

2011-01-17T11:42:00.001-08:00

BH&G always has great cheap ideas for decor for the holidays! So I had to take a peek at what they had for Valentines Day since it is the next holiday coming up!!! Here are some super cute and easy things to do!

Hearts A-Flutter
Cascading paper chains enhance a lamp shade or chandelier. Fold a long, narrow strip of paper accordion-style, then horizontally (for safety reasons, use paper that's treated against heat). With a pencil, sketch a heart pattern, extending it slightly beyond the paper's edges so that the hearts will stay attached when you cut them out. Use scissors to cut the outline of each heart pattern; unfold. Secure chain to lampshade with transparent tape.

Heart Shaped Pouches

How cute is this??? Just put candy (nonpareils) in a glass votive and put a candle in it!!!

Love the simplicity of this one!

Same with this one! Loving the simpleness of it!

Just taking cardstock and wrapping it around a cake plate and adding some fun festive ribbon around the paper! So cute for a centerpiece!!

HAVE FUN!

Here are some more projects I finished with the fabric...

2011-01-11T20:40:00.000-08:00

Fun Floor Cushion! The floor cushion from Living with Punks! Oh my gosh it was soooo easy and I even made it a little easier because I didn't use the piping (because I am one who wants to get things done really fast) I love it even without the piping!! She has a GREAT tutorial that is so easy to follow!

I am thinking I want to make more of these in bigger sizes!!! I think it would be pretty easy to figure out how to enlarge them.... we will see if I can get to it!

Here is a fun pillow I made from a Martha idea!! Love how this turned out too!
Click here to make one for your little one!

I love polka dots and felt!!

2011-01-07T08:36:00.000-08:00

So almost two months have gone by again since my last post!! Where does time go? I will say this..... having another baby has been the most amazing thing ever but ohhhh my, I forgot about the sleep deprivation!! I look like I am half dead every day and I have those lovely dark circles under my eyes! But we love him sooooo much and enjoy every minute with him!! Every time I jump on the computer I hear his little noises and need to go and get him! I am trying to hold my little Max as often as I can since this time will pass quickly! So needless to say.... the blogging has been put on the back burner for awhile!

Hopefully I am back now (well at least for a little bit ;)

I got these fun fabrics from fabric.com (LOOOVE THAT PLACE) and am doing some great projects with them!!!

Polka dots and bright colored felt..... two of my most favorite things!

I had to lay out the fabric and put the cutest thing on the earth on it first and snap some photos of him! Don't you love love love???

Here is the first project I made yesterday.... I recovered a rocker for Max's room that my sweet friend brought over to me that used to be solid pink!! I am loving the new look! What do you think?

I also am making a children's floor cushion that I found on the adorable blog LIVING WITH PUNKS!

I will post when it is finished!

I LOVE THE NEW YEAR AND GETTING THINGS ACCOMPLISHED!!

He finally came.... a month ago!!

2010-11-19T18:11:00.000-08:00

So let me just say that life with a newborn and four other children is a little hectic! Can't believe it has been a month already and I have not posted one picture of my new little man Maxwell Timothy!

Well...... here he is!

Born 10-20-2010

8 lbs 9 oz

A beautiful, healthy, calm baby boy... just what we ordered! :o)

~WE ARE IN LOVE~

And still no baby!

2010-10-13T20:34:00.000-07:00

Well I am a bit shocked that this little one inside of me has not made his grand entrance into the world yet! We thought he was coming the beginning of last week! I have gone into full blown "NESTING" around here which is a good thing but I tell ya.... my patience is being tested! I really hope it happens soon! My belly is just growing day by day! My kids are freaked out every morning when they see me! They say... "You are still here?? Why are you not in the hospital yet??" I just keep telling them, well I guess he isn't done baking yet! Here's hoping that his timer goes off soon!! :o)

Had to leave you with a very cute Halloween owl that you can make to hang up either outside or inside!! Isn't it the cutest thing ever??? I love owls!

OWL A GLOW

STILL NO BABY.....................

2010-10-09T14:02:00.000-07:00

No baby yet! The contractions have basically come to a complete stop! My mom has had her bags packed for almost a week and is just waiting for me to call her... I think maybe he is waiting for tomorrow! 10-10-10!!! Wouldn't that be fun to have that as your birthday? We will see...

Thought I would show you what I would like to make before he gets here.... aren't those middle booties with the green and orange so cute???

Have a great Saturday!! Hope you are getting ready for Halloween :o)

BH&G Halloween Cuteness!!

2010-10-07T15:06:00.000-07:00

* BEWITCHING TREAT - Witch Canister

*HAND FROM THE GRAVE - Mummy Wrapped Hand

*AN EERIE GLOW - Ghost Luminaria

* TERRIFYING TOWELS - White Towels w/ (cute) Scary Transfers

Check out these cute things!!! I love to head over to BH&G to see all of their fun things for Halloween!! These caught my eye.... I think kids would go ga-ga over these!! As I type this I am sitting here waiting for this baby to arrive! We thought he would come the last two nights and NOPE.... NOTHING! Contracting like crazy, dilated to a 3, 70% thinned (as of Monday) and NOTHING!! So we are really hoping for tonight! Wish us luck!!!

How about some delish Halloween treats............

2010-10-03T11:38:00.000-07:00

Loving these yummy tempting treats on Martha!! Sooo cute and yet look scrumptious!!! Try one or try them all for your little ones!! Ice Cream Sand "Witches"

Sweet Bones

Sugar Cookies with Candy Corns

Brownie Bits

My Halloween Projects the last couple of days....

2010-09-28T19:11:00.000-07:00

Have you seen the magazine racks lately??? Does this wreath look familiar? It is the wreath on the cover of Women's Day Mag right now and when I saw it I fell in love and had to make it!!! SOOOOOO cheap to make! I am not going to say it was a fast project but well worth the time I put into it! You start off with a foam wreath about 16 inches and cover it with black duct tape. Then start gluing the candy corns on changing directions every new row! Tie it with a ribbon of your choice and you are done!!! I hung mine from a really really old window I have hanging in my entry and it looks super festive and cute!

The other day I showed a similar triangular banner but made with fabric.... well as I was looking through my fabric stash I didn't have enough black and orange so I decided to use some Halloween paper I had from Stampin Up that I had never opened up. I just cut a triangle pattern from some cardstock and then cut all of the papers. I then had some black satin ribbon laying around that I folded in half and sewed to the top of the triangles in a big long line!! It too is hanging in my entry and I love how it turned out!

And here is the Halloween banner I made as well. I showed this the other day as well but it said TRICK OR TREAT instead. I didn't have enough letters to say that so I did Halloween instead! Also in the directions of how to make this it said to use newspaper as the backround but I had an old book that I tore the pages from and used that instead. Then I cut black cardstock with pinking sheers and attached bright green glittery letters to the black paper. The book paper is folded over a piece of twine that I hot glued. It was really easy to make and makes for a fun statement when you walk in our home! You may be able to click on it and see more details....

LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU ARE WORKING ON!!!

I told you I love Halloween.... more decor cute-ness!

2010-09-27T19:06:00.000-07:00

I am telling you... every year I grow to love Halloween more and more! I just love to decorate with orange and black and make yummy things for my kids and my most favorite thing of all is the changing weather!!!

I am sticking close to home because I think this baby is wanting to come a little early.... I only have about 3-3 1/2 weeks left or so but things are starting to progress already so I am finding fun things to make while just sitting and taking it easy. I will share with you some things I made today on tomorrow's post!

Adorable Halloween Hang-ups

Fun Sock Skeletons

Easy Clothespin Bats

More fun Halloween decor.............

2010-09-24T21:42:00.000-07:00

I am in the Halloween mood now.... I just need the weather to cool down to about 65 degrees and it would be perfect! I am acutally enjoying the last remaining warmer days because I know they wont last long...... but I can't wait for the sweater and scarf weather around the corner!! Found some more kee-ute things to do for Halloween that I know your kids would love to help with!!

Are you already starting to decorate for this fun holiday??? I am ready to head into my scary place (the garage- not so clean right now) and dig out my goods for Halloween!! WOO HOO!

Friendly Ghosts

Super Simple Trick or Treat Banner

By the way if you are looking to buy a banner rather than make one.... please head on over to my sister's ETSY store and check out the one she made that is for sale!! It is ADORABLE!!!!

Very Cute Pennant Bunting

LOVE LOVE LOVE the simplicticness (dont know if that is how you spell that) of this!!! And how cute to hang it outside!

Fun Treat Bags on a Tree

ENJOY THE CUTENESS AND HOPEFULLY YOU WILL MAKE A THING OR TWO!!

Cute Halloween Craft Ideas.....

2010-09-23T13:28:00.000-07:00

Again, I have to apologize!!!! What is my deal, why can't I post more often??? I guess I have been busy getting ready for this new little man to arrive! Can't even wait :o)

I have been looking for new and fun Halloween ideas on the internet today to share with you and found some pretty darn cute things!! Here they are....

Darling topiaries!!!

Fun sayings for your stairs!!

Fun Halloween silhouettes!!

Vintage Halloween star ornaments!!

Simple DIY project ~ Silhouette Animal Prints

2010-08-15T15:29:00.001-07:00

So I have been looking for some really cute pictures to put in my baby's room.... you know trying to get things done before he arrives :o) Well I was flipping through pages of one of my "100 decorating ideas for $100 or less" magazines (which by the way is AMAZING) and stumbled across this adorable picture of a framed elephant silhouette up on a wall!! I thought.... I could totally make this!!! Soooooo here is my tutorial on how I made them!

I found these cheaper than cheap frames at Walmart for $2.50 (8 1/2 x11)

Spray painted them pure white spray paint (purchased also at Walmart for about $3)

Then I hunted around the internet for FREE animal silhouette clipart and found many websites and then just chose my favorites which were.... hippo, elephant, whale and a giraffe! I then printed them off!

Since I dont own any kind of light machine that I could easily trace from I just held up the black silhouette with a piece of white plain cardstock over the top of it up against my kitchen window while the sun was shining and traced it! WORKS GREAT!! Then I cut out the animal with really sharp scissors!

Choose any color of cardstock (this is what you will glue your cut out silhouette onto) Cut the cardstock down to how you want it sized....

Then place your colored piece (with attached animal) onto another piece of pure white cardstock and glue that together. Remember my frames were 8 1/2 x 11 so I just used 8 1/2 x 11 sized white cardstock.

Then put it into your frame and you are done!!!!!

Then hang them in a cute grouping on your child's wall!!

SUPER FUN, SUPER CUTE and most important SUPER EASY!!!

Just have to say too.... HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my sweet angel girl who is 15 today!!
You have made our lives so much better my Elli Bells and have taught us so much!! We are so proud of who you are and what you stand for!! Hope you love your cowgirl boots :o)
WE LOVE YOU!!!!!!

Love, Dad, Mom, Conner, Turner and Landon

My fun baby shower!!

2010-08-08T20:12:00.000-07:00

Last Tuesday night I had the most amazing baby shower ever!! A precious friend of mine, Kim, held it at her house and we had 70 people including children there! I could not believe all of the wonderful friends who came to celebrate with me! I felt so loved! I truly was showered with the most beautiful gifts for this little boy growing inside of me! For those friends who read this blog and came to the shower.... THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR EVERYTHING!!!! It was such a memorable night!! Below are some of the pics from the night!!

My beautiful cake and my diaper cake filled with all kinds of goodies!

The cutest cupcakes that matched the decor!!

A super fun contest to see who could drink the juice from the baby bottle the fastest!One half of the room filled with amazing friends!
The other half of the room filled with the other half of my amazing friends!!

Me opening a super cute gift!

The cute plates!

The next morning in my living room! It was like Christmas morning :o)

Thank you again for making it such a great shower!!

Had to share this adorable tie snake tutorial........

2010-07-06T19:16:00.001-07:00

Vanessa over at V and Co. (amazing blogger I must say) has this precious easy to make tie snake and I thought I would link to it from here!! She is one creative little gal and I sooo wish I had her all of her energy!!! Click here to learn how to make these cute little guys!!!

Some fun 4th of July Ideas......

2010-06-28T19:15:00.000-07:00

Thought these were some really adorable ideas for the 4th!!

Fun Fireworks

Baton Craft

Fancy Footwork
Add a little patriotic flair to your wardrobe with star-spangled flip-flops made especially for firework-watching. Hot-glue glow-in-the-dark stars to red-white-and-blue flip-flops. The fireworks won't be the only thing lighting up the night.

Fun Fourth Folders

I hope you all have the BEST 4th of July!!!

Our News!

2010-06-08T20:34:00.001-07:00

Well summer is here in Colorado and we have been traveling a little bit and busy doing sports and a number of other things including an ultrasound on June 2nd!! We are expecting another little BOY! We all thought (including many friends and family on Facebook) that it was a girl!! But nope... another adorable Kennedy boy for our family to love on!! We are very excited about it and can't wait to meet him! Now my mind has shifted to boy things instead of girl things to make.... I just purchased "Little Stitches" by Amy Butler from HERE and I am in love with the projects in there! There are more for girls but some very cute ones for boys as well! I just need to get busy and start creating! Thanks for being super patient with me as I am horrible about posting! I need to be consistent!! I will try hard this week to put on some cute things! Hope you are all enjoying your spring/summer!!!

~photos of fun kids rooms~

2010-05-13T15:40:00.000-07:00

I love looking at fun kids rooms... I am always wanting to change out my kids rooms and now with a new one coming I am looking at nursery ideas! Anyways, ran across these rooms today and had to share with you! Some are from Country Living and Better Homes and Gardens and some are ones I found just under image search.... hope you enjoy and maybe you might be able to steal some ideas from some of them :o)

BTW.....most of them are girl rooms.... sorry but they are just soooo cute!!!

Yummy food and fun projects!

2010-05-10T15:58:00.000-07:00

Found these on my two favorite websites today... Martha and Family Fun!

Not only do they look fun to make but super good to eat too!

Enjoy!

Yummy Chicken on a Stick!!

(I think this would be fun to serve with fruit kabobs as well!!)

Animal Silhouette Pillows

Giant Paper Poppies!

Wouldn't these be so fun in the house during the spring and summer months!

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-09T17:34:00.000-07:00

I can not believe it has been a month and a half since my last post! It is amazing how pregnancy takes so much out of you! I have never been this sick before with any of my other children... but now it is over... no more sickness!!! Maybe I can get caught up on this blog again! I hope you are all having a WONDERFUL Mother's Day today!

I feel truly blessed to have such wonderful family that I adore! I'm sure you all feel the same way about yours!

I will try and post some fun summer ideas this week!

HAVE A FUN DAY!

P.S. I want to say to my mom..... I love you more than you can imagine mom and I am so grateful for all you have taught me! I am lucky to call you mom! I wish I could be with you today to celebrate this beautiful day! Thank you again for all you have done for me, my little momsie!

Awesome ideas from FAMILY FUN..............

2010-03-25T20:15:00.000-07:00

Just got my brand new issue of FAMILY FUN today and am dying over the cute things in there, especially the recyclable crafts!!! Oh my gosh...........sooo much fun!!

JUG HEADS

TREASURE-KEEPER FROG

Made from 2-2 liter bottles and a zipper!!!

LAVA LAMPS

BUTTERFLIES MADE FROM PLASTIC EGG CARTONS!!

This is actually from a past issue but I loved it so much I had to share it with you!!
A TRANSPORTER - of course made from an egg carton!!

Hope you all love these great ideas as much as I did!! Can I tell you how much I love FAMILY FUN MAGAZINE!!! It rates right up there with the old Martha Stewart Kids Magazine (so wish they did not discontinue that!)

HAPPY SPRING TO ALL OF YOU!

Intoducing a new blogger... my MOM at Eat Lotsa Chocolate!

2010-03-14T16:20:00.000-07:00

Dont these look mouthwatering???? Guess what........ THEY ARE!!!! I'm not just saying this because she is my mom either, they really are the best chocolate treat ever!!

Just have to brag a little about my cute mom, the owner of the delicious blog... Eat Lotsa Chocolate! She make the most AMAZING chocolate tortoises ever!! She is selling them now through her blog! She has these adorable little bunnies that she fills with chocolate available for Easter! (check out the top picture) Please go over and visit her and her delicious creations! And be sure to enter to win her first ever giveaway, the "just dessert" dishes above! She would love any comments and loves meeting new bloggers!

Oh my goodness I have been such a bad blogger... but for good reason!!

2010-03-12T11:46:00.000-08:00

Sorry it has been like 3 weeks since I have posted anything!! We recently found out we are expecting another baby! We could not believe the news, we did not think we could have any more as I was supposed to have a hysterectomy in December!! That is a long story but the surgery had been postponed due to crazy reasons which I will tell later... and then the surgery was finally cancelled by me due to a horrible snow storm that hit just a few hours before I was to go in!! Needless to say, this little one is supposed to be here :o) We could not be happier but I will admit I am a little nervous to start all over again as there will be a 7 year gap between this one and my fourth one!! We are even having to create a basement to make room!! I have been very very nauseous with this one for some reason... morning til night, but I know it will all be worth it in the end!! Here are some things I am thinking about making for this little angel........

Adorable Baby Fabric Balls Pattern by Grand Revival Design

(she has some very cute patterns available just scroll through her amazing blog to find them!)

Darling little Bath Apron perfect for my husband who is amazing when it comes to babies.... A TOTAL BABY LOVER!!

Fun Bird Mobile!

Look at these perfect little burp cloths from Homemade by Jill!!

Wish my luck in my creating!!

Spring is around the corner.............

2010-02-25T10:28:00.001-08:00

I am so ready for spring!! Enough with the snow I say!!! Here are some fun ideas your kids will have fun with to get ready for spring!!!Isn't this fun?? It is called rain painting.... All you need is cardstock and washable markers and some rain! Have your child draw whatever picture he/she wants and then set outside in the rain (or for us...snow) and wait til the colors start to run and then bring inside to dry and hang for everyone to see!!!

Don't you love these adorable lights???? They are called spring bulbs made from plastic soda bottles!! Click here to make them!

How about this DAZZLING BUTTERFLY made from beads!! Too cute huh??

How fun is this little picture?? I found this on a preschool website and I thought it was adorable! For those of you who know the song "Popcorn Popping".... doesn't this remind you of that? All that is needed for this is constuction paper, brown paint and popped popcorn. Just have your child paint a tree with just branches and let dry. Then have them glue on the popcorn! That's it! Simple yet so cute!

Happy soon to be SPRING everyone!!

Adorable things kids can sew and also help you make!!

2010-02-22T10:58:00.000-08:00

Stuffed Bunny made from men's clothes
Adorable knitwits made from mismatched socks!

Nursery pillows made from handkerchiefs

Quiet Book

Mitten Puppets

Adorable reversible purse!

Another delicious recipe (pumpkin, chocolate chip muffins) FREEZABLE!

2010-02-08T10:44:00.001-08:00

Here is another recipe for today.... The yummiest Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffin recipe ever!!

Ok I will say this... it is not the most healthiest of recipes but ohhhh it is good! ( got it off the Internet a few years ago from a cooking website) This recipe does however make 32 muffins!! So, yes, they are perfect for freezing and they are perfect for these cold cold months! So here is the recipe:

3 c sugar

1- 15 oz can pumpkin

1 c. oil

2/3 c. water

4 lg eggs

3 1/2 c. flour

1 TBLS cinnamon

1 TBLS nutmeg

2 tsp. baking soda

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 c. chocolate chips

Mix sugar, pumpkin, oil, water and eggs til well blended. In separate bowl sift together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda and salt. Gradually add dry mixture to wet mixture just until well incorporated, then add the chocolate chips. Bake for 2-25 mins at 350 or until middle is set.

REMEMBER THIS MAKES 32 MUFFINS!!!

So see they are not that bad for us right?? All of those delicious ingredients are dispersed into 32 muffins instead of only 12!! He he he!

ENJOY!!

Easy Breakfast Burritos (that your kids will love)

2010-02-08T08:27:00.000-08:00

This morning I decided I needed to get busy making foods that I can freeze! I don't know about you but my kids are RAVENOUS in the morning and when they get home from school. So I try and prepare ahead a little by making cookies or muffins and freezing them so if they are hungry they can pop them into the mic. and warm them up a bit. Well today I decided I would make some breakfast burritos (that I too can freeze) It was SSSSSSOOOOOOO simple!! All I did was this:

1.Took a dozen eggs and scrambled them with some salt and pepper.

2.Took some frozen hash browns and cooked them til they were golden colored.

3.Mixed the two above and added some chopped green onions and some REAL bacon bites to it.

4. Plopped a little bit of the above mixture on a flour tortilla with some cheddar/mozz cheese.

5. Rolled them up and wrapped them in suran wrap

6. Now I can put them into a ziploc gallon sized bag and pop them into my freezer!!!

MY KIDS LOVE THESE AND IT FILLS THEM UP QUICKLY!!

Just thought I would share this easy little recipe with you all!

ENJOY!!

Great website for ~FREE SEWING PATTERNS~

2010-02-01T19:54:00.000-08:00

Just thought I would share with all of you a great website filled with all kinds of free sewing patterns.... from kids things to purses and tote bags! (just scroll down through the page to see all of the patterns)

ENJOY!

Three very cute and easy ideas to give as Valentines!

2010-01-30T19:54:00.000-08:00

Sweet Spot Hearts

Handmade Bookmarks

Valentine's Day Sign Card
Create this card by making signs out of construction paper, doilies, and adhesive letters from an office-supply store. Photograph your child holding the signs, then tape the pictures to construction paper and fold the card accordion-style.

THOUGHT THIS CARD WOULD BE SO CUTE TO SEND TO GRANDMA AND GRANDPA!

Just a few fun ideas for your kids to make for their classmates or for family members!!

Happy Birthday Turn Burn!!

2010-01-29T07:41:00.001-08:00

Just have to wish my little 9 year old HAPPY BIRTHDAY today!!! I just can't believe how fast time goes by! You were just in my arms as an infant and what a gorgeous baby you were! Now you are growing into such a handsome little guy! We love you so much Turn burn. You make us all smile with your sense of humor and your silliness! Hope you have the best day today even though there is so much fog and snow!

Easy Peasy DIY Valentine Banners!!

2010-01-27T18:12:00.000-08:00

I am loving Valentine banners!! I am also loving burlap as well as felt. Well today I got a little adventurous and decided to do some things with these two awesome fabrics! I made a really cute table runner with the burlap(I will show that later) and then I made some fun Valentine banners! I had cut some burlap V shapes awhile ago for a banner I made for Halloween and had some left over so what I did was this:

1.I took a fat quarter of red fabric I had on hand and drew the word love in big letters on the reverse side of the fabric and I drew the letters so that they were flipped so that when I cut them out they would be facing the right way(does that make any sense??)...

2.then all I did was take Eileen's craft glue and glued the letters onto the fabric!! EASY PEASY!!

3.I also had some red ric rac and I also glued some of that on the top of the banner!

4. Then I took some canvas material and cut it in a big long strip and sewed the banner to that!! It was a very fast project and now I am thinking it would be so cute to do your child's name or the word family on it and the list goes on...............

I went to this adorable blog and knew I had to make this simple pimple heart garland because I'm sure like many of you I have a TON of little pieces of felt from various projects... so I whipped up this garland and it took no time at all!! I love all the bright colors as well! All you do is take your felt and fold it in half and cut out a heart (remember making those in elementary school??) Cut as many as you want (I cut 50 about 1 1/2 inches long). Put them into your sewing machine and stitch right down the middle of the first heart and then connect the rest through their middles as well. You don't need to stop sewing until you have reached your last one!!! This is also a very quick and adorable thing to make. My kids loved coming home to a little bit of Valentine decor!

Some very cute and fun craft storage ideas!

2010-01-21T10:26:00.000-08:00

Ok here is the deal......... I saved these pics about four days ago and have completely forgot where I downloaded them from!!! Maybe BH&G, Country Living??? Uhhh I can't remember!!! (if any of you know will you let me know?? Thanks =) Anyways, aren't they the cutest ideas!!! Love the top one... that is an apron that they simply attached with velcro to a little table to keep all kinds of art supplies in! GENIOUS! The second one is adorable too... Milk glass items to keep art items in and on a super cute tray! Just had to share these little easy and fun ideas for art supply storage!

Got Any Football Watchers At Your House????

2010-01-11T20:18:00.000-08:00

Here are some really fun ideas for Monday Night Football or for the Super Bowl!

Football Pad

Pin the Football on the Goal!

Make your own Bobble Head!!

Yummy Mini Meatball Sandwiches

Do you have any fun football treats that you make??

Loving these adorable and yummy ideas for Valentines!!

2010-01-09T13:15:00.000-08:00

Came across these fun little Valentines treats and other ideas today and loved them! Enjoy!!

Eat your HEART out!

An easy but darling and yummy dessert!

Candy Necklace!

Super easy and cute!

Raspberry Tarts

Don't these look delish??

A fun and cute heart cake!

Simple but sure to be loved by all!

Do you love??? I am thinking this is such the cutest idea!!

Shovel Valentines!

Not too early to start thinking about VALENTINES DAY!

2010-01-06T17:35:00.000-08:00

First of all I need to apologize for not posting for 3 weeks! With the holidays it got to be a little crazy and blogging was not at the top of my priority list. I had presents to buy, presents to wrap, parties to go to, people to see and places to go and family to come and stay with us! It was a wonderful holiday that I will treasure forever and ever!! But the New Year has brought some heartache to our family as well.... My sweet daughter had one of her best friends pass away yesterday due to a tragic ski accident! We loved that sweet girl so much and know she is in a better place now but we ask for prayers for the Milner family as she was the oldest (14 years old) of three beautiful girls! It is amazing how fast life can be taken. I can not imagine losing a child and my only hope is that her sweet little spirit will be with her family for a long long time! We love you MADDIE!!!

I needed to do something to keep my mind occupied so I found some things to do for Valentines Day, which is right around the corner...

Valentine's Day Treat Packages
To make these custom treat packages, cut out a picture of your child, scan it, and print onto heavyweight matte paper. Cut tags using pinking shears for the bottom edges, draw hearts, and stamp or write a message on each one. Fold the tags and tape them to cellophane bags filled with sweets.

Patterned Paper Wrap
Store- bought treats are more special when covered in pretty patterned paper. Pen a note on the underside or on a tag attached with waxed twine. Tuck gum into a card stock "matchbook" stamped with a message; sticks of gum sold in large packs often have plain white wrappers that are perfect for decorating with stickers. A lollipop adorned with a sticker and taped to a card stock heart will also be welcome, as would button candy slipped into a small paper bag embellished with die-cut scrap art (available at crafts stores).

Cute little Valentine Pin Cushions!

Fun Bath Fizzies
These make take some time but I thought if you want to take a little extra time these would be very fun to make!

How cute are these???

Valentine Heart Pot Holders

Hope you enjoy these fun things that your children can help you with!!

Great teacher/neighbor/friend treat.....Snowmen on a stick!

2009-12-17T09:25:00.000-08:00

So we received our Dec/Jan issue of Family Fun and I knew immediately what I was going to make this year for our friends.......these adorable pretzel snowmen! I tried to find the link to them on their website and couldn't so I will try and explain how I made them............ Here is the list of items needed:

Pretzel rods

almond bark, vanilla flavored or any white chocolate

mini chocolate chips

fruit leather cut into strips

orange gel icing

fruit rings (I used peach rings found at Albertsons)

Gum drops

Melt your chocolate and dip the rods into it and spoon the chocolate over it about 1/4 way up from the bottom. Put them in a row on a cookie sheet covered with wax paper. Let them harden just a bit and then put on the mini choc. chips for the eyes and the buttons. Add your little amount of orange gel for the nose and then let them harden completely. Once they are hardened you will make the snowman's hat. You need to put a fruit ring over the top of the pretzel and bring it down just a bit and then take your gum drop, I used large ones cut in half, sticky side down and shape it to look like the top of a hat. Then take a fruit roll up and wrap it around the neck and make it look like a scarf!!! I put them into a cello bag and tied with red ribbon! So far everyone has loved them! My kids loved helping me make these yummy treats too!!

Have fun creating lots of fun gifts this year!!

SUPER CUTE AND EASY GIFT WRAP IDEAS...

2009-12-14T07:17:00.000-08:00

CHECK OUT THESE ADORABLE WAYS TO WRAP YOUR PRESENTS!!! I love them all!! These are from Country Living and Real Simple!

Make Jessica Murnane's Newspaper Bloom
1. Stack eight sheets of newsprint and cut into an 8" square.
2. Accordion-fold the stack into 1" increments.
3. Next, cut four pieces of ribbon to a length of 8".
4. Unfold the paper slightly and rest a piece of ribbon in each crease (if you end up with more than four folds, you'll need to cut additional ribbon).
5. Gather the folds back together and pinch the center of the paper tightly (it will look like a bow tie), binding it with a rubber band.
6. Starting from the top, peel up each layer of newspaper, scrunching it together as you go. Finally, curl the ribbon to make a cluster in the topper's center.

This is simply using a paper punch on some green paper and then making a funky circle out of the paper!!!

How about using an old calendar to wrap with!!

Perfect for a child who loves to jump rope! Tie the package with the jump rope and you have two gifts in one!!

I love this one! Wrap a gift with a shirt! I think this would be cute for a child to give his father or grandpa!
Go here to find this and how to tie it correctly... It is picture 9 of 14.

I just want to say THANK YOU!!

2009-12-12T19:33:00.000-08:00

~THANK YOU ~ THANK YOU ~ THANK YOU~

I can't believe it has been almost a month since I have posted anything!! Gosh that is a long time.... I really want to thank you all sooooo much for your sweet and caring comments about the loss of my brother. What a wonderful thing it is to have such wonderful blogging friends that care so much even know we all only know each other through writing! It has been a tough couple of weeks but we are all getting through it pretty well! We miss him so much but have the best memories of him that will carry us through for the rest of our lives!! It is unbelievable that Christmas is only 13 days away! It has snuck up on us so fast this year!! I wanted to share a couple of fun Christmas Cookie recipes for you to try that I found on Martha Stewart........

Darling Stained Glass Cookies

Fun Icebox Cookies

Yummy Surprise Cookies

My amazing brother....Tim

2009-11-15T21:28:00.001-08:00

A special tribute to my brother...Tim

My sweet, loving brother passed away peacefully Saturday morning at 2:30 a.m. after suffering a very hard battle with colon cancer. He was the most wonderful brother ever! He is the father of 8 children (7 boys and 1 girl) and has the sweetest and most beautiful wife, Liz, who I adore. Tim was a very talented and creative person who was able to accomplish many things. His determination was unbelievable and he has passed that down to his children. He had a very full life that was filled with people who adored him and who wanted to be like him. I can't even begin to say how much I already miss him even though it has only been a day since his passing. I love him so very much and know that we will be together again some day... I am grateful for that knowledge and so grateful for eternal families!! I am so thankful he is no longer having to suffer and that he has been freed from his pain. I am sure our family members who have gone on before and our loving Father in Heaven were there to greet him and are embracing him right now! Tim you are in my heart and always will be forever! I love you more than you can imagine and can't wait until we are all together again.........

HaPpY HaLlOwEeN! (Some last minute ideas for you)

2009-10-31T09:10:00.000-07:00

HAPPY HALLOWEEN 2009 EVERYONE!!!

I thought I would share some of our quick and fast costume ideas in the event some of you are still searching for some! Also a quick and fast breakfast or brunch idea that I served my family this morning...

Orange pumpkin pancakes (not pumpkin flavored, just orange colored with an attempted pumpkin shape) :o) Served with black eyes (purple globe grapes) and wormy juice.... (apple juice with gummy worms in ice cubes - I will show you how to make the ice cubes below)

Here it is served on my Halloween placemats...The yummy juice....

Here is what you do for the gummy ice cubes:
First you get a cheap bag of gummy worms and an ice cube tray.
Then you take two or three worms and stick them into the dry ice cube tray.
Last you pour water over the worms and put it into the freezer!!
When frozen pop them out and put into a clear drink of some kind and watch your kids' faces light up!!!
Ok now for the easy peasy costumes....
The one above is my oldest son who decided to look through some magazines for some ideas. He and I found an old Martha Stewart Kids mag and this costume looked perfect! It is as if you are being blown by the wind!! All you need is some hair gel, a tie, some wire and some hair color spray (opt).
I had Conner lay on the counter with his head hanging over the edge so that his hair would fall back a little bit. I then coated it with hair gel and blew it dry so that it was all going back. I then sprayed it with silver sparkle hair spray. We then tied a tie around his neck and took a long piece of wire (about the same length of the tie) and wrapped it around his neck as well and then took the ends and wrapped them with masking tape (so it does not scratch the tie) and put the long pieces of wire down through the tie back. Now you can manouver the tie to the back and make it look like it is blowing in the wind!!
I wanted it to look like his shirt was blowing as well so I decided to put a small pillow in the back of his shirt so that it would make the front pull tight. It looks so real, doesn't it??

And here is my second to youngest little guy, Turner. He was a three headed person!! I, for the life of me can not remember what magazine I got this from!! My other son Conner was this about 6 years ago and it was a hit!!

All you need is some nude colored knee highs or pantyhose, fiberfill, beanie hats, and some eyes, noses and mouths cut out from magazines and some safety pins.

First you stuff the pantyhose with the fiberfill until you get them the size of your child's head. Leave enough of the pantyhose leg (about three of four inches) so that you can tie a knot in the end. Cut the rest off. Then put the hats on and glue your eyes, noses, and mouths on. Connect the hats together, including the one your child is going to wear with safety pins. You can also secure the heads to the hats if you want to by using more safety pins. I then safety pinned the bottom of the heads to my son's sweater and hid the remaining pantyhose down into the sweater.

This is really easy to throw together, super quick and fast! I promise your child will love this and so will all who see him/her!!!

I HOPE YOU HAVE A FUN AND SAFE HALLOWEEN!!!

2009-10-30T12:23:00.000-07:00

Ok so my amazingly creative sister is doing her VERY FIRST GIVEAWAY!!! And the lucky person gets a set of 12...(YES 12) of these adorable berry wreaths to use for napkin rings, added cuteness on a gift, ornaments, a fun garland, and the list goes on...... You get to choose either red or white!! So head on over the Style Sisters and enter to win today!! I am doing this lovely post for her so that she feels that she may have to give me some for Christmas!! (he he he) :o)

Aren't they just the cutest things ever??!!!

By the way she is selling these wreaths along with some of the cutest banners and baby boots that she made! click here to check it out!

Some last minute Halloween party treats (easy peasy)

2009-10-24T13:27:00.000-07:00

Tonight is my son's "Fall Carnival" at school and I volunteered to bring a baked good for the cake walk.... A few years back I made some really fun spider cupcakes but I did not have all of the ingredients this year to make them so I made these up. I call them candy corn flower cupcakes. They turned out pretty cute... I just used a box cake mix and store bought frosting that I colored green and purple and then I stuck 5 candy corns on the top with a mini marshmallow in the middle...THAT'S IT!!

Another quick and fast idea.....

The classic rice crispy treats.... I made these for my youngest son's class a couple of weeks ago for his "birthday treat". I made the basic recipe:

3 Tbls butter

4 cups mini marshmallows or 40 lg marshmallows

& 6 cups rice crispies

and then before adding the rice crispies I added orange food coloring to the marshmallow mixture and then added the cereal. I let them cool for just a few minutes and then formed them into balls and pushed a skewer into the ball. (I prefer to use craft sticks that are skinny but I ran out) What I was trying to make were pumpkins... I ran out of time but my plan was to create a face. I was going to use frosting that would harden but my time was limited. So you could do whatever you wanted to create a face or leave them plain. I have hundreds of clear cello bags and so I grabbed 19 of those and put the treats in them and tied them with some really pretty burnt orange colored yarn! The kids LOVED them! It was super fast and a little bit more fun than your basic square cut treats! So if you are having to bring something sweet and yummy to your child's class this next week...try one of these and I'm sure you will get a few smiles!!! :o)

Some Halloween Deliciousness!!

2009-10-18T21:21:00.001-07:00

I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT HALLOWEEN IS ONLY 2 WEEKS AWAY!!! OCTOBER HAS FLOWN BY WAAAAAAY TOO FAST THIS YEAR! I WANTED TO HAVE A HALLOWEEN PARTY BUT I DON'T THINK I CAN PULL IT TOGETHER THAT FAST... I GUESS THERE IS ALWAYS NEXT YEAR.... BUT IF YOU ARE HAVING A HALLOWEEN PARTY HERE ARE SOME AMAZING TREATS YOU CAN MAKE WITH YOUR KIDS! HALLOWEEN LOOLIPOPS

HALLOWEEN WHOOPIE PIES

LADY FINGERS

HAUNTED HOUSE CAKE............ DONT KNOW IF YOU WANT TO ATTEMPT THIS ONE BUT IT YOU HAVE THE TIME WOULDN'T THIS BE AMAZING???

INVISIBLE LOLLIPOPS

CREEPY CUPCAKES

Ok here is my inside Halloween Decor.....

2009-10-09T06:50:00.000-07:00

Hi! Well.... here is my indoor Halloween decor! I love this holiday and making it extra special for my kids! I love to decorate but not over-do. So here is what I have going on this year.......Love this Halloween banner in my entryway I found at a store going out of business last year! BTW... if you are looking for an absolutely adorable HALLOWEEN BANNER go check out the one my sister (The Style Sisters) is selling on ETSY!!!! And my good friend found me some Aspen tree branches while on a horse ride in the mountains and brought me some!! So I put them into my spooky vase!

Do you love this pillow??!! I got this genious idea from
La-T-Dah (sooooo easy)

A fun little autumn wreath made from cute little hands of my 6 year old!! Just trace their hand 9 times in different colors of cardstock or construction paper and glue together in the shape of a circle and hang where everyone can see it!!

Some fun ghosts we made years ago out of white foam (you know the kind you get at Walmart next to the felt squares) Just simply cut in the shape of any kind of ghost and hang with clear fishing line or clear thread!! My kids loved creating their own ghost!!

Can you tell I love bats! They are so easy to cut out and yet look so cute wherever you put them!! This is just our picture display with some added fall leaves and of course....BATS!

More bats......on our windows!

An apothocary jar filled with gourds!

More AWESOMENESS with burlap! I love this stuff!! Got this adorable banner idea from Everyday Chaos I love how it turned out!!

I found these candlesticks at the thrift store and did not like how they looked so I sprayed them gray for Halloween and topped them with real pumpkins!

I love this! This is an amazing cake plate I found earlier this year at Sam's Club for 9 bucks!! It has a black base (perfect for Halloween). I found the "Spooky" sign at Pier 1 last year at 90% off and the bones at the dollar store! So this year I decided to put them inside the cake plate and I love how it turned out!

Here is what it looks like on our table with a couple of things I have found over the years on clearance! I NEVER PAY FULL PRICE FOR HALLOWEEN DECOR!!

So there you have it.... my Halloween decor! Nothing spectaucular, but just a little bit of fun!

Here is a peek of some of my outdoor decor...

2009-10-05T17:14:00.000-07:00

Here is our front door with lots of bats! I just cut them from cheap black cardstock!!

Click here for the template!

Of course our favorite spider ever! I made this years ago. Found it in Family Fun mag! Make it here!
Our skeleton that we have also had for a long long time! Made from PVC pipe and a clorox jug!
This also came from Family Fun. Click here for the know how!

Here is just a plastic planter on a cute red wooden chair filled with dirt and sticks that I spray painted black (well almost black... I realized that once I got out of my garage I missed some of it...but you get the idea) And the bird is a quail that I found at a thrift shop... I tore the little feather off the top of his head and sprayed him black as well! The best part was the guy at the thrift store gave me the bird as a free gift with purchase!! I LOVE FREEBIES!!

Here are our little circle of ghosts! I just used dowels poked into a crumpling of newspaper shaped into a circle for the head and then covered them with cheap Walmart twin flat sheets (I think like 2.96 each), added their faces and tied the necks with black ribbon!! Then I tied the sheets together to make it look like they are holding hands and hammered them into the ground! This is a pic I took last year but I have them around our apple tree this year!!

I will post pics of my inside decor hopefully tomorrow!! So come back and see!

OOOOHH Look at these adorable Halloween Decor ideas.....

2009-10-03T16:01:00.001-07:00

Ok I am dying at the CUTENESS going on here!!!! Found these adorable ideas from Parents Magazine! I am so excited for Halloween this year! I already decorated the front of our house! No one else has yet... (they probably think I am crazy, but I dont mind). I will post the pics of my decor tomorrow!

Spooky Silhouette
Inside, make a spooky family tree by cutting a tree shape out of black paper and affixing "family" silhouettes to the branches. Is that a witch in your family tree?

I AM ABSOLUTELY IN LOVE WITH THIS IDEA!!! I think it is because silhouettes are SOOOO popular right now!

How cute is this????

Hang-O-Lanterns
Bend a handle out of thick wire or a clothes hanger and use it to hang small jack-o-lanterns along an outdoor path.

For those who have been following this blog for awhile know that I love felt and when I found this I started grinning from ear to ear!! Dont you think this is just the most adorable witch hat ever!!!! There were no instructions but I think they just covered a basic witch hat with felt and then cut hair and attached it underneath! Looks pretty simple!
Witching Hour
Hang a row of cute felt-covered witch hats on your front porch.

Hope you have fun with these!!

Cute and Yummy Halloween Treats...

2009-10-01T20:20:00.000-07:00

Tonight, I was trying to find a monthly menu planner on Family Fun and had no luck but I did happen to stumble on these adorable things for Halloween... Pear Witches

Edible Eyeballs

Mummy Treat Holders

Floating Ghosts

Balloon Bats

Cute Cute Cute Halloween DIY decor...

2009-09-26T18:24:00.001-07:00

Oh Martha Martha....

She has some of the MOST FUN ideas for Halloween!! I thought these three are aorable! BEWITCHING TREE

GLITTERIZED PUMPKINS

BAT GARLAND

I AM LOVING ALL OF THESE SUPER CUTE IDEAS!!! They all look do-able too!! Have fun with these and have a great weekend!

Easy Peasy DIY Halloween Trick-or-Treat bag...

2009-09-23T17:59:00.000-07:00

Today was a day of creativity at our home!! Love those days! While the kids were at school I was thinking that I needed to start working on Trick or Treat bags for them. I thought, I really dont feel like sewing bags this year, what else can I do instead.... and as I was looking around at what I already had, THE IDEA STRUCK!! I have black reusable Wal-mart bags!!! Then I thought ok, they have bunch of words on the front of them, what can we do to cover them up?? Well we have a plastic bucket filled with with felt scraps! So when they got home from school I got it down and told the boys to get creative with it and maybe make a monster face or whatever they wanted to do to cover up the words. They were so excited and they got to work... here is what we created today!The one on the left is a monster of some kind that my 8 year old made. I love how he used bright colors. The middle one was made by my 5 year old and it is supposed to be "Ulverine" (Wolverine) he he he! The rocket one is one that I made just for fun. I thought it would be cute with our Astronaut costume!

So all you need to start with is a reusable bag. I love these from Walmart! They hold a ton of stuff! They are only $1 too!

Then let your little ones start creating...

and create some more...

and some more......

Until they are pleased with their design!

Here is Turners monster...

And Landon's monster...

And the rocket...
I did not glue anything until they had everything in place first. Once they were happy with their monster I used Eileen's tacky glue to glue all the pieces on the bag! THAT'S IT!!

2009-09-22T15:57:00.000-07:00

TA DA! Here is my rendition of the spider cake (do our cakes ever look like the ones in the magazines??? NOOO...) but I think it is pretty cute!

And here is the reaction from my 3 little men before they devoured it..... THEY LOVED IT!!
P.S. I made the template out of regular paper and it stuck to the frosting of course, so you may want to try to make it with parchment paper instead!

Fun HALLOWEEN DIY ideas...

2009-09-22T12:34:00.001-07:00

LOOK AT THIS FUN STUFF FROM COUNTRY LIVING!!!!!

SPIDER CAKE

As I am typing this my cake is cooking in the oven!! I am using chocolate sprinkles instead of the sugar ( I cant find the black sugar in my little town) I will take a pic of it when I am done with it! I love getting my kids excited for Halloween!

It is only 54 degrees outside today...a good day to cook don't you think??

LOOK AT THESE ADORABLE TOTES! These are very easy to make! These would make great trick or treat bags for your little ones!

PARANORMAL PORTRAITS
he he he... I love these!! How fun for a Halloween party! Your kids would LOVE LOVE LOVE these!

Hope you are making some fun stuff for Fall and Halloween!

Repurpose your Christmas wreath to a fall wreath in a couple of steps...

2009-09-17T09:30:00.000-07:00

I was sruggling to find a cute Fall wreath and really did not want to spend any money .... so I looked around my garage and found my Christmas wreath from last year and thought I KNOW WHAT TO DO!!!! I will spray my red berry wreath ORANGE! So that is what I did! I left a tiny bit of red on it but it looks more fallish like that anyway! I had also seen many creative gals out there use the letter of their last name in their wreaths so I took my "K" that I have had for awhile and attached it as well! I love the simplisticness (is that even a word?) of how it turned out! The best part of all is that I can simply re-spray it red again for Christmas this year!!!!

I L-O-V-E S-P-R-A-Y-P-A-I-N-T!!!

I am participating in two, lets just call them, Fall DIY Parties today..........

1.Kimba's DIY day

2. Reinvented

Go check out these super cute blogs when you have a minute!!!

~Cuteness~

2009-09-16T09:23:00.000-07:00

I am LOVING all of these fun things below to do for Fall and HALLOWEEN!!! Im sure most of you know, if you have been reading my blog for the past year and a half, that I LOVE FALL!!! It is my favorite time of year for so many reasons... cool air, gorgeous leaves, wool sweaters, scarves, delicious treats and yummy soups and my list goes on.... As I was looking at one of my fav websites today (BH&G) I found these adorable ideas and had to do a post!! I hope you like them as much as I do :o)

Witch Legs

( ARE YOU DYING AT THE CUTENESS HERE!!!!)
Your kids will love this wickedly wild coconut-topped cupcake, with wacky witch's legs made from peppermint sticks.
To make it, follow these steps:
1. Start with frosted store-bought or homemade cupcakes.2. Use black marzipan to make the shape of the witch's boots.3. Stick yellow mini M&Ms on each boot for the buckles with frosting.4. Mold each boot around a peppermint stick to create the legs.5. Top cupcake with coconut dyed with green food coloring.6. Insert the peppermint sticks into the cupcake to create the witch's legs.

SO CUTE AND SIMPLE TO MAKE!!

Bare Bones

These skeleton-inspired cupcakes create a spooky Halloween treat.
To make it, follow these steps:
1. Start with frosted store-bought or homemade cupcakes.2. Place a large candy mint on top of a chocolate frosted cupcake; decorate face with icing.3. Arrange licorice pastels to make arms and legs.4. Place small mints at the bottom of the legs for feet.5. Use white sprinkles to make the skeleton's ribs.

ONE OF MY FAVORITE THINGS!!!

Tin Can Luminarias

HOW FUN IS THIS??? Not only is it cute for Fall but how cute to do it in bright colors for a birthday party!!!
Dotty Table Runner
With a layer of orange felt beneath, the dotted design on this table runner conjures the image of a field of pumpkins. The chocolate-brown felt top layer will carry you through the harvest season; use black felt for a traditional Halloween look. Trace circles of various sizes onto a length of dark-color felt; cut out. Layer the felt over a length of same-size orange felt. Secure the two layers with glue, if desired, and drape the runner over the table.

HOW FUN ARE THESE GOURDS!!
Outdoor Decor
Suspend a group of gourds on a cord (we used bicolor spoon gourds) from tree branches and watch them dance in the breeze.

~Fun Fall Crafts~

2009-09-08T10:25:00.000-07:00

Here are some cute things I ran across today.... I am so excited it is September already!!!

Fall Paper Bag Luminarias

Apple Dolls - Love these!! I remember making these in Kindergarten a hundred years ago!

Look at this cute little fat pig apple!! I love it!

How fun are these.... little pumpkins made from toilet paper... he he he

(cute little gift for a teacher for his/her desk)

Hope you are all doing fun fall projects...feel free to leave me a comment, I love getting to know new people through blogging!!

~HAPPY SEPTEMBER~

BACK TO SCHOOL CRAFTS..........

2009-08-26T07:20:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!! WOW what a crazy couple of weeks we have had!! All of my kids started school.... I am now an empty nester during the day! My youngest started full time kindergarten and LOVES it! But it is crazy around here. I feel like all I do is drive from one school to the next! I have four kids in four schools so I just call my self the bus driver now. I think I am going to call my car the "Burb Bus" from now on :o) My neighbors say... "we just see you go up and down this street all day!" It is amazing that summer is over.... here in Colorado we never really had a summer. It was very mild weather not reaching 90 degrees hardly ever! But now I can feel the chill in the air telling me that fall is almost here!! I LOVE FALL in every way!!

I came across these fun little ideas for back to school and wanted to share them with you.... Felt Pencil Case

Loving this Roll -up Pencil Case made from a PLACEMAT!!!

Plastic Pocket:
Everyone can use an extra pocket. Stuck to the front of a book, these keep a class schedule in plain view. Look for self-adhesive plastic business-card holders or schedule holders in office-supply stores, and affix wherever you like on the cover.

This cute little Owl Backpack

I hope you all had a fun, playful, happy summer!!!

Thrift Store Chair & Desk Re-Do...all in one week!

2009-08-14T09:11:00.000-07:00

Just had to share with you gals a couple of projects that I took on a couple of weeks ago.... First off we needed a small desk to fit on a wall that was only 43 inches wide. Every desk I looked at was way to expensive and WAAAAYY to big, so I decided to check out the fav thrift store and stumbled upon this beauty that was exactly 43 inches across!! I got the guy to come down to 30 bucks and I grabbed it!!! So off I went back home to start the re-do process..... I lightly sanded the desk and painted it a french white and added a basket to the drawer opening that had a drawer that was missing. We superimposed another basket on the right side to show you what it will look like when I find a matching basket!! I found the one at a yard sale for a quarter! (please ignore the lovely wires behind the desk, I have to find a sneaky way to disguise these).

~THE LITTLE EXTRAS ON THE DESK~

If you like my lamp, I got it for $39 at TJMAXX!! The binders above the desk are just Walmart white three ring binders that I put Amy Butler paper in (just on the front and on the spine) I am loving all of the colors together!! Also the CD holder to the right of the paper is one my sister and I made to match the chair below. I got the pattern out of AMY BUTLER'S "In Stitches" book that I LOVE!!! The finished product!!!

The before pic of the desk.......

I am sure this chair looks familiar.... it is one of those hideous cookie cutter office chairs that you see everywhere. Well I had one that had what looked to be like industrial navy blue carpet stuff that covered the chair seat and back (sorry I dont have the before pic). I had seen a couple of blogs that showed re-do's and I thought ok.... I can do this!! So I took off the back of the back rest and went to town!! It was a little tricky to get it off but I figured it out. For anyone who has one of these, you can too take off the back rest, you just have to look how it is screwed together and take it apart piece by piece. Seriously, it did not take me very long at all to dessemble it! The seat part was SIMPLE PIMPLE!! I just took my fabric and literally wrapped it around the seat and stapled it to the bottom with an electric staple gun!! No one sees the bottom so it is not perfect, but no one knows that ;) I think I am going to find another chair like this one and recover it for my son for his room!

Both of these were super inexpensive projects that can be done for any room in your house!!!

Some Fun Projects From Some Adorable Blogs....

2009-08-11T19:26:00.000-07:00

Well today I was hunting around for some cute ideas for Christmas gifts (I am trying to do only handmade items for my extended family this year...we'll see if I can really pull it off :0) Anyways, I came across these adorable items and had to share them with you! Plus the blogs that each of them came from are so worth checking out!!!!!

SOOOO CUTE ROCKET from The Long Thread

"HOMEMADE" FELT PIZZA from Pink and Green Mama

PRECIOUS CLOTHESPIN DOLLS from Going Sew Crazy

Hope you all enjoy!!

Also I hope you are enjoying your last little bit of summer......before sChOoL begins!

~Fun With Rice Crispy Treats~

2009-08-07T21:01:00.000-07:00

Sorry I have not been the best with posting lately! We have been out of town twice and have had family here for a week. It has been a busy summer for us but I think it is finally slowing down now and now it is time again for me to post!

I don't know about you and your house but Rice Crispy Treats are a "sweet" staple at ours! I was on Martha's website and found these adorble adaptations of the classic recipe and I am dying to make some!! Look at these fun things and tell me they don't look a little appetizing!

Crunchy Critters

Sugary Ships

Delectable Daisies

No-Bake Birthday Cake

Rice Crispy Town:
Powered by candle fuel, little cars with cereal wheels wend their way to the party past hand-drawn street signs and gumdrop trees (their trunks are toothpicks). For hills, cut a wavy diagonal line in cooled mix; stand on serving tray. Top with taffy strips; press fringed glassine "grass" to sides.

Hope these are as tempting to you as they are to me :o)

Fun stuff for teenage girls to make........

2009-07-30T09:55:00.000-07:00

Found these fun and relatively simple ideas for you and your teen to make, courtesy of Country Living!! My daughter loves to do crafts with me and I think these will be on the list for sure!!!!!

Magnetic Message Board

Postcard Wallet

Fabric Covered Journals

Bandana Table Runner

( This would be so cute for a teenager birthday party, don't you think?)

Add a cheerful touch to the summer table with this patchwork-style runner. Line up enough bandannas to fit the length of a table, leaving some overhang, and stitch together. To back the runner, cut an old cotton tablecloth (any light-colored one will do) to match its width and length. Sew together along the edges or attach with iron-on bonding.

Some very cute totes to make...

2009-07-28T21:44:00.000-07:00

Monogrammed Tote
You can monogram a canvas tote without a single stitch. Print the initial as large as possible from a computer, enlarge further on a photocopier, and cut out to make a pattern. Back fabric with fusible webbing, following the package directions. Lay the initial face down on the webbing side of the fabric; trace, and cut out. Center the letter on the bag, and iron on.

(LOVE THIS IDEA FOR A TEACHER, A GRANDMA OR A FRIEND!!!)

Pillowcase tote

So easy to make...I made these for my nieces for Christmas one year!!

Apple Print Bag

Just had to share these cute ideas for totes with you today! I will just call it:

~TOTES FOR TUESDAY~

Random Tuesday.....

2009-07-21T14:34:00.000-07:00

It is thundering and lightening like crazy here in Colorado right now!! I really hope the power does not go out as I post this...... I will type FAST!! I wanted to post some cool ideas for bedrooms or any room for that matter and a couple of fun recipes for you to make with your kids! I know that room decor and recipes don't go together but I just thought I would share these fun things I found today!!

Cute healthy snack

Darling Cookies
I am thinking you could make your own dough for these because I know there was a health scare only a few weeks ago regarding refridgerator cookie dough!!!

Bookcase made from an old dresser - GENIOUS!!

Super cute curtain rod!! I thougth this would be so cute in any house!

Hope you enjoy this RANDOM TUESDAY post!!

Here are more ideas for some summer fun.....

2009-07-15T08:34:00.000-07:00

GREEN SLIME - this is a must if you have boys :o)

BRICK BUNGALOW

HOMEMADE TENT - This would be fun to do out in the yard!

Hope you are all finding things to keep the kids busy this summer!

An super cute giveaway from a great blogger!!

2009-07-14T08:52:00.001-07:00

Is this not the cutest watch ever??? Well you can win this one called "Watermelon Band" or one that you pick out yourself!! Make it and Love it is hosting this giveaway for Kendee Watches and it ends tonight so hurry over there and enter to win! Also be sure and check out their cute blogs too :o)

More and More Summer Fun Ideas!!

2009-07-07T21:23:00.000-07:00

Here are more FUN FUN FUN ideas to do this summer with your kids!! I think we may be doing all of these! I showed my son the canvas checker board idea and his eyes got really BIG! We will definetely be keeping busy for the next few weeks!! Hopefully you will too :o)

Paper Tops

Printable Cupcake Flag Clipart

(Just thought these were too cute not to share!)

Super Hero Cape Towel

Canvas Checker Board - I AM MAKING THIS FOR SURE! Wouldn't this make the cutest handmade gift?!

NO GLUE SCRAPBOOK!

Summer Fun with your kids.......

2009-07-05T21:19:00.000-07:00

OK..... checked out Martha's "60 days of summer with kids" and found a plethora of fun and great ideas!! Sometimes it's hard to find what you are looking for on magazine sites so I hope that I make a little easier for you by finding some fun things for you and giving you the direct link! HAVE FUN WITH THESE! I will add more this week!!Potato Print Clothing
Kids Travel Kit

Easy Bird Feeder

The neighborhood feathered friends will love visiting your yard for this homemade treat. Mix peanut butter and vegetable shortening; melt in a microwave for 1 and 1/2" minutes on high. Mix in quick-cooking oats, cornmeal, and flour. Pack mixture into two paper cups, then cool. Remove from molds, and place in mesh bag, plastic clip side down. Secure open end of bag, and hang feeder from branches at a good height above ground.

Some yummy summer treats.... Banana Flowers

Banana FlowersThese enticing ice-cream blossoms are a sweet twist on the boat-shaped banana split. To make a flower, spoon a dollop of sticky marshmallow cream into the bottom of a small, shallow bowl; insert sliced banana petals all around. Add one large scoop of ice cream and plenty of your favorite sauce, then finish as extravagantly as you please.

TIC TAC TOWEL

SO FUN HUH??

You know how much I love cupcakes!!!

I am loving these easy BUTTERFLY CUPCAKES

Firecracker Favors...........

2009-06-30T11:30:00.001-07:00

Saw these and fell in love!! I have seen many different types of firecracker ideas but I really love the old look to these ones!!!

Firecracker Favors:
Guests will get a bang out of these "firecracker" favors, which can be filled with sparklers. Wrap paper towel tubes with crepe paper; add favor, then hot-glue a cardboard circle to the tube's bottom. Insert a pipe cleaner "wick"; tie off

Also click here if you want to copy some of these "old fashioned images" to put on your firecrackers!!

A great giveaway from a fun blogger!!

2009-06-26T14:39:00.000-07:00

So.............this cute blog called Frills, Fluff and Trucks is having an awesome giveaway!! She is giving away a Marshalls or TJ Maxx $25 giftcard!! I LOVE TJ MAXX to pieces! I have one about 1 hour away and I love to scour the store every time I go down! I have found so many things I wouldn't even know where to begin..... everything from stationary & books to decor items to bedding for my husband and I and our kids!! It is one of my favorite places ever!! So head on over to her fun blog and enter to win today!!

The Fourth of July Cone.........

2009-06-24T15:46:00.000-07:00

So I was playing around with these adorable cones I printed off from Martha's website, (I posted about these a couple of days ago) and I decided that they would make adorable favors or little gifts for friends! I really love the red! I just put some red vines into a cello bag and tied it with some ribbon I had that happened to be red, white and blue! I really loved how it turned out! But I do love her idea about putting chips into them as well.....

Let me know what you think!

Just had to share this quick cute idea!

2009-06-23T15:46:00.001-07:00

As I was going through my posts from my other blog, I remembered posting this super cute idea from Country Living. Covering your old ugly erasers with really fun scrapbooking paper! So today I decided to try it and I love how they turned out!! I noticed on the Country Living picture they had a little jar for their chalk (looked like they used a baby jar but since I have no more babies I used a little canning jar) I, like the picture, added some wire to it to hang from a hook and it is really fun! Love using things for different purposes :o) My boys have an entire wall that is pained with chalkboard paint and so this chalk hanger will be perfect in there! I have a chalkboard in the kitchen and my new erasers will look adorable too and they match my colors!

Before - Just boring old erasers

After

cute little canning jar now used for chalk

BTW - this was a five minute project!! Gotta love those!!

Only a week and a half away.... 4th of JULY!!

2009-06-23T09:29:00.000-07:00

Found these fun and yummy ideas for the 4th and had to share! Do you have any fun ideas for the fourth that you would like to share?? Post a comment and tell us!!

Red, White & Blue Delight!!

Going Green Target Bag Pom Poms

CRAFT MATERIALS:
Plastic cups
Large and small star stickers (red, white, and blue)
Placard
Marker
Time needed: 30 Minutes or Less
1.Add a large red, white, or blue star sticker to each cup, along with a few smaller stars for decoration. 2. Next to an assortment of markers, set up a placard directing guests to choose a cup for the event and write their name on it.

Red, White & Blue Pops!!

All of these great ideas were found on Family Fun!

FYI for all of you seamstresses out there.........

2009-06-22T07:16:00.000-07:00

Just thought I would do a little post about this.......... I dont know how many of you sew but for those of you who do and those of you who like AMY BUTLER.... I just listed 6 of her patterns on Ebay this morning with a starting bid of only 2 bucks and only 1 buck to ship!! So if you are interested just click on my Ebay button on the right hand side of my blog and bid away!!!!!!!! Or you can just click right here! (The pics above are two of the ones I listed.)

Some Fourth of July Fun.........

2009-06-21T08:53:00.001-07:00

I found some fun things to get you excited about the 4th!! I hope to do some fun decor with my kids this year for this wonderful holiday! Enjoy!

PAPER CONES from Martha

Tools and Materials:

Matte heavyweight paper

Craft knife or scissors

Glue stick or double-sided tape

Waxed paper (optional)

for red cones pdf click here

for blue cones pdf click here

Adorable Martha Ribbon Stars (I am loving these!!!!)

Star Bubble Wands
from BH&G

Hope all of the DADS in your life are having a beautiful Fathers Day today!! Or to any dads who may look at this blog....HAPPY FATHERS DAY!

Finally....... a blog button!!!!!!!

2009-06-16T21:37:00.000-07:00

Holy Cow.... HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO MAKE A BLOG BUTTON???? TOOOOOOO LONG!!!! But I finally figured it out thanks to a great blog! So feel free to grab my button over to the right of my blog and copy and paste the text onto your blog under your HTML/Java script!

Hope you are all getting creative with your Fathers Day gifts

:o)

A few more ideas........

2009-06-15T20:39:00.000-07:00

Love this idea from Martha!! This is a definite need at our house!!

Belt Rack
Make a handsome rack for Dad's belt collection: To attach cup hooks to a good wooden hanger, first drill holes with an appropriate-sized bit. (If you try to screw hooks in with your hands without first making holes, the rod might split.) Space holes evenly, about 2 inches apart; if the screws of hooks are too long, snip off ends with wire cutters before screwing them in.

BBQ SAUCE......

Also another one I just LOVE!!
Dad's Travel Kit

A box full of tools for the road is a useful gift for fathers who travel a lot. Use a sturdy cardboard box that will fit under a car seat. Cut self-adhesive Velcro into small pieces and attach to a tire gauge, flashlight, Swiss Army knife, compass, and other useful tools. Adhere the matching Velcro pieces to the inside of the box top to hold the tools in place. Fill the box with other travel necessities: maps, a pencil, and a notebook for jotting down directions, all neatly rubber-banded together. A hand-printed card on the front of the box states clearly what's inside: "Dad's Travel Kit."

And more.............

2009-06-12T10:35:00.001-07:00

Found some more fun stuff for DAD!!! Want some "MOWER" cupcakes??

Cute DAD cake

Cookie Tube just for Dad!

Family Magnets for Dad

perfect for him to use at the office!!

More Fun Father's Day ideas...........

2009-06-11T07:36:00.001-07:00

Craft an Apron for Dad
If Dad likes to BBQ, make him a special apron. Trace shapes of a hamburger, ketchup and mustard bottles, and other grilling accessories onto felt squares. Cut out the shapes and attach them to the apron using craft glue.

Simple Canister

Fill a jar with Dad's favorites. Buy a large glass jar then use scrapbook paper to add a touch of color. Let your little ones measure and cut the paper to fit the jar. Fill the jar with Dad's favorites, such as golf balls or candy.

Personalized Boxers...monogram a pair of boxer shorts to furnish his dresser drawers. (Confirm Dad's current waist size before proceeding.) Purchase iron-on letter patches at fabric stores. Place the letters D-A-D on the lower corner of the shorts and iron.

Hope you like these fun ideas!

All courtesy of BH&G

Hello.........I'm back with some fun Fathers Day ideas...

2009-06-08T19:17:00.000-07:00

Hi everybody, I am back from a wonderful vacation to Texas with my kidlets!! We had a blast with our family....we went to concerts, my niece's graduation, shopping, movies and much more! This was my kids first time in an airplane too which made it even more fun!! But now I am back into the swing of things (LAUNDRY, CLEANING, BLOGGING...YOU ALL KNOW THE DRILL :0) Anyways, as I was surfing the internet I came across some fun things for Father's Day for your kids to make! These four are from Martha. I will post some more this week! Enjoy!

FATHERS DAY CUTOUT FRAME

FATHERS DAY COUPONS

FATHERS DAY CAR WASH KIT:

Fill a galvanized bucket with car-washing necessities like a chamois or diaper cloth, soap, wax, glass cleaner, natural sponges, and a squeegee; then attach a coupon for three car washings.

FATHERS DAY SHIRT CARDS

YUMMY SCRUMMY WAFFLES!!

2009-05-25T20:26:00.001-07:00

I have been making these delish waffles for a few weeks now!! My 8 year old remembered seeing the recipe in the book we have called "A Boys Book". I did a post about this wonderful book a loooong time ago (March 2008). Anyways....they are so yummy and so I thought I would share the recipe with you!!

2 c. flour

2 c. milk

1 Tbls. baking powder

2 eggs (use only the whites if you want crispier waffles)

1/3 c. oil

I put in like a 1-1 1/2 tsp. of vanilla for flavor but it doesn't call for it.

Mix it up and pour it onto your waffle iron and experience the yumness!!!

I would love to know if you try it and how you like it :o)