On My Side of the Room

Another Baby Gift - Stuffed Baby Elephant

2012-01-23T13:58:00.000-08:00

I have a streak of friends and family having girls over the past couple of months so I've been going crazy making stuff. I'm pretty sure my husband thinks I'm insane. Little girls are just so fun to make things for, especially when you live in a house full of boys.

A friend of mine, having a girl, has chosen the theme of elephants and when I saw this pattern from a store on etsy I couldn't resist. The pattern is extremely easy and her instructions are very clear and detailed with many pictures. This is a plus for me because I'm not the best at following written instructions. I'm more of a visual person.
So I made not only this one but 3 others for friends with girls and have plans to make some for my boys who fell in love when them while I was making them.

The new mommy to be seemed to really like it.
The pattern is found here and she has a bunch of other gorgeous ones. Check out her doll pattern, it's absolutely adorable. I want to make one just for me!

Cute as Can be Baby Girl Shoes

2012-01-16T21:30:00.000-08:00

These beauties were the next thing on my list of gifts to make for some of the babies girls. I've been drooling over tutorials for them for months.

Let me start of by saying shoes are TRICKY. It took a bit of practice to get them just right and and so they were easy for me to make. I started by making a relatively easy pair of kimono shoes. Here's the pattern and tutorial. Now these cute mary janes were a lot trickier. My first pair had to be completely scrapped because I did a lining (inside the white lining and red fabric) and it didn't work, it was just too thick. So I would recommend using two regular cotton fabrics with nothing inside. But that's just me. Here's the tutorial which is excellent by the way, I highly recommend it.
These were my last pair I did and my absolute favorite of the three . Trust me, the pictures don't do them justice. I mixed a couple of tutorials, using the pattern for the red mary jane pair but adding the ruffle like this one, but switching out fabric for some lace I had because only had a little bit of fabric. All the shoes were completely adorable and I can't wait to make some more of these for some other baby girls!

Ruffle Butt Onesie, Sew Easy!!!

2012-01-15T20:56:00.001-08:00

It seems like for the past couple years all my close friends/family have been having boys. Now I love boys. I have two extremely fun ones in fact. But there are just so many cute girl things out there.

Now I have a string of friends and family having girls. Yea!!! And since I was cooped up in my office making jewelry for most of November and December, holding myself back from any craft making, I have now gone crazy making girl stuff.

Here's my first project. It was extremely easy to do. You can find the tutorial here.

A Girls Guide to Necklace Lengths

2012-01-06T16:49:00.001-08:00

I get a lot of people asking me about what different lengths of necklace really look like and giving demonstrations. So I thought I'd share this little picture I found to help illustrate. My personal favorite length is 17-18" depending on the necklace. I like simple necklaces that are above the neckline and I don't were very low cut shirts so they are not very long. All of this, of course, depending on the size of your neck.

Source

Choker Necklace

A little more relaxed than the collar, and more comfortable for those of us with thicker necks, the choker gives you a little more breathing room. This 14-16 inch length is great if you want to draw attention to your long lovely neck. And that hollow.

Princess Necklace

Now that just sounds right. And it often is. This 17-19 inch length is very common and the main thing to be aware of is that you choose the appropriate clothing. This necklace length works well with higher or lower necklines, just be sure that your clothing and necklace don’t fight over the same spot.

Matinee Necklace

This necklace length is traditionally thought of as sophisticated. Good for business wear, for formal wear with higher necklines or for dressing up casual clothing. The matinee should fall to the top of your cleavage and is 20-24 inches long.

Opera Necklace

The opera, 28-34 inches in length falls just below the breast bone and draws attention to your chest. Sound unnecessary? Well for those of us who no longer want to draw attention to our necks, this is a good option.

Rope Necklace

The rope necklace deserves special applause at a spectacular 45 inches or more in length. Wearing something fabulous? Confident in the total package? This length requires the ‘once over’ in order to take it all in.

Rosette Sugar Cookeis

2011-12-22T15:22:00.000-08:00

When I was pregnant with my first son I dreamed of decorating cookies for the holidays, like I always did with my mom and grandma. It was always a good time when frosting and sprinkles are involved.

Finally the time came for me to do it with my own kiddos. But as luck would have it every single recipe I tried was a bust. Disgusting. Horrible. Inedible. They all turned out tasteless, too crispy, burnt, and uneven. It almost made me want to give up on the whole thing. Almost. After testing almost a dozen recipes over a few years I finally found one I liked and could make well. Now I could finally bring cookies instead of cupcakes to this years cookie exchange. So without further adieu, my favorite sugar cookie recipe is here! (I got it here )

Vanilla-Almond Sugar Cookies

3 c unbleached, all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 c sugar (I use sugar that I've stored vanilla beans in)
2 sticks (salted) butter, cold
1 egg
3/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp pure almond extract

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine the flour and baking powder, set aside. Cream the sugar and butter. Add the egg and extracts and mix. Gradually add the flour mixture and beat just until combined, scraping down the bowl, especially the bottom.

The dough will be crumbly, so knead it together with your hands as you scoop it out of the bowl for rolling. Keep the dough a quarter

Roll onto a floured surface and cut into shapes. Place on parchment lined baking sheets (I recommend freezing the cut out shape on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before baking) and bake for 10-12 minutes. Let sit a few minutes on the sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack.

These Rosette cookies are really easy to make. These particular ones I made for a friends baby shower, it was a girl cowboy theme. I used buttercream frosting. Normally I just eyeball it but here's a copy for anyone who wants to know where I originally got it.

Butter Cream Frosting

Ingredients

3 cups confectioners' sugar
1 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 to 2 tablespoons whipping cream

Directions

In a standing mixer fitted with a whisk, mix together sugar and butter. Mix on low speed until well blended and then increase speed to medium and beat for another 3 minutes.

Add vanilla and cream and continue to beat on medium speed for 1 minute more, adding more cream if needed for spreading consistency.

Coloring

For the coloring, I used wilton gel, a pink that I had on hand but it was a little too bright so I added a bit of brown to give it more of a rustic look. Then I lightened part of the darker frosting up to have the two different shades of pink and then did a brown. It was the perfect color combo for the little cowgirl to be.

Rosettes

The flowers might look complicated but if you have the right tools it's a breeze. I used a large star tip but you can use whatever one you have on hand. Then start in the center and swirl out until you hit the outside edge. I am Baker has a great tutorial and is what I used to learn when I did the flower cake for my sister.

Enjoy!

Super Sale Last Minute Christmas Gifts

2011-12-19T12:53:00.000-08:00

I am on the last minute stretch with my holiday orders! It's been a busy but good season. I realized as I was going through things I have a lot of a number of items, mostly the ones I've sold on Groop Dealz and are offering them at a great price. They are all ready to go and I can ship them out immediately.

If your interested send me an e-mail at kendrad.goodrich@gmail.com letting me know what you'd like. I accept pay pal and if your local we can meetup somewhere (if you don't need them before christmas I can do a check and wait to ship until payment is received)

Joy in the Journey necklace SALE $12 (regularly $27)
Antique Brass Acorn Necklace SALE $9 (regularly $26)

Antique Brass Flower Earrings in Aqua, Goldonrod, and Pink SALE $4 (regularly $13)
Antique Brass Filigree Leaves Also in Silver SALE $4 (regularly $13)
Brass Freshwater Pearl Lariat SALE $9 (regularly $23)

Just send me a message and let me know if your interested!

Superhero Party - Games/Activities

2011-10-11T09:00:00.000-07:00

As far as activities goes I tried to keep things relatively simple because the kids were only four or so.

First on the tables I had covered them with colored butcher paper so they could color on (also makes for a really quick pickup)
And then my boys and I had made some superhero crayons out of melted old ones. Here's a good tutorial if you've never done it before. A lot of the activities were already stuff we had in the back yard like the sandbox,
the trampoline,
and the swing set.
***this girl was so funny, her mom told me she didn't want to go to a BOY party and insisted she dressed her part
We had a guessing game for both the kids and adults.
Most kids were hilarious and said numbers like "8" and "4". I think going back this would be something better for those 5 and up, but they had fun anyways. Again, for all the paper products like the labels and guessing slips I downloaded the comic font from dafont.com The Lava Pit, another simple activity. I didn't want any super complicated ones with only a few simple instructions. To make it we just used a red plastic table cloth for the 'lava' and put a wooden beam we had on top of it. Easy peasy. And the kids loved it. We also did a game called "Vaporize a Villian" where I filled some balloons with helium and had pictures of 'bad guys' on them. Then they used silly string to 'get them'. They thought it was pretty cool, I think!

Looking back I think a spray bottle filled with water would have been better for that age because only one of them could (barely) shoot silly string on their own. Now. What my son had been looking forward to for over a year. Each time we passed the latin food section in a store where they have pinatas he would ask for one and talk about his birthday. Well today was the day.

I thought a bomb pinata would be easiest to make and it was. My husband ended up doing it for me because I failed miserably at the first attempt. I tried using a balloon but it deflated before it dried. I was extremely frustrated and my husband was sweet enough to take this one off my list of things to do.

For the second attempt he used a plastic ball (you know the kind you find at the grocery store for $1.50?) then used a mix of equal parts water and flour with strips of newspaper. He did a 3-4 layers, cut a hole at the top when it was dry, strung it up and painted it. Oh, and made a 'fuse' out of 4 or so pipe cleaners twisted together.The birthday boy was in heaven. My husband must have done one heck of a job making that pinata because it took forever (at least in kid time), kids didn't even make a dent. So we got a ringer who popped it right open.
Candy!!!! I had plans to do less candy treats but didn't happen. There were lots of superhero gummy snack though. LOTS.
As the kids were gathering up their goodies I had our cousin 'steal' the cupcakes and hide in the back yard. I then gathered them up to go to the food table to get them but they were gone! So they found the thief (he was not hard to find) and chased him and the cupcakes around the yard.
They finally caught him. Don't worry, he dropped the treats off safely before much of a pursuit began

He was a good sport about it, we even shared our cupcakes with him. Should have had him dress up in some ridiculous villain costume though. So many ideas, so little time....

Superhero Party - Decorations

2011-09-20T07:00:00.000-07:00

I think the decorations part of this party was the funniest to do. There are SOOOOO many ideas out there, I even have a board on pinterest with ideas for everything superhero.

One of the most useful things I learned how to do in the course of all my planning, is how to download a font to my computer. Strange, I know, but it really helped create a cohesive look and once it was downloaded I used it for just about everything.

I used the font for a sign on the front door that said "Proceed to superhero training" and it pointed the way to the back entrance where we were having the party. I used it for games we played and all the other signs and paper products. If you've never downloaded a font before and are intimidated by it, give it a try, because if I can figure it out you can and now I'm so grateful for all my new cool fonts. To do it you can find the font here at dafont.com the one I used was called 'comic' and they even have a page that tells you how to download it to your computer or you can just look it up online. You'll be addicted.
Since we were having the party in the backyard I knew I wanted my decorations to be few, but big because our yard is big (kind of). So I decided on this big comic signs.
I got a ton of poster board from the dollar store (2 for a dollar) and got some in different colors and painted the colors they didn't have. Then just made jagged edges, no two are exactly alike.
After that I had tried painting the edges with a different colors to make them stand out but it didn't work out, so I ended up cutting strips of colored butcher paper I had gotten at a teacher supply store, they have great prices. Also butcher paper, cheap and has SO many uses.

Then I free hand painted the words in black. All of it is pretty simple, it just took a while to do so many.
I'll admit putting these up were a PAIN because I had done it the day before and it was extremely windy and extremely frustrating. The combination of an insane amount of wind and my boys continuously fighting had me pulling my hair out. I might have used a staple gun to get most of these up.
When I saw this idea done by Cheri over at I Am Momma, I knew I had to do it. It was too awesome not to. It took me one long night to figure out how to do it but I'm so happy I did. Also I copied pretty much the entire story swapping out the personal stuff. It was just too late of a night to get creative with it. My son flipped when he saw this bad boy hanging up.The theme of the party was superheroes, featuring no specific one but having more of a general vintage superhero comic feel. To help with that I bought a bunch of old cheap-o comics on e-bay, cut them into triangles and sewed them leaving a few inches in between each making some nice bunting to hang in the backyard.
All in all I think I had 10 rows of these flapping in the wind. It had a very cool effect.
We hung them between two trees we have in our backyard and the house. It was a little tricky to get it all set up but well worth it cause they looked awesome! A big thank you to my hubby who helped me get them all up. I'm no good on a ladder, trust me.
After I tore up a bunch of comics, probably making some hardcore comic collector out there cry, I decided to use the covers as table displays. I color copied them (some were pretty beat up) and mounted them on black cardstock. To make them stand I had Mr. Handyman make up some blocks made from scraps of 2x4's with a cut made halfway down the center. Spray painted them black and they are good to go.
All and all I loved the decorations, they were fun to do and there were even some things I wish I had done but just ran out of time. Check it out on pinterest to see what I'm talking about!

Superhero Party

2011-09-18T09:00:00.000-07:00

The very much awaited superhero party was almost a month ago and I've only just finished editing all the pics. I always have to chant to myself 'priorities, priorities, priorities' and between us all getting sick, my oldest starting preschool, working on numerous projects for church and the normal everydayness of taking care of my kiddos and running a business from home, I'm just glad it didn't take me a few more months to finish.

So here goes, hope you're ready for some superhero awesomeness. Here's a sneak peak of it all, the rest will come soon enough.
The kids had a blast and I can't believe he's 4. He was just in my arms a few seconds ago. Note: Sadly all the pics I had from him on his big day were really fuzzy but here's one I took of the birthday boy on his first day of preschool. He's just a little excited. Can you tell?

Buried Treasure

2011-09-16T09:00:00.000-07:00

I am always looking for different 'adventures' for me and my boys to go on. Especially around our house because, let's face it, sometimes it can get pretty dull and routine.

This summer the 'Man of the House' made another, bigger sandbox that the boys have been playing in like crazy. They love it. So I decided I'd make it a little more exciting and put some 'treasure' in it for them to find. I figure they would love it because I had done something similar with buttons last year and seashells but they've since been claimed by our many little visitors.

I found half of these at a garage sale for $.50 and some more for $1 at Goodwill.
I threw scattered them in the two sandboxes,
kicked some sand around to 'bury' them,
and voila! Instant adventure. Levi then took the stash he had found, put it in his bag and re-buried it so his brother would find it. He's such a kick in the pants.

Itsy Bitsy Spider

2011-09-15T09:00:00.000-07:00

Levi is a true crafter. He loves everything about making something. I guess I shouldn't be surprised because I do it a lot and try to get them involved in whatever I'm doing.

For his birthday he got an awesome kids craft book, well a couple of them actually. We are so lucky to have amazing friends who know my kids so well. Anyways, we flip through them at least every other day to find different crafts to do and things to make.

Here's his first one, a paper plate spider. We made them and spent the rest of the day playing with them on and off, having them talk to each other, dance around and fly through the air.

A New Friend

2011-09-13T09:00:00.000-07:00

When I was doing some vinyl cutting on my Silhouette machine I knew I would have a little bit of extra space. Not wanting to waste it I came up with this little guy:
While my boys were sleeping I snuck in and put him on in there room on the wall right next to the door. They noticed him right away and named him "Fred".

Sometimes Ya Gotta Brag

2011-09-12T09:00:00.000-07:00

This is one of those braggy, my husbands awesome sort of posts. So beware.

I am so lucky to have such a handy, creative guy. I'm pretty sure he could make anything if he set his mind to it. He sometimes gets down on himself saying he could have done it better or this and that is messed up but I think it's all amazing. He just works on such a bigger scale and with so much cooler tools than I do. Here's some of his recent stuff, okay, mostly stuff within the past year.

His big fish tank stand he made a while back. I love all the molding.
His new fish tank stand. We're switching things around and replacing our bigger tank with this smaller one. I love the wood finish. Also you can't see it but there are two hanging lights above it. They look awesome. This was my birthday present last year. A custom made, large enough to fit Costco spices, spice rack that fits right inside the pantry door. I love it and don't know what I did without it. He was working at a machine shop at the time and they let him use the machine to cut out the plastic pieces. This summer he built a retaining wall in the back yard to level things out a bit so we could move our trampoline from the only sunny spot in the yard to a slightly shadier area. Then he had the idea of making another, bigger sandbox right next to it. Genius. Whenever we have kids over they always fought over our tiny sandbox. Now there's two. All that needs to be done is putting covers on them!And what I have been DREAMING of for almost two years. Cabinets that go on either side of the fireplace to put all the toys and such, making tons of extra space. One is filled with toys for the kiddos the other is 'mine', though it's really stuff for the boys but just stuff that needs to be more supervised. Also there is a big bin for Levi's stuff, like his special books, some toys that is just for him when Max is napping.

Hilariously, I said that once the cabinets were in we weren't going to use the fireplace as toy storage.....hasn't happened. Maybe once we redo the fireplace.
I love, love, love them. He did it all by himself (though he did order the doors). Eventually there will be bookcases on top of each that will go to the ceiling with some nice molding around it and the TV will be over the fireplace, but that's for later. I am sooooo lucky to have such a clever, creative, handy guy. He just makes me smile.

Thank God For Dirty Dishes

2011-09-06T08:56:00.000-07:00

In our family we've always been big on handmade gifts. When I was 17 my mom made us the best gift ever, though I don't think I realized it at the time. She made us a family cook book. Early on in the year she had sent out letters to all our family and friends (there were quite a few) and asked them to send in some of their favorite traditional recipes. There were relatives I didn't know we had, old friends who we'd lost touch with, dear friends from church who send in their favorite recipes.....and they were all compiled in a big binder with ton's of pictures to boot (so next to my grandma's recipe was an old black and white picture of her when she was a young mother). It must have taken for-ever, I don't even want to think about how much time it took my mom, single mother of 5 teenagers, working full time, and going to school full time. What a nice mommy I have.

At the time I didn't think much of it cause, hey I was 17 and I was much more interested in heading off to collage than cooking. But now as a mother of young children where cooking has become more a part of my life, I use it a lot.

One of the things that always stuck with me was a poem she included. I think an older family memeber gave it to her, I love it and decided to have it in a more visible place in the house. So I busted out my silhouette and got to work.
Now it is on the side of the cupboard right next to the sink so I can always read it. So as I roll up my sleeves to do the third load of dishes later today, all of course put into our dishwasher, I will thank God for my dirty dishes.

If you can't read it, it says:

Thank God for dirty dishes.
Thank God for dirty dishes,
they have a tale to tell.
While other folk go hungry,
we're eating very well.
With home and health and happiness,
we really shouldn't fuss.
While other folks go hungry,
God's very good to us.

Thank God for dirty dishes!

Summer Reading

2011-08-17T09:32:00.000-07:00

I work a lot at my desk making jewelry, mostly when my little ones are sleeping. Normally I like to use that time to catch up on shows I haven't seen, mostly because it's hard for me to work and not listen to something. I've tried nothing, but it's eerie and for me, a little unnerving. Music doesn't work either because I am musically inclined so I'll want to stop and sing, dance or something like that. So it's normally been movies and shows, just easy to watch stuff. But I'm sick of it all for the most part. I've seen it all and what I haven't, I don't want to because it's way too trashy or gruesome.

So I've decided to start listening to books. My husband's been doing it for years, but I've only really done it on long road trips. So far I really like it and since I was always an avid reader as a child so a part of me is trilled to be a participant of the 'reading' community again. While I would try to read a little every day but really I can only get through a couple pages at a time right before I go to bed.

I have a book I'm currently listening to 'The Help' which has been amazing so far and I got to think, "what next?!?!?" so decided to ask my friends, because I'd much rather read something on a friends recommendation than just randomly pick it from a list.

I've pinned all the suggestions I have so far on Pinterest, in my Reading List category. Check it out and let me know if you have any other recommendations!

The Taste of Summer

2011-07-29T09:01:00.001-07:00

Homemade jam is now a household staple. I made a pretty big batch last year and a month or so before my strawberries arrived for the 2011-2012 season we ran out and actually had to buy some. Let me tell you, after you've had homemade for so long anything but is absolutely disgusting. I didn't like the store bought stuff one bit and refused to eat it until we got our strawberries.

This pic is from our little 'garden' in the front yard. I've tried growing stuff in the back but with three huge trees and a sound barrier wall (we're right next to the freeway, well, it's one road away, but I've always liked it, sounds kind of like the ocean) it makes for a pretty shady yard. So we've decided to do strawberries and blueberries in the front because there is just a lot more sun. This year is our second year with them and they have taken off! They are producing a handful or so a day. Probably never enough to can or do much with, but we love to go out there to pick and eat them every day.
We finally got our two 30lb buckets of already picked, cut and washed berries from a group purchase we do through church and we were ready to go. Two of my amazing friends even came over to help. So with 6 crazy kids running around pulling out pretty much every toy we own, being distracted with Micky Mouse Clubhouse and generally wreaking havoc on my house, which actually a pretty normal occurrence around here, we were able to get about 45 pounds of strawberries made into jam. I don't even know how many jars that made, but it was a lot. We finished it off with some homemade bread. Perfect.
Kid tested, mother approved. My how to.

Those who really know me, know I don't like to follow directions. I'm more the "let-me-take-a-quick-look-and-I-can-figure-it-out-on-my-own" type of gal. When we got the instructions for the jam I was totally overwhelmed so we broke things down and actually wrote everything on paper plates which we stuck to the cupboard while we worked. It worked great and I thought I'd write it down for later use or for anyone who wants to know. And FYI I did a few batches of raspberry jam later using the same 'recipe' and it was amazing.

All this is made with reduced sugar because my kids don't need more of it, trust me, and I think it's just TOO sweet with all the sugar they require. I personally would rather taste more berry than sugar.

Recipe
5 cups berries
1-3 cups sugar (for strawberries I did 2, raspberries 1 1/2)
1 packet of pectin

Directions
Put fruit in pan
Stir in pectin
Sit for 10 minutes
Bring to boil
Add sugar while boiling
Boil for 1 minute, stir consistently
Remove and skim foam (we didn't have any....)
Ladle into hot jars, leave 1/4" room
Put on lid and put into canner

Joy in the Journey

2011-07-12T20:10:00.001-07:00

I started making jewelry for many reasons, as a creative outlet, a way to earn some extra $$ and to even make some sort of difference in someone's life. I know, how can jewelry make a difference? But I try to donate to pieces to charities, give big discounts when I know someone's struggling, and just try my best to make my jewelry as perfectly as I can so it can be enjoyed by whoever is receiving it.

Today I received an e-mail about a necklace I had made that touched my heart.

"Hello Kendra. I purchased this necklace from you a few months ago. I wanted to thank you for it and let you know a bit of the story of said necklace. I purchased it for a coworker who was deciding to leave the job to care for her husband who was suffering from brain cancer. Her husband has been battling cancer for 5 years and just last week passed away. He was 30. She is the mother to 2 children. Thank you for creating a beautiful piece of jewelry that I could pass on to her when she left those 3 months ago. Thank you for helping me share this beautiful message."

I truly love what I do.

No-Bake Cheesecake Fit For the Worlds Greatest Dad

2011-06-26T13:30:00.000-07:00

Usually for Father's Day I make a fun tasty treat for the men in my life, well, mostly just for my man and whoever else is coming over. This year I thought I'd do one of his favorite desserts, cheese cake.

This was my first time ever making one when it wasn't in a box, and I know it might have been easier/cheaper to do the box but I really like the idea of knowing all the ingredients that go into what I make.

I was a little intimidated with the task, so did an easy no bake recipe I adapted from here,
but I did make a number of adjustments and it was DELICIOUS! I'm pretty sure I could have eaten the whole thing in two or less sittings .
Though it was simple I wanted it to look 'extra fancy' so I found a springform pan at Goodwill. You'd be amazed how many they have there, nice ones for cheap.

Here's my adjusted recipe and how I did it.

Simple No Bake Healthy (ish) Strawberry Cheesecake

Original Recipe Yield 1 - 8 or 10 inch round cheese cake

Prep Time:
30 Min

Ready In:
30 Min

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup butter, melted
2 (8 ounce) packages low fat cream cheese
2 teaspoons lemon juice
16oz container fat free whipped cream
1/4 cup white sugar
fresh/frozen strawberries

Directions

In a small bowl, stir together the graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar and cinnamon. Add melted butter and mix well. Press into the bottom of an 8 or 10 inch springform pan. Chill until firm.
In a medium bowl, beat together the cream cheese and lemon juice until soft. Add whipping cream and beat with an electric mixer until batter becomes thick. Add the sugar and continue to beat until stiff. Pour into chilled crust, and top with berries (I had just brought them to a quick boil) Chill several hours or overnight. Just before serving, remove the sides of the springform pan.

This stuff is amazing, and trust me, won't last long.

A Rose Cake for Aunt Rose

2011-06-15T11:55:00.000-07:00

A while back I saw the perfect idea for a cake to do for my sister over by Amanda at I Am Baker, one of the blogs I stalk. I added my own little twist with the actual cake because an all pink center just seemed to fit my sister, also known as Aunt Rose to my boys, perfectly.
For the actual cake I used a white cake mix to keep things simple but I switched out applesauce for oil and egg whites for eggs, probably just to make me feel a little less guilty for all that rich vanilla buttercream frosting. Mmmm. I used three boxes, started with it white, added a bit of pink gel food coloring for every layer (some red for the darkest), stacked them and did a layer of frosting covering the whole things. And as far as the roses go it was EXTREMELY easy. Just use a large 1M star tip and make swirls. Looks way more complicated than it is. Just circles.
Happy Birthday Aunt Rose!

Trading Up and Making Robots

2011-06-12T07:30:00.000-07:00

So I finally did it, I traded my Cricut for a Silhouette after much debate and research. I wasn't sure about it until I first tried it then instantly knew I was going to be using it a lot more than I had my Cricut. LOVE IT for so many reasons. It's just much more flexible and less expensive.

The day I got it in the mail Levi and I decide we'd give it a whirl and mad a shirt. He picked out everything. The color of shirt (green of course) and picked out a cool robot they had on their site. All we did was pick, adjust sizes, cut and iron. Simple and the perfect project to do with a kid. We're now scheming to do some fun superhero shirts as well.

Summer Fun Ideas

2011-06-09T09:30:00.000-07:00

I've been collecting a list of fun things to do with my boys during the summer, I'm so excited!

DISCLAIMER: I in no way am planning on doing all of these activities, we'll probably only do a fraction of them. We have every intention of having a fun filled, relaxing summer but it will be nice to have a list of things to choose from.

Any Time Outdoor Ideas

Get 'duck bread' from local Franz outlet and feed the ducks. I want to hit up Laurelhurst Park, a fun duck I went to when I was little.

Have a picnic close to the airport. My boys LOVE planes and I think will adore this one. Another idea is just go to the airport and watch them take off from inside.

A day at the beach. Of course a summer wouldn't be complete without it.

Host an evening movie party. I was thinking it would be fun to invite some of my son's friends over to watch a movie. If the weathers right we can do it outside (I know some people with projectors)

Go on a bug hunt. My boys adore watching bugs. Also maybe if we do 'bug day' I have some bigger plastic bugs that I was planning on throwing in the pool and letting them 'catch'. Water and bugs, a great combination.

Camping out in the backyard, it might be nice to have the tent up for a bit because I know they would love the idea of having a fort even if it's temporary.

Have a day at a farm. I have a couple friends who live out in the country and wouldn't mind us taking a look around and taking a walk out that way.

Go berry picking. Again we know a number of people who live in the country and would let us pick their blackberries (there are a ton of them around here) or maybe just go to a berry farm.

Have a kids craft day. I was thinking it might be fun to invite some kids and their mommies to design and make their own shirts, I have all the stuff for it. We could take turns designing while the others play in the pool/sprinkler.

Walk to the local 7/11 to get popcicles. From my house it's a slow 1/2 walk and has a park right next to it. We did this all the time when we were kids.

Play hide and go seek in the back yard. With a twist, use squirt guns.

Ice cream party! Invite some friends over and have them bring a topping then the kids can make their own and play in the pool/sprinkler.

Kiddie car wash. Have them either help wash the car or they can wash their bikes or toy cars. Any excuse to get wet!

Photo scavenger hunt, maybe take pictures of everything you see thats a certian color, or doing the alphabet

Play catch using milk jugs, seen here

Tour police/fire station, I've heard of a number of preschool playgroups getting together and doing this.

Geocatching? I've never done this before and don't know if my boys are quite old enough, but they might really get into it!

Play in a fountain, around here, Bethany Fountains is a fun place

Cooper Mountain Nature Park, lots of different trails for various abilities. They have various activities and nature programs found here (18892 SW Kemmer Road, Beaverton)

Tualatin Hills Nature Park, they have an interpretive center, paved hiking trails, picnic areas. (15655 SW MILLIKAN WAY) more info found here Center is open M-F 8:30am-5pm and Sat-Sun 9am-5pm

Enchanted Forest, I used to go here as a kid and loved it. Definitely not free, but lots of fun.

My husband doesn't know this but I am totally having him make this!
Any Time Indoor Ideas (not a very long list bc since Oregon is so rainy the rest of the year I'd rather do outdoors stuff, but here are some things I've been wanting to do)

Go to the mall and play on the play structures (the one close to me has one)

Make a fort (do a fort kit like this)

Take off all the couch cushions and play leap frog

I got some passes to Pump It Up, should be fun

Also have some passes I got to Munchkin Land around Christmas time and I went in early March with them and my oldest had some how grown so much that now he's too big! But fun for the little one. I have a ton of these passes, if anyone around me wants to try it out or do some sort of kid swap for the little ones I'm in! My boys love this place, too bad one is too tall (yeah, and he's only three, but about the size of a 5 year old)

CRAFTS!!!! My son and I found a bunch online and here's a link to see what we found on Pinterst (my latest love). He's such a crafter, want's to do it numerous times a day.

Other fun activities, indoor and out on pinterest

Local Planned Events in the Portland, Oregon/Washington County Area

JUNE
6/11 Saturday (9-4pm) Cruisin' Sherwood, Old Town Sherwood - SW Railroad Street
6/15 Wednesday (10-11) Storytime at the Farm - Luscher Farms in West Linn FREE
6/21 Tuesday (10:30am or 11:30) Family Story time @ CM Bethany Library
6/21 Tue-6/22 Wed (10am) MOVIE Alpha and Omega/Diary of a Wimpy Kid
6/24-6/26 Fri-Sun Festival of Balloons in Tigard
6/25 Saturday (10am) $3 per child/adults free Ladybug Nature Walks

6/27 Monday (10:00am) Jugglemania at Bethany Library
6/28/2011 Tuesday (10:30am or 11:30]) Family Story time @ CM Bethany Library
6/28 Tue-6/29 Wed (10am) MOVIE Charolett's Web/Percy Jackson and the Olympians
6/29 Wednesday (10:30 and 11:30) Mr. Shoehorn's Dances - Hillsboro Main Library

JULY
7/5/2011 Tuesday (10:30am or 11:30)Family Story time @ CM Bethany Library
7/5 Tue-7/6 Wed (10am) MOVIE Furry Vengeance/Shrek Forever After
7/11-7/15 Craft Camp (2-5pm) at Halverson's
7/11 Monday (10am) Just for Fun Comedy/Magic Show Bethany Fountains
7/12/2011 Tuesday (10:30am or 11:30) Family Story time @ CM Bethany Library
7/13 Wednesday (10:30 and 11:45) Hillsboro Main Library "Big Backyard" Clown Show
7/15-7/16 Sherwood Robin Hood Festival NW First Street - Old Town Sherwood Free
7/15-7/17 West Linn Old Time Fair, Ski Show, Parade, Car Show
7/18 Monday (10am) Mr. Shoehorn's Dances with Instruments - Bethany Fountains
7/19/2011 Tuesday (10:30am or 11:30) Family Story time @ CM Bethany Library
7/19 Tue-7/20 Wed (10am) MOVIE Gullivers Travel/How to Train Your Dragon
7/20 Wednesday (10:30 and 11:30am) Jugglemania Hillsboro Main Library
7/21 Thursday (5:30-8pm) Bethany Summer Concert - Bethany Library
7/25 Monday (10am) "Big Backyard" Clown Show - Bethany Fountains
7/26/2011 Tuesday (10:30am or 11:30) Family Story time @ CM Bethany Library
7/26 Tue-7/27 Wed (10am) MOVIE Marmaduke/Pirates Who Don't Do Anything
7/28-7/31 Washington County Fair Free

AUGUST
8/2/2011 Tuesday (10:30am or 11:30) Family Story time @ CM Bethany Library
8/2 Tue-8/3 Wed (10am) MOVIE Despicable Me/Nanny McPhee Returns
8/4 Thursday (5:30-8pm) Bethany Summer Concert - Bethany Library
8/9 Tue-8/10 Wed (10am) MOVIE Ramona & Beezus/Yogi Bear
8/16 Tue-8/17 Wed (10am)MOVIE Chronicles of Narnia/Tale of Despereaux

8/18 Thursday (5:30-8pm) Bethany Summer Concert - Bethany Library
8/23 Tue-8/24 Wed (10am) MOVIE Cats and Dogs: Revenge/Megamind
8/27 Saturday (11am-4pm) Bug Fest 2011 at the Tualatain Hills Nature Park more info here

Lists of fun local outdoor gardens, hiking areas, and other fun outdoor activities

Tyron Creek Story and Stroll Wednesdays (1-2pm) @ Tryon Creek Nature Center 11321 SW Terwilliger Blvd Portland, OR 97219 for ages 3-6 must register to attend FREE!

Leach Botanical Garden Tours Saturdays May - October (11-12) FREE! Info here

Hoyt Arboretum Lady Bug Nature Walks, guided tours, walks.

Powell Butte hike found on Local Hikes a 2.5 mile hike (1.5 hours)

Pittock Mansion, Children under 6 free! also can use cultural pass from library

Oregon Wild FREE Hikes and Events

Oregon Parks and Recreation search for any state park

The Grotto, beautiful shrine and botanical garden

Portland Rose Garden lots of beautiful gardens

Japanese Gardens, in Portland, use library cultural pass

Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden $3 admission

Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge nature area, trails

Kelly Point Park paths, paved and unpaved, picnic areas, historical site

Noble Woods Park in Hillsboro off Baseline

Gordon House designed by Frank Lloyd Wright set in oak grove $5 fee

A.C. Gilbert's Discovery Village in Salem lots of fun kids activities use library cultural pass

Salem Riverfront Carousel also in Salem

Historic Deepwood Estate historic home, garden and trail

Magness Memorial Tree Farm in Sherwood, trails and hikes

Mary S. Young State Recreation Area in West Linn, with hiking trails and picnic areas

Jenkins Estate in Beaverton historic home, gardens FREE admission

Storytime at the Farm every Wednesday 10-11 at Luscher Farms in West Linn FREE

Calendar Reference

Cedar Mill Bethany Library Calendar of Events found here
Hillsboro Main Library Calendar of Events found here
Summer Movie Express Calendar here
Washington County Visitors Center website found here
Oregon Metro Calendar here

Never Say Never

2011-06-07T20:00:00.000-07:00

Have you ever been to a Justin Bieber party? Yeah, well I have. I must say it was a first for me and I didn't know quite what to expect considering I think I'd only heard a couple of songs from the kid.

I'm so glad I got to go!!! We had a lot of fun and took me back to those teenage days. We did our nails, in Justin's signature nail polish line (yeah, he has one), had a trivia game, and ate lots of yummy treats.
I think the last time I painted my nails in high school, they look pretty good huh? Sadly it didn't stay on long, I'm a nail biter.
A picture with the man himself.
For the party everyone had been asked to bring a type of popcorn. You'd be amazed at how many variations of popcorn you can make. It totally fit in the theme considering he's such a POP star. I loved the 'smores kind and I made an 'American as Apple Pie' flavor.
And how could you have a Justin Bieber party without watching his new movie? I actually liked it. It was kind of a documentary and it IS pretty amazing to hear about how he became famous and see how talented he is.
Never say never!
Even got some sweet Bieber stuff. Thank you Tanya for the fun party, I will forever think of you when I hear that boy sing.

Not Quite

2011-06-04T08:53:00.000-07:00

Last year my mom got us a Topsy Turvey, which is totally something she would get. For those who don't know what this is (there are probably few who haven't) it is a 'planter' that you hang with the plant coming out the bottom. It's suppose to do AMAZING things to your plants and increase produce production. Well, I don't think we got a single tomato out of ours but I don't know if that's just the design or the fact that I have never been a plant person. Ok, maybe that's a bit of an understatement. Most plants die on my watch and thank goodness I have my husband who keeps our other plants at their greenest. But, I DO keep my kids alive and well, thank you very much!
Maybe I try another planting project this summer. We'll see.

Picture Frame Mural - Part 2

2011-06-01T08:30:00.000-07:00

I've decided it's going to take me forever to finish this wall but I'm getting it done, bit by bit. Part of it is that I don't have the pictures I want or I just plain haven't decided exactly what pictures to put. I'd like to put some pictures of extended family but the problem with that is 1.) we have a lot of separate families, like both sets of parents divorced and remarried so you can't really put them all together in one shot 2.) I don't want to leave anyone out because we actually have a lot of family in and out. I'll figure it out, but if anyone has any ideas to solve this problem, let me know!

For a while now I've been wanting to do this group of pictures. Ever since my son was little he's loved making everything into our family. Building rocket ships out of blocks he's say 'this is dad, this is mom'..... with everything. So, little by little I captured some of those 'family gatherings' on camera. Our family if we were rocket ships made out of blocks, Mr/Mrs. Potato heads, pumpkins and Easter egg bugs. I don't know what people think when they see it or if they even get it but I do and love seeing our family in so many different ways.

Train Party - Goodies/treats

2011-05-27T07:00:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of the party each kid got a little 'package' to start the fun.
In each bandana was a engineers hat and a train whistle. Many decided not to wear the hat or scarf while they played but they sure loved those whistles!
My eldest, no surprise, wanted to wear the whole costume. We're all about costumes round these parts. While they were leaving my sister (my lifesaver and best helper ever) set out empty goodie bags, fun treats, and even a cookie with their names on it for the road. To set it all out on we used an old shelf thing of my grandmothers, she says it's a antique kid desk. It is not the prettiest color and clashed but we did our best and covered it with a sheet that worked out well. I'm starting to like that shelf thing and think I have another painting projects on my list of things to do!
Mostly I just got treats with the matching colors and printed off the other stuff from my printable party then I taped them on bamboo skewers. Simple. I used random jars around the house and a vase. For the lolly pops I had a flower pot I used with some styrofoam left over from a shower I did a while back. These sweet jars came from the dollar store. I love them and am totally using them again. Also the candy was pretty easy because there is a lot of red, white and blue colored things around for the forth of July (I totally planned that so that will also be helpful for my others son's party who is using similar colors) I used red paper lunch bags which I had from V-day.
And personalized cookies. These were the best sugar cookies I've ever made. Seriously. All the little kids love the idea of having a 'candy bar' and filling there bags. Especially my boys, who got to have it up for a couple days (it's kind of gated off so it at least wasn't a complete free for all.) Here's the birthday boy sneaking a treat. Don't worry, we brushed a ton that weekend.
I love spoiling little kids! Also as a side note I had a number of favors and treats left over so I am planning on sending some to cousins and other friends who weren't able to attend.

Train Party - Games/Activities

2011-05-26T07:00:00.000-07:00

I kept things pretty simple because all of the kids were under 5 (possibly even 4). So I made sure we had every train set out we had and available to play with. This one got a lot of love. The cool thing is all these trains also double up as decoration.
We (by we I mean my husband, under my instruction) made railroad tracks all around the living room, through the kitchen and down the hall to the tunnel that the kids could run along. I also made 'train cars' for them out of legal file boxes, which are a lot stronger than normal ones. They were painted red and had names put on them, with a number, and we even had some small black balloons in the back to make it look like steam. They enjoyed pulling them around with stuffed animals, toys or even other kids in them.I had thought about doing a 'coal toss' using crumpled up pieces of black paper and shooting them in a box but I ended up not doing it. I like to try and stay as flexible as possible and let the kids decide what they'd like. A lot of time was spent inside playing with trains as well as out in the back yard in the sandbox, on bikes or jumping on the trampoline. It was mostly just fun and relaxed.

Train Party - Food

2011-05-25T07:00:00.000-07:00

When I first started looking around for train party ideas my mind went instantly to Parties by Hardie who does amazing printable parties. I fell in love with them when I did a monkey baby shower. I think the reason why I love the printable parties is they become my starting off point for me, from colors to theme and I just find I get lots of great ideas from doing them. Anyways, check Jennifer's store, you won't regret it.
I started with a banner. I almost did one of the printable ones but decided to make my own in the same colors but a little more generic, because I am doing my other son's party later this summer and I'm planning on using those and some other colors. Yea for being ahead of the game!
For the food I tried to do things that were not only kid friendly, but adult as well, so we had a variety of yummy stuff.
Drinks. I fell in LOVE with these water dispensers from Crate and Barrel. I saw other ones at other stores but they seemed cheapish. I just couldn't get the memory of the one I saw at a wedding that was leaking horribly and they had to put towels under it. So I went with the spendier ones but they are amazing quality. I think I'm in love.
Then for the bottles I found these fun straws, and printed out the labels on label paper. And if you're wondering about where I got the bottles (which you might because I searched online for them for-ev-er) they are actually Starbucks drinks. I don't drink them but my siblings do so I bought a bunch at Costco and let them have at it. I'm also planning on using these for my other son's party, so act surprised when you see them. I did find similar ones online that would have worked but with shipping they were like 3x more.
Food Train!!!! I took some time to make these, but did a little bit at a time. I made the base out of cardboard boxes, covered them in butcher paper, lined the inside with like 5 layers of foil, and added wheels. They did a great job holding up. The veggies were a little heavy but I just used a canning jar ring to keep the wheels from folding in on themselves. The kids LOVED them.
"Coal Car" was filled with olives, and couldn't seemed to stay stocked. One thing I know about kids is pretty much all of them love olives.

"Tender Car" had ranch dressing. To keep it from dripping too much in the container I made I actually put it in a ziploc back and folded the sides down. You couldn't really tell too much unless you were looking, though by the end it was looking a little sad, but not horrible.
"Station house Sandwiches" These are simple PB&J's cut in the shape of trains. I believe I got it off Amazon or you can just use a train cookie cutter.
"Log Car" large pretzels, the kids seemed to love it. In fact all the birthday boy ate were huge pretzels and a large amount of watermelon.

"Produce Car" was filled with hand cut celery and carrots.
"Carriage Cookies" I made sugar cookies with some tips and recipes from an amazing blog I've been enamored with lately called The Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle, you should check it out. I can't believe what she can do with a cookie. It was my first try at royal icing so I kept it pretty simple and think they turned out great. I also found an AMAZING new recipe for the best cut out sugar cookies ever, I mean better than store bought. I think the trick is the almond extract. Here is the recipe. Trust me, you'll love it.

"Caboose Cupcakes" using my favorite cupcake and frosting recipes (beware, they are very addictive) and tried something new with putting a second cupcake wrapper on after cooking and tying some bakers twine around it. It took a bit of practice but it got easier and I think was a nice touch.
Fruit Kabobs, I'm pretty sure this is the only thing my older son ate. They are simple and everyone loves them, perfect for parties.
"Wagon Wraps" A friend of mine has done these a couple of times for get-togethers and I always loved them and have been wanting to make the for some time. For a base you get a tortilla wrap, I used a couple different 'flavors' one spinach, one jalapeno, and the other sun dried tomato, and spread on some cream cheese. Layer on spinach or green leaf lettuce, put on meat, some cut bell peppers and some pepper jack cheese. Roll up and cut in half. Super simple but tastes great and looks a lot harder to make than it actually is.
I also made some pasta salad, I'll give the recipe later. It is simple, tasty and the perfect summer meal. And my little sis made two types of hummus. I'll see if I can pin down her recipe, she's told me but I have yet to write it down, but if you like hummus, you're going to want it.

Train Party - Decorations

2011-05-24T07:00:00.000-07:00

It was fun planning all the decorations for the party, there were so many fun things I wanted to do and I just couldn't resist.

Railroad sign. It was pretty easy to make. I used black butcher paper for most of it, using regular sized plates and dessert plates to trace the circles. The white part is a slightly sturdier strip of poster board and used my Cricut to cut the letters.
Train silhouette/tunnel. Also black butcher paper. For the train. I taped it up to the wall and with a picture I got online free hand traced and cut it. It's not as good as I would have liked but I didn't want to stress too much. The details were outlined in chalk. The tunnel was the same, it was probably the easiest thing I did. I saw someone do it online and did some rocks around the sides too, but I didn't have enough room for that.
Clouds and crepe paper. I kind of wanted the living room to be like a train station and have an 'outdoor' feel so I figured clouds would do the trick. I cut a bunch of the clouds out of poster board which I got from the $1 store for .59 each. I free hand cut them and hung them with fishing line attaching them to the ceiling with clear push pins (a must have in my house). For the crepe paper I fringed them as seen here. After some trial and error I figured the easiest way for me to do it was to wrap a roll of crepe paper around a large piece of cardboard then fringed it. It made things a lot easier.
Signs. Easy peasy. Just used cheap poster board from the $$ store and used my Cricut to cut the letters.
Picture collage. I wanted to have pictures of Mr. Max around so he could see them and thought about doing a 24 month mural type thing and this is what I came up with. Luckily I am pretty dedicated to my family blog so I just used pictures off of that and cut them to 4x4 prints with a piece of red card stock underneath. I used rub on-ons for the numbers. I'm sort of addicted to rub-ons.

Train Party - Choo Choo, I'm Two!

2011-05-23T07:00:00.000-07:00

This weekend was, to say it mildly, a little crazy, but in a good way. My youngest turned two and had his much anticipated train party. This has been in the works for a LONG time, probably 9 months or so and planning started right after my other son's 3rd party where he decided his next party theme and his brothers. Isn't he nice? I think in some ways he was thinking he was having 2 parties.

So for pretty much once a week since then, my son and I have looked around on the computer for what we were going to do for the "Train Party" and the "Superhero Party". What can I say, I've raised a party animal.

Now looking back I am slightly embarrassed about how overboard I might have gone with it all, though I wasn't really stressing about it, I just did a little bit at a time and planned ahead (You think 9 months is enough time???). Overall it was a lot of fun, I learned a lot and got to do something memorable for one of my favorite people in the world. Since I'm only doing this every other year, I figure I only get to do so many parties like this for my boys, especially if they don't want all this when they get older. Tear* I hope they do!
He had a blast and so did everyone else (I think). And I might be a little biased but I'm pretty sure he is the cutest 2 year old alive. I'm just sayin'.
All this week I will be posting more of the details about what I did and how. Enjoy!

Here are links to the posts:

Decorations
Food
Games and Activities
Treats/Goodies

Chugging Along

2011-05-18T14:33:00.000-07:00

I was just looking at a bunch of my favorite blogs thinking about all the fun stuff I haven't posted yet. I have a ton of projects done, pictures taken, in the works and ideas that are all coming along s-l-o-w-l-y. I just wish there were more hours in the day but I try to remind myself about sticking to the most important things and letting the rest fall into place where they may. My babies are only little once you know.

Speaking of important things, today is my Max's 2nd birthday!!! I can't believe it, and I've been working hard on getting his party together. It's been in the works for months and we're almost ready to go for a crazy, fun filled weekend. I think it's going to be great, pictures to come (soon I hope!)
I've been slowing things down in my shop to work on the party and spend some time with the boys, because the sun has finally decided to visit Oregon. You got to take what you can get. Also I have a ton of big orders to fill and I'm almost caught up with it all. I just finished these YW value necklaces for a group of YW going off to girls camp. I sure miss those days.
Here is my last big order to fill, a huge wedding order for a bunch of these earrings, aren't they fun? It reminds me of sitting on the beach in the summer time. I think I'm long overdue for a trip. But it will probably have to wait till I finish this order.
And lastly a question for anyone with any sort of opinion on the matter. I am thinking about getting a Silhouette machine but am a little torn. I have a Cricut, the small one, I bought years ago when they first started and have a bunch of cartridges. I use it semi often but sometimes don't because I don't have the image/font I want and don't want to pay for a whole cartridge. Which is why I'm thinking about the Silhouette. What to do, what to do? A crafters dilemma.

On the good side, both boys are napping, at the same time. It's a regular miracle around here. Better get some stuff done.

Why I Stayed Up WAYYYY Too Late Last Night

2011-05-05T11:24:00.000-07:00

I've been hit with party fever lately. When my son, Levi had his 2nd b-day I decided I was only going to do 'big/friend' party every other year, on the evens, and on the odds we would do it with family but with a super awesome cake. This year, and every other year from now on, I have two I'm planning, a train one for my soon to be 2 year old Max and a superhero one for Levi at the end of the summer.

Ever since his last birthday Levi has been talking about his 4 year old party. It was decided long ago it would be a superhero one and at least once a week we talk about it or look at cool superhero stuff on the computer. Even though my other son's party is in just over 2 weeks, I saw the coolest idea for my super-boy and started on it last night. It took me forever to get just right but I didn't want to stop in the middle of it because I know how I am with projects, better to finish now or it might just be a year before it happens. I LOVE it and am going to turn it into a poster for his party. Part of me really wants to show him but I kind of want it to be a surprise for his party. Good thing he can't get on the computer!

Picture Frame Mural - Part 1

2011-04-14T08:00:00.000-07:00

My friend came over to my house the other day and commented on my picture frame mural I have going up the stairway. It's a split level so you can see it from the door. Then she mentioned something about the crafting projects I'm always doing.

Then I had to let her in on a little secret. This project, which still isn't finished, is something I have been working on for a YEAR. That's right. I had to collect the frames, paint them, put bracket things on them so they would hang, arrange them, put them up, re- arrange some and I still haven't put pictures in them.

Ok. I have a couple of pictures put up so I'll show them to you. It's probably my favorite part of the whole thing anyways.

These are the most recent pictures of us with our personalized license plates beneath it. While I was on a trip to the beach I actually found plates for all of us which NEVER happens. Heck, I can hardly ever find my name, Kendra, and when I do, I buy whatever it is no matter what. It's only happened 5 times. Ever. Levi? I think I've only found it once and Max never before this. So I knew I had to do something with them.

For each of the license plates I spray painted them black and after they dried I hand painted the white letters. On the bottom of each frame I screwed in two hooks to hang them from. It's pretty simple but I love it!

Monday's Top Five - Birthday Supplies

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

Ever have a birthday come up that you had totally spaced about? Happens to me far too often. So I have made up a 'birthday box' with all of my favorite supplies to have on hand for just such occasions.

1.) Spare birthday presents. I always keep a number on hand, kid ones, baby ones, mom ones..... you name it. That way you don't have to go out to the store and probably spend more than you normally would have. Sometimes when buying stuff for Christmas or other occasions I just pick up stuff along the way if I see a good deal.
2.) Blank cards. Again, so you don't have to go out and get some last minute, they are right on hand. I have all sorts, some specific for a wedding or birthday but most are fairly general so it can be used for any occasion.

3.) Tissue paper. I use this for filling bags if I use a bag for packaging but many times I'll just wrap up my presents in tissue paper. This is great for little kids so they can open the presents more easily.
4.) Other packaging. I use all sorts of types, bags, colored paper sacks, and my favorite pillow case boxes. I use these a lot for my jewelry because they fit perfectly and I love the fact that they fold down nicely for easier storage. Also I can just tie a bow around them and they are good to go.
5.) Fun ribbon and fabric scraps. Sometimes this is my favorite part, it makes the package look fun and interesting. I picked up a number of rolls of ribbon that is normally used in flower arranging and found them at a garage sale for under a dollar. I confess, I'm a ribbon hoarder. Also if you don't have ribbon you can use strips of fabric which also look great!
These five have helped me a TON when I've been in a pinch with getting someone a gift.

Mondays Top Five - Crafting Supplies

2011-03-28T08:00:00.000-07:00

So I don't know why but I've been thinking about some of my favorite things, as a crafter, as a mother, as a cook.... and decided I'd share some of them. I've tried to put some of my favorite things that people might not know much about. So here goes!

1.) Hanging pincushions. I had a tutorial on these a year or so ago and I use them ALL THE TIME, at least every other day and I haven't been sewing in months. You'd be surprised how handy it is to have a pin, threaded needle or safety pin close by and it doesn't take up much space.
2.) E-6000. Best glue ever. It sticks just about anything to anything. I have probably used 5-6 tubes in the past year. It might be some sort of addiction.
3.) My Crop-a-Dile which can punch small and large holes through thick materials. Several years ago I was WAY into scrapbooking and got this. Then I switched hobbies and didn't think I'd get much use out of this one. Surprisingly I use this one fairly regularly. It has made my life a lot easier. Even my husband uses it sometimes.
4.) Earth magnets. I love a good magnet. I have a magnet menu board, magnet reminder board, my fridge....and so am forever using magnets and making them. I found these online and they are super strong and thin. The problem is with ones you find in craft stores is that they are 3x thicker but only half as strong. You can find them on e-bay or etsy, I haven't been able to find them in any store, just online. Trust me, if you use magnets at all, you'll soon be addicted too.
5.) Ink refill kit. If you use your printer a lot, you're going to love this. I remember in collage I would watch them refill my cartridges and all they did was use a syringe, stick it in a hole, under the sticker, and fill it. Ok, it might have been a little more complicated but not really. If you run through ink like I do, this saves you a TON of money. My set has more than paid for itself several times over. Again an online purchase. They don't sell these or other refill kits in office supply stores because they want you to get yours refilled there. Just look it up online. This was possibly e-bay or amazon, I can't remember off the top of my head.

Hope you liked my top five! What are some of your favorite crafting things?

Happy Friday and 3 Winners!

2011-03-25T10:40:00.000-07:00

I LOVED reading all these amazing things my readers did that they never thought they could, they inspired me all week long. People who have overcome illnesses, lost weight, living in other countries or away from family, changed jobs or started a new career, went back to school, forgave someone they never thought they could, quit smoking and so many more great things. So thank you all for making my week. People never cease to amaze me.

Now on to what everyone is waiting for....WINNERS!

1st a $75 gift certificate to Belleza Mia Jewelry

Abby over at Delete The Adjectives

2nd a $35 gift certificate to Belleza Mia Jewelry

Jinx over at Jinx

3rd a $20 gift certificate to Ellie Bow Bellie hair bows

Yulia!

Also for those of you who didn't win I decided I'll give 20% off EVERYTHING in my shop. I have never given that big of a discount before and the code to use is:

GIVEAWAY20

Thanks again for participating everyone and here's to 1,000 more. Have a great weekend!

CLOSED Huge Giveaway with Belleza Mia and Ellie Bow Bellie!

2011-03-17T00:46:00.000-07:00

I didn't expect this day to come so soon and I actually had a different post I was going to put up but I can't wait. If you don't know what I'm talking about let me tell you.

I have reached 2,000 sales!!!

And the last 1,000 in less than 5 months. Yipes! I can't believe I've made that many pieces of jewelry. Well, more than that with gifts, shows and for friends. When I first started I was just trying to pay for my hobbies (which are far too many, but a girls got to keep busy right?) then it just snowballed and I have been able to quit my part time job, have more flexible hours at home with my boys and be creative all at the same time.

I am so grateful to everyone who has supported me with this and helped me to believe I could do it. I'm especially thankful to my husband who, while at first wondered if all this would pay off, still supported me and encouraged me. He is now is my right hand man on the business end of things and is going to be working on getting a website up and running. He's my hero.

Now for the good stuff. This is my biggest giveaway yet with 3, that's right, 3 winners.

1st a $75 gift certificate to Belleza Mia Jewelry

2nd a $35 gift certificate to Belleza Mia Jewelry

3rd a $20 gift certificate to Ellie Bow Bellie hair bows

Here are some pieces from Belleza Mia Jewelry if you want to head over and take a look. Also you can get 15% off if you enter the code BM2000 which will last during the giveaway.

Who is Ellie Bow Bellie you might ask? Well, I have a friend Tracy and she is extremely talented and crafty. She makes beautiful and fun hair accessories for girls and I practically drool when I see all the beautiful stuff she comes up with. Makes me want a little girl REAL bad. My friends with girls love her stuff and I highly recommend her. You can find her and some of her work on facebook here.

On to the details. Here's how to enter.

There are 6 ways to enter. Please comment separately for each entry to increase your chances, and leave your e-mail so I can let you know if you won!

1. Comment. Tell me something you have done that you never thought you could (not being a parent because I think that's a given for everyone).

2. Follow Belleza Mia Jewelry on Facebook

3. Follow Ellie Bow Bellie on Facebook

4. Follow On My Side of the Room

5. Refer a friend to Belleza Mia on Facebook or through a blog post

6. Refer a friend to Ellie Bow Bellie on Facebook or through a blog post

Buena suerte!

Giveaway ends in one week on March 24th at midnight.

Winner, winner!

2011-03-08T10:55:00.000-08:00

We have a winner. Drumroll......Sandy is our big winner of the day! But don't feel too down because I am only 50, yes 50, sales away from 2,000. I can't believe I've made that many pieces! I'm not sure what I'm going to do to celebrate, but you can bet it's going to be good, so stay posted.

Just for Fun Giveaway

2011-03-02T21:50:00.000-08:00

This is probably one of my favorite designs, probably because it's olive green, very sparkly which I can't resist, and it goes with just about everything. Also I figured it fitting for St. Patrick's day.

I just decided a couple minutes ago I would do a giveaway to all those out there who read my scattered posts, you're great!
Oh, you will also get a matching pair of earrings.

So here's how it goes. This giveaway will go through Monday the 5th at midnight.

There are 4 ways to enter. Please comment separately, and leave your e-mail so I can let you know if you won!

1. Comment. Tell me how you stumbled upon my blog/store.

2. Follow me on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/pages/BellezaMia/113210612047606)

3. Follow me on my blog, which most of you already do!

4. Refer a friend either on FB, or through a blog post. Just let me know you did it.

Buena suerte!

Bouncing baby boy - to be

2011-02-14T08:00:00.000-08:00

This is Becca and she was one of my very best friends in high school. Even though it's been years (and years) since we hung out consistently, I still consider her one of my best friends because every time we see each other it's like we're back in the cafeteria hanging out, only now were married and SOOOO much cooler. Ok. I only ditched the glasses and braces. She's still cool as ever, probably more so.
The other day she asked me if I could take a couple shots of her before she has her little one, Sawyer.
I'm so excited for her and think she is going to be one amazing mommy. Too bad we both (so far) only make boys because once there is a girl in the mix you can bet I'm trying to hook someone up. It would be a dream come true if our kids ever married. I might just be dreaming but I can still hope!

Worth a Thousand Words

2011-02-08T18:52:00.000-08:00

So I am not a photography expert by any means, but it is something I have loved ever since I was a yearbook photographer in jr. high. Yeah. I was that cool. And later on I didn't use much more than a point and shoot camera for all of my many collage years.

When baby #1 came my husband and I were still in school and very poor. You should have seen our apartment, it was a basement apartment in a house divided in 4, possibly 5 separate living areas. It was a glorified hallway. I know, pretty glamorous. But right before I had my Levi, I saw a woman on craigslist looking for some babies to photograph to expand her portfolio. You can bet I got in touch as fast as I could to see if she would do mine when he came, and she was so sweet and said she would. When I saw the final results they were AMAZING. They are still to date some of my favorite pictures and I will forever be grateful she agreed to do it. I know without them we wouldn't have had any newborn pictures of him.

Now I have been doing a lot more photography thanks to the fact we have two of the most beautiful boys ever created (not that I'm biased or anything) and I am fairly devoted to our family blog. That and the photography tips I have learned from taking pictures for my shop, have taught me a lot and because of it I have been my asked numerous times by family and friends to take pictures for weddings, sr. pics, babies, you name it. I normally say yes because I know, that while I am not perfect, far from anything professional and am still learning, it can mean a lot to someone especially if they otherwise weren't going to have pictures done at all. I guess me is better than nothing! It's fun and I always learn a lot.

Today I took maternity pictures for a good friend (hopefully I'll post them soon)from high school. As we chatted I remembered when I did another friends birth story and couldn't find it posted anywhere so I thought I'd put it up again, especially since she wanted to see it. This was an amazing experience, it was my first time ever seeing a live birth, including my own since I had two c-sections. I was so grateful she let me be there for it.

Slideshow: Baby Gavin Birth Experience - Slideshow

Giveaway over at Delia Creates

2011-02-05T10:14:00.001-08:00

I get approached several times a week to do giveaways and I must admit most of the time I turn people down. 1.) because I can only do so many and 2.) I try to do them in places I love to go and believe in

For almost a year now I have been following Delia over at Delia Creates. She has such great ideas for crafts, kids activities and just has a fresh way of looking at things. This is one of the few blogs I really do look at almost every day. You might call me a stalker. But not in a creepy way. So when I decided to do a giveaway I knew who I wanted to do it with immediately.
So here's her giveaway, it goes through Monday. Click HERE to enter.

The giveaway is for any of my personalized necklaces. I customize everything. The stone, charms, length, whatever you'd like. A GREAT gift for V-day. So enter. Talk your husband boy friend, friend into entering and get yourself something unique,
something pretty,
and something that is just YOU.

Updates and Wedding Ideas

2011-02-04T01:54:00.001-08:00

So. I totally thought things would slow down after the holidays and I could actually get to blogging about some of the fun things I've been up to, besides making tons of jewelry. But who knew that everyone and their uncle would be getting married this spring/summer and looking for some fun, unique jewelry. I think for now I'll probably post more about what I'm up to in the jewelry world, my giveaways and post other crafts and fun stuff when I can. Man. I really wish I didn't have to sleep sometimes!

Here are some of my more popular wedding order pieces. Let me know which is your fav. Also I give a 15% discount on all bridal orders so tell your friends!

Sterling silver and aventurine gemstone. Nature is in.
Gold orchid and aqua chalcedony drops. People have been loving the orchids. Gold, silver, big, small....
Personalized hand stamped trio, your choice of stone, letter and freshwater pearl (this one has been quite a hit this year!)
Sterling silver and keshi pearls. A twist on your traditional pearl necklace.

Candyland Game Cake Replica

2010-12-23T22:39:00.001-08:00

My shop has been WAY busier than I expected it to be for the holiday season, thus the reason for my absence. I haven't got to do all the crafting I was planning on doing for Christmas but I was able to have some fun creating besides making jewelry 24/7.

I was asked, along with a number of ladies at church, to make a gingerbread house for 'Santa's Workshop' for the kids to see before they saw Santa. I thought and thought about it but came up with nothing. While Mr. Man and I were playing one of our many games of candyland, I decided something with a candyland theme would be fun. So off to the computer I went for some ideas and saw some of the coolest candy/cake replicas I have ever seen.

I knew it was more than what they were asking but once I had it in my head, I knew nothing else would do. So with the help of my crafty and clever husband and with some restraint from the kiddos we did it! I must admit that by the end of it all I was a little sick of candy for a couple weeks. Hard to believe, I know.

All and all it wasn't too tricky, just took a lot of time.
To start I got a large board and covered it with foil. After that I made 3 sheet cakes, a bunch of butter cream frosting and let my husband have at it. He layered and shaped it into mountains. Isn't he good? It was way better that what I was planning.
Then on I added a layer of rice crispies. If I had to do it again, I would make the base thicker so it would be easier to add all the decorative stuff on top. Some of it got a little tricky. I would maybe do the whole thing in cake (though, that would be a whole lot of cake). Or maybe do a bigger base of rice crispies.

After the base was formed I got the hubs to help me make some marshmellow fondant to cover it all. Also not too tricky, just a good workout. All the squares were colored and cut squares from fondant.
I used a #2 round tip to pipe on all the the words and other details.
Gingerbread Tree. I used graham crackers I shaped with a serrated knife. For the 'leaves' I put drops of green food coloring in a bowl and mixed mini marshmallows around then let them dry. I then attached them with frosting. It was propped up by another graham cracker.
Licorice Forest. I used different types of licorice and either cut or peeled the tops to give it a tree/branch effect. On some of the taller ones I stuck a thin wooden dowel down the center to give it some stability.
Gumdrop Pass. Basically just a ton of different size gumdrops stuck on with frosting or stacked with wooden skewers. I don't know if you can see it but we did some 'Gumdrop Mountains' which were also just staked and stuck with frosting. Delicious.
Peppermint Forest. This part was probably the easiest. Just stick in all the types and sizes of candy you can find. In the forest I piped in 'snow banks' with butter cream frosting using a larger round tip.
Snowflake Lake. Actually this marshmallow/frosting area was supposed to be where "Princess Frostine" lived. I figured marshmallows would give the same effect but be more stable than piles of frosting.
Gloppy! This is Mr. Man's favorite part. One day he had chocolate on his hands and said, " Look mom, I'm Gloppy!" He makes me laugh. I did a 'pool' of chocolate frosting and then stuck lots of chocolaty treats in it. For Gloppy I got 3 large tootsie rolls and sculpted him. I softened them in the microwave for a few seconds at a time. His eyes were white piped frosting. The slid around a little bit but still have a good effect.
Peanut Acres, where Mrs. Nutt lives. We were going to do her house but we didn't have enough room so we just used a little bit of peanut brittle, peanuts and a couple of nutter butters to get the same effect.
And the game pieces. I made these out of gum paste using a mini gingerbread man cookie cutter and small circle for the base. They were much easier than I thought. I love gumpaste.
Last but not least: Candy Castle! My crafty husband sculpted this for me entirely out of rice crispies and then I went crazy with all the leftover candy. This was probably my funnest, favorite part.

You can also kind of see Lolly Pop Woods, also pretty easy. Just a lot of lolly pops. I got the huge one from the dollar store and broke off a piece so it was smaller and wasn't blocking the view of the castle. You don't want to do the lolly pops too much in advance because after a couple days they start to get really sticky and drip.
It took a couple days to get it all set up and on the last night I stayed up till 3am putting the finishing touches. I was extremely exhausted and was sick of it all. But when I woke up it the morning and saw it with refreshed eyes I was so happy I did it! Mr. Man and the Little Prince were practically drooling when the saw it.

Here's Mr. man with it. I asked him to point to his favorite part. I totally thought he would point to Gloppy because that's always been his favorite. Guess what he's pointing to? The train set that was in Santa's Workshop. Typical boy.

Happy Holidays!

Back by Popular Demand!

2010-11-04T07:00:00.000-07:00

When I first opened my shop I made fun fabric flowers to sell in my etsy shop. I loved them and they sold pretty well but I decided to focus more on the jewelry side of things because I didn't have time to do both.

Well, I don't have any more time than I used to but I do have a fantastic and talented friend helping me with the flowers. She does a great job, don't you think????

A Quilt in the Making

2010-11-02T07:30:00.000-07:00

Anyone have a project they've been working on for years? Yeah, I have a couple of those. One of my first blog posts was about a quilting 'block of the month' class I was taking. That was last year. And guess what? I haven't even laid a finger on it since the class ended about this time last year. How did that happen? Taking care of two little boys happened.

Well, I finally put all the pieces together! Now all it needs is the outer border, quilting it and edging.
I learned to make flowers, prairie points, trees, baskets, log cabins and a lot of other stuff.
One of my favorite things about the quilt is the fabric. It is country vintage with chicken wire, flowers, gingham and plaids in bright fun colors.
Though I got a lot done, I am pretty sure I won't be getting any more work done on it until after the holidays. Until then it will sit in my closet, just hopefully not for another year!

Spooky Spinners

2010-10-27T08:00:00.000-07:00

I was looking through my files and I had marked this Halloween craft last year to do this year but completely forgot about it and I just don't think it's going to happen. But I thought I'd share it with the rest of the world because they are so cool!You can find all the FREE printouts at Owl Sorts. Enjoy!

Celebration Giveaway Winner!

2010-10-26T11:00:00.000-07:00

I am pretty sure this was my favorite giveaway yet! It was so much fun and so touching to hear all the things everyone has accomplished that they thought they wouldn't. Doing a triathlon, traveled to a foreign country, finish collage, bungee jump, following seemingly impossible dreams, surviving difficult times, having and raising children....just amazing things. I was so inspired.

Now, on to the good stuff.
Congratulations to #171, Peach Nia!

Thanks to everyone who participated and hope to see you round these parts.

Also I am offering a special pre-holiday discount of 15% off everything in my shop. What can I say, I still feel like celebrating. Discount will be given after payment via paypal. Just mention my blog!

Halloween Treats

2010-10-26T08:00:00.000-07:00

This year I made Halloween treat plates. Partially because I just was itching to try some new treats and partially because I don't know if I will be doing one for Christmas this year. It sure is going to be a busy holiday season. I am doing a number of holiday bazaars and craft shows and I'm so excited. A little nervous but excited.

So I decided to go all out on my Halloween treats this year and it was so much fun! The kids loved it.
One of the treats I made was 'mummy cookies'. Super easy and really cute (you can see them on the left side of the plate).

I started by first melting some chocolate.
Then grabbed some Nutter Butters (we love them 'round here)
Dip.
Oh, and you'll need to make some eyes. I just used a condiment bottle to make them, like I did here.
Let the cookies cool.
Now use a little bit of melted chocolate to attach the eyes. This one looks a little cross eyed.
Then using the condiment bottle drizzle lines of white chocolate.
Isn't he cute? And oh, so delicious.

Then I used up those chocolate skeleton bones I made. Told you I would!

The base is a rectangle brownie with frosting and crumbled up brownies on top. I should have used chocolate frosting to make it look a little more life like. But I used what I had on hand.
I also added some fun hershey nuggets with fun Halloween labeles, and the label on the plate was a fun personal touch. I am totally using them again.
Happy Halloween!

Ghostastic Cheese Cloth Ghosts

2010-10-25T08:00:00.000-07:00

When I was doing my mini ghosts, I went and made a 'ghost family' to pay tribute to my family tradition (with out all the sugar).

To make the ghost forms I found some cans of various sizes from our recycle bin, used crumpled up paper for the heads (I would use something besides paper, probably a balloon or something. The cloth ended up sticking to the paper on one of them), spoons taped to the back and a ton of masking tape.
After the forms are made I just used cheese cloth covered in stiffy (you don't need it soaked, just dampened) and let it dry over night.
Then all you need to do is decorate! (I have yet to decorate mine, but my little boys are going to love it!)

The Candy Man Can

2010-10-24T18:00:00.000-07:00

Cause he mixes it with love and makes the world taste good...Got to love Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

My son was singing that on the way back to the car at the pumpkin patch while he ran around with his own 'candy man'. While we were buying our pumpkins, he spied the fun sweet treat. Ok, it was me. And we had to get it. Mr. Man was thrilled with his, making him dance, run,and turn somersaults. It was so much fun to see him so excited. And on the car ride home? "Mom, I want to eat his head".
So I totally copied the idea and made a ton for all our trick-or-treaters. Is it wrong to totally copy like that? It's not like I was selling them. Plus I used toosie rolls for the arms instead of smarties, so I wasn't completely copying...... I sure hope everyone like them as much as my boys do.

FYI, I just used a glue gun to put the arms, legs and head on if anyone wants to try it out!

Candy Molds, Take II

2010-10-24T08:00:00.000-07:00

Several years back my sister and I decided to make chocolate candies and goodies for Christmas. They didn't go so well. Neither of us had any idea what we were doing and I, like with most things, didn't really follow directions and just tried to figure it out in my head. Since that time I have stayed away from the candy making department. Scardy cat, I know.

Then a couple weeks ago I saw the coolest chocolate mold. It was a skeleton and I seriously couldn't help myself, I had to get it. I did a trial run right after I bought it and the first couple pieces were ok but the rest, not so much.

So on the second run I took things a little slower and they turned out great (I EVEN read some directions)! I'm pretty sure I've gotten over my fear.

I used the melty chocolate wafters bought in bulk at our local winco.
Also this time I did two things differently: used a condiment bottle instead of a ziploc bag and heated through indirect heat instead of direct heat. Meaning I put the chocolate in the container, then the container in water. I had been putting it in the microwave for 10 seconds at a time which had worked at first but eventually burned it. I also did this on the stove top on low.
The condiment bottle worked perfectly at pouring. On my first try I used a ziploc bag, because that's what I had on hand and guess what? It burst open and it was just a big ol' mess. This was much better, and they are really inexpensive.
After filling the molds just give it a little tap to make it nice and smooth.
Let it cool and harden. To speed that up I put it in the freezer for a little bit.

After it's cooled turn it upside down and give it a little tap to help the pieces come out, like you would do for an ice cube tray. Don't do the 'twist' method, not that I'VE ever tried that one.
It's pretty easy, don't know why it took me so long to figure out! I made a huge pile of bones, you'll see why soon enough....

Halloween Cookies

2010-10-22T08:00:00.000-07:00

For as long as I can remember I have always associated Halloween with the 'peanut butter crunch cookies' my mom would make, it's the sweet tooth in me. I can't have a Halloween without them. This year is no exception, they were perfect and just the way I remember them.
Peanut Butter Crunch Cookies (aka Halloween Cookies)
2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups peanut butter
2 cups Karo's syrup
15 oz corn flakes (though I usually end up putting in more like 24 oz, much crunchier but depends on what you prefer)
Chocolate for melting

Combine sugar, peanut butter and syrup in a sauce pan and heat on low. Heat until sugar is dissolved. Once dissolved, mix corn flakes and peanut butter mixture. Drop spoonfuls of the mix onto wax paper. When you are done, drizzle melted chocolate on top.

A winner every time!

Celebration Giveaway CLOSED

2010-10-18T09:18:00.000-07:00

When I first started opened my etsy store it was more to pay for my hobbies and to have some fun jewelry more than anything else. I never thought I would be at where I am now with my store. Yipes! Somedays I think about it and am taken aback at the fact that people PAY me for something I made and I get to do something I love. Because of it, I have been able to quit my job I had at a law firm out of my house in my 'free time'(it was really only a quarter time job working 2-4 hours a day, but in mommy land, that's a lot). This has de-stressed my life a lot and now I have the flexibility I need being a busy mom with two very active boys. And it's something I want to do, rather than have to do.

Just last week I reached my 1,000 sales mark. I still can't believe it as I write it. So to celebrate I am giving away a $50 gift certificate for anything at my store. That's right. Go nuts, get some Christmas shopping done early or get some thing nice for yourself. I MIGHT even give away 2 gift certificates, one to celebrate my October b-day! We'll see how I'm feeling......

To enter:

1.) Just leave me a comment telling me something great you did that you never thought you could. Please leave me your e-mail address. I have had people win in the past I had no way of telling them they won! That would be sad.

For more entries you can (yes, shameless self promotion, but the first entry is free for all!!!):
Please leave a separate comment for each entry!

2.) Visit my etsy shop and tell me what you would get if you won.

3.) Become a follower on Facebook

4.) Become a follower of my blog

5.) Post my button on your blog (you can find the code on my blog)

Details, details.
Contest goes for one whole week and ends Monday October 25th at midnight.

Bats

2010-10-17T20:38:00.000-07:00

I love decorating for the holidays but sometimes it can be 1.) expensive 2.)time consuming and 3.) take up a lot of space. So this year I've tried to find things that aren't any of these three. One of them is making some paper bats. They are so simple and look really great, at least in my opinion.
All you need are some scissors, black paper and fishing line.

Just find a good design template or make your own. I found one here and made up a couple other ones in different sizes. Then pull out those scissors and start cutting! I folded mine in the middle so they would look like they were flying. Then on either end of the wings I punched a small hole and used it to tie up either end of a piece of fishing wire. Hang them up around your house and your done! This is something even little kids can help with.
The pictures aren't the best but trust me, they look WAY better in person!

Smiles

2010-10-17T07:59:00.000-07:00

My oldest son has, for the most part, always loved to have his picture taken. I take a lot of pictures for my blogs and etsy store so it is out all the time to which he will inevitably say 'Mom, take a picture' . Sometimes it's just of him, sometimes of his cars and him but for whatever reason he just loves it!

This time I was working on taking some pictures of my jewelry while the littlest prince was sleeping when it happened again. It takes a good hour to get all my pics taken because I usually save a bunch up and I like to take my time. The little man is pretty patient with it all and tries to help.
He just makes me smile.

Here are some of the pictures of my new pieces I was working on. Looking at them I can see just how much I love simplicity, birds and the color blue!

Spooky Candle Holders

2010-10-15T08:00:00.000-07:00

For several months now I have been wanting to do some fun Halloween decorations. I didn't do much last year, I'm not sure why but I'm sure there was a good reason. But for this year I REALLY wanted to get/make some fun, spooky decorations.
One thing I really wanted was some fun candle holders. I looked in numerous thrift stores for weeks and didn't find any I liked (I'm sure many Halloween enthusiasts had similar plans in mind). But I finally scored a couple fun candle holders that would fit my spooktastic needs.
The brass candle holder in the middle I have no idea how it was originally used. It seems like there was no base, yet there was no way to hang it either, so I got a different candle holder and used a TON of E6000 to keep it in place. Once that was done I went crazy with the spray paint. Every time my husband hears that tin can shaking his eyes start rolling! He'll never stop me and my spray paintin' ways.
I still have some finishing touches I want to add, like antiquing it up a bit and adding some cobwebs but wanted to show it off. Better now than Nov. 1st!

Mini Cheesecloth Ghosts

2010-10-14T13:34:00.000-07:00

I saw this idea somewhere and I wish I could remember where but I don't. Anyways, it's a variation on what my family used to do when I was a kid. We would make 'ghosts' out of cheese cloth and sugar, it was a great family tradition. This is the same idea but using a fabric stiffener instead of sugar, which is probably good because my mom told me that sometimes we would suck on our sugar laden ghosts. Kids are so gross.
To form the base I used some balls my boys had from a little ball pit they got from one of their grandpas. I believe I saw it using Easter eggs but you could use anything round, I thought about using a balloon too. Whatever works.

I rolled up some paper to use as the base and taped the balls on.
Next I grabbed my "stiffy" fabric stiffener and some cheesecloth squares cut to 8x8 inches.
Just put the stiffener in a bowl and get the squares wet with the stuff and put them on whatever the form is. I used two squares for each ghost.
After I let them dry overnight I strung some fishing line right through their heads (they are still pretty 'holy') and got hole punch and black paper for the eyes. Easy peasy.
I love them and my three year old keeps telling me how 'tuete' they are.

Gigantic Tree and A New Look for my Bedroom

2010-10-13T11:50:00.000-07:00

I've never had a decorated room of my own. Now, when I was a kid we always got to choose the color paint and do what we wanted with it but as an adult? Never. While I was collage student I was always too busy and poor to do much decorating. Also to tell the truth I didn't care much. It was a lot to invest when I knew we would be moving soon anyways. But now that we are in a more permanent place (kind of) I wanted to have a nice, decorated, adult room. It might be a little materialistic of me but it's just something I've always wanted. A sleigh bed, nice furniture, cute decorations. The works.

So I'm not completely done with redoing my bedroom but it's a good half the way done. Wall paper removed, repainted, new furniture, and half decorated. I still need to figure out what I'm going to do for bedding (any suggestions? I'm thinking simple, maybe yellow because it's my accent color or black and white??? Definitely something quilted though), pillows and I want to recover the bench we have at the end of the bed. It's a tan color and I want something different. Also I NEED more closet space so some organizing needs to happen there.
So here it is, my giant tree. I have never spent so much on one item that was purely decorative in my life. But I have been lusting after a huge vinyl tree for almost a year and saved up. Me and my husband even agreed on one we both liked. I LOVE it! It brings the outdoors in and every time I look at it I smile.
I had to have some birds too. There are four total, like the members in our family. According to my son the one on the dresser is my husband, I am on the branch, my youngest son is in the middle of the tree and my oldest is on my nightstand there to greet me every morning.
And I love my nightstand with my lamp, fun frames I found and painted from thrift stores and one of the first pictures of me and the hubster.

I don't like the big bulky alarm clock and need to get something just a little cuter but it's necessary I suppose and works for now. Oh, like the quote? I got it from a cute store on etsy. It's from Mr. Darcy's proposal scene in Pride and Prejudice.
So that's my room, at least part of it. And like all things in my house, a work in progress. While it might be a little materialistic of me, the changes have really made a difference in how I feel when I see it nice, clean and pretty. It makes me smile, it makes me want to play on the bed with my kids, and even makes me not completely loathe folding laundry on it. Most of all it's nice having a room to call my own.

Baby Shower Ideas

2010-10-12T08:00:00.000-07:00

I love a good baby shower and love even more to plan one. Even though it's usually a lot of work and planning, there is something about taking an idea and turning it into a reality that excites me.

Whenever I plan any sort of baby/bridal shower I like to have a theme or something that ties everything together. When I was planning for a baby shower a while back I found some FABULOUS baby shower ideas when I was brainstorming what theme to do. I decided on a "Little Monkey" theme which turned out great but I'm sure going to be using some of these for the next one I plan. I've compiled them and thought I'd share what I found for all of you who might be needing an idea or two!

Sugar and Spice

Too Tweet For Words

Owl Theme (you could do 'Hooo doesn't love a baby?' or 'Guess hoooo's coming?')

Mommy to BEE
Cute bee cupcakes
And tons of cute ideas here!
Cute as a Button
Button cookies

Fabulus ideas from Gluesticks!
Fun button flowers and invitations from Celebrations at Home.

Milk and Cookies

She's Just About to POP! (this was one I did a while back, it was so much fun!)

Here are some other baby shower themes I came up with or I have seen done. These ideas make me wish I was planning one but I'm working on a bridal shower so that will have to do for now!

Babies are so Sweet!
Sweet Peas, Peas in a pod
Lady bugs
All sports
John deere
Fairies
Nursery rhymes

Any other ideas???

Wall Flowers

2010-09-21T07:00:00.000-07:00

You all probably might remember I have a slight fear of putting things on the wall but since I've started I haven't stopped!

While brainstorming about what to put on the walls I've thought of wall paper, which is making a comeback. But I recently took down several layers of extremely dated paper and to me it's not worth it, unless your going to want to re-paper it every five years or so to avoid totally dating your house. Then I thought about painting or stenciling stuff on but my husband convinced me it was too much work. Then it hit me. Vinyl wall art. Now I just can't stop! I am in love.

I found a great etsy shop Signs By CJ, which has a great selection of cute stuff. It was so hard to pick just one thing! So I got some flowers and spread them out in my kitchen next to my recently re-painted farm window.
Then I couldn't resist found this amazing vinyl chalkboard with chalkboard pen. This is perfect for right inside the cupboard door where we can always have something to write our grocery list!
Vinyl art, it's the way to go!

Wedding Fever Giveaway

2010-09-16T21:34:00.001-07:00

I have weddings on the brain. Over the past month or so I've gone to more weddings than I probably have in the past 5 years combined! To top that, this past weekend I photographed a friends wedding AND I am have been working on my cousin's wedding and bridal shower that's happening in November/December. I sure love a good wedding!

Anyhoo. I thought I'd do a 'wedding themed' giveaway just for fun. Because pearls always remind me of weddings, I thought I'd give away a pearl earring and necklace set from my shop. I have several sets (though listed separately) and here are some pics of the four you can choose from (each have matching earrings/necklace)

To enter all you have to do is leave a comment sharing with me the most interesting/creative wedding idea you can, I can sure use some good ones! That's it. Winner will be picked Sunday night at midnight.

Oh, and here are some of the wedding pics I took. It was my first one and I'm so grateful to have had the opportunity! Aren't they a gorgeous couple?

Cards

2010-09-15T07:00:00.000-07:00

I don't know when my love affair with flash cards began. I think it was when my son first started to figure out colors, shapes and such. I bought them up by the boat loads. They were fun.....for a while. Then they were just a mess.

I first used the boxes they came in to keep them together, but they were quickly ripped up. Then I tried rubber bands but that didn't work either. Finally we just ended up mixing them and throwing them in a little tub. Sadly I didn't pull them out for a long time because I knew the mess they would make and I didn't want to deal with it.
While I was visiting my sister in law, I saw these when we went shopping and couldn't resist mostly because my son is very into outer space and dinosaurs.

Luckily someone told me about punching holes in the corners and putting in a loose leaf binder ring to keep them together. GENIUS! Why didn't I think of it before???
I am loving the new system and now we pull out our flash cards all the time. Oh, loose leaf binder rings, I love you so!

Monkey Baby Shower

2010-09-13T07:00:00.000-07:00

While I was living, eating and breathing statistics a couple months ago, one of the few things that kept me from going insane was being able to plan a baby shower for a good friend of mine who was having a baby boy.

I love planning showers and other parties. I don't know why, but it's fun. Whenever I have a project like planning a party or even decorating a room I need a source of inspiration. Sometimes it's a picture, sometimes just an idea. For this one it was monkeys because isn't that what all little boys are???
My MAIN source of inspiration was a 'printable party' from Parties by Hardie where she was able to customize everything for me and then all I had to do was print it off! I am definitely going to be doing it again.

For party favors I got Chinese to go boxes from Cash and Carry (like costco but for food service in the NW) and used a circle printed out. Then I just tied a brown bow and good to go! There were filled with banana runts, banana flavored laffy taffy and other goodies.

For the dessert I used my AMAZING super chocolate cake recipe and decorated it with little monkeys using two sizes of vanilla wafers and piped on frosting.
And I can never get enough of these pom pom decorations!
This is the banner I printed off, it says 'welcome little monkey'
And who doesn't love a good old fashion diaper cake?

On the wall....finally.

2010-09-09T15:00:00.000-07:00

Is there anyone else who is absolutely terrified to put a picture on a wall? I am. It's not that I can't cause I love playing around with a hammer. It's just that it's so.....final. You can't move it around too much because it means lots of holes, filling of holes, and painting. Basically a lot of work if you don't want ton's of holes all over your walls.

Also while I love the details, I'm also a big picture person. I like to have an idea of how something is overall going to look, then go to work.

So when we moved into the house we're at now (we moved to my grandma's house after my grandpa passed away so we could help because my grandma's in a wheelchair) we began repainting everything room by room. We had tons of pictures but I kept them packed up until all the painting was done, some time had passed after he passed away (lots were family pictures he had put up) and I was ready to nail something down.

It's taken me a year and a half but I finally put up a picture. I was SO excited. It is a picture of Christ with the woman at the well. I hung it right over the piano because I love to have a picture of Christ close while I play, it's so soothing.
I've hung a few more pictures since and have kind of gone nuts putting things on the walls and it's looking good, if I say so myself. More to come!

Kitchen Transformation

2010-09-07T08:30:00.000-07:00

I've been a little absent from the blogging world cause hey, it's been a pretty busy summer around these parts! After I finished my class we went on a long family vacation and then upon our return I got us started on a project I've been wanting to do for a year an a half.

Paint the kitchen cabinets.

My husband and I had numerous debates about this whole project because he wanted to just get new ones but they are spendy for the ones we want and in reality there are a number of other big money projects that should be done first. So it was either paint them or keep them how they were for at least five years. And I wasn't going to stand for it and my husband was sweet and let me have my way, even helped out with a lot of it.
The cabinets have not been changed since the house was purchased by my grandparents in 1972. That's a long time.
To start off, I scrubbed and scrubbed until it felt like my arms were going to fall off. Then did some light sanding.

After all the prep work we taped everything off because we were going to be using a paint sprayer. Then we went at it with the sprayer.
It all turned out great and I am SO happy with it. They are not perfect but definitely a big improvement. The white completely opens up the room. And I LOVE how it looks with my green walls.
It looks totally different! I love my new kitchen! All and all the whole process took about three LONG days. Luckily grandma took our 3 year old and our little 15 month old decided he was going to sleep all day and only be up for a few hours a day, which was fine with us!
Also I think the new hardware made it look that much better.
Lessons learned:
Definitely use a paint sprayer, it looks much nicer.

When you use a sprayer do a number of really LIGHT coats because if it gets too thick it starts to drip and then you've got problems.

When using a roller (which we had to do some touch ups with, especially after all that dripping) spring for the really nice high quality ones. It will be totally worth it.

Ribbon Lamp

2010-09-03T08:15:00.000-07:00

I have at least a dozen projects in the works. Always have, probably always will. This one I've had in my head for over 8 months.

It took me some time to find the lamp style that I wanted: brushed nickle with a circular shade. But I finally found a steal of a deal for the perfect lamp at Goodwill. Yeah!!!!
Sadly I didn't take any before pictures or pictures of me doing it, I was too excited to take the time (sorry folks!).

I started out with a new but bright green shade that didn't exactly go with my decor. So I took some white fabric I had and covered it. Nothing tricky, just used my handy dandy glue gun and scissors.

After it was covered, I went out and bought a bunch of different kinds of white ribbon, all pretty cheap stuff. Afterwords I thought it would also look kind of cool with cut up strips of fabric or tulle, which did use a little bit.
To cover with ribbon, all I did was cut enough length of ribbon to go around the lamp and tie in a double knot in the front. Do this about fifty times or so and it's covered! Could it get any easier??? Oh, then I just trimmed the ribbon edges.
I absolutely love it and looking at it every morning when I wake up.

A Confession

2010-09-02T09:00:00.000-07:00

I am no green thumb. As much as I'd like to try, I just am not. I am no good at remembering to water them and all that other plant maintenance. Heck, I'm barely able to keep my kids alive. If they weren't so loud I might just forget to feed them! Also our back yard is VERY shady and not so great for growing plants sometimes.

But I've finally had some success in the plant department, thanks to my son and husband who help stay on top of the watering. This year we bought about 10 ever baring strawberry plants and planted the in the front yard which gets plenty of sun and they are doing great!
There's nothing like fresh strawberries.

Life is a Highway - Car Cake

2010-08-31T15:30:00.000-07:00

When I asked my soon-to-be-three-year-old what kind of cake he wanted he said "a car cake". My mind raced (no pun intended) and at first I was thinking of maybe just drawing a car on the cake or something. Then I looked up 'car cake' online and holy cow. So many great ideas! I saw a bunch of great stuff but ended up doing something a little different and combining some ideas.

My main goal was to make it fun, with stuff I had on hand, and not to stress about it.

****DISCLAIMER. Everything I learned about making cakes has been either from the back of a cake box or watching WAY too much of Duff from Ace of Cakes.
I started with two 9x13 sheets and 2 9"rounds and used my awesome cake batter recipe (I actually made brownies for one of the 9x13 sheets because that's what I had. Yeah for more chocolaty goodness!)

I made a foil covered cardboard rectangle to put the cake on. Then I cut the 9x13 cake and half and put half down, then all the brownie sheet and then the rest of the cake 9x13 with frosting in between. I probably would have just put the 2 sheets by themselves but I was 'making it work' as Tim Gunn would say.

Then I shaved the dome off the top of the rounds (to make it all even) and cut them down the center. I iced and stacked the four half rounds and placed it on top of the 9x13s
After stacking everything I cut some curves in the sides and back to make it a little more realistic. My husband gave me a lot of pointers as he watched me make a mess of my kitchen.
I 'dirty iced it' and put on a thin layer of frosting to trap all those crumbs. After the first icing, I put it in the freezer overnight (you can do it for just a couple hours if needed)And at my son's request I frosted it his favorite color, green. It took a little bit of time to get the right shade but turned out well. FYI for all the colors I used Wilton's Food Coloring.
Then just add some windows, piped on some headlights, oreos for the wheels, a frosting covered skewer for the antenna,and a little personalized license plate.
Just perfect! This cake is delicious and though it's huge and weighs a ton, it won't last long, at least not in my house!****Funny side story. Upon coming back from errands I found my soon to be three year old had taken his candle and stabbed the top of cake repeatedly. Luckily I took pictures before. I had a feeling something like that might happen. Oh, the joys of toddlers!

It's Not Easy Being Green

2010-08-27T11:11:00.000-07:00

The house were living in, my grandparents, hasn't been painted in over 20 years (maybe more). It was a light blue/grey color with a peacock blue door. It was in desperate need of a new coat of paint and new look.

The color was much debated, and since it is not our house their were several people who had to be consulted before a color was decided. I wanted exactly the same colors as my mom's house: a dark evergreen/olive green with a slightly darker trim with a dark red door, it looks gorgeous. Different but classy. But while green was agreed upon it is not exactly the tone I would have picked.

As we were heading off and the painters began to put it on the first area I almost wanted to cry. It was WAY too bright for me. My sweet husband kept reassuring me it wasn't that bad and it would look fine.

We'll it's been a couple months and I'm still not sure how I feel about it but I'm getting used to it. I still think it's too bright, but I've seen worse!
Oh, don't you love the grass? Lawn maintenance has not been a priority this summer.

My favorite part of the house? The new outside lamps (the other ones were from the 70's. Yipes!) numbers, doorbell, and door knobs. LOVE THEM.Has anyone else had an 'interesting' house painting adventure?

A Little Mericle

2010-08-03T08:09:00.000-07:00

I know, it's been a while but I'm happy to announce that I somehow survived my statistics class and you are now reading the words of a collage graduate. I'm so relieved! While I didn't get tons of other things done during the past month and a half, I was able to have some amazing and fun experiences, one of them being taking the pictures of one of my good friends birth experience.

Despite the fact that I have given birth twice, I have never seen a live birth before (both my little ones were C-Sections). The only other experience I had with a 'normal birth' was in high school where they made me watch a video of it all, to which I promptly became extremely nauseated (hey, I was only 16 and the whole idea of that happening was a little overwhelming to say the least). I did have to watch some videos during birthing classes but I must admit, I closed my eyes for a lot of it. I know, I'm a wuss. How I survived having two babies is beyond me.

My friend did an amazing job and is way tougher than I am. And I'm happy to say I didn't have any nauseating moments, ok, a maybe one or two when there were needles involved.

Her it is, the song is not the best and I will probably change it but I liked how it flowed and for now it will work. Also FYI I've never made a slide show before so keep that in mind!
Baby Gavin Birth Experience - Slideshow Creator

I Can Be Your Hero Baby!

2010-06-17T20:47:00.000-07:00

I know, I know. I really should be studying. And trust me I am like a mad woman. Though I haven't done much cooking, cleaning, playing with kids or laundry in the past week, I have learned how to calculate covariance, correlation coefficient and now know the importance of Central Limit Therom. Interesting right? Yeah, I could care less about it all but I MUST graduate!

I haven't put EVERYTHING on pause for statistics, just most of it. I actually just went out and got supplies for a fathers day gift and I really, really wanted to share it with the world because it works not only for fathers day but for men's birthdays (they are notoriously hard to shop for) or for kids birthdays, whatever!

Here goes: A Superhero Supply Kit complete with FREE printables. That's right. Free.
Jordan Ferney over at Oh Happy Day! has the most amazing blog ever! It's beautiful and I look forward to every post because I know I'll find something inspiring. I got yogurt covered raisins, root beer, jerkey, a new chex mix, lemon drops, mints and . I'm so excited to put it all together.

For the wrapping/bags it was a little harder to find, they just didn't have exactly what I was looking for at the craft store. But I bet you could even use ziplock bags for it. Had I found this idea earlier I would have bought the stuff online. I might still for gifts or christmas presents.
Also I didn't buy any fancy special box I am just planning on using a plain shipping box we have. I'm SOOOO excited. My husband is going to love it!

Ok. I'm back to the books. Midterm next week......

So close!

2010-06-12T15:35:00.000-07:00

Sorry for lack of posting! I have a great explanation.

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful, talented, smart, hard working girl who attended a fantastic university. Off she went to Bolivia to be a missionary for her church and upon her return a wonderfully charming man stole her heart and together they went to finish their schooling.

Well, he finished his. She had the cutest little boy just 3 classes short of her degree. Due to some family needs they moved off to the land of perpetual rain (Oregon) where she would spend the next 3 years finishing those 3 classes (and having another little prince by the way).

Now she has just one awful independent study statistics class left. It is the suckiest, hardest (time consuming) class ever, especially trying to do it and lead a normal mommy life. So she has decided to put everything on pause and see if she can finish it in less than a month. This means not a lot of time to craft (sniff), or blog (sniff, sniff). But hopefully it will be a brief, not too painful time and she will return victorious and better edu-macated making her posts and crafts even MORE awesome. Yeah, like that's even possible.

Oh, the story was about me if you couldn't tell! Wish me luck!

P.S. To all those who asked: I'll be getting my degree in Social Work from BYU. Go Cougs!

P.P.S. Thanks for all the well wishes folks. Since is studying statistics is the LAST thing I want to do with my precious time, it's hard to get motivated about it, so thanks for cheering me on! It makes me smile when I'm trying to figure out correlation coefficients, standard deviations and regression lines =)

Father's Day Treats

2010-06-04T15:43:00.001-07:00

My mind has been racing about what I want to do for fathers day this year. I thought and thought about what I could do for the treats and stumbled upon the treat idea of the century from Bakerella. Bakerella is an AMAZING site with tons of *sweet* ideas, so head on over.

Brace yourself, you're going to be amazed!
That's right. "Burgers and Fries" made with cupcakes, brownies and cookies. There are even printables for the containers.

I really wanted to try this before fathers day as a practice and show you all what mine look like but I think I'll just do them a day or two before. I just couldn't resist sharing.
Mmmmmm!

Fourth of July Luminaries

2010-06-03T07:00:00.000-07:00

For some reason I was itching to do a Fourth of July craft. I thought about it and thought about it. and here's what I came up with Fourth of July Luminaries. I'm so smittin' with these!

Supplies:
Tin cans
Sharpie
Hammer and nail
Gloves

Take off the label and clean
Now begin putting on your dot design with a Sharpie. You'll want to do it now because it will be harder after you freeze it. Yes, your going to freeze it.

Fill each can up to the top leaving 1/2 in because it will expand.
Freeze. This will take a good several hours but to speed it up you can fill the cans with ice and then with water, that will cut the freezing time in half.

Now grab your hammer and nail and begin nailing away! You'll want your gloves for this or you're going to have some cold hands. Be sure to place the nail carefully because it will slip around.
After nailing and the ice is out, spray paint it. I was going to do red, white and blue but just decided white. I might change my mind.
Put a candle in and your ready to go!
This is a great technique you can use for weddings, birthdays, or just for fun!

Ahhhhhmazing Cupcakes

2010-06-02T07:00:00.000-07:00

Ever wonder how to make great cupcakes? I sure have. While I was visiting my step-mother-in-law, I watched her make some simple, and beautiful cupcakes. I was memorized watching her and I even got to do a couple myself. It was then I vowed to learn to make some of these beauties.
So I decided to do a practice batch for an upcoming baby shower I'm throwing. Here they are!
First I started with the best cake batter in the world. THE BEST. I use it for my Ultimate Reese Cake, it's extremely rich and simply irresistible! For cupcakes it took cooking them at 350 degrees for 18 or so minutes. The batch made 24 cupcakes. FULL cupcakes, not any of those partly full wimpy cupcakes. It makes them nice and round on the top.
Then I made, for the first time ever, homemade butter cream frosting in vanilla and chocolate. The vanilla I colored teal using a coloring gel from the craft store.
I then used a 1M tip I also got from the craft store. I looked into 'cupcake decorating kits' that have different tips but you can find them a lot cheaper at the craft store. This one was a star point.
Then then filled the cupcakes with frosting. All you do is poke the tip in the center of the top of the cupcake, having the tip inserted about halfway and squeeze. It's so easy and makes the cupcakes that much better. Trust me. Ok, trust my husband who can't get enough of them.
To do the swirl all you have to do is make a single drop/star of frosting in the middle of the cupcake, this will give the top of the cupcake a more mounded look. Then, starting from the outside of the cupcake in, swirl using an even amount of pressure. Top with sprinkles and you've got a winner! These are guarantee to please any crowd.
And trust me, if I can do it and have it turn out halfway decent, anyone can.

Birdie and Flower Magnet Board

2010-05-30T21:18:00.000-07:00

One of "On My Side of the Room's" readers, Marie-Claire, sent me in a picture of her own magnet board and flowers she made using my tutorial. Doesn't it look great? I love the colors and those birds are adorable!

SO busy!!!

2010-05-29T18:32:00.000-07:00

I've been pretty busy the past couple days. Recently I received a TON of orders, I mean more than I did even during the holidays. Turns out one of my necklaces was featured on Etsy's blog!
It's my Prima Donna, antique brass and pearl necklace (it's a personal favorite and extremely popular).
So I pretty much didn't do anything but make and ship jewelry for a day or two to get it all done in time for Memorial Day weekend, but I did it, thanks to a lot of help from my hubby who watched my little monkeys while I got my craft on!

They've all been shipped and now were enjoying a wonderful, relaxing weekend. Hope you are enjoying it too!

Blog Swap With Every Crafty Endeavor

2010-05-27T08:00:00.000-07:00

I am so excited to be here today at On the Other Side of the Room!

Kendra is such a cute girl and has a darling little blog and it is great to be a part of it! I am always adding things to my "to-do" list just by looking through her ideas. She is just so crafty. I love it.
My name is Amanda and I am the creative mind behind “Every Crafty Endeavor.” I am married to a dashingly handsome, hard-working man named Spencer and we have a little boy named Quinn! I work part time as a writer on a marketing team for an Engineering Company and craft in my “spare time.” I have been a “mommy blogger” for a couple years – and started Every Crafty Endeavor to showcase some crafty ideas that I have made.

Sometimes I come up with ideas on my own and sometimes I see ideas that I love and copy - always giving credit of course! That is what I love about blogging - everyone shares ideas and our homes and babies and lives are much cuter! I love to craft and cook and I have lots of fun ideas and tutorials that I love to share. I am constantly thinking about things to cook, make or sew, accessories that pop, ways to decorate my home and things to photograph.
When visiting my blog - you will find ideas and tutorials for:
Home Decor

Yummy Recipes

Accessories

and a whole lot more!

Today I am going to share a tutorial I have on my blog for

An Americana Wreath!

You will need:

a grapevine wreath

7 rolls of ribbon

America Sign

Scissors

All of my supplies were bought at Dollar Tree for $9+tax!
Creative and Cheap!!

First: Pull the paper tag off the wreath, leaving the plastic tie -

you will use this to hang up your wreath.

Second: Cut up your ribbons to your desired length
Mine were about 12 inches.

Third: Start tying on the ribbon.

Tie on as much as you would like.

Fourth: Attach the America Sign onto the back. I simply untied one side of the sign and looped it through the plastic tie at the top. Then I re-threaded it, tied it off and nestled the sign a little bit crooked in the wreath. It fits just a little bit tight so it was perfect.

You can also just let it hang down in the front.
Just decide what you like and go for it!

Fifth: Hang it up and enjoy!

When you have a minute, please stop by and say hello and see what other crafts I have been working on. I am always looking for new ladies to blog swap and fun and fresh ideas to add to my "to-do" list!
Thanks Kendra! and make sure you stop by Every Crafty Endeavor to see what craft Kendra is sharing!

Reclaimed Wood Hangers and Bird Feeders

2010-05-26T18:00:00.000-07:00

I stopped over by Under The Table and Dreaming (I'm a frequent browser) and I found the most ingenious idea EVER! Flower pots in frames, and she made the frames herself. I can't wait to try this one, it would give just that extra touch to anyone's yard.

Recipe Card Birthday Calendar

2010-05-25T08:59:00.001-07:00

This month has been a month of birthdays in my family, 5 birthdays in only 3 weeks! In college I could remember everyone's birthday but then I got married to a man with more cousins than I could count (probably more than he could either) and all the sudden I had to remember a LOT more birthdays.

To keep better track of all those days I came up with a birthday calendar using recipe cards. It now hangs right by my desk so I can keep up with all those birthdays and special days!
To attach all the cards I used loose leaf binder clips. You could also just use ribbonIt was pretty easy to make. All I did was use recipe cards (I got them at the dollar store) and covered them with coordinating scrapbook paper.
I used stamps for the months and to embellish.
And for the actual calendar part I just made one up on the computer. You could also just write it out.
I did another one as a gift and it's a lot more embellished than my first one. I wish I had done a little bit more but I just can't change mine, I love it exactly how it is!

TP Gift Pillow Box

2010-05-23T18:00:00.000-07:00

When I fell in love with pillow boxes, I don't know. Maybe it's their simplicity. I've wanted to make some but I thought it would be too much work, but guess what? It's easy! Check out Craft Envy's tutorial on how to make these bad boys out of.....toilet paper rolls! Oh, the many uses of a simple tp roll.

Totally Tutorial Saturday- Women's Necklaces

2010-05-22T08:40:00.000-07:00

Since I make jewelry I've had many people ask me to teach them how to make necklaces, earrings, and bracelets. The tricky part is you have to have a lot of supplies to make what I do: pliers, clippers, wire, headpins, chains....a lot of things most people don't just have around the house, even many of the crafty at heart. It is kind of specialized.

Now, hopefully I will get around to doing some jewelry tutorials but until then I found a number of fun necklace tutorials using more common items. Enjoy!

I love this super easy tutorial from V and Co. using ribbon and spray painted wooden beads. Don't you love the color combo?
Lately I have been dabbling in hand stamped jewelry and I love how easy Michelle over at A Little Tipsy makes these stamped washer necklace look. You can find all the supplies at most local hardware stores.
This Quick Change Corsage Necklace over at The Polka Dot Chair does require a little bit of jewelry making supplies but you could also use a necklace you already have. Finally something to match ANY occasion!
Here is a stunning necklace by Kelly Hicks of tulle and marbles. MARBLES! Isn't it clever (and gorgeous)?
Got some old necklaces laying around you don't quite know what to do with? I sure do. Here is a great idea to use them to make a fun new piece from The Glamourai using old chains and ribbon.
And isn't this ribbon necklace ingenious? I love it, especially since I'm somewhat of a collector of ribbon and can't get enough of it. Check it out over at Prudent Baby.

Girliy Girl Onesie

2010-05-21T18:00:00.000-07:00

Got any old onesies lying around, maybe with a stain or two? Who doesn't. Now what to do with them. Well, Rachel over at Bubbly Nature came up with a great tutorial for covering up those marks and stains. I want to make one of these so bad but I don't think my husband will let me try it on my little prince. Maybe I'll just make one anyways!

Easy Peasy Birthday Banner

2010-05-21T09:00:00.000-07:00

You might not be able to tell but this used to be a spiffy pirate banner from the dollar store. I saw a fun birthday banner makeover over at Nanny Goat I thought I'd try.
I just covered the letters with scrapbook paper and strung it on ribbon I had on hand.
The mini flags were WAY easy. I just cut triangles and sewed them. I should have done this LONG ago!

Wimsical Wreath

2010-05-19T18:00:00.000-07:00

Confession. I do not own a wreath. Zero. Not a one. But I've always wanted to, I just can't decide on one though. But I might have to break down and make one after seeing this tutorial from Nicole at Made by Nicole. It's beautiful, easy and made out of paper towels. That's right. Paper towels!

I'll Fly Away - Butterfly Art

2010-05-19T14:53:00.001-07:00

I bought these gorgeous framed butterflies while I was a missionary for my church in Bolivia. Most people know, I kind of have a thing for butterflies, always have. They are just so beautiful!!!

So while I didn't really make them or do anything crafty to them (I wanted to paint the frames white but my husband talked me out of it), I thought I'd share anyways.

When I got home I didn't want to pack them with me everywhere. Livin' the collage life would have probably ruined them. So they stayed at my mother's house. Even though we've had a place of our own to decorate for a year or so, I had totally forgot about them. But we are united once more and now they are dusted off and displayed in our bedroom, matching the beautiful, airy light blue and white colors.
This big blue one is one of my very favorites. I didn't really see many butterflies while I was there, they were more in the tropical areas where I was not. But I did see a moth the size of a small bat attack my companion. I'm sure that was a hilarious sight to see!
Another one of my favs, I think because the wings are absolutely transparent except for the bottom tips.
And who could resist these beautiful metalic blue green colors?

Crazy Crocs Kids Crafts

2010-05-17T18:00:00.000-07:00

I am always looking for a great kids crafts, ESPECIALLY if it's boy friendly and I found a perfect one from Positively Splendid using....bubble wrap! Doesn't these crazy crocs look great?

Super Duper (mini) Baby Birthday Cake!

2010-05-17T07:36:00.000-07:00

I asked my two year old several weeks ago what kind of cake we should make his little brother's 1st birthday. Superman! Yeah!

While I was at a deli restaurant the had the CUTEST little cakes. They looked delicious and as I stared at them I couldn't help but think about how they were made. Little pans perhaps? Then it hit me, just used a circle cutter to cut the cake layers (thinking back, I think I saw this on Ace of Cakes or something). So I began to make our "Super Duper, Baby Cake!"

First I baked a sheet of cake on a large 9x13 pan (any cake pan will do).

Using a cookie cutter I began to cut circles. I am also making two other 'mini' cakes for my twin brother and sister. It's birthday month.
Oh, also made some cupcakes for the rest of the guests with colored batter, red and blue and yellow, just like super man! Inside I put various coins wrapped in foil. It's a fun family tradition and who doesn't like money?
I stacked three of the 'sheets' of cake, with frosting in between. It was all a little lopsided, I'm not the best baker but I'm working on it. I probably should have just done two layers. But lesson learned!

Then I iced it with some 'superman' blue frosting.
Added a superman logo then practiced doing my dots on the sides. I really need to take a cake decorating class. Badly.
one superman cake + one birthday boy = true love

A Christ Centered Frame

2010-05-16T09:00:00.000-07:00

Isn't this frame sweet? I can just see my own little angles faces up there. Can't wait to make it! Head on over and see how it's done here!

Personalized Ribbon

2010-05-15T18:00:00.000-07:00

I've thought about purchasing personalized ribbon before, I don't remember what for but I remember looking into purchasing some but boy was it expensive! Ashlee over at Topsy Turvy has solved the problem, just make it yourself! Check out here tutorial here!

Delicious!

2010-05-14T18:00:00.000-07:00

Dangerously Domestic has come up with this AMAZING pear shaped book tutorial. I am definitely trying this one out! You could also do it in lots of other shapes. Great job Jen!!

Just for Fun Friday: Hair Bow Kit Giveaway CLOSED

2010-05-13T23:09:00.000-07:00

Always wanted to make hair bows? Here's your chance! This giveaway is for a hair bow making kit for 25+ pairs of hair bows. Included is the ribbon (pre-cut and sealed) and hair clips. All you need is a glue gun, needle and thread and YOU! My hair bow tutorial is found here.

Here we go!

1.) Comment: What makes you feel 'girly'?

2.) Additional entries for becoming a follower or for posting about the giveaway on your blog, facebook, twitter, adding my button (please leave a link to it).... Make sure to leave a separate comment for each entry!

Be sure to check back later this month for other craftastic giveaways!

Contest runs now until Monday, May 17th at Midnight. Good luck!

Monster Party

2010-05-13T21:00:00.001-07:00

I just found the most amazing idea for a boys b-day party: monsters! Check out what I found over at Multi-Purpose Wings (how have I not seen this blog before???)
She did a 'build your own monster cupcake' activity for the kiddos. Heck, I would have been pushing over the kids to decorate those cupcakes!

Cute little guy, huh?

And she made the fun little felt monsters. I can't wait to try something like this!!!!

Totally Tutorial Thursday - Boys Accessories

2010-05-12T21:10:00.000-07:00

Having two boys, I have come to appreciate a cute boy accessory when I find one, because, let's be honest, they are somewhat few and far between among all the countless cute girl accessories. A forshadowing of things to come I suppose (just take a look at mine and my husbands closet!).

I found a couple of AMAZING boy tutorials and I am itching to try a number of them!

Jill, from Homemade by Jill, hit another one out of the ball part with this tutorial for an irresistible pair of boys suspenders.
I love this Bow Tie Tutorial from 7 Layer Studio. It looks so simple and so cute. My boys would look so adorable in one. Here is another GREAT velcro tie tutorial!
The ultimate boy accessory, the neck tie! And The Purl Bee makes it look SOOOOO easy!
From A Little Bit Funky here is a great tutorial for a fun boys belt. I am so excited to try it!
Here a different style belt from Elise Marley. So cool!!!
I love this Eddie Cap Tutorial from Mushroom Villagers. Cute to cuter!
And this cute sweater vest from Made would add to any outfit!

Another AWESOME tie tutorial. Can't get enough of them!

Fun with Pancakes

2010-05-11T22:44:00.000-07:00

My husband showed me this website and I LOVE IT! I would have never thought to do some of the things this guy came up with. Here are a couple we might try around our house! They would be fun for family night, a party, whatever.
Yes, that is a pancake.Yeah, that's a pancake.

Uncharted Territory: Hair bows, a Tutorial

2010-05-11T08:00:00.000-07:00

I bet there are tons of people out there who already know all this stuff but I don't, well, I didn't.

When I was prego with #2, before we found out the gender, I went hair bow crazy. I made TONS of them, in EVERY color you could imagine. "It's a boy!" they said. So I packed all my hair bows and supplies and put them in a box to be retrieved when there would be a little more pink floating around the family (as to date no girl between me or my sibs).

I waited a year and no girl from anyone. BUT my BFF since I was a wee lass, the gal whose house I practically lived at on the weekends, one of my most very favorite people in the world, found out she was having a girl. Also my cousin was going to wait to find out the gender and I was praying for a girl (it was). So I pulled my ribbon and got to work .

So here's how I made the bows. Well, this is one way I learned how to do it. It depends on what you want and what size ribbon you have. I wanted small and simple.
Supplies:
12 inches of 3/8 grosgrain ribbon, sealed
5 inches of ribbon (to line clip), sealed
2.5 inches of ribbon, sealed
Needle and thread
Alligator clip
Hot glue gun and glue

**I cut and sealed my ribbon them using a wood burning tool/soldering iron to seal the edges and prevent fraying. You can also just use scissors and heat the edges using a lighter or candle.
Take your 12 inches of ribbon and fold it in half.

Fold in half again leaving about an inch of a tail (as pictured)

Squeeze the folds to make creases (this will help to make an even ribbon)
Take one end of the ribbon and fold it onto the first crease, leaving the one inch tail.
Take the other side of the ribbon and loop it. Lay the second crease on top of the point where the the first crease and tail begin.

Fold the long piece of ribbon behind the loops aligning the crease with the center crease
Align the ribbon end behind the rest of the bow, aligning the creases
Bring the long end of the ribbon up over the top of the rest of the bow.
Now that your bow is done, take your needle and thread and pierce the center from the bottom to the top.

Wrap the tread around the center of the bow twice and pull. Tie at the back.
Now to cover all that thread.

Take your 2.5 inch of ribbon and fold it in half.
Fold one end over the other, making a knot.
Tighten. You can use either a loose knot or tight, depends on what you prefer. I used a tight knot.

The flat end of the knot is going to lay on the bow.
Take a SMALL drop of hot glue on top of the bow, over the threaded center.

Flip bow over and glue the rest of the knot piece down.
TO COVER ALLIGATOR CLIP

Pinch open alligator clip (you'll want a good grip on it so it won't close after you put your hot glue down, you won't be able to open it again)

Place a bit thin line of hot glue on the bottom edge of the clip. *** For this particular clip I placed the ribbon close to the bottom edge but I have since started gluing it all the way to the center inside of the clip, it grips better.

Flip clip over and glue down ribbon. DON'T USE TOO MUCH GLUE or glue will seep out the edges and not look so good.

Now cover the rest of the clip with the remaining ribbon.
Once your clip is lined, use a small line of glue to attach the bow to the center of the lined clip.
I went a little bow crazy!
This is the basic method for making a boutique bow. Traditional ones use 1 1/2 inch ribbon instead of the 3/8 ribbon I used.

Also you can used two different ribbons on top of each other to create a two tone effect.

Be sure to check back on friday for a giveaway for a HAIR BOW kit, with ALL the supplies you'll need to make 25+ pairs of these hair bows!!!!

Winner!!!

2010-05-11T07:00:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all those who entered to win the Quick Quotes Coffee Table Canvas Kit!! And our winner is: Katy Lunsford!!!

Be sure to check out my Just for Fun Friday Hair Bow Kit!

A Few of My Favorite Things

2010-05-10T13:08:00.000-07:00

It's no secret that I LOVE etsy. There are just so many creative people out there, it never ceases to amaze me. I thought I'd share some of my favorite purchases.

I got a number of these snack bags from Elizabeth Gwen Originals, all in boy theme prints: army, tractor, doggy. They are PERFECT for snacks for my boys on trips and to church. Each of my boys absolutely loves seeing their 'snack baggies' as they call them.
From KNH Designs I got this Safari Eye Spy Bag which is extremely entertaining for all in the family (just ask my husband). Everyone loves this little guy.
I have 3 of these Diaper Clutches from Tot Rags and have even got one for a friend I loved mine so much. They are so handy!!!
And who doesn't love felt food? We have a ton of it around here and my little boy most especially loves his hot dog and watermelon from Mud Pie Kids. Amazing quality too!
And those are just a handful of my favorites. Etsy = Amazing stuff!

On My Side of the Room

Another Baby Gift - Stuffed Baby Elephant

Cute as Can be Baby Girl Shoes

Ruffle Butt Onesie, Sew Easy!!!

A Girls Guide to Necklace Lengths

Choker Necklace

Princess Necklace

Matinee Necklace

Opera Necklace

Rope Necklace

Rosette Sugar Cookeis

Ingredients

Directions

Super Sale Last Minute Christmas Gifts

Superhero Party - Games/Activities

Superhero Party - Decorations

Superhero Party

Buried Treasure

Itsy Bitsy Spider

A New Friend

Sometimes Ya Gotta Brag

Thank God For Dirty Dishes

Summer Reading

The Taste of Summer

Joy in the Journey

No-Bake Cheesecake Fit For the Worlds Greatest Dad

Prep Time: 30 Min

Ready In: 30 Min

Ingredients

Directions

A Rose Cake for Aunt Rose

Trading Up and Making Robots

Summer Fun Ideas

Never Say Never

Not Quite

Picture Frame Mural - Part 2

Train Party - Goodies/treats

Train Party - Games/Activities

Train Party - Food

Train Party - Decorations

Train Party - Choo Choo, I'm Two!

Chugging Along

Why I Stayed Up WAYYYY Too Late Last Night

Picture Frame Mural - Part 1

Monday's Top Five - Birthday Supplies

Mondays Top Five - Crafting Supplies

Happy Friday and 3 Winners!

CLOSED Huge Giveaway with Belleza Mia and Ellie Bow Bellie!

Winner, winner!

Just for Fun Giveaway

Bouncing baby boy - to be

Worth a Thousand Words

Giveaway over at Delia Creates

Updates and Wedding Ideas

Candyland Game Cake Replica

Back by Popular Demand!

A Quilt in the Making

Spooky Spinners

Celebration Giveaway Winner!

Halloween Treats

Ghostastic Cheese Cloth Ghosts

The Candy Man Can

Candy Molds, Take II

Halloween Cookies

Celebration Giveaway CLOSED

Bats

Smiles

Spooky Candle Holders

Mini Cheesecloth Ghosts

Gigantic Tree and A New Look for my Bedroom

Baby Shower Ideas

Wall Flowers

Wedding Fever Giveaway

Cards

Monkey Baby Shower

On the wall....finally.

Kitchen Transformation

Ribbon Lamp

A Confession

Life is a Highway - Car Cake

Prep Time:
30 Min

Ready In:
30 Min