Picture This Collage

I loved this idea from The Brassy Apple. So I had to make my own. Plus, I am totally in the "pregnancy=nesting" phase and am going crazy w/ "Home Beautification" ☺

The letter "p" -for our last name, is a cardboard letter from JoAnn's painted black with paper modge-podged on the top. Frames were purchased at Target; The yellow sign (which I think is a little too bright) was from a scrap of wood in the garage; which was just painted with added vinyl lettering. Scrapbook papers came from my stash and I did purchase a few sheets. B/W photos of family added in.
This one is the in the bathroom. Sign was $7 at Home Goods; Frame from Target; Papers from my stash; and added family photos in B/W.

This one I already had this frame so the cost was basically nothing! I even printed the photos with our printer (which I can replace w/ better quality later.)

You can find instructions on how to make this at The Brassy Apple by clicking here.

I Heart Faces- 3/29 Pets

No this is not my pet. But this week at I ♥ Faces, anything goes, with pets. This is actually at the zoo in town. We don't actually have any pets. ☻ My children are all I have time to take care of right now. ☺ hee hee
Have you seen the talent on I ♥ Faces? It is amazing. I love photography and hope to improve my "skills" while enjoying all the great photo sharing! Join in the fun! Click HERE to see this week's photos.

My Favorite Cinnamon Roll Recipe

I have made many different kinds of cinnamon rolls over the years- being that they are my favorite treats- and I found this recipe several years ago in the newspaper. Since making these, this recipe has become our very favorite cinnamon roll recipe. It is easy and delicious-my two favorite things about baking ;)
It also uses a cake mix- yes I know many of the recipes I share involve a cake mix- I said I liked easy baking right...well I love a recipe that uses a cake mix and doesn't even taste like it and these are just that! Click on recipe to make it larger and then print.

These are really good heated in the microwave for a few seconds. These can be dangerous because I don't eat just one ;) I usually make them to give away- so I don't eat more than I should. .... And now I think I'll go make these again- looking at this made me want some- yum!

Modge Podge Easter Eggs

My good friend Modge Podge, and I have been having several late nights together :) I have been in love with this idea since I saw it out there in the blogland. I first saw it here. It is such a simple, easy, inexpensive way to decorate for Easter. And I love the result!

Here is the easy 411:

Modge Podge Easter Eggs

Plastic Easter Eggs
Sponge Brushes
MODGE PODGE
Scrapbook paper
old muffin tin or egg carton (I use the tin to let them dry in)
newspaper to cover your work space

EASY-PEASY. Cover your workspace with newspaper. Modge Podge your plastic eggs together so they don't pop open. While drying, cut small pieces of the scrapbook paper up. I discovered small squares or rectangles looks better than long strips. Apply modge podge to the egg. Stick the paper on. I used the top of my sponge brush to push the corners of the paper down on the egg. (thus- my hands became less sticky.) Brush Modge Podge on top of the paper. Repeat- over lapping the papers until your egg is covered. You might want to do a little, let it sit for a while, and then finish it up. Arrange with moss or grass (less than $2 at Wal-mart) and place in a basket or vase. Voila! Happy Easter!

Here are a few ways we have displayed these at our house:

Easter Decoration = Easter Puzzle

Remember this? and this? Well we could not find any Easter place mats at the dollar store, so we settled for an Easter Decoration. This works just like a place mat puzzle that we have made before. Of course, I would never use a decoration like this for an actual place mat. This is made out of heavier clear plastic. To make a puzzle from a window decoration- simply remover the plastic suction cup that is used to hang this up in a window, and decoration tag, then cut up into puzzle pieces with regular scissors. This is great for a quiet activity when waiting at the doctor, church, etc. I store these holiday puzzles with my holiday stuff, so each year when we get it out, it is like a brand new puzzle ;) By the way, if you do find an Easter place mat where you live, can you please let me know what store you found it at - thanks!

Car Quilt Completed!

Finally finished! I started this quilt in 2006 for my first son. Now my third son is on the way- so I figured I had better finish it! It is only my second machine quilting project- so not the best yet-but I really enjoy machine quilting so I'll be doing more! I wish I could tell you where to get this pattern, or that I had a pattern to share....but I just kind of made this up as I went...so it is in no way perfect-but good enough for my boys! They LOVE driving their cars on the road- even if it wasn't meant for that- it now doubles as a bedspread and a play mat ;)

This was fun to make, and learn some more about quilting. I know it is really bright,

but their walls are plain white and we needed some color in their room. (Besides, if you haven't noticed, I really like bright colors :) )

I ♥ Faces - No Flash (3/23)

By Sharla@ My Little Gems

This is my second son at about 5 weeks old. We took this one afternoon in front of a window. It was one of my first experiences working without a flash-with my "point-n-shoot" camera.

It is one of my very favorite baby photos of him. I love working with natural light!

Photo taken Sept. 2007

(It amazes me how much I have learned about photography since then-and how much I still need to learn :))

Check out all the other entries over at I ♥ Faces!
or

Click on the button below to see their website!

Rainbow Jello- 2 ways (Sweets on Sunday)

I am not a big jello maker, but this jello is really fun, especially for St. Patrick's Day. There are two ways to make it that I have discovered. Sorry, I meant to post this a few weeks ago. It is a fun way to make jello! Kids love it (and so do my husband's co-workers:)) and it is great to bring to parties. ☺ Although it appears to take a long time to make it is super easy, and the results are worth it!

RAINBOW JELLO (one way):

5 small boxes of Jello- all different colors
Hot water
Sour Cream

KNOX Gelatin

(can be found by the Jello at the Grocery Store-one box has 4 packets. You need one packet per color of jello.)

8 by 8 glass pan

Heat 1 1/4 cups water in the microwave until boiling. Slowly stir in one packet of KNOX gelatin. Then stir in one box of jello. Make sure both are dissolved. I used a glass measuring cup with the measurements marked on the side, for easy measuring and pouring. Pour 3/4 cup of this into the glass pan. Put in the refridgerator for 15-20 minutes, allowing to set. With the 1/2 cup of jello that is left over, add 3 TBSP. sour cream and mix well. When the first layer is done setting, pull it out of the refridgerator, and add this mixture on top. You will have a dark layer of jello with a lighter layer on top. Put it back in the refridgerator for 15-20 minutes. While this is setting, repeat the above process with the next color of jello. For best results, make sure each layer is set before pouring on the next color. Also allow the next color to cool off some before pouring it onto the other layers. If it is too hot, it can make a mess of the layers that have already set. (compare the top photo w/ the bottom photo- you can see the layers better on the bottom photo because we allowed the jello to set, and the next layer to cool before adding it on.)Layer the colors one at a time allowing each layer to set. When all layers are set, cut into squares and enjoy!

Rainbow Jello (second way):

**FOLLOW THE ABOVE RECIPE EXCEPT INSTEAD OF SOUR CREAM USE 1 CAN OF SWEETENED CONDENSED MILK.
Add 3 TBSP. in the place of sour cream- just as you would do in the recipe above.

You can also top your jello with Cool Whip.

We made this both ways, and found although they taste a little different, they were both delicious. We also made one recipe with Sugar-Free jello, and the other with sugar jello. I would not recommend giving small children large amounts of sugar free jello. The artificial sweetners are not good for some little ones bowels (age 1-2).

Paper Bag Scrapbook

This is one of those projects I learned how to do like 4 years ago.....and then I started it over a year ago....and then I finally finished it a month ago :) (you know how it goes:))

For this page and several pages, I used up all those tiny photos they give you when you get photo printed. This was a really fun and simple- not to mention very affordable- project to do. If you haven't made one yet, I highly suggest trying this! If you want to make a paper-bag scrapbook, and would like instructions, click here for a great "how-to" tutorial!

Easter Pillow Spring Thing

I have a thing for spring colors and polka-dots. I don't know why. When I was in 8th grade, pastels were all the rage, and I decorated my room with pastel floral wallpaper, and stenciled it too with a heart-vine thing- all in pastel colors. I also made a ton of pastel colored throw pillows to go on my yellow bedspread. I painted a few little shelves in light blue, and even tole-painted some silly stuff. Looking back it was all pretty ugly.... Well it was cute back then- in the 80's! I was quite happy with my first little "home decor" project...being that I was only 13 years old. :)

Since we have no pastels in our house, and all boys (except me:)), I decided for Springtime we are going to let loose, not match the house, and just use some SpRiNg CoLoRS!

Using my "my stash" I made this pillow. Cost was like nothing. I had this pillow form, and all the fixings, so it was just about free. :) I did buy a few colors of embroidery floss- but used like 2 cents worth :)

Anyway....I'm a real "free spirit" when it comes to sewing- I sort of just make it up as I go- having no idea how it will turn out- which is why I'm not a great quilter yet :)

And to go along with the theme of FREE CRAFTING :)....here is my pattern for you to use and some simple instructions. You should be able to save the two following things on your computer, and then print them on a 8 by 11 sheet of paper. IF you are new to this style and type of stitching, click here for more instructions and "how to".

Muffin Tin Meals for St. Patrick's Day

Menu: leftover breadstick (recipe is here), green peppers, cucumbers, rainbow jello (recipe coming soon), green apples, and green yogurt w/ sprinkles.

It's been a while since I've done a Muffin Tin Meal. But we are back! GREEN is a favorite color over here, so this was perfect! If you have yet to try Muffin Tin Meals with your kids, check out the great ideas over at Her Cup Overfloweth. For past muffin tin meals that we have done, click here. Have a very GREEN St. Patrick's Day! ♣ ☻

I Heart Faces-Green Theme

He is one of my "little good luck charms" just as it says- and I think his sweet face says it all.
(photo taken Feb/March 2008)


This is a fun photo-sharing blog with all kinds of amazing photographers from beginners to professionals. If you are interested in photography, you might want to check it out ☻

Green M&M Cookies (Sweets on Sunday)

Got Candy? We picked up some bags of green M&M's on clearance (for 49 cents) after Valentine's Day. So we used our current-favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe and made them with the green M&M's for St. Patty's Day.
Here is our current -favorite Choc. Chip Cookie Recipe, from my friend Steph ☻ I did cut the original recipe in 1/2 since it made a ton of cookies.

Current Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

1 cup margarine or butter softened

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

Mix these together.
Then Add in:
1 egg plus one egg white

1/2 tsp. vanilla

3/4 tsp. salt

3/4 tsp. baking soda

Mix those well with the first ingredients.

2 1/4 cups white flour

3/4 cup wheat flour

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips or whatever chips or candy you like

Bake at 350 degrees F. Low altitude (where I live in AZ) for 10-11 min.
High Altitude areas- such as UT bake for 7-9 minutes. Makes about 3 dozen.
Follow the recipe exactly and you will get amazing cookies. I tried substitutions- like applesauce for 1/2 of the fat- and it works but is a little different. The dough does freeze really well too.
Happy Baking ☻

Green Color Collection

This was such a fun activity, and could be adapted to any color or any holiday. Since St. Patrick's Day is coming up, and my son constantly tells me his favorite color is "green", we made a green color collection with things around the house. We used a small box with separate squares (can be purchased at any store-usually by the plastic containers or by the sewing/craft stuff, or fishing/tackle things). We had one laying around the house already. :) Here is what our Green Collection contains (top to bottom and left to right): green crayons, green 1/2 popsicle stick, paper clips, yarn, green milk cap, green ribbon, muffin tin crayon, metal clip, green letter links, fabric scraps, green pipe cleaners, green paper, playdough, stickers, a rock we painted green a long time ago, leaves from the yard, and a big green button.
Obviously this activity is not for the younger children who still may put everything in their mouths :)

Here are some activities you could do with your collection.

*With older children, you could play a simple game of memory. Allow them to study/memorize the items. Take one away, and see if they can guess which one is missing.

*With younger children, you could have them close their eyes, put one item in their hand, have them feel the texture, and see if they can guess which item they are holding.

*You could also sort and catergorize your collection by texture, shape, or different shades of green (light and dark).

My son also made his own green collection with larger items. I gave him a small plastic box and he went around looking for toys and things that were green. He added some leaves he found outside.

Using both collections, you could also sort things by size.

This was such a fun activity and it is great for helping kids learn their colors. I have never seen my 3 and a half year old so excited about something! He has been playing with it for days, combining it all into the bigger box, and fondly calling it "my collection." ☻ ♥ ☻ I think we will do it again down the road with other colors. :)

Featured on U Create

How exciting! My Canvas Wordle with Vinyl Lettering idea/tutorial was featured on U Create. U Create if a really fun site, that features all kinds of crafters ideas from Blog-land. There are so many amazing people out there with creative minds. I have loved looking at this site and admiring all the great things people make! This is a great blog to find all the fun stuff! (sort of like Crafty Crow but for mommies and women instead :)) Have a look ;)
You may discover something exciting that you may want to try and create. (Just remember, -as always- if you feature something found there on your blog, make sure you give credit to the person/blog where it was originally found/created.) :) Happy Crafting!

Shamrock Shake

This is a fun treat for kids for St. Patrick's Day. Here is the recipe:

Shamrock Shake:

2 cups lime sherbet (add more if needed)

1 banana

1 cup milk

1-2 drops green food coloring (optional)

Mix all ingredients in a blender. Serve in small cups for children. Enjoy your "green" shamrock shake! Serves 3-4 (depending on how big the servings are. ☻)

*note: mommy wasn't a fan of this, but the kids absolutely LOVED IT!

St. Patrick's Day Stitching Card

After some experimenting, I came up with this card you can make at home, and send to a loved one. Older children could even make their own cards. Tip to make this easier: pre-punch the holes using an awl tool with something underneath so you don't damage your table. I use a small plastic cutting board, that I just use for crafting.

Supplies:

card stock

needle

embroidery floss (2 single strands for each color-or you can use more for a thicker effect)

black marker

gold/yellow buttons

black scrap paper

adhesive (glue stick or glue dots or mounting squares)

With a pencil draw a dotted line arch.

Carefully stitch each color of the rainbow, starting at the top and working down.

Attach the buttons.

Cut the black paper to form a 1/2 a circle. Attach to card.

Add words.

Write a message to the recipient about how grateful or lucky you are to have that person in your life :)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Canvas Wordle with Vinyl Lettering

I had a bunch of vinyl lettering to use up (from my stash), and have been wanting to make a wordle out of it. Last year I made this wordle stitching for Halloween. A few weeks ago, I made this wordle, using vinyl lettering and canvas.
Have you visited wordle yet? Check it out if you haven't done so. It is really fun :) Here are a few simple instructions if you want to make one too.

*To use an artist's canvas, (these can be fairly inexpensive from a craft store. Mine was 5.99 for 2 that were about 16 by 20 inches)

*Paint it according to the instructions. I used acrylic craft paint, and a few different shades. I tried to give it some texture, using a sponge and stencil type brush.

*First paint it as you would paint anything.

*Next add a few layers of paint, so that it doesn't look so flat. I used a few different shades of green, and mixed them a bit. I experimented with different things to give it texture. You will want something lint free, since you are painting on canvas.

*When it is thoroughly dry, (I would dry the paint at least overnight) - lay out your words (I used wordle) to help with this.

*Next, apply the vinyl as instructed. If you are unfamiliar with how to apply vinyl lettering, you can look here. If you buy it from a distributor or from a craft store, there should be instructions that come with it. It is fairly simple to apply. You can leave a comment if you have any questions about this part. :) You can modge podge over the top of the vinyl, to seal it if desired.

*I think this would be really fun to display this on a wall with family photos surrounding it ;)

**I have done several vinyl lettering displays on painted canvas, and I really like how it looks. I plan to do more for our nursery and children's rooms. It is just a different look and feel than wood and I really like it:)**

Creative Play: Shaving Cream Snow

Since we live where we rarely get snow, we made our own with shaving cream and a metal cake pan.
(When I taught school, we often let the children clean their desks with a squirt of shaving cream.)
We filled a pan with some shaving cream and let the cars dig their way out of the snowstorm. It was so much fun, my little guy did not want me to put it away or clean it up :) (The cars all got a good soapy bath from this too!)

I won ;)

A few days ago, I posted (to get extra entries☻) about these cute nursing covers from Lilacs and Lollipops etsy shop. Well guess what? I won!! I get to pick and I picked this one or this one. I love damask fabric! I am so excited!
Anyway- everyone- enter if it is something you actually want- enter the give-a-way ☻☻☻
(I have won 2 in the past 3 months and I don't enter that many.) Thank you, Vanessa, at I Never Grew Up, for doing the give-a-way.
Yeah! One less thing I have to make for this baby! As strange as it sounds, I am actually excited to nurse this baby! HA! (and if you know me, nursing is not my forte ☻)

♥♥♥p.s. I am working on putting together a small little favorite things give-a-way soon for all you readers out there ☻ ♥♥♥

I ♥ Faces "Creative Cropping"

AFTER CROP:

BEFORE CROP :

This is my first post and entry for "I ♥ FACES." I have fallen in love with this blog! It is so fun! Each week they have a contest. Anyone can enter, any level of photography. This week the theme is "Creatively Cropping". I have spent quite a bit of time going through my photos, looking for a great cropped photo that shows a face. I discovered I need some more practice in creatively cropping with software. :) I usually try to crop the photo when I am taking it-so editing is minimal. Most of the good photos I have of faces, were cropped when I took the actual photo. :) I still have lots to learn, but I am really loving photography right now :) I still definitely consider myself a beginner ;)


Why I picked this photo: This has been a favorite photo of ours for a few years now. :) It is the photo that got me going with photography. (It actually one a contest at a local Scrapbook store several years ago, and was displayed there for sometime.) I took it with my little pocket point and shoot camera. I really liked how the original turned out with my little guy's head positioned as shown. It was a very hot day, we were out hiking, and daddy was carrying our little guy. I love his cute little smile. So for my first entry for I ♥ Faces, I went with this photo. After many photos that I have taken since this one (taken in 2006) it still remains one of my favorites.

I still have lots to learn about photoshop! I'm excited I found I ♥ Faces, where many people share with others their skills and what they have learned!

Homemade- Breadsticks (quick, easy, and delicious)

A few people have asked me for my breadstick recipe. So here it is ;) It is actually from an old co-worker, named Davis, that worked with my husband. These are super fast and easy to make, not to mention delicious- and they freeze well too!

Speedy Davis Breadsticks

1 1/2 cups hot water

2 TBSP sugar

1 TBSP yeast

1/2 tsp. salt

3 cups flour

melted butter or margarine (optional)

Mix sugar and hot water and let cool. Then add 1 tbsp yeast and 1/2 tsp. salt, and 3 cups flour. When adding flour, beat in the first cup, then add the rest. Mix and knead for 3 minutes. Let rest 10 minutes. Roll out the dough on a floured surface into a rectangle. Cut into 1/2 inch strips. Add melted butter, brushed on each piece if desired. Then fold strips in half and twist. Brush with remaining melted butter and place on a cookie sheet. For variety, sprinkle with garlic, Parmesan cheese, or any other favorite topping. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Makes 10 bread sticks. (they are pretty big-you can make them smaller if you like and have more than 10 :)) Doubles well and freezes well too. You can make these while soup or pizza cooks! Delish!

NOTE: we have tried these with whole wheat flour several times, and they do not turn out as well. Best to use white flour, all purpose type.

I Never Grew Up Give-a-Way-Nursing Cover

Since baby #3 is on the way, and I really wanted one of these last time, (never got around to making one myself:)) I must blog about it for 10 extra entries :) I Never Grew Up is giving away a Nursing Hideaway Cover from Lilacs and Lolipops. They have the cutest etsy shop! It is a new favorite of mine :)

Baby E Photo Shoot

This was my 3rd baby shoot- last month. (pretty much my 3rd "real" shoot of a baby that wasn't my own:)) This sweetie was about 6 weeks old. I just love little newborns. I am slowly but surely getting some practice and learning more things about photography of little ones indoors. I don't own any fancy equipment, even my camera is pretty standard-nothing fancy yet. I think it is time to take a class....or something and learn a little more...ahhhh..someday....sometime;) For now I'll just continue as a hobby, practicing and learning all I can. :) Thank you dear friends for letting me practice on you :)

This one isn't quite as clear as I would like ;) I'm not done editing these yet, so maybe we'll find a better one. I do like how the baby is looking up, and the catch-light in her eyes.