Sweet Little Smoothie

Valentine Countdown

2012-01-30T05:00:00.000-05:00

Here's a repost from last year - a few days early in case anyone else is looking for a cute countdown... We'll be doing our Valentine countdown again this year :)

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Valentine Countdown

I started with my sweet dollar-store-tray turned magnetic-chalkboard-tray from last year. I bought a few packs of these conversation heart boxes from Walmart.

I like that they're Valentine-y without being pink. This is, after all, a boy's Valentine countdown calendar. While I like the colors, I did not like the words on them. Enter a little Goo Gone from the Dollar Store

A few wipes of the Goo Gone and that print was, well, gone

To make the heart boxes magnetic, I just cut up a few old advertisement magnets and adhered a piece to the back of each box with a dab of hot glue.

Now for the fun part - numbering the boxes. That part'll be easy I thought - just buy some white number stickers and {bam} cute countdown. Oh silly me. Nothing is ever that easy. I couldn't find any white numerical stickers that were the right size for these boxes. So instead, I cut each number out of felt and hot glued them on. After all the boxes are numbered, just fill with a few Hershey Kisses, or your sweetheart's candy of choice:

On a totally random tangent, I think all month's should have fun countdown calendars. Idea for Christmas gifts - a year of Kisses. A Hershey-Kiss-a-day calendar. Now that's my kind of calendar!

I participate in the following link parties: Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Skip to My Lou, The Girl Creative, Making the World Cuter, Miss Crafty Pants, Super Stinky Boys, Mad In Crafts, Embellishing Life Everyday, Keeping It Simple, The DIY Home Sweet Home Project, Chocolate Drool & Kisses, Simply Cadence, Polly Wanna Crafter, Sew Can Do, Tip Junkie, My Frugal Family, Coastal Charm, New Nostagalia, Blessed with Grace, The Creative Itch, Funky Polka Dot Giraffe, Home Stories A to Z, The Lettered Cottage, A Bowl Full of Lemons, At Home with K, All Thingz Related, Today's Creative Blog, Not Just a Housewife, Sew Much Ado, Blue Cricket Design, My Backyard Eden, Gluesticks, Extreme Personal Measures, The Thrifty Home, The Trendy Treehouse, Someday Crafts, All Things Heart and Home, Elements Interiors, My Girlish Whims, DIY by Design, Somewhat Simple, House of Hepworths, Seven Thirty Three, Fireflies and Jellybeans, Beyond the Picket Fence, Black Kat Design, Thrifty 101, Fingerprints on the Fridge, Finding Fabulous, Poppies at Play, The Inspired Room, KoJo Designs, Whipperberry, Inspiring Creations, Romantic Home, The Speckled Dog, At the Picket Fence, Little Brick Ranch, Designer Garden, Simply Sweet Home, Simply Designing, Tatertots & Jello, Funky Junk Interiors, Be Different Act Normal, Saturday Morning Blog, It's a Crafty Life, I Heart Naptime, Under the Table and Dreaming, Creative Jewish Mom, Flamingo Toes, The DIY Showoff, Marvelously Messy, Nifty Thrifty Things, Thrifty Decor Chick, The Cottage Chick, Running with Glitter, One Artsy Mama, Dittle Dattle, Southern Lovely, Naptime Creations, Ladybird Ln, Sew Many Ways,

Blackberry Filled Double Chocolate Cupcakes

2012-01-27T05:00:00.000-05:00

Here's a sweet recipe sure to impress your Valentine...or coworkers...whatever the case might be. Dark chocolate cupcakes filled with blackberry preserves and then topped with a sinful chocolate frosting.

Dark Chocolate Cupcakes

1 3/4 cups flour
2 cups sugar
3/4 cups cocoa
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon instant coffee granules
2 eggs
1 cup strong brewed coffee, cooled
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 - Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare muffin liners
2 - In large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt
3 - Mix together and create a well in the center
4 - Disolve instant granules into the coffee
5 - Add coffee, buttermilk, eggs, oil and vanilla to the dry ingredients (in the well)
6 - Beat for 2 minutes on medium speed - batter will be thin
7 - Fill muffin tins 2/3 full
8 - Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean

Filling
Once cooled, fill each cupcake with blackberry preserves (or filling of your choice)
1 - Remove a cone shaped piece of cupcake
2 - Fill void almost full with preserves

3 - Cut bottom point off of the cone of cake
4 - Top with remaining cupcake piece

Double Chocolate Frosting

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup cocoa
1/4 cup heavy cream (+ additional 2-4 tablespoons)
3 oz semi sweet chocolate
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar (1 pound)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 - Combine butter, chocolate & cocoa in a small saucepan
2 - Cook over medium heat until butter is melted, stirring constantly
3 - Remove from heat
4 - Add sugar, vanilla and heavy cream
5 - Beat well until combined
6 - Add additional cream 1 tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is achieved

Ruffly Felt Valentine Garland

2012-01-24T05:00:00.000-05:00

I've decided that there's no reason not to have a garland on my stairs at all times. I just love the cheerfulness that a garland brings to the underappreciated staircase. So for Valentine's Day, I stitched up another quick ruffled felt garland. I used the same quick technique as the candy corn version and last year's rainbow variety. Here's a cliff notes version of the tutorial:

Ruffle up some loooooong strips of felt

Loosely twist 3 strands together

Pin to the railing (I use pushpins secured to the wooden railing)

Click here to read the slightly more detailed tutorial from the candy corn inspired garland.

I participate in the following link parties: Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Skip to My Lou, The Girl Creative, Making the World Cuter, Miss Crafty Pants, Super Stinky Boys, Mad In Crafts, Embellishing Life Everyday, Keeping It Simple, The DIY Home Sweet Home Project, Chocolate Drool & Kisses, Simply Cadence, Polly Wanna Crafter, Sew Can Do, Tip Junkie, My Frugal Family, Coastal Charm, New Nostagalia, Blessed with Grace, The Creative Itch, Funky Polka Dot Giraffe, Home Stories A to Z, The Lettered Cottage, A Bowl Full of Lemons, At Home with K, All Thingz Related, Today's Creative Blog, Not Just a Housewife, Sew Much Ado, Blue Cricket Design, My Backyard Eden, Gluesticks, Extreme Personal Measures, The Thrifty Home, The Trendy Treehouse, Someday Crafts, All Things Heart and Home, Elements Interiors, My Girlish Whims, DIY by Design, Somewhat Simple, House of Hepworths, Seven Thirty Three, Fireflies and Jellybeans, Beyond the Picket Fence, Black Kat Design, Thrifty 101, Fingerprints on the Fridge, Finding Fabulous, Poppies at Play, The Inspired Room, KoJo Designs, Whipperberry, Inspiring Creations, Romantic Home, The Speckled Dog, At the Picket Fence, Little Brick Ranch, Designer Garden, Simply Sweet Home, Simply Designing, Tatertots & Jello, Funky Junk Interiors, Be Different Act Normal, Saturday Morning Blog, It's a Crafty Life, I Heart Naptime, Under the Table and Dreaming, Creative Jewish Mom, Flamingo Toes, The DIY Showoff, Marvelously Messy, Nifty Thrifty Things, Thrifty Decor Chick, The Cottage Chick, Running with Glitter, One Artsy Mama, Dittle Dattle, Southern Lovely, Naptime Creations, Ladybird Ln, Sew Many Ways,

A Warm Bowl of Goodness

2012-01-20T05:00:00.000-05:00

Since I've been pretty much on a soup kick here (and in honor of National Soup Month) I put together a few of my favorite soup pins from my Pinterest board....

1 - A big pot of good-for-you veggie soup {source}
2 - Mmmmm....wait a minute, that soup looks familiar ;) {source}
3 - I looove a good chicken tortilla soup! {source}
4 - I've had Zuppa Toscana on my list of recipes to try for years now {source}
5 - I need those bowls...and some minestrone! {source}
6 - Look at that gorgeous cheese {source}
7 - That color is just beautiful...thank you, Panera, for sharing your recipe {source}
8 - Beef and mushrooms? I'm there! {source}
9 - Can't go wrong with a creamy tomato basil soup :) {source}

There's more to drool over on my Pinterest soup board...but beware, it may cause spontaneous soup simmering :)
I participate in the following link parties: Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Skip to My Lou, The Girl Creative, Making the World Cuter, Miss Crafty Pants, Super Stinky Boys, Mad In Crafts, Embellishing Life Everyday, Keeping It Simple, The DIY Home Sweet Home Project, Chocolate Drool & Kisses, Simply Cadence, Polly Wanna Crafter, Sew Can Do, Tip Junkie, My Frugal Family, Coastal Charm, New Nostagalia, Blessed with Grace, The Creative Itch, Funky Polka Dot Giraffe, Home Stories A to Z, The Lettered Cottage, A Bowl Full of Lemons, At Home with K, All Thingz Related, Today's Creative Blog, Not Just a Housewife, Sew Much Ado, Blue Cricket Design, My Backyard Eden, Gluesticks, Extreme Personal Measures, The Thrifty Home, The Trendy Treehouse, Someday Crafts, All Things Heart and Home, Elements Interiors, My Girlish Whims, DIY by Design, Somewhat Simple, House of Hepworths, Seven Thirty Three, Fireflies and Jellybeans, Beyond the Picket Fence, Black Kat Design, Thrifty 101, Fingerprints on the Fridge, Finding Fabulous, Poppies at Play, The Inspired Room, KoJo Designs, Whipperberry, Inspiring Creations, Romantic Home, The Speckled Dog, At the Picket Fence, Little Brick Ranch, Designer Garden, Simply Sweet Home, Simply Designing, Tatertots & Jello, Funky Junk Interiors, Be Different Act Normal, Saturday Morning Blog, It's a Crafty Life, I Heart Naptime, Under the Table and Dreaming, Creative Jewish Mom, Flamingo Toes, The DIY Showoff, Marvelously Messy, Nifty Thrifty Things, Thrifty Decor Chick, The Cottage Chick, Running with Glitter, One Artsy Mama, Dittle Dattle, Southern Lovely, Naptime Creations, Ladybird Ln, Sew Many Ways,

Fire Roasted Tomato & Red Pepper Soup

2012-01-18T05:00:00.000-05:00

On the days that I'm in the office, I ~~have an obsession with~~ usually lunch on soup from a local shop. I lurve a good soup, especially in the winter. This past weekend was super cold - perfect for simmering a pot of deliciousness on the stove. I had all the ingredients to whip up a pot of Red Pepper & Tomato Soup (with Gouda and Parmesan) and decided to do just that. This is a great 'whatever kind you have onhand' type of soup - in fact this is the first time I actually wrote the 'recipe' down. I usually just start with a pepper or two and some canned tomatoes and throw in whatever I feel like as the pot simmers. For this one, I used fire roasted tomatoes, roasted red peppers with garlic and both Gouda and Parmesan cheeses because that's what was in my pantry.

Fire Roasted Tomato & Red Pepper Soup

2 tablespoons butter
2 12 oz jars of Roasted Red Peppers (I used in oil with garlic), chopped
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tablespoons garlic, minced
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup half and half (or heavy cream)
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
8 oz smoked gouda, shredded
2 oz Parmesan, shredded

1 - Heat butter in large saucepan or stockpot over medium heat
2 - Add onions and cook 5 minutes
3 - Add roasted red peppers, diced tomatoes (including juice) & garlic

this is the chopped roasted red peppers

and here's what the fire roasted tomato can looks like

4 - Continue cooking over medium heat for another 10-15 minutes until onions are tender, stirring occasionally

5 - Add chicken broth and stir well

6 - Reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes

7 - Transfer soup to a blender (in batches) and blend - pulse for a rough texture or puree for a smooth soup

8 - Return to pot and increase heat to medium

9 - Add half and half, pepper, salt, gouda and Parmesan and stir well to combine

soooo gooouda

sorry...I couldn't resist

10 - Simmer another 10-20 minutes to allow cheeses to melt and flavors to combine

11 - Serve with a dollup of sour cream (I prefer to top with a dollop of sour cream blended with ranch seasoning - it adds another fantastic layer of flavor)

A few notes:

The tomato flavor is very prevalent - if you prefer to taste a bit more of the red peppers, sub out some of the tomatoes for more peppers
If you are using fresh bell peppers, dice them and add to the pot with the onions to allow plenty of time for softening

I Really Mustache...

2012-01-17T05:00:00.000-05:00

This is why you do not let your siblings near their nephew's fake mustaches...

I probably shouldn't be allowed near them either....

we may need an intervention...

Time for a Manicure

2012-01-14T13:58:00.001-05:00

This is what happens when you're hummin along on the sewing machine and turn back to see what a certain Stinkerpotaums is doing behind you...

I think my poor nails are so desperate for a little cuticle attention that this one was sacrified for the good of the others! And the worst part? Yep, it broke the needle.

Munchkin Theme - SNOW

2012-01-12T05:00:00.000-05:00

It's been awhile since I posted any of Munchkin's workboxes. The first two week of January we've been working on snow themed activities (and we're finally supposed to get some snow tonight!) Here's a peek at some of what we've been working on. Click here to see my snow theme board on Pinterest!

working on some snow themed patterns

snowflake sorting using dollar store stickers & confetti

snowflake punches

(we used the snowflakes on the marshmallow snowman picture)

working on snowflake matching - this one is really challenging!

hanging up some snowflake window clings

some snow themed flashcards

working on a marshmallow-snowman art project

finished marshmallow snowman

(we used the french vanilla snowman shaped marshmallows - yum!)

the makings of a water bottle snowman -

Munchkin will stuff the cottonballs into the 8 oz bottle and then glue on the face :)

There's lots more over on my Pinterest board - hop on over :)

Home Sweet Home

2012-01-10T05:00:00.000-05:00

My brother and his sweet girlfriend moved into their first house this past fall. I wanted to make them HOME pillow and after a few different designs I ended up with this:

I was so excited to wrap it, that I forgot to take a picture! I had to snap this pic after they opened on Christmas...needless to say, the lighting conditions were less than perfect ;)

For the letters and heart, I used the Silhouette. I don't often plan my creative endeavors in advance, which means I didn't order the fabric fusing from Silhouette. Instead, I tried the regular red package Heat N Bond and it worked perfectly.

As you can see, I used a different fabric for each letter, but all of them were cotton. To start, cut your piece of fabric and Heat N Bond to size. I cut the fabric slightly larger than the Heat n Bond so that the glue wouldn't seep out onto my ironing board during the next step:

Follow the instructions on the package to fuse the Heat N Bond to your fabric. For this one, it was just a matter of ironing the right side of the Heat n Bond to the wrong side of my fabric:

Then it was time to cut! I used a new blade and change the cutting settings to double cut:

When I first took the carrier off of the Silhouette, I couldn't even see where the cut was - I was amazed with out how sharp and clean the letters turned out:

Once all the letters were cut (5 minutes later), it was time to peel the backing and iron the letters right to my pillow fabric (I used an unbleached muslin)

Then zig zaged around each letter (and heart) with cream thread and I sewed a simple envelope style pillow cover (there's a great how-to here)

Since it was an odd size, I decided to make a quick pillow insert using the same muslin fabric

I love it so much I'm headed off to get some cute fabric to match my own living room :)

I participate in the following link parties: Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Skip to My Lou, The Girl Creative, Making the World Cuter, Miss Crafty Pants, Super Stinky Boys, Mad In Crafts, Embellishing Life Everyday, Keeping It Simple, The DIY Home Sweet Home Project, Chocolate Drool & Kisses, Simply Cadence, Polly Wanna Crafter, Sew Can Do, Tip Junkie, My Frugal Family, Coastal Charm, New Nostagalia, Blessed with Grace, The Creative Itch, Funky Polka Dot Giraffe, Home Stories A to Z, The Lettered Cottage, A Bowl Full of Lemons, At Home with K, All Thingz Related, Today's Creative Blog, Not Just a Housewife, Sew Much Ado, Blue Cricket Design, My Backyard Eden, Gluesticks, Extreme Personal Measures, The Thrifty Home, The Trendy Treehouse, Someday Crafts, All Things Heart and Home, Elements Interiors, My Girlish Whims, DIY by Design, Somewhat Simple, House of Hepworths, Seven Thirty Three, Fireflies and Jellybeans, Beyond the Picket Fence, Black Kat Design, Thrifty 101, Fingerprints on the Fridge, Finding Fabulous, Poppies at Play, The Inspired Room, KoJo Designs, Whipperberry, Inspiring Creations, Romantic Home, The Speckled Dog, At the Picket Fence, Little Brick Ranch, Designer Garden, Simply Sweet Home, Simply Designing, Tatertots & Jello, Funky Junk Interiors, Be Different Act Normal, Saturday Morning Blog, It's a Crafty Life, I Heart Naptime, Under the Table and Dreaming, Creative Jewish Mom, Flamingo Toes, The DIY Showoff, Marvelously Messy, Nifty Thrifty Things, Thrifty Decor Chick, The Cottage Chick, Running with Glitter, One Artsy Mama, Dittle Dattle, Southern Lovely, Naptime Creations, Ladybird Ln,

Potato Soup w/ Garlic Cheese Swirl Bread

2012-01-09T06:00:00.000-05:00

Here in Pennsylvania, our weather has been crazy! It's warm...then it snows...then it's warm...then it snows... This past week we had a few cold and snowy days - perfect soup weather! Hubster is not a fan of soups...or stews...or casseroles. In the past decade I've tried lots of different soups, but the hearty loaded potato soup is the only one he likes...it could be that I also make a batch of bread swirled with garlicy-cheesy deliciousness to go with it....

Loaded Potato Soup

4 cups cubed potatoes (I leave the skins on because I'm lazy like that)...its usually about 6 medium potatoes or so
1 stalk celery, finely minced
1/4 medium onion, finely minced
2 cups chicken stock or broth
1 teaspoon salt (if I'm out of celery, I substitute 1 teaspoon celery salt for both the celery & salt)
2 teaspoons garlic powder
3 teaspoons white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded plus a little for a garnish
1/2 pound bacon, cooked
chives or scallions (for garnish)

1 - Add the chicken stock/broth, vinegar, salt, garlic powder, potatoes, celery & onion to a medium saucepan over medium heat
2 - Bring to a boil then cover and simmer over low heat for 20 min
3 - Whisk the flour and milk together and add mixture to the pot - simmer for another 5-10 minutes, until thickened
4 - Add cheese and stir until melted
5 - To serve, ladle soup into bowls and top with crumbled bacon, shredded cheese and chives/scallions

Garlic Cheese Swirl Bread

dough
1/2 of The Pioneer Woman's pizza dough
If you're pressed for time and don't want to bother making dough - frozen bread dough works great!

filling
1 cup shredded cheese (more if you like it really cheesy) - I use a colby jack blend
2-3 roasted garlic cloves, mashed (2 teaspoons garlic powder or even sauteed garlic also works just fine in a pinch)
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 - Roll out the dough to 3/4 inch thickness
2 - Spread the dough evenly with mashed garlic cloves/garlic powder, pepper, salt & cheese
3 - Roll up the bread jelly roll style and pinch the edges to seal. Rearrange dough seam side down to bake.

4 - If your using the PW pizza dough, bake at 375 degrees for 30 min or until golden brown. If you're using frozen bread dough, bake per the package instructions.

This was last week...this week has 50's on the forcast.

Family Cookbook Deal

2012-01-08T13:55:00.001-05:00

One of my ongoing goals is organizing. Organizing my basement...organizing my craft room...organizing my giant stack of recipes that I've written down through the years. This great deal at Family Cookbook Project will finally allow me to get all of my own recipes and my sisters...moms...Hubber's family recipes together all in one place (YAY!) Now I can stop calling my mom every time I misplace my cheesy potato/fudge/sugar cookie recipe :)

Munchkin's Art Display

2012-01-07T08:25:00.000-05:00

Let me start by saying that one of Munchkin's favorite activities is what he calls 'crafting'. Coloring, gluing, cutting all sorts of fabric and paper. He churns them out at lightening speed and wants all of them on display (at his eye level). Since we only have so much magnetic real estate in our house, I knew I needed to come up with a different display option.

There is a small half-wall leading to Munchkin's room. After a quick trip to IKEA we were all set to turn that little half-wall into Munchkin's own art display. I used the BYGEL rail and DIGNITET curtain clips. This little project was less than $10 and I can't tell you how THRILLED he has his very own area to display whatever art work he chooses

Friday Night Funny

2012-01-06T19:00:00.000-05:00

{source}

My DIY 'Home Studio'

2012-01-04T20:01:00.000-05:00

...and by 'Home Studio' I really mean Dining Room.

Last year I finally upgraded to a DLSR. One of my 'justifications' was that I'd never have to take Munchkin to get a crappy studio picture again. So I spent the year obsessively taking pictures and trying to figure out how I was going to get a 'studio' portrait in our house. Our dining room has great light, but I didn't really want the hard wood/baseboard/wall as the backdrop. So I did some Googling and Pinterest searches looking for backdrop holders. Enter Hubster and all of his awesomeness. He took a look at a few of the pictures and then built the perfect backdrop holder

He just used a few 2x4s to build the supports...

and two pieces of PVC to hold the backdrops (he used a hole saw to cut out the hole for the PVC to fit through)...

For this year's Christmas picture, I used a few yards of dark grey felt that I steamed after hanging up. I'd like to say that the pictures were awesome...but Munchkin was not in the mood and I was rushing. This is the best one from the bunch:

Aaaand some outtakes:

I love that Hubster will build me whatever crazy thing I ask for and act like it's totally normal for a dining room to get turned upside down all in the name of a Christmas picture!

I participate in the following link parties: Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Skip to My Lou, The Girl Creative, Making the World Cuter, Miss Crafty Pants, Super Stinky Boys, Mad In Crafts, Embellishing Life Everyday, Keeping It Simple, The DIY Home Sweet Home Project, Chocolate Drool & Kisses, Simply Cadence, Polly Wanna Crafter, Sew Can Do, Tip Junkie, My Frugal Family, Coastal Charm, New Nostagalia, Blessed with Grace, The Creative Itch, Funky Polka Dot Giraffe, Home Stories A to Z, The Lettered Cottage, A Bowl Full of Lemons, At Home with K, All Thingz Related, Today's Creative Blog, Not Just a Housewife, Sew Much Ado, Blue Cricket Design, My Backyard Eden, Gluesticks, Extreme Personal Measures, The Thrifty Home, The Trendy Treehouse, Someday Crafts, All Things Heart and Home, Elements Interiors, My Girlish Whims, DIY by Design, Somewhat Simple, House of Hepworths, Seven Thirty Three, Fireflies and Jellybeans, Beyond the Picket Fence, Black Kat Design, Thrifty 101, Fingerprints on the Fridge, Finding Fabulous, Poppies at Play, The Inspired Room, KoJo Designs, Whipperberry, Inspiring Creations, Romantic Home, The Speckled Dog, At the Picket Fence, Little Brick Ranch, Designer Garden, Simply Sweet Home, Simply Designing, Tatertots & Jello, Funky Junk Interiors, Be Different Act Normal, Saturday Morning Blog, It's a Crafty Life, I Heart Naptime, Under the Table and Dreaming, Creative Jewish Mom, Flamingo Toes, The DIY Showoff, Marvelously Messy, Nifty Thrifty Things, Thrifty Decor Chick, The Cottage Chick, Running with Glitter, One Artsy Mama, Dittle Dattle, Southern Lovely, Naptime Creations, Ladybird Ln, Sew Many Ways,

Happy New Year!

2012-01-03T11:39:00.001-05:00

Hmm, so maybe this post is a little bit late...(note to self, add 'be on time' to the resolution list). Are you a resolution maker? There is nothing I love more than planning out my goals for the new year. Oh the possibilites!

I always have the same big ones on my list year after year...lose weight/eat heathier/exercise more/drink more water...save more/spend less...finally organize the basement/craft room/shed... I still have my list of goals, but why not have a fun resolution for the new year? So this year's resolution will officially be:

{source found via Pinterest}

Yeah, that pretty much sums it up ;)

I Really Mustache...

2012-01-02T21:24:00.003-05:00

This year when I was looking for a little Christmas ornament inspiration, my first stop was (duh!) Pinterest. I wanted something for my sister & her husband and I knew this baby would totally hit the funny mark:

{source}

To replicate, I started with a standard white glass bulb. I don't expect the bulb to get handled much, so I decided not to go the glass-paint route. Instead I used dimensional fabric paint to give it some, uh...dimesion. Then it was all free hand from there (you know you're jealous of my mad mustache painting skills!) And I topped it off with a little snippet of red & white striped ribbon.

In case your curious...I painted the letters with a toothpick because I didn't have a small enough brush. Sure it may have been faster to just go to the store and buy the right size, but where's the fun in that?

Click here if you'd like to see what other awesomeness I'm pinning :)

I participate in the following link parties: Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Skip to My Lou, The Girl Creative, Making the World Cuter, Miss Crafty Pants, Super Stinky Boys, Mad In Crafts, Embellishing Life Everyday, Keeping It Simple, The DIY Home Sweet Home Project, Chocolate Drool & Kisses, Simply Cadence, Polly Wanna Crafter, Sew Can Do, Tip Junkie, My Frugal Family, Coastal Charm, New Nostagalia, Blessed with Grace, The Creative Itch, Funky Polka Dot Giraffe, Home Stories A to Z, The Lettered Cottage, A Bowl Full of Lemons, At Home with K, All Thingz Related, Today's Creative Blog, Not Just a Housewife, Sew Much Ado, Blue Cricket Design, My Backyard Eden, Gluesticks, Extreme Personal Measures, The Thrifty Home, The Trendy Treehouse, Someday Crafts, All Things Heart and Home, Elements Interiors, My Girlish Whims, DIY by Design, Somewhat Simple, House of Hepworths, Seven Thirty Three, Fireflies and Jellybeans, Beyond the Picket Fence, Black Kat Design, Thrifty 101, Fingerprints on the Fridge, Finding Fabulous, Poppies at Play, The Inspired Room, KoJo Designs, Whipperberry, Inspiring Creations, Romantic Home, The Speckled Dog, At the Picket Fence, Little Brick Ranch, Designer Garden, Simply Sweet Home, Simply Designing, Tatertots & Jello, Funky Junk Interiors, Be Different Act Normal, Saturday Morning Blog, It's a Crafty Life, I Heart Naptime, Under the Table and Dreaming, Creative Jewish Mom, Flamingo Toes, The DIY Showoff, Marvelously Messy, Nifty Thrifty Things, Thrifty Decor Chick, The Cottage Chick, Running with Glitter, One Artsy Mama, Dittle Dattle, Southern Lovely, Naptime Creations, Ladybird Ln,

Merry & Bright

2011-12-25T05:00:00.000-05:00

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas!

The Children were Nestled...

2011-12-24T22:00:00.000-05:00

Well, ok....just the one child and visions of tools and trucks and super heros are dancing in his head!

Cholula Cap Decorating Contest

2011-12-20T20:16:00.002-05:00

What the...Christmas is only 5 Days away! That also means that the Cholula Cap Contest is drawing to an end. The great folks at Cholula are giving away some great prizes like Sur La Table Tri-Ply Stainless Steel 9-piece cookware set valued at $279.96 and 12 Sur La Table Gift Cards!

It's simple to enter - just give your Cholula hot sauce cap a little holiday makeover and submit the picture of the decorated cap to girlichef at girlichef dot com. (Please include your name and email address for notification purposes.) To read more about the contest, check out the Cholula Facebook Page or pop over to the Girlichef blog. The contest ends at 11:59 PM on Dec 23rd. Good Luck!

The Pirate's Life for Me

2011-12-19T15:38:00.000-05:00

Last week I shared this Pirate Kit over at Darling Doodles for her 12 Days of Gift-mas. Here it is...just in case you missed it :)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I have a just-turned-four-year old boy. And like lots of little boys I know, he loves to pretend! We recently discovered the new Jake and the Pirates cartoon on the Disney channel, and my little guy is hooked (heh heh). This Christmas, my little first mate will be finding this Pirate Kit under the tree:

I just so happened to score this perfect treasure chest at JoAnns. With my 40% off coupon, it was cheaper than one of the unfinished chests! And so my kit began...

Every pirate worth his jolly roger has found some treasure, so I made a few stenciled booty bags and filled them with Queen's Gold (Dollar Store) and some Crown Jewels (vase filler from Walmart).

I added in a pirate vest (modeled after the one Jake wears in Jake and the Pirates)

And a foam cutlass (from amazon), eye patch and pirate hat (local party store)

And of course - I had to add in a DVD of Jake and the Pirates!

This was such a fun theme kit to put together for my little Muchkin! I can't wait to see him open it on Christmas morning!