Happy Thanksgiving!!

So, I know I haven't been posting a lot...sorry about that...I've been super busy with these two...

My precious angel babies.

I didn't post on Halloween, but we had a ton of fun. Baby Man was so new at just a week old, and Lil Man had a BLAST "tick or teating." =)

I thought I would get on here and post some recipes that I will be making tomorrow.

These green beans are amazing...so so yummy! 

Very crisp and refreshing asparagus with a touch of garlic. 

I can't believe last year was the first time I made cranberry sauce. It was so easy, and way tastier than that canned stuff. 

Same with pumpkin pie...once you make homemade, you'll never go back to box. Just as easy as opening the box, and baking, but way yummier!

And my favorite, Snickerdoodle Pie. Mmm!

I hope to get some better pictures of these this year. 

On another note, I have merged my cooking blog, Read It and Eat, with this blog. I will be posting only on this one from now on. 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Milk and Cookies Birthday Banners

Sorry I have been gone for a while...there's been quite a few things going on around my way, but we won't get into that. =) 

I'm about 8 months pregnant...expecting Baby Boy #2 in October. =) Pregnancy has been going great.

So, I have a little bit of free time before the baby comes. I figured I should post some before I had the baby. 

Today, I thought I'd share with you some stuff I did for my son's 2nd birthday party.

His theme was Milk and Cookies. We were supposed to have this big party, but we had to cancel, and ended up having a smaller one. I still decorated with all of the things I had already made. 

Here is the banner I did:

I had another strand with his name on it under that. I had two paper colors, dark brown and a cream color, for the background, then added a brown houndstooth and brown and cream striped papers on top of those. I used the Cricut to cut out a basic block font for the letters in the same dark brown and cream colored papers, and just glued them down. The string is jute. I love how it turned out. It was exactly what I was going for.  

Here is a close up:

The other banner I had was this one:

I made this one the same way, same colors, but added a couple things. On the "milk" part, I replaced the "i" with a milk bottle, and on the "cookies" part, I replaced the "oo" with cookies. For those I just found clip art online, played with them in paint, and cut them out on my Cricut. With the cookies, I found cookie clip art online, then found chocolate chip clip art, and then cut them both out, and glued the chocolate chips on top of the cookies. Super easy and super cute! 

Here are some close ups:

Another decoration I did was this large milk bottle with "cookies" sticking out of the top. I put a couple sheets of crumpled up white tissue paper in the bottle to resemble milk, and tied the neck of the bottle with some jute.:

That's all for today! Thanks for sticking around for so long. =)

Linked up to:

Sundae Scoop at I Heart Naptime

Feature Yourself Friday @ Fingerprints on the Fridge

Excuse My Absence

So, I have been out of the "blogging game" for a little while. And, of course, there is a good excuse. And this is my excuse...

Yes, it's true. Pregnancy must be a trend right now. =)

I am about 8 weeks right now. Give or take a little. I am due the first week of November. 

Lil Man and I are very excited. I have been extremely exhausted between caring for a toddler and being pregnant in my 1st trimester. I will still try to keep posting when I can. 

Thanks for staying tuned!

Guest Blogging Today!

Today I am over at Random Thoughts of a Supermom...so hop on over and check it out. She has a super cool blog, too!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

Yarn Wreath

Hi again! I have finished another project. I have been doing a lot of stuff lately, and trying to get ready for lil man's upcoming party. 

I did finish this wreath for our living room though. It's an 18 inch wreath, and I thought it would be big enough for the wall that it is on, but it looks like I'm going to have to add some stuff to the wall. It is kind of dwarfed by the huge blank wall. I'm thinking maybe two 12 inch wreaths, one on either side, decorated the same way. I will probably do them with cream colored yarn and brown and tan flowers. We'll see how long that takes to do...haha! 

For this wreath, I used an 18 inch straw wreath from Michael's, Red Heart Super Saver Yarn in Coffee, and some scrap felt in coordinating colors of my living room. Our walls are a taupe and our trim is a dark brown. 

When I started wrapping, I was going for a clean look, so I just did one layer of yarn. When I was done with the first layer, I realized not every bit of the straw wreath got covered. Instead of going back over again with a clean layer, I just did a messy layer. (If you click on the pictures, you can see it in bigger detail.) I love it! 


Linked up to:
Show Me What Ya Got #15 @ Not Just A Housewife
TOO Cute Tuesday: Linky Par-tay #22 @ Funky Polka Dot Giraffe
What I Whipped Up Wednesday @ Sugar and Dots
Sugar and Spice #50 @ Seven Thirty Three

Whatever Goes Wednesday #57 @ Someday Crafts

Linky Party 3/16/11 @ Sisters' Stuff

Sister Sunday: Link Party @ Sisters of the Wild West

A Marvelous Mess #4 @ Marvelously Messy

Feature Yourself Friday @ Fingerprints on the Fridge

Birthday Highchair Pennant Banner

Here is another post on some stuff I did for lil man's party last year. Pretty soon, there will be posts for his 2nd birthday party.

For his high chair, I just made a simple pennant banner. Super easy.

I measured and cut out 5 triangles in the polka dot paper. Don't remember the measurements, I just cut out a size that I liked. 

Then, I cut out the same triangles, but a little smaller on white cardstock, and glued them on top of the polka dot papers. 

On the Cricut, I cut out the letter "T" and number "1" a few times in my selected font. I glued those on top of the white cardstock, and then punched holes in the top corners of each triangle. 

I just tied them to together with simple grosgrain ribbon.

And there it is. Simple party decor.

Linked up to:

Weekend Wrap Up @ Tatertots and Jello

Kitchen Canister Vinyls

I did these a while back, but I still love them. I have seen a lot of these, but on glass and plastic containers. I don't think I have seen any on stainless steel canisters. 

I have 6 canisters, but the other 2, I'm still trying to figure out if I want to keep what's in them. 

Wanna know one of my kitchen helpers? I'm sure you have heard about or seen this before.

I keep drink stirrers in my canisters for leveling. Some use chopsticks.

Now, when I am measuring flour I don't have to use my finger or search for something to level it with. Clever! 

Linked up to:

Too Cute Tuesday @ Funky Polkadot Giraffe

Show Me What Ya Got @ Not Just A Housewife

Valentine's Pictures

 

Sorry for that little hiatus. I decided to take a little break to enjoy this beautiful weather with my lil man. It's been nice, and I wanted to take advantage of it.

I know it is a week past Valentine's day, but I just remembered that I didn't share these cute pictures. This is a really cute idea for Valentine cards. My mom sent me this link as an idea because she knows I love to take tons of pictures of my lil man. 

I have only so many "backgrounds" to work with in my home because we have a small home. So, I just used a white bed sheet that I keep just for photos. My mom cut out the cute hearts on her Cricut for me. And, I let lil man go to town with some candy. 

Here are some of my fave shots:

Ok, maybe more than a few....

Oh, and that mean look, that's lil man's I'm-trying-to-be-mad-at-you look. Still cute. 

Hope y'all enjoyed this lil post of pictures!!

Zippered Pouch

Suzanne, if you're reading this, CLOSE THIS NOW until you get your birthday package....I'm serious! NOW! =)

Are you still reading? Close it! I know you girlie! =) 

Ok, now that she's gone...

I have sewn my first bag...well, small bag. I found this adorable owl pattern, and knew I had to make something for my bestie for her birthday. She is obsessed with owls. I have been friends with her FOREVER it seems like. Since about 8th grade, I think. 

This is us the night of my wedding rehearsal:

Anyways, her birthday was like a month ago, and I'm still working on her stuff that I'm sending her. Everytime I think I'm done, I want to add something else. But, I'm working on the last thing. Finally. 

I am still intimidated by my sewing machine, but I thought this would be an easy project to tackle. It didn't come out perfect by any means, but I hope she likes it!

I used this tutorial from Skip To My Lou. 

I didn't have a different fabric for lining so I just used the same.

You can tell it's my first. Look at the inside. Oh well, right? I tried. She can use it for makeup in her purse or something.

Not too shabby. =)


Linked up to:
Feature Yourself Friday @ Fingerprints on the Fridge
Friday Flair @ Whipperberry
Weekend Wrap Up @ Tatertots and Jello
Free For All @ Young and Crafty
Saturday Spotlight @ Green Door Designs
Sundae Scoop @ I Heart Naptime

Another Thrifty Makeover

I got this box from Michael's just like the basket. I could not pass it up. It was $5.99 @ 80% off. I didn't know what I was going to do with it when I got it, but I knew I could do something with it. After I got home, I knew exactly what I was going to do with it. 

This is what I started with:

This is what I ended up with!

And this is what it is used for:

Whatcha think? I love it. We needed something for the remotes bad. 

Linked up to:

Whatever Goes Wednesday @ Someday Crafts

Link Up 2/16/11 @ Sisters' Stuff

Get Your Brag On @ Gluesticks

Sugar & Spice #46 @ Seven Thirty Three

Creative Juice Thursday #10 @ Momnivore's Dilemma

Feature Yourself Friday @ Fingerprints on the Fridge

Friday Flair @ Whipperberry

Weekend Wrap Up @ Tatertots and Jello

Free For All @ Young and Crafty

Valentine's Subway Art

Subway art is so hot right now...it's everywhere. I am liking eighteen25's the most. They are so cute! I loved their Christmas version, but the colors weren't going to work with my decor. I wanted to put my own spin on it. So, I did this....

You can download it if you want HERE.

Then, they came out with their Valentine's version, so because I am going grays, pinks, and white, I decided I needed to make my own for this holiday as well. I changed it up a little bit, but I got the inspiration from them.

You can get it HERE.

All you should have to do is right click and save as on the pictures. All I have is a Photobucket right now. I should probably get one of those accounts to where you can just download it straight from the page...one day...

I know Valentine's day is just a few days away, and I'm sharing this kinda late. I forgot about it really, but if you're having a Valentine's day party, you could use it as table decor or something. 

Linked up to:

Feature Yourself Friday @ Fingerprints on the Fridge
Strut Your Stuff Valentine's Party @ Somewhat Simple
Strut Your Stuff 2/9/11 @ Somewhat Simple
Just Something I Whipped Up Valentine Party @ The Girl Creative

Valentine "Heart-Gyle" Yarn Wreath

Yes, I made that word up. I tend to do that. 

When I decided to go with soft grays, pinks, and white for my Valentine's day decor, I knew I wanted to make a wreath for the door. So, I started looking, and found this one. I love it because I knew I could totally try to make one, and I love argyle! 

Mine didn't turn out quite like theirs...should've made the hearts bigger...oh well, right? I still love it, and I think it's perfect for me and my decor! 


I didn't think to do a tutorial, but if requested, I can try.

Linked up to:

Sundae Scoop @ I {heart} Naptime
Making the World Cuter Monday
Market Yourself Monday @ Sumo's Sweet Stuff
Just Something I Whipped Up @ The Girl Creative
Just Something I Whipped Up Valentine Party @ The Girl Creative
I Made It Without My Hubby @ Shanty2Chic
Take-A-Look Tuesday @ Sugar Bee Craft Edition
Too Cute Tuesday @ Funky Polka Dot Giraffe
Show Me What Ya Got @ Not JUST A Housewife
Sugar & Spice #45 @ Seven Thirty Three
Link Up 2/9/11 @ Sisters' Stuff
Whatever Goes Wednesday @ Someday Crafts
Get Your Brag On #3 @ Gluesticks
Feature Yourself Friday @ Fingerprints on the Fridge
Strut Your Stuff Valentine's Party @ Somewhat Simple
Strut Your Stuff 2/9/11 @ Somewhat Simple

A Couple "Freecycles"

Alright folks, got some more thrifty things for ya today! 

I am in the process of organizing my tornado zone of an office. When my lil man was a baby, I was going through those plastic baby food containers like crazy. One day I thought, there has got to be something I can do with these besides throw them away. They're good little pop-top containers. 


So, what did I do with this:

I took some paper, stamps, and a stamp pad, and made this:

All I did was cut the paper to size, round the corners, stamp the name of the item that it will be holding, and popped the paper into the inside of the lid. It stays with no tape, glue, or anything. I love them. I put everything in these. I've made a ton for all the little things in my office like needles, straight pins, safety pins, key rings, rhinestones, buttons, alligator clips, barrettes, etc.etc.

Do you throw away a bunch of these like us?

What can you do with those you ask? Take some cute paper like this:

a little Mod Podge...

And turn it in to this!

As with the containers, all I did was cut the paper to size, and then mod podged the can, put the paper on, and then put a layer of mod podge on top. Perfect for holding pens, pencils, markers, paint brushes, and whatever else your heart desires!

I hope y'all enjoyed my "freecycles." Come back tomorrow for some more spray paint fun!


Linked up to:
Sumo's Sweet Stuff