Monday, January 31, 2011

Notes Vinyl!

Back in November or December I ordered this super cute "Notes and Scroll" vinyl. I kept forgetting to pick up a white plate whenever I went to Walmart so the vinyl has been sitting in my drawer ever since. But! I finally remembered!!!! Woot Woot! I picked up a plate Saturday while I was at Walmart and this morning my little monkey boy woke me up early, so I figured I should do something before the other little monkey wakes up! So here is the pic of how the plate turned out:

-my little monkey was holding the marker up as I was taking the picture-
You can order the vinyl here, just scroll down a little and you'll see the exact same plate with vinyl!

It would make a wonderful gift idea! The plate cost $3.96, and the vinyl was $4! Pretty much any dry erase marker will work!

Here's a pic of my adorable little monkey trying to help! Both my boys LOVE "helping"!

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Fabric!!!!

Okay, so I am SUPER excited! I went to JoAnn's today in hopes of finding some seasonal fabric clearanced, and i DID!!! I am SO excited! I found this super cute christmas fabric that I plan to make twin size quilts with for my boys! I can't find my camera still (story of my life), but I looked up the fabric on JoAnns.com and found it! So here's the picture they had:

Isn't it so cute?!!! Okay, so it's cuter in person, but it's such a fun fabric! I can't wait! I'll keep a look out for contrasting fabrics. Once we get into a house I am so going to break it out and start working on it! They'll be my first real quilts!!! Can't wait!!!
Oh, and if anyone else wants the fabric you can still get it at joanns.com, just look up "John Deere Christmas" to pull it up! It's $3 a yard, it was $10 a yard, that's right, 60% off! Saweet! Hope everyone has a great weekend! We're going out of town for the weekend so I'll be posting next week the other great finds I got this morning!!!

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Quilting...so want too!!!

Okay, so I see all these people quilting and I so want to try it, Hopefully I can go buy some fabric next week with my B-day Money :) So excited!!! Will definitely let you know how it goes!!! I have been totally spacey this week not getting anything done, so maybe next week I'll be like super woman and whip out something each day...I can dream right! I e-mailed out about my upcoming craft night if anyone is interested in an invite leave me your e-mail and I'll send it on over! I'll post about the crafts I'm planning on doing tomorrow!

Friday, January 21, 2011

Baby Goods Toolbelt!

Yesterday was my Sister in laws baby shower! She is having TWINS! How exciting is that! So I wanted to make something fun for my brother and a friend of mine gave me the idea to make a "diapering tool belt" how fun is that! So I set out to Target to find a place mat and some diapering/baby supplies! Since I already had a gift for them I didn't want to spend to much, so I bought wipes, baby Q-Tips (I LOVE these things, I buy them for just about anyone I know who is having a baby, they are GREAT!), baby powder and some Vaseline in a tube (I got the target brand). I wanted to do other stuff but I decided on these, they can put whatever they want into it :)

Okay, so back the tool belt thing, I had a couple yards of white muslin from previous projects, so I used that for the straps. BUT, it seemed kind of boring so I was able to do a little design on the straps with the sewing machine. Then I sewed the straps on, and added 4 pockets. It turned out pretty cute I think!
I had my hubby take a picture of it before I gave it away so that I could show you :)

All rolled up and tied :)

Here you can see the inside of it all tied up.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Valentine's Gift for the Hubby!

So here is the gift I decided to do for my hubby! I am really excited about it!

Every few months I buy one of these Kim Anderson Greeting cards, they have the cute picture on the front and they are blank on the inside. They are perfect! So this is one I gave him last year, I've saved all of them in hope of some day framing them, plus then he still has the letter if he ever wants to read them again someday :) The quote/poem thing is something I downloaded from a gals blog the other day! It's SUPER cute! I'm trying to find which blog it was, as soon as I do I'll let you know because you may want to use it too! The frame I bought on black Friday for $4 :) It's perfect for Robert to put on his desk!

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Busy Busy Busy! *added pics :)

Okay, so I thought I'd be a little less busy this month, but nope! Anyways, I have actually done some thing this week! Promise! Let's see:

-Went through all the boys toys, and have a box to donate - YAY!

-Got 3 baby blankets sewn, only 2 more to go till I have all the fabric I cut up and pieced together in Novemeber, or maybe it was October, done :) The 3 I was able to get done are for my little boy, and my 2 new nephews that will be arriving this weekend!
Here's Cooper's Blanket:

The Blankets for the 2 cuties on the way:


-I am working on another little thing for my Brother - father to be - that I will post pics of tomorrow night!

-Got the fabric I need for a cute little mommy bag thing, don't know what to call it exactly, but I"m excited to make it!

-Almost have my craft night ideas narrowed down :) This is really exciting because I am struggling with what to do!!! So I think I know...finally!!! Hopefully I'll get the invites out next week!! So excited!

**I'll post pics tomorrow of the blankets!

Monday, January 17, 2011

Target Deals! *added a few pics :)

I found some great little things are Target this year after Christmas! I absolutely LOVE target!
I grabbed two Wilton 12 Cavity Boy Cookie Pans, they look like so much fun and I got them for $2.48 each (75% off), my camera is down stairs, but I will post a pic of it tonight :)

I got some Christmas window clings for 19 cents each for next year (they were in the 90% off Christmas stuff)

Some wrapping paper for 29 cents and 49 cents.

A "Happy Holidays" Banner for 29 cents.

2 place mats for 39 cents each (I posted a pic of the tool belt I made with one of them on Friday)

I found a few little car Lego things for 39 cents...whoot whoot, stocking stuffers for sure!

Oh and I succumbed to buying something for 50% off because I've always wanted one but am never willing to pay 6$ (it's normally 12$) for it, but I went ahead and bought myself a holiday door mat! I think it's super cute!

I found a few other odds and ends for next Christmas that will be fun to pull out, I've actually packed most of it up already...go me (I still have a ton of other stuff to box up though)

Target really didn't have very much stuff left (that was 75% off) when I went but I did find a few things :) Which is awesome! Go ahead and stop by target this week, who knows, maybe you'll get lucky and find something! I did! Just walk around all of Target, because sometimes people leave things through out the store that you might find!
I grabbed this Toy Story Game that you hook up to the TV for $12.48 instead of $50, there is no way I'd ever pay that much for a game! I'm actually planning on letting the boys give it to Robert for his birthday because he loves these kind of games with the boys :)

I also snagged this Train set over a week ago, It'll be great for the kiddos! It's a 120 piece wooden train set, originally $40 and I grabbed it for $9.98

I also picked up the game Zippity (it's a leap frog interactive learning game) at target for $19.98 it said it was originally $80. The hubby was with me when we got this and he thought it might be fun for Brycen for Christmas or his Birthday!
Plus I grabbed a Chuck and Friends Car set for $7.48 instead of $30 for Cooper.

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Just Ordered...


I just ordered myself 24 of these awesome looking chalkboard vinyl oval cutouts! I am so excited to get them...oh the possibilities for organizing!!!! It's not too late either, you can still order them till tomorrow night! Go check out groopdealz - http://www.groopdealz.com/index/index-home/bypass/1

Friday, January 14, 2011

First Project of the Year...finally!

Okay, so it has taken me FOREVER to get back into the swing of things, I've been enjoying taking some time off from crafting...though I have been shopping! I'll show some of the smokin deals I got tomorrow!

Enough chit chat, here's my project: a Tool Belt!!! For the kids! I only made one, but I plan on making another one before valentine's day and then rolling up the boys tools with a chocolate lollipop inside of it for each of the boys. They both got a set of play tools for Christmas, so this is perfect! To see the full tutorial go to: http://www.thecreativemaven.net/2010/04/turn-placemat-into-little-boys-toolbelt.html
My wonderful friend sent me this link a while back and I've been dying to make them! I found the place mat at Target for a smokin .39 cents! It was in the Christmas clearance - 90% off! I didn't even think I'd find one but I decided to check just in case, and voila! 1 place mat! Now I need to go to the dollar store and see if I can grab another one for a buck! If they have them at the dollar store I will definitely let you know, this would make a SUPER cute gift for a little boys birthday party! Here's the pic (oh and next time I wont use all white, but that was what I had around, so I went ahead and used it, then I used blue thread as a contrast):

Just need to find the rest of the tools :) Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Guest Basket - Toiletries


Over a year ago we stayed at our friends house, she is super crafty (here's her blog if you're interested - http://granddesignco.blogspot.com)! She had this cute little box full of different soaps in her bathroom. I thought it was SO cute! So I decided last summer that it would be fun to have a basket full of toiletries for guests when they come! I swear I always forget something whenever I go visit anyone. So I tried to think of everything someone might forget or want while visiting, so here I have a basket full of bathroom goodies! It includes:
4 different types of deoderants (secret, dove, axe and suave)
4 different shampoos and conditions (pantene, garnier fructis, johnson's shampoo, head and shoulders, and a suave kids)
a foof (the puffy thing, don't know what it's called)
4 body washes (axe, caress, dove and olay)
4 lotions (jergens, johnson and johnson's, eucerin and bath and body works)
Q-Tips
Clean and Clear face wash
St. Ives Apricot Scrub
3 toothpastes (kid's crest, colgate and ProNamel)
2 brand new Carmex's
Herbal Essences hair gel
Shaving Cream (girls and guys)
a compact brush/mirror
hair mousse
scope mouthwash
Dove Soap (forgot to throw it in the basket)

I had some toothbrushes but we used them on our trip last week, so I'll be replacing those Friday when I go to target! I'd also like to throw in some razors (I always forget those) I found all these awesome things in the dollar travel section at Target! The basket I got at JoAnn's on sale last summer! I think it's so fun to pick out everything you want!
*Another perk is that when you go on vacation you have a stash to pick from! Plus, there's been once or twice when I've run out of face wash or shampoo and I just grab it out of here then replace it!

Ana-white.com - love it all!

Okay, so I follow shanty2chic.blogspot.com, and she posted yesterday about this amazing craft table she made! It was gorgeous! I totally want to make one in the future! But she got the idea from ana-white.com, I have never even heard of this site, but apparently she is very popular! She has all these great tutorials! My wonderful husband and I plan to make a bunch of the stuff once we get our own place, from bed's to tables to bookshelves! There are SO many fun things! One of the first things we'll be making is the farmhouse table and the bunk beds! I can not wait till we have our own place, it'll be SO much fun to make our own furniture! Bring on 2011! I definitely plan to learn some wood working this year!

Oh, and if you haven't seen ana-white.com before, you should definitely check it out! The tutorials make it so just about anyone can make the furniture!

Monday, January 10, 2011

Safeway Sales - go tomorrow!

Okay, so I just got back from Safeway and I spent $22 and someod cents. Here is what I bought:

18 boxes of betty crocker fruit snacks - gushers, fruit roll ups and fruit by the foot (.99 cents each if you buy 4 or more, if you print out the .50 cents off two boxes coupon, safeway doubles it so you get them for .49 cents per box)

3 bottles of Wishbone Italian Dressing (.99 cents each with safeway coupon from their ad)

8 can's of Progresso Soup (.75 cents each with coupons, .99 cents without - still great price)

2 can's of diced green chilies (.89 cents each)

2 bags of white beans ($1.06 each)

I think I did a pretty awesome job! You can too! Just print out coupons for the fruit snacks online, I found coupons at bettycrocker.com, couponcabin.com, smartsource.com and coupons.com - some of the sites let you print out 2. There is a coupon for the Italian Dressing in the Safeway ad, I told the lady at checkout and she found it for me since I forgot my ad at home. I had 2 coupons for the progresso soup that I cut from the sunday paper last sunday - you might be able to find some online - I don't know, but if not the can's are only 99 cents each! Plus, when you check out they print out a 2$ or 3$ off you next purchase coupon from the fruit snacks, the coupon though can be used on anything, it's like free money!

Just wanted to share! Now get your bums over to safeway tomorrow before the sale ends! I'm sure they have other stuff on sale too! Even if you don't need the fruit snacks they are great to share when your kids have friends over, or for birthday party favors or for lunch's - even the hubby likes them!

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Hello 2011! - plus some yummy treats!

So I finally decided to go through all the bookmarked crafts I've seen in the past 3-4 months, there were over 100!!!! So it took me almost 2 hours to go through all of them, but I now have a list of wonderful crafts to make this year, plus some home decor ideas for our future home! Yes, my husband got a job offer - YAY - and we get to stay here, we are currently in the market for our dream home! So I am practically salivating over all these fun projects I keep seeing! I can't wait to have our own home! We've been married just over 4 years and we have lived with my parents for 3 1/2 years of that time while my husband has been in school, we are so lucky to have had the opportunity to stay with my parents, so then I was able to stay home with the boys instead of having to work, or my wonderful husband having to work full time and go to school full time. So after 4 wonderful years we are so excited to have our own place! Here are two fun projects I'd like to do as soon as we get into a house - I want to make our own dining room table: http://jackiespapercrafts.blogspot.com/2010/11/11282010.html
and a craft table, which I"ll post about later :)

Okay, so today I decided to make some YUMMY foods since everyone here has been sick with the flu I decided to make some homemade Chicken Noodle Soup, it tasted wonderful! Here is the recipe for the noodles that I made (it's from Delia Creates - http://deliacreates.blogspot.com/2010/09/sickies.html)
1 egg
2 TBSP. water
1/4 tsp. salt
dash of pepper
1 cup flour
mix together until dough starts to form. Dust the counter with flour. Roll out as thin as possible, you'll need to press a lot! Re-flour rolling pin as needed. Cut noodles to desired size, then let rise while you make the soup. Once soup is done stir in noodles and cook for another 5-10 minutes until done, then enjoy! Yum!
To make the soup I diced up onion, celery and carrots, then added some chicken that I canned a few month ago, poured in some Swanson's Chicken Broth and some water with Chicken bouillon. I also tossed in some spices, great ones to use include, thyme, parsley, oregano, crushed bay leaves and pepper. So yummy! I never measure anything out - sorry!

Since we were having yummy soup I had to make some yummy rolls!!! My wonderful and amazing friends - the Claytons - have the yummiest roll recipe EVER, and they said that I could share it with you! Their fun blogs include:
- http://uniqueinspirations.blogspot.com/
- http://kissingfrogstoo.blogspot.com/
So here's the delectable recipe:
Dissolve together:
2 TBS. sugar
2 TBS. yeast
2 Cups water
pour into blended mixture of:
1 cup melted margarine
1 cup sugar
6 eggs beaten
Once mixed add:
8-10 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
Rise for 2 hours. Divide into 4 parts. Roll out each part into a large circle, spread with melted butter, and cut into 12 pieces like a pizza. Roll from wide end to narrow end. Place on buttered pan about 2 inches apart and allow to rise an additional 2-3 hours (I normally don't butter the pan). Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes, until tops are golden brown. I normally rub butter over tops of the rolls after I pull them out of the oven, but it's up to you. Here's a picture of the ones I made today -

Then I followed up the yummy dinner with some yummy cookies! I've always loved the Andes Mint Cookies but have never made them myself, so I had some left over Andes mints from Christmas so I decided to make some! They turned out super yummy! See -

I got this recipe from a wonderful friend too! Thank you Helen! She brought them to the cookie exchange I hosted at the first of December.
Andes Mint Cookies:
3/4 cup butter or margarine
1 and 1/2 cup brown sugar
2 TBS. water
2 cups semi-sweet choc. chips
2 eggs
2 and 1/2 cups flour
1 and 1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 pkg. Andes Creme Mint Candies
Melt butter, brown sugar and water in a sauce-pan over medium-high heat until thoroughly combined/melted. Then add 2 cups semi-sweet choc. chips to sauce pan. Mix and thoroughly melt. When combined and stirred through, turn off heat and cool for 10 minutes. Then pour into mixing bowl and beat in 2 eggs. Add the flour, baking soda and salt. Mix well and chill in refrigerator for about 45 minutes. Roll dough into 1" balls and flatten tops slightly with spoon. Bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. Place 1/2 Andes mint Candie on top of each cookie as cooling. Let melt and spread over top. Allow cookies to cool before removing from cookie sheet.
Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend!

- On another note, my heart goes out to the families that lost loved ones today in the tragic shooting in Tucson,AZ, and the families that have friends or family members still in critical condition!

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Target Toy Clearance!

Hey everyone! Finally back from vacation! Just wanted to let you know I stopped by Target today (actually 3 targets) and some of the targets have a few toys 75% off, the Target at El Con Mall has a few 75% off toys (I don't know how many they'll have left after today, but you could always look). The Target at 22nd and Harrison has a BUNCH of toys clearanced to 30% and 50% off (all the signs say 30%, but if you looks at the toys there are a some that are 50% off). But you should keep in mind that they will be clearancing them more soon!!! So keep a look out! I haven't checked the Target at Tanque Verde and Grant, but they might have some 75% off toys, I"m hoping to go check tomorrow!
Just think birthdays, Easter (if you do anything for Easter), and next Christmas ( a few gifts here and there save BIG bucks come next Christmas)! Hope everyone is having a wonderful New Year!