Monday, July 30, 2012

Wrapper Love!!!



I LOVE this idea!!!
What a simple, yet special way to give a gift.
This could be used for party favors, parting gift for those
you have to your home for a dinner party,
that little gift you give to a co-worker, etc.

You will find all the instructions at Twigg Studios!



Thursday, July 26, 2012

HEALTHY Doughnuts!!!

Yes, I said healthy!
And the best part, they are YUMMY!!!!
I made these last night, and cannot believe how good they are!!
So, I am sharing the link with you, so if you are so inclined,
you can try them too!



My thanks to multiplydelicious blog for this amazing recipe & picture.

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Craft Night At Our House!

We did a very simple, but pretty craft last night at our house.
Miss Amanda & Miss Emma made plaques...
And here are the details so that you are able to make one yourself!!!

First, I found a free printable in the net that I liked.
Printed it on photo paper, since there is a great likely hood
of print smearage (technical word!) when you print of plain ole paper.

Next, I cut down a scrap piece of 1x6 into 5x7 sized pieces.
I also sanded and drilled an angled hole in the back for hanging.

Next, the girls painted the edges of the board in a color
that they liked that coordinated with the color in the print.


They let the edges dry, and on to greater things!


One layer of modge podge to stick the print to the board.

Above, Emma's, Below, Amanda's

 After the print dried, well adhered to the board,
another coat of modge podge on top of the print and on the painted
sides sealed the entire thing.

I think they look just like a canvas print! 



Monday, July 23, 2012

Miss Emma, and other things.

We are playing (just dance!), watching food network,
going to VBS, all kinds of fun things!!!
I am sore from the dancing.....just a bit, so that's not so hard to deal with,
but I am keenly aware of the fact that it has been WWWAAAAYYYY to long
since I have danced like that!!

I am looking forward to doing a few craft projects with Emmy
while she is here....making pretty clothe napkins,
making doughnuts (organic, no sugar, healthy for you,
yes, they do exist), manicures, you know, girly things!

I am also going to share with you today, a link to
a fun, super simple cookie pop!!!

How cute are these!!!!
I may stop at the store on my way home from VBS to pick
up a bag of oreos!!!!


thank you to mandatory mooch for this fun and easy idea!!

Friday, July 20, 2012

Randomness

We will be getting a visitor this weekend,
our 11 year old, Emma, will be staying with us for a week
and we are pretty excited!!!

I will be doing lots of "girly" things with her, like
making pretty clothe napkins, strolling through pretty little shops,
taking her to my side in the kitchen, teaching her fun and new things,
watching girly movies, laughing and just plain having fun!

I want to make these with her, so that she can take them home
to the U.P. of Michigan...


I mean, how easy and fun are these!!!!!

I hope that you will have an amazing weekend, I know I will!!!


Thursday, July 19, 2012

PARTY PRETTIES

We had a birthday party on Sunday for my Mother!
Why not make her day extra special by putting things on pretty plates,
in pretty containers and doing bright colors!!

None of the "special effects" cost a penny!
All the plates, jars and stands were ones that I already had.

Here's how it went.....

Decorations...fun colors of napkins wrapping the plastic table ware.


Homemade banners sewn from scrap material.

Hydrangeas from my garden.

A potted Ivy that I had received for Mother's Day.

 Food...all the things that are my Mom's favorites!
Caprese Salad, baked squash, roasted green beans
chicken skewers, brie cheese with rosemary crackers,
potato salad, corn on the cob & BBQ beef sandwiches.



 Dessert Table....
Apple Pear Crisps baked in small canning jars
along with Lemon Chiffon Dessert in more jars 
 Cake balls (don't judge me for my drips, hehehe)
Yes, when you are in a hurry, drips happen!

And the dessert table!




And let's not forget the party favors!
Small bags of my Mom's favorite candies
for our guests to take home with them!



So you can see, you can throw a party that will make the birthday person
feel extra special without breaking the bank!

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Crazy Life Of Mine

Sorry that I have been MIA!
We had a fun party at our home on Sunday and I took pictures of all the food and fun, I will post them tomorrow!

My Mother has had to have yet more testing for her heart.
She had an angiogram on Monday which found NO blockages
but an area of weakened heart muscle which is causing a small leak in her mitral valve.
Medication should strengthen the muscle which in turn will stop the leak in the valve. Praise the Lord for medications!!

So, that is what I have been up to the last few days.
I will share more tomorrow!!


Thursday, July 12, 2012

LInk To YUMMO!!!!!

Simply sharing a link today to the blog spot called
Glorious Treats.
Such beauty in something so very simple to make!
And I bet it tastes just as amazing as it looks!
A super simple way to make your family feel extra special
on a very ordinary day!!

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Rolling On The River

We live on the river....the Rock River to be precise.
We are in the midst of a drought here in our area.
I stepped into our back yard and took a few quick pics.
I am saddened at the low levels of this river.
I have seen it quite high in my lifetime.
I have seen it quite low in my lifetime.
This year is really a major low.
The first picture shows a bit of the greatness of this river.
 As you can see, the normal shore line has been long since left behind.

 I truly believe that I could walk across this river to the other side
and it would normally be far above my head,
dangerous and engulf a human to their demise
ending miles down stream with tragedy.
  The tragedy now is that there is very little river left.




Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Inspiration Tuesday!!!!

We all need a bit of inspiration now and again.
Well, let me help!
Are you wanting to have a party?
Just a couple of people over for dinner or a cook out?
Well, help yourself to a few pictures of inspiration!
Some have free down loadable printables
others are pictures to gaze at, and draw inspiration from!

This link from one charming party has these adorable labels for your next picnic!



The Sweetest Occasion has this recipe for the body scrub which would
be an amazing little gift to give to your guests as they leave your
next "girls night" get together!!

And from Martha Stewart, this amazing center piece!
Imagine the fun of scouring through antique stores,
second hand shops, you mom's or grandmother's attic
to find scads of little old bottles to fill the center of the table with buds
and leaves to make this amazing look....the journey
is half the fun!!



And finally, from glorioustreats.com is this mini strawberry/blueberry cheesecake trifle!
All instructions are on her site.
And the best part is, they are instant portion control!
My family, by the way, calls me the queen of portion control....
and I am not ashamed of that title! I am all about portion control!

Have an amazing Tuesday!!!

Monday, July 9, 2012

The Big "P"

I saw this done on another blog,
and knew that I wanted to try!
You see, finding typography wall art is pretty
easy these days, and super cute on the wall,
BUT, if your last name begins with the letter P,
finding typography wall art is nearly impossible!
So, when I saw this "do it yourself" idea at
gardners 2 bergers blog spot, I knew I had to try!

Here is how it's done.
I bought a sheet of poster board at Wal-Mart for 93 cents
printed out the Letter P in the font I wanted from
a normal copy machine.
cut out 2 identical letters in which I had stapled together
so that there were no slips during the process.
Then I cut 2 inch strips from the remaining poster board.
Why 2 inches? that is how thick I wanted the letter to be.
I taped it all together, which was a quick and easy process.


 Next, I had a paper mache' experience. Two layers if you please.
This made the letter solid as can be.......
HOWEVER: When I do this again, I will use a much
heavier cardboard to make the letter with, as mine
kinda wrinkled from the wetness of the paper mache' experience.
OK, back to the craft at hand.
As you can see in this picture, I did have a typography
letter on my wall, which, I found in Door County WI.
It cost $15. The one that I made, cost 93 cents.
Size difference? Yes there is! I love my original, it is metal,
but I am quite sure that I over paid, but what's a girl gonna do
when you can't find the letter P anywhere?
Oh, wait, that's right, make my own!
Yes I did.

Thursday, July 5, 2012

A Few More Things You May Not Know About Me

1. I almost never try food that I cook. I cook, bake and create for others, but really dislike most of what I cook, so I never try it. That is like breaking rule #1 in cooking...."taste as you go along"...nope, can't do it!

2. I never lick forks or spoons even when baking or cooking things that I love. Is that weird? Ya, I know.

3. I am a naturally shy person....I force myself to be social and chatty, it has not come easily for me. I love people, but love sitting back and listening more than being in the conversations.

4. Salad is my favorite food, I know I have said that before, but I did not ever use salad dressing until I was 27 years old. Please tell me that is not an oddity!

5. I have a raised mole (has been all my life) about 1 inch above my belly button, the exact same size and spot as my cousin, who is 10 years younger than I am....how cool is that!

6. I have one brother, no sisters, and my brother looks overwhelmingly like Bruce Willis....people stop him all the time to tell him how much he looks like Bruce. I look nothing like him, my brother or Bruce.

7. When I was 6 years old, I took my first air plane ride, without my Mother or Father knowing anything about it...they were frantically looking for me, and I was happily enjoying my aerial view with a friend and the pilot and his teen age grand daughter. I never did that again, fly without my Mom knowing about it!

8. I am apparently not very secretive, because at the moment I cannot think of another thing to add here!

Have an amazing Thursday!

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Tomorrow, July 4th

Is our daughter and son-in-laws 3rd anniversary!
I have been playing with some of the wedding pictures,
and here is one that I thought came out so nicely!
Aren't they just tooo cute!!!

My days have been extremely full, taking my Mom back and forth
to all her Dr. appointments....and each one has been 2 - 3 times longer
than they had said they would be....ugh.


I have a couple of projects in the works, I hope to finish and share
with you all this week....I am focused and ready to be creative!!!

I hope that you have an amazing July 4th, and are able to
thank our Creator, Fore Father's and Service People
 for the freedom that we celebrate!