Baby Diaper Wreath!

This cute diaper wreath was so fun to put together. I just took the foam you can buy at the hardware store in the toilet section (only $.97 for one which makes two wreaths, it's called pipe insulation). Made it round and duck taped it together like what I did for the 4th of July wreath I made. Then take diapers, open them up and place around the tub. Tie with a cute string or ribbon to hold it on. Continue around the tub until the whole tub is covered by the diapers. Then start adding on the different things you'd like. I did some rubber ducks, baby lotion, baby shampoo, a few hair bows and an initial for her name. We hung in on the door for everyone to see when they walked in.

These are great cause they're cute and everything on it is useable! They are always a big hit at any baby shower!

Father's Gift

These were what I made for Father's Day and I just found the picture. I'm sorry it's forever ago but I thought it could be a great idea for even a birthday for a Father or next Father's Day!

All I did was make a fan fold (or whatever you want to call it) and place the sign World's best Pop on top. The fan folds are super easy to make. Just take a sheet of paper and cut it to the length you'd like it to be. Then, you can score each fold (mine were about 3/4 - 1" apart) or just guess and fold like I did cause I don't have a scorer. After that you'll tape the two ends together to make it round. It's easy to do just hard to explain in writing. (Here's a great tutorial with a video at the end if that would help you!)

Tissue Paper Pom Poms

 

I sure many of you have seen the tissue paper pom poms but I want to tell you just how easy they are to make and what an impact they have at a party! These were a few I made for my sister in laws baby shower at my mother in laws house! They were supper easy to make and we just hung them with tacks and fishing line.


To make the pom poms I followed this tutorial! She gives great detail on how to make them. I used more tissue paper to make mine fuller (about 10-12 sheets) and I didn't cut mine down. She also includes this awesome picture to show you how when you cut the ends it turns it into a different flower!

Cheese Cake Bites and RS Mad Hatter Birthday Party!

For our Relief Society activity we put together the Mad Hatter Theme. We had classes relating to the different hats we all wear and how to improve things in our life (Cleaning, Time Management, and Scripture Study). After classes we had lunch for them where we made chicken pockets and these amazingly easy cheese cake bites! These were so easy I made them again for a family activity! Here's all it entails,

Ingredients:
2 pkg (8oz each) Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
12 Nilla Wafers
1 can cherry pie filling (or any pie filling)
12 cupcake wrappers

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla with mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs; beat just until blended. Place cupcake wrappers in cupcake/muffin pan. Place 1 wafer on bottom of each of the cupcake wrappers. Spoon cream cheese mixture evenly over wafers. Bake 20 minutes or until centers are almost set. Cool. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Top with pie filling just before serving. Keep refrigerated.

Also, check out those cute water bottles...it's done with duck tape! They were so freaking easy to do! I didn't even remove the label, I just placed the tape over top of them! They come in such cute colors that it could really go with anything!

To check out the rest of the decorations for the Mad Hatter Birthday Activity you can go here!

The Best Peanut Butter Fingers Ever!!

This is my mom's recipe and they are to die for! I love making these for big get togethers or a birthday treat!

Peanut Butter Fingers

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup butter or margarine

2 eggs, beaten

1 tsp vanilla

2/3 cup peanut butter

1 tsp baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

2 cups flour

2 cups oatmeal

Chocolate Frosting:
6 Tbsp margarine
2 2/3 c powdered sugar 
1 tsp vanilla
½ cup cocoa
3 ½ Tbsp milk (slowly)

Cream together sugars and butter. Add eggs, vanilla, peanut butter and mix. Add soda, salt, flour, oatmeal and mix well. Pat into well greased – large cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes (put extra pans under to protect from spillage). Remove pan from oven and cool a few minutes; spread with thin layer of peanut butter. Top with frosting: blend the 5 ingredients (under the chocolate frosting) together until smooth and fluffy, then spread it over cooked base. Chill to set. Cut in strips to serve.

More Cards to Share

I'm always searching online for cute cards to make for different occasions, so I thought I better put up the ones I make for those out there like me trying to find some ideas. These are a few that I have done and a few from my card exchange group that I like and wanted to remember for when I need to make more. Sorry the pictures aren't the best quality...some day I'll have a camera but for now my phone will have to do:)

Just Because/Thinking of You Gift

 

So this idea was totally thrown together with things I had around the house. It's a little corny but I thought it was still cute:)   

Here's what in the basket...

I'd go "nuts" without you

You make me want to "shout"

You have such a big "heart"

You are so "bubble" -ly

You are a "souper" friends, mother and daughter of God

I always have a "popping" good time with you

Christmas in July - Date Night Idea

Ok, if you know me you know I'm a little cheese at times but hey that makes life different and fun. I found this idea on Love, Actually. It was on our list I gave my husband for Christmas last year which I posted about here.

Around here it's been hard to get in a date night but I knew my husband was coming home for the night so I pulled this together last minute. We had such a great time with it though.

First I pulled out the Christmas lights and draped them over the curtains. Then I pulled out some Christmas movies for him to choose from. We also had hot chocolate ready and don't forget the present!

We know it's hard to get to date night every week but I feel it's very important to take the time to be together. This was great for us cause we were able to relax together after the kids had gone to bed.

Organizing My Fabric

So I saw this AWESOME idea on Pinterest and had to give it a shot. I had all my fabric just thrown into a big box and it was always so hard to see what I had. I loved this idea and the organization of it.

All you need is hanging folders to hang your fabric on. I just folded the fabric however it would fit onto the file folder. Each fabric was a different cut so they were all different folds. I also cute the folders in half so that I had two, if you have a heavy piece of fabric you could just use one folder for extra support. We don't have much room in our house so mine are in a box that is made for hanging folders (found at Staples or Office Depot). I Love It! It's so much easier to see everything, they stay nice and pressed and take up less room!

A Yummy Treat for Any Occasion

These are a great treat for any occasion you might have coming up or just for a after school snack. All it takes is pretzels, chocolate kisses, and M&M's. You could easily substitute the chocolate kisses for anything (give rolo's a shot...I hear they are amazing). Just place the pretzels down on a cookie sheet. Place on chocolate kiss on top and place into the oven on broil for only a minute or two (just enough time to melt the chocolate). Remove immediately and place one M&M on top. Let cool and enjoy!

Cards Cards Cards

Here are a few more samples of cards I have done and others have done from my card group!

Pull Aparts That Are To Die For!

 

These are so delicious that no picture could do it justice. You'll just have to try this out yourself. I'll warn you now it's not healthy at all :)

1 unsliced loaf of (round is preferable) sourdough bread
8-12 oz cheddar cheese, thinly sliced
3 oz bag Oscar Mayer Real Bacon bits
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 Tbsp Ranch dressing mix

Using a sharp bread knife cut the bread going both directions. Do not cut through the bottom crust. Place slices of cheese in between cuts. Sprinkle bacon bits on bread, making sure to get in between cuts. Mix together butter and Ranch dressing mix. Pour over bread. Wrap in foil the entire loaf in foil and place on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Unwrap. Bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

Now, I could only find sliced bread so I just sliced it the other direction as well. It doesn't work as good but taste just the same. 

Thanks Plain Chicken for the great recipe, we love it!

T-shirt Headbands

Just when I thought I knew everything there was to make out of an old t-shirt I ran into this tutorial on making -shirt headbands for my girls! They so super soft and my littlest "pull-everything-out-of-my-hair" girl left them in longer then normal!! And the best part, they're NO SEW headbands! I've been in a no saw mood so this was great!

I didn't follow the tutorial exactly and they still work great. Instead of using the sticky adhesive I just pulled out my hot glue gun!! Just cut a strip of t-shirt long enough to go around your childs head (or your could make it for yourself!). Hot glue the two ends together. Cut a smaller piece to cover the part you just glued together! Easy peasy!! (the tutorial has great step by step pictures if you need it!)

On the green one, I took a bleach pen to it to make the poka dots! Just put your design in and let it sit for about 30 minute (100% cotton works best!), wash off and let air dry.

Homemade Ice Cream!

This is a fun treat that even the kids enjoy making!! All you need is:

2 Tbsp sugar
1 cup half & half (or light cream)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup coarse salt or table salt
ice
gallon-sized Ziploc bag
pint-sized Ziploc bag

Mix together the sugar, half and half and vanilla. Pour into the smaller bag (pint) and seal well. Add the ice to the gallon size bag making it half full (being optimistic! ), pour the salt on top of the ice and then add your pint size bag, seal well...start shaking! You'll shake for about 5-8 minutes. Open the bags and there you have it...homemade ice cream in a bag!!



(thanks 2 Little Hooligans for the recipe)

4th of July

I hope you all were able to enjoy your 4th!! We did for sure! This is a picture of my husband and daughter at the centerville parade, she got to ride on daddy's shoulders the rest of the way and loved it!

I'm going to be taking off the rest of the week to spend some time with my hubby before he starts training! Hope you all have a great week!!

Homemade Fruit Snacks

I did it! I made them over the weekend and they turned out yummy. A few notes, they are very sticky after they're set up but I left mine out over night and they were much better. I had a hard time getting them out of my mold which I got at IKEA after just the 20 minutes like the recipe says so I waited longer and it was 10 times easier!! ( I'd say a couple of hours) Hope you enjoy them like we did!! Here's the link for ya!

The Power of the Sun!

I never imagined what the sun could do until I tried this! I'll never go back! I heard this idea from my dad awhile ago but just tried it for the first time the other day! The sun will bleach out stains in your clothing safely!!! As you can see we had a ton of baby clothes that were all stained. So I just layed them on our trampoline wet ( after they'd been through the wash), and let them air dry! It even took out some odd stains! And the best part, it's free! So give it a shot with your next stubborn stain!

Something Extra - Thank You

This is a simple yet cute idea to use as a thank you or even thinking of you gift. I just typed up the saying, printed it and glued it to some cute paper!

Reminds Me of You - Love Songs

It's actually quite hard for me to think of date night ideas seeing how me and my husband don't see each other to much lately :( but...I LOVED this idea I found online (sorry I can't find the source) of making a CD of music that reminds you of him!! This is so perfect for us seeing how he has a long commute and is gone with the military quite a bit.

The first song on there is of coarse our wedding song but I need some good ideas of other songs...I have

I'm Already There by Lonestar
Still Feels Good by Rascal Flatts
American Solder by Toby Keith
You're My Better Half by Keith Urban
I Knew I Loved You Before I Met You by Savage Garden
Making Memories of Us by Keith Urban
Somebody Like You by Keith Urban
Bless The Broken Road by Rascal Flatts
I Melt by Rascal Flatts

As you can tell I love coutry especially when it comes to love songs and my husband doesn't mind much either (unless he really does and is just a good sport about it, he's never told me). If you have any ideas, send them my way!! Thanks

Homemade Birthday Cards

These were about the easiest cards I've made!! I found this cute download from The Crafting Chicks  and then just cut them out and glued them onto cute paper, added a few do dads and wa la ( I got the blue jewels from Hobby Lobby)!! The print out is not only perfect for cards but you could easily use them just as a tag or even a cute cupcake topper!!

Here's the link directly to the download!

Water Painting!

This was a fun thing to do on a hot day! Just take a glass of water and a paint brush and start painting!! I seriously loved this idea cause it means a mess free clean up for me and my daughter really enjoyed playing in the water, they are so creative it just inspires me!

Chocolate Waffles!! YUMMY (with a strawberry sauce)

These are so yummy they should be banded!! I made these for my husband for Father's Day and he was in heaven for sure!

They were really simple to put together and even the sauce wasn't to bad...for the waffles you'll need

2/3 c flour
1/3 c cornstarch
1/4 c cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cinnamon
6 Tbsp granulated sugar
1 c milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 c chocolate chips (for topping)

In a bowl combine flour, cornstarch, cocoa power, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. In a separate bowl whisk together sugar, milk, oil, egg and vanilla. Slowly add the two bowls together making sure not to over mix. Batter will be pretty thin so don't panic...be sure to spray your waffle iron before, pour into iron and cook to iron directions. This made about 4 hole waffles for us.

The recipe calls for the chocolate chips to be added to the batter mix but we found it to work better if just topped with chocolate chips after pulling out of the iron.



For the strawberry sauce...

1 Pint strawberries (I just pulled out frozen strawberries out of the freezer the night before, they worked great)
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients in a medium sauce pan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cool just enough for you to be able to blend. I used my hand blender in the pan but you could transfer it to a blender. Blend until you get the consistence you like. I made it with a little bit of chunks which was perfect for us!!


(Thanks mom for the recipe for Our Best Bites)

Raspberry Slushy

It is so hot outside today that this is the perfect treat to come inside for!! These are Raspberry Lemonade Slushy and they are so so good! All it is...Lemonade, Raspberries and Ice (I used Simply Lemonade...it's really lemon juice not from concentrate!) and package of sweet and low (an artificially sweetener instead of sugar!) Blend together and yum yum yum!!!

(recipe found at make it and love it!)

Make your own Basil Pesto sauce

I LOVE pesto sauce on my sandwiches but it's so expensive at the store...so I wanted to see what it was like to make my own. All you need is

2 cups fresh basil leaves (packed into measuring cup)
3-4 cloves fresh garlic, peeled and sliced
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil (choose a a flavorful olive oil for pesto)
1/2 cup pine nuts
3/4 cup coarsely grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice

Now let me warn you the pine nuts are quite expensive but my mom said it's what makes the pesto taste good (cause I was trying to find a substitute). So I went for it anyways. You could try adding less and see if you notice a difference, just a thought. Also basil can be expensive as well but you could easily grow your own, I took some from my mom which helped in cost.

All you do is put the basil leaves and sliced garlic into food processor until basil and garlic is finely chopped, adding oil through the feed tube as you process. (You may need to take off the lid and scrape the sides with a rubber scraper if you have a hard time getting the basil all chopped.) (I don't have a food processor but I used my magic bullet, the best thing ever!!)

Add pine nuts, Parmesan cheese, and lemon juice to the chopped basil mixture and process 1-2 minutes more, until the pesto is mostly pureed and well mixed.

Let me know what you think if you make your own...we really love it and think it taste great!! It might just be worth it to me to make it by scratch! You can store it in your fridge for a few weeks or freeze it. I plan to put mine in an ice tray to freeze and then store in a zip lock!

(thanksKalyns Kitchen for the wonderful recipe w/ a little touch of me in it!)

Vinegar and the Microwave

I believe vinegar is my new best friend! It cleans everything, wither that's mixing it with dish soap or using it just with water it has so many uses. I know many of you have seen where you can put it in the microwave with water and heat it up for 5 minutes and it will soften all the stuck on stuff so you can just wipe it up...well I gave it a shot! Now my microwave wasn't really that dirty but it was all STUCK on pretty good so I thought what the heck, it won't do any harm in trying!! Here's the results!!

Make sure you clean your screen so you can see all the spots cause they're there...it was very easy to just wipe off though! I did have to use my nails to scratch a few off but it didn't take much!! So go a head and give it a shot all you need to do is...

1-2 cups water
1-2 Tbsp vinegar

put in a microwave safe bowl and heat for 5 minutes...wait...they wipe off!

REMEMBER!!! The water will boil in the microwave and has been known to bubble up and splash people after being taken out of the microwave so be safe...it will be hot!!!

After I was done with the inside, I dipped my rag into the vinegar and water and wiped down the outside! Worked well there too!! Make sure not to get your fingers in the water though, it will still be home (learn from my experience!!)

"Simply" the best - thank you/thinking of you gift

I made these cute thank you/thinking of you gifts for a few friends and I thought I'd share the wonderful link where I found it!! These were seriously the easiest thank you gifts I've made before and I'm sure I'll be doing them again!! One was to my parents mail lady who is the most wonderful person ever and she said it was the cutest thing she'd ever gotten!! All you need is to print out the cute tag here, punch a hole and tie it on!!

4th of July is almost here!

I seriously love the 4th of July but I found I didn't have a lot of decor for it. So that needed to change!! Check this out!

I am in love with the way it came out!! It was a lot of work but cost was very little. I paid 97 cents for the foam wreath found at the hardware store in the plumbing section (it's a straight foam tub that you cut to the size of wreath you want and duck tape the two ends together)! Amazing compared to the $8.00 it was going to cost at the craft store. I ended up using red fleece because that's what I had on hand and it worked great! I bought straight pins at the dollar store (honk's), there was 800 in one package! The blue ribbon is from Hobby Lobby in the wedding section...I loved the color and they were on sale for 50% off!!! (YA for sales!!) For the star cut outs I found one online just using google and printed to the size I wanted my stars to be, trace and cut, just that easy!

Here's where the idea came from. She used felt instead of fleece and she was also able to find a foam wreath at the dollar store which I looked at couldn't find.

linked to:

 

Life!!

Wow I can't believe it's been this long since I have been on here! I'm so sorry, life just got really busy for us and I wasn't able to jump on and update you on the fun we have been having!! My husband is military as most of you know and we were able to spend some time together before he needs to leave for training, so my time was spent there. I have some great updates for you all so I hope you're ready for some exciting this to come!!

Library Story Time!

If you're not aware of story time at the public libraries it's definitely something to check out this summer!! We've been able to attend a few and it's really a fun time!! Click on the picture above if you're in the Davis county area to find out what time they hold them in your area. If you're not in the same area, just search for your library online and see what they offer. You can always ask was well when you go in!!

Blue Star Museums - Free for Military

Blue Star Museums are museums that offer free entrance for military and their family. They are many nation wide, we are looking forward to visiting the Tree House Museum here in Utah! They are free from Memorial Day (May 28) to Labor Day (Sept 3) perfect for the summer!!