Just of few of my projects!

Can I just tell you how much I ♥LOVE♥ my new Silhouette SD machine! It is so awesome! I've been labeling and creating like a crazy woman!

Here are just a few of my projects!

the "Welcome" sign on my front door!
(please excuse the yucky fingerprints....darn kids!)

this fun cup is for my water! This is to test to see how well my vinyl stays on!
(sometimes it's not so bad to be the guinea pig!)

this cute little buckets are for Teacher Appreciation week coming up in May!
(if you my kids teacher and reading this blog right now, please act surprised!)

AND...how adorable is this?! This was just a little "thank you" gift to my girlfriend for keeping my boy one morning while I went to get these cute buckets at Target! Oh, and it's always a good thing to keep the neighbor with the swimming pool in her back yard happy! **wink**

Project #1

Okay, before we go any further, you have to promise not to laugh....

and remember, I don't have that nifty little machine and makes this project so stinkin cute, so I had to improvise.

And use Word....

But, I think it's kinda cute...

Ready for the reveal....



I went ahead and did a Christmas theme, since I'm chompin at the bit to get my Christmas stuff out...next week...that will be next week!

Oh, and the white paper is going to make it easier for my old, very poor eyes to read...and hopefully the others in this house too!

More projects!

So I have discovered that in order to do all these wonderful projects that are floating around in my head, I really need this!

The silhouette machine! Isn't she pretty!

I think I could maybe even justify the price as I think about all the awesome things I could make for family, friends and even the church craft sale.

Or maybe this would be a great Christmas gift idea....just maybe!

So, do you have one? Want one? What would you make? I'd love to hear from someone who has one, maybe they could share with me all their tips and tricks!

Projects!

There are so many awesome blogs out there, and so many to inspire the creative side of me. One that I have been following lately is Little Birdie Secrets. They are so talented over there, and if I only had a tad bit of the talent these girls have, I'd be thrilled. But since they shared their super-cute-ideas, I guess it's okay for me to copy them. Right?!

This is the one I'm working on right now.

I love it! Our weekly meals are scribbled on a scrap piece of paper, and hung on the fridge...and that drives me crazy.

Take a look over there...let me know what you love....and I'll keep you posted on my menu board.

Crafty Creations!

It's still really hot here and the only thing to do outside is swim. As soon as Andy gets home, we are heading out to a water park, but in the meantime, while we are staying in and staying cool, the kids and I got our crafty creation groove on and we've been crafting all afternoon.

July 4th shirts for the girls...

one for Max too...

Cut-offs for Miss Magpie!

Maggie also made these cutie bookmarks... (Thanks cousins Chandler & Connor)

See how busy we've been...I'll make sure to show off the finished product when I'm done!

Cooped up Crafts!

Since we have been cooped up in the house for what seems like forever, I have worked on a few craft projects.

I started this recipe binder a while back. I keep all my recipe printouts, emails, torn out magazine pages, anything food related in this binder. I just slip the recipe into a page protector and that's it. Of course, I have them separated into categories like appetizers, side dish, main dish, ...you get the idea. Oh, and I had to cutie it up for fun too!


Then I started this one. It is for all the kids crafts and treats. I get Family Fun magazine and always find adorable crafts and treats in it. I would always dog-ear the pages I liked and then totally forget about it. It would be nicely filed with all the other Family Fun magazines and on the rare occasion, I would dig through and try to find something. Now, if I like the craft or treat idea and "really" think that I might use it, I tear it out, put it in a page protector and in the binder it goes.


I also cutened up my church binder! Isn't she cute!



Andy thinks I need to find something to use all this ribbon on! Any ideas?

Sneek Peek

One of my favorite things about being a mom is doing all the fun, little crafty things with my kids. I like easy, fun, non-messy projects. But honestly, I think my favorite thing is making up little goodie bags for parties, school, or just because. I love finding little things for the kids to give to their friends. With Valentine's Day quickly approaching...I'm in goodie bag mode. Last night, I started making labels with kids' names on them, organizing the bags and getting everything ready for the kids to start filling . This afternoon, we are having a few little friends over to help us make a special treat for the bags...

Here's what the craft room looked like last night...


Doesn't it look like fun! Exciting times, I tell ya!

Pilgrim Hat Cookies!

I saw these super cute cookies the other day on the Family Fun website! Don't they just look so cute and easy!

Today after school, Maggie and I went to the store to get the goods to make these super cute cookies!

I am going to help with her "feast" tomorrow at school. This is what I've been waiting for for my entire life. To go and help in my child's classroom, I just can't tell you how excited I am. So when I found this cute little recipe, I thought it was going to be the icing on the cake! (Or in this case, the marshmallow on the cookie) Maggie and I could make the cookies together and share a special mother/daughter moment as we did.

Well, that didn't happen! I totally have NO patience for cooking with my kids. I honestly think that it is a God given gift and that I got skipped on that gift! The girl had chocolate EVERYWHERE! Plus she was licking herself like a dog (well, not as bad as a dog). I couldn't take it anymore. I ended up doing them by myself and grumbling the entire time. Don't you just love my Thanksgiving spirit.

It took me about an hour and a half to make 65 of the super cute cookies. (There are two morning kindergarten classes plus 10 kids in Max's preschool class.) On the bright side, Andy did the frosting buckles for me. The Lord also chose not to give me the ability to frost anything. So thanks to Andy, the turned out to be pretty cute!

So what do you think?

Tonight as I was going through the blog reader ..I saw them! Rocks in my Dryer made these cookies too! Go check it out here! Looks like she has several easier recipes too!

Check out my turkey T-shirt!

Maggie was sick yesterday and stayed home from school. She's still home today. We were very bored. We could have either cleaned out the linen closet or try to make a turkey shirt for Sloan. My niece is 6 months old and I love to make her little holiday onesies. She is so stinkin' cute and they just look adorable on her. So while Maggie was resting, I whipped this together. What do you think? I think it turned out pretty cute. When Maggie saw it, she insisted that she needed one as well, followed my Max announcing that he and Quinton needed one too! So it looks like I will be making a few more of these today.

(I still have to give the turkey some eyes....but I think you get the idea!)

Maybe I'll get to the linen closet tomorrow!

Craft time Tuesday!

Maggie had a little friend over today after school. We all went to lunch and then came home to play. We did a little craft and played some games. They giggled and giggled, it was just too cute. It's so fun to see how your kids interact with their peers. Maggie's little friend was using all her good manners and when I made a comment about it, she said,"My mom told me to use them today!" What a good listener she was....her mama would be very proud.

While we were skimming through magazines for our craft project, I remembered this nifty idea and got inspired to make my own. From the October 2008 issue of Family Fun on page 37, a mom wrote in about their "Family Mail System." She used a small craft mail box, like the ones I'm ordering here for each family member, including mom and dad. This is what she wrote:

"For years, our family has exchanged notes and surprises via an indoor mailbox system. Each person has his or her own mailbox and enjoys receiving birthday and holiday notes, as well as notes of encouragement throughout the year. As our kids have gotten older, these mailboxes have proved invaluable and have helped us keep the lines of family communication open and strong. "


I LOVE the idea of this! Even for hubby and I! I would LOVE to get little messages from my husband and the kids. Put your note in and put up the flag.....how totally cute is that. Can you tell what my love language is???

Sounds like this project is more for me than the kids, but really I just love the entire idea. Not something everyday, but when you least expect it.

So I'm placing my order for the mailboxes! Like the idea too??? Order with a friend and save on shipping!

Gone Goofy for Grommets!

Now I wouldn’t normally call myself crafty, but occasionally I get a vision in my head and sometimes it turns out okay. In the past few weeks, I‘ve gone goofy for GROMMETS. It all started with trying to make Maggie a new valance for her bedroom. She got new bedding for Christmas (purchased on eBay of course) and I wanted to buy her the matching curtain panels…after doing some research the curtain panels were WAY to expensive for my liking. So I ended up buying a crib skirt that matched her bedding (also purchased on eBay and cost $10 plus shipping vs. $80 plus shipping) I wasn’t sure how I would make it work but had to give it a try. Ended up, one full side of the crib skirt was the width of her window. I decided to make it a straight valance instead of a ruffle one and I used GROMMETS to pull ribbon thru and then tied the ribbon to the curtain rod. They turned out cute!

So next I put 12 GROMMETS in the holes in my shower curtain! It looks more finished.

Then I bought a $5 canvas bag at Hobby Lobby. I know, I know, do I really need another bag? (I love bags, any kind of bag, and I can always use more bags) Anyway, I thought it would be cute to add some ribbon and more GROMMETS! I think it turned out cute too….so if you think you want to try out this GROMMET thing…I have the tool, give me a call and we can work on your vision.