DIY Tutorials

It's so much fun scouring the internet for fun and cool diy tutorials. Here are a few that I fell in love with.




How cute is this Electrified Fox Lamp? You can find the tutorial on how to make him here.




I really love this photo wreath. Such a fun way to display memories and so easy to update and change the photos.




How great are these 3D paper ball ornaments. They would look fab attached with some ribbon of varying lengths and hung in a row from the ceiling over a window.




I am in search of a new computer desk. I really need something with more surface work space and more storage. (I don't want a hutch though.) I really love this bookcase & door desk.




I love the idea of these ornaments. Who says that they can only be up at Christmas time? I think it would make a great conversation show piece for the dining room table or a front entrance table.

Friday Etsy Favorites

I love bears and this week's Friday Etsy Favorites features some really sweet ones! ♥

1. Fashion Touch ► Sweet Pink Baby Bear Hat
2. JuteBaby ► Plush Baby Tag Toy
3. Knitting Dreams ► Amigurumi Bear Plush Toy
4. Baby Cricket ► Baby Bear Slippers
5. Boo-Biloo ► Personalized Chunky Hand Knitted Teddy Bear
6. chon1202 ► Handmade Bear Toy/Cushion

Gingersnap Cookies

The other morning I was at Costco and they had a demo (yes, those darn demos that make you want to buy what they are offering) for some gingersnap cookies. I tried one and they were really, really good.

I DIDN'T buy any because I thought that I would try and make my own and see if they would turn out just as good. :)

That afternoon I scoured the allrecipes.com website in search of the one that I thought looked best, based on the ingredients and the reviews.

I came across this one. The only change that I made was that I used 3/4 cup of butter instead of shortening.

I also didn't know exactly what cinnamon sugar was, so I searched google and came across this. You can make your own using just white sugar mixed with cinnamon. I guess the name says it all...easy enough, right? :))





Grandma's Gingersnap Cookies

Ingredients
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup shortening (I used butter instead)
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup dark molasses
1/3 cup cinnamon sugar

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2. Sift the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt into a mixing bowl. Stir the mixture to blend evenly, and sift a second time into another bowl.

3. Place the shortening into a mixing bowl and beat until creamy. Gradually beat in the white sugar. Beat in the egg, and dark molasses. Sift 1/3 of the flour mixture into the shortening mixture; stir to thoroughly blend. Sift in the remaining flour mixture, and mix together until a soft dough forms. Pinch off small amounts of dough and roll into 1 inch diameter balls between your hands. Roll each ball in cinnamon sugar, and place 2 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet.

4. Bake in preheated oven until the tops are rounded and slightly cracked, about 10 minutes. Cool cookies on a wire rack. Store in an air tight container.





These are SO, SO good! Soft and chewy on the inside and just slightly crispy on the outside. We all loved them!

Etsy Treasury - I Believe the Children Are Our Future by Babydoll Dress Up

I love that my She Believed She Could So She Did wall print is included in this treasury. Thanks so much Babydoll Dress Up!

Etsy Treasury - Programmed to Love by Evin

So fabulous that my Robot Love U wall print is included in this super fun treasury! Thanks so much Evin!

You're A-MAZE-ING!

Wow, has it already been almost a week since Valentine's Day has passed by? Can't believe that we are well into mid-February and that it's going to be less than 2 weeks until March!

I wanted to share the Valentine's Day cards that I made for my son's class. I think they turned out so cute!

Last year I found these heart mazes on after Valentine's clearance and picked up a few packages in anticipation of using them this year.



I have tons of chipboard from my scrapbooking days and cut up a bunch in a 3 1/4" x 6" size.

I then printed out a bunch of "YOU'RE A-MAZE-ING! Happy Valentine's Day" little labels using Photoshop and my printer and adhered them to the chipboard using my favorite scrapping glue made by Tombow.

Next I adhered the heart mazes using a couple of glue dots.



Mateo loves Cars2 (I do too...such a cute movie!), so he wanted to include one for each of his classmates in the inside of the card.

He chose which one he wanted for each friend and put them in using a glue dot. He then addressed each Valentine and signed his name. :)

Friday Etsy Favorites

Loving this week's Friday Etsy Favorites! ♥

1. shugabee lane ► Framed Chalboard
2. Cute to the MAX ► Lovebirds Headband
3. lacasadecoto ► Floor Cushion Crochet
4. Sticks 'n' Stones ► Knit Washcloths
5. MaryMakingThings► Gray T-shirt Scarf
6. ChicaBoo ► Yellow Bubble Lace Petti Romper

Happy Valentine's Day

Wishing you and your loved ones a wonderful and fun day! ♥

Valentine's Day Crafts for Kids - Part 2

Here are some more Valentine's Day crafts for kids. If you missed Part 1, you can read it here.




Beading Hearts. I love these beaded hearts! I especially love the ones with the "I Love You" letters.




Paper Love Bugs. This is a great way to use empty toilet paper rolls and pipe cleaners. So cute!




Heartstring. I love this heart string garland. So pretty.




Rainbow Stacked Hearts. I love the color and layered effect on this. Such a great way to use cardboard and paint!



Salt Dough Heart Magnet & Pin. These are so cute! This would be such a fun project to do with the kids!

I hope that you were inspired by these valentine's day crafts to make! I know I am! :)

Friday Etsy Favorites

I absolutely love this week's woodland inspired Friday Etsy Favorites! ♥

1. Needle and Felt ► White and Grey Owl
2. MAU studio ► Kawaii Squirrel Adjustable Ring
3. cherry time ► Amigurumi Bunny
4. Graphic Spaces ► Fox Wall Decal
5. Nature Mandalas ► Winter Bird Print
6. Monkeys On The Roof ► Woodland Animal Gift Tags

Valentine's Day Crafts for Kids - Part 1

My kids love coloring, cutting, glueing...you name it, if it's something crafty (and messy) they are all for it! :)

This is Part 1, of a two-part series, of inspiring Valentine's Day kids crafts that I really like.



Sticky Hands, Warm Hearts. I love the use of yarn, cornstarch, glue, and a heart-shaped cookie cutter to make these masterpieces!




Cupcake Goodies. What a great use for cupcake liners and scrap paper, magazines, and any interesting knick-knacks you have lying around the house!




Heart Art. I remember doing something like this in elementary school using a wood board, nails, and embroidery floss to make a flower. So much fun!




Bird Seed Ornament. This is such a cute thing to do with bird seed and heart molds. Not only fun, but the birds will love you too! :)



Lollipop Flowers. What a sweet idea to use lollipops to make a heart flower. Love it!




Valentine Wristlets. These wristlets are great! A fun way to use felt, ribbon, and buttons.


Stay tuned for Part 2...coming soon! :)

Cranberry-Pumpkin Seed Trail Mix

I absolutely love this Cranberry-Pumpkin Seed Trail Mix recipe from Whole Living.

It is a wonderful mixture of almonds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, cranberries, raisins. I must have made this at least 4 times already since discovering the recipe through Whole Living's 2012 Whole Living Action Plan at the beginning of January.



This mixture is so good!




The recipe calls for toasted almonds and walnuts, so toasting in the oven I did.




The recipe also calls for toasted pumpkin seeds, so yep, you guessed it...toasting in the oven I did. :)



This is such a great 'go-to' snack when the hunger cravings hit.


Cranberry-Pumpkin Seed Trail Mix

1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped toasted almonds
1/2 cup toasted pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup toasted walnuts
1/4 cup raisins

Combine cranberries, almonds, pumpkin seeds, walnuts, and raisins. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Enjoy!

Etsy Treasury - Yellow and Charcoal by A Paper Affaire

So awesome to have my She Believed She Could So She Did wall print included in this absolutely beautiful treasury. Thank you so much A Paper Affaire!

Etsy Treasury - Thank You by CanadianCraftCritter

So fantastic to have my Say Please and Thank You wall print included in this wonderful treasury. Thank you so much CanadianCraftCritter!

Friday Etsy Favorites

Loving this week's fabulous Friday Etsy Favorites! ♥

1. Orly Design ► Rustic Tree Wedding Cake Topper
2. bysol ► Crochet Amigurumi Pattern "Ice Cream" Toy
3. EATPRAYCREATE ► Hello Speech Bubble Wooden Rubber Stamp
4. Raceytay ► Spring Home and Garden Decor
5. Bradens Grace ► Oval Vinyl Chalkboard Labels
6. xxyz ► Peridot Green Pendant Necklace

Month in Photos - January 2012

I'm so excited to be participating in this year's Month in Photos. Rebecca of simple as that has created a wonderful new template for 2012. You can download it here.

Month in Photos is a fabulous way to record your photo memories each month and at the end of 2012, you will have a year's worth of memories to reflect upon. My kids and I love looking at the scrapbook from last year.

Here is my collage for January.



The template is 12x12, but I haven't decided if I will keep it at 12x12 or size it down to 8x8. But what I do plan to do is have a blank white sheet of cardstock on the opposite page of the collage and add my journaling.

Then at the end of each month, I am going to print out the collage and journaling and slip them into the page protectors of a scrapbook album.

You could also replace one of the photo squares and add journaling in place of that spot each month. I contemplated doing that, but I usually have lots to say, so I opted to add journaling on a separate blank page.

Here is an example of what I mean about replacing a photo with journaling -



I think it looks great with the journaling replacing a photo in the template too. I may have to do that for some of the months when I don't have as much to say...but that will probably be a rare occasion when it comes to scrapbooking!

Or for a month that I have lots of photos, I can use a mirror image of the template to add a second page of photos and replace some of the photo spots with journaling.

Thanks so much Rebecca for making such a fantastic and versatile template!