Mullet

To go along with the "Mustache" shirt I made a Mullet shirt for my brother.  If they wear the shirts together I think it would be pretty funny.  They have the personalities to be able to wear these kind of shirts. 

Following Ashley's tutorial using citrasolv 

Here's how I did this one...

Print off this great thing on my laser printer--remember to reverse the text.

Citrasolv-this is my new favorite medium.  Fun and easy to use.  The guy at the art store who was ringing me up was telling me how concentrated it was and that I should be careful when I was cleaning with it---I explained what I was doing with it and he just stared at me like I was crazy :o)  After rubbing the Citrasolv on and using a flat edge to help the transfer the shirt was complete...

Mustache

This was a Christmas present that I gave to my sister-in-law--that's why I'm waiting until now to show it to you :o)

First I printed off the design on Word

Using my super high-tech exacto knife I cut out each letter and the stache.  I did not cut out the dots above the i's--I just used the eraser from a pencil to get a perfect circle.

Then I painted with black velveteen fabric paint.

Cousin's Christmas Party

My hubby's family has had a little growth spurt in the last few years.  There are a lot of cousins all around the same ages.  It makes family gatherings so fun because it is just a huge playdate for the little guys.  This year I wanted to have a little party for the cousin's.

First we handed out invites at Thanksgiving.  The kids were excited to get the invitations.
A few days before the party I made some Applesauce-Cinnamon ornaments

The recipe called for 1 C cinnamon & 1/4 C applesauce and 1/4 Craft Glue.  I followed the recipe and found it to be too dry--I kept adding applesauce and glue until it felt right and wasn't too sticky.

I cut out girls and boys.  Use a straw to poke a hole for ribbon while you are cutting out the dough.  I kept the cutouts on paper towels.  Make sure to rotate every 6-8 hours to help the drying time go faster.  Saturday morning before the party I threw a few of them in a 200 degree oven for about 10 minutes just to make sure they were dry.
The day of the party all eleven children attended--yep, ages 6 and under.  It was so fun.  At one point my neighbors came to drop off a treat and rang the doorbell twice and pounded on the door.  My hubby even called downstairs to tell us that someone was at the door--we didn't even hear it.  We were able to get all 11 kids sitting on a couch for a fun picture.  To keep one of the kids on the couch I pulled out a dum-dum sucker and it worked magic-except all the other kids wanted one too.  So we have a picture of the kids sucking on a sucker, but they sat on the couch quietly and contently for a good five minutes worth of pictures.
After lunch and pictures the kids got to decorate their own ornament.

 I wrote the child's name and 2011 on the back before they started decorating.  The above ornament turned into a finger painting session soon after I took this picture.

 Everyone had a blast making their ornament.

 This was my little girls ornament, she said the gold at the top was curly hair.

This was the ornament I made the day before so everyone could get an idea of what to do.
After the ornaments we let the kids play while we cleaned up.  Then we moved on to a gift exchange.  I asked each child to bring a gift worth about $1--I just passed out the gifts and everyone opened all at once.  We just couldn't see a "real" white elephant gift exchange working well with toddlers.  Everyone got a gift that they loved.  After the gifts the kids played some more then we did one more art project.
I made puffy paint and everyone loved getting their hands messy finger painting.  They loved how their pictures would come to life in the microwave.
All the mom's were great and helped clean the house back up and it was spotless when all the kids left.
That night we had the missionaries over for dinner, while dinner was finishing cooking I gave them each an ornament to decorate.

These are some pretty cool looking gingerbread-missionaries.

5 Minute Infinity Scarf

As I was getting ready for church the other Sunday I was trying to pull together an outfit.  Do you ever have those mornings where you take out half of your closet trying to find the outfit that you will feel cute in?  Well it was turning out to be one of those mornings.  So I ended up pulling on a grey knit skirt and a long sleeve tee.  I have issues wearing a t-shirt to church, it just doesn't feel dressy enough to me.  I then went to my sewing room and found some winter-ish looking fabric, a red swiss dot with silver stripes woven into it.  The scarf took minutes to sew and I think dressed up the long-sleeve tee enough to wear to church.

Since it was so easy to sew I thought I would give you a tutorial on how I did it.

Need a New Phone?

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of LG DoublePlay™. All opinions are 100% mine.

Do you think everyone else on the planet has a phone that is better, faster, cooler than yours?  I still have a basic flip phone, but I thought this one was pretty cool.

LG DoublePlay™

The LG DoublePlay is a neat phone.  It not only has a touchscreen it has TWO.  The screens can work independently or in tandem.

Here are some other cool specs of the phone:

5 megapixel camera, full slide out Qwerty keyboard and Swype for easy texting.

Speaking of texting the DoublePlay offers multiple messaging including Cloud Text and Group Text.

This phone would be a socializers dream.  You could multitask so many things at once and not have to use different devices to accomplish it all.  This phone would be a great fit in my life, I don't text a ton right now because I don't have a keyboard on my phone--but if I did I'm sure my friends and family would get a few more texts from me.  What Mom wouldn't want this phone?  Just think of the things you could accomplish while you are waiting at soccer practice, or after school?  You could check and respond to email, pay bills, keep in touch with friends and more.  

Check out the DoublePlay for yourself...This phone is available exclusively at T-Mobile.

How many hours do you spend texting or updating your status now?  This phone would help streamline the process.

What other ways would the DoublePlay change your socializing?

The Twister Shirt

We had a Christmas party to attend and I didn't like the clothes in my closet.  I went to several different stores and found some shirts I liked, but didn't want to fork out the dough.  So I did the next best thing...free pattern and went through the fabric stash.

I found the pattern for the shirt on Burda Style here.  There are no instructions on how to sew it together, but it wasn't too hard to figure out.  

I used a polyester knit, nice and silky.  All in all it was a comfortable easy to sew shirt.  If I use this pattern again I would add 2 inches to the length and a little to the arms.

Christmas Card 2011

I saw this idea in a catalog from a print company and used it for our family Christmas card.  It might be a new tradition for our family.

The family and friends that have received it have loved it.  It's a Christmas card/newsletter all wrapped up into one.  No picture with a separate newsletter to try to keep together.

I think you could make one in Word, I made mine in Photoshop.  It is really easy and fun to recap each month in just a few words.
Maybe someday I will show off my kiddos to you, but I like to keep some of my life offline :o)

Operation: Get your shake on!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Slim-Fast. All opinions are 100% mine.

Do you have an annual Christmas party to attend in the next few weeks?  We do, ours in on Christmas eve--and everyone in the family will be there.  Not only will everyone be there, but their cameras will be clicking away too.  Christmas pictures from year to year bring back so many memories, but they can also remind me of how healthy I was or wasn't for that particular Christmas.

After I had my first baby the pounds shed off quickly and I felt so healthy and good.  During my second pregnancy I was put on house-rest (one move away from bed rest.)  I could not exercise or do much and I put on 50 pounds.  Three years later I still have an extra 10 pounds that just doesn't seem to want to move.  I was contacted by Slim-Fast and was asked to join their campaign and try out their new shakes--of course I wanted to try out something that could help me during the hectic holidays ahead.  Especially before the paparazzi show up on Christmas Eve.

Slim-Fast has launched NEW on-the-go shakes.  These great convenient shakes come in five delicious flavors to match anyone's cravings.  The shakes fit into the Slim-Fast 3-2-1 Plan.  What is the plan?

Slim-Fast

3  Nourishing Snacks a day--of course Slim-Fast has great options including their 100 Calorie Snack Bars

2 Slim Fast Shakes or Meal Bars per day--these provide balanced nutrition and because of the protein help you have 4 hours of hunger control

1 Balanced Meal.  Try to keep it to a 500 calorie meal.  Slim-Fast suggests trying to fill half your plate with veggies, a quarter with protein, and the remaining quarter with grains.

Our family got to try out the shakes.  All of the Slim-Fast products should be found at your local supermarket.  We have some special dietary needs in our family so I bought the shake powder-we added our own liquid to make a shake.

To make my shake I added our "milk", added the powder and added frozen strawberries. Adding ice or frozen fruit helps to make the shake thick.  I poured a cup and enjoyed the great vanilla-strawberry taste.  

My kids each enjoyed a cup too.  They thought it tasted great and haven't asked for a snack yet (a small victory in our house)  I was glad that I was able to mix my own shake and add fruit or veggies as I wanted.  I am looking forward to making many more shakes in the weeks to come.

Need some extra holiday cash?  Slim-Fast wants to help.  If you "Like" Slim-Fast on Facebook you could win $100,000--go check it out.

Slim-Fast

Present Topper

Amid all the holiday busy times my little girl was invited to a birthday party.  We found some Hello Kitty lip gloss to give.  We wrapped the present and then made this clip as a present too.

It is a simple flower glued on to an alligator clip.

I just tied a ribbon around the present and instead of tying a bow I clipped this one on.

It even holds a card well.

And of course I had to make one that matched.

Yum....wassail to humidifier

Have you ever walked into someone's house and a wonderful smell whiffs past your nose and you immediately feel at home?  That's how I feel about the smell of this mixture.

Here's what you'll need:

Cheesecloth

20 Allspice Berries

25 Whole Cloves

10 Cinnamon Sticks (about 3 inches long)

1/2 Cup Brown Sugar

1 Gallon Apple Juice

Pour the apple juice in a big pot, add the brown sugar-stir.  Wrap all the spices in the cheese cloth and tie closed.  Place the cheesecloth-ed spices in the apple juice and boil for 25-30 minutes.  If you like really strong flavored cider keep the spices in for longer.  After the 30 minutes remove the spices and turn off the stove.  Serve the drink in mugs or insulated cups.

We made wassail/apple cider last night and I had the cheesecloth wrapped spices still in the pan this morning.  I added water and turned the stove on.  Not only do the spices fill the air with a Christmas-y aroma it adds humidity to the air-something we desperately need this time of year.

So have yourself a cup and warm right up tonight.

Cake Mix Cookies

How was your Thanksgiving?  Are you still stuffed?  How was your shopping?  

Now that we are officially in the holiday season I thought I would share this easy yummy cookie recipe.  These are so easy and fast--I might not need to cook them as long as I did, if your oven is hot or cooks fast decrease the cooking time.

So when you have unexpected guests whip these out with some hot cocoa and you will quite the hostess.

Gobble, Gobble

Last week for a family activity we made turkeys to decorate around the house.

I cut out the bodies and feathers and let the kids do the gluing (with a little assistance) and they drew the faces on.

I was originally going to make a garland out of the turkeys, but it just didn't work out.  We placed them in any spot we could.

Even the shelf above the piano got some extra turkeys.

My three year old was pretty proud of this one.

This one had the most feathers, thanks to my five year old.

This is such a fun project.  You could have paper cut out for kids to do while waiting for dinner on Thursday. Wouldn't they be fun place cards too?

  Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Family Cook Book

Need a family gift idea?  Or do you have amazing recipes floating around in your family that you want to put into writing?

Check out this deal

$39 for your own cookbook, not too shabby.

Pin-It Up Thursday...Cinnamon Wreath

Another Pinterest craft.

 I sent this link to my mom because I knew she had a lot of cinnamon in her craft supplies.  While I was out visiting family last month she gave me a box full of cinnamon to make my own wreath.

Inspiration

To find out how to make your own wreath click to continue...

White Chocolate Raspberry Bundt Cake

My hubby works at a hospital.  There is always seems to be food or a potluck going on in the break room.  One day he came home raving about a bundt cake that a co-worker brought in for her birthday.  She got it from a bundt cake bakery (you know the one--delicious and very expensive.)  He described it to me and I went to work creating it for him.

White Chocolate Raspberry Bundt Cake--this is not for someone who is remotely wanting their waistline to decrease.

Mix

Layer 1

Layer 2

Layer 3

350 degree oven.  Put a pan under it to catch any drips.

Bake 55-60 minutes.  Let cool for 10 minutes.

Flip on to a cake stand or plate. 

Shown here with cream cheese frosting.  Yummmm!

Tumbler Baby Quilt

While I was in Utah last week he asked me if I could make a quilt for a friend-and most importantly...he gave me permission to go fabric shopping.  I didn't need to be told twice, I found a sitter for my kids and my mom and I went shopping.  It was so fun to peruse through quilt shops.  I found an inspiration quilt for my colors and ended up using a charm pack (a first for me)

I used the Moda Ruby charm pack

You can buy it here...

http://www.amazon.com/Moda-Ruby-Charm-Quilt-Squares/dp/B005A12MVE

Here are the fabrics found in the pack...

Aren't they fun fabrics?

I thought about several different approaches to sewing the quilt top.  At first I thought of a disappearing 9 patch, but then I saw an apple core quilt and thought of the tumbler quilt my Grandma gave me earlier this year.  So instead of cleaning my house yesterday I found this awesome tutorial by Amanda for a charm pack tumbler quilt and stitched up a quilt top...

What do you think?  It was simple to put together and I love the color combinations.

I found this fabric (not Moda) by the other fabrics.  I liked how it went with the colors of the pack, I cut a few tumblers from this fabric.  This will also be the binding for the quilt.

See the polka-dot tumbler.
This was such a fun quilt, I'm itching to make another one.

Happy November

How was your October?  Did you have a great Halloween?  I've spent the last week watching my sisters kids while she and her husband are in Europe--lucky ducks.  It's been an adventure taking care of 5 kids.  My October was a super busy month, crazy but fun.  My little girl lost her second tooth too.  I thought you would find this x-ray interesting.  This is the shot from her last visit 6 months ago, you can see the bottom teeth ready to come up.  It was an adventure to pull out the tooth, it was really loose.  The tooth wouldn't even stand up straight anymore, but it wouldn't come out.  We even had floss wrapped around it and she couldn't pull it out--so I just grabbed the floss and pulled it out.  It brought back so many memories when I would wiggle her tooth.  Now I need to make a tooth pillow.  She put the tooth under her pillow and it moved and fell between the bed and the wall so the tooth fairy couldn't get the tooth.

I have a little project to show you next week that I finished while the kids were at school and I had some time to myself.  Hope you are excited for the Holidays just around the corner.

Entertainment Center to Classic Kitchen

This was the last project I competed with on Crafting with the Stars-I am a little disappointed that I didn't go further.  I'm really not complaining though because my October has been so busy that it was a blessing that I didn't go further in the competition.  I will have to share what my other two projects were going to be.  But here is the kitchen....

Isn't it cute?  It was really fun to work on and gratifying to see the end result.

 Every little detail was fun to plan and carry out.

 This took a lot of mod-podge just so you know.

 The curtains are much cuter in person-but apparently are not very photogenic.

 The sink, the knobs actually turn and so does the spout.

 Every thing that could be spray painted red was-knobs & hinges.  I painted the faucet too.

It's been fun to watch the kids play and have a kitchen that is actually tall enough for my little giants.