Disclaimer

I created this blog so I would have somewhere to journal and share the things I make and do. I try not to steal other's ideas. Some of what I make I have seen in homes or in stores. Or I make a spin-off of something I have seen elsewhere. I will always try to give the proper credit where it is due.
~Mary

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Albertsons Doublers

There are three doublers on page A6 of the Post Register today. Check it out! I didn't see any in The Idaho State Journal, did I overlook them?

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Chicken Stuffing Casserole

I don't have a picture of this, sorry! But I thought I would share this with you anyway! It's a fast and easy dinner. And a great way to get your kids{or husband} to eat their veggies!


4 boneless, cooked, diced chicken or 2 cans Swanson chicken

1 box Chicken Stove Top Stuffing

1 can Cream of Chicken

1/3 cup sour cream

1 can corn,drained

1 can green beans,drained


Stir stuffing crumbs, contents of seasoning packet, 1 1/2 cup HOT water, and 1/4 cup butter. Stir until just moistened, set aside.
Place chicken in 12x8 inch pan. Dump veggies on top. Mix soup and sour cream, pour over the veggies. Top with stuffing.
Bake @ 375 until heated through.
Instead of veggies, you could add apples or nuts for extra flavor!

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Hair bows

Aren't these bows cute? I saw something similar on a blog, forever-a-go. I don't remember where. I got a grab bag full of ribbon at The Ribbon Retreat{http://www.theribbonretreat.com/} in Shelly the other week, and started playing around with some of them and thought I would make these. I've never done these bows before. What do you think?

They are a lot cuter in person. After I put them in my daughters hair, I realized I should have made them a little smaller. I need to trim the edges in, I think. And never mind the yellow pony tail holders in her hair. She wanted to wear some Disney Princess ones.






Start off by putting a dot of hot glue on the end or your ribbon. Fold it over. Then glue the folded end underneath the barrette.













Run some glue across the top of the barrette.














Press your ribbon on.












Then you snip off the ribbon, not too close to the barrette. Add a dot of glue to the end and fold it over so it's glued that way.














Then glue the folded end under the barrette.















In this picture I'm trying to show how the ribbon is folded and glued underneath the barrette.



















I made two of them. This is what they should look like after you have covered them with ribbon.













Then I just picked out the ribbon I wanted and tied a knot in the middle and hot glued them on. After you cut your ribbon, burn the edges just a little to prevent raveling. Darling,huh?












Monday, July 13, 2009

Boo block

Isn't this a cute little block? I know the picture is a little fuzzy, but you get the idea! Even though Halloween is still a couple of months away I had to make this! I found this paper at the local scrapbook store last week. I loved the owls eyes and knew I had to do somthing with it that was Halloweenish!




First, I cut about a 6 inch block off of a 2x4. Sanded it down and painted it a terra cotta orange.
Then I sanded the edges and brushed some stain over the edges to give it a little bit of a distressed look. The picture dosen't really show the edges that well, does it?


Then I tore a piece of the owl paper to fit the block and ran a sepia colored ink pad over the edges.





Brush some mod podge onto the block. This is your glue.








Then press the paper on. Brush some more mod podge over the paper, smoothing the paper out as you go to prevent it from bubbling up.





I cut the letters out of black vinyl with my Cricut. But you could use any type of alphabet stickers. Or even write the letters on with a thick, black, magic marker.
Simple, but cute!










Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Breakfast Rolls

These are oh-so-yummy! I only make them about twice a year. Always on Christmas morning, and this year on the Fouth of July morning! They are the most delicious thing you will ever eat for breakfast!

Now, the recipe is not my own. I got it out of 'The Essential Mormon Cookbook', which you can get at Deseret Bookstore{ www.deseretbook.com}. All of the recipes I have tried in this book have been fantastic! I would definetly recommend getting this cookbook! Scroll down for the recipe.









Tear off a couple of gooey rolls.....





Dig in and enjoy!




Butterscotch Bundt Rolls


18 frozen dinner rolls

1 (3-ounce) package of Butterscotch pudding(not instant)

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup chopped pecans(optional)

1/2 cup melted buter


Arrange frozen rolls in a greased Bundt pan. Sprinkle pudding, brown sugar, and pecans over rolls. Drizzle butter all over. Cover Bundt pan with a dishtowel, plastic wrap, or waxed paper and let rise at room temperature overnight, or about 12 hours. Bake at 350 F. for about 25 minutes. Cool 5-10 minutes before inverting to a serving plate. Serve warm. Makes 18 rolls.


These also taste yummy with 3/4 cup sugar, white or brown. And 1 Tablespoon cinnamon. Use these instead of the brown sugar and pudding. Drizzle with butter and follow the rest of the directions as above.





Different ways to wear a flower clip

There are so many ways you can wear a flower clip. I have some pictures of just a few ways...


Wear hair in a low, side bun. Clip on a flower!





Pull back the front of your hair. Flower clip it!

This is my daughters ballet costume that all us moms got together to make{that's another post}. One of the moms came up with the idea to add a flower clip to the front. There are also two in her hair around her bun.

And of course in a crochet head band or beanie.

There are so many things you can do when you use a clip when making these instead of an actual barret. You can clip them onto anything! You could even add a clip to the top of a wrapped gift. Be creative!



Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Flower clips tutorial

This is my first tutorial with pictures. Please bear with me as I try to get better at this!
These flower clips are everywhere! And so easy to make! I use any flower I find that I think will be cute in my daughters hair. I buy alligator clips because they grip the hair and don't fall out as easy. I also use french barrets. I buy them from http://www.theribbonretreat.com/. They are so cheap! A pack of 10 alligator clips are $2.00. And the french barrets were 20 for $1.50!








This one I made from a scrapbook flower.








One of my favs! Just a silk flower from Roberts.








You will need a hot glue gun, ribbon, scissors, any flower,{it can be silk or a scrapbook flower}, and your hair clip.










First,pull the blossom off of the vine and snip the end off so your flower will lay flat.













Then lift up each layer and put dabs of hot glue in between the layers.{ This is to make sure the flower dosen't fall apart}
















Flip the barret over so the underside is facing up. Put a little dab of glue on the end and press the folded end of your ribbon on to it. {You want to fold the end of your ribbon under so you don't have an unfinished end showing}














The bottom should look like this.


















Then put some glue across the top and press the ribbon on, tucking under the end.















So your clip should now look like so.


















Again, another fuzzy photo. Sorry! I couldn't get it to focus for some reason! Put hot glue across the top of the barret and then place your flower on over that and press down firmly.









Voila! You now have your flower clip! I made a pair so my daughter can wear them with two pigtails.


















Monday, July 6, 2009

Sidewalk sale at Hallmark

This last weekend we were walking around the mall and I saw that Hallmark was having a sidewalk sale. So I walked on over to see what they had.



I got all of this for $5.89! Crazy, huh? I got two rolls of wrapping paper, two pkgs. of tissue paper, two rolls of ribbon (each had three different colors) and about ten gift tags. (But I can also use those in my scrapbooking).
Everything was 75% off. Not bad, huh?

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Albertsons' Doublers

I found them! They were hiding today in the paper. But there are three Albertsons doublers on page A9 of todays Post Register. They are good 7/5-7/7.I looked thru the Idaho State Journal and didn't see them. Did I miss them?

Flower clips

Aren't these darling? I recently made some flower clips for my daughters' hair. I love them!
These first two measure about 7-8 inches across.


I just bought some silk flowers at Roberts and pulled the bloom off the stem and then hot glued it onto a clip. Easy!
These two are smaller, They are about 2 inches across. I made them with those scrapbook flowers you can buy at the craft store. I used buttons in the middle. Cute, huh?


Next time I make some I'll take step-by-step pictures of the process to show you how I do it. I glue ribbon onto the clip so it looks more finished. I promise I'll take some pictures soon and do another post with the directions!

Scrapbook frame

Here is a beautiful picture of my baby girl. Only, she's not a baby anymore*sniff*.
I bought a plain wood craft frame. Painted the sides, inside, and back a brown.
Cut out some scrapbook paper to fit the front of the frame and glued it on with mod podge. But I'm sure any type of craft paper glue would work
Then I applied another coat of mod podge as a finisher.
I hot glued on some ribbon and a button and there you go! A cute, personal frame for my baby!

Quote blocks

These are so easy to make! And they make great, inexpensive gifts as well!
The first one I made for a friend who is also into crafting. I thought the saying matched her perfectly!


I bought a 2x4 and cut it down to the size of block I wanted. The first one was I think 6 inches and the second one was about 8 inches.

I sanded the block down and painted it the color I wanted.

Then sanded the edges again.

Then I typed the saying out on my computer and used the the font I wanted from there. And printed it out on cardstock. The thicker your paper the easier it is to apply to the block.

I brushed some mod podge on the front of the block and pressed the paper on top, smoothing it out from the center towards the outside. The thinner your paper, the more it can bubble up. That's why I went with card stock!

Then I brushed some more mod podge over the front.

Then I just tied a ribbon around the whole thing.Cute, aren't they? This second one I made for a friend that homeschools her children. Again, I thought the saying fitted her.
I've also made one of these that has a quote about family on it.That's what is so great about this craft. You can do any saying you want and personalize it for who ever or where ever it is going!




Friday, July 3, 2009

Patriotic Stackers

These were so easy to make! I cut a 2x2 piece of wood into two pieces. One measures about 8 inches the other 6 1/2 inches.
I sanded them and then painted them and sanded the edges again. I cut the the words and stars out of vinyl with my Cricut.
Easy peasy!

'Jesus know me' block


I made this for my toddlers playroom. I cut a 2x4 piece of wood to the size I wanted. Painted it pink and sanded the edges . I cut the words out of vinyl with my Cricut and tied a ribbon around the whole thing. Cute, huh? This would make a nice gift for a child, or anyone!

Wood picture blocks



I made these with the girls in Young Womens last year for them to give their moms for Mother's Day.

I took a 4x4 and cut it into 3 1/2 inch blocks.They say it's a 4x4, but it actually measures 3 1/2 in. Don't ask me why. That just the way it is!

I sanded the blocks and painted them red and then sanded the edges again to get the distressed look. I cut some pictures and scrapbook paper to fit. You could put pictures on all sides if you wanted.

I brushed some mod podge on one side of the block and put the paper/picture on top. Smooth the paper out from the middle towards the outside. The thinner the paper, the more it may bubble up! Repeat on all sides.

Then I brushed some more mod podge over the paper/picture.Then if you wanted to add any stickers or anything to the blank sides you can.

Cover the whole block with mod podge as a finishing touch.

BE SURE TO LET THESE DRY FOR AT LEAST 48 HOURS! Trust me! It may feel and look dry, but it isn't!
You can do as many of these as you want and stack them, or line them up. These would make a great gift for a grandparent, or mothers/fathers day!

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Home blocks

Again, I'm sorry I don't have step-by-step photos of this.
What I did was paint some 2x4 blocks black. I sanded the edges a little to distress it. Then I applied scrapbook paper with mod podge. When that dried, I sanded the edges of the paper a little. I cut the letters out of vinyl and stuck them on. Then I applied another coat of mod podge as a finisher. I tied some ribbon around the blocks, but I think they would look cute with out ribbon as well.
I made this for the raffle we do at our family reunion every year.
You could spell out any word on these and it would look great!



Baked Potatoes in the Summer

Of course being an Idaho girl I love potatoes! There are so many ways to eat them...french fries, hashbrowns, casseroles, potatoe cakes, mashed, and of course, baked!
However, I hate using my oven in the summer because it makes the kitchen so hot! ugh! How to have baked potatoes in the summer without heating up the place......use the crockpot! You heard me right, the crockpot.
Scrub your potatoes, wrap in tin foil, poke a couple of holes in the ends to allow the steam out. Place the potatoes in the crockpot, cover and cook on high for four hours. And you have a yummy meal of baked potatoes without ever turning on your oven!

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Framed initials



I don't have step-by-step pictures for this. Sorry! But it was easy!
I bought three, $2 frames at Wal-Mart, and took the backs out. Then I hot glued the glass into the frame. I cut my daughters initials out of vinyl with my cricut. And applied them to the front of the glass. Then I used a staple gun to attach some ribbon to the back of the frame. Then I just tied them onto some nails in the wall. Easy! And so cute!
I also think this would look great with a families last name or the word 'family'. I think it would make a good wedding gift.