Embellish

{share} Three Quick & Easy Toddler Activities

2012-03-01T13:46:00.002-08:00

Little boys are full of energy, constantly moving, and curious about everything. I'm kept on my toes daily with my two kids. At times I find it challenging to find new things for them to do so they don't get bored and start beating each other up. Below you will find three constant activities we do just about everyday. These games don't require anything in addition to what most of us already have in our homes. So here we go...

1. Dinosaur Hunt

The dinosaur hunt hats aren't needed for this activity, obviously, but it sure does make them look cute. I bought these hats and the foam lettering at Hobby Lobby and my littlest one, Graham, loves to wear his all day long. So, how do we play this game? First, I make my kids hide in the corner with their nets and hats while I disperse of all the many dinosaurs (and other plastic animals) around the room. I make some of them difficult to find for my older one, while the majority are just scattered on the floor in plain sight. Then they come running from their corner and collect as many of the animals as they can until their nets are about to burst. Then, we play it again! Fun stuff, I tell ya.

2. Fruit Loop String Beads

So in addition to dinosaurs, my kids adore fruit loops (yep, I'm that mom that allows them to eat sugary cereal). The kids enjoy threading their fruit loops onto their string. I love watching their concentrated faces as they try their hardest to bead their cereal. Then, we tie knots in the end and wear them as necklaces. It's kind of nice, really. They have snacks on the go and I don't have to worry about them spilling all over the ground and getting crunched into the carpet. Plus, stringing the cereal helps their chubby little fingers to develop manual dexterity and hand-eye coordination. Graham thinks it's pretty cool to eat them straight off of the string.

3. Magic Blanket Rides

Everyone has a blanket laying around, right? In my case, one too many blankets reside in my house. Which reminds me-- I need to make a trip to the Good Will. Anyway, Miles and Graham are mad for blanket rides. Usually toys, balls, and snacks accompany them on these rides. Typically following these rides is the request to be burrito-ized! I swaddle them tightly and they giggle and wiggle their way out and then we do it all over again. I can't imagine how much fun this would be, but then again any time spent with my mom I enjoy so I'm thinking they might just enjoy the attention they're getting from me and making me laugh in the meantime.

All in all, I've found in my three short years as a mom, that it's really about being silly with my kids and encouraging their imaginations to wander and grow. I've also discovered with my two, that I have to keep their minds going. An idle mind brings on trouble-- you know, stealing each others toys and rough housing. So we usually only spend 15-20 minutes per activity before we move on. There is nothing more that I enjoy than watching my two little nutballs being silly and laughing at themselves or each other. I really hope they remain the best of friends...

What are some of your kids' favorite daily activities? I'm always looking for new ideas. :)

{free printable & project share} How Do Dinosaurs?... Book Popsicle Stick Puzzles

2012-02-28T13:31:00.001-08:00

I'm pretty sure every mother to young boys has heard of these "How Do Dinosaurs..." book series, but if you haven't click on the book picture below and go check them out. They are apart of our nightly ritual-- sometimes they are an all day phenomenon. My kids LOVE them. So much we've had to purchase this particular book (see below) 3 times because the pages began to fall out.

So... because they are a fave in our house, I thought it appropriate to use these book's pictures on my popsicle stick puzzles. I googled these books and found a gazillion pictures online to print at home. I'm not sure if it's illegal or not-- anyone know? If you're not comfortable with cutting and pasting pictures from the web then you could also use pictures from any old book you have laying around. After I did this I thought to myself I could have used one of those other books with the pages falling out and that would have worked great too!

The puzzle sticks were a super quick craft and was achieved in one afternoon's nap time. I used jumbo popsicle sticks and these pictures were cropped and sized just right for them.

The number stickers were an after thought, but I think they'll be nice to have when it comes time to teach the little ones their numbers and their order.

My three year absolutely LOVES them and has asked to play with them for the past few days straight. If you want a printable version of the googled pictures download them below. Keep in mind these pictures are to be used for personal use only. Also, please remember these pictures were taken from online so they're not the best resolution quality, but once the Mod Podge is applied it doesn't even matter. I was a little worried about the quality, but they turned out great!

{project share} DIY Stegosaurus Hoodie

2012-02-21T12:19:00.000-08:00

Inspired by Whatever Dee Dee Wants and liberally using her tutorial, I decided to have my own run at this fun DIY dinosaur hoodie. Not to mention it made me break out my brand new serger, that has been sitting in the box over a year now. I don't know why, but just the thought of serging fabrics intimidated me. Once the threading process was finished, which took forever, it was relatively easy to maneuver.

I decided to use two differing shades of green felt for the stegosaurus spikes. I sewed two of the sides, then stuffed them with batting and stitched them back into the hoodie using my serger. One of the fastest sewing projects I've ever done.

These two little sillies just love their dinosaurs and this hoodie was very much appreciated by my little one.

Side Note: I was a little concerned how the washing process would effect the felt spikes, but after washing it numerous times already I can see that they're going to hold up fine. The batting has stayed fluffy and has not balled up and the felt hasn't shrunken at all.

ROAAAAAAAAAR! If you have some dino-lovers in your family this has been a huge hit and I highly recommend it for your little ones.

{WINNER} Shappy Apple's Key to My Heart Necklace

2012-02-17T12:53:00.001-08:00

First, thanks to everyone for entering this contest. Now, for the winner! With the help of Random.org the winner is....drum roll please....

Commenter #2, Brandee

Yay--I'm so excited for you. Shabby Apple is so generous for this giveaway. Please remember you still have until March 2nd to receive the 10% discounted rate, using code "embellish10off" at checkout. Enjoy your necklace Brandee.

{real party} Milesasaurus' Dino-Mite Shindig!

2012-02-13T13:30:00.000-08:00

ROAR! That is a word (or noise) I hear frequently in my house, so what better theme for a birthday party? To say Miles is obsessed with dinosaurs would be an understatement. He eats and sleeps dinosaurs. No, really... he does. He eats all things dinosaur shaped and sleeps with approximately 6 dinosaurs each night.

The party printables were originally inspired by this party, but made by myself and will be in my Etsy shop soon if you're interested in your very own customized set. Anywho, let's get onto the party details.

The Decor-- balloons threaded onto embroidery floss and pinned to the wall with a thumb tack. Fast, easy, and cheap. Idea originally seen here.

The Party Printables-- made by muah and printed at Staples for $12. That's right, twelve dollars! Highly recommend Staples for printing.

Dinosaur Chocolate Lollipops--I had some left over white chocolate wafers from Christmas time and used some blue gel paste. I bought this lollipop mold for $2.50 and I just KNOW I will be using it again in the future.

Dinosaur Foot Prints-- Thanks to my cute hubby for cutting these prints out. My little boy absolutely LOVED this idea and kept looking out the window at them through-out the day.

The Food

Carnivore Food: Ceratops Chili, Dinosaur Shaped Chicken Nuggets

Sweetivore Food: Dinosaur Fruit Snacks, Tyranosaurus Rex Track Cookies, Velociraptor Vanilla Cupcakes, and Blue Chocolate Dino-Pops

Herbivore Food: Rhondadon Rolls and Stegasaurus Salad

That triceratops is looking rather thin and hungry-- look at him drooling over those t-rex foot print cookies. The footprint cookies are made from a simple sugar cookie recipe, then stamped with one of my son's dinosaur's fooprints, sprinkled with cinnamon & sugar, and baked. Easy peasy.

I got these wooden dinosaur skeleton statues at Harbor & Frieght, believe it or not. $2/set= $6 total for all three-- not a bad deal and my husband loved putting them together for the party.

To Drink: Volcanic Lava Juice (Capri Suns) and water for the adults

The Fun-- nothing says more fun than banging around a stick at a dinosaur pinata.

The Party Favors-- Dinosaur straw cups, dino-crayons, dino-bubbles, slinkies, and magnetic dino-buddies

All in all, it was one fun night! Miles walked away with some new dinosaur toys and I walked away 5 lbs heavier from all the yummy cupcakes.

THE COST

I'm a strong believer that parties can be done classy, but on the cheap. However, I understand that doing it cheaply is only doable if you have some of the basics already at home. So let's add up where the money was spent:

Printables--$12 (from Staples-- I think they quoted me at $.49/page with me providing my own paper)

Wooden Dinosaur Skeletons-- $6.00 (from Harbor & Frieght)

Party Favor Bags (10 bags & loot inside)--

$2.50(Brown bags from Michaels)

$15(Dinosaur Straw Cups from Albertsons)

$5(Slinkies half -off at Michaels)

$3.50(Dinosaur Crayons from Party City)

$4.5 (Dinosaur Balloons from Party City)

$8(Plush Magnetic Dinosaur Buddies from Michaels at 75% off)

Total: $38.50 ($3.85/party favor bag)

Balloons & Brown Table Covering--$4

Pinata--$12

Lolli-Pop Mold--$2.50

Food--(this is the list of what I had to buy at the store-- everything else needed for our dinner I had already at home just laying around)

$1.49 (Capri Suns)

$3.99 (Water)

$2.99 (1lb Ground Beef)

$3.99 (1lb Ground Maple Sausage)

$1.5 (Sour Cream)

$4.99 (Tomato Juice)

$.80x4 (Beans-- Pinto, Kidney, Black)

$5.00 (Rolls-- I was going to do homemade, but ran out of time)

$1.50 (Romaine Lettuce Bag)

$.75 (Iceburg Lettuce Head)

$1.50 (Cream Cheese)

$2.50 (Slivered Almonds)

$5.99 (Candy Bag for Pinata)

$5.50 (Frozen Dino-Nuggets)

$3.00 (Dinosaur Fruit Snacks)

$2.50 (Unsalted Butter)

$1.50 (Powdered Sugar)

Total: $51.89 to feed 7 adults, 2 tweeners, and 9 kids ($2.88/person)

TOTAL of the WHOLE PARTY-- $126.89

Not a bad price-tag! The bank was not broke, the kids had a blast, and mommy is now going to take a nap. Phew!

{free printable} Dino-Mite Valentines

2012-02-09T12:43:00.000-08:00

Have you seen these adorable dinosaur valentines? I originally pinned it on Pinterest, but have traced it back to this woman's cute site. She also has adorable girly ideas for heart shaped chocolate valentines. I absolutely LOVE the idea and made my own version and now you can download and print your own if you choose to do so. They print at 5" x 7" two/page.

Just print, cut and attach heart shaped chocolates with glue dots. I bought two bags of Dove heart chocolates and it was just enough to make sixteen valentines, with two left over chocolates to devour. :) Don't you just love Dove? I especially enjoy the little sayings on the inside of the wrapper-- I occasionally need the friendly reminders.

{giveaway} Shabby Apple's Vintage "Key to My Heart" Necklace-- CLOSED!

2012-02-02T13:54:00.000-08:00

It's an exciting day here at Embellish. Shabby Apple has contacted me about doing a giveaway and after much deliberation and hmming and haaaing I've chosen this vintage looking necklace, called "Key to My Heart". One lucky reader will receive this simple and elegant piece of jewelry!!! So let's chit chat about Shabby Apple for a sec. If you have never been to their site you need to head on over and take a look. They have the most classic looks for women's dresses and vintage jewelry. It's the type of shop you buy a dress from and will find yourself wearing years from now because it will never go out of style.

I am LOVING this (see above) pineapple colored dress with the front ruffles, but if you're more into subdued colors they have that too. Take a look at the dress below-- such a darling neckline and I love the simplicity of it.

How to enter to win the "Key to My Heart" Necklace

1. Head on over to Shabby Apple's Facebook page HERE and click "like"

2. Then come on back to Embellish and leave me a comment saying you did so

3. Remember to leave your email address in the comments section so I can contact the winner.

4. The winner will be chosen from a random number generator from the comments left on my blog.

5. Winner must have a US shipping address and the necklace chosen can not be exchanged for any other items.

Contest will close midnight on ~~FEBRUARY 16, 2012~~ (CLOSED)
I know we're not all lucky winners here, so Shabby Apple has generously provided a coupon code to my readers. So if you like what you see then head on over to Shabby Apple's site and use the code "embellish10off" to receive 10% off your order. Coupon code expires March 2, 2012

{recipe & tutorial} Red Velvet Crackle Cookies

2012-01-30T14:25:00.000-08:00

If there is one thing I always have in the pantry and fridge it's cake mix and cream cheese! So, when I went to make some cookies for my husband's young men's church group I thought, what's better than the two of them together in a cookie? These cookies are rich and chocolatey and all of the young men raved about their yumminess to my husband.

Ingredients:

1 Red Velvet Cake Mix

1 8oz Cream Cheese, softened to room temp

1/2 Cup Butter, softened to room temp

1 Egg

1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract

1/2 Bag of Semi Sweet Chocolate Chip Morsels

Flour

Confectioner's Sugar

Directions:

First, beat together the room temperature butter and cream cheese. Next add the egg and vanilla extract and beat until incorporated. Now, mix in the red velvet cake mix, cover and chill in the fridge for 30-45 minutes.

Meanwhile, dust the chocolate chips in flour. If you don't cover your chocolate chips in flour they sink to the bottom of the cookie while baking. After dough has chilled add the chips to the cake mix and form into tablespoon sized balls.

Next, roll the cake balls into a good amount of confectioner's sugar and place on a cookie sheet a couple of inches apart. Then, take a cup and smoosh the balls down semi-flat. If you don't flatten them a little they will remain in a ball form.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes.

These cookies are divine! They are soft. They are chewy. They are so rich you won't need many to get your fix. Enjoy! We sure did.

{recipe} Strawberry Almond Whoopie Pies

2012-01-27T12:05:00.000-08:00

Cake mixes make my life so much easier. Let's face it-- with two toddlers running around easier is better in this case. I put together these strawberry almond whoopie pies in a matter of minutes for a girls craft night get together and they were a hit! Delish and easy I tell ya!

Ingredients:

1 Strawberry Cake Mix
1/3 Cup Vegetable Oil
2 Eggs
4 oz. Cream Cheese, Softened to room temp
1/4 Cup Butter, Softened to room temp
1 1/2 Cups Confectioner's Sugar
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 1/2 Teaspoons Almond Extract

Directions & Assembling:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. While the oven is heating up mix together the cake mix, oil and eggs. Next, using a rounded tablespoon scoop the dough onto your cookie sheet-- leave a couple of inches between the cookies. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Let cool completely on rack before assembling.
While cookies are baking beat together your cream cheese, butter, vanilla and almond extract with powder sugar. Add small increments of the almond extract at a time. I love the cherry flavoring it gives baked goods, but depending on how much you like the taste of almond extract you could add a little more or a little less (or omit it all together, but then it would be called a 'strawberry vanilla whoopie pie'). When assembling the cookies I use that same tablespoon and plop a good amount on one side and take the other cookie and close it up, pushing the frosting out the sides.
TIP-- don't push the cookies together too hard or the filling will spill out. Also, these cookies are much easier to eat after they have sat for an hour or two assembled. That is, if you can resist letting them sit on the counter that long. :)

{free printable & project share} Felt Valentines Envelopes & Simple Message Cards

2012-01-25T14:10:00.000-08:00

These felt Valentines envelopes are all over the internet so it's nothing new here. I made these fun envelopes last year and thought I would share with a free printable. Inspired by PotteryBarn Kids I made these out of heavy weight felt and followed this tutorial from The Crafting Chicks.

I followed the tutorial almost completely, but added a little of my own flair with the glittery letters.

Are these glittered hearts not so stinkin' cute? I found them at JoAnn's for $2, but after looking at them I think they would be fairly easy to recreate. All you would need would be two sizes of wooden hearts, mesh backing, glitter and you're good to go. If you don't have a drill you could easily attach some ribbon to the back with a staple gun or glue. In fact, I just might make a sparkly heart bunting to hang above my fireplace.

What else would complete these envelopes, but some printable Valentines note cards?
Download your note cards HERE.

{tutorial & free printable} Sweets for the Sweet Valentines Pillow Box

2012-01-23T07:53:00.000-08:00

Today you'll find me guest posting over at Whatever DeeDee Wants with this fun printable. Head on over for this FREE printable and assembling tutorial.
Valentines is dangerous holiday for me! I have no will-power when it comes to the sugary goodness found on isle after isle at the grocery store. So this pillow box printable is going to help me get some of this candy out of my house and into someone else's.

Uh oh... this little sweetie-pie has inherited the love of candy from his mother! What's a mom to do?

To download the Valentines pillow box printable go HERE.

Also, don't forget to head on over to Whatever DeeDee Wants for the full tutorial and other fun Valentines projects she has in store.

{free printable} Valentines Day Tags

2012-01-12T12:53:00.000-08:00

Before I got married I referred to Valentines Day as "Single Awareness Day", but even those that are single can still get on the V-Day fun with these cute tags. We've decided to mix it up this year and give out popcorn in brown paper bags to the little ones. Heaven knows they'll get enough sweets from everyone else. :)

My little one LOVES popcorn and can smell it from a mile away!

These tags could be used for your kidlet's friends, classmates or your co-workers. Who doesn't love receiving a little sweet treat?

Download your tags HERE

{tutorial} Upholstered Headboard Squares

2012-01-10T12:20:00.000-08:00

First I have to apologize...as I was knee-deep into my project I realized I had not taken any photographs with my camera so I pulled out my iphone and snapped a few blurry shots. I wish the quality was better, but it is what it is.

After seeing this headboard on DIY Network webpage I immediately went into action to create my own little version. Once I had collected everything I needed in order to finish this project it came together relatively quick. Needed for this headboard project is: Styrofoam Mattress Pad, Scissors, Upholstery Batting, Staple Gun, Wood Squares, Fabric, Wood Particle Board, Hammer, and Screw Gun.

Please keep in mind this headboard is for a full-size bed so all dimensions stated are for such size. I bought the wood at Lowes and since we moved to NM we don't have access to my father-in-law's tools so I had the man at Lowes cut the board into twelve 13.5" squares. Did you know Lowes doesn't charge for such cuts? I was certain it was going to cost an arm and a leg, but nope it was free and fast!

First I cut the mattress pad into twelve 13.5" squares. As for the batting I just eye-balled it. When cutting the batting I made sure to leave a 4" over hanging border so it could wrap around easily for stapling. I also cut my fabric using the same dimensions I used for the batting. Next, I just stapled around the edges making sure to pull tightly. If you don't pull tight on the fabric and batting it will pucker and look sloppy. And nobody likes a sloppy headboard, right?

The corners were a bit tricky because of the batting thickness. I found that folding the left side in and then the top over that made the cleanest fold.
Tip: If your staples don't go all the way in take a hammer and pound them down into the wood.

After all boards are upholstered I screwed them tightly into a board from the back. This is were a friend or significant other comes in handy. Four hands really are better than two sometimes. I wanted the boards to be butted up against each other as tight as they could go, so my hubby screwed from behind while I pushed the boards together from the front. Once all boards are screwed in place just lean against the wall behind the bed-- this helps keep the headboard in place.

Just FYI-- we tried a couple of wall mounting methods. Our first fail was double sided sticky pads, but let's be honest they held for maybe 5 minutes. Our second fail was hanging each individual board with saw tooth metal picture hangers, but we couldn't get the boards close enough together. Also, with the hanging method the boards could easily fall off on the guests when they were leaned against, so this was a BIG FAIL!

Perfect for my guest bedroom and the many holiday guests we had joining us.

{free printable} Merry Christmas Tags

2011-12-16T12:38:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas! We're going on a road trip to visit family in Utah so I won't be posting anything new until after Christmas, but I hope you all have a wonderful holiday full of family and friends.

To download these 2.5" square tags go HERE

{free printable} Snowflake Circles

2011-12-12T12:03:00.000-08:00

So simple, but it adds a bit of color to those plain white holiday card envelopes. You could also use these circles as cupcake toppers, gift tags (just add a little note on the backside), or put them on your gifts. Just print, punch and attach. I used my sticker maker, but a glue stick or double sided tape would work great too!

These holiday circles measure at 1.75" and I used a 1.5" hole puncher for the above picture. Happy Holidays! Hope it's snowing where you're at, because in NM it's a rarity (although I can't complain too much, we do have snow on the ground right now). Enjoy!
To download your own snowflake circles go HERE

{tutorial & free printable pattern} Felt Nativity Hand Puppets

2011-12-08T13:18:00.000-08:00

I in no way came up with this project on my own. My church provided these kits to make felt nativity hand puppets and I just thought I would share it with everyone because they were quick and super cute!

Felt Requirements: these are just suggested body colors to make all 8 puppets using 9" x 12" felt pieces.

- 2 pieces each (light blue, tan, green, dark tan, purple, and red)

- 4 pieces each (white)

- Scrap pieces (flesh, black, yellow, dark brown, gold, dark blue, brown, pink, and gray)

Also Needed:

-Sharp fabric scissors

-Tacky craft glue

-Sewing Machine (optional)

Other Doo-Dads Needed:

-2 brown pipe cleaners

-Ric-rac, braid, and trim

-Jewels, wooden bead, and gold button

-Small pink pom pom (for lamb's nose)

-Small bell & cord (for lamb's neck)

Download the nativity puppet outline and pattern HERE.

It's as easy as printing the PDF pattern, cutting out the pieces and gluing them together. The instructions on the PDF file are fairly clear and concise. My mother in law was in town last week and got a kit for herself, but she she's going to sew the hand pieces so that they last longer. However, I did mine with craft tacky glue and they seem to be holding up just fine, thus far.

{The Three Wise Men}


{Baby Jesus, Mary & Joseph}

{Lamb, Shepherd & Angel}

The puppets came together relatively quickly and I just know the kidlets will enjoy playing with them through the holidays. Again, download your pattern HERE.

{tutorial} Jingle Bell Wreaths

2011-12-05T13:30:00.000-08:00

What's Christmas without some jingle bells? I found discounted tubes of bells last year after Christmas and just remembered I had them while decorating my house for the holidays. This project took me all of 15 minutes. I love quick and easy-- nothing better!

All that is needed: wire coat hanger, ribbon, and jingle bells.

I feel like the hardest part was unwinding the wire coat hanger. I thought my finger tips were going to get slashed open. I highly recommend wearing heavy gardening gloves or better yet, use wire clippers if you have them. I, on the other hand, did it the hard way!

After you've formed your wire into a circle you thread your bells onto the hanger, making sure to push them as close together as they will go. Once you've completed threading the bells and have determined it is the size you want twist your wire back together and attach some ribbon for hanging.

I had some left over bells, but not enough to make another wreath so I made this fun little hangy thing. Instead of wire, I used some ribbon to thread and tied knots on both ends so the bells stay close together.

I'm loving the dark bronze bells, but they're a bit larger than the silver ones so they are unable to get snug and the wire is showing through a bit on these. Oh well... can't win them all.

{tutorial} Children's Turkey Crayon Holder

2011-11-21T13:45:00.000-08:00

Imagine this cute little turkey guy sitting next to your kiddies on Thanksgiving day. I just know my boys will love coloring their place-mats with these "turkey feather crayons".

All that is needed to make this little guy is: styrofoam base and head, two googly eyes, brown paint & brush, hot glue gun, red & orange felt, and crayons.

First, paint your styrofoam pieces and let them dry.

Then, attach the head to the base with a dab of hot glue. Then glue the beak and wattle (yep that's what that red little hangy thing is called-- I looked it up) with glue as well.

Next, you can drill the holes out with an actual drill (which is what I did) or you could firmly press the styrofoam with a sharp pencil and make your holes that way as well.

I personally think this little guy is more handsome with a bow-tie.

Total Cost:

Styrofoam Pieces-- $2

Felt--$0 I used scraps

Craft Paint & Brush-- $0 I used left-overs

TOTAL: $2

This fun turkey guy is cheap enough you could make them for the gaggle of kids that will be joining you on GOBBLE DAY!

{free printable} Thanksgiving Door Wreath & Sign

2011-11-21T13:06:00.000-08:00

I'm all about quick crafts! I usually do them during the kiddo's naps and this wreath was one of those super quick, but cute crafts I took on this past week.

I used some scrap chenille fabric I had left over from some bibs I made 4 years ago. I was just waiting for the perfect project and this was it. However, I used so little that I still have plenty left over. :) I created this flower with 4 circles, embroidery floss in an alike color, and a needle. The center circle was rolled up and sewn like a rose. Then I folded the remaining circles into fourths and sewed them willy nilly onto the rose until I liked the look. The green leaves were simply sewn with my machine and trimmed down with scissors. The nice thing about chenille is that it's rustic and your lines don't have to be perfect.

After I was done attaching the flowers with wire I felt the wreath a little too plain so I created this sign and mod podged it onto a painted wooden board. I then attached the ribbon with staples onto the back. So simple, I tell ya.

The sign in the picture was printed at Staples and I had them enlarge it to fit the size of board I had laying around. If you want to do the same just right click on the above image and save to your computer.

So if you'd like to adorn your door or wall with this last minute "Give Thanks" sign, feel free to download HERE. Happy Turkey Day!

{free printable} Give Thanks Tea Towel

2011-11-14T12:42:00.000-08:00

This Thanksgiving tea towel was an easy make. First I purchased the tea towel at Walmart for uber cheap. Then I printed the image in reverse onto iron-on paper and cut it to the size I wanted. Next, I ironed it onto the pre-washed tea towel. That's it! Super de duper easy!

This will make a great addition to my Thanksgiving day guest's goodie baskets. Just picture a small basket stuffed with this homemade tea towel, jam or marmalade, fruit, sparkling apple cider bottle and baked goods. Perfection!

DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE PRINTABLE HERE!

{free printable} Thankgsiving Gathering Printable Set

2011-11-10T08:41:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving has to be my absolute FAVORITE holiday ever! Nothing beats family gathering together for the sole purpose of devour all things delicous. Seriously, does it get any better? Today you'll find my Thanksgiving printables set featured over at Whatever DeeDee Wants. Go on over and check out her site for the full printable set. She's also got a plethora of fun ideas for kids-- such a darling site!

traditional Thanksgiving food label cards

12" x 16" children's activity place mat

I'm beyond excited for Thanksgiving this year. The in-laws will be in town and I will be hosting my very first Thanksgiving dinner. I will definitely be using these printables to add to the overall decor of the day.

To view the entire Thanksgiving printables set and/or download your very own copy go HERE.

Unfortunately, to download the children's activity place mat you will need to FOLLOW THIS LINK, download and save to your computer separately.

{recipe} Chocolate Cheesecake Four Ways!

2011-11-01T15:08:00.000-07:00

I LOVE chocolate and I LOVE cheesecake so the two together was heaven on earth for me. A chocolate cheesecake recipe is nothing new, but I've added a little bit of spice to each one of my little cheesecakers. I've done the dirty (if cooking and tasting chocolate cheesecakes can really be called "dirty"?) work for you. I made one batch of cheesecake and divided it into four. I then added different secret ingredients to each one. So... let's get to it shall we?

The first cake batter I added ground cinnamon, nutmeg & cloves.

The other three cakes were accompanied with alternative spices as well. One cake had Cayenne, the other Chili Powder and the last one had Chipotle Chile Pepper.

Once the graham cracker crust had cooled from it's prior baking I added the four different cheesecake batters. I then filled the casserole dishes with boiling water half way up the sides of the cheesecake pans. This helps keep the cheesecake moist and hopefully from cracking.
Tip 1: make sure your tin foil is wrapped snuggly around the spring form pans so no water can seep through.
Tip 2 (if you're going to bake all four flavors at once): wrap tin foil around the handle of the casserole dishes identifying which cake is which.

Now for the hard part-- tasting each one!

Cake 1: Cinnamon, Nutmeg & Cloves-- tasted very Christmassy

Cake 2: Chili Powder-- had the slightest hint of chili, but not a lot of other flavors going on

Cake 3: Cayenne Pepper-- had a good amount of spice taste, but didn't overwhelm the chocolate flavor

Cake 4: Chipotle Chile Pepper-- smokey undertones

THE WINNER-- Cayenne Pepper! It was a nice pair to chocolate and didn't take away from it. Now, that's not to say the other three weren't delicious, but the Cayenne was by far my fave.

Chocolate Cayenne Cheesecake

Ingredients

1/3 cup butter, melted

1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/4 cup sugar (brown or granulated white-- I've used either and both work great for the crust)

3 (8 ounce) pkgs cream cheese, room temperature

1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate, melted (I used Ghiradelli's baking chips)

4 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/4 teaspoons cayenne pepper (If you like more heat add additional increments, but I would suggest tasting the batter as you go. Keep in mind the spicyness subsides a bit with baking)

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 300 degrees F. Combine the melted butter, graham crackers and sugar in a food processor. Press mixture into the bottom of your springform pan and bake for 5 minutes. Set aside and cool

2. In a large bowl mix together cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually add sweet condensed milk until smooth and creamy. Next, add all of the remaining ingredients. Poor into prepared pans.

3. Bake for 65 minutes or until cake center is set. Cool to room temperature and then chill thoroughly in the fridge. Store leftovers in the fridge (if you have any).

{free printable} Please Take One Halloween Candy Sign

2011-10-26T13:53:00.000-07:00

Every year I feel bad that I leave our house (and candy) unattended while we take our kidlets out and about the neighborhood, but this year I'm setting this sign out with the candy and having a guilt free night.

If you would like to download your own copy go HERE. Hope your little ghosts and goblins have a great night of trick or treating. Happy Halloween!

{free printable} Anniversary/Any Event Notecards

2011-10-19T12:30:00.000-07:00

Just a few weeks ago the hubs and I celebrated our 9th anniversary. So in honor of that momentous event I've made some printable anniversary cards for you! Whether you're celebrating your 1st or 40th anniversary these sweet little animal cards will get the job done (especially if you're like me and NEVER remember to pick up cards at the grocery store).

These cards could really be used for any event: birthday, valentines day, just to say 'hello'....etc. It's always good to have generic cards laying around in case you need them in a pinch. So print out a few pages and have them handy.
Download FREE printable cards HERE.

{tutorial & free printable} Halloween Burlap Wreath

2011-10-13T13:28:00.000-07:00

These burlap wreaths are popping up all over the internet, but I specifically found inspiration at Craftaholics Anonymous to make mine.

I've seen most burlap wreaths made with wire hangers bent into a circle, but I chose to use a wreath form. However, the green would definitely poke through so I needed to paint mine black first.

I used basic craft paint, but I suppose if you had black spray paint laying around that would work too.

While the paint is drying, lay out your burlap and cut 1x18 inch strips of fabric. I chose to make mine a bit longer than other tutorials because the wreath form is thicker than a wire so it requires more fabric to wrap around.

I cut strips from approximately 3/4th of a yard of fabric and that seemed plenty for my wreath, but if you like a more fuller look I would purchase at least a yard of burlap to be safe.

Just as I was about to begin wrapping my wreath with fabric I looked down to see black paint splatters all over my shirt. What can I say I'm a messy crafter, but if anyone has any tips as how I could remove paint splatters from a shirt please send them my way. Back to the wreath-- just tie knots of fabric around your wreath until your satisfied with the fullness. Make sure NOT to pull too tight on the burlap when knotting-- it's very sensitive and will break with just a little amount of strength. I then attached this little crow I found at the dollar store with some super glue and wire. Now your wreath is ready to hang. I paired mine with this little "trick or treat" sign I had laying around, but you could hang your wreath with my printable file below. All you would need to do is mod podge it onto some wood or tin and string with some burlap or ribbon.

To download your own "Trick or Treat" sign go HERE
Total Cost of the Project: $8
Wreath Form (Joanne's Fabric with 50% off coupon): $4
1 Yard of Black Burlap Fabric (Joanne's Fabric with 40% off coupon): $3
Black Crow (Dollar Store): $1

{recipe} Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

2011-10-12T15:33:00.000-07:00

This recipe came from Sprinkles' pumpkin spice cake box. It adds just the right amount of cinnamon to any spice cake, pumpkin cake, pumpkin pie or cinnamon roll. Seriously so good! I tell ya, those folks over at the Sprinkles company know what they're doing.

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

3 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

milk-- add in 1 teaspoon increments to your desired consistency

Directions:

Using your electric mixer, beat cream cheese, unsalted butter, salt, and cinnamon on medium low speed until smooth and creamy (approximately 2 or 3 minutes). Reduce speed to low and gradually add the confectioners' sugar, mixing until incorporated. Add the vanilla; beat just until mixed. Do not over-beat or the frosting will incorporate too much air. It should be creamy and dense like ice cream. Add milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, if frosting is not of a spreadable consistency.

Piping Tip:

More often than not I’m too lazy to get out all of my baking gear so I use Ziplock baggies to pipe frosting. I make cut in one of the corners (about 1/2 inch off) and insert my tip so it’s a snug fit. Then I fill the bag up with frosting and pipe away. Super easy and super lazy, I know!

Enjoy! This frosting is DIVINE and just in time for the holidays.

{free printables} Trick or Treat Halloween Party

2011-10-10T14:20:00.000-07:00

I've got everything you need to throw one spooktacular Halloween party! This printable includes: 5" Happy Halloween Circular Image, "Eat, Drink & Be Scary" Print, an assortment of Spooky Apothecary Jar Labels, "Trick or Treat" Banner, Food Labels, Fill-in Invites, and 2" Cupcake Toppers/Party Circles.

I wish I was a girl of more clever words, but lets be honest I'm tired today and the kids are about to wake up from their nap. So it is what it is. Enjoy! :)

To download the FREE printables go HERE

To download the FREE invitations go HERE

{recipe} Coffee/Crumb Cake

2011-10-03T13:21:00.000-07:00

Not sure what you'd call this cake... coffee cake or crumb cake? Whatever you call-- call it DELISH! The cake is incredibly moist and the crumb topping is beyond tasty and crumbly. I could have eaten the topping raw without the cake and been satisfied.

COFFEE/CRUMB CAKE RECIPE

CRUMB TOPPING

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/4 cups sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 teaspoon almond extract

CAKE BATTER

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup sour cream

2 cups all purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

Position the oven rack in the center and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease your cake pan and dust with flour. Set aside.

Make the Crumb: In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt and cinnamon. Melt the butter and stir in the vanilla and almond extract. Gradually drizzle the melted butter mixture into the flour mixture while continuously and gently tossing with a fork. Continue to toss until all the butter is absorbed and you have a uniformly moistened crumb mixture. If texture of crumb is too small, gently squeeze small clumps together to make large crumbs ranging in size from that of a pea to that of a grape. Set aside while you make the cake batter.

Make the Batter: In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together with an electric mixer on high speed until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each one is added. Beat in the vanilla and sour cream, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula as needed. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt and baking powder. Add flour mixture to the sour cream mixture and beat on low or stir with a large spoon until evenly combined.

Assembling & Cooking:

Turn the batter into the prepared pan(s) and spread evenly. Sprinkle the crumb mixture over the batter with your fingers, covering the batter evenly and completely. Bake 8-inch rounds for 20-25 minutes, or a 9- by 13-inch pan for 30-35 minutes, or a 9- or 10-inch tube pan for 35-40 minutes. Cake is done when a wooden pick or cake tester inserted near the center comes out clean, and the sides of the cake are golden and slightly pulling away from the edge of the pan. Remove from the oven and let the cake cool in its pan(s) set on a wire rack. Carefully transfer the cake, crumb side up, onto a serving plate. Dust with confectioners' sugar, if desired.

My cake was baked in one 9 inch Springform pan and I had to cook it significantly longer than expected. This turned out delicious and I found myself going back for seconds, thirds and even forths. An extremely dangerous cake for someone who is on a diet and trying to lose their last bit of post baby weight. So in order to NOT eat it all box them up and deliver some slices to your neighbors. Spread the calories and the love!

Download the circular cake box slice template HERE

{recipe & free printable} Canning Homemade Salsa & Free Printable

2011-09-28T14:40:00.000-07:00

We had a bushel of fresh tomatoes sitting on our counter for a few days and I needed to use them QUICK! So... I decided to make and can some fresh salsa. I did some research online and canning acidic items can be tricky. From what I've read you really need to make sure you add enough lemon/lime juice or vinegar to counteract the tomatoes acidity and prevent it from harboring botulism. So... here we go...

Items needed (for 1 batch): I made roughly 7 batches and it yielded in 5 jars for canning, plus a little bowl full for immediate consumption.

3 Fresh/Ripe Tomatoes, roughly chopped

1/2 White Onion, roughly chopped

1/2 Bunch of Cilantro

3 Chili Peppers (I prefer to use jarred peppers, because then I can use roughly 1 teaspoon of juice from the jar)

1 1/2 Teaspoons Lime Juice

Garlic Salt (to taste--but I typically use 1/2 Tablespoon)

*This salsa is a bit spicy so if you have a milder taste omit one of the chili peppers and cut down the amount of chili pepper juice you use from the jar.

To make pico de gallo I would just cut all of the ingredients into like sized bite pieces and mix together, but to make the salsa below I put everything into my food processor and pureed it until smooth. I wasn't sure it was going to turn out, but low and behold it tasted great!

Now onto the canning part...because the recipe is raw you will need to process it in the water bath longer than if you had cooked the salsa over the stove top first. Ladle the salsa into the sterilized jars leaving some space on the top. Cover with your lids and place your jars into the water. Make sure there is roughly 1-2 inches of water covering the top of the jars once the basket is submerged.

Next, taking into consideration where you live and how high of an altitude you reside in will determine how long you process your jars in boiling water. We live in zone 2 according to the lid of the canner so once the red needle reached the green area on zone 2 I began my timer for processing. I processed this salsa for 75 minutes because the ingredients were raw going into the jars.

Once processed, take them out and let them cool before attaching any labels. Check the lids for air tightness. Push the middle of the lid and if it pops back they haven't processed long enough. Make sure you store in a neutral environment-- not too cold, not too hot, not too sunny...etc. I put my jars in the pantry.

Yum! It was pretty darn good if I do say so myself. Next time we'll heat the salsa up in the microwave, add some grated cheddar cheese and eat it with chips. Enjoy, we sure did!
Oh and of course you need a printable label to go along with your jars of salsa.

Download FREE Printable HERE

{gift} Newborn Name Onesies

2011-09-27T12:35:00.000-07:00

I know I've been M.I.A. this past little while-- I apologize. We went on vacation and I had a hard time coming back and getting into the swing of things. Anyway, could you die over the tininess of these onesies? I could! It almost makes me want another one right now. Almost! My cousin is due with twins in November so I decided to make her some hospital name onesies. She has chosen to name the twins after some very special family members-- Ruth & Jack. Darling names I must say. I wasn't too thrilled with how they turned out, but then decided over time I liked the distressed look. The vintage look happens when you iron on the reversed image twice, once after it has already cooled down. If you're not a fan of the distressed look don't make the same mistake I did and iron it too much! ;)

Sadly, by the time I got around to posting this my cousin has lost one of her babies. Such sad and awful news to hear. I pray that the remainder of her pregnancy goes smoothly and all is well in the end.

You can email me through my Etsy site for custom name printables for iron-ons or stickers. The cost-- $3.50/custom name printable.

STAY TUNED-- I have some fun FREE HALLOWEEN PRINTABLES coming soon. Complete with banner, cupcake toppers, apothecary jar labels, and tented food card labels!

{etsy} New Customizable Printable Parties Uploaded

2011-09-02T16:41:00.000-07:00

PIRATE PARTY PRINTABLES

AARRRGH! I've been busy making some fun new party printables for my Etsy site. Hope ya'll don't mind that I've neglected the blog for a bit. Below you will find my newest additions.

Pirate Party Printables Include: Banner, Invitation, Food Labels, 2" Party Circles/Cupcake Toppers, Straw Flags, Cupcake Wrappers, Pirate Hat Cut-Out, Pirate Eye Patch Cut-Out, "Pirate Loot" Party Favor Tags, Wind Sail Cut-Outs, "Sea Water" Water Bottle Labels, Treasure Hunt Clue Cards and "Pirates Only" Sign.

DRAGON--CASTLE--KNIGHT PARTY PRINTABLES

Then I created these fun castle printables for a sweet lady that contacted me about doing custom orders.

Castle Party Printables Include: Invitations, Thank You Cards, 2" Cupcake Toppers/Party Circles, Banner, Food Labels, "Thank You" Party Favor Tags (in 2 different colors), "Dragon Spit" Water Bottle Labels, Straw Flags/Tags, Welcome Sign, Directional Signage and Cupcake Wrappers.

So go on over and get a better view of my newest printables on Etsy. Enjoy.

{free printables} Happy 30th Birthday to me...

2011-08-22T14:41:00.000-07:00

I can no longer say I'm in my 20's! I turned the DIRTY THIRTY this past Sunday and boy did I get spoiled. My dear hubby knows me all too well. I guess he should since we've been together 9 years now, but he never ceases to amaze me. We devoured an assortment of delicious cupcakes from our local Cake Fetish Bake shop-- my fave was the German chocolate with a pecan coconut filling. YUM! My friend swears by the lemon cupcake, but to each their own. I say, "bring on the chocolate!"

Then my sweet husband gave me case for the iPad and surprised me with a cooking class for the two of us this coming Saturday up in Santa Fe. Luckily my mom will be in town and will take the kiddos so we can have the day to play.

On the menu-- green chile scalloped potatoes and vanilla flan. I.Can.Not.Wait.

Of course, I can't leave you empty handed. Why should I be the only one having fun? Since I'm feeling the love, I've created an itty bitty birthday package just for you. Included in this package are 6 drink flags, 6 party circles/cupcake toppers and single birthday present gift tag. Enjoy. Download HERE

{gift} Baby Memory Book

2011-08-18T13:42:00.000-07:00

READERS-- I need your help!
About a month ago my cousin took pictures of our family and in exchange I made her a baby memory book. The book is approximately 120 unique pages. I originally made this book with my own children in mind and since then I have made almost 12 for friends/family. I was inspired by a baby memory book I found on Etsy, but realized that 50 pages for $60 was a bit much for my budget. After jumping in head first into designing a memory book I quickly realized the previous price stated was probably a good deal, but I was well on my way into the design. Anyway, I put this out there because I've had many emails requesting I sale these baby books and I'm curious how much would you pay for a color printed book of 120 pages? The raw materials cost is roughly $60 (this includes the chipboard, paper, printing 60 colored pages front and back, metal spiral to bind, and plastic pouches for keepsake pages). I'm trying to get an idea of how much I should sale these books on Etsy, if I decide to do so...

Another idea I had was to sale the PDF of these prints and then the buyer could print them out as many times as they want. So my next question is... how much would you pay for the PDF printables of 120 uniquely designed pages? I want to be fair with costs, but I also want to make it worth my while...

{recipe} Homemade Arrabbiata Marinara Sauce

2011-08-15T13:20:00.000-07:00

Have you ever tasted Pasta Arrabbiata from Cheesecake Factory? If not, you need to! However, with this marinara recipe you don't even need to go to the restaurant to enjoy it. "Arrabbiata" means "angry" in Italian and with the help of crushed red pepper flakes this pasta sauce can be as angry/spicy as your heart desires. I typically make large batches of this recipe and keep them frozen in my garage freezer. We use this sauce with multiple dishes: basic pasta with marinara, lasagna, manicotti, chicken parmesan...etc. It's very versatile and always good to have on hand.

{I multiplied the recipe 4 times to get the amount of sauce above}

So let's get to it! Below are the ingredients needed for a single batch of this sauce. Needed: olive oil, tomato sauce, Italian flavored stewed tomatoes, tomato paste, green bell pepper, onion, garlic, Lawry's garlic salt, crushed red pepper flakes, kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper, Italian seasoning, sugar, bay leaves, spaghetti packet, fresh basil, fresh oregano

{not pictured above, but definitely needed-- 1 more can of tomato sauce and stewed tomatoes, sugar, bay leaves, spaghetti seasoning packet, fresh basil & kosher salt}

First cut up your aromatics. Cut the onion and bell pepper into one inch pieces and mince an entire bulb of garlic. Mince a tablespoon of each basil and oregano and set aside. Heat up the olive oil in a heavy bottom pan and saute the onion, bell pepper and garlic with a healthy pinch of kosher salt and pepper until translucent.

Once the peppers and onions have cooked down add an entire small can of tomato paste and stir around to incorporate. Add two cans of stewed tomatoes and two cans of tomato sauce with two cans of water and let simmer for 10-12 minutes.

Now, lets add our seasonings! This is where your judgement comes in. I like my pasta with a hint of heat so I add one teaspoon of crushed red peppers, but you can omit it all together if you have a picky eater on your hands. Add 2 bay leaves, 1 teaspoon Italian seasonings, 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic salt, tablespoon of fresh basil & a tablespoon of fresh oregano, 1 spaghetti seasoning packet and salt and pepper to taste.

{McCormicks spaghetti seasoning packet is my all time fave, but if you have your own fave go with that}

After your pot of marinara sauce has simmered for yet another 15-20 minutes, add 3-4 tablespoons of sugar to your mixture. This cuts through the acidity of your tomatoes and gives the sauce a nice rounded flavor. Believe me... you'll want to add the sugar! I forgot to add it once and it changed the flavor entirely.

After the sauce is done simmering, let it cool down and ladle into air-tight freezer containers. Make sure when filling your containers to NOT fill all the way to the top. You must leave 3/4 inch to allow the pasta sauce to expand when it freezes. I've ruined many containers because I've forgotten this step.

Our favorite way to eat this marinara sauce is with rigatoni and cooked/slice Colosimo's Hot Italian sausages. If you haven't tried Colosimo's sausage, you're missing out. Since we've moved to NM we haven't been able to find this sausage here. We've had to either order them online and pay a fortune to have them shipped or stock up while we're back in Utah-- it's that good! Alright, happy marinara sauce making!

{free printables} Back to School

2011-08-10T14:27:00.000-07:00

My kiddlets aren't old enough for school yet, but I can't wait to use these printables I created when they are. I remember the first day of school was full of nerves, anxiousness and a bit of excitement. Who's going to be in my class? Will I get lost? Is my teacher going to be strict? Well, hopefully these printables will help alleviate some of those nerves. Nothing does the trick like a mom's note attached to their back pack wishing them good luck.

{note cards from mommy & daddy-- inspired by Tiny Prints}

{book plates tags}

{note cards to write teachers a little note}

{good luck banner}

AGAIN... Scrid is giving me all sorts of problems. I'm losing information on my document when I upload it with them. Maybe it's time to find another site to host my printables... we'll see. Am I the only one with this issue? Anyway, if you would like these printables, please email me at kirstenfuller{at}gmail{dot}com and I will hand 'em on over!

Chore Sticks Correction

2011-08-08T11:58:00.000-07:00

So apparently I can't spell "Laundry" more than once on my chore sticks printable. :) Some sweet lady noticed my mistake over on Whatever Dee Dee Wants blog so I thought I should make the change and provide the correction to you.

To download the first page with the correction go HERE
or to download page 15 with it's correction to the word "seal" to "sill" go HERE

Sorry for the inconvenience. Man I really need an editor to double check my work here. :)

{free printable} Color Coded Chore Sticks

2011-08-02T08:55:00.001-07:00

If you haven't heard of WHATEVER DEE DEE WANTS than you really should head on over to check it out. Today I'm a guest on Dianna's "terrific Tuesdays" with my Color Coded Chore Sticks, but she has a plethora of children activities and sewing projects to chose from.

Now, that's an array of chores if I do say so myself.
Chores have never looked so beautiful before. ;)

DOWNLOAD COLOR CODED CHORE STICKS HERE
And don't forget to check out WHATEVER DEE DEE WANTS for the my TUTORIAL.
See you over there!

{free printables} Beach Party

2011-07-18T12:45:00.000-07:00

I am LOVING the warm weather outside and I wished we lived closer to the beach! But... who says you have to live near the ocean to enjoy a beachy party?! Jillian from Catch My Party came to me and asked if I could create something for her readers and these are what I came up with.

Banner-- print as many as pages as you want and assemble to your desired length.

Bottle labels-- use on water, glass soda bottles, juice boxes or capri suns.

Party Circles/Cupcake Toppers

Cupcake Wrappers

Drink Tags/Straw Flags

Food Label Tented Cards

You may DOWNLOAD THEM HERE or over at Catch My party, but please go on over to CATCH MY PARTY and check out Jillian's fantastically fun and jammed packed site. She's got everything you need to inspire your next party. Seriously, I could get lost in her site for hours-- so fun!

I've also made these large party circles and party sign available to my personal readers. To download those items go HERE.

{free printables} Lemonade & Sweets Stand

2011-07-13T13:36:00.000-07:00

While visiting my family in Utah this last month I saw a zillion lemonade stands and I got to thinking how cute it would be to have printables for just that. Afterwards I went home and started googling it and discovered I'm not the only one that has thought of this. So I started making these printables and then I sat on them for almost a month because I wanted to take pictures of them in use. During that time, more lemonade stand printables became available online, but oh well... I still think mine are super cute and run with the best of them. :)

I had every intention of putting some yellow jelly beans in these cupcake wrappers, but when I went to the cupboard to get them, to my surprise they had disappeared. Hmmmm... I thought my husband said he was on a diet? ;)

The LEMONADE/SWEET STAND printables include: road sign with arrows, tented food labels (some with wording some without), lemonade banner, price toppers/stickers, drink tags and 3 coordinating digital papers.

Attach this sign to a yard stick with the arrow pointing the correct direction to drive in the traffic. To add a little frill you can always add some tule or ribbon on the stick.

Place these tented cards next to all of your homemade baked goods. Also you could cut the top piece off and stick them directly on your baked packaged goods.

"LEMONADE" banner-- I envision this strung together with yellow tule to give a bit of a frilly feminine touch.

Use these digital papers to make paper chains, paper flowers, and/or paper pinwheels to dress up your stand. Possibilities are endless.


Tape these price toppers to a lollipop stick and place in whatever sweetness you bake up. Also, these drink flags will make just the perfect touch to your delicious and refreshing lemonade.

I wish I had gotten these out sooner, but hey we still have close to 6 weeks left of summer and there are still a plethora of hot days calling for our kidlets to get out there and sell refreshing lemonade and make a buck or two in the meantime.

EMAIL ME FOR THE PDF-- Scribd is acting weird right now!
kirstenfuller{at}gmail{dot}com

{real party} My Little "Bug's" First Birthday Party!

2011-07-05T14:11:00.000-07:00

I can't believe my baby is one! This last year has been a whirlwind and I wish I could slow time down. Nevertheless, if time were at a halt then we would have no birthdays to celebrate so I guess I'm okay with it. :) For Graham's first birthday I chose to use the theme of "bugs and insects." I made all of the printables myself and had them printed at my local print shop-- I think they turned out darling. I will be uploading them to Etsy soon for those interested in purchasing.

The food table

The party favor, paper ware and water table

Fabric bug banner

The invite-- I used a scallop punch to make the bug bites.

I had party goers fill out notes for Graham to open/read on his 18th birthday. I plan to put them into his time capsule/chest with other significant things from his first year of life.

Felt crown by Two Little Bluebirds

The cake-- bug topper was purchased at Joann's Fabrics store.

Desserts

Printable Banner by Embellish

bugs were everywhere!

Party goers got to take home bug glasses, insect nets and ladybug or bee masks.

Delicious food bought at Costco. LOVE that place.

Printable banner by Embellish

birthday boy's older brother

bug masks

Birthday Boy!

The bug glasses were a huge hit. Maybe not with my little bug, but all the other little bugs loved them.

My grandfather filling out his note to Graham

On the bug hunt with his insect net

Family photo at the end of the party

Happy Birthday Graham! Just LOVE you!

*party side note: I had intentions to make the food more "bug and insect" related, but ran out of time. It would have been cute to have chocolate pudding cups with crushed oreos and gummy bugs sticking out of the top or to make beetle bite cookies. The possibilities are endless with a bug themed party. So fun!

{free printables} Fourth of July BBQ

2011-06-22T20:33:00.000-07:00

I love love LOVE celebrating the fourth of July. I love the barbeques. I love the family gatherings. I love the fireworks. So...that is just what these printables encompass.

{drink flags, circular table tags, sparkler holders, cupcake wrappers & paper cones}

{invitations & BBQ sign}

{tented food cards & cupcake toppers/party circles}

{"freedom" banner}

I realize the printables appear to have a tint of pink to them, but they are really white and red striped. Happy Fourth of July. Hope your BBQs are full of good food, good company and fun fireworks!
DOWNLOAD FOURTH OF JULY PRINTABLE HERE!

{free printables} Happy Father's Day

2011-06-14T21:50:00.000-07:00

I wanted to get these printables uploaded awhile ago, but with sick kids and visiting family it got put off. However, with Father's day quickly approaching this weekend it's better late than never (seems to be my motto these days).

The printable includes: Happy Father's Day Banner, square cupcake toppers/party tags, i heart daddy card, ties and bow tie tags.

Use the bowties and ties on gifts as the tags or attach elastic strings to allow all the children to dress as dad for the day.

I wish I was able to print these out and take a picture of them in action, but I'm running out of time so it is what it is (apparently my other motto). *sigh*

DOWNLOAD PRINTABLES HERE!

Also, if you're looking for gift ideas I've pulled together some quick DIY ideas from the web-- hope this helps a bit.

{photo via Bakerella}

{photo via Paper Crave}

{photo via The Indigo Bunting}

Happy Father's Day to all of those great DADS out there!

{giveaway contest} Bug Printables-- CLOSED!

2011-06-05T15:16:00.000-07:00

I'm in LOVE with these bug prints! I was inspired to make these prints from the fabric I chose to make my son's birthday banner. The bright colors are so fun. Too often, when looking for bug printed stuff you will find loads of ladybugs, butterflies and/or bees, but I wanted something different. I think this fabric and the wall prints would make a DARLING nursery, playroom or young child's bedroom. Even if you don't have kids at home, this would make a cute gift!

So... I'm giving these prints away to one lucky commenter!

To enter the giveaway contest please leave a comment (with your email address) and let me know what type of party printables you wish I would make available on this site. Winner will be chosen at random with a number generator. Who knows maybe I will get some inspiration from your comments and your wish will be granted. :)

~~Contest will close at midnight on Sunday, June 12th~~
CONTEST CLOSED

WINNERS-- all three commenters received the printables. THANK YOU ladies!

Interested in purchasing these prints, visit my ETSY site.

{ZOINKS-- I've got a new etsy upload} Scooby Dooby Doo Mystery Machine Party Printables

2011-06-04T23:59:00.000-07:00

I had so much fun making these printables for my cousin's little girl's 7th birthday. It took me back to my childhood. I LOVED Scooby Doo.

The printables include: invitation, banner, cupcake wrappers, cupcake toppers/party circles, drink flags, food tents/labels, thank you favor tags, welcome sign and clue cards for the mystery aspect of the party.

If you know someone that is in need of a little Scooby Doo pick me up send them on over to my ETSY site.

As Scooby would say, "Rhanks for stopping by!"

{free printable & LDS Church Lesson Help} Lesson 34-- Developing our Talents

2011-06-03T13:23:00.000-07:00

Part of my duty in my religion is to help teach the lessons to the ladies at church. When I do teach I like to make it visual in some small way. For those of you out there that are LDS and can find this helpful for your lessons you can find the DOWNLOAD HERE . LDS or not, these 6 steps to developing our talents go for anyone out there and can be useful in all walks of life.

I would love to hear from you-- what are some of your talents you feel others benefit from?

{free printables} Happy Memorial Day

2011-05-29T22:18:00.000-07:00

We've been very busy with fun family visitors this past week so this blog has taken a back seat. Better late than never, though. This printable includes: party circles/cupcake toppers, drink flags and a star banner.

Print the banner page multiple times to determine the length you want. Hope your Memorial Days are filled with relaxation and family time. Enjoy.

Download the printable HERE

{recipe & free printable} Blueberry Blackberry Lime Jam

2011-05-24T09:18:00.000-07:00

WOW! I'm not usually a lover of jam, but this jam gave me jelly legs!

Blueberry Blackberry Lime Jam

Yields: about 6 half-pints

3 Cups blueberries
1.5 Cups blackberries
1 Tablespoon grated lime peel
1/3 Cup lime juice
5 Cups sugar
1 package powdered pectin

Crush the blueberries and blackberries one layer at a time. Combine crushed berries and powdered pectin in a large sauce pot. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Add sugar, stirring until dissolved. Stir in grated lime peel and lime juice. Return to a rolling boil. Boil hard 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim foam if necessary. Ladle hot jam into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Adjust two-piece caps. Process 15 minutes in a boiling-water canner.

Here's the gist of canning--

Of course I can't leave you without a FREE PRINTABLE. If you plan on making this jam you may download specific jam labels HERE. Or you can download generic jam labels HERE.

{free printable} New Bachelorette Bingo Cards

2011-05-23T08:57:00.000-07:00

For whatever reason some of you have been having difficulties downloading and printing the bachelorette bingo cards. I hope this new download helps. There are a couple of ways to go about downloading and printing the cards. First is to download from HERE. Second is to right click the image below and print. These new cards are actually better, and allow for infinite players. Hand your guests their bingo cards with a pair of scissors and a glue stick and they each make their own unique bingo cards. Guests can omit certain sayings/actions and add in their own as well.

Hope this helps ladies. Sorry it's taken awhile to get this done. We were out camping with the family and I'm sure you can all agree family takes precedence :) For those of you having a big hoopla bachelorette party, I would love love LOVE to see your pictures. Happy bachelorette partying tonight-- it looks like it's going to be a good season.

You can download your new bingo cards HERE.

{free printables} ABC Bachelorette Premiere Party Printables

2011-05-19T07:24:00.000-07:00

Do you watch ABC's Bachelor/Bachelorette? I do. Although, I would have never thought about throwing a party with printables until I received an email requesting it. It's the silliest printable I've ever made, but it was FUN!

Printable package includes:

25 Cupcake Toppers/Party Circles (with each guy's face and name on it)
Welcome sign (with picture of Chris Harrison)
Banner with words, "who will she pick?"
Picture of bachelorette herself with the words, "will Ashley find love?"
10 unique BINGO cards (with common phrases and actions to identify)

**Please keep in mind the actual pictures of the guys and Ashley were taken from the ABC website so the quality is not the greatest, but I think it will print up alright. Sorry ladies. I wish I had their photos in high resolution, but alas I'm not sure ABC network would give those out. ;)

Hope you enjoy these fun printables! Download HERE.

{tutorial} Super Hero Shirts with Velcro Capes

2011-05-17T13:35:00.000-07:00

Well, that's the cutest superhero I've ever seen if I do say so myself! These superhero shirts with velcro capes are the simplest sewing project-- even the most beginner sewer can manage these. Promise. The only sewing required is to attach four pieces of velcro and you could even do that by hand stitching if you don't have a machine.

Needed:

2 shirts in coordinating colors (I used a striped for the actual shirt and a solid for the cape)
Freezer Paper
Fabric Paint
Exacto Knife
Iron
Sponge Brushes
Scissors
Velcro & Sewing Machine (or needle and thread)
Oh and some sort of pattern from the computer. If you know any little boys with names starting in "M" or "G" you are welcome to download my patterns HERE. OR if you need an "L" you can download it HERE. (The "L" is for our little cousin we'll see in a few days)

First-- print your patterns onto the paper side of the freezer paper. I typically print on the fast draft mode in order to not waste ink. A clear print out is not necessary because you'll just be cutting and painting over it anyways.

Tip: To print onto the freezer paper I cut it to the same size as a piece of paper and lightly tape the edges down to the piece of paper so it will feed through the printer easily. MAKE SURE TO TAPE THE WAXY SIDE DOWN AGAINST THE PRINTER PAPER.

Next, with your exacto knife cut your image out.

Make sure to save all of those little pieces so you can put it back together on the shirt. You'll see-- keep reading.

After you've cut your image out, place the freezer paper waxy side down against the shirt and iron in place, making sure to iron the edges down nicely so the paint won't bleed through.

TIP: Place a piece of paper in between the shirt layers so the paint won't bleed through onto the back side!

Now, onto your fabric paint. I use the tulip brand and I've had this bottle laying around for a while so a little goes a long way. If you apply too much it will be gloppy and nobody wants a gloppy super hero outfit.

Using your sponge brushes paint your shirts. You may need to put a couple of coats, especially if you're using white paint on a darker shirt.

On the cape shirts I used the reversed images that were left over from the cutout freezer paper.

Now, go to the park with your kidlets because it takes a couple of hours to dry completely.

Once the paint is dry, remove all of the freezer paper. You may have to use your exacto knife to help pry some of those smaller areas off.

After you've removed all of the freezer paper you'll want to heat set them so they wash up nicely. Place a thin towel on top of the shirts and iron the dried paint. This will make the white paint set up and sort of puff up a tad bit. I haven't seen it do that with any other colors but white.

Onto the sewing part... pin your fuzzy velcro on the backside of the shirts just below the shoulder seam.

Cut your cape out following the seams on the back of your solid (cape) shirt. I cut the neck line out, but left the bottom seam intact. My plan was to serge the raw edges, but after it was cut I liked the look of it, so I left it.

Once all velcro pieces are sewn on it's done!

This little superhero is ready to save the world one sweet baby giggle at a time!

**As a safety precaution, don't forget to remove the cape when the child is not in your sight. :)

Coming soon...

2011-05-16T12:15:00.000-07:00

My son's first birthday is just around the corner and I've been creating an entire BUG/INSECT party printable. I plan to make it available to all who want it over on my Etsy site. Stay tuned as I add more bug party printables and party details.

{free printable} "Hello New Neighbor" Tags

2011-05-13T15:54:00.000-07:00

Besides the packing and unpacking aspect of moving I HATE not knowing my neighbors. I shouldn't complain too much-- my husband's company moved us entirely and I practically sat back picking at my split ends. Anywho, I grew up in a town where you knew EVERYONE on your street and I LOVED it! So when we moved to New Mexico from Utah and into our new house I was eager to get out and meet everyone.

So that brings me to the point of this post. Have you moved lately or do you know someone who has? Help make them feel welcome to the neighborhood with some homemade baked goods and these FREE PRINTABLE TAGS.

A couple of days after we moved in I made cookies and went around to all of the neighbors in our cul-de-sac to introduce ourselves. You would have thought we were Mother Theresa's best friends the way we were received. It went over rather well! In fact, one of our neighbors did an Easter egg hunt in our front yard for our boys in return as a nice gesture. It didn't take long for us to feel welcome. We've got some of the friendliest people living around us.

Obviously the printables are not identical to the ones used in the photos, but the idea is still the same. You may download the tags HERE

New Look!

2011-05-11T21:18:00.000-07:00

Bare with me while I change things up around here. I'm no blogger html expert so changing this has been a PAIN IN THE BUTT! Heaven help me. So what do you think? Is this new look a keeper or do you like the older more simplified pink look?

{free printables & tutorial} Garden Herb Sticks

2011-05-09T21:21:00.000-07:00

I've had these wooden craft sticks laying around for quite sometime waiting for them to inspire me. This past week I finally decided to put them to use by making garden herb planter sticks.

{Please ignore my stubby thumbs. I was once told by a little girl at a camp I was working at that they were a Jewish trait called, "Oshinazi Thumbs." Not sure if I should believe her. Whether they're Jewish or not, they're stubby. I've grown to like them.}

Enough about my thumbs. Onto the sticks! Sometimes I get a little ambitious and pot too many herbs to keep track of. I find it difficult to tell the difference between thyme and oregano, so I created these HERB PRINTABLES to give me a hand. It also adds some color to your potted herbs. Living in New Mexico, the landscape here is mostly tints of browns so anything that adds a punch of color I'm all about. PLUS, if you have unique herbs planted in your garden those are sometimes hard to pick out.

First download, print and cut out the FREE printables I provided HERE.

Then, I took a corner rounder because the popsicle sticks I found at my local craft store had rounded square tops to them.

Next, Mod Podged the square tops of the popsicle sticks, adhere the herb label onto the wooden sticks and let them dry for a couple of hours.

Because no two popsicle sticks are ever alike the paper cutouts overhung so I took a nail file and just filed away until the labels fit perfectly.

Now, take an antiquing ink pad and rubbed the sticks back and forth on the edges. I then used a paper towel to give the front face of the label a bit of antique look and the rest of the stick so it matched with the top.

After you're done antiquing, Mod Podge the entire stick making sure to get the sides and corners. This Mod Podge layer helps protect the paper and stick from the outside elements.

Now let them dry before putting them into your plants.

I loved how they turned out and can't wait to make labels for my vegetables plants.

Download the HERB LABEL PRINTABLE HERE!

{free printables} Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-03T12:49:00.000-07:00

I felt kind of funny creating these Mother's Day printables. No mom wants to decorate for her own holiday, but sometimes our husbands or significant others need a little help. So why not print these out, hand 'em over with the scissors to your husband or kids and see what they come up with? I feel it's all the more endearing when my husband and kids make something with their own two hands for me.

Included in the Mother's Day/Grandmother's Day printable:

Bookmarks for Mom & Grandmom
Coloring page for Mom & Grandmom (to be done by the kiddos or grandkiddos)
Happy Mother's Day card (fits inside 5x7 inch envelope)
Mother's Day party circles/cupcake toppers/present tags
Bookplates
Scalloped flower tag for Mom & Grandmom
Mother's Day cheat sheet (to be given by the hubby and filled out by Mom)

Our Grandmother coloring pages are already covered in crayon handprints and scribbles galore.

To make this scalloped flower tag just cut out the printable, tape onto a wooden dowel/stick and tie some colorful ribbon around it. Super easy.

On the Grandma coloring page I left a little room at the bottom to trace the kids' hands. What Grandma doesn't want their grandbabies' handprints immortalized forever?

This printable is pretty versatile. Not only could you use the bookplates for just about any occasion, you can also piece together the printables any way you like. It's sort of a MIX and MATCH. Take what you want. Don't take what you don't want. :)

To download the MOTHER'S DAY PRINTABLE CLICK HERE!

Happy Mother's Day!

Graduation Party Printables (now available on Etsy)

2011-05-02T10:26:00.000-07:00

Are you you excited that your son or daughter has FINALLY graduated, but are dreading the whole party throwing aspect? Well, don't fret anymore! (I sound like someone from an infomercial, don't I?) Anyway, if you are, head on over to my Etsy site and take a look at this CUSTOMIZABLE GRADUATION PARTY PRINTABLE PACKAGE (that's a lot of P's).

The party printable package comes with:

Cupcake Wrappers

Tented cards/Food Labels

Cupcake Toppers/Party Circles

Customized Invitation

"CONGRATULATIONS" Banner

and

Drink Flags

If green and yellow aren't your school colors, go ahead a pick 2 from the chart below and customize. If you don't see the colors you want we can customize to any color your heart desires.

I feel it's priced fairly cheap at $15, but for the first 2 people that email me at kirstenfuller(at)gmail(dot)com and would like to order them will get them at a measly $8 (okay so now I REALLY do sound like an infomercial. All I need to say now is that I'll throw in another party printable package if you email within the next 5 minutes)

If you're interested in these Graduation Printables, click HERE! :)

{giveaway winner} Mother's Day Banner

2011-04-29T12:10:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Mel, with comment number 2, and thanks to all of you for participating. I promise my future giveaways will only get better.

In Mel's comment, she said:

My brother is getting married on Saturday (5/7) so Ill be recovering on Mother's Day! But the good news is that my mom will be in town for the wedding so I'll get to see her! :)

Mel-- I will hurry and get that in the mail so you can use it next Sunday. And, to all of you Moms out there-- Happy Early Mother's Day!

{free printables & tutorial} Cinco de Mayo Fiesta

2011-04-27T13:45:00.000-07:00

I know not everyone celebrates Cinco de Mayo, but for those of us who do here are some FREE FIESTA printables.

FIESTA Printable includes: banner, tented cards, thank you favor tags, party circles/cupcake toppers, a yard sign and my favorite, the Spanish name tag!

So because the name tags are my fave I thought I would do a quick tutorial. It's pretty basic and most of you won't need the lesson, but it was fun to do, nonetheless. First, I printed out the name tags at home from my computer. Then I trimmed off the ends of the paper so the 3 inch circle cutter could be centered on the circles to cut.

Then, I cut the tags out...

...and ran them through my sticker maker. If anyone you haven't seen these xyron machines they are the BEST! You can buy refills for them that laminate as well. So worth the money, if you ask me.

After they have been stick-ti-fied they're ready to go.

The stickiness of the machine really does a good job. This sticker will stay in place all party long, but if you're worried about it falling off you could always print the name tags on full sheet sized label paper and cut them out directly from that. Or you could attach them with double-sided sticky tape or safety pins.

Happy Cinco de Mayo Amigos!

You may download the FREE FIESTA PRINTABLE HERE!

{Giveaway} Happy Mother's Day Banner-- CLOSED

2011-04-25T20:19:00.000-07:00

I posted this banner last year for Mother's day, but it was long before I was really into the whole crafting blog thing so I'll use it again. Don't worry-- I have some new Mother's Day printables coming your way real soon. Check back soon!

So in honor of all of those fabulous Moms out there, I'm going to give this banner away (printed, cut and strung together with twine) to one reader--I know, I know it's not a new blender, but hey it's FREE and for one reader and they won't have to do the work. The winner will be chosen at random using one of those online random number picker thingy-ma-dingers. All you have to do is leave a comment on this post telling me how you're going to celebrate Mother's Day! Are you going to the spa? Are you laying in bed all day eating bon bons? Whatever it is, let me know. Don't forget to leave your email address so I can contact you if you're the winner.

For all of those non-winning contest mothers, you may still download your own copy HERE. :( I wish I could make a bunch and send them out to everyone, but if I did that you may be forced to celebrate Mother's Day in August.

GIVEAWAY CLOSED!

{tutorial} Upside-Down Hanging Tomato Plant

2011-04-22T12:55:00.000-07:00

Have you seen these? They're ingenious!

I love the idea of an upside down hanging plant. I've been wanting to do this for awhile and bought the plants to do so about a week ago and then FORGOT completely about them and they died. So... while my mother-in-law was in town I decided to use her gardening expertise and hunker down and get 'er done!

Needed:

Hanging basket and mossy-like insert
Perlite
Potting soil
Plant food
Tomato plant yielding medium sized fruit
2 Basil plants (or any other herb you desire)
Shovel, hose, bucket, scissors or a knife & gloves
sunlight, water, love, patience, perseverance...yada yada yada

Okay, so first you'll need to take your handy scissors, knife or sharp edged shovel and make a slit in the bottom of the mossy-like insert.

Next, ever so kindly shove your tomato plant through the slit, plant-head first.

Now, I'm NOT and let me emphasize NOT like three more times...NOT NOT NOT an expert in gardening and have always killed my plants. Keep the kids alive first, then the dogs and if the plants are lucky they get fed. So I had to do some research online before I dove into this endeavor and I read that one would need to use Perlite. Perlite is a product that helps the plant retain moisture, which is needed in hanging plants with their roots being more exposed.

I (I should say "we", because my talented mother-in-law was there to hold my hand the entire way) mixed 3 parts potting soil to 1 part Perlite in a bucket before pouring it into the hanging basket.

Doesn't that plant look lonely and bare on top? I think so too! So onto the basil.

I dug out two holes and inserted the basil plants. I was a little worried that the two differing plants would compete for nutrients, but I read online that some plants actually do better together. However, because tomato plants soak up a lot of nutrients from the soil a good plant food is required in order for both to thrive.

All done! Now feed your plants. That's really a reminder to myself. My plant food requires that you mix 1 tablespoon of plant food to 1 gallon water, but make sure you read the directions on any plant food you buy. Oh and also make sure your plant receives approximately 6 hours of sunlight/day.

Ohhh I can't wait for these tomatoes to grow. I wish I could snap my fingers and they'd appear.

Also planted were rosemary, a chili pepper plant...

...more basil, cilantro and oregano!

Pico de gallo and pesto here we come! (I hope)

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{free printable} Potterybarn Inspired Easter Banner

2011-04-19T15:06:00.000-07:00

I set out to make my very own Easter banner after being inspired by this simple and elegant Potterybarn Easter garland.

After cutting out felt Easter shapes I determined it would take too long and I would need to cut out a bajillion to make a garland. Now, if I had a silhouette cutting machine I could have snapped my fingers and 1-2-3 it would have been done for me. Alas, I do not! So, with my scissors in hand I began to cut squares to attach them to.

All you need to make this simple banner is:

scissors
felt(I recommend the wool sturdy stuff not the acrylic, but if that's all you have it will work too)
heat bond (ultra strong)
iron
printer paper (to cut out your shapes)
double folded bias tape (not shown in the picture below)
thread and sewing machine

I personally liked the shapes Potterybarn used so I free handed mine.

I am NOT an artist by any means as you can see. I had to draw and redraw the picture a few times before I got the actual shape I wanted.

First, you adhere the felt to the heat bond with the iron. When using felt you have to iron the heat bond onto it a tad bit longer because the fabric is thicker. After the heat bond is attached, trace and cut out your shapes. Next, cut out enough 5" squares of felt in coordinating colors. Then, pull the paper off of the head bonded felt shapes and iron the shapes onto the squares (make sure the heat bonded sticky side is against the felt square-- we don't want to be attaching any felt Easter shapes to your iron). Afterwards you will need to pin and sew the bias tape onto your felt shaped squares. Seriously that's it! Easy peasy lemon squeezy!

Side note from the peanut gallery (aka my husband): he thinks my hand-cut chicks look like our newfoundland dog, named Tug. He may be right. I did say I'm NOT an artist, didn't I?

Okay so I know we're cutting it close to Easter and some of us may not have time to sew a banner, nor do some of us want to. So... I made this printable that resembles the one I sewed above. I love how simple it is. I found these simple Easter shapes online HERE, but you can download my PDF version HERE if you want to use them to freehand cut your shapes.

So here it is! the Easter banner printable. Two squares print/page and depending on how long you want the banner will determine how many pages you print out.

Happy banner making! Whether it's sewn or printed!

Download the banner HERE

{free printable} Celebrate Earth Day!

2011-04-18T13:15:00.000-07:00

Celebrate Earth Day with this "i heart the Earth & trees" print. I realize that printing something for one day actually goes against what Earth Day is all about so why not print it on recycled paper and leave it up year 'round as a reminder to be kind to Mother Earth? Maybe it will help remind us to recycle or carpool, who knows?

In commemoration of Earth Day (April 22nd) I've also put together some fun activities we could do with our kids. Who says Earth Day can't be Everyday? Enjoy.

1. Make a tin can herb garden

2. Take a "go green checklist" quiz

3. Eat an environmentally friendly meal

4. Have each child plant their own tree/plant

5. Make recycling bins and sort out the trash (hmmm... stay tuned...I think I may have to make some recycling printable labels)

You may download the print HERE

New Kitchen Printables on Etsy!

2011-04-17T14:05:00.000-07:00

New Kitchen Wall Printables added to my Etsy shop!

You can customize the color background to match your kitchen. I'll even trade out the wording, vegetables and fruits if you desire. Go on over and check it out HERE.

{free printables} Easter Basket Scavenger Hunt

2011-04-15T16:00:00.000-07:00

Whether you're hosting an Easter egg hunt at your house or just playing it cool with your own kiddies, these Easter Basket Scavenger Hunt printables will get the job done!

As a child I remember coming down the stairs and searching for my hidden Easter basket, so this printable is my modern day spin off of my parent's tradition.

How fun would it be to wake up Easter morning to discover that the Easter bunny had left you a little note on your door and foot prints leading to something more mysterious? If hosting a party, you could put the door knob sign on your front door with the foot prints leading to your backyard.

I know what you're thinking. Who has time to cut out all of those foot prints? Well... let me tell you it took me 5 minutes to cut 8 prints and they print 4/page so they're not huge. Plus no two prints are alike in real life so no need to be perfectionists with the scissors. I think it's well worth the effort once you see your kids' faces light up. If you're running out of time you could also use a trail of plastic eggs.

Once the children follow the foot prints it will lead to the first clue, then the second clue and so on until they find their baskets. You could do a large hunt for the entire family or smaller hunt for each individual child.

Also provided in this printable collection are envelope clue seals (party circles). I also included some blank party circles/cupcake toppers to be used however your hearts desire.

And last, but not least... the moment the children have been searching for-- their baskets! These printables come with basket tags to ensure each child gets their correct basket of goodies, because heavens knows we can't be having any mix-ups!

I realize having a scavenger hunt focuses solely on the Easter bunny and that Easter is really about our Savior and his resurrection so this was an activity I was gearing towards the younger crowd. However, to incorporate a more spiritual feel you could always fill their baskets with new scriptures, a book on Christ or church music.

So I hope you enjoy the scavenger hunt printables. Happy downloading and Happy Easter!

You may download HERE.

{Customer Party} Easter/Birthday Celebration

2011-04-14T09:25:00.000-07:00

After seeing the free Easter party Printables on Catch My Party blog, a sweet lady from Brazil contacted me and asked me to customize the prints for her son, Luca's first birthday. I think she did an amazing job with the party and it was a pleasure working with her (and learning a bit of Portuguese on the side).

The ginormous treat table. Brazilians know how to party, right?

Egg Party Favors

Chocolate Candy Party Favors

Sweets

Whirly Pop Sucker Party Favors

More Brazilian Sweets

Water

and darling centerpeices. Looks like Luca had a fun gathering. Thank you Carol for letting us be apart of your son's very special first birthday.

{free printables} Masculine Party

2011-04-12T09:03:00.000-07:00

As promised the masculine version of the previous let's party printables. You could use these for a boy baby shower, a birthday party or anything for that matter, because even girls like the color green, right? I hope you enjoy them. Happy downloading!

You may download them at Catch My Party or HERE

{Recipe} Italian Beef Dip

2011-04-10T23:08:00.000-07:00

I am a lover of Au Jus sandwiches, but this one takes it to the next level. My girlfriend had us over for dinner and made us these sandwiches. We literally dreamt about them for weeks until I asked her for the recipe. The Italian seasonings and pepperoncinis give it just a kick of spice. My stomach is growling as I type this. Trust me-- it is that good.

The Cast of Characters

Pepperoncinis (with the juice), Italian Seasoning, Beef Consomme, Salt, Beef Broth, and a Chuck Roast. Other items needed are deli rolls and provolone cheese (but the cheese is optional).

So Easy. You just add all of the ingredients into the pot like so...

...first the beef consomme...

...next the pepperoncinis and juice...

...then the Italian seasoning...

side note: I love the taste of Italian seasonings so I put heaping amounts in it, but if you're not too sure just stick to the measuring spoon amount. I could have a love affair with it so I do heaps.

...salt...

...and lastly, the chuck roast. Put into the oven and bake at 275 degrees for 4.5-5 hours until fork tender. After it's done, you remove and shred the meat, strain the juices and place the meat back into the strained juices. Serve the shredded meat on top of the buttered, toasted bread. At this point you could add the cheese and return it to the broiler to melt, but we don't do the cheese in our house. I don't think it needs it. Don't get me wrong, we LOVE cheese around these parts, but in this recipe I just love the meat flavor so much I don't want anything interrupting it.

As much as I love the taste of this beef dip sandwich, the thing I love most is that is takes all of 5 minutes to prepare and it gives me more time to spend with these two rugrats.

My mouth is watering... good thing I have left overs.

DOWNLOAD PRINTABLE RECIPE HERE!

Cross My Heart...

2011-04-09T09:34:00.000-07:00

The hubs and I have been in the middle of moving into a new house so posting has been at a stand still lately. However, I'm going to "cross my heart" and promise to be better in the coming week. To help keep me to my promise I'm putting a list of TO DO's out there. Here it is (in no particular order):

1. Closet/Clothing Organizing Printables
2. Customer Party-- with my Easter Printables
3. Italian Beef Dip Recipe-- every household must try this!
4. Easter Basket Scavenger Hunt Printables
5. Mother's Day Printables
6. Earth Day Print
7. Masculine Version of the Generic Party Printables
8. Pico de Gallo & Guacamole Recipe (just in time for Cinco de Mayo)
9. Battered French Fries Recipe-- to die for and not the least bit unhealthy :)
10. Nursery Rhyme Printables
11. Menu Planner/Grocery Shopping Printable

Phew... I think that should keep me busy for a while! As a mother of two young boys I reserve the right to space these out according to their play schedule, temperament and my own sleep schedule(or lack thereof). I also may add a few little surprises in along the way. So check back soon as I kick this list off.

{free printables} Feminine Party

2011-04-05T08:18:00.000-07:00

Throwing a baby shower, GNO, bridal shower, book club party or anything else for the ladies? If so, these printables are perfect and will get the job done for any of those?

In collaboration with Jillian from Catch My Party I created these generic sophisticated party printables. When Jillian first asked me if I could create some generic party printables, I thought about using balloons or cake, but I just love how the paper fans turned out! So unique!

Banner-- "Let's Party"

Party Circles/Cupcake Toppers

Favor Tags

Flat Card Labels

Drink Flags

Folded Tent Cards/Food Labels

Water Bottle Labels

Cupcake Wrappers

You can download them at Catch My Party or here.

Stay tuned for a more masculine feeling party printable.

{Recipe} Seriously Delicious Cinnamon Rolls

2011-04-03T20:19:00.000-07:00

As a family, we make cinnamon rolls biannually in October and April while our church's general conference is on T.V. It has become a much anticipated family tradition throughout the years, and a yummy one at that.

I'm a little hesitant to share this recipe because, quite frankly, I'm selfish with my yummy food! It's seriously the best cinnamon roll recipe I've ever tasted. Do I dare say it rivals Cinnabon? I do, and so does my hubby! To say my hubby loves Cinnabon is an understatement. Every time we fly somewhere he HAS to hunt down the nearest airport Cinnabon to get his fix. Lucky for him, he can also get his fix twice a year right in the comfort of our home.

BEST CINNAMON ROLLS RECIPE

Ingredients

Dough

1 1/2 cups warm water
1 package instant yeast
2/3 cup Sugar (plus 1 tablespoon)
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup Shortening
2 eggs
1 small package of Idahoan Original instant mashed potatoes
7-7 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup butter, melted

Sugary-Cinnamon Innards

1 1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/2 cup brown sugar

Cream Cheese Frosting--beat together the following ingredients

1 (8 ounce) package of cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups confectioners sugar
2-4 tablespoons of milk (depending on your like for thin or thick frosting)

Equipment

Stand mixer
2-3 small/medium cake pans

Directions

Dough

In tbe mixer bowl add the package of yeast and a tablespoon of sugar to 1 1/2 cups of warm water. Let the yeast rise and bubble
Add the rest of the sugar, salt, shortening, eggs and mix at medium speed until mixed well. The shortening will be in larger chunks, but no worries-- it will blend in, I promise.
Prepare the mashed potatoes according to the package directions.
Measure out 1 cup of the prepared potatoes, add them to the mixer, and mix at medium speed until incorporated. I know this step sounds bizarre, but I promise it adds the perfect level of fluffiness to the rolls.
With the mixer at low speed, add the flour one cup at a time until the dough forms a ball.
Remove the dough and knead it on a floured surface until it forms a ball.
Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise until it doubles in size.
While the dough is rising, prepare the cinnamon-sugar mixture and frosting.
After the dough has risen, I usually cut the dough in half because it's easier to work with when it's this size. Roll the dough out into a rectangle shape and spread generously with the melted butter. Then dump (yep-- I said "dump", not "sprinkle") the cinnamon mixture onto your dough.
Roll up the sugar covered dough longwise as tight as you can. Cut the rolled dough into 1.5-2 inch thick discs and place in a greased pan. Set aside and let the rolls rise until almost double in size. The pan should be small enough so that the rolls touch each other and the pan's sides after they rise again.
Depending on your location in the country your cooking time will vary. Just check back often to makes sure your rolls are not browning too much. If the insides aren't cooked yet, but the tops are starting to brown cover it with tin foil. I baked mine at 400 degrees for 14 minutes, but I suggest checking in around 10-12 minutes. Because the rolls are crammed close together that also causes them to take longer in baking.
Let the cooked rolls cool a bit before slathering them with the frosting, but not too much, they taste so much better warm!

Cinnamon-Sugar Mixture

Mix both kinds of sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside.

Cream Cheese Frosting

In a mixer, mix all ingredients together at medium speed until smooth.

There's something heavenly about fluffy clouds of sugary goodness drizzled in a rich creamy cheese frosting. Just typing this makes my mouth water. Who says I have to wait until October to make these again?

If you have a favorite family desert recipe or tradition let me know!

DOWNLOAD PRINTABLE RECIPE HERE!

{free printables} Recipe Cards

2011-04-02T09:06:00.000-07:00

Sometimes cooking can be mundane to me. Please say I'm not the only one that finds cooking EVERYDAY boring? So why not try and liven it up with some cute recipe cards?! This download has 6 pages of 12 different cards. Each page prints two 4x6 inch card.

If interested you may

{download them here}

Linking up to the following sites:

Tip Junkie

One Pretty Thing

FREE Children's Bathroom Art

2011-03-31T08:34:00.000-07:00

Children spaces can never be too colorful (in my opinion).

Frame these 8.5x11 inch printables in your children's bathroom to add some color and more importantly remind them to WASH and BRUSH. Hmmm... maybe I should hang them in our bathroom too to remind my hubby. :)

Since I'm so new to this whole thing-- the first 5 people to leave comments (with email addresses please) to this post will receive these two pdf prints FREE. Depending on how much traffic this site gets I will decide whether to post free printables here vs. another site. These prints can also be purchased on ETSY.

{free printables} Easter Party

2011-03-22T15:44:00.000-07:00

I know you've heard enough about these darn Easter printables, but I thought I would make them available through my own means rather than counting on the sites that featured me to do all of the work.

DOWNLOAD THEM HERE.

{free printable} St. Patrick's Day Cupcake Wrappers

2011-03-12T20:42:00.000-08:00

With St. Patrick's Day quickly approaching I've decided to make some cupcake wrappers FREE for downloading. Happy cupcake making and wrapping.

download FREE printables here.

If you like the look of these the whole party printables collection can be purchased on my etsy site.