Happy Mother's Day & a Mother's Day Gift Idea

Sorry that I've been missing in action for awhile....

Things have been SUPER hectic for me!

Plus, I was away for a few days visiting family out of town...

PS-Had a BLAST!

To my giveaway winner, you're prize will be out on Friday:)

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I wanted to stop in quickly & wish all the special women we call MOMS a Happy Mother's Day!

Here is what I received for Mother's Day this year from my daughter.

Yes, a bit early:)

 The tutorial for this is below

So pretty, I love it:)

The lovely flower gift above my daughter made for me while we were visiting my Dad & StepMom:)

I wasn't right there while they made it because it was a surprise, but I have a good idea of what they did here:)

You'll need a Mason jar

Twine, ribbon, or yarn

Pebbles

Artificial flowers

Have the kids go outside & fill a plastic container full of rocks and pebbles.

Then fill the Mason jar with the pebbles.

Fill it pretty close to the top, the pebbles are what will hold the flower up & in place.

Tie a bow around the Mason jar as shown:) So pretty:)

Stick your artificial flowers in the middle.

I'm sure you can use real flowers too, but I'm much happier that they used artificial flowers because, well, artificial flowers last forever!

Lastly, my StepMom had some little butterflies & ladybugs with wire attached to the end that they wrapped around one or two of the flowers.

It gave a really nice touch to the project, maybe you have something else you can use too...

This is a really quick & simple gift idea if any of you need to come up with a last minute Mother's Day gift!!

Mom will love it because I know I did:)

Happy Mother's Day!

Winner of the 100 Follower Giveaway Is...

First, I'd like to say thank you to all who entered into my very first 100 Follower Giveaway!

Rafflecopter made it so easy and I can't wait to hold another giveaway!
The winner is....Renee G. and she has been contacted via email.


If I don't hear from her within 48 hours, I will have to choose another winner.




Thanks to ALL of you for entering & making my 1st giveaway a success!

Planting Jumbo Sunflowers

I've said before, my mother & I teach a craft class every week for the neighborhood children.

For Earth Day we planted Jumbo Sunflower seeds...

I never knew how easily sunflowers grow until my mother told me...

In less than a week the seedlings were started!

Once it starts growing, you can actually see the difference in height from day to day, it's neat for a child to see!

This past week we made caterpillar note holders, which turned out super cute.

We used a kit for most of them, but they can easily be recreated by cutting out a leaf & head from foam.

All you'll need is googly eyes, glue, pom poms, a close pin, & a magnet.

Really easy project...

Here is our seedling a day after the pictures I took above...it got a bit taller. I actually have fun checking it out every morning to see how much taller it has gotten.

We planted some more about three days ago and I found this morning that the seeds are breaking open already!

That was quick!

You can see through the clear plastic cup the two whitish seedlings beginning to grow...

I'm not sure why, but I find this fascinating.

Can't wait to replant our seedlings in our yard & enjoy some sunflowers!!!

5 More Days!

There's only 5 more days left to my 100 Followers Giveaway!

Wow, that went fast!

I'm giving away this:

It's filled with great crafts that cost $10 or less to complete.

So if you haven't entered, go a few posts back & enter!

Ends 4/30/12

Good Luck:)

Easy & Healthier Ice Cream Sandwich!

Today my daughter and I made ice cream sandwich's that I believe are a bit healthier than the normal ice cream sandwich you'd buy in the store.

I learned how to make them back in high school in Nutrition class.

They're also really inexpensive to make & they were a hit with my daughter so I'm actually thinking of making them as one of the snacks for her birthday party this year!

All you need is:

Graham crackers

Cool Whip

&

your freezer

Yup, that easy....

Break all your graham crackers in half.

Then, spread the Cool Whip generously onto one half...

Then put the other half on top and there ya have it!

We made 20 of them & then ran out of Cool Whip (I only bought one container) and still had a few graham crackers leftover.

They go into the freezer and the Cool Whip hardens & is very close to vanilla ice cream in a normal ice cream sandwich.

Ours were ready in about an hour or two (my daughter could barely wait to try them) but I would wait a bit longer.

They're real yummy!

ENJOY!

Crystals & A Bow

I haven't posted in a few days, been busy Spring cleaning, food shopping, teaching craft classes & spending time with my family.

Thought I'd share what we found today...

Today, my daughter, me, & daddy went for a hike up into the mountains behind our house to a spot where we had found a lot of crystals years back.

We found some really good ones today too.

It actually gets addicting, for me anyway, once I find one nice crystal...

Sarah & her dad took a walk farther than me & found a really good spot full of awesome crystals.

I stayed behind sifting through dirt, but still found some real nice ones too.

When we got home, I planted a tulip and my daughter placed all the crystals her & daddy found around my flower in a sort of "crystal garden". 

I'll have to take a picture of that tomorrow.

Here are the crystals I found & kept:

Later I got my new ribbon out and made a bow...

It came out pretty nice too.

I've made so many bows, even a bow holder for my daughter, but she isn't a big "bow wearer".

She does wear them, but they tend to get ripped out of her hair pretty quick, haha.

I think I'm going to start making them & selling them online; some anyway.

At least they'll get some more use that way, haha:)

Also, I have this bow going up for auction on Tophatter.com .

Auction is April 25th @ 2pm.

Check the site out, it's really cool!

So anyway, I had a good time today taking a hike with my family.

It was really nice.

Hope everyone else enjoyed their Friday!

Some Things That Inspire Me from Pinterest?

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Okay, so I'm in need of some inspiration!

The weather's getting warmer & I'm either out in the yard with my daughter (she has no siblings to play with) or I'm at work.

I haven't finished a project in a week!

I'm currently working on a mini scrapbook album (I've never made one before) so that's pretty exciting....

When I need inspiration, like many others, I turn to

So, if you just so happen to be reading this & are in the same boat as me.....

I thought I'd share what I find inspirational to myself & maybe it'll inspire you some too!

Here we go!

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Definitely inspired to at least work on my mini album tomorrow, even if I have to lug all my supplies outside onto the deck & work in the warm beautiful sunshine!

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Really makes me wish I could get to Walmart right now at 3AM to buy ribbon & make some pretty bows!

I LOVE making hair bows & working with grosgrain ribbon!

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Yes, a cake actually inspires me...

I LOVE cake decorating!

 Wish I could do it as a living love it...

I love Wilton, fondant, icing, cake decorating shows, Cupcake Wars, all of it!!

Also, ANYTHING teal and brown is inspiring to me in itself...

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Look at this cute skirt someone sewed all up by themselves!

You may have read/saw that I'm new to sewing?

Yeah, I'm pretty much teaching myself through blogs & what I think SEEMS right.

I'd love to be able to make something like this for my daughter!

Love how it looks like a quilt! Looks hippyish too!

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I've wanted to make one of these ever since I first saw them floating around on the Internet...

Just have to get around to gathering the supplies that I need.

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Funny how something simple like this could look so cute to me, maybe it's the pink?

Found this too & thought it was pretty nifty...

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Now I'm off to bed. I worked until midnight and meant to come home & go straight to bed, which turned into going to bed at 3:30 AM....

I'll sure be tired in the morning...

Tomorrow I'm working on my mini album, yey!

I hope you've found even a thread of inspiration here,

 or at least learned about what inspires me at the least!

Happy Crafting!

Crafty Boyfriend?

While I was at work my boyfriend decided to be "crafty" a few days ago...

Doesn't this look nice?

And patriotic!

He turned the ordinary rock in our yard that sticks awkwardly out from the bank into an American flag!

He used some of my acrylic paint, spray paint, & coated it all with my Mod Podge...

I was impressed.

Then on top he placed a big chunk of coal that we usually just keep sitting as decoration on our deck.

(we live in the coal region)

Love it!

What do you think??

Easy No-Bake Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Pie

Many people may know of this easy recipe already...

but I've found some of my friends on Facebook  haven't tried it.

I like it because it's so easy to make, doesn't take many ingredients, and only has to chill.

So here it is, quick & easy!

What You Will Need:

a graham cracker pie crust

an 8oz. package of cream cheese

an 8oz. Cool Whip

1 cup of peanut butter

First, in a large mixing bowl, mix together 1 cup of peanut butter & one 8oz. package of cream cheese.

I think next time I may try using a little more peanut butter though...but it was still yummy with just 1 cup.

Cream them together really well!

Then, fold in the entire tub (8oz.) of Cool Whip.

Mix it all together real well and spoon into the graham cracker crust.

This pie only has to chill for 4 hours before you can dig in!

Awesome!

Happy Easter!

Getting ready for Easter has been pretty fun this year...

Above is the top of my entertainment stand (since I don't have a mantel to decorate).

Below are close-ups of the beautiful (and wonderful smelling) flowers I was given.

I LOOOVE the smell of these white & purple flowers!

They smell the BEST!

And when there are children in the home, of course, there is egg dying....

It was fun & this year she didn't even make much of a mess at all!

I was happy & proud.

The picture below is off the baby hamster trying to see what was going on.

It was cute!

Didn't her eggs turn out nice & bright?

Beautiful, love the colors...

And finally below is the little craft that we made out of one of the yellow Easter eggs.

I had a craft kit that had all the little foam pieces so that you could turn your eggs into chicks, sheep, and bunnies.

We made the chick...

Hope everyone else had as much fun as I did getting ready for Easter!

The decorating & traditions...flowers that smell awesome, pastel colors...etc.

All that's left for me is to set up the Easter baskets tonight...

then church in the AM...

Have a Hoppy Easter!!

(okay, that sounds corny when I say it, haha)