paigeandbrooke

Red, White & Blue Salad

2010-02-23T21:29:00.000-06:00

This could possibly be my most favorite salad in the world. It is absolutely delicious. Sweet Basil Cafe is a yummy restaurant in Florence, Alabama that serves this wonderful salad. I have to say, I cannot even get my husband to go here, because he thinks it is too "fru fru" or girly. He is missing out, but I fixed this salad for him just last week and he really liked it. It is so easy. The combination of fruits with bleu cheese and the poppyseed vinaigrette dressing make it out of this world!

This salad includes mixed greens, grilled chicken (or no chicken), strawberries, blueberries, bleu cheese crumbles and poppyseed vinaigrette dressing (tastes just like Sweet Basil - thanks to my dear friend Scarlett who let me steal the recipe from her).

Baby spring mix greens (Sam's) and grilled chicken

Strawberries

Blueberries

Bleu cheese crumbles

Sesame Poppyseed Vinaigrette

1/3 cup sugar

1 tsp poppy seed

1 tsp sesame seed

1 tsp grated onion

2 tsp paprika

1 tsp salt

1 tsp dry mustard

6 Tbs white vinegar or apple cidar vinegar

1 cup vegetable oil

Mix together the sugar and seeds. Next whisk in the vinegar and oil 1

tablespoon at a time, alternating each one (to dissolve the sugar).

Then, whisk in the other ingredients. Refrigerate.

Such a yummy and beautiful salad. You have to try it!

Cutie Patootie Paper Pack and a FREEBIE!

2010-02-21T20:17:00.008-06:00

Here it is...my new cutie patootie collection! The wordart shown below is yours for free! All you have to do is follow our blog and it's your to use. Just click on the download link below the image to get your free "cutie patootie" wordart. The fonts came from Amanda's Fonts...if you haven't downloaded her fonts yet you're missing out. Check out her cute little website!

DOWNLOAD

Number of times downloaded

Visit our shop if you would like to have the newly listed paper packs to match your new wordart.

There are two new paper packs available in the "cutie patootie" collection....an 8 pack of digital paper and a huge 50 pack of paper!!

If you purchase either pack of paper you will receive the 10 pack of solid textured papers for free! Just visit our shop.

Hope you like the new "Cutie Patootie" collection! Thank you again for all of the encouragement! It seriously brightens our day. Come back soon!

Mini Badge Album Tutorial and a FREEBIE!!

2010-02-16T16:39:00.003-06:00

Some of you many have already seen these cute little mini badge albums. They are so easy to make and they're the perfect size little photo albums for your purse or diaper bags. You can even make these albums as gifts for mother's day, birthdays, etc. Read on to find out more about them.

I made some mini badge album layouts from my new digital scrapbook paper pack called "cutie patootie." I'll hopefully have it available in our Etsy shop in a few days. These mini badge album layouts are FREE for you to use! They are 3.25 x 2.38 and fit perfectly inside the 12 pack of badge holders you get at Office Depot.

The only thing you have to do to get this album kit for free is become a follower to our blog! That's it! Then it's yours to use! Click on the DOWNLOAD link below the image to get your free mini badge album files. They have been saved as png's with transparent holes for your pictures.

DOWNLOAD

Number of Times Downloaded

If you do not have an image editing program at home (such as Photoshop Elements)....no worries! You do not have to use digital layouts. You can use regular scrapbook paper and elements to create your own layout by cutting and pasting the same way as shown above.

Once you are finished creating your digital pages, just print them out. I used a paper that's a little bit thicker than regular print paper but whatever you have will work fine.

You can get this 12 pack of badge holders at Office Depot.

Just cut your images out then insert them into the badge holders. You can use front and back!

Use some ribbon to hold the pages together and then you're done! You may want to add a little fabric glue or super glue to help the bow stay. Super cute and super easy! Caley wanted me to make this one for her to keep in her purse.

Please send us a link if you decide to use our layouts! We would love to see your pictures!!

Thank y'all for visiting!!

Chicken With Chive and Onion Cream Cheese

2010-02-15T09:14:00.000-06:00

Try this quick and easy recipe for a yummy snack.

Canned chicken, chive and onion cream cheese and your favorite crackers

Drain canned chicken

Mix cream cheese with chicken

Enjoy with your favorite crackers!

We're giving away 1 free digital paper pack from our shop!!

2010-02-09T08:45:00.004-06:00

Hey y'all! We thought we'd try something a little different this week. If you're interested, here's a fun way to earn a paper pack...of your choice...from our shop for free!!

All you have to do is save and add the image below to a post in your blog, with a link back to us, and you can pick out one item in our shop for FREE! Just leave us a comment where you posted and which paper pack you would like and we'll send you the link!! This offer ends Feb 12th.

Thanks so much for stopping by!! We love visitors!!!

For those of you who don't know what digital scrapbooking is, we hope to have some information on here soon for ya!!

Here are a couple of new paper packs in our shop.

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!!

Crockpot Chicken Chili and Potato Soup (#2)

2010-02-08T09:45:00.001-06:00

We have had a wonderful weekend celebrating my daughter's fifth birthday. We were able to spend lots of time with family eating and enjoying each other's company. In between a little girl's tea party and LOTS of yummy birthday cake, my mom decided to whip up a couple of soup recipes to go along with some sandwiches. Somehow, my mom has kept these tucked away in her favorite cookbook. I'm still not sure how all this time has passed by and we had never tasted these delicious soups.

Brooke and I knew we had to pass along these wonderful recipes to all of you. Hope you try them and enjoy them as much as we did.

CHICKEN CHILI

20 oz chicken cooked and shredded

48 oz chicken broth

1 large medium picante sauce

1 small mild picante

2 cans Great Northern beans

1 can pinto beans

(saute the next 3 ingredients together)

1 medium onion

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp cumin

Saute onion, garlic powder and cumin, then add all together. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 20 minutes (or put in crock pot all day)

Potato Soup (#2)

8-10 good size potatoes (diced)

1 small onion chopped

Cook until tender, then add:

1 can cream of celery soup

1 can cream style corn

1/2 lb Velveeta cheese

Add salt and pepper to taste

And the Winner is.....

2010-02-03T21:27:00.005-06:00

We have a winner!! #76....Carina! Congratulations!!

We were so excited that we had 85 people to enter this giveaway!! YEY!! We had so much fun reading every single comment posted. Some were pretty hilarious and some we were very jealous of! Reading all your comments made us wish that we could give out a ton more gift cards. :(

Thank you so much for visiting our blog and keep checking back for our next giveaway! :)

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind." Luke 10:27

New Digital Scrapbook Paper Pack...FREE

2010-02-02T16:10:00.044-06:00

Here's another digital scrapbook paper pack for you! This paper pack includes 10 digital sheets that measure 12"x12" at 300dpi. "Citrus Zest" was made by using simple patterns and bright colors with a little texture. I hope you can use it!!

This truly is my new passion. I love love love designing and making new things. I'm certainly still a newbie to the digital design world but hopefully I'll continue to learn new things everyday. If anybody out there has some great tips to share with us, please feel free, we would all love to know!

You may use this paper however you wish, personal or commercial...cards, invitations, digital scrapbook quick pages, etc. Please do not claim it as your own :( Also, if you would like to use the paper for web design, feel free! We would love for you to add one of the buttons on our sidebar to your webpage. :)

Also, if you do use this paper, we would love to hear back from you with a link to your design!!

Enjoy!

For other digital Freebies go HERE.

Ohh...and if you haven't had a chance to enter your name for a VICTORIA'S SECRET gift card giveaway, you still have time!!! The contest ends tomorrow night (Wednesday, Feb. 3) at 8:00 pm. Click here to enter!!

To download this paper pack just click on the download link below the image to the left.

DOWNLOAD

Number of times downloaded

It's a Valentine's Giveaway!!

2010-02-01T07:48:00.003-06:00

To celebrate Valentine's Day that's coming up soon, we thought y'all might like a $25 gift card to Victoria's Secret!! Whether you're single or married, hopefully everybody could use a new bra, some panties, pajamas, or some amazing bath products.

To enter this giveaway, tell us your plans for Valentine's Day. Maybe you plan on sitting on the couch and watching a movie, or going out to a nice dinner with the person you love, or doing absolutely nothing at all...you hate Valentine's Day.

This giveaway will end Wednesday night at 8:00 pm. The winner will be announced Thursday morning. Make sure you leave your email address so we can reach you.

Good luck!!

Elastic Fabric Covered Headband Tutorial

2010-01-28T20:00:00.005-06:00

These cute fabric covered headbands are so easy to make and we're so glad we finally have a tutorial here on our website to share with you. Paige found one of my headbands that she had kept from college and so I took a close look at it and thought, "I think I can make this." After trial and error on a few drawn out patterns, we finally decided this was the size we liked.

First thing you need to do is download and print out the pattern that I drew out. You can get it HERE. Make sure you cut out the pattern on the outside of the black line. I think this might be a tad bit thinner but you can make it wider if you'd like.

The printed drawing is only half of the final pattern so make sure you place the wide part of the pattern on the folded edge of the fabric.

I doubled my fabric so that I could get both sides at one time.

This is what they should look like after you've cut them out.

You will also need some light interfacing to help stabilize the headband. You'll only need one of these.

Next, you need to iron down about 1/4 inch on each end of your fabric.

Your interfacing will need to be cut, on each end, about 1/4 inch so that it will be equal length with the fabric.

Now, you need to layer your three pieces like the picture above. Right side of one piece of fabric facing up, the next piece of fabric wrong side facing up, and then you can stick the end of your interfacing inside the fold.

Then, sew along each side of your layers, all the way to the end.

The easiest way, and cleanest way, that I've found to trim the thread is to use fingernail clippers.

You can cut very close with the clippers so you can't see a string at all.

You will need a medium sized safety pin to turn the headband inside out. Put the safety pin through the side of fabric with the interfacing.

You will need push the safety pin through the inside of the headband. At first, it's kind of tricky to get started but then it should pull through easily.

Here's a better picture of how it comes through. You'll need to iron it flat after this.

You will also need some elastic. I think this is 3/4 inch wide, but you can use smaller if you prefer.

Place one end of your elastic inside one end of your heaband.

Then sew across the edge so hold the elastic in place. Then trim your thread.

Do the same thing to the other end.

Finally, you will need to stitch around the edge of each side of the headband. Trim your thread.

Then, you're done!

It only takes about 15 minutes!!

VALENTINE SHIRTS

2010-01-25T15:23:00.105-06:00

Okay, so I had a little fun making these Valentine shirts. Especially when I find a good deal. Target had some great deals on long sleeve solid color tees for little ones. The pink and white long sleeves I bought were only $3.00 a piece. Gotta love a deal!

First, I picked out some fabric and decided to applique the letter "m" in red polka dot fabric onto the plain pink tee. Any type of lettering can be used for this. I printed this m off of the internet and cut it out. A piece of fabric big enough to color the letter m was needed to iron on the Wonder Under (the iron on adhesive). To do this, a square piece of Wonder Under the size of the fabric letter m is needed.

Place your fabric "pretty side" down on the ironing board and place the rough side of the wonder under on top of the "dull" side of the fabric. A cloth can also be used on top of the fabric and wonder under for extra protection. I tend not to ever use the cloth - sometimes it doesn't seem to iron on as well with the cloth on top of it.

Next, I placed the cut out letter M on top of the wonder under side of the fabric. Notice the letter has to be traced backwards.

Now the letter can be cut out

After the letter has been cut out, peel off the top layer of the Wonder Under (usually works best to start at a corner)

Place the letter m (with the Wonder Under against the shirt) and iron it on. I did swap the pink shirt for the white at the very end. Oops! I took a picture with the materials and the pink shirt. I will use it next.

All I did this time, was to cut out a heart pattern and used the same exact steps above.

For this next shirt, I have to tell you it was a Christmas shirt from Target that I found on sale. The print was an iron on, so I could put an applique over it, and no one would notice.

Besides, it was only a $1.74. I couldn't pass that up.

I used the same pink heart cut out from the shirt above, and then cut out the inside of the heart for an open heart look.

Notice that cute little matching headband! You can find the tutorial HERE.

"Sweetheart" Digital Scrapbook Freebie!!

2010-01-12T17:02:00.000-06:00

Here's a little digital paper pack FREEBIE for you! Valentine's Day will be here soon so here's a little something for you digital scrapbookers out there. Hope you enjoy!!

Click on the DOWNLOAD link below the image to download the digital paper.

DOWNLOAD

Looking for other FREEBIES on our website?? Click Here!!

Crock Pot Potato Soup

2010-01-10T19:25:00.000-06:00

This recipe came from our mom and it's a super easy Crock Pot Potato Soup. I don't use my crock pot near enough, but it really is a great appliance for making some yummy soups. For this recipe you will need:

1 bag of thawed hash browns
3 cans of chicken broth (mine were the 14.5 oz cans)
1 can of cream of chicken soup
1/2 pound of Velveeta cheese
1 package of 8 oz cream cheese

You can also add half an onion if you like.

Toss your Hash Browns in....

Add your can of cream of chicken soup.....

Add your Velveeta Cheese.....

Then, your 3 cans of chicken broth and some salt and pepper to taste. Stir...and cook for about 5 hours.

Add your cream cheese 30 minutes before serving.

Yummo!!

TACO SOUP

2010-01-07T08:20:00.000-06:00

Check back to previous post for the winner of the Cracker Barrel gift card.

So, here is one of our most favorite soup recipes for those chilly nights when you want to stay in your pj's all day. Also, for those busy days when you don't have any extra time to prepare a huge meal. All this requires is cooking hamburger meat and throwing in the rest of your ingredients. Try this yummy Taco Soup recipe. You can fix the recipe to include the ingredients your family may love.

2 lb. ground beef, browned

1 clove garlic, chopped

1 onion chopped

1 (16 oz.) can hominy

1 (16 oz.) can kernel corn

1 (16 oz.) can pinto beans

1 (16 oz.) can red kidney beans

1 can rotel, chopped

2 (16 oz.) cans tomatoes, blended

1 (1 oz.) package taco mix

1 (1 oz.) package ranch dressing mix

The Taco Soup Recipe I use for my family includes some black beans in place of the hominy (we are not too crazy about hominy). I will also leave out the garlic and onion as well, unless I am taking it as a dish to church or for another family. Most people love the onions and garlic, but I am not an onion-lover. Trying to teach myself how much better the taste can be with those two ingredients.

The recipe above is the original and this is how I used it.

Corn, kidney beans, black beans, rotel, diced tomatoes, 1 package of taco mix and 1 package of ranch dressing mix

Also 2 lbs of browned hamburger meat

Combine all ingredients, including the liquid from the cans and pour into a large pot or crockpot (love the crockpot for this one). Cook slowly for as long as possible...the longer, the better. Then serve with...

Shredded cheese...

Corn chips (my husband's favorite)...

Or crackers! And my daughter's favorite, which we were out of the night I made this soup (SOUR CREAM)!

Then eat up! The leftovers will taste delicious as well!

Enjoy!

We're back...with a giveaway!

2010-01-04T19:26:00.004-06:00

Sorry it's been so long but we're finally back! We have a couple of recipes coming up that are great for these cold winter months. But, in the meantime, we're giving away a $25 gift card to Cracker Barrel. It's such a great winter restaurant to go to because they have that awesome fireplace that makes you feel so nice and cozy. It seems like every time we eat there we have to stand by the fire a little before the meal and after. We love it!

To enter this giveway just tell us... what is your favorite thing to eat during the winter? Oh...and leave your email address so we can reach you. :)

This giveaway will end Wednesday night at 7:00 pm.

Good luck!!

Congratulations to Melissa (entry # 55)! You are the winner of the Cracker Barrel gift card. A big thanks to all of you for all your comments. We had so much fun reading them.

We're Still Here!!!!!!

2009-12-20T15:31:00.000-06:00

Just wanted to drop in to say....we're still here! So sorry we haven't posted in a while!! Keep checkin' in because our next post will be a giveaway!!

We do wanna say thank you...to all of you for your sweet words and support. :) We honestly LOVE having this blog and sharing things with everyone and we hope you enjoy it too!!

Merry Christmas!!

Love,

Paige and Brooke

A CHRISTMAS TREE SHIRT

2009-12-03T07:50:00.001-06:00

So, I had so much fun making the turkey shirt that I decided to try out a Christmas tree shirt made out of ribbon. The hardest part was deciding on what ribbon to use and what type tree to make - a tall skinny one, a big one or just whatever I think looks! This is a very simple shirt to make. All you need is a shirt (the color of your choice), ribbon, a button and a sewing machine.

After choosing the ribbon, play around with the colors to align them however you would like to make a Christmas tree. To keep the ribbon edges from fraying, I barely burnt the ends of the ribbon. The ribbon can also be folded under at both sides, then sewed across instead. The top and bottom of all ribbons have one straight stitch. I have also seen some sew one straight stitch right down the middle of the ribbon all the way across. Then I placed the button at the top and sewed it on.

Fairly easy, don't you think! Give it a try! I plan to try out some pink and brown ribbon next, and play around with the non-traditional colors.

How to make a turkey shirt

2009-11-20T16:07:00.001-06:00

A friend of mine saw this turkey shirt, so we decided to give it a try. All you need is a solid color shirt (we chose brown), some scrap pieces of your favorite fabric, wonder under, buttons, rick rack, an iron and some scissors. The turkey body and feathers will be appliqued onto the shirt, then a sewing machine can be used to stitch around all your pieces.

Find a plain color shirt to applique the turkey onto. It can be one you already have.

Next, you must choose what type of turkey body to applique on. There are so many different designs to choose from on the internet. You can print them out, cut and trace. We made up our own turkey body, which is fairly simple to do if you are quick to decide. Otherwise you can spend all day trying to perfect a design.

Place your turkey body in the middle of your shirt to see what size feathers you would like to have. Then cut out feathers for your turkey as well. Below is the turkey body on the brown shirt. After you have cut out the feathers, place them around the turkey's body however you would like. It works well to cut out the number of feathers you need to know how many to cut out of the material.

Now that you have your turkey body cut out and your feathers, decide what fabrics to go with your body and feathers. Cut small rectangle pieces of fabric to cut your feathers out of as well as the turkey body. Here is where the wonder under comes in. There are 2 different ways to go about using the wonder under.

Option #1: Out of your rectangle pieces of material, iron the rough side of the wonder under onto the back of your chosen material. Then trace the feather or turkey body on the paper (wonder under) side of the material and cut out. Last, peel the wonder under from your cut out feather or turkey body. Now, it is ready to be ironed onto the shirt.

Option #2: Trace the feathers and turkey body onto the wonder under and cut out. Then iron onto piece of material and cut extra material off. Now, peel wonder under from your cut out feather or turkey body. This option takes a little longer, but saves scraps of wonder under and helps in the process of peeling wonder under off of material.
Peeling the wonder under is sometimes tricky. Make sure the wonder under attaches to the material, otherwise it will not iron onto the shirt.

This is a picture of the rectangles ironed onto the wonder under. Notice the wonder under is ironed onto the back of the material.

Once all of your feathers and turkey body have been cut out and ironed onto the wonder under. You are ready to arrange them on the shirt. I chose to add some feet by using small pieces of pink rick rack. These can be placed under the turkey body before the turkey is ironed onto the shirt. This will hold the rick rack in place.

If you choose to, sew around all of the edges to keep from fraying. I also sewed buttons for eyes and cut a small triangle out for the beak.

And now you have a lovely turkey shirt for Thanksgiving...

Painted Linoleum Mats....Part 2

2009-11-17T08:13:00.000-06:00

Thought I would share with you all some pictures I took at a 'Girls Craft Night' we had last weekend at the church I worship at in Huntsville. Paige and I, along with a friend from church, Kera, planned this night together and I'm so glad we did.

We painted the linoleum mats that are on our website. If you haven't seen them check it out here! We had such a great time....food, crafts, and laughs!! Here are some pics of that night. :)

More Digital Scrapbook Freebies!!

2009-11-02T08:02:00.014-06:00

MORE DIGITAL SCRAPBOOKING FREEBIES!!

I made a new digital scrapbook kit for you guys!! I named it 'Girls Night Out' because it looks very girly and because I love spending time with my friends! This kit is also FREE! If you scroll down this page you'll notice a new alphabet that matches. Take it too!! Just click on the download links below each image. :)

DOWNLOAD

This ditial kit includes: 16 papers
                                   2 glitter rick racks
                                   2 glitter frames
                                   2 swirlies

Don't forget the alpha at the bottom!!

I put together my digital scrapbook page with this kit using a picture of my daughter so you can see some of the paper up close. Hope you like it!!

Below is the polka dot alphabet that matches. Make sure you download it too!!

DOWNLOAD

We would LOVE to hear back from you if you decide to use this kit! Send us your link with your design and we'll definitely take a look!! We'd love to see!!

Check out some of our other Digital Scrapbooking Freebies HERE.

Thank you so much for visiting us!! Come back again!!

Pillowcase Trick-or-Treat Bags

2009-10-28T08:01:00.001-05:00

Okay, so there is only a few days left before Halloween. No problem, you can still do this. If you are wondering what kind of bag your little princess or Spiderman will carry to hold their candy in this Halloween, try this craft. It is simple, cheap and easy. We are talking 15 minutes. Pillowcase Trick-or-Treat bags - a white pillowcase with a ghostly black iron-on face, makes for a great bag to carry all their candy in.

I saw this a month ago on a Martha Stewart re-run from Comcast on Demand and knew I had to try it. She demonstrated this easy craft in only a few minutes. You can go to marthastewart.com and type into the search box pillowcase trick or treat bags. The article will pop up and you can print out her ghostly templates for free.

The materials needed for this craft are: a white pillowcase, 2 black 5 by 5 inch iron-on patches, 1 1/2 yards of heavy string or rope, a safety pen and scissors.

After the templates are printed out, cut out the templates (or you can design your own). Place the cut-out mouth on one patch and the set of eyes on the other patch. The 2 eyes will be cut out from one iron-on patch by folding it. Martha says to use a white pencil to trace the template on the fusible side of the patch. I simply used a pen and was able to see the outline to cut it out.

This is what the cut out template will look like. The 2 black circles are to be ironed on for the extra reinforcement for the drawstring.

After the template is cut out, iron on the eyes and mouth. Place them in the center of the pillowcase however you would like. Play around with the eyes and mouth, till you get the face you want.

Take the 2 circles and iron them on the inside of the pillowcase hem for extra support for your drawstring.

Use scissors to cut small vertical openings (1/2 inch long) at the center of each black oval. After the openings are cut, attach a safety pin to one side of the rope (I burned the ends of the rope to keep it from fraying). Place the safety pin inside one opening and pass it through the pillowcase to the other opening.

Now, tie both ends of your rope to complete the drawstring.

My kids love their bags with the ghost-like faces. They are pretty big too! Martha says to make a smaller bag, all you have to do is cut the bottom of the bag and sew it closed.

And the WINNER is.....

2009-10-25T08:31:00.000-05:00

Thank you so much....to all of you for visiting and entering our giveaway!! We are so excited to have new visitors and we hope that you come back again!!

And the Winner of the $20 Bath and Body Works Gift Card is......#51 1LuvnMaha

Please contact us to receive your gift card!

brookebusby@comcast.net

Another Freebie and a GIVEAWAY!!

2009-10-21T07:12:00.025-05:00

I thought I would share with you guys some digital frame/labels that I made. :) You can use these for digital scrapbooking or anything else your heart desires! Print them out to use them as labels or even cards!

You can download the frames by themselves by clicking on the 'download' link below the images. I also added the 12 sheets of paper that I used in making these if you'd like to use them as well. There is a download for the pink paper and one for the green. If you want 'em all...take them all!! The more the merrier! Enjoy!

DOWNLOAD

To see some of our other freebies click here!

Well....it's been too long since our last giveaway! So we decided NOW is the time! If you're like us, during the holidays everyone's buying new candles, spray scents, and other yummy smelling goodies to freshen up your house and get it smelling good for this time of the year. So, our giveaway this time is a $20 Bath and Body Works Gift Card!

All you have to do is tell us your favorite holiday scent. Not necessarily from Bath and Body Works, but anywhere. :)

You CAN enter your comment once daily until Saturday night at 10:00pm central.

The winner will be chosen randomly by using random.org.

Check back Sunday to find out if you're the winner!

Best of luck to you all and thanks so much for visiting!!

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Mini Muffins

2009-10-18T19:13:00.037-05:00

This recipe is for Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins!!

I got this recipe from my friend Mandy but I did edit it a little and turned it into muffins! The original recipe makes squares by baking everything in a 9x13 dish. Either way, they taste the same and they are so so yummy!! I'm not really a big pumpkin fan but these are just fabolicious and it's perfect for the holidays!!

Ingredients:

2 c. flour
1 T. pumpkin pie spice OR (2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ginger, and 1/2 tsp of nutmeg)
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 c. butter softened (2 sticks)
1 1/4 c. sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. canned pumpkin puree
2 cups chocolate chips (12 oz)

Preheat oven to 350 and spray your mini muffin pan.

In a medium bowl, add your flour,

Pumpkin Pie Spice,

baking soda,

and salt.

Whisk together.

Set aside.

With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar on medium high speed until smooth;

Beat in egg

and vanilla

until combined.

Beat in Pumpkin Puree.

Mixture may appear curdled.

Reduce speed to low and slowly add in the dry ingredients until combined.

Yummo!

Fold in chocolate chips.

Scoop spoonfuls into your mini muffin pan. I used my mini ice cream scoop.

I almost made 2 full batches of muffins with this recipe. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until done.

Eat 'em up fast!!

and Enjoy!

My First Digital Scapbooking Kit

2009-10-14T22:36:00.011-05:00

I've been 'getting my feet wet" in the digital scrapbooking world lately and I decided to try and make my own little kit. I used rich colors in this design so I decided to name it my "brighten it up" kit. I thought it might be good for the fall even though it's full of bright colors because it has a corduroy texture to it.

It's free!!! If you download and use this kit in any way I would love to hear back from you and let us all know what you did with it! :) I'm certainly an amateur at this but I hope someone can put it to good use. :)

To get this file you will need to download all 3 zip files below by clicking the links.

Thanks so much for your encouragement and I hope you enjoy!!

Make sure you download ALL THREE files!!

http://www.mediafire.com/?mymiez5myn1

http://www.mediafire.com/?zz5yymyled4

http://www.mediafire.com/?jgnw1ogzy5f

Crunchy Romaine Strawberry Salad

2009-10-12T20:58:00.029-05:00

Crunchy Romaine Strawberry Salad

I think that this may be the best salad that I have EVER eaten. I fell in love with it when a friend served this salad at bonco a couple of months ago. It is so so yummy and definitely spices things a bit from the traditional iceberg lettuce and cheese salad with Thousand Island dressing that I grew up with. It takes a little more effort but is well worth it!!

Ingredients:

1 pkg. Ramen Noodles (discard the seasoning packet)
1 c. walnuts
1/4 c. butter
8 c. romaine lettuce
1/2 c. chopped green onions
2 c. fresh strawberries

Dressing:

1/4 c. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 c. sugar
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp soy sauce

Let's make the dressing first. Pour 1/2 c. EVOO in a small bowl.

Add 1/4 c. sugar.
Add 1/2 tsp of soy sauce.

Add 2 T. red wine vinegar

Whisk together and set aside.

Break up your Ramen noodles then put them in a saucepan to saute with 1/4 c. butter.

Add 1 c. walnuts and saute for 8-10 minutes.

.....or until golden.

Put your lettuce in a large bowl.

Pour your sauteed noodles and walnuts over your lettuce.

Add the 1/2 c. green onions. I bought mine in a little package that were already chopped up. :)

Add 2 c. fresh strawberries.

Drizzle the dressing over the top and toss gently.

Oh so good Crunchy Romaine Strawberry Salad!!!

Let us know if you make it!!! This is a recipe keeper!! Enjoy!

Polka Dot Alphabet

2009-10-10T21:42:00.010-05:00

Making these letters is so much fun! This time it's polka dots!!

Here's another scrapbooking alphabet for you to enjoy....free! Just click on the link below to download!! Hope you like it!!

By the way...Paige has Pneumonia. Pray she gets better soon!!

http://www.mediafire.com/?gyyyabzmyxj

FABRIC COVERED WALL ART

2009-10-07T20:21:00.028-05:00

It's me again. Paige has had a really rough month. Her kids have all had the Swine Flu and now she's sick with something....who knows what, but hopefully she'll be better soon! Pray for her and the fam that they all stay well.

This tutorial will show you how to make no-sew fabric covered wall art. I decided to do something for Caley's room again, although, the boys informed me that it was their turn so I'm gonna have to come up with something for their room too.

I was browsing Amy Butler's website and noticed some wall art with large letters that looked like they had been appliqued on using her new fabric line "LOVE." I immediately rushed to Hobby Lobby to get some fabric. Sometimes, well maybe all the time, I have a one track mind. I wanted to try and make something similar immediately so here's my version.

You will need:

1 yard of fabric for background
scrap fabric for letters
printed out letters that you have enlarged
1 1/2 yards of wonder under
tacky glue
foam board
tulle (optional)
sequins (optional)

The measurements for the one I made is 12" x 30" but you can make it however big or small you would like. First thing you need to do is print out your letters to the size you want then place them on your foam board to see how much you need to cut off. The first time I printed out letters I noticed they were too small. You don't wanna leave too much open space on the board. Cut your board accordingly to how much you measure out with the letters on there.

You will need to add 2 inches to the width and 2 inches to the height when cutting your fabric. So this fabric piece measured 14" x 32".

This stuff works great on fabric.

In the pictures you'll notice that this fabric is actually doubled up but make sure that you put the right side of the fabric facing down then put your board on top. Fold down the corners using your Tacky Glue and press. It holds very well and dries fairly quickly.

After you have all 4 corners completed then fold down the sides and glue them down like the picture above.

This is what the corners should look like when you're finished.

Next, you will need to cut out small sections of your scrap fabric to use for the letters. We are gonna use Wonder Under to applique these letters onto the fabric covered board. Refer back to this section on our other applique tutorial.

Make sure that you iron on the rough side of the Wonder Under to the wrong side of the fabric. The Wonder Under and the scrap fabric should be one peice after you're done.

Here is my first letter I cut out.

Put the letter on top of the paper side. Turn the letter over so that you're looking at it backwards. This is important or you will cut out the letter the wrong way. Believe me, I've made this mistake several times in the past.

Trace you letter and then cut it out.

Now you can peel off the paper on the back of your fabric. Make sure you leave the sticky part on...only peel off the paper. This can be tricky sometimes. It's sometimes easier to start somewhere other than the corner.

After you're finished with all of your letters, place them down flat the way you want 'em then iron them onto your board.

For a little extra something, I glued sequins down around each letter. Since I didn't sew around the letters this will keep the edges from fraying. This was very time consuming but I think it was worth it. :)

You can staple some tulle right on to the back of the board so that you can hang it up! You're done!! Good luck and let us know if you try it!!

Free Scrapbooking Letters!!

2009-10-03T22:38:00.022-05:00

For all you digital scrapbookers out there......

As some of you know, I've been experimenting in the digital scrapbooking world and I decided to try and make some letters/numbers myself. I was so excited when I saw that Amanda had posted a new Fall Digital Scrapbooking Kit on her site for free so I used some of her paper to create these. So...these will go perfect with her new Fall kit!! The font is called "Digs My Heart" which is one of her free fonts.

Just click on the link below to download the zip file! These digital scrapbook letters are yours for free! Hope you enjoy!!

http://www.mediafire.com/?nxjwomuyw2m

Digital Art Canvas

2009-09-29T16:19:00.029-05:00

This tutorial will show you how to make a digital Art Canvas.

I was in a little store in town today called "Zazzy's" and saw some digital canvases on the wall which inspired me to try and make something similar myself. I used a digital scrapbooking kit designed by Kristen Cronin-Barrow (the same kit used in the design of this blog) from Sweet Shoppe Designs and made a scrapbooking page using a picture I took of my daughter several weeks ago.

This tutorial does not include instructions on how I made my scrapbooking page but hopefully I will have a tutorial on here one day!!

Here is my original scrapbooking image. I sized it down to a 7.5" x 7.5" to print out. You will need a canvas. It really doesn't matter what size just as long as your image can fit on there. I found this printed canvas that was on sale for $6 at Hobby Lobby. It's an 8"x8". Just make sure that the canvas size is slightly bigger than your print....maybe half an inch difference.
This canvas already had mounting on it which was perfect. All I needed to do was paint it.
I chose this pink color which is the main color in my print.

Print your scrapbook page or image on regular white copy paper and make sure your printer settings are set to "fine" or "photo" just so the quality of the print will look good. The quality of the print is much better than it actually looks here. After you print your scrapbook page don't cut the edges off.

I think it makes it look pretty neat if you tear the edges off...like above.

You will need to get some Mod Podge, which you can find at Hobby Lobby, and a paintbrush. Using a thin coat....paint the Mod Podge on quickly to the entire back of your scrapbook page. Do it fast because it dries quickly.

Now you can press the paper down onto your canvas.

It should look like this.

To give the top of your canvas a glossy finish you will need some Diamond Glaze. Unfortunately, I don't know of a store where you can buy it but you can order it online. I think I bought mine on Ebay.

You will need to dilute the Diamond Glaze with a little bit of water first. Paint a coat or two on the top and your done!! You can print out any kind of digital image or clip art and they make great wall art for your kids rooms!! Let us know if you try it!! Have fun!!

New Blog Design

2009-09-24T10:47:00.013-05:00

Yipee!! We have a new blog design! I have to say, I'm a little excited because I've been trying to figure out how to use scrapbooking kits so that I could edit and design my own blogs and it finally worked!! I'm pumped! I used a kit from Sweet Shoppe Designs. Hope you like it!!

I've also been making little images or buttons using Amanda's digital paper and fonts! You should definitely check out her site because she is very talented!! A big thank you to her for letting me use her pages and fonts for free, which allows me to give them to you for free and....for letting me pick her brain with questions! You can put them in your sidebar of your blog by copying the codes below then adding a picture gadget. If you have questions please let me know.

Also, if anyone has any requests on certain quotes, verses, etc, I would be glad to make a button for you!! This is so much fun and it's one of my many hobbies, lately. Oh..and the actual button is much smaller. I just enlarged them here for fun. Hope you enjoy!!

FREEBIES

2009-09-24T10:14:00.018-05:00

"Cutie Patootie Word Art"
"Mini Badge Album Quick Pages"
"Citrus Zest" Paper Pack

"Sweetheart" Paper Pack
'Girls Night Out Kit' and Alphabet
Green and White Patterned Paper and Frames

'Brighten It Up' Scrapbooking Kit

Polka Dot Scrapbooking Alphabet
Purple Scrapbooking Alphabet

Buttons

Painted Wooden Beaded Sports Necklace

2009-09-10T20:34:00.020-05:00

I was inspired this past weekend at the Auburn football game. I noticed that people seemed to be very decked out for the ballgame, from head to toe. I was thinking about how I don't really have any Auburn jewelry at all and seeing some of the big and fun things that people were wearing made me want something for myself. I have to give it to my husband for encouraging me to make something on my own. I'm so glad I did!!

This was what I came up with and I thought it turned out cute and yes, I'll be wearing it at the next game. It was super easy and lots of fun. My daughter Caley wants one now so I'm off tomorrow to buy some wooden beads for her. She helped me paint this one a little but she's made it clear she wants to do hers all by herself.

This necklace was really easy to make and all you need is a quick trip to Hobby Lobby.

You will need: 1 piece of floral foam, between 20-24 round wooden beads (they come in a pack of 6, I used 1", 1/8" hole), sand paper, 2 yards of ribbon (I used one of each color, which made it a total of 4 yards), white paint or primer, other paint choices with your team colors, Americana Pearlizing paint ..medium, and a pack of flex straws

Make sure you read all of the instructions before beginning.

If you look closely you'll notice that the wood is a little jagged inside the holes.

2. Roll up a small piece of sand paper and try to twist it inside the hole just to sand down the uneven wood. This will help to make sure the ribbon won't get scratched later.This is what they should look like when you're done.
2. Take your white paint, or primer, and paint the inside of the hole with a small paint brush.

3. When the paint is dry (it doesn't take long at all to dry) stick the straw through the hole of the bead. The flexible part of the straw should hold the bead in place so that it won't move. Now you can paint the sides of the bead.

4. Stick the straw in the foam to let it dry.

5. When the paint is dry, use your colors of choice and paint the rest of the beads. It may take 2 coats.

6. Use your pearlizing paint for the top coat. It gives the beads a shimmery look that I think looks nice.

7. Take your ribbon pull it through one bead and move it to the very center of your 2 yards of ribbon.

8. Tie a knot on each end of the bead.

9. Add beads to each side of your knots.

10. Continue until you have the necklace like you want it. I ended up using 21 beads.

Good luck!! Let us know if you try it!! War Eagle!!!

FOOTBALL BROWNIES

2009-08-23T11:07:00.005-05:00

My son Joshua wanted a football party for his birthday, so I had to put these brownies on here that I made for his Kindergarten class. Not only did Joshua want a football party, but an AUBURN football party - WAR EAGLE!

Football season is almost here. Some of you might enjoy making these for your tailgate outings or for your little ones that love some brownies. It is so easy.

All you need is a brownie mix, a football cookie cutter and some icing.

Since this was my first time to use a cookie cutter on brownies, I found the easiest way to be lining the sheet pan with aluminum foil (let the foil hang over on the ends for easy pick up).

After the brownies bake, all you do is let the pan cool.

The baked brownie mix comes right out of the pan while you lift the aluminum foil up from the ends. Now the football cookie cutter can be used.

After cutting out all the footballs, there is lots of extra brownie pieces to eat on yourself - yummy! Now, you decorate the footballs with icing. How easy is that!

WAR EAGLE!

Choco-Hoto-Pots

2009-08-18T15:59:00.025-05:00

My friend Kate saw this recipe on Oprah a few years ago and has been making these choco-hot-pots at her house ever since. She so graciously let me come in her house and take pictures while she made them so I could show it to you all! Thank you Kate!! They are super easy and super delicious. Perfect for dinner parties!

You will need: 3 tbs flour, 2 eggs, 3/4 c sugar, 3/4 c semi-sweet chocolate chips, and 1 stick of unsalted butter

You can use ramekins or any type of even-safe mug or bowl. This recipe makes 4 servings.

1. Place a baking sheet in the oven and preheat to 400 degrees. Butter your ramekins and set aside.

2. Melt the butter and chocolate chips in in a microwave safe bowl for about 1 minute or until all the chocolate is melted.

3. Stir then set aside to cool.

4. Combine eggs, flour, and sugar.

5. Pour the egg mixture into the chocolate mixture.

6. Stir.

7. Fill ramekins about 3/4 of the way.

8. Add chocolate chips on top just for fun!

9. Bake for about 20 minutes or until the tops are shiny and cracked.

This is what they will look like after they've cooled a while. If the middle sinks in, it's perfect. They will be a little crunchy on top and gooey inside.

Add cool whip, ice cream, or drizzle some syrup on top.

Here is my daughter Caley (on the left), Kate, and her daughter Lucy Kate. You can tell they enjoyed every bite.

A special Thank You to Kate for letting me come in and take pictures of the whole process. I hope everyone gets a chance to try these!!

Butterfinger Cake

2009-08-12T14:38:00.004-05:00

This wonderful recipe is from our Aunt Carolyn and it is amazing!

Ingredients:

1 Devil's Food Cake Mix (mix like regular)

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 bottle caramel topping (syrup)

1 regular Cool Whip

8 pack of little butterfingers (crushed)

Bake the Devil's Food cake as called for. As the cake bakes, crush the butterfingers.

While hot, punch holes in the cake and pour the sweetened condensed milk and caramel over the top of the cake.

Let the cake cool, then frost with Cool Whip and sprinkle butterfingers on top. Keep in refrigerator or eat now. Delicious!

Chocolate Caramel Pretzels Sticks

2009-08-04T15:37:00.021-05:00

First things first. The winner of the Wal-mart gift card is......Julie Y. #4
Congratulations!!

I found these on Heather Bailey's blog and thought I would give it a try because they looked so yummy! I learned a lot considering this was my first time. Seriously, how hard can dipping pretzels in chocolate and caramel be, right? Well, I was wrong. It was much easier the second go around. I will definitely have to share my mistakes as I give you the instructions. Trust me, these are sooo good! It's worth a try.

Ingredients:

pack of caramel candy

pack of semi-sweet chocolate morsels

large pretzel sticks

First, you will need to unwrap the individual pieces of caramel candy. Place them in a microwaveable bowl. Heat then stir every 15 seconds until melted smoothly.
Use a tall glass or some kind of cylinder that the caramel can be poured into. This way the pretzels can be covered with as much caramel as possible.

Tip: If the caramel is still a bit thick or clumpy you may want to reheat. If the consistency is runnier, it will be a ton easier. The first time I dipped a pretzel stick in the caramel and pulled it out, way too much of the caramel was on the pretzel. You have to let some of the caramel slide off the stick until there is a good coat on there but not too much. Also, let the caramel firm a little while you are holding the pretzel stick before you lay it down. This helps so that the caramel won't easily run off when it sits for a while.
You need to use a non-stick spray on your wax paper before you lay your caramel pretzels down. I use to think that nothing would stick to wax paper...wrong. Caramel does.
Let these sit out long enough to get firm.

Next, you'll need to melt your chocolate in the microwave in the same manner as the caramels. Pour your chocolate in another tall glass and dip just like you did before.

Drizzle with some chopped nuts. Leave them sitting out until firm. Then...enjoy!

These would be great wrapped up as gifts for any occasion!

BACK TO SCHOOL GIVEAWAY

2009-08-02T21:48:00.014-05:00

The 2009 School year is now here! And because we have so many wonderful teachers in our family, this post is dedicated to them and all the other teachers out there beginning the new school year. Maybe this will help you guys out:)

Who doesn't like a small gift every once in awhile? And who better deserves one than your child's teacher. Have you ever wondered, "what would a teacher like to get from a student on the first day of school?" Well, we sent out a little survey to some teachers we know to get their opinions and this is what they came up with.

These were the top 5 things:

1. Gift card or cash money - so the teacher can get exactly what THEY want and not what we THINK they want

2. Snacks - pretzels, drinks, peanut butter crackers, granola bars, nuts, chocolate, gum or any other snack food

3. Stationery - anything with their name or initial on it, note cards, thank you notes and post-it notes

4. Pens - pretty or cute pens, many others said, "EXPO"markers or permanent markers

5. Hand sanitizer

It was learned in this survey that teachers not only love small things for themselves, but can always use school supplies for their classrooms. They have to pay for so many things our of their own pockets. So, all we have to do as parents is grab a pack of Post-it notes or something else at Wal-Mart to send to school with our child. Even once a month and it doesn't have to cost much.

Our mom has said when we make cookies or some kind of dessert at home to get a small Ziploc bag and put a small portion in there and send to the teacher. This can only help your child, right? What a great idea and what a kind and easy way to remember a teacher.

Because we love teachers so much:

Our BACK TO SCHOOL GIVEAWAY is a $50 Wal-Mart gift card!

Maybe this can get a teacher a small basket full of goodies for the first day of school, and still have plenty left over for some things for yourself! You choose how to spend it!

Leave us your name and an e-mail address to reach you before Tuesday night (Aug 4th) at 10:00pm. Only one comment per person and the winner will be randomly selected and announced Wednesday morning in our next post. GOOD LUCK!

Oh, one more thing. One sweet (former) teacher was kind of enough to let us know what NOT to get a teacher. We thought this was funny, so we had to put it on here. Have you ever bought any of these things for a teacher? Ha!

#1 teacher mugs - especially the ones with hot cocoa

Christmas tree ornaments

stuffed animals

Chocolate with mystery nougat

Have a wonderful week!

This contest has ended. Winner will be posted August 5, 2009.

See you back in a few weeks!

2009-07-11T07:52:00.002-05:00

First of all, a big thank you to all of you that continue to follow us on our blog. Your encouraging comments certainly make us smile!! This has turned out to be a a busy month for both of us so we have decided to not post again until early August. Check back then for our next giveaway as well! Thanks so much and we'll be back soon!

Ice Cold Lemonade

2009-07-01T15:12:00.025-05:00

There's nothing like a tall glass of ice cold lemonade during a hot summer day! My absolute favorite is served at Toomer's Corner in Auburn, AL. During football season it's hard to pass up a trip to the corner for some lemonade. I found a couple of recipes online and tweaked them a little to come up with this recipe. It really does taste a lot like the kind served there. It's pretty strong and will absolutely withstand the ice and keep the flavor. Here it goes.

You will need a lemon juicer of some kind. I used a hand held device but if you don't have the tools just squeeze it out with your hands using a fork.

You need to cut the lemons in half then squeeze the juice out into a measuring cup.

You will need about 2 cups of lemon juice.

Strain the juice while you pour it into your pitcher just to make sure to keep the seeds out.

Then, add about 1 1/2 cups of sugar.

Stir well.

Add 4 cups of water and about 1 1/2 cups of ice. Stir again and you're done!! Oh....so good!!

I couldn't resist.

SURPRISE PLAY DOUGH

2009-06-29T15:03:00.009-05:00

If you have been looking for a recipe for play dough for your classroom or even your kids at home, this one is spectacular!

Ingredients:
flour
salt
cream of tartar (spice aisle of grocery store)
water
oil (vegetable or canola)
imitation vanilla flavoring
food coloring
waxed paper

Combine in saucepan: 1 cup flour, 1/4 cup salt, 1 teaspoon cream of tarter

Add 1 cup of water and 1 Tablespoon of oil

Whisk until smooth

Cook over medium heat until play dough is nearly set (stirring with a wood spoon occasionally and 'flipping' play dough over so it doesn't stick). Then, add 1 Tablespoon of imitation vanilla flavoring.

Stir until vanilla is blended

Remove and cool on waxed paper

Knead the play dough until smooth and form into a ball (or a few balls if you've tripled the recipe) and press down with your thumb to make an indention. Place 2-3 drops of food coloring into the indention and "close up the gap" so that you can't tell what color the play dough ball has inside.

Give kids the play dough and instruct them to knead the play dough to see what color they get.

The colored play dough balls

**This is the best play dough recipe I've ever found. The vanilla flavoring seems to improve the texture and adds a nice scent as well ! **

***Store play dough in Ziploc bag or air tight container.***

A huge "THANK YOU" to my friend Scarlett who told me about this recipe and was kind enough to take pictures! I love this recipe and cannot wait to let my kids play with this yummy smelling play dough.

PEACH COBBLER

2009-06-22T08:01:00.005-05:00

Hope everyone had a wonderful Father's Day! I couldn't let it slip away without having my husband's favorite dessert - Peach Cobbler!

This Peach Cobbler recipe is another yummy dessert we like to make around our home! This is definitely quick and easy with only 3 ingredients. A large can of sliced peaches (or 2 small cans), a cake mix, and a stick of butter. Can you believe it? Only those 3 ingredients!

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Empty the can of peaches into your baking dish.

Empty the bag of cake mix evenly onto the top of the peaches. Then cover the top of the cake mix with butter squares or you can melt the butter in the microwave and pour onto the top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until the top is light brown how you may like it.

Then cut a piece and cover with your favorite ice cream!

How easy! If you ever need a quick, inexpensive dessert and delicious dessert - here ya go!

Gap Gift Card Winner

2009-06-18T21:51:00.007-05:00

Congratulations to......Mandie!! You are our $20 Gap Gift Card winner!! Thank you so much to all that entered. We truly appreciate all of our visitors and your sweet comments. It puts a smile on our face and encourages us so much to read the positive feedback. Thanks again and keep checking back for our next giveaway!!

Easy No-Sew Tutu Tutorial and a GIVEAWAY!

2009-06-16T17:40:00.037-05:00

If you need some quick and easy tutu instructions you're at the right place. These are great gifts and great for the kids to play in! They love pretending to be little ballerinas. Great for pictures too!!

All you need is: 6" wide tulle (2 or 3 rolls) and some No-Roll wide elastic. That's it!!

You can make these tutu's as long as you would like them to be but this one is the average shorter tutu. I cut a bunch of strips of tulle using a 2 foot measuring stick. Each piece will be folded in half later so if you want your tutu to be all the way to the ground you will need to cut extra long pieces. I use about 50 yards of tulle for one tutu. Sometimes more but at least that much. Cutting more strips makes the tutus look fuller.

Make sure you buy the "No-Roll" elastic. This is very important. You can decide how wide you would like for the elastic to be but I think the wider the better.

1. You will need to measure your child's waist and subtract that number by 3. That is how long your elastic needs to be. Then you can zig-zag stitch your elastic together.

2. You are going to tie knots with your tulle all around the elastic so it's easier just to put the elastic around your leg so that it stays in place.

3. Take one piece of tulle and fold it in half. Make sure the folded end is at the bottom and place it under the elastic like the picture above.

4. Now, here is how you are going to tie the knot. It's a little hard to explain but I hope the pictures will help. Take the two ends of the tulle that are at the top and loop them down and under where the hole is from the folded tulle.

5. Continue pulling the tulle down and use your thumb on the other hand to place the knot and tighten as you pull.

Hopefully this picture shows it a little better.

6. When you have pulled it all the way through your know should look like this on your thumb. You can adjust it as needed to make sure its tight.

7. Your first knot is complete!

8. Now you just need to make a bunch more!

9. Continue all the way around until it's as full as you would like for it to be. When you stretch the elastic you might see empty spaces to fill in.

10. Let them play their hearts out!!

It's time for another giveaway!! Who wants a $20 Gap Gift Card?? Enter your name and email in the comments section below to enter. This giveaway will end Thursday 9:00 pm central . Winner will be randomly picked using random.org and will be announced on Friday morning! You may enter once daily. Good luck!!

This giveaway has ended. Please check back June 19th for the winner!

Linoleum Mat: Tutorial #1

2009-06-13T07:41:00.008-05:00

Some talented ladies at church came up with a great idea for a "Girl's Night Out!" They called it 'DIP and DABBLE'! Dip for all the different kinds of spinach dip, cheese dip or whatever they decide to have on that particular night. Along with some delicious sweets of course. And Dabble for the creative piece of artwork we design that night and bring home.

Last month we designed and painted linoleum mats. It was our choice what we wanted to paint, but they brought a couple of mats for examples to go by. Linoleum can be bought at Home Depot, Lowe's or a local Carpet Store. For this project, only a small piece is needed. So, you may even get lucky when you head out to a store. Ask if they have any scrap pieces of linoleum and they may give it to you for free.

All you need is the piece of linoleum, craft paint, brushes, blue paint tape (if you are like me) and a small can of polyurethane to seal the mat after it is completed.

As you can see, this mat is linoleum side up. The opposite side of the linoleum will be what is painted. The blue paint tape is easy to use for straight lines or other designs. This particular mat was for my kids. It is going in their playroom! The playroom has a door to the backyard, so I thought this mat would be great for traffic going outside.

My daughter helped tape a square in the middle to paint. She picked out the color and I let her have at it! Any type of stencils can be used for this or you can freehand everything. My oldest kids made their hand prints and my baby made her footprints! After the mat is painted, let it completely dry (maybe 24 hours or less), then seal it with a coat of polyurethane!

This was my first one and I wanted the B for our last name. It sits inside my front door!

My friend Cindy made this one for her kitchen! I love it!

Another friend (Scarlett) made this one for her kitchen as well!

This is so much fun to do and so easy! I can't wait to paint some more!

Easy and Delicious Crescent Cinnamon Rolls

2009-06-07T22:19:00.019-05:00

Debbie, a friend from church, told me about this recipe for Crescent Cinnamon Rolls and I just had to try it myself. It's so easy to make and my kids absolutely love them!! I can tell this is gonna be a favorite at my house for sure.

All you need is:

2 packs of Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
cinnamon
sugar
butter

There is no magic number to how much you will need of each of these ingredients. You just add as much or as little as you like.

Roll out both your crescent rolls and pinch together all the triangles so that you have two large rectangles. Then pinch the two rectangles together so that you have almost one large square.

Debbie said to lather the butter on with your hands, so I did. Messy but fun.
Sprinkle on as much cinnamon as you like. I wasn't stingy.

Same thing with the sugar. Don't be shy, the more the better!

Now start to roll the dough up into it looks like one long log.

It should look like this when you're done.

Use a knife and cut 1.5"-2" sections. They will look a little odd and may even come apart. Just press them back together and they'll be just fine. Stick these in the oven at 375 for about 12 minutes.

Now for the icing. You'll need about 2 cups of confectioners sugar, 3 tbs of Half & Half, and a 1/2 tsp of vanilla. You might have to play with this and add milk or sugar to give it the thickness that you like.

It should be thick enough so that it does not run easily off the spoon.

In the oven and almost ready.

When they're finished baking take them out and drizzle the icing all over! Eat 'em now when they're hot!! We would love to know.....has anyone tried these before?

How to Applique

2009-06-04T16:30:00.013-05:00

About 6 years ago, our mom thought it would be a good investment to purchase Brooke and I both a brand new sewing machine. We were clueless where to begin, so she hired Amy Rutledge to teach us the basics. We didn't even know how to thread the needle, much less put a bag together. But by the end of our 2 lessons, we could work a sewing machine, applique and make ourselves a diaper bag. Thank you Amy and mom! I think it has been a great investment for us both!

One of our very first things to learn was how to applique. An applique is a decorative design made of one material sewn over another. This applique is the fabric letter M ironed on to a child's t-shirt and then stitched around.

Supplies used: iron, piece of fabric, cut out letter, t-shirt, water soluble marking pen, Wonder Under (iron-on adhesive), and freezer paper

A small square piece of fabric was cut out, along with a square piece of Wonder Under (iron-on adhesive) and a cardboard cut-out M to trace around.

Step one:

The square piece of Wonder Under is ironed onto the piece of fabric. The top side (good side) of fabric is placed on top of the adhesive part of the Wonder Under. One side of the Wonder Under is smooth and the other is rough. The rough side is the adhesive side. Make sure the adhesive is ironed on to the back of the good side of the fabric. Step two:

With the good side of fabric facing down and smooth side of Wonder Under facing up, the letter M is traced with a water soluble pen or pencil. The letter has to be a mirror image of the finished product. If the letter B would have been used, I would have needed to trace it backwards.

Step three:

Cut out the fabric letter and peel away the Wonder Under. The adhesive is left on the letter.

Step four:

The fabric letter is ironed onto the t-shirt.

Step five:

Use a zig-zag stitch to sew around the letter M. Place a small piece of freezer paper under the letter M inside the shirt to help glide the t-shirt through the stitching. Your finished product - an easy way to personalize a child's t-shirt.

Hope you try it!

FRUIT SKEWERS

2009-05-31T21:34:00.010-05:00

We love these things, because we love fruit! Except for Thomas - he doesn't like fruit. In my book, if you don't like fruit you are weird:) Just kidding! But how could someone NOT like fruit. There are so many different kinds to choose from and in so many beautiful colors.

As for our family, one of our favorites is watermelon. Thanks to my father-in-law, we get them all summer long for free. He has the best home-grown watermelons around. We can't wait for a visit from Pappy to get a few watermelons. The kids and I will eat watermelon non-stop in the summer time.

We also have many other fruits we love to enjoy. We only chose our favorites for this particular bunch of fruit skewers. My kids love to put these together. Of course, some end up with missing pieces because they eat them along the way. But that's part of it, right?

The easy thing about putting together fruit skewers is that there is no wrong way to make them! The how to is very simple! Get fruit skewers and your favorite fruit and start working!

We used watermelon, cantaloupe, grapes, strawberries and pineapple!

Watermelon

Cantaloupe

Grapes

Strawberries

Pineapple

These fruit skewers are pressed into the top of a watermelon. The watermelon was cut in half and hollowed out. Turn it over and place it on a plate or platter and place the skewers however you would like. Now you have a nice display of fruit. These can be used for all different occasions! Parties, showers, graduations or just to eat for fun!

Projects

2009-05-27T16:53:00.017-05:00

Mini Badge Album
Fabric Covered Elastic Headbands
Valentine Shirts
Christmas Tree Shirt
Turkey Shirt
Trick or Treat Bags
Fabric Covered Wall Art

Digital Art Canvas

Painted Wooden Beaded Sports Necklace
Surprise Play Dough
Tutu
Painted Linoleum Mats
Applique
Fabric Covered Buttons, Ponytail Holders, and Magnets
Light Tent
Flower Pinwheel

Recipes

2009-05-27T16:52:00.025-05:00

Red, White, & Blue Salad
Crock Pot Chicken Chili and Potato Soup #2
Crock Pot Potato Soup
Taco Soup
Chocolate Chip Muffins

Crunchy Romaine Strawberry Salad
Choco Hoto Pots
Football Brownies

Butterfinger Cake

Chocolate Caramel Pretzel Sticks

Lemonade

Peach Cobbler

Cinnamon Rolls
Fruit Skewers
Peanut Butter Cow Patties
Barbie Cups
Cornflake Clusters

How to Make Peanut Butter Cow Patties

2009-05-27T16:08:00.043-05:00

These Peanut Butter Cow Patties are so delicious and very easy to make! Our mom was given this recipe a long time ago from a friend and it's been one of her favorites! You should definitely try it!!

Ingredients:

2 cups sugar

1 stick margarine

3/4 cup evaporated milk

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup peanut butter

2 cups oatmeal

1. Bring sugar, butter, and milk to a boil over medium heat.

This is what it looks like when the butter has melted and everything is combined.

2. When it starts boiling cook for 4 more minutes, stirring constantly. The picture above shows what it looks like when it begins to boil but you don't start your 4 minutes until it looks like the picture below.

Start your 4 minute timer now.

3. After the 4 minutes, remove from heat and add the remaining ingredients. Peanut Butter.

Vanilla

And Oats.

4. Stir everything together.

5. Drop tsp fulls on wax paper. It helps to spray the wax paper first to prevent from sticking. Leave them sitting for about an hour or until they harden.

Enjoy!

Another Treasury!!

2009-05-26T08:39:00.004-05:00

We were featured in an Etsy Treasury!! How exciting!!

Click the picture to go directly to Etsy's treasury page!

HOW TO MAKE FABRIC COVERED BUTTONS, PONYTAIL HOLDERS, and MAGNETS

2009-05-25T21:38:00.018-05:00

Supplies: Button Cover Kit, fabric, pliers, fabric, magnets, ponytail holder, glue

The first 4 directions are on the back of the button kit itself. This shows you how to make a simple button.

1. Cut out fabric circle that is twice the size of the button.

2. Center the fabric, wrong side up, and button shell over button maker, push into button maker (white object).

3. Tuck in fabric.

4. Using Pusher (blue object), snap back into shell.

To add a magnet, simply remove the wire on the back with your pliers before you begin. Then follow steps 1-4. Finally, glue the magnet onto the back on the button.

To make a ponytail holder button simply remove the wire using your pliers. Then, put your ponytail holder in the loop. Using your pliers, bend the wire back into the back just as it was before. Now, follow steps 1-4.

You can look at the pictures below to see how everything was done!!

WE HAVE A WINNER!

2009-05-22T22:06:00.010-05:00

Congratulations Kimberly! You just won a Williams Sonoma 12 cup muffin pan!!

A big thanks to all that entered! Keep checking back for more exciting giveaways!!

BARBIE CUPS and a GIVEAWAY!!

2009-05-21T19:52:00.001-05:00

Some of you may know what Barbie cups are and others may not. They have been around in our family for as long as we can remember. We thought our mom made it up herself, but more than likely many moms have made this recipe without even knowing it. Mom just always called them "Barbie cups." Here is the quick how to!

Ingredients include:

Hamburger meat, your favorite barbecue sauce, Grands buttermilk biscuits and cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

First, you cook the hamburger meat and strain it. Next, add your favorite barbecue sauce to the hamburger meat. At this point you can add any of your favorite ingredients to the hamburger meat to enhance the taste. You could try a little brown sugar, onions, ketchup or green peppers. Whatever your family likes best. Mix the meat and sauce in a bowl.

Now, open the can of biscuits and flatten them out. Lay them each in a muffin tin opening leaving a large dip in the center. This is where the hamburger meat will go. We love to use the Grands buttermilk can biscuits, but you can also use a regular size biscuit. We like them big and chunky!

Now, place spoonfuls of the meat inside the biscuits and place in oven at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

After they come out of the oven, sprinkle some cheese and now you have a wonderful dish. Our kids love these! Hope you try them!

And now for our GIVEAWAY from

a commercial quality 12 cup muffin pan!

To enter all you have to do is leave us your favorite thing to make in a muffin pan. Leave this in the comments section along with an e-mail address or way to reach you. All comments are automatically numbered and one will be randomly selected using http://www.random.org/ to win the muffin pan. Only 1 comment per person allowed.

Contest will end at 10:00pm Friday night - May 22

Winner will be announced Saturday morning

GOOD LUCK !!

This contest has ended! Thank you to all who entered!

How to Make a Light Tent for Taking Pictures with White Background

2009-05-16T19:35:00.000-05:00

Here are instuctions for creating a light tent that will help your photos look like they have a pure white background. Have you ever noticed pictures of objects that look like they are almost floating on the screen? You can achieve this by using a homemade light tent. We are certainly not photographers but just by doing a little research we've found that it can be easily done by a few materials and a little photo editing. If you need to sell an item on ebay, etsy, or any other online shop this is a great tool for you to use can inhance your pictures! Here is our version of a light tent.

Please Read All Instructions Before Beginning

Materials Needed:

*2 sheets of white foam board (If you wait until they are 50% off at Hobby Lobby you will only pay 99 cents for each.)

*Vellum paper (This is a transluscent paper you can get at Hobby Lobby. Really you can use any material that you can see through...white fabric, light interfacing)

*1 white poster board

*clear packaging tape

*ruler

*knife or razor blade

1. Measure and draw a line every 2 inches all the way down one piece of the 20x30 foam board. When you finish you will have 15 sections that measure 2x20.

2. Using your knife cut down each line until each section is separated.

3. Take your other foam board and draw only 5 lines this time, just like before, every 2 inches down your board until you get to 10 inches. You should see that you now have 5 long sections and one large square.

4. Cut through the lines of this board and now you should have 20- 2x20 long pieces and one 20x20 square.

5. Now you are going to take 10 of your 2x20 sections and cut 4 inches off of each of them. Now you have 10 pieces that are 2x20 and 10 that are 2x16.

6. Take 2 of your 2x20 pieces and 2 of your 2x16 pieces and lay them accordingly. Longest on the sides and shorter on top and bottom. You will be making a square and then tape each end together. The pieces do not need to be on top of each other when you are taping, only closely beside each other. Once you have one side taped together, flip it over and tape the other side as well. This is necessary for them to hold together securely.

7. Repeat #6 until you have 4 large squares that have been taped together.

8. Take your one large square (from #3) and one of your pieced together squares. Tape them together as shown above.

9. Continue adding the other 3 sides. You should have one taped square left and it will be used for step #11.

10. You need to cut 2 inches off your poster board all the way down the longest side so it will fit inside your box. Sit your poster board in the box and tape as shown above.

11. Now you can add the last taped square to the top of your light tent. Tape accordingly and securely.

12. You will need to cut 4 squares from your vellum paper. 18x18 pieces work well. Tape on to 3 sides leaving the front side open. Cover the top as well.
13. You can use 1 lamp or in the picture above three different lamps are used. The more lights the better. The desk lamps on the side were purchased for $5 each from Target. You will need to buy n:vision flourescent daylight bulbs and you can get them at Home Depot.

13. After a little photo editing using Gimp (a free photo editing program) with the brightness and contrast, here is the final photograph.

Good luck! Let us know when you try it or if you have already!

HOW TO MAKE CORN FLAKE CLUSTERS

2009-05-15T22:15:00.001-05:00

Corn flakes - 4 cups

Sugar - 2 cups

Karo syrup - 2 cups

Peanut butter - 2 cups

Start the stove eye on low, then add the 2 cups of sugar and 2 cups of Karo syrup. The consistency will be very thick and cloudy. Keep stirring and gradually turn up the heat. The mixture will soon thin out and began to bubble (or boil). At the first signs of boiling, take the pot off the heat.

After the pot is off the heat, add the 2 cups of peanut butter.

Stir in peanut butter until it has melted.

Now gradually add in the corn flakes, one cup at a time. To be honest, we add the corn flakes until we get the right consistency. There has to be an even amount of corn flakes versus peanut butter. If there is too much peanut butter and not enough cornflakes, you may have to use a spoon to eat it:) If there are too many corn flakes and not enough peanut butter, they may be a little dry:) Whatever works for you!

After the corn flakes are mixed in with the peanut butter, you can pour it onto a piece of wax paper to cool. After 10-15 minutes of cooling, roll them into balls. Or if you want the easy way out, pour the mixture into a pan to cool. Then cut them into squares.

We like to roll the balls and arrange them on a platter.

For as long as we can remember, corn flake clusters have been a delicious treat enjoyed by our entire family. They are wonderful for the holidays, teacher gifts, road trips and even the beach (one of our favorite places to eat them). If you love peanut butter, you will absolutely love this recipe.

Have fun and enjoy!

How to Make a Flower Pinwheel

2009-05-12T20:01:00.000-05:00

Pinwheel Pinwheel Spinning Around. Look At My Pinwheel and See What I found.

If you were born in the late '70's early '80's, you might remember the tune to this song from Nickelodeon on a show called "Pinwheel." It was one of our favorite shows.

We found this precious little flower pinwheel pattern on Heather Bailey's Blog. We altered her pattern a little but go to her website for exact instructions. This would be a great activity to do at a little girl's birthday party, used for decorations, a party favor, or even gifts. Almost everything used for making these came from Hobby Lobby. Here is the supply list.

2 sheets of double-sided cardstock

some scraps of cardstock for the circles and flower cut outs

buttons or any other decorative do-dad for the center

2 1/8"-3/16" eyelets (you will also need some eyelet pliers, they usually come with a hole punch attached that you will also need)

wire, 18 gauge

wood bead 1/2"-5/8" in diameter

18"wood dowel, 5/16"-3/8" in diameter (also a drill to make hole)

paint for the dowel and wooden bead

ribbon for dowel

craft glue

flower punches

1. First thing you might want to do is drill a hole in the dowel.

2. Paint both the dowel and the wooden bead so they will be dry by the time you need to work with them.
3. Print out and trace the pinwheel pattern on 2 separate pieces of your cardstock. We were excited to find Amy Butler scrapbook paper at Hobby Lobby so that's what we used.
4. Punch a hole in the center of each pinwheel and at the end of all the spokes. (there are black dots on the pattern that you cut out to show you exactly where you need to punch the holes)

5. Cut out the circle in the center of the pinwheel pattern or use a 1" circle hole punch. You will need two circles cut from the cardstock. Punch a hole at the center of one circle.

6. Place the 2 cut out pinwheels together face up to where they are locked with spokes on top.

7. Attach the eyelet at the center to hold them together. You can still adjust the pinwheels a little even with the eyelet in place. The eyelet pliers take a little getting use to, especially manuevering around the paper so that it doesn't tear. It's actually a pretty neat tool that scrapbookers use for decorations.

8. Then comes the hardest part of all. This took a little time figuring out but it did finally work. You need to bring each spoke to the center, one a time, attaching them to the other eyelet. You will need to hold them down together with your fingers and try not to let your fingers shift sideways or the eyelet will not be facing up when you attach it. Now, use your pliers to set the eyelet. This is a little difficult to do but you can do it!. Both eyelets should be centered if it's done correctly. You need them to be centered so that the wire can easily go through both holes to form a straight line.

9. By now your dowel should be dry. You can use your craft glue to attach ribbon around the dowel.

10. Take your wire and cut about a 12" piece. Bend the wire about 3/8" from the end.

11. Slide the hold-punched cirle onto the bent end of the wire. Then glue the other circle on top so that the bent end of the wire is no longer showing.

12. Cut out flowers for the center or use some flower punches that are used for scrapbooking. Glue them on top of the circle and then add your button or decorative doo-dad in the center.

13. Slide the flower pinwheel through the other end of the wire until it reaches the spindle. 14. Add the wooden bead. Slide the wire through the hole of the wooden dowel. Leave some space between the bead and dowel so that the pinwheel will have room to spin.

15. Finally, wrap the remaining wire around the top of the dowel tightly.

16. Your done!! Admire your hard work!

The winner for the Target Gift Card Giveaway is shown at the end of the previous post.

Who Wants a Gift Card?

2009-05-10T19:49:00.001-05:00

Our passions definitely run deep. Welcome to our new blog and to our new endeavor of showcasing some of our favorite crafts for your enjoyment. We may even throw in some recipes here and there. Our hope is that we can put a smile on someone else's face that enjoys the things we do, by duplicating things we have done and that they too can share with others. Making things can be fun and rewarding. Too often people say, "I just can't do that!" We show you step by step instructions so that you too can succeed. If we can do it, you can too!

We are truly honored by your presence here at our new blog. In honor of our little grand opening we would like to give something back to you! Target is one of our favorite places to shop so one person will be randomly selected to win a $20 Target Gift Card. The winner will be announced Wednesday morning. All you have to do is sign in at the comments section below and leave your email address.

If you get a chance, check at our new Etsy shop! We have adult and child size headbands like you see in the picture above! We were so excited to find out that we were featured in an Etsy Treasury and in someone's favorite list!! The pics are below.

AND THE WINNER IS......

Thank you so much to all who signed up for our first giveaway! Your kind words are so encouraging! Please check back soon for our next giveaway!!!

Giveaways

2009-04-28T15:26:00.005-05:00

February 1, 2010
Victoria's Secret Gift Card

January 4, 2009
Cracker Barrel Gift Card

October 21, 2009
Bath and Body Works Gift Card

August 2, 2009
Wal-Mart Gift Card

May 10, 2009
Target Gift Card

May 22,2009
Williams Sonoma Muffin Pan

June 16, 2009
Gap Gift Card

Grab Our Button!

2009-04-24T16:56:00.000-05:00

1. Triple click inside the box with the code (underneath the sidebar button image) so that everything in the box becomes highlighted.
2. Right click inside the box (still with everything highlighted) and then click Copy.
3. Go to the Page Elements page in the Layout section of Blogger.
4. Click the Add a Gadget link in the part of your layout that you want the sidebar button to appear.
5. Once the Add a Gadget window appear, click the blue plus sign next to the HTML/JavaScript gadget (it should be second from the top). If this gadget is not appear available, you may have to select the Basics category from the left hand side first.
6. Once the Configure HTML/JavaScript page loads, enter any title you would like in the Title field or leave it blank.
7. In the Content field, right click and click on Paste. You should now see the code inserted into the Content field.
8. Press the Save button at the bottom of the window.
9. You should now see your new gadget appear on the Page Elements page. If you wish to do so, drag your new gadget to where you want it to appear on your blog.
10. Press the Save button at the top of the page.
11. You should now see the new sidebar button on your blog!

Shop Diaper Doodles

2009-04-24T16:45:00.001-05:00

Coming Soon!!

Shop Headbands

2009-04-24T16:42:00.001-05:00

Coming Soon!

Shop Online

2009-04-20T12:13:00.001-05:00

Contact Us

2009-04-20T11:59:00.001-05:00

brookebusby@comcast.net

paigebowerman@comcast.net

Terms

2009-04-20T11:55:00.001-05:00

Please allow 2-3 days before your order is shipped.

We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience, but at this time we do not ship internationally.

We want you to LOVE your order! If there is a problem or you are not 100% satisfied, we will refund your money.

If you are interested in wholesale, please contact us at: brookebusby@comcast.net or paigebowerman@comcast.net

About Us

2009-04-20T11:52:00.004-05:00

We are sisters and best friends who love creating and making new things! We have so much fun sharing ideas and projects with each other and then passing them along to you. From recipes to digital elements we love variety and we hope that you'll find something here that you can use!

As wives of wonderful husbands, and loving mothers of three children each, we have lots of passions. Our faith, family, and friends are what fuel these passions. Above all, we are blessed by the Lord, who has given us the ability to do what we love. Our hope is that our handmade creations will help inspire you to find and pursue your passions as well.

Thanks so much for visiting and we hope you come back soon!!

Sincerely,

Paige and Brooke

Paige's email: paigebowerman@comcast.net
Brooke's email: brookebusby@comcast.net

We would love to hear from you!! :)