Father's Day Printable

 As I promised in yesterday's post, I made a Father's day printable to use as a decoration (would be really cute as a centerpiece for your father's day bbq), or for a card, just print and fold.

Paper and banner from Persnickety Prints

The quality of the print is much higher if you download here in stead of just copying straight from my site.

8x10 print

4x6 print

I saw this quote in our church newsletter this month and just loved it.  It's just how I feel about my dad.  He's just the best!  I have very fond memories of going fishing with him in my younger days, stopping at the gas station on the way to get a treat and pop, making up stories on the way, and him being very patient with my sister and I as we stood up in the canoe (that only took once) or our enthusiasm for fishing wavered and we started leaving lilly pad trails for the fish to follow (that was mostly Leslie.) :)  He was always my number one supporter whether it was just playing church basketball, then on the school team, or even when he snuck in the back of the auditorium when I was trying out for cheerleader - how many dad's are there for cheer tryouts?  My dad was!  When I was in high school, his office or room was always a place to hide or regroup when needed.  He relearned geometry with me and painstakingly tried to teach me every night my freshman year.  He was there to comfort and reassure me when I barely nicked a senior boy's pickup while backing out one day, and the senior boy yelled and cussed at me, again while I was a freshman.  When I was a junior, my favorite year, I took 2 classes from him and was his teacher's aid (where I met my future husband :) )  I was in his class every day for the entire year, and two hours one trimester.  While I was his TA, I remember being enthralled by his lectures in class (history), and then loving the time we sat and talked while the class worked.  Then after I was married, I have loved watching him teach and play with my kids now.  My kids love going to Grandpa's house and the highlight of the summer is "Grandpa's Campout."  I'm so glad  we live so close to them and they are such a big part of my life still and in the life of my children.

Here's my mom and dad, aren't they so cute!

Happy Father's Day, Dad!

P.S.  Don't be too jealous, but my mom is equally as awesome.  I'm so blessed!

My Little Scout

 A few months ago (sheesh time is flying!), Billy had his first Blue and Gold Banquet for cub scouts.  For Christmas his leaders had given each of the boys a toolbox kit to build and they used these as part of the decorations for the banquet.  Billy was quite proud of his masterpiece and asked if he could share it on my blog, "since it's something he made."  I can't resist those dimples so here he is with his toolbox creation.

Can you tell he wasn't so excited by the end of the photo shoot? :)  So he built the box first, painted it all, then because he knew I could cut Batman stuff on my Cricut, decided that would make it awesome!  He really likes the Cricut.  We picked out the designs and he helped cut a few pieces and then got bored - it was a LONG process to cut out all the different layers in different colors.  He glued some of them together, but the stinkin' car and Batman himself had some teeny tiny pieces and I ended up finishing both of those.  However, he finished up by mod podging each thing on to the toolbox.  Mission complete!  He did a great job and I got to introduce him to the world of mod podge.  He now proudly displays it on his shelf above his bed where it holds his rock collection.  Good job, Billy! I love that boy!!

Picture Me Domestic Contest

A couple weeks ago, as I was taking a minute for myself in between helping at school that morning, regular straightening of the house, getting things ready for Bill's birthday, and preparing for the kids to get home and start the routine of homework, piano practicing, chores, etc, oh and added in picking up Natalie from tennis practice, getting her home to change and back to the school for a band concert, I came across an announcement of a fun contest from Family Ever After.  Rachel from Family Ever After , the sisters from The Letter 4, and Aimee from Its Overflowing, have teamed up to host a "picture yourself" contest called Picture Me Domestic.  Here's Rachel's description of the contest:

PICTURE ME DOMESTIC:

What do you spend your days doing? What do you look like in your home element? We all spend different amounts of time at home, but at some point in the day, we are home. The point of this contest is to challenge yourself to take some fun/creative/interesting pictures of yourself doing what you do best. Or most. Or worst. LOL. We just really want to see you having fun, while attending to your life and daily tasks. So again, your challenge is: 

to take a self portrait somewhere at home. 

 We want to "picture you domestic!"

Rachel shared this post a while ago, okay a year ago, where she took some really cool pictures of herself in her kitchen.  It was actually one of the first things I'd pinned and really wanted to do "someday".  Well, this was the perfect motivation.  So as I was taking that "minute" for myself, I grabbed my camera and my tripod, and started having some fun while documenting some of the craziness of the rest of my day.  Here's some of what I came up with:

Savoring the last minutes of peace before the kids get home.

Baking birthday pies for my man.  Fluting my pie crust.

Awww, perfection!

 

The Avengers!

We have a love of super heroes in our home, both boys and girls, the bigs and the littles.  We all have our favorite heroes, our favorite cartoon episodes, our favorite movies, my older girls and I drool discuss our favorite actor super heroes (I'm a little partial to Thor!), the boys' room is all super heroes (I'll show you next week), our little 4 all dressed as super heroes a few years ago for Halloween and then lived in those costumes for a long time.  In fact last night we were given a little music concert performed by Batman, Spiderman, and Harry Potter, they have grown into the bigger size costumes however. :)  So, in honor of the movie coming out today, a little ode to The Avengers!

They're so little!

If only I had these skills:

I apologize for no sources on many of these.  I found them on Pinterest and most didn't have any sources.  If anyone knows where they came from, I'd love to give credit for them.

Source

Okay, so this one isn't technically all Avengers, it's still pretty dang cool!

For the little (or big, actually) Avengers in your life:

DIY Avengers Shirt - I Am Momma Hear Me Roar

Who wouldn't love some Avengers Legos?!  Billy must not have seen these or they would have been all over his birthday list. lol

For the girls:

Feel like getting your Avengers groove on?  Check these out:

Source

She gives you detailed directions of how she created these fabulous looks.

Now wouldn't you love a manicure like that!

Ahh, so much fun!  I can't wait to see the movie.  I hope we're going tomorrow, of course that's after Bill sees it today.  It's his Friday "training film" for work. :)  So is your family as super hero crazy as mine is?  Who's your favorite super hero? 

P.S.  We did go see it on Saturday and it was AWESOME!!  The whole family ages 37 to 7 loved it!

Rainbow Spring Dessert

Looks delicious, doesn't it!

Sorry, for the lack of posts this past week.  I was doing things, but being too lazy to write about them. :)  I just needed a little break.  But I'm back and ready to share some of the fun I was having.  This past weekend was a great one!  All of my brother's and my younger sister (we missed you Kristen!) and their families all hung out together.  Leslie and I did some crafting, making super cute wreaths (we'll show you soon), my mom made a safety pin watch like I did here, all the while we were torturing my daughter, Cheyenne, by listening/singing along with Disney music.  (If you want a great station on Pandora, type in Walt Disney, awesome!)  The cousins, big and little, played and played.  Yes, I'm saying the teenagers played and not hung out since the biggest occupier of time on Sunday was when they took over the cardboard playhouse and played house. lol  Seriously!!  The reason for the gathering was my parents were speaking in church before they leave for their mission to Salt Lake City - see more about that here.  This is mission number 3 for them, I'm so proud of them.  They did a great speaking and then we all gathered for a big dinner at their house afterwards.

Most of the family, missing my sister, Kristen and family, and 3 of my nephews who are also serving missions right now.

Anyway, back to the big dinner, Mom asked me to bring dessert and I knew exactly what I wanted to bring.  Seeing as how it has been very spring like for the last week here in Idaho, and I've had a serious craving for it because I haven't had it in years, I made Rainbow Spring Dessert - a delicious cheesecake, pistachio pudding dessert on a pecan-sandie-like crust.  Oh, my mouth is watering for it again, and I ate the last piece for breakfast on Monday. :)  It's heavenly, not to rich, light and fluffy, and perfect for any spring meal or great for baby showers, too.  We always make it for baby showers and change the top layer to either pink or blue. 

Rainbow Spring Dessert:

1^st Layer:              1/2 c. butter, softened

                               1 ¼ c. flour

                               1 c. chopped pecans

Cut the butter into the flour and mix all together for crust.  Press into a 9x13 pan and bake at 350 degrees for 20 min.

2^nd Layer:             8 oz. cream cheese (softened)

                              1 c. powdered sugar

                              1 ½ c. whipped topping (like cool-whip)

                              Pinch salt

                              ¼ tsp. almond flavoring

                              8 drops of yellow food coloring

Mix well and spread on crust.

3^rd Layer:             2 pkgs. (small boxes) instant pistachio pudding mix

                              3 c. cold milk
Beat together and pour over 2^nd layer.  Chill.

4^th Layer:             2 c. whipped topping

                              ¼ tsp. almond flavoring

                              Enough red food coloring to make it pink

Mix and spread over green layer.

Can be frozen, allow several hours to thaw.  Garnish with sliced almonds and whipped cream (I’ve never added more whipped cream.)

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Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Well, one thing I'm crossing off my list is trying to get Christmas cards out this year.  Yah, it's not going to happen, and I'm okay with that. (at least I have to be c: )  So I'll share it with you all here and call it good enough.  I'm also going to be taking a break for the next week so I can have more fun playing with my family.  I hope you all have a very merry Christmas filled with family and fun and wish you all the best in 2012.

Thrifty Jewelry Christmas Gifts - Part 2

From my post the other day here, you know part of our Thanksgiving weekend was spent gettin' crafty.  My sisters, sisters-in-law, Mom, daughters and niece have an annual tradition of a big craft day.  We spread out all over my mom's big table and talked, laughed, ate chocolate cinnamon bears and the occasional piece of pie, and just had a great time together.  These are some of what we made:

Today I'm going to show you what else we did.  My sister Kristen (with help from SIL Alana) made this really fun interchangeable necklace.

 You can change the bottom row of beads to match your outfit, and it's adjustable from 18" long to around 30" long.  Cool!  The initial cost was a little more expensive, I think it was about $10 for just the chain, but then each bead strand cost only around $5-$10 depending on the beads used.  Still not bad considering each necklace is totally unique to you.

Supplies:
12” of nicer chain
12” of extender chain
4 jump rings
3 lobster clasps
beads
wire
crimp beads

Let me start by explaining the difference between "nicer chain" and "extender chain".  The "nicer chain" is the chain that you'll see mostly.  Kristen bought some cuter, bigger, twisted looped chain that was more expensive.  The "extender chain" was the cheapest stuff they had, just plain regular chain, but it's mostly in the back, so you don't really see it.

Split the nicer chain into two 6" pieces.  Then attach the extender chain with a jump ring at each end.  Now Alana and Kristen were debating over which way to do this next part.  Either you can split the extender chain also and attach a lobster clasp at one end, this is the professional, store-bought looking way.  OR leave the extender chain in one piece, just attaching the lobster clasp on it so when you shorten the chain, you'll have a loop of chain in back instead of a dangling piece.  Either way is fine, it's all in back anyway so it doesn't really matter.  Both ways look good, not cutting the chain is just easier.  Then add a jump ring at either end of the nice chain.  Now your basic chain is done, you're ready to attach the bead string.

This is the fun part.  Make about a 6" long string of beads.  Cut a piece of stringing wire about 8" long, and string on whatever beads you like.  At the ends, string on your crimp bead and lobster clasp, then loop the wire back down and through the crimp bead.  Crimp it.  Do this for as many different bead strands as you like.  This makes a very fun, unique gift.

Now on to the second necklace.  Mine was much easier. :)  I made this necklace which was inspired by this post:

Supplies:
Christmas bead garland - $5 at Michaels and I made 4 necklaces with few beads leftover
Jersey knit material

First of all, I cut a piece of material 2 yards long, but only about 3/4" wide.  You could probably piece it together, I just happen to have a scrap piece that long.  After it's cut, grab one end and start stretching it.  It'll curl in onto itself and make a sort of rope/chord.  My 2 yards of fabric now stretched to 3 yards.  Cut off on end at about 22" for your second string.  This is made in two parts.

Left side - stretched, Right side - not stretched

Then start stringing.  Wrapping the ends with a little tape makes it so much easier.

Slide a bead on down to the middle of your long string, and tie a knot on either side.  Then string another bead, and tie a knot.  I strung 13 beads on the bottom strand and 11 on the second strand.  End each strand with a knot.  Then you'll attach them together with a little hot glue.  Since the material curls in on itself, I uncurled the bottom string, put just a dab of hot glue in it and put the short strand inside it, letting it curl back around it.

Cut off the extra from the inside/short strand, and slide on another bead over the top of the glued part.  Then tie another knot and you're done.  Word of caution, after you're done, it might look a little crooked in places and not lay just right, just wiggle it around and play with it a minute and you'll getting looking right.  DON'T stretch it more, though, not that we had any experience with that (but it wasn't me).  However, if you do happen to stretch it out, we found out that you can undo the whole thing, untieing each knot and do it over again. :)  This is really quick, maybe 30 min, really cheap, and another great gift idea.

Hope you enjoyed our crafting session as much as we did.  My family is the best! We all get along really well and have a lot of fun together.  Love you all!

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Thrifty Jewelry Christmas Gifts

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year.  It's a good long weekend full of family, fun, and good food without all the other stressors that come with so many other holidays.  I love it!  This year we ate with Bill's family and the next day we hung out with my family.

We have a tradition now for the past few years that the girls (actually, nephews have been known to be involved before, too, making stuff for girlfriends) have a big crafting day, either after the food is put away or the next after everyone wakes up from late night/early morning shopping.  My sister, Leslie, and I had been checking out blogs, scouring Pinterest for this year's fun idea.  We never really came up with one big idea, we all kind of did our own things.  So I'm sharing this with you today to give you some fairly quick, all pretty easy, and mostly pretty cheap gift ideas you can whip up for those on your Christmas shopping list.

At my mom's house in the middle of the crafting L to R: my daughter, Cheyenne; sister-in-law, Alana; sister, Kristen; niece, Ashtyn, Mom, nephew, Mitchell, applying to college; sister-in-law, Geri; sister, Leslie; and daughter, Natalie.  Not a great picture, with two big windows it's kind of hard to take good pictures here.

I'll share a little of what we were all working on.  My mom has made great headbands and hats for many of the girls and she was busy finishing flowers and attaching them and stuff.  (I'm giving a headband away when I hit 100!)

Leslie and Ashtyn made this really cute necklace.  Here is the tutorial from Little Miss Momma, she did such a good job with it, why redo a good thing. :)  Here's my tip for this one, just from watching Leslie, the actual assembly of the necklace was fairly quick, but she already had a bajillion circles cut out.  So put on a good show and start cutting first.

Geri, scored a great deal on her Black Friday shopping and got a whole bunch of Swarovski crystal beads and charms for $1 a box.  So she got busy making a bunch of bracelets.  She just strung them on stretchy chord, tied them off with a square knot, and put a little super glue on the knot to hold it tight.  I believe she also made a pair of earrings to match by gluing a charm to some posts she bought.

Kristen (with help from Alana the jewelry making expert!) was busy making a really cute interchangeable necklace.  Come back on Friday and I'll show you how to do it.

I was being very frustrated making a leather wrap bracelets like Want to Get Crafty's here.  My advice - DON'T use sinew for the thread, it's way too sticky, and when you're working with a piece that's around 10-12' (yes feet!) long, it's a pain in the butt!  Then after I finally got it all done, I didn't like it, so that's in the redo pile.  This one was not so quick, but that was mostly because I was trying to figure it out for the first time.  Once I got the idea of how to do it, it went pretty quickly, and if I used waxed thread instead of the sinew it would have been even faster.  I'll redo it and let you know.

  However, I also helped several of my family make this bead necklace.  Again, come back on Friday and I'll show you what I did. (Part 2 here.) 

I hope this gives you some fun ideas for Christmas gifts.  It really is fun and so satisfying to say, "Yah, I made that!"  What is on your Christmas crafting list?

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