My favorites of 2009

I just wanted to say thank you to all of you that read this little blog. I started it back in July and everyday I am just amazed at the number of people that stop by to see what I've been up to. I've learned so much this year (sewing, crochet, mod podge, digital scrapbooking, etc.) and I am so excited to see what fun projects happen during 2010. To end this great year I thought I would share my top 10 favorite projects. Hope you enjoy them.

Men's shirt to dress

Onesie outfit!Mod Podge Plate

Bedroom furniture

place mat pillow

Lampshade makeover
Wall art
Paper Piecing

Ribbon Mobile

Butterfly pillow

Hope Everyone Has a safe and Happy New Year!

Adding this to:

Restaurant style chicken nachos

I have made this several times and I love it and so does Scott and Aubrey. This is one of my favorite things to make because it is so easy, quick, and delicious. (I got the recipe here on allrecipes.com) Really when you want a quick meal you should try this one.

Only things I do differently is use a regular onion, leave out the tomatoes, and serve with sour cream all due to personal preference and what we have in the house.

INGREDIENTS

2 cloves garlic, crushed
Onion
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 shredded, cooked, whole chicken breast
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup salsa
1/2 (12 ounce) package tortilla chips
shredded Cheese



DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large pan, medium heat, cook and stir the garlic and onions in canola oil until it cooked. Mix in shredded chicken, salt and pepper. Toss until well coated with oil. Stir in the salsa.
Arrange tortilla chips on a large baking sheet. Spoon the chicken mixture over tortilla chips. Add your cheese. Bake for 10 minutes, or until cheese has melted. Serve with sour cream (or extra salsa)

Cute Skirt

Here's a skirt I made for Aubrey a while ago. I think it turned out pretty cute and I made if for less than $2 you can't beat that price anywhere. (the pattern is found here). Aubrey looked so cute and the best part is it actually fit! I love this skirt and am definitely going to be making more. Here are some pictures of my pretty girl in her new skirt.I LOVE this picture and one of the skirt because it is really hard to get Aubrey to hold still for a picture.

(repost from family blog taken this summer)

Mini Silhouettes

With a very busy past week I didn't get much crafting done so I thought I would share a few easy projects over the next few days that I made a while ago (previously posted on my family blog).


I made this little project for about $2. The plaques were $0.97 at Walmart and I had everything else on hand (was able to use scraps).

I took a profile picture of each girl (this was the hardest part-I wish I could have gotten a better one of Olivia). I opened them in Word and cropped and sized to make a 5x7. I printed them and cut around their profiles. Trace onto black cardstock and cut out. I painted the edge of the plaque black. I traced the plaque onto my pattern paper and cut out. I used Mod Podge to attach the paper and the silhouette. I stapled ribbon to the back to hang. (Don't' forget to add their name and age-right now it is on the bag but I may add it to the front latter.)

I think they turned out cute but of course I like anything that involves my daughters. It was so fast and easy (and cheap). Next time I want to try to make them a little bigger and possibly add more detail.



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Layouts of the week

With all of the craziness of the week I still managed to get quite a few layouts finished this week.

This first one I used Shabby Princess-Sun Porch. This one I also used Shabby Princess-Sun Porch for the flower and the jewels down the side.

I used everything from my software but the jewels are from Pink igloo designs.

A few months a go we went to a basketball game and I took a ton of pictures. I decided digital was the way to go. Here is one example but I have 6 more very similar to this. I love that I could easily size and move my pictures around so they fit. Also I love that I can write directly on the picture-so much easier.

framed monogram

You may have noticed this in my master bedroom reveal a while ago. This is the simple project and didn't take very long. I just printed the letters off the computer, made a mat with scrapbook paper (I originally had a much sutler pattern but like the bold much more). glued the monogram to the scrapbook paper and framed-It's in an 8x10 frame.

(repost from my family blog)

Merry Christmas!

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas. I'll be back in a few days but right now I am off to enjoy time with my family.

Christmas Skirts

Every year my mom would buy us a new Christmas dress. I really wanted to continue this tradition (my husband thinks its silly). I just couldn't find any dresses I loved well for a price I wanted to pay. I quickly made these two little skirts and I was happy. They looked adorable, It only took about 45 minutes to finish both, and both cost less then $4. (Aubrey just put lotion all over her face so it looks pretty greasy)

4 little Piggies

This is an easy hair style for your little one with shorter hair (it doesn't work very well with long hair...I tried). I saw it on She does hair a long time ago and thought I would try it out on Livy.

(I am sorry about the pictures-I really need to learn how to use my camera better. Oh and please ignore her outfit...she really likes to dress herself.)

Start out by parting the hair right above the ears and go completely across the head.

Divide the top section into 4 different sections going across (it helps if your part down the middle first). pull each into a ponytail but don't pull it all the way through at the end leaving a little loop. Add bows or ribbon to each ponytail and your done.

I think its really cute but sometimes it reminds me of a grandma with curlers...not sure why.

Girly Layout

Everything is from Shabby Princess. I used paper and ribbon from Sweet Sprinkles and flower embellishment from PromiseOne thing I like about Digital Scrapbooking is the ability to add a lot of pictures easily. I also love that it is so simple to add journaling right on the picture. It was a great way to scrap all of the pictures from our tour at the Beehive house.
I just printed up some of the layouts I've been doing and I will admit it has made my LOVE digital Scrapbooking a lot more. In fact I may be a little addicted. However I just bought some beautiful pattern paper I can't wait to use so I am still doing both-I just need to finish up Christmas projects first. It has been nice being able to finish so many layouts so quickly. Maybe I will catch up someday.

Breakfast Burritos

This recipe comes from the Pioneer Woman (I first saw this on Marin's Creations). They were really yummy and that is saying something considering I'm not a huge sausage or breakfast fan. My husband LOVED them! My little family (alright mostly my husband) is pretty picky so I made it a little different. You can find the original recipe here and the breakfast potato recipe here. Here's how I made it.

You need:
3 potatoes
minced onions
vegetable oil
salt and pepper
tortillas
sausage
5 eggs
chives
1/2 cup cheese
season salt

For the potatoes-I diced up my potatoes into cubes and boiled them until they were tender. I added vegetable oil, my potato, and onions to a frying pan. I also added a little flour to the top of them. Salt and pepper if you want. I pushed them all down and together, covered and let them cook for a few minutes. I then flipped them and continued to cook. (Cook until they are to your liking).
For the Burrito Filling-Fry up your sausage. Once its done add your potatoes. Gently mix. In a bowl mix together cheese, eggs, chives, season salt, and pepper. Add it to your sausage and potato mixture. stir and cook until done. Heat your tortillas and spoon filling on. Scott liked it with salsa and some extra cheese.

Christmas Card display

I think this was the easiest thing I have ever made. It took about a minute and it makes me smile every time I see it. I have seen this idea everywhere in blog land and loved it. I normally hang my cards on the fridge with tape-how creative is that. So yesterday we received a few cards in the mail and instead of hanging them up I thought it would be a great idea to hang them somewhere special.

I just used a long piece of Christmas Ribbon I had left over from who knows where and taped it to the back of the door and down the front. The cards cover the tape. I then traced clothes pins to the back of scrapbook paper and cut them out. I inked the edges and attached with glue dots-didn't want the commitment of mod podge (silly I know). I used the pins to hang the cards and there you go...your cards become part of your Christmas decorations. We still have plenty of room for more cards as they come. Now I just need to send out mine I'm a little late as usual(I just printed them out and I love them). Have you sent yours out yet?

P.S. I just started a new blog with all of our preschool activities. You may have seen the link on my side bar. Its alwayssomethingtolearn.blogspot.com if any one is intrested.

Santa's Cookie

I saw this fun idea here. Its really easy and a great alternative if you don't have access to vinyl.
You need:
a clear plate ($1.50 at Walmart)
fabric
mod podge
letters (mine are cut from computer paper)

-Cut out your letters and also your fabric so it is slightly bigger then your plate.

-Flip your plate over (bottom side up) and add mod podge to the area your letters are going.

-Add your letters (make sure they are backwards so they are the correct way when you flip your plate back over).

-Add mod podge to the top of your letters and smooth out. Let it dry.

-Cover your entire plate with mod podge and carefully place your fabric on top. Smooth out all of the wrinkles and pull it tight. Add mod podge to the top of the fabric and again smooth out all of the bubbles. Let it dry (it took a little over an hour).
-Cut away the extra fabric and add to a little stand.

This was a lot of fun and I need to go and get a bunch more plates.

I am adding this to: