Dress Up

Every little kid needs a box full of dress up clothes, Right? I am getting a head start. My baby is 10 weeks old, and a girl :)

**Melissa**

Valentines Wreath

I saw these on Little Birdie Secrets and a craft day was born!

She used Elmers glue I however, has having a hard time with that so I opted for hot glue.

(Love my hot glue gun!)
So cute! So easy!

Cork Boards

Last summer I wanted to make a vision board but couldn't just hang my pictures on a boring old poster board so this was the solution, a fun, real cork board.

Here is how we made them:

#1- We purchased unpainted open back frames from Michael's Arts and Crafts (with our 40% off coupon of course) and then painted and sealed them with our desired colors.

#2- We cut out a piece of solid cardboard to fit in the back of the open frame and proceeded to hot glue the corks onto the cardboard in our desired patterns. (My mom donated some wine corks she found at a yard sale and the rest we purchased on eBay.) Notice in the picture below that the frame is not painted... we used it as a guide while the others were drying but do not glue all your corks down until the frame is painted and ready to go because you will not be able to get the cardboard with the corks attached in or out after they are all glued on.

#3- Hang and enjoy with either photos or as a vision board.

Just looking at these pictures from last summer-- before the baby-- I remembered that I used to be able to make a craft in one sitting. Gone are those days for probably ummm... the rest of my life;) That is okay though, she is totally worth it!!!

**Melissa**

Since I've been gone

I haven't forgotten you nannygoat.

But, January has brought blue babies with RSV, ice storms, power outages, and emotional breakdowns.

I am back and I am ready to get my craft on.

Are you?

mirrors,mirrors, on the wall

It is my sweet friend's birthday and every time she comes to my home she comments on these:

So, I made her a set to match her master bedroom.

I got the mirrors from IKEA and painted them brown. Then, I cut the scrapbook paper to fit and mod podged it on and sanded the edges to finish it off.

So easy I almost feel guilty... almost.

Ice, Ice, Baby

Life has been crazy and a record-breaking ice storm (that took out our power for 3 days) didn't help matters... but, it sure was beautiful.

It's nice to be back online.

picture blocks

I've had lots of people ask for more info about the picture blocks so I talked to my sister-in-law and got the website she went through, it is http://www.storiesbyme.com/.

It's a great idea for a mothers day gift!

The gifts I got!

Between baby showers and Christmas our family has been showered with gifts. These are a few of my favorite handmade gifts... people amaze me with their talents!

My neighbor and friend Traci made these for our new baby boy. SO CUTE! She is so talented and has a great craft blog.

My sister made me this car seat cover and a nursing cover like this one on little birdie secrets.

My sweet friend made me this beautiful diaper bag. I almost cried when I opened it... It is amazing! Check out her craft blog. She sews beautiful things, decorates, and scrapbooks... she does it all!

My mom made us this quilt. She has a long arm machine quilter and she does such a beautiful job. She tried to teach me to sew... I wish I would have paid more attention.

I love this gift from my sister-in-law. There are 6 pictures total on the same blocks... so fun!Here are some links for different versions of this http://holycraft.blogspot.com/2008/07/introducing-photo-blocks.html and http://www.mormonchic.com/crafty/more-christmas_crafts.asp#blocks

January is so cold and dreary and if you're stuck in the house you might as well be creating something! Hope these give you some ideas.

THANK YOU MY TALENTED AND GENEROUS FRIENDS!

Happy New Year

January to me means cleaning out closets, organizing, and lots of trips to Goodwill.

You shouldn't have

Honestly, I'm surprised that anyone even reads this blog let alone likes it enough to give me an award!

I received this award from my dear friend Stephanie. She is an amazing woman and and a talented writer. Check her out here.

Thanks Steph, I'm not sure what it says but I'm touched. heehee

*I want to pass this award on to Tiffany at Got Happiness. This woman is awesome! She is one of the most giving and loving people I know. She is a great mom and I love to read her blog because she inspires me to be better. Love you Tiff!

I just got this award from Jessica at Mama loves shoes (hey, me too!). This award means that my blog has just the right amount of lemon and sugar to make a perfect summery treat... how "sweet" is that! Thanks so much Jessica!

*I want to pass this award on to Traci at Amazing Mae. Traci is my neighbor and she is so talented and so generous with her talents (lucky for me). Check out some of her fun crafts!

Thanks again for the awards ladies... I feel loved. :)

Do you like thin mint cookies?

If you like thin mint cookies you will love these! We make these every year and they are so simple to make that my kids do it all (and then I eat them all).

All you need is Ritz crackers and Andes Mints (I buy a bag of the baking Andes Mints, they are next to the chocolate chips at the store and are much cheaper than buying the regular Andes).

Melt the Andes Mints and then dip the Ritz cracker in it and set on wax paper to cool. It's THAT easy!
They melt in your mouth... yummy!

Perfect for a last minute neighbor gift.
Make some and tell me what you think... please.

For friends and neighbors

Keeping it simple this year...

I bought these plastic "paint cans" at the local craft store and decorated them with Christmas scrapbook paper, ribbon and stamps/ rub-ons. Now I'm making the yummy carmel corn to fill them.

Want the recipe? It's my favorite!

Crunchy Carmel Corn

1/3 C butter

2/3 C brown sugar

3 Tbs Corn Syrup

1/4 tsp salt

Combine all and bring to boil then remove from heat and add:

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp vanilla

mix with 2 quarts popcorn (or one bag of microwave popcorn)

Cook at 250degrees for 30 minutes then stir and cook an additional 30 minutes.

Christmas project ideas

I love the idea of using old Christmas pictures or even framing Christmas cards to decorate for the holidays. You could use the picture frames you already have out and just swap the pictures or paint some wood frames (they are only a few bucks at Micheals) like in this picture.
I love this pompom garland but I instead of a countdown I'm going to use it to...well, I'll have to show you soon.
Found this on Little Birdie Secrets. You can make 16 seasonal words out of these 7 blocks... seriously! Perfect gift idea.
When I first saw this I thought to myself, "so cute, but I don't sew". I was thrilled to find this requires zero sewing! Check it out.

A little busy with little ones

I don't know when the next post will be... Melissa and I are both busy with brand new little ones (6 days apart!).

Stay tuned, we will be back among the living soon... we hope.