Because I Can

New Floors

2011-09-07T21:05:00.003-05:00

About a month ago we (as in my husband!) completed a pretty major home improvement. One that we have been saying we were going to do pretty much from the first day we moved into our home (almost 6 years ago!!)

I was leaving for 2 weeks to visit my family, and this is what I left...

Well, I didn't leave that cute baby, but I did leave that pretty awesome guy, an empty front room, and some nasty carpet behind.

This is what I came home to...

LOVE IT!! For one thing I now have hard floor under my table. Whoever thought of putting carpet under a dining room table must have not had children!

I am also so grateful that I didn't have to live in a torn apart house for 2 weeks! The couch was in the kitchen for heaven sake! Can you imagine being in that everyday, with 3 kids! So major praise to my husband for working hard all day at work, then coming home and working hard late into the night at home. Yup, he's pretty awesome!

And to show off some of his skills, let me just show you the kinds of cuts he had to make around our fireplace...

Pretty impressive!

This really is just starting a chain reaction of more projects that I want to do. Like redecorate my dining room, paint my hutch and table, and get new couches in the family room, which means that we need to re-carpet the basement before we can move the old couches down there...which means we have to paint the ugly wood paneling walls down there first. All of which I am very excited to do...we'll see how long it takes us though! I mean the wood floor was 6 years in the making! But very worth it!

Cedar chest redo

2011-06-30T15:02:00.004-05:00

So, even though I haven't been posting them, I actually have been busy with several projects lately. Like painting my boys bedroom. No pics of that, because it isn't done yet. But the whole painting thing kind of snowballed and I started painting lots of other things. Like my cedar chest. I have been wanting to paint it for awhile, but have hesitated for sentimental reasons since it was my high school graduation gift from my parents.

Here is what it used to look like...

But my decorating style has changed since I was 18, and good thing too, otherwise my house would be decorated with posters of Leonardo DiCaprio and random quotes that I got from church. Anyway, I was over the big frilly heart. At first I was going to play it safe and just paint it black. Then at the last minute I decided to get a little brave...

LOVE IT! It's like I have a little sunshine in my room.

I'm still trying to decide if I should distress it or not. What do you think...distress or not distress?

PS Mom, I hope you aren't mad at me! :)

New room-with a little help from my friends

2011-05-17T12:45:00.007-05:00

This past weekend, I finally got around to painting my bedroom. I've been wanting to do it for awhile now, so it feels so good to finally have it done! Here are some before and afters.

Here is a before before shot of my room over a year ago...

Then the awful flower bedspread (one of those what was I thinking? purchases) REALLY started to annoy me, so I flipped it over until I found a new one that I liked.

We also got a new bed, and got rid of the little shelves for nightstands and got bookshelves instead. (I love to read in bed at night, so bookshelves work the best for me!)

Here is the next before... :)

So, after returning to the store to re-tint my paint color after discovering the original color I chose was too light, and three coats later (which we were still able to knock off in a night thanks to some help from my friends. Thanks guys!!) I have a new light, bright, and airy bedroom!

I love it! It is a little crazy how happy this room makes me, but I seriously love it!

The curtains are made from sheets again.

The pillows are made from napkins.

The wall color is called Romantic Overcast, very appropriate for a bedroom, right!

I love this little gallery wall. All wedding and engagement pictures, with some little canvas squares covered with paper thrown in there.

I'm a little strict with my bedroom. I will let my kids crawl in bed with us occasionally, but they aren't allowed to play in there. They pretty much have every other room in the house, I need one just for me! :)

I still have some plans for some more art work and to paint some furniture, but I am so happy with my new room!

Disney Crafts

2011-04-17T18:38:00.003-05:00

My sister was here visiting this past week. So we had some craft time. My family is full of Disney lovers, so naturally we decided on some Disney inspired crafts!

I already had this saying up in my house, and my sister wanted one too. She is a 2nd grade teacher. I think this is a very fitting quote for a teacher!

Love this one! For those of you that aren't Disney fanatics like we are, this is from the ride Slash Mountain. We wanted it to look woodsy like Brer Rabbit and the ride. :)

I also love this one. What a great welcome sign. This is from the opening speech Walt Disney made the day Disneyland opened.

It was so fun having a crafting buddy! And I think I got her hooked on a Silhouette. She started looking at them after playing around with mine. They are pretty awesome!

Monkey Bread

2011-04-04T21:34:00.006-05:00

I mentioned that this weekend was General Conference for my Church. A tradition of many people is to have a big brunch before Conference starts. For our brunch I made monkey bread.It is a favorite of my kids. I don't make it very often, usually just on birthdays, Christmas, and conference.

It is so easy to make and so yummy. Here is my recipe.

**I don't really measure for anything, but it isn't really necessary for this recipe! :)

Ingredients:

3 tubes of buttermilk biscuits

1/2 cup butter

about 2/3's cup sugar

2-3 tablespoons cinnamon

In a zip lock bag combine the sugar and cinnamon. Cut the biscuits into 4th's. Put the biscuit pieces into the bag a few at a time and shake to coat. Put the biscuits into a Bundt pan. In a small saucepan melt 1/2 cup butter and stir in the remaining cinnamon sugar mixture. Pour over biscuits. Bake at 350 for 22-25 minutes. When done, invert onto a plate. Enjoy!

Family Proclamation Sign

2011-04-02T20:22:00.004-05:00

This weekend is a big weekend if you are a member of my church. It is General Conference where we listen to the leaders of the Church for lots of inspiration and guidance. It is wonderful!

Several years ago the leaders of my Church released this statement, called The Family: A Proclamation to the World. It basically states our beliefs about the family and the importance of the family to Heavenly Father's plan.

I wanted to have a way to display it in my home that would be more visible than just displaying a framed copy of the statement. So I chose some of my favorite phrases from the proclamation and cut out the words with vinyl using my Silhouette.

I love it. It's a great reminder of how important my job as a wife and mother is.

New Curtains

2011-03-25T19:57:00.008-05:00

New curtains. That's what I've been working on, once I got my sewing machine running again. I really needed new curtains. The ones I had was just something I quickly put up after we moved into our house (five years ago) and didn't think much about them, (for 5 years!). Then I went to my friends house. She has a great blog, Kreyv. It makes me want to redecorate every room in my house, adding even more to my decorating ADD as well as giving me decorating multiple personalities. So many good ideas! Check it out, it's awesome. She had just made some curtains that I loved, or should I say craved! It was just a week ago that I saw them, and I've already made them, that's how much I craved them!

Here is what I did...I don't have many pictures because remember how I hate that! And they are all taken after I was done, because once I got started, I didn't want to stop to take pictures! I'm impatient like that. Anyway, I bought some twin flat sheets for 5 dollars at Walmart, 2 brown and 1 cream. I used the top of the sheet for the slot for the rod to go though. You know how there is that folded over part in sheets? I just cut a slit in the back section of the fold like this...

Then I cut them into 15 inch sections, that would make the length of my curtains 87 inches long, allowing for a 1/4 inch seam. I needed 6 sections for each curtain, so I cut the top off of the 2 brown sheets, then cut 4 additional brown sections. For the cream sections I started from the bottom and cut 6 sections from that one. The width of the curtain is just the width of the twin sheets. This is when I discovered that not all sheets are created equal. The cream sheets were about 1/2 inch smaller in width than the brown ones. So I just made sure that one of the sides all lined up, then once I had sewn the 6 sections together I went back on the mismatched side and hemmed the brown sections to make then match the cream.

Lined upside...

Hemmed side...

I used the bottom of the sheet for the bottom of one curtain, so that one didn't need to be hemmed. The other one got a 1/4 inch hem so that one is 1/4 inch shorter, but you can't tell once they are up, esp. since on is hidden behind an end table. At least I can't tell. Don't tell me if you can. :)

I love them! I love looking at something and thinking, "That looks really good!" Especially when I am the one that made them! Plus, they were pretty cheap, 15 bucks for 2 panels, plus I have enough fabric left to make some brown and blue curtains for my baby's nursery, plus I think I am going to make some throw pillows for my couch with them. All that for 15 bucks, not bad. Plus they look awesome.

She's back!!

2011-03-24T21:03:00.002-05:00

Well, I called my Mom to complain about my sewing machine breaking. She is the one that gave me the machine (when she got a new fancy one) She got the green machine from her mom, who got it from her sister. That girl has been around the block! I'm talking about my sewing machine, not my Mom. :) ANYWAY, my Mom had some tricks for me to try and they worked! I got the green machine working again, which means I will be able to get my project done much sooner! It would have been done today, but on top of all the technical difficulties I've had today (did I mention that I also dropped my cell phone in water?) my sweet baby decided not to take very long naps today. I think he knew I was trying to get something done. :) But I still managed to get half way done, so hopefully I can show what I've been working on soon!

RIP

2011-03-24T14:03:00.002-05:00

I need a moment of silence. My sewing machine died. Right at nap time. Right when I was starting a new project. I am very sad about it. Look how cool and vintage-y she is...

I'll never find a sewing machine as cool as she was. But she led a good, long life...for a sewing machine.

Rest in peace green machine.

Dollar Tree Plates

2011-03-21T20:59:00.005-05:00

I love my Silhouette. I've had it for over 2 years now, so I think I jumped on the Silhouette band wagon before everyone else. Cuz I'm cool like that. :) But it is completely awesome and I use it for probably 75% of all my projects. And the cool thing about Silhouette is that even though mine is 2 years old, I can still get the latest program, since it is available to download. The only function I don't have that the new ones do is the ability to save things onto an SD card, which isn't a big deal for me. But I love it. Seriously love it. Can you tell? :)

Anyway, here is one reason why I love it. I can take plates from the Dollar Tree, add some vinyl shapes cut from my Silhouette and make them look like this...

Way cute, way easy, and way cheap.

And don't birds just make you feel all Spring-like?

Baby Boy's Nursery...it's a little wild

2011-03-14T20:26:00.007-05:00

I am finally done with my baby boy's (who is 5 1/2 months old) nursery. Well, done for me. I have decorating ADD, so things get changed a lot at my house. It is way easier to get the nursery done before the baby gets here though, that's for sure! But with adoption you don't get the usual 9 months of preparation time. We were first contacted by Andrew's amazing birth mother on Sept. 10th. We got a call on Sept. 23rd and found out her water had broken (6 weeks early) and then five days later, he first showed his cute face. So 18 days from first contact to birth. Doesn't leave much time for decorating! :)

So, slowly I have been adding to it and am ready to call it done (for awhile at least). It doesn't look like it's straight from a catalog or anything, but I love it.

This little shelf is very sentimental to me. The book is a beautiful book about adoption, the elephant was a gift from Andrew's birth mother, and the sign really just sums up what adoption is all about.

I made all my signs and blocks using my Silhouette. (LOVE!)

My favorite thing on this shelf is the picture of his little foot. So cute!

This is my favorite part of the room...

I love this book, the pictures are so cool! I've always wanted to use them to decorate a room with. I can see this growing into his toddler room with some silly pictures of all the cute things toddlers do...don't all two year old become wild things anyway? Might as well have a room to reflect that! :)

I want to do something different than just framing the pictures. I got a 12 inch wide pine board from Home Depot and had them cut it into 10 inch long boards. I originally was just going to paint the boards and mod podge the pictures on. But then I remember that I had a TON of burlap left over from when I was going to make burlap pillows. On a side note, I did make one burlap pillow but nixed the idea when I discovered that burlap left lots of little hairs on my couch and my kids complained it was too scratchy to lay on! :) So that's why I have so much burlap left. Anyway, I ended up wrapping the boards with burlap and stapling it to the back. Then I just stapled the picture right on top. I used picture hanging wire (from WalMart) on the back so I could hang them.

L.o.v.e it!

Linked to Finger Prints On the Fridge

The BEST Sugar Cookies EVER, St. Patrick's Day style

2011-03-13T19:25:00.005-05:00

Yesterday my family went to the St. Patrick's Day Parade in St. Louis. It is a HUGE deal here. When I was growing up, St. Patrick's Day wasn't a big deal. I mean it was a fun little holiday, you wear green, you pinch people, a sneaky leprechaun might visit your classroom, but that was about it.

We have had fun celebrating this holiday more since moving to St. Louis. We always have so much fun at the parade, my kids love all the free candy and green beads they get.

On Friday I made some on my Grandma's "famous" (at least in my family) sugar cookies, shaped like shamrocks to take to the parade. I was watching my friends' boys that day, so I gave them each a ball of dough and their own cookie cutters and let them go to town! Here is what their cookies looked like...

(one really likes dogs, one really likes cow boys, and one really likes football)

And here are my Shamrock cookies...

I think I will eat these ones and let the kids eat the other ones... :)

Anyway, here is the recipe for the sugar cookies. They are honestly the yummiest sugar cookie EVER! They are so soft and thick. In my opinion they are even better than those pink frosted Granny B's cookies. Make some. You'll be glad you did.

Best EVER Sugar Cookies

3/4 cup margarine

3/4 cup Butter Crisco

1 1/2 cups sugar

4 eggs

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 Tbsp. cream of tarter

2 1/4 tsp. vanilla

5 1/4 cups flour

Cream together margarine, shortening, sugar, and eggs. Add baking soda, cream of tarter, and vanilla. Gradually add in flour. Chill dough for one hour. Roll dough on a floured surface to 1/4 inch thick. Cut with cookie cutters, place on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 425 for 4-5 minutes. Makes about 4-5 dozen, depending on size of cookies. Cool and frost.

And in my opinion, the only kind of frosting to use on these is homemade powdered sugar frosting. (Store bought frosting makes me gag!)

I usually half this recipe and still have tons for frosting left. (To put on graham crackers...another favorite treat around here)

Powdered Sugar Frosting

3/4 cup margarine, softened.

9 cups powdered sugar (about 2 pounds)

1/4 cup milk

2 tsp. vanilla

milk

food coloring

Beat butter until smooth. Gradually add 2 cups powdered sugar, beating well. Slowly beat in 1/4 cup milk and vanilla. Gradually beat in remaining powdered sugar, adding additional milk if needed to reach spreading consistency. Add desired food coloring.

These are so good that I make them for as many holiday's as I can...and usually give some away because they are so good, I could eat them all, which my hips would definitely NOT appreciate! :)

Revival

2011-03-09T20:53:00.005-06:00

So after many, many months, actually almost a year, I've decided to revive my craft blog. But here's the thing, there was a few things about blogging that I didn't like. Like the amount of time I was spending on it. Like writing tutorials. Like feeling like I had to take pictures of every. little. step. (hated that!) Like "linking up" to other blogs. Like the way I was comparing myself to other blogs and feeling badly if I didn't have as many followers or my blog wasn't as "cool." I didn't have the time, or the desire to make the time, to spend adding features to my blog or do all those other things that "real bloggers" do. So I just stopped. :)

That sounds like a lot of things that I don't like huh? But there are parts I liked too. :) Like having a way to show what I make to people who appreciate it more than my hubby,--not that he doesn't appreciate it, just not in the same way. :) Like reading the sweet comments from other people. Like the way my creativity is sparked by it.

Anyway, I've decided to start back up again. I am not going to do much of the things I didn't like and just focus on what I did like. So, if anyone out there besides my mom and sister still want to read this, awesome! If only my mom and sister want to read this, awesome still.

So you probably won't find many tutorials here, I'll still take pictures, but not of every little step, and I am not going to worry about whether or not I am as "cool" as the other bloggers are. I don't want this to feel like a job. I already have a job that I love. And that job got a little bigger a few months ago when we were so blessed to be able to adopt this beautiful baby boy...

Seriously, is he not the cutest thing EVER!! Don't you just want to kiss those cheeks! He has brought so much joy to our family and most of the time I would rather sit and cuddle him than sit behind a computer. :)

Speaking of babies, I have a baby related project to share with you today. I found this high chair at a garage sale for $20.

I really hate those huge plastic high chairs, they are such a pain to clean with all their nooks and crannies. So I loved the simplicity of this old fashioned high chair (and the price!) But I didn't love the crackle paint job and the stenciling.

So some sanding and 2 cans of spray paint later, and this is what it looks like now...

Much better. And then I added the vinyl, because everything looks better with vinyl! ;)

I've actually had this since kid #2 was a baby, but never got around to painting it then. That's part of the reason why I am so thrilled with it. I've waited 4 years for this baby to get here. I am so glad he is here and I can do baby related projects now!

Faux Cupboard Picture "frames"

2010-04-23T15:48:00.007-05:00

When I saw these cupboard picture frames on the Creative Crate a few weeks ago, they instantly were added to my ever growing list of projects to do. Unfortunately, I had no idea where to get cupboard doors in my area. So that meant that I either needed to come up with another way of doing it, or resort to taking the doors off my cupboards, because this was one of those projects that I just HAD to do! Well, I need my cupboard doors, plus they weren't really the right side, so this is what I came up with.

I think they look like pretty convincing cupboard doors, don't you? Here is how I did it.

I got 8x10 frames from Michael's that have a really chunky frame. They are $4.99, but I used a 50% off coupon. If I had a router (someday I will!) I would have probably just cut some wood to the size I wanted then routed the edges. But this works too.

I also got some $3 frames from Walmart. I painted the edges of both frames black to that when I lightly sanded the edges the black would show through.

The next part I don't have pictures of, but the frames from Michael's had MDF boards behind the glass that I drilled holes in for the ribbon. Then I removed the glass, painted everything white and sanded the edges. When it was completely dry, I added the ribbons. Then I took the MDV board and put it in the Walmart frames, and glued the Walmart frames onto the Michael's frames using E6000. For the clips, I had some already, but they were all pastel colors, so I spray pained them with Oil Rubbed Bronze paint.

And there you have it! I love them!

I obviously need more pictures for them still, but even empty they look cute.

And I need a project for the 8 pieces of glass I have leftover from them. Any ideas?

Linked to:

Thank you!

2010-04-23T10:36:00.002-05:00

Thanks to Maryanne over at Scrappy Gifts for featuring my A Very Cute Boy layout!

And stay tuned later today for some faux cupboard frames that I came up with, inspired by these at The Creative Crate.

Creating Keepsakes Convention

2010-04-19T20:53:00.006-05:00

So I am FINALLY finding time to blog about an actual craft, instead of just excuses of why I haven't been able to blog!

I mentioned awhile ago that I went to a Creating Keepsakes Convention with my mother-in-law a week or two ago. It was so fun! The classes were great and gave me tons of new ideas for my scrapbooks and motivation to get caught up on them! I came home with tons of layouts that just need pictures added to them. It was kind of weird for me to make a layout with a specific picture in mind, but most of the layouts I did would work for pictures I have waiting to be scrapbooked. They also move SUPER fast in each class, since they are trying to pack so much in that most of the layouts I had to finish at home. So here are a few that I have gotten done.

I love the colors of this layout and I learned a cool ripping technique. Here is a close up of it...

Notice how the edges are ripped. To do this you need a piece of double-sided patterned paper and then cut it down to a 10x10 square. Then just randomly rip pieces off the edges, rough the torn areas up with your finger nail and roll the rips down. Then take the 2 inch scraps from when you cut your original patterned paper down to 10 inches and cut little strips just big enough to adhere to the back of the paper, so the opposite pattern is showing in the front, behind the rip. I hope that makes sense! I couldn't take pictures since we did this in class and were moving at a break-neck pace! I think it looks so cool though! I also love the pocket we made. For that one, all you do is cut a rectangle out of patterned paper, rip a v shape into it, punch holes along each side of the rip and then sew it back up with a ribbon.

I also took a class on using over sized mats that was cool. It is an easy way to bring your page together. I like the ribbon embellishment on this one. All you do it fold 3 inch pieces of ribbon and adhere it to a circle.

Here is another layout using 2 over sized mats.

This class was one of my favorites. It was called misting and masking. And as you guess from the title we used masks on paper, them sprayed them with mist inks, removed the masks and got this...

This is another layout that I did in the same class as the ripping layout...

I love the group of pockets that you can see on the far right of the layout. I will show how I did that for another project I will be posting soon.

But I will show you how I made this little heart.

First take two strips of paper like this...

Adhere them together at the bottom. Then cut off the excess edges to make your point at the bottom, like this...

Then use a corner rounder at the top to finish your heart.

And you're done! I added a few fake stitches with a pen over the line where the papers overlap and inked the edges.

I still have about 20 more layouts to get done from the convention. Maybe that will get me caught up...

Linked to

Concussion

2010-04-15T16:20:00.002-05:00

So the past day have been pretty eventful for me. Not with crafts, scrapbooking, or decorating unfortunately, but with an ER visit. My youngest son fell of a bar stool yesterday, knocked himself out and suffered a concussion. So once again, this is a very unproductive week for my blog, but the most important thing is that my baby is okay!

OOPS!

2010-04-12T18:09:00.001-05:00

Okay my winners of the Sunshine Award. I almost let you off easy. There are some rules to the award. Here they are...

1. Put the logo on your blog or within your post.
2. Pass the award on to 12 other bloggers.
3. Link the nominees within your post.
4. Let the nominees know they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
5. Link back to the person from whom you received this award.

Slacker, I mean Sunshine Award

2010-04-12T13:22:00.006-05:00

First of all thanks so much to Allison at Oopsey Daisy for awarding me with the Sunshine Award. Although I think right now I deserve the Slacker award! Luckily I haven't been slacking in all aspects of my life, just the blogging one! We have had some absolutely gorgeous weather and I feel it is practically a sin to stay inside when it is so nice outside because I know that soon enough it is going to be too hot and humid to do anything outside unless you are swimming. So we have been going to the park practically everyday, riding bikes, flying kites, blowing bubbles and drawing with sidewalk chalk. I even have the beginnings of a tan line from my flip flops! Then this past weekend I attended a Creating Keepsakes convention with my mother-in-law. It was awesome! I have tons of layouts that I will post as well as lots of cool techniques that I learned! But that also means that part of my week was spent getting my house "mother-in-law" ready! :) Which took longer than usual since I have neglected my house in favor of playing outside.

That was probably more info that you wanted, but there you go, a reason for my slacking!

So, on to the Sunshine Award!

I now get to spread the sunshine to 12 other awesome bloggers!

So here they are in no particular order...

1. Better Life Bags: She makes awesome bags and even better, it's for a good cause!

2. Honey Bear Lane: She has one of the cutest quilts I have ever seen and way cute appliqués.

3. Lechateaudesfleurs: She has an absolutely stunning house and does the cutest things with her kids.

4. Babblings from Brooke: She has so many great recipes! My mouth always waters when I read her blog!

5. Remodelaholic: Cassity is getting this award for several reasons. First, she is a friend from high school. Second, she was kind enough to link our adoption profile on her awesome blog. And third, her blog is awesome and she has the greatest ideas that I wish I were talented enough to make!

6. Red Head Craft More Fun: I honestly love everything she does! Way cute stuff!

7. The Thrifty BA: She has lots of cool thrifty ideas and is so good at commenting...something I need to be better at!

8. Brown Paper Packages: Keirste and Angela have cute ideas, my favorites is their wooden step stool with foot prints...go check it out!

9. Organize and Decorate Everything: Combining two of my favorite things, organizing and decorating! Doesn't get better than that!

10. Drab to Fab: These ladies are the ones responsible for my new hobby of frequenting thrift stores to find something to make fab!

11 Twiddle Thumbs: These ladies have the CUTEST wood projects! I need to get me more power tools so I can make stuff too!

12. Studio Calico: I don't know if this is cheating or not, since Studio Calico is a company run blog, but I took one of their classes at CKC and LOVED it! So, they are now one of my favorite blogs. Great inspiration for scrapbookers!

So, thanks again Alison for the Sunshine award! Hope everyone has a great sunshine-y day! I'm enjoying one right now!

Sorry for my absence...

2010-04-02T15:25:00.003-05:00

I've been enjoying 80 degree weather and Spring Break!

But I'll see you next week!

P.S. I am attending a Creating Keepsakes Convention and vendor fair next week with my mother-in-law! I can't wait! I'll show you all the cool stuff I learn in my classes!

Easter Dinner

2010-03-30T20:04:00.003-05:00

Well, there's not much crafting going on in my house this week. So I thought I would branch out in my posts and post some recipes. Here are two of my favorite things to make for Easter dinner aside from the traditional ham and "funeral potatoes".

First, my Grandma's YUMMY rolls. They are sooo good and sooo easy. They are kind of a cross between a roll and a biscuit, leaning more toward the roll side though. Every time I make them, I am amazed at how well they turn out. They make me feel like an amazing baker (which I am not!)

Anyway, I don't have any pictures of them, since I haven't made Easter dinner yet and I am not in the habit of taking pictures of my food! But, really TRY THEM! You won't be sorry!!

Jiffy Rolls

2 cups warm water

1/2 cup oil

1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp sugar

3 Tbsp. yeast

Combine and let rest 15 minutes.

2 tsp. salt--add to 2 beaten eggs

4 1/2 cup white flour

1 cup wheat flour

Combine and let rest 20 minutes.

Roll out on floured surface to about 3/4 inch thick. Cut using a round cookie cutter (I've also used the top of a cup.) Place on a greased cookie sheet. Let rise 10 minutes.

Bake at 425 for 8-10 minutes until golden brown.

My other favorite is an orange Jell-o salad. It is also so yummy and just tastes very "spring-y."

Orange Jell-o Salad

(I usually double the recipe)

1 small package orange Jell-o

1 small package vanilla pudding (NOT instant)

1 small package tapioca pudding (NOT instant)

1 can mandarin oranges

Cool Whip

Pour the Jell-o and puddings into a saucepan with 3 cups of water. Bring to a boil and let boil for 1 1/2 minutes. Pour into a bowl and let set overnight. Fold in mandarin oranges WITH juice and 1/2 of 8 oz. tub of Cool Whip.

Easy and yummy! What are some of your Easter dinner favorites?

We have a winner!

2010-03-27T16:45:00.006-05:00

So here is the winner!

True Random Number Generator
Result:10Powered by RANDOM.ORG

Comment number 10 was

Larsons said...

I just became a follower! I'm so glad i found your blog!!! such a cute sign...

MARCH 23, 2010 9:38 AM

Email me at becauseicancrafts@gmail.com so I will know where to send it!

Congrats and thanks for following!

Easy Nests

2010-03-26T15:36:00.006-05:00

LAST DAY to enter my giveaway! You can to it here!

Well, I haven't been home all day, my house is a mess, and I still have errands to run. But it is a GORGEOUS day today and all my kids want to do is play outside. So I am going to forget my mess and my errands for now and let them play while I blog!

Since we are enjoying some nice Spring weather today, here is a cute way to decorate for spring. It doesn't get anymore Spring than a bird's nest!

An easy way to make a nest is to stuff a bunch of Spanish moss in a candlestick holder. I got these from Goodwill for 2 bucks!

Then I took a plastic egg, tore up some scrapbook paper into little pieces and Mod Podged it on! Sorry no pics of the process, but it is pretty simple. I really need to get better at taking pictures, but I just get so excited to get done and see the final result!

And I think the final result is pretty cute!

New Friend Friday

2010-03-26T07:03:00.002-05:00

Don't forget to enter my giveaway HERE!

Make some new friends at The Girl Creative.

Laced up candles

2010-03-24T16:08:00.002-05:00

Don't forget to enter my giveaway! You can enter HERE!

Candles with paper wrapped around them are nothing new, but I think this is a fun way to dress them up.

All you do is cut your paper to the size you need for your candle, cutting it smaller than the circumference of the candle. Then you punch the holes. I overlapped the ends, making sure the paper was lined up, so the holes would be lined up too. I used my Crop-A-Dile to do this part. I also set in some eyelets to reinforce the paper, also using my Crop-A-Dile. Then you just lace your ribbon in like you do a shoe!

Very cute and easy! I got the candles at the dollar store, and used scraps of paper and leftover ribbon from other projects. So it's cheap too!

98, 99, 100! That means a giveaway!

2010-03-22T17:39:00.005-05:00

Well, like many new bloggers, I have been watching my followers grow and have been planning on doing a giveaway as soon as I got to 100. Well, this weekend I hit that magic number! 101 actually! And to thank you all for following my little blog, here is a giveaway for you!

Here is what you could win...

This delightfully cute welcome sign, because I am, as the sign says DELIGHTED you are here!

There are 2 ways to enter:

1. Become a follower of Because I Can and leave a comment, or leave a comment that you already follow.

2. Blog about this giveaway and link back here. Leave another comment that you did.

The giveaway will close on Friday at midnight and I will announce the winner on Saturday.

Here is one more look cuz I think it is just so cute!

Good Luck and thanks again for following me!

This week wrap up

2010-03-19T15:12:00.003-05:00

Where has this week gone? All of a sudden it was Friday! I feel like I didn't get anything done. Ever have weeks like that?

I guess did get a few things done. First I found this lovely spice rack at Goodwill for 2 bucks.

I spray painted it Heirloom White since that BRIGHT yellow wasn't working for me, and it is now the perfect place for all my brads and eyelets.

Ahhh, much better. But it looks like I am running low on brads!

I also finally got around to making some of those earring and necklace holders from old frames that I have seen all over the place.

For this one all you do is cut wire to fit your fame and use your staple gun to attach it to the back. I have also seen them done with mesh or chicken wire.

Whoever thought up this is BUH-RILLIANT! It is so nice to be able to see all my earring and not forget about a pair because they are at the bottom of the jewelry box.

I also made a necklace holder from a frame.

For this one all I did was cover a piece of cardboard with fabric using hot glue. Then I took some straight pins that had a pearl head, stuck them through the cardboard, bent them to the length I wanted and used tape to hold the pin in place. Very easy. I have seen these made using cork board instead of cardboard, but I didn't have cork board, was impatient and cheap and wanted to do it right then! But the cardboard works great! I love how many necklaces you can hang up in a small space.

I also finally made some crayon rolls that are also ALL over the place. My kids were more excited about them than I thought they would be and I am excited not to have crayons all over the place at church.

So, I guess even though I feel like I didn't do anything, I got more accomplished than I thought I did!

That makes me feel better!

Last minute St. Patty's Wreath

2010-03-16T14:19:00.003-05:00

This past weekend we went to a St. Patrick's parade here in St. Louis. St. Patrick's is a big deal here. We has a really fun time at the parade. My kids' favorite thing was to get all the "stuff" that gets handed out. Candy, stickers, hats, and beads.

Some of the beads came with these big shamrocks on them.

I thought they would be perfect to finish up a wreath I had made.

I had extra dollar store shamrock garland leftover from my topiary, so I just wrapped it around a wreath I had picked up awhile ago at Goodwill. Then I tied the ribbon on. But it didn't look finished until I added the shamrocks from the parade. I took the shamrock off the beads and glued the chipboard letters on, then glued in onto the wreath.

Just in time for St. Pat's! I am doing some fun things tomorrow with my kids, lots of green food, a leprechaun visitor, and some crafts. Should be fun!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Spring Frame

2010-03-12T13:46:00.005-06:00

I saw this super cute St. Patrick's Day frame here at Inspiring Creations. It is SOO cute! I wanted to make on too, but I don' have a Shamrock punch and didn't want to go buy one. (I actually used to have one, but gave it away!) But that's okay. I made a spring one instead. I had the same 1 dollar frame from Michaels, covered it with paper using Mod Podge, and made my own spring blossom tree. Add some chipboard letters and a ribbon and it's done! I still think the St. Patty's one is cuter, but oh well! My little blossom tree is cute too!

Linked to:

Fruit Bowl and Bird Houses

2010-03-10T16:14:00.005-06:00

I found a really great blog the other day that I blame for my new hobby of scouting thrift stores for something really ugly that I can turn into something cute. It is called Drab to Fab. If you haven't checked them out already, do. And if you aren't already a thrift store goer, they will make one out of you!

I got the idea for this fruit bowl from them. I found a wooden candlestick and a wood bowl at Goodwill, I think on Drab to Fab they used a wooden salt shaker, but this worked too.

Then I spray painted them Colonial Red from Rustoleum, 2-3 light coats, and then add one layer of clear sealant. Then I used Gorilla Glue to hook them together. And here is my cute fruit bowl. 2 bucks plus spray paint.

I saw this bird house idea on another blog. Check her out at Red Heads Craft More Fun. HERE is the link to her birdhouse. I love birds and bird houses and needed more in my house. And I LOVE this idea. Here is what you need.

Birdhouse- $1 from Michael's

Candlestick-$2.99-3.99 at Michael's

Square plaque-$0.50 at Hobby Lobby

I actually made 2 they turned out so cute! I spray painted one in Colonial Red and the other in Heirloom White, both from Rustoleum. Again, it took 2-3 lights coats. Then I just used E6000 to hook all the pieces together. And here they are! SO CUTE!

I am planning on sanding and staining them both, but I couldn't find my stain when I was doing them, so that hasn't been done yet. But they are still so stinkin' cute!

I love all the fun ideas I find in blog land...now just to find time to do them all!

Linked to:

Spring Fever...plus a Mod Podged bookcase

2010-03-05T15:08:00.006-06:00

So, I've caught Spring Fever, have you? I am sitting right now on my porch swing, enjoying some beautiful weather and sunshine and watching my kids ride their bikes. And that's after spending the day at the zoo with my four-year-old and some friends. It feel soooo nice outside! Bring on the sunshine!

Since I have spring fever, you would think I would be posting about a spring craft I have done, but no. I haven't gotten to any of those since I have been enjoying our beautiful weather. This bookshelf is something I did several weeks ago and was debating about posting it since it didn't turn out quite like I had hoped. But then I thought, why should that stop me! Just because it didn't turnout perfectly doesn't mean that I should feel bad about showing it to others! I still spent time on it, and it does look better than it did before! So, here it is, my Mod Podged bookshelf.

Here is the before...it really was gross looking.

It is just one of those cheap laminate bookshelves that I've had since my college days. Several years ago, I tried to paint it. This was before I discovered the whole blogging world and all the great tutorials out there showing you how do do things like this. So I didn't sand. Or prime. Or do any of the things I know I should have done now. So it had all these places where the painted had been rubbed off.

Like this. Yuck. But instead of painting it again, I decided to cover it with scrapbook paper. I got a bunch of cute pink and brown paisley paper when it was on sale at Hobby Lobby. I was very technical about how I measured the paper.

See. That's how I measured the pretty much all of it. I covered the shelves, the sides and the top of the bookshelf, first putting a thin layer of Mod Podge down, lining up the paper and smoothing it with a credit card, then putting another thin layer of Mod Podge on the top. Pretty simple, but time consuming. I didn't do as good as a job in the smoothing as I thought I had so there are a few bubbles. And there is one shelf in it that is pretty much just jimmy rigged in, so I had a hard time covering that area as you will see in the picture. But here is the finished project.

I didn't do the edges or the back because I got lazy, I mean I liked it better that way. But that part of the paint job was holding up pretty good and I like the contrast it gives.

Here is a closer look.
As you can see it is not perfect. But still an improvement I think! And once you get it loaded up with all my stuff, you hardly notice the imperfections.

And isn't that how we should look at everything, as a whole, and not dwell on the imperfections, but instead realize that they add character?

Happy Spring everyone! I think I am going to fire up the grill tonight for dinner, because I can! :)

And thanks to Michelle at Someday Crafts for featuring my St. Patty's Topiary! Check out all the other cute St. Patty's stuff that she has found.

Craft group

2010-03-02T19:25:00.004-06:00

Every month or so I do a little craft group with some ladies from my church. Here is what we are doing this month.

This is obviously for Easter. I thought it would be nice to have an Easter decoration that represented the real reason for Easter. For this I cut a 1x8 cut down to a square. I used my crafting best friend, my Silhouette, to cut the lettering from vinyl.

The next craft was a suggestion from one of the ladies in the group. She wanted some blocks that her kids could play with that would have some religious pictures on them to help teach at the same time. So here is what we are doing for that. Nothing fancy, but my kids have really enjoyed playing with them.

I got the pictures here. I downloaded them, inserted them into Word and sized them to 3x2.25. I cut a 2x4 into 2.5 inch blocks, printed the pictures on card stock and adhered with Mod Podge. There are 10 double sided blocks. I put several layers on them so they would withstand the beating kids put on toys. I love this idea though! You could really do anything on them, letters, numbers, shapes, family pictures. Great idea to personalize your kids toys.

I still haven't gotten to my lamp project. Hopefully later this week though!

Picture Frame from a board

2010-02-27T19:59:00.005-06:00

So, this week started out not being to busy, but ended up being insane. Most days I wasn't home all day, my kids didn't get to bed on time all week, and I didn't get to any of my projects. But I don't want to neglect this blog anymore that I already have this week! So, I am going to post about something I created for a craft day with my church a few months ago.

They are easy, cute, and make great gifts! Here is one example...

Since I made these awhile ago, I don't have any pictures of the process, but it is pretty simple.

This supplies that you will need are:
ribbon

a drill

clear craft plastic

clear photo corners

paint

Rub-on words or vinyl lettering

a 1x8 board cut down to 10", or an 8x10 wood plaque that you can get at most craft stores.

Here is the craft plastic you will need. I got mine at Michael's. I used it for about 60 frames and still have some left.

Here is a frame I made using a wood plaque from Michael's.

So here is what you do. If you don't get a plaque you need to go to Home Depot and have them cut a 1x8 into 10 inch boards. (You can get 7 frames out of a 6 foot board for the same price as a pre--cut one at Michael's.) Then drill your holes. Mine are about an inch in from the side and 1.5 inches from the top and bottom. I used the biggest drill bit in my husbands bit set...I think it was 3/8th's. You can either make the frame vertical or horizontal, depending on your picture. Now sand everything down and paint it your desired color. When it is dry sand edges for a distressed look if desired. Cut the clear craft plastic to the size of picture you plan on using. I have done some with 5x7s and some with 4x6. Layer your photo under the plastic and put a clear photo corner on each corner and place it on your board wherever you think it looks best! Be sure to leave space for your lettering though! Now for the lettering. I have made some with vinyl lettering, but the ones we did on a craft day were all using rub-ons used for scrapbooking. The green frame just above is using rub-ons. Both work great. Just follow the directions on the package for application. And finally put your ribbon on and tie your bow. Make sure there is no wet paint in the hole you are threading the ribbon through, or you will end up with a paint streaked ribbon! If you don't want to use ribbon it would also look cute with twine or a strip of fabric.

Since they are so easy to make, I think they are a bit addicting. I have 6 of these in my house right now. They look cute propped up on shelves or sitting in easels. If you want to want them on the wall you could just attach some picture hanging hardware on the back.

Here are some more with my cute kids...

I have some projects I hope to get finished next week involving some lamps. Hopefully I can get to them! Happy crafting everyone!

Dream necklace

2010-02-22T20:08:00.003-06:00

Well, my actual dream necklace might have a few more sparkly things on it, but I really did dream about this necklace. The past few nights I have been staying up waaaaaaaaaaaay to late watching the Olympics and getting some projects done that have been one my list for a very long time. One of the projects that I have been working on are those washer necklaces that are all over blogland and have been for awhile. They are addicting to make. I feel the same way I did when I made those glass tile pendants that are everywhere too, I need one for each shirt I own! So I've been making a BUNCH of them.

Then other night my dear son woke up at 2 am needing to got potty and a drink of water. I must have been dreaming about making these things, because the first thing I thought was "You should wrap one in a hemp chord." Brilliant, I know!

Now someone out there may have already thought of this idea. In fact, I am sure someone has! There are so many crafty people out there! I have't seen it anywhere though, so I'm going to feel super creative about literally dreaming up this idea!

I seriously love it! I didn't get a good picture of it though, so pardon the bad lighting.

Here is it on me. And don't you love the sticker on my shirt? My son, the same one that got me up at 2 am, gave it to me and said that it means we will be friends forever! Awwww, sweet. I forgive you for waking me up at 2 am!

To make it all I did was cut a big length of hemp, tied it around the washer, then wrapped and scrunched and wrapped and scrunched over and over. By scrunch I just mean I kept pushing the hemp together. To finish it off, I just slipped the end under some of the wrapped part. Then lace another piece of hemp around it, add a bead, and your done. Well, almost done. You need some crimp beads with a loop, 2 jump rings, and a lobster clasp for the ends. I don't have any pictures of the process, but I want to make more in different colors. So I will get some pictures and hopefully get a tutorial up. I'm sure a bunch of you already know how to make the washer necklaces since I feel like I am the last person to make them! You finish these up the same way.

I know Hobby Lobby has some red hemp and I hope I can find some more colors, like a cool teal or pink or something. How cute would that be!

More Topiaries-St. Patrick's and Easter style

2010-02-20T17:53:00.012-06:00

My Valentine Heart topiary is one of my very favorite things that I have ever made. So, I decided to give the idea a twist for St. Patrick's Day and Easter. And again, I LOVE how they turned out.

Here is the Easter version...

Here are the supplies I used...

And once again, the Dollar Tree came through with the picks, the hanging eggs, and another lovely pot, this one yellow. The Styrofoam balls come in 2 packs...so that means I need to make at least one more topiary since I have one left!

I did this one about the same way I did the Valentine one that I showed you here.

You pretty much just take the picks and string off the eggs and glue them on like this...

Then you just fill in the spaces with floral moss, no glue required.

I love how it looks like an Easter Egg nest!

Here are some tips for the egg one.

I was going to paint the pot to cover the egg. But now I think I am going to just be lazy and turn the flowers to the back. But you could paint it or over it with paper if that would bug you. :)
The eggs come off better if you twist them off instead of pull them off.

The holes are a little harder to hide since the eggs don't lay as close to the ball as the hearts did. If you point the hole down they hide better. Plus use lots of moss.

Since just using the sticks off the picks for the trunk worked so well on the heart one, I did the same here. I actually used the egg picks on the St. Patty's one too.

I needed three packages of eggs, unlike the picture that just shows two. I had already started taking them apart when I remembered to take a picture. I get to excited to get stuff done that I forget the picture part a lot!

Here is the St. Patrick's Day version...

I again hit up the dollar store for some shamrock garland. I used another 4 inch Styrofoam ball from Hobby Lobby.

To start I just stuck the end of the garland into the ball like this...

then just started wrapping it around the ball. Every wrap or so I used some straight pins to hold it all into place, like this...

I used two garlands to warp it to cover all the Styrofoam and to make it nice and puffy looking. Then I took this lovely light green pot from the Dollar Tree...

and covered it with shamrock scrapbook paper to hide that not very St. Patty's like flower.

And this is what I ended up with!

LOVE IT!!

By the end of the year, I am thinking I will have a topiary for every season! They just turn out so cute!

I linked this post to:

Sumo's Sweet Stuff

My life, right this minute

2010-02-16T14:06:00.007-06:00

You can tell this week is much less crazy that last week, two posts in a row! I thought I would show you a glimpse at my life, so you can get to know me a little better. Now this is a for real look at me and my house, no cleaning or special prep for this.

So here is what I look like, right this minute.

And here is what my kids are doing, right this minute. Well, one is at school, so I obviously don't have his picture, but here is my younger son.

Yes, my four year old is awesome and still takes naps. Something his older brother stopped doing when he was almost 3. Fingers crossed that this continues!

And here is my sink, right this minute...

Ummm, not to bad actually, but if you noticed in my self portrait, the lunch dishes are still on the table. And here's a confession. Those pots have been there since Sunday, and will probably stay there until tomorrow, when my husband does not have class, so he is home at night and always does the dishes for me.

And a look at my bed, right this minute...

I can't take the credit for the bed being made. My husband makes it every morning, unless I am still in it. I can take credit for the piles of stuff on it though! :)

And here is what I am reading right now...

Jane Eyre. It's this months book group read.

And here is what is on my TV, right this minute...

The Winter Olympics. I love when they are on and always am sad when they are over.

But I am planning on parking myself in front of the TV every night and enjoying them. I have lots of projects to work on while I watch, so stay tuned!

My attempt to sew a denim purse

2010-02-15T14:53:00.014-06:00

I don't sew very well. Practically every sewing project I have done has been with my Mom holding my hand every step of the way. But I have been wanting to make a purse out of an old pair of jeans for a loooooooong time. That is the great thing about having a blog. It is motivating me to get some projects done since now I have someone to share them with. Someone besides my husband that is. I am sure he is grateful! :)

So here is not only my attempt to sew this purse, but also to write a tutorial about it, which could be tricky, since I was pretty much making this up as I went! I am sure that if there are any real sewers out there reading this they are cringing at my method, or lack thereof! But it all came together fine in the end and I am happy with the final result!

Remember I showed you this a few days ago...

Well, I got the finishing touches done on it and am now ready to show you how I did it.

I started with an old pair of jeans. These were some of my favorites and I was so sad when they got a big hole in the knee.

First I cut them like this...

Then I cut here...

and here...

I wanted the top of the purse to be the seam that was already in the pants. Less work that way! :)

I did that for both back pockets. Then I cut both of them to size. I cut them to 11" by 9".

Then I cut the sides. Like I did for the front and back, I wanted the hem of the pants to be the hem in my purse. The less sewing the better for me! I cut the sides to 5" by 9.5", allowing for a 1/2 inch seam at the bottom. Since I was just using the hem for my top hem, I didn't need to add anything for that hem.

Then I cut the bottom of the purse from the other leg. I cut that to 12" by 5" allowing for a 1/2 inch seam.

Then I sewed the bottom and the sides together.

I pinned it all together like this.

First I sewed the sides up, then the bottom. I don't have any pictures of this part of the process because I was to busy shaking my fist at my sewing machine. This is where I wished my Mom were here! She knows the tricks to get my old machine running smoothly!

Now for my favorite part of the purse, the strap. I cut the waist off the pants like this.

I cut it in half and sewed it in the middle of the sides of the purse. Then I gave the purse a haircut and cut off all the frayed parts on the exposed hems. Oh, and I also had to put a stitch or two in each of the belt loops since when I cut them off the pants, they got cut to.

To make the purse even cuter, I added a few fabric flowers. I have seen this method of making flowers on a few blogs, but for the life of me couldn't find which ones. I searched and searched and couldn't find the link anywhere. So, if it was you that showed how to make these, (or you know where the link is) let me know so I can give credit where credit is due!

Here is how to make them. Cut the fabric into a circle.

Then you just start gathering the edges into the center like this...

Then put a button in the center to cover it all up. I sewed my button on, but you could probably just hot glue it on.

So cute and so easy! I am definitely going to be making more of these!

And here is the finished product! I love it! I love that there is two pockets on the outside, for my keys and my phone. No more digging around the bottom of my purse for them!

So if you have never sewed before, I promise you can do this! I did! And if I can, you can! And if you are an old pro at sewing, take my idea and make it better!

P.S. Does anyone else get super nervous watching the Olympics? I can't imagine how all their Mom's are feeling right now!

P.S.S It is weird for me to think that the last time the Winter Olympics were on, I was watching them in the hospital after having Isaac. Still can't believe he is four!

I'm linking up to...

and

Exhausted

2010-02-12T19:54:00.006-06:00

Well, I am exhausted. This week has been busy, busy, busy. I mentioned before about church responsibilities, snow days, getting rear ended, and my son's birthday party. This month is also my turn to teach preschool for my younger son, so I did a Valentine's party for him yesterday, plus I was the room mother in charge of my Kindergartner's Valentine's party today. And my husband, who is getting his MBA is taking 3 classes this term, and working full time. So three nights a week he is in class, and the other nights doing homework. So all the bed time and kid stuff falls to me. But enough whining! I'm just sayin', I'm exhausted! Thank goodness it's the weekend and I have a date with my hubby tomorrow night! Here is the card I made my husband for Valentine's.

I found this great stamp and Michael's for a dollar.

If you can't tell, the words say "totally nuts for you."

And made this card...

Not my most creative card, but still shows how I feel about him! And that's what matters, right?

So, I do have a million projects that I want to do. Hopefully next week I won't be so exhausted and busy and will have time to do some of them.

But right now I am just gonna veg and watch the opening ceremonies for the Olympics.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Puppy Dog Cupcakes

2010-02-10T16:27:00.007-06:00

Today my baby turned 4. And he loves dogs. He was a dog for Halloween and right now his favorite toy is a stuff dog, which he has named Puppy Dog. Original huh! So, to celebrate his birthday and his love of dogs, I made some puppy dog cupcakes. I saw these on a friends family blog and when my son Isaac saw them, he wanted them for his party. So thanks RaQuelle for the great idea! They were a hit!

I used Tootsie Rolls for the ears, Star Bursts for the tongue, a marshmallow and M&M for the nose and more M&M's for the eyes. You just kind of work the Tootsie Rolls and Star Burst back and forth in your hands and kind of mold them into the shape you want. I used a butter knife to make the groove in the tongue. Put the ears, eyes, and nose on first, and the tongue last. The marshmallow get put on at an angle, just do what looks best!

Some things I learned while doing them are:

1. They are time consuming. Having a couple hands doing them would be better!

2. Frost the cupcake right before adding the candy so it will stick better. I ended up having to add more frosting to get everything on.

3. I think they would have been better off if I hadn't have covered them. I did them at night and then covered them and in the morning the candy was really sticky and some of the ears that were touching were sticking together. I don't think that would have happened if I had left them uncovered.

4. You will eat a lot of candy while making them!

But they were worth the effort! My little Bubba sure liked them a lot!

I'm linking this post to...

Gifts for your sweetheart

2010-02-09T21:45:00.002-06:00

The past few days have been crazy, snow days, church responsibilities, birthday parties, and getting rear ended and dealing with all that fun. But I did manage to get my Valentine's present for my husband finished. I think Valentine's is an awesome holiday. It may be somewhat cheesy and thought up by the greeting card, candy, and flower industry, but a holiday all about telling people you love them is a good reason to celebrate. So here is what I made for my sweetheart this year. He is banned from reading this until after Valentine's!

I got this 3 slot frame from Wal*Mart for $3. Then I just opened a text box, sized it to the right size and just started typing the many reasons why I love my husband, silly reason and more meaningful reasons. I wanted it to look masculine so all I added to is was a few buttons on the side.

I've seen on several blogs Valentine's made with these sort of bottle, but the bottles had been emptied then filled with candy, They are very cute, but I know my husband and he would rather have the cream soda! So I made a label for the front, and attached tags to each bottle.

I wrote coupons on each tag.

Nothing big, but just little things to show him how much I love him.

And here is a quick peek at a tutorial I'll be posting soon.

Plus, my son's birthday is tomorrow, and I made the cutest cupcakes for him that I will show you too!

Craft Room Revealed!

2010-02-06T19:29:00.009-06:00

First here is a before shot of my craft room...

My five year old kept trying to sneak into the picture. I take so many pictures of my kids that he isn't used to not being the one in the picture!

So here it is! Hopefully you won't be disappointed! I'm not. I couldn't be happier with how it turned out.

So here is the tour...

When you first walk in you see a book shelf and my chair...

This chair is one of my favorite Goodwill finds, only 30 bucks! I love the quilt too, still isn't finished, but still cute.

So, when I say the room is finished, it isn't all the way finished. I have a project in store for this bookshelf. And as soon as what I need goes on sale at Hobby Lobby I'll show you what I've done!

Then there is my desk.

Some of my favorite things on the desk at the cute flower pots I painted and embellished with ribbon, paper flowers and tags. And I added a shelf just above the desk. I already had the shelf sitting in my basement. I love the ribbon holder. That is just a tension curtain rod that I slipped all my spools on to. And since I don't have a TV in there, I use our portable DVD player in there to watch chick flicks or DVD's of my favorite show, The Office.

Next is I have my sewing machine, stamps, and paint. I keep my stamps in a microwave cart that I got at a garage sale for like 10 bucks. It works perfectly. I keep my sewing machine on a school desk that I got from a friend that is a teacher for free. Can't beat that.

I love this shelf! I got the letters at Hobby Lobby and just Mod Podged scrapbook paper on. Love that paper too.

Even my vintage sewing machine looks better in here now! I got this from my Mom when she got her new fancy one. It's one of those "They don't make them like this anymore," things. It is SOLID. It doesn't do anything fancy, but then neither do I when it comes to sewing! But it does all I need!

So there it is! My new and improved craft room. I really didn't change much other than a coat of paint and adding a new shelf. I love that it all goes together now! I just need to ignore that the carpet is still blue! But that isn't going to be changed anytime soon!

So $13 for a gallon of paint (its from Wal*Mart actually and its called Gaucho.) and everything I already had looks way cuter! Can't wait to start making more stuff to show you guys! I just know this room will inspire me even more than before!

Blue Cricket Design

2010-02-06T07:59:00.003-06:00

Thanks Becca at Blue Cricket Design for featuring my Valentine Topiary! See it here.

Almost done, and I lied.

2010-02-05T19:02:00.004-06:00

Well, my craft room is almost done. I just have a few finishing touches before I want to reveal it to you. It started snowing here this afternoon, so that meant that school got dismissed early. Yay for the snow! It is still strange to me that school gets closed for any amount of snow, but my Kindgergartener wasn't complaining! But since he got home early instead of getting everything put together I spent the afternoon playing games, referring the two boys and making sleeping bags for stuffed animals at the request of my youngest. So, one more day and I will be done with the room. I am thrilled with it! It's amazing how much a coat of paint can change a room.

Anyway, so I lied. I said I was done with Valentine's stuff, but I found to things I want to make. I haven't done it yet, but check them out, they are way cute.

I found this cute doily banner at Blue Cricket Design.

And while I was there, she was featuring Lindsey from Inspiring Creations and while I was checking out her site, I found this! So cute! Here is the tutorial for this heart tree.

So stay tuned tomorrow for my craft room reveal!

Craft Room

2010-02-03T22:45:00.006-06:00

My husband is currently going to school to get his MBA and working full time. So, needless to say, he is a busy man. It seems like he is either at work, at school, or doing homework. So, while he is busy with that, and as soon as the kids are in bed, I have lots of time to craft. Tonight while he was doing homework, (after he helped a family from our Church move, I'm tellin' ya, he's Superman!) I got to work painting my craft room. I have been wanting to do it for a long time. I should have done it a year ago, when we got bunk beds and moved both boys into the same room. But I was to excited to have a craft room instead of a craft corner, so I wasn't patient enough to paint it then. But I finally just did it. Here is what really gave me the itch to get it done...

I made this a few months ago and it got me hooked on the colors. So I made more things to match. But the blue wall color was bugging me since it wasn't matching all my cute new stuff! So, tonight I got the first coat done, and should get the next one done tomorrow! Can't wait! I love it so far. So, once that is done, I'll reveal my new craft room, with all my cute stuff that will now match the walls!

Cute, Easy, and Cheap

2010-02-02T15:10:00.001-06:00

After I typed the title to this post, I thought, "Hmmm, you could get a TOTALLY different meaning from that, if you you catch my drift...But I'm not going to change it. I promised some cute, easy and cheap Valentine's crafts so that what you are gonna get!!

I made them all with stuff I had at home. The only thing I bought was a 1 dollar scrapbook pack from Target. I love Target's dollar spot! If you haven't already seen them, around every holiday they have coordinating scrapbook supplies, ribbon, paper, stickers etc. For Valentine's there was a pack with punch out tags, borders, and frames. I used them for most of the things I am going to show you. Here is some of the stuff in the pack. And that is after I raided it for my projects. You get a ton of stuff for a buck!

I didn't use them on this first craft though. I have some tall glass jars that I wanted to fill with something Valentine-y. I thought about hearts, like I used on my topiary, but I wanted to do something different. I thought about conversation hearts, but I don't really like them (I only like the orange and yellow ones for some reason) and they are tall and it would take A LOT of conversation hearts to fill them! That's when I got the idea to use paper. I got some scrapbook paper, rolled it up, stuck it in, and tied a ribbon around the top! Done! Fastest "project" ever! And I love how it looks. The pictures don't do it justice. It is really cute. And if you don't have tall jars already, I know the dollar store has some tall vases that are about the same size that would work great as well. And how easy is that to change for each holiday? Cheap too!

For my next project I used pink, white, and red card stock, the border strips and circle frames from the Target pack, a brown ink pad, and a glue stick. Oh, and some frames in random sizes from the dollar store. (I am starting to realize how much I shop there!) The frames have been hanging up in my home for awhile now. They hang over some shelves and usually have the word Family in them. (I'll have to show that later!) So here is my Valentine twist for them.

I cut card stock to fit each frame. I cut the border strips to make X's and used the largest circle frames for O's. I inked the edges of them all with a brown ink pad, glued them on the card stock and put them in the frame.

And here they are on my wall. So cute! And once again, the picture doesn't do them justice. So, once again, cute, easy, and cheap. It only took me about half an hour to get it all done.

For my last cute, easy, and cheap project. I took some ceramic tiles we have leftover from a bathroom remodel. If you don't have them, they honestly are like 25 cents each at Home Depot.

Here is what I made...

For this one I took some hearts and wrapped embroidery floss around them, and hand wrote the Love You. I stuck them on the tile using adhesive foam squares so they would pop out more. Tie a ribbon on top and done. Only took about 10 minutes. It was so fast I decided to make more!

For this one I used more punch outs from Target, slid the ribbon through them, glued the ribbon to the back with E6000. Done. Less than 5 minutes on that one. So I'm gonna do another one! Just because I can!

Once again, some punch outs from the Target pack. This time I used my trusty Mod Podge to put them on. I used glossy since the tiles are glossy. A good trick I have found with Mod Podge and paper is to use a credit card to smooth out the bubbles. I keep a used up gift card in my craft room just for that purpose. Let her dry, add some more ribbon and that one is done too! Way easy.

Well, I think my house is done being decked out for Valentine's, so unless I find something else that I totally love, I'm done with the Valentine's stuff and will move on to other things! You guys are going to think that is all I know how do to! I am planning on painting my craft room this week and will have some fun stuff to show from that. So stayed tuned for more!

P.S. THANK YOU so much for all the awesome comments! I love reading them! If you ask a question I will answer it as a comment. But keep them coming! I love them!

I linked the post to Show and Tell @ Blue Cricket Design.

Free wood=more Valentine's Crafts

2010-02-01T14:09:00.001-06:00

The other day I was at Home Depot getting some wood for a little craft group I do with friends. I asked them to cut my 6 foot 2x6 in half so it would fit into my car when I noticed that there was a TON of scrap wood just sitting on the floor by the saw, so I asked the man in the orange apron what they did with it. He just said it was left over from other people who only wanted part of a board. So I asked him if I could have it and he said sure! For FREE! I left with about 5 times as much wood as I came in for! So, now I have a bunch of wood just waiting to be made into something cute! I honestly love wood. My sweet husband got me a compound miter saw for my birthday and it is the best present ever! But I digress! On to my post... some more Valentine crafts!

This is the craft I did with my craft group.

I came up with this one because my boys LOVE writing notes and coloring pictures for everyone. My kindergartener is learning to write and I thought this would be good practice. This is made from a 2x6 that I cut into 10 inch blocks. I drilled two holes into the side for the ribbon (which is from Hobby Lobby), sanded it down, and painted it white. I took apart some mini clothes pins and painted them pink and after they were dried and put back together I glued them on top with E6000. I cut the letters from vinyl with my Silhouette. I also printed a bunch of Valentine's words off the computer, cut them into little cards and put them with a pen in a Valentine mug right next to this so the boys can easily write everyone love notes. It has been a fun new tradition!

These blocks were made from my FREE wood!

I don't know why it has taken me so long to make some Valentine decorations! My favorite color is pink, and I have all boys, so I don't get to use it very often. So Valentines Day is the perfect excuse to add some pink to my house! These are really easy to make. I cut a 2x6 into different sized blocks, painted them pink, sanded the edges, and rubbed some walnut stain on them. I cut the letters from my Silhouette, (of course) but you could hand cut them. I used some Mod Podge to add some border strips that I got from the dollar spot at Target. For the last finishing touch I tied some ribbon around each one and I love how they turned out.

These are more blocks from my free wood. (See I told you I love wood!) These are 2x2s and I think I cut them down to 3 and 4 inches. After I painted them I inked the edges with pigment ink. The letters are from my scrapbook supplies-chipboard letters. I also inked the edges on them. I added a little wooden knob to the top and think it is so cute!

Stay tuned tomorrow for some more Valentine crafts...that don't involve free wood, but are SUPER CHEAP, SUPER EASY AND SUPER CUTE!

Winter Snowman

2010-01-30T19:21:00.000-06:00

First of all, a huge THANK YOU to Kari over at Ucreate for featuring me on her awesome blog and helping my blog get off to a great start!

I have to admit, I am feeling a little bit nervous now! Hopefully I can keep the cute crafts coming! It will be a great opportunity to stretch my creativity!

My family moved from Utah to the St. Louis area about 4 years ago. One of the biggest changes for us was the weather. It was quite a change coming from a place with lots of snow to a place where it snows so infrequently that school is cancelled for any amount of snow. I missed the snow more that I thought I would! But last night, we got an inch or two of white stuff!

So since my kids were able to do this today...

I am going to post some winter things I've made.

I made these by simply cutting a 2x4 into random sized blocks and painting them various shades of blue. Then I cut some white vinyl with my Silhouette digital cutter. I LOVE that thing! I use it for practically everything I make. It is awesome. But if you don't have a digital cutter and wanted to make these you can just hand cut letters from white card stock and Mod Podge it on. Then I just embellished it with cute snowman stickers and I have a cute reminder that there is snow somewhere!

I actually saw this snowman at a friends house and had to copy it. I take pictures all the time at friends houses or stores when I see something I love. My cell phone is full of pictures of projects I want to make! So since I can't build a real snowman, I'll make this one instead! For this little guy I took a 2x2 and cut it into a three blocks (1.5", 2.5" and 3.5"). I painted them white, sanded the edges and antiqued it a bit with some walnut stain. Then I added buttons, used pastels for his cheeks, a Sharpie for the eyes, and cut a nose from some card stock. I thought he needed something more so I raided my kids "warm fuzzy" jar and used pompoms and some jewelry wire for his earmuffs. Cute little snowman!

So enjoy the snow! Whether it is real or not!

Valentine Topiary

2010-01-29T12:56:00.002-06:00

I don't have very many Valentine decorations, so I decided to remedy that this year. I saw a cute Valentine topiary at Target yesterday, but didn't want to spent 20 bucks on it, so I decided to make my own. I totally LOVE how it turned out. It may just be my favorite project I've ever made! I got most of my supplies at the dollar store and a few at Hobby Lobby. Here is what you need if you decide it's so cute that you need to make one too! Just because you can!

A four inch Styrofoam ball-I got mine at Hobby Lobby for 2 bucks.

A bucket or container for the base-I got mine at Hobby Lobby too.

Styrofoam for the bottom of the bucket-Dollar Store

Floral Moss-Dollar Store

Heart Picks-Dollar Store, I needed about 2 1/2 packages for mine.

Ribbon-I just had some in my stash, but the Dollar Store I was at had a bunch of cute Valentine ribbon.

Adhesive-I used E6000

Here are some my my supplies. Since I am new to the blog thing taking pictures as I go, my project was already mostly done by the time I decided to take a picture!

But first you need to carefully pull the hearts off the wooden picks. There will be a hole in each heart, but they will be hidden, so don't worry about that!

At this point I realized I hadn't gotten anything for the "trunk" of the topiary, but rather than going to the store again, I just gathered up 6-7 of the wooden sticks that I had just pulled the hearts off of, bunched them together and stuck them into the ball. It worked great!

Then just start randomly gluing the hearts onto your ball, leaving spaces between each one.

After that you fill in the cracks with the floral moss. I didn't even glue this stuff on, I just stuffed it into the cracks and it stayed just fine and I didn't have to mess with more glue! This part was a little messy though!

Then put Styrofoam into the bottom of your bucket, stick your topiary in and cover it with more moss.

For the finishing touch, tie a ribbon around the sticks and there you have it! A super cute Valentine topiary for under 10 bucks!

I linked this craft to The Idea Room

and...

It was also featured on:

I also linked this post to Show and Tell @ Blue Cricket Design.

Because I can blog too!

2010-01-28T22:14:00.000-06:00

So, at the encouragement of my husband, I have decided to start my own little craft blog. I am not planning or expecting it to turn into anything big, but I think it will be fun to show some of the cute things that I make. Well, I think they are cute! You can decide what you think! So, for the same reason that I craft (because I can!) is basically the same reason that I am starting this blog. Because I can! I hope you enjoy it!

Because I Can

New Floors

Cedar chest redo

New room-with a little help from my friends

Disney Crafts

Monkey Bread

Family Proclamation Sign

New Curtains

She's back!!

RIP

Dollar Tree Plates

Baby Boy's Nursery...it's a little *wild*

The BEST Sugar Cookies EVER, St. Patrick's Day style

Revival

Faux Cupboard Picture "frames"

Thank you!

Creating Keepsakes Convention

Concussion

OOPS!

Slacker, I mean Sunshine Award

Sorry for my absence...

Easter Dinner

We have a winner!

Easy Nests

New Friend Friday

Laced up candles

98, 99, 100! That means a giveaway!

This week wrap up

Last minute St. Patty's Wreath

Spring Frame

Fruit Bowl and Bird Houses

Spring Fever...plus a Mod Podged bookcase

Craft group

Picture Frame from a board

Dream necklace

More Topiaries-St. Patrick's and Easter style

My life, right this minute

My attempt to sew a denim purse

Exhausted

Puppy Dog Cupcakes

Gifts for your sweetheart

Craft Room Revealed!

Blue Cricket Design

Almost done, and I lied.

Craft Room

Cute, Easy, and Cheap

Free wood=more Valentine's Crafts

Winter Snowman

Valentine Topiary

Because I can blog too!

Baby Boy's Nursery...it's a little wild