A Recovering Craft Hoarder

Pampered Chef New Product Giveaway

2012-02-06T05:00:00.000-07:00

Did you know I'm a Pampered Chef consultant. I first signed up when my almost 10-year-old was a baby. As my life has changed, so has my Pampered Chef business. I first signed up because my young family was getting ready to move back to Utah. We didn't have jobs waiting for us, but needed to get started on grad school. There came a time while we were juggling the kids between each other as we tried working out a schedule with work and school and life. I slowed down on my business during that time. Now I'm a full-time student again and am working my business around my schedule. The commission has been very helpful and I really love the incentives! If you are at all interested in learning more about the Pampered Chef business and how it can work for you, I would love to help you.

But on to the giveaway! I am offering a FREE new spring product. I just came back from a conference in Denver and can't believe all the fun things. So, in celebrating Pampered Chef, I am having a giveaway for the new....POTATO WEDGER! I have been hoping Pampered Chef would make one and now they have. Can you imagine cutting up some fries, sprinkling them with olive oil and seasoning and then dipping them in a variety of fry sauces! Makes my mouth water.

Here's how you can enter win:

1. Be a follower of A Recovering Craft Hoarder

2. Place a Pampered Chef order...

3. Facebook about this giveaway.

4. Book a catalog/internet party! Do this and I'll throw in the wedger regardless as a, "Thank you!"

Added BONUS!!! 20% unglazed stoneware and metal bakeware. PLUS a free Itty Bitty drink mix with $60 order--works with water, sparkling water as well as alcohol. I'm not an alcohol drinker, so I made sure this was something I could use as well.

I will be posting my favorite Pampered Chef recipes Wednesday and Friday so stayed tune.

Giveaway ends February 29th.

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Vermont..My dream

2012-02-03T05:00:00.000-07:00

I dream of Vermont quite often. I've only been there a couple times, but have fallen in love. It's as quaint as all the pictures and movies suggest; at least in my memory. So, I decided to check what $250,000 can get me in Vermont. Here's my favorite.

I'm a sucker for land. I love the thought of having a safe place for my children to run around and not feeling crowded in by fences and neighbors. Don't get me wrong, I love having neighbors. I just prefer to look out my window and see blooming trees rather than my neighbor inside my neighbor's home. Do you have any places you would love to live?

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Visiting Casper, WY

2012-02-01T05:00:00.000-07:00

Casper, Wyoming is my local market. I've been checking out this market lately because if we stay in Casper, we will be buying. We have a home in Idaho that we rent out. We'd rather sale it, but the market hasn't bounced back so we keep hanging on to it. The homes are a bit more expensive here in Casper. I want to show you what $250,000 can get you. Be sure to look at Monday's posting and see what that same amount can buy you in Central New York.

click on pictures for source at realtor.com

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House Shopping for fun

2012-01-30T05:00:00.000-07:00

This week, just for fun, come house shopping with me. I'm visiting the Syracuse, New York area. I was born in Syracuse and it holds a warm place in my heart.

Tell me I'm not the only one who browses realtor.com. I like to visit my fun areas and see what kinds of places I can find.

Here's my dream home. And to think, it's SO affordable! $249,000--for reals. Problem? I live over 2000 miles from my dream home. Well, if you end up buying it, let me know. You can thank me by letting me visit once in a while.

click the picture for the source.

Who wouldn't be ready to move for this kind of deal?!!

Anybody want to offer me a job?

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List of 35 update

2012-01-27T05:00:00.000-07:00

I'm using my Friday's at an attempt of holding myself accountable to accomplish my list of 35. Friday's are my updates of what I've accomplished. You can read the list HERE.

We attempted to fix the breaks of our car. We took it in, they fixed it, car wheel rattled. Took it in again, they fixed it again, car rattles again. It has another appointment on Tuesday. Hope they fix whatever was broken.

I save the rest of my progress for another week. Gotta get some homework done.

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Let Your Child Explore His Inner Engineer

2012-01-25T05:00:00.000-07:00

We absolutely needed a new printer. I had just put in new ink and for whatever reason, the printer was not acknowledging them. So we waited for the amazing sales and bought a new printer. The old one?

Rather than throwing all your old appliances out right away, give your children a chance to explore. Let them explore their inner engineer.

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Gameboard Journal

2012-01-23T05:00:00.000-07:00

The mission was clear and I accepted. This project require $0....a budget I could handle. I needed to make something from a game, using these pictures as inspiration.

How did CSI know that I was the perfect agent for this game?!!

I've drilled in the arts of game board makeovers.

Now it was time to take those skills and put them into action. I took the game board off my wall and cut it into four equal parts. Each game board is enough for two journals.

I went through my Scrabble letters to make sure I had what I needed to spell out TRAVEL JOURNAL.

I set aside the letters I needed for later.

I grabbed a stack of cardstock and pulled out some book pages I had left over from another project.

Using my Cinch machine, I punched holes into both my game board and my cardstock. I punched the game board incorrectly the first time. Good thing I had extra!

I cinched the binding, though you could do this by hand if you didn't have the machine.

I used my glue gun to place the letters on my cover.

And that was it. Easy squeezie. I mean, DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME BECAUSE IT IS SO SUPER DANGEROUS AND YOU SHOULD BE AN EXPERT AND WELL TRAINED BEFORE ATTEMPTING.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

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Two More Books!!

2012-01-20T05:00:00.000-07:00

I finished two more books. Good thing, since I started classes this week. I have a SUPER full load; not sure how much leisure reading time I will have or if I'll feel like reading after finishing up homework assignments. Maybe...maybe not. Figured I'd better get in the good stuff while I could.

The first book, Every Last One by Anna Quindlen is a bestseller. I got through it quickly. Warnings: I would rate it a definite PG-13. It's not close to R, but it is also nowhere near PG. That being said, the story is well written and I cried...a lot. I don't want to give the story away, but I will say, it will shock you.

And the book I finished up over the weekend, Matched by Ally Condie is wonderful! I was in mourning the two days after I had finished it. I wanted to read, but the story I wanted to read was Matched.

To make matters worse, it's part of a sequel. I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR SEQUELS. Grrrrrr. I've requested it for Valentine's Day. Problem is, if I'm reading Crossed, I won't be reading my homework. I'm utterly torn. But it's SO good and a great escape from the heavy stuff I'm reading now...no offense, Earth Science book, but I feel like I'm reading a foreign language when I read your words.

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Another fun hairdo

2012-01-18T05:00:00.001-07:00

I love experimenting with my daughter's hair. Here's one of my creations:

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My Childhood Bookshelf Gets a Facelift.

2012-01-16T05:00:00.000-07:00

I've had this bookshelf since I was a kid. It's moved with me 11 times. It's still standing strong...but drowning in it's outdated skin.

It was time for a face-lift. It was time for paint. My husband decided then would be a good time to take the kids out run some errands. He was right; I'm a messy painter.

I wanted to distress it a bit, but my husband really likes the color as it is. SO, for now, he wins. It's adds a great POP! to the room! Now, what will I paint next?

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Linked up at www.northerncottage.blogspot.com. You can check out my sidebar for other places I've linked up to.

Check Me Out at CSI!

2012-01-13T13:10:00.001-07:00

I am a CSI agent. Go "HERE" to out my mission.

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How to add color without painting

2012-01-11T05:00:00.000-07:00

I've got a very blank wall in my dining room.

Now we all know that no self-respecting crafter can allow such an atrocity to occur within the walls of their own home. I've let this go on for far too long. So what could I put on this wall? I can't paint it. I can't stencil it. I can't add amazing bead board. What I could is is add texture. Nothing permanent, mind you. Nothing that a little nail filler couldn't fix.

I've had this mat sitting in my storage areas for many years now.

Nothing huge, I just unrolled it and nailed it my wall.

The wall doesn't feel complete yet, but it sure does feel a whole lot better.

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Displaying my 35 list and a WINNER!

2012-01-09T05:00:00.000-07:00

I printed out my list of 35 things I needed to do....but that didn't seem like enough. I went to my wood stash,

and picked out a piece that I could use as a display board. this one even had pre-drilled holes in it.

I used my walnut ink to add a darker tint.

I sprayed it with both colors,

and used my foam brush to smooth in the color.

I let it dry as much at it could and used a napkin to run in the stain.

Like with many of my projects, I start and let the creative process take over. With this particular project, I could have skipped the staining. But it was fun to do and I'll probably try it on others projects in the future.

Back to my project. I Mod Podged my goals into the center of the board.

I ripped some scrapbook papers into strips and glued those onto the board.

But I wasn't done yet. I pulled my paint out and deluded it with water.

I used another foam brush and went over the entire surface, wiping off the excess.

I added mod podge to the entire surface.

Now I've just got to hang it.

And the winner of the My Memories giveaway....

Comment #3....Tanya said...Fave recipe? Cheeseburger Soup!

Congratulations, Tanya!

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Two books down, 33 to go!

2012-01-06T05:00:00.000-07:00

I finished my first book on New Year's Day, Just Beyond Harmony by Gaydell Collier

It's fun to support local authors and this book is one such book. It was fun to read but I struggled with the timeline. I wasn't ever sure just how much time had past. I did enjoy the local flavor and will keep this one.

The second book I finished on the 3rd. Ten Miles Past Normal by Frances O'Roark Dowell is a fun teen book. My husband picked it up for me at a Scholastic Book Fair. It was clean, not a lot of swearing and no uncomfortable scenes. Potheads were mentioned several times, but that was as edgy as it got. It was an easy and super quick read. It did, however, lead me to long for my own 5-acre farm...with no animals.

So what have you been reading? Any suggestions? I only have 33 more books I need to read. I'm totally counting the text books that I will have to cover in my schooling!

#31...CHECK!!!

2012-01-04T05:00:00.000-07:00

Don't forget to enter my giveaway!

I did it! When I put "logo book" on my list, I knew what I meant, but I can't imagine any of my readers knew what I was talking about. Let me show you what I was envisioning.

I have been saving the containers left over from some of the foods my family eats. I gathered some of these together and trimmed off all the edges.

I cut all the pieces to the size I wanted, glued the back of the box to the front of the box and saved the sides for bookmarks. I added some notebook paper, and put my book together.

It's such a fun little book. I can use it to keep track of the goals I've made :)!

2012! Here I come....

2012-01-02T10:00:00.002-07:00

Don't forget to enter my giveaway!

I'm not one of those that's embarrassed about my age. Each year I'm excited to be another year wiser....and believe me, each year I have much that I've learned. This year, thanks to Jenny Meyerson at

Learn With Jenny,

I have made a list of 35 things I want to do by the time I'm 35. I'm debating, even as I type this whether to post that list or not. It might be embarrassing....it might point out that I haven't done certain things up to this point. But, I'm real, if anything. I'm 35 and I am not a size 12. So here's my 35 things...

35Things I want to do before I'm 35.......

be a size 12
document each day of the year 2012
visit at least 3 states I've never visited with my family
make/purchase Christmas gifts for people throughout the year so I'm already by my birthday
be able to jog a full mile without stopping
have an organized kitchen
have enough frozen meals in the freezer to cover us for 2 weeks
be nicer
be more outgoing
blog more regularly
set up an efficient chore system
set up a NOT eating out reward system
reach $15,000 in Pampered Chef career sales
raft down the Platte River
read 35 books
organize my filing cabinet
pay off one of my debts
get up to 500 followers on my blog
redo my china cabinet
paint Geneva's bed
go on 12 dates with Chris
make a shelving unit with my wood and tools
get 30 credits closer to my teaching degree—by the end the winter 2012 semester
plant some flowers
have a weekly craft challenge and achieve it
go on 4 dates with each of my children
make a cute school folder that is also functional
fix the brakes on the car
fix the brakes on the van
make a list of house must-haves and must-nots
make a “logo” notebook
refinish the boy's dresser
declutter my bedroom of all extra boxes
visit Utah
refinish the couch pillows

So there you have it. I'm two days into the new year and so far on task. ;) My daily post are simple. Here's yesterday's:
1/1/2012 Denver Broncos Lose to Kansas City Chiefs 7-3

Wespent much of the day with football going on in the background.Despite the Broncos loss, they will continue into the play-offs; itall depended on the Raiders losing their game, and they did. Whew!!!

Now I need to find a fun way to display it. Meaning, what type of formatting do I want to do? Do I print the picture and hand-write the journaling? Do I do two days to a page and print off? I prefer a 3-D method so probably won't do it that way. I figured if I at least get it on the computer, I won't get behind. So what are some of your most do's?

Giveaway!!!

2011-12-28T05:00:00.000-07:00

This giveaway is now closed.

I know for some, digital scrapbooking may sound like a bad word. I know how you feel; I love the artistic freedom of scrapbooking and putting page elements together. Then I took the leap. I've made books in the past, but never actual scrapbook pages. I always loved the 3-dimensional elements that paper scrapbooking gave me. But the truth is, I haven't had the time nor the energy to drag out all my scrapbooking supplies. It's messy and daunting....so I just don't do it.

So when My Memories Digital Scrapbooking contacted me about doing a giveaway, I was thrilled! If you haven't tried digital scrapbooking, please oh please try it! You can still had your 3-dimensional elements once the page is printed. AND, you still have creative freedom. There's no mess, nothing to put away, and you can make multiple copies with no hassle.

I decided the first thing I wanted to do was create a recipe album of some of my favorite go to recipes.

Here's what I did:

Just opened MyMemories Suite to a blank layout, (I chose the landscape size). I added the peppermint striped 1 paper for the background, and a square shape to add my journaling onto. Then clicked: Photos ==> Add (found my recipe photo on my computer). Added text and typed in my.

As a special, My Memories Digital Scrapbooking is offering A Recovering Craft Hoarder readers your very own Share the Memories code that provides a $10 discount off the purchase of the My Memories Suite Scrapbook software AND a $10 coupon for the MyMemories.com store - $20 value!).

All you have to do is enter this code:

STMMMS8544 when you go to the MyMemories site.

Would you like to win this software, plus $10 credit to their store? One lucky winner is going to win it!! Here's how to enter:

Mandatory:

1) Go to My Memories and pick out your favorite kit.

Extra entries:
2) Follow Recovering Craft Hoarder on GFC
3) Share your favorite recipe.

4) Follow MyMemories blog.

5) Like MyMemories on facebook.

6) Follow MyMemories on twitter.

Please leave a separate comment for each entry.

Merry Christmas and Exciting News!

2011-12-23T21:43:00.002-07:00

I really have all these posts I wanted to write but never did; I was too busy spending it with my family and getting ready for the big day. I hope you are all doing the same and having a wonderful holiday! We will be busy with our annual Christmas Eve activities so won't be back until after Christmas. I will be hosting a giveaway next week, so be sure to come and check that out.

Have an amazingly wonderful and Merry Christmas!

Cornflake Christmas Wreaths

2011-12-20T05:00:00.000-07:00

There are certain memories that stick out from my childhood. Certain foods, certain activities. I'm not always sure why I will remember some and not others. One that forever sticks out in my mind is the Corn Flake Christmas Wreaths. I remember eating the ones my mom would make. As an adult, I had no idea how to make them but I knew I had to have them....so I altered a rice crispies recipe. OH MY GOODNESS! The taste flooded me with nastalgic goodness. This year, I looked up the recipe on the internet...and it WAS there! So yummy. There's lots of recipes out there, but this one I found on cook.com. I doubled their recipe and got this:

CORNFLAKE WREATH COOKIES

1/2 cup butter

4 cups marshmallows

1 tsp green food color

5 cups corn flakes

red hot candies

Melt (over low heat) the butter and marshmellows.

I contracted the labor over to local little people. Stir your mixture till completely smooth. Then add your food coloring.

Stir till well blended. Take off heat at this point and add your corn flakes.

Blend well. Use a large scoop (or your hands, if you're brave) and scoop onto a wax paper surface.

When the balls have cooled enough that the mixture doesn't burn, line your hands with some sort of greasy stuff cause this next part can get messy. You will basically use your finger and push a hold in the center of your balls. You might have to do a little reshaping to get it to not fall apart.

The next step is crucial! It's what adds the super YUMMY to these cookies. Place your red hots onto the wreaths in any fashion you please. My daughter thought that it needed to be completely covered. I put 3-5 on mine.

Here's something you can be proud of:

And then you eat them. Oh my goodness how yummy these are!

That's the very last bite...in my mouth...all gone!
And yes, that is my pinky sticking out. It has a mind of it's own.

Decorating Our Own Ornaments

2011-12-19T05:00:00.000-07:00

I bought the ornaments several months ago. I thought they were plastic. Today, I learned that they were in fact glass. Whoops! The plan was to have my children each decorate one of these ornaments any way they wanted. Child #1 really couldn't be bothered. Child #2 was sick and sprawled out on my bed. Child #3 helped for about five seconds before she moved on to something else. That's okay. I was not in a mood to force my children to join in the festive activity. They can decorate their ornaments another time.

I went to the basement to gather my supplies.

I figured I would use a variety of elements in my ornaments. It was really quite a lot of fun.

The first was the one my daughter helped with. Her favorite color is purple.

I poured in some paint...

...and swirled it around a bit.

That didn't work so well. I was a bit confused cause it seems to work on all the blogs I read. I'm pretty sure I skipped a step. SO, I added water and swirled. Instead of a swirl effect, I got a watered down coating.

For my next ornament, I pulled out the leftover candy from our gingerbread house.

Most of the pieces were too large to fit in the hole, put I found that the candied stars fit perfectly.

I would like to point out that this is the ornament I dropped and that shattered all over the carpet which resulted in my having to vacuum during the Survivor Finale.

I used these berries for my next ornament that had fallen off a garland that I rescued from my neighbors trash.

Truly, my son saw it sticking out of their trash can on Thursday but I waited patiently till it was pulled to the curb and was public domain before I pulled it out. It was beautiful. I even plugged it in and all the lights worked. CRAZY!!

And in case my neighbor is reading this, I also pulled a couple boxes and put those in my van for recycling. I know, I'm crazy obsessive but I'm not scary, I promise.

Isn't it pretty?

I used an old book that I had picked up from a yard sale for my next ornament. I love vintage books!

I literally tore the cover off and shredded two of the pages with scissors.

I used candied sprinkles for my final ornament. It's so fun!

Then I pulled from my ribbon stash and tied the ornament to our chandelier. I first got the idea to try this from Sugar Bee Crafts. Click "here" to see Mandy's original post.

I hope you will excuse the pictures. I didn't complete this project till well after dark but I knew I wanted to to post this first thing Monday morning. Lighting was an issue so I played around a bit.

I obviously need to figure out the setting on my camera.

Seriously, the pictures are horrible. It really does look so pretty in real life.

It really does add a lot to this space in my dining room. I absolutely LOVE the results. FYI, I made sure to layer the ornaments as I hung them. After breaking one, I completely envisioned the ornaments knocking against each other and shattering across the dining room table. There are so many things you can do with these ornaments. I can't wait to pick up more at the after Christmas sales! And for the ornaments I didn't use, I will put in other spots of my home.

A little video I made....

2011-12-05T22:03:00.000-07:00

I wanted to share with you one of the projects I had. I had never done anything like this before. It took me a little while to understand it, but now I'm an expert ;). Seriously, though--I was able to make another one last weekend in know time. It's the learning how that takes a while.

http://vimeo.com/32186238

A little proof that I've been busy, not that you didn't believe me. Plus, if I'm going to spend that much time on a project, I might as well show it off.

End of Semester...I'll be back!

2011-11-14T13:32:00.000-07:00

The end of my first full-time semester in over 11 years is quickly coming to an end. I am so looking forward to having all my assignments turned in. As it stands, my house is a wreck, but I'm at least on track with my homework. I might be kind of scarce for the next few weeks as I finish up all my projects and assignments, but know that I'll be back!

Burt's Bee for Sensitive Skin

2011-11-11T09:57:00.001-07:00

When I do a review for a product, I feel I need to have the integrity to be honest about a product and not just say nice things because I want to please the company. The point is for me to try and let others know how I honestly feel. So that's what I'm going to do today. I'm going to be completely honest with you.

Recently I was given a facial cleanser and daily moisturizing cream from Burt's Bees for sensitive skin.

I was so excited to try the products. I have tried numerous brands in the past and all have their pluses. What I liked about the moisturizer was that it was light. I didn't feel like I was adding grease to my face.

See the honesty in this picture? I took it even before I combed my hair or fixed those crazy bangs.

Or put on an ounce of makeup, cause who puts on makeup before moisturizer>?!! Um, if you do, let me just say, "You're doing it wrong."

And in all the time I was using this product, I only had one skin breakout...which was great in my estimation. The cleanser was a strange adjustment for me. It doesn't lather like regular facial cleansers. The lather is what makes me feel like I'm cleaning my face. It's psychological, I know. When I rinsed it off, I felt like I had to use more water than I normally do to make sure it actually came off. Maybe it's because it's a different style of facial cleanser than I'm used that I didn't love it.

However, let me not lose site of the fact that I haven't been breaking out. I haven't lost my "rosiness" but at least I've lost some of those other annoying blemishes. Funny, I never thought of myself as having sensitive skin before. I might have just learned a little something about myself in the process and for that, I would purchase this product in the future. Goodbye breakouts...FINALLY!

I am a Bzz Agent and received free Burt's Bees products, but all opinions are my own.

Fun hair style

2011-11-09T05:00:00.000-07:00

I love experimenting with my daughter's hair. It's such a great length! Here's one of my latest creations. It matches her spunkiness.

All I did was divide her hair into upper ponytail, middle ponytail, and lower ponytail.

I messy bun'ed each ponytail and pinned in place

Old belt is now my latest cuff/bracelet

2011-11-07T05:00:00.001-07:00

I've seen other bloggers do it and it looked pretty simple. I was cleaning in the basement and came across some fabric scraps.

I knew I had a broken belt....

and I needed something to post about. SO, I did it. I attempted my first belt cuff.

I only made one purchase for this project. Turns out it was the wrong item, but I improvised and used it anyway. I am looking forward to fixing a pair of pants I have whose button did fall off. See, it was totally worth the mistake.

I used my crop-o-dile to punch a hole in the belt so I could insert my button.

I did this on both sides, making sure to measure around my wrist and then match the holes up to fit appropriately.

The button comes in two parts. One side looks like a screw.

Place this in the side of your belt you want for the underside. I did this wrong, but I was able to live with it.

I apologize for the pictures. I had to use my phone for this particular project. That blurry thing is the screw.

The next step is to put the button part on and hammer it down.

My next step was to make the whole on the other side of my belt/cuff big enough for my supper big button. I used my scissors and cut inward.

Once this was done, I put my cuff to the side and worked on my embellishments. Remember those fabric scraps? I decided to make some simple rosettes

This is my newest craft toy. I was so excited to have a reason to use it.

Most of you probably already know how to make rosettes, but I'll take you through the steps anyway.

First, I take a strip a fabric. If you want to make a smaller rosette, a one inch-wide, 24 inch-long fabric strip would be plenty. For larger, you could try 2 inch-wide and longer than 24 inches. Play with it is my best advice. I folded my fabric in half.

Next I started rolling my fabric kind of tightly. This is the center of your rose.

After about an inch worth of rolling, I went ahead and glued my bud down. I twisted the fabric and continued rolling until I had the size I wanted.

I saved an inch at the end and heavily glued it to the back of my rose.

I glued my rosette on to the cuff.

And like any true crafter, I didn't know when to stop.

Luckily, it's hot glue and if I pull hard enough, the rosette will come off. My problem, I like odd numbers but I also like things to be even. I'd love your advise. Chances are, this cuff will be looking very different by next week. That's all part of the fun!

ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY!!!

2011-11-05T05:00:00.001-06:00

Soda Can Cuff-A Blast from the Past

2011-11-04T05:00:00.000-06:00

I'm up to my eyeballs in homework assignments and have had very little down time. So rather than raid pinterest, I decided to post blast from the past. Most of my reader weren't around when I posted this project, so here you go.

When I first saw this awesome project at

I knew it was a project for my crafts/gifts email folder. For the longest time, I saved up the soda cans and put them away in my craft room. It was so great, that it had to be done. What sparked the kick in pants to no longer put it off was the starting of this blog. I marched myself up to the room, pulled out the cans and looked for some fabric. I gave most of my fabric away this summer, since we were moving and I hadn't used it in a while. But I did have a tote full of clothes that had rips in the knees or other such calamities. I figured I was putting them out of their misery.

Course, I could try and fix some of them, but this seemed a lot more fun.

I gathered the cans and started cutting. This was an easy project to do at my weekly girl's project night. When cutting the cans, any sharp scissors will do. This will go without saying, but be careful; I was making a lot of people nervous as I poked the first hole into the can. I cut different sizes, some cans were able to get two bracelets from it. Then I trimmed off any rough edges and made sure it was even.

The leftovers can go in the recycling pile

(I don't have pictures of the next part, I apologize.)

I made sure the can fit around the wrist I was making it for. That means I needed to trim some more. Next, and this is so easy, you won't believe me, I hot glued fabric on it. It's not the prettiest thing you will ever see, but the ugly part was on the inside and nobody was going to see that. I made sure the bracelet was completely covered in fabric. Near the end, I hot glued some ribbon into the seams so I could tie fasten it. Nothing special, but I sure do like the end result!!! And it fit my skill level.

The fun part is accessorizing. I loved using my ribbon on this and it was also practical. Thanks 12 Crafts for yet another fabulous idea!

Blessings

2011-11-02T05:00:00.000-06:00

I do craft, I promise. And I occasionally organize as well. In fact, I did a 10 minute cleaning sprint when I got home from classes tonight. But today, because of other commitments, I will not blog about crafting or organizing. It's November and I fill it fitting to share something I am grateful for....
HEATERS! I say this because there are times I am reminded of what life feels like without one. Cold. Sometimes very cold. Sometimes my fingers feel like they are going to break off cold. Today was a case in point. It snowed ALL DAY LONG. My van has been in the school parking lot. I head home at 5:55 pm and the van is covered. Not sure where my scrapper is so I use my arms to clear off the windows. Then I turn on the defrost and have cold air blasting on me for the 15 minutes it takes me to get home. Plus, my wipers are not doing their job the way they should be. Plus, the heater never did kick in. Brrrr! And when I got home, guess what! My husband cleared out a spot for me in the garage. YEA! Maybe not so cold tomorrow?

My Halloween Toast to You

2011-10-31T14:49:00.001-06:00

May your bags be filled...

May your legs not get weary...

And may the teachers be blessed in the morning.

Happy Halloween!!

Real Life Fridays

2011-10-28T09:10:00.001-06:00

Guess where I'm headed today. I've got an appointment with the principal. Actually, I set up this meeting. I have three children, the oldest is in sixth grade. I've never met with the principal about one of my kids before. It's always been about PTO's and fundraisers and Halloween Carnivals. This time, it is about one of my children.....and a teacher. I love teachers. I want to be a teacher. I am sympathetic to what teachers go through everyday. But this week something changed. This week I found out my child had received several 0's on assignments and she was not going to budge. While meeting with the teacher, the teacher had the audacity to turn to my child and ask if there was something going on at home that was causing this--while my husband and I sat there. A couple days previous this teacher and another teacher told my son to quite lying about his homework. WHAT?!! This kid is just about as sweet as you come. He's the one who ran to the door to open it for an elderly lady.

I am angry. This same boy didn't eat lunch a couple days ago because the teacher's aide told him he couldn't use the school's spoons; that he needed to bring one home. No worries, I called the school and they are making sure that doesn't happen again. So, I'm frustrated, mad, and in disbelief. In our school district, we have school of choice. I could pull my child out and send him to another school if I wanted....but he's happy here and I think to myself, "He just needs to get through the year. It's only this grade." Wish me luck in the principal's office and thank you for letting my dump.

Need I Say More?

2011-10-25T21:31:00.000-06:00

Do Your Tools Look Like This?

2011-10-24T05:00:00.001-06:00

Let me start out by saying, this is only part of the stash.

Do you have a stash that looks a little like this? Several years ago, my in-laws gave us a really nice tool set. This is what the case looks like now.

And it's not because the tools are missing. It's because over the years, they have been separated and put into various "tool" containers. I decided to clean up. Before, I had the tools stored in our linens closet.

Doesn't look much like a linen closet, does it?

We now have a double sink in our master bathroom--I'm not one of those that enjoys double sinks--it's a waste of valuable square footage in our family. Rarely do we ever have more than one person in a bathroom at a time. I'd rather have the counter space. That being said, under each of those sinks there is storage space. We have our bath towels under the main sink and rags and hand towels under the other.

Since we don't really need the space for towels, I decided to move our tools over here. That way, I'd have easy access to the tools and they could all find a common home.

And there's still room for the rags.

And now I have some empty space in the linen closet.

A Boy's Obsession: Buckyballs

2011-10-21T05:00:00.002-06:00

Jeepers! I forgot about how quickly fad come to chose in middle school. My son seems to come home obsessing about something. Here's his latest:

BUCKYBALLS!!!

Have you heard of them. They look like teeny silver beads except they are superduper magnetic. Using money saved over from the summer, he purchased his first set...216 balls. I was a skeptic. But look at what he created in less then 1/2 hour.

Can you see the little details in there. The kids an artist.

Every crafter mom's dream in a child.

The Scuba Diver

This is his storing position. He cubes his balls and stores them in a small box. He had me try them and I understand. It's frustrating, but I understand. We were talking about these things for weeks. I hate following trends. I like to march to my own beat. But, these are cool. If you are looking for a fun Christmas idea for your older kids, I dare say, this is a good one.

One Man's Trash is Another Man's Treasure

2011-10-19T05:00:00.001-06:00

I purchased this wooden ladder at some yard sale some moves back. I love it but I haven't done too much with it. In fact, I've had family members secretly put it in the trash and I fished it out--but I LOVE IT and knew there was potential in this piece.

It's a piece of art in progress. I'm adding one element of design at a time.

For my first step, I found some cute paper from Close to My Heart.

I cut it to size using the area between the ladders rungs as my measurement.

Got out the double-sided tape. Mind you, I don't want this to be permanent. I'd love to change it for the season/holidays.

And I have step one done.

Eventually something will go in the center of each square, but for now, I've added a little color to some otherwise plain walls. And being the person I am, have made it easy to change out when I become bored with the patterns.

Any suggestions for the centers? I'm open to suggestions.

Trash to Treasure Inspiration

2011-10-17T09:21:00.000-06:00

There are times I just need to feel inspired. It's rainy and dark outside and these pictures just cheered me up. Click on the picture for it's source.

Another Paint Redo

2011-10-14T05:00:00.000-06:00

After cleaning my desk, I pulled out this shadow box shelf and decided to get it up on the wall.

Can you see it amongst the clutter? It's there, I promise.

I pulled out a can of spray paint leftover from my kitchen table and since it was cold outside and the same color as my table, spray painted directly on my table. Yea, I'm awesome like that. When the fumes became too much for me, I opened some windows.

Now I've got it hanging by my red $2 redo to add a bit more dimension to the area.

And when I get bored of purple, maybe I'll try orange....or black....or stripes.

2011-10-12T05:00:00.007-06:00

It's been a bit crazy in my home since we've moved in. I'm sure many of you have experienced something similar. We have just enough time to dump our stuff and then run. Every night, when I'd get home, I'd just stare at the mess on my desk and sigh.

I had to prioritize, and to be honest, this desk didn't even come close to the top of my list. This past weekend, that changed. My husband had taken the kids out for the afternoon and I was caught up on homework. It was time to tackle this desk once and for all. I started by taking everything off the surface.

Was this really ALL on that desk?

I dusted the surface of everything.

I cleared out under and around the desk.

Yep, just put it in a pile somewhere else.

I vacuumed and then piece by piece, put everything away.

And now I have a usable space.

I found a home for everything, took a ton of papers to my recycle storage, and now I feel so much more relaxed in my room. It's amazing how more calm I feel now.

Decking out my Front Porch

2011-10-10T05:00:00.000-06:00

Today, my post is about the pictures. I took some pictures of my front porch area. It's narrow, but blocked by the wind, which means I can actually decorate! Seriously! Last Halloween, I had to take down some of my decorations because they were scraping the paint off the house with all the whipping and flapping they did. The ones that weren't hooked onto something often blew down and off the porch. So, without further ado, welcome to my home...

I hope you felt welcomed. I love Fall and I love decorating for Halloween. My most favorite time of year.

Real Life Friday

2011-10-07T05:00:00.001-06:00

We live just a small walk from the North Platte River. Since the summer season was to soon end, I gave in to the kids pleadings and headed to the river to play for awhile. My boys ended up just digging up some mud while my daughter splashed around.

Why hadn't we done this sooner in the season? Sometimes the simplest things are the funnest.

Roadkill Resue!!!

2011-10-05T05:00:00.002-06:00

i can't believe it--I just started following Roadkill Rescue and then found out they featured a project I made last December. If you haven't seen their blog, you truly need to check them out!

Another $2 Redo!

2011-10-03T05:00:00.000-06:00

I have to say, I've been pretty happy with the yard sales in my town. I picked up this beauty for $2 at the end of the yard sale day.

I spray painted the table red and added a few coats of polyurethane. Sorry for the lack of pictures. There were no special tricks or steps that I took, but how I love the finished results.

I've placed the table right by the wall when I walk in the front door. It's a great spot to put things that need to go out the next morning.

I had to bring in the plant from outside to keep it safe from freezing.

I added very minimal decorations--I prefer the simplicity.

I've since removed my candy box. Seems it was a bit too easy for everybody to reach. Happy thrifting!

Real Life

2011-09-30T05:00:00.003-06:00

Yep, we're all human. Here's a picture of the torn-out basement that has been a major factor in me not blogging this past month.

Torn out walls and carpet.....it was brand new carpet to begin with. Grrrrr!!! It's been an insurance nightmare. But, I know there are greater stresses in life, so we press on. The upside, the walls will be repainted a nice neutral and we will NOT be allowing our tenants to paint over it. You ask why? I'll tell you--the next tenants will complain about it. Neutral is good.

A Fabulous Party Idea

2011-09-28T05:00:00.001-06:00

I can't always say this about my ideas, but I will about this one. My daughter was turning 6 and she wanted a party. Because of our flooding house situation, funds were extremely tight, but I wanted to have a fun take-home treat/gift for the kids. PLUS, we were doing a fall theme (seemed the easiest thing to do and not have to buy silly accessories to go along with it). Ready for it?

Caramel Apples. But not just caramel apples. A caramel apple bar. Totally serious here. You think, you did this with a bunch of 5-year-olds?!! You bet I did, and they LOVED it!

We stuck some craft sticks into the apples and dipped the apples into the caramel. We had the kids line up and tell us what they wanted on their apples. We ran the apple over to the topping and added heaven's nectar to the already scrumptious fruit.

My bar consisted of:

Marshmellows,

Butterfingers,

Oreos,

and chocolate chips.

A couple of the kids mixed and matched their toppings. I went straight for the butterfinger.

(It's not easy trying to eat a caramel apple and take a picture at the same time, believe me!)

Is there a worse crime than a half eaten apple? No worries, they didn't remain half eaten for long (no, I did not finish them off).

You can make a clock from WHAT?

2011-09-26T05:00:00.000-06:00

A couple years ago, I made a clock from a book.

I need a clock in my master bedroom. I've got nothing. So, I've decided to check out Pinterest and find some inspiration. FYI, click on the picture to go to it's Pinterest Page.

Okay, I seriously am going to explore my home and see what I can turn into a clock. Other people's creativity really does inspire me!

It's a Makeover! (and my yard sale advice)

2011-09-05T23:02:00.000-06:00

Oh! My! Jeepers! I keep on hoping life will slow down and I can take a minute to breathe, but it just hasn't happened yet. Life keeps on moving and I've got to keep up.

I've given a couple hints in past blog posts about some projects I've been up to. The kids are sleeping and I've got a minute so I figured there was no better time to share.

I found this super cool piece at a yard sale. You want to know how much this table (which once held a sewing machine, but the machine is nowhere to be found) set me back? $2. Yep, you read that right. It cost me $2. Why did I get such a fantastic deal. I found this table at the end of the yard sale day and the owners were just wanting to get rid of everything. I probably could have said $1 and they would have let me have it, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. So if you want some great yard sale advice, go out around noon. You might miss out on some great pieces, but you'll never know they existed, so it won't hurt so bad. Instead, you'll be left with salers wanting to get rid of everything before they truck to the thrift store. Another piece of advice, don't be afraid to offer less. If they say, "No," than no big deal. What have you lost. I often have gotten things at 50% or more off the price they have listed.

I pulled out the spray paint that I had used on my headboard

and my candy jar

And got to work. My first step was to protect the hardware.

Luckily, I had been unpacking some boxes so already knew where my painters tape was. I was even good and waited a couple minutes in-between paint coats.

A nice, dark, rich brown. Yum!

So it looked great as is, but being a follower of a great number of wonderful blogs, it's was difficult to stop here. SO, I pulled out some more painters tape and a picked up another can of spray paint.

(tape was coming off)

There wasn't much paint in the can, so I had to plan carefully what I wanted to do. First step, call hubby who happened to be in a store where paint was available. Told him what I needed and he called back to say there wasn't anymore (even had them check in the back). I wasn't going to let that deter me. I decided to spray until I could spray no longer.

In retrospect, I really should have covered the sides and top, but I was fortunate enough not to have too much of the paint go where it wasn't supposed to go.

That's it--the paint ran out. Luckily for me, I was able to get a solid coating on at least this one section. I really am pleased with how it turned out. It adds a bit more interest by having the stripes.

Do you see those lines under the table? That's where my dresser used to be. Want to see where it is now?

Can you believe I painted that dresser and never even blogged about it?!! I will try to get better. Sometimes I just get so excited about a project that I don't think to take pictures. What fun is a blog post without pictures?!! And FYI, I am aware that the quality of my pictures is lacking in this post, but it was a super bright day and I if I didn't take the pictures then, I wouldn't have pictures to take. SO! I apologize and I will work on the timing of my pictures and try to be more patient so you can get a better view of the process.

Get'er done while the gett'in is good...

2011-08-24T22:54:00.001-06:00

First day of school.

No tears from this horribly insensitive mother. Do you know how long I've been waiting for this day. Don't get me wrong; I love spending the days with my kids. What I don't like is all the unstructured time that comes with summer. It's great for a while. No homework to worry about or deadlines or waking up early. Sure, I never look forward to that. But you should see my kitchen. It's CLEAN! Well, mostly. I didn't get to the floors. Let me show you some befores and afters:

I find it highly obscene how quickly this happens. But when crazy, unstructured summer hits, it's sometimes hard for me to juggle the cleaning. As soon as we've cleaned it....well, you know how it happens. At least when school starts, I've got a couple hours of nobody messing it up. Because I'm now a full-time student, I have to work in the cleaning in-between classes and homework (I was smart and put all my classes into two days. Well, at least I'm working on it.). SO, I would do some work then work on a section of the kitchen. This was the first section completed:

I could do this! I hurried and put in a load of laundry.

Next it was the dishes.

That's when I moved on to checking my emails. Don't want a cluttered in-box. And then back to another corner of my kitchen.

FYI, a lot of the mess are things I cleaned out for the recycle bin. And then there's the dinner reminder and pie pans drying on my cooling rack. This corner didn't take that long to clean.

Good thing, cause I had several calls to make. I'd rather be cleaning than making calls!

Yes, I know. Gross! I only had time left for one more section, so this was it. It mostly consisted of putting things back where they belong. With the back to school frenzy, we had note cards and crayons and pens and all sorts of school related leftovers still not put away. Easy enough.

I'll be moving the fruit stand, but for today, it remains here. It was off to the dump (with a water bill, they allow one free dump a month--great sense I had a mattress that wasn't even worth freecycling AND it cleared out more clutter) and then to class. I saved this:

for when I got back. I did clean the clutter, but just didn't CLEAN the surfaces.

And now I've got a clean kitchen. Yea!

My point of this whole post (besides that I'm excited that school started) is that often we don't have big windows of available time to clean, but there's usually windows here and there. Many of you might work from home. How do you juggle it? My solution is to separate your items, whatever they might be, into pocket. Do a section, make calls, do another section, pay bills, do a section, write your blog post. And just so you believe me that I've been doing something besides cleaning and calling:

That's it. Just a teaser.

And because I can, here's some 1st day pictures:

What Keeps me from Crafting? part 2

2011-08-22T20:36:00.000-06:00

We've moved! And I'm sorta mostly unpacked. Feels great. Then we get a text from our tenants in Idaho. Our basement is flooding. We're not talking moist carpet, we're talking flash flooding. 10 inches of water in one night.

(picture source: waterfirerestorationatlanta.com)

I've been on the phone all day. We don't have flood insurance. Why would we? We're nowhere near a river or lake.

The farmer that was flood irrigating says his insurance won't cover it. My tenants gave us an 8-day notice that they

will NOT be returning to the home. I'm hopeful that it will all work out, but I'm terrified of the road I will have to take

to get there.

I must say, I have done some great projects since moving in. I even took some pictures. Unfortunately, because

of the events of the day, I haven't uploaded them to my computer. But I do want you to know that I want to find joy

and being creative brings joy so despite my life's stresses, when I do finally get off the phone, I will upload those pictures and show you what a couple bucks can get you.

In the meantime--anybody looking for an inexpensive home for rent in Rexburg, ID? The upstairs is in great shape!

What keeps me from crafting? part 1

2011-07-15T09:36:00.000-06:00

You want to know what keeps me from doing what I really love doing? I'm going to take a leap and just assume that you really REALLY wanted to know.

It doesn't completely make sense to me. In reality, I have more free time in the summer than any other time of year. But that free time gets spent doing...other things. Things like....

HOUSE HUNTING:

I mentioned before that we're looking to move either into a less expensive home or one with a bigger yard.....or BOTH. Well, the first home we looked at was cheaper AND had a much larger yard. Unfortunately, someone beat us to it. Grrrr.... The next house was HUGE! I'm talking biggest place I've ever lived, more rooms than I know what to do with HUGE! When we called to say we were interested, we found out it had been taken-taken even before we had looked at the place. Would have been nice to know before we fell in love with the place. I was heart broken.

So we're going with the simple, practical home. The home that's just down the street from us. It's $250 less a month, smaller living space, but super large unfinished basement. The backyard is super small (as are most yards in this neighborhood) but opens to a large field...no fence or run down tennis court blocking our views.

This is the side yard. Yep-almost nonexistent. Almost to the level of ridiculous.

This is part of that field. Yep, I'm looking down from the deck and already, my future yard ends. No worries, I checked with our guy and asked about putting our pool there. He seems to think it'll be okay, so that's good enough for me. My kids are so excited about finally being able to put up our pool. We bought it right before we moved to Wyoming but haven't been able to put it up due to our incredibly small yard.

Not all grass is lost. See, I've got about a 5xsomething yard in the back I can mow. Might take me 5 minutes, but I'll just be grateful that we are saving $250/month and we still have space to put up the pool.

I want you to keep in mind that we haven't moved in yet. All this stuff is somebody else's. BUT, it's been fun visualizing with my hubs about how we'll use the space. We're thinking of a craft area, storage space, and a place to play video games.

Yes! Built in storage for all my crafting needs. My husband sees this as food storage, but I'm pretty sure I can easily win this one!

I'm stressing just a teeny bit about where to place my furniture. However, knowing we have that large basement really does help.

The living room is a bit smaller than what we have currently, but I think if we used the space wisely, we can make it work to our advantage.

I'm guessing the current tenants love animals?

Another downside---carpet in the dining room. Who puts carpet in a dining room?!!

Now, I want you to know not everything is negative about this place. I actually have a better laundry area in this new home. My current home has a place for w/d hookup put NO shelves. None. The new home has cabinets and shelves. I never knew I could be so excited about laundry storage space.

Please excuse the fuzzy pictures. It's a small kitchen (my current one is much prettier) but it has more cabinets meaning I'll actually have ROOM to put things away.

No bedroom shots in this post, I apologize.

This isn't the dream home, but hopefully with the money we are saving and with the eventual sale of our Idaho home, we will be able to buy that amazing home. I'm hoping the sacrifices we're willing to make now will lead to good things in the future. Besides, it's only a 1-year commitment.

It feels good to save money!

Happy 4th of July!

2011-07-04T08:37:00.000-06:00

I am grateful to live where I live and to be able to visit the places I visit. Despite all it's faults, it's a great country!

Happy Independence Day!

Check out My Summer Mantle

2011-06-24T05:00:00.002-06:00

All it needs is a banner. That gives me something to work towards.

I love this window so much. All I did was clean it real good and mod podge some paper on. I didn't paint a single thing.

All the paper came from a single 6x6 Cosmo Cricket 6x6 paper pad (I know I've mentioned that they should sponsor me, but I haven't heard from them yet). I cut each piece 4x6. SIMPLE!!!

And thanks to those Crafting Chicks, I've got my 50 fun things to do this summer list up and ready to check off. I love summer and I love the color that comes with it!

Bold! And I'm loving my new mantle.

Mini Vacation

2011-06-23T05:00:00.001-06:00

My husband and I have committed to exploring the areas within 5 hours of our home. We felt that we need to take advantage of what is relatively close to us. SO, last week, we took a trip up north to Billings, MT. This was a real quick trip. We're talking 36 hours quick.

Let me just show you some of what we found and enjoyed.

Yes, this would be a picture of all three children playing on some sort of electronic. Shameful, but I still documented it.

I ended up taking several pictures of grave stones. I was so fascinated by them. We stopped at Little/Big Horn (Custard's Last Stand) on the way up. I am often mystified at some of America's history; not always proud. This would be one of those cases.

Beautiful monument created to remember the Native Americans who were killed in this battle.

This is where they found General Custard's body. He is now buried in West Point, New York.

The first thing we did when we reached Billings, was go visit the LDS Temple.

Gorgeous and peaceful!

We got to the hotel around 9:30pm and the kids immediately suited up and went to the pool. We discovered a sauna. I'm not sure it worked, but we tried it anyway.

Okay, if you ever go to Billings, MT, you've got to visit their candy store at the very end up King Street. We spent at least an hour there.

And since they had an old school ice cream parlor set up, we had to order....banana split, shake, ice cream cone, and of course, a real Shirley Temple. YUM!!!

What a fun trip!

This week, we're headed to Utah. Meeting up with roommates I haven't seen in MANY years. SO excited!!

Wow! What People Think of!

2011-06-22T05:01:00.002-06:00

I reeeeeallllly want one of these. I just know there are those of you out there that could look at this picture and by tomorrow, you will have created your very own version of this and it will be painted, stained, and set up in your backyard. I want to be one of those people. I would spend hours in my little homemade oasis. I would think lemonaide and read an amazing book and perhaps have a child fanning me. As of now, I am not one of those people, but if you are, I would LOVE your tutorial and would follow your blog FOREVER!!!

My Homemade Salsa

2011-06-21T05:00:00.000-06:00

For those of you who have been following my blog for a while now, you will know that I am not a perfectionist. I am very aware of many of my flaws but I try to let those go and enjoy the finished product that I have created.

I've been a part of the Bountiful Baskets co-op for almost two months now and in produce heaven. I live on a somewhat strict food budget. For a family of five, we try successfully to spend $150 (but usually much less) a week on groceries. We actually only spent $45 this week. Okay...okay...there were hot dogs on that menu, but it's summer and we're busy and the kids LOVE them! Back to my point, I often stick to a strict grocery list and extra produce was never on that list; only what we needed for recipes. Now that I have my produce from Bountiful Baskets. I get to eat more creatively.

For a snack last night, I ate artichoke leaves dipped in a mayo/sour cream/seasoning mixture. YUM!!! I had a salsa craving, so I threw in what I had on hand and WOW!!! A serious addiction. At least I know the dip is healthy. Sweet peppers, onion, garlic, cilantro, tomatoes....I made it up as I went.

Look at all that color!

I tossed everything into my food processor.

Added the cilantro and fresh garlic. LOVE this stuff!

You would not believe how great this tasted. It took just minutes to make, which is great when you need your cravings satisfied quickly.

My advice to you, don't be afraid to use what you have. I just threw it all together and was thrilled with my salsa. Can't wait for my next basket.

Giveaway Winner and Great News!

2011-06-20T05:00:00.001-06:00

I used Random.org and comment #5 was our winner of the Washable Dry Eraser Set.

Dollie said...

I love those! I'm a public follower :)
Dollie

Congratulations, Dollie! Email me your contact information.

Also--I finally got some pictures uploaded from my camera. That means more post this week. AND, I made a beautiful (okay, I biased) project that I can't wait to show off. Stay tuned.

Preparing an Organized Move

2011-06-13T05:00:00.001-06:00

I am determined to make this next move my most painless one to date. The home we were moving to fell through. We're sad because the yard was such a great size and it was in a beautiful neighbor. However, it has given us some more time and less immediate stress. It also means, I can start now by donating, throwing out, and packing. I've decided to tackle my daughter's room first. She apparently is in a giveaway mood because we already have a large box full....and we've only gone through dress-up, doll clothes, and stuffed animals. She was willing to give away just about everything....and I let her.

Our local church is doing a fundraiser for the girls so they can attend camp; a serious yard sale. I'll have plenty to donate to the cause.

2011-06-10T05:00:00.008-06:00

It was the first really nice weekend. I had picked up a local newspaper and was on my way to a particular yard sale when I was met with THIS.....and about 8 other yard sales.

What a fun afternoon!

Washable Dry Erase Expo Giveaway--CLOSED

2011-06-07T22:43:00.001-06:00

I'm having a House Party today featuring Expo's washable dry erase markers.

You would not believe the amount of stuff they sent me. Incredible. So much, in fact, that I'm offering a set for a giveaway. Interested?

All you have to do is become a public follower of A Recovering Craft Hoarder or tell me you already are. That's it. One entry per person.

What I did with a Window

2011-06-05T22:43:00.001-06:00

Do you remember me telling you about the windows I was able to pick up off of freecycle? I finally finished one of them (well, almost).

In person, it's SO beautiful. All I did with the window was cleaned it. I thought the pealing paint look was perfect. Why mess with perfection. I had some wrapping from an After-Christmas sale at Hobby Lobby.

I rolled it out and did some measuring and cutting so it would fit within my frame. But I was stuck not knowing how to adhere it. I ended up just gluing the edges to the frame. I probably could have mod podged it. I just didn't want a glue look on my glass. I ended up backing it with cardboard from a box I had.

I found the knobs for FREE at a garage sale. Yep, FREE!!! They were an ugly, outdated oak so I spray painted them the same color I used for the top of my kitchen table (which I'm liking now, btw).

I hand drilled (cause I'm not sure where the charger is to my electric drill is--haven't for many years now) 7 holes. The screws that came with the knobs were to short to go through the window frame, so I had to use other ones....ones that were too skinny. That's okay cause I used to super duper amazing glue and glued the knobs onto the screws. Sure, I maybe could have skipped the screws altogether and gone straight for the glue, but what fun would that have been?

The only thing left is to add something on the back so I can safely hang my new.......creation!

We're getting ready to move again (third time in less than a year) so I probably will wait the month till we move in and figure out where I want to hang this, whether it's a mud room, the bathroom, in the kitchen, or maybe even in a bedroom). And in case you're wondering why we're moving again....our first move to the state was temporary housing (one month) till we could find something more permanent...our second move was to the home we are now in....our third move will be because we desperately want a yard and this house has none and the next house has a large yard and cost $300 LESS a month. It opens up July 1st. Our contract goes till September in our current home, so that's 3 moves in less than 1 year. I look forward to when we can sell our home in Idaho and buy a place I can love but for now, the current owners of the next home gave us permission to paint. I AM SO EXCITED! I'll keep you updated on my lovely summer that will include a move I wasn't planning for.

S-u-M-m-e-r Banner

2011-06-03T05:00:00.000-06:00

I made a Christmas banner with discarded CD's last December.

Ever since then, I've been wanting to do something similar. To be honest, I could do this with anything: Easter, Spring, Winter, Autumn, etc....etc....

This time, I turned it into a banner. I used all the same steps (used cup to trace circle, distressed paper with ink, mod podged on both sides of soup can lid), but connected it with ric-rac. I lovelovelove these banners and using something I would normally have thrown away.

My ETSY shop is open!!!!!!!!

2011-05-31T13:31:00.000-06:00

I finally have my etsy shop up and running. I felt it was important to quit worrying about the details and get something up...so I did. I can update as I go.

My shop name: lyndeeh

I'll be adding more, but started out with some of my recycled journals. Check it out! I'll be adding more everyday.

(click on any picture to take you directly to the page)

Happy Memorial Day

2011-05-30T05:00:00.000-06:00

Happy Memorial Day! So much to be grateful for. Thank you to all our past heroes for making my life what it is today.

Elementary Graduation

2011-05-27T05:00:00.001-06:00

For all of you experiencing your last week of school, you will understand what I'm talking about when I say, "I'm exhausted!"

Baseball 4 times this week.

Last Blast (outdoor field games)

Pack Meeting (oldest received his Arrow of Light award and I'm a den leader)

Babysitting

MOPS

It doesn't end yet. Tomorrow there's a breakfast for my son's 5th grade class to celebrate elementary school graduation. I was smart and signed up for juice. I can handle juice.

The ceremony is right after and then I can go home and take a short nap. Short, cause I still got to pack for our weekend trip to Utah (my sister has been in the Dominican Republic for the last year and a half and got home Thursday night) and then wake up at 5:00 am to set up for Bountiful Baskets

I am so tired! But it's all good. One day I will miss the crazy busyness that is my life.

What I did with an Old Book Cover

2011-05-26T05:00:00.000-06:00

I don't know how many of you remember my book art I posted several weeks ago.

I was left with the cover of this book. It was a great looking book cover.

I've been waiting to buy some rings so I could turn it into something useful that I would love and cherish and never let go (well, maybe not when I take a shower, but everybody else).

I grabbed my tools: a croc-o-dile (you really should get one if you haven't already), two rings, and some paper cut to size (according to your own book cover).

There was no cutting on my part. I LOVED the cover too much to make any more adjustments. Now if you decide to cute the spine section off, that's great, but I'm new to the desecration of books so it was all that I was capable of doing. Just give me time.

I used the larger hole punch and made sure to measure where I wanted the holes. The croc-o-dile has the tool set up right on it so it was super simple and made me feel confident that my holes would line up.

Then I put the book together. Supersupersuper simple (as always).

I use it to store inspiration.

Still plenty of blank pages allowing for more ideas.

Have a fantastic weekend! May there be sunshine and flowers and inspiration all around!

Look What The Son Dragged In...

2011-05-25T05:00:00.001-06:00

I love the school my kids go to. They do a lot of amazing things (my son's 5th grade class took a field trip to Yellowstone...Friday-Monday). The library had a box of "discard" books (of which I'm checking out in the morning to see what's left) and my son brought this home:

I love all the art being made from books. AWESOME! He was smart enough to pick out a couple books he'd rather read than create alternative art from (i.e. Harry Potter's The Deathly Hallows). Now I'm trying to decide if summer is a good thing or not. Anyone there with me? Excited for all the plans I have carefully orchestrated in my mind. Hoping the kids don't go wild with "boredom." We'll see what comes to fruition.

Farewell Oprah

2011-05-24T05:00:00.000-06:00

I will miss Oprah. I always admired that she took Talk Shows to a higher level. She didn't waste time doing paternity test or "freak" shows. She talked about what mattered. She didn't just talk about making the world a better place. She MADE the world a better place. Thank you Oprah. I will miss you.

Now how do I subscribe to OWN?

My Redone Topiary (yet again)...

2011-05-23T05:00:00.000-06:00

Do you remember this?

That turned into this...

(That's Rapunzel's face.)

Well, this weekend it turned into this:

It was super simple and fun, to tell you the truth. No glue was used for this project--just straight pins. So everything is removable if ever I become bored and want to make this topiary over yet again.

I was able to use three of my ribbons from my rather large stash. One day that basket of ribbons will be emptied and then what will I do? Nope, I'm being pretty good about ribbon and not buying more. Though, I did have a good friend recently unload a bunch on me. I was very excited and know it will be put to good use.......And if I don't use it in the next year, off to Freecycle it goes.

I first used my 1 inch punch and pulled out my scrap paper album. There's SO much paper in there and it felt great using it on something so fun and simple. I picked out scraps that felt summery to me and punched out as much as each scrap allowed.

I used regular ol' straight pins to stick my paper on. I did have a method to my madness. It was similar to putting a puzzle together. I started at the bottom and laid the next layer up UNDER the layer below it. You can kind of see it in the picture. Also, I tried making sure that whenever I laid a piece down, I couldn't see that same piece any where on that part of the circle. Go ahead and look. I challenge you. With most papers, I was able to accomplish this. It really was fun for me (what a nerd I am!). Course, I look at the picture and there are several that look similar in color, but if you could see it closer, you would notice the patterns were different (refer to picture above).

hat

I had to wait to spray paint the pot till Sunday since it's been constantly raining. I had spray painted white over the gold but it didn't go with my look. I don't know why, but brown seemed to tie it all in for me. I LOVE this. I love the splash of whimsical color it adds to my living room.

Last week of school. Let's hope I can get a lot done before then.

Garage Sale

2011-05-20T08:00:00.000-06:00

I'm so excited. Tomorrow I will be waking up early to attend a 5K Event to raise money for a couple families who have gone through some trials this past year. I'm taking the three kids with me. Sound crazy?!! I'm thinking it's crazy....We'll put on some of our winter gear, cause you know, it snows in many western states late into May (we had the wet, nasty stuff just yesterday). And prepare myself for the whining that is to come. "I can't walk anymore." "My feet hurt." "How much further?" "I wish we were home." Maybe I'm not giving my kids enough credit.

No, wait--I've got personal experience. I think they told us no strollers. That means said offender would have to walk the whole way (cause I ain't carrying her).

You wonder why I'm excited? Well, it IS for a good cause. But it's the after that I'm really looking forward to. GARAGE SALING!

Seriously, I don't need anything but I sure do like the hunt. I'm hoping to find something that other people have missed. Something with some serious potential. Something for dirt cheap cause I hate to pay big bucks for anything. Even my kids get into the magic of it. Wish me luck!

A Million Things Tackled

2011-05-19T05:00:00.000-06:00

I finally started tackling my kitchen table. I started sanding it a couple days ago (not that it took two days to sand, but that's just when I started it). Then I pulled out some purple gloss spray paint and got to work.

All is well up to this point. I have my husband pick up some "sealer" from the store AND....

...it's been a nightmare since.

The can DRIPPED onto the table leaving horrible rings. Then, no matter how many coats I put on, it never dried evenly. Now my table looks like a purple tie-dyed mess.

At this point, I have no idea what to do. I've got weird smudges and uneven purple splotches. Maybe I'll eventually share pictures but for today, I'm too scarred.

And the Winner is.....

2011-05-18T08:46:00.000-06:00

Sorry no pictures to prove it. I've got to leave for the library so I'm using Random.org and hope that you'll trust me on this one....

And the winner of the amazingly wonderful bookmark, handmade from me, hoping to enhance all your reading experiences is..............

A Bee In My Bonnet - Leslie Annesaid...

Oh how cute! I would adore one! Right now I'm reading Debbie Macomber's 'A Turn in the Road'. Funny book. Another one, kind of a constantly updating one, is 'Praying God's Will for My Son' by Lee Roberts.

Congratulations, Leslie Anne! Please email me with your contact information.

My To Do File....

2011-05-17T05:00:00.000-06:00

Take a look at just a small portion of my "to do" folder. I'm thinking once a week, I'll post some of these projects and then tackle one of them during the week. If I have the link, I'll add it to the picture.

I'm not sure where this next one comes from. I'm so sorry I can't give the credit where it's due.

Find Your Local Freecycle Yahoo Group

2011-05-16T08:34:00.000-06:00

You will never believe what I picked up from freecycle yesterday.

Windows! In the post of my title, I put: Wanted: Windows

How simple was that?!! I received two responses and picked up from both locations. The second home was my jackpot. Apparently, that's what the homeowner does is replace windows. I took them all home and can't wait to get started on my projects. No, they are not all for me. But won't they be fun gifts? I'm also hoping to decorate and then sell at local craft fairs. Freecycle is AWESOME!

If you want to know where the nearest freecycle is to you, it's quite easy. Just got to www.freecycle.org and type in the city/town you live. It will do the work for you. I have received so many amazing things from freecycle and gotten rid of even more. AWESOMEAWESOMEAWESOME!!!

And don't forget,

IT'S FREE

My Signature Craft

2011-05-13T15:00:00.000-06:00

The Funky Polkadot Giraffe (click on picture to go to this tutorial) made a bookmark I just couldn't resist.

Here's my version:

Homemade Journals from Recycled Parts

2011-05-11T20:23:00.000-06:00

So I told you got a super cool Mother's Day gift. Wanna know what it was?

I know! I am so excited about this. I've been saving boxes from noodles and crackers and whatever I could find just waiting for such a machine. My 11-yr-old asked me to make him a journal from his 3DS box. Who was I to deny him?!!

Here are some more I made:

Notice these are made from the same boxes I made the bookmarks from?

I still need to do some more practicing. It's obvious I'm a novice, but OH how I love my new notebook/journals!

Now I've got to find the binding cords somewhere cheaper than Hobby Lobby....and I need some more plain colored cardstock. A travel journal, a food journal, a daily journal, a prayer journal. I'm just so excited!

There are projects completed, I promise!

2011-05-11T08:00:00.000-06:00

I am so excited. I'm looking at my calendar and it would seem that this is the last week of CRAZY. This is me right now:

I have found that when it rains, it pours. It's not all bad, just seems everybody decided to plan everything at exactly the same time.

We have baseball EVERY night (two of those nights are games, the other two practices), dance three nights this week, Jr. Olympics, Track and Field Day (yep-two separate events...Really?!!), board meeting, Mom's group, etc...etc... and no time left over. I crafted some great things over the weekend and rearranged a room and love it, but haven't taken pictures. So, bear with me and know that I just need to get through this week before I get some more craft/picture time. Anybody else going through this right now? And there's still homework?

Soooooobbbbbbbbb.....

Just gotta make it to Sunday... .justgottamakeittosunday... justgottamakeittosunday.........

This Clutch Kicked My Toosh

2011-05-10T05:00:00.000-06:00

I went to:

to try my hand at this:

Holy crudoli, that was hard! Hard for me. I'm going to try my hands at making some more now that I have one under my belt. I actually LOVE the material I used. I found it at Salvation Army for 95 cents. Wahoo! I'm not allowed to buy any more fabric. Gotta use up what I now have (for reals, I was using clothing scraps before and those have about run out).

I've got pockets and everything in it. I'm giving my first one to a friend. I told her I'd make her a wallet and that it might not be the prettiest thing she ever saw, but I would give it a go. And I did!

My next one will be even better.

Picture Perfect

2011-05-09T09:24:00.000-06:00

What an amazingly wonderful weekend I had. I hope you don't mind me posting it in pictures, but it's one of those perfect times that, as a mother, I want to etch in my brain forever. I LOVE being a mom!

Friday started with Track/Field Day. Please understand, my children were born with an athletic handicap. Neither their mothern or father possess the skills. However, what they do have-HEART.

My daughter finished this race proudly in 3rd (the next two in fourth) and displayed her ribbons with gusto.

I'm not sure why the expression. Lol! A treasure trove of great pictures.

I'll spare you the extra details of the day (babysitting, scouts, cleaning, etc) and skip right to that night. We had a church dinner and talent show and this same daughter REALLY wanted to sing. It's a funny thing cause I cannot stand being a spotlight. I do not want people looking at me. If their looking at me, they are talking about me. Not this kid. If it includes a microphone, she's on it!

Saturday started strong. Did you know that on the first Saturday of every month, Home Depot offers a free wood workshop for kids. It's AWESOME! However, by the time we got there, they had run out of supplies. That's okay. We moved on to the next thing on our list....LUNCH! No picture, sorry.

Our local Recreation Center offered a free Snow Days at the ice skating rink. It included free admission, skates, helmet, popcorn, and soda. I rocked that helmet!

(please excuse the blurry picture....hubs had the camera and it was on the wrong setting)

We went to my son's 1st baseball game immediately after. That kid cracks me up. He's the one who wore a jock strap to church. Walking out to the base, we cheered his name and watched as he fist pumped/knuckled the air. I have never seen a kid who was happier to be playing ball than this one. I don't know that the smile ever left his face.

It's a young league so the pitchers from the other team were struggling. We had a lot of "walks." That's okay.

Rounding home.

Several of the balls were hit directly to my son in right field and a parent was kind enough to tell us what he could do to improve. I didn't know what to say so just smiled. I'm looking for the perfect comeback for next time. Seriously, near the end of the game, we were ahead by 12 points. The other team kit some balls and the kids were struggling to get the ball where it needed to go. Listening to some of the parents yell, I wondered why they were there. I mean, the reason we were there was cause my son thinks baseball is fun. He's the happiest kid on that field. Why take the fun out of it? Besides, being the last inning and that we were ahead by so much, I wasn't too worried about the other team catching up since there's a 5 run rule (only 5 runs allowed per team per inning). Yep--I'm one of THOSE parents. The kind that thinks we're there to make memories and enjoy the moments of my child's youth. One of those crazies.

Anyhoo! Mother's Day was awesome and I used the gift from my hubbers to make some great projects. So super excited AND thinking I'm going to open an etsy store because of this great gift. The kid always surprised me with their sweetness.

My eldest forbade me from entering the living room. How sweet is he! I told him I'd take several pictures so he wouldn't have to be upset when the flowers withered. Another upside, these flowers are no longer in my backyard (assuming it was from our yard that he picked them).

What an awesome weekend! I assured my youngest that today is still Mother's Day since her gift was left at preschool to dry. She was quite upset when she thought Mother's Day was over.

Rearranging...It's Backbreaking Work

2011-05-06T07:41:00.001-06:00

Remember my living/family room? I've posted about it twice in the past week. Well, I took matters into my own hands and started rearranging. Today, it's the pick up the pieces day. I'll post pictures next week so stay tuned.

Another Kit Completed

2011-05-05T05:00:00.000-06:00

This kit was simple. It consisted of 4 cards. The hardest part was cutting out the flowers. The rest was pretty much ready for assembling.

At least I'll be 3 cards closer to being ready for Christmas. Wahoo!

Does One Really Ever Have Enough Bookmarks? GIVEAWAY!!!

2011-05-04T05:00:00.001-06:00

Have you ever noticed that certain bloggers have their thing? Well, if I were to have such a thing, I believe it would be bookmarks. No, I have never reading 27 books at one time. However, I do like to switch my bookmarks often. Here are my latest and greatest:

I used both sides of the box for these. It made it convenient since they were already the same sizes. I'll be using the fronts and backs for something else.

After I cut out the sides, I glued them together and then lamenated both sides.

I punched a hole in the top and threaded through coordinating ribbons.

You want for for yourself? Sure, they're easy enough to make, but you want one that you don't have to make? Here's how you can get one.

1. Comment, telling me that you want one.
2. Tell me the title of one of your favorite books (always on the lookout for future reads).

Salvation Army: Part 2

2011-05-03T05:00:00.000-06:00

How do all those other bloggers out there do it? They always seem caught up on their post. I have a busy couple days and nothing gets posted. I guess I could prepare ahead of time. Wouldn't that be novel. Anyway.....Remember this from my Salvation Army trip?

Well, I've been busy with my glue. I love my heavy duty glue that could hold a house to it's foundation. It's been very good to me.

I experienced my first true Bountiful Basket this weekend (I'm one of the site coordinators and we just opened our first 3 sites here in Casper) and had to wake up at 5:30am to unload the truck. That really doesn't have much to do with anything, but I wanted to show you what I did with some of my produce.

Seeing where the glue came in? It looks like it was meant to be.

I could wash AND store the fruit in the same container. Cool!

I love how it looks on our table. If you just happen to be on my Christmas list this year, watch out. You never know when one of my finds/creations could turn up in your own home.

I Would Really Love Your Vote!!!

2011-05-02T05:00:00.000-06:00

Okay, it's time to vote. I really need your help. Go HERE to vote. I'm #59 and would love your vote! I won't force you, but I sure would love you FOREVER!!!

Do you ever feel like no matter what you do, no matter how many amazingly wonderful the crafts you make are, that a space still feels....empty? Not like uncluttered empty, but like it's lacking something? That's how I feel about my space. I love my home but I feel like a renter. I am a renter, so that's not terribly surprising, but I want to feel like I'm home and not like I'm borrowing a house for a bit.

This is my living room. I would love to make it feel more cozy and less like I'm trying to fit all my furniture into one space. I'd love to figure out a better way to display the television and hide all the cords. I'd love to update the look of my piano.

And speaking of love, I love my red couch but the fabric is outdated and falling apart. We have this big open space in the middle but the perimeter is packed to the gills.

The living room opens to the dining room. I actually like the layout of the home, but not the layout of the furniture.

Here's my bedroom. I was sorting through some papers and had yet to have put them away. Notice the sleeping bag on the ground? Our children have been visiting us for the past three nights due to a long weekend. I love the size of our bedroom. Very spacious....but very boring.

Check out this blank wall. A whole wall of blankness. It's screaming for attention but I'm afraid to mess it up.

You like my daughter's room there in the corner. I'm thinking it needs tackled today. Cleaning, I can do. Making this room a haven is a bit more difficult.

Do you have a space in your home you feel could use some expertise? Because I want to share the love and opportunity with everybody, check out:

My New Shabby Apple Dress

2011-04-27T11:37:00.000-06:00

When I found out I won a Shabby Apple dress from Random Thoughts of a Super Mom, my husband asked me what was wrong. I guess the screaming made him jump to some silly conclusion of spiders or mice or some such creature. Nope! I won a dress. I don't own dresses. I've got plenty of skirts, but didn't have a dress to add to the mix. So excited. Have you ever checked out Shappy Apple's dresses? They are amazing. And what makes them even better, they support microcredit loans. As soon as I saw that, I knew they were worth purchasing from. It's great to get something wonderful for free, but this was also a company I felt good about purchasing from and supporting.

Before you say anything, I already know that I am....well endowed. I don't typically wear this style of dress. What I did to try to offset my bust somewhat is added a necklace. I struggled to find one that worked but in the last minutes found the perfect necklace, or at least the best option from what I had to choose from. I figure there's nothing I can do about my chest (within my budget) so I need to just accept it. I used this particular picture cause the other one....well, I'm an honest person. I'll just show you and you'll know what I mean.

Any suggestions on what to do to maybe downplay some of my assets?

My Guilty Pleasure: Salvation Army

2011-04-25T11:05:00.000-06:00

I'm beginning to think I'm digressing. I'm not supposed to pick up new items, but when I see so many amazing projects made from thrift store finds, I can't help myself.

I gave myself a $15 budget. My husband purchased 2 books ($1.50), so really, I had $13.50.

I was on the lookout for something like this. I had actually passed it once without noticing the these candle bases. When I noticed them, I wondered how I could have missed it the first time.

Come on! You gotta admit, these are fun finds.

I purchased this clutch because of a project I had seen on another blog. I'm so excited to try my own version.

Let me show you one of the projects I completed (I just couldn't wait).

I picked my least favorite candle holder.

And, of course, the spray paint. Keep in mind, you don't need to paint it to do this project, but for my purposes, I really wanted something else.

I used the candy containers I purchased...

...used some heavy duty glue and adhered it to my base. Then, to complete my look, I added some almond joys and coconut hershey kisses. I'm not sure these will last long, but I guess that will mean I'll have to buy more. Yum!!

Yea! This idea has been in one of my folders for awhile now. Now I can check it off the list. I LOVE it!

Happy Easter!

2011-04-23T15:18:00.000-06:00

I just really love Easter. If weather is cooperating, the green grass is starting to push it's way past all the dead debri. Leave are slowing forming, and outside is calling.

I always feel so hopeful when spring comes. I find myself with renewed energy. With Easter, that hope is compounded with a deep sense of gratitude. Grateful for the sacrifices that have been made for me.

pictures found at http://spiritlessons.com/Documents/Jesus_Pictures/Jesus_Christ_Pictures.htm

Mini Scrapbook

2011-04-22T05:00:00.001-06:00

I have had this kit for at least two years now and it was time to put it together. I've got a large box full of kits but haven't done anything with them. Not any more. I've decided to do at least one kit a week. That's better than zero kits in two years!

All the pieces were pre-cut. All I did was adhere the paper to the chipboard, add the extras they had included, punch a couple holes and ta-da! It really is so cute. I'll pick one week of my life to document our family, add pictures, and a little journaling. How easy!

My Book Page Holder

2011-04-21T05:00:00.000-06:00

I made myself a page holder from my book so I could easily turn the pages without losing my spot. I have a lot of ribbon trim and it's fun to find practical uses for them.

I don't know that I needed to, but I ironed on a fabric stabilizer to the back of the ribbon. I measured around my book and then sewed the ends together.

I don't know that I need another bookmark, but I just can't seem to help myself.

Isn't it just so pretty?