Grandma and Gramdpa Valentines idea

 I hope my mom doesn't read this.  This year the kids and I decided it would be nice to give our grandparents something this Valentines day.  I was especially thinking of Great Grandparents,  I'm sure life can get pretty dull when your getting up there in the years, and it's hard for the posterity to always remember them. Sad I know, but true, life is busy.  Well hopefully this will help them have a great day.

Letters are all the rage this year.  It's pretty obvious how to make this, I let the kids decorate large letters, got the pictures in B & W so they would all flow together.  Stuck them on some coordinating paper, punched holes in the sides to tie the ribbon.  I wanted something we could mail if we needed to that wouldn't require a lot of extra postage, and this is what I came up with.   The kids are going to personalize them this week at FHE with a little valentine note on the back.  I hope they like their gift of love.

Jenny

one more

So after my last post about that great blog I found. My friend informed me of yet another one, I am absolutely IN LOVE with. You have to check it out. If you like stylish furniture & like to make things you have to see it.

After we move I am definitely make several things off of this blog.

Blog Books

I've been in a crafting rut lately. Then I realized actually I'm creating as we speak. I'm an avid blogger and have made and printed many into books. I'm working on my family's 2009 right now.

So I thought I'd share my current faves. I've used Blurb for the last two books because I like being able to have more of a real book than a photo book. Plus I can add more pages with a minimal price increase. Photoworks is my favorite for Photo books because you can print pictures on the cover. Others that I've used are MyPublisher, Picaboo, ArtsCow,  Albelli, and Cookbook Publishers. The problem I find with any of these book making sites is that I can't fit my photos where I want them or put text right where I want. You're limited to the page templates. However, I just figured out that I can personalize the pages as much as I want by making them in my photo editing software. I use Microsoft Digital Image Suite (until I can afford Photoshop) and it works beautifully. After you make your page just upload it like any photo and use the full-bleed or full-page-sized photo for your page layout.

As one more side note, I've used some international publishers and I've found that you want to stick with ones from the UK or US. The print quality is better and the shipping prices and time frame aren't outrageous.

Please leave a comment if you've used a publisher that you love or have been impressed with, I'm always looking for more options.

and another car seat cover

I feel like the more and more I make these the better they get. I look back to my very first one, (at the very beginning of this blog). It was pretty much my first sewing project ever. And, it was cute, but I can just tell that things have slightly improved.

This is the first one I made for a boy baby. It was tough finding a cute fabric, because they are always covered in sports, animals, trucks...etc-that stuff is fun, but sometimes it's just nice to have something cute without all the boy crazy patterns.

After doing a lot of hunting, I ended up just returning to JoAnn's & finally found this treasure. I really love the fabric.

I was trying to think of a way to do the handles that wasn't just like all the other ones out there. I mean, like the girl ones have bows, buttons & flowers. So I just wanted to come up with something different that was boyish. I ended up using the a D-ring, which is waaaay easier than the girly stuff.

The next thing I thought of doing was this brilliant idea!

I can't take credit, because I saw it on a friends car seat cover. With the extra fabric (which really isn't a lot) I made a strap & added suspender hooks. This way the cover can double for a nursing cover. I know most breastfeeding-women usually get one that is exclusively for nursing, but sometimes it gets annoying carrying everything all over with you in that big, bulky diaper bag. Instead just carry the strap & leave the extra "blanket" at home.

I was pleased with the turn out.

Baby projects are the best, because they are cute & you get fast results.

a new favorite blog

I must admit I have been quite out of the blogging world of the past few months, due to traveling & the holidays. There is one blog that I absolutely love & check out all the time. Jenny showed me this one. It has SO MANY great ideas most come with a tutorial. So, while I was checking out that blog I found THIS blog & fell in love!!! There are so many little projects I am dying to do! Check it out.

Go forth & be inspired!

Frame Re-do

 I have these two picture frames in my hallway, they are kind of boring and I am sick of them! However, I didn't want spend money on new ones, so I decided to re-do them.  Here is the before picture. (Blaah)

I took some paper that I love the design of and turned the mat & paper upside down to trace the "windows" out, and then I cut them out to fit the mat. I tried to line up the edges the best I could to make them "flow" together.

I was going to mod podge the paper on the frame, but at the last minute I decided to just use photo sticky tabs (whatever they are called) much less messy, and that way I can change it in the future if I need too.

I wasn't sure how they would turn out, but I love the result. It is just what the hallway needed. 

Jenny

Valentines Wreath

I hate paying a fortune for a wreath that will adorn my door for only about a month. So, this year I decided to create my own. I saw one similar to this that gave me the idea, I just can't remember where I saw it! (or I would credit them, sorry to whomever you are.)
I started with what you see above, I got it all from my favorite store in the world Hobby Lobby.
The first thing I did was mod podge all the hearts with valentine paper. Then covered the tops with mod podge for weathering purposes. I then painted some of the letters of "Love" black and put paper on a few for a contrast. I also outlined everything with a silver paint, just to tie it all together.
I choose this wreath because it was only 3.99 cheap! But it was messy, so I hot glued ribbon all around it. I then sprayed everything with glitter spray, let dry and hot glued this baby together.
I added some ribbon and this is the final product. The total price for this wreath..... about $14 (I already had mod podge and glitter spray) My door is quite large, if you have a smaller door it would be cheaper to make a slightly smaller one, probably even cuter.

Jenny

Yummy Gummy Candy

The kids and I wanted to do something fun today, that's when I found this recipe for gummy candy. Everything you need is pictured above, except water.

1-3 oz pkg. of jello (I know mine is a 6oz, I only used half)
2 - 1/4 oz pkg of unflavored gelatin
1/3 c. water
Sprinkle the Jello and gelatin over the water, let rest about 8 min. Then place sauce pan over medium heat, stir until gelatin is dissolved (about 2-5 min.). Remove from heat, let cool for a minute. Pour into a spouted measuring cup and pour into molds. Let set for about 20 minutes.
Peel from the molds and lightly dust with cornstarch if desired.
Ta da! The final product. Half of my family are gummy candy lovers so they were in heaven.

Jenny

more favors!

It seems I am asked to do the party favors for a lot of the baby showers around here. And I don't mind at all, because I get to do something different each time. It's usually the same big group of women that get together for these, so I don't want to do the same thing each time, how boring would that be?

Another one of my good friends is having a baby, so last night we had another shower!

Here's what I came up with.
It was so easy (that makes me happy). I dipped some Oreo's, some all the way in chocolate & others only half (when I thought I was running out of it.) I was going to drizzle white & green (a boy), but sometimes I just like to keep it easy.

Then I needed something to add that had a contrasting color.
So I made a batch of snicker-doodles
(it's nice because one batch makes like 70 cookies).

At first I was going to put them in little cake boxes, like I did here.
But, if you don't have a coupon, they can get pretty pricey.
So instead, I just decided to do this.

It turned out cute & super easy.
The best part was my amazing hubs cleaned the kitchen after my huge mess.
And then he said, "next time you should come up with something that isn't so messy."
Yeah right.

*2010* & a welcome to.....

I am finally back! After two months of traveling all over the West & Hawaii, I am finally back to the freezing Northeast.

As I reflect on 2009, I did a lot. Maybe too many things. I intended to post much more often to this blog, but several unplanned things came up & family & school take priority. Now 2010 is FINALLY here! You see, we've been dreaming of this year since 2007. This May the hubs GRADUATES from Medical School!!!! Wahooooo! That said, I have a feeling this year is going to be even busier than the last.

I spent most of the last two months in Utah visiting family. I really missed my paints, my fabric, my sewing machine....etc. But I have the most talented sisters & they created a lot of great projects while I was there, to inspire me & kind of fill my "crafty needs." So, I have decided that instead of getting rid of this little blog, I am going to expand it & invite my amazing sister's to add all of their great projects too! I am really excited, because I know they have A TON to offer. We'll see how this goes, but it should be great!

Welcome 2010! We've been waiting for you!