Check out this Cool Blog (And their giveaway!)

I seldom link back to Giveaways on other blogs I follow mostly because I'm selfish and the more I share, the less chance I have of winning and partly, well, I'm kinda lazy and it takes time to write up a nice post to benefit someone else.  BUT . ..

There is a blog I follow about a sweet family who I have come to adore; that is one of those odd things about blogs, isn't it?  You read about people you will more than likely never meet, share some comments and feel a connection.  Well the blog is Keeping up with the Carters. 

I think if we were neighbors, Shannan and I would be friends (and now she probably thinks I'm kinda "stalkerish" for saying that I'm really not.  I promise haha)  You really should check out their blog and read the story behind that adorable little boy. 

Well, beyond all the great stuff on the family. she is hosting a giveaway and maybe I'm still selfish because I get another entry by posting about this on this old blog LOL 

Have fun :-)

What I'm Loving Wednesday

I'm loving that it is now getting light at 7:00 in the morning.

I'm loving American Idol is turning out to be better than I thought it would be!

I'm loving that I have a husband who will carry all of the laundry downstairs for me :-)

I'm loving (and maybe drooling over a little) all of the great purses and stuff at Thirty One!!  I have two purses my mom got me as Christmas gifts but now that I've seen the catalog . . .well, yes, I'm making my list LOL

I'm loving these adorable little faces. (So intend on playing!)

I'm loving that my sister-in-law is doing so well recovering from surgery!!  Still praying for those final test results but so thankful for so many blessings!

I'm linking up over at This Kind of Love - check out all of the other link ups to brighten your day!

Too Cute Not to "TooT"

So, with the changes to the Linky Parties last week, I started digging a little earlier this week to find some awesome ideas to show off to all of you :-)  Some of these will be the last of the Valentine Day ideas so write them down and save them for next year!

Over at Living Life Crafty is a great idea to use up all of those nasty conversation hearts your kids got at Valentines (hahaha)  Actually, this really is cute and would also make a great centerpiece at a Valentine's/Couples banquet or even a bridal shower anytime of year. If you know you have to throw this year - pick up some bags of Conversation hearts at the Dollar Store and there ya go!!

I thought that this decorating idea from Krafty Kat was a really cute idea and super inexpensive too.  I am tucking this one away for next year.  We actually just had Pepsi in glass bottles for Valentine's day so I just saved the bottles and am ready to go!

The Brassy Apple shows off another way to make neat "trees" for the Love Holiday.  The Styrofoam trees come around for every holiday but I'm always amazed by the different ideas that people come up with to make them look festive.  This is another idea I've stored away to make before next February.  I can see my little V-Day decor starting to come alive for the future!

Here's a freebie for you from She Wears Flowers.  It is an awesome printable based on the traditional "Eye Chart".  I'll be printing this one and framing it for future use. 

This is a great idea!!  Nifty Thrifty Things gives a great tutorial for making this awesome basket out of newspaper.  I used to make those rafia baskets around a brown paper bag and this reminds me of that!  I get a paper every single Sunday so I might have to save the next one and try my hand at this basket.

Are you ready for some Easter Ideas?  I saw this posted over at Craftomaniac and thought it was super cute.  There is no time like the present to start getting your spring on :-)

Paisley Passions, a blog I recently "found" gives a really easy, cute tutorial for making a menu board.  I love the creativity and the fact that it is different.  I am trying to figure out how to incorporate this into my kitchen up-do I'm getting started on . . .so you may see a version of this sometime soon!

 This Jewelry Organizer from I Heart Organizing is so awesome!  This is another item I've searched for and have come up empty but this would look cute on my wall and help me see what jewelry I have to wear!

I saw this idea on several blogs, and all linked back to Martha Stewart.com  It would be a great craft project for next February :-)

And the last one for this week comes from Just Another Hang Up.  She gives a simple tutorial for making Owl Heating Pads for kids.  This is a great idea!!

I've heard about making fabric shapes, numbers, and letters and finally found a tutorial over at Learn and Go.  I always like to see how others make a project even when I know in my head it can't be that hard.  It helps my creativity and my confidence.  My 2 year old knows his alphabet but we need to work more on numbers so I might have to pick up some fabric and whip these together!!

She also gives a cute idea for making a  Sewing Machine Cover which you can see here.  My boys love to touch all the little knobs and switches on mine so a cover would be a good thing!!

So many wonderful ideas out there!!  I have been busy planning Valentines Day and Birthday Ideas so I've taken a break from my normal crafting.  Hoping to get back to it within another week :-)

Happy Valentines Day

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Happy Valentines Day to my Sweetie!!!

My Best Friend.

My Husband, who is the one who makes my dreams come true :-)

And, of Course, Happy Valentines Days to my little Family !!

What isn't there to love about a day about love??

Chocolate, Roses, sweet treats and surprises?

Sneaking little Valentines to show how much you care?

It's the day you are allowed to eat your weight in chocolate and not feel bad and take time to show all your sweeties how much you care!

Looking forward to a fun day with the two little loves in my life and lots of family time tonight! 

We have chocolate, Strawberries, and pink lemonade in our future LOL



Weekly Challenge - Recipe Binder

This week, the challenge given by Toni over at A Bowl Full of Lemons is to create a Recipe Binder.  I was kind of excited about this challenge (she had indicated that this would be one eventually) because I've noticed that my current methods are not working as well as they used too.

First, this is my main storage center for all of the recipes that we use . . .and don't use. . .often.

Yes, that is a Rolodex and do you have any idea how hard it is to find one due to the computer age that we live in?  Not to mention the cards and protective sleeves!  Anyway, I read this idea a good 6 years ago or so in an organization book.  It really is an awesome idea.  It keeps them neatly in one spot and it is easy to search for recipes by category.  So what's the problem?  I've discovered that more and more I'm using recipes from Allrecipes.com or from blogs so not only am I printing them, than I have to find time to retype them onto the same cards and sometimes shrink them so small they are hard to read.  So what happens with all of those other recipes?  They sit here and wait to be typed . ..

Tons of them - stuffed loosely in a file door and that skinny black blinder has recipes in it too!  Not a very organized system anymore.  Oh, and don't forget the "recipe" cupboard either!

Crazy isn't it?  The idea of just punching holes in 8 1/2 x 11 paper and sticking it in a nice binder sounds like SUCH a better idea to me!  I've decided that redoing all of my recipes RIGHT now is out of the question.  Instead, as I use them, I will just reprint them onto regular paper and add them to the binder.  Eventually, the recipes that we never use will be the ones left in the Rolodex and will get discarded due to lack of use! 

This week I need to get a good sized white binder with a front "window" so I can slide the adorable cover sheet that Toni has provided in her post.  Also, I need to get some dividers for it as well and some good post-it tabs.  Hopefully I can get to the store on Tuesday and get the supplies I need so I can show it off later this week!

Oh and a side note on this challenge -- as I'm getting ready to start doing a minor re-do in my kitchen, I wanted to clean out each and every cupboard and make them more user friendly so I will be starting with this cabinet this week - it will be completely cleared out and reorganized . . maybe with the same stuff maybe not.  If I'm really good - it will be painted by the end of the week too but we'll see if I can get that far since I also need to do a bunch of touch up paint in the bathroom too!

Are you up for the challenge?  If so link up over at A Bowl Full of Lemons and Join the fun!





Creative Memories Spotlight

It is time for something new!  Each week I plan on sharing with you some of my favorite Creative Memory Products.  Don't worry, for all that are "non-scrapbookers" there are plenty of other things to look at and use too!  This week, I'm going to start with one of those very items and one of my surprise favorites.

Magnetic Everyday Display



For me, this was one of those items that I saw in the catalog when it first came out and loved but was unsure of how to use!  Than I got one as a gift for a baby shower and fell in love with it.  I actually have two of them in my home - one in each of the boys rooms and I use them like this:

 Each month I order pictures for my father in law and I also update the boards in the boys room with our favorite pictures

I use one of the clips that are included to hang a Detroit Tigers hat that we purchased for Josh before he was born.

The boards come in three colors. The white shown above; black and brown (shown below)  Each board comes with 6 magnets, 6 clothespins and a ribbon and hanging medallion that matches the color of the board.  The board can also be hung without the ribbon as I have shown in the pictures from my boys' rooms.  They frame measures 18 x18 with the mat on the inside measuring 13 1/2 x 13 1/2 inches.

 

The boards make fantastic gifts for baby showers, weddings, graduations and Christmas.  I gave my mom one a few years ago and she uses hers to display the latest pictures of the grand kids as well.  For those of you who are avid digital scrapbookers - you can create a 12 x12 page each month of your favorite photos and send one to each grandparent to put on their board; they would than have that page to slip into a picfolio album and, at the end of the year, have a reminder of all of those favorite memories throughout the past year!  What great gift ideas :-)

The cost for each board is $52.00 and it is more than worth the cost. 

February Special

There are several specials going on during the month of February and 2 of the items are perfect matches for the Display Boards.

The Baby Boy Display Accents which retails normally for $18.00 and is on sale for this month only for $10.80.

AND

The Baby Girl Display Accents which also normally retails for $18.00 but is on sale for this month only for $10.80.

And, of course, you can use both of the above items for your regular scrapbooking even if you don't have the display board.  It would be a great way to pick up some themed items for all of you new moms to use in your scrapbooks for a fraction of the normal price. 

For other sale items during the month of February check out this Flyer:

February Product Specials

And feel free to check out my NEW website for other specials and clearance items.  Now it is so much easier to order - just go right to my site and order there!  Please contact me with questions.

My Website!

If you have questions feel free to ask!

Happenings in the House

This week, my cat Misty immediately took over the new basket I put in our launch pad area.  She fits perfectly in the basket, doesn't she?

We made some Valentines for each other this week.  It was Nate's first time to color and yes, he likes to eat the crayons.  

 We had a little water issue this week - I moved a humidifier from the boys room to the living room and it over flowed not once, not twice, but three time.  It has now been moved to the garbage.  But there is more to this picture.  Notice ALL the empty squares.  I had a helper (I only moved the one basket that needed moved) My helper moved all of the baskets . . . . .

 to the kitchen.

 where he proceeded to play for hours.  Than, he put all of the things back in the baskets (like things together, of course) and moved them back to the bin :-)  Such a good helper he is!

 And than on Friday night we gave out "Heart Attacks" which were actually FUN!  I had cut out a bunch of hearts and we each made some to stick on a door assigned to each person.  (Somehow I ended with the bathroom door . . I wonder what that means?)

 Nate colored one for each of us (aka known as "No pants Nate")

 Josh made one for Nate (learning to share crayons is REALLY hard)

 But he was more interested in the scissors.  (Don't worry, they aren't sharp - they are decorative so it would take a lot to cut anything, including the paper!)

And here is one of the doors!  I look forward to this getting to be a bigger activity that lasts for weeks in February as the boys get older.  We can all sneak hearts on each others door through the weeks leading up to Valentines :-)

That's how our week went!  It seemed to be a busier week and I didn't get quite as many every day pictures but some weeks are like that, aren't they?