fun in the sun ~ summer gift idea

Last weekend I went to a friend baby shower.  She and I have been friends since before we could drive and it is hard to believe that we have our own kids now?! It seems like only yesterday we were passing notes in the hallway about boys in our class, and now we are talking about breast feeding and birth stories! lol!  So anyway back to the gift, I started thinking about what to get her, I thought back to my shower and the things that I received.  I knew she would be getting a lot of the usual stuff, like blankets, and onesies, so I figured I could do something different.  I really loved getting things that were personalized with Carter's name on them, and since my friend and her family like to spend a lot of time by the pool in the summer, I thought that it would be cute to do a summer fun gift!  And what is cuter than a baby in a swim suit and sunglasses???

So for this gift, I found a plain tub at Hobby Lobby, and went to Target to grab some essential baby pool accessories. :)  Swim suit, sunglasses, towel, and toys! Other things that would be great to add would be sunscreen, swim shoes, hat, floaties, etc... the possibilities are endless.

Once I got all the loot, I simply drew the baby to be's name on the front of the tub using these paint pens. 

After the name dried I filled it up, going largest in the back to smallest in the front.  It took a little arranging and re-agrraning to get it to look how I wanted.

Then to finish it off I used a clear cellophane to wrap it up! I think you can put just about anything in cellophane and tie it with a bow and it will look cute.. ok maybe not everything, but you get the idea! 

I stuffed some tissue in the top to give it a little more color and then tied it off with some toile.  I glued on a little turtle to the front that came with the toy pack, to make it complete!

As I was putting this gift together and dreaming of sunshine and days at the pool, we were under a tornado watch all weekend! Luckily it only rained and never got severe around us.  I've lived in Oklahoma my whole life, and I will never get used to tornado season! ugh! 

I'm glad I had this little gift to take my mind of the weather so I could daydream about laying on the beach instead! :)

This was so fun to put together, and would be great for any age kid who has a birthday in the summer as well!  

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day! 

Craftomanic ~  The DIY Showoff ~  Under the Table Dreaming ~ Today's Creative Blog ~  Tip Junkie ~  Blue Cricket Designs ~  Organize Your Stuff Now ~  Shabby Creek Cottage ~  The Crafty Blog Stalker ~  The Crafty Nest  ~ Southern Lovely ~ Grits and Giggles ~ Thrifty Decor Chick ~ It's Overflowing ~ Creatively Living ~ 52 Mantles ~ 30 Handmade Days ~ Under the Table Dreaming

life lately ~ spring

I don't know what it is but Spring just makes me happy.   I know I have mentioned that a few times, but it really does.  I love having the windows open and feeling the cool breeze sweep through the house.  We have had a lot of fun with family these first few weeks of Spring soaking up the sun and the nice weather!  I love this time with Carter, he is growing up so fast.  Every day is more and more fun as he learns and becomes himself.  He is so sweet, and cracks us up all the time. I remember writing a long time ago, before he started to talk, and thinking how funny he was then, and wondering what he would be like once he began to say things.   His imagination is so big already, we already call him an actor because he will imitate things so well.  I just wanted to share a little bit of what has been going on in our lives the past few weeks, I never want to forget a second of this time in Carter's life, because I know it will fly by before we know it.

The last weekend in March we were in Dallas for my nieces birthday.  It was a princess party, so Carter dressed up as the Frog Prince.  I found the instructions for this here.  It was really simple and cuter than any other prince outfit I could have bought I think.  I really lucked out and found exactly what I needed at Target, a green hoodie. I thought for sure it would be impossible this time of year, but they had some, in his size no less! Score! It had a little patch on the front that said something, so I just covered it with felt and a crown.  The eyes for the frog are a ping pong ball cut in half, thank you Martha Stewart for the great idea! ;)

The princess party was so adorable my sister made everything so cute, Cinderella even came by to play games, and paint their faces.  It was a great time celebrating my little nieces birthday! 

The next day we went to the Dallas Arboretum, which is a huge landscaped place with beautiful flowers, we tried to get some cute pictures of the grandkids together, but it was not happening! They would much rather run up the hill and roll down, I mean who wouldn't? lol We even stopped and had a picnic under the shade, it was a beautiful day in the morning and the kids ran and rolled for a while.  Then the sun began to warm up and we headed home.  It was a relaxing morning before heading back to Oklahoma.

Over Easter weekend my sister and her family came up and it was great seeing them 2 weekends in a row!  My nieces came over for a sleep over, to which we died eggs in the backyard.  Carter loved throwing the eggs into each bowl, making the colored water splash up onto the girls, I don't think he has the patience yet for fine egg coloring. lol.  After they each got their eggs the exact shade they wanted, we played outside until it was dark. Oh and Carter also refused to wear pants that night, so it added to the excitement. lol! We only stayed in the backyard though, so don't judge. ;)

While they were here we went to an egg hunt, at a local family farm, they had a petting zoo, a maze, that we almost couldn't figure out how to get out of, and lot's of candy! The weather wasn't that great, but we had fun anyways.  Carter loves his cousins so much, it breaks my heart for him when he has to say goodbye when they leave. 

On Easter Sunday we went to church then had a big feast at my mom's, then we played outside even more.  While the guys napped inside, the the kids blew bubbles, and made up obstacle courses, pretended to be bears and alligators, it was a perfect afternoon of doing nothing but swinging on the porch and watching them play! 

 I am so thankful for the reason we even celebrate Easter! And am so thankful that my family all know the Love of Christ and that he died for us so we would have hope. I just pray that I can be a great example of God's love for Carter as he grows up. 

We have had an awesome beginning of Spring and have made some great memories so far.  Now we have to prepare for our family vacation this summer for even more fun! :)

Spring door {with cardboard bunnies}

Yes, cardboard, that is exactly what I used to make this little spring sign for our front door! I have been working on and off on this project for like 3 weeks now.  Even though, it was super easy to make, I just did parts of it here and there.  It was made from stuff I had laying around the house and I think most crafters have these things laying around too. 

Let me show you how easy and cheap this was to do!

Supplies:

Cardboard box

Felt

Frame

Burlap

Wooden Letters

Twine

Hot and Tacky Glue

Last week I shared how I made the bow, so easy! 

The frame I used had been sitting in my craft closet forever and was hot pink, it was a little too bright, so I painted it light blue.  Well, I painted it outside and totally forgot to bring it in, and of course it rained that night!  I brought it in the next day and looked it over.. and it actually looked kind of cool! A for real weathered look ;)  I loved how the pink showed through too! It's funny how accidents can turn out to be better than you intended.

I just love how it came out!! I originally wanted it to say welcome, but I really didn't want to buy more letters, so I just used some letters I had.  

I love how the burlap is see through, so it makes it a little lighter and airier, it reminds me of a screen door. And how the bunnies have that texture to them. LOVE!

This was so simple!! And the possibilities are endless with the cardboard, you could make a chick or a letter, stars for the 4th, or anything you can think of.  I will definitely be using this again in future projects. 

I'm so happy Spring is here, it means, garage sales, spray paint, picnics (alright, I really don't go on that many picnics but I vow to this year, ok?) ;) 

Happy Wednesday!! 

Craftomanic ~  The DIY Showoff ~  Under the Table Dreaming ~ Today's Creative Blog ~  Tip Junkie ~  Blue Cricket Designs ~  Organize Your Stuff Now ~  Shabby Creek Cottage ~  The Crafty Blog Stalker ~  The Crafty Nest  ~ Southern Lovely ~ Between You and Me ~ Thrifty Decor Chick ~ It's Overflowing ~ Creatively Living ~ 52 Mantles ~ 30 Handmade Days ~ Under the Table Dreaming

Garden Cake {Yay for Spring!}

I am so excited that spring is here! It is my favorite season, everything is so fresh and bright, it's just a happy time!

Since it is Spring, and garden season, I wanted to share this cake my friend and I made last year.

The Garden Cake

This was for our other friend who started her own garden last Spring.  This is my favorite cake I have made.  My friend Jessica and I worked on this together and I think it is just so cute! For one, I love tiny things, and tiny food, just makes me want to squeal! ;) I can't get enough of cakes that look like something else!!

We had three colors of green, red, and orange coloring that we mixed with white fondant to make the veggies.   The dirt is crushed up Teddy Grahams.  

This was really fun to do, and not too hard, it just took a long time to get all those little details done!  If you haven't ever worked with fondant, you should, it'll take you back to the days of playing with play-doh.  Or if you're like me with a toddler, you probably already have a lot of play-doh practice. :)

It was tough to cut into the agricultural masterpiece ;) but it was fun while it lasted!! 

And since I am just so happy it is Spring I thought I would share some more tiny adorableness that made my heart skip a beat :)

sweetness!, seriously?!, awwww!, gah!

I hope you have a wonderfully Springy weekend! :)

Craftomanic ~  The DIY Showoff ~  Under the Table Dreaming ~ Today's Creative Blog ~  Tip Junkie ~  Blue Cricket Designs ~  Organize Your Stuff Now ~  Shabby Creek Cottage ~  The Crafty Blog Stalker ~  The Crafty Nest  ~ Southern Lovely ~ Between You and Me ~ Thrifty Decor Chick ~ It's Overflowing ~ Creatively Living ~ 52 Mantles ~ 30 Handmade Days ~ Under the Table Dreaming

quick felt bow

I am working on a little Easter sign for our front door, I still have a little to do on it, but I can't wait to show you because it was sooo easy and sooo cheap! My favorite kinds of course! 

First I thought I would show you a little piece that is part of my new sign.  The quick felt bow...

This was very simple, by just using a circle and strip of felt and hot glue.  I love using felt, it is so easy to work with, there are many many colors, and its so cheap!  And this little bow adds a cute touch to the sign I am working on, hopefully I can finish it this week! 

Until then, have a good one! :)

Fabric Scrap Wreath

Hello! I wanted to share this fun wreath I made over the weekend with you guys.  It was really easy and best of all, I used everything I already had on hand! Score! 

I started off with my Valentines Wreath and took the red burlap off, which left me with a blank wreath. Then, wrapped it with strips of white flannel that I had left over from my Lamp Makeover.  My hubby got me a new sewing machine for Valentines Day, (I was so surprised and excited, by the way!)  So, I already had the fabric on hand too, from testing it out.

I knew I wanted to do a one sided look, like this one and this one.  And, after gathering my scraps this is how it turned out!

Once I wrapped the flannel all the way around, I scrunched and pinned, with straight pins, the polka dot and houndstooth fabric into place.  Very EASY! As for the D, I guess I did have to buy something, it was only like 1.99 though at Hobby Lobby. I think Hobby Lobby needs to sponsor me because I mention them in every post! ha! I am up there all the time, even Carter likes going to "Hobby Wobby". 

So anyway, I sprayed the D black and used a paint pen to give it a stitched look.  

Added a flower and bam that was it! 

I have so many scraps of stuff laying around the house, so it was really nice to reuse some of it! 

I also love how this can stay up through the summer because it is so bright and cheery. I can't stop making wreaths though, as you can see 3 of the 4 most popular posts are wreaths ------> 

LOL So, I'll probably get the itch to make another one before then. ;) 

Thanks for stopping by!!

Craftomanic ~  The DIY Showoff ~  Under the Table Dreaming ~ Today's Creative Blog ~  Tip Junkie ~  Blue Cricket Designs ~  Organize Your Stuff Now ~  Shabby Creek Cottage ~  The Crafty Blog Stalker ~  The Crafty Nest  ~ Southern Lovely ~ Between You and Me ~ Thrifty Decor Chick ~ It's Overflowing ~ Creatively Living

Healthy Living {recipes and workouts}

Hi Guys! Ok so I was doing really well at eating healthy and working out.. yea was.  I think I do it every time I start to eat better, I get burnt out on it after a few weeks.  Boo.  I know that I feel better when I eat and exercise better, so it is so crazy that I some how go back to eating french fries and soda.  Boo again.

Lack of planning again is the culprit.  No good food for dinner means fast food.  The past couple of weeks, I did slip off and eat poorly and I only went to the gym once I think.

Well it is a new week! I have made my weekly meal plan and am not going to let a little slip take me back! Heathy living is so important, I want to always be able to have energy to keep up with Carter, and look good doing it too, ya know! ;)

Not only is it better for our health when I plan out our weeks meals, but it is better for our checking account! With the three of us eating our a few times a week it adds up FAST!

So here is what I have made and plan on making this week.

Black Bean Patties

This recipe from Whole Foods is similar to what I make, we don't make a burger out of it though, we just eat the patties.

To go with the patties I made these Herb Crusted Sweet Potatoes.

These are my favorite thing right now! I could eat them everyday.  The recipe is from How Sweet It Is.

They are so soft on the inside and crunchy on the outside! The sweeter flavor of the potato with the herbs and the crunchy panko is just awesome. LOVE!

Something else I made was this 

Vegetarian Naan Pizza with Eggplant & Cilantro Jalapeno Pesto Recipe From Cookin' Canuck.

This was different but good, I would definitely use the Cilantro Jalapeno Pesto again, and the Naan, but I would use a different Veggie on top, the eggplant was too mushy for our taste.  And I put way too much cheese on it! Oops, but it was fun trying something new! :) 

The sites I found these recipes on have lots of good ones! 

Now for working out, I have to tell you a workout video that I have had for a long time, and I am kinda embarrassed to admit that I like it. The Firm 5 Day Abs.

Yes they call this a "Classic Workout Video" on amazon, pretty much meaning OLD! But let me tell you it works! There are 5 different days, each one never lasting over 5-8 minutes, but you feel the burn and when you don't think you can't go on, it is over! 

The best part is checking out all the awesome 80's workout gear! I mean some of those leotards cannot be comfortable to workout in, riding up in all the wrong places! LOL! 

If you can get past the awkward outfits and the cheesy music, I really do think it's a good ab video, all of the ab moves I use at the gym I learned from this! Plus it's like 2 bucks on Amazon! It is worth a laugh if nothing else. :)

So here is to the rest of the week to finish eating healthy and for me drinking no soda! My weakness, I am for sure addicted, and it's a hard habit to break! But I know I can do it! 

Source: modernemotive.com via Kimberly on Pinterest

Have a blessed day!