More awesome Giveaways!

Today Colie's Kitchen is give away a $25 Amazon Gift Card....Do you want it as bad as I do?  Head on over to check it out and enter!

Margarita Texas Giveaway!

If you know anything about me at all I LOVE my margaritas!  I've never had the courage to try them at home as I'm always scared I'll be disappointed so I don't want to spend the money on the mix!  Lucky for me Colie's Kitchen is giving away some Margarita Texas mix that I'm DYING to try.  Head over and sign up for her give away!

Silhouette GIVEAWAY!

ARE YOU INTRESTED IN WINNING A SILHOUETTE MACHINE...I KNOW I AM!

HEAD ON OVER TO ONE OF THESE AWESOME BLOGS FOR THE CHANCE TO WIN ONE!

COLIES KITCHEN  CONTEST ENDS TONIGHT AT 10 PM

DECOR CHICK CONTEST ENDS 11/30

HOUSE OF HEPWORTHS CONTEST ENDS 11/29 AT 10 PM

LOVED STITCHED CONTEST ENDS 11/29 AT 9 PM

MOMSREVIEW4U  CONTEST ENDS 11/29 AT 11:59 PM

MADE IT MONDAY

My goal with this blog is to feature a new craft each Monday.  No guarantee that its going to work like that but it sure is going to be attempted.  (minus when I’m on vacation, cause then I can’t craft anyways…)  On that note, today’s craft was inspired by a million different post I’ve seen over the past few weeks/months. 

Among those this adorable creation over at Staker Sensations (be sure to check out my last post for information on a give away they’re having over at Tatertots and Jello) 

I really loved how they letters were printed on blocks but after searching the local Hobby Lobby for something comparable (and cheap) to work with I gave up.  Then I remembered a post I saw over at eighteen25 where she used picture frames to frame letters…(so cute right!)

After that there was no stopping me!  I headed straight to the dollar store.  I didn’t want anything with such a thick frame cause I still wanted to keep the illusion of using blocks and lucky for me I found four frames that were just perfect for what I had in mind.  I wasn’t sure how I was going to put it all together when I started but I had a general idea…I’ll walk you though what I did to recreate a combination of the two fabulous projects mentioned above.

What you will need for this project:

• frames (as many as you choose…I used 4)
• cardstock (I used mine as backing because I wanted to be able to change out the pictures with the seasons/holidays)
• 2 fabrics of your choice (enough to cover the front of your frames and cut out letters)
• scissors (or rotary cutter)
• mod podge
• Letter template (I just blew up some of my favorite font on the computer and printed it out then cut out the letters)
• fabric pen

These are the frames I found…they are kind of light weight but what do you expect for a dollar?

First I took the glass out of the frames and used it to cut my cardstock to the correct size.

Next I cut my fabric slightly larger than the glass pane from my frame and mod podged it to the cardstock.

 

once its dry turn your cardstock over and cut your fabric to the same size as your cardstock.  (note, I’m new to using mod podge and realized that it makes cardstock “curl” some….lucky for me, it didn’t matter in this project but its something I’ll for sure keep in mind next time!)

 

Next your going to cut out the letters of the word your going to use…I decided to use the word BOO so I just cut out one “O” instead of two :)

Place your letter on on the wrong side of your second fabric (be sure to place it backwards so when you turn it over its facing the right way) and trace around it with your fabric pen.

 

Next your going to cut out your letter and mod podge it to the front of the cardstock….I also made sure to mod podge the edges of my purple fabric during this step as well.

Let it dry then put your pictures in your frames.  I finished mine off with a ghost at the end, and a bow.  (I forgot who’s blog I was visiting when I found the link for the ghost template so if it was you please let me know so I can give credit!)

   

I didn’t have to buy fabric for this project since I had some Halloween fabric given to me but I wish I had invested in something brighter for the letters or the back…I just think the fabrics don’t have enough contrast.  Oh well….I can always re-do it next year!  You may notice that there is no glass in the frames….that’s because as I was stepping back to admire my work (before it was dry but after I had put it in the frames on the mantel) I stepped on the pile of glass…go me.  At least I didn’t cut my foot and it was in the middle of the night so no babies were harmed either….bummer (to the glass being broken, not the babies being unharmed LoL).  At least they were only a dollar!

-Ashley

Awesome Giveaway!

While browsing my blogs earlier today I came across an awesome give away over at Tatertots and Jello!  Shes giving away vinyl from Staker Sensations!  Be sure to go check it out!

I'll have a tutorial later on this evening on how to make some adorable Halloween decorations!

MY FIRST POST AND AN AWESOME RECIPE!

Welcome to my blog!  My name is Ashley and I am a stay at home mother of two HANDSOME 13 month old identical twin boys <3 - we’ll call them WC and LJ for short.  My husband is an amazing man of God and a wonderful partner and father to our children.  He works hard so I can stay at home and raise our children and I will forever be grateful for the opportunity he has given me.

I’ve been a blogger for quite some time now but have never had a blog completely dedicated to what I truly love, crafting and homemaking.  I hope to turn this into a collection of my crafty thoughts and favorite blog post, as well as favorite recipes and homemaking secrets.  That being said lets start out with an awesome recipe that my children have fallen in love with!

Its called “Fruity Purple Oatmeal” and I got the recipe out of this book.

 

Now, I make a lot considering I’m feeding twins…I like to refrigerate it so I only have to cook it about once every week and a half.  Just a little back ground on me, I was only able to breastfeed for a month and a half which really upset me so I made up my mind that if I was going to have to give my children formula then the least I could do was make sure that what I fed them in the way of solid foods was nothing but the best.  That being said I have never given either of my boys anything out of a jar or anything processed….everything they’ve ever eaten has been 100% natural and home made…<3

Anyways, this recipe is really easy to make and seriously takes no time at all, which I LOVE.  I’ll tell you what the recipe calls for but keep in mind mine is going to look like a lot more….because it is! :)

You’ll Need:

• 3/4 cup fresh summer fruits (I use a variety of blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries….really whatever I can find at the supermarket that week)
• heaping 1/4 cup rolled oats (I use Quaker Oats)
• Generous 1/3 cup milk (I like whole milk but you can really use any type and even substitute water)
• 1-2 tsp honey (optional…I don’t add it but you can)
• plain yogurt (also optional which I don’t add.)

Your going to want to start by rinsing off your fruit, I like to cut up my strawberries because I think it makes it easier to blend.  When I made this last batch I didn’t have any blackberries to throw in so its just strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries this time. :(

Next your going to blend up your fruit until its basically a liquid.  I used my Beaba Babycook because I <3 it but a regular blender would work just fine as well.

Once you’ve got that out of the way your going to set it to the side while you make your oatmeal.  Just mix the oats and milk together and boil stirring continuously until the oats are fully cooked and the oatmeal starts to thicken. (OT: Please forgive the fact that I can’t take a good picture to save my life and to top it off my camera SUCKS….hopefully hubby will pick up on the hint and get me a new one for Christmas, if not, I’m saving up Amazon gift cards from Swagbucks just in case!)

Once your oatmeal has cooked and you’ve let it cool down a bit (I never wait for it to be completely cooled…oops LoL)  your going to stir in your blended fruit.  (Please note:  I normally make this in a HUGE pot, however it was in the dishwasher and I was honestly too lazy to get it out so I compromised which made for a huge mess and I had to move it to a bowl to finish stirring in my fruit….serves me right.)

Put your purple oatmeal in some plastic container and refrigerate.  ALL DONE!

Don’t you just LOVE the purple color!

 

-Ashley