Travel Organizer

One thing that drives me absoultly nuts while traveling is how cluttered and dirty our car can get. This would have been a great thing to have on our trip to Utah. Such a great idea that I may have to tackle before our next roadtrip!!!

picture via Fabulous on a Teachers Salary

Find the tutorial here

Pillowcase Fun

At one of my family reunions this past month, I was in charge of organizing a craft for 11 little kiddos. I instantly thought back to over a year ago, the night before my brothers wedding at a cousin pajama party. 

That night we each decorated our own pillowcases with paint, markers, jewels, glitter, etc.....  The possibilities are endless with what you can use. We then went around leaving messages for each other. Think of it as yearbook signing with pillowcases! It was SO much fun and seriously all ages were easily entertained!! It is such a great thing to have since most of us live far away from each other!! 

I knew this would be a great idea for my little nieces and son. The kids got so into it and even had all the aunts/ uncles and grandparents sign too. Instead of paint, however, we used fabric markers to decrease the mess. Such a fun, simple idea that kept all of us entertained!!

Arlene's Raspberry Pie

Arlene was my adopted Grandma. She and her husband were our next-door neighbors growing up. They were unable to have any kids of their own so we took the liberty of becoming their "grandkids". I was around three years old at the time. They have been family ever since. 

Birthdays, baptisms, parties, Christmas- they were always there. 

I loved to sneak over there first thing in the morning to share a bowl of Wheaties with Harold, this would freak my mother out when she would go into my room and see my empty bed!! Unfortunately, both have passed away, however, the great memories we shared with them will always be with us.

One of my families fondest memories of Arlene was her Raspberry Pie. She made them every year in July and believe me, it was like Christmas for us, something we looked forward to all year. Her raspberry pie was THE BEST, and only used freshly picked raspberries from her garden. We devoured them the second she brought them over, they were that good. I remember one time I had been gone when the pies were delivered (big mistake) and when I got home, I found that one of them was completely eaten.... by my brother. Let's just say he was in big trouble :)

So to carry on the tradition of eating Arlene's pies in July, I decided to try and make them on my own. 

The recipe is surprisingly simple and the pies turned out great (of course they can never beat the original)

So here is the recipe, exactly how she made it. I'm sure there are many ways to change it up, but this is what tastes good to me!

Arlene's Raspberry Pie

1 Graham cracker crust 

1 large package of Raspberry Jello

1.5-2 pints of raspberries

1/2-1 Pint Heavy Cream (homemade whipped cream is a MUST)

Prepare Jello according to package directions.

After about 1-1.5 hrs in the fridge, add the fruit and place in the crust. 

Continue refrigerating another 2 hours or so

Prepare homemade whipped cream (I beat it for about 5 min, add some powder sugar and some vanilla)

Spread on top, you can never have too much!

That's it. Pretty simple, but such an amazing taste!!

Hope you enjoy it 

Sun Dried Tomatoes Anyone??

Here is what happens when you are too lazy/ kinda forget to ask someone to water your plants when you are gone for a month. (At least we got some tomatoes out of  it before we left)

Anyone feel like this blog is looking like these tomatoes???? Well I have been visiting family in Utah for a month and didn't have time or desire to post while I was away, and that's ok right!! Enjoyed some great, well needed familiy time. I should have some fun posts up sooner than later.  Right now, however, I have 1,000- pictures to upload and sort out, + items in my Google reader, loads of laundry to do and items on my to do list. Man, vacations are tough! Hope everyone has had a great summer so far.

Fabric Flower Necklace

Ok I have been dying to make one of these for a long time now and finally got around to it!!

I was so excited to show my husband and see what he thought when I was finished!! 

Well when I showed it to him, he told me

it reminded him of a medal... and not a "necklace" he is used to!

(in the nicest way possible)

Awesome

Well medal or no medal, here is my "necklace" or bib as many call them

made especially for some upcoming family reunion pictures!

I got some inspiration and instructions here

try one, I dare you... you will get addicted!!!

Can't wait to make some more!!

Breakfast Casserole

Or in our family.... it's called Christmas Morning Casserole

This is such a great recipe and one we have EVERY Christmas morning, and it never lets us down!! This would be great to bring to an 4th of July breakfast!!!

prep time: 30 min   Cooking Time 1.5hrs  Preheat oven to 300

 Cube and remove crust of 10-12 slices of white bread

Place in 9X13 dish. 

Top with 2 c grated cheese

Brown (and drain) one pound sausage, cut into pieces and arrange over cheese

Beat 4 eggs with 2 and 1/4 Cup Milk and 1/4T dry mustard- Pour over cheese/sausage

Refrigerate overnight (a couple hours works great too, believe me- I've done it many times!)

In morning, dilute 1 can of cream of mushroom soup with 1/2 cup of milk. 

Pour over pan and bake at 300 for 1.5 hr

cubed ham is also a great addition to the recipe!!

enjoy

Growth Chart

I saw this great idea here....

so I decided to try it out on my own

here are the results!!

(I started at 2 feet and will hang it that high so I could go up to 5 and a half ft instead of 4 ft)

Can't wait to get this hung in my son's room and start tracking his height!! Such a fun project

Italian Crock Pot Chicken

I am sure most of you have this recipe... and if you dont- consider this your lucky day because its

 F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S

and its in the crockpot... can't get any better

Add all ingredients together in Crock Pot and cook on low for 6 hrs

(I half the recipe for my little family of 3 and still have leftovers, well sometimes!)

8 chicken breasts

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1 pkg Good Seasons Italian Drsg

fill one soup can with milk

Stir Occasionally

before serving add one 8 oz pkg of cream cheese (don't forget this!!)

Stir again

Served great with rice or noodles.

enjoy

Fathers Day Cards

Here is a fun Fathers Day card idea (Thanks to Martha) I found the idea and directions here

(if the directions confused you... don't worry, the confused me too!! Just search on YouTube for instructions on how to fold an origami shirt- there are so many out there!! That helped me)

Anyway here are some of the ones I took to a card party!!

Can't wait to give some away to the wonderful men in my life!!

here are some other fun card ideas

here,

here, 

and 

here

Rhodes Bread sticks

Here is a delicious side to add to your meal

Rhodes Breadsticks

What you need are some Rhodes Rolls loafs

(each loaf will make about 8 bread sticks)

Some melted butter

Garlic Bread Sprinkle (shaker)

Salad Supreme (shaker)

Thaw loaves

Cut in half length wise, then again and again until you have 8 long strips. 

Dip the strips in butter

Line on the baking sheet

Sprinkle with your spices

Place in a warm spot to rise- allow around 2 hrs or so

Preheat oven to 350

Cook for about 14 min

They are delicious

We just had them with this and this....... a perfect and tasty combination

Enjoy!!

Collections...

While I was at a friends house recently, I came across her huge collection of souvenir spoons. I was blown away. She had them all beautifully organized to display on the wall. I just loved them and enjoyed hearing about how she acquired many of them and all the fun places they were from. This inspired me and made me look at my own personal collections.

Throughout my life I have collected many things.

I once had a journal where after my entry, would put something from the day into it.  I was young and while many of the keepsakes were movie stubs, bandaids, leaves, or receipts (yeah kinda weird, but hey, I was little!)- I LOVED doing it at the time! It is quite hilarious going back through it now!

My next big collection during my elementary/and sadly Jr high days were pigs.(no not real pigs, but pretty much anything else). My very cool aunt collected them so I of course had to copy. Pretty soon, my shelves were filled with pig figurines, my feet were in pig slippers and I was writing notes to friends in school on "pig" stationary. Later on I added sunflowers to the mix. I remember the day when I got a lamp that had both a pig and sunflowers on it/ that was a good day.

I have had many other collections over the years

Magnets

Ornaments (my dream is to have a little Christmas tree just with

ornaments from places around the world)

Advent Calendars

Nativities

and I guess a recent collection of fabric, felt, and thread, Thomas the Train engines, and books could be added to the list!

My dad likes to collect stamps, my mom and aunt- nutcrackers, my grandpa- stones

So my question is, what do you like to collect??

Is there something you are always on the look out for?

Or a certain souvenir you can never pass up on a vacation?

I would love to know, and who knows, I may just have to copy you!!

You can never collect too many things!

Gone Fishin

This project was so much fun. Even my husband was excited about this one. 

I saw the idea at- Deck the Halls of Home with Joy

My friend and I had previously been talking about how we wanted to make a little fishing set

and were so excited when we came across this great idea and tutorial.

We got together and went to work

(I must say doing crafts with friends is so much better than doing them by yourself) 

end result:

my son LOVES these

He asks to fish all the time

and believe me

 this makes for a happy fisherman husband

Spice/Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins

If you are a pumpkin LOVER like me, you will love this recipe. 

1- Because its amazing

2-Because its Healthy! (If you are into Weight Watchers, I think these muffins are about 2 points each)

3- Because its just so easy to make

Spice/Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins

Prep 5 min Cooking Time 20 Min. Preheat 350

1 Box Spice or Chocolate Cake Mix

1 small can of pumpkin

1/2 Cup water

1/2 bag chocolate chips 

Mix together

Place in Muffin liners

Bake for 20 min 

Makes about 24 Muffins

so so good and moist. Pretty sure I need to make them tomorrow!

Fabric Panel Car Mat

I had been staring and wondering what to do with this fabric for awhile

I decided, last week, that it needed to be a car mat.

 My friend's little boy turned one recently and thought it (with some play cars) would be a fun gift to give. 

The process was quite simple

 Placed panel on the top

Batting in the middle 

and a layer of corduroy on the bottom

Stitched and bound together!

I was happy with how it turned out!!

Now I need to get the motivation to make my son one

He was pretty sad when we gave it away!!

Festive Banner

Currently I am obsessed with making banners. My talented friend made me a banner similar to this for St Patrick's day and I have been dying to make one ever since

Since tomorrow is Memorial Day, I thought is was appropriate to get it out the one I made for the Fourth, hang it up and make a post of it!

This was SO simple

trust me, you can make it

To make it the way I did 

All you need is

Coordinating Fabric

 Thread

and Bias Tape

Cut your fabric into triangles

Place triangles in your Bias Tape

Pin in place

Sew Across

*I used 8 triangles but you can use as many as you like. Big or small/ Long or Short

Have fun!!

(and expect some more of these from me in the near future!)

Happy Memorial Day!!

Update!

Ok so do you remember this post I did awhile back about Felt Baby Squares and how I said I really wanted to make one of my own?? 

Well I did it and made a Felt Square "book" for a friend of mine expecting a baby in a couple weeks.

Let me tell you this was a lot of fun and VERY simple.

All you need is 

black and white sheets of felt

 ( I used 4 white and 4 black with lots of spare scrapes left over- making a total of 8 pages)

coordinating thread

eyelets/eyelet tools (optional)

metal ring (optional)
I loved using the ring because it allows you to enjoy the squares together in a book or spread out on the floor!

Thanks to Crafting Chicks for the great idea

Getting Organized

Yesterday was not my favorite day. 

Things just kept going wrong ALL day. 

It definitely didn't get better when we ventured to the DMV at 5pm

 (Hate that place)

My poor husband has to go BACK- passport still in Utah! ugh

I realize that most of my stress yesterday was a result of being unorganized.

I consider myself an organized person in general..... but seriously there are some areas 

where I need to shape up!

I realized the best way to decrease my daily/weekly stressors...(meal planning/ cleaning/bills)

was to GET ORGANIZED

I have been following the blog Prepared Not Scared for awhile now and have loved it!

Many tips on getting organized with food storage and daily living along with recipes, activities etc. Awesome blog. Check it out.

Anyway today I was looking at their blog and found the solution to my organization woes

The Day Keeper

I am just blown away by how detailed and perfect this is. This woman has been working on the Day Keeper for years now.  It's perfect. More than perfect. Just what I need!!!

"The Day Keeper can be adapted to work 

for whatever season you're in, including Grandparenting!

Most of my planning is done on a weekly basis.

Even though each day of my week has a
different purpose and focus the daily format is consistent"

I am not even going to try and explain it, because she does a great job.

I will just direct you where to go- so you can check it out and 

GET ORGANIZED!! 

(oh and its all free too)

Part One

Part Two

plus sections for

Birthday and Anniversary Cards

Birthday's and Anniversaries

Monthly Expenses Sheets

Bills to be Paid

Babysitter Information

"Here's What We Did This Month" Journal Pages

Running Project List

Important Names and Numbers

Our Family Goals

Visiting Teaching Information

Home Teaching Information

Wants, Needs, and Sizes

2010 Holidays

Weekly Shopping List

Breakfast Repeat

Monthly Emergency Preparedness Planning and Purchases

Authorization for Treatment of a Minor

Daily Quick Clean Schedule

Routines: Table of Contents

Pictures for Family History

My Routines

Kids Routines

Holiday Traditions and Ideas

Tabs

Routines Divider Page

Tomorrow she will talk about how to compile your binders!! I am excited!

Clark's Favorite Pork Chops

(image taken prior to cooking... fyi!)

Ok here's a super easy and tasty recipe for you to cook this week!!

It is again from my FAVORITE cookbook ever- 

Clark's Favorite Pork Chops

Arrange pork chops in a glass baking dish 

(we usually cook 3)

Top each pork chop with:

1 lemon slice

1 onion slice

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons ketchup

Cover and bake for 45 min at 350 degrees. Uncover and bake for 15 min more

Tastes great with some rice!!!

Perfect easy recipe for crazy days!!

Line of Authority

Need a gift idea for you husband, father, brother etc... for Father's Day?? 

I posted this idea right when I started my blog when pretty much the only person reading it was my mom so I thought I'd post it again- this time with pictures! (I erased the earlier ones if you didn't notice)

For Christmas last year I gave my husband, dad, father in law and brothers a framed copy of their Priesthood Line of Authority. If you are not LDS, this may not make much sense to you but basically a document that shows who ordained an individual and who in turn ordained them and so on back to the Lord. Read more about it here. They all LOVED it, something so personal and unique. I became fascinated with them as I was putting them all together. Something very special for them to have record of!

If you are interested here is who you email: lineofauthority@ldschurch.org  -Send them your name/ persons name you are requesting and your address. If you are requesting your dads for example, they will have to mail it to his house- but they can address it to your mom or someone else in the home to keep it a secret!!

Once I got the document in the mail I re-typed it, printed it on card stock, threw a little ribbon (manly ribbon) on and placed it in a frame.

I think this with a tie would be a cute gift for Fathers Day!

Here is an example

10 Minute Beanbag!

{ took me a little longer but I am sure you sewing pro's out there could whip one out in ten!}

Sunday morning I needed a beanbag and I needed one quick. I am the music leader for the little kids at church and I had planned to use a beanbag as part of this weeks lesson- It totally slipped my mind that I actually needed to get a beanbag until hours before church. I had seen a couple ways to make your own beanbags before and I remember it looking pretty simple, so I went for it. 

For those of you wondering how to make some cute beanbags for your kids or whomever, here is how you do it {or at least how I did it!}

First gather supplies.... 

fabric/muslin, sewing supplies, beans (not pictured)

Next cut out your fabric- 7 X7 inches for the polka dot fabric and 6 X6 inches for the muslin

(wow could I take worse pictures or what! Can being in a hurry be a good excuse?!?)

 Now take your pieces and place them on top of each other (being sure to match them up)- right sides together and sew around the edge on three sides

Now take some scissors and clip the corners that you have sewn- this helps the fabric lay better in the corners

and then turn the right side out

Now take you beans (or if you are desperate like me making these last minute... corn etc..) and pour about 2 cups into your muslin pouch

Once filled, fold the top 1/2 inch of the opening into the bag and sew shut. If it doesn't look pretty, don't worry, no one will see it!

Now slip your little muslin pouch inside the larger pouch

And then just like the muslin- fold the top 1/2 inch into the bag and pin together (this one should look nice!)

Finally sew around all four corners about 1/4 inch from the edge and you're done!!!

thanks to Family Crafts for the help!!

now that I have my beanbag, I may be able to join in on a game of Corn hole- a beanbag toss game that apparently is super popular out here in the Midwest- my neighbors seem to like it and stay up playing it all night long OUTSIDE every weekend!