happy almost easter!

It’s April!  Agh!

But you know what the beginning of the month means!  Free Stuff!

For starters, Ez over at Creature Comforts  posted the most recent printable calendar.  So cute!

Then we’ve got the newest desktop calendar wallpapers available for download at Smashing Magazine.  They really have a bunch of great options this month!

I have this one on our desktop and it is so helpful for organizing icons!

…and I have this one on our laptop because I love the bunting

There’s also a free print available for download at Jones Design Company.

{it’s lookin’ a lot like an “April Showers” theme around here, huh?}

…and finally, a bunch of super cute Easter printables from Mooo.

{you’ll have to type in mooo.com.au/easter-printables because wordpress won’t let me share this link}

Happy Downloading!

love is in the air

It’s Valentine’s Day!  Are you the type of person who goes all out–flowers, candy, chocolate,and jewelry…maybe even making your sweetheart a special dinner or gift?  Or are you uninterested in the hype?  Is your philosophy that “Valentine’s Day was created by the card and candy companies” and you don’t give it a second thought?

I’m in the middle, I guess.  I enjoy an excuse to celebrate and love to spend time with my hubby, so I have no problem with Valentine’s Day, but I don’t go overboard and am ok if we don’t do gifts or anything crazy…a nice, quiet dinner is good.

We celebrated Valentine’s Day early this year and enjoyed a yummy meal at Bonefish on Saturday, so tonight will be pretty quiet.  But, if you’re celebration is only just beginning, I’ve come up with a few fun elements for your special time.

A great outfit!

{sweet and sassy}

A sweet card

you can download this one for free at Ruffled

A good meal:

you can get the recipe HERE

and, of course…

an amazing wine!

{my favorite–Moscato D’Asti}

Have a wonderful Valentine’s Day!!

merry christmas!

I have to admit.  I am spoiled when it comes to time-off and the holidays.  When I was a teacher, I had two, solid weeks off between Christmas and New Years.  Now, making the transition from two weeks to 1/2 a day is not so good for my to-do list.  Needless to say, I am being forced to focus my energies elsewhere and will be taking the rest of this week off.

Many blessings to you and yours during this holiday season!

diy: book page ornament

Today I am going to show you how to make a book page ornament.  You shouldn’t have to buy much for it and it makes a great gift or craft project for the kids.

What You’ll Need

- A round ornament–color doesn’t matter

- Mod Podge

- Glitter

- An old book (or book pages)

What You Do

1. Cut book pages into 1/2″ strips

2. Coat ornament with Modge Podge and attach strips of book pages

3. Once you’ve stuck the book page strip to the ornament, paint modge podge over it to seal it to the ornament.  Depending on how thick the paper is, you may have to add multiple coats–it’s ok, though, it dries clear!

Continue adding strips on top and coating with Modge Podge until the entire surface of the ornament is hidden. Then let it dry.

4. Once the ornament is dry, coat the top in glue.

5. Fill bowl with glitter, then dip the glue-coated top of the ornament in the glitter until it’s completely coated.  Let dry.

6. Embellish!–I added a piece of scrapbook paper with “Peace on Earth” stamped on it but you could add a berry sprig, some ribbon, or even a small picture.

Attach with twine and…Ta-Da!  You’re all done!

Happy Ornament-Making!

diy: salt dough tags

Today I’m going to show you how to make these fun salt dough tags.  The great thing about these is that they’re cheap and cute!  You can make them with your kids as a Christmas ornament craft or you can use them to spruce up packages under the tree.

There was a little trial-and-error involved in making mine but, luckily, the recipe makes a lot of dough and allots for a few casualties.

The Recipe:

1 cup of all purpose flour

1/2 cup of salt

1/2 cup of luke warm water

The Steps:

Mix everything together in a medium mixing bowl until you have a ball of (not-too-sticky) dough.

Roll the dough into a ball and then flatten out onto a piece of wax paper.

{I don’t have a rolling pin so I used a piece of pvc pipe–whatever works!}

**Note!: This picture shows a lot of extra flour–try to use as little flour as possible when rolling out the dough.  Whatever flour is stuck to the dough will make the tags look flaky even after they’ve been baked.

Use a cookie cutter {or something with a round opening} to cut out the tags

Remove the extra dough {roll up and re-flatten to cut out more tags if necessary} and place on a cookie sheet for baking

The Decoration Option 1: Stamping ONLY

Stamp the tags with whatever words or pictures you’d like.  You can do this 2 different ways.

Either stamp the soft dough before it’s been baked {using a regular stamp & ink}

OR

Stamp the tag after it’s been baked.

**Note!: Stamping soft dough leaves an impression but also room for “over-stamping” & fuzzy or smudged ink, whereas stamping baked tags doesn’t leave an impression but usually makes for a clearer stamp.

The Decoration: Painting & Stamping

I left some of the tags unstamped before baking them, then when they were completely baked & cooled I painted them {with acrylic paint} and then stamped them once the paint had dried.

This method covers-up any flour spots and leaves a clearer stamp.

Finally: Be sure to poke holes in the tops of the tags where you can add a string or a ribbon!

{here is a mix of unbaked and baked}

Bake at 250 for about 2 hours and then let cool

and there you go!

Don’t forget about the HUGE SALE going on in shop: Prints for $3.97 & Buy One, Get One!

Happy Thursday, friends!