Most craft bloggers will probably tell you that it's not hard to create a project for a post (because that's the part we love), but for some reason that last step of actually creating the blog post takes a Herculean effort. Take this Halloween "boo" bunting I made as gifts for some friends I visited in Seattle last week. I was so proud of myself for getting 17 of these babies done before October even began, but it's now a week in and I still haven't posted the tutorial (editor's note: it has now taken me three days to finish this post!). Maybe I need to hire an assistant. . .



Anyway, you will be amazed at how quick and easy these little burlap Halloween banners are to create. I have been wanting to print on burlap for ages, but I was afraid it would gum up my printer and my husband would ban burlap from our house. I'm here (and so is my burlap stash) to say it was a success! I ran over 50 pieces of burlap through my printer and didn't have so much as one piece get jammed. I printed on paper right after and it was smooth as silk--no burlap fiber stuck in the ink or anything. Printing on the burlap saved me hours of stenciling like I had planned. Here's a quick tutorial for printing on burlap--you are going to love this!

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It's game night. And this game night is one we Utahns wait for all year. The so-called "Holy War" between the University of Utah and BYU. You might remember my family bleeds red (16 years and probably around $80,000 at the "U" between my husband and me make us true believers). But whatever team you side with in your team's rivalry game, you are going to want to have these amazing football game appetizers at your next game day party. Trust me. Best. Dips. Ever.

This first recipe is a new discovery for me, but a fast favorite in our extended family. I'd even venture to call it a new football game staple (or summer BBQ staple, or New Year's Eve staple--really the must-have dip at any get-together you have planned). It comes from my friend Danielle, so I often refer to it as Danielle's Famous Pickle Dip. But if you don't know Danielle you can just call it Game Day Pickle Dip. Either way it's outrageously delicious. I usually double this recipe for larger crowds.

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Have you started thinking about your Halloween costumes for this year? I always get a little overwhelmed by how much it can cost to buy everyone in my family a costume. Luckily, I can pass them down through my three boys each year. There are also so many great ideas out there for DIY Halloween costumes. We have featured several ideas on our blog in the last few years that you can check out and I also wanted to share a few fun and clever ideas with you.

My brother and sister-in-law are Halloween costume pros! Every year they come up with some really fun idea for costumes and they make them or find pieces to put together themselves.

One year they were Mickey and the broom from Fantasia. They found a few components and then put the rest together themselves and it was so fun and creative!

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With school well under way, my schedule fills up so quickly each night. There are school activities, homework, scouts, church events and more! It can be really hard to get motivated to make dinner with so much else to worry about and it can also be hard to find the time! Mealtime is really important to me and I like to sit down with my family and have some time to talk about our day and spend time together. That means I cannot spend a lot of time cooking dinner on nights that we have to rush off to activities. Enter Pillsbury.

Pillsbury Grands! Biscuits provide a variety of family favorite recipes, ready in under 30 minutes, that are delicious and have a little twist to help keep dinner fun, not boring. I love using these biscuits for all sorts of meals. You can really get creative with them and they save me a lot of time!

This week I made the Easy Grands! Chicken Pot Pie. My family loved it and it was so easy to make. Plus we had leftovers so it saved me another night of cooking!

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I cannot believe we are half-way through September! Fall is right around the corner and I am already getting my holiday crafting on! Michaels has a wonderful selection of craft pumpkins for all sorts of decor ideas as well as Fall craft projects.




I let my kids help me design and carve a pumpkin that we could keep out all month! I love that you can come up with decor ideas that will last for all of Fall. Typically we do real pumpkins and they rot pretty quickly! Michaels also has a fabulous hot tool that can carve these faux pumpkins easily! 

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I also have a new FREE crochet pattern to share: the Criss-Cross Cuff & Headband pattern. It's a quick and easy way project to get ready for fall and winter. Perfect for last minute Christmas gifts, too. (How awesome would it be to get a few of those done before December? Hey, I can dream, right?)

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I helped my friends throw a baby shower for our sweet friend, Jenny and we wanted to do a nautical theme because Jenny decorated her little guy's room in that theme. With so many talented people around me planning this event, it turned out wonderfully and was such a special evening!

We knew we wanted the night to be very festive and fabulous, but we also didn't want to break the bank. We turned to Oriental Trading for some of our decor. I was so happy with what we were able to find on their site. They honestly have such a great selection of products and always at really affordable prices!

My friend bought these lanterns to hang in her home where the shower was hosted. They were very inexpensive but added such fun to the room.


We also bought some adorable patterned paper from Oriental Trading that fit our nautical theme perfectly! We used the patterned paper for a "message in a bottle" table where we had guests write a message to Jenny that we then put into baby bottles for her to take home.

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It's back to school for us this week, and in two days of the big kids being gone all day, I've already completed three projects that have been sitting on the back-burner while we lived it up this summer! That must be some kind of record. These are my monkeys on the first day of school. . .

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This post is written as part of a sponsored campaign with Disney and The Blueprint Social. All opinions are 100% my own.

Winnie The Pooh. Winnie the Pooh. I can't hear those words without singing the little song in my head! Did you know The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh is being released on Blu-ray Combo Pack and HD Digital August 27th? In honor of the release, my kids and I had a Winnie the Pooh viewing party for a fun Summer activity!

I wanted my boys to get into the adventure and imagination of the movie, so we made some Winnie the Pooh character hats to have a fun craft and to wear them while watching the movie.

I found this pack of party hats and the dollar store and brought them home to make into fun characters. All you need is some card stock or construction paper (colors of pink, black, darker pink, a golden color and orange), tape and if you want you can either make your own drawings of the characters or you can find some free templates online.

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It's the last week of summer for my kids. I'll admit I am ready for them to go back so I can get. something. done. But I also get sooo sad when summer is over. No, I am not looking forward to "sweater weather" and the leaves changing color like most of you (although ask me about hot chocolate weather and you'll hear another story). I love having adventures with my kids, sleeping in, the warm summer nights, the impromptu s'mores get togethers. So we've been cramming as many activities into this last week as humanly possible, including tons of water activities. Which means I NEEDed a new swim suit (my one Target cheapy was not cutting it, sorry to say).

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Today is the first day of the Kalli-Strong fundraiser I told you about last week, and that means it's time to release my newest crochet pattern: The Kalli Cap! I designed this with my friend Kalli, who is fighting breast cancer for a second time, in mind. It makes a great chemo cap, but it's a darling pattern for all babies, girls, teens, and adults.

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This shop is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group™ and Jelly Beans but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #JellysAreBack http://cmp.ly/3/8vNxcO

I have a lot of fashion memories from when I was a kid. Pegged jeans, scrunchies, saddle shoes, and a lot of hairspray...just to name a few. One of my absolute favorite items growing up was the jelly shoe. I had pink ones and clear ones and I remember wearing them and thinking I was pretty hot stuff. Well, guess what. Jellys are back.

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I promised more LDS girls camp ideas and here they are--even though girls camp is over for many of you. Oh well. Pin it for next year! These would also be great ideas for a family reunion.

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Did anyone else wake up with a feeling of disbelief this morning? Is it really August? This summer has flown by so quickly and I cannot believe that it is time to start thinking about school supplies and preparations! Luckily for us, school does not start until after Labor Day but I know many of you are starting back up in just a couple of weeks!

I always have these grand ideas of back to school crafts and special things that I will do for my kids for school starting. In reality, most of the time just getting all the supplies, shopping, school orientations and snapping a picture are about all I can manage!

This year I thought I could manage one simple yet special item to send them off with. I found these great superhero lunch boxes at Michaels and knew my boys needed them. They have wanted metal lunch boxes for a while and since they were superheroes, I caved.

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