Since I am seriously organizationally-challenged, I try really hard each new year to work on getting myself to clean up and declutter. And it's hard. But it's a little more fun when I can craft something to get organized! I created this message board to keep all the clutter off my fridge--wedding invitations, baby announcements, cute pics. Now they are enjoyed in the hallway while we hang up our coats. It's so fabulous. And super easy!


This vintage window frame originally had glass panes (similar to this one) and was going to serve a difference purpose, but while I was inside getting painters tape to tape off the glass before painting it, my little one decided to prance on the glass (or should I say through the glass?). I'm just thankful he had shoes on. It didn't turn out to be the worst thing in the world--I love this bulletin board more than my first idea!

Catch the full tutorial over at Make and Takes where we're guest posting today and get organized!

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I have a stack of fun stuff to start making Valentine's projects with, but for those of you who really like to plan ahead, we set up a page (link is found at the top of every page) showing some of our favorite Valentine's projects and treats from the past couple of years. Check it out!

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Since I know we're all still thinking about resolutions for the new year, here are some awesome menu planning ideas from Jennifer that will help you get organized and save money. This would work great in conjunction with our weekly dry erase menu board!

Menu planning saves me money at the grocery store. I love grocery shopping. I especially love going to upscale grocery stores like Whole Foods and Central Market. My favorite aisle is the fruit and vegetable aisle, I love seeing how they are displayed. My love of grocery shopping usually overcomes my food budget and I gather everything that looks good to me into my cart. Recently my budget has been protesting about all the extras that I bring home. Sometimes I have so many fruits and vegetables that we can’t eat them all before they go bad. Something needed to change. I have tried several different meal planning methods over the years, but this time I found something that the whole family could live with.

Our family usually eats at home every night, we only eat out once a month or so. Here is how I plan my menus to save time and money at the grocery store.

*To have seven meals worth of dinners I discovered that I needed to cook 5 nights. The other two nights were leftover nights.

*I chose themes for our meals, something broad enough that everyone in the family would like it. The themes that we are using right now are: breakfast for dinner, Mexican, Chinese/Thai, soup (winter)or salad (summer), and beef or chicken.

*I organized all of our favorite dinners into one of these categories and put them all in a tabbed notebook.

*When its time to go grocery shopping I look through my notebook and choose 1 meal from each category. I add what I need my shopping list and voila, I have a week's worth of menus planned and a shopping list in about 10 minutes. I used to have a night for each theme, but I discovered that I needed more flexibility. Now I just have a list of meals for the week (sometimes I do two weeks at a time) and I usually decide in the morning what we are going to have that evening.

I have found that just this few minutes of meal planning saves me tons of money by buying only what we are going to eat this week, not what looks beautiful. This method gives me plenty of flexibility to try new recipes. I usually try something new at least weekly and sometimes several times a week. If we love the new recipe, I put it in my notebook behind its tab and we eat it again. If we didn’t like it, I just throw the recipe away. A couple of tips:

*When someone loves a recipe I write on the recipe who liked it and the day we ate it so I can make sure to have it again and put it in the notebook. This has brought several new family favorites into our dinner rotation.

*I usually clean out the fridge and check the freezer and pantry just before I choose my menus. This gives me a better idea of what I already have on hand so that I don’t buy things I already have. I stock up on things that we eat all the time when they go on sale. Things like beans and pineapple tidbits. I know that they will get eaten and they taste better when they are on sale.

*Leftover nights are really fun at our house, I either take all the leftovers out of the fridge and put them on the table and let everyone make up their own dinner or I tell everyone that I am too tired to cook and its “nuts and berries” night. On “nuts and berries” nights they forage in the cupboards and the fridge and come up with their own meal.

We hope this system will help you reach your goals in 2011, or at least save you a little more time and money for crafting!

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It's fluffy. It's moist. It's simple. It's delicious. It's easy to make. What else do you need to know?

Sour Cream Brunch Cake
1 box yellow cake mix
1 small package vanilla instant pudding
1/2 c. oil
1 c. sour cream
4 eggs
2 tsp. almond extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine ingredients in a large bowl and beat 4 minutes at a medium speed. The batter will be very thick. Pour into a greased and lightly floured bundt pan. Cook cake for 5o minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool cake for 10 minutes on a cooling rack. Then turn out onto a plate and lightly sprinkle powdered sugar over the top, if desired.

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If saving your pennies is something you're resolving to do in 2011, here's something exciting to save your pennies for. The Makerie is a creative retreat weekend happening in Boulder, CO this April, designed to lovingly nurture the creative spirit in all of us. It will be full of amazing creative/crafting workshops (i.e. sewing, embroidery, knitting, painting, block printing, pattern making, etc...) and is for anyone who wants to be creative or try something totally new in a supportive and loving environment.

BLOCK PRINTING | COLOR | EMBELLISHMENT | JEWELRY DESIGN

KNITTING | PAINTING | PATTERN DESIGN | PHOTOGRAPHY

RECYCLED ART | SHOE MAKING | YOGA

They have an AMAZING line-up of teachers from around the country for this inaugural year. In addition to the classes, they will offer wake-up yoga and/or hiking, as well as healthy, organic, and local (where possible) yummy foods as part of the weekend so everyone feels cared for all around. Think of it like summer camp for adults (but in April!); a weekend with no cooking or cleaning or errands, just creating and playing! Attendees will have the chance to stay in cozy cottages, eat delicious meals together, and simply be part of a fun, creative community for a few days.

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My husband has a New Year's resolution for me: de-stash my craft stash! I have to agree--it needs to be done before we move across the country this summer. So started with the yards of University of Utah fleece I bought on sale and finally made my kids the knock-off Snuggies (you know, the blankets with sleeves?) I promised them! Perfect for snuggling up and playing their new Wii.


I found a great pattern for the kid-sized Snuggie (or Snuglet) here and made a few modifications. Since my kids are young, they needed a smaller size. I changed the length of the fleece piece to 50" for my 7-year-old and 45" for my 5-year-old. Measure your child from shoulder to the floor and add a few inches for a custom fit. I also measured their arms and trimmed some length off them, too.

Secondly, I moved the arm holes up about 5 inches. They gave me more length and less bulk around their necks. Lastly, I added a strip of Velcro to the back so they would stay closed while they were wearing them. They kept walking around and complaining they were falling off (they don't stay sitting down for very long!).

We're Huskies now, and soon we'll be Hawkeyes, but we'll always be Utes (we've given them way too much money not to be loyal!). So of course we've already started indoctrinating our children. The leftover fabric was plenty to make them simple scarves and little pillows, so they can dream about their future college years at the greatest school on earth.



I noticed Hancock's Fabrics has licensed school fleece and cottons on sale this week, so go make a Snuggie and start showing your school spirit while lounging on the couch!

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This is an easy, cheap, fun activity to do with your kiddos. The supply list is simple as well. I found a big pack of towels on clearance at Target. All you need after that is crayons, newspaper, an iron, and ironing board (or use your counter top with several layers of towels for protection).


You can have your child use the crayons to decorate the towels however you like. I helped trace my boys' hands on the towels since I called them helping hand towels. Then I had each boy write his name so he would know which towel was his. Make sure you pick a dark enough color and press hard so the color is bold.



After you are finished coloring on the towels, place them face down onto a thick layer of newspapers. Using the cotton setting on your iron, apply some pressure and iron all over the towel for several minutes. Replace the newspapers since a layer of crayon will come off of the towel and then repeat. After this, you can wash and dry the towels and the crayon will stay!


I have noticed that it does fade over time, but my boys loved this activity so much that I won't mind making more in a few months! Best wishes for a clean home (and happy helpers) this year!

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Happy New Year!! Hope you all had a safe and happy end to 2010. I was folding laundry and listening to a book on my iPod when the new year hit (while everyone else in my house slept), but hey, that's my life right now and I'm happy with it! The best part was waking up to Anne of Green Gables on PBS--my husband turned it on to wake me up. I did wake up, but his plan was foiled when I stayed in bed to watch it all morning. 2011 is bound to be a good year with that start! (I know, I'm a nerd, but I'm not afraid to admit it!)

I'm so excited to start the year off with a fabulous and quite ingenious tutorial from the fabulous and ingenious Jennifer. It's a pillowcase apron with an inventive addition. You're going to want to run right out and make it. Good thing it's a holiday weekend!

Pillowcase Apron with Towel Tutorial


When my mother was downsizing her house last spring, she gave me a whole stack of old embroidered pillowcases. I really loved them, but I knew that I wouldn’t be using them for pillows. I already have a whole stack of them that I was given when I got married that I’ve never used. Last spring I saw a friend wear an apron to work that was made from an embroidered pillowcase. I loved it and knew right away what I was going to be doing with that stack of pillowcases. I made this apron for my newly married daughter, who is living in Germany. She loves blue and I knew that she would really like to have one of her grandmother’s pillowcases.


I used this tutorial by Crafty Dame to make the apron. It was really fast and pretty easy, although if I make another one I am going to make the waistband (not the ties) a little bigger and have less gathering in the skirt. It took just about an hour to make it.


My husband teases me that my life is always form over function (he’s an engineer). While it is true that I tend to make things more pretty than functional, it’s not always the case. I knew while I was making this apron that it would be hard to use in the kitchen because I wouldn’t want to get it dirty. I also know that I am always looking for a kitchen towel to wipe my hands or wipe up messes, so I decided to add a kitchen towel to this apron.

I sewed buttons to the waist band of the apron. I tried to make them match the embroidery. I didn’t worry too much about the size because I wanted them to be a decorative element if you didn’t have the towel attached.


I used a bar mop which I folded over about 5 or 6 inches and sewed button holes into it.


The bar mop just buttons on and off over the apron and is perfect for wiping hands, cleaning up messes, protecting the apron from grease and can even be used as a hot pad in a pinch. When it gets dirty just unbutton it and throw it in the washer. The bar mop is not anywhere near as pretty as the apron, but I thought it made the apron a lot more functional.

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Ones last recipe for 2010. An oldie but a goodie. My friend Vanessa (who doesn't really read this blog but always gets referred here by her mom and sister-in-law--hi Fifes!) asked me to make this for a church activity and I couldn't believe I'd lived this long without the recipe! It's easy and sooo yummy. Perfect for your New Year's celebration!

Holiday Peppermint Mud Pie Recipe

36 Oreo cookies, crushed (I ended up using the whole bag because you can never go wrong with more Oreos!)
1/2 cup margarine, melted (can use butter, but margarine works better!)
1/2 gallon ice cream, softened (we use Peppermint or Candy Cane for the holidays, or any mint chocolate chip ice cream is good for traditional mud pie)
1 jar fudge ice cream topping.
1 8oz. container Cool Whip

Mix cookie crumbs and margarine together. Press into bottom of 9"x13" pan, reserving some crumbs to sprinkle on top. Freeze 20 minutes. Spread 1/2 gallon of softened ice cream over cookies and freeze 20 minutes. Heat the jar of fudge ice cream topping for 10-15 seconds in the microwave and spread over the ice cream. Freeze 20 minutes. Spread Cool Whip on top and garnish with cookie crumbs. Freeze at least 20 minutes or until ready to serve (Vanessa recommends making it the night before).



You can't believe how fast this went. I also sprinkled crushed candy canes on top in addition to the cookies. Really cute. (Sorry, no pic--my pan was gone before I could get a picture!)

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For all my fellow procrastinators out there, I am not the least bit ashamed to admit that I am sending Happy New Year cards this year. Happy New Year is good for at least all of January, if not into February, so procrastinators rejoice! You still have time to send holiday cards!

I just sent these out today, and they'll get there the first week in January. Perfect. I went with Tiny Prints for two reasons: 1, I love their designs, and 2, I love the heavy matte paper they use. Oh, and 3, they'll mail them for you! You pay a little extra to print the addresses and for the postage, and they take care of the mailing. Awesome--one more thing off my list for 2010.

This was my first order with Tiny Prints and I was impressed. I encountered one slow spot when trying to proof my envelopes, but other than that it was pretty slick. And because I was a new customer, I was able to use this coupon code for $10 off: AFFNEW (ends 12/31/10). If you've used them before, there are other coupon codes for 10%, 15%, and 20% off, depending on how much you spend (ends 12/29/10). You've only got a couple more days to procrastinate if you want to use the coupons, but if you want to wait a little longer, I give you permission to send your Happy New Year cards anytime in 2011. You're welcome.

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Yea! Something fun to do on Christmas day, courtesy of that crafty Jennifer. We'll be making a few of these for sure once the fun of unwrapping is over! Merry Christmas!

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We wish you the warmest of holiday seasons filled with love, peace, and joy. Also lots of wonderful time spent with great family, friends, and food (and hopefully a bit of crafting)!

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Just wanted to share two quick deals with you that are ending soon! I'm a sucker for a good (free) deal.

First, there are only a few days left to take advantage of the FREE 8x10 or $55 off a larger photo canvas from Canvas People! That's the right--the deal ends December 31, 2010. So if you've been wondering if you should order one, do it now, before you forget, or you'll miss this great deal! I ordered an 11x14 canvas for the parents of the sweetie I nanny and it turned out so beautiful. For reference, the "A" in the photo is about 8" high, so about the size of the 8x10 canvas you can get for free. I am sooo glad I got the 11x14 version--it just looks so nice in the bigger size! So you can either choose a free 8x10 or $55 off an 11x14 (or larger). Either one is a screamin' deal!

Our friends at The CuteKid are actually offering a FREE 11x14 canvas from Canvas People AND a free 1-year subscription to Parents Magazine when you enter their 2010 CuteKid contest. And December 31st is the last day to enter the contest for a chance to win a $25,000 college scholarship! So if you're thinking about the 11x14 canvas and you've got a cute kid, you should check it out.

Let me know if you have any questions about the canvas photos. I really love the way mine turned out and I'm so excited for her parents to open it Christmas morning!

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We have two very special giveaway winners to announce today!

The winner of our colby's kettle corn giveaway with the prize of a variety 16 pack is...

who said, "I love salty and sweet together, so the Salty Sweet Addiction would be one I would love to try. Thanks for the giveaway!"


The winner of our Beasties Book giveaway with the prize of a book is...

who said, "This is SO perfect! I'm getting my 7 year old her first sewing machine for Christmas! My favorite monster is Sully from Monsters Inc. Thanks!!"

Congrats to both of you! I have passed your email addresses on to the sponsors so they should be getting a hold of you.

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As we get close to Christmas, we hope you are all enjoying time with family (instead of madly sewing and crafting like we know some of you are!). Our friend Jennifer shares her favorite Christmas books for kids that she and her family have enjoyed over the years. We hope you'll enjoy them too, and maybe start your own Christmas book tradition!

Christmas at our House – Family Story Night

When our girls were growing up, one of our family traditions was to read a Christmas story each night before bed. It took me many years of buying one or two books each year before we had enough stories to read one every night in December. Each year as I shopped for the special book, I tried to pick something very special – the illustrations might be wonderful or the story was especially touching. When the girls were very little I wrapped each book and they took turns choosing one. The story was a surprise. As the years went on the wrapping fell by the wayside because it became a chore, but we read stories together every year until the girls left home.

Let me introduce you to just a couple of our very favorite Christmas stories.

Hoshmakaka, a camel, is the star of the book “The Last Straw” by Fredrick H. Thury. Hoshmakaka is an cranky older camel who complains about his gout and sciatica when he is asked to carry a load. He ends up carrying all the wisemen’s gifts to the Christ child. After adding more and more gifts during his journey, a small child gives him a piece of straw for the the Christ child’s bed. – This piece of straw ends up being the last straw for
Hoshmakaka and he falls to his knees in front of the Christ child. My children loved the illustrations and seeing Hoshmakaka loaded down with so many gifts. They also loved that he complained about his gout and sciatica, so much so that “my gout, my sciatica” became a code phrase in our family for being near our limit. Hoshmakaka, the grumpy camel, has to be
one of our family’s favorite Christmas characters.


Another family favorite is “Don’t Forget Me Santa Claus” by Virginia
Mayo. This delightful book has no words, only illustrations, so the story
changed every year depending on who was reading it. The storyline is
about a darling baby in red striped pajamas who is determined to get Santa’s
attention after having his Christmas stocking overlooked by the Jolly Old
Elf. The baby has darling expressions, particularly when he is letting Santa
know how he feels about being forgotten. In our family when Dad read the
story it was hilarious, with all the kids chiming in when he said “don’t forget
me Santa Claus”.


I’ll Be Home For Christmas is the title of this Toot and Puddle book by
Holly Hobby. Toot and Puddle are two dear piggy friends. Puddle likes to
stay at home and Toot likes to travel the world. When Toot promises to be
home in time for Christmas, Puddle starts getting everything ready at home
for a wonderful celebration. Toot has travel trouble and Puddle wonders if
he will ever make it, but in the end the two friends are together at Christmas.
Watching Puddle work so hard to make everything just so for Toot’s arrival
reminds me of how hard my mom worked to make Christmas a magical
time of the year. When my kids left home it was my turn to make sure
that Christmas at our house had all the magic that they girls remembered
from when they were growing up. Reading this book reminds me of how
much we all love each other and how hard we work to please our family at
Christmas time.


This list hardly scratches the surface of the many delightful Christmas books that we have enjoyed over the years. Everyone in the family has a different favorite. After the kids left home, I thought about dividing the books up among the girls, but this year I have read to a daughter in Germany and grandchildren in Oklahoma over the webcam. I won’t have to give away my collection. I can read with my family, wherever they are, for years to come.

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