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Showing posts from January, 2013

Cupid Snow Globe- Quick and easy Valentine's decor

   I had so much fun making snow globes at Christmas that I wanted to make more. I thought that these would be fun for Valentine's Day too. I originally wanted to find a cupid figurine, but couldn't, so I made my own with my trusty Silhouette SD . To make a snow globe you'll need: An empty jar Red cardstock heart punch fake snow cupid die or file pop dots and glue dots washi tape I chose to use cupid Design ID #15816 from the Silhouette downloads. I measured the lid to my jar and the height of the jar and sized the file accordingly. I covered my lid with washi tape (quicker than painting!). I placed some adhesive pop dots on the lid and stuck cupid's feet to them. This gives him a little height in the jar and holds him in place. Next punch some red hearts out of cardstock and adhere them with glue dots to the inside of the jar. Add some faux snow and place the lip on with cupid attached. Turn upside down and you have yourself a cupid snow globe th

5 Sweet Dips for the Big Game

The big game is next week. Don't hate me- I'm not a big pro football fan and I won't be watching the game. I could still get into a fun party with friends and great food, so here's 5 dips that would be fun to try out.       Caramel apple cheesecake dessert dip     Perfect Pineapple Dip     Skinny Cake Batter Dip   Monster cookie dough dip     Peanut butter and yogurt dip  

Fabulous Friday Find

Hi! Hope you are all getting ready for a fun, relaxing weekend. I'll be running a 5k tomorrow to support a local school. I haven't ran a race in five years. I pretty much quit the races after I ran a marathon. I didn't quit running though, so tomorrow's 5k will be my regular Saturday run. Today's Fabulous Friday Find is an awesome blogger and pinner- Angie at Echoes of Laughter . I first discovered her Valentine's Day Inspiration Board last week. It's full of eye candy. All of her boards are neat and well curated. Go take a peek at her boards.

Mini Valentine's mailboxes

Last year I was inspired by this post to make some altered mini mailboxes for Valentine's Day, but I wanted to make mine a little more dressed up.  I started with mini mailboxes from the Target dollar section. I bought mine last year but it was too late to get them done in time for Valentine's Day. I haven't seen them this year, but you can find some similar mini mailboxes HERE .

National Handwriting Day

Handmade square greeting card Today is  National Handwriting Day .  It's also John Hancock's birthday. The Writing Instrument Manufacturers Association sponsored this day to keep an awareness of handwriting. They don't even teach cursive in school anymore, but I still appreciate a beautiful handwritten script.

Quick and easy meals

Because dinnertime can be stressful and challenging for busy families, this week BundleoftheWeek.com is offering five ebooks packed full of more than 125 easy recipes that are delicious and satisfying but don’t require a lot of prep time! Get everything from delicious slow cooker meals and main dish salads to crowd-pleasing comfort foods for only $7.40 (a savings of over 70%) for one week only .

7 Fabulous felt crafts

    Felt is a fun medium to work with and it's one of those textures and materials I'm drawn to during the winter. Here are 7 fabulous projects to make from felt .

Healthy Chocolate Muffins for Valentine's Day

  Did you make a resolution to eat healthier and or/lose weight this year? Are you afraid that those Valentine's treats will sabotage your efforts? If so, then these muffins are for you. You (or the recipient) can have your chocolate and eat it too. This recipe comes from Healthy is Always Better.   Here's the recipe:   Triple Chocolate Chunk Muffin Knock-Offs of Whole Food’s 6 Dollar per 4 Chocolate Chunk VitaTop Muffins Ingredients: 1 3/4 c oats 3 egg whites 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce 1 tsp. vanilla extract 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (or regular plain low fat yogurt) 1/2 tsp cream of tartar (or 1-1/2 Tbsp. vinegar) 1-1/2 tsp. baking powder 1-1/2 tsp. baking soda 1/4 tsp. salt 1 cup hot water 1 cup sugar substitute (like Splenda granular) OR 1/4 cup + 2 tbs stevia 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (or use white chocolate or peanut butter chips!) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 (12-cup) muffin pans with foil cupcake

14 Valentine's Day decor projects

Everyone's getting ready for Valentine's Day. It will be here in a month. Here are 14 projects to inspire your Valentine's Day decor.

Do you have a facebook page?

For several months I've been seeing a lot of hype about Facebook and the fact that some fans don't see the posts from the pages they have "liked". From what I've been able to learn, Facebook does not push out every single thing you post to your fans. It decides what might be of interest to someone based on how they use Facebook and interact with the pages they "like". So what can you do to help make sure that you see the things you want to see? Comment, like, and share posts from your favorite pages. In addition, Lindsey at the Pleated Poppy shared some tips on how to add a page to your news feed or how to create an interest list. This is a "Fabulous Friday find" if you want to use Facebook to keep up with your favorite blogs and companies. If you're using Facebook to promote your blog or business, then the best advice I can find is to build your fan interaction . Also, don't just post links to your stuff- Facebook may decide

Black and white tablescape

  Hello and Happy Thursday! It's almost Friday and that's a big deal since this is the first full work week for me in a couple of weeks since the holidays.     When I cleared off the Christmas setting, I replaced it with this black and white tablescape. The hubby was outside working in his garage while I did this, and when he came in he said "That's pretty." Apparently he really liked it because he complimented it again later.     The black plates, glasses, and mats came from the Dollar Tree. The white plates are from the Greek Key set I bought last summer and the silver chargers are from Big Lots and have been used over and over again.     The white flowers go back a couple of years. I posted about how I made them into napkin rings in 2011. I think the polka dot runner sets it off.    Another simple tablescape. I'll be linking up to Tablescape Thursday and these parties: Think Pink Sundays * Under the Table and Dreaming

Sweater wreath

    When I take down my Christmas wreath, I'm left with nothing for my door until spring . I decided to remedy that this year by making a white winter wreath. White always seems appropriate for the new year- a fresh clean start.    I made a wreath form with a pool noodle. I bought several during the summer to make wreaths and for a couple of other projects. All you have to do is tape the ends together.     I took my thrift store sweater that I used for vases and cut a strip off the bottom. I actually cut the band off first, then cut a strip.     Next I took the strip and pinned around the wreath. I then glued it together with hot glue. It makes a seam around the back, but it's on the back so it doesn't show.   After I covered the form, I took some felt and fleece from my stash and made flowers. I also made a flower from a stip of the sweater. I embellished the flower centers with some acrylic stones, buttons, and brads.       I decid

DIY sweater vases and neutral winter mantel

  I love the cozy look of sweater vases. You can buy them    or make  your own like Stephanie Lynn  or Chessa did. All you need is a sweater you don't want to wear or one from the Goodwill ($3.69 or $3.89) and of course a vase to cover. If you don't have a vase, you can get one for $1 at the Dollar Tree. You may want a glue gun or another adhesive.   Here's the sweater I started with. It had sleeves, but I had already cut them off by the time I got to this photo.     The sleeve is the best part for the vase. Cut it off and slip it on your vase with the cuff end at the top. I love the cable knit look.       You can permanently adhere the sweater on the bottom with hot glue, but I wanted to be able to use my vase again without the wrap so I adhered mine with glue dots. I cut a few slits in the bottom and then folded under for a better fit.     For the second one I just took the left over part of the sleeve and wrapped a small hurricane. I just