Words of Wisdom #7

Wow, this one made me really think about what comes out of my motor mouth on a daily basis. Thank you to Julie at Joy’s Hope for sharing this with us.

 

Never underestimate the power of your words.
With each one that you form,
you are making the choice to

build or destroy

encourage or devastate

heal or wound

love or hate

inspire or discourage

admire or scorn

share hope or cast doubt.

It is said that it takes ten kindly spoken words to counteract every negative one.
But if you ask me, it takes 100.  Or a 1,000.
Hurtful, hateful words somehow seem to carry so much more weight.  They have the fortuitous ability to stick around.  To fester.  Sadly, they are often the ones that we remember most vividly.
How are you going to wield your power today?
Speak love.
Encourage.
Think.

Ghirardelli Chocolate Square Holder

I just ran across this video tutorial on YouTube for a super cute box to hold your Ghiradelli chocolate squares. Rock out as you learn to make this box perfect for little favors or gifts, or, dare I say it...stocking stuffers. Maybe a little early for that but craft it up and save it!

We Have a Winner!

First let me give a great big thank you Chef Todd Mohr for sharing his awesome cooking tips. And now…our winner is….

Cindy Watrous! I will be contacting our winner for shipping information.

Congratulations Cindy!

Burn your Recipes Giveaway

I am so happy to be able to introduce you to Chef Todd Mohr! He has created an amazing DVD series called Burn Your Recipes. It is a three DVD set that includes a over sixty, 15-20 minute, cooking lessons. Perfect for busy mommas in the kitchen.

The first disc starts off with the basic tools that you need in your kitchen. It also includes food safety and lessons on the many ways to use a knife in the kitchen. By the end of the third disc I had learned not only fantastic, basics in the kitchen, but also a ton of core techniques that can be used to build my own recipes.

I have always though myself to be a competent cook. However, with this cooking series, I realized I had a lot to learn. I was able to learn in small lessons that I could fit in when I had time. I learned how to be more efficient in the kitchen. This has allowed me to cook tasty, healthier meals for my family using primarily fresh ingredients. It now takes me the same time to cook using fresh, unprocessed, foods as it did to open cans.

This cooking series goes way beyond just putting food together and teaches you how to function in the kitchen. From tools to terminology, Chef Mohr gives interesting and concise instruction to help you maximize your time and effectiveness in the kitchen.

In addition to the Burn Your Recipes DVD series, Chef Mohr has created additional instructional DVDs as well as Online Weekly Cooking Lessons on his website. Thanks to Chef Todd Mohr for providing me with a set of Burn Your Recipes DVDs to review. I am a better, more effective cook now!

And now for the really good news! You can WIN the Burn Your Recipes DVD set.

Here’s how to win:

Rules: Contest ends on November 11th at 12:00pm Pacific Time. Please leave a separate comment for each entry. I will choose the winner using Random.org and contact via email. I will also post the winner on my blog.

1. Mandatory entry. Check out all of his DVDs and leave a comment about which DVD you are most excited about.

2. Become a follower on Google.

3. Subscribe to my RSS feed.

4. Follow me on Twitter.

5. Tweet this contest and leave me a link. (this can be done once a day.)

6. Write a blog post about my giveaway and leave me a link. (this can be done once a day.)

7. “Like” me on Facebook

8. Follow me via Email.

Good luck to everyone!

Silhouette Baby Shower Invitation

And for the third and final baby shower that I will be hosting…the invitation. I can’t wait to show you more pictures of the event. It is going to be totally different from the last two I did.

Stay tuned for an awesome review and giveaway!

My 2 year old..

…sings all of his ABCs.

…can carry on a conversation with me.

…can giggle with his cousin Abbi for hours on end.

…is in love with Daddy’s big red truck.

…can buckle his carseat almost all by himself.

…is learning how to share.

…is VERY 2 sometimes.

…loves to have mommy and daddy read books.

…is a bit of a goofball like mommy.

…has officially mastered the word “NO”

…doesn’t need the gate on the stairs anymore

…has an amazing imagination

…can turn a cardboard box into a lawnmower

…can turn anything that moves into a lawnmower

…likes to “cook” me chicken and apple juice

…can melt my heart with a single smile.

Happy 2nd Birthday baby!

As I write this, I remember two years ago I was in labor with you and I had no idea how much my life was going to change. I have never, in my life, worked so hard. Never in my life, have I felt the kind of love I feel for you. I can’t remember my life before you and I can’t imagine my life without you.

Fixin’ to get ready to..

Potty Train!

Being originally from California, I found this little phrase quite hilarious when I moved to NW Florida. If you have never been to that area, it is more Alabama than the Miami type of Florida people think when you say you have lived in Florida. You can still catch some pretty heavy accents which I just LOVE. I really enjoyed teaching there and the wonderful mix of kids, who would say things like “Fixin’ to get ready to…” and “britches”

Anyways, I digress. I am fixin’ to get ready to think about potty training my little munchkin. (That was very noncommittal right?) With his permission mind you. I came across this dandy little tip from I’m A Lazy Mom. Check it out, and all of her other fantastic ideas, and let me know if you have any creative potty training tips to share.

Words of Wisdom 10/11/10

I have been struggling with time management lately so I have a few tidbits to share with you on setting priorities. By the way thanks to Rhonda for inspiration.

“The days with babies may be long but the years are short.” - Rhonda’s comment from my last post

“If you do stuff, stuff gets done.” - Rhonda’s awesome blog name

“Life is what happens to us while we are making other plans. “ – Allen Saunders

That last one kinda hits home for me. I think I need to slow down and take life as it comes…

Every Single Day…

…I wake up to the sound of my munchkin playing in his crib.

…we cuddle while he drinks his milk and watch Disney

…he is up and running shortly thereafter

…I cook at least one meal with him pulling on my shirt saying up up up

…I take a shower with him destroying my bedroom

…we sing at least 2 nap time songs

…I try to spend naptime with my crafts

…we read at least 3 books

…I worry that I am not doing a good enough job

…I think about how it will be with more than one munchkin

…I marvel over something the munchkin says or does

…we sing at least 2 bedtime songs

…I sneak into his room about an hour after he falls asleep and fall in love all over again

…I thank God for my sweet little boy and wonderful husband

Blog Swap with Sumo's Sweet Stuff

Hello everyone!

I'm so excited to be blog swapping with Lisa today! Isn't she great? I hope you'll go check out the great tutorial that she is sharing on my blog today; I can't wait to try it!

I'm Sumo, from Sumo's Sweet Stuff!

My real name is Summer, but my husband nicknamed me Sumo when we were dating. (Should I be offended?) Now he's got all of my family, as well as lots of our friends, calling me Sumo. I think Aunt Sumo sounds pretty great, don't you? I live in Utah with my husband, and our two beautiful daughters - Reece & Remi!

Growing up, I never used to be all that domestic or crafty, so I think no one is more surprised than my mom at how I've ended up where I am today! I started Sumo's Sweet Stuff last May as a place to keep some of my crafting projects so that my personal blog wasn't overrun with them. Somehow, that developed into a place to host giveaways, share tutorials, share recipes, and feature fellow bloggers' ideas and blogs! I also use my blog to promote my etsy shop, so if you're ever in the market for some baby girl accessories, come on over! Every Monday is Market Yourself Monday, where you can link up your latest projects, and visit other blogs to get some inspiration!

Here's a little peek at some of the things you can find on my blog:

Zipper Flower Tutorial

Easy (and tasty!) Bon Bons

Feather Wreath

Chalkboard Block

Seasonal Wood Board

Three Tiered Shirts


T-Shirt Dress

Dipped Nutter Butters

I'm going to share a little tutorial with you today! I got this baby at Old Navy a few weeks ago (are you loving the gray and yellow trend as much as I am right now??) and I just knew that it couldn't be hard to re-create!

What you'll need:

- shirt/onesie

- lace

- matching fabric

- heat and bond (optional)

- sewing machine/accessories

- template

I started out by tracing my heart on to my fabric and cutting it out.

Then I traced it on to some heat and bond and ironed it on. I just did heat and bond to give it a little added security on the shirt, but you would be just fine to skip this step. Either way, you're going to be sewing it down!

Next, I traced the middle part of the heart on to the paper backing of the heat and bond.

Cut it out.

Then it was time to cut out a heart of lace.

This is what we have so far. It's okay if your heart and lace aren't cut out exactly the same size. I like the way it looks with it being kind of 'off' instead of totally proportional and perfect. Fun and funky!

Then I distressed the edges a little bit and made a couple of holes in the heart to give it some character. Washing it will also help with the distressing.

Lay your lace and fabric on the shirt where you want them and iron them down (if you did the heat and bond). The heat and bond catches the lace, which is kind of nice.

Then stitch around the heart - a fun color of thread that will pop is fun - and you are done!

Here's another shirt I made for my other daughter.

All that's left to do is put it on one of the cutest girls you can find and have a little photo shoot!

Easy, right?

You can find something every day of the week at Sumo's Sweet Stuff:

Market Yourself Monday

Tutorial Tuesday

Mouth-Watering Wednesday

Things to Try Thursday

Feature Friday

Showcase Saturday

Sponsor Sunday

Thanks again for having me, Lisa! I hope to see you all over at Sumo's Sweet Stuff soon!

Halloween Topiary

So, remember back when I was inspired by a bunch of people’s Halloween Projects in my post Fall, Fall, Fall? Well, I finally finished one of the project I set out to try. Here is my version of the Halloween Cupcake Liner Topiaries.

Cute huh?

Linked up to The Halloween Linky Party over at Wildflowers and Whimsy.

Menu Planning Monday #4

It is clean out the cabinet week! It has also gotten a bit cooler out here which has me wanting some good ole comfort food.

Here’s what we are eating this week.

Monday – Beans and Ham Soup

Tuesday – Tortilla Soup

Wednesday – Red Lentils with Garlic and Onions

Thursday – Enchiladas

Friday – Chili

Saturday – Leftovers

 

Here’s how I make all of the above.

Beans and Ham Soup

Leftover Ham Bone

Navy Beans

Carrots – Diced

Celery – Diced

Onion – Diced

Salt and Pepper

Throw it all in the pot and cover it with water. Boil for 2 plus hours until the beans are done. Pull the ham off of the bone and toss it in.

Tortilla Soup

Chicken cooked and chopped

Can of Corn

Can of Black Beans

Can of Cheddar Cheese Soup

Zucchini cubed

Red Bell Pepper chopped

Jar of Salsa

Onion chopped

Tortilla Chips and Cilantro for Garnish

Throw it all in the pot and cook until the raw veggies are tender. (note, I don’t drain the corn or black beans) Throw the chips and cilantro on top and you are done!

Red Lentils with Garlic and Onions 

Found this on the Whole Foods website. It is the last comment on the page. Looks yummy.

Enchiladas

My friend Angela’s recipe.

King size corn tortillas

Enchilada sauce

Can of niblets corn drained

Can of black beans drained

1 shredded zucchini

Salsa - Pace or some other chunky salsa (1/2 jar)

Shredded cheese

Some sour cream

Rotisserie chicken - I just shred the breast part

I put some enchilada sauce on the bottom and the top, and then put more cheese on top.

Chili

Lean Ground Beef

Onion

Can Stewed Tomatoes (with green chilis)

Can Chili Beans

Throw it all in a pot(are you seeing a trend here?) and warm it up. Add some corn bread and you are all set!

Owl Baby Shower Invitation

Baby Shower #2 is tomorrow and I am a little late getting this post up, but better late than never right?

Here is the invite that I made for it. I am learning to pair Microsoft Publisher with my Cricut Machine. I have figured out, after a long tedious process, how to print an image or picture etc. on a sheet of paper then line it up so my Cricut will cut it out for me all pretty!

This invite is made of a scalloped brown circle, (scalloped circle SVG found here) and a slightly smaller pink circle. For the invite cover I made a slightly smaller white circle. I printed the info just so then cut it out with my Cricut.

Then I added an eyelet on the top to act as a hinge and topped that with a cute little bow.

Chicken Pot Pies

I made some super yummy pot pies the other day. They were really easy to make too!

Here's what I used:

Packaged pie crusts

Leftover chicken (or buy a rotisserie and pull the meat off the bone)

Frozen peas

Frozen carrots

Frozen corn

Cubed potatoes

Cream of chicken soup

1/4 cup milk

So easy! Mix everything together. I used a large circular Corningwear dish. I lined the dish with one pie crust. Then I dumped the mixture in. Topped it with the other crust and sealed the edges. Then I cut a few slits in the top to vent.

Bake for about 45 to 60 mins at 350 degrees. Make sure to cover the top with foil for about half that time so it doesn’t burn. Also, don’t forget that pot pies are, by nature, some of the hottest food on earth. Please let it cool for a bit before you eat it. Enjoy!

Halloween Goodies!

Well, it sure doesn’t feel like fall out here. We were over 100 degrees today. Sigh… I just stayed inside all day with the air conditioner blasting and pretended it was cool.

My friend Amber is a Stampin’ Up Demonstrator and has shown me some pretty cute project ideas in the past few weeks that I would like to share! It is really exciting to do other projects besides cards.

On the right is a little “test tube” holder for some Halloween candy (great gift idea). The mummy is a super cute card. The Frankenstein is two sided so you get the front and back of his head and in the middle is a box and some candy in a bag. (yet another super cute gift idea) Last, the spider is a thin mint holder. There is a body on either side and sandwiched in the middle is the little mint.

Linked up to The Halloween Linky Party over at Wildflowers & Whimsey.

These are so cute, I don’t want to give them away! I think I will have to make some more for everyone else.

Menu Planning Monday #3

Joining I’m an Organizing Junkie for Menu Planning Monday!

I am trying to do new and healthy for this week’s menu so I scoured some websites for good ideas. Thanks to the Vegitarian Recipes, Food, and Wholesome Toddler Food websites, I have a great meal lineup!

I have also decided to include breakfast and lunch, although simple, just so I don’t have to figure anything out this week.

Breakfasts:

(2) Apples and Oatmeal

(2) Bananas and Oatmeal

(2) Pears and Scrambled Eggs

(1) Oranges and French Toast

Lunches:

(2) Quesadilla’s w/ Tomato and Avocado

(2) Pasta Salad

(2) Lunch Meat Roll Ups with Carrots and Fruit Sticks

(1) Leftovers from dinner or one of the above

Dinners:

Addictive Bean Curry and Rice

Black Bean and Rice Casserole

Grilled Chicken and Black Bean and Corn Salad

Boiled Shrimp with Grilled Veggies

Hash Brown Casserole (I know this one isn’t healthy but so good!)

I’m Baaaack! & Check this Site Out!

So sorry I have been away for so long. I have pretty much been “un-wired” for the last week while I was on vacation.

So, I am home and back into create mode! I have another shower coming up this weekend with cute projects to share this week. I have also been starting to think about Christmas and what I want to make for everyone. I have visited the website, You Can Make This before, but I didn’t really look around too much. Tonight, I sat down and have been perusing their patterns for well over an hour now.

I have hit a jackpot on Christmas projects. I am so excited to get started!! Sign up for their email updates and get a free set of patterns. It is well worth while! They also have some free patterns on the site for download and bundle packs too.

What have I been up to?

Well, sorry I haven’t had a ton of crafty posts lately. Actually not a whole lot of posts at all. I have been knee deep in pink and brown camo for my cousin’s baby who is on the way. I will be posting pictures shortly of the finished product.

In addition, we threw in a super cute set of scrubs for the big sister to wear to the hospital when the baby comes. She is so excited to wear them!

Tag! & Great Gorilla Glue Giveaway

Wow! I was featured on All Thingz Related’s More of our Favorite Thingsz! Check out their blog for a ton of creative inspiration.

Then, once your head is full of all sorts of projects you want to accomplish, you should definitely enter their Gorilla Glue Giveaway.

Look at all of the awesome stuff you can win!Hurry, the contest ends on September 19th. (That’s my birthday. Wouldn’t that be a great birthday gift? Teehee)

Portabella Mushroom Stroganoff

I started with a recipe, but then ditched it for my own concoction. It turned out so good, I had to share it with the world!

Here’s what I used:

3/4 of a large onion chopped

Butter or margarine

3/4 lb lean ground beef

1/2 lb portabella mushrooms cut into 1” cubes

Can of cream of chicken with garlic soup

1/2 to 1 cup of sour cream

1/4 cup milk

salt and pepper to taste

Cooked egg noodles

1. Melt butter in a large skillet. Add onions and sauté until they are starting to get soft.

2. Add ground beef to the onions and brown.

3. Add portabella’s to onion and beef and let it all simmer for about 5 more minutes.

4. Add the soup, sour cream and milk and warm it through.

5. Salt and Pepper to taste.

Serve over egg noodles.

Move over Hamburger Helper, there’s a new stroganoff in town.

P.S. Just kidding Hamburger Helper, I still love you and all of your ingredients that I can’t pronounce.

Featured on Craft Gossip

I am so excited! Amanda at Craft Gossip featured my Diaper Wreath in her article, 15 Wreaths to Decorate Your Home.

Her site is amazing. There are a ton of great ideas all organized into categories. I could spend days looking at all of the great ideas and dreaming of a day when I have the time to do them all!

Thanks for the feature Amanda!

More Fabric Flowers

With all of the baby girls on their way in my life, I have been looking for new ways to make everything pretty. These flowers can be added to pillows, bedding, barrettes, head bands, pins for t-shirts and the list goes on and on. You are only limited by your imagination.

Here’s what I used:

3 coordinating fabrics

needle and thread

embellishment for center

1. Cut two 6” squares from each of your fabrics. (Note, these made large flowers, suitable for throw pillows etc. 3” squares would be more appropriate for hair bows etc.)

2. Cut your squares in half diagonally.

3. Take your newly cut triangles and place them right sides together. Stitch over the point, leaving the long edge open.

4. Turn your triangles right side out and iron.

5. You should now have two triangles of each color.

6. Hand stitch along the long edge of the triangle, making about 1” stitches.

7. Pull your thread so the the bottom edge puckers up.

8. Stitch and scrunch the remaining triangles using the same length of thread.

9. When you have stitched all 6 triangles, finish the circle by putting a few stitches into the first triangle that you sewed.

10. Now you have your petals for your flower.

11. Add your embellishment in the center. (Note to self: When you are making a big flower, you should add bigger buttons for more pop)