Addison's Abode

Hill's® Science Diet® Ideal Balance™ Dog Food

2011-12-29T11:36:00.000-06:00

I received a bag of Hill's Science Diet food to test with our dog Finnegan from BzzAgent. Our dog seems to really enjoy this food. He also has severe allergies that affect his skin. So far this food has been helping with the allergies.

This site is very helpful with questions regarding pets food and what choices you should make when choosing a pet food. Pet MD

I received a bag of pet food from Hill's Science Diet through BzzAgent. I was not paid for my feelings regarding the food.

Christmas Wreath

2011-11-26T22:13:00.000-06:00

Last year I saw lots of tutorials for homemade Christmas Wreaths. Many of them were the balls on the coat hanger style. Then I stumbed across Rachel Berry's Pottery Barn inspired wreath at Made with Love and Glue. I really liked how hers had the Christmas balls on the greanery wreath. I ran out right away and bought the supplies, which have then sat for a year. I decided to finally put the wreath together.

The supplies I used are:

Wreath - bought at Walmart for $2
Christmas balls - bought at The Dollar Store. I bought 5 packages, two large red balls, one large gold, and one each of the small red and gold balls. I ended up using one package of the large red balls, one package of the large gold balls, 12 small gold balls and about half the package of the small red balls.

I also bought ribbon to hang the wreath. I don't remember where I purchased this.

I'm really happy with how it turned out. I'm thinking I'll hang it on the door between our kitchen and garage. Once I hang it up I will share another picture.

Tiny Prints Talent Search Contest

2011-11-16T22:09:00.000-06:00

Tiny Prints is having another contest, a talent search contest! You can find more information regarding this contest here.

You can enter for a chance to win $1000 and a $500 Tiny Prints gift certificate.

Tiny Prints is looking for the cutest photo in the following categories:

Cutest Baby (From ages of 0-24 months)
Cutest Kid (From ages of 25 months - 10 years old)
Cutest Family
Cutest Couple
Cutest Pet & Owner

The deadline to enter is November 21, 2011. Once the contest is over, it will be open to voting. You can enter on Tiny Prints Facebook page or their website. The official rules can be viewed here.

I hope that you submit a cute picture to their contest, I know I just need to find the right one.

Christmas Cards & Tiny Prints

2011-11-13T17:15:00.000-06:00

It's that time of year again to start thinking of Christmas cards. This year I have been lucky enough to try out some cards from Tiny Prints. I have picked out some holiday cards like Halloween and Thanksgiving as well as birthday and anniversary cards. These cards are very well made and turn out beautiful. One of my favorite features of the site is that Tiny Prints will add my return address and the address of who I'm sending the card to prior to sending it to me.

I have been over on the Tiny Prints website viewing their Christmas Cards. They have such a beautiful collection with many of cards to choose from. This year I think my favorite cards are the circle Ornament Cards. This is something so new and different than any other card I have ever sent. What a special way for our friends and family to display the cards as well.

I think this one is so cute!

Or maybe this one...

This year Tiny Prints is giving bloggers 50 free cards to review on their blog. If you are interested in this program, you can sign up here! If you decide to sign up for this wonderful program, let me know as I will receive 24 free address labels.

Have fun shopping around Tiny Prints, they have so any beautiful choices. I know for myself, the decision is not going to be an easy one!

Burt's Bees Sensitive Skin

2011-11-07T20:25:00.000-06:00

I belong to the online site Bzz Agent. This wonderful site lets you sign up to test different products. I was lucky enough to be chosen to try out the Burt's Bees Sensitive Skin products. I was given a full size cleanser and lotion to try. These products are great. I have sensitive skin and usually am very nervous to try different products in fear that my face will break out. I will definitely be using these in the future.

Pipe Cleaner Pumpkin

2011-09-04T20:05:00.001-05:00

I love that Addison is into crafts. She is always asking to "do crafts". She has her own craft bucket that we keep supplies in. One of my friends gave her a ton of pipe cleaners last fall and we still have a lot left.

I searched online to find a cute pipe cleaner craft. I found one for Christmas ornaments and suggested it. She told me "mom, Christmas ornaments are not for fall." I guess she told me. I ended up finding this cute pumpkin craft on another blog called My Little Gems. You can find the directions here, we made it exactly the same way. My Little Gems Pumpkin We didn't have any brown pipe cleaners so we used black instead.

We both love how it turned out. Now I want to get out my fall decor.

Linking to: craftaholics anonymous

Dance Ribbon Ring

2011-08-29T16:07:00.000-05:00

My daughter, who is 4.5, has been really into crafts lately. She loves to draw, color, paint, do small art projects, etc. After daycare she decided she wanted to make something tonight. I pulled up Pinterest and showed her my kids craft board and told her to scroll through it to find something she would like to make.

She decided she wanted to make a Dance Ribbon Ring. The tutorial I used is found here Dance Ribbon Ring I have a ton of ribbon, so I knew we would have that on hand. The directions said to use a wooden curtain ring for the ring portion. I didn't have this on hand, so we went in search for something to use. I found a small white frame in with my cross stitching supplies. I unscrewed the hanger and was left with a small white ring.

Addison picked out four different ribbons that she liked. She decided on two pink, a white and a silver. I measured out the ribbon into 4 foot lengths and she used scissors to cut the ribbon. Then I knotted the ribbon onto the frame.

I remember when I was little, back in the 80's, having something just like this only bigger. I think I received it as a birthday gift.

She was very happy with how it turned out and I think it's very cute. She is now asking for a "dance party" so she can dance with her friends and use the dance ribbon ring.

Monogram Wall Hanging

2011-08-24T21:15:00.004-05:00

I had ordered a letter "Y" from a vinyl company in hopes to put it on a small white plate to hang on the wall. I'm not sure what happened, I ordered it to be 4 inches high and it came in huge! I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it.

Then I remembered that I had this old frame from the 70's sitting around and thought it might work. This is what I started with.

The frame was a horrible gold color and it is plastic. It is 11x14 in size.

The "Y" vinyl.

Fabric that I purchased at Joann Fabrics

Spray paint that I purchased at Wallmart.

I first primed the frame with a white primer. Then I sprayed the frame black. It's a black satin by Krylon. It took 4-5 coats of black to get an even coat on the frame.

Addison was having fun with the frame after I painted it.

This is the final version. I LOVE how it turned out. Now I just need to figure out where I want to hang it. My husband said it will probably just lay around because I won't be able to decide where to put it. I'll have to prove him wrong.

Linking up with: House of Hepworths and The Shabby Nest and I Heart Organizing and
The Idea Room

Cardboard Bunny Family

2011-04-17T19:20:00.000-05:00

Tonight we decided to do a Easter craft. I found these on Tip Junkie the other day and thought they would be fun to make.

We used cardboard tubes for the bodies. I followed the directions on the Tip Junkie site as to how big to cut everything. I didn't have any pompom's, so we used pink pony beads. We also added cotton ball tails to the back. We didn't finish ours off with any bows, or clothes. It took us about an hour to make what we did, so we stopped at that.

I think they turned out super cute and Addison had a lot of fun making them.

You can find the directions to make these on the Tip Junkie webiste here.

Recycle bank

2011-04-07T21:13:00.000-05:00

I have joined a site called Recycle Bank. This site is very interesting. It has a lot of information about recycling and ways to be more "green". You can pledge different actions and accumulate points. Then you can trade in your points for different items. So far I have received a couple of coupons for Coke Products for Buy 1 get 1 for Free.

If you are interested in joining you can use my referral site and each person that signs up I earn 10 points. If you would like to join you can click here Recycle Bank.

Right now they have a special promotion going on called Green Your Home Challenge. You tour different rooms and take quizes and pleges to earn points. Right now the kitchen and living room are available and you can earn up to 90 points just by touring the rooms.

Irish Creme Brownies

2011-04-06T19:03:00.000-05:00

I made these brownies for a potluck at work and they were delicious. I came home with an empty pan, which is always good.

I found the recipe when I got an email from Betty Crocker. You can find the recipe here Irish Creme Brownies. I tried to post a picture from their site, but am able to and I forgot to take one of my own.

I used chocolate mint Baileys Irish Creme and it turned out really good. I will definitely be making these again.

Valentines Candy

2011-02-14T11:51:00.000-06:00

A couple of years ago I received some candy making supplies for Christmas. I've had a lot of fun with making different kinds of chocolate. The other night Addison and I decided to make some for her to give to my dad and stepmom (Papa and Gamma).

I love how they turned out and they make such a fun gift!

Banana Muffins and a Crepe Fail

2011-02-09T20:26:00.000-06:00

Tonight I tried two new recipes. I received an email today from Eat Better America with a recipe for Chocolate Crepes with Bananas. It looked so good, so I decided we would have it as a special dinner. It looked really good, but it did not taste good. I will definitely not be making these again.

Then I tried a new recipe I found on allrecipes.com It's Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins, but I left out the chocolate chips, they turned out really good.

Ingredients:
1 3/4 c flour
3/4 c sugar (I used 1/2 c white and 1/4 c brown)
1 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 egg
1/2 c vegetable oil (I used 1/4 c oil and 1/4 applesauce)
1/2 c plain yogurt (I used 1/4 c fat free sour cream and 1/4 c skim milk)
1 t vanilla
1 c mashed ripe bananas (I used 2.5 bananas)
3/4 c semisweet chocolate chips

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, combine the egg, oil, yogurt and vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in the banas and chocolate chips. Fill greased or paper lined muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake at 350 degrees for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

I baked these in mini muffin tins and sprinkled a little sugar on the top before baking them.

Free Canvas

2010-12-31T13:35:00.000-06:00

I've seen posts about the free canvas from canvas people on quite a few blogs this year. Today I finally got around to checking out the site and ordering one. You get a $55 credit, so you can get a 8x10 canvas for free or upgrade to a larger size, the 11x14 would be $9.99. I decided to go with the free 8x10 as I will be using it either in our bedroom or Addison's bedroom. I used a beautiful picture of Addison taken this fall in black and white. I can't wait to see how it turns out.

If you would like a free or discounted canvas check out the canvas people here https://secured.canvaspeople.com/freegift

Merry Christmas

2010-12-26T18:55:00.000-06:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. It was busy at our house, unfortunately, Dustin had to work midnights all weekend. We started our holiday with Christmas at his parents on Thursday. Christmas day Addison and I went to Ely to my dad and stepmoms.

Addison was so excited Christmas morning. Santa brought her the Hello Kitty camera that she asked the Santa at Bentlyville for.

Santa Belly Ornaments

2010-12-22T23:06:00.002-06:00

The last couple of years we have made ornaments for Addison to give to her teachers at school and her grandparents. We keep one for our tree too.

This year we made Santa Bellys. She really didn't get too involved with this one since I had to use hot glue. I bought the ornaments last year on clearance. Then I cut a piece of felt into strips that were 3/4 inches wide. I used gold pipe cleaners for the buckle. I hot glued those onto the felt and then the felt onto the ornament. On the back I used black permanent marker to write her name and the year.

I think they turned out really cute.

Here she is showing one of them off.

Sharing at: Be Different Act Normal and

Christmas Cards

2010-12-10T22:39:00.002-06:00

Twinkle Flakes Scarlet Christmas 5x7 folded card

Personalize the christmas season with Christmas photo cards.

View the entire collection of cards.

Shutterfly made it so easy to make our Christmas cards this year. The hardest part was choosing which design and which pictures to use.

Ho Ho Ho! Holiday Cards from Shutterfly!

2010-11-01T23:38:00.000-05:00

It's that time of year again where I am in the search of the cutest Christmas card to send to our family and friends. This year I stumbled across a wonderful deal that Shutterfly is offering to bloggers. Not only is it a wonderful deal, but they have some of the cutest designs that I have seen.

They have Christmas Card designs here. What's nice is you can choose if you want one picture or more than three. Some years I pick one, others I choose to have more. It all depends on how many pictures are so cute that I can't decide which one to use.

This one is so cute and I can picture my blonde haired, blue eyed little girl on it.

They also have Holiday Cards here, incase you don't want to use the word Christmas in your cards.

This one is so cute. My daughter is going to be four this year and is so excited to make a snowman!

I can't get over how cute the Christmas Gift Tags they have here. They are just so cute! I think this one is my favorite. How fun would it be to use these on gifts for your loved ones!

I have ordered from Shutterfly many times in the past. Their picture quality is excellent and I have always received my items very fast.

I haven't decided which card to order for this Christmas, but I'm sure with all of the choices that Shutterfly offers it will be a wonderful one!

Do you have a blog and want 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly? Click here to go to Shutterfly for information on how you can get 50 free cards this holiday season.

Flower Arrangement

2010-10-21T20:57:00.002-05:00

Last week one of my friends and I took a class at a local florist shop to make a fall flower arrangement. It was a lot of fun. I'm happy with how mine turned out. It's all out of fake flowers and some dried flowers. We even learned how to make homemade bows to add to the basket.

Linked to Just a Girl

Hair Bows

2010-10-20T21:41:00.000-05:00

Last year I started making hair bows for my daughter. I just googled for a tutorial to see how to wrap the clip and make the bows. We don't have many places to buy nice bows. Last year she barely had any hair and I had to use the really small clips. Now that she has more hair I can use the bigger clips.

Tonight I made two Christmas for her. She doesn't have bangs, but they aren't as long as the rest of her hair, so I like to pull it back a little bit on one side. She was so excited about these.

I also made three sets for one of my friends little girls that is turning one. It's her birthday this weekend and I wanted something a little extra to add to the gift. I hope she likes them.

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

2010-10-13T16:24:00.000-05:00

Last week I tried baked potato soup for the first time. I had run across this recipe a couple of times (both online and in the Kraft recipe magazine). I thought it sounded good and very easy to make.

You can get the recipe by clicking on the link above. It was really good. I wasn't sure if I would even like it. My husband said he wouldn't try it and then after he saw it and what was in it he ended up eating two bowls.

I attempted to add a picture from the Kraft website but was not able to get it to load.

Cheesecake Bars

2010-10-07T13:06:00.002-05:00

I made some cheesecake bars for my chex party last weekend. I got the recipe from The Sisters Cafe http://sisterscafe.blogspot.com/2010/09/cheesecake-bars.html

These bars are so good and very addicting! I actually doubled the recipe and made it in a 13x9 pan.

Book Reviews

2010-10-03T22:58:00.001-05:00

I have read a couple of really good books in the last few weeks.

The first was The Scent of Rain and Lightening by Nancy Pickard.

http://www.amazon.com/Scent-Rain-Lightning-Novel/dp/0345471016/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1286164375&sr=1-1

This book was really good. A little mystery, a little romance, twists and turns. I just stumbled across this one when I was on my librarys epub site and thought it looked good.

I just finished Summer's Child by Diane Chamberlain yesterday.

http://www.amazon.com/Summers-Child-Diane-Chamberlain/dp/0778328414/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1286164555&sr=1-1

This author wrote The Secret Life of CeCe Wilkes, which I've also read and was good.

This book had so many twists and turns. I think my jaw hit the floor at the end when I found out what really happened. This one was about a baby that was found on the beach and was adopted by a family. It's about her life and the families life that she was adopted into.

Both of these were really good and I would recommend them to anyone.

Fall Decorating

2010-10-03T22:37:00.006-05:00

I have been busy pulling out some of my fall decorations. Many of the things I have put up have been things that I made in the last couple of years.

This table is in front of my kitchen island. I strung up my BOO banner that I made last year. I added the Autumn gourd that I also made last year. The tree picture my daughter made in daycare a couple of years ago. She sponge painted the paper and the teacher cut out the tree. I put it on some scrapbook paper and framed it. I made the candy corn topiaries a couple of years ago. The little glass pumpkin I bought at Walmart last year, I believe for $3. It is filled with mini pumpkin shaped potpourri that I got from a friend. Next to the topiaries are two leaf tea light holders from Party Lite.

Here's a close up of the items on the table. My little lamp I bought at Pier One last year. I have some ribbon that I'm thinking about adding to the shade, but I'm not sure yet. I have it sitting on top of the book, The Help. The colors fit into the fall decor. Plus it is one of the best books I have ever read.

I have linked up to Southern Hosptality and Tatertots & Jello

Chex Mix Party

2010-10-03T22:27:00.004-05:00

I was asked by General Mills Psst to host a Chex Mix Party through My Get Together. I had a few friends over and we tried the Chex and watched a couple of movies. I also made pepperoni/cheese pinwheels, deviled eggs and cheesecake bars. I also served cheese, summer sausage and crackers.

Me, Beth & Ricci. My almost 4 year old took the picture after she put a puppy sticker on me :)

I received three kinds of Chex Mix (Original, Honey Nut & Toffee), a Chex Mix bowl, napkins and plates from My Get Together.

Elmer's / X-Acto

2010-09-23T21:26:00.002-05:00

I just received the best package in the mail today through BzzAgent. I was able to participate in their Elmer's X-Acto Campaign.

The package includes various glue items like dots, runner, and sticks. There are a couple different kids of scissors and a very cool corner punch.

I'm so excited to try all of the goodies. I used to scrapbook a lot and haven't in quite awhile, pretty much since Addison was born! This kit is really making me want to create something soon. I'm thinking maybe some homemade cards.

Once I finally use the items from the kit I will be sure to come back and share my projects!

Some Recent Winnings

2010-09-22T19:25:00.004-05:00

I've entered a couple of giveaways on blogs recently and have been really lucky to win three!

The first one was from Rhonda at Southern Hospitality
I won two prints from Rusty Cricket. I chose the Crab Nation and Chowder Cove. These prints are so cute and very good quality. We are going to start finishing our basement and I'm hoping to use these to hang on the walls. I'm thinking they would look great framed in a white frame.
This is one of the prints that I received.

Then I won one from A Little Etsy Love. Have you checked out this site? If not you need to. They showcase different sellers on etsy and have lots of cute things that I normally wouldn't even find out there. I won a gift certificate to Misty Dawn Designs I chose a necklace and it is so pretty. I've worn it with long sleeve knit shirts and it looks beautiful with such a casual outfit but would also be super cute with something more dressy too.
This is similar to the one that I got.

Yesterday I learned that I won a $25 gift card to Stella & Dot through Sisters Stuff. Katie Hartzheim sells Stella & Dot and offered the gift certificate. I'm super excited because I ordered my daughter a necklace that came with three charms. This is the one that I chose.

So, if you think that you aren't lucky, just enter, it's fun to win. I'm enjoying the things that I've received.

I also added links into the blogs and the sites for the stores and for some reason they aren't showing up. But if you search for the sites you should be able to find both.

Mirror Makeover

2010-09-13T22:03:00.007-05:00

When I was little my mom had this mirror on her dresser. It obviously wasn't this dusty, that's what years of storage will do! She always had her perfume and jewelery box on it. I've had this stored in my garage for the last four year. I found it when I was going through some boxes this summer. I decided that I really wanted to use it in my master bath to keep some of my things on like my mom used to.

However, the 1970's gold was not matching anything that I have! The before pictures really don't show how shiny that gold was! I figured a couple coats of white spray paint would help. I thought I would have to tape the mirror to paint. But when I looked at it, it was held to the base with 8 little nails. I was able to pull them out and just paint the frame. Then I just reattached everything. The back was also covered in a very thing layer of some kind of felt. It was falling off. I just scraped it all off.

I'm so happy with how it turned out. Taking pictures of this was so hard!

Linking up to Between Naps on the Porch Metamorphosis Monday. http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/2010/09/welcome-to-87th-metamorphosis-monday.html

Apple Pie

2010-09-12T22:04:00.004-05:00

Whenever the weather starts to get cooler I always feel like baking. Today I made an apple pie. It turned out perfect. Last year I made homemade apple pie filling. All I had to do was make the crust and crumb topping today. It makes for a quick homemade dessert.

Addison was very excited to help make the pie. She wanted her picture taken with the final result.

We also worked on a couple of projects today that I will be sharing later this week after we get them finished up.

Gardening

2010-05-24T22:19:00.002-05:00

I have been busy outside working on our garden. Usually I don't plant anything until after Memorial Day, however we have been having unseasonably warm weather.

When we bought our house in 2006 this area just had some sand and clumps of dirt. The following summer we dug it up, put down dirt and planted perennials and some annuals. We lost quite a few plants that first winter. Each year it has gotten better. This year I was excited. I only needed to replace three plants. I did also add some more annuals for color.

We have also taken down the fence that was on the side and back of our house. Because of the frost it as starting to fall over. In the back between our yard and the neighbors we decided to put in three Spring Snow crabapple trees. These should get between 20 to 25 feet high and 18 to 20 feet wide.

Fabric Pins

2009-12-03T22:58:00.003-06:00

I've seen these on various blogs. For the fabric one I printed out a flower pattern and added different sizes so I could have more on my pin. Then for the circle one I just used cups. I used a small circle of felt on the back and stitched on a pin back. Then I just attached the fabric to that through the button and back through the pin back.

The most time consuming thing out of them was making the patterns. I cut them out of paper and then out of a thin cardboard (from a 12 pack of soda). I have been able to reuse the cardboard patterns to cut out my fabric. I'm planning on making quite a few of these for gifts, so I'm going to cut a bunch of fabric out and then just sit down one night to stitch them all together.

Linking to Diary of a Craftaholic

Custom Resuable Bag

2009-12-03T22:48:00.006-06:00

I saw this idea last year in an issue of Family Fun. I bought the iron on paper last year but never had a chance to do the project.

I picked up a reusable bag at Joanne Fabrics. I love their bags, they are big, have a cardboard piece for the bottom, and velcro to keep it shut. Plus they are $1. Can't go wrong with that!

Then I cut a piece of printer paper in half and drew two pictures on them. Then I let Addison color them in. After she was done, I scanned the pictures in as one sheet again. I printed it on the iron on paper and cut it in half.

I followed the directions on the iron on paper that I uesd . One word of advise is to really have your iron on low. It says the lowest cotton setting, well I burned a little hole in my bag. But I wanted to see how it would turn out so I finished it anyway.

I'm definitely going to be picking up more bags so I can use these as gift bags for all of the grandparents. They are not only getting a bag that they can use but one that is personalized.

I'm linking up over at Living with Lindsay http://www.livingwithlindsay.com/?
I'm linking up over at Miss Craft Pants

Fabric Bracelets

2009-11-05T20:33:00.005-06:00

I originally found this idea on UCreate who posted a link for Blue Cricket Design. The tutorial can be found here http://sistersstuff.blogspot.com/2009/10/blog-swap-with-blue-cricket-design.html

These were so easy to do. I actually found a four pack of Sesame Street rubber bracelets on clearance at target for 98 cents. At the time I wished I had bought more, but when making them these are kind of small compared to other rubber bracelets. They fit on my wrist, but my wrist is pretty small. I did also have one other bracelet at home that was regular sized.

I had some fabric that was given to me, so I cut strips from that. I made five of these in less than 30 minutes. I'm definitely thinking of making some of these for Christmas gifts.

Autumn Gourd

2009-10-11T13:33:00.006-05:00

Earlier this week I found two of these paper gourds in my craft stuff. I looked at them and thought well I'm sure I could do something with them. Then a couple of days later I saw a post on Buzzings of a Queen Bee.

I decided to use my gourds to make these. One of them still had a stem attached. I'm trying to decide if I like it with the stem or without better.

Linking up to Thrifty Decor Chick and craftaholics anonymous

BOO Banner

2009-10-11T12:55:00.003-05:00

One of my friends and I found this BOO Banner on Everyday Chaos Blog.

We ended up making four of the banners. We had everything done and just had to glue the pennants. I put it together last night and laid the letters out the wrong way. So instead of BOO I had OOB! Oops!! Since I used hot glue to fold the burlap over the hemp cord I had to cut the top of the pennant off. It still turned out great, even though the pennants are smaller than they should be.

I have it hanging on the front of my kitchen island. I need to finish putting the rest of my Halloween things on the table.

V and Co. Giveaway

2009-06-15T15:06:00.000-05:00

Vanessa over at V and Co (click on the title to bring you to her site) is giving away a beautiful necklace by Beki.

Head on over to her webiste to enter. The giveaway is ending on Wed at 11.59 PM.

Painting

2009-06-02T15:28:00.002-05:00

Well it has been months since my last post. I keep finding many ideas that I want to do, but just haven't found the time. I'm on vacation this week and we aren't leaving until Thursday for our trip. So I put Addison in daycare today and tomorrow and we are painting inside our house. I had painted one wall in January, because we got a new entertainment center, and it needed to be painted before it was put in place.

Today Dustin and I painted for 6.5 hours. We got the first coat on the living room, entry way, hall, and one wall in the dining room. 3 cans of paint!! Then we primed the island and the other wall in the dining room and the kitchen. I was able to get one coat of color on the island and the wall below the cabinets.

Tomorrow we are finishing the first coat of the kitchen/dining color, second coat on the rest and a second coat on the kitchen/dining.

I can't wait until it is done! Dustin told me that I better like the color, because he is never painting again. I do have before pictures and will be posting those.

My first Christmas Project.

2008-11-29T13:24:00.001-06:00

This was the first Christmas project I have done so far this year. I got my inspiration from all of the other people making the BOO or EEK Halloween picture frames. I tried to find the cute frames that everyone was using, but could not. So I got this one at the $1 store. After working with it, I know why it was $1!! I just added scrapbook paper that I already had and some chipboard sticker letters that I bought. I think it turned out super cute!

Peppermint Table Runner Giveaway

2008-11-02T17:51:00.002-06:00

Jodi at Simply This and That is giving away a beautiful table runner. It would be beautiful out at Christmas time.

Just click on the title to go to her page and enter!

Twilight Character

2008-11-02T14:14:00.002-06:00

Take the Quiz and Share Your Results!
Click on the title to see what character you are!

Happy Halloween!

2008-11-01T19:45:00.002-05:00

Last night was so much fun. We went to a party at a town hall before we went trick or treating. Addison was excited because some of her friends from daycare and her friend Christian was there.

I thought she would be scared trick or treating, but she caught on really fast. She was knocking on the doors and saying bye after people gave her candy.

She only got scared at the last house when the person rolled to the door laying on a chair dressed as a bug. She freaked out!

Here's a picture of her in her care bear costume.

Apple Jelly

2008-10-22T20:09:00.001-05:00

I just canned 12 8oz jars of apple jelly. I'm worried that my first batch of 6 isn't going to set up, just by looking at it. I'm hoping tomorrow they look better.

And this was my first time making it and it was so much fun!! I could find myself really getting addicted to this. Last year one of my friends made Pear Raspberry Jelly and it was so good.

Halloween Party

2008-10-21T09:07:00.003-05:00

Amy over at Living Locurto is throwing a Halloween Party until October 30. It looks like a lot of fun. There will be drawings for different categories like costumes, decor, party items. So head on over there http://www.livinglocurto.com/ and ever your best Halloween pages!

Twilight!

2008-10-20T20:27:00.002-05:00

I have jumped on the Twilight band wagon. I am officially addicted. Last night I was reading in bed with my flashlight so my husband could go to sleep.

If you have not read this book, run out and get it. You will not regret it!

Halloween Projects!!

2008-10-11T14:38:00.004-05:00

I finally finished the Candy Corn Topiaries that I started oh two weeks ago! I had to run to the store this morning to buy Spanish Moss. Then I had to spray paint it black. I swear that is the messiest stuff to work with. Anway.... here are my finished corns! I'm really happy with how they turned out.

These were so simple to do. The logest part was waiting for the paint to dry on the styrofoam. I think it cost me about $12 to buy everything to make two of them. But that included things like paint, glue, and ribbon. Which I have tons left of for other projects. And the $2.00 bag of Spanish Moss which will probably last me my whole life!

Here is another little project that I threw together. My daughter made the tree at daycare (or painted the paper anyway). But I thought it was cute. Plus my bedroom is in reds and golds.

I won the picture of the frame at a baby shower this summer. I wish I would have taken a before picture of the frame. I'm sure it came from the dollar store (it's actually plastic!). It was a silver color but it looked like they were trying to make it aged. Anway.... I spray painted the frame black. Then I added a piece of scrapbook paper to the back and added the tree. I think it turned out super cute!

I went to the dollar store this week and got a black frame to make the "BOO" or "EEK" pictures that everyone is doing. I wasn't able to find the cute frame that everyone else has, but it will work. I also picked up a white frame to do another project that I've been thinking of doing. So I'm hoping to possibly work on those tomorrow.

Linking up to Someday Crafts and craftaholics anonymous

Matthew Mead!

2008-10-08T12:45:00.008-05:00

Linda over at Restyled Home http://restyledhome.blogspot.com/ is having another Matthew Mead giveaway! This one is really awesome. It's to promote his new book Entertaining Simple.

Just from looking at the cover this book has some awesome ideas in it.

And I seriously think I need to eat these for dessert after lunch!

You can purchase this book at bookstores across the US and Canada and also from this website: http://www.entertainingsimple.com/index.php?option=com_flippingbook&book_id=2&Itemid=1

So hop on over to her blog and enter! And while you are there check out the things that she has been doing. I love her blog she has so many cool ideas.

Don't you just love a giveaway!

2008-10-06T20:48:00.003-05:00

Melissa at 320 Sycamore http://granvillehouse.blogspot.com/2008/10/blog-warming-party-giveaway.html is having a blog warming party and an awesome giveway! I love what she did with the 3 opening frame!

Halloween Ideas

2008-10-03T18:50:00.002-05:00

I'm still working on my candy corn topiaries. I need to run to the store to buy some glue because I can't find mine. But I will have them done this weekend!

I also got the cutest things from my daughter that she made at daycare this week. One of them I think I'm going to frame and put out for the fall season. They painted paper and then cut our trees (or the teacher cut our trees, because she's only 22 months old and doesn't use sissors!)

I found these on the country home website and they look like a lot of fun to do.

I also really want to do this.

So hopefully this weekend I can get to the store so I can get these projects finished!

Halloween Crafts

2008-09-28T12:46:00.002-05:00

This is what I am hoping to make today (if Addison naps long enough).

I bought everything to make them at Joanne's on Friday night, except a dowel for the middle. I do have some chopsticks that I might cut down to use. It was hard for me to tell if theyused a foam tree or something else. I went with foam and bought paint to use. Hopefully it works out. If it does I will be posting a picture here.

Princess House!

2008-09-26T16:11:00.002-05:00

I had a princess house party in August. I had a very good party and got $365 worth of product for $108. I also had three people book parties off of my party so I also got to pick a 3 booking gift. I am getting a $160 stainless steel roaster for FREE!

When the people that booked parties from mine have their party I get a 1/2 off item. These are two of the things that I just got from a party. I can't wait to put these out in my house. I LOVE them. I need to find a big candle to put in the middle of the big pumpkin. I'm thinking of putting the big pumpkin on my dining room table. I need to see if I have a placemat to put under it in fall colors.

Eau Claire

2008-09-14T17:51:00.002-05:00

We went to Eau Claire WI this weekend to see Dustin's cousin Jamie and his girls. Saturday we had tickets to go to the air show. The weather didn't agree with it though. We were there for about three hours before we decided to leave. It was pouring and they ended up cancelling the planes.

We did get to see some older planes and the Weinermobile! Here's a picture of me and Addison with Jamie and his girls Katie and Hailey. And all of us in front of the Weinermobile!+

It's slowly happening.

2008-09-11T15:51:00.002-05:00

I'm finally figuring out how to change things with my blog. Next up is how to add pictures. After that I think I can finally start posting things that I am planning on doing in our house!

I'm new to this.

2008-09-08T20:58:00.000-05:00

I'm still trying to figure out how this blogging stuff works. I've been trying to post pictures and change the background. But much to my dismay I'm not getting anywhere. Thankfully Dustin is watching football and I hope Addison is sleeping, so I've been searching around for help. One of these days I'll get it figured out and then I'll be able to get this going.