Red, White & Blue!

So I had this idea last year, even went and bought the paint…then Hubs told me that he did not think Little Man would let me paint his foot & place it on a piece of paper over and over and over again. So I gave up (because in my mind Little Man would let me if I had Hubs helping me and obviously that wasn’t going to happen).
Let’s fast forward to this year and I’m glad I waited because Miss E gave it a whole new ‘cuteness’ factor! She is only 3 weeks old so I’m sure she wouldn’t have minded me painting her while she was asleep but I went the easy way with her and just traced her hand onto cardstock & cut it out to make a template.
Little Man loved doing this and is so proud of it! He is excited to show some friends that are coming over on the 4th, his flag!
So here is my quick, fun & cute 4th of July craft that I did with both my kids (by myself- Hubs was at work!) and now will have to have framed because it’s just. so. darn. cute. I want to keep it!


What do you think? The top two rows of ‘red’ need to have a heel & toes respectively added that would ‘go’ off the edge of the paper to ‘finish’ the row but other than that I love it! I thought about touching up some of the red on the footprints that didn’t come out so clear but I’m not sure…thoughts?

Have a great weekend everyone! Happy 4th of July! Special thanks to my Hubby & all of our military friends for keeping our nation free everyday! Love you all!


Linking this up to:

The Shabby Nest: Frugal Friday

Prepared.

Hi all! I'm back! This is my first post since having my baby girl "E" on June 6, 2010! She was born at 6:02am weighing a TINY 6lbs. 9oz. (My son was 9lbs. 4oz so she is tiny tiny to me!) she came into the world after only two pushes and only 6 hours of contractions that hurt (I was contracting all day the day before but they just were tight-not painful) She is healthy & D and Hubby both love and adore her!

Ok! Now onto the blog post! First a thank you to all the ladies who helped me out and did guests posts for me these last few weeks! Please go visit them soon & thank them! Kaleena @ Top Notch Eats, Birdie @ A Chirp in the Forest & Karen @ Saving the Family Money. Thanks so much ladies!

So a few weeks ago I decided that I wanted a bag in my vehicle that would allow D & I to just go to the playground or somewhere fun without any planning (an example would be: we were out running errands and just decided to stop by the playground). So I pulled out a tote bag I had and started to throw some things together. Here's what I ended up with in the back of my suv:

and here are a few pictures of what I included:

This is the full bag (above). The bag on top is the 'emergency supplies' bag which has band-aids, tissues, neosporin, bug spray, sunscreen, anti-itch spray, and travel sizes of advil and purell.

Then I added a bag of toys which as you can see included Mr. Potato Head. It also has bubbles, chalk & a small playground ball.

Then in the bottom is a change of clothes for him, a sweatshirt (in case it's colder all of a sudden), an empty sippy cup, two beach towels (one to wipe off the wet slides if it's a rainy day) and 1 washcloth. 

Then not pictured is a folding camping chair, a flashlight, our folding travel potty and my picnic blanket that is waterproof on one side.
I am going to have to add in clothes & diapers for little miss E now but other than that we are all prepared for those spur of the moment 'let's go have fun' times! Another bonus is that I don't have to worry my new 'mommy brain' will have me forget something important!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Baby Time Guest Post: Saving the Family Money

Today we have a fun tutorial from Karen at Saving the Family Money! Please be sure to visit her site because she has a ton of informative posts and plenty of great reading for you to do! Here she is:

Simple and easy steps to turn old picture frames into beautiful fabric covered bulletin boards.

The 2 picture frames and the gold shelf above I purchased at a garage sale for super cheap. I took out the pictures and glass and spray painted the frames and shelf black. This is the same wall that I took the before picture on, but I have since painted over the thin coat of builders paint. This is the hallway between the kitchen and the garage where everyone passes when coming and going. It will be a great place to put reminders and schedules!

Ok are you ready for me to tell you how easy it is to do? I decided I wanted to do a magnetic board because a cork board would mean I'd be putting holes in the fabric and I didn't want to do that. I went to JoAnn Fabric to look for inspiration fabric. I found these 2 coordinating fabrics and the best part is I was able to use a coupon on one of them and the other was a remnant fabric so it was discounted. I wanted it to look like artwork even if there was nothing displayed on it. Then I headed out to my favorite Home Depot where they accept competitor coupons, and got my supplies. You will need a piece of zinc-coated steel (aluminum and stainless steel will not hold magnets). I took a few magnets with me and the fabric so I could make sure it was going to work. You'll need heavy duty magnets and you should be able to buy these at the hardware store as well. My husband thinks it's funny that the Manager who was assisting me, didn't even know they carried magnets. I graciously showed him where they were..hehe. Now I chose a large piece that I could cut to size at home. It was cheaper than buying 2 smaller ones. Your hardware store might cut it to size for you if you take in your measurements or even the frame you will be using. If you do it yourself, you'll need a pair of scissors that will cut metal. They sell these for about $10 or you can borrow a pair from your sister. Thanks sis! I laid out the cardboard backing to the original picture frames and used them as a template to measure the cuts. Now you can begin your cuts. Remember it's always better to cut a piece too big and trim later, than cut it too small and waste a piece. You may want to use gloves for this part. Cut metal is sharp and I for one didn't want a cut! Once it's cut you'll want to place it inside your frame to make sure it fits. Mine was a little large so I had to trim some off of one side. Cut your fabric so you have about a 1-2 inch overhang all around the metal. I used spray adhesive to adhere the fabric. I started with a small piece on the back to get it lined up exactly the way I wanted it. Then I flipped it over and sprayed about 5 inches of metal at a time and laid down the fabric. This is where you have to be very careful because the adhesive is strong and you don't want any air bubbles or wrinkles. You might get someone to help you if you are working with a large piece. The only thing left is to place it inside the frame, secure it, then hang! I'm so excited about how well it turned out. I have not decided what to put on the shelf yet. Please let me know if you have any questions. I've also made cute teacher appreciation gifts that were a BIG hit.

Aren't those great? And EASY! Thanks so much Karen! 

Baby Time Guest Post: A Chirp In the Forest

Hi! Today I have a guest post from a bloggy friend who calls herself Birdie! She blogs at "A Chirp in the Forest" I asked her to guest post because she & I seem to blog about the same things: crafts, house renos, gardening, etc. She's a good fit for a "Baby Time Guest Post" and if I had a ball of twine sitting around I'd be doing today's craft right. now. :) Take it away Birdie!

Hi All! I have a fun and SIMPLE little project to show you, but first I want to thank Kristi for hosting me at her blog today! I am so honored to do a guest post for her, and it's actually my first guest post EVER, so you know she's really taking a chance on me :)



Some of you might know me already and if so, you've already seen my spring centerpiece on my little kitchen table. But here's a reminder anyway so all the rest of blogland can see it too.









I thought it was pretty cute. Then the daffodils and tulips finished blooming......and I got the bright idea to try to root a piece of clematis in the little glass jug ......and I found another twine ball and absentmindedly added it to the mix......and before I knew it, my perky spring centerpiece looked like THIS:





It's ok. You don't have to tell me. I heard your cringe. It needs some help!



I went searching around the house for an idea. And I found a set of three mini flower pots I bought at the Dollar Store a while back. I hadn't yet found a use for them, partially because one was cracked.







But I got an idea and I grabbed the twine.....



A little bit of Tacky Glue and about ten minutes later, I had some cute little cottage-y flower pots!



Plus, I completely covered the cracked pot so that hopefully it will hold up a little longer.



I took some alyssum seedlings which I haven't been able to plant outside yet, and just plopped them right into the pots. I'm not sure if I'll still plant those three plants or if I'll just let them grow inside. I guess it'll depend on when I get tired of the centerpiece :)









There you have it. A little summery centerpiece for a whopping $1 + 10 minutes. I love being cheap ;)



(PS the mirror came from Goodwill and was painted, so it was cheap too!)



Have a great day!




Isn't that quick & easy? And the fact that I don't even have a centerpiece 80% of the time makes any centerpiece trump me! :) Hope you enjoyed today's guest post! Make sure you go visit A Chirp in the Forest & thank her for giving me the day off with her Baby Time Guest Post! :)

Baby Time Guest Post:: Top Notch Eats

Today I'm lucky enough to be sharing with you a guest post from my favorite food blog Top Notch Eats. Kaleena has my style of cooking: easy, healthy & yummy  food! 

Today she is sharing a recipe for 'Blueberry Coconut Coffee Cake' sounds yummy! Take it away Kaleena!


Adapted from: Week of Menus

I love bringing treats into work. It can sometimes turn a person's day around. I know that I am certainly not a morning person, but when I have something that is so simple to enjoy with my coffee it makes sitting at my desk at 8:00am that much easier.

I also love to bake, but don't like to have the bake goods stay in my house for fear that they will be totally consumed. Usually I hang onto a recipe until I have collected all the items in my pantry or freezer then I bake away. Its wonderful. Baking is one of my favorite things to do because its so simple because all you need to do is take the recipe one step at a time.

This Blueberry Coconut Coffee cake is light, fluffy, and full of the right amount of sweetness. Start off by getting the topping together.

Topping

1. 1/3 cup of flour

2. 1/4 cup of butter at room temperature

3. 1 cup of shredded unsweetened coconut

4. 1.2 cup of brown sugar

5. 1 tsp of cinnamon

Then combine the 2 cups of all purpose flour in a separate bowl. Add in 2 1/2 tsp of baking powder and 1/2 tsp of salt.

Then mixture 1/2 cup of softened butter with 1 cup of sugar and 2 eggs. Add in 1 tsp of vanilla and 1 cup of milk.

Then butter and flour a 9 x 13 baking pan.

Then pour 1/2 of the cake batter into the pan.

Sprinkle a layer of thawed out frozen blueberries.

Then sprinkle half of the topping mixture on top of the blueberries.

Then pour the rest of the cake batter over the top. Then the rest of the topping mixture. Set your oven to 375 degrees and bake it for 40 minutes.

Slice it up, toss it into a container, and get ready to make your friends at work happy campers.

Enjoy !!!

Thanks again Kaleena & I hope you all find your way over to Top Notch Eats and find a new recipe or two!