recent pinterest finds

I try not to spend too much time on the site, because I will never get anything done. But here are a few of my most recent finds on Pinterest that have me motivated for inspired to do things and try new things.

 Here is a super easy DIY Baby Blanket tutorial.

 Baked Parmesan Garlic Chicken - 4 ingredient recipe.

 I have a dream of turning Emme's old room into half nursery/half crafting room for myself. Here is a nice one.

 I thought this really cool DIY project would give me something to do with the glass jars I've been hoarding.

 Tell me this Guacamole Grilled Cheese Sandwich isn't making you drool.

Some Valentine's Day Inspiration for the upcoming holiday. I know Luci will be expecting something fun.

That's it for now. I've got a lot to prepare this weekend because I know the baby isn't going to stay put for much longer. I will have a new baby in 3 weeks or less!!!!! Have a great weekend. 

diy felt christmas tree tutorial

 

Oooooh, my first do-it-yourself tutorial ever. In keeping with the season, I thought I'd share the first Christmas craft I've done this year, and well, ever.

toy story birthday party

Our DIY Toy Story birthday party turned out great. Emme had a wonderful time and we were pretty stress free. Only the last 30 minutes of preparation got to me because the icing I bought from Albertson's failed on me. But, it worked out fine. Emme started planning her party months before the occasion and I already had a pretty good idea of what we were going to have. Luckily for me, Erik was more than willing to help make this a DIY party and he really contributed a lot to the design element of it all. If we would have purchased a big party pack of supplies for this party we could have easily spent a few hundred dollars. Instead, we hit the fabric stores, the Dollar Store, 99cent store, Walmart, and of course, Target. We did a lot of printables to help with the theme and basically just did everything ourselves. The only commerical Toy Story products we purchased were a few of the party favors and a tablecloth. We already had tons of Toy Story figures for decoration. Emme's grandpa also rented a jumper for this occasion so that kept the kids busy, as well as her other grandpa's gift a few months back, our awesome backyard playset. We asked the kids to dress up, and a few did. Of course, Emme wore her Jessie costume. Her dad and I wore matching Alien shirts from Target.

Our main idea was to have 3 different themed areas. The gift table was meant to resemble Andy's room, one of the eating tables was meant to represent more of a cowboy/cowgirl theme, and the food table was tied in with Pizza Planet. For our Toy Story party menu we served pizza, chicken wings, potato wedges, salad, fruit, cake, and cookies.

 For the gift table, we bought the blue and yellow fabric to make the background and banner. We printed off letters for her name and the clouds. We hung the banner from a rod and string. I just had to sew a long tube for the rod to fit in. The banner was glued to yarn.

The cowboy banner was made with bandana print fabrics from fabric store. Again, I glued it to yarn.

 A close up of our Pizza Planet station where we put our pizzas. Erik made a rocket out of craft foam from Walmart. He printed out a picture of Woody, the Aliens, Buzz, and the Claw to make it look like a scene from Pizza Planet. I found a font similar to the one used for Toy Story products and printed Emme's name. We printed a 3 from the Toy Story 3 ads. We also glued glow in the dark stars to the board. The board was a pre-colored science project board from Walmart. We added some green star balloons from the 99cent store, a Toy Story Alien tablecloth from Walmart and some green polka dot napkins and star napkin holder I already had. 

 For the gift bags, I covered a small standing shelf I had in my kitchen with leftover cow print fabric from Emme's costume. We strung up Army men on yarn on this table and the Pizza Planet table. They looked like they were sliding into combat. 

We also had extra seating for the little ones down in the family room. We added a few printable Toy Story drawings to make it tie in with everything. As you can see, we used 99cent store star balloons in different colors to make everything feel more festive. The stars added the extra fun element as opposed to regular round balloons.

Next, are our Toy Story party games. I searched and searched for some good ideas and found something similar but we made our own variations. We knew they had to be easy enough for at least a 3 yr old to do. They all worked out perfectly. Our first game was "Toss the Snake in the Boot". I bought a laundry basket (could have used one we already had but let's face it, I could use a few more laundry baskets) from the 99cent store and a few rubber snakes from Walmart. Erik drew and cut out a boot from foam bought at Walmart, also. We let the little kids stand closer, but everyone basically had 3 tries to get as many snakes as they could into the basket. If there were ties, we would have gone into tiebreaker mode, but one of my little cousins made all 3. It was fun to see the children and their skills, or lack thereof. They all had fun trying though!

Here is the birthday girl trying to make a snake in the boot!

The next game was "Shoot Zurg" which was basically a dart game variation. Instead of darts, we used a cheap Nerf dart gun that was small enough for the little ones to hold. Erik had to help a few kids, but they all had a fair shot at getting the best score out of 4 darts. We printed out a picture of Zurg and taped it to the back of a cheap target set we got at Walmart. My 3 year old nephew won that game. The prizes were simple Target dollar bin prizes. One was a paddle ball set and the other was Silly Putty. They both went nicely with our Toy Story theme.

Big sister took the game quite seriously.

My nephew Keston. He almost won!

Just so there were no sore losers, we had little gift bags for the kids to take home. We decided against candy because Halloween was only last week. The bags included Toy Story stickers from 99cent store, slinkys from the Target dollar bin, a few Army men from the Dollar Store (one pack of 60 cost a dollar!), and a few random toys from a Toy Story favor pack from Target. These included a Toy Story maze page, kaleidoscope, plastic alien slinky, Woody sticker, and I'm sure there is something else I am forgetting. I put them in simple brown lunch bags from Walmart and threw on a few extra Toy Story stickers and that's it. I could have taken more time to add detail but I had no more time and the bags were just trashed anyway! I lined the bags up for display, but out of reach, on one of the tables and they fit in nicely.

While I was researching for the party, Emme got sight of the Jessie Hat cookies and just HAD to have them. So, I had to make them. The came out pretty good. The kids gobbled them up.

For the cake, we bought a white sheet cake from Walmart. It came with some flowers on it, but my aunt helped me scrape them off. We then added our own decorations and had a really awesome cake. Couldn't have asked for better, especially considering the money we saved on having a custom cake made that might be half as cool as this.

 

She was in awe of her cake.

All in all, our party turned out fabulously. We always put a lot of work into our girls' parties but I never document them! That stops now. I am so happy to have captured these memories for Emme and I know she will look back and remember this special party. I think Erik and I enjoyed putting it all together almost as much as she enjoyed spending this special day with her family and friends. She got TOO MANY awesome gifts (that I am still trying to find room for) and she is so grateful for everything she got. That makes it all worth it.

 Even before the presents she was so thrilled. 

A picture with mama and daddy. Happy Birthday to our angel.

For those looking to create their own Toy Story party, I have a lot of links on my "Emme's 3rd" Pinterest board. Head on over, click here.

homemade halloween

Here are a few pics of our homemade Halloween. This year I tried my hand at making the costumes and it turned out great. I didn't make them all from scratch, but I bought as little as possible, fixed them up myself and saved a lot of money. A lot. Luciana was the Corpse Bride from Tim Burton's movie, Emme was Jessie from Toy Story, and Roslyn was a ladybug.

For the Corpse Bride costume I hit the thrift stores to find a wedding dress look-a-like. I found a perfect dress and veil combination for $8.99. The Walmart bride dress was about double that. All I did was rip it up a little, make it look dirty with some black face paint I already had and she threw on her boots and a  $5.00 black wig. So, her costume was about $15.00 total. She loved it.

My little Corpse Bride

Now the Jessie costume took a lot of work. But, I didn't mind because this was a three event costume. First, she wore it to the Toy Story on Ice show here in town, then there was Halloween, and next she will be wearing it to her Toy Story themed birthday party this weekend. Needless to say (but I'll say it anyway), she LOVES Toy Story and especially the Jessie character. For this costume, I found the pants at Walmart for $5.00. The shirt was on sale at Target for under $10.00. Then, I purchased a yard of $2.99 cow print fabric (could have bought half a yard but I needed extra for her party) and yellow print fabric. I bought a $2.00 strip of belt material and a $4.00 pack of foam to make her belt buckle. The hat was around $10.00 (if I remember right) from the Halloween Spirit store. So, for her costume I spent about $35.00 (subtracted some for the second use of fabric). All I had to do was cut out the yellow shirt chest and wrist portions and sew it on with my machine. Then, I also used my machine to add the red embroidery detail (which you can't really see in these pics) which really set it off. The cow print chaps were hand sewn. I just cut the shapes and voila, the cutest chaps in town. The Halloween spirit store had a "Deluxe" Jessie Costume for around $40.00 but it was so cheaply made and had a plastic hat that I knew wouldn't make it in this house. So, all in all, this was an awesome homemade costume that saved us money and turned out better than the store version, for sure. 

Jessie the Cowgirl

Little Roslyn definitely had a "just-throw-it-together" costume. She didn't mind though. For her costume I bought a red long sleeved shirt and pair of black leggings each for $3.88 from Walmart. She can wear them both again. I bought a pair of $3.00 clearance antennae from Carter's. I went to F&M fabrics and got red and black tulle on sale for $1.00 a yard  and I bought a yard of each. I made a new-sew tutu and added some black and red ribbon. The wings were found at the Dollar Store for, you guessed it, a dollar. Her costume cost about $14.00 total. Could have spent less if I already had black tights for red shirt but her winter wardrobe needed some new pieces anyway. Also, if I would have bought a tutu as cute as hers, it would probably set me back around $40.00 at a children's boutique. So, I win. 

Our lady of bugness

So, the pics I got weren't all that great quality. I blame the eager kids who could barely wait for me to finish getting them dressed and the family members waiting at the foot of my driveway while I scrambled for my own shoes. I didn't dress up, unless disheveled pregnant lady counts? Next year I will take some great shots before the commotion starts.  Maybe even the day before. Someone just remind me next year please.

And here is one more picture with a few stragglers that I thought were important enough to make this a collage heavy post. Again, I hope everyone had a great Halloween. I am beginning to see this holiday as a day when I just send my kids out to collect candy for me, because they barely eat any and already have forgotten we have it hidden. Score. Jokes on you, kids!

Did anyone else make their costumes this year? Or am I the only crazy one with loads of extra time on my hands?

sew, mama, sew!

Sewing is a handy skill to have. My mom knows the basics, enough to make some small projects. She signed me up for lessons at Beverly's when I was younger and I ended up making a drawstring bag and I think some shorts or something. I didn't keep up with it, but I remember learning a little. Well, for the past few years, my mom and I have had conversations about getting a new machine and getting to work on some easy projects for our homes and the kids. Then, my dad stepped in. He decided that he could also benefit from such an arrangement and they talked it over. My dad bought me a new machine for my birthday and my mom bought me all the sewing accessories a girl might need.

I kept the box laying around for a few months, gathering dust, but also quietly encouraging me to think more and more of all the things I could be doing. When I ripped a shirt, I looked at the box. When I started thinking about curtains and new pillows for my living room, I think I moved the box to a more central location. I did this because I was now lazily planning on eventually opening it up and to see if I could figure the thing out. I couldn't. Not with having about 15 years pass between my first sewing lessons and this new endeavor. I tried following the quick start guide, (I'm usually really good with any sort of set-up on electronics) but this machine is nothing like what I had used in my youth. My dad bought me the Brother Sew Advance Sew Affordable machine. I decided I needed someone to help me and maybe even to make sure I didn't break the contraption.

When looking around for anything, like most of you, I just google it. So, I googled Bakersfield sewing lessons. Up came a few different things, but nothing caught my eye. I started calling around, but sitting in a class with other people didn't seem so appealing. Then came Queen's Knight Seven, lessons by Judi Carrejo, out of Jo-ann Fabric and Craft stores. I checked out her website and I knew this would be perfect for my needs.

So far, I have taken four lessons and I already have the confidence to at least attempt to start some of my own projects. With her help, I completed two projects (pictured below). Let me just say, she is awesome. She is skilled and experienced. She makes so many of her own things and they look amazing. She taught me how to use my own machine and so many basic techniques she taught by leading me through the projects of my choosing. Also, I should add that she is a delight to hang out with during the lessons. We are cracking jokes the entire time, and she laughs at all my jokes (bonus for me). She is one cool lady. I would recommend her for anyone who is interested in taking lessons.

Because of my newly acquired skills, I not only completed the projects I chose below, but I am making my daughters' their Halloween costumes this year, all on my own, in the comfort of my own home. I'm so happy, and the looks on their faces when they see what their mama has made is worth so much more than the time, money and effort I put into learning as much as I can.

Skittles the Cat

Details, details.

It is a pretty big cat/pillow/riding apparatus.

Luci's Blanket

I told her mean moms don't make blankets like this.

It is a big comfy, super soft, lined in satin blanket of looooove.

easy fall craft for kids

This weekend I wanted to do a Fall craft with the kids. We spent most of our day indoors on Saturday because Erik was outside building our new backyard play set! Ready on Sunday and worth the wait!

 Gift from Papa, Built by Daddy

Warning: Attracts Neighborhood Kids! 

In the morning, I sent Luciana outside looking for leaves of assorted shapes and sizes. With this activity, color didn't really matter but it was a good topic of conversation when Luciana was explaining to me the life cycle of trees and leaves.  My nephew Ezekiel came over while my mom went out to run errands, so it was good to have the three older kids sitting down at the table and not running around making messes at will. This craft is super easy and they had a lot of fun doing it. So, what was it? Remember the ol' shading over leaves trick? You know, where you put a piece of paper over a leaf, grab a crayon or pencil and shade to your heart's content? Yeah, that one. I used the following materials:

• plain white printer paper
• "Fall" colored crayons (orange, brown, red, yellow, etc)
• scissors
• glue
• "Fall" colored construction paper
• 3 eager kids + 1 crayon eating baby

So, they sat down, picked their favorite leaf and got busy. I helped my nephew and Emme but they did most by picking the leaves, their favorite colored crayon, and holding the paper. I just moved their arms back and forth "helping" them shade. Even the baby made one! Luciana was able to get the hang of it after a few tries. She quickly learned the harder you shade, the more your leaf stands out. We did this many times and got many leaves. Then I cut them out while they colored other pictures and lost 12 or so marker lids from my craft box. After I cut out plenty of leaves, the kids helped me glue them to a piece of construction paper. We labeled it "FALL" and added their names because they are all so very possessive. Mine! Of course, my nephew accidentally left his after making sure we all knew that particular one was his about 8 or 9 times. Little cutie pie. All in all, the kids had a great time, it was easy to clean up, I didn't lose my mind, and now I have some cute Fall artwork to frame for my seasonal home decor. Score!

you are my sunshine

"Where is the sun?" Emme asks this question on a daily per-car-ride basis. Her newly found curiosity with the sun must be taken seriously, or so she insists by her repetitive inquiries. I'm all for it, baby girl. I remember Luciana had a similar fascination with the moon at her age. I decided to let Emme create something special to hallmark her fascination with the most powerful energy in our environment. I mean, when you really stop to think about the sun's magnificence, omnipresence (in one form or another), and its sheer power, how could you not be captivated? It's an even cuter fascination because its trans-generational. My father has always had a marked interest in astronomy which he passed on to me, and now my children are finding they have an interest as well. Actually, Erik does too. So, Emme's affection for the sun coupled with her desire to attend school like her big sissy warranted some extra special activity. We made our very own sun. She just about died with glee as she danced to "You are My Sunshine" and dangled her sun on a string. Ahh, the simple delights of childhood.

You'll never know dear, how much I love you.

This is serious business, mama.

Finished Product. Created with her own hands.

RaRa, don't eat the markers please!

I know my day has been successful if I can bring any amount of sunshine to the lives of the ones I love. <3

P.S. This activity also helped Emme to focus on the color yellow.