Need help with Christmas? Try Shutterfly!

I’m a scrapbooker. I love the craft and have even been published. I have a dedicated scrapbook space in my house. Yet, I find I rarely have the time to scrapbook anymore. I’ve got mounds and mounds of photos that were neglected and weren’t enjoyed. Until, that is, I discovered Shutterfly photo books! The quality is incredible and their background choices are plentiful enough to make any scrapbooker happy! The upside is that I can get my photos in a book that my family can enjoy immediately and scrapbook at my leisure, without guilt. Plus, what a fantastic gift idea!

I’ve recently fallen in love with the cards that Shutterfly offers, too. I just placed an order for these cards: Portrait Cards . I put my favorite picture of my two girls on the front and I’m going to use them as my thank you cards for all the wonderful Christmas gifts my family receives this year. How fun is that?

Every year I struggle with what to get my grandparents for Christmas. They have all they need and say they don’t want anything, but I feel horrible showing up empty handed on Christmas. I usually give them an updated photo of my girls for Christmas, but that gets old. This year, I’m making them a wall calendar. That way, they get the updated photos of the girls and can enjoy them year round. Want to make one for someone you love? Check them out here.





Next on my list are my family Christmas cards. Last year, the season got away from me and I didn’t send any cards out. This year, I want my cards to be fabulous to make up for it. Thanks to Shutterfly, I’m getting 50 cards to mail to family and friends. With so many designs to pick from, my dilemma is picking out the card I like best! See all the great designs here! Already got your Christmas cards in the mail? What about Mother's Day Cards? I’m loving this idea!




Hooray for Shutterfly for making gift giving easy!

Well, that was quite the hiatus!

OK, so it's been more than a year. In that time, we celebrated a couple of birthdays in my family (4 to be exact), went on a vacation and I went back to school. It got crazy for me for a bit, and I needed a break. The break was good while I was adjusting to my new schedule, but I'm ready to get back in the swing of things!

I've got a couple of tutorials that I promised you all that I haven't forgotten about. Plus, we had a couple of fantastic birthday parties this year and another great one in the works that I'm planning on sharing with you!

Giveaway time!

I know, I know. I haven't been here in awhile. I've been in a bit of a funk. I haven't been crafting much and haven't had much to say (hubby is stunned with that last one, I must say!). But, I'm back and have super fantastic news! I've teamed up with The Creative Junkie for a giveaway! If you haven't visited her blog before, you're in for a treat! You'll love her blog, I promise! Best of all, you can ENTER for a chance to win $25 worth of goodies from the Etsy store of yours truly!

Pumpkin Pillows!

Last year at one of my favorite home decor boutiques I bought the most adorable pumpkin pillow. I loved it! This year, I wanted more than the one, but the $25 price tag (for the small one) stopped me short! Mine turned out just as cute, and I did the whole bunch for about $15.

What you need:

• Fabric for the body of the pumpkin - I used home decor fabric remnants that I got for super cheap at the fabric and craft store. I used a half yard cut for the largest pumpkin, the smallest was about a quarter yard.
• Fabric for the pumpkin stem - small scraps work great for this
• Fiber-fill
• Fabric scraps for bean bag - color doesn't matter
• Rice or beans - for the bean bag
• Coordinating fabric or ribbon for the bows around the stem

Here's what you do:

• Cut two squares out of your body fabric roughly the size you'll want your finished pillow to be. The sides don't have to be straight, so just make a rough square shape.
• To create the pleat, find the center of your square by folding it in half and marking it with a straight pin. Now, make an accordion fold on the left side, making sure the folded edge hits your center. Pin in place.

• Do the same on the right side. You'll end up with something that looks like this:
  

• Stitch over the pleat to hold it in place. Repeat the process on the second square of body fabric. Set aside.

• Out of a coordinating fabric, create your stem. I cut my stems approximately 3" wide by 4" long. With the right sides together, sew around three sides of the stem, leaving the bottom open.

• Turn the stem right side out and stuff with fiber-fill.
• Take one square of your body fabric and place it on your work area, right side up. Pin your stem to the body fabric and then place the second body piece and place it on top (right sides together). Pin in place.

• Leaving an opening at the bottom, sew the 3 pieces together. Stitch in a rough pumpkin (oval or circular shape). You'll have something that looks like this:

• Trim the excess fabric:
  

• Turn your pumpkin right side out. Stuff with fiber-fill and set aside.
  
• To help the pumpkins stand, you'll need to create a bean bag. Taking your fabric scraps, cut a rectangle or a square that is slightly smaller than the length of your finished pumpkin. Leaving an opening to fill it, sew around the edges.

• Fill with rice or beans and then sew the opening shut.
• Place bean bag inside the pumpkin and hand stitch the opening shut.
• For the bows around the stems I took a length of fabric about 3" wide and sewed down the long end. Once sewn, I turned it inside out and then sewed the two ends closed, making a long ribbon out of the fabric. Of course, a cute ribbon would work just as well!

Enjoy creating your very own pumpkin patch!

Potty Prizes!

We've been potty training again, which is why I've been noticeably absent from the blog lately. Potty training has been consuming a lot of my time. OK, maybe it's not all potty training, but the moping of the floors (yup, we've had accidents - thank goodness for tile!) and the inevitable loads of laundry that goes with the potty training. Thankfully, it looks like we've got the hang of it and that it's going to stick!

I freely admit that I bribe her to potty on the potty. I figure it's a short term loss, long term gain thing. Plus, a little sugar is a fantastic motivator! Pixy Stix are a favorite of hers, but carrying them in my purse doesn't work (purse full of sugar powder, anyone?). I had a stroke of genius at the Dollar Store the other day (oh, how I love you Dollar Tree!).

This little plastic pencil case is the perfect Pixy Stix holder! It's rigid enough that they won't get bent and broken in my purse, it's the right size, and it's light enough that it doesn't add too much weight to my already stuffed purse.

Perfect for our potty prizes on the go!

Yummy Cheese Soup!

It's officially fall! Even though we've still got a couple of weeks here before it'll finally start to cool off a bit, I figured I'd post one of my very favorite soup recipes in the hopes that I'll be in the mood to make it here soon!

Easy Cheddar Cheese Soup

1/4 cup butter
1 onion, chopped
1/4 cup all purpose flour
3 cups chicken broth
3 cups milk
1 pound shredded Cheddar Cheese
Fresh Broccoli, chopped (optional, about 2 cups worth)
1/2 cup shredded carrots (optional)

In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium high heat. Add onion and cook until tender (about 5 minutes). Stir in flour and cook until the flower and the onion mixture are thoroughly blended.

Add chicken broth and cook, stirring constantly until mixture thickens slightly. Add milk, broccoli and carrots (if used) and heat just to boiling, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low and stir in cheese. Once cheese is melted, remove from heat.


It's such a yummy soup recipe, and really easy, too! It's good as just a cheese soup, but I like it best with the broccoli and carrots. Enjoy!

A Birthday Present

This birthday present was inspired by a post I saw in the gallery at 2 peas. I love it, so I had to try my hand at it!

I bought the frame at the model home sale I went to a couple of weeks ago (loved it!) with the intention of using it for this project. I cut a piece of scrapbook paper to fit inside the mat. I made a heart template out of a piece of cardstock and then positioned it on the paper and traced around it with a fine point felt tip pen.

The chipboard dots and jewels are "Rock On Chip Plates" from Prima (they came from the craft store). They are self adhesive, so I just started sticking them down to fill in the heart outline. I added a couple of yellow buttons, too.

Once the heart was filled in, I stamped the name and est. date on a scrap piece of cardstock, added a bit of trim and popped it into the frame.

I'm wishing I bought enough to make one for me now!