Engagement Party

This past weekend, I had the honor of helping put together an engagement party for a very sweet friend's nephew. It wasn't supposed to be at her house originally, so when I got the call, we had to put all crafty gears into over drive.

I had her email me a few pictures of things she wanted to see at the party and ran with it.

I'll provide some of the details, but I'm going to let the pictures do most of the talking.

This little sign was at the base of the stairs as you walked up to the front porch. It's made of balsa wood. The sign was stained and hand painted with their names and the date of their wedding.

 In the front entrance, there was an heirloom Bible for guests to sign or highlight their favorite verse along with photos of the bride and groom when they were children.

The gift table

Aren't the flower arrangements beautiful? I love hydrangeas and blue mason jars...you can never go wrong with either of those:o)

There was additional seating outside.

 Here are the center pieces for the tables. Battery operated votives and tea lights were life savers for this outdoor affair.

This was the drink station. I thought it was pretty lucky that we share the same last initial...The mother of the groom made the little flags for the paper straws. I wish I had taken a closer shot of them. They were adorable. 

I had a lot of helpers in putting this together, and it wouldn't have happened without all of their help. 

I was so grateful to be apart of making this sweet little couple feel extra special and I wish them great joy and happiness in the years ahead! 

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Wash, Rinse, Repeat-Free Bathroom Printables

Here are the bathroom printables I promised. I have wanted to use the old phrase from the back of a shampoo bottle "wash, rinse, repeat" for quite some time now, but I was waiting for the right fonts to come along. I have fallen in love with all of the chalkboard fonts available. I think they are so fun, and they look really cool. 

I found exactly what I was looking for at A Nest of Posies, and played around with the fonts until I got the prints just right. I am so excited with the results, and happy to share. They are set to print as a 5x7. 

To download each print, just click on the names below.

Wash

Rinse

Repeat

Enjoy:o)

To see the full bathroom reveal, click here

Partying Here:
Six Sister's Stuff

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Cottage Style Kids' Bathroom

Last Saturday, while the hubs was hard at work in the backyard, I was wasting the day away indoors. It dawned on me that I have started SEVERAL projects over the last few months, and haven't finished ANY of them. 

I decided that since hubs was working so hard, I probably should get with it, and do something myself:o) So, I finally finished the kids' bathroom.

Our kids' wipe their little paws all over the walls, and leave the paw prints behind. We needed a solution where we wouldn't be using a Magic Eraser on our walls every other day.

I had noticed a lot of magazines using horizontal boards as a wall treatment, and I knew that would be the perfect solution to our dilemma. 

I happened to be in Lowes one day, and these boards were marked down significantly...and in my van they went!

 I have gotten the hubs do so many wood working projects over the last 10 years, that he has gotten really proficient at it;o) Mad skills I tell ya.

He's not a fan of miter cuts, but he did a fantastic job in this bathroom!

There is a lot of storage space in this Jack and Jill bath. This closet was only holding towels, so I decided to make it into a little nook for taking shoes off. 

 It was full of wire shelving, so we had to rip those out and patch a lot of holes. I really like how cute it turned out. The fabric for the seat cushion and curtain came from Hobby Lobby. The basket was a Marshall's purchase.

I found this cute little hook at Hobby Lobby. They were 50% off this week, so it was around $4. This is where the kids hang their towel while taking a shower. Notice that awesome mitered corner?...mad skills..I'm telling ya, mad skills;o)

 I spray painted this coat rack a metallic silver, and now it serves as a towel rack.

The art work is something I came up with. I'll share how I did it in my next post, so stay tuned!

I'm so glad to be able to check this bathroom off the list. Now to finish S.R.'s quilt, and the playroom!!

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Whole Wheat Cheeseburger Pie with Bacon

Since we are on this health kick, I have been using whole wheat flour instead of white flour. It wasn't easy at first, but there are actually some really tasty recipes out there using whole wheat. S.R. calls it the "brown flour," and turns her nose up at it every time I use it. The funny thing is, she gobbles it right up:o)

I was looking for something different to do with hamburger meat over the weekend, and remembered a recipe off of the Bisquick box, Cheeseburger Pie. I wondered to myself if it would be as good using whole wheat. 

I felt it was worth a try, and put my math skills to the test...trying to figure out the correct ratios and ingredients, and came up with a recipe that was a crowd pleaser :o)

Cheeseburger Pie with Bacon
Adapted from the Bisquick Recipe

1 lb of ground beef

1 small onion, chopped finely

2 T butter

1/2 ts salt

1/8 ts ground black pepper

1 c shredded cheddar cheese

2 eggs

1 c milk

1/2 c whole wheat flour

3/4 ts baking powder

1/4 ts salt

2 T cold butter

3 slices of cooked bacon crumbled

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare pie plate. I use butter to create a non-stick surface. Not a real fan of non-stick spray. In a skillet on medium high heat, melt 2 T of butter. Cook onion until it is translucent. Add ground beef, salt, and pepper. Cook until browned. While meat is cooking, use a pastry blender to blend cold butter into the flour, baking powder, and salt. The mixture should look like small peas when you are finished. Whisk in eggs, milk, and cheese. Once the meat is cooked all the way through, drain off any grease. Place meat mixture in pie plate first. Then pour the cheese batter over the meat mixture. Lastly sprinkle the cooked bacon on top. Place pie plate on a shallow baking sheet to catch any drippings. Bake for 25 minutes, or until cooked all the way through.

This was a delicious meal, and very filling. I'm so glad that I was able to use the whole wheat flour in this recipe! Another step in the right direction:o) 

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Healthy Lunch Round Up

We have made a conscious effort to be healthier this year. We have jumped on the "whole foods" bandwagon and have been buying more organic and sticking to what we call "God foods." Foods that come from the earth and not from a manufacturing plant loaded with nasty, bad-for-you chemicals. We haven't completely knocked out all the junk, but I would say we are 85% there.

I'm so glad that we decided to do this before the kids were older. They are completely on board with the change in our diet. 

It makes my heart swell with pride when they ask for an apple or grapes for an afternoon snack instead of fruit snacks or some other form of junk food.

Their school lunches have had a makeover as well, and I have been sharing them on Facebook.

Since everyone isn't on Facebook...shocking, I know;o)... I thought I would share what the kids have been taking in their lunch boxes.

Shredded Chicken, Organic Crackers, Celery with Peanut Butter, Strawberries, Grapes, and Homemade Cupcake(recipe to follow soon)

 Whole Wheat Pita with bananas and peanut butter, sliced apples, popcorn chips, and homemade Lara Bar(recipe to follow)

 Sliced turkey, organic crackers, homemade whole wheat bread sticks, almonds,  and tangerine

 Ham and Gouda sandwich, carrot sticks, tangerine, and organic trail mix

 Diced baked chicken, cubed mozzarella, homemade pumpkin and chocolate chip muffin, carrot sticks and strawberries

 Sliced turkey, almonds, carrots, organic crackers, homemade applesauce, and tangerine

 Homemade chicken nuggets(recipe to follow soon) sliced carrots, sliced cheese, and strawberries

 Whole Wheat Waffle with homemade peanut butter, zucchini muffins, crackers...etc.

Do you feel inspired to start making healthier lunches for your family?

Have you jumped on the whole foods bandwagon? What are your kids' favorites? As you can tell, we go through a lot carrots:o)

We also supplement our diets with a drink called Smart Mix. It's a nutritional drink that we have been taking since last November, and we are healthier than we have ever been. I am such a believer in this product, I decided to become a distributor for the company who produces it, Zija.

My kids ask for it every morning, and that is a huge relief, since I could never remember to give them their vitamins.

I have added a link on my side bar which takes you directly to my website to find out more about this amazing product line. It looks like this:

I am also going to be making a few changes here on the ole blog, and I will be discussing more health and nutrition along with the crafty stuff. This is a major part of who I am, and I would like to share that side as well. So I hope you'll stick around!!

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Easter Outfits-Boy's Vest and Bow Tie

I shared with you guys the other day S.R.'s Easter dress, and today I wanted to give you a closer look at E's vest and bow tie.

This has to be the easiest thing to sew for little boys, and it looks so cute! 

I purchased the vest pattern last year when the kids' were in my uncle's wedding.

I lost the instructions somewhere in my craft closet, but thankfully found the right pattern pieces to make the vest..and to answer your question, yes, my craft closet is a disaster, and no, I never put anything away where it belongs. I work in total chaos;o)

 The fabric was purchased from Hobby Lobby. I bought 1 yard, and after using my coupon, it came in at just under $5. Not bad, eh?

The bow tie has velcro on the ends to keep it closed around the neck. 

I really need to do a tutorial on how to make a bow tie. You wouldn't believe how easy it is to make these things!!

 Little man loved this outfit, and it always makes me proud when they get excited about what I make for them:o)

Have a great day, and make sure to smile big;o)

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Easter Outfits-Easter Dress

We had a wonderful Easter. A time of catching up with family and friends, eating way too many delicious foods...courtesy of my mother, and remembering the resurrection of our Lord and Savior:o)

 I hope all of you had a wonderful weekend as well. 

 I gave a sneak peak on Facebook last Friday of the kids' Easter outfits. This week I will be sharing what I made for both of them.

Today's focus is on S.R.'s dress. 

Thankfully I had all the materials on hand, so this dress was completely free. Yay, for free!!

 This dress is extra special...

 All of the bead work, which was hand-sewn onto the dress(ugh!), came from my mother's wedding gown.

I took extra care in making sure that this dress will last, so that we can hopefully pass this on to my brother and sister's "someday" children:o)

The bead work went across the bodice...

and across the bottom of the skirt.

 Here's a quick look at the back. An extra long sash for the finishing touch.

 My children are carbon copies of the hubs and me...even down to how we take our pictures...it scares me how much my daughter is like me;o)

 Every once and a while we can get E to loosen up as well:o)

Come back for a closer look at E's Easter Vest and Bow Tie....

Participating here:

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